An Unexpected Occurrence

 Getting ready for a ride this morning, I put on my new pink flannel shirt and checked the weather. I was going to record the ride - either livestream it or add a video clip to upload here. When I arrived at Lynne's, I headed up the back paddock and helped her get the fence up to prevent the horses from getting into the blackberry bushes and/or the neighbour's yard to freedom. When that was done, we went to get our horses. Flint was peacefully grazing on the green grass but he accepted the carrot offered after I'd put the halter and lead on him.

I stopped by the water trough and he lowered his head and sucked it up for quite some time. When he lifted his head, water splashed out of his mouth, spraying in different directions and fortunately I got out of the way before it splashed on me. He stood still while I put his saddle on and tightened the girth using a girth-eze. Once I had his bridle on, I walked him over to the mounting block and mounted. We waited while Lynne mounted Trooper and we rode off. The sun was shining, there were blue clouds in the sky and no wind. As Lynne had said earlier, "The day was too lovely to waste!" 

We rode along the soft ground and headed back to the same place we had ridden the other day. The sand was soft and butterflies flitted about. Lynne's horse started pacing as we went downhill, so she took him aside to zig-zag/walk his way down but when Flint was in front, he was uncertain as to what what happening, so Lynne and Trooper took the lead again. 

Suddenly Trooper stomped his back foot and we assumed he had tripped but then he stamped again. Flint started stamping and swishing his tail frantically as well. I rode up next to Lynne but couldn't see any botflies or other flying insects around the back legs. We continued a bit further but the stamping and swishing didn't cease so we turned our horses around to head back for home. The horses remained unsettled so we decided to dismount.

Lynne went first but due to health reasons was unable to get off Trooper without having something to dismount on to.  On her attempt, she did notice a biting bug. The same bug type had attached itself to her hand yesterday when she'd been getting some hay. The bite had been bad and Lynne described it as worse than a bite from a bull-ant.

Flint was still stomping and swishing around and I wondered how I would dismount him. I asked him to "stand", gave him a pat and took my feet out of the stirrups and he stopped stomping and swishing! I got off quickly (much to my delight!) and once my feet hit the ground, I reassured him and began leading him back home. He still stomped and swished a bit and at times, he'd turn his head towards me and I'd give him another pat and tell him he was doing great.

Once back, Lynne and I debriefed about the ride and she commented that other horses would have unloaded their riders. She was impressed that neither horse had panicked. Despite being young, Flint proved he had the characteristics of his name meaning: courageous, strength, durability - like a rock. Even when being bitten by menacing bugs, Flint was determined to take care of me.

I know that Flint has a fault or 2 but I am yet to figure those out. In the meantime, once again I have learned a bit more about Flint and my confidence in (riding) him has continued to grow.

On another note: I didn't get a photo of me wearing my new shirt while riding Flint nor did I get a video clip of the scenery/ride.

Flint Settles In and Learns Valuable Lessons

 Over the past few weeks, Flint has settled in and last weekend, he and Jasper went to a 'new' paddock with more space. They kicked up their hooves and cantered around the paddock, then raced side by side to wait for the other horses to join them.  When Blue entered the paddock, Flint went over to him and they greeted each other with a nuzzle before grazing together. I stayed around to watch them.

In their new paddock but Flint stays close to me at first.

Flint has done some ground work with me and he is very teachable. He has such a sweet and kind temperament and we have bonded very well. This afternoon I was watching him and all the other horses had gone up the paddock further away. He and Jasper had grazed a bit towards the front but then Flint went over to Koda, the pony who is on his own at the moment. Flint began grazing at the other side of the fence to Koda, facing him. Jasper waited a bit and then meandered up to join the others. As I watched Flint and Koda grazing, I saw Flint put his head/neck over the other side of the fence and Koda reached up as high as he could to Flint and they nuzzled noses before they went back to grazing again. Flint is like the sweet natured kid who hangs back to check up on the lonely child, reassures/comforts them and then heads back to his group of friends. It was lovely to watch!

