Bathtime with Silke?

I forgot to tell you about Silke's Bath, my friend (Barb) was in the Barn and heard a big splash and turned around to find Silke on the ground and her big water bucket tipped over and running out onto the ground. Silke looked bewildered, but calmly got back up and snorted at the overturned bucket, now empty. I came in a few minutes later. I told my friend that there was a small creek running through the property that Silke was on and I am sure she thought she needed to stand in the stream to drink out of it, I find her bucket dumped out every couple of days. but I have also seen her drinking from it just fine, so maybe it's just her bath time?! I went into her corral to check on her and she was wet from her chin to her teets! This was last night.

Today, was a new day....My Husband and I were discussing Silke and my progression of learning. My husband said I should try to pony her to get her used to being around other horses that are cooperating with humans. Well, ponying was not an option today so I decided to get my mare Vaka (Feather) out and play with her (on line) in the corral with Silke loose to watch. This was such a good decision, I sent her to the left and to the right and asked her to stop and face me and just basically move around with lots of release and rubbing on her, Silke was very curious and came closer and closer. Every time Feather stopped, Silke would come a little closer. so I took the lead rope off and worked with her at liberty and she was wonderful and did all that I asked with lots of stopping and rubbing and praise. Silke joined in and after a while I was moving Both horses together and they were stopping together and turn and face me to get rubbed and praised. After a while I was able to send Silke and have Feather (Vaka) stand still and then I put Silke on a line and had her stand still while Feather (Vaka) ran a very small circle around us with no line. it was so exciting, they were teaching each other and all the while allowing me to be lead mare. This was done with little or no equipment, mostly just my hands and arms and body language, being careful to read what they were doing too.
I have always believed that anything you do under saddle you can simulate on the ground and it should transfer. This was a good example of riding my horses from the ground and ponying them too.
Silke was much more willing today than ever before. I fed them together (separate piles), and they are doing great. There was some initial kicking at each other but I was able to diffuse it as their lead mare and they both seemed to accept my leadership. I went to the barn about 5 times today and Silke came up to the rail to see me no matter where I stand and she comes to me to be rubbed on inside the corral just like Feather(Vaka). I am very happy with the results of this, and I can't wait till tomorrow.
Thanks for listening,
Cheryl

Silke's Progress

Hi,
I have learned so much in the last few days I don't know where to start. The idea of approach and retreat is so wonderfully effective. When you are approaching a "wild " horse their instinct is to be on their guard and to be ready for anything, fight or flight, or perhaps something pleasant. My job is to create a relationship that my "wild" friend can depend on and can trust, and be consistent and provocative. I have to be able to keep her curiosity, as well as strengthening her trust in me. Today I realized that I need her to trust other Humans too. More about that next blog.
 The approach and retreat is a very valuable tool. when approaching, I need to be carefully reading what I think the horse will do next, so that I can retreat before the horse retreats. Silke wants so badly to trust me, after she is "caught" she will allow me to do just about anything, pick up feet, grooming, tying to post, including get on her back, put a saddle or bareback pad on. and climb all over her and her response is to drop her head and she seems to really be comfortable with me above her on the mounting bench. 
The interesting thing is that sometimes she is worried about being "Caught" not all the time, just every once in a while. I think she goes back to the herd in her mind. the interesting thing is she always comes back to me if I repeat the simplest of tasks, like, disengaging the hind quarters, she always turns to face me, and I retreat, then she will follow me and I can halter her. then she is fine. It is the release that teaches. (both of us)
She is really helping me with my timing and feel as well as teaching me how to read her, everyday is a little better than the last.

Now for the really interesting part, after spending so much time with Silke, I started playing with & riding Bear and Feather (Vaka) and I am amazed at some of the things I can do with them that I couldn't do before, I am reading them better and my timing and feel seem to be magnified. There are also some things that Silke is better at than they are because I have spent so much time on the ground with her, I am working differently with them now too.
This (getting Silke) was the best decision I could have made to further my horsemanship.
thank you for all your support,
cheryl

