Poles and Peppermints

Sometimes I think my biggest challenge, other than losing weight and getting back into riding shape, is relearning how to ride without fear. I don't trust that I will stay on if something happens and Ashke spins or bolts. I know this is due to past crashes and the two times I have been thrown since I started riding him. I can say that he no longer feels like he wants to come out from under me. He feels like he wants to do more and more - mostly outside the arena.

Yesterday was T's first day of 7th grade. J and I took the day off so we could take him to class and pick him up at the end of the day. That left time during the day to play with the horse (and run errands). Ashke was scheduled to be in the pasture with Stoli from 11 - 1pm, so we ran errands first and ended up back at the barn at 1:15. That didn't leave a ton of time. I groomed Ashke and spent some time playing with his mouth. He almost suckles on my hand, pressing his lips, teeth and tip of his tongue against my palm. Then he opens his mouth widely and tries to bite (not seriously tries - more like trying in slow motion). I keep my palm flat against his upper lip, which prevents him from getting his teeth onto anything, and then he starts to lick. He licks my arm from my mid-forearm to my palm. Silly boy. It makes him relax, as does rubbing his ears and the sides of his face.

We are still having issues with tightening the girth. I have started rewarding him standing still for the girth check with peppermints. I don't expect it to take long to get him exhaling heavily in order to get his peppermint. He was great in the round pen. There were some high spirits, but no intense argument. Walk, trot and canter on command. When I moved up to him to ask him to back, he took the carriage whip in his mouth and held it while he backed up.

We moved to the big arena. He is getting more and more steady under saddle and responds so well to positive re-enforcement (read: peppermints). He stands at the mounting block without moving until I give him his cue. We are working on moving away from my leg pressure and I have him able to turn his haunches while leaving his front feet in place in both directions. I had J put up some poles so we could work through them. I am weighting my stirrup on the side I want him to turn toward and he is beginning to get it. We worked the poles and around the arena. Our canter was fairly smooth and although he turns his ears back when asked, that is the only sign of grumpiness he has. He does tail swish when I use my heels, but I am trying to make the cues as small as possible, more of a turn in of my heel, then any real pressure. My saddle is very close and the contact is good between my legs and his sides.

I finally relaxed at the canter for one circuit around the arena. We are doing great at the trot and I am sitting it (what I am used to) even when he gets a little jiggy. Now, I just need to get real comfortable at the canter. He moves differently than the last horse I rode. We just need time to get on the same page and I am much more interested in adapting to him as much as having him adjust to me.

The only other issue we are having is his leads. I tried to work with him on it in the big arena, but everytime I asked he was cross cantering on the right lead. I am going to have to move back to the round pen and work on my cueing for the right lead. He will automatically pick up the correct lead in the round pen because it is small enough to force him to canter that way. Once he has the cue down, then I can move him back to the big arena and work him in that space. A forsee lots of peppermints as reinforcement.

Sunday

Today was a wonderfully great day!

The stable where I keep Ashke has a bunch of people who arena ride. Many of them belong to horse clubs and ride mostly to show. They spend a lot of time riding in circles in the arena to school their horses to perform well in the shows.

As I have said in the past, that kind of riding has its place when you are schooling a horse, but it isn't how I want to spend a ton of time riding. Ashke has settled so much that my confidence in him has really grown. We move between walk, trot and canter with ease and Ashke just does what he is asked, rather than fighting with me about it. Two weeks ago, Nicole and I rode out on a trail ride close to the stable. Nicole had so much fun, she organized another ride this weekend.

I got to the stable about 12:15. I was talking with Susan and Tom, both of whom normally ride in the arena but are interested in riding with us the next time we go out, when Nicole arrived. Abby was just a few minutes behind her. Abby is leasing Nicole's horse, Rhythm. We groomed and saddled and then moved out to the arena. I worked Ashke for maybe ten minutes in the round pen.

It didn't take a lot of time to get him warmed up. J was home with T and so I had to be my own videographer today. Ashke moved really well.

Nice little canter, he has. Sorry about the camera moving, but it is hard to watch the image and keep him moving.

And he knew it.

After the warm up, we moved into the big arena. He was so good.

We did this for about 40 minutes or so. At the walk and trot and canter. No issues. No problems. Just a nice sweet ride.

