Nitrogylcerin, Mexican Jumping Bean

"Even if the pony is 100% the problem, you are 100% part of the solution." Andy Marcoux

Sunday dawned to start a crazy day. We had hay being delivered in the morning in addition to packing the trailer and getting the pony ready for Mom's spur of the moment lesson. Fortunately, Winston's eyes were 95% better. Such a relief. Unfortunately, our hay guy had to buy different hay since he ran out. The hay he got is pretty stocky and my horses are protesting. Sorry ponies you have 170 bales of it and it won't eat itself.
Once the barn was full of hay, it was time to get the trailer set and brush the muddy girl. She knew something was up, so she was full of it. I stayed out of the way and let Mom and Peggy deal with the loading. We did manage to load and go by 1215. We also managed to drive by our exit causing an additional 12 mile turnaround, but we made it to the Meadow Event Park. The facility was pretty nice with lots of room and three arenas. The arena for the lessons was a large covered one with bleachers.
We all froze watching a few of the earlier people drive and enjoy Andy's humor. The lady just before Mom was a little hard of hearing and some people were telling Andy that. He said "HUH", then "What?" as they tried again to explain. Peggy and I burst out laughing knowing what he was doing. Of course we got caught up watching and ran late getting Mom into the arena.
Rosemary came off the trailer and into harness. She went right into the arena and only spooked a bit when they shut the gate right behind her.

 Rosemary liked to see all the people watching her from the sideline. I could tell Mom was really nervous because she was tight in her hands.

 The tension showed itself when Andy asked Mom to start the cones course, which was really challenging. 2 to 3 was a tight left turn that rattled Mom and caused Rosemary to fight the bit. I felt bad for Mom, but you know the best time for bad things to happen are when you have an experienced eye nearby.

Andy called a halt to the course soon after. Then he went to work taking off the green chest fuzzy. Peggy joked that he had not gotten to the zip ties yet. OMG, the crowd let out a disgusted "ZIP TIES" cry. Just joking. Andy walked over and threw the fleece in the trash. He said the harness fit great so it was not needed and would probably cause a rub instead. We all were happy he did not adjust her harness settings which we had seen him do to others. Whew! Then he took the reins after commenting about her Rose clip. Andy started out with the Coachman's Position holding the reins.

Coachman's Position, photo from Coachman's Delight Inc

 It is one of the left handed driving positions. Rosemary knew she was not getting away with anything while he was in control. Cue the head tossing and foot stomping.

 Andy was great about using the word "STOP" when she was acting out and praising when she was behaving. I am not sure when he did, but he switched from that rein position to the Hungarian. Very subtle method.

Hungarian Position, photo from Coachman's Delight Inc

Andy decided Rosemary hated her bit to the blackest part of her heart. Yes, he has a way with words. He tried raising the bit, but that was worse so he reset and soldiered on. At one point we worried she was too bad to continue. Andy just kept working though.

Mom said that when Rosemary flipped her tail at him, he quietly said "F you too." Andy was amazing at reading her. As they continued to work he stressed looking ahead and planning. He knew that at one point in the arena she inverted and at another she stretched. So he softened before she normally would invert and picked up the contact before her stretch. Soon Rosemary was carrying herself more regularly and with less resistance despite her hated bit.

Unfortunately, I got video, but no sound since when I did that video of Roscoe I turned off the mic. I am sooooo disappointed. You can still see her progression though you miss out on the great commentary.

Andy had Mom put her hand over his, so she could feel how little he did to direct Rosemary. We are talking moving fingers an inch or so forward and back. Rosemary was great about maintaining her trot. When she halted, she stood still. As an owner, I was really proud of her. She worked on the circle and settled into working with Andy.

After nearly 40 minutes, Andy said to unhook her and end on a good note. He said he hoped she went far. He fondly described her as Nitroglycerin, Mexican Jumping beans. Sensitive, and quick. I like to think he had fun with her. Andy certainly handled her personality great. Considering we paid nothing for this class, we gained so much. As a green horse, any superior training she gets goes so far with Rosemary.

