I have an incredible farrier who trimmed Daisy for the first time tonight. Her three feet (left front, two hinds) were okay. I had noticed, along with my friend and the equine adjuster, that her right front was not right. It looked too high on the heel, and starting to contract. What happens then is the toe starts to point down more sharply to the ground instead of more forward, causing pain.
My farrier showed me how you could tell if there was pain in the hoof by jiggling the brachiocephalicus muscle - if there is pain or discomfort, then the horse will step back. Daisy's left was okay, but when he jiggled her right brachiocephalicus muscle, she stepped back. You could also see from the front that her right foot looked a bit narrower than her left.
So he worked on that hoof for a bit and opened up the whole area; when he put her foot down, you could see the spread starting. He then jiggled her brachiocephalicus muscle, and she did not step back. I wish I had taken pictures...it was all very interesting, and I need to learn more!
From: http://www.naturalanimals.net/brachio/
"The brachiocephalicus muscle has an action on the cervical vertebrae, and it is has an action on the should joint of flexing laterally and extending the shoulder. It comes into play with sideways movement of the head.
Its origin is the wing of atlas and mastoid process, temporal bone and nucral crest. Its insertion point is the humerus - deltoid tuberosity and fascia on hte shoulder and foreleg. This muscle can affect gait of the horse. If the gait is not level in front and gets worse on circles and turns; or your horse is not going forwards or has choppy strides, this is one muscle you may need to address."
Very interesting...sounds a bit like Daisy to me!
He is also an equine dentist, and said that she has some points, not severe, but needing attention.
I am excited and hoping that by getting rid of all these "pain pockets" Daisy will finally be able to enjoy being ridden!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday/Friday/Saturday
Now that Daisy has the basics, it's fine tuning time with her groundwork. She knows what I want, and even though there are some times that she hesitates, I really think she's "got it".
Thursday was again lunging. She even focused on me when my mare, Starlette, and the gelding next door, Dakota, where having a lovefest at each other, only losing attention when Starlette squealed or Dakota strutted by with his wanker hanging out. And she consistantly gave me her right lead! I didn't push too hard as I want her hip to muscle up and not get sore.
Friday my friend again worked her. His report to me: "Worked with Daisy today. Lunged-Boy the right hind sure looks better! More basic leading. I left Cooper and Starlette out,when Starlette would walk into the barn and walk out Daisy did rear up on the crossties a couple times, only a foot-foot and a half,need to work with that but in the barn on the crossties isn't really the place. Aside from that she is doing better."
Saturday (today) I lunged her at dusk. She would keep looking into the barn where the horses were, but did really well. Again, a few hesitations and stopping and looking at me, but would then continue on in the direction I wanted. No rearing at all. Just undoing of old habits. The only problem I had with her was leading her around to cool her down...when I walked away from the barn, she pulled and started backing away. I was going to yank on the rope halter, then realized that is probably what people did to her before, so what I did was straighten her out, and when she pulled, I whipped the lead rope behind me and wacked her in the butt, which caused her to scoot forward. Only took two times, and she behaved herself.
Still trying to decide if I want to start riding her, or give her another week or so of groundwork. I really want a good foundation on her - this time!
Thursday was again lunging. She even focused on me when my mare, Starlette, and the gelding next door, Dakota, where having a lovefest at each other, only losing attention when Starlette squealed or Dakota strutted by with his wanker hanging out. And she consistantly gave me her right lead! I didn't push too hard as I want her hip to muscle up and not get sore.
Friday my friend again worked her. His report to me: "Worked with Daisy today. Lunged-Boy the right hind sure looks better! More basic leading. I left Cooper and Starlette out,when Starlette would walk into the barn and walk out Daisy did rear up on the crossties a couple times, only a foot-foot and a half,need to work with that but in the barn on the crossties isn't really the place. Aside from that she is doing better."
