Part 1: The Julie Winkel Clinic Julie 11&12. Though mostly behaved, there were times of reduced compliance, mostly demonstrated as going too fast and not coming back into the pace I requested. She said, you have to be the boss and get the job done or else he is going to become a bully and stop listening. Easier said than done, but I was determined to gain cooperation and communication.
Part 2: First day of horse show: Clint was a doll, totally compliant and quiet, soft in the bridle and evenly paced. I thought it was his first day of adulthood, being less reactive to horse show noises. His pace was the same before and after the jumps. saying balanced and compliant.
Part 3: The very next day, he was a different animal. He was strong, speeding up after the jumps and taking forever to slow down and come back into balance. And this was after a very nice warm up, so a total surprize. I was contemplating strategies to improve the situation, standing just outside the ring and ready for my next round. Then I heard, "Loose horse!" and a horse in just a halter with leadrope flapping alongside was galloping straight for us! Clint, to avoid being t-boned, did an abrupt spin, and starter galloping as well. The hose was now chasing him. I got him slowed down and then stopped. Someone caught the loose animal. Clint's head was held high, eyes bulging, nostrils flaring, heart racing. He threw in a few Lipizzaner moves for good measure, afraid to go back to the ring.
Everyone totally understood when we requested a few minutes to regain composure. Should I get off and give up? Should I ask Hugh to quickly shave and pretend he's me? NO, Julie's advise came flooding back and I figured this was a teachable moment and if I can get the job done now, it will be a lesson worth remembering.
So we went back to the warm up ring. Lots of transitions and jumps with control on the landing side and reestablishing the bend and cadence. I felt I could then enter the show ring. It is entirely possible Clint felt my determination and complied. He still was a little strong, was a little bouncy on the landing side, but generally in the ball park. We had really good distances to the fences. I came in purposefully very stead into the five towards the ingate so he didn't have to stuff one in on the out. And we ended up with a second place ribbon!
Reference to horse's reading our emotions:
Looking innocent...
The actual round after the a galloping loose horse incident.
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