Shane

Day 45

2009-08-12T19:49:00.001-07:00

45 days boarded
30 days training!

Today was Shane's last day of work, and he did great! We did a lot of rail work, much like he was in the show ring. Long and low, stretching out, and keeping relaxed through it all. Direction changes at the trot.. he's doing a lot better now, able to keep up the gait throughout turns.

Loping was also really good, nice big circles around the arena, no drifting! He's catching on.

It was a long ride, and I really drilled him, but he did great and it wasn't really hard work for him today.. he knows whats expected of him.

Overall I'm very happy with his progress.. he's come a long way.

He'll head home on the weekend!

Day 44

2009-08-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

44 days boarded
29 days training

Shane and I had a really good ride today. I really drilled him on getting his bend correct, focusing on the inside of the arena (especially to the left) and not the outside, and keeping to the outside, rather than drifting. It was tough work and we had to take lots of breaks because he stressed and really chomped the bit, but with breaks in between he picked up on it well. He's not used to me being in his face when he's working so it was a harder concept for him to grasp.

His lope is really smoothing out, he seems a lot more sure of himself, but he still thinks he's going to fall if we do small circles. That's to be expected from a young horse and I don't really push it on him. He's got to figure out where his feet are, first.

Lastly we went on another small trail ride. He had to open and close the gate (with me on his back the whole time) and did really well, both leaving and returning to the arena. We rode beside traffic, and while he tensed up when vehicles approached, he never thought about running off or anything. He had to walk over big fallen trees, too, and did it like a pro!

Day 43

2009-08-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

43 days boarded
28 days training

Shane had the weekend off because I'm still trying to get the plumbing in the house fixed up.

And we went out in the evening tonight. This will be the first time he's been ridden after dark, and I can't tell whether it was the rain, or the darkness.. but he wasn't all there tonight. Not willing to focus, all he wanted was to get back out in the paddock and eat, or sleep.. not sure what was on his mind, but it wasn't work!

However, we didn't really have any fights because of it, I just had to ask him a little bit harder for everything. He didn't want to back up, he ran over cones because he ignored my turn signals.

But we primarily worked on transitions tonight, getting a nice clean trot transition, and then up to the proper lead canter, and woah.

That said, I wouldn't call it a bad night. He finished up just fine, and even learned how to half pass today! It's good for him to have to work when he's distracted by other things.

Day 40

2009-08-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

40 days boarded
27 days training

Shane's mom came out to see him today! I had him in the barn waiting for her, because he got a full bath earlier in the day so that he would be nice and clean for her to see!

We went through the day like normal, tacking up in the barn, and out to the arena where I rode him for a while to show Melanie everything he's doing. He did great, as always.

Before the day was through, Melanie hopped up and tried him out for herself. I think she's thrilled, and I'm sure she'll be happy to have him home soon!

Day 38

2009-08-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

38 days boarded
25 days training

Great ride today. I focused on walk and trot only today, giving him a break from his loping work, just so that he would relax and concentrate on the trot a little more. He still wants to pick up the pace, so we did a lot of transitions, walk to trot, and stop. Lots of direction changes, weaving, etc, all while holding the trot. He has a hard time balancing around corners but he's doing better and just needs a bit of leg support to keep him going and up.

I also put Nick on him today, just to make sure that he was happy to carry a rider other than myself. He was just fine.. it was obvious that he didn't know what to do with the extra weight, but he didn't offer to do anything bad whatsoever.

Day 37

2009-08-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

37 days boarded
24 days training

Today was a good day. I pushed Shane a little bit harder since he's been doing so well, upping my expectations of him. He wasn't entirely pleased about it, but he handled everything in stride.

Basically I just worked on fine tuning everything. Getting immediate responses when asking for transitions, both up and down, faster turns, etc. He got a bit uptight and had a real hard time standing still at each woah, immediately trying to anticipate what I would ask next by backing up, and then stepping from side to side. So we did a lot of woah with nice calm rests between.

He's getting his leads wonderfully now.

Day 36

2009-08-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

36 days boarded
23 days training

Oh boy, was Shane ever dirty today! Rain, sweat, and dirt... He just wanted to see me work in thise heat!

