So I had a good, but very tough lesson today. Phoenix was being a big butt. He was throwing every trick in the book at me to keep me from working, but I was able to get through it! I was worried about there being something wrong with his gait, but my trainer didn’t feel that way at all. He is just trying so hard to not work that sometimes he takes a funky step or tenses up. The Young Rider came to watch and took some video and she agrees that Phoenix not having nice gaits had more to do with resistance then anything physical. My trainer also agrees with me that no, I am not scared of Phoenix at all. I am so glad that I didn’t loose my nerve! The problem has been that Phoenix is very, very resistant these days and that frustrates me. My trainer reminded me to take it back a few notches. Work on things that we can do well instead of pushing him to do what I know he can do. He is still very weak. He had only been back to work for a month now. He is 6. And my trainer said that she can already see improvements in some areas even though we are struggling in others. She also said that with consistent work we will be fighting fit in no time. So Phoenix and I are going to keep on keeping on. Man, training a baby horse on your own is not easy!
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can i get an AMEN to that last line??
glad you are sticking with it! You don’t strike me as a quitter. keep it up girl!
LOL, yer preachin’ to the choir here.
The young stuff need input almost EVERY day, especially the ones who take a little longer to “get it”. Persistence will pay off but always listen to what the horse is trying to tell you. Sometimes you have to work backwards to move forwards. Keep at him!
Good for you and Phoenix! I sometimes go back a step or two just to refresh the horse (and myself). It will give him confidence to do things he already knows and does well with lots of pats and encouragement. Then I will bring something new into the mix and practice that with the old stuff.
Can I get a SECOND amen to that last line? And a HALLELUJAH to boot?
So glad things are looking up for you both!
That’s great news.
I’m learning backing up, sometimes gets you forward further…make sense? Good luck and good for you!
I am so glad to hear you are working through this successfully!!!! Good for you ….and for Phoenix!!!
Glad to hear it’s working out with Phoenix and you are sticking with it. Ace is older, but training-wise he’s still a baby too. I always find myself trying to fix everything all at once, and he gets resistant and grumpy. When I tone it down and only focus on one thing at a time – or just get out of his way and let him trek around for a bit – he’s much happier and compliant when I do ask him to work. If only this lesson would stick! I’m a bit of a slow learner sometimes.
That is great news! I’m so happy for you that you’re sticking with Phoenix!
Sometimes it is very hard to ride the horse you have today instead of the horse you expected to have after the last trainng session.
Janow was always trickiest when he was bored. He loved making lots of direction changes and small circles around jumps and standards but he hated wandering around in open space in the ring. He needed objects to negotiate. We learned to do this without rein contact even. And a good hack out always made him better the next day