Getting to know River is taking far more time that I had imagined when I bought her in August. First, it took a month to get her home. Second, I work out of town during the week, so my opportunities for riding are, at best, restricted to Thursday afternoon through Sunday. Third, this last weekend River’s second at home, I drove my dad to his high school reunion in Redding. Redding is over six hours of driving away, and we stopped in Placerville for him to visit his cousin. I was happy to take my dad, and he had a great time. But I only had a half an hour Thursday and Sunday afternoon for horses.
The best thing? When I went out to the pasture Thursday afternoon, River came right up to me! Apparently the short time I’d spent working with her the previous weekend had paid off.
Jump to:
Getting to know River on her first day
River’s first ride
A week later
The importance of grooming a horse
Getting to know River on her first day
Clues from the horse trailer
When you have a new horse, everything they do is information. Getting to know River began in a parking lot at Bakersfield College, where I had agreed to meet the hauler (read about getting River to California). River was second from the end of a 6-horse trailer. Sherri unloaded the last horse, led River off, and handed me the lead rope. She was calm. I led her straight to my trailer. She walked in, but when I unclipped her lead rope and turned to go, she followed me.
I put the lead back on, led her off, and turned to go back in. This time she was more reluctant, but followed me within 30 seconds. Sherri helped get the divider in place before I left. I don’t like to tie my horses in the trailer, but River might need to learn to stay put.
Sherri had told me River was a good traveler, and she was quiet all the way home. She pooped once and did not pee.
Once we got home, I tested her expectancies about unloading. She expected to turn around. I want my horses to assume backing is default, and to turn to follow me out only if asked. River did not seem to know how to back up. I let it go… We will have plenty of time to train!
River’s attitude upon arrival
As a racehorse, River was used to traveling and it showed. She did not seem nervous after I unloaded. When I gave her rope, she put her head down to eat. Always a good sign!
I planned to put River and Fantazia side-by-side in two steel corrals. Those were not ready, and Fantazia was still across the street in the 30-acre parcel, so I put River in a small pasture. It has a slight slope, shade, and a lot of green grass. River trotted around a bit, then went straight to the grass. I fetched a bucket and hose. As soon as she heard the water, River came to drink. Right afterwards, she peed. All good!
Above: River ate, drank, and peed soon after unloading.
River meets Fantazia
As soon as I felt River was comfortable, I filled waters and hay bins in the steel corrals. Then I went to fetch Fantazia. I put her in one pen (hers, usually), then put River in what had been Jazz’s pen. My mom’s Morgan gelding Freedom is in the adjacent pasture, so River got to meet him as well. She was very in heat!
As you can see in the above video, a lot of squealing ensued. I left them to get acquainted for a few hours.
Ponying River with Fantazia
That same evening I got both mares out and tied them to the horse trailer. I had to do some stern talking to keep Fantazia from being nasty. I saddled Fantazia, grabbed River’s lead, and quickly got on, before squabbling ensued. My intent was to take River to her future home–a 30-acre pasture–and show her the fence-line and the squirrel holes.
Now, I assume River has been ponied. Most horses on the track in the USA are ponied on a regular basis. At the very least, they are ponied on the way to the starting gate at races. However, this isn’t the same as being ponied without a rider. When a ponyboy (or girl) escorts a horse and rider, s/he grabs the near rein. The horse almost always is in a hurry to go forward, so the ponyhorse mainly just guides and slows the pace a bit.
When you pony a horse to give it exercise (or to get two horses exercised at the same time), it must follow the mounted horse. They generally do that well. (Read my post on the many advantages of ponying your horse.)
River didn’t want to pony, and Fantazia ended up being schooled
River was not that interested in following Fantazia. Fantazia didn’t help by trying to kick her. I managed to get them both across the street and into the 30-acre pasture, but once there, I dismounted to shut the gate…. Just in case! After about five minutes, I simply turned River loose.
Above: River enjoyed having the freedom to explore the pasture on her own… while keeping Fantazia relatively close!
Within seconds River galloped off into the distance. She ran all over, never going more than a furlong or so away, but circling all around us. I wanted to take videos but…. Fantazia went nuts. She didn’t buck, but she performed several airs above the ground that I never taught her.
I proceeded to work Fantazia on our regular circle-in-the-pasture that stands in for an arena. River kept exploring. Eventually Fantazia calmed down and we rode all over the pasture, with River following. At first, River wouldn’t go cross the creek that goes through the pasture in various states of bogginess. When she finally did, I headed for the gate.
Above: River finally crossed the creek, following Fantazia. She crossed it again the next day when I was riding her (following Fantazia!)
