We shot this video of Levi last weekend, on January 28th, as I wanted to show you how he is doing.

Although you can’t really tell, there was a snow storm raging outside as we shot this video. I could feel that this caused Levi to feel a bit tight in his body, but you can’t really see that in the video. He was a little concerned about the high winds we could hear gusting outside, and the snow drifting in around the door, but you really only see this once when we get down near the door as he lifts his head and looks kind of worried.

As everyone knows, when making videos it can be hard to capture the essence of the horse, but I think watching this we can all be really pleased with Levi. So without further ado, here is the video.

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Since starting Levi’s canter work under saddle just before the New Year and then having an easy first week back after New Year’s, I’ve been working the canter every ride since then.

A lot of times when you are training the canter with a young horse you have to be really emphatic in your body language as you ask them to strike off into canter. Once you are in canter you need to ride the canter really forward until they understand how to balance in the canter with a rider on their back, and that the priority is to stay active and jumping with the hind legs.

It’s not always so easy for the young horses to learn the canter under saddle, but the only way to learn it is to do it, and for that they need a rider who has the experience to help them with their balance and their understanding. Levi has surprised me with just how quickly he is figuring out the canter work. I have to say, he is rocking it!

On the first Monday back after our easy week we did our warm up and then as we came around the 20 metre circle in rising trot, I pushed the trot more and more forward, and then gave him a pretty emphatic squeeze with my inside leg while sliding my inside hip forward and outside leg back. He jumped smoothly and immediately into canter, and even gave me a little ear flick as if to say “You don’t have to shout, you know”.

As he cantered on, his balance was good and he stayed nicely forward and he didn’t try to lean or push into my inside leg. I was able to stay on the 20 m circle in canter, rather than going around the whole arena as I will do if the young horse needs to be sent forward to learn his balance and to keep jumping. All this is pretty remarkable for a horse at this stage of training. Each day since then I have trained the canter both ways and I must say I have been pleased at how well it’s going.

When asking for the canter on your young horse it really helps their understanding if you use your seat to help him strike off into canter, as I described doing above with Levi. If you’re not just sure what I mean, here is a way that can help you visualize how to do it.

Imagine you are a child on a stick horse and you are cantering. So you are going along on your two legs mimicking the canter of a horse, da-da-loomp, da-da-loomp…. Get up and try it around the room now until you can feel it. Now imagine that you don’t have any legs, but instead are using your two seat bones as legs, and are mimicking the horse’s canter. Now, back on your horse trotting along, remember that feeling of cantering along on your seat bones. The moment of landing on your leading “leg” (seat bone) will indicate to your horse to strike off into canter.

When they feel this on their back it really makes sense to the horse and motivates them to pick up canter. Try it and let me know how it works for you!

Levi (Elix) had an easy week for this first week of the new year. I worked him only twice this week, which is pretty unusual for me, but he’s doing well so I’m not concerned.

On Monday we were planning on getting back to normal after the holidays, and we came outside in the morning to find at least a foot of heavy snow had fallen overnight. Which is not so much of a problem, we’re Northerners after all except that underneath the snow was water and slush, the whole mess of which kept jamming up and freezing solid in our snow blower! About then Alida called over and said that they were also having snow blower problems over at her place, and she wasn’t sure she could get back up her driveway, so she couldn’t come. Stefan cleared snow and I did chores rather than riding horses. It happens.

On Tuesday, the temperature had plummeted to -16°C (3°F). That is getting pretty close to my cut-off point for not being able to feel my hands when I ride. Given the invigoratingly frosty temps, and the fact that all my horses had had four days off in a row at this point, I decided to do a lungeing day and keep myself bundled up in long johns and ski-doo gloves.

Despite the cold and the number of days off, Levi was quite sane (actually, all of my horses were). When he is feeling fresh on the lunge line all he does is give his head a shake from side to side, and then he jumps up off the ground with all four legs, with a BOING! Picture a little lamb in spring and you’ve got the visual. Then he lands, and continues trotting on his circle as if to say “There. I got that out of my system”.

Lately Levi has seemed a little bit dubious about going by the arena door when I’m working him. He’s fine if I hand-walk him in that area though. He seems to be genuinely scared of the door when I’m not on the ground with him, but not terrified, nor unwilling to give it a try if I insist. Just dubious about it overall. I wondered if there was some strange wind noise out there that I couldn’t perceive, because one of the other horses was acting the same way. So on Tuesday I did a lot of my lungeing right down in that corner, and really insisted that he put aside his worries about the door and get to work for me. This was a good exercise, and I felt like we made a lot of progress.

On Wednesday, Alida was away for the day, so I was on my own and concentrated on getting the chores done and the horses had another day off.

By Thursday the temperature was back up to something more moderate, and I rode Levi. He went well. I focused mainly on the trot work and connecting him from inside leg to outside rein. I really like the suppleness he has in his neck and the spring he is developing in the trot as he learns how to use his back.

After I finished riding on Thursday, I was off to my coach’s place for a lesson on a different horse in the afternoon, and stayed over for another lesson on Friday morning. Hence the Friday off for Levi, and an easy week for him overall. It’s fine to give the horses an easy time, physically and mentally, every now and then. Next week we should be able to gradually pick the training pace back up.

I thought I’d do a year in review summary for Levi (Elix) as we wrap up 2011 and head into a fresh New Year! Woot!

Levi arrived here October 27th, so he has been with us two months. On his first day here, my vet found a retained baby tooth lodged in his gums. After that was extracted, we gave Levi ten days to make sure his mouth was fully healed before we put on a bridle and started teaching him to lunge. Now, at the end of December, Levi is working nicely under saddle in walk, trot, and has started the canter on both reins. He is nice in the contact, and has learned the aids to go forward and come back, as well as steer. He is not worried by noises or new things in the arena (except he still gets a bit distracted by new people being in the arena).

Levi’s barn manners are pretty much impeccable. He always had a soft and willing temperament, and since being in our program he has learned patience, and now stands on the cross-ties in the morning for as long as it takes, without moving at all. He was easy to train because he really wants to please. He has such an adorable expression on his face when I come in the barn and he is standing there, tacked up and waiting patiently for me. He is not worried by anything happening in the barn and we can drop stuff, throw blankets around, sweep and shovel around his feet, and go past him with wheelbarrows or plastic bags of shavings, all without causing him any concern.

As we head into a New Year I am happy with the progress we have made so far, and am looking forward to the future with this horse.

Today was the last ride of 2011 for Levi and me and it was another good one.

Yesterday, Elena came to visit, and it was the first time that she was in the arena while I was working Levi. He was a bit distracted by her being there, but he kept his focus pretty well on me. He no longer tries to stop when he is worried by a new person being in the arena, but I can feel the difference in his body. I decided that was not a good day to ask for the canter again, but instead we focused on the quality of the trot work.

But today there were no distractions, he warmed up well and was feeling good, so at the end of the ride I asked for canter, this time to the left. I rode it the same way as on Tuesday, on a 20 metre circle in the rising trot. I ride the trot more and more forward, then say the word “Canter!” and use an exaggerated version of the normal canter aid. He popped right into canter on the left lead and kept going nicely. His canter feels quite good, and he even stayed somewhat round and connected.

We don’t worry at all about the position of the head and neck at this stage, our priority is simply that the horse canters and goes forward with a good jump in the canter, but it was nice that Levi offered to do so while staying nice in the contact. After asking him with my voice to come back to trot, I gave him lots of praise and a sugar cube, and then we headed back to the barn.

It’s been eleven days since I posted an update on Levi’s (Elix’s) training. Although it’s the holiday time of year, we have been able to keep working pretty steadily. Last week I worked with Levi four times, and this week I’ve ridden him twice already.

Today was a milestone because it was the first time I asked Levi to canter under saddle. It went really well! I’m pleased with him. He has progressed to the point that he understands and responds to my “go forward” aids pretty well, and I am able to ask him to go much more forward in the trot. His canter on the lunge line has also been improving, and as his understanding increases the quality of the canter on the lunge has improved because he is a lot more relaxed. And as his fitness improves the canter on the lunge has gotten better as well.

