Thursday 19th Nov 09
What a lovely time I had with Duncs today. He was an absolute delight to be with and, if ever a pony could have proved his worth to be invested in, he did just that!
I had the day off as B & M were coming so housework to be done etc. I also wanted to fit a session in with D before going to the PARELLI CELEBRATION this weekend! Of course, because I did D in the afternoon, my time got squeezed so that I only had 1.5 hours before having to pick Ed up.
It was very windy when I arrived so I thought perhaps extreme FG might not be wise. I certainly couldn't have tossed the bags out in front for D to pick up in case they blew about & scared us or the ponies next door. I suddenly thought "Lets go out!" so that's what we did.
At first when I got all my tools out, D started yawning. Mm....I approached him with the halter soon after and he pit his ears back and looked unhappy so I walked off and moseyed around for a bit. D went and inspected my BB pad on the floor and started trying to pick it up with his teeth. Oh no! I moved it away towards the gate and he went eagerly after it and again investigated it at which point I could see he wanted to play and, sure enough, his ears were pricked and he had a soft eye when I haltered him. I think he just needs to be reassured we are going to play. Perhaps I need to go back to doing PTP at liberty again as we did a lot in the Summer. I could just put out a couple of different things for him to investigate each time.
We went down the road (Flick too, on longer lead on treat pouch belt - much easier) and into the woods. D was so happy to be out. His ears were forward the whole time, no nipping. he was responsive and easy to be with. I really felt comfortable with him - like we were just two friends going for a walk! It was how I used to feel with Ollie really.
I have once before shown D how to do shoulder-in from the ground and I repeated it today and wow, he got it straight away and, like sideways when he first got that, he wanted to keep doing it at the slightest suggestion! I can't emphasize how much he loves "tricks"! I am going to have to get much more imaginative and also learn how to teach him them properly! I tried the Spanish Walk again and although he lifts his near fore to copy me, he doesn't really lift the off fore. I think this is properly taught by tapping the horses legs. I'm sure I can find some more info on-line although I wasn't very successful with finding out how to get the horse to give you a retrieved object!
In the woods, D amused me by setting off down a path he wanted to go on (like Zebedee who loved to choose where to go!). Of course I indulged him and we had a very nice detour before time determined we had to go back. M was great today, only called twice before we left the property but carried on grazing so I didn't have to worry about going a bit further.
When we got back, D stopped outside the entrance and didn't want to go back in! Atta boy. He was FAB.
Thursday 19 November 2009
Saturday 14 November 2009
Ride number 4! A change of attitude when mounting.
Saturday 15th Nov 09
It was blowing an absolute gale today and, in the "wind tunnel" where the field shelter is, you could hardly stand up. Good for the ground after the torrential downpour yesterday.
Got to the field about 9.45 and we set off about 10.15. I was a bit concerned about the weather and if we might end up with a tree on our heads, but once out, it was a lot quieter. I thought D might be on his toes but he was actually the quietest he's been yet going out. He felt a bit stiff when I rode (as opposed to tense) or that could just be him when he's not fizzy! He was ok anyway and I knew he was going to be fine to ride as soon as we set off. The fact he tried to bite me a few times sealed it!
We went along the same route and I got on at the same handy bank. This time, D was noticeably different. In the moment between me sitting on and D walking on I usually get a coiled spring feeling and I'm relieved when S pulls us forwards! Today, he was chilled, no coiled spring, Still had to be pulled forwards but a different feeling - great! It may be tied in to him being less forward going today of course so I will be interested to see how he is next time.
D was great the whole ride. Kept criss-crossing behind M as usual on the way back but S and I are getting quite good at passing the rope back & forth! One discovery today...I started patting myself - as on the previous ride - to make a bit of noise and movement. D trotted again and suddenly I thought....hang on, this is what I do to up my phases to walk on, except I've got a rope in my hand. I also noticed D was trotting without tension. So, conclusion was to stop or I will desensitise him to my Go phases (I was stopping patting when he was walking!)!
So, I just moved my body around a bit, patted his bum a bit, swung my legs. Need to do some leaning forwards now. Thinking it over as I was riding I realised I don't actually need to do extreme FG on top of D and risk my neck. Everything I do on the ground will translate to what I'm doing on top - now where have I heard that before?! I do need to get him used to me moving but I can incorporate more movement each time I ride.
Back to the field, S got off and led us from the ground the last bit as M was really hard work today. I didn't feel like doing anything else hen we got back although I thought perhaps I should. Too cold and great to finish on a good note.
It was blowing an absolute gale today and, in the "wind tunnel" where the field shelter is, you could hardly stand up. Good for the ground after the torrential downpour yesterday.
