Hospitalization

MiKael is in the hospital for the next six days. She will post about it when she gets home. Thanks Dave

Arabian Horses Run at Churchill Downs

While I'm recuperating here's some information I thought I might share. This last Saturday was a day in history for the Arabian horse as they raced for the first time ever at Churchill Downs in Kentucky. The Predident's of UAE Cup was a stakes race with a $50,000 purse highlighted the Arabian horse in a mile at a quarter and saw of a field of eight Arabian horses.

This link includes commentary with all pertinent details about the the President's Cup, the field of horses, owners and the trainers as well as the history of Arabian horse racing in the world and the US as well as information about the President's cup. View the race here.

Arabian horses have been fighting to gain respect racing in this country since I first became involved with them. They have had to overcome at lot of prejudice in this battle and it has only been in the past few years that bigger more prestigious races have been available to the Arabian horse. As the purses have grown, so has the respect for the Arabian as a race horse. It warmed my heart to hear that Calvin Borel, one of the top jockeys in the country, was riding am Arabian filly in this race. It shows how far the Arabian horse has come in its journey to be recognized in this country for a sport that literally began with the Arabian horse many centuries ago.

The commentary is done by Christie Eagen of Arabian Results. Christie's normal role at Arabian events, which are usually horse shows, is to publish daily sheets featuring the results of the day's competition. She's been in this industry as long as I can remember and knows her stuff about the Arabian horse but I'd venture to guess doing commentary on Arabian horse racing is not her usual. I think she was as excited to be at Churchill Downs as the owners and trainers were.

Under the Weather

I've been under the weather since the weekend and really pushing myself to post but that's gonna have to stop. Whatever bug has attacked my stomach has taken its toll. I'm heading for bed and going to pull the covers over my head. I'll be back when I feel better.

Last Saturday's News........... The Haybarn........

Once we got out of the boys' barn, the next place we visited was the haybarn and the horses that live in there. As you can probably tell by its name that barn was built for storing hay but as our herd has grown part of that space has been used to put stalls.

Because that building never was intended to house horses, its dimensions weren't really suitable for stalls or wide aisles. The end result is an aisle way that's really on the narrow side. The horses on one side of the aisle way can reach nose to nose with the horses on the other side if they chose. In a way that's a good thing for the social aspects of a horse's personality but there are times that reach can complicate things.

There are currently five horses living in that barn and we made our way through in the same clockwise rotation we'd used in the boys' barn. Tag minded his manners and waited his turn while fernvalley got to meet Mizscarlet but Percy didn't mind his when she visited with Doc. I looked up to see Sherry facing Doc and loving on him while Percy reached across the aisle for her shirt trying to steal her away to visit him.

The gelding was not being aggressive. He just didn't think fernvalley should be wasting her time with Doc when Percy in all his glory was right there behind her and I don't know that she was particularly aware of what he was trying to do. She was still intently visiting with Doc much to the chagrin of poor Percy.

The expression on the faces of all involved made quite a picture but fernvalley was the one with the camera. I mentioned it to her so she handed her camera off to me but, of course, by the time I figured out what I was doing the shot was just not the same. Mostly because now fernvalley was aware of Percy behind her so she was trying to visit with both boys at the same time. While Percy was not necessarily content to share with Doc, he also had lost the intense look he'd been wearing when trying to get her attention in a way that wouldn't get him into trouble.

At this point we have barely made a dent in viewing my herd but fernvalley had already learned that these horses love their time with humans. They are not bothered by strangers either. They pretty much see all humans as new friends worthy of investigating. Visiting Louie and Tag on the way out of the haybarn did nothing to change that perception.

The next place we went was around the outside of the haybarn where there are shed row type stalls. The first stalls we visited there were the twins, Surprise and Trouble. It was while we were there I learned that Martin's family had a set of twins born on their farm when he was young. Unlike my twinstheir birth was normal and they thrived with little drama. Martin and I compared notes about their development and such as we continued through the barns. Maybe someday fernvalley will share their story on her blog.

Next to Trouble was Vee, mother of the twins. It always surprises me when I see their faces looking out at me at the same time how much alike mother and son are. We went on down the aisle looking at Echo and then Gypcy with the wound on her chest. After reading about her injury on the blog, fernvalley knew just looking Gypcy was healing quite well but she also got to see the assortment of scrapes all over her front legs that made figuring out what she'd done so hard to do. WE both shook our heads about the messes horses can get themselves into and moved onto the next stalls.

Around the corner were the three gray mares, Hope, Faith and Rose. Fernvalley told me when she was a kid about all she saw was gray Arabians and we talked some the colors that have come and gone out of favor over the years.

Of course, gray was the in color at the time she referenced but from the time I began in horses many people didn't want to deal with grays or chestnuts. With gray being a dominant gene, it was not as easy to breed out but the recessive chestnut gene was definitely easier to avoid. In today's show ring iit is not uncommon to see classes it is not uncommon to see a ring full of bay horses. Sometimes there won't be even one gray or one chestnut in a class. Under those circumstances the bay horses can kind of blend all together and some people are realizing that having a chestnut or a gray can be an advantage in getting seen.

I know that color has never affected my breeding decisions so you see all colors of Arabian horses on this farm. Legs' carries a chestnut gene he got from his mother that carried through from his granddam, Latoura Dare. Most of my broodmares carry a chestnut gene as well. Then three of my broodmares are gray so you would think we would see a lot of gray and a little more chestnut but that has not been the case.

Solidare never gave me a single gray foal but she sure did come through with a chestnut foal. The fact she never had a gray foal though kept the number of gray foals Legs has sired down more than you would expect for a total of only 5. Although the two other gray mares, Lilly and Faye have pretty kept up with the statistics and delivered gray foals half the time. While neither has contributed a chestnut foal, Lilly had one that grayed from chestnut which says that chestnut is possible from her. Faye on the other hand has foals that have grayed from black and grayed from chestnut which suggests she could have a black foal under the right circumstances.

I know that Heiress carries a chestnut gene because her mother is chestnut but we've only seen bay foals from her. Aana's foals have been split pretty evenly between chestnuts and bays although they have all been colts. I guess these last paragraphs tell you when my mind goes when you start talking colors and they do reflect aspects of our conversation as we pushed through visiting all the horses. I guess you just never know where the conversation will go when two breeders get their heads together.

To be continued...................

Speaking of me with a camera, this picture is kind of an interesting double exposure taken when Legs was a baby.


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Last Saturday's News........... The Visit........

When I got a hold of fernvalley on the phone, they were just down the road from me. They had indeed gotten off track but had somehow managed to get righted although I'm not sure they really knew that yet. I added some details to help them find my turn and then I waited for them to arrive.

They were near 264th when I spoke to them which is just 14 blocks away. Had they been farther, I'd have gone ahead and began my work with Legs but being this close there was no point in doing that. I probably wouldn't even get the horse out of his stall before they'd be here so instead of going for Legs, I just stood in the drive waiting knowing if I didn't see them soon they'd missed the turn.

Just about the time I began to worry that maybe they had missed the turn, their car came into view. I was relieved to see them knowing they'd already had enough frustration on this trip without getting turned around again. As they pulled into my driveway, I threw open our gates and waited for them to pull in.

We went through the necessary introductions. While fernvalley and I know each other already through our blogs, Dave, Martin and Lindsay have no clue about anything much except that we're blogging friends. Considering how bizarre some people think internet friendships must be, I guess we're both very lucky our families are so understanding of our internet whims. Dave, Martin and Lindsay all took to this thing like it was a normal everyday occurrence.

With introductions our of the way, I asked fernvalley what she'd like to do. I knew she wanted to meet Legs but didn't know if she was interested in meeting the rest of the herd. Knowing they were here with some time constraints, I wanted to be sure we got done what was important to her.

Like lytha fernvalley was up to seeing the entire herd but before we could do that we had more pressing business to deal with first. You'd think introducing the people would be enough but not at our place. Both cats came out to meet our Canadian visitors and were basically throwing themselves at their feet in the driveway although Jasmine would retreat the minute either looked her way. Squirming around on their backs those silly cats were begging for attention but pretty much both were nothing but big teases and did not stick around long enough for even one stroke of their luscious kitty fur.

Squeaker did stay just long enough to be sure we talked about her. After all she is a very important fixture on this farm being owned by a stallion and all. Once she was sure she'd received her just dues of adoration, Squeaker sucked back and just followed us throughout the tour over seeing her domain. Being a cat, attention on her terms is what she seeks most so this behavior was no surprise.

