Sometimes you're right but it doesn't make a difference if your horse believes you're wrong. I've been working with Best on leading and lunging to the right and he just doesn't believe it is the proper thing to do. He's not mean or obnoxious about it, but if you give him an inch he'll put you back on his left side. My big achievement of the week? He made it one round of the lunge line going clockwise without stopping. Stop the presses!
Actually it is a big deal for Best. For 11 years everyone worked with him in one specific way and now, in a very short amount of time, I'm asking him to give up those 11 years of training for something very different. Even when he was in harness they turned him to the left more often than the right. That's hard for him to learn such a different way of going.
Draken never had any issues with people being anywhere around him, which I think was a result of being at Morrisville College. So in an effort to help Best I've tapped into my local library. Currently I'm reading Clinton Andersons' Downunder Horsemanship for some advice and have found his concept of "comfort zones" to be helpful with Best.
I did have to put us both in 'time out' on Sunday though. Best was bending to the left but just wasn't getting it to the right. It was very frustrating for both of us. However, before either of us did something stupid I put us in the center of the ring and we just stood there for a while, chilling. When we hit the rail again we still couldn't bend to the right, so I stopped and went to the left. We finished on a semi-positive note. Before we go back to work on bending I'm going to spend some more time working with him on the lunge line. Realistically, if he can't get a round circle with me on the ground then it's probably to early to be asking for it in the cart. Hopefully that will get us going in the 'right' direction.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Bend just a little bit
Best is starting to bend, just a little bit but enough to notice a difference. We've been doing so many circles that I might be getting dizzy!
Big circles, little circles, spiralling in to the center of the ring and then spiralling out, I think we've used every inch of the arena at this point. We've spent so much time down there that even the wild life is starting to accept us. Yesterday a bunny joined us for quite a while, he kept an eye on us but didn't let us interrupt his dinner. I think he must have heard that we are trying carrot stretches.
Big circles, little circles, spiralling in to the center of the ring and then spiralling out, I think we've used every inch of the arena at this point. We've spent so much time down there that even the wild life is starting to accept us. Yesterday a bunny joined us for quite a while, he kept an eye on us but didn't let us interrupt his dinner. I think he must have heard that we are trying carrot stretches.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
"Best" at the KY Horse Park
From the first weekend I drove Best until the next time I saw him was about 10 days. While I was making arrangements to board Best in Pittsburgh, the rest of the family was getting ready for our trip to the Kentucky Horse Park for the Carriage Round-up. We greatly enjoy the Carriage Round-up and try to attend every year but we skipped last year because Draken was going to WEG. It was a busy week for everyone.
I ordered a new Zilco harness with Empathy 3 collar for Best from Advanced Equine Products and they rushed it to me so I would have it in time to go to KY. I found a place for Best only 30 mins from where I live (which sounds like a lot but believe me when I say it's hard to find a place that will take a driving horse in the Pittsburgh area). It all came together though in time for KY.
Above is a clip of "Best" appearing in the KYHP's Parade of Breeds during the Carriage Round-up. This is actually his second appearance there, he also appeared the day before. In both cases he did fabulous. I just kept him walking before it was time to go into the ring, presented him and then kept him walking afterwards. When we were invited back into the ring for pictures he stood well on the second day after he learned that people would come and pet him if he did. He might be a 'ham' in the making because he was definately sucking that up.
I ordered a new Zilco harness with Empathy 3 collar for Best from Advanced Equine Products and they rushed it to me so I would have it in time to go to KY. I found a place for Best only 30 mins from where I live (which sounds like a lot but believe me when I say it's hard to find a place that will take a driving horse in the Pittsburgh area). It all came together though in time for KY.
Above is a clip of "Best" appearing in the KYHP's Parade of Breeds during the Carriage Round-up. This is actually his second appearance there, he also appeared the day before. In both cases he did fabulous. I just kept him walking before it was time to go into the ring, presented him and then kept him walking afterwards. When we were invited back into the ring for pictures he stood well on the second day after he learned that people would come and pet him if he did. He might be a 'ham' in the making because he was definately sucking that up.
First Drive
Against the Best came recommended to us by our vet, Gary Smith. We'd made him aware that we were looking for a replacement for Draken, as we were getting ready to retire him. That left us with some pretty big shoes to fill and after several months of looking "Best" was gifted to me from Kyle and Robin DiBenedetto . Best raced just three days before he came to my parent's farm in NY. He spent a week relaxing before I was able to visit from Pittsburgh. This is a picture of our first drive on May 21, 2011.
He was nice at the walk but we had some issues at the trot. Mainly, he didn't know the same verbal command 'trot' as I did and by the time I figured out what worked we were moving quite briskly along. We got the hang of it though, and by the second day Best demonstrated both a slow trot and a working trot. He wouldn't stay in the slow trot for very long (which isn't surprising) but he also wasn't trying to run off with me.
One thing you always have to keep in mind when driving a STB that has raced successfully is that they race at 30+ mph. What may be a scary speed to you as a pleasure driver may just be a working gait for the horse. Draken had a road gait (meaning he could keep the same speed for miles) of about 13 mph for years, at age 20 it's more in the 8-10 mph range but he'll never be a truly slow horse. I haven't clocked Best yet but I would guess that he's in the same range. For comparison, most horses average about 8 mph or less at a trot. As long as you don't expect the race horse to become a pleasure horse overnight you shouldn't have any problems - it can actually be a lot of fun!
One thing you always have to keep in mind when driving a STB that has raced successfully is that they race at 30+ mph. What may be a scary speed to you as a pleasure driver may just be a working gait for the horse. Draken had a road gait (meaning he could keep the same speed for miles) of about 13 mph for years, at age 20 it's more in the 8-10 mph range but he'll never be a truly slow horse. I haven't clocked Best yet but I would guess that he's in the same range. For comparison, most horses average about 8 mph or less at a trot. As long as you don't expect the race horse to become a pleasure horse overnight you shouldn't have any problems - it can actually be a lot of fun!
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