What a gorgeous day! The picture was taken several weeks ago at the peak of the fall colors, at a location just 5 minutes from home. The leaves were extraordinarily beautiful this year (I guess all of the conditions were right). I almost drove right by, but realized that the trees, the sky, the water, may not look quite that beautiful if I waited for another day when I'd have more time. I wasn't really in a hurry anyway-just headed to the stables.
Today, even though most of the leaves had fallen,it felt like early autumn. It was 60 degrees and clear skies, perfect for being outside. I had promised one of the young women who rides with me and for whom I've helped for a year now with riding lessons, training and working with her new horse, that we would spend a few hours together, ride and even take a short trail ride just off the property of the stables.
We both went to get our horses from their respective paddocks and as with most simple tasks of every day life with horses, it became a chance to teach both horse and owner. Parellis would probably identify her horse as a mix of left brain introtrovert and right brain introvert. He can act dominate, pushy and very food oriented with a "what's in it for me attitude", but mostly he is a horse who is very concerned about his survival and when it comes to trusting humans to keep him safe, he is not convinced that we are up to the task . Walking him up the hill to the stables to saddle him turned into a real challenge and my young friend recounted for me how many times she had struggled to keep him from pulling her so that he could eat the grass on the way up the hill as well as his general disregard for her space and her role as human leading horse and everything that goes with that.
The "lesson" (and isn't everything we do with horses, a lesson?) began with reinforcing the idea that pulling me (now at the other end of the lead rope in order to demonstrate for my friend) was not going to happen, because I was not going to put any tension on the rope. If he dipped his head, I would smooch to him, signalling my desire for him to move forward, thereby lifting his head. IF he did not, he would receive first a slap to the ground near him, then a sharp tap to his side with my stick or end of the rope. Once he complied, we moved on. Having a personality that looks for safety and survival first, he tends to fight back with dramatic moves where he humps up, bucks, kicks out and throws his head to intimidate. Calmly, I reassured him that I was not the enemy and that as long as he didn't pull on me, I would never raise his level of anxiety with any physical threat to him, which is what he expected. Once that was taken away, his attitude changed. It took almost 20 minutes, but it did change and once he was able to control his emotions, asking him to move his feet without resistance, was easier and he was willing to listen to my suggestions. He just didn't want to be SHOUTED AT.....
Once you have a horse's emotions under control, there is nothing you can't do! She was now able to ride him and ask of him, first the most simple and familiar tasks under saddle and then, again without pulling on him and stirring up his innate need to be safe and comfortable, ask him to move out in different direction, maintain circles, figure eights, keep his speed at each gait consistent and respond to weight and leg cues with the lightest effort on the part of the rider. Because she had gotten his emotions under control and knew better how to avoid pushing his buttons and losing that control, she was now able to take him out to the big open pasture to ride. He came through with flying colors. SUCCESS....
But the greatest success for me today was practicing what I preach with my right brain EXTROVERT Morgan mare, Chanty. To say that she is motivated by a need to feel safe and comfortable, is an understatement. When she is pushed beyond her comfort zone (which doesn't take much) she turns into a "sewing machine on speed" with her rapid trot in place that rivals any horse of her saddleseat breeding background. We have been practicing the control of emotions, by first and foremost, identifying them before they get out of control. That is where my education has been helped tremendously by watching my Parelli videos more than anyone else. I knew how to move their feet, backwards, forwards, sideways, etc and rewarding the slightest try. I knew how to disengage the hindquarters and circle my horse, back up my horse, etc, etc. Trouble was that by the time I got to all of these "techniques", it was already too late. I had not listened to the earliest signs that my horse was about to lose it, emotionally.
We headed out on our trail ride after giving Chanty a chance to unwind in the arena with a few patterns and most importantly, without any pulling on her face/mouth (we're riding with a bitless bridle these days) which immediately makes her feel claustrophobic and uncomfortable, emotionally and physical. She of course, wanted to walk a little faster than my friend's new mount, a 13 yr old quarter horse mare who loves trails and who belongs to another horse lover in our close group of friends. But, the minute I felt the energy that moved her forward change from a walk that said "we're going somewhere" to "I've got to back to the barn now, before I die!", we would come to a soft, slow "whoa" with a gentle pull and release on the rein and I would let her turn to wait for her buddy, even letting her eat a little grass to calm her (horses can not be nervous and lower their head to eat at the same time). Most of all I had to keep up my mantra of "calm, rhythm, consistentcy" in which I would pick up one rein to signal her quietly along with my body, that we were walking and she was doing great.
It was one of the best days yet-the weather, the horses and we made it back without a fight, without a bad word and with a horse that was just as calm coming home as she went out. A beautiful day....
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