So today I decided all the building blocks were in place for the canter under saddle. I did our normal warmup in rising trot both ways. I wanted to ask for canter while going to the right, because his right canter looks better on the lunge. So from a rising trot on the 20 m circle going right I rode the trot more and more forward, and then as we were approaching the wall I said “Canter!” as I squeezed him and slid my inside hip forward and outside leg back. I think the outside leg going back kind of surprised him and he shot forward into canter (Yay!) He seemed worried that he shouldn’t be doing that, but I was thrilled and praised him “Good boy!” He immediately relaxed, and dropped back into trot.

No worries though, because we got it once so I knew the next time would be easier. I stayed in trot another time around the circle and then repeated the sequence above to ask for another canter depart. He picked up the canter and was a lot more confident that this was what I actually wanted him to do and I was able to keep him cantering all the way around. I then brought him back to trot with my voice and rode him over to the sugar box for a treat, making a big fuss over him the whole time. Then I got off and took him back to the barn. Often when introducing something new I will do it on only one side the first day and then finish for that day, to make a point! On another day we can try to the left as well.

Levi (Elix) has had a good week. His energy level is good, and he is building his stamina as well as his understanding. I’m enjoying working with him. He has a nice stride for dressage and is nice in the contact. I know it’s early days but he shows a lot of promise.

This week I did three lungeing days so I could work on his canter. I want him to find his own balance better in the canter on the 20m circle before I complicate things with asking him to deal with cantering under the weight of a rider. Today, our third lungeing day this week, I found the canter was already improving.

On Wednesday I did not lunge though, I only rode him. For the first time ever, I actually had to slow him down a bit! When I asked for a trot he went forward with such enthusiasm he was actually giving me more than I wanted. So we had our first lesson in the half-halt With the young horse we influence them more with our body weight and position than the rein aids, so slowing down the posting and closing the upper leg a little will often have the desired effect, as it did with him. I was happy to have to slow him down a little, that is the first step in having him working on his own.

Starting out in a relaxed walk

At this stage in Levi’s training our focus is on the first three elements of the training scale: relaxation, rhythm, and contact. While the training scale is traditionally presented in a linear or a pyramid fashion, the truth is that the elements are interwoven.

Improved contact, with the horse stretching into the rider’s receiving hands, will result in more consistency of rhythm, as well as more mental relaxation as the horse feels protected by the connection with his rider as his leader. So sometimes we are working on more than one element at once, but if something is really not working right, we always back up to a lower level of the training scale.

What you’ll see in the videos is basic trot work, going forward, letting the wall steer us for the most part. You’ll see in the second riding clip when we leave the wall and turn across the diagonal, he loses his rhythm and his steering becomes kind of wobbly. This is all normal at this stage.

The first video is a bit funny. It is just a little clip of me getting on Levi, but I didn’t know Stefan was videoing while I was mounting, so once I’m on I look at the camera and say “Can you help me shorten my stirrups?” Turns out I had used the leathers on a different saddle yesterday and forgot to put them back on the right holes. I guess we should plan these things better in advance. I thought I’d include it so you can see how good Levi is though.

"Plans are worthless, but planning is everything"

I am going to start a new tradition on the blog and do a theory post on Thursdays. Rather than talking about the details of each of Levi’s training sessions every day, I will continue to post regularly about how it is going (and attempt to get pictures on a regular basis) but if things are proceeding normally I won’t necessarily have a daily update. And then each Thursday I will write a post about my theories of training horses.

In an earlier post I talked about setting training goals for Levi for the week, and one of our readers commented that she hadn’t been good about setting clear goals. And that she thinks she may have been trying to do too much too soon with her green horse. This is an interesting subject area.

Setting goals is important, but it can’t be the most important thing. As Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” He said this in the context of preparing for battle, and it holds just as true in the context of preparing to make progress with your horse.

Horses being horses, things are not going to proceed 100% according to your plan every time you get out into the training arena. You absolutely positively need to stay flexible in your approach when the horse doesn’t seem to remember what you thought he already knew, and therefore you can’t move on to introducing new material. The most important thing is to be totally in the moment with the horse and listening to what he is telling you when you ask him questions.

But the very act of having sat down to make the goals helps to clarify in your mind exactly what you think the horse already knows, and what the logical next step should be. This clarity in your own mind is actually the key to the success of the project, even if the steps don’t go exactly one-two-three as you thought they would. By having a picture in your mind of what comes next you are putting into practice the success principle of “beginning with the end in mind”.

Horses are astute readers of our thoughts and intentions, and whether they do that through reading our body language, our energy fields, or what, I don’t know. I just know it sometimes seems like they are practically telepathic, so getting clear in my own head of what my intention is for the week positions me as a leader (both to the horse AND to myself ) and informs my whole approach, whether or not it actually pans out in the way I thought it would.

Next week I will talk about how to pick your goals, and how to decide on what is most important for your horse to learn next and what can be compromised on (for now!)

Levi (Elix) loves his new clip. Or, more precisely, I love Levi in his new clip! In addition to looking like a sharp-dressed man, he is much fresher in his work. He can now feel, and reacts to, small touches of the dressage whip, and his stamina is much better. I guess working in a Fjord winter coat is like trying to do an aerobics class in your snowsuit.

Yesterday (Monday) I started the week by lungeing Levi. He had had three days off in a row, and the weather was so rainy, cold and miserable on Sunday that none of my horses in training went outside. So I thought Levi might want to run and kick up his heels a bit on the lunge line, but, nope, he was calm as always. I let him do a free walk on the lunge for a good ten minutes and he didn’t show any inclination to be silly. After that I put on the side reins and worked him in a nice forward trot. He is getting better at maintaining his rhythm and can keep it up for longer.

For the lungeing I had put a fleece quarter sheet over Levi’s hind quarters and had the surcingle fastened over it. I wanted him to get used to trotting with the sensation of the quarter sheet rubbing against him. In the winter I will do my riding warmup, and sometimes the whole ride, with the quarter sheet on. With a fresh clip I think the fleece can have a tugging sensation against the short hair, so it was good to desensitize him to that. He didn’t show any sort of reaction to having it on though, and really just ignored it throughout.

Today I got right on and rode. I didn’t have anyone holding him to mount and he stood perfectly. We did some free walk for a while, and I tried to steer him over to the kickboards and stop beside the sugar box so I could get a sugar cube for him. Well that was a bit tricky, the fine control in the steering and positioning is not really there yet, so it took a few attempts but we got it done.

When I picked up the trot he felt really nice and forward. The steps were big and he was going so nicely into the contact. I could feel his back lifting up and the hind legs working. It was a super feeling. I thought right then, I am going to enjoy training this horse! And if I do my job right he is going to be such a great horse for so many people. His temperament is so laid-back and safe, yet he seems to have some talent and ability. His conformation is very sporty and the neck is quite horse-like, for lack of a better word.

My mind immediately began racing ahead to the future and making all these plans, “…..and I’m going to take him to clinics and demos, and I’m going to take him for lessons, and I’m going to show him…..” I guess I’m glad that I still get so excited by each new up-and-coming horse when they begin to show me glimmers of their potential. The logical part of me knows it is a step-by-step process and we’ll just keep working away at it steadily and see what the future brings. But, just like that kid in the hot chocolate commercial, “I really like riding”.

Part way done the left side

We needed to body clip him because he is sweating so much in his workouts that it is taking hours for him to dry under his fleece cooler in the barn, which really cuts into his turnout time. Also, having to work under that heavy winter coat saps his energy, and I think having a sweaty hair coat could predispose him to catching a chill.

Removing Mother Nature’s protection system is a big responsibility though. Now we need to make sure that we keep him warmly blanketed, with water- and wind-proof layers on top for turnout, but not overly rugged-up when the mercury rises. At this time of year the weather is a real mixed bag, so we need to be here and on the job of keeping the clipped horses’ clothing adjusted.

When Levi first arrived, I figured that he didn’t know about electric clippers yet. We cut his mane two days after his arrival, and given that he didn’t know us either, we elected to trim his bridle path with scissors and leave the clipper introduction for another day. Well, today was definitely that day!

