Oh, how I wish for some cooler weather! Is it autumn yet? Despite the incessant heat, Buckshot and I had a good time last weekend. On Saturday, the skies were filled with threatening clouds, and thunderstorms were possible. I went to Buckshot’s pasture to get him, and as we started walking, it started to rain. So I took him back to his pasture. I stood there for a few minutes and the sprinkling stopped. So I put his halter back on him and took him out again. We started walking and then, it started raining again! I took him back to his pasture. He was very confused by now. And I couldn’t figure out what to do.
I went back to the barn where other riders were getting horses groomed. We didn’t know if the rain would continue, or stop for a while and give us time to ride. Mustering all of the positive thinking I could, I walked back to Buckshot’s pasture, hoping, hoping, hoping that we would be able to ride, even if just for twenty minutes. We walked over without any rain falling from the skies, but, you guessed it – as we were grooming, it started raining again. Darn! I kept grooming Buckshot, taking my time with brushing his tail and mane, dragging every step out as long as possible. I looked over the stall door to the outside door- still raining. More grooming. Another look outside. Stopped raining! I then quickly tacked him up and walked him out to the muddy arena. The other riders were sitting in the adjoining barn, chatting. I didn’t know if they planned to run out and try to ride between raindrops, but I sure did!
We started our ride and did our walking warm up. That’s an oxymoron – a warm up on a sweltering summer day! LOL! But we did it- walked in interesting patterns and circles, big and small, to warm up Buckshot’s muscles and joints. Eventually the other horses and riders joined us in the arena. We did some trotting, which was nice. I even asked Buckshot for a canter, and it was perfect! Nice controlled, smooth, energetic canter. Absolutely perfect! I asked him one more time for a canter down the long rail and he did it again. This after we hadn’t really ridden in almost three weeks due to the hundred-degree-plus temperatures. What a talented horse! Then – you guessed it – it started to rain, in earnest, and so we ended the riding lesson and took our horses in to untack them. I gave Buckshot his treats – carrot, apple, horse cookies, and a mint or two. And walked him back to his pasture. He wasn’t really sweaty enough to rinse off, surprisingly. We had ridden for forty minutes, primarily at the walk. A little trotting and canter. It was wonderful to ride him, while it lasted!
On Sunday, we took three horses, including Buckshot, to the reining clinic. It was not as hot as Saturday, but still in the nineties with humidity. Riding from farm to farm in the air conditioned truck was really appreciated. When we arrived at the reining farm, we unloaded our horses and after walking Buckshot around for a few minutes, I tacked him up. Then I mounted and we started our warm up. I could feel Buckshot’s good energy, almost an eagerness, beneath me. He was looking forward to this! I think he really likes the nice thick sand footing of the reining arena. And I think he likes being around the other horses. And the reining trainer, who always asks how Buckshot is, and is always willing to accommodate Buckshot’s age and limitations. I think he has a fun time!
After our warm up, we joined the other riders doing a circling exercise. I like doing circles and Buckshot and I do a lot of them. We are pretty good at trotting circles, but not as good at cantering circles, yet. We did the other reining exercises and at one point, we had one long rail to ourselves and I used it to experiment.
I have been thinking about experimenting with giving Buckshot just a tiny bit longer rein while cantering, to see if he responds to it and perhaps responds better to my steering. But since we haven’t been able to ride much at all lately, I haven’t tried it yet. So I did on Sunday – I cued him for a canter and headed down the rail, with both my reins in one hand. He did great, and the trainer even noticed and called out a compliment to us! So for experiment #1 it was a success. I will keep working on it. After several more exercises, dark clouds started to roll in and thunder started sounding in the distance. Seeing that many horses would need to be rinsed off, and it could start to rain, or worse, at any time, I dismounted a few minutes early and took Buckshot off to untack and rinse. We got all of our horses loaded and were headed back before the skies opened up with buckets of rain. It had stopped by the time we got home, and after unloading Buckshot, he led me back to his pasture. LOL! He loves to come home and heads back to his pasture with a purposeful walk, ignoring all of the grass at his feet. I told him what a great job he had done!!
Now for an update on his new probiotic – it is still working well, and although I do see an occasional cow patty poop pile, overall it seems to work well for both horses, and has given them more solid poop. I see much less grain in the poop as well, so that is a very good thing. We’ll keep using this one for now.
The only problem Buckshot is having this summer is his front hooves, they both have a split at the heel between the bulbs. The right one is more severe than the left one. The BO and I have been watching it, and checking for thrush, and putting Farnam Thrush XX on both. I think it is due to the very dry weather we have been having. I have asked the farrrier for his recommendation as well, and he suggested continuing use of the thrush solution. The BO is checking these hooves several times during the week for me. I wish they would get better, but it must take time. He doesn’t act like they hurt him so that’s good.
Hope all of your horses are doing great this summer!!
One woman's reflections on her journey with horses...
Showing posts with label canter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label canter. Show all posts
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Monday, September 19, 2011
Weekend Ride and Winter Preparation
This past weekend we had cloudy but cooler weather in Virginia. Hooray, I thought, cooler weather to finally ride without sweat dripping everywhere. Alas, Saturday brought a day of cloudy, drizzly and rainy weather. Cooler, yes, but hardly riding weather. So at the barn I prepared Buckshot’s stall for grooming with all his favorites – a flake of alfalfa hay that he loves, fresh water, and all my grooming tools.
When the rain stopped momentarily, I went out to his pasture to get him and bring him in for some fake grooming so that I could spend some time with him under a roof and so that he could indulge in the alfalfa. We had a good time together. I noticed quite a few very tiny bumps on him, on the base of his neck and on his chest. What could these be, I wondered? I sprayed them lightly with Eqyss Microtek. He was somewhat wet from the weather so I didn’t do a full, regular grooming, but I took my time with the curry comb and brush and mane and tail brush. He had a nice time and when we were done, and he had eaten most of the hay, I walked him back to his pasture. Oh, well. Some days are like this. I cleaned my tack meticulously later. And had a chance to sit and chat with the barn owner, who is my instructor, about various riding techniques.
On Sunday, the weather forecasters called for some sunshine, and no rain, and the lovely cooler temperatures. But it turned out grey and gloomy instead, although without any rain at the farm. The farm was quiet as the BO and her husband trailered a horse to another farm for a few month’s of new riding work. Buckshot and I had the arena to ourselves. Since the BO was gone, I decided in the interest of safely to stay in the main arena and to forego any adventures by ourselves on the farm road or in the trail.
