Just got a great email from a friend that has been working with her horse to get him to canter. Now she canters her other horses just fine but she had a bit of an accident with this horse we are talking about, and that slowed up their progress a little. It’s easy to get a little nervous, scared, cause you don’t want to get hurt, and the older I get the less I like landing on the ground. I’m proud of her cause she has resisted the pressure, some that she perhaps is putting on her self, some from outside sources, to just canter him. She has been taking her time, working on exercises at and a trot and just the other day she let the horse step in to the canter without any mishaps.
You all hear me talk about the magic pill all the time, time. This experience really illustrates the value of taking whatever time it takes. Not just for the horse but for us. Sometimes we have to work at our own confidence, our own skill level in order to get the job done. And at times, it takes time.
I know that when I get horses here for training I’m always tempted to just get on em and get to riding. But I have learned over the years and the times I have spent picking my self up off the ground, that I have to resist and avoid getting in to big a hurry. It don’t matter what folks say about their horses, that they are gentle or that they have never had the horse buck or pitch a fit. I’ll tell you a story. Folks brought me a horse that they needed help with. They could not get the horse in the trailer to start with so they had to get a vet to come and give the horse a shot to sedate the animal so they could get him in a trailer. When the horse got here they told me that he just had issues with respect, but did not say he had any problem when they road him. As a matter of fact they told me that they had ridden him around their place before I had come to see him a week or so earlier. Anyway, when he got to me we worked on the ground for a day or so. He was a real handsome horse and I thought it would be a blast to ride him, but something, intuition, told me I should saddle him in the round pen first. So I did and when I stepped back that horse went to the moon. He bucked and bucked and bucked. As I was standing there in the dust I thanked my lucky stars that I had trusted my intuition and stayed on the ground. In time the horse was fine and we went for lots of great rides, but he needed time.
So if you find yourself with a horse that needs that time, or if you need time to develop your skill or courage. Take it. Don’t get in to big a hurry and get yourself hurt.
Coffee time.
You all hear me talk about the magic pill all the time, time. This experience really illustrates the value of taking whatever time it takes. Not just for the horse but for us. Sometimes we have to work at our own confidence, our own skill level in order to get the job done. And at times, it takes time.
I know that when I get horses here for training I’m always tempted to just get on em and get to riding. But I have learned over the years and the times I have spent picking my self up off the ground, that I have to resist and avoid getting in to big a hurry. It don’t matter what folks say about their horses, that they are gentle or that they have never had the horse buck or pitch a fit. I’ll tell you a story. Folks brought me a horse that they needed help with. They could not get the horse in the trailer to start with so they had to get a vet to come and give the horse a shot to sedate the animal so they could get him in a trailer. When the horse got here they told me that he just had issues with respect, but did not say he had any problem when they road him. As a matter of fact they told me that they had ridden him around their place before I had come to see him a week or so earlier. Anyway, when he got to me we worked on the ground for a day or so. He was a real handsome horse and I thought it would be a blast to ride him, but something, intuition, told me I should saddle him in the round pen first. So I did and when I stepped back that horse went to the moon. He bucked and bucked and bucked. As I was standing there in the dust I thanked my lucky stars that I had trusted my intuition and stayed on the ground. In time the horse was fine and we went for lots of great rides, but he needed time.
So if you find yourself with a horse that needs that time, or if you need time to develop your skill or courage. Take it. Don’t get in to big a hurry and get yourself hurt.
Coffee time.
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