Yesterday I had a horse flip over on me for the first time (no, it was not Charlie). I was working a 3-yr-old Quarter Horse with a decided dislike of water, attempting to get him to take at least a few steps toward the tiny creek in the woods while Jan worked Goose from the ground.
Everything was going fairly well, albeit slowly, with only a few frustrated buck/mini-rear episodes, but then he tried to back up and mini rear at the same time. Unfortunately he did so up a small, muddy incline and his back feet slipped right out from under him as he was lifting his front ones off the ground.
It was the weirdest feeling. From all those times Charlie used to rear I learned how to anticipate them and deal with it, hugging neck to maintain both of our balances if it did happen, and most of the time heading off the urge before it got to a full blown rear. This was different. We were instantly vertical and neither myself nor the poor horse knew quite what had happened. There was what felt like seconds of vertical air time (although I'm sure it was pretty instantaneous) during which I somehow processed that he was going over and I had to bail. I remember being scarily calm throughout everything. But that's generally how it goes with me, I'll have the panic attack afterward.
I landed on my back, saw him coming down and tried to tuck and roll away as much as I could as he crashed down next to me. Don't ask me how but even though I ended up practically underneath him and his legs came rolling over all around me as he scrambled to stand up, that horse didn't touch me at all. Instead of being crushed, I ended up without a single scratch (well, except for my knee which happened to land on a rock). Jan was there instantly to help but since neither one of us was hurt I opted to get back on. We actually managed to finish the lesson on a positive note and I rode him all the way back to the barn with no issues.
So long story short there is a first time for everything and I'm pretty darn sore today, but, hey, I'll gladly take that over being dead!
Showing posts with label rearing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rearing. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Friday, March 15, 2013
Combating avoidance techniques
With some gorgeous warm and sunny days earlier this week I was excited for Charlie to return to his paddock on Wednesday morning but the weather didn't cooperate, of course. It decided to downpour all Tuesday night, turning the recently dried paddocks back into a slippery boot-sucking mess. I almost lost my heavy duty muck boot turning out the horses on Wednesday, that's how bad it was! Despite the rain it was still really nice and warm, which normally would have made for good riding conditions after I was done doing chores, but this particular Wednesday was the one Wednesday every month where I have to quickly do my barn duties and then be showered and in to work for a long 12:30-9 shift. That meant no time for more than a quick lunge for Mr. Charlie (and he was pretty fresh) before I had to leave. Yesterday I worked longer than I was supposed to so I could leave early today to go ride.....today's forecast? Low 30s and blustery. Go figure.
Luckily Charlie did start going back out on Thursday...he definitely made up for lost mud-rolling time, as demonstrated by his entirely mud-encrusted left side:
Since Charlie'd been pretty good for me the past few times I'd worked with him (in terms of lunging quietly after only a few minutes before I felt he was ok to get on and ride), I decided today to try riding without lunging first. In hindsight that wasn't my brightest idea, but you live you learn.
Truth be told Charlie was less of an I've-been-cooped-up-forever nutcase since he has been going outside again. However that didn't mean he wasn't feeling good because of the sudden cold spell. He wasn't exactly bad, but neither was his head in the game. At all. He definitely had some energy to let out and was frustrated that all I wanted him to do was walk and trot and practice turns and bending. Even though I tried to keep it interesting with serpentines and rollback turns, after about 10 minutes of that he was done and ready to do more exciting stuff.
Charlie has two main methods of trying to get out of work, sneak into a higher gear and start going faster and faster or stop and refuse to move forward all together. He will respond to half halts and most cues well initially but quickly gets frustrated with the same old stuff, and even more frustrated when the use of these tactics don't result in him getting to do what he wants. Luckily I have some experience with these moves from riding Lucy for so long, although with Charlie the ultimate goal is to keep him from getting so keyed up that he results to his ultimate get-out-of-work-free card: the rear. Because of this trick of his, my goal with Charlie is to encourage forward motion at all costs, even when he speds up and pulls (in this case he has to realize the only option is forward but it is at my pace, not his). If he's moving forward, then it is impossible for him to rear.
Today's antics started innocently enough with him trying to canter when I wanted to trot. Half halts were working at first, although he'd get upset and snort or fling his head around in the air before continuing on nicely (albeit reluctantly) at the trot. He was also looking at everything in the ring as an excuse to canter, which didn't help. Every time he did what I asked, though, and was moving forward at the pace I wanted him to, I allowed him to continue on a very light rein and tried to stay as quiet as possible in the saddle. When he sped up and didn't listen to half halts I would use a one rein stop to disengage his power. Bucks and head flings were met with a driving lower leg. As soon as he gave up I moved right back into what we were doing before, almost like the bad behavior didn't even happen.
