# Adventure time with Snickers



## Oliveren15

Snickers is gorgeous! I think I'll hitchhike on this journal, I love reading these!


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## Saranda

Thanks!  

Yesterday evening turned out to be a very busy one, but now - on to the next part.

*The Beginnings*

When I decided to take up riding I did a lot of reading to understand, what style I'd enjoy the most. We don't have any Western riding in Latvia, which is a shame, because I'm really interested in cutting, so it was English all the same, but exploring the equestrian sports field in my country left me disappointed. All I saw around was just gaping mouths, sore horses, human ambitions above horse needs. I also thought back then that bits are evil by default - yeah, I knew no better as a complete newbie. So I found a local NH barn, the only one here at that time, and thought it was paradise, although I later learned of how bad my riding habits from those times actually were. 

But NH was not the only thing why I chose to go to this barn. It has a homepage with pictures of their horses, and this is where I first saw Him.










Snickers was described as a freshly backed 4yo with a unique, cheeky and intelligent character. I fell in love instantly, although I even hadn't touched a horse for years at that time, and I fancied myself by fantasizing of meeting - or even calling this little guy my own. Funny, though, as I had always thought, that I'd dream of an impressive, flashy horse, a Friesian, a Trakhener or an Arab at least, and DEFINITELY not a bay.  

The first months, however, I didn't meet him, as he was sent to a pasture boarding place far in the countryside to grow and mature a bit. After that, he was given me to learn groundwork with. I was ecstatic. And it was a disaster.  I was uncoordinated, lacking timing and body language. He was dominant, pushy, easily distracted and easily annoyed. We were too green for each other and I didn't get him for lessons for several more months. In the meantime, I petted him in the pastures, visited him in the barn and generally speaking, continued on dreaming. Others didn't understand me - you see, Snickers wasn't really his owners' favorite horse. They hated his curiousness, called him "the Jerk", chained him in a small standing stall for nights to make more room for more favored horses, fed less, ignored minor health problems and considered him worthless, although they still kept his price unreasonably high. Snickers wasn't doing good in this atmosphere and gradually gained the fame of a horse "who always walks with his eyes closed". He was apathetic, got slower and slower, and his character was getting broken day by day.

Later, as my skills grew, he was again assigned to me for several riding lessons and we met more often in groundwork. My dreams grew bigger, although I didn't even hope for ever buying him. Getting and keeping a horse seemed like a seriously expensive business, out of my limits. Then, rumors started that he could be sold soon to a riding school in Sweden, and for that summer Snickers was sent to a riding camp far away from the barn. I tried my best to oppress my emotions for him, as I believed it would be worse for me if I get attached to a horse I could not hope to afford...

The camp eventually ended. Snickers came back. And my heart leaped, all the emotions, the dreams, the hopes were still there. After a few days potential buyers were booked to come and try him. I spent that time almost frozen in fear that he could leave. He didn't get bought, though, and I, knowing I have to take at least SOME action, made a full lease agreement with the barn owner.

The morning we were going to sign the contract, I went to the pastures and met Snickers, who was just standing there as always, with his head low, eyes closed, completely uninterested in what the day could bring. I told him what I was going to do and that he is going to be mine, at least, for a while. Although he was a "hard" horse, he seemed to enjoy my company nonetheless.

This is what he mostly looked like at that time, October 2011:










When I came back to the pastures after signing the contract, a completely different Snickers was waiting there for me by the gates, away from all the other horses, the Snickers I always believed in and waited for to emerge from behind the thick walls he had built around himself. His head was up, his posture was proud, his eyes were wide open and bright, and he neighed his heart out. At that same moment I realized I'd regret and suffer for the remaining life, if I ever let this horse go again.

Two months later, I had arranged a loan, made the necessary payments and Snickers, then a scruffy 5yo, was finally mine. I moved him instantly to a temporary barn, and not long after to a very nice, private, strictly NH place where we spent a happy year. He started opening up and soon the horse who always had his eyes closed looked like this:










This April we were forced to move again due to an increased boarding fee and reside in a more traditional showjumping barn, but are happy nonetheless and have learned tons an heaps of valuable skills. 

So, this is our "Black Stallion" tale, which I would not believe in if I hadn't experienced myself.  From the next post on, I'll just tell about our daily progress and, of course, adventures, because a day with Snickers does not go with at least one new thing to explore.


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## tinyliny

What a great story! I can just imagine how your heart felt when he became yours. Like a dream.
Also, I cannot believe you only have 3years riding, you ride so well. More photos, please.


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## Saranda

Thanks, TL! You seem to be much more confident in my riding than I am.  

This, I hope, will be the last part of our introduction.

*What we do.*

Snickers was backed as a fresh four year old. Quite soon after that he was put into 2h daily work as the trail guides' horse for guided trail rides and, as a 5yo, he started working as a lesson horse. His dominant character proved to be a challenge, as he soon learned that, if he persists in not doing anything, the human on his back will soon cease - that applied to the riding students. If the rider was persistent enough or if the saddle fit badly, he'd try out bucking. I was told that in trails he first was very eager to go first and fast, and, if the way home was what we wanted, try spinning, but it was taught out of him, in process losing lots of his natural forwards movement, in my opinion.

When I bought him, he could:

* Do WTC, basic steering, stopping in a rope halter - that was all he was ever ridden in -, stand to a mounting block.
* Go in trails as a fearless leading horse or anywhere in the line - first preferred, though.
* Jump small obstacles. He also went through a beginner jumping course once.
* Do all the 7 basic Parelli games in a basic level.

I had been riding for 2 years at that point and my equation was not that good, to be honest. My seat was clumsy, I tended to lean forwards a lot, I held my hands mostly straight, my feet were always up and I seemed to make horses crazy in canter. When I bought Snickers, I was mostly lazy and didn't want to address my problems, until it was pointed out to me and until I understood it myself, how my riding affects our partnership. Since then, I've been taking every lesson I can (though not as often I'd like to) from several instructors, a Dressage trainer and now - a jumping instructor. From just steering lazily around the arena or, more often, out in the trails, we, in our almost 2 years of partnership, now:

* Working seriously on our rhythm, impulsion and balance - I believe, I've regained much of his forwards movement at last.
* Working on my seat and overall position as well. Slowly improving, but lots of space for further improvement!
* Riding bitless and sometimes tackless, or with a cordeo.
* Jumping grids, bounces and, since two weeks, simple courses.
* Working on the basics of lateral movements.

We also spend lots of time by just taking walks in-hand in the trails, doing NH based groundwork and learning some tricks for the sake of fun. Snickers knows how to do Spanish walk, bow, lie down, sit, stretch, climb on different objects, carry an object in his mouth, self-load a trailer and rear. 

This Sunday, we're participating in our first showjumping competition together - we'll be jumping the small jumps along with kids, but hey, it should be fun! 

Here's a small video of some things we've done this summer:


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## towboater

Awesome video. I really enjoied it. Thanks for posting.


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## Saranda

Thanks!

So, it was the big day yesterday - our first show! We entered a basic equation course (I don't know the correct name for these in English, but it's basically being able to show WTC, stopping, steering and jumping a couple of cross rails, and it is evaluated by the seat, by how you handle the horse, etc.) and a ~2ft showjumping course.

A teenage friend of mine volunteered to be my groom and did a fantastic job on grooming Snickers' tail and mane. Soon it was time to enter the warmup area for the equation course. Snickers was baffled about why I'm not letting him to go and say hi to all those new horses, but he soon settled and then it was our turn to enter the arena. Snicks continued being a champ, was calm and responsive and we had a great time! In the end, the judge gave us an "Excellent" evaluation (the scale was "Fine", "Good", "Very Good", "Excellent") and complimented our partnership. She said that, no matter if the rider is a low level hobby rider or pursues high competitive goals, she is always looking first and foremost for a harmonious understanding between the rider and the horse. That warmed my heart! Of course, my seat and cues are not ideal, I see lots and lots yet to improve, but it was nice for a first-time competition.

Not too long after that we had to enter the warmup area again to get ready for the showjumping course. The area was now swarmed by more anxious riders who often jumped the warmup jumps without calling them out or just rode around without really thinking about others, but we somehow managed not to get in anyone's way.

We were then to enter the arena and trot a little along the fence to get used to the setup, while the rider before us would run the course, but, unfortunately, the rider hadn't arrived at all and hadn't warned the judges about it! So I was suddenly called to the start line without being able to take a good last look at the course. The first jump was a bit clumsy and I certainly didn't know what to do with my hands, but then we went on just fine, until the fifth jump, where I understood that I have completely forgotten where to look for it and did a lazy canter around the course until I spotted it.  From there on, it was fine again, and I let Snickers canter slowly on purpose, so that I could just get used to the atmosphere. He continued being a champ and did whatever I asked in a very well mannered style, so, although we finished within 130.5 seconds and with 4 penalty points (for messing up at the fifth jump), I was very content of him and of our first results. 

Here's a video of our courses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSbXkRcOOOc

I can't seem to make the video show up in the post as the previous one... Oh well.


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## SouthernTrails

.

Wow, just wow......

Totally awesome :wink:


.


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## Lockwood

Very Nice for a first jumping show! I think you did well and your form was pretty good.


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## Zexious

He is lovely!


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## Saranda

Thanks, guys!

Yesterday I had planned to go on a trail ride with a barnmate of mine. It was a lovely, sunny day, although very windy, and I felt that trails would do good to him after all the vigorous arena training before the show. However, my riding buddy's horse turned up with a freshly punctured leg and was a little lame, so the ride was cancelled. I didn't pluck up the courage to go alone, as we hadn't visited trails for so long and Snickers can be at times very strong there, if in high spirits - which he was yesterday. I used to go trail riding alone all the time in the past, but my confidence is somewhat lacking after an incident of us nearly being hit by a mad driving four-wheeler and Snickers giving me a broncing fit out of fear this summer. 

So, we stayed in the arena and I decided to go for lunging him in a chambon. That is the only contraption I sometimes use and will ever use. Before I turned to seriously improving both of our skills, I just let him move with his head high in the trot, so I decided to gradually introduce him to a chambon that encourages him to stretch long and low. Hopefully, it will help him build the right muscles and a stronger topline over time. Also, this is the only training in which I use a bitted bridle, as the chambon won't give a correct pressure in a hackamore or a halter. I use a double-jointed sweet iron-copper bit with loose rings, which fits his mouth nicely, although Snickers isn't too happy about bits in general.

His teeth are floated up to date, but he has a history of bit abuse - his first owners just put a bit in his mouth one day, used very heavy hands and sawing, got him resisting violently and took it out for good, leaving him with a memory that bits mean pain and frustration only. I have re-introduced to him gradually and he will now ride relaxed in a bit on a loose rein, but he tenses up with any contact - still lots and lots to do in this.

However, he was being a good boy about the lunging, although it visibly bores him and I had to remind him several times to be more active at the trot. Sleeping is by all means his favorite gait, when it comes to working.


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## Saranda

We had a wonderful groundwork session yesterday. Mostly it's me who has issues in those, not Snickers. Despite his sometimes robust and unshakeable outer image, he's extremely sensitive and hates any outbursts of hasty emotions, unjust cues or simply a too dominant style of leadership. I'm a follower of Ingela Larsson-Smith's idea of the leading (vs the dominant) style of training, and Snickers is very responsive when I get it right. Yesterday was the day. We worked on direction changes during the circling game, transitioning between trotting/walking/stopping/backing up/going sideways from mere changes in my focus and body language (no use of the leadrope or the training stick), and yielding the shoulder rhythmically in front of me, so that in the end it began looking like small sideways rears. He enjoyed all of that a lot and we had a splendid evening. When I let him out in the pastures again, he stayed with me and refused to join the herd - I had to leave, though, as I was not to miss my train home, but he has been progressively fond of my company in the fields.

Today I knew something was a bit off as soon as I saw him in the pastures. A quick checkup showed nothing, though, and he walked just fine, so we walked down to the riding arena where I checked again on his overall health, saw nothing suspicious (breathing fine, gut sounds fine, hooves and tendons fine) and tacked him up for a ride. At the walk, everything was almost ok, although he was a bit more resistant to move actively, but, as soon as we hit the trot, I felt he was going out of rhythm and dismounted. Lunging at the trot revealed a slight stiffness/lameness in his right hind leg, originating from the top part of it, and after palpating it I discovered that he had been kicked by another horse. Oh well, a couple of days off for my boy! Gave him a comfrey based remedy for bruises and spent the remaining evening with him out in the pastures. He seemed very content and chose staying with me over joining the roaming herd.


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## Saranda

While my boy rested, I continued working with Magic, a 3yo pony mare that was trusted to me by her owner to work on her ground manners and a little bit of riding. She was backed this summer. Magic is a very clever girl, although she tends to spook and to barge in your space, but we've gained lots of progress - she has successfully learned to yield to pressure in different ways, to accept a person mounting her from a mounting block, to de-tangle herself from a rope around her hind legs, to stand quietly while I'm doing all sorts of crazy and loud things around her (she is meant to become a kids riding pony over time and needs to be as calm as possible), to ride bitless, to lead effortlessly in walk and trot and some other basic things.

I had been skipping work with Magic over the last few weeks due to getting Snickers fit for our first competition and having to move the barn inventory over to a different location, so I didn't expect much of this bouncy pony, believing that some things we'd have to do all over again. However, she was nothing but a pleasant surprise - Magic remembered everything as if our last session was just a day ago, and we could go further in her training. Did a little bareback riding in a rope halter and she was just a doll, also, much calmer than with a bit. She is pleasure to be around and, if I could afford to keep two horses, I'd buy her.


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## Saranda

While Snickers was in rest, I decided to do a little trim on his hooves last Sunday, but it turned out to be a hard task. He was bored out of his wits and wanted action, also, his hip (the one which had been kicked) was okay again (Yay!) so he kept pulling his leg out of my hands. I offered him two choices - either stand quietly with a lifted leg, either work hard and fast at trot and canter - going sideways, backwards, in circles, yielding all his parts... I admit, I was more dominant than I actually like to be and I regretted some of my choices afterwards, but through this session I discovered that Snickers actually CAN go sideways at a canter (no longer he will be able to pretend that he can't  ) and we got those front feet trimmed. 

However, I am aiming to become less and less dominant over time. It is not how his mind works and he needs a leader, not somebody to pick fights with. 

Then, this Tuesday, I visited him to go on a ride, but was too lazy to tack up properly, so I just used my bareback pad and my rope halter, and we went for a stroll, during which I worked on our stops, backing up, yielding fore- and hindquarters separately. We finally managed to do backing up from a slight change in the seat and I'm very content with that. 

We're having a chiro from Scotland visiting us this Sunday - funny thing, we don't have proper chiros here in Latvia so foreign professionals have to be invited to come over.  I'm glad to have this opportunity - been wanting to tune up Snickers at least once a year for a while.


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## Saranda

And, the latest news are not happy at all - the BO decided that she needs a major change in her lifestyle and is shutting down the barn. She is currently selling all her horses, including Magic, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she is bought by a friend of mine - she'd have a wonderful home then and I'd be able to visit.

This also means I have to find a new boarding facility for Snickers and me until the last week of September. I honestly don't have an idea of where we are going to end up right now.


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## SouthernTrails

Saranda said:


> This also means I have to find a new boarding facility for Snickers and me until the last week of September. I honestly don't have an idea of where we are going to end up right now.


Wow, 2 weeks is not much time, the BO is not being very realistic in giving such a short time.

Hope you can find a good place by then....

.


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## Saranda

Thanks! I have a few options, but none are perfect. I have quite a high standard of how I want my horse to be living, so it's a bit complicated. For one, I want 24/7 pasturing in winter and it's not such a popular way of keeping horses over here - not yet. There is a barn with such a possibility and with a free boarding space for Snickers, but it is quite far and the riding arena has a very hard surface, so riding would be quite limited, which is not what I want... Will see, everything always sorts out somehow.

I'm quite sad about the BO's decision, though... I really enjoyed entrusting Snickers to her and she's a good jumping trainer.


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## Saranda

Before I rode Snickers last night, I had to lunge a horse as per request of his owner, and I just let Snickers roam in the riding arena, as there were no other riders. Snicks was being impatient and trying to "help" me by chewing on the lunge line, trying to make the other horse go faster, coming to stand by my side and generally acting like a persistent kid.  He was clearly jealous and wanted me to turn my attention to him, but he had to wait.

After that it was getting darker quickly and our arena has no lightning, so I tacked Snicks up and hopped on for some flatwork. Just this June he was still a horse with very little "Go", but it seems I have managed to change that - he is now very forwards and this evening wasn't an exclusion. We worked on pivoting on his hind legs and going forwards from that at an active pace and on trot-canter/walk-canter transitions. Snicks was flying! I had to let him to have a good run around the perimeter at a fast canter to let his steam out, but he could have been going more and more, if I had let him. There were moments when he tried cantering when I just asked for a tad more hindleg engagement at the walk and I am very pleased to see such energy in him. He is by no means too hot, just really forwards and happy to go, which is such a relief! When we came to walking off, I worked a little on neck reining, because hey - although we have no Western riding in Latvia, it doesn't mean I can't dig up some information and do a couple of things at a basic level! He got the idea and now we have a lot of refining and tuning up to do.


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## Saranda

Yay for Magic! She is being sold to my friends, I will still be able to visit her and she's going to her new home this Saturday. Until that I'm continuing to work with her almost daily on accepting new situations and on riding in a halter, as she will be going to a strictly bitless home. To be honest, she is much, much calmer without a bit, I observe lots and lots of stretching long and low, chewing and licking, and being much more relaxed in general. We progressed today to trotting in a rope halter, and she was being a doll, as always. No spook, no rushing, no tension. Over these days, I've also introduced her to free jumping, going from just crossing a ground pole, then a low cross rail, and then a 50cm high vertical. Although her first reaction was refusing anything that is higher than ground, it needed just a little bit of encouragement, and, after that, everything went beautifully. She seemed to really enjoy herself while jumping and her natural jumping form is very nice. She could make a wonderful jumping pony later in life.

I will have to help her load in the trailer this Saturday and I'm not really sure how will it go. We haven't had the chance to work on this (trailer was never available), but I've been told she loaded without any problems about a year and a half ago. Meanwhile, I'm working on her being able to climb on a concrete ramp and, hopefully, that will help us with the trailer.

The chiro was a real blessing to Snickers. Although it seemed to me that his hind legs might be stiffer than I'd like them to be after last years' abscesses in his fronts, the chiro came to a conclusion that the real reason for it is a stiff front end - most likely, the abscesses are to be blamed in this, too. He worked for a good half an hour and instructed me to continue doing simple massages on Snicks' shoulders and neck for three weeks. Snickers has already showed some noticeable improvement and today I felt much more hind leg involvement than before. I am currently working on improving his stamina, so we are using endurance training plan with much more trotting (without breaking the gait). I am also concentrating on my seat and using the trotting periods for trotting without stirrups, in two-point, in two-point with my arms outstretched, and so on. I am really glad that Snickers is so reliable, because I can send him out in a canter around the arena and just go into two-point with my arms outstretched, even when there is nobody around to lunge us. It's a simple, yet a really valuable exercise for finding a true balance in the two-point, so I find it extremely important to practice it whenever I can. 

Due to weather becoming chilly, Snickers is extremely full of energy and it sometimes makes me giggle, how the horse with no-go now sometimes needs a stern reminder that "stop" means "STOP RIGHT NOW", not "maybe after a few more canter paces".  

And other news - we've decided about a place to move. It is very close to the current facility and we will be able to go there by foot. Also, some other horses from our herd have already moved there, so it will be easier for Snickers to blend in, besides, his two best buddies are moving there along with him. The owners are quite inexperienced, but they are really open to new information, so, hopefully, it will be a fine place with really beautiful surroundings where to spend at least this winter. Fingers crossed.


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## Saranda

I've been having lots to do, so less time for writing here, but better now than never, right? 

Last Saturday, Magic went to her new home. Although she hadn't been trailered in about two years, she loaded the trailer effortlessly and just followed me inside. I kissed her lots of goodbyes and finally climbed out of the trailer to watch her leave. As far as I know, she's settling in nicely and already breaking some hearts. My sweet girl.  

Then Sunday came. Snickers, two of his best buddies, and a mare were the last to stay in the old pastures. They had observed the rest of the herd leave and not return for several days, and were quite stressed. After checking on them in the arena, we (the owners of the other horses and myself) were ready and set to go. The tack had been transported to the new barn earlier, and now he had just 3.5 km to walk until we got to the new barn. It is situated in the remote part of our National botanical garden and has some really beautiful surroundings. Our horses were already acquainted with the new herd before, so settling was easy, at least, for Snickers, unless we count the fact that another gelding took his mare.  I am now hoping for a good winter, but, up to now, everything is looking good. Fingers still crossed.

Snicks today. I'll upload some pictures of our moving later - 










(P.S. - I never leave him tied up unsupervised in a rope halter, this was just a moment to take this picture.)


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## Saranda




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## Northernstar

Saranda said:


> Instead of posting tidbits of our live over various discussions, I decided to move into a separate thread to tell our story.
> 
> Where to start! I guess I will just split this into several parts, so that the novel doesn't get TOO big.
> 
> *Here I am - This is me!*
> 
> About me first - I'm 26 years old, living in Latvia (that's in Eastern Europe), riding since 2010 and dividing all my free time among my three cats and my horse. I'm also an aspie, for all you fellow aspies out there to know. Horsemanship is my passion and I strive to live my dream ever since it started. I used to dream about horses as a little girl, but was never allowed to take up riding as my mother was extremely afraid of them. Later in life, I tried out different hobbies, but none really caught my attention for long, and everything seemed to be too expensive, too far from home, too demanding. One day, I was chatting with a friend who mentioned that she had been riding for a while and it all came back to me. I found a local lesson barn where I started my lessons and, although it realistically was more expensive, farther from home and demanding than anything else, I was happy at last.
> 
> Now for my brave steed - as some of you may know, Snickers is a carriage type Latvian Warmblood gelding, now a 7yo and spunky as ever. He's an extroverted, very dominant and joyful character, who values fun and games over anything else. However, beneath the carefree surface, he's extremely intelligent and demands lots of respect to even consider turning his attention to a person. Gets bored easily, can be very food motivated, enjoys galloping, jumping, playing, destroying stuff and exploring new trails. He's always up to an adventure and, as he's an imaginative one, he'll make an adventure himself, if I fail to provide him with one!
> 
> And what would be a journal introduction without at least one picture.


 Yay!! So good to see Snickers again! This thread is going to be awesome, I just know it, Saranda!


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## Saranda

So, Snickers colicked today. I had planned to ride him and found him sound asleep in the pastures, but somehow something seemed off, so I hanged around to observe. Suddenly he started breathing very heavily, as if he had just cantered a lot, got very tense and woke up, being noticeably grumpy and apathetic. Checked for gut sounds and heard none. After consulting with a vet on the phone, I started walking him and, after an hour, he peed a great deal, after which gut sounds suddenly returned to his left side and his breathing became less labored. After one more hour he peed again, again - a great deal, after which his breathing settled completely and his gut sounds returned to both sides, although his stomach was still bloated and he hadn't passed a pile. That happened after one more half an hour of walking. After that he returned to his completely normal, joyful self and I hanged around the barn until night, just to be sure everything is okay. Not sure, what caused that, as everything in his eating and moving habits hadn't been changed. It might had been the suddenly cold night, or an aftermath of stress after the recent moving. Who knows... Just glad he's fine right now.


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## Northernstar

Saranda said:


> Thanks, TL! You seem to be much more confident in my riding than I am.
> 
> This, I hope, will be the last part of our introduction.
> 
> *What we do.*
> 
> Snickers was backed as a fresh four year old. Quite soon after that he was put into 2h daily work as the trail guides' horse for guided trail rides and, as a 5yo, he started working as a lesson horse. His dominant character proved to be a challenge, as he soon learned that, if he persists in not doing anything, the human on his back will soon cease - that applied to the riding students. If the rider was persistent enough or if the saddle fit badly, he'd try out bucking. I was told that in trails he first was very eager to go first and fast, and, if the way home was what we wanted, try spinning, but it was taught out of him, in process losing lots of his natural forwards movement, in my opinion.
> 
> When I bought him, he could:
> 
> * Do WTC, basic steering, stopping in a rope halter - that was all he was ever ridden in -, stand to a mounting block.
> * Go in trails as a fearless leading horse or anywhere in the line - first preferred, though.
> * Jump small obstacles. He also went through a beginner jumping course once.
> * Do all the 7 basic Parelli games in a basic level.
> 
> I had been riding for 2 years at that point and my equation was not that good, to be honest. My seat was clumsy, I tended to lean forwards a lot, I held my hands mostly straight, my feet were always up and I seemed to make horses crazy in canter. When I bought Snickers, I was mostly lazy and didn't want to address my problems, until it was pointed out to me and until I understood it myself, how my riding affects our partnership. Since then, I've been taking every lesson I can (though not as often I'd like to) from several instructors, a Dressage trainer and now - a jumping instructor. From just steering lazily around the arena or, more often, out in the trails, we, in our almost 2 years of partnership, now:
> 
> * Working seriously on our rhythm, impulsion and balance - I believe, I've regained much of his forwards movement at last.
> * Working on my seat and overall position as well. Slowly improving, but lots of space for further improvement!
> * Riding bitless and sometimes tackless, or with a cordeo.
> * Jumping grids, bounces and, since two weeks, simple courses.
> * Working on the basics of lateral movements.
> 
> We also spend lots of time by just taking walks in-hand in the trails, doing NH based groundwork and learning some tricks for the sake of fun. Snickers knows how to do Spanish walk, bow, lie down, sit, stretch, climb on different objects, carry an object in his mouth, self-load a trailer and rear.
> 
> This Sunday, we're participating in our first showjumping competition together - we'll be jumping the small jumps along with kids, but hey, it should be fun!
> 
> Here's a small video of some things we've done this summer:
> 
> A Midsummer Dream - YouTube


Of course you would show this wonderful video to the music of Enya - (One of my fave songs) "Long, long journey"....


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## Northernstar

Saranda said:


> So, Snickers colicked today. I had planned to ride him and found him sound asleep in the pastures, but somehow something seemed off, so I hanged around to observe. Suddenly he started breathing very heavily, as if he had just cantered a lot, got very tense and woke up, being noticeably grumpy and apathetic. Checked for gut sounds and heard none. After consulting with a vet on the phone, I started walking him and, after an hour, he peed a great deal, after which gut sounds suddenly returned to his left side and his breathing became less labored. After one more hour he peed again, again - a great deal, after which his breathing settled completely and his gut sounds returned to both sides, although his stomach was still bloated and he hadn't passed a pile. That happened after one more half an hour of walking. After that he returned to his completely normal, joyful self and I hanged around the barn until night, just to be sure everything is okay. Not sure, what caused that, as everything in his eating and moving habits hadn't been changed. It might had been the suddenly cold night, or an aftermath of stress after the recent moving. Who knows... Just glad he's fine right now.


So glad he's o.k., Saranda - many prayers sent for Snickers.... On a side note, I wanted to mention how impressed and pleased I am that you choose to ride bit less - I'm the only one that I know of in my area who rides 100% bit less, (not that there are many people in my region anyway!), and I find it very pleasing and natural for myself and my horses


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## Saranda

Thank you, Northenstar.  By the way, Snickers was being very smart and showing how horse natural instincts work, when, during the colic episode and being walked he really pushed to be allowed to eat witchhazel and willows - both of which naturally relieve pain, tension and help with good blood supply to gut.

And, although I have occasionally ridden Snickers in a bit for the sake of education and overcoming his traumatic experience during first-time bitting, I feel that riding bitless gives us all that and more which can be achieved with a bit. I don't doubt it can be a great learning tool in the right hands, but bitless feels so much better to me individually, and there's a definite difference in Snicks' attitude, too.


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## Northernstar

Riding bitless is something I stumbled on and was doing myself, long before seeing or knowing about any instruction/YouTube videos, etc... I trust my mares, and they trust me. I am so intimate with them in our quiet wilderness setting, that it's_ just_ _simply_ _right._


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## Saranda

When I was looking for my first lesson barn, I had went through huge amounts of information and understood that bitted riding just isn't for me. Felt wrong. So I found a strictly bitless barn. Although my first learning experience, as I learned later, wasn't the most educating one, and I've ditched some of the most irrational ideas since then and don't think that bits are automatically evil, bitless is still the number one choice for me. After all, if I can communicate with my horse without it, why should I put a piece of iron in one of the most vulnerable parts of his body? That's the feeling that comes naturally and automatically to me. But I'm not one of those religiously bitless persons who preach maniacally their beliefs among those who ride bitted - to each his own, after all. I'm just glad if I manage to inspire someone into believing that there are other choices, too.


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## Oliveren15

Sorry to hijack the thread but do you ride in a bitless bridle or a rope halter or what? Bitless riding is nice, on my non training days I ride bb and bridleless and its nice


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## Saranda

Not hijacking at all.  When riding bitless, I have four options. When driving, schooling and jumping, and going on fast trail rides, I use an S hackamore, as my boy responds best to poll pressure and the hack ist best for maintaining a classical contact, imo. When having leisure rides on trails, I ride in a rope halter, and I often love to ride bridleless - in a cordeo or nothing at all. I feel these styles of riding really help to build a good, independent seat and a good relationship between the horse and his handler. I've even gone on some trail rides with only a cordeo, at walk, trot and canter, and it is a truly fantastic feeling to canter down the trail with no reins or no bridle, and feel how tuned into your cues is the horse. Surely, it is not something to just experiment with with not enough experience and practice in an enclosed area, but I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to explore this part of the equestrian world.


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## Oliveren15

Well said! I just go rope halter most of the time, and use my bridle when going somewhere new just in case. Its definitely something I want to pursue further, but in a safe fashion


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## Saranda

Rope halters are great, but imo they lack finesse when it comes to, for example, classical dressage training and so on. Or maybe it's just me who lacks finesse.  Either way, I like being able to switch between tack freely, and I also think it's good for a horses' mind - for example, when I ditch the bridle and ride in a cordeo, I really feel how it inspires Snickers to concentrate much harder, so that we are in tune. From that point I get inspired to achieve the same feeling when I ride with a bridle, and so on.


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## Saranda

We had some terrible weather today (rain, rain, go away...), so I just visited Snickers to check on him and make sure he's ok. He was back to his communicable and playful self, and his gut sounds were normal (although a bit more silent on the side which regained gut sounds later than the other yesterday). Yay for everything being okay again!


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## Saranda

As the weather is still sunny one second and a rainstorm the next, I went for ground driving today. Besides, I hadn't done it for a couple of months and I am anyway gathering a harness, piece by piece, to hitch Snickers to a sleigh as soon as we get enough snow. So refreshing his driving skills won't harm. He was a bit unsure at first, whether to go straight or to sway from step to step in order to try to get closer to horses, who were munching at haynets, but, much to his disapproval, it didn't pass me unnoticed.  After that, everything went smoothly. We did a lot of turning and flexing around various objects, serpentines, lead changes and a bit of trotting, as the arena was a bit too wet and slippery after the recent rainfalls for me to be eager to try faster gaits there. I paid most of my attention to a light and immediate stop, and to backing up from a vocal cue. We got to a good point and then I untacked him and we went to graze a little in a nice meadow by the barn. He was being a very good boy and responding nicely to being led in a nylon halter, which to him, a headstrong horse, was a small problem up to this spring and I always chose to use only a rope halter when leading him. Seems to be cured now.  

A couple of photos now. Sorry, I still haven't uploaded any from the day of moving. 














































He's got large pastures to spend time in and graze, yet he is always happier to hang out by the fence when people are around - he loves being admired and entertained.


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## Northernstar

He's still such a handsome boy with lots of personality!


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## Saranda

Thanks, Northenstar! Snickers is well aware about his charm as well.  

Yesterday was such a beautiful day that I decided to go for a little hack, along with two of my friends, who lead their horses in hand - as one of the horses is a senior, and the other is injured right now. I circled and passed them a lot and, when we found longer stretches of road, I went for a trot and a canter. Of course, my friends were informed and were okay with that, it was also a learning experience for Snickers, who had a reminder to stay calm and focused, while we go away, past or towards other horses at all gaits. And he was being such a good boy! During some of our last hacks in our previous trails, I had a couple of unnerving moments when he got too strong at the canter and pulling to a gallop past others, but none of this behavior showed this time. He transitioned to whatever speed or gait I asked for effortlessly and, although he slightly spooked at a huge drainage ditch with a really loud flow of water, he was generally fearless in exploring our new trails. Which, I must admit, are really beautiful and royal - it is, after all, a botanical garden, and, as in such, everything is very well kept and planned. I'm hoping to get some pictures of this ride later, one of my friends had a camera with her.


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## Saranda

There were four horses who were moved to our current barn - Snickers, two of his best buddies and a TB mare with whom Snickers had sort of a relationship - they always cuddled together and she never left his side. On the day of moving, however, Snickers was betrayed, as the mare left him for all of the geldings of the new herd. Snicks wasn't happy at all about this and has tried to regain her interest, but with no avail. In the last few days, though, one of the mares from our new herd has taken a keen liking in Snickers and is blatantly flirting with him even if he doesn't want it! At first, he just chased her away all the time, but yesterday this was observed. Maybe my boy has found a new love of his life?!  

(The butt belongs to Snickers, the chestnut head to the mare)


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## Saranda

Snickers is always first to make a friendship, and now he has an unlikely one! Did you notice the picture in which he is sniffing a gray kitten? That's Wavy, one of our barn cats, who came to this barn along with Snickers and his pals from the previous barn. Wavy has grown to like horses and often spends his time sitting somewhere high in the riding arena (on a jump, for example), teasing horses and sleeping in their hay. Snickers has been very keen since day one to follow this little guy around, sniff him and, sometimes, groom him. A couple of days ago he was observed lipping Wavy, who was sound asleep, and yesterday he was seen opening his mouth as wide as possible and placing it carefully all over the kitten!  I hope he is not turning into a carnivore and, fun aside, I hope the cat will be cautious enough not to get injured, as we cannot keep him away from the horses or control what Snickers does while people aren't around. It is very cute to watch them interact, though.

As the evenings are getting darker fast and we don't have arena lights set up yet, I get less quality time for riding and training after work, so yesterday I chose to tack up Snickers with a bareback pad to go for a quick bareback ride. Hadn't done it for a while, too. We did a lot of flexing around different objects at the walk and this time I chose to stick not only to his smooth jog, but to ask for some extended trot and learned to sit it properly. It was rather hard, but I felt some progress and finally could sit in a much deeper seat with noticeable improvement in core stability. Will have to repeat it regularly. I didn't canter much, but I noticed how powerful and energetic Snicks' canter was. His gaits have been increasingly swingy (is that a word?  ) and from the hind since the chiro visited us two weeks ago.

While walking off, I asked for some Spanish walk and Snicks finally nailed taking several steps in Spanish walk at a time. Yay! Now just to refine it.


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## Zexious

Aw, look they're cuddling!

Sounds like Snickers is coming along nicely! <3


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## Saranda

Thanks.  He's really putting lots of effort in what he does, if only I manage to get him motivated enough. And to think he was earlier in his life considered an extremely lazy horse! He's not. He just wants to do the fun things.  And it's up to me to make work fun.

Since moving, Snickers has become a favorite of the BO. She says he is always the first one to "help" her in mucking the fields or repairing fences. He loves taking shovels from her hands and carrying them around or assisting actively when she is trying to get a fence repaired. Besides, all the herd now follows him often, so she sometimes finds herself suddenly crowded by a dozen of curious noses  

I've had less chances to ride lately, as the arena has turned into mud due to recent rainfalls, but I've had a couple of productive rides, one of which in a cordeo, and went on a nice, slow trail ride with a horse who is currently ridden at a walk only. I can't wait to get some better pictures from the trails! 

I've also had some very nice walks in-hand to explore the territory and groundwork has not been forgotten as well. Snickers has been a good boy in refining his sidepassing, which he is now doing over ground poles or higher objects, and also with pivoting incorporated, so that we can make specific trajectories, going sideways, both following me and away from me. We had gotten a bit lost in our work at liberty - I guess I overdid it a while ago - but in one of the previous evening he followed me nicely around all the huge arena and we also did some stopping, backing up and lying down. 

As I am hoping to hitch him up to a sleigh this winter, we've done some ground driving and he acted as a champ. Ground-driving seems to give him a big purpose and motivation, so he always does this eagerly. I was working on getting his stopping and backing up lighter. 

I guess our biggest adventure in these days was visiting the annual Autumn gardener's fair, which took place in the main grounds of the botanical garden. I went there with another girl an her horse, and we offered pony rides for the kids. Although Snickers used to hate this job when he was a lesson horse, I guess it was because of the routine (he sometimes had to do it for hours in a day, and to go round and round in a circle, at a walk, was extremely boring for his active mind), because this time he behaved brilliantly and was more concerned about all the tasty grass he saw near the flowerbeds than about kids that were put on his back. I didn't stay there for long, though, not to overwhelm him.

As expected, Snickers didn't budge at all about the tents, flags, music and crowds of people - in fact, he started neighing and hurrying towards all the commotion, as we were approaching - he was clearly excited to explore what was going on.  We stayed a bit farther from the central grounds, though, in a smallish field which was given to us for the pony rides.

One early morning and Snickers looking rounder than he is.  



















Waiting for the kids and munching away at the fair:


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## Saranda

We went on a very nice sunset trail ride yesterday evening, along with the chestnut gelding, whom you can see in the last picture, and his rider. Although this gelding is a Trakhener, is and Snickers' gaits matched perfectly, so we had an enjoyable ride. I've been on a lot of rides where I have to hold back Snickers constantly, but this time he could trot at the speed he loves - he literally beamed with self-content. The canter was slower than he wished, though, but he'll cope with that.


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## Saranda

I am SUCH a lazy writer!  

Trying to catch up now. I've been given two more horses to work on groundwork with and Snickers is being jealous whenever I start working with one of them before I do something with him. He comes and hangs around close to us and looks all left forever alone, so I just HAVE to come over and give him a cuddle.  

Since evenings now become dark so fast, I stick to groundwork when I go to the barn after work - riding in complete darkness isn't that fun, until we get our arena floodlights set up. Actually, we needed that. Over the summer I had been riding more and let our groundwork slip a little, but now I spend more time on precision, timing, new exercises, and Snickers is really enjoying it. There's a miniature hill and a little ditch in the paddock, so I incorporate them in what we do - for example - backing up upwards or downwards the hill, doing circling game with him jumping back and forth over the ditch, etc. There's also a large log which we use to jump over or to set forelegs (or a specific foreleg) onto, and two huge willows, which are growing very close to each other and just perfect for sending Snickers to go or back up through them. I'm also using a hulahoop for Snickers to set a specific leg/legs into, to pivot without taking the legs out of the borders set by the hulahoop, to teach him how to swing it in his teeth, etc.

