Day Ten: Expanding Her World

A little schnoodling during a ride never hurt nobody!

It has been ten whole days since Polly arrived at my farm! I actually can't believe how fast it has gone, she feels like a part of the family already. I've been working her a little bit every day, only for about fifteen minutes at a time. I spend a lot of time grooming her and working with her on the ground, but her strength and fitness are pretty low, so I don't want to physically push her beyond what she can offer. Because she is going from no work at all to working every day, I want to keep every session fun so that she feels like everything is easily accomplished. She's got a great work ethic, and I don't want to spoil that in any way. 

She's gotten much better about coming out of the stall and standing still for her grooming and tacking. Initially, she was a little fidgety, but she's learned that getting curried, combed and brushed is pleasant! She ties well both plain and in the cross ties, and just hangs out. I'm teaching her about lateral movements in the easiest way possible, by starting on the ground. When I ride, I'm going to need her to yield to my leg, for turning, for opening and closing gates, and for various other things. So I use my hand or my finger in the same place where my leg would be, and start her education that way when she's standing in the aisle for grooming. I also do that in the stall when I'm cleaning it, and she's starting to get it. In the beginning, she would get a little grumpy, "Why are you poking me!?" but now she just steps over and looks at me like, "Is that the right answer?"

This week, we started working on her understanding of the contact, which, accordingly with her previous career as a racehorse, is tenuous at best. I worked as an exercise rider for a few years, and it helped me understand how to ride thoroughbreds after they race much better. They are frequently very crooked, and are only taught to lean on the bit instead of soften and carry themselves. When you are galloping them, you teach them to use your hands to balance themselves, and in fact a horse that increases speed into the contact is somewhat desirable. Obviously, this is pretty much opposite of any other career, and so there is some re-educating to be done!

She is only walking and trotting still, because she isn't quite strong enough to canter in a coordinated way, but we are successfully coming into a frame in the walk, and sometimes at the trot. She is a bit crooked, tending to go around with her head bent to the right all the time, so I am working on her ability to bend around my left leg, effectively stretching out the right side of her body a little more. She doesn't totally get it, but she tries so hard, she will soon!

Today, we went on our first off property exploration! I have been keeping her mainly in the arena and going on walks around the farm, but she has not cared about a single thing yet, so I figured we could step it up a little. I live on a great dirt road, and it has a lot to offer. It's mostly quiet, but there are cars, trucks, farm equipment, joggers, bikers, people walking dogs etc that frequently appear. A good way to get exposure to all sorts of weird things while still being in a fairly quiet environment. Another bonus is that the land around me is very open and horse friendly, with over 2,000 acres in conservation easement with trails, gates, jumps and all open for me to ride on!

So Polly and I went on a little hack a short way down the road. She didn't blink an eye when the cars went by us, we had a dog freak out and bark at us from behind an invisible fence (which she totally ignored) and we went to check out the neighboring cows!

I'm not sure if Polly has ever seen cows, but it's a good skill to have. If she is going to ever have a career that involves hunting, going on hunter paces, or even going to local shows, she's going to have to see cows and keep her head on! There are a lot of horses that have permanent cow fear, especially thoroughbreds, so I wanted to get this out of the way. She certainly stared at them as we approached, but while she stopped and gawked, she never spooked, spun, or panicked. She went forwards towards them when I asked, and when we got close, she didn't care at all. One of them came particularly close to us, and she just looked at her with benign interest. 

The whole point of all this piddling around is that I think Polly should get more out of this trainer's challenge than just the ability to complete the competition. I want to prepare her as best I can for any career, and for any rider. So, I'm not just focusing on pool noodles and walking over tarps (although that will come!), but riding her in the same way I would any other horse in training. I also think that slow and steady work will eventually come to more fruition than throwing a ton of stuff at her really quickly. When her muscles catch up from walking up and down the hills in her paddock, she'll be all ready to attack some more serious work. Until next time!

Day Four: Riding Commences

Polly is dressed and ready to go!

Polly has settled right into the swing of things here at my farm, and clearly thinks that she's landed at the Ritz, and is totally loving it! I think that she must have had some sort of attention previous to this, because she's all about going in the stall, scarfing down her breakfast, munching on hay, and enjoying the overhead fans! I found out that she also loves peppermints (but doesn't know what the heck a carrot is) which is a typical racehorse trait. I never thought I would have to train horses to understand treats until I started working with OTTBs!

