Baucher, Bridle Lameness and Evasion

For a very long time now I have ridden the hills and tracks and not done any arena work.  I became disenchanted with Parelli - not because of anything inherently wrong with it but because it's just not my 'thing' after a certain point.  I still use it in that when Balthazar tries to dominate by pinning his ears and trying to nip (he never really does, don't think he's got it in him to actually bite), I make him move his feet.  No reason to smack him or yell just make him move his feet.  Afterwards he's polite and tractable without being cowed or frightened. 

But this past week I've started working in the arena every other day or so.  Only 15 or 20 minutes at a time.  No big deal (which is a helpful mindset for me.  If it becomes a Big Deal then I've set myself up for stress and trying too hard which is Not the way to work with Balthazar). 

Was looking at his physique.  He's irridescent, beautifully shiny, well covered, but his musculature isn't as I'd like.  He's fit to run around the hills and trot and canter in a straight line but I'd like to see more topline development.  Also Balthazar is 17 and would benefit from some horse yoga (read classical dressage).

Have become interested in Baucher through Nuno Oliveira and the French method through Andre Jousseaume and his book Progressive Dressage which I happen to have.

One of the hurdles Balthazar and I have is his Pretty Pony outline.  When I rode him in a bit (French Snaffle), he'd prettily bend his neck and trot around the arena seemingly with perfect obedience.   Except of course, he was behind the bit, never on it.  He never 'gave' himself.  Therefore if something spooked him or he didn't want to do something I had an explosive out of control  horse beneath me.  He'd learned to hide behind a pretty outline.

Horses are smart like that.  When I offer him a drink before grooming and tacking up he's learned that if he stands with his mouth touching the water he can get another minute or so before he has to start work.  Same with the arched neck.  He looks lovely, he's doing what is asked so he's pretty much left alone. 

Today was the first time I felt confident (through my practice of yoga funnily enough) to begin to tackle the issue. 

Balthazar has always been bridle lame.  I have never ever been hard on his mouth and now that I ride (and have for a couple of years now) in a bitless bridle the excuse of pain in his mouth doesn't exist.  It's something he learned years ago that I've always just lived with.  I've been asking him to walk forward with gusto.  That's been an interesting exercise because he either breaks into a trot (with a bent neck) or refuses to walk faster.  When he finally does submit and walk freely forward I reward him and give him a break.  We'll keep on with that but what truly illustrated how sucked back he was was asking him to just take contact at the halt.

The lightest of contacts with my legs on.  We went backwards.  We went sideways.  We had head tossing, lots and lots of head tossing.  We had everything but the lightest of contacts. 

I called him out.  It was a real fight.  There was no pain, no kicking or yanking or anything but a relentless asking with my legs into a receiving hand.  Finally, FINALLY, he gave in.  Asked a couple of more times then quit for the day.

This is something we'll have to repeat again and again I'm sure.  Which is okay.  We have to start somewhere.  He has to learn that he must do as he's asked and that I won't hurt him if he does.  Quite exciting actually as we're, after all these years, finally facing the root problem straight on.

31

With halter and lead rope. Tried to halter him over the stall door but he kept smelling my hand so had to go in and then no problem. Again he stopped, twice, to smell manure on the way out. He also stopped a couple of times while we were in the paddock but I just waited, facing away, until he came up beside me. Worked on him on my shoulder and delivering the treats better. Yesterday I was in too much of a hurry so that the placement was sometimes too close to me. Today I was more deliberate and made sure the treats were always given with my arm outstretched so that his head was away from me. Consequently his body wasn't so close behind me. He was again aroused and giving that frustrated nicker but I ignored it and went on. I did initiate a few breaks but c/t'd when he stood quietly beside me. He did offer a back up and head down which I did c/t as him offering anything is a good sign.

Also worked on yielding hindquarter without touching him (offside only), just pointing and looking. The first time he actually swung his rump toward me a bit, a little aggressively I think but I ignored it and waited. He then did move away, without stepping under first but using the outside hind to step away but that doesn't matter at this point so he was c/t'd. The next two times were better. Finished on a good note. Made a big deal of taking the treat bag off, showing empty hands and saying clearly All Done! so he gets to know when it is finished. He followed me into the yards but kind of trailing after me, not being pushy.

27

Mixed bag tonight. He was brilliant with wwylm on the right, staying right with me but on the left he tends to drift behind me so that he's almost walking on my heels. Even though I am holding the carrot at right angles to get him as far from me as possible, he just curves that long elegant neck around and takes it without shifting his body. It's something to work on, difficult because I can't turn around to see what position he's in, I can only judge from the angle of his neck...or feeling his hooves or chest. Still not a good thing when he's aroused.

