Groundwork Boot Camp

Quest is a fast learner- it's good because she's easy to teach but bad because it's just as easy to undo everything that was taught. In order for us to stay safe though, I need her absolute trust in me to make decisions for us. As I've spent more time with Quest, I know she is sensitive but that opens her up for bonding deeply if I prove myself to be a consistent and fair leader. That means dealing with what caused her meltdown involves work on her manners but also me being even more attentive to how I was communicating with my body.

After doing some thinking and reading, I made a few changes to the way I did groundwork last night and I'm happy to say I like what I see so far. I first changed out the tack I was using- switching her nylon halter for a rope halter with knots. It turned out to be essential for our success yesterday.

We started with the very basics; standing still, nose forward at all times, attention on me. A was working with Smokey in the arena so I very purposefully positioned ourselves with Quest's back facing them. I then told her to stand and let the lead rope hang slack between us. Any time her nose pointed anywhere but forward I wiggled the rope. Quest caught on quickly and there was licking and chewing. Good girl. After letting her process, I gave release and we walked to another spot in the arena and did it all over again. Each time I increased the distance a bit more. We then worked on getting her to be more attentive to my personal space when led. She tends to crowd me when we stop so I worked on being more vigorous with my back up. This is something we'll need more work on.

Finally we did some lunging; started off simple with just sending out and moving at a walk. I kept her on a smaller circle at first to work on maintaining pressure and keeping Quest focused on me instead of hanging out at the end of the line. As for myself I focused on minimal feet moving and maintaining my footprints in a 2 foot area. If Quest drifted too close, I held my ground and twirled the end of the lead rope at her shoulder to send her back out. When she stayed consistent at the walk in a larger circle, we moved into the trot and then finally canter. Repeated all in both directions. At first she was a little sticky but once she got steady, I changed things up with tons of transitions. Quest totally locked onto me, that inner ear was completely focused on my every move. So I clucked, I kissed, I said walk. She trotted, she cantered, she walked...on the dime. I was so pleased- it was the first time I felt that in tune with her too. We ended the night with a little riding just at a walk and trot because it was raining/misting so half the arena was sopping wet and I didn't want to chance cantering in questionable footing.

I'm planning to resume lessons since it's been almost a month since my last one. I don't ride badly but I think it's only fair that I keep improving myself to be a better rider for Quest's sake.

Weekend (Mis)adventure

Quest has been doing impressively well undersaddle so I was curious how she would fare on the trail handwalking. After finishing up our usual lunge session Saturday afternoon, we headed out for a exploratory outing with A and her lease horse Smokey. The route we took is the go-to trail used by everyone at the barn. It goes a few miles in either direction and follows an abandoned rail track that cuts across several streets with local traffic so it makes for an interesting desensitization challenge.

We decided to do a 1.5 mile jaunt and Quest did great on the walk down. She was much more interested in the shrubbery along the trail then the fellow trail users, cars, construction saws, two squirrels and one rabbit that we encountered on the path. Along the way, we did some whoa, backing up, and yielding to keep the mareface brain focused on me. A and I alternated having Quest and Smokey lead and no problem there. Or so I thought.

After a grazing break, we headed back along the same way. About halfway home, one section of road had an alternate route that cut through thick dense brush so A led the way first with Smokey. They disappeared from view when promptly...mareface meltdown. Quest started getting high headed, pacey, and antsy- it was the most worked up I've ever seen her become. I moved her feet, intending to send her a few circles around me to get her brain back. Somehow in the midst of her meltdown, she managed to get the lead rope looped around her hind leg with me holding the other end. She was getting more agitated and pulling hard, threatening to kick. Two choices immediately came to mind- I could continue to hold on or I could let her go. Loose horse or broken legs and risk injury to myself as well?

I decided the former. I yelled a warning to A and let go. The rope whipped out of my hand and Quest took off down the trail around a corner and out of sight to escape the rope around her leg. I jogged after her, heart in my throat as my mind raced to figure out what I could do next. I turned the corner and saw Quest standing on the path waiting for me, lead line dragging harmlessly behind her on the ground. No cuts, bumps, scrapes. Thank goodness. "Hey Quest!" I kept my voice bright and happy and stood in place while gesturing my "come in" signal that we used for lunging. She eagerly walked up to me in ready compliance. I couldn't help but pet her and weakly grin in relief as I picked up the lead and we headed home without further incident. I made sure to lunge a few circles and did some groundwork refresher before I put her in for the day.

