The next step

So we are going great guns with putting the rug on and off, and unfolding it on her back etc. I can now put the rug on when it is folded in half, rather than in thirds. This is very good news, as it isn’t particularly easy to fold a Rhino wug into three, and frankly I have never been that good at origami!

As she was being so calm and good with the rug, I thought I would just see how she reacted to the Velcro at the front. I did it up so that just the very edge of the Velcro caught, then speaking to her all the time, I just pulled it open. She was really good actually, and just took a step back, so she got a jackpot for that. However, she obviously worked out what I was up to and became a little wary, so I didn’t try it again, instead just moved to putting the rug on and off on the other side.

So I think I will just spend next session playing with Velcro without having the rug on, just until the sound of velcro opening becomes the most boring thing in the world.

We also continue to work on feet, as she has become a little reluctant to have her front feet picked out, and has started kicking back with her backs. Her backs don’t worry me at all, as after a couple of little (if somewhat powerful) kicks, which aren’t aimed at me at all, then she is perfect.

With her fronts however, she is happy to hold them up, and held, but I think the force I have to use to get the cement like clay out, disturbs her balance a bit, and she has to pull back. However, rewarding the slightest try, we always get there in the end.

While putting her back in her stable (which she was reluctant to do, as she didn’t want to leave the nice new hay stacked on the yard), she took a shot at me and bit my arm. Fortunately, she didn’t quite get to close her teeth on me, and I think my quick reaction in turning to face her shocked her a little. This is a good reminder though, that I need to be scrupulously careful about treat delivery during clicker training. I also think that continued use of the clicker, and especially exercises like ‘Grown Ups are Talking’ will really help to develop her emotional control. There was nothing aggressive or nasty about the nip, it was quite obviously frustration at being put back in her stable where she didn’t really want to be. Twenty minutes later when lead her out into the field, she was as good as gold, and totally polite about it.

We aim to please!

Had a lovely session with Faith this morning. She had a lovely groom, then we started doing some work with the rug. We did have a little spook and a scoot forward, and I am not sure whether that was because of a scary jingle of the straps, or whether Tommy’s teeth had connected with the top of her tail! It was the world’s slowest spook and scoot though, as she started to, thought about it for a split second then had a little scoot. Whatever the cause, Faith was right back at my side again in one smooth movement. This is a world away from what we would have had a month or so ago, where there would have been a blur of movement and a flurry of mane, and I would have been left thinking “What was that?”

It’s funny that my little boy’s favourite catchphrase at the moment is; “Try that again!” That is exactly what Faith is like at the moment. A little hitch like that is immediately followed by her getting ready to have another attempt, and she really, really wants to get things right, and be a brave girl.

So we carried on with the rug for a bit, and I put it on, unfolded it all, folded it and slid it off lots of times on both sides, and she was perfect.

Then I started doing a little ‘Why would you leave me?’ with her, and she was really good, stopping and starting with me, and I even got a couple of steps back just with my fingertips placed lightly on the point of her shoulder. What a good girl!

Actually yesterday we had a lovely moment when I turned them out into the field. We had had a couple of light showers of rain, so the yard was a different colour, and there was a little water in the drain which runs down the middle of the yard. Now last time I had to turn Faith out in these circumstances, she refused to come out of her stable, and had a huge panic attack in the stable, literally flinging herself from one side to the other and rearing. I couldn’t even get into the stable to be with her. Fortunately Tommy saved the day by coming back from the field and standing in her stable doorway until she calmed down, then he literally led her out into the field touching her all the time shoulder to shoulder. Meanwhile the useless human was draped against a wall!

Anyway, this time, armed with a clicker and a bumbag of treats, we managed to calmly if a little hesitantly venture out of the stable and onto the wet concrete. We then walked up and down the yard a couple of times, them calmly and slowly stepped over the raging torrent of the ‘drain of doom’ just walking at my shoulder, cue a click and a massive handful of treats, and a huge hug, while Faith just looked slightly embarrassed. That sounds like a very little, minor thing, but for me it speaks absolute volumes, and it totally made my entire day!

Just a quickie!

The farrier came to trim the neds' feet today, and I am pleased to report that Faith was impeccably behaved. The fact that I was bribing her with high fibre nuts is neither here nor there!

He also mentioned how much less stiff Tilly and Tommy are in their joints. This is really good news, as Tilly has been off her bute for several weeks now, with clearly no ill effects. Tommy, who normally goes lame at the drop of a hat is moving really well, even over the really stony section of track.

I am so pleased with my Paddock Paradise system, it seems to be doing them all the world of good!

I've got my clicker mojo back!

After our work yesterday with the rug, I decided today that i was going to go back to using the clicker (or to be more precise, a tongue cluck) with Faith.

well this went very well. I managed to get some detangler into her mane using a soft brush, and I very nearly managed to brush her tail out properly (something she detests), while she stood calmly.

I also did some work with her feet, as soon bending will be an issue for me. In typical Arab fashion, she decided that if I wanted something, then I could have it with bells on, and she started lifting her feet for me in the most exaggerated fashion she could manage!

