(…or is that assimilation…)
but to be completely honest, the thread got too unweildy for me after the initial 10 pages or so. However, realizing that my resistance (to green horses ) is futile, I must seek the wisdom of the group.
As some may recall, I ride a 5 y/o OTTB (Seven) after work. Very often, these rides are well after normal, sane folks are in bed, which invariably leaves me with no option but working in the indoor ring. Not very exciting stuff, but it WAS working out fine for all concerned until work (ick) interfered at the same time we moved the horses to the new barn (with its 35 minute drive time) and Seven ended up with an unscheduled and unsupervised extended holiday.
Because he had some time off, everything is ‘new’ again. So, we have to work past the demons in the jump rail pile, the scary barn cats, and the spooky door… sigh But that’s not really an issue.
What is the problem is the length of time it takes him to settle and finally WORK each evening. Whenever I ride, he needs a certain amount to time to settle and ‘get the bucks out’. I usually ride through this but my riding time is limited and our actual working time becomes fairly short. (E.g., it used to take 5 to 10 minutes of goofiness…now we are approaching 30 to 35 minutes of scooting, snorting, bucking, spinning, etc.) I know that eventually he’ll come around but it’s taking a lot of time and we’re not making much progress. 
It doesn’t help that I’m frequently more tired from the drive and my patience is dwindling (though I’ve managed to keep my composure while we’re working together…or rather while I’m working and he’s acting like an idiot ). It also doesn’t help that I’ve noticed Seven has started not to find these sessions any more fun than I do. Our partnership is suffering as a result. 
One solution (and something that worked when he first came off the track) is that he will settle into work much more quickly if I lunge first. I used this in the beginning not only to settle him but also because he had so much to learn so the lunge time was not really nutty time, it was 75% work and 25% goofiness. I’m worried that that ratio might reverse now because he simply does not have as much to learn and I’ll end up with a fitter, disobedient horse who thinks that lunging is merely the time to act like a maniac.
So, I’m not sure what to do…should I make him ‘work’ on the lunge (which then means that the lunging session becomes my whole ride time because I still have to make him settle before he can work)…or should I just give in, let him work some energy off on a short lunging session so that we can get the most progress out of our riding time?
Thanks for letting me vent…sorry for the lengthy post…yet another drawback to riding late at night with no one else awake.
=^+^=
I just haven’t been the same since that house fell on my sister.
