Cody get his hair dried

So here's a photo of Axel's knees from tonight. Pretty much exactly the same as the previous photos. With a bit of additional winter hair of course.

He was still pretty gimpy today and trying to walk across the ice rink to the barn didn't help of course. He loves his MSM though and I think he's much happier getting his treats now that they don't taste bad. He walked around the arena a bit but he didn't want to roll so we went back outside.

Cody was waiting his turn when I brought Axel out. He was a bit more snowy so I groomed him up pretty good. He had some nice platform snow shoes on his front feet so I bet he was glad to have them picked out. I free lunged him for a while at the trot and canter, not too much so he didn't get sweaty. We worked on some ground work after that. I think I need a refersher course on some of the ground work stuff I feel like we're stuck and not quite getting to where we want to be with moving parts of Cody's body and eventually lateral movements. He still wants to always look at the gate when we're in there.

When we were done playing in the arena I put Cody back in the aisle to see how he'd react to the hair dryer. He was actually still a little wet from the snow so I figured it was a good time to try. He wasn't too sure of the whole deal. He behaved really well but he was pretty concerned with what was going on. I managed to dry a spot on his withers but the hair dryer on low seemed really cool. When I tried it at home the high setting seemed really hot but now low seems too low. Who knows, it did dry him off in that spot pretty well. I'll keep working with him on that so when we really need it he isn't surprised.

Windy Monday

Too windy to enjoy a ride down the road today but I want to keep a sort of close eye on Axel so I went to the barn anyway. The wind must have gotten everyone all riled up, both horses were kind of weird and trying to climb in my pockets. I brought Cody in and gave him some extra food while I groomed him quick. He's so fuzzy already. I lunged him a little with the 12' line. He's been so slow and lazy lately so it was time to get him responding. He did pretty well actually. I worked on some of our regular ground work. I need to get a little more precise with the turns on the haunches and forehand. Cody remembers stuff once he learns it so I just need to get it right.

I hopped on bareback and rode around a little while, mostly at the walk and a tiny bit of trot. We mostly worked on the left turns. I also tried a bit of what was supposed to be sidepassing but was more of a lesson in turn on the haunches, or just moving the specific parts of the body when asked. Something I probably should have kept on working on but I didn't. When I was done riding I did a few stretches with Cody and we went back outside.

Axel had his turn inside. I mostly just hand walked him around the arena, I thought the good footing and a little moving would be helpful for his foot. He was sound at the walk and wasn't shortening his stride at all so that was good. I tried to lunge him a little at the walk but he kept speeding up going to the right. To the left he kept pawing, almost spanish walk, and eventually a little buck and a kick. I kept telling him to walk and "easy" but he got it in his head that I wanted more so we had to stop so he didn't hurt himself. I ended up giving him some grain to see if he'd eat the MSM I bought. He licked the bucket clean so that's a good sign. I'll probably just give him the extra MSM when I'm out there instead of adding it to his regular feeding, at least for now.

Cody's Day

I only had an hour or so last night so I just went out to lunge Cody a bit and put his fly mask back on. He was super slow and lazy again as he has been lately. Now even the whip doesn't really inspire him to get moving. Until something clicks and I haven't quite figured out what it is yet. I was trying to get him to trot or move or something. I recall he got pissed off and threw out a buck and after that things were golden. I can't recall what it was I did to make him mad but it worked. Then he trotted out nice and big and switched directions promptly when asked. Still can't get him into a canter and I'm not sure what's up with that. Perhaps I'll grab the carrot stick and plastic bag next time I go out. If I can't get him to canter I can't reward him for doing it correctly right away and he won't want to do it ever. It's a vicious circle.

We worked on some halt from the trot and just trying to get a reaction immediately when I ask. He did alright on that. And then I worked on some of the turns on the forehand and haunches. Turns on the forehand are sort of okay and turns on the haunches are more difficult. Lastly we worked on our backing up issue. He'll back up really well with me standing facing him and doing either the rope wiggle or waving my hands and asking him to "back." He's been not so great at backing while I'm at his neck leading lately, kind of sliding in that area. I also tried asking him to back while standing by his hip, that really confused him. So I think we'll be working more on backing in general from the verbal cue from all sorts of places and then work on some ground driving and backing that way. So I might give up my backing under saddle goal until we can do it on the ground from nearly anywhere. We'll work on the leg yielding under saddle and hopefully some of that will help with the canter.

Warm Ride

Just a quick trip out to the barn today to check on the horses post adjustment. Cody was actually waiting at the gate so I took him in and groomed him and we did some ground work in the arena. He wasn't terribly excited and just wanted to walk on the lunge. I didn't push him but I did ask for a trot just to make sure he was just feeling lazy and not in pain. It's amazing how good he is at backing up from the ground and not under saddle. We didn't work long, it was pretty warm in the arena and I hadn't opened the doors yet since it would mean more distraction. I'll admit that Cody hadn't turned into some genius and super cooperative horse over night, his reactions were the same as they always were but there was a lot more chewing and licking than usual. I hadn't put the saddle on him so I don't know if he'd still yawn at the sight of it. That will remain to be seen I guess.

I brought Axel into the barn to groom and see how he was feeling. He was pretty pokey on the gravel and the cement but he seemed fine in the arena. I decided to jump on bareback and just ride around a bit. I managed to jump up from the mounting block and actually get on. Axel even stood there without moving, it would have been quite the sight had he moved since getting on bareback is not my forte. We just wandered around for a while before my butt was too hot to keep riding.

It was only low 70s today and it was pretty warm. Looks like high 70s for tomorrow and we're planning on going out to Lebanon Hills so it could be a very toasty ride. I think it'll be time to bust out the pink plaid pants.

No More Circles

We finally broke out of the arena and went for a ride down the road with another boarder. I was early so I was going to groom and lunge and do some stuff with Axel but he had other ideas. I nearly had to carry him across the driveway to the barn, he was slow and sort of lame but I couldn't figure out what was hurting him. I groomed him and then took him into the arena to evaluate what was wrong with him. Actually in the arena he wasn't really lame. He walked on the lunge line and didn't seem lame. He might have been a tiny bit off on one of his front legs but I couldn't pick it out. I only asked him to trot once, he pitched his usual fit and then trotted on as sound as he usually is. So I thought maybe he's not feeling well, of course if he wasn't feeling well it had nothing to do with his appetite. He was more than willing to pig out on the grass. So who knows what is up with him. Probably just sore after his little stunt on Sunday. We'll see how he is tomorrow.

So my little plan to not ride Cody isn't working out too well. We did a bit of ground work first and then went to groom. The ride out away from the barn was painfully slow. When we got to the first turn we trotted quite a ways and that seemed to snap Cody out of his barn sour funk. Of course the trip back was much faster, less fighting, and generally just a better ride. We passed the driveway on the way home and then my next plan was to back down the driveway. We only manged to get a little ways but at that point we had been sitting at the bottom of the drive fighting. He backed a little then would refuse. Finally I got a good 4-5 steps backwards so I called that good. We'll keep working on it, I think he'll get it after a while. Especially when he realizes backing down the driveway means we're done and we're home.

Gloomy Day = Frisky Horses

Since it rained all day Saturday I hadn't made it out to the barn since Thursday. Cody was still wearing his fly mask but Axel had figured out how to get his off without un-vecroing it. He kindly put it in the mud and probably stepped on it. Such a nice horse. I hung both of them up on the fence. It's supposed to rain again tomorrow so Cody should be okay as far as the sun goes. Hopefully the rain will clean off the mud a bit.

It was pretty chilly out today and both horses were feeling a little frisky. I just groomed Cody and did some ground work. I'm doing my best to not ride him til after his adjustment on Friday. He was a little uncooperative and didn't want to finish a circle when it meant facing away from the gate. Though he was switching directions with energy today which doesn't happen often lately. There's a few horses in the middle paddock right now to give the pasture a chance to grow so Cody is pretty happy to have new friends to talk to.

