Day 1!

So I decided to go ahead and BITE THE BULLET (and not the dust!) and get started with an evaluation of Foxy tonight. I have not worked with her in about a year. She has been pulled out and groomed and bathed here and there. Farrier trims and a couple vet visits. She spends half her day in a stall and half out in pasture with the other mares. When she was in California, the first two months were spent being mainly handled by the trainers. She was unhandled and unsafe for me to work with myself so I mostly just visited and provided carrots and started handwalking and grooming. Once those two months were up, I began handling her on my own. And was the only one! At all. So for the 11 months after the professional training ended I was the ONLY person to handle her, other than my parents who "horsesat" a week here and there....and other boarders who lunged her for me a few times to help out (and who saddled the first time or two for me).

Once we moved her out here, she went into full care board at a private little family farm. Whichever family member was caring for the horses that day would handle her...and she did great! Husband, wife, young kid, older female kid, older male kid...she tolerated them all! Apparently very much preferred the females but was easy to handle by everyone in general. Best ground manners in the place.

So she sat around for a year doing almost nothing other than being pulled in and out of stalls and pastures every day and getting some basic grooming and visiting by me. Hasn't been saddled since....California! Hasn't been ridden since....well, technically really ridden since January 2007. I did SIT on her and walk around....March 2006? Something like that. Actually back up a bit...she was unhandled when I got her. Halter broke around April 2006. Professsional training April and May 2006. First ride, I believe, October 2006. Various walk/trot arena rides from October 2006 to January 2007. Cantered twice under saddle (okay maybe more like galloped for a few strides before I made her trot again!) for a very short time. Then we had a rough night, I got irritated, she got confused, I got even more irritated and gave her a good solid kick...and off we went! To the races! And then the rodeo! And off I flew! Broke my arm, my cell phone, dented my helmet and seriously bruised my confidence. In all fairness, Foxy was spooked by the kick and bolted and then started bucking....once she dumped me (which took approximately 0.5 bucks...sigh) she continued bucking before coming to a stiff legged stop and stood there shaking and blowing until I walked up to her and picked up the reins. She wasn't trying to be evil...just a greenie blow up.

But I was down for the count injured....and without going into crazy detail about Ms Foxypants, I was the only main person handling her and the only person she would allow to ride her. So she continued her ground work lunging with my one good arm...until she came up lame. And continued lame off and on without any solution up until we tried putting shoes on her (First time ever!) and she then broke my finger on the opposite arm. SIGH.

The shoes did not solve the problem but made her comfortable enough to travel from Southern California to Tennessee with me when I relocated....where she has spent the last year just "being a horse". She was diagnosed as Navicular but is basically pasture sound barefoot and difficult to shoe...so she has remained barefoot and out of work just chilling with the other mares all this time.

I have been really considering restarting her, even shoeing her if needed due to the lameness issues. But I don't want a super athlete, just something to plod around an arena or field. So today I started this blog while at work and then dug out all the old horse stuff...sadly enough still boxed up from the trip from California last May.

Because Foxy has some serious trust and fear issues (originally a rescue as a 7-8 year old unhandled mare...has had some babies from the looks of her girly bits...and scared of people and sudden movements) I have decided to back up and sort of restart her. I am a relative beginner so although I got her started under saddle last year...I don't really consider her broke. Or well broke. She is...sort of broke. Yeah. She lets me ride her. Key word being LET. She is the nicest, sweetest little horse alive and tries hard. Always. Since I was a serious beginner (first horse ever!) I did a lot of groundwork. Foxy lunged beautifully....both directions, walk, trot and canter on voice commands, both upward and downward transitions. Natural horsemanship (to the best of my ability) so she would work with body language. Even free lunging she does well. Or she did last year when she was last worked.


So anyways, fast forward to today....I drag out my horse stuff and go trucking on over to see Ms Foxy Pants. I decided to forego total crazinesss and start with the bareback pad and breastplate (bright pink!! gotta love it) instead of the saddle. So I pull her out and get her into the arena. The BO is using a tractor to move a bunch of junk at the opposite end of the arena while we start working. I start sacking her out with the pad with no girth or anything attached...all over her body, her back. Her legs. Her belly. Her neck. Her head? I leave it on her ears. Nothing. No wait, I lie. She flapped her lips and tried to reach up and pull it off. Ooookay.

