Wow, I didn't realize so much time has gone by since I posted last! I guess the flu running through a family this size will do that! Between all the sickness and the incessant rain we've had, I have not worked with Takoda nearly as much as I would like in the last two weeks, but that seems not to have mattered much to his ability to strut his stuff for Cherie!
I had two goals for the lesson today: MAKE Takoda longe to the right (something he refuses to do!), and get him loaded on the trailer without Acepromazine (tranquilizer). However, with all the rain, Takoda had taken the mud bath to beat all! He had mud caked over probably 50% or more of his body, most of it in the hardest to reach places (he is VERY tall, remember?)! I knew I simply had to groom him before Cherie saw how awful he looked. When I say it was caked, I mean a good half inch thick of CAKED mud all over his withers, back, both sides and hind end! I have been grooming him quite often, usually holding the lead rope in one hand (with the shank for correction when he kicks out), so most of the time I am not able to get his entire body. Today I tried something new just for kicks. I should preface this by saying that race horses are never cross-tied. They are chin-tied by one lead that is attached high up at the back of their stall, leaving them as much freedom to move (and kick and bite!) about as they want to. Jeff actually installed such a tie at the back of Takoda's stall today, but just for fun I wanted to see if he would freak out at the cross-ties. As Cherie has said, cross-tying horses is "the ultimate in submission" because they are almost immobilized - good for us if they don't fight it, bad for them if they get scared! So, I got the grooming box out, and led him to the cross ties with a pocketful of peppermints. I clipped one tie on his left cheek, and he looked at me as if to say, "Ok human WHAT are you doing to me now???" I quickly praised him up and down and fed him a peppermint. He was thrilled and looked for more. So I clipped the right cheek on, expecting him to rear up, break the cross ties or the halter, or both! He grew very wide eyed, but I had another peppermint ready which he eagerly took. I praised him like crazy, scratched him in his favorite spot (his forehead) and just stayed by his head petting him all over while he got used to the cross ties. I kept the lead line attached to the chin loop just in case he did break free, and I held onto it lightly so he knew I had him and he was safe. Takoda once again impressed me, by maintaining his cool, adjusting to this new human trick, and not getting upset at all. I slowly began grooming him just with my fingers for the most part, making it like a giant petting session, talking to him the whole time. I picked off as much mud as I possibly could with my hands before ever getting his (very soft and gentle) curry comb out. He has the most sensitive skin of any horse I've ever groomed and even the stiff brush is too hard for him, so I had quite the task ahead of me de-mudding him! I allowed for slightly more foot movement than I usually do when it's just me and him and a lead line, but I never allowed kicking. He only raised a back leg twice, and all it took was a gentle tug on the lead line and a firm NO! and he put it right back down. I managed to get all the caked on mud off him, and I brushed and brushed and brushed, and he became a sickly shade of pale brown. Well, at least it was better than it had been, and the thick mud was gone! The only thing I didn't do on the cross ties were his hooves, because I didn't want to push my luck his first time on them. I plan to cross tie him every day now if even for just a few minutes so he can learn it's no big deal, he gets lots of attention, and is praised when he's a good boy.
So when Cherie showed up, she saw what an incredible citizen Takoda was being on the cross ties, which spoke volumes of how far our relationship has come since he arrived. When it was his turn for his lesson (he had a long break between grooming and lesson, as being so young he still has a short attention span), Cherie wanted to know what exactly he does when I try to longe him to the right. I told her he just stands there looking at me like I'm crazy. When I insist he walk on, he dances around, trying to get turned around the other way, or he rears up like an idiot. Prepared for the worst, she led Takoda out to see him act like the fool he knows how to play so well. Well, to EVERYONE'S surprise, but especially mine, she sent him on to the right with ABSOLUTELY NO FUSS! He acted like he has been doing this for years and had no idea what I was talking about. BOY! Did I feel stupid! I wondered if it was because he knows Cherie and knows she means business! Then I wondered if maybe it was because she started him to the right - I have always longed to the left first - you know, something to be successful at before we try the new, hard stuff? I think it was a combination of lots of things, and just lots of longeing in general that we've been doing, but he really did quite well. After awhile he did begin to get silly but Cherie was very quick (I am still impressed with how quick she is!) to correct him, and by the end, he was trotting rather nicely to the right. He is still clueless that he's supposed to be.... *gasp* W O R K I N G! His attention was on everything BUT me when it came time for me to take over, but he still managed to stay moving to the right, which absolutely thrilled me to no end - because from now on? NO EXCUSES BUDDY! He raised his own bar in just one longe session, and it's time he behaved like he has shown he can. Way to go Cherie!
