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!