Region 5 Championships.......a Little Discomfort.....

Part 1

Saturday morning I ran into a friend in the rest room. She asked me if she'd told me about the problems she'd had trying to get her mare bred this season. When I answered, "No" she proceeded to tell me all about her ordeal.

It seems she found a Fresian stallion on the internet and decided she'd like to breed her black Arabian mare to this horse. She called the woman owning the horse to make arrangement to bring her mare to this stallion in Salem. The stallion owner said she just so happened to be coming to Washington. Since she'd be in the neighborhood she'd swing by and pick my friend's mare up.

I have to admit as she was telling me this story, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. Just because someone might have the horse you'd like to breed to doesn't mean that person is to be trusted. It would take more for me than a conversation on the phone to allow someone to pick up my mare and take her to a facility I hadn't seen. But I didn't interrupt and let my friend go on with her story.

It seems that when the stallion owner arrived, my friend was in the middle of dealing with another issue. A dog of hers had attacked another dog and this wasn't the first time. My friend was grappling with euthanizing her dog so this stallion owner said she'd take the dog instead. By the time this woman left she had not only my friend's mare but her great Dane as well.

Not long after this my friend was heading to Salem for a horse show. She called this stallion owner to say she'd like to stop in to visit her mare. The woman directed my friend to give her a call when she arrived in town but when that happened, the stallion owner didn't answer her phone........not once during the entire horse show.

By now the friend was beginning to worry. Not being able to check in on her mare caused the alarm bells to ring. I think it was when she received a bill from a vet that she contacted the vet to see if her mare was ok.

The vet's response was the mare was in good weight. That bothered my friend because the mare had been over weight when she left......actually my friend's exact words were "hog fat!" If the mare was in "good" weight now, she had been loosing weight.

According to my friend something about her questions triggered concern in the vet. This vet had only been on the premises when someone met her at the gate and escorted her to the appropriate stall. Other than that she never saw another animal. Now she was beginning to wonder if this had been deliberate. She decided to drop in unannounced.

When the vet made her unscheduled visit, no one was around. She let herself in and took a good look around. From there she contacted the authorities. My friend said she called her and told her she needed to come get her mare. This place was full of badly neglected and starving horses and other animals as well. I don't remember the exact number of horses but it was a big one...........the fresian stallion was one of those horses.

My friend did get her mare back but not her dog. The dog was caught up in the legal system because the friend had relinquished ownership to the stallion owner. She would have to wait for the courts to regain possession of this animal.

As you can imagine my friend was quite upset by this whole turn of events. She has been involved in horse and animal rescues before and is quite emotional about the problem. Having it happen to critters important to her had her pretty distressed.

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

A Lot More Discomfort



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Region 5 Championships.......a Little Waiting, a Little Schooling

Part 1

The next day Richard was supposed to arrive around noon. But noon came and went before I ever heard from Richard. When I did it was a brief text telling me he'd see me at about noon the following day.

By this time I was beginning to get worried. Getting everything done with my Arabian yearling colt at the Region 4 All Arabian Horse Championships had taken at least two people and I'd accomplished things over a couple of days. Not throwing too much at the colt at one time had helped keep him from getting anymore stressed than he already was. . I expected I would also need that kind of help here and I had hoped to do it in the same manner........spreading things out over a couple of days.

Also I had some logistical issues that were different here. What lighting there was in the portable barn was compromised by the glaring sun. Finding the "right" spot to clip so I could see what I was doing was next to impossible. Then I wouldn't be able to sand feet or polish them in front of my stall like I'd done in Salem. There the area was paved with asphalt. While in Monroe, the portable barn was set up on sand. Finding a safe place to do Rhet's feet was going to take some searching. Having to do those feet by myself probably next to impossible.

Granted these issues would have been less had I purchased a stall for grooming. Then I wasn't really sure what to expect of Rhet in cross ties at a horse show anyway. The colt can be so off the wall about new surroundings. I would have hated to spend that cash and not been able to make use of the stall for grooming because my colt was bouncing off the walls.So at $135 for a tack stall I just hadn't felt I could handle that added expense for a single horse in a single class.

