Playin' with Gem

Wow - was he full of himself today! But we played on the 45' and he sometimes does show nice extroversion when he has that much line. We built on backing straight to the end of the 45', snappy departures on the circle, isolating ends at 45', transitions on line and zone 5 driving. Lead by the tail is so soft and light, I'm very impressed by how he's picked that up.

Then, I tacked him up in my english saddle and we rode in the arena a bit. It was very cold and a little windy, so we didn't do much. I played with moving the fore and hind, sideways and FTR. A nice session.

Then, it was trimmin' time. Got Gem's right hooves (he got antsy so I quit after 2 hooves), Zarah, Rain (plus soaked her). I have to catch up Starlet, Cowboy, Rio's hinds and Gem's left hooves.

Gem online and riding Tina out

The weather is gorgeous and the air is breezy and I got a few hours with horses tonight. I started with Tina. I've been meaning to video tape our progress and I've done a terrible job of it. Today, Chrissy was willing to help me out by playing camera man and I wanted to start riding Tina in my english saddle. Perfect - time to get it done.

So, I tacked her up and started on the ground. I got video footage of the ground work and the riding. I'll post asap - need to edit and upload. Our riding session went well. She felt great in my english saddle and it fits her nicely. Her back is so muscled and level that no adjustments to the fit were needed. She looks so handsome in english tack, too. I decided to stay in the rope halter today as we were trying a new saddle and she's more accustomed to the rope hack than the bit still. It made sense to me to have her feel the new saddle and not add more bit training in this session.

After riding in the arena, Tina and I went out of the arena and played with the obstacles mounted. This was a 2nd time doing the playground mounted. I was curious how she would feel if I pointed her out towards the trail. Tina was so forward and ready to go on an adventure!!

I really would have loved to take her out because she wanted to, but I just felt like doing that alone the first time would be a mistake. So I turned her around and went back to the barn. Surprisingly, she was pulling to go back "out". We went again, a ways down the driveway and then again I convinced myself that her first mounted trail ride needs a buddy. When I ride her again tomorrow, if she's willing to go further, then we'll go. Amazing.

I had about 30 mins left before date night with my sons, so I decided to build some ground work with Gem. He's been doing great and our groundwork is progessing nicely on the 45'. He's more and more engaged and I'm trying to do things faster and be more interesting for him. We worked a little on trailer loading and sideways. I wish I'd had time to ride - our partnership was at a great place and I bet we would have had a great riding session.

A fun night with 2 awesome horses.

Prepping Gem for Clinic

Spent a while with Gem on the 45' line today. I want to take him to the clinic in 2 weeks and we need some work together to prepare. We left the property also, checking to see how herd sweet he's become. He didn't call, but we didn't go far. He was definitely tense about leaving. For the most part, he did what I asked anyway. :-) We did some falling rock, lots of circles with varying sizes and gaits to keep things interesting. We did lots of sideways and I worked on getting him softer and more responsive. He knows the games well, but the longer line is a challenge for us still.

I'd like to pass L4 online with him, so we need to play with trailer loading from far distances and at liberty. He's an incredibly fast learner, so as long as I keep my savvy in check he'll come along with me quickly.

We finished off with some liberty, just working on flying lead changes and his fitness level! He's outta shape! His left hock has me concerned and I'll watch it for lameness and swelling. He's got arthritis in that hock at an early age (he's 10).

The rain came, as it seems to do every evening lately. I didn't get to play with Tina. I got Gemini trimmed in the barn, though. Never enough time.

Personal note: I passed L3 Freestyle which means I'm officially L4 now. I'm not as excited about that as I thought I'd be. It's nice to be official.

