Here’s a report from Scott B who worked with Anderson in the November clinic:
I got to ride Anderson last weekend at the clinic. He has clearly been well trained and is super talented. I really enjoyed the weekend as my first time getting to work with Anderson.
The Good:
He is easy to handle “in hand.” He ties very easily and stands well while being groomed. Super easy with his feet being cleaned and a perfect gentleman when putting his boots on and taking them off. Happy to have his blanket put on or taken off. Drops his head nicely and puts his nose into the halter.
He does great when mounting. Stands easily and did not get bothered. Super good bending. Does not quite “reach for me” when I reach for him, but I can see where that comes in time. He is very soft and with a bend and a rollback of my leg, he yielded his hindquarters very easily. He backs up really easily. Gets soft and easily backs in a circle. Moved off my leg and could take a single step with his hind over to the left or over to the right. Very sensitive to my leg, seat, and the weight of the reign.
When he first starts out, he is a bit sluggish at the walk but then picks up and can have a nice forward walk. He picks up the trot and gets really soft and has a wonderful sitting or posting trot. He’s got a great soft/collected trot which is fun to ride. It’s obvious Terry and others have spent countless hours training this good looking Arab. The training shows.
Challenges:
- Being caught in the turnout
- Sensitive to the cinch
- Communicating with him through my seat under saddle (Walk, Trot, Lope)
- Appears “pissed” when asked to lope
With my apple in hand, I entered his turnout and visited with another horse, which caused Anderson to approach me and inquire about a bite at the apple. He was rewarded with a nibble. A few pets, and a few more nibbles. When I carefully approached with the halter, he turned, pinned his ears, and pretended as if he might kick. With my emotionless, persistent second attempt he lowered his head, took the halter, and off we went without incident. I took it as a “test” rather than Anderson being mean. But, the behavior is likely to turn off a would-be adopter.
Folks have obviously discovered how “cinchy” he is and great care was taken to ensure he was treated respectfully while being saddled and to go at it slowly. The problem is that his disposition gets a bit “pissy.” It just means we take our time with him when getting the saddle cinched up. He stood still and was not tied in case he got bothered and needed to move.
The hardest part for me was understanding how to communicate to Anderson through my seat rather than through my legs when I asked him to pick up a walk, a faster walk, a trot and the hardest was picking up a lope. Anderson seems to “resent” being kicked at all. Mentally, he operates quite well when he and I were in sync from my seat. When I asked him to go up from a trot to a lope, I was not able to ask clear enough from my seat and I got no change. When I added leg to my ask, Anderson got “pissy” and pinned his ears back and would kick out a bit. Nothing terrible but it doesn’t look good and it’s challenging to work through. Joel of course was able to jump on Anderson and easily get Anderson to move up from the trot to the lope off his seat. So, clearly, I need to work on my riding in order to communicate more clearly with Anderson.
Thanks for allowing me to participate!
