Friesian Stallion Training Journal

[shoveltrash]

our journey continues.....from here:
http://www.enlightenedequitation.com/membe...pic=7164&st=315

my horses have now been at their new yard for three days!  they seem to be settling well now, thank goodness.

just today, i was talking with a new friend there - she asked me "where is your Friesian?  i'd love to see him"
well......i'd left him in the concrete wash bay, crossed tied.  so as i'm motioning in that direction here comes Little Buddy strolling down the barn aisle   , sans-headcollar/halter!!!!! believe it or not, he went straight to his stall & walked right in it as i opened the door!  i was gobsmacked!  he COULD HAVE gone wild running all over the place (and there was a show going on!).  the gal says to me, "oh isn't he so smart, and so sweet"    :lol:
not too shabby for a 4 1/2 year old stallion  
*altho, i MUST REMEMBER to clip the underside of the halter securely....... *  we don't want to repeat that!
it is very very reassuring to know that my training work is still 'there.'  
also of note:  LB seems to really take a lot of comfort in the grooming routine, and tacking up, etc.  he visibly relaxes & sighs, as if to say "ah...THIS i know."

training-wise, all i've done is some pootling about the grounds at walk, with a bit of trot, a smidge of canter.  no serious work, not yet.  however what we have done has felt great!

i now know, Iverzon is afraid of NOTHING.  if he spooks, it's because he is playing around!
he did not bat an eye at:  Buffalo, Brahma cattle, Zebras, donkeys, giant toroises, GIANT cross country jumps (scarey ones at that!), ponds with loads of waterfowl, goats, sheep, twenty two dogs all barking at us (!!!).........etc.

the only 'training-work' i had to do was re-school "stand still for mounting."  i was hand walking out in the cross country course, and he was *up* and not wanting to stand still.  back to the old back up back up, then foot in stirrup, PRAISE for not moving for a couple of seconds, repeat.  we did this for a few minutes, then i was able to get back on   .  nothing like a whirling dervish stallion when you want to mount  :lol: .

under saddle, i'm now able to catch him early before he goes 'wild' over other horses, paying very close attention to HIS attention --  nipping it in the bud by bending & counterbending to refocus.  he was so good today!  even around the hunter/jumpers schooling for their show.

Nico (my other boy, yearling colt) is taking everything in stride.  he wonders what all of LB's "fuss" is about!  i guess he'll figure out when HIS hormones kick in   .

postscript:  every time i take LB out, i can hear wee Peanut (my mini) whinnying across the facility for him   .  he MISSES him.  (trying not to cry.....Peanut has his own little herd of same-size buddies now, and a pig that is bigger than he is!).

an inspirational pic to start off my "Part 2" saga:
(from our recent clinic - note to self, i have since dropped my stirrups one hole)

[Flashback]

here comes Little Buddy strolling down the barn aisle  , sans-headcollar/halter!!!!! believe it or not, he went straight to his stall & walked right in it as i opened the door! i was gobsmacked!

   he must like his new *pad*!

i just love that pic ............ you and him are so *together* that you look like *one*

im so happy that at least your horses are working out for you at the moment.

[Jennifer]

That is SO absolutely adorable that LB walked right into his stall!  I LOVE IT!   :P   So glad to hear they are all doing well, but I'm sorry Peanut is missing his buddy.  He must not realize that he's a little guy, just like the others that he's with.  

~Jennifer

[Sonora]

How fabulous LB is such a star Love the new look journal! Can you take Peanut to visit LB? Bless him! Hope he settles in soon it is not as if he is all on his own he has new friends to make that is all Love your pic too - Beautiful  

[shoveltrash]

i believe Peanut see himself as a BIG horse   , not a puny little guy  :lol: .  he seems to be settling better, but i hope to get him out to 'visit' his buddies soon.

another good day!  
i have to say, moving my boys to this yard is going to do WONDERS for them both.  the exposure to so much stimuli, and so many horses, they'll not bat an eye when taken somewhere else!

there was an eventing/jumping clinic there today, but i snuck in to ride in the covered arena in between sessions....had some good work - LB is a TAD reluctant to move forward at trot like he usually does.  he felt a bit stiff.  however he may still be sore from his all-nighter fence run -- his first night there he spent the whole night long galloping the fence line!  AND crashed a metal gate, complete with numerous scrapes, etc.  
LB & Nico now get turned out in a different area, away from the girls but sharing a fence with geldings   .

due to this i'm not pushing our schooling too hard.  we got GREAT S/I at walk & at trot!  bending & counterbending exercises are paying off.  he still wants to take the left lead when first asked for the right, but i am sure it is *me* somehow being slightly askew.  about time for S to come visit & give me a lesson!
the clinic riders returned as we were finishing up, and LB got excited but was completely manageable  B) .

