A Recued Horse's Tale: Roscoe Day 29 -32

DAY 30-31: Bit/Bridle Woes –Part 2 –6:00am. Roscoe is LIP shy! Yes, indeed he is. If you mess with his chin or lips he clamps them up and tries to move away in a “I’m a rock star so don’t touch my lips” kind of way. Not fearful by any means. Also, in case you were wondering, there is not a pain/discomfort issues as the vet checked his mouth our really well. Today is a two session day with the bit/bridle. We removed the slobber straps and mecate reigns for this (didn’t want a repeat of yesterday).We mixed it up some today. Before breakfast we took Roscoe out of the pasture (Laurie was helping today) and started the process of rubbing his face, then nose, lips and chin. Every time he got fussy he got his feet moved with real energy. Once the thinking side of his brain kicked in we placed the headstall on him (he could care less) and started rubbing/moving his feet again. Then we added honey to the process. Just placed some on a finger slipped into his mouth to encourage his to open it. Then we placed some on the bit, let him get a whiff of it and then slipped the finger/honey combination into his mouth. For our ease we detached one of the cheek straps and gave him the opportunity to open his mouth. Failure to relax meant hustling his feet with LOTS of energy. We got him to open his mouth and slip the bit in there in about 20 minutes. He got some honey and a couple of cookies after and gets to think about the lesion on the Tree of Knowledge for a while as we prepare to head off to work The mix of advance/retreat and moving his feet is helping. The reactions are not as severe or dramatic. Tonight we are doing it again!

6:30pm – Some better results! Roscoe was still resistant to taking the bit but much less that earlier today. We were able to get it on him twice and then we quit him. We also “backed” and flexed” on the ground with the reigns. Lots of licking and chomping. Maybe he does not like the taste of the copper? We are using a egg-butt snaffle made of copper. It is a fairly thick bit. We’ll be heading over to the local tack shop to see if we can find a thinner one that is not copper.

9:00am (Day 31): A $15.00  all steel snaffle bit that is a little bit thinner in diameter was obtained at the consignment tack shop. We’ve begun the advance/retreat technique where he wears the headstall for a few minutes, does some back, flexing and desensitizing and then we remove it. He gets to rest and have a cookie and then we do it again. He does seem to like this bit better. We ran through the process three times. He still had to be encouraged to open his mouth with a finger place on his bars/tongue but tit took a seconds for him to open up in comparison to the minutes just yesterday. We’ll continue on tomorrow before the “public debut”. The arena work went okay. Roscoe would shoe ral softness and lightness and then get stubborn. We did lots of direction changes when he was stubborn and lots of easy cruising/follow the fence work when he was good. We trotted a bit. Short distances at first to see how he was feeling followed by one-reign stops. Then we went a bit further and at one point he trotted a nice half-lap around the arena (carrying me at 200+ pounds) before he tired himself out. A nice rest followed as we sat together and watch the Laurie/Argent team work. We did more of the same exercises adding large circles and even some loping (short distances…maybe twenty strides or so)! When I felt him really relax and we got some solid wins we quit and headed home to a nice, soapy bath and spa afternoon. Yes, he likes bath time.

DAY 32: Roscoe’s public debut! We attended the September Nor Cal Downunder Brumbies practice in Wilton, CA. Roscoe worked on his round pen skills and fundamental groundwork, got desensitized top new places and other horses and even made a new friend. He helped a “new to horses” person try some of the groundwork exercises we practice. He seemed calm and relaxed, even when another horse came loping by. Sadly because of time we did not get to work under saddle at the practice but we did get in some work with the bit. He was much better and we were able to get him to take the bit three times, flex and back up in about 15 minutes. It was a good place to end the session and head home. He got lots of attention and rubs form folks. He did as well as we hoped and better than we expected.
Here is am image of him from Day 1, Day 17 and Day 30:

He seems to be on the right path!

A Rescued Horse's Tale: Roscoe's "Challenges"

DAY 25-26: Days off. Work related travel cut into our training time. You do what you have to do to keep the horses fed, right?

