Steve Holt! weekly update: week 2

And the snow just...keeps...falling...

Yesterday when I woke up I walked out into a whopping 8 degrees. The horses had pretty much emptied the water tub, but when I went to the faucet it was frozen. I grabbed a couple of buckets, came inside, filled them with hot water, then went back out and dumped the water on the faucet. Problem solved.

No. Problem not solved.

Hose was frozen. I'd drained it the last time I used it, but evidently there was enough water left somewhere in there to create a blockage, so back inside with the buckets, and back out with steaming hot water to dump onto the hose.

Didn't work. Although I did manage to get myself nice and wet, and instantly found myself with ice covered cover alls.

I've heard some folks put their hoses in their bath tubs to thaw them. That wasn't going to work. The hose wasn't exactly coiled up nice and neat...it was long and stiff and I wasn't about to try to drag it through the house while everyone was asleep to the bath tub. Not to mention I'd have to shed all my clothes, including the ice covered cover alls, before setting foot inside. No...that wouldn't work. Instead I decided I'd stuff the hose into the washing machine.

Remember when I said the hose was stiff and not coiled? Stuffing it into the wash was rather like putting 3' spaghetti noodles into a pot without breaking them...you just stand and wait for them to slowly become limp, stuffing more and more in as you go.

The thought occurred to me that the hose would probably freeze the moment I set foot outside and all this struggle would be for not...and I should have listened to myself.

In the end, I was packing buckets. If I'd just started out packing buckets I'd have been done a lot earlier and wouldn't my clothes wouldn't have been frozen. Live and learn.

On to Steve Holt!'s week. It's been so cold that I've ignored a couple things that I'd hoped to accomplish; picking up feet and standing tied. That said, here's what we've done:

Steve Holt! now allows me to rub his muzzle. I can run my fingers around his lips and up inside his mouth, massaging his gums. He's not sure about the finger in the mouth, but finds it interesting enough to stand for it.

He's now without his short lead as he's become more tolerant of me approaching.

He almost stands still for the big blanket to go on his back, and waits patiently for the front buckles and belly straps.

He leads nicely back and forth to the round pen as well as in the field.

He crosses the bridge.

He'll walk beneath a low pole with streamers; low is an issue as he has to duck his head.

Yesterday I put a new halter on him. I cheated; I put it on over the web halter, then slipped the web off underneath. Whatever...it's done. The rope gives me more control.

He's learning to drop his head with pressure. This wasn't happening with the web halter.

He jumped the blue barrel in the round pen. I didn't ask for it, he's been wanting to do it and finally did.

I ponied him off from the back of Sandy yesterday. We started in the round pen, then (while mounted) I opened the gate and we walked across the field. Steve Holt! stayed back at Sandy's hip and didn't try to move away from us. He was very respectful of Sandy's pinned back ears, but listened to me and walked up to sniff my hand.

Steve Holt! was saddled for the first time, fully, yesterday. He stood with his rope on the ground as I approached with the saddle blankets. This has been a big issue, standing still. Yesterday was the first time he didn't move. Both blankets went up without a hitch. He did try to side step away from the saddle, but not bad. I tightened the cinch for the first time and lunged him at a walk and trot, both ways.

Twice yesterday, for the first time, Steve Holt! approached me of his own free will without me having to work for it.

Yesterday marked a turning of the page. Not that we haven't got a lot of work ahead of us, but he made a decision to begin trusting me at a new level. If I were a more aggressive trainer, I'd have climbed on. But I'm not...I'm slow and soft. There are still holes and it's been too cold to spend that much time out there filling them. With the weather like it is, I may eventually have to take my first ride here at home, but I really hope not.

The goals for this week remain similar...if not the same. Pick up feet. Handle ears. Get a bridle on. Work on trailer loading (only haven't done this because City Boy has had the truck at work, meaning I can't back the trailer to a safe loading place...although I don't think we'll have any issues with this.)