Then I decided to do some more work with the rug. However Faith was so excited about the clicker work, that she became very 'in my face'. This was not aggressive or even muggy, she just wanted to make it easy for me to reinforce her by standing VERY close to me. If I said she poked me in the eye with her whiskers you would probably get the idea how close close is!

So I abandoned the rug idea, and we did 'Grown ups are talking' instead. Again I got it with bells on, and now she will wait patiently next to me, head flexed ever so slightly away, and wait to be reinforced. However, I also get very audible theatrical sighs, and a general air of 'Fine, just ignore me then!'.

Here we go again.......

Right, I know I keep banging on about this, but the value of working with a horse at liberty, and giving them choice in their training was again brought home to me today.

Owing to having a last few busy weeks before the end of term, I haven’t had much of a chance to work with Faith, so I had let the rug desensitising lapse for a bit.

We had got to the point where she was happy to have a light cotton summer sheet on, unfolded and taken off, both in the yard and in the stable. So I decided to progress to practising with her lightweight turnout rug, as it is synthetic, so makes different noises, and has jingly straps.

As usual we were working loose on the yard, and to start with, Faith was a little bit wary. So I used loads of advance and retreat, and plenty of positive reinforcement with scratches. We got to the point where I could have it folded in half and draped over her shoulders, then pull it along her back, and off her quarters. Excellent.

The next step was to unfold the rug completely, and let her feel the fillet string at the back against her legs. This is a Rhino rug, so the fillet string has quite a big heavy clip on it, and the back of the rug is very tailored so it is quite snug around her bottom. As she is coming in to season, (and my goodness, is poor Tommy feeling the full force of it!) I was a little worried that she wouldn’t appreciate this much, but she was actually totally fine with it.

However, as I was fiddling with the back of the rug, the Velcro at the front managed to fasten itself. Bugger! We have done quite a bit of work with the Velcro on her fly mask, so this isn’t new to her. But she has never actually been wearing something when the Velcro is torn open. I talked to her as I undid it, hoping that that would drown out the sound, but no surprises, she heard it anyway.

Actually, she was pretty good, as I tore it open, she just scooted forward, and I simply lifted the rug clear of her. However, I can’t help feeling that if she had felt restrained, the reaction would have been much bigger.

I gave her a big fuss, and a couple of minutes just to mooch about and relax while I re-folded the rug, and we started again. I managed to get the rug on her again, and completely unfolded it along her back, taking care that the Velcro could not catch again. She stood for a few minutes, and had a good scratch. Unfortunately I left it on for a few seconds too long, and she felt the need to scoot again. I just lifted the rug, and as soon as it was off, she came and stood by me again, for which she was rewarded.

I gave her a couple more minutes while I refolded the rug, then we tried again. This time as I took the rug off, she moved forward only one step. Cue much reward and praise. We repeated it a final time, and the rug went on and off while Faith stood like a rock. She got a jackpot, and we left it there.

I am convinced though, that it was knowing that she was free to get away if she felt uncomfortable, that gave her the courage to stay and accept the rug. I am also thrilled that having got away, she came straight back to stand next to me and listen to me playing about with the Velcro for a bit.

I know this horse can put up a fight. Her breeder told me of an incident during her weaning, when it took them about three hours to get her through a gateway, with her throwing herself on the floor and everything. I am just not going to go there with her.

Good thing is though, that I feel that the time is now right to start properly with the clicker, and I feel that I can use a mixture of treats and scratches as a reward. I feel that she is much, much more relaxed, less reactive, and more ‘thinking’, and I feel confident that I can start marking the moment a bit more clearly.

Go with your gut!

I am coming to believe this more and more. I am sure we have all had times when we have gone against our intuition, and ended up kicking ourselves for it. Well, since getting Faith, who is my first youngster, I have vowed to listen to the advice of others, but listen to my gut instinct first.
So in the past few weeks, since I have been getting Faith used to the idea of wearing a rug, I have been putting aside all the comments of ‘have you got it on her yet?’ and ‘why don’t you just hold her still and make her accept it?’, and I have been working at a pace that Faith and I are happy with.

For various reasons, I have only been able to work with her in the stable for the past couple of weeks. Although she is loose, both Faith and I are less relaxed in this enclosed environment, and progress has been markedly slower than when we work at liberty on the yard.

We did progress from working with the towel to working with an actual cooler rug. The only problem with that was that as it was made of polyester, at the end of each session I would go to give Faith a good scratch, and we would get a massive static shock! So my reward inadvertently turned into an aversive!

So I dug out one of Tilly’s old cotton coolers, and today we were able to work with that out on the yard. I let Faith play with it a bit first, then I rubbed her neck and shoulders with it, then with it folded draped it over her withers. We did this a few times, then I unfolded it so it was only halved, fine. I dragged it back and over her quarters a couple of times, no reaction. So then I put in on her again, and unfolded it completely, fine, dragged it back over her again, fine. Gave her half an apple, and a big scratch and a rest. Then did it all over again on the other side! Faith was not in the least bit bothered, and better still, neither of us got an electric shock!

So now I know what size she is, a whole new world of retail therapy has opened up, with some serious rug buying to be done!

I am so proud of my brave, gentle little filly.