planBE

Q struggles with tires, balls, tarps and all objects that are unnatural. He is not a big fan of plastic bags but since carrots come in plastic bags he has learned to be more curious than fearful. Back in 2016, when we were starting out with groundwork I was convinced he could plow through a set of old tires just like the Missouri Foxtrotters do. We tried but we had more fails than success, and then I got distracted by the next shiny thing. So we never mastered tires. Certainly not like this pretty mare at minute 3:42. Amazing! And backwards 😱! So when I came into the ring one day and saw a short stack of tires, I thought “cool, lets see what what Q thinks about that”! He was a little “looky” that day as there were many new obstacles around and the barn crew was replacing the gate with a set of powertools. So I serpentined around the obstacles and jumps and then went towards the tires. Q looked and stopped 6 feet from them. I noticed the narrow opening between the obstac...

It was glorious on Saturday. I was meeting up with my buddy B and his TB, and even though the weather was a mild +4 degrees celsius, I was warmly dressed with my foot warmers. As I trotted down the trail to our meeting spot, I felt my left foot give way. I stop, look down and with shock see that my stirrup (western) has come undone. Uhoh. Im standing on this narrow trail, sandwiched between the dog sledding trail and the atv/skidoo trail thinking about what I can do. Im nervous to leap off because I have this insane fear of catching my coat in my western saddle horn and being dragged to my death. We all know by now how fearful my horse is of dragging stuff. I really don't think I can soothe him through that challenge. And I dont want to loose the stirrup part that just fell in the snow. Why have I not been checking this when tacking up? Mellow Q is just standing while Im thinking, and he is wondering when I plan on giving him a candy.  I bank on his chill vibe, and li...

Saturday morning with an ice storm on the way. It is raining buckets, and the trails are now trashed for the barefoot ponies for the foreseeable future. Despite the inclement weather, I make the one hour trek to the barn hoping for a fun drill team practice in our indoor arena. A text from our fearless leader of gastro and cancellation pings while Im en route. I proceed regardless. Once I arrive, I notice the packed parking lot. There will be mucho traffic in the indoor today, I muse. No worries, I manage traffic pretty well with Q. I tack up quickly, thinking of doing a session with the new hackamore and testing the limits of communication. Fill my pockets with mints and head to the indoor. Oh. There are three jumps set up. Hmm, ok. Oh. There are seven other riders coming in. Hmmm, ok. Oh. Horses are bolting at the backdoor. Hmmm, ok. Ten minutes in, I realized that this was not the ride I wanted to have. Q was ok, with the occasional scoot when someone else bolted, and ...

Q was not amused. After a good run in the woods, a quick shower and a roll in the sand, I brought him his lunch served on the very scary neon green kiddie pool. I also got to test my new video skills thanks to Teresa’s great suggestions. More videos to come. Looking at me forlornly in the hot sun, poor Q never finished his hay. Something to work on.

After my “aha” moments of the week, I decided to venture out to the barn and tackle some tarps and stuff. My tools for the day - Flag - Tarp - Rope halter - Patience Q was not too impressed with my plan. Thanks, but no thanks. I got the snort, the scoot and the jump to the back of the stall when he saw the tarp coming. So by the time I had him in the aisle with his halter on, he was less surprised by their appearance. But he still shrinked away. Then we got into the arena, Q giving the tarp and flag a wide berth until I asked him to approach. You can see how tentative he is. This continued for a while but we eventually graduated to walking and trotting both directions, alternating with some flag work and poll release. I then wanted to get a halt on the tarp, as I believe that the horse doesn't truly "own" the obstacle until he is capable of standing relaxed on the object. It took a few turns, and then he was able to do it. He did struggle with ba...

My horse and I have an issue with plastic, shavings bags, tarps, and plastic kiddy pools. I can usually get Q to accept my fascination with tarps in a session. But every new session starts out the same with snorting, and a reluctance to have me drape the tarp over him. So I take it slow and we eventually are trotting and cantering over it, and moving it all over. But its exhausting tedious work. After several days of despooking clinic, my husband was tired of hearing me categorize horses into sensitive/reactive vs dull. Well how else do you explain to the non horsey type how a draft cross just plows through the mattress and tarp combo on the first try, while the OTTB jumps from side to side then leaps into the air to finish into a canter pirouette succeeding in completely avoiding the offensive obstacle? He said : “It seems like you use the term reactive/sensitive as an excuse for a horse that needs more training.” Umm ... but, but ... let me explain. You know Q and tarps and anyth...

