Pain in the Neck (reining)

Wed Aug 9, 2006

Well, last night was Quzqo's first Official Neck-Reining Lesson, and other than being a lazy, petulant, opportunistic, ring-soured BRAT, he may have done okay... considering.

I even went to the barn "late", to give Himself time to thoroughly relax and enjoy his dinner, which he did, because Bob brought him inside around 6 (the horse was standing by the gate, neighing, according to Bob, lol) (Emperor Quzqo is SO aptly named!! "Yo! Peasant! I command you to bring ME to my Imperial Stall and feed me MY dinner!") So by the time I got there after 7, he was on the final 1/2 flake of hay (he gets two fat flakes, plus a scoop of grain, + black oil sunflower seeds (hand-picked by vestal virgins of the highest virtue, of course). Had to physically PRY him away from the food, and literally DRAG him out of the stall, and he proceeded to dawdle and drag and slump along behind me, 100% NOT interested in ANYthing I had to offer him.

He was even less-interested in taking the snaffle bit, and proved he DID have energy by the display of head-flipping and wiggling, trying to avoid the bit, LOL! Drama Queen!

Well, we tried to warm up in the arena, and he was wretched about staying on the rail...there's three or four spots where he will suddenly VEER towards the center of the ring...totally without warning or subtlety, just BAM, head for the center! He got a leg in his side and a pop on the butt, but I also used the occasion to work on neck-reining, since I had to "direct-rein" his face back towards the rail, LOL. There's NO reason for this, just him "yanking my chain" . Nothing scary on the rail, nothing on the other side of the fence to spook him, he's just being Difficult. Or as the trainer lady called it..."messing with you".

He found out I can be Difficult as well, and tried the tack of letting him rest and linger in those spots on the rail, then taking him to the center of the ring and riding his ass off! Circles, cantering, backing, turns on the forehand, backing some more, circling even more, the returning to the rail to dawdle and woolgather. My luck he'll learn to STOP moving on the rail altogether, *sigh*

ANYhoo, re: the neck reining...after countless circles in both directions, using the direct reining/rein laid across the neck/leg aids, he was starting to turn with very little, if any direct-rein! But...only if we were turning in the DIRECTION OF THE OUT GATE! LOL! Little SHIT! If we were going the OTHER way, forget it, LOL!

So we went out the ring (I always make him back out though), and did some work in the field behind the arena...again, if we turned in the direction of the woods, it was like pulling teeth...if we turned in the direction of the BARN....he about did it on his own! *sigh*

Guess I'll limit neck-reining to the indoor ring, where there isn't quite the distractions (though he does tend to gravitate towards the end nearest to his STALL)...but hopefully he's "getting it"

Yep...that week and a half off really spoiled him!