Use Aids To Get More From Your Horse
Sep. 2nd, 2019 12:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickThis means more beatings. It always means more beatings. I say this and I worry that the internets are out there imagining me going all Whacky-Stick on the poor horse. There are no actual beatings. He's an Arab. He doesn't DO beatings. He will not tolerate being used as a punching bag. He's OK with doing work and he's OK with fair, infrequent touches of whip, but he is NOT going to tolerate actual real beatings like you are probably imagining.
My problem is typical of wimpy-ass adult ammie lady riders who WUV DERE WITTLE BUBBINZEZ. And indeed, I resemble that remark. When I went to adult horse camp with other adult ammie lady riders who WUV DERE WITTLE BUBBINZEZ, they commented that I sounded very like The Help, all "You Is Kind" and "You Is Smart" and "You Is Somebody" when I talked to my horse. Many, many adult ammie lady riders do not ask, consistently and with consequences, for consistent and reasonable levels of effort from their WITTLE BUBBINZEZ and I am, sad to say, a member of that group.
So if adult ammie lady rider doesn't ask for and enforce a consistent and solid work ethic, mostly they get Minimal Effort Pony from Wittle Bubbins, who is no dummy and doesn't really want to put his back into his job if he can get away with a shuffled jog instead. This leads to heel-nagging from the adult ammie lady rider ("because he's going to quit on me"), further deadening the pony to any response from the leg aid because it's been ground to dust and the heel never, ever quits no matter what Wittle Bubbins does.
The correct response to this problem is as follows...
1. Enlist a helper to watch your lower leg and yell at you when you "do the thing". You need to NOT DO THE THING anymore for this to work. It's a habit, it's likely your go-to, and you are going to have to stop doing it. Good luck with that.
2. Get a dressage whip
3. Ride your horse using only a gentle squeeze of calf (NOT HEEL) as the go-forward aid, applied ONE TIME and ONE TIME ONLY. Apply calf, LET OFF CALF, wait for response one stride. If that doesn't work on the first try (which it will not, at first, if you have been a confirmed heel grinder), promptly apply & remove calf again in the same gentle squeeze with added whip emphasis as a reminder. (It doesn't have to be a huge whap. Bird responds quite brightly to a gentle tap. Only use as much as you need to get a prompt and enthusiastic "Yes Ma'am!" response.)
4. Be consistent. If horse picks up bright trot but then fades to a jog, calf aid as soon as you notice him fading. DO NOT HOLD. Gentle squeeze, wait 1 step for response, if no response, calf aid + whip. He does not get a "second chance" or "some heel" to help him figure it out. He is supposed to listen to the gentle calf squeeze.
Rider has to WORK HARD not to revert to heel grinding, to apply gentle, quick calf aid that LETS OFF, and to be consistent with the dressage whip enforcer as needed.
Changing habits is hard. Changing rider habits is pretty hard. But if you are consistent, the horse improves almost instantly.
This should not make me frustrated or angry. I should be happy that dressage judge offered me useful advice and that the useful advice was relatively straightforward and could be applied immediately. *sigh* It's not easy for me to be happy so of course you know how that went.
Did it work, though? Hell yes. Worked great.
My problem is typical of wimpy-ass adult ammie lady riders who WUV DERE WITTLE BUBBINZEZ. And indeed, I resemble that remark. When I went to adult horse camp with other adult ammie lady riders who WUV DERE WITTLE BUBBINZEZ, they commented that I sounded very like The Help, all "You Is Kind" and "You Is Smart" and "You Is Somebody" when I talked to my horse. Many, many adult ammie lady riders do not ask, consistently and with consequences, for consistent and reasonable levels of effort from their WITTLE BUBBINZEZ and I am, sad to say, a member of that group.
So if adult ammie lady rider doesn't ask for and enforce a consistent and solid work ethic, mostly they get Minimal Effort Pony from Wittle Bubbins, who is no dummy and doesn't really want to put his back into his job if he can get away with a shuffled jog instead. This leads to heel-nagging from the adult ammie lady rider ("because he's going to quit on me"), further deadening the pony to any response from the leg aid because it's been ground to dust and the heel never, ever quits no matter what Wittle Bubbins does.
The correct response to this problem is as follows...
1. Enlist a helper to watch your lower leg and yell at you when you "do the thing". You need to NOT DO THE THING anymore for this to work. It's a habit, it's likely your go-to, and you are going to have to stop doing it. Good luck with that.
2. Get a dressage whip
3. Ride your horse using only a gentle squeeze of calf (NOT HEEL) as the go-forward aid, applied ONE TIME and ONE TIME ONLY. Apply calf, LET OFF CALF, wait for response one stride. If that doesn't work on the first try (which it will not, at first, if you have been a confirmed heel grinder), promptly apply & remove calf again in the same gentle squeeze with added whip emphasis as a reminder. (It doesn't have to be a huge whap. Bird responds quite brightly to a gentle tap. Only use as much as you need to get a prompt and enthusiastic "Yes Ma'am!" response.)
4. Be consistent. If horse picks up bright trot but then fades to a jog, calf aid as soon as you notice him fading. DO NOT HOLD. Gentle squeeze, wait 1 step for response, if no response, calf aid + whip. He does not get a "second chance" or "some heel" to help him figure it out. He is supposed to listen to the gentle calf squeeze.
Rider has to WORK HARD not to revert to heel grinding, to apply gentle, quick calf aid that LETS OFF, and to be consistent with the dressage whip enforcer as needed.
Changing habits is hard. Changing rider habits is pretty hard. But if you are consistent, the horse improves almost instantly.
This should not make me frustrated or angry. I should be happy that dressage judge offered me useful advice and that the useful advice was relatively straightforward and could be applied immediately. *sigh* It's not easy for me to be happy so of course you know how that went.
Did it work, though? Hell yes. Worked great.
