I have been enjoying sliding out of the office and riding my horse during my lunch hour. I have also been horrified on how out of shape Pete and I are after a year of fun in the mountains.
I can't find my marker on my circles. Pete is absolutely no help.
You have to understand, I always find my markers. I haven't had to look after my first set of circles for years.
Now I find myself wandering all over the arena.
So it's back to school for Pete and I. We'll be doing spirals up and down while hitting our mark with every circle.
We'll be transitioning through trot, lope walk, run and finding our mark.
And so on.
I'm not in a panic, I know it will kick in, but I have sure rolled up my sleeves and am digging in.
Which leads me to my next train of thought.
My colt Leland and my only teaching him things once.
It's obvious to me that Pete and I need to school and build our muscle memory again. Which takes repetition.
But, even though I haltered Leland once and decided he now knew how to be haltered doesn't mean I never halter him again.
It simply means I approach him from now on with the assumption he understands what I want from him.
It has been working just fine.
So when we start our reined work when he's four, he will have been treated this way every time, he will (hopefully) be tuned to the learning process I'm using and will actively seek finding the new thing we're working on that day.
So the first day on a circle would be to let me guide him in a circle.
The next ride would begin with the circle, then I would start to ask him to carry himself through on a loose rein. That would be the new task.
Each lesson would involve something new, but he would still be getting the repetition he needs and I would quit for the day when he was successful with the new task.
I'm starting to realize this is a change in my expectations, of myself and Leland, but not so much my training.
This process of one step at a time has also helped me.
I have talked before about my horses having a built in hesitation that I would like to get rid of.
When I ask for something, be it a lead, a spin or a hip, all my horses hesitate for a brief second.
It's like they're saying, "Are you sure?"
When I saddled Leland and sent him out in the pen the other day he went out fine. He was a little humpy, but it was no big thing.
I made him walk and trot until he relaxed.
He showed no inclination to lope around, but I didn't really think about it.
Until I started thinking about my next step that is.
I realize now he didn't lope because he was unsure of the saddle.
I rewarded his hesitation by quitting for the day, even though we have covered walk, trot, lope in previous sessions.
I should have made him lope too.
So now, our next session will be about moving forward when I say, something I have already covered.
So I've created a back track. Dang it.
I also have found where the hesitation I hate so much begins.Right there at the first saddling.
So this is a real good exercise for me, even if it is a little nutso.
I am truly working on the Sonita story. I'm not holding out, I just want it to be right.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Stopping, Suppling and Snaffle Bits
I got this letter in an email. I edited it down some, but kept the important parts.
Alexis said: I had a question for you about my 9 yr. old gelding, Smoke.
I bought him when he was 5, and he was just serviceably broke.
Fast forward to now--he has a very nice stop, handles himself well and stays collected in a nice frame, picks his leads up and can carry it on any size circle.
It took me several months to get him to soften on the bit, and drop his nose as he stopped, rather than doing a bad impression of a giraffe. I put so much time and effort into getting that soft, collected stop that now, I have another issue to deal with.
When I stop my horses, I always ask them to back at least three or four steps. With Smoke, he stops, tucks his nose, and backs about 2 steps. If I ask him to back any more, he simply tucks his head to his chest. Now, I admit, I like for him to soften through his poll and neck before I back him up, but I'm at a loss as to how to get the next few steps out of him!
Ideally, I would like to be able to lope a circle, ask for a stop, then be able to back him up a foot or so without having to pull on his mouth. He's not doing any thing wrong per se, simply doing what I'd been asking him before by softening his face and poll.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
Hey Alexis -It sounds like your doing a great job of getting your horse going.
I think there is some confusion between you and Smoke on what you want from him and why you want it.
I’m not sure how you got your horse to soften when he stopped, so I’ll tell you what I do and why, and I think it will help.
If I have a horse who is throwing his head as he stops I make sure he isn’t sore before I start correcting things.
Hollowing out and throwing his head will be either a response to pain or anticipation of pain. So if he's afraid of getting pulled on, or knows it hurts to stop he'll give you this response.
If I am working on softening a horse through a stop I work on getting him to soften during the run down, then release him into the stop itself.
I get my horse soft in the face by working his ribs and shoulders, not his face. If his back is up and I’ve got him soft through his withers he’s going to travel soft in the face.
If everything is soft and relaxed he’s going to hunt his slide and travel with his front feet running and his hind end buried, all on a loose rein.
I want my horse to look forward to the stop, not dread it.
So two strides before my stop begins I release all my cues and say “Whoa.”
My hand relaxes and releases the head as my legs come off and quit asking for forward.
There’s lots of ways a stop can go wrong, but I’m going to focus on two problems which seem to most apply to your situation.
The first is if I ask for the stop and, well, he doesn’t. He can just keep going (rare), or he stops hard but then starts moving forward again once he stands back up.
In this case I’ll make him back.
But I don’t just pull on his face. I bump with my legs to get him back.