Buckshot and I had a great ride. In our phase one warmup we did circles around cones, and serpentines and some patterns at the walk. After twenty minutes, we added trotting and Buckshot offered a nice, energetic trot. We alternated trotting seven or eight strides with walking seven or eight strides. We even worked more on our walking, alternating a collected walk with an extended walk. He responded nicely to my requests. We tried several patterns, one of which I have now decided is too hard, and we don’t like. It requires sitting trot for two strides, then halt, then posting trot for two strides, then halt. It isn’t any fun for either of us so that pattern is cancelled. Other patterns were more fun and varied and we did several of them, with me patting Buckshot with praise after his efforts.
I tried another cantering technique on Sunday. In my opinion, cantering is very complex, and requires the rider to do many things at the right time. In the beginning, I thought I just had to give the correct aids, but as I have learned more, I realize there really are more aids and more techniques to think about. Getting him to canter, getting him to canter on the correct lead, continuing to canter, rating the canter, preventing him from speeding up, etc. All of these require me to do certain things at certain times. This is quite an education for me. So I am trying not to learn it all, up front, but to add a bit more aids, or guidance, little by little, as I go. The latest, little additional aid occurs at the end of the arena, when I am trying to go around the curve of the end of the arena and go back down the opposite long rail. A book suggested you have to support the horse through the curve by engaging my inside leg, at the girth, and laying the outside rein over his neck. (This was from a book of western riding exercises so it used neck reining.) Buckshot does neck reining so I alternate with him, two handed neck reining at times, one handed neck reining at other times and two reins English-style at other times. He responds to all of these so I don’t think I am confusing him. Sometimes when I am cantering, I use one-handed neck reining because it seems to allow my seat to stay well with the saddle and for me to give him the right amount of loose reins/ rein support for his mouth (which is a balancing act I am still very conscious of working on).
So, back to Sunday. We have a pattern we do that involves walking then trotting down the center line, then at the end of the arena, turning, coming to a walk, and then picking up the canter down the long rail. As we did it the first time, I moved my inside leg to engage him, and laid the outside rein on his neck. And he seemed to go very well around the corner at the canter. We tried it several more times, just cantering without a specific pattern, so I could try these new techniques at the corner, and Buckshot did wonderfully! We went one and a half times around the arena at the canter, handling the corners well, for the first time! I was thrilled! I brought Buckshot to a stop, rubbed his neck, laughing and praising him so excitedly! How wonderful it was!! Both of us did great! We worked on some more patterns, at the trot and trot/ canter, with plenty of rest times in between.
To introduce something new, I then designed a reining pattern for us. I started us at one end of the arena, walked to the center, then did two fake spins, one to the right and one to the left. I really don’t ask Buckshot to do real spins because of his age and to protect his aging hind legs, so we do small, tight circles. Then we trotted to the other end of the arena, still on the center line, and turned left and took up a canter. Down the rail we went, to almost the end, at which point I said loudly, “Andddddd….. whoa.” The “and” is my way of letting him know a change is coming. He stopped, after a few steps, which is fine for him, and then we did a rollback and started cantering back the same way we came. Around to the other long rail, and another “Anddddd…. Whoa” followed by a turn around and more cantering. At the short end of the arena, I switched to a trot and led us in a large figure eight, using the whole arena. We stopped in the center. Wow! Buckshot did great at all of it, trying hard, and giving his all. I was immensely proud of him! We rested, and did it again, and rested again.
Then we did our phase four, which is cooling down at the walk. When I dismounted, I praised him again with such appreciation. What a day! What a wonderful ride! Buckshot was just absolutely terrific and he worked so hard for me, what a wonderful horse!!
When I untacked him, he had a little bit of sweat on him under the saddle and on his girth line, but I didn’t feel right about rinsing him off, in case he didn’t dry thoroughly by the evening hours. During the day it was in the sixties, so I thought that it could go down into the fifties. I know that isn’t very cool temperatures, and I was probably being extra cautious with him. But instead I took a towel and rubbed him for a long while, alternating with using the curry comb, to help dry him off. That worked fine and when I walked him back to his pasture, he was only a tiny bit moist.
I hope you had a great time with your horses over the weekend also!
Now, if I could ask your advice about a winter preparation, what do you do year to year to make sure your winter blankets maintain their repellency? Two winters ago, I bought Buckshot two Weatherbeeta blankets (Orican Freestyle) and since I’ve never had blankets before, I am just wondering what others do. During the winter, when one gets dirty, I switch it out for the other blanket, and I take the dirty one to a cleaners that does horse blankets. I’ve never thought much about the repellency being worn away. Today on a website looking at bits, I noticed an article about horse blanket care and according to that article, I may have been doing it all wrong, and losing water repellency in the process. The cleaners use their regular detergent (oh, no, the article forbids that) and may even use a dryer (another no no). I haven’t bought anything to refresh the repellency. So tonight, an hour ago, I pulled one out of my closet and sprinkled it with water drops. Most of them stayed beaded up on the blanket. I just rechecked the blanket and about half of the drops are still beads; the other half have been absorbed. That makes me think I need to refresh the repellency. What do you think? What do you do for this? Do you use a special formula, or do you buy a Teflon-like spray at the grocery store and spray it? Your suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!
When the rain stopped momentarily, I went out to his pasture to get him and bring him in for some fake grooming so that I could spend some time with him under a roof and so that he could indulge in the alfalfa. We had a good time together. I noticed quite a few very tiny bumps on him, on the base of his neck and on his chest. What could these be, I wondered? I sprayed them lightly with Eqyss Microtek. He was somewhat wet from the weather so I didn’t do a full, regular grooming, but I took my time with the curry comb and brush and mane and tail brush. He had a nice time and when we were done, and he had eaten most of the hay, I walked him back to his pasture. Oh, well. Some days are like this. I cleaned my tack meticulously later. And had a chance to sit and chat with the barn owner, who is my instructor, about various riding techniques.
On Sunday, the weather forecasters called for some sunshine, and no rain, and the lovely cooler temperatures. But it turned out grey and gloomy instead, although without any rain at the farm. The farm was quiet as the BO and her husband trailered a horse to another farm for a few month’s of new riding work. Buckshot and I had the arena to ourselves. Since the BO was gone, I decided in the interest of safely to stay in the main arena and to forego any adventures by ourselves on the farm road or in the trail.
Buckshot and I had a great ride. In our phase one warmup we did circles around cones, and serpentines and some patterns at the walk. After twenty minutes, we added trotting and Buckshot offered a nice, energetic trot. We alternated trotting seven or eight strides with walking seven or eight strides. We even worked more on our walking, alternating a collected walk with an extended walk. He responded nicely to my requests. We tried several patterns, one of which I have now decided is too hard, and we don’t like. It requires sitting trot for two strides, then halt, then posting trot for two strides, then halt. It isn’t any fun for either of us so that pattern is cancelled. Other patterns were more fun and varied and we did several of them, with me patting Buckshot with praise after his efforts.
