revealing trouble

Koda's tune-up training is revealing some troubling things. While he looks amazing, and when he's good - he is really good - his shying/defiant behavior keeps popping up. What the heck is going on with my boy?

Last week we rode in the outdoor, it was gorgeous. Our trainer was working with a couple other horse & riders, so we headed to the far end to do a mounted warm up. Before we did, she mentioned spending time having other horses ride at, approach & move around Koda, as a result of his previous episode.

We progressed warming up slowly, eventually loping. He listened well to my legs, and was noticeably smoother. I worked on feeling/getting the correct lead, and learned he no longer needs inside rein support. With that clarified, our lope offs are going better. I noticed Koda got a little too antsy when going anywhere near the other horses, and asked our trainer how things were going. She shared that earlier in the week while riding Koda (at the time just walking around) a big hunter was across the arena working on transitions and Koda completely fell apart. Great. I asked what her plan of action was, basically more of the above.

This week gave us a rainy day ride, in the indoor. It was just Brad & I at the barn, attention was focused on us. Our trainer shared right away how concerned she is with Koda's behavior "it's as if he is looking for things, and using them as an excuse, to get unreasonably big". I asked if perhaps something might be hurting and therefore causing him to act out, but because it's random she feels it's behavioral. I agree, just searching (or maybe that's hoping?) for reasons that might lead to a fix.

Maybe Koda is a horse that just can't have the winter off? The response I got was, he's a broke horse now and doesn't get to act like this. Agreed. While they all need refreshing, flipping out is different. All I know is he has one bad case of spring fever (or something) and I don't want to end up on the ground for the third year in a row. I'm too damn old. It not only shatters my body, it crumbles my confidence.

I've seen hints of this behavior in common scenarios all along, attributing it to my not being a super confident rider (ex. not crossing water). Of course I always wonder if Koda's bad behavior is somehow my fault. Our trainer tells me when things are, she can be brutally honest, and said this isn't. However, I doubt I am likely helping the situation. For example, I got scolded for letting Koda wrap his head around and poke towards me while saddling. Not necessarily when cinching, just messing with me. She didn't like my answer of "he always does that, but never bites. I guarantee if he ever does bite me, he'll never do it again". Oh well. I heard her point loud and clear. 

I don't wish bad behavior on anyone, but it is somewhat of a relief that this is not just happening to me. Apparently earlier in the day Koda blew up again, using the hard rain (no thunder) as an excuse, and all but tried to buck her off. Not a good way to start my ride. It was still raining hard. I'm kinda feeling bad for my boy, and don't understand his choices. Why is he choosing bad behavior? He knows it gets him in trouble and makes more work for himself.

Koda continues making bad choices. It's my frustration with him. The problem is, apparently it's heightened, and even more difficult to pull him out of it and get his mind back. He doesn't listen or pay attention to his surroundings. I know our trainer well enough to know that not much concerns her, with all her experience most anything horse is fixable. However she is very concerned, which really makes me worried. She is a seasoned trainer, and truly among the best. She has trained Koda since he was 3. He is 6 now. We know his past. Unfortunately, I think this is all part of his "playful/stubborn" personality...

We all headed out to the arena. Brad did a quick warm up lunge with Nemo, I opted not to. Nemo has been golden during training & rides, there isn't much else to say. The high strung sensitive baby turned out to be the solid horse, and the easy going laid back baby turned out to be the unpredictable horse. Sigh.

Our trainer insisted on riding Koda first, she quickly did and handed him over. I started strong, but half way through I couldn't shut my doubt off. Being under a microscope didn't help. I could tell Koda was over sensitive. We both felt the trainer's "wheels turning" as she watched us, rarely taking her eyes off. He was a good boy, and altho nervous, he did everything I asked. The plan moving forward is to "squash" any, and every, little tiny thing he does wrong. If Koda's behavior doesn't improve, I can guess what she is going to say...

My hubby thinks it's no big deal. Our trainer repeatedly and intently said "it IS a big deal". I think Brad would feel differently if he was on Koda when he acts out, it's a helpless feeling to have your guidance (and safety) completely ignored. We have an overnight trail trip coming up in the near future, unless we manage to head out somewhere near home, it will be our first trail ride of the year. I was told more then once to "get off" right away if Koda goes to that defiant place. Easy to say, not so easy to do when it happens so fast. Freakin' awesome. Now what??

3 yrs old, 2010

 

those aha moments

The sun was shining. My horse was eager to see me, or realistically wanted out of his stall. Let's go with eager to see me. Trainer Patty said she was thinking of blowing the equine soccer ball up, the one we gifted her upon our departure last year. After Brad said "blow it up more, it's gotta fill the cover" twice, they traded jobs. He went to help her hubby fill the soccer ball, while we headed outside to ride in the arena. Patty warmed Nemo up. The ball was ready to roll shortly after. Within seconds of placing it into the arena, it blew into the corner. Both horses were wide-eyed. 


There was a cool brisk wind, the kind that make horses - alert. The trail course we tried last week had been moved outside, and added to. Shortly after warming up, I tried the gate. I could tell they had worked with Koda. He knew exactly what to do, so much that he anticipates it and I have to ask him to wait. We moved onto other things walked & trotted over poles, and worked our way up to a lope. It was a good riding day. I did get one big spook by the scary flat bed trailer, and so we stood by it, making it our friend, and repeated all the gaits passing by it, until it was a none issue.


I tried the rope gate a second time, and while Koda responded to every ask - he swung his hip out, instead of over/closer - as if to walk through the gate. Our trainer helped me realize, I need to cue further back and block his shoulder - aha, I should have known. I worry about not asking clearly, and have noticed our side-passes and spins have gotten sloppier. It's usually not my horse, it's me. Our trainer quickly said, don't feel bad it's part of building a team. Well, this part of the team needs to sharpen their skills!


We continued doing the various obstacles, and I decided to try the lope into the box stop - wow - my horse nailed it so good. So much forward, that I wasn't sure we were going to stop. It got squeals of delight out of our trainer. Our third attempt wasn't as pretty, but aha - now I know what it feels like to do it right. That my friends, was fun!


Brad had an aha moment with Nemo too, while our trainer worked with him and Nemo on softness. Gosh Nemo has leveled out, and looked so darn pretty slowed down and being responsive. I stopped to watch, and was so happy for them!


Koda & I went back to working on our lope, but suddenly I was getting a counter canter...outside leg, inside rein - what was I doing wrong? Not cuing back far enough, again. I did it right, and it caused my weight to shift - and his. While I've done it right (and wrong) many times, for all the years I've ridden, the obvious feeling of weight shifting - in particular Koda's, was another aha moment. I'll cherish this ride, they aren't all like this - and try to remember these moments.


