5/28

Trail ride wtih Gem and Jen on Oso.  Just did a loop in the neighborhood.  Gem was fanastic.  Finished with some jumping on Gem.

Then started working on online audition filming.  Z5 driving was a little rusty, but we got some footage for me to study.  I have a few things to develop with Z.  Lead by the tail needs to be more responsive.

5/27

Finally, the wind has calmed down.  I felt like I was getting a little sick, but that subsided today as well.

Rode Starlet.  Her mouth and feel with the bit were all but ruined by the person who took her for a few months.  I'm in repair mode.  Making a program of softness with the bit.  We did figure 8 until her mouth got quiet.  Poor girl - she's just thinking brace all the time.  She might be my dressage horse someday, but for now we've got to rebuild fundamentals.

Then played online with Z on the 45'.  Really focusing on the relationship and listening to her.  Her maintain gait needs practice, but otherwise, she's nice and soft on the end of the line.  I think we're getting close to filming.

5/24

Kris with her Billy Cook saddle.  Played with the send, also.

Rode Z for the lesson.

Played online with Z on the 45'.  Progress!

30 minutes with Gemini

He was the one that wanted to be caught, so we went and played. I'm building up for Level 4 filming and he's doing really well. Worked on draw over an obstacle then backing straight to it, stick to me at all gaits in zone 3 and 4/5 and sending with just a suggestion. He's having fun! I need to film some today so I can see how he looks in each moment and what else I can do to keep him engaged. He's a blast.

Parelli time with Deb

Played with Gem and Rain today. Deb came over in the afternoon and we played with sideways over obstacles, change of direction, and then trailer loading. Gem and I need to build the draw on the circle before we can get good changes as he wants to stop and turn to go the other way. I need him to maintain gait in the change. He had no trouble going sideways over the barrel both away from and towards me. We also worked on trailer loading from the fender. That was a breeze. I asked him to trot in and then canter into the trailer. Again, a breeze for Gem. Good! One more step closer to filming our L4 Online audition.

I then pulled Rain out. We did about 10 minutes of interesting ground work (interesting because I haven't done this with Rain in probably over a year), and then we tacked up and rode around the front pasture. I'd really like to get Rain in better shape and also build flexion in her neck. She's quite bracey and I want to minimize that. She was quite extroverted! I wanted her to be more responsive to me and not simply extroverted. She had her own ideas about where she wanted to go and at which speed. We have some work to do.

Playing with Gem and Deb!

Building up communication from Zone 5! That's the name of the game now and I'm ready to start focusing on Level 4. Deb and I sat down with the self-assessment checklist and decided to get started on playing with the level 4 list.

We started with stick to me and Gem was really responsive! I started in zone 3 and tried to move back to zone 5. I taught him to follow my feel and focus and turn when I turned. He really learned quickly and he seemed to enjoy the puzzle of figuring out what I was asking for. What a blast!

We then did the flank rope and Gem did lots of bucking. OK - looks like we have to work on this one. He did start to feel comfortable with the flank rope and we found a good place to quit. However, we need several more sessions of this.

We practiced with bridleless riding in the arena. The more I ride him, the more we build up the feel and prepare for bridleless. He actually felt pretty good about my body for direction and I think I could work up to freestyle L4 pretty quickly. I trust him more than ever and that's the hardest part about liberty in my opinion.

Then, rode Z with the Barefoot just around the playground. Shimmed the Barefoot (Thanks to Christy Hawes for the suggestion!). Definitely put me in a more secure spot. I like the saddle, just need to get more used to it.

A great ground session with Gem

Wanted to ride, cold, windy and Gem was pretty spirited. Time was short so I decided to simply focus on the ground.

Really nice build of zone 3 yo-yos!

Worked on maintain canter circle with COD at every break of gait.

Lead by lip/ear/tail. All soft and very improved.

Started the session with herd sweetness. Took a few minutes to bring him around to me.

Sideways towards is really coming along nicely.

Spanish walk is better, but I need to step it up to get more improvement.

Nice ground session with some marked improvements!

Driving and Sending

I decided to start a program of softening the send and transitions up. So, Gem and I set out on the 45' and worked on lowering our phase 1 for sending on the circle and transition up on the circle. He was so compliant tonight, it was quite amazing. He never tried to leave the circle, he was responsive, his backups are straight and quick, he was just such a great partner. He got the send lighter and I can now simply look with a low, pointed finger. He seemed to be having fun!

