Keeping The Pace

I remember an old horseman laughing at me once when I told him that my horse was very smart.
"You can only call a horse smart if you are comparing him to another horse," he told me, with a smirk.

I beg to differ. My delightful, friendly, gentle, Norwegian Fjord filly is just that-SMART. She is constantly trying to figure stuff out. Whatever or whomever happens into her pasture is completely examined by this precocious curious 3 year old. When the vet was here a few weeks ago to "float" the older horses' teeth (a process that files down the sharp edges of their ever-growing teeth), Miss Bergitta was not happy until he placed the electric file into her mouth. She was not afraid, just needing an answer. What are we doing to her friend, Sport? After she experienced it herself (to a much lesser degree- young horses do not need floating) she knew that all was well and he would be fine. Indeed he was.

This intelligence can be something I need to keep in mind all of the time. I think about the 3 year old Thoroughbreds that are running in the Kentucky Derby at age 3. Are they psychologically ready for this tremendous pressure? I can honestly say no. I worked with Thoroughbreds from the track. Almost every one I got needed rehabilitation. They were frantic, kind of terrorized. Not to say that there aren't any who can take it- who even love the work. There are. But there are so many who flush out of the system who are mentally and physically broken down.

What I need to keep in mind when I train my filly is that she is more mature and smarter than so many other horses. Because of that, I sometimes think I can skip steps or rush through the process. That is ill advised. I am building trust that will last a lifetime right now. If I never ask her to do anything that she is not mentally or physically ready to do, she will learn that she can trust me, and I will be able to trust her. It is an important bond that is developing now.

I have been on her back at least 7 times now. Notice I did not say "ride". I work her on a lunge line and then I sit on her back while she walks around, getting used to my weight. We practice starting and stopping, turning, and just for about 10 or 15 minutes. Then she gets to have some Spring grass for a few hours. All in all it's a happy, positive experience for her. For me, too. So much so that I keep thinking I could just go on a trail ride with her. That will come in due time. For now, we are building trust. She still is such a baby in so many ways. A good baby, but still a baby.

Since horses live to be well into their 20's and sometimes 30's, we have a long time of trail rides ahead of us. It's best to pace ourselves.