Yesterday I borrowed a longer (~7m) rope from a friend and tried working with Snickers from a larger distance. He backed up perfectly in the whole length of the rope and I managed to talk him into doing the circling game, using all of the rope. As soon as he understood that he's been given a whole lot more of space, he set off at a fast canter (respectfully) and that riled up the whole herd which was close by. They all started galloping and playing near to us and I decided to set Snickers free to play with them, which they did for some 10 minutes, after which Snickers came up to me all by himself and we walked off together.  

We've been also using some poles to do serpentines around and he's been doing a good job in flexing and stretching while doing it.

As for riding, I had an instructor give me a couple of lessons in basic Dressage/schooling, as I felt I've been sort of plodding around lately. Had a wake up call to put my arms in place and my seat into action, refreshing Snickers in areas of contact and flexing laterally, and also at shortening the canter without losing the impulse. It was hard work, but worth every minute of it!

We also went on several trail walks in-hand and a couple of rides. In one of the rides we were accompanied by a friend on a nice gelding, who was a calm companion for an easy ride, and in the other I went with Snickers alone, something I hadn't done since summer, when I was slightly traumatized by Snickers being violently spooked by the sudden appearance of an ATV (possibly drunk driver and very aggressive driving!). 

This time, he was a little nervous to begin with. We started the ride by going down a gravel road with a little ditch on one side and a thick hedge on the other. Some little critter jumped out of the hedge right at his hind end, he spooked and jumped the ditch before I even understood what's happening.  So I just jumped him back on the road and we went further along. As he was tensing up and tending to hurry up as soon as he thought we're going home, I just slowed him down to a walk, turned back and went on a different direction. Soon enough he understood that hurrying will get him nowhere and loosened up.

He also tried showing that he knows the drill of a trail ride - warm up at a walk, first trot, walk, second trot, less walking, canter, etc. - so when we got to the point he thought we should be cantering at last, he tried shaking his head in a very playful manner and just jumping into canter. Gave him a surprise, though, because I felt this coming and he found himself walking into contact and flexing nicely on a circle. Poor boy, nothing really went his way this time.  

After a good hour we went home at last, but I made him one last surprise, by just passing the driveway to the barn and cantering him off in the forest, in a completely opposite direction. As he is not used to hurrying AWAY from home, this seemed to completely blow his mind.  Will repeat this strategy on other rides, too, it seemed to work well on him, and I ought to, too, as we've been having slight difficulties in the trails (mostly with rushing at canter) and I have been delaying addressing these problems for long enough.

Almost forgot mentioning a funny experience. Okay, it was also slightly annoying, but I'm easily annoyed by my mother.  So, mom calls a couple of days ago and wants to visit Snickers all of a sudden. No problem, of course, but turns out she has a friend with a 10yo daughter, who really, really loves horses and wants to have a ride. I don't even know that woman or her daughter! I explain that Snickers is not the best match for inexperienced kids who want to plod around the arena and, for her own safety, the kid should get a ride on one of the BO's horses. Mom gets frustrated, because it means her friend has to pay for the ride! Well, yeah, my horse isn't a free carrousel either! Then the best part comes - she had the guts to ask me why I bought Snickers in the first place, if he is not suitable for giving pony rides to random children! After a thorough explanation, she didn't really grasp the idea that he is not a tool or toy for me, and that having a horse does not oblige me to entertain others...


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## Saranda

My conscience got at me at last. It's picture time!

The winter shelter in making:










Snickers assisting in the construction of a slow feeder. He was very eager to help: climbed in and out of the frame, carried hammers, tried stealing a bucket of nails, tried climbing into a van which transported the materials in the paddock...  










Noticing me while at a slow feeder and coming to greet me. I love his expressions!





































Dinner time 










Snickers enjoys the company of our barn cats, Fritz...










...and Mr.Wavy!


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## Saranda

And the trails, as I had promised...


















































































Our riding partner from one of the rides:










I swear, I don't have such a bad chairseat, it's just the angle of this photo, which is otherwise nice!  










Snickers looks like a fat pony at the side of this huge boy:


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## Saranda

Then the evening came...


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## Northernstar

Absolutely wonderful and stunning photos, Saranda! What an incredible boy you have! I know I've said this before, but your woodlands in Latvia look exactly like our home here in N MI - we did get about 7 inches of snow today, so I'm certain yours is coming soon!


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## Cherrij

Northernstar, please no snow yet  

Saranda, That is one amazing place to be.. I hope this time it lasts for a lot longer than previous places  Snickers looks happy there


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## Saranda

I agree with Cherry this time, Northenstar, no snow yet, please.  I don't feel ready for the endless months of snow, ice and more than just freezing temperatures...

Yeah, Cherrij, I like this place a lot and Snickers is enjoying himself as well. The pastures are rather small, if the herd doesn't get smaller, so they will have to be managed carefully, but, if the BO does that, the place might as well be our little paradise.


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## Saranda

The weather here has been extremely mild and warm for October. Hope it stays that way for a while longer.  

Saturday. Time for the monthly trim (Snickers has always been barefoot) and autumn deworming. I helped out the trimmer with holding Snickers as he can be a pain when it comes to trimming his front hooves - it has to do with tenseness in his shoulders, so I hope massage sessions and chiro will help sorting it out over time - we're getting there slowly. He's a champ when it comes to deworming, though, so no problems there and after that we just went to graze in-hand, as I didn't want to put any stress on him after the procedures. 

Sunday. At first I sort of free-lunged all of the herd in the winter paddock in sake of some pictures of a cantering herd for the barn. Snickers had a jolly good time and cantered towards me a few times to huff and puff, and then to race back to the others. I then decided to walk him off in the trails and he was showing me where two other horses went with their owners beforehand (the horses are currently slightly lame and were taken outside the paddock so that they didn't strain themselves too much), so we agreed to follow them. Did some nice trotting in-hand together, that will do good to my physical condition.  

We soon found them in a field that was previously used for pastures. I dared to set Snickers loose and he was being such a good boy - followed me at the walk and trot, and, although I put the lead rope back on a few times due to my own lack of confidence, he never lost the connection. Finally, I took it off for good (put it back only when we were approaching the barn, in case of cars wanting to pass us) and we went on a walk at liberty. Whenever he held back a little, he immediately followed me at a very joyful trot and on one occasion he even cantered to catch up with the rest of our group, dashed into the woods, cantered a circle among some spurce trees and then came cantering right back to me after I called him once. He was very playful, yet respectful and seemed to be having a time of his life - so nice to see a horse this way.  

I then let him back in the paddock and had a groundwork session with another horse, after which I tacked up Snickers and we had a ride. After warming up and a short, yet intense session with flexing, contact and learning to use my seat more efficiently, I ditched the bridle and we rode freestyle. It was a bit dense at the first moments, as we hadn't done this since sometime in summer, but it got better and we finished on a good moment. Walked him off at liberty and Snicks made me very happy with following me eagerly through any obstacles I pointed him at, climbing on tree stumps, doing the Spanish walk and some stretching - especially because the other horses were being fed their evening oats at the moment. And I know very well how important is eating for my boy.  

I'm happy our communication at liberty is getting gradually better - after when I overdid it a little with the wrong attitude this summer and Snicks didn't really want to participate in it for a while.


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## Saranda

Quite a windy evening yesterday. Due to the daylight saving hours, evenings are now suddenly very dark and we don't have a floodlight for the arena set up yet. I used a head torch, but it was blinding me, as well as Snickers, so that wasn't the best solution this time, as I wanted to do some groundwork. Snickers made some corrections, though.  He was trying to be pushy and bite the lead rope and my whip, all while looking at the other horses, so this could be translated as lack of respect, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that he'd gladly spend some time with me, just not by being lead and given instructions what to do. I decided to follow my gut, lead him around a little just to check for health issues, and then took off his halter. I somewhat expected that he'd just go back to the herd and the hay, but, instead, he walked a small loop and then returned right back to me. Then he proceeded to show off - he demonstrated me his Spanish walk, stretching, played with my whip by picking it up from the ground and shaking it all over, dragged the lead rope along, and followed me all around. My sweet boy.  He started going back to the herd a couple of times, but I only had to turn in the opposite direction and start walking, when he followed me again and, in short time, we had company - he had hooked the interest of several of his buddies, and we went exploring the dark paddock as a little mini-herd of our own. What an interesting night.  We "did" nothing, but we achieved so much more!

I later fed Snickers some warm mash with herbal tea, he likes it a lot and it somehow comforts me in rainy autumn evenings. After that he got the whole herd having a good gallop around the paddock for a while and I stood outside the paddock, listening to the thundering of hooves in a pitch black night.


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## Saranda

The skies were clear yesterday evening, so I managed to do without a head torch and we did some groundwork. Snickers was feisty, yet involved, and I tried to keep it short&sweet. Also, as always, I tend to mix exercises that ask for more thinking and effort (stretching, precision, rhythm, impulsion, and such) with things he associates with fun, pride, showing off, etc. - such as pawing, rearing, climbing on objects, jumping, the Spanish walk, carrying objects... Snickers who sees all work as play is a very happy and attentive Snickers.  He also likes being praised A LOT, and, the louder the voice and the more expressive the praising movements (hugs, scratches, running around together), the more content with himself he seems. 

Yesterday we worked on good back up without using body cues or tack, and, as we had been working with attentive turning-when-I-turn at the walk and the trot, this time I set up a small course of ground poles (ones to cross and a ground pole tunnel to go through, with a wall of old tires at one side) and at first we walked it, but then his mission was to jog while I walk and to clear the course. When it came to the tunnel, he had to go by the tire wall while I was on the other side of it. We also practiced the Spanish walk, which he likes a lot, however, he sometimes tries giving me a result without putting a real effort in it, then gets annoyed when I keep asking (because he thinks he already did it fine enough) and paws the ground with each step, rather than really walking. If I stop him and take the exercise a few steps back - just to lift a leg and keep it stretched in the air - he settles down and seems to remember, what was the Spanish walk all about.

I have booked a visit of an equine masseur for the next Saturday and am quite excited to see how it goes.

BTW, the barn cats were being strangely cute yesterday. After I left, I suddenly heard a sorrowful meow right behind me, and it turned out that both of them had followed me and meowed to make wait for them.  They followed me more than half a way to the exit of the garden, playing with each other, purring and begging for me to pet them all along. As it was the night of Samhain, I guess they were protecting me from the evil lurking around on this night.  Because, funny enough, they went back to the barn as soon as I took a turn away from the unlit area of the garden and went down a path with street lights.


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## Northernstar

What a beautiful time with Snickers and all his equine friends.... I couldn't help but laugh at the scenario described after Snickers had "Some warm mash with herbal tea", then, "After that he got the whole herd having a good gallop around the paddock for a while"


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## Saranda

I would like to describe him as a proper, young English gentleman, having a sip of tea and then a chitchat with his peers, however, he's got mash in his ears after he's done with it, everything around him is covered in mash and the chitchat is more of a doofus frolicking, with a dash of the mash on his buddies, wherever he nips them, so he'll just have to live without being a proper, young English gentleman.


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## Northernstar

Was thinking actually, of the prospect of him having a wee bit of caffeine in that tea?.... haha


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## Saranda

Haha, no, he's getting Iceland moss tea.  I also add some cold-pressed linseed oil, live yeast and a garlic supplement to his evening meal.


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## Saranda

I arrived today carrying a huge chunk of Himalayan salt, determined to find a good spot for it in the paddock, so that the herd has more reasons to roam during the day. I went on my business, also gathering some small branches that the wind had blown off our willows, and soon noticed Snickers following me. He was very interested in what I was up to WITHOUT HIM! What an outrage! I tried stopping and he stopped, pretending he was actually grazing, not following me. I tried turning - he turned as well, all while looking in the opposite direction. I tried walking faster - he did as well, I started jogging - and he trotted right after me, shaking his head and positively playful. I didn't have a halter or a whip with me, so I took it as a challenge to communicate with my body language and intention alone. Snickers responded willingly, put his nose to where I pointed, followed me through tight places and even agreed to place his hoof on a tree stump and do a few steps of the Spanish walk! All while keeping an eye on a competing gelding who wanted to join us - Snickers was not okay with that and chased him away several times, so that we could be all alone. 

I then procrastinated in the barn for quite a while, with both of the cats in my lap, as I had just fed Snickers and wanted to give him a break before riding. At one occasion I ventured outside the barn just to catch a glimpse of my boy and two of his buddies playing and grabbed my camera to take some pictures. Most of them turned out very blurry, but I will upload some later and I was very happy to see my boy being the most active of them, galloping, bucking and jumping straight in the air all the time. 

I also hanged out at the round bales and introduced Snickers to a new toy - one of those thick, knotted rope pieces, intended for large dogs to chew one. I'm going to use it in teaching him to target and pick up different objects. I'm not entirely sure he liked its' texture, though.  

Finally I tacked up to ride. Snickers was a bit anxious during the saddling as two of his best buddies were taken for a walk right then and he really wanted to follow them, but even at such moments he's rather polite, so I had no problems with him showing me what he'd like to do. During the ride we worked on relaxation and flexing. Slowly getting there, even on the stiffer side. Snickers tried a new trick - to evade contact by hyperflexing, but more leg and more outer rein solved that soon. He pleasantly surprised me with a good leg yield (we did that by the fence, as it had been left without proper attention for a while and I felt the fenceline would help his straightness). At canter he was quite feisty and wanted to rush, so I set up some ground poles and we cantered over them. At first the poles were set too wide apart and I got another pleasant surprise - Snickers widened his stride effortlessly and cleared the poles without a single mistake! And I still remember, how clumsy he was at his first tries over canter poles - always taking extra strides or rushing, or jumping into trot, or... We've come quite a way since then. I feel he's now really reading the distances and learning to adjust his strides. That proved when the canter poles were set closer to each other and he shortened his stride with no problems at all. After that we could shorten or widen the canter strides also without the poles, and at that we finished the session. The weather was cool and wet enough this evening for me to use his fleece blanket while walking off for the first time this season. 

And the arena floodlight was finally set up! Can't wait to try it out next week. 

Just another update - forgot to tell how I got a proof that my intuition is working just fine.  Yesterday I visited our only (!!!) tack shop for a salt block and a vit-min supplement, and noticed that they had some new whips for sale. I saw one I liked a lot and, although I didn't really need one - my current one was just fine - I bought it. It was my payday and I thought it would come in handy sooner or later anyway.

Today Snickers completely bit off the tip of my current whip. I had set it by the fence to which I had tied Snickers to while I brushed him. Silly me.


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## Saranda

Too tired to upload a full amount of photos, but here's a peek:


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## Saranda

Why not tell about some of the other things I do. One of the horses I'm working with is a 1.5 year old filly. She was just until recently spending all her time being loved on and just being a kid, but now I've started doing some simple groundwork. She is halter trained, but nothing much more, and we've been working in short, easy sessions on her leading skills, general manners and relaxation. She's extremely sweet, but also pushy and tends to barge in your space when things don't go her way, well - just like any other yearling who's only experienced moving people around with her "aww" factor.  Yesterday we followed a company of a couple of horses who were giving pony rides to some beginner riders. In general, she lead nicely, we also made great progress with trotting in hand - she's finally got the hang of it. However, she tried her old tricks when I asked her to stop and wait while the others walk on - her tactics are just trying to run ahead, pulling the human behind her with force. Whenever she did this, I quickly disengaged her hindquarters and made her go in a large circle around me (she's a smart girl, so we didn't have to do that much), until she felt ready to stand by my side and back up a couple of steps lightly. At the end of our walk she was okay with stopping with a light pressure in the halter, but we'll have to work on that to refine it, of course. I spent some time to teach her responding pressure on her body (moving her fore- and hindquarters out of the way if I touch them with such intention) and she had a breakthrough moment with walking through puddles. Smart girl.  

I then worked with a lovely Trakhener gelding, who is extremely good natured, willing and smart, but has problems with headshyness and nervousness. He is coming along nicely, the headshyness is going away step by step and he's showing me lots of trust at times, which, in case of such a horse, feels like an honor. Very happy to progress with him!

After that, I rode Snickers. Our arena was very slippery due to rain, so we didn't do too much of exercises in trot or canter, but we had our instructor to help us with lateral movements (leg yield to both sides this time) and contact/flexion at the trot in a large circle. Snickers put great effort in the lateral movements and I, too, got better understanding on how to use my seat more effectively. We had some disagreements regarding the trotting/contact/flexing thing, as my reins were very slippery, I lost one of the reins all the time and made it difficult for both of us. So we stopped at the first progress and went on to canter a couple of large laps in both directions. Snickers quickly realized how slippery the ground is and shortened his stride accordingly, so we ended on a good moment and went for a walk in hand in the trails to walk off. 

Earlier that day I also introduced some tidbits of clicker training to Snickers. After loading the praise with some treats, which always gets him very motivated, I taught him to touch an object for further targeting training. He got the concept in literally a couple of minutes and after a couple of more was following the target - a bright frisbee - wherever I put it. He seemed to enjoy this game a lot.


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## Northernstar

Excellent work all around with those horses! And yes, treats always _do_ tend to bring out the Proverbial Willingness, do they not?


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## Saranda

For a food motivated horse like Snickers, they really do, but I really try not to overdo the treating and always to ask for a polite and disciplined behavior when treats are around. He can quickly turn nippy, if that's not taken into consideration. 

Yay! The floodlight for the arena is up and it's really great - I'll be able to ride without problems this winter whenever I can and when it's not too slippery!

Yesterday, however, it WAS too slippery, even for groundwork, due to a rainfall during last night. The horses are now stabled for the night, except for Snickers and two of his buddies, who spend the night in a huge shelter with a smallish paddock attached. The boys looked real dry and comfy there, and seemed to enjoy each others' company.

I took Snickers to the arena for a short while, until I (and he as well!) got fed up with all the mud. However, we did do a little groundwork with walking/stopping/turning/backing up from a larger distance (the whole length of the rope). He needed a little reminder during the turns, as he at first wanted to rush ahead or to get closer, but there was some progress and I was happy with the results. We then sidepassed in a circle around a huge willow (which Snicks hadn't done before), and I decided to leave the arena after that.

We went to a relatively drier patch of grass by the barn where Snickers practiced his Spanish walk, climbed with his forelegs on a large stone and we did some target training. I'm quite impressed - after only two 5-10min sessions Snickers is already touching the target, when asked, not only when I hold it, but also when I put it on ground or any object, when I hide it, we "find" it later and I cue Snickers to touch it, and he also agreed to bow when I put the target in between his front legs. This thing has a potential after all.  

As Snicks had been heard coughing a little, he got his temperature taken by a friend of mine who is more experienced in this kind of stuff. It might be that Snicks got his temperature taken for the first time in his life and he handled it like a champ. The first two tries, he fidgeted a little and raised one of his back legs, but with the third try he just stood there the whole 5 minutes. And - yay, his temperature was completely normal, so nothing to worry about.


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## Saranda

So, another day of groundwork! Snickers was very eager - waiting for me at the gates and nickering. We left the paddock at once and used the patch of grass by the barn again. Snickers was very good about concentrating on me and not trying to munch instead, although he did have to be reminded once or twice. We worked on simultaneous movements, mostly at the walk, as he had eaten his dinner not long ago, and on yielding all the quarters to pressure. He also had to climb with his front legs on a rock and then circle several rocks, while I was standing on one of them - this confused him a little at first, as he thought I just want him to line up to the rock for me to mount him.  We also worked on the Spanish walk and it is making a steady progress - hoping to get this on camera soon.  Then, targeting. Targeting the marker in my hand, on the ground or on an object is really steady now, so I added some difficulty and he learned how to go out to a target I throw further on the ground and touch it. We did it at liberty and, although he needed me to go with him the first times, he got the idea quickly. He also learned how to target his head through a hulahoop, which he just did instantly!; how to do vertical flexion at liberty and how to lay his neck over the back/neck of another horse. As he was showing signs of wanting to continue, I started working on him taking an object in his teeth in a more controlled manner than he's doing it now. Besides, while doing all this, he looked like he was having a really great time - that's always so nice to see!  I could ditch my training stick and for a while the halter, and just have some fun with my darling boy outside the confinement of the paddock - such a nice evening!


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## Northernstar

Saranda said:


> For a food motivated horse like Snickers, they really do, but I really try not to overdo the treating and always to ask for a polite and disciplined behavior when treats are around. He can quickly turn nippy, if that's not taken into consideration.
> 
> Yay! The floodlight for the arena is up and it's really great - I'll be able to ride without problems this winter whenever I can and when it's not too slippery!
> 
> Yesterday, however, it WAS too slippery, even for groundwork, due to a rainfall during last night. The horses are now stabled for the night, except for Snickers and two of his buddies, who spend the night in a huge shelter with a smallish paddock attached. The boys looked real dry and comfy there, and seemed to enjoy each others' company.
> 
> I took Snickers to the arena for a short while, until I (and he as well!) got fed up with all the mud. However, we did do a little groundwork with walking/stopping/turning/backing up from a larger distance (the whole length of the rope). He needed a little reminder during the turns, as he at first wanted to rush ahead or to get closer, but there was some progress and I was happy with the results. We then sidepassed in a circle around a huge willow (which Snicks hadn't done before), and I decided to leave the arena after that.
> 
> We went to a relatively drier patch of grass by the barn where Snickers practiced his Spanish walk, climbed with his forelegs on a large stone and we did some target training. I'm quite impressed - after only two 5-10min sessions Snickers is already touching the target, when asked, not only when I hold it, but also when I put it on ground or any object, when I hide it, we "find" it later and I cue Snickers to touch it, and he also agreed to bow when I put the target in between his front legs. This thing has a potential after all.
> 
> As Snicks had been heard coughing a little, he got his temperature taken by a friend of mine who is more experienced in this kind of stuff. It might be that Snicks got his temperature taken for the first time in his life and he handled it like a champ. The first two tries, he fidgeted a little and raised one of his back legs, but with the third try he just stood there the whole 5 minutes. And - yay, his temperature was completely normal, so nothing to worry about.


I agree completely about 'over treating' - much preferable to have my horses obey and comply with pressure and release, or a simple, "Good Girl!" Followed by a stroke on the neck or a kiss. They always know when I'm happy with their behavior


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## thetempest89

I read everything! You sound pretty amazing and so does Snickers!


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## Saranda

Thanks a lot!  I don't know about myself, but Snickers is amazing indeed - a life changer!  

Northenstar, I'm sometimes amused how Snickers loves praising - the louder and happier I praise him, the better he behaves and the happier he seems. He's a superstar and wants to be acknowledged.  

Today I started out with the filly. Since our last session where she confronted me with various tricks of dominance and was faced with a fact that these tricks won't work on me, she seemed to have thought everything over and acted as a completely different horse! Walking and trotting in hand - effortless, stopping and backing up with no problems at all, and an overall positive attitude! We worked also on yielding the fore- and the hindquarters. Hindquarters yield much easier, but she is still tended to try to barge ahead of me instead of yielding the fores; however, we're slowly getting there. Of course, there was a healthy dose of daily desentization and I practiced a soft response to pressure in the rope halter when the line is used as reins. Will be slowly preparing her for bitless ground driving. All in all, she was such a pleasure today and I'm coming to love this girl more and more.  










Then I had to hurry to brush Snickers, as we had an equine masseuse coming. She practices the Masterson method and I really liked her in-depth attitude towards examining and then working with a horse. She was very right about the fact that most of Snickers' tension comes from his mind, not from his body, and she gave me some good advice in what I can do to improve his relaxation in our daily activities. She concluded that overall he's a healthy, normal boy and that was good to hear.

After she left I had intended to take Snickers for a walk in-hand (as no work was to be done after the massage today) and to work with another gelding, but it started to rain so heavily that I had to cancel these plans for today. So, instead I just fed Snickers, as he was doing his best "wet, fat, native English pony" impression and acting all offended for me not being fast enough with the bucket.


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## Cherrij

I am glad he got good diagnosis  Such an expressionist, he truly is


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## Saranda

He's actually the most expressive horse I've ever seen, although I _might_ be biased.


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## Cherrij

Saranda said:


> He's actually the most expressive horse I've ever seen, although I _might_ be biased.


You are 100% percent biased, however, we have yet to compare the expressionism of Teddy and Snikcers


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## Saranda

I sometimes suspect that Teddy and Snickers are actually two long lost twins.


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## Saranda

A wonderful lesson with my favourite Dressage trainer. She helped me a lot with a seemingly simple advice that greatly benefited in a more balanced seat - and a more balanced Snickers, who accepted contact willingly! I am hoping to invite her on a regular basis from now on. 

Later I did some groundwork with one of the geldings and, in a whim of the moment, filmed some tidbits of some simple games with Snickers - will do something more in-depth and better some other time, as time was a bit short this evening. Here's the result.


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## Saranda

I love these silent evenings, when it's just me and the horses! Besides, since the floodlight was set up, I can do more training, not just hang around (which is nice, nonetheless, I want some training progress, too.).

Last night I first worked with Snickers in a patch of grass by the barn. He was quite feisty and at first tried to be more interested in the grass, not our communication. Every time he tried diving down for a munch, I tapped him with the whip lightly to remind him, and with each time he grew more and more fizzed about things not going his way, until he decided to try and just speed around me at the end of the rope. He was full of beans, jumping up in the air, squealing, farting and kicking dirt, and I understood he just needed running his sillies out, before we could continue. From time to time, I'd offer him to tune back into me, but, if he ignored that, he just got sent out again, until he finally returned. I then walked him a little and did a bit of a calming massage, after which he was good as gold. We worked quite a bit on sideways and sideways combined with an active trot forwards - we did that in the pattern of a rectangle, the long sides of which were done in a trot, but the short sides were sidepassed. We also continued working on the Spanish walk and I tried asking for shoulder-in, which was quite good even to the stiffer side. After all this I invited him to lie down, which I hadn't done for a while due to not wanting to roll him in wet mud or grass. He popped down immediately and was quite happy about it, so I rewarded Snicks with a good grazing break. During this break, one of the barn cats, Fritz, joined us and hopped on Snicks' back, where he napped and purred all while Snickers was slowly walking around.  

After the break I lead Snickers into the barn, as it was much lighter there, and we worked a little on our target training. I introduced Snickers to the concept that different objects have different names, and he started learning two new words - "frisbee" and „rope". The result I will try to achieve is him being able to target the object I call out, while showing both of them, and, after initial training of these object/names separately, Snickers chose the right objects among the two a couple of times. But I'm not expecting immediate results in this, of course, he still needs to learn to really differentiate between the objects, and to be more patient.  

I still had some time, so I let Snicks back in his night paddock and took the filly out for a session. I wasn't sure how she'd react to being alone outside the barn with the rest of the herd stabled (except for two mares who were still out in the paddock and whom she saw, so they might have contributed), but the filly was wonderfully calm and cooperative. She even didn't mind going completely away from the barn, out in the darkness and closer to the woods. Only after six short sessions she is now leading well at the walk and at the trot, has become more polite in turns, stopping and backing up, has started yielding her quarters, yields to pressure in the halter and is okay with ropes being thrown and rubbed all around her. I'm very excited to be working with her! And to remember how, when I met her first time, she was being lead by pulling the halter and by bribing her with sugar cubes...  It was clearly not a horse problem.


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## tinyliny

Snickers reminds me SOOOOO much of Z. they could be twins.


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## Saranda

Seems so interesting, how horses from different breeds and different countries can be so similar in their demeanor.


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## tinyliny

this is a very poor video of Z and me. the part we were working on with my teacher there was getting him to step out on the circle. I had a tendency to be pulling him over. my teacher said use the leadline to get his THOUGHT out that way, then tip his feet over so that we are just helping the feet follow the thought, NOT making him flee our pressure. She also asked me to step , literally, in the direction I want him to put his front , outside foot to initiate the outward step to the circle. When , and if, his attention wanders, I am tomove back toward his hind a little and look for his ear to come back on me, and when I stop moving with him, I want him to stop too, but not with a sudden swing of his hip outward. I want him to look around the "corner" at me, and follow my "stopped" feel and ease into a nice stop that is not planting the front feet with the hind swinging around, such as a horse heavy on the front end and fleeing the pressure can do.

I am NO pro at this and do not offer this as an example . only showing you how much Z looks like your horse. and my very much amature efforts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VBzezWfXoY&feature=c4-overview&list=UU6eQE7cZtVJzxHrknJme2oQ


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## Saranda

Although Snickers seems to be quite a bit chunkier than Z, they really hold a resemblance. And I've always loved a good ISH! Z is a very large boy, isn't he? And you're doing a great job in your learning process! If Z's anything like Snickers, he wouldn't listen at all if you'd be doing something wrong.


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## tinyliny

Z is actually very willing to do anything you ask of him, except for a few scary things. He s very tolerant of mistakes but you will always get better results if you are clearer . Z can e come emotional and is usually more energetic on the line .


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## Saranda

Last night was lovely. Bright moonlit skies, crisply cool air and the winter coat on Snicks getting fluffier with each day. 

It was decided in the barn that we will from now on weight-tape all the horses monthly to monitor their condition easier. True, weight tapes are not the most precise way of weighing a horse, but they can show any changes happening. I had to re-tape Snicks twice as I didn't believe my eyes! His weight is approximately 1330 lbs/603kg and he's the heaviest horse in the barn! That's about 130 lbs/60kg more than he was taped this spring.

I was first intending to do some groundwork with Snicks and then to choose among the other horses I've been given to work with. However, when I lead Snickers up on a small hill by the barn, saw frost sparkling in the moonlit field below us and a silver reflection of the Moon in the perfectly still water of a pond, and thick fog was rolling slowly from the woods, I understood that I'd take my time. I let Snickers graze on top of the hill and gazed at the Milky way above us, then we went down the hill to the field and he grazed some more by the pond. I admired the silver lined silhouette of my boy in the darkness and felt as if we had the whole eternity on our hands. 

It was starting to get chilly at that point so we went back closer to the barn and started doing some groundwork. Apart from some of the usual stuff - responsiveness to pressure in halter, sidepassing, reading my body language - I did a couple of harder exercises as well. One was walking in a circle, flexing correctly, and, from this flexion, going into shoulder-in for a couple of steps, then returning to the circle. Snickers had fun and games in mind, he tried grabbing and shaking the lead rope, breaking into trot when flexing seemed too hard to think about, however, I stuck to my intentions and did rinse/repeat until he concentrated enough to do the exercise well at least once. That was rewarded with a grazing break, in which we were accompanied by the other barn cat, Mr.Wavy. Wavy jumped on Snicks back, made himself comfortable there, purred and rubbed his cheeks against Snicks' coat and was being extremely cute.  It seems that the cats really like something about Snickers, I frequently see them hanging around him. 

When the break was over, I tried something new for us - ground driving with one rein only. I could send him out at a walk, stop and back up from this position, as well as turning to the side on which the rein was on, but we'll have to practice more some other time. I will also try to teach him spinning on cue and did the basics at a walk and in halter - so far, so good. 

The night was so beautiful that I couldn't resist and used a slippery tree stump to mount Snicks bareback and we went on a quick stroll around the fields. He started getting a bit nervous as we went farther away, and I wasn't in the mood for schooling, as I didn't have my helmet on and didn't want to risk with any spooking. So I just found the border after which he started becoming nervous, crossed it and then we just stood there, until Snicks relaxed. Apart from this, he was very eager and forwards going. On our way home, I practiced what I had been taught about riding from a more balanced seat in my last lesson.

From the active part we went onwards to the intellectual - continuing our vocabulary training. As I said previously, I have no intentions to rush this and I realize that this could take a while - but Snickers thinks otherwise! Comparing to him being a little confused, really wanting to come into my space (so we worked for a while on that, too) and rushing with decisions just two days ago, last night he seemed to have really thought over the task. He took his time to make a decision and, once he really got the hang of the idea, he made the right one some 80% of the tries! I'm quite intrigued of what the future holds!

As we were doing this exercise, a fellow boarder lead her horse to a larger rock near us and cued him to step on it. As he did that and praised him intensely, Snicks started looking at them and really wanted to go and do that as well. So I let him. After stepping on the rock, I showed him a small, round log and cued to step on it, but I held him on a loose rope and let him figure out the distances needed to step on it for himself. After a few faulty tries, he stepped on it with both fronts, nickered and looked really proud of himself. On this happy moment, we ended our session.


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## Saranda

Saturday. I started off with the filly. Went farther away from the herd to deal with her herdbound attitude towards one of the mares. She was at first trying to be very pushy, to think only of the herd, not of what I have to say, and I had to block lots of unwanted behavior. However, a good deal of disengaging and yielding her quarters, and backing up later, she was much better and I worked on leading at the walk and trot, and saddled her with my bareback pad. She couldn't care less. Not only I could put it on her almost immediately after rubbing it all over her body, I could also do the girth - first loose, then snug. She didn't mind at all and we continued our normal work with the pad on. I tied the lead line of the rope halter as reins and showed her the very basics of responding to rein pressure.

Then I worked with the nervous one of the geldings. He had injured his leg not long ago and had a break from all work, but this time I felt he was ready for easy groundwork. He was more nervous again at the beginning, but lots of movement in-hand, lowering his head and massaging his neck relaxed him enough. I started teaching him the crunch (stretch) and putting his forelegs on a log.

With Snickers I wanted to go for a ride, but the arena was too slippery, so I decided to explore trails. Snickers was very forwards and I was happy to find a smallish field nearby - it was very flat and safe to ride on, so I decided to stick to this place and use it as an arena. All was okay at the walk and the trot - I practiced impulsion, contact and improving my balance/steering from the seat. When I cued for the first canter, though, it was a completely different matter. All of a sudden Snickers lashed forwards at a gallop, giving me a full-blown rodeo in the process! I somehow managed to pull him to a stop with a one rein stop, walked him a little in a small circle, then did trot to walk transitions, until he was calm and rhythmic again, then cued for the canter. Boom, another rodeo spree at the gallop! I was prepared this time, so a more immediate one rein stop. And I couldn't help noticing that the saddle seems to be squeaking strangely and the back panels seemed to be moving separately. Uh-oh... 

I walked Snickers home (all the way he felt like he could blow up at any moment) and, in a smallish field by the arena, trotted and cantered some more, just to check. Yes, the sounds and the sensation were there - no rodeo any more, thank gods, but he still wasn't a happy camper. So I just ended this session and got a friend, who is a fellow boarder and quite experienced in these matters, to check out the saddle. So it seems that the tree is broken... I will get a saddle master out to check it, but I might as well be looking for a new saddle. What a bummer! 

I have never thrown my saddle, but I bought it used, so I can't know what has it endured before me. It was okay the last time I rode, so that' strange, how it got broken all of a sudden... Anyway, for now I'm stuck with bareback riding or using my bareback pad. And lots of happy groundwork!


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## Saranda

Today I didn't do anything with other horses, as a new cat was introduced to the barn and I took it as my responsibility to check on her the first few hours. I'm her godmother, so to say, and the cat faced some problems at her current home, so it was decided with the owner and the BO to bring her here. She's a lovely, fluffy black cat - hoping she's bringing some luck with her.  

As for Snickers, first he was a model for a photoshoot we wanted to do for the Independence day of our country. He refused to hold our flag in his teeth, so I just stuck it by his halter for a couple of cute pictures.  

Later I tacked him up with my bareback pad and we went on a trail walk with a couple of friends who walked their horses in-hand. Snickers and I trotted a little as well, but all in all we just showed our companions a nice path I had found earlier, and then I dismounted to continue the walk by foot. Snickers was a gentleman and got to graze a lot.


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## Northernstar

Riding bareback is so pleasant for short periods, and I love it!


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## Saranda

Sometimes, when he thinks nobody's looking, he does the strangest things...










On other occasions, he's the noble creature gods intended him to be.  



















A true patriot.










During our trail walk.
































































Stayed at the barn a while longer to catch the Moon...


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## Saranda

I wholly agree, Northenstar, I love riding bareback as well.  It's just a bit harder for me to do proper schooling bareback, and I also think I'd avoid trail riding alone bareback at faster gaits, as Snicks sometimes is very fresh and I don't want to risk being unseated. Besides, long rides bareback won't be too good for his back, but I have no problems not to ride.


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## Saranda

So, when ridden schooling is out of options, gotta think of other things to do. Groundwork, in-hand walks, target training and simply some undemanding time are always considered, but this time I remembered that we hadn't done ground driving for a while. For a couple of months for sure! After tacking Snickers up I let inspiration lead us and pointed straight to the trails. 

Ground driving Snicks out in the trails previously was always an issue. I didn't manage to practice it much, but whenever we reached a point that Snicks considered to be a borderline between "HERE BE DRAGONS" and "home", he'd start planting his legs and be very hard to send out. It could be done, of course - slowly, step by step, with lots of leading, cueing to walk on, straightening him, and so on, but it wasn't an easy experience.

It seems that something has changed in our relationships since then, as Snickers trusted my lead immediately and walked over the border without hesitation. I really had to slow him down rather than cue to move on when it was needed! He was very active, very eager, soft to steer and to do all the transitions, and only once I had to remind him that stop means STOP, not "let's just continue walking, stopping is overrated anyway!"  

We did this for a good half an hour and then went back to the barn. There, in a patch of grass, a set of ground poles and a couple of smaller jumps were set up, so Snickers crossed them - all eagerly and precisely how I steered him to. To finish off, for canter I hooked the driving reins as a lunge line to his bridle and I lunged him a little, including over the jumps a couple of times. We walked off with one of Snicks buddies to a small field which still has lots of grass (this is an oddly warm November here!) to let them graze and, as the sun was setting, returned back to the barn to play a little (sidepassing, gait transitions by my side) and to get a bit of our target training filmed.


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## Saranda

Picture time!

This one's from October, somehow forgot to share.  










A few shots from our ground driving session. I promise, he's NOT that fat, it's just a strange angle.  



















What's up with the grass in November?! And a sunset.


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## Saranda

Just contacted a saddler to get an estimate for saddle repairs. So it seems that my saddle is most likely beyond repair, but, if it was repairable, even a simple check and reflocking would cost more than I paid for them when I bought them. However, he said that this model (Kieffer Genf) breaks down quickly after it's guaranteed life expectancy, which has already passed a while ago for my saddle. Seems I'm on a hunt for a new saddle...


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## Saranda

Visited Snickers yesterday evening. The barn staff had left for the night already and Snickers seemed to have presumed that it means I won't be coming as well. So he was quite surprised to see me and hadn't expected any work.  I did nothing much, though, some lack of inspiration after a hard works' day. Groundwork - gait transitions by my side, leg stretching, relaxing poll, sidepassing and quite a long break for grazing. I walked him off by a road where we met some lady with a torchlight, who was taking a shortcut home. Let's just say she wasn't expecting to meet a horse in the darkness and practically fled.  

