He didn’t skitter for too long, but he also couldn’t relax about the idea. Couldn’t stand still and couldn’t take his eye of that dangerous flag, not even for an instant. This, even though I’d been using the flag around him for months. I speak to that briefly in the video below.
By that point, though, I was already seriously regretting my decision to go there, as I felt Finn was still a few weeks away from being 100% on his injured knee. I definitely didn’t want to chance setting back his recovery with more skittering! So, I found the most minute positive change you ever saw (he briefly attempted to look at me instead of the flag), took the flag off, and didn’t go back there for several weeks.
Yesterday finally seemed like the day to open that can of worms again… for some unknown reason, I was in the mood to face our demons! I got out my 22’ rope (the better to hold him with should he lose his cool), stocked the arena with water and an extra shirt for when the sun went behind the mountain, and was prepared to be out there for hours if need be. As it turned out, it was no big deal:
We still have work to do, but this was a MAJOR success for Finn and I! It seems some of Finn’s demons moved out while I wasn’t looking, and some of mine are definitely packing their bags right now.
On Finn’s side of the equation, I think our partnership has really turned a corner. On the last day of our clinic with Buck Brannaman, I felt something powerful and amazing: Finn turning loose. For real letting go of his fears and putting faith in my judgement. My friends, THAT has been a LONG time coming, and I often wondered if it ever would. While things are by no means perfect now, I feel a lot more willingness in Finn to trust me and stick with me when he’s unsure. That changes everything for the better.
Even when Finn had his eye on the flag last night, I never felt like he was going to blow me off and lose his cookies. Look at the trot in that video! You may not be able to see every detail, but I can tell you he was not so sure when the wind started flinging that flag around. But the tiniest bit of support from me was all he needed to keep his cool, and that makes me feel good about our chances of surviving the unexpected.
As for MY demons… well, last nights session went a LONG way towards reassuring me that my horse is actually broke. It was a little bit of healing for the scar left by a clinician I respected telling me I’d stolen rides on him, confused him, and gotten really lucky so far. While I believe some of that was unfounded, I feel like some of it was true. Don’t even ask me how many times I’ve thought to myself in the last year: “Am I insane to even be riding this horse?” I probably took it a bit too far, but it sure did push me to seek out knowledge we definitely needed.
On another note, I have admittedly held on to a fear of tying anything to Finn’s saddle since about this time last year when we had a bit of a mishap with the tarp. I had the tarp snapped on my 22’ feather line and had run the line through Finn’s stirrup, planning to play a little approach and retreat with him dragging it behind him. I thought the line would slip out easily if anything went haywire, but in fact when Finn took a big spook and broke away from me at an all out gallop, the line caught on itself and the tarp chased my terrified horse for several minutes before the stirrup itself finally fell off. Although an hour later, Finn was dragging the tarp, and then carrying it in a glob tied to his saddle with plastic bags attached to the spare D-rings, what stuck with me was the failure. And boy did it cut deep.
Ever since then, I've felt it was an issue that needed to be resolved, and I won't feel like it is until Finn can confidently carry the tarp draped over his back and tied to the saddle; walk and trot, maybe even canter. Until I can drag the tarp while we're riding, and then pull it up over the saddle without concern. And until he can not only cross it walk, trot, and canter confidently under saddle, but also stand on it completely relaxed. We put a lot of time in with the tarp before Finn's injury this Spring, but progress was slow to non-existent. Truth be told, when we started in on it again in January, I think I was as scared as he was! Not exactly a recipe for success.
But now I feel like we're on track to get there. We have the tools, and we're building a partnership that will stand us in good stead. The tarp is a demon that will be with us until we conquer it, but now I feel like it's just a matter of time. And I just sent one of it's younger cousins packing.
So, how do I plan to move forward from here? Well, you can bet that flag is going to be tied to Finn’s saddle for the vast majority of our groundwork until I am really sure he couldn’t care less. One thing we didn’t address yesterday was circling with the flag on the outside, which in the past with other objects has brought out another layer of his concern.
Meanwhile, the tarp has been in my garage since Finn injured his knee almost three months ago. I’m somewhat tempted to get it out now, but I think I will let it sit another few months. I’m curious to see: after a busy summer spent building our partnership on the trail and getting our communication and trust going better than ever, then where will we be? Is it possible that one day I’ll shake out the tarp expecting a demon to emerge, only to find it disappeared as well? I guess a girl can dream.
No comments:
Post a Comment