One of the bits we will try with her will be the Herm Sprenger Duo, which we used to use with Addie for driving. Andy was quick to say "try the riding bit first" since driving bits are $100's more expensive. Let me tell you I hopped on her bareback on Monday with the Duo and she was so much more connected than before.

So if you ever have a chance to audit or participate in a clinic with Andy Marcoux, do it. What he teaches translates into ridden work too. His website Coachmans' Delight often offers online classes which we have taken before. Love his style and humor. I was so hyped after this lesson, I crashed that night. Hence why it has taken so long to write this post.
Peggy later found out that this rider, driver, ski and sky diving instructor is an amputee. He definitely does not let anything hold him back. An example we can all follow.

Free Day/ Catch Up

I have worked enough hours recently that I had to take today off. Oh, darn I got more time with the ponies :) That means I have time to share recent pony escapades.

Roscoe took the next step in his driving training by pulling the PVC drag. At first he was a bit nervous, nipping at me, but soon he settled and his big walk kicked in. Once he decided the drag was not going to do anything to him, he acted like the drag was not even there. We did wide turns and tight turns where he had o push against the shafts. Even that did not phase him. I asked him to trot and he tried to just go fast. Then he went into work mode. Amazingly, I was able to ask him to trot and he did so on a circle. That means he constantly had to push the drag on the inside. For him he only cared about doing what I asked. The challenge of the drag did not supersede his purpose of following my instructions. All of us were impressed with his reaction. He needs to do the drag on the road for desensitization, but I think we can hook him to the cart pretty soon. The next day he was so satisfied mentally that I took Comrade for a ride and did not get glared at once.

Comrade's ride was one that developed as we went along. I put him in the 3 pc snaffle to see if the boucher really had an effect. It definitely did. Comrade was heavy in the front. I added some rein backs to put him on his hind end. He did them well, but in typical Comrade fashion he started to anticipate. I asked for a halt and he would immediately back. So I gave him what he wanted, we backed. Not just a few steps. We kept backing and I threw in some curves. Heck, he was moving better backwards than forward. That evil plan came from Clinton Anderson. It paid off by lightening his front end and getting him to listen. Now that he was at that point I took a page from George Morris by doing walk to canter transitions at varied number of strides. The rein back work made his transitions much cleaner with less trot steps needed. 'They only improved after doing a few. Asking at different stride counts kept him from anticipating. Knowing he probably could not do it, I went ahead and tried a counter canter. As I made the turn Comrade said "Nope, not happening" and did a lovely simple change. He repeated the action when I went the other way. I just laughed and enjoyed his correctly done evasion.

Yesterday Comrade had another chiropractic visit. She was pleased at how he is maintaining. He had a bit of stiffness on the left side base of his neck that she worked out. The chiro work has made a big difference. Mom had her also look at Rosemary since she has had that on again, off again lameness. Surprisingly, she did not find anything major. No inflammation around the stifle, no back soreness or anything else. She did realign her pelvis though and work on her neck. They took her down to the arena so she could watch her move. Rosemary is very flashy and big in her movement, especially at liberty. After watching her move the chiropractor believes her big movement combined with the slippery mud causes her to slightly injure herself. She told us to work her, walk out on trail for the most part and do belly lifts. So today, I bundled up and put her quarter sheet on and went for a trail ride in our 20 degree weather. The ground was a bit hard causing her to be on the cautious side, but she seemed straighter and not all over the place. I look forward to warmer weather to really get a good read on her movement.

And that is the pony highlights. Time for bed, have to get up early for inventory prep at my normal store. Stay warm everyone!

