tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1551110757601242898.post5141520759754181339..comments2023-06-10T06:38:37.815-07:00Comments on Life With My Herd: The Contradictory HorseAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15617546413512282387noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1551110757601242898.post-16926834160573127892014-03-31T12:17:51.624-07:002014-03-31T12:17:51.624-07:00Sounds like an amazing ride!
I like to pretend I...Sounds like an amazing ride! <br />I like to pretend I'm on a huge ranch somewhere checking fences too :) Ahh that'd be the life! Someday.<br />The trail documenter software is cool. I downloaded 'map my run' to try while on a ride but always for get to turn it on. L.L.Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942771779406180758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1551110757601242898.post-6573232663387333792014-03-31T08:19:38.928-07:002014-03-31T08:19:38.928-07:00Ya know, for all my body work I used to do with Da...Ya know, for all my body work I used to do with Danny, I do not know why it never occurred to me to do this with Trax. Good ideas. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15617546413512282387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1551110757601242898.post-71745486081206552002014-03-31T08:18:37.710-07:002014-03-31T08:18:37.710-07:00Hopefully our ground driving will help with this t...Hopefully our ground driving will help with this too. I'm leaving some time open this weekend for that. will shoot you a text to narrow down a time. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15617546413512282387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1551110757601242898.post-10351430271264270072014-03-31T08:15:36.546-07:002014-03-31T08:15:36.546-07:00Andrea, you actually have a very valid point. One...Andrea, you actually have a very valid point. One thing that comes to mind on this train of thought is the day he lost it over the log being on his right side. It almost seems as if when something is in his right eye he really gets upset over it. So this tells me that it would never hurt to start doing more things from his right side. Such as saddling, mounting, etc. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15617546413512282387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1551110757601242898.post-29066449793860534812014-03-31T08:10:17.907-07:002014-03-31T08:10:17.907-07:00Good advice from everyone as usual. It sounds like...Good advice from everyone as usual. It sounds like Trax is learning to trust you, and that you are getting a handle on what to do when he wants to check out on you. Do you know how to test for soreness in a horse- I don't mean feet, I mean body. Also, you could do some stretches with him, the one where you stand beside him and have a treat in your hand and ask him to stretch as far back to his ribcage as he can without moving his feet, really frees up the muscles in his neck- do both sides- and another stretch downwards, you can hold the treat between his front legs and see if you can get him to put his nose right between his legs to stretch the muscles in his poll. <br />Often they will be much tighter on one side than the other; in his case I'd suspect he is tighter on his left side. There is another exercise that really stretches the shoulder muscles, Shayla showed me this when she does bodywork, to take one front leg and see if you can place the foot in front of and on the other side of, the other front foot, like us crossing our legs. Since Shayla reads your blog now, she might chime in with some other things you could do to help your horse. It sure seems like you are on the right track with Trax!Shirleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15454110560303310751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1551110757601242898.post-13833901920269087542014-03-30T17:09:54.040-07:002014-03-30T17:09:54.040-07:00Knowing what you have to work with and where to st...Knowing what you have to work with and where to start puts you out ahead of anyone who just isn't sure. Ground driving and long line work can help him learn to bend and stretch those muscles without the added weight of tack and rider up there. It will also give you a clearer idea of it being a training issue with him or if its more of what you are doing when you're up there. Like BEC recommends, start in large circles, spiralling down. As you increase the bend you are asking for with the smaller circles, it will increase the stretch on the outside. Some days it will be more about working one side more than the other. <br /><br />That's cool about the trip tracker. I need to get something like that. For both me and the pony. Cut-N-Jumphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10355349642284506192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1551110757601242898.post-80042398447658524982014-03-30T15:33:13.211-07:002014-03-30T15:33:13.211-07:00Hi Kate! Thanks for joining in. I agree with you...Hi Kate! Thanks for joining in. I agree with your rule of ruling out the physical first, and he just had his teeth floated, I think like 2 weeks ago, tops. Maybe less. He had his first chiro adjustment a few weeks before that and will be getting his next one here very soon. So I know that it is not a dental issue, but it could be TMJ simply because she did not adjust that area last time due to the issues he had with his teeth on that day. I do appreciate your input, always. