Month: March 2019

The last time I got to spend any meaningful time with Odin the Mustang, he bucked me off.  Obviously he was telling me that it was all too much.  I probably would've stayed on had I taken the time to saddle and bridle him but no, I was riding bareback with halter and leadrope.  At least I tell myself I would've stayed on.

Ordinarily I spend Tuesday and Thursday afternoons with the Odin and Beege but we've been busy house shopping and spent each night after work last week, touring potential homes on property.  We finally made an offer on Friday night, before Randy left for a short mountain bike trip in Arizona.  There was a counter offer on Saturday and thanks to technology and electronic signatures we were able to accept — Randy from somewhere in Arizona and me from a parking lot in front of a warehouse store.  Now we wait for inspections and closing.

Yesterday I did basic stuff with the boys at liberty.  Come to me, pick up feet, back up, etc.  I "cowboy magicked" the fairy tangles from Odin's mane and gave both boys a grooming.  It's shedding season so I brought a fair amount of hair back with me.

Today I had a lesson with Meghan.  She is offering limited traveling lessons where she comes to your horse.  Before she arrived I had time to work with Beege on the same lesson plan from Bookends Farm that I started probably two weeks ago now, which is okay because Beege needs to succeed at the activities he knows before we move on.  We started with all the familiar, easy exercises in a familiar place then moved on to The Flag.  I asked him to target it, click and treat (c/t).  Incrementally I was able to wave the flag around where he could see it, over his head, and interspersed with target, which he's very good at.  There was minimal snorting and no wheeling and fleeing.  I asked him to follow the flag back up to his pasture, which he did worriedly at first but then saw it was going away from him as he came forward.  The goal is to build confidence and curiosity about things that worry him.  Next week we do the same exercises in a new place, beginning with just exploring a new place, which will likely be on the other side of the barn but still in view of the other horses.

The reason Meghan came is because Odin has had a hard time going under shelters, which is necessary for him to get from paddock to barn and back, through barn to horse trailer, and horse trailer.  Those are all a very big deal for him.  We started in the pasture.  When Odin saw where we were going, toward the shelter, he planted his feet.  Meghan made him move his feet, anywhere, just move.  He did and we spent several minutes walking toward the shelter, backing up, sending away.  In other words, exercising in the pasture but resting near the shelter.  Make the right thing easy, the wrong thing hard, i.e. work.  with gentle intent.  We're listening to Odin's concerns but we're going to help him get comfortable in places he gets nervous.  

We walked with intent toward the shelter and he walked partially in with me but I saw he was concerned so I backed him out and let him think on that.  We did that a number of times until he was comfortable walking through and down the gravel path.  When he was comfortable being away from the shelter, we stopped, backed up, let him think on that.  We did that back and forth several times.  Lots of sitting and waiting for him to process after we got through the shelter and were comfortably on the other side.  We ended the lesson on the gravel path after he went through the shelter reasonably comfortably.  I took off his halter to find out if he'd go back through the shelter to the pasture.  He didn't at first because he wanted to clean up the hay scraps on the gravel side of the pasture.

Meghan and I walked out, chatted, and made plans for another lesson as we still need to get through the dark stall and through the barn aisle.  I took my time cleaning up my stuff, putting things away, wondering if Odin was going to get through the shelter to the pasture on his own.  I walked up to fill up a water bucket.  He definitely became more curious since I was standing there and walked up to just outside of the shelter.  I ignored him, put the hose away then went into the pasture to talk to Beege.  Odin considered the journey and walked through all by himself!  He seemed to be motivated by water as he went right to the bucket once he was through the gauntlet.  I congratulated him for his thoughtful bravery on my way out.  We will practice more during the week.

When I started riding horses decades ago, I thought it was all about riding horses.  Turns out it's more about waiting for a horse to think and decide that being with his person rather than choosing what his instincts may tell him to do, which may include being in the safety of the herd or eating more grass.  Both of these are necessary for his survival.  It's a lot of waiting but truly a blessing when the horse decides against his instincts to be with you.

I was invited on a trail ride but I wanted to do some easy work with Odin the Mustang to get him more comfortable under roofs, going in and out of the barn, which requires a squeeze through a stall and out the barn aisle.  He tends to be reactive in those spaces so we take our time, rest, eat cookies, walk out, graze, repeat.  He's doing better being under the roof at the pasture shelter and even getting pretty good about the lower roof to the barn.

