Your Drive Day

I have been told that I am very good with a new horse that has a questionable past, is unhandled, skittish, or generally spooky and fearful.  I can have them clipping, loading in a trailer, leading nicely, ground driving, and doing a few tricks.  But,  I think I have to acknowledge that I am pretty much a failure at taking the horse farther along.  If the horse is somewhat docile by nature, I am okay.  But if he is resistant or "hot", then I cannot seem to move him along in training.  I agree that psychology plays a big part, but it is more than that.  I am not a natural leader and that's that.  A horse that requires a strong leader won't work well for me.  I do feel good that I have taken horses that were neglected pasture ornaments and brought them along to be companions, drivers,  and even to shine in the show ring--for someone else.  

Buckly goes to the trainer next Wednesday.  I think the cowboy is excited to work with him!  We have to wait till next week, as the cowboy is competing in a big regional rodeo this weekend.    He frequently rides his horse to work cattle without a bridle.  I haven't even talked cost yet.  We are supposed to firm everything up on Monday.

Marsha Cassada said:

I have been told that I am very good with a new horse that has a questionable past, is unhandled, skittish, or generally spooky and fearful.  I can have them clipping, loading in a trailer, leading nicely, ground driving, and doing a few tricks.  But,  I think I have to acknowledge that I am pretty much a failure at taking the horse farther along.  If the horse is somewhat docile by nature, I am okay.  But if he is resistant or "hot", then I cannot seem to move him along in training.  I agree that psychology plays a big part, but it is more than that.  I am not a natural leader and that's that.  A horse that requires a strong leader won't work well for me.  I do feel good that I have taken horses that were neglected pasture ornaments and brought them along to be companions, drivers,  and even to shine in the show ring--for someone else.  

Buckly goes to the trainer next Wednesday.  I think the cowboy is excited to work with him!  We have to wait till next week, as the cowboy is competing in a big regional rodeo this weekend.    He frequently rides his horse to work cattle without a bridle.  I haven't even talked cost yet.  We are supposed to firm everything up on Monday.

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Marsha,  I think your strengths far outweigh your weaknesses when it come to horses.  Taking in neglected or mishandled ones and turning them around is not as easy task and usually harder than starting one that is a blank slate because of the baggage that they come with.  That you are able to do it says a lot!

Is the trainer close to you so you can visit while Buckly is there?

Yes, I plan to go up and watch him work, if possible.  He is about an  hour away.    I have begun separating the boys during the day.  They are together at night. 

Cappy and I had a lesson today.  It went pretty well.  We worked on ground driving, keeping him soft in the bridle and the clarity of my aids.  I ground drove him then the instructor drove him and then I finished up with him.  Cappy remembered her from two years ago and remembered she means business, lol.  He was not lackidasical with her.   Instructor makes it look so easy.  She said all of the bumps in the road are of my making : -) therefore fixable.  So if we fix me and my bad habits, hopefully we will progress a little further instead of being stalled out.

I've had my boys separated during the day for 4 days now.  Buckly is much more responsive to me.  I think if he were my "only" we would get along more quickly.

Cayuse said:

Cappy and I had a lesson today.  It went pretty well.  We worked on ground driving, keeping him soft in the bridle and the clarity of my aids.  I ground drove him then the instructor drove him and then I finished up with him.  Cappy remembered her from two years ago and remembered she means business, lol.  He was not lackidasical with her.   Instructor makes it look so easy.  She said all of the bumps in the road are of my making : -) therefore fixable.  So if we fix me and my bad habits, hopefully we will progress a little further instead of being stalled out.

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What tips about your "bumps" did you get that you can share?

