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Norco Extreme Mustang
Trail Challenge |
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April 14, 2010-Corralitos The mustang boys take their first big
field trip: to the Corralitos Corral. A long trailer ride at nearly
3 hours, a new place, and horses they've never seen before. Lots of
new things, but a few things that remained the same: consistency can
provide a very nice sense of comfort and security. Krista and Dave worked
with Comet and Polaris in the same slow and gentle manner they always
use. Same saddle, bridle, even the same bean bag! |
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Saddling Comet |
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Comet knows that he
has to stay squared up to get saddled.
It's much easier to stay balanced if you start balanced. |
Krista still keeps
an eye on Comet's reaction to the cinch: he's never had a problem, but
it's all very new, yet.
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Even though Comet really
doesn't need a back cinch, |
Comet always seems
to have an opinion and it's not a bad idea to honor that opinion whenever
you can.
First some work, then some love, THEN more work! |
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Comet's seems to be
thinking that was it for work. HA.
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Comet can hardly
wait to get the bit in his mouth.
At this point, he's just carrying it. He's still being directed with reins attached to a bosal. |
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Comet's Ground Work Ground driving lays a critical foundation for a riding horse: it sets the cues that will soon come from the rider. Everything that a riding horse needs to know starts here. Going as slowly as the horse needs to progress, will speed up the process immeasurably in the long run. When the horse finally is ready to learn to move and balance himself with a rider on his back, that will be the only thing he has to be concerned with: everything else is in place. When a horse knows what his job is, new challenges are easy to overcome. Such as having live weight on your back, or being surrounded by monsters of all sorts. |
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Go forward. |
Whoa!
Comet's best direction. He's got a great voice Whoa. |
Back up-straight, please.
Krista gives lots of guidance and correction. Comet looks stunning! |
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Comet has moved nicely up into a trot: so slow that Krista can just overstride to keep up.
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Turn right
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Remember that this is Comet: there were plenty of breaks for petting in there. For Comet, at this stage in his life, attention and human contact are great rewards. He's only learning that cookies are for eating. More often than not, he doesn't manage to get the cookie into his mouth. Instead of taking the cookie with his lips, he opens his mouth wide up, sticks out his tongue, bites down with his teeth, and usually spits out the cookie. Krista gets a lot of mileage out of a few cookies with this guy!
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Longing Longing doesn't seem to come quite as
easily to Comet as does ground driving. Maybe because it puts Krista
just too far away to pet him!
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Comet heads out onto his right circle: his 'good direction'. Like humans, horses all have a direction they're more comfortable with.
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Out on a good, big
circle that's comfortable for him to move on. Too small, and his young,
unbalanced muscles aren't prepared to hold him up well. He's looking
in and arching his body nicely.
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Asked to turn and face, then head off to the left, Comet lets his feelings be known!
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Comet is heading
left, but he isn't nearly as comfortable in this direction. He's trying to turn to the outside and head back to the right again. His body is stiff and his head is high, although he is maintaining some body arch. |
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Comet has never really caught on to cookies, but this is all the reward he needs for a job well done! | |||||
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Comet goes for a ride Packing around a saddle snugged around his belly with a top heavy human on top of that, telling him that what he knows about moving isn't quite what's wanted is all very new for Comet. He handles it with his usual grace. |
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Comet has been started in the traditional way: in a bosal. It exerts pressure on either side of his nose and is gentle and less confusing than jumping right into a bit. At this stage, though, he's learning to carry a bit around in his mouth. You can see that it's just loosely sitting in his mouth for him to carry it wherever it feels the most comfortable for him, and it has no reins attached. Krista has quietly climbed up in the
saddle and she and Comet are taking a moment to relax and settle themselves
for the ride ahead. |
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Krista is checking to be certain that
she has some emergency brakes should things get a little ugly with
Comet: in spite of the fact that it never has and she isn't expecting
that it will. |
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Comet needs a little
swat on the butt to remind him about going forward: he's the sort who
sometimes forgets!
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Then a little adjustment
with the inside rein and inside leg to straighten him up on the rail.
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After some nice work
on the rail, Krista asks comet to change direction by picking up the
inside rein.
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You might notice that
sometimes Krista holds Comet's reins in 2 hands, and sometimes in just
one. When things are going along nicely, it's one hand resting quietly
on his whithers. This is a release for a horse and let's them know that
they're doing just what's expected of them. Krista picks the reins up
in 2 hands when she's ready to communicate something to Comet. There's
no punishment involved, just a new sentence for him.
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| Krista adds a little energy to her body, and a little squeeze for Comet, and gets a nice trot transition, with maybe just a little objection from him. She trusts that he'll make the transition quietly, and keeps the reins in one hand. | To ask Comet to lower his head and relax just a little, Krista has picked up the reins in 2 hands, spread them and lowered them just a little, and asked Comet to go forward ever so lightly with her seat and legs. Lovely! | |
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Comet trots on up to
join the herd
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| Comet Lies Down .. ..
.. and acts goofy Never is a prey animal, or any animal for that matter, any more vulnerable than when they're lying down. For a horse, it's the extreme sign on trust when they'll quietly lie down for a human. Comet carries this act several steps farther. |
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Comet's Lie Down is so darned quick you can't hardly catch it with a camera! This isn't a trick you
want to do on a regular basis. Krista is very careful to stand on
Comet's ribs, up near his spine, where he's very much able to take
her weight. She got up very quietly, and stayed only a few seconds. |
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Comet is so comfortable
lying down that he doesn't even mind socializing! He knows both Dave
and this mule, Ruby.
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As much as Comet loves
affection, he doesn't seem to mind Ruby getting some, too.
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Comet has never met
Harriet and her horse. For this excitement, he's managed to pick up
his head!
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Ah .. h .. h .. h .
.h .. h .. .. ..
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Comet just 'got' this trick on the second try and has been doing it ever since. He's seems to truly enjoy doing it, like all the other goofy things he's been doing. |
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Line him up to the
bean bag, which is elevated on a bale of straw. The bean bag is filled
with bedding to keep it stiff enough to hold it's shape and hold the
weight of a horse. It's raised up to make it easier for the horse to
find. It's also against a solid fence to keep it from moving around.
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Ask him to back up into the bean bag: this is his cue to start sitting.
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Lift his head up ever so slightly, which will sit down his rear.
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Rock him back just a little farther to get more sit.
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And a little farther yet to get his weight completely off his feet. And to give him some love!
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Comet doesn't even
care that there isn't a cookie in that hand!
Allen Pough, trick trainer, suggests that other horses watch training sessions to learn. Sally takes it all in. |
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Watch for an article
in the Scrapbook on the progress of other horses learning to sit on
a beanbag chair. And why!
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| Krista@FromStartToFoundation.com |
831-588-6214
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1425
San Marcos Rd. Paso Robles, CA 93446
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