Saturday, August 28, 2010
First (sort of...) Trail Ride in Six Months
Today I decided to take Louie out on a trail ride. We would be going out alone and I've never taken him out on trail alone. But, today just felt right for it. He was nice and quiet when I caught him and tacked him up. I am still having some nerves about riding him so decided to just lead him until I could see he was relaxed and I felt relaxed. He was GREAT about leaving the farm. He never so much as hesitated for a second, never tried to turn back or even answered the calls of his pasture mates. He seemed very happy to go with me. He sure was bright eyed but was walking with me calmly. After a while, I did mount up. At first he wouldn't stand still for me to mount. I just let him circle me until he settled down. Then I mounted up and I just sat for a minute, then dismounted and led him a bit further. I then mounted up again and this time rode him for about 1/4 mile. He was behaving perfectly but I could tell he was nervous by his very loose stools. I dismounted and led him a bit more, then mounted back up and rode him for about a mile. At this point I was off trail and on the paved road. I dismounted and led him the 1 1/2 miles back home. Louie was absolutely wonderful.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
More Round Pen Work
Today I was supposed to ride with Tracy from Dresden. I was going to meet her over at the Lorax property in Pittston. I'd been having a bit of trouble with my truck so I told her I'd try starting it when I got home from work and would email her if it was ok. When I got home, the truck started right up no problem. So, I emailed her to let her know all was well. I fed and did my chores, then went in and had some breakfast. Soon it was time to go so I headed out, and before loading Louie, I tried starting the truck again. DEAD!! Nothing but some clicking. AGH!!! So, I called and left a message with Tracy. When she called me back, it was starting to get late for me to go riding and we decided to reschedule our ride for Friday.
So, I went out and did some round pen work with Louie. He was a pretty good boy today. He got a little fresh at one point. But, that was because I had not put my horse in another paddock and he was trying to stop and hang out with her. I had to move Marie out and then he was much more attentive to me. We just did some transitions and direction changes. I got on and rode him around the paddock just a little bit. Just working on walking forward, whoa, back and some sidepassing.
So, I went out and did some round pen work with Louie. He was a pretty good boy today. He got a little fresh at one point. But, that was because I had not put my horse in another paddock and he was trying to stop and hang out with her. I had to move Marie out and then he was much more attentive to me. We just did some transitions and direction changes. I got on and rode him around the paddock just a little bit. Just working on walking forward, whoa, back and some sidepassing.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Two Day Versatility Clinic with Chris Lombard
Louie getting ready to go through the "car wash" against his better judgment
This weekend was a great weekend in Louie-ville. Friday night, Bonnie called me to tell me she was going to a Chris Lombard clinic over at Triple J Farm and that she'd be heading over around 8:00 AM. When she arrived Saturday morning, I said I should probably have signed up for the clinic with Louie to help me get over my stupid and unreasonable fear of riding him. Bonnie gave a quick call to Triple J Farm to see if there was still room in the clinic and there was. SO, we quickly loaded my tack in Bonnie's trailer, loaded up the mules and off we went. Bonnie was only going to be able to stay half the day. But that was OK with me. The morning session was all ground work and that was all I felt up to doing with Louie anyway.
When we arrived at Triple J and I unloaded Louie. He somehow got the butt bar between his hind legs backing out and it scared him and he did some scrambling. He was ok with just one minor scrape. But he was wound up tighter then a drum! Yikes! He came out of the trailer all bug eyed and snorty and not paying much attention to me at all. So, I'm already thinking I've made a big mistake here in bringing him. We arrived early so we put Louie and River into stalls until it was time for the clinic to start. There were 12 of us in the clinic. I was not feeling too good about this. First Chris gathered us all together in the barn and explained to us what just what we were going to do in this clinic and what we could expect. My heart just kept on sinking as I felt I'd gotten in way over my head with this. There would be plenty of ground work but also a lot of saddle work. I just wasn't feeling I could do this. But, I was here and I'd paid my $100 so I had to give it a try. So, we all got our equines and headed out to the course that was set up in a large pasture. When I got Louie out of the stall, he had settled right down and got his head back together and I had my sweet little mule back. He was still quite bright eyed and bushy tailed but soft and manageable. Phew!
