Logan

[Ashlyn]

Aww I love reading your new posts.., it's so sweet ! You're doing so wonderful with him, I guess all he needed was one person to work with him and someone for him to trust..he'll be going walk/trot in no time

[chantal]

hehe thanks! I hope so, I can't wait for the day I'm on his back jumping! far far away I know, but that gives me all the hope and patience for him. he's just a misunderstood boy, hehe kind of a loser like me

I dind't wake up today till 12 something pm. I panicked. I forgot to replug in the clock and set my alarm. And I was depending on mom to wake me up. Before that night I hadn't slept in over 36 hours, and still didn't go to bed till 2 am, so I was tired. I rushed out of bed and discovered that mom let me sleep and fed Logan for me and cleaned his stall. I was very happy for that and didn't feel quite so bad after. Went outside after eating some toast, all bundled up and we practised the clicker. click treat click treat. I then turned him out, gave him hay in his paddock and just watched him run and play around and roll in the snow. Was very cute.

Came back a little while later, some click treats and lunged him in the snow, he's clipping at the trot so I'm going to have to get him some bell boots. Anyway he was good, until he wanted to do a canter buck/freak a little in. He tried to pull away and wheel, but I pull him right back and growled at him. Little angel after. Did more click treat with him, then I decided to see if he got it. I wasn't sure if he was catching on to the turn his head, or touch the pole = click and treat. So went back to click treat.

Later again I went back out and ran around with him. He "playfully kicked at me" like a was a horse and I turned into the devil. Got I was pissed and made sure he knew that was a huge no. Made him work after that, free lunge style for a few minutes. Growled. Then I calmed down, went quiet and told him good when he decided to stop and wait for me. Petted him. Brought him back and then decided to lay the surcingle on him since he was focused on me, never tied it though. He was very apprehensive at first, but calmed quick, I then started rubbing the surcingle up and down on and around his witers, which he didn't like very much, but didn't moved. I then decided to encorperate the clicker just to see. Well he would look away from me and look straight ahead, head in the air, but when I clicked he wheeled around pricked his ears for the treat. So YAY! I think he gets it! Did that a way times, while rubbing him, clicking the more he relaxed. And he did relax. In the end he was watching me rub him around the area with it, ears pricked waiting for his clicks.

Left him alone for awhile, then came back and brought him in for the night.

I think I got everything in the right orded of things, if not oh well. Spent lots of time with him today.

[Amyy]

Wow that sounds wonderful!! sounds like hes coming along nicely!! Good luck with him, i have faith in you, i think you will be riding him in no time. You seem like you really get him, and you will be quite the pair.

[chantal]

thanks so much, It's always niceto hear those things.

Yesterday, didn't do much with him. I was mad at myself for forgetting to clicker with him, but I clciked him before his bed and stuff. Um, he was turnout for only a bit yesterday, cause he's a sook. I did run aound with him and stuff, played around. Ohhhh! Yesterday when I was cleaning his stall for the night and settling him in, I was rubbing around his withers, and get this! NO NEGATIVE REACTION. He kept on munching on his hay, even with pressure, no negative reaction in care. Once he turned around and looked at me, and was like "hello!"

also I ruined his mane. I feel bad when I think of it, but it ain't the end of the world. I was cutting it brading lenght, as it's so thickand I didn't want to pull. (and i don't know where my comb is. Anyway it ended up crooked and when trying to fix it ended up too short and crooked. : ( I also tried this thing I read about online for thick manes, where yousplit it in half, and cut the inside of both sides if that makes sense, so it get's thinner. Basically your thinning it by cutting out a middle layer of the mane. Anyway people were saying god things about it, but I read it a long time ago. Needless to say.... It didn't work out. Now he has a piece about 4cm wide, where it's only 5 cm in lenght. It doesn't look super bad, but that'l teach me about shortcuts for sure.



going to go out in a bit again. lunge, and attempt the surcingle, after a few episodes of Weeds though.

[chantal]

TIMES INFINITY TO THE POWER OF INFINITY etc etc etc!!!!

What a great day!

Well I went out and gave him some hay in his paddock, decided to go back inside cause it seemed like there woud be a small sunshower. left him out though. Didn't realy rain much, but came back and he was wet from the snow/rain and dirty. So no bother with grooming. He was a happy little pony though. Briddled him, clicked his head down. I still don't know if he "gets" it. When I click it seems like he turns back to the click for the treat, but more or less it seems liek he is responding to my hand movement....

Anyway, I lunged him. It was a pathetic lunging session on my part, he did it all on his own. hahah. I just stood in the middle and took vids of him, and "attempted" to guide him. No whip really, so it was a bit harder, as he's not great with the voice commands yet, but very responsive to the whip. very.

I'm in the process of upoading the vids now. going to take a nice long while. BUT! He's the most awesomest news. After lunging, I ver slowly ut the surcingle on him, and it seems almost too small, and just fits him. So the first hole is already tight enough. Anyway he was a bit nervous, but calm. ANDDD! I got it on him, only buckled one girth strap but it was already tighter then I would of liked it. Anyway once it was buckled I kept my hand there and clicked him . And then for my safety and just to see from a safe distance what he'd do I walked out of the pen. Anyway. He didn't freak he just kinda stood there for one second, I turned around and realised he was following me to the gate. Like an angel!!!!

He just followed me! The calm horse that would turn his personality and go off in a bucking rampage the summer, and run around crazy for good 5 mins just stood there, thought about it, and followed me and joined me at the gate. WOW. This was the frst time he's had it back on too. After a few months of being a horse, lots of love and patience here he is. And since I've been in school and he's been lame, and hurt, I haven't done surcingle/girth work since summer [besides rubbing with others things and desensitising]. Only started this sunday, 4 days and this : )

I've got a vid of him randomly walking around with the surcingle and a pic too. Also loads of vids of the lunge work, and a vid of him showing his 3 -wheeler proof self [he's calm around the bike, even roaring of the engine and such!]

[Kelesha]

Seen the videos and the picture. As i said on that post "I LOVE your horse" LOL. Hes so handsome.

[jessicab]

I don't think it so much matters that he "gets" the clicker (atleast not at this point, you're giving him the treat instantaneously anyways), but as long as you are reinforcing the good behaviors thats all that matters! Hopefully he'll start to associate all the work you're doing with him with treats (a positive thing) and (as we're already seeing) will start to have a different attitude towards work.

Hurrah, sounds like a great day

[chantal]

no lunging, surcingle on. bit nervous but accepted it.

tried to get on his back, too short. used a step ladder had on leg over him and most of my weight [like a toe from other leg was touching the ladder, and i was crooked no bum down] on him. Like that the longets time he was ok. finally sat normal, but the bum scootched too much and he scooted/skittered over a meter. I quickly switched weight to ladder and swung off. He was pretty decent about it all though

I scared the hell out of myself though, and had to psych my mind up so much to do this. haha. wow, talk about an adrenelin rush of fear and what will happen next. all the while keeping it under control so he couldn't sense it.

so all in all decent day. will repeat this 2/3 times daily for the next week or so and see what happens.

[happilyeverafter]

Chantal, it sounds like you're doing all the right things to get him back to being a happy and relaxed horse Please have someone around when you're getting on him. After working with some really unpredictable babies I'm always nervous for people working with horses of that nature on their own...

you never know what can happen!

Aside from that, it sounds like Logan is doing amazingly well. Where are these videos located? I want to see!!

[chantal]

thanks! and since the house is 20 m away at the most there's always someone around since we're [family] usually always outside anyway.

vids. nfldtr.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=pictures&action=display&thread=1196886358