We started with the small clippers and did his bridle path first. When Stefan turned on the small clippers, Levi looked at them dubiously. But Stefan talked to him nicely and Levi allowed him to use the clippers on his bridle path with no fuss.

Levi’s bridle path had been previously cut further forward than we prefer. We like the front edge of the bridle path lined up with the backs of the ears. Levi’s was three quarters of an inch (two cm) forward of that, lined up in between his ears. So today we only clipped it as far forward as we prefer, and left a tuft standing up. This tuft is going to look silly until it grows out enough to lay down and become visually part of the forelock. Winter is the best time to correct these types of glitches in the hair cuts, because presumably less people are going to see the horse in the winter.

Next, Stefan trimmed the fronts of Levi’s ears with the small clippers. Levi didn’t care for that so much, and he showed it by bobbing his head up and down. I held onto him, and then he eventually allowed Stefan to trim his ear fronts.

After that, it was time for the big Heiniger body clippers. We almost always body clip our foals now when they are a few days old, as I find it helps them deal more easily with summer heat. It also gets them used to body clippers at a young impressionable time when I can still restrain them with an arm around the butt and the chest. For horses that haven’t had the benefit of that baby training experience, I like to use ear plugs the first time they are body clipped. The big clippers are quite loud, and the ear plugs take away a lot of that scariness.

Levi wasn’t too worried at all when Stefan started clipping his shoulder and neck. I stood with him for a bit, but he seemed fine, so I went and got the camera and took a few pictures, and shot a little video.

One thing I like about Levi, is that you can tell what he is thinking almost as plainly as if you are reading a thought-balloon over his head. It is quite charming. In the video I see him saying, “Now what are you doing to me? Oh well, it doesn’t seem to hurt….” You can really see Levi’s attention tuned into Stefan by the way his ear locks onto him.

We clipped Levi’s entire body, head, and legs. To clip the head, we take the halter off and put it around the neck, and I stand on the opposite side from Stefan holding the head steady. If the horse doesn’t want to tolerate this, there is really not much holding them. Levi stood really nicely through the whole process though.

After we had him all clipped, Stefan decided Levi needed a haircut to complete the picture. Levi was beginning to get bored of having been on the cross ties for so long, and he started bobbing his head up and down. So I stood at his head and when he bobbed I would say, “Ah!”, and give him a tap on the neck with a crop. It didn’t take too many times before Levi stopped the bobbing.

All together, Levi stood on cross ties for two hours today. That’s quite the beauty parlor appointment! The last picture in the gallery shows the end result. Looking good!

To recap where we’re at with Levi (Elix), last week we mastered mounting on our own and riding off the lunge line. Well, we did those things on Monday and spent the rest of the week practicing and fine-tuning.

What I have found so far is that Levi has great relaxation and is not worried by much of anything. He comes back immediately from trot to walk, and from walk to halt, with just a voice command. His basic nature is like a pleasure horse, easy-going and wanting-to-please. This week we have continued to make more progress and I’ve been figuring out my best approach for Levi.

On Monday I started out by lungeing Levi and then riding him, which is my normal strategy for the young horses who are just learning to be ridden. This phase of lungeing before riding lasts until I think the horse is understanding my ridden language well enough that we can communicate and get onto the same wavelength without needing the time on the lunge first.

The weather earlier this week has been wet and windy, and the horses have been staying in the barn until they are done their rides. Levi was in the barn on Monday until 11:00 am and then came out into the arena which was quite noisy from the rain and wind. Despite all that, he was as calm as could be and I worked him on the lunge, getting some nice trot and canter. Afterwards I rode him, but I wished he was more forward. I started thinking, hmmmm, I bet I could get on this horse without lungeing first.

Tuesday was another rain day and I only lunged Levi and I thought that went better; he was going nicely forward throughout. I started to think that maybe he just doesn’t have the fitness to do both lungeing and riding on the same day and he certainly seems safe enough to get right on.

So on Wednesday, I got on Levi without lungeing him first. I had Alida there with me to hold him while I mounted, but she didn’t actually have to do anything. I found he was much more forward in the trot and I was able to trot all around the arena nicely, and even change rein across the diagonal in trot. The steering is still very wobbly but it’s working better every day. We worked for 15 minutes total and I was happy because I was getting the quality I want.

Today I took him into the arena on my own and mounted with no one there to hold him or stand near his head. He stood quietly beside the mounting block like an old school horse. I can walk him on a loose rein and he is totally relaxed. This is rather unusual in a young horse with so little training and experience, but it’s quite likeable. Once I picked up my reins and asked for trot he went forward nicely. Again, I only rode for about 15 minutes total but I was happy with the quality of work.

On Saturday we plan on clipping him. Although he is not a wooly mammoth like some Fjords, he does have enough coat that he gets quite warm and I think losing the coat will help with his energy level too.

So I’m happy now that I’ve found my approach with Levi! On any given day I will either lunge him or ride him, but not both, and I can gradually increase the time as his fitness level, strength, and understanding, all increase.

On Thursday I was leaving right after lunch to go to my coach’s for two days of lessons with another horse. I had time to work three horses in the morning before I left. So I decided to do Levi’s (Elix) whole training session on the lunge line in order to stay on my time schedule. This was good, as I was able to spend time working on the canter, and also on really emphasizing that I expected a quick, one hundred percent enthusiastic forward response to my driving aids.

Friday was a rest day for Levi, and today I worked him again, and could really see a difference in his lungeing. He was doing nice snappy transitions and maintaining a steady forward rhythm with just a minimal amount of energy being added by me. I was especially happy with this because Stefan was with us in the arena for the first time, and although Levi stayed very aware of Stefan’s presence, his performance on the lunge was exactly what I wanted.

Once I mounted, Stefan stood in the middle of the arena and I rode Levi around the outside. Now I could feel that Levi’s concern over Stefan’s intentions towards him was becoming stronger. Because Levi is not as comfortable yet under saddle as he is with lungeing, he was less responsive to my go-forward aids as I rode with Stefan there. Levi didn’t stop or do anything wrong but it was too much work for me to keep him as forward as I wanted. So after a short while I said to Stefan that it would be better if he left the arena, and after that Levi went better. I didn’t ride too long then, just enough to make the point that I want him to go forward one hundred percent, and then I brought him back to walk, praised him, and left it at that for the day.

All in all, a very productive week with good progress and figuring things out! This gallery of photos was all taken by Stefan today.

Trot to the left showing good forwardness

He is also proving to be not at all concerned about changes to the environment. We had rain last night, and freezing rain, and our arena windows aren’t always water-tight, so today there are big wet areas on the kickboards underneath the windows on the north side. These wet areas show up super dark against the normally light coloured wood, and they glisten and shine as the light reflects off them. I know a lot of young horses I have trained over the years find this very scary the first time they see it, and not only young horses, and not only the first time! Levi couldn’t have cared less. How nice is that?

Today I lunged Levi a bit both ways in trot, focusing on the idea of him really going forward when I ask. Because his natural inclination is to go along “doop-dee-doo” at this stage I want to ask for much more than he offers naturally. Then we can meet in the middle.

Trot to the right (with headless horseman effect)

We did a fair amount of trot both ways around around the arena always with “focus forward”. Every horse needs to be able to do three things: go, stop, and steer. Levi’s stop works perfectly, it kind of came naturally. I am now focusing on getting the go working the way I like it. Then we can think about steering. Right now I let the walls of the arena steer him for the most part.

Alida was thinking today and remembered to grab some pictures with her iPhone. As usual it’s hard to get great quality in the arena lighting but at least everyone can see where we are at. I am happy with what I’m seeing, this is my eighth time on his back, the first two being basically pony rides, and it’s the third time riding free of the lunge. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Levi (Elix) did great today! On this fresh, cold, gusty, windy Southern Ontario day, I thought he might be feeling on the feisty side, but actually …. now that I’m getting to know him better, I didn’t really think that.