Saturday (today) I lunged her at dusk. She would keep looking into the barn where the horses were, but did really well. Again, a few hesitations and stopping and looking at me, but would then continue on in the direction I wanted. No rearing at all. Just undoing of old habits. The only problem I had with her was leading her around to cool her down...when I walked away from the barn, she pulled and started backing away. I was going to yank on the rope halter, then realized that is probably what people did to her before, so what I did was straighten her out, and when she pulled, I whipped the lead rope behind me and wacked her in the butt, which caused her to scoot forward. Only took two times, and she behaved herself.
Still trying to decide if I want to start riding her, or give her another week or so of groundwork. I really want a good foundation on her - this time!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Quick Update
My friend worked her yesterday. Here's what he had to say:
"Worked with the daisy today. Basic leading /showmanship stuff. Working on her walking with instead of walking ahead/dragging, moving her feet to set-up, stopping when told,pivoting. she did well. she moves off of fingertip pressure pretty good. Backing is definately an area to work on. I picked up some flyspray for her. ***THANK YOU**** She stood quietly in the pasture with no lead or halter on while I brushed her off. and she stood while I sprayed her with the flyspray."
I have also seen a change when turning her out...she's less panicky when alone. Making progress!!!!
"Worked with the daisy today. Basic leading /showmanship stuff. Working on her walking with instead of walking ahead/dragging, moving her feet to set-up, stopping when told,pivoting. she did well. she moves off of fingertip pressure pretty good. Backing is definately an area to work on. I picked up some flyspray for her. ***THANK YOU**** She stood quietly in the pasture with no lead or halter on while I brushed her off. and she stood while I sprayed her with the flyspray."
I have also seen a change when turning her out...she's less panicky when alone. Making progress!!!!
Monday, August 23, 2010
What's Left is Not Right, But What Right is...Right!
So, tonight was Daisy only night. I decided to practice lunging as seen on the previous video...I had no idea of how she would act; I know my friend worked a little with her on Sunday, but I wasn't there.
First she walked in a circle in her favorite direction...to the left. I circled, then went straight down the side of my riding area, then circle at the other end, and walk straight. Did this twice. She was distracted at first...Starlette and mini-Cooper were out grazing right next to us, and the girl next door was riding her horse practicing jumping. But Daisy was really good, got her attention on me, and focused on what we were doing.
We (and I say "we" since I was next to her) then trotted....circle, straight, circle, straight. When I first started trotting next to her, she couldn't figure out what was going on, and broke into a canter. I got her back into a trot, and she figured out that I was not chasing her, or going to whip her, and did the pattern very nicely.
On to the canter...she did very well left lead circle, but when she went straight, hit the end of the lunge hard and stopped/spun/got ready to rear. I just got her faced in the right direction, and tried to figure out how not to have her hit the lunge hard at the turn...and found out if I said "easy" she slowed just enough to use the lunge to guide her.
She did so well, it was time for the right. Walking right, she got a bit hyper and started trotting, but I got her back to a walk and kept her walking until she was calmly going around the riding area. We then moved onto the trot, and she is so smart, she figured out what I wanted. Time for the canter....
I started her along the fence line...I decided that gave me the better advantage if she went to spin and rear...the fence would keep her straight. She went into a canter very nicely, but on the left lead. Suddenly she switched leads...and I could see her anticpate pain. Only it didn't hurt. She didn't know what to do, and she pulled, spun and popped up a little. I let her think about it for a moment, got her going in the correct direction again, asked her to canter, and she did the same thing...started left lead, switched to right lead, pull, spin and pop. I gave her a moment, then again, I asked her to canter...and she took the right lead and held it! I let her circle two times, and asked her to walk, praising her all the time.
After the break, I wanted her to use her right lead going straight, so again asked her to canter. We did the pattern....big circle, straight, big circle, straight...and she did it like she had been doing it all along. I quit at that point...I didn't want to get her sore from using muscles she was not used to using in the right way, and I wanted to end in a positive note.
