Bechler Again

Today I had another one of those rides that make riding worthwhile. Today made me fall in love with my big ugly horse all over again. My horse is big, pushy, tests his rider, has terrible balance, and I adore him. From the time I went out to catch Bechler, I knew it was going to be a good ride. I split a carrot with him as I haltered him. As I led him in, he was snorty, spooky, and respectful of my space and my chosen pace. I only had two hours before I was going to ride with the kids, so I had to get him ready pretty quickly. I have been working pretty hard on getting him to drop his head to bridle and wait patiently for us to be ready to go. He only had to be reminded a few times about dropping his head before we finished bridling. I put him in his full cheek French link snaffle because I wanted a soft ride with lots of bending. 

 

He stood stock still as I swung up onto his narrow back. Our arena is a mud pit at this point in the season, so we headed out for the open acres of hay fields to work. As we left the barn, Bechler swung into a nice ground eating walk. He wasn’t trying to run off with me, he was just happily drifting along. He crossed the wooden bridge with ears perked. As we got out to the hay fields I let him move up to a nice trot. He was a bit rushy at first, then settled yet again into a nice stride. We did some leg yielding and practiced giving to the bit as we warmed up. We got most of the way around the field before we found a spot for arena work. At last we found a flat, dry, large area without gopher holes. We practiced circles working on bending and not dropping the inside shoulder. We worked more in his bad direction than his good. He was giving me a nice soft woah from the trot and lightly backing a few steps when asked for it. 

We have had some major issues with our right lead canter in the past. I tend to get upset which makes him tense up and automatically brace and go onto the wrong lead. I learned if I ask for the right lead while his outside hind is on the ground, he will typically give me the correct lead. (Which makes sense because that is the leg that pushes off for the right lead canter.) Today we were trotting nicely and I started thinking about that right lead canter. I was trying to decide exactly when to ask him when he picked up the lead for me. He wanted to string out at the canter and needed me to hold him together a good bit, but he did very well! We did four or five circuits around our “arena” before slowing back to a trot then walk. We did a bit more trotting, then a few circuits on our left lead before we called it a day. When I first got this horse, as soon as you asked for the canter on a circle, he would drop his inside shoulder and almost fall over on you. I am so proud of how far we have come! 

As soon as I was done schooling, I gave Bechler a loose rein. As we walked in with ears perked, the whole pasture of horses were racing around. Bechler could have cared less. He was just focused on our ride. This whole ride, my dog accompanied us. She was under foot, racing around, chasing critters. I love having the dog along because I think it is great for desensitizing a horse. If your horse doesn’t spook a dog underfoot or appearing out of nowhere then he may not spook when a wild animal appears out of the brush. My dog is not dangerous. She doesn’t bite, bark, or come at the horses with dangerous behavior. She is excited a fast paced though. If she gets underfoot, she gets a sharp reprimand from me and potentially a nip from my horse. 

I got back to the barn and tied Bechler to a hitching rail. I love that I can leave this horse tied for hours or overnight. I love that I can tie him with a long lead so he can eat from a pan on the ground. I love that if he gets a leg over the rope, he doesn’t panic… he just stands with his head near the ground or his leg in the air until someone comes along to help him. 

When I went to feed the herd tonight, Bechler showed me that our work today made him feel as good as it made me feel. He was carrying himself well at a trot and lope as he raced to keep up with the hay truck. He was collected and happy side passing to get away from a horse trying to bully him. He was glowing and not just from the grooming…