Soooo much education... and then her brain exploded

Today was a BIG day for Lyric. I decided it was time for her to go to Rana's for some education aand experience. I planned to leave early so we would have plenty of time in case she didn't want to load. So... I grabbed her and Dan that morning and put Dan on the trailer. I grabbed a handful of Lyrics favorite cookies and... she walked right on! One step at a time, but she literally walked right on. And stood while I squeezed past and did the butt bar. GOOD GIRL! So we headed off. Unfortunatly, despite my intentions of leaving early and her being super quick about getting on, I decided not to stop and get hay on my way and figured we would do it on the way home. Ha! (You'll see). 

 

We got to Rana's and I left them on the trailer so I could go pee. When I came back and dropped the ramp, Lyric started freaking out and was trying to get off before I could even get the butt bar down. And she was slipping a little in the poo goo. Luckily I was able to get the bar undone and she came off without hurting herself. But she was on edge!!! High alert! I managed to get Dan off too and that settled her. I tied her and Dan to the trailer and hung the hay net and Dan chilled while Lyric had her head in the air and was all spazzy. I did get them both groomed although they were still pretty filthy. Lyric had poo smeared down her hamstrings and Dan had globs of dried mud stuck to her. But I got them presentable. I tacked Lyric up (she looks pretty in the amaranth pad!). Then I walked them both to the paddock and turned Dan out and then Lyric and I headed to the arena. 

She was AMPED UP! She was a good girl. She didn't run over me. She didn't get loose. She didn't rear. But she was very upset and screaming and almost ignoring me. I got her in the indoor and we walked around a good bit. I tried to get her to do her "routine" but she was not having it. So then Rana showed up and we chatted briefly and Lyric got more antsy so I thought maybe letting her move her feet would help, so... I started to lunge her. She was just trotting around braced and hollow. Which.. isn't exactly all that different, but mentally she was not relaxing and it showed in her posture. At least at home, she starts to think about relaxing. I was sort of waiting for Rana to tell me what to do... so I wasn't really doing what I would have done had I been alone. Which.. is kind of dumb of me. But I'm not sure it would have worked anyways as Lyric was really stressing. So after a bit Rana took over. She said she needed buttons and needed to learn to relax. So, she started off with what we did with Funny. Lyric had to keep her eye on Rana and pay attention to her. Walking over/through/above Rana was not allowed. And Rana had to get big sometimes, but then once Lyric responded, Rana took all the pressure off (including her eyes). So once she got that... she added in having Lyric turn her nose in and pushed her barrel out, in essence, getting her to bend. And once Lyric can start to bend, then she starts to drop her neck and push her nose out. And NOW we can start to manipulate her body. So then the goal is... basically long and low and relaxed. And Lyric didn't think she could do that at the walk.. but then she did. And you could already start to see her body relax, her back lift, and the bend occur. (Baby steps... baby steps.. but still.. the start of a bend.. the start of a lifted back, etc). So then she went to the trot. And Lyric didn't trust it at the trot. Once she would get her head low and start to relax, she would walk. So Rana wiggled the whip and asked her to move on. And the goal is the same as at the walk. Trot with your head down and out. (I did ask about being on the forehand but figured this was step 1 of many steps and once we get her to unlock her lower neck and not brace and relax... and learn she can walk and trot this way.. then we can progress to moving her body around so that she isn't on the forehand, but... that's not til step 8 or something. And Rana said I was correct). So... she ended up getting quite a few steps of trot with her head and neck low and relaxed. Not a full circle yet, but pieces of the circle and she went back to it quicker each time. yay!

 

So then Rana told me to hop on and we could try to recreate that under saddle. Oh good grief! It is so humbling how incompetent I am compared to Rana. With Rana, Lyric was relaxed and breathing and trying. When I got on.. she resorted back to braced, hollow, fire breathing dragon. Sigh.. I even had to like... stretch and almost jump on because she was not cooperative at the mounting block in the wall. So I tried to get her to relax and breath but she kept jigging and trotting. I was trying. I really was. I was trying to have soft following hands but maintain connection. I was trying to use my leg and seat. But it was just a mess. So then Rana got on. She cheated and used the mounting block. ha ha. And man... again... Lyric immediately relaxed and got a lovely walk and let go of her underneck and stopped bracing. Sigh. It's depressing... but also exciting to see because I saw a glimpse of the loveliness that's in there! Rana explained that thoroughbreds know nothing! But they going into contact. They don't shrink away from it. So, she had a very SOLID outside rein connection. Like... heavy! So she would hold the outside rein, then ask on the inside rein while asking with the inside leg, and once Lyric thought about bending/yielding her barrel... which then allowed her back to soften, which then allowed her nose and neck to stretch down and out... as soon as she thought about it... Rana would soften the contact and let Lyric pull the reins more down and out. So.. that's it! That's all I have to do for now. Ha! I got back on and... oh my. She immediately tensed up again. I was trying so hard but there was so much for my brain and body to do and my timing is not great and my strength is lacking, so.. it was okay. Barely. But it was better than when I first got on. Sigh... So we just did a tiny bit for me to get the hang of it and then we quit. 

