Friday, July 6, 2012

Just shut up and ride...

For those of you readers that aren't "horsaii"... any time you interact with a horse you are having a conversation of sorts. Your body language, tone of voice and general demeanor tell the horse a multitude of things. There is a saying: everything you do with a horse is a training session... be it good or bad.

So having said all that, lately Flash and I have been arguing a lot. And at the Sunriver race he was a pill a few times. He did a few dirty spooks that almost had me out of the saddle and they definitely wrenched my back up. Keep in mind, he wasn't actually spooking because he was afraid... he was just being kind of an asshole. Arguing with me, if you will. And rather than keeping things civil, I continued to argue back. And so it has gone. Escalating.

Finally, last night I decided that enough was enough. No more arguing.

I took Flash out for a ride and I let him pick the trail, the distance and the speed. When he went faster I just got out of his way and let him go. I could tell he was still looking for an argument but I didn't give him one. You want to go faster? Fine. Go. You want to go that way instead of this way? Fine. Go. You want to keep on going? Fine. Go.

Any you know what? After about 30 minutes he relaxed and really got into the ride. It was the best ride we've had together in quite a while. When he went by things that normally would be spook-worthy, for the most part he just ignored them. We had a blast.

And then it hit me. I haven't so much been riding my horse, rather I've been nagging my horse. And just like any man (gay or not... because Flash is most definitely gay) he apparently doesn't like to be nagged. He's been telling me to just shut up and ride. And I finally heard what he was saying.

You never listen to me...

Sorry, buddy. I'm listening now...

8 comments:

  1. Awesome! I've read a few blogs where the riders did this, both arena and trail, and the horse and rider both LOVED it. Not that you should always let him have his way, but that having an entirely horse-directed ride once in a whole is a huge benefit to both parties.

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    1. Yeah... sometimes I get *way* too focused on the goal and forget that the constant nagging isn't really a good thing. A reminder once in a while? Fine. Nagging? Not so much...

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  2. Lol well that's a lesson I hope you don't forget anytime soon you ole nag ;) xoxox Drake

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    1. You miss me nagging you, and you know it :)

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  3. I did that with PJ the other day. He was so jacked up with the impending storm, his pasture mate screaming and the other horses staring at him over the fence. Finally I just decided alright, do whatever you want just move. He was like, ooooh, well okay. Never found his calm though, any time I touched his face it was tantrum time. Then again, all things considered the fact that he was able to mellow a little was something.

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  4. Man, that is a tough lesson, and one I have to keep learning over and over! I think it's part of why riding horses makes you a better human, though.

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    1. I think you're right. They do keep us constantly working on ourselves, don't they? Love my boy...

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