I took him to a little clearing by the bench and it was a bit cooler in there, but just as humid. He did some ground work with Mag and I sat on the bench trying to breathe air like water. I wish I had my camera!
As soon he began we heard cantering hooves and here comes this Haflinger right toward us, and a dog running alongside. Mag went, "This is new!" and snorted and threw his tail in the air. Lukas took Mag to the side to make room just as the lady saw us and pulled to a stop, and apologized several times. Then she couldn't get her horse to pass by Mag, perhaps because he was standing perfectly still. Finally she convinced him but not without a sideways spook. Lukas said, "Do you realize how well your horse handled that? He just stood here." I said, "Yes, but I'm also glad I wasn't on his back at that moment. He's never seen a horse cantering out here before."
He said Mag has a talent for keeping calm. I said, "Well, he does get upset at times, but you're right, he comes back to calm faster than normal."
Lukas started doing ground work and I just sat back on the mossy wet bench and enjoyed. Since introducing the leg yield last week they worked on it a second time (both legs cross over, so it must be a leg yield, right? I thought it was shoulder-in at first). Then he said I could get on and we'd do it under saddle. Yay.
After mounting, making sure Mag just stands there as long as I like, Lukas said I could also use that time to teach him to drop his head from the saddle. Mag started to get fidgety with the exercise and grab his reins in frustration, but we'll work on it. He said the way Mag chews his bit he must not like it, and I should think about riding bitless. I said, "He is simply not used to a bit, and he won't get used to it if he never has one in his mouth." He was OK with that. Oh, and as we stood there, a freaking horse fly bit Mag's neck. In JUNE! That is not normal, they don't usually come out til later. I'm not ready yet, I'm still suffering from tick and ant bites, and now a third that loves to bite me is here. : (
We walked around and stopped from time to time and worked on dropping his head when I asked, but only got tiny attempts at that, mostly lots of distraction and fussing and trying to back up or turn around, so not a very good standing day for Mag.
Then we started to do the leg yields and it was pretty cool. With my seat, leg and rein aids, and Lukas' aids from the ground, it was pretty simple to achieve, if only for a few steps at a time, but that's all he needs to do.
We did both ways and I was having fun with it. We'd go down the trail and leg yield one step, walk forward two, repeatedly. Then turn around and do the other way, the other bend. Then we went suddenly from one bend to the other and Mag couldn't do it. Lukas said, "He thinks he knows the routine now, that we only ask for one bend at a time before taking a break.
When done Lukas said, "He's done this before, he must have." I said, "No, you taught him last week. You're the only person who's done this with him, I'm sure. Where I bought him, they just got them started and did walk trot canter." He said if that's true Mag is a quick learner.
He told me Mag needs more challenges, and that just walking out there and stopping is not enough for him. Adding lateral work is the thing he needs now to get his mind working and give him a sense of accomplishment.
Walking home I asked him what he'd do with Mag if it was his horse. He said, "I'd board him at a stable with an arena where I could work him, and with other people and other horses to ride with."
I said "And if that's not possible?" "I'd take him on walks 5 or 6 days a week."
He told me I should join the Pleasure Riders association but I already talked to them and there is no one in my area. *sigh*
It was a nice, if not great, lesson, but I'm feeling a little bit discouraged that I don't have the resources I need to make progress and actually hit the trails with my horse. And with the humidity and the biting insects, I'm not sure my enthusiasm for taking Mag out is going to soar anytime soon.
50 *more* people were struck by lightning yesterday near Cologne. J says, "It's still not as bad as your volcanos."
What!?!
I stole this photo from Facebook but I've never seen these three in this way so I'm not sure I trust that it's not photoshopped. Also, that's Rainier, that's Adams, and that's Hood (Oregon), so where is St Helens?
14 comments:
Mags sounds like he has great head on his shoulders. I think he will catch on this way as well.
Sounds like it is going pretty well! It's funny people keep telling you to board - boarding has its own problems, and it looks like you have a really nice set up where you are. I would kill to have a nice field next to my house..:) Have you just tried FN or also VFD?
Helen
Pictures! We demand pictures!
Very few of us have been killed by volcanoes this week. I think somebody fell off one? So that's one, maybe.
Look, I understand what your trainer is saying about having optimal training situations for your horse, but you are not failing your horse if you don't have these. You just do the best with what you have. Your horse isn't dreaming your dreams of training for him. He's following you. Yes, set backs happen, like the bad bug season, but things will probably dry up and your training with him will continue. You're doing these best you can right now with what you've got. That's what counts. And I think Mag would have been ok with that horse cantering up to you. I think you could have dealt with it. What helps is if you have a plan in your head that you have practiced before hand. Practice a one rein stop with him on the trail. If he started bolting or something, have that training in him before hand. I told you my experience with one rein stop with Maguire. I think that's the most important thing you can teach your horse before starting out on the trail. Be prepared because then Mag will be prepared.
