The Trainer Conumdrum

When I started riding again after 20 plus years everything had changed. I mean everything. I quickly realized I needed help. I started riding when I was 7 and learned to ride by trial and error. Learning to ride bareback and backwards, upside down and what ever else we dreamed up gave me a pretty good seat. That all came back pretty quickly. But a good seat doesn't make a you a good rider. Don't get me wrong, it is a big part - you know - the being able to "stay on" part - but that is about it. In my younger days I didn't start taking lessons until I was in my teens. Even then they were pretty limited. I would guess in the 10-15 years that I rode I only took maybe 20 lessons. And of course I was a teenager when I was taking them so I pretty much thought that I knew it all already and probably didn't get as much out of it as I may today. Back to the conundrum... I love that word. It just sounds confusing doesn't it? I had noticed that a lot of riders bounced from trainer to trainer. This confused me. How could you go from trainer to trainer and learn anything? I have enough trouble absorbing information from one person let alone getting differing opinions and conflicting views on horsemanship. I decided that I wasn't going to be a "bouncer". That I was going to find one trainer and stick with them and learn at my own pace. I wanted to be a good client too. I wanted to be loyal and treat my mentor with respect. I didn't want the reputation of being the flakey client that didn't pay on time, went through trainers with reckless abandon, used trainers and threw them away, or viewed as someone that wasn't serious about their horsemanship and riding.

When I needed to find someone to give me lessons to bring me out of the dark ages of my horsemanship, I found TL. I have ridden for with TL for about 5 years. She has started 5 babies for me and done a fabulous job. She trained the big paint horse to where he is a further along in his training horse than where I am as a rider. She is clear and concise with her instruction and explains things in a manner that even I can understand. She has definitely made me a better rider. I hear her in my head all the time. "Ride the horse you are on." "Raise your expectations." "Leg, leg, leg!" "Don't let him do that" and a myriad of other bits of wisdom float around up there. Sometimes I hear them and have trouble putting them into action, but they are there and I try to put them into practice every ride. I also like to do clinics with other trainers at least once a year. I have ridden in clinics with Craig Cameron, Tom Neal, and Richard Winters. I don't view doing clinics as bouncing from trainer to trainer. They are usually a one or two day event and I don't know that I will ever see or ride with them again.

Life changes for everyone. Goals and life situations change. Incomes fluctuate, jobs get in the way, family situations change, or sometimes you just decide that you want something different. This is true for everyone no matter if you ride horses, race cars, or do patchwork quilting. (Patchwork quilting? where did that come from?)

I attended a clinic with a semi-local trainer for a Ranch Versatility Class. Just for the sake of clarity I will call him TM. I have gone back to him a couple of times to get some experience working cattle. He has expressed to me on more than one occasion that he doesn't like it when clients don't train with him exclusively. His main focus is herd work and he does a decent job. While I enjoy lessons with him occasionally I can't see myself making a commitment to be an exclusive client. I also don't see him turning down my payment for a lesson whenever I want to take one regardless if I am exclusive with him or not.

A couple weeks ago I got a wild hair and made an appointment to take a lesson from another semi-local trainer. He has been recommended to me on several occasions and he is closer to home than TM. He trains cutting horses and has fresh cattle to work all the time. Lets call him CT. His methods are very different from what I have done in the past with TL and TM. Ms Lily took to working cattle with a vengeance. I have had her on cattle a handful of times at TMs and he was never overly impressed with her. While he always says she was doing better ever time he never really liked her. TL was never overly impressed with Ms. Lily. I have to admit, there are days that I am not overly impressed with Ms. Lily. She is tough, stubborn, she can be lazy in the arena, she doesn't like loping circles or doing anything that is generally repetitive. She has a huge attitude and the attention span of a gnat. With all that said she redeemed herself at the cutting lesson. Go Figure. She worked hard and stayed focused. She was actually a pleasure to ride. Although she did get me off center on several occasions when she went to work the cow - damn she can move when she wants to. Is this going to be her thing? I have no clue but it leads me back to my conundrum... finally huh?

