Another day, no time to think!

I've been so crazy  busy all day, that I haven't had much time to work on anything at home.  I was at work from 7:30am-6:30pm, watching/participating in a saddle fitting on the horses at work, and then in a meeting.  I got home and was completely exhausted, but I knew I needed to work with Pistol.  So... I went to grab him, and he did a nice job haltering.  That is something I am just so incredibly proud of. :D  We worked on some stick to me over to a figure 8 pattern.  I played with the figure 8 pattern until he did 2 nice circles on his own, and passed through the middle without pinning his ears.  Once I stopped him, he started licking and chewing.  Then I went to work on sideways, because that game needs tons of work.  I started on the fence, and discovered that going left, with me standing on his right side, goes beautifully, but the opposite side is horrendous.  We worked on that a bit, with me trying to push Pistol just enough to motivate him without actually pushing him.  He got frustrated and kept backing up from the fence, so I took him out away from it and asked for sideways without a fence.  Once he got a couple good steps sideways, I stopped, and got more licking and chewing. I went outside to work on circling on a surface with some give, and got some really nice circles at a walk and trot.  Pistol still has a bit of an issue with cantering, either he bolts off and loses focus, or he turns it into a trot.  So I've been working on that, but because it was so hot, I didn't push him to do much trotting or cantering.  We headed over towards the trailer in the backyard, because I was going to work on saddling again.  However, something came up.  As we rounded the house, Pistol noticed the gap in the porch covering underneath the deck, and the air conditioner was on!  TWO scary things in ONE spot!  So we had to do some approach and retreat with the gap under the deck and the air conditioner.  Once he walked up and touched the air conditioner with his nose, he noticed a GIANT spider next to it, and wanted nothing to do with that!  I didnt blame him because I didnt either!!  It was getting pretty late, the sun was already setting, so I bagged the idea of saddling tonight and figured I would work on it tomorrow.  I came back and looked at the spider, which is literally the size of my palm and black and yellow, and according to google, it is a non poisonous zipper spider.  I decided I didnt care though, I didnt want it living right outside my bedroom window!!!!  I cant stand spiders.

I forgot to mention, I recently joined Giddyupflix.com, and rented L&HB from them.  DVD number 5 came today, which I ordered first, because of the trailer loading demo.  I dont believe I will have time to order all of them before I leave, so I'm watching the ones I need most right now, and will watch the whole set in order another time.  I'm super excited though to be watching this. :D

a really good day

It was a really good day today with Pistol  We did some easy circling work, and I got some really nice trotting from him, very rounded and collected, and some really pretty changes of direction. Being a LBE, he had to throw in some bucks, but I've learned not to react, because then he thinks I'm fighting with him. If I just ignore it, he does his thing and moves on, and besides, I dont mind him being a bit cheeky. I think he's funny most of the time. :D We got in the trailer again to eat dinner, and he was super cute about it. Plus later when I went to shut the pasture gate, he started running around me at liberty and wanting to play, and almost playing tag with me. He would run in circles, and as soon as he looked at me, I disengaged him, and he whipped around, looked at me, and then did a little "cutting horse" moves and started running in a circle bucking again. I waited during most of this, just encouraging him occasionally, and pretty soon he got his exuberance out, and came in for a scratch. He even started scratching me while I scratched him. What a cutie.

What a great way to end my day...

Half way there, but after this he did hop right in his trailer(off camera of course!!).  This is after 6 days of not working with the trailer at all because we were fixing the brakes.  I'm so proud of him!

Whatever I'm doing is working...

Seriously, I didnt exactly have a great play session today, Pistol seemed pretty unhappy during parts of it. BUT... later tonight when I went to shut his pasture gate, he came up to me, and got really cuddly. He stuck his head right in my arms and when I started petting him he closed his eyes and leaned on me. It was adorable!! And then he noticed my flashlight, so he wanted to play with it. I let him for a bit, but then he tried to bite it and I was afraid he would break it, so I gently took it away from him. He started nuzzling my hand, and I held my palm out for him, and he starting flapping his lips on it and licking it. That's a wierd little thing he does sometimes that seems to really calm him or soothe him, he closes his eyes and just stands there. And then, here's the best part: He turned his face over to mine, and rested his muzzle on my cheek!! It was a huge trust thing for both of us, because I didn't push him away, and he didn't bite me, and it was just adorable!! It definitely made up for earlier today, and convinced me that even though today was a bit rough, he is still on board for the journey.

