Too much excitement

Had a wonderful short ride on Maddie this morning.  She is able to canter a 10m circle now in my small arena and her overall impulsion is improving.  That sticky half-pass to the right is starting to free up.  I'm really pleased with her progress.  It's really gratifying to have her at home now where I can do quick schooling sessions and work on small, fun stuff.

Last week Maddie reverted a little bit in her overall comfort level here.  I was working in the pasture behind her and startled her, causing her to bolt and jump out of her mud lot!  She took a bit of the fence down with her and gave herself a small scrape underneath her left shoulder.  She went 10' and stopped to eat grass.  For the rest of the day she was nervous and I felt a little discouraged.  Previous to this I had been letting her graze near the house and in the side yard, and I thought she was really learning how to be a quiet domestic horse.

To help things out, we put Sebastian back in the front pasture where they would be divided by a single low fence.  This is two weeks out from Sebastian's gelding and he seems less interested in getting to Maddie now.  Anyway, he did his job of calming down Maddie and she is now back to her old self.  We are thinking that they can be together pretty soon.

I have been goofing off with a tarp hanging over into Maddie's mud lot.  She is able to be directed through it very well and it did not take much work.  I think there is something brilliant about a hanging tarp: the solution is for her to 1) lower her head and 2) go forward.  This is pretty much exactly what I want my horse to do when it is scared of something.  Yesterday evening I hopped on bareback and we rode together through the hanging tarp, and this morning I was able to get her to back up through the tarp (from the ground).  This is fun quiet work and I really think it will make her a better horse.  For this kind of thing I just grab her for 5 minutes when I am walking past the barn and quit when she makes a little progress.

I was lucky to make an acquaintance with the EMM phenom Obbie Sholm over facebook this week.  (http://www.obbieschlom.com/)  Obbie offered to give me some advice about Maddie and we spoke over the phone for about 10 minutes yesterday.  Obbie gave me some of the same advice Byron did concerning Maddie's spookiness: She needs a lot of experience (shows, travelling, etc)  to get over it, and I need to wait for her to come back to me when she spooks.  All mustangs have an advanced self preservation mode, and Maddie just has a  little more than her fair share of it.  Anyway, i was blown away at Obbie's offer of help and very grateful to be able to consult with her.  Obbie will be competing next year at Road to the Horse and Maddie & I wish her the best of success.

Settling in quickly

After a few days Maddie began rapidly acclimatizing to Anarchy Acres.  As of today she has been here 7 days.  I still can't saddle her up due to her wound, but we have both been riding bareback.  In addition, I have pushed her hard from the ground to get over the flies and the new environment.  Overall, she has responded incredibly.  She is a sweetheart in the stall and stands well in the barn aisle.  I have trimmed her feet and every night I scrub out her wound with iodine.  I trained her to pick me up off the fence and have ridden a few times without the bridle.

A few times we have let Maddie and Sebastian up front where the grass is taller.

On Friday we hosted a cookout with friends and everyone made friends with Sebastian and Maddie.  Maria also hopped on Maddie briefly and did a mustang demonstration.  I'm really pleased that they both handled these strange people so well.

Moved to Anarchy Acres!

A lot of excitement this week.  On Sunday afternoon Andrea called and informed us that Diego, Maddie's only pasture mate, had been sold and she was moving him in a couple of hours.  Since we did not want to have Maddie alone at a barn where we could not monitor her, we made immediate preparations to bring her home.  Tracy met us at the stable within the hour and Maddie loaded without incident.  We were prepared to ride her home if she had not loaded, but she actually did very well in the trailer.

We showed her around the property and threw her in the mud lot.  Sebastian, the stud donkey, had arrived only 3 days earlier.  He went to live with the goats and we cautiously introduced him to Maddie over the fence.  This all went well.

More excitement was in store soon, though.  Monday morning was Sebastian's date with the vet to get cut, and the procedure went poorly.  One of the blood vessels could not be sutured and Sebastian would not stop bleeding.  He had to be given a second shot of ketamin and the the vet tech was sent back to get more sutures.  Maria and I were holding him down to the ground and watching in horror (he kept waking up).  It was hot and we were all covered in flies.  Finally the vet was able to stop the bleeding and Sebastian stumbled to his feet.  After this, the vet knocked out Maddie and scrubbed out the wound on her front leg (the one she got on the driveway the week earlier).  So the vet left us with two groggy equines.

