Finally the video

Finally the video uploaded and here it is, this was at the very end of our session so Starbuck keeps looking at me like "I did all this before and was a good girl, why do we have to do it agaaaaaaiiiiinnnnn?".  Which is why she's not very cooperative here, next time I'll try to get video at the start of the session.

Yesterday we worked on getting in and out of the shower, it's basically a raised (3 or so inches) concrete platform with a hose suspended above it which has a moveable arm so you can swing it right and left and since there's usually a big muddy moat-like puddle around it Starbuck kind of freaks out and tends to hop on and off the platform.  This is, needless to say, not good either for her hooves and legs or for my nerves (YOU try holding a green horse on a 5 foot lead while she jumps over a puddle at you)!

Because of this I decided we needed to work a little on it and yesterday we got on and off the platform about 10 times, slowly and with a lot of patience so she could sniff and paw at the mud all she wanted.  At first she was just as freaked as always and jumped both on and off but after a while I think she realized that jumping was a whole lot of work and stepped onto the shower.  I let her think about that a while (did you know that when a horse licks his / her lips for what seems like no good reason s / he's thinking about something?) and petted her and told her how marvellous she is and then we went back to the routine.  And what do you know?!  A few reps later she stepped (very cautiously and with a little hop at the end, but hey, way better than a jump) off the platform too!  So once again I let her think about it, petted her, walked her around the area without going into the shower and then did a final rep (with actual shower included, which she likes) before we went back to her paddock.

Cavesson Part 3

Here are the photos from yesterday!  The video's taking too long so I'll upload it tomorrow ;-)

Cavesson Part 2

Yesterday when I went to the stable and called out to Starbuck she nickered at me, that low throaty nicker which means "Hey you, good to see you again".  It's the first time she's ever done it to me so it felt really special and I was really gratified and thanked her with a long long rub session.

We also tried out the Cavesson while longeing and she wasn't quite sure what to make of this strange new halter but it went very well, I think it's better for asking for forward impulsion than the Parelli halter, although the Parelli is definitely better for control.  It's a little large since it was originally Virgina's (the proud owner of Coco, a beautiful but enormous Menorquín mare) but I think I'll be able to snug it up around the nosepiece with old socks or something like that.

My husband and mother in law tagged along and were both surprised to see that Starbuck was so happy to see me and obedient inside her paddock (basic walk, stop and back commands).  They also took some photos and even a video which I'll upload as soon as I get them.

In the meanwhile I've found some videos on Youtube of people longeing with some of the same problems Starbuck and I have.  I see so many videos of horses longeing perfectly that I tend to feel like an idiot, it's good to see that we're not the only ones struggling a little.  Here you go:

Cavesson

Today Starbuck and I lunged for a while and I thought she did really well, it was actually pretty funny because another girl at the stable who didn't know that Starbuck is still a baby and was talking about how badly she was behaving ;-)  So we didn't do great today but at least good enough to fool someone into thinking that she's just a naughty grownup!

I also tied her with the other horses while I groomed her and she behaved perfectly, she even lifted her front feet for me while tied!  Another thing I've noticed that she's improved is that she still goes a little crazy on the lunge line every now and then but when she does her periodic farting and bucking and running off thing she doesn't pull me nearly as hard.  Instead of a tug which would pull me off balance before, now she just pulls a little on my arm, which is fabulous!  Every day I can see a little improvement, even if some things get a little worse other things get better.

 My friend Virginia even lent me her cavesson (see my Lungeing, Longeing, Loungeing post for more details) which we tried on (I think it fits fine!) and will try out with the line next time.  In the meanwhile here are some photos:

Lungeing, Longeing, Loungeing

Since I've been lungeing Starbuck on a regular basis to try to teach her the voice commands "Paso" (walk) "Trote" (trot) and "Galope" (canter) but I don't have a whole lot of experience on the line, I got the US Pony Club's Guide to Longeing and Ground Training.  Even though it's basically written for kids and has a lot more "safety" guidelines than most books on training, I'm finding it really useful.  Some things I've learned so far are:

• There is a special type of bridle called a cavesson which should be used when longeing.  
• Before starting to longe, it's best to teach the horse parallel leading (at 6-10 feet), then parallel longeing (where the person walks a smaller inner circle about 10-15 feet away from the horse) and finally "normal" longeing (where the person stays in one spot in the center of the circle).
• Horses shouldn't be cantered on the longe line until they're very good at walking and trotting, since it's more difficult for them to keep their balance in a canter.

I think I'm going to get a cavesson, until now I've been longeing with a string halter (Parelli style), but am thrilled to know that there are special halters which can give better control while being gentler on the horse.  This way I can also introduce her to the bit without pulling on it too much when longeing, since the line attaches to the noseband instead of to the bit itself.  Here's a picture of the one I'm considering: