Arizona Day 1

Woke up at 6am to dogs and coyotes.  Beautiful sunny day but a little chilly in my room. Got up at 7am and had breakfast with Carole, my roomy for the week.  She's been here since January from Colorado. This is the bunk house we're staying in.

Living Room

My Messy Room

Kitchen

 There are 2 other bedrooms a bathroom and laundry facilities.

The porch out back is a wonderful place for breakfast and watching the sun come up over the large cow working round pen.  Okay it was already up by the time I went out there but it sure was pretty.

Morning

Evening

I went for a walk and shot a few more pictures.  Al got in late last night from Ohio and usually gets Monday off so I was on my own for a bit.

I watched and met some of the people and tried to remember names.  Charlie rode first, he's a friend of Al's and a photographer.  The cactus are amazing and how many people can say they have one in their riding arena.  That's one pylon you won't be running over.  The footing is really nice.  Firm base with about 1 1/2" of loose stuff on top after it was worked up.

At the same time Louis was tying out horses to be worked throughout the day and to learn patience as well. The tie poles are like tether ball poles and the horses can move around them if they're fussy.  All but one had a cement pad where the front feet would reach possibly to eliminate ground wear from pawing.  For those that have met him, doesn't that look like my Papa horse?

Next Jade and Cody went to get the cows for the days work.  The focus here these days is mostly on cutting but there's always help for working cow horse and reining people too.  Everyone here is so polite and helpful.  It's a great atmosphere to learn in and very comfortable.

While Jade rode in the cutting pen I got to warm up Raisin and T-Bone.  No pictures of course but will get some before we're done.  It was interesting finding the stiff spots and resistances and applying the corrections and feeling the horses respond.  I could especially feel the lift of not only the shoulders but the whole back of Raisin on lope transitions.  I was able to feel when she wasn't elevated and fix it till she stayed there herself.
I did a lot of suppling until she felt more even.  I also worked on the trot, circle, back, exercise which I have a little trouble with at home as my horse tries to make the circle smaller.  I figured out a couple of things and am looking forward to trying it again with Boomer.

T-Bone was a lot lazier and stiffer.  He really made me work on Go Now. His back up was crappy too, for me, so after loping a bunch to warm his muscles I worked him on the trot, circle, back, exercise as well which really lightened up his back up. I found him stiff through the back so I worked a little on counter bending to get shoulder control, which was pretty easy using the triangle rein position then started working on haunches in while keeping the shoulders out of the way. The right side was a little hard to get but the left was difficult. He was getting it in the end so I was happy.

It was Dillon's final day here so we broke for lunch about 1:00 and went out.  Can't remember the name of the place but it had a lot of choices and a lot of stuff I could actually eat.  It was excellent.

After lunch I got to ride one more horse.  He was Al's horse Max and he can do anything. I repeat, HE can do anything, we, that's a different matter.  I had a lesson on him and I hope I get to ride him again tomorrow cause he's going to teach me a lot.  Be softer, rhythm, go into corrections slower, ask with less, relax, loosen the legs, loosen the arms. I'M SORRY MAX.  After our lesson I got to ride in the desert with Jade and Cody. Incredible scenery, didn't have the camera but went back out later and took some pictures.

The Palo Verde tree is the state tree of Arizona. It has a green trunk and green branches, and blooms with bright yellow flowers but not in bloom right now.

The Saquaro gets it's first side arm at about 75 years old and new ones every 10 years or so.

