I've now had Gambler for eight months.
He has come a long way from the awkward four-year-old who had been
sitting in the pasture. I've built a relationship with him that I
have never had with another horse. But we still have a long way to
go. Even though I know the general goals that I am working towards,
sometimes I get out there with him and I cannot think of anything to
do. So I'm going to write down some things I need to work on. I hope
that writing them down will help me remember.
So what do I need to focus on with
Gambler? I need to gain control of his feet on the ground. Not just
in circles (which is boring and detrimental to his joints) but in
lines, shapes, figures. I need to work on yields in a way he thinks
is fun. I'm going to try using yields to turn. He might like that. I
really want Gambler to learn to side-pass and spin from the ground.
It will help a lot when trying to teach him from the saddle if he
already knows how to move. We've started on it a little, but he
doesn't enjoy them. The last time I asked for a side-pass I got a
rear.
I think if I keep myself in a
high-energy, playful mood when I am with Gambler he will feed off of
it and enjoy himself more. For instance, I want to try running with
him when I ask for an upward transition, or seeing if he will “cut”
me like a cow. If he learns to enjoy imitating my body language, I
can teach him to carry himself through example, like a mother teaches
her foal. I should also wrap him and do the exercises/stretches the
chiropractor gave me in July, which help with self-carriage.
The feet are priority right now, as
well as the cinchiness/mounting issue. The whole mounting thing . .
.I have mixed feelings. Part of me says to take it slow. The other
part of me says Gambler is only acting up because he's bored and if I
just jump up there and show him it's not so bad he'll progress
faster. Maybe I'm moving too slowly for him. But if he can't hold
still to be mounted, how is he going act when being ridden?
I also need to work on leading from
the right . . .ugh I've been so lazy with that, it's not okay.
Gambler is less comfortable with me on his right side, and I've only
made it worse by not addressing the issue. Another thing I've been
lazy about is teaching him to trot next to me. I think the problem
has been that when he gets ahead of me I stop. I need to keep going
when he gets ahead, and maybe turn to the inside or something like
that that redirects his motion, instead of stopping it. I need to
lead him at the trot for several minutes. It would be good exercise
for both of us.
I think using two lines while I longe
him will prepare him for ground driving. He needs to learn that all
pressure on his halter doesn't mean back up though. I've done the
exercise where you wrap the rope around him and ask him to unravel
himself, but for some reason he never has figured it out. If I don't
give him the answer by yielding his forequarters in the right
direction he just backs up rapidly. My theory is he needs consistency. I'll try to do that exercise every time I see him. Along those lines I need to regularly practice lateral flexion.
Well that's not all of it, because you can never run out of things to improve, but it's a start. A lot of things things rely heavily on good footing/weather conditions, so I'll have to see what happens. The weather today was insane. First, it thunderstormed. Then it thundersleeted. Then it thundersnowed. Then the sun came out and melted everything. Finally, it started snowing again. Who knows what else will happen today. I can't say that I mind. I think the bipolar weather makes life that much more interesting.
Is there anyone who can come out and be an extra set of eyes for you? It really helped me to work with a trainer. She had an interesting take on that unraveling exercise. She had me hold it steady, with very little pressure, until Leah made a decision to unravel. It gave Leah a chance to think about it, and it took her a little while. Anyway, one or two lessons with a trainer can go a long, long way to getting us over the humps.
ReplyDeleteSadly, my trainer recently moved to Florida (her specialty was riding anyway, not colt starting). I am blessed however, to have many friends who are more experienced with these things. I have a wonderful support system to run to if I can't figure things out for myself. That and lots of time for research. Perks of being a high school student. ;P
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