Bombproofing Clinic Take Two

On Sunday, TC and I headed over to a barn nearby for another bombproofing clinic! This was our second one together. As a reminder, here is the write up from the one in March.

I was SUPER stoked for this clinic. In March I was so apprehensive about it because TC had been a really reactive, spooky horse and was regularly scaring me undersaddle. Now, after a whole season of traveling to new places, experiencing new things, and generally being a good pony, I was really looking forward to this clinic. It was just going to be FUN!

So eager

I unloaded TC and sure enough, he was MUCH better about being tacked up than last time. He didn't make as big of an entrance and I was actually able to get his bridle on without being dragged around the property. All of that time going to new places and dealing with his antics has really paid off.

I still decided to do a fair amount on the ground. First, I wanted to play it safe. Second, my saddle actually needed to be repaired (getting it back today) so riding in it all day was a good way to increase that repair bill. Third, I definitely still have more confidence on the ground. So I put a rope halter (not his usual one, I have one without a clip) over his bridle and led him over to get signed in.

After signing in, we headed into the arena to join the crowd of horses (about nine or ten).

Once again, we were the only ones in english tack. Everyone else was riding nice quiet quarter horse types. I was the only weirdo bringing my dorky dressage horse over. I like it though, it's a nice change of pace from the dressage shows and clinics where I have been yelled at for breathing too loudly or trotting near someone (srs, some people have problems with friesians and freisian xs because they can be "thundering" when actually my horse is pretty light on his feet).

Car wash

The structure of the clinic was very much the same as last time. We had introductions in a circle, where I used the same line about being here for experience because he's young as last time, while also wrestling him to stand still like last time too. TC continued to mirror his prior behavior of enthusiastically dragging me to obstacles to investigate them while we walked around them. The clinicians showed us each obstacle and told us how to introduce the obstacles to our horses. Most of the horses, or at least the riders, had been before so it went faster than last time.

Before setting us loose, the clinicians reminded us that kindness would get us further than punishment. I've had to learn the hard way a couple times that adding more tension to a situation doesn't make a horse relax. It sounds like a no duh situation, but it can be easy to put pressure on them.

The whole time we were talking and wandering around, TC was strutting around a bit. He was way way confident. He knew where we were and what his job was and he wanted to do his job as fast as possible for that sweet sweet praise. Take it down a notch, bro.

Tarp

We started with the water and he marched through it just fine. Then we went over to the tarp and marched over that too. Then we hit the car wash and the bridge, which he was pretty good about too. Everything he did with confidence, even if he was a bit rushed. It wasn't rushing to get away from the object as much as being like "I KNOW WHAT TO DO LET ME DO IT."

After that, I hopped on. Immediately I was like oh fuck. He felt really rude. I was not necessary. Keeping it in mind that he might lose his shit on me, I figured I'd just get through as much as I could with him in his mood and then do more ground work. Days like this don't happen very often, but there are some days where I get on him and he's just like FUCK OFF and seems like all he wants to do is pick a fight. It was probably caused by me shutting him down a bunch on the ground before getting on him. Does not do well being told he can't go forward.

But here we were and we were going to figure it out.

When your mom dresses you up

We started by just walking around the arena, then played over the bridge and the tarp, the easiest stuff for him. I then saw an available yoga ball. Cool! On days where he's feeling like he wants to fight, I always give him lots of praise. Isn't it fun to be ridden, yes we like being ridden, we get pets and good boys. So we got lots of praise for kicking the yoga ball and I could feel him settle a bit. It is fun to be ridden. Yoga balls are very fun. Let's kick it again. OH YES LET'S GO KICK THE SHIT OUT OF THAT THING. He kicked it away from himself at one point and then positively LEAPS into the air and strikes out, then leaps after it.

So we definitely left the yoga ball after that, though he did seem like he was in a better mood. So, uh, yay?

Our next obstacle was the cart. Last time he really didn't figure out pushing the cart but this time he totally did! They have a side (not the side in the picture) where you can let them push their chest on it and it will roll. TC was all about doing this. We approached it slowly at first, with him getting told he was good when he put his chest near it. He can be a bully with his chest in general so getting him to push with it wasn't hard. He figured that out and had a great time with it.

Cart

Poor animal

We went over to the monkey barrel after that and once again TC refused to pay attention to the monkey popping out in front of him because he was too busy spooking at some jump standards on the side of the arena. Cool.

We walked over to the flags and I was about to grab one when TC suddenly spun and ran off with me. What the fuck. This horse is not that kind of spooky, not at this clinic. As we whirled, I saw that another horse had kicked his yoga ball and that he wasn't spooking, he was excited to join in. Lay off the yoga ball!

I asked the clinician if I could trot around the arena to calm him down and I was allowed to. As we were trotting I could hear people seeming impressed with his gaits. Yeah... they're really nice to look at. And they're nice to ride when he's not snaking his neck and striking out like he was. He was just WAY too happy to be there.

Sure enough, we had a bolt and then some leaping due to a whole lot of nothing. Just excitement. Yay clinics. Yay fun obstacles. Must celebrate. Fuck my rider, who cares that she hates my celebrations? Life is too short to make your rider happy anyway.