Hi Marsha, One of our "bumps" is that I don't give concise and clear aids and mean it.  As an example,  I am a great on for asking for an upward transition and not getting after them if they don't comply.  I am what I!would call a "picker" in that I ask for a trot, and ask and ask and ask, but I don't get firm about it so they loose all respect for me and I end up picking at them all the time to do something.  She told me to "ask once, if no response ask again firmly, and if then no response, ask again followed by some encouragement(not harshly) with the whip"   It's not just transitions, I am wishy washy with everything concerning the horses. I guess it all goes back to that thing about being a "leader".  I have a hard time maintaining the boss mare role. Probably you and I are a lot alike in that way.   I want to be their friend and not their leader and they take advantage of that a little.  

Another thing that I don't do is support them throughout a turn,  I just ask for the turn and then not support them with both the inside and outside rein.  I drop contact and then they are on their own looking for  guidance.  I was starting to learn this two years ago, when my lessons stopped.  It is not easy for me to do for some reason and Cappy likes a lot of contact.  Peanut can do without it

If I think of other specific things the instructor said, I will post them. I would say that  the theme of the lesson was I don't offer enough guidance.

When she ground drove Cappy,  he was marching right along, she was even driving him one handed and he was turning with a flick of her wrist, lol. He is a funny little mite, like I said, he seemed to remember her from two years ago and was happy to see her.

How are the plans going for Buckly, is he still going to the trainer Wednesday?

Th instructor did say that Cappy was much better about getting into everyone's space and being rude.  She noticed he was a lot less pushy and the lessons she had given me in the beginning worked well. So that was a positive thing I thought that I would mention.  

We have worked quite a bit with the "box" formula.  They have their space, which is like an invisible box, and the handler has the same.  Horse should not step out of their "box" and into yours without an invite.  This teaches them to respect your space and stay a certain distance from you.  The past year or so the phrase "Cappy, get back in your box!" has been heard often.  It seems to have worked ?

I like the box idea around the horse instead of around me.  That seems to me a useful leadership tip. 

Marsha Cassada said:

I like the box idea around the horse instead of around me.  That seems to me a useful leadership tip. 

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It is SO much easier to me to remember a box around them than to imagine one around me.  The concept works slick with Cappy.  It works pretty good with Peanut, too.

I hope the cowboy gets back to you on working with Buckley. So many times (for me anyway) a trainer is the answer. Outside help is almost always a good thing. It's like grooming clients that tell me their don't won't let them brush him. "He bites me when I try" they say. I almost never have any trouble brushing those dogs. I'm confident handling the dogs and they know I mean business. I think horse trainers are the same way. They understand horses in a way we sometimes don't.

 I am thinking my dad needs to send Pistol to someone to train him or he needs to take him back down south and work with him himself. This little guy has the most amazing movement I've ever seen and he doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body. He'd make an amazing driving horse but he needs someone that knows how to work with a skittish horse. I'm not that person. Marsha, I need you to take him and work with him to get over his fears. He just lived his whole life without human contact so he's wary of it. He's so sweet but I've got no idea how to progress with him and no time.

My EE cart is for sure coming home this week! The other carts will come up later this month when my dad has time to bring them up (he wants to bring his marathon wagonette up as well) but I'll have the EE and it works on all 3 of the drivers. I'll take Smokey out first to get him some exercise since this is the longest he's gone without being driven. He's getting to be pushy in his stall and needs worked. Then hopefully Clementine and I can go out and enjoy a drive...she still seems to be her old happy self. Although, I have to say, I'm wary around her after that nasty bite. It'll take a while before I trust her fully again. But I'm also more vigilant around her and make her keep out of my space. I'm going to start telling her to stay in her box!

We'll see how the spring/summer go with all the minis. I'm moving them up from the barn to my back yard this weekend. That way I can work with Perry (the baby) and Pistol on a daily basis even when I only have 20 minutes to spare. Plus, there is so much more activity and things to get used to up here. Kids and dogs in the yard, the metal shop next door, lawn mower, etc. I think it will be good for Perry and Pistol to both be around more people, things, and noise. There is no one living down at the barn these days so it's dead quiet all day and night. The deer, owls, and sandhill cranes have moved in even.

