New Friends and Equipment

This week has been a whirlwind. I've had finals all week so I never posted these pictures (PS click on the pictures for full-size). Anyway, last weekend and early this week I rode briefly and easily, nothing too challenging as I was pressed for time.

I set out for an easy ride in my old bosal (meaning thing that goes around nose to control horse, no bit) that I've owned for about 10 years. Bosals have a cool tradition, they were used by the Vaqueros who practiced natural horsemanship in California and Mexico. I only recently learned of the Vaquero tradition, but I suggest anyone interested in horses, California history, or history in general should research the tradition. The Vaqueros would start young horses in the bosal and move to a spade bit, which looks medieval but isn't actually that terrible (but still very harsh), it's designed to put pressure on the tongue and that high part in the middle puts pressure on the soft pallet. The goal being that only a slight touch of the reins would direct a well trained horse to do what you're asking...still not something I'd want in my mouth. I do like the idea of the bosal, however. This bosal I have doesn't do justice to the Vaquero tradition, I bought it for like $20 and it's built terribly, the nice bosals go for over $200. Someday soon I'll buy a nice bosal, but Calvin needs to get better trained in the bit first. The well made ones are terribly expensive, but worth the cost as they fit the nose better and create a more responsive horse.

I think he looks handsome in the cheap bosal though. You can tell it's poorly made because there are huge gaps around his nose between the bosal, it's also just cheap nylon and not leather/handwoven material. Also whenever he'd shake his head or rub it would half fall off his face...probably not safe...

Despite the bosal being poorly made, he was very responsive in this bosal too and seemed to enjoy it. Although he likes anything that makes stealing snacks on trail easier. 

We started our ride solo, but then came across one of the regulars, J. She has an older thoroughbred horse. He's very handsome but has been having problems with his legs and feet. Anyway, she recently started riding again and her horse is "afraid" of the road down the property. Since her horse is "afraid", she wanted Calvin and I to go with her to the gate. I say "afraid" because it was clearly her that was afraid, not her horse. Horses pick up on our energy and fear and start misbehaving, hence why her horse had problems with the road. How can they trust a leader that isn't confident? It was clear he wasn't afraid when we headed home and he was perfectly fine on the road, but whatever, not my place to train her or her horse.  Either way it gives Calvin more experience with new horses.

Here we are leading the pack. Mikey, J's horse, is Calvin's older color-twin. Their coat colors are nearly identical, except poor Calvin's tail is shorter :(

Here is Mikey in front leading the way, Calvin loves to follow vs. lead as you can see by his relaxed ears.

Oops a little off course! Calvin tail swooshes in anger due to me not letting him eat the grass.

Here's J. taking a selfie with us. Overall it was a nice ride. 

Another day I rode Calvin for some arena work. I realized I was asking too much of him too soon. We needed to go back to basics of bridle-work. I was trying to do the basics as well as collect him, but I realized that I should just work on basic turning and stopping with the bit so he learns to carry himself. Once I stopped trying to collect him, he was very responsive to the bit and stopped fighting me. This picture shows collection (top) vs non-collection, you can see that the horse uses their hind end more (the "engine" of a horse) in the top picture, also their neck is more curved are they are more balanced. Anyway, in order to achieve collection horses have to be very responsive to the bit, which he is, but trying this too soon was creating a horse that ignores the bit because he didn't know what to do. By not worrying about collection yet, we can just focus on slowing down, stopping, and turning until he has those mastered. Once I stopped trying to collect, he was a different horse.  I could lightly touch the reins and he'd do what I was asking immediately, it was an "ah ha!" moment for both of us. Riding is all about being humble and trying new avenues of communication...just like human relationships :)

After the ride I checked Calvin's sweat marks for saddle fit. If a saddle doesn't fit correctly, there will be dry/rub spots. I received my new saddle pad that goes with my new saddle. My saddle is treeless, which means that it moves more freely and doesn't have a fiberglass or wooden "base" under the seat that holds it firmly in place. The benefit of a treeless saddle is that it's way more comfortable for horse and rider, but it also flexes more when the horse turns as their spine curves. The only downside to treeless saddles is that there is not a tree to keep the saddle off the horse's spine. Therefore you have to buy an expensive pad that keeps the treeless saddle off the spine.

Uniform sweat pattern.

 

I tried my new pad and as you can see, the spine is dry! This means that nothing is touching his spine as there are foam layers on the sides (where the sweat is) that keep the saddle off his spine and make for a happy and comfortable horse. Yay for correctly fitting saddles!

Week of 4/15/14

This was a week of new things for Calvin! The most exciting part was that he got to have visitors this last Wednesday. My boyfriend, his mom, his grandmother, and family friends were able to come visit and play with Calvin.

