Starve.Org White Noise Usenet Archive: "Re: Q re: youngster / loping issue"

"Deborah Moulton, MAMS" <dmou

...@uic.edu> posted some stuff that looked
like this:

> Now, this brings up the whole other side of the issue for me...

Heh. "other side" issue. LOL .. we are talking sides.. horses' being
side-minded, so to speak. Ya got a left, ya got a right.

> I'm not a fan of running them ragged physically as a youngster, but I'm
> not a fan of "babying" horses, either. I believe this mare is capable

Yup. Has to be inbetween. It is one thing to yeehaw like a lunatic,
another to ask assertively and show you "mean what I say" when you ask for
it. You always ask softly to start, or they never know what soft is, do
they??

> Hmmm. Maybe I have been duped. Now, if after I check her on the

Naww.. probably just lazy - how would you be if I rarely asked you to jog
when out then all of a sudden asked you to jog down the path when all the
times before it was a leisurely stroll? You would go "huh? why?" and then
do it once told why, or object, or refuse, etc. Sound familiar? Horses
being of such strong memories and truly creatures of habit ...

> What is the best way to work into this.. A bit of warm up.. ask for the
> canter (from walk or jog?) bad side first? Good side as a reward? Stop
> the minute she gives a nice lope? Or just work through it like any
> other task?

Warm her up a bit (just walk around, giving exercises, bends, and so forth)
and jog a little (not too much .. a few minutes perhaps?) and then ask for
it. And get it. If she gets pissy, make her go faster, *then* let her
slow down when you are ready. Once you get a nice lope going, relax after
a bit and let her go down to a jog and a walk and then a stop. Say "easy"
rather than "whoa" as you are bringing her down. Add a little on the bit
if you need to slow her. She'll catch on what easy means. BTW, Whoa means
stop DEAD with whatever you are doing, not slow down.

After a while, she will learn you can lope along relaxed and it isn't any
big deal, but if she gets pissy when asked, she has to lope harder and
longer. She'll figure it out.

> It's interesting that you mentioned the stirrup thing. In my western

It's an issue for a lot of folks, I think.

> saddle, I have a stirrup (left) that's a wee bit shorter.. Can't figure

It isn't uncommon - leather will stretch and sometimes the holes aren't
even to begin with (how is that, she is thinking.. - because the stirrup
leathers aren't the same length when cut <g>). Usually the left gets
longer from mounting on the left and the right ends up shorter.

> it out. It's a circle Y, and I count the holes, but my left stirrup is
> a hair shorter than right... complete with aching knee. Maybe more to
> that than I realized..

Number of holes don't mean nuttin <grin>.

It won't help if stirrups are different lengths, but it won't hurt a whole
bunch either if you have a nice balance and an easy lope. In your case and
with a pissy mare, I would punch some holes halfway between and raise it up
on the right, OR drop the left one and then punch holes to make the right
one match. No sense trying to get more weight down there and really need
it if she gets pissy.

Oh.. don't want to punch holes? OK .. go to the hardware store and get a
dowel of the right diamter - 1/2" to raise it 1/2", 3/8" to go up 3/8",
etc. Cut length to fit exactly the stirrup width under the bar at the top.
Put dowel under stirrup and on top of the stirrup leathers. Attach the
stirrup leather hobble (keeper) back on and snug it in (it will stay put).
Voila! Stirrup just got higher by whatever diameter of dowel you put in.
As the leather stretches from mounting, etc, then you can remove the dowel
and your stirrups are the same length.

Works for either side, of course. In your case, you are raising the right
side and letting the left side stretch to get lower - mounting will do that
soon enough.

Of course, you could lawer the left a hole (making it a wee bit longer) and
then insert dowel, etc. Then the holes will match up as the left
stretches, versus the right being a hole lower, etc. That might be more
comfy for you as you said your left knee is aching and it will lower the
stirrup a bit. BTW, the left knee is probably also aching because it has
more weight on it - it is shorter than the right.

> But her pissiness is the same with my english saddle, so?

She's a mare. Shrug. Get assertive. Every *knows* "a woman's/mare's
place is in control" - show her different.

> Hmm. I need to go look at myself ride, me thinks.

Video helps a *lot*.

> Thanks for the reminder about the rein issue, too.

No prob. Good luck. And don't forget to have fun.

------------------------------
Those of you that think you know
everything about horses really annoy
the hell out of us that know we don't.