DAY 27: Round pen session with tack on! Roscoe still was a boo-boo head about the taking the bit in his mouth. However you can hang the bridle off of his head using the brow band…so it is just the bit he is fussing about. We made sure it was not causing any pain issues…it was not (in fact we think the headstall may be too big for him) so we started with advance/retreat and after tem minutes got it on. Off to the round pen! Roscoe made up for being naughty in the round pen. Nice direction changes at the walk and trot. Gave me “two eyes” when I asked and really tried hard to show me what he understands. A nice 45 minute session and then he got to hang out on the “tree of knowledge” for a bit.

A decent training session all in all. We’re seeing improvements, not huge ones but they are consistent. Our next session will be in the arena and I plan on taking him around a bit under saddle.

DAY 28: This day was bound to happen. We get to the arena, we groom and we tack up and then we fight over the bit issue. He really tested my patience on this as I know he is not afraid of it, he just knows it means work and he doesn’t want to. When he tried to be forceful with his head we had to increase the level of correction until he gave in. Not fun. Now we will be working being respectful and taking the bit nicely for the next few days. Once the tack/groom/.bit session is done I let our friend Angela work with him on the ground. Not a bad start but she gets flustered easy (over thinks the situation) and it caused some confusion. I was not at my best patience level and stepped in to “get the job done” quite a bit just so Roscoe was clear on what the expectations were. Daylight was beginning to fade when I got in the saddle. Roscoe flexed well and even backed up a bit when asked. By this time Laurie and Argent were riding so Roscoe figured he had to keep up with his pasture mate. We “Followed the Fence” and did some direction changes but it was not easy. He was ignoring the bit and my leg cues. I had to increase the pressure in both areas to get the movement I wanted. We worked at the walk most of the day but I did get him to trot a few times in short bursts. It became obvious that the bridle will need to be adjusted (more holes placed in the leather) as the bit was not being effective. I had to actually thump him with my legs a bit too. Eventually he got his head in the game and we got some nice movement. I let Angela do his “cool down” and lap him some, doing only a few direction changes. He was mellow but not as respectful as I would like. So now we have a list of “strengths and challenges” to work in while we go through the program. Not a great training day but this was expected.

DAY 29: Well, we had 27 days of “pretty darned good” and now we are hitting the challenges I expected to pop up sooner. Taking the bit respectfully…this is our new challenge. He really fought the lesson. We did lots of advance and retreat. He would doze off if you just put the bridle over ears and let the bit rub on his face (which I did do). Not head shy at all. He will even lower his head when you apply pressure to his pole. The “vibe” was disrespectful and not fearful. He would just clamp his lips fish butt tight and move his head around. So we hustled his feet A LOT and tried again. He cracked me in the head with his jaw once.  Nice lump I am sporting today. He REALLY got his feet moved them in all for directions. We tried again and got less fidgeting but still he would not open his mouth. We did more advancing and retreating. We did more movement of his feet too! During one of his fits I somehow opened up the skin on the back of my hand so I had to take a break to fix that (must have been a buckle). We tried again but this time I put the bridle over his ears and detached one of the cheek straps. I then was able to use one hand to help encourage him to open his mouth and then get the bit in. He then sat tied to the Tree of Knowledge (by his rope halter) wearing the headstall for about an hour. We are going to do this again tomorrow. It will be a bit of ground work and then we’ll try again, hopefully without the minor injuries to the human. At least the needed tweaks to the fit of the bridle could be made today! Here is hoping for a better tomorrow. At least we got some decent saddle time in.

 

A Rescued Horse's Tale: Roscoe Day 18 -24

DAY 18: Yesterday was a "Good Day!" Great session with Roscoe last evening. We tried working in the round pen (3rd time) and did work on the line too. Our friend and horse enthusiast Angela Butt came by to learn how to work with Roscoe on the ground...plus she is Super-Groom and he likes that! The session started with some basic desensitizing exercise  and flexing exercises then we took the lead line off the halter and established a direction at the walk. We got "two eyes, did some "mellow” direction changes and even got him to "lock on" sans the line. This was the smoothest session in the round pen so far. His flexing is getting betters and his HQ Yields are nice. Backing...we're working on getting more energy in his feet versus not pushing too much. He is feeling much better and has more energy to be sure. He actually broke into a trot and a lope a few times all on his own.  Looks like the "diet" is helping him gain weight and making his coat look much better too. He seems willing to try any of the training exercises and catches on quickly to most of them. Sometimes we can see the “I have no idea what you want” look in his eye so we adapt, adjust and try again until he gets the right answer and feels confident in the action. .No real complaints so far...lets hope it stays that way (it never does but we can hope).