First Levi and I did a bit of lungeing each way and worked on the canter. Then Alida came out to the arena and stood at Levi’s head while I mounted from the mounting block. He stood totally still and didn’t even seem to think of fidgeting or moving.

Alida stepped back and went into the centre of the arena as I asked Levi to walk on and then pick up a trot. We trotted around Alida in a pretend lungeing circle, which went well, so I steered him out to the track and trotted all around the arena.

My biggest challenge at this point is to get him as forward as I want. If I tell him to waaaaalk, he immediately drops back as if to say, “I thought you would never ask!” He is definitely not rushing or racing. I’m guessing more fitness will help with my goal. He really seems to want to work with me, and to please, so it shouldn’t take long for him to learn his new motto: “I go forward!”

This guy certainly is the laid-back type. An easy-going horse like this is such a pleasure to work with in so many ways. I am not having to deal with any anxiousness when we come into the arena, he doesn’t move around when I am adjusting the tack, he stays in his own space and stays attentive to me, and I rarely have to correct him for anything.

This was another good day for the good boy.

So yesterday being Sunday, and Sunday being the day I set my weekly goals, I was thinking of what my goals for Levi (Elix) should be this week. I decided I wanted to be able to mount him from the mounting block, and ride him at the walk and trot off the lunge line. Well, now I can check those off!

This morning I started off by lungeing Levi with side reins to see how he was feeling. After having two days off this weekend, he was feeling just as quiet as can be. He is so comfortable in his own skin, once he understands something he is totally relaxed and easy. I decided not to wear him out too much, and did about five minutes of trot each way before paging Alida to come out to the arena.

I led Levi up beside the mounting block, and Alida stood at his head on the right hand side. I climbed up on the mounting block, giving it a kick to knock the sand off my boots. Levi stood still and relaxed, and didn’t mind the noises or me being higher up beside him. So I put my foot in the stirrup and one-two-three I was on his back. He didn’t try to move or seem at all concerned at this change to our routine. I leaned forward and gave him a sugar cube.

Then Alida clipped on the lunge line on the right side, and we walked on. I asked for trot and it was nice and relaxed and forward enough. After a while I asked him to walk and then whoa. We turned around and did the same to the left and all was well. At that point I asked Alida to come up and take off the lunge line.

She moved back to the center of the circle as if she was holding an invisible lunge line and I rode Levi around her, first at walk, then trot. That was all good so I steered him off the circle and we trotted all the way around the arena, changed direction and did the same to the right. If I say “aaaand walk” he immediately drops back to walk. “Aaaaand whoa” stops him. He feels as safe as can be.

Levi’s relaxation under saddle is excellent (the first step of the training scale) so next I need to work on his rhythm being steady and forward. Only then can we start to think about the contact or connection with the bridle. Right now he kind of wobbles along as though a drunk driver is at the controls. But that’s normal for this stage of training.

So now that we’ve achieved our goals for the week on day one, we’ll concentrate on fine-tuning and going forward for the rest of the week. Once again I am ever so pleased with his progress.

Today I decided to add Helix to the turn-out group with Levi (Elix), Storjo, and Fjelljo. Helix knows the other two boys, and he knows Levi from over the fence. So the introductions went well, just a lot of squealing and dinosaur noises as Helix made sure Levi knew who was the boss around here.

Elix on the left, Helix on the right.
You can really see the Felix influence.

It looks like Helix and Levi are going to be good friends and spend a lot of time together. I had to go out with the bottle of Rap Last when I saw them happily chomping on each other’s blankets. If you have geldings who chew their own or their buddies’ blankets I highly recommend Rap Last. This anti-chew product uses natural ingredients, and it is so effective it is almost uncanny!

Alida brought her 13 year old daughter to the barn with her today. When Alida and Cassandra went to the paddock to get Levi (Elix) to get him ready for me, he saw Cassandra and ran away. It is becoming clear that Levi is wary of people he doesn’t know well when he is out in big open spaces. He comes easily when it is just Alida, but he was unsure of her at first before he knew her, too. In the barn, he accepts everyone, whether he knows them well or not.

It’s quite windy here today, and we could really hear the wind howling in the arena when we got out there. Levi was alert, and had more energy than usual. I like him like that! I lunged him and he showed me some very nice trot and he was easy to get into canter, so I took advantage and worked on trot-canter transitions, as well as working on him maintaining a steady forward rhythm in the trot.

When Alida came out to help us with the mounted work, I had asked Cassandra to come along and take pictures. She stood in the corner by the door, and I walked Levi by her a couple of times to get him used to the idea. Once I was on him and Alida was lungeing us, I could feel he was worried about Cassandra being there. He didn’t want to go forward nicely. We asked him to trot, but he kept slamming on the brakes. You could tell he was honestly scared with her there. I would use the dressage whip, and Alida would drive him on with the lunge whip, but this degree of pressure just made him more nervous.

Levi was telling us that he just couldn’t relax and go forward with Cassandra in the corner, so we had to ask her to go back to the barn. After she left, he was fine! We worked both to the left and right and he was trotting forward nicely. And Cassandra did manage to get some good pictures for the blog before leaving.

About to get started	Mounted up and ready to walk on
Walking on the lunge	Trotting on the lunge

 
Afterwards, I had to chuckle at myself for feeling disappointed since I thought we would make more progress today. Each day this week had been clear sailing with all forward progress, and I had in mind that today would go likewise. I had to give my head a shake though. He has only been here three weeks, and he is doing really well. As Alida pointed out, if his worst thing is stopping when he is scared, he is doing awesome. So, we just need to keep working the way we have been until he has a better understanding and acceptance of his job, then we can start to add in spectators.

Each success is like money in the bank

Today was a repeat of yesterday, plus a bit more, with a similar successful outcome. Yay!

In horse training, I consider every successful day — and even every successful experience — to be like putting “money in the bank”.

My account with a horse is credited every time he learns I can tell him what to do and he can do it safely and successfully. Each time he can do something which pleases me, and at the same time keep himself comfortable mentally and physically, he gains confidence in himself and in me as his leader. When this happens, our account balance goes up. A bad or negative experience will result in a decrease to our account.

So my goal is to maximize our successful experiences, and avoid or minimize negative experiences, thereby building up a strong credit balance. This credit will stand me in good stead in future situations, if they happen to be fraught with emotion and I require the horse to dig deep and trust.

Reflecting on the three weeks that Levi (Elix) has been here, I must say he has been a gentleman and all our experiences have been positive. He really has comported himself admirably. Even in those situations where you might expect a young or inexperienced horse to be anxious, Levi has been reasonable and manageable. Our confidence in each other and our credit balance of trust grows with each passing day.

Today I started by lungeing Levi both ways in all three gaits. This was the second day ever that I asked for the canter on the lunge, and I did have to rev him up a bit, but it was already easier and more organized than last time. My walking poles are out of the arena, so I was able to move my circle up and down and cover all the real estate of our arena. He is not afraid of any part of the ring and works confidently throughout.

Alida came out and boosted me onto his back, then she lunged us to the left. After walking a short ways Levi volunteered the trot and, since he felt relaxed, I took it. We trotted nicely with none of the stopping we had yesterday. Well, today he may have thought about stopping once or twice, but I could feel it coming and touch him with the whip to send him forward before he actually did stop. After trotting for a fair while, I asked him to walk, then halt.

We turned him to the right and started again. All was relaxed so I asked for trot. He was going along very nicely, then, he slammed on the brakes. This seems to be his reaction when he is worried by something new. I sent him forward again, and he went. We had another couple times of stopping when on the circle to the right, but overall it was good, and he went forward. Alida helped us stay forward with the lunge whip and encouraging him with her voice.

I expect tomorrow’s under-saddle work will be even better, now that he is getting the idea. Today was already a lot better to the left. If everything goes well tomorrow, we’ll take off the lunge line, and perhaps even get some pictures.

Our farrier was here today, and Levi got his feet trimmed. I asked the farrier to go get Levi out of his stall while I was putting the previous horse away. He commented on how soft Levi’s temperament is, and how nicely he stood in the stall door and just dropped his head into the halter when the farrier went to get him. Our farrier was shaking his head in wonder at how such a horse could possibly have been labeled “dangerous”.

