Test Ride

Today was the first day I had Boomer back and I was ready to ride! He was a little antsy tacking up before the ride, but stood for me to get on and was fine after that. He wanted to look at some white plastic rain barrels before we started so I let him snort and touch them. After that, we headed out to the trails and gravel road. He was fine through the trails and went where I pointed him. He was fine with me moving tree branches that were too low to pass under. On the road, I wanted to pass the house that started all of this. I needed to know that he could pass that house without backing up into the ditch, spinning around, and generally losing his mind. As we got on the road, he started drifting to the right, towards the ditch. The drifting became more deliberate and he swung his hips down into the ditch. I kicked him with my spurs and he jumped forward and trotted along the road in a straight line. After that, no more problems. At all. For the rest of the ride. I tied him to the hitching post and left him for about 30 minutes and he was dozing when I came back.

To say I am thrilled would be an understatement at this point.

Home Again!!!

Woo Hoo! Boomer is back home!

John and I went out this morning and rode with Kelly one last time. Boomer did great, we had a blast. John really enjoyed riding a horse that actually responded to his cues instead of being a total dead-head. He also enjoyed the trails because they were much more challenging and he got to do more water crossings and steep hills than ever before!

I really love riding with John, it is just so fun for me.

Boomer loaded right up into the trailer and was tied up for the whole ride home and did great. He was a little excited when we parked and started to unload, but listened well. I turned him out, unloaded his food and then spent an hour grooming him. I really missed that quality time just loving on him. I think he enjoyed it too.

Last visit!

I went this afternoon for my last visit with Boomer before we pick him up on Sunday. I took all of his bridle and tack and wanted to make sure everything was properly adjusted. He did very well on our ride. There were 4 of us and he was a little excited at first. Instead of trying to shut him down, I just let him trot a little and he calmed right down. He really is a trooper and was a strong leader when one of the two colts on the ride were having trouble. He did have two minor panic moments that Kelly really helped us work through. Boomer really feeds off of other horses and one of the colts was having a hard time with crossing anything. He was leaping like crazy, I'm talking 3 feet high. He is a well bred WP horse, but he could make someone a nice CC mount, I swear! Anyhow, he was doing this 'jump down the bank-jump the creek-jump up the bank' nonsense and Boomer just started vibrating. I don't know how else to describe it. He compresses his body, grows taller, then just starts vibrating- you never know when he could blow. So, I sat down deep, told him woah and made him stand. I made him stand until he was relaxed, and THEN we followed across the bank. The second time was the same situation, but we were on a steep incline, one horse was up at the top of the hill and jumping colt was at the bottom of the hill, jumping things. Boomer was in the middle and started his stuff. Kelly noticed, and talked us down. She reassured me he wouldn't rear (it made me feel better to hear it, anyway) and told me to turn him to the left and get him on a flatter area. Then she had me tell him to WOAH, pet him and tell him it was OK, then ask him to stand. Within 30 seconds he went from feeling like a powder keg to having his head down with his leg cocked while I took cell phone video of the jumping colt. I was so impressed that we handled that. In the past, that would have stuck with us for the rest of the ride and made things really tense.

I know things will still come up, he still is tense about being tied up. He will test me at times, especially at home. But now I know that he knows how to be good. I can ask with assurance that he behave and I know he is capable of whatever I ask.

For the first time EVER with this horse, I am feeling trust. A number of times today, I got my phone out of my pocket, fumbled around to find the camera and filmed the ride. I didn't feel like I had to constantly be watching everything around us. I trust Boomer to handle the trail. I also know that he knows not to put me into a tree. That is an awesome thing for a trail horse to be trained to not do. At one point, I just dropped my reins while we were riding and used both hands to put my phone back in my pocket. I can't describe how proud I was when we started going down a steep, muddy hill and he slowed down and took baby steps without me asking him to do anything. I was also equally impressed that over creeks and ditches, no matter the shape or size, he kept all four feet planted- no hopping or scrambling, just solid footwork to get across.

I am very excited to get him back on Sunday. We will go up and ride together (John too!) then bring him home.

More pictures!

Boomer is still improving! I went out to ride him again today and I started the ride on him and Kelly rode a 3 year old. Boomer was great, we went up and down hills, lots of rocks and mud. He was great. He picked his way downhill carefully and was quick to respond if I told him 'easy'. He went through water like it was nothing. We jumped a few logs, which was a blast. He tried to refuse a big one, but about sat his butt down in the dirt before he would pass it. He practically backed himself up to try again. He didn't try to get away with anything. We did more loping, which I have been nervous about. I just wanted to know that I was still in control and that he still listened. He was fine. He doesn't really have a slow canter. It is pretty ground covering and he turns really fast, but he was totally under control. Kelly thinks he would be a fun playday horse. I would love to do that with him!

