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I wish she was closer! I have 2 that aren't being ridden!
The Everyday Adventures of New Trail Riders
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I decided to go back to square one on some things. I think Ona is "cold backed" because her back has been sore. She's become hard to mount, cinchy, more anxious, and acts a bit crazy when I first get on her. Plus also she doesn't like the round pen, and I want her to sidepass.
So today I brought Joe's old saddle (which is a higher quality one than Ona's but was too wide for her before) and the saddle pad out to the round pen along with a bag of apple slices. I set my watch for 15 minutes and told myself I wouldn't keep her out any longer than that. I tied her to the outside of the round pen and rubbed her all over and gave her an apple slice. When she was very calm I tied her inside the round pen and did the same thing. She was super calm so I led her in hand around the round pen and then tied her again and rubbed her and gave her an apple. Then I had her yield her hind quarters one step one way, petted her, had her do one step the other way, petted her and gave her an apple slice. Then repeated one more step each way and she stayed very relaxed and I rubbed her and gave her more apple.
Then I put Joe's saddle on her without the pad and without cinching it and checked the fit. I think it might fit. It's a little wider than her saddle, and she's definitely bulked up since we got her saddle fit tested a couple years ago. I do have clearance all the way down the middle, but in the center, halfway down, there's only just enough clearance for my hand, and the saddle touches my hand when my hand is flat on her back. I'm not sure it won't touch when I get on her and I'm not sure it's 100% even pressure because it's lower in the middle.
Then I petted her some more (she was practically asleep) and put the pad on with the saddle over it and checked it again. Then time was up and I walked her calmly back to the barn and gave the rest of the apples to her and the geldings. She was happy and sweet the entire time.
Tomorrow I'm going to bring her out and start out the same way with lots of pets and some apples, but set my timer for half an hour. I'll do all the same things - have her yield her butt a couple times etc. with lots of pets and relaxing, but when I put the saddle on I'll cinch it loosely, take her for a walk around the round pen, pet and love on her, then tighten it a little more and walk her around again then tighten it one more time, pet her etc. Then if she's still calm (if not we won't go any further) I'll have DH hold the lead rope (from the other side of the pen so he won't hurt his bad foot) and I'll just slowly mount and get off, mount and get off, over and over, from both sides. Each time I mount, I'll rub her and let her relax, have her reach back for an apple slice and then get off. I'll go slowly and make sure not to do anything unless she's very calm. We won't walk off at all. Maybe I'll repeat that lesson for a few days and just sit on her every time and never have her take a step, and then one day just have DH lead us around the round pen slowly from the outside.
I think we've lost some ground the last couple rides because it's all new to her, she was sore, etc. I have been asking too much of her, too soon. So I'll just baby her a little bit and not go for a ride this weekend. Our next ride is in a couple of weeks. Hopefully by then I'll have her calmly doing a few figure 8s around the trees with me here at home and she'll have less to be anxious about at the beginning of the ride.
For the rest of the riding season this year, I'm going to just take things slowly and easily. If she gets used to the round pen and doesn't hate it anymore, I'd like to set some obstacles up in there and practice some things but never pressure her or work when she's not relaxed. I'd just really prefer the round pen because it's got crushed rock footing and never any mud, no gopher holes hiding in the grass, and if we use obstacles in there we won't have to put them away so DH can mow.
So today I brought Joe's old saddle (which is a higher quality one than Ona's but was too wide for her before) and the saddle pad out to the round pen along with a bag of apple slices. I set my watch for 15 minutes and told myself I wouldn't keep her out any longer than that. I tied her to the outside of the round pen and rubbed her all over and gave her an apple slice. When she was very calm I tied her inside the round pen and did the same thing. She was super calm so I led her in hand around the round pen and then tied her again and rubbed her and gave her an apple. Then I had her yield her hind quarters one step one way, petted her, had her do one step the other way, petted her and gave her an apple slice. Then repeated one more step each way and she stayed very relaxed and I rubbed her and gave her more apple.
Then I put Joe's saddle on her without the pad and without cinching it and checked the fit. I think it might fit. It's a little wider than her saddle, and she's definitely bulked up since we got her saddle fit tested a couple years ago. I do have clearance all the way down the middle, but in the center, halfway down, there's only just enough clearance for my hand, and the saddle touches my hand when my hand is flat on her back. I'm not sure it won't touch when I get on her and I'm not sure it's 100% even pressure because it's lower in the middle.
Then I petted her some more (she was practically asleep) and put the pad on with the saddle over it and checked it again. Then time was up and I walked her calmly back to the barn and gave the rest of the apples to her and the geldings. She was happy and sweet the entire time.
Tomorrow I'm going to bring her out and start out the same way with lots of pets and some apples, but set my timer for half an hour. I'll do all the same things - have her yield her butt a couple times etc. with lots of pets and relaxing, but when I put the saddle on I'll cinch it loosely, take her for a walk around the round pen, pet and love on her, then tighten it a little more and walk her around again then tighten it one more time, pet her etc. Then if she's still calm (if not we won't go any further) I'll have DH hold the lead rope (from the other side of the pen so he won't hurt his bad foot) and I'll just slowly mount and get off, mount and get off, over and over, from both sides. Each time I mount, I'll rub her and let her relax, have her reach back for an apple slice and then get off. I'll go slowly and make sure not to do anything unless she's very calm. We won't walk off at all. Maybe I'll repeat that lesson for a few days and just sit on her every time and never have her take a step, and then one day just have DH lead us around the round pen slowly from the outside.
