Trail riding is a ton of fun, until your horse spooks and bolts off at breakneck speed. Thirteen year-old Ainsleigh found that out the hard way... and wisely chose to develop the leadership skills needed to prevent her horse Chili from bolting again.
She began by learning that she isn't doing Chili any favors by allowing him to do a whole lot of looking around on the trails. Perhaps when he becomes more confident she can, but right now he finds too many things to spook at. To curb the looky-looky, she must get better control of her horse...specifically his head, neck and shoulders. Ainsleigh has been spending time on the ground learning how to gain that control, and earning some respect from Chili in the process. She in now ready to ask for that same respect in the saddle.
A great starting point for her, or any rider, is this left/right flexion exercise. The goal of this exercise is to keep the horse traveling in a straight line while turning its head to the left and to the right. It sounds simple but can be quite challenging when the horse isn't thoroughly convinced it should give up control of its head.
As harmonious as the two of them look in the photo on the left, Ainsleigh and Chili started out on a different note...with the clearly agitated Chili tossing his head around, completely ignoring Ainsleigh's leg and stepping off the rail each time she asked him to simply bend his neck. He was challenging Ainsleigh for control just as he had done on the ground.
Ainsleigh felt confident she could prevent this situation from turning into a dangerous one by doing just what she had done on the ground: remaining calm yet firm, trying to be as clear as possible, and taking things step by step. Before continuing on, she donned a pair of blunt spurs to remind Chili that he should move away from the pressure of her leg rather than lean against it.
She then began encouraging him to bend his neck by riding in small circles in a corner of the arena. Coming out the circle, she did her best to resist Chili's effort to take away the bend, while guiding him to stay along the rail with her inside leg and an opening outside rein. Most importantly, she asked for only one or two strides before softening her aids and circling around to start over. Chile quit the violent head tossing almost immediately.
She began by learning that she isn't doing Chili any favors by allowing him to do a whole lot of looking around on the trails. Perhaps when he becomes more confident she can, but right now he finds too many things to spook at. To curb the looky-looky, she must get better control of her horse...specifically his head, neck and shoulders. Ainsleigh has been spending time on the ground learning how to gain that control, and earning some respect from Chili in the process. She in now ready to ask for that same respect in the saddle.
As harmonious as the two of them look in the photo on the left, Ainsleigh and Chili started out on a different note...with the clearly agitated Chili tossing his head around, completely ignoring Ainsleigh's leg and stepping off the rail each time she asked him to simply bend his neck. He was challenging Ainsleigh for control just as he had done on the ground.Ainsleigh felt confident she could prevent this situation from turning into a dangerous one by doing just what she had done on the ground: remaining calm yet firm, trying to be as clear as possible, and taking things step by step. Before continuing on, she donned a pair of blunt spurs to remind Chili that he should move away from the pressure of her leg rather than lean against it.
She then began encouraging him to bend his neck by riding in small circles in a corner of the arena. Coming out the circle, she did her best to resist Chili's effort to take away the bend, while guiding him to stay along the rail with her inside leg and an opening outside rein. Most importantly, she asked for only one or two strides before softening her aids and circling around to start over. Chile quit the violent head tossing almost immediately.
After a few more attempts, Ainsleigh was able to maintain a smidgen of bend and keep her horse's shoulders a tad bit closer to the rail.
After several more tries, she succeeded in getting Chili to take a couple of straight steps along the fence line while keeping him flexed to the right. As they progressed, the exercise became easier for the both of them.
Putting her newly acquired leadership skills to good use, Ainsleigh no doubt got the same respect she'd earned from Chili on the ground...and then some.
To ride safely, whether out on trails or in an arena, you must have full control of your horse. This exercise helped Ainsleigh take a big step in that direction. I encourage you to try it with your horse.
To ride safely, whether out on trails or in an arena, you must have full control of your horse. This exercise helped Ainsleigh take a big step in that direction. I encourage you to try it with your horse.
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