We Went Down to the River

 

We Went Down to the River

Trifecta and I have been doing a little arena work and a little trail work most of the days that I ride him.  Usually, I ride him in the arena while Ellen is cleaning Dante's stall.  When she finishes, I ride him down the hill to the river with her walking alongside.  In the beginning, I would lead down the hill and ride up.  After doing that for a while, I started to mount about halfway down.  Lately, I have mounted at the beginning of the trail.  He just keeps getting better and better.  He just loves his little trail rides.

On my way to the barn, I saw that our section of the park was closed--just the road; not the bridle trail. The weather was very warm, too.  It was the perfect day to ride across the river for the first time.

Ellen and I rode Dante and Cole, first.  When we got back, I saddled up Trifecta and worked in the arena for a bit.  He did very well, but he seemed a little lazy.  I'm sure it was due to the heat--perfect.  We headed for the trail.

I mounted at the beginning of the trail and headed down the hill with Ellen by my side.  Tri was very excited and Ellen could barely keep up with us.  I practiced multiple "whoas" with mixed results.  Sometimes he stopped well, and sometimes his brakes took a little time to engage.  He was definitely excited.

All I planned to do was to cross the river, ride a couple minutes on the other side, turn around and go home.

When we got to the bottom of the hill, he marched right down the bank and stopped at the river's edge.  He has crossed multiple times with me on foot.  Sometimes Ellen would go with us and walk on the other side.  More often, Kevin would meet us on the other side and we would walk with him.  He loves, loves, loves Kevin.  Sometimes, he would only have me to walk with, but he was never walking alone.  He always had one of his people.

This time, he was crossing by himself for the first time.  The water was too cold for Ellen to venture across.  

You never know how a horse will act the first time you try something new.  My plan was to let him stand there for a while and let him look at the water.  When he seemed very relaxed, I would ask him to step in it.  If he refused, we would wait for another day.  If he did go into the water but rushed, I would do a series of walk-whoa transitions.  The river can be slippery and the slate on the bottom has uneven spots.  Rushing  could turn into falling--my biggest worry.

As it was, he stood for 5 seconds and decided to cross on his own.  He walked carefully and an appropriate speed.  I was feeling so happy!  When we made it to the bottom of the river bank, I pointed him up the bank.  It is fairly steep and about 10 feet high.  I thought he might try to rush up it--as he did more than once when I led him up it.  Instead, he stopped, lifted his head way up in the air and looked around.  I thought he saw something that worried him--but I didn't see anything.  He just stood there.  I gently squeezed my legs, and he carefully turned right around and walked back across the river.  I was flabberghasted.  Of all the scenarios I had in my mind, this was the last thing I expected.  At one point, he stopped and tried to eat the leaves that were floating in the water.  Other than that, he walked slowly and carefully as if he crossed the river every day of his life.

We realized what he was looking for--Kevin!  He wanted his peeps.  If his peeps weren't there, he was going back to his peeps on the other side! We then rode on back home.  (You have no idea how much Trifecta adores people...)

I suppose I could have put up a fight and forced him to go up the bank, but my goal was just to cross the river safely.  We can save the rest for another day.  Trifecta is such a happy and willing horse--and I want to keep him that way.  Next time, he might go right up.  If that doesn't work, I can use clicker training to ask for a step, click and repeat.  I could also follow another horse up--or just have Kevin where he was supposed to be.  

I am so happy that he handled the river like a champ.  On our trails, not only do we have to cross the river to get into the main part of the park, but there are a number of other places to cross the river, too.  It is such an important skill for our horse--and there is nothing more frustrating than trying to cross a river on an unwilling horse.  I don't foresee Trifecta to ever be unwilling to cross a river after what this.  Getting him out of the river on the other side--that is a different story.

Trifecta's Third Trail Ride

 Trifecta's Third Trail Ride

For our third ride, the river was a little high so I opted to stay on the hill.  My biggest problem has been leading a very excited horse down the hill, so Ellen suggested that I go back to my old system of leading a horse with a bridle with both hands.  Since I had been leading him with a halter bridle, I was just using a lead rope.

