This weekend it was hot in Virginia, but not wickedly hot. There were some clouds, but not the heavy overcast skies of recent days. The BO and BOH went out of town to a reining show, so I did morning and evening feeding for the farm’s 26 other horses, with a helper. I got to the farm early Saturday morning and started feeding. After that, I got Buckshot’s stall ready and after a break, brought him down from his pasture for grooming and tacking up.
As I led him to the arena, he was calm and happy. We walked around the arena, doing turns, as I let the girth settle into place before tightening it. Then I pulled the German horse muffin treats out of my pocket and suddenly, he was awake! Buckshot started nickering and dancing with excitement! (He loves the muffins but he is not usually that excited!) I mounted and we started our warm up. He seemed happy to be working. And after our warm up, when we started trotting and cantering, he was over the top! He had lots of energy and lots of impulsion, and even a step more, he was strong. And this was my horse in August, in the heat – he had the energy of a horse in the cool temperatures of autumn. When I asked for a trot, he offered the canter, and seemed to really enjoy it.
We worked a lot on cantering. Well, a lot is relative, since it is still summer, and the temperatures and direct sunshine were baking us. But for a hot summer day, we did a lot of canter work. We also walked around outside the arena, and explored the grassy places, and the trees that offered shade. Thank goodness for the trees. For our last exercise, I devised a reining pattern for us to do. I walked Buckshot through it in miniature in the center of the arena. First we’ll do this, and then we’ll do that, etc. Then I took us to the rail and began the pattern. We did great! The arena was a little small to change leads in the center of what is essentially a figure-eight type move, but other than that one mistake, we rode the pattern and it was outstanding for us! I was so proud of Buckshot! We began our cool down after the reining pattern, and walked for a while. After an hour in all, I dismounted and untacked him.
Then it was time for a nice bath with medicated shampoo to fight off the beginnings of some scratches I found on his legs. I took my time since there weren’t any other horses around to bathe. What a ride! I was really surprised by his high, but responsive energy level and impulsion. Several times he cantered even from the walk, which is amazing. Buckshot does canter from the walk, but hasn’t done that much during the summer, preferring to canter from the trot. But on Saturday, he was ready for our work and gave it his all! Good boy! After feeding the horses their dinners, and making sure everyone was happy, well fed and well watered, I left the barn, exhausted.
On Sunday, I decided not to ride a full hour, since the heat and humidity were still pretty high, and Saturday’s ride wore me out, and Buckshot isn’t a young horse, even though he had the energy of one! We did great on our warm up and then began various exercises and patterns. I decided to work on the canter to trot transition since he was again very exuberant about cantering. I started off on a left lead down the long rail, and after five strides, did a half-halt and said Down, down, trot, and he came down to the trot. And we kept trotting for several strides. We did it again on the left lead and again, the transition was better. Then we did the same thing two times on the right lead, coming down to the trot. I was very proud of him and how he improved. It may not have looked great, but we haven’t really ever worked specifically on this downward transition, so for a first time, he did great. Good Buckshot!!
When we had been riding for forty minutes, we went into our cool down, and I decided to do it by walking serpentines down the entire arena. I thought it would be a calming and repetitive cool down. As we started, I focused in on my legs, and doing each turn with the inside leg aid being very clear, and the taking my leg off being very clear as well. I really concentrated and stayed focused on guiding us through each turn and riding a straight line across the arena, and we did really well! My focus, on just that one aid – my inside leg and it being on, or being off – paid off significantly. Buckshot’s responsiveness with each turn was wonderful! It was a great cool down, and reminded me of the importance of my focus, and of using my legs more and reins less.
It was a great lesson for me! And so nice to have a quiet arena all to ourselves and be able to work on whatever skills we want to work on. Very nice. What a good horse he is!! I am so privileged to have him. Hope your weekend was great also!
One woman's reflections on her journey with horses...
Showing posts with label cantering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cantering. Show all posts
Monday, August 6, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Giving a Horse Eye Drops
I have to share something that happened a week ago. Buckshot’s right eye was tearing, with a long drip of a tear coming down his nose. I had picked up a Farnum Eye Wash for Horses at the local tack store recently so I got it and wanted to put a few drops in his eye. I put his halter on and gently rubbed my fingers over his right eye. He didn’t pull away from me but he wasn’t exactly cooperating either. I held the bottom strap of his halter with my left hand and had the small eye wash bottle in my right hand. I moved it toward his eye. At first he pulled back slightly. Then he just squinted both of his eyes tightly closed and stopped moving. As if to say “Okay, I’m ready! Go ahead,” but both of his eyes were closed! LOL! With only two hands, all I could do was toss a few drops of the wash in the direction of his eye, but none actually got into his eye! It was so funny! Now I know why you absolutely need two people to put eye drops in a horse’s eye! (A little later, his eye looked fine so I don’t think the eye wash was too important.) Next time, I’ll get a helper. He was so sweet- he trusted me just fine to put something in his eye, as long as it was tightly closed! It still makes me laugh when I think about it!
This past weekend we had some rain, and some sunshine, some warm temperatures and some cool temperatures. It’s very confusing. On Saturday, I was having a good time grooming Buckshot in the stall, when, what did I hear? But raindrops on the roof! I looked out the aisle door and saw it was really only sprinkling. So, I decided to use reverse psychology on the weather and just keep going- on the assumption that if I stopped grooming and gave up the idea of riding, the rain would stop and the sun would come out just as soon as Buckshot was back in his pasture. So I kept going, and got him tacked up and when we headed out to the arena, it was barely misting, and I expected it to stop any minute.
We started our warm up and then! You guessed it – it started raining harder! So I surrendered and dismounted. Darn- Buckshot seemed ready and eager to work!
I walked him back into the barn and decided to do something new – groundwork in the barn! I’d never done it before but I gave it a try. We walked around the barn aisle a few times, trying for good half circles on the ends of the aisle. We did our “walk and halt” exercise where I walk next to Buckshot for a few steps, then say whoa and he is supposed to stop on a dime at my side. He did very well at it. And we did neck stretching exercises, using the apple pieces I had brought him for a treat. He did great, bending his neck around this way and that to get the apple. We also did some backing in the aisle. Buckshot did great, especially considering that it had begun thundering and the rain and thunder made it very noisy in the barn. It’s good to know I can work in some groundwork even when we have very little space to do it. I took him to his stall and untacked him and gave him the rest of his treats, and when the rain slackened, I walked him back to his pasture. What a great horse he is, to do the crazy things I ask of him! He must think I’m nutty sometimes!
After the rainy Saturday, Sunday was sunny and bright and fairly cool. The rain had dampened the arena footing to make it just the perfect mix of moist and dry sand that was wonderful to ride on. After starting our warmup in the main arena, the BO, her husband and I walked our horses down to the field arena and we had a great time there. We all did entire reining patterns – patterns 8 and 9, to be specific – and it was great fun! Buckshot and I did very well at them. For the small circles, usually done at a lope, we trotted, and then for the large circles, we cantered them as much as possible. I concentrated on the order of the maneuvers, and getting us to the right spots in the arena, and steered with as much precision as possible. During the run downs, where you ride the length of the long rail at the canter, Buckshot had super energy! When the pattern was over, we were tired! Then one of the other riders rode the pattern while we watched from the sidelines.
Riding an entire pattern is a terrific exercise that focuses my mind, and yet strangely enables me to not think too much about some parts of it. Circling at the canter is such a challenge. I have to remind myself to stay straight up in the saddle and not lean, yet instinctively, I want to lean. I have to think ahead to where I want to go, and also, with another part of my mind, think about doing the current thing correctly. My mind floats back and forth, from the present moment, to where I need to be in three seconds. It really is very challenging, in a good way, both mentally and physically. I was very proud of Buckshot and how hard he worked. Together, we are getting better little by little. I love that about riding – seeing your improvements, however small, and seeing your horse respond to them. Both aspects are awesome- seeing yourself develop and seeing your horse respond differently, and better.
I hope you had a good weekend with your horse and that you are seeing progress as well!
This past weekend we had some rain, and some sunshine, some warm temperatures and some cool temperatures. It’s very confusing. On Saturday, I was having a good time grooming Buckshot in the stall, when, what did I hear? But raindrops on the roof! I looked out the aisle door and saw it was really only sprinkling. So, I decided to use reverse psychology on the weather and just keep going- on the assumption that if I stopped grooming and gave up the idea of riding, the rain would stop and the sun would come out just as soon as Buckshot was back in his pasture. So I kept going, and got him tacked up and when we headed out to the arena, it was barely misting, and I expected it to stop any minute.
We started our warm up and then! You guessed it – it started raining harder! So I surrendered and dismounted. Darn- Buckshot seemed ready and eager to work!
I walked him back into the barn and decided to do something new – groundwork in the barn! I’d never done it before but I gave it a try. We walked around the barn aisle a few times, trying for good half circles on the ends of the aisle. We did our “walk and halt” exercise where I walk next to Buckshot for a few steps, then say whoa and he is supposed to stop on a dime at my side. He did very well at it. And we did neck stretching exercises, using the apple pieces I had brought him for a treat. He did great, bending his neck around this way and that to get the apple. We also did some backing in the aisle. Buckshot did great, especially considering that it had begun thundering and the rain and thunder made it very noisy in the barn. It’s good to know I can work in some groundwork even when we have very little space to do it. I took him to his stall and untacked him and gave him the rest of his treats, and when the rain slackened, I walked him back to his pasture. What a great horse he is, to do the crazy things I ask of him! He must think I’m nutty sometimes!
