Red Pony Farm: A journey in motion

Freedom to bolt . . .

. . . being allowed to create a safety buffer. Could the habitual and abrupt removal of these 2 liberties (dare I say prey animal necessities) cause a horse to worry excessively when faced with fearful situations?

Getting behind on fencing projects inspired me to explore letting Lucy Loose to graze about the property. Lord knows she isn't going off down the trail on her own--nor down that driveway to death yet--especially when all the other are staying behind. Supervising her exploits at liberty has been very enlightening. I have witnessed that she can be very bold when she is uninhibited.

One evening this week she stopped short coming back from our mounted jaunt into the woods to look through the missing stump pile at the view of the cabin she hadn't ever seen from that angle, and at various other changes directly in front of her in that area. One thing that bothered her quite a lot, when we advanced once again, was the large pile of dark green plastic Dan had piled up when cleaning up the debris left from last winters fire wood pile. She gave it very wide berth in passing and blew slightly at it, then hurried along.

As soon as I turned her loose after removing the saddle she rolled in the sand and then went directly over to closely examine that pile of plastic, blow at it some more and touch with her hoof. This puzzled and interested me! Why was this monster so much less worrisome when she was at liberty?

Once I witnessed her stepping onto the great huge steel tail gate that goes on the back of the dump truck to get over it because it was in the path she takes (shortest distance) to visit Dove. She stepped on it coming back to. Never stopped to examine it at all. The next day she walked right passed Dan and the Dump truck while he was working to get the tail gate on and making all kinds of noise. When I am on her back she eyes it more cautiously.

Another time there was suddenly a big black 15 foot length of plastic culvert blocking most of that path. She just stepped around it to fit through a 16 inch clear space left between it and the fence.

I thought perhaps it was because with me up she has so much more to think about: balance, what I am asking, what I'm going to do next, etc., that she can't process it all so quickly or efficiently. And maybe I focus too much on some scary things to try and be ready for a spook, and send her more "this is scary" vibes.

Then my very insightful friend Margaret suggested also, that Lucy likely feels much more secure knowing that at liberty she can flee as she sees fit without being encumbered or forced to stay closer than she thinks is safe.

That got me thinking about the several times this year I have heard mention of horses getting claustrophobic when fetched up hard in the bridle and held for too long. Horses who want to move along much faster than they are wanted to by a rider. Horses who are too worried to be given any slack in the reins for fear they will run away. Horses who will bolt hard losing their head and don't know when they are safely away. There are horses who have lived too long with these rules, or been too abused, or too frightened to be safe any other way. So,

I want to be very sure that I remind folks here that I am not very experienced at all in training horses and do not advocate letting a horse bolt and flee when it could injure someone or / and itself. I am simply contemplating some witnessed behavior and creating conjecture.

I've ridden horses who were quite comfortable with strong pressure on the reins for longer than I was interested in holding it. But I've had others who flipped out with continuous pressure in a variety of bits and head gear alternatives. So there are no hard and fast rules here that I am trying to give.

I did have one horse though who got very grumpy from too much pressure on the bridle at faster gates, but would leap and shake and sometimes buck when I let her go in the canter. Therefore, I was very reluctant to let her go. She always wanted to gallop from the canter and we ended up in tug of war which turned the canter into a squeezed up twisting unsafe gate(funny, gallop didn't seem so appealing to me about then!)

We finally had some really nice long canters on very safe ground (some on long gravel roads) and I began to let her out slowly. I soon discovered how quickly she flattened out into a very solid gallop once we had the canter relaxed. After that several month period she found me willing to gallop more often and I in turn found her willing to just canter if I asked, or even just trot on a long rein. It was a rather remarkable transformation in her--and I image she felt that I had transformed just as remarkably.

Lucy is sensible and has demonstrated that she can be trusted on a loose rein and will respond to a rein aid quickly and go right back to loose rein. ( We are about to do some riding with a horse that she has only met once and who excited her quite a bit, so I may have knew information on this topic come next Monday;^) I don't want to mess up that trust we have but I certainly can't have her leaping on top of Promise! So there may be some holding going on.

It will give me a chance to work on my own discipline by exercising my commitment to be consistent in the "do as little as it takes but be willing to do as much as it takes" theory, releasing at the proper moment over and over and over and over again, all day! Can I do it without resorting to holding? I will let you know. Although connected that's rather a different issue than the fear reaction thing. Another peice of the puzzle nonetheless.

Lucy is also very emotional. Perhaps I could introduce or exacerbate that uncomfortable feeling of restriction that may make her less willing to be bold when I am on her back, if I began to grab her up and restrict her at times due to my own insecurity. Like when meeting potential monsters on the trail.

It's all a big experiment in a way isn't it?

Anyway I will be riding with a new awareness that I could inadvertently cause her to feel claustrophobic if I over react to her worry. I don't want to create any mistrust of my ability to not just keep her safe but to help her to feel safe.

What are your experiences and / or thoughts?

