Monday, January 20, 2014

Big Day for Finnagan



The first time up on a new horse is one of my favorites, I think, because you get to feel them thinking in a whole new way. At first, having someone up there above them totally blows their mind! As long as you've prepped them correctly it's so cool to then watch the transition in their thought processes as they start making connections between the groundwork and what you're now cuing from the saddle and they realize that carrying a human around might actually be ok.

So that was the biggest news for today. We also were able to put a saddle on Flint and I worked for a good hour with Coty and Colby playing follow the leader, passing each other, and walking side-by-side to try and help overcome Coty's extreme sourness toward other horses (Coty's mom was there to ride him so I rode Colby and coached). Charlie got a mini roundpen workout since it was already noon by the time I finished with the other guys, and it was short but successful. More on that later. For now, off to bed!

9 comments:

  1. I dream of sitting on a horse that big. Sounds like he's coming along just fine. :)

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  2. Success! What a cool moment. Love that big spotted beauty- what a cool looking horse.

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  3. That's awesome! It was so amazing when I'd get on a horse with the Old Cowboy and knowing this is the horse's like 5th-6th ride.

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    1. I was waiting for someone to catch that! I always always ALWAYS wear a helmet but this was kind of a "whoops we're riding" moment. Up until the last minute we weren't planning on sitting on him at all; we were just prepping for a first ride the next day by standing on the mounting block, walking all around him, pushing down on the stirrups, leaning over the saddle, etc.

      However at one point Finnagan walked forward when I was testing my weight in the left stirrup so I leaned over the saddle and balanced there like I always do in that case, waiting to hop down when Jan stopped him. He had been nervous in the past about consistent weight being only on one side of his body, though, and this time was no different so, instinct or not, I figured I'd be more balanced and less intrusive to his movement (and less at risk of jumping off and scaring him) if I had a leg on each side...so I slowly swung all the way over. He immediately was much happier.

      Anyway, that's how it happened and Jan only left his head long enough to snap this shot, then I got off. It was a "whoops" that worked out well, but I will definitely be wearing a helmet the next time when we do stuff for real :)

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    2. sorry for being "that" person...would just hate to see anything happen! Thanks for clarifying!

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    3. Hey no problem! That would be the first thing I'd notice too, and I'd probably say the same thing :)

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