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!

Ferriana Begins Ground Driving

Ferriana is still coming along well.  She is still the queen bee of her universe and only occasionally deigns to accommodate us mere mortals with her compliance, but at least she and I have reached an understanding about personal space (you don't try to squish me, I won't smack you).  After her recent dental she was all ready to begin wearing a bit and start ground driving.

The first session trying a bridle went well.  I tacked her up and took her to the round pen (keeping everything familiar so I only add one new element at a time).  Once we were there I put her bridle on with one smooth motion before she had time to object.  I put it on over her rope halter and let her think about it for a moment before I gave her a cookie.  It's good to have the horse associate a bit with something nice like a treat, and it's not a big deal for me to clean the bit after we're done.  A fair trade for good behavior!

Once she was wearing the bridle in addition to her saddle and breastplate I lunged her in the round pen.  She LOVES jumping, and soon after she's warmed up she does her best to edge our lunging circle to the small jumps on the side of the round pen.  I'm fortunate that my round pen is a 100' diameter so I have plenty of space to do both flat work and over fences work in the same session without needing to set up and break down jumps. I was really pleased that she accepted the bit so readily and immediately went to work doing what she loves best - jumping.

Over the next sessions Ferriana and I began to introduce ground driving.  I do this by attaching one long line to the halter as usual, and the other on the far side of the bit, through the surcingle ring, and around her haunches.  Then we lunge one direction.  So if she's circling to the right, I hold in my right hand the line directly attached to her halter.  The other line in my left hand is going around her haunches, through the ring on the left side of the surcingle and attached to the ring on the left side of the bit.  To go the other direction I have her halt and wait standing quietly so I can reorganize lines in the opposite arrangement.  This allows her to get used to the lines, one at a time, along her sides without any new cues coming through the bit.

Once that was going smoothly, I set up the long lines through rings on each sides of the surcingle, to each side of the bit.  This allows me to begin some basic steering work with Ferriana.  It's important to do this with a surcingle so that I have rings to hold up the lines and prevent the horse from stepping on the ropes which would yank on her mouth.  Some people do ground drive using a saddle with stirrups instead of surcingle with rings, but I prefer this method as it's less likely that the lines will get tangled in additional tack.  A horse as smart and reactive as Ferriana will remember any mishap, and she's not a forgiving sort.  Therefore it's in all of our best interests to do this correctly.


Her first actual ground driving experience went really well!  She very quickly determined what we were doing, and didn't kick at me when I gave her cues using the reins (a common reaction from horses when beginning this process).  When I first introduce this to a reactive horse I'm very careful to make sure I stay to the side or significantly behind her, just in case.  The solid foundation of groundwork helps the horse not to panic when I add the new gear.

The only hiccup was Ferriana wanted to go faster and jump the jumps while we were ground driving, so I had to make sure I'd lowered everything down to ground poles to decrease the temptation.  Once this mare realizes that she needs brakes and steering so that I can ride her and she can do much bigger jumps, she's going to be all about this riding thing.