Private Lesson #4 - On the move!

On Monday, September 12, Skip took another giant leap forward in his training.  After a quick warm-up on the ground, I climbed on, and Gail used her horse, "Win", to help get us moving.  The goal was simply to get forward movement.  When a young horse is learning to balance and carry a rider, the hardest thing for them in the beginning is just going.  Gail started out using a flag to wave us forward, and I used my legs, and whatever other signals I could, to get him moving.  Once he was walking, I was able to start guiding him using the lead rope as a single rein, and my own body language.  So far, the hardest part has been getting him started forward.

After a few trips around the round-pen, we opened the gate and rode both horses over to the covered arena where we worked for a while on moving longer distances.  Gail used Win as a guide, and I had Skip follow him around the arena just like ponying him from another horse.  When we moved from a walk to a trot, it again took some effort to get Skip moving.  I had to use my lead rope to spank both sides of the saddle and encourage him to go.  A couple of times he gave me a little buck, just to let me know he didn't approve of the idea.  Gail was correct:  I could ride his buck with no problem.  :)  After his small complaints, we quickly had a nice comfortable trot all the way around the arena! 

Next we rode out to the horse playground to do some obstacles.  First was the bridge... (no problem!)

Then the tires...

Then the cowboy curtain...

What a little show off!

As a side note:  I wanted to reassure you that just because I am teaching him how to carry a rider at this young age, doesn't mean that he will be ridden with any stress until he is old enough to do so.  I know that it is not good for a horse's joints to really ride them before the age of 3, and maybe not even at that point.  The purpose of doing all of this is simply to expose him to as many new things as possible.  We have been working down a path of training since the day he came to live with Alicia, and this is the next logical step.  I will give him the exposure, and work on developing the basics over the next year.  By then, Skip will have a solid foundation, and we will be ready to hit the trails!

 We also got a laser treatment from Dr. Jen this week.  She is still impressed at the progress the wounds have made, and also in the mobility of his joints.  We have started him on two (very expensive) joint supplements:  Hyaluronex liquid, and Adequan injections.  These seem to have made an impressive difference in his movement already.  He can now have his legs pulled directly behind him and bent to  90-degree angles.  This is about 45-degrees more than he had before!

Thank you, everyone, for all of your support and encouragement!
~Jackie