Recovery: week 8

I just realized that I didn't post a recovery update last week.  In short, I'm doing pretty well.  I had a doctor appointment on Monday where I got yet more x-rays taken; according to them my leg is doing just dandy. They gave me one of these things on the right here. It's supposed to allow me to wear a regular pair of shoes but it's so darn uncomfortable and its shoe destroying capabilities are so high that I'm just going to stay in "Das Boot" until the surgery on June 1st.

What is "Das Boot"?  It's what my husband calls the clunky contraption I'm gimping around in now.  See- this is my foot:

This is Coriander seeing if "Das Boot" is edible:

Most definitely NOT edible Big Brother!

So far so good, only two weeks to go!!!

Someday farrier visits will be old hat

But not just yet.

The farrier was out yesterday, the last time he came out was the day I was operated on.  Since I wouldn't be there I just asked for Coriander to get a trim. I wasn't comfortable about Gwen getting worked on when I wasn't there. So as you can probably imagine she really needed a trim by yesterday.  For safety, and to ensure that all her feet were done, I arranged to have the vet sedate her for the farrier. (This is only Gwen's second all-around trim ever.)

I got to the barn right on time and found her already sedated and the farrier on the third foot.  Freaking early vet!  She was good for the two feet I was witness to, though I was told she was twitchy about her left hind- the injured leg, which doesn't surprise me one bit.  I'm going to try foregoing the sedation during the next trim, hopefully she was awake enough to remember that everything was fine and that the farrier is nothing to flip out about. That would make the third trim the charm!

Coriander was naughty. He was bad about that right hind again, trying to pull his old falling over trick. Maybe this time was his last ditch effort to see if it would work?  Because it didn't. I hope he gives it up permanently from this point on.  The farrier didn't seem too worried about it.  He says that my boy isn't scared of getting his feet done, he's just impatient. Any tips out there for teaching a horse patience?

Any knitters out there?

I had the overwhelming urge to make a quick post about this as soon as I saw it.

Connemara Pony knitting pattern

Isn't it adorable? It's a free download for Knitting Daily members, it's also free to sign up.

Enjoy! 

The demand to calm down cue

In anticipation of next weekend's clicker training clinic (YAY) I've started working with Gwen on the "demand to calm down cue." Theoretically, once I teach her this cue I'll be able to get her to calm down quickly in stressful situations.

Fortunately I got to the barn today before the rush so I was able to work with her in relatively quiet conditions.  I took her just outside the barn door and kept to the concrete pad where there isn't any grass to pull her attention away from me and where she can still see her brother. I'm going to wait until she's got it down before I take her away from the barn (by then I shouldn't be gimping anymore either).

A little background on this lesson: The demand to calm down cue is a training tool from John Lyons.  It essentially teaches the horse to give to pressure, with the side benefit of helping the horse achieve a state of relaxation (from the endorphins released when the head drops).  You can read an in-depth explanation of how to train for it here. Alexandra Kurland takes that lesson and refines it through the use of the clicker.

It's pretty darn simple to do once you get the concept.  You ask the horse to back up as if they were inside a box (or a stall), by pushing their head to the right so they turn their hindquarters to the left and back in a circle.  Meanwhile you're holding the lead rope in a "tai-chi wall," your left hand is at the snap while your right hand pulls the slack out of the rope by the horse's shoulder.  This helps with bargy horses (like Gwen) that like to try to push through you with their shoulder, the wall keeps them off you.  Since backing up is hard work, the horse will eventually lower its head because it's easier that way.  As soon as the head drops you click and release. (Backing up is key for this exercise.)

Keep going like this until the horse learns that all they have to do is drop their head to get rewarded, they won't be backing up anymore.  Then you have to refine the cue.  Keep asking the horse to lower its head every time s/he goes to pick it up by putting tension on the rope.  After this you eventually ask the horse to lower their head all the way down until their muzzle is on the ground.  You can then ask them to move forward at the walk and trot with their head down.  After the horse has this lesson down pat you can start using the cue while you're in the saddle.

Sounds pretty good, eh?  You can use this to teach your horse to stand while tied, to lower their head for bridling, to stop freaking out when they're separated from their brother... Lots of things.

I worked on this with Gwen for about 5-10 minutes today.  Unfortunately I ran out of treats just as she was starting to get to the point where she was dropping her head almost as soon as I picked up the rope.  She's a little smarty though, it won't take long to get back to that point next time.

I'm hoping that Alexandra Kurland demonstrates this lesson at the clinic.  I watched the video (available through Giddyup Flix), but I'm sure she'll have more pointers in person.

Holy new boarders, Batman!

I got a surprise when I got to the barn last night.  Seven new boarders arrived in one day!  It seems they got kicked out of their old barn because the owner is selling the place. Needless to say, the barn was in a state of chaos.  People were all over the place moving their stuff in and rearranging this and that. 

Gwen was a nervous wreck, of course.  All that activity and all the new horses in the barn really put her on edge.  She loves meeting new horses and making friends but this was a little much for her.  Coriander just ignored everybody and looked around for more hay.  Thank goodness for my steady Eddie.

I'm not super keen on this development.  I stay at this barn because 1) it's super close to my apartment so I can visit twice a day if I need to and 2) 80% of the time I'm at the barn I have the place to myself.  I'm not good with change, and I'm not looking forward to having a bunch of people around when I'm trying to work in a calm, quiet manner with my nervous Nellie mare.  I guess I'll have to see how this goes.

Ugh.

I must be doing something right

I turned my horses out today for the first time since the accident, albeit gimpily.

When I pulled up the driveway to bring them in they were grazing all the way at the back of the pasture.  I thought "oh man, now I'm going to have to hitch my way across the whole pasture to get them."

Wouldn't you know, as soon as I parked the quarters started walking towards the gate. I got out of the car and Gwen started GALLOPING towards the gate. When I finally got there she pushed her (dominant herd member) brother out of the way to get haltered first.

So much for being hard to catch, eh?

Recovery: week 6

Week six has been a much better week for me.  I can now walk for short distances which for me means that I can groom my horses again!  Coriander is happy because I found a curry mitt that's gentle enough for his sensitive skin and Gwen's happy to be getting mounds of attention again.  She has really been a good girl, she's picking up her feet with a minimum of fuss and she even let me hose her off yesterday without any drama (It's been in the mid 80s here for the past two days, WOW early hot weather.)

About my boarding issues: I've had an offer from someone who can board my horses in a pinch if I need it which is making me feel a lot better.  I also went out earlier this week (warning profanity ahead) and bought my own damn shavings and put them in Gwen's stall my own damn self.  So now I'm feeling better about the stall issue too.  Plus this month my horses are in the pasture right next to the barn so I might even be able to turn them out myself pretty soon, no more water deprivation!

I was also able to sign up as a non-horse participant for an Alexandra Kurland clicker training clinic in the middle of May.  They said I could participate even if I'm still on crutches.  Woohoo!  I'm really looking forward to it.

Yup, my world is getting better one week at a time.

Here's some cute pictures of quarter horse tongues, "mmm licorice" they say.