It's been raining like mad here again, go figure, so The past 3 days, again, have kept my playtime to a minimum and it's making me sad. Fortunately, the forecast seems to be looking clear and sunny for the next week or so, so the lake that is our farm should start to try up, FINALLY!
Had a beautifully progressive online day with Prin today. Started out feeling REALLY unmotivated, it was chilly, despite the sunshine, and I had a hard time getting going, which I'm sure my LBI appreciated ;)
Prin and I started out playing with improving draw. That was not my original plan, but Prin actually showed me that that is what we needed to play with. We spent about 10 minutes being really particular with our yoyo to the end of the 45' line, and I spent some time teaching Prin to REALLLY put effort into her draw. I've been able to draw her to me at the walk, trot, and on a good day, at the canter, but she's never put effort into it, and I've always maintained drag on the rope to bring her energy up. Kind of an obnoxious BFO for me, realizing that part of the reason her draw at liberty is so sticky is because I use my rope in drawing her online any faster than a walk. Anyway, she and I spent a little time at it, and by the end found that we could play a little game of dance and anticipation, one step forward, one step back, etc, without my having to touch the rope. A ton of fun, really, and got her energy up in a playful way, not in a "just cuz mom asked" sort of way.
Next, we moved onto a little circling game--that's our most broken game in L4, maintaining rhythm, relaxation, and contact, at 35-45 feet out, usually at the upper gaits. I opted to look for quantity, instead of quality this time, seeing how many laps of canter she'd give me, build it, and see what kind things I could help through improving quality as well (Biomechanics, etc)--I was quit surprised not only to get 4 laps at the VERY END of the 45' line in each direction RIGHT AWAY, but also to find that other than a little stickiness in the first half lap each way, that she also maintained realllllyyy nice rhythm, relaxation, and contact, throughout. I think she would have given me more, too, but I brought her in before she realized she wanted to come in. Totally cool to see the improvements from being more particular up close--I'm anticipating a BIG breakthrough any day with it!
Next, we played a bit with quality of circle--Prin's flexion has improved a ton even since we passed L3, but I know the standard Pat is looking for in a L4 audition, and she's just a little shy, yet. Not her fault, either, more mine for not being more particular in the earlier stages of development! Anyway, something Farrah's really emphasized (and I've stubbornly ignored, for whatever the reason) is the importance of longitudinal flexion on the ground. If you've ever watched her play with Caesar, you'll see him CONSTANTLY flexed over the top on his circles at trot, especially. I've started to teach Prin this several times, lost faith in humanity because it requires so much quiet persistence, and quit. I'm so not a LBI when it comes to teaching details! Anyway, today, for whatever reason, I felt emotionally fit enough to play with it, and the results were PHENOMENAL. By the end, going to the right (her difficult side!) she was stretching down at least a foot (goal is nose essentially on the ground), and breathing rhythmically at about 12' of line. That, for her, is remarkable! I was so proud, and I know she felt brilliant--she sent me the feeling too! We were both probably thinking "Why didn't we try this before?!"
Finally, I did a little one-rein long lining, but with the rein on the opposite side to me. This makes her essentially at liberty, since I physically cannot micromanage where her head goes and when from that position. My goal is eventually to be able to play with her like that on the circle w/t/c at the end of the 45' line with no brace, as well as do sideways to and from, and draw various zones to me--that'll be my "given" to go to large-area liberty, when we can do all that with slack. As it is now, we've got really great connection at walk/trot circles, sideways to and from, as well as drawing zone 5 at a max of 15-20 feet away. Not a bad start, but something we'll need to continue building on before we go playing at liberty in any big fields.
Prin was all smiles during this session--we played with transitions and building a faster, longer zone 5 draw, and she kept reminding me again and again of how clever she is. I love her so much when she's in a mood like that--she gets adorably cocky, and we just tease back and forth. Very fun.
So...that's pretty much what we've been up to--we'll be ready to audition L4 online shortly, I'm sure, but just taking things at the speed she needs to at this point.
We'll keep ya posted!
Bedtime!
Photo by Margaret Chant and edited by Jessica Metropulos
Showing posts with label 45' line. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 45' line. Show all posts
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
On the floor, LEVEL 4! Let's go!
Nope. You don't get the background on that title. Inside jokes remain inside. But maybe you can imagine ;)
So, long story short, Prin was FANTASTIC today. I decided to go out and play with some patterns online at L4, with hopes of continuing the development of our rhythm and flow throughout, and find what kind of holes I've got and start smoothing them over so that my auditions have the best chance for success.
I set out a weave and a figure 8, haltered Prin up (after playing some REALLY AWESOME stick-to-me in the 4 acre paddock!) and snapped the line on. I started out just playing with some transitions online, getting them snappier at the end of the 45', which she immediately fell into, and was totally great about. I also played with some increasing and decreasing circles (like a bulls-eye online)at the trot and canter. She found her rhythm REALLY nicely there. Once she got the idea, I asked her to weave and figure 8 just at like the 30 foot mark, to see if we had any resistance. But much like the rest of the session, Prin led herself flawlessly through the patterns. Awesome! Yay communication.