I think we've lost some ground the last couple rides because it's all new to her, she was sore, etc. I have been asking too much of her, too soon. So I'll just baby her a little bit and not go for a ride this weekend. Our next ride is in a couple of weeks. Hopefully by then I'll have her calmly doing a few figure 8s around the trees with me here at home and she'll have less to be anxious about at the beginning of the ride.
For the rest of the riding season this year, I'm going to just take things slowly and easily. If she gets used to the round pen and doesn't hate it anymore, I'd like to set some obstacles up in there and practice some things but never pressure her or work when she's not relaxed. I'd just really prefer the round pen because it's got crushed rock footing and never any mud, no gopher holes hiding in the grass, and if we use obstacles in there we won't have to put them away so DH can mow.
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We started out our lesson according to plan today. We got all the way to the mounting part as planned. I didn't put a bridle on her. Lance held the lead rope from outside the round pen. I didn't cinch the saddle very tightly because I want to get her over being cinchy. I put my foot in the stirrup and gave her a carrot with my foot in the stirrup. Of course, the saddle slid off when I went to mount. This saddle might be too wide for her. Her regular saddle would have stayed on if it was cinched that loosely. She just stood there quietly, though, so I rubbed her and gave her a piece of carrot. Then I put the saddle back on and cinched it just a little tighter and she snapped her teeth at Lance so I didn't go any tighter. I put my foot in the stirrup and gave her another carrot from the stirrup, mounted and gave her a carrot from the saddle with her neck flexed left. I then tried to get her to flex right for a carrot but she didn't notice it and I didn't have reins so couldn't pull her head back to flex. I tried over and over again but couldn't get her attention so I got off and walked around to the right, put my foot in the right stirrup and she was looking at me so saw me when I held the carrot out.
The saddle was loose enough that I didn't want to mount again, and I didn't want to tighten it all the way today so I decided to see if I could just get her to stand correctly for mounting. I had her doing that pretty well last year and the beginning of this year but she seems to have forgotten how. Lance helped get her into position a few times and each time she got in position I put my foot in the stirrup and gave her a carrot. She didn't really understand that it was my foot being in the stirrup that led to the treat and started getting pushy for carrots. I haven't used food to train her before. I hope this works out because my goal is to start having her flex each direction for a carrot after I mount each time for a while.
I was feeling kind of anxious. We've had too many bad experiences when I've worked with her at home in the past, and my hands were kind of shaky, so I decided to just end the lesson on a good note. I think I'll just keep this up and hopefully we'll both get calmer and calmer with it. Hopefully.
I'm not sure this saddle's going to work out. Maybe I'll put the breast collar on it and see if that helps. I want to check while I'm on and see if it still has good spinal clearance.
What a boring journal LOL.
The saddle was loose enough that I didn't want to mount again, and I didn't want to tighten it all the way today so I decided to see if I could just get her to stand correctly for mounting. I had her doing that pretty well last year and the beginning of this year but she seems to have forgotten how. Lance helped get her into position a few times and each time she got in position I put my foot in the stirrup and gave her a carrot. She didn't really understand that it was my foot being in the stirrup that led to the treat and started getting pushy for carrots. I haven't used food to train her before. I hope this works out because my goal is to start having her flex each direction for a carrot after I mount each time for a while.
I was feeling kind of anxious. We've had too many bad experiences when I've worked with her at home in the past, and my hands were kind of shaky, so I decided to just end the lesson on a good note. I think I'll just keep this up and hopefully we'll both get calmer and calmer with it. Hopefully.
I'm not sure this saddle's going to work out. Maybe I'll put the breast collar on it and see if that helps. I want to check while I'm on and see if it still has good spinal clearance.
What a boring journal LOL.
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Not boring. Don't stop.
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OK - more "interesting" stuff LOL
Today I
-Brought her out to the round pen, tied her, gave her scratches and a treat, and walked her TWICE around inside the round pen, tied her back up and brushed and gave a treat.
-Made her yield her hind quarters THREE steps each way with a treat each time,
-tied her alone in the round pen while I went to get her saddle and breast collar, came back and scratch & treat.
-Saddled her up without cinching and gave scratches & treat.
-cinched loosely, scratch & treat
-Lance held the lead rope while I jiggled my foot in the left stirrup and had her bend her head back to my foot in the stirrup for a treat
-jiggled my foot in the right stirrup, had her bend her head back to my foot for a treat
-cinched her up more tightly. She snapped her teeth like she thought it was going to hurt so I stopped and gave her a scratch & treat
-mounted, showed her I had a treat and had her bend her head to the left stirrup and give it to her
-tried to get her to notice I had a treat on her right. She didn't notice right away but after I tapped her neck on the right and said "Ona" a few times she turned her head toward me and saw it so I put it down by the stirrup for her to eat
(I think she's going to learn to flex when I tap her neck now)
-sat on her back quietly, wiggled around a little, rubbed her neck
-decided it would be great if I could get her to let me remove a lead rope while I was on her (because sometimes when we're riding alone I lead her to a stump or whatever to get on and she always stands better with the lead rope than the reins but then when I'm on her back she won't let me take the lead rope off). So I just reached forward and rubbed the halter a couple times, touching the ring where the lead rope connects
-walked her over to the mounting block and she did much better today. I want to be able to mount from both sides all the time so I had her turn both ways and let me put my foot in the stirrup, then stood there wiggling my foot in the stirrup and gave her treats. She did that about 3 times then got impatient and just started trying to mug me for treats
- I had three treats left so Lance came in and helped her get in position 3 times and each time I wiggled my foot in the stirrup while giving her a treat.
