Jazz Moves In

As I mentioned, the owner of the barn that Jazz has been at for the last decade is an older gentleman whose daughter told him he can't do horses any more. The plan was to move Jazz to the fancy barn down the street from CZ's house. CZ is going on a month long business trip to Colorado and was hoping to move the horse before she left. I was going to come up and ride her twice a week, as usual while CZ was gone, and potentially introduce her to trail riding in the process.

While I was schooling canter pirouettes (!!) one day a couple weeks ago, CZ announced from the rail that she'd had a light bulb moment.
"Why am I going to pay them to board her for a month and pay you to ride her twice a week and have you drive all the way up here when I can't be here to see her anyway, all the while worrying whether you'll be able to schedule it with them and whether she's doing well? I could just board her at your place while I'm gone. You could ride her more, it would save you the gas, and I could rest easy, knowing she's being cared for and doing well."

I certainly couldn't argue with that.

Unfortunately, CZ's last ride at home on Jazz didn't go well. She texted me late at night, sounding completely dejected and announcing that she'd fallen off the mare again. Apparently they'd been having a very good ride full of floaty trot, leg yields, and turns on the haunches when the mare suddenly spooked, bolted, and bucked. CZ stayed on through the initial acrobatics, but the mare paused only momentarily before taking off anew. CZ came off, hit the ground hard, and really hurt her back. Despite her physical pain and shaken confidence, she caught the mare, climbed back on board, and finished on a good note. Sadly, the fall was enough to undo months of progress in her riding and confidence building.

When I came to ride that Friday, CZ was on the verge of giving the mare up entirely. With tears in her eyes, she declared, "Dom, I can't afford to keep getting hurt. I just can't." Her lip quivered and I nodded sympathetically.

 That particular lesson ended up being part training ride, part therapy session. I told CZ that I wasn't going to try to sway her decision one way or the other. The horse definitely has some unpredictable moments. They are few and far between these days, but they still happen. My theory is that the mare gets so focused on the tricky stuff that she tunes everything out around her. When something finally grabs her attention, it catches her off guard, causing her to spook. I am able to stop her from spooking 99% of the time and can ride it out the other 1%, but CZ just cannot do the same. I told her she had to weigh the pros and cons. I told her only she could decide if the risk of falling off and getting hurt was greater than the joy she gets when a ride goes well. And I do think they're making amazing progress. She could get another, older, quieter horse, but the chances of that horse having the kind of training that Jazz has are slim. Even if the new horse were to be trained spectacularly, it would take a long time to build a relationship with the new mount. CZ would have to re-evaluate her goals. Is it more important for her to just be able to trust and enjoy her horse or is the dressage something she really finds rewarding and wants to concentrate on?

My advice was not to make a decision while the physical pain was still prevalent and the adrenaline was still high.
"Go on vacation," I told her. "Take a break from your horse. See how much you miss her. See if you even want to ride her when you get back. If you do, ride her three or four times and see how that makes you feel. See how well you do. See if the fear is gone or stronger than ever. Then make a logical decision, not an emotional one. If you do decide to sell her, find a home that will be understanding of her abilities and past injury. Write up a contract that gives you visiting rights and first refusal. If someone isn't willing to sign that contract, they're not the right home for your baby. Personally I think you're a good team. I think you can do amazing things with this horse and I think you love her. I also understand that you cannot keep falling off and that the fear of injury is very real. Only you can decide how much risk is too much risk. There is always risk in horseback riding."

At the beginning of the lesson, CZ seemed pretty set on getting rid of the horse, but by the end she seemed pretty much torn down the middle. By the time I picked Jazz up the following week, her back had started to heal and she was talking about future rides at the new barn. Only time will tell how this one ends.

As luck would have it, Marissa was out of town on Thursday and Friday and let me borrow her rig to go get the mare. Bryce dropped me off at the train station (over the rickety old bridge) to pick up the truck on Thursday night and Mike came with me on Friday morning to hook the trailer up at the crack of dawn. I made a beeline for north Jersey, covering the 80 mile drive in a reasonable amount of time. I met CZ at the barn and helped her tie up some loose ends before loading up the mare. With the contract and Coggins in the cab, I finished packing the trailer and took Jazz's lead.

Jazz hasn't been on a trailer in years so I was prepared to have loading take a while. I explained my method to CZ, promising not to beat her horse with a broomstick.
"The idea is for her to be comfortable in the trailer. She can get on and off as many times as she needs to in order to get relaxed. I'm not a fan of slamming the ramp up the second the horse puts all four feet in the box."