Today I decided I'd set up some obstacles for Beege, ala the Bookends Farm post about learning to be brave.  I also wanted to try working Odin first and then Beege to see if it reduced Beege's anxiety a bit.  I can't really tell if it did but the main thing is that I got Odin's exercises in and out of the barn out of the way and then decided to ride him bareback in the arena.

I've ridden Odin bareback before and only once at this location.  At Pacific Moon Equestrian Center, he was pretty relaxed in most places around the farm but here he hasn't had as much time to settle in plus the month of snow set us back in terms of work as well as losing his marbles whenever snow would slide off the barn roof.   However, I thought I'd be able to tell when he'd be ready after doing a fair amount of ground work with him in the arena.  He initially rushed near the shrubs at the east end of the arena and after I let him sniff them he was fine.  He also had his head in the air looking at things but I got him to pay attention to me, put his head down and relax.

It seemed like it was the right time to get on. I asked him to sidle up to the mounting block, I got on and asked for a few steps forward.  He took a few steps and stopped, which was fine with me as he's not wearing a saddle or bridle, just a halter and lead rope.  We practiced steering, cue with outside leg, open inside leg, lead with rope if necessary.  That was fine in both directions.  He stopped when I asked.  Then something caught his attention, head up in the air.  Not sure what as he was fine when the car drove by on the road.   I continued to ask for steering but he wanted to focus on the thing out yonder.  And started bucking. 

Odin hasn't bucked with me on him before, at least not enough that I noticed when I have him saddled.  He's spooked and I've sat that but I don't recall bucking.  Obviously he was frustrated with my instructions and he does sass a little when he'd prefer to focus his attention on something else.  Off I went, landed in the soft arena footing.  I'll be a little bruised but I was wearing my helmet and padded vest.  Plus the ground was soft.  He just stood there looking at me.  So now he's focused on me. Success, I suppose.  I brought him back to the mounting block.  Got on and asked for a right turn, left turn, and whoa.  Perfect.  I got off.

I turned him loose in the paddock that leads up to his pasture so I could get a few things ready for Beege.  Odin walked himself back up there and even went under the roof by himself.  He's smart, that one.

Beege whinnied at me and stood at the gate waiting for his turn.  I love his enthusiasm! We are on day 4 in Zone 1 of Bookend Farms method of being brave.  Beege loves obstacles so I had him side pass over a pole on the ground.  He does it easily right to left (from his point of view) but going left to right is harder for him so I broke it down one step front end, one step hind quarter.  Then he got it! 

The next exercise was weaving cones; easy.  After that came the dreaded tarp.  It was folded up in a small square so not very threatening.  He sniffed it, snorted, sniffed it, mouthed it a little.  All good signs.  I wanted him to put a foot on it but it was too small and easy to avoid so whenever he even accidentally touched it with a hoof he was rewarded with a treat.  And finally, target the flag stickin out of the cone.  Again, very easy.  On the way back through the course, I asked him to do figure 8s through the cones at the walk.  Easy.  And more side pass over the pole on the ground.  Better.  I let him go after that and asked him to walk with me at liberty up to his pasture.  More than happy to oblige, even when I stopped and backed up.

Eventually I'd like to ride Beege a little  and he might even be calmer and more confident than Odin right now but the arena is still two or three zones away.  One zone at a time, we'll get there.

The title for today's post is from a blog post by Jane Jackson of Bookends Farm.  I learned about her while listening to a positive reinforcement podcast called Equiosity.  Jane has a very sensitive horse who is on high alert all the time, even on her own farm.  My OTTB, Beege, is much like that too.  He's the Mother Hen of the herd, although not the leader.  He likes to know where everyone is at all times and is constantly on the lookout for danger.  He's a Danger Ranger.  The other horses are more relaxed.  Except roofs are Odin's nemesis.  More on that later.

