We are now riding regularly down the trail, and we just love it. Cruiser has been across the river twice, and he is still very excited about it. He gaited all the way home, yesterday, and he only gaits when he is in a "mood." Mingo is starting to settle down. I did get him to cross one of the fords--something we have troubles with at times and gave him a bunch of peppermints for it.
My sister and I are taking tomorrow off from work to go riding. The weather is supposed to be cloudy and comfortable. Sounds great to me. I will ride both horses, and of course, she will ride hers. She is then coming over my house, and we will take the dog on a long walk and eat a scrumptious spaghetti dinner. We are then going over my brother's house to watch a movie with his family. It will be a fine day.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Springtime
I have finally started trail riding, again. It was such a long winter. We have even been crossing the river. Now, it is time to get the boys to settle down and behave. They get so excited in the spring. Mingo has been doing his bucks of joy and insists on being in the lead. This is the horse who is usually trailing far behind in the summer.
Cruiser thinks the word trot means canter. I am super careful with him because of his healed bowed tendon. I will only cross the river when I can see the bottom and no deep mud for Cruiser. I won't even ride him with Ranger or Starry until I feel he has settled down. At 21, he can still get pretty wild.
My sister's horse, Ranger fell in the water when she was crossing today. He just slipped in the back. He didn't go completely down--and was able to pull himself back up before my sister went in. He appears to be fine. She crossed and recrossed right after it happened. This is important to do, if you can. Everytime Cruise has fallen in, he is terrified of the river and we have to go through a few training sessions to get him right, again.
Cruiser thinks the word trot means canter. I am super careful with him because of his healed bowed tendon. I will only cross the river when I can see the bottom and no deep mud for Cruiser. I won't even ride him with Ranger or Starry until I feel he has settled down. At 21, he can still get pretty wild.
My sister's horse, Ranger fell in the water when she was crossing today. He just slipped in the back. He didn't go completely down--and was able to pull himself back up before my sister went in. He appears to be fine. She crossed and recrossed right after it happened. This is important to do, if you can. Everytime Cruise has fallen in, he is terrified of the river and we have to go through a few training sessions to get him right, again.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
My newsletter/books
If you like my newsletter, you will love my books. “Trail Training for the Horse and Rider” is a how-to book full of terrific advice for all trail riders. It is $19.95 plus shipping and handling. The publisher accepts Mastercard, VISA, checks and money orders. Go to my website, click on buy the book, and it will direct you to their website. They also have other horse books and tons of dog books. My website is at www.trailtrainingforthehorseandrider.com There; you can see pictures of my cast of characters and read some of my early newsletters.
My new book, “Trail Horse Adventures and Advice” is the best of the first 3 years of my newsletter. It is available as a paperback book for $14.95 + shipping or as an e-book for $9.95. My website has a link to my other publisher where you can read the first three chapters free and buy the book.
If you are interested in an autographed copy, send me e-mail, and I will tell you where to send the check. (I don’t accept credit cards.) It will cost the same. If you buy two books from me, and you don’t mind me shipping them Media Mail—, which could take a couple weeks, I will ship them free.
Anyone who is interested in contributing to this newsletter is welcome to e-mail me at judiemail@yahoo.com A newsletter that is free cannot afford to pay anyone for their contributions, of course, but then again, I don’t get paid either. It is the joy of sharing that counts.
Feel free to forward my newsletter to anyone you like and encourage them to sign up for it.
Thank you,
Judi
My new book, “Trail Horse Adventures and Advice” is the best of the first 3 years of my newsletter. It is available as a paperback book for $14.95 + shipping or as an e-book for $9.95. My website has a link to my other publisher where you can read the first three chapters free and buy the book.
If you are interested in an autographed copy, send me e-mail, and I will tell you where to send the check. (I don’t accept credit cards.) It will cost the same. If you buy two books from me, and you don’t mind me shipping them Media Mail—, which could take a couple weeks, I will ship them free.
Anyone who is interested in contributing to this newsletter is welcome to e-mail me at judiemail@yahoo.com A newsletter that is free cannot afford to pay anyone for their contributions, of course, but then again, I don’t get paid either. It is the joy of sharing that counts.
Feel free to forward my newsletter to anyone you like and encourage them to sign up for it.
Thank you,
Judi
House Cat Tip of the Month
House Cat Tip of the Month
It is usually not necessary to declaw your cat if you give him alternative things to sharpen his claws on. For years, our Siamese cats tore up our furniture, and being the indulgent people that we are, we let them. We then found this neat thing that was a board with sisal rope around it that attached on a doorknob. Our youngest cat at the time took to it like a fish to water. Our remaining Siamese didn’t change her habits, but it is hard to teach an old cat new tricks.
A few years later, Kevin got a kitten and didn’t want to get her declawed. He got her those cardboard scratching pads. She thought they were a great idea, and she left the furniture alone. He later got her scratching posts. She could care less about them. When he got her a log, thought, she loved it. A few years later, he got another kitten, and she was just as good as her big sister.
A year and a half ago, I got Thunder from a shelter. He had all of his claws, and I wanted him to stay that way. The shelter gave me one of the cardboard scratchpads. He loved it. I got the old doorknob hanger out, and he showed no interest in it. Later, Kevin gave me the scratching posts that his cats stuck their nosed up to, and Thunder still thinks they were the greatest thing in the world. He never touched the furniture.
The moral of the story is that cats will be happy to leave the furniture alone if they have something else to claw. If one thing doesn’t work, try something else. Different cats have different ideas on what is the best way to sharpen their claws. Experiment until you are both happy, and your furniture will survive without putting your cat through an unnecessary operation.
It is usually not necessary to declaw your cat if you give him alternative things to sharpen his claws on. For years, our Siamese cats tore up our furniture, and being the indulgent people that we are, we let them. We then found this neat thing that was a board with sisal rope around it that attached on a doorknob. Our youngest cat at the time took to it like a fish to water. Our remaining Siamese didn’t change her habits, but it is hard to teach an old cat new tricks.
A few years later, Kevin got a kitten and didn’t want to get her declawed. He got her those cardboard scratching pads. She thought they were a great idea, and she left the furniture alone. He later got her scratching posts. She could care less about them. When he got her a log, thought, she loved it. A few years later, he got another kitten, and she was just as good as her big sister.
A year and a half ago, I got Thunder from a shelter. He had all of his claws, and I wanted him to stay that way. The shelter gave me one of the cardboard scratchpads. He loved it. I got the old doorknob hanger out, and he showed no interest in it. Later, Kevin gave me the scratching posts that his cats stuck their nosed up to, and Thunder still thinks they were the greatest thing in the world. He never touched the furniture.
