Yesterday I did something out of the ordinary. Instead of trailering to the nearest trail, my friend Sheila came out and we just spent some time with my horses. On the ground! The one thing I have always admired about Sheila and her geldings is how nice they are in hand. She has spent a lot of time with them on the ground and it translates so nice into the saddle. Instead of working with Windy, who has had more time than any of my horses, we decided to do a little with those that get the least amount of attention; Blue, Butter and Baby.
Blue is Mr. Big Stiff Neck. Our inexperience when we bought him, combined with years of being a kid’s horse has hardened him, I’m sure. The only time I can get him to turn his neck from the saddle is if I offer him a piece of licorice or the raisins from my trail mix! Otherwise, he sees no reason to bend, flex or whatnot! But with pressure and release, Sheila finally got him to give somewhat!
Butter caught on quicker, but it was more like her saying, “Yeah, yeah, I know this stuff… here, I’ll bend. Are you happy now? Move on!” (All in one breathe). Baby, who has had little work at all, seemed to catch on the quickest. It was fun watching them watch Sheila and respond to her.
Sheila commented later on Horsetales.
“Each one is such a different personality. They didn't know what to make of me, I don't think. Blue was a little worried, so needed a lot of reassurance."
"And Baby was unsure what it was that we were doing, but was a surprisingly fast learner. She was trying to avoid cantering, so got into that really nice extended trot and in pretty nice form, too. She did canter eventually for a little bit, but she really didn't like doing it.”
Blue is Mr. Big Stiff Neck. Our inexperience when we bought him, combined with years of being a kid’s horse has hardened him, I’m sure. The only time I can get him to turn his neck from the saddle is if I offer him a piece of licorice or the raisins from my trail mix! Otherwise, he sees no reason to bend, flex or whatnot! But with pressure and release, Sheila finally got him to give somewhat!
Butter caught on quicker, but it was more like her saying, “Yeah, yeah, I know this stuff… here, I’ll bend. Are you happy now? Move on!” (All in one breathe). Baby, who has had little work at all, seemed to catch on the quickest. It was fun watching them watch Sheila and respond to her.
Sheila commented later on Horsetales.
“Each one is such a different personality. They didn't know what to make of me, I don't think. Blue was a little worried, so needed a lot of reassurance."
"Butter flipped me off a couple times, but found out it isn't safe to turn her butt toward me when I have a carrot stick in hand. She would be an interesting one to try to figure out how to communicate with without getting a reaction from."
"And Baby was unsure what it was that we were doing, but was a surprisingly fast learner. She was trying to avoid cantering, so got into that really nice extended trot and in pretty nice form, too. She did canter eventually for a little bit, but she really didn't like doing it.”
The dogs were fascinated. Every now and then, Bodett would come up to the round pen and check things out. Ritz wanted to help really, really bad, but his idea of helping is running around the round pen WITH the horse! So he learned today about choke chain collars and being restrained. Madeline just enjoyed the sunshine.
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