reinersblog.com

Everyone has an idol. When it comes to horse training, mine is Les Vogt. Even though I’d never met him, I had this idea about the kind of person he was. He just seemed like such a nice person, and a natural born teacher with a sincere interest in helping people improve their horsemanship skills. I’ve been watching those training videos of his for months now.

Then again, do you really want to ever meet your idol in real life? What if he isn’t what you thought? What if he’s just a dude looking to make a buck; someone who doesn’t really care at all? I’ve heard stories about people meeting their idols before, stories of football heroes that wouldn’t give a kid an autograph; or a famous authors who talk down to their fans; stories about idol meetings that were devastatingly disappointing.

BUT THAT’S NOT MY STORY! LES VOGT WAS THE BEST!!! I got to attend one of his clinics this weekend (just watch; not with my horse). My brain is so full from everything I learned and my grin still hasn’t gone away.

He is the nicest person! And an amazing instructor–he tells you how to do it, shows you how to do it, and then has you show him how to do it. Everyone was having so much fun. My favorite moment was when one young woman, (after Les spent about 5 to 10 minutes with her), got her horse to do the most amazing slide. She couldn’t believe it! No one could. We all clapped and cheered like she’d won the gold.

I have a lot more to say about the clinic, but for now, I’ll just say, if you ever get the chance, go to his clinic. You won’t regret it.

I love this photo of Leo. Look at that angry little fella. I just love him.

So, he’s been snarky with me all week. He was rearing up again today. Not with any real height or anything, just front hoofs leaving the dirt and whipping his head back and forth angrily.

I should add that I’ve been riding in a covered arena lately. It’s nice to be dry, but horses get a little tense in there because of the high walls and the fact that there are horses just on the other side—including a couple of stallions—right on the other side to be specific. Leo is always a little on edge in there; most horses are.

Leo’s owner came in to ride with me today on his other horse, Shadow. Leo and I were working on our communications skills and both feeling a little tense. Well, Shadow spooked right behind Leo. Boy I tell you, Leo’s head shot straight up and his back end dropped about two feet. He LAUNCHED forward from zero to scary in a blink. I could hear his back hoofs hitting dirt, ::::wham! wham! wham!::::::

He lost his footing around the corner and I was sure I was a goner. But somehow, I stayed on. I tried to pay attention to what he was charging towards because there is a lot of trail course stuff in the center. We went one full lap and when I realized I wasn’t dead yet and coherent thought entered my head, I began using steady, alternating, pulls on the reins and saying in my most calming tone (considering) “whoooooa Leo…whooooooa buddy.”

And guess what! He didn’t buck or crash or lose his mind! He actually came to a stop! Jim said he was watching me, silently praying that Leo wouldn’t start bucking. Thanks Jim!

So ya, what ARE you supposed to do when a horse bolts in an arena? What if there were other riders there? Do you just pray, hang on, and try to avoid crashing? I know they say the one-reined stop is good, but in an arena full of stuff? And snaffles? No stopping power there.

By the way, HE IS SO FAST AND THAT WAS SO FUN! I can’t wait til we get good enough to go that fast in a…very…controlled….manner. Someday we’ll be cool like Elvis, but just now, well, we’re kinda the spazo’s.

Somewhere in Les Vogt’s foundation level of Cowhorse U. program, he says, “Don’t make a big deal out of anything you don’t want to be a big deal.” Well, I didn’t heed the warning, and I think I may now be suffering the consequences.

Les also says that you basically have two horses to train, the right side of the horse and the left side. This is how the big deal started—I only trained one horse.

First I noticed that, ya, Leo was doing a turn-on-the-forehand to the left. But then I realized that somewhere along the line, he totally forgot how to do it to the right (my fault for sure – practice both sides consistently goof!). I also realized the I DIDN’T HAVE THE NECK!!! ACH! I realized that even on his good side, his head was up in the air and pulling hard on the bit all the way around. Yikes!

Solution, I thought = get annoying with the bit. Alternate pulls until he drops his head and gets off the bit. That worked pretty good on his good side. I have the neck…in one direction.

I kept trying for the turn-on-the-forehand on his bad side. He would back up, go sideways, and almost always try to go forward. He would push through the bit and walk on. When he did that I would get more aggressive with the bit, not a dead pull, but obnoxious alternate tugs. If he even made a step in the right direction, I would release and tell him what a good boy he was. BUT, I think I tried too many times, for too long, two days in a row. He finally, out of frustration, brought his front two hoofs off the ground. Continue Reading »