Getting him to lower his head while you are in the saddle is a good idea. If by this he means soften to the bit, Yes! You can practice this from the ground first. It's basically teaching your horse to half halt from the ground, by standing next to him. He's resisting the bit because he doesn't understand to soften to it. This is one of the first things I taught my horses. Very important! It begins your conversation with the reins.
Teresa, Thank you, I think so too. He's just a baby in so many respects, but he holds it together so well, his flight instinct, I have hope for a great future with him. (He's only one year younger than your horse! Who is doing dressage movements!)
Hunnenpony, FN has a riding club associated with it? I thought they were just the bad guys telling me what paperwork I need to have a horse in Germany : ( The VDF habe ich schon bei Equitana gefragt, und es gibt's nur in Kuerten und Wuppertal, nichts in unserer Gegend: ( Aber Kuerten ist nicht so weit weg. Ich werde mich immer wieder umschauen. (Ich bin in Wermelskirchen, weisst du schon.)
Aarene, Next time, I promise, and with video! Don't tell J that people fall off volcanoes, that's just another way to die in the PNW: )
KB, What you said about my horse's "Dreams of his Training" - LOL, me and J too.
Lukas mentioned a one-rein stop and I said, "Let's do it." But we forgot I guess. We'll do it next time.
I've already taught Mag to drop his head to the ground with pressure on the lead, even when it's tossed over his head behind his ears, (and that feels funny). But from the saddle I hadn't started yet, but now we'll work on it. I like that Lukas didn't care how I held the reins, how I did it, he just said it's a useful thing, and I could do it my way. How nice that he's flexible.
If you're right and the weather changes from daily lightning storms/hail/downpour, I'll be sure to blog that. It's unbelievable to me, 4 days in a row of thunder and lightning and people getting hit by it. Our headline in our paper today was lightning striking ground. I actually thought I was going to die today when I hid in my greenhouse from the lightning storm. I said my goodbye prayer. The lightning was every 20 seconds, and the thunder was nearly non-stop, shaking the earth. It went on and on so long I really thought I was going to die out there. When I finally rushed to the house, I stayed away from the windows, thinking it safer.
I don't think Mag is resisting the bit, I think he's using it because he's naturally mouthy and it's right there in his mouth to chomp on. Often as I halter him he grabs the halter in his mouth and chomps it. He chews the trough, the gate, the hose...The vet says his teeth are fine, he's just bored. He starts chomping the bit when asked to stand still, and there is no pressure on the reins, they are hanging loose. He's got that thing in his mouth and it is something he can pacify himself with when asked to stand and he doesn't wish to. But you're right when you say he does this when asked to drop his head, because he doesn't understand softening to it. So, two separate things - him fidgeting and chomping when asked to stand, and him chomping when asked to lower his head. Three people have told me it means he needs to go bitless. Bitless is great for someday once he learns about a bit, but I'm not going to throw away my bit because he chomps it while learning.
You seem to have a clear understanding of what is going on here with Mag. I appreciate that you care and can utilize what you've learned because your experience is relevant to our situation, that is, your Arabians. I'm glad you're not another one who says, "Go board him so you have an arena."
When I first got Khanalee, he would chomp the bit and grind his teeth. I changed him to and 5" French link, and the grinding went away. Some of it was just anxiety, and it took time. When I got Maguire, who was 4, he was in a regular 5" egg butt snaffle. I measured his mouth and moved him down to a 4.5" French link! As he grew, I eventually changed it a 4.75". I think very few horses need to go bitless. Most humans need more patience and less guilt.
When I got Big Butts, the appy, (his name was Buddy, but I called him Big Butts), I ended up riding him in a mullen mouth Pelham. I loved that bit! I had several horses that did well in it. He was relaxed in it. He was responsive and calm. No snaffle for him. Did not work! I rode him on a loose rein, but I did teach him to flex his head to either side, one rein stop, and soften to the bit, to collect and extend his gaits. As much as I didn't like that horse, he was a quieter ride after my Ayrabs. No spook or brain farts!
The horses that do best are often those in training barns, being worked every day by trainers. They have routine, and their lives are controlled. For those of us who don't have those options, it takes more time and patience, but you will get there. I'm glad you've got that guy to help you with confidence. It helps so much to have someone on the ground when you are up.
