Guess what I did today...my horsey adventures

[George K]

A bad day today.

It seems that poor Opal had a major disagreement with another horse while she was turned out.

Opal got kicked - hard - in her right rear hindquarter. The vet came out, and she was given some butazoladin (a major anti-inflammatory) and antibiotics because there was swelling in her right "thigh".

I couldn't get her to do anything today. She'd start to trot, and after about 40-50 feet, she'd give up - "This hurts too much." There was a lot of tail-swishing and head-tossing whenever I asked her to do anything more than walk.

I felt bad for the poor girl, and at the start of my lesson today, I didn't know that there was an issue.

After I found out, I was totally happy with just walking around, asking her for non-stressful things.

Not as good as last week, at all. Hopefully, she'll be more herself in seven days. I was looking forward to building on last week's progress, but I feel like a took a huge step backward today.

It's so different when it's not your own horse.

And...30 minutes is not enough.

[Catseye3]

@George-K said in Guess what I did today...:

After I found out, I was totally happy with just walking around, asking her for non-stressful things.

That is soooo nice of you.

[George K]

Opal was better today. Much better. She got ridden 3 times last week, and the combination of mild exercise and some butazoladin seems to have worked out the kinks.

Today, when I asked her to trot, there was no objection at all. She did get a little distracted as we went past the open door, but I caught it early, and I was able to encourage her to continue moving. Her trot is really slow, like a Western jog, so it's easy to stay seated in the saddle. When she goes faster, you have to "post" - rise out of the saddle with every other stride so that you're not bouncing around.

Link to video

Now, compare that with me on Simon, back in the day. You can see in the beginning of the clip (and Mrs. George is a TERRIBLE videographer) how his trot is so vigorous that it's impossible to stay in the saddle without posting. About halfway down the rail, he picks up a very nice canter, and we just go around, having a great time.

I would take him off the property and ride him, just like that, wherever we wanted - along a highway, through a subdivision, in the woods.

Link to video

I really miss that horse.

Edit to add: That clip of me and Simon - I'm using Mrs. George's tiny little close-contact English saddle. You don't sit in that saddle as much as ON it.

[George K]

Nothing to really add, other than it was a good day today. It took about 10 minutes for Opal to understand that it wasn't going to be just another "walk around in circles" type of day.

I kept messing with her head, asking her to do things that she wasn't expecting, like walking down the center of the arena rather than going in a circle, asking her to stop, back up and then go into a trot from a halt, making some small circles (which can be difficult at the trot if you're feeling lazy), passing to the side (crossing your hind legs), and turning 90 degrees while standing.

I'm nowhere near the level of someone like @jodi is, of course. Still, it's fun. I have no doubt it would be better if I did this 3-4 days a week, for an hour, rather than only for 30 minutes on a Sunday.

Link to video

I should add...

I had a good day last week as well. It seems like, after all this time, Opal and I are beginning to "click," where she's understanding what I'm asking of her. This is the kind of relationship with a horse that should take a couple of weeks, if you own your own. Here, it's taken months.

With Simon, I could just "think" something - turn, trot, canter, halt - and it would happen. With Opal, everything is not a thought, but a request.

You'll notice that I give her a couple of kicks now and then to encourage her to move out. I NEVER had to do that with Simon.

[taiwan_girl]

@George-K Very cool video. You look good - like you know what you are doing!

[jon-nyc]

My friend’s sister won the bronze medal in Dressage at the 92 Olympics in Barcelona.

[Mik]

The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man. How is Mrs K doing riding?

[Horace]

That looks fun.

[jodi]

You looks great George! Glad you are having fun!

[George K]

@jodi thanks. For an old geezer who just started riding at age 48, and then didn't ride for 15 years after that, I'm pleased, overall.

[Jolly]

I'm still trying to talk the man into a real saddle...

[George K]

@Jolly said in Guess what I did today...:

I'm still trying to talk the man into a real saddle...

You'll never catch Mrs. George in a Western saddle, LOL.

I'm comfortable with either.

[Renauda]

@George-K

Nice video George. I can see that you are light with your hands. That shows in Opal’s quiet demeanour. It also shows that you are a true equestrian.

[George K]

@Renauda said in Guess what I did today...:

I can see that you are light with your hands.

Thanks. I've been working on that. My instructor stresses the point that with lesson horses, a pull on the reins usually indicates "stop" or "slow down." It should be a signal, with the lightest possible touch, indicating, "I need you to turn your head this way," with most of the real direction coming from your legs and seat.