Has anyone else had the experience of a horse who just needed to find the right trainer that he “clicks” with, in order that he can learn successfully and build that credit balance of trust in people?

After a four day weekend, I thought Levi (Elix) might be feeling a bit fresh this morning. So my plan was to lunge him and make use of any excess energy to work on the canter, before calling Alida to the arena to help with the mounted work. Well, it turns out Levi is an energy-conservationist type of Fjord, and he started out just as steady as rain. In fact, I had to keep adding impulses of energy in the form of kiss noises and waves of the lunge whip in order to maintain the nice forward rhythm I wanted in the trot. I decided I had better keep my lunging session short after all, in order that I not use up his energy supply before I got on his back.

Once Alida gave me a leg up onto him, we asked Levi to move off in walk. Alida had the lunge line and whip and he seemed not so worried about her today. We walked a few times around the circle and then I asked him to trot. I used my voice and a touch of the dressage whip on his hip. He trotted off nicely and felt relaxed and happy. After going half-way around the circle, he suddenly stopped. It seems that Levi is one of those horses, who, when he gets scared or worried, stops in his tracks. This is an easier type to work with than those who run off when they get anxious.

When Levi stopped I used my voice and whip to get him back into walk and then trot. Alida held the lunge whip pointed at his hocks, and helped me keep him forward. We kept him trotting, and he stopped a couple more times before I found that touching him with the dressage whip every couple of steps gave him the impulsion he needed to overcome any worries he might have. Once he had figured out that, yes we really do want you to keep trotting with this person on your back, I asked with my voice for him to come back to walk, and then halt.

We left it at that for today! Tomorrow, we’ll do the same but also go to the right.

Levi (Elix) got an unscheduled day off today, and I am planning to be away again at my coach’s tomorrow, which will mean a 4 day long weekend for Levi. The lucky boy!

Actually I’m really looking forward to my work sessions with Levi, so it’s too bad we couldn’t go today. What happened was that after I rode Helix this morning, Helix started acting uncomfortable. He was breathing fast and really didn’t seem to be himself, but we couldn’t figure out what was up with him, so we ended up calling the vet. Of course by the time she got there 45 minutes later, Helix seemed better, but she did a thorough exam on him and took blood. Hopefully it was just “one of those things” and he will be back to his normal self again. As a result though I only got to ride three horses today and Levi, being last on the roster, got left.

I’m sure Levi is happy either way!

Yesterday I had Alida lunge me on Levi (Elix). I started by lungeing him both ways for a while, then Alida came out and gave me a leg up onto him. First I laid across his back, after that she boosted me right up. He stood perfectly still and relaxed throughout.

With me on Levi’s back, Alida then got into lungeing position behind his girth, but she held the lunge whip under her arm pointing back and down instead of towards his hocks. As soon as she did this though, Levi seemed quite worried about what her intentions were, and began to quickly move away from her onto the circle. He felt like he wanted to do a hasty trot, but our goal was to have him feel relaxed and confident in whatever gait he was in. So Alida kept a pretty firm connection on the lunge line, and I on the reins, and we both talked gently to him to let him know that he didn’t need to worry and he should stay in walk. After a few times around the circle, he relaxed in his body and mind, and Alida could let the lunge line out until we were walking on a full 20 metre circle. I asked for some transitions to halt, and then walked on. Then we turned him around and did the same thing to the right.

When moving off on the circle to the right he was much less worried about Alida, but I elected to stay in walk for today to reinforce the idea that Alida was going to be gentle and undemanding and not ask more of him than he was mentally ready for. He did some nice relaxed circles in walk, then I asked him to halt, and dismounted.

Both of us were pleased with how honest his reactions had been and how quickly he overcame his initial worries.

Is anybody getting tired of these “We had another awesome day!” posts? No? Me neither!

Well, we had another awesome day. Levi (Elix) was tacked up with saddle and bridle, and we started with a bit of hand-walking over the grids of poles to warm-up. Then I immediately fastened the side reins to the bit and started lungeing him. Levi moved off and went forward nicely, stretching his neck and giving to the contact.

The Canter

I had in my mind that today I wanted to ask for the canter, and I was a tiny bit worried that the degree of “chasing” it might require could trigger a flashback for him. To prepare him for the extra pressure, I started asking for a bigger and bigger trot, which he gave me without problem. OK, good boy, … so now, time for canter.

It certainly took a fair amount of voice (Can-TER!), kiss noises, whip waving, and even a bit of me “cantering” on the spot until he went faster and faster and broke into canter. It was a hectic disorganized canter, and for a teensy moment it seemed like he was going to veer off our circle left and head to the right (uh-oh!) but then he stayed with me (phew!). He went once around the circle in this somewhat frantic canter then I praised him and asked him to drop back to trot, which he did immediately (and to my eye, gratefully). I let him do some nice quiet trot work and a few walk-trot-walk transitions to get his equilibrium back.

Then I turned him around to go to the right. Throughout the trot work to the right I felt like he was extra tuned-in and seemed to be thinking “You are going to ask me to do that again, aren’t you?” Sure enough, when I asked for the canter he responded much quicker and easier and the canter was a lot more balanced. Wonderful! Once around the circle on the right lead and I brought him back to trot, did some trot-walk transitions then halted. Then I led him over to the kickboards and gave him a sugar cube (which he likes now!)

All Aboard!

After that I paged Alida to come out and help me. While I was waiting for her, I removed the side reins and untwisted the reins which were tied up out of the way by his throat-latch, put away the lunge whip and picked up my dressage whip. We moved to the center of the arena, Alida held the lunge line in one hand and then one-two-three and she gave me a boost up so I laid on my belly across the saddle. Levi didn’t move a muscle and I reached over and patted him wherever I could reach on his right side. I hopped down and we praised him, then we did he same again. He stood like a rock.

That was all good, so next time it was one-two-three and Alida gave me a leg up right up astride his back. He took a couple steps back but Alida stopped him and then he stood quietly. I reached forward and handed him a sugar cube which he took and ate. Then, with Alida leading us, we walked around the arena. Levi seemed more bemused by the flup-flup-flup sound of Alida’s tall rubber mud boots than the fact that he had a rider on his back. He was very calm, he just seemed confused.

We walked once around to the right, then changed direction across the diagonal. Going to the left Levi seemed to want to veer towards Alida and I had to use my right rein and whip on his left shoulder to keep him out on the rail.

The Perfect Storm

At that point the weather, which had been bright sunshine, suddenly turned into a pelting hailstorm! Great rattling sounds began crashing, pinging, and rat-a-tat-tatting off the roof above us and the wall right beside us! And Levi ….. stopped. I am more of a go person than a stop person in general, but I thought this was a pretty nice reaction for a new-to-being-ridden horse.

All three of us stood there until the hail storm passed in a few moments, then we walked on, finished our round of the arena, came to a halt, and I dismounted. Alida took him back to the barn for grooming and his well-deserved lunch hay. Before lunch we hosed him again in the wash rack and he was a good boy, a little worried at the beginning when the water touched him but then accepted it fine within ten or twenty seconds.

Alida was telling me about when she was getting Levi ready to ride today. He had been out in the paddock, so she had to take off his rain sheet and his stable blanket before grooming him. She undid all the straps on the rain sheet, but didn’t check that the hind leg straps were free of each other before pulling the sheet off. As a result the straps wound around each other and then wound around his hind legs. She was pulling the sheet off as she realized it was snagged on his hind legs! Alida thought “Oh dear! Oh no! What have I done?! How am I going to get this free without scaring him and causing an incident?” But then she realized he didn’t care in the least. She was able to reach down and untangle the straps from around his hind legs and he didn’t react.

Grateful for another awesome day with more milestones achieved.