She is really sweet...while I walked her out, she kept touching me with her nose as if it ask if she did good. Of course I told her what a good horse she is!
First she walked in a circle in her favorite direction...to the left. I circled, then went straight down the side of my riding area, then circle at the other end, and walk straight. Did this twice. She was distracted at first...Starlette and mini-Cooper were out grazing right next to us, and the girl next door was riding her horse practicing jumping. But Daisy was really good, got her attention on me, and focused on what we were doing.
We (and I say "we" since I was next to her) then trotted....circle, straight, circle, straight. When I first started trotting next to her, she couldn't figure out what was going on, and broke into a canter. I got her back into a trot, and she figured out that I was not chasing her, or going to whip her, and did the pattern very nicely.
On to the canter...she did very well left lead circle, but when she went straight, hit the end of the lunge hard and stopped/spun/got ready to rear. I just got her faced in the right direction, and tried to figure out how not to have her hit the lunge hard at the turn...and found out if I said "easy" she slowed just enough to use the lunge to guide her.
She did so well, it was time for the right. Walking right, she got a bit hyper and started trotting, but I got her back to a walk and kept her walking until she was calmly going around the riding area. We then moved onto the trot, and she is so smart, she figured out what I wanted. Time for the canter....
I started her along the fence line...I decided that gave me the better advantage if she went to spin and rear...the fence would keep her straight. She went into a canter very nicely, but on the left lead. Suddenly she switched leads...and I could see her anticpate pain. Only it didn't hurt. She didn't know what to do, and she pulled, spun and popped up a little. I let her think about it for a moment, got her going in the correct direction again, asked her to canter, and she did the same thing...started left lead, switched to right lead, pull, spin and pop. I gave her a moment, then again, I asked her to canter...and she took the right lead and held it! I let her circle two times, and asked her to walk, praising her all the time.
After the break, I wanted her to use her right lead going straight, so again asked her to canter. We did the pattern....big circle, straight, big circle, straight...and she did it like she had been doing it all along. I quit at that point...I didn't want to get her sore from using muscles she was not used to using in the right way, and I wanted to end in a positive note.
She is really sweet...while I walked her out, she kept touching me with her nose as if it ask if she did good. Of course I told her what a good horse she is!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
More Leading Lessons Redux
Daisy was much better tonight with her leading. I did notice that she turns her head into me when we halt; this could be part of her spine being out, or being yanked on to stop, or both. So I made sure my hand was centered under head when we halted and that she was squared up. I think this will also get her to stop swinging her hip out to face me.
Tomorrow...back to our regular training sessons!
Tomorrow...back to our regular training sessons!
A Day Without A Lesson? Not....
Yesterday was Daisy's day off since she had been adjusted the night before. However, with some horses, they never get a day off...
She is obviously feeling better! When I brought the horses in, and she is always last because she's in the far pasture (so she can get used to being along), last night she worked herself up into a frenzy galloping back and forth (yes, galloping!). I watched to see if she would take her right lead - unfortunately, no - and tried to catch her. She was so jazzed up that it took a good 5 minutes before she stood quietly enough for me to put on her halter.
Now, I would not put it on until she stood quietly. Thank you Cesar Milan/Dog Whisper and his training methods of calm submissive behavor before reward. I also have to practice patience when using this training method, but it's not only good for the horse, but good for me, too!
Once I had her haltered, first thing I do is wait a moment to see if she's focused on me or on the barn. Last night was totally barn. So I went to walk her around the pasture to get her attention, and she gave me a little pop-up. So we backed, and backed, and backed. Went to walk forward, and she swung herself around me instead of standing by my side. So we backed and backed. Good thing the chiro said she needed backing to help that hip! After about 10 minutes of rinse and repeat, she finally focused on me.
We did stop and wait several times walking back to the barn, but she got the idea and waited for me to go forward before moving herself. Of course, she was praised, and I could see her trying to figure it all out.
