Rescuing Rusty – Page 35 – A horse's tale…

The Importance Of Kindness

By Neversummer July 29, 2019 Clicker training 1 Comment

Can you imagine, I know this is going to be hard but bear with me, can you even begin to imagine if we applied our positive reinforcement training to people with the same fervor as we do with our horses?
I’m not talking about TAG teaching or other purposely applied principles of teaching.
Instead, what if in our everyday interactions we remembered that rewards work better than aversives and that kindness is always the answer?
In real life it can be a little easier.
If we have to see a person in person every day we remember to be polite, most of the time. It would be embarrassing to have to look someone in the eye the next day after telling them everything they are doing is wrong.
On a computer we sit in solitude critiquing some stranger online that we will never have to interact with in person so we tell them enthusiastically every little thing they may be doing wrong. We take glee in being catty and mean. Differences that may not make that big of a difference if we knew the person, well, personally become arguments, battles of right vs wrong.
If we did that in horse training we would be earing our horses down and spurring them to a stand still. They might eventually stop bucking but they wouldn’t be convinced our way was right and they wouldn’t want anything to do with us ever again.
Instead, with our horses, we reward the good and ignore the unwanted, knowing that behaviors that are rewarded will be repeated while those that don’t gain anything will fade away.
What if the next time you saw someone being brave enough to share a video on Facebook instead of tearing apart the things that are so dreadfully wrong, or at least not exactly the way you would have done it, you looked for one thing that was good. Even if that is how nice it is that you kept that ride short!
Would the person notice what they are doing that is good? Would they seek more compliments?
The one things that’s guaranteed is that they wont change the things we don’t like because we attack and demean them. Nobodies mind has ever been changed that way. It is far more likely to cause them to dig in and refuse to consider another way. (https://www.psychologytoday.com/…/5-step-recipe-opening-peo…)
People are willing to consider new ideas from people they can relate to. People who are kind and have said nice things.
I’m not saying that we should ignore blatant abuse or starvation.
Not that being mean to those people online will help either. Most rescues will tell you the how hard it is for them, and what great pains they go to, to be polite to a person with starving animals in their pasture in order to get those animals out safely. It works far better than telling them what they really think.
So what do we do when we see wrong? If we never let people know there is another way how will anyone learn better?
Wrongs, real, hurtful wrongs, should be righted. We should fight hard to defend the ones who can’t defend themselves, to speak up for those with no voice.
Helping out at rescues, offering assistance, kindly, teaching, helping, all things done in kindness, might be ways to get started.
Bad mouthing and demeaning others online will never truly help solve any problem.

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The Show Experience

By Neversummer July 23, 2019 Uncategorized 1 Comment

I helped at a 4H horse show recently.

It had been a long time for me. Since high school or before for an actual 4H show slightly less time for a regular horse show. The sights and sounds were deeply reminiscent of the past and all new at the same time. I brought my daughter along to give her a feel for it. Hopefully when she gets old enough she’ll want to take advantage of this opportunity..

The people were the usual mix you see around horse events. There were the girls with expensive horses bought for them by doting parents who wanted to make sure their children did the absolute best they were able to. Those same parents offered up myriad excuses as to why the fancy horses couldn’t buy their children first place in every class.

There were the ranch kids who could ride anything and get a full days work done in the saddle but lacked show ring polish.

There were the ones, either ranch kids or from town, who were painfully out of place. Horses noses in the air, cheap bits pulled tight in gaping mouths. Children riding with heels and elbows straight in the air as they bounce into the ring.

All of them there because they love their horses. All of them wanting to learn how to do their best.

None of the riding was fancy. Just a bunch of kids having fun.

As I stood at the gate watching classes, waiting for my time to help, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversations of a few of the parents also standing and waiting.

They laughed about the halter class the children were currently in. Not the usual type with children leading horses, instead they watched their horses being shown and made judgements to be compared and discussed.

Their child didn’t need to know how to judge some fancy show horse. All they needed was a horse that could go all day and get the job done. Show ring ideals meant nothing to them and shouldn’t for their kid either. As a small child rolled on the ground under their horse they extolled the benefits of turning kids loose on a horse to get them ‘good and broke’. Sure you might lose a kid or two but it got the job done good.

With teeth gritted I waited for the class to finish. Their disdain for everything this show stood for was palpable.

As the children gathered in the arena with plentiful knowledge before them, hopefully soaking it up as it was presented, their parents stood outside dismissing it as unnecessary. As soon as the children returned to them they would scoff and demean anything that may have been learned, pushing the children to join them in ignorance.

While it is true that show ring ideals often take what was once a good trait and push it to the extreme, no longer useful, no longer desirable, it is still good to learn about why it was sought after to begin with. While there are certain conformation traits that are preferred for different disciplines those traits still produce the same results no matter what. Good conformation is good conformation. Bad conformation will still produce bad results even if it is popular bad conformation.

