Cody Pushes the Green Ball

Another sunny but cold day at the barn. It seemed a little chillier today than yesterday actually. Cody was nappping when I drove up so I took some photos of him and grabbed Axel first. B was in the arena playing with Diva and the green ball. Axel ate up his MSM as usual. He seemed very slightly less lame today so I brought him into the arena for a bit to move around. He's still much more lame in the arena footing than he is on the cement or even the ice in the drive way. But, we might be getting closer to the light at the end of the tunnel because I swear he seemed a little less lame.

I put him out side and Cody was up from his nap so I brought him in to ride a bit. I saddled him up this time in case he was feeling frisky with Diva in the arena or in case I wanted to trot or canter a bit. Diva was pushing around the green ball with her legs so Cody and I tried several times before we finally pushed the ball. We made a big fuss telling Cody he was a good boy when he pushed it. He's still not going to run in there and play with the ball by himself but at least he finally trusted me enough to do what I said.

B and I swapped horses for a few minutes and I got to try out Diva. She's got the big big big arab trot, that's for sure. She does have a WP trot but it's still got a lot of action and would be tough to sit for too long. We even cantered a bit but it took me a couple tries to get to it. She's so little, it's like my feet touch each other. B got Cody to trot and canter a bit as well, he was being pretty cooperative. It got cold pretty fast when we stopped working so I untacked Cody and took him back out side. I couldn't stand around too long without freezing so that was the end of hanging out at the barn. Can't wait til it's a bit warmer.

Sunny Saturday

Axel is the same, didn't expect anything more. Groomed him and gave him his MSM and put him back outside. Perhaps tomorrow I'll give him some bute and have him move around a bit. He has been laying down, his right side was dirty again so he doesn't hurt so much that he won't lay down. And if he's going down on that knee that could explain the increased swelling. Poor boy, I hope we can get this under control soon. As he decided to humor me and drop I checked out his boy parts and they are pretty dirty. A lot dirtier than I think he should be after being cleaned by the vet a month ago. A mentioned that Axel wasn't dropped when the vet was cleaned and he was just mopping out the inside of his sheath. So now I'm wondering if there is a bean or something. If it was warmer I could maybe see what I can find.

So I brought Cody into the barn and A brought in Vinnie. We did a little bit of ground work in the arena and he was paying pretty good attention considering Vinnie was also doing some work. He was less than thrilled when Vinnie left and it took us quite some time to stand still at the mounting block. At one point we even did a bit of side passing/leg yielding. When he finally stood still I hopped on bareback. Riding a horse bareback in the winter = heated seats. He had a tough time concentrating but we worked on some circles in the corners of the arena and I worked on more subtler cues. A brought Danny in for a bit and moved him around a little before taking him back outside. When I got off Cody and removed his bridle he jumped around and ran to the gate. He really wanted to go out. I finished cleaning up the arena before I took Cody back outside. Since I'm a wimp and don't trot or canter bareback he was only a bit damp from nerves so I didn't have to cool him out. The sun was really warm and everyone was soaking it up outside and a big hawk was waiting on the fence post.

ETA: Doing a little research on MSM and DMSO, here's a few links with some interesting information -
http://www.vitaflex.com/res_msmdmso2a.php
http://www.dmso.org/articles/information/muir.htm

Getting Warmer

It's definitely starting to get warm and humid. Both horses came up to me in the pasture to see what kind of fun things I had for them. I guess that means Cody isn't holding a grudge after our long trail ride on Sunday. Axel was pretty lazy when I tried to get some circles out of him in the arena before getting on to ride. Then he was pretty lazy under saddle. I can't quite tell if he was hurting or just being lazy. We did trot around for a while but it was a lot of work to get and keep him going. He's getting so fat I figured he needs to get working, I don't think being overweight is good for ringbone. I didn't really attempt any good cantering and he was trotting pretty okay, not really popping up quite as often as he had been.