My horsemanship

I guess it is time to tell about my horsemanship experiences.
I started getting into horses 20 yrs ago when my Husband and I bought a 24acre Dairy farm. we decided to convert it to a horse boarding stable. we knew nothing about horses! So as we cleaned up from the pigs and cows, we gradually started getting horses to board (self care). That was indeed and experience. to make a long story short (hopefully) I decided to go to a (Parelli) horse clinic and I decided to get educated. I read everything I could and watched every video I could find, I even leased my first horse. soon I passed level one of Parelli's program. then I realized I didn't really know how to ride so I took some lessons and started to watch RFDTV. my friend introduced me to Clinton Anderson's methods and it really helped with my riding, people started asking me to give them lessons on what I knew ( I was very shocked at this) and it just evolved. I was able to help about 15 people pass their first level in Parelli. My Barn started to fill up and I talked my husband into building me an arena and more stalls, we went to full care and I had to hire someone for help. I have worked with almost every breed of horse in one way or another. We have Dressage riders and Western pleasure riders here and backyard horse owner's here. We have had lots of clinics of every discipline. I am the only one that owns Iceys. Everyone loves them.
I have learned that this is my passion, and I am 55yrs old and loving every minute of my time with my horses and with the people in my Barn, we have close to 40 horses here when we are at capacity. This is a barn full of (mostly Adult Women) people who love each other and enjoy each other's company. I am very lucky to be a part of it. Tomorrow, More about Silke....
Thanks for listening,
Cheryl

Horsemanship

Hi,
today I went with friends to get a horse that would not load into the trailer, the previous owners put a rope around the girth and then between the legs to get him in the trailer, it didn't really work for this horse, but it was great to see that the approach and retreat method we used was very successful and the horse was the one to make the decision to go in and to stay in, it was an amazing thing to see. the horse totally made a change and decided to just go in. we were told that he likes to turn around and bolt out but when we arrived he was such a good boy and just waited till we asked and backed out nicely, there was no fear force or intimidation. I think he just realized that we were going to be fair and kind to him.
Silke is doing so good she is going out each day into a nice round pen with green grass, and she comes to the gate to go in and out. She has totally made a change, and is trusting more each day. she is getting shiny and she is shedding out a little, her mane and tail are growing and she has lost a little weight, She looks very good, I can pick up all 4 feet every time and I can clean her teets, she really likes being touched, after the initial first touch of the day. I am still learning a lot from all the horses and from all the followers of Silke's Blog, thank you for listening,
Cheryl & Silke

Silke's Progress January 2011

To day was very cold here, but at least it was not raining. Silke is starting to come to me more and more. she has learned to count on me to come and take her for walks and to play. but the most exciting thing that happened was tonight when I went out to see someone in the barn and Silke came to the gate and she just followed me around the pen.
 I was standing there talking when I noticed that she had laid down across the pen from me. I waited until she was very settled and comfortable. I slowly walked up to her and squatted down in front of her and gave her some treats. she stayed for the treats, and then I got up and took a step toward her shoulder, I petted her mane. This was a moment I will never forget,
Thanks
Cheryl & Silke

learning a lot from Silke and friends

Well,
Today was interesting, Silke got out of her stall while I was in with her, I guess I should have latched it. She just pushed and out she went. She is a clever girl. she ran to my other horses and I was able to halter Bear and lead him to Silke's stall and she followed and went right in. It was a learning experience. If it had been someone else's horse, I would have caught her a lot sooner. As her owner I am sometimes too close to the situation.

I am very humbled by this experience, she wanted to be with the herd, not me. It is not a bad thing it was just a reality check. I have more work/play to do.
A friend came by and showed me some TTouch today. Thank you, Janella. Silke loved it, very relaxing. I am really learning from my horse. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Thanks for listening,
Cheryl

Good weather, finally

We had a great day today, I got a lot done, I cleaned all my saddles and I drilled new holes in my western saddle to shorten the stirrups so I could be a lot more comfortable and safer. I also got to ride Bear today, I actually had the big arena all to myself, it was wonderful, he still remembered everything we had last worked on, this horse is such a good boy. Riding Bear always helps build my confidence.
When I got Silke out she was waiting at the gate, there was no hesitation in putting the lead and halter on she has realized that there is a good pattern and she likes it. what a great feeling It was our biggest obstacle. she was so good today I rode her bareback. she did everything I asked and I knew it would be a good day for riding. I went back out after dinner. still she was at the gate to be caught. I actually got on her with no bridle or halter, just me and silke she took a few steps and I slid down gently, I have always wanted to do that and she was so good she just stopped and looked at me like, why did you get down? believe me, that was a very good place to end the day. now I need to get more consistent wth my riding.

