I have been remiss in blogging, but that’s not because I haven’t been riding. I’m doing that as much as ever. My nieces have been riding with us, and that makes it all the more fun. Unfortunately, I only have a few more weeks before the older one goes back to Cornell. I sure will miss her company.
I have been asking more of Cole, so that means we have been encountering more difficulties. I could have kept it easy and just taken him on short walk-only rides, but I want to trot, canter and go further. Friday evening, when I took him on a trail ride by himself, he was very annoyed with the bugs. That really does affect our rides. He wants to either go fast or go home. When I ride him alone, his speed of trotting is incredible, and lately, I have lost his good downward transitions. He has been getting excited, and since I have asked him to canter a few times on the trail, he has been offering it on his own, again.
When I ride with another horse, he pretty much will match the speed of the other horse. Well, yesterday, he decided to try and pass up Ranger. The first time, Ranger snarled at him. the second time, I spun him to get him to stop and we headed back towards Ranger so I could put him behind him where he belongs—well, Ranger marched toward him with an ugly face, and Cole just backed away from Ranger in fear. I had him take a wide berth around Ranger, and then we trotted one more time. Cole was perfectly behaved. Where I try to train with positive and negative reinforcement, Ranger is training with positive punishment. I hate to admit it, but I think that Ranger’s method may be working.
Our arena work has been up and down, and it is probably because I am only working in there once or twice a week. That’s okay—that’s what winter is for…
Cruise is doing well, and I am riding him 5 days a week on the trail. each spring, I ask for one more summer. Looks like he is living up to my request. He is energetic and enthusiastic. Last year, he didn’t want to canter. This year, he is cantering quite a bit. Last year, he needed to pause and rest on the hills. This year, he goes straight up. Of course, he is happy to trot forever.
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1 comment:
Aww that makes me so happy that Cruiser is doing so well. :D
Hey at least Ranger is being helpful hehe. Let him do what he can. It just means you don't have to hehe. I don't think it's possible to train completely positive. Sometimes it is necessary to tell them when they've done something wrong, but I still think clicker is awesome. :)
I'm glad you're getting to ride and enjoy this summer. Winter is approaching way too quickly for my liking lol. I hope we have a really nice long fall.
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