Arrived at Almosta Ranch, Arizona

Well I'm sitting here in bed at Almosta Ranch, Scottsdale Arizona. Left home at 9 pm last  night to drive to Comox airport.  I didn't want to leave this morning and risk missing my plane.  I went to sleep in the car at 10:30 pm and set my alarm to get up at 4:15 am to be in the airport for 4:30, 2 hours before my flight as instructed.  Hey guys, your airport doesn't even open till 5 am.  So I go in and nobody is working yet.  I went to the thing that looks like an ATM to print my boarding passes. I still had to go to a clerk for the baggage tag.  Next I wait for the coffee shop to open.   I don't drink coffee but want a bottle of water to mix my anti-anxiety herbal tinctures in to (I don't fly well). Turns out she opens in the secured area first so I go through the security check with my laptop, camera, passport, little glass vials of herbal tinctures (please don't make me throw them out). No problems. Finally I get my water and wait to board the plane, a 737.  I prebooked a seat just behind the wing (least turbulence) and by the window.  I add my herbs to my water and drink half of them, I'll sip the rest as we fly.  I stow my bag and start working on my crossword puzzles.

As the plane takes off I have to close my eyes and lean back in the seat, anything else feels worse.  When we got to the Rockies there were breaks in the clouds.  Lots of snow and rocks and looking out the window felt better.  Looking down the aisle briefly wasn't as claustrophobic as last time I flew but I had an aisle seat then and no herbs.  The landing was okay, didn't like it but it was okay, just a little ear pain.

Arrived Calgary 9:30 to depart to Phoenix at 10:30.  I go through the airport, for about 15 minutes and no I wasn't lost.  Another trip through security, this time for US customs, no problem. Another long hike and I find the gate, it's getting close to 10:00 already. I proceed to the gate to find out they moved to another gate.  I find that gate and am handed a $10 lunch voucher, apparently there's a 2 hour delay.  Now I get to hike all the way back to security and the same distance again the other way to find the food court.  A bar, a hamburger joint and a Tim Horton's.  But wait, behind that glass there's juice and wraps and salads and for some reason only people travelling somewhere else that have gone through some other security point can get in there.  What a pain.  I end up with a salad, 2 nut and seed bars and a juice from the bar.  At 10:00 am BC and Arizona time I phone Al Dunning to tell him my flight has been delayed and is arriving at 3pm.  No answer.  I connect to the internet and retreive my mail but can't send any.  At 12:00 I hike back to find they've changed gates again.  It occurs to me the herbs are really working well.

Once again I board a 737, same seat but this one's not quite as far back relative to the wing and I can't see out nearly as well.  Take off was better.  I leaned back in my seat before we accelerated and took off.  Another bottle with herbs and it's a reasonably enjoyable flight.  Clouds a lot of the way but I got to see the Grand Canyon area and part of Utah and Arizona.  The landing was painful but it was nice and sunny.   Of course it's only 2:00 pm because they meant we'd land at 3:00 pm Alberta time.

Now I'm supposed to meet my ride, where?  Thank goodness for internet.  I open my emails and find it's the North side.  Now I don't know if they got my message or not so I wait out there from 2:30 to 4:30 just in case.  I keep trying the number but still no answer.  By about 5:30 I'm thinking maybe I should rent a car to drive out before it gets dark.  I follow the signs and discover I have to take a shuttle to the car rental place. It's about 15 minutes away.  I inquire about a car and find out that for one day it will be about $100 with insurance.   You've got to be kidding.  There's a bit of a discount if  I take it all week but not much.  The nice man tells me that the Super Shuttle back at the airport will probably take me where I want to go for under $50, so back on the bus to terminal 4.  It takes me a few minutes to realize the bus has dropped me on a different level, find the elevators and find the shuttle.  Yes they will drive me, not only that but the nice man even stopped at a grocery store for me on the way.  Then the guy in the Safeway store used his points card to save me $15 off my groceries so I gave the shuttle driver a $10 tip.

So I arrived here at about 8:00 pm.  Got to see some of Phoenix and Scottsdale on the way. Lots of Cactus landscaping and Adobe.  It's dark now and I don't know much except this should have been a very stressful day and I feel like it was an ordinary day.  Can you say tincture of oats, passionflower and lemon balm for anxiety along with St Johns Wort and Kava for muscle spasms.

Stay tuned for pictures and updates.

