ahhh. I've had a day off on this day of extra-ness. I like to spend my days off going to the US and visiting Tractor Supply or Price Chopper for wonderfully American food, or, if i'm feeling especially adventurous, I go to Burlington or other towns in Vermont for a lookaround and a little shopping.
This morning I helped my friend load her reluctant 4 year old who is off to board at her trainer's barn.
The 4 year old is a very nice girl, has only been lightly started and ridden away and is a very nice example of starting a horse slowly and for success. She was keen to get on the trailer, but her hooves kept slipping so she became a little nervous. We packed the ramp with manure, as that was the best non-slip material around, and went at it with two people. She would get two feet on, take a bit of feed and then back off. Nothing flighty or panicky, just that was her rhythm. I did pressure/release and if she backed off the ramp, she got to back up a way further after that. Eventually she came onto the trailer and we praised her and quickly got the back fastened up! When we got to the barn, little girl did not want to back off the trailer. My friend was doing her utmost to persuade, push, coax, physically move, but, as we all know, a human cannot move a horse that does not want to be moved. So, the trainer, also my Western riding guru, said 'use the chain'. A couple of days ago I would have cringed at that, given how I have seen the chain used, but Ms. Guru is a guru for a reason, and her way of using the chain is the gentlest, least fighty way I can imagine. She had her put it on, and just gently apply and release pressure, on, off, on off, asking the horse to move back. She wasn't in the least bit interested, so she asked her with more pressure, on off, on off, and not a couple of minutes after this, she took a step, then hesitated for a while, then after about 5 minutes, she was off. She made her do it again, loading her with the chain this time, but instead of creating a whole load of pressure, as I believed was the way, she had her do pressure/release, pressure/release, ever so smoothly, just taking up the slack and releasing. the horse decided to enter the trailer without the ramp, coming from the side, and it took about 10 minutes, but she did it. Then she did it again, and again, and the last time was almost instantaneous. And this was a horse who had never had a chain on her at all. There was no fuss, no anger, no yanking, no jerking, just pressure, release, which is what I strive for with all my training or handling. It was a breath of fresh air. I know that this feeling won't last long, just until I'm battered with twisted logic again, but I will bear it in mind and remain above the unfair treatment.
This morning I helped my friend load her reluctant 4 year old who is off to board at her trainer's barn.
The 4 year old is a very nice girl, has only been lightly started and ridden away and is a very nice example of starting a horse slowly and for success. She was keen to get on the trailer, but her hooves kept slipping so she became a little nervous. We packed the ramp with manure, as that was the best non-slip material around, and went at it with two people. She would get two feet on, take a bit of feed and then back off. Nothing flighty or panicky, just that was her rhythm. I did pressure/release and if she backed off the ramp, she got to back up a way further after that. Eventually she came onto the trailer and we praised her and quickly got the back fastened up! When we got to the barn, little girl did not want to back off the trailer. My friend was doing her utmost to persuade, push, coax, physically move, but, as we all know, a human cannot move a horse that does not want to be moved. So, the trainer, also my Western riding guru, said 'use the chain'. A couple of days ago I would have cringed at that, given how I have seen the chain used, but Ms. Guru is a guru for a reason, and her way of using the chain is the gentlest, least fighty way I can imagine. She had her put it on, and just gently apply and release pressure, on, off, on off, asking the horse to move back. She wasn't in the least bit interested, so she asked her with more pressure, on off, on off, and not a couple of minutes after this, she took a step, then hesitated for a while, then after about 5 minutes, she was off. She made her do it again, loading her with the chain this time, but instead of creating a whole load of pressure, as I believed was the way, she had her do pressure/release, pressure/release, ever so smoothly, just taking up the slack and releasing. the horse decided to enter the trailer without the ramp, coming from the side, and it took about 10 minutes, but she did it. Then she did it again, and again, and the last time was almost instantaneous. And this was a horse who had never had a chain on her at all. There was no fuss, no anger, no yanking, no jerking, just pressure, release, which is what I strive for with all my training or handling. It was a breath of fresh air. I know that this feeling won't last long, just until I'm battered with twisted logic again, but I will bear it in mind and remain above the unfair treatment.
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