The Uncatchable Number 257

Hmmm, that's an interesting title, says everyone who is currently reading this post. Who, the collective masses ask, is The Uncatchable Number 257?

She's a mare with a number instead of a name. She is a surrogate mare from an embryo transfer program, pregnant with a deceased mare's foal. She is half-wild, uncatchable, and unhandled. She kicks when you pick up her feet, she can't be haltered (and instead must live in one with a catch rope), and she flinches away from human touch. She is also absolutely drop dead gorgeous and a lovely mover... which you often get a good glimpse of while she is running away from you in the opposite direction.

And she's my current project. She is under my care and handling as of this past Wednesday.

Say WHAT?



Number 257 is not owned by me, obviously. She is property of an embryo transfer program somewhere in the area (more details coming when I get them). We know absolutely nothing about her except that she is pregnant with the foal of a mare who died a few months ago due to some sort of freak abdominal bleed out. She arrived at our facility shortly before I did, and is here until the foal is weaned. (Maybe by then they will want to find a new home for her... she would make an amazing eventer!). She only came with the name Number 257.... we've been calling her "Bay Girl." I've been granted permission to give her a new name... thank god! I don't know how old she is, what breed she is, or what her history is (although I am guessing some sort of Araby-TBy-something). One thing is clear however.... someone was very, very mean to her. When all you are to the world is a uterus, no one cares enough to handle you with any sort of care.

She lives outside in a halter with a catch rope. We took her halter off one time while she was in a stall... it took me quite a long time to get it back on again. Anything from her cheeks forward is off limits for human hands in her mind. I managed to somehow get my hand over her nose (which resulted in a lot of head tossing), and after she had backed up twice around the stall with me at her nose, she finally stopped and I somehow got the halter on. I think if I hadn't been the one feeding her for three months prior to this event, I would have never been able to even lay a hand on her, even in a stall.

And yet, there is so much promise and potential in there. She does crosstie, and she does tie (or well, she hasn't set back yet...). She stands (mostly) for grooming. She is jumpy when you move too fast, but there is never that rolling white of panic in her eye. In fact, I have yet to see her truthfully get panicky... I have yet to see white in her eye at all save for when I somewhat unceremoniously tossed the crownpiece of her rope halter over her neck when I was trying to halter her in the stall (she had stretched to the height of a small giraffe at this point). I can't really blame her for that... and even then, with a soothing word from me she stopped moving and didn't flail or panic even though she was squished into the corner of a stall with no escape. Behind the jumpiness is a sensible mind... even standing completely alone in the very scary pool barn (with filters running and everything), she never bothered to look at a thing, cry out for anyone, or squiggle unnecessarily. She deserves so much more than the life that she has been dealt.

She is very pregnant at this point in time (and we have no idea when she is due), so she isn't going to be doing anything strenuous anytime in the near future. But I intend on at least making her easy to catch and easy to handle... and get some basic groundwork in too. After the foal is here and after it is weaned.... well, we'll see! She has a VERY long way to go before she would EVER be ready for actual work, so I will have plenty to keep myself busy!


I don't know how long she will be under my care, but I think she at least deserves her own blog, don't you think? I think I'm going to call her Portia. She is such a feminine, pretty mare... she deserves a sexy name!


Just a few bad pictures of the sweetheart....





Such a pretty girl. The picture of her butt is of her brand (and her namesake)... simply the number 257. And the picture of her nosey is one I snapped when she actually walked up to me!!


More about what little I've done with her and what my plans are with her later.... as for right now, here is some Sophie eye-candy! (Or not... these are pictures of her taken this past week. She is very saggy and out of shape due to the fact that she has literally not even been handled for a few months!)









It is uncanny how much she looks like Metro. I mean look!




Although she is a definite improvement on his conformation. Not that she is anywhere near perfect, obviously, but she is far better put together than he was, bless his sweet heart.


Suggestions for the new Portia (or other name!) blog are welcome!

Bareback Hacks and In-Hand Attacks!

As planned, I have spent the past week hacking out around the property at a walk, slowly and gradually introducing different footing and little hills now that Gogo's legs are strong enough to do so. To add a little flavor to the mix, I've ridden every single day bareback. Her first time out of the arena... and I'm going bareback? And... I'm not using Ace anymore?

You heard right!

What is this world coming to??

I am actually not surprised by this fact at all, but all it seems my little princess needed in order to keep four on the floor was to do something different besides ride round and round in an arena every day. Gogo is not, nor has she ever been, an indoor horse. Every year around March or so, after two or three months of indoor riding, Gogo boycotts the whole idea and pitches royal fits until we go to ride outside again. This seems to now have transferred to the outdoor too, for the time being. I think she's honestly just sick and tired of the same old boring rehab routine, and I really can't say that I blame her. I am too! I have to say though, Gogo is the only horse I've ever met that does NOT enjoy a set routine. She is better and more relaxed at shows when everything is new and fresh, gets surly if we do the same thing too many days in a row, and goes like ears-pricked gangbusters the moment I shake up her routine a little bit. I guess she is just weird.

