Transitions with Gem

Had the MOST amazing ride on Gemini tonight! Every session is better than the last. Amazing.

I didn't have a lot of time and it was drizzling, so I knew rain was coming soon. I really, really wanted to spend some time with him and decided to tack him up and ride him in the arena. He started off a little tense but within a couple minutes, he blew repeatedly. I just think he is still getting over some baggage about having a rider on his back and he tenses up by default. We walked for a minute or two and then moved into the trot. He felt light and under himself and his transitions were amazing. When he felt soft and relaxed, we went to trot/canter transitions. He has become so in-tune to my seat and his transitions were the softest and lightest I've ever felt. I was seeking a nice working trot, but he wanted to go into the canter. We played with that a bit and I would reward him any time he stretched those legs out and gave me a nice working trot.

His transitions down were equally soft as up. I played with transitions through all 3 gaits and then added the halt a few times. I was so impressed by his try and attentiveness.

After about 30 minutes, I got the nicest transitions of the session and called it a day. We played with the gate a little, helping him learn to sidepass over lightly for opening and closing the gate. I tried to find him some grass to eat, but he wasn't all that interested. It was getting dark and wet, anyway.

Looking forward to some Gem time this weekend. The trail rides are really turning him around (as well as the play time, of course!).

Lessons, Riding and New Pads

Great day today! I woke up with plans that got completely changed, but got much done with horses. I was going to ride at Saddle Up with some friends and use their indoor arena. Turned out that there were several in the indoor arena so I didn't go. It was too nice of a day for indoor arena riding anyway. :-)

I started off giving a lesson to one of my boarders on her horse. We started with a lunge line lesson, and ended with teaching a soft backup. She's got a great horse who's a fantastic learner. Rio is seeking a leader and I think I can help her be that for him. Rio was quite relaxed and easy going throughout the lesson. She also got Gem trimmed before she left. It's a good situation of trading trims for some board.

Then, I got Z and tried the new CSI pad with my english saddle. She seemed comfortable in it!! I was pleasantly surprised! It didn't slip or move at all after riding at all gaits. I could feel the shock absorbtion and cushioning when I posted and also in the canter. We rode circles and then did some canter departs focusing on getting the correct lead. I like my english saddle, so I give that pad more time. There was a little bit of hair ruffling under the mid section of her back. She's a tough horse to fit and I may try some shims.

After Z, I grabbed Gem for some groundwork. I focused on COD, transitions on line and stick to me game. He did very well! Tomorrow, I want to ride him and start focusing on our dressage work for the upcoming show season. I really want to see how he does at a show. First we need to get our movements down. He can get a little lazy with the circle so I will need to build up my seat connection and teaching him to feel the speed I'm asking for from my seat.

A great day of horse and student development. Tomorrow, Tina and more with Z.

Cloverleaf with Gem

Great session! Working on maintaining gait at the canter on the circle on the 22, then isolating the ends with soft asks (suggest). Squeezing over barrels isn't great yet, but he's getting it. We also had some nice figure 8's after a few minutes of him getting with the groove. He struggles going from the left eye to the right eye. I'll try to back up more and give him more of a release on that side.

Then, cloverleafs in the arena in the western saddle. Transitions and looking for softness and snappy transitions. His back up is very nice, but he over collects. Not sure how to fix that. Maybe I need to use just the stick in zone 1 and no reins at all. I got the most beautiful transition from trot to canter and we stopped on the X of the cloverleaf and called it a day for arena time. He's doing so great.

We went to the barn and started working on mounted sideways. That's tough for him and we haven't done very much of it. I tried to use the carrot stick to motivate him to move, but that didn't work so well. I need to go back to isolating the ends and getting him softer - right now I'm doing too much work.

It was a really nice session with him and I'm trusting him more than ever. We'll keep growing like this together and have some great things going in no time. We need to work on confidence away from the herd.

I redressed Z's wound and cut off more necrotic flesh. What a mess. Dang it.

Relaxing with Z

I spent the day doing chores... stacking hay, managing weeds, fixing fence. I wanted to be sure I spent time with Z, the other horses could take the day off. So, with so many chores accomplished, I haltered my levels mare and tried to make a plan. I really didn't have a good plan, just to spend some time.

