Rain, rain and more rain!

We have been in quite a severe drought for the past 4 years, with nothing but dust in the paddocks. All the dams in the area have been bone dry for at least 2 years, and all the stock have either been moved to other agistment paddocks, or (as in my case) been getting hand fed twice a day.

And now it has started to rain! In the past 4 weeks we have had over 10 inches of rain.... and all the dams are over-flowing, the weeds are starting to really get ahead now (bugger!), and the horses are starting to get mild laminitis from the fresh new sprouts of grass. Not that there is a lot of grass, mind you! The dust bowl that was my paddocks ensured that most of the grass roots had completely shrivelled up and died long ago, but there are a few hardy patches of grass coming back through.

Mostly we just have weeds. Some of them are horse-friendly, and some are not. The pests like Lantana, Privet and Prickly Pear are just having a field day!! But the place LOOKS green, and it really is refreshing to see.

Of course, this means that I've had to put the work on Flamenco on hold for the past couple of weeks, as the round yard has been just too wet and slippery to do any work in it.

A few days ago we got her into the stable to do some more mounting and dismounting practice, and I'm pleased to report that she's really very solid on these aspects now. Then today we took her into the round yard again, Tarni mounted her with no problem at all, and I led her around for nearly 30 minutes. She was pretty full of herself to begin with (all that time off, and some fresh grass in her belly!), but she soon settled down.

Flamenco's mother, Fiesta, was quite a handful at this stage of her starting process, and Flamenco is following in Mum's hoofprints. She is quite an alert mare, always looking and aware of what's going on around her, and too willing to react to the slightest movements. The flies are out in force (courtesy of the rain), and as it heated up they were beginning to bother horse, rider and handler (me)!

Flamenco was not impressed! She didn't like me brushing flies off my face, and she certainly didn't like Tarni trying to wave the flies away.

So after about 30 minutes, we took her back into the stall and Tarni did a lot of de-sensitising her to arms being waved about, and sudden twitches! It was a good session, and Flamenco did end up not being too fussed about it all.

This week we hope to work with her every day, but then she'll have another break over Christmas as I'll be away for 9 days or so. (Then it can rain some more!)

Day 11 of the starting process

Today we only worked Flamenco for about 10 minutes, due to time constraints. She was thoroughly groomed (which happens every day she is worked with), including picking out her hooves, and then saddled and bridled, and then taken into the small yard for some more mounting and dismounting practice.

She was really quite solid today, with hardly any reaction to the mounting and dismounting, so we left it at that!

Day 10 of the starting process

Today Flamenco had a lesson in one of the open stalls, which is a rectangular enclosed space about 4 metres x 5 metres. Because she has had a few issues with stepping away when Tarni has dismounted, I wanted Flamenco to be in a secure area where she could not get away easily.

So firstly, Tarni did the 'bouncing' and putting weight into the stirrup from both sides. It is important that Flamenco has the same experiences on both sides of her body, as it allows her to develop overall balance with the weight of the rider.

Then Tarni mounted her from the left, and I led her around the small yard, positioning her into a corner before stopping. As Tarni dismounted, from the left, Flamenco found that she couldn't move away due to the wall being there! We did this a number of times, and then repeated it from the right side.

After Flamenco was quite solid and accepting that she wasn't able to move away from the dismounting rider, we then repeated the mounting/dismounting lesson in the centre of the yard. At this stage, Flamenco was quite happy to stand quietly and not try to move away. Success!

Day 9 of the starting process

After a couple of days off, Flamenco was once again saddled and bridled today, and put into the round yard to think about things for a while (about 20 minutes).

Then Tarni mounted her while I held her, and I led her around for about 20 minutes or so.... a much longer training session than previously. Flamenco resisted a little at first, but soon relaxed and by the end of the leading session I was not applying any pressure at all on her... she was basically just following me around.

Dismounting is still a little bit of a problem, as she doesn't seem to like the change of weight in the saddle as Tarni starts to dismount. So our next lesson will concentrate on mounting and dismounting.

Day 8 of the starting process

Today we repeated all that we did yesterday, and Tarni again rode Flamenco around the round yard (with me leading her) for about 5 minutes.

Again, we only spent about 20 minutes with Flamenco, and finished the session on a good note.

Day 7 of the starting process

First time on her back! Tarni spent another 15 minutes or so 'bouncing' and putting weight in the stirrups, before just swinging her leg over and sitting up.... and Flamenco took it all like a pro! I was very proud of both of them!

I led her around the round yard for about 5 minutes, and then we un-tacked her and turned her out again.

Although I am taking this process very slowly, and only working with Flamenco for no more than 20 minutes at a time, she is learning fast, and is relaxed and confident during the process.

Day 6 of the starting process

The next time I put Flamenco in the round yard, I asked Tarni (age 15) to help out. We worked on 'bouncing' up and down on both sides of the mare, and then Tarni put her foot in the stirrup on both sides and leant over Flamenco's back.

