Learning to tie, Phase 1

Last summer, I tied Nox to a metal fence to see if he was used to being tied.  It turns out, he was not.  He pulled back so hard that he bent the metal fence into an almost perfect right angle.  I have been grooming and tacking him up in his stall ever since.  Racehorses are usually groomed and tacked in their stalls, so he was just fine with this arrangement.

I want to be able to tie Nox.  It's important for safety reasons, and if I ever do show him, I may need to tie him to a trailer to tack him up if stalls aren't available. 

So, Phase 1 of Learning to Tie: Ground Tying.  (I'm pretty sure that at some point in his young life, Nox was trained to tie, but since his reaction was so strong the last time I tried it, we are starting at the very beginning.)  After I free lunge Nox and finish our work in the ring, I hook his lead rope to his halter and lead him near the fence.  I tell him to "Ho" (that means "stop"... hardly anybody actually says "whoa") and drop his lead rope on the ground in front of him.  If he takes a step one way or another, I calmly use the lead rope to guide him back to where I placed him.  While he is standing there, I groom him.  If he moves, I place him back in the original spot.  I walk away to the other side of the ring, sometimes even out of the ring, and he is expected to stand in the same spot.

It only took a few minutes for Nox to understand the exercise.  I can walk out of the ring, come back, and get through a full grooming session with him barely moving at all.  The stable owner walked by a few afternoons ago and said, "Look at him standing there quietly!  What a good boy!"  I was so proud.

I'll continue to ground tie Nox when I groom him, moving a little closer to the wall of the indoor arena each time.  When I think he's ready (several weeks out, yet), I'll slip the end of the lead rope through a ring attached to the wall, and see how it goes.  I hope that if I spend enough time teaching him to ground tie reliably, I can trust him to stand quietly when tied.  If patience and time can do it, I think we can get there! 

No more broken fence rails!

Nox, ground tied.

The grooming and circles continue...

I haven't written lately because not much has changed since the last post!

I can't believe that Nox isn't bald by now.  Every day I curry him and there is so much hair coming out that his stall floor looks like I've shaved him.  It's been warmer the past few days and I've been leaving his blanket off, but tonight the temperature is falling back into the teens.  Since Nox has lost most of his winter coat, the blanket has to go back on.

Last Saturday, we really worked hard.  He was moving so well and had energy to spare.  After 30 minutes of free lunging, I rode him for another 20 minutes.  Nox was a little sore the next day, so he's been on "light duty" since.  I lunged him tonight and he looked much better, but again had more energy than he knew how to handle.  Nox was bucking and snorting and trying to cut into the circle.  He can be such a stinker when he doesn't get enough exercise.  He has, however, learned how to lunge to the right without any hesitation or resistance.  I've posted a video of him walking in a circle to the right.  It may not seem that impressive, but considering it's taken me a few months to get him to walk this calmly in this direction, I consider it a major accomplishment!

  

Hairy Situation

Nox is shedding like crazy.  When I curry comb him, clumps of long winter hair fall off him and wispy strands float through the air.  The hair gets everywhere - all over my clothes, up my nose, in my mouth, and in my eyes.  For three days in a row, I pulled long hairs out of my eyes after they got stuck up inside my eyelids.  After that painful experience, I'd had enough.

The next day, I showed up at the barn armed with laboratory goggles and a face mask.  I donned my personal protective equipment, grabbed the curry comb, and stepped into Nox's stall.  He took one look at me, snorted, and back into the corner.  I spoke soothingly and dropped a few carrots in his bucket, and he was happy to let me curry him in my goofy get-up.   

Let me tell you - I look odd, and the other boarders might look at me funny and think I'm silly, but I'm no longer pulling hair out my eyes and mouth!  Nox is looking sleeker and shiner than any of the other horses, and I'm willing to bet that when everyone else is eating horse hair in a few weeks, they'll be asking to borrow my goggles and mask! 

Best Husband Ever helps me groom Nox, but he declines the goggles. 
He took a picture of me wearing them instead. 
Goofy? Yes. Does he love me anyway? Yes.

I can read his mind...

Though I'm not a professional trainer by any means, I really enjoy working with animals.  I trained Moose, our little Yorkie-poo, to do all the normal obedience skills, plus a few extra fun tricks for our entertainment.  When you point your fingers at Moose like guns and say "Stick 'em up", he will stand on his hind legs and put his front paws up.  It's just about the cutest darn thing ever.

Moose was very motivated by treats and verbal praise.  Like many dogs, he really wants to please his people and he understands that a treat can be a reward for completing a task.  He learned most of his tricks in less than five minutes.

Nox, like most horses, is motivated by finding the easiest route, or the path of least resistance.  If he thinks it's easier to walk around a pole than over it, that is what he'll want to do.  I've been training Nox to free lunge in both directions and he is doing very well.  At first, it was easier for him to move to the left because he has better balance in that direction.  When I asked him to go to the right, he resisted because it was difficult for him.  He tried to spin around and go the easy way.  My job as a trainer was to make it even more difficult for him to spin around to left.  I would shout and wave my arms and lunge whip, blocking his way and putting pressure on him to turn around.  After several hissy fits, rears, and bucks, he'd eventually move to the right. 

