90 Days

As life often has a way of going, mine has been considerably busy these past few weeks and I have neglected to write. It’s tricky when this happens because then I am faced with the task of picking out highlights to share and inevitably I forget key moments or ideas. That said I will do my best to catch up and hope not to fall so behind again. A lot has changed in my life this past week, but that is a story for another time. I actually wrote this post almost two weeks ago, but I don't want to muddy it with the new stuff. There will be plenty of time for that!

21 May 2018

We are well into month three and things are moving along, but we have intentionally slowed down a little so as not to push Ollie to hard. He is really young and thus still growing and my number one priority with him is to always to keep him the priority--my retired Belgian cross Rory was worked really hard when he was young. He was an Amish plow horse and now, at 11, he has developed joint issues and has old injuries that make him unrideable. I do not want the same for Oliver and Sean and I have been in constant communication about how to safely and respectfully train him.

Since I last wrote, I have done a few rides on my own with Oliver. This was intimidating to me at first, but by ride number three I felt much more confident. We are working now on getting Oliver to respond to cues under saddle and most of my work with him has to do with taking direction and moving around (both in the round pen and arena) at the walk. Sean has worked with him a the walk, trot and once at the canter and Oliver responded well, but even Sean has kept his last rides short and kept work at the walk.

Oliver is moving out better and better each ride. He still has his moments of resistance, but it seems mostly when he is trying to figure out what is asked of him. Once he gets it, he relaxes and moves forward. He is comfortable with turns, has a great “whoa” and is responsive to cues to back up. We will likely stick with these skills for now, though Sean may step things up in the coming month or so when he is working with Ollie on his own. I am heading up to our new home in Bend, Oregon and will dedicate the next month getting things ready so that the horses can join me in a few weeks.

Earlier today, I read a Facebook post written by a woman who is curious about possibly adopting a mustang for the first time. She asked great questions and got some good advice from members of the group about how to get started and what to expect. Reading her post and the replies got me thinking about my own reflections on this process as a first time mustang owner and, true to my teacher form, I thought it would be appropriate to step back and consider some takeaways that I have from these first 90 days of the Oliver adventure. So, in now particular order, and with humility because I am only an expert on my experience, I want to get down in words (and maybe a few pictures) those thoughts. If anything, it will be interesting to look back on them a few months from now to see if they have changed.

1. Find a community. This one I don’t think will change. When I first learned about mustangs and started to consider adopting one of my own I did so, really, because I already had a network and the luck of landing with my retired horse at a barn with an incredible mustang trainer. Those of you who have followed Oliver’s progress know that Sean Davies has been the key to all of this for me--I might have done it otherwise, but I doubt it would have gone very well without his guidance and support. In my time in Colorado, and more specifically at Sean and Dani’s ranch in Erie, I have seen firsthand what can happen when mustangs end up in the hands of people who lack the knowledge and experience to gentle and train them. They arrive in Sean’s care often--many of whom have been deemed dangerous or unrideable by folks who have approached working with a mustang as one might a domestic horse. Undoing the damage done to a mustang who has had a rough start can take months and even then many of them who have been mishandled retain their fearfulness. It is painful to see how many problems can be caused in such a short time and these animals deserve the best right from the start. If you don’t have the knowledge yourself, find someone who does. If you can’t, then a mustang is not for you.

2. Listen to your horse. I have learned a great deal from Oliver and it has really been a gift working with him. Throughout this process, though, Sean and other members in my horse community have reminded me to pay close attention to how Oliver responds to new things and to be sure to keep his needs the focus. While this is a learning process and great opportunity for me, it really isn’t about me at all in the end. What matters is that Oliver learns how to be a person’s partner without losing trust, but while also maintaining respect. He tells us when he is ready for new things and when he needs time to adjust. We do our best to listen.

