Max hacks, attacks tracks

Ouch. I'll run out of those rhyming titles one of these days, but that one is stretching it a bit!

Max the wonder horse is coming up all gold stars in these last hazy days of summer. I say "hazy", more like dreary, overcast, humid and still. Except today, which is fine, bright and HOT! Last blast of August, though September beckons, and September is a favourite month of mine, here in the UK. Tends to be rather perfect weather in September. Hope I haven't jinxed it by saying so.

I approached my YO about exercising Max to add to his exercise (I knew she'd be able to coax consistent good work out of him). I really need some professional guidance at this point. I've taken my young horse as far as I can on my own with schooling, through my own limited knowledge, book reading and instinct.

It's not long term, but with my back still playing up, I can't ride well, and I can't chase after Max with any energy, so he needs a bit of ooomph!

So it began, and I watched the first two sessions. I got Max ready, explained what was going to happen, told him it was no good getting up to his tricks because YO wouldn't stand for it ("It's for your own good, Max" ARGH!) and told him that offering up his nose for kisses would get him nowhere with YO, and I wouldn't rescue him unless he was really in trouble.

Off we went. Max's bridle with no reins, his saddle pad, and YO's "pessoa". This is gear that I will find hard to explain. It's a bit of a pulley system - goes round the back end with a pad to drive forward, and is tightened in areas to encourage correct head carriage. It doesn't cause pain or discomfort in the right hands, it doesn't force correct position, but encourages horse to find that position naturally. It's pressure and release again, which is the principal of the Dually halter, too. Horse is just more comfy when he goes into position, and when he doesn't, he deals out his own pressure.

Everything was set very loose on Max, because it's new and he hasn't the muscle built up (yet).

It was so amazing to watch the transformation in Max over the half hour plus I watched him. YO commenting the whole time, telling me what she was doing, what we were aiming for, giving occasional coos of admiration for the way Max moved. Also, gratifyingly, telling me occasionally that I'd been doing a good job - he's brilliant on voice commands, and his "stand" is correct and well done. "You've been working on this!" she said. "That's just how I like a horse to stand. Well done!"

It was also gratifying to see him play up and evade her with all the tricks he throws at me. YO, naturally, was much more adept at getting round him and gave me some fine tips on how I could get round him, too. Very simple, very subtle, no force and no aggression.

This is partly her years of experience and knowledge, and partly not having the emotional attachment to Max, I know. He can get round me because he is Max and I am me, and he knows.
In a way, it's like remembering back to when you were a kid and never back-talked your friends' parents when you were visiting them the way you would your parents. Or maybe you had an auntie that you just knew not to try it on with - you weren't scared of her or anything, but on best behaviour because that was what was expected. With your own parents, you could whinge and wheedle, cajole and keep going until you knew it was going one way or the other: the tight lipped response said, "Back down! Dive, dive, dive!" or the little smile, the particular laugh told you, "Hurrah! The prize, it cometh!"

Same with Max. He will fall into line if I'm firm enough, but he can often get round me by confusion, dismay, hiding in corners so he can pretend I don't see him, or just by making me laugh so much that I lose my focus and just want to give him the world on a plate. I really don't mind any of that; it's part of our relationship and I wouldn't swap it for anything.

But he doesn't sass his teacher in the classroom, the same way I didn't sass my teachers in school.

I'm delighted with how it's going. My boy, when he "gets" it, moves beautifully. Oh, he protested the first time all right, especially when he got tired. YO was gentle but firm, with lots of praise when he got it right.

She had a long lunging whip, and I remarked that I can never get the danged thing to "snap" the way she does - that crack gets him going all right, but the whip never touched him. It trailed along behind him, it occasionally snapped behind his bum to get his attention, but it never touched him. It was all voice and little noises to keep him going. She had a good work out, and she said so. He was resistant, which made her job harder, but she said a few goes and he'll understand and his movement will get better. Explained really well how we want him to round up through the back, that he was excellent at pushing from the hinds, but resistant to working from the front, but that will come in no time.

Max is a clever pony and picks up on things quite quickly. His sessions with YO have got him working well and without resistance, and the wonderful bonus for me is that working him loose or on the long-lines, he's much more willing to put his "work" hat on and just get to it.

And the hacking? Well that has come on tremendously, too. No plodding along as he did, but moving smartly when asked, much more attentive, much more confident. We did some hill work earlier in the week and had only one argument over direction. I wanted him to go right, he wanted to turn for home, so we did one slow circle, with very little pressure from me, and he decided right was OK after all and went off with vigour.