Nicole on Callie. Callie is a Paint/Friesan and is only 3 and a half. Nicole is bringing her along slow and sweet and Callie is doing great. Ashke likes to ride with her. Abby is exiting the screen on the right. She is riding Rhythm who is a Dutch warmblood and has been trained by Nicole. Nicole is trying to find her a new home and she offered her to Abby. Abby is leasing her for a month to see if she and her mom can afford her. Abby is 16 and absolutely horse crazy. I can relate. She rode really well today and Rhythm went well for her.

About the time we were almost ready to leave, Susan arrived in the big arena with her QH, Ace. He is also five and she's been working him about a year.  She has him very well trained in many ways, but is just starting to work with him on obstacles. (I'm thinking she needs to work him with some of the flapping things we can set up in the arena just to help both of them gain some confidence.) She had never ridden him outside of the arenas and was scared to ride across the driveway by the wash rack.

I have to say that Ace was fine. He reacted the same way any horse would who had never been outside an arena might react. He was hesitant about some of the things that we saw and he was a little tense, mainly because Susan was completely freaked out by everything. She was projecting her fear and that made Ace tense up. Nicole kept telling Susan to breathe, reminding her that nothing had happened. Susan was able to release some of her fear by talking about how freaked out she was. I think that by the end of the ride, she had settled a little bit. I swear we should have given Susan a drink before we left camp.

 All four horses did great. There were no major freak outs on the part of any of the horses, but Susan hyperventilated at everything. The flapping white plastic was unfamiliar enough to warrant a look and was the only time Ace really protested moving forward. Susan said he steadied when she applied pressure with her leg on the side where he was trying to sidle away and with patience she was able to get him to go past the plastic. (That is one of the obstacles that can be worked with in the arena.) The small furball barking and flying along the fence was startling, especially since I think the horses were looking for a slightly larger animal. I think Ashke thought it was related to the rabbits he seems terrified of around the barn. We went down a slight hill and then up the far side. We even trotted along the path at a couple of points. Finally, there was a swinging metal gate that none of the horses had even looked at twice when we went out, that everyone looked at going home. Callie had the most issue with it. It was swinging just a little in the wind. Very Scary!

Everyone made it home safely. Susan said afterwards that she feels so much better knowing Ace trusts her and that he didn't act up at all. I thought Ashke did wonderful and Callie and Rhythm were both awesome as well.

One of the things of note that happened today was meeting Cynthia Richardson. Cynthia has two arabs at the barn - Vinnie and Rex. Two of my favorites. And she's ridden the Tevis (said Teh-vis, not Tee-vis, in case you were wondering). And she is also the director of the Colorado Arabian Club. I talked to her about endurance - she wrote the manual for AERC - and about getting Ashke registered. She was really nice. She also gave me a game plan as far as getting him ready for endurance. She told me to go slow and to measure his cannon bones (circumference) so I could tell how much bone he put on. And she told me not to make the Tevis my first endurance ride (which is what she did). All good advice. I thought she was really nice.

After the ride, I unsaddled and then rinsed Ashke off. He was drying in the sun and grazing when Marit arrived. She asked me if Ashke could be turned out with Stoli and then with Lacey. I said sure as long as she could put him away, since I really didn't want to wait for two hours. She said she would. She is also going to turn him out on Tues and Weds with Lacey (or maybe Stoli. Or maybe both.) So my poor, lonely boy now gets to share pasture time with two pretty young things.

Stoli and Lacey

Ashke has gotten himself quite the fan club. . . . he went from being by himself in his stall with empty stalls on either side to having a lady who LIKES him next to him. It really has settled him down, and he still whinnies at me when he hears us coming. Seriously. He focuses and works when he needs to, rather than acting out when I have him in the round pen. The Lady next to him is named Lacey and she's a big, beautiful buckskin paint mare with a black mane and tail. Down the aisle is the other part of Ashke's fan club, Lacey's filly foal - Stoli.

Stoli, despite being born of two paints, is a solid chestnut with a red mane and tail. She has a little star on her forehead and she's still pretty pissed about being separated from her momma. She is four and a half months old, moved in about a week ago, and was just weened. She's a beautiful little filly, handles easily and likes people. Her owner, Marit, and I talked tonight about turning her out with Ashke, since he gets along with all of the horses. Grace had suggested it to Marit and I was in agreement.

So, Ashke had a pretty easy night. I groomed him pretty good and then worked him for maybe fifteen minutes in the round pen with the surcingle and reins. I wanted to give his back a rest and I was really stressed from work. I thought the last thing I needed to do was ride him given my emotional state. I could have gone from stressed to frustrated and Ashke certainly didn't need to bear the brunt of that. After our brief work, I turned him out in the pasture. I had intended to go to Costco, but instead I was waylaid by Marit.