I taught Maddie the head down cue (two fingers on poll) very early on, and lately, trying to get her to relax from the saddle, she will drop her head almost as quickly with a momentary massage just in front of her withers. Not sure if it's an association with the other cue, or she just likes it a lot, but it works!
Maddie and I did a three day clinic this last weekend, with a gal who is a ranch-raised, genuine cowgirl. Also part drill sargeant. She pushed both Maddie and I to the point of physical and emotional exhaustion, which wasn't at all pleasant, but we broke through some barriers we have been fightly for five years! We found out the *I* CAN be the leader, and that I CAN ride out her "moments."
You and Mag will find your partnership!
I think I've seen that shot of the three peaks before. It's taken slightly to the east of north, so St. Helens is just out of frame to the left. (The four are not lined up at all.)
BTW, I agree with you and others regarding the bit: change bits, maybe, or change the size of the bit you are using, but chomping on it doesn't mean he needs to go bitless, it means he needs to learn to keep his mouth quiet.
Fiddle chomps her bit when she is impatient...it's annoying, but considering the other ways she might choose to express her impatience, it's pretty harmless. I can usually make her stop messing with the bit if I give her something hard to do, but sometimes she chomps it harder when I do that--because she's frustrated by her inability to do stuff right/easily! Ahhh, emotional horses. They can learn to cope, but only if we give them an opportunity to practice their coping skills, i.e. we need to let them be frustrated sometimes!
Hmm, now that you ask, I am not really sure how it works with the FN... but I googeled, and you have a Reitverein in Wermelskirchen? I'm sure you have tried that option, but on the off chance you haven't...? Usually (and again, this is only what I vaguelly know in theory), if you are a member, you can use the facilities...
Anway, dein Deutsch ist ziemlich gut!:) H
KB, I appreciated what you said about humans needing more patience and less guilt. A Mulllen-Pelham is a great bit, the idea behind the Mylar bits, right? It rests above the tongue, doesn't have a link to break up the feel...I like that you admit, "The horses that do the best are in training barns working every single day." Yes of course: ) I hope "That guy" can help us.
Evensong, I saw your photos on facebook from the clinic. Would it be possible that we come visit you on our next visit home? I know we'd have to drive over the Vantage bridge (yikes, it's been so long it intimidates me now). I'd love to meet you. Just, let it not be quite so hot. J, who has mastered German and English, asked me today, "What is 'irrigation'?" What better way to learn the word than to be shown. It does not exist in our region. Plenty rain go away.
Aarene, I trusted that someone would agree with me that chomping a bit does not mean a horse needs to go bitless its entire life! It sounds exactly the same as Fiddle, she does it when she's bored, or when she's frustrated, that is what I tried to convey in my post. So, we ride in bits, and when we don't need to, (after 15 miles) we don't. Interesting that you say frustration can be a good thing. I mean, some people don't tie their horses up and leave them for an hour.
Helen, Wermelskirchen has a few dressage and jumping and driving clubs. I don't see that we have any pleasure riding clubs. Do you? Es ist deine Sprache: ): ) :)
Es waere so schoen, nach 9 Jahren, ein Mitglied zu sein, von irgendverein.
Oh, just want to make sure I'm not recommending a mullen mouth Pelham for Mag. I was always able to work in snaffles with my Arabians. I was just giving it by of example that one doesn't have to give up on bits.
KB,I understand what you meant. I know that some horses don't want a broken bit in their mouths, as gentle as that is proven to be. I spent some time investigating options recently. Bits are such a hot topic, here where so many are switching to bitless. My personal feeling is that a horse should learn to hold a bit in its mouth, and have some basics with it, and then prove itself whether or not the bit should always remain in or not. Hopefully after a few miles you can just take it out and ride in the halter. If I were doing dressage, I'd be furious if bitless were not allowed in a class. But I'm not furious yet: ) Just poking around, thinking about my endurance days. I'm not so modern/enlightened that a bit is out of the question. And I've escalated bits during endurance rides to save my skin......now you know.
Hmm, das glaube ich nicht, I saw http://www.rufv-wermelskirchen.de/
But I was less thinking of being a member of a group who do activities than just being able to use the arena... I know other people who keep their horses at home, and who are a member just so that they have an arena...
Ahh, also das weiß ich nicht dass es das gibt, I only saw http://www.rufv-wermelskirchen.de/
I was more thinking of using the arena than actually being part of the Verein.... But I do know that some people do it like that, keep their horses at home and use the Verein's arena to ride in.
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