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Post by horseguy on Jan 25, 2016 16:13:18 GMT
Your suggestions make sense to me, too. However, as Laura's Mom I couldn't resist telling her, "That's why those guys have more broken bones than they can count." To which Laura replied, "If you don't fall twice a year, you're not learning anything/pushing yourself, and I haven't fallen in years!" So I guess my next question is "How much snow is too much snow to ride?" Just kidding - right now, she would only ride in pastures or on trails where she knows there aren't logs, etc. hidden under the snow.
This record breaking snow storm got me thinking about horses and snow. When I was much younger I hunted in upstate NY where they get "lake effect snow", which is precipitation that comes off the Great lakes and dumps as soon as it hits land from Buffalo to Syracuse. Sometimes it was 3 feet and hour. No place to put the snow when you plowed. Up there horses are what you call "snow fit". Like anything else they adapt and if ridden regularly, they function completely in deep snow. Not only do they develop the muscular fitness required but also the skills required to ride fast not knowing or seeing what was under the snow. They become accustomed to hidden ice covered creeks that crack and break as they are crossed. The entire way of going is different and it must be learned, which is another testament to how versatile horses can be. I'd be careful with any PA horse in 30 inches of snow. They don't see it often enough to acquire the fitness and skills. Anything can happen when they encounter the feel of snow up to their belly or above their chest in a drift. Many just stop, some panic and run, you never know. I once rode a big 4 year old draft cross in a hunt across a field to a 5 or 6 foot drift by the hedge row. It was light fluffy snow so this horse could have easily gone through it, but the complete unknown of this mass of feather lite snow freaked the horse out and it spun to get away. You never know until a horse has had a lot of good experience in deep snow, and the ones that are good at it are incredible to ride. |
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Post by rideanotherday on Jan 26, 2016 14:37:44 GMT
You do indeed learn when you get hurt, but that doesn't mean you have to get hurt to learn.
I know that arenas aren't the end all be all to riding, but as someone who grew up with out one...I sure can tell you the value of them.
It's really nice to have a place to contain the horse if something goes wrong. I don't mind letting a horse run it out in an arena, if they actually know what walls mean. I've seen some horses run themselves into a wall, and their rider with them. Of course those same types of horses will also throw their riders into trees, ditches etc. When a horse has no sense of self preservation or sense to turn because they just shut their brain off...that's dangerous. I will use a longe line on a horse that really hasn't been in an arena to help them learn to turn if needed. It does depend on the horse.
The value of an arena is the ability to focus on the fundamental skills without distraction. When a horse has nothing to focus on but the rider, there is potential to find softness and focus that is amazing and it makes training on the outside a little easier because you then have some fundamental skills available. Giving the horse some fundamentals and some confidence can be quite helpful when you run into situations later.
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Post by jacki on Jan 26, 2016 15:15:19 GMT
I didn't mean to imply that Laura meant she had to get hurt to learn. She has fallen several times in the past(and run into a tree as you mentioned), but has never been seriously injured. The arena where she originally learned to ride had no fence. The farm where she rides now has a fenced arena, but there are ground poles, jump standards and poles, etc. buried under the snow, and that is why I believe it would be safer for her to ride in the open pastures where she regularly gallops or through the well-marked trails she knows well. I believe my daughter has natural ability - she's very intuitive, has great feel, a commanding presence about her and a very strong core. As her mom, sometimes I fell it's a fine line between encouraging her "gift" and keeping her safe. I appreciate your input.
p.s. Rideanotherday: I hope you've begun riding again!
p.p.s. You, too Rideforever! Hope your finger's better.
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Post by rideanotherday on Jan 26, 2016 15:24:46 GMT
I didn't mean to imply that Laura meant she had to get hurt to learn. She has fallen several times in the past(and run into a tree as you mentioned), but has never been seriously injured. The arena where she originally learned to ride had no fence. The farm where she rides now has a fenced arena, but there are ground poles, jump standards and poles, etc. buried under the snow, and that is why I believe it would be safer for her to ride in the open pastures where she regularly gallops or through the well-marked trails she knows well. I believe my daughter has natural ability - she's very intuitive, has great feel, a commanding presence about her and a very strong core. As her mom, sometimes I fell it's a fine line between encouraging her "gift" and keeping her safe. I appreciate your input.
p.s. Rideanotherday: I hope you've begun riding again!
p.p.s. You, too Rideforever! Hope your finger's better.
