Tomorrow will be the two week mark that I have had Cobre'.
First Day
Yesterday
If you would have told me that I would be riding him by himself, I would have laughed at you. In fact the second day I was at the new barn with him, L gave me a paper with all the ride dates on it. I crumpled it up and thought "Not this year! Not with how messed up this guy's head is... maybe next year, yeah next year." That night I grabbed it from my purse, uncumpled it and stuck it to my refrigerator and said "Maybe we'll get one in this year". I'm sticking to that plan. It doesn't have to happen now, or next month, or even until next October but that is my plan.
In the last two weeks he has come SO FAR with himself! I can't even tell you how proud I am of him. This week we've done a good amount of arena riding. Yesterday we started out by our selves but that didn't last long. He went into a spinning, backing panic, and popped up a few times. I laughed and said he was going to put a reining horse to shame with his antics. L yelled to me if I wanted her to come help me get off. I yelled back "NOPE! I'm not getting off! If you grab the lead rope that would be perfect! I'll be fine with whatever he does". So she grabbed the lead rope and we ponied him all over the place again at different speeds. After a while, we were off on our own with L and other horses near by in the arena. By the end of our hour ride by ourselves, he was doing everything I asked him today without any fear or confusion with his insecurities.
Today there was no ponying him, no lead rope, nothing. He did challenge me for about two minutes but after he threw his little spinning, backing, "scare tactic" to get a rider to get off, he gave up. I did have to tell him to GET UP! and WALK! We did everything again at all speeds in all directions the arena with him and his walk, corto, and largo. After an hour of riding him, we called it quits on a good note again. Always end on a good note. :)
I sure do love this little guy! I know he's going to be amazing with trail riding. In the last two weeks he is completely a different horse. I hope to one day do endurance rides with him.
I tacked him up, took him into the arena, and climbed on. He stood stock still. I asked for him to move forward and his little brain just went "AHHHHH!" and he went into trying to Fino his little heart out. A few spins and some backing up, it was time to call a time out! A change needed to be made and a few steps back with how he thinks and has been "trained".
Most of these Paso Fino's are started way too young, are trained until their brains are fried, and when they "don't get it perfect", they get "taught a lesson" and nothing comes good from that, ever.
Cobre' doesn't Classic Fino (even though he comes from amazing lines). A Classic Fino bred to a Classic Fino doesn't mean your foal is going to have the natural Classic Fino gait. Cobre doesn't have a natural Classic Fino gait. Someone tried and tried to teach him how to be... what I like to call a "dancing, money making, show pony". When he failed at that... he lost all value.
So now the fun comes of trying to figure out what he has been "taught", and unteach it to him, while reteaching him with much more relaxed, undemanding, non abusive and understanding methods. He needs to know he can just be a horse and relax, we aren't going to hurt him.
This evening after his Fino melt down, I got off of him and let him get his wits back together. Linda mentioned trying to pony him. Awesome idea! Only problem is... I don't have another horse to pony him with. So Connie let us use her Hal to pony him around for about 10 minutes to just let him relax and know he can move forward normally without any pressure on him.
Linda told me to climb back on if I wanted to, for a second I thought that probably wasn't the best idea. Ponying him around by himself was fine but another part of me said "try it!" you have the help here now, take it. So I climbed back into the saddle. He didn't move.
Hal walked on and so did Cobre' without a care in the world. Ears were alert, not stressed or pinned, he was walking like a normal horse, no dancing, nothing. Calm and relaxed walking. I was on Cloud 9! Becky was nice enough to video it so I could send it to Jenn.
We did a few laps around the arena and called it a night. So proud of him and am so thankful for all the tips, ideas, and help these ladies are giving to me as well for him.
*EDIT*
I forgot to say what the Classic Fino gait is:
It was fun to watch other people ride and just spend time with my guy.
Connie and Hal
Also how many times do you hear someone tell you, that you protect the dog from the cat?
Today I had to do so.
Poor Deja didn't know what I saved her from.
Bruiser the cat, hates dogs and is one of the reasons why the barn has a "no dog policy".
Today was an exception.
Becky was like "Hey! I know that dog!"
Small world.
When Linda and Becky arrived they thought maybe they could ride outside... but it was just way too windy out, worse than yesterday! We then just decided to let all our Pasos out in the outdoor arenas to let them run and play. Cobre' had Donny, and Monte in with him. On the other side of the fence, there was Cree (the stallion who has never been turned out with other horses before~HE DID FANTASTIC!) and Cole who told Cree he was boss.
