Chrome Easter Ride 124 - 100 Ride Challenge Ride 10 - Exciting Video From Yesterday!

 If I was still doing monthly progress reports (I should be, but I haven't been....) this would make a pretty good conformation shot.  I wish I'd stuck with that because it would have been awesome to see his color changes in monthly conformation pictures.  Oh well.

So a cold front came through, but it didn't rain after all.  When I got off work I was in absolute agony (still am to be honest, several hours later) from my pinched nerve, but I couldn't pass up the chance for a short Easter ride in the sunshine.  I was going to ride in the halter again, but Chrome was feeling frisky so I put the bridle on him.  I still rode bareback though.  We rode for seventeen minutes around the yard.

He was super alert, but not out of control.  Hubby hand walked Rocky with us to keep us company (he did a lot of work on my car and tilling the garden, so his back wasn't feeling up to riding).  Chrome was fine if he was in front of Rocky, but if we got behind them he kept wanting to walk right up on his heels and then would spaz out when Rocky put his ears back.... dork.  If he'd just stop getting close he wouldn't have had to worry about Rocky, but he was easily out walking them (he was walking out so much bigger than he has recently, in part because he was running around, playing and bucking earlier in the day lol).  He was pulling on me which hurt my shoulder really bad, so I started making him stand still, let Rocky get ahead and then walk really big to catch up, repeat.  We also worked on lateral flexion when he didn't want to stand still, but that was torture on my shoulder too.

We did a little bit of backing up, but he was getting mad and pawing because hubby and Rocky were walking down the other driveway without him lol.  He did okay with it though and then stood still when I asked while we waited on them to come back.  Then the wind picked up and I got really cold (I was in short sleeves, hubby was in shorts), so I called it quits after seventeen minutes.

When I first got home from work and went out to the pasture to get Chrome, I called his name and he stampeded from the back of the pasture, bucking all the way.  Seeing his exuberance I almost chickened out on the ride... I knew I couldn't do that though because if I did it would just set me up to not ride next time.  I'm glad I rode, since he ended up being fine, but I probably shouldn't have considering how much pain I'm in.  I'm too stubborn not to though... if I have to suffer all day at work then I can put up with the pain to ride when I get home dang it!

 Afterward Chrome acted exhausted... just kidding, he was yawning in anticipation of getting fed.

Here are some more random pictures because my boys are cute!

 I captured that perfect evening light on his face.  I love it!

 Watching my hubby walk to the house and back.  He totally knew he was about to get fed hehe.

 Doing his cute continuous nicker at hubby.

Chrome getting fed.  So gorgeous!

Okay, I almost forgot about the video.  As I mentioned yesterday, I clipped my parent's Yorkie.  They bought a new pair of clippers so I can clip Mac for them.  That way they don't have to take him to the groomer anymore.  It's a really nice cordless pair of clippers too!  I don't mind clipping their dog because he is very well behaved for it and it's actually fun.

So afterward when I got Chrome out and started grooming him for our ride I decided to cut his mane off.  I couldn't take it anymore!  So I got out the scissors and hacked it off.  I didn't like the way it still had some long hairs folded over, so I decided to introduce Chrome to the new clippers.  This was only the second time Chrome has ever seen clippers in his entire life.

I shared a video on this post back in 2014 of the first time.  He was so tense in that video!!  I'll post it below so you can compare.  Here is the video from yesterday, uncut except for removing conversation I don't want on the internet.  It's kind of long, but I really wanted to share the whole process.  If you get bored, just skip to the end to see how he relaxed.  I rewarded him by ending the session when he chose to sniff the clippers in my hand all by himself.  :)  Oh and the part at the beginning shows how he watches me when I got inside while he's tied up.  So cute.

Direct link to the video.

Here is the video from the first time.

Direct link to the video.

See the difference?  He was wary yesterday, but he was a lot more relaxed at the end compared to the first time.  The whole thing only took ten minutes.  I wasn't able to clip much though because the clippers aren't big or strong enough.  They are specifically for dogs, not horses.  I might have to get a pair of horse clippers.  Any suggestions?  Nothing too expensive since I'd only use it for roaching his mane once or twice a year.

Here is a picture from yesterday where you can see the point where I stopped clipping lol.

That's all for today!  I hope you enjoyed the videos and pictures!

Ride 102 - GoPro Fail

You get to see lots of Chrome shadows because I apparently didn't tighten the GoPro enough and it fell forward while I was tacking up..... so excuse the chopped off horse head and my helmet in all of these pictures!

