I count myself very lucky that I have two horses. However, they sure are so different they have two different personalities.
Having a Reliable Horse is Wonderful
Tally my chestnut gelding is the one that I just pop in the float and off I go. He is also a really good horse in traffic. I always feel grateful when riding him on the busy narrow roads around our neighbourhood. It is just unavoidable crossing roads as they lead us to the good trails.
My other horse Sharlan the black gelding is a great trail horse yet when it comes to traffic and floating, he is certainly the more challenging. I think he was born a more fearful sensitive horse, he has always been very wary of trucks and heavy machinery. Even as a yearling he was very reactive. He floats okay with Tally yet is more challenging on his own and calls out a lot.
I think in some way I have exacerbated the situation as I have always taken the easy way out and chosen the quiet one if I need to float for a trail ride. I guess I always know Tally will load with no problems. I think in some way I have come up with so many excuses as to why I should not take my black horse Sharlan. Here are some of my excuses, He doesn’t like floating by himself, he is not confident on the roads and is very unsure about trucks and motorbikes. He is a sensitive horse. These excuses have produced a now formed habit. What’s the saying? If you do something over and over again then it forms a habit. I have now come to realise that the way I have been thinking about my black horse Sharlan has caused some negative behaviour that has now turned into a habit. I have caused this by always placing him in predictable situations.
How can I begin to get Sharlan to Float and do Road Trails?
I asked this question to myself recently. I know change can be confronting and things don’t just improve overnight? Or do they? I decided to start the process of breaking my habit at home. I first began in a relaxed setting at home, not in the paddock but usually when I was relaxing. I would start to think of Sharlan in a new way. Firstly, I pictured him eating grass and relaxing. Then I would imagine having a relaxing ride around my property, then I would imagine him on the trails with me.
Potraying him in a very Positive Way
What I was beginning to do was reprogram my subconscious mind to accept a more positive picture of how I thought about my black horse Sharlan. Doing this exercise over and over again starts to feed information to my body and then when I am physical with Sharlan my body is relaxed and I have a more positive mindset about our time together. When I am in a calmer mood and feeling relaxed I then have a better belief about the outcome of our ride. I have been riding with a trusted friend. She has been riding my other horse Tally and I would ride Sharlan. Our rides have been great yet very predictable, for example, I was always avoiding the main roads. Yet after doing the positive mind exercises, I was feeling confident to ride on one of the main roads. On this particular day, I felt relaxed and impressed with how quiet my horse was. He was striding out and we had a lovely canter up a road. On the way home I felt a little nervous as the cars drove by us. Yet I was surprised at how well he was behaving. I only dismounted when I saw that the road was narrow.
What made the experience even easier was my Innovative Equestrian Bridle (https://innovativeequestrian.com/ols/products/innovative-equestrian-bridle-nnv-qst-brd1). I was able to unclip my long rope reins (https://innovativeequestrian.com/ols/products/innovative-rope-reins-nnv-rp-rns1) and clip one end straight onto the halter clip of my bridle, this way I had full control of him when a truck passed. I was able to pull him off the road and stand and wait for it to pass.
Overall, I am excited that I was able to achieve this goal. It got me thinking that a lot of the fear has come from my thoughts about how I see my horse.
Kind regards,
Vanessa Macdonald
Innovative Equestrian
The Trail Riding Specialist
