"They say bad things happen in threes. . . .
So, please, let my horse have his one good leg!!!"
Friday, October 15, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Not so Super October
The month really hasn't been that bad, I've had a few disappointments and a few very happy moments but today wasn't so great.
On the happy side, yesterday, for the first time ever I rode Moose out of the pasture. And GOD I am not doing that again!!! Haha, I was riding completely bareback and yeoww does his back hurt. He did pretty good though. If he would've walked slower, and at the end he started arguing, then it would've been better, but overall very successful.
I also have impressed myself with my lateral thinking skills recently. I realized why Moose always wants to take me into the stalls while riding(which for safety's sake, he can't, I don't fit under the doorway). I always just attributed it to him being sassy, but as Jessie put this summer, "I've realized he's not arguing. It's just communication!" Funny enough, I never took her seriously at that time. I understood the power of that revelation, but for whatever reason thought it didn't apply to me and Moose! How's that for ego, eh? But yeah, this made me understand it and really apply that. Moose wasn't going into the stalls just because they're comfortable for him, he was going there because I've programmed him to go there. Whenever the session ends, I let him go, and walk to the stalls to put our equipment away. So to him, stalls = end of session. He was just trying to get me off his back. Though, I would much rather he liked me on his back, it is good feedback to know he has a point.
The other lateral thinking thing I've realized is that part of our dominance issues are present on the ground. They are WAY more subtler on the ground, which is why I have trouble, but they're still there. For example, when I let him graze, he walks around wherever he wants and and gets me out of Z2. So when I'm leading him out of the pasture, he thinks he can do the same thing and wlak with me in Z5. Well, confidence is not an issue, so while this is wonderful, it throws his respect for me out the window. So something else to think about.
But yes, so today, we played for quite a while. I played with Bella's saddle as it seems to fit him much better, but unfortunately found out today that wasn't quite what it was made out to be. It slides around horribly, and tips me way forwards. Wasn't quite the nice ride I had intended. But I did get after him about backing up when I go to get on him. 4x I was very firm with him about it, and he licked his lips after every time, so that was definitely a LB issue.
And we did a lot of walk/trot transitions with the saddle on. It went ok. But then I was going to ride so I wanted to know if he could handle a lot of energy so I sent him hard and he bucked in the canter as usual. :( This's going to require some long-term work to fix for sure.
But then when I was riding in the horrible saddle as I said above, I asked him to move his HQ and he just braces against me and doesn't move. So I tapped him on the HQ with the CS, and he leaped forward. I got into the fetal position (which doesn't make me happy to recount), but continued tapping him so we went in a circle. Then I kept ahold of his head so he did lateral flexion. I tried going sideways next (we were against a fence, btw) and asked him to move his HQ again and this time he stuck his head out and made no move to give at all so again I tapped him on the butt, but this time he just ignored it and continued walking so we were out of control basically. I stopped him, but I forget how. Then I just had him sit there as I was being a scared predator so I got off. A scared predator is as bad as an angry predator and I was feeling both at this point.
So, in essence, besides the little things I learned today, I learned 3 main points.
On the happy side, yesterday, for the first time ever I rode Moose out of the pasture. And GOD I am not doing that again!!! Haha, I was riding completely bareback and yeoww does his back hurt. He did pretty good though. If he would've walked slower, and at the end he started arguing, then it would've been better, but overall very successful.
I also have impressed myself with my lateral thinking skills recently. I realized why Moose always wants to take me into the stalls while riding(which for safety's sake, he can't, I don't fit under the doorway). I always just attributed it to him being sassy, but as Jessie put this summer, "I've realized he's not arguing. It's just communication!" Funny enough, I never took her seriously at that time. I understood the power of that revelation, but for whatever reason thought it didn't apply to me and Moose! How's that for ego, eh? But yeah, this made me understand it and really apply that. Moose wasn't going into the stalls just because they're comfortable for him, he was going there because I've programmed him to go there. Whenever the session ends, I let him go, and walk to the stalls to put our equipment away. So to him, stalls = end of session. He was just trying to get me off his back. Though, I would much rather he liked me on his back, it is good feedback to know he has a point.
