Oooh my, did Prinny and I have a good laugh in our session tonight...I decided to attempt leading her by the lip, which is a L3 task, I admit, I haven't done a whole lot with. I made the disgusting assumption that my horse would probably just follow me, and I wouldn't really have to teach her anything once I got my fingers on her lips. Princess is a pretty easy-going horse, how hard could it be, right? Ah HA! There is a REASON Pat Parelli put that task in the level three criteria. It's NOT that simple. Because your horse may follow, but if he stops, you CANNOT LET GO to encourage him to keep moving. The horse must be capable of following a feel!
A long story short, Princess kept taking a step, (for which I'd stop, reward, etc) and then she'd THROW her head up and curl her lip. It would have been frustrating had the look on my poor horse's face not been so hysterical. I would take her lip in my fingers, and then ask for a step lightly, and Prin would just stand there, ears perked forward, a very befuddled look on her face, with the unmistakable expression of "You want me lead by my WHAT?! Why my LIP?! HUH?!" and then she'd do the above head toss. I actually ended up quitting without any progress because I was laughing too hard. She such a clown when she wants to be.
We did a little bit with leading by the ear too, which she got much quicker, and actually performed really well. Could use a little refining, but she did really well for the second or third time I'd done it, so yay!
It's time for bed for me. I'm zonked.
PS, I was looking at a couple of pictures of Princess from this time last year, and thinking about how she's changed looks-wise. Last year, she had a pretty flat, QHy topline, not a bad banana perse, but just not built or made for collection. Then I looked at some photos taken a couple weeks ago. HOLY CRAP...my horse has bulked. She's getting GOOD BANANA (like REMMER) qualities in her neck, back, and rump that she definitely didn't have last year, especially her nice convex shaped neck. I think my all winter regime of finesse in the 66 acre alfalfa field did my horsey some good! My saddle comes Wednesday, imagine what it'll become THEN! Pix that day for sure!!
Photo by Margaret Chant and edited by Jessica Metropulos
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Knightly News Update
Haha, like my play on words?
It's been a busy one around here today. I played with all 3 of my horses for over an hour a piece. A short wrap-up, Cricket's using herself better and better, Crest is hyper and needs work on transitions, and Prin's circling game just keeps getting better and better. We also staked out the arena, which, by the way, will be huge since we decided on the new area, more like 210' x 150' WOW!! Talk about room to do anything and everything, Prin and I even practiced some lead changes in there to make sure there was space!
But most excitingly, I played with little Knighters today! He needed his feet trimmed really badly, so that's what I did first. That was SO easy, it was almost gross. Got all 4 done in almost record time, I think probably only 10-15 minutes or so, and then we played around.
Now those of you who have followed Knight closely since I got him (His groupies or fan club as he calls you-haha)know that recently he's been pulling a lot of "You can't catch me!" games. It's been really frustrating to me until today, and then I realized that he didn't want to be with me for the same reason that Prin didn't on the circle. After finishing his feet, I walked him over to the fluffiest patch of clover I could find, and I sat down and let him graze for about 20 minutes or so.
After grazing for a bit, we hopped up and did some ground work on the 12' line. Some circling, and jumping on an in and out pattern. Knight is SUCH an athletic little horse. The one thing that I made SURE to change, however, is that when he asked to come in, or just even asked me a question on the line, I'd let him come in, and we'd go crazy with the friendly game, and this is where I started to see subtle little changes. Knight was way less overreactive about things when I asked for them, and also was much lighter on his head than usual, and also was much more WILLING to yeild his hindquarters and come in and say hi. While it wasn't a HUGE drastic change (when is it ever, really?) I did read those subtle little things that kind of tell me that Knight will be MUCH EASIER to get hold of next time.
It's amazing to me just how much this friendly game has affected everything. But I'm certainly not surprised, I mean, go figure right? I'm too demanding and not rewarding enough, pretty typical of Fran. This is a big change in my self development here!
Savvy out!
