Working with Tex

Awhile back Lytha said she would love to see a video of me working with Tex at liberty.  So, I enlisted Brett's help a few days ago, handed him my phone, loaded my pocket with cookies, and headed into the pasture.

The video is taken from outside the pasture because I was afraid that if Brett came in, it would distract Tex (Brett is a reliable source of treats).  I was also concerned that Flash would mob Brett -- and you can see that he did that even with Brett outside the fence.  There's quite a bit of Flash photo-bombing going on.

Tex and I have been building on our liberty work slowly.  I view it as an extension of the bond we are building and a way to expand its boundaries.  We are far from polished and we are probably not doing everything correctly, but it is our relationship and our bond.  So there.  What I've done is taken my initial work with him -- let me approach you, touch you, walk around you and mess with you -- and expanded it.  At first, I added "walk with me a few steps."  And, as that got easier and more consistent, we walked further.  Tex watches me enter the pasture, and then he turns and comes to me.  Sometimes, I get a goat as a bonus.  ...which is actually a big deal because Tex does not like the goats milling around me at all. Here's a very short clip of me going into the pasture and Tex turning:

We always end up at his feed bin (because he is often leaving his breakfast or dinner to hang out with me).  Sometimes, he marches along at my shoulder in perfect lock-step.  Sometimes, not so much.  This video captures a pretty typical/average session.  Sometimes, he walks next to me but sometimes he needs to think about it first.  For me, I don't care that he thinks about it first -- what I care about is that he chooses to join me.  Every time.  He always chooses to be with me and that feels awesome.

A Ruckus in the Pasture

Tex has been doing great.  Honestly, he's a different horse.

We were outside his pasture the other day, way down by the road, talking about replacing that section of fence.  We were engrossed in our discussion of how to get through the blackberry bushes, and what line to take, when we noticed that Tex had arrived.  He was standing on his side of the fence, close by, watching us.  Fortunately, Brett had a cookie in his pocket (he usually does) so I quickly rewarded him for joining us.

In the pasture, I can walk out to Tex when he is in "his corner" grazing with Flash.  He will leave Flash and follow me, all the way back to the gate.  I don't have treats on me.  He only gets a treat after we get to the gate -- I have them in a bucket outside the pasture.  I can even draw him in while we walk, so he is walking close to me.  How cool is that??? The first time it happened, it was all I could do to keep from jumping up and down, throwing my arms around his big red neck, and covering his mane in kisses.

And then there are the occasional small steps backwards.

One morning, when I took Tex his morning vitamins, the goats were out.  We usually keep them in until after the horses finish their vitamins because the goats looooooove horse vitamins.  Tex doesn't like the goats and will retreat from his bin, leaving the vitamins for the goats.  So, the goats mobbed me and Brett when we went in the gate.  They backed off of Brett and Flash pretty quick, because Flash will bite the goats on their backs if they get too close to his food.  But Tex retreated.  We tried to push away the goats and banged our buckets on their backs.  It didn't phase the goats, but Tex was alarmed and moved further away.

Then, Lucy in the next pasture started pitching a fit because it was taking too long for us to deliver her vitamins.  She began galloping along the pasture fence.  Normally, she canters and bucks and farts -- I don't know that I've ever seen her gallop before.  ...she's pretty fit at the moment and it shows.  Her energy added to Tex's alarm.  Brett headed over to feed the girls so the drama queen behavior would stop.

Meanwhile, I dragged the feed bin out of the pasture and left it on the grass outside the gate.  Then, I went back in with Tex's halter.  I approached him with no problem, but as I was slipping on the halter, a goat approached and he jumped backwards.  He came back to me, but he didn't want anything to do with the halter.  Not with goats around.  No way, uh uh.

I left.  I went to the round pen and picked up Jackson's manure.  I checked on the chicks.  When I went back to the pasture, Tex immediately came to the gate.  I slipped on the halter and led him out, so he could eat his vitamins from his bin in peace.

Even though he initially pulled back from the halter, I'm calling it a win.  He thought about it and when I came back, he was happy to be haltered.  In fact, when he finished his vitamins, he wanted to go on a treasure hunt and was not happy about going back to the pasture.  Normally, I would have loved wandering around with him looking for great grazing spots but I was already late for work.

