Well, just as I thought all was well with Jade’s health, we are now dealing with yet another issue.  This time, not nearly as serious, however, she will have to have another surgery to correct her problem.  She has what is commonly referred to as DDSP, (dorsal displacement of the soft palate).  She had been presenting with a cough upon the beginning of every exercise period.  In order to diagnose the problem, the surgeon needed to fit her with a dynamic endoscopic probe that would show exactly what is happening in her airway during exercise.  My good pal Donna came with me on two trips to Steinbeck to provide moral support and photo document the procedure.

Jade being fitted with the dynamic endoscopic probe

Turns out, Jade throws her larnyx way back in her throat when breathing hard, which in turn cuts off part of her airway.  The bottom line is, she is not getting all of the oxygen required to maintain the kind of stamina necessary to do more than about 8 miles of trail riding.  I have noticed she tires much too easily, and am happy to know that we now have a cause that can be corrected with surgery.

There are two ways to go about this diagnostic procedure; one is having the horse run in place on a treadmill, or have a rider wearing a heavy backpack of equipment that hooks up directly with the probe in the horses nose.

Jade and Cory hooked up and ready

Since Jade had not been taught to run on a treadmill, we opted for the “rider” type test.  She had not been ridden in two weeks, and with a probe up her nose, I felt sure that we would have a bit of a rodeo.  However, once again, Jade surprised me and behaved like the true gem I know she is.  Both Donna and I were amazed at just how perfectly she did everything I asked.  The vets needed to see her in the roundpen, at a trot, a canter and then a fully checked up trot, for assessing the position of the larynx.

Jade doing her part perfectly

For me, this diagnosis was the best possible outcome, because the other things that they were looking at, like lungs and cell abnornmalities would certainly have been more serious than partial airway blockage.  In fact, there is really no rush in getting the surgery done, as long as I keep in mind that she has limitations as to how many miles we can go.  I hope to get some good (short) trail rides in this week, then will look at the calendar to decide what the best time period is for surgery.  Thankfully, the recovery period is short (3-5 weeks) and the surgery is very common, especially among race horses.  Hum…maybe we should look at a career change when she is recovered.

For now, happy trails and I’ll keep the post updated with surgery and recover details. 

So our fearless blogger Donna has come up with a way to get me on the ball writing to my own blog!   She posed a couple intriguing questions and has asked me to respond here for everyones benefit.  First, I haveto apologize for being off the grid for so long now.  Since getting hurt last fall, its been a roller coaster of events and changes for me, some good, some challenging.   Being part of the Trainers Challenge at Western States Horse Expo, was a blast and a very positive experience.  Stay tuned for news of  a very exciting production coming up where 8 of us trainers will be touring together!

Oh yeah, although our own Cruzer began the expo pretty frightened of all the people around, he was a star by the end.  Talk about mass desensitization!   Our scores were solid and the deficiencies are entirely my errors, not his.  In the freestyle competition, the scores ranged from 19 – 49.  Cruzer and I scored a 39.  Honestly, better than I had thought we’d done.

On to Donna’s questions, quoted here from her email.

<<1. Sunny has gotten really s-l-o-w in the arena and for the first half mile when we’re leaving the barn. I don’t think it’s a fear issue in either case:  I’ve handwalked and ridden her out and back over the half mile about 50 times.  She used feel hard and look worried, now she just moves stiffly and looks bored until we turn around. In the arena, I suspect she’s bored because all we do is trot in figures, trying to work on her frame and fitness. And I do the Marybeth special 1-2 -3 thing – “3” is now three taps with the dressage whip I bought at the Expo.  The taps don’t startle her anymore but they do move her along.  I started wondering, though, if I’m dulling her to the taps and I’ll have to escalate more?  I mentioned it to Julie and she “quoted” you, saying that at the clinic, in the 1-2-3 progression, the 3 had to be unpleasant enough to be memorable, so they wouldn’t want to go there again.  So are my 3 little taps, even if they get a change, a new form of nagging?  Or what I thought you said was apply the least amount of pressure you can to get the result you want – and my taps are the right thing?  What if I need to tap her more and more often?  >>

First off, I agree that fear is not her issue.  I suspect boredom is the primary culprit.  You two have logged alot of miles this year!  Anytime your horse begins to exhibit changes in behavior, you want to consider all aspects-physical, emotional, and intellectual.

