3/18/2017: Desensitization and Obstacle Clinic

(warning, this is a long post!! much longer than I originally thought, but there's so much good stuff!)

A local trainer (we'll call her LM) had an obstacle desensitization clinic last Saturday. There were 7 45 min private lesson slots, then free obstacle practice after everyone had their private session.

LM used to compete actively in dressage and got her Bronze and Silver Medals, and did the whole dressage working student thing, but eventually started working for a local natural horsemanship trainer when she realized that most dressage horses don't leave the ring and they suffer mentally for it. She is filling a niche in the area of "cowboy meets dressage", much like the natural horsemanship trainer she worked for does, and doesn't actively compete in dressage anymore. I didn't realize until later that I had met her before when she came out to work with a blind hose at our barn who developed a behavioral problem last winter.

I am super slacking on my videos and pictures here because 1) I didn't think to take pics or video myself because I was too busy paying attention, and 2) I didn't want to ask a stranger to video for me (because that never works out for the video!).

I had a 4am wake up again as the clinic barn was about an hour and a half from home barn and she requested we be there before the first lesson started so we could watch and get a feel of what was expected... I am tired of waking up at 4am and then driving the trailer around. Another boarder went with me to the clinic, so at least I didn't haul alone! (she couldn't video or take pics for me because our lessons were back to back and she needed to get her own horse ready).


The horse participants:

• A green broke Percheron/paint 4 year old mare
• A rocky mountain trail gelding
• A h/j OTTB mare
• Penn (dressage)
• Beau (basic dressage/trail riding/obstacle trail, from home barn)
• There were two no shows- the weather Friday night was shitful and Saturday was in the 40's but rainy and had a chill that froze you to the bone.

Our private sessions were all in hand work- the riding portion was during the open ring time after everyone's private session.

The green broke mare did quite well in their private session- their in hand work focused on being able to move the shoulders, then she tackled most of the other obstacles in the ring with classic baby horse curiosity. The trail horse had the same "move the shoulders" work, but was not as confident in himself as the mare was and got through fewer of the obstacles. The OTTB again needed the same "move your shoulders" ground work, and lacked the self confidence and so got through a similar number of obstacles as the trail horse. Where any of them lacked the confidence to get through an obstacle, the obstacle was broken down into smaller and smaller pieces to give the horse confidence. There were excellent lessons in patience, when to push, and when to give the horse a chance to think and walk away.


Penn's 45-min Session:

I got a rope halter for the occasion (as we were instructed to bring one if we had it), and it arrived the day before the clinic, so I didn't have a change to use it or even try it on Penn before lesson time. I borrowed a long lead rope that usually goes with it (I didn't listen to Amazon's "other people who bought this also bought..." suggestion), and did some basic warm up lunging. Penn stayed out a lot better than I thought he would, but he was a horse on a mission- so forward and quick. We were to warm up over trot poles, a tarp, and canter poles on large carpets (like 12' by 12' squares). Penn barely reacted to the tarp and carpet- he just showed off a big bouncy reaching trot, then tried to buck and play when I asked him to canter.

This is where LM took him from me to work in hand- she said Penn has plenty of forward and moves the shoulder well (this is where the other horses got stuck), but he's quick and unyielding in the poll and jaw.

Here's what she worked on (that I wish I had thought to video because I could have used some original dialogue to fall back on when I practiced the next day on my own):

