؟Riding and horse memory
From: Robbin
Hi Jessica,
I had taken a clinic in natural horsemanship in April (4 days) with my Appy mare, 13 yrs old. We had a great time-she learned a lot, I learned a LOT. I have never had a horse before and was quite nervous about but feel more comfortable since taking the clinic. I have had her since Nov. and she seems to be much more trusting of me. She doesn't pin her ears as much and comes to me more readily. My problem is we have 2 turnout sheds 12x12 for both the Appy, our pony and a nubian goat in a pretty large paddock. The paddock still has small tree stumps which they don't have a problem with when they are on their own but I don't want to work/play with her in case of injury. I have nowhere else to do this. I tried on the side of my house I have a large area but its grass and I get too frustrated when she tries to graze all the time, so I don't do it there either. However we are now building a barn for them 32x40 and should be ready by late fall (I hope). I also am having a round pen put near by to work/play with her, hoping this can be done in a few weeks.
So now that its all been said, my question is will she remember what she has learned or will I have to start all over again? I continue to study the books so I don't forget. This includes riding her also. Again never had a horse and the time I was on her she took off with me. I am afraid, actually chicken, to get on her without have worked her since its been 2 1/2 months. I was waiting for the pen so I have a controlled area to ride before going to the street and trails. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated!
Keeping it natural, but feeling soooo guilty, Robbin
From: Robbin
Hi Jessica,
I had taken a clinic in natural horsemanship in April (4 days) with my Appy mare, 13 yrs old. We had a great time-she learned a lot, I learned a LOT. I have never had a horse before and was quite nervous about but feel more comfortable since taking the clinic. I have had her since Nov. and she seems to be much more trusting of me. She doesn't pin her ears as much and comes to me more readily. My problem is we have 2 turnout sheds 12x12 for both the Appy, our pony and a nubian goat in a pretty large paddock. The paddock still has small tree stumps which they don't have a problem with when they are on their own but I don't want to work/play with her in case of injury. I have nowhere else to do this. I tried on the side of my house I have a large area but its grass and I get too frustrated when she tries to graze all the time, so I don't do it there either. However we are now building a barn for them 32x40 and should be ready by late fall (I hope). I also am having a round pen put near by to work/play with her, hoping this can be done in a few weeks.
So now that its all been said, my question is will she remember what she has learned or will I have to start all over again? I continue to study the books so I don't forget. This includes riding her also. Again never had a horse and the time I was on her she took off with me. I am afraid, actually chicken, to get on her without have worked her since its been 2 1/2 months. I was waiting for the pen so I have a controlled area to ride before going to the street and trails. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated!
Keeping it natural, but feeling soooo guilty, Robbin
Hi Robbin! First, stop feeling guilty. It sounds as though your horse has a good situation - turnout, grass, and a companion! She's not going to be at all upset if she isn't ridden. She's probably not going to forget anything, either. Horses have incredibly good memories. I've known horses that recognized individuals after twenty years - and horses that remembered tricks they'd learned, ten years after they were last asked to perform them.
The answers to your questions are first, NO, she won't forget, and, second, YES, you should start all over again.
What often causes problems when someone doesn't ride for a long time is a combination of horse and rider issues. If the horse is confined and/or overfed, it can become difficult to manage. You aren't confining your horse, and I hope you're not overfeeding her, so you shouldn't have a problem there. If the rider isn't riding and isn't doing any other exercise that helps with riding, then after a few months, there can be a big loss of coordination and balance and strength. If you can't ride, be sure to do other exercises, even if it's just walking, yoga, and light weight-lifting. These will help you stay in shape so that you won't be all over your horse when you finally get back to riding, and they'll make it much easier for you to become comfortable in the saddle.
A round pen is a nice addition to any farm - just be sure that you make the diameter large enough if you plan to use the pen for riding. 70' will do nicely - 75' or larger will be even better.