Trotted with energy when I asked, slowed back to walk with energy when I asked, and stood stock still for me when I asked.

He's looking very well at the moment, just a little bit of ridge on his crest that we want to get rid of. He'll always be cresty, that's part of his natural Fjord conformation, but the ridges, like little fat pads, are not good for his health, and carrying extra weight is not helping his stifle lock.

Am feeling optimistic that working like this, a little expert schooling, a bit of in hand and hacking work from me while I sort out my back for proper riding, and Max will be fit, healthy and we'll both be confident.

It's a good way to be going on after feeling stuck.

Max copping attitude

If he could have stood up on his hinds, put one hand on his hip, the other raised, hoof pointing and waggling in defiance, I would not have been surprised.

Yesterday my YO gave me some very useful pointers for keeping Max moving in the school. Today, we flew solo.

It all went well in the beginning. He fell into step, he trotted around me beautifully and steadily and I whisked him along with noises of encouragement, whooshes, foot stomps and clicks to keep him focused, and trailed the driving whip on the ground behind him to keep him running ahead of it.

To combat dizziness, I kept my eye steadily at a point on his shoulder, and changed direction often so I could "unwind".

Unwinding is a funny thing. I remember as a child, spinning in circles because that's just what you did on a bright summer day, I would always count the circles in one direction, and make sure I did the same amount in the other direction so that I'd be all unwound and back where I started (before I fell down from the dizziness).

The beginning of OCD?

I was delighted with the energy from Max today, and also that with a few new tricks up my sleeve, I could keep him going without much folderol. Until he started to get a bit puffed and figured he'd done just about enough, thank you very much.

Then wayward pony went off the circle and tried to evade by going behind a jump so he could stop and have a breather.

"No, Max. That's not on, sir."

I collected him, led him back to where he went astray and set him off again.

Now getting a bit tired, I agree, is a very good reason for Max to want to stop. The thing is, while it's important to see when he is getting tired and bring the session to a close, it really should close on an "up" note rather than a face off.

With this in mind, I knew I had to get one more circle each way out of Max without him trying to cut out, and that's when we ran into a bit of drama.

"Won't. Done now, OK? Finished, yes?" and he practically yanked my shoulder out of its socket and headed at high speed for the door.

He was on his Dually, so rather than increase the pressure on him too much, I let go of the line and let him run. He stood by the door and tried to nudge it open with his nose.

"Come on Max, one more circle on each side. It won't be difficult. Then we'll stop."

"Nuh uh."

Led him back to where he went astray and tried again. For a tired pony, he let out a couple of quite energetic bucks as he went away from me, then set himself into a canter so that I had to let go of the line again.

"I don't like it! I don't like it! Let go, I say. Cease and desist!"

So again I collected him, loosened the pressure on the noseband, rubbed his forehead, explained again that it was OK, we weren't fighting, he just needed to do one more turn on each side.

He had the big confused eyes, "Why are you doing this to me? I thought we were friends!"

Max is not above emotional blackmail.

Right. How to get round it? I could understand Max's shock and confusion. I am not usually so steadfastly firm with him. I have never been relentless and inescapable. That's not our relationship.

So it may not have been a "by the book" response, but I took him in hand and asked him politely to "Walk on, Max." He obliged. Then, "Trot on, Max" and he did, trotting comfortably by my sde. We trotted the circle together, then I coaxed him back out on his own, and we did one circle with no fuss, no trying to break away. Gathered him, changed the rein, and did the same in the other direction.

"Hurrah, Max! You're done!"

He stood still as I approached, looking slightly baffled. I tapped my hand to my chin in the "kiss" command, and he offered his nose, so got a click and treat.

We left the school behind us then, and went for a short walk in hand to cool down and have a chat.

If we can keep this up, build his stamina, then he'll be fit again in no time, despite my bad back.

Horse mirrors

I don't mean the kind of mirror you put in the stable as company for your ned, I mean horse holding up a metaphorical mirror and reflecting you back at yourself.

After a frustrating weekend with Max - frustrated with me, not him - I've been considering that no other relationship I've had has given me such pause to stop and take stock of myself the way Max does.

There I am, with my attempts to "school" him... but it turns out he's schooling me.

He highlights my flaws, where I lack patience, where my doubts are, where I don't think things through or communicate clearly enough. He shows me with clarity where my body language betrays my intentions, where my selfish thoughts trip me up, where my attention to detail strays and needs tightening.