Next I brought her in and tied the line into long line driving reins. Started out just playing with transitions there, and got her to do several simple changes, etc, before heading over to the patterns. We started with the figure 8 at a walk, which she did pretty much effortlessly. She basically started offering the trot after about the second go-around, and trotted the pattern beautifully. I stopped her at "x" after successfully flowing through the pattern, and then Prin offered something VERY interesting. She started offering to back to me, which, usually wouldn't be a big deal, but I decided to play with it a little. I started to back the figure 8 pattern, and she followed. Once, twice, three times around, without my having to touch the lines other than keeping them out from under foot. It was fantastic! I stopped and gave her a rub, and she licked and chewed really heavily. Did we learn together or WHAT?!
I was so pleased that I took the halter off, and put her back on the spot. She was SO wonderful! I'll try to get some photos today. She's just awesome :)
Savvy on!
So, long story short, Prin was FANTASTIC today. I decided to go out and play with some patterns online at L4, with hopes of continuing the development of our rhythm and flow throughout, and find what kind of holes I've got and start smoothing them over so that my auditions have the best chance for success.
I set out a weave and a figure 8, haltered Prin up (after playing some REALLY AWESOME stick-to-me in the 4 acre paddock!) and snapped the line on. I started out just playing with some transitions online, getting them snappier at the end of the 45', which she immediately fell into, and was totally great about. I also played with some increasing and decreasing circles (like a bulls-eye online)at the trot and canter. She found her rhythm REALLY nicely there. Once she got the idea, I asked her to weave and figure 8 just at like the 30 foot mark, to see if we had any resistance. But much like the rest of the session, Prin led herself flawlessly through the patterns. Awesome! Yay communication.
Next I brought her in and tied the line into long line driving reins. Started out just playing with transitions there, and got her to do several simple changes, etc, before heading over to the patterns. We started with the figure 8 at a walk, which she did pretty much effortlessly. She basically started offering the trot after about the second go-around, and trotted the pattern beautifully. I stopped her at "x" after successfully flowing through the pattern, and then Prin offered something VERY interesting. She started offering to back to me, which, usually wouldn't be a big deal, but I decided to play with it a little. I started to back the figure 8 pattern, and she followed. Once, twice, three times around, without my having to touch the lines other than keeping them out from under foot. It was fantastic! I stopped and gave her a rub, and she licked and chewed really heavily. Did we learn together or WHAT?!
I was so pleased that I took the halter off, and put her back on the spot. She was SO wonderful! I'll try to get some photos today. She's just awesome :)
Savvy on!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Motivation!
You know, it's really interesting, studying horses, Parelli, etc, for years, knowing horsenality front to back, and having a seemingly excellent grasp on even the most obscure little pieces of information on how to play with different horses in different situations, and yet, the variations of strategies are so great that you don't realize you've missed something until...well...you find what you missed.
Now, if you were able to follow that obnoxiously long run-on, congrats. What I'm getting at is that there are SO MANY WAYS to motivate an LBI, and if you think you've tried them all, chances are, you really haven't. I had one such experience today with Prin. Now you would think, after having this horse for 6 years, KNOWING she's an LBI, KNOWING she likes food and scratches and slowness, you might get it, and get creative.
I've played a lot with incentives recently, especially now that we're getting more into things that require a greater level of athletecism, that Prin, little miss LBI that she is, doesn't necessarily WANT to do. I've found that there's REALLY nothing Prin won't do for a Winnies cookie, but often times, especially if she's farther out on the line, etc, the moment passes before I can reel her in to give her a cookie, and then we kind of lose all sense of goodness.
So, anyway, today, I happened upon something that actually worked really well, and I found it completely by accident. I had been playing on the 45' line a bit, which had gone okay. We were playing with relaxing and stretching down in the canter, which actually did come together, Prin was blowing and extending out a bit (as opposed to lifting her neck and getting "crunched up")and looked a bit more comfortable. But, as usual, there was a lack of try, and a big "Why am I DOING this? I'm BORED! I HATE circles!" and when she DID try, no way could I get her attention quick enough to get her to associate the reward with the behavior.
After finishing up on a fairly decent note, I left the line and halter on Prin and went and got her feed pan with her grain, and as I was climbing the fence, a thought struck me. I don't know WHY the synapses connected, but for some reason, I thought of how much Prin liked her grain, and just how tangible and OBVIOUS a feed pan was, and how if I placed it strategically enough in the center of the circle, let Prin know I had it, and then set the situation up, my horse would literally create her own motivation. The very best way I can put this is in one word: SUCCESS!
I sent Prin out on the circle, and INSTANTLY encountered a new thing: I actually had trouble getting her to TAKE the rope! usually, on the 45' she goes "Hey, rope, cool! Bye!" and goes to the end. Today, it was a consistant, comfortable 35-40 feet, with slack, belly of the rope dragging, and a WHOLE NEW HORSE out there. She was stretched and moving round, carrying her body arched with the circle, and with NO DRAG AT ALL on her halter. WOW. I couldn't BELIEVE it! She wasn't offering anything spectacularly athletic, but I wasn't expecting that, but the change in mental/physical alone was enough to boggle my mind. I did eventually GET her to canter a couple laps in each direction (using her shoulders correctly, btw) and also got a whole new level of close range circling (WOW let's talk flexibility!).
All in all, a very interesting experience. We'll have to see how this pans out, and whether or not there is a situational thing here, or I've really figured out WHY Farrah actually plays with her horses before they eat ;)
Pix to come tomorrow, lets hope!
Savvy on, and hey look, it's only 10:30! I might get some good sleep tonight!
Now, if you were able to follow that obnoxiously long run-on, congrats. What I'm getting at is that there are SO MANY WAYS to motivate an LBI, and if you think you've tried them all, chances are, you really haven't. I had one such experience today with Prin. Now you would think, after having this horse for 6 years, KNOWING she's an LBI, KNOWING she likes food and scratches and slowness, you might get it, and get creative.
