September 20, 2006

On November 23, 2005, Jazzman Dances, Too (Jazz) was born to Missouri Foxtrotter, Lovee Lady Amblan (Jubilee) and an unknown, to us, cremello Tennessee Walker.

Jazz was born healthy and sound, despite being a few weeks premature and except for some temporary crooked leg problems. His legs straightened out right away with some exercise, and he never did show any of the usual signs of prematurity. He nursed right away and frequently, he has no problems with his eyes and he was born with a full coat of fur. The vet said to expect him sometime in December, but he fooled us all.

He tested well with the IgG kit and was curious, active and wonderfully friendly from the earliest period. I saw him first when he was already about 12 hours old and he had quickly learned people mean petting and scratches, so he was all over me and everyone else for attention. He seemed smart from the beginning and unusually tractable.

Jazz caught the attention not only of dozens of people but of the other horses, dogs, cats and even a wild doe that came down from the hills to check him out. He just has one of THOSE personalities and presence unlike any horse I've ever seen.

Mike and I determined that:

a.) Jazz would be trained with extreme gentleness -- a minimum of hitting would be allowed ONLY for those most dangerous behaviors -- crowding, rushing, biting, kicking and striking. Jazz, like most foals, learned early on that he has teeth for a reason and hooves for a reason and of course he wanted to try them both out. We didn't permit that, and while we didn't hit him then because he was just a baby, he did get several stern talking-to's. Strangely enough, he does seem to understand. If he doesn't understand the words, he certainly understands the intent behind them. Anyway, he didn't get hit and he seemed to stop doing a lot of the bad behaviors without punishment except for the "stern voice."

b.) We needed a trainer. We felt we just didn't have the time to properly train Jazz, so we hired our friend and riding instructor (and the best horse trainer I have ever met,) Brigid Wasson to give him a good start.

Actually, Brigid started working with Jazz from day one without pay. She loves him and wanted to give him a good beginning, so she taught him to stand still and be petted, touched all over and generally loved on. It's called "imprinting," and the way she does it is to leave the baby at liberty and let him get away if he feels too stressed out or worried about the contact. No holding on allowed.

Needless to say, he was coming up to people and requesting pets and scratches from just a few days old. He was leading with a quick release rope when he was three days old, wearing a halter at two weeks and leading well at a month.

Brigid continued working with him until mid-July when she left Millwood.

He no longer:

1. Crowds. Say "My space" or "Back" to him and he gets right out of our space.

2. Mugs. Say "Pretty face" to him and he will back away a little, put his ears forward and politely request his treat.

3. Rushes. Jazz is a very enthusiastic little colt, loves people and didn't understand he could scare or hurt us if he went rushing up on people. All one has to say is "Whoa," holding up a "traffic cop hand" and then "Stand" to make him stop and wait.

4. Pushing at gates and on the trail. He still does this now and then, but not as often. We're working on it with "My space" and "Back."

5. Biting. He will still nibble on clothes, but he no longer bites and I only had to hit him once for biting me very hard. We decided it was better to use the "Ignore the horse and walk away" method to make him aware we are not chew toys. He loves attention, so that made the proper impression on him. He has stopped biting altogether.

6. He's never used striking as a threat display, though he has reared up once (hooves carefully aimed away from the human,) and he does paw the ground when he's frustrated or bored. We're working on both behaviors, again without needing to hit him -- but we will, reluctantly, if the behavior gets worse.

7. He has only once kicked at a person and that was when he was a week old. He seems to understand he can hurt someone badly that way, so he simply doesn't kick. If he's in the arena and getting bucky, he keeps his distance from people. He only once came close to kicking Mike.

Mike was working him at liberty, he turned away to put down the longe whip and end the lesson at the same moment Jazz ran off bucking. If he'd thrown a kick, Jazz would have caught Mike in the head and probably killed him. He pulled off the kick and didn't throw it. He clearly KNOWS not to kick people. Mike ran him for a half hour to impress upon him the importance of NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN, and that was appropriate. Jazz seemed to know it was appropriate punishment and didn't give Mike a moment's trouble. He just took his "spanking" like a man. Mike didn't have to hit him at all for that, but he did run Jazz hard and long.

