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Post by ghostrider on Feb 18, 2014 14:23:43 GMT -5
You know those times when you're already saddled and you're thinking "this isn't a great day for a ride?" Well about the time I threw the saddle over Buddy's back the wind picked up and his head was in the clouds. Everything was blowing all over the leaves, the tarps were flapping hard etc.. but what a waste to untack now right? Going out he didn't want to go, he wasn't defiant just really dragging his butt and had to swat him on the butt to get him moving from snail to slug. Got 1/4 mile down the road and someone's red onion sacks were hung up on the fence on both sides and all over the brush and sticker bushes and blowing hard and the wind had changed to a breeze to gale force. Got another 1/4 mile and there were plastic grocery bags stuck to a fence and around things in the neighbors yard. Another 1/4 mile and the wind was blowing through the woods and rustling the dry leaves and Buddy thought there was a monster hiding there till the horses all came charging down the hill in the pasture behind. FINALLY he wanted to walk forward without a struggle. Not too far down the road there's this camper that has a wood lean too attached, and the guys'a real pig. He had a pair of shorts laying on the ground by the pole where he drives in and there were paper plates and garbage strewn and blowing all over and across the road, even a big oil case box.
But because Buddy wasn't calm we didn't turn around. Not till he was calm and moving forward is he allowed to start back. The rest of the ride was good and we rode about 45 min before turning for home. Worked on getting him to walk nice and no looking around. Every time he'd start looking he got put into high gear. Every time he'd slow down we clucked forward and followed with a nudge if he didn't step it up.
Coming back right after crossing the bridge the wind picked up hard and made a huge howling crisp leaf noise around us and Buddy decided he wasn't sticking around. He did a 1/2 belly flop followed with a floating canter at a diagonal to the right. My legs came up and I grabbed with my thigh into the pommel and turned him into the spook.
Now I have to say, you know that feeling I had while saddling? well I did decide it was one of those days when I needed my Troxel helmet! I may not have pushed him as hard or as long if I hadn't decided to wear it.
Anyway we got down the road and decided to push into a trot and then canter and then trot and canter. He was huffing when we got back. LOL
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Post by cyndi on Feb 18, 2014 16:37:09 GMT -5
It sounds like you got your share fare of scary objects today! Glad you stayed on and stayed safe!!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2014 16:55:46 GMT -5
Oh buddy. He's such a goof. I wonder what his deal was? Glad you got through it!! So much for a quick, relaxing ride. LOL
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Post by ghostrider on Feb 18, 2014 17:21:32 GMT -5
Yeah just start bragging about how good and steady your horse has gotten and they'll make you a liar every time. Although I have to say if it had been 5 years ago he would have been really hard to handle, snorting and stomping and a bundle of nerves ready to explode. I like the new Buddy even if he does let the wind and plastic crap make him a dope. I would REALLY like to know what made him so afraid of plastic bags.
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Post by Kirk Martin on Feb 19, 2014 18:41:10 GMT -5
The very first Paso Patriana del Prado (Patty) I learned to ride was bomb-proof EXCEPT for those evil plastic bags.... scared her senseless. Just wanted you to know it's not just your horse.
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Post by ghostrider on Feb 21, 2014 0:01:29 GMT -5
Thanks, It seems to bother a lot of horses, which is why there are so many tarp training lessons. I can get him to take snacks right out of a walmart bag even while I'm rumpling it. I can get him to stand in the middle of a tarp calmly. But if it's blowing more than mildly he's a dope.
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Post by Kirk Martin on Feb 21, 2014 8:59:59 GMT -5
A riding instructor I was visiting took one of the blue tarps and hung it between two trees. He then cut from the bottom up thin shreds of the blue tarp (think one of those plastic doors on walk-in coolers or 1960's love beads on doorways). We used to ride our horses under and through the dangling blue tarp. Seemed to help quite a bit and desensitized the horses to moving plastic.
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Post by ghostrider on Feb 21, 2014 13:05:37 GMT -5
If you noticed in the photo of our first corral there is a tarp in the air? I run two pipes laterally and wire them to the fence and string a 10 or 12 foot tarp between the two poles or pipes. This gets them used to the sound and sight of flapping tarps. I also feed them right under it once it's been up a few days. Buddy walks between the "car wash" flaps and hanging noodles etc.. he doesn't even have problems walking right on the plastic bags unless its really flapping hard. I would love to make a place here with the tires and car wash flaps etc.. maybe behind the corral where it's usually dry.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2014 20:57:49 GMT -5
The mare that bucked me off this summer? I could put a tarp on her body with just her nose poking out and lead her all over the place with the tarp dragging behind her. My DGD would even rub the tarp on her. So we now have a joke around here: if a horse isn't afraid of a tarp, then don't ride it! HAHAHAHA!!! I got on her back and was bucked off in the first ten minutes. LOL
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2014 21:02:11 GMT -5
I'm not going to make my riding goal for February. Oh well. March, here we come!
