Karen Moulis asked me to help her out with Sheyna. Sheyna is a Missouri Fox Trotter mare that got to be owned by Pine Dell Farm when her owner couldn’t pay the board. Also Sheyna was too much horse for her green owner. We don’t think Sheyna was ever owned by anyone that understood her personality.
Sheyna is a sensitive right brain extrovert. She wants badly to please her person. She’s never been taught about slow speeds, medium speeds and fast speeds. The answer for her is to fly into the wind! She knows nothing about transitions. Her go is from standing to spinning out of control. Karen and her grandaughter Melissa had no idea what a gaited horse was supposed to feel like and that’s where I came in. The three of us are combining the ground games and riding to help her learn to relax. We are trying to get her to understand slow, medium and fast.
Riding Sheyna is a lot of fun. When she tries to spin out of control, she can be brought right back down to slower and then stop and even back.
This past Saturday, I rode her in a two plus hour clinic with Jenny Vaught. I”ve been riding her in Karen’s Wednesday night group lesson and her progress has just been amazing. At the end of the nearly three hours of clinic, I was riding Sheyna on a loose rein. She was carrying her head down and relaxed. At the start, middle and near the end of the clinic, we were still in “go fast is the answer” When she finally relaxed and was happy to walk, I wanted to scream and punch the skies with happiness. Instead, my body was the poster child of relaxed muscles.
Sunday, Melissa rode her on a trail ride with Velvet and I. Sheyna is not concerned, worried or scared of anything out there on the trail. Plus she goes right straight thru mud and puddles. She has proved to be a great trail horse. Sheyna went into a nice fast smooth gait. Velvet and I had to work to keep up. When Velvet goes up into her top notch fastest possible fox trot gait, it’s just a little rough. We did that for about 3 miles off and on…good gadness!
Half way thru the trail ride, we came upon a long flat field. I thought, why not. Melissa was telling me about how she loves to canter and gallop her Arabians. Hmph. Velvet and I started cantering through the field. The wind was in my face and I was having a great time. Melissa wasn’t screaming or anything. I could hear Sheyna’s hoofbeats right behind me. And then I heard hoofbeats next to me and the next thing I knew, Sheyna and Melissa were screaming in the wind, in an ever increasing lead! Wow! Velvet and I sped up, but I didn’t really want to gallop as fast as Roy and Trigger in the movies. I saw Sheyna and Melissa come the end of the field where the gravel road waits. Sheyna slowed right down and stopped. She was under perfect control. That’s a big wow!
yee haw Sheyna!
Melissa is now talking about being with the wind on a Missouri Fox Trotter. I was thinking about Aleve.