Hula’s first professional training
session was more of a “getting-to-know-you” ride. Much can be determined from the first ride on
a new horse. An experienced trainer can
assess how much training the horse has had and in what discipline by how the
horse responds to different cues. The
trainer can also discover past injuries or sore spots that the horse may have
by how she moves or if she avoids certain movements. Just like humans, horses have directional
preferences, i.e. right-handed/left-handed and will tend to be more supple when
turning to one side and more stiff or reluctant to turn in the opposite.
Behavior and personality traits are also
determined by the first ride. Is the
horse willing to follow her riders cues even if she doesn’t quite understand
what is being asked or does she balk and refuse to do whatever is asked? Does she follow willingly throughout the ride
or does she try to end the ride with bad behavior? The latter usually indicates the skill of the
previous rider. Young or inexperienced
riders tend to stop riding when the horse becomes uncooperative or behaves
badly, thus teaching the horse that they
determine the length of work time instead of the rider. Many good horses end up in bad places because
of this.
Jeremy’s opinion of Hula was that
she was rather green or inexperienced inside the ring. She was stubborn and determined to call the
shots, only trotting when she felt like it and flat-out refusing when she didn’t.
Unfortunately for her, Jeremy was
similarly determined to be the one in control.
There were several differences of opinion but Hula eventually conceded
to her rider’s insistence. Prior
experience would make one think that Hula had not had such an insistent rider
in a while but the diva in her enjoyed most of the attention she was
getting.
Jeremy was quiet, offering lots
of new experiences but making her as comfortable as possible. His requests were, at times unfamiliar to her
but he praised every attempt to follow them.
He would ask and then make it easy for her to get the answer right. Confidence is an excellent reward.
After a short amount of time
Hula’s first training session was over.
She had done everything that her trainer had asked of her and had
received lots of praise and rubs for her efforts. Horse and rider left the ring feeling tired
but happy.