But it didn't feel like enough work and the pants I was wearing were not cooperating and it was hot. So I got off and got the lunge line and whip. He had a few super crazy bronc moments but settled in (probably tired himself out) and was trotting really nice and then even picking up the canter with little fuss. This of course was tracking right. Tracking left, not so much, it takes a lot of work just to get him to get going in that direction. Once he did it was nearly the same, good trot, pretty good canter on the correct lead, a little bit of fussiness. I probably should have been video taping it since he seemed to be moving pretty darn well.

I think I'll have to just lunge for real before I ride, get him loosened up a bit. Supposedly the canter is a better place to start than the trot as it loosens up their backs better so they'll be ready to do a nice trot.

Axel is starting to learn that as soon as he picks up that correct lead on the canter and does it nice without freaking out, he can stop. I think he knows it. It seems like he'll pick it up nice then whoa and look at me. When he freaks out and does his bronc impression he just keeps going. He's also starting to really get the turn on the forehand from the ground. Still not much on the bending his neck, we worked on a that a bit next to the wall so he couldn't spin. I also did some leg stretches for him since he was warm I thought it would be the perfect opportunity. Though as soon as he got off the arena footing to the cement he walked like a 90 year old man that had been sitting for 10 years. But right back on the grass out side he was fine again. Joints? Ringbone? The stretching? Not sure what that was about.

We Lost Reverse

Out to the barn again to ride with another boarder and possibly the barn owner. I checked out Axel to make sure he was feeling okay after the previous days ride. He decided to trot away from me in the pasture so I took that as a good sign that he was just fine. The one hunter girl was jut finishing up as I groomed Cody. No one else had arrived yet so I did a bit of ground work in the arena while we waited. If no one was going to show up I was going to let Cody have the night off so I didn't tack right away. The other boarder showed up after a bit and we tacked our horses. The barn owner wasn't going to be back in time so we decided on just a quick ride down the road and back.

Cody was slow and reluctant and we had a hard time keeping up with Danny, we had to trot a lot. When we finally got down the block and turned he was a little easier to get into the trot. Eventually that turned into a canter and Danny was gaiting next to us as fast as possible. Eventually he broke into a canter as well. It was a pretty good ride. Cody's canter was pretty big and a little on the out-of-control let's-run-home side of life but he transitioned down pretty easily. He was a little more energetic on the way home, trotting a bit, we had a few minor arguments on if we were going to walk or not but for the most part it was a nice ride back.

Instead of going past the driveway we went right to work on backing up down the driveway. Cody had other ideas. I thought we had backed up enough steps the time before that he'd figure it out, he's usually pretty quick to pick up those things. But he was not playing my game. He'd take just a few hesitant half steps, not enough for me to even stop early. At that point all I wanted was some good purposeful steps backwards and we'd stop since I wasn't going to get him all the way down the driveway. Instead I'd get one tiny shift backwards, head tossing, yawning, and only forward movement. The best I could do was when he wouldn't go backwards we went down the road again. The side effect was that he was much happier leaving the barn than backing home at that point. I even tried using a whip as an extra appendage to tap his chest. I was trying to translate our ground work to saddle but it just wasn't happening. Unfortunately I was getting a lot of head tossing to the point where I'm a little concerned and don't want to make it a new habit. I finally got off after a few sort of okay but crooked steps back. I was able to get him to back a bunch of steps then from the ground. Sometimes that horse makes me wonder. Back to the drawing board on our backing up under saddle I guess.

Riding on the Road

Axel's turn this time to go down the road. He trotted up to me in the pasture so I figured he was feeling better. He was really tender on the driveway but I gave him a little bute in case he was still off. Found another gross tick when I was grooming, yuck, I hate the big ones. I send Axel in a couple circles in the arena just to make sure and he seemed to be feeling fine so off we went. The barn owner, another border, and I. Axel had his work cut out for him because the other two horses were Tennessee Walking Horses. We had to do a bit of trotting to keep up, which wasn't a whole lot more than if we were riding with Oly. The way back we trotted nearly the whole way, the other horses had sped up a bit and Axel just wouldn't walk out so trot it was. He was trotting sound even on the hard dirt road and I don't think the 1g of Bute he got would cover up much pain so that was a good sign. No bucking or jumping or too much general crankiness at all. Would have been a really nice ride if he was able to keep up at a walk. So in the end I had a pretty sweaty horse but he seemed happy and he needs the exercise, he's getting kind of fat.