Trotting nicely on the lunge with saddle and side reins

I did Levi’s (Elix’s) lungeing lesson today with the saddle on for the first time, instead of the surcingle. The saddle feels more substantial than the surcingle, more like what he will feel when the rider is on his back. As well, the stirrup irons will slide down the leathers as he moves and they will touch and bump against his sides in different places. I don’t tie up my leathers to prevent the irons sliding down. I want to see what the horse’s reaction will be, and have him learn that it is no big deal to have the stirrups touching and bumping against him.

Some young horses will bronc when you first lunge them with a saddle. That is not really a big deal for the trainer, as long as you have all the tack done up tight so the horse can’t get rid of it! It is important that the horse can’t budge the tack, so he can learn that bucking has no effect. Then you just need to keep lungeing with the tack until the horse gets used to it and no longer feels the need to try and buck it off. Any sort of prolonged bucking from a young horse on the lunge (more than a couple of days) would indicate to me a physical or pain issue, such as from a badly-fitted saddle or a dentistry issue.

This photo shows exactly what I am looking for: balance, engagement, stretching neck, and a soft eye, happy in his work

Getting back to our Levi however, no broncing for this boy! He trotted off with the saddle on and irons hanging and flapping loosely against him like a regular old Steady Eddy. I lunged him both ways at walk and trot before doing it again both ways with the side reins fastened to his bit. I like the balance and engagement you can see in the photos and the stretching of his neck forward and downward. That is just what I am working towards.

It did start to rain today halfway through our work. The sound of the rain is quite loud in our arena which has neither insulation nor ceiling between the rafters and the roof. This was the first day which was noisy in the arena but I was pleased to see that Levi did not react negatively to the noise today. We will get much noisier days coming up as windy winter weather comes upon us!

A happy smiling trainer!

Tomorrow if everything goes well and the timing seems right I plan to ask for the canter on the lunge. I want to make sure he knows it is OK to canter before I get on his back.

I continue to be pleased with his cooperative attitude and his trainability. Looking forward to next time!

Alida was saying that when she goes into the paddock now, Levi (Elix) comes towards her with an enthusiastic “Hello! Is it my turn yet?” expression on his face. She commented that “he is just like a little boy”, which is so true. He goes everywhere with ears pricked and a happy expression, and seems to just want to be told what to do to please us.

Today’s work was much like yesterday. I had him in bridle and surcingle. I started off with hand-walking through the grids of poles, which he did with no hesitation. Then I clipped the lunge line to the inside bit ring and lunged him to the left, letting Levi put his head and neck wherever he wanted to. I wanted to make sure the go button was working well before thinking about putting on the side reins again.

My model of training is that it is like asking the horse a series of questions (“will you go forward?”, “will you come back?”, “will you move away?”, “will you give to this contact?”) which I just keep asking until I get the answer I want.

I turned Levi around then and lunged him to the right. He really seems to have the idea of going forward and staying on the circle, and responds well to voice commands to go forward and come back. I haven’t yet asked him for the canter on the lunge, and he hasn’t offered it. Since he hasn’t gone charging around, my gut is telling me to wait with the canter until we get the easier stuff — and our relationship — a little more confirmed. Probably I’ll approach that any day now.

Now came the time to put on the side reins. Like all horses new to the concept of giving in to contact, Levi had a few minutes of confusion and backing up yesterday before he gave in and went forward. On the second day, the horses can either step up their resistance and try harder to get out of it, or immediately give and go forward. I did up Levi’s side reins, asked him to move off, and he immediately stretched forward and down, flexed his neck, and trotted nicely forward. Yay!! I let him trot for a while and figure out how to position his head and neck to be most comfortable and then I asked for a bigger trot. Forward into the contact is going to be his motto in life from now on, so time to start practicing it, and he responded beautifully.

After that I was able to turn him to the right and do up the side reins, which I hadn’t approached yesterday. I adjusted them a bit shorter also, and he moved off nicely and did some good work to the right. No confusion, no backing up, no hesitation.

So I was super happy with his progress today, and we finished with a little hand walking over the poles again. Tomorrow we will do the same work, but have him carrying the saddle.

I’m really happy with how Levi (Elix) did today. I was planning to introduce the bit and bridle, but before I did that I wanted to make sure his mouth was feeling OK and had totally healed up from the extraction of the piece of baby tooth embedded in his gums. The last thing I wanted was him to experience pain in his mouth and have a flashback to his previous training experience. So I stuck my finger in on the right side of his mouth and ran it over the bars, putting pressure all the way back to the first molar. He showed no pain or fear when I did this. I went around and did the same thing on the left (just to be complete) and no problems.

Seeing that he was good to go, I started trying on bridles and bits. I had a hunch that Helix’s bridle would fit Levi, so I put that on first. It fit exactly with no adjustments, which is great (one less bridle to clean every day!) The bit is a double-jointed loose-ring KK snaffle, with a medium thickness. This is a very friendly starting bit and could very well be his bit all the way up to quite advanced work. The bit stuck out a little on each side, didn’t pinch the corners of his mouth, and he held it quietly in his mouth with no fussing.

Here we go through the poles for the first time.Low light in arena = fuzzy pictures, but they were all I had so I decided to use them anyway.

Levi was tacked up with surcingle and pad, side reins, splint boots, and bridle. Out in the arena I had a couple of grids of ground poles set up that hadn’t been there before, so I walked him over to that part of the arena before we started our lungeing. I could tell he was a tiny bit dubious, but when I asked him to walk through the line of two poles he put his trust in me and walked straight through beside me without any pause.

We did that a few times back and forth and then I asked him to walk through the grid of six poles. This was a big leap, from two all the way to six, but he rewarded my faith in him by lowering his head and carefully and smoothly navigating his way all the way through right beside me. What a good boy.

We did it! No problem.

I moved to the other end of the arena and put on the lunge line, hooking it up to the left bit ring. I got into lungeing position to the left and as soon as my body language told him to move out, he proceeded out to the circle in a nice marching walk. It did not require any fancy footwork on my part and he acted as if we had done this hundreds of times before, instead of only once! I asked him to trot and he did it nicely, staying on his circle, with a nice steady contact from my hand to his mouth. We did some transitions between trot and walk and back again and he was nicely tuned in to me and responsive to my voice commands.

I stopped him and turned him around to the right and clipped the lunge line to the right bit ring. I sent him out on the circle, and I needed a bit more driving body language in this direction, which is totally normal in a young horse. We horsepeople tend to handle our horses from the left 99% of the time, which creates some confusion for the horse when we finally get on the right side. The lungeing to the right went well though, and we went through the same routine with establishing a nice forward trot and then doing some trot-walk-trot transitions before finally wrapping it up with a straight whoa, facing forward on the circle.

I was happy with how things were going, so I turned him to the left again and decided to hook up the side reins to his bit and ask for a bit more. I fastened the side reins loosely, but enough to give him some contact. Levi felt the side reins and he thought he couldn’t go forward so he started to back up. I had to be quick on my feet and ensure I was behind his girth and really encouraging him forward with my voice, and my whip as needed. The thing is, if the horse goes forward into the contact he will soon figure out that by stretching his neck forward and downward and flexing and softening his jaw he can become comfortable in the contact. But unless they go forward the young horse will feel constrained. That’s why it is important to ensure that your horse is responsive to the forward-driving aids before introducing the side reins.

After a few moments of sending him forward, with a couple little glitches when he stopped and backed up (once he backed into the ground poles, but he didn’t panic or freak out and I got him going forward again) he was trotting nicely on the circle to the left and learning how to stretch his neck and give. I love watching the lightbulb go on over the young horse’s head as he learns how to use his body in this new way.

After lungeing to the left in side reins for a while I asked him to halt, unhooked the side reins and cooled him out by walking him around the arena and through the ground poles a few times. I felt it was a very productive day. I really love his attitude so far. After five days off he got back to work as if we hadn’t missed a day, and he was just so sane and easy. All the young horses I start should be this pleasant!

Levi soaking up the sun on a cool day

Lori is away at her coach’s place for a few days with another horse, leaving me to mind the farm. Luckily, Alida is still coming to do the chores, so all I need to do is the morning feeding, evening bringing-in and feeding, and night check. Levi (Elix) is getting a few days off, just hanging out with his friends Storjo and Fjelljo.

