A month or so ago I planned to lunge him in the indoor one day rather than ride because I had non horsey plans in the morning and wanted to shorten up the horse day some. Normally, even when I lunge him, we take a hand walk lap each direction of the ring before we get to the work part of the day. But on this day I skipped that step because another horse was lunging at the other end, and I figured it would be fine. It was not fine. He tore out onto the circle going the wrong direction. (I had the lunge line attached to start left, and he went right.) This isn't normal Al behavior because he's very well trained about lunging in normal circumstances. He knows to walk out on the circle and keep walking until told otherwise. And he definitely understands which side the line is on. (Once I accidentally tried to send him the wrong way and he wouldn't go.) So I reeled him back in, did the hand walk, and then he was an angel. You'd think I'd have internalized this lesson, but today has proven to me that I have not.
Today's forgotten rule is a little different than that one. But it's something we've consistently done all winter. My horses generally have easy rides on Sundays (Sunday Funday!) and then Monday is their day off from riding. So for Al, we lunge on Tuesday before riding. I know there are varying opinions on lunging. Some being that horses should be working on the lunge line and it's not for playing on. But I don't subscribe to that belief. I have no problem with horses having a play on the lunge line so long as they are polite and don't try to pull away from me. Also, dangerous behavior is not allowed. A buck? Yep, have at it. A little gallop? Sure, within reason, on a BIG circle. But I expect a response when I say whoa. Anyway, back to today. I prefer not to lunge horses too frequently. I don't think being on a lunge circle is great for their legs if it's getting done a lot. So today, we were stuck indoors again because it rained all day yesterday and the outdoor was too squishy. I figure we should be able to get back out tomorrow and he would rather have a good play on the line out there than in the indoor. So I didn't lunge him today. It was a windy day outside which meant the indoor was rattling and making weird noises. And while the barn was quiet when I got on, during the ride a bunch of people showed up. He really hates indoor rings, and especially hates when there's sounds he can't see the source of. So you can imagine how the ride was going.
He wasn't terrible, but he did spook more than once which hasn't happened in a few weeks. The difference between now and a few weeks ago (pre-ulcer treatment changes) is that he went back to work nicely after spooking. He also was really forward and felt pretty fantastic in the moments when he wasn't being a distracted squirrel. So while it wasn't a great ride, I'm taking responsibility for it. I think he was just a little fresh and stuck in a place he doesn't like. And I broke the rules by not lunging him first.
The real question is, will I learn the lesson this time? To not break the rules? I really hope so. I mean, if I know the steps to setting Al and me up for success, why would I keep skipping them? And yes, I know some people may say, but Stacie, you can't hand walk the show ring before you ride. I know this. I don't think it will be necessary. We always walk in hand at the horse show before getting to where the lunging area is. I think the need there is to get his mind on me and getting his body to relax before asking him to work. I could be wrong here, and time will tell on that. But that's what I'm thinking.
Do any of you have some hard and fast rules for setting up for success? Do you ever try to skip them and remember why they are rules and not suggestions?
While I personally am always looking for ways to set my horses up for success, I think there's something to be said for testing the "rules" as horses mature, learn, and change.
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