And once there is a baby involved, . . . I wasn't going any where.

Marit brought Stoli out and she and Ashke introduced themselves. Ashke sniffed her over pretty good and she flashed a tiny hoof. Ashke flipped his head and moved away. When he was about twenty feet from her, Ashke nickered with that faint, soft nicker that's just a fluttering of his nostrils, trying to entice Stoli to come graze with him.

Marit said they had tried turning Stoli out with another mare earlier, but Sheena wanted nothing to do with the filly and they kept a great deal of distance between them. Not so tonight.

Stoli followed Ashke around the pasture. She dropped her head, relaxed and grazed near him. There was maybe six feet separating them from each other. Ashke only took exception once when Stoli checked out his package to see if it was a dispenser. He pinned his ears and humped his back, but his foot didn't come off the ground more than six inches. It was enough to tell the baby he wasn't interested in her trying to nurse off of him. Stoli didn't try again. They just hung out with each other.

As night fell, Ashke moved back over to the gate, ready to go back into his stall. Stoli followed his example and we walked them back. Now, Ashke will be turned out with Stoli twice a week.

And he has Lacey right next to him to keep him company while he is in his stall. Marit told me that Ashke had managed to pull Lacey's fly mask off of her head and drop it in his stall sometime today, since that's where she found it. Joy. Heartbreaker. Flymask Taker. That's my boy.

(I'll get some pics on Friday of Stoli and Lacey to share so you can see what they look like.)

19 Weeks Redacted

I thought I would bullet point, with pictures of course, the last 19 weeks. I will try to throw in some new information as I go along . . .

1. When we brought Ashke home he was as close to a 1on the body chart as it was possible to be without being dead. (See http://theeashke.blogspot.com/2012/04/body-condition.html.)

Remember this? 

Thee Ashke had zero fat deposits anywhere. He also had very little muscle. He was covered with bite marks, gashes from being kicked, and was teetering on the verge of collaspe, in my opinion.

The wonderful care he has received, the great food he is being fed and the exercise and attention he is being given have returned his health to him. Although I still have hope that we will be able to attempt some endurance rides (planning on doing local "fun rides" of fifteen miles soon) I am also perfectly happy if we don't ever compete. My newest hope is to teach him to ride trails with J and T on their bikes.

The food regime we now have Ashke on is 2 lbs of Amplify a day with two flakes of alfalfa/grass and a third flake of grass. As you can see he now falls between 6 and 7 on the food chart. He has gained so much in his neck and haunches, especially in the A spot along the top of the neck, and in the C spot down the crease in his back. There is a fat deposit in the F spot behind his shoulder and he has gained muscle over his withers. I am a "feeder", so seeing him gain weight and strength is emotionally satisfying to me.

2. His feet have been a huge source of concern since we brought him home. Although they didn't look horrible (severely outgrown hooves turn up in the front and that would have been a deal breaker) they weren't in very good shape. I know, big surprise. Although Steve said he had the farrier out to trim Ashke, from looking at his feet when we brought him home, the only thing that had happened was they had been trimmed down. No rasping, no leveling, no correcting for his issues, so we spent a great deal of time dealing with him tripping over himself the past few months.

Our last trim, when we pulled the shoes off and trimmed him to the line on his hoof where the nails were inset, has been perfect. Dan (farrier) said he had trimmed the foot a little different to allow him to break over much easier and lowered the inside wall a little bit over the outside wall. Whatever he did has worked. Ashke moves so much better. I think his trying to trot and canter and tripping all the time was similar to women who wear those incredibly long artificial nails and try to type.

Now, there are no clicking noises as we work. This tells me he has figured out how to stay out of his own way. His back legs are still healing from the abuse they suffered in Texas. His hock sore is so much better, now about the size of a raisin. The hock sore is from him laying down (which he loves to do when he sleeps) on really hard packed ground. It was about the size of a quarter when I brought him home.

Ashke still needs to strengthen and develop his legs. This can only be done through exercise, although the Ttouch has certainly contributed positive results, in my opinion. We are still working on pain in his back right, residual/emotional I believe. He is finally sound and can be worked for over an hour now without becoming so fatigued he is tripping or stumbling. I am trying to work him to the point that he is beginning to sweat, but not excessively sweaty or lathered. The few times he has gotten that worked up, he did it to himself. I want him to gain strength without being in pain.

