An Interlude: Some
Thoughts
When Brody had his first public
debut on December 28th of 2012 folks asked if he was a forever
horse. Frankly at that time I really didn’t know. I felt like he was going to be a good, long term fit but I didn’t
KNOW. Now, having just passed the two-month mark I can say with some level of
certainty that he is a long term family member. We have faced some challenges
as his health and conditioning have improved and are still working on his
issues with the first girthing of the saddle (he overreacts a bit). Still, we
have the tools and the support network to help us get through these “bad days”
of which there have been very few…and the bad days are not really all that bad.
My feel and timing have gotten better and being very black and white has helped
to clarify the communication between Brody and I. He is learning that the right thing is ALWAYS easy and the wrong thing is ALWAYS difficult. I have
learned to praise and reward longer than my corrections take. Say I have to tap
the rope once to get a proper response. I’ll rub his blaze for at least three
slow strokes with the stick and relax a few seconds when I do get the proper
response. That ratio of connection to reward seems to make Brody feel he is
respected and validated. Right now our biggest challenges are the same things:
stamina, physical condition and equitation. Together we are working hard on
improving these challenges and it really does feel like a team effort. Along
the way we are learning to read one another and developing a pretty solid
relationship. Sure, we have LOTS f work to do to achieve our goals but it feels
like we are both on the same trail…and that in and of itself is a reward and a
blessing.
DAY 73: It’s a
Friday and we have a busy weekend ahead of us. We chose to change up the
routine and take the horses on a trail walk. We have an irrigation canal and
maintenance trail behind the house that goes on for MILES. The trail has LOTS
of hills, rocks, trees and other fun things to work with for groundwork. We set
off and did about two miles. Brody showed the two sides to his nature. He can
be a little reactive to new situations (it’s the TB in him) but if you lead him
and/or allow him to discover that the situation is not going to kill him using
advance and retreat he gains confidence quickly.
He was convinced I was going to make him jump the canal and
got worked up over it. We simply moved his feet and then rested him near the
canal. Once he figured out the situation we want back to his mellow self. We
took each new obstacle slow and mellow and he got more and more confident. One
of the trickiest parts of the trail also allows access to the water itself. We
had heard Brody likes water so after some advance and retreat near the entrance
to the water he walked in…and preceded to really play! He splashed around in
it, dunked his head and just had fun. We could not stop laughing.
He got in and out several times without issue. Then if a fit
of jocularity Brody decides the BEST way to encourage Argent to join him was to
jump out of the water and stand next to him. Well Brody is almost to his belly
in water and soft dirt and Argent is about five feet above him near a culvert.
Up goes Brody from a stand still an almost clears the culvert…almost. His right
read leg hits a loose patch of dirt and it slides out from under him. He caught
his balance however (amazing to see that as I thought he was going to flip over
into the water) but scraped his leg up some in the process. We head home
quickly, clean him up and treat the scrapes with Vetricine (love that stuff).
He got a little horsey aspirin and extra rations before calling it a day. Whew!
DAY 74: It’s a
Saturday and we had plans to go over to Cedar Springs Livery & Stable to
ride with our friend Gale. Brody does not seem upset about his scraped leg and
is walking just fine. Still I was going to take it real easy with him just to
be safe. We started off doing some round
pen and ground (we all reviewed what we had been working on over the last week,
did some coaching and general social time). As this was going on another friend
(Marla) came by to meet up with us and to meet Brody for the first time. Marla
had not been around a horse in well over a year and at that time was just
starting to dabble in the art again. I let Marla do some simple ground work
with Brody. Everything goes okay. Then we tried some sending. For me, Brody did
great and was calmly looking for the head scratches a cookie when he did well.
Marla then stepped in, feeling like she could do the exercise with him. Okay…it
had been over a year and I was not as confident but figured Brody would
baby-sit her. He tried, but the lack of good body language and lack of
rewarding the slightest try combine with the human’s frustration got him
worried. I stepped back in and he quickly calmed down. We tried it again and
had some success.
He really does thrive on the reward. He needs to know that even
if things did not go 100% right that his efforts still have value. Reward can
be everything from taking the pressure away and relaxing (body language) to a
face rub and a cookie. Once I figured this out about him training got MUCH
easier. Gale/Janie and Laurie/Argent were already riding around the trail
obstacle field by this point. I was unsure if I should ride Brody because of
his leg but he kept bumping my arm and giving me a low nicker so…I put on his
bridle and saddled up. We took a nice warm up lap around and through the
obstacles and he seemed in fine spirits. I dismounted and let Marla get on and
we had a lead line lesson before L let her take the reins. I was very adamant
about loose reins and using her legs to ask first. After some human-to-human
corrections they tooled around the field together and even took on some of the
obstacles. It was a mellow ride as she kept him at a slow walk (it was where
she felt comfortable). Now, by this time the others are trotting and loping all
over the place and Brody wants in on the fun. He let me know through is body
language that he was willing to do a little more…so we did. I got the NICEST
(Laurie called it sexy) lope out of him several times before it was all said
and done. We took on most of the obstacles and the terrain and when he finally
let me know he was getting tired we quit after a nice cool down/Leading from
Beside stroll. This horse has try and heart! It gets me every time.
DAY 75: We were
hosting a medieval arts/crafts/sciences workshop at our houses early Sunday
afternoon so Brody and I did some round-pen review and groundwork. The goal for
me was to use as light and gentle a touch/energy as I could and still get that
“yes sir” response. Brody did not disappoint. He was alert but mellow, even when
I used the Pom-Pom O’ Doom (pom-poms taped to a 4’ stick). It was great to
point and cluck to get his feet moving and then just stand in the middle of the
pen as he circled me. He is better to the right that to the left in this
exercise set (if he sees me not watching he stops and comes in) It is hard for
me to believe how short a time we have had together. Our friends (who don’t see
him everyday) say that is muscle tone and shape look better and that he is
filling out nicely. Both horses are coming up due for shots and (possible)
dental work so that may help him gain weight faster too. He is still getting
three meals a day plus grazing but he is a slow and somewhat finicky eater
(unlike Argent who east fast and likes everything). We’ve got a club camping
trip set for mid April and then we are traveling to several locations for club activist in the
spring and summer. The goal is to have Brody ready to meet any new challenge,
be working on the Intermediate ground/riding exercises and to really improve my
riding skills and overall horsemanship. I believe we can achieve these goals!
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