Thursday, April 12, 2018

Rosie’s Transformation



" Rosie "




      Rosie and I have been working towards changing her riding discipline from Western to English.  The working gaits between the two are different and she's been very hesitant to come out of a jog for any reason, under saddle and even on the longe, though she will trot and canter in the field. I’m used to a regular trot and canter, and her Western jog and lope probably won't be of as much good to us down the road when we want to school some dressage or maybe pop over a few small jumps. So, sorting out her gaits now at the beginning is step number one.  I actually had to do the same transitional training when I got Dusty years ago because she had been trained to ride Western also--and just imagine my surprise when I unknowingly gave her the cue to start spinning!

     With Rosie, we are accomplishing this transition mainly with lots of ground training.  The idea behind working her from the ground is to get her mind and body familiar with what I want from her without the complication of a rider. It also helps me to see what she looks like and how she's moving from the ground.  At first we worked with a simple longe line and halter and she did very well, so we integrated a saddle into the mix.  She will still revert back to the jog if I don’t keep after her a bit.  We never work for very long, maybe twenty minutes at the most, with lots of walk breaks.

This weekend we graduated to a chambon and surcingle combination.  She had a very mild mullen mouth bit and we fitted the chambon loosely for her first session with it to allow her to get the feel of it. She seemed to figure out what she needed to do very quickly.  Rosie is a smart girl and seems to want to always do the right thing.

Rosie and I will continue to work on her ground training this week and we might possibly go for a mounted walk or two this weekend. Here are some pictures of her longeing in the chambon and surcingle:






If you're interested in learning more about the chambon here's a "link"  to check out.


Quote for Today

Horses are as much athletes as gymnasts, ballet dancers, or ice skaters, and unless they learn how to understand and use their bodies by “ basic training,”they can’t be expected to perform well when the going gets rough.


Joy Slater

18 comments:

  1. That’s a good quote. I feel the same way and am currently training Leah to carry herself at the lope with the aid of side reins. My trainer came out and helped me last night. Our plan is for me to continue on the ground and then she will ride her once a week to get it solid in saddle—then I’ll take over. I may do it myself earlier, but I feel like she has so much to learn, balancing me, should I get off balance from her imbalance, it would complicate it.

    Rosie looks gorgeous!! What a body on her! You have done well. 👍

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    1. Thanks I liked the quote too. I was browsing through my quotes and thought it went well with this post.

      I think ground work is invaluable before getting in the saddle. Even though Rosie is well trained she's sort of starting over in a new discipline she hasn't had any past experience with. She's picking it up quickly though. Good luck with Leah's training.

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  2. Agree with Linda - Rosie is really blooming under your care! :D

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    1. Thanks! I’m working on it. Hope to get on this weekend for a walk around.

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  3. I don't know much about transitional training. Very interesting, your approach makes perfect sense. Sounds like Rosie is doing well. Such a pretty girl. Have fun with your girl this weekend!

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    1. Thanks I can’t wait to get in the saddle. It’s been a long time and we’re actually going to have decent weather!

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  4. She looks great! So excited to see her progress as you continue.

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    1. Thanks Billie. It’s been fun and going very well.

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  5. Rosie is a beautiful girl. I'll bet she catches on quickly....enjoy!

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  6. That is a great quote! This is so fascinating, thanks for sharing and for the link. Rosie's looking fabulous, she's really blossoming under your care. I'm looking forward to reading about your actual riding adventures with her. And finally - decent weather!

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    1. Hi Joy. Thanks the weather seems to be on the turn finally! I’m heading out to ride her now.

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  7. EvenSong has left a new comment on your post "Rosie’s Transformation":

    Looking good! I don't know if you "do" FaceBook at all, but Olympic eventer Denny Emerson often does posts about transitioning horses between careers. Although he is mainly talking about young OTTBs going from track to the h/j or eventing field, a lot of what he says might apply here. Mostly: take it slow. :-)

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    1. Hi Even Song,
      I deleted your comment by hitting delete instead of publish on my ipad, sorry about that.

      I don't do Facebook but I'm sure Denny Emerson has some good points. Right now we are taking it very slow with Rosie. We've had her since November and did a lot of hand walking around the arenas and the farm to introduce her to everything slowly. She's just started back into work longeing for short periods. We want her to have a good experience with everything we do with her and set her up for success. I actually got on her yesterday for a short walk. She was very willing to do whatever I asked (which wasn't much). Since she has a tendency to counter bend to the right we did some bending circles in each direction then walked around on a loose rein. And that was it. She's got a great personality and is very smart. I did this same transitional training with Dusty and she took a long time to listen and comply. Rosie is not as opinionated and defiant as Dusty so I think we will have a lot of fun in the future. Thanks for the input.

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  8. I love a girl with a bit of chrome!

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  9. Awesome! I had a horse who had to swap back and forth from Western to English in the Horseless Horse project, I didn't know what I was really doing, but she seemed to get it faster than I did. We only had two weeks to accomplish our goal. The gal's horse she was going to show died suddenly two weeks before the 4H show. We appealed for special consideration and got it.
    I was lucky that we had such a laid back and willing horse.

    I love Rosie, she is doing so well.

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    1. Two weeks doesn’t sound like a long time but each horse is different. She sounds like a great horse.

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