R.I.P. Big Green Ball...

Just after this, he somehow managed to POP the ball!! 

Trailer Simulations

I've been busy all day, so I just now got out to play with Pistol, even though he has been hanging around waiting all day.  He has a little routine, and he doesnt like it when I mess it up.  I go out and feed him, then he moseys out into his pasture to eat for awhile, and then he comes back in and wants to play.  Now I used to be able to play with him in the morning and at night, but then I got busy with work, and have only been able to play with him once a day.  So today I got out there, and he was happy to see me, especially when I started scratching him.  He even turned around and started scratching me.  Once he was in the mood, I put his halter on, and practiced driving from zone 3/4 on the right side.  That is the harder side for both of us, and I realize I need to work on it more than I have been to get it better.  So we did some driving out to the front lawn, and then I played around with the rock slide pattern with him.  He got it perfectly the second time at a walk, so I left it alone and moved on to circles again.  After just a couple laps he relaxed and gave me a really beautiful rounded trot with the rope dragging on the ground all the way around the circle, so I brought him in and scratched him, and then sent him out to the right.  This time he got a bit cheeky with me, deciding to run and buck.  So I let him for a little bit, and then added my 4 ounces to it, and pretty soon he said "can I please walk?"  Then I asked him for a trot again, and this time he did a beautiful circle to the right with a rounded body and the rope on the ground, so I started traveling.  He did great with that too, until we reached a scary spot.  So we had to do some approach and retreat with the whole area, because there were several scary trees and plants and a porch that might eat him.  Then we headed for the back yard, and my grandpa started to mow the lawn.  Not a big deal, I thought, Pistol can deal with it.  And sure enough, he dealt with it just fine.  There is a big bush in the back yard that I had Pistol back up to as practice for when the trailer doors close behind him.  It took a bit, because he would get so far, and then scootch his butt so it went away from the bush.  After the first time, I knew where his threshold was, and didnt ask him to go further.  I brought him back, yo-yo-ed him again, and he took a step closer.  A little more of that, and he had his tail in the bush.  I waited, and pretty soon he started licking and chewing.  Woo-hoo!!  Just then, my grandpa drove by on the mower, and Pistol had to go investigate it.  So I did some more zone 3 driving back to the pen, shut the gate, and had Pistol back up to that.  He got it much quicker that time, and I rewarded him with lots of scratches, and removed his halter.  I think tomorrow if all goes well, I will see if I can ride him.  I did all his preflight checks again today, and he passed them all.  He was so soft, I really wanted to get on him today, but I knew I wasn't ready for it.  Tomorrow I'm going to get a pair of boots, which is a long story, but when the store finally sent them to me, they sent the wrong size, so I have to go back tomorrow and get the right size, and I will feel better about riding in boots.  Silly, I know, but still.  One can't be a cowboy in tennis shoes. :D

circling game and exploring

I've been working with Pistol on the circling game a bit, because he's been having some wierd issues with it lately. I think its because I've been working with him on trailer loading. Its created some problems in the circling game now, mostly bolting on the send and not paying attention/tipping the nose outward. So I've been playing with him in my front yard, because that has a different feel than his pen. Its much more cushiony, and has a better "give" to it, so its more similar to what an arena would be, instead of the rock hard ground in his pen. Today I really got in depth on the circle, because he was getting so "bad" about it. I had to constantly do a pattern interrupt, and keep his focus. It took FOREVER, and quite a few bucks/rears, but finally at the end, he was doing a BEAUTIFUL circle with his nose tipped in, 1 ear on me, rope dragging on the ground and a nice rounded gait. I was so proud of him, I know it was rough, but he finally figured it out, and started licking and chewing. We practiced the rock slide pattern that was discussed on the savvy club forum, because at some point I'm planning on doing some cutting/reining/roping type stuff with Pistol. He really gets it, and seems to really love it, and constantly wants to do it FAST! :D Silly boy. He's so cute when he figures a pattern out.








