Ferriana Learns About Tying and Has a Dental

This week Ferriana has begun wearing more tack.  She now is comfortable in a saddle pad, saddle, breastplate, and girth.  I also have begun tying her at the barn for initial grooming so she gets used to standing tied in different places.  She's fine being tied in the round pen, but she needs to learn to stand tied at trailers, in the barn, at hitch rails, all kinds of places. 

The trouble with intelligent horses is that they are smart enough to recognize small differences and get nervous, but they figure things out quickly and then cause trouble because they're bored.  It's a fine line with Ferriana between introducing something new and she misbehaves because she's anxious, or over-doing the repetition and she misbehaves because she's no longer interested.  There is a very slim window there in the middle where she's in her ideal learning spot:  calm, but interested.  Fortunately I've met and trained her type before, and I find this technically challenging horse extremely satisfying!

For example, Ferriana was doing fine in the round pen tied for grooming, tacking, and then working.  When I moved her to the barn for grooming, however, she nearly melted down.  Despite me doing the exact same things with her, in the same order, she was concerned about the new location.  When nervous, Ferriana's default power move is attempting to intimidate a human by shoving the person with her body, or aiming a swift kick with her hooves.  While she's fine with me picking up her hooves to clean them in the round pen, tied by the barn is a different story.  To keep things familiar to her, I backtracked to picking up her hind feet with the rope draped around her pastern and using the voice command "give me your paw" just like I did when I initially introduced lifting hooves in the round pen. She did aim a kick at me a couple times during this process, which earned her a smack on the buns while I shouted "no". 

Most horses look somewhat contrite when I administer the rare swat of discipline.  I don't have to do it very often, and I reserve it for real safety issues such as kicking, striking, or biting.  Interestingly, Ferriana was not in the least abashed at being reprimanded.  She actually gave me a look of disdain as though she was skeptical that a mere mortal such as myself would attempt to correct her.  There was no contrition in her expression, but she did quit swinging at me.  Respect is important.

We took a few days to acclimate to the new spot, and now things are going much more smoothly.  Ferriana still worries if I disappear into the tack room to get something while she's tied, but at least she's looking to me for safety and security rather than ignoring or avoiding me.  Today after her workout in the arena on the lunge line over jumps and touring the indoor portion while tacked up I had her tied at the horse trailer.  Because she needs to learn some patience I left her there with some hay and water while I went about getting the next horse ready to work. 

Ferriana was SO MAD that I left her there.  I wasn't far, just in the barn, but I wasn't paying attention to HER.  She did some ferocious pawing at the ground.  She tossed her head.  She stomped her feet.  She swung her body from side to side.  She even lifted the hay bag in her teeth and launched it onto the roof of the trailer.  It merely ricocheted off the ledge and returned to crash down on her head, covering her in undignified hay strands. 

In between techniques she would pause, stare into the barn at me, and demand that I come get her RIGHT NOW.  Mostly I ignored her, which totally infuriated her.  Once or twice she did give it up and stood quietly for a moment, so I wandered out to give her a cookie and a pat, but she only received attention when she was being quiet.  Eventually she quit for about five minutes and stood nicely just eating from the hay bag.  I went out to get her, lavished praise and cookies upon her highness, and put her back in her paddock. 

I rarely see a horse look so surprised.  "You mean all I had to do to get back to my paddock was stand quietly?"  It was pretty funny to see her so worked up, then give it up, then realize that she could have been put away a half hour ago.  I swear you can see the hamsters running on the wheel in her head as she figures these things out. 

Ferriana is now fine to groom while tied at the barn, and she's fine to tack up in a saddle,  so she's ready to start learning about bits, then steering and ground driving.  This way she knows voice commands, how to wear tack, how to steer, and I have brakes before I ever get on for the first time.  That also makes me sitting aboard only one new thing for her to process, since by the time I mount she's used to all the accoutrements that come with riding.  Since the next step is bitting, I needed to make sure that her teeth are in good shape. 

