Wanted: Interior Designer for Persnickety Thoroughbred

Nox likes to rub the side of his head on the feed bucket hanging in his stall.  He'll rub it raw and sometimes even cut himself over his right eye.  Yesterday, I showed up to the barn and Nox had a fresh cut above his eye, and I thought, Enough is Enough!

After working him and grooming him in the arena, I led him into his stall.  I unhooked the feed bucket from the wall and put it on the floor, directly under where it was hanging.  If the feed bucket is on the floor, he won't be able to rub on it.

Well!  Once again, I discovered that any change in his environment, no matter how minor, will send Nox into a hissy fit.  When he saw the bucket on the floor instead of hanging on the wall - the same exact bucket he's been eating out of for 6 months - he backed into the opposite corner of the stall and snorted at the bucket like it was a lion ready to attack.  I could not believe it!  I poured some grain into the bucket and threw in some carrots and apple cookies to entice him, and stepped away in hopes that he'd figure it out.

20 minutes later I came back to find Nox stubbornly standing in the corner and the treats in the bucket untouched.  I went into the stall and stood close to Nox to reassure him.  He kept nudging me with his nose, as if asking me to fix the issue.  I am just as stubborn, however, and the bucket was not going to be hung up again.  

I added more treats to the bucket, coaxed him softly, and tried to lure him near enough so he could see the yumminess waiting for him in the bucket.  I took a video of his silliness for you all to see.  It was getting late, so the video is dark, but you'll get the idea.

In the end, after nearly 40 fruitless minutes, I pulled the bucket out of the stall.  The stable owners told me they'd put the bucket back in when they fed the grain, and pull it out again when he was finished.  They are so kind and understanding, and willing to laugh and put up with my silly, giant baby of a horse. 

A little to the left... now the right....

Nox loves having his shoulders and back rubbed.  Here's the thing: I give GREAT massages!  Ask my family or Best Husband Ever.  But I'm not sure how to go about massaging Nox.  I had the opportunity to become a certified equine massage therapist several years ago, but I passed on it because my job at the time was so crazy that I barely had time to sleep, much less study.  I'm regretting it now.  I'm considering hiring an equine sports massage therapist for a session to see if it helps Nox's recovery. 

In the meantime, I do the best I can... and he definitely enjoys it! 

 

How to cuddle with a 1200 lb animal

It is April - almost mid April - and Nox is still shedding!  He looks so sleek and shiny, but I used a shedding blade today and hair is still coming out.  I'm hoping that another week of currying and blading will take care of it, because I know that all that loose hair is itchy.

Nox has recovered from his soreness but we are still taking things slowly.  It was raining today and Nox was feeling frisky.  I opened up the arena door so he could stick his head out and breathe some fresh air, but he doesn't like getting rain on his head.  He leaned his head out the door, felt the rain, and pranced away from the window with his tail raised, snorting at the patter of raindrops on the metal roof.  I think this is funny, because he loves being sprayed all over with the hose!  For some reason, the rain really bugs him.

Nox started doing something very sweet - cuddling!  After his grooming session, if I stand in front of him, he'll rest his muzzle on my shoulder and lean his head towards mine.  I'll stand there and stroke his cheek and neck while he breathes softly and closes his eyes.  It's such a sweet moment and I love it.  I love him!  I still feel like the luckiest girl on earth when I walk into the barn.  I feel the same way when I walk in my front door.  Thank you, Best Husband Ever, for all the love and support the past seven years (can you believe it?!) and of course, we love our Moose dog.

Nox, enjoying a bit of sunshine a few days ago.

Moose, isn't he adorable?

 

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.