It was a wonderful idea. I spent months driving him, he really understands how reins work well.  Here is how I do it.  I put a rein in each hand and move my right hand under his head so it is on the opposite side of his body.  That way, I can steer him.  His worst behavior is trying to cut me off so he can get to the opposite side of the trail and try to grab a leaf off the tree.  I would respond by circling him around, and he never would get his leaf, but I would get exhausted and it took to long to get up and down the hill.

I started out with the lead rope so I had something to compare to--and then switched to leading with 2 hands.  I had an immediate improvement, and not only did he listen, but he calmed down, too.  The hardest part has always been the slope at the bottom of the hill which is particularly steep and goes around a corner.  By leading him down with 2 hands, I was able to guide him right around the corner without any trouble at all!  

At the bottom of the hill, he started walking faster because he wanted to cross the river.  When I got to the wide section, I once again lounged him at a walk in small circles until he calmed down.  I then led him for just a little while.  He did well, so I mounted.

Ellen still held on to the lead rope, and we walked back and forth at the bottom of the hill.  Only once did he try to go down to the river.  After he failed, he didn't try again.  I told Ellen to let the lead rope go when she felt it was safe.  I was ready, but I wanted her to be ready, too.  Before she was, she let the lead rope get longer and longer until I was completely guiding Trifecta and she was just an emergency break.  He did well with that, so she unhooked us.  He did great!

After about 15 minutes of riding, I decided it was time to go home.  This time, I was going to see what he did if I rode part of the way up the hill.

Back in Cole's early days, he was a disaster going up the hill on the way home.  For many months, I would have a perfect trail ride and everything would fall apart on the hill.  I ended up leading him most days for the longest time, and that wasn't easy, either.  (I led a lot with 2 hands.)  I wanted to train Trifecta the right way to avoid the problems I had with Cole.

Ellen put him on the lead rope.  My plan was to get up that steep slope--which he has been very bad with leading.  I told her we would have him walk a few steps, whoa, click and repeat.  It worked wonderfully.  I added a few steps each time.  I wanted calmness, a good stop and to chain walking quietly to the stop.  (Chaining is teaching a horse multiple behaviors for one click.)  Once we got on top of that little slope, I decided to ride him about a third of the way up the hill.  We continued with our plan, but the distances got longer and longer.  I was so happy it went so well.  I got off, and led him the rest of the way.  It was a great ride.

I have realized that I can work on a lot of my training on the hill and not necessarily cross the river.  It is much easier for Ellen, and I will be able to keep our lessons shorter.  Plus, come winter when we may not be able to cross the river, he will be a champion on the hill--unlike Cole that first year...

Trifecta's Second Trail Ride

 Trifecta's Second Trail Ride

The day after the first trail ride, we decided to do it again.  

He was very hyper, once more.  I led him down the hill, and he did do better than the day before, but his excitement level was high.  Once we got to the bottom, he got even more excited.  I took him right over to out lounging spot and had him do about 5 revolutions at a walk.  That really helped.  I then went to walking him back and forth.  He did very well with that, but after a few times, he swerved over to the mounting block.  He was definitely trying to tell me something.  As I tried to position him, he decided it was him who was supposed to step on the mounting block.  That certainly was creative...

Since he wasn't very cooperative, I decided it was time for a new plan.  I mounted from the ground.  I have done it before with him a few times, and he was just fine.  For added safety, I had Ellen hold the opposite stirrup to keep the saddle from slipping.

We walked back and forth on the trail at the bottom of the hill, and he was very good.  I decided to head to the river.  Ellen started freaking out.  It hadn't rained in a couple weeks, and the slate bottom of the river was very slippery with algae.  She was sure he would rush across, slip and fall.  (This is something that happened with Dante in his early days, so her fear was realistic.)

I conceded, hopped off and led him across the river.  Kevin met us on the other side.  I mounted and we went on a little ride.  Kevin had the lead rope hooked to his halter bridle.   I told him he could unhook it since Kevin was having a hard time keeping up with Trifecta's fast walk, but he was too worried that something would go wrong.  To accommodate Kevin's slower walk, we would take a few steps, stop to let him catch up and repeat.  It worked out.  We didn't go far at all, turned around and headed back.  