Might try and tag along and ride with them again tomorrow, probably Cody this time. Then we have the chiropractor on Friday. Then they want to go to Lebanon Hills on Sunday and asked if I wanted to go. We'll see how Cody is feeling after his adjustment. I'd rather take him since he'd keep up better, but I suppose Axel won't be too bad, I think it's a dirt trail and pretty easy terrain, if we have to trot it shouldn't be too bad. We'll see. I'm pretty sure they know I don't have a trailer so hopefully my guy can jump in with the barn owner. I'm glad to ride with other people finally again. It's a nice break from circling in the arena.

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.

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.

Time for Shots

Stephanie came out yesterday to show me how to do vaccines and we went for a little ride around the arena as well. Groomed both horses in the crossties, they were fairly patient as far as that went, tacked 'em up and we were off. Originally my thought was a trail ride down the road but it was cold and threatening rain so we stuck to the arena. Steph rode Cody and I rode Axel. Axel had his fast pants on and we had to circle frequently so we didn't run over Cody. We did a bit of trotting and experimented with posting diagonals to check out if his crankiness was learned or if it was actually his back left foot. It was his back left, unhappy horse when you sit on that diagonal in both directions. So I might be posting the correct right diagonal and the incorrect left diagonal from now on. We'll see how that works out. We attempted a few canters purely because when I post that one diagonal Axel either bucks or tries to canter. We went with the canter as long as he was offering. Oddly none of the cantering felt good, it was the correct lead (right) and wasn't disunited but it just felt yucky. He kind of leaps into it and puts his head down and I think he's going to buck. Turns out ... he's actually striking off into the canter with his rear end (like he's supposed to) and he's brining up his back and putting his head down a bit to do so. Aka, this is what a real canter from Axel should feel like. Go figure. Sure makes my legs hurt, though he did have a few wonky sort of bucky canters that I had to squeeze him through.

Steph worked on some trotting and cantering with Cody as well as some halt and giving to the bit. She had him backing on a super light rein. She had him working on little bits of turn on the haunches, an 1/8th of a circle at a time. He struck off at the canter on the first request on his good side, it was a little more work on his bad side (left I think) but he managed. His canter doesn't look as speedy and big as it feels. It actually looks kind of "sporty" to me, almost like a reiner. He was doing a nice regular trot for her while she posted - no speeding up. And they worked on a really calm western trot as well.

Axel and I worked on backing off the bridge for a while which worked well 2 times and then he refused to cooperate any longer. After fighting through that 3rd attempt we managed a 4th attempt and called it a night on that. He's so goofy about it, hops right up on the bridge before I'm even ready but backing off it - heck no! We played a little with the bowing and treats but he turns in a big beggar when there's treats or anything that might be a treat so I don't think I'll be treating him by hand any longer. Cody did some stretching for treats with Steph and was very polite about it. She gave him his shots to show me how and I gave Axel his. It went well and was not nearly as scary as I thought it would be.

Cody's little fight of the day came when I saw some wood ticks on his nose. He was displeased and would not keep his head down for us to pull them out. He goes into immediate giraffe impression as soon as something gets near his nose that is not petting. I really have to keep working with him on that but he seems to do well when there aren't ulterior motives, he's too smart that way. I am going to pick him up a fly mask with a nose piece on it to keep away some of the sunburn he's prone too since he won't let me put any cream on his nose.

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!).

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.

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.