I then worked on zone 5 driving. I played with transitions between trot and walk from zone 5 and weaving. He's doing better, but still tries to get me back into zone 1 sometimes. We'll keep progressing with that. Using the 45' as 2 reins is way better than the featherweight lines I bought. I don't love the feather lines. It was incredibly windy and they just would have been blowing everywhere.

Gemini is changing. He's becoming much more of a partner - more willing, more obedient, more motivated. The Parelli program simply works. I'm so excited for the coming months and the progress we'll make.

Slightly less wind...

Today, I got to play with TWO horses! Whoo-hoo! I used to play with multiples every day, but with winter and short days I've been happy to just get one moving.

I started with Gem and zone 5 driving. I used my new feather lines for the first time. I've only done 1 line driving with Gem so far, so this was new to him. At first, I think he felt slightly worried and he tried repeatedly to get me in zone 1. He got better over time and we even did some trotting together. The feather lines are so light and honestly, they are harder on my hands than the normal lines. They are hard to throw over Gem's back or other things I want to do. I might try to use a surcingle with them next time.

Gem and I need to work a little more on the forward ask from zone 5. He goes backwards like a champ, but forward is not as soft. He's unsure of what I'm asking for so that tells me I need more consistency with "how" I ask for forward from behind him.

We did some very nice sideways from zone 5 - I was impressed with his try! Also, some nice sideways from zone 1 today.

We ended up in the round pen for a little liberty play. His draw started off great but by the end, his draw was wavering. I must have been too forceful at liberty. We got some beautiful flc's and he was quite respectful of my requests. We will build more draw at liberty and maybe start playing with more transitions at liberty.

Got lots done with him today!

Chrissy played with Cowboy a little today, too. She wasn't really into it. The wind was calm all afternoon, but when it picked up she abandoned any thoughts of hopping on Cowboy. Too bad. Maybe this weekend she will get some time to hop on and do some development for her and her horse.

Then, I tacked up Z for a conditioning ride. This was tough today. It became so windy and it was quite cold. I thought I had enough clothes on but when I got out there, and as the sun got low, I was too cold. I got off and ran/walked next to her to keep my body warm for the 2nd half and we didn't go near as far as I'd intended. Not a great conditioning ride, but time spent together at least. There's a section on the trail that is quite scary to her and tonight she balked and refused to go closer and pass it. It's a yard that has lots of "junk" along with goats, chickens, dogs in kennels, beehives, etc... They have definitely added stuff to their yard since the fall when we were riding trail. I thought of my plan for a minute as I asked her to weave forward (approach and retreat) and she told me louder and louder, "I just can't!". I decided to get off and lead her. She was fine being lead, head low, not afraid. We stopped at the peak of the scary stuff and I let her soak in the environment. Then we moved on. I hopped right back on after passing this yard and she was fine. We'll have to spend some time at that yard and work through her fears there. I have to be careful not to push her through her thresholds when she's so clearly telling me it's too much for her to handle.

Starlet looks so much better today. She's been on extra fat for a few weeks and I've been blanketing her on these cold and windy days. She just needs the support right now. I brushed her the other day and removed a lot of that dead hair and winter coat. When I pulled her blanket off today, there was a more full horse with lots of shine. Good! I feel better about where she's heading.

It was a good evening with two of my best. I really, really hope the wind settles soon. It's wearing me down - 20 - 25mph winds every day is hard to bear.

Gem on the 45'

Had a little time to get Gem out on the 45' today after work. It was a fun session! His draw is excellent and now I'm working to keep him farther away, which makes me happy. He trots in with energy at the end of the 45'. I really think our trail rides have had a postive impact on our relationship, too. He's more respectful, more engaged, he's doing great.

We did lots of zone 5 driving tonight. I still have not used the feather lines, so next session I will pull those out and start driving with 2 lines. I'd really like to get where we can go for a jog down the trail so I can get exercise while we build our zone 5 driving.

At one point, on our circle game, the dogs were in the way and we both worked to avoid them. In doing so, he went out farther and got scared. I tried to hold him, but the 45' is so hard to grab. What was interesting was that this time, when he got away, he looked at me and thought about it. I probably could have asked him back in at that point, but I was so surprised to see him think about it and I didn't respond in time. He trotted away, but only about 10 feet. This is a huge improvement! A few weeks ago, he would have galloped to the barn! This made me happy and he got a carrot for coming back to me. Just an all around big change for Gemini over the past few weeks.

I had the puppy with me and he was quite a distraction while I played. But, I really enjoyed seeing Gem move and seeing his expressions and all the questions he asked me throughout our time. I'd like to improve sideways at a distance and start building 2 line zone 5 driving.

Another "best"!

