I've written before that Phil has a huge problem when I
carry a whip to ride. I think his
previous training overused the whip, and probably used it as a punishment
instead of an aide. So this has made him
super nervous about me even carrying it, regardless if I’m using it or
not.
My trainer suggested at my lesson that I start carrying a
whip because she thought I could really use a little more encouragement from
behind in the leg yields. I totally agreed with her, and so I started
carrying a whip.
Phil thought this was a super stinky idea.
For the first week or so it was like we were back to the
beginning. Phil was nervous,
inattentive, and couldn’t begin to do things like be on the bit or control his
speed. It got really frustrating, but I
figured he’d just work out of it.
However it didn't seem to be getting any better.
I complained about it on Twitter/Facebook, and my trainer
suggested that I use a jumping bat instead of a long whip just to get him used
to me carrying something in my hand.
Well, that was a perfect solution.
The jumping bat that I have is so short that it doesn't even reach as
far back as the end of the saddle pad.
Phil certainly knows I have it and he’s not as relaxed and steady as he
was before, but he is certainly much better.
Plus I get the added bonus of some really nice leg yield work! Once or twice I even tapped the saddle pad
when I needed him to move his haunches a bit more and he was able to do it
without losing his little mind.
One other thing – I’ve been experimenting with some home
made fly sprays. I think I found one
that really works well, except it loses it’s effectiveness on a sweaty
horse. At first I thought it smelled really
stinky, but now I’m kinda getting used to it.
The first time I sprayed it on both Phil and Kaswyn they both turned
their lips up. Boy I wish I had my
camera out because it was great! Silly
boys.
Once I get a recipe I really like I’ll go ahead and post it
if anyone is interested. Of course I
would come out with this at the end of summer.
Both my boys are shedding their summer coats already!!!
BOO end of summer, BOOOO!
4 comments:
Great idea about carrying the short bat! I'm going to remember that!
It's amazing what they can come to terms with when we can figure out how to break it into little bitty bites for them to consider.
=D
Where do you go to get your equine products? My daughter has recently shown interest in horses, especially dressage, and I want to surprise her with some cool stuff for her birthday. Any ideas?
Suggestion. Carry the dressage whip while handling and grooming. Use it to do scratches, etc. it might speed up the process.
Did you find a recipe you like? I use Pyranah and really like its effectiveness in the short term but am always on the look out for something more natural.
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