Our ride was wonderful. I can't say it enough.. this is one smart horse. He's learning so quickly, and he holds onto everything.. I don't have to reteach things the following day. Show him, and he has it down pat.

He still wants to break into a pace instead of a trot when asked to transition from a walk, but he's doing a lot better.. I just have to make sure I have a nice loud, clear command.. if I'm lazy with asking, he picks up the pace. As this video shows:

The next video is the better one.. he picks up a nice brisk trot, and then we pick up the lope, nice and easy! He has a bit more trouble with his right lead and needs a lot of support in order to pick it up, but again, he's really figuring it all out. At the very end of this video I ask him to sidepass. He was only introduced to this on our last ride, so it isn't perfect. But I think its pretty good for the second time!

And lastly, this is a video from before the ride, working on some ground tying. When I throw up my arms its just me saying "Woah!" nice and loud, to get the point across. He really wants to follow me where ever I go. This is harder for a horse like him because he always wants to be with you! But as you can see, he figured it out, too. I try to work on this a little bit every day.

I lunged him after the ride, just to make sure he hasn't forgotten what it is! And he did great. And he got a nice hose off to try and rinse away some of the dirt before he was turned back out for the night!

Day 35

2009-08-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

35 days boarded
22 days training

Shane didn't get rode today, or yesterday. I think I have the stomach flu... yuck.

Day 33

2009-07-31T19:46:00.000-07:00

33 days boarded
22 days training

Every day seems to get just a little bit better! Shane's transitions are really getting smooth, he's starting to figure everything out. His leg yields are wonderful.. hindquarters and shoulders.

He has even started to side pass, already, and is doing it wonderfully, crossing his feet with each step!

The only complaint I have is that his backup has started to peter out a little bit. He still does it of course and there is no fight, but it requires a lot more rein than it did last week.. Not a big deal though. Ups and downs are always expected.

Tomorrow I'll be taking the spurs off again to make sure he's figured things out and will continue to do them, with or without the spurs.

Day 32

2009-07-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

32 days boarded
21 days training

Nothing huge to report today. We did a lot of transition work, getting Shane to move off at the trot, and slow down, and pick it up again.. he's still trying to pick up the pace a lot but he's doing a lot better.

Loping is going well too.. he has a little more trouble getting the left lead, but nothing serious and with the right set up, he does get it.

It was raining and the noise in the arena was pretty loud.. but he handled it all well.

Day 31

2009-07-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

31 days boarded
20 days training

Great, great day. I did a few new things with Shane today just to get him exposed to some more things.. and it ended up being a really good day.

First of all, I wore spurs.. just blunt ones, no rowels. They really worked well. He did offer a few very tiny bucks, in protest to the sharper sensation on his side, but it was very mild, and expected. Once he realized that moving away from the pressure got rid of it, he picked up really fast.

Second of all, I let Mariah into the arena today, and kept her in there throughout the ride. Shane had to learn how to work with another horse wandering around, getting in his way, spooking.. and he did great!

Our arena work went really well. We did a lot of trot work, and a fair amount of lope work. The spurs helped sooo much, to keep him moving forward. We also worked on 'easy' today, since up until now I've been doing 'woah'. Today he learned to slow down from a trot without stopping all of the way. That stop of his is still rock solid.

Lastly.. we went on a mini trail ride! I brought Shane out of the arena and rode him down the pasture line, through tree's around obstacles, up over the hill, beside the road, down the driveway, and back.. Shane loved it. His ears were up, his head was up.. he was looking at absolutely everything, but didn't once spook. He was eager and wanted to see things, but wasn't at all bothered by what he did see.

A good day!

Day 30

2009-07-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

30 days boarded
19 days training

I didn't ride Shane today due to personal reasons.

Day 29

2009-07-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

29 days boarded
19 days training

I didn't do any lunge work with Shane today. While I think its important to go over the basics every day, I also think its important that they can handle a ride without it! So, I tacked Shane up and led him to the arena, and just hopped on and started riding.

He's still moving off of leg a bit better each day, but I think tomorrow he might get introduced to spurs, just to open his eyes a little and get him moving more lightly off of my legs. When he goes home he certainly doesn't need to so heavy on his momma's leg!