Final information gleaned from River’s first afternoon
Water
I hosed both mares off in a pasture. River was very good about standing for the water. Horses that have lived and been worked in the muggy Midwest tend to stand well for baths!
Mash
I had made them a beet pulp-alfalfa/oat cube mash. River was not interested.
Routine feed and night time
River did eat her Purina Performance Senior Feed well. She put a respectable dent in the alfalfa and Bermuda grass hay.
River was quiet. But Fantazia squealed all night. Unfortunately, I can hear it from my bedroom.
Day 2
The next day I wanted to ride early, so I could put the mares out in the pasture in the early afternoon. I always prefer to do as much as I can with a horse on their first day. (Read my post on Why I don’t give horses time to settle in.) This is most important when a horse has had very little done with it, or I am uncertain of its experience.
With River, I knew more or less what I was getting. River was used to being saddled, bridled, and ridden by many different people. She probably wouldn’t try to buck me off, and if she did, it wouldn’t be out of fear. She would have at least primitive brakes and steering. I could treat her as I had treated dozens of racehorses before: groom, tack up, get on.
OK so the getting on might be something we needed to work on. River was probably used to gallopers being given a leg up or possibly vaulting into the saddle. She might not be used to a stirrup being used to mount. It’s been decades since I could vault into the saddle, so I used a stump. She was fairly good, just walked off as soon as I was in the saddle. We’ll work on that.
River’s first ride
My youngest son was home for the weekend, so he rode Fantazia while I rode River. This was fortunate, because River was not too interested in going forward and definitely did not want to cross water. Following Fantazia made it easier. Of course, Rodrigo had a lot to say about split reins (he didn’t like them) and was Fantazia going to behave. He hadn’t ridden her since he was 10 or 11, when we lived in Arcata.
It was a good thing he hadn’t seen how Fantazia had behaved the day before! Fortunately, with me riding River (rather than River running free) she was very good (as I knew she would be).
River was anxious at first
While I was grooming and tacking her up, River was worried. Many poops happened. She was clearly wondering what would happen next… a race? Grooming and tacking up River told me a lot about her (more on that below).
When I got on, River walked off, but when I asked her to go where I wanted, she resisted. She slowed, moved sideways, threw up her head, slashed her tail, and pinned her ears. I regretted not carrying a whip almost immediately. (Adage: Always carry a whip so you won’t need one. See my post Using a whip is not horse abuse, it’s communication.)
When we got across the street, River didn’t want to move forward. She objects to heels being dug into her sides. With the help of my son riding Fantazia forward, and some tricks I’ve learned over the years, I got River to my riding circle. My son parked Fantazia in the middle, and I started working with River.
Above: River learning to be responsive to cues to stop. My son Rodrigo took the video.
Letting River know what would be expected of her, and what she could expect of me
Touching her mouth as little as possible, I asked River to follow the circle beat in the grass at a walk. I worked on halting and picking up the walk, asking lightly and releasing as soon as River showed a tiny sign of slowing or moving off from a stop. She was fussy in the bridle, but she learned fast. Within ten minutes she was noticeably lighter in the bridle on on my legs.
At that point, I asked her to pick up the trot, and we did the same sort of thing. Back to walk, pick up trot… Some day I will post a more detailed explanation of the training she will be undergoing. Suffice it to say, River is a fast learner.
She also relaxed enormously once she realized I was going to act in a predictable way that didn’t involve anything unpleasant or stressful. Horses crave predictability. (In this video River is relaxing at the trot.)
You can see more videos of the first ride below.
Exploring the pasture
After around 20-25 minutes, I realized that River had made enough progress that it was best to stop. I asked Rodrigo to lead the way with Fantazia. We crossed the creek–it took a while! Then we rode around the parcel and back to the trailer. River did well!
Turning River out in her new pasture home
After they had had a chance to finish their mash (River only ate a few bites), I turned the mares out in the pasture. Fantazia set off as usual for the north fence-line, where she likes to hang out with the neighbor’s horses. When River followed, Fantazia wheeled and ran her off… but only once. After that she ignored River. River followed her out to pasture. I watched at a distance.
Within ten minutes they approached the water trough. My son and I had emptied it earlier, and it was still filling (it’s got a float), making scary burbling noises. Fantazia spooked. River, after some wariness, drank. (See the video here.) She loves running water!
At that point, knowing River wouldn’t die of thirst, I left them alone. At dinner time, I called them with the cowbell. Fantazia comes fairly reliably to it… I trained her–and Jazz–to do so when I became worried that they weren’t eating properly. (Read about it in Effects of an irregular feeding schedule on horses.)
