Tender Loving Care

Wa mare receiving the gentle, effective therapeutic touch from one of her favorite  equine therapists, on a  recent rare sunny day.


The year I met him, I watched as he helped several horses at my stable regain health. Sometimes  he worked without being paid, coming out in between appointments to do a ck up.
He made sure the horses were calm and comfortable, while healing from their serious maladies. He is a "give, give" kinda guy. 

Washashe mare Here, the first time she met him  , I truly thought she would try and lay him low!  
As he found the area's of trauma, she made terrible faces and also began kicking the ground with her hind leg, to relieve the pain as he did the same, by massaging the blocked area. 
We knew he was a "Keeper" after that session. He also uses pure essential oils, and the horses sniff them, as needed to soothe themselves.

The weekend he came, it was so nice and bright out (CCCold in the dark arena) we chose to partake of this  therapy session  outside in it! Wa was very aware she could NOT SEE her 2 mares out back, and tried to get us to walk that direction a few times. She soon settled into his handiwork, with yawns and droopy eyes. He liked how she kept breathing through the work he was doing. Apparently, some horses hold their breath and it does block releasing.


We all got SUNSHINE THERAPY  weekend before last, here in the PNW.  Trails started to dry out and the warmness reclaimed our cold bones for movement again.

 After a good long ride atop my steed,  the warm radiant sunshine filling us up to the top with JOY, my "CARDIO TRAINER"  App  told me the mileage had reached 5 miles. 
I then hopped off to  walk a few...and a few became... all the way home with my mare, happily walking beside me!

It  certainly was a great therapeutic workout for the both of us.   AND*** I did it, I walked the entire long hill  up to the home trail!  Instead of her pulling me up, because the grounds were dry and non slick, we both happily strode the entire thing up- NO STOPPING-!  The C.T. App then told me how much reward I'd  earned. I was Alarmed with the calorie burn!  6 Avocados! Who could eat that many?

We be a tired duo, arriving home to stable.

  I got the "GROOMA" hand held rubber massage tool out for a massage. Now Wa, she doesn't like much touch but , when she has deemed it beneficial, she'll really tell you  Exactly where she needs/wants the massage, and how long!
I spray her all over with "Sore-No-More" firstly.


I had "thought" To have finished the left side of her body when suddenly, She blocked me from walking around to the right side, by turning her head that direction.   I asked her to straighten, she did. Then again, she blocked me!   I just cocked my knee forward, shifting my hip, and asked her,  with my body language,"Then WHERE?? Wa?!  

 If I could have had the video on...amazing........
She then quickly bend her neck around to the left and pointed at her shoulder, touching it repeatedly.  I was astonished and said, "Alright girl, I will attend that for you."

A nice large sip of water from her "Better Bucket" my sister gave me to use, then a day off or two was on order  now, for "Resting therapy"!

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D'apple and Pantz, my sister's 2 mares,  have certainly benefited by our therapist's Robb's skilled ways also. 
Most recently D'ap has been receiving treatments from Robb.  Our barefoot specialist had said, "  D'ap really has no connection through to her hind end".  We have had many lessons with her on just picking the hind hooves up calmly. She has a terribly difficult time, often SLAMMING them to the floor...and if your foot is in the way, woe to you!

Robb has had several sessions with her. She seems to really enjoy them. The HOMEWORK has been to build her hind end muscles up and engage her in lateral work more. Our Dressage teacher "C", also wants this for D'ap.  She is not traveling under herself and is very weak. 
We knew all this, and sister has taken many a day into weeks, to focus upon hind end work in hand.

"KATE, from "A Year with Horses",  recently posted about this very work she has begun (again) with "Pie".  It is the sort of basic work that really engages the horses to use themselves correctly, bolstering balance and strength. 
 Along with the in hand work, we shall also use Cavaletti poles on the straight.

"It is natural for the horse to lower his head and neck to look at the poles this, in turn, rounds the long muscles over the back and loins and allows greater freedom for the hind legs to come under the weight of the body, while the need to lift the legs over the poles requires greater flexibility and, therefore, suspension."

 Quote from ,  "LUNGING The horse and Rider" by Sheila Inderwick

Other work sissy has done with the D'ap is taking her through many obstacles. Outside there is a  huge course of bridges, poles in a pattern to back through and also, random RR ties to step through. But when weather is ick, inside there is a reinforced covered pallet, and poles to arrange.

 HAHAHA!!! Sister sent me some shots, after the first time she asked D'ap to step up on the pallet. She willingly did, and stayed...while sister took shots. Then  my sister decided to go to the tack room for something.  D'ap was still on the pallet, when she returned!!!

While Wa had some time off, I took another set of lessons with D'ap.
 We did some in hand laterals firstly, and then some pallet work with "one foot at a time". She is very good at listening and will stop movement, if you ask her too.

