Here's some food for thought for the holiday weekend. :-)
Stumbling.
So, I'm not going to go into a philisophical post about how I am stumbling through life. I am talking literal stumbling. Tripping over your own feet.
Do you (or your trainer) punish your horse for stumbling? If so, how do you punish him or her? If not, why not? And do you ignore it?
Hampton stumbles a few times each riding session, usually. His toes aren't long and he doesn't even wear bellboots anymore, so I blame it on the fact that he's on the forehand and sort of lazy. My instructor says I should punish him for it - by half halting and using the stick. Up until now, I just ignore it. But I am going to try correcting him when he stumbles to see if it makes a difference. And to clarify, they are just minor little trips. And only in front. He never goes down to his knees or anything. It also helps to walk in shoulder-in.
So, how do you handle stumbles?
You asked - I would never punish a horse for stumbling - either the hindquarters aren't well enough developed to carry the weight, the horse doesn't yet know how to properly balance with a rider or the rider is doing something to interfere with the horse's balance, or the footing is poor or too deep - why would any of this be the horse's fault? Sometimes stumbling can be a sign of fatigue or farrier error, or even a sign of illness. My inclination would be to reexamine what is going on. Sorry that I don't agree with your trainer - don't mean to be argumentative!
ReplyDeleteI don't feel you are being argumentative. :-) I feel sort of ... wrong ... for punishing him for stumbling, because, like you said, it doesn't seem like it's something that is his fault. I know he loses his balance sometimes (he's a giant 3 year old) and I am pretty confident that the stumbling will go away as he matures. I'm just curious as to what others think.
ReplyDeleteI have never, ever punished a horse for stumbling. That doesn't necessarily mean it's WRONG to punish a horse because it trips, I've just never thought of it being something that's the horse's fault. I mean, we humans stumble every once in a while just walking along normally, and do people punish US? No. Because of that, I just think it's something that the happens subconsciously, or even it's the rider's fault. If you really think about it, I'll bet you've never seen a horse stumble without a rider, and if you have, it's probably only been once or twice. Most of the time, things like tripping, stumbling, or doing something wrong is the rider or trainer's fault. If a horse tries to avoid a mud puddle but the rider insists and the horse slips, whos fault is that? The rider's.
ReplyDeleteThat's my thoughts behind it. Again, that doesn't mean it's wrong to punish the horse; it's just not what I do. Hope you figure it out!:)
So I guess it depends on whether you are using the dressage whip as a punishment or a training tool. I sure wouldn't wail on him or scold him, but I doubt your doing that. I have a rather awkward 4 year old who is still in his stumbling faze... I basically do what your trainer seems to be saying. I tap his little behind just as I would any time I'm trying to encourage him to pay attention to my leg and step under himself. Not smack him, but I do use the whip as a tickle-tap reminder, and basically try to re-balance him. My guy trips because he's poking around and on the forehand. So like I said I don't tell him he's naughty, because its not his fault, I just remember to sit up, pick him up a bit more, and basically use all the aids I can to help him balance himself a little more on his haunches.
ReplyDeleteIt's never occurred to me to punish a horse for stumbling. I guess I always just gone with it like I would a sneeze. But, I also know a horse the chronically sneezes during the canter...he is scolded for that by his rider.
ReplyDeleteMy horse stumbled a lot when he was a baby like yours, and it got less and less as he matured and learned to carry himself. Turns out he also had some feet and saddle fit issues that could have contributed. He's now six, and if he stumbles, which is rare now, I just send him forward and try to get him more animated. I wouldn't consider it a disobedience, just a balance and development issue. But I only just started picking him up into an adult "frame" this year, so maybe I'm behind the curve.
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