The clinic did start of with ground work. Getting the equines to release the hindquarter, shoulders, bending, side passing and some lounging. Chris told us that he preferred to have us "send" our equine through obstacles were we could. he felt it was safer and gave the equine more confidence as they had to go through the obstacle first rather then being led. So, after the ground work we started working with some of the obstacles. The obstacles consisted of:
1) Ground poles in a criss-cross pattern
2) Blue tarp on the ground
3) Car wash. This was 2 vertical poles with pool noodles sticking out of them to be walked through.
4) Cross rail jump
5) Back though L
6) Box where you had to do a 360 turn on the haunches
7) Weave through 8 cones (or 10?)
8) Broom polo
9) Bridge
10) Cowboy curtain
11) Debris box
12) Side pass over pole on ground
13) Mud hole and bridge
14) Log drag
15) Ground tie
16) Open Gate *
17) Load in trailer
* The gate was just a rope along the fence line. Louie was convinced it was electrified and I did not really wish to teach him any different as he is very respectful of fences. So, I did not make him side up close to this at any point in the clinic.
Louie really surprised me by doing very good with the ground work. All though we had worked on most of this stuff a few days at home. That was a big help. And I was extremely pleased with how Louie handled the obstacles. He wasn't thrilled with the bridge at first, the one thing I didn't think he'd mind..... but he didn't make any big fuss, just rushed over it at first. He hesitated at the car wash and cowboy curtain but once again, no real fuss. He was cute at the car wash as he soooooooo carefully eased his way though the pool noodles. He didn't like the rolling ball from the broom polo but once again, quickly decided to deal with it even if he wasn't thrilled. He was quite good about the log drag also. And only had a second of hesitation at the debris box. Louie let me send him through the ground poles, over the tarp, the jump and the debris box. And he ground tied very well though I'd never really done it with him before.
I was starting to feel a bit better and was now wishing I could stay for the whole day. So, I called Fred and asked him if he'd bring my truck and trailer over and he could ride back home with Bonnie. Triple J Farm is only 6 miles from my house. He said yes. Then he called back to tell me he couldn't start my truck, the battery was dead but he said he would jump it. Then he called back quite disgusted because he couldn't get the hood open. I had to explain the secret "push and thump" to get it open. He finally called back again to say he had the truck running and would be over. He did come and Bonnie and he headed out.
We took a lunch break after the ground work session. Jan, the farm owner, ordered pizza for everyone. It was nice to sit and relax in the barn. It was hot out and we were all hot and sweaty. I'd put Louie back into a stall and he was being a brat about it. He was pawing and banging his stall door. We all ignored him as he wasn't doing any harm to either himself or the stall.
Then, it was time to saddle up. I was once again feeling quite sick to my stomach. I asked Chris if he would ride Louie. I knew I'd feel better if I saw someone else ride him and not have any problem. Chris said he would but he'd rather see me get on him first. He had us all go through the obstacles once. And we had the choice to do so on the ground one more time or in the saddle. I chose the ground. My stomach was in knots. Chris finally came over to me and asked if I was ready to mount up. I told him no. I was feeling like such an idiot at this point and was in tears in shear frustration. Since my fall from Louie, I have ridden quite a number of horses, mules and even a donkey with no fear at all. Yet here I was so afraid to get on gentle, sweet Louie. Chris told me to think about it a bit more. But, he wanted me to mount up, then dismount, the mount up and sit for a minute and dismount. Then, mount up, do a few circles and dismount. He left me there to think it over. I screwed my my courage, and mounted. Louie was tense, because I was tense. But, he stood still. I sat for a minute, Chris spotted me and gave me a thumbs up and I dismounted.
I did as Chris instructed and soon Louie and I were doing some circles and figures 8's. I still was quite nervous and Louie was walking like he was carrying a crate of eggs on his back but, we were doing it. At this point Chris gathered us all together to show us a few thing and he got on Louie to show everyone. Louie was much more relaxed with Chris so know I knew just how much he was picking up from me. But, It really did help to see Chris ride him. Then, he gave Louie back to me. So, I mounted up again and rode around a bit. We both started to relax. Soon, we attempted a few easy obstacles. The ground poles, tarp, cross rail jump. When I got too nervous, I'd just have Louie stand for a minute then dismount so we could both catch out breath. Pretty soon I was staying on longer and longer and we were doing very well. I then rode him through the curtain and Chris was delighted with our progress. Then we rode through the debris box, did a nice side pass over the log. We even did the log drag. I couldn't pick up the rope from the pole, but Chris handed it to me and Louie was good about dragging it. He kept one ear on it pretty hard but didn't spook. He did another great ground tie. Then, we were done for the day and I was thrilled at how well it had gone. I'd ridden my mule!!!! And done some things I'd never done with him before. And Louie was so well behaved all day I was super proud of him. He was a good mule ambassador. River had been very good also. I untacked him, loaded him up and.......my truck wouldn't start. AGH!! Jim, the farm owner, jump started it for me. All the while Louie was pawing like crazy in my trailer. It took a while to get my truck charged enough to start. I had to unload Louie as it was so hot in the trailer he was sweating up bad. We did get the truck started eventually and Louie loaded back in pretty well. He was glad when he got back home and got a good roll in home dirt!