He was looking around much less today and really didn't seem phased by anything. He seems to have really matured. He is still a fruit-loop at the barn and did try to pull back once after I unsaddled him, it wasn't bad though. He didn't lay down flop on the ground like a fish. Baby steps. He doesn't like the hitching post by the barn (the others that are further from the barn and allow him to look around more, he is fine with and doesn't pull back at) and resists walking up to it so I got to have Kelly on the ground talking me though how to push him right up to it. He was much more responsive than he used to be and he did get up to it and stand still for me to dismount.

Out on the trail, he was awesome. I couldn't ask for more. At the barn, he is still working things out. We talked about that some and Kelly really thinks he will be a different horse in a year or two when he finishes maturing.

Training update with Pictures!!!

I finally got out to ride Boomer! He still looks good, healthy, and in good weight. He is happy and seems calmer and more relaxed. He is still pulling back, but the Be Nice halter seems to be making him think about it.

We went out for a ride and I rode a cute buckskin paint named Bucket and Kelly rode Boomer. We were out for over 2 hours and we switched horses about halfway. One thing she did differently is when he would 'booger' at something, she would make him walk right up to it and touch it or walk over it. She explained to me that he 'avoids' these issues by looking away any ignoring the scary thing in front of him. That is why she makes him touch it with his nose. Because he HAS to look at it to touch it and once he does that he loses his fear and will walk all over whatever it is that used to be scary. Like this rock:

He had never seen this rock before and after spooking at it, she made him touch it, then he voluntarily put his hoof on it and the he just hopped up and crossed it! She had him cross it a few more times so I could get a good picture. She did the same thing with a patch of concrete and a tire he looked at funny. He would avoid and prance around the thing but she kept him moving forward and used the reins to make him look right at the object.

He doesn't look around and worry as much on the trail and Kelly even stopped him to gather and move some fallen branches. She has taught him two new voice commands 'stand' and 'easy'. She uses 'woah' to stop, and 'stand' to cock his leg and wait a while. I was so shocked at how quietly and easily he stands now. We could stop and talk or readjust my stirrups, whatever. He just stands now. She said that at first he would prance around and toss his head, but pretty quickly figured out how much easier it is to just stand. She uses 'easy' and bumps him with the bit when going downhill to make him take baby steps and look where he is going.

I was so impressed that he seems to really pay attention to where he is headed instead of worrying all of the time. She took us on trails that she mostly hadn't taken him on before to show me how to handle him if he got worried, which he didn't, so she talked me through how to handle him once he tests me back home.

We switched horses and it did feel so good to be back on him. I didn't know how much I had missed riding him. He was in a shanked bit (sort of like a tom thumb, but with better shanks that don't pinch) with a curb chain and was not wearing a martingale. He traveled with his head and neck so much lower and relaxed. You can really tell the difference in how he carries himself in this picture:

He was great going up or down hills. He really slows down and picks his way through the downhill and I actually felt safe on him.

This is us going downhill into the creek bed:

We also did a ton of creek crossings and I was so impressed with him. He went right in like it was no problem. Kelly said that they had spent a lot of time in the creek the last few weeks. Here was the highlight of the ride for me:

He went in that deep, not be cause he had to, but because I asked him to! I was so happy, as you can see from the goofy grin on my face!

We rode along the road and went to the neighbors house and saw a new pony and talked to the neighbor. Boomer cocked his leg and stood like a pro. I was so proud of him. I could take my legs out of the stirrups and stretch and he didn't even flinch.

After we rode home, Kelly had me turn around and leave and told me to ride around and come back. So, I left and he didn't even fight. He did keep looking over his shoulder back home so I bumped his mouth to get his head straightened out a few times and kind of growled at him to get along and he was fine after that. We rode for another 15 minutes alone and did a few trails and the came back along the road. He looked at a tree stump, so I made him look at it, touch it, and step on it. The more bossy and aggressive I got, the more serious he got about actually looking at it. We also encountered a cat along the way and he was great for that too. I actually felt in control the whole ride. He went where I pointed, even if it was icky footing or stepping over sticks/rocks. He didn't tug on the reins or try to go his own pace. He wasn't freaking out about everything he saw. He was fun to ride.

