Twosox: Taking the time it takes...

July 6 2010

After I had taken Ruffian and Prince out of the riding ring I played with Twosox. It was really interesting. I definitely got a lesson in taking the time it takes and sticking with it until you get the results you want. The major thing we did was Figure eights. Now if you have been following my blog for a while you might remember that Figure eights is something that Twosox and I have had problems with before. When we do Figure eights Twosox gets very dominate. In the spring we got through most of the problems but then he started being dominate in other ways. So I knew that it wouldn't come easy today. 

We set off and at first it wasn't to bad but it wasn't were I wanted it. So we kept playing it with. At first Twosox would run right through the middle and not even think about coming around the end. So I would shut him down and then direct him on again. That worked for a little while but then he decided that he wasn't even going to move after he came through the middle. So I set myself up in a power position and when he came off the pressure we carried on. This went on for a good 20 minutes or more. Then Twosox decided to try something else and he started rearing, pulling back etc. It was a different side of Twosox that I haven't seen before. It is really interesting. After that things started to change.... slowly. Twosox started to come around the ends and go through the middle without as much resistance.

Then he started trotting more and maintaining gait. Then after we were both sweaty and very dirty because the riding ring is very sandy right now, Twosox gave me a nice figure eight, with slack in the rope and he took his responsibility. It was so nice! 

As we were standing there, both of us thinking about what we just did. It came to me that so many times we ignore or just don't do, the thinks that our horses need us to do. We don't do things that our horses "don't like" because it is to hard to figure out why our horses don't like it. I am just as guilty of this. I used to not do some things, nothing big but things like lateral flexion with the carrot stick just because I didn't want to take the time to teach Prince it. Once I did take the time Prince got it very quickly. I have learned to do the things that I don't really want to do because I know that it is probably just the thing that we need to do. 

If there was a hole in a high bridge, wouldn't you feel a lot better traveling over that bridge if it was fixed? You wouldn't want the construction workers to say "Well we aren't going to fix it because we don't like fixing things like that". But they wouldn't because it is their job to fix the roads just like it is our job, as our horses leaders, to find the holes, the problems and fix them, not ignore them.

I knew that Twosox would be dominate on the Figure eight and I could have just ignored it and went on to other things but that wouldn't have been fair or just. Our relationship would not improve if I just did the easy things and advanced only what was easy and we both enjoyed. Sometimes it takes getting sweaty to get down to the real issue and fix it, not just covering it up with lame excuses. 

To me taking the time it takes means doing the hard things and sticking with it until it gets better. STAY WITH IT! Don't give up because it is hard, your horse doesn't like it, you are both bored, what ever the reason is, figure out why it isn't working and solve the problem, it is a puzzle. Your horse will appreciate it, mine certainly do!

Naturally,

~Keri