after untacking/washing him down (with halter securely snapped shut!), i put him in his stall & asked Javier (sp?) if we could open his dutch door on the back side of the stall ("abra el dooro?" :lol: ).  all of the stalls have doors on both sides w/overhanging roofs.  front having a sliding barred door, back having dutch doors.  LB's top dutch door has been kept closed, because we felt he would get too excited over his neighbor......
we opened it today!
LB nickered & touched noses with his neighboring gelding (a gorgeously colored Appy), but didn't try to climb over the door!  hooray   .  
i MUST get piccies of him & his neighbor 'talking' with their heads together, like co-conspirators  :lol: .

i won't go into the details of yard life (bore everyone to death!), but it is fascinating being around a lot of other horse owners.  i bite my tongue, a LOT.  
....over shoes, training, saddle fitting, health, etc etc etc etc......
there is one sweet young girl, who reminds me of myself when i was younger (dyed black hair, punk rock boyfriend).  she has a beautiful dainty TB mare - who she is being taught to ride by see-sawing her mouth back & forth to get her head down (!!!).  ack.  poor mare is high strung & sucking back, with a wagging head  :( .  i'm hoping to recruit some students for S!!!!!
 

 

[shoveltrash]

ps - i'm so heartened by the "good behavior" that i may yet keep Nico intact! ('was determined to geld him this fall.....i think i'll wait now).

oh, AND i have all week OFF from work!!!!!
yippeeee

one of the "fun" photos from LB & Nico's first night at their new home:

[epona]

So pleased things are working out Trish  Your boys are a credit to you - you should be proud.

[Linda Baia]

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:  Trish, youwill have to learn DIPLOMACY  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

I follow my road, I do not try to CONVERT people into my horse management. However, I am always happy to explain what and why I am doing it. If somebody asks for help, I am happy to give it.

But I do not try to evangelize, it is asking for trouble  <_<

I hope you get some more students for S. I am sure you will, because you and Iverzon are role model. i am sure you will raise interest in your own training technique.

Now get some piiiiiiiiiiiiccccccccccssssssss!

Funny enough my yard is my social life, but I do NOT speak about horse training. I speak about it on EE  :lol:  

[Jennifer]

HI, Trish:

I'm SO glad to hear it's going well at the new place!  I am getting ready to be in the same position that you're in - biting my tongue - next month, because I'm moving Fantasia to a busy boarding barn.   I figure that it's time for her to see the "real world" now that she's three.  Plus, I'll have people to ride out on the trails with, when the time comes for that.  :-)   In the meantime, she needs the exposure that she'll get there, before she goes under saddle.  

I'm excited about the move, but I leased a horse at this barn before and I know what I'm in for.  Barefoot is no big deal because lots of the horses here are, but treeless, bitless, and lightness are all going to look really strange to some of the regulars.  Still, the people are nice, and it was mainly the younger ones who thought they knew it all and asked so many questions of me last year when I went bitless and let the horse go on a looser contact.   They didn't even see that he had issues, going around completely hollow, head up in the sky, upside-down neck, completely blocked and tense and like a ton of bricks in your hands.  That was my biggest surprise - that they didn't see the problems the horse was having.  

Anyway, I always just smiled and told them what I was trying to do in short and easy to understand sentences, but never acted like they should do the same, and always acted like it was really just an experiment to see if it helped him.  And truthfully it was, because I'm no trainer, so what do I know?  You'll never convert anyone by preaching; only by showing them the difference.  I remember that I didn't canter that horse for the first month.  I found out after agreeing to lease him that he was still 3, and he'd been ridden since two, and had spent his third year doing hunter/jumper!!  I was appalled!!   I didn't ride at all for two weeks; just spent time grooming and hanging out, doing a little ground work.  Then I set out to walk in a relaxed frame, then moved to trot eventually.  I think they thought I was scared to canter, but I really didn't think he was ready to canter if he couldn't walk or trot without being tense.  But the day I finally asked him to canter, another rider was in the arena and she said, "That's the best canter I've ever seen him do!"  So some people will notice, and they'll "get it", while others will be completely oblivious.   I found there was an obvious difference in the people who asked questions out of interest, and those who asked questions because I was doing something different that they didn't appreciate or understand.  

Sorry to ramble on and on.  Have fun!!  I'll bet you have the prettiest and most well-behaved boys around.  

~Jennifer

[Linda Baia]

Thanks very much Jennifer for expalining "much better" than me !

It is exactly how I behave in my yard. I "experiment", Hey ! I am no-trainer, I am only coming back after 20 yrs break.

But people notice it!

Leading by example is my motto!

Sometime is better to be blind. I came back home a couple of times with my stomac churning.

But people change their way of doing ...

[Dark Cloud]

Trish its so great the horses are settling in so well and I am glad to hear you are thinking of keeping Nico as a "real" boy, somehow I had just assumed that you were going to bring him on as a stallion. It sounds like a wonderful facility and you sound really well, have a great week off.

[Jennifer]

It is exactly how I behave in my yard. I "experiment", Hey ! I am no-trainer, I am only coming back after 20 yrs break.

