Bored, bored, bored...

Dublin's abscess is healing nicely but he is bored, bored, bored. He has taken to pacing up and down the paddock fence and occasionally charging it--like maybe he can chase it away and be free, or maybe he thinks he can jump it, although he never builds up quite that much of a head of steam. Cowboy has been confined to Dublin's end of the pasture to keep him company, making him unhappy as well.

I'm trying to carve out some time to keep him amused. Today I scattered items in his paddock--an old brush, a big square of plywood, and his feed tub with another smaller tub inside it, upside down, with cookies hidden beneath. Then I pulled the mounting block in the paddock and just sat there to see what he would do.

For a while, he studiously ignored me and all the new toys. Finally, he checked out the brush. It wasn't edible, so it was of limited interest. Next came the plywood. Turns out if you catch the edge just right, it actually is edible. But a diet of big splinters is not what I have in mind for him, so I had to cut that short. Then he came to visit me and chew on his rope for a while. Still not very interesting. He started over with the brush again. At long last, he checked out the feed tubs. Ah, now we're getting somewhere! He could smell the cookies and started trying to figure out the puzzle. It's amazing how smart and organized they can be about this. There's a lesson in there about success somewhere. Try one thing. If it doesn't work, try something else. Eventually, you figure out that if you pull the big tub toward you and then nudge the little tub really hard so it flips over, you get the cookies. Then if you pick up the little tub with your teeth, you can fling it a ways and get to the rest of the cookies.

I haltered him and we played a few more games. Mirror me. If I take a step forwards and then stop, you do the same. Ditto for backwards. Back up and stand still. Touch the brush. Put your foot on the plywood and keep it there until I tell you to move it. Can I get you to back up by pulling your tail? Yes I can.

After some time, I figured he was settled down enough to be left alone and headed back to the house. At just that moment, FedEx showed up with Dublin's Christmas present. So of course, back to the barn to try on his new burgundy Parelli halter and lead rope. Doesn't our boy look good in burgundy?

Just a note...

Just a note...After just a couple days of working on administering meds, Dublin has become a model recipient. He has abandoned his headflipping and accepts with grace the daily doses of probiotics and Bute.

Update

This is such a great horse.

You take a 5-year-old Thoroughbred, off the track, with a hoof abscess. He is cooped up, bandaged up,and asked to curtail his activity.

It's time for his first bandage change, to be accomplished by his owner who is definitely inexperienced in this field. It is dark. It is raining. His dinner is late.

But he is asked to stand still while his bandage is cut away. He does. He is asked to put his foot in an iodine bath for 10 minutes and stand still. He does. Then his klutzy owner tries layering iodine, cotton batting, a diaper, bandage material, and a boot (which she puts on backwards and sits around scratching her head trying to figure out what is wrong), and he puts up with it. A minimal amount of pawing and pulling his foot away. But in the end, his foot is wrapped with the least imaginable amount of drama, he is given the rest of his dinner, and all is well.

I just can't imagine why anyone would think these animals are disposable. I love this horse.

Ouch!

It's been one thing after another, as usual, around here, and horse time has been scarce (I think I've written about this a few times before...). So this morning I was rushing to feed so I could get some work done before meeting my family to conduct some business at 10:30, and there was Dublin--on 3 legs. Well, he was actually using his left fore, but only to hobble on. No obvious injuries or foot irregularities, but then again, I wasn't wearing my glasses and the sun was in my eyes. Call to vet, who got here quickly and did her level best to get me out of here by 10:00. Of course, not to be. Apparently Dublin has a gravel at the tip of the frog, and it took a lot of digging to get close enough to the source to relieve the pressure. Called family to let them know I'd be late.

Dublin's Owie

Finally, the pressure was relieved (Dublin was drugged and snoozed happily through the procedure). Then the diaper poultice went on. He is now confined to Cowboy's paddock, which is a lot smaller than Dublin's, and on antibiotics and quite a cocktail of that, probiotics, and Bute. 

Next challenge--this horse has obviously been given Bute before. He has the head toss/lip flip down to a science. And don't forget he's tall, so when he tosses that head, it's very much out of my reach. So being good Parelli types, we are now convincing him that syringes being stuck in his mouth are really good things, by using a syringe full of applesauce to give him a treat. He's still quite suspicious and it took a lot of attempts before he figured out that the stuff hitting his lips and gums actually tasted good. That had him pretty confused, but he finally stopped the head-flipping and at least showed a little curiosity about the syringe. Of course, eventually we had to give him the Bute so now we're suspect again, but it's a start.

The good news is that, after getting the pressure relieved, he is no longer very tender on that foot and in fact, you have to look closely to see that he is off. The poultice stays on until Sunday when his personal physician will be back to check him. Outlook is uncertain as far as how long he'll be out of commission and what kind of complications to expect, but he sure looks good tonight. Good chance I'll be learning to put on those poultices, though. I've gotten the overview of the process from my veterinarian and from attending Stuart Greenberg's Farrier Science class at the JC. Just have never had to personally apply one. Fortunately, Laura has a supply of diapers from the last time she got to go through this, so I'll be spared the first diaper-shopping experience of my life.

Cowboy is actually pretty happy about the arrangement, since he no longer has "the kid" following him around getting in his space, and he can hang out by the fence with Dexter without having to share Dexter.

Dublin Goes Trail Riding (Sort of...)

After a couple very hectic weeks (what else is new?) I got to spend the afternoon with both my garden and with Dublin. Life is good!

Dublin is just like a flower that keeps unfolding and revealing itself. Cowboy is more like an open book, so trying to keep a step ahead of whatever new side of Dublin that shows up is keeping me on my toes. Actually, it's not so much that new stuff shows up, it's more like I get some insights about the old stuff.

His attitude has improved steadily but he still has his cranky moments. I have finally narrowed it down to sensitivity around his neck and midsection. When he first arrived, his normal mode of moving was what Parelli refers to as "bad banana"--ewe neck, hollowed back. In other words, the "banana" is laying on its belly with both ends up. This tends to cause over-developed muscles in the bottom part of the neck, and Dublin has some rock-hard bulging muscles in that area. Also one shoulder muscle that is the same way. So that would explain the neck sensitivity, and I also suspect he has ulcers, which would explain the sensitivity around the mid-section. He's been getting neck and shoulder massages and acupressure, which he loves (All the horses around here seem to be "acu-junkies"). My veterinarian recommended some diet changes which have been implemented--too early to tell, but he definitely loves the changes and is putting on weight. All part of the journey, and it's making me realize what an easy horse Cowboy is!

He's becoming an increasingly cool riding horse. The biggest problem is getting me to curb my impatience with slow progress, especially since it's my fault for not working with him more! We haven't gotten that canter yet, although today I really thought we were going to for a few minutes.

I did take him out of the arena through the pasture for a faux "trail ride" over rough and rolling terrain and around trees. He did very well, although he still seems to think it's my job to watch where he puts his feet. The most exciting part, though, is that when we left the arena to go out into the pasture, I opened and closed the gate from his back. That's one of those moves that requires you to do some pretty precise guiding of your horse, backwards, forwards and sideways. I won't say it was pretty, and it certainly wasn't fast, but we got 'er done. Then we repeated the process in reverse going back in. That was actually more difficult, probably because Dublin enjoyed the pasture ride and wasn't all that anxious to go back in the arena. He tried to convince me that he had forgotten how to go sideways toward the gate. Getting him to do the move itself wasn't as difficult as convincing him that he should do that instead of throwing a temper tantrum (Don't WANNA go back in the arena!).