3. Listen to yourself. That almost cliche idea that horses are a mirror rings even truer when you are working with a wild horse. I say this more from my experience watching some of the other (arguably more “wild”) horses at the barn. Establishing a strong, respectful confidence has been key for me (and is still a work in process). I need to pay close attention to this as I work with Oliver because the whole “fake it ‘til you make it” does NOT apply here. He knows the minute I question myself, so it is better for me to find ways to gain confidence by asking questions and seeking support, than it would be for me to just go forward with things on my own.

4. Try, when at all possible, to do it right the first time. This goes back to my observations of mustangs who have had negative experiences with trainers but also relates to my work with Ollie. The beauty of adopting a mustang is that, in many ways, he is a blank slate when it comes to people. Though many people have luck adopting mustangs who have had TIP trainers or who have gone through the prison training programs, it is really important to do so (I believe) knowing a bit about how those trainers’ processes. In watching Oliver and also Boone, the BLM mustang who arrived at the barn a week after Oliver, I have seen how mindful decisions are made as trust is built.

5. Be patient. This should probably be starred--or at least underlined. Oliver is a unique mustang in that he was born at a sanctuary and really came to us very trusting of people. That said, it has been really important to be patient with his progress and to keep in mind, always, what pace works best for him. We have had weeks where we have made huge strides and then those where we have simply maintained. Honestly, I have had little expectations about when we are “supposed” to reach different milestones and I think this has served us both well.

6. Love the process. Though I am generally more adept with words than I am with horses, I am not sure if I can, as of yet, find the words to express how incredible this process has been for me. Each step forward (and even those times we took a few steps back) has been an incredible learning experience. I have learned more about myself in working with Oliver than I have in a long, long time. Appreciating the incredible nature of this opportunity--I mean seriously, when I think of how this all came together I am still in awe: I met Sean, I heard an NPR story and I read a book. Three months later, I am still earning the right to my cowboy boots, but I have adopted what might be one of the sweetest mustangs in the west (though I am admittedly a little biased). While the end goal here may be a long term partnership with an incredible horse, the trail that leads there has been the most rewarding.

Trails, Teeth and Time Under Saddle

What a week! We have covered a lot of ground and Oliver is coming along just as expected. Our focus centered on exposure to some real-world scenarios and then moving forward with the riding work we started the weeks before.

On Friday, Sean took Bryce and I (and Boone and Oliver) up to Longmont to expose the horses to a trail context and all the things they might meet traveling off property: bikes, runners, strollers, etc. Sean chose the Boulder Fairgrounds, which is close to where Sean used to live and train horses, so he knows the area well. It was a perfect place to explore and to see how the mustangs responded to new and unfamiliar things.

Getting both horses in the trailer was actually pretty uneventful. Boone walked on first and clearly he recalled all the practice they have done preparing for and actually loading. I led Ollie on and he simply followed. It was his second trailer ride ever, the first being his 7-hour ride down here two months ago from South Dakota.

Once at the fairgrounds, we unloaded the horses and started off on the trail. We immediately met other pedestrians and folks on bikes. While interested, both horses continued on with little change in demeanor. Our first “obstacle” was walking under one of the pergolas and through some picnic tables. Boone didn’t blink and Oliver followed suit. We all laughed a few times, perhaps a little relieved, but also an acknowledgment of how the work we have done thus far has paid off.

Photo credit: Sean Davies

Down the trail a mile or so there is a waterfall and we took the opportunity to bring the horses to the river to see if we could get them to get their feet in. This took some convincing for both geldings. Though Oliver has been great with the tarp and walking through puddles on at the ranch, he balked a little at the running water and it took about 10 minutes to convince him to go in. Once in, though, he loved it. He drank from the river and splashed a little, eventually getting all 4 feet in. Boone essentially did the same.

