Bareback

Who doesn’t love to ride bareback? Come on now raise your hands? Ok then, if you really don’t love bareback ask yourself why? Is it balance, comfort, security? 

First time I get on a horse it is bareback, 100% of the time, ok well I didn’t for Larz, but that will have to be another story, so 98% of the time. Just trying to be honest with you all! I love to start people bareback too. If they can ride bareback then they can ride anyway they want. It is all about balance bareback not about grip. 

The reason I am going on so about bareback is that Hailey is about the most comfy horse I’ve been on lately bareback. Not only is she nice and round, but on the wide side too. Frenchie, my other mustang, is narrow and bareback on him is much more challenging. I had only about an hour the other day to ride and so forgoing the whole saddle process saves a good 5 minutes, hey 5 minutes is a lot! So Becky got on Shaea and me on Hailey and we had a nice ride up Svarverud. I admit I did not attempt a canter even though we had some nice canters on the New Year ’s Day ride; I wasn’t quite ready for any shenanigans.  Svarverud has a nice gentle hill to start, then climbs a nice steep one later on. It is only about a mile to the end, maybe less, but very good winter conditioning. The girls were huffing and puffing of course when we got to the top, but a bit of grass and they were happy horses. 

Then last week Trina asked if we could go and practice on the IHOR course for OHSET (ooh lots of letters…Oregon High School Equestrian Teams has a class called In Hand Obstacle Relay.)  IHOR is kind of silly in my book, but they take it very seriously. The obstacles are mostly poles on the ground, maybe a bridge, backing, side pass, a bit of trot. We decided since we were really going to practice in hand, we would just take bareback pads and do a little riding. 

Hailey was a champ at the course. The one silly thing about this course is they smash it into the smallest space they can I think. So they say trot from a to b, which is only 15 ft! This actually is really hard, one must really have your horse tuned in to trot now, stop no,. Etc. As much as I am calling it silly, technically it really can be hard to get it all just perfect. 

Anyway we got on after playing a bit and all was good. Hailey was distracted by the fact that in this particular arena the stall open into the arena, and the horses that were in those stall had just been fed. On the other side were another couple of horses in a more open shed, also eating their dinner happily. Each time we would pass by, Hailey really wanted to help them with the crumbs they had pushed out or even the pieces sticking through the bars (hay was in feeders, not on the ground.) It took a few times around for her to keep her focus, but she pulled through and listened in the end. Walk, trot, playing on the ground poles, she was good. Not too accurate on the sideways and backup, but going and trying the heck out of it all. 

Trina asked if I would get on Boo and try a canter as she did not feel safe bareback trying it. So in my innocence I said she should get on Hailey and walk her around. Trina boosted me up on Boo, him being taller, and then she found a bucket to jump on Hailey. Well, she was not graceful about it and Hailey was not having anything to do with that, and pop, off went Trina. Not a huge scene, but enough of a buck that Trina didn’t have a chance. Trina totally blamed herself for basically kicking Hailey in the side on the way up and then grabbing on with her legs as she began to protest. Apologies to Hailey and Trina then got a leg up from another person and much more gracefully and all looked great. However, it seems that Hailey was still a bit tense because as soon as she started passed the horses in the stalls one of them chose to flip his bucket which sent Hailey sideways in a bit of a start, this time, Trina jumped off to avoid another scene. That experiment slightly failed, Trina just hung out with Hailey while I went and performed the canter that Trina didn’t want to do. I guess now we know why…

I got back on Hailey and she was fine. Started me thinking about what someone said to me once about Mustangs being one person horses. I don’t think it is totally true, however, in her brand new state of becoming a riding horse, she wasn’t ready for any new feels and sudden moves. I don’t think this will last, but she is a sensitive horse and so we will have to find those things she needs desensitizing too as part of our program.  Still got to love Bareback!

New Year's Day Ride

I love this little mare! She is so expressive and at the same time reserved, curious and logical, practical and ruler of the herd! I mentioned before how she has everyone under her control, but really I have never seen Larz like this with any of the mares that have been through here. He never leaves her side and does everything she wants, keeps everyone away from the pile of hay they are sharing,scratches her when she bids him to, bla, bla, bla, Kind of sickening that Larz could be so taken! He is going to miss her when she finds her forever person!

So I have started a new tradition for my herd and that is that every horse that is rideable gets ridden on the First Day of the New Year! This way we are sure to have a good year! Well, even though Hailey is just newly rideable I figured she might as well get out there. We have had several nice moments in the arena, and 3 small "trail" rides before this. However, she was so good that I figured she was up to the task. And no small task it was. 13 horses all together, she being the greenest, but several others that are a bit young too, 4 gaited horses, which immediately tells one that there is going to be some speed involved, 1 person bareback, and several youths. We started out straight down a slippery hill, which in hindsight I totally would have avoided. All the babies wanted to run and jump and are slipping and sliding all over. Hailey held it together quite nicely in the midst of all that excitement, although she too was "chomping at the bit" (although I was riding in a hackamore...)