After four days of despooking clinic and some reflection time, I want to share my broader perspective on what despooking can teach us. Only humans dwell - sometimes you just need to go with the flow. Horses have wonderful lessons to teach us in this regard. Their desire to be one with the herd, to establish hierarchy and rules, and to be in the present moment forces us to reconsider our thoughts and actions. Being such generous and forgiving souls, horses begin every moment as a new one. They dont dwell on past issues, they dont cry over lost relationships, they dont get angry over spilled milk. They lock in to their surroundings, feel their environment, find the path that leads to safety and grass. They are fluid. Let us learn to connect with the “herd”. Dont focus on the obstacle, focus on what you are doing. Obstacles are everywhere, physical and psychological. Some are created in our minds (“Im not good enough, Im not worthy, I cant do that”) and we fixate on them. We give ou...

Day 1 of the second edition, this time with 16 horses. Aside from the first hour of craziness, things proceeded in an orderly fashion and it IS possible to have so many horses in a tight space with multiple obstacles. Makes you go hmmm. In the first hour, after being fussed over with pool noodles and pom poms, the horses very quickly progressed from the scariness of the first plywood plank to the multiple obstacles including the combo tarp over mattress with the funny squishy sounds. Funny, so many horses had issues  with the bubbles. Nobody thought the dancing man would be possible when they started. Now look, calmly proceeding as a herd.

Drill formations? As an effective way to despook a horse? That’s a new one. How does it work? Let me count the ways #1 to improve your control over your horses movement #2 to increase your own spatial awareness and become one “with the herd” #3 to distract you and your horse from a worrying object #4 to approach and be approached by threatening objects (“my horse kicks”) and become desensitized #5 to keep you focused on an important and complicated task (thread the needle) and reduce your anxiety #6 to help you (and your horse) feel successful and confident, because progress is generally quick and measurable #7 to feel the camraderies of the other riders and find joy #8 to teach your horse to fit into tight spaces and survive / thrive # 9 to “save the girl” and find a higher purpose #10 to remember that forward is always the right answer Say what you will, I found the horses and handlers to be more controlled and confident on the se...

Some interesting developments on the despooking clinic. Full disclosure, I write this from the comfort of my sofa, with heating pad and anti-inflammatories. My back pain reared its ugly head this week and after three hours of riding and walking, I was d.o.n.e. Having done obstacle training before I had a certain approach down pat. Introduce obstacle from the ground, ensure the horse respects your space, and reward every try. But do not let the obstacle be ignored. This is not a negotiation. Eventually the confidence builds and each new obstacle becomes easier. But most new obstacles are introduced from the ground. Here, it was very different. First the context. A smallish arena (60x120ft) with the back door opened for auditors, housed under a temporary shelter with tarp cover. Hellish gusty wind blowing through the tarp. 11 horses and handlers, most of which were hot, reactive, and lacked training. All of the walls and corners had obstacles, tarps, mattresses, stuffed animals. Br...

I’ve been exposed to some bad human behaviour of late. Lies, disceptions, misdirections. I did not expect it, and was surprised by a certain turn of events. But now it’s time to turn the page, Seger-style. This week is the excitement of a 2 day despooking clinic and I just received the pre-read workbook. It seems like the course will be emphasizing a certain level of equitation skill through group drill exercises. Sounds like fun, and smart. First we develop basic control over pace and direction, then we add obstacles while actually focusing our attention on the group drill work. That should keep us distracted from the fire, smoke and sirens. Because, this is despooking, the mounted police way.

I lost my trail buddy this weekend. It’s not clear how much was determined by the ongoing barn drama. He packed his stuff and moved to another barn within 24 hours. So, I am sad. No doubt that having an activity buddy helps keep us motivated, and gets our butts in the saddle more often than not. Now, I feel alone. That our horses and our riding styles were so in sync makes the transition much more difficult. How will I find another trail buddy that is so compatible? This probably marks the beginning of a new chapter of riding solo. I do love riding my horse solo and not having to negotiate pace, direction, detours with anyone. Big bonus is that my Q is just as good alone. Add caption I might need some external motivation like one of those wearable gadgets that track pace, elevation, etc. Something that would push me to go further, ride harder, discover new trails. This week we have our exciting clinic to “despook, the mounted police way”. And soon after that Ill be off fo...