I haven’t been doing much with Levi other than basic handling, but he’s been great. He’s patient at the gate, even when I bring one of his friends in first, and he leads nicely. He was a little fidgety to get into his stall (where his hay was waiting) last night when I had him on the cross ties to take his rain sheet off, but just telling him firmly to “stop” worked fine. Once I unclipped him to lead him to his stall, he walked nicely, with no rushing, pulling, or pushing.

Stefan and Levi self-portrait attempt

I really like his reaction when I come around with the grain. His stall is right next to the feed room, and he peers eagerly through the open door between mouthfuls of hay. If his head happens to be down when I arrive with the grain, he pops up with bright eyes and a really happy look on his face. He’s not getting a lot of grain yet, since we’re introducing our feed to him slowly, but he certainly loves the stuff!

Just now I walked out into the paddock to see if I could get some pictures. He was in the run-in shed, busy licking the salt block, but when he heard me coming, he turned around and came out to say “hello” and get his picture taken. As you can see, it’s hard to get a decent self-portrait of oneself and a horse, but we tried!

Levi (Elix) had a great day yesterday. He was second on the roster in the morning, right after Storjo, and he stood nicely in his stall all alone in the barn while the other horses were turned out and Storjo went out to be ridden. Alida got Levi ready and she said his manners were excellent and he is already practically perfect with his feet. Alida swept up right around and behind Levi and he showed no tension or concern to have the broom and shovel right under his feet. We noticed that Levi had some liquidy manure on his behind this morning, so we decided we would put him in the wash rack and see how he was with hosing off after his workout.

I took Levi out to the arena in the lungeing cavesson and put the lunge line on and picked up the lunge whip. He was gawking at his reflection in the mirrors, but still paid attention to me. I could tell he had never been lunged before by his reaction when I pushed him out on the circle, but it was no different than teaching any horse to lunge. I concentrated on keeping my body position behind his girth, driving with the whip behind his hindquarters, and my intent focused on him staying out on the circle and going forward. My most important goal at this point is that the horse stays forward on the circle, with the side of his body always parallel to the front of my body.

It took a few flicks of the whip behind his hindquarters to show Levi that I wanted him forward on the circle, but he then picked up the idea immediately. He walked in a circle around me, then picked up a trot. It was quite a nice trot too! He stayed nicely on the circle  and didn’t cut in or try to pull out on the lunge line. I just had a nice light and steady contact with the cavesson, and he didn’t charge around, buck, or do anything wrong or crazy. After a while I asked him to walk and he did. We did another transition to trot and then back to walk. I asked him to whoa, and I concentrated on having him stay immobile and facing forward on the circle as I approached his girth. He stood perfectly still as I approached and praised him extensively when I got to him. Then I turned him around and started him off on the circle to the right. It went just as well, and we left the arena after 15 minutes of very productive work! I was very pleased.

This slightly goofy photo shows Levi relaxed and happy in the wash rack while I hose the back of his hind legs

Back in the barn, we untacked him and then took Levi to the wash rack for his first time. We have a metal pipe wash rack and Levi walked right in without hesitation. Alida held his head while I held the chain against his hind legs to test his reaction. He was fine with it, so I fastened the chain behind him. I got the water running in the hose so I could check the temperature, and dragged the hose back to his hind end. When I directed the stream of water onto his left hind leg, he picked up the leg, and started to tremble all over his body. He was quite scared, but Alida talked nicely to him and I continued to hose the leg, and within less than half a minute he realized it wasn’t so bad after all. Then I was able to easily move the hose higher and cleaned him up all the way to right under the tail. Then I took the hose around to the other side and did the same thing. Both Alida and I agreed that Levi was a very quick learner and a super nice young fellow to work with.

I am away now for three days, gone with another horse to my coach’s barn for lessons. So Levi will get a few days off, and will spend his days in the paddock with his buddies, and can think about his successful experiences since he got here Next Monday, we will start work again!

Today was Levi’s (Elix) first day of “work”. I took it very easy and didn’t ask much of him, but it went well. It is nice to keep things so simple and do-able that you are able to easily praise the horse, and he thinks, “That’s all? I can do that!” Setting up a horse to succeed is a big part of getting him engaged in the training process and making him want to work with you. My early lessons with a horse may only last 10 to 15 minutes and I always want to end with a “that went well” feeling for both of us.

When Alida (who is grooming for me now) went out to get Storjo this morning, Levi took one look as she walked through the gate and trotted away and hid behind Storjo and Fjelljo. They both approached Alida and she petted them and haltered Storjo to bring him in. Later when she went back to get Levi, he walked away from her to the end of the paddock, but allowed her to quietly approach and catch him. He hasn’t shown any shyness about letting me catch him, so it was interesting to see him initially distrust a stranger, but give her the benefit of the doubt.

Alida brought Levi in today and groomed him; he stood perfectly still and quiet in the cross-ties, and was really good with his feet. She also finished the last stage of brushing out his terribly tangled tail, which is now looking good. He was the only horse in the barn for all of this but it did not worry him. He was fine when Alida left him alone and went back to the other side of the barn to shut the door. She tacked him up with boots, saddle pad, surcingle, and lungeing cavesson.

I then took Levi out to the arena for the first time. When we walked through the door and he saw his reflection in the far end which is mirrored above the kickboards, I think he grew about four inches taller. I walked him around the arena and he was staring at the mirrors, but he did not push into me, barge ahead, drag me towards the mirror, or turn and try to run away. He stayed right beside me and after a few times around with a couple of figure eights and changes of directions, his head and neck began to come down and he visibly relaxed.

We practiced some whoas and walk-ons, turning toward and away from me, even did some turns on the haunches like in halter showmanship. Through all this he stayed very respectful of my space and my pace, and matched his stride to mine, even stopping when I did with no verbal cue. I had some spunky up-beat music playing over the speakers but he was not distracted by the sound of it.

I tried to get him to eat a sugar cube but he kept spitting it out. That will come! My horses have to like their sugar cubes.

I was thrilled with his obedient and cooperative attitude again today. Tomorrow I will do a bit of lungeing with him and see how it goes.

Today I spent some time with Levi (Elix) trying on tack and blankets and getting him fitted out for the work ahead. I brought him into the barn all by himself with his friends still outside in the paddock. After just a few moments of neck craning and shifting back and forth, while I gently put him back in the middle of the aisle a few times, he settled right down and stood quiet as could be as I groomed him and then did all the tack trying-on. I could not fault his manners one little bit, and by the end of our hour-long session I was giggling and saying he is such a pet I want to take him into the house!

Levi in saddle and cavesson

I decided I like the way my Jeffries saddle fits him; I think it will do just fine for him until he builds up some muscles in his shoulders, then he’ll likely need something wider. I start a lot of young horses in this saddle, and it’s the one I am using on Storjo right now. I put a pair of DSB boots on Levi and he was very confused and wondered what I wanted him to do. I could see that was a new experience for him. He has nice straight legs with super bone, his cannons measure over 8″ in circumference.

Now normally I would start first lungeing lessons with a young horse in bridle, surcingle, and side-reins, but I’ve been thinking about this and with Levi I have decided to take a more conservative approach, due to his recent tooth extraction. I am going to be away this week Wednesday through Friday at my coach’s with another horse, so I have decided to give Levi the full time until I get back before I introduce the bit into his mouth. That way I can be sure that his mouth is totally healed, and pressure from the bit won’t cause any pain and trigger a flashback. So today I fitted him out in a lungeing cavesson, and tomorrow and Tuesday I will do a little bit of very easy and quiet work in the arena with the lungeing cavesson instead of bridle.

After I had his cavesson, boots, pad and saddle on his back I walked him around in the barn for a while, practicing turning and stopping, and he was calm and attentive.

Levi in Hug stable blanket

Then I tried on stable blankets. I was super conservative, figuring he hadn’t had a blanket on yet. I removed the hind leg straps so they wouldn’t be swinging around his hind legs as I put the blanket on. I let him sniff the blanket and he showed no fear whatsoever. I gently laid it over his back and carefully moved it into position but his expression was telling me “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m fine, really!”