Space + Pony + Cart = AWESOME

Over the weekend we moved our little cart from Peggy's to our barn. So today we had Peggy come over and try driving Rosemary in our arena. Mom and I wanted her to work her first before we tried on our own.
We hooked her to the cart by the barn and led her to the arena. Then Peggy got in and we did a couple laps around before I took off the lead. The video was taken after Peggy warmed her up. Peggy asked her for more today. With the open field, Rosemary could really open her trot better than in the small arena. She was a bit sticky on the end nearest the barn, which she does even under saddle, so Peggy had to engage her mind before coming to the area. Mostly she set her up to make the turn. It was amazing to see Rosemary have to figure out turns without a fence to guide. In a short time she was able to drive the end without Rosemary sucking back or bulging her shoulder.
Almost the whole time she was working either Dottie or Roscoe were calling. You can hear Roscoe in the video. It distracted her some, but she did well focusing on Peggy. Peggy soon handed the reins to Mom. She was a bit of a drunk driver at first until she found her contact and timing. Rosemary got into cruise mode at one point and decided she did not want to walk when Mom asked. Fortunately with the large area, she could let Rosemary move while continuing to ask for walk. Later Rosemary took advantage of Mom's inexperience and decided to refuse to move on the end of the arena by the barn. Peggy took the reins and Mom got out to go to her head. I noticed part of her breast collar was caught around the shaft and fixed that. That could have been part of the problem, but mostly it was just Rosemary's normal evasion.
Around this time the farm owner's wife and daughter came out to watch. The wife looked at me and asked "Are you guys going to buy that horse?" I think my jaw might have dropped and it took me a minute to respond. I told her it was Rosemary and she was amazed. They are not horse people, but I could not believe she did not recognize Rosemary. They really enjoyed the view and I agree, nothing like a horse and cart in a field of green. My brother even said it made him think of England, pony, cart, green grass and corgis.
Mom and Peggy will play tomorrow with Rosemary ground driving while Addie,Peggy's Cob mare, drives. I will be at work, bummer. Can't wait to hear how they both do.

Rosemary Driving: View from the seat

Rosemary did her 2nd drive down the road today. This time I took the passenger seat since my foot is sore from Roscoe. We had Mom and Larry walking with her on the ground. Rosemary loves Larry so she kept track of where he was at and would not pass him. Made for some slow moments, but it was fun to watch their interaction.
There were about five vehicles that passed by, some going way too fast. Another ATV and shortly after this video there was a woman dragging trash cans. She handled it all great. And she did it all without having a lead line attached.
Peggy let Rosemary trot three times during the drive. This video shows her second trot. She was a bit lazy today and Peggy will probably bring out the driving whip next time. Once she is trotting, it is an awesome feeling. Her downward transitions were prompt, but smooth. When we got to the corner, Peggy had her do the tight turn which makes her push against the shafts. Unfortunately a truck was coming, so she had to stop three quarters of the way through. Rosemary seems to like those turns and is like "Look I can do this." Peggy had her do another tight turn heading back to the arena. Only this time it was a right hand turn. She had to think about it, then executed it so well.
In the arena, Mom took the reins and did her first solo drive, WHOO HOO.
Nothing better than a drive with great weather and friends and a SUPER PONY. So proud of her.

Trash cans, ATVs and Horses

It's Wednesday!!!

That means Rosemary driving training. Today we extended the road lesson from last week. Only this time she was hooked to the cart and we set out to do the entire length of the road Peggy's home is on, about 1.5 mi round trip. I walked by her head ready with a lead line.
We started on the familiar side road from the arena to the corner where we turned on to the main road. She had to deal with a downhill for the first time in a while. The initial contact of the weight of the cart on her harness breech strap made her a little nervous. Then Peggy settled her and Rosemary started to figure out what she needed to do, sit on her butt and step under. Next was an up hill section with a herd of horses at the top. The horses really got her attention, so I had to attach the lead line. As we neared the horses we heard the rumble of a speedy ATV. Peggy moved the cart to the side and had Rosemary halt as the ATV went pass. Rosemary could care less, she was too busy watching the horses. First couple of hurdles a success.
Thursdays are the neighborhood's trash day, so all the trash cans were on the street. Rosemary did not really look at those. She looked at the darker pavement and pot holes which might eat her. Well as we continued past the horses we saw another ATV coming. This time is was ridden by an adult who pulled over and turned off the machine. Again Rosemary did not have an issue with the ATV. The problem came when the driver restarted the ATV. With the blinders, Rosemary did not see the ATV and since she was looking a trash cans when it growled to life, she associated the noise with the trash cans. She spooked a bit, but settled quickly. After that she gave trash cans the hairy eye as she passed, but no more spooks.
When we made it to the end of the road, Peggy had Rosemary do a turn around. This turn made her cross over in the front while pushing against the shaft to turn the cart. Kind of like a walk pirouette. She did really well. All of us were impressed. On the walk back, we had three vehicles come from behind. Peggy kept Rosemary walking while two of the vehicles passed by, the third turned behind us. Mom and Peggy told her "Good Girl," after each and she twitched an ear like "What did I do?" She thought nothing of the passing vehicles.
Rosemary and her tired butt had to think hard about the big down hill, the biggest she did, by the horses. When she did put the pieces together the difference was apparent. Her back rounded, her shoulders lifted and her gait smoothed out. At the familiar side road, Mom took the reins to drive her back  to the arena.
Whew, I was glad I kept up with her walk. She was holding back though, so next time will be tougher. I took her to the barn and unharnessed her. Then I gave her a massage. She always shows her appreciation, yawning and chewing. Such a great pony.