She's a very easy horse to handle in the day-to-day interactions. She leads well, with only a little bit of impatience when it comes time to get into the stall for breakfast. She is working on understanding tying, both in the cross ties and plain tying to some string on the wall. I have yet to see her panic about anything, even when she gets confused or upset about something, she never seems to lose her mental cool, which is a pretty priceless attribute. She does pace a little bit in her field, but she does not get worked up about it, I think it's more of a calming habit for her. She paces for about five minutes, seems to be soothed by it, and will return to grazing. 

After our first day of lunging a bit in the ring, I decided, based on my interactions with her thus far, to take my chances and just hop on her for the third day. We know that she has already been ridden in her life, as she did race five years ago, so it's not like I'm breaking a complete baby, but I always proceed with caution when beginning to ride a horse that has an unknown history. For all I know, she could have had some terrible riding habits at the track, or indeed not been ridden since the day of that race five years ago! As you can see from the picture above, I began by letting her walk a little while I hung off the side, in the fashion that I do with real babies. That way, you have your weight on their back, but in the case of an extreme explosion, you can easily dismount to the side. 

However, my worries were all for naught! As you can see from her facial expression, Polly was perfectly pleased to be ridden again. She was a bit fiddly about the mounting block, but I just stand quietly on the block and let her circle a few times, and when she halts of her own accord, she gets a peppermint and a big fuss. That won't take long until she figures out that standing still is the way to go!

The first day, I simply walked her around her own paddock for about ten minutes. It's important, for the first ride, to have familiar surroundings, and to keep it short and sweet. Not only does Polly not have the physical fitness and strength to do lots of exercise quickly, but it keeps the idea of working with me fun in her mind. She only has to do a little bit, it's easy, and she gets peppermints and lots of petting, what's not to like?

Today, I took it a bit further, and I walked her down to the arena, and mounted her there for a little session further away from the barn. She was quicker to figure out standing at the mounting block, and in fact stood very quietly after I mounted (munching on a peppermint!) until I asked her to move forward. OTTBs have a hard time with the whole "mounting" thing in general, as exercise riders are usually thrown on while the horse is moving around the shed row. Sometimes they stand still while being mounted, but most of them don't understand the idea of holding still or definitely the sensation of having the saddle twist while one foot is put in and the rider mounts. 

We walked around the ring quietly, and I steered her over a few poles. She was thoroughly unimpressed, and I could feel her saying, "Look lady, I don't know why you're being so cautious, I've clearly done this before!". She's such a willing partner, it's great fun to work with a horse like that. So, we trotted a little. Once around one way and once the other way! Then I dismounted and we walked back to the barn, because, once again, I want her to come away from each session thinking that it was interesting, easy, and there were lots of rewards and praise. That way, when I pull her out of the stall tomorrow, she will look forward to it. 

Day Two: Spa Day & Training Begins

Miss Polly post Spa Day, sporting a new haircut and some new kicks!

The first week or two of working with a new horse is all about getting to know them, finding out their likes and dislikes, their quirks and preferences. No matter what horse I begin training, they come to my farm and on the very first day, we do Spa Day. While some of this is certainly aesthetic and a by product of my obsessive cleaning habits, more of it is about getting to know the horse, and putting hands on every body part through several hours of primping.

Think about it, if I spend a few hours scrubbing every part of her body, scrunching my hands all up in her tail, trimming her mane, snipping a bridle path, asking her to stand with me and tolerate this new nonsense, I can learn a lot. Is she sensitive to the touch? Is she good about letting me pick up her feet? Is she crabby about certain parts of her body? Does she think about kicking or biting? Is she familiar with clippers or mane pulling? All of this is vital information going forward, as it changes how I behave around her, and what I focus on training wise on the ground. Good news: she was a perfect angel and has no weird or snarky habits on the grooming front!

Grabbing a snack while drying in the sun.

So, yesterday, Polly started out with getting her mane and tail dreadlocks drenched in show sheen, and summarily picked apart until I was able to brush both without ripping it all out. She actually has lovely thick and good quality hair, which is nice. I always brush both of them out before washing, because it makes it significantly easier to get the soap all up in there when you bathe them. After much soaping and some conditioner for the tail, I let her graze and dry off in the sun. And then her tail got banged and I lopped off half her mane, braiding it over on the correct side as well. 

