Riding a horse that is essentially blind lends itself to a lot of learning. I don't think I am anywhere near being done learning but here are a few of the things I am learning:
TRUST!!!
This is huge. If I am on the ground w/D he is so much braver maybe because we're on the same ground and so if I say things are okay he believe me more or maybe its because it takes the pressure off of him needing to behave since I am on his back. I am trying to understand his thought process. If I were blind and being asked to do things with the sighted person on top of me and essentially behind me, how would I behave?
D has always been easy to longe( work from the ground on a long line in a circle). Even when he is acting up bucking and kicking he rarely pulls and stays in his circle. Not so much anymore. He has a hard time staying away from me and in order to guide him I keep pretty tight contact so that I can half halt him and everything. He is so busy paying attention to things happening around him but is still being worked in a circle so that when we stop he looks drunk because he works on a slant. This struggle makes a lot more sense to me. If I couldn't see I would want to be right next to the voice guiding me but instead I am pushing him away. I can't explain that I still have him and my voice and hands can guide at a distance which means I have to show him which gets hard if he won't move away from me. He has worked on the longe a lot and so eventually habit and training kick in.
Coming in and out of his stall has started to become difficult but its because he is trying to figure out what to do. Rather than waiting for me to tell him to "step up" he has lately been jumping the gun and then messes himself and often trips or even falls which of course he (and I) don't like. Plus, if you've been by D you know that he sighs audibly at me like I was the one who didn't listen. This becomes complicated because I am trying to do everything exactly the same so that he can start making the decisions himself just like a blind person uses their cane, however, he doesn't have a cane and he isn't quite independent of me yet. In many ways he never will be.
Sunday afternoons used to involve him having some time loose in the jump arena where he could graze and roll as I finished up work for the day. That is no longer fun for him. As I was taking Ayla to the pasture he heard me and attempted to follow but not along the fence line his plan was to walk out and follow (not real sure how that would've gone). Thankfully he listened to my voice telling him to stop because of the "gate" and then Catherine grabbed him and put him back in cross-ties. Lesson learned- D would prefer company his solo life has greatly decreased.
So, those are a few lessons learned. I will have to polish this up for Kim :) but here are a few of my initial thoughts.
TRUST!!
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