Well, well... I don't know if it was the pain killers buzz or what, but today was a great class. Not only did I succeed SOME haunches in (Cynthia told me to forget about the bending, so I didn't have to try to conceal anything...Phooey!) and I believe Meeka and I jumped over an important mental barrier.
Class today was more of the same: putting her on the bit, serpentines, shoulder in, haunches in and then canter. Since I have improved **considerably** on the canter (bear with my gloating please, it's a new skill I'm trying to learn), mostly because I have gained so much confidence lately, I am now allowed to canter all around the arena instead of staying on the circle. So there was finally new territory for me to explore today, even if I thought all would be under control since I was now a self-proclaimed "Master of the Circle". But hey, If horses had sleeves, they'd constantly pull new stunts out of them, woudn't they? They certainly keep you on your toes (as long as the heels are down...who's complaining really?)
I guess I had not been assertive enough during the class, Meeka must have felt she could basically do whatever she wanted because while cantering on the long side of the arena, she decided she'd cut through and double instead of obeying my desperate attemps to keep her on the track. First time around, I was really surprised. It felt like if I had a blowout on my car...
Mistake #1: I cooly walked her back to the track. She got what she wanted: not to canter.
Meeka: 1 - Me: 0.
Then we went at it again. On the same wall, at the very same spot, she cut again! Now proactively coached through this by Cynthia, I had to have a little fight with Meeka (NO, you're not going to walk, crop, NO you're not going that way, crop crop, and YES, you're going back on the track NOW, crop, to resume canter). To me it totally felt like rodeo. It was nothing of the sort, of course, she remained totally calm through all of this, but it was my very fist real struggle for power in a saddle, so yikes!. Sounds good? Well, I now know it was too little too late.
Mistake #2: I should have known this was going to happen and prevent it with firmer aids in the first place.
Meeka: 2 - Me: 0.
At that point in time, I told Cynthia I had been scared a little (how about that for an understatement?) so she called me to come close, explained how I should really act BEFORE Meeka even thinks about pulling another one of these unexpected self-steering initiatives. And she chatted, and explained, and explained again, so much so that Meeka and I figured class was over and we could both get out of this and go back to the barn for some tasty hay and/or the car for some well deserved heat! (Darn it was cold in that barn today!!!)
But were we wrong!!! Coach had tricked us into relaxing, forgetting about the fight we were in, thinking this was all over but NOT! She asked for us to get out of our chit chat induced semi-comatose state (I believe she referred to it as "parking mode") and go for another turn of canter: same hand, same wall, same unfinished battle, same terrified rider aboard. You should have heard the sirens going on in my head. I was scared to death because I new if I did not succeed, Meeka would, again, make a sharp turn, accelerate, and I would get that dreaded "total loss of control" feeling.
So back on track we were and I finally did succeed. It felt like I was trying to get her to hit the wall but it seemed that for today, it was just enough to keep her straight. Yeah! I'm very proud of what I did (overcoming the fear mostly).
Meeka:2 - Me: Happy.
2 comments:
Hey there! I just discovered your blog today and am glad I did! I can certainly relate to what you are writing here. I took up riding at a young age (my mom was a horsewoman and my trainer). I was a big wimp, and it took a long time to work through issues and build some confidence. I rode a little quarter horse named Smoke who is one of the smartest horses I have ever met. He had this bad habit of throwing his head down, grabbing the bit, and dragging me out the arena door to go eat grass. My mom refused to provide the simple solution and close the door; she made me stick with it until I was able to keep Smoke in the ring. And eventually I did!
Being proactive is definitely an important lesson. If you know a horse is going to do something they aren't supposed in a certain spot (I taught lessons long enough that what you are describing with Meeka is common behavior), you have to start using the aids to fix the behavior before it starts.
I also like your trainer's trick of tricking you into relaxing before trying it again. My new horse Ace forces me to do that; if he acts up and I try to push him through it he gets worse. If I instead take a step back, encourage him, let him relax for a minute, it's like the misbehavior never even happened.
I love that we can learn so much from our horses!
Hi Jackie!
I really appreciate your comment as I seem to always “feel” I am the only one going through these phases, even though I “know” I am not. That’s the thing I like about our little horsey bloggers community, there’s always someone to extend a word of encouragement, validation, expert advice, and it’s nice to be able to do it for others as well (of course I leave the expert advice to, well… experts!). I’ll definitely add you blog to my RSS feed not to miss a post! Thanks again and stop by anytime!
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