Gem online

Left the property and worked on the ground with Gem. I wanted to see how upsetting it would be for him to leave the herd. We went to the neighbors and played on the 45' line. He actually showed a bit of tension, but worked well for me anyway. He got a little more dominant as we headed near the herd and I had to correct his behavior a few times as I asked for sideways to the left along the rail, a half circle and then sideways to the right along the rail the other direction. He was persistant about wrapping around and heading home and nearly got away from me at one point. However, we played with that until he abandoned the idea of and stopped leaving me, mentally. I didn't have his mind sometimes, but I knew how to get it - which was a good experiment.

Work went late, so I started late and then rain came before I could ride Tina. It's ok, I had a good night with Gem and I'll be on Tina first tomorrow. Because of the rain, I took Gem into the barn and trimmed him. He was a little upset in the barn w/o the herd, but he did ok for trimming.

Need to trailer Gem away, alone, and see how upsetting that is for him. We'll see. Excited to truly develop him finally! :-)

Gem on the 45' line and more trimming

Beautiful, warm and calm afternoon/evening! I wanted to work with Gemini online to start building up for a level 3 assessment. He had lots of energy today! We started by driving from zone 3/4 and heading out to my front pasture. We got far enough away that he was just slightly on edge. We went from driving to falling leaf, circle game and then some COD's. His COD needs work, he's losing his momentum and turning like he should with falling leaf. He doesn't know the difference yet. With the circle game, he got emotional and went at full gallop back to the barn. He can get a lot of speed on the 45' and I tried to pump my grip - slipping it then grabbing it. That can sometimes work to get a horse to stop running for a moment. I ran out of rope too fast and he went back to the barn. That is called being BUCKED OFF from the ground! LOL I got him, brought him back to the same pasture spot and started again. Again, when he was cantering on the 45', about 30' away from me, he 'bucked me off' and ran for the barn. Darn! Twice and he's learned how to get it done!

OK, got him back out there and this time, kept him closer - about 20 feet maximum away. I was looking for him to be more with me, putting some pressure on Z3 to keep his body bent into the circle and playing at a slower pace. Now, we were getting somewhere. We got some better COD's, but still not great. However, we were able to canter circles at about 30' - together! Finally. No galloping away and leaving me in the dust. That was good, then we could move on to something else.

I wanted to help Chrissy with her figure 8's as she still doesn't feel like she's getting good ones. She's been doing lots of driving from Z3, which is a great game for her. Her horse is still challenging her authority quite a bit and she's struggling to be clear and deliberate with her ask. We talked about Suggest, Ask, Tell, Promise. She tends to get stuck at Ask, never getting to Tell or Promise. She's working on her assertion which will translate directly to leadership. It's not about whacking the horse. It's about a clear intention and request with the willingness to follow it through.

She was starting to get some really nice figure 8's. Once she clearly pushed his Z1/Z2 around the obstacle, they were on easy street. That's been the hardest part for her. Which makes perfect sense for a Left brained horse to be sticky in the front. We talked about her playing with Rain and I think that's not a bad idea. It might help Chrissy understand the nature of a horse to play with another horse and see the response she gets.

Before I put Gem back, I asked him to yield his hind toward me for mounting. I just want to teach him to bring his hind around and not get upset by that type of request. He was much better than the first time we played with it, but still defensive. We'll keep working on it.

Finally, I wanted to trim Nina. I ended up getting only one hoof done because my wrists were so sore. Trimming two horses the night before had my tendons irritated in my wrist. I spent a bunch of time just working on softening her to the idea of trimming. In the past I've allowed her to brace during trimming and forced her some to comply. I made a mistake and I realized that Nina has developed a negative reaction to trimming time. I'll get that fixed up right away by taking the time it takes and allowing her to understand it's her choice, but holding her foot up is a much easier way to go. I also won't brace against her! If she wants her foot back, she can have it. I need the horses to all cooperate and it starts with me having a natural attitude and letting the horse choose to cooperate. Trimming is hard work and it's so easy to become predatorial about the process. I've caught myself thinking, "Dang it, just hold still!". That's not a natural approach to horses at all and it's doubly ineffective. Always learning...