Worked with the filly as well for some 15mins. Leading in walk and trot is becoming better each time and she was very responsive in learning softness in halter and yielding her quarters. Although she often looks unfazed, I can tell she actually holds quite a bit of tension within herself and takes long to release it, relax and do some licking & chewing. The concept of learning and responding to different kinds of pressure is, after all, still very fresh to her - this was our eight session.


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## ApolloRider

Good luck on your saddle hunt!


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## Saranda

Thanks, Apollo! I'm slowly browsing different options.

Thursday evening came with rain, so at first I hid in the barn and pulled Snickers out of his shelter/paddock to hide in the barn with me.  We practiced targeting in the barn aisle. He was very responsive to simple targeting tasks, but found it hard to concentrate on the vocabulary lessons, so I kept it short and simple. Soon the rain ceased and we went outside. My main focus was on good trot-walk-stop transitions during lungeing, and we did a little of hillwork, when I circled Snickers on the slope of our little hill. He worked with his hind legs at the trot really well, when going up the hill! We finished off with a bit of legyield and stretching, and then went to walk off out in the trails, and Snickers was being very brave for being away from the barn in the black of the night.


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## Saranda

I hadn't done any simple, traditional lungeing lately, so that's what we did last Saturday. After warming up at w/t/c and lungeing over trot cavaletti, I attached a chambon and Snickers trotted in it for some 5mins in each direction, with a walking break inbetween. This was done in a bit, but I hope to transition to bitless+chambon next time, just wanted him to get the right idea of stretching, without leaning into the bitless. He hadn't done anything in the chambon since summer, but he went quite nicely. Finally, I took of the chambon and popped him over a couple of low, yet wide oxers and after that we went on an in-hand trail walk with two of our buddies and their horses. During the walk, I took off the lead and let Snickers roam around us. He was being a good boy regarding following me, although the grass was a great temptation.


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## Saranda

After the trail walk and letting our horses back into their paddocks, my friends and I did something quite interesting - disassembled my poor saddle! 

Here it is. A bit worn, a bit dirty after our last ride on a muddy day, my trusty, old Kieffer Genf. 










First steps. The green object is the changeable gullet plate.










Details. At this point I felt a little uneasy - what if the tree was whole after all?! I guess I would just take it to the saddler and ask to repair whatever is wrong with it...




























Finally, the tree revealed. No wonder Snickers gave me that huge rodeo! A vertical crack almost all over the tree.


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## Saranda

Sunday. I started with doing some groundwork with one of the geldings I've been trusted with. To make things easier, I'll just call him Red, and he's a huge (at least 17hh), handsome, chestnut, 16yo gelding. I'm his first experience in natural horsemanship and groundwork that isn't just lungeing. He's very intelligent and, although he opens up to new people slowly, he gives you his whole heart when he does and tries his best to learn new things. This was our second session. He concentrated much harder on me than he did last time and got quite connected. As for now, we're still working on basic things - disengaging hinds and fores, backing up, responding to pressure in a rope halter, despooking to whips and sudden movements, synchronized movements at the walk, trot and stopping. 

During his session I got inspired and mounted him bareback, with the rope halter still on. He had been ridden in a halter before in his life, so that was not a new concept, apart from the fact that the specific pressure of a rope halter was new to him. However, I mostly just wanted to try him and was pleasantly surprised - he's a super soft horse who leaves the impression of caring about his rider. I like him a LOT!

When I hopped off I suggested that we do something at liberty, and he was eager to follow. We walked, trotted, stopped and turned some, and it was all in very good spirits. It was a very pleasant session and in the end he even didn't want to be left in the paddock; instead, he hanged around the gates and begged for attention. What a nice horse. 

Then Snickers and I went for a ground driving hack, accompanied by two of our buddies, one of which followed us and his owner at liberty, and the second one was being lead. Snickers is getting better and better in ground driving and I'm really seeing the potential of a good driving horse in him. Transitions between trot and walk were effortless, he stopped from the trot easily, slowed or sped up a specific gait by how I moved; turning is getting better and more balanced, we jumped a few ditches and he even stood without moving a muscle, while his buddies moved around or grazed, as we were imitating being stopped while driving a cart. Besides, he looks so handsome and determined while doing this task that I can't wait to hitch him up to a sleigh when snow comes! I'm absolutely in love with ground driving and can't understand why did I delay it all the time.


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## Saranda

Yesterdey we had a new mare arrive. While the mare was being walked off after the ride in the trailer, the herd was observing her over the fence, and Snickers was the most interested of them all. He was pressing against the wooden fence, pawing the ground, nickering and arching his neck like a stud. When the mare was finally put in the barn, Snickers had the opportunity to sniff her and both of them seemed to get along. 

However, when we went outside to do some groundwork, all of Snickers' thoughts were with the mare and he didn't want to concentrate at all. We did a couple of things, but I was getting increasingly frustrated, so I decided to call the session off for the night - it wouldn't have done any good to us anyway. Just to end in good spirits, I asked Snickers for a couple of easier things - climbing on objects, stretching, putting his forelegs, one at a time, on a little log, and finally he let me stretch his forelegs really well. Should think of new groundwork ideas for our next session, so I don't get sucked into routine.

I got Snick's back measured and it really looks ridiculously wide! Not really sure, where I'll get a saddle that fits him. It's even wider than the Extra Extra Wide gullet for the Thorowgood Cob saddle.


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## Saranda

Visited Snickers yesterday evening and was surprised by a rain/snow/hail fall. Weather in November is sometimes horrible around here. It's snowing/hailing right now as I write as well, and you've got my bet it all melts before noon!

Anyway. As it was so unpleasant outside, I took Snickers from his shelter/paddock and we went to do a little target training in the barn aisle. A sorry replacement for an indoor arena, but hey, you have to be flexible! Snickers was curious to greet the horses in their box stalls and to sniff around a little, but in general he was very responsive and interested. I noticed that he seems to see his bright blue target much better than his red one. Will try other colors in time as well. He was a bit impatient in our vocabulary lesson, I'll have to think of a better way to explain him this task. However, he was brilliant at targeting as such - ready to target anything, anywhere - and we agreed on a very nice back up. 

I usually have this sequence of cues - energy/intention - body language - a tap with my stick, if needed, but this time I hid the stick behind my back (intending to use it only if I had to block intrusion in my personal space or to wake him up in case he decided to ignore me) and, instead of using it, used just a light movement of a lowered finger. Worked brilliantly, Snickers was ready to back up the whole length of the barn aisle! And, after backing up, he came to his blue target in a brisk pace. It is true that it is just us who need the additional tack and cues, not the horses - they read us perfectly, if we are clear enough. 

Meanwhile, it had stopped snowhailraining, so we went outside. I had the same intention to use my focus/energy/body language more and to use my tack less, and Snickers continued being brilliant. We worked on direction changes and gait transitions (just walk-trot, as it was too slippery to canter), on shoulder-in and on disengaging/turning the forequarters. Everything went lighter and more pleasant than before and I was really pleased both with Snickers and with myself. Snickers, too, was being very expressive and moved in an energetic, yet relaxed manner, engaging his hindquarters more than he often does. Success!

Working on his manners at hand feeding is also paying off. He now turns his head away as soon as he sees a treat coming and doesn't even bother to nudge with his lips, as he used to do before. An owner of one of Snicks' buddies, who also live in the shelter with him at nights, confused Snickers with her horse in the darkness as he was handing out the treat - his behavior was that polite and gentle.  To some people it might seem like nothing at all, but it's a great step up for a horse who is naturally pushy and food motivated!


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## ecasey

I just spent the last hour reading your wonderful journal. You are such an inspiration! I'm so happy you and Snickers found each other.


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## Northernstar

^^Isn't it though?^^ I've been reading since day 1, and just love it! You should view some of Saranda's videos on Youtube - "My Dark Horse Of Light" and "Midsummer Dream" are in my favorites.... 
** Any snow in your region, ecasey? Well over 2 ft here, and still coming down! I believe the Latvian winters are similar.....almost parallel.


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## Saranda

Oh my, sorry for being gone for a while! I should keep you updated. We had snow. Lots of snow. For a week in the beginning of December. Then it became warm again and it all melted away.  

So, what have we been up to... 

I got another horse to work with. An older broodmare who is terrified mostly of anything a human does and her feet are in such a horrid condition that a trim would be urgent, but she doesn't let anyone touch her hooves. My mission is to gentle her and to teach her lift and hold her feet. After two sessions she can now hold still while standing by my side, lower her head, let me touch her with a whip and a rope all over her body and I can slide a rope down and around her pasterns and jiggle it. At first she fought that violently, but a little approach and retreat settled her down. She is also learning to be caught and is extremely sensitive to any pressure at all - even if it's just breathing faster, so she's an excellent teacher of self control and inner peace.

I've also been working with Red, the filly and the nervous gelding. They have all been making good progress, although I had a little setback with the filly, because she was taken for a couple of walks by other people who let her dominate, so she tried that with me as well the last time we worked. But nothing too hard. I'm falling in love with Red, he's such an intelligent, wonderful horse who just wants to please and to be understood. 

As for Snickers...  So, we've been working mostly from the ground, as I hadn't bought a new saddle for most of this time. We tried a few, but none fit, until the very last one - a Passier jump/AP saddle which fit flawlessly! I bought it, but I'm still not riding, though, just love to see Snicks happy from the ground. 

He has had huge progress in relaxing his body and front legs in particular, so the last few hoof trims went almost without any resistance by him. I've been massaging him and doing stretches, and we've had the equine masseuse visit us a couple of times, so it's definitely benefiting him big time. 

We've had a couple of new geldings arrive, both lookalikes of Snicks, and he welcomed them warmly. I love having such a friendly horse!  We've been working on ground driving, groundwork and lunging (over ground poles, jumps and with the chambon as well), and on Christmas Snicks was a part of the barn Christmas parade, where he had to pull a log, while being ground driven - that's an old tradition, from the belief that pulling a log around your homestead and then burning the log will bring prosperity and protection for the rest of the year. So Snicks pulled the log as a champ all around the whole Botanical garden.  

Not only he pulled a log, but, when we had snow for that one week, I made a DIY harness and hitched him up to a kiddy sleigh. He was great and I drove him all over the closest property! He spooked once (Oh no, the DEER are coming!) and he took of at canter out of pure fun once more, but it was completely manageable and we had tons of fun in the snow.

We've had some bareback rides in the arena and in the trails as well. It was fun to ride when the snow was deep - Snickers was eager to canter and hopped through the snow as a bunny. 

We've been also going on lots of walks in hand out in the trails and, lately, it's going on more and more in liberty. We're often accompanied by a horse who is recovering from a tendon injury, so he can be walked by the lead line only, but Snicks is set loose then and frolics around in these days as happy as a horse can be - shaking his manes, snaking his neck, bucking and galloping, jumping ditches and kicking bushes out of sheer joy. And, all the time - following me. That's the best feeling in the world, when you turn away from the herd, the pastures, and your horses' eyes turn to follow you.


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## Saranda

Happy to eat a banana:










On a trail ride - 










Fun with the bareback pad - 










Getting to know a new herdmate - 



















Just being a handsome boy -


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## Northernstar

I love your 'log pulling' tradition! Very neat! Snickers is particularly handsome in that last photo


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## Saranda

Thanks, Northenstar! 
Traditionally, people pull the log in a long procession, but why not give a horse the job! Snickers always becomes very serious and dedicated, when he gets to pull something, and tomorrow I'm going to get a sleigh and a harness collar, so my harness will be complete! Now for the snow...

Today it didn't stop raining. Oh well, I got my raincoat on and went for a lovely trail walk, which ended up to be more than 2 hours long. We were accompanied by one of Snicks' best buddies and his owner, who is a close friend to me. 

At first, I lead Snicks on-line and we did a little bit of groundwork in a nearby field - flexing on a circle, transitioning to trot, sidepassing, trying to do this all as lightly as possible. On our way to the next field, I asked Snicks to jump a ditch a couple of times, which he did with enthusiasm, and, in the next field, I took the lead line off and offered him to follow me at liberty. Which he did, sticking close to my side, trotting, walking, stopping and turning, all with a happy expression and a sweet look in his eyes. What more could I wish for!  As we went on, he saw a little stretch of dirt over a ditch and between a high fence and a tree growth, which he hadn't visited before, so he went on and jumped the ditch, then exploring the place curiously. He spent a couple of minutes there, then jumped the ditch back, shaking his head, bouncing with fun and trotting back up to me.  

Further on, Snicks cantered ahead of us and raced between some pine trees, finally settling down to graze. That made him disconnect a little, as he wanted to stay grazing, so he didn't hurry to catch up and I decided to put the lead line back on, as I didn't want to encourage disconnection in trails. He followed me without hesitation and without napping, and we visited a large pond with rather steep banks. I asked him to go down to the shoreline and enter the pond, which he did, but not without snorting and pawing at the water. He then submerged his nose in the pond and blew some bubbles - one of his favorite games in the water - and then agreed to jump up the bank back to me, and to repeat this circle once more.

Later, we found a growth of spurce trees where some of them were cut off. We used the remaining stumps for Snickers to put a leg on or climb on them with his forelegs and pivot around with his hindlegs. The stumps were small, so he really had to concentrate to keep his front legs in one spot. He also followed me under spurce branches that were hanging down very low as a thick curtain, and, turning on our way home, he gladly jumped a couple of ditches again, doing it with energy and precision. 

During the barn Christmas party, we had left some apples hanging on low tree branches for the deer, but the deer hadn't touched them, so I showed the apples to Snickers. He was very surprised and very happy, and munched down a couple of them in a heartbeat. Would have munched down ALL of them, if I had let him do that. 

Back at the barn, we were greeted by a young, cute gelding, neighing anxiously at Snickers. He arrived a couple of days ago and was instantly adopted by Snicks, who always greets the newcomers and protects them during their first weeks in their new home. This one has taken a great liking in Snicks and seems to follow him around like a puppy.


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## Northernstar

My QH, Star, was boarded briefly when I acquired her until we finished building the barn and fencing...all new horses coming to the stable were put directly with her, as she played the role of 'Auntie'.... she truly did take them all under her wing as you see with Snickers, and it was so neat to see! They all looked to her for direction. Also, I must say that I had a 'nod and a smile' when reading this : "That's the best feeling in the world, when you turn away from the herd, the pastures, and your horses' eyes turn to follow you."


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## Saranda

Today I used the opportunity to do some trailer training with Snickers. He was actually so eager to get in that he tried lifting the butt chain with his head and to dive under it while I tried to unhitch it. When it was finally wide open, we at first practiced Snickers loading by himself, while I wait outside. He loaded well, but stepped outside right after loading the first few times. I finally caught a good moment to praise and he remembered that he has to wait in the trailer, after which everything went effortlessly. So I took off his lead line and we did the same at liberty. He loaded like a pro without me going in the trailer and stood patiently while I went to the other side of the trailer and greeted him through the door.  Finally, I jogged into the trailer and he followed me, then staying there calmly while I hopped out and asked to unload by touching his hip. What a wonderful boy he is! Here's a little video of his progress - 






I then trained the nervous gelding to load in the trailer, as he suddenly had started refusing when his rider asked him to load and, although he was quite upset at first, I managed to calm him down enough so that he loaded once. Will have to practice.

Finally, I mounted Snickers, tacked up in the bareback pad, and followed two of my friends with Snicks' buddies on a short trail walk. When we reached a distant field, I trotted and cantered there a little, then dismounted for a moment of groundwork (transitions from a straight line to sidepassing or shoulder-in), and after that we let our horses graze until it got very dark and it was time to go home.


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## Saranda

The last few days I've been focusing greatly on the broodmare - let's just call her Lyb. 

*Tuesday*, we started with catching. She was still quite shy, but, when I let her know that I am not chasing her, but rather following her, copying her movements and ceasing any pressure as soon as she looked at me or even stopped, she let me come closer and was okay with being haltered. To continue, we left the paddock and she was reminded that it is possible to stand still by my side, not prance around as soon as the herd is behind her. She caught up the idea sooner than the last time and we were ready to go to our training field, where a girl was lunging her horse and a yearling was running loose - something that can worry Lyb a lot. To get to the field, we had to cross a large puddle, which she was very afraid of at first and jumped over it, when asked to cross, but, crossing it repeatedly with the approach-retreat method, soon helped her to cross it in a nervous trot, then - a nervous walk, and finally in a calm walk, with head lowered and licking&chewing, noticeably relaxed.

In the field, she handled being around fast moving horses surprisingly well. Apart from a couple of spooks, during which she tried to bolt in-hand, but now stops quickly when her face meets the pressure of halter, rather than exploding in a canter around me, that was our starting point a few sessions earlier. She also had one panic attack when a bike rider suddenly emerged from behind a huge hedge, and tried to run over me blindly, but I managed to block this move and back her up fast. We worked on walking, stopping and backing up in sync, disengaging her fore- and hindquarters, de-spooking to whips and touch all over her body, lowering her head and, finally, lifting her legs.

I still didn't bother her hind legs, feeling that she needs to gain more trust in me, before I put any pressure to this zone, but I ran a rope down and around her front legs and started lifting them. After lifting them with the rope, she was quick to let me lift and hold her left fore with my hand, but was still reluctant to let me hold her right fore. As her hooves were in dramatic state, it was clearly uncomfortable for her to stand only on her left fore. I was content with the success, however, and I didn't want to put too much pressure on her, so we finished the session. My main goal is to lead her to relaxation and trust in people, because, as for now, she'd rather be on her own - however, she is slowly opening up.

*Wednesday* I went for Lyb in the paddock where she was standing farther away from the other horses, watching my gelding and his buddy play under two huge willow trees. Although I had intended to catch Lyb, instead of it I climbed a willow tree and watched the boys play and, finally, joined them, running with Snickers, playing tag, grooming and petting him, and the two boys were very eager to participate. In process, I noticed how Lyb is creeping closer with a very curious look in her eyes - she really looked surprised to see that horses can actually choose to be and have fun with humans!  It felt just right for this moment, so I approached her and showed the halter, asked for permission to put it on her. She hesitated a second, looked once more at the two boys, who were standing relaxed right behind me, and then lowered her head, letting me halter her so easily as never before. What a great gift!

Together we then went outside the paddock and stayed in a patch of grass close to it, so that she could see the herd and be more relaxed, as I wanted to work with her legs in as calm an environment as possible. Lyb seemed as a different horse. She was much, much calmer than on Tuesday, we progressed greatly in backing up, coming up to me, yielding her quarters, lowering her head and despooking. She read my body language with great sensitivity and finally was tuning into me, without her attention running wildly to anything that was happening around instead. When we progressed to working with her legs, I could lift her left fore with no effort at all and used my whip to imitate rasping and hoof cleaning. She was as calm as a pudding during that! The right fore was more resistant, but still better, and I finally went over to her hind legs. The violent kicker I had met when we first started working was gone. I lifted both hinds with the rope and she just held them up - a little nervous, but trying to trust and relax. 

Her owner wanted to groom her in her box stall after that, but I was called back to her after a moment, as the mare had grown anxious without the herd, was pacing in her stall and her owner couldn't put a halter on. I entered, backed her up whenever she wanted to run me over in her herdbound reactions, and finally she settled down, exhaled, lowered her head and let me halter her. Which means I'll have to train her owner in haltering her as well. 

Lyb was then lead outside, when one of our trimmers appeared and offered to try and do her hooves. Lyb seemed very calm again so I agreed to try. And this was our great New Years' miracle - Lyb let ALL of her hooves be lifted, including the hinds, and let ALL of them be trimmed! Her face changed expressions from tense to surprised that humans are really not hurting her and are letting her to balance herself, if needed, and from surprised to greatly relieved, as much of the pain she was suffering in her deformed hooves was finally lifted. Her owner was crying and hugging Lyb and me as well, and I was near tears myself - such a sign of trust from a severely frightful horse! Her hooves were trimmed the first time in SIX years, as she was too hard to handle because of her kicking, and now, only after for sessions or so, she can finally walk without pain! What a great way to begin this year. I will certainly continue working with Lyb and am excited on her future progress.


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## Saranda

Of course, I had my share of fun with Snickers these days as well.  

On *Tuesday* we accompanied a friend of mine and her gelding - one of Snicks' buddies - on a trail ride. This gelding is now recovering from a tendon injury and has been finally given the green light to start carrying a rider on light rides again. I rode Snicks bareback, the weather was lovely and we had a splendid time. The gelding was a little nervous, so we went first and, although we hadn't been on trail rides with other horses for a while, Snickers acted very well, though I could feel him being full of beans and wanting to let some steam off. Both horses had a couple of minor spooks, which they handled well, and Snicks agreed to jump a ditch with me...although doing that in saddle might had been a better idea, as I weren't particularly graceful during this jump.  We also trotted in two short and slow distances, as the other gelding has been working at a walk for a while now and the rider felt he was ready for his first trot in many moons' time. I enjoyed being bareback, as I feel how it has helped me to improve my balance and "stickability". 

On *Wednesday*, I finally decided to have a ride in my new saddle, which is a Passier jumping one - very comfy, puts me in a good position and fits Snickers well. Followed by another rider and her mount, we found an unused field with a flat surface (others had frozen clumps of mud from riding in them, as the temperatures were beyond zero) and used it as an arena. Snickers was great after not being under a saddle for over a month - the saddle clearly fits him well, as his movements were noticeably more free and active even without an extensive warmup, he didn't rush in the canter and I worked on my general seat and balance, remembering what I had been taught in my last lesson with my Dressage trainer. We didn't ride for too long, though, 15mins at the max, as I am intending to bring Snicks back in to work slowly. Looking forwards to a ride this weekend!


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## Saranda

Worked with Lyb again over the weekend. She's my favorite among the horses I'm working with (except for Snicks, of course), as I feel she is the one who needs help and reassuring the most. On Saturday, it was raining all the time and, although I tried filming our session, the record is of no use - very blurry because of the rain. But Lyb was acting very nice. She is growing progressively calmer and, looking at her now, you couldn't imagine the nervous, kicking mess she used to be just five sessions ago. She's still a little fidgety and may bolt in-hand if suddenly spooked by something moving fast in her direction, but that's a far cry of how she used to act when we met. We are now working over different arrangements of ground poles at the walk and trot, working on a good stop and back up, gait changes while lunging and on our general de-spooking routine. 

This is a video of our sixth session from Sunday:






As for Snickers, due to the rainfall on Saturday, we did some groundwork as well. I concentrated on precision at a faster pace and we used the ground pole arrangements a lot. We did lots of side passing, shoulder-in direction changes on the lunge, and went through some of our tricks - bowing, laying down, sitting and rearing. As Snicks has grown a little herd bound with two of his best buddies, as they spend the nights together in one shelter/paddock and we go on walks together rather often, I did lot of the groundwork in a field not far from the barn, but concealed from the sight of other horses by a high hedge. Snicks was a little grumpy for this at first and tried leaning home, but settled down soon.

On Sunday, I got to ride him at last and had a small lesson by my friend, who also happens to be a riding instructor. My new saddle is tremendously comfortable! So glad I found it. We kept the lesson rather short, as Snickers was out of work for two months, but it was great none the less. Although I am struggling with my position after this long break as well, and my worst habits (stiff, straight hands and leg slipping forwards) were coming to life again, Snickers was clearly very pleased with his saddle and moved much, much more free than he did before even after long warm-up. We worked just a bit on rhythm, impulsion and stretching.

Although I know I'm not a great rider, bear with me - I just want to show how much better Snicks is moving in his new saddle and after visits of the masseuse, as well as daily stretches and massaging - his hind legs are finally coming into action and his back has started working:










On Tuesday and yesterday, I had to come after work, when it was already dark, so I stuck mostly to groundwork, and also some target training. I liked yesterday most, as I concentrated more on how I use my focus and energy, and Snickers agreed to back up and side pass with no tack, vocal or body cues at all. It was a feeling of a great connection. I also hopped on him bareback and only with the rope halter on, lead line in one of my hands, and we went for a quick stroll around some of the fields. Snickers was very tuned into me, very forwards going as well, and I loved to be able to steer him just with my seat and intention, considering we were leaving the barn alone in a pitch black environment.


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## Saranda

On Saturday Snicks had a visit by his masseuse, who uses the Masterson method. I am very impressed. Snicks has had three of these visits and, combining the results with the fact I continuously work on massaging and stretching him, he has become visibly more relaxed and supple. He now needs a less extensive warm-up, is a joy for the trimmer (previously was a bit hard to trim front hooves as his shoulders were stiff and it was uncomfortable for him to keep a leg up for too long), and, when you touch the pressure points right, he lifts up all the muscles in his back easily like a cat. The masseuse was very content with his results as well and we agreed that he doesn't need the monthly visits any more, until I start riding harder in spring. Yay! 

We went for a walk in-hand afterwards, as he had to stretch in his freshly massaged muscles and joints, and were accompanied by one of his best buddies and his owner. The walk was very nice, both horses behaved well, but the weather was terrible - snowing and raining at the same time, mud was everywhere... In a field not far from the barn I decided to set Snickers at liberty and he started to frolic around at a joyful canter and would have stayed by our side, but the other horse got too excited, fearing that Snickers might plan to bolt home, and ripped the lead line out of his owners' hands. Naturally, when THAT happened, both boys bolted home for sure. Fortunately, that was a short run and Snicks had his reflective halter on, so at least they were safe. We caught them by their night paddock and walked them off, during which it started raining heavily, so we decided just to call it a day.

On Sunday, I wanted to work with Lyb, but she was in the farthest corner of our very muddy paddock and one of my boots had started leaking water a little, so I settled for an easier catch - the nervous gelding, who was munching on hay just by the gates. I hadn't had the chance to work with him for a while, so we had to start a few things fresh again, but he was being a very good boy and soon let me touch him all over and responded to groundwork basics again. I then introduced him to responding to lateral pressure in the rope halter, to accepting ropes stretching over and around his hind legs (and to spinning out of being wrapped in a rope), and, finally, introduced him to the very basics of ground driving - accepting me by his ribs while I steered him in the rope halter. We worked a little on going straight, turning right and left, and stopping, after which I felt it was enough for him this day.

I had planned to ride Snicks, but the ground was yucky and slippery, so I settled with lunging him (my boy wasn't too enthusiastic about this and had to be encouraged to move out more a lot), after which we went for an in-hand walk again, accompanied with the same company as the day before. We walked together for a very short distance, though, after which we separated - our companions went home, whereas we walked on. Snickers enjoyed jumping over some ditches, having a sip from the pond and going to look at cars passing by the fence of the Botanical garden, and for a while he didn't even notice that his buddy had gone missing.  When he did notice that, we were already very far away from the barn and he got a little nervous, planted his feet for a second and started neighing so loud it was heard even at the barn, but after a little reminder to move on he was again a very good boy and stayed connected, although, when we got closer to home again, he tried suggesting that we should make a shortcut or two. He forgot about home altogether when we found a heap of apples left out for the deer, though.  

I liked this walk a lot and hope that it will serve as a trust builder for longer "alone time" trail rides in the future, as he tends to be a bit fresher and antsy in those, if we go without company after a longer break.


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## Saranda

Everything has been frozen over with very little snow, so the winter paddock looks like quite a legbreaker - lots of frozen, lumpy mud by the gates and the feeding area.  I hope it snows soon...

I visited Snicks on Tuesday and first I demonstrated Red to a possible leaser, as the last one broke the contract and the owner of Red is now looking for a new one. As she is abroad, I'm helping out. The potential leaser happened to be an acquaintance of mine from times I used to go to the barn I bought Snicks from. She took a very nasty, injuring fall from her horse a year or so ago, and since then had given her horse to a new home and had developed fear from horses. I think that Red will be a good match for her, he's such a gentle and caring horse, and his need for encouragement at times could help with her need for courage. Red and I did a little groundwork in the moonlight and he was superb. Although I hadn't had the chance to do anything with him lately, he remembered all the basics and even disengaged his quarters from a distance; something that I had only shown to him once.

Doing all this at a slow pace had got me freezing, so after my acquaintance left, I lead Snicks out of his night paddock/shelter and we went on a fast paced walk in-hand in the trails. Our lonely walks, which I have been doing lately, are paying off - Snickers was very, very calm, didn't neigh for his buddies even once, we went on a loose lead and, not far from the home, played a little with the Spanish walk, sitting and rearing. A silhouette of a large, rearing horse in a silver woodland landscape, against the light of a full Moon, is an impressive thing to remember.  

It has been getting colder lately, so yesterday I visited Snicks just to give him cuddles, a couple of apples and refill the hay and the water. We went on a very short walk as well, and Snicks clearly wanted to do something more, but it was late and I was freezing, so we called it a night.

Although I'd like to do some more riding now, I'm perfectly happy with just spending some time with my lovely boy. He seems to benefit from it as well.


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## Saranda

Not much has been done. It's still quite cold, yet with no snow, so the ground is still hard and lumpy everywhere. We're mostly just going on walks in-hand and riding bareback, in a rope halter and one rein, both on weekdays and on late working day evenings. On working days, the owners of the other two horses who live outside with Snicks and myself take turns to do late-hour haying and watering, as all the large water buckets in the shelter shattered due to water freezing in them during nights, so it has to be done by hand. Waiting anxiously for warmer weather or at least some snow, so that the ground gets softer!


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## Cherrij

ye, the hard ground without snow puts everything on halt, doesn't it?

Somehow, my plastic water tank (90 l) has not yet frozen and broken... well, it freezes, but maximum I had was about 2 cm of snow, which I broke out and then warmed up the rest of the water.


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## Saranda

Yes, riding and some activities are definitely limited, but we can still have fun just hanging around.  

This weekend I went for a couple of bareback trail rides, in which Snicks behaved perfectly with rope halter/one rein, but yesterday it seemed too cold for that, so I went with him alone for a walk in the trails in-hand. He has steam coming out of his ears, that's how much energy he has from all that standing around and eating hay in the shelter or in the paddock! He was fun to handle, let's put it this way.


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## Saranda

Not much has been going on. Due to mostly unusable terrain, I'm just taking Snicks on in-hand walks and spoiling him rotten. As we finally got a bit of snow over the last few days, I did some groundwork yesterday, and boy he had other plans!  Being a young, strong and dominant horse, who has been forced into a calmer lifestyle by frozen and lumpy mud (or ice) all over the place, he has accumulated tons of spare energy and is not shy to use it! However, as soon as I get him to concentrate on me, he is good as gold. I suspect that our first rides after the ground is good for riding again, will be...ehm...spirited.


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## Northernstar

My 1st rides this spring may be a little spirited too - (but I hope not, as I'm not as good a rider as you!) I continue to be amazed at the lack of snow you're having this year, however- We're at 4 feet now- Not too uncommon, but it's been something! (I'll have to remember my geography as I always thought Latvia was parallel with N MI) _Anyway_, hope you get some good powder soon, and Snicks gets to release some energy


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## Saranda

It snowed yesterday as well, so the field we're using as an arena will be hopefully softer and more suitable for active movements. The problem with them not getting to move enough is with their paddock - it is very lumpy beneath the snow, which they haven't packed down yet, so they avoid moving more than is necessary...which drives Snicks bonkers! Our temporary arena isn't enclosed, so I can't exactly loose school him there, although an owner of one of Snicks' buddies and myself set both of our boys loose in a nearby summer pasture field, in which they trashed around and played for a while. Not something we can do all the time to keep the pastures ready for summer, though. So, meanwhile, Snicks is doing his best wild stallion impressions. 

Snicks has lately been telling me he'd like to be taken someplace new  - whenever we walk past the empty trailer, he tries to sneak up to it and enter it if it's open, or to open it if it's closed. When I don't even try to assist him, he looks at me with a bit of disappointment in his eyes.  I guess we should practice trailer loading at liberty when the trailer is hitched to a car again, he really likes that stuff.


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## Saranda

The snow melted away very soon after that, and we're having almost spring-like temperatures now! So, it means endless fields of mud right now... While some snow was still present, I went to do groundwork with Snicks on some farther fields and on walks in-hand, as well as some short bareback trail rides. Getting a bit fed up with the in-hand walks, to be honest, myself and Snickers as well!

Due to the warmer weather, Snicks is slowly starting to shed and he's become incredibly frisky as well! He happily responds to very active groundwork, but I can tell he's getting a bit bored and I have to think of something new. Hard to do, when the ground is slippery and slimy! Anyway, he uses every chance to buck, fart an squeal on the lunge, as well as he prefers to do all the work in trot or canter - am I a bad person for making him think harder at a walk?  

Because of the numerous in-hand walks with two of his best buddies, he's gotten a bit buddy sore over this winter, so I'm spending more alone time with him and working on concentrating on me far away from his besties. Also went on a trail walk with those two, but with Snicks being ground driven, doing small circles away from them, stopping, trotting away from them, and so on.

Yesterday evening I finally had a proper trail ride, with my new saddle and all, and, apart from Snicks spooking from some wild water fowl that suddenly (and loudly!) flew out of a ditch, it was very nice. Snicks was eager and responsive, I offered him contact, which he took willingly, and we worked on lateral flexions, as well as legyielding in zig-zags across the path. It seemed that Snicks really enjoyed this ride, as it was something different from what we've been forced to stick to for most of this winter!


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## Zexious

Sounds like a good couple of days!

Shedding is like my favorite time of the year... except their hair is so itchy D:

How was the new saddle?


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## Saranda

It's a Passier VS Jump model from 1996, and it is incredibly comfy - not cushion-soft, though, just very comfy and puts me in a nicer position. I still have to get used to a leather saddle, though - my previous was a synthetic. 

I like it when the shedding starts - it means that the summer coat is not that far away. It's a shame you get to eat horse hair all through the shedding season, and in the end the summer coat is there just for a few weeks, before they start getting fluffy for the autumn again.


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## Saranda

Thursday night - had a great, meditative groundwork session with Snicks and worked on how I use my focus and energy. Snicks stayed attentive even in the middle of a grassy field and followed me carefully in my steps at liberty, when we went home - he didn't rush and didn't wander off to graze, which is nice! 

Saturday I worked with Lyb and the trailer again. It was our second session with the trailer and she's afraid to death of them. I was told that in her previous home she was chased into the trailer at a canter... Sigh. So, anyway, she managed to sniff the trailer in the first session, and in the second she agreed to put her front legs on the ramp and sniff it. She's still very nervous about it and tries even turning her head away from the trailer so she doesn't see this horrible monster. 

Afterwards, a trail ride with Snicks an his buddy/my friend. His buddy is recovering from a tendon injury and just coming back into light work, so we took it slow and steady, trotting just a couple of small distances. Snicks lead most of the ride and acted like a champ, and in the end I cantered a few strides when my friend had already dismounted - her gelding shouldn't canter yet. I would have loved to canter a bit more, but due to the rain, the ground is just too slippery. 

Finally, Sunday was quite a crazy day at the barn, to say the least! I got to go on a trail walk in-hand, though, but didn't have any inspiration to do anything more. Keeping things short, we're moving barns at the end of February, along with three other boarders, and luckily, we already found a decent place to go and made our reservations!


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## Saranda

Devoted last night just for some undemanding time with Snicks and the other two geldings he shares the shelter with at nights. Took the rope halter and training stick with me, showed them to Snicks, but did nothing. He was a wee bit surprised and started toying with this stuff by himself. I sat on the roundbale and communicated with whoever wanted to spend time with me. Mostly it was Snicks, staying close by my side, even when a more dominating gelding tried to shoo him off. It was an hour or so well spent.  At the end, Snicks put his head in my lap and rested for a while while I petted him - such a sweet moment!

I've gathered up most of my stuff ready for moving as well. Will have to go through it at the new place and decide what is to stay and what is to be sold or thrown out! Appears, I have a lot of tack!


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## Zexious

I have a Passier and Sohn that I just love--it's a fantastic saddle.

Are you stoked to be moving? ^^
It's funny how much tack you acquire over the years xD I can attest to that!


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## Saranda

I had everything stored away so neatly that I had even forgotten about some things! Luckily, I've acquired quite a lot of reflective gear, so Snicks will be shining like a star when we move! The new barn will be quite close to the current one, so we'll just go by foot.  

The need to move came quite unexpected this time, so I was frustrated at first, but I found a new place so soon, and my friends/Snick's buddies are coming with us, so I could say I'm stoked right now, yes! Just hoping for a calm departure from the current barn, as this is a case of a BO gone...well...nuts.


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## Saranda

One day to go until we move! I'm quite impatient. Yesterday visited the barn to say a quick hi to Snicks (he would have loved to do something, sadly, I couldn't spare enough time for that this time) and moved most of my stuff to the new place. Just a couple of things left to move tomorrow, and then we're ready to go. I'm grateful that Snicks' best buddies are coming along, as it will be much easier for him to blend into the new environment with his mini-herd by his side.


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## Saranda

The moving went well. At first we moved the remaining of our stuff and then it was time for the horses. Snickers was quite worried (yet reasonable) as we left the Botanical garden, he hadn't walked in the traffic for a while. But as soon as we reached a street corner he recognized (the barn is situated in the facilities of another barn that was previously located there, and in which we also used to board last summer), he instantly calmed down and even wanted to hurry towards the barn! He became very excited upon seeing the new herd and was quite hard to be guided to the quarantine paddock.  In there Snicks instantly tried sniff a mare from a neighboring paddock, and all the boys romped around, bucking and squealing, happy for the dry terrain - the paddock in our (now) previous barn was very muddy, and the horses didn't dare to move much.

We were informed that the night passed peacefully for all three of our boys. They had slept through the night and were playing actively when the staff came to bring them in for feeding. I arrived right after the feeding, when both of Snicks' buddies had been already taken to their paddock and Snicks was neighing anxiously, wanting to go with them.

However, he was deemed ready to try and join the herd (as there are several horses he knows already). At first, he wanted to do nothing with them, although he is very friendly and loves new horses - he found a corner in the paddock from which he could see his buddies and all three of them called back and forth for each other. Meanwhile, four horses decided to go and meet Snicks by themselves. It went well, although Snicks got kicked a couple of times by the lead mare, but no injuries. Later, when he tried joining the horses by the round bales, a young gelding turned out to become very dominant with Snicks (although he is said to be usually very calm and playful), and chased my poor boy away and around all the paddock for quite a while, until both of them were exhausted.

At last, took Snicks by a lead and conquered one large bale for him alone, not letting the other horses disturb him, so that he got to eat at last. I allowed only a young and extremely friendly filly to approach, and Snickers was fine with her company. The BO and myself decided to let Snicks spend the nights in the small paddock with his buddies until all three of them can be let out with the herd together - I didn't want to cause too much stress for them, as it affected their eating habits. It will be just for a few nights, so I think it's okay, and I bet that Snickers will get new friends after that soon. However, he seeks for security in his mini-herd for now. 

