Last Minute Horse Trial

The 3 Day Event at Archer was this past weekend.  Between the extensive wet spring we had, Highboy being bit by a rattlesnake, and the vesicular stomatitis cancelling so many shows in our area this year I haven't done much with my personal horses.  However, when a friend posted online that she wasn't able to make it to the event despite having already paid entry fees, I offered to buy her novice entry from her.  Hopefully it helped to offset her losses, since cancelling that last minute you don't get a refund, but the show organizer was kind enough to let her sell me the entry.

So it turned out that I purchased the novice level entry at the very last minute, Thursday night before the dressage test I was to ride at 9:50am Friday morning.  I gave my tack a quick wipe-down, packed the horse trailer, memorized my dressage test, and was ready to go first thing.

Friday morning Highboy eagerly watched me from his paddock as he ate his breakfast mash.  When he was finished I tied him and got him put together in his shipping outfit.  Then he leaped into the trailer and jogged to the front, reaching his long face out the window in happy anticipation of the day ahead.  We got to the show grounds and it was a beautiful morning.  I tacked up Highboy and got myself dressed, and our friend Debora Botting with Chameleon Browbands took our photo in Highboy's yellow beaded dressage browband.

The warmup for dressage with Highboy was fine.  He mostly behaved and didn't try to fist-bump anyone, horse or human.  When our test time was drawing near we headed over to the actual dressage arena, and Highboy even trotted nicely over there just before heading down centerline.  Once that bell rang, however, Highboy decided that boring dressage needed to be spiced up a little.  His stretchy trot and free walk were amazing, but his trot down centerline was more like a sideways scramble and his cantering was more porpoising than cantering.  He also threw in a few heels-over-his-head bucks for good measure.  I took some comfort in the fact we haven't been preparing for this for months only to have him choose shenanigans, and it was a literal night-before decision to come just for fun.  Highboy certainly had fun. 

Saturday was cross-country, which is Highboy's favorite part.  He warmed up well, even when another rider's number flew out of her pinney and the white 8x10 piece of paper was coming directly at us.  I do so much desensitizing with my horses and the Bit of Honey Circus is such a regular event here that Highboy barely noticed the paper skittering towards him over the tips of the grass in the warmup arena.

Kimberly Hale Photography came with us to the show and got some amazing shots of Highboy rocking the novice course.  This event has several levels, going from easiest to hardest they are:  starter, beginner novice, novice, training, preliminary. Though he has very comfortably schooled many training and preliminary questions on cross country, this was Highboy's first time competing at novice level.  He did incredibly well, and only had some time faults because I made him go more slowly down the first hill to ensure he was listening and balanced for the rest of the course.

I was grateful to have some friends there cheering me on, Amy, Sue, Kim, and Sara were great moral support.  Some of them had never seen me and Highboy go cross country, and I was really proud of how he went.

Sunday we headed back to Cheyenne again for the final phase, show jumping.  Again Highboy warmed up well, despite absolute bedlam in the warmup arena with two divisions riding at the same time and awfully strong winds.  Once we were in the actual show arena, though, he pretended he was a camel who had no steering.  It's been a LONG time since I rode him doing that much running sideways.  As I always say, "if you can't do it well, at least be entertaining,"  and we were definitely entertaining!

The thing about Highboy is that he is so scopey and athletic, he doesn't feel a need to approach the jumps from a good angle or a reasonable distance.  He knows he can jump anything in the arena from a standstill, so it was up to me to get him close enough to the fence that I could say, "Highboy - jump THAT one!" and over it he'd go.  We definitely had some time faults because of all the wasted time running sideways instead of straight to the fences, but there were no jump faults because despite the terrible approaches and angles Highboy didn't hit any of the poles.

Miles and Rizzo came to this show with us, too.  It was Rizzo's first horse show and she felt a little overwhelmed, but Miles was able to coach her through and they were well behaved waiting in the truck out of the crazy wind while I was actually riding.

I was able to get on the list for the official horse show's professional photographer photos, so I'm eager to see those as well.  I know they got one great shot of Highboy in his final salute after his dressage test, somehow capturing the one moment when he looked civilized and I'm laughing at him.  I'm curious if they got any of his airs above ground, too.

After the long weekend Rizzo was helping me at home with teaching in the arena on Tuesday, and she said that she didn't realize being a horse-training dog would be so much work.  She naps every opportunity she gets!

Free Jumping Sunday

I needed to do some work in the jumping chute with Sam, Joan's new gelding, to help him slow down and just jump whatever fence is presented to him, instead of going faster and faster and jumping larger and larger when going through a line of ground poles.  To get him to slow down and think  instead of rushing through, I put him in the jumping chute with a long series of bounce distance cavalletti.  The small fences encourage him to jump conservatively, and the 10' distances between them encouraged him to slow down.