My Sister's tender loving care of this mare and her unique willingness to try anything we've asked of her, seem to go hand in hand. She snorts if she is pensive, and breaths deeply, blinks and chews if she accepts . It's like a game to find the way to her heart...

This mare D'ap, has given me such a loving therapy too. She is non reactive, and I can trust her.  She gives 110% and during my recent lesson, with trainer "C" , I received "New legs" and "New arms"! 
D'apple continues to train me!  

My legs came to me after trainer "C' told me to Drape my legs around the horse. My sister has told me this for ever...but, when "C" added the, "Feel the outside of your foot in the stirrup, and the little toe". CLICK***!  My legs suddenly felt as though they went around the horse and my thigh lengthened, with the calf contact suddenly becoming more apparent. 
I feel badly that something my sister has taught me for years, I learned how to apply with another trainer. BUT, "when" you get it, you get it!

 BEAMING RIDER...all smiles I was!

The arms came shortly after this moment during the lesson. My sister has gotten me to CLOSE my hands around the reins and  also, not to "Puppy Paw" my contact, by breaking over at the wrists.   Trainer "C" effectively related last LSN, for me to not "GIVE AWAY" my contact of "Being there" for the horse, as they seek the bit and contact.  I am getting that feel now. She knows I had a mindset instilled in me by a former trainer that I was hard handed. She has blown that bogus ( I now realize  maliciously spoken) theory out now!

I love trainer "C",  she makes sure you KNOW "where you are going rightly", as she begins to change the ways in you that are not beneficial to growth in your rides.
 She stopped me firstly,  to make a point. She took the reins, behind the bit, and asked me to hold her hand. I gently felt her. She then told me, "Good,  you have excellent hands that are sensitive and gentle".
She had instilled again in me the confidence.
 We then proceeded,  her asking me to breath upwards for the trot, thinking it mostly. D'apple moved upwards into the trot. HERE IT IS- Trainer "C" then said, 
" I don't see your armpit muscles engaged!"
....!!!.... what, but it worked....I tightened those unknown beauties, and my shoulders went back a notch. D'apple went down into the contact and I again, BEAMED WITH DELIGHT! 
It allowed me to "Carry my hands" easier, I found. 

I totally had to apologise to my Sissy after the lesson. Nothing "C" had asked me to do is new to my ears, sister has tried to teach me these things all along, but it came as an "AHA moment", with the addition of the new "visualizing suggestions" I think.

Love this mare, her nature is helping me learn. She and I are forgiving and understanding of each other, going very easy.  TREATS of green grassy delights came after the lesson.

Thanks to you D'apple mare, I can take all my new body parts back to Washashe! Using them in "Trailssage". 

The D'apple of my eye you are!

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 New beginnings abound, as I read around the globe. It's all good, huh!

This is one happy, drunk bee!

D'apple teaches me a lesson

The lesson with D'apple last Sunday was amazing...for the both of us. While she was quite pensive and scared for some of it, like above, she quickly figured out how to relax, as our instructor soothed and refocused us.

Let me start from the beginning now.

For those who are unaware of who D'apple horse is: THIS POST tells a wee little bit. My middle sister is a humane investigator and was responsible, with her county team, for seizure and then the adoption of near 17 horses almost 2 years ago. D'apple is the last horse to be adopted. Her wounds were so extensive, she needed to be healed. As both my sisters have attended to her, since her removal from the abusive owner, they fell in love with her. So here we are today. She was quite gangly looking, when she came to live with my sister at Pantz's barn, and that was almost 100% better than when she was removed. No tail or mane, open wounds and no skin on many parts of her. She re cooperated in a large open field farm with some cows, and eventually another horse. She stayed far away form the horse, as she is very timid and that was part of her abuse, she was in with a herd that ran her around and constantly bit and kicked her. She is low horse, on any herds list.

We have discovered though she may have been ridden before, she has NO training. She is quick to learn and willing. If she balks, it is from not understanding or mental overload. My sissy has taken great care in not making too much an issue with any one thing, but being gentle and consistent with this sweet mare. She has huge distrust issues, but is not outwardly aggressive about protecting herself. She just gets rigid and holds her breath. So all is done around her slow and methodically, for her to gain trust towards you. Once you have gained the trust in one area, say, pick up her feet with out her slamming them down...it may not transfer over to the trimmer, my sister found out! Everyone must prove their "safe worth" to her. 

She truly is a love of a mare and I am so pleased to be apart of her world.

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Onto the lesson's she has been teaching me.

Sorry about the poor quality of the photo's below. They are actually stills taken from one of 2 videos my sister took, while I rode. The videos are really good, and perfectly timed for the great moments of "AHA" for me, but I  am still working with (cussing out and fuming at) my computer to allow me to upload them. Untill that day, these stills will have to do.