My two favorite boys :)

The twins were also able to groom Calvin and give him delicious treats, he was in heaven.

 The boyfriend's gma bonding with Calvin.

Here is my new saddle thanks to my lovely boyfriend :) I'd sold my English saddle years ago since I physically outgrew it. Ever since I've been mooching saddles off friends, but now that I have a horse it was time to saddle shop again. This my new Bob Marshall Sports saddle, which is an endurance saddle. This just means it's a comfier western saddle without the horn to stab you in the stomach and it's much lighter. As someone who came from English saddles, I can't quite handle the western saddle "bulk." This was a nice compromise.

 Here he is in the saddle, it actually looks very good on him and fits him perfectly. I'm trying to bridle him in this picture, not necessarily how one should bridle (i.e. standing in front) but I didn't want to interrupt the picture :)

 After I rode him for a short while, I decided that since Calvin was being so good that the twins could sit on him and walk and trot around a bit. They seemed to really enjoy it and wanted to keep going. Calvin didn't seem to mind shuttling the young ones around and their mom even got to ride too (she was also the one to take all these great photos).

 

Enjoying a well-earned roll after a long day of riding. 

Yesterday I met the new farrier that I found to do Calvin's hooves. I know in my last post about trimming I said I really liked the last farrier who did Calvin. While he was very patient and kind, the more I looked at healthy hooves, the more unimpressed I became with the previous farrier's work. Also, he never came back to do his back hooves and never discounted my rate...

Anyway, I found the new "trimmer" (word I will now use, as barefoot horses don't need shoes, just feet trimmings) from asking Endurance people in Southern California (thanks to a facebook group I'm part of!) if they could recommend any barefoot trimmers. They recommended the website pacifichoofcare.org that hosts reputable barefoot trimmers and I found someone locally. This trimmer only does barefoot horses because he believes all horses can be barefoot and/or use hoof-boots for strenuous rides. This is healthier for the hoof as it can expand and contract, increasing blood flow to the hoof. This topic, though, is a discussion for another day because I have strong feelings about going barefoot. This trimmer that saw Calvin was concerned about a few things, mainly the stress rings hoping that it isn't an illness. Also, he said he needed to fix some things about his hooves so I'll refer you to the horse hoof diagram because I'll be using a lot of hoof jargon below: 

These rings on his hooves are actually pretty bad...they're called stress rings that horses can get from stress (obviously) but it may also be diet related. Let's hope his hoof grows out ring-free from now on which will tell us that it's only stress...because changing diet is a pain. It makes sense that he would be stressed, I mean he was captured from the wild, gelded, and then trailed to 2 different places in less than 6 months.

 

I like how the new farrier did what's called a "mustang roll." If you look toward the front of the hoof, or the toe, it's filed down so when they walk they roll their toe to prevent flares. 

Here are his two front hooves. As you can see, these hooves are closer to the "ideal" hoof I posted a picture of toward the top. The sole is callused and strong and it's a pretty nice shape. However, he had a fungus growing in his frog that needs to be treated (it's very common with horses) so I'll have to treat that soon. There's also a lot of space between the bars and the frog which will likely go away with regular trimming, but those deep grooves aren't ideal. He said he didn't smooth the sole down because of the rocky terrain our horses are in, they will naturally wear down some of the sole and "exfoliate" it themselves.


Here are his glorious back hooves! They were so long and outgrown, they look much better now. The trimmer said that his heel bulbs are uneven, which if you look closely one side (depending on the hoof) looks more compressed than the other. This is due to being 3 months without trimming and will likely even out now. The trimmer also said that his hooves have "too much toe" meaning that the front pointy end is too long, but it can't be fixed in one day.

Calvin was very good for this trimming! We've been practicing holding his hooves and while he was slightly nervous with this trimmer, at the end he was very calm and stood nicely. This was the first time his back hooves have been done without drugs (before I owned him). The farrier thanked me for practicing with his back hooves, I guess he could tell that he'd had some practice!



I also met this trimmer's other clients at my stable since their horses were being done the same day. Their horses' hooves looked fantastic, so that also made me very hopeful for Calvin. In fact, one lady's horse had early stages of laminitis, this is when the coffin bone inside the hoof rotates to where eventually the bone will protrude through the hoof (warning: gore). This is very, very painful for the horse and they often have to be put down. Although this lady's horse wasn't that bad, this trimmer was able to correct the early stages and now her horse is completely sound. I was also happy that he didn't say "your horse's feet are perfect" since no hoof is perfect and they all need work, some more than others. Finger's crossed his hooves improve with time!

