Submission and "positive tension"

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StraightForward
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Submission and "positive tension"

Postby StraightForward » Sat Apr 02, 2022 3:42 pm

I thought about putting this in the spooking thread, but I think it's more about aspects of submission.

Annabelle's style of spooking is "the pogo stick." It usually comes out of nowhere, she slams her front feet into the ground the pops straight up. As we've been advancing, this is getting worse in that she will be triggered from something small that she wouldn't normally blink at, just when we're working with more collection and impulsion. For example, yesterday a boarder was riding her mare at a walk outside the arena. We are coming towards them in collected canter, I see Annabelle notice them from about 50' away, and I add some half halts and inside leg to remind her that we are working and not sight-seeing. But as we pass, here comes the pogo stick; this time I was ready for her and booted her forward, but sometimes it unseats me enough, and happens so suddenly that I don't fully manage to ride through. She had two other similar minor come-aparts passing the same horse. The other day we'd turned and were cantering across about at X when a rider was walking up the outside of the long side - in that instance I think she was genuinely surprised by their sudden appearance, but it's not exactly surprising, and something that she ought to be able to work through.

I'm just wondering how others might deal with this, or if they had a similar experience and whether the horse got past it. I'm wondering if it is related to her working more on the vertical, so her visual range is different than when she is less collected? She doesn't tend to do this when she's working more deep, but in a longer frame for warmup, it's really more when we're doing a SI or collected gait where she's more up and compressed.
Keep calm and canter on.

khall
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Re: Submission and "positive tension"

Postby khall » Sat Apr 02, 2022 3:56 pm

That’s interesting SF. Rip was more spooky on a longer rein not when working. His was that terrible prop and spin 180. I used lateral work to keep his mind busy. Asking more sideways the more looky he was.

I also felt like for Rip part of it was the visual. How he saw whatever it was with his head lowered. Had him spin and dump me over a ant hill riding in the pasture :roll:
Last edited by khall on Sat Apr 02, 2022 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

exvet
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Re: Submission and "positive tension"

Postby exvet » Sat Apr 02, 2022 9:56 pm

I have certainly had a couple of moments where both Brandon and Junior have been concentrating and focusing so much on me and what I was asking for that the recognition that a horse was 'all of a sudden there' registered anything from a quick little shy to an OMG 180 spin. I do my best to try to get and keep them forward as I talk to them in an attempt to let them know that something is coming but we're going to be moving past it. I have found that with Junior if I put him in a lateral move requiring/encouraging that he be supple and forward leads to success. Brandon isn't far enough along to really be doing SI or HI, etc but leg yields do seem to help. Fortunately, it's not really a fear of riding past other horses for the two I have now; but for my stallion it was. To survive those times my riding had to take on an attitude of finesse the stallion confidence and bravado, keeping him working by definitely asking him to do lateral work away from and then safely towards where 'they' were to the point where it was no longer an issue. This was only a problem for him when a horse was approaching from another direction. He could care less if horses were riding past him going the same direction. He grew up in a stallion field and I suspect that he took another horse coming at him in the arena even under saddle to be much like the other 'boys' charging and rearing/fighting in turn out which he dealt with but typically wasn't the aggressor most of the time. So for Resi to get over his issue of other horses approaching, I had to keep his mind engaged on me, asking for through and forward but also make it very clear to him that I wasn't going to put him in a position of getting hurt. Enough successes with this and he eventually got over it. This required a lot of orchestrated practice in my arena at home first with my kids riding other horses I owned and thus he knew, then graduating up to having friends bring their big warmbloods over and riding in my arena with me on Resi.

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StraightForward
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Re: Submission and "positive tension"

Postby StraightForward » Sun Apr 03, 2022 3:24 pm

It is interesting how they can react so differently!

Exvet, Annabelle doesn't really care about horses in the arena. The other day I did feel the pogo stick in the mail when we were riding up the rail and someone came in the other direction and took a crossrail about 5' from us just as we passed, but I was able to head it off. Another interesting thing is that she is stiff right, and tends to do this way more frequently when we are going to the right. It's like she feels the need to spring out of the right bend and get back into her habitual left bend, or things are just more alarming when she sees them with her left eye or something like that.
Keep calm and canter on.

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Flight
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Re: Submission and "positive tension"

Postby Flight » Sun Apr 03, 2022 11:31 pm

It may not be relevant to your horse, but I've found with mine that when the work is getting harder for them in the arena, they may do spooks or go looking for something outside. I've taken a bit of a different approach to spooking and 'resistances' lately.
Your might be a getting a little horse shy? Although you do say she doesn't care about horses in the arena with her.


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