The dogs would have joined us all at first meeting if they weren't stuck chained in front of the barn. It really irks the dogs that the cats get to greet visitors before them so they howled for attention. Delilah is about the most vocal dog I have ever met and she made it quite clear she was not happy to be left out. Sugar only gets going when she thinks there's something really worth making noise about and visitors not paying her attention certainly fit that category.

Leaping and barking trying to get close, both dogs were a little intimidating. Martin played it smart and kept his distance. It was Sherry who braved the ill manners of my two pooches although both of them did finally figure out if they wanted to be petted they were going to have to sit quietly. I really thought after our time with the homeless people living in our backyard they'd have gotten over this behavior but I guess that was too much to ask.

We did finally get past the dogs and actually get the opportunity to enter the first barn. There are horses on each side of that barn and I usually let the visitors decide which direction we will start. That approach led us right to Suede. Being one of Aana's kids, Suede acted like he was too stand offish to get up close and personal with visitors but as Sherry decided to move on Suede decided he really needed her attention. Funny how ignoring a horse can bring them right to you.

The next stall is Rhet and I opened the door up so that they could get a better view of him. Maybe because of the number of people in this small barn, I did not pull Rhet out of the stall like I had for lytha. For whatever reason, leaving Rhet in the stall meant they really didn't get the opportunity to see how much bigger than life Rhet really is. He was actually quite demure for the wild child I know him to be.

Next up was Storm and it was good to see that he is much more comfortable getting the door opened up for a visit than he was six months ago. While he still has some issues under saddle, the old horse we knew from before is definitely returning. Storm stood quite confidently in the doorway soaking up all the attention he could get.

Of course while we were looking at the other boys in this barn, Reflection was banging his door and trying to draw all eyes to him. The horse is never happier than when he is the center of attention so he was quite pleased with himself when we came his way.

As Sherry decided to photograph him, I had to jump in and fix the eyesore that was his bridle path. I pretty much kicked myself all through the tour because I had not found the time to get everyone clipped. I guess she's probably lucky that I didn't drag my clippers around and "touch up" every horse she photographed. You can bet I won't be passing on getting horses clipped ahead of time again. It just goes against the grain to take pictures of my babies not show groomed. Guess it's all that time I spent working in the show barn.

To be continued......................


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Father's Day...... a Little Horsey Humor

After celebrating Father's Day, I'm home too late to do justice to the rest of fernvalley's visit so instead I'm pulling a little humor from my special file. This was sent to me in email form by equinespirit in 2008 but it still tickles me so I thought you might enjoy........

Dear Horse,

I love you very much, and I truly cherish your presence in my life. I would never wish to criticize you in any way. However, there are a few trivial details regarding our relationship that I think might bear your consideration.

First of all, I am already aware that horses can run faster than I can. I do not need you to demonstrate that fact each time I come to get you in the pasture. Please remember that I work long and hard to earn the money to keep you in the style to which you have become accustomed. In return, I think you should at least pretend to be glad to see me, even when I'm carrying a bridle instead of a bucket of oats.

-It should be fairly obvious to you that I am a human being who walks on only two legs. I do not resemble a scratching post. Do not think that, when you rub your head against me with 1,000 pounds of force behind it, I believe that it wasn't your intention to send me flying. I am also aware that stomping on my toes while you are pushing me around is nothing but adding injury to insult.

-I understand I cannot expect you to cover your nose when you sneeze, but it would be appreciated if you did not inhale large amounts of dirt and manure prior to aiming your sneezes at my face and shirt. Also, if you have recently filled your mouth with water you do not intend to drink, please let it all dribble from your mouth BEFORE you put your head on my shoulder. In addition, while I know you despise your deworming medication, my intentions in giving it to you are good, and I really do not think I should be rewarded by having you spit half of it back out onto my shirt.

-Sometimes, I get the feeling that you are confused about the appropriate roles you should play in various situations. One small bit of advice: Your stone-wall imitation should be used when I am mounting and your speed-walker imitation when I suggest that we proceed on our way, not vice versa. Please also understand that jumping is meant to be a mutual endeavor. By "mutual", I mean that we are supposed to go over the jump together. You were purchased to be a mount, not a catapult.

-I know the world is a scary place when your eyes are on the sides of your head, but I did spend a significant amount of money to buy you, and I have every intention of protecting that investment. Therefore, please consider the following when you are choosing the appropriate behavior for a particular situation:

- When I put your halter on you, attach one end of a lead rope to the halter, and tie the other end of the lead rope to a post or rail or whatever, I am indicating a desire for you to remain in that locale. I would also like the halter, lead rope, post, etc., to remain intact. While I admit that things like sudden loud noises can be startling, I do not consider them to be acceptable excuses for repeatedly snapping expensive new lead ropes (or halters or posts) so that you can run madly around the barn area creating havoc in your wake. Such behavior is not conducive to achieving that important goal that I know we both share --- decreasing the number of times the veterinarian comes out to visit you.

- By the same token, the barn aisle was not designed for the running of the Kentucky Derby and is not meant to serve as a racetrack. Dragging me down the aisle in leaps and bounds is not how "leading" is supposed to work, even if someone happens to drop a saddle on the floor as we're passing. Pulling loose and running off is also discouraged (although I admit it does allow you to run faster).

- I assure you that blowing pieces of paper do not eat horses. While I realize you are very athletic, I do not need a demonstration of your ability to jump 25 feet sideways from a standing start while swapping ends in midair, nor am I interested in your ability to emulate both a racehorse and a bucking bronco while escaping said piece of paper. Also, if the paper were truly a danger, it would be the height of unkindness to dump me on the ground in front of it as a sacrificial offering to expedite your escape.

- When I ask you to cross a small stream, you may safely assume that said stream does not contain crocodiles, sharks, or piranhas, nor will it be likely to drown you. (I have actually seen horses swimming, so I know it can be done.) I expect you to be prepared to comply with the occasional request to wade across some small body of water. Since I would like to be dry when we reach the other side of the stream, deciding to roll when we're halfway across is not encouraged behavior.

- I give you my solemn oath that the trailer is nothing but an alternate means of transportation for distances too long for walking. It is not a lion's den or a dragon's maw, nor will it magically transform into such. It is made for horses, and I promise you that you will indeed fit into your assigned space. Please also bear in mind that I generally operate on a schedule, and wherever we're going, I would really like to get there today.

-For the last time, I do not intend to abandon you to a barren, friendless existence. If I put you in a turn-out pen, I promise that no predators will eat you, and I will come back in due time to return you to your stall. It is not necessary to run in circles, whinny pathetically, threaten to jump the fence, or paw at the gate. Neither your stall mates nor I will have left the premises. The other horses standing peacefully in adjacent pens amply demonstrate that it is possible to enjoy being turned out for exercise.
Most sincerely yours,

Your Owner

Last Saturday's News...........

The weather today sucked like most days of this year and I couldn't help but think we'd really lucked out having a dry day last Saturday when Fern Valley came to visit. It's risky enough scheduling local people to come see horses this time of year without making plans from company from another country. I was really hoping that Mother Nature wouldn't be obstinate and spoil our plans.

Of course, we did not have plans set in stone. We both knew how fickle Mother Nature can be and there was the small matter of what kind of plans their family had for them so we didn't really make specific plans to see the horses until Sherry and Martin arrived in Seattle on Friday night.

To be honest, I didn't think they would be making the trip to my farm. Knowing they were visiting on the north side of Seattle and that we are located about an hour from the southern boundary of Seattle, it seemed to me coming to visit here would really take up more time than they had to give. I figured I'd be travelling their direction so we could meet and I was fine with that.

The car was gassed up and I was ready to travel so when I found out Friday night that they really wanted to come here, I was not prepared. After getting off the phone I headed straight out to the barn and began detangling manes. I do try to keep up with that job but just because I needed it to be easy I ended up out at the barn til near midnight and I never did get time to get the clippers out.

It was hard for me to let go of that perfectionist mentality that says everything must be perfect if visitors call but lytha's visit in the midst of winter and full blown mud season helped me see things in perspective. Friends are more important than uppity protocol any day. I was looking forward to FV and Martin's visit despite my horses and my farm not being spit shined.

I knew what time they planned to leave Seattle in the morning but not knowing what the traffic gods would have in store for them, I didn't really know how long the trip would take. I knew how long it "should" take but those shoulds will get you every time so I didn't have any kind of firm plans for what I wanted to accomplish before they arrived and it's a good thing I didn't.