Day 2 of the clinic
When we arrived today, Louie was pretty calm. Today we were starting out saddled up. Chris explained we would spend the morning working on the obstacles under saddle. Then, after lunch, we would be doing the course as a judged competition. EEEKKKK! We went through all the obstacles once. I chose to do them on the ground along with several others. Once though, he told us to split up and work on the obstacles as we wished. Once again, it was time for me to cowgirl up and get on my mule. So, I mounted. Louie was quite tense at first. I had to get off a few times, just sit still a few times, do a few circles. But, once again both of us soon were relaxing. I went through most of the obstacles in the saddle. All but the car wash, the broom polo and the log drag. He was still nervous about the cowboy curtain but he was dealing with it without panicking. I was very pleased. We then took a break for lunch. Bonnie and I untacked and put the mules back in stalls. At lunch, they announced the order for the competition. I was the first one up. AAAGGHHHH! The good part though was that I would get it done and over and not have to wait around worrying. So, lunch finished, I saddled Louie back up. I took him onto the course for one last look at things. I was VERY pleased that we were out there alone and he was making no fuss at all about leaving River. I left the course and mounted up ready to go. Then, it was time......and onto the course we went. First up was the ground poles. No sweat, Louie was actually feeling very relaxed and cruised right over the poles, then right over the tarp with no hesitation. Next was the car wash. I had not yet ridden him through that, only led him. But, he was feeling really good and I decided to give it a shot in saddle. He just had a very slight hesitation, I took a deep breath and put a little leg on him and through we went. Nice and easy with no rushing. GOOD MULE! The over the cross rail. He hit one cross rail and knocked it down but went over nice and quite. He backed through the L very nicely. He did a very good 360 turn on the haunches in the box. We walked through the weaving cones so that was no issue. I did dismount for the broom polo. I know I'd never be able to get close enough to the barrel holding the brooms and wasn't going to start a fight with him at this point. And he was fine with me pushing the ball with the broom on the ground. I mounted back up and went on to the bridge. He did it perfect. Nice and quite and then the same through the curtain and the debris box. Then on to the side pass. He did well here also. A little crooked to start but I got him corrected and he completed it nicely. He walked nice and quite through the mud pit and next bridge (slatted bridge) and much to my delight he DID get close enough to the poles holding the log drag ropes that I was able to pick the rope up from the saddle. He did very well dragging the log. Just one moment of concern as the rope came across his hindquarters, but he responded quickly to my cue to swing his hindquarters away from the rope just a little bit and he settled right down and we finished the pull. He did a very good ground tie once again and then I was back on and headed out of the course. I dismounted to do the "gate" and then on to the trailer load. He hesitated a minute here but not too bad before going in and and standing quietly. WOOOOHOOOO!! We did it! I was SOOOOO proud of my little brown mule!!! He far surpassed my expectations. And I had also accomplished more then I expected or thought I would.
We placed 6th out of 12 riders. River did very well also and Bonnie placed 8th. We were both extremely proud of our mules.
Bonnie & River on Bridge Obstacle
This weekend was a great weekend in Louie-ville. Friday night, Bonnie called me to tell me she was going to a Chris Lombard clinic over at Triple J Farm and that she'd be heading over around 8:00 AM. When she arrived Saturday morning, I said I should probably have signed up for the clinic with Louie to help me get over my stupid and unreasonable fear of riding him. Bonnie gave a quick call to Triple J Farm to see if there was still room in the clinic and there was. SO, we quickly loaded my tack in Bonnie's trailer, loaded up the mules and off we went. Bonnie was only going to be able to stay half the day. But that was OK with me. The morning session was all ground work and that was all I felt up to doing with Louie anyway.