Axel was a handful today as well and he's probably going to be feeling it tomorrow. He trotted on the lunge line like a tiger was chasing him. Instead of cantering he put on a good show imitating a saddle bronc. He's doing pretty okay remembering how to do the turns from the ground. Still can't get him to bend, I need to spend a lot more time just spinning around til he gets it but that's a lot of spinning. He did pretty well under saddle considering his bronc impression. We worked on a walk on a loose rein, then some corner circles and some serpentines, and then we worked on some halts. He's been yanking the reins when he halts so we played with that a bit before calling it a day. The good news is that he's been backing out of the big barn door really well lately. We'll have to start working through a smaller area.

No Clever Title Today

Axel first tonight. He snoozed in the crossties while I groomed and tacked. Right as we were finishing up one of the hunter girls came into ride also. So Axel got a little more experience working with the distraction of another horse in the arena. He was fairly well behaved and didn't try and kick the other horse though we didn't get in each other's way at all so he probably didn't have an opportunity. Some walking, trotting, no real cantering just the "I'm not going to trot" canter. We did a little ground work to round out the evening.

Cody was second and he was pretty stressed out in the crossties but he calmed down in the arena even working on ground tying. I left the chiropractor a message so hopefully I can get that scheduled soon. Once the saddle and bridle were on Cody turned into lead and would not move for me. I managed to get him to the block and get on and he moved fine under saddle but I can tell he's no comfortable with the whole situation. I should probably stop riding him til he can get adjusted (he'll appreciate that for sure). We walked for a while with no reins and then trotted for a while, just a nice little trot. No cantering tonight. We did some minor work on the turns and some trot to halt. Our backing up is still really sluggish and reluctant. I got off and tried to ground tie and walk away but he wasn't too happy to face away from the gate while I went out of his sight, he did alright though, he tried. I backed him to the gate but like I said he's really reluctant so it too quite some escalation to get him to move, even then it was slow.

Cody couldn't see Axel in the pasture when we were done, he was behind the lean-to, and he just about made me deaf screaming in my ear trying to find Axel. Wow do I wish the herdbound thing would go away. I keep thinking all the times I take a horse away and bring him back would start to teach Cody that it's not the end of the world but so far no luck.

Manicure Day

It was farrier day at the barn so I skipped out of work early to get there in time. The barn owner already had Axel in a stall (standing quietly I might add, yay Axel). Cody was having his usual fit in the pasture. The farrier was just about done with Danny so I brought Cody in to get trimmed. He, of course, stood like a champ for the trim, he always does. Cody always gets these purple/pink/red spots on his hooves so I asked about them. Come to find out they are bruises but the farrier said he and his farrier cohorts haven't figured out exactly the cause. Originally they thought they were coming from the coronary band and moving down but evidence suggests that's not the case. So the best they can figure in their discussions is that the bruises come from the sole of the foot and travel out the wall. Interesting stuff. I really like this farrier, he asks what kind of work the horse does and how often and looks at the hooves to decide how to trim. I put Cody in a stall so Axel could get trimmed. It's a good time to practice being in a stall, which they both seem to handle well if there's other horses nearby. Alone in the barn might be a different story but alone in the pasture is difficult already.

Axel behaved fairly well, he gets a little antsy but nothing horrible. I turned him out while Cody had a minor fit. It was too nice out to go home and the barn was now empty so Cody and I worked on some groundwork for a while. He wasn't paying total attention being lunged, he got better with the turns, okay at the bending, and he wasn't thrilled with backing up. I had his attention at this point so I grabbed a lunge whip and tried a bit more lunging and more turns. I wanted to put away the whip so I dropped the lead and told him to "stand." And from there we worked on ground tying for quite a while. He was getting the picture and staying put or correcting himself with just a verbal cue. After some back and forth I was able to get about half the arena length away from him to put away the whip while he stood and watched. He actually stayed almost entirely concentrated on me with only a few glances out the door at the other horses. I let him off the hook, as it were, and went to grab the short lead rope and an apple. Following my unwritten rules I led Cody (at liberty) to the far end of the arena to give him his treat and clip on the leadrope. He got a little pushy after his apple, he really wanted to get back out the pasture and knew the apple must mean the end of our work. So we backed up from the far end of the arena to the gate. There was a little work involved in that but we made it and cody came back down to earth to listen to me. We backed out the barn door as usual and grazed for a while in the yard.

I did a little groundwork with Axel just in the pasture and it was almost as if he remembered some of our previous work, believe it or not! We did our turns pretty okay considering he was really more interested in grazing. That was about all we worked on, I checked for ticks and called it a night. I'm starting to think Axel might be gaining some weight. I hope he's not eating Cody's food, Cody needs to gain weight not Axel!

Nice Evening

The hunter girls were having their lesson when I got to the barn tonight so I groomed Cody in the aisle and then did some ground work outside on the grass. Ground work on nice fluffy grass is not an easy task, let me tell you, someone thought it was snack time not work time. I ended up putting on his saddle and riding out in the pasture. Axel was kind enough to leave us alone and actually give us a little challenge to work on. Cody was pretty calm with life but he was slightly concerned that he was out working and Axel was grazing without him. So we worked on that for a while, also the footing is a little more "iffy" so he had to pay attention and I got a bit more of a riding challenge. Thirdly I thought we'd work on some cantering with all the extra space but Cody wasn't on the same page. We couldn't really get the correct lead but we did have plenty of chances to work on controlling "runaways." After a few pretty bad run offs Cody got the picture and paid attention to where I wanted to turn. He still had some issues with relaxing and collecting but I guess you take what you can get. Still working on the rein back and we spent a little time working on the turn on the haunches. For some reason I am better at turn on the forehand from the ground and turn on the haunches under saddle. We un-tacked in the aisle and backed out of the barn.

The hunter girls finished up so I brought Axel in and groomed him. Found a wood tick in his forelock but that was the only one. He was very patient for grooming and would have probably taken a nap if I had let him. We did a couple circles lunging, there was a lot less fuss over the canter tonight. We spent a few minutes on our turns again and it seemed like perhaps he was finally catching on and we did some backing as well. I rode the walk for a while and then we worked on the trot in two point. I was hoping that two point would help get me off that foot and he could trot out for a while maybe work on stretching his neck and lifting his back. It went alright to the right but he was pretty unhappy to the left even in two point. I didn't fight with him too long, I want him to figure out it's the same to the right and the left especially when we're on a straight-a-way. Rein back under saddle is still reluctant with Axel but I'll keep working. I spent some time trying to get him to do turn on the haunches as well.

After my ride I went and watched one of the other boarders do some drill work with some of her fellow mounted posse members. She let me ride Danny around a bit before they got started working. It was a gorgeous sunset so I had to take some photos. Tomorrow: farrier day.

Lots of Ground Work

I'm getting a little bored of riding alone so much since I get to the barn more often now. To combat that I think I really need to start doing a lot more ground work with the horses. Starting today.

It was Cody's turn today to work on some cantering. But first we worked on some ground work. Axel stayed in the pasture and had a minor conniption about being alone. Cody and I worked on some of the moving away from pressure with turns on the forehand, which he got pretty well, and turns on the haunches - not so well. Worked on the bending exercises and some backing up. We did some circles at the walk and trot. We even worked on a little bit of ground tying which went surprisingly well. After that I rode for a while and tried to get some canters but we mostly ended up just trotting as fast as humanly (or horsely) possible. How did Steph get him to canter so well? We made a couple attempts at the various turns in the corners of the arena and then dismounted and did a couple stretches. I'm going to have to look at my horse massage/stretching books and get some more ideas for Cody to work on lifting his back.

I took Axel's screaming to mean he wanted to be worked with as well. The first thing we did was walk into the barn and then back out twice and he did it both times well. So he came into the arena and did some lunging. He did really well at the trot in the first direction, a little crankier in the other direction, and pretty cranky about cantering but that's pretty normal. I worked a little with the turn on the forehand from the ground, he got it okay but I think we'll have to keep working on that stuff with him a lot, he doesn't catch on and retain like Cody does. We then worked on some backing up, I wanted to back a whole lap of the arena but we made it around maybe 1/4 or more so that was pretty good. I decided I wasn't done yet and I didn't want to ride so I got out the long lines and the surcingle and we drove for a while and then switched to long lining. I think the long lines are too heavy though, despite having as much slack as he wanted he was still pretty frustrated and seemed like he was forced into a frame. Though good for him to stretch like that I don't think he enjoyed it. He was quite ticked when I asked for a trot and kicked out but manged to have a couple nice trots after that but they were very small and vertical. I tried to do some weaving but I didn't set up the cones before I hooked up Axel so I only was able to get out two and well it was just kind of a loss at that point. I did lunge him a bit more after the driving so he could stretch out the opposite way and he had a very nice extended trot. When we were done he backed out of the barn aisle one more time.

