18 days and counting

Ace was such a brat on Saturday that I decided to limit him to things I knew he could do without driving me to drink. Up until Tuesday, I thought that included longeing. It doesn't. Tuesday when I longed him, he grabbed the line and ran around like a maniac, and you could just see his little brain trying to figure out how to wrap me up in it and spin me like a top. But, he was still very good in cross ties. So, today I decided to put him on cross ties and groom him a little... just to give him a chance to behave and earn a treat.

As usual, through his stall door he was calm and sweet and let me pet his forehead and muzzle and fuss over him. But we all know this is just a ploy to get me in the stall so he can have his way with me. But today, when I went in for him, my mother had just handed him a giant foot long dandelion plant she had pulled out of her garden, and his whole head was full of dandelion. I easily threaded the chain through his halter while he rolled his eyes and munched, completely preoccupied. It was amazing! No shadow boxing. **Note to self: arm yourself with giant wads of foot long dandelion leaves. ** Then he plodded quietly down the aisle on a loose lead ...still munching.

He stood fine on the cross ties, diddling with the ropes while I groomed him, washed under his tail, and sprayed him with fly repellant. He loves his grooming time, and when I go into the tack room to get a mint, he is all attention, waiting expectantly for his goody. He always takes it respectfully, so pleased with his reward. And today I am pleased with him. I have loads of respect for anyone who can raise a stallion to be a well behaved adult.... This is probably why so many stallions end up isolated and locked up in a stall. I can say I feel a whole lot better about him today than I did on Tuesday. Little Monster.

A Battle of Hormones

When I got to the barn today, Ace was standing calmly in his stall and put his nose through the bars in a friendly invitation for petting and nose-kissing. I thought perhaps I would just slip in while he was quiet, and see if he would remain calm and friendly. I immediately discovered that this sweetness was merely a ruse to lure me in so he could get down to his real agenda which was to rape and pillage. Well buddy, if it’s a battle of hormones you want, two can play that game. I went back out for the whapper stick and returned to his shoulder.

He gave me the hairy eyeball and would duck and dodge, teeth barred, frothing, looking for an opening. Each time he made a move to grab at me, I thwacked him in the chest with the whapper. As his frustration increased, he began to shove with his shoulder, and loom over me. If I reached for his halter he pushes towards me, not away and whe I protested, he swung his butt at me. We went a few rounds with the whapper and relearned the “face me” rule. Back to the attempts to bite, and the whapper thwacking. After a little while, Ace wisely conceded that it was still a bad idea to try to bite a human. He opted instead to channel his aggression on the water bucket and the hay net which suffered several attacks. He accepts human dominance, but he hates it.

Last Saturday I gave him another short longe session, and he was just as smart about it as the first time. Two days ago he banged an ankle (most likely pawing at dinner time) and was a little sore and had Bute for a couple of days. He's very good about taking medicine, whether you shoot it in his mouth or mix it in his grain. Today the swelling was done, and he was ready for another learning session. I got the line clipped on him quite easily. I guess he retained the “don’t bite” lesson for at least half an hour and I was rather pleased. Mom showed up at the barn and told me Copy is in heat again. That would explain the rape and pillage agenda, as well as the wall thumping coming from her stall.

Ace’s main focus when I am leading him from his stall to the arena, is oddly not the mare’s stall, but the cross tie area. He is enchanted with it. That’s where he gets fussed over and then he gets a carrot so it’s his favorite place. This is how things go when I allow him in there:

Ace heads for the back corner and the door to the tack room
Ace: “oooo kitty…. I wanna pet the kitty. Here kitty kitty....”
Me: “Ace, no. You can’t go in there. You’re like a bull in a china shop.” I drag him to the left as he reaches for the fly spray bottle, knocking it off it’s hook.

Ace swings around, he sees a double bridle hanging from a hook on the opposite wall, and his eyes widen
Ace: “ooooOOoo That's so cool... what is it?.” He grabs it by the caveson pulling it off the hook. The double bridle unravels into a net of leather, tangling in the lead rope.

Me: “Ace, no. That’s not yours. Please look with your eyes, not your mouth. Let. Go.” Have I ever mentioned that once he has hold of something it’s impossible to remove from his mouth? I pry a finger inside his mouth, poking under his tongue “Let. Go.” Ace loses interest and drops the bridle in a pile on the floor, his eyes moving on to the next interesting object.

Ace: “Hey’s what’s this?” turning off the light switch.

I manage to separate him from the light switch “on-off on-off on-off... look, it moves!” and fasten one cross tie.

Ace: “Ah a SNAP. I loves snaps!” Ace makes a wild grab for the rope.

I struggle to snap the second rope as Ace resorts to a game of keepaway. “NahNahNah you ca-an’t catch me.” AAAAGGGGHHHHH!

So, today we skipped the grooming routine and went straight to longe lessons. Once again, he’s brilliant. He “gets” it. He even seems to enjoy it. I begin introducing planned gait changes and more word commands. He understands “Whoa”, and “Whoop-Trot” (which only applies to downward canter-trot transitions). Today I begin to introduce the others. “Walk” this is a toughie but he finds it somewhere between "whoa" and "trot", a trilling “trot” which is an easy concept and “ca-anter” in a sing songy voice. He begins to catch on. The key to teaching gait changes is timing. You watch what the horse is about to do, and you use the right word.

Ace is getting a big kick out of this. He forgets about rape and pillage and happily lets me approach either shoulder, and pet his face taking credit where credit is due for his excellent obedience. He needs to work on “front and center”. He can’t seem to keep his eyes straight ahead today, but it’s a huge improvement from the vicious stallion attitude he had in his stall. He is a dychotomy of personality. He hates human dominance, but give him a task and he is fully absorbed. His eyes soften, and he looks to his handler for approval glowing with each "good boy".