Rana said she really liked her. She said she was going to be lovely and that she was really smart! Yes! Yes she is. She said to just treat her like an unbroke 3 year old. Which is my plan. I just needed a little bit of direction. 

I gave her a rinse because she was soooo sweaty... foamy butt cheeks... and hot. And then I turned her out in the paddock and took Dan for his turn. She wasn't too terrible. She called and ran a bit, but she wasn't too terrible. And when Dan and I finished and we went to get her, she wasn't sweaty. She was still a bit "ruffled up" in her coat, but... not frantic. So... I loaded Dan up and then it was Lyrics turn. And she said NOPE! Sigh... Okay.. I figured as much. So we spent some time doing our positive reinforcement thing with cookies. One foot on.. click and cookie. Another foot on... click and cookie. And... it got us nowhere. She would get half on.. then go back. After a bit, Bri came to help and that really didn't make a difference. I just got worried that Bri would get kicked. So I told her to continue her chores and check back on us later. And later... we were still standing there. Not any closer. So then I grabbed the driving whip and tried to get her on with some "encouragement". Nope. Sad to say I lost my temper and there was probably some very non-productive stuff. Sigh... so then I tried again with cookies and hay... And managed to get her on. But as soon as I went to put the butt bar up, she started to drop her rump and came backwards. She almost got my hand squished and even with me whacking her with the whip.. she was coming off. Dangit! So then I got mad, because.... you almost broke my hand horse! And of course, that didn't help. So once again I sent Bri away and tried again. And then Bri offered a stall overnight if need be. I finally told her to head home and that if she was in a stall when they came back for night check, I'd come get her tomorrow or Thursday. I was honestly hoping that if they all left... and there wasn't the distractions of people riding... the mower going by.. the dog... horses coming and going.. maybe I could get her on. But nope. I think I started at 4:30 pm... maybe a bit earlier. At 6ish... it was dark and I was crying. Literally.. I was tired... I was hungry... I wanted to go home!!! Dan was being so good. I even tried putting him on the other side to see if she would get in on his side because she kept trying to get on sideways. Nope. So... at like 6:30 I put her in the stall in the dark barn by herself and walked away. I needed a minute. I pulled Dan off and let him pee and then put him back on. She was screaming and he was calling. I gave her about 10 minutes in "time out", thinking maybe she'll realize I really will leave her and just get on the trailer!!!! I had already tried reasoning with her. I had prayed. I asked Dan to tell her to get on. So after a bit, I tried again. I actually had her on the trailer... and standing for a tiny bit...eating hay. But before I could even think about going around to the butt bar, she had backed off. And then I got her on again. And same thing. Finally, she got all 4 feet off the ramp and I cried Uncle. I messaged Rana asking her if it was okay for me to leave Lyric there. This was... oh ...6:45 or 7! Rana was like "OMG you're still at my farm?!?!". Yes.. yes ma'am. She said she would be there in 5 minutes to help me. So... Kelli had texted to check on me and suggested Ace, so I went ahead and gave her a cc of Ace IV. Because at this point I was also afraid that she was going to colic. She was so nervous and upset and sweaty and hadn't eaten or drank (other than treats and mouthfuls of hay). She was super and I was able to drug her easily. Then Rana showed up. She told me to put the rope halter on and then she took her. Since it was super dark by now she asked me if I could back my trailer up to the barn. So... that was an adventure in of itself. Somehow I managed to back my trailer into her barn aisle without injuring the barn or my trailer. Miraciously too because I was lined up and just needed to go back to the doors... but somehow I overshot and managed to get the trailer about 3 feet INTO her barn! Thank God I didn't hit anything. So we slid the barn doors flush up against the trailer so there was no escape. The lights were on. And the ace had kicked in. Rana worked her a bit.. just like in the beginning of the day... oh so many hours ago... so many hours ago! And she asked her to load and Lyric got both front feet on and stopped. She let her come back down and worked her in a few more circles and then asked again. And... Lyric went on. The whole way. In one swoop. And stood there. Sigh. It's so demoralizing when you've been at something for over 2 hours and then in like... 2 minutes Rana accomplishes it. Without tears...without cussing...without losing her temper...without theatrics... without Lyric losing her mind. Sigh.. And I'm sure the drugs played a role... and she had light... and no escape, but still. It's depressing. But.. she was on! I hugged Rana and bolted for my truck to head home. So much for getting hay. 

We pulled into my farm at 8:15 pm. But luckily they both unloaded fine and immediately went and drank a ton. Phew. I did end up putting the bemer on Lyric while she ate in case she was sore. And then I turned them out. I think she's mad at me because she was not waiting in her stall for dinner... while I was fixing it. She stood out in the pasture and I had to call her in. Oh well. Hopefully she'll forgive me. 

Rana said I should bring her again next Tuesday (instead of bringing Funny) again... just to get some consistency in the begining. Sigh... I'm a little gun shy now! Guess we will be practicing loading and unloading all this week and weekend.