Getting to know Delia

Monday, I hauled Delia to the indoor arena. I had both the bosal and sidepull with me. I started out in the bosal, and decided that I would just stick to that until I get more acquainted with her- the sidepull is quite soft and she could easily ignore it if she chose.
I lead her both ways around the arena, and was pleased that she didn't find any monsters lurking. She was interested in looking out the windows, but no other issues. I worked her on the ground for a few minutes to get her used to the action of the bosal. Here is how it fits her now that it is shaped:

It's still a little loose on the sides, so I put it back in the wraps after riding. This is a fairly heavy bosal, good for the initial teaching as it has a bit of authority if you have to bump it.

I could probably get away without using the throatlach, but that's the way Al made it and I am loathe to change anything he did.
The horsehair mecate was a gift from Shayla when she came back from California. Love it!
At first, when I was working her on the ground, every time she took her head away and gawked somewhere else, I brought her into the circle in the opposite direction from where she was looking. She caught on fairly quickly that losing attention meant having to pay attention. Then I took her to the mounting block, and we had a lesson on exactly where she was supposed to stand for mounting. That took a bit, she always wanted to give 2 or 3 steps when I was just visualizing one.
After getting on, she started gawking around again, and I had to bump her back into the circle quite a few times. Her trick when she isn't sure if she wants to do something is to stop her feet. She does sometimes try to take control of her head, the way she would do if a kid was leading her in a halter and she decided that it was time to stop for a bite of grass- which I am positive happened a lot in her lifetime!!!! This is where the authority of the heavy bosal came in handy. One bump and release, or 2 if necessary, and on we would go. She seemed a bit uncertain about the whole process- she is quite green and I think is not used to being alone at all. Another horse came into the arena about halfway through our session, I got off while he came in, then we had another- and much shorter- session at the mounting block. It was interesting that she was much more relaxed with another horse in sight- they were just grooming him- and I started to get much more softness in her. Just a suggestion of my hand out to the side and she would give me nice turns, and she has a wonderful whoa and back up. I worked a bit on turns on the haunches and serpentines. Overall I was pretty happy with our first real session. I do need to do a bunch more arena work with her before I hit the trails, to make sure we really understand each other, and I'll keep her in the bosal until she is really nice and soft in everything I ask of her.

 Good girl Delia!

Delia's follow up body work

Melissa came over yesterday to do another session on Delia. The first session was all about the things that were going on with her head and neck, some of which were affecting her vision. The preliminary testing yesterday showed that that is pretty well cleared up, just a little tweaking was all that was needed there. I guess that layer needed to be done first before moving on to the next issue. What Delia wanted worked on yesterday was her hind quarters. Her sacrum was sore, and a lot of muscles associated with it needed massage. We had a really good session, Delia made it really plain where she wanted to be worked on and exactly how long too!

Another thing about Delia- she really loves the essential oils and will sniff the bottle from each nostril. The ones she doesn't want she will turn away from, and the ones she wants get a good sniff and soft eye.

There was one point during the hind end massage where she brought her head around to her side and self adjusted a bone in her neck- we could hear it pop. Very cool! When Delia decided that Mel had done enough, she walked away and began eating her hay, like "okay, thanks we're done now!" It was about a half hour session.
Josie was standing by watching, and it seemed that the good energy Delia was getting was reflecting in her.

After Mel was done with Delia, Josie stood right by Mel, almost begging for her to do a little work on her too- of course, she obliged with a little work on Josie's poll. She said that horses with a busy, inquisitive mind usually need work on their poll area, and Josie apparently agreed.

I got a side pull yesterday, and the bosal is shaped and ready to use, so today I haul to the arena and I'll try both of them out and see which one works best. Yay- saddle time!

Fun in the sun

Yesterday was so beautiful, you could almost hear the grass growing, the sun was hot, everything is growing like crazy. I have flowers! Only the violets are blooming right now, but the daffodils will pop soon.

All the horses got turn out time, I was hoping that Delia would roll and get rid of most of that mud on her but no, she was more interested in eating, and once in a while keeping up with Josie's wind sprints.



The bosal shaped up nicely, I'll rig it up today, and if the weather cooperates I'll ride her today. Sideways rain this morning! But I see blue sky peeking out.

Trying out bitless

This is a bitless bridle I tried out on Delia yesterday, I borrowed it from Janice to see if it would work for us. I believe it's a Dr. Cook style. 

I'm not sure of the function of that curb strap, it didn't seem to do anything other than keep the noseband in place. A pull with the rein will put pressure on the poll and the opposite side of the face.
So I climbed aboard..... and Delia promptly dropped her head to graze... "Oh look, I have nothing on my head, I can eat!" It took a bit to pull her head up and I promptly put her through turns, stops and backing, but after 2 minutes I got off- I don't like that there is very little release after you pull the rein. It seems that it is hard to be light with your hands with this rig.

Meanwhile, I decided to try shaping my bosal to fit better.

