Dewey and the Obstacles

I'm so happy that I'm feeling so much better!  I've started feeding the horses myself, I only need help with lifting heavier things like water buckets, and I've delegated cleaning paddocks.  But I'm doing well enough that I moved some of the obstacles to the round pen so I can work with the horses at liberty on them.  The perimeter of the arena isn't fenced in yet, so until I can do horses on the end of a rope and I'm riding again, I'll be working in the round pen a while longer.

The Equine Comeback Challenge will be an obstacle course with a variety of things Dewey will need to demonstrate.  To prepare him for this I set up a small cross rail jump and a rope-style gate using a lunge line and jump standards.  I brought a bunch of lightweight pvc poles into the round pen so we have a box in which to practice turning and a chute of poles to practice backing.  I also have a piece of plywood to use as preparation for working over a bridge.

Dewey and I went to the round pen, but I didn't get any photos of him.  He was a little overwhelmed by all the new stuff, and wanted to stay close to me so I could explain things.  Any photos I would have taken would have been extreme close-ups of him asking what to do next!  He was very brave, ran around a little, sniffed everything on his own, then came over to me to see what exactly we were going to do with all this new stuff.

I walked him (still at liberty, no halter or ropes) over to the cross rail and he followed me right over it at the walk.  We did that several times from both directions until he was doing it confidently.  Then we walked over to the poles laid out in a box pattern, and he followed me in, did a very nice pivot on his haunches to the right, and walked out with me.  We went to the chute, which was just two poles set up parallel to each other.  We walked in, halted, and then I backed him out straight.  Once we were done with the poles we meandered over to the rope gate, and I let him sniff it while I wiggled the rope.  I then unhitched the rope gate, Dewey and I walked through, and I hitched it to the standard again.  We did this a few times from both directions, draping the rope on Dewey's body so he gets used to that feeling, too.  Lastly I jogged a little and hopped the cross rail, and Dewey went right with me, trotting over it as well.

I love how Dewey is so tuned-in to me.  He is sensitive and truly wants to do things right, so he pays really close attention to me whether he is wearing his halter or not.  I love to see this in a horse, that kind of sensitivity is wonderful, especially when it's paired with an earnest desire to do the right thing.  When things happen to make him nervous, he simply looks to me for reassurance and support, always making sure he is checking in with me.  If he wants to be this obedient when I'm on the ground, once I'm on his back he will have an even closer connection to my cues.  It's a great indicator that he'll be responsive and light as a riding horse.

One other fun thing we started is playing with a mailbox. I haven't attached it to a wooden pole yet, so I can carry it around with me relatively easily.  This morning I put a couple handfuls of cookies in it, then took it into Dewey's paddock with me.  He initially gave it a good hard look, but as soon as he smelled the cookies inside it he snurffled it all over with his eager horse lips.  I opened and shut the door a couple times, and gave him a cookie.  I carried the mailbox away from him, and he followed me.  I rested the mailbox on the top of the metal fence, and Dewey reached up and grabbed the door with his lips and opened it to get at the cookies still inside!  Highboy came over to his side of the fence to participate as well, while Cole just snorted and stared, insisting that it was a horse monster and Dewey should be more careful!  Dewey ignored Cole and just played with the mailbox.  Next time I'll put a magazine in the box as well and let Dewey mess with that some.