I decided it was time to play, ball. I wish you could see Koda. He perks up, and just loves playing with that darn ball! It's so cute! According to my husband, Koda wasn't the only one having fun - he said he could see my beaming smile across the arena. We kicked, turned, pushed, mostly trotted, but broke into a lope...trying to beat the ball, before it ran into something. I admit, I loved it too. And if that isn't an aha moment, I don't know what is.

riding with new friends

We had a pleasant indoor ride yesterday, despite the cool dreary weather. Our trainer introduced us to some of her long time clients, a couple that are big into trail riding (the wife also shows). They regularly head out on the trail, including trailering to different states. That's one of our long-term goals, getting a live in trailer and exploring other States. Guess their trail ride was cancelled and knew we were scheduled to ride at Iron Horse, they've been wanting to meet us. How sweet is that? When they asked if they could could ride with us, Trainer Patty knew they would be more then welcome! 


After warming up, I learned Koda's new trick of the week. He is sticking his neck towards the inside, and nose towards the outside...no clue why he has to be so challenging, other then he is a horse. Patty asked me to correct him if he did it, by turning him right around into a tight circle. Sometimes it worked better then others. She said in general I do a lot of little corrections, while she does one big correction and gets longer results. In the past Koda has done his share of bracing, pulling, chomping etc. It all goes away, but seems to reappear in some form. Last year we switched bits. I wonder if it's time to try something different? She doesn't think so, stating new quirks are all part of the tune-up process. 


We all stopped riding to learn together, when a mini trail class course was set up - a rope gait, a box, and a pole. The idea was to lope into a square box (with poles as a border) and stop inside, then do a 360 turn without touching the poles, trot off, go over a single pole, to the gate, and open and close it. Sounds easy, right? Well, it wasn't. I haven't done any gait work in over a year, and stopping in a box - ha! - that was a new one. Koda & I stopped inside the box, but it was a sloppy mess after we lost our gait somewhere right before the poles start. Our 360 turn was great, the gate not so much. Koda started what I not so affectionatally call his "backing crap" aka "I don't want to do that" and it instantly frustrates me. It sends me back to a place I don't like to go. A place where I don't trust him, and want to hop off. I said it out loud. Patty was right by the gate, and just continued coaching me. I tried to get him to WHOA! and not to inadvertently pull back, eventually we managed the rope gait. I only tried the course once, we've got a lot to work on...


After Brad did the course, he hopped off Nemo and asked the new (to us) Assistant Trainer Stephanie to do the course riding Nemo. He wanted to watch. Patty coached her in Nemo's sticky areas as well, and it was helpful for Brad to hear and see at the same time. No one was a shining star, we all had our issues and joked about "no pressure". 


On the way home, Brad said he got a lot out of this ride. It wasn't one of my favorite, but they can't all be. Overall it was fun and the couple we rode with were great. We shared a few stories, talked about ACTHA and ended up exchanging emails. I'm pretty excited to have met such nice people with similar interests, and the trail it may lead us on!

weeks later

In just one short week, there was a noticeable difference in Koda & Nemo. Some of what we experienced may have been attributed to the warm 80 degree weather, the kind you want to bottle - and then open up during a cold or rainy stretch. Unlike some other horses at the trainers, ours were handling our early jump from winter to summer pretty well - winter coat and all. Spring serves a transitional purpose, we just didn't get one this year. In reality, another week of training and strengthening was showing it's effect. Some weeks it shows, and other not as much. Nemo was no longer "racey". Koda's collection response was back, and he continued to move out. It always helps to be able to ride in the large outdoor arena.

Fast forward to this weekend. We recently got some much needed rain, that stuck us back in the indoor yesterday. It's just not as much fun to ride inside for horse or human. Koda's forward go, pretty much got up and went. Repeated cues were needed on more then one occasion. He seemed bored, more then anything. I tried to change it up as much as I could. There were some cones set out, which added a structure to move around. Our trainer spent most of our ride helping Brad & Nemo work on softness, and their lope. It seems to be the initial training focus, where both horses need work. Speaking of work, I need to spend more time on my side passes and attempted spins, they felt pretty sloppy...and I really like doing them.

On a different note, Nemo's bladder biopsy had to be rescheduled. The specialized equipment was out of state, being used for a training. Waiting another week turned out to be a good thing. When he went into the vet hospital for his exploratory procedure, the preliminary ultrasound showed the mass in his bladder had started to break down on it's own - it was a clump of calcium. They didn't need to do the biopsy, instead they were able to finish breaking the mass down and flush the calcium out. He was happy to get back to his home-away-from-home. Our vet will continue looking into things that may be contributing to the build-up, starting by testing our hay. We are pretty happy with the news, and look forward to many years together with our big entertaining sweet guy!

Leftovers are good!
Nemo figured out if he flips the tire at home, just right, the grain that was wedged between the tire and pan from his messy eating brother (Koda) pops right out and lands in the pan.

she wasn't kidding

Last weekend we arrived at our trainers to find Nemo all about greeting us, and then there was Koda who glanced but wouldn't even turn around. Since he had an attitude, I went to love up Nemo instead. Eventually Koda decided to show some interest in our arrival, and then received a warm welcome. Somethings never change, you could flip a coin with that boy to see which one you've got that day.

As usual Brad was already riding Nemo by the time Koda & I entered the arena. 40 mile an hour winds were randomly blowing the new giant wall fan at the end of the arena open, slamming it shut, and creating weird loud creaking sounds. I thought a warm up lunge at that end of the arena would be a good idea. Remember the crazy lunging horse in the arena from a few rides ago? Well, that was us this time. Koda bucked, pulled, raced, and gave me dirty looks. Who's horse is this? I've only seen him act up like that once while lunging, when he first learned how as a yearling and was testing things out. That wasn't going to work this time either, and he quickly settled and chose to listen.

I didn't care much for the way Koda was acting, and opted not to hop on him right away. Instead we walked around and hung out down at the scary end of the arena, until our trainer came back from multi-tasking. I wanted her to ride him first, and see just what this new found behavior was all about. My horse was acting out of character, even for him. The winds had died down a fair amount, and of course Koda was perfect for her. I would expect nothing less.