I've played a lot with incentives recently, especially now that we're getting more into things that require a greater level of athletecism, that Prin, little miss LBI that she is, doesn't necessarily WANT to do. I've found that there's REALLY nothing Prin won't do for a Winnies cookie, but often times, especially if she's farther out on the line, etc, the moment passes before I can reel her in to give her a cookie, and then we kind of lose all sense of goodness.
So, anyway, today, I happened upon something that actually worked really well, and I found it completely by accident. I had been playing on the 45' line a bit, which had gone okay. We were playing with relaxing and stretching down in the canter, which actually did come together, Prin was blowing and extending out a bit (as opposed to lifting her neck and getting "crunched up")and looked a bit more comfortable. But, as usual, there was a lack of try, and a big "Why am I DOING this? I'm BORED! I HATE circles!" and when she DID try, no way could I get her attention quick enough to get her to associate the reward with the behavior.
After finishing up on a fairly decent note, I left the line and halter on Prin and went and got her feed pan with her grain, and as I was climbing the fence, a thought struck me. I don't know WHY the synapses connected, but for some reason, I thought of how much Prin liked her grain, and just how tangible and OBVIOUS a feed pan was, and how if I placed it strategically enough in the center of the circle, let Prin know I had it, and then set the situation up, my horse would literally create her own motivation. The very best way I can put this is in one word: SUCCESS!
I sent Prin out on the circle, and INSTANTLY encountered a new thing: I actually had trouble getting her to TAKE the rope! usually, on the 45' she goes "Hey, rope, cool! Bye!" and goes to the end. Today, it was a consistant, comfortable 35-40 feet, with slack, belly of the rope dragging, and a WHOLE NEW HORSE out there. She was stretched and moving round, carrying her body arched with the circle, and with NO DRAG AT ALL on her halter. WOW. I couldn't BELIEVE it! She wasn't offering anything spectacularly athletic, but I wasn't expecting that, but the change in mental/physical alone was enough to boggle my mind. I did eventually GET her to canter a couple laps in each direction (using her shoulders correctly, btw) and also got a whole new level of close range circling (WOW let's talk flexibility!).
All in all, a very interesting experience. We'll have to see how this pans out, and whether or not there is a situational thing here, or I've really figured out WHY Farrah actually plays with her horses before they eat ;)
Pix to come tomorrow, lets hope!
Savvy on, and hey look, it's only 10:30! I might get some good sleep tonight!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
QUICK!! I have a COOKIE!!
So today was one of those interesting reminders for what exactly WORKS for an LBI.
My dear darling friend Jessica is coming to visit in a couple weeks, and the main goal of her visit is to film the majority of my L3 assessment, because for the LOVE OF GOD, it's time for me to finish the dang thing! Anyway, in times past, I've had a hard time filming because I just tried to film without practicing first...well DUH, no wonder I'd get frustrated. I woke up at about 5:00 this morning thinking about it (you know you're obsessed with PNH when you actually DREAM the L3/L4 online patterns)and decided that from now until Jess gets here on the 11th, we're going to PRACTICE. Not in the task oriented sense of the phrase, like "We're going to work on these tasks until we can do them in our sleep." but more along the lines of we're just going to play around and do those tasks in with our playing every day.
Anyway, back to the interesting session. SO, we set out on the 45' line, I set up some barrels, a jump, and some cavalettis, and we started. And instantly, Prin started in with her old trick...she'd stick her nose to the outside of the circle and PULL. A constant, annoying contact, that said "You know, if I were at liberty, I'dve left already, you boring, stupid, rediculous person. You call yourself a leader?"
One of my faults as a person is that I have a huge dignity complex. I cannot STAND to have anyone be downright RUDE to me, human, OR equine, especially if it's unprovoked, so this behavior out of Prin just ANNOYED me. Score one for Spotty. I could only think of one solution/idea off the top of my head, so I tried it. Every time she'd pull off, I would send her off harder/sideways, until she'd turn and ask me a question, then I'd bring her in and give her a rub. This is a friendly warning to all of you. DON'T DO THAT! It makes the situation WORSE. After trying this for a couple minutes, Prin was literally WHIPPING away from me, and trying to escape pressure. ARGH...time to reassess the situation.
I knew I wasn't getting anywhere continuing at that point, so I unsnapped the line, wound it up, put Prin loose in the west paddock and walked back to my car to have a good think. I got back to the car, sat down in my back seat, and remembered back to June, when I was having a similar problem, but it was only at 10 and 2 oclock on the circle. I was trying to remember what I had done then, and remembered what Linda had suggested; to bring Prin in when she drifted off and give her a cookie and some scratches...My thought was "That worked to a mediocre level...obviously the problem is reoccuring now...so it wasn't solved" or I did something to spark it again. So I'm thinking "What is not clicking here? She comes in, she gets a cookie. I'm the comfort spot..."
And then it hit me. I'm not making it UNCOMFORTABLE to pull off. I went back to the pasture, all excited to try my new idea. Prin, surprisingly enough, came RIGHT up to me, and allowed me to put the line back on her (she had this look on her face of "you gonna get it right this time?")
I sent her back out, and got the same drill, except, this time every time she'd pull off, I'd disengage her *almost* rudely, and DEMAND that she at least trot, maybe canter to me...with an urgency...like "COME HERE! QUICK! I HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING!!!" and then, as soon as she got in to me, I'd drop my energy, give her a scratch, and pull out a cookie and give it to her.