Knowledge should always be sought. Things should never be accepted because they are tradition or the way it’s always been done. Always ask why. Always doubt and seek proof. Always strive to learn more. The opportunity to learn should never be scoffed at because you already know all there is to know. If you think that might be the situation then you have lots to learn. The more you know the more you realize there is that you don’t know.

A Tight Place

By Neversummer July 19, 2019 Heildorf No Comments

Sometimes I question my judgement in getting my son a young mostly green horse. Something older and more experienced would be the wiser if not as cool choice.
Then there are times like this when this horse amazes me and assures me that he will be a great horse for my small child. Not yet, but soon.
The horses were all turned out in the yard to graze. I was keeping an eye on them to make sure they didn’t get into trouble. They had been grazing between and on the hay bales for a little while when I needed to get them and put them away.
I took Harvey first because he came to greet me. Then came back for Rusty. Smoke I took around to the other gate and tried to convince him to eat his allergy medicine.
The whole time Heildorf stood between a row of bales looking at me. He’s usually a bit stand offish and doesn’t always want caught. He will usually follow when the other horses come up though. I did think a couple of times that it was odd that he wasn’t coming at all. I was in a hurry though and didn’t put too much thought into it.
When I was finally done with the other horses and went back for him I realized why he hadn’t ever come.
Heildorf had wandered down a very narrow row of bales. As in touching in some places. Apparently he isn’t bothered by tight places. From the side I hadn’t been able to tell that his row was any more narrow than the row the other horses were standing down. At the end of the row the electric fence wire that surrounds the yard ran right across the end of the bales blocking the exit.
Heildorf was well trapped. Had been for quite a while. He had been looking at me over those bales when I checked on them long before I went to bring them in.
I went around the bales and over the fence. I was able to drop the wire without leaving him again to go shut of the power.
With it on the ground he would be able to step over it, once I got him haltered. He wasn’t thrilled about being caught but didn’t immediately run me over in the tight quarters. I stepped out the end of the bales and onto the wire to hold it down for him to cross. Or I did after first backing into it and getting a good shock myself 😏
He didn’t bolt out when I asked him to come. He did come with great enthusiasm though. Once out he pranced and spooked on the end of the lead rope as we walked to a gate.
He had controlled himself while penned now he was blowing off some steam.
The mind on that horse is incredible. The self control he exerted to keep from panicking and going through the wire or flipping and getting hurt between the bales was amazing. He stayed calm and controlled. Not even screaming for the other horses when he was left all alone.
In all his captivity lasted maybe half an hour. Combined with how willingly he lets me hose his nose down, it was a half hour that proved the mind this horse has. His bloodlines are everything I could ever want in a Morgan, Justapesty Morgans knows how to breed them. Heildorf, Justapesty Solar Flair, lives up to the names in his pedigree. I think I need to stop worrying about whether he will work out for us and make time to get to working on him!

p.s. Of course I stopped long enough to take pictures! He was standing nicely and could wait another minute

Storm Warnings

By Neversummer July 18, 2019 Cattle No Comments

The kids and I were helping with the 4H clean up day getting ready for fair. as the cleaning wound down we looked out to see dark clouds filling the sky. Last year they had gotten hail and sever storms. This year it had been rescheduled once already for predicted, and received, storms. It looked like the curse was going to strike again.
I checked the radar and it looked bad. If we hurried we might be able to make it home before the storm did. In the distance we got to watch the storm approach ass we raced it home. The sun setting lit the billowing clouds with yellow and pink shining through the greys. They hung tiered like an upside down wedding cake.
I’ve watched tornadoes blow in before. I knew what that meant.
If we hadn’t known the shrill warnings from the radio would have alerted us. Storm warnings from the next county over, large hail, winds up to seventy miles an hour, heavy rain, and, finally, tornado warnings. All of it headed our direction.
Once home I rushed to prepare the best I could. The greenhouse needed closed. Not that it would do much good if the storm hit us full strength.
The calves had been grained before we left. Not knowing how late we would be gone I thought they could eat whenever they wandered into the corrals then spend the night out in the trees on grass if they wanted. Now I wanted to lock them in the relative safety of the corrals, in shelter.
Standing at the fence I called, watching the trees for any sign of them appearing. Waiting patiently I happened to turn and look behind me.
There was Ghost sauntering happily up to me!
Soon the other three appeared behind her. Coming out of our yard where they had been exploring before they answered my call.
All the time I spent training them had paid off. Even with fresh grass and new things to explore, even after already having eaten their corn, they came running when called.
Fortunately for us the storm didn’t come.
After plowing through the county next to us is completely dissipated a few miles before it got to us. Even without the storm having loose calves come when called made life much easier. Good training is always a wise investment!