Got to the field about 9.45 and we set off about 10.15. I was a bit concerned about the weather and if we might end up with a tree on our heads, but once out, it was a lot quieter. I thought D might be on his toes but he was actually the quietest he's been yet going out. He felt a bit stiff when I rode (as opposed to tense) or that could just be him when he's not fizzy! He was ok anyway and I knew he was going to be fine to ride as soon as we set off. The fact he tried to bite me a few times sealed it!
We went along the same route and I got on at the same handy bank. This time, D was noticeably different. In the moment between me sitting on and D walking on I usually get a coiled spring feeling and I'm relieved when S pulls us forwards! Today, he was chilled, no coiled spring, Still had to be pulled forwards but a different feeling - great! It may be tied in to him being less forward going today of course so I will be interested to see how he is next time.
D was great the whole ride. Kept criss-crossing behind M as usual on the way back but S and I are getting quite good at passing the rope back & forth! One discovery today...I started patting myself - as on the previous ride - to make a bit of noise and movement. D trotted again and suddenly I thought....hang on, this is what I do to up my phases to walk on, except I've got a rope in my hand. I also noticed D was trotting without tension. So, conclusion was to stop or I will desensitise him to my Go phases (I was stopping patting when he was walking!)!
So, I just moved my body around a bit, patted his bum a bit, swung my legs. Need to do some leaning forwards now. Thinking it over as I was riding I realised I don't actually need to do extreme FG on top of D and risk my neck. Everything I do on the ground will translate to what I'm doing on top - now where have I heard that before?! I do need to get him used to me moving but I can incorporate more movement each time I ride.
Back to the field, S got off and led us from the ground the last bit as M was really hard work today. I didn't feel like doing anything else hen we got back although I thought perhaps I should. Too cold and great to finish on a good note.
Sunday 8 November 2009
Extreme FG
Sat 7th Nov 09
A bit frustrating - I seem to be down to one day a week at the moment. Rich is now only off at weekends and at least one day we seem to be doing something all day. Hey ho, roll on January!
A lot has happened behind the scenes over the past few weeks which I haven't reported - wanted to wait until I knew what the outcome was.
Basically, I have had to take stock of where I am with D and that I'm not able to take part in the ridden section of Parelli clinics as he's nowhere near safe enough to join in with others and "doing my own thing" is not an option in case I have an accident. So, I approached James R, Parelli colt starter for help with me & D together. He said he couldn't help as, unless he knew the horse was safe, he couldn't teach me on a restart. He recommended having D restarted or, as a fall-back, getting myself to L4 on an easy horse and D to L3 on the ground before trying to restart him. This is all very good advice, echoed by T and B.
As to me getting to L4 on another horse, I don't want to abandon project D at this point to get my savvy up - although I am now realising I may not be doing D a favour by using him as my guinea pig! I do need to concentrate on the areas I know I'm not embedded enough - e.g. stopping with one rein & riding on a casual rein in times of trouble when -as a "normal" - I would usually get my leg on and ask the horse to collect and work laterally.
Getting D to level 3 on-line is definitely a good goal. I need to keep moving forward, it's easy to get stale and repeat the old favourites - although I'm dead chuffed at his bag-picking-up trick. I'm now trying to teach him to give it to me but the light-bulb hasn't gone on for him yet! I ought to try to make progress with the Spanish walk too! D really loves tricks - they make him so happy - climbing on things, pawing and biting things, touch it, anything which involves an object he can touch really.
Back to the behind the scenes....S and I have decided to seek help from Mandi Claxton, a Bruce Logan specialist experienced in colt starting. S has spoken to her and she remembers D and was very positive about him - as was Bruce when D went on the 3 day clinic with him. (Interestingly, apparently Bruce assessed D as having only tolerated being ridden, not accepted it.) I'm hoping to see Mandi teaching to see whether we're on the same page.
In the meantime, I've got so much work to do with D that I'm actually not in any hurry to get on with the riding beyond passengering at the moment. The passengering is invaluable but I now absolutely know the key is in extreme Friendly Game. I wouldn't have known that if I'd not done the passengering - although I should have done, I could have found that out by doing more EX FG. I used to do a lot of EX FG but I was overfacing D and he wasn't trusting me so I think I subconsciously gave it up as I wasn't confident doing it.
Well, now thanks to Clinton Anderson (cheers mate!), I feel very confident and I'm sure D knows it! I recorded CAs colt starting series on TV and it's been fab. To my untrained eye, it looks practically pure Parelli rebranded with the games given different names and done in a slightly different order. He really makes it look easy which, although it's obviously not, gives you the mental confidence to think "I can do that!" He always has a helper for the first 3 rides though
and these are done in the round pen. I'm trying to get his colt start DVDs as it's a step-by-step guide from start to ride 5.
So, I will finally get to what we did on Saturday:
1. Weave
2. Dragging the big white builder's bag round with D following then letting him go and bite it
3. Shaking it about a few feet from D until he a) stood still and b) relaxed (Ta again CA)
Well D has no problem with a) but I now realise just how long b) is coming and NOT TO QUIT!!!
