Farewell to Nugget

Not every day is a wonderful horse day and today was definitely not. I had to say good-bye to my beautiful, sensitive, brave Nugget. Favourite Dream was Nugget's registered name and he really was my Favourite Dream. Part of saying farewell is remembering the joy he brought to my world.

Our friend Jerry first saw Nugget in 2005, on a 5 day Trail Ride, in southern Alberta, at CFB Suffield. Nugget was the quintesential black beauty so it was impossible not to notice him. Aside from a teenie weenie white star, the only other mark was a tiny white dot on his top lip that was not apparent unless you looked for it. At the time, Nugget was only 5 but already showing great promise as a reliable riding horse. Jerry offered to buy him and ended up bringing him home a week later. They had a terrific riding season with Nugget; and I also had the opportunity to take him for a ride. Despite his young age, I felt very safe and confident riding Nugget. The only problem Jerry had with him was trying to de-worm - Nugget was going to have no part of the icky tasting paste. Not knowing what to do, Jerry asked for my help. Using operant conditioning (clicker training), I first taught Nugget manners with regards to treats. The next phase was to use an empty de-wormer syringe, filled with honey, as a target. Very quickly, Nugget starting following and touching the syringe; and ultimately, started to mouth it. Naturally, the final phase was actually having Nugget willingly accept the real de-wormer. In intervals totalling less than 45 minutes, we were all very surprised by how effectively this process worked - and without any force on our part or resistance from Nugget.

The following spring of 2006, Jerry went out to ride Nugget and was surprised by Nugget's violent resistance to the bridle. Not knowing what else to do, Jerry disassembled the bridle and put it on Nugget one piece at a time - problem solved - NOT. When Jerry went to mount, Nugget promptly threw him off and Jerry was left bruised and sore; and confused as to why the sudden change in Nugget's demeanor. His farrier suggested a trainer who specialized in fixing problem horses; and Jerry decided to let her try. After having Nugget for two weeks, she advised that Nugget was "dangerous and unpredictable". She suggested he be sent to slaughter or euthanized. Heartbroken, Jerry called Gord to comiserate and Gord suggested Jerry bring Nugget to me; telling him that even if I couldn't fix Nugget's behaviour, I wouldn't cause him any harm.

I'll never forget the first time Nugget arrived at our place - he really was breathtakingly beautiful. We put him in a private paddock and I discovered he was a little difficult to catch. However, the second I clicked him for looking at me, Nugget was right there for me. We were all shocked how well he remembered the operant conditioning a full year later - even his manners around the treats were still impeccable. At the time I was working full time and so very early each morning, I would bring Nugget into the barn and go to work with ideas I had learned from Linda Tellington-Jones. Seeing absolutely no resistance to anything I tried, the third morning I decided to try the bridle and to my delight, he accepted the bridle perfectly. What I began to learn from Nugget, during these 3 mornings, is that if he wasn't quite ready, he would make a very slight jerk of his head and suck in his breath, in the horse world we call it "freezing". It was my signal to just give him a second to think about it, and then he would relax and accept the bridle. The hesitation was so brief that anyone watching may not even notice. This was a huge learning experience for me - one I will never forget. When Nugget became unsure, he would "freeze" and I would just wait a second, and when he relaxed I would carry on. I believe the previous trainers did not notice his very subtle "freeze" signal, and when they persisted, Nugget would feel pressured and trapped; and then try to fight back.

Now remember, Nugget had also thrown Jerry off this same spring. Once the bridling issue was fixed, Jerry considered taking Nugget back to the trainer who had originally trained Nugget. The trainer had been surprised to learn of Nugget's problems because he had not seen anything to worry about during Nugget's initial training. To save Nugget and Jerry from the long arduous haul north of Edmonton, I offered to also "fix" his riding problem - again uneventful. To repay me for my work with Nugget, Jerry allowed me ride Nugget for most of that summer. I can't begin to express how proud I was and how much I loved riding that horse! He was brave and willing; and so very beautiful!

