Wish Me Luck!
I’m trying Ace under saddle again tomorrow night.
He had come a long way during fall training and was responding well under saddle. But then came the abscess and the holidays, and we were out of regular work for a month and a half. When we started back, Ace was good for about 15 minutes and then started some major resistance. He’d break gait, plant his front legs and refuse to go forward. I wasn’t able to work through it without a helper on the ground.
So I took a step back. Ace and I worked hard on the ground. I worked to regain my leadership. He worked to keep me from it. But I came out on top. He’s now moving his shoulders and hind end whenever I ask. He’s lunging at the walk and trot well. He’s not resisting forward transitions. He goes when I ask and keeps going when I tell him he’s not allowed to break gait. He’s relaxed, straight, and willing.
I’ve spent our last three sessions spending some time on his back, but just sitting there. I haven’t asked for a thing. I’ve just waited for him to relax with me on him because I wasn’t constantly pressuring him to do something I wanted. And he has. Last night, he walked back and forth along the stall line instead of just standing there.
Tomorrow I’m going to lunge him first, sit on him for a little bit, and then start asking him to just walk. I’m not going to ask for straight or bend. I’m not going to ask for trot. I’m not going to ask for turning. I’m not going to ask for energy or even a consistent rhythm. As long as he walks when I ask and keeps walking, I’ll be happy.
So, wish us luck. But more than luck, wish us good communication and successful training. Wish that Ace has forgotten whatever mental barrier caused his resistance under saddle. Wish that our ground work transfers to riding. And wish that I will know when enough is enough and stop because we’ve been successful.
Good luck. I think you are wise to go so slowly and carefully. My trainer Cath always reminds me, though, nothing is ever fixed permanently and you might have to revisit these lessons from time to time. I missed the earliest posts about Ace; what do you know about his life before you? Any clues about why he tenses up once you hop on board?
liquidambar – I’m quite sure we will have to revisit this lesson, particularly when Ace has too much time off. I bought Ace from a dressage trainer friend of a friend who is trying to establish her own business. She got Ace to use as either a lesson horse or her own show horse. He stood out in a pasture for the two years that she had him. He was a bit underweight when I got him, but none the worse for wear. The dressage trainer bought him down in Kentucky from a family who had bought him at auction as a 2-year-old and rode him western. They sold him because they didn’t have time for him, which indicates he wasn’t getting a whole lot of work then either. He was bred to race but never did.
Ace was thrilled to finally have somebody doing something when I got him, which is one of the reasons I fell in love with him. He was obviously very smart, learned quickly, and was happy to work with me. He was fine under saddle at first, but pretty dead to my leg. He’s very light and sensitive in the bridle. He stops on a dime and backs like nobody’s business. Just doesn’t have the most willing forward.
From what I’ve learned from him, part of it stems from asking him to do too much at the same time. (walk, walk with energy, straight, bend). He shuts down when he feels like he’s being pressured too much. I think it’s also partly his way of telling me that he’s tired. After having all that time off, he’s very out of shape right now. He’s also a smart, dominant horse. Some of it is obviously a battle of wills.
I wish you luck in all you do with Ace. I think you are taking the right training tact with him going slowly and going back to comfortable things for him when he seems resistant. Have fun.
Sound like a great horse, he was use to the holiday and thought it was over, he will be up and running soon enough , your approach will pay off.
beautiful story.
I don’t train horses.