Tri-zilla

Tri-zilla

I took Trifecta out to the outdoor arena for a driving session. Ellen thought she would give me some extra challenges by setting up some poles and cones.  I led him around a bit, and we practiced a little on the poles.  When he first saw them, he got really excited and jumped up in the air.  I brought him over, and he immediately trotted over them.  He remembered all our pole sessions from earlier in the year.

I affixed the long reins and drove him around the perimeter for a bit.  He did very well.  When we got to the poles, he willingly walked across them, but when he got to the last one, he reached down to look at it--and then tried to pick it up.  The next time, he was satisfied with just pushing it around with his nose.  

We then tried the cones.  I wanted to weave in and out of them.  When he got to the first cone, he wanted to sniff it.  I let him, but then he picked it up and flopped it down on the ground.  Sigh.  Ellen fixed it, and we tried again.  We were able to do some weaving, but he kept grabbing at the cones--trying--and often succeeding in knocking them down.

As I glanced at the carnage, that is when Ellen called him Tri-zilla.

The rest of the session was even more challenging.  He kept trying to back up.  Sometimes, he stopped and refused to go forward, and for a while we were stuck at the gate.  That is when I realized I had been going at least a half hour, and I probably pushed him beyond his limit. I insisted that he drive nicely for a few minutes before quitting, and then we did.

The interesting thing is that the same thing happened to us when we were training in the indoor arena.  He had a few really good sessions--and then he had a troublesome session.  The following session there was perfect, and he has been consistently good ever since.  Maybe this is his learning pattern.  I will know the next time I try to drive him in the outdoor arena.

Our next goal, now that the weather has gotten so warm, is to start working on the street and the hill.

 My camera lens was smudged--and I ended up with some strange and kinda cool results.

Baby Driver

Baby Driver

Ellen, Kevin and I just watched the movie "Baby Driver."  Kevin and I had already seen it, but we thought Ellen would like it, too.  She did.

Anyway, I have my own "Baby Driver."  I have been ground driving Trifecta a couple times a week in the indoor arena, and he keeps getting better. Kevin and Ellen have also driven him.  I decided it was time to take him out to the large outdoor arena.

The outdoor arena at the stables where we keep our horses is very large, and there is lots of space for a baby to get in trouble.  There are 2 turnout areas close by, too, and on this day there were horses out in both.  I knew that could add distractions, but I have been trying to work him with distractions to teach him to pay attention to me.

I started out by lounging him a little inside, and he seemed like he was in a good mood for learning, so we took him out. He did tell me that he wanted to be turned out to play with the other horses, but I was able to lead him by without any big tantrums.  It is so nice that he is improving with that.

Once we got into the big arena, Ellen closed the gate and we hooked him up.  At first, I let him follow Ellen around to help him out, but soon Ellen stepped away and we were on our own.  He did really well.  In fact, the only difficulty I had was keeping him from going to see Ellen.  Trifecta really likes his people...

I didn't drive him long because I just wanted to leave the whole experience positive, so we unhooked him and turned him out to play for a while.  

I was just thrilled about how well he did.

I didn't drive him for a few more days.  We were in the indoor arena because it was a rainy day.  I was asking for figure eights and serpentines--and he was doing really well.  After about 15 minutes, Ellen and I both had the same idea at the same time--I should just drive him out the door.  So I did.

We have a very small loop that I drove him around and then we went over to the big arena again.  He was wonderful.  At no time did he get worried, rebellious, confused or unwilling.  He really seemed to be enjoying himself, too.

I love my "Baby Driver."

Leap of Faith

Leap of Faith

Kevin on Starry, Shari on Bella and me on Cole were out on a trail ride the other day--and we were having a great time.  It was one of those cold but sunny days.  All the horses were feeling pretty good--as they do on a chilly spring day.  Bella spooked a few times, but that is normal.  Starry and Bella adore each other and they love going out on rides together.  

On the way home, Kevin took a little side path that parallels the bridle trail.  Shari and I stayed on the bridle trail.  She was in the lead, then Kevin and I was last in line.  We were simply walking.

Starry suddenly reached down to grab something to eat.  I didn't see Kevin pull his head up or Starry step sideways, but I did see Kevin's leg hit a sapling.  The little tree started swinging back and forth. The best we can figure out is the tree caught Kevin's leg and pulled him off the saddle.