So a good day with my horse. We missed the Ellen Eckstein clinic at Santa Rosa Equestrian Center today but I hope to make the next one. I rode Cowboy in one of her clinics a while ago and she's gifted instructor who studied with Tom Dorrance. Her methods and philosophy mesh well with the Parelli program I'm already using. I'd like to get Dublin more comfortable traveling in the trailer before taking him to a clinic.

Hoping to have some more photos soon to post. I took a photography class recently so I could actually learn to use my digital camera and at some point will get my timing right so I'm out with the camera taking pics of horses when the light is good and the horses are clean. Of course, that moment may never come.

Here's to more good days with horses!

Making Steady Progress

Dublin has been making steady progress over the last couple weeks. I've been aiming for more time with him and, while it's still a challenge to find that time, he has been getting more attention, both riding and on the ground.

Trailering has been a focus. I've switched the work sessions to my trailer to give Laura's trailer a break from the wear and tear. Dublin really seems to like my trailer. It's a 2-horse slant with a full-width back door, so when the door is open it's very roomy and light inside. After a few false starts, he hopped in and stood quietly while the divider was closed. The first time we just let him stand there and fed him carrots. Next time we pulled the truck forward about 40 feet. That resulted in a lot of pawing but, thankfully, no kicking. The following day we repeated the drill and this time he seemed to be shifting around a lot trying to get his sea legs, but no pawing. Yesterday I was working alone, and he loaded perfectly, stood quietly while the divider was latched and I went around to tie him (I don't always tie horses in the trailer, but I don't want him panicking and trying to get under the divider), and then I pulled the truck forward again. This time there was total silence and he stood quietly. When I went back to untie him, he was looking quite proud of himself. He backed out of the trailer without incident, and we called it a wrap. So he seems to have calmed down (and I seem to have calmed down!) and the next step is a ride around the block in my trailer. Then we may try Laura's again, since it's a 3-horse and the one we generally take when we go riding.

He's also been getting in more rides and is continuing to improve his yielding to leg pressure. Getting to that power steering phase! My horsemanship coach, Julia, thinks he is ready to canter. Question is, am I? I've been working on getting him to change his speed at the walk and trot. He's really a baby in so many ways. I'm used to Cowboy, who is an old hand at all this, so working with Dublin is making me focus on basics and celebrate small victories.

He's getting bored, so yesterday after I saddled him up, we took a walk up the lane with Laura and Lady, taking the long way to her arena. In this area, he is far more advanced than Cowboy, who tends to freeze with fear every 20 feet or so. A neighborhood walk with Cowboy is always a long walk! But Dublin likes the change of scene and is much more curious than fearful. Very nice when the neighbor's dog starts barking from behind the solid fence!

We did a little arena work on our own, then met up with Laura and Lady again for a little ride around the pasture. This was his first time being ridden outside of the arena and I wasn't sure what to expect. He seems so steady and calm, but you just can never tell. But calm prevailed. The biggest challenge was convincing him that he did not need to be glued to Lady's side. This horse has a strong herd instinct. Lady, however, has a very big "bubble" and we're pretty sure that Dublin sidling up to her would be a bad, bad idea. Mostly for Dublin and any humans in the vicinity. The biggest issue with riding in the pasture, with very uneven ground, is that Dublin seems to think that I am in charge of navigating the terrain. He did some serious stumbling at a slow walk until he figured out that he needed to watch where he was going, as I was not going to shoulder that responsibility.

Dublin's journey is taking a bit longer than I expected, due to my time constraints. And he started off with nagging lameness issues that have thankfully disappeared. But he is getting there, and there are advantages to taking our time. He is gaining confidence that he lacked before, and trust in me. I'm developing trust in him as well. And I've had to develop a new skill set with Dublin. He is very opposite of Cowboy in many respects, and techniques that work well with Cowboy have either no effect or a negative effect on Dublin.

We're on this learning path together!

Dublin had a good workout today! He did some figure 8's on the ground, and some work over poles, and then we went for a ride in the arena. So far we've basically been lurching around the arena. He definitely doesn't have power steering! Today I focused on getting him to yield to leg pressure and he is starting to get it! Actually, we are both starting to get it. Cowboy is so push-button that I've probably gotten a little lazy. But today Dublin and I each had our moments of learning what it means to "follow a feel" and, on my part, to deliver that feel more clearly. He is such a great teacher for me. He needs clarity, consistency and patience and is teaching me how to give him that.

New Video

New video of Dublin available on YouTube video. I have a coaching call tomorrow with Parelli instructor Julia Bell and this is what we'll be going over. We were working on going over the pedestal, allowing me to lead him with a rope around his hind leg (Zone 5 confidence), and riding, especially asking him to yield to my leg. What with work and my being sick for a bit, not a lot got done in the last month, but he is still doing well considering he's mostly been on vacation.

Quick up date to yesterday's post. Today we just loaded Dublin in the trailer without going anywhere. Surprisingly, he jumped eagerly in the trailer and marched up to the front. He moved over politely for me to close the divider and the was mostly patient, although he did do a little bit of pawing and took a couple pokes at the trailer side. But it was all left-brained and he stopped when asked. Once he stood quietly, we opened the divider and he actually OFFERED to back out. It wasn't exactly smooth--he doesn't like the step down at the end and was pretty nervous about it--but once he got a back foot out, he calmed right down and came out like a champ. So all in all, a really good follow-up to yesterday's not-so-great experience!

Dublin Goes For a Ride

Dublin has been getting a nice hiatus while I've been dealing with work overload, bad back, nasty cold, and heel pain that had me not walking for 2 days. Not to mention my mother bouncing in and out of the hospital with various (non-life-threatening) issues. But it seems like things are, thankfully, getting back on track again.

Dublin may be enjoying his break, but I think he is really getting genuinely bored. He needs to get out and find some adventure. To do that, he needs to be trailered.

We've loaded him in the trailer and made sure he can back out nicely. He's getting to be an old hand at it by now. So today we upped the ante, loaded him up, put Cowboy with him in the back trailer compartment for company, and headed out to see what happened.

I don't know everything about Dublin's history, but I suspect that every time he's been out for a trailer ride, he's wound up in a new home. Sometimes at the track, sometimes at a new rescue situation, last time he wound up here. Which, hopefully, he was eventually happy about. But a trailer ride for Dublin has always meant something unsettling was about to happen.

Laura and I crossed our fingers that he has become so secure that this would be a non-issue, especially with Cowboy along for company.

Alas, it was not to be. Dublin loaded up happily enough and stood quietly while the dividers were closed and Cowboy joined him in the trailer. But, the minute the rig started moving, the meltdown started. Kicking, pawing, and as far as we could tell, running in place. We weren't sure if he was worried about where he was going or if he thought he was headed back to the track and thought he should get back in condition right away.

We had hoped to take him through town and then loop back, but given the activity level in the trailer, we modified the plan and just took him around the block. The kicking waxed and waned during the 10 minutes we were out but it was never totally calm back in the trailer.

After parking the rig back in the driveway, we went back to find a frantic, dripping wet black horse tossing his head maniacally and still kicking the trailer. Cowboy, who was looking startled to say the least, unloaded nicely if a bit quickly (get me out of here!). Dublin, thankfully, was starting to settle down and I was able to unhook the dividers without incident and actually was able to back him out of the trailer from the front compartment.

Once out, he got to walk around a bit, confirm that he had indeed come home again, and got to eat some grass before getting his shipping boots off and getting turned out again with Cowboy.

