Horse Messe—
Maybe the most important point I wanted to convey was, as Ken Garrett , a really good West Coast horse trainer used to say-
The last thing you do with a horse is the first thing it remembers the next time it’s ridden…
Truer words were never spoken, so after asking this 17 year old retired reining horse to demonstrate what I think is an approach that shows it is guiding-direction, speed, and the lead of my choice, while it gives some effort in the stop when asked, I always want to finish a session just, loping back and forth once or twice, no pressure, no big deal, just guide.
As I explained to the gallery, I don’t expect a 17 year old to stop like it did when it was young.
We can’t turn back the clock, but we can , as they say, Respect the horse , which is a huge contribution to, Animal Welfare.
Just saying it isn’t near enough, cause as trainers, we are as we do…
Repurposing and developing feel for footfall-rhythm and cadence
Consistency of circle speed starts with the understanding of rhythm, especially in that small slow, or rounding the ends in the approach to a stop.
There’s no better way to learn this faster than to park your butt on the rail, while trying to fake your way thru a pleasure class , on an older( or old) horse who can’t or shouldn’t meet the rigors of physicality that reining ( for example) demands, like Frosty Guinness here, with Yusa Mori up.
Anybody who rides can go fast, but can the understanding and control of, Willingly guided speed control be exhibited? Well that starts with the feel for rhythm and cadence, regardless of the rate of speed.
Your horse has to , Rate, and if you don’t understand that concept, again, you gotta lot of work to do… so, ride smarter, instead of harder.
This beginner, Tamami Fukagawa, showing me her ability to , ride and guide, Frosty Guinness, at the lope. With a total of less than 30 minutes loping time, in her entire riding life… how’d she get to this point so quickly? Step by step, jogging and guiding, trotting ( lots of trotting and working trot time) and guiding, learning to sit in the middle, learning how to not hold on to the horse’s mouth to help her sit in the middle, trotting, and more trotting, has allowed her to advance and evolve.
What’s the conclusion? All together now-
Practice smarter, not harder!
They’re ready to start when it’s on their timeline, not mine.
Barn name- Frostbite
By Harley Surprise Lena LTE $73,000
and out of Frosty Guinness( Guinness x Crystal Smoke)
This 2 year old’s very first saddling. Couple of times in this light saddle is all she’ll see of it.
The lunge line is only cause if she broke in two I don’t want her climbing the walls.
No worries there it appears, at least this day, lol.
My check list-
Strong hocks
Good angles
Neck ties in right
Seems trainable
Last thing I think about ( almost never), is how pretty their head is.
If they can do the deal, they get pretty…
This one can really stop, on her own.
I’ve seen her belly almost touch the ground, once or twice, when I ask her.
Time will tell, always does.
Spring cleaning - arena leveling, redistributing the sand, to a uniform 3 inches or so.
The key is to leave the base untouched, while moving the sand back where it’s needed, since after a winter of freezing temperatures the sand will build up where the sun isn’t thawing out the material.
Not having a laser guided mechanism , or a box grader, my homemade designed and built drag with leveling bar is getting the job done. It’ll do … work smarter, not harder.
When the loader/ tractor is down and you wanna keep that, We Got Ground in the Winter vibe going… use what’s available, lol.
Maintain smarter, not harder !
Even good turning horses, like Heir Gun here, sometimes need a reminder about where their pivot foot is.
Chihiro has learned 2 very subtle, not easily seen,corrections , that remind her horse just that, while still keeping good cadence and a , willingly guided look.
You can’t learn going fast, cause you gotta think about those feet, where are they and what are they doing… and that takes time…
Develop feel smarter, not harder!
For some , it’s their last ride of the year.
So, relax and ride was my advice- coachspeak can wait til next week, lol.
My homemade, mostly from recycled material, triangle drag is finally finished.
Added 8 more teeth
Redesigned the tongue so everything is straight, not off set
Redesigned the seat, from a single seat, to a bench
And for that annoying build up of sand that always accumulates against the fence, over time, I made a , leveling plate, that pulls the sand back into the arena.
It can be removed easily when not needed. ( might make it longer, haven’t decided yet, cause I’m never satisfied, lol).
Hope I don’t find something else to redisign… Maintain it smarter, not harder.
This is how it starts for beginners, learning the mechanics of, Wilingly Guided- direction and speed of the Rider’s choice ( my definition). Pace, rhythm, with the horse staying, between the reins , as Tamami san is discovering here, riding Frosty Guinness.
You gotta crawl before you can walk
You gotta walk before you can run, with CONTROL…
Start learning smarter, not harder!
Most of the time, Yukkuri sh*tai ( just chill) , the spin manuever, relaxed AND correct.
Test the speed controls of course, on occasion, but spinning as fast as the horse can go, whatever speed that is, every time , just makes a horse dislike the maneuver more. Relax, keep those front feet crossing over, until it’s your decision to stop.
More often than not, spin maneuver scores get reduced because the horse slows down or wants to quit early.
There are a lot of things you can do to keep or improve spin quality, besides spinning , spinning, spinning…
Fix the feet and, practice smarter, not harder !
