Posts Tagged ‘natural horsemanship
Blitz Training Update
Chesapeake Lightning aka Blitz doesn’t always appear on this blog quite as often as Minnow & Boomerang. The reason for this is that technically I don’t own Blitz, my mom does.
Me working on trick training with Blitz
While I’m still very much responsible for his “trick training” education (I taught him to paint, play fetch, shake hands, kiss, etc), my mom works with him on all other parts of his training.
Blitz during a Natural Horsemanship Clinic at our farm last year
My mom and I have similar training methods, but while I primarily use clicker training, she opts for a more “Natural Horsemanship” Direction. I don’t really like to put labels onto the types of training methods we use, because really we gather knowledge and inspiration from TONS of different sources. We watch DVD’s, attend clinics, take lessons, and pretty much absorb everything that comes towards us. I’ve even used methods taught in my dog agility classes with my ponies. Every horse we work with is different, and we tailor our training to what works best for them. It’s about using techniques that are kind to your horse, and aide them in the best way possible in learning with you.
Anyway, since Blitz hasn’t had any action on this blog as of late, I thought I’d give a little update on what he’s been working on.
Recently my mom started taking him to some Natural Horsemanship Lessons at a local trainers place. Blitz is very herd oriented, and as the leader of our small band of Chincoteague Ponies, he very much assumes the role of head “Stallion”. One of his biggest issues is confidence, and he lacks it when away from his herd and the safety of the farm. So my mom has spent time working on making Blitz confident in any situation, so that he will be a safe and reliable mount when put into any uncertainty.
Blitz and Boomerang share the same father, and although both ponies are similar in many ways, they also have some big differences. Boomerang is fearless, he wants to touch everything, try everything, and then do it again! Blitz on the other hand is a bit more cautious. Once he is comfortable with a situation (or scary object) he’s more than willing to do it over and over again. But it sometimes takes him a bit longer to be ok with things. One of his biggest fears have been things in and around his feet.
The video below really shows how different the two brothers are. This was shot in 2009, during their very first introduction to their new tuff ball from our sponsor, Toys for Horses. Watch how each pony reacts.
My mom has spent MANY hours working on desensitizing Blitz to things that make him nervous. One of his biggest obstacles has been tarps. He spent months living with a tarp outside his stall door (which he had to cross on a daily basis), and my mom worked with him day after day on making the tarp a relaxing (and safe) experience. I wish I had a video of him with the tarp last year, because it would make this next video that much more impressive….
This was shot last week when my mom trailered Blitz to a new arena (that he had never been to) and asked him to cross a tarp set-up that he had never seen. Within a matter of minutes she had him crossing it calmly.
My mom has really been working hard at making Blitz into a wonderful mount for herself. Her work with him is also proof, that taking your time and listening to what your horse needs to be able to succeed makes all the difference. I’ve always valued the horses I had that were the most challenging to train, in the end they taught me the most.
Giveaway! CSN Stores
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING ENTRIES!
Happy Friday Everyone! This past Tuesday was my 27th Birthday – so in celebration – I have a little gift to share with you! My loyal readers! We love sharing our adventures with everyone and we appreciate (and read) all of your comments. It inspires us to make more paintings, learn more tricks, and try harder!
Our giveaway is a $50 gift certificate to CSN Stores, that can be used on ANY product and in ANY of their stores. Woohoo! CSN Stores carries products from over 200+ stores, you can seriously find everything on their site.
Organic Horse Shampoo for all those dirty ponies out there. Check.
Outdoor Lighting for your stable. Check.
Dog bowls for your trusty farm companion. Check.
Details below on how you can win $50 to CSN Stores! Yeah for free stuff!
How to Enter:
All you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post for a chance to win. Be sure to give us a way to contact you, via your website or an e-mail address. Giveaway Ends on March 16, 2011, 11:00pm (EST)! The winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to CSN stores to use on any item that they wish. Winners will be drawn at random and notified by e-mail. Good Luck!
This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only.
Thanks to CSN Stores for sponsoring this giveaway.
Lariat
I’m constantly learning something new. There will ALWAYS be something I don’t know, so why not try to learn EVERYTHING I can? It’s sort of a sickness I have, I want to try everything.
So while competing in the Extreme Cowboy Race was something totally new and different for me, I couldn’t leave it at just that. While at the expo I jumped at the chance to learn how to throw a lariat. After all, I could have been asked to rope a “cow” during the competition for all I knew.
I was sort of relieved we didn’t have to rope something, because I think I could use a little more practice.
I’ve added a Lariat to my Birthday wish list (which is tomorrow!) because it was so much fun I can’t wait to give it a try while riding a horse!