I hopped on to find my sluggish boy was gone, and had changed into an energetic teenage version. Where repeated cues were needed in the past, it was one - and go. He didn't even try to quit until asked. Our trainer wasn't kidding when she said "Koda wants to go-go-go" and added "it's like they (Koda & Nemo) switched places". Fine with me, as long as Koda is listening - and he was, intently. I wonder if/how long it will last? I guess Koda has been this energetic since day one (two weeks ago) clearly happy to be back! Maybe he thought I was there to take him home, or more likely re-testing me. Nemo on the other hand seems like he could take Iron Horse, or leave it. He certainly doesn't dislike it, but I think he would rather be back in the pasture at home keeping track of his herd. Brad also found Nemo not to be his old ride, he was back to being a bit racey and high headed.

I had a good time riding Koda that day, he was different but fun. I really enjoyed his extended trot, didn't even know he had that cue...and I could even feel the gait was correct lol. It was obvious. I'm glad Brad asked about it, we missed trying their extended trot's before. Koda's lope was okay, somewhere along the way his cue for collecting got foggy. Our trainer agreed with me, and is working on it. He was still responding to the cue pretty well when we dropped him off, but in fixing other things he isn't anymore. I know it takes time to put it all back together. If only we could ride year round, there would be less to put back together.

I remember the mixed feeling of finding our horses different, in particular right after they start training. Sometimes I wonder if it's all worth it - but in the end, it always proves to be.

my horse is learning the alphabet

Last night during our lesson at Iron Horse, I was merrily loping along - when something felt odd. I glanced over my right (inside) shoulder and saw my horses hip sticking out more then the usual. I looked forward, my horses head was straight - we were going straight, huh? I stopped. 

Trainer Patty asked "What's wrong?". " Um, that was weird, what the heck was Koda doing? His hip was sticking out" " Really...which direction?" "To the inside, like this" as I made a shape with my hand - and that's when allll the happiness broke loose! Koda earned huge praise from our Trainer, she was giddy and overcome with joy.  Those who know her well, can relate to the sound of her honest happiness.

Apparently Koda has learned the letter U.

She explained it's a higher level gymnastics move that is hard for them to learn, and even harder to teach. It builds on the foundation of teaching horses to move their body sections separately, for many different types of movements. Pretty exciting, altho I have no idea what I did that got him started spelling - but I'll find out. Until then, my horse knows more of the alphabet then I do!

a second ride

It was late morning when we arrived to ride Koda & Nemo for a second time this week. They are still at the trainers, which limits our rides for various reasons. The reality is summer is almost over, therefore we are being pro-active in getting in a second weekly ride. I am happy to say we accomplished that yesterday.

Koda slinking over to me, yep it's time to go to work.

I was happy Koda came to me in the pasture when I called him, albeit slowly. Can't really blame his slow-mo, it was really hot yesterday. We usually ride in the evenings when they are already back in their stalls, and it's starting to cool off. It was nice to ride midday, and have more time to groom. I got to condition and brush Koda's long beautiful mane & tail. I haven't figured out who enjoys it more. 

Of course that meant Brad & Nemo were well into their ride before we even got out to the arena. Not only do they move faster in general, but Brad isn't one to socialize until after they ride. I snapped a pic of them before I mounted. You'll notice Nemo's head is still pretty high, but he has really slowed down and is getting better overall.

Brad & Nemo loping

Altho I am making progress with Koda, we aren't there yet. I am still working on having the confidence to correct his naughty/disrespectful behavior before it grows. I got an earful yesterday, and while I fully understand what our trainer is saying - and why - it's still hard for me. Sigh. 

On a more positive note, our turns, spins and side passes are improving. Still a ways to go, but I love doing them! I don't think Koda minds them either. He continues to be fun to stop at a lope, and really gets his butt under him. Sometimes he ends up doing a little slide :) It would be fun to learn to slide, but it sounds like an ordeal with the boots, shoes etc. He would be good at it, maybe someday down the road.

The past couple rides I worked on learning to see & feel the correct lead at a lope. Something I've never been able to do. It gets old having to ask/be told. It doesn't help Koda's counter canter is pretty darn smooth. I intentionally cued a counter canter, and that helped me feel the difference when starting out. Earlier this week Trainer Patty suggested we do a fast stop on one. Koda's right leg swung out, that visual and uncomfortable feel made even more sense. It helped his front leg has a white pastern. When things are going smooth, I am trying to see by glancing down at his shoulders. The feel just isn't there yet, but I am trying. How do you tell if your horse is on the correct lead at a lope? 

it's all about Wednesdays

We've been riding Koda & Nemo 1X a week, more often then not on Wednesdays. Things are going well, and I think I am over the funk I found myself in the past weeks. Nothing was wrong, but nothing was particularly right either. I questioned what I was doing with Koda, and why. I was barely looking forward to my rides. He didn't do anything wrong, the rides were fine.

We had set goals back in January, but it didn't seem like we were progressing or even working on them and therefore wasn't sure if I even wanted to anymore. Add to that, my saddle is starting to fit Koda weird (I have semi-quarter bars, he is muscling up and growing wider) and spurs felt odd. I can't just drop in once a week and feel like a successful team, too many new things and no (much needed) repetition. Not to mention I am used to structured lessons, we are hands on owners and I just plain ol' feel disconnected. Altho I heard Patty and Brad say I'm riding better then ever, I wasn't doing anything different. Really, I wasn't.

Koda is doing awesome with his training, I can see/feel that. However I need a plan in my head, even if the plan is no plan, or made spur of the moment. How does one know how to get anywhere, when you don't know the path well enough and can't practice. What should I be working on. I know I was over thinking things, but had to have one of "those" hard conversations that thankfully ended well. I needed to know more then "everything is good". It felt like I was just riding a different horse, arrround in circles, going through the motions. Do you ever question what you are doing with your horse?

Until this past week, we've had to ride in the indoor arena at Iron Horse. We have had a very wet cool spring. With all of the above settled down, other then the saddle fit which we are actively working on figuring out, it felt soooo good to ride outside!! I threw my first rope off of Koda, opened/closed a gate and dragged a log. I've never done any of those things before on horseback. The log was easy, I'll need practice tossing a rope so I don't look like a total dork. The gate was the most challenging. Koda did great, and was very patient while Patty showed me the correct way to position him to open/shut the gate. We also worked on side passes, turns, loping and stops. I really had fun, and am looking forward to practicing next Wednesday!!

flying lead changes

Last time we rode Koda & Nemo we could see, or in Brad's case feel, a significant change in Nemo. He was clearly using more of his rear muscles, and looked great. Brad had the smoothest ride he's ever had on Nemo.

Koda was already there the previous ride , and rode about the same. We had a bit more success on our spin work. I am still learning (and will be for a while) to feel it and put it together,. I'm trying not to be too hard on myself. I really need repetition for new things to sink into my thick skull, or at least more then 10 minutes of practice every not so often. Okay it's been twice, perhaps I should give it a few more times.

