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Welcome to The In-Gate!
We're here to help new show riders, young and
old, and their family and friends.
Why "The In-Gate"? Because that's where you enter the show arena.
We invite you to enter here, and learn about the wonderful world of showing horses.
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Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Take A Break
We often read or hear to take a break when your horse does something "right" to help
set the lesson, but wise horsemen know that when the horse-rider team gets frustrated, continuing the session can do more
harm than good.
My friend Mike, an excellent rider, recently told me a story that beautifully illustrates
that fact.
"I had Maggie, a paint horse, who was pretty high strung. My ferrier -- who was a very experienced
trainer -- was working on another horse as I was getting frustrated while trying to get her to slide to a stop and back up quickly. He called me over and said, 'Mike, let me show you how to get her to do that. I'll be done here in
a few minutes. Why don't you cool off under that tree and then we'll try it.' "I got
off and led Maggie over to the tree and rested for a while and patted her a bit, even though I wanted to slug her. I waited
and calmed down while he took his sweet time trimming the last hoof. I swear he was taking twice as much time on it purposely.
"Ages later, when I was daydreaming about something other than horses, he walked over and said, 'Mike, get
on her and try it one more time.' I calmly slid into the saddle and Maggie did it perfectly. He smiled and walked away. So
ended the lesson."
The takeaway? If you've hit a wall in a schooling session, take a break. It might just solve the problem for both you and your horse.
8:25 am edt
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Don't let fear keep you
from having the ride of your life. Visit Ride Without Fear and learn how to beat it!
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