# Bending Bella



## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Just thought i'd start my own progress journal for Bella, now that we've officially started training  As some of you may know, I bought Bella, a 10-yr-old Norwegian Fjord mare back on December 5 2010.
She is greenbroke & was kept mainly as a pet so is very spoiled, pushy & in your space.
She takes saddle, bridle, EVERYTHING very quietly & without a fuss, however she's got no clue when it comes to leg & rein pressure especially when it comes to bending her neck! It's like trying to pull a 2-by-4 in half:lol:
Hopefully i will be able to work with her regularly (weather permitting). Everything has started to melt but i've no doubt the snow has not had its last word!

Please feel free to comment or give advice!


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Ok, so yesterday was our actual start 
I took Chico out first for a ride & to work with her on the ground. She doesn't exactly need training like Bella but needs a refresher on patience big time!
After i brought Bella into the yard & brushed her out.
I'm attempting the Natural Horsemanship way of training via Pat Parelli. I figure they all do it basically the same & his material is the only stuff available in my area so forgive me for all the PP terminoligy lol.

It was immediately apparrent that Bella has never been lunged. She wasn't constantly trying to face up but she wasa little spooked by it lol 
Started with the "friendly game" which she is great at. Not afraid of anything i do with the rope. Bends away from me & all that as well.
She's a bit pokey when longing (circling game) but when i ask her to face she does it immediately. Much better than Chico actually! She even caught onto the yo-yo game fairly quickly.

She is very stiff in her movements & not sensitive to pressure so the "porcupine game" was difficult. Took ALOT of pressure & me literally putting my shoulder into it to make her move away. 

We worked mostly on going in & out of the trailer, which she caught onto _very_ quickly (again, much quicker than Chico who likes to make a fuss especially when she knows what you want her to do). 
Bella kept trying to hide behind the door lol (i have a 2-horse trailer) but it took no time for me to get her going in on her own without my help leading her inside.


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Just went out & spent time brushing the girls yesterday & today. Playing the "friendly game" (my excuse anyway ha ha!) Was out all day yesterday & it's really windy today.
Chico's shedding fast! Bella, not so much lol.


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Wind finally died down so i played with them both today. They did awesome!
Bella catches on so quickly. We tried the trailer out again today & they both went in without hesitation twice in a row  Bella didn't wanna come out!


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## manca (Feb 23, 2011)

Just wanted to say that she is soooo cute  
And it seems to me that you're doing great!


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Thanks  She's not doing too badly. Hoping to get out again today!


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Took the girls out again today 
Was gonna trim bridle path's & cheeks but need a new pair of clippers so i just re-cut Bella's mane  Got a good, sharp pair of scissors finally & man does it look better than the first time i did it!

Trailer's no problem. Bella litterally drug me into it :lol:
Next step will be putting hte divider in & then loading them together!


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Did some more today. Was finally able to get them going in through the left door with no issues. There wasa big block of ice in front before so i could only get the right trailer door open.

My niece is out for a few days, & she LOVES horses (my fault :lol so i popped her up there & led her around on the driveway a few times.


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Took Chico & Bella out today.
Saddled Chico up & we towed Bella down the road lol  Got assaulted by a big dumb dog twice, but my girls didn't even blink an eye at him. if it were me i woulda booted him in the chops but they're pretty calm girls.

When we got back, i slipped the divider into the trailer & got them going in together. Both doing SO GOOD in there!


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Looks like we're gonna have a couple days off because of the weather! Grr Windy all day yesterday & woke up this morning to snow like crazy!
Hopefully the sun will come out again real soon...


