I've put on 25 pounds since I stopped doing bitch labor. I'd love to tone up and lose the extra weight but don't seem to have the discipline. Meanwhile, Bryce got on a mission to diet like... three weeks ago. He's already dropped 10 pounds.
Hmmm, it's hard to say what could be up without seeing you, mate. It can just about anything. I know I couldn'twork out for the longesttime why the hell I heat horses up until a traner told me I sit mroe forward over my hips than most people; these days I make the concious effort to sit back on my butt. It could be something as simple as your weight shifting a little as you anticipate him acting up. Isn't that just an awesome vicious circle?:P I don't know if it'll work for you, but I found singing to myself helped relax me (and make everyone in a 5k radius leave me alone) which made Desi calmer when she was young and in training. Heh, I keep losing my stirrups too, but apparently it's because I don't put enough weight in them t o keep them still on my feet :P Yay for riding by balance!!! Haven't come off in a while, there's a cropper coming up, I'm sure.
Can you sit on his back, stationary, and get him to flex his head left to right and back again ten times in a row without moving his feet or resisting the rein in either direction? He doesn't have to go round and touch your toe or anything, just enough flex that you can clearly see his eye from the saddle, then back again. His ears need to be level when you do this.
If you can get that without having any "sticky" spots, you may find that starts to help you find a bend as he works. For him to bend from that C1 joint he has to carry some relaxation when he does work.
If you want some ideas in general you could maybe read Ross Jacobs' blog - it's an excellent resource on many different topics and he's really into at working with the horse's thoughts, which seems to me the approach that beejay needs more than anything. If you like what you see there, drop him an email- he loves to have interesting questions for the blog and he knows a lot of stuff. I've had a bit of email conversation with him and he comes across as a good guy.
What I failed to mention here is that if I was working a horse like this my core priority at all times would be relaxation. I think if you can get that, everything else can come. Before you get that you probably need to get his attention all the time so that the biggest thing he is thinking about is you.
That bend I'm talking about helps for both things.
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Heh, I keep losing my stirrups too, but apparently it's because I don't put enough weight in them t o keep them still on my feet :P Yay for riding by balance!!! Haven't come off in a while, there's a cropper coming up, I'm sure.
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If you can get that without having any "sticky" spots, you may find that starts to help you find a bend as he works. For him to bend from that C1 joint he has to carry some relaxation when he does work.
If you want some ideas in general you could maybe read Ross Jacobs' blog - it's an excellent resource on many different topics and he's really into at working with the horse's thoughts, which seems to me the approach that beejay needs more than anything. If you like what you see there, drop him an email- he loves to have interesting questions for the blog and he knows a lot of stuff. I've had a bit of email conversation with him and he comes across as a good guy.
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That bend I'm talking about helps for both things.
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