Dillon's first six days (Road to Tevis #116)

Last Monday morning I picked up my new project, a 3/4 Arabian (rest is Quarter Horse) bay gelding called Dillon. Before anyone leaps to conclusions, I’m not planning to do Tevis with Dillon, despite this being a Road to Tevis post. I’m including it because I am still on the road to Tevis, and Dillon will no doubt teach me new skills. And who knows, based on Dillon’s first six days, he might well make it to Tevis! I’ve made no formal plans for him, and I got him mainly to keep myself from hurrying River back to work.

Above: Dillon when I went to look at him the week before picking him up.

Day 1: Bringing Dillon home on a hot day

Picking Dillon up

When I had gone to look at Dillon the week before, Anne–his owner–told me that he had been a bit traumatized by the rattling in her new trailer. She wanted to work with him a few days before I came with my trailer to pick him up. When Anne called and said he was loading, standing, and unloading well, I said I’d be there Monday… at 7:30am just in case he didn’t love my trailer.

Well, he didn’t. It is fairly quiet, but you have to leave the horse’s head to shut the divider. He followed Anne in nicely if very carefully, but when she tried to leave him there he freaked and bulled his way out to gallop back to his pen. Oh well. We got him and decided to open the window so I could hold his lead. Of course, since the trailer had tried to eat him once, it took him a bit longer to get back in, but he did. Then I took the lead.

Oh boy. Minor panic. The back of the trailer was open still, and Anne was beside him. Dillon proceeded to try to get out the window, and when I’d tap on the lead, he’d pull back to get out that way. When I’d tap again, he’d go for the window. He did this for what seemed like a long time (but was probably only a few minutes). The good thing he never stepped on Anne, and he finally settled.

It took us almost 30 minutes to get him in the trailer. Once there, however, he rode quietly all the way home.

Above: Dillon was good about his first bath at our place. Of course, he was used to baths! Anne had been hosing hiim off frequently because of the heat.

Dillon’s new quarters

Dillon unloaded well, backing very slowly and carefully down the ramp. He was understandably anxious (if you are on Facebook, read this great post about “New Home Syndrome” shared by Aislin Brander Ford.) I had thought to go straight to the round pen, but I wanted him to drink and relax first, so I put him in his termporary quarters.

Temporary for two reasons. First, I will take him back to Anne in a few weeks because I am going to be out of the coutry. Second, when I bring him back afterwards, I’ll put him down with the other horses. He was recently vaccinated and I have a pregnant mare. (at least I hope Fantazia is still pregnant! Her 60 day check is next week.)

Though temporary, DIllon’s quarters are very nice. He as a 16 x 16 foot open-sided stall in a breezy barn, and a large runout with a giant valley oak for shade. Although he is not over the fence from our other horses, he can see them. Unfortunately, he can also see the neighbor’s cattle. Dillon had never seen a cow before and he is, as of this writing, still terrified of them. If a cow is in sight, he won’t eat.

He’ll get over it as soon as I take him out ans show him he can boss cows around. We’re not there yet!

Starting the work routine

In the evening I took Dillon down to the training barn. I wanted him to start getting an idea of what would be expected of him in his new home. (Read Why I don’t give horses “time to settle in.”) Because it was very hot, I didn’t want to do much, and I didn’t want to introduce anything new. Anne had told me he was used to long lines, so I decided that would be a good idea.

Dillon was nervous during grooming, but he began to relax once he was in the round pen. He knew what happens in round pens! I started by simply asking him to trot in both directions. Then I used a flag all over him. I don’t usually do this, but there was a handy flag and it’s a good idea. (Read my section on desensitization.)

Then I put the surcingle on. It is part of a bitting rig that has a crupper, but Dillon told me he’d never had a crupper on, so I skipped it for now. Then I long-lined, starting with the simplest rein set up. I use long-lining reins with a snap and roller between the first snap and the thicker lines. I can’t find a link to similar reins, but you can see them in the videos below.