Sebastian spent the next day sulking and listless.  By Wednesday he was feeling better when Maria noticed he was bleeding again.  The vet rushed out and checked him over, deciding it was primarily drainage.  Sebastian got another dose of antibiotics but finally seems to be on the mend.  Later that day Maria & I both took the first ride on Maddie at Anarchy Acres.  Until her wound heals more we are limited to bareback rides only.  The girth seems to rub into the wound when she moves.

Maddie is nervous and pushy at the farm, getting goofy over the flies and walking all over both of us.  This is a real opportunity to revisit her ground work and get her more solid overall.  I pushed her hard in a couple of sessions so far and will continue to do so until she can stand respectfully next to me regardless of the heat or the flies.  We're over the initial moving in period now and we can get back to work soon.

Changes and excitement

Some excitement at the barn recently, and a few changes are in the works.  Maddie's buddy Jordan was sold last week and he left on Friday.  I was out of town when Jordan was loaded but apparently it was an ugly scene.  Lots of whinnying, screaming, and calling for each other.  Diego (the other gelding Maddie lives with) took the opportunity to beat up on Maddie pretty good, too.  No one was happy about separating Maddie and Jordan, who have been inseparable since Maddie moved in.

A day later Maria and Sarah took Maddie on a walk to help calm her and Maddie tore away from them after spooking at a passing truck.  Maddie gave them all a show as she bolted around the local fields, terrified.  Maria finally caught her eye and Maddie ran up to her on the driveway, only to slip on the new blacktop and go down, hard.  She gave herself one deep wound and one shallow one, and left a remarkable skid mark on the driveway and several tufts of fur ground into the blacktop.  Maddie!

I was still out of town when this happened and Maria was understandably concerned for Maddie's physical and emotional state.  We went straight over to see her when I got back a day later.  Maddie was defensive about her wounds but let me put some disinfectant on them after a little work.  She lunged out fine and I persuaded Maria to hop on her bareback.  Maddie looked fine, although a little caution was in order as one wound is on the right leg close to where the girth goes--easy to hit with a toe.

The next day we went over and I took a little video of Maria cantering her:

Anyway, we are now getting ready to move Maddie to Anarchy Acres.  We want to get the barn cleaned out and find her a temporary buddy for the transition--preferably a miniature horse.  We are concerned that Maddie would not do well alone in a strange place with only the goats for companions.  We'll see where this all leads!

All to myself

Maria is gone this week so I have Maddie all to myself.  I am trying to keep challenging her while avoiding overly ambitious sessions.  The last two trail rides have been fantastic.  We rode the entire river trail alone and had no trouble.  Several times we took a few minutes to work on backing and bits of turns/lateral work.  I also let her walk for much of the trail and she did well.  We also took the jump series at Heinen's. 

For the other ride we cantered in the cross country course and I also went over some spooky spots in the hay field.  I think I finally have a better procedure when she balks or gets spooky.  One session this week was just groundwork with the tarp.  I draped it all over her, pulled it over her head, and hung it from a tree branch.  It was tricky to get her to walk underneath it without going to one side or the other, but she did it a few times in both directions.  It was a windy day and the tarp was a little unpredictable--good for getting this lesson solid.  I think it really helps her and I wish I had done this kind of work three months ago.  We only walked over the tarp when I started her at the Pink Barn.  Should have done more.

Still working...

The last week has been quiet with Maddie.  We lost a few days to rain and several times I just went to see her and do some quick ground work in the driveway.  I re-introduced the tarp, draped it over the dumpster, the fence, etc.  I did some direct and drive lessons between myself and the tarp hanging over the fence, too.  It's funny that the tarp still bothers her at all, because I introduced it to her back in January on her 3rd or 4th session, and she never showed much fear of it.  But I never used the tarp outside in the wind, and I think that is the new element.

One ride over the weekend had some unintended excitement.  I had ridden over to Jane's and Maddie was not too happy with all the new jumps set up in the cross country course.  I worked her until she relaxed a bit, then rode home.  After doing a few roll backs in the last hayfield before home, I was resting her on a loose rein when Tracy rode past us in the next field over at a canter.  Maddie spun and bolted when she saw the movement through the brush, and I could not hang on.  I landed cleanly on my feet with both hands on the reins, but Maddie tore them from my grasp and ran another 20 yards.  She turned and faced me and I walked over and hopped on while Tracy apologized for all the trouble.  Crimenee!  How can I be a mustang rangler if I keep falling off my ^%^$! horse?  Oh, well, no harm done.  And it was very classy of Maddie to stick around and not run home this time.

