Pro finally got put back to work last night! Between the weather and Kate being sick, he got another week long break. I wasn't willing to let the beautiful weather last night go to waste, though, so we saddled up and headed out.
Yesterday's pole exercise was going to be a square of ground poles (so 2 on the ground, then 2 on top of those to make the square) but I decided he's been doing so well with poles that I put another on top in the middle. So we had an 8' wide stretch with 3 poles where the middle one was raised ~6-8" off the ground and then we also had the option of going through it the other direction where there were 2 4' wide sections with 2 poles spaced 8' apart. I figured it'd be an extensive "discussion" to get him over the 4' wide section, but he actually went quite happily over it without trying to run off once. He seemed very happy to bounce through the grid in either direction and didn't really struggle with it. He picked his back up going through it really well initially and then got sort of lazy with it after the novelty wore off.
So that set off the 2nd part of our ride where I insisted on back UP. Not however much he felt like giving me (which was probably 33% of what I wanted) but until I said it was up. Gayle has us using the whip as an inside aide for getting him to lift his back so I'd tap with the whip very lightly behind my leg and keep at it until his back was up. Initially his head went up more than his back and there was lots of unhappy jigging and trying to scoot sideways, but I kept up with it until either a) his back was up or b) he was about to explode. Then he got no taps unless he started to drop his back and then back we went. One downside to this was it ended up making him rush, so I swapped to inside-leg taps and outside rein half-halts. I'm not sure the outside rein half-halts are the correct solution (is outside rein ever supposed to be used for half-halts or is it just a steadying presence and the inside rein does the work?) but Pro seemed to understand. I was very excited when I pulled off his saddle and he was standing there with his back mostly up even after the walk back into the barn.
I also have to give him a complement on his feeding manners. They ate outside last night and I expected that leading a hungry Pro while carrying his grain bucket and a giant flake of hay was going to be a disaster, but he did not try to mug me a single time for a mouthful of anything. I guess the barn manager must do that with him every morning so I shouldn't be surprised, but well, how many horses are that polite about their dinners?
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5 comments:
I just watched Jane Savoie's "Demystifying the Half Halt" and she says you should always do your half halts on the outside rein. The inside rein is only used for light massaging to ensure you don't get the horse counterbent.
So her explanation (IIRC) is seat/leg forward for 3 seconds while closing your fist on the outside rein and only using inside if you need to prevent bend to the outside due to your hold on that rein.
Pro has exceptional ground manners - he's such a gentleman. :) That's why I keep him!!
I definitely like your pole exercises, and I think they'll help his back by helping him move around his pelvis.
Hahaha I like your two-option way of determining when to lay off the whip - how explosive did he get? ;) Outside rein is the half-halt rein, yes.
Hopefully we're back on the path to back-up-ness, sure seems like it!
It sounds like a good ride, and like you did a great job! Good for Pro on the good ground manners, too. I let my guys get by with too much on the ground. I might have to get a refresher for us.
Gabby, I may be slow here but what is IIRC? I haven't figured it out...
Sounds like you are on the right track to getting his back up. I can't wait to meet him Easter weekend!
Christie, IIRC=If I Remember Correctly
Ah ha! Thanks!
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