Two Rides on a Windy Day

Of course yesterday when it was gorgeous outside I spent the evening in the movie theater. Tonight it was windy and threatening to storm so I went out to the barn. Go figure. It wasn't raining yet so I groomed Axel outside where the wind could blow away any hair. He's still shedding a bit but almost back to black again. A couple spots the hair came off in big chunks, slowly but surely he'll be back to his shiny self.

I decided to just put the western saddle on him, I seem to sit better/deeper, I think because the western saddle doesn't have the thick panels. I lunged him a bit, he did really well at the trot and even had what I'd consider a nice extended trot (for Axel at least). He was a bit full of himself and kept trying to buck instead of canter but he wasn't pulling, just kind of being generally humpy. The arena was pretty warm so he was good and warmed up. He still doesn't quite get the bending exercise. We rode at a nice walk for a while where he was actually moving out a bit. The trot to the right went well but to the left he wanted to either stop, canter, or buck. He does not like when I post on the left diagonal. That diagonal leaves me sitting when his left hind is on the ground and that's his sore foot. I should probably just post the wrong diagonal but I'm afraid of unbalancing him. When I got off he followed me around for a bit and when I went to try and get him to do some stretches he immediately thought we were doing the bowing trick. Actually he was looking for his snack that he gets sometimes when we do that trick. He did finally let me stretch his front legs a bit. We'll have to ease into the back legs but those are the ones he needs the most.

I so wish I would have had my video camera on me today. When Axel finally laid down to roll he did his usual routine. Got his left side all nice and dirty and then worked on rolling completely over. Somewhere in the middle of one of his attempts his back legs went straight up in the air and he proceeded to kick them up and down like a little baby for a good 5 seconds before finally making it over to the right side. It was truly one of the funniest things I've ever seen Axel do.

Cody seemed to do alright in the pasture by himself while Axel was in the arena. He has dropped quite a bit of weight though. It's been a while since I've put the weight tape on him but he measured at 952lbs which I think is too light for him. Axel coincidentally taped at 1172lbs and he's actually looking really nice these days. I groomed Cody outside as well, he's still shedding a bit but he's harder to groom since he's a little bonier and more sensitive. He stood calmly in the arena tied to the wall while I tacked him up. Another boarder came in to work with her horse so Cody was less than excited to be lunged, he wanted to watch the other horse but we worked it out. Cody remembered the bending exercise after some work on it.

He was reluctant to walk out because it was in the direction away from the other horse. He finally gave in when I asked him to trot so we trotted in a circle for a bit. The other horse was working on ground tying so we trotted around as a bit of a temptation and Danny just stood there. Wish my horses would ground tie like that! I didn't want to do too much work with Cody. With his weight loss the saddle isn't fitting the greatest and I only had one pad to use. He was probably just distracted but almost seemed out of energy as well. We worked on the halt while I chatted with the other boarder for a while. It was probably the most patient Cody has been in a long time so after standing there for a while I got off. We stood there a little longer while the other boarder and horse left the arena. Cody even stood patiently for that. Of course as soon as we turned away from the gate to take off the saddle he got concerned and we fought for a while over that.

I tried a little bit of work with the whip to get him to stand patiently and look at me while crazy things were happening around him. He was pretty confused, started to understand, and then tuned out. We also worked a bit on some of the turns on the forehand and haunches, trying to get to a point where I don't have to actually push him around.

The vet is supposed to be out around 5 on Friday to do some of the horses shots. The plan is for him to do both Cody and Axel's teeth and sheaths and their rabies shots. From what I'm told the vet doesn't usually sedate for teeth but I don't imagine he's going to get too close to either end of Cody at least without sedation. Seems like a late appointment to do teeth but maybe he's just going to take a peek and set up a time in the future. Luckily I will be around on Friday to be there. Saturday Steph is going to come out and show me how to do injections and get their 5-way and Flu shots done and hopefully go for a ride.

More Work for Cody

Lots of action at the barn tonight, some of the other boarders had their farrier out doing shoes and whatnot and the barn owners were out working on the yard. I groomed Cody outside, he's just about done shedding just a few long hairs left. He stood fairly patiently and was watching the dogs and the barn owners in the yard instead of longing after the horses in the other pasture. I put him in the arena to tack up and as soon as I put the saddle on his back, before I even cinched it up, he started in with the yawning. I'm going to have to have Dr. Westman out to do some chiropractic work on him and see if that helps at all in addition to the dental work and having his sheath cleaned.

I lunged him for a bit at the walk and trot. He wasn't too keen on cantering on the lunge and I didn't have the whip. He remembered the bending exercise really well also so I mounted up and off we went. He was fairly distracted by all the goings on but he was listening pretty well. We did some circles in the corners of the arena at the walk and then we trotted a big circle for quite a while working on the bend and relaxing and then a little bit on making the circle wider.

We moved back onto the rail and when he was trotting calmly I asked for the canter. He actually picked up the first lead pretty well. The other direction took a few tries including one run off into the wall but the bending helped get his attention back where it belonged. It was warm in the arena and we had worked pretty hard. In fact we hadn't even worked on the halt at all because we hadn't stopped moving. Another boarder came in with her horse to do some groundwork so Cody and I worked on the halt at the far end of the arena. He seems to be getting better at it. And I've started asking him to back up when we stop. He's reluctant at first but after I ask-he fights-he gives in, then the next time he gets it right. Slowly but surely.

And just for the sake of it I started with a cue to get Cody to pick up his front foot to work on teaching him to bow as well. I've decided to start with the horses picking up their hoof, then holding their hoof up, then I'll move onto the bowing part. When all was said and done I went to put Cody's saddle down and get his lead rope, Danny was learning what hobbles were, and the other boarder grabbed a pitch fork. Something spooked Cody and he flew backwards, not sure what it was but he stopped and was fine. He backed out of the barn aisle like a champ (hey Axel, take a hint!).

Lots of Riding

Cody went first tonight. I groomed outside and I'm glad I did, the hair was flying. Luckily both horses are starting to get a bit shiny so maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Cody and I started with some of the bending exercises from the previous day. It only took a few spins before he remembered what I wanted. We did a few circles as well and then I tacked up to ride. I was going to try some circling techniques from the Stacy Westfall demo. The point was to keep a bend using the inside rein, keep traveling in the circle, and then work on widening the circle with the outside rein. He's supposed to gain some balance in his movements and then we're supposed to work into a figure 8 where half the 8 is counter bent. We didn't make it to the figure 8 but he did pretty well with trotting in the circle. I worked on some of the bending from in the saddle as well and that took a few more spins than on the ground. I asked for some canter as well. He took several tries to get into the right lead canter and picked up the wrong lead a few times until I counter bent him in a corner. The left lead canter he picked up on the first try but wasn't terribly excited to maintain it for any length of time. We had a few good downward transitions from trot to halt or walk. We even had some fairly decent halts. I need to add more backing up to our halts but I did make sure I never asked him to move forward out of the halt, we only changed directions. He's definitely started to figure out that when I'm going to dismount I want him facing away from the gate in the opposite end of the arena and that I do not want him to try and turn around to look at the gate. The nice thing about Cody is that with consistent work a person can really see his improvements.

Axel only had some minor screaming bouts while we were in the arena. When I took Axel out of the pasture and groomed him at the rail, Cody ran around a bit and made fuss. I took Axel in the arena and we did some lunging before working on the bow. The bow work didn't go quite as well as yesterday but I think it's a slow process. I was huffing and puffing by the end of our session. I picked up his foot and lowered his head over and over again. Every once in a while I'd tempt him with a treat. One instance he bit my finger which still hurts, my own fault but dang. That will just help me not use treats very often for this trick. One time he touched his knee to the ground and I patted him and praised him. Another time he had his head all the way upside down nearly touching the ground so he got praise for that one as well. Of course I tried to video tape both the bow work and riding Cody but my aiming skills are less than stellar so it's back to the drawing board on that one. I'll see what I can piece together and add them later.