My other goal, getting him loaded on the trailer, was motivated by Kim's offer to work with Takoda at her place. I plan to take him down to Leighton Farm a few times over the coming weeks (as much as I can reasonably afford) so she can hack him out, and see what kind of horse he is under saddle. That's why I needed him to longe to the right - we've been building all those nice muscles going one direction, but he was going to get unbalanced! And he needs to be much stronger and more fit to support the weight of a rider. Anyway, back to the trailer. My biggest concern was not getting him loaded, it was that he has never been outside the gate since he arrived back in early February. I was a little nervous that he would see freedom and try to head for the hills (or nearby grass and stay just out of catching reach). And, the day he arrived, he did load and unload nicely on the trailer, but he was also doped way up on Ace, and likely either did not remember it, or knew he now had full control of all his capacities.
So, we shanked him and led him out. He huffed and puffed a great deal, but I realized it was more nervousness than sensing freedom, so I spoke to him, and I just love how when I talk to him, he calms down. For whatever reason, it works every time! I led him over to the trailer, and he immediately discovered GRASS!!!! (We have NO grass in our pasture.) Cherie said to let him eat it, that eating it will make this a positive experience. Good thing Jeff parked it on the grass! Cherie instructed me to let him do whatever he wanted but to keep his attention on the trailer, which in the beginning he did. He sniffed it all over, but also looked like he had no intention whatsoever of getting in that scary cell! After he had sniffed around the trailer a whole lot, he began to get distracted. He kept looking around, but mostly kept looking back at the barn. It didn't help that the horses who were cooped up were whinnying pitifully for their friend. She showed me how to keep bringing his attention back to the trailer. He could do anything he wanted as long as he was focused on this trailer thing. Several times he made motions as though he knew he had to get on it, so eventually I stepped up into it, and he almost came with me, but stopped. He pawed at the trailer and I think the very loud sound of his hoof striking it scared him (it's a stock trailer with no ramp, and it is LOUD!). He backed off and started eating grass again. I let him for a minute, then brought his attention back. A few more sniffs around it and he finally followed me right on! I led him right to the front of the trailer where he was VERY antsy and excited, and was huffing and puffing. I "threw a party" as Cherie would say, praising him, and had treats ready for him. He eagerly took the treat, and I led him right back out again. We repeated the whole thing again, and the second time didn't take quite as long as the first, but I still never asked or made him get on, I let him do what he wanted as long as he was paying attention to the trailer. He eventually walked right on again, and we had another little party with pats and treats, and I led him right back off again. He was very excited to be led back to the barn, and I could tell from his body language he was going to act the fool once I released him, so I put him in his stall for a few minutes to calm down, realize he was home and safe, and no one was missing from his herd. As expected, once released he spent quite awhile pushing all the other horses around, letting them know he had indeed come back and was still the boss!
I have been on cloud nine since the lesson, feeling more and more hopeful about our future together. I really feel the connection and communication we have, and I KNOW he looks to me for leadership when he is scared, and that's just the most amazing feeling in the world, and is exactly the place I had hoped to get with him.
Oh, and to be able to watch someone else longe him is SO incredible, because I can watch his whole body move from a little further away. When he knows what to do and is paying attention to what is asked of him, he moves SO beautifully. He is very fluid and just gorgeous to watch. My only regret is that I got no video of him today - it would have been fun to watch him move again, but also to review how Cherie handled him.
A tremendous thank you to Cherie for yet another wonderful lesson!
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