So now we know that he is not ready to be thrown in the trailer and go for a ride just yet. We figure a couple more rides around the block will reassure him that he is not heading down the road to some new adventure. Then, at some point, we can hit the trail and pony him on one of our rides. One step closer!

New Video

I have my video conference with Julia, my Parelli Professional, tomorrow morning, so I managed to get in some videotaped work with Dublin yesterday. So I'm sharing it with you. Even though, to be honest, he was working a little better last week. But it's all about the journey!

Here's the link to the video: Dublin's Video

One good bit of news is that he has decided he's tired of being a target for Cowboy and Dexter.  Once he was no longer a novelty, they both used their teeth generously on him to keep him out of their space, and by a couple weeks ago, he was looking like he'd been through a war--on the losing side. So it seems he has decided to fight back. Now Dexter has a kick mark and a lame left front leg, Dublin has no new wounds and the old ones are healing and Cowboy--well, Cowboy continues on as he was, on top of the heap and wound-free.

At long last, an update...

Time has been flying by this past month and I didn't realize how long it's been since I updated this. Take away those 30-day challenges and the posts just stop. It's been very busy and neither Dublin nor Cowboy have been getting much attention.

One thing I've been working on with Dublin is getting him to accept the bit. Carrots in front of the bit were not helpful because the horse is way too fast for that and uses his tongue to bypass the bit and snag the carrot. It turned into a battle of wits and apparently he is smarter than I am. But--drizzling molasses on the bit turned out to be the miracle trick I was looking for. This guy has an unbelievable sweet tooth. I just have to bring out the molasses container and he is all over me looking for the bit. He grabs it very willingly. Once this is really a routine for him, I'll start using the molasses randomly rather than every time. That will make my life easier--I'm winding up pretty sticky after each bridling.

I did get to ride him last night and he was just super. I just love this horse. Not getting ridden much didn't seem to affect him much, in fact I think he was more responsive last night than he was before. He' starting to work off my leg, and I can get him to trot just by preparing myself. He has one big bouncy trot, a lot different than Cowboy's. He almost feels ready to canter. If he decides to do that on his own, I'll see how that goes. He hasn't shown any signs of wanting to bolt with me and he has a nice relaxed canter on-line, so I don't think I'll have a runaway on my hands.

While that trot is getting a lot more consistent, he does occasionally seem to suddenly realize what he is doing and to stop short. With that big stride, a fast stop means that I'm still going forward. He hasn't launched me over his head yet but I have done some pretty ungraceful lurching forward.

I posted these pics on Facebook recently--a cross-stitched picture that my sister did for me many years ago (probably about 20 years ago, if not more), and a pic of Dublin and Cowboy. Notice anything? Seems she is a prophet. I asked her to stitch me up a ranch in Tahoe, but she says that she's sure that the stitched picture is IN Tahoe already so I can just use the same picture to conjure up my ranch.

And that is about it for now!

Pushed a few more of Dublin's buttons today. Decided to trailer load early, before it got hot, but thought we would try putting shipping boots on him just to see what he would do. We figured he had worn boots before so given how uneventful everything has been so far, we weren't expecting much of a reaction. Wrong! The front boots were not much of an issue, but the back boots were not a bit hit. Lots of striking out with his hind feet trying to get rid of the darned boots. We let him settle down until his head dropped and he was blinking again, gently removed the boots and moved on to trailer loading. This time he hopped right in the trailer. He still has a tough time getting the hind legs in--don't know if he was used to a ramp before, but he does a weird little hop to get the back lets loaded. But he's calm about it and stands pretty happily in the trailer. He still wouldn't back out all the way without me going in with him and backing him out, but he made a very graceful exit stepping down out of the trailer going backwards (the horse was going backwards, not the trailer!). So he is already ahead of Cowboy, who makes a very dramatic hopping exit backing out of the trailer every time.

So trailer loading was again successful. Then I addressed the issue with the shipping boots. He got booted up again and taken to the arena, stepping like a Tennessee Walker the entire time. Quite dramatic and showy from the laid-back guy. But after he walked and trotted around wearing the boots a few times, he relaxed and decided they weren't going to hurt him.

I planned to work him on the wooden pedestal, thinking if he could get his hind legs on it, he might also be more comfortable stepping them up in the trailer. But he tends to slide his front feet off the pedestal rather than stepping off, leading him open to injuring his feet. So Laura offered up her new overreach boots to protect his feet. We put them on and back to square one--the horse does NOT like his feet confined in any way! So more groundwork with the boots on until he relaxed. The pedestal exercise was not entirely successful. He now steps up with his front feet like a champ but rarely makes contact with the hind feet, preferring to step completely over the pedestal. Not an option for the Quarter Horses, but the long-legged boy makes the step easily.

Then the longest ride I've had on him. Still just doing easy moves in the arena, working on power steering and brakes but given how little time I've spent with him, he is coming along nicely. He's getting faster about picking up a trot and I can trot him in patterns rather than just straight lines. Laura brought Lady in the arena and he got to be ridden with a little company. All went well.

Dublin Does Trailer Loading

We're hoping to get Dublin out on the trail before too long, ponied behind Cowboy, but first we need to be sure we can get him in and out of the trailer willingly. Of course he's been trailered before but we want to make sure he's happy about it. When I brought him home, I used my trailer, which is a 2-horse slant with a wide door, and it was easy for him to hope in and he could turn around and come out forwards. Laura's trailer is a larger 3-horse slant, but it has a tack room in the back, so the horse entry door is narrower as is the entrance to the trailer. We weren't too worried about getting him in but we want to make sure he can back out easily as he's a little big to get turned around in there.

We have introduced him to the trailer and gotten his front feet in. Today it's just too hot to do anything strenuous but this seemed like a low-level activity. He put his front feet in a few times and backed right back out. The more times we did this, the less interested he became in going all the way in, so we hung a hay bag at the front of the trailer. Voila! My big food-a-holic hopped right in!

We let him eat a bit and then tried backing him out. Dublin has gotten quite good at backing up--but that hay bag was sitting enticingly at the front of the trailer, so we had to remove that. He did a nice job backing up but he knew that step was at the back and wasn't very confident about it. I finally broke all trailer safety rules and got in with him to back him out, which worked beautifully. He didn't do the most graceful step down from the trailer I've ever seen, but he made it without getting overly anxious.

So that roadblock has been passed nicely! Tomorrow we'll put him in again and make sure he's OK with shipping boots, and then on Monday he'll go in with Cowboy and we'll do a little trip around the block. If all that goes well, as I suspect it will, then I think we're good to go with ponying him on an easy trail ride!

I've been short of time to work with him, and Cowboy has been getting even less attention, but it seems that Cowboy could use a little more work. Last night we were just hanging out on horseback in Laura's pasture when Cowboy decided it was time to go home. Right now. I was riding him with a halter, which I've been doing for the last 8 years, but he dug his nose into it and just took off for home. I finally got him stopped as we were headed at a good clip through the gate--after having ducked through both of the narrow and low barn doors.  Bad pony! Somebody needs a little more focused attention and leadership! He got that this morning in spite of the heat. And he will be wearing a bit when he ponies Dublin. The "crazy OTTB" is turning out to be the mellow one around--it's the nice seasoned 17-year-old Quarter Horse that is becoming the handful.

Got to play with my new camera lens last week. Here's a pic of Dublin proving that he may not have been a winner on the track but he does know how to run.

Dublin's New Adventures

Well, who knew that Dublin was going to turn out to be that horse we all want but rarely find--the horse anyone can ride, who takes everything in stride, who is nonchalant about (almost) everything!