3. The overall muscle strength in his back is continuing to develop. The long slabs of muscle on either side of his ribs is getting stronger with each day. Ashke is no longer tender in those areas and this is another place the Ttouch has definitely helped. I continue to try and post when we trot, but am struggling with both the timing and the feeling completely out of control with the horse. I spent most of my childhood riding bareback with my legs wrapped around their barrel, most of the strength coming from my thighs. Posting requires holding on with my calves and elevating my seat. Not something my fifty year old body really wants to do. It also feels unsafe to make the transition between the trot and canter when we are still so new at it. 

Today, he was a little iffy with the canter. He was swishing his tail and tucking his ears back when I asked him to go faster. It may be he isn't ready to canter two days in a row. We did some, but then we just trotted. One of the things that surprised me in watching the video, Ashke took the correct lead every time I asked him to canter, with the exception of the very first time. The first time when we moved into a corner he broke into a trot but picked up the canter on the correct lead. That seems amazing to me.

4. We are just about done with the round pen. Ashke is so tired of being worked in that space. I figure its similar to eating the same thing every day or working on multiplication tables. It has been a wonderful tool, but no longer holds much appeal. If possible, I want to work with more obstacles in the arena. I have a whole bunch of potential courses we could work through and I want to start working on the reining pattern for the last gymkhana at the barn. Those two things should give him enough to think about over the next couple of weeks.

I have to say, the barrels with the tarp over them didn't even phase him. Ashke went through it on his own while we were setting up the caveletti. For some reason, Ashke is still struggling to step over the elevated bars in the caveletti. He did great with the rails on the ground, but not so much with them raised. I just left them down for now. We will try to raise them at some point.

5. Life is going to change in a week or so. T starts 7th grade with four honors classes. That means time spent before and after dinner sitting with him while he does his homework. My time spent at the barn will need to be curtailed, or at least cover less scope. I figure that I should still be able to groom Ashke and work him at the lunge in an hour. I don't want to take any steps back, but without knowing what the work load will entail, its hard to plan ahead. It's also getting dark earlier, which makes working outside a lot more difficult. So, that means transitioning to the indoor arena, which neither of us really likes. Additionally, my office is moving further from my house and will add an extra twenty minutes of commute in either direction. I may have to stop sleeping and go sneak off to see my horse the way some people sneak off to meet their illicit lovers.

6. I'm very sore today. I am using muscles I haven't really used in years. It hurts when I am done. Funny though, I don't think about it when I am on him.

We did do a lot of trotting. He has such a nice little shuffle trot, with his ears forward. Looks like he's enjoying himself.

There are so many things that lead me to believe he has been trained under saddle in the past. This is one of them. That sweet little trot. And picking up the canter on the correct lead.

7. I am trying to lose some weight. I won't be able to ride the way I want if I don't. I have the same issue many women face at this point in their lives - my body completely changed when I had my son and then I injured my back. This caused me to gain a lot more weight than I ever thought I could. The riding and working Ashke has given me the physical exercise I was lacking, my body seems to be over and done with the baby making part, and now all I have to do is watch what I eat. I have started a food journal and I can tell you I never would have guessed at how many calories I was eating a day prior to tracking them. I am holding myself close to 1600 and that is probably half of what I was eating before. Wish me luck. Thee Ashke will like it too.

Canter

It was Saturday. We got to the barn by 9:30ish. J and T brought their bikes and did a nifty ride around the lake while I worked Ashke.

I can't believe I was ever seriously considering getting rid of the Ashke-man. He is doing so awesome there aren't words.

We started in the round pen and warmed up. Ashke squealed and bucked and acted out. Then he settled down and paid attention to me. After our warm up I had to move to the arena, because there was a woman waiting to work her horse. We walked and trotted around the big arena and Ashke did fantastic. After Anita and Cody were done in the round pen, I took Ashke back in and we cantered in both directions for several rounds. Then we moved back to the big arena and did this.

 

And more.

 

Sorry, the video is from our phone.

No way to really move close up. We will get better video tomorrow.

Still happy that I have something to watch. After I was done riding him, T asked if he could have a ride. He jumped up and we walked around the outside of the arena twice. Each time Ashke trotted with T on his back down the dirt side of the big arena. Ashke was a perfect gentleman.

