Keeping Up With Indy - Sort Of
Even though we’ve had some of the wettest, most severe weather I’ve experienced since moving to Indiana in ’92, Indy and I managed to have some very uh, INTERESTING experiences.
As I wrote earlier, I had decided to go back to ground work to get him lighter before continuing his under saddle training. It’s FAR too easy to get into a habitual pulling match that’s no fun for horse or rider. One day I was working with a regular halter and lead, trying to maintain “float” in the rope at all times while asking Indy to back up. Mr. Indy, being in the upper percentile on the Equine IQ scale, was getting bored. He’s like a gifted child in a regular classroom. So, as many children do in similar situations, he decided to act out - to liven things up a bit. He pulled away and went galloping around the paddock. Sigh…
While I understood the root cause of his behavior, it still could not be tolerated. I caught him - “caught” isn’t really the right word, because he just stood there and waited for me to pick up his lead - and started over. He pulled away again. We repeated this scenario a couple more times before I decided that, as much as I detested using “force,” I could NOT allow this behavior to be reinforced like this. I got the stud shank and led him around a couple of times, just so the session would end with me in control. I did NOT consider the chain to be any sort of solution.
With the help of my husband, Mike, we attempted to turn Ami’s small paddock into a round pen - well, ROUNDER anyway. Mike and I put up a temporary "fence" - Baygard hi-visibility tape with surveyor tape flags and breakaway fasteners. We did a trial run before I actually used it with Indy, just to see how it would go up and come down. Afterward, Mike asked me if I'd shown it to Indy yet. Just a few minutes after I told him I hadn't, here comes Mr. Indy on his own. He had just come up from the pasture and saw it from the other side of the paddock gate. Well, he got all snorty and prancy - for about two seconds. Then he came storming into the barn and out through Ami's door into her paddock to have a closer look. He sniffed at the Baygard, tried eating one of the flags, and seemed satisfied. Then, after a moment, his head came back up, and I could fairly SEE the wheels in his brain turning: "Wait a minute! This looks like some kinda Rube Goldberg training set-up. Good-BYE." And he came trotting OUTTA there.
Next day: I had the "fence" in place and my "movement motivator" - a plastic bag tied to a dressage whip. I chose this because I have a video of Indy's starter clinic with Richard Thompson - from day 1 until the end when he had his first rider up - and Thompson used the plastic bag. So I knew this was a "tool" Indy was familiar with and understood.
I fitted Indy out with a cut off lead so it wouldn't be dragging about when he pulled away, and off we went. Sure enough, after a few seconds, he pulled away, and I got out my motivator and asked for some laps. Indy really did seem to know what was expected of him, because I had no problem getting him to move on or turn in the direction I asked. Even corners were no problem.
But, at one point, he stopped at the new "fence" and seemed determined to challenge it. Before I knew it, one of the breakaway ends had uh, broken away with a loud SNAP. This would have startled most horses - it certainly startled ME. Not Indy. He understood perfectly well that his weight had broken that strand, so he deliberately leaned into the second one even harder. Sure enough, in a moment it too SNAPPED. At which time Indy marched into the back of the "play pen" - as we call it - and... pooped. He and Ami tend to use the fence line in this area as a potty spot, and that's why Indy had been so determined to get back there. He needed to use the facilities!!
I gave up on the fence idea and just flagged him out of there just like I did the rest of the paddock. It didn't turn out to be that hard. My main problem was that my bag kept coming off my stick. Finally, I just waved the bag with my arms, and stuck it in my pocket when I allowed Indy to stop.
Just to top things off, I had somehow managed to strain the large muscle that runs down the front of the thigh on my left leg. I've no clue how I did that, but, man, did it HURT when I tried to run! So, there I was, hobbling around, waving a plastic bag in my hand at Indy - who had managed to step on the short piece of lead rope and had it unraveling all over the paddock. Keystone Cops, anyone??
Mercifully, we hadn't been working very long at all when Indy started trotting up to me as a way of letting me know he wanted to stop. I'd stand quietly in the middle of the paddock, bag in my pocket, and he'd trot right to me. The first time, he pulled away again when I tried to lead him. Also the second time. On the third time, he gave just a small tug, and went soft again when I growled at him. I didn't ask him for very much more, but we did walk around, and he never even took the slack out of that miserable little remnant of rope still hooked to his halter. He was quiet and soft as I led him back into the barn.
This sort of thing went on for a couple of days before Indy figured out that my chasing him was PART OF THE GAME! Woo! Hoo! Some fun huh? He’d pull away, I’d chase him for a few minutes, then he would stop, and we’d start the next round. Some fun - yeah, right. Indy was not only having a blast, he appeared SO pleased with himself for figuring it out. Sigh… To quote my farrier, “Omigod! A smart horse!”
I finally hollered for help from my dear friend and fellow Journalist, Ed Littlefox, and with his advice and encouragement, I got out the chain shank again - something I’d HOPED to avoid. When I put the chain on this time, Indy hit it full bore - once. He looked SO shocked - I truly believe that was his first clue that he was doing something wrong.
That proved to be the turning point. I did our groundwork with the chain for a couple of days, and Indy NEVER even took all the slack out of the rope. The next time, I used the chain at first, and then clipped it to the halter ring instead of the lead, so, while it was still there, it wasn’t “engaged” so to speak. Indy remained just as light as before.
Today, I started without the chain even on the halter - but I had it in my pocket. Things went wonderfully for quite a while, but finally the bugs were getting to Indy - even WITH a flysheet - and he pulled away. I immediately put the chain on and led him around for a few minutes, then clipped it to the halter ring as I’d done earlier. No more problems. He stayed light and didn’t even try to rush into the barn when we were done. And he certainly WANTED to rush to get away from those darned BUGS! They bother him SO much, that was probably a contributing factor when he pulled away the first time.
Overall, I’m extremely pleased with his progress - despite the few days of game playing! - as he is much lighter than before. Tomorrow, I think I’ll try and do our ground work INSIDE the barn. There’s room in there for the low-key stuff, and not nearly as many Biting Distractions!
suzym on 07.24.03 @ 11:32 PM CST [link] [1 Comment]