The moral of the story is that cats will be happy to leave the furniture alone if they have something else to claw. If one thing doesn’t work, try something else. Different cats have different ideas on what is the best way to sharpen their claws. Experiment until you are both happy, and your furniture will survive without putting your cat through an unnecessary operation.
Trail Training Newsletter - #98 - part 2
Improving Your Riding
If you can’t take lessons for whatever reasons, you can still learn a lot on your own. Get some good books or videotapes and learn exactly what you should look like. Even better, have a companion also learn what you should look like when you are in the saddle. Make sure you and your companion are using the same vocabulary to describe what you are doing and then start to practice. This is how my sister and I did it and still do it.
If the only person you have to help you is a complete ignoramus about horses, give that person a camera to take pictures or video of you so that you can see what you are doing and figure out what changes to make on your own.
By observing your horse, you will also get good feedback. If you are lucky, you will have a horse like Mingo who will visibly improve when you ride well. Chances are your horse will be subtler than Mingo, so look for the little clues. It might be a relaxation in his neck or a smoother stride.
Start out with the walk. Hold your position as long as you can and constantly check yourself or have your friend check you. Some other clues that you are crooked are:
1. One leg lies on the saddle in a different position than the other one.
2. You don’t feel both seat bones on the saddle. One may be floating off the edge of it, or it is floating above the saddle.
3. You keep losing the same stirrup.
I highly, highly recommend the books and videotapes by Mary Wanless. The information that she teaches might sound bizarre compared to the “heads up—heels down” statement you may be accustomed too, but it really works. I’ve used her style of riding with a Western saddle, too, and it is still effective. What she does is tell you how to use your muscles in a very specific way to achieve balance.
One more part of riding that is often abused that you don’t need lessons to fix is rein contact. Watch your hands. Strong and constant rein pressure will just aggravate your horse. I have seen people riding with heavy hands while using curb bits and running martingales. I thought that trail riding was supposed to be relaxing. For trail riding, light contact or a slack rein is the most appropriate. If you need to have tight contact to control your horse, it is time to go back to the drawing board. Your horse needs retraining, and you need to learn to let go. If it is just a case of nerves on your part where you only feel safe with strong control, you will have to train yourself.
We used to keep our horses at a stable where there was a sweet Tennessee Walking mare. She had perfect manners, never spooked and would have been a joy to ride, but somewhere along the line, she lost her brakes. She wouldn’t settle down to walk or do her running walk. All she wanted to do was go, go, go… Her owner, being a novice, decided she needed a stronger bit. She bought a torture device. It was a long-shanked jointed bit with a twisted wire mouthpiece. It slowed her horse down a little bit, but she still needed to ride with a death grip on the reins. As life goes sometimes, she ended up having a falling out with her husband and filed for a divorce. She vanished for quite a while, and her husband was taking care of the mare. My sister thought it was time to make the bit disappear so the husband wouldn’t use it. When he did occasionally ride, he used the old curb bit that was originally used on the horse. Since the mare wasn’t getting exercise, he ended up leasing her out to another novice. Sometimes, a novice rider with an open mind is a good thing. We told him how he could retrain the mare to ride with a loose rein. After a few months of patient work, she was just fine. No one ever did find that bit…
If you are able to ride with a slack rein most of the time except when you want to tell your horse to do something or you feel a shorter rein is warranted, (a snowplow is coming down the street spraying snow all over) take up the rein gently without jabbing your horse’s mouth. There is no use riding with a loose rein all the time if your horse is worried about random mouth jabs. He won’t mind a gentle gathering of the reins, though.
The bit you use is important. They are very powerful tools. Whole books have been written on bits, so I won’t do that now, but here are the bare basics. If possible, it is best to ride in a snaffle because it is more forgiving than a curb (although they can still be abused.) Snaffle bits are connected directly to the mouthpiece—there are no shanks. It doesn’t matter what the mouthpiece looks like. It can be broken or solid. If the reins connect directly to the mouthpiece, it is a snaffle. A few years back, I was at a horse club meeting where the subject was bits. There was a woman from the local tack shop giving a talk. She held up a bit with a jointed mouthpiece and shanks. She asked how many people thought this was a snaffle. I was shocked at the number of people who raised their hands. Many of them I knew had been involved with horses for decades, yet they still thought it was a snaffle. If there are shanks to give the bit leverage and a curb chain, it is a curb bit. This includes all the “cowboy snaffles” and Tom Thumb bits out there.
Snaffle bits will put the same amount of pressure on a horse’s mouth that you exert with your hands. If you pull with 5 pounds of pressure, his mouth will feel 5 pounds of pressure. A curb bit will magnify the pressure of your hands depending on the length of the shanks. They longer the shanks, the stronger the bit. A long-shanked bit can turn your hands into serious weapons unless you ride in a thoughtful manner.
Now, to clear up one more thing. The jointed curb bits with one joint are not gentle—even if they don’t have twisted wire mouthpieces. A lot of people will use them because they think they have that joint are kinder then a curb bit with a solid mouthpiece, but they are one of the cruelest bits out there. When you ask to turn or stop with the bit, because there are so many moving parts, it puts pressure in all different parts of the mouth at the same time. Your horse doesn’t know what you want, and he becomes confused. He may start fussing with his mouth, jerking or tossing his head and it may even lead to rearing. Sure, he will eventually figure it out, but at what cost.
I have never liked this bit, and when my boyfriend starting leasing a horse that was used in this bit, it really bothered me. I don’t think it bothered me as much as it bothered his horse. He was constantly fussing with the bit, and even with a slack rein, he held his neck arched and his nose tucked in to avoid contact. He never seemed comfortable. I think worrying about what the bit was going to do next preoccupied him. My boyfriend was hesitant to change to a different bit because he didn’t own the horse. Finally, a miracle happened. The bit broke. Kevin decided to buy a new bit. Since his horse was never hard to stop, he decided on a Kimberwicki. His horse instantly transformed into a relaxed and comfortable creature. From a distance, I saw them trotting a few days later, and he honestly looked like a different horse.
There is one more aspect to riding well, and that is being physically fit. A person who is not in shape can’t possibly ride well for a long period of time without feeling it in a big way. When you get tired, you will start to ride sloppy and inadvertently cause discomfort for your horse. Someone who rides 5 hours a day, everyday, will get very fit from the riding alone, but if you are like me—you have a fulltime job and/or family to take care of, it isn’t possible to ride like that. There are other things you can do to increase your stamina.
To strengthen specific riding muscles, I have found the Core Program incredibly helpful. All you need is the book “The Core Program” by Peggy Brill and 15 minutes a day. She explains how to do specific exercises that will make you a better rider, though I doubt that that was her initial intention. Instead, she wanted to help people eliminate the pains that we collect as we get older. My sister and I started the Core Program to aid our riding, and we watched much of our soreness disappear. In the meantime, we became stronger, more balanced and straighter. (I actually ended up a 1/4” taller, somehow.)