I researched on line on how to do it and all the sources pretty much said the same thing. I will take the ropes off tomorrow and see how it fits the mare. This bosal is pretty special to me, it was made by Master Rawhider Al Grandchamp from Montana when he was 93 years old, and given to me.
I also might have a side pull tomorrow to try out.
So since riding was out of the question, I worked Delia on the long line... and got a bit of attitude! She was quite sure she shouldn't have to work, and tried popping a crow hop when I asked for a lope, also tried to blow out of the circle- she did this both ways, silly girl! I think she was feeling pretty good! But she did quickly stop the nonsense and get back to work.

Poor pitiful horse, she had to work and get sweated up! After I untacked I let her have 5 minutes of grazing....

which, of course, is her preferred activity.... sorry, Delia, you life of leisure is coming to an end, you are going to have to work for a living now! Considering that she didn't have to do anything the first 9 years of her life except raise 2 foals, she is not  doing too bad. A little lazy, but I think if I find an activity that she really likes, we are going to have a lot of fun.
She made sure to find the muddiest spot she could to roll after I put her back in her pen!

Isn't that going to be fun to brush off!

Kids 'n horses

The girls had a great time yesterday- the rain stopped and the sun came out, so we saddled up Beamer and all 3 of them rode him. We reviewed all the things they learned last year. I kept them on the lead line until the last little bit of the ride. Beamer, as usual, was a perfect gentleman for them.

Then we got Delia out, got her all brushed up, white hair flying everywhere! 

They all rode her, on the leadline- I only had a halter on her as I don't have her teeth done yet- and she was so good for them. She is basically lazy, and they had to pay attention to keep her motivated sometimes, but once Delia figured out the program, she was really good. They all wanted to trot on her after the first rider found out just how smooth her trot is, she just glides along and it's so easy to sit. They all had big smiles!

I would love to post more pictures, as I took lots and some video, but  I'm not allowed to put their faces on the internet. 

I'm pretty sure this is going to be my kids horse. Once I put her through all her paces this year and get lots of miles on her, and get the kids riding lots more, I can see them having a lot of fun with her- going to the little open shows, and going on trail rides with me once I get Josie broke in a couple of years. 

The Minions are here!

My 3 lovely nieces are here visiting this weekend. Beamer and Delia got the mud scrubbed off them- and Beamer remembered them and was quite pleased to have their attention!

Delia enjoyed the attention just as much as Beamer did....

She is shedding like crazy! She grew much more hair than Beamer and Josie- they hardly have any compared to her.
Tomorrow they ride! It's so fun having them here.

Happy birthday Josie!

Josie turns 2 today. She was born on Fleetwood Farm over in Alberta, as I had sold her dam in foal to Beamer. The owner gave Josie back to me after Gussies twins died, and she was companion to Stella, who also died that year, so she is the only foal to survive Beamers 2013 foal crop. She is one special and beautiful little lady.

Wasn't she a beautiful baby! And just as gorgeous now.

Of course she got a cookie this morning...

Cookie? Did I smell cookie?

May I has another one?

Wordless Wednesday

After the rain

A few days of heavy rain made a mess here. Mucky horse pens, squishy lawn and Lake Beamer is back.

That circle in the foreground is where the round pen used to be. The water receded today, but it's going to be muddy for a bit yet.

 No, I didn't load that photo upside down, that's Delia's reflection in the pond in her pen.
I gave them more turnout time today- the cows were in the pasture next to that pen, so I figured it would be a good chance for Delia to learn to get along with them.

 She was quite intrigued, didn't know if she should investigate or get outta Dodge!

The flight instinct took over I think!

I think lots of turnout next to the cows will be good for her- she'll figure them out someday. Hopefully before I'm riding her down a trail and we come across some!

After I brought the girls in, I gave Beamer some turnout time.

He was happy to get out and get a change of scenery and stretch his legs a bit.

You can see how soft the ground is, they tore it up a bit but it's better than keeping them cooped up in their pens.
Beamer found mare smells... Delia is in heat at the moment.

I've been watching to see if his arthritis bothers him, sure doesn't seem to so I might put him in regular riding, nothing too strenuous, just to get him in shape; he's kinda round!

Delia gets adjusted

Delia got her visit from Green Haven Therapy today, and it was pretty much as I called it. Her neck was out, at the axis and C1. Of course, there are connected issues to that, with her teeth needing doing and tightness in her jaw, also tight neck muscles and several other places.

Check out that lip.... Melissa hit the spot!

Throughout all the poking and prodding, Delia was really well behaved, never once offered any cranky behaviour- she was a lady. This video shows Mel trying to get her neck adjusted- she did finally get it a little later.

When we tried the upward stretch, she couldn't lift her head very high, and was limited side to side. Also when she yawned when she got release, at first she couldn't open her mouth very wide. By the end of the session, it was about an inch or two wider.
Next week we will have a follow up session. We are getting rain today and tomorrow, so once it dries up again I'll turn them out again and see if she still drops her head to see- I think she will behave much more normally. There was a lot of licking and chewing and yawning at the end of this session, so I think she is feeling much better.