Once we worked on the rock slide pattern and he was doing it correctly and licking and chewing, I started walking around with him and driving from zone 3/4. We walked all around the edge of the front lawn, which has all sorts of interesting decorative plants for Pistol to investigate. He's never seen much of anything that wouldnt be around a normal barn, so anywhere I take him, there's something new and exciting for him to look at. Today, that new and exciting thing was the yellow line in the middle of the road. Now mind you, I dont want him walking in the road, I have NO plans of riding him on the road, but I also didnt want to discourage his curiousity. So... we examined the yellow line. I had to do some approach and retreat with him because he got a little scared of the road(its a different material that he's never seen before). Just like when I first got him, he had never walked on asphalt before. He got out there, and sniffed the line, wiggled his lips on it, and stuck his hoof on it like "so THERE!" He was so adorable doing it. And of course once we had investigated it, he was done and ready for his grain.

Riding Prep

I've been working on getting Pistol ready to ride lately, because I really would like to ride him before we travel to Florida. I'm not making it a goal, because I dont want to put unreasonable pressure on us, but I would like it if we could practice some freestyle before arriving at the ranch. So, I've been researching as much as possible, and I have finally decided on a plan. Pistol was saddle-broke before I bought him, he spent months at a trainer's barn, and then all last summer being ridden by the barn owner of the boarding stable he was at. However, from the things theyve told me, I'm not sure he was actually ok with being saddled. Actually, I KNOW he wasn't ok with it, but because I didnt see it, I dont know if it was left brain "you cant make me" or right brain "oh NO!". I have saddled him a few times, and he did just fine with being saddled, but once he went to move he started bucking. The barn owner told me he did that, so I'm not sure if it is a learned behaviour, or actual fear. I'm taking things much slower with him, using a 22 ft professional line to simulate a girth/saddle and playing with tightening and loosening it, and then moving him around. So far, he's been doing really well. I start out tossing the rope over his back, and then running the rope through the ring and doing some approach and retreat with tightening. Once its tight enough to be there, but not pinching, I loop it around so that I can toss the end over his head, and daisy chain it through the ring just like you would with a mecate. That way, he has the "girth" around his middle, the "breast collar" to hold the "girth" in place so it doesnt fall down to his hips, and the "mecate" so he gets used to having that rope bouncing there. He's been doing a great job, really thinking about it, not panicking anymore. He trotted today, and even did a couple steps of a canter without panicking. I'm so proud of him!

Busy Busy Busy

I'm trying to prepare for Florida, which means TONS of work on my trailer to get it in tip-top shape for the trip, and planning the route, getting Pistol ready to stay in the trailer, getting Pistol in shape, getting myself in shape... the list goes on!  Luckily though everything I've been doing has really been resonating with Pistol, and our bond is getting even better.  He's become such a gentleman in the few short months I've had him.  Everyone that has come over has noticed how even in a week's worth of time, he gets even more polite and soft.  He hasn't lost any of his exuberance, but he is no longer so "bratty" all the time.  He seems to have finally decided that it is ok to work with me, instead of against me.  Looks like all my passive persistence paid off!  He has gone from saying NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! all the time to saying "Oh, did you want me to put my hoof over there?  Should I put my nose on it? How about I jump it instead?", which is WONDERFUL.  Its so awesome to see him transforming into the really sweet horse I knew was in there.  He really is becoming a partner, and I have a feeling that we will be able to work on our freestyle pretty soon. 

On another note, my friend came over again to work on trailer loading, and she commented that he was a completely different horse from the last time she was over.  He still has lots of tricks, but yesterday was more introverted about the trailer (I dont want to, so I'll just stand here like a tank, just MAKE me move) instead of extroverted(You cant make me, you cant catch me, if you even LOOK at me I'll buck!).   But also, along with being more introverted about it, he was still MUCH more polite.  No more kicking, bucking, rearing, or biting.  He still wouldnt get all 4 feet in the trailer with my friend there, but he has done it before, so we discussed what I need to do to teach him about the butt bar and door.  Also, next time she will bring her horse, so we can play together.  That should be interesting for Pistol, since he is the only horse on the ranch right now, and this is HIS turf, and he is usually very dominant.  Also, he hasn't seen another horse in 3 months.  I wanted to be able to take him to work with me a lot, so he would have the socialization with other horses, but he had other plans.  Apparently he is fine being an only child! :D  But I'm trying to get him used to anything and everything that he will encounter on the way to florida, and on the ranch in florida.  I wouldnt be doing my job as his partner if I didnt play with him while other horses were being played with, or trailer load him with other horses/people around or anything else that might happen while we are travelling and living on the ranch. 