I got to thinking, how does Trainer Patty teach them to use their hind end anyways? She told me they do a lot of work with the wall, turning into it and actively backing up to strengthen those muscles. I would love to watch her train sometime, not a demo, but following the daily progression of a young horse - ideally one of ours. If only I didn't have to work...

Onto other news, our boys have started learning flying lead changes. I haven't done them in sooo long, I almost forget what it feels like to fly...almost. I love the feel of changing leads, and can't wait. I remember the progression. It's a longer learning process, and Koda is - well, proving to be Koda. I've watched him do lead changes at liberty, but if you've followed his training at all you know he doesn't just hand it over. Patty said "that darn Koda will change his front, and then draggg his back" it made us laugh. Not funny, but it's so Koda to provide a challenge. She said Nemo on the other hand seems to really enjoy them. No surprise there, he has always been more willing.

Patty also started to move our boys into a shank snaffle (with curb strap) by alternating them. I will be the first to admit, I don't know much about bits/hackmores.  Yes, I know there is gobs of controversy out there. My hubby gets frustrated, and tired of answering my repeated questions. He's a lot of great things, but teacher isn't one of them. A local book store is closing, and I've been eying up The Ultimate Book of Horse Bits by Emily Esterson. I bought it, it's always a good time to understand things better.

happy day

We went to visit Koda & Nemo today, and much to our surprise, we rode! We didn't have our tack with us, so we borrowed theirs - except for our bridles which stay with our horses. Our short lunge warm up felt a bit awkward to me, but then again it usually does. Once my butt hit that saddle it was smooth sailing, literally.

The four of us (Nemo & Brad and Koda & I) walked & trotted around, and got reacquainted while mounted. November felt like such a long time ago. Patty said I looked really good. I didn't think I was doing anything special, just riding in pure contentment. Maybe I don't give myself enough credit, or she was just being nice. Regardless, it caught me by surprise. Patty was super excited for me to lope Koda, so I did. I wasn't sure what to expect, but he effortlessly moved forward for me like a big boy. He felt really different. Koda was more level, riding smoother, and just seemed more confident and willing in his movement in general. My boy is growing up. She was very proud of him, and how well he moved out for me. Me too. Koda was amazing, it was SO much fun!

Brad had a good ride on Nemo, he was also moving out well in the lope. I stopped riding so I could watch them, and learn. I tried so hard to see when Nemo's frame was right, but it all looked the same to me. It's been explained to me before, but not the way Patty did. She made four footprints in the sand. With her body, she showed/explained how when the movement comes from behind, the back foot lands where the front foot was, and the body engages (somewhat lowered) powered from behind. I could see that, even in her human body. Then she planted her foot midway, to illustrate the difference of where they were last year. We talked about how that causes them to land, and the shoulder action. Now I could see their body movement is completely different. We all agreed the change is more significant on Koda. Wish I could have watched us too.

Trainer Patty also mentioned how the flow of energy that comes from behind, should come through the body, and effortlessly continue out their head. But without flowing movement, it gets blocked by their shoulder and the energy goes down, creating choppy moves. Whew, I'll have to keep working on the frame and looking for movement thing.

I also learned how to start a spin. Nemo & Brad made it look easy, it wasn't. I hopped off Koda, and Patty got on to show me what Koda was suppose to be doing, as well as what I was suppose to be doing. He wasn't being very cooperative, even for Patty, and I had it all wrong. I was bending him (old habits die hard) and didn't put the "stopping the forward movement, and turn cue" together at the right time.  We tried again, this time with a soft arc, making a circle smaller and smaller, stopped the movement forward, cued, started to spin - and walked off. At least I got the "rollback" feeling a couple times, and we called it good. The boys are still learning to spin, me too. First time I've ever tried.

We untacked, and went in to the heated barn to warm up and talk about some up coming shows, and trail trips to look forward to. I could tell Patty didn't want us to leave, we really enjoy each others company, but it was time for us to go. She had other clients waiting for her. Funny part was, I brought a video camera, my good camera, and my pocket camera - all ready to capture Koda & Nemo in action - and didn't take a single picture. I am happy to say I was living it, instead of watching it through a lens. 

After making plans for our next visit with Patty, I came around the corner and found Brad petting Koda...awwe, I whipped out my pocket camera and at least got a couple stall pictures to share. It was a happy day!!

Koda, after our training ride.
Wishing Brad would keep petting him.

Nemo, after our training ride.
Not the best picture of him, but I didn't want to leave the big guy out.

exciting things

We took an impromptu trip up to see Koda & Nemo yesterday. We were a couple miles from the barn, when we got a call from trainer Patty wondering if we could come up to see the boys - she had exciting things to show us! She was on the road picking up a horse for training, not knowing we were so close to the barn. Funny timing. We arrived to find the boys turned out, poking around, and looking good.

(L-R) a pony, Nemo and Koda (who was in total disbelief that I wasn't letting him out) and Brad

They seemed happy to see us, but couldn't believe we left them turned out and went inside the barn to visit. It was musical stall cleaning time, no reason to not enjoy more fresh air on a nice winter day.

Koda

Nemo

Before long Patty arrived, the boys came in, and went to work right away. Patty rode Koda first. We could instantly see how responsive he was becoming. So pretty. Softer starts, not bracing against the bit, using his topline. He looked more confident, and overall much less colty. He made the lope off look easy, altho it really wasn't. He did good work on pivots, and side pass was coming along. We talked about the days he still has "nervous/bored bit play" and how they are patiently working through it. Somedays it's gone, somedays it's not.

Belle, the horse riding cat giving me a dirty look for disturbing her ledge snuggle time,
with the guy who only tolerates cats.
That's her ledge, just ask her. She launches off of it to ride.
Someday I hope to see her in action.

Nemo's progress was equally amazing, he had all the right answers for Patty - especially with us as an audience. They are so funny, and know when mom and dad are watching. Nemo continues working on lowering his naturally high head some (without aides). His lope off wasn't as smooth but still good, we could see the difference. Similar pivots as Koda, and side pass was better. He is so responsive. I know, I know we aren't suppose to compare our kids. The more I watch Nemo the more it becomes obvious he would excel at Hunt, but you'll never catch Brad in breeches lol!

