More Riding and Creek Crossing

Bending and flexing: she is so soft!

Every time I work with Candy, she gets better. It sounds like such a simple statement, but many horses go through a regression/rebellious stage at some point in their training. This stage is valuable information and reminds us to back up and give a horse mental breaks. It's their way of letting us know that we might be getting a little too eager to progress too quickly.

A willing attitude

Understanding an individual horse's attention span and especially knowing when to stop, is paramount to maintaining a good relationship and not losing the horse's desire to learn and be with people. At the same time, you don't want to "tiptoe" around what might offend the horse. It's important to learn the subtle signs of mental fatigue early on, back up to a good stopping point, and remember these signs for future sessions. Repetitive mental fatigue can be just as damaging as running a horse into the ground until they are tired and will tolerate just about anything. A willing partner is much more desirable than a resentful slave. I vowed in the beginning to maintain Candy's willing attitude and I think I've been successful so far.

Clover party!

Today, we rode around the arena on a loose rein, practicing softness and isolating the hindquarters. We worked a little on the whoa and back-up, then took a walk to a field of lush clover as a reward. Candy is a workaholic, and didn't realize that we were there solely for her personal enjoyment at first, but she came around quickly and enjoyed a nice snack.

Playing in the creek

We then walked to the creek for the first time, and Ray pointed his finger and after one or two snorts, Candy crossed calmly. I am so proud of her! Finally, as we headed back to the barn, I hopped on and rode the rest of the way back. There were lots of things that many horses would spook at along this trail (a large sewer pipe with "legs", a pile of metal parts and pieces, and concrete pipes, to name a few). She walked calmly past all of these obstacles without as much as a raised eyebrow.