Spring Training on Orcas

I am back to training my horses. Black Elk and I have been walking the trails both on line and at liberty. We're getting back in shape. We have also been working on his giving to pressure in the arena, learning to leave a bit of a loop in the lunge line as he trots his circles. This spring he's learned to curve his whole body as he goes around and around, tipping his nose in and listening. He is very soft and very attentive. While last summer he could barely manage to canter his big body in the arena, now he can canter part of a circle.Yesterday he was trying to buck and canter while playing and he looked like a baby moose! We were in hysterics laughing.

Rascal has gotten so beautiful in his maturity. Now everyone says he is the most handsome of my horses, but this was not always so. You can see the changes that the slow dressage work have made in his body, which was once rather lumpy and awkward.
Dressage = the athletic development of the horse. He is still not as graceful as the others in some regards, like backing up is hard for him, but put him on a lunge and you'd think he's a Lippizan! This spring in one session I taught him to bring in his nose while trotting, as if he had on side reins. He is such a smart horse, he got it right away. I often wonder how he even knows what I am asking for.. he is one of those horses who keeps offering things. and then when he gives me what I want.. I let out my breath and sigh.. YES! He slows and comes in, drops his head and is happy. His other big improvement is being able to canter a 10 meter circle on the lunge, he is also getting so much better at not having to brace as he changes gaits from a canter to a trot. He is a serious hard working guy, when he is working. The rest of the time he is a ham!

I have adjusted how I lunge my horses, and now try to become the pole that they circle around. Black Elk found this so much easier to keep the proper distance and to make the circles really round and accurate. The Vaqueros used a pole and it is said that 30 days of lunging around a still point in the center will develop the horse as much as 90 days of riding dressage. Accurate circles is the key says Jane Savoie too.

On Wednesday I had Abby come over to ride Shaman. With my ribs still sore, I wanted the  wonder girl to ride any surprises out of my youngsters. She is so agile and athletic as well as having nerves of steel, I feel so lucky to have her help.

                        Shaman even got a bit bored while Abby took a phone call!

He had not forgot a thing. Abby was quite surprised, but I know these musangs  -  teach them something and they have it down. He was so happy to see her and always welcomes the attention. He stood quietly for mounting and walked around without any issues, making turns and stops.

                                        We kept it short..ending on a happy note.

Since things went so well with Shaman and we still had a bit of time, I saddled up the Elk and had her pop aboard. He stood like a rock (something I feel is VERY Important) and was just fine. They walked around and backed, he offered some very fancy side passing.  She commented on how he was much more fluid and lighter, giving to pressure so much more readily. I was happy to hear that the ground work was showing up in the riding so soon. My plan was to have her ride him a dozen times.. but already I am itching to get on.. my memory seems to be blessedly short! I am back to training my horses.
If you are looking for a farm on Orcas take a look at our site: www.orcasdreams.com