I've been trying to make sense of Beege's behavior for a long time and wondered how to help him make sense of the world so he can be more confident and maybe, just maybe we can go off property and have some fun together.  I listen to a lot of podcasts, read a lot of training materials, ask questions of professionals and experienced horse people.  Most people don't know why I keep Beege.  Some days I don't know either but the truth is I haven't figure him out and I want to.  Anyway, one trainer whose methods I admire very much said that her test for riding a horse is if they can be okay with a flag.  Flags are Beege's nemesis.  I've said before I think he was "flooded" by a past trainer who thought that eventually Beege would figure out that a flapping flag doesn't actually cause any pain. Well, it doesn't but Beege never made that connection; his emotions kept escalating and he never gained control of them until the flag went away.  By Odin's example Beege is learning to be more confident around flapping flags but he's still afraid.  He enjoys targeting them but he doesn't like the flag to touch him.  He needs to be in control.

Back to Learning to Be Brave.  Jane Jackson was being interviewed by clicker trainer host, Alexander Kurland, and described her method of getting her sensitive horse, Percy, to be more brave.  She spent almost a year (weather permitting) trying out her method of asking him to pay attention to her, stop worrying about everything around him, in other words be brave.  I just started the method with Beege this week.  So far he's wondering why we're doing such easy boring exercises.  The answer is because I want him to be confident about what I ask him.  Tomorrow I will introduce a slightly new exercise but in the same "zone".  Jane describes what she did in this article: http://bookendsfarm.blogspot.com/2019/02/percy-project.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FzKal+%28Bookends+Farm%29

In the meantime, Odin and I continue to work on squeeze games, both over his head and through narrow places.  Today he willingly stood under a roof.  It's getting easier but we still need to take our time and we will.

On Sunday, Odin the Mustang and I were invited to go on a trail ride. If you’ve been following along you’ll remember that Odin is a bit sticky about getting in the trailer. My friend offered to pick us up since the parking area is just down the road and we wanted to find out if he’d be more willing if another horse was in the trailer already. Her horse is calm and has been trailering for many years so it seemed like a good plan.

Frankly, Odin just doesn’t want to get in the trailer. He’s not particularly scared but he doesn’t like small spaces. I get it, I don’t either. Ellen took her horse out so there’d be more room in the trailer. It still took a while to get in. I used the refusals as an opportunity to back up, even under the carport roof. He doesn’t like roofs either. I used the refusals as an opportunity to drive him forward. Eventually he got in, Ellen’s horse loaded up like a champ and off we went.

Tying to the trailer, tacking up, and actual trail riding is pretty easy for Odin. He’s not spooky but cautious about going over logs. I suspect that he’s still working on his balance carrying a rider so we take the easiest way possible and sometimes follow other horses closely. He can be the front horse but he tends to move out so we leave riders behind and it startles him when horses come trotting up behind him. All these issues are growing pains that will be non-issues over time. It was a beautiful day on Sunday with some lingering snow. The sun was out and the mountains in the distant were in view. I was riding with two experienced riders on their calm, experienced mares. Toward the end of the ride Odin spooked once at who knows what. By then I was so relaxed that I just went with him and he never goes far. We decided the best position for him was between the mares and his head went down immediately. Once we approached the gate, I got off to give him room to feel comfortable winding through the narrow pathway that keeps motorized vehicles out. Plus I was ready to walk by then. We’d been out for at least a couple hours and I need to stretch my legs, warm up my feet.

Getting Odin back in the trailer was a slightly different but as lengthy exercise. His feet get stuck, so we back up and practice going forward, which occasionally requires a whack with the string popper. I despise doing that and try to encourage forward movement with popping the string behind him but sometimes that doesn’t work. Frankly, sometimes popping his bum with the popper doesn’t work. We’re still figuring out what does work. One thing I noticed is that I was blocking him from getting into the trailer by directly facing him. Once I turned to the side, he was more willing to get in. We practiced that a couple times and by the third time he got in and stood by the hay net while I tied him in and secured the divider. Backing out of the trailer is getting more calm and controlled. We’ll get there.

Yesterday when I approached with the flag Beege snorted a little but didn’t run off. He and Odin the Mustang were in one pasture, while Canyon the Mustang was in the other. This is the usual snow schedule, in part because Canyon unfortunately is sensitive to dusty hay and must have his hay steamed. Beege and Odin are bottom feeders, luckily.

Anyway, the flag seems to generate interest from all three horses since doing easy, silly things with the flag is rewarded with treats. Odin doesn’t care if I flop the flag all around on the ground or gently over his body. Beege prefers to target the flag with his nose, apparently so that where the flag touches him is under his control. The great news is that he didn’t run off when I flopped the flag on the ground and he followed me and the flopping flag. He got a big reward for that — the rest of the cookies in the bag. It’s satisfying to hold the bag for him while he buries his nose and closes his eyes. Pure reward, which I hope he remembers for next time.