After trying my hand at tossing the lariat I made sure Boomerang was ready for roping too. During one of our schooling sessions in the indoor I practiced throwing a lead rope around his head, ears, and sides. Just to make sure that should I NEED to throw the rope in the race, he would be fully comfortable with it. You can never be too prepared!
Anyone else out there know how to throw a rope? Any secret pointers so I can look super cool throwing my lariat off an english saddle?
Extreme Cowboy Race Winner
The winner of the 2011 Extreme Cowboy Race at the Horse World Expo was Wayne Yoder. He was actually the only rider to be undefeated the entire weekend too!
After the preliminary rides he was in first place, with me tailing right behind him by about 10 points. But after his amazing ride in the finals he jumped to a huge lead on his Stallion, Ornery.
Boomerang was fortunate enough to be stabled next to the winner in the barns, which meant I got to learn all about his “story”.
Wayne is a horse trainer from Ohio, where he trains between 12-14 horses a day with his business partner at Lonesome Hollow Stables. He works with problem horses, as well as starting young horses under saddle. When he’s not training horses his favorite thing to do is compete in Extreme Cowboy Races. Wayne said that at the Horse World Expo he was going on his 9th competition.
Wayne actually had his own rescue Stallion that he used to compete in the races, but a few months ago he died unexpectedly. He later discovered the horse had an abscess in his stomach, something that probably developed when he was malnourished years earlier.
Wayne’s friend Morgan, a horse chiropractor and masseuse, decided to offer him use of her Stallion, Ornery. The palomino stallion’s registered name was something like TC’s Golden Mist – but I can’t remember for sure, Morgan calls him Ornery or “Orn” for short. Orn’s story is also a rescue story as well. He was in a situation where his owner’s were not caring for or feeding him, the owner was forced to surrender their horses, and Morgan rescued the now 15 year old Stallion.
6 weeks ago Wayne started working with Orn, who’s previous experiences were mostly in trail riding. And this would be the stallion’s very first Extreme Cowboy Race.
I was immediately impressed with how quiet Orn was. He had never been around the applause and cheering (like most of the extreme cowboy race participants), yet when I saw the horse experience it for the first time – he was nearly unfazed.
Unfortunately I don’t have any videos of Wayne competing, but through most of his rides Orn was just as steady as ever. But what I was most impressed with was Wayne’s initiative to better himself and his horse through this competition. After the preliminary rounds, Wayne realized that there were some areas he could improve in with his horse while at the Expo. He set out and found a riding instructor that agreed to give him a jumping lesson after the expo closed for the day. So the night before the finals this cowboy attempted to learn the proper way to release his arms over the jump so as not to catch his horse in the mouth. And when I saw him take the big jump on Orn in his western saddle the day of the finals I was so happy for him.
Wayne, if you ever read this, I think you deserved this win! I know you were just as nervous as all of us, as we all huddled in the arena entrance breathing deeply. I wish you much success in your Extreme Cowboy Race endeavors, and I hope we meet up again soon!
Here’s an article I found on Wayne and his efforts to organize an Extreme Cowboy Race in his area.
Photos curtsy of Black Rock Photography.
Find out on monday what I did to better my horse and myself at the expo! I’ll give you a hint, it involved a lariat! 🙂
Extreme Cowboy Race 2011 – Finals
Yesterday’s post was about the Preliminary Round in Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy Race at the Harrisburg, PA Horse World Expo. Today it’s onto the Finals!
On Sunday the Expo opened with a drill from the Canadian Cowgirls, then Craig Cameron’s team began setting up the Race in the main arena. Not only did we have to learn a new course in a matter of minutes, but we had changed locations too. In my early morning and late night rides I had been schooling in both arenas, so luckily Boomer had at least been able to see both indoors.
I walked the course and set about committing it to memory. I’m fortunate to have a photographic memory of sorts – but under pressure – you never know if you’ll suddenly draw a blank. Being in the #2 spot meant that I got to ride 10th, which allowed me to watch several riders before me.
The finals course was definitely a lot harder, and going in to day #4 at the expo my energy was beginning to fade. And poor Boomerang had been in a stall for 4 days as well (aside from riding and hand walking time) – something that was starting to weigh on his patience a little.
As I watched the riders go before me, I noticed that many of them were attempting the flying dismount I had used in my run the day before (it had earned me major points with the judges). And then tragedy struck for the rider right before me. Seconds before she crossed the finish line she attempted to do the flying dismount. Unfortunately she got stuck in the saddle and landed wrong – ultimately fracturing her ankle. Paramedics came, and she was taken out of the arena in a stretcher. (I believe she is doing fine now). Definitely didn’t help my nerves right before I was set to ride.
But we braved on. Here is a video of our finals run:
It wasn’t one of my better rides. Afterward I sort of beat myself up about my spill – ironically this was the very first time I have ever fallen off Boomerang. I sort of dwelled on the fact that I ate dirt for several hours afterward – but then I watched the video. After watching the video I realized that, yes, I had made some mistakes – but there were also some very good points in my run.