The lady that owns Danny came in right as we were finishing so I asked if she wanted to ride down the road. I tacked up and she and I went down the road and then up the next block. She thought the total trip was about 4 miles. The brown western saddle is a lot harder than my butt tends to like. Axel did pretty good and kept up with Danny and I don't think Danny was being held back at all. He didn't even try to kick him until the end of the ride but he was also stomping his foot spontaneously which we later found out was due to a stone stuck in his frog. Cody was having a minor fit when we left and one when we returned but I suppose he just kept up with the fit while we were gone we just couldn't hear him. I think he's at least changed his fits from pacing and screaming to just standing and screaming so he wasn't sweaty at all when we got back.

I will probably run out tomorrow again for a few minutes and just do some groundwork to give each horse a chance to get out of the pasture away from the other horse. I still hope that they will eventually figure out that it isn't the end of the world when one of them leaves.

Spinning in Circles

Axel was first tonight. I put a training surcingle and a bridle on him and got out my new ropes. They are little heavy and that in combination with Axel forgetting what long lining was about made for some awkward driving. I wanted to start with regular long lining/lunging with the long lines but Axel was mighty confused about the situation. We drove a little, he fought with the bit and the lines and assumed an extreme rollkur position with his head. I wasn't pulling on the reins he was doing it all to himself so I just let him work through it, the side effect was that he was still stepping pretty well under himself and stretching through his neck to the poll. So I guess in the end some good will come out of it. We were finally able to trot around in a circle to the right. He did not like going to the left and would cut the circle short and then face me and get confused as to where to go. We'll definitely have to work on that more. He broke in the canter a few times and then startled himself when he'd hit the end of the lines in his mouth. I had him lunge a few times around without the surcingle and bit and just a single line so he could stretch out a bit and get into a canter. After the pseudo collected work he went into the canter really easily comparatively.

The shining point was when I was about to be done I decided to see where we could get with learning how to bow. I had no treats but I figured I'd give it a go anyway. The best I can figure is that it has to be done in parts. I was able to get his head down just by a bit of pressure on the halter. He'd keep his head down (probably just smelling the ground) so I picked up his front foot. I asked him to keep his head down and I pulled back a bit on his front foot. After a few seconds of encouragement he leaned back just enough that his lifted leg touched the ground and I let him up and rewarded him with scratches and praise. We did the same process a second time with the same results so I stopped there. Hopefully if we go gradual like that when he really puts weight on that knee he won't freak himself out. I'm not certain he can really stretch down physically like that but it's worth a try. I should probably teach him on both sides, it's a good stretch.

Cody was freaking out in the pasture while I had Axel in the barn. The other boarder had Danny in the arena at this time so Cody was pretty happy to work in there. He was very unresponsive when asked to circle so when she took Danny out to groom and saddle I started some work I saw at the Stacy Westfall demo. I wanted to be able to bend Cody's neck around and have him stand still while I asked for the bend. When I asked for the bend he'd spin or more commonly he'd back up. So we spun and backed up and spun and backed up over and over again. Ran into the wall, moved back to where there was room, rinse and repeat. I was ready to give up, he just wasn't getting what I wanted and I didn't think he was going to get it. But just as I thought we were going to be done he started to pause his spinning when I bent. So I kept it up and finally he understood. Danny was in the arena now and I think that might have helped as he was a bit calmer with life but I kept it up and I was able to bend him in both directions without him moving his feet. I tried some turns on the forehand after that but he's a bit sticky with that now because of the bending so we'll have to work on both so he can tell the difference. We spent a little time standing still while I chatted with the other boarder and he did pretty good with that.

I have to go over my notes a bit more and make sure I'm keeping up with what needs to be done to teach him to whoa and mean it. I did make sure that after I asked for a whoa I didn't move him forward but turned him instead. Axel screamed a little bit while we were in the barn but he quieted down a lot quicker than Cody did. I really should keep going out there as much as I can even if it's just to walk each horse into the barn for a few minutes while the other one learns that he won't be alone forever.

Keep Trying

It was a better day than yesterday but I still think Cody and Axel should be with a herd. In any case both horses were standing randomly in the pasture snoozing. I grabbed Axel first and groomed at the hitching rail. My thought was that we'd sort of be out of Cody's line of sight but he could see us if he needed to. I thought that would ease him into us being in the arena. He wasn't terribly concerned with our absence. He called a few times but it seemed to be directed towards the other horses and not Axel. Axel was being kind of a pain while tied, he kept chewing on the rope and I couldn't figure out if he was just chewing or if he was actually cribbing. I'm hoping he was just trying to untie himself.

We went into the barn and I tacked him in the crossties where he stood fairly decent. Seems like he starts flinging his head when I put the saddle on him. I just put the western saddle on out of laziness. We did the basic walk and trot. His trot was just okay. He wanted to stop a lot so I tried to just keep him moving. He greatly dislikes me posting on the left diagonal and almost always stops. We had a few rounds with him in a long and low position which was nice. He was shuffling quite a bit for most of our trotting, I couldn't quite get him to pick up his feet. When I asked for more go he'd try to canter for a stride and then back to his trot. I did ask for the canter a few times but only got a few lazy strides, no bucking tonight though. We tried a few turn on the forehand which I think went better than the first time, it felt like he was swinging his rear end around at least for a step. I hadn't set up the camera so I'll just have to keep working until I can see what he's really doing.

When I dismounted I let him roll in the arena and then I put down the fake bridge so he could work on backing off a step. He stepped up easily and even stood there with all four feet waiting for the next request. I asked him to back off and he did what he usual does, took one step off and hopped right back up. I kept urging him on until he finally stepped all the way off. We worked on that a few times. One attempt he had just the tip of his back toes on the bridge balancing there while I did my best to encourage him to step down. He did alright overall but he seems pretty hesitant to step off going backwards. We'll keep working on it. It's almost as if he doesn't bend his knees to get off the bridge both forwards and backwards. He just kind of falls off instead of stepping.

Cody seemed almost okay with being left alone. I heard him calling a few times but he didn't seem as frantic as Axel was the day prior, but it was windy and the radio was on so I couldn't completely hear while in the arena. I tied Cody in the arena and brushed him quickly and tacked him up. He's the only horse I know that can pace while tied to a wall. I was lazy and just used the rope halter instead of a bridle. After this ride we'll be switching to the bit. He was preoccupied with the entrance as usual. We did some circles in the corners in both directions. I like riding Cody at the walk he actually moves. We trotted a bit. Cody speeds up quite a bit when I post. I asked for a canter as well, it took quite a bit of encouraging to get him into it and he pretty much ran into it. Things were kind of getting a little out of control. He wanted to run to the gate and wasn't listening at all so we went back to trotting in circles until he started listening again. I dismounted, untacked in the furthest corner, and lead him back to the gate without a leadline practicing some halts and backing in the process. We spent a few minutes on turn on the forehand and haunches and some sidepassing before backing out of the barn and going back to the pasture. Axel seemed like he was a little calmer than the day before but he was a little concerned. When I put Cody back I took him to the furthest corner to let him go. Today he actually stood there while I walked away from him instead of running off. Of course he started pacing after I left the pasture. They'll both get some time off as I'm booked the rest of the week and the horse expo is all weekend.

TGIF

Friday I went out to the barn for a quick check on the boys since I was out of town all weekend. They were still separated (and I assume they'll stay that way :( ) but it seemed like Cody was starting to calm down about the situation. Though it's hard to tell since the other group of horses was up by the feeder. The barn owner thought he had stopped pacing but we'll see.

I grabbed Cody and we went into the arena to work for a little while before I had to head out. We did some circling and backing and worked on some of the turn on the haunches and forehand and even some sidepassing. He wasn't totally understanding the sidepassing but that was because he was a lot calmer and didn't have quite as much "forward" as he had this past week when he was sidepassing up a storm. But I'm glad we started working on it because I think he retain a little of what I want and we'll just keep working. I'm wondering how to transfer that to under saddle. We didn't work for too long because he was doing so good and was so calm. I let him (I think - that was three days ago) off lead for a while and asked him to canter a bit in both directions. He was disuniting for a while but worked out of it.