You never know when a lesson will happen!
She is obviously feeling better! When I brought the horses in, and she is always last because she's in the far pasture (so she can get used to being along), last night she worked herself up into a frenzy galloping back and forth (yes, galloping!). I watched to see if she would take her right lead - unfortunately, no - and tried to catch her. She was so jazzed up that it took a good 5 minutes before she stood quietly enough for me to put on her halter.
Now, I would not put it on until she stood quietly. Thank you Cesar Milan/Dog Whisper and his training methods of calm submissive behavor before reward. I also have to practice patience when using this training method, but it's not only good for the horse, but good for me, too!
Once I had her haltered, first thing I do is wait a moment to see if she's focused on me or on the barn. Last night was totally barn. So I went to walk her around the pasture to get her attention, and she gave me a little pop-up. So we backed, and backed, and backed. Went to walk forward, and she swung herself around me instead of standing by my side. So we backed and backed. Good thing the chiro said she needed backing to help that hip! After about 10 minutes of rinse and repeat, she finally focused on me.
We did stop and wait several times walking back to the barn, but she got the idea and waited for me to go forward before moving herself. Of course, she was praised, and I could see her trying to figure it all out.
You never know when a lesson will happen!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
And The Verdict Is....
She was out of adjustment ....basically everywhere! Poll, neck, withers, back, hips. All that I suspected and more. Her left shoulder muscle is less than her right. Her right hip is visually lower than her left. All these being out will cause a horse to rear from pain!
Now time for the rehab! Lots of stretching, trotting, backing. And hopefully undoing bad rearing habits once she learns that there is no pain.
Of course, we have a long way to go, but at least we are on our way!
Now time for the rehab! Lots of stretching, trotting, backing. And hopefully undoing bad rearing habits once she learns that there is no pain.
Of course, we have a long way to go, but at least we are on our way!
Wednesday Rinse and Repeat
Daisy is getting much better at voice commands. Did a bunch of transitions, and even cantered. I did not even use a lunge whip!
I wanted to see how she looked before the chiropractor came. She definately struggles with canter to the right/right lead. If I let her go the way she wants, she moves straight, then turns, straight, turn, as opposed to the left/left lead of circle. But I do see progress...at one point she gave me the "I'm gonna think of rearing" look, and I got behind her and moved her forward; she gave in right away.
Will post what the chiropractor says tonight!
I wanted to see how she looked before the chiropractor came. She definately struggles with canter to the right/right lead. If I let her go the way she wants, she moves straight, then turns, straight, turn, as opposed to the left/left lead of circle. But I do see progress...at one point she gave me the "I'm gonna think of rearing" look, and I got behind her and moved her forward; she gave in right away.
Will post what the chiropractor says tonight!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
An Easy Day For Daisy!
My guy friend came over and did simple WT and walking around away from the barn/horses. She behaved very well.
For fun...pictures!
Daisy Looking Good....
Now that's a QH butt!
The Two Amigas and one Amigo
For fun...pictures!
Daisy Looking Good....
Now that's a QH butt!
Are you implying I have a big butt?
The Two Amigas and one Amigo
Early AM Thought...
One of the mistakes I made the first three days was that I tried to lunge Daisy using my whole riding area. I cut down by running electric fence tape (the bright yellow kind) so that I had a 60 foot "square" area. She stopped pulling me to get to the other side of the arena, and was able to focus a bit more on me instead of worrying about getting away.
My friend (a man) is going to work with her off and on...I'll get she has not had much male exposure. He's very gentle and I think will help her in a different way than I can. He's also shown a lot in showmanship, and will help teach her to follow, turn, square up, etc. More small focused things that I think will help her learn to concentrate on what she is doing.
