Pretty in Pink
So Boomerang is going to kill me, but I have to post this horribly embarrassing photo of him in his new grazing muzzle. Poor BOY just got knocked down a few more pegs in the herd hierarchy because of this bright PINK ensemble. The story behind the muzzle is that Boomer sneakily ripped a large hole in his (in order to get more grass) so in a dash to keep him from getting any fatter my mom hit the tack shops in search of a new one for him. After not much luck (for ones in stock) she found this stunning pink one at a used tack shop – and at $15 cheaper than a black one, Boomer will just have to make due with pink.
So aside from our muzzle debacle yesterday, I was able to sneak in a ride between rain storms (hence why Boomer is really wet in these photos). My mom, my sister and I are all getting our ponies ready for a big competition on August 15/16 in New Jersey. This will be Blitz and Boomerang’s very first mounted games competition in the masters division. The masters division is meant for top playing skilled individuals with ponies to match. Many of the horses resemble race horses as they charge the starting lines and make turns to match the best quarter horses in the world. Boomer and Blitz will now be among some of these top playing horses as they enter into a playing field where the best horses are not only the fastest, but the most controlable.
So in order to get Boomerang ready for his big competition we did a little mounted games practicing in the ring. Boomer was on his game yesterday and had an explosive urge to race around the arena. Now you may be thinking – this doesn’t sound like such a great thing for a horse to be doing. But mounted games is unlike most equestrian sports, because in this sport we all strive to have horses that want to race at the drop of a hat, yet have the control to do sliding stops and turns at their rider’s request. Now Boomer wasn’t always the race around the arena kind – we had to work towards this. Boomer spent 5 years of his life trying to be slowed down to the ideal hunter pace before I bought him last summer. I was slightly concerned that he wouldn’t have that urge to race – like mounted games horses need to have. But I’m a bit more of a conservitive rider in that I prefer a horse that starts off controllable and slow and I can work up towards the speed and the desire to race. (Most racing professionals would totally disagree with my mentality – saying that the desire to run has to be there first).
Boomerang in competition(see my clicker around my arm)
But I think Boomer (Blitz too) might just be proving this theory wrong. With each practice Boomer seems to want to go faster and faster, and he’s really enjoying playing the races. I’d much rather train a horse to give me speed than be riding something that I constantly feel like I have to pull on to slow down. That is not fun for me, or the horse. And believe me, the majority (not all) of mounted games players spend entire competitions doing just this. It saddens me to see this because obviously the horse is just doing what it has been trained to do (race) but the rider can’t complete the skills at these speeds so the result is a horse that is constantly being yanked around by the mouth or forced to wear a stronger bit to get the him to slow down. Riders that train/ride this way have no idea about training a horse properly in my opinion. I am by no means a professional (no formal training) but I do know that the way to a well trained horse is not through force.
Boomer waiting patiently for his turn to go
I could go on and on about this subject – since as you can see I am very passioniate about training without force. But I won’t bore you with my rants (for today atleast). I do want to say though that through the methods I have been training Boomerang (and how my entire family is training their horses) I hope to provide an example for the riders within my sport. My family (to the best of my knowledge) is the only group of people training their horses using clicker training within the organization I belong to called Mounted Games Across America. We arrive at the competitions with clickers and treat bags, and even ride with them during most of the races (a fact that we hope to eliminate once our horses are fully trained the way we want). I know that we are slowly getting noticed with our odd methods, and I hope that other competitors are also noticing the difference in our horses. I would love to provide an example of what could be achieved without force in training – perhaps we will even save a few horse’s mouths along the way. I do know that through clicker training we are creating a connection with our mounts that most other riders in the sport don’t seem to have. Spectators can even pick up on the difference in our connections with our mounts compared to the other riders.
Minnow and I during our very last competition as a pair.
Numerous times I was singled out in demonstrations and competitions when I rode my now retired Chincoteague Minnow because of the special connection that spectators could tell we shared. I’ve been told that while watching me ride Minnow it was almost as if he performed each task before I even asked him (our cues were that subtle). Not to mention that it was obvious to all that Minnow was willing to do anything for me and was loving what he was doing. These to me were some of the biggest compliments ever. I am more proud of the fact that I can display how clicker training has completely transformed my once rogue Chincoteague Pony into a horse that people can see the connection we share, than the fact that he can “shake hands” or “paint a picture”. Any horse could learn to do these tricks, but the difference with Minnow is that he does these skills because he wants to please me and genuinely enjoys it. Not because I MAKE him do it and he is complaint.
A properly trained horse has a connection with their trainer and they are only complaint because they desire to be. And you can quote me on that.
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Hi,
I also play mounted games and an enjoying teaching my pony a few tricks! She is learning how to paint (kinda) but i have a quick question: In your games picture of Boomer are you using a bitless bridle? i am tryng one out with my pony for games aswell!!
Glad to meet a fellow gamer! (Perhaps we’ve crossed paths at some competitions).
Yes, I do use a Bitless Bridle on Boomerang. I’ve found it to be wonderful! I suggest really working on your stop at home with the bridle before throwing it on for a competition. Although no matter what bit/bridle you use a good games pony (I believe) should always have amazing brakes first.
You can check out my first post on the bitless bridle by clicking here.
-KD & The Trick Ponies