My poor horse

He did it again.  This time he caught his hoof in the ONE spot on the trailer that was dangerous.  Another vet visit, another vet bill, this time for more than last time, because he had to be sedated during the exam and treatment, got a bunch of shots, and meds.  Poor baby!  He sliced his hoof bulb/wall on the trailer side, and the vet said I got REALLY lucky that he didnt damage himself more than he did.  Also, we got lucky that the vet thinks it will heal up just fine and in time for Pistol to go to Florida still.  Sidenote, Pistol loves my vet, and his truck.  It was so cute when he pulled up, Pistol wanted to go see his truck so badly, but then when the vet got out, his attention shifted to him and wanted to go see him.  He picked his hoof right up for him, and the vet even peeled back the flap that was sliced, and Pistol just stood there.  Now remember, this is the horse that will NEVER pick his feet up for the farrier.  And I warned the vet that Ive never had to do an injection on Pistol, so I had no idea how he would behave, but apparently I didnt need to warn him!  He pinched his neck, inserted the needle, and Pistol didnt even flinch!  I thought about asking him if he did farrier work, since my poor farrier has such a rough time with Pistol. :)  But now I just have to keep an eye on his hoof, try to keep it clean, and give him his antibiotics.  That poor horse is probably thinking that moving in with me was a bad plan, since he's had SO much more happen than he ever did before.  No quiet life with me!  Good thing I have a LBE. :D

4 feet in the trailer!

That's right, Day 3 of the 7 day pattern, he put all 4 feet in the trailer!!!  I was so excited, I could barely stand it.  I wanted to take a picture so bad, but I knew by the time I got everything set up, he would get back out.  But still!  He got all 4 feet in, all by himself, and even stood there and ate his grain while I walked around the trailer, reached in the windows, all that kind of stuff.  He backed himself out just fine too, which is huge, because in the other trailer I had, he wouldnt back out calmly, he would fly out so fast he would almost fall.  I'm so proud of him!  Once he got out after eating all his grain, I opened the other side of the trailer and started grooming him next to the trailer.  He was so cute about it, he kept opening the trailer door.  It would swing out, and then back, and he'd bump it again like "Hey... I just opened you, what the heck??" He must have done that about 10 times!  He even stood quietly while I picked up his hooves, cleaned them out, and applied thrush meds.  I'm so darn proud of him!  I stood there scratching his withers, and he did his little parrot lips thing, and then turned his head around and rested it on me.  I even hugged him and he kept his head there, and did a big sigh.  I wish I had been taping, I totally would have submitted it for the video call to action thing this month. :D  What a great start to my day!

Sassy Sassy Sassy

I had planned to work with Pistol today on going sideways to the block, and teaching lateral flexion from the ground, but... you deal with the horse that shows up.  Pistol was in a SASSY mood, so we played some catching game, and then once he caught me, I haltered him, and we did some really exuberant stick to me.  He really hasn't had to do much with stick to me, because we've been working on so much else.  Just the basic walk/trot/stop/back up.  But not today.  Today, I'm sure he was wondering what happened to his mom, and where'd this herd leader come from again???  I started asking him to circle and change directions, almost the falling leaf pattern but not quite, and then started moving with him.  I started trotting with him, and changing direction and having him change direction with me, which meant switching sides as well.  It was quite interesting, because he picked it up right away travelling with me on his left side and switching to the right, but the other way around seemed to really be difficult for him.  So... we kept going, switching from walk to trot to canter, and then stopping and backing up.  Then I got really tricky on him, by changing direction at the trot, trotting a couple steps, and changing again!  Then doing it again!  He was reeeeeeally thinking at this point, and getting quite sweaty, since it was so hot out, so I slowed down to a walk.  Guess what? Licking and chewing.  Once his breathing slowed down a bit, I stopped, and started to play the friendly game.  He dropped his head, sighed, and cocked a hoof.  Silly boy. :)  Guess every LBE needs an exuberant day now and then. :D