Their true efforts made Patty laugh out loud. They bring such joy, and earned many a "goood boy" along with big pats & hugs. It's so nice to see other's love the animals that mean the world to you. We were smiling ear-to-ear, and still can't stop thinking about how far they have progressed in one month. She said it was in part a testament to us, because the boys arrived in good shape ready to learn more. Too many times they spend the entire first month retraining the horses. We kept them active, using the skills they already knew. I can't imagine doing anything less. It also helped that we came out to Iron Horse to ride over the summer/fall, so she could see where we were at as a team, after all - that's what training them is all about.

Patty feels Koda & Nemo enjoy learning new things, and from what I observed I would have to agree. I am so thankful we have her to teach them, and us, to be successful. Our boys really do seem to enjoy being at Iron Horse, me too. Unfortunately we had to cut our visit short and pass up riding, for a family obligation. If it wasn't for family, I would have stayed in a heartbeat. I haven't ridden since November. It's okay tho, many rides are coming. Such exciting things to look forward to!!

happy to be back

We recently spent about two hours visiting with Koda & Nemo, and of course trainer Patty. Our boys looked great! It felt so good to snuggle them. Wish I had brought my camera with me, especially when Nemo reached out to Patty and they were nose-to-nose exchanging conversation. He has so much personality.

They truly seem to be happy back in training, they sure look it. The boys are working on how they carry themselves, strengthening their top line etc They continue to progress, and haven't switched bits yet. She mentioned Koda was doing well holding the bit quietly and not bracing, but still has his days. I think Patty is trying to work through what's best for him. He can be a challenge, not necessarily naughty, making you think/work too. I can attest to that. Nemo on the other hand, in Patty's words "just does whatever we ask him to do". He has always been more willing. 

I was kinda bummed when I asked about riding, and she suggested we hold off a while longer. Sigh. It's okay tho, I know it will be better for them (and us) in the long run. It was fun to hear about the shows, and even a trail riding trip she is busy planning. Our boys will be included in the shows that fit them, and of course in the trail riding trip. It's going to be exciting!!

a while, smiles, and a new camera

Driving past the farm on my way to work I saw Harmony lying down by the hay bunk again, with Cierra standing next to her. As I glanced over my shoulder, Harmony was getting up. I can't imagine she is lonely with Cierra around to pester her, then again she grew up and spent her former years in a larger herd of around 15. Is it that? missing the boys? or does she just want to be the one going? It's all a guess, based on observation. I've been thinking about her a lot lately, and her uncharacteristic behavior. I was happy to hear, that Harmony was back to her old self this morning and eager to be fed. It only took a short while.

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Brad stopped at Iron Horse today, and dropped off Nemo's hoof supplement. He told me the boys are back to work. I asked if Koda looked happy. Brad's response "when I walked in Shauna and Koda were walking out of the arena, I couldn't tell who's smile was bigger". Brad asked how the boys did, and she said "they rode just like when they left" said (and taken) as a compliment. Patty is at a training seminar, we knew Shauna would be the one starting them back up again - and that's okay with us. She is a longtime Assistant Trainer, and they work very closely together. We completely trust her, she really knows her horses. It's a bummer I wasn't able to see those smiles.

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Today was back to reality. I really enjoyed my time off over the holidays. Among other things I was able to get back into blogging, spend time with the family and horses, and even picked out my new camera! Finally. I've been looking at them for about a year, and wishing for a new one forever. It was worth the wait. I won't be able to get distant shots, yet. I need to save up pennies for a telephoto lens, they are sooo expensive - it's gonna be a while. I can't wait to get out in the pasture and try to capture beautiful equine moments, until then - here is my first photo attempt, which has nothing to do with horses. We have a very spoiled water-obsessed cat, who also loves sleeping on anything soft, the king of the house - Sydney. Funny how the only other picture of him on this blog is also taken on his bed, er I mean our bed.

our last training ride

We had a slice of perfect weather, with no rain, for our last training ride at Iron Horse. The outdoor arena was still too wet to ride in, so we rode in the field again. I’m glad Brad & Nemo got a chance to experience it. It’s very different from outdoor arena riding in that there are no rails or obstacles to guide the horses. They really need to listen to their rider, and watch their footing. What a fun and free feeling, trotting and loping among the swaying grass and pretty scenery!
We changed it up and took a short trail ride on Patty’s property, and then headed out to the road. Along the way we did a little puddle work with the horses. Koda did good, of course the size was no comparison to what we faced last week – but I don’t care I’m walking through all the puddles I can. Patty wanted to see the geese that chased after some of her other horses earlier in the day. We never did see them, just the gawking llamas. I’m thinking it’s a good thing we didn’t have a run in with the geese, occasional cars were whizzing by at an arms length. Why the dipsticks don’t slow down and move over is beyond me. The only thing that gave the horses concern was the big black spooky mailbox wrapped in some strange white material straps. I’m not sure if the straps were holding it together, or decorating it, but all three horses would have rather not been walking right next to it. Of course they didn’t have a choice, but it did raise some ears. The only big scoot came from Nemo. They all did better the second time around. We headed back to the field to ride around some more – and as usual, several hours had flown by having fun. It was time to head in. I’m reeeally going to miss Iron Horse…it won't be our last training ride there forever, just for now.

you want me to cross what?

We finally made the anticipated trip up to Iron Horse for our second trail ride. With all the rain we’ve had, we weren’t sure we would be going anywhere but the indoor arena. I didn’t care, as long as we rode. It had been a whole week, but who’s counting…besides me.

We didn’t have enough riders to warrant taking two trailers, so keeping with our goal of seeing how Koda handled our trailer we loaded the boys, took them for a spin, and then unloaded them. You should have seen the look on their faces when they got out of the trailer and were back at Iron Horse lol. I’m happy to say Koda continues doing great. No time to waste, into the next trailer they went along with Sweetie. You may recall she went with us on our first trail ride. The six of us headed off to Ukarydee (also known as Castle Rock). It was a lot longer of a drive up then we expected, but well worth it. It rained most of the way and magically stopped shortly before we arrived. You gotta love it when that happens. All the way up I wondered what we were in store for. It’s one thing to ride in the rain at “home” where you can quit when you want to, yet another to be wet and cold out on a new trail. Of course we were the only ones riding in the park with the shifty weather, which actually was very serene. The wild flowers were in full bloom, what a variety! Bunnies and deer were scooting around. We were surrounded by quiet nature with pine plantations, open prairie areas, and oak forests. The trails were mostly sand, but as expected we ran into several muddy puddle areas. I quickly learned Koda doesn’t like crossing water/mud. Great.

