Say What You Mean II

Several years ago I was riding through the cut over behind a five year old rider. I noticed that her pants leg had pulled up over her boot and her soon to be sore leg was rubbing the leather fender on the old saddle.

"Pull down your blue jeans!", I called out. She paused for a moment as if she could not process my meaning. She then, without turning around in the saddle, simply said "OK"

She then raised up in the saddle, hooked her thumbs in the top of her pants and began to try to remove her pants.

Before she got too far, I was able to get her to stop. I then better explained my directive.

Say What You Mean !

This is a photo of my grandson last October on Croatoan at a clinic. He is obsessed with dinosaurs and riding horses. He likes to ride in the woods.

Last week we rode long enough for him to become truly tired. He was also hungry.
When we got home he looked to his grandmother and said,"Nana Beth, I am hungry." She quickly handed him a piece of fried chicken and said "Here, go ahead and eat it with your hands."

"No,no Nana Beth! I am hungry! I need to eat it with my mouth, " he explained.


(This summer he will turn four and we will begin some serious riding then.)

Amusement Park Training V

Please go back to Amusement Park Training I for an explanation of this series of posts. In these last three pictures Ice is learning to back through an L shaped alley way and wears the floats (saw Clinton Anderson using these and I tried them out. It is great for the first thing that goes across a horse's back to not be a human leg.) I do not believe that he had ever been asked to longe before. Note how well he is learning to longe after completing the Amusement Park.

Amusement Park Training IV

Please go back to Amusement Park Training I below for an explanation of these series of posts. Tire work--This is very difficult for most young horses. Here Ice is learning to be pursued by the tire that I am dragging along and then he walks through two different tractor tires, one much larger than the other.

Walking through the tire behind the trainer builds a lot of trust and requires a lot of trust.

Amusement Park Training III

Please go back to Amusement Park Training I below for an explanation of this series. Here Ice is going over a bruned log, walking through the "Waterfall" a string of brightly colared cloth streamers that blow in the wind, and walking over white PVC pipe.