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.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Thursday, August 1, 2013
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!
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.
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