Gia - (unlucky) session 13 - interesting mood ...
So, I brought Gia in to work with today. For those of you reading this blog that are not familiar with my barn - it has a shed row type area where we cross tie the horses. There are two places to cross tie. There is one wall that runs the length of both cross tie areas. Then there is a shorter wall that runs the width of one cross tie area. The other long side and the other short side are both open. I typically put younger, greener and spookier horses on the side with more walls, so that they are less likely to break the cross ties, and if they do, they can't really go anywhere. It's usually a good deterrent. I typically put Gia on this side, but the person feeding this morning was still working on the hay in that area, and Gia has been really good, so I put her on the more open side. Changing up her spot could be one reason for today's problem ....
Anyway, she stood quite well for her grooming. However, at the same time that I started to bring out the saddle and pad, the person feeding was also in the grain room putting some stuff away. The area where I chose to tie Gia today is also directly beside the grain room, giving her a different vantage point than usual. This distraction could be another reason for today's problem ...
While she was distracted by the feeder, I started to put the saddle pad on her. She fidgeted around a bit, so I started to desensitize her with it. It only took a couple of times putting the pad on and off before she stood still ... or just stopped paying attention to me. But she had moved over too far in the cross ties. So, I went around to the other side to move her back and to desensitize her on that side. Since I don't think she was paying attention to me at all, but rather to the feeder, I think I startled her and she went backwards ... and broke the crossties.
Now, for those of you who don't live near me, or are reading this on a different day, the weather today is also a bit sketchy. We have a tornado watch going on later tonight, with expected winds of up to 70mph. Horses are very sensitive to weather changes like this, so that could also explain the mood that Gia was in this morning that led to her breaking the crossties.
I always leave a lead line attached to a young or green or spooky horse, for just this situation - so that if they do break away, I have a handle on them. So, I grabbed her line and proceeded to back her up very quickly - partly to make it my idea that she backed up and not hers, and partly as a punishment for the behavior of backing up and breaking the cross ties. I sent her backwards until she was tired of it, but made it my idea to stop, not hers. Then I would ask her to go forward again. If she went forward willingly, great. If not, and she stopped and braced against me, then we would go backwards again. This went on for quite a bit, and she was not making any progress to get back into the barn. So, I put a butt rope on her to remind her that going forward was her only option. That only took a couple tries before she was back in the barn. However, to make sure that she would move forward when I asked again, we went back out of the barn, turned around, then came back in. We did that a few times, until it was no longer an issue.
Once we were back in the barn, I cross tied her on her usual side. She stood perfectly still while I put on her saddle pad and saddle. She was a little less fidgety today for the girth, and I was able to get it a little tighter in the barn before finishing it on the grass. Then we went up to the round pen to work. I put the bumpers towards the front of the saddle and pushed her out to work. She was very submissive right away, so I let her come in and moved the bumpers to the back. I sent her out on the circle at a trot. She was quiet at the trot, so I moved her up to a canter. At the canter, the bumpers hit her in a different way, and she definitely noticed. She didn't do anything too dramatic, but every time she would start to canter, she would feel the bumpers and throw in a little buck. Then I would move towards her head quickly to stop the bucking and turn her around to go the other way. This went back and forth for quite a while before she decided she was tired and it wasn't worth the effort to continue to try to buck the bumpers off. They weren't going anywhere! Once she had cantered quietly for several good laps in a row, she dropped her head, licked and chewed, and I let her rest and come to me. We ended the session there.
Back in the barn, she was very still (and tired), and gave me no trouble untacking her and putting her away. There was no time to work with the clippers today, but after all the other drama, I would have opted not to anyway. With all the changes and distractions that Gia had to deal with today, it's hard to say what exactly led to her breaking the cross ties. However, I will definitely be tying her on the more closed side for a while longer! And we will have at least one more round with the bumpers before moving on as well.
Anyway, she stood quite well for her grooming. However, at the same time that I started to bring out the saddle and pad, the person feeding was also in the grain room putting some stuff away. The area where I chose to tie Gia today is also directly beside the grain room, giving her a different vantage point than usual. This distraction could be another reason for today's problem ...
While she was distracted by the feeder, I started to put the saddle pad on her. She fidgeted around a bit, so I started to desensitize her with it. It only took a couple of times putting the pad on and off before she stood still ... or just stopped paying attention to me. But she had moved over too far in the cross ties. So, I went around to the other side to move her back and to desensitize her on that side. Since I don't think she was paying attention to me at all, but rather to the feeder, I think I startled her and she went backwards ... and broke the crossties.
Now, for those of you who don't live near me, or are reading this on a different day, the weather today is also a bit sketchy. We have a tornado watch going on later tonight, with expected winds of up to 70mph. Horses are very sensitive to weather changes like this, so that could also explain the mood that Gia was in this morning that led to her breaking the crossties.
I always leave a lead line attached to a young or green or spooky horse, for just this situation - so that if they do break away, I have a handle on them. So, I grabbed her line and proceeded to back her up very quickly - partly to make it my idea that she backed up and not hers, and partly as a punishment for the behavior of backing up and breaking the cross ties. I sent her backwards until she was tired of it, but made it my idea to stop, not hers. Then I would ask her to go forward again. If she went forward willingly, great. If not, and she stopped and braced against me, then we would go backwards again. This went on for quite a bit, and she was not making any progress to get back into the barn. So, I put a butt rope on her to remind her that going forward was her only option. That only took a couple tries before she was back in the barn. However, to make sure that she would move forward when I asked again, we went back out of the barn, turned around, then came back in. We did that a few times, until it was no longer an issue.
Once we were back in the barn, I cross tied her on her usual side. She stood perfectly still while I put on her saddle pad and saddle. She was a little less fidgety today for the girth, and I was able to get it a little tighter in the barn before finishing it on the grass. Then we went up to the round pen to work. I put the bumpers towards the front of the saddle and pushed her out to work. She was very submissive right away, so I let her come in and moved the bumpers to the back. I sent her out on the circle at a trot. She was quiet at the trot, so I moved her up to a canter. At the canter, the bumpers hit her in a different way, and she definitely noticed. She didn't do anything too dramatic, but every time she would start to canter, she would feel the bumpers and throw in a little buck. Then I would move towards her head quickly to stop the bucking and turn her around to go the other way. This went back and forth for quite a while before she decided she was tired and it wasn't worth the effort to continue to try to buck the bumpers off. They weren't going anywhere! Once she had cantered quietly for several good laps in a row, she dropped her head, licked and chewed, and I let her rest and come to me. We ended the session there.
Back in the barn, she was very still (and tired), and gave me no trouble untacking her and putting her away. There was no time to work with the clippers today, but after all the other drama, I would have opted not to anyway. With all the changes and distractions that Gia had to deal with today, it's hard to say what exactly led to her breaking the cross ties. However, I will definitely be tying her on the more closed side for a while longer! And we will have at least one more round with the bumpers before moving on as well.
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