Being able to breathe steadily while your ride is a very useful talent. Just because we breathe to stay alive, doesn’t mean we know how to breathe properly. If you are interested in improve your breathing skills, try taking a class on Yoga. If you don’t have the time for that, there are some good books on Yoga that will help you to teach yourself.
I also recommend doing some cardiovascular exercises—it’s also a case of something that will help your riding and help your own personal health at the same time. Bike riding, running, roller skating, swimming or hiking are all terrific exercises that can be fun, too. I always tell people that I’m cross training. If you have a dog, increase your dog walks and your pup will benefit, too. In fact, your dog will make sure you stick to a program of exercise once you get him in the routine. Dogs are terrific about that. If all this exercise helps you lose a few extra pounds, I think your horse will be quite pleased with that, too.
If you can’t take lessons for whatever reasons, you can still learn a lot on your own. Get some good books or videotapes and learn exactly what you should look like. Even better, have a companion also learn what you should look like when you are in the saddle. Make sure you and your companion are using the same vocabulary to describe what you are doing and then start to practice. This is how my sister and I did it and still do it.
If the only person you have to help you is a complete ignoramus about horses, give that person a camera to take pictures or video of you so that you can see what you are doing and figure out what changes to make on your own.
By observing your horse, you will also get good feedback. If you are lucky, you will have a horse like Mingo who will visibly improve when you ride well. Chances are your horse will be subtler than Mingo, so look for the little clues. It might be a relaxation in his neck or a smoother stride.
Start out with the walk. Hold your position as long as you can and constantly check yourself or have your friend check you. Some other clues that you are crooked are:
1. One leg lies on the saddle in a different position than the other one.
2. You don’t feel both seat bones on the saddle. One may be floating off the edge of it, or it is floating above the saddle.
3. You keep losing the same stirrup.
I highly, highly recommend the books and videotapes by Mary Wanless. The information that she teaches might sound bizarre compared to the “heads up—heels down” statement you may be accustomed too, but it really works. I’ve used her style of riding with a Western saddle, too, and it is still effective. What she does is tell you how to use your muscles in a very specific way to achieve balance.
One more part of riding that is often abused that you don’t need lessons to fix is rein contact. Watch your hands. Strong and constant rein pressure will just aggravate your horse. I have seen people riding with heavy hands while using curb bits and running martingales. I thought that trail riding was supposed to be relaxing. For trail riding, light contact or a slack rein is the most appropriate. If you need to have tight contact to control your horse, it is time to go back to the drawing board. Your horse needs retraining, and you need to learn to let go. If it is just a case of nerves on your part where you only feel safe with strong control, you will have to train yourself.
We used to keep our horses at a stable where there was a sweet Tennessee Walking mare. She had perfect manners, never spooked and would have been a joy to ride, but somewhere along the line, she lost her brakes. She wouldn’t settle down to walk or do her running walk. All she wanted to do was go, go, go… Her owner, being a novice, decided she needed a stronger bit. She bought a torture device. It was a long-shanked jointed bit with a twisted wire mouthpiece. It slowed her horse down a little bit, but she still needed to ride with a death grip on the reins. As life goes sometimes, she ended up having a falling out with her husband and filed for a divorce. She vanished for quite a while, and her husband was taking care of the mare. My sister thought it was time to make the bit disappear so the husband wouldn’t use it. When he did occasionally ride, he used the old curb bit that was originally used on the horse. Since the mare wasn’t getting exercise, he ended up leasing her out to another novice. Sometimes, a novice rider with an open mind is a good thing. We told him how he could retrain the mare to ride with a loose rein. After a few months of patient work, she was just fine. No one ever did find that bit…
If you are able to ride with a slack rein most of the time except when you want to tell your horse to do something or you feel a shorter rein is warranted, (a snowplow is coming down the street spraying snow all over) take up the rein gently without jabbing your horse’s mouth. There is no use riding with a loose rein all the time if your horse is worried about random mouth jabs. He won’t mind a gentle gathering of the reins, though.
The bit you use is important. They are very powerful tools. Whole books have been written on bits, so I won’t do that now, but here are the bare basics. If possible, it is best to ride in a snaffle because it is more forgiving than a curb (although they can still be abused.) Snaffle bits are connected directly to the mouthpiece—there are no shanks. It doesn’t matter what the mouthpiece looks like. It can be broken or solid. If the reins connect directly to the mouthpiece, it is a snaffle. A few years back, I was at a horse club meeting where the subject was bits. There was a woman from the local tack shop giving a talk. She held up a bit with a jointed mouthpiece and shanks. She asked how many people thought this was a snaffle. I was shocked at the number of people who raised their hands. Many of them I knew had been involved with horses for decades, yet they still thought it was a snaffle. If there are shanks to give the bit leverage and a curb chain, it is a curb bit. This includes all the “cowboy snaffles” and Tom Thumb bits out there.
Snaffle bits will put the same amount of pressure on a horse’s mouth that you exert with your hands. If you pull with 5 pounds of pressure, his mouth will feel 5 pounds of pressure. A curb bit will magnify the pressure of your hands depending on the length of the shanks. They longer the shanks, the stronger the bit. A long-shanked bit can turn your hands into serious weapons unless you ride in a thoughtful manner.
Now, to clear up one more thing. The jointed curb bits with one joint are not gentle—even if they don’t have twisted wire mouthpieces. A lot of people will use them because they think they have that joint are kinder then a curb bit with a solid mouthpiece, but they are one of the cruelest bits out there. When you ask to turn or stop with the bit, because there are so many moving parts, it puts pressure in all different parts of the mouth at the same time. Your horse doesn’t know what you want, and he becomes confused. He may start fussing with his mouth, jerking or tossing his head and it may even lead to rearing. Sure, he will eventually figure it out, but at what cost.
I have never liked this bit, and when my boyfriend starting leasing a horse that was used in this bit, it really bothered me. I don’t think it bothered me as much as it bothered his horse. He was constantly fussing with the bit, and even with a slack rein, he held his neck arched and his nose tucked in to avoid contact. He never seemed comfortable. I think worrying about what the bit was going to do next preoccupied him. My boyfriend was hesitant to change to a different bit because he didn’t own the horse. Finally, a miracle happened. The bit broke. Kevin decided to buy a new bit. Since his horse was never hard to stop, he decided on a Kimberwicki. His horse instantly transformed into a relaxed and comfortable creature. From a distance, I saw them trotting a few days later, and he honestly looked like a different horse.
