Making Work 'Fun'

"You might not want to come out today- the ground is wet and the ring is flooded."

The biggest setbacks in my riding at the moment involve the weather- the past week has been somewhat akin to a monsoon...right when the sun starts to come out, I get in my car, start driving out to the barn, and the rain starts to pour again!

I am a firm believer that you should NOT show up at the barn just to ride your horse. There are plenty of other things for you to do to spend some quality time together (grooming, bathing, just hanging out) or to work in a different way (lunging, hand exercises, stretches, tricks).

For Ruby and I, it is even more important that we spend as much time together as we can. My job as a controls engineer is in a constant battle with Ruby to take over my life, and, unfortunately, sometimes it wins. After being sent off on site for 3 months last summer, our relationship suffered a bit of a strain- I came back, and Ruby gave me the cold shoulder ("you ditched me and expect me to listen to you? -hell no!"). With her, I found that working on the ground is a great way to get her to focus, listen, and gain respect for me. Usually, I just grab a lead rope and ask her to do some basic commands: walk-up, back-up, turn, and stand. In the ring and in the barn, she is a champ! I can get her to the point where I only need to use a hand signal to get her to do what I want (wave hand forward for come here, point at her chest to back up, point to her shoulder in the direction I want her to turn, and hold my hand up to get her to stand). The field is another story (she gets so focused on wanting to be with her friends that she pretty much ignores me, but we are working on that).

For jumping exercises, it really depends on how high YOU can jump!

Once Ruby is listening to me, she is pretty good about letting me lead her over obstacles, provided that I make it over them too (try not to trip over things- it doesn't end well!). Especially with Ruby not wanting to jump consistently/reliably for me anymore under saddle, I have decided that she needs to be comfortable jumping without me on her first (lunging would be easier, but we haven't quite mastered that yet).

Remember, repetition is boring to you too! Mix things up, and try to keep your horse interested. If he/she is watching you and licking/chewing, you are doing something right! My hope with Ruby is to remind her that jumping is fun, and is not a big deal- if she ever forgives me for ditching her for my work...

Sometimes it can be hard to convince yourself to drive out (in my case, 32 miles one way!) too see your horse, but trust me, it is worth it- even in the rain and mud :)