Slide time over we climbed up and out the other side and soon caught up to the "fast" group who was waiting for us as a boot on Larz had failed. Those pulled off and put away, off went the "fast" group again, leaving our "slow" group horses in a bit of a tizzy. Meanwhile we realized that one horses saddle bags had failed and needed to be removed it too. Amazing Hailey on her first big ride comes to the rescue and we get that horse to face us and she handed me her rope to hold him so she could at least get off. Hailey stood perfectly, not a foot off the ground. Pack removed, rider remounted, rope returned, off we head on the short cut to get ahead of the fast group. Puddles, tight spaces, hills and rocks, she trip trapped through it all. Very carefully and willingly, really not a moment that she didn't feel like a seasoned trail horse. Amazing really if you think about it. A month ago we weren't sure she could ever be rideable and today she has completed her first 2 hour trail ride with flying colors, even though she was a bit tired.

Introductions and more

Hailey Is in Town

Now, so far, all the young horses who have come here have gravitated to Tresa, the old girl, as their first friend and protector. So naturally, I thought I would put Hailey out with Tresa for a couple of days then put them in with the rest of the herd. Within 5 minutes I could tell that was a big mistake. Hooves were flying, if they were in a house there would have been hoof prints on the ceiling. Neither of those girls were having one thing to do with the other. Amazingly enough, neither actually made contact, so either they weren’t serious, or they both have very good range detection!

So off to the herd went Hailey with no waiting period. Chaco, being the manly gelding that he is, naturally took to her IMMEDIATELY! Now you see, her nickname is Chacolina, as she really is a little Chaco. I don’t think her looks had much to do with his infatuation, most likely her lovely mareish ways and smell… She is a bold one and took over the introductions so they happened on her terms and in her way. She took over so completely that even Larz had to do her bidding and keep everyone away from the hay piles they were eating at. Larz may be the boss man, but he was still pussy whipped!

Anyway, I could see that she didn’t need too long of an adjustment period as she seemed quite comfortable in her ways. Her feet needed trimming right away, so that was our first day’s work. We took a nice walk to get to know one another, and then got to work. She was so polite and sweet about all of it. Not a wiggle out of her the whole time. And she is really smart. I have a can of treats in my trimming bucket; yes they get one after a completed hoof. I usually shake it a bit and then put one in the top so they can take it out of that instead of my hand. Well, it only took one time for her to get with the program.

Today in our play session, she again proved her smarts. We were playing the touch it game (find fun things to put your nose on) online and she was doing fine, then had a little trouble reaching down for the soccer ball. She finally got it, so I gave her a treat. Later on our walk about (me on her), she kept seeking out the soccer ball, as I still was giving her treats from her back when she touched it. After the fourth time around I figured I would be out of treats soon, so she got scratches after that. Scratches are not so much of a reward for her, so soon the soccer ball was a thing of the past.

But we have jumped quite a bit. Skipped the whole part about putting on a saddle for the first time, or getting on for the first time or taking our first steps as riding partners. It was all so uneventful that I am having a hard time finding interesting things to say. I could say over and over how smart, cute and willing she is, but that would get pretty old fast. So, in a nutshell, there were no problems with bareback pad, then old english saddle, then heavy western one. The only thing I have to say about saddles and Hailey is that I think English saddles fit her better. Something about her confirmation makes the back of the western one flap up and down when there is no one in it. I do have a back cinch on it , but it is not supper tight yet. 

One interesting tidbit about her start. Since she had a nice circling game already established I decided to try out a flank rope on her. A flank rope is when you put a 22' or longer around their barrel, perhaps where the back cinch would sit. The rope is looped through itself, like a choke collar on a dog, so that as soon as there is no pressure on the rope it loosens. Well, this did create quite a reaction in her. So much so that I did back off on getting on until we had a few sessions of the flank rope and she accepted it. That first time she not only protested with her body, she squealed and made quite the ruckus. I really didn't put any pressure on the rope at all, but just the fact it was there was an affront to her womanhood I guess. Again, she is smart, and she got it pretty quick that as long as she went forward at the lightest touch, it didn't get any tighter. Really it only took 2 times for her to accept the flank rope, 3 times a charm though and 7 is a program. We are up to 4 and will continue for the programs sake and to establish a positive pattern.