Part 2 of "Just go down the hill"

Sunday Eryn came over one final time to help out. Same agenda as Saturday – get the horse down the hill.

We worked at it as usual, the neighbors calling down from their balcony, “Better today?” Hmph.

I asked if I could ever get the horse to agree, if I could reach up and pick some pears  from their tree. They said yes.

Then Eryn wanted to work on Mara’s whoa, which doesn’t really exist out there on the trail, she’s way too fidgety. After trotting around the arena a few times, Mara demonstrates a very good stop. So, just like Baasha, she’s a good stopper as long as you’re not on a trail. We’ll be working on that.

Then Eryn wanted to know if there is another trailhead in the other direction from our house. Why yes! The trail that goes down to the creek, with the barbed-wire post of doom. We can try that!

As soon as Mara stepped off the street onto the trail, she balked. No way, she said, am I entering the trail system. Of course, it’s another downhill slope.

We tried our usual technique. As soon as Mara starts to back up, I pivot her in circles. Then I face her downhill again, cue her forward, and repeat when she starts backing up again.

Problem.

Mara started anticipating the circling, and offered to do it on her own. She’d take a step back, and then start circling, herself.

Great. If she prefers circling to walking forward, we have a problem.

Change of tactics.

Eryn had me just sit there and breathe, and not ask her to go forward for a long time. Finally she said to cue her forward. Mara took a step back, and Eryn reached out and grabbed the rope and tugged her, yelling, NO WAY are you backing up!

Again and again. I don’t like to use the helper on the ground method because it doesn’t translate well to riding out alone, but we needed to find another solution that day.

After what seemed like an hour, I was exhausted (I’d already mowed the lawn in the scorching heat/humidity, and done lots of other gardening before she arrived, so I was pretty beat). I complained Can we just quit finally!?

One more time down the hill.

This time Mara took off at a trot down that hill. It was freaky but very good. I think she wanted to get it over with. At the bottom, I turned her around and let her trot back up the steep hill.

Eryn said I looked like an endurance rider coming over Cougar Rock just then. It is a rocky brown hillside, and true, I do have padded stirrups and a somewhat Arabish horse: )  Someday she might even be a real riding horse.

Eryn scolded me again repeatedly for being too hard on myself, expecting Mara to be like Baasha, and pondering what the heck I did so wrong to end up with my horse refusing to go forward.

Pondering it today (I spend a good deal of my day pondering Mara’s issues), I thought about how many horses I’ve ridden in the last few years whose owners told me, “Careful, he’ll test you!” and the horse simply does NOT test me. Hana was one of them. That spotted blind lesson horse was another. Walli my lease from last year too, she even had some of the exact tricks Mara has – extreme head tossing to intimidate a rider. I cured Walli of that in two rides. What is the difference with Mara?

I am afraid I’ll mess her up. Mara is my project and I am putting pressure on myself to do everything right, and I’m afraid I’m gonna break her.

Logically this is ridiculous, especially considering the progress we’ve made in other areas.*

As soon as we were done, I jumped off the horse, and then gave Eryn a sweaty hug of grateful relief.

Then I asked her to lead Mara home and I’d try tailing for the first time. Every trail horse should learn to tail riders up hills. Baasha used to LOVE it, cuz he could hurry right up as fast as he could go (and still be walking). Mara will learn to like it too, cuz she’s smart.

Eryn said it was something she’d never heard of – tailing. Her world of competitive driving and jumping is so far removed from mine.

Eryn says Mara’s problem is she’s lazy and smart, which can be a difficult combination. I see that. Baasha was the opposite – fast & impatient,  submissive & kind of a dork. (Sorry Baasha.)

Part 3 coming up…

* Just last week I taught her to move her hips away with a precise, fingertip cue, on either hip. And ONLY her hips, no backing, no moving the front legs, just the hind end. It was adorable watching her learn this. She went through all her other trained tasks – bow, stretch, bend, lift a hoof, move over, back up….she just couldn’t fathom there would be something ELSE, something new! Finally she did it and was underwhelmed. That’s all? Just that little movement is what you wanted? I can do that!