REFLECTIONS: Jazz
We have had the pleasure of interacting with Jazz for a few
days now. Overall the experiences have been positive. Jazz has a good heart. He
wants to be good and willing. He is athletic and likes to use his body. He has
good energy. He is friendly and curious.
However, like so many horses we meet, he lacks consistency
and boundaries in his world. He has not been held accountable on a consistent
basis for his part of the partnership. He “feels” like he has been
micro-managed and when he does not perform immediately he believes a swift and
hard reprimand in coming. This is very common and in most cases “fixable” if
all parties make the changes needed to provide the horse with what it needs.
Clear, effective and kind leadership.
Our “plan” is do LOTS of groundwork with him. We want to
fill in those holes in his foundation and help him understand that “thinking”
is better than “reacting” so that his confidence levels improve. We want to see
him respond to signals with calmness and confidence. Under saddle we want to
see him be ridden with a loose rein and see more seat and leg cues used. Humans
have ridden his face way too much. He needs confidence that his human will ask
calmly/softly first before anything else happens.
His reality is being shifted a bit with our program. He will
need time to adjust to these “new” expectations and approaches. He is NOT a pet
to be coddled or babied. He is a partner who has a responsibility for certain
things. It may take some time but with love and consistency we believe that he
will be a great partner who will reach is full potential.
Strolling together at liberty,
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