Training Part II

On Friday, E. tried out the techniques her trainer had shown her at the last lesson. We all thought that it would probably be a little rough but Curly proved us wrong! They stepped into the round pen and he did exactly what he was supposed to do - it was amazing to watch. I think E. and Curly will make a good team.

E. tried out a new piece of equipment later in the lesson to help him learn the leg cues and rein cues she'll be using in the show ring, and to help him get his head in the right position. I believe the trainer switched him to a snaffle bit with a German Martingale (I could have that last part wrong - there's so much to learn and so many different types of equipment!).

Anyway, it was almost comical to watch E. working to get Curly going where she wanted. She really had to pull and turn his head to get him to circle and reverse. Best part, though, was that she didn't get frustrated and really seemed to enjoy the challenge. She ended the ride with a big smile.

We will try out a new(used) saddle today or tomorrow.

Training begins....

Curly has the bad habit of tossing his head whenever he changes gaits. Today we started the process of getting rid of that habit. There was no riding during lesson time today. Instead, E.'s horse trainer showed her how to use some reins hooked from his bridle to his saddle on both sides of his head to help him keep it in the correct position. Whenever he would try to throw his head up, the ropes would pull him back but whenever he put his head in the right place he felt an immediate reward - no pressure.

We also began to learn the correct way to use the round pen for training. E. was shown how to use her body language and position to "tell" Curly what to do. By looking at his tail and being behind his cinch line she tells him to move forward. Shifting to the fore of his cinch and looking at his shoulder tells him to stop. There were other movements and body positions to learn as well - it was amazing to see how much the horse watches and reacts!

This is all completely new to Curly but after the hour he was getting the hang of it. In many ways he's a pretty green horse. Thank goodness that he's basically a gentle guy!

On the diet side, he's really beginning to look good. We can see muscle definition already. E. let him munch away at the grass surrounding our trailer today. He was quite happy to oblige.....

R. gets to ride...

R. had her first ride on Curly yesterday. E. saddled him up, adjusted her helmet to fit R., and then we hoisted R. up into the saddle.



She was surprised by how high up she was! E. then led them around the property for a little while - I think this is the longest horse ride R. has ever had.

Both girls were pretty excited and happy about our activities at the barn. I think it will be good to have something that they can do together. Since there is such a large gap in their ages it is sometimes hard to find activities that they both enjoy equally. Maybe horses will be it....

Curly's first 4-H ride night...

E. writes: Today Curly was very,very excited. Usually I have to kick him as hard as I can to make him move, but tonight I barely had to touch him. Since he has never riden with so many horses before, he thought he had to keep up with the leader! Once, he was so focused on catching up, he ran into a wall! Curly never wanted to slow down, only speed up. At the very end, we got to canter around the arena and I did my first "long distance" canter! By the end my legs were aching, but overall it was fun.