While you're waiting for your barn and round pen to be built, and you aren't riding your own horse, it's a perfect time for you to take a series of lessons with a good instructor. The more you understand about your horse's body, your own body, and the balance and coordination that you need to use your own body to influence your horse, the better off you and your horse will be when you start riding her again. You'll find, as riders invariably do, that anything you do to improve your own riding will produce a matching improvement in your horse. Some riders have found that the biggest "leap" in the improvement of their riding skills has happened after they had to take a few months off for whatever reason, provided that they did other things during that time. A summer spent swimming and bicycling, a winter spend skating and skiing - or anything else along those lines - can improve your riding dramatically. If you do that AND add riding lessons with a good instructor, you'll find that when you do get on your, she will "magically" have improved enormously, even if she's spent the last six months in the field with her pal.
Starting all over again is something that all good riders and trainers do every time they begin working with a horse that has had some time off. Starting from the beginning each time isn't a bad thing, it's a very good one. Make it your permanent practice, and you won't regret it. By starting over, you identify any weak areas in your own training, in your horse's understanding, and in your horse's physical ability to perform. Time off for the horse shouldn't be "time out" for you - and in your case, it obviously is not, as you are reading the books to be sure that YOU don't forget what you've learned. That's a good idea and a good start. If you'll add some physical exercise and some riding lessons, you'll be able to help your horse more, every single time you work with her or ride her. Keep on learning - the better your own education as a rider, the better your horse will be. The more time and effort you put into improving yourself, the easier it will be for you to ride and train your horse.
Starting all over again is something that good trainers do every day. A good trainer never tries to pick up exactly where s/he left off at the end of the last session. Instead, s/he will do a quick run-through of everything that the horse has been taught, starting at the beginning. In riding terms, we call this a 'warm-up' - in addition to physically warming the muscles and increasing the circulation, the first part of your ride should take your horse, gently and gradually, through everything it's been taught to do. This reinforces the horse's responses to your aids, it helps build the horse physically so that it can meet increased demands later, and it gives you a chance to notice how your horse is feeling that day, physically and mentally. In other words, you find out whether your horse is energetic or sluggish, supple or stiff, and also whether it is interested or bored, happy or worried. These are all things that the rider should be very clear about during ANY riding session, and these are things that you need to know before you even think of introducing anything new.
Starting all over again also protects your horse's health - you'll be very quick to notice any change in behaviour or movement, and if your horse is becoming sore, you'll find out before any more damage occurs.
Remember that horses are like humans - if you want them to learn something new, or to learn to do something in a different way, you need to give them very clear explanations and short practice sessions, and praise them for any effort that shows they're heading in the right direction. Once they've learned the new or revised skill, you need to do many CORRECT repetitions over a long period - and by "long" I mean over the course of weeks or months, not over a marathon two-hour session! - so that the muscles can rebuild in a way that facilitates the work. Finally, you need to continue the correct work so that the new skill or the new way of performing the old skill will become a HABIT. All of that takes time. You can go as slowly as you like - as long as you're making a little bit of progress, and as long as neither you nor your horse becomes bored. Riders who cause injuries in their horses rarely do this by training slowly and carefully - it's impatience and hurry that create problems.
If you have to take time off at some point, don't worry about your horse forgetting anything. When you begin again, even after months, even after years, you WILL need to begin from the beginning, but that's for your horse's benefit and your own, so that both of you can rebuild and reinforce your strength, balance, coordination, and trust. A horse that is asked to perform some action it hasn't performed in years will usually try its best - it DOES remember what those signals mean, it DOES remember what you want, but it may not be physically capable of performing the action, or of performing it well, until it's had a chance to develop those muscles again.
You sound as if you plan to keep your mare for a long time. Relax, take your time and enjoy correct, slow training - and be sure to get good help with your riding, so that you can continue to improve your riding skills. The more competent you feel, the more confident you'll feel - and the more your horse will be able to relax and trust in your leadership. The great paradox of horse-training is that the greater your hurry, the less you achieve, and the greater your patience, the more quickly and effectively you will get where you want to go. ;-)
The answers to your questions are first, NO, she won't forget, and, second, YES, you should start all over again.