He nickers almost constantly. Again he trotted over to meet me when I entered the paddock. We had a few evasions for I got enthusiastic and worked too long. But it was more playful tonight. Naturally. Not because I had to think about it. Was just so pleased he was pleased. Head down either prompt or with hesitation. DId some rapid fire c/t's for head down to try and implant the idea. He offers it when I'm not asking, along with backup.

Worked on having him back and stay back until I walked over with the treat, a matter of only a step. Half successful but as we've just started that I'm not concerned. Did have him back four or five steps so that was good. He had a little mug attempt, not quite touching but leaning in and sniffing. If I hadn't blocked or twisted away it would've got worse but at least he isn't as determined as before so there is steady improvement. The mirroring is getting better. Sometimes with very little hesitation. Tried tonight to introduce the first steps of 'playing', me trotting one side to the other in front of him to get him to change direction. Hopefully this will lead to a dance as I've seen on you tube.

I don't want to mix things up too much and confuse or overface him (and we did get those couple of evasions tonight) but I also don't want to drill either. We are covering the same ground with mirroring, wwylm from both sides, head down and a little back up but as he gets the idea I think it's a good idea to playfully introduce some other elements. Tried again to walk into his face with my hands at shoulder height to get him to yield. He kept backing up so I backed up with him so that I didn't lose my position at his face. When he side-stepped a tiny little step I jack potted. Tried again immediately and got the side step much faster, only one back up step so rewarded that too.

We almost stopped on an evasion but I returned to him and asked for a head down so that I could give him the last two carrots.

21

Sessions deteriorate when we haven't had them for awhile. It's been two or three days. Initially I was pleased when I saw him standing at the gate nickering for me. Wow, he likes me! Nah, he likes the carrots. Groomed him thoroughly. It's been so hot and sultry that he was streaked with sweat mixed with dirt. His mane and forelock were sticky with cobwebs. He looked much better afterwards. It was nice to see the sheen come back on some of his coat. His spine and back are bleached with the sun but he gleams elsewhere.

So finished grooming and started the session. At least he didn't attack as he did the last time we had a break. He knew. I asked for head down. We worked on head down quite a bit. I want him to know the verbal cue so that there is no hesitation. He did okay. Not terrific but not bad. There was heightened stallion behaviour today. He even had a little stallion tantrum as before which I ignored. Just went on as usual. Notice that when he gets overexcited he sometimes initiates the break, the evasion. Like he can't handle it and knows if he doesn't stop something bad will happen - and not necessarily to him. Some of the evasions were quite long. I initiated some too when he got too mouthy - yes, we're back to mugging a bit, not like before, slobbering all over my person but getting a little grabby with the taking of the treats and if I don't deliver them quickly enough than he is shoving his muzzle in my space. So there is improvement there. Must remember that. It wasn't rgR long ago he was drooling all over me.

We also worked on mirroring and wwylm. He is catching on to the mirroring. I want him to walk beside me, at my shoulder so that eventually I can place his head in front of me so that he is doing a kind of shoulder in. But that's a LONG way off. There are moments when he is walking beside me, with me, and I'm c/ting all the time and then a few times when I can put a tiny bit of duration in and he's still with me. But it's sloppy and needs refinement. The excitement is the thing. When he's that excited he can't think and when he's that excited, to be honest, neither can I. I'm giving him treats because I want him to want this but also to keep him from turning into me and mugging.

I did growl at him once when his muzzle grazed my arm. Also when grooming, he still attempts to nip. It's not a bite, he's only grabbing with his lips but I'm unsure how to handle it. At the moment I'm only shoving his nose away. I don't want to use an adversive. I don't want to see his ears pinned again and lose that fragile trust that blooms and fades so easily with him.

Today was okay but lacked consistency, delicacy and timing. I need to slow down more than he does. One time when he evaded I waited and then decided, as it had gone on for so long, that I may as well end the session even though it wasn't on a good note. He came trotting to me. Which reminds me that when I left the yards, he was grazing. I called him and he walked with animation to meet me. That was good.

He's such a lovely horse. I don't know that I will ever get that 'invitation to ride' that I would like so much. We don't seem to make much progress but I suppose we are. It's just terribly slow which in a way is a good thing because it teaches me to slow down. I've always been too impatient and clicker training, if it's going to work, must needs be done with care and lots of patience and time.

19

A quick session in the yards after bringing the horses in from morning pick. Wwylm in an imaginary circle, head down, mirroring. No mugging...yet. One evasion I saw coming and didn't act upon. Should've walked away but stayed even though I knew he was going to quit. Still, not the end of the world, still learning.

But worse was to come. Balthazar started to mug and put his mouth to my breast. I reacted and slapped him, not hard but it did make a 'slap' sound, on his muzzle. He jerked his head away and pinned his ears. I stared at him for a moment and walked into the stall giving us both some time out. When I joined him he was reluctant to join in. He'd take the carrot and then go back to grazing. Finished when he was doing wwylm well again.

