The training of Frodo...

Day 2:
 
After spending the first day hanging around the pen letting him smell me and only sending him off when he offered to misbehave, I headed out for his first haltering.  For this I took out a 60ft xxxsoft Nylon rope with a large metal honda that releases pressure as soon as I do.  Also had a 14 ft lead and Clinton Anderson rope halter.  Below is a picture of the honda for those of you who don't know what that is.
 

 
By now I could touch his nose and rub on the side of his face but no more without him getting nervous and by the way he wanted to position his body I could tell that he would like to cow kick should the oportunity arrise.  I wound up roping him and with pressure and release he started to give and take a step into me.  When I had him where he would come all the way up to me with out much fuss I started rubbing him up his neck and face.  I made sure I kept myself positioned so as not to get kicked and if he wanted to leave this time I could bring him right back.  After about 10 minutes of this I turned him loose to think on it for the rest of the day. 
 
That afternoon I went back out and he was much calmer about me being around him and I was able to halter him without a panic.  The halter was totally different from the rope because with the rope he was able to set his head and neck away from me somewhat.  The halter forced him to really look at me when I put pressure on him because it puts pressure on the nose not his neck.  He did what most colts do the first time and with much rearing, running backwards, sidways and the general grunts of displeasure, little by little he started realizing that all he had to do was take a step towards me.  Now the round pen is only 55 ft across so this helps greatly to prevent him from trying to drag me to the next county and because I had let him settle the day before he was also comfortable in there meaning when he would take a step and I gave him slack he was ok with just standing there.  He didn't have to look around to see what was around him wich helps keep them focused on the lesson.
 
I realized while doing this just how undersocialized this colt really was.  Without a herd structure to give him direction he already had the mentality of a misshandled stallion.  Bouts of aggression with pinned ears and hard eyes, then as the wheels started turning in his mind I started seeing a colt that remembered he was still a baby.  I worked with him for 2 days on leading and handling.  He got much better but still wanted to pin his ears and bite when he didn't like what I was doing but he always met with an elbow or hand already waiting as I was watching his ears.  He learned how to lead, lounge and I was able to rub down his front legs and over his rump though still not to his feet.
 
After a week the weather was to turn really nasty so I made the decision to turn him out with the other two geldings.  Shadow being 10 this summer and the other will be 3 late this summer.  Both geldings are very well manered and have went through my groundwork and riding program the older gelding being the calm leader and only disiplening the colt when he can no longer take the roughhousing.  I stayed in the pasture with them and was not surprized to see the 3 yr old Axle calmly mozing over to see the new comer.  Frodo turned on him, biting, rearing, kicking and this went on while Axle looked quite shocked and kept avoiding the majority of blows.  Shadow stood beside me watching everything quite calmly until Axle let out a painful holler causing Shadow to go to the rescue.   Axle came to stand beside me while Shadow kept the colt at the far end of the pasture.  After 30 minutes I was happy to see Frodo now gumming submission to Shadow. 

week 2
 
After a week in the pasture with my other two geldings I am happy to say his attitude has improved ten fold.  He is calmer and even though he learned quickly before he seems so much more focused on the task at hand.  I have taken him for his shots, 4-way, west nile and had coggins pulled and wormed him twice.  I loaded him once before to make sure he was ok with it and he stepped right up and even backed out for me.  The day I took him to the vets I loaded him about 10 in the morning and after about an hour in the trailer I unloaded him at the barn where I train.  Here I worked with him on leading a bit better, lounging both directions and began working with his feet prepareing him for the farrier. 
 
In the trailer he had been pawing something frightful to the extent he had my whole rig rocking and its a 19ft steel slant load with a camper in front.  He was fine while I was with him but alone he got impatient.  After working him in the arena I took him over and tied him up to one of the many blocker tie rings we have through out the barn.  Phil and I both got a soda and sat down.  Each time he would pull back I sat my soda down and took him back to where he needed to be.  After about 10 minutes I made another loop on the ring which makes it just slightly harder to pull out.  They can still pull it out to prevent injury but its just a little more work.  We had to laugh at his antics.   Picture a puppys first reaction when you place a collar and lead on them and the first time they realize they are caught...how they cry and fall to their backs thinking they are just dying.  Pretty close to Frodo.  He would paw and then pull back, then rake his side against the barn then glare over at me then proceed to paw again.  When he at last stood there with a foot proped up I undid him and took him back to the trailer where his hay bag was waiting.
 
After his shots, which he didn't even flinch, we headed home.  This time he didn't even paw once in the trailer and when we got home he was quite content to stand in there quietly munching his hay.  When I lead him out to the pasture he gummed to the other horses through the fence and waited patiently while I untied his halter.  I was quite happy when he decided to stay with me instead of move off into the pasture. 
 
 
Now you might be wondering why on earth I am keeping him to work with...well I'll let you all in on a little secret,  through all this I have seen something in this colt.  He is smart to the extent that I show him once and he retains the lesson days later and he transfers information better than most from one side to the other.   All horses have two sides and what I teach on one side most horses will be a bit better on the other side but its still like starting all over again just because I changed sides.  Frodo is one of the few horses I have worked with that transfers the information and lesson. 
 
