Staying Between the Reins: A Test in Patience and Optimism
I know Les says that you should let horses make mistakes because that’s how they learn, but what if they just keep making the same mistake? We’ve done so many circles, we might be permanently dizzy now. We’re great at a walk, good at a trot, but everything falls apart at a canter. Leo just wants to drop that inside shoulder and cut into that circle until we wind down to a stop.
I spend my time trying to correct Leo the only way I know how, which is to pull up on that inside rein, just so, so he has to straighten out. But it only lasts for a second. As soon as I release, he rushes right out from between those reins and heads for the center of the circle like we’re suddenly caught in an arena maelstrom. I think I need to really need to chant this Les Vogt quote a few times before I start every ride, “Remember that 90 percent of the time, a problem that a horse is giving you is just a reflection of your own riding, so work 90 percent on yourself and 10 percent on your horse.”
So really, this is all my doing. But what is it that I’m doing? Am I leaning to the inside? Am I tagging him with my outside leg and I don’t know it?