Photo credit: Sean Davies

We moved on over some bridges and while both horses definitely noticed the first steps onto the bridges, they moved across each one, definitely aware that they were in a new context, but confident. Bicylists passed by, some of whom dismounted, but others didn’t and again the horses were aware but very brave. On our way back to the trailer, we walked down a steeper slope to the water’s edge, which Oliver wasn’t so sure of, but with a little literal prodding (there were sticks in abundance) he leaped down and then back up the bank. A jumper in the making.

I think the walk physically tired us humans out more than the horses, but they were clearly a little mentally worn out when they again loaded in the trailer to head home. It was a great success on all fronts and I think I can speak for Bryce and myself in saying that we feel confident in the trail potential in both Boone and Oliver. They rocked it.

One of my takeaways from the walk was that Oliver is still very pushy and he is learning to move off from pressure, rather than into it. So, the next day when I came down to work on groundwork (which we did outside), my focus was giving him clearer messages in the hopes to increase his sensitivity. He is moving out at the canter better now, especially when I am better positioned, and so I focused on lots of changes of direction. He got away from me once, mainly because I was positioned poorly when asking him to move out and he was headed straight away from me faster than I could pull his head around. Thankfully, Sean was riding in the next ring over and was able to help me catch him. I was able to get him moving again without drama and once we were done working on transitions, Sean demonstrated some exercises to use outside to keep Oliver’s focus. We also worked on leg yields (from the ground) and I was able to get a better handle on how to work with Oliver on moving away from pressure properly in this context.

We were back in the saddle for our next two sessions. I did some groundwork with Oliver in the first one and Sean did a quick ride (Oliver was still super tired!) basically working on walk-trot transitions and taking direction moving around barrels, etc. Today, Sean rode first and got our first canter steps (to the left and right) with Oliver while being ridden. We are taking this skill VERY slowly because Oliver’s balance is still developing and even without a rider he struggles to get the correct lead in the front and back. What ensues can be a bit of a panic on his part and while this is fine for groundwork, it could get messy with a rider. I stood in the middle of the round pen to help move things along and we were able together to get Oliver to transition relatively calmly into the canter for about half a circle and then settle him back into a trot, walk and whoa (and of course some work on the back up at the end).

I rode Oliver today for the longest I have thus far. It wasn’t anything fancy: we walked at the walk in the arena, moving around barrel and basically practicing moving forward and taking direction. It took me a few minutes to settle in and I am admittedly not precise with my signals, but they are coming along. I was able to figure out (with gently shared guidance--ha!) how best to hold and move the reins (my tendency is to pull out instead of up) and how to better use my leg and seat to move him forward. He is still hesitant, but he relaxed a little and the better I got at giving cues, the more his responses improved. Rocket science, I know.

My hope today was to get to the point where I feel comfortable riding Oliver alone to keep up the work Sean and I are doing together during training sessions and I think I’m there. We will have to see how this plays out when I have the opportunity, but I am really excited to have the emerging confidence required. We have basically settled on the fact that because of Oliver’s age, he will be ridden lightly for the next few years, if only to give his body a chance to grow and to develop balance. Thus, my role for a while is going to continue to include a lot of groundwork and as much riding as Ollie can physically handle. We are in it for the long haul with this one and want him to be healthy and sound for years to come.

Our focus this coming week, I think, will be to continue to build on what we have worked on so far with Ollie under saddle: transitions, moving off of the rider’s cues, the back up and doing all these things both inside and in the outdoor arena, but we will see what Sean has in store for us both. I am also going to try to find some way to preserve Ollie’s last front lower baby tooth, which I gently (read persistently) wiggled free from his mouth this week because I could no longer take his snaggle-toothed smile.

Overcoming Obstacles

It’s funny, this past week I wasn’t sure I had much to write about and as such let some time pass. Thankfully, Courtney (whose horses Solas and Samwise are also a Spirit Heart) has also started a blog about her experience with equine assisted counseling (so cool!) and in reading her first post I was inspired to get back to the routine. Now that I am sitting down to reflect I realize we have a bunch to catch up on. In the interest of time, I will try to cover the most pertinent milestones, starting Oliver’s first proper hoof trim and ending with today’s ride with Sean, which was, you will likely agree, quite a feat considering it was really Ollie’s 2nd real ride.

