Consistency... That's the key!

So, before I moved across the state I had to drive four hours to get to school from my house. As a result I barely went home and barely got to see my Murphy-doodle. I was worried that he would completely forget everything he's ever known (which wasn't that over-reactive based on past experiences) so I needed to have someone exercise him for me.

This next part needs a little background. My step-sister #1 (SS1) had been riding since she was very small and I only started riding seriously when I was ten or so, and that was Western. When my dad married my step-mom and Murphy was bought for me as a gift (bribe... whatever) I started my foray into hunter/jumpers.
SS1 thought I would suck, but strangely enough I didn't. I'm not the most confident rider but I can for sure pick up new things pretty quickly. It's a marketable skill.

I like being a giraffe!

The point of that is: SS1 thinks she knew more about horses than me. Which she might have. I don't know.

But three years ago I packed up my belongings to go to my horse college as a bright-eyed and bushy tailed 18 year old and I begged SS1 to ride Murphy while I was gone. She readily agreed and I was relieved.

Murphy is the type of horse that needs consistency in absolutely everything you do. If you let him get away with spooking at a particularly scary bush the first time... well, he's pretty much going to do it forever.
SS1 gave me updates periodically in the form of pictures. But never pictures of her riding. I found that strange, but maybe she was the only one there to take pictures.

So one day I ask her specifically what she does when she rides Murphy.
"Oh, since we don't really have a ring I just take him on trail rides."
What? That doesn't make sense... You can ride a horse in the field the same way you ride them in an arena. You just don't have walls. I do this all the time at school. But whatever. I tried to joke off my concern, "That must be fun with my close-contact saddle. Haha!"
"Well I kind of stopped using that since we were only trail riding. I've been putting the Western saddle on him."
...
You've been putting the giant Western saddle on my cold-backed, high-withered, non-trail riding horse?

Needless to say I was not pleased. Nothing I said could dissuade her from what she was doing.

I hate my life.

Little by little, every time I saw Murphy I could see the little changes in his attitude.
He broke SS1BF's (step-sister #1 boyfriend) foot because he tightened the girth too much. When I went to saddle him he would kick out with his hind feet and kick up at me with his front feet when I went to grab the girth.
He just looked like the crankiest animal I had ever seen.

No thank you.

Eventually, the Murphy reports stopped coming. SS1 had stopped riding him and I had no idea why.

Fast forward to this past summer. My family and I had moved across state and now the drive to and from school was only two hours so I knew I would have more time to devote to my baby.

Murphy had healed from his foot injury and we were finally starting to get back into real work. It was miserable.

He would just come to a screeching halt whenever he felt like it and could not be budged. I had spurs, I had a crop, I had a trainer at my new barn. Nothing was working.
One day my dad came out to watch me ride and SS1B came along for... I have no idea, but he was there for some purpose. And he got to talking as he watched me manhandle my animal into working.

"Wow, you really don't take his crap do you?"
Obviously I was intrigued.
"When SS1 would ride him as soon as he kicked out she was done. She probably fell off four or five times because he bucked her off. She stopped riding him after she fell the last time and got a concussion from not wearing a helmet."

No wonder Murphy wanted to stop. He had freaking barely been ridden. He knew that he could get away with anything because he had consistently been told that it was okay for him to ignore his rider because there were no consequences. And he figured it out super quick.

I set a game plan for the rest of the summer. We were going to work on his listening skills. As soon as he got bored or frustrated we were going to switch to another activity and we weren't going to stop until he was listening.

Shock of all shocks, that worked!

I can go faster!

The difference was.... insane.

He was happy to do what I asked of him. And while he was not in the best of shape, he was willing to at least work with me and not against me.

Of course, that is still a work in progress.

I'm not the best rider in the world and am by no means a trainer, but I know Murphy and I know how his mind works. He will only give you what you ask of him and nothing more. And that's only if you ask nicely. But once he gets there you get amazing results. And that's why I love him.