Bonded Sisters

We took little sister out for a few little 90 second trips into the woods with Dove and left Niki in the pasture out of sight briefly. As we headed out Nordri wasn't paying particular attention to leaving Niki behind. She seemed a little curious of the woods ahead. Then Niki screamed and it was as if the cord that binds these two was suddenly snapped taut. Nodri stopped and answered. She did continue but became more concerned with each one of her sisters increasingly desperate calls. She answered with the most pitiful whinnying that turned into a combination of grunts, squeaks, and hiccups. AD wished she had recorded it. It was very unusual. We went a very short distance into the woods and returned. We repeated this three times and there was definite improvement the third time. There wasn't a Fourth because we discovered that Lucy had escaped her pasture and had to catch her up. But it was a great place to stop really. These sisters have been together always and are now in their late teens. They may never get comfortable leaving each other. As soon as they were back together they began grooming each other. 

The Truce didn't last long

Lucy (Grace) that's what my ferrier writes on the receipt when he comes to trim hooves. He always gets the boarders names right. But my horses get new names. Annabelle was Meg. actually K pony he got right and called K. But now Lucy is "Grace". I'm almost thinking I like Grace better Lucy. Lucy was Rilana from her previous home (since a yearling) and Rilana is on her AERC registration,which I intend to keep but she has had a couple of Barn names: Laney, Lucy,and maybe now Gracie. Anyhoo, where was I? Oh yes, Willie and Lucy,  and the short lived truce. Willie hates Lucy, but he was so busy trying to snuggle with Smidge pony over the fence after he busted through Lucy's paddock to get to her, that I thought they were going to be OK. But, Lucy is young and energetic, Lucy is a tad bit arrogant, and Lucy loves Smidge nearly as much as Willie does, so she could not leave them alone. When I got home at the end of that second day, I found Lucy antagonizing Willie (even after he got this one good bite in on her rump),Willie getting sweaty with the effort of driving her away from Smidge's fence line, and Smidge getting pissed off at Willie cause Lucy was wound up and Smidge wanted to comfort her. It wasn't good. Willie would drive Lucy off and return to Smidge all nickery and sweet only to have her try to bite him. Which of course sent him off in a rage to do more damage to Lucy. It's a good thing Lucy is so young and quick!

So Lucy is now on what was Willies side. And Willie is between she and Smidge.

Spring Fever

Willie was overcome yesterday it seems with the coming of spring and the little birdies singing love songs from the tree tops. He has been standing at the hot rope fence of his paddock and looking over The Loathsome Lucy's domain at that cute little pony mare all winter, pining and making eyes. He apparently couldn't take it any longer. I came home last night to find him here, standing in Lucy's paddock close enough to nuzzle and snuggle a little ( I was careful with the camera angle to instill some modesty in Willies present state). He really likes the pony girls. Lucy was very energetically driven away if she ventured to close. I was impressed to find that she had managed to stay away and was not sporting any gaping wounds from those enormous teeth of Willies. Indeed she barely had any bite marks at all. In previous session to try to introduce those two as pasture buddy's she had refused to comply with his rules and was nailed several times in just 20 minutes. I had become faint of heart and had to remove her. I wasn't there yesterday and it seems the fights were minimal. I left them thus all night and all was well. I left for the day too. Hope I find things as quiet tonight!

Little bronc

The new boarder looks a lot like this pony every time someone gets on her back. She starts off rearing straight up, comes down and lifts her heels just like

<-- this.

The difference is we don't have a rider around here who can follow that motion so nice as the one in this piece of artwork by Michael Swearngin.

I'm on another research quest looking for answers. Of course my first advice was to have her checked out chiropracticly. I remember that there was an article in Eclectic Horseman Magazine on bucking. I have to look it up.

Pam sent me this video HorsemanShip (Rearer). Let me know what your take on it is. If anyone knows of methods let me know. None of us here are getting on her. I don't even want her owner to get back on her. I have to consult with my insurance company about my liability policy. Holy cow it's late! Must sleep now. Details to come--and update on how WELL the Fjords are doing!

Some News coming

The weekend work at RPF / D&E  did not go real smoothly for anyone.

But, nevertheless:

The slab for the new shop was poured today.

Tim the floor guy (eldest son)did his first marble and granite floor.

Miss Raychell (favorite Daughter)will be mobile once again very soon.

The sheds are moved. The paddocks are moved. Willie and Lucy are moved. Dove is moved. the Fjords will be moved Saturday when the new horse arrives.

Lucy & Willie have not maimed one another yet thanks to the electric rope actually working on their side of the farm.

Much to my surprise I have not suffered a nervous breakdown yet.

MRI results came back--my "too much pain" is likely due to the pinching of nerves in my ever more snuggly fitted spinal discs. Doc is making an appointment for me at "The Spine Center" of Portland.

Pictures and stories to follow shortly-- after I get the 18 rubber mats moved into the sheds and the second shed divided and some repairs from the move completed-if not tonight tomorrow night.

Pony Introductions: Three's a Crowd

Don't they look so happy and sweet?