We were working in the pasture so I let everyone out to graze in the yard.  I can't believe it's February and green stuff is already coming up.  You can see Zep in the above picture.  :)  Chrome was a total pill when I decided to ride because he wanted to keep grazing and he was mad that Zep was still grazing without him...

This is where the camera fell forward.  You can see him reaching around to help me while I tighten his girth.

More shadow horse.

He was being very braced so I did lots of lateral flexion.  I have no idea why I didn't let the left rein go in the above picture.  I think I was letting it slide through my fingers.... don't know for sure.

 Another shadow picture.

I rode for about forty minutes.  Mostly just walking.  I think I only trotted two times for a few seconds.  We spent most of the ride doing lateral flexions every single time he braced when I'd ask him to turn... it was a LOT!  I'm going to keep flexing him until he decides being soft is easier.  I wonder how long that will take?

 Giving him a pat.

I tried working on him moving his haunches off of my leg, but it just wasn't working.  No matter where I put his face he was just walking circles instead of yielding.  Ugh!  I was getting so frustrated!  When he finally got it once in both directions I gave up.  Hubby was busy on the tractor so I couldn't ask him for help.  I think next time I ride and he's available I'll have him give the cue from the ground too to help him make the connection.  For now I give up on trying to teach him this stuff until I have a trainer.  I REALLY need eyes on the ground!  It's also not fair to expect him to try to learn new things when I'm only riding once every week or so.  For now I'm going to work on trail riding (so he'll stop being so spooky), desensitizing and lateral flexion.  Hopefully when I get him softer and less reactive all of this other stuff will come easier.

I rode Chrome toward the back of the pasture (for the first time since falling off out there) and he was acting super balky.  He did not want to go back there.  I insisted that he did.  He kept trying to turn around so I kept him going until it was my decision to turn around.  Then all of a sudden he was very up and forward.  Then he kicked at his belly with one hind leg and was hunching his back.  I thought maybe he was trying to intimidate me and it was working, so I just kept doing lateral flexion every two strides or so until we made it to the front of the pasture, then I jumped off, undid one rein and longed him.

Some shadow longeing since the camera fell forward.

He did it again while I longed him so I realized it was a discomfort thing, not an intimidation thing.  I undid his saddle, then rubbed and scratched his sweaty girth area.  Once I got it smoothed out I redid the girth and he was fine for the rest of the ride.

 OMG close my thumbs stupid!

My trainer is going to have to gripe at me again...

I was still intimidated though so I took him back out into the yard (where he was acting like a turd because he wanted to go out where Zep was grazing, but I insisted he go where I said).  On the way up the driveway he spotted the neighbor horses and completely zoned me out.  I'm beginning to notice when he's paying attention and when he flat out forgets I exist.  Forgetting about me is when things get scary out on the road, so I started flexing him again to get his attention on me.  Every time he started thinking about the horses too much I would flex him.  Eventually he relaxed, put his head down and walked forward so I praised him.

 I can't tell if we were flexing or turning, but I think it's kind 

of cool how his whole body is in the picture.

 More shadow.  On the way up the driveway.

His stifles were sticking during this ride which is the main reason I kept it to a walk.  I walked him over the straw bales a few times.  I'm not surprised they are sticky because during my last ride with the neighbor girl we went through a long field that was really muddy.  Deep mud is hard work on the stifles.  I can't wait until the weather gets better so I can ride more often.  Notice in these pictures I'm in short sleeves?  Yeah tomorrow the high will be in the thirties....... not cool!!!!  I hate when it drops forty degrees in one day.

After the ride Jackal helped me round up the donkey and goats to put them back in the pasture.  :D

In my quest to make Chrome less reactive I did a session desensitizing him after the ride.  I worked with him for twenty minutes........ almost the whole video shows my helmet, arms and the ground.... sigh.  I did realize it at the end and readjusted the camera so you can see about a minute of our work.  He's made a LOT of progress already!!  He's still really stressed about it though... he looks like he's sleeping in the video, but it was more of a zoned out stress thing I think...


He was really slow to walk off when I told him, but I actually don't mind because he's being less reactive to the whip.  I want him to learn that when my arm is relaxed he needs to stand there and when I raise it he needs to go.  We will get it figured out eventually.

