OTTB not careful with foot placement

[tikkamasala]

So I approached the trail differently today based on above responses. We went out in some nice windy weather hoping for “newness”. I essentially pointed her in the general direction of where to go but didn’t micromanage and let her figure it out. We upped the difficulty on a less manicured area, and purposefully selected the most obnoxiously twiggy areas to ride through. She did stumble more in the first half of the ride, but by the end she was pausing before questions, and making some smarter decisions. And she ducked her head instead running face first into a branch. Little baby steps but hey there’s something!

In response to pastures, I super wish I had some rougher terrain but here it is manicured paddocks only. It’s okay, we will figure this out under saddle. She is smart and can take a joke.

[oppsfelldown]

@pony grandma

Peter Atkins would use ground poles littered like Pick Up Stix in his clinics. A purpose and a reason for all kinds of games and experiences for young horses and riders. Learning to let go and let the horse figure out some things.

One of my favorite games to play with young horses and the up/down kids.

I would have the kids do kinda a Gamblers Choice type game, give them Yellow poles are 2 points, black poles are 7 points, you cannot cross your lines and go! Highest point at the walk and trot got to canter first and go over a small X

[enjoytheride]

My SO’s gelding tripped a ton last year on the trails, he just plowed through things without watching his feet and in a few cases went down to his knees! He’s getting much better and we can take him on more technical trails without worrying. He’s a bit of an ogre at 17.1 anyway, and I swear eventually he’s going to get stuck where my ponies wouldn’t. He’d done some eventing but jumping stuff on groomed grass is different than bush hogging.

[Hilary]

It sounds like she’s making progress already! I’ve had a couple of TBs who didn’t know that life was more than a flat surface nevermind things like rocks and roots! They did learn - it’s a bit scrambly at first - boots and bell boots and be ready to bribe your farrier as they will likely take a few shoes off. One really didn’t know how to go downhill.

We had a WB cross who lived at the barn who had not a care in the world about ice and bad footing in the winter The other horses would be slowly mincing across the bad sections there’s Forrest slip sliding away and not caring at all.

While I often curse the rocks we have here, I take advantage of the rocky rooty mountain bike trails for a good footwork workout once a week. We walk but they have to really pay attention to where they are stepping.

[tikkamasala]

Update: BRAVE AWESOME OTTB ALERT! Went XC schooling, she had a blast and understood the questions. Confidence went up 100% . Also We have gone on multiple tricky trail rides and yesterday she saved my arse!!! We brought a friend along (another big baby). He was not willing to go through some of the technically demanding areas. So my OTTB led and crossed everything with finesse, then doubled back to cross everything again, and then off-roaded sanely and carefully through new ground. She took my guidance well and made a few reasonable independent decisions on crappy footing. And she got the other baby safely through. I LOVE HER. That’s all.

[Cruiser12]

@tikkamasala

Update: BRAVE AWESOME OTTB ALERT! Went XC schooling, she had a blast and understood the questions. Confidence went up 100% . Also We have gone on multiple tricky trail rides and yesterday she saved my arse!!! We brought a friend along (another big baby). He was not willing to go through some of the technically demanding areas. So my OTTB led and crossed everything with finesse, then doubled back to cross everything again, and then off-roaded sanely and carefully through new ground. She took my guidance well and made a few reasonable independent decisions on crappy footing. And she got the other baby safely through. I LOVE HER. That’s all.

Yay Yay Yay. So wonderful!

[Dr_Doolittle]

Excellent! 😊 Good for you (and her!)

[16_Hands]

@tikkamasala

Update: BRAVE AWESOME OTTB ALERT! Went XC schooling, she had a blast and understood the questions. Confidence went up 100% . Also We have gone on multiple tricky trail rides and yesterday she saved my arse!!! We brought a friend along (another big baby). He was not willing to go through some of the technically demanding areas. So my OTTB led and crossed everything with finesse, then doubled back to cross everything again, and then off-roaded sanely and carefully through new ground. She took my guidance well and made a few reasonable independent decisions on crappy footing. And she got the other baby safely through. I LOVE HER. That’s all.

Awesome! She’s making huge progress! It’s so cool when they figure it out and can make decisions on the best course forward. Really cool. My new guy is learning trail work and doing a lot of tripping but he’s getting there. He learned last week to use his butt to go down steep hills and to keep is slow.