When I back a horse, I’m essentially bumping him forward into his bit.
My bit creates a wall. My legs push him into the unforgiving wall and he backs to escape the pressure.
In a situation where the horse is stepping back a few steps, then breaking at the poll and sticking, I’m going to look at this as confusion on my horse’s part.
If he’s stuck I take it to mean he has strung out and hollowed out his back. With his neck up and his head giving at the poll he really can’t get moving again until he get’s his body back under control, with his back up and his hind legs under him.
So I would kick him forward into my hand rather than keep pulling back. Then he can step forward, get himself organized and he can back off my legs again.
When I slide a horse like this, or one that hollows out and throws his head I will ask for the exact no pressure stop I described above, then kick him forward into the bridle after he has settled.
I might step him into a spin or two, or just trot some forward circles (depending on his level of training) and then I would go again.
The key to fixing my horse is to consistently allow him to complete his stop before I correct him.
Then I have to analyze what caused the problem and correct his position, either forward or back.
Kel said:I used to ride with an cowboy who started all his horses in a bosal, then to a snaffle and then to the two rein. He was in his 70's when I was riding with him and he said that was the way the old cowboys did it. I find it interesting that now adays that you go from the snaffle to the bosal and that is the accepted way the old cowboys did it. He could make one hell of bridle horse and won alot with them. What is it that you like about the snaffle bit first?
Kel- The most important thing to remember is not all trainers do things the same way, even back in the "old days." If your guy said everybody did it that way, it means everybody he trained with. Trainers who rode 30 or 40 years ago didn't share information like they do now. So there were unique pools of training going on in different parts of the country.
I learned to train from people who will also tell you "that was the way all the cowboys did it," and to their mind it is true.
That being said, I didn't learn cowhorse from cowboys, I learned it from professionals who train for the show pen. They also make lots of money in the show pen. But most of them don't work on a ranch (except Mike Miller, who's about the coolest cowboy on the planet).
The NRCHA (national reined cowhorse association) has futurities for three-year-olds. It's called "The Snaffle Bit Futurity" because most of the horses are started in a snaffle.
The four and five-year-olds are offered the hackamore classes and the derbies, then the bridle classes begin when the horses are six.
So that should explain why I train in this order.
It goes deeper than that though.
I work off a saying, "the snaffle develops soft shoulders and the hackamore develops a soft face."
I truly can't tell you where I first heard this, it's been around a long time.
The dressage guys can probably back me on how the snaffle works through the shoulders.
I want my horses to have their feet under control before I worry about where the face goes.
I firmly believe, from experience and conversation with trainers I respect, that if I have the feet the face will follow.
The hackamore then softens and refines the face in relation to the feet.
Also, after a horse has been in the hackamore for a year he will automatically go to neck reining.
When I turn a horse in the snaffle he will follow direct pressure from my hand. So when I pull left, he will go left.
The hackamore puts pressure on the outside of my horses face, so when I pull left his face is pushed left.
This is how the pressure works in a curb.
So this is why I train in the order I do.
It doesn't mean your old guy doesn't know what he's doing, or that he isn't a hand. But at the end of the day we all train our horses in a way we understand, no matter what the method.
Somebody else asked: Why do you send your horses forward out of a spin, instead of letting them stand?
Somebody else- I don't always send them forward, but going forward and loping a circle on a loose rein is a reward for my horses. I teach them the quiet spot is in their circles as well as when they stand.
A spin is a forward motion. The horse is stepping forward around his pivot foot. If I pull him back he will have a harder time getting around his hind foot.
So if I feel him coming back in the spin I will kick him forward and lope out of it.
If I let my horse stand and rest every time we spin he will start to hunt the rest instead of the spin, which will make him lug on my hand and leg.
If he gets to spin without me using any spur or too much rein he will look to give me a good spin.
If the spin is so perfect I don't need to ask for anything more I let him rest after the spin, but not until it's at least 70% ready to show.
I also drill my with a lope and spin exercise. I lope in a loose circle, I randomly stop, spin to the outside of my circle if I want to keep the same lead, or to the inside if I want to change leads. I do this all over the place. I spin one or two times, then lope directly out.
This speeds up my spins, increases my horses strength and agility and is fun. All without using too much spur.
I only send him forward with my legs, during the spin I sit quiet.
He starts to speed up his spin in anticipation of the lope.
Alexis said: I had a question for you about my 9 yr. old gelding, Smoke.
I bought him when he was 5, and he was just serviceably broke.
Fast forward to now--he has a very nice stop, handles himself well and stays collected in a nice frame, picks his leads up and can carry it on any size circle.
It took me several months to get him to soften on the bit, and drop his nose as he stopped, rather than doing a bad impression of a giraffe. I put so much time and effort into getting that soft, collected stop that now, I have another issue to deal with.