Willa and Cleo Begin Training

Apparently we didn't get any pics of Willa driving but they're both doing really good.  Walk, trot, stop, back a little, turn on the forehand a little.  Nice and relaxed, as I like it.

Cleo's picture kinda spotty but look at that carriage.  I don't think she has any feet on the ground.  She was just a little humpy with the saddle but they both settled in to it and the bit really well.

Cleo has gotten a lot more energetic and Willa has gotten a lot quieter, the result of lots of bend and head down work.  We've finally got all the spring hair balls trimmed from the bellys but still a few more to go on Willa's hips.  A great opportunity to work on stand still, correctly bent, head down and no you can't step in to me (Willa not Cleo). That was the first lesson Cleo learned.

These girls were sired by the same pony stud.  I don't think these two are for sale but they have lots of others that are.  http://www.copperfieldequestrian.com/index.html . Email them for info, there are many not listed on the website, all different sizes but all good movers with great temperaments.

Trailer Loading Questions

Here's some questions from Chris Irwin's website on trailer loading as I would have answered them so why reinvent the wheel.

Q:  Why is it that some horses put up such a fuss about loading into a horse trailer?

A:  It’s really just a basic survival instinct that tells a horse not to walk into a place it might not be able to get out of.  In general, while a predator like a wolf, lion or dog likes to snuggle up in a cozy little den (doghouse or kennel) a horse is an inherently claustrophobic prey animal that doesn’t naturally walk into a tight space that it can only get in or out of from one direction. A horse needs to feel more open space, more avenues of potential escape.

Q:  Okay, but while some people do obviously get their horses into a trailer without a problem there are those that always have problems loading their horses.  Aside from the prey instincts of the horse, what else do you think is the most common reason why some people have more problems loading their horses than others?

A:  If a horse is sorely lacking in either respect or trust for a person then why would that horse face their innate fears for that same person and be willing to walk into a potential trap?  If a horse is rude and pushing a person around on the ground, shouldering in to them while being walked on the lead rope, or constantly dragging people around on the end of the lead, then why would that horse load into the trailer if it doesn’t feel like it?  It makes no sense that people who let horses push them around should expect that horse to do anything they want it to do.  On the other hand, people who get rough with horses and bully and intimidate them may get away with it most of the time but if a horse is truly afraid of getting into a trailer then ultimately they will often look at taking the beating they get for not going in as the lesser of the two evils.

Q:  Okay, but what if your horse doesn’t seem to be afraid of the trailer and does indeed appear to have both respect and trust for you but he or she still will not load into the trailer - then what’s the problem?

A:  Then the problem is simply technique.  If your horse allows you to walk it right up to the edge of the trailer, but then does things like walk half way in then come back out, or just stand there and not load, or does the proverbial one step forward two steps back, then the problem is most likely that your technique for loading is somehow confusing the horse and actually getting in the way of your horse being able to load.

Q:  What’s the most common mistake or miscommunication you see people making when trying to load a horse?

A:  People try to tell the horse to “get in” the trailer by trying to push or pull the horse into the box.  The problem is that the trailer becomes the place where the pressure is. However, the way to tell a horse where to go is by telling it where not to go.  Just like how the banks of a river channel the direction of the water, we need to funnel our horses where we want them to go with indirect pressure.  In other words, there must be pressure everywhere except in the direction of the trailer.  Once the trailer becomes the place of least resistance, if a horse both respects you and trusts you then it walks right into the trailer.  The idea is that you ask a horse to go forward and once the horse starts to move you simply block off every direction except the way into the trailer.  You say, “go forward and don’t go left, don’t go right, don’t go backwards.”  This means that the trailer in front of them is the only place where there is no herding pressure on them.  However, when people say “get in the trailer” with a push or a pull attempting to load the horse into the trailer, then the horse says but I’d rather go left, right, or backwards where there is no pressure.  It’s a simple concept really, to channel horses towards the path of least resistance, but it is counter-intuitive for most people.  What the horse needs from us are boundaries, like a fence, that blocks off every direction except the path into the trailer.