We'll get the other 3 hooves trimmed over the next 2-3 days, focusing first on her willingness and choosing to cooperate. We'll focus secondly on getting the trim done. My horses should always be getting easier to trim, not harder. I'm actually proud of myself for admitting my mistake and moving forward with the correct attitude.

Finally, Tina was showing some interesting behavior. The west pasture lines the neighbors property with numerous miniature horses and a couple paints. My herd will sometimes go and hang out with that herd of the fence. Well, yesterday and today, I noticed my herd coming in to the barn to eat or whatever, but Tina has stayed out in the west. She stayed out there when the other herd was nowhere to be seen. She stayed out there all alone, against the fence. What does that mean? She's ok to stand alone, acres away from her herd? She could still see the other herd (though I couldn't) and preferred that to coming in for feed? Very interesting. Chrissy drove her back on the ATV and we closed the west pasture gates for now. Surely, there's something she really likes about that other herd - all my horses feel that way about that other herd. I also wondered if she didn't know how to get back on the track as I saw her call once or twice to my herd. Horses aren't great problem-solvers and the west pasture is fairly new to Tina. Maybe she thought she was locked in? Just interesting behavior.

Hail hurts!

The day was dedicated to training horses as the family is still out of town and there's not much I'd rather do with my free time.

I started with Gemini. He and I are making such great progress and I'm just super pleased. We worked on the ground some, continuing to build online transtions, more figure 8, change of direction and sideways. We played over the cavalettis some using the squeeze game. His responses are more positive all the time and he's interested in my asks. I've been playing with him on the ground while tacked and his rear cinch response is nearly gone or gone. He hasn't thought to buck in the past 2-3 sessions. He and I did something incredible. I asked him to stand on the teeter totter, then I asked him to rock it back and forth, never moving his feet. A simple weight shift in response to my ask and he was rocking it back and forth. I wish I had that on video!!

Then, we rode in the arena, doing 21 mins of PPL at the trot. He's taking his responsibility on much more nicely and I'm rewarding him with breaks at the far end of the arena. That helped tremendously as his slow jog became an energetic trot after a few reward sessions. What a good boy! I look forward to getting him down the road soon. I'm trusting him more and more and he's finding the right answers are easy to give. He gave the nicest, most forward trot I've ever felt at the end of our 21 minutes and I decided it was the perfect place to hop off and reward him. He stuck to me beautifully across the arena and I tied him to the hitching rail for some soak time.

Then, I wanted to get some time with Cowboy. He's been getting the least amount of my attention, which is just fine for me. He's having a good time being a horse in the all the pastures and he's settled in so nicely in the herd. He's always happy to see me and happy to play and get some human attention. He's got a nice brain and a nice demeanor. I look forward to truly developing him. At first we played the catching game for about 45 seconds. It was interesting, I was 2 feet away and following him closely at a walk in zone 5. I really think he thought I was driving him away. I have to drive him away sometimes because he can be quite the pocket pony. All of a sudden, he turned and faced, as if to say, "Oh! You want to catch me!". We never have to play the catching game, so I'm convinced he was misunderstanding me.

I put him on the 45' and we played some ground games - figure 8, circle game, over obstacles, over the teeter totter. Then, I tacked him up and started with lateral flexion. This is one of Cowboy's toughest areas - he has so much built-in brace that a simple thing like lateral flexion is a big challenge. He lolls his tongue, he works his mouth, he just doesn't find peace or comfort in a bit. He can stand with it in his mouth just fine, but when I try to communicate with him through the bit, he braces and goes introverted. I took my time and stayed patient, asking for lateral flexion and rewarding the slightest tries. He was getting quieter and quieter and I found a place to quit. We have to keep working on that and perhaps for the rest of his life. Humans before me have left their mark on Cowboy's behavior and I'm a little sad about it.

