Post by Allyson on Oct 31, 2008 9:22:34 GMT -5
So Cabo's training scheme has sort of fallen apart the past couple weeks as I was directing the majority of my barn time at spreading gravel, pounding posts, and bursting pipes.
But yesterday, I got to the barn to find mayhem in the pasture. The horses somehow figured out how to take off the only wooden boards in the whole pasture ( everything else is hot tape). Cabo figured out how to weasel himself into the other pasture, the girls were going nuts, and the other horses from the other pasture were trying to get in with the girls. *sigh*
Picked up the boards- none were broken. fixed the fence, reattached the gate, and went to get Cabo, who decided he was so excited, being caught would just not be fun at all.
But he finally settled and came over when he realized I was giving out scritches and treats to the girls.
Baaaad Boy, Cabo!
So, I went about my business putting their supplement containers away, and got a call that my student would be a little late. Hmmm...OK, so I decided to take Cabo out and reacquaint him with the concept of work. He was still a little jumpy from his adventures, so I worked on desensitizing him. I have been working with him on this- he tends to flinch and jump when he sees sharp quick movements. But now he knows when I start acting like a drunk fool on skates that he should just stand still, cuz that'll get me to stop. So the second it clicked in his brain, he stood stock still and eyeballed me. LOL
So we did a bunch of that, he started to relax, and then I just got the feeling that I could go further. I didn't really want to free longe him as he had been running around in the pasture and wa already sweaty. I just bought a cheap step stool for a mounting block. Note to all: buy the real thing...this thing sucks. So i started throwing my body over his back from both sides. So then I tied the leadrope as reins, and hopped on. *thank you for being so short, my little man!* On, off, on, off. Stock still. OK. So i hopped on, and stayed on. We took a little tour of the arena.
My student finally arrived, and that was scary. He's so cute- Cabo gets pretty proud of himself, but he's also a little nervous under saddle. He doesn't spook really, he gets tense and wiggly. And then if you try to ask him to do something, he does it veryquickly. Grab mane and hang on!
All in all, it was lots of fun. This weekend I think I shall tack him up and see what we've got for a riding horse
But yesterday, I got to the barn to find mayhem in the pasture. The horses somehow figured out how to take off the only wooden boards in the whole pasture ( everything else is hot tape). Cabo figured out how to weasel himself into the other pasture, the girls were going nuts, and the other horses from the other pasture were trying to get in with the girls. *sigh*
Picked up the boards- none were broken. fixed the fence, reattached the gate, and went to get Cabo, who decided he was so excited, being caught would just not be fun at all.
But he finally settled and came over when he realized I was giving out scritches and treats to the girls.
Baaaad Boy, Cabo!
So, I went about my business putting their supplement containers away, and got a call that my student would be a little late. Hmmm...OK, so I decided to take Cabo out and reacquaint him with the concept of work. He was still a little jumpy from his adventures, so I worked on desensitizing him. I have been working with him on this- he tends to flinch and jump when he sees sharp quick movements. But now he knows when I start acting like a drunk fool on skates that he should just stand still, cuz that'll get me to stop. So the second it clicked in his brain, he stood stock still and eyeballed me. LOL
So we did a bunch of that, he started to relax, and then I just got the feeling that I could go further. I didn't really want to free longe him as he had been running around in the pasture and wa already sweaty. I just bought a cheap step stool for a mounting block. Note to all: buy the real thing...this thing sucks. So i started throwing my body over his back from both sides. So then I tied the leadrope as reins, and hopped on. *thank you for being so short, my little man!* On, off, on, off. Stock still. OK. So i hopped on, and stayed on. We took a little tour of the arena.
My student finally arrived, and that was scary. He's so cute- Cabo gets pretty proud of himself, but he's also a little nervous under saddle. He doesn't spook really, he gets tense and wiggly. And then if you try to ask him to do something, he does it veryquickly. Grab mane and hang on!
All in all, it was lots of fun. This weekend I think I shall tack him up and see what we've got for a riding horse