After spending so much quality time with Odin the Mustang on Sunday, on Tuesday afternoon I thought I would spend some quality time with Beege the OTTB. A mustang trainer I admire once said that she wouldn’t get on a horse if it was not desensitized to the flag so I’ve been slowly trying to desensitize Beege to the flag. At one point in his life I suspect that “flooding” was used on him. Flooding is a technique that over stimulates a horse with the object that it fears to demonstrate that the object can’t cause any pain. It works on some horses, I suppose, otherwise trainers wouldn’t use it. With other horses, like Beege, escalating a flapping flag flips the terror switch in his brain. He simply cannot think his way through his terror. Odin, on the other hand, looks at a flapping flag and does not understand what the big deal could possibly be. This behavior is good for Beege to watch.

All three horses were in the upper pasture when I arrived. Beege started to come down to greet me until he saw the flag in my hand. I invited him to target the flag with his nose, which he has done before many many times. Not today. Some days are like that. He spun around and ran back to the upper pasture, nose and tail high in the air. Odin had been lying down but wisely got up when Beege started running around. Canyon lifted his muzzle from the grass. Both mustangs appeared curious about why Beege was running around, demonstrating that he is actually quite sound, but didn’t seem alarmed.

I ran the flag over Odin’s body and gave him a treat. Canyon wanted a treat too so I ran the flag over his body. When he stood quietly I gave him a treat. Well now Beege wants a treat but won’t get close because of the flag but he did stop running around, lowered his head and looked long and hard at the fun we were having but wasn’t convinced that it was safe. Both mustangs attempted to initiate the treat dispensing but as always, treats are earned. I asked them to move their feet this way and that way, back up, move away, yield the haunches. Canyon gave me a very nice sidepass.

Beege was very curious so I invited him to join the fun. Nope! He ran off, jumped a row of low stones (still demonstrating that he’s sound), ran down the aisle to the barn. I patted the mustangs, followed Beege down to the barn, and secured the flag against the stick with a pony-tail holder. When Beege noticed the flag wasn’t flapping, he returned to me, let me rub him with the handle of the stick and received treats as a reward. He saw the blue flag folded up against the stick, snorted at it but was willing to target it. Another reward.

We walked to the upper pasture together, his pace in sync with mine. I take big steps, he takes big steps. I slow my pace, he slows his pace. I stop and back up, he does the same. 

I love that! We end the session in the upper pasture with him getting the rest of the treats. He’s perfectly willing to stick his nose in a cloth bag of treats but flags are still super scary. I’m hoping to change his mind slowly and gently.

Yesterday Odin the Mustang and I were able to get our respective acts together to meet a friend for a trail ride. Since we have had to work on going through the squeezy dark places lately, I assumed/thought/hoped that this work would translate back into the trailer loading work that we have done in the past.

Well… mostly it has but Odin still has a strong “I don’t want to” attitude about trailer loading. I try to make the deal as sweet as possible by offering cookies when he gets in nicely and waits. He wants to do this because I am asking him to and horses have a strong sense of cooperation. However, he still doesn’t want to, doesn’t see why we need to do this exercise (after all, he doesn’t know where we’re going). Eventually persistence (mine) pays off and he gets in, stands to be tied after the divider is shut.

Odin is a bit of a sweaty mess when we arrive. This shouldn’t be a comment on my driving as I try to make it as smooth as possible. The road is windy though. He unloads faster than I would like but I let it go for the moment and allow him to relax and graze a bit.

Since I haven’t ridden him for a month because of all the snow we received in February my plan is to tack him up and walk him up to the trailhead then decide whether I will walk on the ground with him or get on. I find it a bit harder to keep his attention on me when I’m hand-walking him. He wants to snort at mailboxes, shrubs, and lots of other distractions even though the horse in front of him is mellow and peaceful. He assumes a non-trusting attitude. I ask him to walk with me so that I can look out for the both of us. Eventually he settles a bit and by the time we get to the trail head I feel okay about getting, knowing that I can get off any time if things don’t seem right.