I dismounted to ride him across the river, and he refused to go down the bank.  Then he bucked in place.  I really don't know what that was about.  Did he not want to go home?  Did he just not want to walk down the steep bank or was he reluctant to leave Kevin?  It did take him some coaxing to get him started down the bank--and then he went really fast.  He crossed the river with no problem and I led him home.

It really was too hot of an afternoon to do this.  Leading a fast walking horse up a hill was tough, and I kept having to stop and catch my breath.  I decided that I should wait for cooler weather for our next attempt.

The following day, I rode him in the outdoor arena, and we had our best ride ever!

Cole and I get into a "Situation"

 Cole and I get into a "Situation"

Ellen, Kevin and I went out on an ordinary trail ride.  When we got to the second river crossing, Dante was giving her a hard time, so she told us to cross first.  Cole went right into the water and started to cross.  He is a very dependable river crosser, so imagine my surprise when he planted his feet and refused to step forward about one third of the way across.  

The way we usually cross is through an opening of large rocks.  The horses have to step down a little slope and then water gets deeper--but not that much deeper.  That is where Cole stalled out.  This was so unlike him.  I tried to get him to go forward, and he flat out refused.  Downstream a ways, where a tree leans over the water, Ellen had seen some fishing line hanging down.  This got me worried--were we tangled in some fishing line?  I couldn't see anything, but Cole was very serious about this.  Two year ago, we did get caught in some fishing line, Cole got cut and required stitches.  If there is one thing horses will remember is when they get hurt. 

He wouldn't go forward--and I didn't want him to at this point, so I thought I would try turning him upstream to walk along the pile of rocks.  He did turn parallel to the rocks--but stalled out and refused to do anything more.  We were in a "situation."  I didn't know what to do--and I was very worried.  If I asked him to do the wrong thing, it might result in him getting hurt.  We just stood there.

Ellen got off Dante and walked to the river's edge to see if she could see anything, but she couldn't.  I tried backing Cole up, but he refused that, too.  I was contemplating dismounting to see if there was anything in the water, but I would have to be very careful I didn't land on the rock pile.  It was possible, but tricky.  I asked Cole to back up again, and he did take one step--but no more.  I then tried forward.  He slowly stepped forward and I directed him over the pile of rocks to get back to where Ellen was.  She said he was lifting his hind legs very high.  I just trusted him as he carefully stepped his way through the rocks.  Once I got to dry land, I got off and inspected him.  I was so relieved that there were no injuries.  We then crossed the river via the ford and went on our merry way.

After the ride, we all went to the river to investigate.  We couldn't find anything, but the fishing line that was in the tree was gone.  We will never know, but Cole was very serious when he said there was a problem, and I believe something was there.  He must have dislodged it.  We cleared out some of the rocks that were in our crossing path and called it a day.  

Trifecta's First Trail Ride

 Trifecta's First Trail Ride

I have been riding Trifecta for about a month, and he has been doing really well.  I decided it was time to try him on the trail.  I picked a hot day with a low river when Ellen didn't have to go to work after the ride.  The last thing I wanted was to feel rushed.

Ellen was very nervous and balked when I said I might cross the river.  I wasn't nervous at all.  I knew I would only do what felt safe.  

I lounged him a little bit to test out his mood, and he was very calm.  I unsnapped the lounge line and attached the lead rope.  Ellen said she would carry the reins.  She took the reins and pretended to run off with them so I wouldn't be able to ride.  That gave me a good laugh, but I think she was serious.  I also think she wanted to have the reins so I wouldn't do anything stupid.

As soon as I stepped out onto the driveway, Trifecta transformed into a very hyper, energetic horse.  He had a little outburst before we even got to the street.  He hadn't been out on the trail for possibly several months since I was concentrating on getting him ready to ride and then our early riding training sessions--and he loves the trail!

He tried to trot ahead of me several times while I was leading him on the street.  My visions of riding him across the river started to dim...Once we started walking on the trail down the hill that leads to the river, he was basically dragging me.  My visions of riding him at all on the trail started to dim, too.

I kept asking him to stop and walk quietly, but at first he wasn't having it.  After many requests, he finally got it, and I was able to click him for good behavior.  After that, he was more sensible and I was able to click him more and more--and so he got better and better.  That all changed when we got to the bottom of the hill.  He became hyper, again.