So yeah, guess I finally figured out Quest's quirk. I've done a bit of reading and research- her actions are case study herdbound. It makes sense because she been bounced from at least 3 different owners (that I know of) before me and the lack of consistency has caused her to seek other horses for comfort due to lack of leadership she's seen in people. Our history together doesn't go very far obviously as I've only been working her for 2-3 weeks so it's of utmost importance that I continue to stand my ground confidently.

This doesn't change how awesome I think Quest is overall but it's something we will REALLY need to work on if we ever want the option of doing trails solo. We're going to take a couple steps back and work on building her confidence in me as a leader with increased emphasis on groundwork and respecting space. I think the fact that Quest stood still and waited for me while loose on the trail was rather telling- I'm glad that she went only as far as felt she needed to escape the rope but once that pressure was gone, she readily came right back to me when invited. It was definitely a huge trust thing on her part. The escapade does put a damper on things but so far it's nothing that can't be solved with patience and time.

We've got a whole winter ahead of us to work hard.

First REAL ride

All the hard work and patience finally culminated into a bright and shining moment last night.

While Quest was listed being able to W/T/C undersaddle, I wasn't about to take anyone's word for it without checking that the basics were in place before hopping on her without a care in the world. It's not a matter of trust but more making sure there were no gaping holes in her training that would put either of us (and those around us) in serious danger. Trust me, it took a HUGE amount of self-control to keep my feet on the ground several weeks ago when I lunged her for the first time. I dreamed everyday since then about riding that floaty trot and canter.

On Monday after our usual lunging session, I tacked her up in full reglia for the first time- bridle, saddle, and breastplate. In the weeks before, I had been slowly introducing each piece of tack to her and adjusting for fit and observing if anything caused a reaction, initially and on the lunge. No problems so I did the usual "tests" with lateral flexions, giving to pressure. NBD. I bounced the stirrups against her sides and put weight on them, nothing. Repeated everything and each time Quest was great. I was able to end that night sitting in the saddle with my friend A holding the lead. Poor mareface wasn't entirely happy with the bit but was a lady despite it all- I made sure to switch it out with another snaffle I had for next time.

Yesterday, I didn't hope for too much but definitely wanted to see how Quest would do with being ponied and lunged on the line with me on board. Baby steps, right? Groomed, lunged, and tacked- I mounted up and with A holding the lead, we went for a pony ride. It was entirely uneventful (Quest looked politely bored? if I can describe it as that), which was exactly what I wanted. I asked A to lunge us so I could get a feel for her trot, around and around we went posting away. I asked A if she wanted to hop on, so we switched and the supermare gave her a pony ride too. I was already very pleased with her but I couldn't help but wonder how would we do off the lead.

Only one way to find out.

I mounted back up and we set off again. We walked, did turns, direction changes. We trotted, did more turns, direction changes. We halted. We walked. Perfect perfect perfect. I cued for a trot once again to finish the night on, intending to leave cantering for another day when I must have moved my outside heel a bit further back than I wanted to because Quest immediately moved up into the most AMAZINGLY SMOOTH canter and on the correct lead. We took a lap around the indoor, before we switched directions. This time (intentionally) I cued and again smooth canter, correct lead for another lap. 

I'm thrilled with how things went last night. Quest never felt rushy or out of control and I was able to ride her with a loose rein using mostly my legs to steer. The changed bit fits her great so far and she went in it happily. The Thorowgood doesn't seem to cause any problems for either of us yet so we might be all set tack-wise for now.  And yes to answer the burning question, I DO have video but you all have to hang tight until I get the files from A, sorry haha

We're still going to take things slow, next part is including some handwalking on the rail trail in our weekend sessions until we can't go out any longer. This winter we'll work on introducing trail obstacles and desensitizing. Depending on how that goes, we might be set to do some LSD conditioning by the time spring arrives. I'm probably getting ahead of myself, but it's hard to NOT be excited.

I still can't believe how lucky I got with this mare.

Lucky

Quest continues to impress. My rough plan for last night was to do more groundwork and toss a saddle blanket on her couple times to see how she fared. Well, we ended up doing more than that. 

Mareface was quite happy, bright eyed and alert to see me when I got to the barn. The BO's wife met us while we made our way to the main barn to give me her registration, Coggins, and bill of sale. I know my ownership started a month ago but for some strange reason, the act of finally getting her papers, holding them in my hand, made it feel like she was really officially mine.

I wanted to give her a thorough grooming and check out her body condition before anything else so she got stuck in the cross-ties. She was SO much better this time. A little wiggling at first but after a couple of reminders to stand, she indeed stood like a lady.

