It's just so good to get a day off during the week, and have it be a deep blue sky day with a lovely breeze and enough wind to blow the leaves around in spirals.
I walked out to my pasture this morning at 10 AM and God gave me a wonderful gift.
I saw the donkey and horse standing in their sleeping positions, where they stand head to tail, each taking responsibility for her own direction. I started cleaning up poop and suddenly Mara lay down. I thought she would roll, because I have never seen her lie down here, ever. But that's not what she did. She just reclined gracefully, head curled to her left, nose resting on the ground.
I held my breath from 50 meters away - will she stay that way? She did. For about 20 minutes.
Irresponsibly, Bellis abandoned the guard duty and dropped to the ground soon after Mara had, but Bellis stretched out fully on her side, soaking up the sun.
I worked around them, careful to not come too close. This was a huge step in trust and I was not about to spoil it by approaching the horse. Finally I had to get within 5 meters of them to keep cleaning, and they didn't mind. I was so happy to finally see my horse on the ground.
I cannot convey what a worry it's been in my mind that she never felt comfortable enough to lie down. She only got up when neighbors walked by with their dog who was offleash and came exploring to our fence.
I thought what a great day this is, and wondered if it would affect our ride later. When it was only Bellis on the ground, I approached and gave her some snacks as she lay there. I love petting her furry legs and touching her hooves when they're on the ground.
One thing I'll never do is get on a horse when it's reclining. I think that is kind of rude. But I sure love the chance to cuddle when they're down, at least, with Baasha and Bellis.
***
I got my new surcingle and was dying to try it out so that's what I did today. It is a trick, handling two lunge lines at 8 meters each. But I can see that this will be a great method to introduce Mara to the concept of contact.
There is nothing solid, (like sidereins), so she can stretch down, or pull straight up, it's her choice, but as the session went on, it became clear to her that pulling them straight up was not a good escape route from the pressure. The pressure was mostly from the weight of the reins themselves. I don't know what to do about that.
Actually, since I'm so new to this, maybe I should ask about the problem of the outside line bouncing on her rear legs as she trotted. The hock action seemed to bump the line rhythmically, that cannot be good, so I kept that one loose the entire time. I only held contact with the inside line when trotting a circle.
We did some very nice serpentines, walked over lots of cavaletti, and did many figure 8s on the lines. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. I know you're not supposed to ever use the reins as a driving aid, just like you would never wiggle your reins to make your horse move forward under saddle. But carrying a lunge whip was very cumbersome so I used only voice aids for forward and stop and back.
And we got the back, very, very good! Woo! She totally marches backwards now, in the long lines. I say "BACK BACK BACK" so I can hopefully carry that over to the saddle (which worked today, woo!) I look forward to getting a lot more elegant with the use of those lines.
***
Once home again, I saddled the horse and packed the saddle bags with water bottles. My man had consented to go out with us again.
I thought he wanted to ride again, but not this time. That's fine. He has a lot of control over what we do, cuz he wants Mara to improve. So, though I wanted to just keep her behind him politely as he walked down the trail, he wanted me to challenge her like trot past him up that hill and then come back down and follow again at a slow walk calmly.
Yah. That's not easy. She spooked at sunlight on greenery so hard I would have come off if I hadn't had her mane in one hand. But then J put some treats on that scary map square thingy and we rested and talked a while, so I could re think things. He wanted me to trot up the hill, so I did, but so many people collecting mushrooms this time of year, off trail, that's pretty scary for a horse. You shroomers, you're really giving me a hard time!
At the top of the hill J sat down on another of those map cube things and I took the chance to show my horse that it's OK to just stop and be immobile for a moment. She did not like that at all. She fidgeted around but I kept aiming her nose at my man and she realized we are not going anywhere, he's the leader today, and he's sitting. I felt kind of perplexed. She reached down to grab an oak leaf off the ground and ate it in her frustration at having to wait.