It's been a busy one around here today. I played with all 3 of my horses for over an hour a piece. A short wrap-up, Cricket's using herself better and better, Crest is hyper and needs work on transitions, and Prin's circling game just keeps getting better and better. We also staked out the arena, which, by the way, will be huge since we decided on the new area, more like 210' x 150' WOW!! Talk about room to do anything and everything, Prin and I even practiced some lead changes in there to make sure there was space!
But most excitingly, I played with little Knighters today! He needed his feet trimmed really badly, so that's what I did first. That was SO easy, it was almost gross. Got all 4 done in almost record time, I think probably only 10-15 minutes or so, and then we played around.
Now those of you who have followed Knight closely since I got him (His groupies or fan club as he calls you-haha)know that recently he's been pulling a lot of "You can't catch me!" games. It's been really frustrating to me until today, and then I realized that he didn't want to be with me for the same reason that Prin didn't on the circle. After finishing his feet, I walked him over to the fluffiest patch of clover I could find, and I sat down and let him graze for about 20 minutes or so.
After grazing for a bit, we hopped up and did some ground work on the 12' line. Some circling, and jumping on an in and out pattern. Knight is SUCH an athletic little horse. The one thing that I made SURE to change, however, is that when he asked to come in, or just even asked me a question on the line, I'd let him come in, and we'd go crazy with the friendly game, and this is where I started to see subtle little changes. Knight was way less overreactive about things when I asked for them, and also was much lighter on his head than usual, and also was much more WILLING to yeild his hindquarters and come in and say hi. While it wasn't a HUGE drastic change (when is it ever, really?) I did read those subtle little things that kind of tell me that Knight will be MUCH EASIER to get hold of next time.
It's amazing to me just how much this friendly game has affected everything. But I'm certainly not surprised, I mean, go figure right? I'm too demanding and not rewarding enough, pretty typical of Fran. This is a big change in my self development here!
Savvy out!
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.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Day of Excitement
It's been a VERY exciting day for me today. The excitement started when Richard approached me about Cricket. Cricket is the APHA mare that belongs to a friend of ours, who's been staying with us for the past 8 weeks or so, fattening up on our nice pasture. Anyway, Richard said he'd talked to Cricket's owner, who's DESPARATELY trying to find her a home, and that it was mentioned that if I wanted her, I could HAVE her for FREE. So...exciting news. I have a new horse! I'll probably develop her up and try to find her a home with someone just starting PNH. She's a very nice horse with a huge heart, and I feel like someone could really go far with her. She's so quiet and sweet, she's SO deserving of that wonderful home, and I'd love to help her find it, and in the mean time (however long that takes, I really am not wearing a watch here) I'll provide it.
I would say her only big downfall right now is her horribly atrophied topline. She's been undereweight, and now she's just sadly undermuscled. We started a hill therapy program tonight, and got through the first 5 minutes of circling, and then I realized that she really had NO CLUE how to pick her feet up when she moved. She'd stumble over some tall grass, or a small stick, etc. So instead of the second round, I pulled out some cavalettis about 6" high, and set 4 in a row up along the fence line. She started out REALLY clumsy, as I expected, but as we kept going along, (I kept the same time scale as if we were using a hill) her eyes got brighter, he feet got higher, and she started to REALLY use herself. I've NEVER seen something have that drastic an impact in one session physically before. It was remarkable. The last 30 seconds or so, she was prancing over those cavalettis like she owned them, and she was rounding her topline even on the rest of the circle. At the rate she's going, she'll have a topline like Remmer before the month is out-haha!
My second piece of exciting news is slightly less heartfelt, but I'm still PSYCHED! Parelli Collection called me this afternoon to let me know that my saddle is READY TO SHIP, and will be going out either today or tomorrow. OMG! It'll be here in A WEEK! Maybe in time for Farrah's clinic? I HOPE SO! God that would be PERFECT. EEEEEKK! I can't wait to have it :D This'll be wonderful. I felt giddy today after I got the call, I actually drove down to Winona and pathetically invested in a saddle stand especially for it to sit on. I'm silly. Anyway, REALLY excited, it should be here by Tuesday or Wednesday next week!