Manicure Day

Once again I brushed and brushed and brushed and there's still hair and mud everywhere. One of these days it'll be gone. Went out to the barn early to get the boys cleaned up before the farrier arrived. Both horses behaved themselves for their trim. He tapered Axel's front feet a bit so he doesn't flare out too much. He thought Cody's angles looked good. I could stand to get him x-rayed again though to make sure there's no change or laminitis.

When they were both done I decided to work with Axel for a while. He stood tied in the arena while I puttered around and he was very polite about it. Even with all the other horses in the aisle getting trimmed. He lunged the trot and canter pretty well also. Reluctant to pick up the canter but he had both leads. I got on and we walked for a bit and trotted. In my attempts to get him to collect a bit, wiggling the outside rein, he kept offering a canter. Well in reality I think it was actually just pissing him off and it wasn't a canter but a buck. So we tried a few canters. Went okay but slow to the right. And it was disjointed to the left. The barn owner mentioned it looked pretty rough. And boy was it. Even his trot was jerky and hard to ride. As much as I can figure it's a combination of having deeper footing so he has to pick up his feet more, he's moving out a little more than usual, and he had quite a bit of time off. I couldn't sit his trot to save my life. I was really riding poorly in the grand scheme of things. I'm pretty sure I have a bruise on my knee from smacking it on the saddle. I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen if a person rides properly. Oh well. We got out and moved around a bit and with the exception of a few little bucks things went okay. I'm not sure if Cody called while we were riding and Danny was being trimmed but when I brought Axel back out he was facing away from the gate not looking very concerned.

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.

Ouch

I thought for sure my inner thighs would be sore today after riding on Saturday but instead my abs/ribs are killing me. I feel like I did a million sit ups or something.

It was finally 50F on Saturday so a trip to the barn was required. Apparently everyone else felt the same way. Two other boarders were out getting ready to ride as well. The owner of the little Arab and the owner of Steele, who I later found out is a TWH/Andalusian (gorgeous trot - so jealous). Cody was first since Axel likes to kick at other horses, I thought life would be easier with a crowded arena and Cody. It was evident that it is finally spring, Cody found the mud and was shedding on top of it.

1. Relax in barn/arena - I groomed Cody in the cross ties, he was facing the little Arab mare for a while and the TWH/Andy for a while so he was pretty calm and just interested in the other horse. When they went into the arena he was more concerned luckily I was just about done so he didn't have to figit for too long.
2. Relax in stall
3. Pay attention to handler - he did pretty well undersaddle. I didn't want to use just the rope halter with two other horses in the arena so I just used Axel's snaffle. Cody doesn't like the snaffle so he was a little worked up about that but he settled down and did his best to listen to me on his back. If I keep it up I think he'll come around, hopefully I can find a bit that he's happy with so he can pay attention to me instead of the thing in his mouth.
4. Lunge 3 gaits - when I untacked the other horses had left the arena and Cody was beside himself so I lunged him a few times around each direction to get his attention back. It was mostly trot and a bit of canter just on the 12' lead.
5. Gain confidence with rider - we're making some baby steps under saddle which I will hopefully supplement with ground driving when I get some long lines, but he had his moments of listening to me and moments of not listening to me. He's not bending right now because he's too concerned what's going on around him but he listens to commands like "easy" and he's getting better at walking when I ask. I am hoping some of this arena work with other horses will translate to the trail.
6. Load and unload

The other two boarders were grooming up their horses after riding when I brought Axel in. There's only two cross ties and since Axel isn't particularly hospitable to other horses I put him in the arena tied to the hitch they have in there.

