Sunday November 21, 2010
Weather has been a factor in this week’s training schedule. Thursday, the horses got some lunge line training with Cec, Selene, and Megan; Friday we cancelled because of the weather.
Driving conditions today weren’t all that great, but we got together anyway for an excellent training session, helped before and after with cups of hot chocolate.
(Aside: I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something particularly delicious about the cocoa that Cec makes. It looks like the ordinary powdered Carnation’s instant stuff, but on a snowy day like today, a few hours after breakfast, with my toes icy cold… well, it tasted heavenly.)
Today we focused on working with the mares to get them moving forward under saddle. Selene rode LT and Nadine rode Dolly, with Cec on the very steady Black Betty acting as our pilot horse – a calm example for our girls to follow. The mares and riders did very well, working on moving forward when encouraged to do so, with turns executed when asked.
We also discussed the training methods a bit more. “Other training methodologies would have had the horses walking, trotting, and cantering already,” said Megan. She went on to explain that the rationale for this approach is to get the horses accustomed to all three gaits with a rider aboard as soon as possible.
The approach that we are taking is different.
Here, the horses are learning that stopping is the preferred default activity, unless asked to do otherwise. The St. Andrews team has found that this builds a horse that is far less likely to resort to flight when confronted with a new situation – a much safer mount for most people.
“We’re engaging their minds early on,” Megan went on to explain. “We get them thinking about what we’re asking, rather than just pushing them to do more too quickly.”
It’s an approach that is working extremely well so far, as the horses are taking everything in stride!
Sally Ann’s feet continue to be sore and we are not riding her. Another consultation with the vet is in the works.