My man said, "See that grass over there, why don't you take her over and let her eat it?" I said, "Cuz Mara does not eat when I'm on her." He convinced me, challenging me again, to take her to a sunny patch of grass at this trail intersection and see if she'd graze. She took one bite and swung her hips around and started back down the trail toward home. I pivoted her back to the grass. I pushed on her neck and said go ahead, eat. She was perplexed, but I think cuz my man was just sitting on that cube 10 meters away, she relented and ate. He got pics of it! (below) - The first time Mara ate grass with me on her back. It was a little bit of a struggle to keep her eating and not taking off again, but there we are.
***
All the way home, my man walked slower than he ever had in his life, knowing that Mara likes to rush. We were talking about geocaching and I said "During Geocaching, you're on a mission - you would NEVER walk this slow!"
But I am thankful that my man is also on a mission to help me with my ultra-forward horse. She walked at QH pace, the most of the day. It was great. I had to use hundreds of half-halts/slight rein pressure, to get her to stop trying to pass his shoulder the entire time, but she did it for me, and seemed to understand.
Lots of bikers passed us, and those cursed mushroomers. Eventually, we came across some neighbors who live right by us, and I thanked them that their two dogs were on leashes. We chatted a while, Mara being very bad and edging toward home the entire time. They wanted to know which bridge it was that Baasha fell through, where that was. My man was able to tell them everything.
I said I'm still scared of bridges and avoid them whenever I can, and ride with a cell phone.
***
My man came to a bench that I told him Mara had been gawking at as if she'd never seen it before, although it's very close to home and very familiar. He sat on it. I jumped off Mara and we sat there a while. That is when I got the photos of her neck being at an actual horizontal position....one of the first times it wasn't vertical on a trail ride. I am so grateful that my man can help me with this horse. If she can learn to pace herself to a slow-moving human in front of her, she can eventually apply that to group-horsey outings, when they are moving slower than she'd like.
.JPG)
7 comments:
Very pretty -- all that green with leaves on the ground. What a difference a nice day makes.
I'm beginning to get glimpses of the relaxed horse she's going to be . . .
I don't usually let horses graze on the trail, but it was a very good idea to use that as a reward and to help her to relax - every rule should have exceptions.
Your Man is so wonderful! Tell him that!! LOL Mine wont have anything to do with the horses. He does help me put up local hay once a year. I am thankful for that! LOL
Your man is a total keeper. I think he's awesome and I've never "met" him. :)
These past few posts have been especially pleasurable to read. It really sounds as if she is trusting you more and more and looking to you for assurance. That is so cool and you and you man are working together with Mara, you are both doing a great job with her. I always look forward to reading about the adventures of Mara, Bellis, and their humans!
Love that Mara is feeling comfortable enough to lie down. Wonder how long she's been doing that when you weren't looking....
As for long lines: I have always started my young horses in a progression of longeing, add saddle, add bridle, then add the second line, while still moving in the circle, then reversing to the outside (longeing would always be to the inside), then figure eights and serpentines so they get used to moving forward in a straight line, with me slipping behind them more and more often, then, by golly, we head on down the road. Then when I climb on, the only thing "new" is me! They've learned rein cues, they've seen the neighborhood, they're ready.
Since Mara has already been backed, you're going back, but not quite to "square one." You're just filling in some holes. More importantly you are building trust between the two of you.
As for the weight of the lines on the bit: there are some that would say that is like a constant "nag" at their mouths; others would say its a "pre-signal," much like the weight of the natural horsemanship guys' slobber straps. Because I tend to keep light contact on the lines anyway, I don't worry too much about it. As far as the lines hitting their back legs, I've always considered that part of the training--being touched randomly and not worrying too much. Young ones that I've raised myself have the advantage of having worn blankets with leg straps-- I think that's a great way for them to learn that stuff on their bodies won't hurt them.
Now that I've written a book, I'll just add that it seems like J. is really good at pushing both you andMara just beyond your comfort zones...and that's how we grow.
Yay, grazing!
(Kate: grazing on the trail is an *essential* skill for endurance horses!)
Also, yay for your man. I like him more and more, every time you write about him.
Post a Comment