When I stop my horses, I always ask them to back at least three or four steps. With Smoke, he stops, tucks his nose, and backs about 2 steps. If I ask him to back any more, he simply tucks his head to his chest. Now, I admit, I like for him to soften through his poll and neck before I back him up, but I'm at a loss as to how to get the next few steps out of him!
Ideally, I would like to be able to lope a circle, ask for a stop, then be able to back him up a foot or so without having to pull on his mouth. He's not doing any thing wrong per se, simply doing what I'd been asking him before by softening his face and poll.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
Hey Alexis -It sounds like your doing a great job of getting your horse going.
I think there is some confusion between you and Smoke on what you want from him and why you want it.
I’m not sure how you got your horse to soften when he stopped, so I’ll tell you what I do and why, and I think it will help.
If I have a horse who is throwing his head as he stops I make sure he isn’t sore before I start correcting things.
Hollowing out and throwing his head will be either a response to pain or anticipation of pain. So if he's afraid of getting pulled on, or knows it hurts to stop he'll give you this response.
If I am working on softening a horse through a stop I work on getting him to soften during the run down, then release him into the stop itself.
I get my horse soft in the face by working his ribs and shoulders, not his face. If his back is up and I’ve got him soft through his withers he’s going to travel soft in the face.
If everything is soft and relaxed he’s going to hunt his slide and travel with his front feet running and his hind end buried, all on a loose rein.
I want my horse to look forward to the stop, not dread it.
So two strides before my stop begins I release all my cues and say “Whoa.”
My hand relaxes and releases the head as my legs come off and quit asking for forward.
There’s lots of ways a stop can go wrong, but I’m going to focus on two problems which seem to most apply to your situation.
The first is if I ask for the stop and, well, he doesn’t. He can just keep going (rare), or he stops hard but then starts moving forward again once he stands back up.
In this case I’ll make him back.
But I don’t just pull on his face. I bump with my legs to get him back.
When I back a horse, I’m essentially bumping him forward into his bit.
My bit creates a wall. My legs push him into the unforgiving wall and he backs to escape the pressure.
In a situation where the horse is stepping back a few steps, then breaking at the poll and sticking, I’m going to look at this as confusion on my horse’s part.
If he’s stuck I take it to mean he has strung out and hollowed out his back. With his neck up and his head giving at the poll he really can’t get moving again until he get’s his body back under control, with his back up and his hind legs under him.
So I would kick him forward into my hand rather than keep pulling back. Then he can step forward, get himself organized and he can back off my legs again.
When I slide a horse like this, or one that hollows out and throws his head I will ask for the exact no pressure stop I described above, then kick him forward into the bridle after he has settled.
I might step him into a spin or two, or just trot some forward circles (depending on his level of training) and then I would go again.
The key to fixing my horse is to consistently allow him to complete his stop before I correct him.
Then I have to analyze what caused the problem and correct his position, either forward or back.
Kel said:I used to ride with an cowboy who started all his horses in a bosal, then to a snaffle and then to the two rein. He was in his 70's when I was riding with him and he said that was the way the old cowboys did it. I find it interesting that now adays that you go from the snaffle to the bosal and that is the accepted way the old cowboys did it. He could make one hell of bridle horse and won alot with them. What is it that you like about the snaffle bit first?
Kel- The most important thing to remember is not all trainers do things the same way, even back in the "old days." If your guy said everybody did it that way, it means everybody he trained with. Trainers who rode 30 or 40 years ago didn't share information like they do now. So there were unique pools of training going on in different parts of the country.
I learned to train from people who will also tell you "that was the way all the cowboys did it," and to their mind it is true.
That being said, I didn't learn cowhorse from cowboys, I learned it from professionals who train for the show pen. They also make lots of money in the show pen. But most of them don't work on a ranch (except Mike Miller, who's about the coolest cowboy on the planet).
The NRCHA (national reined cowhorse association) has futurities for three-year-olds. It's called "The Snaffle Bit Futurity" because most of the horses are started in a snaffle.
The four and five-year-olds are offered the hackamore classes and the derbies, then the bridle classes begin when the horses are six.
So that should explain why I train in this order.
It goes deeper than that though.
I work off a saying, "the snaffle develops soft shoulders and the hackamore develops a soft face."
I truly can't tell you where I first heard this, it's been around a long time.
The dressage guys can probably back me on how the snaffle works through the shoulders.
I want my horses to have their feet under control before I worry about where the face goes.
I firmly believe, from experience and conversation with trainers I respect, that if I have the feet the face will follow.
The hackamore then softens and refines the face in relation to the feet.
Also, after a horse has been in the hackamore for a year he will automatically go to neck reining.
When I turn a horse in the snaffle he will follow direct pressure from my hand. So when I pull left, he will go left.
The hackamore puts pressure on the outside of my horses face, so when I pull left his face is pushed left.
This is how the pressure works in a curb.
So this is why I train in the order I do.
