As soon as I say something like "Jetta is being so good! We could go do a nice first level test..." she ends up being a complete and total brat.
Sigh.
Monday was an awful ride. She didn't want to listen one bit to anything I had to say. We couldn't go forward in a relaxed manner, we couldn't slow down, transition were awful, we couldn't bend, her head was all over the place, leg yields were non-existent, she was on her forehand and when I asked for a halt she wouldn't stand still. It was a nightmare.
I got so frustrated and ended up not really feeling like I "fixed" any of the issues we were having, just made them worse. Today, I went out to the barn with a game plan - I'd lunge in side reins so she'd get all her pulling nonsense out of the way. I'd do a long warmup at the walk to get her paying attention, then I'd have a short ride where all I wanted was for her to be soft.
It worked! It helped that I actually "rode" her too, instead of just fighting with her. I need to make sure to take a step back, take a break during our ride and think about what's happening and how to fix it. Or probably better yet, get off and think about it until the next day.
At least I felt like one thing from yesterday helped - standing still. She always shifts around in the halt. If I'm lucky, she'll wait to shift until after my salute in the test, but sometimes she moves before then and I get marked down. She's not wanting to actually move, she just picks her feet up for no reason. I had enough of it last time we rode so every time she moved the slightest bit backwards I kicked her forward into a trot for a couple strides and had her halt again, or moved her backwards every time she stepped forwards. Seemed to work pretty well as she stood almost perfectly still every time I asked for it.
Sometimes I wonder why I put all this work and money into her, but I really do love this knot head.
Love her expression, "Who me?"
ReplyDeleteHope she gets herself figured out for you soon. Horses, I tell ya.
I can have these same feelings toward steady. When I ask myself why I do it. I know exactly how you feel. Love them to death she's we keep coming back for more. After his behavior at the last clinic I was talking to the instructor and some others and some one mentioned about their horse that they hadn't ridden in a month and jumped on and he was perfect. With everyone there that had just watched my horse act like a maniac for an hour I said, you know as a mother of three young kids some times I think that is the kind of horse I need.
ReplyDeleteYES! My horse is inconsistent but I always look at it as consistently inconsistent. I can always consistently look forward to being surprised! (Note this also is just me saying I'm an inconsistent rider, we all have good days and bad days just like our horses!)
ReplyDeleteI have those same thoughts too... why am I doing this again? But then I look at my pony and it all makes sense :)
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