After the rainy Saturday, Sunday was sunny and bright and fairly cool. The rain had dampened the arena footing to make it just the perfect mix of moist and dry sand that was wonderful to ride on. After starting our warmup in the main arena, the BO, her husband and I walked our horses down to the field arena and we had a great time there. We all did entire reining patterns – patterns 8 and 9, to be specific – and it was great fun! Buckshot and I did very well at them. For the small circles, usually done at a lope, we trotted, and then for the large circles, we cantered them as much as possible. I concentrated on the order of the maneuvers, and getting us to the right spots in the arena, and steered with as much precision as possible. During the run downs, where you ride the length of the long rail at the canter, Buckshot had super energy! When the pattern was over, we were tired! Then one of the other riders rode the pattern while we watched from the sidelines.
Riding an entire pattern is a terrific exercise that focuses my mind, and yet strangely enables me to not think too much about some parts of it. Circling at the canter is such a challenge. I have to remind myself to stay straight up in the saddle and not lean, yet instinctively, I want to lean. I have to think ahead to where I want to go, and also, with another part of my mind, think about doing the current thing correctly. My mind floats back and forth, from the present moment, to where I need to be in three seconds. It really is very challenging, in a good way, both mentally and physically. I was very proud of Buckshot and how hard he worked. Together, we are getting better little by little. I love that about riding – seeing your improvements, however small, and seeing your horse respond to them. Both aspects are awesome- seeing yourself develop and seeing your horse respond differently, and better.
I hope you had a good weekend with your horse and that you are seeing progress as well!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Autumn Ride, Reining Clinic and a Christmas Present
Before I write about my weekend with Buckshot, I have to comment on my pictures on the last post. During the week, I happened to look at my blog and was appalled, I tell you, by those photos! I look terrible in them. Ha ha.
Clearly my camera is broken. The key features I need on a regular basis – the adjustment for a bad helmet day, and for a bad clothing day, and a bad posture day, and a look-too-fat day, all the critical camera adjustments- are broken! I need to take the camera to the repair shop! Ha Ha! I never realized my helmet makes me look like a marshmallow-head! Oh, heavens! I must get a better helmet! Buckshot looked good, but I looked, well, not very good at all. What was I thinking putting those photos on my blog? I must have been momentarily delusional. I thought about deleting them, but I decided to leave them up so others will feel like they look great! (Thank you to Juliette for her kind compliments – she may want to check her vision, though! Just kidding!) Some people are very photogenic, but I’m, well, not very photogenic. I wish I could get a professional photographer to take some pictures of Buckshot and me. That’s on my wish list. Well, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest and had a few good laughs from it, on to the weekend.
On Saturday, December 10, 2011, the Virginia weather was lovely- in the forties and sunny, with a clear, blue sky. I went to get Buckshot from his pasture using my new procedure. Yes, a new procedure. You see, a few weeks ago, something scary happened in the pasture. Buckshot and Lucky were way out in their pasture grazing when I went to get Buckshot that day.
I walked out to Buckshot, chatted with him, put his halter on, and proceeded to walk with him to the gate. Without warning, Lucky started cantering to us, and just as he passed us – too close for comfort – he kicked out powerfully with both hind legs! I was stunned! And scared! His hooves were just a few feet from me. Buckshot didn’t move, didn’t dance around, didn’t get nervous. But my adrenaline shot up as I realized just how close we both had come to a huge kick. I walked Buckshot silently to the gate, never taking my eye off of Lucky, who seemed to have calmed down as quickly as he had gotten excited.
We got out of the pasture and I talked softly to Buckshot, telling him that had really scared me, we had never had Lucky act so dangerously and it scared me to death. Buckshot lightly touched my hand holding the lead rope, in a comforting way. I took deep breaths and as the adrenaline diminished, I decided that I would need a new procedure for the future to protect us from such dangerous antics. I also reminded myself to never go into the pasture with Lucky without a lead line with me, just in case I need to twirl it to keep him away from me if he gets excited like that again. I also knew that I would need to devise a new method for getting Buckshot out of the pasture.
The next several times I went to get Buckshot he was near his barn, and was not out in the pasture, so I didn’t have to use my new procedure. But this past Saturday, it was time to implement it. They were both grazing out in the pasture. I got Buckshot’s halter and lead line and disconnected the lead line. I approached them both normally, calling to them when I am far away so that they would see me coming and not be startled by my approach, walking towards their sides, not their back ends, saying hello, and then going up to Buckshot to pet and greet him.
I put his halter on him but kept the lead line in my hands, not connected to the halter. I started walking toward the gate and he followed closely. I watched Lucky with a hawk eye. I kept the line in my hands so that I could twirl the non-clip end of it if needed (it wasn’t needed). The funny thing was that I think Buckshot thought the lead line was attached! He could see it in my hands near his face, but he didn’t know I was holding onto it for a different purpose. I swear he thought it was hooked to him! How funny! Anyway, that is my new, safer procedure for pasture safety. It worked fine with Buckshot so I think it is a good solution. I need a lead line in my hands. And I need it to not be connected to Buckshot for two reasons. One is if I need to twirl it in the event that Lucky canters too close to me. The second reason is that I want Buckshot to be able to run off freely if Lucky’s cantering bothers or excites him.
At Buckshot’s previous farm, he lived in a pasture with twelve or thirteen other horses, and there were a few times that I walked out to get him, and had several horses start running toward us as we walked to the gate. I learned then to be able to unhook the halter fast, really fast so that if they came up on Buckshot he could run if needed. But I realize now that unhooking the clip still takes time and I might not be fast enough if running horses are nearby. Plus I realize now that a running horse might feel like kicking out, and I could be in his kicking range. So I will be very, very alert to this now, and have a lead line to help if needed.
Back to Saturday. After I safely extricated Buckshot from his pasture, I took him over to his secret patch of heavenly grass we’ve found! Yes, right by the BO’s house is a patch of the greenest, emerald-looking, thick, rich, dense, prettiest grass you ever saw and for the past few weeks I have taken Buckshot there and let him eat to his heart’s content! He loves it! I stand and think my thoughts, and look around, and talk to him, and pet him, and check him for tiny injuries, and just stand and stand and stand, letting him just feast on this rare patch of lush grass. It is my gift to him for being such a wonderful horse. I hope it stays green and delicious for him for a long time.
After his special grazing, I took him to the barn and groomed him and tacked him up. Then we went out to the arena – good footing, hooray! – and started our walking warm up. His energy level was somewhat slow at first. The other student riders came out and we began our class. When we got to some trotting, Buckshot did well. And when we did a little bit of cantering, we were great! I was careful to support him on the turns by holding my inside leg against him and laying the rein over his neck, and he went around the turn without breaking gait. It was wonderful!
Then the class went on a long trail ride through the autumn woods, filled with the picture perfect mixture of crunchy leaves underfoot, cool air, and sunshine twinkling down from above. The only imperfection was the scent – in one swampy section, something had died and it smelled pretty rank. But none of the horses were bothered by the smell. We returned to the barn and dismounted. Buckshot was great!
On Sunday, we planned to go to a reining clinic at a nearby reining trainer’s farm. Just to brag a bit, this reining trainer, D, got back recently from the reining nationals finals in Oklahoma City and he had a great success there – in his class (which I guess was one of the professional classes), he tied with a few other competitors for 14th place. In the nation. Wow – that’s impressive! It was a great competition for him.
So, on Sunday morning, I got Buckshot from his pasture (no need for my new procedure since the horses were not out grazing) and walked him to the main barn, which meant we walked by the trailer sitting there. He did a few semi-loud snorts as we walked by it. I didn’t say anything, just kept thinking about how calm I was.
My theory is that my calmness, deep and confident calmness, even if I know that I am really a little nervous, but covered up and totally disguised with a deep, deep, all-encompassing sense of how very, very calm I am, will help Buckshot if he is nervous about something. I haven’t yet told you the story, the big, big story, of why this matters so much to me. It’s the story of the biggest, scariest thing that has ever happened with Buckshot, and it’s quite a story. You won’t believe it. I wouldn’t have believed it. The BO didn’t believe it. The vet didn’t believe it. But it happened. Buckshot did it. Well, I hope I have your interest peaked! That’s mean of me, I know. Sorry. I will share the story in my next post. I promise. And then you’ll know why acting calm when I think Buckshot is nervous has quite a significant backstory for us.
Anyway, back to today’s story (and I apologize for all my tangents). Buckshot loaded onto the trailer wonderfully (yes, I’m bragging about him again, sorry) along with two other horses and we drove the hour trip to the other farm. I got Buckshot tacked up and mounted and we started our warm up with energy. Buckshot seems to love being at this farm, and always walks energetically over to the mounting block. I got on, gave him his treat, and we walked off with eagerness. Maybe he likes the deep, soft footing of the big arena. Or maybe he likes seeing the other horses. Or maybe he is, like me, looking forward to the work and the cool weather and the wonderful sense of life and satisfaction from a good ride together. Whatever the cause, he seems to approach the clinic with happy anticipation.
We need a longer warm up than any of the other horses so the trainer started giving instruction as we were walking. When we joined up with the group of about eight horses and riders, they were working on stepping the horse into a particular canter lead. We worked on that for a while.
The trainer then had the class do an exercise of cantering the length of the arena, doing a reverse roll back, returning on one lead, break to a trot, pick up the opposite canter and continue around. Buckshot and I did very well at our turn. I was proud of our work (which isn’t really as good as the regular reining horses, who are quite talented) but it was good work for us. That’s what matters the most to me- that Buckshot and I do well for what we can do.
