Horse Talk

[chicken19]

I rode my horse today!
We rode tackless with a neck rope.
This is his 4th tackless ride.
It was amazing! I trained him myself.
He goes left, right, does hindquarter yields, walks, trots, back up, and we are working on developing a bit of a spin.

 

[abigalerose]

I know, I know, I've been working on my nerves, June has helped a boat load with my nervousness, 6 months ago I wouldn't even want to be near a horse like him, but now I will ride him. It's just hard to keep from tensing up. Especially after seeing how jumpy he is. I walked up to the gate and he jumped. I've only had him maybe a month or so, so I'm sure it'll improve when both of us trust each other more, and with lots of desensitizing. I have made some progress already, when I got him there was no way you could get on him without him moving, but yesterday I saddled him up and got on and he stayed still the whole time. But another problem I have is that he's still not getting along with June.
And I rode June tackless today. Not a real ride though, just hopped onto her in the arena and held onto her mane and kicked and kissed and let her walk where she wanted

I'm jealous of where you're at with your horse!

 

[chicken19]

I know, I know, I've been working on my nerves, June has helped a boat load with my nervousness, 6 months ago I wouldn't even want to be near a horse like him, but now I will ride him. It's just hard to keep from tensing up. Especially after seeing how jumpy he is. I walked up to the gate and he jumped. I've only had him maybe a month or so, so I'm sure it'll improve when both of us trust each other more, and with lots of desensitizing. I have made some progress already, when I got him there was no way you could get on him without him moving, but yesterday I saddled him up and got on and he stayed still the whole time. But another problem I have is that he's still not getting along with June.
And I rode June tackless today. Not a real ride though, just hopped onto her in the arena and held onto her mane and kicked and kissed and let her walk where she wanted

I'm jealous of where you're at with your horse!

Sounds like a good plan.
About tensing up. Relax your muscles and breathe. Think about how nice the day is and how nice it is to be riding.
Think 100% positive and relax. And BREATHE deeply.
Chess (my gelding) used to be a real greeny and this is what I did. Mostly he just took time and patience.
And now I ride him tackless!

I've been riding him for a year now but I knew him before I rode him.
He's 7 years old.
I taught him to do bridleless by first leading him by just holding the lead rope around his neck and leading him.
Then when I ride I make sure to use my legs just as much as my arms. Right leg means left, left leg means right.
Then I hopped on tackless (with a neck rope) and it was magic!

 

[abigalerose]

That's the same approach I'm going to take once June has more training and miles on her!
I'm not sure what to do about Phoenix picking on her thought it's stressing me out

 

[Bunnylady]

What' he doing?

 

[abigalerose]

Bites her and chases her away from him, yesterday he chased her and she jumped over the trough and smacked her legs on it, I'm worried she'll end up hurting her self becuase he's chasing her

 

[I Love Layers]

Bites her and chases her away from him, yesterday he chased her and she jumped over the trough and smacked her legs on it, I'm worried she'll end up hurting her self becuase he's chasing her

Is she in heat?

 

[abigalerose]

She was when we first brought him home but she's not anymore and he's still acting this way. At first I thought it was just becuase of her being in heat and I separated them till she was done, but nothing's changed. It's frustrating, especially since my reason for getting him was so she'd have a companion

 

[abigalerose]

I'd also like to add that he treats the cows and llama the same way and he's been with them everyday for about 2.5 weeks in a 40 acre field. Maybe he's just angry becuase he's separated from his heard? Is that possible? And how long does it take to know if a horse is going to adjust or not?

 

[Bunnylady]

It sounds to me like he has adjusted - he's the top animal out there; can't adjust any better than that! Though whether he gets comfortable enough with his crown to ease off on his subordinates, only time will tell. There could be several things going on between him and June; though she has been with other horses all her life, she may not be showing the right amount of deference, he may not like her color, lots of possibilities.