My busy schedule got the better of me as I am preparing for the spring expos and scheduling training horses/ breeding horses as well as being a mother AND working a part time job. The saga continues.
I may have eluded to
before that colt starting is a process. There are ups and downs. Such is life.
Rainy is a sweet
girl but has all the capabilities of any adult horse. I.e. inherently dangerous
and capable of killing you. Let me explain one issue I have with promoting the
breed I love, The Rocky Mountain Horse. The Association has promoted in the
past a slogan similar to, “they are born broke”. As one can see this may cause
problems among the many beginner riders that are already flocking to the breed.
I love the breed
because they are VERY intelligent, willing, athletic, forgiving. However there
are always exceptions that I commonly experience with these traits listed here.
They are by no means born broke. They still require a professional or experienced
horseperson handling them to ensure they
will remain polite on the ground and train the correct muscles under saddle. A
novice should not train any horse or even buy a horse that has only had a small
amount of training. It literally takes thousands of quality sessions or “rides”
to turn any horse into a beginner safe or child safe horse. The animal must be
forgiving to the mistakes of the rider. Even then the horse may not “survive”
long term, and turn “sour”. This is no fault of the horses but a rider shouldn’t
just remain a beginner indefinitely… they should be continually bettering
themselves to better the beings around them.
True to both humans and horses right?
Back to Rainy, Over the last few sessions, we
worked on not only accepting a rider but forward movement. She says, OK! She
has been actually rather “squirty”. What does this mean? She squirts forward
and to the side and all over the place! I personally love this because it tells
me she would rather move forward then up or back or baulk. If a horses feet are
free to move then you can stay out of trouble.
As humans we think. “STOP THE HORSE! STOP THE
HORSE!” Pull the reins! I think NO! this puts in those nasty braces that build
rearing bucking and balking. So I like them squirty at first. This can be tough
since the athletic ones I have trouble keeping under me. Even though its not
the easiest this will make a better horse. WHY you ask? Wont this make a spooky
horse? Or a horse that bolts? Heck no. All horses bolt when spooked anyways,
its called a prey animal. Thought education the horse is taught to “spook in
place” or even become inquisitive (if they are smart enough).
Rainy at this point doesn't get a hand on her
face. No pulling whatsoever. We go forward when I push and stops off my breath.
That in itself is a basic need and quite impressive for a 3 year old just
beginning her saddle career. I only lift a rein up to steer. With that being
said. How to teach the other aids? Lets talk a little about feel. Feel is a
extremely difficult thing to teach to humans. You have to know what the horse
is going to do 3 or more steps ahead and alter your aids to accommodate the
moves you need. You cant just sit there and start pulling or kicking.
Lets say I want to turn left. I look ahead and
see that I don’t have room to turn left in the round pen. So I don’t try to
turn left. I have to know my horses capabilities or else I am setting them up
for failure. I need them to learn to succeed instead of fail. So the next time
around the pen I create some room and finally have a large space for my young
filly to turn left. So I lift my rein out, making it obvious. I do it softly
and gently and slow. Then I wait. I don’t increase the rein pressure, I wait.
Once you start pulling its all over. The horse starts to brace. This isn’t like
driving a car. You start riding the legs of the horse not the face.
The horses balance point is their head and neck
physiologically speaking. It affects their movement but it does not drive it.
So all in all if we want to start driving our horse and not
our car, start knowing where your legs are and your seat, this will help drive
your horse. This begins facilitating that “unicorn”, collection.
Let’s define collection:
Collection occurs when a horse carries more weight on the
hind legs than the front legs. The horse draws its body together so that it
becomes like a giant spring whose stored energy can be reclaimed for fighting
or running from a predator. The largest organic spring in the horse's body, and
therefore the easiest one to observe in action, is the back, including the
spine and the associated musculature that draws it together in much the same
way that a bow is drawn by an archer.
Let’s also consider physics. Momentum and potential energy.
That being said, we have to use the horses same muscles they
use when they run from predators… interesting thought right? They have to be
taught to run before they can be taught to collect. We have to create some
momentum to have the potential for stored energy. In other words we have to
move the horses feet (a lot) in order to start thinking about collection.
It’s never about putting the head down or in a tie, pulley or
strap to hold it down. As I said before, it’s only an organ for balance not an
organ for movement. So here is Rainy, in the infant stages of collection. This
is something I hear many riders and trainers speak of. And it’s the holy grail
of all horse things. I think Rainy has huge potential and athleticism to take
me there… she is my unicorn.
I hope this has been informative for my readers and used as
a reference in your daily riding lives!
As a millennial would say it: L8er <3
