adventures with Kieran

Do you have a groom at the yard that could hose them during the day?
We have a paddock with a little bit of a dam. It is less than 3' deep. The horses go in there when they want, paw the water and many will lie down to wallow.

I am impressed at your dedication to ride. I have no motivation at the moment. Sometimes I will just go the stables in the afternoon, take Moscow out of the stable or paddock, and let him graze. Tacking up and riding feels like a mission. And I'm getting bored of going around in circles, merely working on a perfect trot with the occassional canter when I get the feeling he may actually not lose his marbles.
I have a friend's youngster I am working with. He is 2 years and 3 months approx, and all our work is groundwork (I have sat on his 3 times with someone holding or literally me just sitting there for 3 minutes while he figures out what is going on.
He's too young to be backed as such. But I am enjoying the groundwork and slowly adding in more advanced things, like us currently working on the bow.

Hehe, I am the groom. I'm the poop shoveler. I'm the one who tends to illness/injury. I'm the one who feeds. I'm the one who does everything.

Nothing wrong with just hanging out with Moscow. There are times I go out to the barn to just hang out with the guys here. I tell people I'm absorbing horse molecules.

We had a good but tiring ride yesterday. Apparently his previous owners would get on walk a little bit, trot a bit then go like crazy. We've been working on just quietly walking along. He seems to have gotten the idea that it is okay to just walk along in a nice business like walk without having to breaking into a trot. Yesterday I introduced the idea of just trotting along in a quiet trot. I have to sit the trot because he does not understand what's going on if I start to post.

For the non-riders in the group sitting trot does not look like any kind of work. After all you're just sitting there, right? It is a workout for legs and lower back. It takes gripping with the entire leg, a supple lower back and a ton of balancing.

I'd ask for a trot. He'd be okay for a few strides then think he was supposed to go faster. I'd ask him to slow down. He'd walk. Add leg for trot. A few strides of nice trot, speed up, ask for slower, get the walk instead. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Finally we got a nice steady tro about half way around the ring. I asked him to walk and made a big fuss over him. We both caught our breath then reversed to repeat the whole cycle going the other way in the ring. I looked like someone had squirted me with the hose by the time we were down.

For the non-horsey folks in the crowd this may not sound like such a big deal, but I was very pleased with him. It's so easy to make assumptions about what a horse has been trained to do. Kind of like we assume all people have been taught how to act with other people. It's not always true. There is no telling what kind of training, if any, he's had. I have to remind myself to assume he knows nothing. I'm delighted when he picks up on something I'm trying to teach him.

I have a horse that is a nightmare once he's trotted. Even more so after a canter. Then he wants to do everything in fast forward. Very tiring both physically and mentally as you try work around this

He let me post the trot today!!!!!

I realize to non-horsey people that is a big so what, but this is the first time he continued to trot when I started posting! Granted he turned his head and looked at me like "What the heck are you doing?" but he kept on trotting. This is progress!!!

Liz,
I feel like you have been doing a good job explaining to us non horse people what you are talking about with Kieran so we understand. I'm so glad you are making progress with him.

How does he respond to a light seat? 3-point or 2-point as some people may call it? I find the youngsters sometimes prefer it.
But make sure you have a neck strap in case he comes to a grinding halt or tries to whip and do a U-turn. Also make sure your head is well up in case he throws his head around.

Sugahorse, I think he might have always been ridden Western in the past. He is sort of a rescue and I know next to nothing about his history. I don't think he's ever had anyone post before.

We've worked on me riding in 2-point at the walk. That took him some time to adjust. Since it seems to be my fanny coming off the saddle that bothers him I think I'll stick to sitting the trot or posting at this point.

Can't believe I forgot to mention this. He has gained the weight he needed!! No more ribs and hips and backbone sticking out! He has a nice big, round barrel (ribcage) that takes up my leg nicely. I laughed yesterday and said if he gains any more weight my legs are going to stick out to the sides like a little kid on a fat pony.

I rode a mare yesterday that for all intents and purposes is also a rescue. She jumped into the paddock with a bunch of Clydesdales and started breeding there, before my yard owner was asked to round up all of the horses and take them for training and to sell on.
She had been ridden when she was younger we assume, as she probably came from the "Location" in the area.
But other than that we know very little. We estimate her to be about 12 years old. She's about 15.1hh.
Her steering leaves a bit to be desired and she's just generally green.
Worked her in the lunge arena yesterday, just to get a feel. On Sunday I rode another mare that come with this lot, the same story. She had not been ridden at all for months but a friend had done some great ground work with her. She was fine until I asked for a canter, which is when she started to stick up. I pushed her through it and must have pissed her off - she suddenly threw an almighty buck and I was doing some spectacular gymnastics. Got back on and carried on working at the trot lol.
They also both seem to prefer the sitting trot, but I personally hate it.
The groundwork I am learning, and which my friend has adopted is the Clinton Anderson method. I like most of what he does.

Wow! It's been weeks since I posted about Kieran.