Jacki, I'd love too start up. I've called a few places, but they don't want to tailor to what I need right now, which would be longe line time to build my leg back up. I don't want to try and manage too much with unfamiliar horses. If I were anywhere near Rideforever, I'd go ride her mare because she's sensible and broke and I am familiar. I paid too much money to repair my knee to want to waste it by being stupid. |
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Post by horseguy on Jan 26, 2016 16:28:48 GMT
The old saying of, "You should not come off a horse more than twice a year, or something is wrong" and "if you don't come off a horse at least once a year, you are probably not pushing your learning" speaks to the nature of field riding. This is why we also learn how to stay balanced, even in a fall, and use the emergency dismount. As for broken bones, that tends to be the result of getting on horses no one else will ride. It is not connected to the previous saying.
Training horses beyond the contemporary level I call horse sorting, requires risk. There are risky jobs and horse training is one. What most people do not calculate is how many horses a trainer will get on over a career. Between training farm owned horses and client horses and trying horses for students and as prospects, as well as riding other people's horses for various reasons, the number over decades reaches thousands. Some are ridden for a few minutes and others for months or years. The odds of injury connected to mounting that many unknown horses are quite high that the experience could result in injury.
I will never forget arriving at a farm to look at a big black TB. He was tied and saddled. I looked him over and untied him. I put my foot in the stirrup to mount, swung my leg over and as my butt reached the saddle the horse reared and came back over on me and himself. I was young and got off to one side before he came down on me. I dusted off my jeans and told the seller I was not interested and got back in my truck. I rode that horse for maybe 2 seconds but he still counts in the total.
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Post by Laura on Feb 1, 2016 0:28:20 GMT
I rode Mac today for what could possibly be the last time because of conflicted interests with his owner, but it was one of the proudest rides I have ever had on him. The snow has melted down a lot, so I thought I would ride. After making sure that he could handle himself in the snow, I let him go to see what he would do. He had a blast galloping in the field, but it was the fact that he tucked under himself so beautifully completely on his own because he wanted to that truly ,made me proud. He finally figured it out for himself and he absolutely loves it. He does it beautifully on his own. Its the best I have ever seen/felt him move. Thank you guys so much for helping. Today, i saw the part of him that could be a high level eventer. I just hope I can get his owner to appreciate what he's doing and to let go of her slightly misguided, very set her her way state of mind so that he can become what I know he can with a little bit of work. After my short ride, his back looked so much better. He didn't look nearly as fat and his sway back nearly disappeared. I couldn't believe it. I only hope I can keep working with him. Thanks so much guys, your suggestions really helped him.
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Post by rideanotherday on Feb 1, 2016 11:41:06 GMT
I rode Mac today for what could possibly be the last time because of conflicted interests with his owner, but it was one of the proudest rides I have ever had on him. The snow has melted down a lot, so I thought I would ride. After making sure that he could handle himself in the snow, I let him go to see what he would do. He had a blast galloping in the field, but it was the fact that he tucked under himself so beautifully completely on his own because he wanted to that truly ,made me proud. He finally figured it out for himself and he absolutely loves it. He does it beautifully on his own. Its the best I have ever seen/felt him move. Thank you guys so much for helping. Today, i saw the part of him that could be a high level eventer. I just hope I can get his owner to appreciate what he's doing and to let go of her slightly misguided, very set her her way state of mind so that he can become what I know he can with a little bit of work. After my short ride, his back looked so much better. He didn't look nearly as fat and his sway back nearly disappeared. I couldn't believe it. I only hope I can keep working with him. Thanks so much guys, your suggestions really helped him. Good luck Laura! |
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Post by horseguy on Feb 1, 2016 14:55:19 GMT
I let him go to see what he would do. He had a blast galloping in the field, but it was the fact that he tucked under himself so beautifully completely on his own because he wanted to that truly ,made me proud. He finally figured it out for himself and he absolutely loves it. He does it beautifully on his own. Its the best I have ever seen/felt him move.
When a horse engages and becomes balanced in a more collected way in the face of conditions like the snow, we call it self carriage. It's what they do in nature. For a horse to do that with a rider demonstrates unity. That feeling with a rider is what motivates them in training.
If a horse is trained in an unnatural way, they become confused by the separateness between them and the rider being in different balances and separated motions. If they are confused by a rider's separate balances for a long enough time, they eventually shut down. Riding in a unified way with a shut down horse will often awaken their desire for unity because in a state of unity the rider and the horse become one. It's that oneness that stimulates a horse and takes them to the height of their ability. Mac has been ridden as if he were a bus with passengers who sit on him, not "in" him in unity. You being in him awakened him.
The Sioux language has a word that roughly translates into horserider. It's like the word "train" that we use to describe a locomotive, train cars and a caboose. We look at a locomotive pulling cars going by and we see one thing, a train not several different things in a line. Horses have difficulty experiencing separated pieces of what they intuitively know should be one unified experience. A well trained horse looks forward to the feeling of going from a single horse to the equivalent of being a "train" with their rider. Likewise, they do not look forward to being sat upon as if they were a bus.
You have done well. Be a "train" with every horse you ride.
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