Actually, Mike has had to hit Jazz only six times -- once with the longe whip and five times with the lead rope, and I have only hit Jazz once with my hand for biting over the past nearly ten months. It makes us extremely uncomfortable to have to hit him, even though we know the unfortunate necessity of it. We WILL do it, but we hate it.

8. Jazz is still barn sour and gets upset when he's away from his mom and his herd, but that problem is changing. Jubilee has started chasing Jazz away from the milk bar. The poor little guy is covered with bites -- none of them serious but they must be uncomfortable. Jubilee, for once, is getting to wean her own baby. Now THAT must be a happy change for her. Jazz is pretty miserable about it, though.

Jazz was gelded on July 1, 2006 at a little over seven months old. We kept him away from other horses for around three weeks to prevent further infection and accidental kicks as he healed. We also spent a great deal of time with him at that time, free longeing him around the arena so that his infection would drain well and he wouldn't get sick. The veterinarian left the wound site open so that it would drain freely and we kept it open by running him so that he'd heal more slowly and not acquire infection pockets that could kill him.

Jazz's relationship with "his" herd began to change then -- being separated from his mom and the other horses, and then when Brigid left, she took away his best friends -- herself and her horses. Then Jazz got knocked down a peg or two by being a gelding and Frodo ruling the roost as a stallion.

We walked into what could have been a badly emotional and unfortunate situation for Jazz as his "new" trainers once Brigid had left. We decided to take up his training, frankly, because we don't trust anyone but Brigid and us to train him -- so in mid-July, we took up that responsibility and it is working out well, if a little rushed and confused sometimes.

Mike has been doing most of the work since I've been sick off and on with colds. He has free longed Jazz since he was gelded and Jazz has learned a great deal of obedience and control from these exercises. Mike has emphasized Jazz's training cues and he has learned to obey them. Mike has also taken Jazz for long walks on the trails to get him used to being away from his herd. This has also, mostly, been a positive experience for Jazz, though he does tend toward being herdbound. We're working on that.

I'll become more actively involved in Jazz's training now that I'm feeling physically better. I started him on the longe line last night and he knew right away what I wanted him to do -- and the clicks and treats certainly helped, too. Despite the presence of other horses and people near the arena, Jazz behaved extremely well and did a good try as far as keeping his mind on his work is concerned. We rewarded him for that try and he seemed happy about it.

The training cues we use are very simple and straight forward:

"My space": Tells Jazz to back off and stop crowding, especially at gates, narrow areas, and on the trail in general.
"Pretty face": Tells Jazz to stop mugging and wait patiently for his treat.
"Whoa": Tells Jazz to stop moving.
"Stand": Tells Jazz to stand in place and wait.
"Walk": Calm walk on or off the longe line.
"Trot": Actually means "foxtrot," Jazz's preferred gait.
"Back": With a little pressure means back up until told to "whoa."
"Lead": Go quietly on the lead and don't get too far behind, cross over, crowd or go ahead.
"Turn": turn left or right or, on the longe line or free longeing, clockwise or counter clockwise.

He hasn't had much work lifting his hooves up on command yet, nor does he canter on command, but those skills are coming. Those command cues will be "Hoof" and "Canter."

He loves to be groomed and stands for that without a lead very well, so we will use that to encourage him to stand at other times, too.

He doesn't do any of these commands perfectly yet, but he is certainly willing and very smart, so as he gets older and develops a calmer mind, he'll learn to do all this and more perfectly.

I also plan to put him on driving lines in the near future, but I do want him to walk, trot, canter, whoa, stand, turn, and do patterns around cones before introducing him to straight line driving. He will do an awful lot of walking before anything else, too.

That brings me up to the present. Much more to come!