After recovering from the sticker shock of repairing the radiator on my van (and facing the prospect of yet more costs when the water pump finally dies), I decided to work out the stress and relax by riding Max (I only wish Max knew auto mechanics and could repair the van but I think that would be a challenge with hooves...).
So I've managed to get a couple of decent rides in for the last two nights. Nothing serious but I've been paying closer attention to keeping contact with Max's mouth with the reins (using two-handed reining). This is not as easy as it looks! The key is to let the shoulders, elbow, and hands moved back and forth in rythem to the movement of the horse while at the same time, not allowing slack in the reins (i.e. loss of contact).
Also, on turns, you also have to maintain contact. By contact, I mean just enough so you're touching the bars but not so much that you're actually constricting any movement or forcing the horse into an unnatural position. This definately calls for more discipline than neck reining (although it's actually helped improve the neck reining). The trick is to keep your hands quiet and NOT be waving them around.
One of the easiest mistakes to make while neck reining is to let the hand and arm waive around, especially if you're cantering or trying to manuever. Keeping one's hands quiet works in all disciplines, English and Western (watch the Western reiners sometime!). Quiet hands and not moving the bit around will also make for a more calm and compliant horse. Anyway, that's the theory...putting it into action is a lot more tough.
Overall, our rides were good and I like to also take him out on the trail to different spots. I have a set of areas that I ride to in a random order (so that Max doesn't get used to going to the same place every time). I'm also teaching Max to pay attention to me.
I also like to ride Max in a small ring that's not too far away from the stable- it's part of three rings located in Orcas Park. I usually will work him at the canter and practive transitions. Last night, I worked at keeping Max focused even though he was more intent on watching other horses (it's easy to tell when his attention wanders)- sometimes it takes a bit of "reminding" with the crop.
Overall, not bad but I think I'll give him the night off tonight- I'm sore and I'm sure he'll appreciate a break.
So I've managed to get a couple of decent rides in for the last two nights. Nothing serious but I've been paying closer attention to keeping contact with Max's mouth with the reins (using two-handed reining). This is not as easy as it looks! The key is to let the shoulders, elbow, and hands moved back and forth in rythem to the movement of the horse while at the same time, not allowing slack in the reins (i.e. loss of contact).
Also, on turns, you also have to maintain contact. By contact, I mean just enough so you're touching the bars but not so much that you're actually constricting any movement or forcing the horse into an unnatural position. This definately calls for more discipline than neck reining (although it's actually helped improve the neck reining). The trick is to keep your hands quiet and NOT be waving them around.
One of the easiest mistakes to make while neck reining is to let the hand and arm waive around, especially if you're cantering or trying to manuever. Keeping one's hands quiet works in all disciplines, English and Western (watch the Western reiners sometime!). Quiet hands and not moving the bit around will also make for a more calm and compliant horse. Anyway, that's the theory...putting it into action is a lot more tough.
Overall, our rides were good and I like to also take him out on the trail to different spots. I have a set of areas that I ride to in a random order (so that Max doesn't get used to going to the same place every time). I'm also teaching Max to pay attention to me.
I also like to ride Max in a small ring that's not too far away from the stable- it's part of three rings located in Orcas Park. I usually will work him at the canter and practive transitions. Last night, I worked at keeping Max focused even though he was more intent on watching other horses (it's easy to tell when his attention wanders)- sometimes it takes a bit of "reminding" with the crop.
Overall, not bad but I think I'll give him the night off tonight- I'm sore and I'm sure he'll appreciate a break.
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