We’re due for an Inca update! The baby dragon is doing really well. She gets stronger by the day. She is a very talented and smart little mare so it isn’t surprising!
Lately we have been stuck in the arena during the week. This is because I have to stay within a pretty close proximity of my truck for the baby monitor to work. Unfortunately this kind of limits what I can work on due to the size of the useable area in our arena.
While I always wish I had more time at the barn these short and sweet rides have been just what Inca needs. A couple of weeks ago I was feeling a bit bad about how short my rides were. Was I doing Inca a disservice? Would we still make good progress? Amanda and I got to talking though and realized that we rarely feel like we stopped a ride too soon. But how often do you look back and think “well I should have stopped before I opened this can of worms”?
One of the most important skills to have with young or green horses is patience. Not only in the saddle but also out of it. A big part of that is knowing when to stop. There is no magic number for my rides. I don’t ride for a set amount of time except for conditioning. There is no specific number of times to school something before we are done. We work on what we need to work on as long as we need to work on them that ride. It does take feel to know that limit though.
This is particularly important to know when you are riding a new horse. It is really easy to get sucked into crossing that boundary. Whether that is jumping “just one more” fence or schooling one more transition… Knowing when to stop is an incredibly important skill. More-so even than knowing when you should push forward as I think knowing when to stop makes for a very conscientious path forward.
On the ground it’s important to set your horse up for the same success. Putting them in situations where they can safely learn. Wether you are a professional or not every time you work with your horse or swing your leg into the saddle you are teaching them. Whether you’re teaching them something good or bad is up to you.
hims learnin crossties
Can you relate to the struggle of knowing when to finish a ride? I am going to do my best going forward to be more understanding and patient. Not just in my riding or barn life! I could use a bit more patience at home too.
For all the same reasons (kids!) I’m learning to accept a new normal at the barn too. Riding two horses also, I have to know when I can get both done and when I need to pack it in and go home to the boys. I need to embrace shorter rides on my pony though. He doesn’t need to be drilled. With winter he takes FOREVER to warm up though to the point where he gives me his best work, so sometimes that’s why i get sucked into longer sessions.
This is my biggest struggle. I finally had it sorted out with Bast (no pressure, always end in 25 min). But now it’s time to add some pressure, and I’m back to struggling again. I’m hoping this time I have built enough of a relationship with my horse to overcome the inevitable over-pushes. It’s funny, I’m reading Ingrid Klimke’s book on young horse training, and she writes that even she makes this mistake sometimes. It’s certainly a balance!
This is so true! I tend to do short and sweet rides — I pick only a few “goals” for the ride (which sometimes change depending on the horse I have under me that day). Outside of lessons, especially in the winter, I probably average 20 minutes. It takes however long it takes!