The trail at the bottom of the hill is straight, flat and about a few hundred feet.  About two thirds of the way, there is the exit ramp for the river.  Tri loves going to the river, and he was in a big hurry to get there.  When I led him past it, he started to act up in protest.  That is when I realized my best path would be "demoralization."  That meant I would lead him back and forth on the trail until he settled down.

That wasn't easy.  He kept trying to go down the river bank.  He also reverted to his old, nippy self--grabbing the lead rope or even my arm a few times.  How long we went back and forth before I got my great revelation; I really don't know.  I do know I was getting pretty tired when I realized I could take the extra wide area of the trail and have him lounge around me.  As he walked circles and I rested, he suddenly settled down.  After that, I was able to walk to the end of the trail, turn around, go back to the wide area, lounge him at a walk for a bit and repeat.  He kept getting better and better.  I was starting to think I could do a short ride.

All this time,  Ellen was sitting on the mounting block.  She got up for some reason, and Trifecta did a curious thing.  He walked over to the mounting block--a mounting block I never used with him before--and just stood there.  I tried to lead him away, and he didn't budge.  Ellen and I both took that as a sign.  It was time to mount.  I positioned him by the mounting block, Ellen gave me my snap-on reins, and I mounted right up.

Instantly, Trifecta calmed right down.  It was the most amazing thing.  Ellen kept the lead rope attached to his halter/bridle, but it wasn't necessary.  We just walked back and forth and back and forth on the trail at the bottom of the hill.  We did click for good behavior--and we got a lot of it.  As a final reward, I asked him to walk down to the river where I dismounted, let him have a sip of water and he grabbed a fallen leaf.  All was good.  We had our first trail ride.

I led him back home, and he walked fast, but not as fast as he did on the way down the hill.  I think he was tired.  I know I sure was--I had to keep stopping on my way up the hill.  He didn't seem to mind taking little breaks.  Once we got home, I unsaddled him and let him eat his afternoon hay.  It was a very successful day.

The Rides Continue

 

The Rides Continue

I have been riding Trifecta a lot, and he is doing really well.  We are walking, stopping, turning and learning to walk along the wall.  My biggest problems is his reluctance to trot.

Trotting is my favorite gait.  I can trot all day and the smile will never leave my face.  I just love trotting.  It doesn't matter if it is a good trot to sit or a good trot to post.  All that matters is that it is a good trot.  Starry has a horrible trot.  He is cursed with a club foot that throws him all off balance.  Cole is great for posting.  Dante is great for sitting.  My old horse, Mingo, had a terrific sitting trot, and my old horse, Cruiser had an arena trot that was easy to sit and a great posting trail trot.

The question has been--what is Trifecta's trot like?  I was guessing it was very smooth from watching him, but that can fool you sometimes.  Starry's trot looks smooth, too.  I have been wondering about his trot for more than a year.  Finally, I am riding him--and he refuses to trot!  Oh, the suspense!  I think I started to ask him to trot around the fourth ride--and nothing.  The last thing I wanted to do was to ask him harshly.  I knew I could get it that way, but I want to do things gentle with him.  He is enjoying our rides, and I want it to stay that way.

I stopped ground driving him before his ride and switched back to lounging.  Everything we can practice with ground driving I can now do in the saddle.  What I wanted to practice with the lounging was trot transitions.  He knows the word, but I wanted him to know it so well that it would transfer to the saddle.

We were practicing the transitions a lot--reinforcing them with clicks and treats.  Then, I would get into the saddle, and he would act like he never heard the word before.  I was also adding a leg squeeze which he has learn to mean forward movement--but is it possible that he thinks it means forward at a walk only?

Each day, we would try again with the same results.  The good news is that everything else was going well.  One day, Ellen suggested teaching him to go faster with my legs.  With the help of clicker, that is what I did.  It didn't take long at all--I mean a matter of minutes--and he would walk faster when I asked him.  Yet, when he was walking fast and I asked for faster, he didn't trot.

All along, I felt that maybe it was that he didn't feel balanced enough with a rider to trot.