Ground work is so important

Hi,

WOW, Groundwork is so important, it seems to always transfer to being under saddle, if you don't believe me.. test the theory, I do all the time. Yesterday and today were days that it got so cold I could only work/play with my horses for short periods of time. I like to make the best of this time that I have with them. Silke has shown steady improvement since I got her, she  however has always had a little issue with being touched for the first time each day, I thought it was me, then I thought it was the lead rope and halter, well, lets put it this way each day has been interesting, until today. she is all of a sudden easy to catch. I think that at night she mentally goes back to the herd and is surprised by me each day. With that in mind, I decided to do something different, when I caught her yesterday I took her straight to a small round pen with grass in it and turned her loose with no halter. I was worried about catching her in the new place so I kept walking up to her touching her and then walking away unless she invited me to stay. It was very interesting to see her reaction, she turned her head sideways and looked at me as if to say, Thank you. she would then look down at the grass and look at me again and I swear she was trying to let me know how happy she was to be on the patch of grass. That was yesterday she was easy to catch too. I then took her to my little obstacle course and proceeded to ask her on to the Tire with sand in it and the step up jump made out of RR ties shaped into a horseshoe with sand in it. She was awesome.

1/11/2011 Today I went to get her and she was waiting for me, she put her head down for the halter and lead, she truly caught me, immediately. It was not about anything more than comfort and discomfort, sometimes I try to read more into her reactions. Yes I am still learning as I go and this horse will teach me more than I had expected. Today I also took her to the little patch of grass and let her go, and left her for a while, and went back to get her and she let me catch her easily again, YAY! (I get excited over the littlest things)  I am still learning how to add pictures I hope it turns out. I played with her on the obstacle course again, I think she likes playing outside the arena too. I decided to go inside and try something I have never done before. I wanted to see if I could get her to stop just by saying whoa and stepping over to block her movement. She took to it like a duck to water. she got it on the first try, I have always just worked on the whoa ,under saddle. This is another way of riding my horse from the ground, and she is getting better and better, I also asked her to do it at liberty in the oval pen, she did awesome, and that was a great place to stop for the day as it was getting really cold. When I first asked her to stop with the whoa, I would ask her just as she was coming toward the wall which helped her to make the right decision, then it was really easy to make the transition to anywhere.
Thanks for listening,
Cheryl & Silke

It's very cold today!

Today I went to Silke's Stall and got her out.  If you only understood what that truly means, she was so easy to "catch" today. She has finally become easy to catch, she actually nickered to me! I love this horse. She has taught me so much. she is so brave and confident. I have never had a horse that was so tuned into me. She has broken all the rules and she has humbled me. This is hard to explain, but I know that a lot of you do understand, because you are going through the same things, she brings tears to my eyes because she is so sensitive and sensible. I have lost the words to explain this. (I am never at a loss for words).

 I brought her over to the arena and I got out my flip video, put it on the tripod and decided I need to video tape some of her movement and some of my movement so that I can see her from another set of eyes. I want to scrutinize everything and see what it is about her that makes this work and to se what her likes and dislikes are all about. I also thought it would help me to see what happens before what happens, happens. in other words to see what she does prior to doing something to tell me what she is about to do. To me this is a valuable tool. If she all of a sudden started to buck with me (she never has) I want to know what she did before she started to buck, what kind of sign did she give me that she was about to do it, and how many times did she tell me before she did it and how did she try to tell me.  I hope you understand what I am trying to say. please ask me questions if you don't.

I sent her to the left, and I sent her to the right then I sent her sideways and I asked her to turn on the haunches to the right and the left. I also asked her to do a change of directions with out stopping, she did well on everything I asked, I didn't see any objections, that I recall.
I took her in the oval pen and asked her to go right and left and move all around off line (at liberty). she seemed the same, and I had no problems catching her after, Yay!

So, now I am going to watch the video and come back and report what I think I saw on the video, I hope it is the same, but I want to really scrutinize it.
Thanks for listening

Not a riding day after all.

Sometimes stuff just gets in the way of our good intentions, today was going to be this great riding day that I ride all 3 horses, yea right...the best laid plans. I got all my running around town done (groceries, bank etc.) I came back and put everything away and went out to get my horses, and they had rolled in the mud and rain etc, so I put them in so I could ride later, they promptly both laid down and rolled in the dry arena, now its really caked on. so I thought I would try putting my little herd together in the arena, well it was OK for about 10 minutes, then they all decided it was time to establish dominance, it was quite interesting to watch each of them decide who was going to be the leader, after it was all over, Silke was the one who could back the fastest, and she had established her skills with Bear and Shorty, Feather (Vaka) decided to stay away from her after that, and I took them all out one at a time, except Silke, we did a little bit of play. I started out with trying to see if I could get her to do what I wanted with the smallest amount of pressure possible, it was so much fun. I asked her to face me and I just waited until she figured out what I wanted and gave a big release and then each time I got a little more subtle, it was great fun, she really had to pay close attention to my body language and I had to pay close attention to when she was listening and when she was not. If she was not listening, I would wiggle enough to get her to look, then I would ask her to turn and face me. she seemed to like the interaction. she was following me around the pen in no time, and she was very curious, she is very smart.  Sometimes it is so good you just have to stop.