DAY 19: 7:00am - Almost 80 degrees out! It is going to be a warm one. Laurie and I will take Roscoe and Argent to the local area in the afternoon. The goal is to keep refining the ground skills on both horses. Roscoe may get to do a couple of laps and big circles under saddle if his ground work session goes well. Argent is working on a variety of things and is doing well (he likes to show off to his buddy). 5:00pm – Still warm out. Off we go! The “goal” today was refinement and getting better at the exercises. More energy and a quicker comprehension of what was asked was also part of the aspirations for the day. We were 80% successful. Some of the backing exercises were still a little slower than we had hoped even though the understanding had improved. Yielding of the Hindquarters Stage 1 and Stage 2 were pretty good. We did more trotting with Lunging for Respect Stage 1 and even got some nice tight changes of direction with Stage 2. In short there was improvement. Again, human patience was the challenge because of our own hopes and projections. Working with Roscoe forces a reality check on the human to be sure. We have to let go of our “wants” in a training situation and really listen to what Roscoe is telling us. Some exercises he picks up very fast and others he is challenged by…he is willing to try…but the understanding of what we are asking is not as clear. We, as human, work on refinement and clarity too. We want to be clear, concise and not “baby sit” our horses but we also need to be patient and give them the opportunity to learn and grow. It forces a mental and spiritual “slow down” and refocus. Good for the body, good for the soul.

DAY 20: Another round pen day with Roscoe and Angela. Roscoe seems a little stiff from the previous session so we kept it light and basic (more mental than physical for Roscoe). Angela is picking up the skills pretty quickly and Roscoe got lots of breaks and cookies while we chatted about the Method and the goals we were shooting for. Good attitudes and performances by all concerned. We've started a "photo journal" of Roscoe's progress and training. We took some pictures the day we gt him home and again on Day 17 to see if any changes had occurred. It seems some changes have happened! We also took some of Roscoe working on the line. He is soft, responsive and understands that the human means a rest and cookies and everything else means work. Not a bad starting point!

DAY 21-22: Roscoe got a couple of days off to relax and enjoy being pampered. Not a bad way to spend a couple of days.

DAY 23: Sassy and spunky would best describe the attitude of Roscoe and Argent today!

Today was the last day for Roscoe’s prescribed pain medicine dose (he was down to .5 gram dose in his afternoon feeding this week). We now get to add more supplements to his diet to help with his hoof growth. He has really hard feet but the uneven growth and poor hoof care, (which our farrier trimmed back as much as possible) took its toll on Roscoe and getting them back to a healthy, normal balance is our goal. In typical Roscoe fashion, he met us at the gate ready to go another adventure. Argent however wanted to play the Keep-A-Way Game with Laurie and ran all around the pasture being silly (he is such a pretty mover it is hard to stay miffed at him for too long). When I went out to “help” Laurie catch her boy, Argent knew the game was over and walked over to Laurie. We load them up and off we go to the local arena!

            Today we were going to mix it up some. We were going to tack Roscoe up and do his ground work session. The vet said we could start to add weight during the training sessions. On the ground he can do a mix of walking and trotting and we can start doing “conditioning” rides of 10-15 minutes mostly at the walk but with some short bursts of trot worked in. We’ll need to keep the size of the rider smaller than me for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. Awesome! Roscoe saddles up like a champ which is nice. He has that “been there, done that” attitude about it. We left the rope halter and lead on and took the riddle down with us to the arena. We progressed through the Fundamental Exercises 2-5, 7 and 8 (these were OK’d by the vet). He is performing these exercises much better and seems to have a decent grasp of the concepts. He “knows” what flexing is and almost beats me to the punch on his right side…I start to pick up the lead and his nose is on the girth line. Crazy! Tap the Air (when backing) was tough for him at first. Now he backs off to a respectful distance when the stick is waved. Marching he knows well. Wiggle Wave Walk and Whack still “scare him” a little but it is getting better. Steady Pressure is getting lighter and lighter. His hindquarter yields are nice (both Stage 1 and Stage 2) Lunging for Respect Stage 1 went well at the walk and trot. We even dabbled with Stage 2 and it looked comfortable for him (not perfect by any stretch but comfortable). Introduced the Yielding the Forequarters exercise. It took a while for him to sort of get the concept. He can sure bend his head away from the pressure a lot before moving his feet! At least we established a starting point.