Tex Graduates

...from kindergarten.  He has demonstrated that he can tie his own shoes.

When we got home from the clinic a week ago, I put Tex in the small arena instead of back out in the boys' pasture with Flash.  The small arena is next to the barn.  There is a walkway, about a tractor's width wide, between the arena and the goat area fence line and the boys pasture.  He wasn't isolated, but he was alone.  The sand is very thin in that arena because we don't use it for riding much, preferring the large, open dressage court. Grass struggles to grow through the sand but isn't very successful.  The arena is a decent size -- larger than a small dressage court -- so he had plenty of room to roam.  It's also perfect for rolling.  So, it isn't like he was in jail or anything.

Being isolated meant it was easy for me to control how much hay he was eating.  It also meant he was a bit bored.  As a result, Tex was always happy to see me.  When I took him out, to hand graze and treasure hunt, he was reluctant to go back to the safety of his paddock/arena.  As we got closer to the gate, he would slow and then stop and I had to encourage him to go back in.  Being with me was preferable.  Yes!

Wednesday after work we went on another treasure hunt.  I love treasure hunts.  I put treats in areas that are a bit hidden, or unpopular.  There were carrots on the stall mat in front of the tie rail -- and there was a bucket with all sorts of goodies inside the trailer door.  We grazed in a few spots, rich with dandelion leaves and grass, before going to the tie rail.  Initially he stopped and almost balked (which is the usual response) -- then I walked onto the mat and said, "Oh, look, Tex!  Carrots!"  He inched his nose out and took a closer look -- then walked onto the mat and ate them.  We continued on.

Another one of the things I learned is to approach the scary place/thing, reward, and then leave.  In the past, I've always tried to keep the worried horse in the scary environment until they realize its safe (which doesn't work very well).  Robin taught me that it is better to go in, have a very positive experience and leave.  That way, the horse develops a desire to go to that place.

After the stall mat and another grass interlude, we approached the back of the horse trailer.  It isn't hooked up to the truck so I didn't want to load him, in case it shifted.  The back doors were shut.  With Tex on a loose line, I opened the back of the trailer.  I wasn't careful or quiet about the whole deal.  Tex blinked when I swung the door around and latched it open.  And he braced.  I looked in the trailer and said --"Wow!  Look what's in here!" -- Tex knows that particular bucket and what it holds.  He came right over.

I decided to put him back in the boys pasture after that.  Sure, he still flinches once in awhile.  He's been known to step back after snatching a bite from a bucket.  When he does, I step back and before I can turn, he has stepped back forward.  "Please don't go.  I didn't leave.  See, I'm right here."

I think that qualifies as tying his shoelaces.  I think he's ready for elementary school.

When I removed his halter in the boys pasture, I expected him to turn and go to Flash.  If not that, then to wander out to his favorite back corner and graze.  But, no, he stayed with me and even followed me back to the gate.

Thursday morning, I was in the house getting ready to leave for work after doing the morning chores.  Brett opened the back door and said, "Come here.  I need to tell you something."

He told me he was in the boys pasture mucking.  Flash and Tex were grazing or eating hay or otherwise occupied.  He left the manure cart and went to the goat area to open their gate and let them into the pasture.  He removed the barrier so the horses could get in and help eat the grass, that has once again grown high.  Goats do not eat grass.  sigh.  He went back to picking up manure and then realized that Tex had come over and was standing behind him.  He asked Tex to follow him.  Tex took a couple steps and paused.  Brett thought, "oh, well.  It was worth a shot."  But, then Tex continued on and followed Brett all the way over to the goat area, where he was rewarded with access to the thick grass in their area.

I don't know; maybe Tex is ready for middle school...

Walking at Liberty: Last Clinic Post

The very cool thing about being at Robin's ranch was that I got to work with her horses.  We worked with Tex throughout the day, in short sessions (sometimes very short if he didn't want to come over to me).  In between, Robin demonstrated more advanced liberty work and gave me the opportunity to play as well.