When we were finished we stood outside for a few minutes chatting with the barn owner and Cody was very patient standing there. I didn't take him down to the same corner of the paddock since I wasn't wearing my boots but we still went to the opposite corner and I let him go there. This time he stood pretty well for me to take off his halter, he did promptly go to see who was at the fence but didn't completely blow me off like he usually does. We'll see how he's doing this week.

Not Good News

So far it's not looking good for Cody and his chances to rejoin the herd. Or Axel for that matter. Apparently the reason Axel was in with Cody is because Axel insists on chasing everyone during meals which not only means none of the other horses get to eat but it also means it's difficult for the barn owners to give him his supplement because he keeps walking off. So I chatted with Jason for a while and right now his plan is to move Cody and Axel to the front pasture when the two horses that live there leave at the end of the month. He figured eventually Cody will give up and stop pacing. But if he doesn't calm down soon I might have to look into some supplements for calming so he doesn't work himself sick worrying about the other horses.

Though Jason did say they would maybe try to put the horses together again or maybe put Danny back in with them and put the two grays up front instead. Really I just want Cody and Axel in with other horses so I can take one out and not have the one left behind have a heart attack, but that's selfish. In the end I just hope Cody calms down and maybe learns it's okay to be alone or almost alone.

I didn't have a lot of time so I just grabbed Cody and we went into the arena to work. Our circles were okay, nothing spectacular. Same with the turn on the haunches and forehand. We did manage to do some side-passing though in both directions. Thought each of our activities weren't great the overall work was really good. He didn't call to the other horses, he wasn't yawning, he was fairly responsive, and he seemed very calm about it - almost back to his usual self. We really have to work on our halt though. I ask for a halt and when I get it, he creeps forward. It seems like I'm always backing him up and he's just not getting it. I guess it's time to try something different. I took him to the furthest part of the paddock when we were done and tried to get him to stand still while I took his halter off, that's another thing we're working on - not running away as soon as we're done.

Still Pacing

I knew Cody was going to be a hold out on this whole herd bound issue but I thought just maybe he'd calm down after a few days. He's still pacing the fence line while Axel stands in the opposite corner napping. Unlike yesterday he led out of the paddock a lot calmer so we went right to the barn. He didn't stand well in the cross ties but I groomed a little while before going into the arena. We did more circling and changing directions and then worked a lot on turn on the haunches and turn on the forehand. After all the turning he actually seemed to calm down quite a bit. Two of the arena doors were open so he had a lot to look at but the lateral work seemed to keep his attention better than most stuff. Obviously he wasn't completely 100% in tune with me but considering how he's been lately he did really well.

I brought Cody back to the paddock and grabbed Axel. I did a few laps with Axel back and forth out of sight and back in sight of Cody. Cody wasn't going to get bored of that since he didn't really care about Axel leaving so we just went to the arena. Axel stood like a statue in the cross ties (until I put the saddle on him then he lost patience). With two of the arena doors open Axel was beside himself trying to look out every time we passed. He had quite a bit more energy than usual but despite that I was able to sit his trot again. I had the western saddle on him if that makes any difference. He wasn't bending quite as well as he usually does but his attention was outside. We trotted a bit and I asked for a few canters. Wrong lead on the left and I think the right side was correct but it was a short canter so I didn't have much of a chance to check it out. He only bucked once so I wasn't going to push it.

I got off and untacked him so I could lunge him and get a couple more canters out of him. He actually offered the canter on the lunge line several times and it was the left lead believe it or not. To the right he had a few little head twists and grabbed the lunge line out of my hand but after that he cantered nicely. I unclipped him so I could go put away tack so I asked him to trot and canter without the line and he did pretty well with that even; right lead canter with no bucking. I love how one of my horses can act like a total idiot while the other one makes up for it.

Pacing

Axel is still in with Cody. The barn owners didn't seem to be around so I'm still assuming that's the reason. However, Cody has dug himself a nice 8-10" rut from pacing the fence (thus proving that having Axel in with him does not calm him down). They moved the feeder in the middle of his rut, either to block his path (which doesn't work, he just goes around) or to put the feeder near the feeder on the other side of the fence so the horses are sort of eating together.

I did some circling with Cody right in the paddock before I brought him out to groom. As is becoming more normal now, he was a complete fool while tied to the hitching rail (the hunter girls have their lesson on Mondays so the arena/parking lot/barn aisle are all occupied). I didn't groom long before I brought Cody back in the paddock with the intention to keep working him. Axel stays out of the way and just watches so it works out okay for everyone.

Cody and I worked on circling with him keeping an ear on me. He wasn't too great at this today since he was really concerned that those gray horses were way out in the pasture and he couldn't see them. We also worked on standing and looking at me. I tried to anticipate the moment that he couldn't stand there any more and move him before he chose to move. Every time he stood and looked at me for a few seconds without his attention drifting we'd walk back towards the other paddock where he wanted to go anyway. After all this work he did calm down a notch but all things are relative of course. It must have been almost dinner time because the gray horses decided to come back up to the fence and see what was going on. That made Cody very happy so we worked a few more minutes and then I let him go.

I groomed Axel at the hitching rail and he was solid as ever, just standing still and enjoying the scratches. I thought he would shed out more black than it seems he is. But he probably has a lot more shedding to do. He seems to be getting some white hairs on his forehead now as well. I don't think it'll be a full fledged star, I think it's just old age, I mean he is 16 after all!

Still Confined

Cody is still stuck in the middle paddock. But this time when I went out Axel was with him. My guess is that the barn owners were gone all day so they put Axel in with Cody to calm him down a bit since they wouldn't be around all day. Danny must have been out with his owner so it was just Amigo and Steele on one side of the fence and Cody and Axel on the other side. Though I have to say, Axel didn't seem to provide Cody with much comfort. When Amigo and Steele wandered away from the fence Cody called for them and paced the fence.

I took Cody out to the hitching rail and groomed him there but he was a basket-case about it. I decided to work him in the grass for a while out of sight of the other geldings. He wasn't great but we worked on some of the focus exercises and he'll come back to me but only for a moment before turning his attention to the herd. So continued work on that is on the list. I really want to keep working on this while he's so worked up, I know he'll settle down as soon as the herd dynamics are all figured out but every time something changes we're back to psycho horse.

I put Cody back and just groomed Axel a bit in the paddock and just kind of hung out for a while. There wasn't too much excitement. Cody and Steele sniffed under the fence a bit and Cody squealed at him. But that was about it.

Cody's Confinement

I pulled up to the barn this afternoon and noticed that the new horse (horse owned by a friend of the barn owner's) was in the front paddock with the goofy paint gelding and the black and white paint mare. Looking further I see that Cody is in the middle paddock, by himself. I can see some other horses off in the distance in one of the back pastures. Cody was screaming his head off and not a happy horse. I was wondering what was going on. Jason was around so I chatted with him for a while. I guess he had just put out Amigo and Steele with Cody, Axel, and Danny. There was some fireworks and Cody gave it to Steele pretty bad. So they decided to put Cody by himself and give the rest of the herd a chance to get settled. The other four were getting along well when I got there. There was a few squeals still happening but very minor and all talk.

I grabbed Cody and brought him into the barn. I groomed pretty quickly because Cody was having a fit in the crossties. He did show me that his issue is not with the bit. Clearly his gaping mouth issue and probably the tongue over the bit issue is some sort of anxiety thing. I took a quick video if it with my phone if anyone wants to offer some suggestions on what to do to get him over this.

I took him into the arena to get his feet moving and hopefully get his attention back to me and off of the fact that his herd was far away. We did some circling and worked on keeping on the outside of the circle and not drifting in. Lots of changing directions to make sure he was paying attention to me. For the first time we worked on Cody circling around me with me stationary like you see all the NH types do. He was confused at first and when he got around to my back he wanted to stop and switch directions so we worked through that. You could tell he was concentrating more, his trot got slower and more thoughtful while he tried to figure out what it was that I wanted. We worked a little bit on some turns on the forehand and haunches, mostly just working on responding to pressure. I also lunged him on the real lunge line just to get him moving out a bit and to get a canter. He wasn't very willing to canter this time but we managed.