Okay, bedtime, I have to get up and water flowers tomorrow, oh joy.
PS, trimmed feet today, Crest's are like BLACK GRANITE...Need like, robotic limbs to pull that off!
I would say her only big downfall right now is her horribly atrophied topline. She's been undereweight, and now she's just sadly undermuscled. We started a hill therapy program tonight, and got through the first 5 minutes of circling, and then I realized that she really had NO CLUE how to pick her feet up when she moved. She'd stumble over some tall grass, or a small stick, etc. So instead of the second round, I pulled out some cavalettis about 6" high, and set 4 in a row up along the fence line. She started out REALLY clumsy, as I expected, but as we kept going along, (I kept the same time scale as if we were using a hill) her eyes got brighter, he feet got higher, and she started to REALLY use herself. I've NEVER seen something have that drastic an impact in one session physically before. It was remarkable. The last 30 seconds or so, she was prancing over those cavalettis like she owned them, and she was rounding her topline even on the rest of the circle. At the rate she's going, she'll have a topline like Remmer before the month is out-haha!
My second piece of exciting news is slightly less heartfelt, but I'm still PSYCHED! Parelli Collection called me this afternoon to let me know that my saddle is READY TO SHIP, and will be going out either today or tomorrow. OMG! It'll be here in A WEEK! Maybe in time for Farrah's clinic? I HOPE SO! God that would be PERFECT. EEEEEKK! I can't wait to have it :D This'll be wonderful. I felt giddy today after I got the call, I actually drove down to Winona and pathetically invested in a saddle stand especially for it to sit on. I'm silly. Anyway, REALLY excited, it should be here by Tuesday or Wednesday next week!
Okay, bedtime, I have to get up and water flowers tomorrow, oh joy.
PS, trimmed feet today, Crest's are like BLACK GRANITE...Need like, robotic limbs to pull that off!
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!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Home again, home again, Jiggity-jig
Ooooohhhh boy it's been a long week!
I've been in Mosinee, Wisconsin, visiting my friend Jessica, my friend Heidi, and giving lessons to another friend, Anne. It's been a wonderful week, we goofed around, played with horses and cameras, took one horrifyingly LONG road-trip to Green Bay to visit Heidi and her horse Charmer, and we all had a good time, and most of all, we all learned something.
It was a big week for Anne more than anyone I think. Anne has a bit of history with all her horses, and while I won't delve into why, she's got some very respectable (and justifiable!) confidence issues around them. Starting out on day one, I could tell even since last time I'd been out, that things had changed in her confidence level. The way she moved about and handled her horses was considerably more relaxed.
The first couple of days, we went about learning the seven games, and breaking them down into reasonable bits of information for Anne (and the horse for that matter) to digest. They did really well, and I was very impressed with their quick progress. I did spend a day and a half puzzling over Blixen's horsenality, before answering my own question by telling Anne that he needed to be calmer and more trusting. RBE with RBI...and then a little later, realized that innately he was totally different. I filled out about 7 horsenality charts for different situations...man he's an interesting horse, someone remind me and I'll post his charts in a couple days.
Day 3 was really interesting, because then the saddle came out. Blixen has always been reactive, but man, it was impressive, he bucked...and bucked, and bucked, and bucked...WOW. It was impressive. Again, remind me, I have pictures! Holy CRAP, I don't want to ride that horse in that state. We also played with Bailey that day, little miss sassypants. LBI classic, and oh so eager to charge through the gait to her yummy green grass. 2 hours of reverse psychology in the rain later, and she was doing all 7 games, going through the gate, and being ridden willingly enough. I LOVE my LBI horses-haha.
Day 4 we played with Blixen again, and he and Anne were looking really sharp. They got their sideways going pretty snazzily, and we took some videos. Fun! Also went to visit Heidi in Green Bay. The barn where she boards is possibly the most perfect place ever, and I loved Charmer, although I really have realized now just how EXTROVERTED Prin is. Charm rings true to the "real" LBI stuff, and Heidi's done a wonderful job in developing it. Got to try her out in the cradle bridle, and now that's on my "must have" list as well...man am I spoiled!
