Friday, September 27, 2019
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Starry's New Trick
Starry's New Trick
Ranger's stall is right next to Starry's, and there are bars between them. Last spring, when Ranger was shedding, Ellen spent a lot of time in Ranger's stall; grooming him. Starry wanted attention--whether he wanted attention from Ellen or Ranger, we can't say. Sometimes he can be a rather annoying horse.
He has a Jolly Ball in his stall. (You know, those balls that people get horses that they usually never play with.) One day, he picked up the ball when he was standing by Ellen. She clicked and treated him. Of course, to get the treat, he had to drop the ball. Then, he picked the ball back up. Ellen clicked him, again, and a game was born. He kept picking the ball up, over and over again. If he wasn't annoying enough, before, he was now!
After a while, Ellen wanted him to do more, so she ignored him when he picked it up. He wanted to get his treat, so he put the ball into his feed dish. He struggled with this for only a short time before he figured it out. He would put the ball in his dish, Ellen clicked and treated him and threw the ball back on the floor. Starry then had to go find the ball and bring it back. When Ellen was bored with the game, she would throw it to the far end of his stall. He hasn't figured that out, yet.
Sometimes he would do it for me, too. Over all these months, we would tell Kevin about Starry putting his ball in his dish, but Kevin never saw it. Finally, it happened. Starry did it when Kevin was there. He put the ball in the dish seven times in a row. Kevin was elated!
This is a perfect example of how we can train horses with clicker training. In this case, Starry came up with the behavior and Ellen "captured" it by clicking and treating him. Once he got good at it, she then stopped clicking him for the initial behavior, and then Starry experimented to see what would get him that click. Then, by throwing the ball further away from him, the trick got harder for him. We fear that he will eventually figure out getting the ball when it is on the far end of the stall, too. Then we will be in trouble!
Ranger's stall is right next to Starry's, and there are bars between them. Last spring, when Ranger was shedding, Ellen spent a lot of time in Ranger's stall; grooming him. Starry wanted attention--whether he wanted attention from Ellen or Ranger, we can't say. Sometimes he can be a rather annoying horse.
He has a Jolly Ball in his stall. (You know, those balls that people get horses that they usually never play with.) One day, he picked up the ball when he was standing by Ellen. She clicked and treated him. Of course, to get the treat, he had to drop the ball. Then, he picked the ball back up. Ellen clicked him, again, and a game was born. He kept picking the ball up, over and over again. If he wasn't annoying enough, before, he was now!
After a while, Ellen wanted him to do more, so she ignored him when he picked it up. He wanted to get his treat, so he put the ball into his feed dish. He struggled with this for only a short time before he figured it out. He would put the ball in his dish, Ellen clicked and treated him and threw the ball back on the floor. Starry then had to go find the ball and bring it back. When Ellen was bored with the game, she would throw it to the far end of his stall. He hasn't figured that out, yet.
Sometimes he would do it for me, too. Over all these months, we would tell Kevin about Starry putting his ball in his dish, but Kevin never saw it. Finally, it happened. Starry did it when Kevin was there. He put the ball in the dish seven times in a row. Kevin was elated!
This is a perfect example of how we can train horses with clicker training. In this case, Starry came up with the behavior and Ellen "captured" it by clicking and treating him. Once he got good at it, she then stopped clicking him for the initial behavior, and then Starry experimented to see what would get him that click. Then, by throwing the ball further away from him, the trick got harder for him. We fear that he will eventually figure out getting the ball when it is on the far end of the stall, too. Then we will be in trouble!
Thursday, September 5, 2019
All Sorts of Little Things
All Sorts of Little Things
Nothing else happened in August that gave me enough to write about--except for some little things.
First off, Dante and Ellen are struggling with the second river crossing--and success seems to be right around the corner. His problem has been slowness from the very beginning. He is reluctant to go down the bank, step in the water and cross. He stops a lot, and he can be tough to get going. Ellen thought he was stopping because he wanted treats. She tried just pushing him through--and he kept getting worse. Her new idea is that he is pouting because he doesn't like crossing the deeper water and would prefer to go across on the ford. She tried one trip across where she clicked him for walking and gave him treats. The next ride--he walked across at least 50 percent better--and the best he has ever crossed that river. We are looking forward to our next opportunity to cross to see how he does.