Above: Dillon’s first six days included long-lining. This was my first rein set-up with Dillon. This is usually my step 2, because I start newbies with a single rein on the inside. But I knew Dillon had been at least ground driven before.

Above: The second thing I do with the reins when teaching a horse to longline. Dillon did great here, but I needed a lunge whip to keep him on the rail and forward.

What I learned from long-lining

Dillon was entirely unafraid on the lines. I could turn him around with no problem. (Reversing can be scary for horses at first, because it means the human disappears behind them.) He had the basic idea of what the bit was for: he turned, stopped, and had a very nice back. I don’t know what Anne’s set up had been, but she has clearly spent a lot of time getting him used to the bit and lines.

And finally, a bath

Although I only worked Dillon abot 15 minutes, it was very hot. Heat and anxiety make for a sweaty horse. Our wash rack is a bit scary for some horses… Fantazia still acts like I am killing her every time I give her a bath! Dillon stepped in VERY SLOWLY, but because he kept moving, I waited patiently and let him think. In the end, he stood tied calmly while I bathed him with an anti-bug shampoo.

Day 2: Dillon’s first ride

The next day I had my farrier take a look at Dillon’s hooves. He’s barefoot and hoof was breaking. My farrier said it’d be a waste of money to trim him, as his hooves are well-balanced and they would break off well. We’ll wait till he needs shoes!

After the hoof-check, we went straight to the tackroom. (Note that Dillon gets most anxious when I disappear into the tackroom and he can’t see me!) I put the saddle on in the grooming area, but waited to add the back cinch in the roundpen as he’d never had one.

Some basic ground work

Even though I knew Anne had taught Dillon a lot, I wanted to go over the basics before attempting to mount. First, I moved him around me and tested his responsiveness to pressure on his sides. Then I slapped the stirrups against the saddle (no reaction). I led him to a high sprinkler mount and stood up besides him. I made sure he was comfortable with seeing me behind is head, in the predator position. Then I asked my boyfriend if he wanted to be present for the mounting. He asked if I’d put the buoys on Dillon.

Above: Dillon was not too distubred with the buoys. He worried the first few laps, but didn’t buck or even pick up a lope.

Buoys?

I had never done this, but I’d seen the big blue things hanging on the round pen. You hook first one, then the other, on the horn. If the horse bucks, that first buoy is going to flap from one side to the other. Two is double trouble. Anne had told me Dillon had never bucked, and I certainly hadn’t seen him do so. This would be the ultimate test.

I hung a buoy off the left side and sent him out to trot. No reaction. I put the other one on the right side and sent him out. No reaction. No reaction at the lope. (Watch a brief video of Dillon carrying the buoys.) It was time to get on.

Mounting for the first time

The first thing I do is put my foot in the stirrup and bounce around. If that goes well, I stand up in the stirrup then step down. After that, I stand up and lean over. If the horse walks off at this point it’s fine. Either way I slip back to the ground after 10-20 seconds. Finally, I stand up in the stirrups and swing my leg over. Usually, I sit in the saddle for a few seconds and get right back off. Then do it again.

Dillon was so calm I just let him walk off when he wanted. I rode at the walk for 10-15 minutes, stopping frequently. I worked on bending, turning, stopping, and backing. You can see a sample in the video below.

Above: Dillon’s first time with a rider on his back. He did a great job! Notice that my leg and rein aides are big and obvious. As he learns, they will get smaller. Dillon is naturally responsive and will be very light in the bit and off my legs.

Ending the first ride

Normally, I like a horse to trot on the first day, but Dillon did so well that I skipped that. Because I had not gotten off and on again at the beginning. I was careful when I dismounted. Sometimes when you are on a green horse for a while it will spook when you get off. (The most difficult thing for green horses is the transition from no-rider to rider and vice versa.) So I kept the reins short but loose, and stepped off quickly.

Then I got back on. I mounted and dismounted eight times, thanks to my boyfriend. He’s much better at these things than I am, and encouraged me to “get back on” many times after I was ready to quit. Because he was 100% correct, I suppressed the normal psychological reactance that occurs when your significant other tells you what to do. Dillon was very well-behaved and didn’t move at all the entire time.

