As “they” say … The Best Laid Plans …

I truly thought that this article would be about conditioning the endurance horse, namely my new guy, Reilly, but to my surprise I have gotten wiser with age!!  Reilly is smart. Really smart. Edie Tschorn, my friend and fearless leader in all things, who knows more about training horses than I could ever acquire in all my lifetimes … said he was one of the smartest horses she’s ever worked with.  And thank goodness she has agreed to help me with him. Actually, it was she who stood over my shoulder as I looked at his photos and whispered “BUY HIM”. Don’t get me wrong. He’s great and I adore him, but I’ve decided not to rush him but instead TRAIN him.  He’s brave on the trail (with another solid horse) and a great to work around on the ground.  We did have some “stand still while I mount” issues which the smart punk figured out pretty quickly when I asked him the right way. Much to my surprise, and to my mare’s chagrin, he won’t be pushed around by my “boss mare” … actually he stands right up to her wants to dominate her. So, I have an Alpha gelding on my hands. Knowing that he has a strong personality I’ve realized that it’s important for me to be Alpha to him and get his respect now.

He hadn’t been ridden at all since last December and even then he had just been started under saddle…. so Edie began with some longeing, round pen work, and bitting surcingle work to assess his training level and personality.  Then I got on in the indoor. He was fine, but I have to admit that he felt so very different from my Rianon that I felt unsure.  I’ve only ridden one horse for the past 12 years. All of you know what that feels like. We are one animal. She is “home” to me.  Reilly is slight of build and agile and still has a squirrel brain. It took several rides before I felt comfortable with him and he with me. I do something with him just about every day … either some “play” in the round pen or indoor, a short trail ride with another horse, or just a ride around the property. He’s been on the trailer several times and can now load and travel easily.   We have a long way to go, but we’re off to a good and fun start.

I was talking to a well known endurance rider who gave me some wonderful advice about starting a young distance horse.  I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I shared it with you…

“My advice to you, if you would like it, would be to spend a year really training him, and not conditioning him.  He needs a very solid foundation in learning the basics training wise, and could do some light pleasure riding at a slow pace, with an experienced trail horse, or even group lessons to learn to work quietly in a group.  The worse thing for a green Arab is to go to a ride and experience a group of horses moving at competition speed.  They perceive it as running away from something scary as a herd.  The Arab mentality needs a lot of time to process new things, or the reaction becomes dramatic.  When the stimulus is more than they can handle, everything needs to slow down to process it.  Thus, no competitions until they have acquired lots of life skills as a trail horse!  And then, when you are ready to go to a ride, request going out last at every ride, until they get used to it.  Go out with a seasoned horse, or alone, and go slow and steady, not with the pack.  It is much less unnerving for them.   Camping and sponging from his back would be things to add to his life skills as a trail horse.  Also, dose syringing applesauce to get him used to getting electrolytes is another one.”

When I looked back at how I “trained” Rianon I see why we always had the “tear my arms out of my sockets for the first 25 mile” thing going.  She was 5 when I got her and had very little professional training. However, she’s a mare and we made a bond early in our relationship that we’d take care of each other out there and “discuss” our differences.  Alone on the trail all went well and she became very fit and conditioned…but not “trained”.  Competitions were another matter! We survived 12 years of rides together and all in all had an absolute blast. But – I was always envious of those wonderful horses who could be ridden with light rein contact and go happily down the trail in a group without fire coming out of their noses! Now that I’m 58 (yikes, am I really dangerously close to 60??) I want that “trained” horse and I’m willing to spend this year working with Reilly.

I was worried I’d be bored out of my mind doing ground work, turns and transitions when there’s so much trail out there calling to me …but surprisingly I’m enjoying the process enormously.  Some days are better than others, for certain, but progress is being made and we’ll both be better for the time spent now.

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