No person has made me try so hard to be kinder and gentler than he has. No one has made me want to strive to correct these things as much as Max has. Nothing I've encountered prior to this has caused me to reassess how I want to be as much as this relationship with this singular horse..

I also don't think I truly respected forgiveness quite as much until I met him, either.

What is it about horses, eh? Why do they get to the heart of it when nothing else does? Maybe it's not for analysing, maybe it's just for honouring.

Am feeling humbled, and I quite like that. And the laughing. The laughing is very good, too. Comedy pony teaches with humour as well.

Damage recovery

Max and I had a very happy session today.

We long lined again, but without the pad or roller, just the Dually, the lines, and me tucked in at Max's side, with the line round his haunches, working quietly and calmly on turning aids.

Lots of pauses for ear scritches and sighs together. Lots of time to just be, and loads of praise when we steadily, slowly, calmly got it right.

"There you go, Max. We can do it."

"I always could. You're a mess. Stop trying so hard! Breathe in and be the lines..."

Max the Zen Master.

After long lining, we did a little bit of in hand, and we were brilliant! Two heads, two hearts, six feet; poetry in motion!

Then finally a little bit of loose to finish off. I didn't set his small jump up for him, but the flat bit of the jump was just laying on the ground in the school, so we had a go at trotting over it.

Max did a proper jump over it. Not too big, but tucked up his front legs and did a proper hop.

Bless him, he could have easily just stepped over it, but I think he's got that it pleases me if he jumps, so he offered it up.

Apparently, it makes Max happy to see me happy. Well, happy usually means pony nuts, after all. Max is no fool.

Under pressure...

Ah, what a weekend. Frustrating and thoughtful.


Max and I are both coming off holiday, so I guess that might be something to do with it. Horses do like their routine, as do humans, for that matter, and our routine has been up the spout of late.


Saturday I only had a bit of time between yard shifts, and I cut my lunch break short to get Max's beautiful bum into the school for a play. We had fun, but he was a bit inattentive and wayward.


"Oh well," I thought, "it's just a bit of a leg stretch, and we'll do some real work tomorrow."


Well, Sunday came soon enough, and I had Max down for long lining. It was a dismal session, which ended up with me frustrated and Max confused. I called him some names, he called me some names back and we ended up in a tangle, big hard heads set against each other, matching stubbornness for stubbornness.


I took all his gear off, because it's my steadfast rule not to handle Max when I'm frustrated, and I took him back to his box with a kind word and carrot stretches, but I have no doubt Max sensed my mood and I left him, feeling disheartened.


Came home and festered over our poor session for a few hours, and then, when the Ent wandered in to see me with a "What are you up to?" I said, "Shall we go take Max for a walk?"


I just wanted to redress the sour taste our lacklustre schooling session had been with some fun. Just a wander out, the three of us, with nothing much to do but wander.


I sometimes think, as I had been thinking Sunday afternoon before our walk, that I let Max down in every possible way. I'm not skilled enough, I don't know enough, I'm not talented enough, I'm not patient enough, I'm not clear enough to coax out of him the wonderful songs and dances I know that he holds in his heart. I sit and think that if Max was in the right hands, he could express himself freely and with joy, and that I'm holding him back with my clumsy hands and useless legs.


I want to be better... I so want to be the one who can coax that out of Max, and when it all goes wrong I feel so useless, so incompetent, like I'm holding him back. Like he could be this shining, glorious thing, if it wasn't for me standing in his way.


Ahem. That's just silly, you know. That's my stuff, not Max's.


Max doesn't care about schooling. He doesn't care if he can do lateral moves, or respond with incredible sensitivity to a rein squeeze that tells him to go left. He is not standing in his field wishing to leg yield properly or do a subtly aided quarter turn. He doesn't care if I'm on his back or off it. He doesn't care about any of that stuff - I do, and I shouldn't either.

I should take a page out of Max's book and just be in the moment, especially if the moment has pears.


So Ent and I rode our bikes back to the yard, and we took Max out for a long silly walk. Proper Monty Python Silly Walk, which involved a bit of crazy high spirits and some laughing.


And I felt better when it was done. Partly because Max was just as stubborn and contrary with the very gentle Ent as he was with me, and partly because Max was just being Max, and that's all I want him to be.


It's good to remind myself of that now and again.

Play school

Max and I had a blast together today!

I got to the yard after work, and thunder was rumbling. We went into the indoor school to just hang out as the weather was not our friend. We did a few turns with the umbrella just to see if he remembered, and he did.

The thunder got louder and more persistent, and Max was a bit wary of it. He didn't lose his composure, but was definitely on high alert and full of energy.