My friend (a man) is going to work with her off and on...I'll get she has not had much male exposure. He's very gentle and I think will help her in a different way than I can. He's also shown a lot in showmanship, and will help teach her to follow, turn, square up, etc. More small focused things that I think will help her learn to concentrate on what she is doing.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Quiet Night in the Square "Round" Pen...
Just a quick post...Daisy was really good tonight! All I asked was for her to walk, trot, reverse, halt. Whenever she got distracted, I changed what she was doing. She is really smart. Chiropractor coming on Thursday night...we'll see what she thinks, and hopefully an adjustment will help her a lot!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The Week In Retrospective
Daisy has been here for almost a week...and I'd better get caught up before the next starts!
She arrived last Monday at 11pm. She settled into her stall nicely, eating hay right away. I had heard that she had climbed out of a stall at least once, so I ran a chain across the top (my stalls are open so the horses can hang their heads out and see what's going on).
I put her out Tuesday morning in her own pasture. Since she was herdbound, I wanted to start right away with separating her so that she could find out that it was okay *not* to be with the herd. Since she is also anxious, I hope that being alone will help her develop confidence. My two, (Starlette and Cooper) could socialize with her, but she just could not join them. We had a few reminders of my personal space when I was leading her, but other than that, she behaved pretty well.
Wednesday I decided to ride her and see what I had gotten myself into. Now, I've seen my friend trail ride her, and the worse behavior was some low rearing when Daisy was asked to stand still. She also had trailer loading problems, but my friend managed to get her on with a little persuasion. So I felt okay with riding her - however my husband had to run an errand, and I didn't want to ride her alone the first time. So I decided to lunge her....and Daisy's attitude showed itself right away!
I first lunged her to the left, and all she would do was fast trotting. I could not get her to walk, but I was not too concerned as I figured she was really excited (she was). I got her to finally walk, then trot and canter. She also has a pretty weak stop, but I was not really interested in training her, just seeing what she knew.
Time for the right circle. She walked fine, trotted fine...then she decided she was done by stopping and facing me. I stepped to her side to ask her to go forward, and she exploded into rearing and dragging me...every time I asked her to go forward, she reared again...until she backed herself right into a low jump I had set up, and scared herself. I went to her side...again (this is probably the 4th or 5th time), and asked her to trot....and she did! Cantering next...another series of refusals/rearing/pulling me. I just remained consistant, and finally, finally she cantered around half a circle. I gave her a break, and then bridled her and rode her around the pasture to again see what she knew. She walked and trotted fine, but I discovered she did not understand the aide I use to canter...sitting back, outside leg behind girth, squeeze. I finally got her to canter across the pasture, and we quit for the day. I really didn't want to go where we went, but once Daisy took me there, I had to follow it through.
After this, I spoke with someone who has known Daisy since Daisy was four (she's now ten), and said she always had problems going to the right, to the point of bucking, freezing or rearing. Just confirmed what I had experienced with her.
Thursday was a rinse and repeat day...only we got through the lunging much quicker. And walking was perfect! I was pleased that we got through it all with less drama.
Friday I decided to just lunge her with the rope halter on . I don't know if Daisy thought she did not have to listen because she did not have the saddle on (which I was glad of given events!), but she resisted me to the right the worse she had in the three days I worked with her. She kept rearing and pulling away...but I think because the rope halter works on different pressure points than she was used to with the regular halter, made her realize that her favorite avoidance/excape mechanism was not comfortable any more!
She kept getting higher and higher with her rearing, and actually rolled herself over backwards once. I finally got her to canter around me twice, we again stopped for the night. I had also noticed something I didn't notice before...her right hip was dropped/not correct. Just very slightly, I almost didn't catch it. I believe it's because of an old injury, and since she has been having lead issues for the last 6 years, could explain it all.
Saturday was their (and my) day off from major exercise. It had been hot all week, and we were all tired. I did have very experienced horse friends come over and confirm her hip issues.