The trainer then turned the class to a different exercise. I can see, he said, that we have something to work on. Many of you are having difficulty cantering/loping your horses in straight lines. So he gave us a pattern, of loping a straight line, stopping, backing, turning around and returning in another straight line. Buckshot and I did great at this exercise! I am really proud of us. We work a lot on straight lines at all gaits, and it showed. He really enjoyed this and worked hard with me. Then the class broke up, and we did a bit more work, followed by cooling him down at the walk. I took him to some grass, dismounted and let him graze. Then we walked back to our trailer where I untacked him, and rubbed him down in his sweaty spots. With his very long winter hair, he gets sweaty easily, so I carry a rag and wipe him vigorously where he is wet. I curry combed and brushed him, trying to help the sweat dry and not get matted. Lastly, I gave him some treats, thanked him gratefully for his work for me, and we loaded the horses and took them home. It was a wonderful day, and I was so proud of him!
Lastly, I have gotten Buckshot his Christmas present. I ordered him another saddle pad. Reinsman makes a tacky-too pad for swayback horses that works very well for Buckshot. His current Reinsman swayback pad is two years old and is still in pretty good shape. I decided to replace it anyway because the most important parts of this pad are the thick foam sections that bracket Buckshot’s spine, and I want that foam to be firm, and not lose any of its protection. So after two years of use, I decided to get him a new one. I plan to put a big bow on it and give it to him on Christmas Eve, probably with some extra treats. Buckshot will likely be more excited about the treats!
What are you going to give your horse for Christmas? Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well!
Clearly my camera is broken. The key features I need on a regular basis – the adjustment for a bad helmet day, and for a bad clothing day, and a bad posture day, and a look-too-fat day, all the critical camera adjustments- are broken! I need to take the camera to the repair shop! Ha Ha! I never realized my helmet makes me look like a marshmallow-head! Oh, heavens! I must get a better helmet! Buckshot looked good, but I looked, well, not very good at all. What was I thinking putting those photos on my blog? I must have been momentarily delusional. I thought about deleting them, but I decided to leave them up so others will feel like they look great! (Thank you to Juliette for her kind compliments – she may want to check her vision, though! Just kidding!) Some people are very photogenic, but I’m, well, not very photogenic. I wish I could get a professional photographer to take some pictures of Buckshot and me. That’s on my wish list. Well, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest and had a few good laughs from it, on to the weekend.
On Saturday, December 10, 2011, the Virginia weather was lovely- in the forties and sunny, with a clear, blue sky. I went to get Buckshot from his pasture using my new procedure. Yes, a new procedure. You see, a few weeks ago, something scary happened in the pasture. Buckshot and Lucky were way out in their pasture grazing when I went to get Buckshot that day.
I walked out to Buckshot, chatted with him, put his halter on, and proceeded to walk with him to the gate. Without warning, Lucky started cantering to us, and just as he passed us – too close for comfort – he kicked out powerfully with both hind legs! I was stunned! And scared! His hooves were just a few feet from me. Buckshot didn’t move, didn’t dance around, didn’t get nervous. But my adrenaline shot up as I realized just how close we both had come to a huge kick. I walked Buckshot silently to the gate, never taking my eye off of Lucky, who seemed to have calmed down as quickly as he had gotten excited.
We got out of the pasture and I talked softly to Buckshot, telling him that had really scared me, we had never had Lucky act so dangerously and it scared me to death. Buckshot lightly touched my hand holding the lead rope, in a comforting way. I took deep breaths and as the adrenaline diminished, I decided that I would need a new procedure for the future to protect us from such dangerous antics. I also reminded myself to never go into the pasture with Lucky without a lead line with me, just in case I need to twirl it to keep him away from me if he gets excited like that again. I also knew that I would need to devise a new method for getting Buckshot out of the pasture.
The next several times I went to get Buckshot he was near his barn, and was not out in the pasture, so I didn’t have to use my new procedure. But this past Saturday, it was time to implement it. They were both grazing out in the pasture. I got Buckshot’s halter and lead line and disconnected the lead line. I approached them both normally, calling to them when I am far away so that they would see me coming and not be startled by my approach, walking towards their sides, not their back ends, saying hello, and then going up to Buckshot to pet and greet him.
I put his halter on him but kept the lead line in my hands, not connected to the halter. I started walking toward the gate and he followed closely. I watched Lucky with a hawk eye. I kept the line in my hands so that I could twirl the non-clip end of it if needed (it wasn’t needed). The funny thing was that I think Buckshot thought the lead line was attached! He could see it in my hands near his face, but he didn’t know I was holding onto it for a different purpose. I swear he thought it was hooked to him! How funny! Anyway, that is my new, safer procedure for pasture safety. It worked fine with Buckshot so I think it is a good solution. I need a lead line in my hands. And I need it to not be connected to Buckshot for two reasons. One is if I need to twirl it in the event that Lucky canters too close to me. The second reason is that I want Buckshot to be able to run off freely if Lucky’s cantering bothers or excites him.
At Buckshot’s previous farm, he lived in a pasture with twelve or thirteen other horses, and there were a few times that I walked out to get him, and had several horses start running toward us as we walked to the gate. I learned then to be able to unhook the halter fast, really fast so that if they came up on Buckshot he could run if needed. But I realize now that unhooking the clip still takes time and I might not be fast enough if running horses are nearby. Plus I realize now that a running horse might feel like kicking out, and I could be in his kicking range. So I will be very, very alert to this now, and have a lead line to help if needed.
Back to Saturday. After I safely extricated Buckshot from his pasture, I took him over to his secret patch of heavenly grass we’ve found! Yes, right by the BO’s house is a patch of the greenest, emerald-looking, thick, rich, dense, prettiest grass you ever saw and for the past few weeks I have taken Buckshot there and let him eat to his heart’s content! He loves it! I stand and think my thoughts, and look around, and talk to him, and pet him, and check him for tiny injuries, and just stand and stand and stand, letting him just feast on this rare patch of lush grass. It is my gift to him for being such a wonderful horse. I hope it stays green and delicious for him for a long time.
After his special grazing, I took him to the barn and groomed him and tacked him up. Then we went out to the arena – good footing, hooray! – and started our walking warm up. His energy level was somewhat slow at first. The other student riders came out and we began our class. When we got to some trotting, Buckshot did well. And when we did a little bit of cantering, we were great! I was careful to support him on the turns by holding my inside leg against him and laying the rein over his neck, and he went around the turn without breaking gait. It was wonderful!
Then the class went on a long trail ride through the autumn woods, filled with the picture perfect mixture of crunchy leaves underfoot, cool air, and sunshine twinkling down from above. The only imperfection was the scent – in one swampy section, something had died and it smelled pretty rank. But none of the horses were bothered by the smell. We returned to the barn and dismounted. Buckshot was great!
On Sunday, we planned to go to a reining clinic at a nearby reining trainer’s farm. Just to brag a bit, this reining trainer, D, got back recently from the reining nationals finals in Oklahoma City and he had a great success there – in his class (which I guess was one of the professional classes), he tied with a few other competitors for 14th place. In the nation. Wow – that’s impressive! It was a great competition for him.
So, on Sunday morning, I got Buckshot from his pasture (no need for my new procedure since the horses were not out grazing) and walked him to the main barn, which meant we walked by the trailer sitting there. He did a few semi-loud snorts as we walked by it. I didn’t say anything, just kept thinking about how calm I was.
My theory is that my calmness, deep and confident calmness, even if I know that I am really a little nervous, but covered up and totally disguised with a deep, deep, all-encompassing sense of how very, very calm I am, will help Buckshot if he is nervous about something. I haven’t yet told you the story, the big, big story, of why this matters so much to me. It’s the story of the biggest, scariest thing that has ever happened with Buckshot, and it’s quite a story. You won’t believe it. I wouldn’t have believed it. The BO didn’t believe it. The vet didn’t believe it. But it happened. Buckshot did it. Well, I hope I have your interest peaked! That’s mean of me, I know. Sorry. I will share the story in my next post. I promise. And then you’ll know why acting calm when I think Buckshot is nervous has quite a significant backstory for us.
Anyway, back to today’s story (and I apologize for all my tangents). Buckshot loaded onto the trailer wonderfully (yes, I’m bragging about him again, sorry) along with two other horses and we drove the hour trip to the other farm. I got Buckshot tacked up and mounted and we started our warm up with energy. Buckshot seems to love being at this farm, and always walks energetically over to the mounting block. I got on, gave him his treat, and we walked off with eagerness. Maybe he likes the deep, soft footing of the big arena. Or maybe he likes seeing the other horses. Or maybe he is, like me, looking forward to the work and the cool weather and the wonderful sense of life and satisfaction from a good ride together. Whatever the cause, he seems to approach the clinic with happy anticipation.
We need a longer warm up than any of the other horses so the trainer started giving instruction as we were walking. When we joined up with the group of about eight horses and riders, they were working on stepping the horse into a particular canter lead. We worked on that for a while.
The trainer then had the class do an exercise of cantering the length of the arena, doing a reverse roll back, returning on one lead, break to a trot, pick up the opposite canter and continue around. Buckshot and I did very well at our turn. I was proud of our work (which isn’t really as good as the regular reining horses, who are quite talented) but it was good work for us. That’s what matters the most to me- that Buckshot and I do well for what we can do.