We had one final straw that made me get off of him for good, and that was him once again reacting to another horse doing something he wanted to do and he reared. I kicked him forward and got him to do a few good things before getting off. Fuck not having fun. I'm not there to ride through his bullshit.

Monkey

Flinging things at him

After getting off, I decided to go throw things at him. I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel kind of nice to chuck things at him after he had been so obnoxious. I mostly threw the little discs at him. One hit his face accidentally. He was a champ and just stood there and took it. I threw them under his legs and over his back and onto his butt and everywhere I could think of.

At the same station, they had the flags too, so I waved those all over him and we even went on a nice walk around the arena with one waving near his face.

There were also noise makers (a water jug filled with rocks and a bag full of cans) that I shook by him. That was the only thing that bothered him, he thought that me shaking a bag full of cans near his butt wasn't very fun.

That was all the time we had for the morning, so we headed out of the arena for lunch!

Flags

I didn't bring much for lunch because I had planned on using the whole break to tie TC up at the trailer and ignore him, then leave early. As I expected, the moment TC realized he was left at the trailer (I hid in the tack room and then in the truck and creeped on Fresno results), he began rearing and rearing. He really hates being left anywhere but his home cross ties or the wash rack.

I found out later that there is a patience pole near the arena that they told me I could haul over to use without paying a ring fee! So I'll be seeing about doing that sometimes. He's really got to be better about being left...

After 45 minutes of pretty much non stop rearing and pawing, I took him into the arena with the intention of doing maybe 10-15 minutes of work and then leaving. I didn't even grab my helmet.

But once back in the arena, TC was a dream! I could see that he finally got all his energy out and he was finally ready to work. Remind me next time we have a bad start to a ride to just tie him up for 45 minutes and let him rear himself into calmness. Or maybe he should be able to cope with his emotions better. Whatever.

Dear TC, you are an asshole, pls stop

Everything had been made much harder now that we were all pros at the obstacles. I spent a few minutes throwing the bag of cans onto TC's saddle and letting it fall off, then went to play with the harder obstacles.

The bridge had been made into a teeter totter, which TC hates. He always steps off of it when it starts to teeter. I had grabbed my clicker and a few cookies, so with that I was able to get him to go on it. Some people were able to get their horses to stand on it and shift their weight to make it teeter back and forth, which was SUPER cool but mine wasn't about that. Maybe next time.

All of the strips of fabric on the car wash had been let down. The first time TC walks through the car wash in general, he hesitates, even if just one strip is down. Since we had already had that experience earlier, TC was fine with it. We walked through it in both directions, then I backed him through it. At first he wasn't sure about backing through it, but then settled into it.

Destroying the car wash

Noodles

Last time, the noodle chute was something TC didn't like. This time, I rode through it once and he was a little squirrelly, but then settled just fine. Once as all the noodles were in it (after lunch) and the pieces of plywood were pushed closer together, we went through it again. TC was super good about it. Actually seemed to think that the noodles felt good to itch against rather than feeling wiggly about them. Again, we went forward and back through them.

I was running out of things to do, so I figured that we'd just walk over the mattress and then head home. Last time TC was super weird about the mattress, but this time he was totally fine. He thought about pawing it, which the clinicians said to avoid because the horses could get shoes stuck in it or pull it toward themselves. So I told him to stop and he just resorted to smelling it.

Mattress

I was just thinking that it was time for me to leave when the clinician came up and had us all get out of the way because they were going to inflate this tube man.

TC has never seen anything like a WACKY WAVING INFLATABLE ARM FLAILING TUBE MAN before. I wasn't sure how he'd respond but I was SUPER curious.

I've never seen this horse do such a hilarious thing. In all his confidence, once as the tube man was fully inflated (nearly touched the roof of the covered arena), TC surged towards it. He picked up a trot, lowered his head and then flung it up in the air, snaking his neck and striking out.

I had no idea what he was doing. What the fuck is your plan, man? Apparently he thought maybe he'd intimidate it? Thought it was a toy until realizing it was actually gigantic?

He ultimately skidded to a halt pretty far out and stared at it. He kept trying to get his head to go up higher so he could see it better, but unfortunately he was not tall enough.

After we played with the tube man, it was time for the last thing of the day, so I figured I'd stay. We got a group of horses to walk in a circle with a parachute between them. I was just leading TC, though next time I will try riding him! It was super fun, and TC was not afraid at all. He kept trying to bite the parachute, which I had to wrestle him back from a few times.

In the end, we held the parachute up really high and allowed horses and riders to ride under it. TC watched everyone go under it and then it was his turn! He wasn't really interested in going under it, he wanted to put it in his mouth instead. I was able to convince him though, and he happily marched under.

go under, TC!

Overall it was a SUPER great clinic. I was mildly disappointed at first because of his weird behavior, but it's just part of him being a young horse and getting experience. And I honestly can't fault him that he has a rider who doesn't like his celebrations. I mean, he needs to get that under control and be a bit more emotionally mature, but that isn't going to happen by avoiding situations like this. So we just press forward.

After telling myself to get over the mild disappointment, I was really happy with the day in the end. TC was definitely more confident and less nervous about everything at the clinic than last time. I was more confident with him, even if we haven't reached Rico status. We did more and were more successful than last time. And we pointed out a few weaknesses (like standing at the trailer tied) that we need to work on.

Sounds like a good day to me!