Today, the same friend came over to see me ride Daisy. I thought that there would not be a problem with me just saddling and riding....however, Daisy had other ideas. I had put Starlette and Cooper in the barn, and Daisy decided she would go there, too. I rode her to the pasture, and she started to rear when we went away from the barn. I forgot my crop (I have been riding with one in case of this so I could get her to go forward with a wallop on the rear), so I just circled her until she stopped rearing, waited a second (while discussing with my friend what to do), and decided that I did not want to have that battle right now; I wanted to be sure of how to handle rearing as I have not had that experience yet. So I rode her back towards the riding area after she settled (she did not know that was not my plan), got off, took off my saddle and bridle, got the rope halter and lunge line on, and back we went to lunge again.
She was rinse and repeat with her lunging behavior. She would rear when she thought she should be done. Once I got her to listen a bit for me, my friend (who has trained a few horses with his wife) lunged and worked with her for another 30 or so minutes. What made me feel good in a twisted way is that Daisy did the same to him, so it was not just me. She is acting like a teenager who has gotten away with things; now that she's getting firm rules, she is pushing me to see just how far she can go. I also think that once she figures out her boundries, and I am consistant with her, then she will be a much happier and calmer horse.
Plans for the next week: Lunge, lunge, lunge. No cantering to the right until her hip gets checked (she is not lame, just looks funny). Manners, manners, manners....walk, trot, halt. And she *does not* get to choose when she is done! I do plan to keep it short...no more than 30 minutes, unless she decides otherwise by misbehaving!
She arrived last Monday at 11pm. She settled into her stall nicely, eating hay right away. I had heard that she had climbed out of a stall at least once, so I ran a chain across the top (my stalls are open so the horses can hang their heads out and see what's going on).
I put her out Tuesday morning in her own pasture. Since she was herdbound, I wanted to start right away with separating her so that she could find out that it was okay *not* to be with the herd. Since she is also anxious, I hope that being alone will help her develop confidence. My two, (Starlette and Cooper) could socialize with her, but she just could not join them. We had a few reminders of my personal space when I was leading her, but other than that, she behaved pretty well.
Wednesday I decided to ride her and see what I had gotten myself into. Now, I've seen my friend trail ride her, and the worse behavior was some low rearing when Daisy was asked to stand still. She also had trailer loading problems, but my friend managed to get her on with a little persuasion. So I felt okay with riding her - however my husband had to run an errand, and I didn't want to ride her alone the first time. So I decided to lunge her....and Daisy's attitude showed itself right away!
I first lunged her to the left, and all she would do was fast trotting. I could not get her to walk, but I was not too concerned as I figured she was really excited (she was). I got her to finally walk, then trot and canter. She also has a pretty weak stop, but I was not really interested in training her, just seeing what she knew.
Time for the right circle. She walked fine, trotted fine...then she decided she was done by stopping and facing me. I stepped to her side to ask her to go forward, and she exploded into rearing and dragging me...every time I asked her to go forward, she reared again...until she backed herself right into a low jump I had set up, and scared herself. I went to her side...again (this is probably the 4th or 5th time), and asked her to trot....and she did! Cantering next...another series of refusals/rearing/pulling me. I just remained consistant, and finally, finally she cantered around half a circle. I gave her a break, and then bridled her and rode her around the pasture to again see what she knew. She walked and trotted fine, but I discovered she did not understand the aide I use to canter...sitting back, outside leg behind girth, squeeze. I finally got her to canter across the pasture, and we quit for the day. I really didn't want to go where we went, but once Daisy took me there, I had to follow it through.
After this, I spoke with someone who has known Daisy since Daisy was four (she's now ten), and said she always had problems going to the right, to the point of bucking, freezing or rearing. Just confirmed what I had experienced with her.
Thursday was a rinse and repeat day...only we got through the lunging much quicker. And walking was perfect! I was pleased that we got through it all with less drama.
