I have decided that it is time for Ace to grow up and behave like a man. Well, perhaps not to walk on two legs :-) but at least to stop bucking and kicking when he does not want to be told what to do. I got after him today, with my jacket on with a full CO2 cartridge in it, and he got a lot of taps on the bum when he was not going forward, and one raised-hand crack with the whip for bucking. He took the correction well, and I need to make it clearer to him from now on where the boundaries are, because judging from his reaction to being corrected today, he is having me on a bit.
His lovely mouth has all but disappeared lately, replaced most of the time with a set jaw and a refusal to either go up a pace without yanking at my hands, or drop a pace without being pulled up with the reins. We spent today working on transition after transition after transition until he stayed soft and round both upwards and downwards between walk, trot and canter. I shall keep on working on this every day I ride until I crack it, because we can't progress while he refuses to increase or decrease pace without setting against me.
It doesn't seem likely, from his reaction to my insistence that he do it right, that there is any physical difficulty. When he does trot or canter without setting it is brilliant work. There are no signs of any issue with being girthed, and he is the same on both reins. When he had a acid stomach, everything on the right hand side was worse. I'm pretty sure that he's just being an argumentative teenager, but now I am tired of it and he is going to have to learn to work with me. I don't think it will take him long to work out that it's easier to do what I ask.
Radar was very sharp yesterday in the cold, too. I do think that the sub-zero weather upset them all and we are all happier that it went back up to 9 degrees C today. It took Radar 20 minutes of non-stop trot to calm down and produce something balanced and rythmic instead of simply charging round and round the arena. The canter was another challenge all over again, but at least he got a good workout, and the meet on Saturday is close to home, with a decent enough forecast, so hopefully we will get a run this weekend.
C.
Ah, the joys of young horses testing their limits and realizing how strong they are.
ReplyDeleteOnce again it proves why I am really not up to the challenge of dealing with that kind of behavior at this point in my life. I'm glad to hear the smack made Ace behave instead of rebellious. That's a sign of good overall character on his part. I suspect a few more sessions with "consequences" and you will fix most of the issues.
Just remember. Things take time.
As Radar proves. I know it still takes time to get him working well, but the fact is, you get him working well, which is much more than you ever could have said a year ago.
Wishing you better weather every day.
I think htat this is the last youngster I will do Jean. I am 53 soon, I don't bounce any more, I don't have the foolhardy courage that I used to have and I don't get angry enough to overcome my fears that way any more. I am making a better job of Ace because of those things, but I no longer want to be in a position where hitting the floor during a schooling session is a serious possibility. Since any young horse can put you there, he is probably my last youngster. But never say never, eh??
DeleteC