• Do more close up work in hand to slow him down and make him focus and think. The other horses need to work on their self confidence and yielding the shoulders, and so need to spend time as far away from their human as possible, working on shifting the shoulders in changing directions etc. Penn has confidence and has legs that move faster than his brain. SLOW HIM DOWN! (gee, I've only heard this from EVERY trainer we've ever worked with, lol!)
• Wiggle the chin knot on the halter right and left and release as soon as he lowers head (Penn caught on to that almost immediately and soon he was putting his head on the ground for her), and then he was licking and chewing too.
• Where most of the horses in the clinic held their stiffness in front of the whither, Penn holds his at the poll and jaw (yupp knew that), and is reluctant to step under himself. He needs to do a ton of walking turn on the forehand where he yields at the poll and jaw while crossing the front legs (and hind, but he's good at that). He wants to speed through it and "roll" his hooves as he takes sloppy steps. Example: Stand on the left side, gently bend his head around using the same knot, and push his shoulders and ask him to cross his front legs as he steps to the right. He wants to lean on the left shoulder and step by putting the left side of the hoof down first and rolling the right side to the ground. Instead, slow him down with a half halt from the knot and shift him onto his right shoulder and make him step flat with the hoof instead of rolling it. This will also encourage him to step under himself. He should do several steps before stopping and getting a pat, and if he's licking and chewing he can have a short rest before continuing. No lick and chew, no "rest" (the idea being he's not completely focusing on the task or relaxing into it). Do a lot of "changing directions" to work each side evenly.
• Penn does not read subtle body language cues, only large obvious cues (could this be why he absolutely sucks at horsey communications and gets his ass handed to him when he's with intolerant horses?!). He's developed enough forward that we can safely back him up in hand (I told her of his rearing issue when we got him and how we just recently started touching rein back under saddle because of it). She said to do a rein back and then move forward and back again to work on subtle body language and to make him focus and pay attention. I need to walk like he's going to get out of my way. If he doesn't, shake the line at him. If he still doesn't, take the dressage whip in my hand and tap him on the chest. If he still doesn't, make each motion bigger until I get a big response, then immediately make smaller more subtle cues.

Some other tips she gave out:

• Your toes point at the part of the horse you want to move.
• Use the lead line as an extension of your leading arm to "point" the horse in the direction you want him to go while you stay near the shoulder and use the whip as an extension of your trailing arm to encourage the forward.
• Praise often. Do not say "no" when the horse does something wrong as horses are not dogs and do not understand no. Use your body language to correct them.
• Only do something 3 times before you change it- after 3 times doing something the same, the horse learns that is correct and any more repetitions don't seem to have as great a value.
• For as much correction as you give, you have to release an equal amount.

The second point was so hard for me to do- I've always worked with the heart girth line where standing in front of it will push the horse away from you or stop them, and being behind it pushes them forward. It was a bit counter-intuitive for me at first.

I should have asked to go over the in hand walking turn on the forehand myself before we moved on to the obstacles. I tried to practice it myself the next day and I think I had a lot more neck flexion than she did and not as much licking and chewing (but I was busy watching his foot placement as she worked him so maybe she flexed him just as much, who knows). I know I can always take a quick video at home and message it to her though.

Ok, I'm going to do some serious gloating about Penn. He did every obstacle in the arena, and did it with more self confidence than I knew he had. He was a bit "up" when he came in (I think traveling for the 3rd weekend in a row was wearing on him), but he met every obstacle with boundless interest and curiosity. He gave everything a try, and was successful at everything!

Pole trap

Don't worry, the pipe crushes when you step on it.

We started with the pole trap because he needs to learn what to do with his feet. He happily walked in, thought "this is too much stuff", and stepped out over the hay bales (that whole shoulders and heart girth thing I mentioned earlier? I had trouble keeping him in the chute). No big deal, he came back around and went through the whole thing with a little pointing direction and a tiny amount of whip flicking. He tripped through it a bunch of times and proceeded to pound the pipe into a flat tape. We worked it from both directions until he would walk through it with minimal tripping (he tried jumping groups of poles and cantering through too).

We walked through the double car wash on our way from the pole trap to the bridge. NBD here, Penn just had to figure out he could use his face to create a hole for his body.

The bridge was NBD either, but LM ended up bringing over her "cheat" tents to help me keep him on the bridge as he circled around me. Otherwise, he'd step on and step back off before the end!

Onto the water!

This was one obstacle that I identified in my pre-clinic questionnaire as something he needs to work on- he's a bit sketchy about water and I want to be able to take him swimming in GP Trainer's pond (that has a nice easy beach in), without falling off trying to get him in the pond.

She brought the "cheat" tents back over to give the water "wings" to help Penn learn that the only way out is over it. The first thing he did? Attempt to "drain" the water by drinking for about a minute straight, lol! Every time I'd push him to go forward up to it or over it, he'd drop his head and drink.

