The Training Continues

Training Scratch for His New Job

My job - as I see it - is to spend as much time as I can with Scratch.  The pressure of the competition is over.  He needs to settle in to the fact that the "just surviving" part of his life is going to be taken care of from now on.  There will be things expected from him.  Things like work.  He'll have to get used to other people and cars and other scary things that inhabit civilized worlds.  He'll have to work cows and maybe rope.  Much more will be expected from him as a rider's horse.  He will need to be more responsive to cues and, most importantly, he will have to trust the rider's judgement.

We have been spending quite a lot of time riding and working in the snaffle.  Riding around the stable with other horses and the equipment that operates around the place.  Gradually, I've taken him to events and worked him around the other people and horses.

It's difficult for me to know if I am boring the shit out of him with the riding.  I understand you can do this.  The horse just sees nothing in it for him.  I'm just OCD enough to create this in my horse and just aware enough it might be a possibility.  While I'm not sure how I would know if Scratch was bored, I knew I was getting a bit bored with it all and chose to turn my focus to groundwork for a week or so.

We've been working on the ground playing with some liberty exercises.  He doesn't trust me enough to stick around.  Our area is quite large and when I take him of the line, he usually leaves,  We continued to work and he is getting better with things.  I think the break does him some good, although I really think he just like to work.

He got good enough at some of the exercises I filmed some so those of you who are interested might follow along.  We did do some cool lungeing stuff, but it's boring as crap to watch on video.  I don't want to bore you any more than I want to bore Scratch.  Enjoy!

The Parade

The Parade

People love parades.  Well, most people.  I’m not what you would call a “parade person”.  Crowds of people make me nervous.  With so many people around I just never know where to direct my attention.  Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t dislike parades.  If I stumble onto the Rose Parade New Year’s morning, I’ll enjoy a cup of joe and admire the roses, but probably only because I’m too hungover to pick up the remote.

There are only three reasons for me to go to any parade.  One, somebody I love is in it or wants to go.  Two, I am assigned to photograph the parade.  Or, three, this instance, where I am in the parade promoting a wild horse training event by walking my wild horse, Scratch, through the middle of town with other horse owners from the same herd.

The parade is in a little mountain town about an hour away from my home and Scratch’s stable.  It’s not too far from where I picked up Scratch after entering the Vaquero Heritage Trainers’ Challenge.  While not technically a trainer, I had covered last year’s event with a podcast and photos and became fixated on training a horse that had no foundation.  My Quarter Horse mare, Jessie, had been started by someone else.  While I had taken over the training and developed her into a solid trail horse, I had built on what someone else had begun.  Jessie regularly places in trail trials and obstacle course challenges.  But still, I have a desire to start with a clean slate, an “un-started horse”, and see what level of trust and training I can reach.  This is how I now find myself with a wild horse to train.  

Eight of us are scheduled to walk or ride behind the banner promoting our wild horse training event happening in just a few months.  Five of the horses have been with their owners for quite some time and are well behaved.  My horse, Scratch, has me as a trainer.  Eight short weeks ago he was running wild with his herd in the nearby mountains.  While we are making a lot of progress, most of our work has taken place in my backyard.  The day before the big event I wonder if we are  “parade ready”.

The morning of the parade starts very early.  A little after 4 am Scratch gets breakfast consisting of a flake of hay.  He’s not used to seeing me so early and cocks his head as if to say, “What are you up to now?” before tearing the flake apart.  After my breakfast, it’s  a bath for Scratch with the works, shampoo AND conditioner.  “If nothing else,” I think to myself, “at least we’ll look good.”

By 6:15 we are on the road.  Many horses hate the trailer because it’s a closed, confined place.  Horses generally feel trapped and claustrophobic in trailers.  Scratch and I worked diligently on the art of trailer loading using one of the tenets of Tom Dorrance, the famed horse trainer.  Tom said, “Make the right thing easy, the wrong thing difficult.”  I worked Scratch outside the trailer and let him rest inside the trailer.  In no time he figured out that inside the trailer meant “not work”, which ranks just below sleeping and eating on the top ten list of most horses.