Today was el finale for lessons in Mosinee. We first played with Bailey, then Anne casually asked me to ride her. I did. I got on, played around a little with walk, trot, halt transitions, and got miss LBI going pretty well. Then, the most remarkable, impressive, amazing testimant to my teaching came out of the woodwork. Anne, who has not ridden since last July, asked if I thought she could ride Bailey. I didn't show her then (Anne, if you read this, be GLAD you didn't see it!) but I teared up. I really did. I am SOOOOOO proud of Anne for coming as far as she has this week. I know how much emotional fitness and downright courage it must have taken to ask me that. She rode around the paddock for 10 minutes, and she LOOKED FANTASTIC! Not at all tense, sitting very naturally balanced and relaxed, I was just...ahhh! So PROUD!
Anyway, time for Fran to hit the hay. I've got a long weekend coming up, starting in about 5.5 hours, so yeah. Adios. Someone remind me about pix please!
I've been in Mosinee, Wisconsin, visiting my friend Jessica, my friend Heidi, and giving lessons to another friend, Anne. It's been a wonderful week, we goofed around, played with horses and cameras, took one horrifyingly LONG road-trip to Green Bay to visit Heidi and her horse Charmer, and we all had a good time, and most of all, we all learned something.
It was a big week for Anne more than anyone I think. Anne has a bit of history with all her horses, and while I won't delve into why, she's got some very respectable (and justifiable!) confidence issues around them. Starting out on day one, I could tell even since last time I'd been out, that things had changed in her confidence level. The way she moved about and handled her horses was considerably more relaxed.
The first couple of days, we went about learning the seven games, and breaking them down into reasonable bits of information for Anne (and the horse for that matter) to digest. They did really well, and I was very impressed with their quick progress. I did spend a day and a half puzzling over Blixen's horsenality, before answering my own question by telling Anne that he needed to be calmer and more trusting. RBE with RBI...and then a little later, realized that innately he was totally different. I filled out about 7 horsenality charts for different situations...man he's an interesting horse, someone remind me and I'll post his charts in a couple days.
Day 3 was really interesting, because then the saddle came out. Blixen has always been reactive, but man, it was impressive, he bucked...and bucked, and bucked, and bucked...WOW. It was impressive. Again, remind me, I have pictures! Holy CRAP, I don't want to ride that horse in that state. We also played with Bailey that day, little miss sassypants. LBI classic, and oh so eager to charge through the gait to her yummy green grass. 2 hours of reverse psychology in the rain later, and she was doing all 7 games, going through the gate, and being ridden willingly enough. I LOVE my LBI horses-haha.
Day 4 we played with Blixen again, and he and Anne were looking really sharp. They got their sideways going pretty snazzily, and we took some videos. Fun! Also went to visit Heidi in Green Bay. The barn where she boards is possibly the most perfect place ever, and I loved Charmer, although I really have realized now just how EXTROVERTED Prin is. Charm rings true to the "real" LBI stuff, and Heidi's done a wonderful job in developing it. Got to try her out in the cradle bridle, and now that's on my "must have" list as well...man am I spoiled!
Today was el finale for lessons in Mosinee. We first played with Bailey, then Anne casually asked me to ride her. I did. I got on, played around a little with walk, trot, halt transitions, and got miss LBI going pretty well. Then, the most remarkable, impressive, amazing testimant to my teaching came out of the woodwork. Anne, who has not ridden since last July, asked if I thought she could ride Bailey. I didn't show her then (Anne, if you read this, be GLAD you didn't see it!) but I teared up. I really did. I am SOOOOOO proud of Anne for coming as far as she has this week. I know how much emotional fitness and downright courage it must have taken to ask me that. She rode around the paddock for 10 minutes, and she LOOKED FANTASTIC! Not at all tense, sitting very naturally balanced and relaxed, I was just...ahhh! So PROUD!
Anyway, time for Fran to hit the hay. I've got a long weekend coming up, starting in about 5.5 hours, so yeah. Adios. Someone remind me about pix please!
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