Dobush Farm

A Spring Day at Dobush Farm

George is enjoying a day off from training.

Brymstone's Quincy after the winter

My friend Marguerite has been boarding Quincy for the winter.  She needed a companion pony for her horse Donovan.  At the first sign of good weather and enough daylight,  we vowed to start riding together.  The only trail we knew was up-up-and more up.  The horses had to take a few breaks to conquer the ascent after a winter of lounging around.  

A section of  Donovan and Quincy's pasture is next to a fairly major road into Springfield.  It was an easy way for me to expose Quincy  to heavy traffic.  This paid off when Marguerite and I rode our trusty steeds down Route 11 into town and up by the hospital.  The tractor trailers were not a problem,  but manhole covers did catch our horses' attention.  By the third one,  the covers were not that interesting.

 

Behind Door Number One...

Sometimes in a person's life,  one has to figure out if the horse you have is compatible with you, or if you should move on. Sounds a little like a relationship with a person, huh?  Since I am not Ann Landers,  I won't go there.  Usually,  in my job,  the factors involved with compatibility are the owners time, experience and drive.  If the horse is too much for the owner and he/she doesn't want to make the effort,  don't beat a dead horse,  no pun intended.

 My current horse/owner relationship has a couple of curve balls.  For one,  the horse is going blind. Secondly,  the horse had a traumatic experience that has led it to be unnerved.  Thirdly,  the owner admits she could be having a negative effect on the horse's behavior.  With these three variables,  I have to figure out where the problem stems from and how to bring harmony back to the situation.  Being an optimist,  I  want to fix the problem.  Unfortunately, fixing the problem isn't always keeping the horse and owner together,  even if they have been together for ten years...

Luka is a ten year old Quarter Horse mare. My experience has led me to feel that  Quarter Horse mares are not the easiest to work with due to their high intelligence.  I always relate them to Husky sled dogs,  great dogs when they have a job,    usually in trouble  when they don't.  Quarter Horses are bred to work.  When not on  cattle or trail,  un-employment leads them to misery  and they  start causing trouble,  mares are even worse.  I felt Luka was a smart one,  she was not being challenged enough.  I have only had her a week at my farm,   my feelings can still change.  I need to spend some time with her owner and find out where she stands.  

Jack and Jill Go Up the Hill

   When a horse is sent out for training,  sometimes only the techniques of riding or driving is thought of.  There is a much broader picture involved than just that.  For starters, horses need to learn self- confidence and how to  adjust to new surroundings.  As Jack and Jill have come to my farm to learn this,  I have sent my 5 year old Cleveland Bay-TB cross out to a friend's farm to learn the same things.  

    For starters,  J & J needed to learn how to leave the paddock through a rattling metal gate with out darting.  On top of that,  they had to believe me that only one horse was allowed to leave at a time.  A panic stricken horse was always being left behind, whinnying and running around.  Jack and Jill had serious separation anxiety,  not uncommon for many horses.   Now, catching these horses and quietly leaving the paddock to go to work doesn't even cross my mind as an issue.

 Our next  dilemma was them trusting me that I wasn't out to attack them at my every move.  These horses flinched at brushes let,  alone harness or saddle.  Most horses seem to get over issues like these in a session or two of desensitising.  For Jack, he was  sure I was out to kill him for a good three weeks.  I needed to make sure he could stand through sudden movements or clumsy equipment being dropped at his feet before he was ever to get to the hands of someone less experienced than I.  Technically, these horses were a fast learner.  As for confidence building,  it was a much longer hill to climb.  The day I threw the harness on Jack with his hind foot relaxed I couldn't have felt better.    Trust between them and me was way more important than having them further along in their "training". 

My Office, my Co-worker

Noodle and I have been together for 19 years.  For the past couple years he has been going to work with me.  Through observation I  learned that horses will trust each other much faster than trusting a human.  Plus,  who doesn't want to spend the day in the office with their horse?

Noodle is a great lead "pony" horse.  With a flicker of his ears or a swish of his tail,  the horse being led quickly learns his placement next to Noodle.  If you pass him,  Noodle will bite;  if you tail-gait,  he will kick.  New horses learn that traffic can be managed and mailboxes are nothing to pay attention to.  Having a rider over them for a few days also makes the transition a lot easier when they are ready to be ridden.

Back in the Saddle-breds

  For some,  getting back in the saddle after six months off is intimidating.  My intimidation has been writing on my blog,  thus resulting in a six month hiatus.   I wasn't sure how to jump back in.  So here it goes.

Currently I am working with Jack and Jill,  Cleveland Bay-Saddlebreds. They share the same sire as my adored Cleveland Bay-Thoroughbred,  Watson. Jack and Jill are four and five years old respectively.  They came to me with minimal handling.  Plus they have never left their farm and the herd they considered family.

Alert and focused on their new surroundings,  their body language told me these horses were going to need a training program specially designed for them.   This program would consist of focusing on "exposure"  to life and teaching them how to react in new situations.  

I would keep them together in a small secure paddock with their halters on for the next few days.   The weather was mild and better to be out in,  rather than confined to a stall in a scary new place.  They would soak in the new smells of other animals,  hear the movement of horses nearby and get used to the rhythms of a new farm.  I would greet them many times a day in order for them to get comfortable with me.

 Even though these horses wore halters,  they did not know how to safely have one put on  or even have a person walk up to them.   They did not know what  brushing was orany simple things we take for granted.  I was there to introduce them to the world of humans.  It was up to me to convince them we can have a lot of fun together.  Jack and Jill had never been mishandles but rather they just had a routine that didn't involve much hands-on human interaction.  