As I've complained said, a lesson horse is much more demanding, and you have to pay MUCH more attention to what the horse is doing. WIth Opal, if we're at a good trot, and I lose concentration, like saying something to my instructor, she takes my lack of attention as a signal that she no longer needs to keep moving, and she'll break to a walk.

Carrying a crop seems to raise her awareness level, however. Just holding the magic wand in your hand changes her demeanor, and she's much, much more attentive. I'm at the point where I can start to feel her getting a bit sluggish, and a squeeze of my leg, or the most gentle tap on her shoulder with the crop lets her know that slowing down is not in her immediate future, LOL.

Nevertheless, fun.

[Renauda]

@George-K

I know what you mean about lesson horses. But I note Opal does not need a martingale. That tells me that previous students have not been too heavy handed on the bit. All the lesson horses I ever had to ride needed a martingale. Didn’t look out of place with an English saddle and snaffle but looked ridiculous with a Western saddle and snaffle.

[George K]

@Renauda said in Guess what I did today...:

I note Opal does not need a martingale.

Nope. No need. I think she was trained Western, so she tends to keep her head down. The horse Mrs. George rides doesn't use a martingale. As a matter of fact, she rides her horse without a bit!

When we rode in Cannon Beach, Oregon, a few years ago, neither of these trail horses had a bit in their mouths either. But, those were some serious shanks on that nosepiece. Lots of stopping power, LOL.

I would ride Simon in a bosal every now and then.

[Renauda]

@George-K

Serious shanks no kidding. That’s a hackamore. I’ve seen some pretty severe ones out there- usually on older horses whose mouths have been ruined by cathedral bits in hands of people who shouldn’t ever sit a horse in the first place.

I often rode my horses with a bosal as well - R. responded well to one - when trail riding or light reining exercises in the arena. When cattle penning/cutting on Hotrodder, a mild curve bit and tie down just in case he threw his head in the excitement of it all.

[George K]

@Renauda said in Guess what I did today...:

light reining exercises in the arena

Cowboy dressage, eh?

I'd love to see you doing that.

[Renauda]

@George-K

I don’t think I’ve sat horse in 26 or more years. Can’t remember the last time.

I would love now to see myself try that too after all these years. I think it would be pure slapstick.

[George K]

Another good day with Opal.

Last week, I thought I'd try something different. In all of my previous lessons, I'd follow what my instructor told me to do.

"OK, walk around the arena, and once you've done it a couple of times, change direction and walk around the arena another couple of times."

I found that boring, and I have little doubt that Opal found it boring as well, so, last week, just to mess with Opal's head, I decided I'd do things differently. After all, there's no reason why, during our "warm-up" I can't ask her to get interested in me, pay attention to me, etc. So, I decided to "mess with her head." Once we had gone about half way around, I asked her to walk down the center of the arena.

"Whoa, nobody asks me to do that! Who the hell are you?"

"I'm George, and I'm going to ask you to pay attention to me today, rather than zoning out and phoning it in..."

"Well, then..."

As I mentioned, I had a good lesson last week, so today, I pushed her buttons even more.

During our warm-up, we did all kinds of crazy things, like backing up (do you have any idea how difficult it can be to ask a horse to back up?). I asked her to go across the arena. I asked her to make circles, I asked her to do all the weirdo stuff that I've never done before during warming up.

So, once I had the feel that she was good and ready, I asked her to back up, and then, from there, "C'mon, girl! Gimme a trot!"

And she did.

Link to video

Some horses put their weight on their front quarter, and getting them to move into a trot can be difficult. By asking them to back up, you ask them to shift their weight back, making it easier to move forward.

Just by asking her to pay attention to me, I was able to convey what I was asking her to do, and there was no reason to use a crop today - at all.

She was soft, compliant, and attentive to me.

Then, toward the end of my lesson, we did some more stuff. As I said earlier, I'm nowhere near where @jodi is, and I never will be, but I asked her to move sideways at the walk, keeping her body parallel to the rail while moving sideways. This requires her to almost cross her rear legs while "sliding" to the side. Having accomplished that a couple of times, I asked her to turn 90 degrees from a stand. Again, this is an exercise that "loosens" the horse, and gets it to understand what you're asking. Think about it - if you put your leg on the horse, the horse will naturally respond to that pressure and move away from it. But, in this exercise, you don't want it to move forward at the same time, so it's a conversation between leg and rein. The leg says "move," while the rein says, "yeah, but not forward. Swing your horse's ass around.

Link to video

A very good day today.

At the end, my instructor said, "Excellent."

I'm good for the week!