As my trailer turns into the K-mart parking lot, our designated staging area, the sun is climbing above the mountains.  Scratch is shifting his weight in the trailer signalling he is not too happy with how fast I took that last turn.  We are early as usual.  I sip the last remnants of my coffee and wonder what I am really doing here.  My insecurities surface.  Sure, Scratch needs to get out in the world.  He needs to see and hear things.  The competition is in a few short weeks and the pressure will be much more intense in front of a crowd of people , but is he ready for a parade today?

We check in with our group of horses at 7:30 for a parade that starts at 10 am.  Scratch and I find an area to do some of our training exercises.  Moving his feet keeps him calm.   Horses are flight animals and making them stand still when they are nervous is like locking them in the closet.  Allowing him to move his feet makes him feel safe.  It also keeps my mind off the fact we will soon be walking down a street lined with people, balloons, and waving flags.  My confidence is a metronome swinging from, “Relax, it’s no problem” to “Dead man walking”.  We haven’t known each other for a long time, but I can tell Scratch is unsure of what exactly is happening around him.  We find a place to stand near the rest of our parade-marching friends, both horse and people.  There is security in numbers.  

Horses can adapt quickly and Scratch seems to be settling into this environment.  Horses have “tells” when they begin to relax and I note Scratch takes a deep breath and cocks a hind leg.  He is telling me he sees no immediate threat and he’ll tolerate the high school band and group of motorcycles gearing up for the march.

At nine-thirty the rodeo queens come rolling in with their trailers and suddenly our once spacious staging area is full of trucks, trailers, and pretty girls riding glittered horses.  Time to move Scratch around again.  What must he be thinking?  Two months ago his world consisted of 120 brothers and sisters, trees and grass.   

Ten am.  The moment of truth.  Turning to check on Scratch, I see a leg cocked, an ear forward, and a soft eye, more signs of relaxation.  Yeah, we’ll be alright.   For many horses moving toward the thing that has them fearful as it moves away helps them become braver.  I move Scratch in on the marching band as it passes by and heads down the assigned route.  He’s alert, but not bothered.  Then, the Civil War re-enactors on their horses followed by the Harley-Davidson Veterans group.  We remain calm as one of the organizers stops by to say our group will march near the end of the parade.

As a flatbed trailer pulls into line with group of 8-14 year old girls from a dance academy, I fumble my lead rope and it slips to the ground.  As I bend to pick it up, Scratch puts his leg through, and in the flash of that moment I come up with him all tangled up.  His head goes straight up and I feel the slack in the lead disappear.  Calmly I speak to him, but it’s too late.  He’s pulls back.  No Scratch, not now.  I move with him.  “Whoa”. “Whoaaa”.  Shit!  His momentum builds and I’m out of position.  I have two choices:  hang on to the rope and end up on the ground or  let go and he’s gone.

In the next millisecond I know hanging on is not an option.  He is leaving whether I hold on or not as I feel the rope heat up in my hands.   In a flash the question in my head is, “Where is he going to go?  We are boxed in by all these trailers.”  I let go and hope he realizes he is not in danger.  Scratch spins and digs in and I can’t help but admire his speed and agility.  He heads for the street and panic displaces admiration and I freeze for a moment.  Someone tries to stop him and his feet slip on the asphalt.  I lose sight of him as he darts behind all the trailers, then, realizing my horse is galloping for the hills, I take off at a run.  Up ahead, Jeremy, one of the organizers of the event and a darn good horseman, is jogging along after Scratch.

As they turn a corner first Scratch disappears, then Jeremy.   My heart is pounding as I round the corner and see Scratch run himself into a fenced parking area and stop.  I breathe again.  Jeremy grabs the lead rope and walks toward me as I reach my runaway horse.  The absolutely worst thing a horseman can do is lose his horse.  Scratch is my responsibility and I put him in a situation he wasn’t ready to handle.  As I take him from Jeremy Scratch looks at me as if to say, “Hey, I run first and ask questions later.”

As we get back to the staging area, the organizers announce we are up next.  I can be as headstrong as Scratch and unless someone pulls us out, we are marching in this damn parade!  We immediately fall in behind our banner billowing in the morning breeze.  Both of us are trying to catch our breath and I feel the nervous sweat soaking through my shirt.   My face is red in embarrassment.  I had lost my horse.  My worst fear of the day is realized and the parade hasn’t even started.