I watched in horror as Kevin slowly slipped to the ground.  It would have been an easy landing--but he never landed.  His foot got twisted and he was hanging from the saddle upside down.  At first, it didn't even register in my mind what happened--it didn't even seem real.  I expected him to keep falling, but he didn't--he just hung there.  I hopped off Cole, and we headed that way.  That is when I saw the small ditch we would have to cross to get there and knew it was not going to be an easy thing to reach Kevin.

At that moment, I realized that the best thing to do was put my faith in Cole.  I told him to stand and ran over to Kevin who was about 10 feet away.  When I got there, I glanced back to see Cole standing parked out like a proper Morgan just watching us.  He wasn't even trying to eat the nearby bush.

I turned back to Kevin and untwisted his foot and let him fall down to the ground.  I immediately ran back to Cole, clicked him, gave him a handful of carrots and told him how wonderful he was.

I looked towards Kevin, and that is when I saw Starry wandering over to Bella--without Kevin.  In the fall, Kevin dropped the reins.  I asked Cole to stand again and went over to catch Starry.  By then, Kevin was on his feet, and I brought Starry back to him--then ran back to Cole to give him another handful of carrots. I told him he was my hero--and I meant it.

Truly, all three horses were terrific.  They all stood when we needed them.  Though Cole was my hero for what he did--it was really Starry who was the most fantastic.  Once Kevin slipped off, Starry stood like a statue.  Bella was also wonderful.  She is a horse that spooks and logs and pieces of bark on the ground--yet with all the commotion, she also stood quietly.  All three horses contributed to averting a potential disaster.

I have spent a lot of time teaching Cole to stand without being held.  Many times, I have cleaned all 4 feet while he is standing out in the driveway after the ride so I can just put him in his stall, untack him and be done.  Lately, I have had him parking out while I open and close doors.  He was really responding to his training.  Still, allowing him to stand in the middle of the park did take a leap of faith on my part--and I am so glad it all worked out.  Kevin was unharmed, and we were all smiling on the way home.

Project Ground Driving

Project Ground Driving

As many of you know, I planned to teach Trifecta to ground drive.  He is the first horse that I have started that I used ground driving as a training tool.  I always thought it was a good idea, but  Cruiser was confused by it, Mingo didn't need it because it was all so simple with him and I skipped it with Cole because he was older and I just wanted to get to the riding.

I have a lot of time with Trifecta while I wait for him to grow up, and I needed something to keep both of us entertained.

Ground driving is a good way to teach young horses to understand reins before actually riding them.

To start, I wanted Trifecta to understand the word "walk."  We practiced it on a lounge line with clicker training to help him understand when he got it right.  

I planned to use a surcingle as he hasn't had a saddle on him, yet.  That is when I realized another benefit--he is getting used to having a girth without worrying about the weight of the saddle at the same time.  In the beginning, he was very fussy about it when I put it on him.  Now, he stands quietly for it.

I had my practice sessions with Dante to get used to handling the reins.  The trickiest part is to remember to loosen the outside rein when you ask him to turn with the inside rein.  My arms had to learn to work independently.

I am starting with ground driving in just a halter, so there was nothing for him to get used to there.

Everything I read about teaching a horse to ground drive suggested doing it in a round pen.  That is a great idea, but in the winter, the outdoor round pen is no fun place for a human on foot.  I would be starting in the indoor arena.

When I felt we were ready, I had Ellen assist us by leading him.  That helped him get used to the bare basics of starting, stopping and turning.  I did use clicking, but I was the one clicking and giving him the treats.

We had several very short sessions, and he was doing well.  The next time, I had Ellen unhook him and just walk with us.  That is when things started going downhill.  I don't know if it was because he knew the very basics and lost interest in the whole thing or if I was doing something wrong, but he started to obsess on Ellen.  He wanted to bite the lead rope if she had him hooked--and bite her if she didn't.  He could turn away from her, but if I asked him to turn towards her, he would take that as an invitation to play with her.  If she walked ahead of him so he could follow her, he just stopped listening altogether.  If she walked away to leave us to work it out on our own, he seemed to forget everything and just concentrate on either visiting her or the horses in the stalls along the walls of the arena.  We had several frustrating training sessions like this, and I started to get discouraged.

