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Figuring out Astro

Astro is a powerhouse of a horse. He has a ton of speed and energy. He is flighty and spooks easily. He has been quite a challenge for Jayden to ride. When she rides him he is like a locomotive and seems to get faster and faster. His head ends up high and his feet get to moving high, faster and faster. Her barrel racing had not been going well and was starting to get worse. He has been a lot of horse for her to handle. She has worked and worked with him. Mark, Jayden, and I came to the conclusion that maybe Astro just isn't a good fit and maybe it is time to move on. IT felt like she gave him her all. She put so much time and effort into him and continually had problems. It just didnt seem like they were getting anywhere. We contacted Diana, who we bought him from and she was more than willing to help us in whatever way we needed to. The plan was to take him back to her in OK  on the way to Jayden's college. She would take him and try to help us sell him. It wasn't an easy decision and we had been tossing the idea around all summer.  Jayden agreed and we all decided it would be best.
One day recently Jayden was riding Astro to keep him in shape and she told me to get on and ride. She had made several laps trying to trot him only for him to continuously try to lope and take off. He was being a handful and she said it to me half sarcastic. He makes me nervous watching Jayden ride and he looks like he could bolt at any minute. I reluctantly got on and decided to try something different, give him a loose rein and stay out of his mouth. Jayden tends to ride with a tight rein, says if she gives him a loose rein he just gets faster. She also tunes on her horse a lot and gets after him by stopping him hard and backing him up a lot. I decided I would give him a loose rein and only slow him down if needed. I didn't know how it would go and was honestly worried he would be too much for me. After one lap on a loose rein, the horse was like he was in autopilot, he just kept going in a nice circle at a nice speed at a trot. If he got too fast I pulled back a little and he maintained a steady pace. I loosened the reins and he just went circle after circle. I barely had to turn him and I felt like he could do that all day. I did both directions and he was so easy to ride and seemed relaxed. Jayden was shocked and told me he likes me better. When I got off I had her try him and I told her exactly what to do and it was like night and day. As she let him have the reins and make circles, he was more relaxed and moved out like a horses should, not all tense like before. She even took him up to a lope and he moved out so much better for her. It was a big change for both her and her horse. Both of them looked relaxed and comfortable. It was great to see! I was happy to help her see such a simple change can make such a huge difference. Horses react to a bit , and some more than others. Too much can cause them anxiety and they speed up, hold their head high and get tense. After she got off, her mind was rolling with the possibilities and she questioned whether she really should get rid of Astro. She is starting to think she will give him more time.

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