Trifecta Moves on to the Next Phase

 Trifecta Moves on to the Next Phase

As you can see in the photo, Trifecta now wears a saddle.  It was the easiest thing with the help of clicker training.  He decided that saddling is a fun game.

Ellen had an old saddle with a girth--I added Cole's old plaid saddle blanket.  It is my favorite one, but we used it so much that it has several rips and it was time to retire it.  His whole ensemble is perfect for touching, biting and chewing.

I kept him in his stall for the first saddling.  He was already familiar with the feel of a saddle pad, but I reviewed it with him just the same.  I flopped it on a few times.  He didn't care in the least.

I then brought the saddle to him.  First I showed it to him.  It only took 2 seconds before he started to nibble it.  He also sniffed it all over.  As I gently set it on his back, I clicked and treated.  I lifted it up and put it down a number of times--clicking each time.  He didn't care at all--he just wanted his treats.  I tried hooking the girth up.  Since I was unfamiliar with the whole set up, it took a while of me fumbling around, but he didn't mind.  Finally I got it hooked up.  I clicked him for his good behavior.  Since I have been ground driving him with a surcingle, it was a familiar feeling for him.

Then, I was time to go on a walk about.  He acted like he wore a saddle every day of his life.  We then did a little lounging at a walk and trot so he could get the feel of that, too--no problem.  Trifecta didn't let me down.  This is how I expected this lesson to go from the beginning.  With his good attitude and the help of clicker, I couldn't imagine it going wrong.

Driving Mr. Cole

Driving Mr. Cole

I was planning to wait until winter to teach Cole to drive, but I decided I couldn't wait that long.  It was his day off, and he said he wanted to do tricks.  I thought he might like to learn a whole new trick--ground driving.

I got Trifecta's equipment out.  Cole wasn't worried at all about the surcingle because he is used to a girth.  He did seem a little puzzled when I hooked up the driving reins, but he stood for it.  I knew it would be easier for Cole to learn it than Trifecta since Cole knows his vocal commands and how reins work very well.

I stepped behind him and asked him to "walk."  He decided to back up.  After a few steps, I repeated the command and he repeated to back up a few steps.  This happened a few times and then noticed an opportunity.  We were getting awfully close to the wall in the arena.  I stepped aside, asked him to "walk" and he stepped into the wall.  He stopped.  I asked him again, and he took a step forward.  I clicked and treated him.  I repeated and he took 2 steps. I clicked and treated.  Next time, it was 5 steps before I clicked.  After that, I just told him how good he was.

After walking around a few laps and just turning in the corners, I decided it was time to turn him away from the wall.  He was a little confused at first and tried to do a side pass.  I asked him again and he got it, so I clicked.  We did it a few times more with clicks--each time I would wait for him to do more steps.

I switched to the other side, and again there was a little confusion.  I watched as Cole did a lovely turn on the haunches.  When that didn't work he just turned and I clicked him--but both his side pass and his turn on the haunches gave me the idea of potential things we can train for in the future.

Before I knew it, we were doing zigzags at a walk.  I didn't ask for the trot at all.  We could save that for another day.  In 15 minutes, he was better than Trifecta was after 2 weeks--but that was only because he already knows the very things I was using ground driving to teach to Trifecta.  It was a lot of fun, and we will be doing it again.  Cole seemed to enjoy it--he loves learning and getting treats.  I really do think it will be a wonderful project for those chilly days next winter.

We Went Down to the River...

We Went Down to the River...

Last summer, I walked Trifecta down to the river and let him play in the water at least a half a dozen times.  We would just walk in the water right along the edge.  He did well with it, but then it got cold and I no longer wanted to get wet.  I was in no hurry to get him in the water in the spring for the same reason.

Finally, the weather was warm enough and the river was low enough to take him down the hill to play in the water. 

Recently, our friend's champion racehorse turned broodmare started a new career at the age of 20.  She became a trail horse. We saw her out on her first day across the river.  I was reminded of Cole's first time.  The day he was willing to cross to the other side, when we turned around to go back home, he was afraid to go back into the water.  I told the Thoroughbred rider about that, and maybe I put a curse on her because when we got back to the river on the way home, we saw her perched on the river bank--refusing to cross.  In the end, someone had to pony her across.  She has been fine ever since, but it was a reminder to me about Cole's first time.  He wasn't comfortable enough in the water to cross that day.  I wanted to make sure Trifecta was.

So that meant that I made multiple trips down to the water.  We gradually went further out until we reached the halfway point. I probably didn't have to do all this.  At no time, did he seem worried about the river.

The day came when I felt we should give it a try.  I didn't tell Ellen--or at least I didn't think that I did.  She said that when I told her I was going to take him down to the river that I did say "cross the river."  That was a Freudian slip!

Anyway, I led him to the river's edge, and instead of letting him meander about, I asked him to step right in.  He paused and then took the step.  I did click him for that.  We continued to walk around and around--getting closer to the center.  I could see that he was very willing so I straightened him out and asked him to go across.  Of course he did--that was no surprise. The surprise was his reaction on the other side. He got so excited!  His head was up--he looked down the trail to the left and down the trail to the right.  He wasn't afraid but I felt like he was going to do the "happy dance" at the end of the lead rope.  He thought it was great fun.

I led him a little way down the trail to where there is a fence on one side of it.  On the other side of the fence, there is the paved all purpose trail and on the other side of that is the street.  We call it "The Fence."  I feel it is a perfect place to expose horses to just about everything they will find on our very busy bridle trails.

