hobbyhorse23
Well-Known Member
Kody started shedding a couple of days ago and today the grass suddenly started sprouting up through the snow. Spring is on its way! I know the weather has been horrible in many places but has anyone else started working their driving horses?
I've been ramping up my enthusiasm reading training books since January and put Turbo back to work last month, spending a week doing ground-driving before I left for California and then about another week's worth since I got back as the weather's allowed. He's been being a typical silly baby ("Oh my God, there's a mountain lion in the corner of the arena I'm turned out in every day! I can't go in that half under harness, it will kill me!"
) but gets a little more of his brain back each time I work him and seems to remember his lessons well from day to day.
By the time we quit last year he was past having the tack taken off as a reward and had no trouble ground-driving to and from the arena like a grownup but this spring he was getting really frustrated and had a couple of temperamental meltdowns. I had to remind myself how young he really is and went back to putting things in his terms to ensure his cooperation. What did he want that first day? To quit what he saw as pointless, boring exercises! So the minute he stopped fighting me and gave a moment of real try I clicked him and calmly stripped all his tack off on the spot. He gave me a wide-eyed look of shock, ran off gleefully bucking and rolled a few hundred times then having apparently left his frustration in the dust came back over to me and did a little more work at liberty. The next day he told me that wasn't necessary but didn't want to go back in the arena once he'd left it. We had a discussion about that and the minute he walked calmly past the threshold he got what he wanted- off came the tack and the session was over. By our third workout he was back to where I'd left him last fall and no longer needed special treatment but I'm glad he reminded me to not only take as much time as it takes but to make sure he's really on the same page I am instead of getting frustrated and trying to force him to do something. I know better! My entire goal with this reactive horse was to make him a full partner in his training to the extent that if he can't do something at liberty, I don't ask him to do it with tack on and after a few months off here I was saying "Just do it!" the minute I got frustrated.
I needed to get my head back on straight too and he helped me do that. I still expect him to do what he's told but need to remember that the easiest way to short-circuit resistance is to make it clear that doing what I want gets him what he wants. Hard for even stubborn ponies to resist that logic!
The biggest thing all this has done is make me realize that there's no substitute for consistent work and sheer miles with a young horse. I'm not good at getting out there and training regularly but with the layoff from my job December 31st I've had plenty of time so both boys have been back in work since early February. I've got my competitions marked out for the year and think I've got enough time to take Turbo along at the pace I prefer through all the material I expect him to know and have him really well started by the time the first major competitions hit so I'm pretty happy.
Kody is being slowly put back into condition as well but with his back injury that's taking the form of building his suppleness and releasing bracing patterns rather than building strength and fitness. That's something I overlooked for years because he was always cooperative under harness but I realize now he never learned to be truly supple through his lower back and all that tension has been magnified 100-fold since he got hurt. He's spent the last few years protecting that area and instead of moving properly through his topline he now locks his back and lower neck/jaw muscles and trails his hindquarters because he's anticipating pain if he stretches that area and steps deeply. This winter for the first time in a long time I'm seeing him trotting and cantering everywhere with Turbo, no longer cross-leading in the rear nor running with both his hind legs together and he's coming out of all that zooming around each day sound, which is a major improvement. All his sparkle and zest for life has returned which means he's back to jigging his way down the street and wanting to zoom off in the Hyperbike so we're spending a lot of time concentrating on a swinging walk and on releasing those patterns of resistance. I've been using some Connected Groundwork techniques from Peggy Cummings to retrain his neurological system to be soft and responsive and doing lots of lateral work from the ground and between the two he's really come a long way in the last few months. Tonight for instance even though he's suddenly being stiff to the left (which was his good side until this week) he's finally understanding that what I want is deep, relaxed, deliberate weight-bearing steps with his back legs when we're leg yielding or doing shoulder-ins. He's gone from trying to rush the maneuvers and do them with his ears pinned, jaw locked and neck hollow to licking and chewing as he gives his poll and jaw to lead pressure, relaxes his neck and steps up under himself rhythmically (sp?). I'm so pleased!
My goal over the next few months is to let Kody have more and more easy road drives in the Hyperbike to increase his cardiovascular fitness and accustom his body to light load-pulling again while continuing the lateral work and transitioning it from a halter and lead to the bridle. He wasn't ready for that or for doing it at a trot last winter but he's suddenly getting it and is now ready for serious work in long-lines. Turbo needs to be pulling weight for CDE conditioning but gets mulish over being asked to drag things so I think I'll continue his dressage work via ground-driving and get him out on the trail in the cart as much as possible to build fitness. My main goals with him besides building basic rhythm and stretch through the topline are getting him in blinkers for the R shows (which requires going back over all the training we've already done) and getting him 100% solid on things around his hind feet. He knows he's supposed to stand there and ignore stuff around his hind legs and most the time he does, but some days he can't even handle me brushing his tail or touching his rear without cow-kicking violently with his ears pinned. He's a mite touchy is that one!
