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Salsa’s Sixth Session: Infinity, circles, creeks, and a stud divider

Posted on February 25, 2011 by horsegirlonajourney

I learned in session five why our infinity pattern broke, after we did so well in the first three sessions. Session four was pretty bad, and session five looked to be getting worse. But then I realized that when I switched the lead rope from hand to hand and pointed between the cones, I was also projecting my energy ahead of zone 1. Salsa is sensitive and smart and he would stop and look at me, like, huh? You’re clucking (phase 2) and then raising your stick (phase 3) but there is a wall extending from your hand that goes for about a mile, so I can’t possibly keep trotting forward between those @#$%^ cones.

Principle #7
Horses teach humans and humans teach horses.

In the middle of session five, he finally got through to me. If he broke gait on one of the circles, I sent my energy behind him, in zone 5. We got a lot smoother after that. It is still challenge to get two full figure 8s without a brace or a gait change, but that’s not the point. The point is that we are checking in with each other and have actually managed to communicate. (And I suppose the 50 percent reduction in brace is pretty good, too.)

Principle #3
Communication is two or more individuals sharing and understanding an idea.

Today we had the magical sixth session. For consistency, we practiced the figure 8, hindquarter yields, sends, allows, grazing, and circles. For variety, we did the session out on the lawn (because the arena was full, but hey, it worked out great).

We also attempted our first creek crossing using a squeeze game pattern (send, allow, turn and face). Salsa has followed me easily down one bank, across the bed, and back up the other bank, with and without water in the creek. But sending him from one bank to the other was an eye-opener. Instead of send, allow, turn and face, he did more of a slide, snort, scramble, and soar up the other bank. He landed and took two steps and immediately thrust his head down to graze.

Principle #2
Don’t make or teach assumptions.

Because Salsa is usually pretty accepting of things, it was a surprise (and kind of fun) to learn that he is not as excited about crossing the creek first, without a human to follow. I don’t know how he would be if I sent another horse and then sent him, as I did not try that today. We played around in that area for a while, sometimes including the creek in our squeeze game, other times just playing near it.

He also had no problem getting in or out of the trailer. But he got anxious about being up into the furthest corner of it, and we did a lot of approach and retreat before he followed me into that first slot without hesitating. I also played with the stud divider that blocks that first slot off from the other three, closing it just a little and then opening it and taking us out. Each time, closing it a little more. Until eventually both Salsa and I were standing at liberty in the slot, stud divider fully secured, pretty much relaxed.

This is important because he is going with us on Saturday to be River’s trailer-and-quarantine buddy. We can’t have them both loose in the trailer on the way home, so we are putting Salsa behind the stud divider. He can still move around and they can touch noses if they need to, but they will be separated enough for safety. We can’t use a regular divider because he can walk right under those.

Operation Pony Express: Day 1

Posted on February 7, 2011 by horsegirlonajourney

Erin’s mailbox is across the street from the main entrance to the ranch. It’s a busy road, the main thoroughfare for this part of the county, and it has a wide variety of vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic.

In the spirit of putting principles to purpose as I am back on my progressive journey after a six-month workalanche, I have decided that Rocky and I will check the mailbox and deliver the mail to the barn. Occasionally some mail arrives for one of the cottages on the property, so we will have to make a mail stop at each door, just in case.

I think it might take more than seven sessions before I’m ready to cross the street to the mailbox. But we made more progress today than I expected.

Rocky was patient while I brushed him, picked out his feet, and put on his EasyBoot Gloves and his Professional’s Choice SMB Boots, which I recently remembered that I have. He looked sharp with the black wraps around all four shins, and the black boots in the front.

We walked down the ranch road to the side gate, playing a few games along the way to remind him that he can walk in all that velcro, and then ambled down the side lane to the dreaded busy road. He was alert but not panicky about this, and we stopped to graze for a while next to the front fence. When he tried to go forward past the fence line, I yo-yoed him back from 12 feet away in zone 2, totally taking for granted that we can do that.

When enough motorcycles and trucks with tarps and cyclists with florescent green windbreakers had gone by, and Rocky and I worked out a rule that if he spooks he has to go backwards, not into the hotwire fence and not into me and definitely not into the fence and then me, we turned to our right and began walked along the verdant bank between the road and the fence.

All of the horses in our turnout paced us on Rocky’s right and I walked on his left a little bit in front, so if he did go suddenly forward or sideways I was not in the way.

Up to that point, we had not done anything new. He’s worn those boots and splint boots before, although not at the same time, and he’s walked down the lane and across the busy road to do the loop walk, veering left from the lane-meets-road interaction.

We have about 15 feet between fence and road, although not 15 feet of usable space due to ditches and shrubbery. Between the lane and the main drive is the seasonal creek, which did not have any water in it today but certainly had soft mud and enough of a ditch that he had to walk through it or hop over it.

The teenage boys across the street were taking turns riding a mini-bike in the shape of a Harley or Honda cruiser, and were going slowly enough down the road that it was excellent friendly game for Rocky. (They have horses over there too; I don’t know if that was the maximum speed for the little kit bike or if they were being polite.)

At the drive, I asked him to back away from the road, and let him graze for a while. Occasionally the head went up and the eye wide and staring, and I did the “don’t go there!” rope wiggle to keep him from retreating inside. We were both alert — him at the surroundings, me at him — but nobody panicked fully and he did look to me for guidance from time to time.

We walked back to the lane, paused to graze, spooked (backwards!) at a backfiring Harley, then repeated the route to the drive and back. the last time, Rocky rushed the creek, scrambling in a half trot half jump, so I had him do just the creek one more time, over and back, in a sedate manner.

Then back up the lane, through the gate, onto the ranch, a squeeze game in the creekbed near the lawn, and finally more grazing. I stripped him and put him away with a good feeling about having been provocative and progressive without pushing him too quickly past any thresholds.

He’s still holding himself a little aloof, as he has since the flank rope day. But by the end of today’s session he was softer with me and stayed at his gate watching me go back to the house when we were done.

Maybe tomorrow I will back him through all gates and sideways him down part of the lane on the way out and part of it on the way back, but only step onto the strip between lane and drive to graze, and then come back in to familiar territory. To mix it up while also spending more time in his comfort zone.