I did this maybe a dozen or so times (I really should invest in Winnies Cookie stock...) and within 10 minutes, she was offering canter on a loose rope. So...ya think I might have done the right thing? Maybe? Score one for Franny. I'm VERY proud of myself, and I'm REALLY excited to see how this evolves and progresses...although I will need to get some more cookies...blah!
Savvy on!
My dear darling friend Jessica is coming to visit in a couple weeks, and the main goal of her visit is to film the majority of my L3 assessment, because for the LOVE OF GOD, it's time for me to finish the dang thing! Anyway, in times past, I've had a hard time filming because I just tried to film without practicing first...well DUH, no wonder I'd get frustrated. I woke up at about 5:00 this morning thinking about it (you know you're obsessed with PNH when you actually DREAM the L3/L4 online patterns)and decided that from now until Jess gets here on the 11th, we're going to PRACTICE. Not in the task oriented sense of the phrase, like "We're going to work on these tasks until we can do them in our sleep." but more along the lines of we're just going to play around and do those tasks in with our playing every day.
Anyway, back to the interesting session. SO, we set out on the 45' line, I set up some barrels, a jump, and some cavalettis, and we started. And instantly, Prin started in with her old trick...she'd stick her nose to the outside of the circle and PULL. A constant, annoying contact, that said "You know, if I were at liberty, I'dve left already, you boring, stupid, rediculous person. You call yourself a leader?"
One of my faults as a person is that I have a huge dignity complex. I cannot STAND to have anyone be downright RUDE to me, human, OR equine, especially if it's unprovoked, so this behavior out of Prin just ANNOYED me. Score one for Spotty. I could only think of one solution/idea off the top of my head, so I tried it. Every time she'd pull off, I would send her off harder/sideways, until she'd turn and ask me a question, then I'd bring her in and give her a rub. This is a friendly warning to all of you. DON'T DO THAT! It makes the situation WORSE. After trying this for a couple minutes, Prin was literally WHIPPING away from me, and trying to escape pressure. ARGH...time to reassess the situation.
I knew I wasn't getting anywhere continuing at that point, so I unsnapped the line, wound it up, put Prin loose in the west paddock and walked back to my car to have a good think. I got back to the car, sat down in my back seat, and remembered back to June, when I was having a similar problem, but it was only at 10 and 2 oclock on the circle. I was trying to remember what I had done then, and remembered what Linda had suggested; to bring Prin in when she drifted off and give her a cookie and some scratches...My thought was "That worked to a mediocre level...obviously the problem is reoccuring now...so it wasn't solved" or I did something to spark it again. So I'm thinking "What is not clicking here? She comes in, she gets a cookie. I'm the comfort spot..."
And then it hit me. I'm not making it UNCOMFORTABLE to pull off. I went back to the pasture, all excited to try my new idea. Prin, surprisingly enough, came RIGHT up to me, and allowed me to put the line back on her (she had this look on her face of "you gonna get it right this time?")
I sent her back out, and got the same drill, except, this time every time she'd pull off, I'd disengage her *almost* rudely, and DEMAND that she at least trot, maybe canter to me...with an urgency...like "COME HERE! QUICK! I HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING!!!" and then, as soon as she got in to me, I'd drop my energy, give her a scratch, and pull out a cookie and give it to her.
I did this maybe a dozen or so times (I really should invest in Winnies Cookie stock...) and within 10 minutes, she was offering canter on a loose rope. So...ya think I might have done the right thing? Maybe? Score one for Franny. I'm VERY proud of myself, and I'm REALLY excited to see how this evolves and progresses...although I will need to get some more cookies...blah!
Savvy on!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Hmmm...how INTERESTING
Wow...well, interesting is a bit of an understatement when it comes to describing my session with Prinny tonight.
Some people who will read this know that since getting home from my trip back east, Prin's been anything but what I left her as. She's been sullen, sour, unmotivated and unwilling, and physically, she's lost her topline and all collection we had at one point. It's unbelievable how she could have possibly back tracked that far in 11 days off, but she did, and I've been struggling to stay patient with it, since it's about 6 months of work completely shot.
So anyway, I brought out my tools tonight, and decided that I wanted to use my 45' line for some reason (I've been on the 22' line for the past 3 days) and that was the first weird observation, and big change. As SOON as I snapped up to the 45' line, Prin was well on her way back to being her old self, the playful, snotty, mild LBE that I left when I went back east. I KNEW there was a reason I used that previously, and now I realize that it's because that 22' line was too restrictive. And boy did Prin tell me that.
Starting out, Prin and I just played around a little bit with transitions at the full 45 feet, trying to refine to something close to quality. After 3 or 4 tries, she was doing canter/halt at about a phase 2, which I was pleased with, so I moved on to some zone 5 stuff, and she and I had a bit of a moment, in the negative sense of the word. Not going to lie, I was being a bit rude (asking for too much, too hard) and she fired a warning kick at me, which I totally deserved, but it startled me, none the less, being that Prin is not the type to deliver feedback that bluntly. But I guess that's good, I, in fact, CAN'T get away with murder anymore. But, boy did someone hide her hiney quickly when she realized how surprised I was!