What often causes problems when someone doesn't ride for a long time is a combination of horse and rider issues. If the horse is confined and/or overfed, it can become difficult to manage. You aren't confining your horse, and I hope you're not overfeeding her, so you shouldn't have a problem there. If the rider isn't riding and isn't doing any other exercise that helps with riding, then after a few months, there can be a big loss of coordination and balance and strength. If you can't ride, be sure to do other exercises, even if it's just walking, yoga, and light weight-lifting. These will help you stay in shape so that you won't be all over your horse when you finally get back to riding, and they'll make it much easier for you to become comfortable in the saddle.
A round pen is a nice addition to any farm - just be sure that you make the diameter large enough if you plan to use the pen for riding. 70' will do nicely - 75' or larger will be even better.
While you're waiting for your barn and round pen to be built, and you aren't riding your own horse, it's a perfect time for you to take a series of lessons with a good instructor. The more you understand about your horse's body, your own body, and the balance and coordination that you need to use your own body to influence your horse, the better off you and your horse will be when you start riding her again. You'll find, as riders invariably do, that anything you do to improve your own riding will produce a matching improvement in your horse. Some riders have found that the biggest "leap" in the improvement of their riding skills has happened after they had to take a few months off for whatever reason, provided that they did other things during that time. A summer spent swimming and bicycling, a winter spend skating and skiing - or anything else along those lines - can improve your riding dramatically. If you do that AND add riding lessons with a good instructor, you'll find that when you do get on your, she will "magically" have improved enormously, even if she's spent the last six months in the field with her pal.
Starting all over again is something that all good riders and trainers do every time they begin working with a horse that has had some time off. Starting from the beginning each time isn't a bad thing, it's a very good one. Make it your permanent practice, and you won't regret it. By starting over, you identify any weak areas in your own training, in your horse's understanding, and in your horse's physical ability to perform. Time off for the horse shouldn't be "time out" for you - and in your case, it obviously is not, as you are reading the books to be sure that YOU don't forget what you've learned. That's a good idea and a good start. If you'll add some physical exercise and some riding lessons, you'll be able to help your horse more, every single time you work with her or ride her. Keep on learning - the better your own education as a rider, the better your horse will be. The more time and effort you put into improving yourself, the easier it will be for you to ride and train your horse.
Starting all over again is something that good trainers do every day. A good trainer never tries to pick up exactly where s/he left off at the end of the last session. Instead, s/he will do a quick run-through of everything that the horse has been taught, starting at the beginning. In riding terms, we call this a 'warm-up' - in addition to physically warming the muscles and increasing the circulation, the first part of your ride should take your horse, gently and gradually, through everything it's been taught to do. This reinforces the horse's responses to your aids, it helps build the horse physically so that it can meet increased demands later, and it gives you a chance to notice how your horse is feeling that day, physically and mentally. In other words, you find out whether your horse is energetic or sluggish, supple or stiff, and also whether it is interested or bored, happy or worried. These are all things that the rider should be very clear about during ANY riding session, and these are things that you need to know before you even think of introducing anything new.
Starting all over again also protects your horse's health - you'll be very quick to notice any change in behaviour or movement, and if your horse is becoming sore, you'll find out before any more damage occurs.
Remember that horses are like humans - if you want them to learn something new, or to learn to do something in a different way, you need to give them very clear explanations and short practice sessions, and praise them for any effort that shows they're heading in the right direction. Once they've learned the new or revised skill, you need to do many CORRECT repetitions over a long period - and by "long" I mean over the course of weeks or months, not over a marathon two-hour session! - so that the muscles can rebuild in a way that facilitates the work. Finally, you need to continue the correct work so that the new skill or the new way of performing the old skill will become a HABIT. All of that takes time. You can go as slowly as you like - as long as you're making a little bit of progress, and as long as neither you nor your horse becomes bored. Riders who cause injuries in their horses rarely do this by training slowly and carefully - it's impatience and hurry that create problems.
