My Artwork

 

My Artwork

I have been putting my artwork here for quite a while, but I never gave any explanation.  I was one of those fortunate people who was born with artistic skills, but never had a chance to do anything with them.  They basically lay dormant for decades.  I never went to art school, so other than some very good art classes in high school, I am very untrained.

Since retirement, I have decided to wake up those dormant skills.  I'm not a very creative person, but I can draw from photos and that is what I do.  I like to think I am improving with all the practice.  I really like working in charcoal--and that is what this is.  When I want to use color, I have been experimenting with pastels, colored pencils and watercolor pencils.  Lately, I have added oil pastels, too.  The colors are great for flowers, and by practicing on flowers--I get better with colors.  Besides, I love flowers.

Not all the pictures are good.  In fact, I don't think many are good at all, but I am my harshest critic.  I just keep practicing.

If you are interested in seeing the rest of my pictures, here is a link to my blog:

https://retirementandbeyond.blogspot.com/

Tevis Fun

Tevis Fun

My sister and I signed up for the Virtual Tevis Cup again this year.  It started on July 24th, which is the same day as the real Tevis Cup.  Where they do 100 miles in a day, we do 100 miles in 100 days.  

On the day of the real Tevis Cup, I was watching the coverage online.  Wow, those are some amazing horses.  Most of them are Arabians or Arabian crosses, of course, but there were some other breeds and one mule.  All of the horses looked so fit.  They were just a joy to watch.  I wish I could have been there on Cole.  

But I couldn't be, so the next best thing is the Virtual Tevis Cup.

It won't be difficult for us to complete in the required time since we ride so much, but it is still nice to have a goal.  As you ride along on your trails, you log the miles in their website, and they will send you emails whenever you reach a milestone.  If you click on the links, the website tells you all about the milestone, shows you pictures and you can even see a 360 degree view from Google Maps.  

I just reached Watson Monument, the first milestone.

We have also joined the Facebook Group.  It is fun to read the stories that the other riders post.  They are from all over the world.  Some are very old--some very young.  Some are doing it slowly on older horses, and some are doing it slowly on very green horses.  There are so many different types of horses, too; not just Arabs.  Many of them wouldn't suit endurance riding, but they are certainly suited for this.  The Virtual Ride gives everyone a chance to participate, and I think that is so neat.

You can still sign up if you like, but you will have less than 100 days to complete the ride.

http://www.teviscup.org/VirtualWST-2021

Cole

  Cole

A First Time for Everything

 A First Time for Everything

Kevin, Shari and I decided to go on a long ride.  We expected it would take about 3 hours since it was very hot and humid, and we knew we had to ride sensibly.  

On the way out, all was going well.  Of course, Shari and Kevin were bickering; that is normal.  They were in the lead, and Cole and I quietly followed.  We kept up a steady, but sensible speed.  Since our horses are very fit, I think we sweated more than they did.

The trail goes close to the road in one section, and we saw a group of people, a horse trailer and a couple horses.  That wasn't a big deal.  As we got closer, one of the people called out Kevin's name.  It was a woman who used to ride at out barn many years ago, and after she left, we have seen her periodically when she trailered her horse to ride in our park.

As we got closer, we noticed that they were hitching up one of the horses to a cart.  We could all foresee a problem.  People are not allowed to drive their horses on our trails.  Consequently, our horses have never experienced it.  We asked them which direction they were going, and it turns out that they would be behind us on the trail.  Kevin explained that we didn't know how our horses would react.  They understood the problem and said that when we saw them, they would stop and let our horses negotiate the situation.  They shook their cart to show that they had very loud bells on it to warn everybody they were coming.

That was all I needed to know.  I was completely confident that Cole would handle it fine.  Though it would be a first for him, it wasn't for me--and I knew that Cole is usually steady with anything he can see.  That is just the kind of horse he is.  Shari and Kevin were worried, though.  Bella can be very reactive--she spooks at strips of bark laying in the trail.  Starry is a steady horse, but every now and then, he will see something that he just can't deal with.

We trotted down the trail.  as we approached our final destination, we decided we should give the horses a walk break.  They were pretty hot.  A few minutes later, since I was in the back--not bickering--I was able to hear the bells.  I turned around, and there was the horse and cart a couple hundred feet away.  I yelled a warning to Shari and Kevin and then decided to take Cole over to the cart to see how he liked it.

They asked their horse to stand quietly, and he did.  That was one well-trained horse.  I was quite impressed.  Anyway, Cole walked toward them with a lot of curiosity.  When he was just a couple feet away, his head went way up in the air and I felt him hesitate.  I asked him to continue, and he did.  He did it again just as we reached the cart, but once again he listened to me by lowering his head and continuing.  I just kept praising him and praising him.  Once we passed, I clicked him and gave him some carrots.

We turned around to see Bella, standing tall as only a National Show Horse can stand--stretching her neck out to touch to cart.  Shari clicked her and gave her a treat.  Bella was going to be all right, too.