Cree is so beautiful and smart and wasn't looking to be boss. He just wanted to play and run with the other horses. Everyone played, rolled, ran, rolled, ran, stretched and had a good time I would say for about an hour.
Cobre' really liked Cree
I wish I had my good camera with me. I have to start bringing it with me because my camera phone just doesn't cut it at all. Also I hope this wind stops soon. It is horrible!
I've been playing with the idea of taking Cobre' down to the river trail and today seemed like a great day to take the boy for a walk. It's in the 60's out, minus the 20mph winds we have. I figured he'd be a bit jumpy/spooky... nope, nothing. He just walked behind me taking it all in. It's much easier to control a horse from the ground than it is to do on their back. I tacked him up and off on our walk we went.
We walked on the sidewalks alongside the soccer fields (they used to be horse trails, stupid City owns them now) until we hit the paved trail.
It was a boring walk.
We got to where the bridge crosses the river and a guy on a bicycle came flying over it, which startled Cobre'. He jumped behind me and snorted.
Goofball!
So after that he wasn't sure of the bridge because "weird moving things come from it!", so we walked over to it. My plan was to just hangout by it and let him eat some grass. Little did I know that there was a crackhead passed out on the bridge.
At first I thought "Oh God... dead body!" but he moved. Cobre' wanted no parts of that guy laying there, nor did I... so we turned around and started back to the barn.
All was well until about 10 minutes away from the barn, walking near the road (on sidewalk by soccer field fence) a loud ass motorcycle came blowing past us. Didn't even try to slow down, Cobre jumped sideways and put it in reverse and took me about 12 feet back with him. I got his brain back and we continued on back to the barn. I was so mad because the road it a dead end and there are horse signs up and down it. A few minutes later, the same asshole comes flying towards us again! This time I was well off and away from the road and had both the reins and lead in my hands. The asshole blew past us again, Cobre' tried to bolt, but he could only run in a tight circle around me. After I got his brain back again, he was a nervous wreck and was covered in sweat. It pissed me off so bad, I wish I could have a spike strip with me for when people do that sort of stuff. It's also most like they enjoy watching you or your horse get hurt.
We made it back to the barn, where he calmed down and was praised for being such a good boy.
He got some cookies too.
I untacked him, and let him roll in the arena and we just hung out.
He dried off and we called it a day.
He tries so hard to be brave and I love this boy to pieces! He is wonderful!
Bonus pictures of a few of the barn cats, who I just love as well!
Oh and we can't forgot the silly barn rabbit either! :)
Friday, March 3, 2017
Cobre' has been doing wonderful! He is so willing and he tries to hard to understand and please. Someone really did him wrong at some point in his life though.
The other day I put a bridle on him, he had no reaction.
Yesterday I put a saddle on him, he didn't care.
Today I let him run around the arena with two other pasos, and a fox trotter. At first I wasn't sure if I'd be able to catch him again... but I had to do it just to see how hard it would be to catch him. After everyone got their horse, he came right up to me like "Okay, here I am, let's exit". I was so proud of him! I refuse to use treats or food in order to catch a horse. That drives me nuts when a horse will only allow it's self to be caught if it gets food.
Today's weather was the high of 30, windy, and snow. I'm so over it!
I got off of work and headed to the barn. Cleaned his stall, haltered him, took him out, groomed him. messed with all four of his feet and off to go explore we went. We only walked across the road, which is a huge field. While walking down the road for get to a crossing (wooden fence lines the field) a Comcast truck drove by. I wasn't sure how Cobre' would react but told him to stop, watch it as it passed (he startled in place) and I told him to "get it!", meaning... "make it go away". Not really chase it, but we followed it while I praised him of being a good and brave boy. He snorted as it drove on and we continued out into the field. A short walk out and I was sinking in mud again, so we turned around and headed back to the barn.
I was half frozen so into the indoor arena we went. A group lesson was underway and I thought "Hey, let's stand around, hang out, and watch it together". Cobre' was abused by a trainer, he doesn't like loud noises and doesn't like people yelling. A controlled group lesson with one loud lady on the ground giving tips, and directions... he was curious about. After a few minutes he didn't care that she was yelling across a big arena, so we practiced how he ties. No real issue with that while I was standing there with him... but I do worry due to how he was trained that he has pull back issues.
(I might touch on that at some point, sadly the trainer is well loved in the horse world and any negative stuff that comes up on him, he threatens people and goes after them~What a winner he is! *GAG*)
Cobre' seemed to be getting bored, so I figured I'd see how he would take a bit/bridal. No issue and it gave him something to play with while we just hung out. I took it off after a few minutes and he just stood there and nuzzled me and licked my jacket. He's so sweet!