You always want to explore any possible physical causes first.  Lameness, sore back, tender soles, saddle fit etc.   I know that Donna would have already looked into a medical reason, so we will move on to emotional.

I think emotional causes are the most frequently overlooked.  We are quick to spot fear or agression, but what about the less obvious horses, those  ’get along’  types that aren’t so demonstrative.  They often get tagged as stubborn or lazy.   Boredom with repetition affects horses just as it affects any of us!  Lord knows Ihate doing circles in the arena!  Although Donna and Sunny cover lots of new ground regularily, perhaps there is still a same ole, same ole element from Sunnys point of view.   Its time to add some variety to her experience.  In looking for ideas, new trails would notapply to Sunny.  She is essentially a professional trail horse, with her endurance and trail trial work.    As an endurance athelete, she needs to be kept fit, so you can’t discontinue her conditioning, but add some different elements such as tricks, or cattle work, dressage movements (NO CIRCLES!) Even explore some different disciplines.  Teach her a good spin or a sliding stop and rollback.  Push a ball around with her nose or have her kick it along.   Anything to provide a sense of purpose and, most importantly, a goal she can recognize and complete quickly.   My first choice is always cow work.  Seems like most every horse gets a kick out of being able to push someone else around!  Specially horses lacking confidence or rank.

Now, having considered her point of view and taken steps to alleviate boredom, the fact remains that she still must do what she’s asked when she’s asked to do it.  So let me reiterate the 4 steps of requesting something from our horses.

For the “go-forward” cue:

Step one:   Lift your body and energy while looking for her to lift up, and give you her attention.

Step two:   Starting from your core, slowly bring your legs together, increasing the strength of your “squeeze” as you work down to your ankles.   This is not a super strength, work out on your thighmaster type of squeeze, just a steady firm closing of your legs.

At this point, your horse should make some indication of forward movement.  As soon as you feel anything, even a rock forward, instantly release your leg pressure while keeping your body in the same up/active position.

Step 3:  If she isn’t offering a response yet, raise your hand (or crop) to the side, as if reaching for something from someone standing next to you.   Instantly release at first sign of any forward motion.

Step 4:  If there is still no response, give one solid smack on her butt with enough emphasis to make her step forward, then immediately release all pressure as before, your seat remaining in an up/active position.  Step 4 must be unpleasant enough to wish to be avoided.  Otherwise you are just nagging.   This is not to say causing pain, and one thwack on the butt by any of us wouldn’t even compare to the mildest  kick by another horse.  The startle factor is what causes the forward movement.  One swat on the butt sensitizes her to the 1 and 2 cues.  Repeated tapping on the butt desensitizes her to all the cues.

Steps 3 and 4 are where Donna lost communication with Sunny.  Sounds like you went from a squeeze to nagging with the crop.  Step 3 is a clear signal as to what is next and step 4 follows through.  Personally, I usually just use my hand unless the horse I’m on is too big to reach his butt.  Then, as it always should be, the crop is simply an extension of my hand.

This series of cues, done accurately, will create a soft and light horse every time.  It is one of my few “please do it my way”  cues I try to impress upon my students.  I believe it is the most honest and fair way of asking for a light response from your horse. 

The equitation camp later this summer will really delve into this and more.

This morning I got a note from a friend asking if Sunny and I could meet her and her six year old Lipizzan gelding at the SCCHA Show Grounds.  It would be his first outing from his highly structured dressage barn and she thought he might need a companion on his debut.  Yikes!  This is a horse who wears shipping boots and that goofy hat-thingie when he *looks* at a trailer, and overload stimulation is when there are two horses in the arena at once.  As readers of this blog may have gathered, the Show Grounds can be a scary place for a horse.

I’m pretty sure we got asked because Sunny has a reputation for being a pretty relaxed cookie in most situations, and, even though I know that Sunny is the way she is mostly because it was baked in the cake, I seem to get a lot of the credit for her Dali Lama-esque poise.   Because of that, I felt free to give my friend a list of things to think about – and I’m posting it here if anyone else is facing a First Outing.

Here’s the context.  My friend asked us to go with her and her gelding, Vincent, to the Showgrounds.  We could either meet them there or go together in her straightload trailer, and Sunny has never been in a straightload. Her plan was stay on the ground with him and just walk him around.