We were both a little weary after months of rehab work. Now that we've been cleared to start gradually returning to regular work, it's time for a little fun. The plan was to start riding around the farm property a little bit every day this week, introducing different footings in five-minute increments every day. Monday was 10 minutes, Tuesday 15, Wednesday 20, etc, all the way to Saturday which is supposed to be 35. This is all at the walk, and for added fun, all bareback. For all I've needed to Ace her every ride for the last three months, I knew that once we left the arena, she'd be fine, even without tack. And I wasn't dissapointed. Gogo's has her attitude cranked up to 11, and not only has she been nonstop bright-eyed and cheerful all day long in her stall, she's also had a horrible snotty attitude in the grooming stall, demanding my attention non-stop and lording over her space like it is her kingdom. One moment, she is doe-eyed for my boss' 6 year-old boy who loves to pet her and brush her, standing perfectly still with her head low for him to kiss her nose. The next, she is lunging at passing horses while standing in the crossties, puffing herself out in all directions as if to say, "back OFF, this is MY grooming stall and MY pampering time!" She won't do this if I am standing there with her, but god forbid if I have moved away to momentarily attend to something else. Then she is dancing, snarling at the other horses, and swatting a front foot at the errant barn cat who mistakenly wandered too close. She normally loves cats, but yes, she did in fact pitch a right fit when I went from brushing her to bending over to pet the barn cat for a moment. Suddenly, I saw flying front hooves as she barged forward, ears pinned and steam shooting out her ears. My god! Take it easy your Highness! I will return to dote on you momentarily! (This is why we work on manners so very often. I have a feeling if I let her get away with things, it might turn ugly pretty quickly.)

I've written about it plenty of times before - we know she gets a wicked big ego and a 'tude when she's feeling great, so secretly I love it. When she's sweet and loving, something is wrong. When you can practically taste her hugely inflated self-opinion when you walk in the barn, all is right in the world.

Hacking out bareback has been the ridiculously fun part. It's not all been games and fun this week though. Bettina showed up early for a different lesson on Monday, and came to seek me out, saying, "I thought you might like to work on your mare some more, so I came early!" No freaking way. I need to go buy her a nice bottle of wine! She showed me a few more exercises, namely using both reins to move Gogo in a square. At the end of the square when I go to turn her, she is to do something akin to a turn on the forehand, rotating her hindquarters out to the new edge of the square. This is very difficult to do... I am having a hard time figuring out how to hold both reins and the whip so as not to confuse her! The lesson went well, and we continued to work on moving her laterally back and forth, stretching down and sideways at the same time. I still left the lesson feeling a little confused, as there is so much to absorb and my brain just doesn't work that fact. I want to strengthen and supple her on the ground as much as I safely can, so as per Bettina's instruction, I decided in addition to my bareback hacking, I would add in-hand work before riding every other day.

WELL. Wednesday wasn't really our day for in-hand stuff, even though I did my best. I really just think we're both still a little too green at this to do anything more complicated than the simplest of exercises that Bettina showed me, because Gogo pitched a right fit and bucked when I rapped her a little too hard with my whip on her haunches. I never see Bettina's horses confused, and I never see her get after them aggressively, and here I was both simultaneously confusing my horse and accidentally using my whip too much, which I am sure she percieved as an aggressive move on my part. I went back and did the most basic of lateral movements, which she is understanding well (and I am also understanding well), then did a little more regular groundwork with her on top of it. This seemed to put her head back in a good place, and I went ahead and hopped on bareback afterwards for our hack. Interestingly enough, when walking up tiny hills, her back rounded up so amazingly that it felt like I was literally sitting on top of a barrel. Her spine dissapeared underneath all that muscle! I've never felt that with her bareback before, ever. Perhaps related to the groundwork? Maybe! The next day when I hacked without the groundwork, it felt similar while going up the same tiny hill but not quite as startlingly amazing. Yesterday, when I went back to do more in-hand work, I made a serious effort to make sure I was as clear as possible, and we were both thankfully much better. There is so much to be learned - I clearly need more work with Bettina! And once again, I felt her back really LIFT and carry me up little inclines, and down them as well. She marched around the farm like there was no tomorrow, feeling very confident after actually making sense of the in-hand work we did.



We also tackled the little bridge for the first time yesterday. She didn't want to go near it at first, but when I got off and led her over it, she followed right away the first time. When I hopped back on, she proceeded to walk confidfently back and forth over it twice, as if to say, "psh, I knew it wasn't a bit deal."






It's been such a fun week. And on top of all of that, her legs are ice cold and beautiful every morning, even without wraps. That's what I like to see!