Again, nothing huge to report. His mouth is so so soft, its such a pleasure to work with. His stop and back are still wonderful.

Day 28

2009-07-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

28 days boarded
18 days training

Shane is doing better and better every day. He's such a pleasure to work with.

I don't have anything huge to report. No fight today, seemed he was just rebelling yesterday, for having to go back to work. He lunged like a dream, and rode out great.

He's still very sluggish, and takes a lot of leg to get moving. Though there is definite improvement.

His abscess is still draining, slowly but surely. The swelling is down and everything looks good!

Day 27

2009-07-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

27 days boarded
17 days training

Man oh man. We'll get thirty days on this guy eventually! I didn't end up working with Shane yesterday, but it was entirely my fault. I just didn't plan my day well and ended up pressed for time, too many errands to run, and not enough hours to do them! I'm certain that Shane didn't mind one more day of rest, though.

Today, though! Shane went back to work full force. And oh boy, was there ever a fight. He seemed to take ten steps backwards due to his time off. However, that said, by the end of the lesson he had things figured out again, but we started off with that same old issue.. when lunging, he kept taking off in the other direction, and it was impossible for me to hold him. By the time he clued in, he was drenched. By far hotter than he has been after any other session. It took a lot of running, and a few smacks from the whip to get him to stop turning that bum towards me! But like I said, by the end of the lesson everything clicked again, and he worked like a pro.

Because he was so hot I only rode him for about five minutes. Just a few circles around the arena, some weaving around the cones. Just a nice relaxing ride. That said, the session still had to have been at least an hour and a half long. Even though we had a fight, I do think it went well, overall. He finished off very nicely, and that's what always counts.

Day 25

2009-07-23T04:56:00.000-07:00

25 days boarded
16 days training

Unfortunately, Shane hasn't been worked again since the 18th. The swelling on his jaw didn't get any larger or appear any worse, but he became increasingly more sensitive there and I didn't think it was fair to make him work while in pain, even if that in itself wouldn't affect his movement.. I did worry that bending and having the bridle rub would make things a lot worse for him.

We had a vet appointment on Tuesday but the weather, plus a dead car battery worked against us, so we had to reschedule. We did talk to the vet however, and he seemed pretty sure that it was just an abscess.. no real rush to get him in. He said it was best to let it break open on its own.

Tuesday afternoon/night something looking like a boil appeared on the swelling. By the next morning it had burst open. Definitely an abscess.

So, our rescheduled vet appointment is for this morning. Time to go get that thing flushed out and get him started on a round of antibiotics. Now that it is broke I anticipate that it will start healing quickly and Shane will be fine to start working again in a day or two!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Last night we did some trailer loading practice since I anticipated issues when it was time to trailer out. As expected, Shane locked up and refused to get in the trailer. I had my husband help me by being a big scary object around the side of the trailer, to keep Shane from trying to run around the corner.. he reared, he pulled back, he fought. We had to do lots of circles, and finally I had to get the lunge whip out.

I was certainly never hard on it. It was an extension of my hand to tap his hind end to encourage forward motion. He kicked out, and got a harder slap, but it still wasn't working. So, I had my husband try with the lunge whip while I tried to pull him in. Still nothing. So finally I had Nick go inside of the trailer, and I did the outside pushing. I didn't end up having to use the whip, aside from a loud crack behind him.. but it took a lot of clucking and arm waving to encourage forward.

After he jumped on the first time, everything just clicked. I loaded him two more times, and called it quits for the night.

Today was our vet appointment and he hopped on the trailer with zero hesitation. I'm so proud of him!

As far as the appointment went. It was definitely an abscess. The vet helped to drain it and clean it. He also gave a tetanus shot and antibiotics to go on the feed. The swelling has gone down considerably now that its clearing out.. he'll be back in training tomorrow!

Day 20

2009-07-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

20 days boarded
16 days training

Yet another good day. Not only did Shane do a lot more trot work, but we also did some loping! I don't ask him for a whole lot of it, but he's learning the cue, and he still stops like a dream, even from the faster gaits.