Riding

By Neversummer July 12, 2019 Rusty No Comments

I love doing tricks with Rusty. It is our favorite thing to do together and has built an amazing foundation for us. One that we can go on and build upon to do anything else we could ever want.
When I first got Rusty, before I discovered what we we would actually end up doing, I wanted him to be a well rounded ranch horse who could do some reining and cutting.
We got a bit sidetracked.
Not a bad thing and it doesn’t mean in any way that we can’t go back and keep working on the original goal.
Only now work on that goal is going so much smoother and easier than ever before.
With very small moments of training I feel like we are accomplishing far more than I used to with hours of drilling. I ride him once or twice a week for a half hour at most. Rusty is happy to be doing the work and I am enjoying teaching him. We wont be making any big local shows, he’s feeling nice but we’re not ready for that, maybe we’ll give a virtual western dressage show a try. When we find time. 😏

Tanna And Harvey

By Neversummer July 11, 2019 Harvey No Comments

Tanna came out to ride the other day. I took advantage of having her out to get Harvey ridden.
Poor Tanna, I made her ride in my daughters saddle. Tanna’s legs are so incredibly long that the stirrups don’t go long enough for her even on the longest setting. I also made her wear my helmet. I’m not one to insist on, or wear, helmets every time anyone is on a horse.
There are two rules though.
My kids have to wear helmets.
Helmets must be worn on young, green horses.
Harvey has been very good but has a long ways to go before I stop insisting on helmets when he gets ridden.
Tanna did a warm up from the ground asking Harvey for some Spanish walk to get him listening to her and ready to go. Once on she followed me and Rusty around the arena a little before setting off on their own.
Harvey was doing great so we went off through the yard. I didn’t tell Tanna he hadn’t been ridden out of the arena off of a lead before. Somethings are best not worried about
He followed happily along behind Rusty and even stopped following when asked. Tanna had him steering all over the place on his own.
On our way back Tanna asked what the cue for Spanish walk was from the saddle. I told her and she played with it until she was able to get it! He’s only done Spanish walk while ridden a couple of times and it is still very much in the training stage.
Switching riders can be hard for a horse and it was great to see how well Harvey took to Tanna. She’s a great rider with lots of patience and feel so it’s not surprising that they did well together. I just wish we got Tanna to play with more often!

Trail Ride

By Neversummer July 9, 2019 Harvey, Rusty, Smoke No Comments

Tanna came to play this morning!

That’s always exciting. I want to ride with her, both kids want to ride with her. It’s always a little difficult too.

Today everyone got to ride!

We have enough horses. Hieldorf is coming off a small injury and hasn’t been worked with enough that I’m comfortable putting a small child on him anyway. Need to get to playing with that horse!

Rusty has reached a point in his life though that I am comfortable doing almost anything with him. My youngest could ride with me.

The oldest has claimed Harvey, Harvester she has decided, for her and Smoke is wonderful for anyone to ride.

There was only one problem.

I wanted to put Tanna on Harvey/Harvester first. Before the herd of us went out together. After a very small polite tantrum my daughter agreed to share her horse and wait to ride.

Tanna worked with Harvey on the ground a bit first. He hasn’t been touched in a good week or so. Then she climbed on and we rode around the arena a little. Harvey was doing great off the lead so we headed out to the yard.

Harvey zipped all around the yard following behind Rusty or going by himself. Until we started back and he decided he was not moving. Then it was nice to still have the lead rope on him to help encourage him to move. About the time we got done with the ride through the yard I mentioned to Tanna that it was Harvey’s first time out of the arena loose. Maybe I should have mentioned that sooner? 😉

Then we picked up the kids and switched horses around.

Tanna took Smoke and Harvey’s lead rope. My daughter got on Harvey and I picked up my son to ride behind me on Rusty.

We went to the mailbox and back with everyone behaving beautifully. It was so nice to be able to get out for a ride. Hopefully Tanna comes back again!

Ropin’ Practice

By Neversummer July 2, 2019 Clicker training, Rusty No Comments

When your horse is a better roper than you are.

Here, let me show you how that should be done…

A Love Hate Relationship

By Neversummer July 1, 2019 Rusty No Comments

I love this bit of video and I hate this bit of video.
I love it because Rusty and I are doing so good. From first realizing I had so many issues to work on with trying to sit this horse bareback while he skittered nervously beneath me to a fairly secure seat and him listening calmly. It’s a big change from a month ago.
I hate it because I have been working so hard on my seat. My hips are contorted in all sorts of painful and terrible directions trying to force my legs to hang down straight. I was so proud of how good I was doing. Looking at this though,I can see that they are still sticking out in front of me! I see a few good moments, so there must be some improvement.
I don’t believe I can get them any more beneath me. I just don’t bend that way.

Smoke

By Neversummer June 30, 2019 Smoke No Comments

My daughter isn’t the only one out riding and training with me.
My son has been busy riding his horse too. Not Heildorf, not yet. I need to get to working with that one. If only there were enough time in a day to play with all the things
He’s been happily riding Smoke every chance he gets. If we stay away from places with grass he can even ride all by him self!
If there’s grass Smokes love of eating over rides his desire to be a good boy and he can’t resist. Soon though, they’ll be going all over the place together!