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Got a cheap little kids saddle for my niece this weekend. Doesn't fit Bella 100% but she doesnt seem to mind it and for the amount it's honestly going to get used, i'll just get a thicker pad. 
Still need to get different stirrup leathers until my niece's legs grow some more :lol:
Bella is getting really good on the backup (Chico's _worst_ area) and getting in and out of the trailer is not even a teeny issue now. They see the open door and head straight for it whether i ask them to or not! 
Can't wait until all the mud, water and snow is gone!! Then i can set up stuff for them to go over & such


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Just went out and brushed the girls today. They are shedding like CRAZY!
Should be doing more tomorrow


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

An update;
Took Bella & Chico out on wednesday. They both did good. CHico's getting alot better at the backup & is even following nice (going when i go, trotting when i trot & stopping when i stop)
Bella's yielding her hindquarters nicely & is slowly improving with her forequarters. She isn't pulling as much on the line when circling, though she's still pretty lazy


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Took Bella out this morning so that my niece could go for a ride in her "new" saddle before my friend came by to pick Bella & I up for a trip to the local arena
She did great. Gonna make such a good kid's horse.
My friend & i worked on the ground for awhile with our horses.
Bella's getting good at the backup & circling game. Porcupine game is still a little tough but she's getting there. We rode a bit as well. Still too stubborn to be ridden in a halter, but i put her bridle on & she did not too bad! Getting better at turning every time. Same with the stop.
I even got her running!  She's so pokey that she'll trot super fast but doesn't like to break into a lope.
I'll make her into a barrel horse yet! :lol:


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Took Chico out this morning & did some ground work. Then we went for a ride. She goes so nicely  Just in a halter. Walk, trot, lope, stop no problem. We loped most of the way cuz we both enjoy it enough!
Here she's really crappy lookin cuz she just finished rolling in the muddy, watery, poopy pasture before i took her out :?







Afterwards i brought Bella out & she took my niece for another ride.


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Took Chico to the arena today. She is doing very well on the ground with the games. Still needs to improve her fore-quarter yields but her backup & ground tieing is getting alot better.
We rode the rail & did some barrel patterns. She did well until the lope, when she wanted to buck me off each dang time! She was being such a s**t head today!


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Took Bella for a ride today. She was a bit pokey at first & didn't want to keep going in a straight line, but she is getting better at turning, little by little.
I did managed to get her trotting and even loping nicely  She has a mean trot though. Havent had a side ache like that in years! I LOVE her lope though. She doesn't like to keep it up, but we're getting there.
When we got back, i spent a while mounting, dismounting, backing up and getting her to bend nicely. I think she'll be a great horse by the end of the summer! 
This is her today, all decked out in pink :mrgreen:














And here she is dragging me into the open garage :lol: Goof ball


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Took Bella to the arena again yesterday.
She did very well on the ground until afterwards when we set up barrels for them to jump over lol. She just could not figure them out! She wanted SO badly to just step over with each leg instead of tucking up & hopping over. She did managed to push/stumble her way through them, which was better than nothing! Atleast she got past them (in her own way).

Afterwards we saddled up. She's getting really good & soft at bending from the saddle, though when we are actually moving it takes a little more pressure & arm strength to turn her & keep her in a straight line.
We trotted some circles, but again she gets pretty stiff.
We only ran a little down the length of the arena. It took alot of encouragement to get her into a lope & she gave a buck lol little brat.
I know she really doesnt enjoy the indoor arena & neither does Chico. They'd much rather be outside but they should get used to it.


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Took Bella out & groomed her good. Cut all the hair off of her fetlocks to help keep the mud from clumping on her heels so badly. She could have stood better but she wasn't too bad. Had to wash her legs with water & a sponge cuz they were so covered with muck! Looks really spiffy now. Until i turned her back out in the mud of course *sigh*
She's getting much better at yielding her forequarters & i got her stepping on the platform i built (just a wooden pallet with plywood on top). It's body length, but once i get her going good on that i'll introduce a smaller one 
She really needs to learn not to eat grass just cuz it's there, but we are working on that.


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

A bit of an update:
On last Saturday the ferrier came out. I brought Chico & Bella into the yard early to groom them good because they had been in the mud for several days. Chico did well, naturally, as did Bella. She didn't even mind the dewormer! lol
We worked a little bit after wards & both did well.