Playing tonight

I went out to play with Pistol, and had planned on working on the trailer again.  When I got out there, he reeeeeeeeeeeally wanted to run, so we played some catching game.  When he came up to me, I just had a feeling that the trailer would not be a good idea right now.  So, I grabbed the mounting block, and worked on coming sideways to it.  Pistol played soooo many games; "oh you want me to go forward? sideways AWAY? backwards? knock you off?".  But I had an answer for everything, and he finally went oh ok, and came to me sideways. Treat time!  So that got some licking and chewing, and the next time I asked, he was even softer about it.  Once he was reliably coming to me sideways, I started scratching him.  I've been noticing some rusty friendly spots, he is not very confident with the carrot stick on his opposite side across his back, so we played with that until he licked and chewed, and then I stood there scratching him for awhile.  He got so excited/stretched out that he moved away from me to the point that I couldnt safely scratch him while standing on the mounting block, so I started tapping his side with my hand, and he came back over to me!  I really scratched him for that.  He kept moving around, not really being confident with me in zone 3, so I just kept scratching wherever he presented to me.  Pretty soon I got some licking and chewing, and I started asking him to keep zone 3 next to me.  He still had his head high and was a little tense, so I just kept scratching and acting like no big deal, I'm just gonna scratch your other side, i'm gonna lean on you and scratch your hip, and so on.  Finally, after about 1/2 hour, he did a big sigh, lowered his head, and then did a couple big rolly-eyed yawns.  I stopped right there, and he did some more yawning after I took his halter off.  Sidenote: I am so proud of him when it comes to haltering/unhaltering.  He will now turn his head to me while I'm standing at his shoulder, and hold his head there while I halter him and unhalter him, and wait for me to completely remove the halter to move his head away.  He used to be SO bad about haltering, because the people at his old barn never asked him to hold his head still.  woo-hoo for progress!

Not enough time!

I've been so busy lately at work, I haven't had much time for Pistol in the last few days.  I have managed to spend some time brushing him today, since he looooooooooves being brushed.  He was so cute, because I didn't have much time for him yesterday or the day before, just some quick trailer play sessions.  He got really excited about being groomed, and started playing with all the brushes.  I took things nice and slow, and realized that part of my friendly wasn't very good.  He is normally very confident with the carrot stick and string and lead ropes in zones 4 & 5, however when I went to move back there, he started putting me back in zone 3.  So I started doing approach and retreat with it, and pretty soon I got some licking and chewing.  I moved over to the other side, and did more approach and retreat, and this time got several big giant rolly-eyed yawns.  So I kept on brushing him, paying special attention to his itchy spots, and pretty soon he was presenting zone 5 to me for scratching.  Yay!  So I guess the friendly game wasn't that bad, just a little "rusty".  But after that little bit of work, he was totally confident with me in zones 4 & 5, which made me really happy.  But unfortunately for my poor horse, I had a party to go to, so I had to go inside and get ready for it, which made him hang his head over the gate and whinny for me. 

Lots of learning today

I played with the hose today, since Pistol has been doing so well with the flyspray.  He was a little more skeptical, because he really is scared of the hose, but... I was able to convince him that everything would be ok.  We did lots of approach and retreat, and treats every time he stood still for the hose to come closer.  Pretty soon he was licking and chewing and blew a big sigh, so we stopped.  I managed to win even more trust from him, because a GIANT horsefly was buzzing around him, and I was trying to kill it so it would leave him alone.  It only took a couple times for Pistol to realize what I was doing, and once it landed on him, he stood perfectly still so I could whack it with my carrot stick.  And once I had killed it, he actually turned his head and nuzzled me!  It was so sweet, I just stopped and scratched him.  I showed my sister how I load him into the trailer, because she knows a bit about PNH, and is kinda sorta interested in it from when she volunteered at the stable I work at.  He did pretty well, we spent about 10 minutes of him standing in there eating without coming back out, which I REALLY like.  All in all, it was a good day!

