Buck Day 2
I picked Howard up at his farm at the prearranged time a couple days later. He had lost his license due to "reckless driving" and would not be able to drive himself for a few weeks. This worked for me as I was getting paid for the driving as well as the horse work and money is money.
Once at Bill's farm, Howard grabbed a trunk from my truck bed that he had brought along. It had the saddle, a couple brushes, and some other miscellaneous horse items in it we should need. We set this by an empty stall and took a halter and leadrope as well as a small ziplock of sweet feed out toward the horses. We called and they came, ER leading the group onto the cement walkway. Howard had the leadrope and I had the feed, so I threw some on the ground to distract ER. We offered feed to Buck but he wouldn't bring his nose closer than a few inches from my hand. I tossed a little on the ground and Howard was able to catch him as he bent to sniff at the food.
Once caught, Howard passed the lead to me and said he'd get the gates. I patted Buck on the shoulder and he considered me closely. He didn't seem too spooky now that I had him and I encouraged him forward with quiet confidence. We were going into one of those stalls and it wasn't going to be a big deal.
Howard was pleased that Buck followed me quietly, though it was obvious he was looking a little too closely at every object we passed. I got Buck into the stall and threw a handful of grain into the feed bucket and encouraged him to relax. Thankfully he seemed content to slurp up the tiny offering of grain. Howard passed me a couple brushes and we settled into grooming him. I explained to Howard that this is how I would always start with Buck, no matter what. Grooming, to me, is a ritual. It also helps ease a horse into being touched and worked with all over in my experience. Starting at ground zero, Buck was going to be introduced to strange objects and sensations and be required to deal with them calmly. The more he was used to being touched all over, the better he would accept these things.
Buck would not stand still for grooming his belly or hindquarters so I had to hold him while Howard did these things. Buck was about to turn four officially, on January 1st, as all thoroughbreds shared the same birthday, though he was really closer to three and a half. When he turned two, officially, Howard had given him to a girl to be broke. After a couple months, Howard got him back with the report that he was broken, but then promptly turned him out to pasture for over a year and a half. Buck now, essentially, had his slate wiped clean.
On the other hand, even if things were scary this time around, he had some vague memory of a saddle and bridle in his past, so we hoped it wouldn't be too hard to retrain him. After grooming, Howard took the lead and I grabbed the saddle towel, pad, girth, and saddle. I rubbed him all over with the towel and when he didn't seemed concerned, spread it over his back. I set the pad down on this and moved it back and forth a few times. All was well. I set the saddle on it, girth attached to the far side, and Buck lowered his head but seemed okay. I took the girth under his belly and pulled it up toward the cinches..
I tugged on it gently, upwards, and Buck took a rapid step forward. Howard stopped him and I patted him gently around his belly with my hands, trying to lessen the shock of the girth. Buck looked at me closely and I tugged on the girth a second time, holding the saddle still with my hands. Buck flinched but stood still. I fastened the girth on the absolute loosest hole, and we asked him to move forward. After a few steps, I raised the girth another hole, a few more steps and then another. The girth was so loose you could stick your entire hand under it and wiggle your fingers but the saddle was on and Buck was moving about normally so we decided to call it a day.
I fed him some more grain in his bucket (he still would NOT consider eating from our hands), and then led him outside to where his companions awaited his return.
Once at Bill's farm, Howard grabbed a trunk from my truck bed that he had brought along. It had the saddle, a couple brushes, and some other miscellaneous horse items in it we should need. We set this by an empty stall and took a halter and leadrope as well as a small ziplock of sweet feed out toward the horses. We called and they came, ER leading the group onto the cement walkway. Howard had the leadrope and I had the feed, so I threw some on the ground to distract ER. We offered feed to Buck but he wouldn't bring his nose closer than a few inches from my hand. I tossed a little on the ground and Howard was able to catch him as he bent to sniff at the food.
Once caught, Howard passed the lead to me and said he'd get the gates. I patted Buck on the shoulder and he considered me closely. He didn't seem too spooky now that I had him and I encouraged him forward with quiet confidence. We were going into one of those stalls and it wasn't going to be a big deal.
Howard was pleased that Buck followed me quietly, though it was obvious he was looking a little too closely at every object we passed. I got Buck into the stall and threw a handful of grain into the feed bucket and encouraged him to relax. Thankfully he seemed content to slurp up the tiny offering of grain. Howard passed me a couple brushes and we settled into grooming him. I explained to Howard that this is how I would always start with Buck, no matter what. Grooming, to me, is a ritual. It also helps ease a horse into being touched and worked with all over in my experience. Starting at ground zero, Buck was going to be introduced to strange objects and sensations and be required to deal with them calmly. The more he was used to being touched all over, the better he would accept these things.
Buck would not stand still for grooming his belly or hindquarters so I had to hold him while Howard did these things. Buck was about to turn four officially, on January 1st, as all thoroughbreds shared the same birthday, though he was really closer to three and a half. When he turned two, officially, Howard had given him to a girl to be broke. After a couple months, Howard got him back with the report that he was broken, but then promptly turned him out to pasture for over a year and a half. Buck now, essentially, had his slate wiped clean.
On the other hand, even if things were scary this time around, he had some vague memory of a saddle and bridle in his past, so we hoped it wouldn't be too hard to retrain him. After grooming, Howard took the lead and I grabbed the saddle towel, pad, girth, and saddle. I rubbed him all over with the towel and when he didn't seemed concerned, spread it over his back. I set the pad down on this and moved it back and forth a few times. All was well. I set the saddle on it, girth attached to the far side, and Buck lowered his head but seemed okay. I took the girth under his belly and pulled it up toward the cinches..
I tugged on it gently, upwards, and Buck took a rapid step forward. Howard stopped him and I patted him gently around his belly with my hands, trying to lessen the shock of the girth. Buck looked at me closely and I tugged on the girth a second time, holding the saddle still with my hands. Buck flinched but stood still. I fastened the girth on the absolute loosest hole, and we asked him to move forward. After a few steps, I raised the girth another hole, a few more steps and then another. The girth was so loose you could stick your entire hand under it and wiggle your fingers but the saddle was on and Buck was moving about normally so we decided to call it a day.
I fed him some more grain in his bucket (he still would NOT consider eating from our hands), and then led him outside to where his companions awaited his return.