The trainer then turned the class to a different exercise. I can see, he said, that we have something to work on. Many of you are having difficulty cantering/loping your horses in straight lines. So he gave us a pattern, of loping a straight line, stopping, backing, turning around and returning in another straight line. Buckshot and I did great at this exercise! I am really proud of us. We work a lot on straight lines at all gaits, and it showed. He really enjoyed this and worked hard with me. Then the class broke up, and we did a bit more work, followed by cooling him down at the walk. I took him to some grass, dismounted and let him graze. Then we walked back to our trailer where I untacked him, and rubbed him down in his sweaty spots. With his very long winter hair, he gets sweaty easily, so I carry a rag and wipe him vigorously where he is wet. I curry combed and brushed him, trying to help the sweat dry and not get matted. Lastly, I gave him some treats, thanked him gratefully for his work for me, and we loaded the horses and took them home. It was a wonderful day, and I was so proud of him!
Lastly, I have gotten Buckshot his Christmas present. I ordered him another saddle pad. Reinsman makes a tacky-too pad for swayback horses that works very well for Buckshot. His current Reinsman swayback pad is two years old and is still in pretty good shape. I decided to replace it anyway because the most important parts of this pad are the thick foam sections that bracket Buckshot’s spine, and I want that foam to be firm, and not lose any of its protection. So after two years of use, I decided to get him a new one. I plan to put a big bow on it and give it to him on Christmas Eve, probably with some extra treats. Buckshot will likely be more excited about the treats!
What are you going to give your horse for Christmas? Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well!
Monday, October 24, 2011
More Photos and Lovely Rides!
Finally I have some photos of Buckshot and I! I am so excited- another boarder was at the farm this past weekend (October 22-23, 2011) and I asked her to take some pictures of Buckshot and I in his pasture! I am so glad to have some pictures of me with my best horse in the world, where you can see my smiles of being around my sweet Buckshot. I told him several times that these were photos for my blog, for his blog really, and that he was a famous horse now that he has his own blog. But, in true horse character, he wasn’t interested at all in being famous or having a blog. LOL!
This weekend we had wonderful weather in Virginia- cool temperatures in the 60’s with lovely sunshine and no rain. It was heavenly! It made up for many of the wickedly hot summer days. I took my father out to the barn on Saturday. He is 84 years old, and retired, who spends several days a week volunteering in a local hospital, and tells me all the comings and goings of hospital life. He asked to come out and see Buckshot and watch us ride, so I have been waiting until the weather wasn’t too extreme to have him visit. He is partially blind, and isn’t really a horse person at all, but I was touched that he wanted to see Buckshot. So I made all of the arrangements, and had extra food and beverages on hand, and drove him out to the farm. The farm was hopping with activity, with three men on the main barn roof installing a new roof. Lots of loud clanging, and big whooshing sounds, and huge pieces of roofing being slid up and down. Despite the noise the horses did very well and didn’t spook at all, which was impressive given the unrelenting noise right next to the arena.
After getting Buckshot from his pasture, and taking him into the barn, I could sense he was energetic. I brushed him and then showed my dad how I swing the heavy 34 pound saddle lightly onto Buckshot’s back. I finished tacking him up and we went out to the arena. Buckshot had good energy right from the start of our ride, perhaps due to the cooler autumn temperatures. After our warm up, which I explained to my dad I had to do first, Buckshot trotted with ease and energy. And then when we cantered, Buckshot was wonderful! Easy and balanced. I did well also at the canter.
At one point, I wanted to trot over to my dad and say excitedly, like a little girl, did you see that? Wasn’t that great? But I caught myself in time! After all, I’m 55 years old, not a little girl at all. How funny. There are times like that, with Buckshot, that bring out some little girl inside of me and make me bubble over with joy, and I want to spontaneously run up to someone and tell them! It’s so funny. When I notice these thoughts, it makes me wonder if I have always had this horse-love, even as a little girl, even though it didn’t blossom and evolve until I was in my forties. I suspect so. Anyway, I caught myself before running up to my dad. I can share it here in my blog, though, and you guys will understand.
We went on to ride in our regular Saturday class, which included a couple of other horses and riders, including my sister on her school horse. Our instructor gave us a pattern to do that included cones, an extended trot and doing a fairly small circle at the canter. Buckshot and I did great – his extended trot was strong and floaty and extremely straight, right on pattern. And we did a canter circle- lovely, not too fast, balanced, perfect. I think it was the most perfect canter I have ever done. I was thrilled that Buckshot did such a good circle. Right at that moment, I thought, that’s it, that was the highlight of my week, everything else can go wrong if need be, this one ride with this dear horse is the best moment of my entire week! And it is true, being with Buckshot is the highlight of my week, every week. I apologize for so much gushing about Buckshot- we had such a great weekend and I am so appreciative of him, and well, this blog is the best place for me to write these things.
My dad’s visit at the farm was a success; he gave me several compliments about Buckshot, which just warmed my heart to no end. And the next day, Sunday, was another lovely day of cool autumn temperatures and sunny, blue skies. Buckshot was again nicely energetic and we had a wonderful ride, doing precision work at the walk, trotting patterns, and some cantering. We went on a trail ride with several other horses. The woods were picture perfect, with sunshine floating down to the green, gold and orange leaves, the horses making only faint crunch sounds underfoot. Just delightful.
Finally, some weather rewards for the many days of extreme heat, and enjoying the horses’ energy as they enjoy the cooler weather as well. I hope you had a good weekend as well!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Lovely Times in Lovely October Weather
This past weekend (Oct. 14-16, 2011) I had three days of great times with Buckshot. I took off work on Friday and went out to the barn. It was a bit windy, but also sunny and mild. We had a good phase 1 walking warm up with Buckshot demonstrating some good energy. Then we did some trotting and cantering, also very nice. I asked the BO to watch me ride so she could observe Buckshot. She said that his gaits looked fine, with plenty of energy and no return of the discomfort Buckshot showed a week ago.
I continue to try and gain experience at the canter. I need a lot of saddle time, but have to temper my wishes with Buckshot’s needs and the conditions of weather and footing. I feel like I am improving, but at a very, very slow pace. I really have to be patient with this, but it is coming.
After our work in the arena, we rode with the BO and her horse down the farm road to the reining arena in the farm’s hay field. The arena itself was too soft to ride in so we instead rode in the hay field, verbally blocking off a section of the field that we would stay within. We rode for a good long time, at a nice working trot, with the breeze in my face, the breeze lifting Buckshot’s mane, the sun warming us both nicely, on a lovely October afternoon. It was a picture perfect ride! I tried a few canters and we did nicely at them. After this heavenly time in the field, with both horses enjoying the ride and behaving perfectly, we walked back down the road to the main arena and dismounted. The windy conditions prevented us from even going into the trail. I praised Buckshot and enjoyed the moments of pride and happiness and joy from such a wonderful horse and ride! What a great horse he is!
On Saturday, the day was much like Friday – sunny, mild, yet still windy. On Saturdays, the barn typically has a lot of riding students and classes. Buckshot and I participate in the 1:30 class, but I like to ride well in advance of the class, so we can do our warm up and work on a few things at the trot and canter.
After I got him tacked up, a class was in the main arena so I took him over to the round pen and mounted. Because the round pen is located next to two pastures, we often have an audience of horses watching us. I kept us at the walk and practiced both going around the pen, and walking across it in various formations to keep it interesting. When the main arena was empty, we walked over to it.
Another boarder asked to use the arena alone for a few minutes so Buckshot and I did some exploratory walking around various barns and grassy areas. He seems to really enjoy expanding his sights, slowly, not too fast, as we walk around. He’ll walk in one direction quite purposefully, and then stop, uncertain of what to do next. So I will immediately take the reins and lead him off in a different direction. In some areas we will trot, others we will stay at the walk.
Eventually, we returned to the arena and did more trotting, and also some cantering. When he has the left lead, he feels balanced and even to me. At the right lead, he feels much more slanted. It is hard to steer him when he has the right lead. I feel like I am pulling on him mouth quite strongly, and I don’t want to do that. I don’t know why the right lead feels so much different. Do you experience that as well? Do you use different aids for differing leads?
The class did some interesting patterns and we had fun. They were hard patterns, involving leading the horse around cones and to special markers, using trotting, cantering, stopping, backing, etc. Especially difficult was the final section- trotting down the long rail, after having done a bit of cantering. It is so hard to reduce the energy of the horse immediately after cantering. The instructor agreed that this part of the pattern was challenging. That is one of the reasons I like taking classes- I am more challenged by the instructor’s patterns and exercises than I would think, and they help me and Buckshot to grow and develop.
And the last day of my three day Buckshot weekend was wonderful – we went to a reining clinic and had a great time! From the moment I stepped into the stirrup and walked Buckshot out into the arena, Buckshot had an unusual energy and purpose. At our home barn, he will drag along at the beginning of our ride, and after some urging from me, will give a good working walk. At the reining clinic, however, he starts off right away with a good energetic walk. It is one of the reasons that I think he really likes going to the clinics. He also had such energy at the trot and canter I couldn’t believe it! He had so much vim and vigor I suspect he had been drinking gallons of V-8! We did great (for us) at the patterns and exercises the trainer had us do.