It didn't take much- just being mindful of his shoulders (don't be afraid to make myself big and scary by shaking the lead rope and putting my hands up so he doesn't bring his shoulder into me and run me over), and a bit of whip behind and soon he was trotting through it (stepping in it) like a pro. We changed directions a lot at this obstacle and continued until he could walk through it, NBD.

Noodle chute

The noodle chute was tough for the other 3 horses that had already had their private sessions. It had to be slightly demolished for each horse before they'd even come up to it. Penn went right up to it, but I had to walk the fine line of: correcting his shoulders for coming in, not punishing him for sniffing the noodles, encouraging forward, and getting him back in the chute. I ended up having to reset him and then he marched through like a pro, so she added more noodles back in (so it looked similar to the above picture) and we went the other way. He jumped the whole thing instead, haha. Maybe he could be a jumping horse? I brought him back around and he soon made quick work of realizing he could push the noodles out of his way and was walking through like a pro.

Windmill Alley. The biggest issue with this one? Not hooking my lead rope on the windmills while keeping up with Penn (he opted to jump out with his new found jumping skills when I was slow to keep up.)

One of the "cheat" tents hanging out.
For this one, you were supposed to stand in the tire and send the horse around in a circle over the poles. Penn did this easily, but hit every single pole every single time. LM said he should probably do cavaletti work and I said I already do that... and this much hitting is an improvement, lol. Once I worked out what to do with my hands (long rope and whip), I was able to make him change directions easily with my "arm extensions".

Tarp, pool, balloon wall.

We moved on to the kiddie pool (which was not on the tarp anymore, nor did it have the big balls in it, just empty plastic bottles). This is the obstacle that gave Penn the most trouble. It's circular, so he could avoid it buy doing his walking turn on the fore around it. He played with the bottles, but did NOT want to step in it. He pawed it and it made loud noises and eventually hooked a foot on it and "freaked out" by stepping on it and dragging it with him as he went backwards. We spent a lot of time correcting his shoulders, pointing the lead rope extension out in front of him, and encouraging with the whip. LM brought our "cheat" tents over to give him wings and then he finally went through it. This is where she really encouraged me to take my time in my changes of direction- make him do the change slower. If he gets riled up over the change, stop him, rein back, come forward, go in the new direction.

The balloon pop was NBD for Penn. He sniffed the balloons and thought their popping sound was neat.

We stood him on the blue tarp and LM picked up one side of it and waved it towards him (like we used to do with the big fabric parachutes in elementary school). He didn't even blink so I picked up the other side and did the same while she waved her side. Basically zero reaction from him.

The beach in an indoor?

I let him sniff the umbrellas and she opened and closed one on each side of him. He was only disturbed by it opening on his right side and wanted to move away, so she had it "follow" him until he stopped.

On our way to the last obstacle we walked under some pieces of fabric that were kind of like pavilion covers. He didn't even notice them.

The last obstacle was a fan with streamers attached to it that blew straight up into a cloth that would wave. She said horses either don't care, or want no parts of it and nothing you do will make them stay. Penn thought the cloth was super neat and tried to mouth it.

We finished out 45 minute private session by revisiting the pole trap, and Penn did much better walking through it.


Open Arena Riding:

I wish I had video of us working and riding! Ugh! Penn was so good, haha.

Everyone except the green broke mare came back for the riding portion of the clinic, and LM divided her attention among us as we conquered obstacles under saddle on our own.

I started our riding session with the trot poles and carpet and tarp, then made my way over to the pole trap. LM had me give him the rein to buckle and stay out of the way. And sit up. Because you know, I gave away my reins and went in the fetal position since I expected Penn to biff it pretty hard... and fetal position is sooooo helpful. Penn worked it out eventually, but he started jumping and leaping through it. LM had me keep a hold of the reins, but give a ton, but then stop him immediately after he leaped out of the pole trap, immediately turn around and go back through and stopping immediately upon exit again. No hurrying!

I went on to the double car wash and got to laugh at the face Penn makes as he shoves his head through the dangling stuff- he pokes his nose straight out, closes his eyes, pins his ears, and shoves his head through.

We rode over the bridge a bunch of times, over the other tarp, and through the noodle chute.

Then the liverpool with water was up. I rode him up to it with a purpose, let him sniff it, and then encouraged him over. He jumped neatly over it and I gave him lots of praise and brought him back around to walk over again. I did that a bunch of times: he wanted to jump it every time, but he wasn't over jumping it and half the time he was stepping in before jumping out.