Canadian Chevals

 

 

One highlight of my job is that I get to work with all breeds.  I am building up my experience with Canadian Chevals.  Until now,  the two I had worked with were good horses,  nothing exceptional.  I am now working with two that were carefully bred in Vermont by imported stock.  Due to health reasons of the breeder,  these two inadvertently got  put on the back burner as far as saddle training went.  So,  when I got called in to train a nine year old and six year old,  I was a little cautious.  Sometimes "older" horses can be resistant to changes of their sedate life-styles.  While, others will welcome the education and stimulation.  These horses are defiantly the latter. Plus the mare and gelding had completely different learning curves.  The gelding was your typical "golden retriever" open to do anything and happy to please.  The mare

questioned everything I had to ask,  cautious and on guard before saying "ok".  By the third session working with them,  they were both eager to work with me. 

I only make it to this farm once a week,  and I missed one due to extreme heat.  After only five weekly sessions,  these horses learned to give to pressure,  ground drive, and now ride.  We only walk,  but we nicely go through an obstacle course of cones and ground poles.  They can be separated from the herd to work and have good ground manners. 

 
Training continues and these exceptional horses are for sale.  Contact Chris or Craig at Cedar Hollow Farms for more information.   Cedarhollowvt@gmail.com

Dales Pony For Sale

Brimstone Quincy was bred at Briar Hill Farm.  He was born in May 2005 and is 14.1.  Quincy is very good on the trail and will negotiate all terrain.  He is currently in training for dressage and learning to jump.  Plans are to show him at the end of July at Green Mountain Horse Association. more photos coming soon.

Continuing Progress

Shortly after the last post,  I recommended that Cole come to my house for a little more one on one training.  Cole seemed to have a strong buck reflex that I wanted to work-out.  At my farm I get to spend more time with a horse and I get to do things I can't always do at other farms.  For instance,  I love to pony horses so they get used to going out and dealing with traffic and all other sorts of stimuli.  Cole needed to wear a saddle longer than just an hour to get used to it. 

Cole's work day would start with me tacking him up completely with a rope halter over his bridle.  He would wait in the stall while I tacked up my horse Logan.  Then Logan and I would "pony" Cole for three to
four miles down the dirt road.  Cole would get used to me leaning over him and petting him.  Seems simple enough,  but this was new to Cole.  He also got used to me being taller than him, a new perspective.  I also strongly feel that if a horse sees another horse being ridden and having fun,  they are more accepting of being ridden.

 After our jaunt,  Cole and I would head to the ring while Logan rested in the stall.  Cole and I would continue the basic drill we had done before.  A little lunging,  some giving-in to pressure and head bends.  Then I would hop on Cole and do the same from the saddle,  minus the lunging!  Our standing exercises would then go into walking and halting exercises.  If Jan was riding in the ring with me,  that would help Cole  get through the sticky situations.  Its funny how a horse can forget how to move its feet with a rider on top.  After his training session,  Cole was turned out to pasture wearing an old surcingle.

  Cole needed two weeks at my house.  Then I sent him back to his farm with confidence that he would do great.  Amanda kept up a similar training routine.  I hear he is doing great,  no bucks and lots of trotting.  I am very happy. 

  Go to Animal Aid to follow his progress and see who adopts him!

Animal Aid, Inc.

My job takes me to many farms for many different reasons.  Some people want a better understanding of their horse,  some want control of their horse.  The reasons go on and on.  When I met Gerda Silver last year, my first job  would be saddle breaking one of her Haflinger mares. Once that task was done,  she hired me to train a Rocky Mountain Mare to drive single.   Gerda's interests are diverse, but she has one passion that consumes her life:  animal rescue.  

   When you pass through the gait that protects the animals at Gerda's farm,  you drive into a yard where the barns feel more like an extension of your living room.  Every animal has a look on its face of relief and relaxation.  Amanda Bills is the primary caregiver of the animals at this farm,  along with the help of many others.  

  The horses and donkeys here are either retired from a long life of public service as police horses  or are recently rescued from a sale condemning them to slaughter.   Depending on the condition of the horse/donkey,  rehab duration can vary.   Training will then follow as the horses come into good health.  Each animal is then put up for adoption for a  fee which will cover some of the expenses it takes to get the animal into the adoptable condition it is in now.

Pictured above is King Cole,  one of the current horses at Gerda's farm.  He is a Dutch Harness Horse,  four years old. When King Cole came to Gerda's farm,  he was under weight and not even halter broke.  Coles hooves hadn't been trimmed in a while.  Cole is a very sensitive horse whom really wants to please,  he needs a lot of time to learn to trust his handler.  Amanda has been teaching Cole to accept new things such as brushing,  hoof cleaning and tack.  Gerda pushed Cole a little out of his comfort zone and now he accepts the vacuum.  Working with his sensitivity, I came into the picture to teach Cole to trust his judgment and differentiate between good actions and negitive reations.   Panic doesn't work in a humans world.  Stopping and waiting for a que is much better.  King Cole now ground-drives,  accepts ropes around him and is learning to give to pressure of the bit.   This may sound basic  for most horses,  but most horses haven't been neglected, cattle prodded or mis-handled.

   To help continue King Coles training,  Animal Inc. needs monetary support.  This is easily done by going to Gerda's website and donating. Animal Aid. Inc