>>> I think you are on to something there Nancy. That was one big mistake I >>> made when >>> starting Soley -- I took her out on the trail almost exclusively with a >>> "buddy horse". >>> Even though she led the way and was actually braver than the buddy horse we >>> most often >>> rode with, it still created a problem later on when I tried taking her out >>> alone. >>> She STILL (at 19) does not like to go riding alone.
If you see a lot of young horses, you'll see that some just simply aren't as brave out alone as others are. Some never become truly brave out without another horse, but some develop bravery with age and maturity, and exposure, especially as they learn to trust their person. Our home-grown babies seem naturally braver than some of the left-alone babies we've encountered, although I'd say that most Icelandic's are at least fairly brave. But, if you push the wary ones too soon, I think you stand the chance of making them even more wary. It's sort of like the shy two-year-old human who may want to cling to mommy...but if Mommy is there when he's uncertain, he gets his confidence built and eventually will be as confident, or more so, than a small child who is pushed too soon. All of our two-year-old horse-babies have been led out on trail walks, alone with one human. Runa has been led out alone many times. I suspect Runa would be fine to ride out alone now, but if I've misjudged, I could put her into a situation of needing remedial work, and that's something I try to avoid at all costs. Also, if we've misjudged, someone could get hurt, and at this point in our lives, we're just not into pain. To me, this is simply another way of breaking things down into the smallest number of steps possible, so that you can most accurately assess where you stand. Yesterday, when I rode Tivar out with Runa, my main job was to watch Runa. Sometimes the follower can see some signs of resistance that the rider simply can't see. Turns out I didn't need to stay right with her, and from this point, we'll gradually let her and her buddy get further apart until we feel good she can go it alone. I suspect she'll be at that point very soon...but if not, that's ok too. Karen Thomas, NC
