tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post2900452816819636993..comments2024-02-29T09:31:25.294-05:00Comments on camera-obscura: another ride on the Big Baybilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-27956681025815680702009-02-18T08:43:00.000-05:002009-02-18T08:43:00.000-05:00MiKael, I love Sally Swift. I often think of her i...MiKael, I love Sally Swift. I often think of her illustrations when I'm trying to get in a good position in the saddle.<BR/><BR/>And thank you SO MUCH for the award! I have not been visiting as many blogs lately, and just spent a good while catching up on yours. I love the long lining series and wish I had you here to help me teach Cody. I think he would benefit from the experience and finding his true gaits.billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-16565115147543705422009-02-18T01:35:00.000-05:002009-02-18T01:35:00.000-05:00I'd forgotten about Sally Swift and soft eyes. It'...I'd forgotten about Sally Swift and soft eyes. It's been so long since I read her. Thanks for the reminder. While I usually ride pretty soft it's easy to get "intense" when riding the young horses. <BR/><BR/>There's an award waiting for you at my blog. Come take a peek!Rising Rainbowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04239592070775412669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-89017485843763777752009-02-17T16:18:00.000-05:002009-02-17T16:18:00.000-05:00Arlene, when I first got Keil Bay the young traine...Arlene, when I first got Keil Bay the young trainer told me he would spook sometimes but she felt it was more based in resistance than fear.<BR/><BR/>Initially, it was MY fear that drove things in that regard, and after I rode through a spook at the trot, and later at the canter, I relaxed, because I realized he did it so athletically it didn't unseat me.<BR/><BR/>Later on, especially over the past 2 years, I have come to see his spooking as a way to inject some excitement into the ride. I have rarely felt he was truly afraid, but he does seem to enjoy the big movement and the drama associated with a spook. <BR/><BR/>He has a very goofy sense of humor, and I wonder if that plays a role too.<BR/><BR/>I discovered awhile back that if I set up jumps and do some work, jump a little jump, do some more work, jump another little jump, he gets very "up" but in a nice, forward, energetic way.<BR/><BR/>I read somewhere recently that a lot of warmbloods can be sluggish while schooling but if you warm up and then do some hand galloping in the field, THEN do the schooling, they are sharp and in front of the leg.<BR/><BR/>I suspect that is part of it for Keil Bay. He loves riding out and if we had a good place to do it, it would be such a treat for him. <BR/><BR/>I find that same thing about thinking it and them doing it. In that Molly Sivewright book called Thinking Riding, she actually talks about telepathy between horse and rider as being an aid. I think she's right.billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-8840053370142039202009-02-17T16:05:00.000-05:002009-02-17T16:05:00.000-05:00You've made me tired just reading about how much y...You've made me tired just reading about how much you did. Keil Bay is an exceptional horse and you two seem so in tune with each other. <BR/><BR/>In some of my riding I've found that if I think it they do it, it's always led me to wonder if I unwittingly gave them a clue as to where I wanted them to go or something I wanted them to do was accomplished, with just my thoughts. As for spooking, I have no answers for that one. I rode the spookiest horse on the face of the earth for 15 years, and let me say he was a master at his craft. Surprisingly, I only came off about 5 times and it wasn't pretty but it was fast. He could trot around in a lesson for an hour and pass all the same blankets on the rail, and then whoosh, I'm scared and I'm outta here... Go figure.Grey Horse Mattershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05837575441967937196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-11696764565892456782009-02-17T13:36:00.000-05:002009-02-17T13:36:00.000-05:00Please spout off as much as you like! I love readi...Please spout off as much as you like! I love reading it. :)<BR/><BR/>I have thought a lot about Keil Bay's spooking. He did more of it earlier in our partnership than he does now. ( a good progression, I think!)<BR/><BR/>Part of that has to do with the fact that he came from a very pristinely kept, adult barn. My boarding him for about 8 months at a family barn that had children and an obstacle course with many interesting elements set up in the barnyard, as well as dirt bikes and a pool visible from the barn, etc., really helped him de-sensitize. <BR/><BR/>Back then, I gave him a lot of time and leeway when riding. We generally began and ended each ride with a walk through the obstacle course. He ended up enjoying that a great deal.