When we arrived at Triple J and I unloaded Louie. He somehow got the butt bar between his hind legs backing out and it scared him and he did some scrambling. He was ok with just one minor scrape. But he was wound up tighter then a drum! Yikes! He came out of the trailer all bug eyed and snorty and not paying much attention to me at all. So, I'm already thinking I've made a big mistake here in bringing him. We arrived early so we put Louie and River into stalls until it was time for the clinic to start. There were 12 of us in the clinic. I was not feeling too good about this. First Chris gathered us all together in the barn and explained to us what just what we were going to do in this clinic and what we could expect. My heart just kept on sinking as I felt I'd gotten in way over my head with this. There would be plenty of ground work but also a lot of saddle work. I just wasn't feeling I could do this. But, I was here and I'd paid my $100 so I had to give it a try. So, we all got our equines and headed out to the course that was set up in a large pasture. When I got Louie out of the stall, he had settled right down and got his head back together and I had my sweet little mule back. He was still quite bright eyed and bushy tailed but soft and manageable. Phew!
The clinic did start of with ground work. Getting the equines to release the hindquarter, shoulders, bending, side passing and some lounging. Chris told us that he preferred to have us "send" our equine through obstacles were we could. he felt it was safer and gave the equine more confidence as they had to go through the obstacle first rather then being led. So, after the ground work we started working with some of the obstacles. The obstacles consisted of:
1) Ground poles in a criss-cross pattern
2) Blue tarp on the ground
3) Car wash. This was 2 vertical poles with pool noodles sticking out of them to be walked through.
4) Cross rail jump
5) Back though L
6) Box where you had to do a 360 turn on the haunches
7) Weave through 8 cones (or 10?)
8) Broom polo
9) Bridge
10) Cowboy curtain
11) Debris box
12) Side pass over pole on ground
13) Mud hole and bridge
14) Log drag
15) Ground tie
16) Open Gate *
17) Load in trailer
* The gate was just a rope along the fence line. Louie was convinced it was electrified and I did not really wish to teach him any different as he is very respectful of fences. So, I did not make him side up close to this at any point in the clinic.
Louie really surprised me by doing very good with the ground work. All though we had worked on most of this stuff a few days at home. That was a big help. And I was extremely pleased with how Louie handled the obstacles. He wasn't thrilled with the bridge at first, the one thing I didn't think he'd mind..... but he didn't make any big fuss, just rushed over it at first. He hesitated at the car wash and cowboy curtain but once again, no real fuss. He was cute at the car wash as he soooooooo carefully eased his way though the pool noodles. He didn't like the rolling ball from the broom polo but once again, quickly decided to deal with it even if he wasn't thrilled. He was quite good about the log drag also. And only had a second of hesitation at the debris box. Louie let me send him through the ground poles, over the tarp, the jump and the debris box. And he ground tied very well though I'd never really done it with him before.
I was starting to feel a bit better and was now wishing I could stay for the whole day. So, I called Fred and asked him if he'd bring my truck and trailer over and he could ride back home with Bonnie. Triple J Farm is only 6 miles from my house. He said yes. Then he called back to tell me he couldn't start my truck, the battery was dead but he said he would jump it. Then he called back quite disgusted because he couldn't get the hood open. I had to explain the secret "push and thump" to get it open. He finally called back again to say he had the truck running and would be over. He did come and Bonnie and he headed out.
We took a lunch break after the ground work session. Jan, the farm owner, ordered pizza for everyone. It was nice to sit and relax in the barn. It was hot out and we were all hot and sweaty. I'd put Louie back into a stall and he was being a brat about it. He was pawing and banging his stall door. We all ignored him as he wasn't doing any harm to either himself or the stall.
Then, it was time to saddle up. I was once again feeling quite sick to my stomach. I asked Chris if he would ride Louie. I knew I'd feel better if I saw someone else ride him and not have any problem. Chris said he would but he'd rather see me get on him first. He had us all go through the obstacles once. And we had the choice to do so on the ground one more time or in the saddle. I chose the ground. My stomach was in knots. Chris finally came over to me and asked if I was ready to mount up. I told him no. I was feeling like such an idiot at this point and was in tears in shear frustration. Since my fall from Louie, I have ridden quite a number of horses, mules and even a donkey with no fear at all. Yet here I was so afraid to get on gentle, sweet Louie. Chris told me to think about it a bit more. But, he wanted me to mount up, then dismount, the mount up and sit for a minute and dismount. Then, mount up, do a few circles and dismount. He left me there to think it over. I screwed my my courage, and mounted. Louie was tense, because I was tense. But, he stood still. I sat for a minute, Chris spotted me and gave me a thumbs up and I dismounted.
