<snip>
Wellllll........here's another
perspective~
My best trail mare was a 'prima donna'. When I first
started this mare, she hated conditioning rides--she would walk or trot as
slow as possible, try to graze with every step, and just goof off in
general. Carmelita was lazy and practice was not one of her favorite
words. The first three rides were rough because she would not move out
unless I really got on her case. At our fourth ride together,
I donned spurs and carried a riding crop . 'Lita decided that
moving faster would get me off her case and back to camp. Eventually, when we
arrived at a ride and she saw me with the number bib and her halter tag, she
moved into her "competition" gear. She has a ground-eating, flying trot
and a fast, easy to sit walk, but I rarely got these gaits at home. When
I finally figured this little quirk out, it made all the difference in our
partnership. So---I stopped conditioning and rode for pleasure at
home. However, I would vary the schedule and sometimes our little
pleasure ride was 10 miles or longer. After awhile, her "competition"
gear would engage and she decided that a nice, fast walk would get us home
sooner. I also donned spurs and carried a riding crop at home......after
a few months use of these, the spurs were not necessary.
I continued to carry the riding crop, but rarely had to use it. We
developed a great relationship. She knew that when I rode, it was time
for work. When my daughter or a guest would ride, she could lolly gag
and go slow.
<snip>