I tried another cantering technique on Sunday. In my opinion, cantering is very complex, and requires the rider to do many things at the right time. In the beginning, I thought I just had to give the correct aids, but as I have learned more, I realize there really are more aids and more techniques to think about. Getting him to canter, getting him to canter on the correct lead, continuing to canter, rating the canter, preventing him from speeding up, etc. All of these require me to do certain things at certain times. This is quite an education for me. So I am trying not to learn it all, up front, but to add a bit more aids, or guidance, little by little, as I go. The latest, little additional aid occurs at the end of the arena, when I am trying to go around the curve of the end of the arena and go back down the opposite long rail. A book suggested you have to support the horse through the curve by engaging my inside leg, at the girth, and laying the outside rein over his neck. (This was from a book of western riding exercises so it used neck reining.) Buckshot does neck reining so I alternate with him, two handed neck reining at times, one handed neck reining at other times and two reins English-style at other times. He responds to all of these so I don’t think I am confusing him. Sometimes when I am cantering, I use one-handed neck reining because it seems to allow my seat to stay well with the saddle and for me to give him the right amount of loose reins/ rein support for his mouth (which is a balancing act I am still very conscious of working on).
So, back to Sunday. We have a pattern we do that involves walking then trotting down the center line, then at the end of the arena, turning, coming to a walk, and then picking up the canter down the long rail. As we did it the first time, I moved my inside leg to engage him, and laid the outside rein on his neck. And he seemed to go very well around the corner at the canter. We tried it several more times, just cantering without a specific pattern, so I could try these new techniques at the corner, and Buckshot did wonderfully! We went one and a half times around the arena at the canter, handling the corners well, for the first time! I was thrilled! I brought Buckshot to a stop, rubbed his neck, laughing and praising him so excitedly! How wonderful it was!! Both of us did great! We worked on some more patterns, at the trot and trot/ canter, with plenty of rest times in between.
To introduce something new, I then designed a reining pattern for us. I started us at one end of the arena, walked to the center, then did two fake spins, one to the right and one to the left. I really don’t ask Buckshot to do real spins because of his age and to protect his aging hind legs, so we do small, tight circles. Then we trotted to the other end of the arena, still on the center line, and turned left and took up a canter. Down the rail we went, to almost the end, at which point I said loudly, “Andddddd….. whoa.” The “and” is my way of letting him know a change is coming. He stopped, after a few steps, which is fine for him, and then we did a rollback and started cantering back the same way we came. Around to the other long rail, and another “Anddddd…. Whoa” followed by a turn around and more cantering. At the short end of the arena, I switched to a trot and led us in a large figure eight, using the whole arena. We stopped in the center. Wow! Buckshot did great at all of it, trying hard, and giving his all. I was immensely proud of him! We rested, and did it again, and rested again.
Then we did our phase four, which is cooling down at the walk. When I dismounted, I praised him again with such appreciation. What a day! What a wonderful ride! Buckshot was just absolutely terrific and he worked so hard for me, what a wonderful horse!!
When I untacked him, he had a little bit of sweat on him under the saddle and on his girth line, but I didn’t feel right about rinsing him off, in case he didn’t dry thoroughly by the evening hours. During the day it was in the sixties, so I thought that it could go down into the fifties. I know that isn’t very cool temperatures, and I was probably being extra cautious with him. But instead I took a towel and rubbed him for a long while, alternating with using the curry comb, to help dry him off. That worked fine and when I walked him back to his pasture, he was only a tiny bit moist.
I hope you had a great time with your horses over the weekend also!
Now, if I could ask your advice about a winter preparation, what do you do year to year to make sure your winter blankets maintain their repellency? Two winters ago, I bought Buckshot two Weatherbeeta blankets (Orican Freestyle) and since I’ve never had blankets before, I am just wondering what others do. During the winter, when one gets dirty, I switch it out for the other blanket, and I take the dirty one to a cleaners that does horse blankets. I’ve never thought much about the repellency being worn away. Today on a website looking at bits, I noticed an article about horse blanket care and according to that article, I may have been doing it all wrong, and losing water repellency in the process. The cleaners use their regular detergent (oh, no, the article forbids that) and may even use a dryer (another no no). I haven’t bought anything to refresh the repellency. So tonight, an hour ago, I pulled one out of my closet and sprinkled it with water drops. Most of them stayed beaded up on the blanket. I just rechecked the blanket and about half of the drops are still beads; the other half have been absorbed. That makes me think I need to refresh the repellency. What do you think? What do you do for this? Do you use a special formula, or do you buy a Teflon-like spray at the grocery store and spray it? Your suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Exciting July Weekend!
This past weekend – July 16-17 – had some wonderful Buckshot moments in them. I’ll give a few of the Saturday highlights and share a little bit more about Sunday. First, Buckshot’s rain rot has been cleared up! Hooray! I gave him a bath after our Saturday ride, with the medicated shampoo. When his hair is wet, it is silky smooth and I can feel every tiny bump on him, and his bumps have gone! It has taken two months of daily treatment, weekly shampoos and tool cleaning, but it has finally cleared up.
The other highlight to mention has to do with Buckshot’s new sense of exploration. As we did our walking warm up, we stopped in the center at one point. After a moment of standing still, he began to drift over to the open gate. I let him go, to see where he wanted to go. We walked out of the arena, he took a left turn and walked by the closest barn. As we neared the second barn, where he and I do his grooming, he turned in toward it. I could see the barn doorway was at my eye level, so I gently steered him away, and turned him around, to which he responded willingly. But I had to laugh and wonder, why did he want to ride back into the barn? We have never ridden into the barn, naturally. (Now that I think about it, at the barn we used to be at, and which he lived at for years, it wasn’t uncommon for riders to ride in the barn aisle. The aisle was very broad and very, very tall.) How funny that he wanted us to ride right into the barn!
Here is the exciting thing – we then went back to the arena and did a few more minutes of work, and then I decided we’d go exploring down the farm road! This is the road that leads to the farm’s other arena, off in a distant hay field. I haven’t been able to get Buckshot to go down the road by ourselves yet, either riding or in hand. But with his newfound confidence, I decided to try it. We headed to the road. I could sense a bit of uncertainty on Buckshot’s part – he wasn’t walking with quite as much purpose as when he was walking us to the barn. But he listened to me and we started down the road. At about one-third of the way down, he made a left turn and detoured toward a pasture gate. So without missing a beat, I led him in that direction and then turned him back toward the original arena. No argument, no discussion. If that was as far as he wanted to go, on that day, well, that was fine with me. Next weekend we’ll go farther, I’m sure. So back to the arena we went, and continued our work and our riding. We had a great ride, overall we rode for two-plus hours! Buckshot had good energy at the trot and the canter. So it was a great day for us! Good boy, Buckshot!