Anyway, we played a bit more to get back on a good track, then I bridled up and hopped on, and here's the best way of putting it. Prin came TO the bridle today. She didn't wait for ME to get friendly with it, she came TO IT. Her longitudinal flexion was ASTOUNDING (I did 6 months of fluid rein/snakey bends with the confidence snaffle last year, and I didn't see results to come NEAR this) I don't think I could have taken her nose off the ground had I wanted to, and the power in her hind quarters, and the lifting in her back combined to make the most incredible ride I've ever had I think. My horse is now living up to her warmblood act, and I'm THRILLED! Pray that Kansas City goes through for me, will you? I really want to show not only Linda, but Farrah just how far she's come!
I put her on the small rings for a little while and cruised around with our power steering and vertical flexion, and I can't help but think that Parelli must have made the Cradle this complex on purpose, so that the result would be all the more satisfying. I'm thrilled, and to my mentors who have gotten on my case for not smiling while I ride, you should have seen me tonight. I had a grin from ear to ear, doing FINESSE! HA!
Life is GOOD!
Some people who will read this know that since getting home from my trip back east, Prin's been anything but what I left her as. She's been sullen, sour, unmotivated and unwilling, and physically, she's lost her topline and all collection we had at one point. It's unbelievable how she could have possibly back tracked that far in 11 days off, but she did, and I've been struggling to stay patient with it, since it's about 6 months of work completely shot.
So anyway, I brought out my tools tonight, and decided that I wanted to use my 45' line for some reason (I've been on the 22' line for the past 3 days) and that was the first weird observation, and big change. As SOON as I snapped up to the 45' line, Prin was well on her way back to being her old self, the playful, snotty, mild LBE that I left when I went back east. I KNEW there was a reason I used that previously, and now I realize that it's because that 22' line was too restrictive. And boy did Prin tell me that.
Starting out, Prin and I just played around a little bit with transitions at the full 45 feet, trying to refine to something close to quality. After 3 or 4 tries, she was doing canter/halt at about a phase 2, which I was pleased with, so I moved on to some zone 5 stuff, and she and I had a bit of a moment, in the negative sense of the word. Not going to lie, I was being a bit rude (asking for too much, too hard) and she fired a warning kick at me, which I totally deserved, but it startled me, none the less, being that Prin is not the type to deliver feedback that bluntly. But I guess that's good, I, in fact, CAN'T get away with murder anymore. But, boy did someone hide her hiney quickly when she realized how surprised I was!
Anyway, we played a bit more to get back on a good track, then I bridled up and hopped on, and here's the best way of putting it. Prin came TO the bridle today. She didn't wait for ME to get friendly with it, she came TO IT. Her longitudinal flexion was ASTOUNDING (I did 6 months of fluid rein/snakey bends with the confidence snaffle last year, and I didn't see results to come NEAR this) I don't think I could have taken her nose off the ground had I wanted to, and the power in her hind quarters, and the lifting in her back combined to make the most incredible ride I've ever had I think. My horse is now living up to her warmblood act, and I'm THRILLED! Pray that Kansas City goes through for me, will you? I really want to show not only Linda, but Farrah just how far she's come!
I put her on the small rings for a little while and cruised around with our power steering and vertical flexion, and I can't help but think that Parelli must have made the Cradle this complex on purpose, so that the result would be all the more satisfying. I'm thrilled, and to my mentors who have gotten on my case for not smiling while I ride, you should have seen me tonight. I had a grin from ear to ear, doing FINESSE! HA!
Life is GOOD!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Even True Unity Begins With the Friendly Game
Had a very interesting session with Princess tonight, in the best possible way, hence the title of my entry.
First off, Richard and I paced off grounds for our arena. We actually ended up MOVING it beyond the north paddock, so it'll be easily twice the size it would have been (We're looking at 150' x 175' now!) and a lot flatter and easier to deal with. From the way it sounds, Richard's ready to start on it any time, so YAY! Anyway, what all this has to do with Prin is that I used her to stride out the sides and make sure it was going to be big enough. It'll be just fine for ring work, methinks, 10 canter strides down the short side, 16 down the long, and that's with her pretty opened up (in other words, someone didn't want to STOP!)
So, onward and to the real point of this blog. After figuring out just where the arena was going, Prin and I headed off to the north paddock to play on the 45' line. I haven't played with her in two days other than to trim her skis off yesterday (good lord her feet were long)and so I was curious to see where things had gone since our last session. Well, "good" would be an understatement. "Great" might even be selling it a bit short. First I asked her to do some small, probably 15' circles or so, just to get warmed up. She was totally light and responsive, no leaning on the halter at all, and she seemed just really tuned in. So I brought her in, gave her a scratch, and gave her a cookie, and asked her to yoyo back out.
We had a REALLY funny moment at this point. Prin was dragging her feet with this very obvious "Nahhh...I'll pass on the backing..." attitude, so I gave her about 5 seconds of phase 1, and then just POPPED her with a 4. I have NEVER seen my horse be so hysterically expressive before. She jerked her head up, put two eyes on me, ears sprang forward, zoomed backwards like 4 steps, and she actually SHOOK HER HEAD...as if to say "Whoa..thanks, I needed that!" I laughed out loud, then brought her in again. I love it when she expresses herself. It just makes me smile. And for the record, her next two yoyos were unbelievable!
So we played around on the 45' line for a bit, and I honestly had an entirely different horse. We were almost all the way out to the end, just playin' around, doing directional changes and transitions, etc, and she was light and responsive on the head, no leaning, and slack all the way around. I really love the enthusiasm and motivation she's getting, and that's what leads me into the meaning behind my title for tonight.
