Nordstrom's third week of training

Today I rode Stuey with Kelsy and Perry and explored the possibilities of our property. We started in the hayfield, trotting and cantering around like a golden bullet. He was enjoying splashing through the tall grass, occasionally spooking at strange sights (stumps, other horses, grass growing… you know, all that unpredictable scary stuff). He wasn’t very preoccupied with his sister, which was a pleasant surprise. He’s such a chicken on his own though, so when I allowed him to just move forward and stay in motion it was really reassuring to him. I could feel his confidence boosting with every pass around the field. On our breather breaks and walk back to the barn I dropped the reins to the buckle. Stuey walked calmly and steadily along. It was affirmation that he is understanding what riding is all about.

For the second part of our ride we “took to the hills” for the first time. Our hill has a large assortment of trails up and down, some more exciting than others. Stuey tackled each section with style and grace, living up to his Haflinger heritage (they were meant to be mountain ponies afterall). Down the steep hills he creeped along, assessing the placement of each of his feet. He was very solid on the trails, which pleased us immensely. We think this may be a calling for his future home. The only notable negative episodes were: once he tried to bounce down the hill after his sister, and another time a large stick popped up and smacked his stomach. In each situation he responded to my corrective signals promptly. He is still easily startled, but he knows that the rider will direct him through his fear.

Stuey had a day off on Tuesday. Today I saddled him up by himself and got on him by bumping up to the roundpen. He was a bit apprehensive of this approach, so we spent a bit of time before he was comfortable with me swinging down on top of him. Once on we immedietly set off around the Haflinger turnout in a marching walk. We went over the little hills and wove in and out of our horses and trotted from one end to the other. Kelsy was working with a horse in the roundpen within this turnout area. The horse in the pen was radiating a lot of energy and commotion at times. Stuey was very sensitive to this and wanted to leave the area. I kept him around and released whenever he would stand and relax. Our friend Linda arrived during this scene and was admiring Stuey’s beauty. Once he discovered he had a new friend and shoulder to cry on he settled right down to pocket pony on a long rein, ignoring the roundpen antics.

Stuey doesn’t have much stamina yet, so he was a little disappointed when I steered him out into the large hayfield for more trotting and cantering. Despite tuckering out quickly, Stuey is forward thinking and very responsive to leg. This is a superior attribute in my mind. During each ride Stuey also practices the word “whoa,” and is solidifying it’s meaning every time. As I cue a stop with my seat I say “whoa,” and then I back it up with rein cues if necessary. He’s mostly got it down, especially in situations he’s comfortable with.

After our ride I handed Stuey over to Kelsy in the roundpen. We stripped off his saddle and bridle, and she took a moment to roundpen him and get his attention on her. Then she worked ropes around his middle and flank area. When he was asked to canter with the cotton rope around his flank he kicked out about five times. After that he went around and around without any concern. We waited to do this process with Stuey because we thought he might be frightened of a rope “chasing” him around the roundpen and not of the rope on his middle (which is what we are trying to desensitize him to). He had no problems with the rope behind him or following him in the canter. These days he has just accepted that we are totally nuts.

I had a nice ride with Stuey today. It was our debut ride as a single horse and rider with no friends around at all. It was also our first ride in the Western saddle. After several feats of strength and much confusion of leather and buckles, I had the Western saddle, breast collar, and back cinch all organized aboard Stuey. He stood more or less still throughout the process, occasionally giving my head nuggies as I stooped down around his legs trying to adjust straps. I decided with cowgirl mentality to just step into the saddle with no groundwork or mounting block. I knew he would not be fond of all the strange leather pieces bumping him, but I was ready with a bend as I swung aboard. He spun in a few circles before he settled and stepped off in a walk. We rode around the house and barn area and past a collection of intimidating sights. We even chased Cheryl down the driveway in her car. When I felt his frazzled excitement find more focus I made for the hill pasture.

