OhMax - 2019-04-23 12:02 PM
I also think it depends if you’re asking them to exhibit their “brokenness” at home where it’s calm and quiet. Or in the little patch of grass between trailers within earshot of the arena at a rodeo.
They know when it’s go time. Quite a few probably make better runs if they’re left alone and allowed to exhibit a few of the more harmless quirks rather than insistance on picture perfect behavior.
Agreed. Chance, who filled my permit in two weekends last year, is super super broke at home, but at a race (particularly at Topeka, his favorite arena in the world) you had best let him act like an unbroke maniac if you want him to fire. His best runs seem to come after he runs off at least once and gets a couple of smacks for being a brat in the warmup pen. When Chance was 4 & 5, I won a lot of local show horsemanship, reining, and trail classes on him simply because he's so broke but it all goes out the window when you get in the warmup pen at Topeka! My husband and I have learned to live with the crazy warmups because we can literally put this horse wherever we need to during a run, and he adjusts to our very different riding styles while also covering up any mistakes we make. |