Q:  What’s the most serious or sobering aspect of trailer loading?

A:  Safety.  Safety.  Safety.  There are just too many horses and people that get hurt when it comes to loading, traveling down the road and unloading horses from trailers.

Q:  Any specific safety issue you would like to address?

A:  Many articles have been published on the subject of but I can highlight a few of the most common concerns.  First, as I said earlier, trying to load horses that are not either respectful or trusting enough to be asked to load into a trailer.  Trying to load a horse in to a trailer is not the time or place to establish missing respect or trust.  Both respect and trust need to already be well established before you try to load a horse into a trailer otherwise the drama can escalate very quickly into chaos.  Secondly, loading big athletic horses into the smaller, cramped, two horse trailers originally designed for smaller horsesis hardly fair to a horse and can also be a recipe for disaster.  Having said that, no matter how small, or how large a trailer, many of the older trailers have far too many sharp edges, points, and rough welds on them that will rip a horse open wide.  Make sure that floor boards aren’t rotten.  Shovel the manure out of the trailer as often as possible so that the horses don’t slip on it.  Use quick release leads that you can get undone in case of emergency instead of ropes with knots that get so tight that you can’t get them undone in a hurry.  The list goes on and on and most people have heard of all of these.  However, I think a safety concern that not enough people realize is that you should never tie a horse up if the butt bar and/or back of the trailer is still open.  During loading, I’ve often seen horses try to step back out of the trailer when they know the back door is still open, only to find themselves tied by the head, and then they go to step back forward but their back legs get hooked under the back of a step up trailer and know they’re stuck.  If that horse panics it can end up with a broken leg.  I believe that during loading the back door should be closed first before the butt bar is done up and then lastly you tie the horse.  The reverse is true for unloading the horse - always untie the head before dropping the butt bar and then lastly open the door.  Also, never stand directly behind a trailer door when opening or closing them.  If you open and close a trailer door from the side instead of standingdirectly behind it then you’re not going to get smashed if a horse suddenly comes out backwards or kicks the door.

Q: Well, perhaps to end this on a lighter note you could tell us what you think is the funniest thing that comes to mind when you think about loading horses into trailers?

A:  How so many people are able to load their horses to go to a horse show but then they suddenly have problems when trying to load them again after the show to go home.  It’s kind of amusing, really, that so many horses were willing to leave home to go to the show but they do not want to leave all the new horses they have encountered at the show when its time to go back home.  It’s just another example that these really are thinking/feeling creatures and they do indeed have a mind of their own.  Sometimes they’re a lot like kids frustrating their parents.

Red and Snips 4th Ride Videos

Suppling, Lightness, Respect, Focus and Trust

One thing you can work on on a rainy day is having your horse bend from a touch on his side.  Specifically you want to go to the end of the withers and then drop straight down to about his elbow height and apply pressure.  What you're trying to do is trigger the nerve ending that will cause a muscle contraction at his point of oscillation ( right behind the withers) thereby bending the horse at his middle.

I like to touch as light as a fly and release as soon as the horse starts to bring his head towards you at all, even a whisker.  Then touch again and release as he tries.  Some horses require a "big fly".  I always have a hoof pick in my pocket when I start and then if the fly touch needs to be increased and my thumb is not enough I can add the point of the hoof pick, like a spur.  Once I apply pressure I do not release until I get a try, then release immediately.

If the horse moves I try to stop him but do not release the pressure unless I see a bend. If the horse tries to bite or kick you discipline as necessary but keep asking.  Most horses will get nice and light fairly fast.  If I want to build this in to leg yield or circling I will click but if I don't click he shouldn't move.

One thing you should check is how you're standing when you ask for this.  I like to face the shoulder so the horse knows to stand still, keep your weight more on the foot that's furthest from his head and keep your hip pulled away.  In this manner you won't be blocking what you're asking for.