All I heard when I started this adventure was that I was taking on a "crazy" Off Track ThoroughBred. Like "crazy" and "OTTB" were inseparable.

Dublin has turned out to be anything but crazy. Aside from the isolated turkey incident (and who wouldn't be scared of one of those things the first time they encountered one?), he has been nonplussed by everything. Well, he can still be a bit defensive of his personal space, but if you take things easy with him and prove that you are not out to harm him, he is a pussycat.

It took me almost six months to get on him because I was so worried that the "crazy" horse was going to show up, and when I finally got on, it was a non-event. It has continued to be a non-event. He is learning to respond to leg pressure, to trot on cue, and stopping is his absolute favorite thing to do! After all, there is a reason he was not a successful race horse!

Today, we upped the ante a bit and I asked him to put his front feet on a pedestal about a foot high. He wasn't crazy about it (I think he is still a bit puzzled by anything other than flat ground), but he finally put both feet up there. And the entire time, he simply tried to avoid the issue--no blowing up, no anxiety, just "no thank you, I'd rather not".

Having accomplished that, we moved on to the next challenge--spreading a large plastic tarp on the ground and asking him to walk over it. I held on to him as I dragged the tarp away from the fence. The wind was up a bit and the tarp flapped around. Dublin was wary and moved away, but was far from panicking. I finally got all four corners weighted down, holding on to the horse the entire time, and started circling him with the tarp squarely in his path. He did a couple dodges around it, and finally stopped and checked it out. In Parelli-speak, Nose, Neck, Maybe the Feet--and on the first try, he got his feet on the tarp. The first time he backed off and I let him continue the circle off the tarp. When he encountered it again, he barely hesitated and then walked confidently across it.

This horse just amazes me.

Next on the list was a ride, and he was a champ. We still need to work on getting him to accept the bit--he really dodges it. I'm pretty sure his teeth are OK so I think I need to focus on making this a more pleasurable experience for him. Once it's on, he's fine and has a nice quiet mouth. I can get on him slowly, and he stands quietly for me. We're working on his power steering but he improves with every ride. He is starting to show a penchant for the gate, so that's another thing to work on. No stopping by the gate, and no dismounting by the gate.

We went "Point-to-Point" heading from one plastic cone to the other. Dublin is a mouthy kind of guy, and at the first cone, he decided it would be fun to pick it up. Unfortunately, he also put one of his front feet on the lip at the base of the cone, effectively securing it to the ground, so he couldn't pick it up.  That had him pretty perplexed, as at each of the next cones, he nuzzled them and mouthed them, but seemed convinced that they were immovable objects. Finally he grabbed one and lifted it. Score!

After our ride, Laura's husband Ken kindly mowed all the tall grass on my property, which meant he needed to take the tractor through the horse field to get to the back of my property. I held on to Dublin as he drove the tractor through. Ken stopped to check in with me about any potential hazards lurking in the tall grass, and I led Dublin right up to the running tractor with the bucket and mower lifted and quivering. Dublin's biggest concern about this event was whether or not the hazard lights on the tractor were edible. I had to back him off to keep him from dismantling the tractor.

So the "crazy" Thoroughbred is not so crazy after all. In fact, he makes my Quarter Horse look downright neurotic. We still need to get him out on the trail but I'm confident that this will be a success as well!

Progress Report

Dublin got about 20 minutes of directed riding today. We worked on stick to the rail, point to point and some cloverleaf patterns. And a bit of "Stand Still" thrown in for good measure. He was nice and solid. If he gets upset, his head comes up and he starts to toss his head. My cue to make sure I'm sitting nice and deep in the saddle, my hands are down, and my shoulders are nowhere in the vicinity of my ears. We had neighbors emptying trash cans, blowing objects, and at one point a deer went bounding by. He stops and looks  and the head comes up, but that's pretty much the extent of it. Once he was moving comfortably and getting used to the idea of being sent off in different directions occasionally, we did a bit of trotting.

The saddle sits a bit low on his back and needs some shimming but it's not too bad. That will get fixed before we do anything fancy.

After his ride, we did a little trailer loading work. He got in my trailer but it's pretty open. We're planning on taking him to Pt Reyes in a couple weeks to try ponying him on the trail, and he'll be going in Laura's trailer. It's bigger than mine, but there is a tack room in the back that makes it seem more enclosed. He did okay--got his front feet in several times but he's not too sure about going all the way in. He actually got less confident as time went on. This may be like the saddling desensitization--the longer it takes, the more suspicious of the whole procedure he gets. We'll see how it goes. We want him nice and comfortable in there before we hit the road with him and two other horses.

Must ride Dublin tomorrow--he is getting just a little full of himself! He had an admiring visitor today and I had to back him out of her space. She gave him a cookie and after that he was all over her--way too much so. I did do quite a bit of groundwork with him later. I'm trying to refine his sideways moves and so we worked very particularly on getting him yielding to pressure.

Speaking of pressure--Laura has some concerns about Dexter's ability to do level 4 moves and I'm pretty sure Cowboy can't do them (flying lead changes for example). Our aging boys just don't have the moves any more. So we are both eyeing Dublin as our Level 4 prospect. We're both anxious to get on with it too. Wonder if there is any chance that we can bring Dublin along from green broke to Level 4 in 6 months or so...I suspect not but it's a goal. No pressure! Talk about the Dublin Project...

Marcie Lewis has been posting the pictures from our photo shoot and they are super. Check them out on Facebook.

Dublin:The Object of Affection

It is just blasted hot here today. I tried to beat the heat by starting to mow grass here pretty early in the day, but the heat still caught up with me before the mowing was done. Blessedly, the mower ran out of gas about the time I ran out of energy. As it sputtered to a halt, I noticed that there was a big buckskin mare in my driveway, accompanied by her mom Laura, who was taking her out for her physical therapy walk. I took a break while the mower cooled down to talk, and commented that it would probably be a good idea to get Dublin out for a walk too. He's been here 6 months now and has only been on my property and in Laura's pasture. We want to pony him out on the trail so it would be good to expose him to some new environments.

I haltered Dublin and brought him out to follow Lady on a walk around the neighborhood. Lady and Dublin have seen each other but haven't really interacted. We hadn't really given this much thought, but Lady was in heat, and apparently had never seen anything quite so stunning as the tall dark Thoroughbred that suddenly appeared in her space. She immediately fell head over heels in love with him and we found ourselves with a "situation".

Our plan had been for Lady to lead the way, as the wise older experienced neighborhood horse, to reassure Dublin that there was nothing scary on the walk. But Lady was so deeply enamored of Dublin that she couldn't lead the way. She could only behave in a most slutty manner, displaying what she considered her best attributes and stopping to pee every couple feet. Dublin, who was gelded about a year ago, is apparently completely over the love thing and was not impressed. He couldn't figure out why we kept stopping.

Finally, in the interest of progress, we put Dublin in the lead and Lady behind. This worked much better. Dublin was intrigued by all the new sights, sounds and smells and very happily strode down the lane. Lady also was striding quite happily, intrigued by the sight of the big dark Thoroughbred butt leading the way. And so we uneventfully made our way back to Laura's, put Lady in her paddock (nickering enticingly all the way), and got Dublin back in his pasture at my place.

You would think that would be the end of the story, but Lady has been bitten by the love-bug and is still mooning over Dublin. When Dublin came over for his afternoon grazing session in Laura's pasture, Lady perked up and cantered around her paddock making little cooing noises whenever she could spot him. She even abandoned her dinner to tear around because he was in sight.