It was really tempting a few times - it's OK to move the bag away a bit but you must keep up the rhythmic movement until relaxation comes, however small the sign. With D that is usually just a change in the expression in his eye. It's tiny but wow, what a feeling when you see it and quit.
4. Figure 8
5. Orange bag crinkling in the air around D and rubbing D with the bag interspersed with throwing the bag for D to retrieve - and trying to get him to hand it to me - not successful - will have to look up on the web.
6. Circling - kept it to walk & trot -too slippery for canter. Pretty good, I practised my "neutral"
7. White carrier bag on C/S - flapping about in the air and rubbing D with it
D was better with the carrier bag than the orange bag - he seems very sensitive to sound and the orange bag is very crackly. I was amused that the little pony in the field next door was terrified of the carrier bag exercise and trotted wildly round the field then stopping and snorting. I had to move further up the field away from him as he wouldn't eat his feed.
Anyway, at the end of all my playing I was out of time but I also didn't feel the need to get on D as I felt I'd done such a lot of good stuff towards riding. Goody goody, the future's bright, the future's an orange bag!
A bit frustrating - I seem to be down to one day a week at the moment. Rich is now only off at weekends and at least one day we seem to be doing something all day. Hey ho, roll on January!
A lot has happened behind the scenes over the past few weeks which I haven't reported - wanted to wait until I knew what the outcome was.
Basically, I have had to take stock of where I am with D and that I'm not able to take part in the ridden section of Parelli clinics as he's nowhere near safe enough to join in with others and "doing my own thing" is not an option in case I have an accident. So, I approached James R, Parelli colt starter for help with me & D together. He said he couldn't help as, unless he knew the horse was safe, he couldn't teach me on a restart. He recommended having D restarted or, as a fall-back, getting myself to L4 on an easy horse and D to L3 on the ground before trying to restart him. This is all very good advice, echoed by T and B.
As to me getting to L4 on another horse, I don't want to abandon project D at this point to get my savvy up - although I am now realising I may not be doing D a favour by using him as my guinea pig! I do need to concentrate on the areas I know I'm not embedded enough - e.g. stopping with one rein & riding on a casual rein in times of trouble when -as a "normal" - I would usually get my leg on and ask the horse to collect and work laterally.
Getting D to level 3 on-line is definitely a good goal. I need to keep moving forward, it's easy to get stale and repeat the old favourites - although I'm dead chuffed at his bag-picking-up trick. I'm now trying to teach him to give it to me but the light-bulb hasn't gone on for him yet! I ought to try to make progress with the Spanish walk too! D really loves tricks - they make him so happy - climbing on things, pawing and biting things, touch it, anything which involves an object he can touch really.
Back to the behind the scenes....S and I have decided to seek help from Mandi Claxton, a Bruce Logan specialist experienced in colt starting. S has spoken to her and she remembers D and was very positive about him - as was Bruce when D went on the 3 day clinic with him. (Interestingly, apparently Bruce assessed D as having only tolerated being ridden, not accepted it.) I'm hoping to see Mandi teaching to see whether we're on the same page.
In the meantime, I've got so much work to do with D that I'm actually not in any hurry to get on with the riding beyond passengering at the moment. The passengering is invaluable but I now absolutely know the key is in extreme Friendly Game. I wouldn't have known that if I'd not done the passengering - although I should have done, I could have found that out by doing more EX FG. I used to do a lot of EX FG but I was overfacing D and he wasn't trusting me so I think I subconsciously gave it up as I wasn't confident doing it.
Well, now thanks to Clinton Anderson (cheers mate!), I feel very confident and I'm sure D knows it! I recorded CAs colt starting series on TV and it's been fab. To my untrained eye, it looks practically pure Parelli rebranded with the games given different names and done in a slightly different order. He really makes it look easy which, although it's obviously not, gives you the mental confidence to think "I can do that!" He always has a helper for the first 3 rides though
and these are done in the round pen. I'm trying to get his colt start DVDs as it's a step-by-step guide from start to ride 5.
So, I will finally get to what we did on Saturday:
1. Weave
2. Dragging the big white builder's bag round with D following then letting him go and bite it
3. Shaking it about a few feet from D until he a) stood still and b) relaxed (Ta again CA)
Well D has no problem with a) but I now realise just how long b) is coming and NOT TO QUIT!!!
It was really tempting a few times - it's OK to move the bag away a bit but you must keep up the rhythmic movement until relaxation comes, however small the sign. With D that is usually just a change in the expression in his eye. It's tiny but wow, what a feeling when you see it and quit.
4. Figure 8
5. Orange bag crinkling in the air around D and rubbing D with the bag interspersed with throwing the bag for D to retrieve - and trying to get him to hand it to me - not successful - will have to look up on the web.
