School - Day 2

From Bob:

Dovie gave all the horses baths today. Something set Diego off half way through the bath. He freaked and then settled down. I wasn't there, so you'll have to ask Dovie for the details.

Me: It seems it was dragging the hose behind him which caused the issue. He’s fine with the hose, I have to drag it in and out of his corral to fill up his water trough, so it’s a common enough occurrence. He’ll stand there while it goes under or in front of him, so I think this was a “something’s behind me” issue rather than a hose issue.

We just got back from a moonlight ride. We did the same ride we did three weeks ago. Every time I ride him, he starts out skittish and then gets better as the ride goes on. Tonight was no exception. He was looking around a lot, but didn't do anything stupid or dangerous. We trotted about 20%. That gave me a chance to practice trot-to-walk transitions and I had good success on the trail. I closed the gate from his back. He didn't seem to understand what I wanted, but the slamming gate didn't scare him.

I'm seeing the fear of monsters behind him that you told me about. I'm going to try to desensitize him to various monsters tomorrow (with nobody on him). He's really fun!

Getting Reaquainted

Since I originally started this blog to have a place for myself to journal Diego's training, I'm very pleased that Bob has given me permission to post his daily updates that I'm getting with how things are going for Diego. Bob and Dovie currently have 4 mares of their own (3 they own and the other belongs to a little girl that Dovie was giving lessons to). This is from Friday 9/25, the same day I originally dropped him off:

Diego was getting along with Penny, so I turned Penny and Surprise out. The girls ignored him until they finished every scrap of hay we spilled this morning. Diego and Surprise did the squealing thing and settled down to grooming each other. Penny ignored him. After I cleaned stalls, I put the girls back in their stalls. Suddenly, I heard lots of squealing and commotion between Penny and Diego. I didn't see what started it. I turned around just in time to see Diego kicking at Penny. He hit the fence and missed Penny.

Me: This resulted in a superficial scrape to his left hind. Bob sent me a picture and we both agreed it was pretty minor and to just keep an eye on it.

I put some Wonder Dust on his scrape. I also very lightly filed/rounded the edges of his feet to reduce chipping. I gave him a nice brushing, cleaned his feet, and put his bridle on, all while he was loose in the yard. He's a good boy. :)

I rode him in the back yard for 20 minutes. It was very much like three weeks ago, only better. We're learning to communicate and understand each other. We trotted more than half the time. I learned that the sound of me searching for a treat in my pocket scares him. I also learned that he goes faster towards the mares than he goes away from them. We have to learn how to go from trot to walk instead of trot to stop. We're making progress and having fun.

Me: Trot to walk was something else I had been working on with him. Try saying "Easy" in a nice slow tone, or "Easy, walk". You may have to say it a few times. That's his verbal cue for slow down but don't stop. It works about 90% of the time but hasn't been transferred to under saddle yet. Like I mentioned last time, since we've been doing so much groundwork I had to install verbal cues since I didn't have the benefit of my legs and not always two reins.

Off to school

Or at least, that's what it feels like to me. Took Diego over to Bob and Dovie's today. He's going to spend a few weeks over there and just get ridden and out on a much more consistent basis than I can possibly manage right now. Bob's excited, I'm excited, Diego doesn't have a clue what he's in for. =) I felt like I was dropping my child off for his first day of kindergarten. Bob has promised lots of updates, I know they have a moonlight ride planned for this evening. ;)

Next weekend is the Comstock Endurance Ride out of the Lemmon Valley arena, about 2 blocks from Bob and Dovie's house. Since I'm managing the ride and will be camping out and staying over there anyways, it's a perfect opportunity to bring Diego over and have him camp out and spend the night "endurance-style". He'll also get to hang out and watch the horses on the ride come in and out of camp for their vet checks. This was something I did with Sinatra early on in his training and was *INVALUABLE* for teaching him to settle in and relax while in camp and at a vet check. After about 6 hours of horses coming and going, trotting out, etc, it suddenly becomes pretty ho-hum and they learn that it's nothing to get excited over and you might as well just chill out and eat since you're tied to the trailer anyways.

He's Baaaaaaccckkk!!!

Well Friday's excursion with Diego went extremely well, even if it was not according to my original plans. The original plan was for me to take Dig over to friends Bob and Dovie's house and ride Diego in their round pen and around their fenced in back yard. If everything was going well, then Dovie was going to take their kid-proof pony and go out with us on an easy little trail ride. This was to be the first time I had ridden Diego off the property since April, so I was a little bit nervous about how things would go.

As it worked out, I got Diego over there and he was being really good. Got saddled and he was pretty much ignoring Bob and Dovie's 4 mares that were checking out the new guy. I took Diego into the round pen and did some ground work with him. When we were both feeling relaxed, I went ahead and mounted up. Things were going okay until I asked Dig to walk around. I could feel him getting tense, which in turn made me tense, so we stopped and both tried to relax again. After a little bit, I again asked him to walk. He would walk a few steps and then swing his hind end around (pivot on his front legs) and then stop. After nagging at him a few times, he kind of tucked his butt, scooted forward and gave a little hop. I was still on top and doing okay, but I got off and decided to re-evaluate and maybe do some more ground work first.

