Today was a day that illustrated why it is so important to assess your horse before riding. Walker had a lot of pent up energy. It could of been because of the fall air. Or perhaps his heightened tension was a result of so little turnout these past two weeks. Whatever the reason, he was in no mood to be ridden when we first walked into the arena.
We started with some friendly game and then yo-yo to circling game. Walker did more dancing than circling, looking every which way but paying attention to me. To get his mind more focused, I asked him to change direction several times both at the trot and the canter. Interestingly, he got most focused at the walk. We followed this up with some weaving in and out of barrels. Walker did this very well, so we followed this up with the same, but at Liberty. He did this so well that I knew his mind was ready for riding. How many accidents happen because people think of their horses as though they are an inanimate object, like a car? In fact, it is very likely that there are many people who own and work with horses who should stick to inanimate objects. You cannot expect that every day you see your horse that they will be ready at a moment's notice to do everything you want when you want it. There are no video controls attached to Walker's withers. If I had not warmed him up, any riding attempted could have resulted in unpredictable events, from poor performance and obstanance to disaster. I personally like my body parts in their current configuration, so I prefer as much predictablity as possible. The seven Parelli games have helped me to keep my horsing around safe and fun for over 5 years now.
We rode in and around the question box, four barrels arranged in a square. First we did this at the trot with contact then alternated to freestyle. Walker was much less resistant to contact with the bit today, and he made a much better effort at rounding himself and moving uphill. It has been common with Walker that when he gets time to think about something, it is easier for him to accept that for which I am asking.
Then we took the bridle off and again worked through the question box again at the walk, trot and canter. Walker has been getting more and more willing at moving forward when going through question box instead of wanting to stop every time we go through.
Cantering without a bridle is an amazing feeling. What a privilege for Walker to offer his effort without so much as a string attached to his face. What's more, when I ask for a stop from the canter in the question box, he does so on a dime. I can picture the day when he will move forward with collection without wearing a bridle.
What a brilliant horse is emerging!
I then rode Walker bareback out to the turnout. Despite my tailbone issue, I can ride for brief periods of time, and going out to the turnouts is about perfect for me to get in some bareback time. We stopped once for Walker to dive into some really juicy grass, and then we moved on. We were greeted at the gate by Captain Jack, Dozer and Poco. They were very polite letting us through to the adjacent turnout where we met with Bingo, Dash and Mooney. Bingo and Dash got very excited over Walker's arrival and started mixing it up between them. Rarely have I seen Bingo kick out, but he did so when Dash got a little too close. As the water trough by the gate was so muddy, I walked Walker to the third turnout where he took some deep pulls from the trough. Bingo, Dash and Mooney followed us and Bingo and Dash were still full of energy. Good leadership in a situation like this is important, so I made sure Bingo understood he should not approach Walker. No reason three horses should start mixing things up. Once Walker was finished drinking, I fed everyone some cookies and walked back to the barn. Along the way, I fed Captain Jack and Dozer cookies, sorry Poco, you just couldn't get your nose past those two big boys!
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