Then Ellen had a revelation--she had to vacate the premises--completely.  That is what we ended up doing when I was struggling to teach him to lounge.  He just couldn't pay any attention to me if there were people around--particularly his favorite people--Ellen and Kevin.

The day she left us alone, we had some struggles, but once he understood that I could steer him away from the horses he wanted to visit, he started paying attention to me.  We practiced straight lines, turning each way and halting.  I used clicker to reinforce everything, but once he started to be consistent, I faded most of it off unless he did something outstanding.  It is way to inconvenient to click all the time when ground driving.

Towards the end of the session, Ellen had to come through the arena and was afraid to even look at us in fear of distracting Trifecta.  By that time, he was getting so consistent that I told her to look and see how well we were doing.  She was as happy as I was!

The next few sessions we did, she stayed and watched us.  Trifecta is no longer obsessed with her.  We still had trouble with the other horses and going past the exit that leads into the barn, and there were times when Ellen stepped in to give me a hand.  We would work about 10 minutes a couple times a week when it was quiet at the barn.

And then the magic happened.  This last session was just amazing.  Everything just fell in place.  He wasn't perfect, but he was leaps and bounds better than he was in the previous session.  I found us going around and around the arena along the wall, turning both directions, switching directions--going past the problem spots and walking in a very steady, forward manner.  He kept turning his ears back to listen to me as I told him over and over how good he was.  It was just so lovely.

Ground Driving Snafu

Ground Driving Snafu

Ellen and I had our plan to introduce Trifecta to ground driving with the help of clicker training.  My first step was to teach Trifecta to stand still so I could attach the lines.  He didn't like standing still, but with a couple of sessions of clicker training, he learned it well.  His cue to stand still is me rubbing his neck.  That way, even if I don't click him, he enjoys the cue.

My next step was to teach him to move forward from the word "walk."  We did that on the lounge line.  When I used to use a whip for lounging, I just moved the whip.  We gave up the whip by this time, so I had been just waving the line.  Now, I only wanted to just use the word.

In the beginning, I would say the word and nothing would happen so I waved the line.  When he moved, I clicked him.  There has to be space between the 2 cues, and the one he knows has to be the second cue.  After he was getting this pretty good, I tried the word only.  He just stood there, thinking.  I tried a few times before he actually moved off at a walk.  Of course he got clicked for that.  We practiced it a lot more.  As we were doing it, I had him walk more and more steps before he got the click.  Soon, he was incredibly consistent.  Since then, we have worked on walk, whoa, walk, whoa, walk--then click--only with the words.  He is still not that great with his trot transitions, but I think he might just be a little lazy...

Anyway, back to our first day of ground driving.  We started out just introducing him to the reins.  I previously spent time getting him used to the lounge line touching his sides, so this wasn't too tough for him.  I ran the reins through the rings of the surcingle--that went well, too.  He stood like a champ.

The next step was for Ellen just to lead him, so he could get used to me walking behind him.  That sounds easy, but that is where we hit our snafu.  All he wanted to do was play with Ellen.  He tried to bite her, bite the lead rope, bite the long reins, dance around and bite at her again.  It was constant, too.  Those are all the things he was doing for me that was driving me crazy--before we started clicker training.  With clicker,\ those behaviors diminished precipitously.  

We found a big hole in his training.  He had learned only to listen to me. Ooops...

We called it quits for the ground driving lesson.

The next day, Ellen planned to teach him to lead. He started out simply horrible!  He was just as bad as the day before, but he added in prancing, dancing and threw in a temper tantrum with a small rear.  Poor Ellen.  These are not things she is used to.  She later confessed that she wanted to quit, but forced herself to keep going.

With clicker training, we are waiting for the right behavior--and when it happens, we click and treat so the horse knows he did the right thing.  Ellen struggled with Tri for what seemed an eternity, but was probably about 5 minutes--and then the miracle happened.  He walked a few good steps.  She clicked him--and he got a surprised look on his face.  It was as if to say, "You can play that fun game, too?"  After that, he continued to improve very quickly and soon he was walking beside her like a gentleman.