            So now it is time to put the bridle on and let Laurie do his first conditioning ride.

It was at this point a “challenge” presented itself. Roscoe was acting like a child who does not want to eat his vegetables! He dropped is head to the sand and turned his face away from me. Then he would not open his mouth. Finally after a good ten minutes of advance and retreat he took the bit. It was not a “fear” issue as much as a “I don’t wanna” issue. He knows the bit means “work” and didn’t want to do so. Laurie mounted up and flexed under saddle a few times at each side and then did Follow the Fence at the walk, adding large circles to the inside every 20 feet or so. He was a little tentative at first but has he moved out and realized it didn’t hurt anymore he gave us his “big boy” walk and really moved out well. A couple laps each way and then a nice rest. Next Laurie did the cruising lesion and added some short burst of trotting and ending with a one-reign stop. Most of the time Roscoe listened to her seat and if he missed that cue when she reached down the rein to pull back he stopped. That is nice! His transitions were rusty but not explosive or overly jerky. He seems to want to elevate his shoulder instead of dropping it into a turn. He even tried a roll back of sorts when asked for a direction change. He gets and A for effort! We have a great deal of conditioning to do in the weeks ahead before the winter hits. The goal is to get these exercises comfortable and to build up both his confidence and his muscles so that he can perform what he knows (and wheat we’ll show him) with ease and comfort. All in all it was a good day!

DAY 24: Due to a schedule situation with work we only got some round pen time in today. We spent about 30 minutes reviewing the previous exercises and we are seeing some improvement in the understanding and execution of the exercises. This was a super-light day training wise. Roscoe made some improvements. We’ll call it a win.

A Recued Horse's Tale: Roscoe Day 15 - 17

DAY: 15: A day off for everyone. The usual three feedings for Roscoe, along with a nice grooming session for both horses. Roscoe hair can really hold onto the dirt from his favorite rolling place. The horses have a spot in the lower pasture that they have pawed and stopped at so much that the course dirt is now a fine powdery dust that sticks to everything! In their minds this is the best roll spot ever! Sadly it takes double the effort to get them half as clean. Sigh. Why do we do this again? Tomorrow we are going to a fellow Nor-Cal Downunder Brumbies member’s ranch for a “spur of the moment” training session. Yes, we named them. It will be interesting to see how everyone does.

DAY 16: This evening we are headed to Folsom, California for an afternoon of equestrian fun with the Nor Cal Downunder Brumbies. The plan, which is carved in semi-frozen Jell-O, is to work on the exercises introduced in Day 14 and if time and focus allows introduce Yielding the Forequarters. For Roscoe this is more about exposure and seeing how he reacts to various situations while keeping the physical stresses low. He is walking and moving so much better and seems more playful, especially when he sees us heading to the feed storage area. His coat is looking better too. Let’s hope his mane grows back well.

            Rain, thunder and lightning! Holy cow, Batman! Crazy! Okay, so today was rained out but the weather reports look decent for tomorrow so we’ll head up to Pioneer Park in Somerset for a training session.