There was one ride that was a little weird. We were with Bella and Starry. On the way out, Cole was very fast and kept threatening to pass the other horses. He doesn't do that very much. On the way home, he was even worse. What makes this odd is that on the past few rides, he was fantastic.
He was so bad on the way home, we decided everyone should just walk. About 20 minutes before the end of the ride, Cole suddenly stopped and urinated! That is something he just about never does on the trail because he goes before the ride. He kept going and going and going... Poor Cole, his bladder was bursting. That is when I remembered that he didn't go before the ride. After that, he was back to his old self. He had a reason to rush the ride.
This month, I had the opportunity to ride by myself twice in 8 days. I used to ride Cole alone all the time when I had 2 horses, but these days, I always have someone to ride with. I had trouble with him last year when I tried riding alone, so I was ready. He was really pretty bad the first day. He was crying as we went down the hill. Once we crossed the river, he tried to run at every little excuse. H
e even got scared of a car with a loud radio! I would just trot him short distances and stop before he got too much momentum. It always seems to help when he is all wound up.
The next ride--he was significantly better. We had a nearly normal ride with a "Cole Burst" only once, and that was right before we turned around to go back home. I am sure that if I continued to ride him alone, he would be back to his old self in just a few rides.
Here is some good news on the Bella front. That is just the problem--Bella always wants to be in front. Shari has been encouraging her to follow us at a walk all summer, and that has been going well just as long as we walk fast enough. When we would try it at a trot, she would try to burst forward. Well, last weekend, we put her behind Cole and Dante. Starry was behind her by a very large distance, but she did know he was back there. It seemed like a miracle when she stayed behind us as we trotted along. That was a problem that seemed insurmountable. It may have taken years, but there is now some light at the end of the tunnel.
Nothing else happened in August that gave me enough to write about--except for some little things.
First off, Dante and Ellen are struggling with the second river crossing--and success seems to be right around the corner. His problem has been slowness from the very beginning. He is reluctant to go down the bank, step in the water and cross. He stops a lot, and he can be tough to get going. Ellen thought he was stopping because he wanted treats. She tried just pushing him through--and he kept getting worse. Her new idea is that he is pouting because he doesn't like crossing the deeper water and would prefer to go across on the ford. She tried one trip across where she clicked him for walking and gave him treats. The next ride--he walked across at least 50 percent better--and the best he has ever crossed that river. We are looking forward to our next opportunity to cross to see how he does.
There was one ride that was a little weird. We were with Bella and Starry. On the way out, Cole was very fast and kept threatening to pass the other horses. He doesn't do that very much. On the way home, he was even worse. What makes this odd is that on the past few rides, he was fantastic.
He was so bad on the way home, we decided everyone should just walk. About 20 minutes before the end of the ride, Cole suddenly stopped and urinated! That is something he just about never does on the trail because he goes before the ride. He kept going and going and going... Poor Cole, his bladder was bursting. That is when I remembered that he didn't go before the ride. After that, he was back to his old self. He had a reason to rush the ride.
This month, I had the opportunity to ride by myself twice in 8 days. I used to ride Cole alone all the time when I had 2 horses, but these days, I always have someone to ride with. I had trouble with him last year when I tried riding alone, so I was ready. He was really pretty bad the first day. He was crying as we went down the hill. Once we crossed the river, he tried to run at every little excuse. H
The next ride--he was significantly better. We had a nearly normal ride with a "Cole Burst" only once, and that was right before we turned around to go back home. I am sure that if I continued to ride him alone, he would be back to his old self in just a few rides.
Here is some good news on the Bella front. That is just the problem--Bella always wants to be in front. Shari has been encouraging her to follow us at a walk all summer, and that has been going well just as long as we walk fast enough. When we would try it at a trot, she would try to burst forward. Well, last weekend, we put her behind Cole and Dante. Starry was behind her by a very large distance, but she did know he was back there. It seemed like a miracle when she stayed behind us as we trotted along. That was a problem that seemed insurmountable. It may have taken years, but there is now some light at the end of the tunnel.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Four Days Off for Cole--Mistake
Four Days Off for Cole--Mistake
I ride Cole nearly every day when the weather is good. We both seem to thrive on our schedule. Cole really enjoys his time on the trail--as do I. I do try to give him a day off a week, but things don't always work out that way. Sometimes he has a day off after 2 weeks--and sometimes I lose count.
