Hi everyone! I've not visited for a while so I thought I'd pop in to say hello and catch up a bit. It's nice to see some new changes to the forum, things keep improving and the place looks nice.
Charlie and I have had limited time over the summer for work; I thought I'd have more time with him, but business picked up much more quickly than I expected it to, and I had some big projects that took over my life for a while. It's quieted down now, so I'm back to weekly lessons and am scheduling in more time for him.
My trainer and I have discovered that he needs quite a lot of work on what she calls "destination addiction" which is basically a sourness to any spot at which he might have had rest in the past. I know this is common, but he can be very stubborn about it. We've now got a plan for working on this, and he's doing quite well. I have also improved my skills at basic groundwork, and though I still need to improve there, I'm getting much better at not letting him get away with anything. He, in turn, is getting much better at responding to my cues and moving through his transitions when we lunge, and also under saddle. He still thinks he can get over on me but the more I learn the less he gets away with and the better he behaves. Funny how that goes
Charlie was a family trail horse for three years and, before that, he was on a dude string. Before that he belonged to a little girl who worked with him in an arena. He's gotten accustomed to just being that horse that goes in the string and he wasn't used to being asked to do the things he's trained to do when I first got him. He's getting used to it again.
I've had some trouble with his feet; he seems to be a bit tenderfooted, but he wears protective pads on his front feet now and he has not had a lame day since.
We rode yesterday and I have a lesson scheduled for the day after tomorrow, as well, weather permitting. I'm grateful for the cooler weather and hope that we can get some good riding in between now and the rainy season, since I seem to have more time.
That's about it for us. So how was your summer?
Charlie and I have had limited time over the summer for work; I thought I'd have more time with him, but business picked up much more quickly than I expected it to, and I had some big projects that took over my life for a while. It's quieted down now, so I'm back to weekly lessons and am scheduling in more time for him.
My trainer and I have discovered that he needs quite a lot of work on what she calls "destination addiction" which is basically a sourness to any spot at which he might have had rest in the past. I know this is common, but he can be very stubborn about it. We've now got a plan for working on this, and he's doing quite well. I have also improved my skills at basic groundwork, and though I still need to improve there, I'm getting much better at not letting him get away with anything. He, in turn, is getting much better at responding to my cues and moving through his transitions when we lunge, and also under saddle. He still thinks he can get over on me but the more I learn the less he gets away with and the better he behaves. Funny how that goes
Charlie was a family trail horse for three years and, before that, he was on a dude string. Before that he belonged to a little girl who worked with him in an arena. He's gotten accustomed to just being that horse that goes in the string and he wasn't used to being asked to do the things he's trained to do when I first got him. He's getting used to it again.
I've had some trouble with his feet; he seems to be a bit tenderfooted, but he wears protective pads on his front feet now and he has not had a lame day since.
We rode yesterday and I have a lesson scheduled for the day after tomorrow, as well, weather permitting. I'm grateful for the cooler weather and hope that we can get some good riding in between now and the rainy season, since I seem to have more time.
That's about it for us. So how was your summer?