DAY 17: The "challenge" we are running into with Roscoe is keeping his mind and spirit "active" while working with the hoof and leg issues (which seem to be improving almost daily). So either we do nothing or we adapt. Sadly because he is rehabbing his feet/legs the amount of energy that we can ask for safely is low (walk) with short burst of medium (trot) and high energy (lope). Still, if what we are seeing translates then this fellow is going to be a really nice horse. For now it is all about baby steps and patience. We loaded up Roscoe and Argent and headed over the hill to the arena in Somerset. The goal was to review and refine the exercise introduced on Day 14. He licked his lips and lowered his head when he rope was used to flog him with kindness. Spanking the ground with the rope made his ears perk up and he took a couple of lateral steps away from it but he calmed down quickly. We refined Yield the Hindquarters Stage 1 and got some nice leg crossovers each side with fairly low pressure. We have not introduced Yield the Hindquarters Stage 2 fully yet because it is a more “high energy” exercise. Stage 2 will be introduced over the next couple of sessions. While working on some basic leading skills we sort of did a C-Pattern and he did get his hind end out of the way quickly. This is a positive thing. While working on Lunging for Respect Stage 1, Roscoe broke into a nice little trot with me being conscious of asking for it. My pointing was energetic and he read that. A happy mistake to be sure. He trotting about a half circle and I stopped him followed by a rest/reward. We did this a couple of times both directions. He seemed to enjoy it. Asked for the lope a couple of times and he tried it. It seemed uncomfortable still so the simple act of trying was rewarded. The four Backing methods are improving, each one at their own pace. The recognition of the cue is getting better. Real improvement in Marching and Tap The Air methods. Having the Arena Mates in my pocket also helped! Flexing is really getting good and is probably at a B grade already. Between each exercise we flex 4 to 5 times each side and then desensitize. They add up! I overheard another horse owner (who was getting a lesson from her trainer in the public arena) say “Wow, that horse is light off of the halter!” I just grinned and kept working.

We introduced the Plastic Bag On A Stick today at the end of the lesson. It went fairly well. Roscoe seemed more annoyed that scared at the silly bag but soon relaxed and let me rib his body and face with it. Tomorrow we’ll do it again and then it’s a day off.

Laurie (who weighs less than I do) was able to take Roscoe for a couple of easy laps at the walk around the arena (maybe ten minutes under saddle) after the ground work was done. He walked on with light cues and seemed easy with the bit. It was really nice to see him look happy to be doing something. We hope to increase his time under saddle by five minute increments at each session. We’ll also alternate between saddle/no saddle as his progress dictates. He is putting on some weight and his coat looks better. It is a process of baby steps. Here is an image of Day 1 and Day 17. Looks like we are doing something right!

A Rescued Horse's Tale: Roscoe - Day 7 - 15

DAY 7: Pedicure (hoof trimming) and spa day for Roscoe and Argent. Lucky fellows! Tomorrow we resume training! Roscoe was good with his feet…not great but good. Our farrier did a great job balancing and leveling his feet. One to two more trims should get him really straight. A nice cool water rise off for the boys plus an afternoon snack for Roscoe. A good day all in all.

DAY 8: After his hoof care Roscoe was a bit sore on his right front leg. His feet were not in the best of shape when we got him so it is very possible that the leveling and balancing of his feet may be throwing off is stride. We gave him some anti-inflammatory drugs and rubbed all his legs down with Biggle Oil which seemed to help. We went to the arena so Argent could get a workout in. Roscoe got lots of desensitizing and some easy lunge line work at the walk, about a 15 minute session, before getting a nicer groom session and a late afternoon snack. He seemed in good spirits! Tomorrow is the vet visit. This is where we see if our current plan is a “go” or if we need to rethink the plan!

DAY 9: 8:00 am-Today is the moment of truth! Today at 1:00 pm we see our regular horse veterinarian who will give Roscoe a full physical plus shots.  4:00pm – Roscoe was a real gentleman during the visit which made the examination go pretty well. Most everything checked out well in regards to his eyes, heart, digestive (we wormed him and started him on psillium pellets for a ten day run on day 3) and cardiovascular systems. Roscoe is under weight by 100-150 pound as we originally thought. And the very poor hoof care he had -or better stated – lack of hoof care) has caused some leg soreness. Add to the mix the recent trimming/balancing and you have a horse that now has to adapt to “new shoes” and being level. We have him on some light pain medication as of today and will give him the next seven to days off any “heavy” work while continuing to follow the now vet approved program as we monitor is mobility y rehabilitation. If the soreness does not improve in the next ten days we have a plan B in place. Everyone is confident that the recent changes in his world will be beneficial, albeit slightly stressful, and that we’ll see the “new and improved” Roscoe very soon as his mind and body adapt to the new level of care and health. However, the limitations placed on us by our vet created the need to review the training program we were on. So we discussed the Method with our vet. Because round penning is usually done at the trot and lope that was nixed. We were able to agree that all of the Desensitizing Exercises, Flexing, Yielding of the Fore and Hindquarters, Backing and Lunging for Respect Stage 1 (at the walk) could be done as well as Leading Beside could be done with solid rest periods between. This seemed like a solid plan and we were excited for Roscoe and his progress.