Anyway....if I'm still overwhelmed at the end of the summer then I may have to think about re-homing a mini or two. Smokey will go back with his owner and, unless dad is willing to take Pistol and work with him, I may see if someone wants to buy and train him for driving. He really is a beautiful horse. Anyone need a project?

I bet the baby is getting big. It will be nice to have them in your backyard, it will be so much easier. .We have an owl living near our barn too.  He scared me the other night.  I went out to check the horses because I heard something and when I was in the barn I heard this incredibly loud  "whoo whoo WHOO" and what sounded like talons scratching on the metal roof.  It gave me the willies.  I hear the owl every night, but not THAT close.  I think that he was what got the horses restless.

I hope that your cart arrives in time for some driving this weekend.

Peanut had a lesson Friday, we worked on me again.  Keeping my chest open and having a straight line from hands to bit, also worked on getting him to step under hi!self a little bit more on the inside of turns, we got a few steps here and there.  He was using muscles he forgot he had so it was "one step at a time."  I got the all clear from the vet about going to shows, so we took him to one today.  I brought the cart just in case, but I ended up just ground driving him all over the show grounds.  He has not been shown for two years and although he was very very good in the halter classes, he was just just a little bit too amazed at the larger horses for me to feel comfortable driving him.  He ground drove with both me and my instructor and after about 15 minutes was relaxed and happy.  I wanted to leave it there, on a happy note for him. He really tried pretty hard.  Again,  it was one step at a time.

I will try and post a picture tomorrow.  

Glad you are able to go to a show!  It will be a grand event when you get to drive.  Love to see pictures.

I find as I get older it is harder for me to take instruction from a trainer and implement it.  And I worry that my incompetence is confusing my horse and frustrating him. 

The Belgian folk contacted me and said after chores on Monday they will call and talk about Buckly.  I have not ground driven him in a a few weeks.  We go for walks and work on some ground exercises. 

Yes! I hear the instruction and my mind processes the command but it takes awhile to put the whole thing into action. My body and my mind seemed to have grown disconnected.

I hope the Belgian trainer turns out to be nice.  I wonder what ever happened to the cowboy.  Hope he didn't get wiped out at a rodeo or something.

Cayuse said:

Yes! I hear the instruction and my mind processes the command but it takes awhile to put the whole thing into action. My body and my mind seemed to have grown disconnected.

I hope the Belgian trainer turns out to be nice.  I wonder what ever happened to the cowboy.  Hope he didn't get wiped out at a rodeo or something.

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Yes, I was a little worried about the cowboy too.  I see his mom at weight watchers so I will ask her about him.

Hope tomorrow to hear from the Belgian folks.  They said they would call after chores, about 10 am. 

Here is Peanut at the show yesterday.  

And another one.  I was pretty happy with the little fella ?

Peanut is a handsome boy!  Love the white on his forehead.  Bigs and littles, or just littles at the show?

If we were closer, I would love to work with Pistol a little.  That is probably my favorite part, working with a scaredy horse and helping them get over fears.

Thank you!  He was the littlest one at the show.  He went in pony/mini halter and did super well.  We went in the solid color class which was  both biggies and ponies and he got a little stressed at the in gate/ out gate when a lot of the biggies crowded him.  He kept it together enough get placed in each class, I was over the moon about that.  By the end of the day he was acclimating to the big horses.   

Pistol does sound like he would be fun to work with.  How far from MajorClem are you??? ?

Cayuse said:

Thank you!  He was the littlest one at the show.  He went in pony/mini halter and did super well.  We went in the solid color class which was  both biggies and ponies and he got a little stressed at the in gate/ out gate when a lot of the biggies crowded him.  He kept it together enough get placed in each class, I was over the moon about that.  By the end of the day he was acclimating to the big horses.   

Pistol does sound like he would be fun to work with.  How far from MajorClem are you??? ?

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I'm about 3 days from Pistol!

Glad to hear you placed! Congratulations!