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...

A New Adventure

 Day 1

Meet my new cat, Fairy Floss.

Yesterday when I brought her home, I put her in the cat guest room.  Kevin and I both thought she would hide, as we were told she was a shy cat, but she didn’t.  We watched her for an hour; exploring every nook and cranny.  She did start to get crabby and tried to swipe Kevin.  At that point, we decided she was tired, and we left her so she could nap.

Oh, I guess I should go back to the very beginning.  I tragically lost Thunder, but I won’t get into that.  Let me just say that the cat who was supposed to live weeks after he was diagnosed with a fast moving, stage 4 kidney disease lived for just over 7 months.  My heart is completely broken.  He was my best buddy for more than 17 years, and I don’t expect to ever have a 

relationship with a cat that is as special as the one we had.  There is a huge hole in my heart.

I decided that the best way to fill it was to get another cat–one that needed someone to take care of her.  Thunder gave so much to me that I wanted to give it back to a needy cat as a tribute to him.

I was watching a cat on the Cleveland Animal Protective League website for a long time.  No one was adopting her–in spite of her singular beauty.  A couple weeks ago, they featured her on their Facebook website, and I found out why.  She was recovering from a bad case of Dermatitis.  Fairy Floss had a problem that no one wanted to take on.

Dermatitis isn’t fatal–but a condition to manage–and it can be difficult.  She needed me.  I needed someone to help with my emptiness.  She was also older–6 years old–and they said she was a little shy.  No one wanted her.  

When I went into the cat room at the APL, they asked if I was interested in a particular cat.  When I told the woman I wanted to see Fairy Floss, she seemed very enthusiastic.  She brought me to the cage, and the first thing I saw was a warning on it saying she could be sassy.  Well, I can deal with a little snarkiness in cats, so that didn’t bother me. I opened the cage and gave her some pets.  She seemed receptive until I rubbed under her chin, and she smacked me.  I tried again, and she repeated the smack.  That is when I noticed her chin was red and probably sore.  She was just telling me.

I took the card from her cage and started to leave the room.  Another employee saw me and asked if I needed help.  I told her I had decided to adopt Fairy Floss, and she seemed very surprised and happy.  I then went up front to talk customer service.  The gentleman opened her file and read me a long list of items.  She was surrendered back on February 2.  Her family had a baby, and she didn’t handle it well.  Apparently she became depressed and started having litter box problems.  She also had ear mites, blood in her urine and was so difficult that they had to put her on medication to calm her down for further diagnostics.  They couldn’t find the cause of her bad urine but did give her an antibiotic shot.  She also had the dermatitis–itchy skin.

She did find a home, but they returned her when her new owners realized they couldn’t afford to help her with her problems.  So after about a month, she was back in the cage–and it sounds like her dermatitis was much worse.  They gave her antibiotic shots and put her on steroids.  She improved, but no one was adopting her.  

When Thunder passed away, I was so distraught–not necessarily the best time to make big decisions.  I found myself sitting in the customer service area listening to all of poor Fairy Floss’ problems.  She was definitely a project cat–she needed me.  Was I making a mistake?  Maybe, but she needed me.

I told them I would take her, and that is when I was informed that there would be no fee.  She qualified for a special program.  Not only that, but they would pay $250.00 towards her vet bill.  

They took away my carrier to get her for me, but the man soon came back because he couldn’t figure out how to work it.  I went back there to get her.  They didn’t take her out of her cage like they did when Kevin got his cat.  Instead they told me to.  Okay, I am going to reach into a cage and pull out an unknown snarky cat.  I took a deep breath and did it.  She just melted in my arms.  They took my picture with her, and I loaded her into her carrier.  I started blathering about how I just lost my cat to kidney disease and he was only supposed to live weeks, but he lived 7 months and I just wanted to help a cat who needed someone.  I looked up and there was about 5 people there standing around, watching me without saying a word.  Then I said that Fairy Floss meant Cotton Candy, and I hoped that she was sweet and not named that in an ironic way.  They still stared.  Were they happy she was getting a home or did they think I was nuts for taking this on?  I’ll never know.  I just walked out saying, “I just got a cat.”

I brought her home and put her in the guest room.  I thought she would hide, but she explored and finally decided to take a nap.  I let her rest the rest of the day and just peeked in now and then.  Later in the evening, I decided to watch a DVD with her.  She was sleeping on a chair by the window, and I just let her be.  After a long while, she walked up to me, meowed, bowed and laid down next to me.  As I petted her, she started to purr.  She decided that she is my friend.

The next day, she acted like we’ve known each other forever.  

