Harry Whitney Wednesday June 21, 2006

Group ride, everyone in the ring. Great ride.

Me: getting a nice back up from one rein and wait until hindquarters give and back. Then other rein then pretty soon horse gets to the back up without the bending and stepping over, which is what you want.

A's question regarding stopping on front end. Harry will ride Diva this afternoon.

Question about ears pinned around other horses. When a horse is timid enough, they have to protect themselves like Sidney. If you have a horse with you mentally, it doesn't have to happen. A horse that is responsive won't pin ears. They are busy and involved with their job.

Biggest thing is to fix it every time you ride by, getting him listening and responsive to your aids.

Black Morgan: remember his pinned ears in round pen yesterday. Don't be critical of pinned ears, instead give him a place to go.

To have horse feeling best can be when you direct and say when, where, and what.

Can horse get into habit or does it always mean something? It becomes a habit to feel bad inside, like Rusty pins ears when I'm leading him. But when you get them to feel better on the inside, these behaviors won't show up so much.

Judgment calls cannot be taught.

If you have to get into an argument with a horse about something, it's probably a big enough worry that you need to let them deal with it rather than push them through or beyond it, rather than apply more pressure.

A: story of stopping her thoughts 'oh silly, it's nothing' and starting 'you're right, that could be dangerous -- let's check it out.'

Keep them focussed all the time you ride, but don't get in an argument if they really need to look.

A horse either has a pattern in life of hanging on to a thought, or of letting go of a thought. It needs to become a way of life -- letting go of a thought.

Mistaken application of patience... referring to times when I ask for something then wait... and wait... and wait... Harry has spoken in the past about teaching a horse to be wait.

Harry's ride on K's Bo (gaited horse): I'm gonna ask him to relax into these reins, not to rush. When a horse is worried, he gets tight. And when he gets tight, all four corners don't work as well and he gets pacey.

The magic is not in the feet. The feet are just a barometer for where the mind is. The feet are a manifestation of the mind.

When we wait after asking for 'go', the horse doesn't know how much effort they have to put into not going.

How many times? Every time.

Harry on Diva: He'll not let her fall into hole (stop on front end). He's letting her lose it but not as big as others might let her lose it. He is not preventing her, but is helping her find it again.

Hands don't move back for back don't move ahead for forward.

Use reins to say get round and soft.
Use seat and legs to stop and back up.

Ray Hunt: make the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult, but never impossible.

Get the collection before the transition.

Harry and Sofia: Help them get into a little panic and see it through with them. Sofia was dragging on the lead rope.

Harry rode in bridle then I rode a little.

The better use of my hands I was developing or perhaps finding this morning with Rusty helped what I was doing with reins on Sofia. (Stop pulling!)

A and Harry's mule.

A's questions:
How did Harry keep the momentum of collected trot?
What is the footfall especially with hinds doing the left/right deal that leads to light back up?

My ride today: focus, creating a purpose with fixing the fence at lots of spots.

Question: Is Rusty's back ok? Is he carrying himself in a way that is healthy?