After Sam had figured out he was working way too hard and finished for the day we sent a few of the other horses through.  Rain thought it was great!

Beauty also enjoyed her trips through the chute!

Dewey started out slow as molasses, as usual, but eventually figured out that he needed at least a LITTLE impulsion to clear the jumps rather than just walk through them.  In this first photo Sara is asking him why he won't just jump it?

Then Dewey stepped it up a notch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-meIlGIMxc

Which earned him lots of praise and cookies.

Lastly I brought Ferriana down to the arena and let her warm up over the fences on which the other horses had finished.

It didn't take her long to get her head in the game, so I raised the last oxer to about 4' high, with a 4' wide spread.

No problem - she cleared it with minimal effort.

This was a fun morning, everyone enjoyed watching their horses' form over fences without riders!  Thank you to Jasi for the photography and Sara for taking the videos.

Ferriana and Rizzo Jumping

Today we rearranged the jumping chute a bit to try and get better photos and video of Ferriana going through.  Big thanks to Jasi for not only helping move jumps, but also taking both the photos and the video!

This smart horse had clearly thought about the task all night, because today she marched down to the arena ready to rock and roll.  I led her through the first time over ground poles like yesterday, then sent her through the cross rails.  Then I raised the jumps to 3'3" and she went right down the chute systematically, but today she was jumping much more conservatively.  This is a mark of an intelligent horse, that she thinks her way through the obstacles and puts forth the minimum effort to get the job done.  She also is naturally super careful and very tidy with both her front and hind ends over the fences so she rarely hits a pole.

Some video of Ferriana going through the chute can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4s--CfiQSA

 

Rizzo my new dog thought this was a super fun thing to do with the horses.  She has figured out many of the tasks she needs to perform here as a horse training dog.  She will run the length of the chute while the horse is going through, and she'll jump the jumps if she feels the horse needs guidance.

If the horse needs to be shown how to walk over the bridge, Rizzo is happy to oblige and demonstrate that as well.

Because she's working so hard, Rizzo takes every opportunity to rest between training sessions. As it turns out Rizzo is also a ham when having her picture taken.

Rizzo has taken to heart her job of demonstrating, and extended her influence outside of the arena to cross country fences as well.  Ferriana has started some in-hand work over the logs in the front pasture outside the arena, but Rizzo wanted to make sure Ferriana was aware of the particulars of jumping technique.

First you go over the jump....

Then you land on this side!

Now you've got it!

I'm so pleased both with how Rizzo is learning her job, and with how Ferriana is coming along with her training!  I of course would love to be riding Ferriana already, but it's never a bad thing to spend extra time on in-hand work.  Ferriana is learning to do all kinds of things, enjoying herself and thinking that going over these obstacles is her own idea.  The more she loves the job, the easier it will be to get her to do it with me aboard.  Who knows, maybe we'll have a Rizzo/Ferriana liberty jumping act before too long!

Jumping Chute

Every once in a while I like to set up the jumping chute in the arena and let the horses play in it a little.  Highboy came with me to the arena and eagerly watched me get it situated, then happily romped through with some celebratory bucking after the last jump.  I love it that he enjoys jumping so much that he would start even before I've unclipped his lead rope, and he comes right back to me for his cookie and to do it again.

I let Highboy do the chute first because jumping is his favorite thing, with or without a rider.  However, I actually set it up for two horses who are new to jumping, Silver and Ferriana.  To introduce the chute to Silver I first led him through, both of us walking over ground poles and pausing for a cookie after going over each group of poles.  When Silver was confidently marching along I raised the last jump to a cross rail and led him through again.  By then he had the idea, so I raised all the jumps and sent him through without me.  He was really quiet and calm, and just went down the line like it was no big deal.

Lastly I took Ferriana out.  I groomed her at the horse trailer and we discussed cleaning her hind hooves again.  She's getting better each time I address it, but I always have to be cautious of the line between nerves and boredom. Once she was all cleaned up I put jumping boots on her for the first time.  I put her right front boot on, using one that is super fast and easy to put on and take off, just in case she decided to argue about it.  She was ok with me putting it on, but lifted her hoof in the air and shook it a few times to see if this strange thing wrapped around her leg would come off.  I next put on the left front boot and she repeated the high stepping. 

To give her a minute to contemplate this new addition to her wardrobe I untied her and we went for a short walk around the front of the barn.  Ferriana did her best Tennesee Walking horse impression with giant steps, but wasn't unduly concerned about them once she realized she could graze a little while wearing them.  After she had decided they weren't a problem I tied her up again and put on the back boots.  She was ok for getting these on, and then I immediately took her down to the arena.