LM wanted me to try and get him to stop with one foot in the water. So I did the wrong thing and I slowed him down right at the base, freaked him out so he then wanted to back up, and then he'd leap over it since I corrected so much. She had me keep his feet moving by making him step big and slow left and then big and slow right and the left and then right with super opening rein each way and letting him move forward inches each time we step right or left. The idea is he never gets planted to jump over it, or planted to back up and run away, and eventually he'll step a foot into the water. I got it to work kind of, but I would hold at the very last moment when he'd go to put that first foot in the water causing him to step in and then scramble out (and not halting in it like LM wanted, oops. We need practice!).

I did not attempt the kiddie pool and bottles under saddle- I thought I would freak out a bit and hold him when I needed to let him go. No worries, we'll get there eventually. I can't expect him to keep his cool if I'm afraid and anticipating his reaction.

I rode through the poles on the tire, but I asked him to really sit and collect and turn from my outside rein and leg between poles. Don't you know it? He stopped hitting the poles and sat and started taking very purposeful steps between and over the poles!

The 2' diameter balls were free in the ring, so I made him kick them around. He didn't really understand he could push them around and kept trying to go around.

I went back to the pole trap, and LM had me start to ask him for collection and sit through it and release (release is just as big as the amount of collection I asked for), and do it multiple times through the pole trap so he becomes more responsible for his own feet in collection. He became very purposeful with where he put his feet and stopped tripping over things.

I changed up the exercise into track left, collect and release in the pole trap, sit and left lead canter, canter the rest of the 20m circle, walk, collect/release through the pole trap, repeat. I worked that on my own for a few laps before LM came over to watch and give feedback. She had me leg yield him off his inside shoulder onto his outside shoulder in every transition, and move my inside hand forward about 4 inches in the canter because it looked like I was doing too much and he was heavy on that hand. It was super neat, I could ask for more sit in the canter and he would give it easily, hold it easily, and I felt I could have asked for canter/walk at any time and it would have been prompt and correct. The canter had a nice rhythm, but was still slow, big, and purposeful. We did that a bunch of times before she told me to stop there as he had done some very excellent work.

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Overall, I'm really happy with our trip to visit LM and participate in the clinic. I wish I could do her next one on April 8th, but Penn and I are going to a show on 4/2, then back to GP Trainer 4/6-7. I cannot justify stuffing him back into the trailer the next day, not when LM will have more clinics and my BO is interested in having her out to see us. I don't think either of us will appreciate spending 4/7 days in a single week in the truck and trailer!

Fun Times

I'm trying to crank out the posts this week- I got backlogged last week when the Chiro post should have gone out, so I ended up posting a bunch late in this week! I would have gotten behind again.

The day after our lesson, Penn was scheduled to go for a walk. However, mother nature decided we wouldn't be doing that - it rained all day and for most of the evening. Now, I'm not afraid to ride in the rain, however, I was going to be riding in the rain, through mud, by myself. Not cool. So I opted to pull out the tarp and a gym tumbling mat and mess with those in the indoor.

So curious!

Penn is very good at being brave. He walks up to scary things, holds his ground while he investigates, then is usually over whatever was scaring him. Well, I can't always let him look at things, and I don't want to teach him that it's ok to stop and look every time anyway. We have to find a happy medium between investigating everything that scares him and me pushing him through everything scary

I decided to hand walk him over the tarp and mat so he could investigate and be brave with me on the ground to start.

https://youtu.be/2kDtl-ZPApg

So he enjoyed pawing and biting and pulling on the tarp. Not afraid.

Then I got on and had him walk over both again. This time, he looked at them both and pulled his head down to take an extra good look. A little leg and he kept walking while he stretched and looked.

Picture on both!

I made him stand on both, walk on both, from each side and direction. Then I asked him to walk like a proper dressage horse - meet the bridle, no more stretching down to look.