I rode him around a bit, circling the round pen and asking for walk/trot/canter transitions. His canter feels a little rough right now. He's not balanced or using himself well. Some more riding and many more transitions should get him framing up better and using himself in his gaits. We did a lot of serpentines, trying to loosen his brace and get positive responses to my asks for bends. He loosened up quite well and rather quickly. We moved the dogs a little - he enjoys that tremendously! He's a very cowy horse. We also worked on disengaging the hind - which is great because it incorporates lateral flexion with a bend in the body. At first, he wasn't disengaging, he was stiff and rigid. After a few minutes, he gave the nicest, most fluid disengagement with a soft feel and I laughed and hopped off. He knew how happy he made me - he had a proud look about him. He could give the right answer and find harmony with his rider. I think he has very little history of finding harmony with his rider from his younger years.

Z's leg is healing nicely and I was trying to decide if I should/could ride her. I took Rain for a little bareback riding around my house while I decided what to do next. Chrissy was over and ready to try out some new riding attire, so I decided we should get some time on the trail together. The sky was "iffy" and it seems to rain every freakin' day. But, the storm that I thought would produce rain had moved off and out. There were more clouds, but the looked far enough out that we'd be ok. I gave Chrissy some hints on tacking up and getting her horse ready. It can get a little old tacking up multiple horses when the rider is fully capable of doing it themselves - with a little coaching. I'm all for helping her become self-sufficient.

We headed out, Z not especially happy about leaving home - I hadn't ridden her in 8 or 9 days and we didn't do a proper warm-up on the ground. I had the sky in mind, thinking it was now or never with the potential storms all over the sky. I tried hard to not compromise our relationship, allowing her to turn back if needed and then asking her to face the trail again. It was a subtle brace, just her saying, "I'd really rather..." and me saying, "I hear you, but how about my idea." About a 1/4 mile later, she was tuned in and not thinking about home.

I took Chrissy on a more challenging ride, some inclines and declines, crossing roads, trees... We also talked about developing her seat. She asks great questions and she really wants to improve. I'm excited for her to gain confidence with Rain and become a great riding partner for me. We are building to that and maybe one day, we'll even do some trail riding competitions together.

We got to a point on the trail where I could look up to the sky. Uh oh, we are TOAST! The storm that was brewing looked menacing and we weren't going to make it back in time. Zarah was not in a good place for fast speeds. She was impulsive and a little emotional. I also didn't know how fast Chrissy would want to go - most of our riding has been at the walk. Even if we galloped the whole way, we wouldn't have outrun this storm. CRAP!

So, one of my fears... lightening. Lots of animals and people get struck by lightening in Colorado. Being out in the wide open trail on a high hill during a thunderstorm is not my idea of a wise decision. Our Colorado storms typically bring hail and heavy rain and there was no place to hide. First drizzle, then rain, then torrential downpour with wind! We abandoned the idea of making it home and found a tree to hide under. A single pine tree, with less than thick branches and down in a gulley. My expensive saddles were also getting soaked. Arrgghhh!

Chrissy and I tried to take refuge under this slightly pathetic single pine, while the horses did their normal "butt to the wind" stance, waiting for it to let up. We were getting cold! And then, to add insult to injury, the hail began. Geesh - hail hurts!! I had my back to it and luckily we were wearing helmets, but the hail balls hitting my back... OUCH! We just had to laugh. The gulley now had a fast moving river running through it and I hoped it would end soon. The sky was so dark and the thunder was constant. Just a constant rumble and roar - an angry sky.

The sky started to show the slightest signs of getting lighter. The rain started to let up. Luckily, it was going to be a quick storm. It lasted maybe 20-30 minutes and Chrissy and I were drenched - head to toe soaked. It was time to go the last mile and get home. The sun was actually starting to show. We decided to walk home. Our feet were squishy and water bubbles appeared with each step on the top of my shoes. After about 1/2 mile, Chrissy's fiancee appeared at the trail head. Chrissy rode home with him and I rode Rain, ponying Z. The horses were excited and "up" and Rain wanted to get home FAST! She does her best gaiting when she's got druthers and she was moving so beautifully in her 4-beat gait. Z had to canter to keep up next to us.