It doesn't mean your old guy doesn't know what he's doing, or that he isn't a hand. But at the end of the day we all train our horses in a way we understand, no matter what the method.
Somebody else asked: Why do you send your horses forward out of a spin, instead of letting them stand?
Somebody else- I don't always send them forward, but going forward and loping a circle on a loose rein is a reward for my horses. I teach them the quiet spot is in their circles as well as when they stand.
A spin is a forward motion. The horse is stepping forward around his pivot foot. If I pull him back he will have a harder time getting around his hind foot.
So if I feel him coming back in the spin I will kick him forward and lope out of it.
If I let my horse stand and rest every time we spin he will start to hunt the rest instead of the spin, which will make him lug on my hand and leg.
If he gets to spin without me using any spur or too much rein he will look to give me a good spin.
If the spin is so perfect I don't need to ask for anything more I let him rest after the spin, but not until it's at least 70% ready to show.
I also drill my with a lope and spin exercise. I lope in a loose circle, I randomly stop, spin to the outside of my circle if I want to keep the same lead, or to the inside if I want to change leads. I do this all over the place. I spin one or two times, then lope directly out.
This speeds up my spins, increases my horses strength and agility and is fun. All without using too much spur.
I only send him forward with my legs, during the spin I sit quiet.
He starts to speed up his spin in anticipation of the lope.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Mouthy Mondays
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v180/nefelejts/Dante/?actPiggums:
Piggums
by amarygma
I apologized to my husband. I don't think he understood. When I said "I was NUTS about horses as a kid," I think he believed the "as a kid" meant it wouldn't come back. Whoops.
Minnesota's great; it's like I'm an addict at a half-price crack sale compared to Connecticut, where I'm from. I couldn't afford horse-related stuff as a kid (with non-horsey parents), but I can here. After a visit home, when an airline offered us free vouchers and an overnight hotel stay if we bumped our flight until morning, Husband thought I had lost it when I turned to him and said "But, I'd miss my lesson!" I knew I had to pace myself. I had a semester of lessons or so under my belt. And, I needed to practice what I knew before investing in more lessons.
I found an ad on Craigslist: "Beginners to advanced, Five free lessons with a 6-month half-lease: 90 dollars/month." I was sold. Cheaper than lessons alone but with bonus ones! I called the woman up and asked if she had a beginner horse available. She did. I explained my level, I could get a horse from pasture, groom, tack, and safely walk/trot and was learning to canter and do teeny weeny jumps. She mulled over 6 or 7 possibilities. Did I want odd or even days? (Odd, of course, some months have 31 days!) I met her at the barn where the horse was boarded. I was directed to find her at the outdoor arena.
He was a sleek, black Arabian gelding, and they were whipping around doing tight circles. She told me how smooth he was. I got on. We did not click.
He was very responsive, and very small. I hadn't ridden anything that narrow, or jumpy. I didn't feel secure. How did he move so much just walking!? I have wide hips, and I still do not like riding narrow horses, even with a better seat nowadays. I probably could have worked it out with time, but was so self conscious with her watching me. What would I do if she said I was too bad to ride her horses? She said to never fear, she has the perfect horse for me coming back from horse camp. Come on Thursday. I showed up Thursday, still feeling like an intruder, and also kinda dumb. I failed at that horse, how bad was I? With 60+ horses on the farm, I kept waiting for someone to tell me I was unauthorized. I came around the old barn to see the largest horse trailer I've ever seen (to this day). I see her lead a very pregnant, grey Arab off the trailer, handing her over to an old farmer. She spied me. ”There she is, Roger, give her to Robyn!" And she hopped into the truck and drove away with how ever many other horses were inside. Roger handed me a cotton lead.
"Here you go." The Arab mare began to dance around me screaming for the 10 or so friends who just left and at the 60 strange horses around her. I held on, afraid I'd lose her, or she'd run right over me. "What do I do with her!?" I asked, frantic Did someone really just hand me a horse and leave? A horse that's throwing a fit? What do I do with it?
"You can put her in a stall for the night, she'll get a herd in the morning."
"Where?" I creaked out, not taking my eyes off the blowing, dancing Arab. I had no idea where anything was on the property. Which building had stalls? Which stall? Again, why had the owner just upped and left? What if I hadn't been early? Why is she screaming? Roger showed me to a stall, and his wife, the BO helped set it up. For all I knew at the time they were kind strangers.
"You can go in there with her if you want."
"Okay," I followed direction, but honestly was a little nervous jumping into a confined area with a large animal that was obviously upset, stamping in circles and hollering out her little window.
Someone handed me a brush, someone else found the light switch, and I sat with her for a couple of hours until she was calmer.
She was gorgeous. 15HH, typey head, ears alert, neck arched, nostrils wide. She had a large melanoma on one side of her face, and where she had scars on her butt, they grew in as black dots and squiggles. She kept looking at me. Her name was Jessie. Damn. My husband's name is Jesse. I couldn't do that.