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Post by ghostrider on Feb 22, 2014 0:22:49 GMT -5
You still have 8-9 days! just saddle her up and ride a couple steps! LOL
Boomer is that way too. It's probably the only reason I ever got Buddy on the tarp when we started. He can't be shown up by Boomer. When I first tried You couldn't coax or threaten or pull Buddy anywhere near a tarp. When I tried to coax him on with grain and apples he still wouldn't have anything to do with the tarp but when Boomer traipsed across it like nothing it only took Buddy another 10-15 min to overcome his anxiety. BOYS AND FOOD! works for 4 legged ones too.
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Post by horsespoiler on Feb 22, 2014 0:51:07 GMT -5
We have a 5th wheel in the front pasture that is covered with a tarp. It flaps and they don't seem to care. The old tarp had torn from sun damage and there was a large piece I was saving on the ground. Sage would move it around to check the grass under it. If we tarp anything near them we don't take extra precautions to make sure it doesn't flap. Let it flap away. Same with any other noise we need to make. When we were working on the barn they all stood and watched us saw and hammer away. Even came up to check our work. Just don't put a piece of wire with surveyors tape on it anywhere near them.
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Post by ghostrider on Feb 22, 2014 6:49:41 GMT -5
We have a huge tarp on the end of the chicken yard, SF wanted to shield part of their yard from snow last year. (doesn't work) but it's about 8' tall and 25' long and it blows like that and the fence bends and snaps the tarp all the time. I saddle not far from it because I usually keep my Tucker in the walk in on my trailer which is parked near there. Buddy does not mind the tarp...BUT if I were to lay it on the ground and then start walking to where he's standing while flapping it over the ground he would freak out and run. If I laid it down he'd walk right over it but that's the difference. I guess if HE'S approaching it's okay but if IT'S approaching it must be a monster. I can put Walmart bags on the fence every 4' apart and he won't have a problem. (actually did it for YEARS) but if I get one out of my pocket he's at attention. If I have food in it then he will stick his nose in it to get a bite but if I shake it as I approach he's out of there.
I don't know if he will EVER get over it. I've tried everything. He has gone a long way, once upon a time any tarp freaked him out, even 40' away. I once took a bag of trail mix out of my saddle bag to offer some to the girls and he started bucking. Now he nickers like "HEY how about me?" But it's tiresome always on the lookout for someone to approach us with a bag of something or if we're riding and someone grabs a bag out of their saddle bags. Also this is the reason I can not allow just anyone to ride Buddy. I plan on working with him this year and seeing if I can't get him more sacked out to the bags.
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Post by ghostrider on Feb 22, 2014 19:00:33 GMT -5
Well today was my early day and it was beautiful. I told my manager J "there's a big grey horse and a saddle with my name on it waiting for me at home." LOL So changed my pants, put on my boots and took the saddle out. I cleaned and conditioned it couple nights ago. Buddy sees me carry it out even though I left it at the trailer and he was walking towards the woods by the time I got to the corral. URGH I hate it when he does that.
Went to the tack shed and got a scoop of grain and Buddy followed Boomer back in. He got a couple mouthfuls of grain and then I swatted him on the butt and made him back off and face me so I could put his halter on.
Didn't go any better from there. Decided to just work out here in the front on GTTB, Disengaging his hind end and some serpentines. Just get him flowing smoothly again. I've noticed when he does nothing but trails he tends to not be as fluent as when we do arena work.
Buddy started out doing tantrums. At one point he lightened up his front end and did some kind of crow hops, not quite a buck but pretty close. He just threw a big tantrum because he didn't want to work and wanted to go back to the corral to eat. So we increased speed and did some big serpentines at the trot till his lungs were feeling worked. We crossed the drive and went back and forth around trees and just worked on being calm and listening.
Worked about 45 min till the sun started going down then took his saddle off and tied him to the horse trailer. Figure a couple hours standing at the trailer may make him less excited about returning the next time. Oh this is a "refresher" course for Buddy he stands at the trailer ever couple years. You'd think he'd get it.
Oh and 1/2 way through the ride Buddy spooked out from under me AGAIN and started cantering sideways about 4 steps. SF's rat terrier had come running down the hill towards us. Buddy must have caught the movement. It's barely breezy so he's just being a putz! I'm sure it was just a ruse today.
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Post by Kirk Martin on Feb 23, 2014 20:45:20 GMT -5
Finally can post in the February section! Was visiting with my favorite Paso Fino this morning Valeroso (who is still too green to ride) when my phone rang. My friend who owns the farm asked if I wanted to go on a trail ride today? After a quick... really quick drive home to pick up my boots and a lunch, we were brushing our horses down and loading up. Ended up going to the Pautuxent River Park in Upper Marlboro MD. Relen another Paso Fino was really well behaved until we started riding away from the trailer. She was doing nearly everything in her power to turn around and go back to the trailer. She was jigging hard, circling back, and doing the power-glide. Once she got a little ways from the trailer, she decided that this was going to be fun. That was until we came to the first of many muddy standing water trails. She did a classic refusal but after staring at it a bit, she bravely trudged through. She was better the further we went but she sure was good at finding the driest way to go. Clearly she is a bright bulb. We rode up and down hills, across two bridges, and then opened it up a bit at the the big cornfield (beside the crops). We had a great day, absolutely gorgeous weather and about 60F today. Go figure, might get some snow tonight. Glad to have nice weather on a weekend! Hope everyone else got a ride in today!
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