Found Radar's limit !!
I found Radar's limit this morning! I was trying to make him stay straight and he got terribly fraught and finally he bucked. A big one - definitely a "get off now" buck, but thankfully only one. I changed my methods then, realising that what I was doing was not going to work - I was trying to hold him straight. Instead I swapped to pushing him straight on the right rein, while holding his head and neck bent to the outside.
That stopped him popping his left shoulder, which was what he had been doing to evade carrying me on his back. He walked far too fast, which is why I had been trying to slow him down and hold him straight in the first place. However, after a couple of circuits bent outwards, he slowed himself down.
At that point I changed to shoulder in right, which also stopped him popping his left shoulder, but made him carry more weight on his inside hind, which he had been desperately trying to evade. Bingo. Two long sides of shoulder in and he had it, and went into a beautifully forward and swinging walk.
Radar is not going to be a horse to fight things through with. Like the reputation of many black horses, he gets more and more obstinate the more you insist. And he is far too big and strong to go picking fights with. I'm glad he has some spirit, he may be a low learner but he's such fun!
I went for a short hack with Jazz and in spite of fog restricting his view of the world, he was ace.
C
posted by cptrayes @ 5:33 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Ah, yes, and the same with big bay horses. I do not pick fights with Tucker for the same reason and he too has a wicked buck...but fortunately, as with Radar, usually only one at a time. I have seen Chris, my other riding instructor force the issue with Tuck, and he does give in, but after an ugly minute or two.
Doesn't sound as if Radar's rebellion would last for just a minute, however. It does seem to take a bit to push him to his limit, but once there, I definitely think you would not want to pick a fight. He is far too strong, and, actually being as quiet as he is, I have a feeling the explosion would be serious.
Alternate Plan B seemed to work out just fine. And in a lateral position like that, it's much harder for him to launch. *S* Sometimes just changing an exercise to something new is enough to defuse a situation. I remember my first good riding instructor telling me that. "When the horse starts to get frustrated with an exercise, stop asking and do something else. As long as you keep his feet moving, he'll be learning something."
Glad you chose the wiser approach. And glad too Jazz decided to be the "Good Boy" today after his gallop off in full tack yesterday.
I'd battle through an ugly minute or two, but Radar was escalating the battle and getting more obstinate as we went on. You can just feel him becoming entrenched in his refusal to accept what you want. If you carried on the battle, I think he would just become more and more stubborn. And as you say, the explosion could be very violent if he hit the end of his tether. Definitely a better option with him to divet his attention onto something else. I wouldn't take that approach with Jazz. If he thinks he has won one day, he's worse the next!
C
C
Bummin heck what is it with them Ali has found his inner buck recently too! Thankfully nothing like Polo's and no mega explosions either.
Sometimes they just check out - especially if they're frustrated because they don't quite get what you're asking. It's great that you found a way to work around it!
Ah Nicola, but don't we sneakily like them just that little bit more for having that bit of spark behind the laid back temperament :-) ???
He was easy enough to divert once I'd realised I needed to Kate. I'll cotton on quicker next time.
C
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