This trail ride was a big step up from our previous ride for all three horses, and about as challenging as Patty suggests we get this season. I agree. We all switched around leading, following, riding in the middle – and yes, not wanting to go into the puddles. Thanks goodness Sweetie stepped up as the older puddle horse, or I’d still be there trying to get Koda to cross the water. Nemo had his puddle resisting moments too, but with Sweetie’s lead he crossed them all. Koda proved to be the real challenge. This seems to be a reoccurring theme. But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?!

On my first attempt crossing a large puddle with Koda, I allowed him to walk on the edge vs right smack through the middle. It was about 6 feet to cross. I was feeling pretty good that I was successful in getting him to move forward. Of course I didn’t expect him to walk on the very edge, and then shy, which found my knee smacking against a tree. That felt more like pain then success. It only takes once to remind a person to not allow that to happened again! With that determination we made it across various other water puddles of different sizes shapes and lengths, much better - until they got larger. We got stuck on a larger puddle, about 10 feet to cross. That’s where we started the back-up “ I’m not going in there” routine. After many attempts to move him forward, Patty asked me to back him in. If he wants to back, then back him right in. So I did, and it worked – actually we turned around mid-puddle and walked forward through the rest. And then “dun-dun-duuuuun” (that’s the sounds of scary dooms-day stuff coming up) is it even safe to cross that HUGE no longer classifies as a puddle, ‘er body of water?? Six pairs of eyes got reeeal wide in a hurry. The river was behind us, in front of us looked to be an overflow flooded trail pass…so we decided it should be okay to cross. Our tall puddle horse went first. Even Sweetie didn’t like the feeling of the even gooshier edge, but mid-way she waded on through like she crossed bodies of water everyday. Nemo also eventually made it through with their help, however Koda and I didn’t. We got to the edge and out came the “you want me to cross what?”…I tried, and tried but Koda kept backing, jiggin’ and wiggling. I remembered an earlier arena ride when I tried to out stubborn Koda, this time when Patty offered to help – I accepted it right away. I knew by the way he was acting it was beyond me to get Koda across something that big. I could keep trying, but….between the slippery mud and tight area I just didn’t know how far I was willing to go. The only thing I hadn’t tried was dragging, I mean leading, Koda across. Wasn’t likely to work with the footing, depth, and his resistance combined. Not to mention I would have gotten sopping wet. So Patty and Sweetie came back across to help us, and we switched horses. Now, let me tell you what a difference that was. Sweetie has pent-up energy to spare, and has spent her life making her own decisions – and here we are together for the first time in a stressful situation. So we waded, checked out the path ahead, and stood still for 2 point 2 seconds before doing it all over again. She can’t stand still (Patty is re-training her). We would stand for a short while, but with nowhere to go, or even dismount, back across the water we went lol, several times. I felt better moving on her, then feeling her energy fuel while standing still. Besides, we needed Sweetie’s help to get Koda across.

I didn’t feel too bad about not getting him to cross. Patty had to get off Koda twice herself, and was having a lot of trouble too. It was a tough situation. He had stopped thinking and was about to get himself hurt. The water was around a bend, and there was such a small open path area that he couldn’t keep stepping back further and further. If he did, he would have hit a small decline that would have landed him into the real body of water behind us – a guaranteed disaster. How do you tell a horse that, when they aren’t thinking? Apparently he hadn’t noticed it, he was so focused on the water in front of him. She had to be kinda hard on him to get him to stop backing and reacting with random movement, that was anything but forward. She felt bad. We all did. But it could have gotten ugly. Koda needed to start using his brain so he didn’t get hurt, or hurt someone. Sweetie was calm (for her) as we stood in the scary body of water trying to give him reassurance the goopy mud wasn’t going to swallow him up. Patty doesn’t think Koda’s deal is a water depth thing, she thinks he doesn’t like the squishy feeling under his feet. Who knows. That over flow was about 30 feet to cross and forever long, not something you can go around. It was about 2 feet deep. Thankfully, Koda came to his senses and just plain ol’ gave in and plodded through the water for Patty – and every puddle thereafter.

We continued on the trail for a while before switching back to our original horses. Whew. Altho it was fun to be on a tall energetic horse for a while, I really don’t know Sweeties pent-up quirks and didn’t feel like flying today. I couldn’t believe how different the two horses felt underneath me. It was night and day. I was very happy to get back on my Koda! The rest of the ride was uneventful. We were all tired, and believe it or not relaxed. We had all experienced a beautiful ride with a high level of learning. We were very proud of our mounts, all of them. That was a challenging ride for our young horses.

I’d like to go back to Ukarydee, in dryer weather (surprise, surprise). Altho I hear the bugs get bad, but it must be absolutely gorgeous in the fall. Regardless, we’ll go back. In the interim, I’ll continue working on Koda crossing water!

what’s going on back there?

Before we rode last night, our vet Dave did an ultrasound of Nemo’s bladder to check things out. The ultrasound is done rectally. He wasn’t sure how Nemo would deal with the procedure. Amazingly he stood for the whole exam without fussing. Altho you could tell by the look on Nemo’s face he really wanted to see what was going on behind him. I think he found out, without looking.

We watched the ultrasound screen with Dave, and learned that Nemo doesn’t have any stones. It’s a good thing. Stones must be removed surgically. However he does have a build-up of crystals in his bladder. He shared every horse forms calcium carbonate crystals, but they usually go unnoticed and are deposited naturally. In Nemo’s case they are building up, and may have been for a while. As you can imagine complications can occur if the crystals are left to continue to build up. We didn’t get into those details, not sure I want to know. Dave recommended a funnel procedure to try and flush the crystals out. Hopefully it will work, and they won’t reoccur. Unfortunately the reality is that Nemo will be more susceptible to a reoccurrence. There is medicine to help control the build up, but we’ll stay away from that unless needed. It’s hard to pick up on the problem, and we are thankful to the Farrier at Iron Horse, and Assistant Trainer Shauna who noticed Nemo’s odd tinkling behavior on separate occasions.