I decided he would like to walk over poles and around cones.  He always had fun doing things like that on a lead line and while driving, so I thought it would be great for riding.  It might help his balance, too.

The day we decided to do it, it was very chilly and quite windy.  When I lounged him, he was much more enthusiastic about his trot transitions.  All of our previous rides had been on very hot days--which was an advantage for the early rides, but it might have been a disadvantage for trotting.

He loved riding over the poles and all around the cones.  He did it very well, too.  We would ride through the obstacles Ellen set up, go do a circle and then go back to the obstacles.  One time, he was going towards the gate with a little extra oomph in his step, and I thought it might be a good time to trot.  Ellen thought the same thing, so it must have been a good idea.  I asked him--and he did!  I clicked him after just a few steps, he stopped and got his treat.  It was so exciting!

We circled around and went back to the same spot on the fence--I asked and he trotted--but then I made a mistake.  I got greedy and wanted a few more steps, and he stopped before I clicked him.  That made him confused because he thought he made a mistake and now he wasn't sure of what I wanted.  I tried a number of times after that with no success.  We went back to the obstacles. 

Towards the end, I suggested we just walk along the fence the full arena for a little bit.  We never did that before--actually, this was only the second time I rode him in the outdoor arena, and the first time was only for a couple of minutes.  The outdoor arena at our stables is quite large.  We went around, and when we got back towards the gate, Ellen said to try trotting.  I did--and he did!  I clicked him for it.  We walked another lap, and when we got to the trotting spot, I asked again with great success.  I clicked him for it.  I asked one more time and we went about 10 steps before I clicked.  This time, his head was lower and he was much more rhythmic.  He was figuring out how to trot with a rider on his back.  It was time to quit for the day.

I also got the answer to my question.  He gave me a lovely smooth and rather slow trot.  There is an odd sense of softness, too.  That is a great place to start.  Trifecta is going to be a comfortable riding horse; at least in the arena.  Like Cruiser, the excitement of the trail might change things.

Just as with his walk, he reminded me of Legs, the first horse I ever rode when I was just 5 years old.  Ellen and I both rode him later in our lower teens. It amazes me that I can remember how a horse felt to ride so many years ago, but Ellen remembers how he felt, too.  

The Time has Come...

 

The Time has Come...

Trifecta's training has been moving right along.  He learned to drive, became accustomed to wearing a saddle and a bridle, switched from driving in a Sidepull hackamore to a bridle with a bit and has been doing wonderfully on his walks in the park.  We were ready to move on to the next step.

After our driving lessons, we started heading over to the mounting block.  I would just ask him to stand as I walked up and down it--clicking him for good manners.  On the first day that I planned to introduce some body weight, Kevin volunteered to do it.  I held Trifecta while Kevin stood on the mounting block and leaned into him.  Of course, he got clicks for that.

The next day, I was the one doing the leaning, and I did it from both sides.  Sometimes he would take a step, but I just got off the mounting block, didn't give him a click and treat and did it again.  Tri soon figured out what I wanted.

Over time, I just kept adding more and more.  I flopped my body over the saddle and touched his opposite side as far as my hands could reach.  That turned into putting my full weight in the stirrup.  The next thing I knew, I was lifting my leg up to his back and rubbing his side with my foot.  I figured I might as well get him used to a sloppy mount--as it will happen whether I want it or not.

This all happened over a period of a couple of weeks.  I am in absolutely no hurry with Trifecta.  We got to the point where the next step would be to mount.  I was waiting for the right day.  I wanted it to be quiet at the barn, and I wanted Trifecta to be in a good place, mentally.

I had one day picked out.  It looked like rain, so I thought the barn would be quiet.  I rode Cole first, and we got soaked.  After that, I just wasn't feeling it.

The next day, Ellen, Kevin and I went for our ride.  When we got back, the barn was deserted.  I knew it couldn't get better.  I tacked him up, and we did some driving.  I could see that his brain was in the right place for it.  Truthfully, he is such a level-headed horse that his brain usually is in a good place.