Dr. Landes came out today to do a few other veterinary things for us, and he humored me with adding Ferriana's dental to the appointment.  When she arrived several weeks ago and Dr. Landes gave her a rattlesnake vaccine, she did strike at him with her front hoof.  Now that she knows better, it was much smoother to give her sedation for her dental.  Once it had taken effect she was ready for her dental evaluation.

The incisors did need to be balanced, and she had some impressive sharp points farther back in her mouth.  It's really good that we did this dental before introducing the bit!  Especially with a horse this intelligent, if I were to put a bit in her mouth and it hurt because she needed a dental, she would never forget it.  Now that her jaw slides smoothly and her teeth are level she's ready to learn about steering and ground driving. 

Early Morning Jumping

I was in the saddle by 5:30am today to ride before the heat of the day.  We were able to get some fun shots of Highboy and Silver in their jumping sessions!

Silver and I are working on saddle fit again, and potentially some different bits or no bit at all. He has changed so much physically since he arrived a couple months ago that he now needs a very different shape tree.  To tell me that things aren't fitting like they used to, he's been having some Racehorse Moments.

I appreciate that he just gets fast when things aren't right, rather than bucking or really behaving badly.  Silver's very accommodating, though, and has been patient as I work on getting the fit correct for him.  Fortunately we have had enough retired racehorses here to be retrained as sporthorses that it's not a big deal to ride through his speedy moments.  He is fast, and it can be intimidating to balance him around corners at that pace, so for now I'm the only one riding him until I get the tack re-sorted out and he quiets down again.

Meanwhile, I'm still jumping him a little.  Silver really took his walk-over exercise last week to heart, and is now jumping everything in a much more powerful manner.  I enjoy his athleticism, but now we need to find the balance between power and control.

When Silver is really relaxed I have visions of him being a lovely hunter with his long swinging trot.  Though he also enjoys the occasional big fence!

Ritzyrags is Available!

 For Sale

Ritzy is available!

DOB 3/6/2013
Bay mare with stripe, snip, and white coronet sock on right hind
Registered with Jockey Club as Ritzyrags
Colorado bred, she raced in Colorado and in Arizona with 15 starts winning $32,000
Last race was August 2017, has been in light retraining program since
Available to adopt through CANTER Colorado
15.3 hands tall, measured with a stick and level
Good for vet and farrier
Bathes, loads, rides English in the arena and on trails
$1500 adoption fee to approved home

Ritzy is a Colorado bred Thoroughbred mare, by Mr. Nightlinger out of Western Pastures by West Acre. She raced in Colorado and in Arizona, retiring when she was four after racing 15 times and winning just over $32,000. After retiring from racing she was donated to CANTER Colorado's aftercare program to be retrained and to find a new home.

Since being in CANTER Colorado's care Ritzy has learned all the basics of good pleasure horse manners. She stands quietly while tied for grooming and for the farrier, stands nicely for mounting, and is well behaved at the walk, trot, and canter both in the arena and on the trails. She can still get a bit fast at the canter as she remembers and enjoyed her job as a racehorse, but she's learning life as a pleasure horse is slower-paced and can be just as fun.

Ritzy had a bone chip removed from her right front fetlock in fall 2019. We do have x-rays from prior to the removal that can be viewed by potential new owners. She has clean x-rays of her left front fetlock. Dressage and trail riding are her strengths and she has a great big walk that can really cover ground, we will see how she likes jumping as she comes back into work post-surgery.

Currently Ritzy is barefoot all around, eating grass hay with some beet pulp, alfalfa pellets, and high-fat feed. Ritzy does well living in a large paddock with friends over the fence, she gets stressed and high strung when living in smaller confined areas. When she has sufficient living space she is easy going, relaxed, and handles time off extremely well. If she is working two to four times weekly she's an absolute dream to have around.

 

Ferriana and the Surcingle

Ferriana is coming along really well.  This horse is brilliant, and she doesn't suffer fools.  I present something new to her and she usually figures it out in the first session.  If she doesn't totally understand it in that first session, I swear she goes back to her paddock and thinks on it all night, then she's mastered it by the next morning when I try it again.