Later that day Snicks, myself and his buddies/their owners went for a little trail walk in the forest. We know the area well, so the horses were comfortable. I noticed that Snicks was very tired after all the chasing, though - after all, he has been out of work due to unusable footing for most of the winter - so we went home soon, where I let him sleep while I (sort of) trimmed his hind hooves - still learning and left quite a lot to do this weekend, as I don't have the strength to do a full set of hooves in one go yet!

A bit of pictures. Will upload some more later!

Ready to leave the Botanical garden. Safe, yet looking a bit silly.  Snicks has a reflective bandage over his tail as well.










On our way...




























In the quarantine paddock, interested in the surroundings - 










And I forgot to mention that Snickers turned 8 yesterday!


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## Saranda

Snickers had spent most of yesterday longing for his buddies in the corner of paddock from which he could see them, and, although other horses went up to him to sniff, he didn't show much interest to join them. So today that end of the paddock was fenced off and, after 10 minutes or so of introductory chasing and squealing, Snicks finally joined the others at the round bales. Very happy for that!

Snicks was very pleased to see me last night and greeted me with neighs and nickers. I decided to go for a ride in the outdoor arena as the footing was rather good (a bit wet in some corners) and it was still light. Both of us have been out of work for so long, so I kept everything short and sweet. Besides, I felt a bit awkward in the saddle and needing a good lesson.  After warming up at the walk and trot, we did 20m circles, flexing to the inside at the walk and keeping a steady pace at the trot, trotted figure 8'ts and circles on a loose rein, a little leg-yielding, shoulder-in and flexing by the fence at a walk, and finally a couple of laps at the canter around a half of our huge arena. Didn't want to go around the full perimeter as it was already quite dark at that point and Snicks was very feisty at the canter, offering me to speed up all the time. Still very sensible, though!

Went to untack him in the barn, where I put him in cross-ties - something Snicks hadn't experienced for years! He took a step forwards, bumped into the halter, snorted once and that was it - stood calmly the rest of the time while I untacked and brushed him. Today, I plan to ride in the indoor arena - let's see how it goes, we haven't really ridden much in those.


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## Saranda

I come to see Snickers and he's surrounded by mares! Seems that he's popular among the ladies in the new herd.  

It was already dark, so we went to ride in the indoor arena. I figured that Snicks might be a tad spooky, as he doesn't have too much of an indoor experience and the lights were powered by a loud generator just outside of the arena. However, he acted as if he had been ridden indoors for all his life and wasn't even a little spooky! What a great, brave boy he is.  

After warming up I paid great attention to flexing, stretching, rhythm and contact. Snicks continued being a champ and responded willingly to everything. We did lateral flexions along the wall of the arena, flexing to the inside of a circle, flexing to the outside and inside when going through corners, as well as some leg yielding. Snickers surprised me with agreeing to do leg yield at the trot easily - we hadn't done that before! - although he still has to learn to track up his hind legs more in this movement. Not to worry, it will come with time and training.  Finally, we did some canter-trot-canter transitions on a large circle and, although Snicks was a bit sticky at first to raise in the canter, it went rather well. I'm writing off the stickiness to my own balance issues and hope to address them this weekend with the help of a trainer.


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## Saranda

A friend took this photo in the beginning of February - love it!  (click to enlarge)


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## Saranda

Watching at that last picture I posted I now want to remeasure Snicks' height! He really seems like he has grown taller since the last measurement a year and a half ago. As he is from a slow growing breed, wouldn't be too much of a surprise, but he might really be over 164cm at the withers now - I'm 162cm and he looks and feels way taller when tacking up or just standing side by side.

Last Thursday I came to the barn a bit late, so I had time only to free lunge him a little in the indoor and to do a little groundwork with stretching and flexing. After that I set him loose and proposed some work at liberty, and was very glad when he accepted my invitation. Just trotting together along the walls ended up with circling in small circles around me and doing some flexing/stretching exercises at liberty.

On Saturday I started off with trimming his front hooves. Did about half of what needed to be done and felt exhausted, so left the rest for the next day. After a moment of rest for both of us, I decided to have a ride. The outdoor was used to introduce Snicks' buddies to the herd, so I had to use the indoor. After feeling a bit unbalanced at the trot in my new saddle, I realized that I was putting too much weight in the stirrups, but I progressed when I managed to sink deeper in the seat and stop using my feet as a balancing point. Snicks was being a very good boy with our flexing and stretching routine, and we managed to do a circle at the walk with a flexion to the outside, as well as a bit leg-yielding at the trot (a huge gift from Snickers to me!!!). I am craving for some jumping, but Snicks is not fit enough for that right now, so I compensated with shortening my stirrups and working on my two-point, as well as maintaining good contact and steering in this position. 

On Sunday, I started off with trimming the front hooves again. Now I managed to do most of what had to be done, although, looking at the pictures I took now, I see lots of small details I'll have to improve this weekend. I did it for 2 hours again and was so tired after that, I could barely warm up Snicks for a lesson and then trust him to my instructor (who is also a good friend). Snicks was a bit dead to her leg after the long winter break, but he improved during the lesson and started going nicely into the bridle. The instructor gave me a bit of homework/exercises to do next time I ride, so I hope to try them tomorrow evening.


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## Saranda

Got him measured and discovered that Snickers is now 16.3hh, not 16.2hh as before.


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## Saranda

As for the ride this Tuesday, I was somewhat tired after work and had troubles with concentrating to any serious work. Snicks was sleepy as well. After warming him up and getting him a lot more reactive to my leg (after which he wanted to trot all the time for a little while  ), I realized that any serious exercises won't do us much good, so I settled with trotting and cantering to train endurance alone. Snicks was happy to have a good canter, and I was as well - it would have been a nice day to go on a trail ride, if only it didn't get dark so soon in the evenings, when I finally reach the barn after work.


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## SouthernTrails

Saranda said:


> Got him measured and discovered that Snickers is now 16.3hh, not 16.2hh as before.


If he keeps growing you will need a stepladder to get on :lol:


.


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## Saranda

So it seems! Considering his breed and that he's already 8, I doubt he'll grow more than 1-2cm, though. 

A ride again yesterday evening! When I had already tacked my boy up, I started thinking of groundwork, but was too lazy to untack him again... So riding it was. At least, will do good for his muscling and endurance.  A new mare, who is living with a couple of other mares in a separate paddock, was being lunged in the outdoor, so Snicks was very eager to meet her. He did his best stallion impression and tried falling through his shoulder to get closer to her, but I settled it with more gait transitions and circles to get his attention back. Apart from that, we had a nice, short session and, although Snicks sometimes just wants speed, not thinking, our steering, responsiveness to the leg and my seat were better than the last time. And it seems that I got the hang of two-point at the canter in my new saddle at last. After I dismounted, I walked him off at liberty, simply allowing him to follow me and praising for stopping, turning and backing up with me. Over the winter our work at liberty had gone a little through the window due to me being overly tense because of some unrelated problems, so I'm just searching for a comfortable communication through the basics.

Found the first tick of this season on Snicks. Yuck...


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## Cherrij

Saranda said:


> Found the first tick of this season on Snicks. Yuck...


I found the first tick on a cat, and it also made me YUCK! they have started! 

Otherwise, I hope Grand, being half brother to Snicks doesn't grow a lot bigger than Snicks, and is as easy to work with... at the moment all the prayers seem to work - he loves to communicate and learn.


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## Saranda

Snickers is actually very demanding regarding how light and sensitive his handler has to be, and this is where most of my problems in riding root, but mentally he is no less than happy to cooperate...if only you manage to motivate him, of course. 

I didn't realize Grand was so closely related to Snicks, wow!


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## Cherrij

Saranda said:


> Snickers is actually very demanding regarding how light and sensitive his handler has to be, and this is where most of my problems in riding root, but mentally he is no less than happy to cooperate...if only you manage to motivate him, of course.
> 
> I didn't realize Grand was so closely related to Snicks, wow!


They have the same daddy  
Grand is sensitive too, but there are some cases where I have been a big angry bubble just because he actually dares to step over the line with a huge leap. When it is just some little things, he gets soft reminders how things should go. But when he decided he can do whatever he wants, he hears the hell from me. Otherwise he can be trained quite easy and soft, accepts new things fantasticly... cannot wait to mount


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## Saranda

Usually they've done tiny tests and checked they actually CAN leap over you before they do it...Snicks has sometimes done the same and I've always found the fault in myself.  

Sultan gives great offspring - all of Snicks siblings I know are highly intelligent, hard working, playful, sometimes seen as stubborn, but actually just being demanding regarding what they do or don't find acceptable in means of training. If they are oppressed with methods of dominance, they tend to either become aggressive, either withdraw and become extremely introverted - Snicks has done both in his past. And all of them I know enjoy jumping, although they are more suitable for driving than anything else. It will be interesting to watch how Grand matures, maybe he'll become the same heavy harness horse type Snicks has grown into.


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## Cherrij

Saranda said:


> Usually they've done tiny tests and checked they actually CAN leap over you before they do it...Snicks has sometimes done the same and I've always found the fault in myself.
> 
> Sultan gives great offspring - all of Snicks siblings I know are highly intelligent, hard working, playful, sometimes seen as stubborn, but actually just being demanding regarding what they do or don't find acceptable in means of training. If they are oppressed with methods of dominance, they tend to either become aggressive, either withdraw and become extremely introverted - Snicks has done both in his past. And all of them I know enjoy jumping, although they are more suitable for driving than anything else. It will be interesting to watch how Grand matures, maybe he'll become the same heavy harness horse type Snicks has grown into.


Grand is already heavy type. I measured his legs, and they are heavier type than his daddys. he could be a fantastic driving horse.. but have to see how training with one eye goes. 
TBH Grand is like the heaviest LDH I have seen up to now...  or maybe he just shocks me cuz he looks so masive when still so young (4 in 2 months)

I am sure that it would be fun for you to compare the 2.


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## Saranda

I don't think that having only one eye should affect his driving skills more than it could affect riding. After all, the rein cues will go just the same, only getting him used to the shaft on his blind side could be more challenging. Besides, you could try teaching him voice commands for turning left or right as well!


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## Cherrij

Saranda said:


> I don't think that having only one eye should affect his driving skills more than it could affect riding. After all, the rein cues will go just the same, only getting him used to the shaft on his blind side could be more challenging. Besides, you could try teaching him voice commands for turning left or right as well!


I am planning on voice commands, I like using them a lot during work tbh.. 

Actually, the weird thing with him is that he doesn't care much where things are. he only flinches if you suddenly touch him on the right (blind) side. But whenever he panicks or wants to run somewhere or for whatever reason decides to change direction, it is always to the right... which confuses me.. he jumps, does piruettes, to the side he sees squat.


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## Saranda

Well, maybe because moving to the blind direction enables him to observe it with his seeing eye. That's a good sign of a horse who wants to think first, not just flee blindly in the opposite direction.  

I love voice commands as well. I even have one emergency brake command I use to stop a bolt in progress.


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## Cherrij

Saranda said:


> Well, maybe because moving to the blind direction enables him to observe it with his seeing eye. That's a good sign of a horse who wants to think first, not just flee blindly in the opposite direction.
> 
> I love voice commands as well. I even have one emergency brake command I use to stop a bolt in progress.


I have always found that my voice can calm the horse.. So I use commands to make everything clear - halt, walk, trot, canter, jump, backup, ... will need to get more commands. 

The problem is when, like last time I was taking teddy out to ride, Grand wanted to walk onto us, but I was on his blind side. I tapped him with the stick, he piruetted to the right, scraping the top of my head with his jaw, and bolting back to where he came from. doesn't bolt far, just 2 canter steps, to be out of our way. 

Emergency brakes are important!


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## Saranda

What a fantastic day! It was sunny and warm, and I saw the first two butterflies this year. They were both yellow, and, as an old folk belief around these parts goes, yellow butterflies bring a summer full of happiness.  

At the barn I first observed the herd for a while. Snicks was completely indulged into playing with one of the geldings and I took a load of pictures. However, as soon as I entered the pastures, he noticed me immediately, ditched his friend and started following me around at a frisky trot. How cute.  He chose to spend time with me, with lots of cuddles and sniffing, and really enjoyed my company. 

Later I decided to go on a proper trail ride. We've been spending so much time in the indoor and outdoor arenas, that I wouldn't want to get Snicks brain fried with work, work, work. The BO and I were planning to hit the trails alone at the beginning, but a client's child and another boarder joined in as well. Due to a child joining us, we didn't do more than a trot at the first part of our ride, and Snicks was a bit unsatisfied about the speed (he surely could have gone much faster), but it was still very nice. We rode a wonderful, hilly dirt road along railroad tracks, and Snicks and I cantered up the hills. Although I was a bit concerned about how would Snicks react if a train suddenly rushed by, Snicks was very calm, yet energetic, and we didn't meet a train after all. I would have preferred to trot up the hills, but the lead horse in front of us (we had changed our positions by then) was a bit speedy and Snicks insisted on cantering... Will have to work on his responsiveness concerning gait transitions on hills. 

When we were already heading home, the kid and the other boarder dismounted and started walking their horses off, but the BO and I entered a huge, lovely, flat field. After a bit of initial trotting, we transitioned into a canter and soon set off for a fantastic gallop. My eyes were tearing because of the speed of wind, hitting in our faces. The BO was riding her fastest mare with Trakhener blood in her breeding - supposed to be the fastest horse in the barn - but Snicks was able not only to catch up with her, but also to challenge her and almost to take over the lead! I thought that the BO was holding the mare back, but she revealed that we were going full speed. Snickers is doing really, really good for a harness horse! I seriously doubt that he could beat a racing fit TB, but he sure is fast for his abilities, and that pleases me. 

When we had raced all through the field and had turned back home, trotting, the most magical thing happened. The field was golden with rays of the setting sun and the old grass from last year, and suddenly a massive herd of wild deer sprung out of a ditch. They raced, parallel to us; we let the horses canter and so we flew, side by side, with a herd of wild deer. At one point, they turned in our direction to reach the forest, and we turned as well, and that's when I understood Snicks was actually determined to reach them! He was really going for the deer, but, being the good boy he is, he respected my cue to transition down to a trot and then to stop. The deer vanished into the shadows of the forest, and we went on our way home.

After walking off (and letting Snicks have a nap in the outdoor, where he stayed laying after a good roll), I lead him to a currently unfenced pasture field and set him loose. There were moments were I followed him, and there were moments when he followed me, grazing, both of us mimicking each others movements. When the time came to go home, he followed effortlessly. It was a lovely bonding experience, and a psychological lesson to me as well - about learning how to truly let go, without fearing of losing something and having to "chase it", even when the horse is ahead of you, leading the way and having the ability to outrun you a million times. 

Finally, I was invited to join a couple of other boarders in a short in-hand walk to a pond, in which I got to know a completely new boarder and her cute mare, who turned out to be a half sister to Snicks from his fathers' side! How awesome is that!


----------



## Saranda

Haven't had time to write much recently. 

Noticed yesterday that Snicks' sire is being sold. I really hope that he'll get a good forever home where he won't be exploited just because he's a good stud and given bad quality care... If I had the ends and means, I'd love to home him, but I don't.

The owner of Snicks' sister asked for some help and now I've been working both with the mare and her owner. The mare is quite a lovely youngster, but needs some work with her ground manners, so we're working on leading, respecting personal space, reading each others' body language and being responsive to all kinds of pressure. I've also put the basics of work at liberty in her and she responds to it just great. In the long run, the idea is to transition her to a bitless bridle and to teach her owner to be better at timing, precision, the concept of pressure & release, as well as to build a stronger idea of what can be done on the ground apart from simple lunging. 

As for Snicks, I've been riding a lot both in the indoor and the outdoor, as well as hitting the trails. We have worked extensively on our transitions, suppleness and overall responsiveness, and Snicks has been doing great. My instructor noticed that I've let my stirrup leathers down too long, and after I shortened them for a few holes my position in my new saddle improved greatly, and I finally feel I've found my balance in them. I've been also practicing quite a lot of two-point in very short stirrups and, after some work over ground poles, we jumped our first tiny crossrail of this season. Snicks was extremely eager to jump and, although it was just some 20cm high, he jumped as if it was at least 80cm high.  

The flatwork has been paying off and Snickers has become much more responsive in trails. I had already told before that sometimes Snickers tends to become very strong after warming up out in the open and wants to rush, to race and to pull, but the last trail ride was lovely in the way how even at a fast canter I felt I could keep the reins on the tips of my fingers, and Snicks would still listen to the slightest cues, slowing down and stopping even as other horses cantered away. We've also been practicing standing and keeping still as a group of other horses disappears in the distance, and cantering away & towards the group with a steady rhythm and no rushing/evading. 

As for the groundwork, we've been practicing our straightness training (currently working on leg yielding, shoulder-in and travers, as well as dabbling with the first steps of collecting), as well as having fun with target training and tricks. The target training has progressed to our first success at me throwing away the target and sending Snicks out to touch it, after which he returns to me, all at liberty. My sweet boy!

In addition to everything, I've been learning vigorously to trim Snicks' hooves (with the help of an experienced trimmer) and am quite happy with the results so far (trimming by the basic method of Dr.Strasser). We've got a long way to go until his heels decontract, but it's a work in progress. I'm only very slow at this work still, so Snicks frequently gets impatient, especially with his front feet, but I hope we'll be able to settle it with time.

On a grumpy note, I found a small nodular sarcoid on Snicks' tummy yesterday... He's got one on his chin already and I don't like finding another one. I'll consult my vet soon and am planning to feed him turmeric cookies, and see how they help (turmeric, linseed oil, fresh black pepper).


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## Northernstar

Saranda said:


> What a fantastic day! It was sunny and warm, and I saw the first two butterflies this year. They were both yellow, and, as an old folk belief around these parts goes, yellow butterflies bring a summer full of happiness.
> 
> At the barn I first observed the herd for a while. Snicks was completely indulged into playing with one of the geldings and I took a load of pictures. However, as soon as I entered the pastures, he noticed me immediately, ditched his friend and started following me around at a frisky trot. How cute.  He chose to spend time with me, with lots of cuddles and sniffing, and really enjoyed my company.
> 
> Later I decided to go on a proper trail ride. We've been spending so much time in the indoor and outdoor arenas, that I wouldn't want to get Snicks brain fried with work, work, work. The BO and I were planning to hit the trails alone at the beginning, but a client's child and another boarder joined in as well. Due to a child joining us, we didn't do more than a trot at the first part of our ride, and Snicks was a bit unsatisfied about the speed (he surely could have gone much faster), but it was still very nice. We rode a wonderful, hilly dirt road along railroad tracks, and Snicks and I cantered up the hills. Although I was a bit concerned about how would Snicks react if a train suddenly rushed by, Snicks was very calm, yet energetic, and we didn't meet a train after all. I would have preferred to trot up the hills, but the lead horse in front of us (we had changed our positions by then) was a bit speedy and Snicks insisted on cantering... Will have to work on his responsiveness concerning gait transitions on hills.
> 
> When we were already heading home, the kid and the other boarder dismounted and started walking their horses off, but the BO and I entered a huge, lovely, flat field. After a bit of initial trotting, we transitioned into a canter and soon set off for a fantastic gallop. My eyes were tearing because of the speed of wind, hitting in our faces. The BO was riding her fastest mare with Trakhener blood in her breeding - supposed to be the fastest horse in the barn - but Snicks was able not only to catch up with her, but also to challenge her and almost to take over the lead! I thought that the BO was holding the mare back, but she revealed that we were going full speed. Snickers is doing really, really good for a harness horse! I seriously doubt that he could beat a racing fit TB, but he sure is fast for his abilities, and that pleases me.
> 
> When we had raced all through the field and had turned back home, trotting, the most magical thing happened. The field was golden with rays of the setting sun and the old grass from last year, and suddenly a massive herd of wild deer sprung out of a ditch. They raced, parallel to us; we let the horses canter and so we flew, side by side, with a herd of wild deer. At one point, they turned in our direction to reach the forest, and we turned as well, and that's when I understood Snicks was actually determined to reach them! He was really going for the deer, but, being the good boy he is, he respected my cue to transition down to a trot and then to stop. The deer vanished into the shadows of the forest, and we went on our way home.
> 
> After walking off (and letting Snicks have a nap in the outdoor, where he stayed laying after a good roll), I lead him to a currently unfenced pasture field and set him loose. There were moments were I followed him, and there were moments when he followed me, grazing, both of us mimicking each others movements. When the time came to go home, he followed effortlessly. It was a lovely bonding experience, and a psychological lesson to me as well - about learning how to truly let go, without fearing of losing something and having to "chase it", even when the horse is ahead of you, leading the way and having the ability to outrun you a million times.
> 
> Finally, I was invited to join a couple of other boarders in a short in-hand walk to a pond, in which I got to know a completely new boarder and her cute mare, who turned out to be a half sister to Snicks from his fathers' side! How awesome is that!


That is very awesome, and don't you love the irony? I just acquired Laney's half sister, Sugar, a few months ago, and would not have expected it. They have the same dam. I love the depiction of you and Snickers 'taking turns' in that field, and his never failing trust.... All the money in the world cannot replace the trust from our horse.


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## Saranda

I don't have much to tell really. We've been having super nice weather, so lots of trail rides were in order. I have to pluck up my courage and go on a ride alone with Snickers... I'm still a little traumatized by these particular trails since last year we were nearly hit by an ATV there, but I have to get over it. Practice, practice and practice has made Snicks very nice on trails again (since he had become a bit too strong and rushy during our long winter break - too much energy accumulated and too little will to slow down  ) and we've been doing lots of going away from and past other riders at all gaits, as well as standing still or maintaining a walk as others trot or canter away. Our rides are becoming longer as well. 

In the arena I'm concentrating on the same old thing - my seat, my hands, and different exercises for rhythm, suppleness and transitions for Snickers. I'll be visiting him tonight and I think I should work on our canter departs. He sometimes gets quite opinionated during groundwork and I'm trying my best to spot when the problem is in my body language/timing/precision, but, I have to admit, we've had some quarrels these days as well... I have become much better at not losing my temper over the last year though. 

Regarding our life in the new barn, everything has been going just fine for the time being. I hope it stays this way and, although there are a couple of boarders I try not to run into and to be polite (but nothing more), the BO is very reasonable and makes for a great trail partner.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking about getting a second horse who'd be more of a sports type, but I can't afford keeping one right now anyway, so I use it as a learning experience to appreciate everything that Snicks is giving to me - and he's got LOTS to give each and every day. He's the best teacher I could wish for.


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## Saranda

Snickers was such a champ this Tuesday when we rode in the arena. He tried his heart out for me and did his best to flex, to be active, to stretch and to do all those things I asked for while trying to maintain my own seat. We could even do a figure 8 in the outside flexion, something that was impossible not so long ago! A small accomplishment, yet an important one for me.  I had planned to work on our canter departs, but in the end we had worked so much on our suppleness that I felt I shouldn't be asking anything more from him. While walking off I offered to do a couple of tricks which he did with enthusiasm, as always.

Yesterday I had been planning to ride as well, but the outdoor was too crowded and I didn't want to spend such a sunny and warm evening in the indoor arena. I had a friend visiting us, so we decided to hit the trails on foot, with Snickers in-hand. Snicks was a bit bored in the beginning as I didn't let him to graze on the roadsides on our way to the forest, but, once there, he perked up a lot and was a goof.  We trotted up and down some hills, Snicks shaking his manes and jumping up and down all the time, then I let him graze in forest herbs and later we reached a small lake, in which he had a jolly good time. Snickers LOVES water! He splashed around, submerged his head in the water and blew bubbles, he even dropped down in the water and started rolling in it! After all this fun my short lead rope was wet and slippery, and Snicks managed to pull it out of my hands by accident... He instantly went for a swim in the deep end and we met on the other side of the lake, where he approached me and let me get a hold of his lead rope. Once I had done it, he dropped down once more, this time to roll around in the sand furiously, after which we played a little with the circling game - topped with a very happy horsey jumping up in the air on all fours, squealing and shaking his head as if he was a foal playing, not a grown horse.  My friend took some pictures and I hope to get them soon - as soon as she repairs her computer. They should have captured the fun we had.  

Then the sun was setting and it was soon to be feeding time at the barn, so we slowly went home, stopping for a moment in a meadow to graze in the spring grass. At the barn Snicks made me quite happy when I lead him in his box stall (he spends only half an hour in it each day during the feeding time) to take his halter off. A bucket of oats was already waiting for him there, but Snicks waited politely for me to tack him off, and after that waited for some more until I allowed him to start his meal. What a change since the times when he was still a barging, biting monster during feeding, and sometimes would even try rearing if I withheld his bucket! But that's long since gone - he's learned his feeding manners very well now.  

As I'm spending my time in a much more competitive barn with several dressage riders and jumpers, I'm seeing more of the equestrian world I don't quite understand. I see horses being shod on all fours and then kept in isolated paddocks so that they get "prettier gaits and become more spirited" - when in fact they become sour and mean spirited in their loneliness. I see young horses being pushed too soon and too far, and their personalities crushed and ignored as a part of their "training". It's such a strange world to me, and it's beyond me why somebody should choose conquer over communication, exploit over understanding, stress over relaxation, and why should anyone choose to ignore obvious signs of discomfort and pain (moral and physical), just to blame a horse for "misbehaving", although everything could be corrected just by tweaking your style of riding a little or by simply getting tack that fits.

I am NOT bashing competitive riders as such, of course, nor am I bashing riding disciplines and sports, although many aspects of those are sometimes unacceptable for me. It's just that I'm baffled over the choices some people make and how these choices lead not only their horses, but also them to many kinds of suffering (frustration, injuries, anger, conflicts, etc.), although other choices, more pleasant ones and such that could be combined with their lifestyle, are within reach. It's like choosing to be blind - who on earth wold willingly do that? Yet it is perceived and treated as a norm...


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## Saranda

Last Saturday I finally plucked up my courage and went on a trail ride alone with Snickers. It was a big deal for me to hit exactly _these_ trails alone after the accident of an ATV nearly hitting us and Snicks panicking last year. Everything started out good, but, as soon as we entered a forest, a loud, yet slow dirtbike was approaching us out of a narrow path. Que Snicks jumps up in the air and tries bolting home. Oh, happy day! I managed to do a one-rein stop in time, though, so we stayed mostly in place, didn't hit the dirtbike (Snicks was trying to bolt in its' direction) and then just stood while the bike went away and we couldn't hear it any more. As we progressed down the trail, Snicks was quite tense, yet obedient and I did lateral flexions once in a while just to keep his attention. 

Not long after that we spotted a man with a small child having a walk among some bushes. They couldn't be clearly seen and Snicks started tensing up again, so I decided to approach and greet them. The child was very happy to meet a horse, they both petted Snicks and gave him a treat I had brought along in my pocket. That relaxed Snicks a lot and I felt it was a good learning experience for him after getting stressed out by that dirtbike. However, then the man did something very strange - he was holding his child up so that the kid could pet Snicks' nose, and then he suddenly tried swinging him up to the saddle, explaining, that he wanted to take a picture! Wow! Would YOU try to throw your child up a strangers' horse without a warning in the middle of a forest, disregarding that the horse could spook and the child could get heavily injured in the process?!  Naturally, I didn't allow that to happen and the man didn't really understand the reasons behind it - he tried saying that surely the kid shouldn't be too heavy for me to hold, if that's what I'm worried about! I used this moment to bid my farewells and went for a very nice canter down a beautiful path. 

We then found an entrance into a small village and some of the people living there said I could just go straight through it and exit into the trails on the other end of their main street, however, that didn't turn out true as there was a wide ditch and some fences at the end they had pointed me to, and I had to go all the way back. It had some positive aspects, though - we met lots of barking dogs, loud and excited kids, cars, scooters and bikes driving close by, some construction works going on near us. Snicks handled everything like an absolute champ, even the loud scooters and another dirtbike, and seemed to have settled down with the idea of meeting small, yet loud vehicles. On our way out of the village we saw the Devil, though - the same red ATV that caused our phobia last year! I felt Snicks tense up under me, asked just for a few steps forwards and quickly dismounted to do a little groundwork. Snickers was very nervous to see this ATV, yet he tried his best to be brave and I think that we handled this situation quite well. We were standing on the edge of a cliff when we saw the ATV and I didn't want to take any risks with Snicks spooking on this edge with me still in the saddle. 

When the ATV had disappeared again, I re-mounted and we went in the general direction of the barn. Snickers started rushing and becoming stronger in the bridle, so I found a nice combination of trails, where we could trot back an forth, taking lots of turns away and towards the barn, until he relaxed and started listening to my cues better, including leg-yields across the path, stop-trot transitions, backing up and such. 

I used a tracking app for this ride and it told that this ride was a bit more than 12 kilometers long. We did quite a bit of trotting and cantering, and Snicks was quite tired in the end.


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## Saranda

The day after our ride I went on another ride, accompanied by two pairs - Snicks' half sister and his owner, as well as Snicks' best buddy and his owner - my friend. As the last pair started tacking up later, I warmed up in a nearby field with some walking and trotting. After that we had a fantastic trail exploration, finding a new, vast woodland area (you have to cross a road with some traffic to get there, but the road is not too big, so it's not too much of a deal) with very clean and isolated trails, suitable for all gaits. Snicks behavior was superb, he seemed to be excited about our adventure, and deeply enjoyed each and every new path we took, as well as when we crossed some boggy terrain, hills, fallen trees and other obstacles. This ride was tracked to have been a bit over 15 kilometers long, but we were mostly walking, as the other horses were not fit enough for lots of trotting or cantering - although we did have a share of those, too. 

My diary has turned into huge and, I fear, boring blocks of text, so here's at least a few pictures to compensate it.  

Snickers being handsome (and wet) in February:










During our last trail ride. We're in the middle (and in an awkward angle):










Waiting for a bus at a remote bus stop.  Snicks is the one with the yellow saddle pad and the one standing near us is his sister:


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## Saranda

Yesterday Snicks was visited by a vet and got his teeth floated. He got complimented for the teeth being in near-perfect condition and behaved impeccably. The vet saw Snicks' possible sarcoid as well and accepted my idea of doing nothing with the sarcoid directly, but starting some detox and immunity boosting internally, as a sarcoid is often a sign of weakened immunity. And, even with a sedative, Snicks was being the same, old, spunky Snicks - tried pulling to a round bale, as I was leading him to his box to sleep after his teeth had been floated, and then tried eating the hood of my coat, but missed it as he was SO sleepy.  He also seemed to appreciate that I stayed with him until he woke up again and was very cuddly after that.


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## Saranda

And yet another trail ride! Good thing that evenings are so light now - I can go on a trail ride after work and not worry about getting caught in the dark while still in forest. We were accompanied by a good friend and a green horse she is currently training. The greeny is a very sweet boy, much like Snickers, and they get along very well. This was the young geldings' second time as a trail leader and first time leading a group at a canter. He behaved wonderfully and was pleasant company, and so did Snickers. Although Snicks sometimes gets frustrated if the horse in front of us is on the slower side, he was very, very calm and relaxed this time, and didn't even bother about having to canter slowly; in fact, Snicks used his hind end very well and stayed in a slow canter easily, even on a loose rein! Later on we got to lead the canter as well and I could let Snicks let some steam off - there was no energy lacking for sure.  We also went to the lake and walked in the water along the shoreline, which I enjoy doing as an exercise for Snicks, and my boy made me really happy with being able to walk in a very collected manner up and down steep slopes - until recently, when we started doing more hillwork, he was still a bit unbalanced and often wanted to rush/trot up/down. Yay for progress!  Finally, as we trotted down a narrow path, we came across a large, fallen branch and jumped it. Snickers, as always, impersonated an XC horse and jumped the branch as if it was a huge fence - I was prepared this time.  

Although it seemed like just a short walk, this ride was tracked to have been 9 kilometers long - not much, of course, but more than I expected.


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## Northernstar

Saranda, just wonderful! I haven't seen this thread in some time, but do have to ask, did you have someone do your avatar on Snickers? Tinyliny, perhaps? It looks like her talented work


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## Saranda

It was done as a portrait for a portfolio of a very talented girl, you can see her thread where she's looking for models here  : http://www.horseforum.com/horse-artwork/i-need-some-models-393090/


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## Saranda

I wrote a long post, clicked something wrong and everything disappeared. Sigh... Here's my second try.

After our last ride Snickers once more played the role of a "Big Brother" to a very green horse - this time it was the BO's gelding, who has just started going on longer trail rides with a rider. No cantering for him yet, just walking and trotting, and the ride was short, as we had to get back to the barn in time for evening feeding, but it was still fun. We worked on walking and trotting side by side in active paces, and then there was lots of flexing around trees and Snickers tried his best to leg-yield and sidepass along a path, as well as leg-yield and sidepass up and down a low hill. He was a bit confused at first, but then did very well and I was happy about how his fitness and self carriage are improving! I also jumped a small log with him from trot, and this time he was more careful about calculating how high it actually is and that he doesn't need to try jumping the Moon, when the jump is actually low.  

On Saturday we started off in the outside arena, where I set up a cross rail and a vertical, both around 60cm high. Weather permitted, we will be jumping once a week from now on. After warming up and working on flexing in turns, we jumped each a few times, also in a sequence, tighter turns and changing directions. The first few attempts were slightly feeble, as I had some problems with finding my balance and jumped ahead Snickers, messing up his strides. But then I managed to straighten myself out and from that point on everything went fantastic and I had a wide smile on my face all the time. Snickers not only crossed the small jumps, which he used to do rather lazily and putting some effort only in something higher - he actually JUMPED, using his hind end and also seemed to calculate his strides! He also was very responsive when I shifted my weight in the saddle for a tighter turn, and changed leads when going over a jump, if cued to do so. Hurray! 

I didn't want to overdo our first jumping session after a break, so this session was quite short and definitely sweet, after which we joined a friend on a short trail ride with one more jump over a fallen tree (to which Snickers approached as energetic as an XC horse  ) and lots of in-hand grazing in the new grass after that. Our pastures are not yet open, as there's still not enough grass for the whole herd, but I'm trying to prepare him for the new pasture season beforehand with grazing after rides.

On Sunday I managed only to take Snickers for a grazing walk in the fields, when it started to rain heavily. As our indoor is currently out of use until the end of this month for maintenance, I cancelled my riding plans and went inside the barn to give Snicks' hooves a trim. It didn't stop raining until I had trimmed all four of them, so I at least got that done, although my hands were sore and I was exhausted after that. Snicks' hind hooves are now in quite a good condition, but I wish that his front heels weren't that contracted. Oh well, I hope that will, too, come with some more work!

Time for some pictures now! 

This is a set from when my friend visited us during the in-hand trail walk:

Don't be fooled - some of this is actually his extremely thick winter coat, not being ginormously fat! 










A nosy greeting




























In the forest - 





































Something more recent. One of the barn dogs joined us for a walk.  










Isn't he cute? 



















Goofing around in the fields. I came to a revelation that I hadn't tried this position, not ever!  Snicks didn't even notice that and just continued grazing.


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## Saranda

My last barn visit was this Tuesday, when I went on yet another trail ride with Snicks' best buddy and his owner. As the barn is holding a mounted orienteering competition at the end of April, we're determined to participate and I'm working on getting Snicks as fit as possible. And it seems we're doing good! We went in all gaits (and most of the time trotting or cantering) for an hour and about 15 minutes, up and down hills, through water and over fallen trees, and Snickers wasn't even sweaty under the saddle after that. He seemed to have much more energy for a longer ride as well, but it was late and we didn't want to miss the feeding time. This ride was a little celebration for me as well - it was the first time since an unfortunate bolt more than a year ago, and the first time since the ATV accident, when we cantered in front of the group on a completely loose rein, just lying there on Snicks' withers, and my dear boy waited until I cued to go faster, as well as stopping on a dime as soon as I asked for that. It's such a great feeling to have complete trust in these circumstances again!

And now for some more photos from our last photoshoot. 

Having fun with his best friend:










Having fun in the water. Snicks loves, loves, loves to submerge his nose in the water and blow some bubbles! 



















Snicks enjoys munching on heather whenever we get to the forest:










And some fantastic portraits...





































And my absolute favourite. Captures his character so well!


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## Saranda

Lots and lots of trail rides over the recent days and Easter holidays. I summed up that I've ridden nearly 90 miles already this April! Our average trail ride is now approximately 5 to 10 miles long (shorter on workdays, long ones during weekends) and we trot and canter a fair deal, but mostly we keep at a walk as we're often accompanied by Snicks' bud who is coming back into work from his tendon injury. We've experienced many despooking moments by meeting all kinds of loud vehicles, barking dogs, wildlife, crossing railroad tracks, jumping fallen trees and logs, and Snickers has been a really good boy about all of this. I'm especially happy about getting him used to trains as he used to get very nervous around them - now he can stand and watch one passing by without prancing around and even chase it at a trot when it has already passed us. 

We had a jumping session as well and I badly need a trainer. I can jump small obstacles well enough, but I need guidance if I want to jump a bit higher. Snickers was being a champ, though, and jumped everything I pointed him at, as long as I didn't unbalance him by bad two-point. Fortunately, the BO has agreed to help us out in that and I'm finally having a lesson with my favorite trainer this weekend!

One of these days a few friends visited me and we had a lovely, little picnic by the barn, with Snicks and his best bud participating as well. They had a jolly good time, trying to steal our bananas and sweetbread, and fussing with my nonhorsey guests.  

I was also suddenly asked by the BO if I could do a little show and tell routine with Snicks for a kids' party that was to start in a few minutes. Just for a challenge, I agreed and Snickers was wonderful, although a bit sleepy, as he had been just rushed out of the paddock. He lied down, let himself get covered with a blanked, lead with his eyes tied shot, showed his Spanish walk and finally I rode him tackless, waving a big piece of cloth all around his head. Finally I got inspired to try and stand up on his butt, which I had never done before, but luckily it went well and the kids were amazed.  

I'm visiting Snicks today as well, but no riding this time - he deserves a day off, after all. I'd love to do some groundwork, but his feet need trimming so I'll do that instead.

Snicks being a bit too friendly during the picnic. 










Just a pretty shot:










A personal challenge fulfilled. Don't do this at home, kids!










Snicks learned to place his hoof on a smaller and higher mounting block while I'm sitting there - good boy for not crushing my leg.  










And I found a ladybug on his forehead while he was sound asleep in the paddock!


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## Saranda

As planned, I spent yesterday evening to trim Snicks' front hooves. The overall condition of his hooves seems to be improving - he is less and less tender footed when walking over rocks, no tenderness at all when walking and trotting over gravel, and his heels seem to be decontracting after all this waiting! I only wish he'd stand more quietly when I'm trimming his front hooves, but that's a slow work in progress that's connected to the suppleness of his shoulders and his moral willingness to hold a hoof patiently. There are no problems with holding his hind hooves for as long as I need, though!