We only stayed a few minutes, but in those minutes we saw 4 cars, a bike and a motorcycle.  He just watched with his eyes big and his head way up like a Saddlebred--unafraid but very curious.  It is as if he discovered that there is a big world out there that he had no clue existed.  

We turned back to go home.  There was Ellen on the other side of the river; waiting for us.  Tri crossed like a champ and we went back up the hill.  Trifecta is so funny.  He loves going out in the park so much that he walks incredibly fast on the way out--but then he walks much slower on the way home.  I am glad since the way home is uphill!  

We will keep crossing on foot until it is time to ride.

Improving My Mount

Improving My Mount

Some of you may recall that I broke my wrist a year and a half ago.  After the operation to add 2 plates and 10 screws and several months of physical therapy, it healed up beautifully.  It never hurts and works as good as ever.

Since I had a weight limit on it long after the splint was removed, whenever I rode, I had to mount with a mounting block.  I was really worried that I would have trouble mounting from the ground, but I was still able to do it.  It just wasn't as easy as it was in the past. 

A lot of people frown on mounting from the ground--as it puts pressure on the back--and I get it.  Mounting using a mounting block makes more sense--it is easier and better for the horse--but what if you are out on the trail with nothing you can use for a mounting block?  I feel it is an important skill for a trail rider.  Since I am the only one in my group of riders that can do it, I am able to help everyone when they drop something--I can pick it up.  It happens fairly often.  

It seems that I have been struggling to mount lately, and I was thinking that maybe it was time to give up.  I have been using my hand on Cole's withers way too much to pull myself up.  What happened to my spring?  Has age caught up with me?  What to do?

I started to experiment.  At first, I thought if I increased my hops before hopping up, I would strengthen my ankle and be able to mount lighter.  That didn't seem to help that much.  After 4 or 5 hops, my ankle would be too tired to give me a good hop.  

Then, one day by accident, I sunk down too low on my last hop--and flew up into the air and landed lightly in the saddle.  Now what did I just do?

The next day, I bent my knee before I hopped, and it happened again.  That is when I realized my mistake all along was thinking I could hop up from my ankle.  Duh...I needed to use my whole leg.  My ankles might not be that strong, but with all this riding, my legs sure are.  It seemed like a miracle.   Maybe my body forgot about it when I was only using a mounting block during my wrist recuperation--or maybe I used to have much springier ankles in the past.  I am not sure.

I told Ellen about it.  She needs to use a mounting block, or I will hole her stirrup on the other side when she mounts from the ground.  She is a much better mounter than she thinks because I barely feel a tug on the stirrup when she mounts.  Well, she tried it that day when she mounted after leading Dante across the ford--and she said it was much easier.  She also used it when she used the mounting block, and she said it helped her then, too.

I told Kevin all about it.  He never noticed my mounting was getting bad.  He never noticed my extra hopping.  He was clueless.  Then next time we rode together, he came over to watch--and I completely flubbed up and caused the saddle to slip!  I must have over thought it.  

Since then, I have continued to improve.  So if you are mounting from the ground or a mounting block, bend your knee a bit and use that to help push off.  It is a lovely feeling to fly up into the saddle like I did back when I was a teenager...

Continuing with Baby Driver

 Continuing with Baby Driver

Why didn't anyone tell me that ground driving was so fun?  Now that we got through the initial introduction to it, he seldom has any big misbehaviors.  In fact, he had one really bad day where he tried everything in his bad horse arsenal, and I just patiently worked through it and ended on a good note.  Well, that was it.  He has been super ever since.  (This is something that has happened in other parts of his training, too.  He has a really bad day right before he gets really good.)

I really enjoy ground driving, and Trifecta seems to, also.  When we are walking, he gives me such a lovely, free flowing, forward walk.  He is usually very attentive to me, too.  His mind seldom wanders away like it used to when we were lounging.  We sometimes have troubles in the indoor arena with him wanting to visit the horses in the stalls along the perimeter of it.  He usually does better in the outdoor arena. The only real trouble I have out there is that he can be distracted by the horses in the turnout areas--but the distraction usually doesn't last that long.

We walk all sorts of figures.  I have to coordinate myself to switch sides when we switch directions--he pays very close attention to where my body is.  

Lately, we have added in some trotting.  That is more challenging, of course, but mostly for me.  I have to be quicker on my feet to stay in the correct position.  He doesn't have a really fast trot when we are working, and that is an advantage for me.  Just the same, when we trot, we do very few straight lines.  Instead, we do circles, half circles, serpentines and figure eights.  We also do walk, whoa, walk trot transitions.  It is just so fun.  I feel like I am riding because these are all things I would be doing if I was riding him.

I am driving him with a surcingle and a side pull hackamore, and it is working very well.  Eventually, I will switch to a bit, but there is no hurry.  Riding is still a long way in the future, so the saddle and bridle can wait for a while.  

He is just learning so much from this.  He is getting used to having a girth around his belly--and standing still while I put it on.  (Clicker training is very useful for that.)  He is learning how reins work, extending out his attention span, working with distractions, standing still when we attach the reins, standing still when he gets tangled in the reins, standing still when we untangle him from the reins and having me work with him from behind which is very similar to working with me above him. 

This has been so worthwhile!

I am teaching Cole to ground drive next winter...

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.