She's now mannerly for handling and leading, she stands tied nicely in the round pen, and she no longer is concerned watching other horses being ridden.  I can clean all of her hooves and brush her everywhere.  She lunges well both with a line and at liberty over obstacles and jumps.  We have begun working with the saddle pad and surcingle, and she has taken every new thing in stride!  The first time I introduced the saddle pad she did give it the side-eye, but once she realized that touching it with her nose would earn her a cookie she was all over that maneuver.  She let me place the pad on her back and remove it from both sides,  then add the surcingle and girth with nothing more than a cursory tap with her nose to get the cookies to which she was entitled.  Only one buck with the tack on and she settled right into her regular routine working in the round pen.  She does like to know what is expected, it gives her security and peace of mind knowing what comes next.  That way adding one new thing isn't a big deal, because she knows all the other things we will do in a session.

I was especially proud of her today, because I had Note turned out in the paddock adjacent to the round pen (he still thinks he's a stallion despite being gelded three years ago at age six).  Ferriana was incredible, particularly considering she was so herd-bound when she arrived here.  She ignored Note completely, even when he was running around like an idiot screaming because he couldn't see her through the solid wall of the round pen. Ferriana just glanced at him once or twice, then looked at me as if to ask, "Is he ok?  Are you going to do something about him?"  I responded, "Nope, he'll quit when he realizes no one is paying any attention." 

Ferriana believed me and followed instructions to focus on our work for the day and ignore the petulant pseudo-stallion on the other side of the wall.  When Note realized no one cared, he gave it up and grazed for a while instead.  Ferriana worked both on the lunge line and off it, all the while ignoring Note.  She also jumped through a bounce several times that I had set up using poles, barrels, and a row of tires. 

I love how smart she is, and how FAST she figures out new things I ask of her.  As a dominant mare I could see how she might be trouble if she wasn't interested in the job or didn't trust the human asking it of her, but we have come to an agreement that working with me is infinitely more fun if she tries to cooperate.  We haven't had any big arguments, which is good because I could see her having quite a temper.  Since I don't fight with horses and she is eager to do new things because it's fun and she trusts me, I'm predicting she'll be quick to put under saddle.  Since she's eight I can get her going over fences as soon as she's mentally ready, we won't have to wait for her to finish physically maturing.  This super well bred, intelligent, athletic mare is going to have so much fun!

Silver Walk-Over Jumping

We've been having trouble with our internet recently, so the photos and videos I've been collecting on my phone have been just sitting there begging to be posted!  I've been out of town for a couple different things, and now that I'm back home the horses are itching to get back to it!

This week Silver and I did the walk-over exercise where I start with a ground pole and walk him over it each direction.  Then we raise it one hole (6" on these particular home-made standards) and I walk him over it again each direction.  We proceed this way until the horse is jumping quite large fences out of the walk, today Silver got to 3'3".  He definitely has the scope to go higher, but I wanted to keep him confident and it was getting hot out.  We'll revisit the exercise again in a month or so and see how his confidence and form has changed.

I love this exercise because it teaches the horse that he is able to jump just about anything from a very slow speed as long as he rocks back on his haunches and really pushes with his hind end and using his core muscling.  You can see in this series of photos taken from the video that Silver really reaches underneath himself with his hind legs, just about stepping his back feet into his front hoof prints:

Then you can see that he really "sits" with his haunches, which you can tell by how flexed all the joints are in his hind legs.  He also flexes the core muscles around his barrel which you can see by how thick his torso appears just as he's getting ready to launch.

This whole-body exercise enables Silver to really jump well, which you can see in how high he actually jumps compared to the pole he's going over.  His knees are up near his nose and he has really lifted his shoulder to get them there.  All great markers of a tremendously talented jumper!

I have to be sparing with this type of work, because it is truly difficult physically and mentally for a horse.  It's really important to be positive so that he starts to think he can jump the moon from the walk, and praise every effort even if mistakes are made.  It's also easy to over-face a horse with this exercise.  I pay careful attention to how tense the horse is, and make sure we quit while he's still feeling good about himself, his efforts, and me.  That way when we revisit the exercise again another time he remembers it as fun and he learns to love jumping.  The exercise is taxing for the horse in many ways including joints, muscle, and cardiovascular systems, so I only do this with a very fit horse who is sound and physically able to do it. When Silver first arrived we had some concerns about his stifles, but strengthening his core and quadriceps muscles has worked well and he shows no limitations now!