It doesn’t seem to bother him, and he rode fine. Patty couldn’t be available for our ride, so Shauna took her place. She did a nice job. Brad got a few new pointers on working with Nemo, and helped me with my lope too. She’s awesome. At one point I was on the wrong lead. I couldn’t tell. If that was Koda’s wrong lead I’m in trouble, it was pretty smooth. Other then that, it went even better then last time. I think Fern Valley was right, perhaps we turned a corner.

rainy bliss

We had a great week and rode 3X in five days, with alternating days of arena, trail, arena work. A perfect schedule in my humble opinion. I really enjoy both trail & arena riding, most of the time. However that first arena ride was frustrating, at least that’s what my face told everyone. I wear my emotions on my face – without even knowing. I didn’t tell my face to say anything, what the heck! Perfect strangers have come up to me in the past, upon occasion and made (nice) comments about whatever my face was saying at the time. Like it’s got a mind of it’s own or something lol. Guess it wasn’t listening to me that day either. Truth be told, I was frustrated with Koda – or myself, or both. Not sure. I get tired of non-stop correcting him. That little booger makes me work hard! Some days you just want to get on and ride. I know, I know that’s not realistic with a young horse. They need us to help them do the right thing, all the time. We made it through with help from Patty’s coaching, and by the end of the ride he did what I asked. My face must of been screaming frustration, cuz I never said a word. But she knew. Patty reminded me a ball spur was an option, and would make things easier for me. I’m sure the day will come when it makes sense to put on the spurs, but not now. I don’t expect things to be easy, this isn’t just about me – it’s about us…I am determined we’ll get it right sooner, next time.

We’ve had 90 degree muggy weather all week. On our second arena ride, we opted for the outdoor in the rain - it felt plain ol’ refreshing. I’m pretty sure Nemo was the only one who didn’t think so, he prefers not getting wet. But sometimes you gotta ride in the rain, and in this case we all wanted to. We’ll almost all of us. Nemo got over it, he didn’t have a choice. Patty kept offering to move into the indoor arena, but no one wanted to give up the refreshing feeling that only water on a hot day can give you. Besides, I was having the best ride ever on Koda. There is something to be said for repetition. We had our moments, but it was a big huge improvement. Patty was really pleased. I think we all were. Koda’s broken strides were less frequent and he was listening to my cues. He was loping off right away. At one point I was laughing so hard we ran right over the top of a cone. Oops, bad driver - sorry Patty. She laughed too, and said they had been running them over all day. We tried it again, and this time I focused and decided sooner which direction we were going. Good idea, ya think?! Other riders came and went during the rain that ranged from sprinkles, to nothing, to a steady soaking rain, and back to nothing again. By the end we were wet, tired, and happy. I found out after the fact hubby told Patty it was almost like Koda & I were a different rider and a different horse – and she agreed. Whatever, we were just enjoying the rainy bliss!!

look at it or away from it

The past couple weeks Iron Horse has begun working with Koda on trailer loading. Patty mentioned when they started he was truly scared of being in the trailer. Not a surprise. She carefully explained sometimes horses outsmart methods, and Koda had done just that. The gradual “load/backup/reload” method we used to train him wasn’t going to work anymore. They needed to change methods, and were successful using the end of a crop when he would bolt out without being asked. She said it took about three times, and he opted to stand inside instead of getting thumped on his butt. Wouldn’t be my first choice of methods, and it wasn’t theirs either – but, he has to be loadable - for his own good. She was happy to see he respected the trailer butt strap, and moves forward when he comes in contact with it. Now he waits to be asked to back out. Patty said he will likely always be a two person loading horse that has to get unlatched first, door open second, and then butt strap undone with a person inside holding a lead rope ready to ask him to back out. If that’s the worst of it, I can live with it, and apparently so can Koda.
With our first trail ride coming up fast, I asked Patty a question “when a horse spooks at something on the trail are you a look at it, or look away from it person”? Having observed both, I never really understood why/when do one vs the other. I was curious what she would suggest. I think I hit a nerve, and got a very passionate answer. She prefaced her answer by saying there aren’t many things she feels can’t be handled in various different ways, as everyone has their own style, but it’s safe to say Patty is definitely not a forcible “look at it” person! She feels it is really wrong, and has had to fix horses that experience that mentality. Without re-telling the whole explanation, the reason to not force your horse to stand still, and stare at, whatever they think is going to eat them is that it builds adrenaline, and fuels negative adrenaline-type behavior. She didn’t really agree with looking away from the object and pretending it doesn’t exist either. She favors introducing the scary object while mounted a “little at a time” starting at the horses comfort zone, and working the horse closer. I’ve done this, as I’m sure many of you have, and completely agree with this method. It works well. Of course it goes without saying there are exceptions, like when a human thinks that scary thing might eat them both – um, that might be a good time to leave!
Are you a “look at it” or “look away from it” person??

to the left to the left

SO, aren’t you all wondering – was I able to get Koda to lope to the left…or are stronger aides in our immediate future?? Say what? It wasn’t on your top ten things to worry about? Not a problem, I had it covered for all of us – and worry, I did.

My day was for crap at work, and that makes gearing up for a challenge a hard transition. But the “what if’s” slowly and surely melted away as my time with Koda progressed. He was patient tacking, and good during warm-up. Altho he did challenge me some in the saddle. I wanted so badly for things to go right, and by Koda’s reactions – so did he. With every thing that was done well, or fixed, came the answer I was looking for - done well.

By the middle of our ride, I found myself bumping him too frequently to keep him trotting. Patty asked me to try not using my legs for a while, to prove a point. Koda needs to hold his gait, without my constant reminder. If not, my leg pressure will soon become ineffective and I’ll have a hard-sided horse. Who wants that, not me. I loosened my reins, used no leg, and much to my surprise it worked. We were off the rail, actively working even around the cones – until I stopped.

While I was mentally getting ready to put my lope together, Koda decided to toss his head up while jerking on the reins. Patty didn’t like that at all. She said “that’s like your kid swearing at you”. He knows that’s not okay, and had me do a couple tight circles. He never did it again - all from a simple circle, at a key time.

I was reminded young horses need our help keeping their shoulder up at the lope, especially when starting off, by picking up the inside rein. She also explained to me why working the rhythm of the lope isn't helpful, and actually get’s in their way. That was news to me, and contrary to what I’ve learned in the past. I was taught it helped and encouraged them to keep going, although I’m sure I was over doing it in slow motion. I can’t remember what Patty called it, but she had a name for it. Add that and more to changing my lope cue to the outside, and I’ve got a fair amount of unlearning from years gone by to remember NOT to do.

Three things to remember TO do with a young horse: 1) never use/do more than you need 2) keep work fresh (same applies to correction) 3) end when it’s your idea. Hmmm, that could apply to a lot more than young horses!

Brad and Nemo spent a fair amount of their ride loping, or using the rail to turn into to get a better lift off at the lead. On a different note, we found out Nemo might have kidney stones. They called the vet to discuss symptoms, as long as he doesn’t seem to be in pain and everything remains normal, he wants to check a few things on him at his next visit . Apparently what prompted the call was unusual urination behavior (pee a little, walk around, pee more) in his stall the day before. Patty and staff are keeping an eye on him. Doesn’t help the poor guy got the cough Koda had, and was also put on penicillin to knock it out. Regardless he was a funny tired boy when we were done riding. Nemo made those silly yawning faces that make us all laugh, but still had enough playful energy to pick up the cones.

