Thursday, April 3, 2014

Lesson #3

I got home from work yesterday and loaded baby Luxxx in the trailer to head to M's.  Luxxx loaded right up, unlike the last time so I was thrilled.  M and I worked him in the round pen.  He worked in the side reins and then with the feed bag tied to the saddle.  M put some pebbles in it so it would make noise when it flopped around.  Luxxx handled it all so well.  We do this to desensitize him and make him a confident, unworried baby.  The more things we can expose him to the better.

Next M laid him down.  Yes.  He got the giant baby to lay down.  I have never seen this done before and wasn't sure if I was dying to watch or wanted to close my eyes.  M is an old school cowboy and may not do things the way us English riding people do but he is magical with horses.  He is calm, patient, and gentle and they trust him.  So he got Luxxx down and it was a gentle "ok I am laying down."  Not a flip the horse over or barbaric thing.  It was crazy, Luxxx just laid down and stayed there calmly.  I sat on him and we petted him and rubbed him all over.  When it was time for him to get up he didn't want to.  It was like he was totally content just chillin.  

We got him up then practiced getting on and off him.  He didn't care.  Then M told me to get on.  I got on and M led me around the round pen.  I practiced steering, stopping, going, and even backing.  I RODE LUXXX!!!!  He was perfect.  I am still on cloud 9.

Afterward I let Luxxx practice standing tied.  We put a stick on him and he is exactly 16h.  Goodness.  He still has several years of growing!!  While we socialized Luxxx stood patiently except for wanting the occasional pet and smooch.  He is getting to know me and I feel like he is trusting me.  He now nuzzles with me and looks for kisses.  So cute!

I wish I had pictures or video to share but  M is sort of your old school cowboy so he isn't into all that.  Maybe next time... 

Here's my throwback Thursday picture.
Yes I did own a hunter.  This was a few years ago and I only kept him a year.  It was fun doing some Eq stuff.
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7 comments:

  1. SheMovedtoTexasApril 3, 2014 at 10:26 AM

    So interesting he laid him down! I've never seen that done either. Congrats for riding :)

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  2. TracyApril 3, 2014 at 10:35 AM

    YAY RIDING! How exciting!! You definitely must get video next time -- I'm really finding all of this very interesting. What is the point of laying him down? I've never worked with such a young horse before, so you'll have to excuse my ignorance ;-)

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    1. Amy @ Diary of a Horse Obsessed GirlApril 3, 2014 at 10:53 AM

      With the babies trust is important. A horse is a prey animal so they only lay down when they trust that they aren't going to be harmed. They are completely vulnerable when down. He was not hobbled or flipped to get him down. M has a technique and Luxxx just gently went down no force. He trusted us and we patted him and talked to him to show him it's ok and we won't hurt him. This builds trust. M said based on everything with Luxxx and his behavior he would get on him now and "lope him in the arena." He's western lol! I would never lay him down on my own and wouldn't let anyone else but M do this with my horse. It's imperative that it is a gentle experience to build that trust.

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    2. TracyApril 7, 2014 at 9:26 AM

      That makes sense -- thank you so much for the info. I've never worked with a green horse, much less a baby so this is all very new to me. I'm really enjoying learning more (at least, vicariously through you, lol)

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  3. L.WilliamsApril 3, 2014 at 12:13 PM

    You rode your baby!! How exciting!

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  4. AoifeApril 4, 2014 at 2:02 AM

    Fascinating about the lying down thing, extra boost that Luxxx trusts you guys. Biggest YAY deff goes to the riding though - so exciting :-D

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  5. KarleyApril 4, 2014 at 12:57 PM

    So cool to hear all of this great progress with Luxxx! Excited for you and him and getting to see this whole process unfold!!

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