Re: RC: I'm having a problem - long!

[Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>]

At 05:11 PM 1/28/01, Kathleen wrote:
>We brought him the 1000 miles home and after a few days got him out to ride.

I'd let him hang out a while without riding him.  Maybe take him on hand 
walks too.  Let him get to know you and the new area he'll be living 
in.  Play with him (try the Parelli Games), let him discover on his own and 
allow him to relax in his own time.  Pretend he knows nothing and start 
from scratch.  You might discover areas that were skipped in his training, 
but at the very least, it'll be a review that will be easy for the horse, 
which also will help relax him.  When you get back on the saddle, go with a 
calm and experienced horse for a while.

Being ridden by a new person in a strange place all by himself has got to 
divide his attention, raise his stress levels (and therefore his response 
time to perceived danger) and in this case it might be simply too much too 
soon!

>I know drugs are frowned on in performance but I am once again considering 
>using ace as a training aid.

My understanding of how learning occurs is that if a critter learns while 
on drugs, the learning doesn't necessarily transfer to when the critter is 
not on those drugs.  I read a very interesting book on the brain last year 
(name escapes me, sorry) and it said that even students who study with 
caffeine (coffee or Cokes) suffer from this effect - they take their tests 
without their mind altering substance and can't perform well.

My saying for dealing with new or young horses is this:  The longer you 
take in the beginning, the shorter it takes later on.

Lif Strand
Quemado NM  USA
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