If you think it's all a bit much, here is my theory: when we want to be perceived as professional and reputable, we go out of our way to dress like it, so why should a horse be any different? My goal with Polly is to make her as marketable and appealing as possible to riders who are interested in a true sport horse, and if I can make her look the part, I would be remiss not to take advantage of that. She needs to be perceived as a beautiful riding horse, and so therefore, she will follow the beauty routines that all my show horses get. 

Polly working on the lunge line. 

We also had my farrier extraordinaire come out yesterday to trim all four of her feet, and tack on some new front shoes. She has good quality feet, but they are typical to her breed, in that they are quite flat and she was a bit ouchy walking on anything other than the softest grass. Therefore, in order to keep her comfortable as she enters the work force, we pre-emptively put some front shoes on her. 

Today I decided that I should see what she does when I bring out the tack, as a lot of horses off the racetrack get immediately worried, sweaty and tense when you re-introduce work to their schedule. Polly was certainly interested in what was happening, but was not overly worried at all. I put a saddle and bridle on her, and threw a rope halter over the top so that I could lunge her without messing with her bit at all. 

We hand walked down through the field to the arena, and I started working with her on the lunge, which is clearly a new idea to her. However, what I like about this mare is that despite the fact that I'm introducing a whole bunch of new things to her, she always makes an effort to figure out what I'm asking, and what I want. The Thoroughbred breed is excellent at two things: understanding the idea of having a job, and having a great work ethic. You just can't beat a good Thoroughbred mare, they'll try forever for you!

I'm not totally determined to make my horses perfect on the lunge line, but I do think it's a handy skill to have in your pocket. It's just another way to work on ground manners, and to make sure you have a horse who is listening to you before you get in the tack. Does she understand a leading hand? Will she move her shoulders and hindquarters separately away from you? When she is all alone in the arena away from the other horses, does she lose her cool and panic? 

Thankfully, the answers to these questions were all positive. While she didn't immediately understand what I was asking, her interest in figuring out the right answers made my job a lot easier. She has a great work ethic, and after discovering that it was simple to walk both ways on a circle, she completely relaxed. I only walked today, although she trotted a little on her own. With young or green horses, I never stifle their urge for forward motion (unless it's a bolting forward motion) because a lot of them find it calming to move a little bit. Instead, I offer an alternative route for their energy, whether it is moving laterally or transitions or whatever. When they don't feel boxed in and constrained, they are more likely to relax on their own terms, and be more fulfilled by the experience!

Polly Arrives!

Unvanted Treasure: Day One Photo Shoot!

Polly has arrived! Erica and I went up to Days End Horse Farm Rescue today with my trailer to pick Polly up and bring her back to Virginia. I was pleasantly surprised that she hopped right onto my trailer, and with only minimal stomping, settled into munching on her hay net. She travelled well and it took us about three and a half hours to get back home. 

She was understandably a little bewildered when she came off the trailer, and a little sweaty from a touch of nerves on the long trip. Being all alone in a strange trailer on the highway for several hours doesn't sound like fun to me, so I can hardly blame her. However, she walked quietly off the trailer and into her new stall, where she promptly located the pile of hay and the fresh bucket of water and went straight to work! All of my other horses were highly interested to see who the new member of the group was, but she was completely unperturbed by them, and solely focused on her food. A good eater is always something to rejoice in!

Intelligent and soft eye.

Polly's calm demeanor really has me thrilled, as she seems to adapt well to strange situations, and has a good sensible head on her shoulders. Even my mother commented that she must be an incredibly level headed individual, and seems to have a good sense of self preservation. Even when my gigantic warmbloods are acting like fools and snorting like stallions, she just kept munching away in the corner. She was very happy to receive her dinner too! We are slowly going to switch her from her usual feed (senior sweet feed) to what I feed my horses (Cavalor), so she gets a little of both in her daily meals until she is accustomed and acquainted with the new flavors and nutritional effects. 

