Well, it wasn't so windy when I started out this morning. I took *Joe over to the indoor arena - he was pretty good on the way over - a bit snorty but not too bad. I lunged him for about half an hour and he was good as usual, so I got on him and he was a bundle of nerves... the thing about a coverall arena is that they do flap a "little" not much, but enough for Joe to notice, also, I don't think he has spent much time, if any, in a barn so he doesn't like the noises that he can hear but not see - very disturbing for him! However, I am more stubborn than him :) so we walked and halted, walked and halted, few steps of trot, back to walk and halt, flex neck, leg yield, etc., etc., you get the picture.... and finally, finally, he got soft and listened. I rode him for about an hour and I think it was just the last 20 minutes where he was soft, focused and listening - but we got there! Today it occurred to me that Joe needs a tactful, confident rider and maybe he always will. I'm not sure why he is like this, but at this time he does and well, as time goes on, we will see if that changes.....
After lunch, Anastasia and I took *Kobee, *Tessa and *Serenade over to the indoor arena - by this time the wind was just HOWLING, *Tessa was pretty worried, but Anastasia handled her just fine. *Kobee settled down after a short bit of lunging and I had a really nice soft ride on him - what a good boy! I lunged *Serenade for only about half an hour and was happy to show Anastasia how well, *Serenade is doing - her gait is almost normal now - we are just thrilled! *Serenade couldn't care less about the wind - that young lady is rock solid!
We took our camera, but we didn't get any pictures of any of the horses! We were too busy riding and working :)
Shelly in Summerland, BC Canada
http://www.curlystandardplace.com
Shelly,
ReplyDeleteSounds like everyone had a great time. Funny, how experiencing the moments we forget to take snapshots but they are always in our memory banks{:>
Riding when it's windy either outside or in is probably my least favorite things. Some horses are phased by it but other are just always on edge. I guess it's a good training day though! Sounds like you got your point acrossed and he learned to trust you a little more.
ReplyDeleteShelly, isn't the wind fun? My thought is the horse being a prey animal depends on hearing to know when a prededator is sneaking up on them and when the wind is howling they an't hear! Whatever I really groan when the wind blows and it is horse working time!
ReplyDeleteEllen cheyenne, wy
ps - I love your description of the type of rider Joe needs!
I agree with Ellen, you give great description in your posts. I have one that could give two shakes about wind and one who thinks he is going to be eaten by it.
ReplyDeleteGood for you getting out in the wind. There are SO many people I know who won't work a horse on a windy day. I always try to get out there in it! One less thing to add to the list of "no worries"
ReplyDeleteHey everyone - thanks for the kind words :)
ReplyDeleteI rarely ever let wind stop me from working with horses - they have to learn to tolerate all sorts of stuff IMO.
Shelly in Summerland, BC Canada