Training Goals:
- Riding
- Driving Prep
- Feet
Babe is between two and three years old. Her new owners had purchased her about a month prior to bringing her to me and not much is known about her history. While she had not had much handling, she was sweet and cooperative throughout training.
Her feet were extremely overgrown when she arrived and her owners were not sure if she had ever been trimmed. The first week was primarily spent getting her comfortable with having her feet handled and getting her ready to have her feet trimmed. Once a few inches were taken off of her hooves, she was able to move much more easily and comfortably.
Besides riding, her owners also plan to drive her, so I am doing some preliminary training to get her ready to be hitched to a cart. Once she is back home, they have some friends who are knowledgeable teamsters to help with cart training.
Day 1-9: The first week was spent doing basic ground work. She picked up lunging very quickly. A whip was necessary most days to get her moving as she prefers standing over moving. She stood like a seasoned horse during all of the desensitizing exercises and was not phased by the saddle. She also learned how to pick up her front feet and stand still for trimming.
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| She could not have cared less about the pad. |
Day 10: Today was Babe's first ride! She did awesome and had no problems with a rider on her back. If she was any taller, I would need a mounting block.
Day 11: Two days off for the weekend had no effect on Babe's response to her 2nd ride. She was calm and relaxed like she had been doing this forever. With help from a crop, she even trotted around with no funny business.
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| All Saddled Up |
Day 12: To work toward her owner's goal of driving, I hooked up a sled for Babe to drag around the arena to get her used to hearing something behind her. She was interested in what was behind her but it did not cause her to spook. She pulled the sled at the walk and trot both directions. Under saddle, she walked and trotted and turned with less resistance.
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| Ground Driving |
Day 13: Babe's owner visited today to see her progress and she did everything I asked beautifully! She demonstrated all of the skills she has learned so far and her owner was very excited to see her pull the sled.
Day 14-17: Now that Babe has had a few rides in the arena without issues, it is time to venture out into more wide open spaces. First, I rode her in the small pasture. Other than trying to grab a snack, she was as well behaved as she was in the arena. Then, I moved on to riding in the large pasture. This took her further away from her buddy (she didn't seem to mind, but he did!) and she went up and down steeper hills.
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| Pasture Rides |
Day 18 & 19: Babe started being stubborn about lifting her front feet. When I go to pick up her foot, I can feel her shift all of her forehand weight onto that foot, making it impossible to pick up. To correct this, I used the handle end of a crop to tap the fetlock. I increased the intensity of the tapping until she picked up that foot. After a few repetitions of this, she picked up her front feet as soon as I asked. I also worked a lot with her on holding up her back feet. She is pretty good about lifting her hind feet when you ask, but she doesn't like to keep them lifted.
Day 20: Worked on improving turns and backing under saddle. Continued to work with her on picking up her hind feet and holding them up.
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| Flexing |
Day 21: I put the barrels out in the arena to give me more variety with the arena exercises. A few exercises that I like to do with the barrels are: figure 8's, weaving, and small circles. I also did some desensitizing in the saddle using a small flag. She was mildly uncomfortable when I waved it over the top of her head but otherwise stood calmly. She also crossed the wooden bridge over the creek without hesitation and we went for a short trail ride through the woods.
Day 22: I took her across the bridge again and we went for a longer trail ride. Even with her buddy neighing frantically in the distance, she was calm and relaxed. She also picked up all four feet great!
Day 23: We tried bareback riding today! I led her next to one of the barrels and climbed onto her back from there. She looked at me a little funny as if she was thinking, "you forgot something". Her back shape made riding bareback a bit uncomfortable, but she behaved perfectly!
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| Riding Bareback |
Day 24-26: Continued to work on improving her bit response for turning, stopping, and backing. Also worked on improving her response to leg cues to transition from halt to walk and walk to trot.
Day 27: Today, Babe gets to go home! She showed off all of her new skills beautifully and her owners can't wait to start riding and driving her.
Babe is a gentle giant with a sweet personality. She is a quick learner and so calm and relaxed. Babe was a pleasure to work with and I am eager to hear how she does with pulling a cart.