They say scars tell stories and if this is the case then Oliver’s feet tell some tales. It is clear that he has had a few abscesses in the past which are, thankfully, growing out nicely. The fields on which he likely spent the last year or so surely had some rocks, but probably not the type of gravel necessary for him to wear his feet down properly. As a result, his feet have grown out a little unevenly and it was high time we (and by “we” I refer to myself as the observer) did something about it. So last week, instead of doing groundwork one session, Sean offered to do his first trim. While he didn’t stand perfectly still, Oliver was really patient and more than anything he seemed to want to investigate both Sean’s hat and the shiny silver coins on Sean’s belt. Oliver walked away from the experience with feet that are not only much more even, but also much easier to pick out and clean. A win-win for both of us.

Ollie and I worked a lot on our own this week due to weather and a nasty cold that took Sean out of commision for a few days. This was a great opportunity for us to fine-tune some skills, most notably me getting Oliver to move his shoulder out when I am working with him in the round pen (especially when he is going to the right), sharpening up transitions, helping Oliver to find his stride at the canter (and to pick up the correct lead in front and back) and also moving over jumps and over obstacles. We also worked twice with the surcingle.

Our most notable progress was with jumping and obstacles. As I have noted before, Oliver is not the most graceful. This is best observed when he walks over or around (read: through) things. We worked on jumping barrels twice this past week and after I figured out how to better position myself and thus communicate more clearly with Oliver he did a really great job getting himself over, instead of through, the barrels--in both directions. Not only did he improve his form, he also “got” what I was asking him to do and by the end of our last session he would seek out the barrels once he got moving and trotted towards the center of them with very few cues from me.

Ollie also took great pride in his bridge crossing abilities. He has had no trouble following me over the bridge for a while and I have also been able to drive him over it, but now once he has crossed it a few times, he seeks out the opening on his own and, just as with the barrels, seeks out the route. He was excited about this and when we came back for the third time to work on the bridge he trotted right up and over. This came in really handy when Sean rode him today; it was clear Oliver knew how to do the bridge thing and thus carrying Sean over it seemed simply an added detail.

Yesterday, after we worked on obstacles, I had the privilege also of watching Boone and Bryce have their first rides. I say plural because it was a first for both of them--Bryce had never taken a first ride on a horse and Boone had not yet been ridden. As I always say, it is really informative for me to watch Sean, Boone and Bryce together--I can learn not only from their progress, but also from the contrast between how Boone and Oliver learn and behave. They are quite different horses, yet they both progress well with similar approaches. The most striking difference (aside from their ages) is sensitivity. Boone is not only highly aware of everything going on around him, he is quick to respond to cues; on the other hand, Oliver is a little less keyed in, requiring cues to keep his attention and he is also sometimes a bit lagging in the response department. In other words, he is a two-year-old. While Boone’s first ride is not really my story to tell, I was honored to have been there and watching the two of them work through it together is something I will not soon forget.

Today, we were lucky to get some time with Sean and after a quick warm up, Oliver had his third real ride. I am combining Sean and my rides on him during saddle testing as his official second. For his third ride, Sean decided we would work on obstacles out in the arena. This worked beautifully because of the practice we had this week and while I thought it was ambitious (I think I said at one point “And this is what confidence looks like.”) Oliver handled a lot of new things beautifully.

Instead of riding him in a halter, Oliver had his second experience with bosul. While it allowed Sean control, Oliver did resist a little, but overall he responded. Sean also wore spurs, which were definitely needed. If anything, Oliver needs a great deal of encouragement at first to move forward. This gave me the opportunity to assist, cueing Ollie from the ground as needed to get him moving forward. Once he understands and opens up to the idea he is fine, but getting started seems more of a sputtering than a peeling out for lack of a better comparison. They only really needed my help for a few minutes at the beginning. 

