Die anderes Molly
I've picked up another "Molly" except this one is a horse, not a mule. Nelson had contacted me some months ago about evaluating a horse for him, but that one apparently fell through for various reasons and when Molly came up he called me again for an assessment. He had been boarding her for free/feed leasing her for close to a year, but hasn't done much of anything with her himself other than basic care.
My first visit was to assess her attitude and see if we had any major holes.
To start with she was hard to catch, pushy to lead, and the thought of tying sent her flailing backwards. She also wasn't keen on the idea of having her feet handled. As a teenaged horse these are things that she should be an old pro at. Her previous owner sounded like an accident waiting to happen. They had a second horse she was best buds with and would follow placidly on the trail and didn't need to be tied when he was around because she wouldn't leave his side.
I sent her around the roundpen and I have a sneaking suspension someone did some Clinton Anderson training with her. She thought that trot and canter were the only option when sent off and she would actually disengage her hindquarters at a suggestion. I also played with some flexions towards the end and it was pretty easy and felt like she had done it before.
I did see some nice things. She never offered to kick or buck, she seemed pretty honest, even in her crowding behavior, which I suspect roots from people letting her so whatever the heck she wanted and working around her rather than insisting she stay where she is supposed to.
I told him he has some work to do, but if she had a decent start at some point it's just a matter of reminding and finding her old buttons.
Fast-forward about a month and he's working on getting a saddle that fits and has a bridle and bit that should work. She's figuring out that she can walk in the roundpen, though she still takes a minute to figure it out. Her turns are more consistent and she isn't cutting in on one side anymore.
The feet were a little bit of a challenge, the backs moreso than the front. He was able to get the farrier out two weeks ago and she did great for the fronts and did okay for the backs, but got wiggly as he tried to rasp behind. Her feet looked much better when I saw her last week regardless.
This week he had an old Circle Y to try on her, but it was a bit tight behind her shoulders (suspecting too steep and angle) and all the sweat was right around her shoulders with a small patch towards her loin. Not a good fit.
She was much quicker to walk this week and I even "tied" her to work on her feet. By tying I simply looped the lead rope twice over the bar. Just enough to give a feel, but loose enough she could pull out some slack if she felt threatened. Fronts were good, right hind was pretty good, hut she kept wanting to swing against the fence as I asked for the left. I worked on moving her hip back to the left and will work some on getting her to stay where put, but compared to the first day she is making nice progress and Nelson is noticing she's easier to handle in general and seems happier with life. All good things we want to hear. As it cools down (and we find a suitable saddle) we'll add in some ridden work as well, but for now it's learning to walk in the roundpen and stay in the direction asked and picking up her feet and having them handled. I'll also start working on moving her hips and shoulders around so she can increase her awareness and respect for people space.
My first visit was to assess her attitude and see if we had any major holes.
To start with she was hard to catch, pushy to lead, and the thought of tying sent her flailing backwards. She also wasn't keen on the idea of having her feet handled. As a teenaged horse these are things that she should be an old pro at. Her previous owner sounded like an accident waiting to happen. They had a second horse she was best buds with and would follow placidly on the trail and didn't need to be tied when he was around because she wouldn't leave his side.
I sent her around the roundpen and I have a sneaking suspension someone did some Clinton Anderson training with her. She thought that trot and canter were the only option when sent off and she would actually disengage her hindquarters at a suggestion. I also played with some flexions towards the end and it was pretty easy and felt like she had done it before.
I did see some nice things. She never offered to kick or buck, she seemed pretty honest, even in her crowding behavior, which I suspect roots from people letting her so whatever the heck she wanted and working around her rather than insisting she stay where she is supposed to.
I told him he has some work to do, but if she had a decent start at some point it's just a matter of reminding and finding her old buttons.
Fast-forward about a month and he's working on getting a saddle that fits and has a bridle and bit that should work. She's figuring out that she can walk in the roundpen, though she still takes a minute to figure it out. Her turns are more consistent and she isn't cutting in on one side anymore.
The feet were a little bit of a challenge, the backs moreso than the front. He was able to get the farrier out two weeks ago and she did great for the fronts and did okay for the backs, but got wiggly as he tried to rasp behind. Her feet looked much better when I saw her last week regardless.
This week he had an old Circle Y to try on her, but it was a bit tight behind her shoulders (suspecting too steep and angle) and all the sweat was right around her shoulders with a small patch towards her loin. Not a good fit.
She was much quicker to walk this week and I even "tied" her to work on her feet. By tying I simply looped the lead rope twice over the bar. Just enough to give a feel, but loose enough she could pull out some slack if she felt threatened. Fronts were good, right hind was pretty good, hut she kept wanting to swing against the fence as I asked for the left. I worked on moving her hip back to the left and will work some on getting her to stay where put, but compared to the first day she is making nice progress and Nelson is noticing she's easier to handle in general and seems happier with life. All good things we want to hear. As it cools down (and we find a suitable saddle) we'll add in some ridden work as well, but for now it's learning to walk in the roundpen and stay in the direction asked and picking up her feet and having them handled. I'll also start working on moving her hips and shoulders around so she can increase her awareness and respect for people space.