Just as I was getting ready to go outside to get started my youngest son called from San Diego. Normally our conversations are quite short interrupted by something in his life and he is always "going to call back" but never does. However, because I had plans, he was quite windy and we had a lovely, long talk while the clocked ticked away and I wondered when my company would arrive.

It was possible if traffic was light that they would arrive not long after I got off the phone. If I had been thinking of my blog, I'd have taken that time to be sure my camera was ready but I totally forgot about that. The only one camera ready for this visit came from Canada. Instead I headed to the barn and got Storm ready for a ride.

I figured if they arrived in the middle of my ride at least FV would get a chance to see what kind of temper tantrums I knew I'd been posting about soon. Another set of eyes on the ground to read his antics surely would have been appreciated. As it was Storm's behavior was not bad.........considering all the other things I had on my plate. He was tucked away in his stall and still not visitors so I called to see if they were lost.

To be continued...................

The Rehabilitation of Storm......... Unexpected Behavior on the Trails........

Part 1

As I continued on in my struggles with Storm and the canter I still continued with a session on the trails after our ride. Mostly that was to continue building on that foundation of correct movement that hill work pretty much guaranteed but I also wanted to get the Arabian horse really comfortable on the trails.

It was on one of those rides that Storm manifested more bad behavior. While we were not cantering, much of his behavior very much mirrored what I was dealing with during canter work. Having this outburst for a frame of reference really made it look like Storm's behavior really was about not getting his way.

We were out on the trail at the north side of the park where the little farm is that has horses. The barn sits back a ways from the fence and there are paddocks coming off of each horse's stall so most of the time we see the three horses each in its own paddock up near the barn. The paddock closest to the park is the biggest and actually comes up close to the fence line but I rarely see a horse there.

Most every time we've gone on that trail, which would usually be each ride, Storm has seen those horses from a distance. The very first time the horse actually got himself into a little bit of trouble talking to them but I don't consider that to be anything unusual. Other than that, I had had no further issues that would indicate that Storm would be naughty because of the presence of those horses.

It's not like Storm has never been anywhere where he might encounter strange horses. I showed him in halter once at the fairgrounds in Puyallup and they took him to a horse show in Oregon for schooling that first year. Neither time did Storm exhibit any inappropriate behavior around strange horses. There was nothing to tell me Storm might pull some unusual stunt in the proximity of unknown horses but that's exactly what he did.

We came up a small rise right into the fence line of that farm and one of those horses was standing right next to the fence. The minute Storm saw the other horse, he squealed a huge stallion hello and actually struck at the ground as he tried to dive towards the fence. I pulled him around and spanked him. That's when the horse went into a full blown fit shaking his head at me, squealing and trying to dump me.

I've been dumped by horses a number of times but only once have I felt like the horse was really trying to dump me. That was back when I first started Dandy under saddle and I pushed the horse too far. I knew if that horse ever decided to dump me I was toast and I also knew the day I did it, I had crossed that line. Just as there was no doubt that day that Dandy had had enough of me, there was no doubt in my mind on this day that Storm was just as determined as Dandy had been to rid himself of me.

Luckily for me Storm is not as athletic or talented as Dandy was as a youngster. As much as Storm wanted to be rid of me he was not capable of bucking to the heavens with his head on my knee. While the horse did manage to get me off balance he was not able to sustain the kind of assault to get me on the ground. Instead I managed to change up the direction I was pulling him rapidly back and forth getting him off balance enough that I could get the opportunity to fix my position in the saddle.

Once I was again balanced myself I was able to get Storm turned with his back to the horse at the fence and then really spank Storm in a manner appropriate for the offense he levied on me. To be honest even though I think I was pretty tough on Storm, I don't think he was the least bit intimidated by my corrections. I'm pretty sure all he could think of was that loose horse on the other side of the fence and he had some claim to make.

It was pretty clear to me that I was still sitting on a firecracker capable of exploding again. There really wasn't much room with all the underbrush around to be having this kind of battle with a horse. About the only thing I really could do was keep Storm turned away from the horse but I sure didn't have the room to safely prove to him that I could make him work in the presence of that horse.

I must admit this is the most intimidating situation I have encountered on a horse in my life. I've had plenty of times the adrenaline pumped while I reacted and the fear really settled in afterwards and I've even been seriously hurt a couple of times but nothing felt quite like this. Being on a stallion that has the breeding instinct on it's mind and no belief he should listen is probably the most dangerous situation I can think of and that's certainly what I felt like with Storm.

I have ridden Legs when he's thinking things he shouldn't but I always know he is listening to me. Storm's thoughts at seeing that horse were probably no different than Legs' under the same circumstances but Storm was NOT listening to me and didn't think he had to. That's not a feeling I'm going to forget anytime soon.

All of these things flashed through my mind as I tried to figure out the best course of action. I knew this situation really needed to be addressed but safety really was my first concern. Knowing there was nothing safe about this situation for either one of us, I headed Storm back down the trail we had just arrived on knowing that I could count on him to leave because I'd asked.

That is one of those things about Storm that makes this whole journey worth it to me. He may have some things mixed up in his head right now about who is in charge when and how BUT when all is said in done he IS really trying to do the right thing. Being in that situation he may have believed he knew what was right, but I knew I could tell him it was time to leave and he would believe me and go just as I asked.

AND that's exactly what Storm did. I knew he didn't want to leave. I could feel it in his entire body but he left because I asked him to and I didn't have another problem with him on the trail that day.

I have taken the horse back on the trails since then but I have been very careful about getting anywhere near that farm. Until I know I have this thing worked out in Storm's head, I'm not going to put either of us in that situation again.

To be continued.......................

This is Faye with her filly, Echo at her side. This was the year the twins were born and Echo, along with the other Legs' babies, kind of got lost in the shuffle. There are not too many baby pics from that year except for those of the twins.


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The Rehabilitation of Storm ........ The Trouble with Cantering.......

Part 1

It was when we got into the canter work that the "discussions" with Storm really got serious. I can't tell you there was any rhyme or reason to his outbursts, only Storm seems to know that. For me it seemed totally out of the blue that the horse would erupt and those out bursts were more like real bronc moves than any I've ever experienced.

I can still see that first explosion in my mind's eye as we went down the rail by the horse barns working at the canter to the right. This was the first ride I had begun asking the horse to give me "more" than just his head in the air doing as he pleased and he seemed to be adjusting quite well.

I felt like I had really good forward movement although the horse was definitely not square underneath me. I picked up my inside rein and put the inner leg on him as well blocking with my outside leg. Going to the left the horse had taken this correction very well and moved squarely underneath me where he belonged. The first couple of times I'd asked him going to the right, he seemed compliant as well BUT two thirds of the way down the rail the horse grunted, dropped his head, squealed and began jumping on all fours like a pogo stick, spinning in the process.

If I hadn't had my hands full, I think I would have sat back and laughed. Not that I didn't feel concerned for my safety, because believe me, I most certainly did. BUT the grunting, squealing, bronc like behavior was so uncharacteristic for this horse (and the breed from what I know) and his personality that it struck my funny bone somehow. I could see cartoon strip characterizations of his outburst flash through my brain as I grabbed at the reins trying to get control over my horse.

Had it been something that happened when I'd first gotten on the horse, I'd have been looking for physical causes, a burr under the saddle or a pinch somewhere. This behavior just made no sense to me so I pulled the horse around and spanked him, not knowing what else to do but my mind raced for an explanation and my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. I had no idea why this was happening.

This particular style, if you want to call it that, of protest by Storm was a one time only incident. There were no more four legged pounding jumps after this first time. It was not, however, the end of the outbursts by Storm and they were not restricted to right lead canter work. Any kind of canter work seemed to make me vulnerable to Storm's temper tantrums and I struggled trying to figure out what he was protesting.

Some days the ride would be just fine. Other days he would blow. When he did he might leap, shake his head, strike the ground with his front feet, buck or rear or any combination of those. It didn't seem to matter if we'd worked the day before or had a full week off. From what I could tell the outbursts were unpredictable. The only thing they seemed to have in common was canter work.

I checked to see if the horse was sore or needed a chiropractor and nothing seemed to be wrong there. I looked at the training to see what might be there. Maybe I was asking too much so I tried to back off to see if that would help. Maybe the horse needed more smaller almost continuous releases like what I'd do with a "baby" horse. Nothing seemed to work. The intermittent outbursts continued.