After about 10 minutes of perfect obedience, he has a hormone surge. Suddenly he is cantering around grabbing for the longe line. He can’t seem to catch it, and it’s making him mad. I stand in the center chuckling at his little melt down. “Ace. ‘Whoa’ !” He comes back to earth a bit dazed and confused. “I don’t know what came over me.” I think learning is over for today. Time to quit.

I turned Ace loose, and he went on patrol of the arena. He found a fresh pile of manure from the Grey Horse, and in the course of five minutes, had pooped on it twice. That boy just isn't right!

Child Prodigy

I would tell you that I taught Ace to longe this weekend, but in actuality, there was no teaching involved. What I did was put the longe line on him and begin to longe him. Both ways, at a walk and a trot. No problems. Ace grabbed the longe line, went to the end of it and began circling like a pro. Within 5 seconds he had judged this new activity as being far more palatable than walking shoulder to shoulder with a human.



The only awkward moment was the first time I told him "whoa" and he refused. Since I had him on the line, I just realed him in. The fact that he was being drawn in by some unseen gravitational force caused him some frustrations, but he finally submitted.




As payback for my new found unseen gravitational force, Ace decided I was not allowed to approach him from the right, which is our oldest argument. But I persist... So he tries to bite. Same old same old.



Sometimes it takes awhile, but eventually he will stand quietly without biting. He feels a lot less smart about himself being on a line, so no snorting or showing off. Just boring work. **sigh**

Was that Submission?

There have been a couple of signs this week that Ace will not always be a naughty boy. First, we had visitors on Saturday, and they wanted to see the horses. Ace was standing guard over the barn from the pipe corral, so we went to visit him first. I warned the visitors that he might bite, but to go ahead and pet him. They petted his face for about five minutes before he showed any signs of being nippy. Mostly, he was friendly and curious. So, that went remarkably well.

Today Ace looked like he really wanted to play. I got the longe whip and went into the arena with him. He raced around for 10 minutes with me not moving a muscle. In and out the door, around this way, back out, back in, around that way. Finally he had enough of me standing about in such a boorish manner, and he had to invite me to interact. He would "whoa" on his own, then sashay up to me like a dancer, mincing his steps, suspended 6 inches above the ground. If I made a move towards him, then he would leap in the air and rocket off again. "Nah na Nah na na... you ca-an't catch me". As his clock began to run down, I enforced "whoa stand" and walked up to him. I put my arm over his back as if I were mounted and pulled my hip up to his side, and stayed with him as he wiggled about and gave me the "hairy eyeball". If he reached to bite, I would tap the bridge of his nose with the butt of the longe whip "no bite". I did this several times on each side, waiting until he was standing quietly before stepping away from him and sending him back out on the circle.

After a few whoa sessions, and getting rapped on the snout for trying to bite, he began chewing, took a deep breath and dropped his head to his knees to study the ground. What's this? Submission?

No I won't.... Yes you will

When I went to catch Ace to lead him in for lunch he was horrible. So, we went for a walk-about in the indoor, and in and out of the sacrifice pen. He was still horrible. Threatening to bite, or rear, or bite me and THEN rear. Copy was in her stall screaming her head off while worrying that I might be sneaking him out of the barn without her knowledge. Guess who's in heat? Suprise suprise.

I marched Ace back in, tied him to the nearest post, and headed back to the tack room to gather my thoughts and more equipment.
Whapper... check
Lead with chain... check
Helmet? I thought about it for a moment.
I went back in, threaded the chain over his nose, unsnapped the rope he was tied with, and gave him a few pre-emptory whapps to let him know I was now officially in charge. Gosh he hates me today. We spent about 5 minutes leading in the arena, and in and out to the pen. Gradually, he settled in and remembered his manners as I doggedly circled and made soothing noises as if he weren't acting like the worst mannered colt in America.

As we were walking, Mom came to the barn... "trying to train Putrid?" Boy she had him pegged today. He was plodding around on a loose chain with his head low.... but certainly only for the moment. I brought him to the cross ties to work on his tail. I've got the rubbing slowed down, but not completely stopped. The vet did fecals on Friday... no worms. Now it's just habit and shedding. He was fine on the crossties, but you could tell he still really hated me and thought I needed a reminder of who is boss. Mom suggested he needed to run around a bit, so back to the arena. I grabbed a longe whip and headed in there with him.

He rocketed around happily.... remember, when I got to the barn he was already out and had had all morning to run around... but he headn't realised how much he hated me yet. After a few minutes I started with the "Whoas". It took four or five, but he remembered and pulled up. I approached him, and he let me stand beside him while he snorted. Snorting is something he picked up the same day he learned "whoa". It's his expression of how proud he is to be obeying a command, and being praised for it. I never heard him snort before that day. Now he does it everytime I praise him for "whoa". Very neat.

The next "whoa" I tried to approach him from the right eye. Not happening. He rocketed off in another direction. As he passed me I snapped him with the whip, made him circle a few times, then "whoa" again. This time he allowed me to approach from that side, snorting proudly as he accepted my authority and was rewarded. What was an unruly wild stallion had become a mannerly trained horse. Each time I could come up to his side or head on, pet his nostrils and forehead, and put my hand on his back without being challenged or even nipped at. Who would think this obedient and docile animal had threatened to pick me up and shake me not 20 minutes earlier. We did this a few more times, then my goal became to "whoa" in each of the four corners of the arena. We had the front two down pat, but the rear corners were tough. I kept him in the back half until I got one back corner stuck. We "whoa"ed two or three times in that one then worked on the last one.