Well, when your trails are hard and somewhat rocky, riding that much really wears the shoes down. Cole also has a little hind leg twist when he moves. The outside of his rear shoes get so thin that the heads of the nails wear off. My farrier knows just how to pound the nails in, so if there are still nails in his shoes, they usually stay on.
One thing I just learned is that my farrier goes around to other clients showing them Cole's old shoes--just to see their reaction. Yes, they are that thin.
Well, 4 days before my farrier's scheduled visit, Cole was in a very hyper mood. After the ride, I turned him loose in the indoor arena to roll and play. Play he did--he careened around and around with no urging from me--kicking as high as he could. Yes, even a horse that is ridden every day sometimes has way too much energy.
He threw a shoe.
We spent the next few days walking around the arena, doing tricks and grooming. I finally got his mane and tail combed out. It has been months since the last time, He was looking great.
My farrier came and shod him. We were good to go.
The next day, I rode in the park with Kevin on Starry and Shari on Bella.
Right from the start, I could feel Cole's excitement. The ride was going to be a challenge. As we were trotting, his energy kept building and building. We were in the last position, so whenever I started to have a problem, I just yelled up to Shari and Kevin, and they would walk until Cole settled down.
It wasn't long after we started to trot that Cole felt like he was going to explode. I took a stronger contact on the reins, and sure enough, he tried to pull his head down to buck. He did some small hopping things, but I succeeded in preventing a full buck.
After that, he seemed to settle down a bit. We got to our favorite stretch of trail, and I told them to go ahead and trot. It was touch and go for me and Cole. Once, he tried to canter. I warned everyone, and tried to stop him. He went slower and slower, but he was intent on cantering. Finally, it felt like we were cantering in place, and he tucked his hind legs way under him--and stopped suddenly. I had to use all my strength to keep from flying onto his neck.
We got to the next river crossing and turned around to go home. Shari's time was short, so we didn't have time to cross. The problem was that we had to get Cole back in the back. Recently, we were in this very same spot, and Kevin was in the lead. He wanted to stay in the lead after we turned around, so that meant Cole had to pass Starry. Though Kevin made Starry stand still, I think he swished his tail. For some reason, Starry's tail strikes fear in both Dante and Cole. This time, Cole took off running just as he passed Starry.
Cole didn't forget that event, so when we tried to do it again--Cole froze with his head up in the air--facing Starry. I warned Kevin, but Starry wanted to be with Bella--and he wouldn't listen. He started to walk past Cole--aggressively.
This shouldn't have scared Cole, but it did. He flew backwards faster than I have ever seen a horse go backwards. That terrified Bella. Shari shouted to Kevin to stop Starry. Kevin was in awe of Cole's reaction, but he did finally get Starry to stop. As we were going backwards, I bent Cole and that seemed to break him from his panic. We then went into the woods--far from Starry and had him pass.
The rest of the trip home went really well. We did have to stop trotting a few times when Cole got excited, but there were no more antics. When I got back, I let Cole play in the indoor arena, and he ran and bucked and ran and bucked. (I guess I should have let him do that before the ride.) He was back to normal the next day.
And that is what happens when Cole gets 4 days off.
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Friday, August 9, 2019
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Thursday, July 25, 2019
The Unexpected
The Unexpected
The other day, I planned to go on a ride with Ellen in the morning, but it was raining. We waited and waited, and finally, she had to leave because she had to go to work.
I still wanted to ride, and so did Kevin. We waited together for the rain to stop. Finally, it did, and we headed out on the trail.
It really didn't rain that much, though some places had rain the night before. The river was a little higher and muddy; but totally crossable. We crossed and started trotting out to the next river crossing.
It wasn't that long before I noticed the river looked a little funny. Our trail goes somewhat parallel to the river. Most of the time you can see it. It just seemed a little high. Kevin didn't notice anything, so I thought I could have been imagining it. I would just keep an eye on it.
A few minutes later, I was sure of it--the river was going up. I mentioned it to Kevin, and he agreed. We continued to trot on down the trail. I was thinking that it was already too late to turn around, anyway.
By the time we got to the next river crossing, the water was raging. We had a few choices--all of them involving walking home on the street. We could cross on the ford we were at and go home that way. The problem with that was it would mean we didn't have much of a trail ride, and much of the way there were no driveways to duck into if traffic got bad.
