It's All a Matter of Time

I have to apologize for the lack of photo or video content. The camera is out of batteries, and last time we were in town I totally forgot. One of these days I'll have some good pictures. Until then, I'll do my best to entertain you with my words.

It's November. There will probably be snow on the ground by the end of the month. It is supposed to be a mild winter, so I hope that there isn't much snow or ice, but in the end no one knows what is going to happen. Needless to say, I'm a little nervous. I made my goal of putting the "first ride" (first sit is more like it) on Gambler before snowfall, but can I put a sound foundation of saddle training on him before the weather stops us in our tracks?

I knew that time was going to be an issue. Starting a green horse can take anything from a few months to a couple years depending on the horse. And that is in an ideal situation. I only get to see Gambler four times a week on average. Now that the sun goes down at five, I only have an hour or so of daylight on week days. I was ranting about it to my mom yesterday. She reminded me that it's not about how fast you train a horse, it's about how well you train him. I agree wholeheartedly. The thing that frustrates me is I think Gambler is ready. I think I could have put the first ride on him several weeks ago, but I'm holding him back. I just haven't found the time.

Nevertheless, I don't regret keeping Gambler so far from home. The barn he is at right now is the very best place he could be. He is kept in a large pasture that he shares with only one other horse, so he always has food. He is brought inside two times a day for grain, so any injuries are caught within twenty-four hours. I know that he is safe and in good hands, and I know that he is happy. I wouldn't dream of keeping him anywhere else.

Defeating the Trees (Day Two)

I'm glad that Gambler and I had our breakthrough on Tuesday regarding wind and trees, because today the winds were gusting at up to 29 miles per hour! I guess that's fall for you. I know I've said this before, but I love wind and Gambler is terrified of it.

I didn't have to catch Gambler to bring the horses in. I just walked far enough into the pasture that they could see me and they followed me back in on their own. Because it was such a spooky day, they would trot, then canter, then stop and look around like they were surrounded by monsters. Trot after me, canter, stop and look around. They did this five or six times on the way in from the pasture, so I knew Gamby was gonna be a handful. 

I led him out into the arena and tried to warm him up. It's not easy to properly warm up a horse that is bolting into a canter whenever the trees move. Usually I try to warm him up before doing any canter work, because I don't want him to strain himself, but today I really didn't have a choice in that. 

So I went right into the exercise I used yesterday where I urge him forward when he is in the "safe" area away from the trees, but take all the pressure off when he is by the scary trees, which encourages him to calm down instead of spook and bolt. He caught on so much quicker than he did two days ago, and on a spookier day too! It's very encouraging to see him improve so much. The best part is--I remembered to bring the camera!

Approaching the trees.

CANTER AWAY!

Oh. I guess the trees aren't going to eat me if I slow to a trot.

Finally walking.

Relaxed, head down and everything. 

Isn't he beautiful?

Yawning!

I got a few beautiful pictures just before I left. The sun was setting and the lighting was amazing.