I took the opportunity while grooming to run my hands all over her. She could have had a mild case of rain rot in the past that healed up because when I started to curry and brush, lots of flakey dust came up and I was able to feel some build up in areas behind her elbow and neck. It could just be lack of routine grooming though- I want to assume the latter. Her hooves are solid but are in much need of a trim, quite evident from contracted heels. The chip in her LH isn't bothering her mobility-wise but I want to get that addressed sooner rather than later so she's due to get them done professionally early next week. I still want to learn how to trim but for the first couple sessions I'm calling in an expert and will do the in-between maintenance myself.

She was so well behaved that I decided to see how she'd fare with saddle pad and saddle. While I had the DeSoto and SS on hand, I stumbled on an used Thorowgood Maxam online offered at a price that I couldn't pass up. I figured I didn't have anything to lose by at least giving it a try as a starter saddle. It also came with Compositi strirrups, cages, webbers, and a nice shaped dressage pad so if worse came to worse and the saddle didn't fit, I at least got some tack that I needed.

I got out the saddle and after letting her check it out first, I placed it on her back- checked the fit, checked her for discomfort. I put it on and took it off several times, making sure she was totally okay with it. Quest turned her head to look at me, maybe wondering why I couldn't make up my mind if I wanted it on or off! Other than that, she was totally chill. I threw on a saddle pad and placed the saddle on top. She could have cared less. How would she handle me girthing her up? I watched to see if she would swing her head to bite or pin her ears. All she did was flick an ear in my direction. Okay, I LOVE this mare.

I wanted Quest to get a chance to see indoor/outdoor arena while it was dark out so we did some groundwork while my friend A was riding. I decide to keep the saddle girthed up on her for observation. Quest was a bit distracted, granted new arena conditions and Smokey was still new to her, she listened to me decently enough. After A left, I decided to do some lunging and...holy wow, smooth trot is smooooooth! It took so much self-control to not hop on her right then and there.

The entire night my friends kept commenting how lucky I got with Quest and how lucky she was that I was the one who picked her up. All things considered, I'm thrilled with her so far. Yes there is still a part of me waiting to find out why she was dumped at that auction. Sometimes perfectly great horses do end up there at no fault of their own. And so far Quest has exceeded everyone's expectations- She was quite a little fireball when she arrived but she settled down so well in just a week. My friend T was shocked how great she was for me last night. I really did get quite lucky.  

Meeting Quest

I finally got to meet my horse yesterday, exactly a month since I bought her.

Quest got moved to the barn last week while I was on vacation with my family. My friends kept an eye on things while I was away and turned her out in the round pen for some exercise but didn't do much with her other than that. So I set out yesterday after work to finally meet my girl, still not exactly sure of what I would find but hoping for the best.

When I arrived at the barn, I finally allowed myself to feel the rush of excitement I had been trying to keep down all day long. Lead line in hand, I walked up to Quest's stall and was immediately greeted by dainty muzzle and expressive doe-like eyes. She breathed me in and I said hello in turn, talking quietly and softly as the biggest smile spread over my face. I worked the latch open on her stall door and stepped inside. Quest politely backed up to make room for me and I scratched her neck as I fastened the lead line and walked outside to see her in better light. Everything about Quest screams Arab. Her size is best described as petite but she is SO solidly built.

Asides from turnout and her stall, she didn't get much of a chance to see the rest of facility so we went on a small tour. We first checked out the indoor/outdoor arena which gave me a chance to see how she reacts to new environments with me by her side. I was glad to see that she is curious but not fearful. I showed her the corners, the sticky parts by the fences outside- she took all in stride and moved on without a second hesitation. Since we had more room to work, we did some simple groundwork- yield at the hunches, backing up, whoa, etc. The latter needs some work but the basics are definitely there. My friends who were watching the entire time commented that she tracks beautifully. Next we went out to the round pen so I could see her move at liberty. She was much more interested in hanging out with the neighbors' horses than running around but when she did move, it was with athletic grace. It started to get dark so the last thing of the day was cross-ties. Quest had never been in the main barn before and she behaved reasonably well. I did have quite the time re-instilling in her how to stand still in the cross ties (someone was very interested in showing the geldings in the stalls on either side that she was a pretty lady...) but we finally got it.

I was able to groom her and even pick up feet, and omg she's got such SOLID barefoot hooves. She has a chip in her LH which can be addressed in a couple of trims. It'll be something for me to learn and observe.

Still need to evaluate how she is undersaddle of course but wow, I can't be more pleased with how lucky I got with her. While I wait for my saddle to arrive, it's going to be ground work and lots of handwalking. So much to learn, I can't wait.