When speeding up didn't work he tried stopping entirely and refusing to move forward, even biting at my feet. In response to this I kept insisting more and more forcefully with my legs until he took one step forward and then I stopped everything and allowed him to walk on without interruption and think about what just happened (Lesson: you refuse to go forward, it is annoying and uncomfortable; you walk forward, life is easy).
One time, after practicing several walk-trot and walk-halt transitions, Charlie decided he didn't want to walk on any more (I'm pretty sure he thought we were done for the day) so he tossed his head a few times and then popped three mini rears in a row (nothing like before, more like a Lipizzaner levade). I was more prepared for this than in the past and immediately released any face pressure, leaned into his neck, and pushed him forward hard with my leg so that his only way out of the pressure was to go forward. This will be a hard habit to break, I think, but that was the only time he tried pulling that move today and I definitely think it was out of pent up energy and irritation from being made to keep working.
Eventually Charlie got the idea, although he wasn't happy about giving in. In the end we got a semi-relaxed trot with at least a little stretching and I decided to call it a day. I really had wanted to canter but that would have started battles I'm not sure I had the time or energy to fight today so I opted to end on a good note, even though it wasn't a huge step of progress. Can't win them all.
After Charlie was cleaned up and turned back out I spent the next hour or so mending the huge hole in the butt of his lightweight blanket, which I've been putting off doing all winter, so he'll have something whole to wear when the weather decides to stay warm. It won't win me any needlepoint prizes in the county fair but at least Charlie won't feel so drafty anymore!
Luckily Charlie did start going back out on Thursday...he definitely made up for lost mud-rolling time, as demonstrated by his entirely mud-encrusted left side:
Since Charlie'd been pretty good for me the past few times I'd worked with him (in terms of lunging quietly after only a few minutes before I felt he was ok to get on and ride), I decided today to try riding without lunging first. In hindsight that wasn't my brightest idea, but you live you learn.
Truth be told Charlie was less of an I've-been-cooped-up-forever nutcase since he has been going outside again. However that didn't mean he wasn't feeling good because of the sudden cold spell. He wasn't exactly bad, but neither was his head in the game. At all. He definitely had some energy to let out and was frustrated that all I wanted him to do was walk and trot and practice turns and bending. Even though I tried to keep it interesting with serpentines and rollback turns, after about 10 minutes of that he was done and ready to do more exciting stuff.
Charlie has two main methods of trying to get out of work, sneak into a higher gear and start going faster and faster or stop and refuse to move forward all together. He will respond to half halts and most cues well initially but quickly gets frustrated with the same old stuff, and even more frustrated when the use of these tactics don't result in him getting to do what he wants. Luckily I have some experience with these moves from riding Lucy for so long, although with Charlie the ultimate goal is to keep him from getting so keyed up that he results to his ultimate get-out-of-work-free card: the rear. Because of this trick of his, my goal with Charlie is to encourage forward motion at all costs, even when he speds up and pulls (in this case he has to realize the only option is forward but it is at my pace, not his). If he's moving forward, then it is impossible for him to rear.
Today's antics started innocently enough with him trying to canter when I wanted to trot. Half halts were working at first, although he'd get upset and snort or fling his head around in the air before continuing on nicely (albeit reluctantly) at the trot. He was also looking at everything in the ring as an excuse to canter, which didn't help. Every time he did what I asked, though, and was moving forward at the pace I wanted him to, I allowed him to continue on a very light rein and tried to stay as quiet as possible in the saddle. When he sped up and didn't listen to half halts I would use a one rein stop to disengage his power. Bucks and head flings were met with a driving lower leg. As soon as he gave up I moved right back into what we were doing before, almost like the bad behavior didn't even happen.
When speeding up didn't work he tried stopping entirely and refusing to move forward, even biting at my feet. In response to this I kept insisting more and more forcefully with my legs until he took one step forward and then I stopped everything and allowed him to walk on without interruption and think about what just happened (Lesson: you refuse to go forward, it is annoying and uncomfortable; you walk forward, life is easy).