I went back outside after dinner and thought my other 2 horses would be dry, wrong again, I guess tomorrow is the riding day
Cheryl

better weather/saddle fit

Today is a riding day woo hoo ! It's just raining, not freezing rain. Let's see if Silke remembers after a couple of days off. Bear and Feather are to be ridden too if the weather holds and doesn't get worse. I get to try out saddles for each horse today. I have 2 "Don West" gaited horse saddles that seem to fit my iceys the best, but I am trying others too, then I am going to sell the extra ones.
Cheryl

January 2011 Silke's new blog

Hi
Today we have freezing rain, and the ground is frozen below so it is very slippery out, if the sun comes out today I will get to spend time with Silke and bear and Vaka (feather) and little shorty, maybe I should introduce them all to this site.
Silke is my new untrained horse that this blog is all about.
Bear (Bangsi) is the first Icelandic I purchased. He was sent to Robyn Hood by his previous owner to be started at the appropriate age and when he came home, his owner all of a sudden, died. 5 yrs later the Husband sold him to me, he was not being used consistantly so I really had to work at getting him to be my horse and understand my horse language, he is wonderful, he chooses the trot more than the tolt, and I love it he keeps my skill level going, he is my trail horse and he is my trick horse. he has allowed me to tap into his potential and he lays down for me and he will pick me up anytime I want him to, I have had him since October of 2008. he is why I own Iceys. I could talk all day about Bear, we even went to Steve Rother's ranch together for a week last August, it was amazing, we worked with cows and young horses and trail riding it was my best horse vacation ever!
Vaka (Feather) I call her feather because she is light as a feather when she tolts, and she is very smooth, she really lets me know what it is to have a naturally gaited Iceandic horse. We are still getting to know each other, but she is so sweet, that I can put my granddaughter on her and she will take care of her. Don't get me wrong, she is a lead mare and she has also been very opinionated about learning new things like going where I want her to go instead of where she wants me to go, but I have cantered her and she is wonderful and everytime I ride her I am giggling all the way, she puts a huge smile on my face, and that brings me to Shorty, the love of Vaka's life, when she came Shorty was already here I got him before I got Bear.
Shorty is my Mini, he is a cremello and he has beautiful blue eyes, he will steal your heart. he is very talented, he can pull a cart but he hates to have someone on his back, he knows how to buck and how to bite, he was a stallion when I got him we gelded him asap. He has become an integral part of my little herd, When Vaka arrived he decided she was his mother, they are the same age! I caught the two of them in the barn with Shorty nursing off of her, she has never been a momma, but she likes him, and she chases Bear away. the funny part is, Bear and shorty play together for an hour every morning and afternoon until Vaka says for them to stop, by chasing them away from each other, it is wonderful to watch, I have it on video somewhere. This was supposed to be a short post, oops! next time I will talk about Wild Acres, My home and business.
thanks for listening, may your horse be with you!
Cheryl & Silke

Silke's progress

Today I feel like I really accomplished getting Silke's progress into the right program so I can effectively use it as a log of my progress with my horses, thank you all, even Silke for having so much patience with my learning curve.

1/2/2011

Silke's Progress January 2nd 2011. Today was so eventful, for those of you who have not been following my Silke's progress, I picked up Silke about a month ago and she was in a herd of Iceys for the 5 yrs of her life, with out being haltered or any real human contact, I started the process of working with her and she is progressing quite nicely.
Today she came clear across the oval pen to see me and she caught me, WOW !
That was a first, and the day just gets better. I always do groundwork to see if it's a riding day, it seemed like every thing we did she was so much more relaxed...I put my big western (gaited) saddle on her, she stood perfectly still for saddling and she didn't even flinch for the cinching up ! I did more groundwork with the saddle on, she even tolted. she actually cantered a little.
Today I am riding with a leather bosal and reins, she stood still for mounting and waited for me to ask her to move, I asked her to back up slowly she moved back without too much objection, she doesn't like backing as a rule. then we did lateral flexion to the right and to the left, she is getting much better. I asked her to move with a squeeze cluck and... she moved I released my legs and breathed out, she stopped and we went again, she just kept getting better and better. the ride lasted longer than usual, she had some minor objections to direction, but she seems to really like being ridden, today we ended on a very soft back up. this is a very good day, Derick you are right, born broke, but not broken. Thank you