At this stage I then led Flamenco around for a few steps, before letting her go again.

She was a bit nervous with the weight on her back to begin with, but quickly settled, and ended the session in a relaxed frame.

The next step......

It was about 10 days before I got back to working with Flamenco! The wet weather persisted, and the ground was just too slippery to work on, so I let her have the time off.

I then repeated the previous steps, adding an old 'breaking' saddle to the mix. She wasn't really impressed at first with the saddle, however it only took about 5 minutes before she was quite comfortable and relaxed.

Day 4 of the starting process

My farrier was here on a regular appointment, so I asked him to trim Flamenco's hooves. This was the first time that her hooves had been trimmed in her life, as she has very good strong feet and there had previously never been any need for her to be trimmed.

After the few days of handling, Flamenco was quite willing to pick up all her legs, and the farrier commented on how easy she was to deal with, for a young horse! I was very happy with her!

Then it was back into the paddock with her, as the wet weather continued.....

Day 3 of the starting process

After a day off, I again fitted the roller and the bridle, but this time I tied Flamenco's head slightly tighter on one side than the other, in order to get her to give to the pressure on the bit. She was left to her own devices like this for about 10 minutes, and then the other rein was tied shorter as well, allowing her to experience the bit pressure on both sides equally.

Again, Flamenco handled this stage of the training extremely well, and soon discovered that in order to lessen the pressure on her mouth she just had to turn her head slightly.

This method of starting a horse is now considered 'old fashioned', however it works and I am happy to commence a young horse's training in this way.

At this stage, I had to stop Flamenco's training for a few days, due to extremely wet weather that made the round yard too sloppy to work in. I turned her out into a small paddock with another horse, and she was happy to spend the next few days just being a horse! During this time I was able to walk up to her in the paddock and catch her with no problems at all.... a huge improvement over her previous behaviour.

Day 2 of the starting process

On Day 2, I fitted the bridle, using a plain snaffle bit. The reins were slipped through a loop on the roller, and tied loosely. Flamenco was then left in the round yard for about 20 minutes with the bridle on, before I removed it.

Again, she handled this very well, with no resistance.

Day 1 of the starting process

Firstly, the roller was fitted. I use the roller to simulate the pressure around the horse's girth that the saddle will eventually apply.

Flamenco was pretty calm about the roller, and didn't really seem to mind it at all.

I left the roller on her for about 20 minutes, and she was free to wander around the yard by herself during this time.

As you can see, she is a very pretty girl!

The beginning...

In early November 2008, I pulled Flamenco out of the paddock and put her into the round yard to commence her education. Apart from occasional handling during the previous 4 years, Flamenco had never been worked with to any major extent.

Flamenco lived in the round yard by herself for a few days, and during this time she got used to me walking in and out to feed her, and gradually stopped being flighty around me. I didn't do much other than pat her occasionally (if she let me).

After 4 days of this, I decided it was time to start the real work!

The story so far.....

Flamenco at 4 years old

Splendacrest Flamenco was born on Christmas Day, 2003. She is out of Splendacrest Fiesta, a bay purebred Arabian mare, and by Dunwingeri Maakhiel, a black purebred Arabian stallion (who was subsequently sold for export, and now resides in the stables of the King of Thailand).

As a foal, Flamenco was a real bossy little thing, and she pushed her mum around something terrible! She was also extremely pretty, and it seemed that she knew just how beautiful she was! She has two hind socks, a little star, and a tiny snip of pink skin on her muzzle.

When Flamenco was weaned at the age of 6 months, she was handled a little, taught to tie up and lead, and then turned out into a large paddock with about 10 other horses of varying ages. From that moment on, Flamenco turned into a real feral bitch! We couldn't get near her, and in order to catch her for her regular worming treatments she had to be run into a small yard and then cornered. Once she had the halter on, however, she generally behaved quite well.

Her mother, Splendacrest Fiesta, was broken in to ride just after the foal was weaned, and she also proved to be quite a difficult horse to deal with at this stage. For the first six months after she returned from the breakers, I was the only person who could ride her, as she was very 'scatty' and could be quite dangerous at times. However, after about 6-8 months, she settled down really well, and she was then started in the sport of endurance riding.

At this time one of my clients was looking for a mare to purchase, and I sold Fiesta to him, on the proviso that she remained at Splendacrest for her future training. This suited my client very well, and to this day she is still here, and has proven herself to be an excellent endurance horse, with numerous completions including a 2008 Tom Quilty buckle!

And so Flamenco grew up. I don't have many photos of her during this time, however I hope to rectify this situation in future, hence the reason for this blog.

Flamenco is just starting her education, and is now nearly 5 years old. I hope that this blog will mark her progress from newly-started young mare to sucessful endurance horse.