A couple of days ago, I was able to go on a trail ride with my daughter and my semi-adopted daughter to a state park....a whole 10 miles from our house! It was a beautiful day and a beautiful place with beautiful people and beautiful horses! While the park has been there since the day we moved here, some 24 years ago, I think Friday made for the 2nd time I had actually ridden a horse in it! But it probably won't be the last as it was really good for my horse. While some people really enjoy just getting out and riding and looking at scenery and visiting....I love to use my time to TEACH my horse. A simple outing like this can be useful for so many things....loading and unloading for example. I packed my jacket behind my saddle for awhile; that was different. My horse had to take a turn leading, being in the middle and following. Leading and the middle went pretty well....following....NOT SO MUCH! We had a FIT if the other two were much ahead and if out of sight.....well, let's just say it wasn't much fun for either me or the horse! However, I USED that as a teachable moment. When he got antsy....I let him move his feet.....he just had to do it in a sidepass fashion before I allowed him to go anywhere! Pretty soon we could sidepass left, turn away from the horses in front and back up awhile and then turn and sidepass right! By the time we got back to the trailer, we were pretty adept at all three! It won't be the last time I have to work on those issues...but it was a great start. Sometimes the simplest thing can be right under our nose, but it's so close we don't even think about it.....what simple thing are you overlooking that could help your horse? Leave a comment if you think of something!