When the clinic was over, I dismounted, praised Buckshot and took him to some grass to graze. Then I walked him back to the trailer, tied him on the side, and proceeded to make a mess of untacking him. I couldn’t figure out how to get his bridle off, and attach the halter while the halter's lead line stayed tied to the trailer. Before I knew it, the bridle had fallen to the ground in front of Buckshot’s feet, he stepped on it and he had leather straps everywhich way. I internally was alarmed, hoping I could back him safely off of them before he realized it and panicked. As I struggled, he stepped on one of my feet, but I had to ignore it (except for getting him off my foot) until I got the straps and lead line and halter unraveled. Goodness, what a mess I made of it. I finally took the halter off of the trailer totally, and put the lead line around his neck for leverage. Then I got his bridle off, and the halter on. Boy- that is something I need more practice on! Then I got his saddle and pad off and we went off for a little grass. Later, we headed for home and I walked him back to his pasture with lots of praise and appreciation of his work!
I thoroughly enjoyed all three days with Buckshot and spending time with him, in his pasture when I loosened persimmons from the tree for him, or picking up poop, or just talking to him. And then riding him, he was in good form and didn’t have any problems. What a good horse he is! (And some recent photos are at the top, finally, some pictures!)
I want to thank the two bloggers who have recently given my blog the Lovely Blog Award- Arlene from Grey Horse Matters and Carol from Dressage Training Journal (both are fantastic blogs - see my links on the right). What an honor to receive this award. Thank you so much. I am working on doing the award steps – sharing seven things about myself personally and sharing some new blogs as well. Thank you again for your kindness!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Wonderful Post-Hurricane-Irene Weekend!
We are beginning to get back to a sense of normalcy after Hurricane Irene. Most of us have had our electricity restored, the stoplights around town are working reliably again, and we are beginning to buy perishable foods again for our refrigerators. And the first weekend after the hurricane gave us some decent weather and a three-day weekend, courtesy of Labor Day! So I spent all three weekend days at the barn with Buckshot and had a great time.
On Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011, I took him to the barn to be groomed for the first time in two weeks! He was a bit fuzzy. He munched on the special alfalfa hay I put in his grooming stall, and I’ll bet felt much better after his spa-day grooming. We went to the arena and started our phase one warm up. I decided to include lots of circles in our walking work, as I had read recently on a good blog by a woman named Val, who has a wonderful horse named Harley (her blog is Memoirs of a Horse Girl) click here. Val wrote about the many benefits of circles in one of her older posts (I’m reading her archives as well as her newer posts). I realized that I hadn’t worked on circles for some time. So instead of having Buckshot walk on the rail for our warm up, I continually moved him in large and medium sized circles, curves, serpentines and turn arounds. I worked on using my leg aids primarily, to help improve them. I estimate that he moved accurately from my legs about 80% of the time, with the other 20% needing the addition of a rein aid. I thought that was pretty good progress on legs, and on circles.
After a while, the other Saturday lesson students arrived and we walked around the arena. Our instructor, the BO, gave us a challenging canter pattern to do. It was fun to circle cones, come down the rail, try lead changes, and follow the pattern, all at the canter. Buckshot and I did pretty well. We then walked on the trail to the reining arena. The trail had some debris on it but not too much for riding. All of the horses handled the trail challenges just fine. We spent a few minutes at the reining arena and then returned to the main arena. I untacked Buckshot, praised him for his work (we rode for 1.5 hours!), and gave him a medicated shampoo bath, and walked him slowly back to his pasture.
My regular routine at the barn is to help with the late afternoon feeding of three of the farm’s six barns. So, later on Saturday, I went to Buckshot’s barn and fed the five horses up there. The barn at this group of pastures has five stalls for horses, with open doors, so they can walk in and out as they wish. The sixth stall is the feed and hay room, where the barrels of grain, supplements and bales of hay are kept. I began my usual procedure. I fixed Buckshot’s and Lucky’s dinner, and walked it over to their stalls. I closed Lucky’s door while he eats. Then I checked and filled the water tubs. I next fixed grain for the other three horses, followed by getting flakes of hay for each horse and carrying it to the places in the pasture where they eat hay.
Then, I did things in the feed room. I had to make the breakfasts for each horse, and open the breakfast hay bales. I also organized some letters that have fallen off of Buckshot’s name sign that hangs outside of his stall. I planned to get some glue and reattach them later in the weekend. I saw some wasp nests so I brushed them down. Busy with these tasks, I was focused on making sure all the chores were done. Well, I then turned to go and stepped out of the feed room, and who was standing right there, by the door, big as life, watching me- but Buckshot! He had gotten out of his pasture and walked around to the feed room! And just stood there, looking at me, as if to say “what cha doing?” I was shocked! Buckshot! I said, What are you doing here? And I reached behind me for a lead line and gently put it around his neck and walked him back into his pasture! By then I was laughing! How funny! He had his hay to eat, and usually he digs right into it with gusto, but Saturday, he decided to come find me, or to explore! And the funny thing is, compared to other horses who have gotten free, and who are usually a little bit antsy when they are free (as if they are thinking about running to the next county, now that they have a chance to!), he was as calm as a cucumber, in his freedom. Like he never even thought of going anyplace, just right over here to the feed room. It was so funny! He is such a dear horse. I laugh every time I think about it!
He must have gotten a laugh about it as well, seeing my total look of surprise when I stepped out of the feed room and saw him escaped from his pasture! (And to explain how he got out of his pasture—I never close the gate, I just pull it into the closed position because Buckshot always goes straight for his hay and doesn’t even look at the gate. Then minutes later, I’ll let Lucky out of his stall, and say goodbye to Buckshot, and then I’ll latch the gate closed….. hmmmm.)
On Sunday, Buckshot proved his worth many times over. I think he is worth his weight in gold – triple! And with the current price of gold, that’s a lot. The weather was hot and humid but I was looking forward to practicing the canter. After our warm up, I asked for a trot and Buckshot did the most wonderful, lovely, floaty trot ever. I asked myself if his feet were even touching the ground, it was so light and airy. And this was a working trot, not his powerful extended trot. I was charmed by his trotting, and rubbed his neck enthusiastically.
A little later we were joined by the BO on her horse, her husband on his horse and another boarder on her horse. After a warm up for their horses, we walked through the woods to the reining arena. The boarder’s horse started bucking, almost unseating the rider. After that, the BO led all of us around the arena in patterns at the walk. I knew that three of us wanted to practice our reining exercises, and go fast, and canter, but the BO was kindly deferring to the horse that was nervous and would buck, so we all stayed at the walk. I used the time to work on my equitation, by going over my new mental guidelines to improve my posture and balance. I thought: stretch from abdomen to neck; good boobies (!); shoulders like a princess, hips like a whore; shoulders back but not that far; etc. (And yes, these guidelines do make me laugh; they also really help me – LOL!). Note: the guidelines are from a terrific blog by Carol, who has a wonderful horse named Rogo. Her blog is Dressage Training Blog click here.
As we went back into the woods to return to the barn, I stayed just in front of the excited horse. This is where Buckshot’s former work as a track pony is invaluable. He is never bothered by nervous horses near him. He just plods along like nothing is going on. So I feel very safe on him, and extremely proud of him. We turn to his reliable experience in times like this and he is a rock. Several times during the trail ride, when we came to hills, I told Buckshot we had to go slow, to not create a gap of space behind us, lest the horse get nervous about being left behind. And Buckshot slowed his walk, and behaved just wonderfully. I really think he knows what is going on, and he does what is needed. Again, he is worth his weight in gold!
But then, on Monday, Buckshot wasn’t quite so perfectly behaved. During our warm up we had an audience of the BOH and some farm workers, and Buckshot wanted to walk out of the arena. So we walked over to the people and said hello, and then returned to the arena. No one else was riding, and it was a quiet day at the farm, so I later headed us down the farm road. I thought Buckshot and I would ride down to the reining arena and work there for a few minutes. Although we have never actually done it. But I was optimistic. We got just a very short way down the road and Buckshot didn’t want to go any further. He turned around, and when I turned us back around, he walked sideways, and this way and that, not prancing, but just in a “don’t want to go that way” manner. So after just a mild argument, I turned us back toward the barn, as if it was my idea all along, and we went back to where we started. Oh, well, I guess I will have to work on this in small steps. In the past, we have gotten much farther down this road when I walk him in hand. But when I am riding him, and we don’t have another horse with us, he is reticent.
I then thought, well, that’s okay, we’ll walk down the trail instead! We have done this by ourselves, just once, but we have done it. So I headed him to the trailhead. Well, we didn’t get very far and not even close to the trailhead, and Buckshot turned us back around, and walked to the side, and this way and that. So he didn’t want to go on the trail alone either. Since it wasn’t critical or for safety reasons that we went on the trail, I didn’t make an issue of it. I just turned him toward the trailhead and walked him two steps in that direction, then I stopped him, turned him around and we went back to the arena. Like it was my idea. I don’t know why, but he wasn’t feeling confident enough to go on either ride that day. Amazingly, several weeks ago, we did go on the trail by ourselves for the first time, without a hint of reticence by Buckshot. I don’t really know what his mindset was that day, and why it was so different yesterday. I didn’t notice any difference in him all day, like his not feeling well, or not feeling like himself. But we’ll work on it again in the future.
Still, even with his inconsistency with riding alone, he is a wonderful horse and I am delighted that I got a three day weekend with him. I hope you had a great weekend with your horses.
On Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011, I took him to the barn to be groomed for the first time in two weeks! He was a bit fuzzy. He munched on the special alfalfa hay I put in his grooming stall, and I’ll bet felt much better after his spa-day grooming. We went to the arena and started our phase one warm up. I decided to include lots of circles in our walking work, as I had read recently on a good blog by a woman named Val, who has a wonderful horse named Harley (her blog is Memoirs of a Horse Girl) click here. Val wrote about the many benefits of circles in one of her older posts (I’m reading her archives as well as her newer posts). I realized that I hadn’t worked on circles for some time. So instead of having Buckshot walk on the rail for our warm up, I continually moved him in large and medium sized circles, curves, serpentines and turn arounds. I worked on using my leg aids primarily, to help improve them. I estimate that he moved accurately from my legs about 80% of the time, with the other 20% needing the addition of a rein aid. I thought that was pretty good progress on legs, and on circles.