<BR/><BR/>I had been told he would spook some if anything was moved around in his arena. This ended quickly at the boarding barn, because things changed on a daily basis.<BR/><BR/>We're probably somewhere in between here at our farm. We try to offer a rich environment, more for the pony and the QH who travel to Pony Club events and shows on occasion and need to be used to some flash and commotion. But it's been good for Keil, who has really become nonchalant about almost every thing he used to snort at!<BR/><BR/>I also give him free time in the barnyard, which is enclosed, but he has ended up having much closer encounters with things like tarps, pogo sticks, bicycles, etc., and having been able to explore these kinds of things at his own pace, while grazing, he knows they aren't that scary. <BR/><BR/>I know Kempfling (the Dancing With Horses author, hope I've got his name right) takes his horses on walks into town, and all over the place, and I think that is such a great thing to do. They gain a lot of confidence, I think, from that kind of exposure.<BR/><BR/>The other thing about Keil's spooking is that when he does it, it is always done with agility and elegance, almost as if he puts some forethought into it. <BR/><BR/>I don't know - as you mention, I try to be fair and I would never punish him for spooking. But I do expect him to transition from being perfectly fine 'on his own' with something and then accepting it under saddle, with a few circles, the chance to check it out, and me making sure I'm breathing and relaxed and not sending mixed messages.<BR/><BR/>There has been one thing I remember him getting truly spooked at, and that was my father's walker. We brought each horse to my dad in the barnyard, with the walker off to the side, and allowed each one to realize it wasn't a monster. I doubted any of them had seen such a thing before, and they were ALL very spooked by the funky metal clanking thing that seemed to be hooked up to the human!<BR/><BR/>Had I been riding, we would have spent an entire session de-sensitizing to that one thing. <BR/><BR/>And of course, if his spooking was accompanied by more intense behavior, say at the woods' edge, I would probably assume there was indeed something out there and go check it out. Salina, our mare, has alerted us to things many times (deer, guinea hens in the trees, etc.) <BR/><BR/>Thanks for commenting - I love thinking about things like this, and writing about it helps me sort it through even more.billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-2061315501592341632009-02-17T13:03:00.000-05:002009-02-17T13:03:00.000-05:00I SO enjoyed this post. Every word of it. You mak...I SO enjoyed this post. <BR/>Every word of it. <BR/>You make me think hard about why horses spook under saddle at things they don't even seem to notice when they're on their own. Perhaps it's because they're "under our control" so to speak and not fully able to give all their attention or ignore the thing that might spook them? It's not on their terms anymore. If this is the case, the the leeway you give is fair. <BR/>Just a thought. I"m always thinking of a way to make it fair. Pardon my running off at the mouth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-40840129533826645042009-02-17T11:59:00.000-05:002009-02-17T11:59:00.000-05:00Sheaffer, I love riding the Big Bay and can get qu...Sheaffer, I love riding the Big Bay and can get quite caught up in the technical aspects of it. <BR/><BR/>Rafer Johnson would say: What's the big deal? I can bend and leap and buck and turn and jump and do anything the big boys can do. <BR/><BR/>And he can! But not with me on his back! :)<BR/><BR/>We had ice in the troughs this a.m. but thankfully tonight it is staying in the 40s as we are expecting a fair amount of rain tomorrow. Which is good - the arena is getting dusty and a good rain and harrowing will help it.<BR/><BR/>AND, we got the front field mulched and spread this weekend, so the rain will kick-start the spring grass. <BR/><BR/>Stay warm!!billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-22744646935671725332009-02-17T11:55:00.000-05:002009-02-17T11:55:00.000-05:00Billie, I'm exhausted just hearing about all t...Billie, I'm exhausted just hearing about all that exercise! I had to go and lie down for a bit. I would love to stand at the side with R&R and watch you but confess all that trotting and bending makes me dizzy. You and Keil sound like you're enjoying yourselves immensely. Frankly, I don't quite understand it but it's nice to see two species enjoying each other's company so much.<BR/><BR/>Yours in ice,<BR/>Sheafferponymaidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02996833096239732307noreply@blogger.com