Friday Lessons:
What I learned in lessons today:
1. Given time, space, and attention, communication will happen.
2. The greatest reward for overcoming fear is that first ‘real’ ride!
3. Riding one circle at the walk, can be a successful ride.
4. Having a horse move several steps on command, is empowering.
5. Each person brings their own personal challenges to riding, and success is defined best by a personal goal.
6. Riding horses is fun! Whether one uses clicks to go, feet to go, waggles elbows to go, or some combination thereof…it’s a lot of fun!
7. Sometimes riding in a circle is boring; a trail ride can relieve the boredom.
8. Once fear is mastered, there is fun to be had…even when the student ‘bests’ the instructor. “I made him do that!” Giggles.
9. Just when one might think that nothing is happening, progress occurs.
10. The love of the horse can overcome a multitude of difficulties.
Hope’s Training:
For the past few weeks, Hope has been jealous of Buddy’s activities, but if you’ve been reading for a while, you know that she has resisted being haltered herself for reasons only she knows (but I suspect she felt a previous deworming was a breach of trust), and has recently consented to being haltered again. So, here’s Buddy, who when car loads of people show up and spill out of the vehicles, gets trotted around and given treats, and is petted and adored, while she has to stay in the barn.
Along comes Canon, and he gets taken out and ridden, and played with and taken on walks…and gets to eat the good grass! What about her? Isn’t she beautiful…prance, prance, prance…isn’t she smart…see her get out of the fence…isn’t she spunky…run, jump, buck? Today she didn’t have Buddy up at the barn for me, okay, maybe she doesn’t dig ‘herd mother’ role as much as I thought. I slog out to get him through three boggy areas, in my Mountain Horse boots (aargh!) sink ankle deep in muck, as I bring Buddy back across three boggy areas, with the Princess prancing in my face the whole time.
If she could talk, “Where you taking him? Why can’t I go? I don’t think I want you to take him…” She rounded in front of me six or seven times…each time I reassured her. “Buddy has a lesson. He won’t be out long. You’ll be fine.” And gently asked her to move out of the way. Several minutes (hours in my mind) later, Buddy was out for his lessons doing his thing. Hope was in the barn, smartly staying off the gate (or she gets closed out of the barn) and watching the goings on today.
After the lesson time, and the down time, and the lesson time, and the snack time, I eventually put Buddy back. When I went out to the barn a little later, she came right to me, and let me put the halter on her, and out she came. Went to the round pen to work on the spray bottle (will she let me spray her? Not without trotting around me in a tight circle). A truck drives up with a delivery. We walk and trot in hand around the edge of the round pen. She’s bored, I know it. I’m not going to lunge her yet…groundwork, groundwork. A little resistance on her off side.
We go out of the round pen (she thinks it’s a prison, and like all smart incarcerated beings, she wants out of it). Off to do some more walk and trot in hand…she’s beautiful in hand, if she thinks she has to listen to you…as my daughter noticed the other night: “You don’t even have to pull on the rope, she stopped to just my voice!” Now, for the hard work. Can I rest my hand on her side (Whoa, what the heck is that??? Oh, all right…)? Can I give her the go command with the back of my hand? (Whoa, oh yeah, forward two steps…sure.)? Can we try a half pass (What’s that? Why are you pressing on me like that? Oh, okay, cross over, no problem.).
We work both sides…only a few minutes of training. Some energetic, forward walk and trot thrown in with stopping to the lead rope (someday someone’s going to put pressure on it and she needs to know what it means!) rather than my body cue.
I walk her around to show Jamal…’Look who learned the half-pass in under 5 minutes…’ Hope performed beautifully. She may have bowed and signed autographs, but I was the one who was floating next to her, saying ‘She chose me. She agreed to work with me.’ Hope has that affect on people.
Filed under: Equestrian, barefoot horse, dressage, horse, horse training, horseback riding, horses | Tagged: dressage, Equestrian, horse, horse training, horseback riding, horses, instructor, lessons, non-verbal communication, trail riding
