Back in my saddle again...

...which I must say is not as comfy as Bentley's! Ah well, the horse it is on is mine, and that is the most comfy place to be.

Rick gave Lance his third and final shockwave treatment Sunday and gave us the green light to walk up to 30 minutes a day under saddle. Neither Lance nor Oliver have been cleaning up their hay, so Rick also checked their mouths and found petechiae (painful tiny red spots on their mucous membranes). I'm using our bitless bridle to keep Lance as comfy as possible.

Here's hoping I can keep Lance comfy enough to get him back into shape for trail-riding at least.

Breaking up is hard to do

I didn't visit Bentley on Sunday. Between his bad-boy act of last week and the boatload of responsibilities on my plate, I just wasn't feeling it so I reminded myself that working him isn't an obligation and stayed home.

Rick said I could start hand-walking Lance 15 minutes daily (he got his second shockwave treatment on March 24), so we began that on Monday. Lance, too, was a bit of a brat. Completely understandable, as cooped up and bored as he's been, but still not acceptable. He threw his head around and could NOT keep his lips to himself; he really wanted to bite but was afraid to try (good thing!). As I walked Lance I realized that I wasn't being as firm about boundaries with Bentley. Time to change that.

Okay . . . if I MUST behave . . . .

Tuesday I went to see Bentley. The landscape crew was there mowing and weed-whacking, and Bentley was on high alert, prancing and snorting and ignoring me. So I filled my pocket with cookies and went out into the pasture to share them with Bentley's herd mates, two very old Thoroughbred geldings. After a bit, Bentley wanted in on the cookie party and let me halter him. But as we headed to the barn, he tried a little explosion on the end of the lead. Boundary time! I yelled "NO!" and went after him in 'mad mother mode,' backing him across the pasture. Then we headed for the barn again, stopping and backing several times along the way as a reminder not to forget his manners. He regarded me with some surprise and a little trepidation, and we had no further issues. He wasn't interested in the after-work cookies I put in his feeder, though, instead turning and galloping back to the pasture. That was new.

Wednesday I went to see Bentley again. All three boys came into their stalls and got cookies, but Bentley didn't stick around. No problem; I headed out with a pocketful of cookies and the halter as I had the day before. The old guys followed me around mugging for treats, but Bentley kept his distance. I called; he ignored. I walked towards him; he took off. He certainly was a beautiful brat:

I quickly considered my options. I had no doubt I could catch him with time and persistence, but it would require shutting the old guys in their stalls and keeping Bentley moving until he realized that avoiding me was a lot more work than whatever we might do together. But I didn't have unlimited time, and the footing wasn't totally dry – I didn't want to be responsible for him sustaining an injury while tearing around the pasture.

So I cut bait, knowing when I did so that I was walking away for good. Bentley isn't a casual riding partner to enjoy while Lance recuperates; he needs remedial training and I'm not going to continue to provide it – driving an hour round trip for the privilege – for free. I thought about offering my services for a fee if the owner was willing to move him to my barn, but decided against that, too. Bentley cribs, an equine stereotypy that damages structures and can be learned by other horses; I don't need that on our place. Neither do I need any additional sources of stress in my life right now; my dad went on hospice yesterday and he seems to be declining rapidly.

The good news is that I can exercise my riding muscles on my own horse again starting next week. Rick said that after Lance's third shock-wave treatment, we can do our walking under saddle instead of in-hand. It's not much, but it will be enough for now.

Ironing out the wrinkles

Bentley got a week off while we went to Spokane to see my dad, but I was back out yesterday to see him. It was a beautiful day; I stopped to take this photo on my way to his home:

I thought it would be nice to groom his itchy, hairy self outside in the sunshine, so I tied Bentley to a post in his paddock. But when I headed into the barn to get the rubber curry and brush he tried to exit stage left, and seemed offended to find himself unable to rejoin his buddies in the pasture. I got the tools and started grooming even though he was being a bit of a dingbat, but that ended when he got aggravated and let fly with both barrels in my general direction. I took the naughty boy in the stall to finish prepping, and we had an uneventful lunging session followed by under saddle cool-out.

This afternoon when I got there, I called Bentley over to the fence for a treat. His owner came out and we chatted for quite awhile, so by the time I was ready to prep, the chore girl was serving supper. Bentley wanted to come into his stall to eat but didn't want to be caught. He'd come to me for a treat, but wouldn't let me halter him. Skipping any work today crossed my mind very briefly, but after yesterday's attitude, I decided today's battle of the wills was one I must win.

