Radio Silence

I disappeared again. As this blog continues through the years (assuming that I will continue blogging) you will find that I often disappear around this time. May is my favorite month because of the bustle that accompanies it. So many wonderful things happen in May - all at once. The result is that I am sleep-deprived, overworked, overwhelmed, and frazzled; but content.

I can't possibly catch up on every session that I didn't post about, so I guess it's a good thing that Gambler and I haven't done much. I haven't ridden him since the day he bucked me off. Before anyone jumps to conclusions, it is a mere coincidence that I have been too busy to ride him since that day. My hope is that Gambler realizes that and doesn't make a habit of bucking so that I don't ride him for a month.

The truth is I have been incredibly pressed for time. Too busy for blogging and some days too busy for the barn. *gasp* When I did make it out to the barn, I was too tired and unmotivated to do any serious work toward riding. That being said, Gambler and I have spent quality time with each other in the pasture. I've played some games with him and given him lots of scratches. We are actually much closer than we have been. Where we have idled in training, we have grown in our relationship. These days Gambler comes to greet me in the pasture and watches wistfully as I drive away.

And here is the photo dump:

On May 12th, I only had a few minutes to work with Gambler. It was a windy, spooky day, and the trees were making him nervous, but he didn't bolt. 

On the fourteenth I was able to play with the white barrels for the first time. I purchased some barrels for Gambler to jump because he jumps sloppily and I didn't want him to gash himself on the metal barrels. 

At this point the barrels had been sitting in the pasture for a day, so Gambler was  wary, but not afraid of them.

The goal is to have Gambler travel between the barrels and then jump over them (squeeze game), but he just wants to paw them (friendly game). 

Then he started cantering around because of the horse-eating-trees. At least he was "scared" enough to move through the barrels. 

On the 15th, we gave the barrels another go.

First we tackled the trees so Gambler could remember that he isn't afraid of them.

"But they're scary!"

Sometimes he moves so beautifully.

Itchy ears

Back to the barrels.

And he thinks he should paw them.

That's more like it!

And we have a jump!

I thought he might have tripped over the tarp a little, so I moved it.

Back to pawing. 

Now that high school is finally behind me, I can focus once more on starting Gambler under saddle. That is, until college or other future plans drag me away again. 

I don't have any pictures from today, but I spent most of the session just relaxing with him in the arena. I scratched his scratches, and played a tiny bit at liberty. Then I played around with mounting prep. He was really good, a far cry from the grumpiness he gave me in January, but I made sure to really look for relaxation. I think part of the reason he doesn't fully trust me on his back is because I haven't respected his feedback. I sat on him bareback for a while and then called it a day. 

Another Rambling Post

 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.