This morning the ground was wet, so I looked at the TV weather and it looked like there would be a tiny gap with no rain, so I decided I would ride anyway. Shannon thought her ring would stand up to it as we are mainly riding at a walk now. I got to the stable, it had stopped raining, so we tacked up.

Mars was a little happier today, I changed to my dressage saddle, and Shannon said he looked less hunched up in his back. I had also changed to my horse size Nurtural cross-under since my Cob sized Dr. Cook's bridle seemed a little tight on him. Mars seemed to appreciate the looser fit. This does not mean that Mars was any more cooperative, he has changed completely from a charge ahead trotting machine to a pony who has one favorite speed--the halt.

A few minutes after I started riding it started raining, a very light drizzle. Mars seemed to think that this little bit of rain meant that he would not have to work any more. Instant stop, standing there with full expectation that I would get off and stop riding him because it was raining. In fact I was getting the message from Mars that I better hurry and get under cover because in Mars experience his former riders thought they would melt in the rain, and he did NOT want a melted human on his back. I guess he thinks that this would be super yucky.

Whenever it rains (or is below freezing) I just reflect on the fact that fox-hunters and cowboys did not come out of the weather when it rained or got cold, they stayed out, got wet, and went on riding. This seemed to be a whole new idea for Mars, a pony who lives outside and is in his twenties. All I could think was that his earlier riders had run back to the stable anytime it started raining and inadvertently trained Mars to quit working whenever it rains. I then wondered how many people do this--oh its raining I need to stop because I'll get wet, I'll have to clean my tack, the ground is getting slippery, etc., etc., etc., and thus unmeaningly teach the horse that rain means STOP.

I find that if you want a horse that will willingly perform in all types of weather you HAVE to ride or work them in all types of weather. Horses have this amazing ability to become a completely different horse whenever conditions change, and he, as a different horse, does not know anything from his previous training, after all that happened to another horse. Confusing to us? YES. We pride ourselves for being the same person no matter what is happening or wherever we are. Horses do not work this way, every change in the weather, every change in the environment, every change in training--and it can be like you are on a completely different, totally untrained horse, one who needs to be trained from the beginning in the new environment. This is one reason why it can take so long to train a reliable horse, the trainer often has to go through all the beginning work all over again when in a new environment. Eventually the horse realizes that he is the same horse in the different environments and that his training applies in all environments. This can take months, or it can take years if your horse is not exposed to a lot of different conditions.

So I got to ride in the rain today. I got to convince Mars that just because it was raining it did not mean I would stop riding. Of course if this rain had come from an approaching thunderstorm I would have had to stop, so I took advantage of the drizzly weather to convince Mars that JUST because it rains it does not mean an end to work, and that even though it was raining he still had to obey me. It took some work on my part.

And I did not melt, much to Mars's surprise.

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Comment by Gail Morse on August 4, 2009 at 2:17pm
I agree with that although the Rocky lives outside now so does not matter to him wet or dry out. I had a thorougbred a long time ago who I rode in the rain one day. He freaked, bucked and dumped me on my head. Gail.
Comment by Jan Jollymour on August 2, 2009 at 1:57pm
Hi, Jackie:

I didn't melt either, and it was +37 this morning! I have two more to do today, so I may melt yet, but you are right: if we don't school them in all kinds of weather we can hardly expect them to perform in it.

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