The mounting block is a stump and I use a stick from the ground to ask him to slide his hiney over to me so I can reach the stirrup. When he does, I know he’s going to be okay to ride. Plus it’s a slick trick and nice to show off in front of your friends!

We ride and talk, Odin startles at something and starts trotting up the hill. I don’t think he’s going to trot for very long because it’s uphill and he’s had no significant exercise in a month. To my surprise he marches right along for a couple hundred yards and I ask him to slow down to a walk because the horse behind me isn’t that enthusiastic about trotting uphill, I’m stupidly concerned about his fitness, and selfishly I was in the middle of a very important story when he trotted off.

Shortly after we slowed to a walk, we reached snow. The footing was fine, no ice balls formed underfoot. More importantly all the snow had melted out of the trees so we weren’t having to deal with snow bombs falling on all sides. After his reaction to snow sliding off the barn roof, I’m very grateful we didn’t have to stay calm among snow bombs.

At the next junction we opted to turn around as the snow was only getting deeper. And it was surprisingly dark in the forest for a sunny afternoon. We also wanted to keep the ride short and simple in part because Odin was on high-alert with mini relaxation breaks for the last several hours. He definitely became more relaxed as we neared the trail head but then was on high-alert again when we got to the gravel road. We let them graze for a bit near the end but Odin wasn’t relaxing as much as I would’ve liked. In fact, he had this strange kind of quivering reaction for a moment, which might’ve been a giant release of all the tension he had been holding.

I let him hang out in a paddock for a bit before loading, which didn’t seem to help at all. He just didn’t want to go in but I wasn’t going to let him live there. Part of the problem is that I’m a bit uncoordinated and unpracticed with a long lead rope but when I retrieved my stick and string, suddenly I was confident and not going to take no for an answer. He got in and stood nicely while I shut the divider and secured the rope.

Back at his home, Beege was running around vocalizing because Canyon was being worked in the arena. It wasn’t the most peaceful scenario for unloading quietly and Odin backed out in a rush. I asked him to get back in a couple more times until he could back out slowly and calmly. When he did, I let him graze before taking him back through the barn to the field. Once in the field, I took off his halter and he followed the other horses to the upper field. I think he was done with me for the day. I’ll give him today off and see him tomorrow. We’ll keep it easy: walk through the barn and graze on the other side.

After working so slowly with Odin the Mustang to get him to walk willingly under a roof on Thursday, I decided to check in with him today.  I always start at liberty (no halter or lead rope) first to see if he's willing to come with me without any physical persuasion.  He took a few tentative steps toward me, for which he received a food reward, but he wouldn't go so far as to meet me under the roof.  Then he walked away.  Well, there was my answer.

At that point I got his halter and he let me catch him easily enough.  More reward.  We practiced turning on the haunches, which means he will move his shoulder away from me when asked.  This exercise is hard for him because he is naturally heavy on the forehand rather than the haunches.  However, to properly carry himself, me, and do some fun maneuvers like jumping, he will need to balance himself better between forehand and haunches.  This exercise is good for developing that balance.

Then we walked under the roof, stood quietly and got a reward.  Odin likes to rush out the front so we practiced going back in the pasture, under the roof and out the gate until he could go quietly with me.  And on to the barn where the overhang is. When we got close and I felt him suck back a bit because he didn't want to get any closer to the roof, I rewarded him everytime he took a step forward.  Then I backed him out and had a bit of a rest.  I could probably wait for more of a release at that point but when he starts looking around, we get on with the exercise.

We repeated that exercise a few times then I brought him into the stall, which is through the door beyond the overhang.  He'd come in, look for his reward (for which I rewarded him) then back out toward the run to the pasture.  Repeat.  And finally walk under the overhang, through the stall and into the barn aisle and out the barn door to sunshine and expanse.   Repeat a couple times, back and forth until he could walk calmly with me all the way out the barn door.  Then I let him have a grazing break in the nice green grass by the arena.  While he grazed I brushed him a bit as he's shedding a lot. I want him to get the idea that going through the overhang, into the stall, out the barn door via the aisle is a good place to go because there are rewards on the other side, like grass and relaxation.  Eventually I work on him being comfortable in the barn aisle but for now navigating quietly through those three tight (to him) spaces is good enough.

