When Xena and I walk together, she will often lag behind by one or two paces. She stays beside me, but I have to turn my head to see her. I haven’t corrected her for this, because it wasn’t really a problem — until now.
Photo by Angela
I’d like to teach Xena to trot in hand; something she is unable to do without panicking and running wildly. So with that as my goal, my first objective is to not be trampled by a frightened horse. My second objective is for Xena to understand I’m not chasing her.
I’ve created the Parallel Walking Game as a foundation, because I’ll use the same method when I eventually teach her to trot. I’m making this up as I go, so it’s subject to change!
My plan is to:
- Use the Driving Game℠ to maintain a distance of 10 feet between us, so that we’re walking parallel. When I eventually teach her to trot, it will also be with 10 feet between us.
- Ask Xena to keep pace with me, so that her shoulder and my body are in line. I’ll strive to be persistent, without being too particular.
- Play the game along the center line, rather than the rail. The center line will give her space to move freely, which we’ll need when we begin trotting. I’ve seen what happens when she panics and finds herself facing a wall; it isn’t pretty.
- Walk the length of the arena 6 times per session so that Xena will begin to recognize the pattern. At A and C I’ll ask her to walk a semi-circle around me, while I remain stationary (Circling Game℠).
I volunteered for a year at a therapeutic riding school, which involved a lot of trotting in hand. When running beside a trotting horse, it’s easy to become jostled and drawn into the path of the horse’s shoulder; either because the horse or human drifted into the other’s space or because the lead rope was held too short. There’s a real risk of being bumped, kicked or tripped.
It will be much safer to have 10 feet of rope between Xena and I.
Xena's YouTube Channel