We practiced this lesson a few more days before we attempted ground driving again.  She cut back on the clicks, started chaining the ones that she was doing with other behaviors and clicking him when he was very excellent.  Now, we start most of our lessons, regardless of what we are doing, with a few minutes of Ellen leading him around.

The last thing I need is for my horse to only listen to me.  Soon, Shari and Kevin will be doing the same thing with him.  Leading like a gentleman should apply to whoever happens to be leading him.

Update on Trifecta

Update on Trifecta

Blogging has been tough.  Life has gotten very difficult, and my concentration levels have decreased.  If you may recall, my dog, Maggie, passed away in November.  At the time, my cat, Thunder, was doing pretty good.  He has never been a good eater, but he was eating more than ever for a while there--then he stopped.  I took him to the vet, and he has stage 4 kidney failure. This was quite a surprise, since his blood work from late August showed healthy kidneys.  He was bad enough that the vet said euthanasia was justified--though not necessary at that point.  

I decided to take a try at treating him to give him a chance.  I have had experience with this with my Siamese Cat, Indi.  Thunder was still engaged with the world--I thought he needed a chance.  Neither the vet nor I were very optimistic, but with a lot of care and the help of modern medicine, he pulled through.  It's been about 5 weeks, now, which is 3 weeks longer than I expected.  His kidney numbers have actually improved, but other numbers aren't so great.  His appetite is off and on, and that is the hardest part for me.  I don't mind giving him the fluids and medications to help him out, but it is all for naught if he keeps losing weight.

He is 17 years old, so I am realistic about this--but that makes my emotions that much worse.

There have been a few other really big, awful things going on that I prefer not to go into here--but they are also weighing me down.

It has been quite a roller coaster ride for me, emotionally, and the consequences are an inability to write and keep everybody up on Trifecta.  There has been a lot to write about, but I have missed it.

Here is an update.

Clicker training continues to go well.  All those things that he did that drove me crazy have nearly disappeared--and in a very short time, too.  He's barely biting at me, the lead rope and the lounge line.  When I lounge him, he hasn't been having his "temper tantrums" which included bolting, bucking and rearing.  He seldom tries to visit the horses in the stalls on the perimeter of the arena.  I can get him to go past Ellen and Kevin without him stopping to visit them--everything is just so much better!

We have started the introduction to ground driving.  He is beginning to understand it.  We only do it for 5-10 minutes at a time--just for something to do to entertain him.  Some days are better than others due to his short attention span.  After all, he still has the brain of a 2-year-old.

We turn him out to play when the weather permits, but here in northeast Ohio in February, the weather can be a problem.  I can't wait for spring!

He still seems to be growing.  Lately, he started shedding.  I have been wondering if he will be the light colored chestnut I bought or the darker one he became with his winter coat.  I like both colors, so it doesn't matter to me other than to quench curiosity.

I really need to measure him. I have a feeling he has reached 14.1 hands, and he is getting broader and more Morgan-like every day.  In fact, he is turning out to be quite the pretty horse.

My Little Baby

 

A New Direction

A New Direction

I suppose a lot of people are wondering why they haven't read anything about me using clicker training with Trifecta.  I just wasn't in any hurry about deciding if I was going to do it or not.  He is such a nippy horse that we have avoided hand feeding him from the beginning.  I didn't want to encourage more nippiness.

So, I decided to try training him the traditional way and using a lot of praise and pets.  He really loves petting.  It seemed to work for a while, but I wasn't very serious about training.  Once the weather got colder and turnout became more of a challenge, I decided I should lounge him more often and for longer periods.

That is when he started driving me crazy.  He is such a playful horse.  He wanted to play with the lead rope, the lounge line and my jacket.  It seemed nearly constant.  He destroyed one lead rope and was doing his best to destroy his new one.  He also couldn't focus.  Our indoor arena is the kind that has stalls along the perimeter--a constant challenge.  He wanted to visit every horse.  We seemed unable to get anything accomplished.  We would have a good day and the next would be difficult.  Despite the cold, I would be dripping with sweat when we were done.

And I wasn't happy that it seemed like we were always struggling with each other.  He wanted to do one thing, and I wanted to do another.