We took him to the mounting block.  Ellen got this neat attachment to put on his bridle that connects his throatlatch to his noseband and it has a ring on it just like a halter.  She attached the lead rope to the halter piece, and I had reins attached to the bit.  I reviewed everything we had been working on, and he was perfect.  I then took a deep breath and told Ellen I was going to do it.  I carefully lifted my leg over to the other side and leaned forward on his neck.  I then slowly sat up.  It all felt so wonderful--but at the same time, it didn't feel real at all.  It is hard to explain.  I felt him shift his weight a little, but otherwise he stood still--just as I taught him.

I was clicking and Ellen was giving him good treats.  Instead of trying to ride him, I had decided to just work on mounting and dismounting,  After about a minute in the saddle, I dismounted.  It had gone so well!  I mounted him 2 more times.  Finally, I asked him to walk.  He didn't understand what I wanted, but Ellen gave him a clue by stepping forward.  He then took a really big walk step.  I clicked him, so he stopped for his treat and we called it a day.  And it was a good day, too.

Day 2

On our next training session, we started with a drive.  Once again, his mood was good.  I mounted twice while Ellen held the lead rope.  He was great.  I asked him to walk, and once again, I had to wait until he followed Ellen.  I did click him for it.  He stopped for his treat and after that he was more attentive to the walk command.  I love clicker training!  Ellen kept him on the lead rope, though we weren't worried at this point.  We started adding some "whoas," too.  For the most part, it seemed like he was following whatever Ellen was doing, so she told me that I should try without her doing anything.  He started listening to me.  At one point, I felt his walk get really steady, and he dropped his head down into a relaxed position.  All of us, including Kevin, knew what a terrific sign that was.  I got off, and we all gave him lots of praise and pets.  He was so happy that when I tried to lead him out of the arena to go back to his stall, he refused.  He wanted to stay for more cuddles.  The whole ride was probably just 5 minutes.

Day 3

After our drive, we went to the mounting block.  This time, I only mounted once since he has been doing so well with it. When I asked him to walk, he readily went forward.  I don't think he was listening to my legs, since he knows the verbal command so well.  We practiced walking and stopping, and I added a little bit of turning.  Ellen was still holding the lead rope, but she was interfering as little as she could.  He was figuring out what I wanted--and that is when I realized how much he learned from all the ground driving.  It was definitely time well spent.  As Ellen was walking next to us, I saw her unsnap the lead rope and we were free!  He walked a little and we called it quits.  I think we rode about 10 minutes.

Day 4

By now, I was feeling quite confident on Trifecta.  We stayed on the lead rope, but we practiced much more turning and stopping.  He was getting clicks for it, but as he learned new things, I cut back the clicks for the old things.  Since I was feeling so good, we let Bridget watch.  She was very interested in seeing us--but I told her she must remain quiet--a huge challenge for Bridget.  I didn't want Trifecta to be distracted--as he just loves people.  I was chuckling quietly to myself as Bridget was exclaiming her praise in a very loud whisper.  Trifecta stayed focused on me, and he earned all that praise.

Day 5

This day didn't go as well.  It was in the afternoon, so my assistant was Kevin instead of Ellen.  Tri just loves Kevin more than anyone in the world.  Most of my training problems that I have had over the last year have been caused by Trifecta trying to visit Kevin.  I didn't know how he would do if Kevin was right next to him.  Another thing that made this ride tougher was that it was close to feeding time--never a good time for Trifecta.  We started out all right, but after a couple of minutes, Trifecta was twitching wildly and acting fidgety.  I asked Kevin if he saw a bug, but he didn't see anything.  I decided to call it quits--thinking it might be equipment related.  I hopped off and checked the saddle. That is when I saw a couple of flies.  I decided to end it there.  I think that ride was a whole 3 minutes.

Day 6

I decided to ride despite there being a number of boarders at the barn.  Of course, I drove him first.  We opted to stay on the lead rope with Ellen, but she didn't do anything but follow along wherever I wanted to go.  We turned to the left, turned to the right, stopped, started, went straight and it all went well. This was the first time I felt like I was really riding him instead of being a passenger.  He was willing and truly trying to understand what I wanted.  Once again, I felt very satisfied with all that he learned while we were driving.  It was a wonderful ride.  I think we went 15 minutes.  Next time, I am going solo...