After a wild trotting session, D'ap starts to relax

D'apple reminded us that she has not been exposed to many things. From her hoof slamming, as you tried to pick her feet up, to jetting across the arena because something touched her while you were riding. While lessons were being given, she let us know that she was aware of the difference in the barn. Activities,  horses, people everywhere,  and that loudly speaking woman inside the arena with some of the horses. She snorted, as we finished tacking her up for the lesson. Her way of saying, "she was wary of things". My sister highly recommended that I connect with her through walking about the barn and then onto the arena. I was asking her to turn sometimes or slow her walk and halt sometimes. She is very good at this, and we did connect to the point where I felt confident to mount.

She sometimes takes to looking like a rocket ready for exploding, if you use the 3 tier mounting block, so I chose the 2 step, and sister held the offside stirrup for less pressure on D'ap's withers, as I mounted. 

Now this is the FIRST LESSON D'ap (re)taught me:

 (first 30 seconds)

ONLY APPROVED PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO BE INSIDE MY CIRCLE OF COMFORT!

 She quickly said, "there is someone else in the arena -unproven person she added- not to be trusted!"  I failed to introduce the mare to our trusted trainer "C"!

 After I mounted and we only walked but a few steps, she leapt forward in a trot-AWAY FROM- the unproven person!

SECOND LESSON (in less than a minute) BREATHING IS GOOD AND NON REACTION IN A NEGATIVE WAY-TO A HORSE SETTING THE PACE.

I was being praised by "C" in the fact I was not reacting by being frantic or grabby. I was trying to slow the pace, and not fight with her at all. I learned how to keep up with her and then, slow her down by gentle half halts and  a slower posting rhythm. By the way, it is very hard to keep at because you get behind the horse as they ignore your pace, with their head in the air- and persist in theirs! 

But, we did come to a halt finally, and Da'p allowed "C" to approach. I handed her some peppermints from my side breech pocket, and all became right with the world as she became a friendly, treat bearing person.

We began again.Walking this time! 

Using a pulsating leg pressure, we did turns. 

The rest is all I learned from the D'ap, in her gentle but persistent manner of going.(towards the gate out please!)

 I have taken so many lessons from so many folks, including my sister, but until you understand something said , you just don't. Of course people say, "Keep the horse in front of you and between your reins"....My brain has always told me to sit back a little and keep a forward horse. Of course the horse is between the reins! Well, maybe not!  D'ap, wanting to slide this way and that way, towards the other end of the arena usually,  or away from the semi -trusted person speaking loudly in her large arena sized circle of comfort taught me that: if there is a slack in the rein evenness or contact or the wrong bend, The horse is NOT between the reins, but on one. 

I have had this fear of contact due to my mare reacting so violently with it, that I have "Given away" my contact in the arena. I have thought that if the horse is heavy in your hands you should give more...

While D'ap is FAR FROM being heavy in my hands, when I felt her take a hold on my hands, I gave and my elbows became straight. The trainer mimicked me as I did so!

She taught me to remain where I was, so D'ap could "Find me there". It really was an "AHA" moment for me because that mean't sometimes, shortening my reins ( OH NO!). 

I have never wanted to be a hard handed rider, but that kind is truly different than the one I need to be for D'ap and my mare. I have no problem with a light feel, but the "being there". It is the door to many good things ahead. Like turning...we had many mishaps with turning. When I allowed the reins to be slack, and the horse lost it's direction as my outside rein lost contact..of course, the body is the true indicator for this as well..but D'ap has no muscle and her rear end, and is not quite able to respond well yet. So her rein framework is totally needed, as I turn my torso and vision the direction we are to travel. 

It got so much better after I began to "BE THERE" for her!

I also loved the fact that I was not being told to correct my leg, but she did say, once or twice, she liked my constant and soft leg.

D'apple is someone I can trust to tell me things about my riding, with out making a big fuss over it, if I am wrong. Sometimes she messed up and down with her head, but I minded not and was told to carry on "being there for her" as I did, and allow her to keep moving forward. It is reciprocity, this non fuss riding. I allow her to

experiment with where she is and is going, and she does the same for me. We are forgiving of each other. 

I adore this mare.

At one point, she had had enough...she was not tired physically so, but her BRAIN WAS ! She stopped by the gate and I was unable to get her to move. I did not fuss, but waited for trainer "C" to come over. She had me rub lightly upon her side, with my leg feeling how rock hard it was. She began to rub it lightly with her hand and the end of a Dressage ornament. D'ap became soft again, and she had me rub her slightly again...OH! Her skin moved with my touch this time and she also stepped over! 

We did that once more and she began to say, "Now hop off"- but I was in mid hop already!

Love this mare and hope to ride again soon with her, maybe tomorrow eve. And maybe even in another lesson!