Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

We were socked in with ice here through January. I
finally couldn't stand it any longer and HAD to ride.
I took out my young mare who has not started her
distance career yet. Just riding around the pasture at
a walk was treacherous, but bless her heart, I was so
impressed with her balance and ability to keep herself
and me upright and safe despite the slick footing!

At first I was full of trepidation trying this. But
the ice was in patches, not covering the whole
pasture. After we rode and I turned her back out, I
realized what a valuable lesson it was for her in
dealing with different kinds of footing with a rider
on her back. And she passed with flying colors!

chris
--- k s swigart <katswig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Otto v. Monteton said:
>
> > Come outside! It's nice and slippery today. There
> > you can see if your horse is balanced."
> Personally, I use mud for this, and since we have
> had our share of that
> here in So Cal over the last month, I have had lots
> of opportunity to
> find out how balanced my horses are.
>
> Incidentally, it is also a good way to teach your
> horse balance, after
> they have a few basics down.  Since they don't want
> to slip any more
> than you want them to. A nice muddy slope is the
> perfect place (assuming
> they are far enough along in their relationship with
> you not to freak
> out if they slip) to teach a horse that they would
> be much happier with
> their hocks underneath them. :)
>
> As they get better at it, I use steeper and steeper
> slopes.
>
> kat
> Orange County, Calif.
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=====
"A good horse makes short miles," George Eliot

Chris and Star

BayRab Acres
http://pages.prodigy.net/paus

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