A whole 'nother gear just waiting to be tapped

[Tootsie4U]

Im sure more than half of us have seen Sea Biscuit..... remember when they started training him, he just didnt know how to use his last gear? Well, keep that in mind for my question to follow... :D

Getting Bonfire on the mend. He is on zero work (unless you call ground work work :D) until the saddler and chiro get ahold of him next week. He was off pretty bad on Tuesday, but still giving his all... gotta love those Morgans.

Im expecting things to pick up well. Im working very hard on other horses to fix my position (had a big setback with hollowing my back). Due to the surprise the other night with Bon's muscle development, Im going to focus our training on long & low and stretched at first. No canter for awhile as that accelerated my bad position.

Anyway, on to the point. I've been chatting back and forth with people who have been following the Toots & Bon saga. The opinion is pretty unanimous that Bonfire hasn't tapped into his last gear as yet. When tack fits and his rider is balanced, he works very well in an outline. I can feel his entire back rise six inches ('least thats what it feels like :p ) but I swear he's holding back. I have tried galloping and he just wont take it.

I was talking with a friend yesterday and examining pictures from April and even she said he's got a whole other gear in him that he hasn't used yet.

So, how do you encourage that out of a horse? I suspect its confidence along with making sure he's developed sufficiently in the hind end. But, its not even just about push power - there's a firecracker in there, I know it. How do I light it up?

Am I making sense? :D

[galadriel]

Well...it takes a few strides for a horse to really rev into gallop, and it's also a lot less balanced than canter. It's best to ask for gallop on a long straightaway, especially at first.

[Tootsie4U]

Thats the way we did canter the first times. It worked well despite everyone telling me to do it out of a corner :rolleyes:

He'll gallop one day...

Mostly, Im just talking about everything, not just galloping. Galloping was more of an example of the issue. He is doing it correctly but you can just tell he's got more to give.

I guess its like driving an expensive sports car. You are cruising at 65 mph but you know its got 110 in it somewhere....

[Mehitabel]

you already know what i'm going to say...

hack out! make it fun - find a slight hill, get a friend and have a good old race - lean forward, whoop, yeehah, and let him go go go! he needs to enjoy his work to find that gear and want to excel, and as i've said before, it's a testament to his good will that he's still sunny and willing havign had all this time between four walls. petal would have soured long ago.

[Tootsie4U]

"Sunny and willing" No one will ever understand how that feels to hear someone say that about him. :)

He definately prefers the outdoors.

[galadriel]

Ah, okay, I misinterpreted. Sorry...

I wonder if he's holding back, because he feels that you are. If you've still got any stiffness or tension, he may feel that you're not prepared for all the energy/impulsion/bounce/movement that he has to give. It also may be that you just haven't figured out how to ask for it yet.

I also wonder--are you still working almost exclusively in an arena or doing schooling? If so, he might benefit from some relaxed rides--rides where nothing is expected of him, and he could just roll on along. If *he* is tense, anticipating, or simply not as comfortable in a smaller area, then doing a lot of forward, loosening riding might help trigger more, more, more.

[galadriel]

Oho. Es beat me to it. I took too long typing ;)

[Tootsie4U]

He *is* a bouncy little guy - much more than the other Morgans I take lessons on. Awwww... my little guy could be looking out for my welfare. On second thought.... :D:D We rode in the outdoor on Saturday for warm up and he was quite excited. We practiced our reining :D We did a sliding stop by the fence, else we would have gone right over it. Maybe you're onto something Gal. :S

[galadriel]

Bounce, sparkle, oomph, anthusiasm...whatever you call it, I see it more when my horses have a chance to do some nice relaxed work as well and serious schooling. They're also a lot more pleased about coming in to be ridden, when I make sure that sessions aren't boring. (example: Kat's always a little hesistant to be caught after two lunging sessions in a row--doesn't walk away, but doesn't walk up to me either.)

If you can figure out what Bonny Boy thinks is hard, and what he thinks is fun, you can try to make sure that you incorporate some fun at least every other session. And lighten up on the "hard" stuff sometimes, if you can. The "fun" could be as simple as running around the arena together before or after riding (like free lunging, but in play). Both Duchess and Kat like that one. Or a quiet bareback ride, where there are few expectations... or a long ride out, where we may do a little schooling, but on the whole they can pick what to do: trot a little here, canter a little there, stretch out and walk for a while elsewhere.