Nugget went home and had a wonderful winter of riding and helping Jerry's son-in-law Parkie, learn to work with cows. Then BAM, the following spring of 2007 doesn't Nugget blow a gasket again. This time Jerry sent him to the trainer/coach who had been working with Parkie and Nugget over the winter. Again, Jerry was told that Nugget was "dangerous and unpredictable" and should be sent to slaughter or euthanized. Again, Jerry brought him over for me to "fix". This time, Nugget was definitely more nervous and mistrusting than the previous year, but again, one click and he was right back on track. Once he was fixed, off he went again, and this time Nugget went to live with Parkie's family so Parkie could continue riding and learning with him.

When, once again, Nugget had a violent reaction in the spring of 2008, Parkie and Jerry made the decision to either sell Nugget to me or euthanize him because they no longer trusted him - and that is how this beautiful horse came to me.

It wasn't until the following spring that I noticed Nugget's subtle "freeze" behaviour return and that is when I made the connection that Nugget was reacting to a sugar high from the new green grass - simple as that. It explained everything - and why he was perfect most of the year. Because I didn't consider myself a professional horse trainer, I always had a niggle of doubt that I was missing something about Nugget that the professionals saw. This newly discovered realization erased my niggles of doubt and gave me a new found faith in Nugget.

In May 2010 I took Nugget to a clinic with one of my favourite teachers, Jonathan Field. Nugget and I did amazing ground work in the morning and I was so proud of him. After lunch we were to come back saddled and ready for the riding portion of the clinic. I saddled Nugget without incident, but I clearly hadn't noticed his subtle freeze and as soon as I asked him to take a step, he blew a gasket and became an angry, fire breathing dragon at the end of my lead rope. Using clicker training, I was able to settle him down and get him into the arena. When I suggested Nugget was not safe to ride, Jonathan agreed and had me do ground work until he relaxed. I spent 3 hours that afternoon working through various groundwork exercises. It turned out to be one of the greatest learning experiences I've ever had because I recognized the instant Nugget's brain was back in the game. Jonathan agreed and spent time after the clinic to catch us up on the exercises we had missed throughout the afternoon. Learning the natural horsemanship groundwork has given me the confidence to feel safer in the saddle. The following month, I took Nugget to Jonathan's ranch in Merrit for a week long clinic - it was a wonderful experience - and without incident.

Looking back, there were signs of lameness starting to show up in 2010, but it wasn't until 2011 that the limp became obvious. An x-ray showed a bone spur that had developed into arthritis. Over the past year, I have tried expensive chinese herbs, various joint supplements, and and injection called Legend, to try and help Nugget - but all to no avail - he only got worse. I would have been satisifed if we could help Nugget be pasture sound - even if it meant I could never ride him again. It was very sad to see my beautiful horse limping around and trying to keep up with the "boys" and so I finally came to the decision - it was time to end his pain. This decision was even more difficult because of his young age; he was only 12 years old and should be in the prime of his life. I believe there were several contributing factors that led to Nugget's early demise; started training too young, shoeing at an early age, as well as a slight conformational defect - short, straight pasterns.

Although my time with Nugget was brief - only 5 years - he has taught me more than any other horse I have encountered. I often joke about the fact that the "scariest" horse I ever had in my life also helped me develop the most confidence.

I encourage my students to chose their first horse carefully because that first horse can make or break their enjoyment of horse ownership. Clearly, Nugget was not a good beginner's horse. Looking back on my experiences with Nugget, I can see that I had enough knowledge to work through Nugget's stuff - but clearly needed the confidence that being successful with Nugget gave me. For the many horses I now
encounter I want to thank Nugget for making me a much better horse person!

I will love this horse forever and the "Boys" will miss him forever. Sadder than losing Nugget, would be to have never had him in my life at all.

p.s. It has been interesting to observe how Skeeter isn't nearly as brave without Nugget behind him in the #2 position.

Love your horse(s) every day - they're never here long enough!

