May 6, 2011 - We're walking away!

I asked a couple of my fellow boarders to keep an eye on us today so that I could get on Rory again.  We started with a quick longe as usual.  Rory has gotten stronger and we are moving towards using the longeing exercises to build his strength for carrying some weight.  I'm asking him to trot for longer periods, and for more changes in trot pace (going more forward and slowing down again).  The longe session is still under fifteen minutes, but I can see the changes in him. 

I am fortunate to have had a good teacher who refined my longeing skills.  A mare who was imported from Germany.  Most of the riders I've known who longe tend to use it as a way to get excess energy out either before riding or instead of riding.  Learning to longe is a general idea of standing in the middle of the circle with the longeline in one hand and the whip in the other and keeping the horse out on the circle.  The basic theory seems simple and I had longed occasionally for years.  The mare showed me that I could have a lot more finesse which turned longeing into a more useful tool in my training kit.  Rory is getting the benefit of that training.

After the longeing session I repeated the ususal pre mounting exercises.  Rory started walking once when I was lying over the saddle and I hopped off and stopped him.  I got on and off, and on and wiggled the saddle again and leaned out to each side.  Rory was very unconcerned about it all so I decided to try the next step.  I mounted up and Rory turned his head to nose my right boot.  He grabbed my bootlace and pulled it loose before turning his head straight again.  I picked up the lead rope reins attached to his halter and wiggled my legs against his sides.  Without any hesitation Rory stepped forward into a walk.  I could feel his back come up a little and I asked him to whoa.  My weight shifted back and he wasn't sure about that so it took a bit longer to stop that I expected.  When he did stop I hopped off and gave him a carrot and pat.  We went back to the mounting block and I mounted up again.  This time he started walking before I asked and I let him get a few steps and asked him to halt again.  His front feet stopped first and he turned before coming to a halt.  His back humped a little more than the first time, but he trusted me enough to stay calm.  I hopped off and gave him another carrot and pat.  One of the horses that we could see out the back door of the arena started running around so I didn't ask Rory to walk again, though I did get on and off one more time just to remind him to stand still and wait when I got on.

Before we quit for the day I walked Rory around the arena and practiced some halts off the bit.  The carrot rewards worked their usual magic and he started to respond faster.  We did a short trot in hand before going back to the barn.

Rory eating his dinner while the mini mare watches.