The heat has started to come to North Carolina, and due to thousands of dollars of unexpected expenses plus expected money not coming in I am having to adjust to living without air-conditioning this summer.  Just today we got an air-conditioner in one room, the room we fixed up after our water pipes froze last winter, the smallest room in our house.  So I am not doing as well as normal, but that has been the story of my life this year.

Since Debbie went off on vacation I did not get my lesson this week.  I just rode Mia twice at her stable this week.  Mia is really starting to show her age, the sprinkled white hairs on her head have become patches and Mia seems to be getting more opinionated every ride.  She seems to be back to her habit of picking up my thoughts, and I’ve been thinking a lot of the next saddle I want to get and she wants it NOW.  She will have to wait.  Until then I just practice on her, practice my two point, practice gripping with my calves, practice using just my seat to keep her at the fence when she wants to cut corners.  Using my seat worked pretty well, there was this ABSOLUTELY HORRIFYING shovel leaning on one corner and I got her pretty close to it both times I rode.  On Wednesday I was alone in the ring so I got to putter around at my own speed and go where I wanted to, but on Friday two young women were schooling horses so I could not do my normal puttering around.  Mia was pretty good about the other horses except to bare her teeth and threaten any horse coming toward her.  At least these ladies are experienced riders so I did not have to worry about what they were doing in the ring.

Today I rode at Shannon’s on Cider.  After tacking Cider up and helping me mount she had to help her nephew, Eli, tack up Mars.  Cider cheerfully strode forth at the walk and was not too bad about keeping to the fence, I had to use my seat maybe half as much as last week.  Shannon told me that she had ridden Cider last week and that Cider had REALLY improved staying on the rail with her since I started using my seat more last week.  So at least I am having a positive effect on Cider.

Eli has mostly just ridden on a bareback pad around in the ring, usually following someone else.  So today, using a synthetic Western saddle and a Nurtural bitless bridle, he joined Cider and me in the ring, and he started to have problems with Mars, nothing serious, just Mars telling Eli it was time for Eli to learn how to control Mars better!  Mars started wandering wherever he wanted to in the ring, always staying at a slow walk.  Every time Eli wanted Mars to turn Mars would turn just his head and neck and kept on walking in the same direction, frustrating Eli horribly.  First I gave Eli a lead, keeping Cider ahead of him so Mars would have someone to follow.  We did turns, went through parallel poles, did more turns, but then Mars started lagging as Cider warmed up.  Then Mars wanted to go join Shannon in the center of the ring, refusing to turn when Eli pulled on the rein.

At Eli’s third or fourth exclamation of dismay I went up to him and told him to alternate his outside lower leg with his turning rein and rode on.  Eli did what I told him to and Mars started to behave!  Instead of cries of dismay I heard triumphant cries of HOW MUCH EASIER it was to turn Mars!  I had ridden Mars many years ago so at least Mars knew my leg aids, and being a horse he remembered perfectly how to obey them.  So as Eli, having control over his horse’s direction for the first time in his riding life, went on riding and enjoying it, I did a few more turns and riding on the fence line.  Then, hot and tired, I ended my ride.

Later I told Eli that many horses expect a certain level of riding ability in their riders before they will obey.  I also told him that he took the first step today to being able to ride well and to control the horses he rides. 

I remember not being able to control the horses I rode decades ago and being completely at the mercy of the horse and how scary it can be.  My first horse was a green-broke angel and I learned how to ride effectively on him.  Now, because I do know how to ride and how to use my aids effectively I have few problems on the horses I ride, and when I do have problems I resolve them quickly.  My seat may be weak, my balance off, and my coordination awful, but I know enough to get willing cooperation from the horse.

Every time I ride a horse I am training that horse.  The horses remember the training I give them.  And when I hear a cry of dismay I can often tell the frustrated rider what they can do to make their ride better and more enjoyable for both the horse and the rider. 

This is a good place to be in.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran