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RE: [RC] Training new horse----don't get too cocky!!! - Mike SofenI'm the opposite of your opposite...so if the first writer was at the North Pole and you're at the South Pole, that makes me at the...West Pole? Ok, I'm only kind of opposite. Out West, where mountain bikers are always riding like they were in the Mario Andretti School of Biking, having a horse that knows his ground work explicitly is pretty much a survival tactic. I've had cyclists round a blind corner on a single track downhill trail in a ravine and hit the brakes hard...one stopped with his front wheel almost under my horse's nose...and he stood there calmly because we had done our arena and desensitization work. On that trail, there was no place to go - steep uphill into thick poison oak and trees, or steep downhill into...thick poison oak and trees and rocks. A green horse could have bolted, reared, and had other health threatening reactions. I definitely believe in schooling a green horse behind a seasoned horse on the trails, and I want all of the basics in place first. Mike Sofen Santa Cruz, CA I'm the opposite.I feel much safer getting them used to a rider o their back on the trail. Once a horse will let me sit on his back I'll hop on him and get in line on a heavily wooded single track trail behind steady horses. In a ring or a field a young horse's mind just has so much room to expand...inflate...then explode. On a narrow trail he seems to know his job is just to follow the horse in front of him. I don't worry about a horse blowing up and bucking and I can head him right up a mountain and take the edge off first thing. I've had them throw fits in an arena but going up a mountain they're busy getting tired. :-) After that it would be nice to ride them in an arena and get them *really* educated. If I ever have access to an arena on a regular basis I might get an educated horse. Angie (In the Appalachian mountains where any flat area big enough for an arena has 4 bases and a pitcher's mound) << =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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