Getting Ready for the Trail

 

Getting Ready for the Trail

Ellen has come far this winter with Dante in the arena.  Now, it was time for them to get back on the trail.  She just had to conquer her anxieties--just like she does every spring.

One day, she led him down the driveway and along the road to the trail.  I took over from there and led him to the top of the hill, turned him around and brought him home.  He was really good.  Ellen was thrilled.

The next day, she led him the the trail, again.  She handed the reins to me, and I took over.  I don't like to lead Dante because he tends to get annoying.  He likes to grab at the lead rope or even an arm or hand.  I told him to put his head down and keep it there--and he did!  I was amazed, and then Ellen told me that I taught him that over the winter.  Then, I felt stupid.  I did teach him that.

On those icy, cold winter days that Ellen couldn't make it out to see Dante, she asked me to do something with him.  Sometimes it was just too cold to ride another horse, so I would lead him around the indoor arena.  He was just too obnoxious, and I always believe that if you can make a horse better, you should.  With the help of clicker training, I asked him to put his head down.  Ellen had already taught him that, but I took it a step further.  I wanted him to put his head down and keep it there for a while so he wouldn't bother me.

I used his cue of pointing to the ground and kept my hand in that position.  If you do that with Cole, he will do the silly walk.  As he was walking with his head down, I chanted "good boy, good boy..."  

At first I clicked him for 5 strides.  After a while, I increased it.  I kept gradually increasing it until we did a full lap.  The next day, I got us up to two laps.  I even had Kevin do it as a test, and Dante listened.  As long as I pointed and kept the chant going, he walked with his head low and still.  I worked on it a few more lessons, and then I forgot all about it.

Now, here I was, leading him down the hill--holding his head low and still with an invisible lead rope--my pointing hand.  I gave Dante to Ellen, and he did it for her, too.  I was simply amazed at how well he did when I taught it to him months ago and never did it again.

When we got to the bottom of the hill, Ellen was going to mount, but she really didn't feel comfortable.  I told her just to lead him back and forth until she felt better.  There is a short section of flat trail that dead ends.  After a few minutes, she was going to mount and just sit there.  She was nervous, but she did it!  When she looked less tense, I told her to ride him to the end of the trail and turn him around.  She did.  Then she asked him to walk back to me, and she even went a little past me!  After going back and forth a few times, she was ready to go home.  She dismounted and led him up the hill.  I led him along the street.  It was another successful lesson.

The next day, she didn't want to go back to the hill because the park was doing some trail maintenance fixing a river crossing, and she didn't know if they would come to our river crossing.  She opted to ride at the barn.

Dante and Ellen are getting really good at riding on the little track behind the barn.  In fact, that is getting rather boring.  After about 20 minutes, I suggested that she ride in the outdoor arena.  It is very large and imposing.  She has ridden a little in it, but not enough to get comfortable.  In fact, she was very nervous about it.  I told her to just do circles by the gate.

The most amazing thing happened.  She finally was able to see that Dante isn't always afraid of things when his head goes up.  She only learned how to lower his head by maintaining her seat just a few days before, and that is what she was practicing.  As she walked around in circles, Dante kept lifting his head up.  After all, he was in an unfamiliar place.  There was so much to look at.  Ellen saw him, over and over, lift up his head and turn his ears back to her.  She realized that if he was afraid, his ears would be pointed toward the object of his fear.  Dante was looking back to her!

Their circles gradually got larger and larger until she was riding half the arena.  I saw her transform from fear to confidence.  By the end of her ride, her face was beaming.

Cognitive distortions--it was all about cognitive distortions.  Just as a thin anorexic person looks into the mirror and sees a fat image, Ellen saw a frightened horse every time Dante lifted up his head.  For the first time, she saw him clearly.  He was just begging for treats or attention--or wondering what she was going to do next.

Later that morning, she told me she felt like a weight had been lifted from her.  Then, she told me she thought that she might go on a trail ride for her next ride.