OMG!!!!

HE CANTERED!!

And I STAYED ON!!!!

It was A-Fucking-Mazing!

Deep breath.

Okay, Monday I didn't ride. Tuesday I rode in the round pen at a walk and trot.

Last night there were new horses at the barn, and everyone was upset. Ashke now has two horses on either side of him, one of which is a mare named Lacey. Lacey moved into the barn yesterday from a new place. She was also separated from her 4 and a half month old filly, who is at the far end of the aisle next to G-man.  T loves it because now he can love on G and Stoli at the same time. Ashke was nervous and unfocused because of all the turmoil between the mare and the filly. Weaning can be very difficult for the first couple of days. Ashke was very unfocused and not really paying attention to me. T wasn't feeling great and I had promised him it would be a short workout. I worked Ashke at a walk, trot and canter with him "arguing" with me, because all he wanted to do was call out to the other horses. After about ten minutes, we went back inside and I tossed him back in the stall.

Tonight when I got to the barn, Nicole had just finished her work out on Callie and they had cantered in the indoor arena, which I find kind of claustrophobic when working with Ashke. He doesn't like how it looks to him. Nicole had some of the same issues with Callie tonight and really had to work to get her to canter, but she did! She got Callie to canter twice and then she was done. Callie is still pretty young but coming along really well. I think Nicole is an amazing trainer.

I was pretty bummed, because it would have been good to work Ashke with another horse. I groomed him and did his feet, then saddled him up. There were a couple of horses out by the big arena and the new filly was tearing around telling the world how upset she was at being isolated from her momma. Ashke didn't argue with me, but he wasn't paying any attention. I had J bring over four white poles and we set them up at the edge of the round pen. Ashke paid attention then. He lunged over them in both directions until he finally figured out how to lift both his front and back feet going over them. There was no fight. He knew exactly what was expected of him and just did it.

After that, we pulled the poles out of the arena and I got on him. He stood still at the mounting block until I was on his back and then turned his nose for a peppermint. Made me laugh, but I obliged. Then we walked in both directions. Then we trotted and I tried to post in time with his movement. That didn't really work very well. I seem to be stuck between posting correctly and sitting the trot correctly. Not really doing either very well. Anyway, Ashke was moving well in both directions at a trot so I grabbed my courage with both hands and asked him to canter. Nicole was watching me ride and giving me verbal coaching. Ashke stepped from a nice trot to a sweet canter in two steps. We rode around the round pen several times and then I asked him to stop. We turned and went counter-clockwise at a canter. Again, he stepped from the trot to the canter in two strides.

I was pretty tense until the third time we cantered. There was a small part of the back of my mind that was stressed he would duck a shoulder and try to toss me. By the third time I asked him to canter, I started breathing again, mainly because Nicole was yelling at me to relax. I was so freaking happy! He got two peppermints when I asked him to stop. He was happy. Then I asked him to back up and he ducked his head and backed. Freaking amazing!!

We were done. He got more peppermints and lots of carrots.

Doesn't he look amazing?!!

Good Spirits

Bullet points, cuz I'm in a hurry and waiting for T to finish breakfast before leaving for work.

• Ashke opens his mouth for the bit, pulls it up into place with his tongue and lowers his head for me to put the headstall on.
• Last night he put himself to work in the round pen, cantering with high, good spirits for five minutes before starting to pay attention to me. During that time, he chased T around the pen (T was on the outside) bucking and kicking, with a little squeal. He was feeling very good.
• Ashke whinnies from when he hears us to when I greet him at the stall. These are not little nickers, but loud, bugling greetings of a stallion for his herd.
• Ashke loves to tease Cass, the QH stallion in the end stall. Ashke stops and lips at Cass' nostrils, licks his nose, and nuzzles him through the bars. This excites Cass and he has started nickering eagerly every time he hears Ashke. I don't think either of them cares that Ashke is a gelding.
• Peppermints, peppermints, peppermints. Ashke stopped in the middle of trotting yesterday to swing his head around and ask for a peppermint. I didn't give him one, but it did make me laugh.
• We turned him out into the pasture and went to Costco after his work out. When we came back it was full dark and Ashke was just a vague splotch of white in the field. When he heard the gate, Ashke stopped grazing and walked up to put his head in the halter. He's so hard to catch. When we were walking back into the barn, Ashke stopped and inspected the Beast, slipping his head over the tailgate to see what we had in the back. So curious about everything.