I've read that the best way to deal with dogs that are afraid of thunder is to remain unfussed by it yourself. Don't coddle them, don't hold on to them and say, "Poor you!" because that just reinforces that they have something to worry about. Just carry on, speak normally, take no notice, and hopefully doggle, looking to you for signals, will come to understand there is nothing to fear.

Pretty much the same with horses, I reckon. The thunder rumbled, Max's head went up, ears pricked, and I just carried on with what I was doing, speaking calmly, breathing in and out slowly, giving him a scratch on his withers with a la di da, nothing to worry about here.

We were clicker training, so that focused Max pretty quick; much more intent on what he had to do to get a treat, rather than what was going on in the wide world outside the school.

We spent a bit of time working on "left" and "right" trying to get him to raise his front feet on command. He was getting the hang of it, but a bit confused, so it's something we will build on.

I had a pear in my back pocket, and there was a small jump set up, so I showed Max the pear, and then got him to follow me over the jump, loose. He followed me eagerly, made a good job of the jump, and I gave him a big fuss and a pear bite.

With half a pear remaining, we tried again. He deaked out on the jump, I showed him the pear again, and he followed me at a high-falutin' trot, and we tried again.

Bingo! He flew over the jump next to me and got the rest of the pear.

I had a few pony nuts in my pocket, so took a couple out, showed him, and ran away from him to line us up for the jump again. Gamely he followed, all prancey, and back over the jump we went. Big click, big fuss, pony nuts.

I don't know how many times we went over that jump, but Max got the hang of if pretty fast, understood I really got excited about him jumping over that bit of stuff, and he obliged, prettily tucking his front legs up and leaping big over little jump.

It feels like a bit of a breakthrough. We've been trying to get over jumps for a while now, in hand mostly because he wouldn't do it loose, but today, Max was going for it! Tail high, watching my every move, turning with me, running with me, and leaping with me, full of snorts and proud head carriage.

The energy, the fluid movement from him just about took my breath away.

"You are a beautiful, sublime creature, Max."

"Yes I am. You are honoured to know me."

"I know."

"Pony nut?"

"Absolutely pony nut. Have two, beautiful boy."

I absolutely love when we get it all in sync and just move together like we did today, and Max snorts and struts, and gets down with his bad self. It's just good, clean fun, laughing and playing together, and it doesn't matter that I'm not on his back while we're doing it. It couldn't matter less.

To have a loose horse, unbound by head collar, rope or saddle, willing to play with you is a gift, and yes, I do feel honoured. Max could have stood in the middle of the school and watched me go over the jump alone. He's done that before enough times! But not today.

Today, I played with my friend, and it made me feel like a kid again.

Moving feast

Max and I went for a wander today. Our first wander in what seems like a very long time.

Happily, we were accompanied by Max's grey pony field mate and the young girl who shares him.

The intention for Max was hill work to build up those back legs again, so we picked a route with two ups and two downs, which Max attacked with gusto, given that they were packed with dense vegetation; succulent long grass and wild herbs. My best efforts to keep him focused and not eating were not entirely successful. This, I suppose, is always going to be a problem for horses on restricted grazing put into a situation where they are surrounded by temptation.

"Looky! All you can eat buffet!"

"No Max, we're working."

"You're working, I'm heading for the salad bar!"

Despite the occasional good natured battle of wills, we had a good work out, even a bit of trotting, and returned to the yard with two happy ponies.

Go ahead and rain on our parade

Max has no fear of umbrellas.

We spent a long time today, with a scary umbrella over his head, on his back, against his neck, open, closed, twirling, fluttering, and being thrown way up, and then landing at a distance.

Though Max had the big eyes and the alert carriage of his head, he stood still and concentrated on me and his clicks. I eventually got him bending towards the umbrella for his treats, and after initially sidling his rear away from the umbrella, in the end, not only did he stand still for it, he chased it when it was thrown, and picked it up in his teeth by whatever he could grab, material or handle.

When I hung it from some jumps and stood away from it, he strode forward with confidence to knock it off its perch. When I twirled it over my head and walked towards him, he stretched his nose forward on the "touch" command to cease its spinning and collect his reward.

I had just wanted today to be a bit of fun and games for the two of us, having been apart for a while and just getting back into the swing. What I had thought would be a bit of a do nothing/hanging out together session turned into a showcase for Max's brave heart and trust.

Should we ever be approached by spooky umbrellas, Max knows just what to do.