There's a guy in the barn who owns a lovely filly (and with whose work methods I disagree completely!) and who is also a student to one of the leading farriers of our country. As I trim Snicks by barefoot methods, to be precise - I do the Dr.Strasser basic trim - our approaches differentiate greatly. So, this guy was watching me trim and then offered both some advice (to leave high heels for instance...) and to trim Snicks' hooves for me. I continued smiling and being polite, but declined his offer, and his face was telling me that he is sorry for what I'm doing. How funny - I feel sorry for the same thing regarding him!  But it's none of my business, so I don't interfere...


After an hour, I felt that I had done what could be done (two hooves in an hour are a personal record - I started out with two hours a hoof!  ) and went to hand graze Snicks in a field until it was time for the evening feed.


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## Northernstar

Saranda, I had no idea you've been doing Snickers' trims yourself! Good for you! All of my horses are barefoot, and done with a natural trim-I don't have the skill to do it myself, but do have an excellent farrier! Love all the recent photos, btw


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## Saranda

Thanks, NS!  Snickers has always been barefoot and I wouldn't do it any other way. I'm a strong believer in barefoot as the best choice for horses (if done correctly and if the horse has the according living conditions), and I'm extremely content that I decided to start trimming myself. Of course, I didn't just get a knife and a rasp, and jump straight into trimming his hooves - first I studied, read and watched lots of theory, and I'm doing everything supervised by a good trimmer. I've been doing most of the work (the trimmer goes over my trims and helps correcting any mistakes) since this March.

The biggest inspiration to start trimming Snicks' hooves was a realization that my previous trimmer, although a great person, has taken too much work on her hands and the quality of her trims was decreasing. Snicks had chronic contracted + high heels and some nasty flaring in both his front hooves. Now that I can take all the time he needs to go over minor details, the heels are finally decontracting and yesterday I noticed that the flare is gone! He has also become less ouchy on rocks and, although it's often hard work, it's really worth it. Not even speaking about all the money I've saved on trims! Also, the trimmer who's helping me doesn't want to trim Snicks on top of her busy schedule, so there's not really any other choice I can make.  We're extremely deficient on good barefoot trimmers around here.


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## Saranda

I ought to post some pictures soon... Maybe this evening or tomorrow.

So, after the last time I posted about we had one more trail ride, a short one, and then there was a nice, traditional spring festivity in honor of a Latvian deity of spring and horses. We sang around a bonfire, made traditional, festive foods and a couple of horses, including Snicks, gave pony rides to our guests from a folklore club. Snicks was being fabulous and I even let one lady to ride him by herself at the walk - she had ridden years ago as a child - and he was as sweet as can be, tolerating the imprecise ques. Later Snicks and his best buddies were set loose near the area of our celebration, as they are sure not to wander away, and Snicks often came over to get forehead scratches and to check out the table. 

Next day - the equine orienteering competition! I had no stress at all. We had to enter the trails as the first pair, and Snicks did a great job! The trail was somewhere around 7km long - a short ride, this time - and we made most of it at the trot and the canter (we had warmed up beforehand, of course). Snicks was being bold and attentive all the time, I absolutely loved his attitude! I made a few mistakes regarding the course I chose, and I dropped my whip once, so I had to hop off and back on, so I knew we wouldn't be the first, but crossing the finish line at a full gallop was fantastic! In the end, we placed as the third, but Snicks is my champion all the same.  After this, we went to swim the horses in a pond and to graze them in a field, and I trimmed Snicks back hooves in the very evening.


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## Saranda

A lineup before the start










And off we go!










Galloping down the home stretch










Relaxing in the pond afterwards










And we came across a herd of sheep! One little lamb wandered away from his mom and tried making friends with the horses. We had to carry him back to his mommy, as he suddenly found himself completely and utterly lost. Poor, cute baby!


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## Saranda

Okay, I've got to get this done at last... The longer you keep from writing something done, the more stuff to tell piles up and the task seams impossible in the end!  But there is lots to tell, so here it goes.

The day after the competition something tragic happened. The BO's favourite mare was found dying in the pastures, surrounded by a silent herd, during the last checkup before the night. She died within minutes after she was found, although she had seemed perfectly fine an hour or so before that. She was old and had heaves, and a stroke is suspected as the cause of her death. We were all completely brought down after that, and I spent the next day just being with Snicks, hugging him and being very grateful for being a part of his life. The mares' body had sill not been collected and was lying in the far end of the paddock, covered, and Snicks lead me in that direction and gazed stiffly at her. Not only people, but all the horses seemed to be mourning. 

The next night I woke up to emergency messages from the barn... The horses had gotten out of the paddock, two had broken out of their box stalls in the barn, many had injured themselves in the neighbouring fields where a cow farmer keeps his cows within barb wired fencing, and one horse - Snicks best buddy - was missing. A search party set out and searched for him for 10 hours. The police was involved as well. At last, he was found several miles away from the barn, just standing there in a memorial, which is in the middle of a heavily wooded area, and was in a complete state of shock. He didn't even recognize his owner and just wandered around with a completely blank look in his eyes. He was also seriously injured with the barbed wire and in pain - deep cuts all over his front legs, chest, belly and hind legs.

Foul play is suspected. It was discovered that the gate was cut open and the horses seemed to have been frightened on purpose. It is also abnormal that Snicks' buddy would have wandered so far on his own, as he is very herdbound and NEVER leaves his pals. Unfortunately, there are no suspects, just a bunch of injured horses and scared people. The horses were kept inside for the next couple of nights - just to be safe - but since the beginning of May the majority of them are again outside 24/7. As their summer pasture fields were opened, they now have much more space to roam in and it feels safer now.

Miraculously, Snickers was the only one who stayed unharmed - not even the smallest scratch from the barb wires. He only seemed to be nervous, as most of them, and paid much more attention to his surroundings when grazing or when being lead away from the herd. Needless to say, I feel almost as if he had been protected from any harm and feel eternally grateful for this outcome. 

As for today, all the horses that were injured are healing up nicely and most of them are okay now. Snicks' best buddy, who suffered the most, now only has a couple of small haematomas that still need to be absorbed.


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## Cherrij

That is scary to hell. Thank god that Snicks is fine! And Hope his buddy doesn't have permanent damage, and that scars on his legs were not too deep to impale his movement.. Oh my... I guess you will never know who did it or how it happened.


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## Saranda

Fortunately, Snicks' buddy was lucky despite of his injuries and he has been completely healed now. Physically, that is. Psychologically - he has lost a LOT of trust in people since that horrible night. We believe that he was actually taken away by somebody and then released, as he is very herdbound and would never leave other horses, especially in a state of panic.

I've been a very lazy writer again... I'll try to keep it short. 

Riding and training - I've been focusing on getting lessons with my favourite Dressage trainer and those are paying off nicely. My seat and balance are improving, and it has helped in my relationship with Snicks. I've been jumping a little and doing low gridwork to improve my seat over jumps, and I've also been spending lots of time to ride tackless, just with a neckrope. Our liberty work has really been improving well and I've experienced some wonderful moments of trust by Snickers. Of course, we have been going on nice trail rides as well. Unfortunately, we experienced this event - http://www.horseforum.com/horse-talk/tale-survive-tell-424082/ - and Snicks has been a little more nervous in trails and around vehicles since then, but he's getting better and I'm trying hard to be an encouraging rider.

Going to the sea with Snickers takes the spotlight, though. The sea is quite far from our barn (approximately a 1h drive), so we rented a 6-horse trailer and went like that. Snicks had seen the sea at his previous owners and was reported to take it brilliantly, but that was my first time with my horse at the seaside. He was a bit stressed about the huge trailer, as he was rather clamped there (not enough space for my apparently huge horse!), but he loaded perfectly and later, at the sea, he felt at home soon after arriving. We walked and trotted around a little, and then I took off his bridle and we rode just with a neckrope. After that, I unsaddled him and we spent some time just having a walk and playing around at liberty. It was a true dream come true for me, and Snicks looked like he was having a fantastic time! 

Yesterday we went on a long trail ride, discovered some new paths and I enjoyed how fit Snicks is right now - he wasn't even sweating under his saddle pad after a good, long canter, and his breathing was normal in a matter of few minutes. Later that evening, however, I received a call from the barn that Snicks looks off. I had no way of going to the barn then, but the BO managed everything well. Seems that he had a light bout of colic - only gods know, why, because nothing really has changed in his diet or regime, apart from our journey to the sea. But everything is okay now - he's back to his healthy, happy self!


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## Northernstar

What a _fabulous adventure_, and very glad to hear Snickers is well, after that scare


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## Saranda

Thanks for your support. 

Since my last post, we have been having a fantastic time. Nothing apparent really changed, but suddenly Snickers is following me from the pastures without a halter, all over the huge fields, his behavior during hoof trims has improved tremendously and we have been spending a lot more time at liberty. I overheard some people of the barn talking about how do you teach your horse this or that, but decided to keep my mouth shut, because how do you tell that you actually didn't teach your horse ANY of those things? He just started offering more at one point...apparently, when I was ready to receive more. And, as usual, we have been going on trail rides and getting valuable Dressage lessons. I am working very hard on improving my seat and balance, which, honestly, is not up to my standards.


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## Northernstar

Saranda, remember that 'we are our own worst critics'. You are now taking these lessons, and may be suddenly judging yourself in a different view as opposed to the freedom you've enjoyed all this time with Snickers. Personally? I'd take the lessons with a thought of 'this is just_ secondary'_ in comparison to the _ultimate natural horsemanship_ I've already accomplished with Snickers during this time. 
In viewing the photos/videos over time, there is no one who could claim they've done what you have with their horse, in a natural realm, that you have with Snickers. 

Well done.


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## Saranda

Thanks, NS, that's very sweet of you to say, but I do realize that, as long as I still want to ride Snicks, I HAVE to be as balanced and effective as possible, so that my riding is comfortable for him and that my cues are clear. Thus, I need to be critical of myself, I need to challenge myself, I need many lessons with good trainers and many, often hard, hours in the saddle. Currently I am trying to do lots of stirrupless riding (honestly, with Snicks it is somehow much harder to do in the saddle than just bareback!) and working on transforming my balance, which is heavily impacted by a twisted hip that I have due to hip dysplasia. It can be corrected, though, and that's an everyday battle. 

As for groundwork, liberty and improving our relationship, I know that I have achieved good progress with Snicks and my main goal is just to be happy with him and to see him happy, but I'm far from the top shelves. I do have many aspects to improve in my body language and the management of my energy, and I don't yet have the mental clarity and focus that is needed to fully motivate Snicks at times. It's not that I'm not content with what we can do right now, but I still want to become a better person for my boy. 

I am now adding little liberty sessions to each time we meet, either as the only thing we do, or before/after riding/taking a walk/trimming/etc. The day before yesterday I didn't even put a halter on him, not even once, as we went on to work at liberty straight away and he was beautifully connected, and yesterday he made me overflow with joy when he still followed me from the pastures unhaltered, even though I was leading another horse (who wasn't too keen on leaving the herd) and couldn't pay my full attention to him. 

Regarding groundwork, I've recently taught him to spin at liberty! It is, for now, at a slow pace, but he has already started trotting to me after the spin, and I'm planning to start putting more energy in the spin itself, when I see that he is physically and mentally ready for it. Yesterday I also did some ground driving and used a bit, just to remind him this part of his education as well, but, honestly, I think I will give up on it altogether. The bit fits and his teeth are up to date, and my hands were light as well, but he loathes that thing SO much, although he truly is trying. We didn't do anything much, just walking, turning and a couple of large circles, but he seems genuinely set on not accepting anything in his mouth. His eyes lit up as soon as the bridle went off. 

I am also currently looking into milder alternatives to my little S hackamore and will probably buy this - Gebisslose ZÃ¤umung Sun Wheel - gebisslose Zäumungen - Loesdau

I am quite certain that his favourite piece of equipment is and will be his cordeo, though. Less is more.  But I still need a bridle of some kind when we are schooling, as I'm not good enough of a rider to tell him everything and help with balance just by my seat alone yet.


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## Saranda

...or maybe I'll just but the orbitless rings - I'll be able to replace my little S shanks with them and it will be cheaper that way!

Yesterday we went on a long trail ride, exploring new paths, and I put an LG bridle on Snicks, attaching the reins to the softest setting of the rings, not the shank. Snicks behaved wonderfully, we did a little leg-yielding and lateral flexions just to check how he reacts to this bridle. No problems at all! I had also put the cordeo around his neck and switched from transitioning to a slower gait or stopping from seat/reins to seat/cordeo. Snickers was a bit spooky at a few spots, but, other than that, we had a perfect ride on a sunny evening. if I go to the barn today, I'll try schooling him in the LG and that will help me to decide whether to buy the Orbitless or not.


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## Saranda

So, I rode a little in the arena just to check Snicks' responsiveness in the LG bridle (without shanks). He was flexing, going into contact and reacting beautifully in all gaits, so I call it a win and will quite definitely order myself the Orbitless rings! It seems, that he likes this setup even better than the S hackamore. After that we went on a trail ride, in which we tried to find some new paths, but ended up in a horribly thick woodland area and had to turn back. However, we did have a nice trot-canter transition practice on a longer dirt road, but the rest of our chosen paths were not suitable for faster gaits, so we mostly walked (whenever we weren't going through and over thick bushes, fallen trees, ditches, hills and whatnot). Snickers, as always, was more than ready to challenge any terrain, but he was a little more spooky than usual, jumping sideways from a blackened tree stump or a simple bike. His diet hasn't changed, so maybe it's the cool weather that's affecting him. But I don't really mind, I usually laugh when he spooks, as he does it in such a cute way.  

Here's a little video from very recent:


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## Saranda

Yet another great trail ride, which these days run no shorter than 8-10 miles. Not much to tell, apart from the fact that we ran onto three naked people, two men and a woman, who were making love not far from their car on a remote path.    Snicks and one of his companions spooked at the naked behinds that were running through the bushes, but we stayed in place and watched them race away in their car, leaving underwear and shoes behind on the path.   It was so funny, we just stood there for a while, laughing until we could no more. 

We also worked a little on independence on trails, cantering away as others stood, or standing, while others cantered away - Snicks was a champ at this. However, I've started thinking that the grass right now might be a little high in sugar, or that Snicks might need some magnesium, as, over the last three rides, I've observed him spooking more at insignificant things and being more antsy about his surroundings. Will continue to observe.

I also trimmed his hind hooves, which were so very easy to trim due to all the rain we've been having lately, and played a little with his front hooves - no real trimming, just toying with the knife and the rasp, and Snicks standing untied, at liberty. That's a huge success for us that he actually stood - not so long ago trimming front hooves was a good reason for a conflict to begin!


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## Northernstar

Saranda said:


> Yet another great trail ride, which these days run no shorter than 8-10 miles. Not much to tell, apart from the fact that we ran onto three naked people, two men and a woman, who were making love not far from their car on a remote path.    Snicks and one of his companions spooked at the naked behinds that were running through the bushes, but we stayed in place and watched them race away in their car, leaving underwear and shoes behind on the path.   It was so funny, we just stood there for a while, laughing until we could no more.
> 
> We also worked a little on independence on trails, cantering away as others stood, or standing, while others cantered away - Snicks was a champ at this. However, I've started thinking that the grass right now might be a little high in sugar, or that Snicks might need some magnesium, as, over the last three rides, I've observed him spooking more at insignificant things and being more antsy about his surroundings. Will continue to observe.
> 
> I also trimmed his hind hooves, which were so very easy to trim due to all the rain we've been having lately, and played a little with his front hooves - no real trimming, just toying with the knife and the rasp, and Snicks standing untied, at liberty. That's a huge success for us that he actually stood - not so long ago trimming front hooves was a good reason for a conflict to begin!


 Oh, good grief! I think _I'd_ spook @ seeing someone's naked behind.... sounds like Snicks did a good job keeping in place and was probably 'snickering' at what he saw....

_Really cool_ that you're trimming his hooves yourself! I'd like to be able to do that one day, however, my farrier is very good, yet inexpensive and a good horseman. I can ask him any question while he's here and feel I've had a good lesson every time


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## Saranda

My previous trimmer is a great lady and I really enjoyed her company, however, she started getting more and more clients, and I felt it had started to reflect in the quality of trims. I know she tried her best, but, with that costing me money, with Snicks needing frequent trims and with him sometimes being difficult when it comes to trimming, I felt that starting to trim his hooves myself was really the only option. Unfortunately, there are almost no qualified barefoot trimmers around, and the farriers we can get...well, as for them, I wouldn't let any of those that are available in my region to even touch my horse. I've seen plenty of their work and work ethics - more than enough to decide on this!


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## Saranda

I wish somebody had filmed our last session yesterday! Oh well, at least I've got good memories now. As it was raining, I started with giving his front hooves a little trim - at liberty and using positive reinforcement for the right responses. And it was perfect! He just stood there, let me do everything and anything, and grew just a little impatient towards the end of the trim. Such a huge change since some of the recent trims, when he was still quite difficult with his front hooves and always moving around (thus had to be tied). I'm so proud of my lovely boy! 

Then onto groundwork. Didn't even put the halter on, as Snicks followed me freely to the arena. Brought me memories of what he was like when I just got to know him and bought him - planting all his four feet firmly in the ground even when lead in a rope halter, refusing to enter the arena, tired from working as a lesson horse. This session went on to be completely at liberty and Snicks showed great connection. We started with target training (Snicks touching and following a target, and then following a target (frisbee) which I threw away from us, touching it, and then moving on to another target to touch it, before coming back to me) and with colour lessons - Snicks is actually learning to distinguish between yellow and blue when given the choice betweed two identical (except for the color) frisbees. He's showing good progress here, as he's not making any mistakes when I ask him to touch either one or the other.  Next step - adding more colours to the game.

Then we used several plastic fence posts as a serpentine, a couple of tires to do circles, turns and figure eights around, a small jump to go over side by side and to cross when coming towards me. Apart from that, Snickers readily followed me at the walk and the trot, I didn't even have to invite him to do that, he did spins, bowed and sat up, and, finally, something I didn't even dare to imagine - we played the circling game at liberty not only at the walk, but in a wider circle at the trot (even working on stretching!) and for about half of the circle - at the canter! So very happy! Snickers got tons of hugs, scratching and praising, and I patted myself on the back when I actually listened to his wish to stop playing after a good half an hour or more. 

I have a bad habit to make a horse do a little bit more, befor we actually wrap up the session, but I want to make a habit of letting the horse decide, when we are at liberty. Snicks seemed to be pleasantly surprised.


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## Cherrij

Fantastic news! I hope Snicks baby bro will learn to be so great too. He has potential, I am just the dummy here.


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## Saranda

There have been a couple of nice trail rides since my last post. The last ride baffled the horses, as it was the birthday ride of a close friend, also a fellow boarder, and she wanted her husband to film and take pictures of us while in the trails, so we went back and forth, trotting and cantering along the same, few paths. The boys were not amused.  

I was suspecting some recent stiffness in Snicks body, so I called out our equine massage therapist, who hadn't visited us since February. She was overall very pleased with Snicks and said that he has become much more supple and cooperative since her last visit, but she did discover a slight stiffness in his shoulders and his right hind leg (although less than the last time, so he has improved), small signs of soreness in his pasterns - will get those checked, but might be due to his chronically contracted heels, which are a SLOW work in progress, and a very recent and light soreness in his back, where the back panels of the saddle go. Due to the characteristics of this soreness, it was clear that it has been there only since the last ride or two, so it was an easy fix. The therapist agreed that I have to refresh the fleecing in my saddle, but, until I get that done, I'm giving Snicks a week or two off riding (bareback riding is still allowed, though), and will use a sheepskin pad after that, as per recommendations of the therapist. 

So, yesterday it was groundwork again! I went to meet Snicks in the pastures, and, just as I saw the herd, they went galloping away in the distance. I called Snicks....and he stopped, amidst the galloping herd, which consists of more than a dozen horses! I called him again, and he went trotting right to me. After having greeted each other, I ran back in the direction of the barn (it was quite in the distance), and Snickers followed me - first at the walk, then at the canter, for the first time in his life following somebody at liberty away from the herd at this gait.  He eventually passed me, but then he stood waiting until I approached. 

This, once more, was a day when the halter was left hanging in the tack room. Snicks followed me in the arena, where I set up a serpentine in the shape of "L" from plastic fence posts, a triangle from three old tires, and placed two ground poles. I then invited Snicks to join me in target training, which he did with enthusiasm - he loves manipulating objects! After a few basic exercises, we did the color game again and, having checked that he distinguishes between yellow and blue perfectly, added a new color - red. I spent less than 5 minutes to tell him about the concept of "red", when he already pointed at the right color (choosing from two different colors) without any mistakes. So, I dared myself to show him all three colors at once and to switch their placing after each response. Once more, no mistakes. He amazes me more with each passing day! As Snicks started showing boredom by then, I let him graze a couple of minutes and then we returned to groundwork.

We did the serpentine and random circling around a post now and there, figure eights and circles around the tires, following me at the walk and the trot, including through the serpentine and over the poles, spinning, several strides of cantering by my side (Snicks tends to rush a little in the canter at liberty), side passing, transitions from an active walk to yielding the forequarters and off at the walk/trot again, and, finally, circling around me over the poles at the walk and the trot. I tried hard to catch myself whenever I start asking for too much/putting too much pressure on Snicks, and Snicks was free to leave the conversation anytime he wants to think things over. After these moments of contemplation he returned to me willingly, mostly at the trot. As soon as I felt that enough is enough, I did a couple of stretching exercises for his shoulders and then we went to graze a little near the barn. Such a wonderful boy he is, and communication with him is so intense in many ways.  Truly a unique character - I haven't met a horse like him before.


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## Saranda

Visited Snicks' brother, Grand, yesterday. He's such a nice boy and really bears resemblance to his big bro! 

Did nothing much today. Trimmed Snicks hind hooves and wasn't too happy about his front hooves needing a quick trim after our last one, only a week ago. But those hooves grow so quickly during this season here! Luckily, Snicks behaved perfectly, loved his treats and asked to be accompanied while he went back to the herd.


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## Zexious

^Sometimes lazy days are well received :>


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## Saranda

Well, it was a lazy day for Snicks, but not for me!  I'm usually exhausted after a good, full trim.

Yesterday it was so very hot even in the evening that I just lead Snicks into the barn, fed him and let him have a nap, and then corrected some minor details in his hind hoof trim. Snicks was lovely, as usual...yet asleep.  He was so relaxed and sleeping so deeply that he didn't even feel my attempts to lift his hooves, just stood there with his eyes completely closed and his mouth hanging partially open.  However, I did get both of his hind feet in my lap eventually, and then he rocked and swayed lightly to each movement of the knife. He had been given a salt block in his bucket to entertain himself while I trim (he stood untied for the second part of the session), but he managed to kick the salt block out of the bucket and then proceeded to place one of his front feet in the said bucket and sleep like that, not even bothered at all.  A vet was visiting other horses and was amazed about how calmly Snickers stood for the trim even when she saw him tied - she must be accustomed to more undisciplined horses, I guess.

After the trim Snicks woke up and, as it was still so hot outside, I offered him to play our color game. He was brilliant, at first, not even making any mistakes at complicated questions and showing creative thinking, but he grew bored fast and started hitting the targets aimlessly. So I decided just to let him back to his buddies - no use to pressure a horse into mental involvement.

The soreness in his back is almost completely gone, but, as it's so hot and both Snickers and I hate heat, I will give him more time off, still probably a couple of weeks. We're in no hurry.

Regarding the color game - two moments from yesterday made me particularly excited:

1. When I presented him the yellow and the blue target, and asked him to point at the red target (nowhere within his field of vision), he touched my red shirt after a bit of thinking (I held the targets away from my body, so it was intentional); 

2. When I presented him the blue and the red target, and asked him to point at the blue one, he pointed at the right one with confidence. But then, he turned his head and, without much thinking, grabbing at other things or muzzling anything, which is so characteristic to him, touched a blue blanket which, among many others, but differently colored, was hanging on a blanket rack just by our side! After touching the blanket, he just turned back to me and expected a praise, totally concentrated on the exercise, which leads me to think that he was fully aware of the purpose and the consequences of this action.

I was planning to show him how to categorize the color and how to understand that a bucket, a ball, a blanket or anything else can be blue/red/etc., not that "blue/red/etc." means just the target I show him, but it seems that he's got that on his own! I'm quite amazed by that, and yes, I still haven't got that on camera! With any luck, I'll maybe manage to do that today.


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## Saranda

This pic is on the old side (was taken this May), but one of my favorites. Sorry for not wearing a helmet, that's not a habit of mine:


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## Saranda

I posted the pictures from our adventures at the sea in this thread, as there was a whole lot of them.  http://www.horseforum.com/horse-pictures/magical-day-sea-443666/


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## Saranda

So, we've been having lots of lazy times. I need to trim Snicks' fronts, but won't do that for a few days as I got into an accident yesterday evening - I was putting neem oil on Snicks manly bits, when he tried to swat a huge horsefly and kicked me in the knee by accident. Fortunately, nothing is broken, just a big bruise that restricts me from some activities - but I usually heal pretty quickly and have a high tolerance for pain. 

Other than that, we've been playing at liberty and I need to think of some new exercises, as well as to remember not to lose connection when it is crucial to hold Snicks' attention. But our overall progress is good and I really hope to get us on camera real soon. He'š being a sweet boy, as always.


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## Saranda

I haven't been able to write for a while, because I...was in the process of moving! Now I live just a short walk away from Snickers (and still don't have a good internet connection!) and my time has been consumed by unpacking things, visiting my boy and suffering from the heat, which sometimes reached nearly 100F - an unnaturally high temperature around these parts! 

Due to the heat and the horseflies, Snicks mostly had a vacation, spending the hottest hours in the barn, getting cuddles, scratching, anti-fly treatment and getting his hooves trimmed whenever they weren't too dry. I visited him in evenings, mostly, and we played at liberty, did some ground driving, and a few days ago we finally went on a longer trail ride - we set off in the trails at 5AM, and it was wonderful.  Luckily, the amount of horseflies has been decreasing, so we'll be back in full action soon enough.


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## Zexious

^You lucky dog!


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## Saranda

Two and a half years ago I found myself with a horse - greenbroke, pushy, unbalanced, opinionated, and to many - not particularly handsome. We had our differences and our hardships. With this horse, I changed as a person and learned mostly about humility and respecting the needs of others. At times, I was afraid or disappointed in myself, left without brakes or admitting that I need to go back to step one. 

Today, I still share my life with him, Snickers, going on bareback trail rides in just a neckrope, or just going on walks in the trails at liberty. He is the horse who will herd a hard-to-catch herdmate out of the herd so I can catch him; the horse who comes nickering to me from a 20-horse herd just upon hearing my voice on the other side of the field, the horse who stands over me, guarding from others while I take a nap in the pastures...to put it simply, he is The Horse. The Once-In-A-Lifetime-Horse. And, although we don't have (and, likely will never have) any rosettes from any shows, although my riding abilities are not the best and he might not be the most physically talented horse around, I still think we have won the Olympics. Our very own Olympics, in which my boy definitely takes all the gold there is.


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## Northernstar

^Here Here, And Hats Off To You And Snickers!^


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## Saranda

Lately we've been doing what Snicks enjoys most - going on trail walks at liberty or on tackless (except for hi-viz equipment and sometimes a bareback pad) rides, and sometimes some playful groundwork. I've ridden very little in the last few months, but I don't think that Snicks needs being ridden anyway - he's just courteous enough to allow me. Also, I've found a great, certified barefoot trimmer for Snicks since September. She employs Dr.Strasser's method (and is a certified Strasser Hoofcare professional that has spent years studying in her clinic/educational center) and with great success. Although I've been capable to do basic trims on Snicks since this spring, I'm still no professional and needed somebody more experienced to help out with a couple of problems, so I'm very happy to have found her. She travels often, so won't be able to help us once a month every time, but the positive changes in Snicks hooves and his way of going make it a very small issue.


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## Saranda

We went on a long trail walk (and partially a ride at the walk/a bit of trot) last Saturday alone. I chose to visit a farther-off part of woodlands.The riding was done bridleless, with just a cordeo. Snicks was a bit nervous to be so far from the barn, but he coped well and was listening to me. After I dismounted, though, he started sort of wandering off, calling for his mates, so I decided to be safe and put the rope halter on him and lead him the remaining of our walk. As I have nothing to prove to anyone, I'm perfectly okay with doing so if it means helping my boy feel safer.  

And today was a remarkably proud day for me! The barn was visited by a group of representatives of the Latvian horse breeders' association, who are carrying out a project of evaluating the offspring of several quality breeding studs, in search of a formula for the perfect Latvian Harness horse. Snicks was evaluated with high marks and admitted to be a true son of his sire, as well as a perfect example for the Latvian Harness horse. I'm so very happy about him, and nobody EVER again will have the rights to state that he's "nothing special".  The representatives would like seeing him in the driving scene (unfortunately, I don't have the funds for that) and he behaved very well for the conformation photoshoot. I hope to get the pictures and his points by December.


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## SueC

Nothing special, eh? I think the people who like to say things like that are talking about themselves (or their own unconscious views of themselves)...


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## Saranda

I have begun riding with my saddle again and, after several short and easy trail rides, we've had two schooling sessions in our indoor. I must admit, either it's the new trims, either the work of our chiro, either it has to do with me taking up yoga lessons, but it almost feels like I've got a completely new horse! These sessions were short and sweet, mostly stretching, walk-trot transitions, flexing in corners and circles and crossing trot poles a few times. Snicks was FABULOUS! Supple, responsive, not losing even a single beat in rhythm, working through his back, absolutely no extra weight in the reins and no falling out in the shoulder at the canter or other gaits (which was a problem of ours for a long time). 

And to think that some "experienced" people have told me that he would never be an easy ride due to his character and conformation! Of course, he will never be a beginner's horse, but it is clear that many of his issues regarding riding were actually stemming from his hooves that would, by many, be considered healthy barefoot hooves before.


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## Saranda

A lovely ground driving session yesterday. I set up a small course of poles to cross, a couple of cone "gates" to go through and tires to make circles or turns around them. After warming up, we walked and trotted the course in varying patterns, changing what we do at each object every time, and, to finish, Snicks practiced leg yielding in the long reins 

But today will go in our history.  We rode in the outdoor arena and, apart from Snicks continuing to behave lovely (stretching, going into contact, being responsive and soft), we did two clean flying lead changes for the first time in Snicks experience. I had my instructor to help us and she commented that we did very good, especially knowing that it was his first time doing flying lead changes.  I'm extremely proud of him! 

When I had later let Snicks back in the pasture and spent some time there cuddling with him, he wouldn't let me go - as I exited the pasture, he stood there by the fenceline and wouldn't quit neighing and nickering, until I returned and sat by the round bale while he munched on hay. My sweet boy.


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## Saranda

An easy trail ride. Snicks was very energetic, full of beans and "Go!", and, to top it, we were accompanied by a very hot mare and a youngster with a nervous rider. Snicks was in the lead, of course, and, once again, behaved as a total trail champion. He was calm and composed even when the mare was trying to barge ahead of us or when the youngster sped up behind us, but the most special moment came when we were cantering along a straight path. Some critter jumped at us from the bushes, which slightly spooked Snicks and he threw a few bucks, but I sat through them well and we continued cantering. However, the rider of the youngster started yelling at us to stop, albeit it wasn't too clear at first, so I took my time to make sure of her intentions and to slow down. As we did stop, however, I heard the noise of fabric tearing and plastic cracking, so I jumped off Snicks to check what had happened. It turns out, the buckle of our reflective nylon breast collar had sprung open, I suspect, during the bucks, and the whole collar had come down, flapping between Snicks' legs and then tangling tightly around his hinds. My wonderful, wonderful boy hadn't even fussed about it and had just started moving more carefully, until we stopped and he happened to step on a loose end of the collar, tearing it off completely and to pieces. It could have been such an accident, but, instead, all we lost was just a nylon breast collar! I'm so lucky to have Snickers as my companion.  

Later, at the barn, I put Snicks in his stall with some hay while I put away the tack, but a girl had an accident and I had to help out with first aid, so Snicks remained in the stall for a bit longer than I had planned. When I came back to him, he was neighing angrily, throwing his head around and pressing his chest against the stall door, and, when I finally let him out, he promptly trotted to the exit, anxious to get back out. There might be things he dislikes more, but being stalled is definitely something he really hates about being a horse! I even feel bad for stalling him overnight during the New Years' Eve every year, although it's something that has to be done for his own safety due to fireworks!


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## Saranda

Snicks looks like a pony next to his over 17HH best bud!


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## tinyliny

that horse looks very much like Zulu~


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## Saranda

It's been three years since I am Snick's official human. Seems like it's been much longer.


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## Saranda

And this is a video of our today's walk at liberty.


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## Northernstar

^ I love, love, love this!!!^ Nothing is more beautiful than a horse at liberty- very good work, Saranda


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## Saranda

Thanks, I really appreciate your opinion, Northenstar!  

We've been doing this and that lately, one of the more interesting things - I've been training for a simple Pas de deux dressage test with Snickers, his best buddy and his owner. They are very different horses, but it is even more interesting like that, and we've mostly been doing it bareback to benefit our seats.  

Today, I gave myself a Winter Solstice present and had a lesson with my favorite dressage trainer. It was fantastic, she always has the right words and encouragement to say in the right moment. We trained both for the Pas de deux test with our partners, and were then schooled individually for contact and hindquarter engagement at the canter. The positive results were right there and I got complimented that my seat has visibly improved since our last lesson with this trainer. Snicks is such a good horse, he was trying very hard to do everything just right.


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## Saranda

A lot has happened since my last input.

For a while already, I wasn't content how things were going under the new BO's reign in the barn, since the owners changed in September. At first, everything seemed more than fine - the upkeep of the facilities was perfect! - but then feeding and watering started going downwards. It was clear that the BO wasn't prepared to keep horses at pasture board and the attitude showed it. However, I do believe that the place might be really good for people who want their horses be stabled in a very traditional way, like many competition horses live - in small turn-outs, provided with blankets, lots of hard feed and a box-stall... As it was said that the fee would be raised in spring anyway, I decided to act faster.

On the first of January Snickers and I moved, along with two my friends and Snicks best horsey buddies. We did it on horseback and, when the roads were too slippery - in hand. Our trail crossed two towns, some suburban areas, fields, woodlands and even a cornfield. Snicks lead most of the way and was a true champ regarding being brave in foreign places and circumstances. When we finally arrived at the new place - 4 hours and a bit more than 13 miles later (mostly done at a slow walk - everything was covered in ice that morning!) - the boys were let in a separate (yet large) paddock and settled in for the night.

Since then things have been going fine - once again Snicks has been able to munch on unlimited hay and he's got lots and lots of space to romp in. The new BO provides really large pastures for a 24/7 outside lifestyle, ad-lib hay and watering (we have to provide the feed and, partially, the feeding ourselves), a warm tackroom, two outdoor riding arenas and a roundpen, and absolutely fantastic trails - miles and miles of them! - in a nature reserve, so I sure hope this time everything stays this way. I have to travel a bit farther, but that won't be a problem, and I sure miss the indoor arena, but Snicks getting fed properly is more important. Since his friends and himself have been let to interact with the whole herd already, he's had the opportunity to meet a whole bunch of mares - I hope he gets a girlfriend!


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## Saranda

We had lovely weather today - sunny and not too cold - so we went on our first proper trail ride in the new trails. We were accompanied by my close friend and her gelding - Snicks' best buddy, and a gelding/his rider from the barn. They were leading the way at first, but the barns' gelding got spooked by some deer soon after we started, so Snicks took the lead. What can I say, he, once again, proved himself to be a fantastic leading trail horse - bold, willing and curious. He was also quite spirited and would have loved to canter and gallop, but he has been out of work lately and the trails were slippery at random places, so we stuck to walk and trot. We climbed some slopes, jumped a stream (honestly, he would have been able just to step over it, but he insisted that jumping would be way cooler  ) and I really enjoyed the scenery - the new trails are simply awesome. 

Somewhere in the middle of the ride we swapped places and went as the last ones, to which Snicks responded by becoming quite strong and I had to ride in constant contact so that we could keep our distance from the tail in front of us - I know that the energy he's got heaped up right now is also to blame, but I'll have to tune up his discipline in following other horses in the trail. It's become rusty.


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## Saranda

Wow, haven't I really written anything for THIS long?

It has been adventurous, but mostly positive. I'll try to break everything up in concentrated paragraphs and add some photos later.

* Not long after my previous input, Snicks was spooked horribly by a horn-sounding cargo train we met while riding in the trails. I experienced a true bolt over a very difficult, icy terrain, even jumping creeks and ditches, going uphill and downhill at a gallop, spurce-tree branches hitting in my face...To make things worse, our companion fell of her horse and he raced ahead of us, so there I was - galloping on a blindly bolting horse, with another one, riderless at that, right in front of us. 

Luckily, the gelding got spooked by a couple of skiers after a couple of miles, stopped dead in his tracks, as did Snicks, so I had my opportunity to jump off, grab both by their reins and go searching for the other rider, who, luckily, was okay.

However, this traumatizing experience left a deep scar in Snicks and mine feeling of safety in the trails and he remained very nervous for several months. I basically restarted him on trails (he was okay at home) and went through some take-offs, bucking and so on, but all that has passed now. Once again, we're back in trails happily and safely, and happiest on our own. 

* In the beginning of May we attended a 3-day clinic, taught by a lovely English trainer, titled "True Connection". Every day was dedicated to a separate topic - Working on-line, at liberty and ridden - and each day the first part of it was lectures on theory, but the second - demonstrations and practical exercises. It did tons of good for Snicks and myself, and, in some areas, I re-evaluated my methods and skills. Since the clinic, our relationship has definitely grown, especially, regarding my confidence and trust in myself (and Snicks!), which, in turn, has resulted in resolving a couple of past issues.

* I've got a project horse - one of the BO's youngsters, a huge, just-turned-4yo Warmblood mare, whom I have started on groundwork and now also some very basic riding routine - just walking, turning, stopping, backing up. She's being a very good girl and a joy to work with, making great progress.

* Step by step, Snicks has become the "dominant stallion" of the herd. It's very interesting to watch the hierarchic interactions within the herd, and Snicks is definitely enjoying all the mares!

* June has been a superstar month for Snicks. He's been filmed in two music clips for two separate folklore groups, as well as participated in a photoshoot for a music albums' design. I've got the pictures, but I don't have the permission to release them yet (due to copyright stuff), and I'm really impatient to see the videos, especially the more professional one. The most exciting thing we had to do during the filmings was - cantering down a forest road, alone (no other horses present), during a pitch black night, with flaming torches on both sides of the road, and all that - towards bright filming lights, mirrors and a group of people shuffling among trees in the darkness! 