Boomer will be at the trainers for another 2 weeks and then we will pick him up. I am really excited about him again. Today was a great day and I am so glad that I was able to get him somewhere where he would get some real training and see some serious improvement.

Boomer update!

I talked to Kelly this morning about Boomer. I'm going to go out on Thursday to ride with her. She said that he is still pulling back. She put a regular halter on him and he tested it, bumping the end of the rope a few times, she got behind him and waved her arms and he stopped pulling. So, she got the Be Nice halter back out for him. He still pulls back some, but she said it mostly seems like he is testing to see what halter he has on.

As far as riding is going, she said that he is being awesome. He goes out alone, in the lead, at the back, through mud, etc. She has him in a tom thumb bit now. I used to use one of those on Windy (my first arab mare). It is a good transition bit from a snaffle (for hunters) to a curb (for WP) and is what I used to use on her for training and lessons. So, I have one already. Kelly said that it is helping him be less high headed and it has also helped him with rushing up and down hills. She said that as soon as she says 'easy' he slows down and takes baby steps up and down the hills. She also said that he is who she picks when she rides out with her friend who has a number of young colts. She said that he does great with them. She can have him halt and wait until the young horses calm down or if the go off trail, he waits calmly until they come back. She said that she will swing his hip over in front of the young horses to give them someone to follow.

He is doing great on the trail and for riding, but he is still having a time of it with tying and pulling back. I feel like he is getting to a place where he will be easier for me to handle. Once I ride with her a few times and see that he IS doing good on trails, I think that I will feel much better about him. I ordered a Be Nice halter and have no problem using it to tie him up to the hitching post when I'm tacking him up, etc.

Arabian Nationals!!!!

I didn't get any pictures or video this year, my camera battery charger recently went missing.

I did have an awesome time though!!! I drove down to Tulsa on Monday afternoon and stayed with John's sister. This morning we went to the show and I had an absolute blast showing my niece, Kameron, all of the horses. She is just barely 2 years old and was thrilled to be seeing and petting the horses! She is going to be a horse for halloween this year. I think I have successfully planted the 'horse bug' in little Kami! My mother-in-law also came along and she was amazed by the elaborate stall displays. We drove separately and they all went home after an hour or so for nap time and I stuck around for a few more hours for horsing and shopping.

My favorite part about nationals is always the warm up rings. I really love watching all of the horses being lunged and ridden by their trainers. I think that you generally see better rides in the warm up ring than the show ring, especially when it comes to amateur classes. I only watched two classes while I was there, I saw both sections of a WP class and both sections of a Show Hack class. The WP class was one that another Arabian blogger was riding in. Unfortunately, she did not make the cut for the F/SF round.

I really enjoyed Nationals this year, but it was somewhat bittersweet for me. It was a hard transition to leave the Youth division and not continue showing. Watching from the sidelines and not having a 'barn' to associate with is a strange feeling. It isn't so much the competing that I miss, it is the people. One of the best things about showing is the community. Each barn is like a family. The stall area is a 'home base' for the duration of the show and there is no feeling like cheering as a group for a fellow rider. Who knows, maybe someday I'll be grooming and cheering for my little niece!

Training visit!

I went to visit Boomer in Missouri today! It started pouring down rain when I was halfway there and didn't stop until I was almost home. The trainer and I talked for about an hour while Boomer was in his stall. He was happy, looked healthy, and didn't appear to have lost any weight. It was really nice to see him and get to brush and pet him. He was friendly and didn't act like a jerk at all. I wasn't sure how being in training in a new environment would affect his attitude and it seems to have served him well! We talked about the training halter she has been using for his 'pulling back' issue. You can find it be searching for "be nice" on valleyvet.com. She put it on him and showed me how he responded to it. He was actually very forward and responded quickly to pressure. She told me a great story about how he reacted the first time he wore it. She said that after he broke the lead ropes she put it on him and he fought like crazy. He pulled until he started to lather up and he had that halter pulled about as tight as it could squeeze. She said that he actually laid down when he got tired of pulling back. He just got down and flopped over on his side. She said that she got behind him and gave him a kick in the rump and he got up, jumped forward, pulled back, jumped forward, then stood still. She said that after that she tried jumping around him, waving feed sacks, etc and he didn't move a foot after that. I couldn't believe what a temper tantrum he threw! I wish I could have seen that! Hopefully he will learn his lesson on that one!