Pedigree update...

Guess what?  It turns out my vet was right, Pistol is part foundation quarter horse!  I heard back from the barn owner, and she had found his sire and dam for me, and found out that apparently he is registered with the ApHC.  His sire is Clarktowns Mr Doc, and he is a GORGEOUS foundation quarter horse.  His dam is 50 roses, and I have not been able to find a picture or any record of her, but according to the barn owner, she was a really pretty appaloosa.  So... that explains why Pistol looks like a foundation quarter horse, and it explains why he is still growing.  His sire is 16 hands, and Pistol is a little over 15 right now, but still filling out. 

Trailer loading and Flyspray Part 2!

That's right, I worked on both today with Pistol, and again, it went fabulously!  This morning I went out to put thrush medicine on his hooves, and noticed there were TONS of flies on him, so I thought I'd better spray him.  I loaded up my pocket with treats, and haltered him.  Sidenote: I am so proud of his haltering now, as soon as I walk to his shoulder and rub, he turns his head to me so I can halter him!  He stood nice and still for the spray, he only moved once.  And the time he moved, I kept spraying and as soon as he stopped, I stopped, so I got some licking and chewing and a "can I have a cookie please?" face. 

Then later I worked on trailer loading, and ended up working on it twice today.  The first time, he got 1 back hoof in the trailer while my grandpa was mowing the yard right next to the trailer, so we stopped and I got some licking and chewing.  I really feel like we made a breakthrough today, because the second time we worked on the trailer, I could almost SEE the lightbulb go off, and he went "she just wants me to get in the trailer!", and I didn't have to do anything more than send him to the trailer, and he walked right in.  He kept getting back out, but every single time, when I sent him in again, he went further in.  The hay guys were baling hay in our field directly behind the trailer, which again, makes it kind of scary, but he was totally fine with it.  He put one back hoof in again, and had his whole body in there, with the exception of 1 hoof.  I can't believe he managed to stand like that, but he did.  I'm so proud of him!  He's really trusting me, even though he has NEVER been in a trailer like this before. 

FLY SPRAY!

First of all, my horse is terrified of things that spray.  I've been slowly working on this with him, and being really careful not to push through any thresholds, because this is a very deeply ingrained fear.  He's been doing great, he plays with the hose now while its on, but fly spray still has been a major problem.  When I went out to work with him today, I needed to put fly spray on him, and usually I spray it on a brush and then brush him.  Today, the wind was blowing, and every time I sprayed, the mist would get the brush, but also drift past and hit him.  I noticed that he was still standing perfectly still and unconcerned about the spray hitting him, so I thought it would be a good time to work on it.  I stood next to him with my hand on his withers, and sprayed his shoulder.  He didn't move, so I gave him a cookie.  It took a lot of time, and a lot of moving around and approach and retreat, but I was able to stand in front of him, and spray out next to his shoulder.  I did that until he started licking and chewing, and gave him a cookie.  That really got his attention, and he allowed me to spray his ribs.  I did this on both sides, and if he got too worried about his ribs being sprayed, I would move the spray back to his shoulder.  At this point, he finally dropped his head, and cocked one leg.  I started moving down his body while spraying continuously and giving him a cookie every so often.  To my surprise, he stood there the whole time.  We have been making some big breakthroughs lately, so I suppose I shouldnt be surprised, but the last time we dealt with flyspray was nowhere near as easy.  This time, things went much better.  While I was spraying his legs, he even turned his head and stuck his nose in the spray, and then stood there watching me spray him.  So while I was spraying and treating, he finally sighed and dropped his head even lower, so I thought I should end the session.  I was so proud of him!  He was obviously trusting me very very very much, and I am so honored that he trusts me like he does.  I think he's realizing that I'm not doing things TO him, I'm doing it with him and with his permission.  After that fly spray session, even putting his thrush medicine in his hooves was easy!  He picked up both feet on the first try, and held them until I was done with them.  I think we really accomplished something today. :)