Precious cargo

Max's holiday ended when mine did, and his first day back in light work was full of surprises.

First, he was surprised (pleasantly) to see me. I spoke his name quietly as I approached his stable door, his head shot up and he nickered at me and moved forward eagerly to greet me, velvet nose outstretched for a kiss (and hopefully a pony nut).

We had a long grooming session, and then I took him into the school for long lining. We were working nicely when suddenly four pairs of feet appeared under the door to the school. Max stopped and looked on with big, curious eyes.

Slowly the door opened, and four dark figures were framed against the light, then moved forward into the school, closing the door behind them. Max looked on in stunned silence. A slight nod as he clocked that one of the figures was his friend, the Ent. But who were the others?

"It's all right, Max," I said, as the Ent and a particularly eager young girl came towards him.

"This is my niece, Max. I told you she wanted to meet you, remember?"

"Nuh uh."

I asked my niece if she'd like to sit on Max's back and have a little ride. Oh yes, she would! Did she mind that there was no saddle? Not a bit! So roller off, eleven year old girl, on. We clipped on a shorter lead rope and did away with the long lines and with the Ent leading, and me by Max's side to steady any moments of unbalance, off we went.

I had come prepared, of course, and had a hard hat for Max's special guest rider. My brother and sister-in-law watched as Max carefully carried his delighted bareback buddy around the school, turning this way and that, and occasionally stopping dead to stare at his audience.

After the ride, we went through a few of Max's smooth moves, and at the end, it was declared that Max is "a pretty cool horse".

Indeed.

Chunky Monkey

That's what the physio called Max today, and sadly, she is right.

His fitness has gone down proportionately with my bad back. I've not been able to work him with energy, can barely ride him at all, and as a result, his crest is getting crestier, his hinds, especially, are losing muscle tone, and the knock on from that is that the stifle lock is coming back with a vengeance.

I don't think he'll ever be free of it entirely, but the best way to combat it is to build up those hinds and shoulders and that's where we're stuck.

I'll figure something out - I'm just not sure what, yet. In all those dreams I had of having my own horse one day, I never dreamt of the danger of laminitis or the possibility of lameness. It never crossed my mind that I wouldn't ride for hours and hours every single day, or that my horse would ever suffer from lack of fitness or have weight concerns.

Max is not in danger, but he'd be a lot more comfy if he was built up. As with humans, extra weight puts extra strain on the joints.

It's down to me, as ever. My responsibility to get us unstuck for the benefit of Mr Max, so the adjective before "monkey" is "cheeky", not "chunky".

Gimme shelter

A lovely schooling session in the indoor school for Max, the Ent and me.

The Ent and Max honed their skills together for a good 20 minutes or so, with in hand work, while I set up some cones and trot poles for a wee obstacle course for Max. There was also a small jump set up, and I removed the top pole with a view to seeing whether we could coax Max over it after he'd warmed up a bit.

It was a good session, lots of different things for Max to do, Ent and I switching who was at his head every so often so always something new to concentrate on. Eventually we did get a couple of good jumps out of him too. At first he just barrelled through, knocking the pole over, then he started lifting his feet and trotting over it (nothing wrong with that, we like him lifting his feet) and finally, with encouragement from the back and enthusiasm from the front, he put in a couple of lovely little jumps.

After about 40 minutes in the school, we took him for a stroll through the village. He hasn't been to the village in a while and remains unfamiliar with it, so was on high alert, but remained well behaved and interested in his surroundings.

We led him back along a footpath that borders one of the paddocks and had almost made it home when the heavens opened.

"It's just a shower," the Ent said. "Let's wait it out."

So the three of us stood under a tree, and I told Max he could get his head down for a munch, which he happily did. We stood for five minutes or so, listening to the rain on the leaves, and Max's enthusiastic chewing.

Mixing it up

Today, I schooled Max between yard shifts, after I'd nipped home for a bit of lunch, leaving Max to enjoy his, too.

We went into the school for in hand schooling first on the Dually, for about 15 minutes, then I attached the reins and rode him bareback for another quarter of an hour. My balance is appalling! The combination of a bad back, and not riding as a result of it, is very telling. I had to really concentrate to give any seat aids at all, but when I hit the right note, Max was consistently responsive. I didn't want to spend too long at it though, because it wasn't comfortable for me, and I knew it couldn't be for Max, either.

A final walk out in hand, down the lane, and then a run/trot all the way back to the yard on a hot, muggy afternoon. Not the best warm-up for me before an afternoon of mucking out, but Max seemed to enjoy it.