It feels so simple and elementary, and formerly I would have pushed it further until we both got frustrated but that's the old me. We stopped, and I brought her back to the barn on a good note.
Accomplishments so far:
1) She's less nervous in the round pen
2) She's maybe slightly less cinchy
3) I figured out Joe's saddle will stay on with the breast collar while mounting, even if she's loosely cinched. Still have to check and make sure it has spinal clearance.
4) She's learning to turn her head when I tap her on the neck. I think that might come in handy but IDK
5) She's starting to learn to position herself better for mounting
6) She's learning to flex right and left when I mount so hopefully she won't trot off as soon as I get on in the future
7) She's yielding her hind quarters better
8) She's learning to let me mess with the bottom of her halter while I'm on her back
Oh - forgot to mention one more thing. She's always got jiggy when I'm leading her out of the barn. Just this year I've got her to calm down quickly (at first by whacking her in the chest with the training crop when she starts to get in my space or ahead of me, then by just tapping her with it or holding it like I'm going to tap her) but she's always jiggy and not paying attention when we first walk out. So today, right before we walked out, I stopped her and tapped her chest very lightly with the crop and just had her stand still and look around before we slowly walked out. I kept the crop in front of her chest and stopped again as soon as we were out in the spot where she usually misbehaves and just stood there until she was nice and calm. Then we had a peaceful walk to the round pen with zero shenanigans.
Today I
-Brought her out to the round pen, tied her, gave her scratches and a treat, and walked her TWICE around inside the round pen, tied her back up and brushed and gave a treat.
-Made her yield her hind quarters THREE steps each way with a treat each time,
-tied her alone in the round pen while I went to get her saddle and breast collar, came back and scratch & treat.
-Saddled her up without cinching and gave scratches & treat.
-cinched loosely, scratch & treat
-Lance held the lead rope while I jiggled my foot in the left stirrup and had her bend her head back to my foot in the stirrup for a treat
-jiggled my foot in the right stirrup, had her bend her head back to my foot for a treat
-cinched her up more tightly. She snapped her teeth like she thought it was going to hurt so I stopped and gave her a scratch & treat
-mounted, showed her I had a treat and had her bend her head to the left stirrup and give it to her
-tried to get her to notice I had a treat on her right. She didn't notice right away but after I tapped her neck on the right and said "Ona" a few times she turned her head toward me and saw it so I put it down by the stirrup for her to eat
(I think she's going to learn to flex when I tap her neck now)
-sat on her back quietly, wiggled around a little, rubbed her neck
-decided it would be great if I could get her to let me remove a lead rope while I was on her (because sometimes when we're riding alone I lead her to a stump or whatever to get on and she always stands better with the lead rope than the reins but then when I'm on her back she won't let me take the lead rope off). So I just reached forward and rubbed the halter a couple times, touching the ring where the lead rope connects
-walked her over to the mounting block and she did much better today. I want to be able to mount from both sides all the time so I had her turn both ways and let me put my foot in the stirrup, then stood there wiggling my foot in the stirrup and gave her treats. She did that about 3 times then got impatient and just started trying to mug me for treats
- I had three treats left so Lance came in and helped her get in position 3 times and each time I wiggled my foot in the stirrup while giving her a treat.
It feels so simple and elementary, and formerly I would have pushed it further until we both got frustrated but that's the old me. We stopped, and I brought her back to the barn on a good note.
Accomplishments so far:
1) She's less nervous in the round pen
2) She's maybe slightly less cinchy
3) I figured out Joe's saddle will stay on with the breast collar while mounting, even if she's loosely cinched. Still have to check and make sure it has spinal clearance.
4) She's learning to turn her head when I tap her on the neck. I think that might come in handy but IDK
5) She's starting to learn to position herself better for mounting
6) She's learning to flex right and left when I mount so hopefully she won't trot off as soon as I get on in the future
7) She's yielding her hind quarters better
8) She's learning to let me mess with the bottom of her halter while I'm on her back
Oh - forgot to mention one more thing. She's always got jiggy when I'm leading her out of the barn. Just this year I've got her to calm down quickly (at first by whacking her in the chest with the training crop when she starts to get in my space or ahead of me, then by just tapping her with it or holding it like I'm going to tap her) but she's always jiggy and not paying attention when we first walk out. So today, right before we walked out, I stopped her and tapped her chest very lightly with the crop and just had her stand still and look around before we slowly walked out. I kept the crop in front of her chest and stopped again as soon as we were out in the spot where she usually misbehaves and just stood there until she was nice and calm. Then we had a peaceful walk to the round pen with zero shenanigans.
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All this stuff I'm doing with Ona now has me thinking....maybe in a couple years if everything is going OK with her and it looks like I'll stick with CTR, and if it looks like I might want to try endurance one day....maybe I'll buy an Arabian colt. A weanling.
