Fancy Update: Ground-work

Fancy has settled in with the rest of our wild and wacky herd here at Westwood...She got her first new blanket last week....girls love their clothes, and she is no different! She really takes to getting all dressed up in her new digs...

In addition to being prissed over on an almost daily basis, she has been put to work! Ground-work, that is...Ground-work constitutes all the training and interaction you have with your horse that teaches them manners while being handled and prepares them for their future as a riding horse...We work on our communication, respect, and responsiveness, among other things... Fancy had some work before she came to us, and so we started a little ahead of the game...she already willingly lifted her front feet to be cleaned, and had no problem with putting on or removing her blankets....Check, Check! Now we can move on to other things....

I have been working on those pesky back feet. As I move from picking up and cleaning out her front feet, I keep my hand on her body, reassuring her we are going to be best of friends...as she gives her back leg to me, I lift it up in short intervals and place it back on the ground...I do this repetitively until I can hold it up for a longer period of time and get it cleaned out...I repeat the process on the the other side...she is coming along well, and should be all set for her farrier appointment a couple weeks from now at the rate she is going...you see, it is not nice to throw a horse at your farrier that does not have good manners when it comes to picking up their feet...it can be dangerous for your farrier, and your horse....best do the ground-work ahead of time so everything goes smooth and happy for all involved!

After I finish working with her feet, I move on to teaching her to respect my space and be responsive to my commands....horses learn best by consistently applying a 'pressure and release' technique...you apply pressure, until you get your intended result, then you release the pressure to reward the horse....applied accurately and consistently, this training technique guarantees results! In my experience anyways....Below, I am applying pressure with my thumb behind the girth area. The reason I am using my hand and applying direct pressure, and not just waving my hand around is because everything I do on the ground, should translate to cues or commands I expect the horse to obey when I finally get into the saddle...when I am riding her, I am going to apply leg pressure to this same area and expect the same result...she will move her body away from the pressure, and I will release it...rewarding her for her responsiveness...if she does not move, I simply apply more pressure until she does...then release as a reward....

We make sure to do everything on both the left and the right sides...she is responding well and moving in both direction on cue...

We also practice walking, trotting, stopping and turning 'in hand', or 'while being led'...this develops good ground manners while being handled...she is staying beside me, listening to my voice commands, and responding in turn wonderfully....our communication is really improving!

I ended the ground-work this night with some exercise on the lunge line....I give her verbal commands for the walk, trot, and canter....I want to be sure she understands my verbal commands entirely before I ever step on her, that way it is easier to communicate with her when I do finally get into the saddle and she hears and recognizes my voice commands...lungeing also serves to build strength and endurance in the absence of riding time.

Fancy was the perfect pupil this night...when we finished up, she got a good rub down, her new blankie, and a tub full of grain....

Stay tuned for more updates of Fancy and her training progress!

Thanks to Vickie for taking these pics for me!

Happy Trails,

Leah & Fancy