This is when an extremely good thing happened, Bob volunteered to ride Diego for me. He could tell that I was feeling pretty uptight, not a good thing for either Dig nor I, and he's started a couple of young horses for him and Dovie in the past. So we pulled my saddle, since Bob's legs are much longer and I can't adjust the stirrups down that far, and he hopped on bareback. Bob rides bareback **A LOT**, like more often than not, and had put the first few rides on a couple of horses bareback.

Bob gets ready to mount Diego for the first time

So Bob mounted up and I lead Diego around the round pen for a few minutes. Dig was pretty sticky to start, it was a probably a good thing to just lead him around for a while. It gave everyone a chance to relax and get the feel of each other. Eventually, Bob started taking more and more control and, when he was ready, I unclipped the lead and he rode Diego around on his own.

Getting a feel for each other

Bob was very happy with how responsive Diego was to his sidepull. Bob normally trains with a snaffle, and other than a few bridle-less rides, this was the first time he had ridden a young horse without a bit. Diego actually is very happy in his sidepull and is very light and responsive. I received a few compliments on how quickly he would stop and how he didn't pull on the reins at all, instead yielding softly.

Soon things were going well enough that we opened up the gate and Bob rode Diego around their back yard. Dovie hopped up on the pony and rode around with him. Dig did very well, checking out the new environment and even leading the way around and behind their long shedrow barn. You could see his relax and start to get comfortable with being ridden again. Bob even did some trotting with him, a few steps here and there. He was very happy with how smooth Diego was.

After a while longer, Bob, Dovie, and another friend Tammy decided to go ahead and go out on a little trail ride. This was the largest "group" Diego has been out on the trail with. We've ridden with two other horses in the arena, but not out and about. This was also his *THIRD* trail ride ever. He did extremely well and I was a very proud mama. I followed along and took some pictures. Here they are riding past the neighbor's house to the little open area (single and two-track through sagebrush) where they ended up riding.

Diego actually lead the pack for most of the way. Bob complimented him on having a nice, mostly relaxed, forward walk. He wasn't overly balky and didn't want to rush. When he would get nervous, his tendency was to tuck is butt and scoot forward a few steps, then turn to look at what startled him (Diego that is, not Bob). They successfully trotted for a short distance out on the trail, were passed by, and then re-passed the other horses.

It really gave me a lot of confidence to see Diego perform so well. Bob is now officially the second-ever person to ride Diego. I am very grateful to him for his help and assistance, and am looking forward to going out there more often in the upcoming weeks and months. Bob wants me to do some ground-work with his young girl, Surprise, to help get her more soft and supple, and he'll ride and work with Diego for me while I'm doing that. I'm sure we're all going to have a lot of fun!

New Headgear and Saddle Mods

Diego got a new sidepull from Crazy Ropes. I LOVE it!!! Debbie Hanson is the owner and she did a fabulous job. It's exactly what I wanted. Diego still needs to have a dental appointment, his wolf teeth are starting to erupt, so I have only been using the snaffle really sporadically for now, preferring to use a sidepull. I also have found that I get less resistance with the sidepull and he will yield with lighter pressure. Whether this is a result of some teeth issues, or just a training thing and he prefers nose to mouth pressure will have to be determined in time.

It has the marine-grade rope with the two extra pressure knots on the noseband. She then adds a really pretty overlay that is knotted/weaved on with a color you can select. She also has a couple of different base colors you can select from, if you don't want basic black.

You then add your own curb strap. I bought this one a while ago and it was a bit too long to use with the snaffle bit (a safety measure), but I'm glad I decided to hang onto it. It fits and works perfectly with the sidepull.

The curb strap attached to one set of rings, and the reins to another. The reins are the black strap you see running up along his head in this picture. This is installed on my biothane halter bridle combo that I purchased at the AERC Convention. Another item I dearly love.

I also am fortunate enough to be borrowing a Bob Marshall treeless saddle from a good friend of mine. It didn't have any stirrups though, or the modified Bob Marshall fenders/leathers that are somewhat of a custom item for these saddles. I know a few people who make do with nylon dog collars. I looked around in my trailer tack room and low and behold, child-size Wintec Webbers! I zip-tied them onto the saddle D's and then put my EZ Rides on. Perfect and so easily adjustable!

Going Riding

A friend and I have made plans to get together for a ride on Friday. I've been riding Diego more and more at home lately, but still just inside our small corral. I have a larger area outside where I have room to lunge and ground drive, but it's not fenced and the ground is really rocky and hard - so the possibility of something bad happening should we have an issue is a bit much right now. I have ridden Diego out there a few times in the spring, before my fall, but I just haven't got up the nerve to try again.