So, I unsnapped my line off her halter, thinking "Now here's a test. We're in a 4 acre paddock, with no reason what so ever for her to stay with me. She never has in the past, why should she now?" Well, the next 10 minutes of liberty inspired my title line. Princess was just absolutely GLUED to me. we did stick to me and close range circling and and sideways to and from, at a walk and trot. She did 30' yo-yos at a trot and backed by her tail. A week ago, that would have NEVER happened! I found myself thinking about how so many things are rooted in that simple game that is found on page one of level 1. How it is number one for a reason, and how just a little friendly game can go a long way in a relationship. Even true unity begins with the friendly game. Pictures to come tomorrow.
First off, Richard and I paced off grounds for our arena. We actually ended up MOVING it beyond the north paddock, so it'll be easily twice the size it would have been (We're looking at 150' x 175' now!) and a lot flatter and easier to deal with. From the way it sounds, Richard's ready to start on it any time, so YAY! Anyway, what all this has to do with Prin is that I used her to stride out the sides and make sure it was going to be big enough. It'll be just fine for ring work, methinks, 10 canter strides down the short side, 16 down the long, and that's with her pretty opened up (in other words, someone didn't want to STOP!)
So, onward and to the real point of this blog. After figuring out just where the arena was going, Prin and I headed off to the north paddock to play on the 45' line. I haven't played with her in two days other than to trim her skis off yesterday (good lord her feet were long)and so I was curious to see where things had gone since our last session. Well, "good" would be an understatement. "Great" might even be selling it a bit short. First I asked her to do some small, probably 15' circles or so, just to get warmed up. She was totally light and responsive, no leaning on the halter at all, and she seemed just really tuned in. So I brought her in, gave her a scratch, and gave her a cookie, and asked her to yoyo back out.
We had a REALLY funny moment at this point. Prin was dragging her feet with this very obvious "Nahhh...I'll pass on the backing..." attitude, so I gave her about 5 seconds of phase 1, and then just POPPED her with a 4. I have NEVER seen my horse be so hysterically expressive before. She jerked her head up, put two eyes on me, ears sprang forward, zoomed backwards like 4 steps, and she actually SHOOK HER HEAD...as if to say "Whoa..thanks, I needed that!" I laughed out loud, then brought her in again. I love it when she expresses herself. It just makes me smile. And for the record, her next two yoyos were unbelievable!
So we played around on the 45' line for a bit, and I honestly had an entirely different horse. We were almost all the way out to the end, just playin' around, doing directional changes and transitions, etc, and she was light and responsive on the head, no leaning, and slack all the way around. I really love the enthusiasm and motivation she's getting, and that's what leads me into the meaning behind my title for tonight.
So, I unsnapped my line off her halter, thinking "Now here's a test. We're in a 4 acre paddock, with no reason what so ever for her to stay with me. She never has in the past, why should she now?" Well, the next 10 minutes of liberty inspired my title line. Princess was just absolutely GLUED to me. we did stick to me and close range circling and and sideways to and from, at a walk and trot. She did 30' yo-yos at a trot and backed by her tail. A week ago, that would have NEVER happened! I found myself thinking about how so many things are rooted in that simple game that is found on page one of level 1. How it is number one for a reason, and how just a little friendly game can go a long way in a relationship. Even true unity begins with the friendly game. Pictures to come tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
More Forward Motion
I played with Prinny again tonight, and we had a pretty nice session. It's like someone flipped a switch in our relationship, and I guess that might have been the case kind of.
Tonight I got out there kind of late, so I didn't have too much time. Anyway, Princess, Crest and Cricket all came up at once, which was cool, because earlier, Crest was leading the cavalry charge around the north paddock, and my thought was "Oh dear lord, I'm glad I'm busy clearing for the arena and not trying to catch them!"
Prin was eager enough to be haltered, we snapped up to the 45' line, and off we went. I didn't want to jump right into the circling things we've been playing with because that's another really great way to build resentment in a LB horse...how boring can I be, really? So, for the first 5 minutes or so, we played around with getting our yo-yo game really snappy, and BOY did that go well. I only went out about 30 or so feet, and after the first go only, Prin was almost drawing to me at the canter (hard to do that close, really it is) with just my energy. There's a L3 task I'm pretty sure we can get a pass on-haha.
Next, we did move to circling,and it was just a totally different feel. Her transitions were snappy, she had a bright look in her eye and was really tuned in, We goofed around and had a great time. This may have been the first time I've ever seen my horse actually truly ENJOY circling. And the only time she pulled on me at all was when I oh-so-gracefully went to draw her into me, and fell backwards...She just planted her feet and STARED at me...like "You...FOOL! WOW!"
Also, just for fun, we're working on a super secret task. No one gets to know what it is, but lets just say it's going very well,and I might be able to unveil in Kansas City if I'm on the savvy team there. And also, Heidi, if you read this, the key was the savvy string! She totally gets it now!
Anyway, all's going really well, Prin and I are having a blasty blasty blast...thank you Dane Cook for that phrase. I'm just enjoying this so much, I can't believe how much of a L3 online breakthru we're having here (me especially, my attitude is a complete and total BFO!), I don't we've gone thru anything THIS BIG in a long time. I'll keep posting!
Tonight I got out there kind of late, so I didn't have too much time. Anyway, Princess, Crest and Cricket all came up at once, which was cool, because earlier, Crest was leading the cavalry charge around the north paddock, and my thought was "Oh dear lord, I'm glad I'm busy clearing for the arena and not trying to catch them!"
