Tarp Day

This week has really been pushing me outside of the box (or arena). I must admit, I am an arena rider. Trail rides, slick footing, ground poles, hauling every day...these are all big challenges for me as a rider. I have said since I found out about the Battle of the X's that I would do all that I can to make my horse an all-around horse. That includes all of these things, and more (cattle, more trails, jumps) so Tex and I are on this adventure together. I am thankful every time I climb on him that I have been blessed with a kind hearted soul to share these challenges with, and even if he in unsure, I know that he will keep me safe, and he will look to me for reassurance. We can conquer all of these together.

Trail riding at Hidden Hills

It is still soaked in South Central Kansas, so instead of riding, today was TARP DAY. I had always thought of teaching a horse to lead over a tarp to be more on the circus act side of training. Something only those "kooky" people did, because in my "arena" my pretty show horses will never have to walk over a tarp....Boy was I wrong!

 

I had an instance this summer that changed all of that thinking. I was on a filly who had been touchy, but manageable in the round pen. She could walk, trot, and canter just fine around the rail. But our pen had some taller grass, and she went and little sideways, the grass hit her pasterns and she froze and then broke in two. She was scared of the GRASS! She felt it on her legs and couldn't figure out how to move her feet to get away from it. I wonder now if I had worked on having her walk over a tarp, and she felt it move around her, and make noise under her, if she could have handled the grass better. It is all about teaching the horse the correct reaction in a scary situation. If she had been able to walk just a little forward then I could have helped her learn how to keep her feet moving and look for reassurance.

I start with the tarp folded fairly narrow and not up against the rail. If the horse gets scared they still have a way to go forward, either by stepping/jumping over or going around by the fence. Tex was a little unsure at first, but that lasted about 30 seconds, I walked over it so he followed.

 

Here it is folded in half and a different color, Tex was not worried, although he did walk fairly quickly over. I don't make an issue of the new thing. I just work him like it has always been there. If he makes an issue of it, then we just repeat quietly until it becomes part of the scenery.

Finally it is full size. You can see how quiet his eye is, he stopped worrying about it and was waiting for his next direction from me.

 

This actually surprised me. Tex has been less than impressed with flapping, noisy things around his sides. But he treated the tarp like another saddle pad and lunged around me with it flapping and crackling on his side. He is awesome!

Tomorrow it is back to the arena and our last day before the show...