Natural Horsemanship Clinic ~ Part Two

 

Colleen, a friend from the horse rescue where I volunteer, as well as the clinic’s instructor, offered to let me ride one of her horses last weekend, while she would ride and work with my mare. I wanted to see how my horse would do with someone else as we getting some objective opinions on judging her temperament, and getting some feedback on whether or not Baby Doll and I are the right fit for each other.

I had told Colleen that Baby Doll is an alpha mare and tends to be stubborn, opinionated and headstrong. My mare and I have had a number of arguments over the past 2 years, focused on me asking her to do something and her telling me, ‘No, she’d rather not, thank you very much’.

At the beginning of every trail ride, Baby Doll would have to throw a little temper tantrum with a few crow hops, some head tossing, and what I affectionately call ‘The Drunken Sailor’ routine.

We’d go down the road or trail and she would weave back towards the direction of home. I would push her back onto the trail with my leg, and we’d go back and forth like a Drunken Sailor for the first 10-15 minutes of each ride.

Sometimes when she wanted to head back to the barn, and I didn’t,  she’d try to walk backwards the entire way there. When I’d argue with her and attempt to turn her back, she’d commence spinning in circles back to the barn. (click on that link to revisit that experience again)

Yes, she was barn sour. But we began working on that over a year ago, before my fall and injuries. And we were making progress. I’d bring her back to the barn and make her work, and then we’d head back out again, doing that several times, until she never knew what to expect. She was doing better, but we still had our arguments every time we headed out for a ride.

Baby Doll hasn’t been a very spooky horse, usually only snorting while looking at something. But when she did spook, she tended to move rather catty, usually sideways….and big.

She spooked one time when some dogs were running loose on a road behind us and she took off like a rocket and bolted. (click on that link to revisit that experience again). I was easily able to one-rein stop her, but I  began to realize that I couldn’t fully trust her. That she could be unpredictable in a big way.

I also realized that, even though she acted like she wanted to be the boss, she really wanted a confidant, strong leader. She’d test me constantly, laying her ears back flat, jumping into a trot, flinging her head, crow hopping. Anything scary, just to see how it would affect me. Would I buck up and make her mind? Or would I get scared and dismount.

(Photo of a potential buyer/leaser in May 2009)

I never did dismount and I never did let her push me around. We’d argue and argue until she finally let me win. But it got old. She was taking the joy out of riding.

I had waited all of my 40+ years to finally own my own horse. When I found Baby Doll and took riding lessons on her for a few months, before purchasing her, I thought she was the one.

But I had only ridden my mare in the arena and in the round pen at the lesson barn. I had never taken her out on a trail before bringing her home.

My dream was to have a trail horse. To combine both my love of hiking and being outdoors, with my love of horses. All of the horses I’d ridden in the past had been trail horses. They’d all been willing, hard-working, calm, just-get-on-and-ride trail horses.

I’d never experienced a horse that I had to beg, plead, coerce, push, and get tough-with just to go on a trail ride.

On the ground, Baby Doll and I just clicked. She could be sweet, patient, and funny. In the saddle, it was an entirely different ride altogether.

My neighbor friend, Val tried to work with my mare on many occasions. On one ride, she called the adventure, The Taming of The Shrew. (click on that link to revisit that experience again) It was quite a wild ride and Val didn’t back down. But I’m not as experienced a rider as she is and Baby Doll is one smart cookie and she knows it.

I’ve never been able to let my kids ride her on their own, except in the round pen. She’s not a babysitter horse at all. She will take advantage of a young, inexperienced rider and do whatever she wants

(Photo taken of a potential buyer in May 2009)

Personally, I don’t even think she likes children. She would tolerate my daughter brushing her and running around the barn and making noise, but when I used to bring Jenna to the lesson barn, I noticed that Baby Doll would lay her ears back whenever she’d see Jenna.And once, while I was working her in the round pen and my daughter ran past, Baby Doll laid her ears back and bucked in her direction.

Her behavior was pretty ironic because if it weren’t for my daughter, not only would our little ranch not have it’s current name, but we’d probably have never bought Baby Doll at all. (You can read more about this in my very first blog post)

Ok. Well I kind of got side-tracked. Back to the Natural Horsemanship Riding Clinic………….

Colleen knew about Baby Doll’s history and decided that she’d like to try a bit with more control on my mare. She called it a Natural Ring Bit, I believe. It’s completely round and encircles the entire jaw, goes through the mouth and underneath the jaw.

The only thing I could find close enough to what it look likes is This, this, this, and this. It looks similar to a Chifney Bit. Colleen said that Bob Allen, the horse/rider trainer here in New Mexico, uses them and says they work wonders in controlling a headstrong horse.

I don’t have a whole lot of knowledge of bits because I chose to use a Dr. Cook’s Bitless Bridle for my mare and she’s done well in it. I’ve always been told that it’s not the bit that controls a horse, it’s the rider and having a well-trained horse. A horse can ride through any bit if it really wants to.

 

Baby Doll went in a hackamore when I took lessons on her. And I’ve ridden her in a side-pull bridle with a snaffle bit. She’s not happy in a bit, though, that I do know. Her relaxed attitude changes dramatically and she gets rather wild-eyed, jiggy, and ‘rough around the edges’.

But because Baby Doll was in a new place, and in the arena with lots of riders and other horses, Colleen felt like the Ring bit would give more control. I could tell right away that Baby Doll didn’t like it. Not at all.

Colleen rode her bareback at first and Baby Doll stood still for mounting, like a good girl, but that head went up when she felt the contact of the stiff, ring bit.

Baby Doll also wasn’t very cooperative in flexing her neck or bending either.

I kind of felt sorry for her as she didn’t look very relaxed or comfortable at all. She kept getting her tongue up over the top of the ring bit, too. And she looked so crazy with her tongue lolling about and her eyes all wild

Colleen rode her for a little while in the arena, then she dismounted to help another rider and her horse. One of the other riders, Catherine, was encouraged to ride my mare bareback, and I was little worried seeing how nervous she was and how jumpy Baby Doll was acting.

Anna, another friend from the horse rescue, as well as another one of the instructors was able to lend a calming hand, which both Baby Doll and the other rider seemed to really appreciate.

                

In the end Baby Doll was ridden for about 30 minutes on Saturday and about 30 minutes on Sunday.

Colleen finally decided that my mare was too jumpy and unpredictable in that arena environment and she didn’t feel comfortable riding her while trying to help the other riders, who were having their own issues with their horses.

I felt bad, but I can’t say I was entirely surprised.

   

To be continued…………………..

 

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And my Project 365 photo.

Day 15. Polar Bear Paw (Taken at the Rio Grande Zoo)