I have been working with Lic, just getting out and riding. The other day it was windy as hell (thank you, April in the high desert) and Lic was acting very retarded. Walk two steps, balk. Walk two steps, balk. Then- Omigod tumbleweed- run runRUN!!! Stop, head sky high, snort. I struggled to not get pissed, and just consitently cued her to keep going after she stopped with light pressure, increasing to heavier pressue, using my blunt spurs. For probably about the first 15 minutes of our ride, this is how it went.
Finally, we got over to the wash, and she relaxed and actually walked without being nagged. It ended up being a really nice ride, and she even cantered a few times with minimal bucking. I think we cantered about 4 times, with 2 total bucks. Woohoo! Getting better. And once was through a field; she cantered slowly, nice and collected, it was great.
Today I rode Dutch and ponied Licorice. It was nice to ride a horse that consistently responds to his cues... well, most of the time. As we got close to home he started being a hothead and not wanting to proceed calmly- couple that with Licorice contstantly stopping to eat grass and after school traffic, and the alst two blocks were really annoying. Once back home, Dutch got to work a bit as a reminder that home does not always = laziness and food. But... working is not a good deterrent for him, being that he likes work. But riding Lic so much made me forget how lovely Dutch's canter is. He's still a little stiff in his back legs, but seems to loosen up with work. Dutch also reminded me that spurs are for lazy horses, not for forward horses. I touched him with one spur, lightly, and like that we went from lazy walk to huge Arabian endurance style trot. Licorice had to canter to keep up.
I so wish I had Dutch ten years ago. I think 25 is a bit old to start endurance riding.
Finally, we got over to the wash, and she relaxed and actually walked without being nagged. It ended up being a really nice ride, and she even cantered a few times with minimal bucking. I think we cantered about 4 times, with 2 total bucks. Woohoo! Getting better. And once was through a field; she cantered slowly, nice and collected, it was great.
Today I rode Dutch and ponied Licorice. It was nice to ride a horse that consistently responds to his cues... well, most of the time. As we got close to home he started being a hothead and not wanting to proceed calmly- couple that with Licorice contstantly stopping to eat grass and after school traffic, and the alst two blocks were really annoying. Once back home, Dutch got to work a bit as a reminder that home does not always = laziness and food. But... working is not a good deterrent for him, being that he likes work. But riding Lic so much made me forget how lovely Dutch's canter is. He's still a little stiff in his back legs, but seems to loosen up with work. Dutch also reminded me that spurs are for lazy horses, not for forward horses. I touched him with one spur, lightly, and like that we went from lazy walk to huge Arabian endurance style trot. Licorice had to canter to keep up.
I so wish I had Dutch ten years ago. I think 25 is a bit old to start endurance riding.
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