Snicks was totally fantastic during this event, he was excited for all the attention he got and enjoyed the cantering part immensely - as I turned him towards the cameras and the lights, he popped up in a small rear and shot in a powerful canter from a full stop. It was lovely! 

* We've slowly gotten back into jumping over the last few months and we're doing small (50-80cm) courses at home now. If all goes well, I hope to go to a show in August, but, until that, I have to work on Snicks' bascule - he tends to jump flat, although his jump is powerful. Trying to solve it with gridwork. Also, I've finally decided to work on his walk-canter transition (ridden), don't really understand why I hadn't done it YET  - and he's doing great, 8 times out of 10 he will smoothly transition on the right leg. Good boy!


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## SueC

Hey, Saranda!  I love your attitude to horses. A true bolt is a frightening thing, and I'm glad you and Snickers are OK. I had something like that happen to me when I was a child, and it scared me for years afterwards, I was always hyperventillating at the possible approach of compression-braking semi-trailers and other such modern monstrosities (and of course we're supposed to be thinking calm thoughts to calm our horses :rofl.

I recapped that here:

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-riding/worst-spook-585921/page2/#post7522354

If you feel like it, share your experience on that thread. It's an interesting thread!


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## Saranda

I still get a bit stressed whenever I hear a train approaching and we're on our way to the trails/back home, but Snicks is being a champ and now he tolerates it by just grazing and not paying much attention to the beast. Pretty good, compared to the panic attacks he got at first right after our accident.  

Something funny from today. We went on an easy trail ride and stopped at the lake for a quick drink. A lady was splashing around in the water and playing with her dog, so I asked her if it was okay if a horse drank nearby. She answered that it's, indeed, okay, but expressed her concern that Snicks might get startled because of her dog. 

Then she noticed his flymask. It looks just like this - 









Instantly she looked relieved and exclaimed - Oh, it's okay, he won't see my dog - he's blidfolded after all!

Deeply amused, I revealed to her that he was not, in fact, blindfolded and could see perfectly well - as well as wasn't afraid of her tiny dog. To which she suddenly shrieked - *dogs' name*, here girl, here!!! Don't get near to it, don't!!!!

After I had calmed her down and explained that Snicks won't attack her pet, she was very kind, petted him and told me about her younger days when she used to ride. She is not, however, the first person who has expressed their concern that I blindfold poor Snicks.


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## Saranda

I had planned to lunge Snicks over cavaletti today, but, when we got to trotting, he seemed to be a bit off in one of his hindlegs. Oh well, the lunging will wait - for now I just cold hosed all his legs, gave him Arnica and a banana, and turned him out again. It has been raining a lot the last few days, the ground is slippery and a new, lush field was just opened, so I guess he must have slipped and injured himself a little. As all the tendons and his hooves seem perfectly okay, it should be something very minor and heal by itself in a couple of days. Will keep on visiting him to give more Arnica, of course.


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## Saranda

Snickers is now sound again and we have been riding, mostly bareback, as it always improves my seat. Also, last month we participated in the creation of a music video and yesterday I made a video to show our color game.  (the first title, "Blue", is an error, it should start from the second one, "Yellow")


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## Saranda




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## SouthernTrails

Saranda said:


> Snickers is now sound again and we have been riding, mostly bareback, as it always improves my seat. Also, last month we participated in the creation of a music video and yesterday I made a video to show our color game.  (the first title, "Blue", is an error, it should start from the second one, "Yellow")


Snikers is quite amazing at picking out the colors, of course the Teacher had something to do with it also :wink:

I do not think I have ever seen a Horse as smart as he is.


.


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## Saranda

Thanks.  He knows "green" as well, and has understood that the same color can apply to different objects, e.g., if I ask for a color he knows he'll point it out not only in his frisbees, but also in other objects of the same color. For example, I was once showing him the blue and yellow frisbee and asked for a "red" - he promptly pointed at my red shirt I was wearing.  

I am going to introduce him to more colors now that he knows these so good and I have the ambitious plant to try teaching him some letters as an experiment - will, in time, he becomes able to recognize a letter within a whole word or to associate an object with its' name. It's a far shot...but who knows.


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## ManicMini

I started reading this journal late last night when I couldn't sleep. I have just now finished reading the most recent entry and I must say that the journey you and Snickers have went through is amazing! 

I can only hope to one day have the level of trust and understanding with my own horse that you have with Snickers.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Saranda

I'm glad you enjoyed the tale of our journey, ManicMini.  Myself, I feel as if I've already been living a lifetime with Snicks, not just a few years. It's been such a learning, growing and loving experience, and I hope it will go on like this for many, many years to come. 

Since my last post, I finally got a hold on the first music video we filmed in, and it's quite spectacular!






I also started playing around with letters and Snicks got the concept of differences between the symbols A and B, and connecting those with the appropriate sounds amazingly fast - just in two 5-10min sessions. I'm now giving him a break from that and will later try again, to see how he remembers and if we can go further - as well as film it.  

My saddle needs reflocking at last, so no real riding for now, but I still ride bareback and I got a harness to hitch him up to a cart at last - if only not for the horrible, horrible horseflies that have finally arrived here as well! 

So, for now, I just visit Snicks often to bathe him in cool water and feed him his favorite fruits. He enjoys that a lot and will stand untied under the water for good 20-30mins, but I can tell he'd really love to have some action. I guess I'll have a VERY spirited horsey whenever I get to properly ride again. 

Oh, almost forgot. I fulfilled a little challenge I had made for myself earlier this year - rode in the trails with no tack at all, not even the neckrope. Our canter was a little wobbly, but otherwise it was a blast.


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## Saranda

And here's another very wobbly video from a tackless (if not for a neckrope and a bareback pad) ride and moments in the pastures - 






In which I learned that it's NOT easy to canter bridleless and try to get a clear shot with the camera in one hand at the same time.


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## Saranda

The summer heat is here, which means not much of doing anything, except for hosing Snicks with cool water, applying neem oil and feeding. Fortunately, it seems that the horseflies are slowly going away, so more riding soon!

On Thursday, Snicks got his hooves trimmed and was a good boy about it...funny, but he behaves better during this process if I don't stick around. After all was done, he did something quite peculiar - at his feet, he had a small-eyed haynet, which wasn't tied to a wall as the trimmer needed him moved from time to time due to limited space in the tiny barn we have there (nowadays used only for trims/vetchecks/etc., only good for a single horse to be stalled). As the trimmer stepped back to put her tools away, Snicks started pawing at the net. 

Normally, I'd tell him to stop, but this time he did that oddly - with slow, careful movements, as if to move the net, not just to paw at it. Slowly, he had pushed the net between his front legs, then farther yet, along his midline, looking back a few times. And then...he peed right on it. He had positioned the haynet so that he didn't have to pee on the concrete.  

And that's not all! He did miss a bit and made a mess on the floor...which he managed by looking back again and pawing once more, pushing the net right into the puddle and stepping on it intentionally, which made the hay absorb more of the mess at once.

I stood amazed. That was very funny...yet genius in a way at the same time! Never have I seen a horse do something like this before!


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## tinyliny

what do you use the neem oil for?


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## Saranda

It's perfect against bugs and bug bites, although it doesn't deter the bomber horseflies, unfortunately. However, it heals any bites, scabs and wounds perfectly, as well as takes swelling and itch away. It naturally smells of putrid onions, so I mix it with coconut oil and lemongrass/teatree essential oils, to give it even more healing properties and a tad nicer smell.


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## Saranda

Oh, and we just switched our basic riding tack - from a little S hack (with a wide, padded noseband) to an Orbitless - so far, I'm liking it and seems that Snicks is, too. I felt that the S is a bit too much for us and wanted something milder to work with. 

Here's the Orbitless homepage, if you're interested - index
I just bought the rings and replaced the little S gear with those.
http://www.orbitlessbridle.co.uk/index.html


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## tinyliny

Saranda said:


> It's perfect against bugs and bug bites, although it doesn't deter the bomber horseflies, unfortunately. However, it heals any bites, scabs and wounds perfectly, as well as takes swelling and itch away. It naturally smells of putrid onions, so I mix it with coconut oil and lemongrass/teatree essential oils, to give it even more healing properties and a tad nicer smell.



really? we use it as an insecticide, on plants, but the bottle says to not let it stay on your skin, to wash thoroughly.


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## Saranda

Strange! It is widely used as a bug repellant here and in many other countries, including UK and I know it's also being sold for this purpose in the USA. I've never noticed any irritation on Snicks' or on my skin and, when applied on fresh bites, the itch and the swelling goes away really fast.


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## Saranda

Two great days!

Friday evening Snicks, his best buddy and a mare from the barn (along with their riders, of course  ) went to an open-air theater show in a nearby town. They are having their 830th anniversary and asked for some horses and riders in traditional costumes to fill in before the show starts, to create an atmosphere so to say. 

So, we rode mere 3km each direction, Snicks sporting his new Orbitless. And he was a champ at that! When we arrived, we got to check out the river-beach, and then we had to hang out between the stage and the spectators. We had many, many people coming up to us, wanting to pet Snicks (he was somehow the favorite among the public) and chat about horses, and he really behaved perfectly. 

When the show was about to start, we hopped on and rode off in the sunset. Got lovely, huge icecreams from our BO afterwards and I let Snicks have a taste, too.  Our way home went without any incidents, although Snicks got a bit jumpy when a motorbike whizzed past us, but it was really nothing. 

I'll get some more pictures from the BO soon, but we got in the local paper with this shot! Snicks and me in the middle.  










I gave Saturday free to Snicks, as it was terribly hot and I had to hide home from the heat, but today was much better and I finally hitched Snicks to our cart, generously supplied by the BO. All the training we've done before was of good use and Snicks was lovely for his first time driving!

We drove three small laps - during the first one, our assistant lead Snicks by the head, during the second one she just walked near us and praised him, but during the third one we went completely on our own and, although Snicks has to get used to the new feel, he behaved wonderfully. Couldn't be happier!


















I'm trying to post a couple more photos, but by some reason it's not possible right now... Will solve it later, it seems.


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## Saranda

Second time driving on Thursday! Besides, the heat and horseflies suddenly went away, so going out to the barn is much nicer again, as is getting some work done. As my saddle needs to be reflocked and the saddle fitter is coming for a visit next week, I'm currently staying away from serious riding, but I think I will want to ride bareback tomorrow.

Regarding the drive: I didn't have anyone to be the header this time, so it had to do with me alone. Snicks really cooperated, ground tied and did everything to make it easier for me, it was quite awesome! We drove around the yard premises for 10-15mins or so, at a walk, and I only had to get out of the carriage and lead him by the head for a few times when he started fighting the bridle and insisting he'd rather go in the general direction of the pastures. Except for these few hiccups, he was doing great and quickly understood what I expected from him.

Steadily ground tied - (this was the farthest I stepped away from him; obviously I wouldn't leave a horse with long reins on the ground)











Driving! The harness just looks wonky, because we stopped on uneven ground at that moment...noticed that only afterwards. 










After that, I still had time, so I let Snicks out to graze and took Lara, my huuuge, young project mare. She had also had a break due to heat and horseflies, but now there's no excuse to let her sit in the pastures.

We did some groundwork and it felt as if she never had a day out of work, brilliant little mare! She's really fun to work with and smart, too. So, I amped up some of the things we do, desensitizing her to louder stimuli in particular, and she coped very well. She also now yields all of her parts and leads almost perfectly. After the initial groundwork, I hopped on bareback and we walked around a little, working on a supple response to the rein. She is a bit bound to the gates, but we're working on that and she already knows that the gates most probably mean only more work, so getting better at it.

Flexing nicely


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## Saranda

A friend visited us today and it was hotter again, so I just took Snicks out of the pastures and we went on a walk in the trails. At one point, I grew tired of walking and sat on Snicks bareback, but not for long, really, as my friend had a hard time keeping up to Snicks' longer stride. 

We went to the big lake and there were tons of people at its' main beach. Everyone wanted to come up to us and pet Snicks, which was a good learning experience, as I want him to get exposed to things that resemble public events, competitions, etc. He coped very well, without even flicking an ear, and was more concerned about getting to graze than anything. 

We found a spot where we could enter the lake and walk around a little, but we didn't stay for long as I didn't want the risk of Snicks leaving a pile in the water with people swimming nearby.

As we went homewards, we found a remote, nice, albeit a bit smallish swimming spot at the same lake, just farther away from the popular beach. My friend hopped right in and I decided to bathe Snicks. The shoreline was very shallow, but it quickly became much deeper after that, so I could just stand in the water up to my knees while Snicks swam around at the length of the rope.

And he loved it! I went even deeper, so he could have more space to swim in, and he went back and forth, happy as a hippo in water and boy he was FAST! He really kicked up some waves! At one moment, he got quite excited, wanted to go deeper and dragged me with him, so I found myself up to the neck in water...that I hadn't planned and didn't have a spare set of clothes for changing.  

So I just let him swim some more, until he seemed tired, and then we went home. There weren't any good, sandy patches of dirt to roll in, so or way home was a bit nervous, as a swarm of horseflies attacked Snicks. When we finally got there, I hosed Snicks to cool him off and motivate him to roll, and after that went to lay in the sun in hopes to get a bit dried up.  

Pity I didn't get any pictures. It was so much fun!


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## Saranda

As my saddle goes for reflocking tomorrow and the saddle fitter is visiting us, I cleaned and oiled my trusty Passier jumping saddle well and am hoping that Snicks hasn't just changed so much that I'll have to buy a new saddle! The current one is so comfortable and well made, I wouldn't like to part from it. 

Decided to hop on Snicks with a bareback pad. Woaaah, good pastures, magnesium and a vit/min supplement with the tiny amount of feed Snicks gets, along with a bit of rest, makes Snicks an accelerated pony! No wonder he was swimming so fast yesterday! 

He just flew into all the transitions to faster gaits, but was a bit hesitant to transition down. His canter was him saying "Hey, quit with the half-halts, I want to GO GO GO!" (and preferably - towards the jumps, although we didn't jump today). He was so excited to be doing things that, in fact, he got a bit overexcited and, although he didn't resist in any way, his mind just seemed to be scattered in all the directions he wanted going and he tried speeding even at a walk! At the canter, I even had to use the one rein stop once. Snicks - the horse who's favorite gait for a period in his life was stopping! 

I praised him for the energy he was putting into his gaits, and he really stretched long and low nicely at the trot, but his racing canter was a bit too much for me to sit bareback. During the trot I posted, which was hard, but fun, and I'll definitely continue doing that bareback - no doubt, it will help my seat a lot. 

When I hopped off, I lead Snicks in the roundpen and asked him for a canter - man, he really let his beans out then! He didn't buck or play, just RAN and seemed very pleased with himself. Pity I can't just go galloping in the trails with him right now, he's clearly up for it. I hope the saddler does a good job on my saddle! He even ordered high quality wool flocking from the UK, as we can't get stuff this good in Latvia.


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## Saranda

The saddle fitter visited yesterday and was very pleased with the general condition of my Passier. It's around 20 years old, but looks almost like new and is in a great overall condition, if not for a slight lumpiness in the flocking that has occurred recently. Snicks just had to stand for saddling and measuring, and then I let him go. We'll hopefully get the saddle back next week. 

As I still had time, I took Lara from the fields and got her owner to watch us, as I wanted her to see our progress. She was happy with what she saw - walking and trotting bitless with a rider, flexing in all directions, stopping and backing up without a fight, walking and trotting over a ground pole, and also doing everything of what I mentioned from the ground + being generally despooked, yielding everything, lunging nicely and being respectful. It's a work in progress, naturally, but pretty enough for a youngster like her right now, she's got years ahead of her and is to be a nice pleasure horse with no competitive career, so no fuss and no rush.

And yes, we trotted ridden for our first time, and it was wonderful. She was calm, responsive and very comfortable.

Today, I started carrying out something I had thought about for a long time, now feeling ready to do it. Training two horses at once. Obviously, my chosen team is Snicks and Lara. They get along very well and are close to each other in the herd, only their characters and temperaments are quite different - Snicks has this laid back, bombproof, spunky attitude that sometimes says "Make me!", while Lara is a more reactive and explosive one. However, she's very sensible and just learning the ropes, so I think she'll do great.

I took them to our round pen, which is quite large, and first turned them loose to let them interact and to get used to the setting. At first, Lara just dashed out as she had been, by a previous trainer, taught that round pens mean RUN RUN RUN (as a form of lunge training...), while Snicks and I stood in the middle and paid no attention to her antics. After a while, she grew interested, and, whenever she looked at us or started coming to us, I'd give her my "come in!" cue and she'd get praised and scratched, until she started accepting that there is a place for relaxation in the pen as well.

Snicks, in the meantime, was royally bored.  

I then took both of them with their halters and started despooking Lara to cues or the friendly game I'm playing with Snicks. Although she has come a long way in being despooked to interactions with her, actions with another horse were a whole new thing to her and she at first grew quite nervous about cues that APPARENTYL HAVE TO MEAN SOMETHING.  Poor mare. But, just as previously, it soon clicked and she tried very hard to accept that I can ask things from Snicks or just dance around him, waving my whip in the air, and it doesn't mean anything to her, except for a nice rest. 

Snicks, in the meantime, didn't mind being fussed with while he slept. 

As Lara calmed down, I started slowly walking them, one on each of my sides. This went fairly well, as did stopping and turning, as well as following me while I back up and make turns in front of them (facing the horses). Lots and lots and lots of praises to both!

The moment of truth came. I took off their halters and practiced "come in!", following me and backing up at liberty, as well as both horses standing closer to each other. What good horses they were! This went almost flawlessly (considering it's our first time), and Lara really started getting the hang of following me around at liberty. 

And, to finish it off with one final challenge, I sent them out on the perimeter of the pen and sweet lil' Lara overcame her past experiences and didn't just dash somewhere! I could successfully ask them both to walk, trot and canter, although walking was a bit hard for Lara (they did that one in front of the other, respecting their space, not yet side by side), and both were eager to "come in". Funnily, I noticed that Lara first peeked at Snicks whenever I gave this cue and, watching him come to me, she did the same and once even at trot. 

Both got tons of praise and some treats after that, and I called it a day. Such an interesting learning experience, and it definitely showed me things I have to work on with each of them individually!

Lara just wanted to return to the herd, so I opened the gates, while asking Snicks to stay. As soon as she was out in the field, she galloped to the herd, which was far away in the pastures, and Snicks...he really stayed, watching her go! My fantastic horse!  I let him rest for a while, fed him and then we went to the herd together, at liberty. When we were somewhere in the middle of the fields and he could already see the other horses, he lost it and galloped to them, but stopped as soon as I called him and let out a loud whinny - it seemed that he had "lost" me as well and was surprised to see that I hadn't galloped as fast as he did.  

But he then stood and waited for me, until I caught up, and we finally reached the horses together. He's my golden boy! :gallop:


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## Saranda

And today Snicks was a healer.  

Years ago, when I had not yet taken up horses, I was talking with a friend about active hobbies and my options, and she told me that she has been learning to ride for some time already. With this sentence, all my childhood dreams came back to me and I instantly knew what I had to do. Soon after, I had found my first lesson barn, in which I found Snicks, and with that a new life I had always longed for, started.

In a way, I found Snicks thanks to her. 

Unfortunately, some time later she was learning to canter on a new horse, not her usual lesson horse, he spooked horribly, took off with her in the arena at a mad gallop and she decided to bail, sustaining serious injuries. After that, she developed a strong fear of horses and never rode again, not even got close to them...

I now felt that I had to remind her the dream just like she had reminded me mine. Today, I had invited her to accompany me at the barn. 

At first, we went into the pastures (all of our horses are very gentle and kind) and watched the herd from a distance so that she could get used to them slowly. Snicks came to say hello and was gentle as well. Slowly, she could approach them and pet some soft noses, as I told her about each horse, their age and name, their characters, etc.

Then we lead Snicks to the saddling area and, as I brushed him, she started petting his mane and shoulders, feeling calmer around a horse already. Meanwhile, I told her funny stories about life with horses to loosen her up, which worked really well. 

Finally, I gave her my helmet and helped her up. She was very, very tense at first, so I talked to her about breathing and moving with the horse, while walking slowly, until her muscle memory came back and she eased noticeably. 

Step by step, with lots of encouragement, stretching and breathing exercises and relaxing, we got to a point when she trotted a little on the lunge (did really great, much better than I expected!) and then I let them into the roundpen to let her ride a little by herself. She had to be reminded about the basic cues, but Snicks was being extremely well mannered, responsive to the RIGHT cues only  , so it went well very soon and I let them do half a lap at the trot. 

With that, she climbed off and I mounted to show her what a relaxed canter looks like, because she's nowhere near being ready to canter, so seeing another rider canter was the first step for her to start overcoming her trauma. 

My friend was really surprised with herself. Even she hadn't expected letting her fears go so quickly, and much of it happened thanks to Snicks, who usually isn't very tolerant with beginners or fearful riders, but today was SO different. I have no doubt that he knew exactly how important his role was. 

No wonder he was chosen as a therapy horse in a program when he was only 4, and his dam used to be an experienced therapy horse as well...


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## Cherrij

Hurray for Snicks and your friend!


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## Saranda

We just agreed that she will continue visiting us once in a couple of weeks, just to hang out with horses, and in the meantime she'll start saving up for lessons in a lesson barn I found for her. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Zexious

^How exciting! Sounds like things are going well <3!

Love the driving photos!


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## Saranda

Thanks, Zexious! 

So, what we've done lately... 

On *Saturday *Snicks was a driving horse again - our third time driving the cart! This time, I ditched the small front yard and separated one of the smoother fields from the rest of the pastures, so the other horses could not enter, and we went there. Snicks didn't let me down and behaved wonderfully, even when the herd ran up to the fence and spooked a little at the poor horse, chased by a rattling, yellow monster on wheels.  

He was a little bracey at a few turns, but I just got out then and helped him by the head, after which he gave the right responses. As the elderly BO passed by the field, I stopped Snicks and invited him for a ride, an offer he could not turn down. The old man was more than happy, repeated how Snicks is his favorite horse in the herd and I later got to know that he had shared his excitement in great details with his wife.  While he was in the cart, we made a lap around the field and then went out on the road, driving up to the BO's house, where the BO got out. 

Finally, I asked Snicks for a trot down the road, where we met our first car while driving! And Snicks said nothing at all. As the road was quite narrow, we pulled up in a neighbor's driveway and the car sped away right behind our backs, but Snicks didn't even move a muscle. Then, we turned back and trotted home, and Snicks couldn't have behaved better!

*Sunday *was a bit terrifying... It was hot and my barn friend and I decided we should take our horses to the river, which is a mile or so across the highway. At the highway, the horses behaved wonderfully, no problem with that, even with all the active traffic, and we were soon at the river. There were some large rocks, one of which I used to hop on Snicks and go investigating the water. We had been told that the place is fantastic for bathing horses and that the riverbed is safe. As the other horse is a bit afraid from large bodies of water (and this one is VERY wide), we had to go first.

Looking down from Snicks, the riverbed looked fine and dandy through the water. I now feel very guilty that I just trusted blindly what had been said to me and didn't check it with my own feet, but in we went... Snicks had a drink, tried splashing around, as he loves water, but I felt his feet started feeling stuck. We were still right by the shoreline, so I just pointed him back and thought we'd be right out of the water, but...down he went, and me as well. Falling, I managed to roll off Snicks, so that he didn't crash on me, but he then lay there in a deep pit of sludge, up to his neck in it!!! He tried getting out, but only managed to roll on his side, his right fore stuck, and I pulled his head out of the mud and held it higher, quite panicked at that moment. 

Snicks looked distressed as well, but he kept his cool and I tried doing the same. When he caught his breath, I encouraged him getting up and pointed at the dry ground just a few yards away from us. Next thing I know, he gathered all of his strength and pushed as hard as he could, pulling his stuck foreleg out of the pit and crashing away from it at a safe distance, then jumping up as soon as he felt solid ground beneath his hooves. 

I was covered with mud from head to toe, but didn't care, just checked him all over immediately and, thank all the horsey gods, no injuries at all. I really don't know if we'd have been so lucky if he wasn't so strong mentally and physically, and if he had started panicking instead. 

Right after that, he settled down immediately and showed no stress about this scary incident. We walked around a little along the shoreline, and then went home, where he got millions of kisses and "forgive me" and "I'm so, SO terribly sorry" (which he got also right after what happened and all the way home). 

On *Monday* I just visited Snicks to check over his legs once again (everything is okay, yay!) and rasp his hooves. He's been wearing them well lately. 

Then, on *Wednesday* I was feeling kind of depressed (not horse related) and thought I'd just sit in the pastures a little, but Snicks came right up to me and actually started leading the way out of the pastures, so I had no choice but to follow him! We had a nice, easy session at liberty in the large arena and in the end I felt I actually feel up for a bit of riding, so hopped on bareback and bridleless. We played around with transitioning gaits from thought/energy and it went so lovely and effortlessly for a change, that it seemed that Snicks really wants me to relax and enjoy his presence. That helped me a lot that day.


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## Saranda

Here I am again, with my walls of text...

On *Saturday *I met one of the lesson girls at the barn and, as she had just come to visit the horses, I arranged that she could come with me for an easy trail walk, just at a walk, as I am currently without a saddle. 

The weather was lovely, the ride was nice, Snicks was a happy camper and we splashed around in the lake a bit. Overall, a positive afternoon.  

On *Sunday*, I first worked with Lara. We went on our very first solo trail ride!! She was a golden girl, however, she spooked at a tree stump we had passed previously in-hand without an issue, and insisted on going home, so I hopped off and we worked from the ground with that. As she was strong on our way home and insisted rushing back to the herd once we were there, I worked her in the roundpen until I got her attention back to me, and then we went back to the forest to walk off and relax. She got the message and it went well.

Then Snicks - although it started raining, I hitched him to the cart. This time, with a header as well, which was very useful, as Snicks was very interested in staying with the horses he could see in the nearby field, and started resisting a couple of turns. But the outcome was positive nonetheless and we also went driving on the road, where we trotted some. All was good, until I miscalculated our last turn and got the cart stuck by the gates. Oooops.... Luckily, Snicks was very calm to stand and wait until I unhitch him and tie by the barn, while I went and got the cart free. Lesson learned. 

Then, on *Tuesday *it was raining heavily and I just opted to stay in the pastures with Snicks, who hid from the rain with me under some trees and was lovely to be around. These are the nicest moments...

*Thursday *- another bareback trail ride, in which we trotted a lot and went to the lake again. It wasn't too long, as my buddy was a bit tired, but it was still very nice and relaxing. 

And then it's today - *Saturday *again. I rasped Snicks' hind hooves and he was a bit fidgety, as the bugs are having their last party before the cold really sets in. I thought I saw a bit of discharge in his nose when I was leading him to the barn, so I then lunged him in the round pen to see if he coughs it out, but there was nothing, so I just had overreacted. Well, a good lunging session doesn't hurt!

Snicks then had a rest while I helped a friend hold her mare while her hooves were trimmed, but finally I decided to ride him a little as well. Hopped on, still bareback, first rode with the bridle, but then tossed it off to try a few things bridleless and take a few photos. By the end, Snicks was a bit fed up, as he thought that it is VERY impolite to both lunge him and ride him in one day  , but he was still cooperative. The weather is becoming cooler, so he was quite frisky, and I made a point of riding often through the corner of the arena where Snicks thinks a monster lives.

It didn't eat us this time...


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## Saranda

Another lazy day for Snicks! My saddle came back and it is perfect again. Just hopped on for a quick check, an experienced friend watched us and everything seems to be fine. After that, I we just hanged out, I fed Snicks and cleaned his sheath (at last, it was horrible  ), and then we celebrated one of my barnmates second horse which she just bought. 

I had some more time left, so I fetched the other youngster I'm working with, Gaia, from the field. I had given her the second half of the summer off, as her immature mind wasn't able to cope both with education and the bugs, but there's really no excuse to lay it off anymore now. 

She remembered everything I had done with her previously (including short sessions at liberty in the pastures lately) and was basically a good girl, although she still is very herdbound - or should I say, motherbound. Strange for a 3yo, but she is inseparable from her dam! Working on that. 

Did simple things - leading, responding to pressure in the rope halter, sniffing scary objects (jumps) in the arena, walking over a ground pole. She leads nicely now, stopping is getting better and I showed her how to back up from a rhythmical pressure today. Desensitization is going well, too, I can now touch her everywhere and throw ropes all around/on her. And, to finish up, I started teaching her how to line up to a mounting block. Due to health problems (lower back/hind legs), it is very likely that she will never be ridden, but it won't hurt for her to know simple things like this. I also put my hands on her back and jumped up and down on the block and brushed her side with my leg, which she took beautifully. I think that next time I'll start getting her used to my bareback pad - but I don't plan on actually backing her yet for a long time to come, not until she's cleared by the vet.


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## Saranda

Some pictures, too.

Lara. A new set of ears in the trails and just her being herself in her awkward teenage stage. 






























And Snicks, in all his glory.


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## Saranda

Huh, some glitch didn't let me finish the last post. Nevermind, here are the pics!


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## Saranda

Got my saddle back, it has been repaired well and the saddler instructed me to put at least 20hrs of riding on it without a saddle pad so that the new fleecing moulds best to the shape of Snicks' back.

So, we went on an evening trail ride! Evenings are getting darker and soon it won't be possible after work...  But this ride was wonderful - Snicks was energetic, yet calm and responsive, light in the bridle and overall a happy camper. As he has been out of serious workload lately, we didn't ride for too long, but still trotted for a couple of nice stretches and cantered a little. Lovely and relaxing.


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## Saranda

Thursday, my friend visited again and I taught her on Snicks. Her confidence is coming back fast and she's good with balancing herself on a bareback horse - yes, that's right, still no stirrups, reins or even a saddle for her. A helmet, though, is obligatory.  She had to do a lot of stretching and relaxing exercises, then the same at trot. Afterwards, she made some pictures of me riding Snicks with a cordeo in the pastures, so I'm waiting for the pics now anxiously.

Yesterday, Snicks got his hooves trimmed and we then went on a little trail walk with a barn friend of mine and her new mare. The first half of the walk, I rode Snicks with no tack at all, not even a cordeo, and he was superb - turns, stopping, changing directions and gaits, going away from the other horse - everything was perfect. The second half of it, I got off and we continued our way just walking at liberty, and Snicks enjoyed that a lot, my lovely boy.

Today, I went on a walking trailride with him (we excorted a child and her mother who are not yet ready for faster gaits), but he seemed a bit too touchy on harder ground. When we got home, I tried trotting in the arena, and he seemed a bit wonky at the trot when turning, not exactly lame, but one of the forelegs steps shorter than the other. Might be an abscess brewing. Obviously, I got off, checked over his legs and hooves and set him out in the pastures. 

Worked with Lara after that. What a mareish mare!  Remind me to always get geldings/studs for myself. She is hitting a major teenage phase and has LOTS of attitude. We worked on gait transitions while lunging today, as well as going over some basic groundwork, and boy, what a ground-stomping feat she presented when she noticed that the herd is moving farther away in the fields! All complimented with the typical mare-looks and squealing. How pleasant. 

I persisted, however, although I had to hide my laughter, and we came to a nice conclusion soon after. She's a beautiful mover (when not getting tangled in her own legs) and very fun to work with, she just doesn't want to admit that yet.


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## Saranda

When I had just begun my journey with horses, this was what I dreamed of as of something far and fantastic, something out of a fairytale... 

Now, after mere 4 years and a few months on top, it is the reality.


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## Saranda

Look, how he has changed and matured over just a few years! (you'll get a bigger picture if you click on it)


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## Saranda

I've been riding and feeling desperate for lessons. Although I'm a fairly okay-ish rider, I sometimes get confused with my hands, with the reins, with my own tension, with seat aids... Meh. Unfortunately, the barns' trainer is...not that good, so I won't be taking lessons from her, but better ones are very expensive to get to come to us. Taking Snicks to them - ever more expensive, so it will have to wait. 

On the bright side, I've been on some lovely trail rides and walks in-hand, splashing and playing around in the lake, showing off some tricks to random people in the trails and spending lots of quality time simply in the pastures with the herd. Also, although I wish to be a better rider, we can still have a nice riding session and jump a 2.6ft course with nothing but a piece of rope around Snicks' neck - I fall in love with him over and over again!

Still, I'd love to be a better rider for him and take him farther in his education. With time and hard work, it will definitely come true, as have many things. 

I got to try on a treeless endurance saddle on Snicks as well. The Ghost brand. Wow, it was amazing! Snicks was instantly relaxed, stretching and with a pleasantly rhythmical stride, and it was tremendously comfortable for me as well - it felt as if there was no saddle at all, but I had all the support I needed! Now I hope I'll maybe get to buy it, although I hadn't planned such purchase - but it seems both of us would really love it. 

We tried on one like this, it's an older model, compared to their new, redesigned ones:


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## Saranda

Worked on relaxation, impulsion and lateral bending at the walk and the trot from the ground today, as well as on walk-canter and canter-walk transitions on the lunge. Snicks was a bit feisty, but very, very giving, and we achieved some nice results. I included a couple of exercises over ground poles and Snicks was responsive to those, stretching into a longer stride. All in all, a pleasant session with pleasing results, and a happy, inquisitive horse! 

Of course, whenever my body language goes hairy, he doesn't hesitate to show his attitude and I HAVE to improve so that he listens again.


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## ApolloRider

I've recently started lessons also.
Apollo is the same way... As soon as I have an inconsistency he doesn't hesitate to be a turd!

I really like that saddle. I've been thinking about a treeless for some time. Hopefully I can try one soon!


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## Saranda

Haha, exactly, Apollo! An instructor once said to me that Snicks has the main gift to be a perfect schoolmaster later in his days - to respond only to the correct cues. 

Regarding yesterday, forgot to mention that we managed some steps in leg-yield at the trot.


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## Saranda

We've been doing this and that - riding in the arena, hitting the trails, working in hand. Setting the basics in leg-yielding at the trot ridden and had a really good time cantering in front of a larger group in the trails - Snicks' behavior was impeccable and we could even trot while the others cantered behind us - yeah, his trot in the trails can get VERY big and powerful - and I like it that way. 

Today, after I rasped his hooves, we hit the trails again and had a very nice, calm ride. We went to the lake as well and, after a good splashing in the deep, we had to go up a steep incline to get back on the trail. I gave Snicks the rein and allowed him to choose his gait, as I trusted his judgement - and wow, what a powerful, huge canter upwards it was! I even got uneasy for a second as it felt like sitting on a fiery mass of sheer muscle and speed, but as soon as I took back the reins, he stopped on a dime and we continued our path at a calm walk. We later cantered a wide, long track with no problems at all, and it felt heavenly on a golden Octobers' day like this.

I worked with Lara from the ground later in the evening and, although she's still demonstrating some herd-bound issues when she can't see the others, we're getting somewhere with our progress and she's being a good girl, even if difficult at times. As an almost 18hh, 4yo youngster, she knows her size and power, and that makes for some interesting moments... Anyway, we worked over cavaletti and some tiny jumps tonight, and she's getting better at transitions, also, not going crazy whenever cued to canter anymore. 

Been working with a middle-aged gelding the last few times for a very special project I'll tell you about in a couple of days.


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## Saranda

So, this Sunday we loaded up and went to the filming set of a trailer for a historical movie "The Last Pagans: Baltic Tribes", which will be about the 13th century in this region. I was to ride Snicks and the other gelding I had worked with (in great haste, as we were invited to join in the very last moment) was to be the mount for a German knight. 

The set, located in a beautiful forest, was buzzing with actors, props, filming staff and other people. Snicks couldn't care less. I got dressed up as a page of the knight and we were to take part in a scene where tired warriors return home from their battles, along with war slaves and a cart full of Estonian heads - props, of course.  Two other horses took part in this scene as well, from a local stable, and one of them was a tamed Konik Polski - they are wild horses who are being slowly reintroduced to our territory. He wasn't that tame at all, to be honest, but all was okay as long as they kept their distance. 

We explored the site of the scene, went through the actions with all the actors and everything seemed really fine. Until the real filming started.  Although everyone had been warned not to make sudden, sharp movements around horses, unless previously okayed that with the riders, as we went down the slope for the first time, horses suddenly started getting revved up and then a bunch of cameramen suddenly ran out of the artificial smoke, right by our sides, carrying large and wobbly squares of thick plastic. They later apologized and explained that they had understood that the rules of safety around horses actually referred just to the actors, not to the technical staff.  

When that was cleared, we tried again, just to meet another surprise - out of lack of experience in such events, we hadn't gotten clear information about what cameras will be used, so the sharp noise of a gyroscopic camera suddenly sliding over our heads on a cable through the trees took us by surprise and Snicks refused to play the part of "the very tired horse, coming home from war". As we didn't have time to get him really used to that beast of a camera, it was decided that only the second gelding will be filmed in this scene, lead by hand, as his rider was stronger and managed to make him look calmer, and I followed them on foot. Meanwhile, Snicks had a break and was mighty content with that.

When this scene was finished, we had an hour or so to let the horses rest, grazing in a meadow, and then loaded up to go to the next destination - a large field where the cavalry and the unmounted warriors were to chase a family of escaped slaves up a hill. In this scene, we were joined by one of the other horses and his rider, who proved to be very good at his job, of which I was a bit weary at first. However, hats off to this man, he could really ride his horse in battle! 

I got to choose between carrying a sword or a spear, and got a shield as well. I chose the sword, which I had to brandish above my head, while keeping the shield on the other hand, with which I held both of my reins as well. I had trained for this with Snicks and he took to that well, so off we went to start filming the scene. 

As we were doing the test shooting, a stirrup leather of one of the other horses suddenly snapped, the rider came off and his horse ran loose at a gallop around the field! Snicks took a sharp turn when seeing that, and bucked before I managed to stop him, so I came off as well, but landed softly and without injuries. To my pride, Snicks just stood there with me and waited until I got up, paying no attention to the loose horse. He was eventually caught and we could go on with the filming. 

The rest of the scene went flawlessly. We did many takes, just to be sure that it ends up perfect, Snicks behaved impeccably and we had great fun chasing the slaves.  If anything, he got impatient at the moments when he saw them run, as he understood that we get to run right after them - no concern at all about the yelling warriors running or the other rider cantering right behind us.

Finally, everything was done, we got to untack the horses, load them up and go home. Snicks was overly happy to see that none of his mares had vanished while he was gone and he instantly used the chance to beat up the other geldings in the herd - in case they had misbehaved in his absence. This was a great, great experience and also taught me lots of what information has to be gathered when signing up for such projects, as well as training ideas for projects in the future. 

Here's a single picture now, but I'll get more and action ones later on.


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## Zexious

What a cool experience! I can't wait to see more photos


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## Saranda

I've got some of the pictures and will open a thread in the picture section a bit later, but still waiting for the rest.  