One time, after practicing several walk-trot and walk-halt transitions, Charlie decided he didn't want to walk on any more (I'm pretty sure he thought we were done for the day) so he tossed his head a few times and then popped three mini rears in a row (nothing like before, more like a Lipizzaner levade). I was more prepared for this than in the past and immediately released any face pressure, leaned into his neck, and pushed him forward hard with my leg so that his only way out of the pressure was to go forward. This will be a hard habit to break, I think, but that was the only time he tried pulling that move today and I definitely think it was out of pent up energy and irritation from being made to keep working.
Eventually Charlie got the idea, although he wasn't happy about giving in. In the end we got a semi-relaxed trot with at least a little stretching and I decided to call it a day. I really had wanted to canter but that would have started battles I'm not sure I had the time or energy to fight today so I opted to end on a good note, even though it wasn't a huge step of progress. Can't win them all.
After Charlie was cleaned up and turned back out I spent the next hour or so mending the huge hole in the butt of his lightweight blanket, which I've been putting off doing all winter, so he'll have something whole to wear when the weather decides to stay warm. It won't win me any needlepoint prizes in the county fair but at least Charlie won't feel so drafty anymore!
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| Before |
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| After (still with some remnants from the old duct tape patch) |
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
We Ride Again!
I RODE MY HORSE!!! :)
And I mean for real. I had gotten on Charlie this weekend for the first time in a couple of months, but all I did was walk around to cool him down after a crazy lunge session, so that doesn't really count. Then I rode on Monday (about 50:50 in terms of lunge:ride time) and he was full of it. I think he was sore from all his shenanigans over the weekend (see video 1), but since it wasn't exactly the "proud mom moment" my excitement was dashed (and the videos didn't process quickly enough) so I held off on posting....
I'm not going to lie, today was not uneventful - we didn't do more than walk and trot around - but boy was I proud (of both of us), and what a change from just this weekend! Here is a brief overview:
And I mean for real. I had gotten on Charlie this weekend for the first time in a couple of months, but all I did was walk around to cool him down after a crazy lunge session, so that doesn't really count. Then I rode on Monday (about 50:50 in terms of lunge:ride time) and he was full of it. I think he was sore from all his shenanigans over the weekend (see video 1), but since it wasn't exactly the "proud mom moment" my excitement was dashed (and the videos didn't process quickly enough) so I held off on posting....
I'm not going to lie, today was not uneventful - we didn't do more than walk and trot around - but boy was I proud (of both of us), and what a change from just this weekend! Here is a brief overview:
3/3/13 This is what happens when you go on vacation and give your green TB two weeks off:
3/4/13 We worked through that this weekend and by Monday I had a "semi" rideable horse (please ignore my abysmal not-yet-in-riding-shape posture, especially during the rearing episode around 0:18...):
After a bit of work:
3/6/13 By Wednesday, I was determined to ride and really push through Charlie's quirks and antics. Yes, he is horrible at turns and my defensive position really needs some work but, hey!, we are riding!Sunday, January 6, 2013
An explosion of obstinance
Throw away any progress I had claimed in my last post. Yesterday Charlie was a completely disrespectful jerk and (lucky me) Kate had come to visit and got to see the whole thing in it's by-far-the-worst-he's-ever-been glory. I apologize in advance for the really long post but I want to document where we currently are so that (hopefully) I'll be able to look back on this in a few months and say "look how far we've come!"....
As there were a lot of people at the barn yesterday and it was a nice sunny day, I thought we would try the outdoor ring to let Charlie stretch his legs and get out some energy and then practice some more in-hand work. By the time we reached the gate he was jigging and anxious to go (the horse trotting in the adjoining paddock didn't help). No biggie, I was patient, trying not to make a big deal out of things but also keep an assertive attitude, asking him to stop and wait several times before proceeding. Once we reached the gate he tried to push me out of the way so I gave a sharp tug back on the halter, which he responded to by popping backwards with his head sky high. I made him back up several steps then walk forward again and wait a respectful distance away while I swung it open.
Halfway through the gate Charlie decided it was time to take off and he nearly pulled me off my feet. Unacceptable. Determined not to let him take advantage like that, I tugged the already taut lead back hard as soon as I felt him going, planted my feet and said "no!"...that just set off a full blown explosion. He not only reared, he was striking out at me! All I could think was how much I wanted to beat the crap out of him as now he was rearing in pure defiance and attitude; I had done nothing but ask him to stand next to me and walk quietly. Beating him, however, was not an option so the next best thing I could think of was to try to stay calm, apply strong downward pressure, try to keep my feet planted, and say "NO!" when he was up, then as soon as he started coming down release the pressure and quickly move on to something else in an attempt to redirect the energy into something I wanted to do. Rearing is not something I have experience in dealing with (in fact my trainer used to tell me "A horse that rears is dangerous and not worth your time")....well now I've got a Rearer so I'm going to have to learn how to deal with it.