Oh yea, and I’m happy to say – Koda & I were indeed successful loping to the left, to the left!

the more I learn, the less I know

We had a great ride & lesson Wednesday night. I learned sooo much, my head was still spinning the next morning. I swear, the more I learn the less I know! Why is that?

The barn was busy as usual. We arrived to find our favorite tack fitter and friend Kathye, from Mounds. She checked how our tack was fitting our boys, and tried a new Billy Cook saddle on Nemo. Now that she has seen them in person and things fit well, we just need to make a final decision on the saddle. As you’ve likely read, we didn’t have much luck finding a used saddle locally. I know some folks get good saddle deals on ebay, but we don’t want to take the risk in this case. We reeeally need another saddle (and soon), it’s a necessity, not an extra.

We rode in the indoor arena, do to the string of crappy cold wet weather we’ve had. Warming the horses up was uneventful. It didn’t take long for me to warm-up either. Before hopping up on Koda, I slung my sweatshirt over the entrance banister. Nemo caught a glimpse of the odd black lump that wasn’t there before and found it kinda scary, but that didn’t last long. No obstacles or other riders in the arena for entertainment tonight, just the four of us working our gaits. Patty was please with how well Koda was listening. I agree, altho he was sluggish he was moving right off my leg at the trot. From what I saw, Brad and Nemo’s ride went well as usual.

With my first pending lope on Koda, Patty suggested I split my reins for more control. Not a big deal, I used to ride split reined. There is more positioning to be aware of, along with the added control. I mentioned to her that I may need her to help tell me if I’m on the wrong lead. It’s something I don’t think I ever got good at. Koda & Nemo are trained with a high (to me) outside leg roll cue, and a kiss. She also suggested a slightly shorter outside rein and to cue going into a bend, to help them get the correct lead. Pretty common. And so, we loped. First we loped to the right. Holy rocky horse, I thought I was on the wrong lead. I know it’s been a while, but it felt like an odd lope. Turns out I was on the correct lead (case in point). Patty said it probably felt awkward because Koda was going sooo slow, and the sand is really deep in her indoor. We tried again, and it was better. I choose to start loping in a half circle, and got reminded to turn Koda sooner if he wasn’t turning on his own. It’s important with the young ones. Oh ya, forgot that part - it comes back really quick when you almost run into a wall. We continued on, and I felt put together enough to go around the arena. It was fun!

Then we tried the left lead…and it all went down hill from there. You may recall one of the videos I posted where Patty mentions that Koda is very right sided, well she wasn’t kidding. He kept breaking his stride. Patty said (several times) I had to get after him or it’s going to get worse. We stopped, backed up, and got reminded to not pull on his face when backing up. Old habits die hard. I’ve figured out that Patty uses a lot more leg in her training then my previous trainer. I’m used to working the bit side-to-side on the horses I’ve ridden into collection, forward and back, along with leg pressure. You can’t do this with a young horse. It’s second nature, and I didn’t even realize I was doing it until she said something. Koda would start to listen, and then back to a broken stride…we started, we stopped, we backed, we started, we stopped, over and over. Patty offered to jump on him and show me how hard I needed to get after him, but I was determined. Things just got worse, eventually all I got was a trot. We were frustrated, both Koda and I. At that point it was all eyes on Aurora and Koda, but I didn’t care, I just wanted to out stubborn him and get a lope to the left. Man did I feel like an uncoordinated idiot. That’s a lot to put together all at once when things aren't going your way. Must have been hard for Patty to watch. She is so kind and never raised her voice, or made me feel bad. That’s a refreshing change. Patty truly wants the horse and rider to become partners, and that is why she includes owner training in her program. Brad thanked me later in the vehicle, he said by watching us he better understood some things. I’m glad my struggling was good for something. I eventually realized whatever I was doing wasn’t going to work. I was getting nowhere, tired, and it was long overdue that Koda did what was being asked. He wasn’t going to give me an inch. He was being naughty, and I let him get away with it. Patty got on him, and all she said was “Wow, I can feel his sluggish colty frustration. I’m glad you got off. The next thing coming would have been a buck”. Great. I’m glad I got off too. They have never offered to buck, and we want to keep it that way. Apparently that can manifest itself too. She showed me how she wants me to get after him. If the back-up doesn’t work, then a harder kick with more heel than I was using, and then if needed transferring short reins into the left hand and swatting his butt with the end of the reins, and lastly making him work for a break. It didn’t take but one kick, and one swat, and he stopped breaking his stride at the lope and held his trot for her. That's a good thing about Koda, he will test you but understands the correction. He is a smart boy, it usually only takes once. Koda was a sweaty guy when all was said and done.

We talked about all this, and more. I learned a person can’t out stubborn a young horse. It doesn’t work. She asked me if I was scared to get after Koda. I’m not. She has asked me similar before, when I've seen her need to get after other horses. I understand the difference between abuse and getting respect for safety’s sake, sometimes it takes a stronger hand. Patty isn’t one of those “in their face” trainers. She is very in-tune with the horses, and uses the least amount of pressure at key times and builds from there – but, she means business. How do I know she’s not a rough trainer? The horses love her, you can tell. Watch their reaction when “those” type of trainers walk by a horse. What I don’t know is what to expect after, and then there is the timing and coordination of it all. Now I know, and I hope I can mean business too. Time will tell. Patty’s take is this “ what a person should be scared of is what will happen if you don’t get after him right away and squash the bad behavior before it grows”. Good point. With all that said, we might move Koda into a curb type bit and me into a ball spur. I opted to try one more time before upping things. After all, it was my first time loping a young horse. I can do better. If it doesn’t work next time, we’ll go to plan B. The bottom line is I need to be able to make him listen, or all the training will be for nothing. He doesn’t deserve that, and neither do I. I’ve been processing all this and hope I can put it together…so, that is what we’ll work on next.

We only have one week left, and our 90 days are up. As far as Brad, he continues to feel Nemo taking the occasional extra step at the lope. Patty is going to show him some techniques to keep Nemo reaching. Maybe I'll get to watch? Nemo is a willing learner, and wants no part of anyone getting after him. Koda and Nemo are completely different in how they learn. We pretty much knew that from the days (and days) we went to look at them before deciding they were right for us. We are thankful we found someone who understands all horses are individuals. I have the harder horse to train initially, but in the end I know he will be a rock star. We will likely do a couple more weeks of training, for all of our sakes.