R-Squared

Bliss learning to ground-tie

Accomplishments Today:

- Bliss stood still while I threw the saddle onto her back from both sides, several times.
- Bliss is beginning to understand that if I drop the rope on the ground beneath her chin, she must stand still and not move.
- Picked up her feet almost as soon as my hand reached her pastern, responding to the signal of the weight of my hand running down her leg.

Repetition and Rhythm. 

Horses do best with repetition. They also calm down quicker if you do things in a rhythm-like pattern. Today, I knew that I couldn't just throw the saddle on her once, I had to put it on and off, on and off, several times. Also, with calming her down, I pet/rub her neck in a rhythm and throw the rope over her back in a rhythm to desensitize her to it.

Horses are creatures of rhythm from their hoofbeats to the rhythm of their habits. 1-2-3-4 goes the walk, a choppy 1-2 goes the trot, a flowing 1-2-3 goes the canter, and a quick 1234 goes the gallop. Their head bobs up and down as they move in a rhythm. Also, I think that the rhythm calms a horse because it knows what to expect; rhythms are predictable and therefore comforting. Horses don't like to be surprised by something new or unexpected.

What Happened:

I arrived, got out the saddle, pad, halter and put it all on the fence then climbed into the pasture. Bliss was interested in seeing me, but she played hard-to-get today and walked away from me at first. I was a little disappointed, but there are those days so I put it from my mind, snapped my fingers and she turned to face me. Walking up, I rubbed her all over, rubbed the halter over her face, threw it on and off of her on both sides and then haltered her. The rhythm and repetition of tossing it all over her helped her to calm down and be desensitized.

We almost immediately started with the saddle and she was a little bit better, a little calmer around it. She stopped moving around more quickly and got quieter quicker. The saddle was still a little scary, especially on her right side, but I got to where I could walk on either side of her and swing it all around and shake it a bit
and she wouldn't be too nervous.

Finally, I threw it up and gently landed it on her back on the left side. She didn't move. I took it off and did it again. Then, I went to the right side. She side-stepped away from me at first, but I just followed her quietly and petted her till she stood still. After she stopped, I swung it up and down and made noise so she would be expecting the saddle to swing, and then I landed it gently on her back. She started a bit, moved a little sideways but then stopped, so I petted her, took it off and walked away.

Well... I repeated this several times and then threw it up and on, down and off, up and on, down and off - on both sides I did this until she stood stock still for it. She was still nervous, but that's okay. She'll eventually realize that is NOT a horse-eating monster and she can be calm around it.

So, things went well! Tomorrow will be much of the same; I won't start cinching the saddle till Thursday probably and Saturday we'll do the same and start doing some saddle-desensitizing with it on her back (shaking the stirrups, whacking the saddle with the lead rope, etc).