It was a great day with all the horses, adventures in the rain, trailriding, arena riding, just everything. Loved it!

Trail time with Rain and Cowboy

Had a great 8-mile ride on Rain and ponying Cowboy. Haven't taken Cowboy out in a few weeks and with Z injured, I'm finding time for my other horses. It was a fast ride and the weather was really nice - warm, sunny and breezy. Rain's gaiting is so fast, Cowboy has to canter to keep up. The mosquitos weren't out yet, we went way before dusk. Cowboy learned his position so fast. After the first mile, he stayed right in zone 3 where I wanted him. I had to remind him once in a while, but generally he was doing his job.

It was funny when we left. I asked for a canter from the barn to my front gate (about 1/4 mile) and Cowboy was kicking out and feeling good! By the end of the 8 miles, he was ready to stand around quietly. He was really great and I'm glad he's here. He gets along wonderfully at my place.

I hosed Rain and Cowboy down (they were pretty sweaty!) and let them stand and chill while I played with Gem. I put him on the 45' and practiced sideways, change of direction and transitions on line. He's doing great! The change of direction has very much progressed. He's circling with the rope dragging on the ground, a great improvement. He doesn't have a lot of energy and doesn't stay in the canter. We'll have to work on his impulsion next.

I then too Gem into the roundpen and we played stick to me. He's pretty good with that if I go slow. If I ask him to trot with me he looks at me as if to say, "Seriously Tia, we're in a small pen, there's no reason to move fast." This is why the first levels horse should be an Arab. :-) He and I will have some more conversations about answering my questions appropriately.

It was a great day with my horses. I also got tons of chores done (lawn mowing, general clean-up, manure dragged, screen replaced, etc...). Excellent day!

Slow and Right beats Fast and Wrong

I had some time and I planned to ride Z, but she has somehow gotten a nasty wound on her right hind with a good amount of swelling. Doh!! So, grabbed Gemini for some groundwork and riding. His circle game is coming along so nicely! He's maintaining gait and direction very nicely. He's generally just very compliant and willing. I want to start increasing the game so I don't bore him. I expected him to buck in the tight rear cinch, but there was just an ounce of that reaction at the canter going to the right. I was expecting a big show, but he didn't deliver. Is that because our last session was right? I hope so.

I didn't warm him up for long before I felt ready to ride. I decided to just use the rope hack. Once mounted, I spent several minutes working on his lateral flexion and looking for a positive response. Once we had that, I asked him to back up with my seat. He had it! He remembers what I taught him a while back. This was my first time riding him in probably 6 months. I've been focused on groundwork with him and making sure we've got all the right ingredients for successful riding.

We took it slow and followed the rail with some corners game mixed in. We then tried some figure 8 at the walk. He definitely can be bracy and we'll keep fixing that up.

It was a short session, but he was doing so well and I wanted the ride to be a positive easy experience. I let him hang out in the arena to eat the goodies (weeds and grass). Then, eventually, went back in to get him. His response to me is very positive and I'm pleased.

A nice, slow and right session with Gem!

Playing with Gemini after the ISC

First time after our trip. Played on the 45' and he actually got away from me once. He was looking for the herd and definitely pulling his circle in that direction. I decided to put him on the 22' and go into the round pen. I'm trying to teach the down transition on the circle but he keeps turning in to face instead of staying on the circle. We really worked on an improved sideways as well. I expected more than ever. He's taking more responsibility than ever on the circle and we got 8-9 trot circles - a huge improvement. We'll slowly build up to cantering circles over the coming weeks. His yo-yo was soft going out and coming in, very nice! We will spend more time playing stick to me as time goes on and build more squeeze games out of the play area.