Fantazia and River both came. River took the firs feeder. Fantazia is not bossy about food. She took the second.
I don’t usually feed in the morning, but that next morning, before I headed to Bakersfield for work, I called them in for a few handfuls and carrots. All was well.
Above: Scroll through the slideshow to see River in the pasture!
A week later
I can usually come home Thursday afternoons, and I did last week. However, I was taking my dad to Redding for his 59th high school reunion. We had to leave for Placerville, where we’d be staying the night with his cousin. So I went out to the pasture with a couple of carrots. River–who had been quite standoffish–put her head up and headed my way as soon as she saw me!
I checked for a sound leg at each corner, scanned for wounds, distributed carrots and pets, and headed back to the house. Right before my dad and I left, I fed them. All was well.
I was going to ride Sunday after we got home, but… I had locked my trailer, put the key in the truck, and left the truck at the Ford dealership. (They had broken my cruise control a few weeks earlier, when they did three recalls.) So I ended up taking River and Fantazia out and doing carrot-assisted stretching. For River this was a learning experience!
The importance of grooming a horse
My preferred grooming implements were also locked in the trailer, so I did the best I could with what I had. The importance of grooming cannot be overstated. Grooming will be vital in getting to know River–as it is for getting to know any horse. Once you know a horse, it only takes a few minutes of grooming to tell if everything is okay physically and mentally. With River, I will use the grooming process to learn about her, and I will slowly figure out her baseline grooming responses.
Grooming is an opportunity to identify any pain and/or lesions
Currying allows you to locate pain or soreness anywhere from the neck to the tail. It’s important to know the horse. Some horses react to slight pressure. Some are different depending on their emotions. The first few times grooming a horse, you will need to interpret reactions with care.
River’s back is very strong. I had expected this, because galloping is the best way to strengthen a horse’s topline, especially the loin area. Her neck and shoulders are a bit stiff.
The muscle on both sides of her dock was very sore–I had to look up the name of the muscle, it’s the semitendinosushttps://www.thirzahendriks.com/post/what-s-in-the-muscle-semitendinosus. River also has fat (or swelling?) above it around her dock. Fat in this area can indicate a fat horse or metabolic issues. She’s not fat, but something is going on. I am far too ignorant!! Must learn more about this.
Of course, I also checked River’s lower legs. I knew they’d be good, she’d just passed a comprehensive pre-purchase exam.
Grooming tells you all about training and past trauma
For example, River ties fairly well… but she pulled back when I (slowly) reached behind her right ear with a cloth. She is wary about the left ear, but not the left. This strongly suggests she has been eared. By this I mean, someone has grabbed her left ear to restrain her. It’s an old-fashioned way to restrain a horse. People do it with their bare hands or with a rope (like a twitch). It’s not a good idea. River is not unduly traumatized. She relaxed quickly when she saw I was just going to scratch the itch away.
River picked up her feet well. She was a bit squirrelly about her hind end the first time. This could be telling me any number of things. Perhaps she was stiff from the trip. Perhaps she had soreness that could be addressed through stretching and chiro. Or maybe she was testing me.
As for the pulling back–I don’t believe it’s going to be an issue. She did not panic. She needs a lot of work on giving to pressure when leading. That will fix any tendency to try to escape by pulling back.
Grooming opens a window into a horse’s likes and dislikes
River does not like fly spray. She thought about pulling back when I sprayed her. Since she had not objected to water spraying her, I wasn’t expecting a fly spray aversion. I untied her for safety and tried again… she really does not like fly spray. Neither does Fantazia. With Fantazia, it’s the smell, I believe. She’s fine with other sprays (e.g., Showsheen.) We’ll see about River. I may be spending more on spot treatments and less on spray.
River likes currying (most horses do if you find the right pressure). She doesn’t like mane combing as much as some. She will learn to love her head and ears being rubbed down.
Grooming tells you how a horse is feeling now
When I saddle River up that first time, she was anxious (yes, that tells me about her past too). When I groomed Fantazia next to River, Fantazia was cranky. Jazz used to stand with his back feet underneath him… that worried me, but it turned out to be just anticipation of the saddle.
More on grooming later! I’ll be grooming River tomorrow, but what she tells me then will go in the next post.
Above: On our first ride, the first thing I did was work on stopping and walking off with as little pressure as possible. As time went on, River lightened up considerably. She’s smart!
Below: River definitely exhibits chestnut mare strength of character!
Pingback: River's first endurance ride (Road to Tevis #106)