I got Ona as a weanling. She was my first horse and I made so many mistakes with her and learned so many lessons. I think I could do a lot better job with another baby, and end up with a saner horse by the time he's old enough to ride. I could take it very slowly with him and not even plan to do endurance on him until he's around 8 or so. That would put me at about 60. Ona will be 18 by then. PJ and Joe would be 33 if they make it that long.
That sounds like a really nice idea.
I got Ona as a weanling. She was my first horse and I made so many mistakes with her and learned so many lessons. I think I could do a lot better job with another baby, and end up with a saner horse by the time he's old enough to ride. I could take it very slowly with him and not even plan to do endurance on him until he's around 8 or so. That would put me at about 60. Ona will be 18 by then. PJ and Joe would be 33 if they make it that long.
That sounds like a really nice idea.
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Another successful day!
Today we
1) walked from the barn to the round pen perfectly calmly, with Ona's head down all the way and I did not have to slow her down once
2) skipped tying her up in the round pen right away for treats
3) moved straight to leading her twice around the pen and then tying her and treating her. She was perfectly calm.
4) had her yield her hind quarters both ways once - she yielded a semicircle each way, with barely any pressure ate all (I just had to touch her, didn't have to press with my thumb)
5) saddled her up and cinched a little snugly
6) without Lance holding her I brought her to the mounting block where she immediately got into position for mounting. The second my foot touched the stirrup, she touched her nose to the stirrup for a treat
67turned her around and got her into position to mount from the other side, quickly and easily. Foot in stirrup, nose to stirrup, treat
8) repeated steps 5 & 6 quickly and easily with zero hesitation
9) snugged the cinch up all the way - no cinchiness whatsoever. Treat
10) brought her to the side of the round pen for Lance to hold her while I mounted from the wrong side (once again treating as soon as my foot was in the stirrup) and then had her flex back and forth both ways twice, for a treat each time
11) Lance checked the saddle for spinal clearance while I was sitting in it - YAHOO the saddle fits!
Plan for tomorrow -
I'll walk her around the round pen a couple times and treat, then saddle her up with her bridle on this time, walk her around again. Mount and have her flex for treats a few times, then I'll have her walk a step or two, stop for treats - and if she's calm enough we'll keep walking a few steps at a time and halting for flexing and treats.
From now on I'll keep treats in a saddle bag and use them for teaching opportunities. Over time I'll treat less often when I mount but still treat for that occasionally, and move on to other things. Hopefully this way she'll be more willing to engage in lessons.
When we're ready, I'll work on yielding her hind quarters from the saddle. To avoid frustration I might start off with touching her with my heel while Lance cues her from the ground simultaneously, until I'm able to cue her from the saddle without help. Once we have hind quarters down, we'll work on forequarters then on side passing.
No....wait! Instead of moving straight to doing it from the saddle I'm going to start saddling her up and, from the ground, I'll touch her side with the stirrup to get her to yield her hindquarters. Then maybe we won't need any help.
Today we
1) walked from the barn to the round pen perfectly calmly, with Ona's head down all the way and I did not have to slow her down once
2) skipped tying her up in the round pen right away for treats
3) moved straight to leading her twice around the pen and then tying her and treating her. She was perfectly calm.
4) had her yield her hind quarters both ways once - she yielded a semicircle each way, with barely any pressure ate all (I just had to touch her, didn't have to press with my thumb)
5) saddled her up and cinched a little snugly
6) without Lance holding her I brought her to the mounting block where she immediately got into position for mounting. The second my foot touched the stirrup, she touched her nose to the stirrup for a treat
67turned her around and got her into position to mount from the other side, quickly and easily. Foot in stirrup, nose to stirrup, treat
8) repeated steps 5 & 6 quickly and easily with zero hesitation
9) snugged the cinch up all the way - no cinchiness whatsoever. Treat
10) brought her to the side of the round pen for Lance to hold her while I mounted from the wrong side (once again treating as soon as my foot was in the stirrup) and then had her flex back and forth both ways twice, for a treat each time
11) Lance checked the saddle for spinal clearance while I was sitting in it - YAHOO the saddle fits!
Plan for tomorrow -
I'll walk her around the round pen a couple times and treat, then saddle her up with her bridle on this time, walk her around again. Mount and have her flex for treats a few times, then I'll have her walk a step or two, stop for treats - and if she's calm enough we'll keep walking a few steps at a time and halting for flexing and treats.
From now on I'll keep treats in a saddle bag and use them for teaching opportunities. Over time I'll treat less often when I mount but still treat for that occasionally, and move on to other things. Hopefully this way she'll be more willing to engage in lessons.
When we're ready, I'll work on yielding her hind quarters from the saddle. To avoid frustration I might start off with touching her with my heel while Lance cues her from the ground simultaneously, until I'm able to cue her from the saddle without help. Once we have hind quarters down, we'll work on forequarters then on side passing.
No....wait! Instead of moving straight to doing it from the saddle I'm going to start saddling her up and, from the ground, I'll touch her side with the stirrup to get her to yield her hindquarters. Then maybe we won't need any help.
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This is great!
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When I first got my mare she would immediately gait when a foot touched the stirrup and never would stand still for mounting. I did almost exactly what you are doing and even used the tap on the shoulder cue for Tille to turn her head for a treat. We also used a small handful of feed on the fender of the trailer while she was tied to have her stand still for me to mount. 6 years later I still give her a handful of feed on the fender, not because she won't stand because she will at the trailer or on the trail but simply because she enjoys it. And I still carry treats and give her one occasionally to reinforce the tap on the shoulder cue. It has helped us when she gets jittery or nervous and I ask her to stand still - Good Job!