Super Dew

I'm pleased to report that after a couple months of training Dewey has settled right into life as a regular riding horse.  He's been sitting and doing some occasional riding for a couple years as we waited for him to finish growing.  Now that he's seven years old and has grown (hopefully) his last half inch taller in the past six months, we're seeing him become more coordinated and able to carry himself in a much more balanced way. 

 Dewey is officially 16.1 1/2 inches tall as measured with a stick and a level, and has muscled up nicely.  He's riding training level dressage in a calm manner and happily jumping 2'3" in the arena.  He still loves to eat and nap, and it can be a struggle to get the lazy fellow up to ride sometimes.  Dewey never did get the memo that he was supposed to be a racehorse.

Here is Dewey cantering on his right lead, which historically has been his most difficult.  He and his owner, Sara, are also starting to get the hang of the stretchy trot together.

I'm also really happy with how he and Sara have progressed with their jumping training as well as cavalletti work.

While he was in training, Dewey and I also went to a dressage show earlier this spring where he got to strut his stuff in public.  He looks so grown up and no longer like the gangly baby horse I knew. 

Though his physique may have matured, I think he will always have his droopy lips.  They always make us smile!  With all these good changes, he has now officially gone from "Little Dew" to "Super Dew"!

Ferriana Handling Hooves

When she first arrived Ferriana was fine leading from the trailer to the paddock (towards horses), but the first few times leading from the paddock to the round pen (away from horses) she was pushy.  Not terrible, just trying to walk in front of me and turn back towards her friends.  Now that she understands leading with a halter is just like leading without a halter in the round pen, she just stays by my side. 

Structure, consistency, and known expectations are big for her - as long as she knows what she is supposed to do she's good.  Ambiguity is super hard and stressful.  She is a dominant enough personality that she will take charge if she thinks no one else is doing it, but it stresses her out and she becomes pushy if she thinks she's responsible for everyone and their safety as the leader of the herd.  It's too much responsibility and too big a job to do calmly for this horse. 

Knowing that I'm the herd leader or "alpha mare" is actually quite comforting to her.  She knows I'll keep her safe, she doesn't have to be in charge or make the decisions, so she feels relief around me and wants to stay close and follow me. I'm a good herd leader, so I've kind of become her security blanket and she wants to stay close.  That's why the liberty stuff is working so well - as a herd animal she's looking to me (her 2 legged herd leader) to keep her safe and she knows what to expect from me. 

Ferriana is doing well working with me in the round pen. She comes when I call her in her paddock because she like to go do things, and she is very polite and mannerly walking from her paddock to the round pen even though we are leaving her horse friends.  Ferriana free lunges well (no ropes or halters), and understands the voice commands for walk, trot, canter, whoa, and reverse.  Standing quietly for grooming is no problem, and I've pulled her mane and given her a bridlepath so she looks more like a sport horse now.

She has been watching the other horses being ridden and worked with an astonished look on her face. I've made a point to ride all the other horses past her paddock, and even let them stop and graze with me aboard so Ferriana can see that none of them are concerned with me being on top of them.

In this photo Ferriana is asking Ritzy why she's eating grass but Ferriana can't.  I'm pretty sure Ritzy answered, "because everything great and fun happens when Kim is riding."

Currently we're working on letting me pick up and clean Ferriana's hooves.  Historically this has been challenging to do with her, and the vet has been giving Ferriana heavy sedation for farrier appointments. Needless to say, good manners for the farrier are very important so we are addressing that as a top priority.  Still at liberty, I'm now able to pick up and clean her front hooves with no issues after just brief discussion initially.  The first time I tried to pick up her hind feet she merely stepped away from me with her hind end, but didn't kick at me or try to leave.  I let it go that first time, because I want her to know that her opinion matters.  Today, however, I pursued it with a little more purpose so she can also learn that while her opinion matters, it doesn't always change what we're doing.