DAY 10-13: Three meals a day plus supplements and pain medication seems to be making for a very happy Roscoe. We have done some short periods of desensitizing to the rope and stick-n-string and he has gotten some great grooming session. He helped with a Horse 101 class taught over the weekend, where folks who have never touched a horse got to groom, feed and put their hands on a horse while learning about the basics of horsemanship. He really liked being the center of attention.

DAY 14: We had an impromptu horse club (Nor Cal Downunder Brumbies)  practice set for today. Argent is really on the learning curve and we didn’t want to slow him down. We figured it would be good for Roscoe to tag along (more time in the trailer is a good thing). While folks were warming up Roscoe and Michael practices some leading exercises at the walk, worked on flexing and the ‘prescribed” exercised approved by the vet. He was moving MUCH better and even felt like trotting a bit.(we slowed that impulse down, however) which was nice to see. He was decent at flexing but did not fully comprehend the exercise, even with “bumping” the halter. So we tried a variant of the “poke and flex” method by mixing the “bump” with one hand and a scratching with the other in the target zone. While not easy to do it did help him understand while keeping the reaction of the horse to the increased pressure at a lower level. We incorporated a treat in the scratching hand that was given once the target was touched. Once the concept was understood we would then reward three good efforts with a treat. It made the process easier for Roscoe who got pretty light to the halter in good fashion. Backing was fun. He must have had experience to some of the approached in his past because the Wiggle, Wave, Walk and Whack he understood straight away. He also understood Steady Pressure pretty well. Tap the Air and Marching wee a complete mystery however. So, we now have some starting points! We introduced the exercises and always rewarded the slightest try. The human’s challenge was not to escalate the pressure too fast. We dropped the ball on this a few times and went back to the Arena Mates to check ourselves. Leading Beside was introduced. He picked these up pretty well but will need some refinement on his awareness of where to stop in relation to his human. He never “crowded” his human which is good and by the end of the lesson he would stop and take a small step backward.  It was good to see him feeling better and actually looking forward to the mental exercise of the session.

A Rescued Horse's Tale: Roscoe -Day 3 to 6

DAY 3: Before the spa treatment and some much needed extra calories on Day 2, we had out first round pen session. It became apparent that there was a good stop and some real athletic ability in there as well as the desire to have “more slow than go” unless asked for it. There were some moments of establishing who feet were going to move first and who as #1 and who was #2.. Like most “first dates” we were establishing communication and learning about one another. We focused on simply establishing a direction and stopping when asked. His inclination seemed to be to turn to the inside when going counter-clockwise and to turn into the fence, pointing his backside at me at a 45 degree angle. As Clinton says “two eyes are better than two heels so we established a “rule” that it is not okay to point the back end to me. When it felt like a “win” and the concepts were understood it was time for food, grooming, scratches and meditation on the lesson.

            The morning of Day 3 we wanted to see if the lesson stuck. To our joy it pretty much did. We spent 20 minutes in the pen and got some nice direction changes and two eyes more often than not. Lots of signs of relaxing and lots of scratches and cookies (remember he needs the weight gain). There was some stubbornness with his feet so we did advance and retreat until he gave us his feet without protest. We think he is finding and testing his boundaries a bit. He did well for only his second lesson. Later today we are going to meet friends at a local arena. It’s time to expose the fellow to new places! He’ll gat t hang out, get groomed on and relax. We may walk around a bit (rope halter in hand) and visit. Should be a good day!