I've kept this up for several weeks, insisting that he walk and trot in a circle to the right so he can build muscle and learn to balance.  Nox's balance is improving, and now I can lunge him to the left, turn him around, and lunge him to the right with hardly any resistance.  I have to pay close attention, however, and watch for signs that he's getting frustrated.  A few days ago, I had him cantering to the right.  Cantering in a circle is difficult for a horse in training, especially an ex-racer who is used to gradual, wide turns.  Nox had completed 2 1/2 laps and I could sense that he was feeling uncomfortable, but I wanted to push him to complete the 3rd lap before asking him to slow down.  Big mistake.  Nox felt off balance and frustrated, and so he escaped his situation by dashing out of the circle, bucking and kicking, and spun around to move to the left.

I was mad at myself, because I knew it was going to happen and I didn't take control of the situation.  I should have told him to slow down to a trot as soon as I sensed he might break.  I would have kept his attention and faith.  Instead, I had to start over, convincing him to move to the right again.  I kept the session short, so we could end on a good note, and it all ended well.  I learned a good lesson - trust my senses and stay one thought ahead of Nox.

Looking good!
Nox is shedding out his thick winter coat and looking sleek and shiny again.

 

         

Working Hard, Going Well

Nox is progressing well, despite the cold, stormy, snowy weather.  I haven't ridden in a few weeks, since the temperatures haven't been above 20 degrees and Nox has been bouncing around the ring like a ping pong ball.  Instead, we've been free lunging and practicing ground manners.  Nox is still having a tough time lunging to the right.  I'll start him going right and he protests; attempting to change direction and racing around in an uncoordinated fashion.  I keep the pressure on him until he's sort of moving in a circle, and then I make him change direction.  To the left, he can walk and trot smoothly without any hesitation.  He's learning to balance better at the canter as well, and I increase his canter time each session.  After I've worn him out a little going to the left, I turn him around again and make him go to the right.  The second time is always better, and usually Nox will walk and trot to the right in nicer circles.  I haven't asked him to canter to the right yet.  He needs to build up the muscles on that side and I don't want to make him sore by asking too much too soon.

Nox still asks to have his tongue rubbed at every opportunity.  Best Husband Ever and the barn trainer are the only people besides me that will indulge him - everyone else thinks it's too odd or gross!

Hopefully, spring will arrive soon and I can start riding again.  I don't mind giving Nox a break from the saddle - it's probably good for him, actually - but I do miss it. 

Below is a video of Nox doing his "Black Beauty" impression.  I did not teach him to do this, and he has never done it while I've been riding, but he loves to rear when he's turned out.  Sometimes it seems like he's trying to stay up as long as he can, and other times he'll finish the rear with a twist and leap... he looks like the famous Lipizzanner horses I saw when I was a teenager.  It's fun to watch!

Reunited!

The "Multiverse" is a physics theory that involves infinite universes where infinite copies of people live out alternative lives.  If you come to an intersection and turn right, somewhere your alternate copy #1,002 turned left.  If you chose a tuna sandwich for lunch, #803,458 chose turkey, etc., etc. 

In some alternate universe, alternate Star enjoys flights that are always on time and never turbulent.  I'm really happy for her.

I left town for 5 days to be with my family on the west coast.  It's very difficult to leave home these days.  Best Husband Ever is confident that I will return and Moose has learned that I eventually come back from wherever I've been.  Nox, however, is a different story.  The last time I left him for a few days, I came back to an angry, obstinate horse.  It took a week for us to get back to our previous routine and I made the mistake of being too lenient, forgiving his bad behavior too long - see the post on "tough lessons".

I finally arrived home this evening (a day late, thank you Chicago) and after kissing Moose and feeding him dinner - Best Husband Ever is working, otherwise he'd get kiss and food as well - I drove to the barn.  I whistled for Nox as I walked into the barn.  Most of the time, he nickers excitedly back, but tonight I only heard the stomps and snorts of the other horses.  When I turned the corner, Nox was looking at me through the stall door, but it wasn't his normal look.  He looked at me like I was a stranger, and my heart sank a little. 

I went through our normal routine - carrot in his bucket, halter on, turn him out in the ring, and clean his stall.  Nox went through the motions like I was a new groom in the barn.  After I cleaned the stall, I joined Nox in the ring and hooked the lead rope to his halter to walk him around.  He immediately dropped his head to bite the lead rope - an old bad habit.  I smacked him on the chest with the lead rope and the expression on his face was priceless.  It said, "Oh! Ha Ha! Silly me, of course I remember you!"  He snapped back to his old, sweet, respectful self and stuck his tongue out for me to rub.

It's good to be home!

 

A picture is worth a thousand words...

A lovely horse is always an experience....
 It is an emotional experience of the kind that is spoiled by words. 
~Beryl Markham