So let's start with a the high points. Ernie's bank holiday weekend was one of incredible achievements - 6th place in the MM Royal wedding challenge with Sophie, then at the Mayday show two 3rd place rosettes with me (on inhand classes) and the 6th and 4th on novice and intermediate jumps respectively with Sophie - selective bits will be available on my youtube page soon (http://www.youtube.com/graemebesgreen ). What a horse. What potential. Inspired we take on intro dressage next weekend.
So there's the good. Now the bad, now the heartache..... Now the napping!
I recall my celebrations around this horse that would go anywhere. Now I rue one single ride which seems to have turned all that around. At heart I am devastated by this, it feels like some real incredible achievements just blown apart.
One saturday morning we refused to go. Not just refused but stopped and learnt to march backwards at speed - straight back, round into trees and towards (so far just parked) cars! Ironically we were not alone but our fellow rider had to leave us the effect it was having on his mount. Truth be known it is un-nerving me, more than a little.
Worst cases - having to be chased out of mascal's car park by staff to get to the woods; finding myself stuck in the chalk woods for 20 mins; on bad days not being able to pass junctions without a fight and throwing Sophie off in competition (so far I have proved too fat and heavy and/or too nervous to push that hard!).
So where now. I am trying to take this on in a non combative way. Getting overly physical heavy with Ernie just leads at the moment to fights which I am destined to lose. The irony of all the voice training I have done is that we now work together in a minimally physical way which just makes this the harder to resolve, and if that physical pressure escalates it undermines our achievements. This is hard!
I have increased my ground work - am undertaking the natural horsemanship goal of controlling personal space and control of the movement of the feet as a non confrontational approach. I borrowed an 15m round pen and went for join-up the other evening - which involved Courtenay (who'd come to watch) running away because she thought he was going to attack me, great to have support in a crisis! That said there was some very directed and high kicks when I moved in front of him at canter to force a 180 degrees change in his direction.
Also there is a lot of inhand lateral and transition work - these things have gone very well and I can turn him around his front and rear quarters from the ground as well as perfect transitions from little light voice and posture change. These are wonderful, sometimes we almost begin to play together trotting up and down roads and round schools together - though personally I find jogging in the sand very hard!
Is this spiritual cowbay stuff working? I don't know yet if honest but these things aren't supposed to be overnight. The nappiness seems to be worse at times, especially when he has decided he's done enough, for example taking him to the woods after he's been schooling becomes an all-star wrestling feature. So what's the plan....
1. Continue the horsemanship
2. Try to minimise conflict opportunities (eg dismount for gates where I know he might fight, beforehand; do not try 'round the woods twice').
3. When alone make sure I have time to address problems - ie if he decides to not go forward then make him stay until he is bored, even if this means 30 mins standing in the same spot - Lucy telling me of people taking books out hacking with them to kill time! I have now put tetris on my phone!
4. Hack with more mature and sensible animals when not alone.
I am on my own with this for most of this month (May) with Sophie away, and then Lucy and Marble are moving away which is really saddens me and I think will upset the big E. So the challenge is there. I am determined to get through this without further impact on relations.
People remind me he is young. I know this unconsciously, especially when he is really stubborn when by default I find myself calling him Quentin! The other male (slightly headstrong) teenager in my life.
And so dear readers to work....
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