After a while, the other Saturday lesson students arrived and we walked around the arena. Our instructor, the BO, gave us a challenging canter pattern to do. It was fun to circle cones, come down the rail, try lead changes, and follow the pattern, all at the canter. Buckshot and I did pretty well. We then walked on the trail to the reining arena. The trail had some debris on it but not too much for riding. All of the horses handled the trail challenges just fine. We spent a few minutes at the reining arena and then returned to the main arena. I untacked Buckshot, praised him for his work (we rode for 1.5 hours!), and gave him a medicated shampoo bath, and walked him slowly back to his pasture.
My regular routine at the barn is to help with the late afternoon feeding of three of the farm’s six barns. So, later on Saturday, I went to Buckshot’s barn and fed the five horses up there. The barn at this group of pastures has five stalls for horses, with open doors, so they can walk in and out as they wish. The sixth stall is the feed and hay room, where the barrels of grain, supplements and bales of hay are kept. I began my usual procedure. I fixed Buckshot’s and Lucky’s dinner, and walked it over to their stalls. I closed Lucky’s door while he eats. Then I checked and filled the water tubs. I next fixed grain for the other three horses, followed by getting flakes of hay for each horse and carrying it to the places in the pasture where they eat hay.
Then, I did things in the feed room. I had to make the breakfasts for each horse, and open the breakfast hay bales. I also organized some letters that have fallen off of Buckshot’s name sign that hangs outside of his stall. I planned to get some glue and reattach them later in the weekend. I saw some wasp nests so I brushed them down. Busy with these tasks, I was focused on making sure all the chores were done. Well, I then turned to go and stepped out of the feed room, and who was standing right there, by the door, big as life, watching me- but Buckshot! He had gotten out of his pasture and walked around to the feed room! And just stood there, looking at me, as if to say “what cha doing?” I was shocked! Buckshot! I said, What are you doing here? And I reached behind me for a lead line and gently put it around his neck and walked him back into his pasture! By then I was laughing! How funny! He had his hay to eat, and usually he digs right into it with gusto, but Saturday, he decided to come find me, or to explore! And the funny thing is, compared to other horses who have gotten free, and who are usually a little bit antsy when they are free (as if they are thinking about running to the next county, now that they have a chance to!), he was as calm as a cucumber, in his freedom. Like he never even thought of going anyplace, just right over here to the feed room. It was so funny! He is such a dear horse. I laugh every time I think about it!
He must have gotten a laugh about it as well, seeing my total look of surprise when I stepped out of the feed room and saw him escaped from his pasture! (And to explain how he got out of his pasture—I never close the gate, I just pull it into the closed position because Buckshot always goes straight for his hay and doesn’t even look at the gate. Then minutes later, I’ll let Lucky out of his stall, and say goodbye to Buckshot, and then I’ll latch the gate closed….. hmmmm.)
On Sunday, Buckshot proved his worth many times over. I think he is worth his weight in gold – triple! And with the current price of gold, that’s a lot. The weather was hot and humid but I was looking forward to practicing the canter. After our warm up, I asked for a trot and Buckshot did the most wonderful, lovely, floaty trot ever. I asked myself if his feet were even touching the ground, it was so light and airy. And this was a working trot, not his powerful extended trot. I was charmed by his trotting, and rubbed his neck enthusiastically.
A little later we were joined by the BO on her horse, her husband on his horse and another boarder on her horse. After a warm up for their horses, we walked through the woods to the reining arena. The boarder’s horse started bucking, almost unseating the rider. After that, the BO led all of us around the arena in patterns at the walk. I knew that three of us wanted to practice our reining exercises, and go fast, and canter, but the BO was kindly deferring to the horse that was nervous and would buck, so we all stayed at the walk. I used the time to work on my equitation, by going over my new mental guidelines to improve my posture and balance. I thought: stretch from abdomen to neck; good boobies (!); shoulders like a princess, hips like a whore; shoulders back but not that far; etc. (And yes, these guidelines do make me laugh; they also really help me – LOL!). Note: the guidelines are from a terrific blog by Carol, who has a wonderful horse named Rogo. Her blog is Dressage Training Blog click here.
As we went back into the woods to return to the barn, I stayed just in front of the excited horse. This is where Buckshot’s former work as a track pony is invaluable. He is never bothered by nervous horses near him. He just plods along like nothing is going on. So I feel very safe on him, and extremely proud of him. We turn to his reliable experience in times like this and he is a rock. Several times during the trail ride, when we came to hills, I told Buckshot we had to go slow, to not create a gap of space behind us, lest the horse get nervous about being left behind. And Buckshot slowed his walk, and behaved just wonderfully. I really think he knows what is going on, and he does what is needed. Again, he is worth his weight in gold!
But then, on Monday, Buckshot wasn’t quite so perfectly behaved. During our warm up we had an audience of the BOH and some farm workers, and Buckshot wanted to walk out of the arena. So we walked over to the people and said hello, and then returned to the arena. No one else was riding, and it was a quiet day at the farm, so I later headed us down the farm road. I thought Buckshot and I would ride down to the reining arena and work there for a few minutes. Although we have never actually done it. But I was optimistic. We got just a very short way down the road and Buckshot didn’t want to go any further. He turned around, and when I turned us back around, he walked sideways, and this way and that, not prancing, but just in a “don’t want to go that way” manner. So after just a mild argument, I turned us back toward the barn, as if it was my idea all along, and we went back to where we started. Oh, well, I guess I will have to work on this in small steps. In the past, we have gotten much farther down this road when I walk him in hand. But when I am riding him, and we don’t have another horse with us, he is reticent.
I then thought, well, that’s okay, we’ll walk down the trail instead! We have done this by ourselves, just once, but we have done it. So I headed him to the trailhead. Well, we didn’t get very far and not even close to the trailhead, and Buckshot turned us back around, and walked to the side, and this way and that. So he didn’t want to go on the trail alone either. Since it wasn’t critical or for safety reasons that we went on the trail, I didn’t make an issue of it. I just turned him toward the trailhead and walked him two steps in that direction, then I stopped him, turned him around and we went back to the arena. Like it was my idea. I don’t know why, but he wasn’t feeling confident enough to go on either ride that day. Amazingly, several weeks ago, we did go on the trail by ourselves for the first time, without a hint of reticence by Buckshot. I don’t really know what his mindset was that day, and why it was so different yesterday. I didn’t notice any difference in him all day, like his not feeling well, or not feeling like himself. But we’ll work on it again in the future.
Still, even with his inconsistency with riding alone, he is a wonderful horse and I am delighted that I got a three day weekend with him. I hope you had a great weekend with your horses.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Quiet Sharing....
This past weekend, August 20-21, I had a wonderful time with Buckshot. We had good weather, not too hot, humid, sunny, with fluffy clouds in the sky. On Saturday, we worked in the arena, and walked on the trail, and rode in the field arena. It was wonderful. I practiced my equitation – sit up, stretch from abdomen to neck, use good boobies, shoulders of a princess and hips of a whore, feel the horse. I practiced trotting and cantering, trying to give Buckshot the right amount of rein, keep my seat swinging in good rhythm with the saddle, steering, trying to calm and lead him while still learning the many facets of the canter. Wonderful.
And on Sunday, we went to a reining clinic at the reining trainer’s farm. There in his huge arena, we walked, and then trotted and then cantered. We rode straight into the fence, and quickly stopped, and backed up. We stopped from trot and from canter. Buckshot gave it his all, and came down from speed to a halt in his own capable way. One reason I love the clinics is because the trainer has me do things with Buckshot I never would do on my own, and we do great! I am amazed at what Buckshot can do, and at what I can do. That is one reason a trainer or an instructor is so invaluable. They can get more from me and Buckshot, and therefore prove that both of us can do more than I thought we can do. They challenge both of us in the best ways.
A few days ago, I was feeling reflective and I wrote the following thoughts. I call it “I Came to Love You Late.”
I Came to Love You Late
You see, dear horse, Buckshot, I am a latecomer to the world of horses. I was in my late forties when I discovered horses. That is so very late in life. It seems most of the people around me in the horse world were around horses very early in their lives. When they were children. Or perhaps teenagers. I think that few discover the magic of horses for the first time while in their twenties or thirties. But in their forties, like me? It sounds like old age.
But there it was. One innocent horse back riding lesson. On one quiet, dark fall night. At one obscure horse farm in the country. And I was hooked, drowned if you will, in the magic of horses. An animal both awesome in frame – big, very big, strong, no doubt, deadly – and magnificent in spirit – forgiving of an old person climbing on her back, talking out of nervousness, from twenty or thirty or fifty feet off of the ground. Yet a thread of something ethereal spun out of the mare’s heart, and wound its way to my heart, then around and around and around, until a horse-shaped growth appeared on my heart. And I have never been the same since.
So, dear Buckshot, this, eight or nine years later, is my prize. You. You are my prize. You are my first horse. Maybe the only horse I will ever own. I am so appreciative of you. How can I tell you how much you mean to me, my first horse. My most special horse. My most precious, special, unique horse. But I came to love you late in my life. That is why I don’t take you for granted. A young girl might say, well, someday I’ll have a better horse than I have now. Maybe I’ll have lots of horses over my life. So I will wait to love the best one, when I get him. Until then, this is just my today horse. Others are better. Someday I’ll have a better one.