Our ride three weeks ago was absolutely horrid. There was a low pressure area parked over us that weekend. I put all the critters in a vile mood. He was a brat the entire time we were out. Tossed his head. Stopped and refused to move. Offered to buck. Did his best to yank my arms off pulling on the reins. Neither one of us liked the other very much by the time I finally got some good behavior out of him and we quit.

Two weeks ago he had his feet trimmed. I'm happy to say that after being a bit of a naughty boy for his first couple of trims he stands like a gentleman now.

Last weekend and again today he was a good boy about riding. He had one little episode today that I thought was actually kind of funny. He apparently decided he'd had enough and wanted to quit. He walked to the middle of the ring, put his head down and stopped. It was like he decided it was time to quit so "Get off lady!" He finally moved when I gave him a big kick in the ribs. We walked a little longer, when it seemed he realized I was the one in charge I let him quit.

I know I've said this about a zillion times. I'm likely to keep saying it. After saying I was looking for something quiet and sensible I kept looking at show prospects like I would've bought in the past. When I got my head on straight and looked for what I said I wanted I found him. He doesn't have any kind of fancy breeding that I know of. He is no Olympic candidate, but he is exactly what I said I wanted. Something sane, sound and a pleasure to ride.

side note - this probably won't mean diddly to the non-riders in the group. I spent most of today's ride not using the stirrups. That means the muscles in the legs and back get a really workout. My legs, but and lower back are asking if I lost my everloving mind tonight.

Always love hearing about the 'adventures'.

Thanks, this was just thing I needed tonight

OW, Liz! Ooh my own back, butt and legs are wincing in sympathy. I honestly wouldn't be up to that kind of working-out a horse anymore, and I know it -- my knees would simply hand in their resignation, sigh.

No the less, am having loads of vicarious enjoyment of your adventures. Thanks for this. Truly.
xo

Chyia, sending you psychic Motrin lol

Kieran proved he is not perfect this weekend. He had a hump in his back when I first got on him. That's a sign they want to buck. He never actually bucked and the bump went down quickly. He did a whole bunch of little things acting kind of cranky. I think it was the aftermath of the hurricane last week. That kind of weather seems to make the critters all cranky.

I was delighted that while he was not happy about working when we first went out he settled down and was a good boy. It has been a couple of weeks since we did any work at the trot. First time I posted this week he got confused again. I swear he is asking what the heck I'm doing up there. He was a bit of a pistol when we first trotted, but then settled down and did his job. He got a big pat on the neck and told he was a "good boooooy!" Imagine this said in a high pitched voice.

I've discovered he apparently has a timeclock in his head. 25-30 minutes from the time I first climb on he walks to the middle of the ring and quits. It's like a timer goes off and he says "tine to quit!" I suspect his previous owner rode that long and stopped. He was not happy with me when I told him that he had to keep working, that I'm the one who decides when we are done.

It might not sound like it from my description, but it was a nice ride. Kind of nice to have him show he has some spunk in him, but will still behave.

Thanks, Liz, for more about Kieran. And bloodlines don't mean diddly. It is the horse that matters!

You are a talented and dedicated trainer obviously!

Both of you keep up the good work!

Please be nice to him.

Spunk is good, it means he hasn't been broken.

Service Cat of course I'm nice to him! Even the day weeks ago when he was non-stop naughty and I was so frustrated I could have ripped his head off and shouted down the hole I was nice to him.

This last weekend when he was cranky he got a good thorough brushing, lots of pats and some carrots when we were done. Even though he acted silly part of the time when he did as I asked he got rewarded and we quit.

How are the horses handling the weather?

They were an odd combination of clingy, cranky and spooky. Kieran kept coming to me for scratches like he was looking for reassurance. At the same time he and Woody spooked easily and were out of sorts.

We got to ride yesterday! First time in three weeks due to various circumstances.

I made the mistake of just hopping on him. He was still edgy from the storm, plus it was windy. He was spooky and acting silly when I first got on. When I realized he needed a chance to walk around the ring before I got on I hopped off and took him for a stroll around the ring. He was still a little spooky when I got back on, but settled down and was a good boy. It turned into a nice ride. This shows me that he is a sensible boy, but he's still a horse and is going to react to things like a horse.

Yep, that's horse....flight or fight animals with flight being their choice. Glad his sensible mind is well trained & strong. My first horse was an OTT TB who was already 16. The dressage arena & the jump arena had pine trees at one end. Lol....he was sure there was a pine tree ghost in there every time we rode by but totally sensible every where else until it came to water on the ground. Glad you had a great ride

Oh yes, booger monsters hide in trees.... and garbage cans... and wet ground... and different colored ground... and...

Got to ride yesterday and it was wonderful!

Fall weather finally arrived here. I wasn't sure with the cooler air and a slight breeze how he was going to behave. I'm exhausted from work and in a lot of pain from fibro. I just wanted a nice quiet ride.That's exactly what he gave me. He started out in a power walk and seemed a bit confused when I kept telling him it was okay to just stroll around. He caught on quickly. We spent the time just noodling (my term for slowly wandering around) the ring.

He got lots of loving and carrots when we got back to the barn. I know I've said it before, but it merits repeating. He is just what I wanted. I'm so happy we found each other.