Wow we are finally getting somewhere! Yesterday I was so aggravated because I felt like I was getting no where with Spade. So just like any other day that is bad I usually don't sleep and then think about it all the next day. I looked for any answers that I could find on the internet and through others to figure out what I needed to do to for Spade. I should have been on him by now but I refuse to get on a horse that will not allow me to get around him and do things with him. The fear and the kicking has to go. And I was determined that I was going to figure it out today.
As I was talking to a trainer friend of mine I was telling her about Diamond the horse that I had mentioned last week. She was extremely spooky when I got her. Later I got to thinking about things that I did to get her "normal". That is when I realized that I knew all a long how to fix Spade's kicking. In the beginning I couldn't do it because he needed more foundation but now he has more and he has the trust that I need to reach him. I was so excited to go and work him to see if it would work.
Today the temp reached 107 at the ranch. You could feel your skin cooking just from the air touching you. I was so sore from the last few days of training (I usually ride 3-5 horses a day) that I decided to sleep in and work at night rather than this morning. But the new round pen isn't lit yet so at 7pm I headed out. What I realized was that I had never told Spade that kicking is wrong around people. How could I expect him to stop if he didn't know. This would be the reason that he has learned to accept certain things but still will kick new things. He just didn't know that I was trying to get him to stop doing. To him it is a defense that is perfectly accepted in his world and culture. I just have to adjust his culture. How do I do that? Well in horse training on of the rules is "make the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult". Another rule is "reward or discipline even a thought". I realized that for weeks he has been giving me the naughty look or the "donkey face" and I haven't done anything about it. So today I went in the pen with a different attitude. I wanted to bring him to the thought of kicking and then make him work for thinking it. Sounds mean I know, but it works. I also came in moving much more free and "crazy" for the lack of a better term. I was kicking balls, throwing noodles, waving my arms acting like a goof ball. He was terrified but has learned to keep his face toward me. So he watched me scared out of his mind for about a minute and then he relaxed. I am sure he thought, "Mom your nuts!" By this time I was pouring sweat. Even though it was getting later it was still super hot out. Both of us were pretty gross.
After that I started rubbing his body and legs with my stick like I do every day but today I was much more aggressive. The minute he would cock his leg or bend his ear I would push his hind quarters around as quick as I could get them to move. He now has training that I needed when he first started kicking. I was so excited to see that it worked. I got to where he would give the naughty look and I could pop the rope to his halter and he would straighten his ears and stand back up.
I was so happy that I pulled out a large piece of the tarp he had previously shredded and tied it to the end of my training stick. This is the "monster" that he is the most afraid of. He doesn't mind walking over it but if it moves he jumps 6 feet in the air. Since I had figured out that the change in the training was working I was ready to take it to the max. I started by bouncing it out away from him as he drug me backwards. He finally stopped and relaxed. So did I. On a hot day I am just as glad as they are when they stop. I get tired of being a rag doll that is slung all over the pen. It wasn't long before Spade was allowing me to scratch his body with the tip of the stick that had the corner of the tarp tied to it. Not long after that I could lay it across his back. As I would bring it toward his body he would cringe and roll his hip toward the tarp setting up for a kick. Every time I would pop his halter bringing his eyes to me and yield his hind quarters away from the object. You could tell the idea was new to Spade but he completely understood the process and why I was doing it from the beginning. I worked with the tarp on both sides which took about an hour. He was still a little worried from time to time but I am going to let him think on it over night and come back to it tomorrow.
By the end of the session I pulled out the brush and for the first time EVER was able to brush his butt. I was even able to brush his hamstrings by his tail. Don't think that I wasn't really reaching around there though. I didn't get further then his belly area. It was nice to see that he wasn't worried in fact he was hanging his lip out because he liked it so much. After we were done I took him out and washed him off. He LOVES the water. In fact I stood there while he played in the hose with his lips and face. One time he even accidentally stuck his nostril on the hose. I thought he was going to drown. He was really funny. He even reached down and bit the end of the hose to suck the water into his mouth. It is really nice to find things that he isn't worried about. At the moment it is the water, the saddle and gear. All of these things allow me a window to see a bit of the great personality that he has wrapped up in so much worry.
I learned for myself today that sometimes you already have the answers. I just needed to tap in to the knowledge that I already had. While I was working I got the thinking about people that deal with problems that seem to be so overwhelming. Christians especially. It is easy to let little things be giants in our life. Spades kicking is so minor in perspective to the task that I need to achieve in the long run. The kicking is a huge deal to me because of the fear that I have had from a child. I can't tell you that when I realized that I already knew how to fix it and that it was working I wanted to squeal. (and I DON'T squeal) It was so liberating to know that I am going to make it through this...with a horse that doesn't kick. Then as I thought about people that are facing some "giants" in their life I realized that when Christ died on the cross 2000 years ago he gave the ability for everyone of his children to tap into the power and the knowledge that only Christ himself possesses. Christ could control the storms, break colts (remember the triumphal entry) and fish like nobody had ever seen. That would have made him a great cowboy. But He could also feed the masses, heal the sick, raise the dead and turn the wicked heart. If I had one wish today I wish that every one of my brothers and sisters in Christ would find strength in what Christ has done for us. And that they would pick up there Armor (Eph. 6:10-18) and fight for their families, their friends and themselves. There is no reason that the devil should have us beat and afraid. See I have had many words over who I am and who I will be. The devil knows the gist of the plans that God has on each of our lives. Mine has alot to do with training horses. And Satan knows that God wants me to finish this Mustang Makeover with excellence for a greater cause that will bring only God glory. So I don't find it odd that I am having this fight with a kicking horse. Whether it is God teaching me to be a better trainer or the devil trying to discourage me. Either way I will overcome and this to will pass. My challenge to you today is not to let the small things become giants, tap into the Lord and overcome so God can receive His Glory.
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