Horses teach you not to dwell in the past.  They live in the moment.  If I don’t myself get back to the present, whatever is out there to scare Scratch next, would get us both again.  Everything I had been taught told me to keep Scratch’s attention on me.  Horses can only think about one thing at a time.  He will be less bothered by the balloons if I can keep him focused on watching me.  One of the lessons he learned is to move his hindquarters away when I shake my finger at his rump.  It’s called disengaging hindquarters and his attention has to be on me, not our surroundings.  I move him back and forth in front of me yielding his back end as we walk down the narrow parade route.  

It is about a mile to the end of the route and I have tunnel vision.   My eyes are on my horse and every time Scratch even thinks about about being scared I disengage his hindquarters.  As we near the announcer's’ stand we are introduced.  Scratch is behaving.  He is moving off my finger just as I had taught him.  Then I notice the people lining the streets.  Holy cats! they are close, no more than ten feet away.  Kids with smiles at the sight of a shiny black horse.  People are waving and calling out “Beautiful horse!”.  As we near the end of our route I yield Scratch one more time with my finger.  As he comes around I look up and make eye contact with a woman standing next to her son.  Both smile and she says, “You have that wild horse trained pretty well, mister.”  I tip my hat in thank you and think, “This is why I love a good parade.”  

Six Weeks to Go

Scratch has been working really hard to get ready.  We've been lucky enough to use the arenas at Rancho Rio Equestrian Stables.  They are great!  There are several different sizes and things go on around each one.

I still have not ridden Scratch out of the arena much.  Last week while we were riding around the stable he spooked at something and bolted.  It wasn't bad - bad, but it was scary.  I got him under control, but I had to fight my emothions some and let Scratch go a bit before I regained control.  I feel I really need to get him comfortable out on the trail to consider this project a success.

Slowly I'm getting the hang of the hackamore. Scratch is responding to it better and better.  It really is a fascinating tool.

Ranae went out with me on Sunday and shot some video.  She really helps me with my riding a lot. Anyway we put some of the stuff to some of my favorite music and you can see what we are working on.

Yesterday Scratch got his second series of vaccinations from Bakersfield Vet Hospital.  Today he looked fine in his pen.  I felt the injection sites and there was not a reaction.  I loaded him up and when I unloaded him at the stable he was drooling profusely.  I checked his mouth - nothing.  He had eaten breakfast and pooped.  We did a little groundwork then I thought I would just take his temp.  It was 102.6.  I loaded him back in the trailer and brought him home to give him the rest of the day off.  He is quietly munching lunch as I write this....

It's a Whole New World Out There

Scratch got his first taste of the saddle.  It's been a couple of good weeks with Scratch. It was quite an adventure.  I was having problems getting the front cinch done up.  Scratch had blown up so much I could not get to the first hole.  Who knew a horse could suck in that much air?  It must be a natural protective measure.  Anyway, Scratch is very good at it.

I've repeated the exercise a couple of times since and he has accepted it well.  He does move around a lot.  The back cinch is always last to go up.  He was moving around and getting worried about the way it was banging him on the legs.  I gave him the option of standing still and not getting bumped.  When he declined I worked him around the pen quickly and it banged on him a lot.  My goal is he will stand perfectly still while I get him tacked up.

He has been wearing the snaffle too.  It is getting much easier to get in his mouth.  Scratch is the poster boy for "fish butt lips"  -  you know his lips are closed so tight they are water proof like a fish's butt.

We are going to have to pick up the pace on some stuff.  His feet are getting long.  He tolerates me picking them up.  Next step is to get a rasp on them.  And, I should clarify, I've been working on the front feet.  Sooner or later, I need to get to the back.

We left the yard today.  Leading Scratch has improved and we walk around the yard.  He's great at walking between fences, under the trees and around the trailer.  I wondered what his reaction would be to the world outside the fence.  I opened the gate and he stopped dead in his tracks.

There were several surfaces he would need to cross.  First, there was rocky dirt.  Next, a railroad tie and a cement footing.  Finally, Scratch needed to walk down the concrete driveway and onto the asphalt street.  I doubt he has ever walked on concrete or asphalt.