Settling right into her new stall

Tomorrow will be SPA DAY!! Also known as: my favorite day EVER. I adore the bathing, scrubbing, clipping, trimming, currying, detangling and shining part of this process. It actually is one of my favorite things, and I take great pride in my ability to make a big difference with just a little bit of expert elbow grease. Polly will be getting the full treatment: a huge bubble bath with extra shampoo and conditioner for her mane and tail, a detangling session when everything dries, banging of the tail and taming/pulling of the mane. I think a horse that gets over an hour of massages and grooming and primping starts to feel special about themselves, and that's all part of the process. 

Trotting around her temporary paddock while she gets acquainted with the grounds

For now, Polly will be turned out in one of my two smaller paddocks overnight, and in the barn during the day with the rest of the horses. She is used to 24/7 turnout, but usually once they realize that there is ample hay and an overhead fan in the barn, they settle right into the routine. All of my horses come in at 7am, eat breakfast, and promptly take a long nap! I'm sure she will get the hang of it. After a week or so, when all the horses are friendly and accustomed to one another, I'll introduce her into one of the larger fields with another mare who lives next to her in the barn, and they can be field buddies.

 Tomorrow Polly will also be getting a trim and two front shoes from the best farrier in the world (or so I think) Al Johnson. He's an expert in keeping my upper level Eventing horses sound and in the best hoof health they can be in, and I think Polly will feel very comfortable with a new pair of kicks on her front feet. Check in later this week for post spa-day updates and more action from the farm!

Third Annual Days End Horse Farm Rescue Trainer's Challenge

Unvanted Treasure, aka "Polly"

Hello and welcome to the blog! It is my pleasure to announce my upcoming participation in a sixty day trainer's challenge in cooperation with Days End Horse Farm Rescue in Woodbine, Maryland. As part of my work with the Equine Welfare Society, we thought that working with another rescue operation to promote the success of rescued or "unwanted" horses would be a wonderful way to spend our summer, and a great challenge for me personally. I have always wanted to be involved in a short term trainer's challenge, and this is my chance to show off my skills as I work with a horse to build a relationship and a partnership.

The DEHFR Trainer's Challenge is a wonderful program that promotes rescue horses much in the way that the OTTB movement has been working for thoroughbreds. Many people, when searching for their next partner in crime, forget that there are lovely horses available at local rescues who are just as capable as show horses that are more obviously on the market. The challenge is sixty days for professionals, and ninety days for amateurs, at the end of which time period we all gather for a day of showing off our skills in both a freestyle and trail class. Horses must prove that they have learned a set of defined skills for the trail class, and then are judged on the freestyle aspect, as well as the general bond between the trainer and the horse. I won't tell you what I have in mind for the freestyle yet....but I've got something good!

After applying to become one of the trainers chosen for the program, I was accepted and EWS director Erica Stevens and I travelled to Maryland to meet with the DEHFR folks. Based upon my experience training horses and my sport preferences, they matched me with Unvanted Treasure (what a great name for this!), aka, "Polly". Polly is a 2004 thoroughbred mare who raced once, at the age of five, and was wildly unsuccessful. Not much is known of her life after that, and she was just recently rescued by DEHFR in April of this year, so she is just beginning her journey to recovery.

Polly and I during our first meeting

We looked her up on Equibase, and while Polly epitomizes the "plain brown wrapper" horse with no particular breeding or even markings to set her apart, I was pleased with her attitude during the fifteen minutes that I was able to interact with her during our meeting. She has a calm attitude, and a willing heart. She made a significant effort to connect with me, and while she did not understand everything that I was asking as I attempted to lunge her, she clearly wanted to find the correct answer. That, and she quickly figured out that when she came near me, I scratched her face and let her rest, and was then very motivated to continue hanging out with me!

The plan is to head up to Maryland this Sunday, the 13th of July, and pick her up. DEHFR kindly allowed me a little more than sixty days (the challenge culminates with their Fall Festival on September 20th) to allow for the fact that I will be out of town twice during that time period for competitions with my own horses. Polly will be coming back to my farm in Free Union, so that every day, I am the first face that she sees, and I am the one that feeds her, grooms her, and turns her out. This way, our bond will be faster to form than if she only saw me for an hour a day for training purposes.

So, here is to our journey beginning! I will be sure to post an update on Monday at the latest, including her "before" picture and maybe a little video. Stay tuned!