Progress was made on Day 3!

Day 3 was Dillon’s second day under saddle. This time I mounted and dismounted right away, then I got back on. Dillon was 100% relaxed both times, so I didn’t worry about more mounting practice. (That was a mistake!) His hindquarters were a bit stuck at first, so we spent some time bending one direction then the other. He relaxed to the left quickly. Going right was a bit stickier, he doesn’t want to stay on the rail and bends the wrong way. We’ll work on that!

Developing a response to the rider’s legs

My primary goal on the second day under saddle is to teach the horse to start and stop reliably. With a very forward horse, stopping is the only problem. (Forward horses are easiest.) I thought Dillon would be forward, but he isn’t yet. (I’m pretty sure he will become a very forward horse though, soon!) At first, I’d have to get him a bit off-balance before he would walk. Stopping was easier, because Anne had ground-driven him. Dillon has a rudimentary idea of what the reins mean, which makes things a lot easier. He even knows how to back.

To teach him that pressure with my legs means go, we did a lot of starting and stopping. I would use my voice, seat, and legs as well as shifting his weight. Soon I didn’t have to use the reins to get him off-balance. Once he was reliably stopping and starting off at the walk, I asked him to trot.

Learning that leg pressure means walk doesn’t translate to More Pressure meaning trot!

Teaching Dillon to trot

The thing is, some horses don’t know how to trot with a big ape on top of them. Well, ok, I’m not that big, and Dillon is a solid 15.1 hands, but still. I should have asked my boyfriend to come down and shake scary things in the middle of the ring. Instead I opted for the hard way.

The hard way is using my entire body, voice, and the ends of the reins to encourage the horse to trot. It’s sweaty work on a hot summer morning! Eventually, he took a few steps at the trot. The trick is to immediately stop the pressure as soon as they trot. Once you’ve done that twice, most horses start to draw the connection: If I trot, she stops bothering.

The first time I get a solid trot, I try to keep it going for a couple laps of the round pen. After that I go back to starting and stopping. Walk, halt, walk, trot,halt through walk, walk, trot, halt through walk, trot… Whenever I halt, we stand for at least a minute. The faster we’ve been going, the longer we stand.

Above: Trotting the difficult way (to the left) on Dillon’s second day under saddle. Note how my inner leg is bent up and pressed against his side. (I do need to shorten the stirrups too!)

My mistake

Dillon did such a good job learning to respond to my legs that after one final long halt, I just dismounted, loosened the cinch, and led him out of the arena. It’s important to stop when the horse has made solid progress without overtraining, but I really should have gotten back in the saddle at least ONCE before finishing the lesson.

But Day 4 was a bit too exciting!

I’ve always said the fourth day under saddle is the one you have to be ready for the bucking to start. (Unless you are unlucky enough to get the 1/10 horses that’s going to buck on Day 1 no matter what you do!) But others claim it’s the third day. This was definitely true for Dillon.

Before mounting, I asked Dillon to trot 12 loops of the round pen in each direction as I had the day before. This time I also asked him to lope three loops each way. He did great.

Then I bridled him, led him to a place on the rail that put me slightly higher vis a vis a 15.1 hand horse, heading right (his bad direction), put my foot in the stirrup, and swung up.

I should have done a bit more to prepare him! Unfortunately, a dog barked just as I was swinging my leg over. Dillon spooked ans scooted forward. I had to hang off the saddle for a moment while I got myself seated. He took off bucking. They were sad weak bucks, but he still managed to buck my phone out of my pocket. He didn’t want to bend his neck so we went around a few times. Wehn he stopped bucking. I made him canter as fast as he would another loop. Then I turned and made him go the other way as fast as he would go.

Then I walked for five minutes (until Dillon was good and calm) before stopping and dismounting.

