Boone's First Ride

I tacked up Boone today and rode him in the round pen for a little while.  He accepted the tack well and didn't fight me when I put the bit in his mouth.  He stood completely still while I mounted and was responsive to cues.  Since I've never been on Boone, my first task was to figure out how he had been cued.  I knew he'd received some training under saddle, but had no idea how he had been taught.  I quickly learned that he responds to an opening rein as opposed to a direct rein.  That is okay,but I will have to teach him some other reining techniques before he can be a cavalry horse.  We kept it at a walk today, as he was clearly a little nervous about the whole thing.  Everything is new to him and he tries to comply, but doesn't always understand.  He is a blank slate, but because he has such a good nature, it will be a pleasure teaching him. 

Battle Scars

Boone and Cochise continued working things out over the weekend and both are covered in scrapes and scabs.  Both had a pretty good chunk of hide missing.  Cochise on his cheek and Boone on his chest.  When I arrived at the stables Tuesday morning they were "playing" with each other.  I'm not sure who emerged from the weekend the dominant horse, but Cochise may have a slight edge.  For the most part it looked like a draw.  I will try a different mix of horses this weekend to see how that goes. 

Cochise' battle wound.

Boone's battle wound.

 Khyber didn't get involved in any fights and didn't have a single mark on him--although he did have a lot of tree sap on him.  However, he doesn't need to fight as long as Boone is around. As soon as the hay comes out, Khyber sticks his nose into the feeder right next to Boone.  I have never seen two horses behave this way.  It is like they are twins.  

I worked both horses in the round pen today.  I got both of them up to a gallop.  Khyber still kicks at me, but bears no malice afterwards.  Both horses are very friendly and like having their big heads stroked.  I have to say I really like them.  Hopefully, these feelings will continue once I start riding them.  

Herd Integration

After working with Boone and Khyber in the round pen again yesterday, I put them in the quarantine pasture (QP) with Cochise and Duke.  The QP is where I introduce new horses to the herd.  If you put new horses out with the entire herd all at once, the herd will gang up on them.  It is better to introduce new guys to a couple horses at a time to cut down on injuries.  

Khyber and Boone eat under the watchful gaze of the herd.

I put some alfalfa out for Cochise and Duke, to distract them, before putting the new horses in. This gave the horses a chance to stand together and eat without fighting.  Just as I put Boone and Khyber out, the entire herd in the main pasture showed up to get some water, saw the new horses, and lined up along the fence to watch the show.  

Once the alfalfa was gone, Boone and Khyber went for a walk around the QP together to check things out.  Then then went back to where Duke and Cochise were finishing up eating and began the process of establishing where each horse stood in the pecking order.  Duke is dead-last in the herd and was delighted to find out that he could push Khyber around.  Khyber had no interest in challenging either Duke or Cochise.  Boone, on the other hand, held his ground and got into the dance with Cochise.  Apparently these horses are very close in the rank structure and spent a lot of time working things out.  

The boys checking out the QP.

When horses are introduced, they stand next to each other with heads bowed.  Eventually, one will start to squeal and paw the ground in an attempt to get the other horse to move.  I have come to believe that the horse that is making the most noise is losing this battle.  After a while they will test each other by placing their mouths near various parts of the other horse's body to provoke a reaction.  I call this the "bitey" game, as each horse will feint at biting the other one.  Horses do this when playing with one another, but it is always a part of the initial establishment of who is higher ranking in the herd.  Between Cochise and Boone, it was Cochise making most of the noise.  Boone stood his ground and made no noise, which causes me to believe that he was winning.  We will see.  

Duke (r) trying to see what Boone (l) is made of.

Khyber wanted no part of any of this activity.  He wanted comfort, but since his cousin Boone was engaged with Cochise, he kept coming to me for affection--placing his head in my chest so I could pet him.  I did notice that at one point, Khyber and Duke had paired up and were standing peacefully together, so maybe they will buddy up as Boone establishes his place in the herd in coming weeks.  

I will match them up with different horses each weekend until they have worked things out with each horse before I put them together with the entire herd.  It is a fascinating process to watch, but has to be done carefully or you end up with injured horses.  

Khyber coming over for some affection while the others work thing out.  

In the Round Pen

I gave Khyber and Boone their first round pen sessions today.  I couldn't work with them yesterday because they had their teeth floated by the vet.  Both horses were very energetic in the round pen.  I had no trouble getting them moving, in fact, they often would gallop without me asking them to.  It was anger-galloping as they were not happy with me bossing them around.  Both horses kicked out at me, although from a safe distance.  I use a whip with a bit of plastic bag tied to the end of it so I can compel them to move without making contact with the whip.  It is very effective.  

