Sunday, October 6, 2013

A Trail Clinic and More Happy Tears

So last Sunday was the trail clinic with CB at Cherry Croft and it was a blast. Mason came along as my little pseudo-photographer assistant and got to take some pictures when I was asked to ride a horse... Named Diablo. I warmed him up for his O when he first got there and he was great. Later down in the jump field his saddle slid and he took a digger so he asked me to finish off the clinic for him so Mason took over.

Mason on Sky the Morgan (Looks a lot like Pretty)

Warming up Diablo
Awesome shot Mason took
Our fearless Leader
They started with the bridge and everyone did well, even the little Paso Fino named Mary. She was the only one who had a hard time with it but she finally went over it, nose down, calm and cool. That's what we like!



Tasha, cutest Halflinger ever!

The infamous Gigi
After lots of patience, Mary the Paso Fino finally made it over the short way.
My new friend Diablo
Story
Beatiful mare!
On our way down to the field, Cherry Croft had set up a little water obstacle by the indoor. Everyone got to go through twice just like the bridge. Each person received the same directions from CB. With any obstacle a horse is going to want to inspect it. You can't just kick and push him over and rush through it because he's really not learning anything. It was really nice to see each person really give there horse time to think about their next step. As long as the horse was looking at the obstacle, the rider just sat. The horse backed up, he/she was asked to take a step forward. If they went, the rider let him alone but always pointing their nose to their goal. It's easier to take the time and not fight, then the second time around it's going to be easier and more pleasant for both horse and rider. Horses who rushed through the obstacle were asked to take a step and try again.

Splish Splash!
Even Missy wanted in on the action.

Mary is the baby of the group, but brave!
In the field the subject of horses not liking or getting antsy around other horses came up so each rider was set up next to each other with some space in between. The rider at the end of the line weaved in and out of the others paying attention to ears, tails, and attitudes. If a horse tried to turn his haunches towards the other, riders were instructed to turn their nose towards the horse and slide their leg back, disengaging the hindquarters AWAY from the other horse. If a horse pinned his/her ears towards the other as if to snip, the rider was instructed to pull the nose away and "tap" the horse on the neck basically to say, get over it. There were no issues here! YAY!

Next was walking around the field in a line and taking turns being leader. The person at the end of the line would come to the inside and trot up to the front of the line. There were a couple of horses that really wanted to get moving and go forward so they were instructed to bend their horses down in small serpentines. One rider's horse started to do mini-rears which really made her nervous but CB kept working with her one-rein stops and little mare finally let up. A lot of riders with horses like this hold back on their horse when all the want to do is move forward. The rear is a valid response because if the can't go back, or can't go forward, they want to go up. Another and better way to work through this is sliding your hand down and bending them. Yes, they're still moving forward, but they're not going to take off, it takes away the urge to rear, and they're not backing up without a cue. Plus, if your horse is rushing down the trail (like Pretty does), bending him down the trail like you're going around poles or cones makes them think and work. It helps slow their minds down.
Gigi jogging up to the lead!





Diablo's saddle slid when he went to spin and his O slid off and hit the ground pretty hard. After switching him out of a shank and into a snaffle, CB worked with him a bit and the O got back on. He rode around for a bit but wanted to call it a day for himself but asked if I would ride his horse for the rest of the ride. We took off onto the trail with the group and two by two went through each obstacle. The first was a stuffed cow set up on a rig like you use for cutting horse training. Each set of horse walked up and watched as CB pulled the rope and the cow danced across the trail on a pulley. Nobody had an issue which was surprising. The next step was going over lifted ground poles. We got to trot over them on the way back. After the poles was a forest of plastic bags and then a curtain of tarp pieces. Everyone took their time and made it through each obstacle without an issue.





All in all it was a really good clinic. I got to use a lot of what I learned today on a memorial ride I took Brantley to with the BO and a friend. I used his side pull and we rode through the trails and made our way onto the beach. I cried again... Happy tears. I know, I'm a pansy. I've been on these rides, I've been on the beach, but always on someone else's horse (except for one time on LB). To be out there, finally, on my own horse. I can't even tell you. It was like the moment I left the show ring for the first time. Or the first time I sat on him. It turned out to be an amazing day other than all the rain but luckily we didn't get too soaked!

posted by Madeline C. @ 10:44 PM   2 Comments

2 Comments:

At October 7, 2013 at 10:50 AM , Blogger Megan said...

It sounds like an awesome clinic. I totally agree with the clinician about giving your horse time to inspect an obstacle. Rushing them only makes them get more frightened I've found (at least with my spooky horse). He just likes a minute to think about new things. I also think trail obstacles are much easier when you have a good relationship and your horse trusts you. Sounds like an excellent clinic!

I'm so jealous about being able to ride to the beach! My nearest beach is very far away!