Being a long term planner having these kinds of issues at the actual horse show really stresses me. I like things in neat little packages. I do ok with the usual little surprises of life throws my way but when the important things I thought I had covered come unraveled, I've been known to unravel right along with them.

The last thing I needed was to have Rhet pinging anymore than normal because of me so I was trying to spend my time "winding down" in hopes I'd roll a little better with the flow. For me that meant a lot of time watching classes. Nothing does my heart better than horses........

Jesse called me again when he was ready to school Rhet. I went through the same process getting to the stall ahead of him and haltering the colt as I had the day before. I hoped by the second day that Rhet would be better, but then I knew he had actually been worse that second day I got him ready for Cheryl so I expected the same on this day.

I went into the stall with everything I needed in my hands. I stored the halters in Rhet's grain bucket as I turned around to lock the stall door. The colt was already flying to the back corner to escape me before I'd even made my deposit in the bucket. By the time I'd retrieved the stable halter to catch the colt, he had turned to face me and was blowing like he'd seen a snake.......or worse.

I looked at the colt standing erect with his eyes bulging out of his head and had to laugh. Now have I mentioned that Rhet doesn't really take to laughing? It hasn't taken him long around me to figure out if I laugh......he's probably doing something really stupid..........so now the sound of my laugh caused Rhet to question his fear.

It wasn't a big question.......but a question none the less. He came down just enough for his eyes to stop bulging and the snorting to stop. As I approached him with the halter he raised up a notch again but didn't spin around to try to escape. Instead he tried getting up on his tip toes as high as possible hoping he could deter me from getting the halter on. It's a good thing I'm tall and my arms are long. I was able to keep up with him to get the halter in place. Once I'd flipped the crown piece over his poll and it was clear to the colt I "had" him, he sighed and relaxed.

That didn't last long, however. As I took him to the bucket to grab the schooling halter his alarm bells went off again. Rhet forgot I already had him and tried to flee. This time he hit the end of the lead and it startled him. The colt almost flipped over.......and I swear it was more of a reaction that to anything I did. I was just standing there watching to see what he'd do next.

The way the colt threw himself, I had to take the lead to catch him so he really wouldn't fall. At first he fought against the pressure until he realized a fall was coming, then he braced against get his feet back underneath. I was relieved to see some sense from the colt.......and more relieved that he hadn't fallen in that awkward way he seemed to be going down. Now if I could just get the schooling halter on before anything else happened.

As I turned the colt around it was clear he was a little rattled by his near fall. I took advantage of this lapse to get the schooling halter threaded onto my left arm and to grab his nose. Before Rhet knew what hit him I had the crown of the schooling halter over his poll. Moving it up into the correct position from caused him to start but only briefly. Once I took my hand away the colt settled again.

We exited the stall just as Jesse Saldana was walking up. Rhet looked at Jesse approaching. Then he glanced at me. I swear the look on his face read, "NOT this guy again! What's he going to want today?"

I think Jesse saw the look too. He chuckled just a little as he took the lead. Then he walked Rhet over to the middle of the open space and began working on Rhet "holding" his position.

It was clear from the beginning of the session that Rhet's impression of Jesse had changed. On this day the colt knew that Jesse was in charge. He was doing what he could to give Jesse what he asked. He was confused part of the time about Jesse's requests, but he was trying. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Rhet was applying himself.

The colt still favored dropping out to the right when he felt pressured. However, he was beginning to grasp the correction. When Jesse moved the whip towards the right, the colt's drifting would stop.

Rhet was also beginning to get the idea of releasing at the throat. I was beginning to see the kind of length from that neck that I see sometimes at home. Jesse and Rhet were going to make a good team.

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

A Little Discomfort




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Dessage Grand Prix Free Style

Enjoy! Pretty amazing.........