Am I bouncing trainers?
Am I being the person that I didn't want to be?
Is this being fair to TL, TM or CT? Is it even my job to worry about being fair?

My goal is to find the niche that these horses fit into and that is my first priority. Can I do that riding with one person? TL is an awesome reining trainer and I believe that if she had cows she could be the whole package. TM has cows sometimes and has the cowboy skills to get the herd work done. In my opinion TM can't get the reined work done. CT has cows all the time and has a different approach to working them. I don't know enough about CT to know if he can get the reined work done. These are just my opinions. They aren't etched in stone or the end all.

So Friends....What is acceptable or etiquette in the world of trainers and clients? Is it acceptable to train with more than one? Is it proper to disclose the trainers you are riding with to each other?

Judges Seminar

Yesterday I spent the day in a Reined Cowhorse Judging Seminar. It was a really good day and there were several industry icons in attendance. Ron Emmons, Bobby Ingersole, Andy Anderson, Bill Enk to name a few. My husband and I went as auditors with no plans on taking the test. Even though you know what you are supposed to be doing when you are in the arena showing, you really don't get the full picture until you sit in the judges chair. Riding today I could hear them saying "check minus" "check" etc. It made me realize that I was giving away 1/2 points all over the place. Semper can do the maneuvers at least average and some above average, there should be no reason for him to ever get a check minus. Maybe the stops are an exception to that but if he stops clean, even if he doesn't stop big, they will be a check and not a check minus. I need to work on "raising my expectations" (Thank you Regina). The clinic was free with my paid club membership, I learned a lot, got to visit with some awesome horse people and came out with a renewed attitude about where I want to be.

Scooter and I spent some time together today. I took him out to give him a second dose of his strangles vaccine and thought that I would just let him graze for a few minutes while I brushed him. He seemed to enjoy the attention. He was quiet and relaxed. I slipped my spurs off and asked my husband to give me a leg up. Scooter had a halter on and I just pulled his head to my left side and laid my body across his back. Just hung out there for a few minutes and let him have his head back. He went back to grazing. So I wiggled about, patted his butt, flanks, neck and wiggled some more. He didn't even move. I asked him to stop grazing and I swung a leg over, fully prepared to swing off at the drop of a hat. He let out a big sigh and just stood there. I let him have his head and he went back to eating. I wiggled around, rubbed my hands and legs all around and he just stood there lazily grazing. I asked him to lift his head and walk off and he did. Turned when asked. Stopped when asked. I was on him for about 20 minutes just goofing around. I slid off and petted and brushed him some more. The strange thing is that when I was sitting on him bareback, he felt relaxed. It made me feel relaxed being up there. I have ridden all my horses bareback and usually the first time they aren't really sure about being ridden bareback and you can tell they are nervous and unsure. He was relaxed, he was quiet, he didn't tense any muscles, didn't gawk around or skid or scoot off. So far everything that I have put in front of him (with the exception of being tied) he has accepted without a fuss and remembered the next time around. What more can I ask for?

Scooter side note...

On a side note about Scooter. He is getting better about tying. He will fuss for a few minutes but then he quiets down and just stands there. Lately when I have been tying him in the barn to saddle him he has been really good. No fussing, just standing patiently. The day that I put the first ride on him, I asked him to stand tied when we were done. He was his old usual fussy self. Dug a hole to China, bucked in place, etc. I just ignored him till I was done. I brought him back to the barn and tied him up. I had he and Ms Lily to unsaddle etc. I started with her first. He threw a fit. Started kicking the aisle walls. I picked up a brush and tossed at him and told him to knock it off. I was a good 20 ft away and he turns his butt to me, parallel to the aisle wall and started kicking the crap out of the wall. I just lost it. He knew exactly what he was doing and he definitely was doing it on purpose. I took him outside and knocked the crap out of him. Made him move those feet that he was so intent on using to destroy the walls. After about 10 minutes he came in and stood tied quietly. His expression was more like "I want to be invisable".

