I Try Three New Things with Bingo   

 

Since I had four lessons on Bingo, I figured that it was time that I changed some stuff with his tack for my lesson this week.  My main concerns were his reluctance to accepting a metal bit in his mouth, his reluctance to start moving, and his reluctance to turn.

The first one, the bit, I cleared with Debbie last week when I showed her my Pee Wee bit and asked her permission to try it on Bingo, you can see this bit here:

http://macsequine.com/macs-equine-pee-wee-bits.  She looked at it and handled it, and then told me that the mouthpiece was really thin, but since I have good hands I could try it on him.  Since the instructions that came with the Pee Wee bit said to lengthen both cheek pieces by two inches I did the best guesstimate I could when I put different bit hangers on my Micklem bridle.  I got it too long, so Debbie shortened the cheek piece a hole on each side and the bit sat properly, just touching the corners of his mouth.  Debbie was worried that the bit (the small Pee Wee bit) might be slightly too narrow, so next week I will try the medium Pee Wee bit so she can compare the fit.

At the same time I did two more changes to his tack following the instructions on the Corrector website for the uneven horse; I put 2 shims in the right front pocket of my Corrector pad, and I lengthened my left stirrup leather two inches and shortened my right stirrup leather two inches.  Then I also changed my girth since on the Corrector site Len Brown is very insistent that the elastic on ends of the girths let the saddle shift more than when using a girth without elastic.  The only English girths without the elastic inserts that I own are two adjustable leather girths that I got years ago before I started my collection of synthetic girths.  I got one out, larded it up real good (I had not used it in years) and brushed off the girth cover really well.  The adjustable girth is not ideal, but the horses will have to put up with it until I can afford to buy a few Balding girths, the ONLY hunt seat chafeless English girths that I can find for sale nowadays that do not have any elastic in them.

Amazingly when I mounted and asked Bingo to walk he did not balk, but immediately started walking.  I had so much new stuff on him I figured I would have even more problems than usual in getting him to move!  After a few steps he gently put his head way down and kept it there for several minutes.  I only used a gentle leading rein when he did not turn in response to my leg aids, and when he finally raised his head I gently asked him to halt.  I got an immediate response, unlike the previous lessons when I had to “discuss” halting with him.  Halfway through my lesson he finally decided it was okay to lift his head up properly and he kept his head up for the rest of my lesson.  However, there was a trade-off, after that he started to balk when I asked him to move out from a walk.  He was easier to turn but he never relaxed into the turn, and I could tell that he still did not enjoy turning at all.  All his halts were good, I just had to twitch my fingers and he responded.

After a few minutes I had to shorten my left stirrup an inch, I was just feeling too unbalanced.  After I adjusted the stirrup leather I finally felt centered enough on his back that it did not bother me that there was a three-inch difference in the length of my stirrups.  When I first read about having a four-inch difference in the length of the stirrup leathers on the Corrector site I did not see how it could work, but it did work, Bingo felt centered under me.  His first few walks were simply marvelous, long striding, springy, and much faster than normal, both before and after I shortened my left stirrup leather.  Then he got tired and it was back to leg, leg, leg to keep him moving.

I think Bingo puts his head down because, to him, that is his “safe place.”  I do not particularly like riding a peanut roller horse, but I understand that Bingo is trying to figure out how to move under me in such a way that he does not hurt.  I am working at developing Bingo’s muscles since he came to Debbie’s stable after several years as a pasture puff and then was ridden rarely, and it will take time for his muscles to develop and for him to develop enough endurance so he can carry me properly for the whole thirty minutes of my lessons.  Since I weigh over twice as much as the little girls who take lessons on him, I have to be patient and proceed with the faith that he will get stronger and fitter.  If I try to rush him, he will get sore and learn to dislike me riding him. 

Along with increasing his physical fitness and teaching how to react to my aids, I am also working on Bingo’s mental side.  By the proper timing of my aids, and by the proper timing of my praise, I am teaching Bingo how to use his brain to figure out what I am asking for.  I want the horse to use his brain when I ride him!  This is working well; he is much more responsive to my halting and turning aids than when I started riding him.  I am also trying to get Bingo to take pride in his work, and I use a lot of praise whenever he does what I want to achieve this.  Bingo has yet to show any signs of taking pride in his work, but I have only been able to ride him four times, and four rides cannot erase the effects of years of rough riding.  I do not think that it has ever occurred to Bingo that he can take pride in his work, the feeling I get from him is that ring work is pure drudgery and that he thinks that ring work can only be drudgery, not a fulfilling educational experience that leaves him feeling better about being ridden, about humans, and about his place in the universe.

On a personal note, I quit taking the MS drug Gilenya.  Over 6 ½ months I went from being able to walk at 4 MPH to only being able to walk 1-2 MPH, I ended up only being able to shuffle, my balance got worse, and I got so bad physically that I was wondering when I would have to buy a wheelchair.  When I stopped Gilenya I immediately started feeling better, and yesterday I walked to my mailbox and back (1,200 feet) for the first time in six months.  My constant suicidal ideation stopped immediately, my digestive system settled down, and I am hurting a lot less.  Gilenya was a big fail for me even though it has helped other people with MS.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran 

 

     

 

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