When my legs say GO but my butt says NO
Q struggles with tires, balls, tarps and all objects that are unnatural. He is not a big fan of plastic bags but since carrots come in plastic bags he has learned to be more curious than fearful.
Back in 2016, when we were starting out with groundwork I was convinced he could plow through a set of old tires just like the Missouri Foxtrotters do. We tried but we had more fails than success, and then I got distracted by the next shiny thing. So we never mastered tires.
Certainly not like this pretty mare at minute 3:42. Amazing! And backwards 😱!
So when I came into the ring one day and saw a short stack of tires, I thought “cool, lets see what what Q thinks about that”! He was a little “looky” that day as there were many new obstacles around and the barn crew was replacing the gate with a set of powertools. So I serpentined around the obstacles and jumps and then went towards the tires.
Q looked and stopped 6 feet from them. I noticed the narrow opening between the obstacles, considered what would happen if he balked left, clipped the jump and everything came crashing down. I then put some leg to ask for “forward” and he balked again.
And then I realized he felt my tension about the potential wreck so I redirected to another exercise instead. For many years I would never quit, thinking it was a sign of disobedience and pushing my way through to compliance. Q has taught me (along with some great mentors along the way) to be a better listener. And this time I realized he was listening, but more to my tense butt cheeks than my leg.
FWIW, I slinked my way through that spot today without a look or a bother. Because my butt cheeks were unclenched after having loped some circles for 10 minutes. 😁
And then there was the waterbox. See minute 5:02 of the video above.
The weather was a bit unsettled, so I thought it would be a good idea for some obstacle training. The crew had just repaired some of the obstacles and set them out, especially the water box that we haven’t used in 2 years. It now had a liner to prevent leaking and was good to go.
So I enlisted one of the trainers to take a before-after video of Q with the waterbox. In the first video I told her what I was expecting to see, balking, pawing, jumping to the side, looking far away to some imaginary predator in the bush ... everything to avoid engaging with the waterbox. Then she would let me work with him for 10 minutes, come back and video him walking calmly and on a loose line through the waterbox with only a brief hesitation.
I suggested she set up at a specific spot, get the phone ready, and only then would I walk towards the box. I wanted to get Qs sharp reaction and surprise on video, so I didn’t want to stand near the waterbox.
What a disappointment. This is the most boring clip ever. He walked through it without a care in the world despite a two year hiatus.
After that, I proceeded to the other obstacles and he was foot perfect. Ok then. I tacked up, loped around waiting for one of the trainers to get ready. We were going on a short trail ride with one of the crazy horses in the barn. This horse is a beautiful Friesan TB cross that is really struggling with panic reactions on the trail. When she encounters buggies, sleighs, other horses, walkers, bikes, she freaks out, dumps her owner and races back to the barn. So this trainer has been working to calm her down on the trail.
It was the first time in over a year that the mare had gone out with another horse. We let her lead first, as she has the most amazing power walk, and then we switched things around, eventually coming home side by side. Q was at his most chillax, and eventually the mare calmed down too. We stopped a few times on trail, just hanging out. The mare, who is all GO GO GO didn’t understand at first, but one look at Q with his head hanging down and his tongue sticking out, I guess she figured we weren’t in too much danger. It was a lovely ride and the trainer was super pleased.
Back in 2016, when we were starting out with groundwork I was convinced he could plow through a set of old tires just like the Missouri Foxtrotters do. We tried but we had more fails than success, and then I got distracted by the next shiny thing. So we never mastered tires.
Certainly not like this pretty mare at minute 3:42. Amazing! And backwards 😱!
So when I came into the ring one day and saw a short stack of tires, I thought “cool, lets see what what Q thinks about that”! He was a little “looky” that day as there were many new obstacles around and the barn crew was replacing the gate with a set of powertools. So I serpentined around the obstacles and jumps and then went towards the tires.
Q looked and stopped 6 feet from them. I noticed the narrow opening between the obstacles, considered what would happen if he balked left, clipped the jump and everything came crashing down. I then put some leg to ask for “forward” and he balked again.
And then I realized he felt my tension about the potential wreck so I redirected to another exercise instead. For many years I would never quit, thinking it was a sign of disobedience and pushing my way through to compliance. Q has taught me (along with some great mentors along the way) to be a better listener. And this time I realized he was listening, but more to my tense butt cheeks than my leg.
FWIW, I slinked my way through that spot today without a look or a bother. Because my butt cheeks were unclenched after having loped some circles for 10 minutes. 😁
And then there was the waterbox. See minute 5:02 of the video above.
The weather was a bit unsettled, so I thought it would be a good idea for some obstacle training. The crew had just repaired some of the obstacles and set them out, especially the water box that we haven’t used in 2 years. It now had a liner to prevent leaking and was good to go.
So I enlisted one of the trainers to take a before-after video of Q with the waterbox. In the first video I told her what I was expecting to see, balking, pawing, jumping to the side, looking far away to some imaginary predator in the bush ... everything to avoid engaging with the waterbox. Then she would let me work with him for 10 minutes, come back and video him walking calmly and on a loose line through the waterbox with only a brief hesitation.
I suggested she set up at a specific spot, get the phone ready, and only then would I walk towards the box. I wanted to get Qs sharp reaction and surprise on video, so I didn’t want to stand near the waterbox.
What a disappointment. This is the most boring clip ever. He walked through it without a care in the world despite a two year hiatus.
After that, I proceeded to the other obstacles and he was foot perfect. Ok then. I tacked up, loped around waiting for one of the trainers to get ready. We were going on a short trail ride with one of the crazy horses in the barn. This horse is a beautiful Friesan TB cross that is really struggling with panic reactions on the trail. When she encounters buggies, sleighs, other horses, walkers, bikes, she freaks out, dumps her owner and races back to the barn. So this trainer has been working to calm her down on the trail.
It was the first time in over a year that the mare had gone out with another horse. We let her lead first, as she has the most amazing power walk, and then we switched things around, eventually coming home side by side. Q was at his most chillax, and eventually the mare calmed down too. We stopped a few times on trail, just hanging out. The mare, who is all GO GO GO didn’t understand at first, but one look at Q with his head hanging down and his tongue sticking out, I guess she figured we weren’t in too much danger. It was a lovely ride and the trainer was super pleased.
"listening to my butt and not my leg" man, that makes so much sense to me. My butt gives me away every time and Carmen knows it!
ReplyDeleteThe power of the sensitive horse is that they read all of our obscure unintentional signals. Sigh.
ReplyDelete