1/1/2011

I am so jazzed! I will try to be less wordy....not my strong suit.
we had so many break through's... to begin with she is all of a sudden catchable and she comes to me every time I come near her oval pen I have been out 3 times today and will go out again after dark. I rode her today for the first time in my heavy western saddle, she loved it, she just likes being ridden. it was also the first time we rode without someone on a lead rope. she did really well she is still better at following but I think she is catching on to it all. we rode for quite a while this time.
Derick, you said it "born Broke"
Cheryl

12/31/2010

Hi all,
Silke is amazing, I know I have said it before, but it's hard to describe it any other way. Today we tried something different. Silke and Bear have been staying in my Oval pen in the main building where everyone else passes by with their horses to get to the big Arena. I was hoping it would help Silke adjust to people coming and going with horses, and it has been a good thing. I decided to change a little on our routine, my friend and I put our 4 horses together in the big Arena and turned them loose and asked them to go to the left, there were no rules about speed, just don't change directions and don't stop. we have done this many times with our horses, but never with Silke. She really loved it, I think she felt like she was back in the herd again. we let them go round until they were consistent with out trying to stop or change directions, then we sent them to the right and when they were consistent, we asked them to stop and come to us. Bear and the others came right away, Silke hid behind bear a little at first and then came up to be haltered. I am so excited ! she really loved it. I can't wait to try it with Vaka (Feather) and Silke and Bear. It was a good way to warm them up on a cold day. (we also got warmed up) we did our usual ground work taking away what is working well and adding a new task to replace what we have taken away. She is very smart, she remembers everything.
 I decided to see if this was a "riding" day, I took Silke into the oval pen and just turned her loose and asked her to stay with me, she followed me all over the pen and really liked the game of "Stick to me" she seemed to like the interaction of it. Since she didn't leave me and seemed to be very focused on me I knew it would be a good time to "ride."
 I put the bareback pad on and cinched it up in 5 cinchings so she could accept it better. then I moved her to the right and to the left crossing over on her front and then the hind quarters and crossing over. she stayed focused and did everything as if she had done it her whole life. I put the bosal and reins on and did lateral flexion both ways. I put the rope on her right side and around her butt and asked her to follow the feel from the halter and she turned from the left and from the right.

 I put the mounting block next to her and walked up on it, she did not move I laid on her back and on her neck, and on her butt, she still didn't move, she just lowered her head as if to say, just get on ! I got on and had my friend hold the lead line but only as a safety net.
I squeezed her forward and we walked and then I asked her to back up she didn't like it at first, but she did it just fine and then she decided it wasn't so bad and she backed up fairly smoothly we went to the right and to the left and we did several one rein stops so she could get used to emergency stops before I have to use them. She had her head down the whole time and she seems to like being ridden. this was a good ending to a good year! I hope to be riding with out the lead rope soon.
Happy New Year !

12/30/2010

Hi all,
This time I wanted to share about all my Iceys, Bear and I have spent time on a ranch for a week together last August and we did everything, we even herded cows together and team penned and we were the only Icey team at the ranch. we went in water together, we went through a waterfall and streams and climbed to some mountain tops as well as riding with dogs barking at his heals, we helped to flag young horses as well as cattle with really long horns that were as big as Bear in some cases. He was braver than me. He is also the one who will lay down so he can pick me up. Feather(Vaka), Bear and I have been horse camping together and she has a tolt that is so smooth that I giggle with more bounce than her tolt has. Now I have Silke and it was my goal/dream to finally get to hand pick a horse from a herd that was the mental, emotional and physical element that I was looking for in a horse, and then on top of everything else, she was a beautiful chestnut with flaxen mane and tail. most of the horses I have owned in the past have been ones that needed me more than I needed them. I am finally fulfilling my dreams with these 3 horses. I just had to share. My Dad passed away last May, and he always said I needed to raise a horse on my own and I wish he was here to see it,  he always told me to follow my passion and he always supported my horse dreams and goals. Thanks, Dad
Thanks for listening,
Cheryl, Bear, Silke, Feather and Shorty