There is one more aspect to riding well, and that is being physically fit. A person who is not in shape can’t possibly ride well for a long period of time without feeling it in a big way. When you get tired, you will start to ride sloppy and inadvertently cause discomfort for your horse. Someone who rides 5 hours a day, everyday, will get very fit from the riding alone, but if you are like me—you have a fulltime job and/or family to take care of, it isn’t possible to ride like that. There are other things you can do to increase your stamina.
To strengthen specific riding muscles, I have found the Core Program incredibly helpful. All you need is the book “The Core Program” by Peggy Brill and 15 minutes a day. She explains how to do specific exercises that will make you a better rider, though I doubt that that was her initial intention. Instead, she wanted to help people eliminate the pains that we collect as we get older. My sister and I started the Core Program to aid our riding, and we watched much of our soreness disappear. In the meantime, we became stronger, more balanced and straighter. (I actually ended up a 1/4” taller, somehow.)
Being able to breathe steadily while your ride is a very useful talent. Just because we breathe to stay alive, doesn’t mean we know how to breathe properly. If you are interested in improve your breathing skills, try taking a class on Yoga. If you don’t have the time for that, there are some good books on Yoga that will help you to teach yourself.
I also recommend doing some cardiovascular exercises—it’s also a case of something that will help your riding and help your own personal health at the same time. Bike riding, running, roller skating, swimming or hiking are all terrific exercises that can be fun, too. I always tell people that I’m cross training. If you have a dog, increase your dog walks and your pup will benefit, too. In fact, your dog will make sure you stick to a program of exercise once you get him in the routine. Dogs are terrific about that. If all this exercise helps you lose a few extra pounds, I think your horse will be quite pleased with that, too.
Trail Training Newsletter – 98 - part 1
Trail Training Newsletter – 98
March 2009
Dear Readers,
February has been a horrible month for us for trail riding. I don’t think that I was out on the trail a single time. The river is thawed out, but that hasn’t made any difference. Some days, the hill was icy. Other days, the driveway was icy. The few times I could have made it out were workdays, and it is still too dark in the evenings after work. Kevin got across the river a few times this month, but that’s because he is retired and was able to take advantage of the good days. March is sure to be better. I know the horses will be all excitable and silly. They always are when they haven’t been out enough.
We have been working hard in the arena, but we are losing interest in it. Mingo has become reluctant. Cruiser, who hasn’t seen the trail since the end of December, has some very good days and some days that he is seriously spooking. I think they both need to get out. Ranger just keeps getting better, but Ellen is getting restless. Spring, where are you!March 2009
Dear Readers,
February has been a horrible month for us for trail riding. I don’t think that I was out on the trail a single time. The river is thawed out, but that hasn’t made any difference. Some days, the hill was icy. Other days, the driveway was icy. The few times I could have made it out were workdays, and it is still too dark in the evenings after work. Kevin got across the river a few times this month, but that’s because he is retired and was able to take advantage of the good days. March is sure to be better. I know the horses will be all excitable and silly. They always are when they haven’t been out enough.
We have been working hard in the arena, but we are losing interest in it. Mingo has become reluctant. Cruiser, who hasn’t seen the trail since the end of December, has some very good days and some days that he is seriously spooking. I think they both need to get out. Ranger just keeps getting better, but Ellen is getting restless. Spring, where are you!
March 2009
Dear Readers,
February has been a horrible month for us for trail riding. I don’t think that I was out on the trail a single time. The river is thawed out, but that hasn’t made any difference. Some days, the hill was icy. Other days, the driveway was icy. The few times I could have made it out were workdays, and it is still too dark in the evenings after work. Kevin got across the river a few times this month, but that’s because he is retired and was able to take advantage of the good days. March is sure to be better. I know the horses will be all excitable and silly. They always are when they haven’t been out enough.
We have been working hard in the arena, but we are losing interest in it. Mingo has become reluctant. Cruiser, who hasn’t seen the trail since the end of December, has some very good days and some days that he is seriously spooking. I think they both need to get out. Ranger just keeps getting better, but Ellen is getting restless. Spring, where are you!March 2009
Dear Readers,
February has been a horrible month for us for trail riding. I don’t think that I was out on the trail a single time. The river is thawed out, but that hasn’t made any difference. Some days, the hill was icy. Other days, the driveway was icy. The few times I could have made it out were workdays, and it is still too dark in the evenings after work. Kevin got across the river a few times this month, but that’s because he is retired and was able to take advantage of the good days. March is sure to be better. I know the horses will be all excitable and silly. They always are when they haven’t been out enough.
We have been working hard in the arena, but we are losing interest in it. Mingo has become reluctant. Cruiser, who hasn’t seen the trail since the end of December, has some very good days and some days that he is seriously spooking. I think they both need to get out. Ranger just keeps getting better, but Ellen is getting restless. Spring, where are you!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The Importance of Riding Well
The Importance of Riding Well
Riding well—it is so obvious, but so many, many trail riders don’t see the importance of it. Once they learn to stay in the saddle at all gaits, (a must for trail riding, of course) they think they are done. When I ride down the trail, I see so many poor riders, and it looks like they make no effort to improve themselves. Every other sport in the world of horses realizes the importance or good riding, why don’t we? I think this is one of the reasons that riders from other sports do not take trail riders seriously—because we don’t take riding seriously, ourselves.
The only difference between other riding sports and trail riding is that we don’t have judges awarding us to give us incentives. No one is handing out ribbons for excellent trail riding. When was the last time you had someone approach you and say that you trotted that last section of the trail in a lovely, balanced position? I never had it happen to me, either. Now, you are probably saying. “What difference does it make? We are only trail riding. ”
Whoa—did I hear you say we are only trail riding? Does that mean you truly think that riding crooked makes no difference at all? I would say that it makes more difference, as far as the good of your horse, than in a show ring.
Think about it. Carry an unbalanced backpack on your back for 20 minutes at all gaits while in a show ring, and then carry the same unbalanced pack on a 2-hour hike at all gaits and through all sorts of terrain. Tell me which will make you sorer at the end of the day. A well-balanced rider is essential to the comfort of her horse—no doubt about it.
Some people are born natural riders. You may have seen them yourselves. They may never have had a lesson, but sit lovely in the saddle without much effort. And then there are the rest of us…
I’m one of those people who have had to work very hard on my riding, and still, when I see pictures of myself on horseback, I cringe because I think I can do better than what I see. I am always reminding myself to pay attention to the way I am sitting. Photos and videos are very helpful in showing us how poorly we ride; but first, we need to know what to look for when we see the pictures.
Most of us were born a little crooked. Have someone take a picture of you riding from the back. Your shoulders and your hips should be level. If one shoulder is higher than the other and one hip is lower, you are lopsided. I often see people who are riding crooked, and I am sure they aren’t aware of it in the least. I often wonder how it could possibly be comfortable, but the human body just gets used to the status quo and changes feel awkward. A person’s shoulders will be crooked, not because there is anything wrong with their shoulders, but because their whole side is compressed on one side. The side with the lower shoulder needs to be straightened out.
