Sunday, March 30, 2014

Spring Ride

I took Tessa out for a ride this afternoon.  We are sticking to the gravel road as it is the only place free of ice and I was a bit apprehensive about her feet.  I trimmed them this morning and took quite a bit of hoof off, but she actually felt better today than she did on our last little jaunt.  If I can gradually increase her work over hard surfaces without making her sore, her feet will toughen up.   We are both woefully out of shape and my joints are going to need to work up to riding again, but I am hoping to get a lot more time in the saddle this year.

Tessa was definitely feeling like Spring today, excited to be out and barn sour all at once.  There were lots of starts and stops, charging forward then wanting to spin around and race home to her donkeys. 
It was a good ride regardless.  Rather than fight with her, I opted to make a conscious effort to accept whatever she offered and channel it into something constructive.  When she got fast and really wanted to motor on, I said, "no problem as long as you stay in gait".  It takes a lot of propulsion and collection for a horse to gait well.  It is something we have had to work on, mostly because I have never trained a walking horse before and we have both had to to figure it out as we go.  She knows what's wanted now, but it takes effort to maintain.  Channeling all her nervous energy into that got us a nicely energized running walk.

When we hit the T intersection, she wanted to duck sideways and head for home and with her first sideways step, I asked for a sidepass.  It is a new concept for Tessa, but as that was what she was giving me, that was what I asked for.  We did about ten feet of the most beautiful sidepass and somewhere in the middle of it, it turned into my idea rather than hers.  The next time around I asked for a sidepass before she could try it and, while what I got wasn't beautiful, she had grasped the concept.  The next time I ask, she will at least know what I am talking about.  We got a lovely bit of shoulder-in that way as well.  Her sudden stops were turned into backups and swerves off course became serpentines. 

We were out for about an hour and it feels like a good start to getting both of us back to work.  By the time we rode up to the barn, Tessa was listening well and relaxed.  Perhaps just a bit perplexed as well, certainly she was thinking hard by then.  What could have turned into a fight ended up being an excellent training exercise. 

When I was young, I was always taught to "never let the horse win" and I rode that way for a long time.  I still hear that phrase any time I am around other horse people.  I have certainly gotten into my fair share of fights with horses over the years.  I can't think of a single instance where it accomplished anything.  The trouble with the "never let 'em win" attitude is that it presupposes an adversarial relationship.  As soon as there are "winners", there have to be "losers".  Regardless who "wins", something in the relationship is lost.  Better, I think, to ride out and accept whatever the horse can give that day.  Channel it into something good and you both get to come home winners.






11 comments:

  1. Or as we do in dog training, you end by asking for something easy that they can do no worries and you can still end on a happy note for everyone.

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  2. Clever lady. Tessa has met her match.

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  3. Your "horse' philosophy is a good "life" philosophy, too.

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  4. Ending on a good note for both of you is always the way.
    So glad to hear you are riding Tess ~ a gaited horse is such a wonderful ride once it all comes together.
    Great job as you go along !

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  5. I am sooooo glad the weather was nice enough for you all to get out and enjoy it! Yup on your philosophy. With preschoolers, it's called positive redirection. With you all, it was working together with you encouraging her to arrive at the destination you choose but she also thought she picked!

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  6. Horses are beautiful! Makes me sad that I have always been afraid to ride one. Enjoyed reading about your ride though. I love the tire swing in your last post!

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  7. Nice post.

    Reminds me of my first trainer - She would say never let the horse think whatever you're doing isn't your idea, and if you treat the horse like an enemy, that is what you'll get. :D

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  8. What a brilliant idea! Thank you for this post!

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  9. I think Buck would agree. Lovely Tessa is a lucky girl. I hope you'll ride her when I vist next time.

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  10. Awesome. I can't wait to get Siera out also. She has some of the same issues, but if I make her gait out she seems to lose them! She is Peruvian Paso.
    I think she is about a year older than Tessa and finally coming into maturity.

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