I was just amazed at his attitude. He looked right at me, flipped his butt around (as if to say F-you) and went to kicking the walls. I know he wanted my attention. And he got it. Maybe not the attention he was looking for. He reminded me of a spoiled rotten child. I am going to resume tying him up in an effort to fix the fussing issue, but I have to wonder if even after he learns to stand tied patiently if this behavior is going to rear its ugly head when he doesn't get what HE wants immediately?

The Semper, Scooter and the big dilemma

I have been working with Scooter about 4 days a week. Lunging, round penning, leading, saddling, bridling, etc. A couple of nights ago when I was working with him, the asst. trainer was in the arena and offered to work with him a little. We took him in the round pen and he put a foot in the stirrup and bounced around for about 15 minutes. Scooter could have cared less. He didn't want to stand still at first but he really didn't get stupid, just fidgety. It took about 5 minutes for him to just stand there and take it.

I decided it was time for me to get on so I enlisted Laura's help and off we went. Laura's job was to call 911 if I got bucked off! I took him out, saddled him and off to the round pen we went. I worked him pretty hard in the round pen. First just moving him around, then I "bitted him up" a little and worked him, then a little more and worked him around. I figured this was as good as a time as any. I put a foot in the stirrup and bounced around and stood up. Then down, then up, then down. He stood still and gave me the "just do it already" look. I went to the other side and did the same thing. Again - nothing. So I put a leg over and relaxed in the saddle. Sat still for a minute and let him think about me being there. Pulled his head from side to side. Scratched and stroked his head, neck, and butt. Nothing. He was enjoying the attention and just stood still and relaxed. Next I ask him to move by banging his sides with my legs. His feet were stuck to the ground. He had a bridle and halter with a lead rope on. I took the end of the lead rope and gave him a light over and under while I kicked him and he walked off. We walked around the round pen both directions and he was as quiet and relaxed as could be. When he would start to stop I would bang his sides or use the lead rope and he would keep moving. I asked him to speed it up and he trotted off. Nice and smooth without any silliness. He was a perfect gentleman. After about 20 minutes of him walking and trotting, I got off and let him stand tied. He was a total brat about having to stand tied but I just ignored him and went on with the rest of my ride on Lily. I was so pleased with his performance in the round pen that I was willing to forgive the rest!

Semper is a big baby. Huge. He lost a shoe and he walks with an extremely exaggerated limp and thinks that his life is over. He is out on pasture, there is lots of mud, and it is rainy and cold. He has a blanket on and is still filthy. He is not a happy camper. He has a dry place to eat and get out of the rain and mud. But I can tell he is miserable. Him being home didn't work out as well as I had planned. Him being home was the only way that I could have Scooter at SCR and work on him. I had to take Semper back to SCR so that the shoer could replace the missing shoe and decided that he was just going to stay there and that Scooter was going to have to come back home. I am kind of disappointed because he was coming along so well but I just can't work it out to keep both of them and Ms Lily there. Ms Lily is doing really well and she has NO winter coat. I really couldn't bring her home even if I wanted to.

Of the positive side, Semper is very happy to be back at SCR and to have his shoe on. On the negative, Scooter is not a happy camper. He got a taste of the good life and since he has been home I don't think that he has come out of the barn.

My New Years Resolution is to get Scooter and Bob Harley going. Scooter - I am going to continue working myself and Bob is going to go to a trainer. If I am successful I will have 5 horses under saddle. There is no way for me to keep 5 horses going. Along with my New Years resolution I am going to have some hard choices to make in the next 12 months. Who to keep and who to part with. They are all so much a part of me that I feel like such a dirt bag even thinking about selling one.