It rained for about 30 mins and I decided to trim Lakota while it was raining and Z was waiting. I got his front feet done, but he was not so cooperative and I wasn't up for the back feet. His feet are so hard, too!! I soaked them in water to help me get the trim done. I was happy with the shape we ended with and I got some good frog trimming and bar trimming done. I'm trying to lift his solar dome more to help him find more comfort on rocky terrain.

After the rain, Z and I headed out. The mosquitoes are so bad that it's hard to do anything that requires standing still or nearly still. Gotta move! So, a little warming up on the ground, working also on confidence with my new big pedestals. Then, I mounted and we headed towards the trail. I was thinking to practice transitions, but I was feeling very ADD and we goofed around on the jumping course for a bit. We jumped while I practiced keeping my tailbone to the cantle. Then, we headed down the road. She was so soft in the bit, softer than normal and she's normally quite soft. I'm not sure what we did last time that made her so soft, but it was nice. I tried to whisper to her with my hands to match her softness.

We stopped occasionally so she could grab some of the various plants and weeds that she finds so delicious. It was just a casual time and I occasionally asked for walk trot transitions and walk backup transitions. The mosquitoes were hideous and I just couldn't imagine them getting any better further down the trail, so I let her graze and then we headed back. I'm annoyed, and I'm missing the trail. No amount of spray seems to keep those bugs away. I will try to trailer some places this week, places where maybe the mosquitoes haven't completely taken over.

Anyway, Chrissy had dragged the arena since a little rain had moved through and I decided to take Z there. There was a breeze now and the mosquitoes all but disappear if there's a little wind. We practiced cloverleaf, then feeling the leads and asking for the correct lead, then a little isolation of the ends. It was a nice, casual and very fun session. Z's level of partnership has really gone up a notch lately and I'm enjoying her immensely. I can't imagine it can get better and yet, I know it can. If this was all I ever got from her, I'd call it wildly successful.

Gemini in the rain

Had a successful, but shorter than I hoped session with Gemini. His catching game in the run was beautiful. He partnered very nicely, bending his neck around so I could halter him in front of my stomach while in Z2. We went to the arena, started on the ground, practicing the rock slide and falling leaf. Moving his fore w/o moving my feet from 22ft away is a challenge. He's very in tune with me, which is nice, but he seems to get a little lost. So slow and easy, one step at a time, we got some nice movements.

Then, my plan was to do cloverleaf with transitions. I also wanted to practice getting the lead out of the trot that I asked for every time. Z and I are struggling a little bit there, but I realized with Gem it was a piece of cake. Why? Because he canters slowly, thoughtfully, rhythmically. Z canters like she's running from a fire and her rhythm is erratic. It was great to feel that I can actually get the canter lead I ask for with Gem. Now to develop that with Z...

Gems canter departs were so soft and I was focused on asking with the correct hind struck the ground. We got some very nice transitions up, like butter. It made me full-on smile.

As we were getting really warm and having nice success, the rain started. Bummer. I took him into the barn, trimmed his feet a little, then when the rain stopped, we went back to the arena and played with the other side (the left lead).

Pushing the envelope with Kime

Amazing lesson! Really pushing me to take things to the next level. I watched some of Jen's lesson first, then let Miss Z catch me to warm up for our lesson. We ended up going from about 1:30 to nearly 5pm. I was tired!! Some notes:

1) Falling Leaf - Z's shoulders are caving in. I need to move the fore around more and keep the distance between us the same all the time.

2) Modified Rock Slide - moving Z1, then Z4, then Z1 again the other direction. At the end of the 22, I could influence the zones, but Z would not stop moving when I stopped asking. How interesting! I worked on bringing my life down more clearly and quicker.

3) Back-up - we started out just showing transitions on the rail. We got our backup card pulled because it was slow and I was working harder than she was. Sometimes I get our back up good and then other times, it's like moving her through cement. Is it just me? Anyway, Kime helped by adding a ton of commotion in Z1 while I when through the phases. She became our phase 4. That helped, Z got lighter... Now, how long before I add the cement back in? lol

4) Transitions - if I feel the need to use my reins, then use them effectively and drop them again! I was not being clear and not being effective, which forced me to hold the reins more than I needed.

