WHAT A TIRED HORSE

Giga was a little "abused" today. Or... We rode a really long trip in the woods. One of my friends were out on the farm and saddled up at the same time as me. So we rode out together. It was really fun. We rode for almost 2 hours and I think in total we trotted an hour. Both me and Giga sweated like pigs. It is a long time since I've seen Giga so tired. She was sweating from head to "toe".

The only annoying thing about the trip was that I was a little naive. I had dressed Giga with my Sidepull and unfortunately she goes very much against it sometimes. I don't know why but out on walks in the woods and elsewhere, she is not always easy to control. It went okay but it was pretty difficult.

Here's a picture of my friend's Arabian mare. I had Gigas halter with me, so it looks a little silly with a small narrow Arabian head and then with a size x full halter.

Stunning Horse!

I'm "friends" with the owner on Facebook. The owner has many wonderful Irish Cobs. He has a great stallion bought from someone I know in DK.
But this one is a unique mare named Sunny. I'm so crazy about her color, beautiful horse!

Obsesion for asphalt

Today I rode a trip alone on Giga. I rode into the residential neighborhood because the forest is still filled with ice. I have a small obsesion for asphalt, I just love the sound of the hooves when they hit the asphalt. I walked up to the road and then we took a short gallop, it was a fantastic feeling. I felt like all looked at us as I were a knight on my noble horse :-D

Despite we rode alone, she was quite relaxed. There is great progress!

Continuation

Continuation of my other post... Here are a few pictures of my past with Giga. I rode her with a curb bit and with a saddle that didn't fit her. At that time I was sure about she was a disrespectful and naughty horse. Luckily I found another way. And fortunately, I have become wiser. I am ashamed to see these pictures but no one is perfect. And everyone can change if they have an open mind!

A few wise words

I would like to share a few wise words. Something I have thought about and something many probably could use to reflect on.

Many people have too many emotions involved when they train their horses. It's one of the biggest problems in horse training. It’ s not uncommon that you can quickly become angry and frustrated if the horse doesn’t do what we want them to do. We associate it with the horse is either naughty or disrespectful. And it is unfortunately not the case. A horse does not react on emotions but on instinct. They do not have the brain capacity to think "I'll fucking show my stupid owner" or something similar. We tend to humanize our animals because it’s easier to deal with, if we can blame it on our animals instead of ourselves. So think twice when you train your animal. Try to lie the emotions on the shelf. I'm not saying we should be insensible machines but we must leave our anger, frustration, sadness, irritation, etc behind us.

Think to you self, it’s animals, they just react based on their instincts. Horses are flight animals and if you send the wrong signal, they can be scared. All they want is just to escape, not to be evil or stupid.

A little worried

The last few days I have been a little worried. I've been afraid that I have learned Giga a too strong stopsignal. BUT today I was proven that there's still a "spark" in her. Whether it's a good thing I don't know but it was just nice to see that she still has a bit temper. I was going to ride with a few of my friends but I came way too early, so I rode alone into the forest. I was a little surprised by Giga's fiery temper. She was very tense and a little strong. So I chose to ride back, as I didn't think that a tense horse mixed with ice slippery roads was a good idea. When I got back where my friends at the farm. So I chose to ride an extra trip with them. And it was good for her. She was quite tired and relaxed. I rode her all the way home without any rein contact. So this was yet another successful day!

A mirror to my soul

My horse is a mirror to my soul. And sometimes I might not like what I see in the mirror and sometimes I will. The goal is to be proud of what I see in my reflection.