The view when we came home. What do you think these two are talking about?

Rosemary Driving Distracted

Well, we should have known it was going to be interesting when we unloaded Rosemary and got resounding neighs from the Stallion. Which she of course answered.
Bazemore, the stallion, was told he had a mare coming today so he thought Rosemary was the one. He stayed by the fence the whole time we were in the arena and even moved to the long side really distracting Rosemary. She started wringing her tail and bracing her neck. The trainer decided that it was not worth risking a blow up while she was so distracted.
The trainer is thrilled with the progress Rosemary has made and even said she may be her best student this summer. Next she wants to get her driving out of the arena. Plus mom still needs to try her hand at driving.
Anybody remember Bambi? This is a Twitterpated Rosemary!!!

Rosemary Driving Training part 6

What a gorgeous day. At the rain finished yesterday so we could train today.
It started well, Rosemary got on the trailer with the help of a banana. That girl loves bananas, peel and all.
Rosemary wore the same harness, but we used our headstall with her bit from her riding bridle. (three piece korsteel snaffle) The cart from last week was a snug fit so the trainer brought out a bigger cart. While she gathered the parts and pieces needed, Mom ground drove her around the arena. Gradually she focused and got down to work. We can tell when she settles because she goes from stomping her feet to a nice open walk.
It took us a little bit of time to hook her up to this cart causing Rosemary to wiggle. Finally all the pieces were in place and she could go to work. This is the point when the video starts.
She was much more comfortable trotting this time than she was a couple weeks ago. She handled the turns like they were nothing. As the session went on she even got some suspension to her trot. I cannot wait until she learns to really push.
The trainer thought that trotting was Rosemary's niche. Makes sense since Cobs are trotters. She felt that Rosemary had no issues with the cart or harness and drum roll please... the bit was the right one. Nice to know we have been riding her in a bit she likes. Now we need another.
The trainer ended by checking Rosemary's memory by asking her to back the cart. Rosemary gave a couple steps back and moved forward and halted when asked. All of us were thrilled.
Next week Mom will drive her with the trainer in the cart to help her. The trainer believes Mom can handle Rosemary which is a good recommendation. We shall see.

Rosemary Driving Training part 5

The rain gods cooperated yesterday and we were able to bring Rosemary to the trainer's. We used the trainers harness, bit and cart so things fit Rosemary a little differently. She did not mind the chickens clucking and the rooster crowing. She did wonder about the huge horse cross tied behind her. He must have been 17h +. The trainer breeds Cleveland Bays and fox hunts so most of the horses she has are huge.
We were not sure the bit placement would work because her head is so short, but she only got her tongue over the bit once. Luckily she was not in season. The trainer's stallion is in a pen right next to the arena.