Of course, the thing I most wanted to do was to walk with a horse.  But I had to learn a few skills first.

How do you keep a horse from wandering away while you are walking?  How do you create the desire in them to stay with you?  You use draw.  Its an energy pull, coming from your core.

There are three energies that are used in liberty work: Push, pause and draw.

Think about push like this.  Have you ever been in a group of people, large or small, and there was someone that never said anything to you but you knew that they didn't like you.  Maybe they resented you, maybe they were jealous, maybe they thought your taste in clothes was appalling.  You didn't know why, but you could feel them pushing you away.  Maybe when you left, you turned to a friend and said "what's up with her/him?"

Contrast that with: If you catch a close friend's eye across a crowded room and they light up; you can see that they are excited to see you, that they want you to cross that room and join them -- you would go, right?  That's draw.

Working on draw with Red

 In liberty work, I learned to go to the still quiet place at my core and, from that place, use energy to pull the horse closer to me.

After learning some of the building block skills, Robin asked me to practice walking with Red in the arena.

The next day, we practiced in the large pasture.  The pasture is vast, covering the top of the hill and sliding down to vineyards.  There were other horses in the pasture and they were all standing with us.
I called Red to my side and off we went.  It was beyond amazing.  Red stuck with me.  A few times, he started to drift off and I used draw to bring him back, close to me.  If my energy level dropped, he lost interest so I had to stay engaged, confident and positive.

Later, we did it again in a different pasture, a distance from the barn.

 We would walk a bit and then I would invite him to graze.  Then we walked some more.  I made a point of walking to places where the grass looked especially tasty.  He stayed with me and I found him good things.

After walking around for awhile, Robin opened the gate and said, "walk with him back to the barn."  We went out the gate.  I turned left for the barn, and Red turned right for more grass.  In fact, he took off trotting for another pasture.  Robin walked after him and he came to her, then they walked together, at liberty, to the barn.  So, it takes practice and they don't always say yes -- but what a cool experience it is to connect in that way.

A Different Kind of Liberty Work

What makes Robin Gate's liberty work different is intent.  It's liberty relationship and liberty play. Its relationship.

Let me try to explain.

I'm an American rider, living in the Western United States so that frames my experience.  And there are exceptions to every rule as well as differences in experience, so you may see things a bit differently.  This is my view of what has framed my journey.

In the beginning... there were cowboys who needed broke horses real fast.  So they rode green horses into the ground, or tied them to posts, or beat them into submission (yes, yes, not all cowboys; I know that; stay with me).  These horses did their job, but they were broken, and didn't think humans were all that great.

(actually, before that you had some Native American tribes who had amazing relationships with their horses and did everything bareback and at liberty -- but it takes time to build those sorts of bonds and cowboys didn't have the time, or inclination, so they ignored the golden opportunity to learn true horsemanship).

Source: nativeamericanimages.net

More recently, there has been the Natural Horsemanship movement.  When Brett and I first brought our horses home to live with us fifteen years ago, we were intrigued.  We bought the stuff: the books, videos and special tack (halters, etc).  The exercises were called games, but they were dominance games, and they just didn't appeal to us.  If you read the books or watch the videos, there is a lot of talk about pressure and the horses are worked in a round pen until they give.  So, we gave away all our stuff and followed our own path.  (Again, there are exceptions -- Mark Rashid, for one).  For me, it was the path of dressage and achieving harmony through thought.  For Brett, it was building a bond through the sharing of new experiences in mounted patrol training and trail trials.

But, still I longed for that connection and bond that, I thought, maybe only exists in movies -- you know, the Black Stallion running on the beach, or the wild mustang who chooses to leave his herd because his bond is so strong with his human.  I wanted that.

And then I came across Robin.  She never uses a round pen.  She doesn't use pressure -- she uses push, yes -- but not pressure.  The horse can always choose to leave; can choose not to play.

When Robin works with a horse at liberty, she encourages them to express themselves.  She invites them to express their exuberance.  Here's a video of her working with some of her horses.  You can see the give and take, the conversation, the joy, and the bond.

This is what I want.  This is my dream and my deepest desire.  (besides Brett, of course)