Now, for your vertical alignment. This is a big one. All the riding books and riding instructors will talk about a shoulder-hip-heel alignment, but how many people work on keeping it while they are riding on the trail? For that matter, how many people realize how far off they are from the ideal? I cringe when I see someone shoving their heels forward as they sit back in the saddle. What do they think—that they are sitting on a chair and resting their feet on the footrest? A horse is not a recliner! Not even a gaited horse!
So now, you are wondering what the big deal is all about, after all, you are comfortable. If you ride like this, you are not in balance. You are putting undue stress on your horse’s spine because you are not carrying your own weight. Stress means pain, eventually. Is this what you want to do?00
If your saddle fits, yet your horse seems to have back pain, look to your riding. Does your horse get crabby after an hour or so of riding? Has he become fussy when you saddle him? If you run your hand in the area that the saddle sits on, does he flinch? You might hear tail swishing, your horse may not allow you to mount him without a fuss or he might act in a totally different way. Some horses just shut down. They simply don’t want to go along in a happy manner. If you ever rode a horse who truly enjoyed a trail ride, you would know the difference. How can a horse enjoy himself if he is sore?
If you want to post, it is harder to do if you are out of balance, and you may use the reins for support and not even be aware of it. Undoubtedly, you will not be landing lightly in the saddle, either. In the end, posting out of balance is harder on you, too. By being in balance, you can post lightly and the horse can easily push you back up. Imagine you are sitting on a stool with your feet in front of you as if you are sitting in a regular chair. If you want to stand up without using your hands for balance, you will need to move your feet so they are underneath your body. Why wouldn’t it be the same if you were posting.
Some horses are more tolerant than others. My horse, Mingo, is a very tough horse to ride in the arena because he expects you to be perfectly in balance. This is great for me because it keeps me aware of what I am doing in the saddle. He is a terrific feedback horse. On the trail, though, he will go the way your point him, and if you are satisfied with that, everything is fine. I wasn’t satisfied with that, though. I liked the way he trotted in the arena, better than the way he slowly jogged down the trail. I found that the only way to consistently get him to move nicely on the trail (if we were going away from home—towards home isn’t so much of a problem) was to ride him as carefully and precisely as I do in the arena. The day I realized that that is what he expected, I was riding all by myself, and I blurted out, “You’re kidding, Mingo, I have to do that here, too? ”
My sister and I have had some problems with Cruiser and Ranger. When we trot or canter towards home, they get a little hyper and try to turn it into a race. We have tried various things that have helped quite a bit, but we have also discovered that none of those things will work well unless we ride in what we call “the seat. ”If we can stabilize our bodies when they are flying down the trail in a mega-trot or a big canter, (not always an easy thing to do) we can get some semblance of control. Then we can keep the front horse from going so fast that he instigates a race, from slowing down to encourage the back horse to pass and to keep the horse in the back to stay where we want him and not challenge the front horse. Ideally, we will trot right next to each other at the same speed. There is no way we can do it on our two high-powered horses if we were flopping all around the saddle.
Now, what do can you do to help your riding? Of course, lessons are the first thing that comes to mind, but it isn’t always an option. There is always a chance that there are not any good instructors around you. I’ve sat in some crummy lessons in my time at the various boarding stables that I’ve kept my horses at over the years. Anyone can give lessons—that doesn’t mean they are worthwhile. Don’t waste your time if you don’t feel a person is qualified. There are two good ways to find out. Ideally, you can watch the instructor give a lesson to someone else. The instructor should be knowledgeable, patient and be able to explain concepts clearly. There are some very talented riders that can’t explain what they are doing. A good rider may not be a good teacher. Another good test is to watch the person ride. I have seen some very poor riders that give lessons. Good teaching cannot happen if the teacher can’t ride. That’s even worse than a good rider who is a bad teacher.
Another obstacle to taking lessons that some people have is the lack of proper facilities at their barn. There are plenty of people who don’t have a good riding area except for the trails. There are others who may have a good ring, but it is only dry enough 3 months out of the year. Other people may board their horses in places that don’t allow lessons. (There are a few in our area like that. )Maybe you could trailer your horse to a place where you can take lessons—but don’t have a trailer. Realistically, how can you take lessons if there is place to take them?
Then there is the cost. You may not be able to afford lessons. They can be very expensive. Owning horses is costly enough without adding another big bill. It is nothing in our area to pay $30.00-$40.00 per hour for a private lesson. To get real benefit from lessons, you can’t just take a handful. At that point, you are just getting warmed up
Stay tuned…next month I will give you tips on how to improve your trail riding skills.
Riding well—it is so obvious, but so many, many trail riders don’t see the importance of it. Once they learn to stay in the saddle at all gaits, (a must for trail riding, of course) they think they are done. When I ride down the trail, I see so many poor riders, and it looks like they make no effort to improve themselves. Every other sport in the world of horses realizes the importance or good riding, why don’t we? I think this is one of the reasons that riders from other sports do not take trail riders seriously—because we don’t take riding seriously, ourselves.
The only difference between other riding sports and trail riding is that we don’t have judges awarding us to give us incentives. No one is handing out ribbons for excellent trail riding. When was the last time you had someone approach you and say that you trotted that last section of the trail in a lovely, balanced position? I never had it happen to me, either. Now, you are probably saying. “What difference does it make? We are only trail riding. ”
Whoa—did I hear you say we are only trail riding? Does that mean you truly think that riding crooked makes no difference at all? I would say that it makes more difference, as far as the good of your horse, than in a show ring.
Think about it. Carry an unbalanced backpack on your back for 20 minutes at all gaits while in a show ring, and then carry the same unbalanced pack on a 2-hour hike at all gaits and through all sorts of terrain. Tell me which will make you sorer at the end of the day. A well-balanced rider is essential to the comfort of her horse—no doubt about it.
Some people are born natural riders. You may have seen them yourselves. They may never have had a lesson, but sit lovely in the saddle without much effort. And then there are the rest of us…
I’m one of those people who have had to work very hard on my riding, and still, when I see pictures of myself on horseback, I cringe because I think I can do better than what I see. I am always reminding myself to pay attention to the way I am sitting. Photos and videos are very helpful in showing us how poorly we ride; but first, we need to know what to look for when we see the pictures.
Most of us were born a little crooked. Have someone take a picture of you riding from the back. Your shoulders and your hips should be level. If one shoulder is higher than the other and one hip is lower, you are lopsided. I often see people who are riding crooked, and I am sure they aren’t aware of it in the least. I often wonder how it could possibly be comfortable, but the human body just gets used to the status quo and changes feel awkward. A person’s shoulders will be crooked, not because there is anything wrong with their shoulders, but because their whole side is compressed on one side. The side with the lower shoulder needs to be straightened out.