Region 5 Championships.......Schooling

Part 1

Of course, the Arabian colt just couldn't walk out of the stall like a perfect gentleman. No, our Rhet had to come bolting out of the stall like a mountain lion was after him. I don't know if it was pent up energy from being coped up or if the horse was still suffering anxiety over his move.


I was glad that Jesse Saldana was standing over by the practice arena instead of up near the portable barn. Rhet probably would have flattened him otherwise. Rhet did gain his composure once he was outside and away from the barn. He was no longer pushing past me anyways.

Jesse asked me to stand the horse up to show him what he knew. While I might do ok teaching a horse how to stand up, I still feel out of my element when asked to show what my horse knows. I just don't get the same thing in front of a trainer I can get at home and this time wasn't any different.

Rhet did stand up but his was light on one hind and not really paying attention. He was quiet and not really the pistol we all know him to be. My attitude about it pretty much is "that's why I hired a trainer" so I pretty much let Rhet be.......and just looked at Jesse like "well, this is it!"

I probably should have my hand slapped for doing this. I'm sure it doesn't help my horse in his learning process but I just feel like I'm the "basics" guy and the trainer is the "finish" person. Guess I need to get over it if I ever plan to show this horse myself.

Jesse looked at my weak impersonation of a halter handler without readable expression but I'm sure his wheels were turning. He probably wondered how this colt could be the same horse he'd seen shown at Region 4.

Before I handed Rhet over to Jesse I reminded him of Rhet's issues in the ring. That floating away from the judges was the biggest issue. Then there was no trotting when asked. Both things would be easily dealt with by Jesse I figured.

When Jesse took the lead, Rhet immediately transformed from the disinterested colt to a horse with a big attitude. It was clear from the start that Rhet's opinion of Jesse wasn't much..........the look in his eye was "Who in the heck do you think you are?"

Jesse knew immediately what that look meant. He made short order of letting Rhet know just WHO he was. I thought a couple of times that Rhet was going to strike at Jesse but the handler saw it too so he diverted the colt's attention to block it.

It didn't take long before Rhet had it figured out that Jesse had his number. The colt was still trying to escape through his right shoulder but it was getting better with each request.

Jesse worked at raising the colt up and then getting him to relax his throat. The closer Rhet got to giving more than he was used to, the more he worked at escaping to the right.

It was interesting to watch the corrections. Jesse slapped at his shoulder with the halter whip but never really quite touched him. The thing just snapped in the air in the vicinity and Rhet bounced off the other way. Quicker than the horse could escape to the left, Jesse corrected that side too. Me, I was still thinking about what to do for the first correction when the whole thing was over. It was a learning process for both Rhet and me.

Jesse didn't work with Rhet for long........but then neither did Cheryl Fletcher......or me for that matter. Short, sweet and to the point then we put the colt away. There would be more schooling tomorrow.

Rhet went back in his stall with a quizzical look on his face. He was still trying to figure out who Jesse was and what he was really up to but his focus quickly changed when I tried to take the schooling halter off.

Now you'd think as much as that colt hates having that schooling halter on, that he'd be glad to get the thing off. However, all Rhet can think about is anything or anyone anywhere near his poll. I had to put the stable halter around his neck to even begin to take the schooling halter off.

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

A Little Waiting....A Little Schooling



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Region 5 Championships.......More on Settling in.....Rhet's Way

Part 1

As I've mentioned before the weather was unseasonably warm during the Region 5 All Arabian Horse Championships. The portable barn that my Arabian colt was in were facing the afternoon sun. Like most portable barns I've seen there is no overhang on the roof. That means the sun shines directly into the stall and facing the afternoon sun the horses can get pretty warm.

Because Rhet has trouble in new surroundings I was checking on him quite a bit. Then when the sun would begin shining into his stall, I stepped up those checks even more. Imagine my surprise to find that Rhet had figured his own way to deal with the heat.

In the hottest part of the day as I was coming to make my usual check, I looked across the open space to see the heat rising in waves off the hot sand. I wondered how poor Rhet was doing in the stall in that kind of heat. Looking towards the stall there was no sign of Rhet. I panicked just a bit wondering if he'd decided to make his escape through the newly modified opening he created in the back wall.