1. Relax in barn/arena - believe it or not he stood there tied like a statue even with other horses in the barn that he couldn't see. There was even some calling being done by the mare to her pasture mate and he still stood nicely. I suppose I should have just groomed him and turned him out as a reward but I didn't.
2. Relax in stall
3. Back off trailer
4. Lunge 3 gaits - I tacked up the big black, shedding, muddy horse and decided to lunge him for some warm up time with the regular lunge line. He's getting pretty good at the lunging bit, a little confused when we first start out but I'm surprised how quickly he picked it up. Walk, trot, and canter with a few bucks at the canter but nothing major.
5. Move out - we worked a bit on moving out at the walk and he started out pretty good, then we did some trotting but when I post on the left diagonal he does not appreciate it. The left diagonal is the one that I'd be sitting when he puts down that sore back foot so I suppose it makes sense. I haven't figured out if it'd be better to use the wrong diagonal with him so he's not sore or if that will just encourage him to be off balance.
6. Use haunches
7. Canter both leads - We tried some cantering as well, he did okay to the right a few minor bucks but I was able to push him through. The left was a bit of a different story. First time it was the wrong lead. Second time it was disunited and I could hardly sit it (probably the biggest factor in my sore abs), the last few times I think he had the right lead but there was some bucking so I pushed him through that and tried to keep him going.

So when I was done working with Axel he had his usual roll in the arena and I brought him back out to the paddock. I tried to give both horses some apples, banana, and oatmeal cookies. Amazingly enough they weren't too thrilled with the oatmeal cookies which surprised me. Of course as soon as I moved some of the banana and cookies for Danny to eat then Axel and Cody were jealous and wanted to eat the stuff. So I guess the key to getting horses to eat something they don't want to eat is to give it to their pasture mate. Go figure. So far the mud isn't too bad but it'll be here sooner than later. Axel's back legs seem okay so far but I think I'll see if I can borrow Steph's cordless clippers to clean up his legs to help prevent the mud fever that is bound to happen. I also have to remember to groom them in the aisle or outside for a while when they are shedding, it's too hard to pick up the hair from the arena.

Good Boy, Cody

Cody and I had a pretty good ride this afternoon, all things considered. Naturally I had to wade through the beginnings of the mud river to get to the horses. God forbid they walk through the mud to come to the gate. Anyway I had brought Cody's western saddle and bridle, now that the weather is getting warmer I imagine I'll want to ride down the road eventually. I decided that Cody and I were going to do some work in the arena tonight. I groomed him in the crossties, he stood fairly okay but got a little antsy. I'm not quite sure why they react so differently in the crossties than they do tied in the barn at Pinto Creek.

I decided to try Cody in the bit and bridle again since he was a little stubborn the last time we rode and there was another horse to look at. I just do not like the bit/bridle combo that I am using, it doesn't seem like it fits. I have to undo the curb strap to even get it on him and even then it doesn't seem right. We went around several times but he was just fighting it the whole way, mouth open and only concerned with the bit. Another boarder had come in and was getting ready to ride so I decided to take the bridle off and put his rope halter on instead. He wasn't going to listen to the bit since it was annoying him so much so I thought it'd be better to have his attention first and then deal with any other issues.

The other boarder and horse was a good lesson for Cody. He really wanted to run up and meet this paint mare but he was pretty decent at minding the fact that I didn't want him to do that. He had a few hissy fits but nothing major and even with just the rope halter I was able to keep him in control. We did some trotting and he's actually really responsive to the "easy" command. The longevity of the cues isn't there yet, he'll slow up when I ask or walk but only for a few steps if he's got his mind on other things. It was a big reminder that if I can get out there and ride him more often he will really shape up. As soon as we can get past some of the confidence issues and paying attention then we can start working on bending and moving a little better.

He seemed a little off which I think is a stiff shoulder, at least I hope it's not his feet again. The other boarder let her mare and Cody meet. Surprisingly there was a bit of squealing, she thought her mare started it and then Cody was annoyed that the pretty mare wasn't smitten with him. We were standing there talking and the mare would just barely put her ears back and Cody would slowly back up. I guess he's just a pushover when it comes to women.

When all was said and done Cody was a little sweaty, it was 40F and probably even warmer in the arena (really nice for me). But it was still sunny and warm out so I wasn't too concerned, he wasn't even steaming it was that warm out. I gave him a banana as a treat, he grabbed it at first and then most of it fell onto the ground. I think he was a little shocked. When I brought him to the pasture I tried to give Axel the banana as well, he tasted it but didn't seem too interested. Since Axel tasted it then Cody wanted more, then Axel wanted more. In the end Axel ate about half the banana and Danny ended up with a bite as well.

