The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

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Tuddy
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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Tuddy » Tue Nov 29, 2016 3:03 pm

Moutaineer wrote:I think it's a wise move to take the winter to regroup, and see how you both feel in the spring. It's nice having them home, too :) And yes, pictures!


Yeah, I can't wait to have the big goof home.

It's funny, we have been spending a lot of time just being together, working on the ground, and I have no desire right now to ride him. And I think that is okay, but there are a lot of others in my life that feel I need to, "Quit Stalling!, Get Back On!, etc.", and it has left a real sour taste in my mouth. It pretty much sealed the deal on bringing him home. (There were other issues, but I won't get into that.)

If any of you were to hand the reins over to me of one your horses, I would hop on no problem, so it's not that I am scared to ride, I am just not ready to ride him yet.

We had our first real snow fall, so stay tuned for some cute mini donkeys in their blankies playing in the snow!

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Ryeissa » Wed Nov 30, 2016 5:14 pm

good for you! sounds like a great plan.

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Tuddy » Wed Dec 28, 2016 4:18 pm

We made it home Christmas Eve before the snow hit. He was so happy to be home. Here he is having Christmas morning breakfast with the #bigblackfreighttrain . Who knows, maybe we will try again in the spring to make a riding horse out of him, but until then, not something I have any desire to deal with at the moment... My #warhorse is home, where he should be, life is good in my world.

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Tuddy » Mon Mar 12, 2018 2:10 pm

On August 14, 2016, my big, beautiful heart horse taught me the biggest life lesson of all. Cost me some physical pain, and a lot of mental turmoil. I haven't been on that Tuddy horse of mine since that day. (If you are wondering what happened, just go one page back and the story is there).

The past 18 months have been quite the emotional journey. I have ridden other horses since then, but not Tuddy. I've saddled him a few times, lunged him, made a couple attempts to get back on but never did. Just couldn't do it.

I felt very betrayed by a few people that I thought were professionals. It wasn't their fault I got thrown off this horse, and I don't blame them, but the support I thought I would have to get me through this disappeared as soon as the money for lessons and training quit flowing. This whole incident really made me look within myself and really start questioning what I wanted out of being an equestrian.

I also felt I betrayed Tuddy. I know he forgave me the minute I realized where I went wrong, but I took me a looooong time to forgive myself. A very long time.

Since May of last year, I decided that I needed to get myself out of the funk I was stuck in and start asking questions from fellow horse owners and riders. I participated in a couple clinics, audited a lot more, and soaked up as much information as I could and started storing and filing it in my mental filing cabinet to be saved for later.

I had a lot of people ask me when I was going to get back on that horse and show him who's boss. I eventually gave up trying to answer that question because I knew they were just asking to prove to themselves that, number 1 - I was a scaredy cat and, number 2 - my horse was dangerous.

Because of that, I also learned to start standing up for my horse, myself and my training beliefs. I thought, if everyone thinks that their training beliefs are tried, tested and true, and are quick to defend that, why can't I do the same? That epiphany really made some people stop in their tracks. I also realized, quite a few people I was hanging around with are excellent riders, but they are not horseman.

I've made it my personal motto that I am going to be what my horse needs, not what I want him to be. With that mindset in mind, 18 months later, I had the best ride of my life on my heart horse.... hopefully, the first of many, but we are just going to take it one day at a time. Have a great day everyone. Go out and hug your horse and give them an extra scratch behind the ears. :)

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby StraightForward » Mon Mar 12, 2018 3:58 pm

Congratulations, Tuddy, that is really great!

I actually got bucked off just a couple days after you, and have not been on that mare since then, so we've been going through a lot of the same, though no one's told me to "show her who's boss." It's difficult and stressful to say the least. Hoping to be back on her this summer.

I'm glad you're finding your way, and hope you're able to continue to progress with your guy.
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby orono » Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:55 pm

I'm glad you're back on him!! Would you consider wearing a helmet, especially given your difficult history with him?

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby demi » Mon Mar 12, 2018 10:21 pm

Good for you, Tuddy! What a great attitude. I like your thinking on this. But do be careful and I agree with Orono, a helmet is a good thing. At my age, I’ve had more concussions than I can count and now I always wear a helmet. I wish I would have started wearing one when I was a kid.

Keep us posted.

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby silk » Mon Mar 12, 2018 10:43 pm

I can echo your sentiment. I spent 5 years trying to fix my big WB mare. I had a lot of people tell me she was just green, just needed more mileage, just needed more riding, I just needed to employ so-and-so to get her over it - ie I couldn't ride well enough to do it - etc etc etc. Send her there, send her here, pour (more) money into her...

