It has been so hot lately that even Sat. I felt like I had a bit of heat exhaustion. I’ve been bringing the horses inside in the morning so they are out of the sun and they each have fans on them. Last night after 7:00 it wasn’t too bad so I decided to ride Max.
The other night when I rode him I got a bit frustrated with him (more precisely how he’s gotten) and I didn’t want to get frustrated this time. Yesterday at work I read a quote by Ray Hunt that stuck with me during my ride.
The horse can be no softer than the rider.
So when I got on Max we started off flexing to the side (he’s such a good flexer) and then we started with the vertical flexion. He’s very good with this at the stand still and the walk but beyond that is where we start to have problems. So “we” worked on it and OMG was he amazing last night.
I’d hold him as softly as I could and when he’d flex I’d give a few finger release (trying to ride English here) and let him go a few strides and then we’d do it again. We also worked on transitions. For the first time I finally got the flexion at a lope. It was amazing how he felt when he was tucked up nicely.
I’m beginning to wonder if he can come along so well with just a few rides how amazing he’d be with someone who devoted softness to him 100% of the time. It is pretty amazing thought to see how soft and responsive they can be when you think about how soft you are.
We’ve had pretty good responses to our ads and I think (keep your fingers crossed) a gal from ND is going to come look at him next week. So far his ½ Arab side seems to be the biggest issue. For those who don’t like Arabians they seem “afraid” of it (they think he’s a crack head when he’s not) and for those who do like Arabians they don’t seem to “see” the Arabian in him.
I try to tell them that he just got the good parts. He’s very calm (paint side) but he has the brains and stamina of the Arabian side. I have no clue where his looks came from because I saw his mom and she wasn’t anything to write home about.
1 comment:
The horse can be no softer than the rider
Why is it so hard to remember that when you're riding?
It sounds like you would like Max. Have you ever considered buying him from DH?
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