Unfortunately I couldn't stop and Google how to best respond to this kind of situation while in the midst of dealing with it. One thing I was certain of was that there was NO WAY was I letting Charlie loose until he gave in and offered me something respectable. However, I felt like I was in a catch 22: keep him moving forward to prevent the rearing and deal with a horse trotting around me like a maniac or apply halter pressure and body language to slow him down and face another pissed off defiant rearing episode where one or both of us could get seriously hurt.
I realize now, after looking back on the video clips, that I could probably have been more assertive, but everything is easier to see in hindsight. At the time, I was using all my strength to keep Charlie from completely blowing me off and getting loose and doing my best to interrupt his train of thought and redirect it. After what felt like forever I could at least walk him in a straight line (this was most likely aided by the removal of the playful horse in the paddock at the end of the ring). We proceeded to march all over the ring, stopping and starting every few steps, circling in both directions, backing up, forcing him to move away from me, and (most difficult of all) stand and wait when I asked. That's all I wanted. Every time Charlie started to pick up the pace or fight me we would stop or turn. I wouldn't let him back down to the other end of the ring by the gate unless he walked nicely. (On a positive note, he was completely unfazed by the deer in the woods next to the ring. Go figure.)
We had several more rearing episodes, always in response to a repeated request for him to stop after he ignored previously soft requests. I again tried to exert strong pressure and a firm command when he went up and then release and move right on when he came down. One time, though, I caught him early before he could go all the way up and he flew backwards instead (which I guess is better than rearing) but it caught me off guard and pulled the lead right to the end so I just let go. I was sure he'd trip himself or snap the halter or do any combination of other horrible things but at this point I didn't really care.
Amazingly, it was at this craziest of moments that I saw a glimmer of sanity in my horse. Although he took off like a bat out of hell, bucking and kicking like an idiot, when he realized the lead was dangling and getting tangled in his feet he came to my end of the ring, trotted and then stopped 20 feet from me. I was able to walk up to him, untangle the lead from his legs, and unclip it without any issues. I wanted to reward him for stopping and letting me approach, not force him to then come with me, so I let him go again. I figured that at this point it was probably better for both of us anyway if he ran out some of that extra energy. He still had plenty left and it at least made for some awesome pictures (thanks Dan and Kate!):
Here's a short video:
Charlie continued to gallop around some more, but when I decided to approach him he let me walk up without running or turning away and put his head down so I could rub his forehead. He allowed me to grab the halter too, but I did not clip on the lead right away - I wanted him to know I could approach and leave at will and he wasn't always going to be caught. We did this approach/pet/retreat thing a few more times and then when I finally did clip on the lead and ask him to come with me I had a different horse. He still wasn't a perfect angel but we were able to actually do some of the ground exercises I had set out to do, finishing out the last 15 minutes on a positive note. Maybe he just needed to let out some steam first?
I wish I knew more about Charlie's past. The little I do know is that his previous mom was a tough disciplinarian, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it makes me wonder if he really understood what he was being disciplined for or if he was just responding out of fear/confusion. She obviously got in his face when he was bad or he wouldn't fling his head in the air at any provocation and I can only assume that he's been conditioned into thinking I am going to do the same thing so, in his mistrustful and unschooled state, he feels he has no option but to rear and strike out. Plus he's not getting good turn out or work right now so the extra energy doesn't help. The good news is that I have a great support network of friends and family. While I was initially very frustrated with the whole situation, I've come around and know that ground training can and will reverse these bad behaviors. It will be a struggle I hadn't been anticipating, but hopefully it will make both of us stronger and closer in the end.
As there were a lot of people at the barn yesterday and it was a nice sunny day, I thought we would try the outdoor ring to let Charlie stretch his legs and get out some energy and then practice some more in-hand work. By the time we reached the gate he was jigging and anxious to go (the horse trotting in the adjoining paddock didn't help). No biggie, I was patient, trying not to make a big deal out of things but also keep an assertive attitude, asking him to stop and wait several times before proceeding. Once we reached the gate he tried to push me out of the way so I gave a sharp tug back on the halter, which he responded to by popping backwards with his head sky high. I made him back up several steps then walk forward again and wait a respectful distance away while I swung it open.
