Sunday, February 22, 2009

It was supposed to rain...

...but it pretty much held off!

Something to add to my to do list with Cody, get him used to having a rope snug up under his tail. We had worked a bit inside his pen first, and things were going fairly well, so I thought we'd go for a walk outside again. We did lots of stopping and smallish circles but we hit a snag when I wanted him to walk past my uncle's old trailer. So I thought I'd just loop the rope around his rump and not put up with his silliness. Well, that didn't go so well. He zipped forward when he felt the rope around his rump and turned quickly and got the rope snugged up under his tail with a loop around it and when I put a bit of pressure on it he didn't much care for that... So, once again I had a loose horse. I think the whole idea of whoa has been getting through to him because when I said whoa, he stopped and turned toward me and I was able to walk up and step on the end of the rope and then pick it up. It may seem long sometimes but I am really liking my 18' long rope. We continued on and past the trailer and then I thought we'd go for a walk in the field. I'll have to get some pictures next time. The field, once you get past the blackberries is covered in weeds. I have a picture that I will scan soon of grandma's property. It is an aerial shot from 1988. Will have to compare it to the current state of the field. It's awful :( I have a lot of work ahead of me!

Here is video attempt #2. I tried adding sound this time. It cuts off at the end, but I'll figure out how to end it better next time


6 comments:

Unknown said...

Cute video! Cody seems a little bit iffy about that ball rolling towards him.

What is the point of the rope around his rump? Just so he gets used to it there, or are you going to start driving him or something?

18' is soooo long. But I can see where it would be useful.

Good luck on the field! Blackberries are a pain.

froglander said...

Thanks :)

He's getting more used to me kicking the ball towards him. Now he just spins away the first time instead of daring around his pen.

Well, it had worked in the beginning, in helping teach him to lead, to get him moving forward. Like you'd do with a young foal.



And I'd kinda like to teach him to drive, at the very least ground drive at some point.

gtyyup said...

Gosh...Cody is coming along really nicely for you!! Sorry I haven't been by for a while.

He sure looks cute under your English saddle too!

I don't know if you've started driving him on long lines yet, but that will really help him with the rope around his rear end. You can drive him in a halter...you don't have to have a bit in his mouth. Prior to putting the long lines on him, get him used to giving to the pressure of the rope as it comes around his hip...horse is facing left, you are on the horse's left side, the long line is along the right side of horse, pull the line (line is now around his rear) until he gives to the pressure and is facing you. When he can do that both ways, you're ready to drive.

froglander said...

gtyup - Thanks for the ground driving advice! I have been trying to comment on your blog but the captcha screen just always sits at "loading" and won't let me post :(

So I'll say it here, love the Kiger Gorge photo, makes me want to saddle up and go explore on horseback :)

Linda said...

You've come a long way with Cody!!!!--his stall is immaculate, too!! How do you keep it so clean?!? I love the long ropes, too. It's nice that he stays somewhat put for you when he gets free. I have a feeling Beautiful would run to the other horses--which would mean busting down fence. Another mare who was visiting did exactly that last year and I almost lost all my horses. You've trained him right. Love the video!

froglander said...

It gets picked morning and evening when he gets fed. After cleaning up after multiple horses when working off board, picking one horse's stall is nothing :)

There aren't any other horses nearby, otherwise, he'd probably head that direction too.

I am so looking forward to having a slightly less hectic schedule so that I can actually spend some more time playing with him. That and there is fencing to be done, blackberries to be cleared, etc. Darn time :)