I did as Chris instructed and soon Louie and I were doing some circles and figures 8's. I still was quite nervous and Louie was walking like he was carrying a crate of eggs on his back but, we were doing it. At this point Chris gathered us all together to show us a few thing and he got on Louie to show everyone. Louie was much more relaxed with Chris so know I knew just how much he was picking up from me. But, It really did help to see Chris ride him. Then, he gave Louie back to me. So, I mounted up again and rode around a bit. We both started to relax. Soon, we attempted a few easy obstacles. The ground poles, tarp, cross rail jump. When I got too nervous, I'd just have Louie stand for a minute then dismount so we could both catch out breath. Pretty soon I was staying on longer and longer and we were doing very well. I then rode him through the curtain and Chris was delighted with our progress. Then we rode through the debris box, did a nice side pass over the log. We even did the log drag. I couldn't pick up the rope from the pole, but Chris handed it to me and Louie was good about dragging it. He kept one ear on it pretty hard but didn't spook. He did another great ground tie. Then, we were done for the day and I was thrilled at how well it had gone. I'd ridden my mule!!!! And done some things I'd never done with him before. And Louie was so well behaved all day I was super proud of him. He was a good mule ambassador. River had been very good also. I untacked him, loaded him up and.......my truck wouldn't start. AGH!! Jim, the farm owner, jump started it for me. All the while Louie was pawing like crazy in my trailer. It took a while to get my truck charged enough to start. I had to unload Louie as it was so hot in the trailer he was sweating up bad. We did get the truck started eventually and Louie loaded back in pretty well. He was glad when he got back home and got a good roll in home dirt!
Day 2 of the clinic
When we arrived today, Louie was pretty calm. Today we were starting out saddled up. Chris explained we would spend the morning working on the obstacles under saddle. Then, after lunch, we would be doing the course as a judged competition. EEEKKKK! We went through all the obstacles once. I chose to do them on the ground along with several others. Once though, he told us to split up and work on the obstacles as we wished. Once again, it was time for me to cowgirl up and get on my mule. So, I mounted. Louie was quite tense at first. I had to get off a few times, just sit still a few times, do a few circles. But, once again both of us soon were relaxing. I went through most of the obstacles in the saddle. All but the car wash, the broom polo and the log drag. He was still nervous about the cowboy curtain but he was dealing with it without panicking. I was very pleased. We then took a break for lunch. Bonnie and I untacked and put the mules back in stalls. At lunch, they announced the order for the competition. I was the first one up. AAAGGHHHH! The good part though was that I would get it done and over and not have to wait around worrying. So, lunch finished, I saddled Louie back up. I took him onto the course for one last look at things. I was VERY pleased that we were out there alone and he was making no fuss at all about leaving River. I left the course and mounted up ready to go. Then, it was time......and onto the course we went. First up was the ground poles. No sweat, Louie was actually feeling very relaxed and cruised right over the poles, then right over the tarp with no hesitation. Next was the car wash. I had not yet ridden him through that, only led him. But, he was feeling really good and I decided to give it a shot in saddle. He just had a very slight hesitation, I took a deep breath and put a little leg on him and through we went. Nice and easy with no rushing. GOOD MULE! The over the cross rail. He hit one cross rail and knocked it down but went over nice and quite. He backed through the L very nicely. He did a very good 360 turn on the haunches in the box. We walked through the weaving cones so that was no issue. I did dismount for the broom polo. I know I'd never be able to get close enough to the barrel holding the brooms and wasn't going to start a fight with him at this point. And he was fine with me pushing the ball with the broom on the ground. I mounted back up and went on to the bridge. He did it perfect. Nice and quite and then the same through the curtain and the debris box. Then on to the side pass. He did well here also. A little crooked to start but I got him corrected and he completed it nicely. He walked nice and quite through the mud pit and next bridge (slatted bridge) and much to my delight he DID get close enough to the poles holding the log drag ropes that I was able to pick the rope up from the saddle. He did very well dragging the log. Just one moment of concern as the rope came across his hindquarters, but he responded quickly to my cue to swing his hindquarters away from the rope just a little bit and he settled right down and we finished the pull. He did a very good ground tie once again and then I was back on and headed out of the course. I dismounted to do the "gate" and then on to the trailer load. He hesitated a minute here but not too bad before going in and and standing quietly. WOOOOHOOOO!! We did it! I was SOOOOO proud of my little brown mule!!! He far surpassed my expectations. And I had also accomplished more then I expected or thought I would.