On Sunday we were scheduled to go to the reining clinic. When we first started going, many months ago, I would walk Buckshot by the already-in-position trailer, in route to the barn for grooming. He would snort or blow when he saw the trailer. After grooming him, he had a lot of energy. Excitement energy? Worried energy? I couldn’t tell. But I addressed it by taking him in the arena and doing a lot of little exercises in hand. Circles, backing, walking in squares, walking diagonal lines, anything and everything I could think of. And it definitely helped. It got his mind on what we were doing and off of the big trailer nearby. Then, and this was, again, in the early days of going to the trainer’s, as I walked him to the trailer, where the BOH was waiting to walk him into his partition, he would start trotting and partially prancing. He would get on the ramp and stop, and after about 1-2 minutes of just standing there (no snorting, no quivering, no resistance, just standing still), he would walk forward calmly and get into his partition.
It is so interesting to me, now that we have done this twelve to fifteen or more times, how he is different. Now, when we walk by the trailer, he doesn’t snort. He does make the tiniest blow sound, barely a normal blow sound. After we groom, we go out to the arena and he has just a bit more energy. We do our exercises and stay busy until it is time to load. He seems very calm. But as I walk him over to the loading ramp, and to the BOH, he still does the partial trotting, partial prancing thing. Then he walks onto the ramp, stops for appx 1 minute and walks in calmly. He is funny. But I really appreciate how easily he loads. Recently I saw some other horses being loaded and they were quite a handful! After that, I remembered how wonderfully easy Buckshot is to load and I so appreciate it about him! Good, good boy!
At the reining clinic, the trainer wanted all of the participants to go, one at a time, into his round pen and lope without reins. The idea was to help us feel the rhythm of our horse’s canter, without the diversion of reins, to help us with our seats. After watching the first rider do a great job at this, it was Buckshot and my turn. We walked through the many-chuted configuration of pens (Buckshot did fine going through these tight quarters), to the gate, which had a pipe frame overhead. Buckshot went a little quickly through the gate, and I bumped my head good on the pipe overhead. But, luckily, my helmet took the hit, not me. Hooray for helmets! (And as an aside, I do wear my helmet even when riding with the other western riders, none of whom wear helmets. I remember one day a few months ago, at the clinic, and I realized of all the riders there – about 8 or 10 – I was the only one wearing a helmet. For a moment, I felt conspicuous, but I shrugged it off. I am a committed helmet wearer, and plan to always be one.)
Anyway, back to the story. I’m going off on so many tangents, sorry.
Well, Buckshot and I were in what seemed like a teeny-tiny round pen. The trainer is very nice and accommodates Buckshot’s age and if needed, limited capabilities, and so he said to me to just do whatever I felt comfortable doing in the round pen. I wanted to lope, without reins! That’s what I wanted to do! But I’ve never successfully cantered Buckshot in a round pen for more than just a few strides, and sadly, we’ve never really loped, that beautiful, slow, controlled canter that these reining horses do so nicely. We just canter- strong canter. I know as I develop my skills at the canter, we may be able to do a more controlled canter, but it isn’t in my repertoire just yet. But maybe this was the day, I thought hopefully! I started Buckshot trotting and he did well, and then I kissed and tried to get the canter, and, well, it fizzled. I only got a few strides from him and they seemed to me to be so fast, and he seemed to be running right into the pen sides, and well, suffice it to say, we didn’t lope. But we did what we could, so I didn’t feel too badly about it.
We left the round pen and went to stand with the other horses and riders. A few minutes later, I guided Buckshot over to the arena (and this reining arena is very, very big), and decided to just practice our canter. We cantered quite well, one time we went all the way around it, with me keeping a good, decent seat and steering him! Wow! It was wonderful! We did a bit more cantering after a break, and I felt it was just such a great day for us. We did accomplish some good work, even if it wasn’t in the round pen.
Later in the class, we were at sort of a break, and I decided to take Buckshot back into the round pen and try the lope again. We wove our way through the pens and to the gate and again, Buckshot slid into the pen quickly. I walked him around the pen and could instantly feel his nervousness. He just didn’t seem comfortable in the round pen at all this time. I don’t understand why, but regardless of knowing why it bothered him, I rode him out and back to the arena. His nervousness immediately went away. Still, overall, it was a wonderful day and weekend for us – with some new adventures and great riding work done, and rain rot gone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend with your horses as well!
The other highlight to mention has to do with Buckshot’s new sense of exploration. As we did our walking warm up, we stopped in the center at one point. After a moment of standing still, he began to drift over to the open gate. I let him go, to see where he wanted to go. We walked out of the arena, he took a left turn and walked by the closest barn. As we neared the second barn, where he and I do his grooming, he turned in toward it. I could see the barn doorway was at my eye level, so I gently steered him away, and turned him around, to which he responded willingly. But I had to laugh and wonder, why did he want to ride back into the barn? We have never ridden into the barn, naturally. (Now that I think about it, at the barn we used to be at, and which he lived at for years, it wasn’t uncommon for riders to ride in the barn aisle. The aisle was very broad and very, very tall.) How funny that he wanted us to ride right into the barn!
Here is the exciting thing – we then went back to the arena and did a few more minutes of work, and then I decided we’d go exploring down the farm road! This is the road that leads to the farm’s other arena, off in a distant hay field. I haven’t been able to get Buckshot to go down the road by ourselves yet, either riding or in hand. But with his newfound confidence, I decided to try it. We headed to the road. I could sense a bit of uncertainty on Buckshot’s part – he wasn’t walking with quite as much purpose as when he was walking us to the barn. But he listened to me and we started down the road. At about one-third of the way down, he made a left turn and detoured toward a pasture gate. So without missing a beat, I led him in that direction and then turned him back toward the original arena. No argument, no discussion. If that was as far as he wanted to go, on that day, well, that was fine with me. Next weekend we’ll go farther, I’m sure. So back to the arena we went, and continued our work and our riding. We had a great ride, overall we rode for two-plus hours! Buckshot had good energy at the trot and the canter. So it was a great day for us! Good boy, Buckshot!