But I don’t say that. I say, what a precious gift you are to me. You are my only horse. My first and special horse. Maybe the only horse I’ll ever have. You are worth three times, five times your weight in gold to me.
You captivate my heart and my mind. I wonder what you think when I am around you. The other day, as I was leading you down a road, you stopped at a very specific place, and you lightly touched my hand with your muzzle. You communicated to me. I think you were saying, this is a place you give me a treat. May I have a treat, please? And I am so touched, by your remembrance, and by your soft touch to my hand, that I give you a treat. You are happy. I am happy. We continue to walk.
Then a few more yards down this same road, your thoughts change. Something doesn’t seem right to you. We are in danger. And so you quickly and smoothly, without my realizing it, turn us around on the road. I hold the lead line softly, with a drape in it, so you are able to direct our feet with your smooth turn. I stop you. You are worried about going forward. I am puzzled. I know that the road isn’t dangerous. It is quiet. There are no cars on it. I have walked further on this road many times. But not with you.
This road, this section of road is new to you. You don’t know it yet. And it worries you. So you take our walk in your control and make sure we turn away from the danger. Communicating to me again. Softly, in your horse talk kind of way. With my limited communication I don’t know how to reassure you that the road is safe. So I gently ask you to walk a few more steps, and I promise you a treat. Pure bribery it is. I want you to trust me but I cannot say it well enough. So I use a treat. And because you know the word “treat” you trust me and walk on, a few more yards. But you are still worried. Your feet dance a bit, you try to turn us back around, away from the danger.
You must be in conflict. To get the treat, you must go through dangerous terrain. Oh, my. What a problem. What to do? Somewhere in your mind, you say to yourself, yes. A few more steps, just a few more steps. I hope she will then stop leading us into danger. And I do. I stop and give you a treat. And true to my word, I turn you around and we walk back. Away from danger and back to safety. You must breathe a huge sigh of relief. We are now going back to safety. You have saved me. But I made you go through such mental anguish, all for the promise of a horse cookie. And go you did. Not in a straight line, of course. But you went into the danger zone, and then ate the cookie. And then we retreated.
Oh, how I wish I could explain it to you, from my perspective. How I wish I could see and hear your perspective clearly. Yet, even with the limited communication, I still treasure these moments. When you whisper something to me, hoping that the ears of my heart will hear you. And if I am still, and look at you, and touch your neck, I might just hear you. And we communicate. It is magical. And precious and wonderful. This careful, whispering, subtle talking we do with each other.
How can I not love you, who give me such gifts like this. Gifts in the form of horse whisperings. Protecting me. Leading me away from danger. Trusting me all for a horse cookie. And walking softly at my shoulder, your breath grazing my hand and arm. How I love that feeling. Your warm breath, pulsing down softly onto my hand and arm, your head swinging lightly from the lead line. I long to touch your forehead and I do. I rub it gently and tell you, with my touch, you are a wonderful horse. Can you hear me?
I often imagine that Buckshot has a place inside of him, where he feels my love. He feels that he is loved and valued and it feels good to him. Similar to how it feels for him to graze and eat grass, or eat hay. After we eat, we feel full, and it is a good feeling. An eaten meal nurtures us from inside. We feel satisfied.
For a horse, eating the tiny bits they eat, all day long, is a need like ours. But theirs is born of their nomadic history; they must always be ready to move to another plain, or over a mountain range, without knowing if food is waiting. So they need to eat nearly constantly, small amounts, to enable them to survive the nomadic life of a horse. Even domesticated horses, that live with humans who feed them in feed tubs, and spread hay out in a pasture or a corral, feel the need to eat for nomadic life. I think it gives them both a physical sense of rightness and an accompanying sense of mental rightness. They can handle life; they are prepared to move if they have to. Competent, ready, able horse.
Somewhere in Buckshot, beside the heart or spleen, is a place where he can feel the emotions that humans give him. He can feel useful and important and needed. It is a good feeling, one that horses want to have. But it is one that humans have to give. I think that maybe it is something that horses treasure about us. That we make them feel important and valuable. Not all owners do so. If you don’t think about what your horse is thinking and needs, you might not attend to this at all. But I do.
I think, from all my interactions with Buckshot, that he loves to have a job to do and to do it well. He loves to be told “time for us to go to work, Buckshot!” and that inside of him, he rises up, stands straight and tall, and says “You bet! Let’s go!” And when we have done some work, whether it is ground work, or riding, or walking down a potentially dangerous road, I am careful and consistent to praise him and tell him “Good work, Buckshot! You did great!” and rub his neck and give him treats and tell him verbally how strong, or brave or wonderful he was. I think it feeds him on the inside to be praised and told he did well. He has a purpose, he has a job, and he does it often and well. He is a successful horse. I want him to feel that deep inside of him.
Buckshot lives with one other horse in a pasture. His pasturemate is named Lucky. Lucky isn’t ridden very often any more. He isn’t a reliable riding horse and so lives mostly in the pasture. I feel a bit guilty when I take Buckshot out of his pasture for our work and leave Lucky behind. I fear that Lucky doesn’t feel that same sense of successful horse-ship that I make sure Buckshot has. But I can’t worry about that.
Some horses get less attention and have less work to do than others. I hope their inner selves can accommodate that. I hope he isn’t jealous of Buckshot and the attention Buckshot gets. I occasionally treat Lucky in a special way, and groom him, or share Buckshot’s treats with him. And I always acknowledge Lucky with a greeting when I am in the pasture. I later tell him that Buckshot will be back in a little while. I hope it helps.
I know that horses have different types of owners. I am the way I am partly because I don’t take Buckshot for granted. After all, he is my only horse, and I don’t know how long I will be priviledged to have him in my life. Every day is special to me. But other horse owners have a different perspective. I know that. Mine is a unique horse journey. And Buckshot is the horse on my journey.
I wonder about choices given to horses. I read a wonderful book some time ago about a horse named Jim Key. He was able to count and answer questions that his owner posed to him. A truly remarkable horse. His owner took him around the country to different shows to demonstrate what Jim Key could do. But what I remember the most about their story was when the owner would turn to Jim Key and ask him if he wanted to go home. He let the horse answer. He allowed his horse to have choices. I am amazed by that.
Giving choices to a horse and seeing the response. So I have incorporated that into my journey with Buckshot. We often ride in an arena at the farm he lives at. Sometimes during our riding warm up I will take him into the center of the arena and stop, and give him a brief break. Then I noticed something. He would start to walk to the open gate. Slowly at first, then a little more purposefully. The first few times, really, the first many times he did this, I turned him around to stay in the arena. I was puzzled by his walking to the gate, but I knew we should stay in the arena.
Then one day, I decided to let him have a choice. I decided to let him walk on out of the arena and see where he would take us. It has been an amazing thing to do. The first few times he walked purposely out of the arena and stopped. He seemed confused and didn’t know which way to go. Other times he has led us back to one of the barns, specifically the barn where I groom him and tack him up. I didn’t let us walk into the barn because the doorway was too low. Yet how interesting that he wanted us to go back to the barn. Perhaps he wanted me to dismount. But I led him away from the barn entrance and back to the arena.
Sometimes now when we walk out of the arena, I will direct him to a specific area and ask for a circle. Then we may stop and stand for a few minutes. A few times I have ridden him down the farm road, but he gets nervous and doesn’t want to go very far. It’s the same road I mentioned above. What is amazing is that when I give him a choice, he takes it. He has some thoughts of going, somewhere. He may lose his purpose quickly, in which case, I take over and direct him to some specific area. Or he may know exactly where he wants to take us, like the barn, and I have to intervene lest my head get hit by a low doorway. He has ideas about these things. And he seems to like to be able to exercise some choices. How wonderful!
I think, perhaps naively, that these choices are part of our journey together. That he knows his person will sometimes let him lead us. I always keep an eye out for our safety and quickly take away his choices if they seem ill advised. But if there are no safety concerns, he is allowed to make choices for us. I hope that it gives him a gift of sorts. That I trust his judgment in a way. And like Jim Key was allowed to decide when it was time to end the traveling and go on home for a rest, Buckshot is allowed to decide to go see some new sights on his own as well. I think it is a developmental thing with horses. But I am relatively new to horses, and I am not really sure. I have never heard trainers or anyone else mention this. I guess it just isn’t talked about. Still, I am delighted to see what happens with this part of our journey.>
And on Sunday, we went to a reining clinic at the reining trainer’s farm. There in his huge arena, we walked, and then trotted and then cantered. We rode straight into the fence, and quickly stopped, and backed up. We stopped from trot and from canter. Buckshot gave it his all, and came down from speed to a halt in his own capable way. One reason I love the clinics is because the trainer has me do things with Buckshot I never would do on my own, and we do great! I am amazed at what Buckshot can do, and at what I can do. That is one reason a trainer or an instructor is so invaluable. They can get more from me and Buckshot, and therefore prove that both of us can do more than I thought we can do. They challenge both of us in the best ways.
A few days ago, I was feeling reflective and I wrote the following thoughts. I call it “I Came to Love You Late.”
I Came to Love You Late
You see, dear horse, Buckshot, I am a latecomer to the world of horses. I was in my late forties when I discovered horses. That is so very late in life. It seems most of the people around me in the horse world were around horses very early in their lives. When they were children. Or perhaps teenagers. I think that few discover the magic of horses for the first time while in their twenties or thirties. But in their forties, like me? It sounds like old age.