2012 Branding at Water Valley

You may recall that I didn't think the cattle drive was a good place to introduce Dexter to cows. Cows can be extremely noisy and big and the chaos and pressure of a cattle drive can be quite overwhelming for young, inexperienced horses. However, this weekend, we went back up to Water Valley to help with their annual branding and I decided it was as good a time as any to take Dexter. We arrived Friday afternoon and put Dexter and Magic in a corral in the same pasture the cows are in. Once we had a visit with Jack and Goldie Juke, we decided to saddle up and take a quiet ride through the pasture so Dexter could be around the cows without any pressure. Other than being very excited, I never felt he was overwhelmed. Eventually he settled in and we were able to walk quietly amongst the herd. The next morning we mounted up, along with several other riders and quads, to move the cows into the pens for sorting. We were charged with roaming the trees to push any straggling cows towards the pens. It was a bit overwhelming for Dexter when the herd started to come our way so we ended up doing lots of circles to help him relax. When all the cows were penned and sorting began, I tied Dexter to a fence post right at the pens to give him maximum exposure, next to a very calm horse - his buddy Magic. He was very alert and interested but never seemed overwhelmed. All in all the branding went very smoothly. With 6 ropers dragging calves, it was the most we've ever had but the wrestlers on the ground had no problem keeping up. I was in charge of vaccinating 150 calves and my legs were definitely starting to feel the burn from all those squats. Gord and Jeff made a great team wielding the branding irons and the brands came out very straight. Personally, I think branding is barbaric and I can't believe technology hasn't given cattle ranchers a more humane and practical (cost effective) way to handle cattle. We are happy to help our friends and love getting together with them every year but it is very hard for me to see the calves, especially the really young ones, being put through this process. It was nice to see all the cows reunited with their calves and settling in for the evening. Today Sherry and Candace took Gord and I for a beautiful ride through the foothills west of Water Valley. Dexter was amazing on the trail as always. We also took Ryder, Pie, and their new pup, a 6 month old healer named Dottie. Dottie hadn't been through creeks before and it took a tremendous amount of encouragement to get her to follow us across the creeks. At the first creek crossing, she eventually took a running leap off the bank, into the water. After that, every creek crossing got easier for her and she really made us all smile. There were some pretty tired horses, dogs, and riders at the end of another amazing horse day! Tovie, Dexter, Gord, Magic, and Ryder!

2012 Spring Cattle Drive

My goal this year was to ride Dexter at this year's cattle drive. However, when we got the call that we were moving cows this weekend, I just didn't feel he or I were quite ready for that kind of pressure. In the end, I took good old reliable Jack and had a wonderful ride. Jack only gets to work cows once or twice a year and in earlier years he was always just OK. However, I'd say the past 3 years, he has been awesome so it only took me 14 years to get him really great! Early on, the herd split into two groups with the faster cows/calves up front and the slower cows/calves lagging behind. At one point, we were riding along the trail, visiting with Lyle who was driving the mule team and wagon. Suddenly, Lyle noticed the herd had found a break in a fence and they were all heading into a neighbour's field. We only had three riders, Nikki, Gord, and myself and one quad driven by Everett aka "Eye Candy". Everett blocked the break in the fence to prevent more cows from coming into the field, while Krissy, who was riding in the wagon, found a gate we could open to get the cows back up to the trail. It was hard work for Nikki, Gord, and I to get the cows back on the trail but we managed to save face and get the job done before the trailing herd caught up. I am really glad I had Jack under me because I think it would have been a lot to ask of Dexter at this stage of his training. As it turned out, we got the entire herd safely back to the summer grazing ranch and in a couple of weeks we'll be heading back up to Water Valley for the branding. It is much easier on all the animals if the weather is a little on the cooler side. Other than the occasional sprinkle of rain, we had pretty reasonable weather for the 14 mile cattle drive. The creek was pretty high and other than the back of the wagon getting a good cleaning, none of the calves floated downstream and we riders, managed to keep our feet dry. Another great horse day! Tovie and Jack and Gord and Magic