No I won't... Yes you will... the first few times I got him stopped in that corner, he did not allow me to step forward before he barreled past me headed for the gate. Each time I snapped him as he bombed past. No I won't... Yes you will... Once he seriously looked like he was going over first me and then the gate and probably would have had Mom not been waving her arms and hollering.... back to the backside, and you're not coming out until I say so. A few minutes of me immitating a cutting horse, and he finally gave in.

Now mind you, while this "natural horsemanship" (which I guess I was practicing back before it was called that and we referred to it as "common sense" instead) approach has gotten him trained to "whoa" and accept my approach while he stands like a statue, he has certainly not "joined up". There is no calm drop of the head, no relaxed chewing of the jaw, very little submission. He waits proudly for me to come up and tell him what a smart cookie he is and his pride in himself grows to the point where he has to snort to let off some happiness. But hey, he's standing still, and he's letting me touch him all over his head without him having to warn me off with his dominance so it is a resounding success. Testosterone successfully rechanneled.

"Whoop-Trot" and "Whoa-Stand"

Today was farrier day, and I decided that the farrier would probably benefit from Ace running off some steam. So, while we were waiting, Ace learned the first two most important commands that a Saddlebred knows. And they are "Whoop-Trot" and "Whoa-Stand".

"Whoop-Trot" is for keeping the horse in his trot. Good for when the horse is breaking into a canter or into a rack. Basically anytime he's about to "come off his feet" from a trot. "Whoa-Stand" is universal.

Ace was already in the arena/turnout when I got there. So, I just ran him around a little. Actually, he needed no encouragement. He galloped around and around and in and out the doors for about 10 minutes until he was sweaty and breathless. Now, the key to horse training (and I forget who I'm quoting) is "to see what a horse is about to do, and tell him to do it. Then he thinks you made him do it." I started with "Whoop-Trot" when he was getting tired. It's basically just a soothing command.

After he was trotting this way and that for me instead of galloping, we moved on to "Whoa" and "Stand" This he caught on to quicker than I expected. He let me come up to him, and only challenged me with a playful rear a couple of times. When this faux pas is committed, I simply snap him behind the elbow with the whip and send him out again. Shortly he was waiting expectantly for me to approach him. His happy, eager face was a reward in itself, and he let me handle his head without biting, and move to his shoulder.

Then he learned "Stand" which means "front and center, no biting, we're not going to wrestle." A few raps on the nose with the rubber end of the whip and he was standing quietly (not reaching to bite) while I walked around him and petted him from both sides, and stood with him. He needs to learn to stand solid for me to approach him if we are to move on to long lines and ground driving. A lot of adjustments could need to be made, and he needs to stand patiently until he is asked to move. This he passed with flying colors.

He was very interested in this new program. So much so that when the lunch lady (Mom) came to the barn, he remained focused on me and happy in his work. The farrier was running late, so I ended up heading back to the office before he got there, but Mom emailed the following report:

...As for Acey's manners, he gets an A plus, plus, plus from me. He stood the whole time and never had to be leaned up to the wall. He held the whapper stick in his mouth. It is very flat in the middle now, really! Running some steam off for him first was a great help to us all!

The boy is an Ace in cross ties (no pun intended!).

A Very Good Day

This has been a very stressful week. It all started last Saturday morning when I opened an email from our vet and read the insulin results for my Grey Horse and Mom's gelding. Grey had a high reading (last year's was normal) and Face-Off was off the charts at a whopping 157 (the top reading on the normal scale is 40). This proved what we knew to be true. Face-Off was in the middle of a medical emergency, teetering on the edge of full blown founder. He needed a crash diet to bring his insulin level down.



To drive the point home, his half brother Hairy, who had foundered several weeks earlier, was failing fast. Hairy, never more than pasture sound for most of his adult life, had battled his sore feet cheerfully for several weeks. As he worsened, Mom made the tough decision to euthanize him in the coming week. We were both sort of wondering if we were making the right decision. Hairy made it for us on Sunday when he opted not to get up for breakfast. The arrangements were moved up to that afternoon, and Hairy lay in his stall all day on heavy pain killers, eating every forbidden treat Mom could find him. He never got up until Mom asked him to make the effort and walk to his grave where he was peacefully laid to rest in the sunshine while eating his fill of sweet feed. Here is my favorite of Hairy's baby pictures. He was the last baby we raised and lived to be 10 years old. He never left the farm, and was pampered his whole life. As you can see, even as a baby he was a little chub.



The fear that Face-Off was soon to suffer the same fate sent us both into a whirlwind of soaking hay, and researching diet options. Face-Off's energy level was very low and the foot soreness, typical of an Insulin Resistant horse, was worsening. Our sole focus all week was Face-Off and Grey and finding them a healthier diet. One afternoon I returned to my office and realised I hadn't even said "Hello" to Copy. Ace, whose hormones have been on red alert, was an added handful. Mom declared him officially "not a project for a beginner".



But today was a good day. Mom has worked out a system for soaking the hay. We have learned a lot and made some other diet changes. We have the supplies to test our hay for Carbohydrate and Sugar levels, and everyone is feeling better. Face-Off even trotted to the gate today. He hasn't felt good enough to trot in well over a month.



I had a nice ride in our little indoor. Grey proved again that he has matured into a well trained and perfectly behaved mount. I even took my stirrups up and did five minutes of trotting without them. I haven't done that in ages, and it proves that these past weeks at the gym are paying off.



Ace was acting starved for positive human interaction. A result of five rounds with the whapper stick the other day? Probably not. I was out in the arena sifting through the footing for the upteenth time searching for my expensive Blocker Tie Ring that Ace had removed from the eyebolt on the wall, and he was shadowing me, giving me no peace. He obviously wanted to play Wild Stallion, and I appeared to be the most likely partner. I did find my Ring, which is great because the darn things are expensive, and that put me in an even better mood. I decided to teach Ace something constructive.