Bettina Drummond Clinic 8/21/10

I had the opportunity last weekend to participate in a clinic at our farm with Bettina Drummond, a classical dressage rider and trainer who follows the French method of training, the primary goal of which is to obtain ultimate lightness, balance and harmony between horse and rider. She studied under Nuno Oliveira for 17 years, and is considered internationally as an expert on in-hand work. Through some miracle of workings, she is based very close to our farm, and is there quite often during the week, bringing horses to us on and off for work in the indoor during the winter (and the occasional sale horse she wants my boss to jump during the summer!). Since the entire time I've been at the farm, Gogo has not been able to participate in a lesson with her (which I so desperately wanted to do), but she had been at the farm quite a lot recently working with Coco, one of my boss' horses who came to us with serious mystery tightness and lameness. The work in hand she has done with him in just a few weeks has had a totally transforming effect on him, so when Gogo got the go-ahead from Dr. C to gently proceed into full work again, I jumped at the chance to do an in-hand session too.

I'll be honest - when I first met Bettina, she scared me to death. Around here, Bettina's word is law. Those of you in the area will all agree with me when I say she has more knowledge and understanding of the horse in her pinky finger than probably all of us reading this right now combined, and that knowledge is palpable when she walks into a room. She commands respect, and she reads people like she reads horses. I felt like a child when I first met her and I was starting my big new scary job - she could see right through me! And she wasn't about to take anybody's crap either. She has a way with stallions like I've never seen, and let me tell you her studs don't even put an ear towards a squatting, peeing mare when she is working with them. Over time, I seem to have somehow earned her respect and friendship, even though I still don't understand quite how it happened. I guess with all her intuition she can see that I'm still just a kid learning the ropes of life, genuine in my efforts to do the very best job that I can, and I think that's a respectable thing.

The work we've been doing with Coco over the past few weeks started with a bopper. That's right, a crop with a round plastic-covered foam ball on the end of it, about the size of a ping-poing ball. A bopper! We bopped him all over his body, tapping all his major groups of muscles with the rhythm of a metronome, searching for weaknesses. The point of this, Bettina explained to me, was that horses with serious physical or mental damage (and people, for that matter) stop linking their right and left brains when severely traumatized. Even just by tapping the forehead on either side back and forth, the neurons will start to correctly fire back and forth, cross-linking back to their original function. Apparently dissections have also been done with horses who have had serious hind-end or back trauma, and you can inject joints, rest them, or do whatever else you want, but those horses will go lame again if they go back to work because their muscles atrophy and fail - they're not getting the proper signals from the brain. This method is similar to Endo-tapping I believe, but I don't think they're quite the same thing. When bopping Coco, we discovered how seriously fidgety he was on certain spots of his body, and that when he'd relax, one ear would start swinging in time to the bopping, the ear on the same side of the body. Over time, he stopped being so reactive to those spots as he started to reconnect and heal, and both ears would start swinging together - both sides were firing together again. Bop your mare, Bettina told me. See what you find.

Bop, bop, bop. Gogo's immediate reaction in her stall without a halter was to look at me curiously, then literally swing her butt at me when I bopped her in front of her withers, which was simultaneously not surprising but also not acceptable and not something she's ever really done before (save for one outstanding time). On went the halter, on went the bopping. She showed definite sensitivity where her neck connects to her withers on both sides, which is exactly where she holds all her tension. The second time I bopped her, she was much better about that area, but she showed more sensitivity over her back. Interesting! I plan on continuing to bop her in more of the Endo-tapping way, to encourage relaxation. You never know what it might continue to show, and it might be a first warning method for something brewing.

For the clinic, no bopping was done. Instead, we outfitted Gogo in her bridle, polos and bells, and did a series of small bits of lateral work. Bettina was quick to point out the fact that her right shoulder (specifically how she moves her elbow) is a point of weakness, and she would rather back away from whip tapping than move the elbow sideways. Using the whip and one hand on the reins right below the bit, I moved Gogo down the rail laterally in both directions, trying to achieve an even crossover and a quiet lateral response to the whip.





We also played around a little bit with holding both reins, one in each hand, and doing shoulder-in and haunches-in down the rail, switching back around to bend the horse left and right while going forward. It was impossibly hard to understand and extremely difficult to handle two reins and a whip and a slightly confused mare while walking backwards, but every time we were both confused, Bettina had me stretch her and walk her forward to diffuse the potential brewing bomb.




It was hard! I know I will need lots of practice at it. But the entire point of it is to achieve balance on both sides of her body while simultaneously strengthening her hind end while ALSO simultaneously working her kinks out for future under saddle work, so it's worth it to learn and understand. Amazingly, after our session, Bettina offered it to me for nothing, thanking me for all I had done for her. I couldn't believe it! The clients all spent the day remarking on how beautiful the facility looked, all our guests raved about what a nice establishment I had running, my boss thanked me for all my hard work, and Bettina's gracious offer on top of all of that was the icing on the cake. It was such a good day!



And of course, since it was high time for it, even though it was a cloudy day we took the opportunity to get our Seasonal Conformation Shots since she was so clean. She looks GREAT!





I like how she is standing like a total goof in the last shot. Compare to June. Even her expression is better. She doesn't look as amazingly sexy as she did last October, when she was still racing fit, but you know. She'll get there, someday!