![]() |
Re: [RC] Horse Manners - Don HustonHello Juli,I don't know if this will work for you but this is what I did with Indy (now retired at 22), my version of your Alpine. Indy was (still is) an adrenalin junkie. Once he got going and sweating and breathing hard he was no longer a group horse (brain explodes like you said). If I was taking other riders from my stable out with me I would tell them that at some point Indy might turn into a monster and they would have to finish the ride without me because he and I were going to get some exercise. After a year or so of leaving the group and working the hills for 2-4 hours then coming home Indy learned that a leisurely walk could be okay. Every now and then he would lose it but many times I heard "Is that Indy? Did you trank that boy or what?" I think for Indy that going hard and fast was actually a treat. Often times after a slow group ride and a few beers for me back at the stable (electrolytes ya know) I would take him back out and he would just blast along with sheer exuberance and living up to his name....Indy....like a sports car. Indy and I were not a good team at endurance because he was just too hot, I was too old to keep up with him and fighting him to moderate his speed just beat both of us up. I still ride him every 3-4 months and he is still a complete gentleman until I lean forward and whisper his favorite words "let's go" then it's "adrenalin time" which he and I can still manage for about 60 minutes. It requires careful advance mental trail planing to arrive back home in one piece but what a thrill or is it fright? I certainly failed to get Indy to use his incredible energy well but he is barefoot, sound and happy playing with his buddies. I hope you and Alpine can work it out but my little story is just a reminder that not all horse and rider teams are good at endurance. Some teams are just because you love them. Don Huston At 12:24 PM 6/3/2007 Sunday, you wrote: I spend 99% of my time riding by myself. Alpine knows the ropes. You walk when mom says walk, trot when she says trot, and try not to kill her if you decide to spook when going at high speeds. Above all, make sure if you do dump mom, you don?t do it on the snake you are spooking at. Or the stray Emu that lives in my forest. SanDiego, Calif
|