We placed 6th out of 12 riders. River did very well also and Bonnie placed 8th. We were both extremely proud of our mules.
Bonnie & River on Bridge Obstacle
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Still Roundpenning
Louie did great today. When I came out with the halter, he at first ran off, then after circling the paddock, came right to me. He is leading so nicely with just the lightest pressure to "come" with me. I love seeing just how little pressure I can use to get him to do things and seeing him respond so nicely.
He is so good about grooming and being saddled. He always stands quietly. He has never been thrilled about having a bridle put on. It's the bit. He doesn't care about the headstall being put on, just taking the bit in his mouth. He's never bad about it, he'll just tip his head away and get a worried look. When you pull his head back, he will stand quietly and take the bit.
Today I got out my blue tarp. I tossed it up on his saddle and had him carry it out to the middle of the paddock. This worried him a bit and at first he walked like he was carrying eggs on his back. He's already had the tarp all over him both by me and someone that had him previously. I then laid the tarp on the ground, spread it out and asked him to walk over it. He hesitated but didn't make any big fuss. Once again, it only took very light pressure to encourage him to walk over it.
I lunged him for about 10 minutes. Just walk and trot in both directions. He is doing well with verbal cues. I then put a bridle on with just an O ring snaffle and attached driving reins. He has been ground driven before. When I've done it it's been with a driving bridle with blinkers. I don't know what others have used with him. He'd ground driven very well for me with a driving bridle. I wanted to use an open bridle as I want to desensitize him to seeing things going on behind him. He was definitely worried at first. He spun around a few times but I just quietly kept getting behind and asking him to go. It didn't take long to get him going around nicely. He will need more time with this as he wasn't totally relaxed but he did well.
To end I just brought him over to where the tarp was on the ground, dopped his lead to see if he would ground tie, and proceeded to fold up the tarp with much noise and flapping. Louie stood like a rock through all this. I then threw the folded up tarp on his back and led him to the barn. He was more relaxed about carrying the tarp this time though he still walked carefully. Then back out to the trailer to get untacked. He is such a nice mule to work with.
He is so good about grooming and being saddled. He always stands quietly. He has never been thrilled about having a bridle put on. It's the bit. He doesn't care about the headstall being put on, just taking the bit in his mouth. He's never bad about it, he'll just tip his head away and get a worried look. When you pull his head back, he will stand quietly and take the bit.
Today I got out my blue tarp. I tossed it up on his saddle and had him carry it out to the middle of the paddock. This worried him a bit and at first he walked like he was carrying eggs on his back. He's already had the tarp all over him both by me and someone that had him previously. I then laid the tarp on the ground, spread it out and asked him to walk over it. He hesitated but didn't make any big fuss. Once again, it only took very light pressure to encourage him to walk over it.
I lunged him for about 10 minutes. Just walk and trot in both directions. He is doing well with verbal cues. I then put a bridle on with just an O ring snaffle and attached driving reins. He has been ground driven before. When I've done it it's been with a driving bridle with blinkers. I don't know what others have used with him. He'd ground driven very well for me with a driving bridle. I wanted to use an open bridle as I want to desensitize him to seeing things going on behind him. He was definitely worried at first. He spun around a few times but I just quietly kept getting behind and asking him to go. It didn't take long to get him going around nicely. He will need more time with this as he wasn't totally relaxed but he did well.
To end I just brought him over to where the tarp was on the ground, dopped his lead to see if he would ground tie, and proceeded to fold up the tarp with much noise and flapping. Louie stood like a rock through all this. I then threw the folded up tarp on his back and led him to the barn. He was more relaxed about carrying the tarp this time though he still walked carefully. Then back out to the trailer to get untacked. He is such a nice mule to work with.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Round pen work again
It was a much nicer day out today. Cooler, breezy and no humidity. So, there was no excuse to not get out and work with Louie again. I was kind of curious how he'd react today. Sometimes you don't know how a training session really went until you see their reaction at the next one.
When I went out, Louie came down out of the field to greet me. When I showed him the halter, he never offered to leave. I took this as a good sign. He was very soft and relaxed today. I was so pleased. He led softly out of the paddock to the trailer. Stood very quiet being tacked and came back into the paddock leading just as softly.
