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Delayed riding post
Jul. 18th, 2008 10:00 amI wrote this on Monday but forgot to post it.
Yesterday was my day for riding Dexter, the horse I used to be afraid of riding faster than a slow trot. By now the bugs and flies are far too irritating for us to take a ride in the woods, so we spent half an hour in the paddock instead.
Dexter hadn't been ridden since I was there last week, which meant that he was bored and lazy. This is a bad combination - it means he wants to run, but not actually work. One of the ways this shows is that it's hard to get him to slow down from a trot to a walk - it's easier to just keep lumbering along instead of slowing down properly. So that's the problem I got to work with.
I tried a few times to switch between trot and walk. It didn't work very well; I'd end up having to pull hard on the reins and he'd get crankier and crankier. I realized that this isn't the first time I've tried and failed with this approach, so this time I decided to try something else.
I took him at a trot around a circle, trying my best to get him "together", putting his hind legs properly under him and using the energy to get a steady energetic trot. When he started flagging (which didn't take long as it was hot and he was a bit out of condition), I kept urging him on until he was heartily tired of it. That's when I went back to going from a trot to a walk again. This time my cue to slow down wasn't an irritant, it was a relief, so we both came away feeling happy. I think this is a subset of "don''t give an order you know won't be obeyed" - of course the horse should slow down quickly on cue, but the time to practice isn't when he's going to be contrary, it's when he's going to want to do it.
When I was finished doing the same thing in the other direction (it's important to work both sides of the horse) I took him out for a walk on the gravel road lined by trees close to the stable. There was a gust of wind, and a smallish branch was torn off a tree and fell down about ten metres ahead. Dexter flinched and swerved, but he didn't run off. I let him think for a few seconds, then let him approach the branch slowly until he was satisfied that not only was it not dangerous, it was tasty and edible! (I don't usually let him eat anything while I'm riding, but this time it seemed like a good idea to show him that if he goes on even if he's scared then he might get a bonus).
It struck me that the first times we were out together, if he got scared, he'd run the standard 50 metres before stopping. The past few times though, just like Skutt, he only swerves and then stops cold. I think this means that he's now letting me decide if we should run or not.
Yesterday was my day for riding Dexter, the horse I used to be afraid of riding faster than a slow trot. By now the bugs and flies are far too irritating for us to take a ride in the woods, so we spent half an hour in the paddock instead.
Dexter hadn't been ridden since I was there last week, which meant that he was bored and lazy. This is a bad combination - it means he wants to run, but not actually work. One of the ways this shows is that it's hard to get him to slow down from a trot to a walk - it's easier to just keep lumbering along instead of slowing down properly. So that's the problem I got to work with.
I tried a few times to switch between trot and walk. It didn't work very well; I'd end up having to pull hard on the reins and he'd get crankier and crankier. I realized that this isn't the first time I've tried and failed with this approach, so this time I decided to try something else.
I took him at a trot around a circle, trying my best to get him "together", putting his hind legs properly under him and using the energy to get a steady energetic trot. When he started flagging (which didn't take long as it was hot and he was a bit out of condition), I kept urging him on until he was heartily tired of it. That's when I went back to going from a trot to a walk again. This time my cue to slow down wasn't an irritant, it was a relief, so we both came away feeling happy. I think this is a subset of "don''t give an order you know won't be obeyed" - of course the horse should slow down quickly on cue, but the time to practice isn't when he's going to be contrary, it's when he's going to want to do it.
When I was finished doing the same thing in the other direction (it's important to work both sides of the horse) I took him out for a walk on the gravel road lined by trees close to the stable. There was a gust of wind, and a smallish branch was torn off a tree and fell down about ten metres ahead. Dexter flinched and swerved, but he didn't run off. I let him think for a few seconds, then let him approach the branch slowly until he was satisfied that not only was it not dangerous, it was tasty and edible! (I don't usually let him eat anything while I'm riding, but this time it seemed like a good idea to show him that if he goes on even if he's scared then he might get a bonus).
It struck me that the first times we were out together, if he got scared, he'd run the standard 50 metres before stopping. The past few times though, just like Skutt, he only swerves and then stops cold. I think this means that he's now letting me decide if we should run or not.
