So! I often do little things to stretch her. There is a round pen near her pen, and adjacent to a small arena that is used for turnout. So I turned her out in the round pen and a young LBE that I have been riding for a client out in the small arena. They played over the fence and hung out while I walked Damo, and prepared feed, etc.
Then I returned Jaden to his stall, but left Merrida in the round pen.... Knowing that this feeling of being "left" is tough for her. Sure enough she ran, and bucked and paced the fence. Recently while assisting at a Dave Ellis clinic he talked about what he says when a student asks him, "why do you allow the horse to do that?" He said, "that horse could literally do ANYTHING he wants right now, and he is choosing to do that. This is natural horsemanship.... I'm allowing him to do what feels natural."
Now- there are often ways we can help horses to have the tools or the emotional stability to be able to just relax in situations that they are finding stressful. However! Not letting them experience this, is not the way! That's what Pat says is being an "avoid-a-holic."
So- Merrida lost her marbles and ran around for a while. I continued to go about my business, then when she made a slightt change I went over to see if she would connect with me. It took her a little while, but she came over, then followed me to the middle of the round pen and allowed me to halter her. We had a great play on the 22'.
In the spirit of "observe, remember and compare," I now can see where she hadn't come ALL the way off the adrenaline, I didn't get a true blow out, or a shake or those other signs I should have looked for. And, she was connected and soft and focused.
We have only had about 4 rides, all of witch have been very progressive, so I decided that last night I wanted to just remind her that this is going to be a journey about both of us... So I thought I would just sit on her, bend a little, maybe walk around, and then get off and we would be done. Who can see where my mind set had slipped back into a right-brain horse? Bad idea!! Lol!
We have also been playing a lot with her "go" button, which has been pretty sticky. Turns out I have fixed that problem too! Last night we had PLENTY of go! And I unfortunately did not have the confidence to ride it! So we did some bending, and walking.... And a bit of hopping :). I focused on preserving my confidence, in balance with attempting to do the right thing by her... And we found a couple of good walk steps and a bend to a stop. Phew!! Never a dull moment!
Next week she goes to Rhett Fincher for four rides over the holidays :)! So excited I have made this choice to invest in her and my relationship.... By making sure she has one of the best in the colt-starting business to help her through these pivotal first few real rides!
Thank you so much for that share Liilan, I often wonder is this it right choice letting a lone horse find comfort alone, since they are herd animals, and reading this lets know it's ok. It does always seem that the LBE horse has a difficult time with it.
ReplyDeleteAlso important is your willingness to send her off to a pro for more development and giving her the best opportunity to grow. Can't wait to hear about both of your(s) progress.