The rest is history.  She has turned into a wonderful companion.  I couldn’t ask for a sweeter cat–the name Fairy Floss is so appropriate.  She is as sweet as cotton candy.

I took her to my vet, and she was so well behaved.  I opted to get some blood work done that should show us what she is allergic to, and then we will work up a management plan.  

I unexpectedly hit the jackpot with Fairy Floss.

We are Getting Closer

We are Getting Closer

I have been very busy with Trifecta lately.  One thing that we have been doing a lot of is going for walks in the park.  There have been a few mishaps, but they have been my fault.  One day, I tripped on his leg and fell to my knees.  I wrenched my shoulder on the lead rope and skinned both knees.  A few weeks later, after my knees healed up, Tri stepped on my foot while crossing the river.  I fell on only one knee that time, but I did skin it up pretty badly.

Both times I fell, Trifecta just stood there and watched me.  After the second fall, I realized that I wasn't insisting that he stay away from me--it was his closeness that caused me to fall.  After that, I added that to our training.  With the help of clicker training, he started to understand what I wanted in the first lesson.  He still tends to crowd a little on the river, but at least I am very aware of my feet when we are crossing.

One day, he really impressed me.  We were walking along, and he stopped to look across the river.  Something really caught his attention. I looked and didn't see a thing.  He started to move on, but I insisted that we continue looking to satisfy my curiosity.  On the opposite side of the river, there is a lot of dense foliage.  As I stared at it, I was finally able to make out the partial outlines of what appeared to be a brown dog.  Since there was no one around--and there isn't even a trail over there--I decided it must have been a coyote.

I just loved the fact that he was alerted that something was there, observed without fear and just decided on his own that it was no big deal.  He truly has a good head on his shoulder.

The spooks have been few and far between.  We spend a lot of time along a fence on the trail.  Immediately on the other side of the fence is the paved all purpose trail and the road.  He is getting exposed to all sorts of traffic, bikes, pedestrians, dog walkers and motorcycles.  He did spook one day at a person riding an electric scooter--but that was forgivable.  Those scooters really look weird because the rider is moving while standing still.

Another day, he spooked at a motorcycle, but it was one of those odd situations.  (This has happened with Dante and Cole, too.)  We ride very close to the airport, and when there is a plane coming over, we can't hear anything else.  Well, a loud motorcycle was coming our way, and we didn't know it.  When the plane passed by--suddenly there was a roaring motorcycle!  He spun around me, but settled down right away.  What is cool is that he didn't try to pull away at all.  It was evident he wanted to stay with me--but at the same time he didn't crowd me as some young horses will.  He is such a good boy.

There is one part of the trail that confuses him a little.  The trail is still next to the all purpose trail and the street, but our trail is lower than they are.  He sees the cars, bikes and pedestrians above him.  It just causes him to worry.  Each time we go there, he gets better.  I allow him to stand and look at things.

When Ellen and Kevin are walking with us on the trail, he gets so excited to be with his friends!  Sometimes I have trouble keeping him ahead of them.  If we follow them, he wants to cuddle and play.  This is just the kind of problems you have to deal with when you have a horse that loves people--and he loves people.

Other lessons we are adding to his training include standing at the mounting block while I walk up it and lean on his back.  That is going well.  I have also just started introducing a bit.

At first, I just held a bit in front of him and when he put it in his mouth, I clicked and treated him.  We did that over and over.  Then, I put it on a bridle, clicked him for bridling and took it off.  When he was good with that, I left it on and tossed treats in his feed dish.  I would leave him bridled for the time that I was saddling up Cole for his ride.  I did that a number of times.

Finally, one day I bridled him, placed a halter over top of it, led him around and did a little lounging.  He fussed a little, but he didn't keep it up long.

The next training session, I did the same but added the driving reins.  I have been driving him in a sidepull hackamore.  This time, I drove him with the halter.  Towards the end of the session, we switched the reins to his bridle.  At first, he fussed about--but it only lasted about 30 seconds.  We did some walks and whoas.  I started to click him for good behavior--just as I did when I was first teaching him to drive.  For the most part, I have faded off the clicking during driving unless he does something exceptional.  Since we were doing something very new, I added it back in.  

He needed to learn to turn, so we turned and clicked about 4 times in each direction.  When he seemed to understand what I wanted, I did a zigzag followed by a halt and ended for the day.  It was a great first session driving with a bit.

I've not been doing anything fast, but we are still rapidly approaching the big day.  I will not hurry.  I have no deadline.  When he is ready, I will know it--and then wait a few more sessions to be sure...