"Retraining a schoolmaster. Rooting and Relaxation. Improving the connection at the canter"
Retraining an older horse does take a lot of patience. Susan has been working with Darrien for over a year now and he continues to improve one day at a time. When Susan first brought him home he was a chronic "rooter" and would pull her out of the saddle, rear and run. He had more issues than we thought.. Some of them might have been a result of old injuries, others we are not sure about. It has taken us most of this time to keep him breathing (instead of holding his breath) and staying relaxed. Now he is lifting his back and carrying his neck in a more natural position. We have even put him back in a snaffle bit instead of his usual double bridle (Susan competes in FEI dressage where they use double bridles)
In this session we are focusing on the cante pirouettes. In the past Darrien would spin around on his forehand like a reining horse instead of staying soft and balanced. You will see he is now much more relaxed and trying to listen more to Susan instead of doing what he thinks he should be doing. You will also see that he is still rooting on the reins. However now, it is easier to contain and he has stopped rearing and bolting.
Retraining a horse is a journey and we have shared the journey of Susan and Darrien with you so you can see the possibilities of retraining just about any older horse, or in fact a horse that has serious behavioral or training issues.
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