Second reason is that his missbehaving isn't all his fault.  He had been handled a small bit before coming to me but handled in the wrong way so that most of what I saw had become a learned behavior.  In the two weeks he has been here I have handled this colt a total of maybe 5 times and for only about 10 minutes at a time!  So for him to lounge both ways without pulling back, change directions without breaking gait, stop and change by disengaging his hindquarters, loading in a trailer on the first try without a panic, backing out without too much concern of where the ground was, coming when I whistle, and being quite the gentleman when leading...I would say he is a fast learner!
 
Well there you have it folks and from here on out I will be posting pictures and writing it like my past training articles.  Going over everything I did and how I did it, also a list of the tools I use.  I have to admit I am really looking forward to working with him.  I have a feeling he is going to be a one of a kind horse and I don't say that lightly.

Day 18:
 
Today Frodo was the first one to greet me in the pasture and hoped right into the trailer happy to be getting attention.  Little guy is really starting to like people!  I had to run to town to get some medicine for me and it took way longer than I had planned but thankfully I had given him a hay bag before going in the store and when I came out over an hour later he was quite happy to see me but still content to munch his hay.
 
I worked with his feet last friday with the end of the lead.  I place the rope around his legs and gently move it up and down getting him use to something touching him there.  Though a bit nervous on the rear legs he didn't panic or kick out and I never asked him to lift them and keep them up, just touching him with the rope.  Through the weekend I didn't get a chance to work with him again but after his long trailer ride today I expected him to not stand for the trimming at all.  To my amazment he stood quite still until the last foot and then he did stumble a bit but I think it was more learning to be on 3 legs than anything else.  He seemed a bit confused with the rasping and at one time really tried to turn and see what was going on, thus stumbling and loosing his balance.  From then on he seemed content to let me hold the lead rope and give him a good back scratch.
 
After wards I did lounge him for a little while always going back and rubbing him.  Worked with the plastic bag on both sides and tonight I just folded it up in my hand and rubbed all down both sides.  At first he took a step away but after looking at it again, he seemed satisfied that it wasn't going to eat him and dropped his head with a foot cocked.  Did tie him again today and after much time I had all the burs out of his belly and tail.  Tempted to cut his tail a bit shorter as it is so thin at the bottom but decided to wait.  If his tail grows out to match his mane he should have a beautiful thick tail but we shall see.  His mane is so thick it has trouble laying to one side but after a bit of brushing and some cowboy magic it did start looking like it might just one of these days lay down for good!
 
All in all it was a good day for him.  Lots of attention, some excersise and good food and he is getting better and better all the time!

Here are some new pics of Frodo.  I have only been working with him in the pasture for the time being.  He's turned into a very gentle little guy and will lead pretty well but will start getting much better when I bring him in to really get started with in May.  We are booked at the barn till the start of May so he is getting gelded then and brought out to the barn for about 2 weeks of foundation work.  I can touch him pretty well everywhere though he still wants to slowly back up when I try and get a good look at the scar on his chest.  I wouldn't doubt that he ran something up in there at his previous home.  It feels like it should have been stitched and there is a lot of hard tissue there but with his winter coat still on its hard to see.  It looks like he might just shed out silver clear up to his neck! He's pretty muddy right now from all the rain but he's eating and doesn't care anymore what I do around him or to him.  Remember he liked to bite and get pinny eared during feeding time....now he just closes his eyes and is a relaxed little guy.
 

 

He's precious!  He'll be a nice horse, and he's lucky to have you

Well as of Monday he's a gelding!  Everything went great.  I took him to Phils (training partner) and since the vet didn't want him eating a whole lot prior we let him stay in the arena for the night.  Next morning runing late as usual I ran out whistled for Axle to come up, loaded him up and headed to Phils.  Left the truck running, unloaded Axle and let him much hay in a stall and loaded Frodo.  Thankfully I have worked with them both so much that both horses never even heasitated to load.  Got him down there and after about an hour we everything was done and he woke up enough to hop back in the trailer and head back.
 
Got back and rode Axle while Frodo finished waking up and he was sooo happy to have a very large flake of alphalpha in front of him!  Today after we finished working the other horses I took him out and gave him a good brushing and really worked on his mane and tail.  Got the clipers out and let him hear those, smell them, lick it and then he was fine with it.  Clippered his muzzle and bridle path but didn't worry with his ears.  Didn't want to overload him on the clippers.  He really wasn't swollen at all wich is great but I am a firm believer in going by the sign on when to have them cut.  He was walking a bit slow but let me tell yuns if I was him, I wouldn't be walking at all!  LOL  Amazes me sometimes just how reziliant they really are.  I hope to get some pictures of him tomorrow, he's all legs now!

Glad to hear everything went well with this necessary part of Frodo's "education!"  He'll be much happier now w/out all those hormones coursing through his veins!
 
Heading over this week to see what Jewel does as far as trailer loading.  She's listening well to moving when and where I want her to go so should be pretty good.
 
At the place where Cody came from they had a bossy, little mini gelding named "Cowboy" and he was used to keep the freshly gelded horses moving around!  Like a hornet at a picnic!!

Frodo's healing up and is really coming along good.  I through out the feed bag full of cans and tossed it around him then let him smell it.  He picked it up and after tossing it around a while brought it to me and dropped it at my feet.  It was comical, I wish I had the camera for that, but here are some new pics of him.  He is all legs all of a sudden but he's sure growing.  Believe it or not he is shedding out gray in some places so I don't know what color he will be.