A Much Quieter Day

Yesterday I went back out to the barn hoping for a quieter day than the previous and my wish was granted. Cody and Danny were standing at the very back fence looking over at the airport as if waiting for an incoming airplane. Axel was hanging in the sun by the corn crib and made a run for it when he saw me coming (I guess he wasn't impressed by Saturday's events).

I brought Axel in and crosstied him while he ate 1g of bute and some snacks. he only lasts a few minutes in the crossties before he starts flinging his head and getting impatient, it's very obnoxious. I tied him in the arena on the wall so I could groom and give him time for the bute to kick in. He wasn't willing to stand still from the moment I clipped the lead rope. I'm not sure where this new found hatred for being tied up is from. He's never had a problem before so I'm hoping it's just a phase from moving to a new barn.

I lunged him for a few minutes with the lunge line trot and canter. He won't quite walk, if I get him down to something that would come close to a walk he just stops instead. But he picked up both leads at the canter and didn't throw a hissy fit on the lunge so that was good. Even after lunging he still hated being tied, he's taken to bucking while tied up. After I fought through tacking and mounting we were finally on our way.

We did quite a bit of trotting that went well. He was moving out and willing to go with very little encouragement. He's still a bit off when I post to the left since that puts me sitting on that back left foot which is his sore foot. Ironically he should be balking at the right lead canter because of that same reason but it's the left lead he hates. We picked up only one little canter to the left but it was too short lived to tell if it was the correct lead or not. My camera was having some issues so that didn't get on video either. We'll have to try again next time. We didn't ride for too long since he was getting damp. Luckily he's still a fan of rolling when I untack him and it was sunny outside so I didn't have to dink around waiting for him to dry under a blanket. I can't wait until he sheds out and it's warmer.

So overall a much better day than Saturday but the impatience while tied is annoying and if that doesn't get better Axel will have a date with the hitching post this spring.

Elise and Axel Make a Movie Part 2 from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

New Video Camera

Jeff got me one of those tiny Flip Mino HD cameras for my birthday so I had to go try it out. My main goal was to just experiment with placement and to see what the lighting was like and how the video turned out. I only had a little over an hour on Wednesday before I had to go to ballet so I was just going to ride Axel around a bit. Actually upon some discussion at Midwest Horse Talk, I wanted to lunge, walk, and trot Axel to see where he was at as far as "forward."

I should have known he was going to be a tough cookie since he stood in the arena tied to the wall without moving an inch. No pawing or kicking or flinging his head around. When I started lunging him he'd barely move until I got the whip (the contents of the part of the video that I have uploaded so far).

When I got on we walked for quite a while, I was trying to get him to "walk up" as much as I could. We did some serpentines to make sure he was listening to me. Then I asked for a trot and was greeted with some small little cow kicks/bucks. About this time a couple other boarders brought in their horses to wait for their vet. Axel was quite annoyed that he wasn't out there meeting these other horses. The one gal brought her horse into the arena to lunge him until he was ready for his shots. Axel proceed to attempt to kick this horse every time he came around the circle.

The moment of truth was as we were trotting the girl took her horse out of the arena and left the gate open. Axel and I rounded the corner and he saw the open gate and took off in one of his canter/bucking fits. Luckily I pulled him up in the direction away from the gate and pointed him at the wall until he stopped (this is not on video since the gate was open, the camera was facing away, so I guess I'll be putting the camera on a different gate in the future). After that we were about done for so we walked around a bit more before dismounting. When I untacked him he was a little damp but not too bad and it was fairly warm out. Axel decided better and rolled three separate times in the arena before I took him outside. I'm going to start putting a command on his rolling so I can get him to roll in the winter instead of having to blanket him before he goes back out.

Axel tries to lunge from Elise Ferguson on Vimeo.

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