12/26/2010

Sorry,
 it's been a while since a progress report, The holidays got in the way just a bit. Silke and I had a visitor from a horse owner in Medford, it was great fun for us both. We would never have met if it wasn't for the Inlandicelandic group on facebook. I must say that horse owners are the nicest people ! I took Bear out and had the opportunity to show how smart Iceys are when I laid him down and had him pick me up. Silke decided to show me how she has missed our interaction by paying very close attention and making me look good to our guests, we didn't have much time. but as always my horses seem to always amaze me. Silke is really starting to look forward to seeing me today she came up to me in the stall in seconds instead of minutes !
Thanks for listening,
lets all start the new year off by logging all of our results and our time spent with our horses. It really helps me to be more consistent.
Cheryl, Silke, Bear Feather and Shorty

12/19/2010

I am so amazed, today was so inspiring. The lessons I learn from this horse...

She really loves being climbed all over, she loves the time we spend together, but she is torn between leaving my other Iceys and her nice big warm dry stall, to go and play with me.

 Let me start from the beginning. she needs more rubbing all over with the halter and lead, it has improved tremendously we spent more time in her area today, instead of just leaving to go to the oval pen or the large Arena. she is the one who decided she wanted to leave to go with me. great idea ! we went through puddles and just meandered all over the property ! then we went to the large arena, there were lots of people and horses cantering etc. we went in and walked the perimeter, she was focused on me and what I was doing. The other horses were not a problem. I did some circles and flexing and asking for hind quarters and asking her to step over on the front end to the left and right. I jumped up and down on each side of her, I rubbed her all over , I picked up all four feet. I took her to the mounting bench and put my leg over her, her head dropped. she stood still. I went and got her bareback pad and put it on, she stood still we cinched it up in 4-5 cinchings. I took her into the small oval pen and brought her up to my mounting block. I asked my friend to come in, just in case. I stepped up onto her and she dropped her head, I laid on her neck and put my legs out straight to her butt, then I sat up and turned to lay on the other side and I slid down the other side to the ground. I walked behind her and got up on the block, again I got on and sat up, I have reins on my bosal to do lateral flexion, then I have my friend take the lead rope being careful not to pull, just to help if needed. I give her a small squeeze and she moves forward, I say whoa and back her up. she has a small resistance and then she steps back nicely. big release and pet all over. ask to the right and to the left, she is moving around nicely with her head down, unconcerned.  she is doing everything I ask ! We had a very nice short ride at the walk

My friend gets on in the large arena with 5 other horses, I am leading her and asking when she asks, we do a disengagement of the hind quarters, we do it to the right and to the left. we thought that if she takes off then we needed that in place on the ground and in the saddle, it goes very well. she already knew how. We do lateral flexion to the right and left, she is getting soft and supple. we back up every time we stop, she is soft in the back up too and is now lowering her head to back up. 

We are doing turns on the forehand towards the arena wall for a change of direction. we are moving around and waving our arms as we go, she spooked at first but she didn't really move, it was mostly in place, not bad ! I send Silke into a circle at the trot and we do a turn on the forehand and change directions and keep trotting she is loving it. we do several turns and stay at the trot, with lots of stop, back up and release.

The more time I spend with her, the better it gets. we are doing very light work, with huge breaks in between where she just stands tied or walks around with me while I do things around the property. we have backed through every gate, doorway or aisle way. 

I am the only one of my horse boarders that own Iceys, Silke is inspiring all the other horse owners to work a little more with their horses this winter, we are having great fun.

Thanks for listening, 

Cheryl & Silke

12/18/2010

Hi All,

Another great day with my extreme Icey Silke. 

I should have named her amazing, today we played with 3 logs on the ground and Silke trotted over them with ease and with her head down she pays close attention to every detail, but she is not afraid of anything. she startles in place sort of, but she has a really quick recovery time. Today she stood at the mounting bench and allowed me to climb all over her laid flat on her back with my whole body and my legs together over her butt. next I slid off the opposite side of her. she loved all the attention. so I took her to the other mounting bench and had her do the same on her right side, I climbed all over her again, her only movement was to get herself more square under me. I had my friend get on her while I led her around we had a bosal on her (no Bit) we did lateral flexion to both sides and we backed up and we turned with the reins. I still had the lead rope on her, but she responded well to the reins we asked her to move her hind quarters on bot sides, she was a little stickey on her left hind so I touched her hip with the lead rope and she moved off softly. my friend used her legs as a back up to me asking her with the lead rope, to get her used to someone asking from on top of her.  

 I asked my friend if she was willing to stay on her for the trot, we both knew she would be fine and we were not disappointed. 

