(This hill is steeper than it looks, but not as steep as many of the others we encounter.)
Well, we had an interesting day today doing the hill in front of the equestrian campground. (The Rocky Horror Hill is for another day). Tweed played all his “best of” hits for my trainer to see: head tossing, speeding up going downhill while head tossing, and even trying to buck going up because I wouldn’t let him canter.
She was able to compare that behavior to his bushwhacking (confident & tuned in, he’s a bushwhacking pro) and smaller hills (easy to control his speed and calm, no problemo).
She agreed with my 3 areas of focus: exposure, respect, and fitness, and she was able to determine that this issue is almost entirely fitness related, which seems to be building his anxiety (and mine).
So, what to do.
More hills and more extended collection work in the arena to build strength and body confidence. As I ride the trails, it’s fine to zig zag, choose better paths down, or even get off and walk him down (until he builds up fitness and confidence).
She does not think I should stop him on hills. She’d rather that I turn him around and go back up when he starts head tossing on the descent. We had a long discussion about why, but it comes down to balance and confidence.
Next week she’s going to work with me on a program we can use all winter to keep building his strength.
For now, until the equestrian park closes, lots of hills he can do well to build up his strength and confidence, and a continuation of the bushwhacking (which he seems to love), and trail exposure.
Work from his strengths, as he is a horse who seems do well with that focus. Honestly, they probably all do, and surprise, surprise, so do humans.
Sounds like you've got a great plan going into the winter. I love that you have a trainer that works so well for both of you.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I’m happy to have her, too. She sees the bigger picture from the ground, and has a lot of great suggestions. Where my hands should be, reins, my body—all that is also part of the work. Part of his problem was today was being mad at having to do it so many times. It was hard work.
DeleteWith all this focus he’s going to be an expert.
ReplyDelete😆 That’s my hope! Of course, there is always something new to work on with our horses. I saw some of the ETS (Equine Trail Sports) riders last week doing some really cool work with their horses. They had struggles, too, but their program is all about expanding trail abilities.
DeleteOne step forward, two steps back- aka the learning curve. Or maybe it's now two steps forward and one step back! I think the part of the body that they use most in downhill is the loin/sacrum area. It might be useful to focus on that area when you do your Masterson method on him.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your trainer about not stopping him on hills. I remember times I did that and the horse turned sideways, nearly spilling me onto the down hill side- it can be dangerous. It's better to let them continue on down even if it's ugly, then go back and do it again if it's safe enough.
I keep arguing that last point in my head—to stop or not to stop. I tried the slow descent last week, stopping and even backing up the hill, and it worked great for him. We had our best hill work. He put each step forward as I asked. It wasn’t this hill though. This hill has history for him, he has always rushed it. In fact, it was the first hill he ever rushed when his buddy horse was too far ahead and he wanted to catch up. It leads “home,” and down into the “scary” equestrian camp. My trainer was against stopping, so we didn’t even try that yesterday. It could be that in that head space he would have done something naughty.
DeleteLetting him go at his own pace, when we got to the bottom of the hill, he tried to pick up a canter. When I turned him back up, instead of going home, he wanted to canter up the hill.
At the top of the hill, she had me go over to a smaller hill, and we practiced that one with her method probably 10 times, and it went really well.
I wish I had the time to go back to that hill and practice everyday until we get it right, but we’re leaving town tomorrow and I have to put it on hold again. 😞
I hadn’t thought about the sacrum, but that would be good for him. I will add it.