Trouble in Paradise!
ITs been a challenging week with Furst Love. I have had some real issues when asking him to move forward and through a process of elimination, I have finally figured out where the Forward Button is...or where I had hidden it!
Last weekend, July 24 /25 I had 2 wonderful rides with him. He was forward, getting a bit of balance on the tricky right 20 meter circle, even in canter, moving off my leg nicely - I was really pleased with the progress. What I wasn't pleased with was the frequent twisting of the neck and grinding of the teeth.
I decided to change the bit on the Monday to see if that would make a difference.
Monday, Monday
I arrived at the stables on Monday, excited that I had found my favourite brass single link that I have trained many young horses with. It is soft and friendly and I felt it would suit Furst Love much better .
So, I replaced the double linked loose ring stainless steel snaffle I had been using with a thicker, single link bit which I hoped might be a bit kinder to him. In addition I found my new bridle buried in a box in our garage, which was smaller, softer and would fit his beautiful head more snugly. So off we went on the lunge, new bridle, new snaffle bit, improvised flash nose band loosely fitted but enough to keep his mouth from opening too much.
Houston, We Have a Problem
He was really tricky on the lunge, twisting his head and diving here and there with lots of kicking out, bucking and general dissatisfaction. I called Lazaro over and we decided to change the bit back to the original stainless steel link but keep the new bridle on. He seemed quieter with that so I got on after another 5 minutes on the lunge. Lazaro stands beside the mounting block which we put fairly closely to the fence to keep Furst Love straight and quiet. On I got and off we went. Well actually we stopped and he began pawing the ground!
I asked him to move forward and once again, he said no! I kept the reins loose and continued to ask - sadly not wearing spurs that day or carrying a whip so really it was a little like being up a river in a canoe without a paddle! I managed to get a walk moving forward but as soon as I asked for trot, FL stopped and bucked. Ok, I was thinking to myself, something is seriously wrong.
Of course I ran through the whole list of options: sore back, soured on the work, a horse fly under his stomach, tricky German bloodlines (though I know they are not), etc. I decided to re-adjust my requirements for the session drastically and settled for a 20 meter circle in trot and canter on each rein.
I took 20 minutes of arguing but we did finally get there! We finished the session with a lovely short hack, FL willing and sweet as he always is on his hacks.
A Glimmer of Hope
As I washed took of his tack and washed him down I felt for sore back, swollen legs, sore mouth, etc.
and could find nothing. Mildly concerned at this tricky juncture in the road I ran through all the possibilities in my mind and went back to what I had changed. The bit - ok I had changed that back, and ...the bridle. I checked the bridle for anything that might have been making him sore and suddenly it dawned on me that the improvised flash was pinching him and he obviously has very sensitive skin around the nose band area and he was letting me know that it hurt! I could have slapped myself for not figuring that out sooner but I reasoned that there are so many possible answers to what causes "forward" issues like that, that the rider must eliminate all the variations to try to find the solution. So I merely kicked myself and felt much better after.
Houston, We Have Landed
The next day, I kept the new bridle on him (very determined that this lovely hand crafted piece can be a part of our equipment) with the original stainless steel bit, no improvised flash or indeed any flash and presto....my beautiful, forward Westphalian superstar emerged again and we had a great ride. He couldn't wait to go forward and expressed his appreciation that his "thicko" mother had finally clued into his discomfort. He surged ahead, leaping, bounding and bucking (but very forward bucks) with glee!
So...we found the forward button and he stopped with the winding his neck this way and that and the grinding...so NO MORE FLASH NOSE BANDS!
Happily Ever After
The moral of this slightly embarrassing confession is that all riders run into problems of some sort with young horses. IT IS THE UNWRITTEN EQUINE LAW FOR ALL HUMANS! Particularly prone to challenging behaviour are well bred, energetic and athletic specimens like Furst Love. It is important to stay calm and go through the list of things that are different with your routine. So you see, keeping a regular routine can really help short cut the process of elimination.
Furst Love is having 3 weeks off now because I am going back to the Douglas Lake Ranch in British Columbia where I grew up, for a family reunion, some range riding with cowboys and some mother/daughter time with my gorgeous Emily who is at this moment flying over here from the UK. FL is still growing and changing shape and it is important that he is allowed to have time off to let his muscles develop, his attitude stay sweet and take the pressure off for awhile.
Lazaro will turn him out into a 2 acre field for 3 hours every day and lunge him 3 times a week.
See you in September!
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