Faline's Training Summary

Faline is just about ready to go to her new home, and so to document in summary what all she has learned here this summer Jasi graciously took some videos for me this morning.

First I go into the pen to halter her and then lead her out to be tied.  She always is waiting at the gate because she loves to go do things.

Here is video of catching, haltering, and leading.

Here is Faline being groomed and having her hooves picked up.

Here is having her hooves handled farrier-style, with placing them on the hoof stand.

 I have two videos of farrier-style hoof handling.  In the first video Faline participated with the first three feet, then decided she was bored with it.  We went and did some other things, then came back for the last hoof.  This is a good example of Faline's temperament and how she objects to things sometime just because she's bored.  If I'd turned it into an argument then next time I approached placing the LH on the hoof stand we would have another go-around.  Because I didn't make a big deal out of it and just readdressed it later, it was no big deal.

Here is tacking up with the saddle

Here is fly spray

Faline wears a copper mouth eggbutt snaffle.

 

 

Here is Faline lunging in the round pen.  Some baby horse shenanigans, but that's to be expected as a two year old.

Faline stands nicely while I fiddle with ropes and get set up with the long lines for ground driving.

Her actual ground driving is pretty good!

Lastly we work at the mounting block, she has mostly got the idea that she walks up to it and stands with her elbow nearest to me.  I hang over her with my torso and arms, and even put a leg up on her back.  None of this bothers her, and she thinks it's interesting and likes to participate.  Everything, including mounting, is done from both sides.

Near the end of this first video the mounting block tips and I fall off of it, and you can see Faline spook.  Right away she comes back, I set up the block again, and we resume as though nothing happened.  She's super sensible about silly things like the human toppling off of a block, likely because she spent so much time working on the bridge, around big styrofoam blocks, on the mattress, wearing tarps and hula hoops....  me tipping over is just one more odd thing she's encountered here.

 I did get stills of the block tipping over from the video, and when I watched it in slow motion I was kind of proud of myself for how I nailed the landing and stayed balanced and upright even with the block rolling under me!  This is, however, a perfect example of why I always wear my helmet when doing mounting block work.  Sometimes it's not the horse who can get you, but the bucking mounting block! 

I love the expression on Faline's face in the last photo, she's clearly wondering what fresh nonsense I've performed this morning!  She's a good sport, and then went right back to the block to resume mounting training.

 

Faline has come a long way in the couple months she's been here this summer!  She knows how to wear all her tack, has good ground manners for handling including feet for the farrier and standing for fly spray, knows her voice commands on the lunge line (despite not doing much pounding in circles as she's so young), ground drives nicely including halting and backing, and stands for mounting from a block from the near and off sides.  I'm proud of this baby horse, and pleased she has had a chance to be exposed to so many important skills.  Hopefully this thorough ground work will make her first rides much easier in a couple years since she understands mounting and essentially already has gas, brakes, and steering.  I'm eager to see how she continues to progress!

Faline and the Snaffle Bit

This week Faline has started wearing a snaffle bit in addition to the saddle.  She stood nicely at the trailer for grooming, and we've been working on fly spray as well which is going nicely.  She's realized if she stands still the fly spray session ends quickly, if she moves around too much it takes a long time.  She's also gotten used to having her feet handled, farrier style, with the hoof held between my legs and then placed on a hoof stand for rasping.  All good things a baby horse should know, especially when the baby horse is nearly 17h as a two year old.

 

After grooming and tacking up in the saddle, I took Faline to the round pen.  When I introduce the bit I give the horse a treat (in this case, a piece of black licorice), and then she's eagerly looking for more with her lips and mouth.  That makes it simple to slip the bit into her mouth and bridle over her ears.  Once the bit is in I give her another piece of candy and let her think on it.  These first sessions I put the bridle on over the halter so that I still am handling her from a lead rope on a halter, and the only new thing is the bit in her mouth and getting used to that sensation.  We go for a little walk in-hand around the round pen each direction as she figures out how to walk with a bit in her mouth (it's like chewing gum and walking - very challenging for some of us!)  