"Off to ride Jessie!" "Jessie was being a pill so I had to use a crop" "This bruise? Oh, I fell off Jessie." No, wouldn't do. I showed up to be shown her stuff and to test-ride two days later. Her owner was tacking her up and I was taking mental notes, the differences from my lesson horses in the tack used. No baby pad and numnah, she had just the baby pad. How to bridle at a hitching rail instead of cross-ties. When she showed some resistance at being bitted, the owner punched her in the head.Wait, WHAT!? Yup. "I know people say you shouldn't hit a horse in the head because it makes them head shy but I do and none of my horses are head shy," she offered as a quick explanation.
Oh...kay. I didn't want to argue with someone more knowledgeable than me just yet, but secretly vowed I would not start hitting horses in the head like that. Surely, nobody would make me.
We went down to ride in the outdoor arena again, and I got on. Much better. I felt very secure on her large lumbering self. She refused to trot for me, continuing to stumble around on the rail, so the owner wanted to get on and school her for a minute. I had seen instructors school horses for being naughty before, so I hopped off, figuring she'd just get her to do what I had been trying. Nope, That poor, pregnant horse was galloped around the arena HARD. Stopped HARD, and turned HARD.
I was confused. Was this because the horse was normally ridden Western? "She needs a stronger bit, I'll bring one up next time," she told me, hopping off. I didn't like that. Seemed like the wrong answer.
"Okay," I said, again, not wanting to argue. I got back on and could sense her anxiety. She still wouldn't trot, started this half-walk half-trot stumbly pace. "Kick harder!" she yelled to me. I kicked. I didn't want the horse to be schooled again so instead of the squeezeing and nudging, the gentle cues I'd had to give school horses, I gave her a good kick.
"HARDER!" she yelled again. I gave a desperate fwap, having to raise my feet out almost to hip height to kick harder. We did this several more times. I hated it. Something just seems very wrong about kicking a preganant horse hard. I get anatomy pretty well but it felt like I was kicking the baby. She went into a breakneck trot that was at least wide enough for me to post well, and ignored the bit until we got to the gate where the owner waited.
"I love her, she's perfect," I called out, lying. At least she was slow and smooth. I didn't want her to get into more trouble.
"Good!" She smiled. I wrote the check.
Over the next four months I managed to never set up my lessons. I didn't want to ride that way, it didn't look right, didn't feel right. It looked fast and mean. I figured the horse wouldn't mind either.
Every time I came out, she would be eating. I called her "Piggums." I was in love. I would graze her and groom her for 40 minutes before riding, brushing and grazing her afterwards, too. I think she loved me a bit as well. If I was picking her feet and there was a tasty morsel out of reach, she'd go down on her knee to get it before taking that foot away from me.
I became increasingly annoyed with her owner. I would be told to tell the owner that she needed her feet done, needed a blanket (pregnant and not terribly hairy), and would relay the message dutifully.
Someone at the farm trimmed her feet out of pity for me, the BO found a blanket off one of her horses for her. I, who wanted a horse to learn to post and sit the trot on, and be practicing a balanced seat, found myself spending time getting her to stop when I asked since I didn't want to switch to the harsher bit that luckily never made it's way to the farm.
I just kept turning her into the fence until she stopped making me do that. I used a crop to gently tap-tap her on the shoulder to trot instead of wailing on her, until she didn't need even that, a simple shift in the saddle like the schoolies or a cluck.
I had to convince her that I wouldn't hit her on the head, because she was head shy.
She seemed sad all the time. She'd perk up every once in a while, but she kept burying her face in me, hiding from the world.
I decided to save some money, and discontinue my lease. I switched to a smaller grey, arab mare who was offered to me for a free full lease. A beautiful dressage kid's horse. Very funny, lively, and happy. Happy. It almost didn't seem right. She had her own physical problems recovering from an injury and had EPM years before, but was safe and sound to ride and free made more sense than paying.
She was so willing and smart!
Plus, I didn't have a clue what to do with a foal when it arrived. It made sense. I told myself this. Nobody else rode Piggums, or visited her, but since I ended my lease with her I didn't want to be seen getting her out without paying for the privilege, in case someone told her owner.
I would sneak into her paddock at night, or later her stall to groom her in secret or let her out roam around in the arena, to pet her and love her. I always found a carrot for Piggums. The barn owner knew, as I'm sure she noticed the piles of hair around the suddenly clean horse after knowing I'd been around the night before.
One day, someone left the arena door open to the stall area. I could see her little face pressed against the birthing stall bars, watching me mount the little grey arab. She looked even sadder than normal, her big eyes longing.
I rode on the rail, the little mare needed more of a warmup. I passed the door, and Piggums neighed. As I rode around, she kept neighing. Nobody else noticed that Piggums called out twice for each lap I made in the arena, once as I went past the door, once as I passed opposite of the door. Each time she could see me, she'd call. I felt horrible.