As I said, once moving under saddle, Oliver handled all the obstacles really well. He clearly knew what was expected and took Sean over the tarp river, bridge and cavelleti like a pro. He also did well moving around the barrels we had set out, though that wasn’t as clear to him at first (we haven’t done too much work using barrel patterns, but now will do more). Sean was able to walk him around the full arena and even to do a few steps backing up at the end. Tomorrow, we will pick up where we left off and my hope is to get on to try some of what I watched today...I guess I should find myself a pair of spurs.

First Times

On Day 38, our little guy had his first ride. I would love to say I was the rider, but I’m honestly glad I wasn’t. He may be there, but I am not quite there yet! That said I had an important role in the whole event (you might say I saved Sean’s life simply by preventing any issues), and it was an incredible experience.

Day 37 was important, too, so I am going to start with that. I worked with Oliver alone and we did all sorts of stuff of which I am pretty proud (he really rocked it). First, I groomed him outside. It was beautiful and sunny and I figured we would give it a shot. It didn’t hurt that there is a shelf of grass by one of the fences that he could stick his head through to sample. Needless to say, he stood still, except to shift to reach the better grass. He stood still while I picked out all four feet, which is a huge win.

Once Ollie was cleaned up, we worked in the round pen--on a lead and free--and he was much more responsive than he has been. Towards the end of our time in the arena, I worked on picking up his feet while he stood without a halter or lead, a first. Again he stood for all four, this time almost stock still. This may not sound like much, but for me it’s a big deal. The approach of having him break at the ankle and then asking him to lift is working well, especially with his hinds. At some point it will be so routine I will stop mentioning it.

We finished up by moving to the outdoor arena, which was interesting because of all the distractions that pulled Oliver’s interest. We kept things super basic and after about 10 minutes of walk-trot transitions and changes of direction we went for a walk around the property. It was really rewarding to be able to do so many things and to find success.

Tuesday was huge with the feature event of Oliver’s first real ride. It was not something we rushed (or planned for that matter). We started off doing ground work with just the saddle, and even with that I started by putting the saddle pad on and off about 20 times on each side. Sometimes I let it slide down his hind end before lifting it again; I varied the speed and intensity. We did this until it was literally nothing.

Putting the saddle on was not terribly exciting at first, but once Oliver started moving all of the sudden it became a deal. Oliver threw a few bucks, but Sean kept him moving forward until he settled in and was able to focus. He got upset again when we tightened the cinch, but we continued as before and he settled down. Once he was focused we upped the ante. We joked it would be "Tarp Tuesday" and the games began. First, Ollie carried a shiny new blue tarp--on the inside going to the left and right and then on the outside. Sean affixed it using to what I call the “oh shit” handle (I will get back to you with the actual term--I am still getting used to all the western nomenclature). Then, Ollie wore the tarp as a tent and Sean moved him around like that before walking and trotting over it once it was one the ground where, at least I imagine according to Oliver, it most definitely belonged. By the time we were done with the tarp (and then some quick work dragging a pool noodle around), sneaking Sean up there (he was wearing blue so the whole thing appeared quite coordinated) seemed almost uneventful. Well, not really.

We have learned about Oliver that he is usually pretty obliging, but getting on a horse for its first ride, I venture to say even for Sean, is a big deal. I saw Sean take a few deep breaths walking over to Oliver once he had his helmet on and it was clear that he was really working to approach the situation with utmost calm. I aspire to this (when working with horses and in life) so it is always really helpful to see how others prepare for situations in which they are to lead others, or themselves, through potentially fearful situations.

When Sean first sat on Oliver’s back, Oliver noticed, but didn’t get too worried, and if he did, he certainly didn’t react by taking off. This one is not much of a goer and pretty quickly Sean asked me to come into the round pen to help to get him going forward. Sean was able to get him to walk in fits and starts, but Oliver was bracing up. I was nervous to be invited in, but actually really honored to be in there because it was something I wanted to be an active participant in and not simply an observer (though it was awesome to see).

