I've been pretty lazy lately...must be the warm weather or something!
Anyway, everything was abuzz at the stable last weekend- two new horses moved in and there was all sorts of work going on as their new stalls were being prepared. The other horses were excited, including Max, but nothing serious. Horses are, next to Cats, the ultimate conservatives and their theme seems to be "we fear change". Hmm, something in that...
Earlier in the week, the weather was pretty up and down and last Tuesday, the wind was blowing something fierce- the stall roofs, which are all made of metal, were rattling and things were flying all about. The horses were buzzed up and especially a new Standardbred Mare that one of my stable companions had just got- she was running around her stall and kicking, bucking, and snorting (but not farting, thank god!).
Well, things settled down and last Saturday, I decided to take Max for an extended trail ride. Since my usual trail buddy has been unable to ride due to a knee injury, I was on my own. I decided to get an early start and first ride up into the hills up to the cattle pens (it's about a two-three mile ride). The ride went uneventfully, even with the paint ballers and I even rode him up a particularly steep dirt road at a full canter. He was pretty good about it and didn't even look once at the ranch down below and try to call out to his equine brethren.
Part of my goal here is to increase Max's focus on me, rather than all the other stuff out there on the trail. Naturally, he'll always be checking out his surroundings (he's a horse, after all) but I'm trying to train him to be more mindful of me, especially if some critical situation does develop.
The trail I follow follows a creekbed past Middle Ranch and then past a paintball "battlefield". The trail segment then winds up at a collection of picnic tables in a cluster of Oak trees. Next, you have a choice of several trails that all lead up to the cow pens (they are literally a set of cow pens located next to a gravel quarry and underneath some high voltage lines- you can literally hear them hum!). I usually go up following a dirt road- it's wide enough to ensure good visibility and firm enough footing to run up. At the top, I usually follow a fire road until I hit one or the other trails leading back down the hill to the picnic benches (either trail ends up in the same place). If I were to follow the fire road, it would take me up further into the mountains and ultimately over the hill until I hit Foothill Boulevard.
Anyway, we completed the loop up to the cow pens and then back down the hill and then headed back to the stable (I really need to post a map here at some point!). But here's where I got creative: Max expected that we would be heading home and naturally he'll try to speed up. I kept him in check and then rode past the entrance to the stables- Max then began to try to edge in the direction of the stable and basically communicate to me "Hey buddy, we're done! Let's go home!" His efforts were rewarded with a nudge in the flank and a "get up there!" More work for Max...
I then continued to ride down the wash and across the river and then completed a loop that took me to the Orcas Park arena. On the way, I ran him out at some sand pits, just for good measure, For some reason, Max had fun running the sandpits and he began to buck (or at least try). I quickly put an end to that and we then continued on our way.
I also ran him around the outside of the arena (there were some others inside doing some sort of exercises so I didn't want to bother them). We finally made our way home with a total time of about 3 1/2 hours on the trail. Naturally Max was rewarded for his efforts and was able to relax for the rest of the day. Overall, a successful trail ride and I succeeded in focusing Max on me and he seemed to have a good time at it (I wasn't ALL work! :-)).
Sunday was our weekly lesson and we learned more dressage moves, especially counterbalancing and doing various circles while spiraling in and out. It's not was easy as it looks and I have a lot of work to do in this area but things look promising- the trick is balance and maintaining even tension on both sides of the bit (that's GENTLE tension). You're basically using your legs to move the horse and leaving the head out of the equation- you firmly keep the head pointed forward but your working off of the horse's legs and hindquarters. The key is to NOT try to lead the horse by the head- it doesn't work and it unbalances the horse.
Overall, a good workout for the both of us. More later...
Anyway, everything was abuzz at the stable last weekend- two new horses moved in and there was all sorts of work going on as their new stalls were being prepared. The other horses were excited, including Max, but nothing serious. Horses are, next to Cats, the ultimate conservatives and their theme seems to be "we fear change". Hmm, something in that...
Earlier in the week, the weather was pretty up and down and last Tuesday, the wind was blowing something fierce- the stall roofs, which are all made of metal, were rattling and things were flying all about. The horses were buzzed up and especially a new Standardbred Mare that one of my stable companions had just got- she was running around her stall and kicking, bucking, and snorting (but not farting, thank god!).
Well, things settled down and last Saturday, I decided to take Max for an extended trail ride. Since my usual trail buddy has been unable to ride due to a knee injury, I was on my own. I decided to get an early start and first ride up into the hills up to the cattle pens (it's about a two-three mile ride). The ride went uneventfully, even with the paint ballers and I even rode him up a particularly steep dirt road at a full canter. He was pretty good about it and didn't even look once at the ranch down below and try to call out to his equine brethren.
Part of my goal here is to increase Max's focus on me, rather than all the other stuff out there on the trail. Naturally, he'll always be checking out his surroundings (he's a horse, after all) but I'm trying to train him to be more mindful of me, especially if some critical situation does develop.
The trail I follow follows a creekbed past Middle Ranch and then past a paintball "battlefield". The trail segment then winds up at a collection of picnic tables in a cluster of Oak trees. Next, you have a choice of several trails that all lead up to the cow pens (they are literally a set of cow pens located next to a gravel quarry and underneath some high voltage lines- you can literally hear them hum!). I usually go up following a dirt road- it's wide enough to ensure good visibility and firm enough footing to run up. At the top, I usually follow a fire road until I hit one or the other trails leading back down the hill to the picnic benches (either trail ends up in the same place). If I were to follow the fire road, it would take me up further into the mountains and ultimately over the hill until I hit Foothill Boulevard.
Anyway, we completed the loop up to the cow pens and then back down the hill and then headed back to the stable (I really need to post a map here at some point!). But here's where I got creative: Max expected that we would be heading home and naturally he'll try to speed up. I kept him in check and then rode past the entrance to the stables- Max then began to try to edge in the direction of the stable and basically communicate to me "Hey buddy, we're done! Let's go home!" His efforts were rewarded with a nudge in the flank and a "get up there!" More work for Max...
I then continued to ride down the wash and across the river and then completed a loop that took me to the Orcas Park arena. On the way, I ran him out at some sand pits, just for good measure, For some reason, Max had fun running the sandpits and he began to buck (or at least try). I quickly put an end to that and we then continued on our way.
I also ran him around the outside of the arena (there were some others inside doing some sort of exercises so I didn't want to bother them). We finally made our way home with a total time of about 3 1/2 hours on the trail. Naturally Max was rewarded for his efforts and was able to relax for the rest of the day. Overall, a successful trail ride and I succeeded in focusing Max on me and he seemed to have a good time at it (I wasn't ALL work! :-)).
Sunday was our weekly lesson and we learned more dressage moves, especially counterbalancing and doing various circles while spiraling in and out. It's not was easy as it looks and I have a lot of work to do in this area but things look promising- the trick is balance and maintaining even tension on both sides of the bit (that's GENTLE tension). You're basically using your legs to move the horse and leaving the head out of the equation- you firmly keep the head pointed forward but your working off of the horse's legs and hindquarters. The key is to NOT try to lead the horse by the head- it doesn't work and it unbalances the horse.
Overall, a good workout for the both of us. More later...
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