Shag has soured out a bit with the students. This means he
doesn’t want to work for them and he is not going to listen. He and the student
get into a tug of war resistance and he wins (only a 900# advantage in most
cases).
I stopped using him for students a few weeks ago and I rode
him. I rode bareback just walking for several rides so he could ‘tell’ me what
the problems were.
The biggest was that people were relying on the reins for
communication instead of taking their time to ask for what they wanted in the
proper sequence. He let me know that if we will use words, sound and body for
communication he is not only willing to listen but happy to give us what we
ask.
This week I put a student on him for the first time and
shared what I found. The last time she rode him it was the tug of war. This
time, with the new approach, she was in high spirits. He became a willing
partner for her and she learned so much about her responsibilities as a rider.
All they did was walk but this a powerful lesson.
The rider enjoyed bareback because she felt she received so
much more information from Shag than when she rides with a saddle.
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