One of the best parts of owning a horse is seeing not only the growth in yourself as a rider but also the relationship you develop with your horse. I have touched on this many times as I have written about my experiences with Dakota, and I have found that experiences on the ground when not riding help develop this relationship greatly.
When I first began my ownership of Dakota, she couldn't stand spray bottles. Spray bottles are a staple in the tack trunk- whether it be fly spray or coat conditioner. Horses have to be able to accept you spraying them with weird things they are supposed to be afraid of. Dakota would pull her head up as much as possible to get off of the cross ties. She couldn't stand being hosed down after riding, especially around her neck. Her ability to stand still for grooming maxed out at about 5 minutes. After all, her experience was with young children whose attention span for grooming was about the same. I couldn't help but think of one of my students who couldn't write his name at the beginning of the school year and would throw the pencil and yell "I just can't do it!" (Who now writes his name perfectly by the way!)
I started slowly with her. She doesn't have the best feet, and her coat often gets extremely dry during the winter season. I would try and pick her hooves...she would lean her body weight INTO me instead of transferring the weight like she is supposed to. She was saying, "ha in your dreams I will lift this hoof for you!" 5 minutes became 10 minute increments. 10 minutes soon turned into 20, and then 30 minutes. The more time I spent grooming her, the more she began to trust me. She knew I was just trying to take care of her, and as she understood this she began to learn the routine. However, this doesn't mean she wouldn't test me....because she absolutely would. It often reminded me of working with my preschoolers. They learned the rules in the beginning and it took time, and after they gave in a little bit they pushed the limits to see how far they could get. If she tried to wiggle her butt one direction, I would push her back the other way. If she wouldn't lift a hoof, I would keep applying pressure and reassure her with my voice that I was only trying to help. Often you read about horse grooming and many horse people believe in firmness as a way of training, but with a sweet mare that wants to work with you sometimes that tactic simply doesn't work. I found that being firm but loving was the way to gradually increase her ability to stand still for me to groom her. She used to hate being brushed. Now, she has her sweet spots she pushes towards the brush to make sure I don't miss. Ok, she still farts in my face when I pick her back right hoof but I can deal with that. I can now take the hose to the top of her mane and she doesn't love it but she doesn't pull away. She knows I'm not going to spray her in the face, I'm not going to attack her with a hose. She used to pull away when I would kiss her in the face...now she leans in for kisses. She used to stare at me when I would step into her stall. She now bows for mints, ready to do her back exercises. And at the end of it all, she knows she can SHARE an apple with me!
Many people thinking working with horses is all about being on tack and training through riding. People think of riders as riders, and don't understand that horse owners not only ride but we also take care of the animal in many, many ways.
I recently had a young rider ask me, "What is your least favorite part about owning a horse?" My answer was simply, "Paying the bill!"
Monday, January 7, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Momma's got a brand new hat....
Happy New Year to all my readers!
I am sorry it has taken so long for me to update! December has been jampacked with all kinds of activities at school for my class, decorating for Christmas at home, all while trying to take care of Dakota and prepare for the holidays!
After my return from our trip to CT for Thanksgiving, I began working on "no stirrup work". According to my riding trainer, most riders don't look forward to this work. It is hard- it is like doing cross fit on a horse. But sometimes I feel like being an adult rider and learner gives me an advantage that young people don't always have- life experience to know that you get back what you put into anything you do. If I want to become a stronger rider, I HAVE to do this work. The first day of work without stirrups, we began with a lunge line. After having such control on my own of Dakota without a lunge line, the lunge line's presence in a small ring seemed scarier than the mere thought of not having my boots in stirrups. I was more afraid of Dakota tripping over the stupid lunge line! Taking my feet out of the stirrups was alone overcoming a fear. You anticipate having no control anymore- nothing to keep you in your saddle.
The first thing I noticed is how inaccurate that assessment prior to taking my feet out of my stirrups was. Once my feet were out of my stirrups, I felt deeper in the saddle than I have ever felt. I felt grounded, like I could feel every move Dakota was making under the saddle. But this was only at the walk- how would trotting go? We began setting goals throughout the month of December...trotting with no stirrups, trotting with no stirrups while being on the right diagonal while posting, as well as doing it all alone without the lunge line or my trainer.
As of yesterday, I have more confidence on Dakota then I ever have. No-stirrup work has given me an immense amount of courage by forcing me to trust Dakota even more than I already do. My legs are dying with each and every trotting step, but it's worth it. I feel stronger, especially when my feet are in the stirrups. I feel like I can handle Dakota even on her crankiest days. Granted, I also bought myself the new Charles Owen AYR8 helmet which helps boost courage! (Thanks to my students!) After putting on this helmet, I'm not sure how I have ever been riding in another helmet!
I hope everyone had a wonderful end to 2012, as I know that 2012 has been wonderful to me. I have been blessed with Dakota- one of God's most incredible teachers. In 2012, she helped me overcome one of my biggest fears, but not without a fall! She challenges me when I'm desiring to be a lazy rider and quickly reminds me to keep my head in the game. In 2013, I look forward to challenging my riding even more by hopefully riding some other horses as well as maybe beginning to canter. Happy New Year!
I am sorry it has taken so long for me to update! December has been jampacked with all kinds of activities at school for my class, decorating for Christmas at home, all while trying to take care of Dakota and prepare for the holidays!
After my return from our trip to CT for Thanksgiving, I began working on "no stirrup work". According to my riding trainer, most riders don't look forward to this work. It is hard- it is like doing cross fit on a horse. But sometimes I feel like being an adult rider and learner gives me an advantage that young people don't always have- life experience to know that you get back what you put into anything you do. If I want to become a stronger rider, I HAVE to do this work. The first day of work without stirrups, we began with a lunge line. After having such control on my own of Dakota without a lunge line, the lunge line's presence in a small ring seemed scarier than the mere thought of not having my boots in stirrups. I was more afraid of Dakota tripping over the stupid lunge line! Taking my feet out of the stirrups was alone overcoming a fear. You anticipate having no control anymore- nothing to keep you in your saddle.
The first thing I noticed is how inaccurate that assessment prior to taking my feet out of my stirrups was. Once my feet were out of my stirrups, I felt deeper in the saddle than I have ever felt. I felt grounded, like I could feel every move Dakota was making under the saddle. But this was only at the walk- how would trotting go? We began setting goals throughout the month of December...trotting with no stirrups, trotting with no stirrups while being on the right diagonal while posting, as well as doing it all alone without the lunge line or my trainer.
As of yesterday, I have more confidence on Dakota then I ever have. No-stirrup work has given me an immense amount of courage by forcing me to trust Dakota even more than I already do. My legs are dying with each and every trotting step, but it's worth it. I feel stronger, especially when my feet are in the stirrups. I feel like I can handle Dakota even on her crankiest days. Granted, I also bought myself the new Charles Owen AYR8 helmet which helps boost courage! (Thanks to my students!) After putting on this helmet, I'm not sure how I have ever been riding in another helmet!
I hope everyone had a wonderful end to 2012, as I know that 2012 has been wonderful to me. I have been blessed with Dakota- one of God's most incredible teachers. In 2012, she helped me overcome one of my biggest fears, but not without a fall! She challenges me when I'm desiring to be a lazy rider and quickly reminds me to keep my head in the game. In 2013, I look forward to challenging my riding even more by hopefully riding some other horses as well as maybe beginning to canter. Happy New Year!
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