On Sunday we were scheduled to go to the reining clinic. When we first started going, many months ago, I would walk Buckshot by the already-in-position trailer, in route to the barn for grooming. He would snort or blow when he saw the trailer. After grooming him, he had a lot of energy. Excitement energy? Worried energy? I couldn’t tell. But I addressed it by taking him in the arena and doing a lot of little exercises in hand. Circles, backing, walking in squares, walking diagonal lines, anything and everything I could think of. And it definitely helped. It got his mind on what we were doing and off of the big trailer nearby. Then, and this was, again, in the early days of going to the trainer’s, as I walked him to the trailer, where the BOH was waiting to walk him into his partition, he would start trotting and partially prancing. He would get on the ramp and stop, and after about 1-2 minutes of just standing there (no snorting, no quivering, no resistance, just standing still), he would walk forward calmly and get into his partition.
It is so interesting to me, now that we have done this twelve to fifteen or more times, how he is different. Now, when we walk by the trailer, he doesn’t snort. He does make the tiniest blow sound, barely a normal blow sound. After we groom, we go out to the arena and he has just a bit more energy. We do our exercises and stay busy until it is time to load. He seems very calm. But as I walk him over to the loading ramp, and to the BOH, he still does the partial trotting, partial prancing thing. Then he walks onto the ramp, stops for appx 1 minute and walks in calmly. He is funny. But I really appreciate how easily he loads. Recently I saw some other horses being loaded and they were quite a handful! After that, I remembered how wonderfully easy Buckshot is to load and I so appreciate it about him! Good, good boy!
At the reining clinic, the trainer wanted all of the participants to go, one at a time, into his round pen and lope without reins. The idea was to help us feel the rhythm of our horse’s canter, without the diversion of reins, to help us with our seats. After watching the first rider do a great job at this, it was Buckshot and my turn. We walked through the many-chuted configuration of pens (Buckshot did fine going through these tight quarters), to the gate, which had a pipe frame overhead. Buckshot went a little quickly through the gate, and I bumped my head good on the pipe overhead. But, luckily, my helmet took the hit, not me. Hooray for helmets! (And as an aside, I do wear my helmet even when riding with the other western riders, none of whom wear helmets. I remember one day a few months ago, at the clinic, and I realized of all the riders there – about 8 or 10 – I was the only one wearing a helmet. For a moment, I felt conspicuous, but I shrugged it off. I am a committed helmet wearer, and plan to always be one.)
Anyway, back to the story. I’m going off on so many tangents, sorry.
Well, Buckshot and I were in what seemed like a teeny-tiny round pen. The trainer is very nice and accommodates Buckshot’s age and if needed, limited capabilities, and so he said to me to just do whatever I felt comfortable doing in the round pen. I wanted to lope, without reins! That’s what I wanted to do! But I’ve never successfully cantered Buckshot in a round pen for more than just a few strides, and sadly, we’ve never really loped, that beautiful, slow, controlled canter that these reining horses do so nicely. We just canter- strong canter. I know as I develop my skills at the canter, we may be able to do a more controlled canter, but it isn’t in my repertoire just yet. But maybe this was the day, I thought hopefully! I started Buckshot trotting and he did well, and then I kissed and tried to get the canter, and, well, it fizzled. I only got a few strides from him and they seemed to me to be so fast, and he seemed to be running right into the pen sides, and well, suffice it to say, we didn’t lope. But we did what we could, so I didn’t feel too badly about it.
We left the round pen and went to stand with the other horses and riders. A few minutes later, I guided Buckshot over to the arena (and this reining arena is very, very big), and decided to just practice our canter. We cantered quite well, one time we went all the way around it, with me keeping a good, decent seat and steering him! Wow! It was wonderful! We did a bit more cantering after a break, and I felt it was just such a great day for us. We did accomplish some good work, even if it wasn’t in the round pen.
Later in the class, we were at sort of a break, and I decided to take Buckshot back into the round pen and try the lope again. We wove our way through the pens and to the gate and again, Buckshot slid into the pen quickly. I walked him around the pen and could instantly feel his nervousness. He just didn’t seem comfortable in the round pen at all this time. I don’t understand why, but regardless of knowing why it bothered him, I rode him out and back to the arena. His nervousness immediately went away. Still, overall, it was a wonderful day and weekend for us – with some new adventures and great riding work done, and rain rot gone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend with your horses as well!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Humming Improves the Canter!
This weekend I had a great time with Buckshot. We worked on patterns and our cantering. I worked on not overthinking the canter so that I would unconsciously improve certain skills – e.g., giving well with my hands, relaxing my legs away from Buckshot’s sides, and keeping my seat in contact with the saddle. I did this by adding another thing to do- humming. Buckshot has a powerful canter, and he can go from starting at a fast pace to a faster pace. Sometimes it is hard to steer him and sometimes his pace becomes too fast, and I have to shift quickly to “slow him down, now.” He’s not out of control, he’s just terribly powerful, as if to him, cantering is always supposed to be fast and powerful. We are much faster than the nice, regulated lope that I observe in western or reining horses, and I am not sure we will ever get that slow of a lope, but still, I want to slow his canter down to the pace I want.
So, after hearing our reining trainer tell a student, hum to your horse to slow his canter, I have been trying it. And it does help. Sometimes my humming is loud, out of key and somewhat desperate. I don’t try to hum an recognizable song; I just hum something random (and pretend that it is a song). By giving myself something new to focus my mind on, I somehow relegate the other three things I am doing to the back of my mind, and surprisingly, they don’t fall apart and become worse. Ever so slightly, I’ve improved at them.
On Saturday, we had beautiful weather, and Buckshot and I had the arena all to ourselves. We did our warmup and then did some trotting. I pulled my notes out of my back pocket (I have written down about eight or nine of our patterns and exercises so I won’t forget them) and consulted them. And we rode each of the patterns! What fun! Buckshot had good energy and we had a wonderful time. The swelling on his leg has gone down, and he just has a nodule under the skin that we are going to keep an eye on. And the flies, which are suddenly out in force, had taken a liking to his sheath and he was covered in bug bites, to which I applied Tricare wound cream. The BO and BOH were away at a reining show so I handled feeding all the farm’s horses (approximately 30 horses) in their absence. Overall, a lovely day.
On Sunday, we went to the reining trainer’s farm. I think Buckshot really enjoys going there now. He acts excited, but not scared or anxious, as I groom him (he sees the trailer located by the barn as I walk him to the main barn for his grooming). After I got him groomed, and we were waiting to load up, he walked around the stall a lot, then would exhale loudly and cock his hind foot. As if to say, let’s go already! I led him to the trailer and he loaded right up. When we arrived, I got him out of the trailer and walked him around for several minutes to stretch his legs. After we got tacked up, and mounted, he started walking with energy immediately, more so than he does at our home arena. So I think he enjoys the reining clinics!