Another day I came out to ride the little mare, and I saw Piggums out in the round pen, with her little black arab baby!
The BO wanted to bring them back into the stall for the night, and asked would I lead Pig while she wrangled the little Piglet? In the stall the BO had me lay on/next to the foal to help imprint since Piggums liked me most and would resent it less, and of course THAT moment was when the owner showed up. "Hi." I looked up.
"Well," she smiled, mildly accusatory "What are you doing there?"
"Ah," I stammered a bit, then smiled brightly back "Here's your baby! She's gorgeous!"
I jumped out of the stall, out of the barn, and hid in the pasture for a bit "looking" for the little grey mare. By the time I got back to the barn, the owner was gone.She stayed long enough for a couple of photos and left. I tried keeping up my visits to Piggums in her stall at night. The foal was a terror. The BO was halter breaking her, to lead them out for the day, and in at night.
"Worst foal ever!" she declared.
“They're normally sweet and lovey. This one's a little shit!"
We picked her up, we laid her down, she was horrible. I stopped grooming Piggums in her stall, the foal had aimed both back hooves at me and clipped me in the kneecap. She bit me. I saw much more of her butt than I cared to.
The owner never came out. They were moved to their own paddock. Piggums hated her foal. She'd let her nurse, but the foal would then kick and bite her and chase her around. Piggums always called for me, abandoning her baby to run over if I so much as walked by. I visited her in the pasture while the foal busily tried to defeat the hot wire fence or strike out at neighboring horses.
She'd put her face in my chest and sigh. Broke my heart. I figured they were leaving soon, mom and baby. Where the owner had her other horses (and two stallions), she could keep them for much cheaper.
Turns out, she was behind on board. Very behind. I looked into my finances.
I decided: If she defaulted and the BO took possession... I would bail her out. I would keep her, and I would make her happy. No more broodmare duty. No more horse camp every summer.
I asked the owner how much for the horrible foal. Five thousand. No way. I waited.
One day I arrived to the farm, and they were gone.
The owner came up with enough money to bail her horses, probably short for board somewhere else, and just led mom onto the truck, with baby following loose, because she couldn't be caught.
The BO had refused to help load, I think hoping she'd have to stick around.
Piggums was gone.
It's been two years. I have a fat quarter horse, who I love. I still ride the little mare on occasion. But some days especially, I miss Piggums. I know where she is, kind of. The owner leased a field, sans any shelter (no shelter no blanket in MN winter) , not too far from the farm. I could drive around and find it, maybe.
Last I heard she was up to 64 horses. She lives in a rented room in some old lady's house, with her teenage son. She buys horses every spring and sells every fall, making money on the ones that go to horse camp.
She told me if she liked the horse, she finds them a good home. If she doesn't like them, then she doesn't care where they go. The last of her horses that she boarded at my farm was so skinny he had ribs and hips popping out like crazy, and people were upset.
I keep track of her website, waiting for the word "liquidation." I'll be there with a trailer and a wad of cash in a heartbeat, but she's one of her "favorite" mares, and not likely to go anytime soon. I've asked her offhand in an email how they're doing, and she says "fat and sassy." But I wonder...
Piggums
by amarygma
I apologized to my husband. I don't think he understood. When I said "I was NUTS about horses as a kid," I think he believed the "as a kid" meant it wouldn't come back. Whoops.
Minnesota's great; it's like I'm an addict at a half-price crack sale compared to Connecticut, where I'm from. I couldn't afford horse-related stuff as a kid (with non-horsey parents), but I can here. After a visit home, when an airline offered us free vouchers and an overnight hotel stay if we bumped our flight until morning, Husband thought I had lost it when I turned to him and said "But, I'd miss my lesson!" I knew I had to pace myself. I had a semester of lessons or so under my belt. And, I needed to practice what I knew before investing in more lessons.
I found an ad on Craigslist: "Beginners to advanced, Five free lessons with a 6-month half-lease: 90 dollars/month." I was sold. Cheaper than lessons alone but with bonus ones! I called the woman up and asked if she had a beginner horse available. She did. I explained my level, I could get a horse from pasture, groom, tack, and safely walk/trot and was learning to canter and do teeny weeny jumps. She mulled over 6 or 7 possibilities. Did I want odd or even days? (Odd, of course, some months have 31 days!) I met her at the barn where the horse was boarded. I was directed to find her at the outdoor arena.
He was a sleek, black Arabian gelding, and they were whipping around doing tight circles. She told me how smooth he was. I got on. We did not click.
