If what you're doing isn't working...

Do something different.
 That sounds pretty obvious, doesn't it? Yet how many times have we kept doing what we were doing even though things were going from bad to worse?

The thought process goes something like: Other people should change their methods, but mine have worked so far so this horse will come around soon.... probably... .maybe..... it's not looking so likely but it could still happen.....
Or not.

What's the quote, I think it's something like; "insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results".

Well I think that applies pretty darn well to training methods, and we're ALL guilty of it at one time or another.

Recently I was guilty of it with Loki.  He'd been doing pretty good at first, he had no muscle tone so we started off walking and working on collection.  When I felt he had that down and was ready to start trotting he started getting nervous. So I went back to walking him.

It didn't help. Day after day he got more and more nervous and jumpy until he finally spooked at something and tried to run off. I reined him in (I was trying the bitless bridle that day to see if maybe it was a tooth issue) and he freaked out. He reared and the second time he reared he went so high that I was absolutely positive he was going to flip over on me.

I took that as my cue to bail off.  Thankfully and miraculously he didn't- and he headed back to the barn at a run. So I tromped off after him and when I got close I called him to me. He came and I rewarded him- because if I get dumped in the middle of a trail again, I want my horse to stick by me and come back if they leave.

Anyway, I got back on, he was still very nervous so I did a quick half lap and got off- ending it on a good note.

So the next ride was about the same- very nervous, antsy, spooky but no rearing.

This is weird because his personality on the ground is laid back, inquisitive and pesty.
Anyway, it continued like that so I tried switching to bareback so I could feel his energy easier, and we worked on retraining his response to nerves. Instead of spooking and running off- I wanted him to stop, think and try to calm down.

This worked pretty well but I was still frustrated  at his behavior. But I am a believer in 'if what you're doing isn't working, do something else' so I did. We went in the round pen the next day and I let him pick his own speed.

Apparently Loki's speed is fast. Now our round pen isn't real big, I normally dont feel comfortable cantering in it... at all.
Loki however, did not share my concerns. He zipped around that pen, making sharp turns like it was his job- and never slowing down or slipping.
Well, I guess it was his job- he was a working ranch/cattle horse before.

Loki was happy though, he liked to see just how close he could come to the mounting block before turning. (Close, if you were wondering.)
I think Loki would make an excellent barrel pony.

So it turns out that my taking things slow and steady was driving him a little crazy. When all the energy  he built up got to be too much he started freaking out.  Sometimes a horse like that needs a little release.

But it was a good reminder that the way you think things should be done isn't always the best way. Sometimes you need to be fluid, flexible, and pushed out of your comfort zone.