5) I have tight shoulders. Yup, I sure do.

6) Tailbone to the cantle! I love this one. First time I really could visualize what I wanted my body to do and get it done. This really helped me round my lower back and keep it that way.

7) My horses pushes me up in the rising trot and I control my down. I know that. I wasn't doing it though. Also, the sitting trot is a backwards rising trot. This means that I push myself lower and deeper on the diagonals. This is the way to ride the trot bareback. Ohhhh!

8) We used the western saddle at first, then switched to english. I've been gripping with my legs in the english saddle. Turns out my legs are stiff when I ride english. If I swing my legs a little, I find a lot more harmony. How interesting is that?

9) We did ride the rail, transitions, and then a ton of passenger lesson at the canter. I realized the canter PPL in the english saddle was a little harder for me. Neither is very difficult, but I have to keep building my independent seat in the english saddle.

10) 9-step backup! Remember, the horse doesn't move back until step 8! If my horses starts to halt on step 5, keep her forward until step 8. This builds the soft feel on the reins and prepares the horse for contact and finesse riding.

11) LEADS! Detecting the lead, knowing the lead, bringing my lead hip forward, asking for it from the hind and not the front. So much to know and I've got a learning curve to ride still. I was a little chastised because I'm not always asking for a specific lead. Apparently, I'm too advanced to not be that particular. Doh! We rode around at the PPL in the canter and I called out the leads. With Z, I was wrong a lot of the time! If I sit in the lead position, and I'm in the right lead position, it should feel better. I had to do that a while before I started to feel the difference. Wow! I've gotten pretty far w/o this info. Now, I have to rebuild some skills with that knowledge. What a blast! It's like building a house. It's one thing to build the frame, it's another entirely to put the electrical system in. So, I'm now going to be very particular. Lead arm out and moving, lead hip forward, feel the hind lead take off. Time to pay close attention to the feet at the canter. Also, if I could get Z to canter a little more slowly, that would help a ton.

12) Swing my legs at the canter in the english saddle - at least until I get more fluidity. Lean wayyy back and keep my tailbone to the cantle. And at the trot, follow with the shoulders. I do that at the walk, time to follow-up at the higher gaits.

13) Z and I were both cooked when it was over. I was starving, we were both sweaty... Z had given me her all. I'm learning so much with her and she's a great horse for this. She has tons of go and endurance naturally and when I'm a good leader, she'll never quit me. I'm lucky. She's a champ.

Thanks, Kime!

Fantastic Dressage Lesson!

Wow, great lesson! Today was the first day where I thought, HEY, maybe Dressage doesn't SUCK! My horse is getting lighter on the fore, more responsive, just better. We worked on transitions on the circle and getting the nicest, softest changes. We have come a long way! Loma mentioned how nice our cantering looked! We worked on walk-canter transitions, beginning to get roundness and collection on the circle. We started working on asking her to leg yield (disengage the hind) before every transition. It helped her get more collected, she got way more balanced and our transitions were just fantastic.

My take-aways: 1) keep her on the circle and when she falls in lead her back out and then use a leg yield to get her round again 2) ask for a leg yield just before a transition up or down 3) if she gets out of balance, slow her down and start again 4) keep her moving forward in a leg yield and keep the inside rein light, the outside rein keeps her from falling in 5) make sure to keep my chest high and energy forward in all gaits 6) there is no sidepass in dressage, energy is always forward.

I'm considering entering a training level dressage show. Loma thinks we could do it just fine and I'd be very interested in the experience of a dressage show. I've got to get my filming in for L3 and the instructor class, then I think I'll go for a dressage show.

I also helped Chrissy out with the catching game with Cowboy and then later with building her assertion and confidence. She's building her self-confidence as Cowboy's leader. He's being very patient with her, but if she's not clear he's not going to put much effort into it. She's doing great, she looks like every other L1 student looks at first. She's ready to move to L2 stuff and I'm pushing her along so Cowboy doesn't start to hate the 7 games.