Scooter update

Scooter had a vet appointment last Thursday. He had some vaccinations, his teeth done - they removed four caps, gum tissue attached and were generous enough to leave them for me in a plastic baggy - can you say yuck? And he had his sheath cleaned. That was a lot for the poor guy. I am sure that it is a day he would prefer to forget. I let him have a couple days off. Actually, I didn't want him associating me with any part of what they did to him on Thursday. I just write the checks. And I am sure it will be a whopper. Saturday I went out saddled him, took he and Lil to the indoor arena. Tied him outside while I worked Lil. He kicked, pawed and generally carried on like a complete ass the entire time. He kicks at the air. He bucks in place. He paws the ground like a fiend. I finished with Lil, tied her up and got him. He went right to work on the lunge line. Stayed with me the whole time. He is learning "whoa" on the lunge line very well. He doesn't pull on me. He keeps an ear on me and really pays attention. I worked him for about 30 minutes then took both of them back to the barn. He has had a bath before but never in a wash rack. He walked in and stood there like a gentleman. He wasn't too sure about the foamer. The warm water convinced him that this wasn't all that bad. It is funny how they melt into the warm water and just stand patiently. After his bath, I tied him to the fence to dry. Here we go again. Kicking the panels, digging a hole to China. I can't leave him because the barn owner gets annoyed when his stuff gets destroyed - rightfully so. I moved him into the barn and he continued his obnoxious behavior. Then I moved him to a tie out way over by the indoor. Nothing for him to kick, he can dig a hole or whatever. I left him there while I took care of Lil. I took my time, gave her a good bath, washed and conditioned her mane and tail, let her graze while she dried. All the while he was tied to the thinking post carrying on like a fool.

I was really frustrated when I left on Saturday. I was hoping to see some decrease in his behavior but I think it is escalating. I can't spend hours out at the barn while he works it out. I am worried that giving him an hour or two at a time is just ingraining this behavior. I skipped Sunday. Monday night I went out and got he and Lil and tied him to the thinking post while I rode. No big surprise. He carried on and on and on. When I was done with Lil, I lunged him and he went right to work. He is telling me that he wants a job and that he willing. My next step is to speak to the asst trainer and see if I can pay him to tie Scooter out and just leave him (but keep an eye on him). If he would tie him up at lunch I could be there by 5pm to untie him and put him away. Tonight I am going to put a snaffle bit on him over his halter and let him think on that while he is tied up.

Recap: he has been saddle 6 times and now stands tied while being saddled. Lunges without pulling and pays attention. Stops nicely when you say "whoa". Will yield his hind quarters, shoulders with very little pressure. He will flex both directions with little pressure. He could care less about the rope being around his legs, hind quarters etc. Showing a lot of try and willingness to please. Tying sucks. He gets a big fat F in tying.

Scooter

I profiled Scooter back in January. He is my little red horse. I moved Semper home for a much deserved break from stall life and moved Scooter to Semper's stall at SCR. Scooter is a thinker. And he thinks that this stall life is pretty special. At least so far. This is the first horse that I am doing my own ground work. I am going to try to make each lesson count and teach him something new every time we go out. If the ground work goes well I will continue to start him myself. I plan to keep journal of each lesson so I can look back and see where I screw up and what worked out well. I spent his second day there giving him a clip job because he looked so shaggy. About half way through I realized it was only the second time he had every been clipped and he had never had his legs done. But Mr. Thinker was standing quietly and just going with the flow. I took him to the arena to just move him around a little. He has never been lunged so I wasn't expecting much. He took to it like a duck to water. Like something he had been doing forever. A couple of times he took off towards the gate but with a quick correction he was back and working. One thing that I noticed... is with out that extra 125 lbs on my body, they can move me around a lot easier than they used to be able to. On Monday I put the saddle on him. This is the second time he has ever been saddled. The first time was just on a dare from my wonderful husband. Both times he has just accepted it without as much as a flinch. I walked he and Ms. Lily over to the arena and tied him to the wall. I started riding Lil and he decided to lay down. When he realized that wasn't going to work he got up and started kicking the wall and pawing the ground. I ignored him for awhile but it just got worse and worse. I decided that maybe I should have worked him first so I tied Lil up and got him. I spent 20 or 25 minutes lunging him and making him work. He has so much hair that he really gets sweaty easy and since I am only able to work with him at night I need to be careful just how overheated I get him. I don't want to be out there till midnight cooling him out. On the lunge line he didn't buck or fuss over the saddle, he had a couple moments of brattiness but came back around and did as he was asked. Recap of Monday night: Second saddling, second lunging - His overall grade for lesson #1 is a B. Tuesday night I saddled him and took him to the arena alone. He didn't fuss about being saddled or leaving Lil and his other stable mates. That is a plus. He went right to work on the lunge line. (I would love to work him in the round pen but we have had a lot of rain and it is dark outside by the time I get there and that makes the round pen off limits.) He went both directions, walk, trot, lope, no dragging me around, no bucking, a little head shaking but nothing a slight correction didn't fix. Next I worked on having him yield his hind quarters around. Then moving his front end around and flexing his head/neck with light pressure. I keep each lesson short and when he would get it right, we would stop and rest. He did a lot of licking and chewing and responded well to praise. We worked on "Whoa" on the lunge line. We also worked on just dealing with the rope being around his hind quarters and around his legs. He could have cared less. He stayed with me the entire time. Really focused on what I wanted and had a lot of try. Grade for lesson #2 is an A. One of the hurdles that I think that I am going to have is the standing tied with out fussing. He doesn't set back or pull, he paws and bucks in place and if there is a wall he will kick at it. He needs to stand tied for hours to learn patience and I can't be out there during the day to do that. I need to figure out a solution.

