Having a bit of trouble with a training exercise?
Answer this question first…CAN the horse do the exercise, or WONT the horse do the exercise?
Little Charlie was certain his pony was out to get him. “Bones can lope perfectly that way (pointing left). Every time! So why won’t he lope the other way (pointing right)?!?”
Charlie continued, “It’s like Bones says, “NO way, Charlie!” and he just throws his head up high and trots really, really fast. He doesn’t like me!” And Charlie’s little eight-year-old eyes started getting teary.
I asked Charlie a funny question so he could calm down. “Charlie, has your pony ever done a somersault?”
Charlie smiled a bit and said “No, ponies don’t do somersaults.”
“Any cartwheels?”
Charlie chortled and replied again, “Noooo!”
“Well”, I said, “Charlie, sometimes at night, ponies sneak out and do somersaults and cartwheels. Particularly if it is muddy. Then, you know what happens?”
“What?” he asked, big-eyed.
“They fall down! And then they get crooked!” And that’s why sometimes they get stuck trying to go the crooked way.”
“Oooh!”, said Charlie. “That happens to me too. So I guess Bones does like me!”
Bones’ atlas (poll) was misaligned.
When the atlas is misaligned, it is difficult for the horse to bend the neck in one direction. That was the problem with Bones going to the right.
When you’re getting frustrated about a training exercise, first answer this question: “Can your horse do it or won’t your horse do it?”
There are a few clues:
If the problem is asymmetrical, then your horse is telling you about a problem with his body going in one direction but not the other. It is not that he is a “good” horse one way and a “butt-head” going the other way.
Another clue is if she used to be able to do the move. For example, perhaps your horse used to lope fine to the right. But maybe she fell once, or pulled back in the cross-ties, or maybe nothing that you know of.
However, now she cross-fires (or cross canters, or counter canters) to the right. If your horse could do the move before, but now cannot, that is a clue that her body is having trouble.
It’s very rarely that your horse is just “getting old”.
If you are able to get my book, Where Does My Horse Hurt, you’ll discover the answer to can’t vs. won’t.
How? In the book you’ll discover all the Checkups for the entire horse’s body. Then you’ll know if there’s a problem with the body, rather than something else.