Silke trotted in a nice circle around me to the left and then to the right, she is coming along nicely. we ended the day by putting the bit in her mouth, she seemed to like it, we didn't put reins on it. she seems to like the bit so I removed it slowly and softly. and I put her away for the day. I will be the one riding tomorrow, I can't wait. she seems to enjoy having us on her and having us give her a job to do. Thank you for listening,

Cheryl

12/17 2010

Hi All,

Silke is really starting to be really brave, we had a big dump truck picking up Manure all day yesterday, and my husband was also tilling my arena and smoothing it out level and later he was moving hog fuel to help with mud control and it was under a blue tarp that had to be moved each time.

She acted like it was her daily romp I had her on her 14 ft line. and she actually walked over the tarp without hesitation, in fact she drank the rainwater off the puddles on it. We walked through puddles that my other 2 iceys would have hesitated or went around. We stepped over logs and backed around corners. in some ways she is more broke than my other 2 iceys. I wish I had videotaped from day one. she is so amazing. I have owned a boarding facility for about 20 yrs and I have seen 2 yr olds that took for ever to get this good and some older horses that had troubles getting over their fears, that had to be sold to trainers. 

This is a very good day,

Cheryl

Dec 14th

Hi All,

I played with Silke yesterday and we really made great progress, we worked in the big arena and she was totally at ease, we had 3 other horses in the arena, she was distracted at first, but then she finally figured out that I was her herd. It was a great feeling. The wind was really blowing, but she was focused on me, when she did spook it was in place. She is doing well at HQ aand much better moving the front end, she still hesitates on the back up but the improvement is still there.

  I want to share an "Ah Ha" moment. You know how everyone is always saying "it is the release that teaches?" well, I really learned what it truly means, I was sending Silke between me and the arena wall, to the left and then to the right several times, when it occurred to me that she was rushing and a little upset, so I stopped to ask my friend to watch and I was asking her opinion, when I suddenly realized that when I stopped doing what I was doing she was licking and chewing. (I knew all this stuff, but my other horses are further along than her so I had forgotten to release longer) I just didn't realize that sometimes the release needs to be longer than other times. I sent her to the left again and stopped and allowed the belly of the lead rope to touch the ground, waited for her to show a sign of relaxing and then sent her to the right and waited for relaxation, the third time I sent her she went through with her head down and just walked calmly! what a great ending to the task. She is now progressing at a much better rate. she is now catching me and coming up to me when I call her name. I am so blessed to have found her and this wonderful breed. 

 Today was the day to get her feet trimmed for the first time in her life, keep in mind she is 5 yrs old, My farrier was amazed he said he had never had such a good first time appointment. We evidently prepared her well, he did say that I should also extend her feet out front and ask her to put her foot on something to imitate the farrier stand. I know this sounds silly but today she actually blew out a couple of times, and I knew she had accepted me as her owner and partner today, she is forever mine.

Thank you for listening,

Cheryl

next week

Hi all,

I have been gone to Florida for a week, so it was interesting to find out what would happen after a week off. when I had only been working with her for a little over a week.

As you recall I was able to progress to riding bareback and picking up feet etc.

the first day back from Florida, I went into her stall and it was just like the first day, she was very timid, so I really thought I had lost everything I gained. she kept moving away, so I just kept doing approach and retreat and every time she looked at me I would turn a shoulder to her and squat down and look to the ground, very submissive like. all of a sudden I could see her soften, she remembered!! I walked up to her side to side and backed my way over to her in a zigzag fashion until I was touching her all over. she let me put the lead rope on and she seemed relieved. 

 Today was even better I was able to catch her in less than a minute! I took her to my working pen and let her loose, she stood and let me pick up all 4 feet and she allowed me to brush her and I sprayed Vetrocyn on a spot on her back that she had when I got her. spray doesn't bother her either.  I put on the bareback pad several times, she moved away after I cinched up a couple of times so I sent her out and when she would look my way I would back up and turn a shoulder and squat down, she actually started stepping toward me!! We did several turns with her facing me to change directions, Yay!  This is very exciting for me! 

 

 Eventually she followed me all over the pen. I took off the bareback pad and tied her to the post, and went to get my light weight western saddle, I put if off and on 10 times from each side, then I cinched it up and then sent her to the right and then the left, she seemed to like it. so i got a portable mounting block and worked her to stand still to be mounted. First we did the right side and then the left, she would drop her head every time I stepped into the stirrup even on the off side, she didn't seem to know the difference. At one point she took a step when I had all my weight on her as if to say let's go. I didn't ride because I was by myself in the barn and I wanted someone to be a spotter in case they see something I don't, safety you know. by the way I always wear a helmet. I left her in the pen for several hours and came back , she followed me all over the pen loose, I also had put up a hot wire at the end with flags on it so she could get used to our electric fence before being turned out. She honored it well.

