APRIL 2007 • VOLUME 20 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine

I have been formulating my 'challenge' in my mind for a while, but seeing the video clips in this month's mag (January 2007 Issue) put it into words for me - now look at how relaxed that horse is, how he is lost in his work (or would you call it dance? play? adventure?) with his rider/trainer. It was the same in the August one last year - sorry, cannot remember names but you know the one - just in a quiet planet all on their own.

Now my horse is a spooky boy, and although I CAN get him relaxed and listening, with his ears telling me this is the case, his body nice and soft and we are doing well....suddenly he's off and spooking at something, a noise, a movement he sees out of the corner of his eye....this of course makes me less keen to ride on the long giving rein we see in this month's mag.... and I am sure those horses are spirited creatures just like mine, yet they seem to be totally calm...is it all because of me? Probably! But I can't ride on a rein like that without risking being catapulted out of the saddle if Neddy suddenly does one of his 180 degree whiprounds and 0-100kph accelerations!

BUT I want to ride like that - I don't want to have the short reins and strong contact ... if I am constantly playing lightly with the reins and especially when he starts getting worried about 'noises off' etc., then he seems comforted and will keep on listening to me, but this could all be the wrong way round..and I would like to work towards self-carriage and lightness from a light start rather than being tight then getting looser if you see what I mean. But I also want to stay alive......

Is it tight-to-loose however? i.e. a question of having the loose reins and the light contact for tiny moments which you then can make longer as the horse gets used to it? I've been experimenting with this in our canter departure work when I have the arena to myself. The horse seems calm and attentive and we've had some lovely moments, but then somehow they 'degenerate' into pulling and rushing. I hope it isn't always me being apprehensive, sometimes I really do feel I am being calm and not tensed up, yet he still reacts with tension....

What's your take on this? I must be ready to work on this aspect because it seems to be the first thing that strikes me when I watch these vids and the thing in them that 'speaks' to me the most....

Thanks
Susan


And so began our new journey together. One where we get together one on one with one of the riders in their ongoing journey and, working from pictures and videos, we try to learn together how to help our riders.

Check out the beginning in the January issue of Horses For LIFE!

But before we begin to show what happened next, I want to thank Susan on behalf of many, many riders for having the courage to do this. Thank you.

So what happened? Did Susan get the courage to lengthen her reins?

If she did, did she lose control of her spooky horse?

Were the changes we suggested last month helpful? And what problems arose? No training program continues on a straight line. Find out what common problems Susan and her horse discovered along the way as they try some dramatic changes to the riding, training and to their relationship!

Almost right away Susan and her instructor noticed a difference.

Meanwhile things go on getting better with Michy - we had a lovely session yesterday and I am really learning to trust him more when I give him more rein, and he responds with gratitude and softness...lovely! We do have a way to go yet tho...

Had a great time with Miki this afternoon - so did Luca the instructor! I had warm-up time to myself and just did lots of turns, circles, serpentines and half voltes on a long rein (not the buckle, but about half way there) and it was lovely, very quiet and no spooking.... then did some trot work on the same principles... then tried the trotting into the wall trick! The first time he did what you said... looked totally baffled, went off balance (fell back into walk catching me unawares of course...) but after a few times he got into it and it all got better and I resisted shortening the reins and it was FUN!!!!! AND I fancy I could feel the very very beginnings of collection there, the idea of it anyway....

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