Last, but not least, was Starry.  He did look nervous, but he loves Bella and will follow her anywhere. He did just a little dance as he passed up Bella who was standing by the cart, but it wasn't really a big deal for him, either.

We had about a half mile of trail left, so I asked them what they wanted to do.  I said we could turn and go home or follow the cart and make it a great training opportunity.  I was glad when they decided to follow the cart.  

Next thing I knew, Bella was trotting alongside the cart as they went down the trail.  Kevin and I were just walking and talking about the whole experience--and then Starry got upset--Bella was leaving him!  We asked them to stop so we could catch up, and then we walked and talked with them all the way to the end of the trail.  Not once did our horses act up in any way.  Training was successful.

There is nothing like following something scary to help acclimate a horse to something new.  As long as we aren't surprised, I doubt if any of our horses will ever be frightened by a horse pulling a cart.  It was a wonderful training experience.

They were going to take a break at the picnic area, and we decided to just go home.  We said our goodbyes and had an uneventful ride home.

Cole

  Cole

Cole

  Cole

Two Things that We Love to Use Clicker for:

Two Things that We Love to Use Clicker for:

I asked Ellen, if there were only 2 things that you could use clicker training for, what would they be.

It turns out we are in agreement.

The first is for cleaning feet.  Cleaning feet is a very important thing to do, but it isn't always easy.  Horses aren't always very cooperative--and even if they are--they might not cooperate for long.  You might even have a very good horse, but after a long ride on a hot day...it's just not a pleasant job.

With clicker training, it can become a very easy job.  You just have to decide how you want to do it--and then train your horse to do it that way.  Over time, I have gotten Cole to the point that I only need to stand by his leg and touch it ever so lightly.  Sometimes, I don't even have to do that.

He lifts his foot up and holds it there on his own.  I just steady it with my hand.  I can do both back feet from the same side without ever having to stand up to get to the second foot.  For the price of 3 treats, I can get his feet done easily and quickly.  (One treat for each front hoof and one treat for both back hooves.)  I can even do it with him standing outside the barn; unheld.

Clicker has turned an unpleasant chore into a joy.

The second thing is applying bug spray.  After years of torturing our other horses with it, we have horses that don't like it, but they will tolerate it for a few clicks.  They stand still and the only way we know that they don't like it is by the expression of their faces.  It not only makes it easier for us, but we like that they don't mind us doing it to them as much as our other horses did.

What unpleasant chores can you make better with clicker training?  

Clicker Trained Horses Don't Ask for Treats by Becoming Nippy

Clicker Trained Horses Don't Ask for Treats by Becoming Nippy

Most people are hesitant to train with treats because they are concerned that their horse might become nippy.  They are right.  Training with treats can cause a horse to be nippy, but training with clicker doesn't.

Clicker horses are trained to do a specified behavior, and when they do, they are clicked and get a treat.

They don't get a treat for begging, mugging or being nippy, so most horses don't even try those things.

If Cole wants to beg for a treat, he will do a trick without me asking him to.  He knows that might work, but he knows that nipping won't.

For the horse that doesn't figure that out and tries to nip or is too pushy when you are giving him his treat, you just need to change your treat delivery.  In the early days, I experimented with Ranger.  I clicked him and had the treat in my hand, but my hand was closed.  Nibbling on my hand didn't give him the treat, so he tried other things.  When he turned his head away from me, I gave him the treat.  We practiced it, so he knew he would only get the treat when he turned his head.

It only took one lesson.

He wasn't nippy, and most of the time when we gave him the treat, he didn't have to turn his head away--but he always remembered the lesson.  When he wanted a treat, he didn't nip us or grab at the treat bag--he turned his head away.  If we didn't give him a treat--he would just do it again.

By teaching a horse that they won't get a treat by nipping, but will get it by doing something we want them to do, in theory, it could actually teach a nippy horse not to nip.

Switching Horses

Switching Horses

It was one of those days for Ellen.  The planes were landing, the river was cloudy and she had a lot on her mind that had nothing to do with horses.  The last time she crossed the river, it was cloudy, too, and it took Dante 10 minutes before he would cross.  He is fine when the planes take off, but he tends to spook when they are landing.  

It isn't like they are always landing where they fly right over our heads, and we can practice.  This was only the second time this year that we had to contend with it.  Ellen's biggest worry was that a plane would go over us right as she was crossing the river.

Kevin had already crossed the river and started down the trail.  I was just about to cross when Ellen said she couldn't do it.  It was just too much for her.  I asked her if she would like to switch horses, and she looked too worried to even do that.  Cole walked up to her, looked her in the eye and said, "Please..."  How could she resist?  

We switched, rode down to the river and Ellen rode Cole across.  I wasn't going to put up with any of the games that Dante plays with Ellen at the river, so when we reached the edge, I told him to walk in.  Once he got all of his hooves in, he wanted to stop, but I touched him lightly with the whip and he went right across.  Ellen was amazed.  