Bentley in the neighboring paddock; cute lower lip

I ended up shutting his pasture mates in their stalls, because Bentley thought maybe he could just go in and eat their dinners instead of dealing with me to get his; ha. Nope; the only way to get dinner was to cooperate with me, which he eventually agreed to. I tied him where he could reach his concentrates and started currying down one side. But when I went to the other side, I got pinned ears and other threatening body language. Uh, NO; not acceptable. I moved him away from his dinner, tied him much shorter, and showed him a dressage whip – never used it on him, just showed it to him and laid it on the floor – and he straightened right up.

By that point I'd burned a lot of daylight, so I just rode him around the arena at the walk for a bit, brushed him off, and left him to his supper so I could go home and fix ours. It will be interesting to see if the Bentley the Brat shows up again on Sunday, or if I've convinced him that that persona isn't going to work with me.

♫ Getting to know you... ♫

I visited Bentley Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, making progress in our relationship with each visit, as well as in his refresher training and fitness.

Having never really seen him move, I decided to put Bentley on the lunge line Sunday. He tore around, striking out with his front feet, kicking up with his back feet, generally shaped like a "U" – not surprising given his up-headed, short-coupled build. It didn't take long for him to work up a sweat, which we cooled off and dried out with a walk under saddle.

To encourage stretching over the topline, lifting the back, and using belly muscles instead of under-neck muscles, I took my side reins with me on Tuesday. I added them after lunging Bentley without them first, and he immediately reacted with some alarm. So I loosened them as much as was safe (didn't want him to get an extravagant front leg over one) until he settled down before taking up some slack. What a difference they made in his way of going; I saw the glimmer of a dressage horse in there! I took some photos and saved only the most flattering ones without and with side reins, so they don't give you an honest view of how inverted he tends to move without them. Oh – and he rarely walks without side reins....

I love that he's licking in this photo!

When I arrived on Wednesday, he came into his stall and watched me in the barn for a bit (I had to change), then went cantering off into the pasture. It was starting to rain so I told him I wasn't going to chase him around the pasture; he had to come to me – and he did. There's nothing like a willing partner to make you feel good. 😊   I followed the same routine of lunging first without, then with, side reins, and he did very well. It is clearly more tiring for him to work in a proper frame than in a "U" shape, and he struggles more going right than going left. When I mounted for our cool-out walk,  I even asked for a wee bit of trot for the first time. There won't be much of that, though, until he develops more of the muscle strength the newly reinforced way of going requires. Still, I was feeling pretty great about his progress when I left yesterday!

The arena footing is sand, and gets very dusty when we do anything other than walk. There is a sprinkler system but I haven't had a chance to ask the owner if it works and can be utilized. He was there briefly only on Sunday – and interestingly enough asked if Bentley had "bucked or anything" – a strange question from someone who told me Bentley has never bucked!

Oh – and I have learned that Bentley cribs. I've only seen him do it in one spot, only after he's worked, and his front teeth aren't worn, so I don't think he's a dedicated cribber, but it was still disappointing to see. Maybe it's supposed to keep me from getting too attached to him. 😉

Another day, another date

Since Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday are generally my most flexible days, I headed up to visit Bentley again today. His paddock gate was the only one of the three open to the pasture, but he came in and stood at the stall door, watching me put down my helmet, gather up the grooming supplies, and  come in to see him. No hint of avoidance; I was pleased.

I groomed him and put the saddle on, but when I produced the bridle he wasn't thrilled to see it. So I led him around the arena with halter and lead rope for a bit; when I presented the bridle again he was fine with it. I mounted and rode at the walk for 30 minutes, asking him questions about bend, moving laterally off either leg, halting, stretching. Mostly I'm interested in being able to get and maintain a conversation through the reins; going faster than a walk before that becomes more reliable seems ill-advised, IMO.

Walking around the arena will soon get boring, though, and won't do much to improve his fitness. I took a photo today to document the fat deposits on either side of his tail so I can look back and hopefully see progress.

On Sunday when I have more time, I'm going to try lunging him, both to increase activity and to get some idea of this guy's gaits.

After we were done and Bentley was turned back out, I took some photos of him in the sunshine. He came my direction to get a drink, so I stepped through the gate and asked him to come to me one last time. He did!

In Lance "news," my mustang man got a good grooming this morning, and this evening Rick built and installed a new timer system for the hay steamer. Until now, I've had to set a timer on my iPhone when I started the steamer, then go down an hour later to unplug the steamer, then wait at least 20 minutes for the hay to cool so I could feed. Since there isn't enough time in the morning for that process, I have to do it twice in the afternoon/evening; once for their supper hay, and again for their next morning's breakfast hay. Not only is that a lot of running back and forth to the barn (hey, I feed my FitBit!), it also limits our afternoon/evening freedom.

With this new timer set-up, the steamer shuts itself off. Woot!