Today I decided that small children have the right of it. The word is not "gravity" it's "grabbity" because it sure as heck feels like someone GRABBED me and body slammed me into the ground today. I had a lovely, long ride around the neighborhood on Tina yesterday and today hubby wanted us to both go riding down the road a little ways for a change of pace. We've done this with Tina and Traveller a few times and Traveller has been ok as long as Tina's there with him. We even put in a new little trail through the cedar to the road so that the horses don't have to go on the crushed stone driveway since it seems to bother them so much and I was kind of looking forward to trying it out.
We didn't ride that far, maybe 10 minutes or so, when we turned back for home. Tina was doing her speed walking trying to hurry so I thought what the heck, Traveller's done this route a few times now, he should be ok, and asked him for a little trot to catch up. He frickin bucked! I had one of those moments where you have a split second to think, hung on tight trying to find the right moment and spot to go flying off and, thank goodness, managed to miss being splatted on the pavement. I almost stuck the landing in the grass but I came down on one foot before the other so it crumpled under me leaving me with what feels like a sprained ankle. But I gritted my teeth and got back on.
At that point I was DONE, absolutely DONE with gentle and nice so when he started doing some little half bucks I really clamped down on those reins and put him back on his hind! We've got a super gentle bit on him so I didn't feel bad nipping another incident of me taking a flying lesson in the bud. I just want to cry! This is really eroding my riding confidence! Yeah I got back on and made him behave but I got off and walked him the last little bit to the pasture because I was scared he'd do it again when he got in sight of Brother and Nugget.
Once we got in the gate I got back up on him. He stopped at the post where I tacked him up like he thought he was all done but I gave him a good nudge in the ribs and made him keep walking! Oh he didn't like it! He tried to stop where Tina was being unsaddled, stop again at his spot, walk at a super reluctant slow, cut corners, speed up to get to Tina or his spot faster...UGH! I finally had Eric hand me a crop and the next time he tried to stop I popped him one. He startled and I had to clamp down on the reins again. For some reason his whoas have gotten bad so for awhile I just did walk and whoas trying to work my courage up enough for a trot. I was so scared that he'd buck again if I asked him to trot and honestly I'm terrified that my luck may be running out! I've been HURT plenty bad during the few times he's thrown me but I haven't been really INJURED yet.
I came really close to chickening out, just stopping the ride without asking for a trot at all, but when I finally just made myself do it everything was fine! Sure I had to cluck and squeeze more than once because I was trying to ease him into it but for a second he gave me a really gorgeous, soft, dreamy trot! It turned into his ugly trot, fast, choppy, bouncy, doesn't want to be controlled but for a second it was like letting out a great, big, pent up sigh of relief. What the heck goes on in their minds?
Showing posts with label bucked off. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bucked off. Show all posts
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
More training
Brother STILL has his shoes on!! I had to get that off my chest because this is the longest he's ever kept shoes on for us! lol And it's because of those shoes that I'm able to get Brother back into training. So far it's just been the leading exercises that we started last week but today I got him back into the round pen. I only had him go for maybe 15 minutes, most of that just walking in both directions, and only a few turns around each direction at a trot then ended it with a little more leading practice. He didn't even breathe harder but I want to take it slow and build him back up. I've finally got him at the weight I want him to be so I hope he doesn't start losing it again!
Traveller I walked and trotted in both directions to start. His trot is really coming along very nicely! He's beginning to relax and give me more of a very soft, smooth, floaty trot that's so wonderful to ride. His canter, on the other hand, needs some serious work. His last owner really loved for him to go super fast while I'm not as concerned for speed as much as quality of movement. While I was riding him once I cued him to canter and he very smoothly bounced his back end in the air throwing me right off. Now I know that if I'd only asked him to canter in the round pen I could've seen straight off that I wasn't ready to ride him at a canter. He seems to get very irritated when asked to canter, tossing his head around, often breaking down into a crazy fast trot. A work in progress like everything else!
Traveller I walked and trotted in both directions to start. His trot is really coming along very nicely! He's beginning to relax and give me more of a very soft, smooth, floaty trot that's so wonderful to ride. His canter, on the other hand, needs some serious work. His last owner really loved for him to go super fast while I'm not as concerned for speed as much as quality of movement. While I was riding him once I cued him to canter and he very smoothly bounced his back end in the air throwing me right off. Now I know that if I'd only asked him to canter in the round pen I could've seen straight off that I wasn't ready to ride him at a canter. He seems to get very irritated when asked to canter, tossing his head around, often breaking down into a crazy fast trot. A work in progress like everything else!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Ouch!
Yesterday we took it kinda easy. We tacked Tina up and Eric actually got on her! This was his first time back on a horse after nearly being killed in a fall from Brother. I lead him around a bit for him to remember the feel and he did wonderfully. I was so happy with Tina for being on her best behavior for him! It helped him start to feel safe in the saddle again. After just that very easy, short ride we made a big fuss over her then let her amble over to the others to share in their evening hay.
Tonight I was pleased that he wanted to try again and it went just as nicely. I lead him around the round pen a few times and then he felt comfortable enough to take the reins on his own. When Tina's in the pen where she can see the other horses she has an excellent whoa so if he started feeling at all unbalanced he asked her to stop which she did immediately. I think that really helped him a lot in feeling safe and starting to regain some confidence. Even in this heat she wasn't sweated at all with such an easy ride so we just untacked her and let her loose again. Then came Traveller's turn.