  My farrier comes Tuesday so I really worked on picking up feet several times. as I was taking her back to her barn a farrier came for one of my existing boarders, so I took advantage and asked her to pick up her feet and she cleaned them out, right there in the driveway,  Silke acted as though it was no big deal, the farrier gave her some peppermint treats for each foot, so she was very willing to oblige her. what a great day! That farrier said she thought my farrier would be very happy with how far we have come in such a short time. I told her that it is the horse, she is exceptional. Sorry this is so long I wanted to give specific details.
Cheryl & Silke

1st week

Hi,

I Can't believe its been a week, today we picked up all 4 feet 3 or 4 times each, she is getting easier to catch, she is doing really well, I put my leg over her from the mounting bench again, I put my full body weight over her back and she lowered her head as if to say go ahead get on! I can throw the rope over her back withers, rump, and around her legs. she stands still when I slap the ground with a stick and string. I can swing it over her head too! 

I went back out this evening so I could play the catch me game and we made huge progress. then I put my bareback pad on and gradually cinched it up being careful not to grab any hair. then we walked and trotted, no problem. This truly is my horse, she has chosen me, what a wonderful gift!

Thanks for listening.

Day 3

Day 3 has been great fun I am finding out who Silke is.

She is more friendly since I separated Faxi and her. Faxi is leading well and he likes being in the round coral with my mini, Shorty during the day and stalled at night next to him. 

 Silke comes up to the rail when I call her name, and she follows me around the space when I am cleaning up after her and refilling her water to keep it fresh and unfrozen. I make contact every day, but I don;t always ask for progress. If she presents an opportunity I try to use it as a positive re-enforcement. for example, if I ask her to move away, I always ask her to come to me to balance it out.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Cheryl Silke, Bear, Vaka, & Shorty.

day 2

Silke's progress, Day 2

get long fishing pole, I put it on Silke's back she starts moving it moves with her until she stops, then I take it away. we do that several times then she stops when I put it on so now I rub her back with it until she puts her head down, then I take it away soon she is putting her head down as soon as I put it on her. going really good, so I put halter and lead on and ask her to lead she pulls a little and then takes a step, big release of lead we progress and soon she is leading a big circle. Then we are also doing lots of backing up, (Task of the month for December) she is doing well!

I went out to check on horses at 11:00PM Silke is laying down comfortably so I go in and she stays down and I can pet her face neck area, then I leave before she gets up, I am so excited I can't sleep! what a great ending to my day!!! I am going out now to play with her for day 3, wish me success, thanks for listening
Cheryl & Silke

Early progress 1

I have the excitement of a new horse to play with! 3 pairs of pants 4 shirts and coat and gloves,  just don't knock me over I couldn't get up! Today was not as good as yesterday, but we accomplished taking the halter off and on alot. then she decided she didn't want to be caught so we separated the 2 horses and they are both doing better. She didn't call out for him at all.  Faxi is doing very well he is letting me touch him all over and I was able to lead him into his own stall today right next to my Mini,  they really like each other. He is going to be really easy to train. he is very easy going and willing to do anything you ask. He accepts the flag and the stick and he likes to be brushed. I will go out again after dinner and see how she is doing. And maybe get the halter on and off again? Thanks for listening, CherylI have the excitement of a new horse to play with! 3 pairs of pants 4 shirts and coat and gloves,  just don't knock me over I couldn't get up! Today was not as good as yesterday, but we accomplished taking the halter off and on alot. then she decided she didn't want to be caught so we separated the 2 horses and they are both doing better. She didn't call out for him at all.  Faxi is doing very well he is letting me touch him all over and I was able to lead him into his own stall today right next to my Mini,  they really like each other. He is going to be really easy to train. he is very easy going and willing to do anything you ask. He accepts the flag and the stick and he likes to be brushed. I will go out again after dinner and see how she is doing. And maybe get the halter on and off again? Thanks for listening, Cheryl

Silke's Progress January 2011

To start this blog properly, I need to copy and paste all the old stuff I wrote in emails, but before I do that I need to find out how, and also find out if this is working so I will talk to my friend Stan and see what he thinks.