2022 Riding Journey

#10 Mariah and Stock Tank Cleaning

So, my first job when I arrived was...  Feed sacks, of course XD  It's become almost routine.  

Then my trainer told me to take the red hay rake, and muck out the trailer.  She didn't want me to use a wheelbarrow, just put it out on the ground behind the trailer. 

Personally, I really prefer using the big shovel to muck out.  But my trainer had told me to use that, so I did and did the best job I could.  I got about half way done when my trainer told me to go catch Cordell and Mariah.  

Oh, exciting news!!!  THE HITCHING POSTS FINALLY GOT PUT IN!!!!!  They don't have the rings for tying up yet, but they are in!   Set in solid cement.  I tell you, I can't wait until I'm able to cinch a horse to one and not have to worry about them escaping.   

After catching those two horses, my trainer had me grab the flag from the trailer tack room.  She was working on loading with Moose, but right after I grabbed it, he loaded in.  She was going to have me get around behind him and wave the flag to help coax him in.  

She said that many people assume that big draft-like horses, like Moose, can withstand a lot of pressure.  Thus, they'll literally just stand and pull until they load onto the trailer, then say, "That went really well!"  because the horse didn't try to back up or spin away.  But that's not ideal, and so my trainer will be working on that with Moose.   

I'm back on Mariah again for lessons, she's recovered from her gash, at least as far as we can tell.  It's scabbed over, and I think I was the first person to ride her because my trainer indicated that to me when she told me what to do about it. 

She didn't, of course, want me brushing or currying it.  But she thought I'd be alright riding her, because while the side of the saddle would be over it, my leg or seat wouldn't be on it.  If I noticed anything that was not normal Mariah, I was to tell my trainer.  

But I didn't, Mariah was grumpy while tacking up, but that's just usual Mariah.  I would even say she was less grumpy than usual.

For the first time in awhile, we rode in the outdoor arena because the day was quite nice.  'We' being me, Trainer, and Val on Cordell.  I don't know if you remember Val, I think I only mentioned her once in my other journal but I've ridden with her several different times.  She rode Cordell in a western saddle.  

I got on Mariah with no problems.  The first exercise my trainer told me to do was to do lots of halts.  She wanted me to pick a pattern (halting every 4 fence posts for example) and stick to it.  

Mariah's halts were pretty good.  Sometimes she'd try to step forward and I'd have to put her back in place.  But apparently I was still letting her barge through the bit too much.

So my trainer told me that I needed to be more alert and aggressive about that, waiting to ask Mariah to move off until she'd accepted standing still.  

I did some more halts this way, but my trainer still wasn't quite satisfied because they hadn't improved much.

So what she told me to do was when I halted, to hold the tension on the rein until Mariah backed up.  She said I was 'bringing the bit' to Mariah, and that was making it too easy for her.  She didn't want me to add more pressure to make Mariah back up, she just wanted me to hold the pressure on the rein I had until Mariah took a step back.  

I had a bit of a misunderstanding about whether my trainer wanted me to get Mariah to step back or not, but once we figured that out, it was good.  

Sure enough, this was way more effective in teaching Mariah not to barge through the bit so much.  She started halting easier, and catching on quicker to what I was asking.  I could also feel she wasn't 'leaning' on the bit as much when I went to halt her.