Eventually Lady will come out of heat and things will return to normal. Thankfully, the attention has not gone to Dublin's head and he is still the same loveable goofball he always was.

Dublin Trots, and Another Rider Up

It's nice and hot today, so it seemed like a good time to push Dublin a little on his passenger lesson and get him trotting. I don't know why I think it needs to be hot, the horse hasn't made a wrong or impulsive move yet, so I don't think he needs warm weather to calm him down. Anyway, I let him meander around a bit with me aboard until he was bored and started rearranging the various toys we have in the arena (cones, jump standards, etc). Laura showed up about then and we decided to get him trotting. He was not as anxious to do that as we were, so we had Laura lead the way and got him to follow. Still took a big effort, lots and lots of clucking and leg pressure (no kicking, just squeezing!) and about the time Laura was ready to drop from heat exhaustion, he took a few trotting steps. After that it got easier and I actually could see what his trot was like. From the ground, the horse looks like he's floating when he trots, so it was oh so gratifying to find that it feels the same way from the saddle. Wow! I posted it, and it was just like dancing. Which is amazing since I can't really dance...but I guess this is what it's supposed to be like.

I could see Laura was on the verge of drooling, and since the horse is remarkably untraumatized by the whole riding thing, she was next on the horse. She also got him to trot and is in agreement. Laura has been riding her big buckskin mare, Lady, for around 10 years now, and she thinks the 5-year-old OTTB feels less likely to break into bucking at any moment than Lady does. I kind of feel the same way about Cowboy.

Dublin has had his fill of boring passenger lessons, so next ride it's time to give him some direction and start him on some riding patterns to give the ride purpose.

Dublin Before and After

No work for Dublin today as he was the subject of a photo shoot by Marcie Lewis. Almost all the pics were taken with him at liberty, and he performed beautifully, both in and out of the arena, showing off his moves. Can't wait to see! Marcie did send me this pic that she put together with one photo from his original photo shoot right after he went to NeighSavers, next to a pic taken today. My little boy is growing up! Nothing like a little grub, love and R&R to help a horse meet his potential! And maybe a little bit of difference between a 4-year-old horse and a 5-year-old horse. Dublin has really buffed up over the past few months.

Obviously he was not at liberty for this shot but for most of the pics he was. Laura and I mercilessly made him run around, which he generally enjoys, but he finally had had enough and came charging up to me asking what he had done to deserve this! And that is when it is time to call it quits and tell him what a good boy he is. He is so forgiving of us nutty humans! Marcie has dubbed him the Pocket Pony.

Cowboy got a few shots taken too. And I am giving away one of Marcie's secrets here, but if you want to get a horse to look attentive for a picture, have a ringtone on your phone of a horse neighing and set it off! Cowboy was not only attentive, he neighed back.

Ride 3 today! The lead rope came off and it was just me and Dublin, tearing around the arena at a slow crawl.

I had my phone conference with Julia this morning and we talked about strategies going forward. I changed his bit, using a thinner snaffle and reins with slobber straps--the idea is more motivation to yield to pressure, and the slobber straps help to relieve the pressure faster when I release the reins. The next three rides should be passenger lessons, and then I can start directing him, going immediately to working him in patterns--no aimless meandering. Also work on getting him to stand still for mounting. Up till now, Laura has been holding hm when I mount, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

But Dublin was a champ. He wasn't entirely sure about those slobber straps--I'm sure they didn't use anything like THAT at the track! As before, he mouthed the bit like crazy, and then settled down with a quiet mouth. He's had a lot of dental work since coming here, and I wonder if he's anticipating some mouth pain that no longer exists.

I got him lined up with the mounting block (no way I'm getting on this tall boy from the ground!), and he did a small amount of moving around, then stood still. I put my foot in the stirrup and did a couple false starts, then put a hip in the saddle and checked him out. Head down, standing still, looking bored. Next time I swung a leg over and settled in the saddle. Nothing.

I got him moving with very little trouble and then tried a passenger lesson. Basically, this means you just sit there, hand on the horse's neck with a loose rein, and let the horse do what he wants. Have to admit I was not quite that nonchalant about it but he was fine. The only problem with the passenger lesson was that he moved from the gate to one grassy patch to another grassy patch and then back to the gate. I did have to direct him a bit so we didn't spend all our time at his favorite places.

We finally stopped at the fence to talk to Laura, and he decided to explore this slobber strap business a bit by tossing his head up and down to see what they would do--which was to swing back and forth. He thought it was more interesting than distressing. This guy is every bit as level-headed as I had hoped. He may wind up being steadier and easier than Cowboy. Don't tell Cowboy.

So now that milestone is out of the way--we have ventured around the arena without the safety net of someone holding on to a lead rope. This is a way more cautious approach than I would have taken years ago, but that was a few concussions and bruises ago. I'll stick with slow and steady.

Dublin's getting off easy again--too much work and I'm trying to tame the jungle that my garden has become. But today I did make him carry the saddle over to Laura's trailer to get ready for our ride tomorrow (on Cowboy, not ready to hit the trails with Dublin just yet). And to confirm my suspicions, I just swung the saddle up on him with no fuss and he was completely nonchalant about it. Message received. "I do not require desensitization to the saddle, I am already just fine with it."

On a side note, the black horse has now completely shed his winter coat and he has large patches of dark chocolate brown in several places. Hmmm. I think the black horse is actually a dark bay. No matter, I love him anyway. Who wouldn't love a chocolate horse?

End of 31 Days of Dublin

The 31 days are officially over and we ended it with Dublin getting a day off to bask in his glory. I had hoped to ride him today independent of anyone leading him but life interfered and I had to work all day. That's OK --a day off for Dublin seems like a nice ending to the 31-day project, and we did achieve our goal of getting on the horse.

Dublin and Cowboy got out on grass today and Dublin was very cuddly coming back home. He is SUCH A GOOD BOY! Thanks so much to Neigh Savers for making this adventure possible, and for the good work they do securing second lives for ex-race-horses.

Second Ride!

Second ride today! This time I put a snaffle bridle on Dublin for the first time. Probably the first time in a year he's had a bit in his mouth. He wasn't particularly charmed by the idea but he settled down and had a very nice quiet mouth after a few minutes. I tested out his responsiveness to the bit, which was quite nice, then did a bit of ground work, and finally got on. No issues. This time I had Laura walk alongside rather than lead him to get him used to taking direction from someone on his back, and he did fine. I know he's been ridden but I'm not that familiar with track protocol--all I've ever seen is the horses being ponied to the starting gate and then just running full tilt once the gate opens. Not a reassuring scenario for someone looking for a nice quiet ride! Especially since he's tall and I'm, um, not as young as I used to be. But he was great, relaxed and cooperative, so I think next time the lead rope comes off and after 2 or 3 more rides with an observer present, I can start actually working on a few things with him.

He does still need a little work with the saddling process. He's very protective of his back and sides and I get a lot of teeth heading at me when I try saddling, even though I do it in stages and do a few trial swings with the saddle. He actually get more defensive each time and I'm beginning to think the better approach would to just confidently swing the saddle up on his back rather than doing all the pre-saddling work, which really just seems to get him more upset. Once the saddle is up he's fine, and doesn't mind being girthed. So I think it's all the fussing around in the name of desensitization that bothers him. This may be desensitization in reverse, just getting him saddled uneventfully and confidently, and once he sees that isn't a big deal, then get him used to some presaddling activity. It's all such a puzzle.