In the hill pasture we had to brave Gunnar, Truman, and Cheryl’s two bay horses. Gunnar and Truman were particularly interested in meeting Stuey, so we spent several minutes chasing them away. Stuey liked this exercise, and I hope in a couple of weeks to work him on some cows. Once the other horses lost interest in us we trotted up the easy hill trail and plodded around on top of the hill. I sent him through the underbrush, which is fairly dense and laden with surprises. Several times we had sticks pop up and blackberries grab and holes trip us up, but Stuey kept a fantastic composure. On the various trails we practiced the “chill out game.” The only rule of this game is that when I drop the reins and we are standing still, he must stay standing until I instruct him to move forward. The trick is to drop the reins, allow them to make the mistake of going forward, correct them, and try again. It is amazing how almost any horse will learn this in no time and adhere to the rules. They must like knowing they will be left alone and trusted to behave. Stuey had no problems playing this game (especially after I sent him trotting up the steepest hills and he was looking for a break; also a nice time to practice “whoa”).

We spent a good amount of time messing around on the hill and in the adjacent field. He loves to be out and about, as do I. I was enjoying how relaxing he is to ride, even though he is often spooking or wiggling or scooting off. Despite his “baby behavior,” he is always very straightforward to correct and easy to trust. Plus his obvious amazement with everything is fun to behold (Kelsy says he has the look of a kid at Disneyland all the time). Playing around on the trails I got to thinking about riding youngsters, and how people make such a mess or such a success of it. I decided there are three “C’s” necessary for working with babies: confidence, clarity, and consistency…or (and this isn’t a joke) completely carefree and clueless. You could add commitment to those lists too. With those “C’s” pretty much any horse will flourish and be safe, working citizens. It’s really true that “95% of the time it’s the riders problem, not the horse.”

Tomorrow Stuey is going to think summer camp turned into boot camp, because we are headed over to the pipeline to trot hills!

Today Stuey went out on a trail ride with five other horses/riders. We started in the arena with a bit of walk/trot/canter as the other horses got ready to go. We also showed off our excellent "whoa." Once everyone was aboard we headed out single file with Stuey behind Arron, one of our Haflingers, so that Stuey wouldn't get in trouble if he crowded the horse in front of him (Arron doesn't care about stuff like that).

We started by riding through our neighbors' 120 acre hayfield. The grass is literally above the horses' heads in some places, and there's always something brushing up on their bellies. Stuey enjoyed trying to take nibbles of grass as we walked along, so he had no problems with the strange horses behind him or next to him. We all decided to ride on the elk trails in the tall woods at the back of our neighbors' property. To get out of the sun and onto the shady trails we had to cross a ten foot long bog. Stuey stepped through politely behind Arron, even as the mud came up to his knees. We followed the trails up and down steep hills, and Stuey practiced standing on a long rein at times for a breather. We went through mud and under branches and between stumps, and he did it all with style. At times we strayed off the beaten path through dense underbrush and logs. The footing consumed much of his attention, so I suppose he couldn't have misbehaved if he wanted to, but he did very well nevertheless. A couple of times large branches bounced up and stuck his belly, and he was more composed about it than he has been in the past. Stuey was great about everything, including the other horses, and although a little fatigued, he would have gladly gone out for more. And to top it off, our visitors thought Stuey was such a cutey!

Sunday, June 25 (Chesna) Day 21

Saturday we were off doing horse things elsewhere so Stuey wasn't worked. Sunday was excessively hot weather, so I delayed working with Stuey until after the sun had gone down. Since it was late it was a brief session, but it was fun. I headed out to his field and as usual he walked over to greet me. I led him in by his flymask and through the paddock where Perry was. I brushed him down by himself in the barn, and then I jumped on and off of him bareback with no pad for practice. He sometimes gets nervous about the commotion of mounting, but tonight he was very easy going and didn't mind me crawling allover him. Once on board we just went for a stroll around the house and barn in the halter and leadrope. He was a little concerned about Cheryl and Kelsy talking at him through the window of the house, but he was overall very brave. We just did walk/trot and refined our forequarters with the halterope. He is now quite light about spinning on his hindend. It was a short and sweet ride, and afterwards I played with him on the ground for a few minutes. When I put him into his nighttime roundpen I wanted to practice catching a hard to catch horse he lives with. As I was trying to roundpen the other horse Stuey kept coming over and demanding attention. It's really hard to ignore his adorable expression all the time!