You can practice this first on his good side to get an idea of how it works then work on the bad side.  I was working a new horse one day that would run away and not bend while two trainers at the rail talked  about all the reasons why he might be doing this, including him not being able to bend well.  15 minutes later I had this horse bending around to his girth on both sides.  This ruled out the question of whether he couldn't bend as well as teaching him how to respond to my leg.

When he's light you can saddle up and repeat this on the ground to rule out saddle interference, then get on and sitting in one place bend him from side to side with your legs.  When you ask him to move have him already bent with your legs and see if he'll move off without straightening or dropping in, if he does use your spur if necessary as you used the hoofpick to get him to yield his ribs.

This exercise can be used to develop respect and focus by insisting the horse always maintain a slight bend of the ribs away from you when on the ground.  A horse that bends in to you is in a power position, ready to push you out of the way.  Not only does maintaining true bend teach a horse to stay focused on you it also teaches him that you're aware every time he loses focus or bends in to you.  Proving your awareness makes you a better leader and develops the horses trust that if you are that aware, you may just see the cougar lurking in the bushes.

Now our horse is supple, light, respectful, focused and trusting.  Not bad for one little exercise

Cocoa's 3rd Ride Videos

Each horse averaged 10 Minutes from start to finish. There will be things in these videos that aren't how I would prefer the horse to look and times when my position may be wrong but I need you to keep in mind that these horses had a 3 week crash course from halter breaking to being ready to ride and only 3 or 4 rides and  may leave any day.  I would prefer to spend the time to establish a good and light bend on the ground while standing and through in hand leading and lungeing in the vienna line and also to keep their heads low to get endorphines. I have showed them a little but if you read the other blogs you'll see they had a lot to learn in a limited time.  When these horses leave they will not be handled with correct, tactful Chris Irwin style body language so part of my job is to make sure they will do their job regardless of the persons position.

I was pleased to see Cocoa only flinched a little at the end as I reached up to tighten his bridle, he was one of the horses that hid his head from the halter and you still have to put your hand across the nose to halter rather than bringing it up from the bottom.  

You'll notice throughout these videos that I mount, dismount and saddle from either side and that the horses have adjusted well to having scary ropes tossed and dragged around them.  Unfortunately Matthew, my excellent videographer missed filming me mounting but Cocoa stood nicely bent around while I got on.  I prefer to have them bent when my butt hits the saddle so I know which way we're leaving.

You'll see I'm steering very lightly with timing and lots of release as soon as the horse attempts to go the right way. The amount of contact I keep with a horse depends on how comfortable I feel.  The sooner I can get out of their faces, the lighter they will stay but there are times when a firm contact is needed both for my safety and the horses comfort.

I also like to start using my legs on them right away, both for go and give your hindquarters.  At the end when the horse keeps going around his front end I've actually just bent him and am waiting for him to stop again so I can dismount.  I like to have them bent at that time as well in case they get scared.

Stay tuned, I will post Red and Snip tomorrow after the videos upload.

An Uneventful Session

Rode the 3 boys again today.  Once again all I did was tack up, drive a few minutes and climb on.  I worked Red on some backing up on the driving lines to help him figure it out when I got on him.  He's getting pretty light at turning and is only occasionally flipping his head up even though I know he needs his teeth done.  When I rode him I put a light feel on the reins and clicked at him and he gave his nose. That's real progress as he tends to be high headed. Another click and he moved backwards. A definite improvement over yesterday.

While I rode Red, Mackenzie brushed Cocoa.  He was nervous about it being a different person and tried to leave twice but she got him stopped and kept working on him. After a bit he really started to enjoy it.  He was really good today for his second ride.  It took him a few minutes to find forward as every time I put a leg on him he moved his hindquarters away but he eventually found out he could walk around the pen, change direction, stop and drop his head for me.

Snip also forgot how to move forward for a few minutes but soon figured it out. On the driving lines I worked on walk to trot to whoa transitions but decided not to trot on him yet as it was pretty windy and this was his third ride.