Her very thorough autopsy proved what I always suspected, which is that something (many somethings) were wrong. She was in pain, and was likely behaving incredibly WELL for me, not poorly as everyone had been suggesting. It was not an attitude problem on her side.

I applaud your trust in yourself and your horse. You do know how to listen, and you are going to make more progress because of it. Well done and here's to the next chapters of your story!

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Tuddy » Tue Mar 13, 2018 2:19 pm

Thanks for the kind words everyone! Yes, I know, I should have had a helmet on. And I very, very rarely ride without one because of my accident, (I still say it is what saved me that day).

But... someone else was wearing it. :)

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Kid takes priority over mom. We never seem to ride at the same time so when she wanted to ride with me, the helmet got popped onto her head. This is my daughter riding the #bigblackfreighttrain. She did have a saddle on him, but it didn't fit, so she ditched it for bareback. It was great to watch her as she doesn't ride as much as she used to, and she is a great little rider too. :)

We had just over a foot and a half of snow, so when I got on, I told my husband that was heading towards the deeper stuff in case I need to bail ... softer landing if I needed it. :lol: But no worries, a foresee a trip to the tack store for a new helmet in the near future!

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Tuddy » Wed Jul 25, 2018 8:20 pm

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Well.... we are prepping for a clinic to be held mid-August.. Just a Foundation (groundwork) class to begin with, but we are getting back into it though. I went out to feed last night and thought I would work with him a bit. I saddled him up and did about 15 minutes of in-hand work. He was a superstar, so we quit on that good note.

Hopefully, it is the start of getting him back into riding mode. I have had a couple cranio sessions done on him and the body worker mentioned his one side was very dull, and it was the side he spooks on, so no surprise there. I need to book him in to get his teeth done as well.

Keep you posted! :)

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Moutaineer » Thu Jul 26, 2018 4:23 am

Good stuff!

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby demi » Thu Jul 26, 2018 11:01 am

Nice picture, Tuddy! Have fun with him, be careful, and post pics of his progress!

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Sue B » Thu Jul 26, 2018 3:06 pm

Beautiful picture. I hope all goes well at the clinic.

keep us updated. ;)

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Ryeissa » Fri Jul 27, 2018 8:54 pm

lovely! have fun

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Tuddy » Mon Aug 13, 2018 5:30 pm

My clinic is in 5 sleeps. I am a bundle of nerves. That's it. Carry on. :?

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Ryeissa » Mon Aug 13, 2018 6:24 pm

Aww...I get nervous too. PM me if you want to talk more

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby demi » Tue Aug 14, 2018 12:46 am

Ok. Remember it’s just a foundation class so that takes some of the pressure off. Remember to breathe. Take one step at a time and don’t worry too far into the future. Have all your equipment and stuff prepared and loaded a day or two ahead of time so you don’t have to worry about it. Remember that you have a handsome horse and smile when you think about that!

Keep us posted!

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Tuddy » Tue Aug 14, 2018 1:56 pm

Thanks for the pep talks. I know I will be fine, it's just he hasn't been off the farm since Christmas Eve 2016... :shock: I am also taking Yonka to this same clinic, as I will be riding him. Hopefully, that helps Tuddy settle in as his bully/buddy will be there too. :)

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Tuddy » Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:58 pm

Clinic Update - Well, we survived. 8-)

It.was.amazing.

We got Tuddy and Yonka there on Friday evening in good time, as the other participants were showing up as well. Put them in their pen with a bale of hay and left them munching on supper while the other participant horses ran around in their pens like chickens with their heads cut off. You'd think they had never been anywhere before. Okay, maybe some hadn't, but the ranch horses that get hauled daily, I think were the worst ones for calling out and pacing.

Anywho, bring on Day One.

Foundation Class

Tuddy was an absolute superstar in his Foundation Class. Blew me out of the water. There were 17 horses in his class, 3 hours long, so we had a lot of down time and to sit, chill and absorb. Never spooked, got a little worried a few times, but tried his heart out and didn't get sassy about any of it. I was like ... where is my horse? We worked on basic ground work stuff and he did all that was asked and we found some gaps (naturally), that need some work.

Yonka also was in the Foundation class, one of the participants wanted to join the fun last minute, but needed a horse, I told her to go grab Yonka as it wouldn't hurt him at all to be in the class. He did really well under her guidance.