When I got up to the stall and peered in, I found my horse tucked tightly up against the sidewall standing in the shade. I went in to check him to find some evidence of sweat but very little considering how the heat was radiating off the sand outside.

On a later inspection, I found the horse laying on the ground in the coolest part of the stall. Rhet arose when he saw me but laid back down as soon as I backed off just a bit. That's pretty much what the horse did each day during the heat. There was no standing in front of that hot door for Rhet.

Sometime Thursday afternoon, I spotted Jesse Saldana at the show. He was coming back to school the horse that had brought him to Region 5. I'd thought Jesse was arriving on Friday but as it turned out, it was the class he was riding that was scheduled for Friday. We exchanged cell numbers and he told me he'd give me a call when he was ready to school Rhet. Then I went to the horse trailer to retrieve my schooling halter and my halter whip. I wanted it to be handy whenever Jesse was ready since I knew it was going to take me a little finagling to get that halter on Rhet.

When Jesse did call, I was up at the arena and he told me he'd meet me at Rhet's stall. I made a beeline out to get the colt ready. I didn't really want to wrestle with Rhet with Jesse standing there waiting. It's stressful enough by myself without onlookers.

I hoped the horse would have resolved his issues with the schooling halter. I'd been working with him at home and he was doing much better. But the new surroundings and the resulting stress made the colt leery of pretty much everything. Even when I came up with the stable halter in hand, the colt went flying back to the wall trying to escape.

The scariest part for me is always the throwing of his head. Since the horse broke my nose I've gotten pretty gun shy about his head anywhere near my face. And of course when Rhet gets stressed the first thing he does is start to throw that head. Trying to keep my tension level down so it doesn't affect the horse is a trick in itself.

Once I got my arm around the horse's neck, he quit trying to escape but he sure didn't relax. He stood there with his nose up in the rafters hoping I couldn't reach to get his nose into that halter. When I did get the nose band slide up into place, Rhet dropped his head just a little but he still was braced badly at the poll.

There wasn't much chance putting the schooling halter on was going to be easy. I buckled the stable halter and then threaded the schooling halter over my left hand. Once it was in place, I grabbed the colt's nose with my left hand and held on tight. I gave the colt a minute for the hormones from the hand twitch to hit. Then I carefully tried to pull the schooling halter up onto his face and over his poll.

Rhet was having none of it. He went flying backwards straight into the corner. Standing with his butt in the corner would give me a barrier to keep the colt still while I positioned the halter. I was careful as I followed him back not to leave the colt an opening to escape.

Rhet is smart and escaping that corner was already running through his ming. He tried swinging his hip out into me to make the turn around the corner but I was ready for him and managed to keep him trapped. Once he stopped against the wall, I shook my left hand at him just a little to remind him he needed to stand still if he didn't want that hold on his nose to get tighter.

Rhet isn't dumb and he doesn't like pain or the twitch. As soon as I reminded him the colt sighed a small sigh and came down just a bit........not much.......but just enough to let go of some of the tension in his body. As I slide that halter up his face he looked at me. I could see his wheels turning. If I could get the halter over his poll and beyond quickly enough, the colt would quit fighting all together. I took a deep breathe and I went for it in one fast but smooth move. Catching an eye or an ear would surely result in a major temper tantrum.

Whenever I'm in that kind of a situation, I try and take a deep breathe before I even start the move. I think that action settles my horse some as well as me and it gives me a better chance at pulling the maneuver off. Even though I've gotten lots of practice on this tactic with Rhet, it doesn't always go well.

This first time while Jesse was waiting for me it took a couple of tries before I finally got the schooling halter in place. By this time I was drenched in sweat. I had sweat in my eyes and my armpits were swimming with my shirt sticking to me clear down to my waist. Just the way I want to look when presenting a colt like Rhet to a trainer like Jesse Saldana........

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

Schooling



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