By now, Kevin was nowhere to be seen, and Shari had caught up with us.  I told them to go in the lead, and we would just follow.  Since we didn't plan this ahead, Ellen's stirrups were too short and mine were too long.  We both felt a little awkward, so Shari said we would just "Do the Dante."  That is what we call going slow enough so Dante could keep up.

They trotted off, and I braced myself for the "Lambert Leap."  Dante is a Lambert Morgan, and when he is excited, he leaps into his trot--then settles right down to a slow, easy trot.  He gave me the leap, and I chuckled.  Out of habit, Ellen was expecting Cole to leap--and she did the whole ride, but he never did leap for her.

The ride went great.  After a while, we got used to our new mounts and the trot got faster and faster.  Dante is very smooth and hard to post.  At first, I had to stand in the stirrups until I got the rhythm.  Cole has a good spring to his trot.  Ellen said she could feel herself getting sore.  I said I could feel myself not getting sore.

Eventually, we caught up to Kevin and headed home.  By now, Cole started to play games with Ellen.  She said she was having some trouble figuring out which buttons to push.  I warned her not to click him every time she asked him to stop, but she didn't listen.  On the way home, I was ahead of her, so she had a new challenge; one she isn't used to on slow Dante.  She had to slow Cole down to match Dante's speed.  Cole figured out if he rushed to catch up to us, she would have to stop him--and then he wanted a treat.  Ellen had to work through that, and then she had to figure out how to slow him without stopping him--and she did.

I was just enjoying my smooth ride home.

We were nearly too the river crossing, and I told her we could trot up to catch up with Shari and Kevin.  She trotted off--and then I heard an airplane, so I stayed where I was.  It was time for the big test.

Dante likes to spin to the left, so Ellen said I should bend him to the right.  He was standing well as the plane passed over us.  (We are right by the airport, so when they land, they are so low that sometimes I wonder how they don't hit the trees.)  Just as the plane passed, the shadow went over us.  Dante tried to spin and I was able to keep him from taking more than a couple steps--but when he saw his friends up ahead--he tried to bolt forward to get to them.  I quickly spun him the other way and made him stand until he quieted down.

When the planes are landing, they usually come in 3's.  I caught up to everyone and Kevin and Shari started crossing the river when the second plane came over.  Once again, I held his head to the right and he stood until he saw the shadow and then he tried to spook.  He was tough to hold him, but I did it.

The real challenge was crossing the river.  I could wait around for the third plane, but what if it didn't come?  My other option was to hurry across and hope I made it to the other side.  The bottom of the river is slippery, uneven slate.  It is just not the place to have a dancing or spinning horse.

I decided to cross.  Ellen went first on Cole.  Just as he got across, I sent Dante in.  Ellen got Cole up to the top of the bank and out of the way.  I just got across and was on the shale island heading up the bank when I heard the plane coming in the distance.  I wanted to get up to the top because sometimes Dante tries to bolt up the bank.  I was determined that that wasn't going to happen.  The plane hit when we were almost to the top of the bank , and I asked him to stop.  He kept walking, and I could feel his power gathering up to spring up the rest of the way--so I spun him twice.  He then walked up like nothing happened.

At that point, I got off and we switched horses.  Ellen led up the hill, but I thought it was too warm for that, so I hopped on Cole and rode up.

We both had a lot of fun on our horses.  I got to enjoy a smooth ride and had the airplane challenge.  Ellen got to be with her best buddy, Cole.  He always seems to know when she needs him, and I think he would do anything for her.  

I can't help but wonder--was this just a ploy so she could ride Cole?  She denies it, but they seemed like they were having such a good time...

Clicker Training Makes It Easy to Train the Little Details

Clicker Training Makes It Easy to Train the Little Details

This is one of the things I really like about clicker training.  A good clicker student is always listening to you and trying to figure out how to get the click.  I like to use clicker training to improve the quality of Cole's movements.

If I am working on a behavior that Cole is really good at, I ask him to get better.  Let's say he is parked out, but he isn't parked out perfectly.  I want all of his feet square.  In the early days, sometimes he would have one foot further in front of the other.  He would look at me; waiting for his click.  Instead of a click, I tapped my foot on the ground.  He didn't know what it meant, but he tried a few things and finally he evened out his feet--and got the click.  

With a little practice, he now knows that if he isn't square and I tap my foot, that squaring up will get me to click him.

The details can even get smaller than that.  I won't click him when he is parked out unless his ears are pointing forward, and I will wait until they are.  These days, they are nearly always forward.  Of course, he can't turn his head to the side if he wants a click, either.

There are more practical things you can train the details on.  Sometimes we will be practicing our walk/trot transitions by doing a series of them with clicks.  If he swishes his tail on the transition, he doesn't get a click.  He doesn't get reprimanded for it, either.  He just doesn't get a click.  The swishing just fades away...

When we aren't practicing transitions but just riding around, I certainly don't click him for every single one--but if he does a perfect one, he will often get a click.  I like perfect, and I want it to happen, again.  The most likely way to get a repeat is the click it.

Clicker trainers just have to decide what is perfect and keep working to get it.