I released him on the other side of the overhang so he could walk back up to his pasture on his own.  I was going up there to check on Beege, see if he's shedding much yet, and Odin walked with me.  I take big steps, he takes big steps.  I take small steps, he takes small steps.  I stop, he stops.  I back up, he looks at me.  I encourage him with the flag and he takes a step back.  Reward!  Forward again, stop, I back up 3 steps.  He thinks about the backing up for a second then backs up exactly 3 steps.  That is pretty cool.

The timing for moving Odin the Mustang from a comfy boarding facility to live with his retired OTTB “brother” at a private pasture probably could’ve been worse, I suppose. How I imagined it would work and how it actually worked were entirely different. When he was at the boarding facility I worked hard and constantly on getting him to be comfortable walking into the barn. Since he was born on the range and lived there for most of his 6 years, buildings with roofs are simply unfamiliar and suspect to him. I don’t know what his experience was during the short time he was in a holding facility but it may not have been positive, especially the part about being chased into a trailer to get from one place to another. I understand his suspicion but for the entire time he was at the boarding facility the only bad things that happened in the barn were in his imagination. No one hurt him, he didn’t get hurt accidentally. Nothing. I gave him as many cookies as possible for being in the barn and standing quietly, hopefully relaxing.

Some of this work translated to trailer loading but it was still work. Every new enclosed space is a new experience and must be considered thoughtfully by Odin.

Riding Odin the Mustang is easy.

At the end of spring-like January, I moved Odin to be with his “brother” as I was tired of the windshield time going between horses, not to mention from home to barn, home to work, work driving, work to barn to home. Some weeks I drive 1,000 miles in several 30-mile chunks. Or perhaps that’s just my imagination, like Odin’s imaginary monsters in the barn.

Odin’s “brother”, Beege, did not make it easy on him. No welcome home party, so glad to see you Brother. It was more like Who the F are You and WHY are You Here? Odin believed him, especially since some of this “welcome” was happening under a roof, even though the three horses were separated by fencing. I visited Odin, mostly to give him cookies and let him know he was in a good place but he still didn’t believe me even though water and food were under the roof. He was fed under a roof at the boarding facility but the roof was at least 10′ high. This roof was just above his ears when in giraffe pose.

In the first week at the new place, I was able to trailer Odin to a trail ride and ride him a bit in the driveway. He was tolerant of the roof but definitely not a fan. I was hopeful about our future.

Then it snowed. And snowed and snowed. I was lucky to get to work 30 miles away. Going to the barn 30 miles away in a different direction could not be a priority. I got out there after the snow plows cleared and sanded. And then it snowed more. And then it melted. The footing was terrible. Ice balls were horrible. By then all three horses were living together rather peacefully and Odin decided he would not put up with Beege’s “leadership” and established himself as the leader. At least that was sorted out. The snow was stressful as the horses were confined to a lower pasture. It was probably boring for all of them since no grazing was available and hay is only interesting for a while.

Gradually the snow started melting. Just in time for a farrier appointment. Beege is a bit high strung anyway so we thought we’d bring Odin into the stall to be his buddy. I hadn’t been able to work with Odin much under the roof but I thought we had at least established a degree of comfort. Except snow kept sliding off the roof. Beege decided to be sensible but Odin lost his marbles and he’s usually the sensible one. Thankfully the farriers tag team and are great horse people in addition to their craft. While Beege made me mostly proud, I was embarrassed by Odin as he seemed to have regressed to his feral self. Odin was supposed to be a calming influence on Beege. Well that didn’t work. No one got hurt, except my pride and nerves. I also realized how much homework I have that I was not expecting at all. Based on previous history, I shouldn’t be surprised but I would’ve liked to have continued the slow forward trajectory we were making. The new place was one thing but the snow was a major complicating factor.

The day after the embarrassing farrier appointment, I worked gently and slowly with Odin under the roof. Then more snow fell off. Boom! All that great work undone. Off to the arena for completely different exercises. And no roof. We had to go back through the barn to get out to the pasture. Odin gave the hay steamer a dragon snort and the hairy eyeball but walked politely with me by it and out. Yesterday a lot less snow remains on the roof and we worked slowly and patiently. Very slowly. Got halfway into the stall, ate some cookies and called it a day. I let him go right outside of the roof. We walked in sync back up to his pasture. Odin still wants to be with me in spite of the exercises under a roof.