Not proper dressage horse (I can't manage in hand video and that), but relaxed!

https://youtu.be/GDWFtl-iY0g

We went to the tarp first, where he jumped a little, then walked over gingerly. I made him do the same with the mat, where he gave the same jumpy response. We circled over both until he stopped reacting. Then I changed directions and we worked it the other way. Then we revisited just the mat and crossed the short width instead of walking the length. I rode a figure 8 over it until he stopped caring. Then I reversed the figure 8, had a flinch, and rode the figure 8 until he stopped reacting again.

I think this is a good way for him to find confidence in himself while I'm creating a space that he has to live in. It's like he's claustrophobic when he's traveling like a dressage horse. It reminds me of the western ranch guys who take OTTBs and train them to be ranch horses - the key step in all of their work is that horse is going to work on a long rein with no contact. They have to work it out themselves. Those horses seem to adjust really well - so I'm going to try that to make Penn brave, then repeating the same exercises in a working dressage frame. Certainly can't hurt!

Obstacle Trail Awesomeness!

OMG guys, SO MUCH FUN.

Penn is a total badass.

It turns out 3 of the ladies at the barn were going to a local obstacle trail practice instead of just the one I Facebook messaged and asked to tag along with. They all compete in judged trail rides (and haul out to trail ride all over the place). So we loaded up the two trailers and off we went!

Rocking matching boots and saddle pad, a dressage saddle, and a bling browband.
At a western riding event.

First of all, all the western riders thought Penn was adorable. And they thought my tack was so pretty, haha. Here I was worried about first impressions when I opted not to bring my "off property" helmet (aka the good one I use for lessons, clinics, shows) and the brown reins on my micklem.

Sneaking cat pictures in, because how adorable is this?
Sophie just wants to sleep and Felix just wants to cuddle!

They finally got the shelf space worked out :-)

I started off by leading Penn around- I figured we've only played with this type of thing once, he probably needs a refresher. I led him over the tarp (non-issue), then took him over to a shower curtain that was cut into strips and you had to walk through it. Poor creature, he just didn't understand. He wasn't afraid of it, but he didn't understand how to go through it. I ended up pulling a couple strips together to make a "door" which he promptly ran through. I walked him through it by hand a bunch of times. Each time, he kept super close to me and followed through the exact hole I created when I walked through the curtain. If I got too far ahead and the curtain closed, he'd dance and get stuck on the starting side. I got him to walk through once before I went through, so I let him walk away from it. I led him a couple times over the bridge (which was hard to do because it wasn't wide enough to stand next to him, but I had to keep moving so he didn't step on me!). I figured it was now or never and climbed on.

We went back to the tarp first (no problem), then revisited it curtain. Penn walked right up to the curtain, and was like, "I DON'T UNDERSTAND!" I ended up reaching forward and pulling the curtain a little to create an opening, which Penn promptly ran through. I patted him and brought him back around. He started to get the idea after the wind blew the curtain a little and I was ale to steer his nose into an opening. After that, he'd poke his nose out in front of him and pin his ears back and let the curtain slide over his face, all while calmly walking through.

Nose first!

We tried the bridge next- he was like, "OMG I have to go over it by myself!" He stretched his head and neck out and took a good look, then trotted over it. Lots of pats and I turned him around and tried again. He cantered it this time like a tiny up bank and down bank, but as a bounce, haha. More pats and "good boy"s and I brought him around again. Soon enough he was walking calmly over it. definitely still giving it the hairy eyeball, but as long as I gave him his head he was more than willing to go.

I revisited the tarp since that one is easy, and took him over to where they had a broom and 1.5' diameter green ball. I didn't see the broom at first, so I figured the horse was supposed to push the ball, even if the ball was a lot smaller than other balls I've seen for that purpose. So I marched Penn up to it, slowed him down so he wouldn't run it over, and slowly pushed him into it. Well he went, no problem, then was completely surprised when the ball rolled. Like, he dropped down, legs splayed, dodging right and left, trying to back up. So of course I ran him into it a few more times and then he was kicking it like a pro, even interested in following it around... until he stepped over it and it hit his back legs. I had him push it back to it's starting place, patted him, and let him move on.

By this point, someone had lit two flares and spaced them so you could figure 8 around them or just walk between. Off we went! Penn was a little skeptical at first, but with a little leg he VERY carefully walked between the flares, and kept on marching! I tried to get him to stop in between the flares so I could grab a pic, but he was having none of that. He'd been really good about everything- no running or spooking, but as soon as I shortened the reins and asked him to stop, he just ran through me and became very nervous. I took him back through, didn't touch the reins, and he walked calmly, yet carefully, through. Interesting.