Prin was eager enough to be haltered, we snapped up to the 45' line, and off we went. I didn't want to jump right into the circling things we've been playing with because that's another really great way to build resentment in a LB horse...how boring can I be, really? So, for the first 5 minutes or so, we played around with getting our yo-yo game really snappy, and BOY did that go well. I only went out about 30 or so feet, and after the first go only, Prin was almost drawing to me at the canter (hard to do that close, really it is) with just my energy. There's a L3 task I'm pretty sure we can get a pass on-haha.
Next, we did move to circling,and it was just a totally different feel. Her transitions were snappy, she had a bright look in her eye and was really tuned in, We goofed around and had a great time. This may have been the first time I've ever seen my horse actually truly ENJOY circling. And the only time she pulled on me at all was when I oh-so-gracefully went to draw her into me, and fell backwards...She just planted her feet and STARED at me...like "You...FOOL! WOW!"
Also, just for fun, we're working on a super secret task. No one gets to know what it is, but lets just say it's going very well,and I might be able to unveil in Kansas City if I'm on the savvy team there. And also, Heidi, if you read this, the key was the savvy string! She totally gets it now!
Anyway, all's going really well, Prin and I are having a blasty blasty blast...thank you Dane Cook for that phrase. I'm just enjoying this so much, I can't believe how much of a L3 online breakthru we're having here (me especially, my attitude is a complete and total BFO!), I don't we've gone thru anything THIS BIG in a long time. I'll keep posting!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
It's not about the ____, it's about the relationship.
If I were equine right now, I imagine my lips would be licking EXTREMELY hard.
I had a bit of an...erm...session with Princess on Thursday night. Enough to get both of us pretty worked up and frustrated. I very rarely get frustrated with MYSELF anymore, let alone my horse, thanks to Parelli, and particularly Linda. But everything was working against that on Thursday and long story short, we were certainly having some issues. See Princess is a very LB confident horse. VERRRYYYY LB. So LB, in fact, that because a lot of people are used to confidence being the root of the problem in most cases, they're having trouble wrapping their brains around this issue that we're having being a LB thing. Here's what was up:
*Please note that I don't need advice anymore, I realize what's up now and a lot of this is outdated, I just thought it would make an interesting post*
I'm trying to tune up our Level 3 stuff so we can start filming for assessment (I'm facing my phobia, yay me!). Princess is anything but fond of online in general. She'd much rather be doing liberty, and since reading the aptitude article in the savvy times, it makes sense, she's ANYTHING but RBE, and is somewhat LBE. Anyway, as we get to our circling on the 45' line, and I'm paying attention to perfection, I've suddenly realized that Princess leans on the halter and pulls so there's not much slack in the rope. It's generally between 10:00-2:00 on a circle, doesn't matter where I'm facing.
The reason I'm so confused about this is because I'm not reading it as unconfident. If she were always pulling off towards the gate, or towards the pasture, or towards the barn, or towards the other horses, I'd think it was a pressure/unconfidence thing, and I'd know what to do, but its always at the one spot on the circle, no matter what direction I'm facing, so that seems less likely.
I thought at first it might be having the pressure of me facing her was too great, but if that was the case, what would I do about that, and why isn't it so at liberty?
I've been experimenting a little bit, but it's really tough to do for too long, because my LB horse HATES circling for long periods of time. Tonight we had a little success taking in the slack to about 20-25 feet, and putting the spot between 10:00 and 2:00 on a fence line so she literally COULDN'T pull off...and it seemed to translate a little when I took it away from the fence. But really, I'm still at a loss
The response I got when I emailed a friend:
UMMMM, I think I have some ideas.
1. Stop trying to be perfect.
2. Do a lot of transitions, preferably before 10 or 2.
3. Ask her to go real slow. Slower than slow. Slower and slower than slow. She'll get fascinated. And that's what you want. It sure is the opposite to bored or evasive.
4. Smile a lot. Exhibit glee when she does something kookie or different than what you expected... "hah! I didn't think you'd do that! Come here... let me give you some scratches, a cookie...." I can hear you now. WHAAAAA??? You are not rewarding the wrong thing. Remember, it's not about the.... What it is about is the relationship. She needs to know that you love her no matter what. Give her approval and she'll want to be with you more. Hmmm. No parallels anywhere ;)
5. How can you get her to feel successful on that circle? You can trick her, sure... shorten the rope as she comes through 4 or 8 for a couple of laps and she'll put more slack in there, but in the end it doesn't improve the relationship. And THAT'S WHERE IT'S AT! She's trying to teach you something Fran. What do you think it is?
All I can say is DUH. Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, and by the way, how about some more DUH!!!! Argh. Of course I realize all this after the fact. It makes perfect sense! My goals have been coming before my principles and relationship with my horse, and she's getting way resentful. OF COURSE! She's not RB, so she isn't frightened by it, she's LB and she's getting annoyed by it. She had absolutely no reason TO cooperate with me! You've gotta LOVE savvy. It's very humbling, always learning, always reading, always absorbing information. And sometimes a bit of a pain in the ass.
So, my first session applying this obvious brilliance went VERY well. I've come to a point as a budding horseman where I never expect things to instantly get better. And I wouldn't say that they did today necessarily. But there certainly was a marked improvement. Princess and I started putting things into practice in the pouring rain. Man was it wet.
