Over the River and Through the Sagebrush...

Well, we had a blustery cold spring day for the Kittitas Valley Trail Riders' clinic at Wild Winds Ranch, northwest of Ellensburg. We had gotten several inches of snow on Friday, but in town and even at our place farther south, it had pretty well melted off by the end of the day. Not at Wild Winds: they had to shovel out the round pen and drag it to dry it out enough to work the horses.

Blake Coady has been training (and horseshoeing) for 18-20 years, starting out with a background of John Lyons methods, and incorporating other techniques as they came to him. He currently draws a lot from Clinton Anderson's "Lungeing for Respect" and describes becoming the "lead horse" for your horse (rather than either a predator or a competitor).

After a little bit of work with a horse he has had in for training, Blake brought Maddie in, as she had been being quite fussy at the trailer, and we thought it might be good for her to have something to do. Blake started her off with some free lungeing to loosen her up and get her working and paying attention. He considers "air" a good motivator, and after only a few minutes the out-of-shape little girl was looking for some, and more interested in figuring out what Blake wanted.

Back in the halter, Blake asked Maddie to face up...

and started working on having her yield, first her hindquarters,

then, working her between himself and the fence, her forehand.

This was important work that would be a major focus for Maddie if she were there for training: crowding Blake with her shoulders, especially the right, became quite an issue a little later at the creek.

Working first the forehand then the hindquarters, Blake soon had Maddie sidepassing along the fence.

After about half an hour, Maddie was put at the "tree of knowledge" tie spot outside the round pen to think on her lesson (you can see the little bay "Myst" there, waiting her turn in the demo in some of the above photos).

After working Myst and then a great lunch of goulash and salad (and a warm-up in the wall tent with woodstove), the group of 18 observers relocated across the road to Reecer Creek. This was the main issue I wanted to work with Maddie on, after the momentous delay she caused crossing a small creek last summer on a KVTR ride in Robinson Canyon.

First Blake led Maddie towards the creek, to judge just where her "sticking point" was: she got as far as the muddy footing just before the water, about the same as last summer's debacle.

Blake backed off a bit and did some of the same back-and-forth "lungeing for respect" and then worked his way slowly towards the creek again. Maddie got quieter and more cooperative until she got back to that mud. Then, several times, she tried to bully her way past Blake, usually with her right shoulder.

Blake patiently kept at it until she was back the the dreaded mud, then let her rest a bit, when her attitude was quiet, and she was facing the creek objective.

Then he asked for forward again.

Blake had hoped he could direct her into the cold water on her own, but ended up with wet boots when Maddie wouldn't quite go there (literally). [Maddie never got to the point of four feet in a tiny square at the edge of the water, circus-elephant-style, like last summer.]

When she made even the slightest effort, he rewarded her with a brief rest. Notice her positive attitude and willingness to check the water out.

Then, in somewhat of a anti-climax, Maddie just strode through the rushing creek.

YEAH!

And back.

Again,

and again. Notice the slack in the leadrope, and her relaxed demeanor. [Also, notice it was snowing on us at this point!]

And a well deserved rest--IN the creek.

And the crowd roared in approval!

Training News

I managed to get a quick "first-ride-of-the-year" ride in on Maddie last week, after returning from the vet's with Jackson (the It-Boy).

I really wanted to get at least three rides in during my spring break week, as this coming Saturday, Maddie is in for a workout! The KVTR's are hosting a little demo-clinic with a local trainer, and Maddie has "volunteered" to be one of the demo horses. He will be working on her confidence issues (and, indirectly, mine), and we may even walk out to Reecer Creek for a water-crossing session (if not during the clinic, before we leave the place).

She stood very quietly at the mounting stump, then moved off equally quietly when asked. We walked and jogged around the arena for a few, asking her to give to the left and right.

Then we headed out for a short loop around the farm. There were moments of slight hesitation, but only one or two full stops, mostly to look at things that were different than she last saw them in the fall (the empty irrigation ditch bothered her as much as it does when it's full of water!). At the back corner of Hank's cattle pasture, I had to dismount to open a gate, so we walked a bit to a log where I could remount. She fussed a little bit about standing here, as she could see her buddies at the barn, and Al had just pulled into the house from work, and Sandy the dog was getting all excited. But after a few tries, she stood again and I remounted and we walked up the pasture to the road, away from home, then returned down the driveway.