They had a big stick/small log on a long rope that we could drag around, so I decided to try that. Penn was more concerned about the rope than the thing it was attached to. It took a few minutes to get a hold of the rope, and then another few minutes to convince him that it wasn't going to hurt him. After that, he easily drug the stick/log around, and even let me shorten the rope and maneuver him around the barrel we were supposed to circle so that the stick/log wouldn't hit the barrel. I have video of it too!

Sorry it's vertical, I wasn't in control of my camera!

https://youtu.be/LMnZ2gDCWmI

Some less notable activities:

• We walked through pool noodles cut in half, then each half attached to a jump standard in such a way that it would touch him on both sides as he walked through. Non-issue, it was like it wasn't even there.
• Mailboxes: take "mail" out of one box and put it in the other. Not cool with that, it made noise as I opened and closed it and he wasn't expected that. I let him sniff the box and he was like, "Oh, ok." I opted to not attempt to move the "mail" from one box to another.
• There was a hard walled kiddie pool with water that he wanted no parts of. He already has water issues, so I only made him walk up to it and investigate it with his nose.
• Hula hoops: OMG no. Bad bad bad. It was the only time he got a little out of control. Someone was kind enough to hand me one, and he promptly tried to run away from it... well I'm sitting on him holding it, so it "chased" him. Poor creature. I eventually got him to tolerate it enough to walk around a little, but eventually he had enough of it and started to squirt sideways again so I was forced to drop it. I made him walk over it, but I'm not overly worried about a fear of hula hoops!

We spent about an hour milling around and linking obstacles together, and watching some of our barn-mates do them properly. Penn was so good, and I was pleased that I had his complete attention the entire evening (as if he'd pay attention to anything else!), but he either stood quietly watching everyone else, or he was focused on whatever obstacle we were doing.

You can see the tarp, noodle thing, broomstick polo, kiddie pool, bridge, and dragging stick.

Overall, they had:

• a small diameter black pipe cut in half, dressed up like a spider, that you had to walk over (a wee jump)
• hula hoops
• broom and ball (for broomstick polo)
• a hard sided kiddie pool with water
• a bridge
• a large stick tied to a rope to drag around
• a tarp
• poles set on a zig zag to back up through
• a single barrel to jump
• a curtain to walk through
• two lit flares
• two mailboxes to take mail in between

I had him sniff the "jumps", but had zero desire to try and jump them, or walk over them. He's also not so good at backing up (side effect of 'go forward, ALWAYS!'), and has a rearing tendency, so I opted not to try that either since it frustrates him and I wanted to keep him happy.

This was an interesting trip through Penn's psyche. He absolutely wants to be good and brave, and is so frustrated when he can't do what I want. It let me know just how well that first lesson I taught him stuck (go forward when you're scared, no matter what). I've taught him that he will be ok, as long as he keeps moving forward, and apparently I've done a good job assuring him that's the case because it's what he does when he's afraid. Examples: Diving through the shower curtain when he saw an opening. Not wanting to stop between the flares, then blowing up when I tried to force him to stop. Running over the bridge the first few times. When I'd bring him around and present the question again, he was notably calmer going through.

He did absolutely everything on a long rein. If I shortened at all, he got nervous. It was a bit eye opening really. When he gets looky and spooky in the ring, what do I do? I snatch up the reins and try to force him to bend properly and look away. I need to experiment with application here, but it seems he's found a happy place where he stretches and travels very forward when he's nervous. I need to figure out how to apply that when he's nervous or looky in the ring.

I tested the thinking on a trail ride last night- it absolutely works. If I give him a longer rein, he'll stretch and look, then keep moving. If it's really terrifying, stop, stretch, look, then he'll walk past. The stopping isn't something I want to encourage because it's not always an option, however, good experiences are good for his bravery because in reality, he's still a baby.

It has been suggested to me (by none other than my BO) that this should be Penn's next endeavor.
I laughed. Then thought about how to go about it.
Costumes are allowed in musical freestyles right? ;-P