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Dec. 24th, 2012 11:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickSo I've been piddling along with the Ungratefuls and progress is being made.
They are both easy to catch and halter. Both can get out of and be put into a field (this is a specific skill that includes "walk through the gate in front of me as directed, get through, halt, turn and face me, and wait while I straighten out the gate"). Both lead quite well at all speeds. Each Ungrateful handles all over her body, picks up her feet on request, and has been trimmed by a farrier without undue incident.
Both Ungratefuls load load into and back out of horse trailers (stock and two-horse), whether or not there is another horse on the trailer already. Both tie well and patiently. Each Ungrateful stands nicely still for grooming and tacking up, and is easy to bridle and saddle (not cold-backed or headshy).
Both Ungratefuls handle well in tack (like, leading them around while wearing saddle and bridle -- they lead well in bridle, do not get pissy or sudden about stirrups banging into sides), stand reliably still for mounting, and mostly wait to be asked to move off once you're aboard.
They both know walk, trot, halt, left and right turns. They both back up fairly well. Peake is more snorty-blowy at strange things but is also more solid-feeling under saddle and more confident about walking forward once she's not snorting-blowing at stuff. Te is not as lookie-lou, but she's also not as forward out of the box and still feels wobbly under saddle.
Peake has more built-in "go" and thus is getting a lot more "standing still" practice. Te is calmer and less fussy, a lot more willing to be patient and stand. She backs up when not confident but, given time, figures her shit out and goes forward. Te also gives in to the person a lot easier (provided that the person is not rough).
Peake looks at stuff every time. Te looks once and then is *done* looking at it. Neither one is hugely spooky (My baseline for this is Meatly and thus may be somewhat suspect.) and neither one gives a shit about traffic when we cross the road.
Both horses have been out on rides, by themselves and in a small group of friendly horses. They've been over to the buckwheat field, up and down the hills, out to the jumps and around and about in open fields, all of that done both alone and in a group. (We don't have a ring. All riding is done in the real world without benefit of a ring to save us.)
Neither one feels solid enough to canter on yet -- I like them to not feel wobbly or unsure under saddle at the walk and trot before we move on to canter and this takes about ten or fifteen real outings. Once they've gotten their bodies stable and nicely forward-directed at the walk and trot, then we can canter. In the beginning of riding, they're all wobbly and uncertain and shit. I have no interest in cantering on wobbly uncertain ponies, so I wait until they're stable and more secure-feeling under saddle.
My question here is "are we green broke yet?" Not sure. Green broke is ... fuzzy and inaccurate. There is no standard for "green broke", no checklist of what a green broke horse can or cannot do.
I do know that the Ungratefuls are not "broke" horses. There's a soft handle and a near-infinite patience that broke, competently-and-extensively handled horses have. They're just damn nice to be around. The Ungratefuls do not have that yet and will not have it for another several years, depending on how much work they get and how competent that work is. Nick is getting to be nicely broke (combination of complicated horse and unskilled handling) at 15 but I am now making somewhat better progress on this front these days because I've upped my own skillset since I started with a 4 y.o. Nick.
The Ungratefuls are also not "unbroke" because they DO have some of the skills that make for a good horse. (My standards for what is necessary for a broke horse also keep going up.) They're a work in progress. I'm pretty comfortable with "started under saddle" being a fair representation of their skillset at this moment in time.
They are both easy to catch and halter. Both can get out of and be put into a field (this is a specific skill that includes "walk through the gate in front of me as directed, get through, halt, turn and face me, and wait while I straighten out the gate"). Both lead quite well at all speeds. Each Ungrateful handles all over her body, picks up her feet on request, and has been trimmed by a farrier without undue incident.
Both Ungratefuls load load into and back out of horse trailers (stock and two-horse), whether or not there is another horse on the trailer already. Both tie well and patiently. Each Ungrateful stands nicely still for grooming and tacking up, and is easy to bridle and saddle (not cold-backed or headshy).
Both Ungratefuls handle well in tack (like, leading them around while wearing saddle and bridle -- they lead well in bridle, do not get pissy or sudden about stirrups banging into sides), stand reliably still for mounting, and mostly wait to be asked to move off once you're aboard.
They both know walk, trot, halt, left and right turns. They both back up fairly well. Peake is more snorty-blowy at strange things but is also more solid-feeling under saddle and more confident about walking forward once she's not snorting-blowing at stuff. Te is not as lookie-lou, but she's also not as forward out of the box and still feels wobbly under saddle.
Peake has more built-in "go" and thus is getting a lot more "standing still" practice. Te is calmer and less fussy, a lot more willing to be patient and stand. She backs up when not confident but, given time, figures her shit out and goes forward. Te also gives in to the person a lot easier (provided that the person is not rough).
Peake looks at stuff every time. Te looks once and then is *done* looking at it. Neither one is hugely spooky (My baseline for this is Meatly and thus may be somewhat suspect.) and neither one gives a shit about traffic when we cross the road.
Both horses have been out on rides, by themselves and in a small group of friendly horses. They've been over to the buckwheat field, up and down the hills, out to the jumps and around and about in open fields, all of that done both alone and in a group. (We don't have a ring. All riding is done in the real world without benefit of a ring to save us.)
Neither one feels solid enough to canter on yet -- I like them to not feel wobbly or unsure under saddle at the walk and trot before we move on to canter and this takes about ten or fifteen real outings. Once they've gotten their bodies stable and nicely forward-directed at the walk and trot, then we can canter. In the beginning of riding, they're all wobbly and uncertain and shit. I have no interest in cantering on wobbly uncertain ponies, so I wait until they're stable and more secure-feeling under saddle.
My question here is "are we green broke yet?" Not sure. Green broke is ... fuzzy and inaccurate. There is no standard for "green broke", no checklist of what a green broke horse can or cannot do.
I do know that the Ungratefuls are not "broke" horses. There's a soft handle and a near-infinite patience that broke, competently-and-extensively handled horses have. They're just damn nice to be around. The Ungratefuls do not have that yet and will not have it for another several years, depending on how much work they get and how competent that work is. Nick is getting to be nicely broke (combination of complicated horse and unskilled handling) at 15 but I am now making somewhat better progress on this front these days because I've upped my own skillset since I started with a 4 y.o. Nick.
The Ungratefuls are also not "unbroke" because they DO have some of the skills that make for a good horse. (My standards for what is necessary for a broke horse also keep going up.) They're a work in progress. I'm pretty comfortable with "started under saddle" being a fair representation of their skillset at this moment in time.