But people notice it!

Leading by example is my motto!

Good motto, Muriel!  I found that it often helped to just remind myself, and sometimes remind the questioners, that we all have different goals with our horses.  

Lucky for me, Michael (trainer) will come out to the new barn for me, so I'll still have my good trainer helping us along.  

~Jennifer

[shoveltrash]

oh i have the whole week off from work!!!!!
heaven
i SHOULD be packing stuff for my impending move.....doing practical things......NOPE! :lol:
i'd rather have some horse-therapy thankyouverymuch.

Little Buddy was more his studly-self today....he was good for grooming, fiddling, tacking up.  but when we schooled in the covered arena (right beside a large herd of mares at pasture), he was definitely, ah, *distracted* at times.
it is a training opportunity it is a training opportunity it is a training opportunity
 :lol:
nothing 'terrible,' but he was tense and predictably distracted at certain points in the arena.  def more FORWARD moving today though!

i spent the last half of our short schooling session without stirrups (brave me!).  i practiced sitting trot, and much to my surprise i really *felt* the side to side swinginess of his movement, much more so than when i have stirrups!  i still don't feel quite as secure as i'd like sans-stirrups (he has pretty big movement), but i really should work on this regularly <ugh>.
no lateral work at trot, LB was just too tense for this.  we worked mainly on bending & FOCUS.  did get much more consistent right lead canter today!  REALLY exaggerated the bend to the right prior to asking for it, and trying to keep me correct too.  
there were all these silly JUMPS in the way!  <_< left over from the clinic yesterday.  the NERVE  :P

i posted my clinic photos on UDBB yesterday.....and now i'm worried about riding LB with too short of a neck!  :unsure: (feedback there can be brutally honest, which is GOOD i suppose).  there is just NO WAY to ride with longer reins, when he is acting studly/distracted!  i wouldn't be safe  :( .  
must mull this over in my mind.....and run it by S, see what she thinks!
ok Stacy, TIME FOR A LESSON PLEASE <stamps foot>

however, all things considered i'm still very pleased with everything  
ps - yes, agree totally with you both LEAD BY EXAMPLE.  i am doing it!
pps - lotsa piccies here, of my boy's new home!
http://www.enlightenedequitation.com/membe...topic=12933&hl=

[shoveltrash]

had a WONDROUS ride today!!!!!!!!!

S came & gave me a lesson (it was raining, no worries 'cause we had a covered arena to ride in!   ).

LB is still resistant to bend to the right at walk/trot, but we are improving.....inside leg coupled w/inside rein brought out until he bends/gives, then a 'give' with the inside rein to give him the opportunity to 'carry himself' correctly.  after each reminder, he progressively got better.  AND as he increased his bend to the right, he got much more round/swingy/through!!!  even at walk  
to the left i just had to keep myself from the habit of using the inside rein (i am left hand dominant when riding it seems, and tend to CREATE the curling of the neck to the left   ).  constant contact with the outside rein, correct positioning of ME for appropriate bend - not over bend.  VOILA - a nicely supple, on the bit, really really wonderful moving horse!

we had a *hiccup* or two, due to distractions from mares in the adjoining field.....and when a rider approached midway thru the lesson (yes, on a mare).  funny, once the horse/rider entered the arena to work, he chilled out just fine.

'had much better canter work today!  i have to remind myself to keep the feeling of "elbows down" - that seems to make a big difference in my position at canter, making my seat deeper/more correct.

am very very pleased.  and i almost FORGOT, i am signed up for a schooling show this coming saturday   .  
the judge?  oh GORY.  that nasty man who conducted the stressage clinic i attended, which was so awful :unsure: .
~~stay positive~~
maybe we'll just SHOW HIM!  :lol:   how it should be done    

[shoveltrash]

i honestly don't know what to DO with myself, having a whole week off from work and doing nothing but horsey-stuff!!! :lol:

i rode again today, but didn't do a whole lot of school-work.....LB seemed tired from yesterday, and i don't want to sour him on it.  he was MUCH better in regards to the harem of mares at pasture that border the arena though.
he was really stretching over his topline today, which also indicated that he might be muscle-tired i think.  got maybe 5-10 minutes of nice basic w/t/c, then went strolling around the grounds.  ended up trekking down the gravel road to some trails.  however it was very very rocky, and i didn't stay on the trails long (also very WET, i got soaked from overhead branches!).  headed back home....we passed a lot of horses along the way, LB is getting better & better at handling himself!  i went back in the school for five more minutes, really doing a lot of stretchy trot.
note:  we got right lead canter, every time! B)
i made sure to emphasize bend to the right, and not let him tilt his head towards the left as is his habit.

forgot to add to yesterdays entry - S wants me to JUMP LB   .  ack no!  she said it would be good for him....i'm just not so sure about ME  :lol: .
we'll see.
trying not to stress about this upcoming show   .