I decided that it was time to try clicker training with Trifecta.

We spent some time working on touching a target to teach him what clicker training was.  The next thing I taught him was to turn his head away from me after the click.  I didn't like him grabbing at my pockets, jacket or anything else to demand his treat.  We taught that to Dante and Ranger in the early days.  Dante will still do it sometimes.  Ranger used to do it as a way to ask for a treat.  Cole was always so polite about treats that I never bothered teaching it to him.

Trifecta learned it in one session.  He would still attack my pockets, but since he didn't get a treat for that, that behavior is diminishing with every session.

The other day, I decided I would start his official training.  My first command was to teach him to back up.  I realized that I never taught Cole an official back up cue from the ground.  It just never came up.  Once again, Cole is such a polite horse that I never needed to do it.  He does know how to do it from the saddle, of course.

I decided to start with Cole.  It was a day off for him, so we were just going to do some tricks in the arena.  I had been looking for a new trick to add to the mix.  I don't know why I never thought of backing up.

I brought Cole into the arena and after he did his share of silly walk and bowing, I told him to stop bowing for just one moment to try something new.  I gently pulled back on the halter and told him "back."  He knows the verbal command from riding.  He stepped back quite willingly.  I clicked and treated.  That was way too easy.  After that one time, I merely needed to say the word, and he backed immediately.  He is a genius.  After about 5 times, I changed our routine.  I asked him to back, followed by coming forward, parking out, standing while I stepped out in front of him--facing him and staying until I told him "come."  That is when I would click and treat him.  We just had one more action to our series of actions.  Cole was great.

Then we did more silly walk, side pass, bow, silly walk...When it was time to finish our session, as usual, Cole resisted leaving the arena.  He has so much fun, I think he could go all day.

I then went to get Trifecta.  We started with lounging in our usual manner.  He seemed very hyper and I thought if he moved around, he would settle down.  The hyperness was reflected in his lounging performance.  He was just awful.  I then thought that I would just go straight to clicking him for good lounging.  It took a bit, but he started to focus and walk around without grabbing at the lounge line, so I clicked him.  He stopped, looked at me in disbelief as if to say, "I get a treat for that?"  He sure did.  We did both directions at a walk, and I gave him a lot of clicks.  At first, it was only for a few steps, but we advanced to a full circle.  

Then I thought I would try it at a trot.  He went about a half lap, I clicked and he slammed on the brakes and did a happy hop as he spun to face me.  He was so surprised and happy that he got a click for trotting quietly.

We did a few more times in each direction and then I decided to quit because someone wanted to bring out her very hyper 24-year-old Saddlebred.  I thought I would give her space.

I took Tri in and brought Dante out to stretch him legs.  I thought I would spend some time to see if I could teach him to back with just the word like Cole.  He knows how to back from nose pressure and touching his chest.  I asked him to back a few times with the halter, and he did it consistently.  I would say the word first and then apply a little halter pressure.  Doing them both at the same time is confusing for them.  He was doing great, so I decided to try just the word.  I said "back," and he lifted up his front leg and held it in the air.  I waited for him to put it down, and tried again--getting the same thing.  I just ignored him.  Finally, he stepped back--about 3 inches.  Then he took his other front foot and backed up 3 more inches.  I tried a few times, but he insisted on doing the absolute minimum--unlike Cole who always tried harder--Dante tries to get away with less.  I decided he wasn't enjoying the game, so we quit.  I just took him for his walk about.

By now, the woman was done with her Saddlebred, so I decided to bring Trifecta back for his session in backing.  The first couple attempts were pretty tough because all he wanted to do was pick at me.  I just waited until I got the right response and then clicked him.  After succeeding 5 times, I decided to wait and see if he would offer it to me.  Instead, he continued to play with the rope and my jacket.  Sigh...

I stepped away from him to get a break, and he immediately started circling me at a walk--he wanted to show me what he learned on his first session!  I clicked him, and we practiced both directions a number of times.  I added trotting, and he was awesome!  I got him to trot several laps around before he was clicked.  I was so thrilled.