Now, for your vertical alignment. This is a big one. All the riding books and riding instructors will talk about a shoulder-hip-heel alignment, but how many people work on keeping it while they are riding on the trail? For that matter, how many people realize how far off they are from the ideal? I cringe when I see someone shoving their heels forward as they sit back in the saddle. What do they think—that they are sitting on a chair and resting their feet on the footrest? A horse is not a recliner! Not even a gaited horse!
So now, you are wondering what the big deal is all about, after all, you are comfortable. If you ride like this, you are not in balance. You are putting undue stress on your horse’s spine because you are not carrying your own weight. Stress means pain, eventually. Is this what you want to do?00
If your saddle fits, yet your horse seems to have back pain, look to your riding. Does your horse get crabby after an hour or so of riding? Has he become fussy when you saddle him? If you run your hand in the area that the saddle sits on, does he flinch? You might hear tail swishing, your horse may not allow you to mount him without a fuss or he might act in a totally different way. Some horses just shut down. They simply don’t want to go along in a happy manner. If you ever rode a horse who truly enjoyed a trail ride, you would know the difference. How can a horse enjoy himself if he is sore?
If you want to post, it is harder to do if you are out of balance, and you may use the reins for support and not even be aware of it. Undoubtedly, you will not be landing lightly in the saddle, either. In the end, posting out of balance is harder on you, too. By being in balance, you can post lightly and the horse can easily push you back up. Imagine you are sitting on a stool with your feet in front of you as if you are sitting in a regular chair. If you want to stand up without using your hands for balance, you will need to move your feet so they are underneath your body. Why wouldn’t it be the same if you were posting.
Some horses are more tolerant than others. My horse, Mingo, is a very tough horse to ride in the arena because he expects you to be perfectly in balance. This is great for me because it keeps me aware of what I am doing in the saddle. He is a terrific feedback horse. On the trail, though, he will go the way your point him, and if you are satisfied with that, everything is fine. I wasn’t satisfied with that, though. I liked the way he trotted in the arena, better than the way he slowly jogged down the trail. I found that the only way to consistently get him to move nicely on the trail (if we were going away from home—towards home isn’t so much of a problem) was to ride him as carefully and precisely as I do in the arena. The day I realized that that is what he expected, I was riding all by myself, and I blurted out, “You’re kidding, Mingo, I have to do that here, too? ”
My sister and I have had some problems with Cruiser and Ranger. When we trot or canter towards home, they get a little hyper and try to turn it into a race. We have tried various things that have helped quite a bit, but we have also discovered that none of those things will work well unless we ride in what we call “the seat. ”If we can stabilize our bodies when they are flying down the trail in a mega-trot or a big canter, (not always an easy thing to do) we can get some semblance of control. Then we can keep the front horse from going so fast that he instigates a race, from slowing down to encourage the back horse to pass and to keep the horse in the back to stay where we want him and not challenge the front horse. Ideally, we will trot right next to each other at the same speed. There is no way we can do it on our two high-powered horses if we were flopping all around the saddle.
Now, what do can you do to help your riding? Of course, lessons are the first thing that comes to mind, but it isn’t always an option. There is always a chance that there are not any good instructors around you. I’ve sat in some crummy lessons in my time at the various boarding stables that I’ve kept my horses at over the years. Anyone can give lessons—that doesn’t mean they are worthwhile. Don’t waste your time if you don’t feel a person is qualified. There are two good ways to find out. Ideally, you can watch the instructor give a lesson to someone else. The instructor should be knowledgeable, patient and be able to explain concepts clearly. There are some very talented riders that can’t explain what they are doing. A good rider may not be a good teacher. Another good test is to watch the person ride. I have seen some very poor riders that give lessons. Good teaching cannot happen if the teacher can’t ride. That’s even worse than a good rider who is a bad teacher.
Another obstacle to taking lessons that some people have is the lack of proper facilities at their barn. There are plenty of people who don’t have a good riding area except for the trails. There are others who may have a good ring, but it is only dry enough 3 months out of the year. Other people may board their horses in places that don’t allow lessons. (There are a few in our area like that. )Maybe you could trailer your horse to a place where you can take lessons—but don’t have a trailer. Realistically, how can you take lessons if there is place to take them?
Then there is the cost. You may not be able to afford lessons. They can be very expensive. Owning horses is costly enough without adding another big bill. It is nothing in our area to pay $30.00-$40.00 per hour for a private lesson. To get real benefit from lessons, you can’t just take a handful. At that point, you are just getting warmed up
Stay tuned…next month I will give you tips on how to improve your trail riding skills.
Lessons about Horses Learned from Cats
I have had (not owned) cats all my life, and I just adore them. My current cat, Thunder, is a Mini Maine Coon Mix, and we are best buddies, to say the least. Whenever I am in the house, he is with me. If I am in a different room, for some reason, he calls for me. Silly me, I usually run to him to see what he wants. He has slept with me every night since I got him, too. Sure, he wanders off before dawn, but he often comes back bringing a toy with him.
Since I have spent so many years with cats, I have a pretty good idea what they are thinking and what they want. If Thunder holds his plume-like tail up in the air, he wants me to follow him. When he sits on his round pedestal, he is ready for bed. If he looks up at the microwave, he wants a toy. If he sits funny, he doesn’t feel good. Just call me the cat whisperer.
Well not really. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to learn more about how cats think. I started wandering about the internet. After some time, I finally found what I was looking for—some very good articles about cat behavior. I went right to the ones about body language. Most of it I already knew, but I was surprised to read that cats do not like direct eye contact. That is why a cat will walk into a room of people, go directly to the person who doesn’t like cats, and say hello. It is not because the cat knows about the person’s dislike for cats. It is because that is the only person not looking at him! All the cat lovers can’t take their eyes off the cat.
This got me thinking. The only time that Thunder acts a little out of character is at night. I put him on the bed, and he will sit there, looking at the floor for a couple minutes. I talk to him and rub him behind his ears. Eventually, he will curl up by my side and go to sleep. At other times, when he sits on my lap, he will purr himself to sleep, but not at night.
It was time to experiment. That night, I brought him upstairs, put him on the bed and I looked at him with half-closed eyes. He burst out in purrs! He ended up purring himself to sleep. This is how he has been ever since.
