Lunging Homework

 In my last lesson with Coach JT, Pyro and I were assigned some homework on the lunge line. Specifically, I was to give him a chance to figure out how to shape his body to the boundaries of where I put the bit... without the inconsistencies of my hands. He makes it hard for me to work on this when in the saddle because he pushes my hands forward suddenly rather than softening. 

Like so, dragging me forward.

I'm still working on my core strength (which has improved immensely since I started Crossfit 7 months ago!), so I have difficulty maintaining those consistent boundaries when he does this maneuver. By replacing my hands with side reins, the hope is that he'll learn to not pull on himself and find a way to carry himself without dragging the bit (and me) forward. Learning new biomechanics like this is Hard Work (tm), so my plan is to introduce this lunging weekly, asking for transitions while he sorts it all out, and keep the work short and positive. My goal is NOT to wear him out or wear him down. 

Spoiler: he still had a lot of feelings about it.

For my lunging setup, I tacked him up in his bridle (sans reins), a leather lunging connector clipped to either side of his bit, a lunge rope clipped to that, a surcingle with baby pad (read cob-sized dressage pad), and leather side reins that were adjusted to mimic the typical length of my reins while riding. After giving him a chance to warm up at the walk without the side reins on, I clipped them to his bit and sent him off. 

The setup, with a lovely open throatlatch

Initially, he was convinced there was NO WAY he could walk forward while wearing side reins. One turn of the Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance (SDAA) wheel later, he successfully walked around me on about a 20m circle. As I started asking for walk/trot/walk transitions, it became clear that Pyro has a super-power I was unaware of until then: getting his tongue over the bit. 

The gears are turning... "how do I relieve this pressure?... surely putting my tongue over the bit will help??"

While not all that surprising of a reaction, the associated discomfort was not going to help me in my goal of making this a positive learning opportunity. I ended up having to make several small adjustments to the fit of his bridle, both raising the bit higher in his mouth and snugging up his noseband just a little to encourage him to find a different answer. 

The final fit of the bridle, with the bit raised...

...and the noseband snug, but with plenty of room for 2 fingers an the bridge of the nose...

...as well as at the side of the jaw.

These were probably bridle adjustments I needed to make anyway, but after several stops to fiddle with tack, we were back in business. He stopped getting his tongue over the bit, and I sent him on his way through some transitions again. 

One great thing about how Pyro learns is that he responds really well to verbal praise. This makes indicating to him what I'm looking for very simple, especially when I'm only connected to him via a lunge line and my body language from a distance. Concentrating on when he softened to the bit with a quiet mouth, I praised him at the appropriate moments, and he responded first by cycling through various evasions (gaping his mouth open, pulling back his tongue, flipping his nose out, tucking his chin to his chest, etc.). However, he pretty quickly found a way to carry himself with quiet acceptance in the walk. 

Finding this answer was a big ask for him

I leapt on the opportunity to stop on a good note since we had already been at it longer than I wanted with all the stops for tack adjustments. He quietly walked into a (fairly) square halt when I asked, and I made an absolute fuss over him, verbally praising, unclipping the side reins, and scratching a few of his favorite spots. 

Polishing that baby dressage horse

I hand walked him for our cool down, and it was clear the physical and mental work had tired him out. He stayed quietly beside and slightly behind me, respectful of my space, happily enjoying my invitation to stretch over his topline as we walked together. 

He's been enjoying his post-work electrolytes too

It'll definitely take more repetitions for him to find that softness consistently and through all gaits, but I think this is a solid tool to circumvent my own inconsistencies and lay a foundation for the skill I'm looking for. It will require me to maintain focus on keeping him happy in his work as I ask for more difficult skills, while simultaneously continuing to improve my physical ability to give him consistent cues. 

The Pinto Party is, after all, play driven