The other lateral thinking thing I've realized is that part of our dominance issues are present on the ground. They are WAY more subtler on the ground, which is why I have trouble, but they're still there. For example, when I let him graze, he walks around wherever he wants and and gets me out of Z2. So when I'm leading him out of the pasture, he thinks he can do the same thing and wlak with me in Z5. Well, confidence is not an issue, so while this is wonderful, it throws his respect for me out the window. So something else to think about.
But yes, so today, we played for quite a while. I played with Bella's saddle as it seems to fit him much better, but unfortunately found out today that wasn't quite what it was made out to be. It slides around horribly, and tips me way forwards. Wasn't quite the nice ride I had intended. But I did get after him about backing up when I go to get on him. 4x I was very firm with him about it, and he licked his lips after every time, so that was definitely a LB issue.
And we did a lot of walk/trot transitions with the saddle on. It went ok. But then I was going to ride so I wanted to know if he could handle a lot of energy so I sent him hard and he bucked in the canter as usual. :( This's going to require some long-term work to fix for sure.
But then when I was riding in the horrible saddle as I said above, I asked him to move his HQ and he just braces against me and doesn't move. So I tapped him on the HQ with the CS, and he leaped forward. I got into the fetal position (which doesn't make me happy to recount), but continued tapping him so we went in a circle. Then I kept ahold of his head so he did lateral flexion. I tried going sideways next (we were against a fence, btw) and asked him to move his HQ again and this time he stuck his head out and made no move to give at all so again I tapped him on the butt, but this time he just ignored it and continued walking so we were out of control basically. I stopped him, but I forget how. Then I just had him sit there as I was being a scared predator so I got off. A scared predator is as bad as an angry predator and I was feeling both at this point.
So, in essence, besides the little things I learned today, I learned 3 main points.
- I need to be a better leader under saddle. Now, I normally do my little "eek I'm scared, get off!" thing but that isn't working anymore. (Now if it was an emergency, sure, that's an excellent strategy don't get me wrong, but I'm not gaining his respect by taking the easy way out. I'm losing respect. ) So, instead of just quitting, or fighting with him, my other normal response, I have to take the third option. Be the better man. I have to get above him. Basically, I have to not fight with him. If he wants to act like a crazy idiot, I have to allow that and say "great idea! Now let's go!" Because plain and simple, when I ride him, I am not in control. And until he is willing to be a good little obedient horse, I have to go with his idea. That's how I gain the respect. I don't fight but I don't give up either.
- The following 2 are really emotional puzzle pieces about me. I found out I don't like rules. I already knew this, but Moose showed me in no uncertain terms with his under saddle behavior. I don't set rules for him. Some horse people out there are very firm, they run things their way, and the horses know that and respect that. They may not like it, but these people aren't always concerned about them liking it. Now, I have a person I'm thinking of that does this, and by the sound of it she's a wonderful horsewoman, don't get me wrong, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. But I don't set rules like that. I don't raise my expectations and then hold him to those. I look out for my horse too much. It's seriously to the point where I'm having to babysit him through riding. I ask him a geometry question. He doesn't understand. So I go back to algebra. He still doesn't understand. So I go back to pre-algebra and am having to re-explain something to him that he should know. And this happens way too frequently. Moose, you already know how to yield your HQ, now I should NOT have to keep reminding you this way. And the fighting too but that will come with the above strategy.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Goin with the Flow
Moose and I made huge strides the past few days. Yesterday I tried Bella's saddle on him and when I cinched it up he blew out. That was incredible. And he normally bucks whenever I cinch him up and I ask him to canter, and today he did like normal, but he didn't pull me, just bucked around in a circle and then stopped to eat. I was super impressed. And then when I sent him the other direction, he cantered perfectly. And we rode for probably an hour today. We went all over our property, across the street, and just around part of the neighborhood really. It was excellent. No brace in me indeed.
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