Today i had Chico out in the field. It's still pretty wet but it's a bigger area. She did well. Doesn't like to lope much on the line but i got her doing it in both directions eventually. Slipped a bit, so i cant wait for it to dry up.
I set up a "jump" as well & had her going over it really well, first during the circle game then with me running beside her.
Afterwards i brushed both girls & turned Bella out into the big field with Chico. She's been in solitary confinement for about 3 weeks now because she needed to lose a bit of weight, but mostly because we did not have the electric wire up & she kept getting out. Hopefully now the fences will hold her!


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Spent some time with the girls out in the pasture today. The past 2 days have been really nice but incredibly windy! Lost 10 big trees in the back yard alone :shock:
It was pretty hot so they were kinda lazy. Chico especially. She's just about completely shed out except for some parts on her belly. Bella still has quite a bit to go cuz she's so darn harry! :lol:
Bella's getting really good on the yo-yo game (better than chico even), though her circling still needs work. She goes, but she still likes to pull at the end of the rope and trotting was a big fight this afternoon. She was not too happy to be doing it :?Got her to take a jump, though without walking over it for once.
The mosquitos are HORRIBLE today. Worse than i have EVER seen them before. One thing i hate about summer is the bugs :-x


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Took Chico out today. Was going to work with Bella too, but had to run to town and the weather was iffy when we got back.
Had Chico on a 22 foot line today, trying to get her to break into a lope. She was lazy again but i did manage to get her to run a few strides in each direction which was good for her. She usually just wants to trot faster and faster.
Afterwards i groomed her up good & rubbed her down with a wet cloth to get rid of some of the dust & dirt from her coat. She's been looking brown lately & not black lol 
Should be able to take Bella out tomorrow. Got a new girth for the saddle so we should be able to try it out!


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Finally got an english girth that fits! Apparently my horses are fat... :?
Took both the girls out to give it a try & i quite like it!
Worked on Bella's turning some more. She does it very well on the ground & from the saddle but we're still working on it while moving forward. I had to ride her back and forth down the road a bunch of times until she would go straight on without trying to turn or weave around. 
I found that once we get around either corner and are away from home she's not too bad. She goes straight and will even trot in a straight line :-o
I think it will take alot of work to get her turning at a run but we're getting there!

Here are some pics from today. Still gotta get the english bridle


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Took Bella for another ride today. Just getting her used to riding away from home. Once we get around the far corners she's fine but she still weaves & wants to turn back on me so we had to do a whole bunch of circles along the way :lol: Better than last time though! I only had to make 4 passes of the yard instead of 7.
Laid a tarp out to try her out around it but naturally she didn't give a hoot. Walked all over it like it wasnt even there.


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## rileydog6 (Mar 2, 2011)

let me know about the bending part and what you did to get there,its like the exact same thing with toril,he has no brakes or steering wheel.he also has space issues and will mow you down in a heart beat.She looks great by the way,lost some weight,toril went down 4 girth sizes in 4 months,but 2 of those were from fur


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Well she's still improving on her bending. Just about there at a walk! Next will be keeping it at a trot and hopefully eventually a canter. We've had nonstop rain for the past 24 hours so it's going to be a while before i can take her out in the field but i've been riding her up and down the roads. 

I know Bella (and my other mare, Chico) HATES the indoor arena. They both get attitudes if they're under a roof. She doesn't like to run so it takes alot of encouragement when we're at the arena to get her to break into a lope. She bucked on me once but that was nothing ha ha Chico gives me _much_ worse!
She also doesnt like to jump much even on the line but we're going to fix that (hopefully!)

As for bending, i've been using the Natural Horsemanship methods (Pat Parelli to be specific but the others are just as good. I just prefer the way he explains things.). Basically i started out getting her to yield her forehand & hindquarters while on the ground, first with just physical pressure/"porcupine game" (start light & increase pressure until she moves off, then _release._ That's the key part). 

After i moved to rhythmic pressure (driving game) & used my short training whip to tap the areas i wanted her to move. If she didn't, again id increase pressure until she moved off.
By now i've got her yielding her hindquarters away from me _very_ nicely. Her forehand is much better too, though with alot of really friendly/bold/pushy horses they do not like to move their front end away because that is their place of power & they dont like to sumbit. 