Lesson 1: Leading

Flint tends to crowd in when he is being led around and he doesn't like being led when the person is on the right side of him. I took him to a paddock on his own, leading him around, applying 'pressure' when he came too close until he walked without crowding. I also stood at the right side of him and we walked for quite a distance without him trying to get to the right side. He learned quickly and he also learned to wait without coming towards me, until I invited him to come.

Lesson 2: Manners

When he was eating his hard-feed, he would get the bucket of food and toss it so that all the food went everywhere. Horses do this when they are impatient to eat so I gave him a dish that was heavier without handles. I then held a 'plastic tube' and when he came too close to me, I would hold it out (as an extension of my arm) and say, "Space" and he knew he had to move away from me. I'd tip his dinner into the dish, still saying 'space' and when he looked away, I exclaimed, "Yes!" and he knew he could come and eat then. He learned this lesson within 2 times.

Lesson 3: Stand Still

The 2nd time I saddled Flint, he was very fidgety and Lynne and I both had to work with him until I could get on him. Yesterday, it was a windy day with gusts up to 45km per hour, so rather than ride him I decided to tie him to the hitching post. While he stood there, I brushed him and patted him. When a gust of wind blew up, he would move his body right around and I'd apply pressure until he went back to where he should have been and I'd recommence patting/brushing him. Each time the gust of wind came up, we'd go through the process again. A couple of times I was leaning on him and when the gust of wind came up, he stood still while I leaned against him. (I was reassured by that as I know that when I am riding him, he will be mindful of me.) After about 30 minutes or so of this, when a gust of wind occurred, Flint remained standing still. As I led him back to his paddock for his dinner, I knew that Flint wanted to please me and was teachable.

He is such a treasure! I also learned that pink looks good on Flint!

Re-Establishing the Bond

 Shorty is a pretty easy-going horse and not much ruffles him. When I go to the paddock to get him before a ride, he usually stands there, sometimes lowers his head so I can slip the halter over his head and walks alongside me to where I tie him up to saddle him up and go for a ride.

Over the past month, I've ridden him 2 or 3 times a week and it's been great! Last week, I rode him on Tuesday and Wednesday and then on Thursday, I went out to try a new pair of boots on him. I went to get him while the hoof trimmer and Lynne worked with the other horses and Shorty did not come easily. With Sue and Lynne calling out tips, it took about 5-10 minutes and we covered a lot of ground before I finally had him and brought him over to try the boots on.

Their advice:

• When he runs off and then stops to eat, keep him moving otherwise he is being rewarded for running away.
• Come from in front, not from behind.
• Stand still when he is looking at you.
• When he has had enough of moving, he will give in.

Sure enough, that's what happened. I gave him a handful of chaff since he doesn't like treats such as carrots, apples, bread, specially made horse treats... Often I just pick fresh grass not far from where he is grazing and he is happy. Both Lynne and Sue did not think I should have rewarded him once I caught him.

Later after Sue had gone, we saw a botfly (ugly, annoying flies that horses hate) bothering a couple of the horses, including Shorty. I got out the insect repellent rug (mesh) and Lynne and I went to his paddock. Again, Shorty did not come easily and we both took different angles until finally Shorty stood still and I put his mesh covering on.

The next morning, it was time for another ride so we went to get the horses and Shorty moved away from me. When he eventually let me put his halter on, he came and stood patiently while I brushed him, then put the saddle and bridle/bit on. We had a good ride as mentioned in the post about his boots but afterwards I wondered how I was going to re-establish the bond I had with him. I did not want him to run away when I entered his paddock and did not want him to be aloof from me.

Over the weekend I read up on some horse-bonding and connecting type activities. I looked at strategies trainers use to get their horse to do what they want and how to 'lead' a horse. There was nothing new but I formulated a plan and went out to see Shorty this afternoon.

At first when I entered the paddock he was in, he trotted away from me and I kept calling him and walking towards him. After some time, he upped the ante and moved off into the other paddock where the other horses were standing under a shady tree. He went to join them and I went over there and called him out. They all moved aside to let him pass and out he trotted/cantered back to the other paddock, circling and moving away and I employed the tactic of keeping him moving. Finally, he stood still and with my hand outstretched, I spoke gently to him and he waited for me and let me put the halter on him while he took the chaff.