I wanted to ride him yesterday, but I'd decided to play with him while tacked in the western saddle with the rear cinch tight first. He tends to buck wildly when the rear cinch is tight. It's been a long time since he's worn a western saddle and I didn't want to hop on until he had a chance to get comfortable with the rear cinch. Somewhere in his past, someone was mean to him with a western saddle. His bucking response is so strong. Poor guy.

He bucked like crazy once in the canter. Repeatedly. I played with him for 90 mins or so and the bucking was over after the first 5 mins. I plan to make a program of this (7 days) and see where we end up.

A good session! He had more extroversion than normal and his positive responses are better all the time. Cool!

Passing Level 3 Liberty!!

I got some great news this morning. My Level 3 Liberty submission was good enough to pass! Yes! It feels good to have something passed in L3 since I've been working in this level for 1.5 years. I'm going to next submit OnLine and I think Z and I are ready to put a good video together. I have to practice a little with her loading on the 45' into the trailer and make sure her sideways is not forward. A pre-video session is probably all we need.

I'm re-motivated. And I'm super proud of my horse.

Playing on the 45 with Z

November, nearly T-day, and we have 60 degrees! I love Colorado. Work is lighter than normal as the holiday mood sets in and I managed to steal away and get a couple hours with my levels mare. I messed with her hooves for a bit, then put her on the 45' and set out for some moving circle game.

I was paying very special attention to increase my body language, especially with backing her, sending her and transitioning her down. She was more willing than usual to put energy into things and jumped several times without a 2nd thought. Jumping is not her easiest thing to do and it was interesting to see her jump so willingly. We played with the allow on the 45 at the trot and the canter and I focused on not giving her a moment's rest when she decided to try something different. I noticed that she typically changed her direction when she was on the barn side of the circle. She was also pulling a little on that side of the circle. I held my ground and she learned to move through that desire to go to the barn. We did some down transitioning, which is a little clumsy with a cantering/galloping horse 45' away in an aircast. :-)

I felt really positive about the time on the 45' in my front pasture and I was ready to try some things in the round pen. I drove her from about 10' behind Z5 to the round pen and that worked better than usual as well. It was obvious that my clarity and specificity in my asks was having an impact on her frame of mind.

We practiced some rock slide, some sending, some down transitions and kept her online for all of it. I played with bringing her into me INSTEAD of disengaging her hind on the circle. This will help my change of direction - increasing the draw. She was a little sweaty and the sun was going down. I didn't want her wet for the cold night setting in, so I played with asking her to WALK a circle around me. She's not great at walking around me, she prefers to trot. After a few mins, she would walk the circle in both directions.

I also paid special attention to stop her from going beyond the point of "face up". I learned in my last lesson that I need to stop her as soon as it occurs to her to avoid facing me, vs correcting her after she's way out of position. I'm not fast or overly assertive, just consistent and specific.

A great play session and I'll give her several days (while I'm in the mountains with my family) to think about things. Tomorrow, I will play with Gemini and/or Rain.

Those who can't, Teach

I had a couple coaching sessions scheduled today, but I canceled because my ankle really needed to rest after yesterday's adventure. The weather was amazing, high 60's, sunny, light breeze. I was so annoyed to be down and stuck taking it easy on a day like this.

I decided to coach Kendall. I put Rain on the 45 and practiced getting a good circle with her. Then, I put Kendall on her back and tried to coach her and help her ride better. Now, she rides with gripped legs and toes pointing down. She thinks riding like a jockey is very cool, but I wanted to get her thinking about riding in harmony with the horse, beyond the 2-point. I started to explain "rise and fall with the one on the wall" and then I started helping her learn to ride the canter. I asked her to try to keep her butt in the saddle at the canter.

After some laps thinking about keeping her butt in the saddle, she started to relax her legs and she looked so much better! It was a big change and I look forward to her making more changes and getting her riding really good.

Rain is great with her.