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15617546413512282387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1551110757601242898.post-30642145327714440572014-03-30T15:30:45.583-07:002014-03-30T15:30:45.583-07:00:-):-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15617546413512282387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1551110757601242898.post-27342420476032427592014-03-30T12:20:17.574-07:002014-03-30T12:20:17.574-07:00A couple of ideas - first rule out all physical is...A couple of ideas - first rule out all physical issues before deciding that it is a training issue. I'd start with teeth - if the jaw cannot slide easily from side to side in both directions - you can do this yourself - hold the bottom jaw in your hand, with the mouth closed and slide the jaw from side to side - it should move equally far and smoothly in both directions. If not, teeth should be checked and floated - tooth/jaw issues can result in TMJ soreness which can lead to a lot of the one-sided bracing you describe. Second - after teeth - chiropractic. Can work wonders and sometimes takes multiple treatments. Make sure you get a good chiropractor - a member of the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association is best as they're also vets and are well trained - there are many lousy chiros out there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1551110757601242898.post-10038052865730069972014-03-30T12:08:51.738-07:002014-03-30T12:08:51.738-07:00I would say that most of it is condition issues. L...I would say that most of it is condition issues. Let me rephrase that...Most of that can be corrected with continued conditioning/training exercises. It's hard telling how long Trax was 'one-leaded'...which is unfortunately, entirely all too common in the rope horse world. It just takes time to build up unilateral strength and flexibility. Where he is weaker on the right lead, my favorite exercise is to ask the horse to pick up the right lead, as long as they can hold a cadenced canter, I'll let them lope, when I feel them start to fall a part, I'll break them down and let them walk for a little bit, ask them to pick up the right lead and hold it until I can feel them struggling, break them down. Repeat several times. I may or may not ask for them to lope in the other lead that day. The thing about breaking them down when they start to get uncomfortable/struggling to hold cadence and then walking....The muscles on that side are weaker and build up lactic acid quicker. Breaking the horse down and letting them walk for a little bit is so the muscle can shed the lactic acid and become re-oxegenated. Developing unilateral muscling over the hip goes a long way toward freeing up the spine, which Trax is very stiff in his. First he has to get flexible in his ribcage, then his spine will become more flexible from side to side and finally up and down. When you ride him in circles, think of a C shape. His body shape (from head to tail) should match the curvature of the circle - bigger circles, less curve. Smaller circles more curve. Work on some spiral exercises, starting big make each consecutive circle slightly smaller, asking him for more and more body curvature, until he is struggling to hold the correct frame and then spiral out or break them down, walk out to a bigger circle and reverse the spiral. The canter is the preferred gait, but you can do them at a trot, you just don't start with as big of a circle.<br /><br />If you think that you might be the problem with some of his one-sideness and have checked your cues to make sure you are matching, think of your cues in pounds of pressure. Most people are also one sided and without even realizing it apply more pounds of pressure without even realizing it. I am very left-sided and my horses have a tendency to be much softer and bendier on their left side vs. their right. I have to really make myself think about lightening up the lbs of pressure on my left side and adding lbs of pressure on the right to achieve uniform softness. BrownEyed Cowgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03610547057139295854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1551110757601242898.post-84856096824466653032014-03-30T08:12:00.017-07:002014-03-30T08:12:00.017-07:00As I was reading I wondered if it might be a probl...As I was reading I wondered if it might be a problem with switching eyes. Is he trying to keep his right eye on you, and resistant to a change toward the left? Some of what you said doesn't seem to fit with that theory though. Hmm. Whatever his reasons, you'll have to work through them just the same, so overthinking it might not really be necessary. Sounds like a very nice ride!Andrea -Mustang Sagahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00576342393431178404noreply@blogger.com