When the Daffodil entries were due, my friend showed up at the park to get mine so we could all stable together. As she turned into the arena area she spotted me riding out one of Storm's outbursts. When she got up to where we were schooling she remarked about how naughty Storm was being. Even though I had told her about the trouble I was having, she was not prepared for what she saw. Her reaction was something of an eye opener to me.

I must admit each time I have an altercation with Storm I think about Wendy Potts telling me at the clinic that I had a lot of guts. At the time she said it, it kind of rolled off my back. I logged it away but I really didn't get it. I didn't think guts had anything to do with wanting to rehabilitate Storm and I guess I didn't get the potential ticking time bomb I was dealing with. Now with my friend's reaction, I had more input about this situation.

There had been a couple of instances at the clinic where the horse had fought both with Wendy Potts and with me. I wasn't discounting those. I just didn't see them as any big deal. They were not threatening to me, and they sure weren't to her. I felt I knew enough to deal with them so I wasn't worried I guess.

Nothing has changed in that regard. I still feel like I know what to do to fix Storm. However, as I have had to deal with these behaviors I have come to understand the importance of getting stallions started under saddle when they are younger, instead of older. There is an intensity there I have not had to deal with before that I strongly believe is directly related to Storm being a stallion and giving up control that has intensified because of his age and not being asked to do anything difficult for two years. Putting all of these things together has created a mix id daunting to say the least.

To be continued.............................

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The Rehabilitation of Storm........ Getting to Canter.......

Part 1


Of course with the weather like it was, it was days before I got back to the park with Storm to ride. When I did, I had the same tuned out horse thinking he was in charge that I had had before. It was like the session hadn't even happened, or at least it was that way on the ground.

Once I got into the saddle, I found I still had no brakes. The only difference between this day and the previous schooling session was that his fight got smaller and it only took me about half the time to get the horse stopping when I asked but, hey, progress is progress. I was happy for that.

I was still only working the horse at the walk and trot to get him to understand what I meant when I applied my legs to his sides. Despite the intermittent nature of our work, the horse had been making progress all along. Now that I was finally getting some brakes when I needed them, I figured it should be easier for the horse to really "get" what those legs cues were about.

It was right about this time that I had begun working with Storm on the trails. Even after our first drawn out day working to get "Whoa" I had taken the horse out on the trails to cool out. Each day I could see the horse's confidence improve.

The more comfortable he got, the more I worked him on the ups and downs of the trails. I could see almost immediately small improvements in his stride on the lunge line and it began to carry over into the under saddle work even sooner than I expected.

Just a few strides as a time I began to feel that floating trot that Arabian horses are known. It was at a rip roaring rate but at least it was finally there. As long as the movement was good, I didn't worry about the rate, I knew I would get that it time. For now I was celebrating Storm's movement really was getting to be more natural instead of that mechanical thing that had been created over that two year time frame.

At first I only got that trot on the straight of the wall. When we came to a corner it would disappear and it might take half a lap around the arena to get it back again. When it did I made sure I spoke to Storm letting him know that reach was what I wanted.

At the sound of the word, "Good" I would get a reaction from Storm. If I had him flexed a little, I could see a slight softening in his eye. I couldn't always see his eye but even those times I could feel a release of tension in his body as he responded to my voice. It was clear the horse appreciated hearing he was on the right track.

As we got closer to what I wanted from him, the horse became more comfortable with life in general. He got less anxious in his stall and his overall demeanor got better. Instead of that nervous horse pinging off the wall, the old comfortable Storm began to emerge.

I'm not going to say that all the quirks disappeared because that is yet to be the case. We still had our issues under saddle that were every bit as scary as the horse with no brakes but the horse on the ground was becoming the gentleman he was when he left and we were all glad to see the horse we knew and loved had returned.

Once we got to the point I felt comfortable that Storm understood my leg cues, we moved on to adding work at the canter. The minute I did that, Storm went back to wanting to canter at every squeeze of my legs. When I tried to communicate with him that's not what I wanted he had something of a meltdown shaking his head, striking the ground, leaping and kicking out trying to prove his point.

It seemed to me that Storm really did understand the leg cue but he didn't really get that he could not be the one to decide WHEN we were going to do canter work. He has always been one of those horses that prefers cantering to trotting and so that's what he wanted to do. Why trot, if you can canter? Right maybe for Storm but not so right for me.

I wanted to make it easy for Storm to do what I needed from him without having to fight with him. I figured the best way to do that was to make Storm think that cantering was out of the picture all together. The next few riding days I went back to working only at the walk and trot. Then when I added in the canter, I did it only after all my walk and trot work was done.

We worked both ways of the arena at the walk and the trot. Then I began more walk work moving him off my legs laterally and lots of bending getting his brain really tuned into what we were doing. Then when I was sure the horse wasn't expecting it, I asked him to canter.

By this time Storm was going pretty well in the bridle at the trot but I had no expectations of any kind of frame at the canter. I pretty much just gave him his head and let him have at it. As long as he didn't take off at a dead run, we were good.

Storm has this habit of dropping his lead behind. I consider that behavior to be more stallion behavior. I think it's a control issue where the horse is moving as requested but still doing it HIS way.

The reason I think this IS stallion behavior is every last one of my boys has done it when they were first taught to lunge. They usually give it up before they ever get under saddle. Sometimes it will show up briefly when the saddle work starts, and it certainly did for Storm, but it doesn't last long. Storm had quit that behavior when he left here but of course with him thinking he was in charge for two years, it didn't surprise me to see it back in full blown form.

I knew that asking Storm to "fix" a lead would only frustrate the horse so if he popped that lead behind, instead of stopping him and restarting to fix it, I just pulled him into a small circle and let him canter that way. I knew that sooner or later he would figure out it was more comfortable to carry me in a small circle on the correct lead and he would fix it himself. In the meantime I'd just let him be uncomfortable.

I let the horse canter that direction until I felt the "edge" he had diminish. Then I asked him to "Whoa" which he willingly did. Then I sent him off the other direction at the walk moving off my legs and bending and such just like I had the first direction. Only when he was past anticipating did I ask him to canter and when we did, it was the same fashion as the first direction.

By the time we finished, Storm was an exhausted sweaty mess but at least the sweat was from work and not nerves. Storm was the most relaxed I had seen him since he'd returned home. Even walking on the trails to cool out his head was hung low. I had hoped we'd turned a corner.

To be continued.....................

The Trouble with Cantering.........

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The Rehabilitation of Storm........ Putting on Brakes.......

Part 1

I've never really had a horse that goes through a stop "just for sport." One that runs off when frightened every now and then, I've had but nothing consistent like this thing with Storm. It took me a few rides to realize it was about his attitude and not just a misunderstanding of a cue. Once I figured that out, Storm was in big trouble, figuratively speaking of course. I don't mess around inappropriate behavior wrapped up with attitudes in my horses because I know where it can lead.

Obviously a horse without brakes is a dangerous thing and it can be difficult to fix without hurting the horse. Young horses that have not been ridden much don't have the strength in their legs to deal with the most obvious correction which is the one rein stop. Putting that kind of torque on a horse's legs is something you want to think about doing with any amount of repetition to be sure the horse can tolerate it without residual damage. Of course when it is applied as an emergency stop measure you willing take your chances on the residual effect on the horse's body in favor of safety.

Storm, however, has at least three years under saddle and I'm pretty sure plenty of miles on the lunge line. That has given his legs time to strengthen for the kind of work he has been asked to do. While ideally I would not want to spend huge amounts of time pulling a horse down from a gallop, or frantic trot even, into a stop, I was comfortable that the footing was good enough and the horse strong enough to sustain what I needed to do for this particular situation.

Storm didn't really like that exercise from Wendy Potts and of course, elements of it are the one rein stop. I think because it was something harder to do than what he'd had to do for the past two years was why he disliked it but whatever it was, I knew I could use it to convince Storm that stopping or slowing down when I asked was better than having to do that exercise over and over.

Every time I asked Storm to either slow up or come down a gait and he refused, I used that exercise to get him down. I didn't just dive straight into it though. I would ask for the "whoa," give him a couple of strides to begin to comply, then warn him with my voice with a stern, "Storm." Then if he didn't respond, I would pull his head to my knee pulling him down to either a walk or a complete stop depending on what I'd asked being careful to go into the stop in the safest manner for Storm.