I always teach my horses to back up immediately after a stop. Firstly because it teaches them to use their hindquarters, instead of falling on their faces, and secondly because if they have something to anticipate after a stop.. they learn the stop a lot better. Which Shane has. He is even to the point of immediately backing up after a woah, without having to be asked to do it.

Its been a while since I've had any pictures or video, so I did my best to get some good ones today.

The first video really doesn't have much to be explained. He stands like a rock for mounting, which is great. I take lots of breaks throughout the ride and just make him stand still, he doesn't ever fuss. The only reason this is in two pieces is that my camera batteries died and had to be changed!

The second video has a few things to be pointed out. You can see that it takes a lot of leg to get him going, and that he's gaiting more often than he's trotting. We'll be working on that! For now, just going is what I'm looking for. At about 27 seconds in, Shane breaks down from a lope. He wasn't asked for this, so I just pushed him forward again and picked it up again, just for a few strides, and then stopped and backed up at the end of the arena. Again at about 1:15, Shane stopped on his own, so he got a bit of a pop on the butt with the rein to get him to smarten up and listen. This time when I get him loping, I stop him in front of the camera... you can see that I barely even touched my reins for both the stop and the back up! He is hollowing out his back when he backs up, but again, just one more thing to work on. Lastly, I ask for a few leg yields.. first shoulders over, and then hips over. He crosses his legs over so nicely!

Lastly, I tried to get a video of him getting hosed down. It was just a brief hosing, just to rinse away the sweat. He stood pretty good today. He has his good and his bad days.

I also need to point out that he had a swollen jowl today. It didn't seem sore at all.. I did lots of poking and prodding. There are no open sores, no scratches.. so I'm guessing he either got kicked, or bumped himself somewhere. I'm not concerned about it, but will definitely keep an eye on it.

And finally, I'll also just make a small note here that Shane shed the soles of his feet today. Which is perfectly normal. Its generally something they just do out in the pasture, but because he has shoes on his soles don't make contact with the ground, therefore they peeled away when I cleaned his hooves. I just wanted to mention it so that his momma would know that this was normal, as it will surely happen once he goes home, too!

One last thing... figured I'd post this video of Shane's scratching post.

Day 19

2009-07-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

19 days boarded
15 days training

And another good ride! I'm really pleased with how well Shane is doing. He's walking out so much better now.. the ride started out pretty slow, but with a bit of encouragement he's walking a lot better.

He - like almost all of the horses - knows where his paddock is, and his temporary girlfriend, and goes sooo much slower when walking past that side of the arena. Apparently he has a girlfriend waiting at home for him, too, and I think this will actually be very helpful in his training. When they go out on rides together, the older more experienced horse will really help him with his confidence, I believe.

Anyways, today we trotted! A bit of pacing as well.. and oddly enough, his pace is smoother than his trot! He got very humped up at one point, and he shook his head a little bit like he was thinking about bucking, but never acted on it and when pushed a little harder, relaxed and went off nicely. Its still a chore, and requires a lot of leg work, but he's figuring things out.

I think that in no time, he'll be ready for 'mom' to come take a few lessons!

Day 18

2009-07-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

18 days boarded
14 days training

We had another really good ride today. Shane is starting to figure out what everything means, and is picking up the pace. Its a bit of a tiring ride though, since he always wants to walk sooo slowly.. I'm working on getting him to really step out and be more confident.

We also worked on 'head down'. Its one of my favorite cues.. John Lyons calls it the 'Calm Down' cue. A horse with their head down low is a relaxed horse, and this is always good! There was a bit of a fight when we started working on this but once he had it figured out, he really had it figured out. He's a smart horse, and learns fast!

No trotting today.. next time?

Day 17

2009-07-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

17 days boarded
13 days training

Nick's mom had to have surgery last night, and it was a bit of a sleepless night for us. And since we were still waiting for news.. Shane had today off. I'm sure he didn't mind, it ended up being pretty hot out.

Day 16

2009-07-14T23:39:00.000-07:00

16 days boarded
13 days training

Shane was amazing, today. I guess you'd call it our first solo ride. Very quick warm up with some lunging either direction, and then some bending, and up I got. He moved off of my leg wonderfully, and while he's reluctant to really step out, he's doing good, and by the end of our ride was moving a lot better.

