Ready or Not...

I haven't blogged in a while because I've been frustrated.  Riding time has been scarcer than I'd like between work and uncooperative weather.  And when I have ridden, it hasn't exactly been rewarding.  Lar has shown that he has the potential to be a nice show horse, but he has also shown a lot of stubbornness and attitude.  He reaches a threshold where he decides that he's done with work for the day, or worse still, doesn't feel like working at all that day.  Sometimes he merely "wads himself up" puts his head up and won't move out.  Other times, he'll be going along and then suddenly flip his head violently into the air and/or fling his head, grunt, and flip his front feet off the ground - not quite rearing, as he flips them individually, but the message is basically the same.  &*$%%@!!!  I've deemed it Equine Tourette's Syndrome, as it very much seems like he's uttering expletives.  I can't pinpoint any exact triggers, but he does it while ridden and on the lunge line, in a bridle or bitless, and he does it more the longer he's worked (he seems to decide that he's done).  Sometimes he combines it with balking.  I've tried to give him the benefit of the doubt by ruling out physical discomfort.  I don't think it's mouth related since he does it with and without a bit.  I don't think it's back pain, since he does it ridden and lunged, and poking along his back doesn't elicit any responses. He moves sound, so I don't think it's lameness related.  I don't think I'm pushing him too hard, as we're still working on remedial skills like walk-trot transitions, circles and steering, basic speed consistency, and individual trot poles.  I really think it's just plain stubbornness.


I try to subscribe to the basic Clinton Anderson adage: make the right choice easy and the wrong choice hard.  He gets worked longer when he's misbehaving and doesn't get a break until he behaves.  I've tried to reward him for good behavior with breaks and patting, but he's starting to think that "good boy" means plow to a halt and refuse to move forward again and that he deserves a break for just 3 or 4 strides of good behavior.  I even got to the point where I stopped riding him altogether and worked only on "lunging for respect" type stuff for several weeks.  Same concept as I used under saddle - he has to move his feet and make multiple changes of direction when he acts out, and he gets to stop and stand when he's good.  I *think* it's sinking in, but he sure isn't letting go of his old habits readily.  It seems like he gets it slightly better on the lunge line than under saddle.

Well, we all remember the feeling from school - there's a test tomorrow and it's going to happen whether we're ready or not.  I had planned a while back to debut Lar in the show ring on May 21.  There was a nice schooling show about an hour away with a low key atmosphere and a variety of walk-trot classes.  Given his stubborn streak, I was starting to think that we'd never get to the show ring, at least not this year.  I looked at my schedule this week and realized that there weren't a lot of suitable shows for him (with multiple walk-trot classes) that I could attend.  So I decided to take my chances and put Lar to the test even though I really didn't think we were ready.

Initially, I was pleasantly surprised.  Due to road construction and a really long train, we missed the first class (gelding halter), but did arrive in time to show in several others.  He was the only STB, of course, and there was a wide variety of horses (TB, QH, WB, draft cross, Mustang, pony, Paint, Arabs, etc.) and the classes were so full that they split several of them.  He loaded and trailered great.  He stood very well in the in hand classes.  He was a superstar in Showmanship (although he walks really slowly so I need to retrain myself to slow down versus Legs' longer step that I'm used to), and we won that class.  We got second in Grooming, and tons of compliments on his beauty from spectators.  He broke while trotting on the triangle in Hunter In Hand, so we got shuffled back to 4th in that class.  He was totally unfazed by the new surroundings or working in the ring with other horses and didn't seem the slightest bit spooky or nervous.

And in our first under saddle, class, he was actually pretty good.  We got 2nd out of 7 horses in English Pleasure w/t, and were only bested by a really nice moving, flashy TB.  Between classes, I dismounted, loosened the girth, scratched him and gave him some treats.  In our next riding class, Hunter Under Saddle w/t, though, the Tourrette's was in full effect.  The first direction, he immediately hopped and flipped his feet when I asked him to trot and did nothing but pitch a fit and act out the rest of the way.  He was marginally better the second direction, but not much.  Almost DFL - 6th out of 7 in that class.  And since it's a show environment, I can't exactly school him like at home (I doubt the management would be thrilled if we continued trotting for several laps after the directive was given to walk or line up).  I compensated by schooling him in the small and insufficient warm-up area after the class.  Our final class was Walk/Favorite Gait with 11 horses in a smallish arena.  The judge was looking right at us when they called for the favorite gait.  Thankfully, he eased into the trot with less fussing than the class before and was decent in traffic.  We were about to reverse directions when a crack of thunder sounded and they called off the show then and there.  They did still pin the class based on the one direction, and amazingly, he got 4th out of the class of 11.

So these are the grades I'm giving him from our test:
Trailering: A (loaded readily and stood quietly)
Adaptation to new environments: A (totally relaxed)
Manners around other horses: B+
Behavior in In Hand Classes: A- (he chomped the bit a lot and mooched for treats, but stood well)
Responsiveness In Hand: B (lazy, but he got the job done)
Behavior in Under Saddle Classes: D+ (He was exactly the same as he is at home, sometimes ok, sometimes a pita, so if I can cure his stubborn streak at home, hopefully it will be gone at shows, too)
Responsiveness Under Saddle: C- (he was extremely lazy at the walk, forgot how to bend, then would speed up and slow down at the trot, but I suppose that's better than him being hyped up and running off)

Well, I don't know when the next test will be, but we need to improve the under saddle grades.