6. Circling - kept it to walk & trot -too slippery for canter. Pretty good, I practised my "neutral"
7. White carrier bag on C/S - flapping about in the air and rubbing D with it
D was better with the carrier bag than the orange bag - he seems very sensitive to sound and the orange bag is very crackly. I was amused that the little pony in the field next door was terrified of the carrier bag exercise and trotted wildly round the field then stopping and snorting. I had to move further up the field away from him as he wouldn't eat his feed.
Anyway, at the end of all my playing I was out of time but I also didn't feel the need to get on D as I felt I'd done such a lot of good stuff towards riding. Goody goody, the future's bright, the future's an orange bag!
Wednesday 4 November 2009
Ride No 3! More FG needed! Great new trick!
Sun 31st Oct 09
Met S at 3pm again. In the morning it was hammering with rain and blowing a hooley but by the afternoon the rain had stopped and wind dropped a lot. The horses were pretty spooky as there had been a huge bonfire across the road for Halloween the night before.
As the light fades quickly now, got a march on. D got a quick lick with a dandy and we were ready for the off. Went round Scarletts lake again. D was full of himself and on his toes but I didn't worry about getting on as he'd had time to take the edge off his energy as we have a 15 min walk before getting on.
D was fine with me getting on but he's always a little bit reluctant to step forward and I was glad when S kept a steady pressure on the rope to bring him forward - and which kept his head up too. I get the feeling that, in that pause, he's thinking about things and this is where the explosion could occur so you really need to get on and either go forward quickly or keep him flexed until he relaxes.
What was striking today was how much more jumpy D was with me moving around on him. I was patting myself and the pad and touching him. Each time, D broke into a trot and I kept up the patting until he walked then quit. There was a lot of licking & chewing going on! I think this was because he was on his toes today, not because he has become more sensitised. By the end of the ride, he was chilled again. Had some really nice trots - I'm very comfy on my bareback pad and love feeling everything going on underneath me. I can really feel when D is braced or relaxed.
Oh no - a pat on the bum sent him shooting forward and I grabbed TWO reins!! I didn't actually pull them, just gathered them - I'd had no contact at all - but there's a pattern I must break. In fact, if I only break one "traditional" pattern, that's the one. In my defence, I'm not a puller, but I have always micro-managed my horses and got them working in an outline when they got spooky. Although effective, this is not good practice as I must be able to do everything freestyle.
So, more, more more extreme FG needed and FG on the move (thanks Beth). I'm proud to say Duncs has picked up his newest trick very quickly (about 3 sessions). He can now walk to the thick orange Sainsburys bag, pick it up with his teeth and give it a good shake! Very amusing and, as I'd hoped, he has also become much more relaxed about having the bag on him. Must now try it walking along.....
Met S at 3pm again. In the morning it was hammering with rain and blowing a hooley but by the afternoon the rain had stopped and wind dropped a lot. The horses were pretty spooky as there had been a huge bonfire across the road for Halloween the night before.
As the light fades quickly now, got a march on. D got a quick lick with a dandy and we were ready for the off. Went round Scarletts lake again. D was full of himself and on his toes but I didn't worry about getting on as he'd had time to take the edge off his energy as we have a 15 min walk before getting on.
D was fine with me getting on but he's always a little bit reluctant to step forward and I was glad when S kept a steady pressure on the rope to bring him forward - and which kept his head up too. I get the feeling that, in that pause, he's thinking about things and this is where the explosion could occur so you really need to get on and either go forward quickly or keep him flexed until he relaxes.
What was striking today was how much more jumpy D was with me moving around on him. I was patting myself and the pad and touching him. Each time, D broke into a trot and I kept up the patting until he walked then quit. There was a lot of licking & chewing going on! I think this was because he was on his toes today, not because he has become more sensitised. By the end of the ride, he was chilled again. Had some really nice trots - I'm very comfy on my bareback pad and love feeling everything going on underneath me. I can really feel when D is braced or relaxed.
Oh no - a pat on the bum sent him shooting forward and I grabbed TWO reins!! I didn't actually pull them, just gathered them - I'd had no contact at all - but there's a pattern I must break. In fact, if I only break one "traditional" pattern, that's the one. In my defence, I'm not a puller, but I have always micro-managed my horses and got them working in an outline when they got spooky. Although effective, this is not good practice as I must be able to do everything freestyle.
So, more, more more extreme FG needed and FG on the move (thanks Beth). I'm proud to say Duncs has picked up his newest trick very quickly (about 3 sessions). He can now walk to the thick orange Sainsburys bag, pick it up with his teeth and give it a good shake! Very amusing and, as I'd hoped, he has also become much more relaxed about having the bag on him. Must now try it walking along.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)