Dublin got a day off and Cowboy got to celebrate his 17th birthday (Happy Birthday, Cowboy!) by going for a ride at Pt Reyes. I'm sure he was thinking "Now that you've been on the black horse, why am I having to work on my birthday?" I don't think Dublin is ready to hit the trail just yet.

Perfect weather at Pt Reyes. We rode from Five Brooks up Stewart Trail, went down Lake Trail for a bit, and then came down Bolema trail. That's the biggest workout they've had this year. Lots of hills. Cowboy was blisfully happy and moving out. He may have overdone coming down the hill. He really likes to charge downhill, but at his advanced age it may have been a little too much for the feet and joints, and halfway down he started acting uncomfortable again. Hard to pin down exactly what hurts, but something does. So I got to do a bit of walking until we hit the flat part at the bottom. He's out eating grass now and looks none the worse for wear. He will get a foot soak tonight before dinner.

Tomorrow, plan to get on Dublin again and this time try riding him without him being led. I didn't think that was going to be an issue, but he was definitely a bit confused when Laura quit leading him yesterday, so we'll ease him gradually into the concept of his instructions coming from above and behind. And the instruction is not to go as fast as possible, please!

Rider Up!

It was a big day today! Finally, finally, after months of preparation, it was time for the first ride on Dublin! I suspect Dublin was ready for this a long time before I was. But today my Inner Adult looked my Inner Child square in the eye and said "Fercryingoutloud, get on the horse already!"

I did a full Pre-Ride Checkup with him, which he found boring. Circle both ways at all 3 gaits with the saddle on. Go over a jump. Flip the rope over his head and hindquarters. Flip the rope onto his other side and guide it over his hindquarters to have him do a 360 . Big yawn.

Laura was standing by as this was essentially going to be a pony ride. He got the hackamore on and I clambered aboard. Dublin stood rock still with his head down and relaxed. Then we headed off with Laura leading and Dublin following quite happily along. We did a couple laps around the arena, got some pictures, and I dismounted uneventfully. We like "uneventful" around here.

As you can see by the pictures, I'm pretty happy and Dublin is pretty bored. The tongue sticking out in the second photo speaks volumes.

Dublin seems to be saying "gag me!"

So that threshold has been crossed and now we can enter the next stage. It only took 5 1/2 months to get here, which was probably a lot longer than necessary, but I am glad we took the time to build trust and establish leadership. The trust we've been working on up til now has mostly been about Dublin learning to trust me, but I think this next stage will be more about me learning to trust him. In the very short ride today, I discovered that if I keep my hands down and the reins loose, Dublin will keep his head down and stay relaxed. If I lifted my hands or got brace-y, he got uneasy. He also got uneasy when Laura stopped leading him and walked away to get the camera. At which point I also got uneasy and lifted my hands, shortened the reins and braced in the stirrups. And he let me know he did not like it and it made him insecure. So I'm going to have to learn to trust him, stay loose, and let him move his feet if he needs to.

A very short video clip of the first ride:

One Week to Go!

One week to go with the "31 Days of Dublin" project and I am woefully behind schedule. It's amazing how life can get in the way of the best intentions. This week it has been Mother's Day, which I host here at my house, getting that article written for the Horse Journal, and then yesterday I played hooky to go riding at Pt Reyes. And of course, there is always that work thing.

But Dublin did get some focused work on Saturday, including getting the saddle on. He really doesn't mind the saddle, but the saddle is heavy and the horse is tall, so it is does add a layer of complexity that doesn't exist if I just work him on line. Since time was short, as usual, I worked him in my pasture rather than taking him and the saddle over to Laura's arena. While Dublin is showing no signs of lameness any more, he does still have a tendency to trip over his own feet, so the rough ground in the pasture made me really think twice about pushing him. He was also a bit cranky because I turned Cowboy out to eat grass while I worked him. Unfair, I admit. Also distracting. So I did not make him canter, but we did get a lot of trotting in, with direction changes and gait changes. We also worked on sidestepping and he is finally getting it! Dublin is a forward-thinking kind of guy, and the idea of moving sideways just doesn't click with him. But he has finally obliged to move sideways, whether he can see the logic of it or not. I have been trying to follow Julia's directions about really paying attention to the details and refining how I work with Dublin. It's a lot of work but like all things, the more attention you pay to it, the easier and more natural it becomes.

After we wrapped up, I turned him out in Laura's pasture while Laura and I enjoyed a little arena riding on Cowboy and Dexter. When it was time to head home, I brilliantly decided to try to catch Dublin while riding Cowboy (with a bareback pad, after having had a beer). Dublin was pretty cagey about it and led us a merry (but slow) chase. Finally he got tired of it and took off. Cowboy, who by now was in the spirit of the whole thing, took off after him. I was fumbling with Dublin's halter and not paying attention, so when Cowboy headed left after Dublin, I headed right toward the ground. I'm not sure if the beer was a help or a hindrance--it's possible I would have stuck with the horse without it, but I was nice and relaxed by the time I hit the ground, undoubtedly saving me from some serious injury. As it was, the back of helmet (which hit the ground with a pretty good thud, relaxed or not) got quite scuffed up. Which is why I wear a helmet. Could have been my head that got scuffed up. Lesson: if you are going to drink beer while riding a horse, wear a helmet. And remember that if it you have a nagging thought that your brilliant idea may not be all that brilliant, you are probably right.

Anyway, Dublin got 2 days off for Mother's Day and the Pt Reyes ride (that's Cowboy's job), but today he got saddled and worked in Laura's arena. This time it included a fair amount of cantering and a bit of jumping with the saddle on. No problem. He looks great. I can drive him while walking next to him and he yields his front and hind quarters. So although I haven't worked with him as much as I planned at the start of the 31 days, I may still be on track to get on him. He has passed all tests with flying colors. So stay tuned!

Dublin got off scott-free again today due to time constraints. Although I did make him go through his "manners" paces on the way to being turned out to pasture. I did watch Parelli on RFDTV this morning which was airing a very educational program featuring Kallie Krickenburg working a horse at Libery. So I think I met the 30-minute requirement of the 31-day program. Then I did a phone interview for an article I'm writing for the Horse Council Horse Journal with Sandy Bonelli, a local cutting horse trainer and competitor and a genuine horse lover. That was such a great conversation that I'm counting it as horsemanship development as well. Can't wait to get the article written.

Just a few minutes to work with Dublin today. I had hoped to get the saddle on him but he was a little cranky and nippy. If I had more time, it wouldn't have been an issue, but given the time constraints, I just worked him on line and got him over his crankiness and then played with the saddle pad on him, which he was fine with. There will be no time tomorrow but I'm hoping for a real session on Thursday.

That's One Fancy Turkey..

It's possible we have found the cause of Dublin's distress yesterday. This showed up in the pasture today:

Just when he was getting accustomed to the turkeys, and decided that a large plain brown bird was nothing to be scared of, this gets thrown into the mix.

Dublin may just be jealous. He can be a bit of a peacock himself.

Deal With the Horse that Shows Up!

Today's lesson: Deal with the horse that shows up!

My intent was to continue with saddling work today, using the 22' line and getting Dublin relaxed at the canter while carrying the saddle.