In addition I would either pop him with my bat a couple of times or poke him with my spurs and scold him as I pulled him down so he would clearly understand he was in trouble. Not a big huge you tried to kill me correction but a stern, this isn't safe, you must do it when I ask kind of correction.

In the beginning I worked exclusively on the "whoa" command so I didn't confuse him. If he was picking up too much speed or breaking gait, I would respond by asking for a complete stop, "whoa." Later when he began to get the idea I would apply it also if I used a "Whup" to get a downward transaction.

The first day was really the worst. We spent the entire session working on putting brakes on Storm. I didn't end the session until the horse was coming down to a "whoa" consistently within three or four strides of my request but it took a while to get there.

We went through stages of compliance and then back to out right refusal. John Lyons says that a horse will have three stages of resistance before it finally gives up and Storm pretty much followed that pattern.

In the beginning he just got mad and when he did he fought. As I tried to pull him his head around to my knee the horse leapt and bucked and shook his head. There was even a little grunting as he protested me trying to take control of his feet.

At that point my focus changed from slowing the horse down to getting some forward to block his temper tantrum. I did a partial release of his face and smacked him pretty hard with the bat and used my spurs as forcefully as my old lady legs would allow. Once I had that forward movement again, I took that rein back and continued on in my one rein stop. However, because of the outburst, I also continued with my corrections for the temper tantrum. I wanted Storm to know such actions are serious offenses and will be treated as such.

Only when the horse completely softened into the bridle walking did I stop the spanking. I continued holding the horse's head to my knee until he totally stopped. Then I released him. Praised him all over the place and let him stand there and think about it for a couple of minutes. Then we tried again.

There were three temper tantrums that first day. The first one was the most dramatic. After that Storm didn't stop when I asked but he didn't fight my correction either. We went along like that a few more times then Storm actually applied his brakes when I asked a time or two but the compliance was short lived.

Next thing I knew Storm was throwing another temper tantrum. It had all the same elements of the first but was not as fierce. I handled it the same way I had as the first time but scaled my correction down to the level Storm had set. There was still pops with the bat and pokes with the spur and probably some scolding but my reaction was smaller just as Storm's had been. Just like Harvey Jacobs taught me, "the horse decides how much."

After this outburst Storm did pretty much the same thing as he did before. He didn't stop when asked but he didn't throw a temper tantrum when I used that exercise to bring him down. We went along like that a few more times until the horse decided to give me what I wanted. Then Storm began stopping when I said "Whoa."

I knew that we were probably not done yet but I hoped I could get another three stops before Storm decided to resist. I figured if I could end on a note of about 4 good stops, Storm might be easier to convince the next time around. Wouldn't you know because I wanted four, I got only three.

On the fourth request, Storm blew. As I reached for the rein, he threw his head away from me and squealed, jumping sideways. striking the ground and trying to bolt. I pulled his head around as I used my spurs and my bat as strongly as I could making sure I didn't pull the horse off balance as I tried to get him under control. With the horse's head turned towards me like that I watched his eye to help time my lessening of my correction. I wanted to be sure I rewarded any let up on his part with a let up of the correction on my part.

Storm fought intensely but briefly and almost as quickly as it began, it was over. The horse rolled over into the bridle and stopped. His nose rested on the side of my boot and his nostrils flared but he was quiet between my legs. I didn't release his head until his nostrils quieted and his eye totally softened but I talked to him using a low soothing tone encouraging him to settle internally.

After I released him I let him stand there thinking for a while. Then I went back into the trot and asked him again to "Whoa." This time the horse sat down in the dirt like a stock horse and I decided to call it good. I figured Storm was making a statement with that stop and I should take him at his word.

To be continued.............

Getting to Canter......

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The Rehabilitation of Storm..... Some Psychology......

Part 1

It didn't really matter if the horse had broken into a canter or if he was at a trot, if Storm had any kind of attitude he was completely ignoring the word, "Whoa" and even "Whup" for that matter. We had no brakes if he was in a mood. If anything the horse got stronger when I asked him to stop or slow down. It was clear to me the horse did not think he needed to listen because he thought the decision was his to make.

When I worked on fixing this situation Storm got mad. Not really the first time I interfered with his behavior but once I had done it a few times in a row, his attitude got bigger instead of smaller. Clearly the horse was beginning to understand what I was asking and he didn't want to do it so he tried to convince me "he was bigger than me."

There is a psychology behind that thinking, "bigger than me." For me understanding it is important in making the determination how to fix things and to do that I must understand where the horse is at and what got him there if possible as well as the instinct behind it.

For Storm this happened early after his return here and I would equate it to stallion behavior. Stallions particularly don't like to relinquish power they have had and usually will fight to retain it and fight Storm did. It wasn't about fighting me so much as it was about fighting to retain control as instinct dictates he must if he is ever to survive. Storm would have fought anyone who pushed that line AND that line could have shown up anywhere.

Normally it wouldn't take long to take the edge off Storm when we first get back to working again but with me working to get control of the horse when he was excited, the situation changed because the psychology of the situation changed. Instead of me waiting for the horse to give me his time, I was telling him when he needed to give it to me.

That's an important line that some horse owners don't understand. It's one thing for the horse to do for you when they have nothing better to do and another to do for you totally on your terms. It is the difference between being the leader and being the follower. The importance of this difference can mean the difference between life or death because the horse that does for you when it feels like it just may not feel like it when your life or his hangs in the balance. The horse that has learned to do whatever he is asked on your terms will follow when his life or yours hangs in the balance and hopefully you will both survive.

In this situation Storm was willing to take me on to prove he had control of himself and his movements regardless of what I wanted because he is convinced that he needs to be in charge. As far as the horse was concerned there was a clear line drawn in the sand and it was important to him NOT to let me cross it. BUT if I ever want this horse to be totally safe, he has to be willing to give me what I ask on MY TERMS, not his. He has to see that I deserve to be his leader and relinquish control willingly.

Luckily for Storm I understand it is deeply ingrained instinct that dictates such behavior and has nothing to do with what kind of horse Storm is. I also understand how important it is to convince the horse that it is in his best interest to let me decide how and when he moves as well as all of those other things that will convince him that I am worthy of being his leader. I want him to look to me for answers when things get weird NOT decide himself how to deal with them. That way we will both be safe when I am with him and the horse will have the necessary skills to live safely amongst people.

It's important to me to get things like this accomplished in a manner that builds trust in the horse. I could bully him into submission but I want my horses to trust me. I see bullying as a misuse of power and that is something that destroys trust not builds it. I don't want a horse jumping out of his skin to comply, I want a horse that willing looks to me for what to do.

Ever since I can remember I have always understood the role of leadership in handling horses but I have not always understood how to get that willing compliance I seek . Over the years that understanding has grown as I have learned to always look for the horse's instinct as the answer to the question "Why does the horse do that?" Understanding the horse's motivation helps me to find the solution for problems, keeping the horse's instincts in mind, and establishing myself as a worthy leader in their eyes.

I see lots of people put human thoughts and emotions on horses as the answer to issues. The problem with that is horses are not human. Everything they do is dictated by their instinct. When we forget that it only sets us up for failure with the horse because they just don't think like we do. They don't see our responses on our terms, only theirs, and if our responses don't compute within their terms, they cannot learn in the way we want them to learn.

Over the years I have seen many clinicians who have given me a piece here and a piece there of the information it has taken for me to "read" horses in a productive way but it was Harvey Jacobs that really put the final touches on it for me. During the time I spent with Harvey I learned a new perspective that I have used to deal with any confrontation with a horse and that perspective fit perfectly with what I was seeing in Storm.

Harvey described much of a horse's aggressive behavior as a conversation with the horse trying to prove "he was bigger" to get his way. But Harvey also described "bigger" in the terms of the perspective of the horse which is far simpler than we humans see bigger. To Harvey's way of thinking I don't have to be bigger than the horse, I only have to make the horse THINK I am bigger. Bigger to the horse means I am more powerful and by using my brain instead of my muscle it should be easy enough to prove to Storm that I am bigger than he.

Because I understand his motivation behind wanting to be in charge, I know all I need to do is convince the horse it is easier for him to follow my lead than for him to be in charge. Because it is the horse's instinct to always do what they see as easiest, it also means that every horse would really rather have a leader than be one. The trick is convincing the horse that I am worthy of being that leader so he feels safe relinquishing that role.

With Storm it will begin with teaching him I really can control what speed he moves his feet. That might be only one step in teaching this guy that I am worthy of being his leader but it is a very important step. Getting control of those feet would be a big step in getting control of Storm's mind..........and that is what I really want.