So I buckle down. Literally. I buckle the girth/cinch/strappy thing on one side and pull it underneath her belly. Tug tug tug. She flicks her ears. Pull it up and let it go so it swings and whacks her legs. Pull it tight again. Uh oh, she humped her back! And her head went down! I'm prepared for a rodeo! Except then she ate some grass instead. And rubbed her head on her shin.

Okay.

To make a long story short, I buckled the barepack pad on there, sent her out to walk on the lungeline both directions...she walked nicely but was waiting and ready for the trot command. Hmmm....bring her back in and add the breastplate thingamajiggy. Send her out and let her walk and trot both directions. She looks so incredibly bored. But is listening beautifully. Walking nicely, trotting when I cluck, slowing to a walk when I tell her to. Changing directions. There are jumps in the arena so we are sort of cramped for space and having to make very small circles. So I unsnap the lunge line and send her out to just free lunge. She walks nicely around and then moves up to a trot when I ask. She is free lunging in a circle around me using half the arena so she keeps a nice even circle. Cutting between the jumps to loop back around me. Walking nicely. Trotting nicely on clucks. I decided to bump it up and give her a kiss and she breaks right out into a canter. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I pull her back to a trot verbally. And then bump her back up to a canter. Verbally. Did I mention I forgot my lunge whip in my truck? So I am just standing in the arena with a coiled up lungeline in my hand. I ask her to whoa and she skids to a stop. Turns to face me and then walks up so I can rub her face.

Okay, let me just say that this is not what I expected. She is an awesome mare, sweet as can be and always tries her hardest. But c'mon, it has been a year. She has not been worked in a year! How does she even remember this? I am so friggin impressed.

Back to the recap! So I send her back out in the opposite direction...she did throw a few curveballs in there throughout, a few half bucks for fun and she changed direction once after being distracted by the kids riding their bikes and calling her name out. But she changed again after I asked her to and walked, trotted and cantered in the other direction as well. I ended on this ridiculously good note and brought her back to the barn, pulled all her stuff off and then tied her up in the washrack to hose her off (humid and gross out here, she was sweaty and sticky). Have I mentioned she does not tie? Well, she sort of does (kind of like she is sort of broke) but sort of does not sometimes. She has been none to pull back and explode. So I tied her up and hosed her off. She hates water on her face but too friggin bad, I let it rain down on her head as well. I got her apparently worked up enough about this that she lifted her head high enough to lose all slack...and kept pulling and then started freaking out and pulling back harder. Of course, safety sam that I am, I had used a quick release knot.

Apparently my quick release knots could use a little work. I was totally NEVER a girl scount. I ate the cookies! But that was it.

So yes, my knot did not work. But Foxy stopped pulling. And stepped forward and licked her lips and then just stood there while I untied it. What the hell? Did someone replace her with a newer improved model when I wasn't looking?

Just to be safe I left it just looped there but not tied...I was done hosing and needed to pull the hose up and coil it and get things cleaned up. So I start pulling the hose (which she is not thrilled with anyways). And manage to catch the hose on a broom leaning against the wall near where she was tied. Which, of course, fell over right next to her. She spooked and pulled back and got loose! Damn it! I put my arms out and said HOOOOO HOOOO HOOOOOOOO. (I have to admit, I have an awesome Santa impression...) And she stopped. Loose in the aisle. And just stood there. While I walked up and grabbed her.

Seriously, I could not have asked for a better first day back in training! Or a better horse. Or well, okay, maybe if she was papered and SOUND and dead broke and worth a million bucks. But other than that!

So today was totally a good day for us. I tied her outside for a bit to take pics. She was wet from the hosing off and looks a bit darker than she actually is. But man, how did I end up with such a good looking horse? What a waste it is to let her sit.

I see Horse Soccer in our future! Hopefully with an actual soccer ball and not my ass rolling around on the ground.


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I love my Foxy!


And also, I have to admit, once we got started working...Foxy really looked happy. She was a spring to her step and I think was really enjoying a job and some extra attention. While I have thrown around the idea of retiring her permanently....I always feel guilty thinking of sending her somewhere as she loves human attention now. What a 360 from the crazy horse that showed up a couple years ago.

In sort of related news, Foxy is very very very low on the totem pole. But the BO has a new littel quarter horse mare. All their other horses are Walkers but they got their kid a cute QH mare to do barrels and poles on. Her and Foxy are new best friends apparently! I am happy that Foxy has finally found a friend. She is happy as a clam!

Sadly enough, I need to move her somewhere less expensive, for pasture board only and with actual training facilities. That is next on the list. But she can make new friends. And I want to be able to train her safely and get her moving on and having fun.

Until next time!