I've made the feed changes with Jasper and it is definitely making a difference. I feel like I have my horse back--his "hotness" now translates to his usual behavior of spooking at the odd assortment of off-trail boogey men (pipes, boards, shattered plastic pieces, etc). We've done two rides since Sunday and each has been very good. One ride on Tuesday with my slower buddies and another yesterday with a faster buddy. I finally remembered to bring my GPS and turn it on yesterday, and found that Jasper smoothes out and relaxes at about 9-9.5 mph. It feels like we're floating and he's going at an effortless pace. Our 8 mile ride was absolutely eaten up yesterday, and he still felt like he could have kept going and going and going. So I think this is the pace I need to aim for at our next ride, even though it's faster than I feel comfortable with (but only because I'm SO paranoid about breaking down my horse). He is a tall boy, and I think I need to let him choose a comfortable pace without allowing him to blast away down the trail at whatever pace he chooses. I think if he was leading and it was up to him, he'd probably pick up his 11 mph trot.
We're going to volunteer at the Diabetes Ride this Sunday as trail monitors, which should give us some time to work on the excitement of a crowd without the excitement of having to compete. I'm also going to have Wayne (or another trusty assistant) work with us on standing still for the vet. He was incredibly rude this last time and there was no excuse for it. I would have thought mussing and fussing with him all the time with my stethoscope would have translated to him being an angel for the vet, but it isn't so. I'm considering teaching him the "stand" command (even though he already knows it) and pairing it with a clicker and treats. I know his original owner did some clicker training with him, so hopefully he'll pick it right back up again.
I've got to run--I've got a bird looking over my shoulder begging for scritchies that must be attended to. :)
2 comments:
Elle- I just read your May 11 post... so sorry.. hang in there. emotional breakdowns seem to come at the most inopportune time but it was good that you recognized you weren't going to be able to be there to help support Jasper and called it a day. That took some sand. Chin up.. atleast you have two tries under your belt. It has to start getting easier... your just working out all the bugs !!
Interesting what you've noticed about his trot smoothing out when he goes faster. I've found that to be the case when riding a friend's horse who is 15.3 and all leg...he falls all over himself when asked to go slow, yet is incredibly smooth and surefooted at a faster pace. I totally understand about being paranoid to move out (my paranoia is how I entertain myself through rides..."What to worry about next?") but if he's smoother and more surefooted, then that might be how he's built to move, and so that might be the best thing for him, versus trying to keep him at too slow a pace that then translates to being tougher for him to move?
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