Altogether it was an uneventful session, just the way I like it.

Cocoa's First and Red and Snips Second Rides

Today went really well.  Everyone got saddled from the right side including Cocoa who was a little concerned and moved a bit, oh please don't make me have to throw the saddle up there twice, he's the biggest horse.  It's actually easier to put a western saddle on from the right because there's only 1 stirrup to throw over the horse instead of all the rigging and then you're already on the correct side to put the rigging down and only have to change sides once to do it up.  My other reason for saddling from both sides is these horses will be packed and have to have boxes loaded from each side.

Snip and Red each had just a few minutes of ground driving and then I got right on, from both sides again.  You never know when you may have to mount from the right side in the mountains where you want to be on the up hill side. I rode Snip for 10 minutes at the walk riding figure 8's. Go, Stop, Back and Turn on the forehand. What a clever and willing boy.  He was very light both to the legs and the reins.
I also rode Red for 10 minutes.  He was almost as good.  When I dismounted I worked on backing him from the bridle to improve his understanding so hopefully it will be better tomorrow.

Cocoa was excellent on the driving reins.  He was the one I originally had trouble steering. His steering was great but his stop was impressive.  He listened to the word whoa and tucked his butt under him. Very athletic for a big horse.  I worked a little on moving his hindquarters with the driving lines.  He scooted a bit at first but he figured it out quickly.  Next I climbed up on the fence and reminded him what it looked like to have me above him.  This horse flinches each time you touch a new part so I was a little worried he wouldn't like the weight in the stirrup but he was really good at being bent around and letting me stand in the stirrup.  I found it a little tricky on the right, apparently my right hip isn't quite as flexible as my left.  I climbed on and off him a couple of times then I climbed on and sat there moving my legs a little on each side and changing his bend.  He was okay with that so I asked him to move and he walked off even better than the other two had. We did a couple of short starts each way then I dismounted and told him how great he was.  If I didn't own 14 horses and had to keep one, he would be the one.

First Rides

Yesterday I spent some time with Red, Snip and Cocoa. They had not been worked since March 1. See link for "Driving Training". Previously they had 3 weeks work from wild off the range.  I spent 1 hour with each horse and did a quick review, lead, lunge, bridle, saddle, rope around butt, driving, work on whoa and bumping side with stirrup for go.  That's all I did with Cocoa as he felt like he could use another day of driving.

Snip was the first horse I rode. First I took off my coat and then unzipped my vest and zipped up the pockets. You don't want anything that can hang up on the saddle horn when you're getting bucked off.  Next I took off my knife, better safe than sorry and then took off the cell phone too, no surprises.  I was wearing my helmet, chaps and cowboy boots, the pull on type.  I never do first rides in lace up boots because they will not come off if you get hung up in the stirrup.  I hopped up and down beside him on both sides to make sure I would be able to dismount without scaring him.  Next I bent the horse around, put my foot in the stirrup and stood up and leaned over to rub the other side, first on the left and then on the right.  When you first ride a horse and you change from going left to going right that's a prime time for a horse to lose it.  I avoid this problem by mounting from both sides before I get all the way on.  I have the horse bent around so if he scoots I know which way we're going.  I bumped lightly with my inside leg and asked Snip to move.  As he moved I said eeaassyy, a word he had learned earlier meant relax as I really hoped he would. After 3 separate starts on the left of 1 or 2 steps each and  lots of deep breathing on my part we switched bend.  He was definitely more alert on the right side but handled it.  I rebent him left repeated, definitely calmer, then right, better. Finally I bent left, rocked the saddle a little so it wouldn't surprise him and dismounted. What a good boy.

I followed the same procedure with Red who handled everything about the same except for once on the right when he scared himself and trotted a couple of steps but got himself stopped without incident.  Thank goodness.  I hate it when the first spook involves 3 or 4 revolutions of the roundpen at top speed.