To anyone who’s been coming back to read our latest tales (my moans & worries), I’m sorry you’ve had nothing new to read. I guess writing my blog became boring/less important than other daily things so got pushed to the side :’(
Well you’ll be pleased to see that today I’m full of thought, news, questions & maybe the odd moan too.
Where to start?
Well wherever I start it’s gonna be a long one so sit comfy & keep with me, because in places I’ll regress then leap forward almost in the same breath. Plus there will be plenty of out loud moment question, no doubt making it quite random (just like me) :D
Our last ride out (Thursday) has sadly given me lots of time for thinking /over analysing as I’m laid up in bed mostly. Umm yes I fell off & in the process have irritated an old injury (broken /splayed coccyx /tailbone). This means I’m in pain at the slightest movement & thus a grumpy cow that’s best left alone to sit on her beanie ring cushion.
Thursday…
The day didn’t start so well with Eastar battling from the word go.
In fairness it’s been a few weeks since we’ve ridden out & he could have just gotten used to the easy life & therefore simply didn’t see why it should change now!
Another thing to think about is he had his teeth done 10 days ago & although this is a good thing as I know all is well (bar a small wolf tooth that may cause irritation in time if not now), with big wuss boy maybe it’s all still a bit sensitive?? I know last year he made out he couldn’t eat for a week & was aloof towards his owner. This time I gave him a carrot before the dentist had even packed his tools away & although Eastar made a bit of a meal of it at first, after being told to “stop being so silly” he finished it no problem & came looking for another.
So anyway…. (see I’ve started already, I do love to digress/leap about).
First thing Thursday morning I go to his stable & he’s no doubt thinking;
great my human has arrived meaning out of the stable & to my field.
Nope that’s not the plan today Mr Eastar.
Err why am I tied up here? OK a good groom, this is fun. What….. I see a bridle! No, no just a rug please human & I’ll be good to go…..
And so the battle began!
Eastar really didn’t want the bit in his mouth! He clamped his teeth shut weaved around & wasn’t having any of it; he even quickly pushed it back out the first time I got the bit in. Normally you just present the bit & in a few seconds he’ll take it no problem. Ok so he’ll then play with it pretty much constantly, but that’s not bad is it?
Finally after a good few minutes I got the bit in place & he played & chomped to the point that after 10 mins of riding he was slightly foaming at the sides of his mouth & kept trying to rub it on his leg any chance he got.
Saddled up & ready to go.
He wouldn’t go where I wanted. I tried making him stand still if he wouldn’t go my way, but I wasn’t forceful enough or for long enough & then when moving again still he wouldn't turn back my way :( This long battle ended with me giving up halfway through & figuring I'll let him go his way until then towards the gate (about ¼ mile) as then he'd have no other choice but to turn & go my way in the end. This worked but was I wrong to give up? Yes I think so too.. On our way back up he still had the odd moment where he wanted to turn back, but wasn't successful/ I wasn't having it any-more. We got with 50 yards of the track to go up the hill (where I’d wanted to go in the first place) & he simply wouldn’t take it. We battled in circles both getting crosser by the second until Martin tried to lead him & failed (Martin still isn’t confident around him) & Eastar was simply getting more wound-up. At this point even I could sense martin’s lack of confidence/fear so decided to hop off & lead Eastar myself before we escalated the situation further. This worked well & 10 paces later I was back in the saddle as happy as a pig in poop.
What I find odd is that Eastar wasn’t making his way back to the stable, but down the drive?? If he didn’t want to be ridden/go out why not head for his stable or even field? Why down/away from home? Maybe because that's the way he knows best I guess? We walk that route & a majority of our rides have been that way, plus when we go up it's for a longer ride.... Are they that cunning/sneaky? No, I don't think so?
As always Eastar was quite tense walking up the tree covered track, but we worked through with lots of calm reassuring words & rubs on his neck making for a pleasant ride. We even had our 1st wee canter together & I was totally elated with how he moved. I remember beaming back at Martin who was trailing behind on the quad to see if he had seen us & his thumbs up complete with massive grin said he had.
Never mind cloud 9, think cloud 99 because that’s where I was! Now full of confidence & at the top of the hill I wanted more, so asked & got a fast trot almost immediately & as I pushed for more the bucks started & around we went.
Bucks of excitement? Um I don’t think so & they certainly felt more like “Buck Off”!