Here’s my response (slightly edited):

Deciding whether to

1. do the trailering with a companion horse or
2. have him ride alone and meet another horse at the destination

is a strategic issue I thought about before I started getting Sunny out and about. I took Sunny just about everywhere alone for quite awhile, just so she could learn that there might be friends (and life) on the other end of the trailer ride, even if she had go alone. Also, I’ve seen lots of horses who won’t load unless there’s another horse in the trailer, and I didn’t want her to get the idea that she could be one of those.

And I think trailering together might be a tactical error since Sunny’s never been in a straight load. It would be bad if *she* pitched a fit about getting in with Vincent watching!  Not that I think she will, but first impressions just never seem to go away with horses, and I’d hate to start Vincent’s traveling career with the image of Sunny being stubborn.

Here are some other things to take into consideration:

1.  Sunny and I should be there when you arrive, so when Vincent steps out of the trailer, he sees a familiar face.

2.  When you get there, I suspect that Vincent will be fired up, at least that’s what happened with Sunny.   One way to address this would be to take a quick tour and go home, thus demonstrating that trailer rides ultimately return him home.

3.  Or you could settle in for the afternoon, demonstrating that anywhere you are is (a) safe and (b) it’s his responsibility to settle down and take care of himself, which is what I did with Sunny.

When I took Sunny, before I got her from the trailer, I set up one of the camping paddocks with hay and water. When I pulled her out, I took her on a circuit of the campground, then returned to the paddock where she could eat and not worry about a barrage of new things.  Then I did it again.  And again.  Etc.  I took a book and a lawn chair and sat with her and read while she ate.  She wasn’t completely calm by the time we left several hours later, but she was well fed, able to cope, and she knew that the paddock was her safe place.

4.  Once you figure out what approach you’re going to take and you’re at the Show Grounds,  be prepared to leave any time.  You should expect him to get a little more nervous while he’s making his first couple of tours of the grounds, but if he continues to get more worried, even after you’ve given him some time, you need to get out of Dodge before he gets really scared, both to spare him the anxiety and to ensure the trailer loading will take place while he’s still capable of concentrating.

And if he’s settled down and hit some zen zone of relaxation, be ready to conclude that it’s not going to get better than that, and leave on a high note.

5.  And on the topic of leaving, make sure that Vincent is as good at trailer loading as you can get him, and that you know what to do if he gets stubborn.  I don’t know about other horses, but Sunny is usually willing to climb into the trailer at our barn, but is frequently really *unwilling* to get in the trailer to come home; somehow she hasn’t made the connection that, if she got somewhere in a trailer, she’s going to have to get home in the trailer, too.

On our first or second outing, I couldn’t get Sunny into the trailer. I used all my skills, and tried all my tricks, and got nowhere. I finally called my friend JoAnne, who worked with us before Sunny was started under saddle, and she came from the beach in her sun dress over her bikini, donned her dressage boots, and loaded Sunny in about 39 seconds.  I will treasure forever the pictures of Jo in her tall boots, lacy dress, and dressage whip.  And I’ll also remember how badly I felt about having to call her – so before Sunny and I went out again, we spent enough time working on loading so Sunny stepped in first and thought about it later.

6.  Have a bunch of things you can do on-line, with or without a round pen. The round pen and arena might be far from where you’re starting, so you need to have a plan on how to keep/get his mind in his body when you’re moving him, as well as what you might do in the arena or round pen.  Try to find obstacles to step over and around, so he has to think about how to move his feet.  I guess most importantly, have some skills on the ground so, particularly the Get-Off-Me! command.

7.  Be prepared for behavior you haven’t seen. For example, Sunny’s first barn was isolated and surrounded by trees, cutting off her sight line. When I took her to the Show Grounds, I realized she’d never seen a mounted horse approaching her from far away.  One would come in the trail gate and she’d be paralyzed until she figured out what was going on.  Also, the traffic on Graham Hill Road includes large trucks and motorcycles, so be prepared for the unexpected.

And that’s my response.  By this point, I know that most of you will be looking for my picture in the dictionary next to “sissy”, “conservative”, “fuddy-duddy”, etc – but so many things in Horseland are unpredictable it seems like it’s smart to anticipate as many things as we can.  And if you don’t ever have to use your contingency plans, all I can say is “Congratulations!”

I’d love to hear additional ideas and/or comments from Mary Beth.

wanna ride?

donna