To be continued.................................

Putting on Brakes.........

This is the first colt I took to Harvey Jacobs for help.

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The Rehabilitation of Storm......... Signs of Progress........and a Little Whoops....

Part 1

Once I did get Storm listening to me on the ground, I would move on into riding him. Then I would stick to the same thing, walk work and trot work only.

In the beginning even putting my leg on the horse to move him laterally made him want to break into the trot. Luckily for me the horse responds well to the word, "No." Even with that Storm seemed to get much more easily he shouldn't go from a walk to a trot than he did from a trot to a canter. Still I didn't even ask him for a trot until I had gotten some very solid walk work out of him.

While he was gone the horse did not forget the cues for moving laterally off my legs. I suspect that's because the cues I used for that work were never applied so they did not get muddied. They just remained in his horsey brain unused. I got a little resistance the very first day when I applied them but that was pretty much it. From that point forward if I asked the horse to flex, bend or move laterally, he did fine, at the walk anyway.

If you remember from the Wendy Potts clinic, the horse was not capable of flexing or bending to the outside at the trot or the canter. That's why Wendy got on him in the first place. I think she thought I was not cuing him correctly. She found she couldn't get it done either because the horse was that physically locked up. It was then she suggested I go back to the very basics and pull the horse's head to my knee allowing his hind end to spiral out and around.


With few breaks in the weather, it seemed like each time I was getting to ride, it had been days before the last ride. That meant the ride was another first ride of the week with the lighter schedule. Even with that Storm was making some kind of progress. He still wanted to speed up whenever I put my legs on him but he was beginning to get more flexible. Before long I found I could flex the horse to the outside and he was actually able to bend.

It was easy to tell that the horse was getting to that kind of flexibility. When I would pull his head around to my knee, the horse was no longer responding in exactly the same way. Instead of just following his nose around in that circle, Storm was beginning to move through this exercise with his shoulder requiring a block with the outside rein. It was nice to see the progress.

There was another thing we struggled with on these intermittent days of work. Storm would be so excited he was not really paying attention. Even when I would get his attention on the ground, I would loose a portion of it when I got on his back. The way this manifested itself was I lost my "whoa."

Now, I know the horse knows the word "whoa." He just didn't think he needed to listened to it. I had to spend some significant amount of time putting the "whoa" back on this horse so that it was there when requested instead of when he felt like giving it. Not a fun thing to be doing with a horse that has about three years under saddle.

To be continued........................

Some Psychology.......

The look on Storm's face in this picture, I have seen many times over these past few months as he tries to figure out what's happening to him.

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The Rehabilitation of Storm... The Misunderstood Cue........

Part 1

The hardest part of this process with Storm was a result of the breaks caused by the weather. I very much believe in starting the work week out slowly and building each session as we go. That way I don't push my horse to do something that will make him sore or put undue stress on him that can result in injury.

This method has worked for me for many years. Knock on wood, I have never had a horse injured using this method. I think it has also contributed to the happy, willing attitudes of my horses and the fact they get to the point they actually appreciate their work.

It probably contributes to me taking longer to train a horse than other methods but that's ok with me. With Storm it meant we just weren't stringing any time together so he could really understand what I was asking. While I am a believer in giving a horse a day to "think" about something new, the days and days of bad weather definitely did not help the training process or the thinking process.

I think the biggest issue I had with the horse under saddle in the beginning was he really didn't understand what I meant when I tried to squeeze him up with my legs. To Storm that squeeze meant go into the next gait. If I could get him to the point he was considering that maybe going to the next gait was NOT what I wanted, then he was convinced I meant he must go faster. It sure didn't mean push deeper, round up, lift your back, whither and shoulder or anything even close.

What complicated this, of course, was the fact the horse gets frustrated. He doesn't like to be wrong or to not understand. I'd guess the best way to describe this horse is to say he is a classic over achiever. He wants to be good. He needs to be good. He thinks if he has to repeat something, that he has done something wrong and he gets frustrated. The more frustrated he gets, the harder he wants to get it right so the more frustrated he gets if he doesn't get what I want.

It is a vicious cycle and could be very destructive if not taken into account. The training needs to be done in a way that doesn't push those buttons for him or that pushes them as minimally as possible so the horse doesn't fight the process because that's what Storm does when he gets frustrates, he fights. He thinks he's getting it right and I am being unfair by not giving him a release or accepting the gait he's given me.

I suppose I could have just galloped him whenever I rode but galloping takes strength that I don't have when I am not riding regularly. I get very sore in the hips from cantering and even more sore from galloping so that wasn't going to work. Also, I am not convinced that galloping alone would have fixed this particular problem with Storm so I took another tack.

I decided to eliminate part of the options for him so we just didn't canter. Once he understood we weren't going to canter in a training session, then he could eliminate that from his options of what the cue of squeezing him with my legs actually meant. That made it clear to Storm that squeezing him up with my legs did not mean cantering. Once he began realizing that, he became open to trying to figure out what it might mean instead. That was my starting point.

I decided the best way to do this was to begin on the ground. Even bitted up, I did not ask the horse to canter. When he did canter, which he did a lot, I corrected him by telling him "whup" (which he mostly ignored in the beginning) and shaking the lunge line at him. I didn't quit shaking the line until he broke back down into the trot.

Shaking the lunge line may not sound like much but it really is annoying to the horse but it is not hurtful. It's just an in your face, pay attention to me, cue that I have learned works with most any horse. Some take longer than others to realize it means something but once they get it, they get it "good." Any horse I have worked with that goes through a "whup" cue will usually respond immediately when I begin wiggling that line. Even if they are highly excited, they will get the wiggling lunge line, although those excited times can require a longer period of shaking. My horses have learned I won't stop the annoying shaking until they do what I ask.

Of course, Storm used to know that cue pretty well but like everything else he has unlearned over the two years he was gone, he had unlearned this too. I think had we had some days strung together in a riding week, say even three, he would have settled into this cue pretty quickly. As it was with a day here and a day there, it would take a while before he was easily responding to that cue and understanding that he was only supposed to walk or trot on the lunge line.

Also, having more days off than on, we always started off with a highly excited horse with an attitude. The first day Storm tended to be in his own world on the lunge line. He was happy to be out, running around like a lunatic snorting and blowing making Arabs look nuts. We always had to get through that phase into a listening phase before he would even consider we were in a training session to figure out we weren't supposed to be cantering at all BUT I stuck to it. By the time I ended the lunging session, Storm knew we were NOT cantering or galloping for that matter.

To be continued..................

Signs of Progress..... and a Little Whoops......

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The Rehabilitation of Storm....... A Little on Progress..... A Little on Theory......

Part 1

The whole point of getting Storm out on the trails was to open that funky unnatural stride he had learned back up into the normal reachy stride the horse used to have. It was pretty obvious from his first rides on the trails Storm wasn't going to make that easy. The horse was so concerned about what might be lurking in the woods he minced along in a frustrating cautious pace barely a walk. Even asking the Arabian horse to move out at a trot or a lope didn't get the kind of forward I was looking for.

I had suspected that might indeed be the case when I started this venture. That was one of the reasons I had pushed the use of the deer trails so quickly upon Storm. Most of the bigger ups and downs of the park trails are found on those narrower winding trails. I knew the bigger inclines would force Storm to reach more deeply underneath himself so I made up my day's route based on incorporating as much hill work as possible.

After we started trail work it didn't take long for me to see the difference in Storm's gait. Within a few trail rides I began to see more depth to Storm's stride at the trot. It came in short bursts at first. A few strides that looked normal then the horse would go back to the altered stride he'd learned but those brief glimpses gave me hope that Storm could be rehabilitated without it taking years. (Yes, it really does sometimes take years to fix horses who have had their "forward" trained right out of them.)

Once I got on his back, it was back to the same old thing I'd had before the trail riding began. I had to remind myself what I had heard Mike Whelihan tell my friend, Wendy, when her horse was in training with him. Mike would say, "What you see in the lines, we figure it will take at least ten days to see under saddle." That gave me a measure to go by so I would know if I really was on the right track with Storm.

Of course, I was not long lining Storm in the ground work I was doing. I was just bitting him up and lunging him. The reason I was not long lining the horse was because I knew it was something that had been done at BG's with him. Because of that I suspected that any benefit I would normally have in the lines would be compromised because the horse would revert to what he had been taught while he was there. I didn't want to be butting my head up against that wall so I just skipped the use of the lines at this point.