But there it was. One innocent horse back riding lesson. On one quiet, dark fall night. At one obscure horse farm in the country. And I was hooked, drowned if you will, in the magic of horses. An animal both awesome in frame – big, very big, strong, no doubt, deadly – and magnificent in spirit – forgiving of an old person climbing on her back, talking out of nervousness, from twenty or thirty or fifty feet off of the ground. Yet a thread of something ethereal spun out of the mare’s heart, and wound its way to my heart, then around and around and around, until a horse-shaped growth appeared on my heart. And I have never been the same since.
So, dear Buckshot, this, eight or nine years later, is my prize. You. You are my prize. You are my first horse. Maybe the only horse I will ever own. I am so appreciative of you. How can I tell you how much you mean to me, my first horse. My most special horse. My most precious, special, unique horse. But I came to love you late in my life. That is why I don’t take you for granted. A young girl might say, well, someday I’ll have a better horse than I have now. Maybe I’ll have lots of horses over my life. So I will wait to love the best one, when I get him. Until then, this is just my today horse. Others are better. Someday I’ll have a better one.
But I don’t say that. I say, what a precious gift you are to me. You are my only horse. My first and special horse. Maybe the only horse I’ll ever have. You are worth three times, five times your weight in gold to me.
You captivate my heart and my mind. I wonder what you think when I am around you. The other day, as I was leading you down a road, you stopped at a very specific place, and you lightly touched my hand with your muzzle. You communicated to me. I think you were saying, this is a place you give me a treat. May I have a treat, please? And I am so touched, by your remembrance, and by your soft touch to my hand, that I give you a treat. You are happy. I am happy. We continue to walk.
Then a few more yards down this same road, your thoughts change. Something doesn’t seem right to you. We are in danger. And so you quickly and smoothly, without my realizing it, turn us around on the road. I hold the lead line softly, with a drape in it, so you are able to direct our feet with your smooth turn. I stop you. You are worried about going forward. I am puzzled. I know that the road isn’t dangerous. It is quiet. There are no cars on it. I have walked further on this road many times. But not with you.
This road, this section of road is new to you. You don’t know it yet. And it worries you. So you take our walk in your control and make sure we turn away from the danger. Communicating to me again. Softly, in your horse talk kind of way. With my limited communication I don’t know how to reassure you that the road is safe. So I gently ask you to walk a few more steps, and I promise you a treat. Pure bribery it is. I want you to trust me but I cannot say it well enough. So I use a treat. And because you know the word “treat” you trust me and walk on, a few more yards. But you are still worried. Your feet dance a bit, you try to turn us back around, away from the danger.
You must be in conflict. To get the treat, you must go through dangerous terrain. Oh, my. What a problem. What to do? Somewhere in your mind, you say to yourself, yes. A few more steps, just a few more steps. I hope she will then stop leading us into danger. And I do. I stop and give you a treat. And true to my word, I turn you around and we walk back. Away from danger and back to safety. You must breathe a huge sigh of relief. We are now going back to safety. You have saved me. But I made you go through such mental anguish, all for the promise of a horse cookie. And go you did. Not in a straight line, of course. But you went into the danger zone, and then ate the cookie. And then we retreated.
Oh, how I wish I could explain it to you, from my perspective. How I wish I could see and hear your perspective clearly. Yet, even with the limited communication, I still treasure these moments. When you whisper something to me, hoping that the ears of my heart will hear you. And if I am still, and look at you, and touch your neck, I might just hear you. And we communicate. It is magical. And precious and wonderful. This careful, whispering, subtle talking we do with each other.
How can I not love you, who give me such gifts like this. Gifts in the form of horse whisperings. Protecting me. Leading me away from danger. Trusting me all for a horse cookie. And walking softly at my shoulder, your breath grazing my hand and arm. How I love that feeling. Your warm breath, pulsing down softly onto my hand and arm, your head swinging lightly from the lead line. I long to touch your forehead and I do. I rub it gently and tell you, with my touch, you are a wonderful horse. Can you hear me?
I often imagine that Buckshot has a place inside of him, where he feels my love. He feels that he is loved and valued and it feels good to him. Similar to how it feels for him to graze and eat grass, or eat hay. After we eat, we feel full, and it is a good feeling. An eaten meal nurtures us from inside. We feel satisfied.
For a horse, eating the tiny bits they eat, all day long, is a need like ours. But theirs is born of their nomadic history; they must always be ready to move to another plain, or over a mountain range, without knowing if food is waiting. So they need to eat nearly constantly, small amounts, to enable them to survive the nomadic life of a horse. Even domesticated horses, that live with humans who feed them in feed tubs, and spread hay out in a pasture or a corral, feel the need to eat for nomadic life. I think it gives them both a physical sense of rightness and an accompanying sense of mental rightness. They can handle life; they are prepared to move if they have to. Competent, ready, able horse.
Somewhere in Buckshot, beside the heart or spleen, is a place where he can feel the emotions that humans give him. He can feel useful and important and needed. It is a good feeling, one that horses want to have. But it is one that humans have to give. I think that maybe it is something that horses treasure about us. That we make them feel important and valuable. Not all owners do so. If you don’t think about what your horse is thinking and needs, you might not attend to this at all. But I do.
I think, from all my interactions with Buckshot, that he loves to have a job to do and to do it well. He loves to be told “time for us to go to work, Buckshot!” and that inside of him, he rises up, stands straight and tall, and says “You bet! Let’s go!” And when we have done some work, whether it is ground work, or riding, or walking down a potentially dangerous road, I am careful and consistent to praise him and tell him “Good work, Buckshot! You did great!” and rub his neck and give him treats and tell him verbally how strong, or brave or wonderful he was. I think it feeds him on the inside to be praised and told he did well. He has a purpose, he has a job, and he does it often and well. He is a successful horse. I want him to feel that deep inside of him.
Buckshot lives with one other horse in a pasture. His pasturemate is named Lucky. Lucky isn’t ridden very often any more. He isn’t a reliable riding horse and so lives mostly in the pasture. I feel a bit guilty when I take Buckshot out of his pasture for our work and leave Lucky behind. I fear that Lucky doesn’t feel that same sense of successful horse-ship that I make sure Buckshot has. But I can’t worry about that.
Some horses get less attention and have less work to do than others. I hope their inner selves can accommodate that. I hope he isn’t jealous of Buckshot and the attention Buckshot gets. I occasionally treat Lucky in a special way, and groom him, or share Buckshot’s treats with him. And I always acknowledge Lucky with a greeting when I am in the pasture. I later tell him that Buckshot will be back in a little while. I hope it helps.
I know that horses have different types of owners. I am the way I am partly because I don’t take Buckshot for granted. After all, he is my only horse, and I don’t know how long I will be priviledged to have him in my life. Every day is special to me. But other horse owners have a different perspective. I know that. Mine is a unique horse journey. And Buckshot is the horse on my journey.
I wonder about choices given to horses. I read a wonderful book some time ago about a horse named Jim Key. He was able to count and answer questions that his owner posed to him. A truly remarkable horse. His owner took him around the country to different shows to demonstrate what Jim Key could do. But what I remember the most about their story was when the owner would turn to Jim Key and ask him if he wanted to go home. He let the horse answer. He allowed his horse to have choices. I am amazed by that.
Giving choices to a horse and seeing the response. So I have incorporated that into my journey with Buckshot. We often ride in an arena at the farm he lives at. Sometimes during our riding warm up I will take him into the center of the arena and stop, and give him a brief break. Then I noticed something. He would start to walk to the open gate. Slowly at first, then a little more purposefully. The first few times, really, the first many times he did this, I turned him around to stay in the arena. I was puzzled by his walking to the gate, but I knew we should stay in the arena.
Then one day, I decided to let him have a choice. I decided to let him walk on out of the arena and see where he would take us. It has been an amazing thing to do. The first few times he walked purposely out of the arena and stopped. He seemed confused and didn’t know which way to go. Other times he has led us back to one of the barns, specifically the barn where I groom him and tack him up. I didn’t let us walk into the barn because the doorway was too low. Yet how interesting that he wanted us to go back to the barn. Perhaps he wanted me to dismount. But I led him away from the barn entrance and back to the arena.
Sometimes now when we walk out of the arena, I will direct him to a specific area and ask for a circle. Then we may stop and stand for a few minutes. A few times I have ridden him down the farm road, but he gets nervous and doesn’t want to go very far. It’s the same road I mentioned above. What is amazing is that when I give him a choice, he takes it. He has some thoughts of going, somewhere. He may lose his purpose quickly, in which case, I take over and direct him to some specific area. Or he may know exactly where he wants to take us, like the barn, and I have to intervene lest my head get hit by a low doorway. He has ideas about these things. And he seems to like to be able to exercise some choices. How wonderful!
I think, perhaps naively, that these choices are part of our journey together. That he knows his person will sometimes let him lead us. I always keep an eye out for our safety and quickly take away his choices if they seem ill advised. But if there are no safety concerns, he is allowed to make choices for us. I hope that it gives him a gift of sorts. That I trust his judgment in a way. And like Jim Key was allowed to decide when it was time to end the traveling and go on home for a rest, Buckshot is allowed to decide to go see some new sights on his own as well. I think it is a developmental thing with horses. But I am relatively new to horses, and I am not really sure. I have never heard trainers or anyone else mention this. I guess it just isn’t talked about. Still, I am delighted to see what happens with this part of our journey.>
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)