It's been a thing with him since he was a baby and it doesn't help that he spends half the day backed up to the fence letting Kody bite him through it and kicking every time Kody nips his hiney. He thinks it's a game! At least now he stops when I tell him to and is no longer doing it out of reflex but I want to spend some time having him drag a singletree and purposely getting a leg over a trace and such so I can teach him the right responses under controlled conditions. We've already done some of that and half the time he's a calm, accepting angel, the other half he sits there mindlessly kicking over and over in annoyance. By the time he's in the show ring in May I expect him to know without a doubt that the right answer is ALWAYS to stop and wait for Mom to get you out of it.
So those are my plans and how things are coming with my two kids. How are you guys doing? Any problems you're stuck on, things you worked out, brilliant "Ah-ha!" moments you want to share? Let's get excited about driving!
Leia
I've been ramping up my enthusiasm reading training books since January and put Turbo back to work last month, spending a week doing ground-driving before I left for California and then about another week's worth since I got back as the weather's allowed. He's been being a typical silly baby ("Oh my God, there's a mountain lion in the corner of the arena I'm turned out in every day! I can't go in that half under harness, it will kill me!"
By the time we quit last year he was past having the tack taken off as a reward and had no trouble ground-driving to and from the arena like a grownup but this spring he was getting really frustrated and had a couple of temperamental meltdowns. I had to remind myself how young he really is and went back to putting things in his terms to ensure his cooperation. What did he want that first day? To quit what he saw as pointless, boring exercises! So the minute he stopped fighting me and gave a moment of real try I clicked him and calmly stripped all his tack off on the spot. He gave me a wide-eyed look of shock, ran off gleefully bucking and rolled a few hundred times then having apparently left his frustration in the dust came back over to me and did a little more work at liberty. The next day he told me that wasn't necessary but didn't want to go back in the arena once he'd left it. We had a discussion about that and the minute he walked calmly past the threshold he got what he wanted- off came the tack and the session was over. By our third workout he was back to where I'd left him last fall and no longer needed special treatment but I'm glad he reminded me to not only take as much time as it takes but to make sure he's really on the same page I am instead of getting frustrated and trying to force him to do something. I know better! My entire goal with this reactive horse was to make him a full partner in his training to the extent that if he can't do something at liberty, I don't ask him to do it with tack on and after a few months off here I was saying "Just do it!" the minute I got frustrated.
The biggest thing all this has done is make me realize that there's no substitute for consistent work and sheer miles with a young horse. I'm not good at getting out there and training regularly but with the layoff from my job December 31st I've had plenty of time so both boys have been back in work since early February. I've got my competitions marked out for the year and think I've got enough time to take Turbo along at the pace I prefer through all the material I expect him to know and have him really well started by the time the first major competitions hit so I'm pretty happy.
Kody is being slowly put back into condition as well but with his back injury that's taking the form of building his suppleness and releasing bracing patterns rather than building strength and fitness. That's something I overlooked for years because he was always cooperative under harness but I realize now he never learned to be truly supple through his lower back and all that tension has been magnified 100-fold since he got hurt. He's spent the last few years protecting that area and instead of moving properly through his topline he now locks his back and lower neck/jaw muscles and trails his hindquarters because he's anticipating pain if he stretches that area and steps deeply. This winter for the first time in a long time I'm seeing him trotting and cantering everywhere with Turbo, no longer cross-leading in the rear nor running with both his hind legs together and he's coming out of all that zooming around each day sound, which is a major improvement. All his sparkle and zest for life has returned which means he's back to jigging his way down the street and wanting to zoom off in the Hyperbike so we're spending a lot of time concentrating on a swinging walk and on releasing those patterns of resistance. I've been using some Connected Groundwork techniques from Peggy Cummings to retrain his neurological system to be soft and responsive and doing lots of lateral work from the ground and between the two he's really come a long way in the last few months. Tonight for instance even though he's suddenly being stiff to the left (which was his good side until this week) he's finally understanding that what I want is deep, relaxed, deliberate weight-bearing steps with his back legs when we're leg yielding or doing shoulder-ins. He's gone from trying to rush the maneuvers and do them with his ears pinned, jaw locked and neck hollow to licking and chewing as he gives his poll and jaw to lead pressure, relaxes his neck and steps up under himself rhythmically (sp?). I'm so pleased!
My goal over the next few months is to let Kody have more and more easy road drives in the Hyperbike to increase his cardiovascular fitness and accustom his body to light load-pulling again while continuing the lateral work and transitioning it from a halter and lead to the bridle. He wasn't ready for that or for doing it at a trot last winter but he's suddenly getting it and is now ready for serious work in long-lines. Turbo needs to be pulling weight for CDE conditioning but gets mulish over being asked to drag things so I think I'll continue his dressage work via ground-driving and get him out on the trail in the cart as much as possible to build fitness. My main goals with him besides building basic rhythm and stretch through the topline are getting him in blinkers for the R shows (which requires going back over all the training we've already done) and getting him 100% solid on things around his hind feet. He knows he's supposed to stand there and ignore stuff around his hind legs and most the time he does, but some days he can't even handle me brushing his tail or touching his rear without cow-kicking violently with his ears pinned. He's a mite touchy is that one!
So those are my plans and how things are coming with my two kids. How are you guys doing? Any problems you're stuck on, things you worked out, brilliant "Ah-ha!" moments you want to share? Let's get excited about driving!
Leia
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