The reining farm has a huge arena that I love to ride in. After doing our walking warm up, Buckshot and I trotted, a good, impulsive trot. Then we tried a few canters, and I hummed, and steered, and left the other three skills to my unconscious mind, and the result was: he cantered nicely slower, I rode him well, steered him better, and we maintained it nearly all the way around the large arena! Our best canter ever! I praised him lavishly! Wonderful! During the course of the clinic, which focused more on spins (which Buckshot and I don’t actually do) and sliding stops (which we don’t do either), I took him around the perimeter of the arena a few times. And when we cantered, it was wonderful! Good Buckshot! And good me- for using the humming technique!
Hope you had a nice spring weekend as well!
So, after hearing our reining trainer tell a student, hum to your horse to slow his canter, I have been trying it. And it does help. Sometimes my humming is loud, out of key and somewhat desperate. I don’t try to hum an recognizable song; I just hum something random (and pretend that it is a song). By giving myself something new to focus my mind on, I somehow relegate the other three things I am doing to the back of my mind, and surprisingly, they don’t fall apart and become worse. Ever so slightly, I’ve improved at them.
On Saturday, we had beautiful weather, and Buckshot and I had the arena all to ourselves. We did our warmup and then did some trotting. I pulled my notes out of my back pocket (I have written down about eight or nine of our patterns and exercises so I won’t forget them) and consulted them. And we rode each of the patterns! What fun! Buckshot had good energy and we had a wonderful time. The swelling on his leg has gone down, and he just has a nodule under the skin that we are going to keep an eye on. And the flies, which are suddenly out in force, had taken a liking to his sheath and he was covered in bug bites, to which I applied Tricare wound cream. The BO and BOH were away at a reining show so I handled feeding all the farm’s horses (approximately 30 horses) in their absence. Overall, a lovely day.
On Sunday, we went to the reining trainer’s farm. I think Buckshot really enjoys going there now. He acts excited, but not scared or anxious, as I groom him (he sees the trailer located by the barn as I walk him to the main barn for his grooming). After I got him groomed, and we were waiting to load up, he walked around the stall a lot, then would exhale loudly and cock his hind foot. As if to say, let’s go already! I led him to the trailer and he loaded right up. When we arrived, I got him out of the trailer and walked him around for several minutes to stretch his legs. After we got tacked up, and mounted, he started walking with energy immediately, more so than he does at our home arena. So I think he enjoys the reining clinics!
The reining farm has a huge arena that I love to ride in. After doing our walking warm up, Buckshot and I trotted, a good, impulsive trot. Then we tried a few canters, and I hummed, and steered, and left the other three skills to my unconscious mind, and the result was: he cantered nicely slower, I rode him well, steered him better, and we maintained it nearly all the way around the large arena! Our best canter ever! I praised him lavishly! Wonderful! During the course of the clinic, which focused more on spins (which Buckshot and I don’t actually do) and sliding stops (which we don’t do either), I took him around the perimeter of the arena a few times. And when we cantered, it was wonderful! Good Buckshot! And good me- for using the humming technique!
Hope you had a nice spring weekend as well!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
"Note to Self" on the Canter
Please remember that when trying to canter, wait until you are ready. Wait until the horse is ready. Make sure he is listening to you and responding to other cues. Make sure you can feel some impulsion in him.
Get your head in gear and engaged properly. Keep your energy at an appropriate level. Don’t be a “hot” human – mentally prancing and jigging wanting to let loose at the canter. Control your energy.
Choose the pattern- straight down the rail or into a circle or a specific pattern. Choose the starting point. Then get your aids organzed. You will sit back. A little further. You will move your legs into position- inside leg, a bit forward, outside leg, a bit back. Leave reins at normal length. Remember to lift the inside rein slightly when giving the cues.
Approach the spot of departure. Give the aids, including the kiss sound. Give him the reins. Keep seat twisting and in contact with saddle. Breathe. Maintain a good give-and-take with the reins. Steer him. Steer him. Steer him. Breathe. Think ahead. At end of arena, give more leg around the corners. Steer him. Pick a point to return to trot. Go into trot. Thank him. Come down to walk. Breathe out.
Now think – what did I just do right? What did I just do wrong? Pick one thing, just one thing, to work on on the next canter. Rest, at the walk. Give him a rest. Keep your mind engaged. Good work, Jan! Now do this about five thousand more times and we’ll have a good canter!
Results of “Note to Self”
I had the opportunity to take a day of vacation this week and go out to the barn. I planned to get my car serviced in the morning, and spend time with Buckshot in the afternoon. The car servicing became a nightmare, and I got to the barn a bit later than expected, a bit frazzled. But the farm was wonderfully quiet and peaceful and as I got Buckshot from his pasture, he seemed normal, in a good mood and eager to do something. I chose to table the round pen work and after tacking him up we went into the arena.
We did about twenty minutes of warm up and easy exercises at the walk and trot. Then, calmly, I decided it was a good time to try the canter. I did not shorten my reins; rather I left them at their normal length, since I knew that I have a tendency to inadvertently shorten them while cantering. I did most of the steps from my “note to self.” Buckshot went immediately and calmly into the canter! I had good seat connection with the saddle. I kept my hands low, and as we approached the turn, I consciously kept my hands low, gave a little leg and we went successfully around the turn, still in the canter, still calm, still connected! Wonderful! At the end of the arena, we went down to the trot and then walk, and I praised Buckshot! What a good horse!
We did the canter again, in the same direction. Same preparation. And wow! Again, it was a calm, non-rushing, controlled canter with me having good seat contact, and lower hands, and Buckshot maintaining the canter all the way around the arena, so we kept going. We did a second revolution of the arena, at a good canter! Wow- this is a first for us! Twice around the arena, at a good, controlled canter! I was thrilled! Good boy!
After this second canter, I determined to take a break and stay at the walk for several minutes. We did serpentines and spirals at the walk. Then we did the canter in the other direction. This is his weaker direction, to the right. Our canter was a bit weaker, mostly in my steering, because he goes much more toward the center when cantering to the right, but it was a good canter for us. Good boy! And then, another canter to the right. Another good effort by us! Then back to walking, and doing a few patterns at the walk/trot.
What a good accomplishment! I didn’t flail and kick, or bring up my energy to the frantic point that, I think, incites Buckshot to rush. I focused on keeping my hands low, seat connected, steering and voila! A terrific canter resulted! I praised him enthusiastically, gave him a treat, and took him to untack and rinse him off.
Maybe Buckshot – at the canter – is one of the horses I’ve heard about, but didn’t think I’ve ridden: the horse that does a gait only when the rider gets all of the aids exactly correct. At other gaits, I would describe him as being usually eager. Eager to trot, so he responds immediately. Eager to work, so he responds to “walk” readily. But at the canter, perhaps he needs the rider to get it right, exactly right, and then he can/will canter nicely.