My beginning free ride was fought with a little lead swapping on Boomer’s part. But I opted to ignore his need to switch his leads, because I could tell immediately that he was going to be a little spooky on this run (not sure why), so I needed to concentrate on sitting back and making sure I didn’t fall off this time. I was happy though that he seemed almost unfazed by the cheering this time around.
Our log drag started off perfectly, then I decided to ask too much – and attempted to get Boomer to back with the log, something we had practiced many times. He met me with a little resistance so I quickly abandoned that avenue.
The tarp walk should have been a cake walk, but something must have caught Boomer’s eye and made him jump. But he quickly composed himself and walked calmly across it.
Then came the log gate, my enemy. In all honesty, I didn’t expect it to be that heavy. Once I had it lifted, and realized Boomer was in a less than willing attitude, it was already too late. After I went under it I knew I had to drop it, or it was going to drag me off the saddle, but when I looked back all I could see was Boomer’s rump. Dropping it would mean throwing the log onto my pony – and I definitely didn’t want to do that. So instead I hung onto it until it was clear of my pony, at which point it just toppled me off my pony. I think Boomer could have saved me, but instead he ducked his head and I went over the front. I don’t really blame him, I did lift a log over top of him, but at least he was kind enough to wait for me so I could remount. Thanks Boomer.
After my fall I was a little discombobulated. My brain switched from “do the obstacles properly” to “don’t fall off again you dummy”. So when I rounded the corner to start my pole bending I attempted to ask Boomer to start weaving on the right. But Boomer was too smart, he knew when we do bending poles we always start on the left so that our spin can be a right turn. One little hop on his part and he had me set right again.
We started to improve a little more after the pole bending and next it was onto the ground tieing. I taught Boomer to ground tie (or stay) just a few weeks earlier, but it had never been proven to this extent. Boomer proved that my training had worked though, because after I gave him the stay command he stood like a statue until I returned. He actually stood for quite some time, because I dropped my crop inside the chute and had to crawl backwards to get it. For my remount I had planned to vault on, but by the time I got back to Boomer I was quite tired. I contemplated it for a second, then decided to use my stirrup. I worried if I vaulted I wouldn’t have the strength to get in the saddle, causing me to miss or make Boomer move – which would of gotten us less points. I think the stirrup was the better choice, because Boomer stood like a stone as I mounted – which I’m sure earned us extra points.
The sidepassing was a non-issue for Boomer, and he did exactly as I asked.
The tarp carry was a non-issue for Boomer as well. I tried to get more of it over his back – but it was awkwardly large and started to get tangled in my reins. But Boomer was fine with it, so relaxed in fact that when I asked him to trot he said “no, I think I’m tired now, and we can just walk”. haha. But I was happy he was perfectly calm in this situation.
Boomer showed me once again he knows exactly what to do when it comes to jumps. Me on the other hand – this picture just proves I have no idea how to look pretty over a jump. haha. I think it’s funny – the only reason I carried a crop in this competition is because I thought I “might” need it to convince Boomer to jump scary things (just a little tap on his shoulder usually does the trick). Obviously it’s more of a “security blanket” for me, and I didn’t use it once in the entire competition. In fact, it more just hindered me by getting caught in my reins, and causing me to have to find a place to stash it when I lifted things. Oh well, live and learn.
Next up was the trash chute, and again, Boomer was a star.
The bucket carry was another non-issue for Boomer. Well other than the fact that he saw a bucket and his “pony” kicked in. “Omg is there food in there for me?” He kept trying to turn his head so he could reach inside, making carrying the extremely heavy bucket difficult for me. Finally I let him have a look see, and once he realized it was just water we were back in business.
For our last free ride I was a bit more cautious than the day before. I knew he had been spooky the first time around – so I opted to take a more controlled approach. It worked out fine and Boomer quietly galloped around the arena.
I decided to go for the flying dismount at the end. And thankfully I landed properly and we safely crossed the finish line.
So it may not have been as “polished” ride as the first day – but overall it was actually pretty decent. I really can’t complain, because Boomerang really tried for me. The whole weekend was a lot to ask for a young pony.
In the end we took home 6th place. 4th, 5th and 6th all had a one point difference – so we were all very close. Afterward Craig Cameron gave me a hug and told me he thought I had a lot of heart and he was impressed with what I had done with my pony.
I’m glad I did it. It was one of the most stressful, challenging, and rewarding things I have ever done.
Tomorrow I’ll tell you all about the Winner of the Extreme Cowboy Race. He’s a real cowboy with a palomino Stallion!
See more pictures from the event on our facebook page.
