Re: Big Ol' Mountain

["Glenda R. Snodgrass" <grs@theneteffect.com>]

> Just how common is it for the horse to balk at riding AND if your horse
> does balk and needs some coaxing to go up the mountain, do they ever out
> grow that behavior and become great endurance horses?

Lakota wasn't really balking in the true sense.  He's very expressive, and
often tells me exactly what he's thinking -- it's taken me a year of
riding him nearly every day to learn to read his body language.  He has
only truly balked once -- and that was a doozy! It took me over an hour to
get him across a bridge once, but I did it, and he never balked at that
bridge -- or anything else -- again.  But that was way back when, not long
after I got him.  What he did at this "mountain" is his standard way of
telling me "Isn't there a way around this?"  He will often stop and look
at something, think about it, then slowly turn around and attempt to march
(not run) away, telling me "It's not really a good idea to go that way,
let's turn around."  I simply turn him back around and squeeze firmly, and
he goes on.  I don't consider that balking, merely communication. 

Glenda & Lakota