Christmas and other ramblings

Last year I started out the Christmas season with a very bah-humbug attitude. Then during the holidays I realized that I really enjoyed spending time with family and friends. Over all I had great holiday. I keep going back and reading what I wrote last year and trying to put myself into the Christmas spirit. It isn't working. Maybe I am trying to hard. Or not hard enough. Or maybe it isn't something you can make happen at all. Maybe it is something that just comes over you like.... (I am trying to think of something classy to say here but the only thing that is coming to mind is the urge to go pee) like... when you jump into a swimming pool on a hot day and the water is cool and you are instantly refreshed, energized - (I was going to say "relieved" but it was to close to the going pee comment - maybe I should just give up on the classy thing?).

Our Wednesday night lessons are cancelled for the month of December so I will be on my own for awhile. I have gone up to work cows a couple of times recently. Ms Lily seems to be getting better every time we go. She definitely has an attitude when it comes to working cattle. She is going to be the boss come hell or high water and the sooner the cows understand that the better. She is such a little horse - heck I am not even sure she is a horse in the true sense of the word. I will measure her and get back to you on that. How many hands does she need to be to be officially a horse? 14? I am rambling. Any way... little horse with a huge attitude. Like she has short mans syndrome. I have fun, she is coming along and that makes it all worth it. The gentleman that I have been taking lessons from is quite the character. He and my husband always talk about politics, guns, ammo and hunting. One of the things I love about my husband it that he is a gentlemen - a man's man, respectful of his peers. Wait, that is more than one thing - but those are some of the things that I admire about him. When he is around men that are older than he is (and he ain't no spring chicken) he is respectful. I like that. I also like that he stops at the local coffee shop and buys me a sugar free, non fat, mocha with carmel and then stops at the mini mart on the way to the lesson and buys me Lays Potato chips. And to top it all off on the way home he always lets me stop at my favorite farm supply store and check out the new selection of boots, clothes and tack. He comes into the store with me but usually doesn't set foot into the ladies or tack departments. He just stands in the main aisle and watches from afar. Sometimes I ask him "Honey do you like this?" as I am holding up some random blouse and he will say "yes that is nice". If I had to guess what he is really thinking it would be... "If I just agree with her this will all be over soon and we can go home". I wish they had a sporting goods department and sold guns at the farm supply store. Then he would be very content there, like when we go to Cabelas. He would hold up a gun and say "Wow honey look at this" and I would say "yes that is nice"....but what I would really be thinking is "If I just agree with him this will all be over soon and we can go home".