Post by Calaminty Jane on Feb 10, 2012 17:01:02 GMT -5
I was just reading a series of posts on the Dennis Reis site called trail ride woes. This is my post in response.
It's interesting to me that a common thread in these and other posts is the that the horse gets into a scary situation..... The rider handles it and they proceed to have a wonderful ride. I experienced the same thing today. All was going well until we decided to visit my husband’s family grave site at the local cemetery. Now, Jones is the horse that discovered the original "horse eating rock" so you can imagine what he thought when we turned the corner and were presented with hundreds of those rocks....... along with ........... countless waving flags beside several of the horse eating rocks.
Jones's former MO was to do a 180 and leave. It's been many rides since he resorted to that move. Today he just turned to stone and with head up took it all in. I used the same strategy that Wendy did. Just let him take the time he needed. After several minutes he very cautiously moved forward. Within just a couple of minutes, we were on the buckle with head down and relaxed like we had done this a thousand times. I think that riding every day off the farm in different places has really improved our relationship. I try my best to be consistent in how I ask and follow through trying not to over face him but asking more of him as often as I can. What Fran said recently on an online lesson has made me realize how important it is to challenge your horse to do more to see if he is really soft. The quicker they come back to you and relax... the softer they are. If we never push to do more or add speed or adversity...... we can't be sure they are really soft. As Wendy reminded us that softness is not just in the body but comes from the mind.
These are some of the things I do to challenge Jones’s that have really made our rides so much more enjoyable. Any time he wanted to go around something like a puddle or ditch, I’d take the time to put him soft in the bridle and between my legs and reins and focus straight and up to encourage him to take the middle of the adversity. In the beginning I would often have to turn around to retry if I was late in my preparation. Now I just prepare and he follows my lead 99% of the time. This has helped him to step down and into a ditch and not “leap” like a frog. To step over or jump a log as I ask. If I want him to step over… I ask him to put his head down slightly and step slowly. To ask him to jump, I close both legs and Kiss.
Carol
“If they won't stay soft under pressure, they are not really soft.”
It's interesting to me that a common thread in these and other posts is the that the horse gets into a scary situation..... The rider handles it and they proceed to have a wonderful ride. I experienced the same thing today. All was going well until we decided to visit my husband’s family grave site at the local cemetery. Now, Jones is the horse that discovered the original "horse eating rock" so you can imagine what he thought when we turned the corner and were presented with hundreds of those rocks....... along with ........... countless waving flags beside several of the horse eating rocks.
Jones's former MO was to do a 180 and leave. It's been many rides since he resorted to that move. Today he just turned to stone and with head up took it all in. I used the same strategy that Wendy did. Just let him take the time he needed. After several minutes he very cautiously moved forward. Within just a couple of minutes, we were on the buckle with head down and relaxed like we had done this a thousand times. I think that riding every day off the farm in different places has really improved our relationship. I try my best to be consistent in how I ask and follow through trying not to over face him but asking more of him as often as I can. What Fran said recently on an online lesson has made me realize how important it is to challenge your horse to do more to see if he is really soft. The quicker they come back to you and relax... the softer they are. If we never push to do more or add speed or adversity...... we can't be sure they are really soft. As Wendy reminded us that softness is not just in the body but comes from the mind.
These are some of the things I do to challenge Jones’s that have really made our rides so much more enjoyable. Any time he wanted to go around something like a puddle or ditch, I’d take the time to put him soft in the bridle and between my legs and reins and focus straight and up to encourage him to take the middle of the adversity. In the beginning I would often have to turn around to retry if I was late in my preparation. Now I just prepare and he follows my lead 99% of the time. This has helped him to step down and into a ditch and not “leap” like a frog. To step over or jump a log as I ask. If I want him to step over… I ask him to put his head down slightly and step slowly. To ask him to jump, I close both legs and Kiss.
Carol
“If they won't stay soft under pressure, they are not really soft.”