When the short walk goes well, then I set up the lunge line on the halter, so she can move around more with the bit in her mouth.  Some horses move around a lot on the longer line, some stay at the walk and ponder the bit, like Faline.  Her second time wearing the bit we were in the arena and did some traveling circles, where she is on the lunge line going around me but we are also going around the perimeter of the arena and looking at all the stuff down there.  

Faline is thoughtful, and while she can be quite reactive she also figures things out quickly.  I won't be actually sitting on her or riding this summer as she's only two years old, but I want to introduce to her as much as I can while I have her here, so that when she goes on to her new home and barn she knows how to do much of what will be expected of her.

Soon I'll introduce ground driving for Faline, which will give her a set of gas, brakes, and steering which will be helpful in the future when she is old enough and mature enough physically to begin riding. 

Faline's First Saddling

Faline is coming right along with her ground work and pre-riding training.  Today she wore a saddle for the first time, and it was a total non-event.  I let her sniff everything, and she knows that if she touches new things with her nose she gets a treat (usually a small piece of a black licorice twizzler).  So she is usually eager to investigate as it often yields candy.

Once she was saddled she spent a little time looking at it with her ears sideways, but then decided it wasn't any weirder than the pool noodles she's been carrying around.

In this first photo you can tell she's looking at the saddle because of how her ears are directed towards it.  In the second photo she's decided it's all ok, she's looking at me with her ears pointed towards me and the camera.

We went down to the arena and lunged a little bit at the walk and trot so she could get used to the sensation of a saddle on her back instead of just the surcingle.  The dogs were of course there to assist and attempt distractions.  Faline mostly ignores them, every once in a while she'll jump around a little playing with them.

Next we reviewed working on the bridge.  Faline immediately walked over, and was well behaved for standing on the bridge so I could play paparazzi.

I added the tarp to give her something new to think about (the saddle, even though it was her first time wearing it, didn't seem to matter at all).

When she lifts her head way up in the air she's looking behind her, in this instance at the tarp.  It wasn't much of a challenge, so we played with draping it all over.  When I totally covered her head she started to wander around looking at the ground, but otherwise handled it no problem.

I added the hula hoops and walking over the mattress (it's from a futon and filled with foam, so I don't have to worry about springs in case a hoof tears it).

Faline didn't really hesitate at the mattress, though she did spook a little when she put her head down to sniff it and the hula hoops fell down over her head.  Not a big deal, she just jumped back and then came over to me for comfort.  

Once we were all done playing I took her back to the barn, untacked, groomed one more time, and put her back in her paddock.   I did add a purple fly mask just to let her get used to the idea, but after all the nonsense in which she participated in the arena this last piece of outerwear was merely fashion with no reaction.

She is such a fun youngster, I really do enjoy the baby horses.  Faline is incredibly intelligent, and wants to learn.  As long as she is introduced to new things in a calm way that makes sense to her, she takes everything in stride.  All this playing with props and toys as a baby is good for her, not because she'll ever need to wear hula hoops in her dressage career, but because it teaches her how to think about new things calmly.  I don't care if a horse never learns to walk across a mattress, what I want is for her to learn to look to the human when she faces new things, and to face new things bravely.  So the props and toys are teaching her how to handle new stimuli while looking to the human for direction, a valuable trait in a riding horse. 

So as typically happens around here, one thing leads to another and before you know it you’re wearing a tarp on your head while you walk over a mattress…

Faline, the Pool Noodles, and the Bridge

Once the young horses are used to wearing the pad and surcingle I start attaching things to it to help desensitize them to stuff on and around their back in preparation for riding.  Today Faline wore the pool noodles!