It was time to end the session, and I told him what a wonderful horse he was and started to lead him to the exit.  That is when I got the temper tantrum.  He didn't want to leave.  I didn't think that at first, but by the third unsuccessful attempt, I was convinced of it.  He was just like Cole but far more rambunctious about it.  Finally I did get him to leave and brought him back to his stall.

Later, when I thought about our second lounging session, I realized that I was doing it without a whip--and he didn't bite at the lead rope a single time!  Not bad for the first day.

Day 2

I  couldn't wait for Ellen to see my new horse.  In the past, she was barely able to watch us, because when he saw her, he would try his best to get to her or swing around so he didn't have to pass the area where she was watching.  This time, she was able to sit on the mounting block, and he never even thought of visiting her.

I didn't bring the whip.  I asked him to walk short distances at first and increased them each time.  I then did the same with trotting.  I did have a little trouble when I then went to switch directions.  I think he thought he would only get a treat for going the first direction.  I did a lot more short distances the second direction so he could see he would get plenty of clicks.  It worked.

Then we moved right on to the backing.  Right away, he was backing to light pressure on the halter.  Then it came time for him to try backing on his own so I really would know if he knew it.  It took a bit.  I had to have the utmost patience because it seemed like he wanted to try everything else, first.  When he realized that he wouldn't get any treats for chewing on me, he tried to back up.  I only wanted one step, but he gave me two.  I clicked him and let him practice a number of times.  Now that he knows it, we will go back to using a cue, and soon I will fade off the click and move on to something else.

I was very happy with the whole session, and I am glad to say that he wasa able to walk out of the arena like a gentleman.

I think that using clicker training with him is the right decision.  I think that he is smart enough that the things we were doing bored him--and he was trying to turn them into a game.  I was able to show him a different game that he likes much more.

Learning to Drive

Learning to Drive

I decided to teach Trifecta to ground drive.  I could tell he really isn't into lounging.  It doesn't take long for him to get bored and then he starts to get into trouble.  He needs something else to learn.  This way, he can learn all about reins before I ever get on him.

Years ago, when Mingo was recovering from one of his hoof operations during his never-ending hoof abscess, I decided to teach him to ground drive.  I couldn't ride him, and he could only be walked.  He was bored and needed something new to learn, too.

Since he already had been ridden for years, it didn't take long for him to learn, and we had fun.  As soon as I could ride him, I hung up the reins and never thought of it again--until now.

Trifecta isn't quite ready, yet.  I need him to be sharper with his go forward cue.  I remember when I tried it with Cruiser when he was just 2, and that is where we failed.  I gave up after only one attempt. 

I was thinking about it, wishing I had a horse to practice on before I tried it with Trifecta--and then it dawned on me.  I do!  Dante was taught to drive before Ellen bought him!  Not only that, but he has a quiet temperament, and I knew he would be patient with my fumbling around.

Ellen agreed with it.  One day, after our ride, I got out my brand new driving reins.  We left Dante's saddle on so we could run them through the stirrups.  He stood quietly while I assorted myself.  I ran the outside rein over his back and took the lounging position--that is what the book says to do when you first start a young horse.  I had the inside rein going through the stirrup, but with Trifecta, I won't do that the first time.  I will just hook it up like a lounge line direct to his head.

I asked Dante to walk, and he ignored me.  Ellen came to the rescue and walked with him.  I practiced "driving" but I know that Ellen was controlling everything.  Dante will follow her anywhere.  I told Ellen where I was going so Dante would go where I needed.  We practiced stopping and going.  I soon was in driving position, and we were walking all over the indoor arena--following Ellen, of course.

This worked really well because I got to practice my position, holding the reins and going in big circles both ways.

A few days later, we did it again.  This time when I asked Dante to walk--he just stood there and waited for Ellen.  Day 2 really was much like day 1, but Ellen didn't walk right next to Dante, so I was doing some of the controlling.  We practiced stopping and going, and it went well.  Finally, Ellen moved away from us and I was independently traveling across the indoor arena!  I only went about a minute, and I said we should end on that good note.

Dante was just so patient.  We are planning to do it more.  The better I get before I tackle it with Trifecta, the more success I will have with him.  Dante is such a treasure.

I thought of teaching Cole to ground drive for practice, but then I realized, he would probably just want to do tricks.  I certainly don't need "silly walk," "show trot" and bowing.