See the cute Stallion in the corner

As she started walking around, we all noticed something funky going on in her back end. She did not seem upset or sore, but something was there. We kept her working and watched.
The cart we used was a tighter fit which actually worked to keep her straighter. I was impressed at how tight she was able to make turns. Rosemary still pulled her tests, starting to trot, reacting to the whip and not wanting to halt. The trainer talked her through it and they both worked well together.
One aspect the trainer started to work on last week was backing with the cart. Rosemary had no clue. When I rode her on Saturday and on Monday I worked on backing under saddle using hand and voice commands. She actually gave me at least a couple steps each time. So of course just after I stopped recording, the trainer asked her to back. At first it seemed she would not do it, but then she backed two steps. I love when training transfers.
It was a reserved lesson, but the advances she made were great.
Now if only we could figure out why she has decided not to get on the trailer?

Rosemary Driving Training Part 4 and Birthday

I was way too tired to post about Rosemary yesterday, so today you get a double feature :)

We were not sure how Rosemary would be while working since she was "IN SEASON." And yes I mean that in cap's. Our little Lolita schmoozes up to anything male, even Comrade who she normally hates.
She was a bit opinionated while the trainer ground drove her and she decided to just hook her up and see what she would do. Once hooked they walked her around the arena for a few laps before the trainer got in the cart. Rosemary was wiggly, but surprisingly cooperative. She is wiggly under saddle so, kind of expected between the shafts. Then the trainer took the plunge and asked her to trot. At first Rosemary knew she was asking for something, but was not sure what. She did eventually trot, tentatively. Unfortunately the arena is a bit small for a green horse to make the turns at a trot. The trainer felt that Rosemary was very happy doing the work and not worried at all. Some horses are just meant to drive. Of course Rosemary is happy doing work, period.
She did so well the trainer ended the session early. Next week we will travel to the trainers home and use her big arena. We had to laugh when the trainer asked if Rosemary worked well away from home. I told her that Peggy's home was away for Rosemary. I can't wait to see how she moves in a larger space.
After we put the driving equipment away, Mom said I should tack her up and take her on trail since she did not work that hard. So we adjusted Comrades tack to her and headed out. With weather, work and driving training she has not been ridden in about a month.
I got on and she walked off. Her walk was amazing. For a 14h girl, she covers ground. Then we moved up to trot. Her trot is still a bit flat, but it is open. When she learns to push, it will have more loft. At one point it felt like she would canter, which is still a work in progress, and I asked for the transition. I got about a stride of canter and then she rounded and went straight up in  the air. It felt exactly how it looks when I see her do it in the field. I think it was an expression of joy rather than disobedience. Anyway we did a bit more trotting and moved onto the trail.
What a difference from Comrade, Rosemary was like "what trot on this uneven ground?" She got better the more we did. Then I had her go over a log at a walk. She easily walked over it. We tried another little pile of logs. She did not feel they were worth much effort. I asked her to trot over them and she trotted then walked over. By the end she did trot over a couple of the jumps in stride. Considering it was her first time going over anything raised I was happy.
We took a tired, but satisfied pony home that night.
Now the second part of this feature, Rosemary turned 5 today. The birthday girl enjoyed her breakfast and a snooze in the barn. She has matured so much since we got her as a 3yr old. Motherhood and a job have a way of doing that :) When we made the long drive from Virginia to Indiana, I had no idea what we would find. I was a little heartbroken when she would not even let us approach her, but over the next few hours she started to grow on me. Once she was home she fit right in with our herd like she was meant to be there. Now nearly two years later, she has a huge personality and lights up our barn.
I am so glad that we took that leap of faith and purchased that young, green, barely broke, pregnant mare.

Rosemary Driving Training Part 3

As promised I was armed with the camera. Rosemary was in a very good mood and went straight to work. The trainer thinks she may have been in season last week.
Just to be on the safe side, we put Barry's fly bonnet on her. Peggy's barn has horrible gnats.
Training started with the PVC driving system to check her attitude. After going both directions the trainer decreed it time to connect her to the cart. Mom and Peggy went to get the cart and the additional harness pieces. I stayed to dog wrangle. I also watched in amazement as the trainer drove Rosemary around the arena with one hand as she talked on the phone.
When the cart arrived, Peggy pulled it around Rosemary and bumped into her to get her used to it. We have done this with her before last year while she was pregnant, so she really did not react. Finally she was connected.