Anyway, it's not about the _____, its about the relationship. Princess picked up on that shift in my attitude right away. She had a much larger "smile" on her face the entire time. That, and she really picked up quickly on the concept that the center of the circle is where Fran, goddess of cookies and scratches resides, and it is best to be close(r) to her than away. While the entire problem was not solved in one session (I certainly wasn't expecting it to be anyway) after about 15 or 20 minutes, instead of pulling out/leaning, she was pretty loose in her movements, and even though the belly of the rope wasn't totally dragging yet, there was great improvement. I'm absolutely thrilled with that! Yay progress :)
We also goofed around a little with slowing the circles way down and doing some transitions/getting them snappy, mainly just to keep her motivated and interested on the circle. Like I said, things weren't perfect, but I certainly saw a change. I'm over the moon about it!
Savvy on, and out! Will keep logging as progress continues, PLEASE comment and let me know what you thought of this!
I had a bit of an...erm...session with Princess on Thursday night. Enough to get both of us pretty worked up and frustrated. I very rarely get frustrated with MYSELF anymore, let alone my horse, thanks to Parelli, and particularly Linda. But everything was working against that on Thursday and long story short, we were certainly having some issues. See Princess is a very LB confident horse. VERRRYYYY LB. So LB, in fact, that because a lot of people are used to confidence being the root of the problem in most cases, they're having trouble wrapping their brains around this issue that we're having being a LB thing. Here's what was up:
*Please note that I don't need advice anymore, I realize what's up now and a lot of this is outdated, I just thought it would make an interesting post*
I'm trying to tune up our Level 3 stuff so we can start filming for assessment (I'm facing my phobia, yay me!). Princess is anything but fond of online in general. She'd much rather be doing liberty, and since reading the aptitude article in the savvy times, it makes sense, she's ANYTHING but RBE, and is somewhat LBE. Anyway, as we get to our circling on the 45' line, and I'm paying attention to perfection, I've suddenly realized that Princess leans on the halter and pulls so there's not much slack in the rope. It's generally between 10:00-2:00 on a circle, doesn't matter where I'm facing.
The reason I'm so confused about this is because I'm not reading it as unconfident. If she were always pulling off towards the gate, or towards the pasture, or towards the barn, or towards the other horses, I'd think it was a pressure/unconfidence thing, and I'd know what to do, but its always at the one spot on the circle, no matter what direction I'm facing, so that seems less likely.
I thought at first it might be having the pressure of me facing her was too great, but if that was the case, what would I do about that, and why isn't it so at liberty?
I've been experimenting a little bit, but it's really tough to do for too long, because my LB horse HATES circling for long periods of time. Tonight we had a little success taking in the slack to about 20-25 feet, and putting the spot between 10:00 and 2:00 on a fence line so she literally COULDN'T pull off...and it seemed to translate a little when I took it away from the fence. But really, I'm still at a loss
The response I got when I emailed a friend:
UMMMM, I think I have some ideas.
1. Stop trying to be perfect.
2. Do a lot of transitions, preferably before 10 or 2.
3. Ask her to go real slow. Slower than slow. Slower and slower than slow. She'll get fascinated. And that's what you want. It sure is the opposite to bored or evasive.
4. Smile a lot. Exhibit glee when she does something kookie or different than what you expected... "hah! I didn't think you'd do that! Come here... let me give you some scratches, a cookie...." I can hear you now. WHAAAAA??? You are not rewarding the wrong thing. Remember, it's not about the.... What it is about is the relationship. She needs to know that you love her no matter what. Give her approval and she'll want to be with you more. Hmmm. No parallels anywhere ;)
5. How can you get her to feel successful on that circle? You can trick her, sure... shorten the rope as she comes through 4 or 8 for a couple of laps and she'll put more slack in there, but in the end it doesn't improve the relationship. And THAT'S WHERE IT'S AT! She's trying to teach you something Fran. What do you think it is?
All I can say is DUH. Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, and by the way, how about some more DUH!!!! Argh. Of course I realize all this after the fact. It makes perfect sense! My goals have been coming before my principles and relationship with my horse, and she's getting way resentful. OF COURSE! She's not RB, so she isn't frightened by it, she's LB and she's getting annoyed by it. She had absolutely no reason TO cooperate with me! You've gotta LOVE savvy. It's very humbling, always learning, always reading, always absorbing information. And sometimes a bit of a pain in the ass.
So, my first session applying this obvious brilliance went VERY well. I've come to a point as a budding horseman where I never expect things to instantly get better. And I wouldn't say that they did today necessarily. But there certainly was a marked improvement. Princess and I started putting things into practice in the pouring rain. Man was it wet.
Anyway, it's not about the _____, its about the relationship. Princess picked up on that shift in my attitude right away. She had a much larger "smile" on her face the entire time. That, and she really picked up quickly on the concept that the center of the circle is where Fran, goddess of cookies and scratches resides, and it is best to be close(r) to her than away. While the entire problem was not solved in one session (I certainly wasn't expecting it to be anyway) after about 15 or 20 minutes, instead of pulling out/leaning, she was pretty loose in her movements, and even though the belly of the rope wasn't totally dragging yet, there was great improvement. I'm absolutely thrilled with that! Yay progress :)
We also goofed around a little with slowing the circles way down and doing some transitions/getting them snappy, mainly just to keep her motivated and interested on the circle. Like I said, things weren't perfect, but I certainly saw a change. I'm over the moon about it!
Savvy on, and out! Will keep logging as progress continues, PLEASE comment and let me know what you thought of this!
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