Remember when I said, I was going to try to recollect all of Nenya's training and moments from the time I purchased her in late April? Well, of course time has passed enough that everything blurs together so I'm going to use today's entry as a fast-forward to where we are now.
After what seemed like, ok a month, of just ground work and bonding with Nen, I finally started working her under saddle. I purchased a super-comfortable Wintec all-purpose English saddle since I didn't want to worry about leather care along with Princess Poneh care. (A side plug for the synthetic saddles as I know some of you are die-hard leather saddle proponents--I love that I can hose this saddle off and here in the rainy Pacific Northwest, I don't have to care about water-spots. And did I mention that it's super comfortable? Plus with the Easy-Change Gullet system, I can just change the gullet without having to buy a whole new saddle. Ok, I digress).
Keep in mind that Nenya hasn't been ridden much up to this past spring--she enjoyed the luxurious life of the glorious pasture. First step--learn that the mounting block is not a pony step-stool and mommy isn't scarier because she all of a sudden is taller.
I think we spent a few hours just walking around the block, standing next to it, etc. until she felt comfortable. And here's where I stupidly just get on thinking that we've made such great progress that we can just ride. She was good--no bucking or anything and we just simply walked around the arena. The next day I tried the same thing and she bucked me off as I was trying to get on her (from the mounting block). Riding is stupid is what Nen said.
- Work her only in one arena and set a schedule so she always knows when she's expected to work.
- She's so smart you need to change it up to keep her from really thinking about how to get out of work.
- Always warm her up on the ground and then get on.
- Maybe look for another horse?
Ok, the last one I was going to have none of--we were meant to be together, that I knew. And yes, the amount of "Arabian-poisoning" in her blood makes her incredibly smart to where she gets bored and again, looking for trouble because work is stupid (according to her). So I warm her up a bit from the ground before tacking her up (and now I find that it helps her totally focus on me from the get go...but I'll discuss more of that in a later entry).
After spinning my wheels with her for another month, I felt that we were taking steps backwards and doing all of this training on my own wasn't getting the results I wanted. She continued to act up after a short time of riding. I couldn't figure out why and my friends weren't there to "see" what I was trying to explain. At the end of the day, I want this experience to be fun for both me and Nenya.
So I called in the big guns, a local trainer whom I have the utmost respect for. She accepted us as a challenge and has been working with us since August--and now we're on the right track...stay tuned for the next installment!