From the very start he was being oddly twitchy. When Eric put the saddle pad up Traveller suddenly spun his hindquarters to the side as if trying to avoid it and wouldn't be still for the saddle either. I figured it's just been a few days since I've ridden him so he was just being a stinker about going back to work after a little break and he'd settle down. We just did walk-trots in the round pen for awhile. He has a very jarring, fast trot so I've been working on getting him to slow down and smooth out a bit. I honestly don't know how you're supposed to teach them how to do this but whenever his trot gets fast and bouncy I've been pulling back on the reins, immediately giving him slack reins for a slower, smoother trot, occassionally stopping him when he's giving me a nice trot for a little breather. It seems to be working as far as I can tell! It still needs a lot of work but he's giving me the nice trot more often and for a bit longer than when we first started working on it. Encouraged by this small success I decided to be brave and at least try a bit of a canter.
I waited until he was giving me the nice trot then cued for a canter. He broke into a really fast, long legged trot just shy of a canter, I could swear I felt a stride of canter maybe, so I pulled him back down to try again. When I thought his trot was good I asked for a canter. I might've gotten two strides of a canter before his back end flipped up and I was on the ground. He bucked? He really BUCKED?! Ugh! When the initial overwhelming ow wore off I discovered that I wasn't injured. A scraped elbow, two fingers, and the suspicion that I'll probably be a bit sore tomorrow makes me pretty darn lucky! So I secured his reins and started working him around the round pen.
After only a few times around at a trot he decided that he'd like to go the other way so he simply turned his happy butt around. W-R-O-N-G! Right away I jumped in front of him with a big "uh uh!", smacked the ground in his path with the lunge whip and turned him back the way I had asked him to go. Now he acted a bit agitated and looking to the sides for a way out so to distract him I stepped in front of him and asked him to reverse. Very soon he tried to reverse on his own again and again I made him keep going the direction I wanted him to go the same way as before. Suddenly he stuck his whole head and neck through the bars of the pen and with a big push and buck he tore right through our round pen! The cry baby ran straight to Nugget and half hid behind her like we'd been beating him! When we went to get him he ran tossing his head and kicking up his feet but thankfully he ran right into the side pen. It took a minute of chasing him around before we caught him. I couldn't believe how he was acting!
We took him right back into that round pen! I lunged him for awhile then Eric lunged him around when I got tired. Traveller was literally dripping sweat (weren't we all!) and we'd raised a huge cloud of dust in the air when he finally started really licking his lips and acting more obedient. I was done in but made myself get back up on him. When we walked past the big hole in our round pen he really tried to go out through it but after about three or four times in each direction of me very firmly not letting him slip out he only looked out as we went past. We untacked him, gave him a really good hosing off, a cookie and a pat before going inside. Whew!
Tonight I was pleased that he wanted to try again and it went just as nicely. I lead him around the round pen a few times and then he felt comfortable enough to take the reins on his own. When Tina's in the pen where she can see the other horses she has an excellent whoa so if he started feeling at all unbalanced he asked her to stop which she did immediately. I think that really helped him a lot in feeling safe and starting to regain some confidence. Even in this heat she wasn't sweated at all with such an easy ride so we just untacked her and let her loose again. Then came Traveller's turn.
From the very start he was being oddly twitchy. When Eric put the saddle pad up Traveller suddenly spun his hindquarters to the side as if trying to avoid it and wouldn't be still for the saddle either. I figured it's just been a few days since I've ridden him so he was just being a stinker about going back to work after a little break and he'd settle down. We just did walk-trots in the round pen for awhile. He has a very jarring, fast trot so I've been working on getting him to slow down and smooth out a bit. I honestly don't know how you're supposed to teach them how to do this but whenever his trot gets fast and bouncy I've been pulling back on the reins, immediately giving him slack reins for a slower, smoother trot, occassionally stopping him when he's giving me a nice trot for a little breather. It seems to be working as far as I can tell! It still needs a lot of work but he's giving me the nice trot more often and for a bit longer than when we first started working on it. Encouraged by this small success I decided to be brave and at least try a bit of a canter.
I waited until he was giving me the nice trot then cued for a canter. He broke into a really fast, long legged trot just shy of a canter, I could swear I felt a stride of canter maybe, so I pulled him back down to try again. When I thought his trot was good I asked for a canter. I might've gotten two strides of a canter before his back end flipped up and I was on the ground. He bucked? He really BUCKED?! Ugh! When the initial overwhelming ow wore off I discovered that I wasn't injured. A scraped elbow, two fingers, and the suspicion that I'll probably be a bit sore tomorrow makes me pretty darn lucky! So I secured his reins and started working him around the round pen.
After only a few times around at a trot he decided that he'd like to go the other way so he simply turned his happy butt around. W-R-O-N-G! Right away I jumped in front of him with a big "uh uh!", smacked the ground in his path with the lunge whip and turned him back the way I had asked him to go. Now he acted a bit agitated and looking to the sides for a way out so to distract him I stepped in front of him and asked him to reverse. Very soon he tried to reverse on his own again and again I made him keep going the direction I wanted him to go the same way as before. Suddenly he stuck his whole head and neck through the bars of the pen and with a big push and buck he tore right through our round pen! The cry baby ran straight to Nugget and half hid behind her like we'd been beating him! When we went to get him he ran tossing his head and kicking up his feet but thankfully he ran right into the side pen. It took a minute of chasing him around before we caught him. I couldn't believe how he was acting!
We took him right back into that round pen! I lunged him for awhile then Eric lunged him around when I got tired. Traveller was literally dripping sweat (weren't we all!) and we'd raised a huge cloud of dust in the air when he finally started really licking his lips and acting more obedient. I was done in but made myself get back up on him. When we walked past the big hole in our round pen he really tried to go out through it but after about three or four times in each direction of me very firmly not letting him slip out he only looked out as we went past. We untacked him, gave him a really good hosing off, a cookie and a pat before going inside. Whew!
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