It was discouraging that the weather during my week off was not very cooperative. I had so many little jobs to get done, not the least of which was getting another 120 shrubs in the ground. Then I tweaked my back Saturday--must have been all the kneeling over for plants, or maybe the two sets of horses' hooves that I trimmed... At any rate, that was the only ride I got in. I even passed up two opportunities to get Kate (or even Maddie) out with the Trail Riders!

Sunday I loaded up with Tylenol and drove out the small ranch where the clinic will be. If I were just taking Maddie for the day, I wouldn't feel it as necessary to check things out. I had talked to Blake on the phone to let him know the issues I had with Maddie last summer (water crossing and loping), and liked what he had to say about his training approach (he's a little bit of a Clinton Anderson type, but, like me, draws from lots of different trainers' techniques and philosophies). I could always pull Maddie out if I felt he was taking the wrong tact.

But I had another thing stewing, and wanted to check his place and training methods out a bit closer.

Beth is Maddie's younger half-sister.

She is now four years old.

She is reining bred and very quick.

She is feminine and cute (but not spotted).

Smart and a little (okay, a lot) sassy.

And for sale.

But she is not broke.

I've done plenty of groundwork with her: She'll carry a saddle and D-ring snaffle. She lunges fairly well.

I have ground-driven her at home and around the neighborhood.

I have weighted her stirrups and laid across her back, flappin' and slappin'. I have done everything short of climbing up on her.

Why haven't I climbed on?

Mostly because she's quick. And smart. And sassy.

And because, when Maddie unloaded me last summer, I hurt my back a little. And shook my confidence.

As I've mentioned before, I'm closer to 60 than I care to admit (though I've admitted it several times, haven't I?). I can't afford to get hurt.

So Beth is the first baby I've raised that I am going to send to a trainer to start.

If I had some invincible teenager who was willing to climb on her the first few rides, I might have gone that way, though the insurance issues would have made me hesitate. But I don't, so I have been shopping around for a local trainer, that would work with Beth, and me, for a short 30-day stint. Then I can put miles on her until she is sold.

I found one guy who came highly recommended, and is only a couple of miles up the road--that would have been ideal, as I could have stopped regularly to participate in Beth's work. But he's got a full barn until June, and doesn't like to do less than 60 days (and preferably 90). I can't afford to put $2000 worth of training on a $1000 horse, especially since I can do much of the "wet-saddle-blanket"work myself.

So when I was chatting with Blake about the clinic, I was also feeling him out about taking Beth on.

The visit Sunday was positive. I met with Blake and his wife Annette for a bit, in their house in the sagebrush region at the rim of the valley (above the irrigation system). They have been building their place over time, as have I, but things are sturdy and safe, much more important to me than "fancy." There is no shelter in the training horse paddocks, so I'm glad Beth will be going in the spring, rather than the heat of summer. There is immediate access to thousands of acres of national forest, and, just like me, Blake believes in getting young horses out and about as soon as he gauges their temperament and cooperation.

Then we went outside and Blake worked an older mare he has in for re-training (she's been a broody most of her life), who reminded me a lot of Beth's mama, Misty. Did some "lunging for respect" in the round pen, then we walked down the drive to the creek for her second lesson there. He was consistent and patient with her and it only took a few minutes before she was circling quietly in and out of the water--he said the first time took about 35 minutes, so she remembered her lesson well.

I was impressed enough that we shook hands and I will be bringing Beth along with Maddie in the trailer on Saturday.

The major glitch is that he's way the h*** and gone, 30 miles at the opposite corner of the valley. So I'll have to bribe Al with something sweet, to stay in town a little later after work, so I can run out for an hour a couple of days a week. Or we could just drive separately, but that means 40 extra miles on the gas-guzzling truck (and gas prices are creeping up again).

I'll have my friend Anita along on Saturday to take lots of photos of the clinic, and I'll keep you posted on Beth's progress.

Goodbye, Stud Muffin...

Hello, It-Boy.

A pictorial essay.

[warning: graphic photos (needles, scalpels, a little bit o' blood) half-way down--not too bad, just thought I'd warn ya... Oh, and testicles.]

Thanks to Dr. Joan, and vet tech Michelle.

(Sorry about those butt shots Michelle--necessary to tell the story. =D)