Or perhaps it is that as I get better, a tiny bit at a time, he can/will canter nicely. Either way, my focus is important in this gait. And it was wonderful to see some improvement and be able to canter longer, and better, than ever.
Get your head in gear and engaged properly. Keep your energy at an appropriate level. Don’t be a “hot” human – mentally prancing and jigging wanting to let loose at the canter. Control your energy.
Choose the pattern- straight down the rail or into a circle or a specific pattern. Choose the starting point. Then get your aids organzed. You will sit back. A little further. You will move your legs into position- inside leg, a bit forward, outside leg, a bit back. Leave reins at normal length. Remember to lift the inside rein slightly when giving the cues.
Approach the spot of departure. Give the aids, including the kiss sound. Give him the reins. Keep seat twisting and in contact with saddle. Breathe. Maintain a good give-and-take with the reins. Steer him. Steer him. Steer him. Breathe. Think ahead. At end of arena, give more leg around the corners. Steer him. Pick a point to return to trot. Go into trot. Thank him. Come down to walk. Breathe out.
Now think – what did I just do right? What did I just do wrong? Pick one thing, just one thing, to work on on the next canter. Rest, at the walk. Give him a rest. Keep your mind engaged. Good work, Jan! Now do this about five thousand more times and we’ll have a good canter!
Results of “Note to Self”
I had the opportunity to take a day of vacation this week and go out to the barn. I planned to get my car serviced in the morning, and spend time with Buckshot in the afternoon. The car servicing became a nightmare, and I got to the barn a bit later than expected, a bit frazzled. But the farm was wonderfully quiet and peaceful and as I got Buckshot from his pasture, he seemed normal, in a good mood and eager to do something. I chose to table the round pen work and after tacking him up we went into the arena.
We did about twenty minutes of warm up and easy exercises at the walk and trot. Then, calmly, I decided it was a good time to try the canter. I did not shorten my reins; rather I left them at their normal length, since I knew that I have a tendency to inadvertently shorten them while cantering. I did most of the steps from my “note to self.” Buckshot went immediately and calmly into the canter! I had good seat connection with the saddle. I kept my hands low, and as we approached the turn, I consciously kept my hands low, gave a little leg and we went successfully around the turn, still in the canter, still calm, still connected! Wonderful! At the end of the arena, we went down to the trot and then walk, and I praised Buckshot! What a good horse!
We did the canter again, in the same direction. Same preparation. And wow! Again, it was a calm, non-rushing, controlled canter with me having good seat contact, and lower hands, and Buckshot maintaining the canter all the way around the arena, so we kept going. We did a second revolution of the arena, at a good canter! Wow- this is a first for us! Twice around the arena, at a good, controlled canter! I was thrilled! Good boy!
After this second canter, I determined to take a break and stay at the walk for several minutes. We did serpentines and spirals at the walk. Then we did the canter in the other direction. This is his weaker direction, to the right. Our canter was a bit weaker, mostly in my steering, because he goes much more toward the center when cantering to the right, but it was a good canter for us. Good boy! And then, another canter to the right. Another good effort by us! Then back to walking, and doing a few patterns at the walk/trot.
What a good accomplishment! I didn’t flail and kick, or bring up my energy to the frantic point that, I think, incites Buckshot to rush. I focused on keeping my hands low, seat connected, steering and voila! A terrific canter resulted! I praised him enthusiastically, gave him a treat, and took him to untack and rinse him off.
Maybe Buckshot – at the canter – is one of the horses I’ve heard about, but didn’t think I’ve ridden: the horse that does a gait only when the rider gets all of the aids exactly correct. At other gaits, I would describe him as being usually eager. Eager to trot, so he responds immediately. Eager to work, so he responds to “walk” readily. But at the canter, perhaps he needs the rider to get it right, exactly right, and then he can/will canter nicely.
Or perhaps it is that as I get better, a tiny bit at a time, he can/will canter nicely. Either way, my focus is important in this gait. And it was wonderful to see some improvement and be able to canter longer, and better, than ever.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Updates on the canter, uveitis and etc
I haven’t written yet about my time with Buckshot about a week ago. The weather was just a touch cooler (if you can call the low 90’s cooler! LOL) and Buckshot and I had some great rides. I worked on the lope with him. My instructor has me working on twisting or shifting my seat, to help me match his rhythm, so that my seat stays in the saddle. We did a number of lopes with me concentrating on this. Some were quite good. Some weren’t. I started to get frustrated by my lack of progress in this.
But I have to remember and encourage myself that to improve my skills at the canter will take some time. Just as it did years ago at the posting trot. Today I love the posting trot. I have developed some tips that really helped me with it, and there have been times Buckshot and I have just floated along as one at the trot. Heavenly!
So I will need to be patient with myself on the canter as well. And I have to remember not to overdo it and bore Buckshot to death with it. I alternated the canter work with some patterns, and some precision work, at both the walk and the trot. And a few times, I stopped him in the middle of the arena and gave him a long rein. And don’t you know, he would walk slowly over to the gate!! As if to say, “I think we’ve done enough today, don’t you?” What a kidder! I would redirect him to do something else for a few more minutes. When we had ridden for about an hour, I said to him, “okay, we’ll do our cool down now” and started walking him around the perimeter of the arena. I think the term “cool down” is one of his favorite terms! He knows that it means the end of the riding is near, and so are his post-ride treats!
On the issue of moon blindness, his symptoms have gone away, this past week and weekend I haven’t seen the symptoms I saw (or thought I saw) earlier. But we are going to have the vet check it out soon. I’ll keep you posted on this.
This past weekend (July 17-18) it was beastly hot at the farm. High 90’s and high humidity. I rode Buckshot both on Saturday and Sunday, but for much shorter times. We worked on some patterns and exercises from the book “101 Arena Exercises” by Cherry Hill. Buckshot did very well with everything we tried. And we did a few canters! On Sunday, we only did a few canters, but they were great. My seat stayed in the saddle and found his rhythm, and his pace was great – not rushing. A great day for both of us, regardless of the miserable weather!
PS Thank you to Story for becoming a follower of my blog! I really appreciate it! I am trying to follow the steps to become an official "Follower" of the blogs noted on the right side of my blog. The first time I tried it, something didn't work right, so I undid it. But now I have added a tiny pic of myself to my profile and will again sign up to become a Follower of these great blogs. I'll do it slowly, to make sure I am doing it correctly. Thank you again, Story! You made my day!
But I have to remember and encourage myself that to improve my skills at the canter will take some time. Just as it did years ago at the posting trot. Today I love the posting trot. I have developed some tips that really helped me with it, and there have been times Buckshot and I have just floated along as one at the trot. Heavenly!
