Fiona and I have pretty much been holding steady on a our training. We've been doing mostly walk/trot work with some cantering where we can get away with it. When I say get away with it, because Fiona is having issues with bucking and kicking out when asked to canter. She never had this problem before at the beginning of her training, or if she did, it was fleeting. Perhaps she would do it once in a lesson and with one swift "get your butt moving", either with a bump to the sides of a crack on the hind end with a rope, she would give up on the idea.
Now a few things have changed, I am heavier now, almost back to my highest weight again, but trying to fight my way back down. We have been riding in a training martingale. Other than those 2 things, everything else is the same. It has been our longest, uninterrupted period of JUST riding. We've done very little desensitizing work and almost no ground work except for warm-ups, but most of the time I just saddle and get right on.
We even thought for a while that something might be physically wrong with her, but after several vet checks and a hiatus from riding at a trot or canter, she seems to be fine. Even lunging she doesn't seem quite as sore/hesitant.
So it is a little disappointing to go to the point where I can reliably tack up and mount without issue, and then get stuck where we can't canter together.
I am investigating some ways to resolve the issue, by going back to some riding fundamentals that I think we rushed through on our way to start canter work. I read Centered Riding, by Sally Swift and got taken to SCHOOL! Wow there's so much I don't know about riding properly.
So while the plateau is very frustrating, I think it will ultimately lead to better riding for us in the long run. Here's to hoping.....
Updated 7/15: I fixed the video link at the bottom. Everyone should be able to view it now.
Hello ALL!! First, let me get you caught up. For the last 3 months, since drill team ended, we've been forced to work on groundwork because Fiona had an allergic reaction to fly spray and she got some weird rash on her skin. It got really wrinkled at first, then the hair fell out..ugh what a mess. It was VERY itchy. The poor girl, I tried to wash it with a bristle brush and she looked at me with an amount of indignation which I have never experienced, even from another human, much less a horse.
The rash is clearing now, so no long term damage was done. We are going BACK to natural fly spray.
The good news out of all this, is that our groundwork has consisted of some really amazing outings to the park across the street from the barn. For those of you that do not know the history, I came off of Fiona in this park over a year ago while riding off property or the first time. It nearly killed us both...literally. See.... Another bad First for details.
But going out with Fiona on the ground has been nothing short of amazing. It took at least a month for her to even consider calming down outside the barn walls. She was convinced that I had lost my mind and gotten us both lost somehow. Even worse, I continued to do it week after week. It is important to mention that every night before our park outings I would work her hard. This will come up again later.
Her main issue was right as we would get into the park, she would start to circle me in an attempt to herd me back to the barn/horses. Instead of stopping to get her attention at that point, we would just keep walking away from the barn. She would continue to get anxious and we would just keep lunging her until she would get calmer, but she never REALLY settled down.
Finally, after watching a youtube video about how to get a horse to go closer to something they are afraid of while riding, it clicked. I needed to deal with that behavior before we did ANYTHING else in the park. So one day, I took a long whip out with us and as soon as she circled back to the barn, I started smacking the ground and getting after her. As she went away from the barn, I left her alone. Toward the barn, BAD. Away from the barn, GOOD. I am starting to think this is why Tonto was so good with horses. He kept the conversation simple.
Finally after a severe 20 mins argument on this matter, Fiona got it. She began to stand next to me, on the side away from the barn. From there, it was like the dam burst. She walked out of the park, away from the barn to the desert across the street. She walked by my side the entire way.
The game was on!!! Now it was time to start pushing her. The next week, we walked through a neighborhood for the first time. She was amazing. She walked right by my side, looking at everything! The trash cans were definitely shifty, but she dealt with it. The car under the waving car cover was definitely not cool, but she eventually got over that too. Even the giant trash truck, driven by a human being who clearly thought myself and my trainer were out of our minds, wasn't a big issue. We had to wave the driver by because he was afraid to scare the horse!! now there's a switch!!!
We've practiced crossing the road a few times, which is where we got ourselves in a wreck riding. She was amazing, scared, but amazing. She just puts on her brave boots and marches on.
This is the first time in a long time, maybe ever, that I think this horse might really be able to make a full leap into something that will blow everyone away. I don't know what it will be yet, but I am convinced that she will continue to surprise us!!
Here are some pictures/video of our adventures:
Remember, this is a $550 rescue horse folks.....
This guy likes to walk his pitbull during our lesson
After 3+ years of hard work, Fiona and I finally got to compete in the Red Mountain Stables Games AND perform with the Chili Peppers Drill team!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have to say, in the days leading up to the big day, I was really ok with the whole thing going to crap. The progress we've made in the last 3-4 months was satisfying enough. We have been riding in the big arena several times a month now (before I was lucky to pull that off a total of 3-4 times EVER). We've ridden with other horses a ton...which we never did much at all before. So, if we got to the day of the games and performance and I got hit by a big tractor trailer truck, I would have died a happy woman.
However, I am SUPER stoked that we did both the games AND the drill team performance. I seriously considered not doing games. I consistently have a "set the bar low" mentality when it comes to working with Fiona. I am SO used to things going wrong that I try to set my expectation accordingly. Instead of going with my standard ho-hum thinking, I pushed through and saddled up around 9am for games. Fiona was nervous, but only a little. She wouldn't stand at all when we started, but she walked instead of bolting like a complete nutjob. So I just let her walk, but kept changing directions. We did some circles and figure-8s until she could stand still.
The games were pretty simple. We had some reservations about going over and between poles on the ground and by "we" I mean Fiona. I just let her look and took things slowly. She never freaked out or bolted. She did try to evade some things, but I just kept her pointed the right way and let her get over her concerns. We even took second place in the snail race (slowest time wins)..I know that's for the kids, but I am counting it.
We did skip the canter this time, but my goal for next games is to be competitive. It kills me to skip the cantering. I know if we could do it, Fiona would LOVE it. The horse loves to run!!! She'd probably surprise some folks at the stable. She is really fast and she turns on a dime. She would make a killer cutting horse.
Anyway, I digress. Here are some pictures of the games:
The Drill team performance was AWESOME!!!! It was the best performance the team had done to that point. Fiona only had one issue and that was when she HATED the horse next to her during our pinwheel. She kept pinning her ears, but she stayed in line for the most part. I was super proud of both of us!!!! Here are some pictures of the drill team performance:
I can honestly say, I am having fun doing this!! I mean I have loved watching Fiona change and get braver in the world, but my experience with the drill team has been TRULY FUN! One of the best things to come out of it is I can finally just show up and ride..without any drama. Saddling her is easier, she likes to go ride and I don't have to warm her up for 15 minutes before we go to work. It's is outstanding! I look forward to lots of relaxing rides after work! :)
