I got back last night after 5 days in California with the family. Today Tim had the day off, so we took Strider & Brego up to Eagle's Nest for a ride, the first one away from our home area. Brego hopped right into the trailer--no problem. After we got him saddled and I got on, he was nutty and ready to go. I tried a few lateral flexion exercises, backed up a few times, and practiced standing still to calm him down and we started off, but he was going fast and felt a bit out of control. Tim had me work on stopping him with one rein, and we also had him walk back toward the trailer a couple of times to give him the idea that "go" doesn't mean GO FAST. I need this repetitive training as much as Brego does--to get into the habit of one-rein slowing and stopping, and lifting the reins immediately to straighten him up and keep him from diving for grass. At first I had to slow him down a few times as we were going downhill, but it didn't take too long until he was a nice, calm horse on the trail. At one point he shied off to the right unexpectedly. Tim noticed a log to my left which I hadn't even noticed, which probably caused some concern to Brego, so we walked over the the log to let him sniff it. I have so much to learn about being aware of what's going on and knowing what to do! It's good that I have my "coach" with me all the time. :) On straight, flat parts of the trail we practiced one-rein stopping, and backing up. I need to keep working on that. At times Strider was in the lead, and at other times Brego, and he did just fine both ways. On wider parts of the trail we were able to go side-by-side, and Brego kept up with Strider, which is nice. We practiced gaiting on a couple of gradual uphill sections, and that's a lot of fun. With practice, I'll get his gait nice and smooth and even--he's still a little uncoordinated. As the trail turned I don't know if Brego was just following the trail or following my direction to turn, but I took advantage of reinforcing neck-reining and using my leg to turn him, so he gets the idea that they all mean "turn". All in all we had a great day, and Brego will be an awesome trail horse for me.
Friday, January 16, 2009
1st Trail Ride
I got back last night after 5 days in California with the family. Today Tim had the day off, so we took Strider & Brego up to Eagle's Nest for a ride, the first one away from our home area. Brego hopped right into the trailer--no problem. After we got him saddled and I got on, he was nutty and ready to go. I tried a few lateral flexion exercises, backed up a few times, and practiced standing still to calm him down and we started off, but he was going fast and felt a bit out of control. Tim had me work on stopping him with one rein, and we also had him walk back toward the trailer a couple of times to give him the idea that "go" doesn't mean GO FAST. I need this repetitive training as much as Brego does--to get into the habit of one-rein slowing and stopping, and lifting the reins immediately to straighten him up and keep him from diving for grass. At first I had to slow him down a few times as we were going downhill, but it didn't take too long until he was a nice, calm horse on the trail. At one point he shied off to the right unexpectedly. Tim noticed a log to my left which I hadn't even noticed, which probably caused some concern to Brego, so we walked over the the log to let him sniff it. I have so much to learn about being aware of what's going on and knowing what to do! It's good that I have my "coach" with me all the time. :) On straight, flat parts of the trail we practiced one-rein stopping, and backing up. I need to keep working on that. At times Strider was in the lead, and at other times Brego, and he did just fine both ways. On wider parts of the trail we were able to go side-by-side, and Brego kept up with Strider, which is nice. We practiced gaiting on a couple of gradual uphill sections, and that's a lot of fun. With practice, I'll get his gait nice and smooth and even--he's still a little uncoordinated. As the trail turned I don't know if Brego was just following the trail or following my direction to turn, but I took advantage of reinforcing neck-reining and using my leg to turn him, so he gets the idea that they all mean "turn". All in all we had a great day, and Brego will be an awesome trail horse for me.
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