The day before the filming we went on a trail ride with our best horse/barn buddy combination. It was tons of fun and we had a powerful canter down a long, sandy stretch of road - felt like flying!

I gave Snicks a day off right after filming, and then we went on another trail ride, but this one was much calmer - we explored new, beautiful trails, but as our partners' horse was quite hot and nervous that day, we kept to walking and trotting, so no cantering that day. Good for Snicks' education, actually, not to go flying in the trails each time we ride out!

We had a lovely groundwork session the next day, working on our feel and energy with the help of a good friend, who is also our instructor. Snicks was a champ and I felt like my brain was melting, but I got tips and ideas for further sessions, so I'm eager to continue the work.

Then, two ridden sessions in the arena. Softness and contact at the trot were both the hardest and the most interesting things to work on, and our newest achievement - stop-canter transitions! Snicks is really loving walk to canter and stop to canter transitions, as well as exercises that include walk pirouettes and a jump or two as if those weren't even there. 

It's sometimes not easy with him (especially when my lack of experience comes into play), but each little bit of success is SOOO worth it!


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## Saranda

* A session with Lara. She was cooperative, but, when we got to the trot, I noticed that she's slightly lame, so we stopped early. No visible injuries, no heat or swelling, so she'll just be given some rest to see how it goes.

* Two groundwork sessions with Snicks. Really good results at the first one, felt like we were reading each others' minds from time to time, worked on relaxation, minimal body cues from a distance, straightness, walk pirouettes, leg-yield and travers. The second one, yesterday, didn't go as smooth, because it was dark, windy, the herd was cantering and hollering in another field and there were monsters in the woods by the arena  , however, I got his attention, we finally relaxed and, as a very nice touch, Snicks came to me in the fields when I was searching and calling for him, although he had to cross two large fields to get to me, and lead all the herd with him. In complete darkness and fog.

* A ridden session as well. Our instructor friend helped us on contact at the walk and trot, and it was harder for me to concentrate, than for him, but we got to some level of softness and rounding through the back. For the dessert, we crossed some jumps and I braved to jump a 90cm vertical (2.9ft). Next time we're jumping, I'm hoping to cross ~3ft as a personal challenge.  Snicks soared over the 90cm, so I don't think that will be a problem for him!


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## tinyliny

love your journal! you have such amazing experiences.


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## Saranda

Thanks, TL, I'm glad you enjoy reading about our adventures. 

Saturday was the day to trim hooves. While Snicks was being trimmed, I took Lara for a trail walk in-hand. We went to the train tracks, over them and back again, during which she was quite nervous and threw a few little fits, but was overall a good girl and trying her best. However, she is such a mareish mare that she reminds me why I really prefer geldings/studs.  

Yesterday I didn't jump, as I had planned, because of the fresh trim and slippery ground (I hope for dry terrain next week, though), but I thought of something fun nonetheless.  I fetched myself a long wooden broomstick (just the stick, without a broom) and an ax shaft (again, just the shaft), and practiced with those in the arena as with a spear and a sword - in case we get to film again.  

It was really exciting and Snicks wasn't bothered at all. I placed the spear in a barrel and practiced grabbing it while trotting and cantering past it, then positioning it in my hand, lowering and rising it, as well as making stabbing motions against the ground or just dragging the spearhead in the sand while cantering. The "sword" (or club, to be more precise) was grabbed from higher jump stands and then used to bash balls, buckets and other objects from other stands. To be honest, I hadn't expected I'd be nimble enough for this, but I did good (and I have fought with poles in the past, not just from horseback) and will try some more precise stuff next time.

Good practice in riding one-handed and neck-reining as well.


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## Saranda

A little moment from our life:


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## Saranda

Two nice and easy groundwork sessions during the already dark evenings with Snicks. We mostly practiced lateral movements and walk pirouettes + transitions from those to a trot. It's getting cold at nights and Snicks is becoming really fuzzy again.


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## Saranda

We've been doing groundwork at liberty, going on walks in-hand and had a couple of ridden sessions in the arena when the footing was okay. Although there has been a couple of "discussions" between Snicks and me about getting to a common ground, all is good in general. 

And hey ho, here's the project trailer for the documentary we filmed in! As it doesn't have a translation yet, I'll just tell you briefly that it's a combination of animation and cinematography, and about the history of the Baltic tribes in this region during the 13th century - our wars, our raids, our beliefs, crafts and rituals. If the project gets funded by the State, the full movie will come out in 2018. 

I can't embed the video directly, but it's in this link. If you want to skip just to the part where Snicks and I show up, it starts at the 01:00 mark.  We're the horse/rider pair in front.

Baltu Ciltis / projekts (2018) | Filmas.lv | LMDb


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## Saranda

A fun ground driving session today. The arena was frozen hard, so we went to practice in one of the summer fields, which upset the other horses, who started cantering around in the winter paddock, which, in turn, made Snicks a VERY quirky boy. I had the splendid chance to observe lots of flying...umm...buck changes, let's call them that, and there was lots of sudden movement, but in the end he offered some nice trot and balanced canter. Good boy.  

Apart from that, it's same old, same old - mostly groundwork now, as the footing permits, yesterday his hooves were trimmed and riding is now mostly done in the trails. 

Some recent photos - the last one is from today.


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## Saranda

After all this time, we finally got a proper lesson! Worked hard mostly on my seat and hands (I have the nasty habit of getting tense and not giving enough release when needed), and on contact. Snicks was a very good boy, he tried so hard and in the end of the not-so-very-long lesson both of us were quite exhausted. Hoping to get a lesson next week as well, if the weather and footing are good!


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## Saranda

Well, we didn't manage to get a lesson last week, but we had a nice time on a walk in-hand with my flatmate and her new puppy, who is now getting used to horses and moving around them, and every time I visited during this period I tried riding at least at a walk, at least for 15 minutes, working on stretching and flexion. Slow progress is still progress.  

Also, each time we worked at liberty and I just tried reaching a happy place for both of us, as work and life have been stressful lately and that resonated in our relationship. From being a bit cranky Snicks has gone to leading me to the arena at liberty and offering everything he can think of, playfully, so I'm feeling more at peace of where we're at now. 

A little favorite of his right now is practicing "Stay" (essentially ground tying), "Wait" - while I walk around the arena and choose a spot to stand, and "Come"/"Here" - come to me as bouncingly as possible.


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## Saranda

Yesterday a friend of mine and myself planned to do a bit of liberty together with our horses, but it soon turned into a play-fight and "let's race!!!" session, which was very fun to watch! 

Today we went on a trail ride in the same company. The ground was wet, it was getting dark and our companion horse was a bit hot, so we decided to stay at the walk and the trot to be safe, but we had great time nonetheless - and, as this winter has been abnormally warm, we could even splash in the lake, which the horses really enjoyed.

Here's a tiny video - we're on the left


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## Saranda

Snicks and I are continuing to have a really good time at liberty - I keep our sessions rather short, so he doesn't get bored, but they are more frequent than before and the progress is really showing. Today we worked on fluid direction changes, Snicks was eager to offer jumping over a jump and going over trot poles, and we could easily go through several moves during the course of two-to-three laps around the arena, changing gaits, directions and such. It felt really great and Snicks seemed to be having fun, too.

Yesterday we went on a trail ride with our usual company and it was cool. I mounted Snicks right while a cargo train was passing right by our sides - first time since our unfortunate accident last winter - and, although he was a bit feisty, we managed everything just fine. I just need to breathe deeper and get over myself and my stress factors. 

Our trail buddy was unsure of us cantering together, though, so we took parallel routes for that to meet at the roads' end, and our horses were champs - Snicks took that really well and didn't even think anything of leaving his partner behind; we had a nice, smooth, collected canter down a long ride and, although he got a bit strong in the bridle a few times, everything went really well.

As yesterday was the Christmas Eve, the horses got involved in an ancient Latvian tradition that is said to bring fortune and health to horses for the next year - they got oats with beer. Snicks was REALLY happy about it...if he was a teenage boy, I'd be worried about him and beer.


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## Saranda

We went on a trail ride on our own yesterday. Met lots of nice people - for example, two old ladies that had went on a walk in the forest just in hopes of meeting a horse in Christmas as a sign of good luck! They even had sugar cubes with them, so I let them give one to Snicks and he showed them his Spanish walk in return.  The ladies were over the Moon! We also met a nice pair who were walking their young Husky - he LOVED Snicks and Snicks LOVED the Husky! It was so cute - both were sharing nuzzling and kisses, and it was the first time in the puppys' life meeting a horse. 

Of course, we couldn't do it without a couple of adventures - for example, meeting a man who was walking his Labrador. He thought that the horse will get scared of the dog...so he hid in a bush. With the dog. The dog was barking and the bush was moving and rustling, and Snicks was a bit startled (but he did nothing silly!), because he had never seen a barking bush.  I had to tell the dog walker that hiding in bushes is not the best tactic when encountering horses - I hope it sticks with him. 

Also, when going home, we had to let two fast and noisy cargo trains by. Snicks was annoyed by that - good thing I had already dismounted, as he got a bit frustrated and made a few small rears, but it's nowhere as bad as when our train-crisis started, so I'm proud with him.

Today, I just had the time to give dinner and some hugs to Snicks while he ate. It seems he knew my schedule, because just as the bucket was empty, he gave me a brief goodbye nuzzle and cantered off across the field to his buddies and the hay.


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## Saranda

We've been doing liberty walks on these days and practicing our draw, which is going really good - in the nearest forest, whenever he turned home, I could easily draw him back, sometimes he even did that in a canter. As the weather has become much colder, Snicks has been REALLY spunky and these walks have been a playful ton of fun. 

Today, before going on a walk and playing around, Snicks had to endure a bit of a Patience Pole situation, as a mare had to have her hooves trimmed, the stalls were unavailable for various reasons and the hitching post, from where the horses are visible, had clumpy, frozen ground all around it - so, she had to be lead a bit further away and stand in cross-ties between two pine trees. She still needed company and I could help out, so Snicks was tied nearby, with he rope above his head so he couldn't step in it, and left there, as I was freezing and wanted to go inside. I still observed him through the window and he wasn't too pleased, but it was a good learning experience for him.

Yesterday night I managed to visit Snicks right after the midnight fireworks and the horses were so chilled! Snicks seemed to have been expecting me (and got his carrots, of course), and then started playing with another gelding. Good horsies!


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## Saranda

Oh wow, long time no post.

Since my last post we've had a lovely winter with deep, pristine snow, but now everything has suddenly melted and the fields are just pits of mud, but the trails - a combination of deep mud, puddles and ice. What fun!

I don't really know what came over me last Saturday, but I somehow thought that a suddenly warm and windy day would be an excellent time to go for a peaceful walk in-hand in the trails. It turned out very...ehm..._exciting_.  Snicks did his best impressions of a warmblood stud, being lead to a mare - prancing, doing mini rears, shaking head, jumping straight in the air... It was too much of a hassle to go far with him like this, especially, with the trails so icy and slippery, so we turned back soon and I lunged him in a drier spot nearby the barn area. Boy, was he eager to move, bucking at every other step - and I was glad I had decided against riding him that day.  

There was something troublesome, though - he stopped to pee, but couldn't. Before calling the vet out, I gave him a thorough sheath cleaning and removed a small bean - it must have been blocking something, because right after that he urinated and seemed so, so relieved. I wondered after that whether his prancy, exaggerated behavior was actually caused by discomfort in the sheath. 

On Sunday we didn't do much - I got to the barn only later in the afternoon and it was horribly muddy + raining, so I just fed Snicks and asked for a few simple tricks, which he did vigorously. 

We've also found a new Dressage trainer and had one lesson before the footing was destroyed by mud. I liked her approach quite a lot - she concentrated on my seat and aids, not wanting me to "do" anything with Snicks himself, and eventually he gave the right responses just because I didn't complicate it for him with my own issues. We didn't learn anything new in particular, but the way the trainer expressed herself was very clear and easy to execute for me, so now I'm hoping the ground dries soon and we get to have more lessons. 

Before that we mostly just went on tackless trails rides, walks and played at liberty in the arena. I am also planning to get the chiro out for Snicks soon, as he seems a bit stiffer in his back and I'd like that to be checked out. Meanwhile, I won't be riding much - not that it's really possible right now. 

Some winter wonderland pictures and a video of our adventures:


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## Saranda

Snicks was a total superstar tonight. It was dark, rainy and muddy, yet I still decided to play in our smaller outdoor arena, which was somewhat dryer in a couple of spots. We played at liberty, working on energetic, playful walk-trot transitions, following me + mimicking my "gaits" and changing directions, and Snicks was so eager to offer little, beautiful moments of connection, although he got a bit too exuberant a few times - breathing slower and decreasing my own energy helped.


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## Saranda

Another lovely session at liberty. Snicks really offered that canter tonight!


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## Saranda

Hey, guys! We're alive!  Sorry for being silent for so long, a lot has happened. It's real late (or rather - early) here right now, so I'm really posting this more like a reminder to write everything down tomorrow.


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## tinyliny

tell them about your bruise!


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## Saranda

Haha, I definitely will! I'm even taking pictures!


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## Saranda

Update time!

All through the last winter it was getting more and more obvious that the lack of experience of the BO is hurting the quality of services, mainly - the quality of hay. She was buying and shipping in dusty, moldy round bales and keeping them uncovered, so the hay got even worse. As Snicks started showing an allergic reaction and talking to the BO was no use, I had to make a decision to move.

Initially I had planned to stay for the summer (as in summer the place still should have been okay) and move in the beginning of autumn, but a good friend heard of my troubles and offered us a place in her barn. A bit farther from my home and a bit more expensive, but doable and, as I had been barn-sitting for her once and also visiting, I knew that the hay there was perfect and that Snicks would be loved and cared for really well. 

It was not only the hay, but for some invisible reason Snicks was growing more and more tense with each coming day in the barn we then resided at. It varied from day to day, but he was getting dangerous to ride out in the trails, being too strong and spooking unpredictably for no apparent reason, and no amount of training, calmers, bodyworkers and vets were able to pinpoint the cause. 

So, I soon came to the obvious decision - we had to move, as much as I hate moving too often. However, moldy hay is a serious con and the well-being of my horse is in the first place. 

On one of our better days, a month or so before the moving, I had a friend take this video in the only woodland patch in which we could be relatively calm, albeit not very relaxed:


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## Saranda

On 29.05. Snicks was quick to enter the trailer. Although he was a bit anxious during the drive, he exhaled and calmed down instantly, as soon as he stepped down the ramp. I think it helped he had been in this barn once last year for a clinic - we stayed for 3 days.



















He was then let in the riding arena, which borders the winter paddock, in which the herd was residing at that time. The sign says - "Danger! Aggressive stallion in the paddock!"  (to deter strangers trying to enter paddocks on their own)


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## Saranda

No more than hour later the herd had grown disinterested in the newcomer and Snicks was horribly bored to be alone in the arena (neighing at me constantly  ), so the decision was made to put him out with the herd. 

A bit of running to start with...










Getting inspected:










Getting his own haynet:










And, no more than another hour later, grazing with the leaders at their haynet calmly. 



















When I was ready to go for the evening, Snicks was already fooling around with the dominant gelding of the herd.  Never had I felt so peaceful when leaving my boy for the first night in a new herd. When I arrived next morning, there wasn't even a bite mark on him - everybody was just grazing together quietly as if Snicks had always been a part of their herd.


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## Saranda

Since then Snicks has calmed down immensely and I've got my golden horse back again. We're going on peaceful trail rides at all gaits and with no problems at all, he's energetic and willing to please & learn, and I'm once again inspired to ride, train and just have fun with him, which was starting to become difficult in our previous barn. Whatever was the reason that made him so nervous, it's gone for good now. 

On our first trail ride in the new trails, cantering together with another horse in nothing more but a rope halter. 










Making friends with the sprinkler:



















Going out on our own:










And at liberty:










Cheeky boy even took the lead line out of my hand to go for a swim.  










Somewhere in between the pasture season started:



















And my handsome boy is really feeling well in his new home. 










We even got our riding mojo back! As in actually doing something technical, not just ambling around in the woods.


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## Saranda

I am very happy with Snicks today. We went on a solo trail ride to explore more of our trails and ended up covering roughly 11 kilometers. This was our longest solo ride since year and a half, the period we spent in our previous ground, and it was also the best one. Although there were a couple of really minor spooks, Snicks just stopped and snorted, nothing like in our previous trails, where he'd spin, buck and run so frequently I had grown really tired of it. Nothing like that now. Just a calm and enthusiastic horse. 

We mostly walked and trotted, building up our endurance and exploring our new area. The trail we explored makes up for a really nice loop which we'll be definitely using again soon!


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## Saranda

Oh, and I completely forgot to tell you guys that I had a lesson - finally, a lesson! - with Snicks and one of the resident trainers of the barn. We worked mainly on my position, because what's more important than that in order to help the horse move correctly? The trainer concluded that my position at the trot is fairly okay, but I need to watch out for arching my lover back too much, and I also need to respect Snicks natural tempi in order to improve them gradually. As for Snicks, we worked on trot-canter transitions and on gait consistency. It wasn't too easy, but it was sure lots of fun!

Today we repeated the 11 kilometer route, only a bit shorter this time as we were leading a nervous rider-youngster pair, to whom this was their 4th trail ride together and the first one so far from home. They did brilliantly at he walk and trot, and so did Snicks. He just had a minor spook at a small, man-made jump across one of the trails, which we had jumped with confidence, at a canter the day before yesterday, but let's not talk about that.  

The rider was still too timid to canter her horse in the trails so we separated when we got close to home - she went to have a canter in the arena, whilst Snicks and I had a blast in the nearby trails. It was quite hot, so Snicks got a nice, cool shower afterwards and showed his trail partner that it's okay to be washed and that hoses are not actually horse-eating snakes. 

By the way - happy Summer Solstice, everyone! Here, tonight, it's the shortest night of the year.


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## Saranda

Checked on my workout tracker and it seems that, during my vacation from the 9th to the 26th of June I've ridden roughly 45 miles / 72 kilometers. Not bad! And most of those miles in trails, which really makes me happy as we're once again going on fun, safe, relatively long trail rides either alone or in company, and, if in company, both in front of the ride and in the back of it. 

As it's been horribly hot these days and I wanted to ride on my last day of vacation, I decided to stay the night at the barn and ride during the dawn. I tried doing some groundwork around midnight, but we ended up more like quarreling about the speeds we should move at, as it was still quite hot and Snicks didn't want to move at all. Can't blame him.

The weather in the early hours was much better and we set out for a ride before 5AM. Snicks was being a very good boy, even when a doe jumped out of tall grasses right in front of us and spooked him. He did his famous spin + jump sideways + tank off, which got me quite unseated, but once I regained my balance (and a stirrup  ), he stopped perfectly, and the speed at which he was escaping the horrible, horse-eating doe was just a lazy canter. 

The ride continued without spooks and we soon reached a bonus part of our new trails - a 1.2 km long, sandy stretch of road, perfect for cantering, which we, obviously, did. It was such fun and I hadn't had such a long, calm, controllable canter for such a long time! Our new home has completely returned us our trail confidence.










Although the horseflies were still sleeping at that hour, the midges were horrible and I had to wrap Snicks in his fly rug and mask. Washed off all his sweat after we got back and let him roll in the arena, after which he promptly trotted off to the nearest shelter, as larger bugs began appearing.


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## Saranda

Visited Snicks tonight just to get a sample of his poo for worm count (will be gathering those for next 3 days, as the rest of the barn), love on him and let him graze in the yard. I put him in the stall to get the poo, which got him quite stressed - after all, he's been mostly outside 24/7 since I bought him! - but after that it was just grass, scratching what itches and asking for a few simple and fun (for him) tricks. Love my golden boy, I love to see him come trotting around the corner as soon as I call him.


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## Saranda

This last week has went on without riding so far - he got his hooves trimmed, then I couldn't visit the barn for 2 days and today it was so insufferably hot I decided to stick to groundwork. As we were alone in the arena, we could play at liberty a bit and it went really nice - although we didn't do much at speed as Snicks doesn't like the heat too much (who does!), it was nice practicing our Spanish walk and circles at liberty at the walk and the trot. 

As we have a couple of barrels, I decided to ask Snicks jump one (laid down on the side), and for that I put the halter on to guide him. Jumping a skinny wasn't really his idea of having a good time today, so we went through a bit of coaxing, blocking and a small temper tantrum, until he discovered that he can actually do it and it's not that hard to do!  After that Snicks was ready for more, but I didn't want to ask too much of him and we went for a walk in hand in the forest to cool off. As Snicks was grazing, I found a patch of wild raspberries and strawberries, and had a tasty snack of my own. Later, when I let Snicks out in the pastures, he was being very sweet and refused to go all across the field to the rest of the herd without me - but I didn't mind going at all.  

By the way, our worm count results came back and Snicks is practically clean - not bad for a horse that's been de-wormed mainly with herbal mixes for years!


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## tinyliny

this is a super nice photo of good rider position and horse reaches down and out with a nicely lifted back.


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## Saranda

Thank you, TL! I am very proud of that moment, and it actually wasn't the only one that day. We're actually, REALLY progressing, and I'm super happy about it. It feels so much better riding a horse like this, and there have been ecstatic moments when Snick offered to lift his back and shorten his stride, going into a whole new, elevated and proud way of movement. Hopefully, we will get more used to it soon and there will be pictures.

It was still too hot yesterday, so I just jumped on tackless and we went for a short stroll in the woods. Snicks was fantastic. He wasn't too keen on all the bugs, but he was very responsive and we had all the go and whoa we needed. And with tackless this time I mean - completely tackless, not even a neckrope. 

Fortunately, the weather shifted last night. It's been raining since then, and much cooler, but that also means the arena was too wet, deep and slippery for my liking, so we hit the trails again. As, due to the footing, it was mostly walking and trotting, I tried to use it for my own good and work on my position at the trot. For some reason Snicks was a bit nappy today - maybe because the forest was so dark in the rain? - but he wasn't too bad and there weren't any spooks. And, anyway, my trail confidence is really back again, which is a great feeling!

Luckily for us, our canter track was reasonably dry, so I went for a really fast canter there. Snicks was over the moon about that, as he was rather frisky in the cool weather, but our brakes were perfect and he stopped even without me touching the reins. 

Hopefully, the arena dries soon, we should work on our riding technique.

Ah, and a funny moment. A family with two small children visited the barn. A little boy, about 3 years of age, looked under a mare and asked if "that's her pee-pee". The adults explained that it's her udder, but then Snicks came along and I helpfully noted that he's a boy. The mother pointed at his sheath, no penis in sight, and exclaimed - "Oooh, that's a huge pee-pee!". That's when I scratched Snicks' bum and he....relaxed. Like, really RELAXED. I won't forget their faces for a long time.


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## Saranda

We've both played at liberty and have had some rides in the woods and the arena, as the weather is better and the arena has dried up, however, it is also warmer again, so I'm not asking too much from Snicks. He doesn't tolerate the heat well and neither do I. 

Cherrij visited us last Saturday and I employed her to take some pics of Snicks and me.  Our riding session wasn't the best one this time, Snicks was quite slow due to the heat (unlike a recent, cooler day, in which he was a dynamite during free lunging) and I was too aware that there's a guest watching us, but, all in all, we had fun - and I ought to visit Grand (Cheriijs' gelding and Snicks' lil' bro - check out their journal on HF!  ) soon!

Here's some pics:










Not actually putting any weight on him, just hovering above. 























































Going back to the pastures at liberty. 











On Sunday, our training session went much better and both of us were much more relaxed. As a couple of our resident riders were preparing to go to a Dressage competition and their trailer arrived, I jumped on the opportunity and refreshed Snicks' loading skills a bit. 

He has always been a perfect loader, but even that was impaired at our previous home and he developed the habit to back out of the trailer as soon as he was loaded and to evade it. It wasn't horrible, but instead of our usual 2 minutes it then took 15-30 minutes to load and it was frustrating and annoying. Now, it was our first real chance to use a trailer after we moved and...no issues at all! Within 5 minutes, I had loaded and unloaded him several times and, once inside, he was patiently waiting to be asked to unload, and more interested in the haynet than anything else! That was such a relief to experience.


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## Cherrij

It was a pleasure to watch


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## Saranda

It was quite hot again and I felt a bit tired from all that riding, so groundwork it was. First, at liberty, then working on faster gaits - on-line, as there were other horses in the arena and I wouldn't want to bother them if Snicks decided to venture away from me. The presence of others, who were all quite skilled, made me rather anxious, to be honest, but I persisted, and, in the end, Snicks and the mare of the BM did this together for the first time -


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## Saranda

Long story short, my saddle doesn't fit Snicks anymore and I will have to sell it. I'm rather bummed, as I was planning to ride so much this summer, and now it's all gone down the drain! Luckily (strange luck, haha) there's so many horseflies that trail riding is out of question right now anyway and I'm going to work on our bareback riding, liberty games and such. 

We've had many of my friends visiting us over the last week and it's been quite exhausting for me as a socially dysfunctional person, however, Snicks behaved perfectly giving rides to some of my guests and they were all in awe because both of his size and personality. My golden boy! 

During this time, we had some fun with an umbrella and Snicks also learned a new trick on the podest, but I don't have any pictures with that yet. Meanwhile, the umbrella:


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## Saranda

Despite of not having a saddle, I've been riding. My legs and core are going to be fit as hell after this saddle-less period!  Of course, I have to limit my riding so that I don't harm Snicks' back, but, nonetheless, my grippy bareback pad helps a lot and we've been working on all the things as before, even jumping! To be honest, I feel more secure jumping bareback, and have a better feel of the approach and lift-off. We've also been playing at liberty a lot to strengthen our communication.

Today was too hot for my comfort to ride, so I opted for a liberty walk in the forest. Everything went lovely - we played with focus and following, for example - I ran along the trail, further away from Snicks, and, whenever he approached me at the walk, I rewarded him heavily with praise and treats. He was soon trotting and cantering behind me whenever I took off and was respectful of my space. Such fun!

Unfortunately, suddenly a group of 5-6 motorbike riders emerged from the thick undergrowth, where they had been plowing through. Snicks spooked and ran home. I managed to holler the bikers to a stop and followed Snicks. Luckily, he was standing in some bushes close by, waiting and nickering at me as I approached, however, unfortunately, the bikers decided that it was okay to revv their engines simultaneously again, which spooked Snicks even more (considering his past traumas with motorbikes and ATVs in the forest) and he headed home at a canter. 

Fortunately, our forest is very safe and there were other people in the barn, so he just arrived there a few minutes ahead of me and was let into the garden to graze. I found him there in good spirits and we went into the forest once again, this tame, with the BM and her mare to accompany us, also at liberty. Of course, the bikers were long gone by then, but, when we approached the part of the forest where we met them, Snicks was doubtful. He'd stand in place, paw, turn around, ask us to go home and show in all the ways possible that he'd rather NOT go there. 

But, by coaxing him gently, step by step, he finally agreed and followed us, licking and chewing all the way and even agreeing to graze calmly. Our way home was calm, happy and uneventful. 

Very proud about him in this situation! In our previous home, after a spook like that, he'd be anxious, unnerved and refuse to follow me back where he met the boogeyman, but now - he's calm, willing and ready to overcome his fears. Still so happy to have moved to our current barn!

Pictures will follow tomorrow.


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## Saranda

Walking at liberty alone:





























After being joined by the BM and her mare:




























And then, a good roll in the sand following a cool bath! (In our barn, it's totally okay to let your horse roll in the arena if there aren't many people riding and you can recall your horse at liberty - nobody's bothered by it.)


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## Saranda

It's been hot again and I've been spending my time with Snicks in the pastures. In the current (and large) field they have a perfect natural shelter, composed from trees and bushes - all the herd can fit into it easily to escape the bugs. That's why I was so pleased about Snicks, who decided to come out of the shelter and offer me playing and running with him. Obviously, I don't have pictures of that, but he was very eager and plaful. We dod Spanish walk, spin, trot and recall. 

Before that we've gone on a walk in hand, but today I decided to ride. It was a bit too hot for Snicks' comfort, though, so, as soon as he started sweating, he wasn't too fond of the idea, but, nonetheless, we managed to work on a stretchy, good working trot. I hope so, at least. 

Unfortunately, I must warn all of you - DO NOT ATTEMPT cantering a sweaty horse with a bareback pad on and naked legs. I've got the worst burns on my calves right now because of it - and I'm not a gripper, but skin got caught beneath/against the girth after all. Should have worn breeches instead, no matter how hot it was!


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## tinyliny

How hot was it? What time does it become dark now there?


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## Saranda

It was around +27C/80F and it starts becoming darker at around 10PM, I think.


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## Saranda

Well, hi, everyone! It's been a while, but we're alive and I'll post an update tomorrow. Snicks' is doing great and we've had a ton of adventures together since last time I posted.


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## JoBlueQuarter

Hey!

I just found your journal; am loving it! I'm starting some liberty training with my mare so I expect this thread'll be really helpful for me!


I love your barn, btw. The people sound pretty cool.


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## Saranda

Thanks, always nice to read that we have managed to inspire someone.  
The barn was very nice, but we had to move a few weeks ago due to management issues and a rise in fees. I hope that one day all of that can be solved and we'll be able to return, maybe.


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## EstrellaandJericho

I absolutely love your journal!


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## Saranda

So, let's start with the updates! I left this journal quite a while ago and there are a few by now... 

Last August we participated in a clinic by Honza Blaha - it was a truly marvelous experience to get direct input by a world-class horseman! And Snicks was a star, as always - completely unphased to perform in an indoor, among unfamiliar horses, completely tackless. I had intended to ride in my hackamore and use a bareback pad and helmet, but all of that got locked away in a trailer just before the clinic, unfortunately, so I only had a halter for tack when needed.


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## Saranda

We also were invited to participate in the Riga festival - an annual festival, dedicated to our capital city. Together with the team of our barn, we prepared a show and Snicks got to perform not only tackless riding, but also color, symbol and picture recognition, as well as some painting! He was incredibly patient and did really good, considering the masses of spectators, the heat and some organization problems that made our preparations so much more difficult. Nonetheless, we had a great time and people seemed to enjoy the show!


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## Saranda

And then there's the movie career - once again, Snicks got to perform in an upcoming historical movie about the destiny of the last Baltic tribes.  Don't tell anyone, but we sneaked in our Orbitless bridle (totally historically inaccurate!) beneath his mask:



















Of course, I removed the glasses for the actual filming. Snicks proved again and again that he's one of the most trustworthy horses I know - the shooting of these particular scenes was done in an army polygon and there were rifle and artillery tests going on in the background all the time. He didn't even flinch an ear.


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## Saranda

Of course, it's not always adventures. Due to the fact that I had to part with my beloved Passier saddle because of it not fitting Snicks anymore, I rode bareback for almost a year. That really helped my balance and posture, and I worked on Snicks' skills with the help of Straightness Training as well: 




























He's always reminding me just to be happy.


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## Saranda

When the opportunity sprung up, I jumped at it, along with Snicks' brother and his owner - the boys were transported to our local horse vets and they spent the day there to donate blood to other horses in need. Snicks behavior was complimented upon and we got a chance to weigh the boys and learn how much exactly they weight - Snicks is a blooming 750kg/1654lbs!
It was also a great learning experience to get used to the environment of a hospital and some of the procedures.


----------



## Saranda

And then there was also learning to count:






And using this winter to finally get down with our driving training - Snicks performed fabulously!  We finished this season with a truly wonderful drive at all gaits on a crisp winters' day.


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## EstrellaandJericho

I love him learning to count! He keeps looking at the camera like "I did good, huh?"


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## EquineBovine

Just found this journal. Absolutely amazing! You and Snicks have a beautiful relationship and I love seeing how far you've come. You really have a wonderful horse and he is so lucky to have you!


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## Saranda

Haha, yeah, he's always looking for approval and performs best when there's a camera pointing at him - I swear, he understands what that means.  

And thanks, EB, that's just how I feel - so very lucky to have him in my life. He's truly one of a kind!

Speaking of having a camera pointed at him, I somehow forgot to tell about another movie shooting we had while I was away from the HF - this is also an upcoming historical about events during the WWI period in Latvia. Snicks performed in mass scenes with Latvian refugees, having to abandon their homes - he worked as a driving horse and pulled a cart full of household items and even geese that once broke out of their cage and flew right over his head! There were all sorts of farm animals all around us, and hundreds of people - it was a huge scene, but Snicks remained calm and collected, and even learned a few new behaviors on the spot when the director asked us if I could teach him something for an additional shot. 

Ready for the scene:










The geese. They made a horrible racket up there and I'm surprised how Snicks didn't pay any attention to them!










On another day on the set of this movie, he got to be the driving horse for German soldiers who, in the scene, used him to steal some hay, transport a couple of prisoners and accidentally killed a homeowner who just tried to protect her home. Oops! Luckily, they had Snicks and his companion mare to get away from that mess.  

A true Latvian Carriage horse, ready for action in a horrible makeshift harness (that's the best the inventory crew could get us, but we made it work) and with a beginner driver at the reins, whom I trained myself across the span of several weeks before the shooting.










On the set, in between scenes:










While scene was shot, Snicks had to stand fully harnessed, unheld, calm while there were people running about, screaming, shooting rifles, fighting and creating lots of noise and chaos. I was hiding behind a tent and praising him verbally whenever there was a moment. The other mare was tied to the carriage.










Tired after all the work, having a nap at liberty on the set:


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## Saranda

Up until last June we did a fair bit of jumping and even participated in an unaffiliated showjumping competition, our "biggest" class ever at that! Just baby jumps anyway, only 1.6'' - 2.6'', but it was fun anyway. Snicks went sloooow, but clear, and very soon after I understood what caused him to move so slowly. Of course, it was the saddle.  Although a seemingly professional saddle fitter with all the bells and whistles and certificates, accompanied by his girlfriend, who is an equine sports masseuse, swore to me that the saddle fits perfectly well and that I'm just being paranoid, I kept on being paranoid and search for a second and third opinion, until I found white hairs forming on poor Snicks' back.  

Never rode in that saddle again, discovered that the channel had become narrower due to rookie mistakes the aforementioned saddler had made (even got him to admit it, but he never could fix the damage that had been done) and finally sold it this autumn. Gave Snicks time off, got a good chiro from the UK to work on his back, and later on rode only bareback, as I couldn't find a saddle that would fit him. Almost full 9 months of riding without a saddle gave me one hell of a seat, at least!  

Jumping at home:



















Our competition run:






But losing the saddle didn't stop us, really.


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## EquineBovine

I'm such a sucker for a good bay. He looks stunning


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## Saranda

Aw, thanks! And to think of I didn't really want a bay when I first started thinking of getting a horse.  Now I can't think of a better one for me, and I LOVE his bay/brown awesomeness! 

As I've mentioned a few times now, I was left without a saddle for about 9 months, but lots of factors fell into place and I could finally get my very own treeless Ghost saddle, of which I had dreamed of for a long time! Snicks is a HUGE boy back-wise - he's very broad and with massive shoulders, but also his back is quite short and he doesn't have much of withers - this makes him surprisingly tricky to fit a saddle!

I had trialed an older Ghost before, and it covers it all - I could order a shorter model to fit the shortness of his back, and it molds to the shape of the horse perfectly. No more bridging, no more narrowness at the withers or the shoulder! Yay! I got it in the middle of February and the weather since then has been horrible, so I've been able to fit in only a few rides, but the first impressions are lovely and I can't wait until everything dries up and we get to ride again! 

Lots and lots of bareback riding did wonders to my balance, however, I can't wait to get myself back in a saddle, especially, for longer trail rides which I miss a LOT.


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## horseluvr2524

Snicks is truly amazing! I bet he would put a good number of those hollywood horses to shame. He's like one of those horses you read about in books and see portrayed in movies, but they are always too good to be true, and you never think a horse like that actually exists. He is one cool dude.


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## Saranda

It's true.  He's not a black Arab or a pure white PRE, or the other way round, and we're in rural Northen Europe, not the States, so he'll most likely be never noticed by the big movie industry, but he's one of the unique ones with the big personality, presence and air about them.  He IS too good to be true and I treat him like the mythological wonder that he is. And, under all of that, he's just a horse with horsey needs and worries, and we've had a fair share of troubles until I found a way to communicate with him even when he's stressed. 

He's by no means an easy horse. By no means a beginners' horse or a schoolmaster - but he's perfect.


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## Cherrij

He really is perfect and great. And I love the the fact, that I see him as often as my own horse for the past 6 months!


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## Saranda

Okay, I'm finally ready to update.

I truly hate to change barns. I truly do.

For two happy years everything was perfect - lessons, trail rides, pastures, management. Unfortunately. the landowner raised the wage of the property and that affected my ability to pay for the monthly board. To top it off, the quality of service did not increase, but I had to pay more for standard board feed, among other things. 

I finally decided to move to the yard where I used to keep Snicks right after I bought him. More than 70 acres of land for grazing, natural watering, and the horses seem perfectly happy. Right now, Snicks is thriving and I'll give a more thorough review when a bit of time has passed.


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## Saranda

Finally got to uploading some pictures. The moving itself was a bit eventful - Snicks was lead along with his brother in hand, as the new barn was just about 10 miles away, and around the middle of the distance he decided that he had had enough of this strange trail walk and dragged me across a small field. Oooops! Fortunately, he responded to my recall, as soon as I remembered to use it, stopped and after that I paid EXTRA attention to his focus on me.

Fortunately, the nearer we got to the barn, which he previously knew, the more he remembered his past hunting grounds and was quite eager to reach the finish line.

Both him and his brother were stabled in a big close-able field shelter overnight for these few weeks to help with the herd dynamics (the herd is quite small and shut-in, so now welcoming strangers readily), but now spring has finally sprung and they are slowly being introduced to the pasture season. All in all, Snicks seems to be taking the changes well - he knows how to persist on his rights, get access to the main feeder and is making friends to the herd, some of which he already knows from the past.

We've gone on a few trail rides and have finally started riding more in the saddle, which proved that I've become terribly out of shape over this winter, during which I barely got any riding time! Nothing to fear about, though, as now I'll have plenty of opportunities.  

The first days. The dun mare is the pony a backed a few years ago and she was sold later on to a friend - the very same who is our YO right now. 










Maybe I should have renamed Snicks "Sleypnir" after all?!










The brothers:










My little magical mare, Magic, now renamed Melon. I've got the opportunity to work with her again and I can't wait 










Snicks just being extremely cute and proud about remembering the trick of standing on a tire with all fours.