Now how does this apply to horses? First of all, it emphasizes how important body language is when working with other species. Ever try leading a horse by facing him and pulling the lead rope? Horses will go the direction that you are facing, not the direction you are pulling. (I have taught my horses to respond correctly to this, in case I have to lead them through a narrow place and I want to go first—you can too.) Try lounging and having your body in the wrong place or facing where your horse is coming from instead of where he is going. If your horse is reluctant to trot on the lounge line, try trotting yourself in place. The list goes on—just ask Kevin who is learning all of this for the first time with Starry. By the way, he is doing very well with lounging Starry, now.
This applies to horses in another way. Just because I had cats my whole life, it didn’t mean I couldn’t still learn something about them. It is the same thing with horses. We can’t stop learning if we want to be true horsemen and horsewomen. Now, I truly believe that the people who are reading this feel just that way—that’s why you signed up for my newsletter—to learn along with me.
Beware of the people who know it all. They often don’t know very much because they have decided they don’t need to learn anymore. If you hear someone say that he or she has been riding since the age of four, that doesn’t necessarily mean their advice is valid. Take all advice, even mine, with a grain of salt. Only until you have thought it through thoroughly, should you take it seriously. I have received and heard of other people receiving very bad, even dangerous advice from the so-called “experts” that have been into horses for years. Beware! ! !
Be smart, be safe and if you want your cat to purr, try looking at him with half-closed eyes.
I have had (not owned) cats all my life, and I just adore them. My current cat, Thunder, is a Mini Maine Coon Mix, and we are best buddies, to say the least. Whenever I am in the house, he is with me. If I am in a different room, for some reason, he calls for me. Silly me, I usually run to him to see what he wants. He has slept with me every night since I got him, too. Sure, he wanders off before dawn, but he often comes back bringing a toy with him.
Since I have spent so many years with cats, I have a pretty good idea what they are thinking and what they want. If Thunder holds his plume-like tail up in the air, he wants me to follow him. When he sits on his round pedestal, he is ready for bed. If he looks up at the microwave, he wants a toy. If he sits funny, he doesn’t feel good. Just call me the cat whisperer.
Well not really. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to learn more about how cats think. I started wandering about the internet. After some time, I finally found what I was looking for—some very good articles about cat behavior. I went right to the ones about body language. Most of it I already knew, but I was surprised to read that cats do not like direct eye contact. That is why a cat will walk into a room of people, go directly to the person who doesn’t like cats, and say hello. It is not because the cat knows about the person’s dislike for cats. It is because that is the only person not looking at him! All the cat lovers can’t take their eyes off the cat.
This got me thinking. The only time that Thunder acts a little out of character is at night. I put him on the bed, and he will sit there, looking at the floor for a couple minutes. I talk to him and rub him behind his ears. Eventually, he will curl up by my side and go to sleep. At other times, when he sits on my lap, he will purr himself to sleep, but not at night.
It was time to experiment. That night, I brought him upstairs, put him on the bed and I looked at him with half-closed eyes. He burst out in purrs! He ended up purring himself to sleep. This is how he has been ever since.
Now how does this apply to horses? First of all, it emphasizes how important body language is when working with other species. Ever try leading a horse by facing him and pulling the lead rope? Horses will go the direction that you are facing, not the direction you are pulling. (I have taught my horses to respond correctly to this, in case I have to lead them through a narrow place and I want to go first—you can too.) Try lounging and having your body in the wrong place or facing where your horse is coming from instead of where he is going. If your horse is reluctant to trot on the lounge line, try trotting yourself in place. The list goes on—just ask Kevin who is learning all of this for the first time with Starry. By the way, he is doing very well with lounging Starry, now.
This applies to horses in another way. Just because I had cats my whole life, it didn’t mean I couldn’t still learn something about them. It is the same thing with horses. We can’t stop learning if we want to be true horsemen and horsewomen. Now, I truly believe that the people who are reading this feel just that way—that’s why you signed up for my newsletter—to learn along with me.
Beware of the people who know it all. They often don’t know very much because they have decided they don’t need to learn anymore. If you hear someone say that he or she has been riding since the age of four, that doesn’t necessarily mean their advice is valid. Take all advice, even mine, with a grain of salt. Only until you have thought it through thoroughly, should you take it seriously. I have received and heard of other people receiving very bad, even dangerous advice from the so-called “experts” that have been into horses for years. Beware! ! !
Be smart, be safe and if you want your cat to purr, try looking at him with half-closed eyes.
Trail Training Newsletter – 97
February 2009
Dear Readers,
It has been a bad winter for us. Every now and then, I can take Mingo down to the frozen river and back. We have had a lot of snow, extreme cold and an icy driveway. Kevin rides the hill much more, since he is retired. Ellen has decided that she is better off working in the arena where it is warmer, and she can be more productive. (And she is—Ranger is doing better for her this year than ever. )I can’t ride Cruiser in the snow because he needs shoes to support his tendon. Last year, when I pulled his shoes, he reinjured his tendon, so it isn’t worth the risk to me, just to ride out in the snow and cold. That’s what Mingo is for!
Kevin had a bit of excitement while he was riding up and down the hill on Starry. There was at least a foot of snow on it, at the time. Someone was leading a horse down the river that Starry never saw before, and he became fixated. He wanted desperately to follow the horse up the hill. When Kevin wouldn’t let him, Starry decided to leap into the ditch by the side of the trail. He had his front legs in the ditch and started tilting to the side. The next thing Kevin knew, Starry brought his hind legs into the ditch, too. Now, Kevin wasn’t sure how he should handle the problem. While he was pondering the problem, Starry pivoted and took a big leap out. Kevin stayed in the saddle and was in a state of shock. All is well that ends well. Remember, when you aren’t sure what to do, sit still, hold on and maybe your horse will solve the problem for you.
February 2009
Dear Readers,
It has been a bad winter for us. Every now and then, I can take Mingo down to the frozen river and back. We have had a lot of snow, extreme cold and an icy driveway. Kevin rides the hill much more, since he is retired. Ellen has decided that she is better off working in the arena where it is warmer, and she can be more productive. (And she is—Ranger is doing better for her this year than ever. )I can’t ride Cruiser in the snow because he needs shoes to support his tendon. Last year, when I pulled his shoes, he reinjured his tendon, so it isn’t worth the risk to me, just to ride out in the snow and cold. That’s what Mingo is for!
Kevin had a bit of excitement while he was riding up and down the hill on Starry. There was at least a foot of snow on it, at the time. Someone was leading a horse down the river that Starry never saw before, and he became fixated. He wanted desperately to follow the horse up the hill. When Kevin wouldn’t let him, Starry decided to leap into the ditch by the side of the trail. He had his front legs in the ditch and started tilting to the side. The next thing Kevin knew, Starry brought his hind legs into the ditch, too. Now, Kevin wasn’t sure how he should handle the problem. While he was pondering the problem, Starry pivoted and took a big leap out. Kevin stayed in the saddle and was in a state of shock. All is well that ends well. Remember, when you aren’t sure what to do, sit still, hold on and maybe your horse will solve the problem for you.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Trail Training Newsletter - #89 - part 2
Speeding Up Molasses Mingo
My little Mingo is a wonderful horse in so many ways, and I love him very much, but there is one thing that has always bothered me about him. He is naturally slow. I really like a faster horse. It’s not his slow trot or slow canter that I don’t like. It is his slow walk.
