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Aug. 4th, 2010 08:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickAnother day out with the ponies. Today, Waylie mentioned taking Taku to the competitive ride. I allowed as how there was a lot of trotting at the competitive ride. Like, totally a lot. (Entries are due by August 27, the ride is on September 17/18.) We have time to fit his horse up, but it's going to take a LOT of trotting, more than he really understands at the moment. There are 27 days left in August and 16 days in September, forty-two days is six weeks. That's enough time if he plans to ride a conservative 30.
Taku is difficult to bridle. She has been difficult to bridle since forever because nobody has ever taken the time to teach her how to bridle. (She is also stupidly difficult to deworm. I suspect this is largely a lack-of-handling issue like the difficult-to-bridle thing. Fix one and the other will resolve on its own. Since I can't deworm the horse once a day, we're fixing bridling.) The horse has been ridden, for real, about twenty times lifetime. She's still a n00b at this bridling business. It is not fair to expect her to be "good" about it when she's had a bridle put on her twenty times in her life, about half of them before she really had enough of an idea what was going on to object.
On day 1 (Sunday following the fair), Theron (Waylie's dad) bridled Taku. It was kind of motion-filled and stressful. Taku was high and tight and sudden.
On day 2, Theron was off doing stuff so I bridled Taku instead of him. It was not smooth or easy, but I got it done with less rodeo than Theron experienced.
Day 3, I did her again, slower and with less leaping. Waylon: "You're better at this than my dad is." I'm not sure about that... but I am slow and fairly patient.
Today was day 4. Taku stood without moving her feet when I brought the bit to her mouth. I held it at her lips and waited for her to take it, which she did... without throwing her head and without acting like a bad horse. The whole thing was quiet and peaceful, without sound or fury or raising of dust. Waylon was amazed.
I'm pretty sure that all she needs is repeated practice at being bridled. Like, y'know, a month's worth of every-day-we-do-this. Waylie undoes her bridle and is very careful to let her spit the bit out on her own, not knocking her teeth, so she's not worried about that part. With easy going-on and easy coming-off, repeated practice should get rid of the residual unpleasantness. I did make sure to tell Waylie that even though today went smoothly, she may not be "fixed" from here on out. She may get worse and then better and then worse and then better -- progress is not a straight line sometimes -- but I do think we're heading in the correct direction.
Up and down the hill, trotted steadily over to May's (this is a long way) and most of the way back, some walk-trot transitions, trotted over the ground poles, walked the pole pattern. Y'know, the usual.
Taku is difficult to bridle. She has been difficult to bridle since forever because nobody has ever taken the time to teach her how to bridle. (She is also stupidly difficult to deworm. I suspect this is largely a lack-of-handling issue like the difficult-to-bridle thing. Fix one and the other will resolve on its own. Since I can't deworm the horse once a day, we're fixing bridling.) The horse has been ridden, for real, about twenty times lifetime. She's still a n00b at this bridling business. It is not fair to expect her to be "good" about it when she's had a bridle put on her twenty times in her life, about half of them before she really had enough of an idea what was going on to object.
On day 1 (Sunday following the fair), Theron (Waylie's dad) bridled Taku. It was kind of motion-filled and stressful. Taku was high and tight and sudden.
On day 2, Theron was off doing stuff so I bridled Taku instead of him. It was not smooth or easy, but I got it done with less rodeo than Theron experienced.
Day 3, I did her again, slower and with less leaping. Waylon: "You're better at this than my dad is." I'm not sure about that... but I am slow and fairly patient.
Today was day 4. Taku stood without moving her feet when I brought the bit to her mouth. I held it at her lips and waited for her to take it, which she did... without throwing her head and without acting like a bad horse. The whole thing was quiet and peaceful, without sound or fury or raising of dust. Waylon was amazed.
I'm pretty sure that all she needs is repeated practice at being bridled. Like, y'know, a month's worth of every-day-we-do-this. Waylie undoes her bridle and is very careful to let her spit the bit out on her own, not knocking her teeth, so she's not worried about that part. With easy going-on and easy coming-off, repeated practice should get rid of the residual unpleasantness. I did make sure to tell Waylie that even though today went smoothly, she may not be "fixed" from here on out. She may get worse and then better and then worse and then better -- progress is not a straight line sometimes -- but I do think we're heading in the correct direction.
Up and down the hill, trotted steadily over to May's (this is a long way) and most of the way back, some walk-trot transitions, trotted over the ground poles, walked the pole pattern. Y'know, the usual.
