We've had dry weather now for a few days, so I took my chances and worked Dino this morning. Nothing fancy, just freestyle lunging. It was really a spur of the moment ordeal. When I got home from work this morning, I peeked out the back and saw the pasture had dried sufficiently enough that I thought I could turn horses out while I cleaned stalls. But then I got distracted with the news, so I turned horses out and went back into the house to watch the coverage. That's when it started raining. Again. Actually, I'd been in the house for atleast an hour by that point. Or was it two hours?
It was just a little sprinkle, but I ran down to the barn and let Angel out on the grass while I started stalls. After I got Sancho's and Angel's done, I put the remainder of their breakfast in theirs, moved the manure cart to Dino's stall and brought those two in.
I'm standing there, in the rain, watching Dino who's watching me. I knew I had a window of opportunity and I had to take it, so I grabbed my lunge whip and entered the pasture to freestyle lunge Dino. My trainer doesn't like freestyle lunging and I can see her point; you don't have any control over the horse and you really don't accomplish anything with it, except the horse running itself ragged. Other people will say they don't like lunging in the traditional sense; surcingle, side-reins, cavesson, lunge line and whip. Really it has to do with pulling on the horse's head, which subsequently pulls on their neck and back, causing them pain. I can understand that, and it is just like anything else with horses: Everyone has a different opinion and what works for one person/horse, may not work for another. I can go either way.
Back when I first got Dino, lunging was an important part of our everyday training. For one, I wanted to get Dino conditioned and two, I needed to install a "WHOA" before I ever put my foot in the stirrup. To me, that is the most important step for anyone getting an OTTB or mounting any new horse for the first time, and it sounds silly, but I seriously want to know, "Will they stop when I ask them to?" Stop walking. Stop trotting. Stop cantering. Stop galloping. Stop before we run into the wall/fence/tree. I've had these experiences, go with me on this and let me tell you, that horse will manage to come to dead stop before you will. Personally, I think that's how Newton came up with his Laws of Motion, he was riding a horse without a WHOA.
Funny story time. When I was a junior I was riding this lovely American Hanoverian mare named Lila. I loved Lila, she was just so beautiful this big bay mare. We were so close that I could walk down the aisle and call out her name, "Liiillllaaaaa", and she'd nicker. Not just any nicker, that deep throaty nicker that horses reserve for their closest herd-mates. Lila was way out of my price range, so I was just happy to keep her ridden, but she was my first experience with WHOA. It was my first time jumping her and she had picked up speed coming down a line, so I, obviously, said "WHOA". I'm sure you know what happened, she came to a dead stop and I did not. You would have thought, lesson learned. Nope. It took several more identical experiences for me learn that lesson. Moral of the story: WHOA is to stop and EASY is to slow down. Lila. Nice horse. Smart horse. Not so smart rider.
Which leads me back to today. Going to the left, Dino was king. He walked when I asked him, trotted when asked, and cantered. He even changed directions when I simply switched my lunge whip from my right hand to my left. I was so happy that Dino was remembering his lessons. He was even staying on a 20-meter circle around me. Such a good boy that Dino! But then we changed directions and all of a sudden I was still dealing with Dino but I was suddenly speaking a foreign language. Serenity. Serenity now.
Well two can play this game. You don't want to walk, well then you get to canter. A few trips around me, "Trot...good boy". A few more trips around me, "Walk...WHOA....walk....CANTER". This went on for several minutes. Or was it several hours? At first, I think Dino was kind of amused at my frustration because he kept turning his head towards me and hanging his tongue out. But then that went away and while he continued to turn his head towards me, his ears were flat back.
Then Dino got really tired and hot, and when he's really tired and hot both sides of his brain make a complete connection. So when I say, "Walk" he walks. And when he walks, he gets to stop and go back into the barn. As I'm putting his halter on, I rub his forelock and ask, "Was it really that hard, to do what I asked?"
Apparently so. And I still haven't learned WHOA = stop, Easy = slow down.
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