I stood and patted his neck and side while talking to him. He walked with me to where I tied him up and I brushed him and combed out his mane and tail. I then kept talking to him, rubbing his neck and his chest but his favourite spot is between his ears. He stood so still, his bottom lip trembling. Lynne came out and we sat and chatted while Shorty stood there. Every now and again I would stand up and rub his neck and between his ears.

After a bit, it was time to take him back to his paddock and Lynne suggested I get some hay for him. She offered to hold the lead rope while I went into the shed but even though she held the rope, Shorty followed me. I took the rope from her and went to the shed to get him a mouthful of hay. When he finished his mouthful, he trotted happily away to join the others. A bit later on I thought I'd go and see him again and he stood there and waited. I gave him a pat and he grazed happily alongside me.

I really enjoyed re-establishing the bond with Shorty. It was worth the time it took.

There's also a lesson in that for our relationships with each other. Sometimes we are focused on the doing and the working, getting through the week etc. It's important to take the time to just be and enjoy each other's company.

Best friends again!

New Boots for Shorty

When I turned up this morning ready to take Shorty for a ride in the bush before it got too hot, Shorty was sitting down with the other horses all standing around. I rarely see Shorty do that (only once before) so I took a photo. Today was the day we had planned to take Shorty and Sarge for a walk in the bush, wearing their new boots. We had tried the new boots on yesterday and all fitted well. The hoof trimmer had shown me how to put them on and get them off. 

To put the boots on:

1. Clean hoofs with hoof pick - around the edge and the frog.
2. Put the boots on straight.
3. Check it is even and on straight.
4. Put the strap around - on the 2nd hole.
5. Use the pick to attach the front.

To take the boots off:

1. Take the tack (saddle, bridles etc) off first.
2. Unclip the straps
3. Take the boot off sideways.

The bush we walked through this morning was uphill, downhill, through the thick bush, a bit of clearing (where we took the photo). Sarge did not like tree stumps (there were plenty) but all he did was hesitate. We walked over a bridge- first time for the horses (and for me) and there was a creek flowing under it. We looked out for wombat holes and we saw a wallaby. As Lynne and Sarge walked between 2 trees, Lynne called out to me to either go around (if it was too narrow for Shorty to fit through) or if we did, she reminded me to turn my toes in, which was very helpful advice!

Shorty walked carefully, picking his feet up carefully to walk over fallen trees, branches, bracken and leaves. We walked up the hill, parallel to a fallen tree, until we could see what we would be stepping over into. Lynne told me she knew of a lady once that would jump over logs before seeing what was on the other side. Her point was to make sure you could see where you and your horse are going. As we stepped over one log, we did a hard right and the horses had to step over another one almost immediately. Sarge did it well but Shorty stopped. (this was about 40 minutes into the ride.) I encouraged him verbally and gave him a gentle prod and he moved forward. On the way back when we had to do the same thing, he did it without hesitation.

There was some pretty scenery as we walked along the road. We could see farms, cows, green hills and a bit of cloud at the top of one mountain. We considered letting the horses go for a trot but they were showing signs of tiredness so we decided to keep exploring through the bush. When we approached a steep downhill part of the road, we cut through the bush again. I'm not sure that was a better option - it was still downhill, the trees were close and there was another wombat hole. We made it safely back to the road home.

Back at home, boots and tack off, I brushed Shorty in the opposite way to help the air get through as he had sweated a bit. I noticed that one of the straps had come off a boot and Lynne had noticed that on one of her horse's boots. She commented it showed how 'tough' the bush had been and we were thankful the boots had not come off. After brushing Shorty, he was still a bit warm in the chest, so I led him to the water and allowed him to get 5 swallows of water before putting his fly mask back on and taking him back to the paddock with the other horses. The first thing he did when he got back, was roll and then roll a second time. 

It was a great ride - our 3rd for the week so I'm giving Shorty a couple days off. He's a good horse.