Day 3.5…we loaded up Argent our 6 year old Kiger mustang gelding and the new kid possibly known as Roscoe and headed over to the Pioneer Park Arena in Somerset, CA. The plan was to let Laurie and Argent get in a training session while I test fit and readjusted the saddle and tack on Roscoe. We turned the horses out just to unwind a little and enjoyed watching them trot and lope around. We did some basic direction changes and then got to work. Laurie and Argent went through their program while I tacked the new kid up and walked him around. Seems like everything fit. This is a Good Thing! The concept of backing was introduced. Some successes in that department came from that introduction. We even introduced desensitizing to the rope/stick-n-string. That was not hard at all. He mellowed almost immediately. Somewhere in Roscoe’s history there was lunge line work and he seemed to know how to Lunge for Respect Stage 1. Okay! Because his feet are not quite right –we have an appointment with the farrier on Tuesday- we did a little bit of this at the walk. Not to bad. He seemed willing to work which is nice. Speaking of feet, his were not horrible but not great either and there was some discomfort on the gravel. All in all a pretty full day for the new kid.

DAY 4: A day off. A bath. An afternoon snack and some shady pasture time. Yes, that is how we roll. After some vigorous grooming and two rinses we noted “Roscoe” was more almost sorrel in places. After some research it was deemed that he is actually a dark chestnut. We’ll roll with that. He really likes attention and seems to be comfortable with “bath time” which is nice. We worked on picking up his feet, which got much easier with repetition. Roscoe and Argent really get along. They have many similarities in personality. This too is nice. The one “minor” challenge is how Roscoe load in a trailer. He is convinced that the slant load is a straight load. He walks right in and stands in the middle. It is kind of funny in a way. We’ll be working on that this season

DAY 5: Today was all about establishing a starting point. We tied several of the Fundamental exercises and found out where Roscoe needs me to start and how much pressure needs to applied. After round pen work we did some work on the lead line. After each good try he got lots of praise. Resting between each “set” (usually four good tries) of attempts kept his spirits up and hi willingness to try and figure out the answer. It is really about pacing his learning and placing physical/mental demands on him that will stimulate respect and development without taxing him too badly. Laurie saddled up and rode Roscoe at the walk doing some nice big circles. He listened to seat cues pretty well (we know there is some cutting/reining training in there) and is pretty light in the bridle.

I go on for a photo opportunity and then walked one circle and got off. After the session (while Argent got to work) Roscoe got a snack (stable mix and beet pulp in water) and enjoyed some grooming time. Later in the evening some friends came by to meet the “new guy”. Everyone was social and enjoyed the attention. Not a bad way to end the day!

DAY 6: Basic round pen day. We kept the session easy because Roscoe’s hooves are not in the best shape and it is uncomfortable to move “quickly.” Roscoe should signs of improving in his understanding of what I was asking of him. His turns to the inside seem better and he stops QUICK when you step in front of the drive line. He seems to care less about being “flogged with kindness” or having the rope toss on him. We’ll be introducing the plastic bag next session. Did some light work on the lunge line. He seems to understand that better. The primary concern is his hoof health and getting weight on him. The exercise/training program will keep his mind alert and his body supple. We can see some challenges that will need to be addressed in training which stem from a lack of exposure and experience but we feel good about his willingness and heart. The biggest human challenge right now is to not push too fast even when Roscoe “encourages” us with his performance. Slow and steady is going to be the mantra around here for a time.

A Rescued Horse's Tale: Roscoe's Journey

This is the tale of a six year old, unregistered, dark chestnut Quarter Horse gelding (with one white sock) named “Roscoe” and his journey from skinny “homeless” horse to a wonderful, capable and trusted equine citizen.

DAY 0: Horses. It is a discussion that some couples have when one of them likes the idea of horse ownership. It is often the topic of discussion when both of the individuals in the relation are active horse owners. This is the case in our house. It is a good thing for us. It probably gets on our non-horse owning friends nerves at times. So be it. This is a story about a horse and his journey and the quote “just because its banged up a little doesn’t mean you throw an entire life away.”

The choice to take on a “rescue horse” was made for two reasons. The first was that, due to various “life factors” we had to sell our well trained, performance minded 15 year old Quarter Horse gelding. This left our 6 year old Kiger mustang all alone in a huge pasture. When other options for a “companion horse” fell through we started looking on CraigsList for a horse. Secondly, the idea of taking in a horse that needed a home combined with getting said animal into great condition mentally, physically and spiritually felt like something we could do. We had resources and support to make this a successful journey. We knew we would be growing as horse-people while helping a noble creature become a productive citizen. It seemed like the right thing to do. So began our research.

