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Post by beksnjake on Jan 6, 2013 16:17:30 GMT
Following on from the thread about maximum weight loads for horses I've done some calculations and at the moment I am too heavy for Rosie (& tbh Jake too as he is getting older!). I have lost a few pounds but need to lose considerably more if I am to ride her regularly. My friend Hazel is quite tiny as is mum so I have decided that until I lose weight I will only do GW with Rosie. That was my plan for today - but mother (as usual) had other ideas . . . . . .
So out we go, me on Jake, mum on Rosie!
We rescue Polly (who had planted near our yard) & L and go for what turns out to be a foggy but pretty much uneventful hack. It was nice to actually see Rosie being ridden and to also see how she is progressing. Her trot work continues to improve, still sets off at a fair lick but now settles into a nice rhythm within a couple of strides.
There are a lot of gas guns (bird scarers) round our way at the moment and a couple are just a little too close to the roads I fear! Most of the time they go off in the distance & no-one (human or horse) takes much notice. But today we had one go off literally as we rode past - it was sooooo loud, I nearly died of shock, mother nearly used the "F" word (SHOCK HORROR!) & all 3 horses spooked. Cue mum shouting "Sit up & ride forward" to me as I'd frozen. I'm not good with bangs of any sort and I really hate gas guns - I have improved, several years ago I used to jump so badly at them that I used to make Jake spook! Anyway normal service was resumed and we all carried on none the worse for the experience.
Apart from that, it was a lovely ride, Jake loving being with his "girls" - Polly & Rosie occasionally competing to be behind him. Rosie is still struggling a bit with hill work and at one point we were going up a particularly steep hill and half way up, she dropped back into walk - only to find renewed energy & speed when it looked like Polly was going to overtake and end up behind Jake ;D
Rosie had put back on 6 kg so hopefully the 20 kg she lost with the colic will soon be back - I don't like feeling & seeing her ribs. I did egg counts on Monday and both came back with a medium egg burden (Jake interestingly higher than Rosie - his counts have been <50 until now) so I wormed them both this morning with Pramox. Rosie was a star, just stood there and took it, Jake was more awkward!
So the plan for the next week is GW tomorrow with Rosie, she'll be ridden Tuesday & Wednesday by Hazel and on Thursday I'll take her & Jake up to the school to do some GW & mum hopefully can film some of it. Continue to be really pleased with Rosie's progress, taking it slowly, building foundations & just enjoying the journey.
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Post by beksnjake on Jan 8, 2013 12:52:31 GMT
Had a lovely ride this morning, Hazel on Rosie & me on Jake. Rosie was so chilled out, nice low head carriage & a relaxed mouth! Hazel had some problems grooming her legs but has realised she's not being firm enough. Rosie needs the boundaries & hard brushes!!
It's brilliant to see how she is progressing, small steady steps. And to see her looking more relaxed.
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Post by beksnjake on Jan 10, 2013 16:10:50 GMT
Took Rosie up to the sand school with Jake this morning to do some GW, mum came along too so she could take some footage of me working Rosie. This is the first time both horses have been to the school together so I was interested to see how Rosie would react. She led all the way to the school - I led her & mum had good old dependable Jake! She did stick a little leaving the yard, but I've noticed this past week or so that I am able to get her unstuck by moving her front feet & with a little pressure on the rope. She seems to just stop now rather than plant if that makes sense - if necessary I just wave my stick (& string) at her hindquarters & she will move forward.
Got to the school and worked her first - mum has filmed most of our session but I need to edit it I think & then try & put it on Youtube - which will probably take me several months to work out how to do! Rosie was actually really good and although I can see where I need to do more work I am really pleased with how well she went - mum was totally amazed at what we've achieved in a short pace of time.
Rosie moves her shoulders to change direction when circling, at times as I think it - this was initially a little hairy as back in November she would come right into you and then almost over the top! I've worked on this by leading her and asking her to step away from me & towards me by moving the rope as we walk along (its harder to describe it than to do it!) - I guess what I'm saying I've got her to understand changes in the feel on the rope.
She does at times lean out on the circle, her head is on the outside, which isn't always obviously to me when I'm working her - also today there were sheep being herded up & dogs barking etc in the field next door, which is all good experience for me at keeping her focus on me!
Her back-up is better, much better - she moves diagonal pairs of feet now BUT what the film shows me is that she is not relaxing her neck & head enough, there is tension there. However considering that when we first started all this, Rosie was unable to give me any backward steps on the ground & would get all emotional, I feel there is progress in that when I ask she will take several steps, just now need to get the softness.
Because she used to lunging, Rosie is very responsive to the stick, lift it and she moves! She will not trot or canter without me using the stick to drive her. I can swing the end of the 12ft rope as hard & fast as I like around her & she barely reacts, but she is very wary of the string if I swing that.
I also worked on some lateral stuff & that was interesting because you can see her saying "Not sure what you want, I don't understand", her ears flicker all over the place as she's working it out, which of course being a clever mare, she does!! I then jumped around her, rubbing her all over, including her belly and she is becoming less reactive - in fact today I was able to groom right by her teats, which is a HUGE step forward, the hind feet still do come up occasionally but she's not kicking out.
All in all a brilliant session.
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Post by snigsby on Jan 11, 2013 10:10:47 GMT
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Post by redhorseracinguk on Jan 11, 2013 15:48:20 GMT
An excellent session indeed, I look forward to the video Xx
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Post by el on Jan 11, 2013 22:36:37 GMT
Yay fantastic!!!