The girls get turn out together

I think a chiro visit is in order for Delia. I'm pretty sure that her neck is out, she is really touchy especially behind the ears. The way I understand it, the optic nerve runs through the spinal column and if the axis is out, or the 1st vertabrae (correct me if I am wrong please) it puts pressure on the nerve and affects the eyesight. Case in point- we went back to visit the cows yesterday, and although she is much calmer around them she still gets snorty and worried. They are Herefords, so there is high contrast between their white heads and their brown bodies, and of course the brown blends in with the brown background.
After I turned her out with Josie in the turnout pen, I always encourage them to run to get some exercise, and Delia was not wanting to break into a lope- and when she finally did- it looked like this:

Oddest thing I've ever seen for a lope departure! She did this for a few strides and then picked up her head- it's a small pen so she couldn't lope more than a few strides.

Curious, I got them going again to see if she would repeat this behaviour.

Sure enough. It almost seemed that she was checking to make sure the ground was there- by lowering her head to see it more clearly? After a few strides, again, she loped normally, and after that she loped easily every time miss Josie got her going.

They had some fun for a while....

especially Josie, who was showing off come of her cutting horse moves- always when the camera wasn't pointed at her though! But boy o boy she can drop right down to the ground on that front end and switch directions like crazy! Did get some cool shots of her though.

Man she is a little powerhouse!

She will be  2 years old next Thursday. What a lot of fun she will be when she grows up!

Then they got down to the serious business of searching for the tender new shoots of grass coming up. I didn't leave them out for long on the fresh grass though.

Basics

Today's training session with Delia went well. She was pretty relaxed today, she is settling in well now. The cows no longer have her on high alert, and she is becoming accustomed to all the local sights and sounds.
I did notice that when I saddled her she got a little antsy, possibly some soreness or tightness in her back, although I did palpate her and check for soreness and didn't find any. Did find some in her neck though, and definitely she has tightness in her jaw.
I switched from my Wade saddle to my older Bowman Roper tree saddle- the saddle pad was slipping out the back with the Wade yesterday, so I think it's too wide in the shoulders although it sits up off her withers nicely. This one seems to fit her just a bit better. (You can see the Wade saddle in the post below this one )

This photo was taken after our session and the saddle pad hadn't moved at all. I slid my hand under the bars and they weren't tight, so I'll go with this saddle for her- good thing, because the Wade is Beamer's saddle.
I worked on just getting her to pay attention to me today, making sure that I got both eyes at the whoa; she kept wanting to check out things moving in the distance, like the guy walking 1/4 mile away. So I would tap her with my stick on her cheek on the side away from me to pop her head back. Her whoa was much better  today, and we worked on moving that shoulder around from a standstill. She got some nice crossovers done properly with the crossing foot in front and not stepping behind before I quit. She is easier to the right than the left. Also worked on backing her up with a loose lead rope. She didn't get it at first, so I had to wiggle the rope hard and take a step towards her before it clicked- by the end she was stepping back nicely. She just doesn't know stuff, but she picks it up fairly quickly and seems to be willing to learn all the new games. She leads really well now, stops the instant I do and, is alert to whether or not I will ask her to back a step.
Hopefully I will have a side pull in a day or two and can get back to riding her.
After riding I massaged some essential oils into her loins and did find some tight muscles there- I used Relieve It, Aroma Seiz, and Marjoram oils (all Young Living oils) and she was licking her lips when I massaged there.

I think she is happy here- she doesn't seem too upset about  anything now that she has the cows figured out, and gets along well with Josie. Josie does try to boss her a bit though! (Redheads!)

Building a relationship

Such a beautiful warm day today- not to be wasted! I hauled Delia to the local arena, but opted for the outdoor round pen since it was so nice out.
I wanted to start from scratch to see what she actually knows for basic training.
Turns out, not a lot.
She had no idea about round penning- which I was prepared for as her former owner said he doesn't round pen his horses. So I did some free longeing with her, working on getting her to go the direction I wanted, at the speed I wanted, and to stop when I wanted her to. I'd give her a C- if I was grading her! Or maybe a D!

I would, however, give her an A for disposition, which is far more important to me than what she knows- I can always teach her new things. I made allowances for this being a new place for her and only the second new place in her life. She kept trying to check out her surroundings instead of keeping her attention on me- looking over the fence when I stopped her instead of giving me both eyes. So I worked her until she did give me both eyes, and then I rode her around the pen for a bit- I'm not too concerned about riding her at this point because she really needs her teeth done, my focus is more on building a connection with her and getting her paying attention to me, and focusing on working with me. I also worked her in hand before I rode, and she is quite familiar with moving her hip, but not so much with moving her shoulder over. So that gives me plenty of things to work on at home, no need to haul as I can do the ground work in the turn out pen.
When riding, she follows the rein well, and has a glimmer of what legs mean for direction but not at all for collection- again, that will have to wait until after the dentist visit. Meanwhile I am trying to borrow a side pull- or I may buy one if I can't find one in a couple of days.

She has a really heavy winter coat, and got really sweaty today.But she is shedding like crazy!
Of course a sweaty girl has to have a good roll afterwards!