Sink or Swim

Last Sunday I decided to hop on and go for a ride and attempt to find Trail A again. However on the way down to the trail, I came across 2 older women starting their trail as well.

 These ladies were riding Tennessee Walking Horses (TWHs). TWHs are known as being "gaited,"meaning they have more than just the average horses' walk, trot, and canter. Here is what their gaits are: TWH. TWH are also known for being one of the most comfortable horses, as one of the ladies said here, they are like riding "Cadillacs." They were going to the park, which is down the road and across the street. I'd never gone there before, so I asked if I could join them. I figured they were older ladies, odds are they would do a leisurely stroll on their horses.  At the same time Calvin would be more confident with other horses to follow.

 This is the only picture I have from the ride. This was from the very beginning after we first set out down the main road following the two TWHs.

Needless to say, I was wrong. We had a nice walk down to the park and most of the way, but then they wanted to trot and canter a significant portion of the trail. This wouldn't be a problem for me, but I was in a bareback pad and halter/leadrope. Also, due to the unique gaits of the TWH, I had to trot just to keep up with their regular walk. Calvin's trot is so uncomfortable, so this was the hardest part due to me not riding in a saddle. We did eventually canter and gallop, which was much more comfortable for me and very exciting. I'd only just cantered with him on my back the day before this ride, so I wasn't sure what to expect with his gallop, but he listened very nicely. We encountered all sorts of obstacles from other hikers, mountain bikers, balloons, storm drains, and water crossings. He was very brave!

We ended up riding 10 miles. This was more than I wanted to go, but it's easier to stay with the horses than to turn him around away from them which would lead to a major fight that I wasn't willing to deal with today. While I had fun, I probably won't ride with them again anytime soon. Mainly because their horses' walk was so much faster than my horse's, so he hardly got to walk and cool down because we were constantly trotting trying to keep up. I also learned that I won't be doing that again without a saddle, my gosh I was holding on for dear life and my legs are bruised from clinging to my cheap bareback pad. Also, I'll use a bit so he'll be more responsive and it won't rub his face.

So little mustang got 2 days off after this workout. The good news is that his back wasn't sore after our ride, which was my major concern. He seemed sound and happy! Sturdy guy he is.

First Big-Boy Trail

Nothing better after a stressful week than to go on a nice trail ride! Today I took Calvin off the property for the first time with me on his back. Unfortunately, to get to the longer and more challenging trails, we have to leave the property. So to get to the trails, we have to walk along backcountry roads that are somewhat moderately trafficked.

We went out in just a halter and leadrope reins. That way he can stop and eat easier and I don't need to "train" him other than what I can do in a halter. This trail ride was definitely challenging, anything a person could encounter that would scare a horse, we encountered. This list includes: leaf blowers, weed whackers, barking dogs charging the fence, other horses in their stalls, goats, cars passing, pavement, random shaped objects that were scary, other riders passing us, and finally, people cutting trees. Did I mention we were by ourselves? Don't worry though, I told people where I was going so that they could find me :)

Anyway, this was just on the way to the trail I was helplessly trying to find. The trail I was trying to find, Trail A, I actually never found. So here is what happened:

First we saw baby horses! How adorable are they? Don't worry the baby in the back isn't dead, just sunning.

This was a trail that was not Trail A. It was somewhere off the same road this one was on, but this trail dead ended, still a nice view though!

I then found a private road that was marked "private" but figured it wasn't correctly marked, I don't have pictures of this one. Turns out though that it was private and I wandered onto someone's property! Oops, time to turn around...

Then we found what I thought was Trail A, but nope! This one, who's name I do not know, I guess goes to an abandoned house if I kept traveling toward the truck that ran off the road, but we didn't go further as it was scorching hot and we were tired.

This was the view from the top, not too bad huh?

180º view, looking toward the canyon.

 

Here were the goats and various birds.

We then saw 4 deer on the way home! They are hidden in the shadows, if you expand the picture maybe you can see them.

Almost scary enough to stop eating...

For his first time on the streets, through residences, and on a new trail he was very well behaved. He had a bunch of spooks, but he mainly just stops when he's scared and snorts. Once he learned to trust me and keep moving, he would just stare and snort at scary things. Even though he was scared, he was very brave in that he went everywhere I pointed him...sometimes he just needed more convincing :) Such a great young horse!

Bit Training Part 2 & 3

The last few days consisted of furthering the bit training. I attached what is basically a bungee cord (actually called a neck-stretcher...but that's not how I'm using it) to the bareback pad and connecting it to the bit. I started with the bungee fairly loose so he could get used to the tension and release of pressure. Then gradually I shortened it to where he'd have to turn his head left or right in order to release the pressure. 

The rigging set up loosely.