I went and got the longe whip and introduced the idea of free longing. Ace wanted to stop at the gate each time and switch directions at will. I kept him to a more structured program. With the help of some bits of carrots I also tried the concept of "Whoa", which was not as well received. But he did stop a few times and let me come up and stand beside him. I had left the back door open and he finally decided he had had enough of my "rules" and exited.



With his excess energy run off, I thought it would be a good time to groom him. I brought him in and put him on crossties, which I haven't done since just after Thanksgiving. He stood like a rock, chewing happily on the snap the whole time. He let me wash under his tail and pick out all four feet. He did fling his hind feet around a bit, but not too bad, and all he got was a verbal correction.

While most people are lamenting the disappearance of their cute, fuzzy weanlings and the arrival of shaggy, pot bellied, pencil necked yearlings, I am admiring my perfect miniature replica of a beautiful horse. Ace is nicely proportioned and fit. His coat is thick but short like plush velvet. Just a little brushing brought out a healthy gleam that made him look as if he had been blanketed all winter. After his grooming, we went for a little walk around the arena. All the naughty antics of last week were noticeably absent. Ace is acting like a normal, reasonable youngster instead of the Devil incarnate. It was a very pleasant change.

Too big for his halter, AND his britches

Ace is on the verge of outgrowing his halter. The weanling one rubs in spots, but still basically fits. The yearling one is a touch too big, especially around the throat. As I was trying them on today, something I've done periodically, Ace suddenly also outgrew his britches.

He was good for quite a while. I sprayed Listerine on his tail and even though it stung a bit, all he did was clamp it. I brushed his mane, and touched his ears. He's a good boy now and then, believe it or not. Then I wanted to try the yearling halter on. I took the smaller one off, put the bigger one on. Took that off, made an adjustment. Put it back on. Decided it was too big in the throat to leave on. Took it off, and when I went to put the small one back on, we had our altercation.



Since he is very mouthy, one of his favorite games is to grab the chin strap as you are putting the halter on, and refuse to let go. I was having little luck prying it out of the iron grip of his jaws (he gets better and more determined at this all the time). We were in his stall, and he was standing against the wall and he kept getting taller and taller and was looking down sideways at me with a glint in his eye. The "Hairy Eyeball". As I struggled and fussed at him, he began to get a little shovey, and his body language said loud and clear "I'm winning this little battle, perhaps I should knock you over, tap dance on your backside and finish you off". He wasn't rearing, but he was hovering above me, and he wasn't striking, but he had a front leg poised in mid-air. He started to push me with his shoulder....



Mom (who has always got my back) said from the doorway, do you need the whapper stick? "Yup", while continuing to pry, I quietly reached behind me and grabbed the stick as she handed it to me. You see, I'm quiet around horses. Mom likes to beller her disapproval. I speak softly and carry a big stick. Well, actually it is quite short, but it's loud. Ace (still clamped on the halter) whipped his neck at me and I reached my limit. "I've had it with you, you little snot!" WHAP on the side. In shock, Ace dropped the halter and spun into the corner. Then his body language said "would you like both barrels or would one be enough?"



I take a dim view of horses turning their butt to me in the stall. It's one thing if they are afraid and defensive, then I am reassuring. But when they're mad and consider retaliation, it's time to learn the "face me" rule. WHAPWHAPWHAP on his butt. The hollow, lightweight Whapper stick makes a lovely sound. Oh, you should hear it! Ace's eyes got real big and he spun to face me. "Good boy", I reached out my hand in an offer of friendship, and he stepped forward, ears up ready to make peace. His expression clearly said "what's gotten into you?"

I tried to move him over to the wall again and get to his left side. Nuthin doin. Especially without a halter on. WHAPWHAPWHAP on his butt. Again he faced me with the shocked and innocent look. "Sorry Ace, I know you don't "get" it, but you'll figure it out pretty quick Mr. Smarty Pants." Again with the butt. It took 4 or 5 tries before he would move over to the wall again. I quickly moved to his side, put my arm over him and patted him so he knew he had finally done the right thing.

I positioned the halter and swiftly and deftly slipped it over his muzzle, as he frantically grabbed for it, and buckled it behind his ear. So... has Ace learned to behave or have I learned to put the halter on quicker ?

The Temperment Scale

You know that temperment scale that they put on horse ads where you're supposed to rate your horse's temperment on a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being "very calm" and 10 being "very high-spirited" ? I often ponder that scale because what you get used to every day might be a whole lot hotter than you actually realise. Saddlebreds are notoriously "hot". My grey gelding is probably a consistent 8. My mother's gelding is about a 3, and Ace's dam Copy is a pretty steady 2. Ace's sire, from what I've seen, I would rate around a 4. Ace has turned out to be a 10...+...+........+. Yep, I think three pluses ought to just about cover it.

Today I went through the normal routine. I led him around for five minutes then made it through the gate and up the aisle in a very orderly manner. Well, the leading in the arena wasn't very orderly, but we'll get to that. I put him in his stall, made him wait a few minutes, then gave him his lunch. It took about 15 minutes for him to clean up, then I brought him back out. You see, he wasn't particularly well behaved the first time, and I thought I'd do some more work after he had his routine and hunger satisfied.

You see, he is quite nice to work around in the stall, but he is soooooo high energy any time he is outside of it. When I got there, he was standing at the arena gate literally jumping up and down. I had a heck of a time getting a chain on him. As soon as you reach for him he tries hard to bite and I'm getting sick of it. So I gave him an uppercut to the chin with my left hand. He backed off and did the "na-na-na-na-na" routine just out of my reach. No problem. There is a tie rope hanging right there. I got the rope snapped pretty easily, and then went in and with him securely tied, put the chain over his nose. "Pttthhhh, so there".