This was the first time I've popped the whip on the ground in front of and behind him.  You'll also notice in the video that hubby drives the truck behind him and he doesn't care.  He's such a good boy.  This whole reactive thing makes me think of something my dressage trainer once told me.  She said that dressage is the constant battle of making a horse straight.  They are naturally stronger on one side, so you work to strengthen the other side, then they switch and you have to do it all again on the other side.  It seems the same with the desensitizing.  Chrome started out a total deadhead that didn't react to anything, but he also had no GO at all.  So then I worked on getting him really forward and now he's really reactive, so we have to desensitize until the reactive Chrome goes away.  Back and forth, back and forth.

So even though I was frustrated with his attitude about the grass, I'm still happy with how it ended.  :)  I still can't wait for spring though!!

Oh I almost forgot.  After I turned him loose from the desensitizing he followed me to the gate and then snorted all over me.  He snorted five or six times, so I know he was releasing tension.  I'm shocked at how reactive he is now.  He even spooked in place when something fell out of a tree behind him while he was grazing (I was in the house watching him through the window).  Weird, spooky boy.  I grabbed the muck fork and started cleaning out the barn.  He walked around the outside of the barn, pooped, then walked to the doorway of the barn, stretched out and peed.  Silly horse.

Tarp Fun

 I was worried about Chrome's stifles after our three and a half mile ride yesterday (even though we only walked, we did walk up some decent slopes), so I went out to check on him this morning.  I didn't see him anywhere so I whistled for him.  He let out a huge neigh and then came galloping full speed toward me.  When he spotted me hiding behind the tree he slowed to a big, floating trot.  Not sore at all!!  Good boy!  He still got today off though.  I figured I'd share some pictures from the other day (the day we rode with the neighbor girl).

We had some tarps out while Chrome was grazing in the yard so of course I had to put it on his back.  He skittered away from me at first because of the sound of it running across the grass.  I just followed him deliberately at a walk, dragging the tarp with me.  At one point he trotted away.  Then he decided it was too much work being a dork and stood still while I put it over his back.  :)

At first it was folded, then I straightened it with both sides hanging down equally.

He startled himself once, but then was totally fine...

Even when I did this lol.  He was better with it all spread out because he recognized it as a tarp.  I had never put one on him folded up so I don't think he knew for sure what it was at first.  It was a good desensitization all done without a halter or lead rope.  :)

P.S.  Today the goats wouldn't come within sixty feet of Chrome while he ate hehe.  The brown goat is walking fine today too so that's a relief!

Introducing Chrome to clippers for the first time (video).

Chrome's mane is getting long again and after watching the cute little roached polo ponies I wanted to roach Chrome's again.  I have a pair of electric clippers that I bought really cheap for shaving my husband's hair because I lost his good ones in the move, but when I found them the cheap pair got used to clip my mom's dog.  So I decided to use it to shave Chrome's mane, which would be so much easier than using scissors.  He's never seen clippers ever and this was his reaction.


If you watch his body language he was definitely tense, but he stayed calm.  He backed up a few times when I held it near his nose at first (it has a really quiet buzz that sounded like a bee or those bot flies, so he didn't like it), but he eventually stopped even doing that.  Since he was tense I only played with them for about two minutes.  I want to keep the sessions short and sweet.  The bad news is the clippers are so dull they wouldn't cut his hair lol.  I really didn't feel like using scissors so his mane will stay as it is for now.  :)

P.S.  Sorry for the cell phone video.  Since my camera is dead you'll have to put up with cell phone pictures and videos for a while.

Bravest Horse Ever!

 

I totally forgot about this picture my husband took with his cell phone back in October 2011!!!  My best friend's husband was visiting and they were sighting in their rifles.  The ever curious Chrome would not leave them alone and he didn't seem overly bothered by the sound.  As you can see in the picture his ears are back, probably because it's so loud, but they said he didn't flinch or jump at all!  So I bet someday he will make a great mounted shooting horse.  :D

Chrome is awesome! (four wheeler pictures)

 Chrome is awesome!  Okay, so I'm biased, but still he's so smart and not afraid of anything.  :D  Check out these pictures.  This is only his second time doing this. 

 Looking at it all alert while I climb on....

 Almost asleep as I start to drive off.  We have nicknamed him the narcoleptic horse because he's always so sleepy eyed lol!

 The really awesome part is that Faran and Zep follow too so they get their exercise as well!

I love how far under he's stepping.  Doesn't he look good??  I think exercise agrees with him hehe.

