Neck reining

Sometime last week, I was reading Black Beauty and in chapter 2 (training) says (talking about when his master put the bit in his mouth) "I didn't like it at all, but I knew my mother and the other horses wore one. So, with my master's pats and kind words, as well as the oats, I got used to wearing my bit and bridle."

That gave me an idea. I hadn't been working Valley - mostly cause I didn't have a plan to work with her - and I wasn't getting anywhere in her training. But Those sentences right there that Anna Sewell wrote gave me an idea. I was sort of going to start over with Valley's training. I was first going to put a bridle on Valley and get her used to that before moving on to the saddle.

So a few days ago (I can't remember exactly when. It might have been Sunday or Friday I don't remember) I started her "new training". I did as usual, and got her out of the back pasture (dad still hasn't finished the fence *rolls eyes*) and took her up to the barn to eat. After she ate, I walked her around the front pasture to graze.

Next, I took her up to the house. I tied her up to the trailer (not horse trailer, just a regular trailer. I'll get a pic for ya :) and went to the shed to get Valley's bridle. I took off Valley's halter and slipped on the bridle which Valley didn't fight. From the moment I put on the bridle to the moment I took her down to where my "invisible round pen" is (where I used to take her and Chloe down to graze, by the lake), she was chewing on her bit.

I had Valley stand there for a few minutes to get used to the bit, and then I flexed her on both sides a few times. Then I got up on her back and flexed her on both sides a lot. She tried to move around at first but of course I ain't gonna take that! So I kept flexing her until she stood still. It didn't take too long.

I backed her up a few times and she's really good at that - especially on the ground. When I'm on the ground, I barely have to pull back on the rope, cause she knows what "back" means. :) I love my horse.

While I sat there on her back, I decided that I should work on her turning. But then I thought that since I am training her to ride western, then I should teach her to neck rein :) Now I have no idea about how to do that, so I just made it up lol. So hopefully I'm doing it right.. Anyways, I took the reins in my right hand, and pulled them to the right. Valley was pretty confused at first, but I was kicking/putting pressure on her side, so she figured out what I wanted her to do and she turned to the right.

She did okay for her first time.. but it's gotten a little better with each day I do it with her. But yesterday, when I kept trying to get her to turn, she would flex instead (mostly on the left side) and try to (sometimes succeeding) bite my legs! It hurt! And I couldn't get her to turn her head around and it was annoying. I finally got her to behave, and I got her to walk around my invisible round pen :):) So fun!!

Anyways, here are a few oldish (about a week lol i think the first time I did the bridle thing) of my dirty pony-sized 3 yr old HORSE :P I would have put some more updated pictures of a few days ago, but I can't find my camera so i can't upload them on the computer.. anyways, here are the pictures:

















She's filthy!!!















she gets bored pretty easily ha ha




















Peace out,
Sarah

Lungeing with saddle

Howdy ya'll!!



Guess what? YESTERDAY I SAT ON VALLEY WHEN SHE HAD THE ENGLISH SADDLE ON HER!!

Lemme start from the beggining:



So I was sitting inside, when I had the sudden urge to canter across the pasture on Valley. I thought to myself, the only way I can do that anytime soon, is to go work with Valley so I can get her trained. So, I grabbed my helmet, handy stick and string, and my Clinton Anderson leadrope and headed outside. I decided to go ahead and feed both horses since I was going to have Valley out anyway, and I didn't want Chloe standing inside the pasture doing nothing. So I grabbed Valley's other leadrope and halter, and headed towards the shed where I feed Chloe and Valley.



After I fed them, I left Valley tied up, but shortened her leadrope. I got a saddle pad and put it on her. Then got the English saddle, and put it on Valley. After I tightned the girth as much as I could, I untied her, and took her down where she usually grazes.

My dad was there watching, and I started to lunge here, and she was doing small bucks. They wern't exactly bucks but close to it. I wanted to get her 'bucking' on camera, so my dad went to get the video camera. It wasn't charged, so we had to wait till it charged some.

When the camera was done charging, my mom came down with it. She filmed, my dad watched, and I lunged. : ) Valley 'bucked' here and there. I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing. I wish I had a round pen, so I could put here in there and let her buck, instead of my attempting to lunge her while she was bucking.

After a bit, I stopped lungeing Valley, and called my dad over. He held Valley close by the leadrope, and I lowered the stirrups. And then I put my left foot in the stirrup, and I..

*drum roll please* thank you

..mounted!! That was the first time I'd ever been on Valley while she had been wearing saddle. My dad s..l..o..w..l..y.. led Valley a few steps. I felt like I was a little kid riding a pony for her first time. It kind of was actually. Valley's a horse, but pony sized, I had someone leading me SLOWLY, and it was my first time for being on Valley with a saddle! Lol. So kind of the same. Not really. Nah.

Anywhoo...

I then told dad to hand me the leadrope and step away from Valley and I. I took the leadrope and flexed Valley on both sides, then I practiced turns with her. She did great! It felt really weird for me to be sitting on her while she's walking with a saddle. Before when I've sat on her bareback, she would walk around to graze, but it felt different with the saddle. She did great on her turns, and I was HAPPY! I'm glad mom got that on film. :)

Turning

After I fed the horses today, I took Valley down to graze, and hopped on her back. Valley was getting too close to a tree, so I pulled the leadrope out to the left to get her to turn, and used my left leg, to push/tap her left side to get her to turn, and she did! I was like so happy!!

I did it a couple, more times, then went inside to get my helmet incase she decided to buck, and I didn't want to take the chance of falling off and hitting my head on something.

I asked my mom if she could come watch me do it once, so she did. I did it once for her, then she went back inside.

I did the turning thing with Valley twice more (I think), once on each side, then when I tried the third time, and she got mad. She started bucking (not really hard or anything, just lightly). I figured she would before she actually did it, and I jumped off, and immedately made her back up a few feet. When I let her stop, she licked her lips (sign that she's thinking about what she did), then I got back on her, did the turn one more time (so she wouldn't think she gets me off her back by bucking), then put her back in the pasture.

Hopefully I'll be motivated to work with her tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that, and the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and the day after that, and the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that and the d-- ok. I think you got it. Oh, you don't? OK well then, and the day after that, and the day after that, and so on...