Jack's progress continues

Gord and I took Dexter and Magic out to Wareabouts today to go for a ride with Rob and Sharon. It was a perfect early spring day and all the horses did really well, even over the creek that had huge blocks of ice break under their feet. It really is the perfect place to ride; with rolling hills, lots of creek crossings, bridges, and fields; not to mention great riding companions. There are even some challenging obstacles set up back at the ranch to further test your horsemanship. After the ride, I went to visit with Jack. I haven't seen him for nearly 3 weeks and was pleasantly surprised that he showed interest in my presence. In fact, it was the first time he ever made an effort to approach me. During the 3 weeks I played with him previously, he would allow me to approach but he never once offered to reciprocate. It was very exciting and I called Rob to come watch Jack follow me around the arena. Rob mentioned that earlier that day when he approached Jack with the halter, it was the first time that Jack offered to come towards him and that overall, Jack continues to get more comfortable around people. After doing TTouch over his body, I tried approaching his face and for the first time ever was able to do some TTouch on his jowls and forehead; as well as some ear work. Rob needed to change the dressing on Jack's injured leg and he asked me to "lead" him to the stall and Jack willingly complied. It was fun for Rob to see Jack being led without a halter and rope and I told him that is exactly how I caught Dexter; without a halter and rope. In fact I never tried to halter Dexter until I felt he was already "caught" without it - very cool to feel Jack doing the same thing. Rob has done a wonderful job of tending to Jack's leg and it is healing well, although he will be left with a nasty scar. Jack still wouldn't let me do TTouch on the injured leg so I can't wait for the next visit to try again. In the past, I have found TTouch a wonderful way to show a horse that there is no longer pain associated with an old injury. Happy Spring! Tovie & Jack

Meet Dexter - my new trail horse

As mentioned in yesterday's post, Dexter and I are now going under saddle thanks to the patient tutelage of Rob Kroeger at Wareabouts Training Stable. Dexter and I had 3 weeks with Rob before he was completely healed and ready to take all his clients back.

It was like being at horse boot camp and I loved every minute spent at Wareabouts. It is a beautiful setting right along Ware creek - hence the name Wareabouts. The owners of Wareabouts Training Stable, Peter & Sharon are very easy folks to be around, as is Rob. There is an atmosphere of tranquility that is the perfect environment to train horses, and as I was fortunate to experience - train people too.

The really cool thing about working with Rob is that he knew the "old" Dexter as well because I can assure you that if he didn't, he wouldn't have believed a word I said. Dexter was calm and adapted to everything we asked of him - even being in a strang environment. Dexter made himself at home the very first night; while Rob says it isn't uncommon for horses to take several days to a couple of weeks to settle in.

Most of the horses on the property were taking turns keeping Jack company in the adjoining stall. Dexter was so relaxed, that Rob shared that honour with Dexter as well. To my knowledge, Dexter hasn't ever been in a stall but again he took it all very calmly. Needless to say, it was very reassuring for me to discover Dexter's adaptability to various situations. On one of our rides up a steep hill, I was following Rob on Wa Wa, and Linda on Lady when Lady's feet slipped out from under her. She was able to regain her footing without mishap. Then the same thing happened to Dexter; his front legs slipped right under him and when he lurched forward, my feet must have come out of the stirrups. The next thing I knew, I was standing and watching Dexter's little head sliding down the hill right out from underneath me. Where is a camera when we needed it? Rob and Linda said it looked very elegant in slow motion and there I stood on my feet - completely unscathed. Dexter's slide was stopped by trees and when he got back to his feet, I led him up the rest of the hill and he was completely unperturbed by his experience. Dexter and I still have a lot of work to do but we have built up a lot of confidence in each other over the past three weeks so the rest will be fine tuning. This is shaping up to be a great riding season. After last year's dismal riding season, I will be even more grateful. Tovie & Dexter

When the student is ready the teacher will come!

Prior to leaving for Hawaii, I learned that a favourite local trainer, Rob Kroeger of Wareabouts Training Stable, had slipped on the ice and broke his leg. Our neighbour, Ken McLennan had his two driving mares, Lynn & Lori, with Rob to get them started under saddle and Rob had to send all the horses home while he recovered. I contacted Rob and he agreed to coach me through the process of starting Dexter under saddle; and I would do all the work. I wanted help because I've never started a youngster and with Dexter's history, I didn't want to make any mistakes that would set us back. As it happened, Rob was one of the trainer's Dexter's previous owner had hired to fix Dexter, back in November 2010. After spending 5 days with Dexter, Rob had minimal success and recommended that whoever catches Dexter should be his owner. I am so glad Dexter chose me. Anyway, Dexter's progress will be discussed in another blog - this blog is about Jack.