He was very responsive, and very small. I hadn't ridden anything that narrow, or jumpy. I didn't feel secure. How did he move so much just walking!? I have wide hips, and I still do not like riding narrow horses, even with a better seat nowadays. I probably could have worked it out with time, but was so self conscious with her watching me. What would I do if she said I was too bad to ride her horses? She said to never fear, she has the perfect horse for me coming back from horse camp. Come on Thursday. I showed up Thursday, still feeling like an intruder, and also kinda dumb. I failed at that horse, how bad was I? With 60+ horses on the farm, I kept waiting for someone to tell me I was unauthorized. I came around the old barn to see the largest horse trailer I've ever seen (to this day). I see her lead a very pregnant, grey Arab off the trailer, handing her over to an old farmer. She spied me. ”There she is, Roger, give her to Robyn!" And she hopped into the truck and drove away with how ever many other horses were inside. Roger handed me a cotton lead.
"Here you go." The Arab mare began to dance around me screaming for the 10 or so friends who just left and at the 60 strange horses around her. I held on, afraid I'd lose her, or she'd run right over me. "What do I do with her!?" I asked, frantic Did someone really just hand me a horse and leave? A horse that's throwing a fit? What do I do with it?
"You can put her in a stall for the night, she'll get a herd in the morning."
"Where?" I creaked out, not taking my eyes off the blowing, dancing Arab. I had no idea where anything was on the property. Which building had stalls? Which stall? Again, why had the owner just upped and left? What if I hadn't been early? Why is she screaming? Roger showed me to a stall, and his wife, the BO helped set it up. For all I knew at the time they were kind strangers.
"You can go in there with her if you want."
"Okay," I followed direction, but honestly was a little nervous jumping into a confined area with a large animal that was obviously upset, stamping in circles and hollering out her little window.
Someone handed me a brush, someone else found the light switch, and I sat with her for a couple of hours until she was calmer.
She was gorgeous. 15HH, typey head, ears alert, neck arched, nostrils wide. She had a large melanoma on one side of her face, and where she had scars on her butt, they grew in as black dots and squiggles. She kept looking at me. Her name was Jessie. Damn. My husband's name is Jesse. I couldn't do that.
"Off to ride Jessie!" "Jessie was being a pill so I had to use a crop" "This bruise? Oh, I fell off Jessie." No, wouldn't do. I showed up to be shown her stuff and to test-ride two days later. Her owner was tacking her up and I was taking mental notes, the differences from my lesson horses in the tack used. No baby pad and numnah, she had just the baby pad. How to bridle at a hitching rail instead of cross-ties. When she showed some resistance at being bitted, the owner punched her in the head.Wait, WHAT!? Yup. "I know people say you shouldn't hit a horse in the head because it makes them head shy but I do and none of my horses are head shy," she offered as a quick explanation.
Oh...kay. I didn't want to argue with someone more knowledgeable than me just yet, but secretly vowed I would not start hitting horses in the head like that. Surely, nobody would make me.
We went down to ride in the outdoor arena again, and I got on. Much better. I felt very secure on her large lumbering self. She refused to trot for me, continuing to stumble around on the rail, so the owner wanted to get on and school her for a minute. I had seen instructors school horses for being naughty before, so I hopped off, figuring she'd just get her to do what I had been trying. Nope, That poor, pregnant horse was galloped around the arena HARD. Stopped HARD, and turned HARD.
I was confused. Was this because the horse was normally ridden Western? "She needs a stronger bit, I'll bring one up next time," she told me, hopping off. I didn't like that. Seemed like the wrong answer.
"Okay," I said, again, not wanting to argue. I got back on and could sense her anxiety. She still wouldn't trot, started this half-walk half-trot stumbly pace. "Kick harder!" she yelled to me. I kicked. I didn't want the horse to be schooled again so instead of the squeezeing and nudging, the gentle cues I'd had to give school horses, I gave her a good kick.
"HARDER!" she yelled again. I gave a desperate fwap, having to raise my feet out almost to hip height to kick harder. We did this several more times. I hated it. Something just seems very wrong about kicking a preganant horse hard. I get anatomy pretty well but it felt like I was kicking the baby. She went into a breakneck trot that was at least wide enough for me to post well, and ignored the bit until we got to the gate where the owner waited.
"I love her, she's perfect," I called out, lying. At least she was slow and smooth. I didn't want her to get into more trouble.
"Good!" She smiled. I wrote the check.
Over the next four months I managed to never set up my lessons. I didn't want to ride that way, it didn't look right, didn't feel right. It looked fast and mean. I figured the horse wouldn't mind either.
Every time I came out, she would be eating. I called her "Piggums." I was in love. I would graze her and groom her for 40 minutes before riding, brushing and grazing her afterwards, too. I think she loved me a bit as well. If I was picking her feet and there was a tasty morsel out of reach, she'd go down on her knee to get it before taking that foot away from me.
I became increasingly annoyed with her owner. I would be told to tell the owner that she needed her feet done, needed a blanket (pregnant and not terribly hairy), and would relay the message dutifully.
Someone at the farm trimmed her feet out of pity for me, the BO found a blanket off one of her horses for her. I, who wanted a horse to learn to post and sit the trot on, and be practicing a balanced seat, found myself spending time getting her to stop when I asked since I didn't want to switch to the harsher bit that luckily never made it's way to the farm.