Horsemanship Class - Yonka

We rode outside in the big outdoor arena as there were 25 horses in the class. Big mistake - it was hot and the bugs were horrible. The bugs just about drove us back inside at one point, but we all survived. We worked on disengaging the hind end, moving the front end and since a lot of horses did not appreciate horses getting too close, we worked on social skills. Trina explained to us that a lot of horses have no social skills, that a lot of horses she runs into are horses that are kept in pens/paddocks, or semi-private pens with minimal of full equine companionship. That all these horses have "friends", but no "herd" to belong too. That they don't know how to be a horse around other horses, and when they do get close to another horse, ears pin back, facial expressions change and they get owly. It isn't because they are being bad, they are just being defensive. So we did an exercise where we had to find a partner and walk up their horse so that it was standing with their nose at the other rider’s knee. Then each rider would take a turn by leaning over and rubbing the other horse’s face or pet its neck to let it know it was okay. This also was an exercise in helping feel where your horse’s feet were. Very few of the riders were able to walk up the other horse straight, so maybe you had to move the hind end over to reach the other horse, or move the front end, or maybe you did line up straight, but you were too far away to reach over to pet the horse, so you had to side pass your horse over a couple of steps. If your horses got along with each other, and you had a good handle of knowing where your horse’s feet where, one person, could lean over, grab the other horse by the rein and move it around as well... Yonka and I never got to that part.

End of Day One.
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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Tuddy » Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:00 pm

Day 2

Foundation Class. Fun with Flags (if you ever watched Big Bang Theory, you may have just chuckled at that title hee hee)

The purpose of this clinic, (to me, it seemed), was to get to the horses feet. By getting to its feet, you are getting to its mind, and by getting to its mind, its attention is then put on you.

It’s one thing to move its feet, but a lot of the horses were quite slow moving. By using the flags as an extension of our arm, we were able to get them to be a little snappier with them. We used Yonka as an example for this, as when we would ask him to back up from the ground, he would do it, but he wouldn’t pick up his feet. As Trina put it, by the tracks he left with his feet, you could plant a garden. By using the flag, and using more energy, he was able to utilize his body, pick up his feet instead of dragging them.

We also used the flag, not to desensitize them, but to make them comfortable with things around their body. I don’t like the term desensitize them, as I feel that leads to dullness, but using the flag around their body made them more aware of their surroundings and be able to deal with it. Hard to explain, sorry. An exercise we did, was we all traded horses and rubbed the flag on each new horse we got. It also taught us what levels of feel it took for each different horse to be responsive. Some horses were cool with the flag all over, some didn’t like it on one leg, or up by its eye, so on and so forth. By learning feel with different horses, our goal was to pass on the horse to the next person a wee bit better than when we got them.

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Both my horses did very well.

Horsemanship Day 2

We moved to the indoor arena for this, 26 horses in an indoor. It was hot. We actually brought Tuddy in for this part of the clinic as well, as we used him for some flag exercises. More on that to come. I think 23 horses were being ridden and 3 were used for ground work purposes – Tuddy being one of them.

Again, we just added on to what we worked on the day before. I had a lot of fun with this class. We did a lot group work.

Again – trying to find and feel our horse’s feet on horseback was difficult for some of us. Someone like me, who had a big horse, I could get him to move his feet over, but I couldn’t get a full cross over of them to save my life even though I had thought they had. Hence the learning how to feel. I was not the only one who had this issue, so, Trina put us in groups of five. One horse in the middle, and the other four horses created a box around that horse. The rider in the middle had to move their horse over, either by moving the front end, or disengaging the hind end, a quarter turn, so that they turned and faced a new horse “wall” each turn. When you stopped at your new wall, that rider would lean over and rub that horse’s face and love it up. This exercise also helped those horses that didn’t like to be crowded, or got grouchy with other horses.

Tuddy was used in this class for the riders that had horses that were ok with being ridden while the rider had a flag in its hand. These riders would walk up to Tuddy, and then gently rub him all over with the flag and then move on. Again, no one walked up to him perfectly straight, so the riders had to move the feet to get them straight so they could get up to Tuddy. Tuddy was a champ. He figured out right quick that he wasn’t being chased, and that the multi colored flags were okay.

Final exercise to help with feeling and moving feet and social skills – all 22 ridden horses were lined up along the long side of the arena and everyone had to side pass to the left, and then side pass to the right. We didn’t have any wrecks, but we had a few traffic jams and a lot of laughs!

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Whew – that was a busy day.

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Tuddy » Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:04 pm

(Final) Day Three – POLE DANCING DAY!!!!

Foundation Class

Was a recap of the past 2 days, moving our horse’s feet, their bodies and creating some fluidity.