It seemed to me by asking the horse to do things totally different than what had been expected of him there, I could avoid some of the confusion and frustration caused by the horse trying to reconcile what I was asking against what he thought he knew. That thinking is why I was focusing on doing hunter pleasure instead of western with Storm. I wanted the horse to believe our work is something new, that he doesn't know so he will be open to what I'm asking without anticipating what he thinks is coming.

I guess this work really is new because I am asking the horse to use himself totally different but I don't really think the horse can comprehend the difference between going slow my way and going slow the way he was taught. Storm has made it clear right from the beginning of this journey that he gets very frustrated and angry about being corrected or not getting a release for something he thinks he understands so if I can take that element of confusion out of the mix, the odds are I will have a more content horse. The more content the horse is with the process, the easier the training should go.

To my way of thinking making this journey as easy as possible for the horse is really the biggest challenge of all. Right from the start we have butted heads over my expectations of this horse under saddle. Storm believed if something was hard, he didn't have to do it because he had spent two years doing things the easy way.

As a stallion doing things on his terms for two years is like a lifetime. Once a stallion has been in charge, his instinct tells him to hang onto that position as long as he is physically able. Anyone who knows stallions knows that means they fight for what they want to gain and what they want to keep.

It was inevitable that Storm and I would have some issues between us with the change of power that must happen if he is to be all that he is capable of being. Unfortunately there is no easy way to do this. It's not possible to whisper in his ear and explain it to him. It happens one discussion at a time and sometimes I don't even know the discussion is coming until it's full blown. That means poor Storm was instantly off balance the moment he arrived here not knowing what to expect next. Finding ways to make his transition back to the ground rules here needed to be a smooth as possible to ensure the cooperation of the horse.

Without his cooperation there's no way we can make progress in this journey and his frustration level has certainly compromised any work we have tried to do that has triggered it. To avoid that frustration I have tried to find the easiest way possible to get my point across to the horse.

To aid in finding the easiest way possible for the horse I think about something John Lyons said many years ago. "The more steps we use to teach the horse something, the easier it is for the horse to learn." Any time I feel like I'm getting resistance from the horse I start looking for more steps to add so Storm will know what it is that I want. So far that method is serving me quite well and that is one of the reasons I added trail riding into the mix for Storm rehabilitation.

To be continued......................

The Miunderstood Cue.........

This picture is Storm at a couple of months old. The wheels are turning in his little head as you can see by the look on his face. What do you think he's thinking?

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The Rehabilitation of Storm.........Dogs on the Trails......

Part 1

When it came to dogs on the trails, I wasn't really worried about Storm. When they are outside with us both Delilah and Sugar are chained right outside the barn where Storm lives. He has never shown any concern going between the two of them to get to the horse trailer or turnout. Even if there is barking or other puppy play, Storm's been pretty much unaffected. Still I didn't know what to expect with strange dogs.

It didn't take long working the horse on the trails for Storm's comfort level with dogs to be tested. We were coming around the corner at the north end of the park when a dog came flying around that same corner right into us.

The dog's reaction was much more dramatic than the horse's when he realized he'd run right into something and that something was absolutely huge. In a split instant the dog was gone back the direction he'd come. A startled whimper could be heard as the dog beat feet away from us. The horse barely seemed to notice the dog's arrival or hasty departure. He just kept looking around in his shortened stride.

Farther down the trail we came across little yappy dogs. There were two of them on leash with their owners. One was frightened of the horse and barking defensively. The other was curious about the horse and barking excitedly. If Storm was interested at all, it wasn't shown in any outward manner, he just kept moving along.

The owners of these dogs were apologizing all over themselves for their dogs' behavior. I think more worried about their dogs being hurt by a horse than the dogs causing a problem for the horse and rider. That seems to be the mind set of most dog owners. They don't realize that dogs can scare horses enough to seriously injure horse and/or riders and I guess they've not thought the reason a horse might kick a dog in the first place could be because of what the dog did first.

Whatever the reason was for the dog owners concern, I assured them the dogs would not have a problem with my horse as long as the dogs were under control. Even when a dog goes after one of my horses, I tend to teach the horse to turn and "chase" the dog by walking towards it. Usually once a dog realizes the horse is coming after them, they retreat and the problem is over. With these two barking dogs we just kept our distance and moved on by them and went back to the deer trails.

There is a German lady who walks the park regularly with her golden retriever and sometimes her son. Because I see her on a regular basis she is one of those "characters at the park" http://risingrainbow.blogspot.com/search/label/Characters%20at%20the%20Park I have grown to know. This woman through her heavy accent has told me of her fear of horses. Her dog, however, has no fear and is actually quite curious about any of my horses.

Over the months I've been riding at the park, the woman has gotten more comfortable getting within touching distance of my horses although she jumps back pretty quickly if one of them moves. Startled and worried about getting hurt, remnants of her childhood growing up on a farm in Germany.

For some reason, she has taken a particular liking to Storm so even in the woods she comes right up to him for a pet. Her dog is right there with her wagging his tail and looking for the opportunity to satisfy her curiosity about the red horse. The first time she came that close on the trails, Storm dropped his head down to get a closer look at this dog he already knew and the dog licked him in the face. Other than popping his head up and out of licking range Storm didn't seem the least bit concerned even though I could still feel plenty of tension in his body reflecting his lack of comfort for the trails.

Even the loose dogs we've come across have not seemed to bother Storm. He's pretty sure that whatever is out in those woods that might get him is not related to the dogs. When we come upon them he barely pays them any mind, he's so caught up in studying his surroundings for something known only to him. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

Maybe the day will come when he's over that searching that occupies his brain and then he'll decide he should be worried about the dogs. In the meantime, I'll just keep evaluating those dogs one by one to see if I need to be proactive to prevent my horse from a negative canine experience. The last thing I want is for a strange dog to catch Storm off guard and scare him half to death.

For now, I'm just going to be grateful that we have had not issues with dogs AND we seem to be making some kind of progress. I'm beginning to think that Storm might just get as comfortable on the trails as his dad. If that's the case, he'll turn into a pretty darn good trail horse.

To be continued.................

A Little on Progress........ A Little on Theory.........

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The Rehabilitation of Storm......... Horses on the Trails......

Part 1

With perfect timing for when I was beginning to take Storm onto the trails at Frontier Park, Dom did a post on Trail Riding Tips I remember thinking as I read these "Only if it were so simple." Not that they weren't great tips, but nothing has seemed to be simple with Storm since he arrived home. I was sure hoping our issues in the woods could turn out to be the "usual" green trail horse scenarios.

Each additional day in the woods, things changed with Storm. He did do some of the "normal things" for a green trail horse like spooking at a big boulder he'd easily walked by on both of his previous encounters in the woods.

Then I guess that first day with his head in Dandy's butt, Storm didn't need to see the boulder but what about the day I walked him by the thing. Still he puffed up and blew like that boulder had moved his direction. Spinning sideways and facing the thing with those bulging eyes and quivering nostrils, it was a good thing we were on one of the wide lanes or I'm pretty sure a troll would have grabbed him from behind and we'd have been in the middle of a fairly big wreck.

I took the horse on more deer trails and he would go pretty much any place I pointed him out there in the brush. I had to be extra careful where I steered him because in those winding trails he would just step right off the trail into whatever happened to be there. He didn't seem to mind being up to his hocks in Oregon grape or tickled by ferns. I think he was actually more comfortable in those tight trails than on the more open ones.

Rarely do I meet horses on those trails but walkers, runners and dog walkers with both loose and leashed dogs are a given. I come across those kinds of park users on most days out there on those trails. There are the horses that live on the little farm on the north perimeter of the park but where they will be when we go by is unpredictable.

Of course because I was trying to get Storm comfortable with the trails, the "normal" for what might happen there just did not apply. It was the second solo trip when I heard other horses out there on the trails with us. They were crashing around in the brush unaware that anyone else was even out there, let alone a green trail horse.

I imagine if there really were trolls in the woods they would sound much like these horses riding in the deer trails sounded on that day. From the instant we first heard them, Storm's head went straight up in the air and his nostril's flared with his ears locked tight the direction of the sounds. His whole body was tensed and his steps got even slower but he still proceeded where I asked.

