Yesterday Max and I participated in our second parade, this time in La Canada/Flintridge, for Memorial Day. This was a very challenging parade both for Max and I from a number of aspects.
We had to load up at 7am so I wound up getting up at 4:30 (whew, haven't done that on a regular basis since I was in the Army!). After showering and a light breakfast, I proceeded over to the stables and got there by about 6am. I thin had to walk Max over to my friend's house to load him on the trailer.
The loading process worked out alright except for wrenching my right shoulder while loading Max when he suddenly pulled back and decided to back out of trailer before I could secure him. Boy did that hurt! When I went to load him a second time, Max balked at getting in the trailer so I had to growl at him and then had no further issues (thank god!).
Out staging area was on a grass athletic field at a school just south of Foothill Boulevard, and while this made an ideal place to tack up, it was a struggle to keep Max from grazing (we were discouraging the horses because of the possibility of herbicides).
After tacking up and getting my outfit on (I was going as a Revolutionary War soldier), we mounted up and began to work the horses on the field to get them tuned up. The maneuvers went well and there were no serious issues with mis-behaving stallions or miniature horses.
We had to load up at 7am so I wound up getting up at 4:30 (whew, haven't done that on a regular basis since I was in the Army!). After showering and a light breakfast, I proceeded over to the stables and got there by about 6am. I thin had to walk Max over to my friend's house to load him on the trailer.
The loading process worked out alright except for wrenching my right shoulder while loading Max when he suddenly pulled back and decided to back out of trailer before I could secure him. Boy did that hurt! When I went to load him a second time, Max balked at getting in the trailer so I had to growl at him and then had no further issues (thank god!).
Out staging area was on a grass athletic field at a school just south of Foothill Boulevard, and while this made an ideal place to tack up, it was a struggle to keep Max from grazing (we were discouraging the horses because of the possibility of herbicides).
After tacking up and getting my outfit on (I was going as a Revolutionary War soldier), we mounted up and began to work the horses on the field to get them tuned up. The maneuvers went well and there were no serious issues with mis-behaving stallions or miniature horses.
Finally, after about an hour and a half or so, we began to form up for the parade. We had to walk up a side street and then make a right turn onto Foothill Boulevard. Unfortunately, we had to run a gauntlet of various noisy vehicles, a couple of bands playing on the backs of trailers, and skateboarding kids. Max was definitely not happy with this and especially the music blaring through the amplifiers (Max was on the side of the street closet to these).
Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, we began to move forward and make the turn onto Foothill Boulevard. Max wasn't too thrilled about walking on the side closest to the crowd so we moved to the inside of the street where there were less spectators- Foothill Boulevard is divided by a median and while there were some people there, it wasn't anything like the main curbside.
Throughout the parade, Max kept pulling down on the bit and it was a struggle to keep him balanced. It also didn't help that the parade was proceeding on a downward slope so Max kept trying to speed up into a trot. What a pain!
We proceeded to do a number of standard maneuvers as we proceeded down Foothill Boulevard although it was pretty tight in places. Max did not want to approach the crowd when we would do either a left or right flank to face the crowd. I found that I had to force Max forward by using a combination spur and pushing hard into my seat by using a combination of breath control and folding my pelvis- basically half-halts. I found that after awhile, it was easier to get Max to move towards the crowd so I figured Max was slowly getting used to it.
I was actually able to alternate between using both hands and neck-reining and while there was a lot going on, Max seemed to not have too many issues (at least he sucked it up and soldier on). The parade route ended at Gould Street and Foothill Boulevard and it was here that we had most of our issues. It seemed that the parade organizers didn't really have any sort of an exit strategy and the various parade participants either wandered off or made a U-turn on Foothill and head back the way they came.
We initially proceeded to make our way back up Foothill Boulevard but we then had major issues with a Chinese group that was playing drums and waving large banners. The closer we got, the more Max didn't want to proceed and he started to dance in place (basically he was refusing to go forward so he was going up...). Finally Max attempted to back up so I had to spin him in circles and I eventually wound up on the sidewalk. At the same time, two of the other horses managed to get their bridles and bits tangled up and one of them actually got their bridle torn off.
While efforts were made to resolve the bridal issue, I had to work on getting Max under control and it wasn't looking good (the idea of landing on concrete was definitely becoming an unpleasant possibility) but by leaning back and forcing him in circles, I managed to distract him long enough until the Chinese had passed by.
The decision was then made to make our way back to our start point by side streets south of Foothill Boulevard. This was definitely the better choice although we then had to contend with rapidly moving vehicles- the drivers were clueless about horses and were moving way too fast down the side streets. Fortunately, we were able to avoid any collisions and eventually we were able to locate a bridal trail sandwiched between the backs of houses.
I have to admit, it was more interesting riding through the La Canada/Flintridge than it was riding in the parade and I was amazed by the opulence of the houses. Even more striking was the impossibly green lawns that were everywhere- Max definitely wanted to graze but I held him back because of the possibility of fertilizer/herbicides (how else do you get those impossibly green lawns?).
The bridle trail was interesting in that it snakes between the back yards of the houses and it was a stark contrast to the opulent fronts (some of the backyards were outright dumps). Definitely more my style and I let Max graze on the natural grass.
