Excitement is building. As of late, the big melt is upon us. Roads, trails, and valleys are turning to afternoon rivers. The footing around here is shifting from snow packed and icy, to something that may pass as a safe place to work a horse. That coupled with the recent time change will begin directing things, around here, to full horse mode. Exciting indeed.

I am tempted to grab a horse, mount up and ride off like old pros. With a good seat and nerves of steel this may be viable. Considering how sensitive our horses have become living month to month as a wild herd, I should think better of testing my seats velcro. A more mellow approach would be wise.

I am one who likes to perform a "flight check" prior to jumping on and slapping leather. I use a form of groundwork as a means to check the horse out. It is much safer to work things out from the end of a lead rope than to deal with a trouble spot from the saddle. Through guiding a horse through some groundwork exercises I can see how they are responding as well as tuning into me.

The mental state of the horse is the biggest thing that I am concerned with when performing groundwork. I am not trying to teach them any new movements. I am merely gauging their response time and ability to follow my lead. If any of this seems poor on the end of the lead rope then trying to do better from the saddle can be really challenging. When a horse tunes into you from the ground we are setting ourselves up for success.

Moving a horse through a set of drills on the end of a lead rope is a very useful tool. This may be all you need to do when checking them out prior to mounting. Often, for me, that is the case. Here at our place we have a sturdy round pen with good footing and it can be quite fun to work horses at liberty in there (without a halter and lead). This can be used to further gauge a horse's ability to willingly respond to cues. As we increase the distance between horse and human the tendency for a horse to blow us off increases as well. By working to hone the response time at liberty we strengthen a horses resolve to tune into us should things get hectic.

Some folks use the round pen as a tool to wear out a horse. The thought is that by running them ragged until sweat drips from their eyeballs, the horse won't have the energy to misbehave. It has been my experience that this may work to some small degree. Most likely though, the outcome is a well conditioned, cranky horse, that views the round pen with distaste. I am the type who hates to use up my horses energy before I mount up. I like to have the ability to use that energy for learning or just covering ground.

That said, I use the round pen to become more accurate. I may ask for transitions from walk, to trot, to canter, but I never ask them to maintain the canter for long. The horse may get to running full speed with it's tail up, going round and round, but that is in spite of me. My goal is to keep things calm and precise. When the horse decides to slow down and look me up my response is "Welcome back. Now where were we?" I like working a horse at liberty just to see what we can get accomplished without them getting all worked up. The working them up is the easy part. It is the calm horse that I work towards.

As the ice melts and gives way to solid ground, my horses will be getting back to work around here. By easing them back into a work schedule I am making my life easier. What we do now with them sets the tone for the spring. Setting the horse up to perform as a willing partner will do a lot to expedite advancement in the future. By taking the time today to dispel trouble we allow more time for fun tomorrow.

Welcome Spring,

Eric

Easton Horsemanship