Slightly tighter, trying to fight the pressure and walk toward me.

By the end he was giving to the pressure and would bend the direction it was pulling him, like this picture!

The third portion of bit training was me riding him in a bit. We started in the round pen and practiced turning so he could learn that turning his head to rein pressure meant that the pressure stopped (i.e. I stopped pulling). At the same time, I'm teaching him to respond to leg pressure so that he learns to listen to leg cues more than the bit (i.e. left leg means turn right and right leg means turn left). Really well trained horses hardly have to be steered with the reins, they just respond to your legs. Reins are supposed to set your horses head, while the legs steer. For example, this horse is being steered with the riders legs which means that the reins can be fairly loose. There are a lot of short cuts to make a horse do this, for example, this horse could have a very severe bit so that the rider only has to touch the reins slightly and the harsh bit is quick to convey what she wants. Or she trained this horse very well so that he responds to light pressure on a light bit...we don't know. However, I'm trying not to take short cuts.  We are far from that point of responsiveness, but we're getting a nice foundation laid. 

Bit training on a small trail ride. This was the scary fence of doom, it took some coaxing for him to touch it...but he did eventually. 

When I was done riding, he kept sticking his head in this bin and playing with the bag. He was flinging this thing around and even knocked over the bin! The lady next to me remarked "most horses are afraid of plastic bags!" Not this guy though! 

Since he was so good with training, I decided to take him to a nice grassy spot to eat. I have to cherish this green right now, because once summer comes it will be so dry.

My sweet animals <3

Bit Training Part 1

Today was a kind of rainy, muddy day so I couldn't do much riding in the arena. I figured since it has been a week since he had his wolf-teeth pulled, I could bit Calvin for the first time!

I chose a very soft rubber bit as his first bit. It's called a "mullen mouth" because it's straight across and doesn't break in the middle. Here is what a different bit, a broken snaffle, looks like in a horses mouth: picture. You can see that when a rider pulls, it puts pressure on the tongue, gums of the mouth called "bars," and the soft pallet. However, the rubber bit I have is straight across so it can't affect the soft pallet and only very lightly on the bars. The rubber is very flexible and able to conform better to the structure of his mouth. Many horse people confuse a snaffle as being a very soft bit, but in reality it's actually somewhat harsh because of the break in the middle. Here's the bit I used:

Soft rubber mullen mouth, no reins attached. These pictures were taken after being in his mouth, hence the grass and slobber :P

Very flexible as you can see, it will bend and can be chewed on without injuring the horse. 

I adjusted the bridle first to make sure that it would fit him. Then I took it off, attached the bit, and put it back in his mouth! He did not like the bit at first, most horses don't, as it's a foreign object in their mouth. I walked him around to get him used to the feel and learn to relax with it. 

"This thing tastes like tire!"

I did a small amount of lunging at the walk and very little trotting. The arena was muddy and a bit slippery, so we stayed slow. You can see now though that he is much more relaxed and not fidgeting as much. We practiced this mainly so he could learn what it's like to have this in his mouth and how to hold it. 

Since the arena was so muddy, I got on for a trail ride. I rode in just the halter over the bridle so he was familiar with steering, but at the same time be used to having a bit and a rider. However, the weather was that before-rain windy and blustery which meant I got on a wild horse! He was so hyper and naughty, just wanting to buck and go back home. We had to do a lot of schooling and training, so it wasn't as relaxing as it could have been. Having the bit in his mouth didn't really affect him, by the time I got on him he had accepted that this thing wasn't going to hurt him and even tried to eat grass...but that didn't work so well (hard to chew with a bit). 

This weekend I'll put him with some rubber reins so he can learn to give to pressure on the bit before I jump on. This is hopefully a bit I can use on him forever, I'm trying to stay with a soft bit so he'll always have a "soft mouth." "Soft mouth" meaning that he can be controlled using a very mild bit forever...compared to something like this:

Ouchy bit! Whoever created this should use it on himself. 

This last bit hurts just to look at! It has the nutcracker effect of a snaffle but with copper-twisted wire! Copper isn't terrible, it's meant to promote salivation, but the twisted wire is very harsh. This is a bit meant to cause significant pain on the bars, tongue, and soft pallet. Not only that, but the long shank makes the bit put pressure on the horses head and mouth. AND, as if that's not enough, they have a curb chain to dig into the horse's chin! In my opinion, if you need to use a bit like this...you need to relearn how to ride a horse. Many horse people say that "soft hands make a soft bit," but even if this person had very quiet hands, all it takes is the horse to spook or trip and you accidentally pull on this contraption and cause unnecessary pain. Sadly, I took this picture in the tack room where I board my horse, but it's not uncommon to see these types of bits.