Abusive Horse Owner alert
I feel a little guilty.
Gid has been progressing really well but the canter is still a struggle. He's getting better and hes round and thats great but if I pick up one rein too strong he just flies in the opposite direction. And it's already taking everything I have to keep that sucker cantering like a horse instead of a jet-propelled engine that I have to stop, start over, regroup, and its very frustrating. I've tried to just 'canter through' it but he gets too flustered and stops listening. He shuts down when he gets flustered (which is in most corners) and then there's nothing I can do to stop the train that is my horse.
So tonight, when I lifted up in my inside rein, and he decided to be an ass and take charge to the outside, I said ok. I steered him right to outside, and right into the wall.
Walls, in my opinion, are great tools to threaten horses with to stop when they run. I am all over "run him into the wall", meaning towards the wall. Towards. When I decided to go to the outside as he so desired, a wall was approaching. There was time to duck out (and run faster, because that would be flustering) or run into the wall and stop running. Which is what I chose, before I realized I was about a canter stride and a half from the wall and this sucker isn't going to be able to stop that fast. And sure enough, asshole train canter his fat ass right into the god damn wall.
More than hurting I think it surprised him. He had a little bald patch in his face where the hair rubbed off but wasn't tender around it, and seemed no worse for the wear post-colliision. We went right back to work and though he listened a hair more, he still cantered and past the wall, and all was well.
I'm glad he was no worse for the wear, and though I can reason with myself why he deserved every bit of it, I do feel guilty. I didn't mean to actually hit a wall. I'm sorry asshole Horse :-(
Gid has been progressing really well but the canter is still a struggle. He's getting better and hes round and thats great but if I pick up one rein too strong he just flies in the opposite direction. And it's already taking everything I have to keep that sucker cantering like a horse instead of a jet-propelled engine that I have to stop, start over, regroup, and its very frustrating. I've tried to just 'canter through' it but he gets too flustered and stops listening. He shuts down when he gets flustered (which is in most corners) and then there's nothing I can do to stop the train that is my horse.
So tonight, when I lifted up in my inside rein, and he decided to be an ass and take charge to the outside, I said ok. I steered him right to outside, and right into the wall.
Walls, in my opinion, are great tools to threaten horses with to stop when they run. I am all over "run him into the wall", meaning towards the wall. Towards. When I decided to go to the outside as he so desired, a wall was approaching. There was time to duck out (and run faster, because that would be flustering) or run into the wall and stop running. Which is what I chose, before I realized I was about a canter stride and a half from the wall and this sucker isn't going to be able to stop that fast. And sure enough, asshole train canter his fat ass right into the god damn wall.
More than hurting I think it surprised him. He had a little bald patch in his face where the hair rubbed off but wasn't tender around it, and seemed no worse for the wear post-colliision. We went right back to work and though he listened a hair more, he still cantered and past the wall, and all was well.
I'm glad he was no worse for the wear, and though I can reason with myself why he deserved every bit of it, I do feel guilty. I didn't mean to actually hit a wall. I'm sorry asshole Horse :-(