He knows that as soon as he walks nicely we can go in and eat. But, it ain't easy. He spends plenty of time dancing around. He finds it absolutely impossible to walk past the open back door quietly. Heck, no horse goes past an open arena door quietly. Their eyes don't adjust well to the darkLIGHTdark so they always spook. I get it. Actually, it's sort of comforting as a rider to realise you can't even lead a horse past a door, much less ride one past without a reaction. So, what I do is lead him to the door frame, stop, let him look, then we start past. This helps, but half the time he ends up dancing around in a circle. OR he bulls into me with a shoulder. THAT's not allowed. Bulling gets you poked in the shoulder with the whip. He hates that. Hates it. Sometimes he balks. Balking gets you a swish in the butt with the whip. You know how he reacts the third or fourth time he gets reprimanded for balking? This:

He flat out refuses at first to move forward, and he does a perfect Levade in hand. It looks very much like that photo, only in our version, I'm facing forward and swishing behind me with my outside hand. The swishing turns to tapping, tapping becomes snapping....Levade.

Besides being willful, he is in constant motion. I swear, every time I look at him, he has his tail up over his back, his head thrown up, and he is headed somewhere. Today it made me think of this illustration from Will James's Smoky.

I hope this Smoky the Cow Horse thing is not going to be a common theme throughout his life.....

So, I decided to do more work after lunch. We headed down the aisle with his head down, on a loose lead, and I thought "oh good, he's going to be calm and steady now". WRONG.

We went through all the same antics. The shying, the shoulder bulling, the balking, the Levade. I try to get a few moments of orderly behavior and call it quits. Today we have lost our "Whoa". It is impossible to discipline him at this point. I ask for "whoa", he bulls into me with his shoulder, dances in a circle... I tug on the shank, stick the butt of the whip in his shoulder and shove him against the wall.."WHOA". Ace gets all upset rearing a bit and trying to flee. Why? Because #1 he hasn't been paying attention so he has no idea why he's in trouble, therefore #2 I must be "mean" and "attacking" him.... gee this is going well. I manage to get the chain off him between being bitten and shoved at. I'm done. Go do what ever it is you feel is so important.

Ace takes off in a cloud of dust making several laps around the arena. When I leave, he is at the gate again, bucking and kicking in place, whinnying and generally throwing a fit. Just like he was when I got here. Nice to see you too. Will this EVER stop?

Hotter than a $2 Pistol

I wish there was a way to put background music on blogger. That's the song I would put on today. When I got to the barn today, Ace was hoppin' mad. It was lunch time, and he was still out. OMG! I ignored him a bit, making preparations for the vet who was there to do some dental work. Every time I went past Ace he hopped up and down and whinied. He was having an absolute hissy over the perceived injustice. Namely that his schedule had been disrupted, a fact we humans seemed oblivious to.

In my own time, I ran a chain over his nose and went in with him. He would love, at this point, to barge through the gate, and drag me to his stall where hopefully, lunch would already be served. So, that has to be the exact opposite of what happens. First I led him around the arena a little. He did marvelous. He must be catching on? He takes the lead strap in him teeth, and marches me around a couple of laps each way.

Then, once he has proven to be a well behaved young man, we proceed to the gate. The first time he rushes right through it, visions of lunch dancing in his head. SoooOoooo, we do it again. That is the only "punishment". If he can't be polite, we will do it again until the activity looses it's excitement quotient, and he can do it right. It only took two tries. That is much better than our walk from his stall to the arena on Saturday morning. We had to try that one five times before he gave up and realised he had to contain his exuberance for a whole 30 seconds. You rush, we turn around and go the other way. Simple as that.

Once he is in his stall, lunch does not arrive immediately. See, there was no need to rush back afterall. This baby raising thing takes a lot of self control. You have to keep in mind that what might be easy today... grab the little sucker and throw him in the stall so he will Shut.Up. will make your life that much more difficult when you realise you have a thousand pound brat who constantly acts on impulse. That must not happen.

Refresher Course

Ace had forgotten how to lead. Well, not entirely... he is led back and forth to the indoor arena where he runs in and out everyday. But that is pretty routine, and there isn't much room for error. What he had forgotten how to do was to walk along shoulder to shoulder with me without dancing and prancing and giving me the hairy eyeball while he weighed his choices.
a) put one front hoof on each of my shoulders
b) grab my ear and twist
c) take off and do something more interesting

So, today we had a refresher course. I put a shank over his nose mostly because running it through the side ring is a close to getting it up out of his reach as possible. I put a long whip with a short lash in my other hand trailing it behind me. Then, I tried walking around with him in the arena. At first it was pretty disorganised as he tried to put one front hoof on each of my shoulders, grab my ear and twist, and finally to take off and do something more interesting. Nippy little b-----d. I very patiently continued walking with little reminders "no don't bite the shank" "waaaallllllk" "stop dancing". I kept him along the wall to prevent his fishtailing around and if he lagged behind I would reach back with the whip and tap his bottom. Within about five minutes he had remembered his lessons and was plodding along on a loose lead at my shoulder working his jaw and looking around. Pretty unusual for a weanling who goes everywhere at a dash. From time to time we practiced "whoa" while I scratched on his withers and told him what an excellent little guy he was being.

Then we tried the off side. I haven't tried leading him from the off side since our last battle of wills on the matter. The last thing I want is a horse who will only circle around me to the left. If nothing else, it makes it more difficult to teach them to longe later on. So, I went to his off side, positioned him against the wall again, and tried to get him started up. It took a few minutes to get him started up and walking on a loose lead, but we got it accomplished without so much as an exchange of strong words. Again we "whoa"ed and had a wither scratching. Such a good boy. And having to use his brain and do what he was asked seemed to calm him and give him a sense of satisfaction.

