Month: May 2020

Before I get on Zum, I have a lesson plan in mind. I keep my attention on what I am asking Zum to do instead of his distractions. I give Zum enough good things to do so he won’t have time to carry out his concerns. I keep him so busy that eventually he quits thinking about his doubts. When he stops on the trail for whatever reason, I keep him turning in circles or bending to the right or to the left, kissing and pressing my heels on his belly. He learns that it is easier and more fun to keep walking than to stop!

Today, Huszar is eighteen years old! He is such an exceptional, strong and noble Arabian horse! Everyone who rides him, loves him!

I have learned never to jerk on the reins when I ride a horse. Jerking on the reins makes the bit in the horse’s mouth cause the mouth pain. You can never get good performance from a horse on the basis of pain. I want to teach my horses to be responsive with a light mouth. I smoothly take slack out of the right rein to ask the horse to move to the right. When the horse responds by moving right, I reward the right response with a release of the rein. This teaches the horse to be receptive quickly. When I am generous and I tell my horse that he is right, he is encouraged to keep trying to get it right every time!

When I get on Zum, I am asking Zum to keep his attention on me. I am giving him a job. I practice getting Zum to walk calmly. If Zum sees a scary rock or log, I have him walk closer and closer gradually. I don’t approach it all at once. Sometimes I even keep the scary things at a distance. I set up a request that Zum sees as worth responding to. When Zum does what I ask, I release the reins. When my hands are off his mouth, this release is his reward.

Yesterday, I rode Zum by myself on the trail for almost 2 hours for the first time! He was perfect! He didn’t stop on the trail, he didn’t get nervous even when mountain bikers raced by and he was interested and having fun. I have learned a big lesson: you cannot tell a horse what not to do effectively! You can teach your horse what you want instead!

I have decided it is not a good idea anymore to exercise Zum by chasing him liberty around his round pen with or without a whip. For exercise, now I catch Zum, lunge him on a lunge line and then ride him in the round pen or take him out on to the trail. Zum is easy to catch and easy to lunge now. I treat Zum with great respect at all times.

I can understand how confused a horse might feel if a person riding him gives him mixed messages. I am confused when a person I know gives me mixed messages! I don’t like it when a friend is very caring one minute and then acts as if I don’t exist the next minute. Or if someone compliments me one day and then puts me down the next. Horses like regularity and constancy and so do I!

Zum has decided that he wants to stop on the trail. He is not afraid or nervous. There is no obvious reason why he will suddenly stop. Kicking him or kissing at him makes him back up. Pulling one rein to the side results in Zum bending his neck to look at me without moving his body. Sometimes I can get him to move forward if I smack the end of the lead rope against my thigh. Waiting sometimes works as he will get bored and then want to move forward. Usually I have to get off him and walk him forward for a few yards and then get back on again.

When Zum begins to toss his head, I quickly pick up one rein and stabilize my hand so he can’t move it. I hold the rein steady while he continues to flip his head around. The moment he quits tossing his head, I release the rein and pet him. He is learning that every time he flings his head, I pick up on one rein and hold his head to the side. Zum doesn’t have a clue what I am asking him until I ask thousands of times with the same reward.

Zum sometimes paws when he refuses to move forward. He is trying to train me to notice him when he paws. He thinks he is going to get more attention if he acts out. I want to reverse this process by ignoring the pawing and his acting out behavior. I don’t yell or get upset. I stay very matter of fact. I only give him attention when he is standing quietly. When I kiss and he moves forward easily, then he receives lots of praise and positive attention, which is what Zum is really looking for from me!