We started really slowly and the goal was just to keep Oliver moving forward, which I did using all the groundwork skills we have been practicing. The foundation paid off and we were able to work together to get him to walk forward and make some turns. Because Ollie has been a little off at the canter and had acted up trotting earlier, we kept things at the walk. By the end of the ride, Sean was able to get Oliver going off Sean’s leg (and not my cues) and the grand finale was a solid “whoa” and then back up in the center of the ring. A good first ride, that. We were all really pleased.

Reflecting on this huge step made me grateful to this trio (and extended team of supporters) of which I have become a part. In 38 days Oliver has grown from a totally silly albeit gentle young horse to one who is starting to understand a sense of boundaries, how to take direction, and now his role in the partnership between horse and rider. He is eager to please and a quick study. I have also come a long way (thanks to Sean and all the other folks who don’t mind me watching them work with their horses and answering my questions). Those 20 minutes in the round pen were incredibly draining, mostly because of the energy I think it required for me to stay steady, focused, and calm; but, my ability to take that role and Sean’s trust (craziness? both?) in my ability to do the job is evidence of huge growth. Perhaps next time, I’ll get up there...we will see.

I should likely end on this high note, but it wouldn’t be a proper Oliver story without a twist. Wednesday, Ollie had the day off because I had a bunch of afternoon appointments. He celebrated this by releasing all of his youthful exuberance out in the pasture with a few of the other horses (Rory included this time, which is great!). Apparently, while running along the fence at full bore, something caught his eye and he turned his head, thus tripping, butt over front in a full flip before sliding face first into a section of no-climb fence. And so, the day after he impressed us all with his maturity and grace, Ollie gave himself his first shiner. Not pretty, but he seems to be better today. We let him rest again today--this time confined back in his pen--and tomorrow hopefully we will be back to work, perhaps with the nickname Rocky.

Day One

Those expecting to see the whites of wild eyes between the slats of the trailer on which “Junior” (as he will be known until I pick a proper name) arrived would have been disappointed. Thankfully, there was no such audience--just me, really, as Sean, Maddie and Dani pulled up with the white trailer in tow. The trip down to Erie, Colorado from Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary is about seven hours for one pulling a trailer; yet, despite this bumpy and windy ride, the young gelding seemed more curious than anything else as Sean walked into the trailer, slipped a halter on, and led him out. There was a bit of a trip on his step down, but after that he simply circled around, a little nervous, perhaps, but trusting.

First order of business was a walk around the ranch as we wanted him to get a sense of the place and also to see how he reacted to all the new sights and sounds there. As far as we know, he has never been near a trailer or been in a context anything like Spirit Heart Ranch. He has seen chickens, turkeys and dogs, as there are plenty of those at the sanctuary, but not in this density and certainly not alongside a well-traveled road. He was born on the wild side of property and likely spent at least a year in what for all intents and purposes wild country. More recently, though, he has lived with his herd in a pasture near to the sanctuary's main buildings, so he now associates people and trucks with hay (yum!). And, he has no reason to be fearful people, structures, and equipment except for that fact that all these things are new.

As we walked around the property, Sean described the work he had done with the horse the day before, first haltering him and then putting a little pressure on to get him moving forward. He explained that the first thing he noticed about the horse was his lack of awareness of boundaries and I saw this first-hand as we led him around. He behaved as a six-year-old child might walking around a strange new place, walking almost into Sean at times. If he was getting a tour of your bedroom, he might push past you as you told the story of the painting on your wall to go through your dresser drawers. No bubble. 

At the far end of the ranch, we spooked one of the resident coyotes--I should say the coyote and horse spooked each other as “Junior” crow-hopped about six feet left, settling down relatively quickly once he realized Sean wasn’t letting go of the lead. Another success on day one.