Jack is a beautiful paint gelding, with Go Man Go breeding, who has physiological issues (sensitivity) about being touched. Rob has owned and kept Jack for several years because he felt the horse had something important to teach him. Just prior to us taking Dexter to Rob, Jack gravely injured his hind leg on a barb wire fence. I hope you can imagine how difficult it is to treat a horse who doesn't want to be touched or even caught for that matter; so Jack was confined to a stall to allow Rob to tend to his injured leg.

When Rob introduced me to Jack, I asked if he would allow me to try TTouch on Jack and he readily agreed. As I have always said about TTouch, "it might help but it definitely won't do any harm". The only problem was that Jack wasn't happy having me in his stall and when a horse is that scared, I'm not happy being in a confined area with him either, never mind trying to touch him. I remembered Linda Tellington Jones telling me that TTouch can also work from a distance, using a strong intention, and holding on to the possibility for change.

Assuming a non-threatening posture, for 3 days, twice a day, I used the llama touch all over Jack's body from across the stall. Jack is an extremely expressive horse, and it was quite a surprise that he would say "careful" when I tried to work on his injured leg from a distance. After 3 days, Jack started to relax a wee bit so I llama'd the air as I approached his shoulder and finally, he permitted me to touch him. Because Jack is so expressive, it was great fun trying all the different TTouches to see what he liked and didn't like. He especially loved the leg work and eventually, I was able to TTouch Jack's entire body, with the exception of his face and his injured leg.

One day I arrived to discover that Rob had moved Jack to a paddock to let him enjoy some sunshine. We both wondered if Jack would allow me to approach him; and he did. That was a tremendous gift because in a stall, he really has little choice in the matter. Being in the paddock told me he chose to allow me to TTouch him because he could have easily left.

The other quirky thing about Jack is that while he loves treats, he didn't want to touch your hand so he would snatch the treat, often knocking it to the ground. It was also very hard for me not to snatch my hand away when his mouth was coming at me so fast. I decided to try a little bit of sweet feed instead of crunch and after a couple of tries, Jack would politely nibble the treats out of my hand - very cool!


I had a wonderful 3 weeks with Jack before I brought Dexter home and I am looking forward to visiting him and Rob in the near future. It will be fun to see if Jack will let me approach when he is back in the pasture with his buddies.

Jack touched me deeply by allowing me to TTouch him and he is one horse who will stay in my heart forever.

Thank you so much to Linda and Robyn for this wonderful work and for Rob's willingness to try my ooglie wooglie as he calls it. I'd say Jack taught us both something. It became very clear that Jack didn't mind being touched, he just needed to be touched his way, on his terms.

Tovie and Jack!

Horses and Hawaii

We just arrived home from a wonderful vacation in Hawaii, with our good friends Mark and Sherri. The primary purpose of visiting Hawaii was so that I could attend a clinic with Linda Tellington-Jones. 16 years ago, my friend Gloria and I attended a clinic with Linda's sister Robyn, in Vernon, BC. The skills we learned have served my horses well over the years, and it was an honor and a thrill to meet Linda in person. At 75 years young, Linda's perspective on life and her TTouch are an inspiration. Linda was so impressed with my knowledge and skill level of her work that she interviewed me and will post our interview on her You Tube account.

Aside from snorkeling with beautiful sealife, we had several amazing critter encounters.

We rode horses at the world famous Parker Ranch and Sherri, who is not yet a confident rider, rode a wonderful horse named Ali, who was the perfect mount to instill confidence.

During our encounter with humpback whales, we received the Hawaiian blessing by being sprayed from the whale's spout as the baby, mama, and huge male escort whale came right alongside and underneath our boat.

We have now collectively agreed that when our horse blows and we get sprayed with snot, we'll call it the Alberta blessing.

On the nightime mantaray dive, we had mantarays the size of dinner tables swimming right underneath us - gentle giants. During our attempt to swim with spinner dolphins, they were passing through and didn't want to stop and play. It was still surreal to be in the water so close to them.

We had the pleasure of making our hands and fingers into coral reefs and have sea horses wind their tails around our fingers - they seem so delicate.

Hawaii is a magical, beautiful, spiritual place to visit, but it was sure nice to get home and be with our own critters.

Aloha!
Tovie, Gord, Mark, and Sherri