We did partner lunging in this class, 2 people would stand back to back and move their horses in a circle. If you were really good, the horses stayed at 12 and 6 o’clock, and were able to switch directions and send out without having to stop or lose your feel.

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After we did this – we broke out the poles! Lol! I love ground poles. This exercise, we had to walk our horses STRAIGHT up the pole. And if you were really good, once you finished forward, then you were to back your horse STRAIGHT down the pole. This was hard! I was able to get Tuddy to do it, forward, but backwards was tough, one hip always went off course and I would have a foot cross over the pole. Then we side passed over the pole. That was tough too, because if you didn’t have the pole centred under the horse properly, the minute it moved a front foot, or a hind foot, pop, it went over the pole.

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Then – Trina said, everyone mount up and do it from the saddle. In the Foundation Class, with my horse that I haven’t rode in 2 years, yeah – guess who had a panic attack. It was the tail end of the class, and I chickened out. Which is okay, I wasn’t comfortable getting on Tuddy in my dressage saddle with 17 other horses in the arena, my western saddle, maybe, as I would have had some holy s**t handles to grab if need be. I felt like a big ole failure as Trina obviously felt confident I could do it, I just chickened out. Bah.

Horsemanship Class.

Poles were still out and we continued on from the morning, (as most of the people rode their horses in both classes), we rode the horses straight up the pole and side passed it.

Because we had worked on where our horses feet were, the next exercise half of the horses lined up on one long side of the arena and the other half did the same on the other side. Each rider had to walk their horses – straight – and stop in the middle. So, there were 26 horses head to tail down the centre. It was amazing. Then everyone turned around and did it backwards.

That was pretty much the end of the clinic….

Oh, I forgot to mention – Day 3 of Horsemanship, after feeling like a bag of crap for chickening out, and not getting on and riding my big Tuddy at the end of the Foundation class….. well… I asked Trina if I could leave Yonka in his pen and ride Tuddy in the Horsemanship class.

Best.day.ever.

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demi
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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby demi » Thu Aug 23, 2018 2:09 am

Great report! It sounds like the trainer did a really thorough job and that you got your money’s worth. I did laugh at “fun with flags” haha.
I bet you are tired after that, but that last picture says it was well worth the effort. What a great shot of you and Tuddy boy! I find it encouraging that you have stuck with him because he has not been easy. Thanks for taking the time to write the report.

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Moutaineer » Thu Aug 23, 2018 3:15 am

Yes, great report. An excellent way to build your trust and confidence in each other and your ability to work together.

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby StraightForward » Thu Aug 23, 2018 3:40 am

It looks like fun. Glad you had a great time and got to ride Tuddy at the end!
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Sue B » Thu Aug 23, 2018 2:47 pm

Super report! You should be very proud of yourself for following through with Tuddy. That took a lot of courage.

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby kande50 » Thu Aug 23, 2018 4:21 pm

You're doing a really good job of taking the time that it takes, and I think you'll be much happier with the results because of it.

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Tuddy » Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:13 pm

Thanks everyone! I had a great weekend, but I think the stress of it burnt me out a bit. I've been a little under the weather since, but nothing serious.

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby piedmontfields » Thu Aug 23, 2018 6:20 pm

Tuddy, well done. I think those multi-day, multi-horse clinics are really hard. I actually think my mare would be exhausted after about 2 hours of that! (mentally---she worries a lot near other horses)

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Ryeissa » Tue Aug 28, 2018 6:42 pm

Tuddy wrote:Thanks everyone! I had a great weekend, but I think the stress of it burnt me out a bit. I've been a little under the weather since, but nothing serious.

I know the feeling. How are you doing now? thanks for the update! that is so exciting. (and a ton of horses! wow :!: )

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Re: The Warhorse - the Tale of Tuddy

Postby Tuddy » Tue Aug 28, 2018 7:57 pm

Ryeissa wrote:I know the feeling. How are you doing now? thanks for the update! that is so exciting. (and a ton of horses! wow :!: )


I am doing better, thank you. I went from being nauseous to a lovely summer head cold. Still have stuffed up sinus' and a sore chest, but the smoke from the wild fires, mixed with the weather here being so dry, it hasn't made me a happy camper.... until last night. The skies finally opened and we got some much needed rain.

Horses are on a bit of break because of the heat and such, and me being sick, so hopefully this weekend we can do a little work.

I have also been invited to another horsemanship clinic first weekend in October with my horses, same type as this past one, but I don't know this clinician very well. I am just going to audit this one, I'm thinking.


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