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I'm SO glad to hear this! Great minds think alike, I guess
The feed on the fender is a great idea - I'm going to start doing this at the NATRC rides. I'm thinking the tap on the shoulder and treat may help at the beginning of the rides when she's antsy to get going. That plus practicing going a few steps then stopping for a treat. The beginnings of the rides are pretty exciting for her and I don't anticipate this will totally take care of her jitters but it might make ME a little less jittery if I can get her to stop occasionally!
I'm praying she won't turn back into a dragon today when I put her bridle on and try to actually ride her in the round pen. I'm going to keep those lessons very short and sweet.
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I worked from home today so I could take care of Ona's eyes. She looks like Sid T
![Sky Jaw Organism Mammal Fawn]()
![Horse Eye Working animal Stable Liver]()
he Sloth from Ice Age.
Just so I remember, these are the wipes not to use:
![Food Ingredient Working animal Drink Chair]()
I'd already paid entry fees and camping for this weekend's MODTRA ride. Obviously that's a no go, so I cancelled my PTO and will be working (likely from home again so I can take care of Ona) tomorrow. I gave my camping spot to a friend and I'm out the $ for the ride. I think Ona's going to be OK but that had to have been horribly painful and I feel like an awful horse mama. I'd used those wipes on her face on SUNDAY and didn't ride her Monday or Tuesday so she had to have been suffering for almost 3 whole days before I noticed on Wednesday. I looked at the horses out in the pasture, of course, but didn't get close enough to see her eyes.
Something has happened every single CTR this year. The first one, her back was sore so we couldn't do the 2nd day. The 2nd one, second day got rained out. The 3rd one, her back was sore again and couldn't do 2nd day. And this one we can't go to. I'm starting to wonder if I want to do this CTR thing at all! It's a lot of $ to just ride 10 miles on a horse (or zero miles!)
Lance suggested I keep Joe ready as a "spare" and maybe even bring both horses to the rides in the future. Joe's a nice horse. 23-year-old foxtrotter. His back is great. He's huge. About 16 hands and very "stocky" (AKA fat). I think he can probably still do 8-10 miles pretty easily. I haven't ridden him since last year. We've had him 5 years. His previous rider used him for long gaited trail groups and traded him in for a younger model when he wasn't staying in the lead anymore, but falling back with the quarter horses when he got tired.
We haven't ridden Joe nearly as much as we've ridden PJ & Ona. PJ is more of a husband horse so Lance always rode him, and I alternated between Joe and Ona until Lance couldn't ride anymore. Then I didn't have the time to build close enough relationships to be able to ride both Joe and Ona solo so I concentrated on Ona. PJ is showing his age and I don't think he'd like CTR but I could be wrong. Joe seems like the more likely candidate.
Of the three horses, Joe's the spookiest and the one I trust the least. He's never bucked or reared or anything like that but he's kind of high strung. He did bolt with me once and he's panicked when tied twice. The first time, he broke a supporting pole for our barn! If there's one horse I think I might want to use a stronger bit on it's him. He gets right up in other horses' butts with his fast walk and I have a hard time holding him back. He's very forward and prefers to be in front. Althea has a Tennessee Walker she can ride with us. Maybe we can practice.
Tonight I'm going to see if I can get him to come out to the round pen and I'll "start him over" like I've been doing with Ona, get an idea if I want to ride him or not. He's just soooo big. Smooth as glass though!
he Sloth from Ice Age.
Just so I remember, these are the wipes not to use:
I'd already paid entry fees and camping for this weekend's MODTRA ride. Obviously that's a no go, so I cancelled my PTO and will be working (likely from home again so I can take care of Ona) tomorrow. I gave my camping spot to a friend and I'm out the $ for the ride. I think Ona's going to be OK but that had to have been horribly painful and I feel like an awful horse mama. I'd used those wipes on her face on SUNDAY and didn't ride her Monday or Tuesday so she had to have been suffering for almost 3 whole days before I noticed on Wednesday. I looked at the horses out in the pasture, of course, but didn't get close enough to see her eyes.
Something has happened every single CTR this year. The first one, her back was sore so we couldn't do the 2nd day. The 2nd one, second day got rained out. The 3rd one, her back was sore again and couldn't do 2nd day. And this one we can't go to. I'm starting to wonder if I want to do this CTR thing at all! It's a lot of $ to just ride 10 miles on a horse (or zero miles!)
Lance suggested I keep Joe ready as a "spare" and maybe even bring both horses to the rides in the future. Joe's a nice horse. 23-year-old foxtrotter. His back is great. He's huge. About 16 hands and very "stocky" (AKA fat). I think he can probably still do 8-10 miles pretty easily. I haven't ridden him since last year. We've had him 5 years. His previous rider used him for long gaited trail groups and traded him in for a younger model when he wasn't staying in the lead anymore, but falling back with the quarter horses when he got tired.
We haven't ridden Joe nearly as much as we've ridden PJ & Ona. PJ is more of a husband horse so Lance always rode him, and I alternated between Joe and Ona until Lance couldn't ride anymore. Then I didn't have the time to build close enough relationships to be able to ride both Joe and Ona solo so I concentrated on Ona. PJ is showing his age and I don't think he'd like CTR but I could be wrong. Joe seems like the more likely candidate.