Tracy & I rode together over to Soderberg's to hook up with Sandy, meeting up with her daughter Terri on the way over.  Then we ran into Katie and another rider, making a 6 horse group, all at a walk.  Maddie did well but I did not like being in the middle in a pokey group, so I put her in back where she didn't feel the need to kick the horse behind her.  We found Sandy and waited while she hopped onto Cricket and checked the controls.  The group went out at a walk and I kept Maddie in the back.  At one point we split up and Tracy escorted us back to the stable.  I'd like to repeat this kind of group ride in a situation where I can work Maddie in all positions and gaits, do some circling, separating, etc.  It would help her immensely, and be a lot of fun, too.

Today I had a pleasant ride in Kim's hayfield, and I was pleased that I managed to push Maddie through some spooky places.  She was overall a bit unhappy about going out, and she got pretty hot and kept jumping into the field whenever we passed some sewer pipes laying on one side of the field.  I kept circling the field at a canter and waited for her to stop jumping.  After 4 or 5 passes she was doing well, and I went around once more for good measure.  I let her walk home on a loose rein, occasionally doing a half turn on the forehand, followed by backing, followed by a turn on the haunches, plus some two track work.  Overall I just need to keep challenging her and working through things more thoroughly.

Just riding

The last week has been basic riding outside, no arena work.  Sometimes Maria comes along and we alternate riding Maddie and Jordan.  A few days ago I had a really productive ride on Maddie by myself, working just a short distance from the stable on basic control.  Working near the tractor and the dump truck, I challenged her to keep her focus on me as we moved past these scary objects.  There was also a tarp someone had staked down over a manure pile.  This kind of thing is still very challenging to Maddie, especially when we are alone.  She will sidepass her way around these things and try to come to a halt.  But it is getting so much better.

In general I keep Maddie moving and her mind occupied.  I might ask her to stop for no reason, back up a few steps, maybe we roll back and canter, maybe we just trot forward.  When I ride with Maria, I like to separate from Jordan or take the lead.  Maddie is taking the lead much better now, although she will still protest a bit at first.  It's easiest for me if I keep her at the trot or canter when she is out front.  Maria rides her with much less intervention.   But during a quiet moment two days ago at the walk, Maddie gave Maria a giant buck out of nowhere.  Just one, and it was no big deal.  This is one reason why I don't give Maddie a lot of time to think when I am on her back.

If Maria is along, I always have to wait an extra ten minutes while she hangs out with the horses in the mud lot.  Maddie is just a giant puppy dog and will follow Maria around anywhere.  Jordan is attached to Maddie and will go anywhere she goes.

PS Did a little bit of groundwork in lieu of riding at the end of the day.  Introduced leading the trot, worked with the hula hoop, and asked her to sniff the dumpster.  As soon as she sniffed the dumpster, I would walk away with her.  I am trying some new ideas regarding spooking that my friend Byron suggested.  The idea is to reward her for approaching a scary object immediately after she does something positive, and to not give her time to soak and spook herself (which she will do if I force her to stand next to something spooky).  I think this approach will help move her forward.

Most exciting:  Maddie's feet look amazing!  When I got her in January, the toes were a little long, but main impression was that her soles were just flat, with zero concavity.  One hoof had the frog fused to the sole, and the bars on all 4 feet were folded over.  Maddie's hooves were weirdly upright, although the heels did not seem that long (max 1/4" past the sole).  It was not possible to see where the sole ended and the hoof wall began.  The white line was not discernible.  Everything was just packed together into one mass.  For the past 3 months, I have been trimming the hoof wall to the sole, rolling the entire hoof wall, trimming the bars even with the sole, and lightly trimming the frog.  I did not trim the sole at all.  Starting about 2 weeks ago, her sole started to suck in, and the white line is clearly visible.  There is beautiful concavity on all 4 hooves now.  Clearly, the coffin bone is lifting inside.  It's really dramatic to see this happening, exactly like the barefoot gurus say it should.