So I will need to be patient with myself on the canter as well. And I have to remember not to overdo it and bore Buckshot to death with it. I alternated the canter work with some patterns, and some precision work, at both the walk and the trot. And a few times, I stopped him in the middle of the arena and gave him a long rein. And don’t you know, he would walk slowly over to the gate!! As if to say, “I think we’ve done enough today, don’t you?” What a kidder! I would redirect him to do something else for a few more minutes. When we had ridden for about an hour, I said to him, “okay, we’ll do our cool down now” and started walking him around the perimeter of the arena. I think the term “cool down” is one of his favorite terms! He knows that it means the end of the riding is near, and so are his post-ride treats!
On the issue of moon blindness, his symptoms have gone away, this past week and weekend I haven’t seen the symptoms I saw (or thought I saw) earlier. But we are going to have the vet check it out soon. I’ll keep you posted on this.
This past weekend (July 17-18) it was beastly hot at the farm. High 90’s and high humidity. I rode Buckshot both on Saturday and Sunday, but for much shorter times. We worked on some patterns and exercises from the book “101 Arena Exercises” by Cherry Hill. Buckshot did very well with everything we tried. And we did a few canters! On Sunday, we only did a few canters, but they were great. My seat stayed in the saddle and found his rhythm, and his pace was great – not rushing. A great day for both of us, regardless of the miserable weather!
PS Thank you to Story for becoming a follower of my blog! I really appreciate it! I am trying to follow the steps to become an official "Follower" of the blogs noted on the right side of my blog. The first time I tried it, something didn't work right, so I undid it. But now I have added a tiny pic of myself to my profile and will again sign up to become a Follower of these great blogs. I'll do it slowly, to make sure I am doing it correctly. Thank you again, Story! You made my day!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Wall of "I Can't"
(Date of June 9, 2010) Have you ever been faced with a mental wall about your riding, that you can’t get over or under or around? Maybe it is fear. Maybe it is skill-related. Maybe it is horse-specific. But try as you may, you can’t get beyond it. Recently I had a similar experience, and it has a happy ending, so I wanted to share it with you.
I am not great at the canter. It is a hard gait for me, and Buckshot’s canter is a bit bumpy and at times too fast, almost explosive. I have contented myself with the thought that eventually, I would get better at it. And I was taking my time. We have great rides at various speeds of the walk and trot, and for our riding purposes, that was fine. I could afford to take my time developing my skills at the canter. There was no wall in front of me and I didn’t have any sense of urgency about it.
And then it all changed.
Our instructor brought in a regional professional reining trainer for occasional lessons. Buckshot and I participated in his lessons. In the first lesson with him, my mental wall of “I can’t really canter well” both materialized before me and dissolved all in the same lesson. The instructor is very kind and encouraging, has a great sense of humor and is very discerning about a rider’s skill and limitations. He challenged me, in the best sense of the word. He guided and gave tips for riding the canter. He instructed each of us differently and effectively. I felt on top of the world – that I could, really could, learn to canter better on Buckshot.
So I have practiced, and taken private lessons on the canter from my regular instructor. I have learned, little by little, to keep my butt in contact with the saddle, and keep soft, responsive hands, and use my leg aids, and steer, and circle, and sense a slowing so I can give more leg. Slowly I am learning to steer better. And ask for a particular lead. And lesson after lesson, with my instructor, and with the reining trainer, I have gotten better than I ever thought possible at the canter! I am thrilled with my progress! (Yes, I still have a long ways to go to look like the floaty-gentle-rocking-chair riding of others.) But I have progressed quite a ways for me. And I am so proud of myself and Buckshot.
Slowly I realized that I had indeed had a “mental wall” about the canter. I guess I doubted my skills and abilities to ever become noticeably better at it. During the clinics, I have seen that wall come crumbling down and my confidence grow. I’m not even sure why. I have had the attitude in each session that I would try my hardest, even if I looked ridiculous, to improve my skills. And at times I have felt discombobulated while actually doing the riding. But slowly, my skills have gotten better. How wonderful! I look forward to the reining lessons because they are making me a better rider in many ways. I don’t plan to ever compete in reining. But the benefits of better riding skills will help both me and my horse.
Do you have a “mental wall” preventing you from developing a skill, or handling a particular horse situation? I think that they are not uncommon, but I don’t think we talk about them much. If you have one, I hope you are inspired by my story, that we can get past them, and achieve thrilling results. Thanks for listening!
I am not great at the canter. It is a hard gait for me, and Buckshot’s canter is a bit bumpy and at times too fast, almost explosive. I have contented myself with the thought that eventually, I would get better at it. And I was taking my time. We have great rides at various speeds of the walk and trot, and for our riding purposes, that was fine. I could afford to take my time developing my skills at the canter. There was no wall in front of me and I didn’t have any sense of urgency about it.
And then it all changed.
Our instructor brought in a regional professional reining trainer for occasional lessons. Buckshot and I participated in his lessons. In the first lesson with him, my mental wall of “I can’t really canter well” both materialized before me and dissolved all in the same lesson. The instructor is very kind and encouraging, has a great sense of humor and is very discerning about a rider’s skill and limitations. He challenged me, in the best sense of the word. He guided and gave tips for riding the canter. He instructed each of us differently and effectively. I felt on top of the world – that I could, really could, learn to canter better on Buckshot.
So I have practiced, and taken private lessons on the canter from my regular instructor. I have learned, little by little, to keep my butt in contact with the saddle, and keep soft, responsive hands, and use my leg aids, and steer, and circle, and sense a slowing so I can give more leg. Slowly I am learning to steer better. And ask for a particular lead. And lesson after lesson, with my instructor, and with the reining trainer, I have gotten better than I ever thought possible at the canter! I am thrilled with my progress! (Yes, I still have a long ways to go to look like the floaty-gentle-rocking-chair riding of others.) But I have progressed quite a ways for me. And I am so proud of myself and Buckshot.
Slowly I realized that I had indeed had a “mental wall” about the canter. I guess I doubted my skills and abilities to ever become noticeably better at it. During the clinics, I have seen that wall come crumbling down and my confidence grow. I’m not even sure why. I have had the attitude in each session that I would try my hardest, even if I looked ridiculous, to improve my skills. And at times I have felt discombobulated while actually doing the riding. But slowly, my skills have gotten better. How wonderful! I look forward to the reining lessons because they are making me a better rider in many ways. I don’t plan to ever compete in reining. But the benefits of better riding skills will help both me and my horse.
Do you have a “mental wall” preventing you from developing a skill, or handling a particular horse situation? I think that they are not uncommon, but I don’t think we talk about them much. If you have one, I hope you are inspired by my story, that we can get past them, and achieve thrilling results. Thanks for listening!
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