Summer Training: Goals and Challenges

The shift into an El Niño weather pattern this year has had some significant consequences for us that I didn't take into account for our training goals this summer. The much more humid summer weather, drenching storms, and the location of the farm near a coastal wetland means increased activity from the dreaded greenhead fly. While the farm took many precautions to limit flies and mosquitos using a variety of methods, and with much more efficacy than we have experienced at other facilities, it is still a big problem here. Horses and other livestock are driven to madness by these relentless things, and there are few real natural (and unnatural) deterrents that are truly effective. The constant fly assault has meant that horses are turned out very early and turned in around noon, to avoid their peak activity times. We've also had a streak of days over 85 degrees that also have very high humidity, as well as some flooding, and under these conditions I am very cautious working the horse for more than 30 minutes or so or under high intensity; the addition of greenhead flies makes even 5 minutes of work outdoors impossible. We have the advantage of using the indoor arena where the flies are less bothersome, but due to how it was constructed, this building becomes a literal greenhouse- it is easily >5 degrees warmer in that structure with very little air circulation. Still, I prefer to make do with greater heat and humidity inside the arena vs. taking our chances outdoors where poor Levi is immediately set upon by greenheads like zombies. It is useless to try to work with a horse under these conditions. We are both drenched in sweat working outside or inside regardless of the level of effort, but I am very mindful of proper cooling out after exercise and limiting our work to cooler days and times of day. The cool waters of the wash bay, and the sprayers that deliver them, have become Levi's good friends. We also have had to contend with a number of monsoon-like rains and storms that limited our work as well as turnout time for the horses. This isn't how I'd planned this month to go considering we were on a great path before this, but it is reality and we have to deal with it.

At this point in his training, I am working very hard to avoid any kind of situation where he becomes frightened or confused under cart. We want this to be very much business as usual, even perhaps a little bit boring, just like everything else we've introduced to him with great success. The addition of bad weather, the constant flies, and other unforeseen challenges have made me revise my plans for training under cart. In Vermont, recent horrendous flooding on par with Hurricane Irene a decade ago kept Cheryl from making the trip down, and this week we had to postpone until Friday. Levi has been hitched a total of eight times since we first put him to cart, which seems like a very small number, but if you consider that I am putting safety at the forefront and not hitching him until I have good conditions and help from competent people (Cheryl and Joe),  I think it is understandable. In the meantime we kept up our other ground work and driving training. As he is continuing to develop, I have introduced working over cavalletti (poles) to help strengthen his stifles, back, and pelvis, to help him utilize his core muscles properly, and to help facilitate balance and rhythm. He also drafts his tire drag a few times per week but I have considered increasing the weight of objects he pulls to improve his fitness. To this end, I will build him a simple stone boat sled that we can add increasing weight to help him get stronger and work more purposefully under cart. . Working horses productively in harness is part of my ancestry, and it seems very natural to both of us for him to drag heavy objects from one place to another as a purposeful and helpful part of his training. I wish we had a few downed trees to sledge from the woods, and I would feel like one of my ancestors clearing forests of the Pacific Northwest to create homesteads.

If I had consistent help from someone familiar with heading harness horses, who was not afraid of young horses in particular, and who was able to meet me at the farm for ~30 minutes every day or every other day, I could hitch and drive Levi multiple days per week. The task itself is not difficult at all. I literally just need someone there to hold him while I hitch/unhitch him and get in and out of the cart, and it would be great if that person could hang around for a bit while we drive in case any issues arise. Driving is a team sport, and as a driver friend once joked to me, "you need two people to drive: one person to drive the horse, and the other to call the ambulance." Of course, it is not that dire in our case, but you get the picture that we always want to be safe for the sake of both human and horse, and I don't do anything with Levi under cart unless I have multiple hands on deck. Both Cheryl and Joe have schedules that would prohibit working with us more than once a week.  At this time, I am not that frustrated by our lack of ability to drive in cart every training session. If it were a year from now and I was more eager to show and condition, I would certainly take more assertive steps to find someone on a daily basis, but as he is newly under cart and we are also dealing with environmental challenges, I think the situation is fine for now.

Considering that Mother Nature decided to open up a can of whoop-ass upon us this summer, I've revised my showing plans accordingly. There was a show at the beginning of this month in New Hampshire where I wanted to show Levi in the halter classes. That did not transpire. That particular show is scheduled again for September so I have decided that will be the date for us to participate. I had also considered taking Levi to the Lippitt Morgan show in Tunbridge, Vermont, in August. I may still do this, but right now the idea of putting my horse child into an inferno of a trailer and dragging him three hours to a strange new environment where he has to sleep in a strange barn amongst strange horses, surrounded by strange humans under a great deal of excitement and stress, in 90 degree heat, and then has to perform on top of all of that (perhaps even in flash thunderstorms) makes this kind of a "no" for me. The next show is the iconic New England Morgan next week which is in Springfield, MA; I will be assisting Cheryl by grooming for her and her horse River during this show, so there is no chance of bringing Levi or working with him next week. Cooler weather in September will probably be best for showing. One of my eventing friends does not even show in the summer months any longer, as the summers are becoming hot enough to be both unbearable and dangerous for some of these equestrian events.

While I'm a bit frustrated that we haven't spent the summer driving in cart as I had hoped, I am accepting of the fact that we need to be realistic about our plans considering the recent extremes of climate. The floods and heavy heat and humidity must be respected and while it is not ideal for our horses to stand in their stalls with fans blowing on them instead of turned out on pasture as usual, it is the best and most humane treatment for them short of moving them to another climate. We are fortunate to have an excellent barn management and staff who are compassionate and understanding of this, providing great care for our horses. Let's hope for a few cool days, and a bit of respite from these flies and floods, so we can continue with our strong plans.