If you have to take time off at some point, don't worry about your horse forgetting anything. When you begin again, even after months, even after years, you WILL need to begin from the beginning, but that's for your horse's benefit and your own, so that both of you can rebuild and reinforce your strength, balance, coordination, and trust. A horse that is asked to perform some action it hasn't performed in years will usually try its best - it DOES remember what those signals mean, it DOES remember what you want, but it may not be physically capable of performing the action, or of performing it well, until it's had a chance to develop those muscles again.
You sound as if you plan to keep your mare for a long time. Relax, take your time and enjoy correct, slow training - and be sure to get good help with your riding, so that you can continue to improve your riding skills. The more competent you feel, the more confident you'll feel - and the more your horse will be able to relax and trust in your leadership. The great paradox of horse-training is that the greater your hurry, the less you achieve, and the greater your patience, the more quickly and effectively you will get where you want to go. ;-)
سواری وحافظه
من کلنیکی درماه April بامادیانم Appy درزمینه سواری آزادوطبیعی داشتم(چهارروز)او13 سال دارد .ما زمان بسیارخوبی رادر کلاس طی کردیم وچیزهای بسیارزیادی آموختیم قبل ازاین من اسبی نداشتم واحساس ناراحتی می کردم تازمان برداشتن کلاس که به یک آرامش بیشتری رسیدم من این مادیان راازماه نوامبردارم وبه نظرمیرسد که به من اعتمادکرده است,گوش نمی خواباند ومشتاقانه به سویم میآید.مشکل من این است که ما دو سر پناه12*12 برای Appy , یک پونی ویک بزغاله دریک فضای بزرگ وزیباداریم در پادوک تنه هایی ازدرخت هست که البته مزاحم اسبها نیست ولی من دوست ندارم که آنها رادرهنگام کاروبازی آسیب ببینید وجای دیگری هم برای این کار ندارم .درگوشه دیگری ازخانه فضای بزرگی دارم که پوشیده ازچمن است وزمانی که او راآنجا رهاکردم دائما" در حال چریدن چمن ها بودودیگراینکار را نکردمبه هرحال اکنون اکنون درحال ساخت یک اصطبل به ابعاد 32*40 هستم وتاپاییزآماده خواهد شد.(امیدوارم)همچنین یک مانژدایره برای کاروحرکت آنها در حال ساخت هستیم که تا چندهفته دیگرآماده میشوداین تمام چیزی بودکه گفتم اماسئوال من این است که آیا اوبه خاطرخواهد داشت آنچه راکه یادگرفته است یامن بایدتمام این آموزشها را ازنوشروع کنم؟من مطالعه کتابهارا ادامه می دهم تا چیزی رافراموش نکنم این شامل سواری بامادیان هم می شود چون قبل ازاین اسبی نداشتم وزمانی که سواری بااین مادیان راشروع کردم او ومن هردوبه دلیل مشکلات از سواری کردن متوقف شدیم ومن میترسم که سواری بااو راشروع کنم در حالی که ازدو ماه ونیم قبل استراحت داشته است.من منتظرم تامانژدایره ساخته شود ومن یک فضای محصوربرای سواری داشته باشم تابعدها به جادهها و دشت برای سواری بروم.هرکلمه ازدیدگاه تو باعث خوشحالی است البته طبیعی است که احساس گنا ه می کنم .Robbin
