(no subject)

Y'know, I feel certain that I'm boring segments of the target audience with matters equine, but I did point out to some of ya'll that once I was done with *the con*, I would be spending more time on things involving horses.

Today, Thyme was not at the fence when I got there (I've been getting there at just about 8 am since we started last week) but when I yelled for her (she thinks her name is "Chickaboo"), she ambled over, saving me a stroll in dew-wet grass. As that's an activity I'm not real fond of, marching and chanting or no, I was tickled. Good Chickaboo. I fed her a can and brushed her and picked up her feet while she was making like a Hoover. (These activities are mostly to give me something to do while she's eating, though the picking-up-feet thing will be useful should anyone ever want to shoe her.) I'm making good progress with the hind feet. She will actually pick 'em up for me one try out of three now and once I get it picked up, she does not immediately yank it away. Progress, progress.

Today, we took a walk because I still don't think she leads well enough. A horse should keep her head at my shoulder and walk when I walk, jog when I jog, and stop when I stop. She should weigh nothing in my hands, no matter our speed. She should also stand still and not bother me while I chat with someone else or whatever. Dancing around, walking on my body, running into me, lagging back so that I have to drag on her to get her started... all that is very bad mojo. Also, keeping the lead rope loose is her job, not mine. She starts out with two feet of drape in the rope. If she pays attention, she will never get drug with the halter. If she does not pay attention... then she's going to get yanked on, hard. So, we walked. We made some progress, I think, and we will continue to walk a little every day or so until I'm happy with her ground manners. To be fair, I never knew what good ground manners looked like until I got to Nick and started putting some ground skills into her. I never knew how damn nice manners were. I never knew. But now that I know...

I said the other day that Thyme needed to know how to work a gate. When I am taking a horse out of the field or putting one back in the field, I have certain expectations for how the horse is to maneuver. These expectations are for safety and ease-of-use.

Leaving the field: When we approach the gate, the horse is to stand quietly while I unlatch the gate. She is not to run into me or walk on me or shove me with her head or any of that crap. When I have the gate unlatched, the horse is to back up while I swing the gate open wide enough for her to go through. Then, I (still holding the gate) lead with my leading arm in the 'go through the gate' gesture. The horse is to walk through the gate, stop, and sidestep with her butt until she's facing me and the gate again. I come through the gate and shut it, while the horse backs up out of the way of the gate. The horse stands beside me while I latch the gate and again, does not run into me, etc. When everything is secure, the horse leads off just like her IQ is normal.

Entering the field. Stand while gate is unlatched. Wait while I open the gate. Go through, turn, and face me. Wait for me to come through the gate. Stand quietly while I take the halter off. (Any bumping, rubbing, fidgeting, etc. will delay the process while I ask the horse to do more work and they figure that out right quick.) Stand for a scratch and a rub and a "Good horse" and then do not run off or buck or kick or anything. Walk off after I'm safely outside the gate again. (Many horse-related injuries happen when the owner lets the horse loose in the field and the horse spins and kicks out or bucks in excitement at being set "free". This is why mine all turn and face me and STAND when they enter the field. It cuts down on the excitement factor.)

Thyme is progressing in her gate work. She doesn't entirely suck anymore. She's still not an expert, though. We practice every day on this because it's part of going in and out of the field.

When we got home from our walk, I got out a saddle pad and a saddle. She's never had either on her, so I did the sacking-out thing so that she'd know what that was all about. After the rattley feed sack (Saturday, 10-2), the soft and entirely not-noisy saddle pad was no big deal. The saddle was only mildly more interesting. Saddle pad on, off, flopping around a lot, both sides. On the head, on the butt, falling off on the other side, flopping under belly. Horse stood still on a loose lead rope. Everything about her expression said "Stand? Stand in the warm sunshine while you flop things around to no discernable purpose? Right. Sign me up. This is a great gig." Saddle on, saddle off, saddle on, many floppings of floppy bits (stirrups, cinch, latigo, etc.) around her legs, and finally doing up of saddle to not-very-tight. I lead her around. She followed me. I asked her to circle. She circled. Horse was bored. I was bored. Liss sat Boo up on and walked beside as we all went for a walk out the lane and back. It was uneventful. Evan wanted a ride too, so we gave him one. That was also uneventful. After that, I put Thyme (Chickaboo) away.

We will try again tomorrow with the saddle and pad, before we go for our walk. She can wear it while we are walking. There is no such thing as 'overexposure' for young horses and stuff like saddle pads and saddles and other riding equipment... The more relaxed, sensible, and tolerant the horse is, the better her odds of having lifelong employment as a horse. Relaxed, sensible, tolerant horses that can be trusted to take care of kids and novice riders are damn near worth their weight in gold. Thyme has the potential to be one of those horses, but she will need a solid foundation for it. Upon this rock...

I also mowed the grass today.