Ferriana had watched Highboy and Silver do the jumping chute from her paddock earlier in the day, so she wasn't entirely unfamiliar with what was going on.  I introduced the chute to her using the same method I used with Silver, and she very calmly figured out what the game was right away.  By her third time through on her own I had raised the jumps almost to the height Highboy had done, and she easily went right down the line clearing them comfortably. She just needs another session or two ground driving so I can make sure I have brakes and steering, and then she'll be ready to start riding and soon jumping under saddle. 

It's great that she likes the jumping at liberty and is so precise about her technique.  It will make jumping under saddle very easy to introduce, since she will have already learned how to see a takeoff distance herself. Since she's eight and done growing we can progress as swiftly as she is able to learn the job, which I'm expecting to be pretty fast.  I've taught other horses with this level of intelligence how to jump and the key is changing the exercises often enough, and increasing the difficulty level enough that they stayed interested.  This is going to be a blast.  It's also nice that she associates me with going out and doing fun things, and she comes right back to me to see what fun thing we'll do next.

Introducing Rizzo

This week I got a new dog.  She's learning to work outside with me and so far is doing incredibly well after just three days.  I found her at Petsmart in Westminster (Denver), where she was available for adoption through her foster home with The Good Dog Rescue.  She was originally a stray from the reservation in New Mexico, then ended up at the rescue and unfortunately was adopted out and returned twice.  This was likely because she's extremely high energy and intelligent, needing more stimulation and more of a job than busy families could offer her.

The rescue wasn't sure of her breed, and had her listed as a heeler mix on the adoption paperwork.  While I love all dogs, I really cannot have a heeler here working with me outside with the horses.  Heelers have an extremely strong herding/nipping instinct, which works ok for moving cattle but not at all for horses.  If a dog nips at my horses, the horses are likely to go after the dog and hurt him.

However, this dog didn't look much like a heeler.  She had been with her foster for about a month, and she had exhibited no herding traits, not mouthy or nippy at all.  After I described what I was looking for, the foster said that this little dog would be perfect.  I introduced her to a friend's horses, and when she showed no interest in them at all, other than to behave submissively when the horses stared at her, I decided she was worth a try.

I brought the girl home to see how she'd enjoy ranch dog life.  She was ok the first day, but the first night she demonstrated a phenomenal set of lungs.  She can yip, howl, bark, and yodel with the best of them, and at an extremely high pitch!  After a couple hours of drama from her crate Miles the border collie finally bellowed at her to knock it off already, and then she was quiet and seemed to go to sleep.

The second day I took her walking in the back forty with Kasey and Mahzi, and she did pretty well.

She liked jumping up on the cross country jumps and getting treats for posing for the camera.

That night she settled much more quickly in her crate, and with less instruction from Miles.  When she's with me she's incredibly chill, napping and lying around.  If she can't get to me, though, she has some tremendous separation anxiety.  This fits with what her foster told me, that the last family to adopt her and then return her didn't really crate train her, they just put her in it when they would leave.  Between that and being returned twice, I'm not surprised she has some separation anxiety.

However, it is significantly better each day, and I do think that it's something I can train out of her.  Once she realizes that there is a predictable routine here, she's here for life, and I always come back, her confidence will likely improve and the anxiety will go away.  Plus, working so hard during the day goes a long way towards making your crate, or "private bedroom" look appealing with a bowl of food and water in it!

After watching her carefully and evaluating her temperament, size, and conformation, I'm pretty sure she's a rat terrier.  She is built like one, at just over a year old and about 20 lbs, 16" tall she falls in the appropriate range for the size of the breed.  Her vocalizing is also typical, since rat terriers were created by farmers to take care of vermin in barns and they used beagles to create this breed.  Fortunately she doesn't have the obstinate nature of a terrier, and she's very eager to please and affectionate.  My only complaint is really the vocalizing with the separation anxiety, but I've had many dogs from rescues in the past with these issues and I have yet to find one I couldn't get resolved.

Since she's a rat terrier, and I love the Muppets, I decided to name her Rizzo.  That character is an extremely intelligent rat who is always wondering why the others didn't just do what he said to start with?!  The name she came with was Jazzy, but since we already have a Jasi living here someone had to change their name and it's easier to switch a dog's.  Rizzo sounds enough like Jazzy with the Zs that she responds to it great.

Today Rizzo started really working with me and the horses.  I generally tether train my dogs and do this for a week or two before I begin off-leash work, but with her separation anxiety she sticks super close to me, and I was concerned about exacerbating that particular issue if I over-emphasized her staying close to me.  As a result, she likes to be near enough that she can see me and get to me, but she's very respectful of the horses and their personal space.

For example, I was working Ferriana the mare in the round pen today with Rizzo and Miles with me.  Initially Rizzo stood behind me in the round pen, but then was tempted to chase the horse a little.  I cautioned her against that with my voice, but Rizzo couldn't resist.  She began running behind the horse, and started barking.  At this commotion the horse slammed on the brakes, spun around, and stared Rizzo down like an angry bull.  Rizzo backed off in a hurry!  This series of events repeated maybe three times, and then Rizzo decided it was better to go lie in the shade at the side of the arena with Miles rather than aggravate a 1000 lb animal.  Smart girl!