سلام Robbinدر ابتدا احساس گناه نکن به نظرمیرسد اسب شما وضعیت خوبی دارد بیرون رفتن, علوفه ویک همدم
او افسرده نخواهد شد اگر سواری نشود واحتمالا" هیچ چیزی را فراموش نخواهد کرد اسبها حافظه بسیارقوی دارند من اسبهایی رامی شناسم که افراد را بعد از 20 سال نیز به جامی آورندواسبهایی که حرکاتی را پس از 10 سالاز آخرین درخواست به یاد می آورندپاسخ به اولین سئوال شما نه ,او فراموش نخواهد کرد وبرای دومی بله شما باید آموزش ها رااز نو شروع کنیدآنچه اغلب باعث بروز مشکل پس ازمدتها سواری نکردن میگرددترکیبی از مشکلات اسب وسوار است اگراسب در زمان استراحت محدود به باکس ویابیش ازحد تغذیه گرددمیتواند مشکلاتی را در نگهداری وهدایت اسب ایجاد نماید.شما اسبتان را محدود نکرده ایدوامیدوارم که تغذیه بیش ازحد نیز نشده باشدپس دراین زمینه نباید مشکلی داشته باشیداگرسوارکار برای مدتی سواری یاورزشی که به سواریش کمک کند انجام نداده باشدپس ازمدتی ممکن است مقداری ازهماهنگی ,تعادل وقدرت خود را ازدست بدهداگر شما نمیتوانید سواری کنید حتما"ورزشی دیگرهمچون پیاده روی,یوگا ویاوزنه های سبک رادربرنامه قراردهیداین باعث روی فرم باقی ماندن اندام شما برای زمان بازگشت دوباره به سواری می شود تااحساس راحتی بیشتری رادرون زین در هنگام بازگشت داشته باشید
یک مانژ دایره تجهیزخوبی برای هرمزرعه است فقط مطمئن شوید که قطر آن به اندازه کافی بزرگ باشد اگر تصمیم به سواری یا آموزش در آن دارید حداقل قط 21 متر واز 23 متر به بالاایده ال است.مادامی که شمامنتظرآماده سازی مانژاصلی ودایره خودهستید واسبتان را سواری نمی کنید زمان خوبی است که آموزشهای زمان خوبی است که آموزشهایی رابا یک مربی خوب بگیرید تابهتر درباره اندام اسب یاخود وچگونگی تعادل ,هماهنگی برای شروع مجدد سواری بااسبتان بدانید وشمادرمی یابید که هرچیزی راکه برای بهبود سواری خود به کارمی برید باعث بهبود هماهنگی بااسبتان خواهد شد.تعدادی ازسوارکاران دریافتند که بزرگ ترین جهش در بهبود مهارتهای سواریشان زمانی رخ داده است که برای مدت چندماه به هردلیلی از سواری دوربوده اند وتمرینها وکارهای تکمیلی دیگری را در این مدت انجام داده اند یک تابستان به شنا یادوچرخه سواری پرداخته اند یا یک زمستان به ورزش اسکی واسکیت وهر کاردیگری درراستای تقویت وآزادسازی وتعادل اندام انجام داده اند اگر شمانیز اینکارها راانجام دهید وآموزشهایی نیزازیک مربی خوب سواری بگیرید درهنگام بازگشت به سواری بااسب خوددرخواهیدیافت که او به طرز غیر قابل باوری پیشرفت کرده است حتی اگر شش ماه درپادوک با یک کره یامادیان همراه رهاشده باشد.شروع مجدد ازنو, چیزی است که تمام سوارکاران خوب ومربیان انجام می دهند هرزمانیکه کاربا اسبی راکه مدتی در استراحت بوده را اغاز می کنندشروع کردن از ابتداچیز بدی نیست این کارباعث تثبیت تمرین میگردد وشما نیزازانجام آن پشیمان نخواهیدشدبا شروع مجدد شما نقاط ضعف در اموزشهاودرک اسبتان در قابلیت های فیزیکی او دراجرای حرکات را تشخیص میدهید.