Scratch really fought me on the very first step.  He reared and pulled back.  He was more reactive than I had ever seen him.  I wasn't sure what was causing him so much angst.  Finally, I committed to doing the sending exercise in front of the gate.  This was a big deal at first.  About the 10th time he started to calm.  I moved a small step closer, then a few more inches.

Scratch After his Bath

Opps!  He accidentally stepped on the railroad tie.  He stopped.  Nothing happened.  He continued.  That was a turning point.  Once he knew nothing would happen when he stepped on the railroad tie it was easy going to the asphalt.

We walked up and down the street.  Scratch saw cars go by, the neighbor's dogs, the other neighbor's goats and cows.  He showed some nervous energy at times, but each time he calmed down quickly.  We walked around for about 30 minutes.  We practiced yielding hindquarters and flexing.

Afterward it was bath time.  Scratch like the coolness of the water, but not the wetness.  He fidgeted as I got as much of the salt and sweat off as I could.  He looks so handsome when he is shiny and wet.  It did not last long, however.  As soon as I put him back in his pen he was down and rolling around in the dirt.  He was on his own time, I suppose he gets to do whatever he likes.

On another positive note:  Bakersfield Large Animal Veterinary Hospital has signed on to help sponsor Scratch in the competition.  They will be providing vaccinations and a dental exam.

I'm really excited for two reasons.  First, I love that Dr. Tolley supports the equine community.  He knows the organizers are trying to help these horses.  I'm sure he gets many requests, I am glad he honored ours.

Secondly, it is going to be very cool to find out how old Scratch is.  And, we'll get to see how his teeth fared in the wild.  Will he have a lot of hooks?  Are his teeth in better or worse shape than the average stable horse?  Will he have a reaction to the vaccinations?

Before I get him to BVH I'll need to insure that he is safe to work around.  I'll also have to get him back in the trailer.  I wonder what effect his first trailer ride has on his second?

I am preparing him to ride. He is ready.  This weekend would be great.  Ranae and I are going to work on a plan for Scratch's first ride, then we will rehearse it with my horse Jessie.  Preparation is the key to success and once I get to riding Scratch an entire new world will open up to both of us.

The First Week

Starting in Spurts and Stops

The first week is in the books.  Did everything go exactly as planned?  Does it ever?  Not with horses, rarely with anything else.  

We made good progress.  Scratch spent the week in his square pen.  I did think he would hook up to me a little quicker.  He remains a bit stand off-ish.

The Halter

I thought I had desensitized him plenty to the halter around his head and neck.  Scratch seemed fairly calm, as the horses do.  He was quiet as I lunged him.  When I went to put the halter on it bumped his nose and that's when I noticed I had neglected that body part.  He pulled his head back and I tried to go with him, but didn't.  This meant it was back to the starting point and doing it all over again.  The progression was slow.  When it came time for the second try he was ready.

Leading

Once the halter was on it was obviously I take leading my horse Jessie for granted.  Scratch doesn't know how to give to pressure.  He doesn't know to follow me.  Leading was a foreign experience.  We worked on this for hours.  The big problem was leaving the square pen.  He did not want to go through the gate.  Thinking back on Scratch's interaction with humans, bad things happen around gates.  When he was caught and gelded, he was likely sent through a gate.  When Scratch was loaded in our trailer, yep, through a gate.  Now, we don't make excuses for the behavior, but situations like this, I think it is good to know.  The knowledge helps me decide how much time I'm going to spend on this issue.  We worked on it slowly and in a way that kept him comfortable.

Feet

Just like the haltering, I rushed to handle his feet.  He got really nervous and it was necessary to back up and take it slow.  Just today I was able to pick up each front foot for two seconds and hold it.  They will need a rasp soon.  We'll keep working on this.

Jeffries Method 

The Jeffries Method is a desensitizing technique.  It is so much fun.  I jump up and down next to the horse.  Then I put my weight on his withers.  Then I jump up on his back and just lay over him while rubbing him all over.  He loves this.  He gets a good rub down.  As Clinton said, "There's just something about having you heart next to the horse that really quiets them down."

Below is a short video of our adventures for the first week:

Thanks for following along!