Now, on the the thing that has been bothering me the most. Socialization. Ace is still being turned out alone. He can see other horses all the time, and he gets to socialise with them over gates but that is it. Ideally, we would have at least one other horse his age, or maybe a yearling to turn him out with, but no such luck.. He is an only child. To make matters worse, there are no older horses suitable to turn him out with. Our choices are:
a) Copy ~ obvious problem. We've gotten past weaning. It will be a long time until he is turned out with her again, and he will be gelded for sure.
b) Hairy ~ Hairy is so submissive that Ace was wearing him out. Hairy's stifles have been bothering him since late summer, and he doesn't need to be chased around all day. And Hairy was only reinforcing Ace's belief that he is king of the herd.
c) Face-Off ~ very dominant, grouchy and physically violent. He would hurt Ace and we don't want to cripple him for life before his first birthday.
d) Grey ~ Also very dominant (he and Face-Off were prepared to fight to the death) but not as grouchy and mean. Mostly foolish and poorly socialized.

I've been aching to put Grey and Ace out together for some time. Since both of them were mellow and quiet today (and since it is a weekday, so a vet call would not have weekend charges on it) I thought it would be a good time to try. I put them out together in the 50x50 indoor with the doors closed so they wouldn't be ramming in and out of doorways. They played for a minute or two, then (as expected) Ace decided to mount Grey. Grey bellowed in indignation "you presumptuous little s--t!" and ran backwards kicking. Ace caught by surprise, made tracks in the other direction. That was the first time anyone had objected to THAT! In fact, Mom seemed to like it.

They played a little cat and mouse for a few minutes. When Ace got too pushy, Grey put him into the wall and tried to kick him. It would be better to have a larger area to introduce them where they wouldn't be as likely to have to cross paths, and where the underdog could escape easier. We only left them together for 10 minutes. They did have some friendly moments, and were beginning to relax. The best part was watching Ace stand off to himself and study Grey and begin to process the fact that there was someone bigger and pushier than he is. We'll let them process this for a couple of days, continue to socialize over the gate everyday, and next time I feel it is a good day to, we'll put them to gether again and see if we've made some progress.

Pole Dancer

Today I brought a ground pole out into the arena for Ace to step over. He found it to be a very suspicious item. First he snuck up on it with just his front feet.... the camera snapped just as he began his departure.

Then he used it as an excuse to run around like a nut.

After he settled down, I got a rope and led him over it a few times. Actually, I confess, first I tried to lead him to it without a rope, and he balked, then shifted to reverse, and was about to drop the clutch when I saw his little thought process go..."Uh-oh, pulling away from you would probably be a big 'no-no' wouldn't it?" Yes, young man, it would and I appreciate you keeping that in mind... What a good boy!

I left it out there while I groomed my gelding and Copy and I heard him clunk over it a few times on his own for fun. Of course I'm not expecting him to grow up to be a jumper, but he needs to learn to follow me over strange stuff, which he did with no problem. And in doing so, he convinced me he will probably have no natural jumping ability whatsoever as he managed to step on it with all four feet on his way over. I've been told that Copy is quite a bold jumper, but perhaps it skipped a generation!

The Cross Ties

Yesterday little Acey stood on the crossties for his grooming just like a big boy. This included picking out all for feet with no problem. Then I left him so I could go to the tack room and get him a cookie. He is still small enough that a Dumor treat has to be broken in thirds for him. He was so cute standing there trying to act all grown up. I'm sure it helps that most of his life he has watched other horses stand there. He did mess with the ties a whole lot but did not move around unless asked. I think next time I am going to try snapping the ties to the upper rings of his halter. Although I've never seen it done I've heard a portion of the the horse owning population does that with no problems It actually makes sense since it removes the ties from temptation's reach.

Our walks are going well. He is very "brave" and eager to go anywhere I ask.

The Tree

I'm still chuckling a little about Ace's walkabout yesterday. He was much more relaxed and did less rearing and frisking around. We grazed and explored up along the paddock, then down the drive. I noticed he was giving the horse trailer parked in the lawn the "hairy eyeball", so we went over to take a closer look. He walked up to it, gaining confidence from me, and we walked around the back. As we turned the second corner, Ace had an "Oh Shit" moment.

All of a sudden, his legs went in every direction and he squatted low to the ground and swapped ends. At first I couldn't tell what spooked him, but when he stood back up he sort of cowered and looked up... Ooohhh the TREE! He was so busy looking at the trailer, he didn't realise until it was too late that he had walked under the low hanging pin oak tree right beside the trailer. A pin oak always tries to reach down and touch the ground with the lower branches, so it is trimmed at about 6 feet from the ground and it's dense limbs are still full of golden chestnut colored leaves spreading in a solid, tent like canopy.

"It's OK Ace, it's just a tree... can you touch it?" Ace reached up warily and sniffed the leaves. Lucky for him the oak tree turned out to be a peaceful creature. He had much less of a reaction to the firewood covered in billowing plastic. That big hulking mass of leaves that came close to swallowing him was much more surprising. You should see the holes and skid marks he left in the lawn.

After our walk I brought him into the cross ties and half tied him with my husband's help. Tim held Ace's second tie while I groomed. I found that Ace loves the inside of his hind legs scratched. He was very steady and stood still seeming to really enjoy his grooming. I don't think it will be long until he will be used to the routine and I will be able to cross tie him myself without incident. In fact, I've never seen him stand in one place that long... ever. He has been in perpetual motion since the day he was born. Oh, by the way, this is his seven month birthday today. Happy Birthday Ace!