In other good news, a neighbor about 4 houses down is finishing up building a fairly good sized arena in their back yard. Diego, Taren, Molly (our puppy) and I were all out for a walk the other day and he invited me to come over and ride sometime. In a twist of fate, he's the off-duty EMT that was one of the first responders when I broke my arm at Bartley Ranch. He was the one there on a walk with his wife. She's the one that has horses in their family, he as a dirt bike (just like in my household). =) I was surpised he still offered once he knew who I was. I was joking with my husband that having an EMT on site would be a good thing. =) I guess when I was hurt, this guy was the one that called AJ and let him know. When AJ got the "I'm calling about your wife" he (AJ - my hubby) said "Well, she either fell off her horse or hit you with the truck, which is it?" LOL As you can tell - I'm a teeny bit accident prone. But it would be wonderful if they get the arena done and it's okay for winter riding - would beat having to worry about getting the truck and trailer out in the snow.

Bomb-proofing Clinic

I was able to take Diego to the Wild Horse and Burro Expo that was being hosted here in Reno at the Livestock Event Center today. One of their scheduled "events" was a bomb-proofing clinic hosted by Willis Lamm that was free to the public - bring your horse it said, so I did!

This ended up being the first time Diego's been off the property since he bucked me off and I broke my arm back in April. Add to that the fact that we were going to a pretty large show grounds with other horses, loud speakers, golf carts, plenty of people, etc and this ended up being a pretty big test for him. AND HE TOTALLY ACED IT!!! =)

When we first got there, I got Diego out of the trailer in the parking lot and tied him up and groomed him for a little while. I had strategically parked where he could see two other horses that were tied up to their trailer, so he had a little extra confidence boost. His eyes were kind of big, but he was very good and stood still while I brushed him, combed his mane and picked his hooves. Unfortunately/Fortunately it was a little cool and breezy today, so he wasn't able to get a bath and elbow grease had to do, but at least it wasn't 101 like it was a few days ago.

After I bit, I put my lunge line on Diego and took him over to the area where they had the obstacles set up. They had many different obstacles: wooden fence posts in various designs (5 of these), a barrel, a big tractor tire with plywood over it, a bed sheet on a frame, a "horse wash" on a frame with caution tape, a leopard print rug to walk over, crushed cans, a small set of wooden steps with a platform the horse could walk over, two different types of bridges, crushed aluminum cans inside one of the fence post sets, etc. It was a really nice set-up. Things were pretty low-key when I went over, there was just the clinician and one other gentleman working with is roan mustang at the time. Perfect, perfect.

Diego was nervous at first so I went over to the barrel and lunged him in some circles for a while in the most open area. This gave him a chance to start to check everything out. I just let him trot for a little bit, then started asking him to yield his hindquarters, turn and face me, change direction, back-up, etc. Once he was focusing on me, we started to walk around more and look at stuff.

One of the first obstacles we did was a set of six poles set in a circle, so I stood in the middle and lunged Dig around the outside. He did well and as soon as he dropped his head to watch what he was doing, I could see him start to focus on me more and begin to really relax. After he was looking comfortable with this, we went over to the bed sheet on the frame. Diego walked up to it and started trying to chew on the bed sheet. =) Obviously our tarp training has been paying off! Yay! I let him check it out a bit more, and then sent him through several time. We then did the caution tape horse wash obstacle. This one was a bit more tricky in that there were bits of red plastic and flagging ribbons tied long this side of the arena. Diego didn't seem to care about any of that stuff - he even bit one of the red plastic flags and pulled it off - so I had to tie it back on.

We then went over and worked on the wooden bridges. Diego has done the one at my friend Sarah's house before, so I didn't take long before he was walking over both of them. You could tell he was starting to get more and more confident and braver about trying things. I took him through the two of the other wooden sets - one was a long narrow, somewhat bendy section made of railroad ties. The other was a big jumble, where the horse had to pay attention to where they were placing their feet. The poles were angled and set up on the side with one or the other end, so he really had to focus on what he was doing.

The clinician Willis Lamm came over and talked with me for a while at this point. Diego was stopped in the middle of the obstacle, back feet straddling a pole, and he stood patiently while we discussed Dig. Willis mentioned that as an Arab, Diego is breed to be extra aware of his surroundings, as battle horses, they needed to always be alert to what was going on around them and be quick enough to evade an attack. He'd noticed when we first came in, how Dig was a bit on "overwhelm" and complimented me for just working with him calmly and quietly. He mentioned how with Diego, his "flashpoint" was still very near the surface, and he was quick to react, but we had both noticed how he was also quick to stop, think about it, and settle down to evaluate the situation. He really liked Dig a lot, and told me that in about a year and a half or so, I would probably have a rock-solid, very steady mount that I could point at just about anything.

This echoed a lot of my own feelings in that Diego is just unconfident and didn't have a lot of trust in me and our relationship. I've been happy to see that trust developing more and more, and today it was very apparent at times as he would look to me and take his cues for reaction based upon what I was doing. I could go on and on, but I'll let the pictures (taken by my 7 yr old son) speak for themselves. Diego conquered every obstacle that was in that ring. He cracked me up with the aluminum cans, rustling them with his nose, biting one, tossing them around, and then calmly stepping through. I also hooked up my second line and spent some time ground driving him around and over them as well - helping to establish that "I don't have to go first" scenario that will continue with our riding career. We ended our day with going inside the big spooky indoor arena, and lunging a bit in there and then calmly walking out and back to the trailer. I was exceedingly proud of my boy today - GO DIEGO GO!!!