By that time, the barn manager was feeding so I wanted to take him back to see if he would eat his grass hay. I put him back in his run, and into his stall he went and started eating. I was so happy! At that moment I thought of a good idea and used the weather to my advantage. Cobre' doesn't like people around him when he eats, he gets kind of food aggressive. We suspect that the trainer would either take his food away from him if he was "bad" or "not perfect", or hit him while he ate or tried to eat. So off into the barn I went and hung out at his stall.
At first he wasn't sure and walked back outside... into the wind and snow.
He didn't seemed to thrilled and he must have been hungry because after a few he came back inside and started to eat while I was standing right next to him. No aggression or ears back or anything. He munched and I grabbed a handful of the alfalfa that I have for him and handed it to him. He happily took it from me without thinking he was going to get hit or punished.
I was frozen again and decided to call it a night and head home. I can't wait until spring!
With Cobre's known and unknown past, he needs a lot of baby steps. He is very unsure and lacks confidence in himself. The first evening (2-25-17) he was at the new barn, he was terrified and pretty shocked.
Everything that he knew was safe, was no longer in sight or smell. Thankfully Karen told him about me and I spent that first evening just talking to him.
He did allow me to pet him and did start to doze off standing next to me. It was amazing!
I told him to rest up and I would be back in the morning (Sunday) to hang out with him some more.
Sunday 2-26-17
Around noon I arrived and walking down to his barn I turned the corner and yelled HI COBRE'! and he spun around and threw his head up and looked at me. He knows his name! :) I ended up just eating my lunch and talking to him (mainly telling him that he needed to eat his grass hay). A bit later I went into his run and petted him for a bit then decided it was halter time. I was sure he was going to try to get away and at first he did move away but once I put the leadline around his neck, he was fine getting the rope halter on.
While standing there I did brush him a bit and he seemed a bit startled and scared of it. He flinched a few times but I let him know that I wasn't going to hurt him and he would look a lot better after a good grooming. He allowed me to pick all four feet up as well.
After that I took him for a walk around the entire property. He has the funniest nicker/whinny I have ever heard. I'll have to try and get it on video at some point. He did great and at one point I was sinking in the mud and he had to help me out a bit and he knew how to do that without being afraid. I let him eat grass and every time something would make him unsure, he would walk and stand behind me and when he felt it was safe again, he would away back and graze.
We ended on a good note. I am not expecting much from him due to his past. One day at a time. Baby steps.
Monday 2-27-17
I wanted to take him for another walk, but Mother Nature had other plans in the form of wind, snow, rain, and the high in the 20's. ICK! I decided that I'd clean his stall, see if he ate his grass hay (he eats the alfalfa just fine), groom him and probably call it a day. I walked down to his barn and he was inside but came out when I called him and he saw me.
I cleaned his stall and was happy to see that he had a solid normal poop right in the middle of his grass hay. LOL Sure tells me what he thinks of that. He ate all of the alfalfa though. I told him he wasn't getting anymore alfalfa until he ate the grass hay. We'll see tomorrow if he ate it or not.
He followed me around and wanted my attention, so I haltered him and took him out. Groomed him a bit, picked all four feet, and he seemed to not want to go back... so off to the indoor arena we went.
I wasn't sure how he was going to react but he was calm and took it all in. While there we met another boarder who made friends with him by giving him cookies only in return if she got to pet him. He liked her and liked the attention and thought the treats were great.
I walked him around the arena a few times so he could check it out. He seemed fine with it. I tied him up to see what he would do and he stood there just fine. A horse in the row of stall in the indoor called out to him, he answered back and made it a point to prove to me that he HAD TO go over and say hi to this other Paso. They sniffed and rubbed each other like they knew one another. It was pretty neat! Also this other Paso looks a lot like him too.
It's been quite a few years since I've logged into this blog. A LOT has changed.
The good, the bad, and the ugly has happened, but I'm back and in a great spot in life. I can't complain.
I got out of the horse world back in late 2013 and ended up moving in 2014 to Cali. In spring of 2015, I ended up moving to Utah, and I'm still out here. Some days I think I'm crazy for staying... but over all I've kind of fell in love with this place, except for the inversions.... I don't love them at all. I won't bore you with my past, as it's over and done with and I've moved on. So with that said....
I adopted a horse and he arrived yesterday.
Please meet Cobre' <3
I adore him and have since December 2016. I only saw him from a distance while visiting my friend and my old mare Legacy. I'm not sure what clicked but something did and I when I drove back to Utah after my December vacation, I pretty much told my friend "If and when he is put up for adoption, please let me know as I can't get him out of my head." So it began.