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Post by beksnjake on Jan 12, 2013 6:57:11 GMT
Forgot to mention that on Wednesday mum & Hazel took Jake & Rosie out for a hack. Hazel was a bit worried as she felt Rosie didn't feel quite right, a bit stiff & she kept stopping. Now since she's had the colic we've all been a little wary so mum decided to cut the ride short (they were about half way)and turned to go home. . . . . . . . . . . Well Madam Rosie strode out, overtook Jake and marched home Think she's been talking to Jake about napping ;D
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Post by beksnjake on Jan 13, 2013 18:24:53 GMT
Mum rode Rosie today, she says she's getting used to how narrow Rosie is compared to Jake - hopefully that will change as Rosie puts on more weight & muscle (6 kg this week!). Rosie was well behaved, a little backward thinking at times like she was earlier in the week with Hazel. Its definitely napping but quite subtle. But mum says as long as you're firm with her & vibrate your legs (not kicking!) Rosie moves forward, she's not needed to use a whip at any point. Am off next week so weather permitting hoping to do quite a bit with her.
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Post by beksnjake on Jan 16, 2013 16:31:41 GMT
Well after some GW on Monday, myself & Hazel went out for a ride yesterday, a very short hack as it turned out as it was so cold. Sun out, blue skies etc but soooooo cold! Both horses well behaved & relaxed. In fact Rosie was exceptionally quiet when groomed, hardly fidgeted at all, much to our surprise. But I do think she is slowly finding she needs to move her feet less as she learns to relax more. Although I'm not sure mum would agree after grooming Rosie today - she was just a little fidgety ;D
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Post by quest on Jan 16, 2013 18:28:14 GMT
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Post by kas on Jan 18, 2013 16:09:40 GMT
Me too.
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Post by beksnjake on Jan 18, 2013 16:46:05 GMT
Today we worked on the grooming as it was too cold & frozen to go out anywhere. Thought I was doing rather well brushing just behind Rosie's elbows without a lot of fidgeting from Rosie, till her right hind came up & touched my hand, not a kick but very definitely a warning, a very accurate warning . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . so I moved elsewhere with the brush for a couple of minutes and then moved back to her belly. She wasn't happy but didn't attempt to kick my hand. This is very much a work in progress, to quote Captain Oates "I may be some time" ;D
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Post by beksnjake on Jan 22, 2013 11:00:20 GMT
The work on grooming continues, am now taking a slightly different approach thanks to some sound advice from Kas. Have tried grooming Rosie not tied up, allowing her to move her feet but to a lesser extent than when she is tied up. Grooming has become an Olympic sport as we both dance round each other, Rosie because she has to move when she doesn't like what you're doing/grooming & me because I'm avoiding getting squashed. Taking a step back & reviewing the situation I can see how easily you can get caught up in Rosie's anxiety without meaning to. So twice now she has been groomed without being tied up, I can flex her neck if she's thinking of kicking, plus this morning we had the added distraction of a hay net. If she tries to walk over me etc I flex her round, allow a couple of steps but praise her with forehead rubs if she only takes a couple of steps - seems to be the only place she likes being scratched or rubbed. I've had very little tail swishing & her back feet only came up a couple of times today.
So next on the agenda - how to convince mum that Rosie has to be groomed a certain way. Well as grooming with a hay net keeps her distracted, I'll start by insisting she is groomed whist eating her hay, then move on to grooming not tied up in a few weeks! I'm aiming for consistency which is what this little mare needs.
Also today Rosie had her 2nd vaccination - new vet Kate, very good with Rosie. Just popped injection in her chest rather than neck, Rosie barely noticed so excellent result! Interestingly Kate said that charlotte (vet who treated the colic) had been really surprised by Rosie's extreme reaction to the IV injection, how she'd just literally flipped. This makes me feel better about the whole episode as I had felt I hadn't handled it well but it seems little Rosie caught us all by surprise!
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Post by quest on Jan 22, 2013 12:07:01 GMT
Thats interesting about Rosie's grooming. We have found that hairy can be very fidgety and not want to be groomed - the things these girls hold back and will only release when ready! - so at the moment I don't groom as such, just gently stroke or scratch with my fingers when I bring her in and she eating her hay. I have her loose and when she moves away I keep my hand off until she stops then scratch or stroke her in a different place assuming that for some reason this is uncomfortable for her. She's now reaching the point when she will sometimes tell me where she would like to be groomed and where she doesn't want to be groomed wi a twitch, look or movement. I believe she has never been allowed to say when she feels ticklish or sore, just made to endure so doesn't understand the pleasure grooming can bring her
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Post by beksnjake on Jan 23, 2013 5:55:52 GMT
It is interesting isn't it!! For me having just had the one horse for 12+ years, suddenly having another horse who responds differently in so many ways is a providing a steep learning curve - it is also showing me me that my knowledge base & skills are better than I generally think they are (which is why I need the odd virtual kick up the backside from time to time isn't it kas As mum remarked the other week "You wanted a project" - and I guess unpeeling the layers of this mare are certainly becoming a project, makes me love her all the more though - she has never at any point scared me with her behaviour, challenged yes (especially with the colic & IV injections!) but never frightened me. The more she settles in & relaxes the more she allows us to see. Rosie is responding positively to what I am doing which isn't perhaps so "traditional" - I firmly believe that you have to have a number of strategies when working with horses (or people!) because everyone is different & what works for one may not suit another. I have asked mum to groom her whilst she has a hay net as a distraction - Rosie soooooo loves her food, I'm sure its one reason Jake likes her so much along with their mutual appreciation of the full body mud pack ;D. I will continue to groom her with the rope in one hand etc - my reactions are quicker than mum's & timing is better so I can stop those thoughts before Rosie acts - watch this space!
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