We've had a big weather change. Lately it's been in the 90s every day. Today it switched to windy, cloudy and chilly. I spent the day house shopping with a friend and didn't get home until mid-afternoon, and with the weather not being all that inviting, I wasn't that anxious to get started with horses. Finally dragged myself out to turn Cowboy out on grass and to work Dublin. As I led him toward the saddling area, I noticed he was a bit "up". It seemed to have something to do with the neighbor's pasture, where the local wild turkeys were apparently staging a love-in. Now Dublin was not fond of the turkeys when they showed up after their winter hiatus, but he has gotten accustomed to them to the point where he will chase them a bit for fun. But with the wind and colder weather, it seems he was not up to tolerating a full-fledged turkey orgy in plain view. He was, shall we say, disturbed. And when he is disturbed, the 16-hand Thoroughbred has the ability to grow at least another 2 hands. That's intimidating. It is nice to know that he sees me as a source of comfort, but that comfort does not extend to having him leap into my arms, and that is what he wanted to do.

Change of plan. Forget saddling. Let's work on keeping the giant horse out of my personal space. The trick is to appear to be bigger and scarier than he is. I'm a pretty mild-mannered person, but when a whole bunch of agitated horse is headed straight toward me, I can summon up a lot of attitude. Get those feet moving in some sort of organized fashion, preferably away from me. Circle one way. Circle the other. Go touch the saddle with your nose. More circles and direction changes. Look at me! Forget the turkeys! I'm at least as scary as they are.

Finally, the head came down and I got some blowing and a sense that the equine brain had reconnected with the giant equine body. Truly a comforting feeling. I put on the 22' line and we went out of the paddock and did some work in and out of the ditch, over poles, and sidestepping.

So no saddle work today but still a worthwhile exercise. I called it quits and put him out to pasture for some grazing.

When grazing time was over, I went to fetch him and got my reward. Dublin is not all that receptive to being taken off pasture. It's really a game of catch. But tonight when I went to bring him in, he saw me at the gate, whinnied, and cantered directly up to me and put his head down for the halter. Truly a "Lassie" moment! Now if only I could get that on video.

Derby Day report

Not much horse activity the last couple days as I've been trying to clear out the massive stack of paperwork in my office. I took on way too many projects! But today is Saturday (Derby Day, no less) and while I did do some office work, I spent most of the day working in the garden and then played with horses. I rode Cowboy a little first to see how he's doing--a little stiff but much improved over the last few months. Then I ponied Dublin while riding Cowboy to see how that went. I've done that, but Dublin is getting a little more full of himself, and before I try ponying him on the trail, I want to make sure we're under control! We still have some work to do. Dublin seems to think he should be in the lead. Kind of surprising, considering his race track record. I had to get quite insistent with him that he stay submissively in the rear. Cowboy, as usual, was a prince, even when Dublin managed to get his rope stuck under Cowboy's tail. I do love my little brown horse! Wouldn't say he was happy about Dublin being in his space but he tolerated it. Dublin himself has a pretty big "bubble" but he doesn't seem to think anyone else should have one.

Cowboy was rewarded for his efforts by getting turned out on grass with Dexter, and Dublin and I continued on with groundwork. He is getting better about yielding his forequarters and I actually got him to sidestep over a pole. It took a long time and I wouldn't call it a linear process, but we did accomplish the task. Then we worked with the dreaded plastic bag on a stick. He's not terrible about it but is just edgy around it--keeps an ear cocked toward it and moves away from it. Finally I managed to touch him on the withers and even give him a little backrub with it. And then he was fine. I rubbed him all over with it, even down his legs.

Then it was saddling time. I followed Julia's suggestion and saddled from the right side--easier to manage the girths since you don't have to swing them over his back. He was fine about being rubbed all over with the pad, including over his ears and head, and down the tail, and didn't mind me swinging the saddle around him, but he did take exception when the saddle actually went on his back--he swung his head around and threatened to bite. That was a pretty common occurrence when he first arrived but he's largely given it up. So obviously something about this makes him uncomfortable. The saddle itself seems to fit well but he may have some lingering back issues, or he may just be a little claustrophobic about it.

I forgot my 22-foot rope so wasn't able to canter him online with the saddle--he's just too big to canter a circle around me on a 12-foot rope! He did some trotting, including over poles, and was fine with that. I'm starting to drive him from next to the saddle to get him used to receiving directions from that position. Hardest part is to keep him moving! I'm trying to get him to go forward when I cluck.

Tomorrow I need to remember that 22-foot line so I can give him a more thorough pre-ride checkup.

I was going to try to get Derby Day photos of both boys wearing roses and maybe hats, but it just took too darned long to try to figure out how to do it and I thought my time would have been better spent actually working with the horses. I'm sure they would have looked stunning, though, and I think they both deserve a blanket of roses.

My personal fitness program has made some stumbling progress. The yoga video and even the Pilates video have been put to some use. I'm trying to also watch how I sit, both at my desk and on the horse, to keep my spine aligned properly. I tend to lean forward and crane my neck, and not surprisingly, I've been getting some back and neck issues. It's easier to sit properly on the horse, to be honest, as I don't have the added challenge of trying to work with a white cat in my lap!

Not a lot of work with Dubln today although I was a bit more particular with him when I turned him out on pasture. Then took the camera out to get a few shots. I was hoping to get him galloping joyfully across the pasture but it was just too hot for that. I did get him to trot out a bit when I jumped up and down and flapped a fly mask at him ("Oh, fine, if you insist!").

and finally, a pic of him and his buddy Cowboy nose to nose. They are always trying to snag the same blade of grass, it seems.

Phone Conference Feedback

Had my phone conference with Julia this morning and got good feedback and good follow-up instructions on the video. Basically, we did well. I need to pay more attention to details, not think so far ahead that I lose focus on the present, and direct Dublin with the thought in mind that he will be getting instruction from the saddle soon. So I need to keep in position in Zone 3 (in Parelli-speak) where I would be if mounted, and use direct pressure on the rope rather than driving, since that's how I'd be using the reins.I also need to move my feet less and have him move his feet more--instead of walking around him to get from one side to the other, have him move his front end from side to side. I should also try saddling him from the right--it's a lot easier to manage the girths that way. And, good safety tip, don't hook the stirrup over the horn when tightening the girth! Very good way to get klunked on the head if it comes loose!

I'm also going to start setting up the video camera mid-month as I'm finding that watching those videos really lets me know where I could be improving!

I'll try to start getting photos in the blog. Marcie Lewis, who took the stunning head shot featured on the blog, is anxious to do some follow-up photos of the gorgeous boy, so there could be some good stuff coming up!

Video Day

Today was Video Day with Dublin, as I have a phone conference with my Parelli professional, Julia Bell, tomorrow morning to review progress. Some things we have been working on are my being able to move his forequarters away from me, using my energy as much as possible and the carrot stick as little as possible. That sounds easy but it hasn't been. It's surprising how a small change in position, speed, and assertiveness (vs aggressiveness) can make a big difference in the results you get. It's okay if the horse runs into the moving stick but NOT okay to actually hit the horse with the stick. And it can be pretty darned hard to figure out the subtle difference between the two. I found it was easier if I was moving the stick toward a point beyond his front end, rather than toward his front end. Then he has the option of moving away from the stick when he sees it coming, or letting the moving object run into him.

Our other assignment is a saddling exercise. Dublin has been saddled before but the objective is to get him really comfortable with it. Letting him touch it, rubbing him with the saddle pad and putting it on all parts of his topline, saddling with a "hug", then making sure he's comfortable and yielding to you once the saddle is on. Dublin is really quite a superstar about this. So the video was not much of a challenge. Except I did everything in exactly the wrong order once the saddle was on. The correct approach is to first make sure he has lateral flexion, then swing the rope over his head, around his body, slide it over his rump, and pull him around in a 360 toward you. Then send him out on a circle in different gaits and over a jump. So I started with the jump and ended with lateral flexion. Oh well.