Wow!! Such huge improvements! We went back to the 45' today and Gem was a rock star. Loose line, no bee-lining for the barn, soft transitions up and down and some nice COD's. Nice sideways on the 45', also. Picked KK up from the bus stop with him and he was rock solid and confident. Kendall rode him home bareback and I wasn't worried about a thing. My trust in him continues to build.

I also took him into the round pen to work on the spin. He's getting the idea and he can do it! The circle he makes is kind of large, so we'll keep refining. He has great draw and liberty won't be very tough for us. Still determined to focus on perfecting online before I do much liberty. Had a great time with him today.

Got Rio trimmed and for the first time in as long as I can remember, all the horses are trimmed and I have a few weeks off of even thinking about trimming. Ahhh... feels good.

Finishing a program

Another amazing session with Gem! Just, WOW! Huge changes over the past 7 sessions. We played with backing straight to an obstacle until touching it. He was struggling with this a little and now he can back straight until his hock or hoof touches an obstacle!

We played with sending with softness, but with energy. We played with spanish walk, lead by the lip, ear and tail. We played with transitions on line and did lots of zone 5 driving. He's really following my focus when I'm in zone 5 now and I can weave him just a suggestion to turn from behind him. We played with bringing the hind towards OR away, depending on my body language.

He was so, so responsive today and never once gave me the LBI "why should I" response. He was obedient AND playful. Wow!

No time to ride, but I was super pleased with what I was getting on the line. We're ready to go back to the 45' now. Next session, transitions on line and maintain gait on the 45'.

Proud of my gelding!

A long day with my herd

A great and got a whole lot done.

I trimmed Cowboy and Gem, and trimmed Rain's fores.

I rode gem - nice canter over obstacles! He was raring to go today! I know he loves to jump and he gets very forward and energized when we canter around jumping things. I will continue to develop our partnership while we jump cross-country. We also had a great ground session at the start. He did not try to leave the circle! His backup is nice and we're doing more zone 5 driving. Loving it!

I also played wth Rain at liberty. Great fun! Great expressions. She's learning to stay focused on me at liberty in the round pen. I love her face and seeing her play!

Executing on a program

Spent some time with Gem online today. I wanted to focus on cantering circle game as he's been trying to gallop off the circle and to the barn when cantering on the 45'. I want to develop our circle game so the rope has slack and even drags.

It was a great session and I was able to "be there" at the right time to support the game and keep him from splitting. I played with setting him up to try to leave the circle and then let him run into the end of the line. It was a great session for both of us - breaking a pattern and rethinking strategies.

The day before, with all the sweat, definitely made an impression and he didn't try nearly as hard to gallop off today.

A great day with my equine partners

And a great week as I've spent 3 days this week developing my horses. After the past 3 months of very little horse time, it's so amazing to get some consistent time. My spirits are definitely lifted.

Started with a trail ride. I rode Z and ponied Rain. We went about 4 miles at the walk. Z left the herd easily and gave me no trouble at all. All the trail riding we've done together makes her more like the kind of horse you can let stand for months and then hop on and go. On one section of the trail, Z was tentative and stopped to listen often. Typically, she gets nervous and moves her feet a lot so I had to smile when she was thoughtful about proceeding. I encourage this behavior in her and in all my horses. If she's wary about moving on, she can stop and think it through - I will always try to not push her through her thresholds.

Rain was lazy and sometimes wasn't very light to the pressure of the halter on her poll. That's ok, I haven't ponied her in a long darn time so we can work on that. I'd like to get her more fit and start doing some trail competitions with Rain this spring/summer. For Z, I want to get her on some endurance rides and potentially hit a 50 this year. We've got lots of conditioning to do, so we'll see.

When I got home, I worked with Gem on the ground. I spent some time going over the self-assessment checklist and the requirements for L4 Online submission and decided to build on our skills and fill in any holes we had. Some items I just wasn't sure we could do. I was pleasantly surprised to get out there and realize while Gem didn't know what I was asking for, I taught him in a few minutes time (lead by the ear, lip, hock for example). We have a good foundation and that helps. Then, I wanted to work on building more gait maintenance as he tends to break down and transition to a walk if he has the option.

He got tense twice on the 45' at the canter on the circle. At his tense moment, he sped up into a gallop and ran "home" (to the barn). I went back to the 22' so I could handle it better when he got that idea. He gave me the opportunity (thankfully) to correct this behavior and I'll have to watch that he doesn't learn that he can do that on the 45'. We might need to stick to the 22' a bit longer until that idea is gone. Otherwise, we made some nice, nice progress on maintain gate and got 6-8 trot laps on the 45' and more on the 22'. it felt like great progress and I look forward to building on that.