I did try some standing still focus type work but if his feet weren't moving he wasn't paying attention to me. I saddled him, mounted very easily and we rode around the arena. I grabbed another bridle from my stash, this one is a sort of loose ring with a curved mouthpiece and copper inlays. I might stick with this bit or one like it, I can still neck rein if I want to but when I need to I can direct rein and not cause issues. He actually did well in this bit so far. There was some gaping mouth issues, I'm not sure if he ever got his tongue over the bit or not but if he did he put it back. We did a lot of walking, bending around the corner, staying on the "rail." We did circles in every corner, worked on getting that bend right and keeping the circle nice and round. I added in some serpentine and concentrated on not nagging with the reins but using my seat and legs. We trotted a little, not nearly as controlled as the walk but acceptable. In the end it was a very good ride despite the distractions. And we got to foot-print up the arena that Jason had just gotten done dragging. :)

I put Cody back in his little detention which was difficult to do as he looked longingly to the other boys in the pasture. He went over to the horses in the front pasture and called to them. One of the mares came up to see but was intercepted by the paint gelding who apparently felt threatened by Cody even through the fence. Usually Cody is pretty laid back as far as herd bosses go so I'm kind of surprised that he picked on Steele so bad. Hopefully his separation will help him get over the herd bound issue. I suppose his separation might make him a little more cooperative the next time they put him back in with Steele.

I grabbed Axel out of the pasture and we rode down the road for a while. Had a couple nice canters and generally just had a calm little ride. He seems to be getting along with the other horses really well. Steele squeals at him sometimes and paws but Axel just stands there. I'm thinking he might end up higher on the totem pole than usual. It seems like he enjoys being around some horses his same size. He was kind of tagging along with both Amigo and Steele and even though Steele seems to move Amigo around, it looked like Axel moved Steele. It'll be an interesting journey.

First Ride Outside

So I've got myself a nice cold, perhaps it's pneumonia, but anyways. After WCR barn cleanup and self defense training I went out to the barn to visit Cody and Axel. Since it was fairly nice out and the shedding is going in full force I tied Cody to the hitching rail and groomed him out there. Danny was gone and Amigo was back with his old friends in the other pasture so Axel ran himself silly and screamed his head off since I had Cody and he was alone. So that was a good lesson for him anyway. I had hoped someone would be around to take a walk down the road but I was alone. Cody stood pretty well in the barn aisle so I tacked him up and decided to try a little trip down the road myself. I figured at the very least Axel could then see us and stop freaking out. I decided to try out Corey's old bit as well.

We slowly made our way down the driveway and reluctantly walked down the road. In a span of 5 minutes I think 3 cars went whipping past us. So I guess no one slows down for horses on that road. They all waved though. Cody actually behaved well when they passed. We made it down to the neighbors mailbox, which was all I intended on doing. He sped up on the way back of course and I had to ask for a walk often. I decided we were going to pass the driveway and not turn into it. The horses in that pasture were running around like crazies and Cody was all worked up over it but we survived and turned around again. I was going to push my luck and go past the driveway again but just as we passed it, Cody got the bit under his tongue and proceeded to have a fit. So that was pretty much the end of our ride. I probably should have fixed his bit and gotten back on but I didn't.

So Cody went out and Axel came to the hitching post with me. Cody took over Axel's job of screaming while I groomed. I brought him into the barn to get his feet a little drier and try and check out his back legs for mud fever. I had to grab something out of the tack room and he followed me in. I asked him to back out and he refused and there began our fight. That horse pissed me off. After some fighting in the tack room and Axel turning around and getting stuck we finally had to walk out facing forward. So I backed him down the aisle to the big open door at the other end, which he also refused to step down out of the barn. At this point he could tell I was pissed as I led him into the arena and he lunged around in both directions quite well until I calmed down. I guess we're going to have to go back to square one on the backing up issue. When we were done playing in the arena I tried to back him out the small barn door and giving him some apples as reward. He backs just fine until he gets to that point where either the ground changes or he's about to go through small doorway and then he stops. At this point I figured I better put him out as I was pushing my luck and I was tired and my nose was running. It just wasn't a good day to try and accomplish much, I must have used all my energy on Cody.

Cody is Also a Movie Star

I finally made it out to the barn alone so I could video tape some work with Cody. Our ground work didn't go quite as well as it has in the past, probably because there was a video camera, isn't that how it works? Our "circle game" was kind of lazy. Cody appears to be a bit off in these videos as well. So there's our laundry list of excuses. We worked on the circling for a bit and then I got out the real lunge line and whip to just get him moving a bit and practice our gaits and cues. It wasn't our best work over all. When I was done riding we worked on a few more circles and then tried our hand at some focus activities. Cody is supposed to keep his eyes and ears on me without moving. If he moves I get his attention back. It took a while for him to figure it out but he did pretty well in the end.

I rode with Cody in just the halter and lead rope. He was a little distracted and spent most of the time cruising around the arena with his head in the air and not wanting to bend. So I used the time to get used to Cody's gaits. Since I don't ride him very often I'm not used to how he goes so I figured that was a decent place to start. We did some trotting and tried a bit of cantering. Our canters didn't last too long and a few times we were on the wrong lead but it was a good opportunity to get used to him. When I figure out either which bit he'll go well in or how to get him to start paying better attention under saddle, we'll start working on more bending and things like that. If I ever get off my duff and get some long reins I'll start ground driving with him as well. Soon it'll be time to start riding outside down the road, that will be a whole new adventure I'm sure.

What a Day

Well it was quite a day at the barn. If you're a horse person you know how to *not* make plans because they will never work out in the end. If this narrative seems a little random and all over the place, that's just kind of how the day went anyway.

I brought Axel into the barn and put him in a stall with a bucket of some treats, feed, an apple, and some bute. I wanted to see if some bute would make him move a little better and be less cranky about life when I rode. Since I wanted the bute to kick in I thought he could stay in the stall and get used to it for a while and I'd go get Cody. Danny wasn't in the pasture as he was at a parade so it was a good time to get both the boys in the barn at once since leaving Cody alone wouldn't make him very happy. Axel was doing pretty well in the stall, ate his little snack, and knickered loudly as Cody and I came in. Cody was mildly on edge but was doing pretty well. I groomed him in the crossties and took him into the arena to do a little ground work and decide what to do next.

Axel stayed pretty quiet while I worked Cody. That was the end of the calmness. The new boarder arrived and all hell broke loose. I tied Cody in the barn while I chatted with the new people. It was a good lesson for him to stand there. He screamed a bit, I suppose he knew there was another horse in the barn and he wanted to see what the deal was. Axel was doing pretty well with all the commotion, lots of things to look at. The longer we stood there the more he started pawing in the stall. I threw a saddle on Cody and rode around a little and he did pretty well. When the new boarder brought in her very very pretty Arab mare Cody wasn't so interested in anything I had to say. I tied him back up and untacked. I figured he'd be alright in the arena watching the new girl. He ended up working up a pretty good sweat so I put the cooler on him. I decided to swap Cody and Axel and maybe ride Axel. I tied Cody in the stall so he wouldn't lay down in the blanket.

Axel had worked himself into a sweaty mess at this point and rolled several times in the arena while I walked him around. Between bucking in the stall, bucking while tied up to the arena wall, and acting quite worked up about the whole deal I decided riding wasn't in our future for the day. I did get out the real lunge line and lunged him a bit. It was more like Axel just speeding around like a demon and not so much lunging. But he cantered in both directions on the correct leads. As idiotic as he got on the lunge line he's always willing to halt (and walk towards me which I don't like). So now I had two sweaty horses, Axel took care of himself pretty well by rolling but Cody just got sweatier by worrying in the stall. There wasn't much I could do at that point so I turned them both out. Axel just rolled in the snow. It was sunny so I figured they would just find a warm spot and dry off.

No videos from today, just too much going on. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. The new boarders mare is absolutely a dream. Through this whole ordeal she was quiet, well mannered, and just plain nice. They were riding her and she was never out of control or interested in other things, she just plugged along like a good little horse. So jealous!

2 Rides in 1 Day

Made it back out to the barn today with a lot more time on my hands so my intention was to at least ride Axel. It was a lot colder out than they originally predicted for Sunday but Axel was warm standing in the sun. The advantages of being a black horse, I guess.

