And the Problem Is…(Drum Roll)

 

There’s so much to tell about the lesson ride today, I don’t even know where to start. 

We met at the arena and Katie warmed up with Tumbleweed for about 30 minutes as we also talked about his history. She remembered us from Regina’s old training barn where I had taken him a few times when he was very young. It turns out, she also trained horses and riders at that barn. She has been starting horses for some time now and is much more experienced than I understood. 

After her warm up she told me she felt fine riding him out and wanted to see how he did on some hills around us. So, off they rode, and after about 20 minutes, reappeared and went back into the arena where I met her for the update.

Well, he did great. Better than great. He did the small and medium hills (which he also does good for me) but then at the end, when she pointed him down a very steep hill that descends back towards my trailer, surprise, he did that one great, too. 

She lightly asked for flexion, gave him his head, he picked his way carefully, she had to ask for flexion at one more point, and he continued his way down carefully, looking to her for support, but getting the job done and engaging his hind end.

Sooooo, you know what that means. It means it’s a me problem. 

She said she wants to bring her horse to the next ride and watch me with Tumbleweed so that she can see what I’m doing versus what she is doing. 

Already I know that she is supporting him MUCH more than I was doing. She said that horses like him, western bred, do better with a lower headset. When you allow them to get their heads up too high, they start looking for trouble. She would ask him for vertical flexion until she found his relaxed head carriage, then she would check in with him whenever he left it. Tweed loved that togetherness. It seemed to reassure him. He melted into her leadership.

She said she could tell I’d worked on those same skills a lot because they were there for her to use with very gentle asks. It might be a tap on his side, a slight pinky raise of a rein, …just very gentle reminders that he could relax, and he’d drop his head right back down.

There are a couple of possibilities about what I’m doing  wrong.

1. I might be riding him like a super broke horse and not supporting him enough, allowing his energy to rise up. Then, when we get to a steep hill, he’s already more tense than I realize and it exacerbates it. She didn’t allow for that to happen because she was actively riding him the whole time. She said she asked for connection about every 15 seconds. For me, it’s probably every 3-5 minutes. That much time in between allows him to go on autopilot and then he expects to be left alone on hills, too.

2. My own fears could be getting in the way. Katie said when she was a little girl she got bucked off at a certain post in the arena. After that her horse would always react (get bigger) going past that post, so she assumed something about the post scared him. Someone suggested to her that it might be her own fear, and horses are very sensitive to our stress. She rode him with that new mindset and, POOF, his reaction went away.

I guess it is both 1 and 2.

Tumbleweed and I had a bad experience on that exact same hill by the equestrian campground 3 years ago. I was riding with my husband and Foxy and Foxy got super far in front. Tweed tried to catch up by trying to run. I had to check his speed, and he wasn’t paying attention to his feet. We bumbled our way down the hill, but it definitely rattled me. 

The information I got today from her riding my horse is INVALUABLE. He’s not lame. He’s not so unfit he can’t do the job. His foundation, first, his solid start, then what Regina has helped me put on him, is rock solid. 

He’s super sweet and willing and smart. 

It’s all there!

I am so relieved to know it’s a me problem. I can fix me. And Katie is the exact person to help at this juncture. (Good omens) by riding out with us, observing, and training me. 

From riding Tweed today she was able to assess where he’s at and what he needs from his rider (me), what gives him support, and in what amounts. 

I’m looking very forward to our ride on Sunday.

“He was very fun to ride. I had a great time. He is very sweet.” 

Awwww…he really is a golden boy.