Mounting lessons

Of course Dillon was traumatized now. When I tried to mount again he scooted off. So we worked on mounting. I wasn’t worried about what Dillon would do when I waas in the saddle. He’s quite happy to have me there. He’s just worried about the transition from standing ape-friend to mounted ape-friend. We went back to what I had done on Day 1. I had to keep the inside (left) rein short, and talk to him with it as I stood up in the stirrups.

I mounted and dismounted many times. Probably 12-15 times, though I lost track. I did it until Dillon stood like a rock for me to get on, get off, and get immediately back on.

Still, the ride was a success

After mounting lessons, I worked on bending, changing gaits, halting and standing still, and backing. We trotted both ways until Dillon was completely relaxed. At the end, he got a nice bath.

A problem with flies

On Day 2 I had hosed Dillon off, but had not bathed him with anti-bug shampoo. The next morning he had giant welts all over his body. On Day 3 I had used the bug shampoo again, and on Day 4, I put a fly sheet on him. Anne had used one on him before, but Dillon still did a lot of snorting!

Above: Dillon standing under a valley oak with his fly sheet on.

Day 5: More mounting lessons and fun with the GoPro

Dillon showed signs of relaxing on Day 5. Up till then, he had broken into a sweat as soon as I put the saddle on. This fourth saddling caused no sweating. When I moved him around the roundpen before mounting, he was clearly more comfortable. (You can see clips of him moving under saddle in this video.)

I was prepared with my GoPro on my helmet in case we had more excitement when I got on. Of course, I was also more prepared for any antics, so nothing that exciting happened. Dillon was still worried, but we worked through it. You can see the process of mounting in the video below.

Above: Dillon was a bit resistant to mounting at first, but we worked through it! (I have to admit I had to get on and off another 6-8 times at the end of the ride too!)

Once I was in the saddle, Dillon was a very good boy for his fourth ever ride. He walked and trotted readily, carrying the bit much more comfortably in his mouth. Going to the right has been his “bad” way, mainly because when he would shy off the rail, he didn’t understand my rein and leg aides guiding him back. On the fourth day, he began to get it.

Some videos of Dillon’s fourth day under saddle

Above: In this video I narrate what I am doing as Dillon walks, bends, halts, and backs.

In this video I talk about the use of negative reinforcement while training horses: On the appropriateness of using negative reinforcement when training a horse

Above: Here I talk through the way I plan in advance what I will do with a horse, especially a green one. We walk, trot, change directions, halt, and back.

I was on his back a full 45 minutes. At the end, I got on and off eight times… until he stood quietly!

Loping and into the big arena on Day 6!

Dillon was much more relaxed on his sixth day. For the first time, he stopped to graze on the way to the arena. When tied in the grooming area, he stood much more quietly, without pasting himself to the wall. And his fifth day under saddle was a complete success.

Above: Dillon was much more relaxed on his sixth day~

We started in the roundpen as usual. This time, I asked Dillon to lope, and he did so beautifully. We did three laps in both directions. After that, I dismounted. It was time to go to the Big Arena.

Out of the playpen…

I always take a horse out of the roundpen as soon as I think it’s safe to do so. This means as soon as the horse understands the rudiments of turning and stopping. Of course, I don’t need a roundpen. I grew up training horses in a squarish arena with a tree and manure piles in the middle.

Let me tell you, it’s exponentially easier in a round pen. Try teaching a new horse to long line with giant piles of composting manure and a tree they can wrap the lines around!

So now I use a roundpen when I have one… but as soon as possible we move into an open area.

Dillon was a bit lost in the big space, as most horses are at first. And there are a lot of monsters lurking just over the rail. (His biggest fear is the sound of birds on the roof though, and that happens in the roundpen too!) It took about ten minutes for him to feel comfortable with riding along the rail. In the end though, he did great. We walked and trotted on the rail, and he relaxed nicely. The best thing was at the end. He let me dismount and mount again immediately without budging!

Addendum

It’s the seventh day as I am publishing this. I’ve already ridden Dillon, and he did great. Rocking chair lope in the roundpen, and we even cantered in the big arena. (He wanted to go far faster than was wise!) You can see how well he stretches for carrots in this video.