Well that went well....

Today I took Ace on a walkabout. First we went up to the paddock to fraternise with Pinky.

Then we tried to relax and eat grass in the yard. That took awhile. My stepdad brought his fourwheeler past and hooked up to the arena drag because he was working on the footing in the indoor arena. The sand was very compacted, and I was worried when it froze this winter it would be an ice rink. Since it is our turnout of last resort, it imperative that the footing in there remain safe. So he had been adding a new load of sand and leveling it. That set Ace off a little and he got stuck in merry-go-round mode.

I thought he was being pretty good. I would give him an A- for ease of installing the chain over his nose, and removing it. And a B+ for leading. In fact after we had been out 10 minutes Mom commented that he was being really good considering he hadn't been turned out yet today. Hmmmmm... that I didn't know. OK, he was being really, really good!

The "whapper stick" comes in real handy to push him away without having to pull on the lead all the time. He did settle down to eat grass for awhile but remained on high alert. We grazed for about 10 minutes, and worked our way out to the house drive and back. He did rear up a few times playfully but didn't strike or crowd. He just really really felt good to be out. My plan is to take him for a walk each day. I was happy that he did not seem attached to the barn and took his new found freedom all in stride with polite manners. Getting some fresh grass was also important. That will be gone within a month.

First Snow

Today Ace got his first good look at snow. Only out the door, not in it. But it still made an impression. As soon as I turned him loose in the arena I could tell he had noticed that the entire outside world had gone..... blank. Yikes! The end of the world as we know it! Or at least an infestation of something! He did an immediate about face and tried to climb in my pocket, but I was ready for this, and was already slipping out between the gates . He wasn't quick enough. It took awhile for him to get bold enough to go near the doors, but he finally did. ...With a lot of snorting and tail flagging.

Beyond that... I'm tired. Tired of this weaning thing. My belief is that the less you handle a colt, the less chance you have to create bad manners. Yes, you need to handle them, do things that need to be done like grooming and hooves, and teach them to tie and load. But excessive handling beyond the day to day necessity just creates more situations where the colt will test you.... and that many more times for you to fail to appropriately train them. As a handler or trainer, you have to choose your battles. Discretion is the better part of valor. Timing is the better part of horse training. So, Ace gets 10-15 minute training sessions once every week or two, depending on both his mood and my frame of mind.

Now I've worked with a few "outlaw" or supposed "outlaw"horses. All but one of them were not really truely bad if handled correctly. But, if you frequent the internet chat sites, you will hear all kinds of stories about horses who border on being downright vicious. Some turn out to have physiological problems ranging from brain tumors to hidden pain issues. Most of them are just dominant horses who have never gained respect for humans, or fearful horses who have never gained confidence. Both ends of the spectrum are the result of poor handling. Either too much or unfair discipline, or no discipline at all.

After reading one new story today on COTH, the nagging fear that this dominant, high spirited colt might have the potential to grow up to be a real darn handful, prompted me to give him a five minute session. After his decent behavior for the farrier yesterday, I was willing to give him (and me) a day off. But his anxious pushy behavior today changed my mind. All I have to do is put a lead rope on him to judge whether he needs to be taken down a peg or not. Today was one of those days.

I want him to walk on a loose line and follow at my shoulder. This is something he is perfectly capable of and has already learned to do. Today, he was shouldering into my space and trying to shove with his head. Armed with only a rope, and my beloved "Whapper Stick" I circled him once to the left with not much trouble, just a bit of nippiness. To challenge him, I then switched sides and asked him to lead off with me on his right side. First he flat out refused. I turned to face him and on a longer lead pulled him to unlock his brakes, first to the right, then to the left. I expected him to follow me and the rope around each direction in a circle. He did. Then I tried to cross back over to his right side.

He didn't want me over there and backed around to keep me on his left. He stomped first his right hoof, then his left, not really striking, but thinking about it.... "Whap Whap Whap" in the chest, I backed him off 10 feet. Try again. From his right side (I won!) I asked him to step forward. He bulled into me with his neck and right shoulder. "WHAP" high on his neck. Look of suprise from Ace. Ask again. Rear up and start to run backwards. OK, "whap whap whap" on the chest again. "NO rearing." Rear up and run backwards again. "Whap" on the ribs. Submission. Ace sighed, began to chew and walked off on a loose lead with me on his right. "GOOD Boy". "Pet pet pet."

I walked him about for another minute. Stopping twice to pet. He was a bit nippy. Each time he reached for the rope he got poked in the nose with the whapper. "Eh.. no bite". The battle line had been drawn. Ace had challenged my authority. I had responded immediately each time with a startling yet painless form of aggression. Ace had submitted, and was praised. Life was fair. I am boss. Ace is not. End of lesson. Time to go in for lunch. I'll say it again. I'm tired.

Farrier....B+

Ace was prety good for the farrier. I put him out and let him run for about 15 minutes before we worked on him, then tied him in the grooming area and held the other line like a cross tie. He was a bit impatient with the first hoof, which was the right front. He yanked that one away a few times and pulled back and fussed etc. He was better than I expected with both hind feet. Our farrier is very good with the horses. He rarely asks for me to get after a horse, and it usually has to be fairly extreme before he does. He was able to hang on those hind feet better than I can and as a result had less of a struggle from Ace. When Ace would lean on him or try to bully him with his shoulder, Kim would just shove back a little and "talk horse" to Ace. They got along well, as they have from the beginning, and Kim seemed happy with his behavior for a cocky little weanling. Although, when he came in the barn and I was swooshing Ace around he said "maybe you ought to do that a little bit longer". I will say it again... teaching a horse to tie to the wall for a length of time is the single best thing you can do. After he was tied he knew he was supposed to stand. Not that he was happy about it or anything....