I stayed seated for about 4 or 5 but began seriously cracking my coccyx on the back of the saddle & it didn’t take too long for me to become totally unseated & head dive over his shoulder down hill (I kicked off left stirrup as I knew I was going & wanted to avoid the rock that side). Eastar simply stood by the heap on the floor that was me looking worried (didn’t even take advantage of the long grass he was stood in).
And so on to my next topic of thought!
Barefoot or Shod
It could be said that Eastar seems to be struggling at times when we ride out. By struggling I mean he takes grassy routes where he can & stumbles quite often. After reassurance from his previous human, my thoughts on this are/were/ no are….
- All horses even shod ones take the grassy path where possible.
- He’s an anxious sod so isn’t concentrating on what he should be, therefore stumbling if he’s not looking where he’s going.
- We have a fab qualified Equine Podiatrist every 4 to 5 weeks & Eastar’s feet are trimmed for bare by someone who knows barefoot inside out.
- His hooves are in great condition
- And lastly.... Bare is best / Natural makes sense I feel in most walks of life!
However I’ve had it put into my head that our terrain is simply to hard going & have even been told “I’m mad to have him barefoot”!
Before I even had Eastar (fluke & easier too as he’d been barefoot for 8mths already) barefoot was the way I wanted to go & I “thought” our mixed terrain was a bonus for barefoot care? So like the true stubborn mare I am we’re bearing with it & although I’m having the odd doubt put in my mind, I still feel it’s the right way to go (mostly anyway)! Eastar manages the tarmac drive/roads very well & gravel isn’t even an issue (pea type).
Ahh and so we must come to the moral, or in this case my findings/thoughts I've come away with after writing this novel;
- I need a tighter rein & should stop worrying about hauling on his mouth! I don’t think I would ever haul, but because I’m worrying about it maybe I’m not having a good enough contact (especially when he's playing up/being a stubborn shit)!
- The more thought I give it, the more sure I am that his girth was too tight on that fated day & I got my just deserts! I know because when checking with my hand before mounting I had wondered if I should knock it down one as it was a squeeze, but thought “no, it’s a bit tight but ok”. WRONG! Better to have knocked it down & if the saddle slipped I could have put it back up… Painful lesson for us both. BAD human!
- Lessons are a must! Yes we can continue our ground work, but I 100% need some brush up lessons as I can't be sure of myself & with a fall under my belt too, I know my confidence has been knocked! To start with though I want it to be a friend/un-judgemental eye to set me on the right path.
Well I think that therapy has worked a treat :) It's funny how writing things back can jolt the memory of other things (like the girth... that had gone completely out of my head until just now).
Please, please feel free to post a comment or email me any thoughts, I'd love to hear your opinions.
sorry to hear you've had a fall but if he was unconfident about having the bit in and he was chomping on it then I would not have ridden him, he was trying to tell you something! Also there was no groundwork before riding out to check he was in a good mood to be ridden. The groundwork of horsemanship is superb for getting a horse more confident and relaxed before riding. The 4 things I look for everytime before riding in my horses are: Relaxation, Willing Obedience, Impulsion (whoa = go) and Flexibility. Without all of those I don't get on.
ReplyDeleteGetting the groundwork so good so that you can play the games in different places is where horsemanship takes you, once you get to a place where the horse is unconfident you can get off (oh yes, you can get off!! it saves you and your horses confidence) and play the games,once the games are good Eastar will turn to you more for leadership on the ground, you can relax him and get back on when all is going well. From your write up of your ride out I would think that it wasn't going well really from the start ;-(
RE: barefoot horses, they do need lots of terrains every day, walking out in hand over lots of area's every day is most important for good feet, building up the calouses in the sole area is very important and can often take months and months. If the horse is left in a soft field too oftenwithout any walking out then the sole gets soft again. One of my horses took almost 2 years to calous up and the trim often during the Spring/Summer/Autumn should be very regular ie. every 3-4 weeks or the hoof wall gets long quickly.
Hope you're feeling much better soon and just remember that horses don't do things to pee us off, they're usually trying to communicate something to us...so try to figure out what it is, take the opinion that somethign may be wrong, he may be unconfident, he may need to go slower, he may need walking out in all the places you want to ride to familiarise himself to the terrain. He doesn't do things against you, he does things to help him survive, on instinct. Horses don't think they're going to be hurt, they think they're going to die.