Friday I decided to just lunge her with the rope halter on . I don't know if Daisy thought she did not have to listen because she did not have the saddle on (which I was glad of given events!), but she resisted me to the right the worse she had in the three days I worked with her. She kept rearing and pulling away...but I think because the rope halter works on different pressure points than she was used to with the regular halter, made her realize that her favorite avoidance/excape mechanism was not comfortable any more!
She kept getting higher and higher with her rearing, and actually rolled herself over backwards once. I finally got her to canter around me twice, we again stopped for the night. I had also noticed something I didn't notice before...her right hip was dropped/not correct. Just very slightly, I almost didn't catch it. I believe it's because of an old injury, and since she has been having lead issues for the last 6 years, could explain it all.
Saturday was their (and my) day off from major exercise. It had been hot all week, and we were all tired. I did have very experienced horse friends come over and confirm her hip issues.
Today, the same friend came over to see me ride Daisy. I thought that there would not be a problem with me just saddling and riding....however, Daisy had other ideas. I had put Starlette and Cooper in the barn, and Daisy decided she would go there, too. I rode her to the pasture, and she started to rear when we went away from the barn. I forgot my crop (I have been riding with one in case of this so I could get her to go forward with a wallop on the rear), so I just circled her until she stopped rearing, waited a second (while discussing with my friend what to do), and decided that I did not want to have that battle right now; I wanted to be sure of how to handle rearing as I have not had that experience yet. So I rode her back towards the riding area after she settled (she did not know that was not my plan), got off, took off my saddle and bridle, got the rope halter and lunge line on, and back we went to lunge again.
She was rinse and repeat with her lunging behavior. She would rear when she thought she should be done. Once I got her to listen a bit for me, my friend (who has trained a few horses with his wife) lunged and worked with her for another 30 or so minutes. What made me feel good in a twisted way is that Daisy did the same to him, so it was not just me. She is acting like a teenager who has gotten away with things; now that she's getting firm rules, she is pushing me to see just how far she can go. I also think that once she figures out her boundries, and I am consistant with her, then she will be a much happier and calmer horse.
Plans for the next week: Lunge, lunge, lunge. No cantering to the right until her hip gets checked (she is not lame, just looks funny). Manners, manners, manners....walk, trot, halt. And she *does not* get to choose when she is done! I do plan to keep it short...no more than 30 minutes, unless she decides otherwise by misbehaving!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Meet Daisy
Daisy is a horse that was taken in by my friend, along with another horse in very poor, well, to be honest, starving conditions. From what I've been told, she was purchased 6 years ago as a green 4 year old for a teenager to train and ride. This teen did not know what she was doing, and, while she had some help, was so inconsistant that Daisy learned many bad habits. This teen is now out of the picture, and the two horses got very bad care, until my friend managed to get ownership of them.
One of Daisy's worse habits is that she discovered early on that she could rear on the ground and get away with it. My friend was working on her with that behavior when Daisy reared and managed to pull away, causing my friend to fall sideways and break her leg. Now there is the problem of what to do with Daisy...she needed consistant work and was not going to get in anytime soon unless I took her in.
I felt my arm being twisted! Okay, it didn't take much...
So I plan on daily blogs of Daisy's progress. We've had two training sessions, which I will post about tomorrow. Daisy is very smart, and willing to figure out things. And has already discovered that it is not fun to rear with a rope halter on!
One of Daisy's worse habits is that she discovered early on that she could rear on the ground and get away with it. My friend was working on her with that behavior when Daisy reared and managed to pull away, causing my friend to fall sideways and break her leg. Now there is the problem of what to do with Daisy...she needed consistant work and was not going to get in anytime soon unless I took her in.
I felt my arm being twisted! Okay, it didn't take much...
So I plan on daily blogs of Daisy's progress. We've had two training sessions, which I will post about tomorrow. Daisy is very smart, and willing to figure out things. And has already discovered that it is not fun to rear with a rope halter on!
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