Kelly and I also talked about how he was doing on the trail as well. She said that she really enjoys riding him and that he has great gaits. She is having good results with getting him to slow down and go down hill carefully. He is also doing well with going over logs and through water. The water crossings were hard for him at first, but he is doing better. She said that the first time she took him out on a certain trail that heads from the road where he had to step across a small ditch he refused and didn't want to cross. She said that she gave him a good 'over under' with the end of the reins pretty hard and he jumped straight up and leapt forward into the canter across the field. She said that she brought him back and made him cross it about ten more times. Ever since that, she just has to raise her hand a little and he goes forward for her. So, she thinks he is just testing and being a 'teenager' and seeing what he can get away with. He knows what he is supposed to do and he has been getting away with doing less.

Pretty much, it seems like she just hauls off and gives him what for as soon as he steps out of line and that pretty much takes care of the problem. Where I had been much more timid and trying to avoid pissing him off and escalating the situation. I'm glad that she is so much braver than I am and can get him right where he needs it.

I am going to go out and ride with her on Thursday and she wants to work with me on being much more aggressive and confident with him. She thinks that I just need to learn some new ways of riding him and that I shouldn't have much more trouble with him. We talked a little about how I am not sure when I should let his behavior fly and when (and how aggressively) I should correct him. I really think this has been a great opportunity and I am really happy to get some feedback on Boomer as well as see someone else interact with him.

On another note, I am watching the live video feed of Arabian US Nationals and I plan on driving down to visit on Tuesday.

Training update

Here is the latest from the trainer:

Some day I should hope that you should be able to tie Boomer up anywhere. I may try and find you a b-good halter just in case though so that you have one handy. Don't be scared of him when he flips out. Get behind him when he's jerking back. Clap your hands. Push him forward. Be aggressive towards him so that he knows he should be paying attention to You the whole time you're around him and not just jerking back just because he's impatient.

Also, a lot of the time, a horse will transfer over from using a b-good halter to a rope halter pretty well because it has the same feel on their head.

At first he was a little barn sour and did the whole stopping, spinning around, or backing. When he does this to you I really want to work with you on getting after him. All it took for me was to give him a swift kick in the ribs and deepen my voice and push him forward and he Knew he'd better move out. He knows what he's supposed to do and even though he tests you, what's nice about Boomer is that he's not mean. He doesn't want to hurt you.

If you're aggressive he's easy to push around.

Also, the first few rides I know what you mean by hyper-alert. He looked at Everything. Now he's beginning to focus on what I'm asking him to do instead of worrying about everything around him.

I plan on going out on Sunday afternoon and possibly riding with her. I am having a bit of an internal conflict because I am sort of getting the feeling that he is going to need more than 30 days. The only problem that this raises is that our boarding barn may not hold our spot for more than 30 days. However, there are other places to board around town and I don't want that to influence my decision, but its hard not to think of that.

Training progress

I got a second email from Kelly about Boomer's training. He still sounds like himself. Here is what she wrote:

Boomer's doing good. We've had some issues with pulling back and breaking leadropes ( 2 ) but I've put a halter on him that kind of fixes that problem. It's called a "B-Good" halter and when a horse pulls back with it, it tightens up around their face until they step forward and then the pressure is released. It only took him twice and he's now got it figured out.

He's not spooking or anything. He just doesn't want to stand tied.

He really threw a fit when he tested it the first time but I've seen worse. At least he's smart and knows when to quit.

On the trails he's doing great! At first he was kind of hesistant about leading, going thru the mud and what not but now he's going like a pro. I'm planning on spending more time on him by himself this week.

I've been riding him with a twisted wire o-ring snaffle with a martingale and he's getting a lot softer in the mouth and starting to travel a little more collected.

By the time you pick him up I would like him to be in a shanked snaffle. Have a couple of different ones I'm going to try out on him and see which works best.

This gave me a lot to think about. I'm sure I will be thinking about all of this in the next few days and will hopefully have one more update before we go visit this weekend.

First of all, I kind of cringed when I read that he had broken two more lead ropes (that brings the total to around six). I evaluated my reaction and I think that I have been repressing and ignoring the pulling back issue. He is fine in cross ties and in all other situations, we just avoid tying- so pulling back hasn't been a 'problem' for us lately. In a way, I guess I had hoped that we could just ignore the issue for ever and never have to deal with it, because it is scary to see a horse pull back and flip over. After examining my response, I am really happy that she is working through this issue with him. I want, and need, to be able to tie him to the trailer, to trees, to anything.

When it comes to the riding stuff, I am letting her do her thing with him. I think that experience is the best thing for him. I did email her back and ask how he was doing with riding on the roads, being barn sour, etc.