1. Relax in barn/arena - he managed to stand in the crossties fairly patiently. For some reason as soon as he tries once to move and gets stopped by the lead he gets pissed off and keeps trying and flinging his head around only causing more pulling by the ropes. I haven't quite figured out what he thinks he's going to accomplish but I'm trying to time un-clipping him for when he's standing quiet. He had a couple starts from the snow sliding off the roof but no run-offs.
   
2. Relax in stall
3. Back off trailer
4. Lunge 3 gaits
5. Move out - we worked a bit on moving out at the walk and for once he didn't take those cues to mean trot, so I think that was a success.
   
6. Use haunches - we made our first attempts to work on the turn on the forehand. I can't tell if he's using his back legs properly so I'm looking forward to getting my new video camera. But at least it was a start trying to get him to understand that I was asking for a turn in place. We worked on bending and serpentines as well, I figured if he can move off my leg and seat in that respect it'll only help our other work.
   
7. Canter both leads

I still mean to stand out near the pasture and work with Cody but the wind was like ice despite the sun so I wimped out and brought him into the barn hoping that he wouldn't be as worked up as he was last time.

1. Relax in barn/arena - he stood in the crossties fairly calmly. After I picked out his feet he must have stepped on a piece of the snow and slipped because he was parked out and afraid to move at that point.
   
2. Relax in stall - when we were done working I brought him into a stall and gave him an apple. He was a little preoccupied with the smells in the stall but didn't seem scared about it.
   
3. Pay attention to handler - we did our usual lunging and backing and a little bit of standing still and paying attention. He wasn't vibrating like he had in the past but he's still not paying me total attention. The snow was sliding off the roof making some loud noises which startled him a few times but he handled it well.
   
4. Lunge 3 gaits - he's starting out a walk now which is nice, he used to go right to the trot even when I asked for a walk. He wasn't too happy to canter and threw a minor fit about it but came back down to earth after one lap.
   
5. Gain confidence with rider - we worked with just the rope halter and lead and a saddle. He was very interested in the gate and kept trying to head in that direction. He's fairly responsive to leg cues and my inexperienced neck reining. I wanted him to halt facing the opposite wall of the gate and he wanted to turn around so we played that game for quite a while. When I finally got a decent halt I dismounted. There was some more attempts to turn around as I was un-tacking in that same spot so I put the saddle back on and moved him around until he stopped facing away from the gate and finally removed the saddle then.
   
6. Load and unload

Didn't Ride After All

I ran out to the barn before heading up to the U for a NARHA State Conference. After a little work to get my car stuck in the un-plowed driveway I grabbed Axel to go for a quick ride. Firstly it took me forever to groom him. The rain or snow or whatever it was had formed lots of icicles and snowballs all over. Then by the time I was done grooming he was soaking wet. I walked him with the wool blanket on for a while and thought instead of getting out the saddle I'd just jump on bareback and use the wool blanket to soak up the wet. As I was trying to figure out how I would go about getting on his back Axel got impatient and started acting like an idiot. I finally gave up on that idea and just did a little bit of ground work. On my way back out I stopped and chatted with Jason for a while, he mentioned that all the horses were on edge the night before so apparently Axel was still feeling that.

Cody was also covered in ice but he had been standing out in the sun and was to the point where he was steaming just standing there. I was running behind at this point so I just said hi to him and went on my way.

Running out of Titles

I'm running out of blog titles when I visit the horses this often! It might not be until Saturday or Sunday that I can get out to the barn again this week so I thought I better use the last warm day to visit. Of course it started raining/sleeting on my way there. But yay for an indoor arena! I wouldn't want to be a horse when it rains in February, that's for sure. It wasn't coming down too horribly though. Axel and I went right into the arena to work on some lunging. Right as we were heading to the barn another border came in. She asked if it was alright if she rode while I was in there. She thought it would take her a little while to get that far. I had planned to stop working as soon as Axel did some good work so it wasn't a problem if she came in to ride. While she was grooming Axel did really well on the lunge. He trotted and cantered both directions, picked up both leads, and only had one tiny "weee" moment. For a while there I thought "who trained this horse to lunge!?" He did so well. The other border came in so I thought we'd keep up a little just to practice working and paying attention while there was other things going on. He was very interested in this pretty paint mare and tried his best to grow a hand or two to impress her. He remained calm but had some attention issues and we couldn't really get any momentum on the lunge so we worked on leading and paying attention that way. Overall I think it was a success. Axel appreciates that the barn owners keep nice green bales of alfalfa right by the arena gate for him to sneak on his way out. Hrm.

I didn't want to bring Cody into the arena with that flashy mare in there. He would have been beside himself trying to get her attention. And on top of that he was covered in mud so it wouldn't have been a great impression in the first place. I did very minor ground work with him just standing in the pasture, just a little backing up and the "stand" cue. I've taken to using "whoa" for stop and "stand" for when the horse is already stopped and I don't want him to move. Cody and Axel have had some exposure to "stand" when they were in Canby so I think it's working out alright. I found it actually worked with both Cody and Axel while I was trying to get back far enough to take their photos without them following me and sticking their nose in the camera. I figure even if I'm not out there doing a whole laundry list of activities they are still going to pick up on cues and things just by me being out there for a few minutes.

Two More Rides

Axel: Went out to ride Axel to see if we could fight through that left lead issue we were having. The best part about Axel is we can fight and fight and fight over whatever, leads or contact or trotting, but as soon as I get off he's friendly and wants to stand next to me. I guess he doesn't hold any grudges.

1. Relax in barn/arena - crosstied for grooming and Axel was very calm until Jason came in and chatted with us for a while. He wasn't close enough for Axel to smell or beg at so he got mad and started yanking on the leads.
2. Relax in stall
3. Back off trailer
4. Lunge 3 gaits - when I finished riding and couldn't get that left lead I decided to try and lunge a bit. Axel was a little worked up about it and let out a few nice bucks and kicks. Right lead was no problem, left lead he still wasn't getting. Third try or so I was about to back him down to a trot when he switched his lead. Flying lead change! So that was the end of the lesson.
5. Move out - we moved out a bit at the trot but it wasn't with any sort of collection at all.
6. Use haunches - started some work with shoulder fore in prep to try and learn shoulder in, travers, and renvers. I figured that should help us use our haunches and get some more flexibility for cantering on that bad side.
7. Canter both leads - we rode for a while and Axel was trying to run the show. When I wanted to extend the walk he wanted to trot, when I wanted to trot he wanted to canter (or buck). We were still unable to pick up that left lead.

Cody: I'm trying to back up and go a little slower with Cody so instead of bringing him into the barn I just did a really quick attention activity with him in the pasture.

1. Relax in barn/arena
2. Relax in stall
3. Pay attention to handler - started working on the activity where I stand in front of Cody near the end of the lead and he's to only pay attention to me. If his attention wanders, I flip the lead rope to get his attention back. He was calm and comfortable in his pasture so he was pretty willing to stand there and stare at me.
4. Lunge 3 gaits
5. Gain confidence with rider
6. Load and unload

My second ride came when I drove out to Tricia's farm to ride Oly for her since she's been banned from riding horses. Oly was just about as obnoxious as Axel has been. Constantly yanking the reins out of my hands. I'm surprised my shoulders don't hurt more than they do. It was nice to know that it's not just my horse that acts like a fool. After riding 3 times in the past 2 days walking is a difficult task.

A Fairly Good Ride

The weather website said it was 19F and felt like 13F today but it seemed warmer than that to me. Maybe because the sun was out. I went out to the barn to see if Axel wanted to go for a ride.

1. Relax in barn/arena - crossed tied and groomed/tacked and was calm about the ordeal until I un-clipped him to put his bridle on, then I had a horse on the loose.
2. Relax in stall
3. Back off trailer - did some backing up on the leadline and undersaddle, nothing major at this point
4. Lunge 3 gaits
5. Move out - trotted fairly fast but wasn't extending at all, just trying to get him comfortable moving in the arena footing, he was a little cranky but I'm chalking that up to not having to do work for about a year now. Walk was okay but still close to his old slow self.
6. Use haunches - wasn't really happening right now, we'll get there.
7. Canter both leads - we got the right lead but just couldn't pick up that left lead. Tried some canter, trot, canter which didn't help. Tried picking up the canter in the corner, counter bending, etc, still no left lead. I couldn't push him any further since he was getting sweaty and I didn't want to spend all day trying to cool him out.