Finished with some gentle nail scratches around his face which he seems to enjoy. Regret that I slapped him. Didn't mean to, just felt suddenly vulnerable and did it. Again, not the end of the world but of course it sets us back a little. He won't forget. Interesting that he pinned his ears. Violence begets violence.

13

Did a quick session in the yards this afternoon. All the horses were in the yards so I locked the others out of one small yard and worked in there.

There is a definite improvement in the mugging. He's still trying but it IS better. There was perhaps one evasion, when he looked off into the distance, but he remained pretty focussed. He definitely does not have the verbal cue for head down 'down' yet. He was better about straightening out his head and neck for a c/t. I walked around him and although he backed up a couple of times so he could stay close to the treat bag, he was better about staying put. I'm content to just work on this one thing until we've got it (that and head down for a little variety).

I think I'm supposed to only say the cue once and not repeat it. As usual I think if one is good three must be three times better. Have to work on myself as well as Balthazar. This is such a slow process that it could be frustrating but I think c/t and the concentration, patience and time it takes is EXACTLY what I need.

7

Yards. Liberty. 10 minutes? Today we only worked on keeping his distance and not mugging. He mugged alot. We've got to get through this before moving on to anything else. Admittedly I made it hard for him (literally) by sitting on a stump in the yards with my back to him. I tend to move around more than I should and thought parking my bum on a stump would keep me in one spot and make me less likely to move away when he gets too forward. It worked but the consequence was he was in my hair, my shoes, my hips, even my face although I did put an arm up (with elbow uppermost) to keep him at bay. I did reward him for backing up (which got him excited and moving forward) and for standing quietly beside me. I would wait a few seconds and reward. He hasn't got it and his frustration was evident in a new behaviour, pawing. The pawing was a bit disconcerting. Also, he got quite grumpy, circling around me with a crabby expression and that lightened forehand which could be a percursor to something not very pleasant. I ignored him and stayed on the stump. It was only a momentary flash but illustrates that we cannot move on until he can control himself, until he absolutely knows that the only way to get treats is to maintain a respectful distance, not to mug and not to lose his temper. He also spent quite a bit of time picking at the almost non-existent grass. Like a cats 'when in doubt, wash'.

If he didn't get an erection and become so sexually excited life would be alot easier. He kicks at his pizzle and shows every sign of being uncomfortable. This is the opposite effect of what I would like to create. I'll just have to trust in time and quiet persistence.

4

Yards. Liberty. Rugged. Thunder in the distance. 5 minutes. The coming storm is why it was short. But good! Worked on head down. Did forget to add the verbal cue most of the time. Luckily I was able to c/t several times as he put his head down AND shifted his weight back. That was a bonus. He incorporated it into backing but I think, because of catching those few times when he was only shifting back as he put his head down, it will be easier to refine it so that he always shifts his weight back when his head goes down. What a lucky break! Really chuffed.

He did mug but he's giving it up much more quickly and when he does mug it's not as prolonged. When I think back to when he was licking and mouthing and slobbering...we've come a very long way.

Also worked on trying to catch him when his head was straight rather than flexed away.

As for evading he was much better. I think it only happened once. Today I remembered to walk or turn away before he became overwhelmed. He kicked at his pizzle but there was none of the stallion behaviour towards me.

Gave him a big handful of carrots at the end then threw, as I always do, the carrot filled bum bag outside the yards.

Another plus was his standing with me quietly, me *sans* carrots, while I gently scratched around his poll and ears. It was a nice moment.

3

Still afternoon. 10 minutes. Yards. Haltered. Tried to slow down my own thinking and 'doing' so that I could help Balthazar. My timing was a bit off, not catching him before he was overwhelmed (either head down eating or moving in with stallion behaviour) but being aware of timing is a start to getting it right. Wanted to work only on head down and standing still away from me. Can definitely say he got head down. When he was side on to me it was great but if he was facing me he'd step forward until he was in my face. No mugging...well one tiny one so that's an improvement.

It was difficult to reward the head down, especially after he 'got' it as frequent rewards bring on the evasion or stallion stuff. Which brings me to the conclusion that the main thing Balthazar has to learn is emotional control. It's not only evident in his behaviour but in his sweating, that's a definite symptom of nervousness. Once he's mastered that (stallion stuff) he may feel safe enough not to be overwhelmed (evading). At least it gives me an idea of what's needed although I'm not sure what to do more than what I'm doing; small mini-sessions within the session and having the sessions in the first place. When I'd give him a break I'd turn my body away and not look at him. When he was ready to continue he'd raise his head and look at me. I'd c/t and we'd carry on until the next time.

When he showed that he understood he got a c/t for putting his head down, I started to say 'Down'. Combining the cue with the behaviour may take awhile but it's a start.

At the end of this session, after I'd put the carrots away, I walked over and gave him a big handful of carrots for no reason at all.