The next option was to go to the ford north of us and ride up our street to our barn. That meant riding up a long, steep road with cars whizzing by. I didn't want to do that, at all. We eliminated that option immediately.
Option number 3 gave us the longest trail ride. We would ride up to the trails by the show ring--out to the street and home on the road that way. It seemed like the safest way--and we even got the best trail ride that way, too.
We turned around and headed home. That did mean we had to pass up where we usually cross the river. Starry was in the lead and refused to pass up the trail to go home. Kevin had to circle him a few times to get him to go. I followed along. Just as we were passing up our river bank, Cole jumped, spun and tried to run down the bank to the water! It was lunch time at the barn, and he wanted to go home! I just spun him all the way around until he was facing the right direction.
Reluctantly, Cole followed Starry down the trail. All went well from then on. We did have a little trouble when we wanted to go up the very steep hill to get to the show ring trails. Kevin has to lead Starry up it, and since I still hadn't gone that way this year, I decided that would be the best idea for me and Cole, too. Well, Starry said he didn't even want to be led up the hill; and he started backing down it. Cole needed to lead, but he refused to pass Starry because he was being rambunctious. I showed Cole that he could follow me to get past Starry, and he was happy with that.
The trip on the street was only about 15 minutes, but since I don't like riding on the street, Cole really didn't have much experience with that sort of thing. Ellen said we did do it once, many years ago, just as a training exercise. I didn't really remember that, but it could explain why Cole was very good and surprisingly relaxed.
We made it home, safe and sound--and had a nice ride, too.
I guess it must have really rained hard upstream...
The other day, I planned to go on a ride with Ellen in the morning, but it was raining. We waited and waited, and finally, she had to leave because she had to go to work.
I still wanted to ride, and so did Kevin. We waited together for the rain to stop. Finally, it did, and we headed out on the trail.
It really didn't rain that much, though some places had rain the night before. The river was a little higher and muddy; but totally crossable. We crossed and started trotting out to the next river crossing.
It wasn't that long before I noticed the river looked a little funny. Our trail goes somewhat parallel to the river. Most of the time you can see it. It just seemed a little high. Kevin didn't notice anything, so I thought I could have been imagining it. I would just keep an eye on it.
A few minutes later, I was sure of it--the river was going up. I mentioned it to Kevin, and he agreed. We continued to trot on down the trail. I was thinking that it was already too late to turn around, anyway.
By the time we got to the next river crossing, the water was raging. We had a few choices--all of them involving walking home on the street. We could cross on the ford we were at and go home that way. The problem with that was it would mean we didn't have much of a trail ride, and much of the way there were no driveways to duck into if traffic got bad.
The next option was to go to the ford north of us and ride up our street to our barn. That meant riding up a long, steep road with cars whizzing by. I didn't want to do that, at all. We eliminated that option immediately.
Option number 3 gave us the longest trail ride. We would ride up to the trails by the show ring--out to the street and home on the road that way. It seemed like the safest way--and we even got the best trail ride that way, too.
We turned around and headed home. That did mean we had to pass up where we usually cross the river. Starry was in the lead and refused to pass up the trail to go home. Kevin had to circle him a few times to get him to go. I followed along. Just as we were passing up our river bank, Cole jumped, spun and tried to run down the bank to the water! It was lunch time at the barn, and he wanted to go home! I just spun him all the way around until he was facing the right direction.
Reluctantly, Cole followed Starry down the trail. All went well from then on. We did have a little trouble when we wanted to go up the very steep hill to get to the show ring trails. Kevin has to lead Starry up it, and since I still hadn't gone that way this year, I decided that would be the best idea for me and Cole, too. Well, Starry said he didn't even want to be led up the hill; and he started backing down it. Cole needed to lead, but he refused to pass Starry because he was being rambunctious. I showed Cole that he could follow me to get past Starry, and he was happy with that.
The trip on the street was only about 15 minutes, but since I don't like riding on the street, Cole really didn't have much experience with that sort of thing. Ellen said we did do it once, many years ago, just as a training exercise. I didn't really remember that, but it could explain why Cole was very good and surprisingly relaxed.
We made it home, safe and sound--and had a nice ride, too.
I guess it must have really rained hard upstream...
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