Cross Ties

Do they call them cross ties because they make everyone cross?

Today Ace went out in the arena by himself. I'm sick and tired of how he is treating Hairy, and Hairy is only reinforcing Ace's dominance. All play dates have been put on hold until we can get him in with Face-Off who will not be pushed around. Ace was good, but finding himself alone he did immediately rinse his mouth. Then he started anxiously ripping hay out of the hay bag. I went and got my gelding and put him on the crossties so Ace wouldn't feel so alone. When we went out for a ride, Ace was fine.

Afterwards, we worked on becoming familiar with the grooming area. I've walked him in there each day, but have been unable to get him to stand. The farrier is coming tomorrow, so standing went to the top of my list of priorities. I shortened one cross tie (they are on blocker rings) and tied Ace to the wall, then moved the lead rope to the other side of his halter, and held that side effectively like a human cross tie, while Mom groomed him. I kept him in line by shoving him around a bit with the "wapper stick" and all went well. He did grow impatient, but I was fairly pleased with his behavior.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's farrier report!

Instilling some manners and respect

Yesterday I stopped by the barn with my husband to visit Ace. He hadn't seen him in awhile. I caught Ace and tied him to the wall briefly as, once again, I didn't have barn shoes on. When I turned him loose, he reared straight up as if to say "screw you... you stinky human.... you are NOT the boss of me." In fact, the past week, Ace's entire view of the world has been "screw you". Copy is in heat, and I don't know why some people are naive enough to assume that their yearling or two year old colt will not breed his mother, just because they are related. If I gave Ace a step stool, he'd get the job done today. Yes MA'AM ! On the drive home, my husband said... "you know, that rearing thing is going to have to stop." Well said.

Today was a rainy day, and thus devoted to Ace and his manners. Once I got him caught... not easy since he was busy playing "wild stallion"... I tied Copy and put a chain over Ace's nose for the first time ever. I also had a short riding whip in my hand butt up. Goal for today was "no biting... no striking... and NO rearing." Usually, Mom lets him hold the lead rope which makes him happy and keeps him from biting HER. But, first on today's list of rules was "no biting", and that included the shank.

Ace tried to grab the shank from me. I popped him with the chain. "OUCH, you meany, I'm not staying to play with you." Ace threw it into reverse.... Another **pop** with the chain. Ace's eyes got real wide, and if he had eyebrows, they would have shot up. "The humans have invented new equipment!" He is very very very smart. He immediately stopped to assess my demeanor, the new equipment, and to test out the ground rules. So as not to entice him into his rearing and striking behavior, I stayed back by his shoulder against him with my arm over his back stroking his other side. He reached around to try to bite me instead. **Crack** on the bridge of the nose with the butt of the crop. He didn't see that coming. In fact with the whip in the same hand as the shank, he couldn't really see me move at all, because I didn't want this to become a game which makes him head shy.

I led him off, and practiced "whoa". Again he tested me, but any missteps were met with a light tug on the chain, and any nips towards the shank or me were met with a tap on the snout. In about three minutes he had figured things out. I try not to reprimand with a "No" since that sounds too much like "Whoa". My reprimand is "Eh" or "Quit". We walked and whoaed. While we were whoaed, I touched him all over, and picked up all four feet. Ace stood quietly and respectfully for all of it. No nipping. No fidgeting. You could tell he was thinking hard, and his frequent pooping gave away his inner nervousness as he learned to cope with being attached to this "human with expectations".

I took him with me through the gate to the tack room to get a rope, and tied him to the arena wall for a bit while I talked to me step dad over the gate. He started to paw (his new trick). I stood about 4 feet behind him, and every time he lifted a front leg, I snapped his butt with the whip and told him "Quit!" He would lift a leg, and cock an ear to see if he was going to get away with it or not. Smart smart naughty colt. If my reaction wasn't quick enough **bang** on the wall. Then, because the rearing was so pronounced last time I turned him loose from the wall, I had left the shank on him draped over his shoulder, and when we were done tying, instead of turning him loose, we went for another walkabout on the shank. He was a reformed colt, walking politely, and standing soberly and still while I touched him all over.

So the problems start when you mess with his head (getting the lead snapped and unsnapped) and anytime you are standing in front of him. I did cross in front of him several times so I could repeat my handling on his off side. Anytime I got up by his head, reached between his front legs or touched his chest, he would start trying to nip again. Getting the chain off wasn't too hard. I reached under his chin and unsnapped it from the ring and worked it out of the halter while standing back by his shoulder, the butt of the whip in my left hand ready to rap his nose.

So, yesterday I was worried that I was the part owner of an incorrigible truant stallion, and today I am proud of my smart, trainable colt. As long as you lay down the ground rules, stay consistent, and ask and reprimand for the same things the same way every time, this horse training stuff isn't a problem. It sounds like a big task, I know. It is a huge responsibility to bring up a foal and turn him into a grown up, well trained, honest horse. But don't be fooled into thinking that it is any different when you are handling a trained adult horse. They are learning every day, and every time you handle them, you are teaching them something, be it good or bad. Just remember that.

First time off the farm

Ace went for his first trailer ride yesterday, and all went well. We tied Copy and left Ace loose, and just drove about 2 miles around the block. He seemed just fine. I didn't hear any fussing back there, and the trailer hauled smoothly.

Afterwards, I took him out of the stall alone, led him around a bit, then tied him to the wall for five minutes. He did call for Copy, but was pretty well behaved. Then we went to visit each of the other horses, and then turned him back out with Copy. We are taking baby steps towards getting him disconnected from his Mom so weaning will be less traumatic.