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## Saranda

Finally got the pictures to tell the tale! About a week after moving to our new, but familiar barn, Snicks was visited by an equine dentistry professional. He's not our usual guy, but I was offered to sign up Snicks for this opportunity and it was time to do his teeth anyway. He's a certified practitioner of Natural Balance Dentistry - here's his homepage, if anyones' interested and based in Europe - http://www.depaardentandarts.info/wordpress/2017/02/01/natural-balance-dentistry/

Let me tell, the fee was quite higher than I normally pay for a dental for Snicks, but I think it was totally worth it. Firstly, there was no need for sedation as the dentist did everything so professionally, with such calmness and horse handling skills, that Snicks was totally relaxed and trusting him within seconds. 

Secondly, not only Snicks was not sedated, but he could freely move around our big shelter and he was not tied or held - just given time to understand and to cope with the sensations, praised and scratched a lot, and, whenever the dentist wasn't actively working on Snicks' molars, he instantly closed the speculum to let Snicks rest. 

Third, he worked not only on the molars, but also on the front teeth - done with calmness and no speculum!, and I got to participate in every step of the way, telling about Snicks and getting to touch the before-and-after situation. It seems that our usual vet just rasped off the outer parts of the molars to get rid of the sharp points, but the insides were a hugely overgrown, ridged, unbalanced mess! Poor Snicks, bless him.  

Oh, and to top it off, the dentist gave Snicks a bit of chiro work to help release his poll and jaw tension.

Here's some pictures to appreciate the process: 

Doing front teeth 










Doing molars while Snicks just stood there and enjoyed being praised.


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## Saranda

Today, I was dead set to drive Snicks. Yes, it took forever to set up the harness. Yes, the shafts of the particular cart turned out to be too short for my huge boy and there were technical issues. Yes, we had to re-harness Snicks several times, although he remained mostly patient - wonderfully patient! - the whole time and just got a little bitey towards the end. 

In the end, nobody sat in the carriage and Snicks just followed me at liberty into the woods, all harnessed up, while our BO followed us from the behind and controlled the situation with the harnessing. She was SO in awe about how skillfully Snicks took the turns all on his own, how he at all times stayed precisely in the middle of the road and how calm he was, although night was setting in and there were horses calling out in the paddock - which he could hear - that she offered us to use her marathon carriage next time we're driving! Yay, I'm so excited! Hopefully, it happens this weekend.  

Sorry about how scruffy Snicks looks, but it's the shedding season and I just pulled him out of mud, so just cleaned the essential parts where the tack goes on. 

Bitless, as always - of course!










The full set-up -


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## Cherrij

The most dangerous thing - not holding a horse in a carriage! He could run off and injure himself!

He did wonderful with all the slow tacking up and us being clumsy


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## Saranda

It's happened so that Snicks herd now includes three members of the same family - Snicks and Grand have the same sire, Sultan, and there's a mare whose sire is sired by the very same Sultan. So, Snicks and Grand can take care of their niece!  

As the mares' owner is a good friend and currently cannot spend as much time with her horses as she'd like, we agreed upon me giving the mare some work and company at least once a week, or more, if I can manage to. The mare's...a mare, and ginger, none the less - a combination I wouldn't go for myself willingly! However, she's the sweetest thing and a truly lovely character.

Her name's Oga, but I'll just refer to her as Berry here, as that's a direct translation. 

So, knowing that Berry is trained to be ponied, I had the bright idea to pony two horses at once and it turned out to be a family adventure, as I had taken Grand out of pastures to clean his hoof and was a bit too short in time to bring him back to the pastures and then go riding. Of course, the obvious choice then is to take both horses along! 

As uncontrolled as it sounds, everything went very well and my "ponies" were lovely. Snicks steered mostly off my seat and leg cues, the reins just lying on his withers, so I could concentrate on the horses I lead, and I had to jump off only a few times to retrieve a lost whip or to untangle horses who had managed to get twisted in their long leads. Although I'll probably pony just a single horse in the future, as this was a bit too complicated at times, there were no accidents and it was a great experience for the horses and myself. 

Here's a couple of extremely blurry photos to tell the tale:


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## knightrider

Amazing that you could take pictures while ponying two horses!

Years ago, I worked at a riding camp and one of my jobs was to bring in the horses in the morning. I was supposed to catch 4 of them, ride one bareback with the halter, and pony 3 of them. I did not enjoy that part of the job. It was very hard.


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## Saranda

The most I've done in this area was riding Snicks while I ponied 5 or 6 (sorry, don't remember the exact number) horses out of the pastures as I was hellbent on saving time while I brought the lot over for farrier. That was in our previous barn. Snicks followed my vocal & seat cues while I had two horses in one hand and the rest in the other - the leader lead directly,the rest tied in a train car fashion by their halters. We even trotted.  However, I did it only because I knew all the horses really well, their hierarchy and how similarly they all were trained.


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## Saranda

Wow, Sunday was full of events!

Snicks and I are attending a mounted archery clinic in the middle of May, and a very good friend, who is also an unmounted archer and one of Snicks first riders, will be participating too. As her own horse is too green to be taken to this clinic, she'll be riding Snicks, so she visited us to practice with him. She hadn't ridden in a while so there were some lumps and bumps in their communication, but overall Snicks behaved impeccably. I sat on him for a few strides after her just to check his steering and responsiveness, but he responded to my cues instantly, so no problem there. 

Later on we had a group Straightness training session with the good people from the barn - the second one already and how exciting and motivating! I feel a bit out of my league to be teaching others in a field where I'm no expert myself yet, but the premise of these sessions is "sharing knowledge", I feel quite certain in my basics and Grands' owner is helping me out, too, so, hopefully, we will all grow together. 

And, as there were so many people around, we jumped at the opportunity and moved the whole herd to their spring pastures together. Some were lead in-hand, some were ridden and some were ponied - I ponied Berry off Snicks and both were just lovely. And, when we arrived (after 3 kilometers or so), the horses were more than excited to check out their new surroundings and munch on the first grass after this long and wet winter. Snicks was definitely over the Moon to explore new grounds and was the first to dive in head first into a huge puddle and exit wet from head to toes! It was so nice to see the horses so happy and even nicer to crack open a cold beer and just roam the pastures with the herd. 

Snicks demonstrating lateral flexion in-hand, standing - 










Snicks demonstrating shoulder-in. Could always be better, but we haven't had much chance to practice since the surfaces dried up - 










Pasture bliss - 










Houston, we've got a mini! WE'VE GOT A MINI!










The brothers will be gorgeous in a double carriage one day - 










Snicks having a meditation after drenching himself in a puddle -


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## EquineBovine

love that last one  wow


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## Saranda

Thanks!  All credit for this last set of wonderful photos goes to our fellow forumer, Cherrij.


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## Saranda

Got to visit Snicks this Wednesday briefly. Our current yard is registered as a union which means it may apply to state/European funding for educational/social/etc. projects, and it has carried out a few projects successfully already, so the yard owner was interviewed for a startup success story magazine and needed a bunch of her liveries to participate in the photoshoot and, partially, the interview. 

As some of the photos were done in the field, I sneaked in a chance to give some treats to Snicks, scratch all his itchy spots and ask for a few tricks. He seemed very content to be subjected to such workload.  And I was extremely content to see him trot/canter across the huge field to my call. Nothing warms my heart more than to see my horse loving to see me. <3


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## Saranda

Had an eventful weekend, so will tell about each day separately - wouldn't want to flood you with too much text!  

Saturday was sunny, windy and quite warm. Arrived to discover that, unfortunately, the midges are out and Snicks sheath was a bit swollen because of their bites. Fortunately, riding and some soothing ointment took the swelling down, but that reminded me to get more fly repellents for the horses soon. 

As we had good company, I decided this would be a great evening to try out our summer riding arena, which is basically a big, unfenced field with trimmed grass footing. 

Snicks got a bit speedy in our warm-up canter and spooked once because apparently there was a dragon lurking behind a pile of branches, but otherwise he was very good and let me tell you, it feels great to be back in the saddle and working on Snicks' and my own fitness! I feel like a major flop after not having had a formal lesson for such a long time, and having only recently returned to riding with a saddle, but that will surely improve soon. Definitely have to work on my hands!!!

My lovely Ghost saddle is tipping forwards a bit due to Snicks being a tad undermuscled after winter and his conformation, and my stirrup straps are too long, but I'm expecting a seat front riser for the saddle, some shoulder shims for the pad and pony-sized stirrup straps for myself any day in the mail now!

And later - a gorgeous sunset in the fields with the herd. That was truly a lovely way to spend a Saturday evening!

Wheee, a good canter around a grassy field is my best friend!





























Some decent Snicks-action at the trot. Working on improving his balance and self carriage. Tell me what you think! :





















Evening portraits <3 :



















And finally, a barn cat that supposedly doesn't let anyone to ever touch her, with an exception of the BO's elderly grandmother. We must have something in common, I think.


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## Saranda

Sunday update! 

The first part of the day was dedicated to a barn event in which most of the boarders participated in clearing out some overgrown parts of the pastures so that they can get harrowed and re-seeded later on. I managed to sneak in a little chat with Snicks, though, and a fellow boarder caught us on camera.  










Then there was a lot to do for about 5 hours and I volunteered to work with a machete, cutting down branches and clearing out thick undergrowth. It was actually a lot of fun and my swordfighting muscles came into good use, so I didn't tire at all.  

This beautiful, old willow, that's quite enormous and possibly more than 100 years of age, was completely overtaken by an equally big bird cherry-tree. With the help of my trusty machete, a trimmer and a few friends, we set it free -










Later I took Snicks and two teenagers on two other horses and we rode to the barns' winter base, where a party of kayakers had arrived to celebrate the opening of a new boat mooring on the banks of our local river. The YO met us there and together with me she told our visitors some tidbits about keeping and caring for horses, and we showed a few tricks. Everybody seemed to enjoy the show and, when they left, we had a picnic, which was undeniably quite nice. 

Snicks performing his "sit" for the visitors, who were left outside of the framing:










When the evening was nearing to an end, not only we had three horses to lead or ride back to our summer base, but also the YO wanted to get her marathon carriage down there. Her mare is a good driving horse and normally she'd do it, but this time we decided that it's time for Snicks to be hitched to this carriage. After all, he's pulled right about anything, except this type of carts, and the plan is to progress him in driving during this summer, so I jumped at the opportunity.

Together with the YO we harnessed him in the breastcollar harness, hitched him up to the cart and, after making sure on foot that he's completely okay with the new rig, we hopped in and drove ~1,5 miles down to our summer base. His behavior was stellar - Snicks remained calm all the way, his steering and breaks were excellent, he was okay with driving over a bridge, letting cars pass and putting a lot of hones effort to pull the carriage through a wet spot in a field, where the road was unexpectedly destroyed by deep mud and we couldn't go through there anymore. He had only one tiny little spook when a flock of waterbirds suddenly flew out of a ditch, but all he did was trot a pace and then stop. We finished the drive by parking the cart perfectly and precisely in a designated spot. What a golden horse he is, I appreciate his big heart so much!

Harnessing and hitching up:










First steps with this particular cart:










And away we go!










As always, he was driven bitless and blinkerless, and along the way the YO helped me out with some advice about rein holding and contact in specifically driving. I'm very, very proud with Snicks and, hopefully, we'll soon be driving figures in the arena.  

I've got a couple of very short videos from this driving session which I'll post when I'll find the best option of how to technically do it.


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## Saranda

Oh well, nothing better than posting a video on youtube has been invented, so...






To translate the encouragement phrases I'm saying to Snicks - "You can do it, you can do it! Pull! Yes! You can do it! Pull!" And that was enough. Free rein, no whip, just vocal encouragement and strong partnership. 

I was lucky to visit him yesterday as well and managed to squeeze in a ride. Worked on relaxation and forwardness, especially at the walk and the trot, and worked on downwards gait transitions through half halts to maintain balance and impulsion. We did that on a large circle and there was one particular canter-trot transition that felt like heaven! I used to think that dressage is horribly boring and complicated... Since I learned of Straightness training I can't wait to do some more, because it's just so exciting to see your horse go better and better, and by far exceed the potential anyone expected from him!


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## Saranda

Last Saturday I rode Snicks and had my Ghost saddle fitted with a front riser pad - that helped immensely and stopped me tipping forwards! Now just to receive my shorter stirrups, hopefully, next week.  I had eyes from the ground and got good help with my hands while working on gait transitions and the trot. I'm very happy to see that Snicks trot-canter-trot transitions have become so much better than in our rather recent past and that he's ready to carry himself and be very responsive to aids during them.

I had time, so did a bit of ground work with Berry. She's a fantastic mare - she's been out of work, so a bit undermuscled, but so, SO eager to work and to communicate! She's been basically just living in a field for the several previous years, but the work of her first handler can be clearly seen and I had lots of fun discovering her "buttons". I just hope we'll get to spend enough time together so that we can start riding as well.

Testing the trot:










Testing the canter. She was a bit unbalanced which caused some resistance, but, as soon as she got over it, she did wonderfully:










Trotting together:










Teaching the lateral flexion from a standstill:


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## Saranda

Sunday - Snicks' day! And also a barn party, which was punk-themed this time, so excuse my bright blue hair.  It fit me so well, though, that I'm considering to keep this shade for a while. 

There were a few fun relay races that involved horses, so I had to bring Snicks and the herds' lead mare over to our winter base, which is closer to the BO's house. To make everything even more complicated, it was decided that I drive Snicks over and I had hoped that there would be somebody to help me lead the mare - but there wasn't, so I just brought both of them together.  

No fuss, though, as both of them behaved lovely and we had no problems encountering a few passing cars etc.

Later on, we had to do the same route backwards to the pastures, only the BO was ponying her mare from our rig, so it was a bit easier on me. Snicks did fabulously and we had a good trot over two short distances. He's proving himself to be a fantastic driving horse!

Driving to the winter base:










All rigged up and ready to go - bitless, blinkerless, barefoot, whipless etc. So proud of my boy! Excuse the muddy legs, we had too much fun to really care for a bit of mud on his feathers - hurt noone and never affected any kind of effectivity.  



















The herd was quite happy to see their members return:


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## Saranda

One of our nationally most respected dressage trainers comes to our barn to give individual lessons on Wednesday mornings and, although normally this would be unavailable for me as I work standard working hours, I'm on a vacation now, so I definitely wanted to use this opportunity! The trainer is also amateur-friendly and I had trained with her a few years ago, when Snicks and I were both still much greener.

And it went great! As I'll be able to have just a couple more lessons until my vacation runs out, I wanted a general outlook and tips on my seat. Of course, it was nice to hear the trainer tell me that Snicks and I have grown in our skills tremendously since she last saw us (she compared Snicks to have been an "un-steerable buffalo" those years ago, and now - "a nice, solid riding horse"  ), but, obviously, I have a lot of room to grow and I really needed those eyes from the ground.

First thing the trainer noticed was that I'm putting too much weight in my right stirrup even when turning left, so it naturally becomes harder for Snicks to turn and bend left, and I myself turn with crooked shoulders and torso - not dramatically, but enough to make a difference for the horse. So she had me ride smaller and larger circles to the left while putting more weight in my left stirrup and turning my whole upper part of the body in a bit of an exaggerated manner to the left. After a few such circles I felt more supple and balanced to this side and could sit more quietly, yet symmetrically. 

We also worked on more effective and quiet leg aids, avoiding unintentional leg movement that nags Snicks and makes him duller to my leg. That helped him gain more impulsion and keeping a steady, active rhythm on his own. 

I was suggested an exercise for leg steadiness and balance, that can be practiced a lot on the trails, not only in the arena - riding 3 tempi at the trot or the canter in half seat, 1 tempo in light seat - the combinations may differ, for example, 1 tempo in half seat, 3 in light to make it even harder. The main thing to look out for me is to think of my lower leg staying slightly forwards (in the half seat), still and steady, my heel sinking down and the upper part of my body moving in balance with the position of my leg.

Finally, at the canter, I got complimented on Snicks' walk-canter transition to the right, but had work to do to the left, as expected. Again, we worked on straightening my asymmetry, I had to be reminded to lean a bit backwards and relax my hips (was leaning too much forwards, which caused my hips to stiffen and close) and I trained to wait for the right phase in the walk to cue for a more balanced canter.

Snicks was golden all through this lesson and I can't wait for the next one!

Yesterday I went to the barn in high hopes of riding Snicks and practicing everything we did in the lesson again, but the weather was very unpredictable - sunny one moment, a thunderstorm the other. So, instead, I worked Snicks and both of "my" mares from the ground.

I started off with Magic. She's pregnant and it's starting to show, so we just did some light ST exercises - stretching her back and doing lateral flexion from a standstill, lateral flexion and stepping under the point of her balance on a circle, a bit of walk-trot transitions on a large circle and a bit of trust/following exercises at liberty. She did very well and after that I took her hand grazing in a small growth of pine trees - she tends to get a bit nervous there as she can't see the herd or the field from there, so we just chilled in there, allowing her to associate this place with nice, lush grass and a grazing break. 

No monsters in the pine growth!










My golden pony is expecting her own little pony, and it's starting to show!










Then it was Berry's turn. She was full of beans and only wanted to run, run, run! But, as right now she's very unfit, obviously, so much running will have to be built gradually. So, much to her disappointment, we worked on a relaxed, stretchy walk on a large circle, stopping and changing directions whenever she tried to start trotting on her own. When I finally asked for a trot, she was immediately slowed to a walk if she tried rushing and zooming about with her head high. 

When I decided to ask for a canter, she, as could be expected, was a bit too eager, so only after several canter-trot transitions it started looking more balanced physically and mentally. There was an overturned barrel in the riding field, so when I pointed her at it once, she jumped it immediately and eagerly, although without much grace. 

We concluded our session with ST basics and the same trust/following exercises as with Magic. Then it started to rain heavily and suddenly, so I had to let her go with the herd and took a break in the tackroom myself.

When the skies cleared after a while, I took my chance to work with Snicks. Although I really wanted to ride, I decided some groundwork would do us good, as I hadn't done that with him for a while. Seems that Snicks had the same thing in mind, as he was absolutely lovely and responsive in all aspects of what we did, and full of energy to do some trot-canter transitions on the lunge. I used this opportunity to reward him heavily for jumping that overturned barrel, as usually he's not interested in jumping smaller/narrower jumps.

We had been doing some shoulder control exercises at the walk, when a thunderstorm started with some expressive lightnings nearby. As we were in the middle of a large, flat, treeless field, I decided to run for the pine growth I had taken Magic to graze as the safest and closest spot in the vicinity. Snicks was quite content to munch on the grass there as we hid from the storm, and, when it passed, I just let him graze some more and enjoyed the calm and quiet moments with him. 

Snicks under stormy skies after the thunderstorm.


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## Saranda

What a weekend!

Starting Friday, I spent two days at a horse driving clinic by Gerard Leijten, who is an internationally renowned FEI driver and driving coach from the Netherlands. Normally, the clinic fees would be sky high, but thanks to European Union funding and international cooperation projects, this time it was free for spectators! My BO and me packed our bags and went there straight away. And, although it almost didn't happen due to transportation misfortunes, the BO managed to bring her driving mare and sign her up to participate with a junior driver from the driving barn which trained her mare to drive!

It was intense, extremely educational and even more so valuable. I loved every minute of it and took all the notes I could. Our mare did super well and received many compliments from Gerard and then an unbelievable chance sprung upon me: 

One of our national top drivers had somehow been left without her translator and doesn't know a word in English herself! My BO, knowing that I'm fluent in English, pushed me in front of the bus, exclaiming that I'm a translator! Next thing I know...I'm in the carriage of one of our own top drivers, side to side with a world class driving coach, translating his instructions and conversations, asking questions and observing every second of their work. It was an hour, but it felt like less than 10 minutes! I even got to watch him drive. I can't even start describing how exciting it was and what a unique chance for an amateur like myself!

Here's a photo proof to show that it happened.  I'm in the khaki coat, the trainer is hiding behind the driver.










Unfortunately, the carriage driver community in Latvia is small and backwards thinking. Everyone tends to stick in their own back yards and scowls at anyone who dares to learn and use anything new and radical....like, let's say, basic dressage principles, not force and intimidation! Hopefully, this will change in time, but, for now, there were only a handful attendants at this unique (in our neck of the woods) clinic. 

Today the barn turned into fairgrounds for a small, traditional and pagan celebration of the day of our god of the Sun, horses and bees. Local families and children were invited, there were several activities, singing, dancing and games, and, finally, the horses showed some tricks. This part was covered by the BO's mare and herself, Snicks and me. At first, we showed some of our basic tricks, playing around with the concept of how hard the horses are worked. For example, we asked them to canter up to a tiny jump, but subtly asked them to stop right in front of it - so they did. Then they stopped at a cavaletti, and even started to paw at it, until it fell on the ground. Then they stopped at a ground pole - it was still too high to jump! Then Snicks fell to the ground, grunted, and no pushing or pulling would get him up. The kids loved it.  Finally, bot horses were coerced to get up, jump the pole and finally Snicks amazed everyone with his color and symbol discrimination skills. 

Getting ready for our little show:










Proud Snicks doing his Spanish walk:











And, of course, rearing. 










Too lazy to get up. Not even pulling on his hind leg helps!










The front leg is no use, too.










Finally, he agrees to jump this extremely high obstacle!  










Recognizing letters:










Recognizing his own picture:










By an accident, somebody in the audience was dressed perfectly for this task, so I called the spectator over and asked Snicks to show what color her clothes are!

What color is her shirt? 










That's right!


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## Saranda

What color is her pants? 










Right again!










Finally Snicks got his feet trimmed and got to relax in one of the nice ponds in their pastures. Fortunately, the midges are gone for now, but I killed two horseflies today already, so I'm a bit anxious of what the summer is going to bring.


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## knightrider

Love your amazing horse and everything he does . . . and all the amazing things you teach him!

Here is a stupid question, but I have long wondered this: Do the horses have Latvian names which you translate into English? I wouldn't think they would all have English names like Berry, Magic, Snickers, and Grand.


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## EquineBovine

That's one smarty pants horse!


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## tinyliny

this is just so fabulous!! you being translator, and up front with the master driver. And your mini 'Circus'! you have accomplished so much, and yet you are still so young. Imagine how far you can go!


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## Saranda

knightrider said:


> Love your amazing horse and everything he does . . . and all the amazing things you teach him!
> 
> Here is a stupid question, but I have long wondered this: Do the horses have Latvian names which you translate into English? I wouldn't think they would all have English names like Berry, Magic, Snickers, and Grand.


Thank you! inkunicorn: And not a stupid question at all! In Latvia, although some owners do give their foals English or at least internationally translatable names, especially, if they have good jumping/dressage breeding and might be sold overseas, as many horses are called (or their barn names) are purely Latvian, or at least the ending of the name indicates the gender of the horse. For example, names ending with "S" in most cases will belong to males, and with "A" or "E" - to females. Often, if the horse has an English name, he'll get a Latvian barn name.

Coincidentally, Snickers really IS Snickers, and is called so in our everyday life, only, if written, the spelling in Latvian is a bit different - Snikers. He's got some untranslatable nicknames too, derived from his name. And Grand really IS Grand, even the spelling in his passport is the same, but in our everyday speech we often add an "S'' at the end - Grands, when speaking about him, because that's just how our language works. 

In case of Magic and Berry, it's the power of translation, just so that y'all have easier time reading these names - Oga and Maģija, or, let's say, Draiskulis and Susurs, two other horses from our herd, might not stick in your minds as well.


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## Saranda

Yesterday was hot and swarmed with mosquitoes. I talked Grands' owner into driving our horses, but, to do that, we had to get them down to our summer base. Snicks neighed all the way down and acted VERY herd bound (uncharacteristic for him!) for at least half an hour in the paddock where I set him free - he went galloping and screaming and bucking all the way along!

Meanwhile we tacked up Grand and he was driven at a walk in the safe distance of the lunge line that was attached to him. It was his first time - to be driven in a bowless harness in an open field - and he did really good, considering that his brother was losing his wits in the nearby field at the same time.

While we worked with Grand, Snicks slowly ran his steam out and I felt more or less safe to work with him. When we tacked him up, he was at first driven by a lunge line, considering it was his first time being driven in an open field, but, once the line came off, he was golden. We have to work on his impulsion and contact, but overall, I'm very happy and proud about his first time in the field. Attending a driving competition now seems more and more realistic.  

Here he is, doing what we did:






After the session in the field, Snicks pulled the carriage to our main base, where he was worried about the rest of the herd missing - they were away in the pastures, grazing. Once I fed him his apples and carrots, and set him loose in the paddock, he took off in a canter and sped off to his buddies. Apparently, this herd is VERY important to him!

Once we were done with Grand, I just


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## tinyliny

those are like a racing carriage, no? how much can the horse pull, in weight? it looks like the 'collar' is very lightweight, so it would limit how much they can pull.


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## Cherrij

tinyliny said:


> those are like a racing carriage, no? how much can the horse pull, in weight? it looks like the 'collar' is very lightweight, so it would limit how much they can pull.


We call this the marathon carriage - meant for a few types of driving competitions - dressage and marathon and cones. usually only 2 people sit in it. But some marathon competitions include crazy speeds and turns! :O 

For heavy weights we would probably use the old time bow harness where the collar and the bow distribute the weight and can pull more. 

But the amount the horse can pull depends on his strength and stamina, however this carriage is quite light, as we could move it around, just the two of us, quite easily!


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## Saranda

To add, professional marathon carriages are built a little different and more steerable in sharp turns and high speeds. This one is considered more suitable for general training, dressage driving and cones. Not racing, though.  In case of this harness, the main pulling power comes from the horses' back - the shafts are attached to the saddle (surcingle), whereas the breast collar is attached to traces that control the steering of front wheels.

Snicks has pulled 4 people in this carriage at a trot and didn't even break into sweat.


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## Saranda

Got another lesson with my fave dressage trainer yesterday, but right before that I got a stark reminder about tying safety. 

I had tied Snicks to our hitching post with a quick release knot, and went for my saddle. However, I did the mistake of tying the rope not directly to the post, but to a loop of safety rope that is supposed to break if a horse panics. But Snicks NEVER does that, right? 

As I came back, I saw that he's managed to pull his rope looser to get to some grass nearby (yeah, he's talented like that and unties himself all the time...). Just a second later, before I managed to put the saddle down and run to him, he started turning around, got his hind leg caught in the rope around the fetlock and panicked. Even though he's been well trained to stay calm with ropes around his legs and wait for help, THIS time, for some reason, he panicked. As he was crashing around, I was unable to untie the quick release knot as he had somehow managed to pull it too tightly around the damned "safety" rope, and he also managed to crash against me, the fence and the hitching post - all of us miraculously survived. Everything happened just in a matter of seconds, and I finally managed to grab his halter and pull it entirely off his head. NONE of the ropes or tack broke, although they should have. 

It sure got my adrenaline rushing, but, fortunately, we only got a fright and Snicks got a bit of rope burn around his fetlock. No blood, no cuts, no lameness, which is a huge relief, as it could have turned out much, much worse. I went for a knife and cut off the tying rope from the post right away. Phew! I call myself lucky as I got only a few minor bruises out of this accident. 

As Snicks calmed down the instant his halter was off and his legs were okay, we could proceed with the lesson. Our trainer had me continue working on improving my symmetry, relaxation, leg and seat aids. 

* As I have a bad habit to look down at the horses' shoulder, she had me riding circles with my body aligned with the turn, but my head looking in the opposite direction. When the circles were okay, she had me riding down the long sides of the arena with my eyes closed and doing a 3 tempi in half seat - 1 tempo in full seat routine. 

* We practiced lots and lots of transitions to improve Snicks' lightness to my leg and I had to count along the rhythm of every gait, slowing it down for every downwards transition to prepare Snicks for them better.

* Half-seat at the trot and the canter down the long sides of the arena and full seat in circles at the ends of arena, either in sitting trot or in full-seat canter. During this exercise I had to work on releasing my pelvis and lower back and leaning back a little, as I've gotten into the habit of leaning forwards too much. 

* I was also reminded not to be afraid to take up my reins for a better contact and to remember to use my outer rein, which is often hanging. I also got to play with a lighter rein transitioning to a more definite contact and then releasing again through half halts and gait transitions. Snicks seemed to like having clearer signals and half halts really helped him tuck his hind legs under and round his back eventually. 

* We finished off with shoulder-in along the fence of the long side of the arena, going into the shoulder-in from a good lateral bending in a circle. I was reminded to give clear and rhythmic signals with my inside leg for impulsion and direction, and my outside rein for straightness and shoulder control.

Overall, an excellent lesson!

After I had untacked, groomed and fed some carrots to Snicks, set him loose in the paddock, cleaned my tack and put everything away, I decided to go and take a final look at the horses before I went home for the day. Good thing that I did, because the Brothers, apparently, cannot stay out of adventures!

There's a lower part in their current paddock, which, in springs, is flooded by the nearby river. During summer, it dries out, but after the annual flooding it is still quite muddy. The regulars (horses) know it and don't go there, but the brothers went exploring, as there's rich, green grass growing all over the patch...

Next thing I see, both of them and another gelding get stuck into deep, sucking mud, fall on their knees, go over each other, plough through the mess and finally, after a few scary seconds, all are back onto firm ground and in safety - all except Grand, who had his hind legs stuck, fell down on his side and seemingly gave up. I yelled for the BO to come and help and ran down to Grand. The treacherous ground there was firm enough for a human to walk, but not enough for a horse... Luckily, Grand wasn't even stuck that deep, just scared and had to have his hind legs dug out, but, once we did that, with a little encouragement he broke free and ran off. His first few steps were a little lame, but I watched the herd trot away and all the three horses involved seemed fine. I followed them up in the higher fields and watched them walk about, as well as took a look at their legs, and at least outwardly everything seemed fine. Good thing I happened to be near when that happened!! 

Hopefully, they got their dose of adventure and will now stay out of trouble for a LONG time!


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## Saranda

Visited Snicks and the herd this Friday. First I understood I hadn't really gone on proper solo trail rides with Snicks since we moved, so Friday had to be the day. Snicks was a bit nervous about leaving the herd and acted quite tense for the first third of our walk, but lots of canter actually helped him to concentrate and also to give a good use to his excessive energy, so, when we went homewards, he was as calm as he could be. Hid did do a few small spooks, but nothing major and it was a good session for me - to ride a tense horse and to calm him down along the ride in the woods.

Then it was Berry's turn. We worked on the ground with flexibility and contact and even started to do lateral flexion against the fence at a walk, but then a huge inspiration hit me and I leaned over her back. She didn't mind. I put a leg over. She didn't mind. So I rode! No saddle and a single rein on a rope halter, but we rode in the arena for approximately 10 minutes. Totally not a lot of time, but please consider that's she's been out of work for more than a year and is brought into it slowly!

Her training beforehand included riding in all gaits and good steering, but, as I said, she's not been ridden for more than a year since then. Something could change, making everything a lot more different for the horse and the rider.

This weekend was very adventurous for Snicks - you'll see as soon as I get somebody to upload the pics!


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## Saranda

Alright, I got the pics so no need to hold the story back anymore!

Last weekend I participated in a mounted archery clinic by a Finnish archer Katariina Cozmei. The first day of the clinic was dedicated for training the basic skills from the ground, and only on the second day any riding was involved.

So, on the second day, Snicks and one of his buddies, who had participated in the last years' clinic, arrived. Snicks has visited this particular barn on other events, so he immediately felt quite at home at their guest paddock. Arriving on time turned out to be a bit challenging, as, overnight, the herd had escaped and had to be found in nearby fields, which stunted getting Snicks and his buddy on the trailer a bit, but we did it nonetheless.

During the clinic Snicks was awesome! Being exposed to a new stimulus like all the sounds shooting a bow can make made no difference to him, and actually the only problem appeared to be that he's just TOO confident and brave - which caused him to start napping in our short breaks and loose impulsion when we actually needed to move.

Nonetheless, he was calm, confident and that helped his more nervous buddy to stay calm during the day, which was a huge bonus, and I am nonetheless very proud with him!

And, which is no less important - I am now deadlier than ever, as I managed to score my first hit at a canter. Great feeling! 

Training at a walk. Snicks nearly falling asleep from boredom.










Cantering - 



















My very first hit at a canter. So cool!


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## ChasingDreams

So cool! Way to go snickers, he looks like a pro! And my horse spooked at the mounting block today [emoji23] I’d love to try this....someday 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dragoon

That is way cool!! I soo want to do this!

How nice it is that you have a horse you can do fun things with! That won't kill you by spooking!
Did even the nervous horses get used to the sound of the bow?


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## Saranda

Yes, they did! It's all a matter of patient training. With a horse who is new to this sport, you mostly start on the ground and slowly introduce him to all the equipment and the sounds it makes. The next step is mounting the horse and having someone to expose you both to the moves and sounds from the ground, then comes doing it yourself mounted, at a standstill, and then you slowly add gaits one by one, only when the horse is truly calm during the first steps. For many horses the scariest thing is not the sound of releasing an arrow, but the sound of it hitting the target, so with green/spooky horses the initial training is done by shooting at the ground!

There were a couple of nervous horses in the clinic - one of them could already do canter work at the end of the day, and the other progressed to the trot. 

As the clinician explained, the best horses for mounted archery are brave, bold, and with perfect speed control within gaits. They have to know how to be steered by seat/legs alone and to be ridden without reins in the track. Responsiveness to vocal cues is also a big plus.


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## horseluvr2524

How cool! What fun. I'd love to try mounted archery someday. But I need to learn to shoot first. And I think I also would need a different horse. My mare fits all the requirements, EXCEPT she can be very bull headed and get in a mood where she listens only when she wants to. Which would be fine if she respected barriers on a run like the poles laid out or string, etc. But she doesn't, she would just bulldoze right over them.

I love her to pieces, but I'm very glad she makes a good kids horse. Once our little baby is old enough to start riding independently, I'll be looking for a second horse for me. Something like an OTTB, although I'm also VERY partial to the many haflingers in my area.

I just need a horse like Snicks. Does he have a sibling you could ship over to me? :wink: Those Latvian horses, from what I've seen, are extremely good tempered, nice horses. I like them a lot.


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## Saranda

Snicks has MANY siblings! His sire was not long ago one of the most popular driving studs in Latvia and sired over 60 foals, Snicks being one of them.  A good Latvian Warmblood is worth its weight in gold - sensible, bold, extremely intelligent, reasonably athletic, good tempered and ready to do whatever you want, as long as you're ready to listen to the horse. They CAN be quite stubborn if treated with force - the Latvians do not suffer fools!


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## Saranda

We've been doing this and that. Some lovely, FAST trail rides, some jumping, some slower and relaxing trail rides, some awesome liberty and straightness training (our first shoulder-in at the trot, yay!) and, unfortunately, the horsefly season is also here and it's been much too hot and dry lately. Luckily, we had some rain a few days ago and the temperatures are now milder!

The BO got herself a new colt, who is still ungelded, so Berry went for a vacation to a friends' barn until he gets snipped a couple of months later, but that's okay as I've still got horses to work with. 



Pictures incoming a short while later.  Meanwhile, a terribly blurry video of canter, canter-trot-canter transitions and changing the size of a circle at liberty - a lovely gift from Snicks to me!


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## Saranda

As I mentioned, we had some rain a few days ago, so my friend and I went to visit our horses and, hopefully, ride in the arena a bit. Unfortunately, after the rain, the drought had continued, so the upper surface of the arena was, again, mega dusty. 



We tried riding, but I didn't manage to do anything more than to put Snicks through his paces and jump a tiny jump a couple of times. Snicks was lovely, but I was distracted by all the dust and it seemed unfair to ask him stretch long & low - that would make him inhale even more dust. When both Snicks and Grand were cantering and I understood that I can't even see Cherrij & Grand in the thick cloud of dust, I quickly decided that it was time to call quits!

We then hit the trails where, miraculously, there were not too many bugs and the horses didn't seem too bothered (mind you, both of them were wearing their fly rugs and Snicks had a mask, too). Squeezed in a bit of canter down a trail to get the dust out of their lungs and then walked off - and, so that not to go round and round our shortest path, we looped and did some bending around trees + went completely off-road and the horses had to mind their legs in deep moss and across some ditches. 

When we were done and I let Snicks in the arena to roll, he, after rolling, agreed that I sat on his back a bit while he was lying down. This was huge for me. In the past, he used to lie down for me to mount him, but a combination of an ill-fitting saddle (thanks, unprofessional saddle fitter!) and, regrettably, overdoing this command and his good will at one point made Snicks refuse to do it about 5 or 4 years ago. 



Be it our Ghost saddle, which fits his back perfectly, or our relationship reaching a new level, or just him feeling very comfortable at our current home (which, I hope, will stay as such for a LONG time), it felt like such a special moment and a gift from him to me.


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## Saranda

Yesterday was as hot and humid as before, but I had a horse date set up with a friend which I could not refuse, so I just decided to cope with the weather and visit them at their barn. 


The barn itself was very nice and well kept, but I mostly enjoyed meeting my friends' lovely pinto gelding, a filly from a mare I used to know and exploring their trails with the gelding following us at liberty.  My friend had bought a harness to start driving her gelding, who has been long reined a bit before, so, spontaneously, I had the opportunity to give him a long reining lesson with the extra of dragging a tire. He was a bit confused at first, but coped very well and we even did a bit of trotting.  












Her gelding is a LOT like Snicks regarding their character, so working with him was just like training young Snicks to ground driving years ago.  After this, we went to my place and visited Snicks. I had thought that there would be too many horseflies to do ANYTHING, however, it was not that bad at all and my friend had brought a powerful insect deterrent with her. That helped a lot and, as a result, we managed to go driving! 

Snicks was golden. It was our first time in the trails with this particular carriage (not just open roads or the driving arena/field), and Snicks did just fabulously. He DID try diving for grass at one spot where the grass was particularly long, but otherwise he was perfect and did lovely, wide turns all by himself - I felt as if I don't really have to steer him, he just knows and loves the job!

Bitless and blinkerless, of course, as always.


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## Saranda

I'm not really sure why my latest pictures are not showing? Oh well, here's another try.


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## Saranda

And now they're showing in the previous post. OH WELL.  



Most memorable moments from the most recent sessions with Snicks:


* He's still letting me sit on his back while he's lying down! Yay! 



* We went on our longest trail walk at liberty yet - more than an hour and sometimes covering grassy fields. Snicks stayed perfectly with me and we had such lovely time. 













* Then there was this time when Snicks crossed our huge pastures, neighing and nickering, just to meet me, and lead the whole herd with him. We then proceeded to have a wonderful bridleless session, which was very refreshing, and, a few days later, he gifted me his first shoulder-in at a trot (mounted) although it's not documented in pictures.






















And last, but not least, a recent acquaintance visited us to get some ideas for groundwork with her green mare. Oddly enough, Snickers was lovely in basic groundwork, in working at liberty and when ridden, but acted all annoyed and even biting when I attempted to do the most basic and least demanding Straightness training exercises. Oh well - we don't always want the same things every day, do we? He was otherwise perfect and left a good impression on our visitor.


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