Of the three horses, Joe's the spookiest and the one I trust the least. He's never bucked or reared or anything like that but he's kind of high strung. He did bolt with me once and he's panicked when tied twice. The first time, he broke a supporting pole for our barn! If there's one horse I think I might want to use a stronger bit on it's him. He gets right up in other horses' butts with his fast walk and I have a hard time holding him back. He's very forward and prefers to be in front. Althea has a Tennessee Walker she can ride with us. Maybe we can practice.
Tonight I'm going to see if I can get him to come out to the round pen and I'll "start him over" like I've been doing with Ona, get an idea if I want to ride him or not. He's just soooo big. Smooth as glass though!
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I'm back! Things with Joe went about as I should have expected. He spooked and ran back to the barn before we made it all the way to the round pen. We almost got there though. Good thing nobody was on him
His personality is so different from Ona's, it's going to take a while for me to learn to work with him. Joe will go wherever you lead him, without putting up a fight, even if he's scared - until "out of the blue" he spooks. Ona will put up a fight immediately if she's scared. She'll just refuse to move forward and if you try to push it she'll rear, threaten to strike, snap her teeth at you! Ona has an opinion and an attitude about everything.
Joe just wants to be a fly on the wall, go along to get along. He hides his feelings and tries to be a gentleman.
I didn't fight him when he spooked, i just let go of the rope and let him go. It was my fault for pushing him too far. When I got back to the barn I groomed him and then did some ground work with him halfway down the barn aisle. Tomorrow maybe I'll do ground work with him in the doorway.
It might be nice to work with a "normal" horse for a while.
Ona sure was jealous though! When I was doing groundwork with him in the barn she was calling out to me nonstop!
His personality is so different from Ona's, it's going to take a while for me to learn to work with him. Joe will go wherever you lead him, without putting up a fight, even if he's scared - until "out of the blue" he spooks. Ona will put up a fight immediately if she's scared. She'll just refuse to move forward and if you try to push it she'll rear, threaten to strike, snap her teeth at you! Ona has an opinion and an attitude about everything.
Joe just wants to be a fly on the wall, go along to get along. He hides his feelings and tries to be a gentleman.
I didn't fight him when he spooked, i just let go of the rope and let him go. It was my fault for pushing him too far. When I got back to the barn I groomed him and then did some ground work with him halfway down the barn aisle. Tomorrow maybe I'll do ground work with him in the doorway.
It might be nice to work with a "normal" horse for a while.
Ona sure was jealous though! When I was doing groundwork with him in the barn she was calling out to me nonstop!
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This evening I decided to play with both Ona and Joe, after I took care of Ona's eyes. Her eyes are still swollen but the swelling has gone down a lot and they're not draining anymore.
First I took Joe to the barn door and he didn't seem too nervous so I took him just outside the door to work on teaching him to yield his front. It seems easier to teach forequarters when I'm holding the lead rope and hindquarters when I have them tied to something. I bet when I get on their backs I'll have to reinforce that they can't take a step forward or backward when yielding.
I got him to do a step a few times and treated him each time and tried getting him a little further from the barn and working with him for a while. Then when he started breathing fast we went back to his comfort zone. We went back and forth like that a couple times, and I walked him in a figure 8 around a couple stumps just outside his comfort zone and that's all we did.
I don't think Joe's prior owner taught him anything except go, stop, right, left, and back. That's pretty much all they had to do on their trail rides and I never really saw any reason to learn more until I joined NATRC.
Ona seems to have forgotten some things after being off for 4 days. She was jiggy leaving the barn again so I brought her back inside and led her out again a few times until she walked out calmly. The second I got her into the round pen she was mugging me for treats so I had to stop that several times and remind her she only gets a treat when she earns it. I put the saddle on her and used the stirrup (in my hand) to signal her to yield her hind and she understood that immediately. She's doing it with very light pressure so I hope that means she'll do it when I'm in the saddle. Then I brought her to the mounting block and she had totally forgotten how to position herself. I tried a few times without Lance's help, with no success, then he came and helped until she did it 3 times on each side. All she cared about were the treats.
We haven't signed up for our next CTR yet. In two weeks we have one of the two girls rides we do every year, with my horsey friends who like to go on a couple short rides a day and socialize the rest of the time. IDK when the next CTR after that will be - I'll have to check.
First I took Joe to the barn door and he didn't seem too nervous so I took him just outside the door to work on teaching him to yield his front. It seems easier to teach forequarters when I'm holding the lead rope and hindquarters when I have them tied to something. I bet when I get on their backs I'll have to reinforce that they can't take a step forward or backward when yielding.
I got him to do a step a few times and treated him each time and tried getting him a little further from the barn and working with him for a while. Then when he started breathing fast we went back to his comfort zone. We went back and forth like that a couple times, and I walked him in a figure 8 around a couple stumps just outside his comfort zone and that's all we did.
I don't think Joe's prior owner taught him anything except go, stop, right, left, and back. That's pretty much all they had to do on their trail rides and I never really saw any reason to learn more until I joined NATRC.