 Notice the loose lead and relaxed posture?  

 Faran almost walked up to me.... not quite brave enough though.

 Pretty boys!

 I love these.  Getting his halter taken off while I'm still sitting on the running four wheeler.

 

 Oops, hung the halter on his ear, but he still didn't pull out of my reach.  :)

Hanging around to get his neck scratched in his favorite spot (four wheeler still running).

This one was blurry so I played around with it to make it look cool.

When I drove off (as fast as I could go in first gear) to put the four wheeler up, he still followed me.  :)  

Love that cute booty.  You can still see he has a fat belly and still needs to gain a lot of muscles in his haunches.  This will be a good comparison shot after his workout program.  :)

Chrome's Seventh Ride & Working With Faran

Sorry, no pictures or video!  I decided to just go out yesterday and ride without worrying about getting video.  Yesterday's ride was our first time riding out in the open on the thirty acres we lease.  I put Chrome's bitless bridle on, climbed on bareback and off we went (with no clicker/treats).  My husband was handwalking Faran so we sort of just followed them around.  Chrome kept wanting to go off on his own explorations, but I gently guided him back after Faran.  He also sometimes would just stop and not want to move.  I noticed he does not like going up and down slopes.  I guess because it feels weird or maybe he doesn't have the muscles for it yet or maybe I weigh too much for him right now . . . not sure.  When he acted uncomfortable going downhill I would just guide him so that he was walking the slope instead of going up or down.  He was trotting, galloping, bucking and playing later on just fine so I know he's not lame or anything.  I think it's just because he's not used to carrying weight.  So anyway, I only rode for fifteen minutes and he did awesome.  :)

After I rode I put Chrome and Zep in the round pen so we could do some clicker training with Faran without being interrupted.  It was so funny because Chrome got so mad he was galloping around and bucking in the round pen (one of the reasons I know he isn't lame lol).  He wanted OUT so he could play with us too.  Silly colt.  He and Zep did eventually ignore us and started playing together so I don't feel too horribly cruel hehe.

Anyway we worked with Faran next to the mounting block.  I held him, clicked and fed treats while my husband stood on the mounting block and rubbed him all over.  Eventually he leaned his weight over Faran's back and rubbed his opposite side.  Faran didn't even care!  He was so into lowering his head for his treats that he didn't even pay any attention to my husband.  Oh and I did click him whenever he turned his head to look at my husband so he was getting rewarded for accepting what my husband was doing.  Then my husband put his leg on Faran's back (but not his weight).  That made him a bit nervous at first, but he was fine after a few head lowers.

Then I wanted to try it because he doesn't like me as much as my husband (I don't work with him as much and I have a tendency to move quicker than what he likes).  He let me lean all over him and pet him too.  At one point I leaned over his back and my cell phone had shifted out of my pocket to where it stabbed him in the ribs.  He teleported (that's what we call it when he jumps several feet straight sideways) away from me and I fell to my hands and knees on the ground (I was wearing my helmet!).  He calmed down very quickly (I was not hurt) and let me lead him back to the mounting block and lean all over him again, so the incident doesn't seem to have set him back at all.  He did a lot better than I thought he would, but I won't be comfortable getting on him until he stops teleporting because there is no way I would stay on when he does that.  It's unbelievable how quickly a 1600 pound Percheron can move sideways!!

We will keep working with him and he will get there eventually.  :D

Oh and I almost forgot!  When we got done with Faran I let Chrome out of the round pen and he was totally jealous.  He walked to the mounting block and looked for treats and then walked to me and started mugging.  I ignored him until he put his head down and then started doing some clicker training with him.  We worked on our following and backing.  I had him trot beside me so my husband could confirm that he wasn't limping.  He's fine.  Then when we left the pasture he turned away, trotted out of the round pen and around a brush pile that is approximately twenty yards away and back up to the round pen looking for his treat!  We've never even worked on sending exercises but apparently he thought trotting (since he's lazy trotting is a lot of work) around the brush pile had earned him a treat.  It was so funny the expression he had!!  He's like an overgrown puppy sometimes.  :D

No Clicker, Umbrella Story Instead

I didn't have a clicker session because I was just soooooo busy. I did want to tell you about something yesterday though. I had Storm out on the lease land so she could play in the snow and I was taking pictures. Because the snow was coming down so heavy I had the umbrella out to keep my camera dry. At one point I had Storm on one side and Chrome on the other, both about fifteen feet away from me. Storm was wandering off so I turned to look at her and to call her back. Next thing I know I hear thudding hooves and the umbrella gets halfway jerked out of my hand!!! Chrome actually tried to steal it from me!! I managed to hold on to it because he didn't get a good grip before turning to gallop away. It was so funny and cute! Do you think our desensitization session with the umbrella worked? :D

Full Friesian Alert!

