Coming or going?

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