Saying Goodbye--We're Not Giving Up Yet

Bochica's tumors continue to come and go, but otherwise he seems to feel good most of the time. Occasionally he seems a little cross to Moe, but never to me. I think he has been missing our rides--I see him really watching closely when I am walking Rufus. But I've come upon a way for him to have a "job' to do again.

The other day for some reason he picked up his feed bucket and dropped it. Aha! I decided to watch him and if he did it again, to give him treats, praise him and teach him to do it upon command. It only took a few days--he is one smart horse and eager to please. Check this video out:

Now is I can jut get him to pick up Moe's bucket!  As soon as it is a little warmer, I plan to get another exercise ball and play with him. Even though I am so tempted to ride him "one more time", I am going by my "gut feeling" which says NO. He is developing more tumors around his hip and is giving a little more to his back end. So we will just have fun in other ways.  I just love that little horse!!!!

Stay tuned for more fun ways to enjoy a horse!

Saying Goodbye - Bochica, the Snake and Me

Well, my next interesting experience with Bochica occurred about two weeks after the spooking incident.  I was riding out in a pasture behind the barn, focusing on a spot in the distance. I had been reading some training books and one of the things that was suggested was to focus with your mind on a spot where you wanted your horse to go. Suddenly Bochica began dancing to the side a little. I looked down, and -- Yikes -- there was a snake right beside us, moving parallel to us. Well, in about a 30 second period I remember thinking the following:

"That snake is the length of a yardstick, he's going to dump me on it, I'd better jump off."

 So, can you believe it  (I hardly can), I put my hand on the pommel and vaulted from the saddle,  landing on my knees with the reins still in my hand. Poor Bochica! I was crawling on my knees toward him, all the time wondering where the snake was--Bochica  was backing up, scared to death! Finally, he jerked the reins out of my hands and ran back to the fence by his paddock, where he proceeded to graze. As for me, I was looking around thinking, "Where's the snake?" I'm sure it was long gone by now and wondering what that crazy human was doing. I then realized the foolishness of my action--I should have just slowly guided Bochica away from the snake. I walked back to the paddock and mounted Bochica - back to the arena again. (The arena was my confidence building area.)

The next day we went back out to the pasture and the entire time I was saying out loud to myself, "If we see a snake, we will turn around." During my time in that horse community I ran across several more snakes while riding, but did manage to stay cool.

Next I'll tell you about how I trained Bochica to like the clippers. Stay tuned!

A Lesson in De-spooking Bochica

As I may have mentioned, when I bought Bochica, he was very afraid of many things. Remind you of Rufus? I seem to be destined to have spooky animals. Maybe that is my purpose in life--to de-spook them. :) Over the years I have worked many hours with Bochica, using many different objects to make him less afraid.  I have definitely become a more patient person. Wish I had owned Bochica before I had children. :) This training lesson involves two types of objects --a pom pom and swimming pool noodles. First I began with the pom pom, shaking it around him, getting it closer and closer. And by the way, Bochica didn't read the book that said you can't train horses with  treats. I have used treats very successfully to get him used to many things-- clippers, having his ears handled, etc. So first I shook the pom pom around him, all the while rewarding with treats when he stood still and lowered his head. Then I brushed it over him--at first he jumped to the side but eventually calmed down. Then I threw it over his back and then his head, all the while rewarding him with a treat when he didn't shy away. This is the final result. I decided the pom poms sounded too much like a rattlesnake, so moved on to the noodles.

Gee Mom, I look like a dork in this getup!

                                             
 First I began by setting the noodles up in the pasture and letting him get used to them. Then after a few days I led  him up to them, let him look at them and then backed him away. Then I asked him to put his nose on one of them--rewarding him with a treat each time he did it without jumping around. Finally, I opened them up a little and led him through them. I did that around 20 times, then saddled him and walked him up to them. He put his nose right on one, then I backed him up, gave him a treat from the saddle and walked him up to them again. That first day I quit on a good try. Then the second day he seemed eager to go to them. So I walked him up the first time, let him sniff, walked him up a second time, and he walked right through, calm  as a cucumber. (Are cucumbers calm?)

Success-here are a photo and a video. Next step is moving them all together and doing it again.

Gee Mom, why were you so worried? This is fun!