Another part of the "porcupine game" is getting her to bend her head around while i stand at her shoulder. I put one hand on her wither and with the other i grab the side of her halter and gently bring her nose towards me. At first she wanted to spin circles, so i just went with her until she stopped, then i released. Now she's got it that she just turns her head without spinning because she knows that's what i want & i just hold it there. 
Another trick (i cant do it yet with Bella because her tail's a little short & her back is long) is to grab their tail and make them bring their nose around to touch it. Again, they really like to spin until they figure it out. 

Once i had her doing all this fine & bending on the ground, i got in the saddle & did the same. Just pull the rein slowly & gently until her nose was touching my boot & hold it there. Even if she spun, i kept the pressure until she stopped _completely_. Do it in both directions a couple of times over before even riding off.
It's still a work in progress but she's so smart & patient!

As for personal space issues, Bella had them too (she still does at times, but again she's improved). A good NH game for this is the "yo-yo game". Basically you're making the horse back away from you in a straight line & then come back to you on the same line. It starts with the "porcupine" and "driving game", where you get them to back away from you using pressure (starting light & increasing until they move). Even one step is good at first. Then bring them back. 

Wiggling the rope is another step to this as well. Start with a light wiggle through your fingers, then your wrist, then your elbow and increase until your entire arm is swinging if the horse doesn't back off. Eventually the rope will start to "snap" in their face & they will back off from it. That's when you relax and let them stand & think it over. Then repeat & eventually all you'll have to do is wiggle your finger at them & they'll back up. 
The only time Bella has any personal space issues now is when she's getting her feet done lol. She does well for the ferrier but she spends her whole time trying to find something to chew on!

Hope that helps  If you're interested at all you can look into some NH books or videos. You dont have to go with Parelli, that's just my personal choice. I like the way they break everything down & make it easy to learn. Just ignore the mustache lol but he's got alot of neat tips & ideas. And trust me, it really does work if you do it properly. I've found Fjords are very intelligent & always like to be doing something interesting so this sort of training is really stimulating for them because it's something new every time!


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

*Bath Time!*

Bathed the girls today!
Chico i know has been bathed before by her other owners & by myself once so she did really well  She could care less about the hose it's the soapy sponge that she didn't like. No pully, just alot of dancing around.
She looks gorgeous afterwards though!






















Bella i'm not too sure about. If she has been bathed before it wasn't very often because she acted like it was a totally new procedure. She was a little nervous of the hose but after a few minutes of letting her dance around (i had her long rope looped around a post so that it held her but she could back off some if she pulled, which she did) she calmed down & let me finish the job.
She still has a bunch of winter hair on her under belly, so it's not as slick-looking as it could be.
Unfortunately the sun went away before i could get good pictures of her. looks like it's gonna rain some more :-(








Before this i worked with them both a little on the ground & let them graze in the yard for 20 minutes. Finally got Chico jumping the barrels without throwing a hissy fit. Bella still just shoves her way through :lol:
I set up a smaller "jump" but she still refuses to actually jump it. She prefers to walk over, which is why she has so much trouble with the barrels.
Both girls went in & out of the trailer without hesitation


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Sheesh! Been awhile since i updated! 
Bella's doing good. Still softening up with her bending but she's MUCH better. She's getting used to being bathed as well.
Havent been riding her as much as i'd like but we've been keeping up with the ground work. My niece loves getting up on her whenever she can, though it's been so rainy this summer :?
Here are some recent photos! Bella's lost so much weight too  still chubby though lol







Taking Mia (the puppy) for a ride














I am NOT responsible for the hairdo :lol:


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Chico's doing well also. She has scratches at the moment on her hind right foot but that's healing nicely. My cousins were up over the August long weekend so i took them for a ride. They rode Chico & i was on Bella since i didnt think they would have been able to get her listening since they're beginners. 







Chico jumping. I know, pics are kinda blurry...


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