Halfway through the gate Charlie decided it was time to take off and he nearly pulled me off my feet. Unacceptable. Determined not to let him take advantage like that, I tugged the already taut lead back hard as soon as I felt him going, planted my feet and said "no!"...that just set off a full blown explosion. He not only reared, he was striking out at me! All I could think was how much I wanted to beat the crap out of him as now he was rearing in pure defiance and attitude; I had done nothing but ask him to stand next to me and walk quietly. Beating him, however, was not an option so the next best thing I could think of was to try to stay calm, apply strong downward pressure, try to keep my feet planted, and say "NO!" when he was up, then as soon as he started coming down release the pressure and quickly move on to something else in an attempt to redirect the energy into something I wanted to do. Rearing is not something I have experience in dealing with (in fact my trainer used to tell me "A horse that rears is dangerous and not worth your time")....well now I've got a Rearer so I'm going to have to learn how to deal with it.
Unfortunately I couldn't stop and Google how to best respond to this kind of situation while in the midst of dealing with it. One thing I was certain of was that there was NO WAY was I letting Charlie loose until he gave in and offered me something respectable. However, I felt like I was in a catch 22: keep him moving forward to prevent the rearing and deal with a horse trotting around me like a maniac or apply halter pressure and body language to slow him down and face another pissed off defiant rearing episode where one or both of us could get seriously hurt.
I realize now, after looking back on the video clips, that I could probably have been more assertive, but everything is easier to see in hindsight. At the time, I was using all my strength to keep Charlie from completely blowing me off and getting loose and doing my best to interrupt his train of thought and redirect it. After what felt like forever I could at least walk him in a straight line (this was most likely aided by the removal of the playful horse in the paddock at the end of the ring). We proceeded to march all over the ring, stopping and starting every few steps, circling in both directions, backing up, forcing him to move away from me, and (most difficult of all) stand and wait when I asked. That's all I wanted. Every time Charlie started to pick up the pace or fight me we would stop or turn. I wouldn't let him back down to the other end of the ring by the gate unless he walked nicely. (On a positive note, he was completely unfazed by the deer in the woods next to the ring. Go figure.)
We had several more rearing episodes, always in response to a repeated request for him to stop after he ignored previously soft requests. I again tried to exert strong pressure and a firm command when he went up and then release and move right on when he came down. One time, though, I caught him early before he could go all the way up and he flew backwards instead (which I guess is better than rearing) but it caught me off guard and pulled the lead right to the end so I just let go. I was sure he'd trip himself or snap the halter or do any combination of other horrible things but at this point I didn't really care.
Amazingly, it was at this craziest of moments that I saw a glimmer of sanity in my horse. Although he took off like a bat out of hell, bucking and kicking like an idiot, when he realized the lead was dangling and getting tangled in his feet he came to my end of the ring, trotted and then stopped 20 feet from me. I was able to walk up to him, untangle the lead from his legs, and unclip it without any issues. I wanted to reward him for stopping and letting me approach, not force him to then come with me, so I let him go again. I figured that at this point it was probably better for both of us anyway if he ran out some of that extra energy. He still had plenty left and it at least made for some awesome pictures (thanks Dan and Kate!):
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| I'm a Thoroughbred, watch me run! |
Here's a short video:
Charlie continued to gallop around some more, but when I decided to approach him he let me walk up without running or turning away and put his head down so I could rub his forehead. He allowed me to grab the halter too, but I did not clip on the lead right away - I wanted him to know I could approach and leave at will and he wasn't always going to be caught. We did this approach/pet/retreat thing a few more times and then when I finally did clip on the lead and ask him to come with me I had a different horse. He still wasn't a perfect angel but we were able to actually do some of the ground exercises I had set out to do, finishing out the last 15 minutes on a positive note. Maybe he just needed to let out some steam first?
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| Finally walking respectfully |
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| We survived! |
I wish I knew more about Charlie's past. The little I do know is that his previous mom was a tough disciplinarian, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it makes me wonder if he really understood what he was being disciplined for or if he was just responding out of fear/confusion. She obviously got in his face when he was bad or he wouldn't fling his head in the air at any provocation and I can only assume that he's been conditioned into thinking I am going to do the same thing so, in his mistrustful and unschooled state, he feels he has no option but to rear and strike out. Plus he's not getting good turn out or work right now so the extra energy doesn't help. The good news is that I have a great support network of friends and family. While I was initially very frustrated with the whole situation, I've come around and know that ground training can and will reverse these bad behaviors. It will be a struggle I hadn't been anticipating, but hopefully it will make both of us stronger and closer in the end.
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