Most of the time, I can tolerate it. If I’m riding with other horses, I can always trot to catch up. If I’m alone, I often just trot. His slow trot is as smooth as glass, and even if it takes me all day to get somewhere, it is an enjoyable trip.
The most annoying part of his slowness had been going down hills, since I avoid trotting down anything except a very slight slope. I didn’t remember him being all that slow on hills in his younger years. It seemed to get bad during the four years that he had the chronic hoof abscess from a deteriorating coffin bone. After two operations and three trips to Ohio State Veterinary College plus nearly another year, it finally healed up. I rode him whenever he was sound, but I suspect by the way he walked down the hills that the bone caused him some discomfort.
Miraculously, the foot closed up and fully healed about two years ago—long after everyone, including me, gave up on it. Yet, he still walked down hills very slowly. Since the beginning of our ride is a long hill, it drove me nuts. It took him 15 minutes to get to the river, and it only took Cruiser half the time.
Early last year, I noticed that he was able to travel down the short steep hills we encountered on the trail at a decent—even fast speed. By fall, he dramatically improved his speed on a particularly long and steep hill that we go down at least once a week. Over the winter, he lost none of his momentum. In the spring, he was still going down these hills with a fair amount of speed. Yet, he still crept down that first hill like a snail. It didn’t matter if he was following another horse, either.
I believe we can teach old horses new tricks. I just needed to find the way to explain it to him. Mingo, 13, is not done learning any more than I am done learning. There was the chance that he was walking down the first hill slowly because he wasn’t warmed up enough. Still, I thought I’d give it a try.
A couple years ago, due to his sore, abscessed hoof, he used to walk down the gravel driveway like it was killing him. He kept slowing down and stopping. I decided to make it worth his while to get to the end of the driveway by giving him a peppermint. It worked. He didn’t go fast, but he walked steadily. Only problem? He then went very slow as I led him on the street—begging for another mint. I started to wait until we got to the trail, gave him the treat and then mounted right away. It worked. He still went down the driveway decently and walked well on the street.
Last summer, I started to lead him a little bit down the trail to get him down the first steep section of the hill, give him his treat and then mount. It worked—he went faster. This spring, I decided to lead him all the way to the bottom before giving him his treat and mounting. It was a miracle—he walked down the hill like a real horse.
On the days I would give him the treat at the top of the hill and mount. He still would walk rhythmically down the hill. When the river was too high to cross, I would do multiple trips on the hill—only giving him one treat at the bottom before I mounted. He walked down well on each trip regardless of treats. Now he still isn’t speedy like Cruiser, but he can keep up with Ranger.
The only explanation I have for this is something called “remembered pain.” You may have experienced it first hand, yourself if you have ever had a horse bump your leg hard into a tree. Whenever I get near a tree, my leg will cringe with anticipation of the pain. In fact, I swear it makes my leg hurt. Mingo may have expected his foot to ouch him with each step. I had to teach Mingo that it didn’t hurt to walk down hills anymore, and the best way to do that with Mingo is with peppermints.
Mingo would stand on his head for peppermints.
My little Mingo is a wonderful horse in so many ways, and I love him very much, but there is one thing that has always bothered me about him. He is naturally slow. I really like a faster horse. It’s not his slow trot or slow canter that I don’t like. It is his slow walk.
Most of the time, I can tolerate it. If I’m riding with other horses, I can always trot to catch up. If I’m alone, I often just trot. His slow trot is as smooth as glass, and even if it takes me all day to get somewhere, it is an enjoyable trip.
The most annoying part of his slowness had been going down hills, since I avoid trotting down anything except a very slight slope. I didn’t remember him being all that slow on hills in his younger years. It seemed to get bad during the four years that he had the chronic hoof abscess from a deteriorating coffin bone. After two operations and three trips to Ohio State Veterinary College plus nearly another year, it finally healed up. I rode him whenever he was sound, but I suspect by the way he walked down the hills that the bone caused him some discomfort.
Miraculously, the foot closed up and fully healed about two years ago—long after everyone, including me, gave up on it. Yet, he still walked down hills very slowly. Since the beginning of our ride is a long hill, it drove me nuts. It took him 15 minutes to get to the river, and it only took Cruiser half the time.
Early last year, I noticed that he was able to travel down the short steep hills we encountered on the trail at a decent—even fast speed. By fall, he dramatically improved his speed on a particularly long and steep hill that we go down at least once a week. Over the winter, he lost none of his momentum. In the spring, he was still going down these hills with a fair amount of speed. Yet, he still crept down that first hill like a snail. It didn’t matter if he was following another horse, either.
I believe we can teach old horses new tricks. I just needed to find the way to explain it to him. Mingo, 13, is not done learning any more than I am done learning. There was the chance that he was walking down the first hill slowly because he wasn’t warmed up enough. Still, I thought I’d give it a try.
A couple years ago, due to his sore, abscessed hoof, he used to walk down the gravel driveway like it was killing him. He kept slowing down and stopping. I decided to make it worth his while to get to the end of the driveway by giving him a peppermint. It worked. He didn’t go fast, but he walked steadily. Only problem? He then went very slow as I led him on the street—begging for another mint. I started to wait until we got to the trail, gave him the treat and then mounted right away. It worked. He still went down the driveway decently and walked well on the street.
Last summer, I started to lead him a little bit down the trail to get him down the first steep section of the hill, give him his treat and then mount. It worked—he went faster. This spring, I decided to lead him all the way to the bottom before giving him his treat and mounting. It was a miracle—he walked down the hill like a real horse.
On the days I would give him the treat at the top of the hill and mount. He still would walk rhythmically down the hill. When the river was too high to cross, I would do multiple trips on the hill—only giving him one treat at the bottom before I mounted. He walked down well on each trip regardless of treats. Now he still isn’t speedy like Cruiser, but he can keep up with Ranger.
The only explanation I have for this is something called “remembered pain.” You may have experienced it first hand, yourself if you have ever had a horse bump your leg hard into a tree. Whenever I get near a tree, my leg will cringe with anticipation of the pain. In fact, I swear it makes my leg hurt. Mingo may have expected his foot to ouch him with each step. I had to teach Mingo that it didn’t hurt to walk down hills anymore, and the best way to do that with Mingo is with peppermints.
Mingo would stand on his head for peppermints.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