Jazz obediently dropped her nose and sniffed the whole ramp before putting a foot on. With some encouragement, she put two feet on the ramp. Then she backed off. Then she put two feet all the way in the trailer. Then she backed off. Then she put all four feet on the ramp. Then she backed off. Then she walked halfway in the trailer. Then she backed off. Then she marched right into the trailer and got an apple. Then she backed off. Then she loaded right back on and stood still. I gave her a moment before clipping the tie to her halter.

That was a mistake.

A moment later, Jazz decided she'd really like to back off one more time. I hadn't realized she was in a breakaway halter and she sort of walked right out of it and made her way down the driveway. I was able to catch her right away and she walked right back into the trailer like nothing ever happened. This time, I put the butt bar up before I tied her head.

Oops.

The drive down was uneventful. CZ followed me and I stayed in the middle lane, maintaining a safe following distance and going with the flow. An hour and a half later, we pulled up the driveway at Cattail Farm and I parked the rig. All my horses came up to the fence, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in size order, ears pricked, staring at the new arrival.

Ooh. A trailer. I wonder who she's taking this time. A new horse? I wonder if it's here to stay. 

When they realized I wasn't putting anyone with them, they turned in unison and walked away.

I backed Jazz off the trailer and she looked around in wide-eyed wonder, taking in her new surroundings. I took her into the front pasture with the minis and walked her around, showing her the water tubs and the run in shed before turning her loose. Jazz stared longingly at the horses on the far side of the property. It had been four months since she'd had a buddy. When she realized she couldn't get to them, she trotted exactly once around the perimeter of the field before stopping next to us to stare some more. She was being remarkably calm (and boring).

By then, the minis had come out of the shed. I could see that Jazz was puzzled by them, and she kept trying to sneak behind them to get a better look, head craned forward, neck arched dramatically, nostrils flared. She sniffed cautiously, then backed away.
I don't get it. You SMELL like horses, but you're so LITTLE.

Eventually she gave up trying to figure it all out and dropped her head to graze. Soon after, CZ left and I took the trailer back to Marissa's barn, where I successfully backed it into its space. I left the truck at our house while I finished running to the rest of my clients for the day.

The next day, I decided to give Jazz a buddy that was more her size. I took CP, who is friendly to everyone, out to introduce them. Jazz got excited when she saw the pony coming through the gate and trotted over to say hello. They touched noses and she squealed once, in typical mare fashion. They ran around the field a bit, getting to know each other, and have been inseparable since. Jazz follows him around constantly and he adores her. It's actually going to be a bit sad when he leaves in two weeks.

Yesterday I rode Jazz for the first time in her new surroundings. She's actually a little too attached to CP and I had to physically drag her out of the field to get her into the barn. CP wasn't helping by running back and forth, neighing for her. But my approach is, "This is your new life. Deal with it," and I'm sure she will.

Jazz was very nervous on the cross ties, dancing back and forth and craning her head around while I saddled her. Because of her behavior on the ground, I decided to lunge her before riding so she could get a look at the new-to-her ring. She gawked at my colorful jumps a bit, but seemed to settle down pretty quickly. She stood stock still while I mounted and we went on to have a good, if not terribly impressive ride. We walked, trotted, and cantered, worked on some collection, and threw in some circles. Jazz behaved herself just fine, but she was lathered within a short period of time, despite cool September weather. I suspect she was internalizing all her anxiety. When I got her back to the barn an d bathed her, she was very jumpy, leaping every time the water touched her, and threatening to bolt away from the moving hose. I've seen her get bathed several times so I know this is unlike her.

I suspect that Jazz is not a naturally bold horse. She's gotten comfortable over years of living in the same place, but new things still startle and alarm her. She hasn't been taught how to deal, and I suspect the reason she acts out when she gets caught off guard is because she doesn't know how else to react. The next six weeks should change a lot of that in her. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's creating spook-free horses who know how to think through potentially scary situations. I think addressing those underlying issues will help CZ in her long term struggle with this mare.

I also plan on packing the pounds on her, so there should be a physical difference in her by the time she goes home as well as a mental one.

CP trotting up to see the new mare.

Aw, mini me!

You can see which one has been in my care. Haha.

  

Same stride.

Figuring out the water tub.

Nothing gleams like a chestnut.