Disclaimer: No photos. Sorry.

I love when Chrome shows his Friesian side! For those of you who are not very familiar with the Friesian breed here is a description of the Full Friesian Alert:

"FFA: Affectionately known as "Full Friesian Alert", this is when a friesian spies something interesting/spooky and does a "four on the floor" jump and leg plant, head craned high, ears perked, totally tense and stares at something."

It is from Legacy Friesians page telling All About The Friesian. It is a very interesting read for those considering owning a Friesian or if you're just curious.

So anyway, back to Chrome. When I feed them I usually halter him and then turn him loose and he walks to his bowl to eat. When I walked over to tie him up our cat appeared at the edge of the ditch, startling him. He made a leap straight into the air and scrambled back a couple of steps, then puffed himself up in FFA. A lot of people actually describe seeing a Friesian in FFA like see a cat all puffed up, back arched with it's hair on end. Friesian just seem to grow as they puff themselves up. I was so proud of his response. He didn't try to run away or anything.

About ten minutes later one of our Phoenix roosters flew up onto the gate right above Chrome's head startling him again. Normally he isn't so reactive, but I think the cat had him on edge. He flew backwards and hit then end of the rope, then he stepped forward off the halter pressure and stared at the rooster like, "Oh ok. It's just you." I was so proud of him. Some horses, when startled, then start fighting the rope because they feel trapped. This results in a broken rope, halter or possibly even an injured horse. I did have him tied with a quick release knot so if he had decided to fight it I could just step forward, pull the rope and release him. Anyway, just thought I would share. :D

Desensitization Training

Okay, the video I told you I would get yesterday . . . I got it today. The rain and crazy wind yesterday kind of prevented me from doing it then. So I went out today and got video. Get ready to hold onto your hats because this colt is one wild bronco (my apologies if the video is boring). ;)



Poor guy looked almost bored to tears. :) Now that the little brat is eating treat we will start doing something fun. I just need to go buy some more because they ate them all. Oops. I'll probably make my target stick today as that will be the first thing I'll teach him. :)

The Exciting News

Okay, now finally to the exciting news. I bet you can't guess what Chrome wants in the picture above. Nicker Makers!! He's finally decided he loves the Nicker Maker treats I bought! Between the two of them they ate half a bag of them just while taking these pictures!! Which means I can start clicker training soon. :)

Also, just to keep things in perspective I'm five feet ten inches tall, so Chrome is not as small as he appears in the following pictures. If you're used to being around Quarter Horses and Appaloosas he's huge compared to a weanling of those breeds. He'll more than likely mature with his back at about my chin when I'm standing up straight. :)

So, here are the pictures.

He still sometimes makes faces.

This one looks like an advertisement for Nicker Makers. :D

More please!

Rattling the bag to get pretty ears from the greedy horses.

Stretch for it!

Laughing at Galaxy for wrapping herself around the pole instead of looking over the gate.

Being mean and teasing Galaxy.

It'll be so easy to teach Chrome to smile!
**It looks like Gal is eating my hand lol!

That can't be all!!

I'm going to try to get video of Chrome while we're working on whip desensitizing. He's only seen the whip once (and tried to eat it) and he did so great! He's not scared of it at all, even when I swing it over his head. You'll just have to wait for the video. Here are a couple of pictures.

First time seeing the whip. Giving it a good sniff.

And a nibble.

Rubbing it on his body.

Starts nibbling the lash.

When he took the lash in his mouth I looped it over his head like a bridle and bit. He was a teeny bit surprised, but didn't mind. When I pulled it off his head he still didn't want to let go.

Watching the neighbor's horse Two Socks.

Then I did some work swinging the whip around him and over his body, but it doesn't show up well in pictures, so like I said, I'll get a video tomorrow. It's about time I put my new tripod to use. :D

And a good job rub. He loves having his forehead rubbed.

I was excited today because after I fed him supper and took him back to his nighttime corral he lowered his head before I could rub his forehead! So he has made the connection that lowering his head gets his halter off. :) That's all for now.