Ona seems to have forgotten some things after being off for 4 days. She was jiggy leaving the barn again so I brought her back inside and led her out again a few times until she walked out calmly. The second I got her into the round pen she was mugging me for treats so I had to stop that several times and remind her she only gets a treat when she earns it. I put the saddle on her and used the stirrup (in my hand) to signal her to yield her hind and she understood that immediately. She's doing it with very light pressure so I hope that means she'll do it when I'm in the saddle. Then I brought her to the mounting block and she had totally forgotten how to position herself. I tried a few times without Lance's help, with no success, then he came and helped until she did it 3 times on each side. All she cared about were the treats.
We haven't signed up for our next CTR yet. In two weeks we have one of the two girls rides we do every year, with my horsey friends who like to go on a couple short rides a day and socialize the rest of the time. IDK when the next CTR after that will be - I'll have to check.
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Tonight Joe came out to the round pen and walked around inside of it with me without issue. Maybe I'll start saddling him and getting him to stand still for mounting soon. Ona caught up to where she was before her 4 days off, and today I had her stand still for much longer, wiggling my foot around and taking a long time like I would if I was having trouble mounting. Tomorrow maybe I'll put a bridle on her in the round pen and get her to take a few steps. Her eyes are almost back to normal. If I didn't know there was something wrong, I might not notice. I'm going to keep washing them and putting the antibiotic ointment in them until it's gone, just to be safe.
Maybe I'll work on getting both of them to ride around the property better. I could actually do quite a bit of conditioning right here, if I rode around the whole 20 acres a few times. I've also got Ona to the point that I could get her to the trail nearby, if we didn't have to go by those crazy dogs. Our neighbors have offered to let us go through their pasture to get there so that might work. AND my neighbor, April, is recovered from her surgery and ready to start riding again. She's been off of riding all summer. Maybe I can ride to her house and then we can ride to the trail together.
Maybe I'll work on getting both of them to ride around the property better. I could actually do quite a bit of conditioning right here, if I rode around the whole 20 acres a few times. I've also got Ona to the point that I could get her to the trail nearby, if we didn't have to go by those crazy dogs. Our neighbors have offered to let us go through their pasture to get there so that might work. AND my neighbor, April, is recovered from her surgery and ready to start riding again. She's been off of riding all summer. Maybe I can ride to her house and then we can ride to the trail together.
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Ugh it was hot today. I'm so sick of this heat.
I waited until it cooled down a bit then still wanted to work both horses. I brought Joe out and he was such a sweetheart. I'd been putting so much effort into Ona that I'd forgotten what a joy Joe is. He positions himself perfectly for mounting, except he doesn't know how to off-side mount. I'll keep working on that with him. We're working on yielding the hind from the ground using the stirrups and he's improving on that. Soon I'll start riding him around the property and work on yielding from the saddle.
By the time I brought Ona out, the sun had already set. She was in a mood tonight. When I was adjusting the cinch she tried to cow kick me, and I wasn't even tightening it - just hooking it up for her since I'd had to go a couple holes looser for Joe. I yelled at her and shook the crop at her, made her back a couple steps. She got this defiant look on her face.....I swear ...this horse! I was planning to put the bridle on her and actually get on her back in the round pen for longer today, just making her stand still while I messed with the halter and played with my phone and then getting off. After our previous round pen experiences, and with the mood she was in, I decided not to try that today. I put her bridle on and had her practice mounting and yielding her hinds and then brought her back to the barn. Her left eye is all better. The right is still a little swollen.
I waited until it cooled down a bit then still wanted to work both horses. I brought Joe out and he was such a sweetheart. I'd been putting so much effort into Ona that I'd forgotten what a joy Joe is. He positions himself perfectly for mounting, except he doesn't know how to off-side mount. I'll keep working on that with him. We're working on yielding the hind from the ground using the stirrups and he's improving on that. Soon I'll start riding him around the property and work on yielding from the saddle.
By the time I brought Ona out, the sun had already set. She was in a mood tonight. When I was adjusting the cinch she tried to cow kick me, and I wasn't even tightening it - just hooking it up for her since I'd had to go a couple holes looser for Joe. I yelled at her and shook the crop at her, made her back a couple steps. She got this defiant look on her face.....I swear ...this horse! I was planning to put the bridle on her and actually get on her back in the round pen for longer today, just making her stand still while I messed with the halter and played with my phone and then getting off. After our previous round pen experiences, and with the mood she was in, I decided not to try that today. I put her bridle on and had her practice mounting and yielding her hinds and then brought her back to the barn. Her left eye is all better. The right is still a little swollen.
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We had a couple good rides this weekend. 8 people showed up today for the group ride I organized, and yesterday we camped and one of the ladies (D.) was camping also so we rode yesterday. D. has a little dog that rides on a buddy seat behind her saddle and stays on quite well!
Joe's saddle seems to be working out well for Ona. It's not quite as comfortable for me, but I can live with it. I'm a little more sore today than usual but she's not sore and she moved more freely.
Everybody I rode with has had horses since they were children - and most of them are in their 50s or 60s now. So, things that I don't understand are just common sense for them. I've realized it's best for me to just not mount until I'm with the group and we're getting ready to ride off. I thought that meant there was something wrong with Ona and I for having to do it that way, but I noticed that we're not the only ones who have to do it that way. Other people's horses act up before the ride, too, if they mount early.
