Gia - session 14 - more bumpers
I worked with Gia yesterday, but didn't have a chance to write. She came into the barn pretty quietly, like usual. I put her in her "regular" spot for grooming and tacking. She was pretty good for grooming. One thing she's a little weird about - brushing her forelock. Whenever I brush her forelock, she raises her head up high and twists it to the side. I'm not exactly sure why. Today, I had an assistant hold her lead line while I brushed it. And then I held the line while she brushed it. Oddly, Gia didn't seem bothered when the other person brushed her forelock, just me. We traded off a few times, partly because I was trying to figure out what the difference was. I still am not quite sure, but she was more relaxed about it the last time I did it.
She was very quiet for the saddle pad and the saddle. Still just a smidge fidgety for the girth, but better than last time. I did finish tightening it in the grass again. In the round pen, I attached the bumpers to the saddle, near the girth, and sent her to work at the trot and canter in each direction. She was perfectly fine, and very submissive and relaxed. Then I moved the bumpers toward the back of the saddle and sent her to work again at the trot and canter. She put in just a few tiny bucks in each direction at the beginning. Nothing serious - it was more like she was testing to see if maybe today she could get rid of the damn things, but she didn't put much effort into it. It took a little while for her to lick and chew. She was not dramatic about anything, she just seemed frustrated that she couldn't get the boat bumpers to go away. When Gia is trying to let go of her tension and frustration, she does a lot of head shaking (not in a bad way). It's sort of a pre-cursor to the big release of licking and chewing. Usually, it's an indication that she is trying to figure something out, and she's right on the brink of getting it. I gave her a nice long break when she finally did release, and then sent her back to work again until she could pick up the canter without any bucking.
On our way back to the barn, she was a little hesitant to walk forward. I'm pretty sure it was because she wanted to eat grass. When we were almost in the barn, she stopped and planted her feet. I gave her a couple of seconds to do the right thing and choose to go forward, but when she didn't, I made her go backwards quickly for several steps. When I asked her to go forward again, she made the right decision and kept going all the way into the barn. This was probably a remnant from the last session when we had a big "discussion" about going forward into the barn. Horses at any age love to test things. I often say that they are just like kids, and like to test their boundaries often. The important thing to keep in mind is to always be clear and consistent with your boundaries and rules. Be quick to correct or reprimand the horse when they step out of line, but just as quick to praise when they do things right. Gia just wanted to see if the rules had changed at all from the other day. Once she found out that they had not, she gave up and calmly walked into the barn. We went in and out of the barn a few more times, just to confirm the lesson.
Once we were back in the barn, I took off her saddle and pad. She was quite sweaty today, but it was a little chilly, so I opted not to bathe her today. She has been bathed before, but it's been a while, and she was a little squirrly about it. My rule of thumb regarding bathing young or green horses is to wait on bathing until it's nice and hot and the horse will find it refreshing. They will typically be scared at first, but when they realize how good it feels, they usually relax quickly. Yesterday was a little too chilly for her enjoy it, so she had to be put away sweaty this time. Pretty soon, it will be hot enough for a nice bath!
She was very quiet for the saddle pad and the saddle. Still just a smidge fidgety for the girth, but better than last time. I did finish tightening it in the grass again. In the round pen, I attached the bumpers to the saddle, near the girth, and sent her to work at the trot and canter in each direction. She was perfectly fine, and very submissive and relaxed. Then I moved the bumpers toward the back of the saddle and sent her to work again at the trot and canter. She put in just a few tiny bucks in each direction at the beginning. Nothing serious - it was more like she was testing to see if maybe today she could get rid of the damn things, but she didn't put much effort into it. It took a little while for her to lick and chew. She was not dramatic about anything, she just seemed frustrated that she couldn't get the boat bumpers to go away. When Gia is trying to let go of her tension and frustration, she does a lot of head shaking (not in a bad way). It's sort of a pre-cursor to the big release of licking and chewing. Usually, it's an indication that she is trying to figure something out, and she's right on the brink of getting it. I gave her a nice long break when she finally did release, and then sent her back to work again until she could pick up the canter without any bucking.
On our way back to the barn, she was a little hesitant to walk forward. I'm pretty sure it was because she wanted to eat grass. When we were almost in the barn, she stopped and planted her feet. I gave her a couple of seconds to do the right thing and choose to go forward, but when she didn't, I made her go backwards quickly for several steps. When I asked her to go forward again, she made the right decision and kept going all the way into the barn. This was probably a remnant from the last session when we had a big "discussion" about going forward into the barn. Horses at any age love to test things. I often say that they are just like kids, and like to test their boundaries often. The important thing to keep in mind is to always be clear and consistent with your boundaries and rules. Be quick to correct or reprimand the horse when they step out of line, but just as quick to praise when they do things right. Gia just wanted to see if the rules had changed at all from the other day. Once she found out that they had not, she gave up and calmly walked into the barn. We went in and out of the barn a few more times, just to confirm the lesson.
Once we were back in the barn, I took off her saddle and pad. She was quite sweaty today, but it was a little chilly, so I opted not to bathe her today. She has been bathed before, but it's been a while, and she was a little squirrly about it. My rule of thumb regarding bathing young or green horses is to wait on bathing until it's nice and hot and the horse will find it refreshing. They will typically be scared at first, but when they realize how good it feels, they usually relax quickly. Yesterday was a little too chilly for her enjoy it, so she had to be put away sweaty this time. Pretty soon, it will be hot enough for a nice bath!
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