I spent some time in zone 5 driving from point to point and then finished with some trailer loading. He's great at trailer loading so now I need to build some distance and some more "sweetness" to the trailer. I'm thinking we should start filming so I can see how we look, where we are and what I should modify and practice. I hope to have a L4 Online submission ready in the next month or two. I'm excited to be setting goals like this! It's been a rough few months of holidays, work travel, family vacations, short days and bad weather.

Chrissy played with Cowboy a bit and he got away from her a few times and headed "home". She did a great job of persevering and trying to set him up to run home so she could get him in hand. Gem ran straight at them twice when he fled the circle and Cowboy took off with Gem.

I also got Gem's rights trimmed. Need to do Cowboy and Starlet and touch up Rio's hinds. Hoping to get those done this week. Cowboy needs a soak.

Tina at the canter

Gem - hard session for him in the front pasture building his circle game and maintain gait. I pushed him quite a bit from the ground, asking for energy and responsiveness. This was a great session for both of us, really. He needed me to step up my leadership. I need to be sure my timing is right so that I'm not simply making him hyper-sensitive to my ask, but asking for thoughtful responsiveness.

Tina - rode really well. Used western saddle for the first time in a while. Cantering - she needs time to develop that better and get more balanced.

Rode Rain for a short session in the playground. I got her to stand on the bridge finally. Trimmed her hinds. She took a pic with steve for steve's company - kinda cute. Steve sat on her bareback with his laptop in his hand for an advertisement.

Tina trotting patterns and Gem Online

Nice night! Cool and breezy...

Started with Tina in the arena. We did a little groundwork, but I wanted to focus on riding. We rode the bowtie pattern at just the walk for a bit and I was asking her to feel of me and talking specifically to the inside fore as much as possible. Then, we trotted the pattern for a while. She was relaxed and calm and very responsive. She kept pulling to the other side of the arena and after we'd been riding about 40 minutes, I decided to let her take me where she'd been wanting to go.

My arena has some weeds growing around the edges and that was what she wanted! Some of the weeds must be her favorites. I let her take a few bites and then we went back to work. It was a nice, confidence building ride focusing on building softness.

Tomorrow we'll go back to the large circle and work on transitions on the circle. We'll also get some cantering in.

I then pulled Gem out for a little Level 4 groundwork. We didn't spend much time, maybe 30 minutes. Worked on transitions online, sideways, and teaching him to follow my focus on the feet to change gaits. He was soft and easy, but thinking about the herd more than I'd like. Still, we got some nice things done. I drove him from zone 5 through the trees before going back to the barn. He did nicely with that!

A good night with a couple great horses.

Gem Online - Trailer loading

Spent a good 90 mins online developing Gem. Had a fantastic session! We played on the 45' in the front pasture. We started with zone 5 driving and point to point. Then, I moved to transitions online and COD's. We also did some trailer loading and I started to build distance into his loading. He and I will need to trot (minimally) into the trailer from 45' away to get L4 ratings. I want to slowly build up to the distance. Today, we got to about 15' trotting in, so we have a clear path to get to 45'. He has no trailer issues, which makes this easier than it was with Z.

I also need to build his circles and gait maintenance. I was able to get 3-4 canter circles before he broke gait, which is an improvement. I'm using DE's technique of COD every time he breaks gait. This technique is VERY effective at getting him to stay on the circle and maintain his job. Neat stuff.

Afterwards, I hosed him down and took him into the round pen. I'm trying to use "scan and capture" to teach him to lay down when I ask. For now, I paw the soft sand when he does and when he goes down, I give him treats. He's so smart - I expect him to figure this out in no time.

Fun session!

Then, I spent some time with Tina while coaching a student. This was great for Tina and me. I wanted to ride Tina through the lesson, but I'm not positive she's relaxed enough and I didn't want anything too exciting to occur during the lesson, so I stayed on the ground and demo'ed some of the things I wanted the student to do using Tina. Tina did great for me! After the coaching, I got on Tina and we did a nice trotting session. She seemed relaxed and back to normal, so I think we're back on track. I asked for a canter, but she felt tight going into it so I brought her back down and stayed in the trot. We'll canter tomorrow.

Chrissy had Cowboy out today and had a change to try the sheepskin seat cover I bought her for her birthday. She seemed to like it! I sat in it and I was definitely a huge improvement over her hard seat. I think I need one now... :-)

A nice afternoon with horses and a student.

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.