I began with the usual small amount of free lunging in the large 100' round pen.  Then I called Ferriana to the center and groomed her with the curry, brush, and combed her mane. Next I picked up and cleaned her front feet, and after a couple tries she gave me her back left foot to clean.  The back right hoof proved to be more tricky.

I'm not sure why she had decided she wasn't going to allow me to pick up and hold that right hind hoof.  By this point in the training session she was getting a little bored, so amusing herself may have been one reason.  However, she still didn't want to cooperate even after I gave her a break to trot and canter around.  She's been here a week now, and it was time to see how she handled being asked to do something that wasn't her own idea.

I put the halter back on, and had a long lead rope attached.  She never tried to leave or walk away from me, but having the halter and lead on allowed me to turn her in tight circles when she tried to pull her foot away.  I kept my hand on her hip as she pivoted around me, and eventually she stopped and stood still. Standing still earned her a cookie.  Then we could really see the hamsters starting to run on the wheels in her head, as evidenced by the ears tilted towards that hind foot and me. 

I would pat her on the haunches and slide my hand down her leg towards her hoof, but each time I got to her cannon bone she would pull her leg away and pivot again. It was becoming a game of keep-away to her, and I didn't want her to think refusing to give me her hoof was an option.

I got a second lead rope and began some rope work with her.  I draped the rope over her neck, back, and haunches, and then slowly pulled it off of her repeatedly.  She was a little concerned at first, but quickly realized it was harmless and just stood for it.  Once I was sure she was not going to worry about the rope, I looped it loosely around the right hind leg while holding both ends.  I gradually lowered the rope down to just below her hock, then began giving her the voice command I use for picking up feet: "Give me your paw."

I repeated the phrase while gently pulling on both ends of the rope, tugging gently with a pulse so she had time between tugs to decide what she was going to do.  When she picked up her foot in response to the rope pressure I immediately released the tension on the rope, praised her, and gave her a cookie.  This very quickly made sense to her and she realized I just wanted her to pick up her foot but not step away from me.  I repeated this exercise multiple times, gradually increasing the duration of time the hoof was in the air before I let go and praised her. I also progressively lowered the rope until it was draped around her pastern.  Eventually she would pick up her foot with a gentle tug and a "give me your paw", and hold it in the air for me.

Next I had to transfer the concept of using a rope to pick up the hoof and hold it in the air, to letting me do it with my hand.  Ferriana is incredibly intelligent, and when I ran my hand down her leg again she let me place my hand on her fetlock and pastern.  I tugged gently with my hand, said, "give me your paw", and she picked up her hoof and let me hold it in the air for a couple seconds.  I let go before she could pull it away.  I gave her a fistful of cookies and then immediately put her away in her paddock.

Once she was loose in her paddock, I swear she wanted to talk to Highboy about what I had been doing.  She hurried to the fence she shares with him, ignoring all the other horses, and whinnied at him.  He moseyed down to her and they began to conference about her training session.  I always feel a little weird when new horses do this.  It happens with every new complicated horse - the new horse wants to talk to one of my personal horses about what on earth is going on with Kim the Strange Human.

Highboy and Ferriana them touched noses as though conversing, then turned their heads to me, paused, and stared.  When I walked by they went back to touching noses and talking, then paused again to stare at me as I walked away.  I swear Ferriana was describing to Highboy what I'd done with her, and he was explaining that it's no big deal.  He probably told her to just cooperate and then she can get on to the fun stuff like jumping.  My ears sure were burning, though.

Over the following week this super smart warmblood mare continued to make good progress. Her ground manners are improving and she's no longer looking at other horses being ridden like they're crazy and in danger.

I've been holding a haltered Ferriana when I'm in the arena on the ground teaching lessons. She was super freaked out during the first lesson she watched but has acclimated to watching riding horses pretty well.

At the beginning there were many questions from her, such as:

"Why is Dewey allowing that human to sit on top of him?!"

"Why is he cantering calmly around like it's no big deal?!" "Why is he jumping over those poles and looking HAPPY while he does it?!"

"This is the strangest place I've ever been."