Today, I got the same horse as yesterday, Saguaro. He's done most of what I've asked of him, and I think when he doesn't that it's more me than him. We continued with the groundwork, as that is essential to the 7 Step Safety System that we're all learning here.
Today, we learned desensitization/confidence building. That's building confidence from the horse's point of view . . . building *his* confidence. Frank gave us a "wand," which is basically a car antenna with a handle! He said he got his first one from a junk yard and added the handle later! You attach a plastic bag to the end of the wand, so when you rub it on the horse, you are a safe distance away in case he freaks out. But, first, you take the plastic bag and squish it into a non-threatening blob that you put into your closed hand . . . so, just a little of it is sticking out. Let the horse smell it, and then start rubbing it on his body, slowly letting the bag open up a little bit. When the horse is comfortable with that, then you attach it to the wand. After the horse is okay with all that, then you have to get him moving around you. Sometimes, a horse will be fine when he's standing still, but will freak out if he's moving.
Today, I learned to post. Well, I should say that I was taught how . . . it will be awhile before I actually get the hang of it. Finally, Carol (the head wrangler and an awesome person) came over and showed me to hold the reins differently and to use the saddle horn to boost myself up. That helped. Then, Jim told me to let go of the saddle horn . . . scary, but I did it fine. The whole posting thing, though, still eludes me, I'm afraid. I need lots more practice.
Next, we did a cool game. Cones were set up in two straight lines. Then two cones were placed fairly close together at the end. The idea was for each team member to ride up outside their set of cones, and then come together at the narrow cones at the end. Then, ride back down the inside of the cones to either Frank or Jim who stood at the beginning/finish line. Each team member had to slap Frank or Jim's hand at the exact same time.
It was fun trying to pace yourself to another person like that. Frank said the fastest pair who ended at exactly the same time would win. Well, here's the story. I have only cantered (that's kind of a slow run) once in the last forty-odd years. And the last time I did it, in Missouri, the horse was incredibly rough. Usually, trot is a rough gait, and canter is a smooth gait. But, the Missouri horse's canter was worse than some rough trots that I've encountered! Needless to say, because that was my last experience, and it wasn't exactly good, I have been a little leery of cantering. BUT, I am very competitive, and when I saw someone else canter, competitiveness won out over fear and I cantered with no problem! It was awesome!
Lastly, we learned about cleaning feet. How to properly pick them up, and how to properly put them down. There are different theories on this. Some people when they're finished cleaning a hoof, just drop it. I never liked that. It didn't seem fair to the horse who willingly let you pick up his foot and clean it. But, the way Frank and Jim do it, is that when they put it down, they put it down on the TOE. When a horse is in that position, it means he's relaxed. So, it's like giving a relaxing signal to the horse. I really liked that.
In our classroom talk today, we talked about parasites, vaccinations, wound healing, some diseases, buying a horse, and other related topics. I have learned so much this week, I am brim full of new information. I am loving every minute of the learning!
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