It was a long ride back and it probably took us about an hour to accomplish this, especially since we had to ask for directions to the bridal trail and we didn't know where we were exactly heading (but the horses seemed to know EXACTLY where they were going!).
Finally, we arrived back at the athletic field and we gave them a long rest before finally loading everyone up and heading home.
Overall, this was one of the toughest rides I've ever done and it really called for complete vigilance- anything could happen and you had to be ready to deal with it. I had to keep relaxing myself and not tense up, although this was not always easy- I need to work more on easing up on the reins. I also think that some better planning could have gone into our exit strategy.
On a good note, Max didn't bat an eye when six people on bikes rode by from behind at a high rate of speed. :-)
Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, we began to move forward and make the turn onto Foothill Boulevard. Max wasn't too thrilled about walking on the side closest to the crowd so we moved to the inside of the street where there were less spectators- Foothill Boulevard is divided by a median and while there were some people there, it wasn't anything like the main curbside.
Throughout the parade, Max kept pulling down on the bit and it was a struggle to keep him balanced. It also didn't help that the parade was proceeding on a downward slope so Max kept trying to speed up into a trot. What a pain!
We proceeded to do a number of standard maneuvers as we proceeded down Foothill Boulevard although it was pretty tight in places. Max did not want to approach the crowd when we would do either a left or right flank to face the crowd. I found that I had to force Max forward by using a combination spur and pushing hard into my seat by using a combination of breath control and folding my pelvis- basically half-halts. I found that after awhile, it was easier to get Max to move towards the crowd so I figured Max was slowly getting used to it.
I was actually able to alternate between using both hands and neck-reining and while there was a lot going on, Max seemed to not have too many issues (at least he sucked it up and soldier on). The parade route ended at Gould Street and Foothill Boulevard and it was here that we had most of our issues. It seemed that the parade organizers didn't really have any sort of an exit strategy and the various parade participants either wandered off or made a U-turn on Foothill and head back the way they came.
We initially proceeded to make our way back up Foothill Boulevard but we then had major issues with a Chinese group that was playing drums and waving large banners. The closer we got, the more Max didn't want to proceed and he started to dance in place (basically he was refusing to go forward so he was going up...). Finally Max attempted to back up so I had to spin him in circles and I eventually wound up on the sidewalk. At the same time, two of the other horses managed to get their bridles and bits tangled up and one of them actually got their bridle torn off.
While efforts were made to resolve the bridal issue, I had to work on getting Max under control and it wasn't looking good (the idea of landing on concrete was definitely becoming an unpleasant possibility) but by leaning back and forcing him in circles, I managed to distract him long enough until the Chinese had passed by.
The decision was then made to make our way back to our start point by side streets south of Foothill Boulevard. This was definitely the better choice although we then had to contend with rapidly moving vehicles- the drivers were clueless about horses and were moving way too fast down the side streets. Fortunately, we were able to avoid any collisions and eventually we were able to locate a bridal trail sandwiched between the backs of houses.
I have to admit, it was more interesting riding through the La Canada/Flintridge than it was riding in the parade and I was amazed by the opulence of the houses. Even more striking was the impossibly green lawns that were everywhere- Max definitely wanted to graze but I held him back because of the possibility of fertilizer/herbicides (how else do you get those impossibly green lawns?).
The bridle trail was interesting in that it snakes between the back yards of the houses and it was a stark contrast to the opulent fronts (some of the backyards were outright dumps). Definitely more my style and I let Max graze on the natural grass.
It was a long ride back and it probably took us about an hour to accomplish this, especially since we had to ask for directions to the bridal trail and we didn't know where we were exactly heading (but the horses seemed to know EXACTLY where they were going!).
Finally, we arrived back at the athletic field and we gave them a long rest before finally loading everyone up and heading home.
Overall, this was one of the toughest rides I've ever done and it really called for complete vigilance- anything could happen and you had to be ready to deal with it. I had to keep relaxing myself and not tense up, although this was not always easy- I need to work more on easing up on the reins. I also think that some better planning could have gone into our exit strategy.
On a good note, Max didn't bat an eye when six people on bikes rode by from behind at a high rate of speed. :-)
2 comments:
Wow! I'm impressed. Sounds like you two did great. It's always interesting to see what the horse will do when you take them to a public or high-pressure situation. I can do a bunch of work at home, but as they say, the "proof is in the pudding!".
Do you wear steel shoes on the parades? Yikes - that would be nerve wracking to have a horse spinnng and misbehaving on asphalt with steel shoes on. After Farley fell on the pavement this weekend, I'm a little trepidatious about riding on roads.
So far I've ridden with steel shoes with no problems, although we all made sure to avoid any manhole covers. The last time I had him shod, last week, the shoer purposely used nails that have heads that are slightly elevated above the level of the shoe. This will wear down but provide a little traction. However, I wouldn't advise cantering on asphalt...:-)
I think the best thing is to try and balance the horse as much as possible. I also practice a bit on paved streets (there are a number of quiet residential streets by the stables where I practice the parade maneuver)- I definately recommend this before any parade. The footing feels different and sometimes takes some getting used to. I also am a lot more slow and precise when I ask for manuevers such as leg yields and side passes.
Some parades like the Rose Parade require Borium shoes, no exceptions, and these are not cheap. We put in an application to march in the Rose Parade but the odds of us getting in aren't good.
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