To begin with I go through all of the regular routine of tying her at the barn, grooming her head to toe, tacking up with the surcingle, and then walking to the arena and lunging a little each direction.  To introduce the pool noodles I toss them on the ground while the horse is lunging so they can work around them and check them out.  When Faline had settled I then picked up a noodle and led her around so she was following it.  Things are definitely less scary when you're chasing them!

When Faline would catch up with the pool noodle and touch it with her nose I would immediately say "Yes!  Good" and then give her a small cookie.  She very quickly realized that touching the "scary thing" transformed me into a vending machine and realized the noodle was the key to unlocking the treat dispenser.  After this realization she was all over that pool noodle!

After the noodle had transformed into something fun, I attached it to her surcingle by tying it to a metal ring.  Then she went back out on the lunge line and walked a little each direction.  Next I added the second noodle to the other side of her and we resumed lunging.  

When lunging was no big deal with the pool noodles I reintroduced the bridge.  She had worked on the bridge when she was here last summer so it wasn't too big a deal.  She followed me and climbed on, inspecting it thoroughly, then walked the rest of the way over.

There was a pause once Faline had her front feet on the bridge, and she lifted her head way up in the air to get a better look at the noodles hovering over her back.  I love how she thinks her way through things and everything is a fun game to her.  This is exactly how I want a young horse to feel about their "work", that it's all fun and games.

I string tested Faline today, which is a technique for estimating the horse's height when fully grown.  I've always found it to be accurate.  Faline string tests to 18.1h!  She is going to be a big girl!

Introducing Free Jumping and the Surcingle

This week Curio and Faline were introduced to the saddle pad and surcingle, as well as starting to work on a lunge line in the round pen rather than just at liberty.  I keep the routine as similar as possible, so that they know exactly what's coming and it always happens in the same order.  That way, when I introduce something new they focus on only the new thing because everything else is old and familiar.

I took Faline out of her paddock and tied her by the barn.  I groomed her with the curry, hard brush, combed out her mane, picked up and cleaned her hooves.  Then I grabbed my extra equipment (saddle pad, surcingle, girth, pocket full of cookies) and we walked to the round pen.  I let her loose to play a little, and set up some poles for her to start experimenting with free jumping.

I love the engagement she has in her hind end as she begins to take off, she really sits and bends all the joints of her hind legs to create springs with which to take off.

I was also impressed with her use of her back and how she lifted her knees well.  Often when I first introduce jumping to horse they sort of climb over the poles, and there was some amount of that, but both Faline and Curio figured out how to actually jump the cross rail fairly quickly.

Here is a series of short videos showing the progression Faline made from slowly thinking about each foot over the poles, to just hopping right over.

 

Here is Curio's first introduction to free jumping video:

 

After each horse had played with the cross rail for a few minutes and expressed some of their "ye-haws" I started introducing the tack once they could focus.

Curio stood quietly while I put on the pad and surcingle, even taking a snooze at the beginning.  I then put him on the lunge line and gave him a chance to walk and trot while wearing it in a controlled manner.  He was great at the walk, when he picked up the trot the girth surprised him a little, and he did some crow-hopping at the funny feeling of having a belt on.  He only went around a circle or two with the hopping, then settled in and trotted nicely each direction.

Faline also was quiet and confident once she had on the tack.  She did a very nice walk and trot each direction on the lunge line.

Faline Returns

 

This week I picked up Faline and Curio from their breeder's place and brought them back to Bit of Honey for some more Good Manners training.  Faline very quickly remembered about leading politely and having her feet handled, and I was able to get some video of her playing in the round pen.  It's been so wet lately (like, Colorado has gotten 1/3 of the annual rain in a few weeks) that Faline looked pretty pleased to have decent footing to run around in!

Faline is nearly 2 years old now, and has grown significantly since last summer when she was here.  I measured her with a stick with a level, and she's currently just a half inch shy of 16.3! 

Faline Growing Up

 

Faline is growing up!

Here is some video of Faline enjoying some pasture turnout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJZ1dDq0xh8