Saturday, June 28, 2014

We Did It! Bathing Success!

I've spent the whole week getting Ashe ready for today.

Rinsing off, treating at the wash area, just standing around in the spot with the hose on...

Today, after a heavy ride, we tried for a bath...

And it was a success!

We had a few missteps, a few backups... but none of the panicked pulling, backing up or refusing to get back into his spot. We even loose tied to the fence at the end with no panic pulling when he backed up and felt the tension!



I'm so proud! And he's so soft and clean now!

A special thanks to the cereal Apple Jacks... your colorful little o's are the perfect bribery to keeping my boy well behaved and rewarded :)

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Wait that ISN'T a snake?!

Had a breakthrough yesterday :)

We had a hard ride and he ended up rather sweaty. It was still hot out and so I decided to give the hose session a try.

We did it! I rinsed every inch of him off :) Of course how we got there is half the fun....


First, we stood at the VEEEERY end of the lead rope. He was relaxed, just didn't want to get any closer.

I sprayed the hose, he startled but stayed where he was.

Sprayed it again, moved the water stream close to him. Flinching but still stayed put. Began spraying all over his legs, then his chest, then his body. He stood there enjoying himself but I couldn't get ANY closer.

I began laughing at him and decided to take the hose sprayer off. Before, hose sprayer on or off it didn't matter but we were making good progress.

Well wouldn't you know it he let me get right up next to him and spray him all over both sides! So proud!


Now of course the proof of any good scientific experiment is the ability to replicate it... we'll see how it goes!

Friday, June 13, 2014

New Bit: Turns on Forehand: Tail Care

Ashe and I went on a small quest to try a new bit. My friend's full cheek snaffle had given us a new lease on turning, but he was cranky about the single joint.

I went out on a limb and got him a two joint, dee ring snaffle... First time out with it, the horses in the fields decided to have a good run. Instead of Ashe taking off into a trot and jigging for half of the track, instead immediately listened to my half halt and continued to walk with happy ears. Hurray for breaks and ease of communication!

Best view in the whole world!


On top of that we finally succeeded in our first turns on the forehand! It's been a long arduous process as he's terrified of dressage whips so I've had to do this without the benefit of extra aids. On top of that we had our first scary test under saddle in a while. He did a lot of stopping and snorting, but only a few steps backwards before trusting me to pass on by. I was so proud!

Also in good news, Ashe has stopped rubbing his tail! We changed his supplement to remove almost all soy from his diet, plus I hot toweled all up and down it. It seems to have worked, we're at a month now without any rubbing.

His terror of hoses is a work in progress. We're slowly getting there. Sometimes I get the feeling he's making a bigger deal out of it than it really is to him but so far, I've managed to hose off all four feet and his chest.

Thunderstorms have made it impossible to ride the past few days, but we'll get back out there soon enough! Happy Riding!