3. Into the Saddle
Published by Cari Zancanelli under BLM, horse training, mustangs, Temple Grandin on 12:45 PM
We've got some work to do...
Among the first problems I encountered with Bella, my adopted mustang, was that she wouldn't leave her pen. She was difficult to bridle, and she had only been ridden a few times. In fact, it was difficult to groom her because she wasn't relaxed and flinched every time I touched her. I had never experienced a horse that was hard to groom or was afraid of me. As a student at Colorado State University, I had a class taught by Temple Grandin. She spoke about how animals don't like to go into dark spaces, and I realized that this was why Bella wouldn't leave her pen. It would require her to walk into a dark barn (the gate to her pen was inside the barn). Once the door to the barn was opened, she would come out of her pen. However, there were many other things that she needed to learn.
My first lesson was that I trusted myself to know when things made her uncomfortable. To be honest, I jumped in and did what I knew - moved slowly around her, kept working at something until she relaxed and didn't judge her or myself. The funny thing is, that patience is now gone from me! In my quest to become a "horse trainer" I lost that natural connection for a time. In remembering that experience I realized that something had been lost that was so valuable.
Which is not to say that there weren't things that I learned from conventional horse training and I really did need to learn them. But the unselfconsciousness is now gone. In it's place are comparisons to the likes of Clinton Anderson, Lynn Palm, etc. etc. Did I do it right? If Clinton did it, would it look like this? It's easy to get trapped into self-judgement and it's something more of us should avoid to some extent. More on that later...
I spent the next few months getting Bella to the point where I could ride her, going very slowly. She learned to lunge and to stand absolutely still for tacking up. She let me groom her all over, and she was finally relaxed. At this point the trainer I had lined up for lessons took over and we began to have riding lessons on Bella. They went very well for the most part. Bella learned quickly and I began to relax while riding her. At this point I had neglected to do much "groundwork". My goal was to ride, and that's what we did. This proved a costly mistake later.
Among the first problems I encountered with Bella, my adopted mustang, was that she wouldn't leave her pen. She was difficult to bridle, and she had only been ridden a few times. In fact, it was difficult to groom her because she wasn't relaxed and flinched every time I touched her. I had never experienced a horse that was hard to groom or was afraid of me. As a student at Colorado State University, I had a class taught by Temple Grandin. She spoke about how animals don't like to go into dark spaces, and I realized that this was why Bella wouldn't leave her pen. It would require her to walk into a dark barn (the gate to her pen was inside the barn). Once the door to the barn was opened, she would come out of her pen. However, there were many other things that she needed to learn.
My first lesson was that I trusted myself to know when things made her uncomfortable. To be honest, I jumped in and did what I knew - moved slowly around her, kept working at something until she relaxed and didn't judge her or myself. The funny thing is, that patience is now gone from me! In my quest to become a "horse trainer" I lost that natural connection for a time. In remembering that experience I realized that something had been lost that was so valuable.
Which is not to say that there weren't things that I learned from conventional horse training and I really did need to learn them. But the unselfconsciousness is now gone. In it's place are comparisons to the likes of Clinton Anderson, Lynn Palm, etc. etc. Did I do it right? If Clinton did it, would it look like this? It's easy to get trapped into self-judgement and it's something more of us should avoid to some extent. More on that later...
I spent the next few months getting Bella to the point where I could ride her, going very slowly. She learned to lunge and to stand absolutely still for tacking up. She let me groom her all over, and she was finally relaxed. At this point the trainer I had lined up for lessons took over and we began to have riding lessons on Bella. They went very well for the most part. Bella learned quickly and I began to relax while riding her. At this point I had neglected to do much "groundwork". My goal was to ride, and that's what we did. This proved a costly mistake later.
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