The youngest rider was in her 30s and grew up on a ranch where her family bred quarter horses. D's dad was a rodeo guy and she's been riding since she could walk. She and her daughter barrel raced together for years. One lady raises gypsy vanners and she and her daughter give lessons. One raises arabs. Several ride in NATRC or endurance. I feel fortunate to have found experienced people to ride with. I'm the least experienced of all of them.
There was one time yesterday and one time today when Ona balked at going over a log and I got off and led her over instead of making her go forward. I just didn't want to make the group wait while I convinced her to go forward but they pointed out it takes just as long for me to re-mount as it would have taken to be patient until she went forward. The first time it was just a big log laying over the trail - I have no idea why she didn't want to go over it. It was a nice clean log on a wide, well-maintained area of trail. No branches sticking out or anything. The second time I kind of understand - the trail in that area wasn't maintained and the log was gnarly, with branches sticking out, right in front of two trees that were really close together, and there were lots of saplings and tangly undergrowth. She probably would have gone over if I hadn't been nervous because I was remembering a time I forced her to go over an area like that and when we got back to camp I found a stick imbedded in her chest. Anyway - I was a little embarassed for getting off but she was pretty well behaved other than that. She seemed happy to be on the trail.
Next weekend is one of the two annual girls rides/campouts put on by my neighbors. There will probably be about 20 ladies camping out from Thursday through Sunday. It's more about the socializing than the riding, but they ride out twice a day for 1-2 hours and sometimes smaller groups will go out for longer.
Oh - off topic...when I caught the horses yesterday morning, before we headed out to the campground, PJ and Joe actually went into the same stall and ate together. We've had them for five years and they've never done that before - PJ has always bullied Joe. When we're ready to leave for a ride, I always put all the horses in stalls, then load Ona in the trailer, then go let the boys out. PJ usually goes ape poop, calling out for her and galloping around acting crazy. Yesterday there was none of that! PJ was content with Joe's company and didn't seem bothered by Ona leaving. Totally weird.
Joe's saddle seems to be working out well for Ona. It's not quite as comfortable for me, but I can live with it. I'm a little more sore today than usual but she's not sore and she moved more freely.
Everybody I rode with has had horses since they were children - and most of them are in their 50s or 60s now. So, things that I don't understand are just common sense for them. I've realized it's best for me to just not mount until I'm with the group and we're getting ready to ride off. I thought that meant there was something wrong with Ona and I for having to do it that way, but I noticed that we're not the only ones who have to do it that way. Other people's horses act up before the ride, too, if they mount early.
The youngest rider was in her 30s and grew up on a ranch where her family bred quarter horses. D's dad was a rodeo guy and she's been riding since she could walk. She and her daughter barrel raced together for years. One lady raises gypsy vanners and she and her daughter give lessons. One raises arabs. Several ride in NATRC or endurance. I feel fortunate to have found experienced people to ride with. I'm the least experienced of all of them.
There was one time yesterday and one time today when Ona balked at going over a log and I got off and led her over instead of making her go forward. I just didn't want to make the group wait while I convinced her to go forward but they pointed out it takes just as long for me to re-mount as it would have taken to be patient until she went forward. The first time it was just a big log laying over the trail - I have no idea why she didn't want to go over it. It was a nice clean log on a wide, well-maintained area of trail. No branches sticking out or anything. The second time I kind of understand - the trail in that area wasn't maintained and the log was gnarly, with branches sticking out, right in front of two trees that were really close together, and there were lots of saplings and tangly undergrowth. She probably would have gone over if I hadn't been nervous because I was remembering a time I forced her to go over an area like that and when we got back to camp I found a stick imbedded in her chest. Anyway - I was a little embarassed for getting off but she was pretty well behaved other than that. She seemed happy to be on the trail.
Next weekend is one of the two annual girls rides/campouts put on by my neighbors. There will probably be about 20 ladies camping out from Thursday through Sunday. It's more about the socializing than the riding, but they ride out twice a day for 1-2 hours and sometimes smaller groups will go out for longer.
Oh - off topic...when I caught the horses yesterday morning, before we headed out to the campground, PJ and Joe actually went into the same stall and ate together. We've had them for five years and they've never done that before - PJ has always bullied Joe. When we're ready to leave for a ride, I always put all the horses in stalls, then load Ona in the trailer, then go let the boys out. PJ usually goes ape poop, calling out for her and galloping around acting crazy. Yesterday there was none of that! PJ was content with Joe's company and didn't seem bothered by Ona leaving. Totally weird.
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Ona's eyes are looking a little worse again today. I couldn't tell for sure if they looked swollen again but I think they are a little bit, and I noticed she doesn't seem to want to open them all the way and there's a little bit of drainage again. Lance is going to try to get her an appointment tomorrow afternoon and I'll try to make it home to bring her. Otherwise he's going to try to load her up himself - which makes me a little nervous. She hasn't been loading the greatest lately.
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I took off work early to get her to the vet today. Not looking so hot. She's got abrasions on both cornias - not in the area that affects vision. The vet thinks it probably happened when her cunjunctivae were so swollen but maybe it happened from rubbing her eyes. She says it's not ulcers, it's abrasions. I sure hope she's right. We got some antibiotic drops and the vet drew blood and spun it down to make eye drops from the plasma. I have to flush her eyes with saline then do both drops 2-3 times per day, and the vet says she's hoping we won't need a referral to an opthalmologist for conjunctival tubes.
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