Freaky Ferrari: Don Pecos

Don Pecos du Cheval and Bob Nervig will help me demonstrate Body Awareness in Driving at the Iowa Horse Fair on Saturday, April 10 at 4 pm.

I had to give Don Pecos a break from whip training yesterday because half the arena was a swamp from the storm the night before. I didn't want a repeat of the injury he is just now recovered from, so I turned him loose wearing the bridle and surrcingle while I fetched a shovel and moved some sand over the rail portion of the mess. While I labored, Don Pecos warmed up. He decided to do a little trotting in his favorite small circle at the arena's center. After that, with no cues from me, he worked on his canter. I was shoveling sand, he was working on cadence. Nobody can say he doesn't have a good work ethic.

When I had moved enough sand to feel confident that he wouldn't slip in the muck if he stayed on the rail, I moved to the center of the arena and asked Don Pecos to take the rail. He was immediately nervous about having to adhere to my curriculum instead of his own [which was working very nicely, thank you] the muddy portion of the arena and the rail, where we have been practicing with the whip aides. Mind you, he was at liberty, thus could still voice his opinions.

His first opinion involved the corners. I've been using the corners to enhance the bending training. Instead of associating the procedure with whip aides, Don Pecos walks into the corner with his whole body and stops looking like he is glued into the corner. He turns his blinkered head to look at me, "This is correct, yes, Boss?" Well, yes, sort of. I guess. Working with a smart horse makes you smarter. We have a way to go with the whip aides.

Not the answer Don Pecos was looking for and he was further upset that his own training program wasn't good enough, and now his interpretation of bending was also incorrect. So he tried harder. "It must be the touching my sides thing," so when a clump of sand came out of his hoof and touched him on his side he climbed into the wall, shaking. When a gust of breeze touched his side, he took off trotting, before remembering to miter himself into the corner. I am pretty sure the same resulted when a fly lit on his side.

I was helplessly standing in the center of the arena witnessing this. The lunge whip was at my feet, as was my mouth. This horse was trying so hard to apply himself to the new training: "Look, Boss, I can do it WITHOUT the whip! Please Boss, don't touch me with the whip anymore." My freaky Ferrari is tactile defensive. I need to find a deep pressure driving whip. I guess.

We will be at the Iowa State Fairgrounds this weekend for the Iowa Horse Fair, come see us. Forget about all the gardening you want to do: it is Iowa folks, it is April. You know the snow is not done. Even though it is 70 degrees, come to the Horse Fair.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

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