Leading Dexter

Today was even a better horse day than Monday. Since Dexter has become a nicer horse to be around, I suggested to Andrea that she may want to keep him and if that was the case, we could come up with a mutually beneficial agreement to cover my time. While I wouldn't have blamed her at all because he is becoming a real sweetheart, I was sure hoping she wouldn't want to because I've become quite smitten with him. Today we had a chance to chat about Dexter's future and Andrea told me she would be happy to have him come to me. She is looking forward to reading about his progress on the blog and because we're not far away, she knows she would be welcome to come visit him. Of course, I was overjoyed and gave Andrea a big hug. I am very excited to continue this journey of learning with Dexter.

*Click for a UTUBE clip.

In order to prepare him for the trailer ride home, it is important for me to have him lead up comfortably. In the past, Dexter would plant his feet and when pressure was added to ask him to move forward, he would bolt away and rip the lead line away. He learned he could get away when he felt too much pressure. I don't want to set him up to fail so I've decided to use a short piece of binding twine instead of a lead rope until I know how much pressure he can handle. That way he'll be permitted to leave if he feels the need to without worrying about him stepping on a dragging lead line.

This concept worked very well and it turned out he could handle quite a bit of pressure. Every now and then Dexter would think about leaving but when he didn't meet any resistance, he quickly changed his mind about leaving.

Thank you for this wonderful gift Andrea,
Tovie and Dexter

Dexter Breakthrough

Today turned out to be one of those wonderful horse days that I'll never forget. Dexter allowed me to put the halter on and off him several times without any fuss.

When I went to see him yesterday, I wasn't sure how it would go because it was very windy and Andrea had just brought home her new horse Sunny, so Dexter was also distracted by his new pasture mate. He pleasantly surprised me by continuing with our progress, even with the extra distraction. I actually felt I could have haltered him yesterday but I was in a hurry to get home and so I made the decision to wait. It was definitely worth the wait.

The first order of business was to encourage Dexter to lower his head - not easy for him at first. Since meeting Dexter he has kept his head high in the air - ready to depart from the slightest movement. I made the decision to kneel down so I was less intimidating to him. This is not something I would typically do with an unfamiliar horse, however Dexter has never exhibited any aggressive behaviour and it really helped him relax and lower his head. As he became more relaxed with my presence, I started asking him to lower his head with very light pressure on his poll. Once he consistently lowered his head for me, I felt comfortable introducing the halter.

Initially he played with the halter, taking it into his mouth and I just let him play. Eventually, I brought the throatlatch over his neck until he was comfortable with that process, and then I just slipped in on. Except for the fact that Andrea and I were beside ourselves with joy, it was actually pretty uneventful.

Andrea mentioned that in the past, while leading Dexter, he would plant his feet and when she applied pressure from behind he would race off, pulling the lead line from her hands. Clearly, Dexter's previous owner didn't do a very thorough job of teaching Dexter to give to pressure. I've decided not to attach a lead line until he is consistently giving to pressure.

He is also moving his shoulders and hips very respectfully; always keeping his attention on me. The nicest thing to see is Dexter relax - huge for me. Relaxed horses are thinking horses.

Dexter is a joy to play with!
Tovie

Meet Dexter and follow his progress

One day while browsing Kijiji, I came across an ad wanting to trade a 4 y.o. gelding for a youngster. Since I have been wanting a young horse for some time, I responded that I didn't have anything to trade but would they consider selling the horse and if so, to please send me photos.

Andrea responded and sent me photos of a beautiful sorrel quarter horse named Dexter and that yes, she would definitely consider selling him. Andrea was very honest in her response, and advised that Dexter had challenges that she simply didn't know how to overcome. She went on to say that she had done what every good "stuck" horse owner should do - seek professional help. Unfortunately, Dexter did not respond favourably to either of these well intentioned trainers' methods and ended up more mistrustful and wary than before. Andrea admitted she would be happy to give the horse to anyone who would take the time to patiently develop his trust.

Andrea clearly wants to help Dexter and I appreciated her honesty and her committment to do whatever is best for Dexter, so I decided it wouldn't hurt to just go meet him. At our first meeting, he was extremely sceptical and wary but at the same time, I also saw how much he wanted to interact with me. What I saw was a horse worth another chance.

You may recall in previous blogs how much I stress the importance of staying open minded with regard to unconventional training methods. I plan to use a combination of Operant Conditioning, TTouch, and Natural Horsemanship Methods during my journey with Dexter.

Andrea and I decided that I would leave him where he is until such time that I can calmly halter and lead him, rather than to force him onto a trailer and introduce him to a new environment and our "Boys". A good friend pointed out that perhaps a change of scenery could make a difference, and she may be right. For now, I'll give it a few days and see if we can make a breakthrough (i.e. getting a halter on him).

The scary thing about Dexter being unmanageable, is that if he should injure himself, it would be next to impossible to care for him without using force.

So far this week, I have visited Dexter 3 times and see an improvement each time. Yesterday, he let me TTouch his face and rub part of his topline. He comes up to me and follows me but I don't get a sense it is time to try haltering him yet. We'll see what happens when I visit him later today.

Admittedly, I don't know if I have the skill or ability required to make Dexter into a safe riding companion, but I do know the methods I use will absolutely cause him no further distress.

Stay tuned,
Tovie & Dexter

2011 Alberta Horse Owners & Breeders Conference

The learning journey continued at the 2011 Horse Owners & Breeders Conference in Red Deer. The Conference was last weekend which was perfect because it was too darn frigid to do anything else but sit indoors learning more about horses. The Horse Industry Association of Alberta does a wonderful job of organizing this Conference every year. The line up of speakers was exceptional. It is impossible to attend every speaker because they overlap; one has to pick and choose what they want to learn more about.

Peggy Brown's presentation on centred riding was very engaging. Peggy was dressed in a body suit painted with her skeletal system and joints; making it very easy to see how our body works while riding. Patti Colbert's presentation of how to get folks involved with horses and staying involved, was right up my alley. There were also informative presentations of the research being conducted on equine health issues namely - respiratory ailments and cushings disease. The constant theme surrounding health issues is that we have to do a better job of feeding, increasing movement, and housing our equine friends. I also attended a presentation on arena footing and its importance - especially when training and working horses hard - something our "boys" wouldn't know much about.

It was great fun to connect with folks from across the province that you only see at the Conference or at the Mane Event in April. My friend Sherri (a former student and now a wonderful friend) came with me and we ran into a couple of former students (Lena and Irene) who are now enjoying their own horses; along with their riding buddies (Timmi & Linda). We all enjoyed sharing horse stories over cocktails and meals.

Friday evening, Sherri and I were privileged to have dinner with Doug Householder, one of the speakers, and Nettie Barr. During Doug's presentation, he demonstrated the science behind equine behaviour and how that relates to training our horses. While he was in Red Deer presenting to us, his daughter Dusty was back in Texas, showing and winning on a very challenging reject reining mare they bought last year. It was touching to hear him explain the story of hard they worked with the mare to help her relax and trust; and how well she is performing for them now.

A terrific reminder of the importance of developing a trusting relationship with your horse so you can be brilliant together - whether in the show ring or riding down the trail.

Thanks for reading,
Tovie