Here’s a shot of David at work on one of her front hooves:

In barn news, Mocha and I didn’t ride tonight. Instead we played The Pawing Game.

You see, Miss Mocha has a slightly bad habit of pawing when she’s cross tied and bored. It’s both annoying and not good for her hooves since we have concrete floors in the grooming stalls.  I’ve tried whacking her knee whenever she paws, to convince her it’s not a fun thing anymore but that hasn’t really discouraged her much.

I decided to try another tactic.  Ignore her bad behavior and reward the good. Pretty simple, common sense kind of thing.

So, I put her in the cross ties tonight, pulled up a lawn chair and just sat there watching her… Whenever she stopped pawing I’d get up and pet/brush/praise her until she lifted her foot and pawed once. Then I’d immediately walk away and sit down, ignoring her completely. She pawed a lot at first, almost non-stop trying to get my attention but to no avail.   After about 30 minutes with just a few little breaks of non-pawing, she finally started to figure it out. You could almost see the gears grinding in her brain!  If I stood by her and gave her attention she wouldn’t paw, so I notched it up a bit and started to walk away when she’d lift a foot, before completely pawing. Another half hour or so of this, and more grinding gears in her big ol’ Tennessee Walker noggin and she seemed to have caught on to what I wanted her to learn.

By the end of the next half hour, she was standing nicely, getting brushed, praised & spoiled; only occasionally lifting her foot. She’d even lift  a foot, hesitate a moment, holding her hoof up in the air. Then she’d turn to look at me, think about it and set her hoof down gently as I started to move a step away!   SUCCESS!   Or at least for the time being.  I’m sure we’ll work on this “game” a few more times to keep reinforcing the lesson but I’m so proud of her (and me!) for accomplishing this little step!

Oh and if you want to add an interesting blog to your reading repertoire, check this one out: http://afatgirlafathorse.blogspot.com/ It’s a new blog just getting started by a plus sized gal addressing riding as a plus sized person.

I needed to order a cooling sheet for Mocha, so I could walk her out after riding without getting a chill.  I took a measuring tape out to the barn along with a friend so I could order the correct size.  My friend KC held the tape in the middle of Mocha’s chest and I walked it to the furthest point of her butt cheeks and it read 70″.

I ordered the blanket and waited impatiently for it to arrive.  When it was delivered I headed out to the barn to try it on.  MAJOR FAIL!  The cooler I got is way short!    The darn thing stops about 6 inches before her tail starts!  I swear I read that tape correctly… But since it is just a cooler that she will wear while walking in the arena after a ride, I figured we can live with it. Its such a hassle to ship stuff back, then wait forever for the replacement.

I’m gonna re-measure tonight so I will know her correct size for any future blankets I may shop for…  Hopefully I will not be made of fail this time!

Also, over the weekend I used the saddle fit  templates from this site :  http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/easy-saddle-recommendation.html to measure my fat mare. Well, Miss Mocha is a big girl… it looks like she’s gonna need the extra wide!  My friend Karin’s saddle, that I have been borrowing, is about 6.5 inches wide at the gullet. Mocha is going to need 7-7.5inches.  Time  to start shopping for saddles!

There’s a lot less bit chewing going on, no head tossing and lots & lots of listening on Rosie’s part. She definitely has a certain way she likes to have things, and I’m fine with that.  We just needed to figure out exactly what that way was with this new tack.  The reins I have are somewhat shorter than the ones I previously rode her with, so I need to hold them a bit lower and just in front of the saddle a bit. To neck rein, instead of lifting my hands up a little so the reins hit halfway down her neck, I’m keeping my hands low and almost letting the rein press against the area where her neck and shoulder meet.  She responds to this quite well, especially with the right amount of leg cues too.

I am still looking to replace the saddle, as the gullet is definitely too narrow, but at least I know we can get a good 30-45 minute ride for now without much trouble.  We’ll be doing exercises in the arena all winter to work on communication, bending and cues.  By spring we’ll be ready to hit the trails and do just about anything!

Dr Sue was there tonight and she thinks there is an issue with the way my borrowed saddle fits.  We knew it wasn’t a perfect fit to start with, but I think Sue is right and it is a bit too narrow in the shoulders to feel comfortable for riding.  She feels a wide-tree (7-inch gullet) would be best because Rosie has such rounded withers.  I’ve been starting to research and shop online for a used saddle with a wider tree.

During riding, we did much better last night though, with a few bridle adjustments made. Rosie is still mouthing the bit and tossing her head, but about half as much as the first time.  Most of the mouthing/chewing seems to be her trying to chew on the shanks/cheek pieces of the bit where the reins clip on.

I was able to get her into gait more often and do about 3/4 of a lap around the arena before she would either break out of it and get trotty (usually with a head toss) or slow down to a walk.

I think I’ve got the bit sitting in the right place now, she either needs to get used to the bit or we may have to try a different one.  I am thinking about trying rubber bit guards on the sides to see if that changes anything.  She shouldn’t be getting pinched at all with this bit as it has the smooth pivoting areas and the width seems right in her mouth.  But maybe the guards will help keep her from chewing at the shanks and keep her focused more on what we are doing.

Overall, though, we are making great progress and I’m really happy with how things are working out!  Slowly but surely Rosie is starting to recognize me as her “person”. 

I went on a spending spree at Tom’s Western Store on Saturday and picked up some new tack, including a pretty, shiny red headstall and reins. The leather is a metallic red and really shines on her dark coat!!  I also got a new bit, saddle pad and a few other items.

Rosie seems to be taking some time to get used to her new bit, mouthing it a lot more than I remember her doing when we trail rode, but I did get in about 30 minutes of riding in on Saturday.  I’m going to make a few adjustments to the headstall and saddle to see if that makes some difference in her reaction. She’s not behaving badly by any means, just tossing her head occasionally and really mouthing the bit. She follows my directions but does seem to be either annoyed or bothered by something.  Perhaps she’s just getting used to the new tack overall, or riding in an arena compared to trails?

Rosie is still Rosie, too, although I have tossed around the idea of calling her Mocha, or maybe Cocoa… I figure I’d give us more time to get to know each other and see which sticks!  There is another Rosie at our barn, so it might ease some confusion if I go with Mocha but I don’t want to base my decision on this alone…   Rob and Kayleigh just love her too, both have been out to the barn with me throughout the weekend.   Rob even has his own bag of treats that only he gives to her.  I think Rosie’s big brown eyes must have melted his heart!

When I was at Tom’s I found a trail saddle that I really loved but just can’t afford right now.  It’s made by Circle Y/High Horse, it’s a synthetic so it’s not too heavy and they offer a wide tree to be sure we get a good fit. It was sooo comfy!  I could have stayed there in the store, sitting in that saddle, for hours!  Maybe by next summer, once we’ve both worked a few pounds off with regular riding over the winter.

The indoor arena is definitely  something new to Rosie, too. She stops and peers into the dark glass window of the observation room each time we go past.  She notices her reflection and at first seems to think it is a different horse- she’s whinnied at it a few times then steps forward as if she expects a response and a sniff!  It’s quite cute!

Me and my horse!

My mom, who is not really comfortable around horses (yet!) meets Rosie

Rosie’s got back!

Rosie, me and my daughter Kayleigh