I divided the Fjords Paddock with a single strand of Hot tape, just above hock height so that kicking wouldn't be so likely to bring it down. I learned that trick with Syd and Willie last winter. Then I brought Queen Dove over in their domain. I didn't think of it quite that way while I was doing it. I wasn't till after the rumble that I thought of it in retrospect. Dove was not real comfortable meeting them. she was a bit defensive, as you can see from the faces she makes.

Nordri, The smaller of the two fjords is the dominant of the two. She greeted dove first before letting Nicki in. That made sense to me. What transpired next surprised me. My experience with introductions in Farley limited I comparative to larger farms.

Nordri sort of got bored with the whole thing and left Nicki and Dove to get acquainted. Like she was not intimidated from her lofty appointment, and therefore left the other two to figure out who would be second and third (?). Dove was not thrilled with this and Nicki was well up to the challenge. There was some squealing and a couple of feigned kicking sprees. But all in all a very calm next 5 hours. And then at feeding time things got a little more heated. Things settled quickly though, so I let them stay over night with me checking on them regularly with the Giant light. I even slept with no ear-plugs so I could check on them when I heard them squealing. All was good, till daylight. As I was getting dressed the squealing and mini attacks started. Dove got a small hole bitten in her lip. There was more kicking and squealing and biting and charging around while I got the hay and headed back with it in the wheel barrow. I fed Dove first and proceeded to push the wheel barrow under the divider tape to feed the Fjords. That was when Dove lost control and charged the divider tape and some how got into it enough to break it. She was very upset about that and went running around, mostly just along the fence line closest to her home paddock across the arena. She wanted out, not to fight with the Fjords. I took her out. Did I make her an intruder? Did I put the strangers between she and her herd? YES on both accounts. Were these big factors in why it went badly? I don't know. This coming weekend I am trying it again on Doves side of the farm. I will not put ponies between Dove and her herd and I will not put anyone between Willie and Dove (learned that lesson back in Standish). Oh to have fields large enough to just toss them out and not worry.

A simple mistake

Eclectic Horseman has a lot of these snippets of wisdom with artsy pictures on their website, and by the way: lots of good article, and what I consider to be the most helpful and considerate (& eclectic--although they all are using the same basic teachings to get the most out of their horse work / horse relationships) group of horse-people on their forum. I borrowed a bunch of these Pictures and Quotes and I run them as screen savers on my PC at work. This one works well with the following story:

Igallopon posted this story the other day. She is very talented writer, a dedicated & accomplished horseman, a lover of animals, a tender hearted soul, and an adventurer. This one story illustrates all these traits in a few short yet exhilarating paragraphs. Her horses reaction to his reunion with his rider at the end is testament to her success in training and truly bonding with her horse ( It also speaks of one of the most endearing traits of horses), that in spite of a simple mistake The thing that the horse was concerned with was being safe in her company once again. I enjoy all her writing but this is my favorite.

Excuse me, make that Lieutenant Sir Sydney

It was whole new attitude emanating from the Second paddock this morning. Sir Sydney had moved up in rank and was a bit puffed up. Although not being in the least mean about it, he was consistent and business like in reminding Bonnie at every occasion that she had a new job to do: "Give me a little space while I approach the hay-- before you, and while I get a drink --before you", etc. He flattened his ears and nudged his nose exaggeratedly in her direction while swishing his tail when she attempted to get in front of him en-route to the hay. He raised his head above his shoulders and glared at her sideways as he backed threateningly toward her when she approached the water tub he was standing next to. She responded each time by steppin quickly off a pace or two, tail swishing and the faintest high pitched whine excaping her throat. It was fascinating to witness! Never before have I seen herd dynamics shift an already set hierarchy for no apparent reason. I puzzled and Puzzled over this while continuing my work to reclaim the manure free zone around the shed, this morning. There had to be a reason. It was simply not yet apparent to me . . . to be continued

Herd Dymanics

This is Bonnie & Sydney left to right with Sparticus on their heels. What you can't see is Willie closing in with lethal intent. You see I opened the fence that separates the herd of 4 into two happy little pairs. Here Bonnie and Syd are intruding in Willies paddock and he is running interference between them and his K-pony mare who wanted to interact and confront Syd for the position of third in line. Willie wanted her to stay away from them period. And that was what he tried to do for the next 45 minutes:

Dan calls this next one Chasing The Ghost Horses because the brush in the foreground grays out the horses as they race by:

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon just before dinner time. Sunday I turned them out together again. Things calmed after a while. At one point Willie found himself on the wrong side of the fence from K and did some anxious pacing while she had a kick out with Syd who was not real motivated to take her on. Willie finally got close enough to the hole in the fence to dare to cross over and cut her back out of the herd. All was quiet for an hour or so till I came near. Willie watched me come to the fence and then suddenly wheeled around and with great force drove Bonnie and Sydney toward a corner where they nearly crashed trying to escape in opposite directions. Just before Willies teeth found Bonnie's flank she veered and leaped over the stone wall and fence catching the fence on her hind legs as she cleared the stones. She snapped two iron tee posts but got only a very small nick on a hind fetlock. The poly rope/wire held but rolled off her well! After that excitement/ trauma all horses went immediately to their own side of the fence. For Comfort?