We also did a little video using a carrot stick with a plastic bag tied to it, something he is surprisingly unhappy with considering how un-spooky he is. He doesn't exactly blow up over it, but he gets tense when the bag approaches him and strikes out if it touches his feet. I'll be asking for some advice on how to de-sensitize him to this and other potentially scary objects.

Links to the videos:
Dublin Saddling
Dublin Plastic Bag

In other news, I have sent off Dublin's adoption papers to Neighsavers! I'm not anticipating any problems getting approval and expect that Dublin will be a permanent member of the herd shortly.

Regarding my own fitness challenge, well, I have been doing some yoga and today I added Pilates. After watching the video, I think I need to add some exercise involving putting down my fork and pushing away from the dinner table. Way too much time spent in front of a computer the last few months!

Well, (sigh) it only took 3 days for the 31 days of Dublin to fall apart due to lack of time. Dublin has spent the last couple days living the carefree life of the neglected horse. Except for the fact he's been fed twice a day and today got an hour of turnout on grass. We will call this "Down time".

I didn't do anything related to my equestrian development yesterday. Tonight I did go to a Horse Council meeting, and then watched the latest Parelli DVD. So maybe I have met the 30-minute requirement of the Parelli challenge even if Dublin did get off scott-free.

I got back from the Horse Council meeting around 8 tonight. As I drove in the driveway, I saw a streak of black flying along in the pasture. Dublin was on the move. Hmmmmmm.....how interesting. Now what triggered that? After parking the car, I headed out to investigate. Dublin and Cowboy were playing Porcupine Game over the fence, with a lot of head-butting, gnashing of teeth, rearing, and kicking. As I approached them I whistled, and suddenly two horses swung around and gazed at me with ears forward, eyes bright, and innocent expressions upon their faces. Hey, I wasn't doing nuthin'! And if I was, he started it!

Carrots were dispensed all around, and things at least seemed to have quieted down for the evening.

Dublin got off easy today as I just ponied him around while riding Cowboy for a bit. Good for Cowboy too! And definitely good for me. Both boys did fine, and I just love that Cowboy is so steady that I can keep an eye on Dublin and take corrective measure with him if need by, and Cowboy will stay quiet and calm.

Afterwards, I put Dublin out on pasture next door where the fences are good, and turned Cowboy and Dexter out behind my house where the grass is long and lush, but the only fence is a string of hot wire. Dexter and Cowboy are familiar with the hot wire, while Dublin has proved that he will go right through it, so he doesn't get to hang out with the boys when they're in that spot. Because the grass is so lush, though, Dex and Cowboy don't get to stay out there very long since it could lead to horsey tummy-aches or worse, so after about 20 minutes I went to get Dexter. He was on to me and took off through the gate into the little pasture that Dublin and Cowboy share, and where Dexter lived before Dublin came along.

Dublin could see this from where he was, and apparently took exception to Dexter being in HIS territory! While Dexter avoided being caught, Dublin started trotting the adjoining fenceline, stopping occasionally to paw and toss his head, throwing in an whinny now and then. Finally, he took off running, and turned the 2-acre pasture into his personal racetrack. And it was impressive! He may have been retired from the track because he didn't like to run, but if his trainers could have seen him today, they may have reconsidered that decision. He probably made 4 laps around the pasture in the amount of time Cowboy and Dexter would have taken for a single lap. Dexter, of course, was also running by then, so there was a lot of activity going on (I don't think Cowboy ever lifted his head from the grass). Dublin stopped by the fence to give Dexter the evil eye, pawed and then struck out with both front feet, and launched off again for a few more laps.

Dexter finally got tired of all the running and allowed himself to be caught and led away. Dublin calmed down once the usurper was off his property and away from his feed tub.

Funny thing is, Dexter has seemed pretty cranky about Dublin taking over that paddock that used to be his. Who knew that little area with the simple shelter would be the target of an equine property war?

Day 2

Day 2 of the 31 days. Busy day but did get to work with Dublin for a bit. Today's scary object is a plastic bag on the end of a Carrot Stick. I wasn't expecting much of a reaction from this, since carrots do come in plastic bags, but he was surprisingly skittish of it. And when I touched his foot with it, he actually struck out with both front feet. Not the first time there has been an issue with his feet. So there is an area that needs work.

As for the Rider Fitness part of this program, uh, I read some excerpts from a Pilates book, and then had pizza and beer for dinner. Ah well. In the words of Scarlett O'Hara, tomorrow is another day.

Sonoma County Horse Journal article about Dublin

This is a bit delayed, but the history behind Dublin's journey to my home is in the Spring 2013 Sonoma County Horse Council Horse Journal, soon to be available at:

http://www.sonomacountyhorsecouncil.org/journal

Thirty One Days of Dublin

Well, this blog has gone nowhere as I have become some sort of accounting drone in the last few months. The silver lining is that Dublin has had a lovely few months of absolutely no pressure, growing new hooves, and learning how to be a horse again. His cranky attitude has largely turned around and he is learning how to be playful.

My attitude, on the other hand, has become grim and inflexible, to the point where I completely melted down. All work and no play makes Joanie a dull girl. But the Universe tends to intervene in seemingly mundane ways to refocus you.

I'm a Parelli follower, and the organization threw down the gauntlet in their 31-day challenge. Spend 30 minutes a day improving your horsemanship for the next 31 days. Work with your horse, watch a video, etc, just do something to further your horsemanship journey.

So spending 30 minutes a day helping Dublin move along in his journey to his new destiny seems like a no-brainer.

Then Parelli asked for submissions to their Fall issue of Savvy Times. Hey--how about documenting Dublin's 31 day journey? And I can get published!

And to wrap things up, I really really need to spend some time focusing on something besides work. Regaining some balance in my life can only help, not hinder, my work journey.

So I have spent a bit of time figuring how to make this work in an integrated sort of fashion. First, what is it, exactly, I hope to achieve with Dublin in the next 31 days?

Goal:  Get on the horse! Now, Dublin, being an ex-race-horse, has been ridden. I'm not entirely familiar with his history, but he was raced three times so obviously somebody has been on his back. However, the objective was to get on his back and go like *#(^#. That is not my objective. The slower the better.

So, following the Parelli philosophy, the next 31 days are going to be about getting the horse ready to ride. I have a lot of steps to follow as in the PreFlight Checkup, Saddling etc, and he has actually passed all those tests with flying colors. BUT, he did freak out about our local turkey population in a very sobering fashion, and I am not taking his mild attitude for granted any more. When that horse takes flight, "Flight" is really the word.

So first, thinking about what I am worried about when contemplating getting on Dublin, the worry is that he is going to blow up and be out of control. So, before getting on him, let's try to see exactly what is likely to blow this horse up.  I'll be trying out a myriad of horse-unfriendly items on him for the next 31 days. Today was an umbrella. He was interested and a bit intimidated, but he certainly did not blow up.

My age and fitness level are also a concern. So the 31 days will also consist of the 31-day Rider Fitness Challenge, where I change my slovenly ways to try to become fit enough to get a foot in the stirrup and swing up confidently and effortlessly, and to be able to do a really fast dismount if need be.

But what happens if, at the end of the 31 days, Dublin is not ready to ride? Is the project going to be a failure?

No. It will only be a failure if I decide to get on him anyway, even if he is not ready, because I have imposed some sort of deadline on this. Success will occur if I take the appropriate action to further the horse's progress at whatever stage he is at.