 
At October 7, 2013 at 7:07 PM , Blogger Madeline C. said...

I still have to trailer to the beach but luckily the BO wanted to come along and she offered to trailer me over. I love watching people struggle with their horse when there's something scary when if they just took a second to look at it... They'd be fine. There was a horse at a barn I was at that would spook at the Coke machine when he walked by it, so his O would whack him and he just kept getting worse. All it took was me turning him in once and he was like, "Oh... Whatever." :)

 

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http://www.controlhaltdelete.com/ Tear Drop Winken: A Trail Clinic and More Happy Tears

A Trail Clinic and More Happy Tears

So last Sunday was the trail clinic with CB at Cherry Croft and it was a blast. Mason came along as my little pseudo-photographer assistant and got to take some pictures when I was asked to ride a horse... Named Diablo. I warmed him up for his O when he first got there and he was great. Later down in the jump field his saddle slid and he took a digger so he asked me to finish off the clinic for him so Mason took over.

Mason on Sky the Morgan (Looks a lot like Pretty)

Warming up Diablo
Awesome shot Mason took
Our fearless Leader
They started with the bridge and everyone did well, even the little Paso Fino named Mary. She was the only one who had a hard time with it but she finally went over it, nose down, calm and cool. That's what we like!



Tasha, cutest Halflinger ever!

The infamous Gigi
After lots of patience, Mary the Paso Fino finally made it over the short way.
My new friend Diablo
Story
Beatiful mare!
On our way down to the field, Cherry Croft had set up a little water obstacle by the indoor. Everyone got to go through twice just like the bridge. Each person received the same directions from CB. With any obstacle a horse is going to want to inspect it. You can't just kick and push him over and rush through it because he's really not learning anything. It was really nice to see each person really give there horse time to think about their next step. As long as the horse was looking at the obstacle, the rider just sat. The horse backed up, he/she was asked to take a step forward. If they went, the rider let him alone but always pointing their nose to their goal. It's easier to take the time and not fight, then the second time around it's going to be easier and more pleasant for both horse and rider. Horses who rushed through the obstacle were asked to take a step and try again.

Splish Splash!
Even Missy wanted in on the action.

Mary is the baby of the group, but brave!
In the field the subject of horses not liking or getting antsy around other horses came up so each rider was set up next to each other with some space in between. The rider at the end of the line weaved in and out of the others paying attention to ears, tails, and attitudes. If a horse tried to turn his haunches towards the other, riders were instructed to turn their nose towards the horse and slide their leg back, disengaging the hindquarters AWAY from the other horse. If a horse pinned his/her ears towards the other as if to snip, the rider was instructed to pull the nose away and "tap" the horse on the neck basically to say, get over it. There were no issues here! YAY!

Next was walking around the field in a line and taking turns being leader. The person at the end of the line would come to the inside and trot up to the front of the line. There were a couple of horses that really wanted to get moving and go forward so they were instructed to bend their horses down in small serpentines. One rider's horse started to do mini-rears which really made her nervous but CB kept working with her one-rein stops and little mare finally let up. A lot of riders with horses like this hold back on their horse when all the want to do is move forward. The rear is a valid response because if the can't go back, or can't go forward, they want to go up. Another and better way to work through this is sliding your hand down and bending them. Yes, they're still moving forward, but they're not going to take off, it takes away the urge to rear, and they're not backing up without a cue. Plus, if your horse is rushing down the trail (like Pretty does), bending him down the trail like you're going around poles or cones makes them think and work. It helps slow their minds down.
Gigi jogging up to the lead!





Diablo's saddle slid when he went to spin and his O slid off and hit the ground pretty hard. After switching him out of a shank and into a snaffle, CB worked with him a bit and the O got back on. He rode around for a bit but wanted to call it a day for himself but asked if I would ride his horse for the rest of the ride. We took off onto the trail with the group and two by two went through each obstacle. The first was a stuffed cow set up on a rig like you use for cutting horse training. Each set of horse walked up and watched as CB pulled the rope and the cow danced across the trail on a pulley. Nobody had an issue which was surprising. The next step was going over lifted ground poles. We got to trot over them on the way back. After the poles was a forest of plastic bags and then a curtain of tarp pieces. Everyone took their time and made it through each obstacle without an issue.





All in all it was a really good clinic. I got to use a lot of what I learned today on a memorial ride I took Brantley to with the BO and a friend. I used his side pull and we rode through the trails and made our way onto the beach. I cried again... Happy tears. I know, I'm a pansy. I've been on these rides, I've been on the beach, but always on someone else's horse (except for one time on LB). To be out there, finally, on my own horse. I can't even tell you. It was like the moment I left the show ring for the first time. Or the first time I sat on him. It turned out to be an amazing day other than all the rain but luckily we didn't get too soaked!