I can imagine the whole time his eyes were working double time scanning the woods for some sight of what made that sound. It was probably several minutes before he saw anything at all and when he did it was fleeting. Like some kind of sprite running from tree to tree the upper portion of the pinto horse was there and then it was gone. I don't know if Storm got enough sight of it to relieve his fears or not. He just kept moving on through those narrow trails as I asked.

Half way concerned if we got into the open the horse might bolt, I kept twisting and turning Storm through the labyrinth that can be the deer trails. The horse did not resist but then at this time he didn't know the trails well enough to know I was killing time deliberately keeping him out there until the other horses were gone. We just kept winding around and around and around changing things up enough to make sure Storm didn't really know what to think.

Only after the woods had gotten totally quiet again did I take Storm off the narrow deer trails and back out into a more open area. The last place we had heard those horses was in this area and Storm was frantically turning his head from side to side looking for something to tell him what the noise had been.

It was only after we passed a fresh pile of p**p that all the tension left the horse's body. As we walked by it, Storm tried to pull down to get a whiff but I blocked his attempts. Even so it was still enough for the horse to know it had been other horses out here. Now instead of worried, the horse was curious. For the first time, he picked his step up and walked more like a normal horse.

At the end of that lane, I turned the horse back towards the horse arena. As we walked up to that big log Storm acted like he'd never seen that before either. We were yards away from it and I already suspected the horse was not going to cross that log for me. Two steps forward and three steps backward just seemed to be the way things went on the trails with Storm.

To be continued...............

Dogs on the Trails.....

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Pooped Puppy........

and I don't mean Sugar or Delilah. The day was glorious here and I took advantage of the weather to get horses worked, seven of them in all. Groundwork and lunging for five of them and then I rode the last two and my b*tt is dragging.

Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be equally as glorious with temps possibly reaching the 80s so I'm planning on getting started early to avoid the heat. I have plans to ramp the training up a notch on those first five horses and then, of course, I'll continue on with the riding of the other two. If I can still move when I get that far, I might just move onto the three geldings. I've been wanting to get them back to work. We'll see how that goes.

The rain is supposed to return Monday. I'm really hoping they're wrong about that. I'd really like to be getting in a groove here and getting these horses back to regular work. I think they've missed it as much as I have.

Update EHV-1 Virus in Washington State - Good News

According to the evening news here tonight, the EHV-1 virus has officially been contained in our state. The number of confirmed cases of the virus in Washington state has remained at 8. The newscaster said that all eight of those horses were exposed in Utah and will continue to be under quarantine for several more weeks. I know there have been rumors that the virus had spread in Washington beyond those horses exposed at the Cutting Horse show in Utah. However, for the number to still be at 8 horses that rumor must be in error.

The Region 5 off site qualifier and All Arabian Sport Horse Regional Championships began this week at Donida Farms in Auburn, WA. Exhibitors were informed earlier in the week that the show would abide by the state recommendations for equine events and make use of the form posted online Exhibitors were told to review the form and bring it with them to the event.

Looking over the form, I found the recommendations to include biosecurity measures which included a "No Temperature" policy which was spelled out on the form as well as statements horses had not been at facilities housing exposed horses. The form required the participants signature.

Also this week our state vet suspended the waiver of health papers requirements for horses entering our state from Oregon or Idaho. This waiver has been in effect for as long as I can remember. How this is affected by today's announcement or how long it will be suspended, I guess time will tell. For more information about the EPV-1 virus and Washington state see the state vet website at Hot Topics.


The foal in this picture is Chase. He is Storm's full brother and shown at about 4 months old.

The Rehabilitation of Storm...... Riding Solo........

Part 1

By the time I got Storm off that section of trail I was ready to get on his back to see what I had. I knew he would be different with me astride because there has just been something different about him since I got him back.

After feralwoman's comment about Storm lacking confidence, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe that is it. He sure had no confidence at all when he first got back here. He climbed the walls even in his stall and we'd put him back into the stall that used to be his so he'd be more comfortable. Everything about he screamed "nervous wreck."

Much of that behavior is gone but he still is different under saddle than he used to be and he does a few things on the ground. Challenging any horse that gets into the horse trailer with him is one of those things he never used to do and then there's the tussels we have under saddle. He always had attitude but it was in a good way. Now I'm still trying to figure out what is pushing his buttons to make him fight. I never really know for sure what I'm going to get when I throw my leg over him.

Now on the trail I was hoping I was going to get the same cautious horse under saddle that I had just experienced picking this way through that deer trail. I figured that was a good possibility when I asked to horse to move closer to a big boulder so I could use it for a mounting block.

Storm looked at me. Then he looked at that boulder. Then he looked back at me, sidepassed up to the rock and stood there. He got a little bit close to it so I asked him gently to move off a step and he did it without over reacting or pouting. That was definitely a good sign.

As I climbed onto the top of that boulder my foot slipped and I slipping off making a screechy kind of racket in the process. Storm looked to see what was happening but moved only a little step sideways so I was able to try again. This time I did better getting myself to a position of top of this hurkin rock and I stop atop it to get my balance before I tried to mount the horse. If Storm was going to step away, this would have been the time he'd pull that stunt, but he didn't. He stood quietly and let me put my foot into the stirrup and throw my other leg over his back. Even when I searched for my off stirrup, the horse stood solid.

Then when I asked him to move, the horse still stood solid. Storm wasn't sure he wanted to proceed in the woods with me on this back. With Dandy in front of him, the horse had moved out at a pretty good clip, now he didn't want to move at all. When I did get him moving it was at a snail's pace. Storm definitely had little confidence about going down the trail without following whether it be Dandy or me.

I guess if I had to pick whether I'd ride a horse that wanted to run when frightened or one that wanted to be super cautious, the cautious horse would definitely be safe. Although I didn't feel all that confident about having a horse this restricted in movement between my legs. It was hard to tell what was going through his mind and it was sooooo obvious that something was. It was like waiting for the other shoe to drop knowing it had to fall sometime.

I had really hoped that Storm would relearn some natural movement out on the trails but he sure wasn't going to do that moving like this. This little walk was every bit as intimidated at the worst western horses I have ever seen but it was going to have to do. It was obvious to me that Storm was going to have to grow his comfort level if we were ever going to accomplish in the woods what I hoped.

To aid in that I did a lot of talking and stroking to keep him moving and get us around these trails. Storm did keep moving for me but he was definitely resistant about it and the farther we travelled it just didn't get any better.

I decided we would make the same loop around these trails as we had done that day with Dandy to see if that would build his comfort just a little but to no avail. Before I gave up for the day, I took him on one more deer trail that led back to the one we had entered on. Then I took him back out the same way we'd come.

Storm inched his way along even when he knew we were heading for home. The only thing that broke him loose at all was going up that steep hill we'd previously gone done. The horse could not do that mincey little walk and travel up that hill. He was forced to drive underneath himself if he wanted to get out of those woods. The steeper the hill got, the lower Storm dropped his head checking out the ground and looking for trolls but as he did so he stepped up underneath himself and pushed his weight up the hill.

It was probably the slowest ascent on that hill I've ever made but I knew it was the best work that Storm had done on the whole trail. To be honest, it was probably the best work the horse had done in the last two years. Once we hit the top of the hill, he sucked back into a slower walk but it was better than what it had been the rest of the ride.
Instead of going out through the RV spaces, I turned one trail up which left us a log to maneuver before we hit the road back to the barns and my horse trailer. I wasn't sure what Storm was going to do about that log but I was hoping he would remember the other log we'd gone over and do the same.

As we came closer to that log, Storm did not fish tail or do any other kind of evasive maneuver. He just kept moving towards the log as directed. When the thing was right there in front of him he stopped dead in his tracks but square. I put my legs on him and he dropped his head down and tried to push it with his nose.

Now in fairness to Storm I should tell you this log is a pretty big log. The other's we'd gone over were at least half the size if not smaller. I knew I was pushing it when I took him this way because that log was surely above his knees so seeing him try to push it made me laugh.

I don't think that Storm was amused at my laughter but he did try to go over the log. His first attempt he did not step high enough and his hoof banged into the thing. The horse shook his head as I put my legs on him again. This time he stepped high enough to go over the log with the first foot and the second one drug a bit.

To make it with the hind two, he did a funky hop that caused me to lurch forward in the saddle and jarred my back. However, Legs has done the same on more than one occasion over that silly log so I was not totally unprepared for this method of maneuvering it. I leaned forward and hugged Storm. He really had come through a difficult test and I wanted him to know it was appreciated. For the first time on the trails, I heard that deep sigh that tells me we have progress.

To be continued.........

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