I got out my sack of cans again. He jumped when I first threw them out of the tack room. So, we worked on tossing it all around him. Beside him, in front of him, in back and between his legs and then leading him over them. He wasn't thrilled about it but was very, very good. He never tried to leave me. I also showed him my horse hair fly swatter and swished that all around him. He didn't mind that. Then I led him to the fence, climbed on so I'd be higher them him. I wanted to make some sounds from up that high to simulate me being in the saddle. He didn't like that and wouldn't come up next to the fence. I am going to need a second person for that. He didn't pull away from me though. He just swung around so he was facing me.
I got down and decided to just work on a lounge line and work on verbal commands. We just worked on walk, trot, whoa and turn. He did very nicely.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Round pen work with Louie
Well, I don't really have a round pen. Just my front paddock which is about 70'x80', not quite flat, a bit rocky and my but the weeds have gotten tall in the corners this year. Actually, I did not really plan on working with Louie today. But, somone on the MulesOnly internet list was asking about cruppers and fitting them. And said it would be nice to have an illustrated article on it. So, I decided to do my best to provide him with one. So, I went out and caught both my horse, Marie, and Louie. They have very different builds and so they require different cruppers. I thought It would be good to get pictures of both. 
xxxxxxxxxx Both Louie and Marie are quiet and stand nice to be tacked up. They were tied to my trailer and I just hung hay bags and they were both happy to stand there and munch hay while modeling tack. It was SO hot and horribly humid. Once done taking pictures, I decided I might as well work with him as he was all tacked up. I didn't want to do too much with the heat and humidity though. So, I turned Marie loose and thought I'd lounge Louie. When I went to get my lounge line, I spotted my sack of soda cans and thought I'd bring that out and introduce Louie to it. He didn't like it much but didn't throw any big fits. I shook it all around him, threw it behind him and under him. He was ok, though not happy. So, I bounced it on his saddle a few times. There was no explosive reaction so I turned him loose. I decided to let him work off the lounge line since if he really got running, I'd not be able to hold him anyway. We'll, when he heard and felt the cans bouncing against him, he did get running. He took about 8 quick laps around the paddock. He went fast but didn't look panicked. More like he was trying to see if he could outrun the sack. He decided he couldn't and quieted right down.
We then worked on verbal commands of walk, trot and whoa. He made no more fuss about the sack of cans hooked to him except when he came close enough to the fence a few times that the sack hit the fence. This startled him but he did no more then just hurry forward a few steps. And he never so much as attempted to buck though any of this. He was a very good boy. Due to the humidity, he was panting pretty hard when we were done. So, after I untacked him, I hosed him off. He glared at me at first but them seemed to realized how good if felt and stood quietly. He's such a nice boy to work with.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Was going to ride...
Bonnie and I were going to go riding today. It would be the first time since I fell off him over 6 weeks ago. Bonnie came over and I got Louie and saddled him up. But, as soon as I mounted he was extremely nervous. Then I was extremely nervous, then he was more nervous.....and so on. I told Bonnie I didn't feel comfortable going out on the trail with him and me feeling like that and I dismounted.
I really think I scared him when I came off him. He was not at all trying to throw me and I am sure he does not understand what happened. He had previously been worried about a rider doing strange things from the saddle and I think the day of my fall, with all my flopping around, grabbing reins then coming off has confirmed there is something to worry about in his mind.
Anyway, I took him back into the paddock and lounged him a bit, then mounted back up. He was more relaxed but a bit reluctant to move which is not normal. I did't push it much. Just a few laps around the paddock then I put him away. I am going to have to go back and start over with some ground work for both his and my confidence. Poor Louie, it is not his fault at all and I have let this whole thing play with my mind.
I really think I scared him when I came off him. He was not at all trying to throw me and I am sure he does not understand what happened. He had previously been worried about a rider doing strange things from the saddle and I think the day of my fall, with all my flopping around, grabbing reins then coming off has confirmed there is something to worry about in his mind.
Anyway, I took him back into the paddock and lounged him a bit, then mounted back up. He was more relaxed but a bit reluctant to move which is not normal. I did't push it much. Just a few laps around the paddock then I put him away. I am going to have to go back and start over with some ground work for both his and my confidence. Poor Louie, it is not his fault at all and I have let this whole thing play with my mind.
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