Memo to Stretch: "Go" Isn't An Option

This is Stretch. The gigantic (I'm guessing he'll finish at 17h) Dutch WB x Arabian that I traded Biff for.

Now that I've gotten him back up to a really nice weight after his Texas debacle and then a stint at a less-than-stellar "full care" boarding barn I had him at while finishing clinicals, it's time to start working him.

Don't get me wrong, I had hopped on him a couple of times at the barn in Turner in the round pen. He did okay. Nothing spectacular. I had The Boy help me by leading Stretch around for a bit until I was confident I wouldn't die, then back off so we could go solo. Problem is, Stretch almost requires someone leading him around. Without ground support, this horse is convinced that "forward" is impossible.

Since moving back up to the barn in Estacada, our focus has been getting weight on, building a topline, and finding a saddle that fits his crazy shark-fin withers. I finally figured out that my dressage saddle fits if accompanied by my nice fleece correction pad.

So this weekend I had Katie out at the barn and jumped on the chance to have a knowledgeable horseperson assist me with Mr. I-Can't-Go-Forward. She knew the ways to get him "jumps started" from behind and has the timing on when to back off that my sweet but non-horsey boyfriend just doesn't possess.

Stretch was.... just okay. Still is hesitant to move forward. When I start to really nag him, I can feel him tense up. Given his history of bucking off the last trainer who tried to establish forward with his dressage whip, I wanted to avoid that route. 17h is a loooong way down! I do have to admit that on horses that I am more confident with, I will get very aggressive about establishing forward. To me, it's vitally important that when I say "go," it means "GO NOW."

I just don't think I can get that aggressive with this horse. Yet.

So in the meantime, I suppose that my tactics will be to either annoy him until he moves forward then praise feverishly, or, when that starts to annoy me start pulling/kicking him in circles to show him that balking is highly unpleasant and I still expect his feet to move. Not sure we're even at that point yet.

I will, as usual, sit and ponder this obsessively, and likely try a few different approaches to see if I can figure out what gets this horse to click and what he responds to. I do know that I want him to learn how to go solo. No more ground helpers around as a crutch. Sorry, Stretch, you have to listen to ME.