Getting Back into the Hang of Things

On Sunday I started by letting Gambler loose in the arena in his halter. Whenever I play with Gambler at liberty he runs (or walks) away from me to get out of work. The goal is to show Gambler that my presence doesn't always mean work. I took some pictures of him playing with his little ball. I wrapped a barrel in a tarp to make it more exciting and he had a lot of fun biting the tarp and then faux spooking. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of him jumping backwards away from the "scary" barrel. 

When Gambler lost interest in biting the ball and running away from the tarp-covered barrel, I clipped the 12' line onto his halter and played some games. 

I've been focusing on "drift" with Gambler. He prefers to either be in my face or on the other side of the pasture, so I've been asking him to linger somewhere in between while we play our games. 

At this point Marguerite brought Kezi into the barn and tacked her up. Gambler and I are watching her catch Kezi here. 

While Kezi was in the barn, Gambler started to get anxious. He wanted to run in circles, so instead I groomed him. He is becoming more emotionally mature, able to handle longer separations from Kezi without freaking out. 

When Marguerite was riding Kezi in the arena, we played the squeeze game with a couple of barrels. 

At first Gambler made up something scary and spooked at it, but I knew he was just testing me because Kezi was in the arena. I ignored him and he settled down. 

Scooting the barrels closer together.

Then I led Gambler over to the tarpy barrel (next to the horse-eating-trees).

We played the circling game. If Gambler wanted to go around the barrel to the outside, I let him.

If he wanted to go around on the inside, I let him.

If he had wanted to jump it, I would have let him. The only requirement was to keep circling.

Gambler just wanted to paw it.

He partially jumped it once, so I rewarded him by moving on to the next game. 

We circled over this jump again.

Raising the jump a hole. 

Gambler was lazily trotting over the jump, so I raised my energy and jumped a little beside him. 

We did more than just jumping, but these are the only pictures I have. Gambler and I also played some driving game for forequarter and hindquarter yields. At the very end, I stood on the mounting block and played the friendly game with the stick and string. I would like to start using the stick and string while I'm on Gambler's back, so it's important that he is comfortable with it above his head and neck.

Ninja (Sixteenth Ride)

Gambler and I had another exciting first today!

Playing the porcupine game to disengage his hindquarters.

Playing the circling game over a low cross-rail.

Longeing over jump standards is a pain, but Gambler loves to jump so I'll survive. :P Hopefully I'll be riding over them some day soon.

Since Gambler was jumping calmly instead of being a crazy critter like last time, I upped the height. 

Then I put the saddle on Gambler for the first time in a week or so. I tried a different saddle pad, which I think fits the saddle and Gambler's back better.

We played the circling game under the trees.

Then we played one of Gambler's favorite games, where I ask him to make half-circles, switching direction half way through each circle. Usually he jumps into a canter with each change of direction, but today he was worn out. Earlier Marguerite had ridden Kezi and Gambler spent at least half an hour running around the pasture.

That's more like it!

Because Gambler was so calm and worn out from his earlier exercise, I decided to ride him. Throughout our session he didn't buck with the saddle at all. I lowered the jump to a cross-rail again and sent him over it with the saddle. When even a jump didn't cause Gambler to buck, I mounted up. I still had Mom holding the longe line, and I had gaming reins attached to the halter. 

At first we just walked around the circle and changing directions and halting now and then. Gambler is definitely starting to relax and listen to the riders cues. Once I felt him relax I asked for the trot. For a few steps (about a quarter of a circle) he trotted without and issue. Then he bucked a little. I pushed him forward. Then he bucked a lot. I don't remember much, and what I do remember is in slo-mo (because that's how the mind works when adrenaline is rushing through your system), but I tried to pull him into a one-rein stop. I lost my hold on the reins and fell backward out of the saddle onto his butt and then landed on my feet behind him. 

After giving myself a once-over to make sure that nothing hurt in a dangerous way, I took the longe line from Mom and told Gambler to canter for several circles, changing directions often. I don't want him to learn that bucking means less work. Then I mounted up again. I didn't trot, because the bucking is an issue that only comes up at the trot and I need to form a game plan. I don't think rushing into battle without a plan is a good idea. But I'll have a post about that soon. 

I talked to Mom afterwards and she said that Gambler bucked and I came forward on the saddle, then he reared and spun, going one direction while I went the other. It sounds pretty much like all the bucking fits I've seen him have on the ground. My only injuries are a small bruise on my thigh from the saddle and a blood blister/rope burn on one of my fingers. 

Mom and I have been worried that something like this would happen and it would destroy Gambler's and my confidence. I would argue that it has just strengthened it. Like the first spook under saddle, the first fall is bound to happen, especially with a green horse. Now that it's over with, I feel that I will be able to ride more confidently in the future. 

And can we just take a moment to dwell on the fact that I landed on my feet!