            We had certain criteria and we were aware of our limits. We wanted a gelding between 3-10 years old. A Quarter Horse was our first choice but we were open to breeds that could do the activities we wanted to do. The horse had to be in overall decent health, broke to saddle, be able to take a rider over 180 pounds and have a willing spirit and teachable mind. We felt that having a set of “must haves” and “wants” would make our search more productive and our journey a bit easier. We came across several potential candidates from a variety of sources. All of them tugged at the heart strings and each of them had something unique and special about them. Still, we had to stick to our plan! So it came to pass that we found Animal Rescue of Lathrop, Inc. at AT Ranch, which was founded in 1994 by Ms. Della Gaar-Todeschini. What the team at AT Ranch looked for in their rescue horses matched pretty closely with our criteria. So we made an appointment to meet a horse named “Razz” and see if we fit one another.

DAY 1: We decided to take the trailer because we really did not want to make the four hour round trip twice if we liked the horses and he liked us. So off we went from Placerville, CA. to Lathrop, CA. On the trip we reviewed our needs and wants and our logistical plans so that when we arrived at the facility we were united in our approach.

We also began to discuss other names because Razz just didn’t seem right from the few pictures we saw of him. We figured that once we met him a “real name” would sing out to us.

            Upon our arrival we met the staff, the lead trainer Ms. Megan and Ms. Della. They were warm, practical and honest folks. This boded well in our opinion. Then we got to meet “Razz.” We were told he was “really skinny” when the staff picked him up a month ago. He stood about 14.2-14.3 hands high and had some nice conformation and a cute head. His withers and croup were even and his natural headset was low and level. They were able to get some weight on him and got about ten rides into his retaining program up to this point. Our immediate estimate was that he needed at least another one-hundred pound of muscle added to his frame. His hooves needed attention as did some of the scrapes that looked well on their way to healing. His mane was in rough shape as he scraped a large section of it off before he was picked up. These conditions were expected and within our plan to deal with. The trainer began to saddle him up and then noticed the rope halter in my hand. Asking to use the round pen first w placed the rope halter on him, grabbed the “handy-stick” and went to see if communication could occur. We spent about 30-45 minutes in the round pen establishing "respect" and we had it in about 10 minutes. We got "two eyes" and he locked on pretty quickly. We tried a variety of exercises just to see what he know and how he would react. We increased pressure to push some buttons and the reaction was minor…just a little sass. By the end of the session we had his brain focusing on us and we began to establish leadership. At home that would be deemed a “win” and the session would end there. However you don’t buy car without driving it…and since “rideable” was in our needs list we asked for him to be saddled up. The trainer did so willingly and we could tell that this gelding had “been there, done that” quite a few times. She walked, trotted, loped, stopped, spun and side passed him several times. He looked happy to be working. She had mentioned she took him on the trails and he did well. Her thought was that he may have had cutting or reigning training in his past and though his skills were rusty she found him to be respectful and willing under saddle.

We liked what we saw. So then the moment of truth comes and I, weighing in at about 200 pounds, mount up. He stood calmly when mounted from the ground and from the mounting block. He flexed laterally with the bridle on. He even tried to collect himself a bit. We moved out in the arena at the walk. Nice and mellow pacing. No sense of revving up. He felt like he was more “slow” than “go”. It took some coaxing to get him into a trot but when we did it was not bad. I knew I was a little heavy but one of the other trainers there was in my weight class and he rode Razz several times. By the end of the ride we had done circles, flexes, serpentines and stops. He was happy and willing albeit a little rusty and out of shape. We liked him. Papers were signed, a donation made and we loaded him up without a fuss for the trip home. He got a vigorous brushing and some forage for dinner and began to settle in to his new home.

DAY 2: Today is all about the boy settling in. Some pictures will be taken. A “spa” session will occur and some light groundwork will occur. The list of potential new names hit eighteen on the way home! So far, Clay, Wade, Wyatt, Roscoe, Monty, Luke, Mason, Dixon and Ringo seem to be topping the charts. As we begin working together more we are sure his personality will let us know what is best…or we may put it to a vote! The boys were introduced this morning. The sniffed on another and then shared a pile of hay before walking around together. This may just work out