He has a great 'woah'. Barely have to touch the reins and he stops and backs up. He needs to learn to take full steps while backing, but its a great start.

It wasn't a horribly intense ride, just lots of walking, circles, changes of directions. Lots of stopping and going. Next ride we'll hopefully bump it up to the trot!

Day 15

2009-07-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

15 days boarded
12 days training

Shane was in a much better mindset today. Our ground work went amazingly well.. I even cut it short. I was eager, I admit.

Hopped up, got off, on off on off... he stands like a stone for mounting and dismounting. Such a good boy. Tomorrow I'll have to introduce the mounting block to make sure he still stands well.

Anyways, the ride itself went great. I did lots of bending first, and then started using my leg to get him to move. He wasn't sure what I was doing, as was expected. He'd step sideways, and then stop. And then step the other way, and stop.

So I called Nick over and he hooked the lunge line on, and started leading us.. as soon as Shane had someone to follow he walked off like he'd done it every day. No issues what-so-ever. So, I had Nick undo the rope in only one circle around the arena, but continue to walk with us. Shane still followed.. and then I veered him away. It seemed he just needed a gentle push to get him started, and then he understood what I was asking.

Didn't do a lot today. Small steps make big achievements.

We also got a small video, but its not as good as I would have hoped for. It would be our luck that the battery died!

Day 14

2009-07-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

14 days boarded
11 days worked

Nothing huge to report for today. I went out with the hopes of riding Shane today, but he was Mr. Attitude. Seems the horses always know when you have something fun planned, and feel this need to get in the way!

It wasn't a bad day, though. We did all of our normal ground work and lots of bending, moving away from stirrup pressure, etc.

He just gave me enough attitude in everything I asked for that I realized getting on wasn't the smartest mood. Never ends well when you get on a horse that's already in a bad mindset!

Day 13

2009-07-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

13 days boarded
10 days worked

Today was a great day. We got out a little bit later in the day again and I was dreading having to work in this heat, but Shane made it worth it!

We started out like every other day, going over the basics. Grooming went well, he picks up his feet wonderfully now. His girth sores are much better - though I made a point of setting the saddle a bit further back. I think this will have to be the norm for him, he's just so prone to rubbing. Today was also the first day saddling up inside of the barn instead of the arena - graduating to big horse!

Lunging, ground driving, and bending exercises first. No hitches. So, I went back to the barn and grabbed my helmet.. just incase. I jumped around beside him, generally being obnoxious and over exaggerating how much movement it would take to get on him. He just turned and looked at me like I was silly. So I started putting weight in the stirrups, standing upright, laying across his back. No problems. So, up I went!

I didn't ride him around today. It had already been a long workout and we were both pretty hot. But I got up and down several times from both sides, lots of bending from on top of him, patting all over. He did great, and I can't wait to see how he does tomorrow!

Day 12

2009-07-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

12 days boarded
9 days training

I'll admit that I was a little bit disappointed today. If everything went well, I was ready to hop on Shane for the first time. But during our grooming session it became very quickly obvious that his girth sores were pretty ouchy. So, Shane didn't wear any equipment today. I want to give him at least today (we'll reassess tomorrow) to heal up a little bit.

The sores aren't bad by any means, but I can understand them being sore. He's very loose skinned in the girth area, and because of our heat, he sweats as soon as the saddles put on, understandably. Its a common problem with young horses.. they aren't used to the contact there and their skin isn't toughened, so they tend to get a little bit raw. He got a good betadine scrub on both sides today. Hopefully that'll help him feel better.

I lunged him 'naked' just to keep his mind on work, and he did amazingly. Walk, trot, lope in both directions, without any fighting. He's listening to voice cues like a pro. It takes a little more to get him moving to the left, but his 'woah' is great!

After a short work session I gave him a full bath. Shampoo and all. He stood great.. I think he loved getting scrubbed down. Before turning him out I put his mane into pasture braids to see if I can get it all tamed to one side. It looks so good laying flat, unseparated!