I worked on trailer loading with this horse as well, and Rizzo watched super carefully.  As soon as she realized what I was trying to get the horse to do, she hopped into the horse trailer and waited in the front to demonstrate for the mare.  I rode two other horses in the front fields today and Rizzo stuck right with me, never getting under foot, but keeping up with us really well.  When I went in for lunch, Rizzo ran up the stairs to the back porch, had a beverage from the dog water bowl, and took a nap while I ate.  She was ready to go back to work after her brief siesta, and now that it's evening she's out feeding horses with Jasi.  I've never had a dog figure out the job this fast before, and she seems to love it.

Ferriana Trailer Loading Practice

Since it was such an event getting Ferriana into the horse trailer to bring her to Bit of Honey, teaching her to load politely has been one of the many things on my list for her.  Today I decided we would get going on that particular Good Manners item. 

To prepare Ferriana, I let her work a little in the round pen to get her jollies out so she would be a little tired and also ready to think about the task at hand.  To prepare the trailer, I opened up all the windows and doors, as well as all the dividers to make the trailer look as big, bright, and inviting as possible. 

One of the things I like about this trailer is that I can walk a horse in the back, and out the front. This is really nice for horses who are nervous about getting in, because they can see they have two ways out:  front and back.  I led Ferriana up to the back of the trailer, and she immediately knew what I wanted, and she started pawing at the ground.  This was a good sign, because horses paw when they want to go forward but don't think they can (think pawing at gates, while tied up, etc).  This meant she wanted to go forwards into the trailer, she just wasn't sure she could. 

With a little encouragement from me, Ferriana put her front feet into the trailer.  We paused for snacks and I gave her several horse cookies as a reward for putting her front feet in.  I kept the lead rope loose while she backed out.  Then she put her front feet in again.  Cookies, then backed out again.  I affectionately call this stage The Hokey Pony, as she puts her left foot in, she takes her left foot out, she puts her left foot in, and she shakes it all about.

I like to let the horses think about this part for a few reasons.  I don't want her hurrying in scared, and knowing she can back out helps to alleviate that concern.  I also want the horse to realize she can back and step down out of the trailer while unloading, and she is more likely to do this calmly if she realizes it's safe while it's her idea as part of the loading process.

Once she was calmly putting her front feet in reliably, I stopped giving her cookies for it.  This meant she had to figure out what was required of her to transform me into a vending machine again. It wasn't long at all before Ferriana was putting her hind feet in as well, and once that happened I marched her forwards and straight out the front, praising her all the while. 

The front stall has a ramp leading out of it, and the first time through Ferriana jumped down.  Over the course of the next six or seven trips in the back and out the front she realized it wasn't a big deal, and she would walk calmly down the ramp.  She also would pause in the middle of the trailer when I asked.  When she paused she got to eat a little mouthful of grain from the rubber pan in the trailer, so that's always a nice perk.

Once Ferriana was walking in the back, pausing as long as I asked her to, and calmly walking out the front, I changed it again.  I led her in the back, paused, and asked her to back out.  This really gave her a brain cramp, since she felt she had just mastered the "in the back, out the front" routine and now I was changing the rules on her.  I had to close the first divider so it didn't look to her like the front was an exit anymore, and then she backed out nicely. 

We went in the back and out the back a few times, then once more in the back and out the front.  At this point she was looking like her brain was full so I gave her a few cookies, and put her away to think about the whole experience.  Knowing this horse, she'll think on it all night, and tomorrow when we try it she'll be loading like an old pro. 

The tricky thing with Ferriana is to find the sweet spot for her mentally.  She needs to be pushed to do the right thing, without pushing her so hard that she fights.  That's a very fine line with this mare.  Introducing a new thing can be stressful for her, but she'll be interested as long as it's not presented in a combative way.  Push her too hard and she'll retaliate. 

On the other hand, if I don't keep it interesting enough for her, she'll get bored and misbehave because she thinks what I'm doing is stupid.  It's a very specific skill to be able to read her behavior and determine why she's acting as she is:  bored or over-stimulated?  Depending on the cause of the misbehavior it needs be addressed in very different ways.  Imagine a scared horse being punished for being scared, or a bored horse misbehaving who is then patted and told she is a good girl.  You see the dilemma.

This all fits with her breeding - she is hot and intelligent from her Hanoverian side, and strong and stubborn from her Dutch Warmblood side.  If the hot, smarts, and strength can be harnessed for good instead of evil this type of horse makes an incredible upper level competitor.  If not handled correctly, this type of horse can be extremely dangerous.  So far she and I are getting along well, so I have some high hopes for her future as an athlete!