So I went ahead and did up the blanket, played with the leg straps around his hind legs for a while, then hooked them up, and took him for a little walk again around the barn. No worries whatsoever. After that I found a rain sheet I thought should fit him and I put that on over the stable blanket and adjusted it, with no worries on his part; he acted like a seasoned show horse. I scritched my fingers all over the rain sheet, testing his reaction to the nylon-y noises, but he couldn’t have cared less.

Another test passed with flying colours!

Pretty boy!

The boys were getting along fine with each other over the fence yesterday, so today I decided I would put Levi (Elix) in with Storjo and Fjelljo. Thankfully, the introductions went well, and the boys seem to be good friends already.

Confession time: I am the world’s biggest suck about adding new horses to a herd! I always worry that someone will get hurt, and I cringe and flinch through all the introductory squealing and stamping and posturing that goes on. These guys took it super easy on me today though, and pretty much immediately got down to playing kissy-face and nibble-nose.

It was mane-cutting-day, so after a couple of hours out with his new friends, we brought Levi back into the barn to have his first appointment with Stefan. We put Levi on cross-ties and he was a bit distracted, craning his neck to look for his new-found friends and not standing straight and still in the middle of the aisle.

Levi (right) and Fjelljo (left)

Our friend Elena was up for the day, hanging out and helping in the barn. Elena is a horse novice; she has been up to our farm a total of five or six times and I am teaching her how to brush and handle horses. So, I showed Elena how to push Levi over into the middle of the aisle, and push him back if he goes too far, and how to keep gently repositioning him if he stepped forward, back, or sideways.

After two or three minutes of this, he was standing still, straight, and quiet, and Elena gave him a good going over with the rubber curry and dandy brush, while Stefan cut his mane. We trimmed his tail, and sprayed it full of Satin Sheen again. Removing the tangles is still a job for another day. Elena was so happy, as she said, “I have almost no experience with telling a horse what to do, and yet he listened to me so well, learned quickly, and did exactly what I wanted!”

Levi's finished haircut

We weren’t sure if Levi knew about electric clippers, and he still doesn’t know us very well yet, so we decided to leave the trimming of his chin hairs for next time. The new cut looks awesome though; he is a really handsome boy! Tall, dark, and handsome actually…. I remembered to put the measure stick on him and he is 14.2 hh on level concrete with no shoes. This is a good-sized gelding.

At bringing-in time I rinsed Levi’s mouth again with salt water, and cleaned out his feet before putting him in his stall. The hoof cleaning went nicely, he picked them up much easier already than the other night.

Hopefully by Monday his mouth should be healed up enough to have a bit and bridle. I am quite keen to get started working with him, he has been so pleasant so far.

Levi with Oriole in the background

Levi says Hello to Oriole

Levi greets the mommas and babies while Storjo looks on

Levi (right) and Fjelljo (left)

Levi (left), Fjelljo (right) and Storjo behind (in blue blanket)

Fjelljo and Levi play kissy-face

Stefan cuts Levi's mane while Elena grooms him

Levi's finished haircut

Levi stands in foreground with new hair cut, while I put on Fjelljo's halter

Levi greets Wren over the fence

Elena and Levi

Christina listens to Levi's heart

This morning at 6:30 am Levi was calm and happy to see us. I was happy to see that he keeps a tidy stall, which is always a likeable quality in any horse, and also meant he spent his first night without agitation.

Our, vet Dr. Christina Mohos of Wellington Equine, arrived just after 9:00 am. I opened Levi’s stall door, and Christina and I stood there chatting while Levi stood relaxed beside me, head down and curiously checking out our dog Iris. Then I put on his halter and put him on the cross-ties. He stood quietly while Christina checked his back, his tendons, his joints, and his vision. All checked out fine.

Hmmm, what do we have here?

After that she gave him an IV dose of sedation so we could float his teeth with the full-mouth speculum and power float, and I was glad to see he didn’t flinch at all while she found a vein and inserted the needle.

On examination of his mouth, Christina found his teeth were very sharp and the cheeks had sores inside. More startling was the finding of a piece of baby tooth embedded in the gum right in front of the first molar on the bottom right! The embedded piece could be moved around, which would cause a lot of pain, similar to having a bamboo sliver stuck in your gum and having someone moving the free end around. If the piece had been rooted more firmly it wouldn’t have caused quite so much pain.

Getting the sharp edges floated off

Christina’s feeling was that if he wasn’t a stoic Fjord, someone would have noticed him having trouble eating by now. She used an extraction tool to remove the retained cap and then power floated his teeth. I am now going to give him a couple of days to heal before I put a bit in his mouth. During that time I will rinse his mouth with salt water twice a day to hasten the healing process. A tablespoon of salt dissolved in a cup of water, administered with a big dosing syringe should do the trick.

When Christina was leaving she said “I wish all my patients were as nice to work around as this guy is”, and, “I really need to get a Fjord for myself”. I love that Levi was able to maintain Christina’s high opinion of the Fjord temperament.

All the rest of the morning in the barn as we did chores and had horses coming and going being groomed, tacked up, going to be ridden, coming back to be untacked, etc., with sweeping, shoveling, hoses, and all the other rattlings of a busy barn, Levi was calm and watched everything with curiosity and interest but no worries. I have him turned out now in a paddock by himself right next to Storjo (four year old) and Fjelljo (two year old) who I hope will be his paddock buddies in the future.

I have a good feeling after this first day!

Me and Elix

Elix arrived at 6:30 pm today. He was in a 3 horse stock/slant-load by himself, with open slats along the top sides of the trailer. He was relaxed and not sweaty at all, after the rather long trip along Highway 401 including the section right through Toronto. Larry said Elix loaded up like a champ this morning, didn’t even have to tighten the lead shank, just stepped right up and climbed on.

Once the trailer was parked at our place, Larry backed Elix out. He took careful tiny steps backwards, feeling for the step down, stepped down back feet then front feet. He entered the barn cautiously but did not push or crowd into Larry, who put him into the box stall I had ready, right beside Storjo. Elix immediately started eating the flake of hay I had waiting for him, and had a drink of water out of the bucket.

Our first hoof cleaning

We came back to the barn later to check him out. I am going to call him “Levi” as his barn name, and I think it really suits him. He has a very dark forelock and tail with a lot of black in them, and coal black stockings up to his knees. His head is quite fine, and he is tall. I meant to put the measure stick on him, but I forgot, so I’ll do that soon.

I took him out of the stall and put him on cross-ties. He stood quietly. I brushed him a bit, and cleaned his feet. Picking the feet up was a bit sticky, they were rooted to the floor, but once I convinced him to lift them up he stood nicely and didn’t try to pull them away.

I sprayed his tail really full of Satin Sheen, because it is quite the rat’s nest of tangles and straw, and I will want to brush it out over the next few days. I had Stefan stand at his head when I used the spray bottle, just in case, but he didn’t flinch at the noise or move a muscle.

Afterwards, I picked off his front chestnuts which were quite thick, which is a pet peeve of mine (I like the chestnuts to be flush to the skin). He didn’t fuss at all when I did this. Some young horses are touchy about their chestnuts being handled but not this guy.

I really couldn’t fault his behaviour tonight, that’s for sure. Tomorrow, vet visit at 9:00 am!

The plan is for Elix to arrive here tomorrow afternoon. He has been at Larry the shipper’s since the week-end. Larry picked him up without incident at the previous trainer’s and took him home to his place. Elix loaded easily and traveled well, unloading and reloading at a friend of Larry’s along the way back.

Larry says Elix has been very well-behaved in the barn and gentle as a lamb, so that is great to hear. I am so hopeful that I can give Elix what he needs to become a good citizen.

They are calling for wet snow down there tomorrow morning, and Larry’s trailer has open slats at the top, so Elix will get his first experience of wearing a blanket tonight, just in case.

I have prepared a stall for him and have the vet lined up to float his teeth and give him a check-over on Friday morning at 9:00 am.

I am looking forward to meeting him and to getting started!