Grace By the Numbers

By the numbers...

2 - number of days at Bit of Honey Training LLC
Grace arrived here on Sunday and today is Tues.

45 - the number of days I have to train Grace before presenting, competing, and selling her at Rocky Mountain Horse Expo

4 - Number of training sessions Grace has participated in
Grace and I have been spending time together in the early morning and late afternoon, in that brief time of day that the wind slows to less than 20mph. 

15.1 hands - Grace's height at her withers, measured in hands (1 hand = 4")

76" - Grace's blanket size

About 20 - Grace's age.  I received an email from one of her previous owners, and using the information they gave me on her history, after reviewing her paperwork, after looking at her teeth, and after having the vet look at her teeth with her sedated for a better view, Grace is definitely around 20 years old.  This is unusually old for a horse to begin under saddle training.  It makes her name all the more appropriate, seeing as she'll need some grace to accomplish all that she'll be asked to learn.  We'll of course just go at her pace, and encourage her in what she is able to do. 

Does this saddle pad make my butt look big?

So far Grace is proving to be a living example of several old lady sayings.  She is Grace Under Pressure.  Her temperament is proving to be Amazing Grace.  If and when we find her a forever home it will be her Saving Grace.

Today we repeated the grooming we did yesterday, with Grace feeling slightly less timid about the grooming tools.  I made sure to groom thoroughly under her belly and just behind her front legs, since she has been most sensitive there and I want her used to the sensation so when the girth is fastened it won't bother her.  After getting her cleaned up I let her have some time to sniff and inspect the saddle pad, surcingle, and girth.  She wasn't worried, just curious.  She stood quietly while I placed the equipment on her and fastened buckles.  I then left her tied for a little bit while I went to the tack room to retrieve my lunge line and whip.  She stood like a rock.

I went back to untie her, and she wasn't sure if it was possible to move with this stuff strapped around her middle!  With a little coaxing she carefully followed me out to the round pen.  The geldings all grouped around again for moral support.  Today she was more confident and actually made some faces at the boys telling them she didn't need them after all!  We reviewed walk, trot, and whoa voice commands, and she had a great memory for the transitions between walk and trot.  Cantering is a little hard for her, circles are definitely more challenging for a horse than going in a straight line.  We got a couple strides of canter, and all of this while wearing the pad and surcingle.  She didn't worry about the equipment at all once she realized she could move normally while wearing it.

After the round pen Grace followed me into the big arena.  We practiced with me leading from her right and from her left side.   She was unsure about me being on her right, but got used to it fairly quickly.  She undoubtedly got the draft horse brain when she was born.  She is not spooky, not jumpy, not reactive at all.  If something concerns her, she takes a few moments to look at it, think about the situation, and plan how best to deal with it.  For example, we walked towards my tires that I keep in the arena for an obstacle.  She made some funny faces at them, trying to look at them out of all parts of her eyes.  A horse's vision is very different from a human's in that they always have upside-down bifocals on.  A horse sees up close out of the top of the eye, and far away out of the bottom of the eye.  That's why when something scary lurks on the horizon a horse will lift its head WAY up to see it out of the bottom half of the eyeball.  If something scary is up close she will tilt her head to look at it out of the top of the eyeball.  Grace is very thoughtful and draft-like in her assessment of scary things.  She looked at the tire, then stood quietly waiting to see if it was going to do anything.  The tire just stayed put of course, and I led Grace around the tires and the mounting block in a large circle.  As she relaxed I made the circle smaller.  When the circle got small enough she touched the mounting block with her nose and then tasted it.  Finding it not very delicious she continued walking around with me.  Then I started to cut my circle in half, walking between the tires.  Grace followed me.  After doing that a couple times I began walking OVER the tires.  She followed me after a brief pause to consider how she wanted to position her feet as she went over.  With enough time to consider the situation and reason through the challenge she is truly Grace Under Pressure.  This is the essence of the draft horse brain, they think things through slowly, but once they understand they don't worry about it again. 

When we were done in the arena we went back to her paddock to await the vet.  Dr. Allen Landes with Equine Medical Services is the primary veterinarian for Bit of Honey Training and is one of our most valuable resources with rehabilitating and training horses.

Dr. Landes, Grace, and Kim

He gave her a Rabies vaccination since we definitely have Rabies in the Fort Collins area and we want her protected.  Then I had him look at a cloudy white spot on her left eye.  She doesn't seem to have any vision problems, and on closer inspection it appeared to be a very old injury that had healed leaving only the small white spot as a scar.  

Investigating her L eye

Then we began her dental work.  By this time I had reviewed my information and discovered her somewhat advanced age, and I wanted Dr. Landes to give me his thoughts on her age by her teeth as well.  After a thorough oral exam and inspecting both incisors and molars he agreed that she must be around 20 years old.  

Dr. Landes did some light filing of the sharp points on her teeth using hand files (called floats), and balanced her mouth by filing her incisors.  He checked her TMJ (jaw joint) and it was fine, and measured how her incisors meet with her head in an upright position and also reaching down.  This careful assessment of dentition is one of the reasons we love Dr. Landes, because problems undetected in a horse's mouth can cause all kinds of issues in the horse's body and behavior.  Doing her dental today ensures that her mouth is ready for the bit and is comfortable for chewing. 

Tonight Grace and I will do some more grooming and perhaps introduce spray bottles in an attempt to get this white horse to look white!