The Holes Can Hurt You

As I was working with Tweed, the last post synthesized into the title of this one: the holes can hurt you. 

We don’t know where the holes are until we are put to the test, but when they are revealed (and they will be), it’s our responsibility to address them. For Tweed and me, it boils down to fitness (body confidence and awareness), exposure (wet blankets), and the Respect which leads to Trust. 

It isn’t good enough to have 80-90% because that hole, the 10-20% can ruin a ride for both of you. 

So, I started to look at everything with a critical eye: where are the holes and how do I fill them?

If he comes off the trailer looky loo, I give him a job. 

If I go to throw the saddle up and he takes a couples steps to the side, I stop and bring him back. 

If he has trouble with hills, I ride him up and down hills and, like today, even back him down hills to put more emphasis on picking up those back feet, and placing them carefully where I ask.  

I reevaluated the obstacle course, too. Tweed does them all well, except one—the teeter totter bridge. That bridge exposes the holes better than any. He lacks the confidence and trust to do it. I was letting it slide, but then thought, NO, that is exactly the 10% more I’m going for. 

We did that today, too. He started by giving me only two feet, but we were able to get all four feet on by the end and called it good. For now. That’s the best he’s ever done, and I want to build on it. 

We worked hard for an hour and half today, which means tomorrow we can do a trail ride. We did a solo ride on Tuesday, and I found some “holes” around the equestrian campground. 

We walked over the logs, and lunged up and down the hills around the campground, with a couple of horses whinnying for him. It was great practice for focus. This was all done in-hand, but tomorrow we will do it all again in saddle. 

Time to fill in those holes and get to happier, magic’er trails!