I just kept turning her into the fence until she stopped making me do that. I used a crop to gently tap-tap her on the shoulder to trot instead of wailing on her, until she didn't need even that, a simple shift in the saddle like the schoolies or a cluck.
I had to convince her that I wouldn't hit her on the head, because she was head shy.
She seemed sad all the time. She'd perk up every once in a while, but she kept burying her face in me, hiding from the world.
I decided to save some money, and discontinue my lease. I switched to a smaller grey, arab mare who was offered to me for a free full lease. A beautiful dressage kid's horse. Very funny, lively, and happy. Happy. It almost didn't seem right. She had her own physical problems recovering from an injury and had EPM years before, but was safe and sound to ride and free made more sense than paying.
She was so willing and smart!
Plus, I didn't have a clue what to do with a foal when it arrived. It made sense. I told myself this. Nobody else rode Piggums, or visited her, but since I ended my lease with her I didn't want to be seen getting her out without paying for the privilege, in case someone told her owner.
I would sneak into her paddock at night, or later her stall to groom her in secret or let her out roam around in the arena, to pet her and love her. I always found a carrot for Piggums. The barn owner knew, as I'm sure she noticed the piles of hair around the suddenly clean horse after knowing I'd been around the night before.
One day, someone left the arena door open to the stall area. I could see her little face pressed against the birthing stall bars, watching me mount the little grey arab. She looked even sadder than normal, her big eyes longing.
I rode on the rail, the little mare needed more of a warmup. I passed the door, and Piggums neighed. As I rode around, she kept neighing. Nobody else noticed that Piggums called out twice for each lap I made in the arena, once as I went past the door, once as I passed opposite of the door. Each time she could see me, she'd call. I felt horrible.
Another day I came out to ride the little mare, and I saw Piggums out in the round pen, with her little black arab baby!
The BO wanted to bring them back into the stall for the night, and asked would I lead Pig while she wrangled the little Piglet? In the stall the BO had me lay on/next to the foal to help imprint since Piggums liked me most and would resent it less, and of course THAT moment was when the owner showed up. "Hi." I looked up.
"Well," she smiled, mildly accusatory "What are you doing there?"
"Ah," I stammered a bit, then smiled brightly back "Here's your baby! She's gorgeous!"
I jumped out of the stall, out of the barn, and hid in the pasture for a bit "looking" for the little grey mare. By the time I got back to the barn, the owner was gone.She stayed long enough for a couple of photos and left. I tried keeping up my visits to Piggums in her stall at night. The foal was a terror. The BO was halter breaking her, to lead them out for the day, and in at night.
"Worst foal ever!" she declared.
“They're normally sweet and lovey. This one's a little shit!"
We picked her up, we laid her down, she was horrible. I stopped grooming Piggums in her stall, the foal had aimed both back hooves at me and clipped me in the kneecap. She bit me. I saw much more of her butt than I cared to.
The owner never came out. They were moved to their own paddock. Piggums hated her foal. She'd let her nurse, but the foal would then kick and bite her and chase her around. Piggums always called for me, abandoning her baby to run over if I so much as walked by. I visited her in the pasture while the foal busily tried to defeat the hot wire fence or strike out at neighboring horses.
She'd put her face in my chest and sigh. Broke my heart. I figured they were leaving soon, mom and baby. Where the owner had her other horses (and two stallions), she could keep them for much cheaper.
Turns out, she was behind on board. Very behind. I looked into my finances.
I decided: If she defaulted and the BO took possession... I would bail her out. I would keep her, and I would make her happy. No more broodmare duty. No more horse camp every summer.
I asked the owner how much for the horrible foal. Five thousand. No way. I waited.
One day I arrived to the farm, and they were gone.
The owner came up with enough money to bail her horses, probably short for board somewhere else, and just led mom onto the truck, with baby following loose, because she couldn't be caught.
The BO had refused to help load, I think hoping she'd have to stick around.
Piggums was gone.
It's been two years. I have a fat quarter horse, who I love. I still ride the little mare on occasion. But some days especially, I miss Piggums. I know where she is, kind of. The owner leased a field, sans any shelter (no shelter no blanket in MN winter) , not too far from the farm. I could drive around and find it, maybe.
Last I heard she was up to 64 horses. She lives in a rented room in some old lady's house, with her teenage son. She buys horses every spring and sells every fall, making money on the ones that go to horse camp.
She told me if she liked the horse, she finds them a good home. If she doesn't like them, then she doesn't care where they go. The last of her horses that she boarded at my farm was so skinny he had ribs and hips popping out like crazy, and people were upset.
I keep track of her website, waiting for the word "liquidation." I'll be there with a trailer and a wad of cash in a heartbeat, but she's one of her "favorite" mares, and not likely to go anytime soon. I've asked her offhand in an email how they're doing, and she says "fat and sassy." But I wonder...
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