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On the final morning up at EJ’s Stables, I knew I had some time to start thinking about what Jean-Luc and I would do for our post-trail adventure. While plowing through a few Pins on Pinterest I was reminded of the training pin’s I’d set off to the side. As I scrolled through, I wanted to find some fun groundwork that both Jean-Luc and I could get excited about again. There it was – Side Pass! My goal for 2018 includes attending at least one competitive trail event, thus, learning to side pass is a must. According to trainer Don Blazer, “The key to a great side pass is "pushing" never "pulling" the horse into the direction of travel. Only western horse’s do a true "side pass", meaning they move laterally without any forward movement. All other horses always have some forward movement when moving laterally.” Though I use a ton of Clinton Anderson techniques to teach Jean-Luc, the video I liked, because it was quick, came from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm8-6P5MWAA Upon our return from the Greenbrier River Trail Jean-Luc had a few days off, mainly due to the fact that it was Thanksgiving week, and well… family. Finally, the day came when I could get out to the barn, though. Most people would call me crazy, however, a fellow horse enthusiast I follow on Instagram ( @nickavenue ) has been posting about his work/fun in similarly cold weather. “If he and his horse can get out and find some small fun in this, then well, so can Jean-Luc and I!” I thought. After pulling on my riding-like Roxy Gor Tex Ski pants, my favorite winter jacket (made of recycled Mountain Dew bottles), and hat most lumberjacks would be envious of, we were ready. It was nineteen degrees Fahrenheit. Because it was so cold outside I wanted to start simply by loving on Capt. Ponycard. When I arrived the horses were close to the barn in the back field – somewhere they rarely go. After hopping out of my Jeep I walked into the tack room to grab a few of the new treats I’d purchased last week for Jean-Luc. I was really excited, thinking these would be a new favorite for him – they’re carrot AND apple, which he loves. Well, let me tell you something – I was wrong! After rushing outside I called out to Jean-Luc, and he actually came to me in the field. This is something else we are working on, and he’s starting to really like coming to see me. “Good Boy!” I cooed at him. “You are such a good man.” I opened my palm to hand him the oven baked cracker. He promptly gobbled it up in his mouth, munched, spit the thing out on the ground, farted and ran off back to the herd. Gobsmacked, I just stared into the morning sunrise. Jean-Luc eats anything…I mean it, ANYTHING. I couldn’t be too upset, in fact, I was simply in shock and laughed. Sorry, DuMor, I know you’re not the BEST brand, but your treats must be REALLY BAD! I tossed the rest of the treat on the ground and then walked over to where Jean-Luc stopped in the field. He was still great and didn’t try to run or anything. He just ensured I knew, those treats will not be going anywhere near his mouth again. Together, walked back inside the barn, feet, and hooves crunching under the frost covered grass. I queued up a few of the episodes I’d missed lately of a horse podcast radio show I used to listen to every day prior to my new job – Horses In the Morning and set work brushing and loving on Jean-Luc. You would the voices of the hosts would be distracting, however, I think he likes listing to talks shows as much as I do because Jean-Luc seems to get extra calm while listening. I brushed until my toes started to really go numb and burn, then I figured it was time to move more. I kept it simple walking my very clean horse to the fence and started our backing up work. Since this was Day 1, I kept it short and simple. We backed straight up and down along the fence line for approximately 15 minutes or five times on each side. Jean-Luc, like nearly every horse, was great one side and had one side you’d think he forgot his brain on. After that, that was it. I walked him to the gate and turned him loose. I think he was a little confused because there was no “pomp and circumstance,” if you will, to end our day together. That in and of itself made me chuckle. I could tell he was thinking, “That’s it?...Okay, BYE!” Fortunately, I was able to get back to the barn the following morning at the same time. The temperature was a whopping ten degrees warmer and we repeated the exact same lesson as we had the previous day with one new step – point your body sideways and take one step/cross over in the front and back. Happily, I saw some minor improvements in his speed when backing up, and it didn’t take long for him to understand how to step.
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AuthorMy name is Chelsey. HorseGenerator's Cuevo Gold, or as he's known around this barn, "Jean-Luc Ponycard", was foaled in 2004 from Generator's Hurricane & Cheyenne's Little Bit. Top 10 Blog Favs.Archives
January 2019
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