The "testing" horse vs the horse in pain, my test

[Adele]

Well you all know of the problems I have been having with Ben, I have had 2 vets out to him, a chiropractor, a joint specialist, a physio & 2 saddle fitters to try and sort out why he was jacking up on me (jacking up, meaning getting very behind the leg, stopping and jumping up & down on the spot)

They all found something wrong, which I fixed / changed / increased / decreased & so on, until there was nothing left to do, and he was still acting up, then came the chiropractor. Who I think fixed the problem.

Since them I have been slowly bringing him back into work & he is so much happier in his work, his attitude has totally changed and hes back to his cheeky & "mr personality" self. I have slowly been stepping up the work, more walking, long & low to build up his topline and increasing his trotting, for a week or 2 now hes been mr perfect, hasn't jacked up at all. Well I asked for a little bit of a shorter frame today, I asked him to lift & himself a little bit more, and the little shit, he started to drop off my leg and jack up, but only in one spot. I gave him the hell of a crack with the whip & he instantly thought, OH CRAP! I better do what she said, and honestly increased his work ethic to going so much better than what I have ever felt him go like before.

Today it wasn't the same 'jacking up' as it was before, it was a half assed attempt to try and fool me. If I had got it wrong & he was still in pain, I would have known it in 2 seconds flat, by being dumped and flat on my back.

There were a couple of people watching (these people who originaly told me to whip him through the 'pain') and they were in awe and told me that finally I had started to listen to them, if i had done that before we would be so much further ahead at this point in time. So they couldn't see any difference in him jacking up out of pain than him jacking up out of testing me.

I have totally changed my view on Ben, before now hes been the 'advanced' horse & I was in awe of him, but now hes just a playful 7 year old, who is just recovering from an injury & hes just back to square one back at prelim/novice level.

Im very happy when I got off Ben. Not only have I accumplished the best ride that I have had on Ben to date, that I have also learnt the different signs that Ben gives when hes telling me that hes in pain, than if hes just trying me out. Im just stoaked. Honestly stoaked.

Only onwards & upwards form here on *hopefully*

[Jytte]

So did you tell those people what wankers they were?

[ann]

And now he's going to respect you as well as trust you (you fixed his pain), so you have the beginnings of a very good working relationship.

Well done, Adele. I do hope we see you both over here next winter.

I wouldn't worry about the wankers. They're not going to change their minds, and obviously don't have the feel to go too far up the ladder themselves.

The best way to show them that your methods are right is to go out there and get good percentages and glowing comments from judges. I'm sure you're capable of doing that. And enjoying yourself in the process. We mustn't lose sight of the fact that this is supposed to be enjoyable. It seems that you're on the way to enjoying your work with Ben, which is just terrific.

[Adele]

So did you tell those people what wankers they were?

Im far to nice to do that ;) I told them where to go instead :)

To be honest I don't really care what they say. Im glad that I have gone through this with him, I have come out of this with so much more knowledge about this horse, and when his "mr personality" attitude goes into "mr angry & pissed off" that something is giving him grief & to go looking for the problem.

I saw him playing in the paddock with his toy (the road cone) yesterday and hes just a very funny horse. He loves a very regular routine and only being out for a couple of hours a day. Im just really happy, no-one can burst the bubble that Im in at the moment, not even with their snide comments :)

I hope to be over next winter as well, to show some of you, what us kiwi dressage riders are made of! (notice I didn't say dressage queens, Im never going to be a dressage queen, im to laid back to be one of them! :D )

[Equine Elegance]

How fantastic that you are progressing! I hope that bubble of happiness hangs around for a long time!

In my mind, especially if you know the horse, there is a distinct difference between a horse being naughty because of pain and one beng naughty because they're trying you on.

Just know that real horsepeople can tell, and know that you are one of those real horsepeople and they are not. You're in an elite group now! :)

The other reason he might have been naughty is because he thought it was going to hurt, so in his mind it's better to protect it than risk the "ouch". Once you push them through (knowing that the problem is gone), they get over it and realise it's fixed.

I would have been about ready to scream at those people. It's incredibly frustrating when everyone has an opinion with what is wrong with your horse, and even more so when none of them have the same answer or when they don't even know the situation. I do value people's opinions but when they are completely off the mark.....

YAY!!! We're throwing a party for you!

[Shirrine]

Well done Adele. Always go with your gut feeling and don't listen to people you don't respect anyway.
I have done that with Roo, I knew there was a problem and went through hell to find it. The mental scarring can be worse than the physical one and you have to find the way around that and that takes so much more effort. Obviously you have found out how and it has worked. Sometime a whack with the whip is the answer and sometimes not. You have figured out the right time for it and you will now hopefully go along in leaps and bounds.

Shirrine

[Franca]

That's wonderful, Adele! I love reading posts like that. I'm sure you communicate a lot better with Ben than those overly "helpful" souls spouting nonsense at you are able to communicate with their horses. And good for you for stepping back in his training to where he's comfortable before moving upward again. So many people don't want to take the time or feel like they're "going backwards". Whenever you train according to what the horse needs you are going forward (no matter how it might look to anyone else). You're improving your skills and his, and building a strong relationship with your equine partner. You should be proud of yourself.