Holding the line

Sometimes my horse walks like a drunken sailor. He gets distracted by something and twists his neck around to get a better look. As he walks down the trail his body twists towards the source of his curiosity and he does a funny shoulder-in until he falls off the trail.

I have found it helpful to hold him accountable for holding the line as soon as I sit in the saddle and take him to the trailhead. Or is it him taking me to the trailhead. 

Holding the line is a bit more complicated when you are on the buckle, as it requires more subtle management with seat and leg cues. Of course, I could just shorten up the reins and manage every footfall. But that's not how I roll.

My horse is also something of a leaky faucet. He is so good, but he does like to see where he might take advantage of my benevolence. And it is clear what he is doing when I remove all constraints. The same goes for ground tying ... where a flake of hay will just be TOO tempting. 

Anyways since we are stuck on frozen ground, we are also condemned to walking on trail. Which is a great opportunity to back to basics and see if he can hold a line. As usual, I dropped the reins and let him pick his way down the trail. As he would venture right or left, I would tap-tap-tap with my calf and he would leg yield back to the trail. We did a lot of leg yielding today.

Even thought the weather was brisk, and the trails frozen, it still was a lovely ride out alone. The forest is so barren but beautiful and sometimes feels like an empty cathedral.

Looking forward to snow tomorrow but not hopeful it will have any significant impact on the footing for some time yet.