March 20, 2019

Every moment you spend with your horse is telling them something. That's why in the first year of Shine's life, I tried to go out to see him every single day. Just a few minutes multipled a few hundred times turns out to be quite a lot of time.
I remember on Thanksgiving the first year I owned him, I had so far been out to visit him every single day. Well I decided that day would be no different and I would make time to spend a few minutes with him among the festivities. Well, I turned out that I didn't have a chance to go out there till 11:15 pm. I still made the drive with my Dad and enjoyed a few flashlight moments of petting him and brushing his legs. I feel that Shine really trusts me now. When we're in a new situation, he might start with a flight response, but then he realizes quickly that I'm okay and he is okay too. That's where all that spending time with him comes into play. You can't get a horse used to all situations right away, but you can give them each a foundation of training both with and without the saddle that they can fall back on in those times when they find a new obstacle to overcome. 

March 19, 2019

No matter how long you have been riding you can always critic yourself and get better. I suggest having another horse enthusiast watch you and give you a few pointers. They can see how you ride from a different angle and might have an idea or two for improvement. I also find it helpful to carve out some time to watch other people ride. Even if you don't know them, you will learn more about riding and be able to pick up different pros and cons from others that will affect the next time you mount up. Remember... a smile on your face will help your training session, whether it is going not so great, or if it is already video worthy. Keep riding!

March 12, 2019

It has been raining a bunch the last several weeks, so I haven't made much dry ground to train Shine. He has been having a lot of days off and wanting to run when I do get him out for some exercise. He also loves to roll in the mud (apparently) because each day when I go to get him, his stomach especially is super muddy!
Today I rode him bareback and he was quite good. I brushed him some then rode him then brushed him some more. He is really listening to the rein cues I'm giving him and he is listening to my leg cues as well.
The manager out at the stables gave me another comment today about how good Shine is. "He really is a good one, isn't he?!"
Enjoying walking and trotting between the puddles. :-)

Summary: Shine Training

Training Shine has been fun but challenging too. Right now I have reached another plateau in training, but I’m sure I’ll get past it soon. I still work full-time during the day at a desk job, so I only get to ride in the evenings and on weekends. Especially this time of year, it is pretty dark by the time I get out there after work, so it limits the time I can work Shine. We do have arena lights, but still if there are a lot of riders out and about it limits how much time I can train him each day. He has come a long way though.

Shine is going to be 3 years old in March 2019, but he already loads himself in the trailer, is getting used to the wash racks, and accepts me playing my trumpet and riding while a large American flag is waving behind him. He is a joy to work with and I feel more confident with my training ability each time I successfully get him trained with a new skill. Looking forward to the future!