Mom walked by her head, while the trainer ground drove her. She took a few moments to get used to the increased weight. ONE LAP and then next thing we knew the trainer was bouncing and jarring the cart. Rosemary could care less. The trainer then stepped into the cart joining her dog. Mom continued at her head, but Rosemary was figuring it out. At one point the trainer did come back to the ground to help Rosemary work through handling the turns going to the right, then she got back in going to the left.

The trainer then drove her solo. Rosemary behaved and listened. She did work hard because the cart wheels sank into the sand by and inch or so. She figured out that she needed to step under and bend for the turns. She ended after completing a figure eight.
So now Rosemary has to get used to the feel of the breeching, harness piece around her butt, and how it works to stop the cart when is going down hill or backing. This is when practice gets tricky for us, since the cart is kept at Peggy's and Rosemary is at our barn. Something to work out.
Mom just laughed when the trainer said Rosemary seems to like to work. Wanting to work is not a problem in our barn.
This pony is wonderful and I am so glad my Mom finally gets to learn to drive. She has always wanted too.
Next week the trainer wants to go to the next level: Trotting ;)

Driving Training 2

All day it threatened to rain, but when the time came for mom to trailer Rosemary over to Peggy's there was still no rain.
I was running late because coming from work traffic was horrible. By time I got to Peggy's they were already working Rosemary in the arena and it was lightly raining. So no pictures or video this time.
The trainer had Rosemary hooked to the training device and going around doing figure 8's and circles. Mom was near by but basically no one needed to be at Rosemary's head. Rosemary really settled into her cruising walk. As the rain continued to fall, the Rotten Pony with an ATTITUDE made an appearance.
"Stand"
"What are you talking to me? I don't want too."
She really started throwing a fit and overreacting to the whoa command. At one point Peggy and I thought she would break one of the PVC poles along her side she had it bowed so much. This is when you can really appreciate having someone who knows what they are doing holding the reins. The trainer took it in stride and established what she wanted. Eventually Rosemary realized she was not winning that battle and started standing and waiting to be told to move on. Peggy and I were impressed watching the trainer started driving her with one hand. She made it look easy, but we know a lot was being said through that connection.
The lesson was not long due to the rain, but it was effective. The trainer wants to hook her to the cart next week, so that will be exciting. With Rosemary's attitude and intelligence we have to be meticulous with the steps  and watch her all along the way.
Homework the Rosemary: Work on patience while standing.
Mom and I worked her twice in the last week and Rosemary was really good. We were careful to keep the training within our comfort zone. We want to keep things going well and leave the challenging parts for the trainer.
I have to say watching Rosemary work in harness really makes me want to ride her. Now if the weather would cooperate, I could. Hopefully the weekend will be better.
Stay tuned for next weeks lesson :)

Driving Training Rosemary Part 1

About a year ago Rosemary started learning the basics of driving while in foal with Roscoe. As a 3yr old who had not had much under saddle training, she was a bit hot between the lines. We were impressed with how she took to the training though. Eventually we had to take a break because of advanced pregnancy. She has had a little bit of training in the months after, but nothing new.
At Christmas, Peggy surprised us with the gift of formal training for Mom and Rosemary by a trainer she knows. We only had to wait for fox hunting season to end. So now, every Wednesday is training day. Mom will trailer Rosemary over to Peggy's house, since that is where the cart is kept.
I missed out of this session since I was at work, but the next ones will be later so I can watch too.
The trainer was thrilled with the dogs, Shadow, Kayla, Griffyn and her little one, running around barking providing a great desensitizing exercise. Plus the wood chipper started up adding another noise.
Rosemary has matured so much and Mom said all the riding experience showed today. The first time she was hooked to the PVC training system last year, she freaked. This time she went right to work. She had her moments, but she is a Cob and a mare so that is to be expected. I am so excited to see how she progresses.
More next week, especially since I will be there to see first hand.

Our "deal" of cart and harness for $500 (picture taken last year)