Both horses, on a number of occasions, tried to crowd the center where I was standing, but I just pointed the whip at them and they would fade away like it was a cattle prod.  I kept them both moving, changing directions periodically, for a total of ten minutes each.  Both horses were sweaty, but not lathered.  It will not take them long to become strong.  I will eventually get them up to twenty minutes and teach them to turn in the direction that I specify--that is toward me or away from me.  They both seem reasonably smart, so I think they will pick it up quickly.  The important lesson today was for me establish myself as higher in the herd then they.  Both horses joined with me when I was done.  For the rest of the day, both approached me for affection each time I passed by their pens.  It is funny how a short session in the round pen can completely change your relationship with a horse.  

I received a good report about Cal's training last night. The first sergeant rode him again, and he performed well and mostly without incident.  He didn't blow up at the tie up post or throw a tantrum like last week.  Cal is a long way from being ready for the show, but we have a good base to work with.  

New Guys on the Block

Boone

I finally moved Boone and Khyber out to the stables today.  They have been at the ZERF since they arrived in November.  Debbie did enough ground work with them in that time to make it possible to start the next phase of their training.  We had some trouble getting them in the trailer, but Debbie finally enticed them in with a flake of alfalfa.  Khyber went after the alfalfa in a few minutes, but Boone had to be encouraged with a tap of the whip.  

The rest of the herd was still out to pasture, so moving them into their new pens was uneventful.  By the afternoon, they had accustomed themselves to their surroundings enough so that I could begin their first session of learning the Army routine.  Neither of them is very good at lifting their feet, so we concentrated on that and, with a little coaxing, had a normal grooming session.  Oddly enough, they are no worse than Cal, whom I groomed at the post solo today.  

Khyber

Boone and Khyber were fascinated by all the horses being brought in. They were curious about everything and everybody.  I think they will fit in well.  I'm looking forward to working with them and teaching them all the things an Army horse needs to do.    

Horse Dental Work Day

The vet showed up today to work on teeth.  He managed to get eight horses done.  The biggest challenge was Blade, which I warned him about, but also Cal, Ruger, and Chili put up a good fight also.  The good thing is that most of the difficult patients are done and he can cruise with the remaining horses tomorrow. 

While the vet was working on teeth, I worked on repairing a couple of tie up posts that the horses had damaged.  The posts are old telephone poles that were buried in the ground years ago.  They are too low--about three to four feet high--and they are mostly rotten.  I had to get creative to get the ring bolts through the rotten logs, but managed to get the job done.  I then went around and tightened up the bolts on all the other posts.  I have put in two work orders to get the posts replaced, but can't even get a response to the request.  

One of the posts destroyed by Blade last summer.

I tried tying Cal up again with his battle buddy, Duke.  I left him unattended for about twenty minutes without incident.  I think I have broken the code on his panic problem.  However, I heard one of the troopers had trouble with him last night while tacking him up.  Cal reared up and then ran over and sat down in a sand pile.  He got up and was fine after, but unlike the panic attack he gets when left alone at the tie up post, I think this is just bratty behavior.  Working with Cal is going to be very interesting.  

Horse Psychology

I mentioned yesterday that I would try tying up Cal next to another horse to see if he would remain calm instead of destroying his halter in an epic panic attack.  So, I tied Duke next to him today.  I hitched Cal to the post using a loop of bailing twine, so that if he did blow up, he wouldn't destroy anything valuable.  I then left him there to go muck out his stall.  He could not see me from where he was, so he was left pretty much alone except for Duke.  When I returned, he was still there happily waiting for me.  I will try this a few more times to determine if this was just a fluke.  If he continues to remain calm, I will try different horses and greater and greater distances between them to see if he can get used to being tied.  

I had a surprise visitor today while I was finishing up the horse shelter I am reconstructing.  The commanding general of the post showed up as he heard I was such an awesome guy and wanted to meet me.  Not really.  His sergeant major made him come down to see the deplorable condition of our horse facilities first hand.  We chatted a bit, he shook my hand, and then left.  You just never know who is going to show up down there.  It is ironic that I was in the process of rebuilding a shelter when he arrived.  

Debbie and I weighed all the horses today and were pleased to see that most of them had put on weight despite being out to pasture for almost three weeks.  Only one horse (Chili) lost any significant weight and he isn't showing any ribs.  Chili is old and has trouble with his teeth.  Fortunately, the vet will float teeth tomorrow, so hopefully we can make it easier for Chili to chew his food.  Unfortunately, Chili doesn't like anything getting poked in his mouth unless it is a carrot, so I expect a battle royal tomorrow.  

I received a call about another of our horses last night (Kidd) who had gone of his food, but didn't show any other signs of illness.  He was fine when I arrived this morning and had eaten most of his hay.  We give them bermuda hay when they are in the pens and many of the horses are not liking the winter, barn-stored hay. However, during the night when it is cold, most of them eat it anyway.  Hay digestion generates body heat, so most horses will eat it regardless of how finicky they are.