I was going to start working with Cody in/around the pasture but it was too darn icy to do any work outside. Another boarder had Danny inside the arena so I figured Cody would feel okay being inside since he wouldn't be alone. I think the first thing he and I need to work on is getting his confidence up with me as the handler and we'll have to start where he's comfortable. We'll work on some tasks I've picked up from a friend and her trainer, Kirsten Nelson.

1. Relax in barn/arena - I brushed him quickly while tied in the aisle, he could see Danny in the arena and was fairly calm about it.
2. Relax in stall
3. Pay attention to handler - he was much calmer about everything since he wasn't alone, we did some groundwork and seemed to be listening okay but he was pretty interested in other things going on.
4. Lunge 3 gaits
5. Gain confidence with rider
6. Load and unload

Quick Visit/Warm Weather

40+ degrees and rainy in February, the horses have so far managed to stay out of the mud but it's a little preview of how spring will be. I'll be sporting the muck boots and borrowing a cordless clippers to trim up Axel's legs, that's for sure. I just hope the melting disperses enough so that when it gets cold again it doesn't make a big ice rink. But yay for indoor arena!

Axel's progress: Axel was a super star tonight which I was not expecting. He was calm and even listening to me when he wasn't on the lead-line. We worked on standing still for a little while both on the lead-line and near the "mounting block" (bucket).

1. Relax in barn/arena - even without Jeff around tonight he was finally calm despite the wind making some evil noises
2. Relax in stall
3. Back off trailer
   
4. Lunge 3 gaits - lunged walk and trot in both directions, free lunged trot and canter in one direction (surprised me that he was listening and actually got into that canter)
   
5. Move out - seems to be moving out really well on the lead and at liberty
6. Use haunches
   
7. Canter both leads - right lead only lunging at liberty
   

Cody's progress: Cody was so nervous, maybe it was the wind but he was just shaking. He was still obedient but beside himself with nerves. He either stepped on his tail in the pasture or he really sat down when I asked him to back up and stepped on his tail. So now I have a huge chunk of tail to add to my horse hair braiding supplies. I might have to braid his tail up if he keeps yanking chunks out.

1. Relax in barn/arena - fairly relaxed in the aisle while I brushed but still a little nervous
2. Relax in Stall
   
3. Pay attention to handler - extremely nervous in the arena, not paying attention at the halt
   
4. Lunge 3 gaits - lunged walk and trot
   
5. Gain confidence with rider - super nervous even with me on the ground
6. Load and Unload
   

Standing Still

Back out to the barn again today to try and get one of the horses to cooperate. Jeff came with this time. Axel was either feeling cooperative since our last argument or he felt more secure with more people around. Either way he stood fairly nice and I rewarded him with an apple. We did some work standing still. If he moved a hoof, I made him put it back. I turned him loose after awhile and his running around was quite a bit less exciting than usual. So maybe he's finally starting to get the idea.

We turned him out and grabbed Cody to do similar work. I did a little lunging with him and then worked on standing still. About this time Cody's pasture mate and owner came in which pretty much removed any attention span Cody might have had. We spent a lot of time facing away from the barn aisle and Cody spent that time vibrating because he was so worried he couldn't look at what was happening. We tried for quite a while to get him to just relax for a second and look at me. I didn't completely win that battle but he had a few moments of licking and chewing so instead of giving him a heart attack we ended the lesson there. It's going to be a long road but it would be worse I'm sure if I couldn't get out there as often as I can. I'm interested to see if Axel is still as calm next time I go out alone.

Axel Follows Jeff Around from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

Try Try Again and Probably Again

I might have to rewrite my goals for these horses. Sheesh nothing like thinking you know your horses only to have them act completely different. I started with Axel again today and we went right into the arena to work on standing still. I started by grooming him in the arena tied to the wall because he was a mess, he must have rolled in something after getting sweaty last night. He might have been an ounce better than the day before but he was still pretty obnoxious. After working a lot on standing and not moving I let him have a break and run around (maybe that was a mistake). I figured if anything he's getting exercise and he was doing quite a bit of cantering in both leads (always the correct one to boot). So after some running around we worked just a bit more on standing and then he was ready to go back out. I had the wool blanket on him for a bit but he wasn't as sweaty as the night before and the sun was out so he was good to go.

Cody seems to be settling in as far as letting me take Axel away and not having a heart attack over it. I crosstied him and groomed him. He's starting with the pawing again so I snapped him with the buckle a few times while he was doing it to let him know I didn't approve. We worked a bit in the arena with some circling and then some standing still. He seemed pretty responsive so I grabbed the saddle to go for a ride and see what he thought. He too didn't want to stand to be tacked up but he was better than Axel. And the mounting process took a lot less time than with Axel but still something to work on. He was a little fast but he was pretty good about walking when I asked. He really wanted to stop at the gate but was willing to listen to my leg after he knew I wasn't giving in. He got pretty sweaty fast so we only rode around for a while. After riding I went through two blankets to try and cool him out. We spent quite a bit of time in the arena waiting. Someone that is moving her horse here at the end of the month came in so I chatted with her for a while while Cody was impatient to go out. He wasn't drying but he was cool so I let him back out in the sun.

I plan to work more on the attention issue but I thought first I should work on whoa and stand commands so they at least know what I'm trying to get at. Every time one would move a foot, he'd get put back in his spot and told to stand. No one perfected that yet so we'll keep working. So maybe it's back at it tomorrow. I'd like to ride but if Axel won't stand still he's gotta work on that. What little I did ride yesterday and today has made my inner thighs sore, so I guess it's been a while.

Getting Closer

Cody: brought him in the barn and actually backed him through the tack room. I was able to cross tie him finally. He was concerned that something was going on outside the far barn door so he would have stood a lot better had he been facing that way but overall it went well. Turned him out in the arena for a few minutes, he mostly just hung out at the gate. Worked at liberty for a few minutes and then on the lead. He was a lot more attentive but we still need some big lessons in attention. I almost got on bareback but since he doesn't stand by the fence while I climb up it just wasn't happening.

Axel: he called a few times while I was in the barn with Cody but he wasn't too horrible. I put him in the stall while I shut the doors. He figured out the little hole for his head in the door right away. I groomed him a little in the stall and he had a piece of apple. I turned him out in the arena and he ran around for quite a while. He hangs out by the gate a lot so I figured I'd give him an apple when we were in the middle of the arena. Before he got to the middle he spontaneously did some spectacular moves I've never seen him do before (check out the low quality video). We did some real simple work on the lead line before I brought him back outside. Cody had been calling quite a bit and I think that's what send him running most of the times. I think we'll definitely be ready to ride on Friday and this weekend assuming I can actually get on the horses with no mounting block.

Still Trying

Okay so didn't I say these would be shorter? I'll do my best.

Cody and Axel's pasture mate, Danny, was in the barn with the vet and then working in the arena. Both boys were standing at the far end of the pasture while their pasture neighbor, Vinny, was freaking out because no one was near the fence to visit with him. Word has it that in a matter of a single day both Cody and Axel have climbed the ladder and Danny is now the bottom of the herd (previously Danny was boss man).

Axel: brought him into the barn and he was calm enough that I cross tied him and was able to groom him finally. We had a snack and visited the stall for a moment. Then we joined Danny in the arena for a little while. Did some walking around, walked over and backed off of the practice bridge, and just kind of hung out. Axel was calmer than the previous day but still had some spunk in him. He likes to headbutt when he doesn't get his way.

Cody: expecting Cody to be a sweaty mess after being in the pasture alone, I was ready with the cooler but when I brought Axel back he was just standing at the gate. He had called a few times but apparently didn't pace at all. He was looking for us over the vehicles and looked a bit like a giraffe. He and I went in the barn, visited the stall, and then into the arena, he wasn't quite calm enough for the cross ties. He was a bit distracted in the arena and wasn't completely with me but he wasn't calling out so it's progress.

I think by Friday I should be able to ride Axel, we'll see how he does tomorrow as far as being calm in the barn (if there's no one else there that is, not sure if that affected his calmness or not tonight).