زمان استراحت برای اسب نباید تبدیل به زمان استراحت شماگردد ودرموردشمااین مورد صادق نیست همچنان که شماکتاب میخوانید تاچیزهایی راکه فرا گرفته اید فراموش نکنید واین ایده شروع خوبی است واگرتعدادی تمرینهای فیزیکی وآموزشهای سواری راهم اضافه کنید به اسب خود کمک بیشتری را درهنگام کار یاسواری می کنیدآموزش راحفظ کن بهترین آموزش تو درسواری بهترین چیزبرای اسبت خواهد شد هر زمان وتلاشی که جهت بهبود وپیشرفت خود صرف میکنی باعث ساده تر شدن سواری وآموزش آن به اسبت خواهد شد .شروع مجدد از ابتدا چیز هایی است که تمام مربیان خوب روزانه انجام میدهند یک مربی خوب هرگزکار خود را دقیقا"ازنقطه پایان جلسه قبل آغاز نمیکند برعکس مروری سریع بر آموزشها ازاول میکند درزمان سواری به این مرور گرم کردن می گوییم که باگرم شدن عضلات وافزایش جریان خون وآمادگی ذهنی اسب همراه استبخش اول سواری, شما اسب را به نرمی وبه تدریج درمیان هرچیزی که به اسب آموخته شده هدایت میکنید این روش پاسخگویی به اثرات شما راتقویت میکند وبه تقویت عضلات درپاسخگویی بیشتربه به درخواست هاکمک میکند به عبارت دیگرشمابه میزان انرژی یا سستی,نرمی وانقباض اسبتان پی می بریدواینکه سرحال یاافسرده ,خوشحال یاناراحت است.اینها چیزهایی است که سوارکار باید درطول هر جلسه قبل ازهرآموزش جدیدی به اسب بداندشروع همه چیزازابتدا همچنین سلامت اسب را تضمین میکند وشما هر گونه تغییری را درحرکت ورفتاربه سرعت متوجه شده واگر اسب شما شروع به ابرازناراحتی از اجرای حرکتی کند قبل ازآسیب بیشتر متوجه خواهید شد.به خاطر داشته باش که اسبها همچون انسانها هستند اگر شمامایلید که چیز جدیدی یاد بگیرندویاحرکاتی راباروشی متفاوت انجام دهندباید توضیحاتی بسیارشفاف درتمرین های کوتاه مدت وتشویق در صورت پاسخ گویی وتلاش برای ا نجام حرکت بدهیدکه آنها متوجه حرکت درمسیری درست گردند.اولین بارکه آنها اجرای مهارت اجرای مهارت ویا تغییرجدید را یاد گرفته اندشمانیاز به تکرارزیاد حرکت درزمانهای طولانی دارید البته منظور از طولانی تکراردرهفته ها وماه های پس ازیادگیری است نه اجرادریک جلسه ماراتون گونه دوساعتی!!!برای اینکه ماهیچه ها به تناسب کار پرورش پیداکندتاحرکات رابه راحتی اجراکند شما نیاز به ادامه کارصحیح به روشی که مهارتها واجراهای جدید به صورت عادت در بیاید وتمام این حرکات به مرور پیشرفت کنند طوریکه در هنگام اجرا نه شما ونه اسب احساس خستگی نکنید.سوارکارانی که باعث آسیب دراسبهایشان میشوند کمتر این آموزشهارا به نرمی وبا دقت انجام میدهند واین بی حوصلگی وتعجیل است که ایجاد مشکل میکنداسبی که میخواهید حرکاتی را اجرا کند درحالیکه آن حرکات راسالهاست اجرا نکرده است او به خوبی اثرات شمارامیفهمد وچیزی راکه ازاو خواسته اید درک میکند اماممکن است که بدن او توانایی انجام واجرای حرکترا پس از مدتها وقفه درتمرین نداشته باشد ویا اینکه نتواند به خوبی آن را اجرا کند. مگر اینکه مجددا" شانس پرورش و تقویت عضلات خود را بیابد.اگر شمامیخواهید که مادیانتان برای مدتها سالم بماند آرام باشید وزمان صرف کنید واز آموزش آرام وصحیح لذت ببریدو مطمئن باشید که آموزشهای خوبی با سواری کردن می گیرید وهمچنین میتوانید مهارتهای سواریتان را بهبود ببخشید.احساس شایستگی واعتماد شما باعث آرامش واطمینان اسبتان درراهنمایی های شما میگردد.بزرگترین تضاد درآموزش اسب, تعجیل که باعث دستیابی کمتر به هدف وصبر که باعث دستیابی سریعتر وموثرتر به خواسته ها میگردد.
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