Transitions and Coaching

Transitions with Z, canter walk transitions in the arena as the sun went down. Coached Chrissy with Cowboy as well. She's trying to develop the 7 games.

Trick-training Z, started the Spanish walk. She's really getting into the trick-training. I'm going to keep building on that and the draw that's coming from it.

I really left the arena thinking that Z's down transition should be much lighter by now. Some days it's consistently light, but other days she can't transition down softly. Obviously, I'm missing something and I'll work on that with my next coaching session.

Making the right thing easy...

I had a good chunk of time to dedicate to horses after work today (love those days!) and I wanted to start with Z. It's getting to be the time to focus on my application for the instructor class with Parelli and I have to put a 30 min video together showing my horsemanship. I want to show all the things we can do, with multiple horses, but I also want to finish L3. I've decided to focus on this application video and worry about my Freestyle vid for L3 later. I could probably do it now, but priority should be on the app video.

Anyway, I just love riding Z. She has tons of go, tons of try, and a pure heart. She simply wants to do what's easiest and most comfortable. We did a little groundwork to warm up and she was light and responsive. Then, I wanted to ride her in the pastures and practice transitions. Down transitions are tough for us at the faster gaits. Z was not comfortable with leaving the barn/herd, however. There was a time when I would have made her leave. I'm happy to see I've progressed far beyond that point in my horsemanship and I was happy to work on transitions right by the barn. When she seemed tired, I'd ask her to slowly walk away from the barn - making the right thing easy (walking) and the wrong thing hard (staying by the barn and working).

Sometimes we can leave the barn and hit the trail alone without a single problem. Sometimes she thinks going on the trail alone is just too much for her to handle. I really wonder if it's directly related to the trail ride before. See, our last trail ride was in a thunderstorm and I tried to hustle her home and she got very emotional. She remembers every time she gets even a little emotional and she works to avoid it the next time. She's a very interesting horse - sensitive and emotional.

For our work near the barn, we did canter yo-yos, circles (really practicing keeping her on the circle and riding her straight on the circle!), transitions on the circle, sideways (always towards the barn), disengaging the hind and riding into the trailer (mounted into the trailer!). My trailer isn't very high so I'm trying hard to keep my self safe.

Finally, after about 45 mins, I rode her into the front pasture in an s-pattern and we stopped at a jump. I hopped off, she ate grass and relaxed. I stroked her and helped her feel safe and comfortable. It was a win and a positive session for sure. After about 10 mins (the mosquitos are just stupid today), I hopped on and we walked the long way back to the barn. She was relaxed and left-brained.

Then, Chrissy and Cowboy were ready to have groundwork session #2. So far we've covered games 1-3 and it was time to talk about #4 and #5. Circle and yo-yo. A new student feels very clumsy with the tools in the beginning, but Chrissy's doing a great job of fumbling through it and having some great moments! We covered haltering properly and driving game to keep him out of her space. Proud of her. Cowboy is doing a good job of being her lesson horse and though he gets bored, he still tries to give the right answer. We have squeeze and sideways left. Then, she can start practicing on her own. I think she's ready to ride him, so in the next day or so I'll teach her pushing passenger lesson so she can practice getting her seat more independent. She's on her way!

Steve took some quick, short video of Chrissy playing the yo-yo game with Cowboy and me playing with Z.

A new Parelli student!

My sister, Chrissy, decided today to start the Parelli program. I'm really excited because I can help her get through things rather quickly and maybe eventually she can help me with my horse business. She is a soft-natured person who's got a ton of try and desire. She couldn't decide if she wanted to partner with Rain or Cowboy, so I chose for her. I chose Cowboy because Cowboy could use the time where Rain has been my sacrificial lamb for long enough - being the lesson horse for me when I need to coach someone. I also want to be able to ride Rain whenever I want to pony others or for trail competition. Where with Cowboy, as Chrissy progresses, I'll step out of the picture and she can be his sole human partner. He's also nearly a hand shorter than Rain, easier for Chrissy to mount.

We started with about a 90 min session learning the 7 games. I tried to not drown her with info, but I know it can feel like drinking from a firehose in the beginning. The learning curve is dramatic the first 6 mos. I'd like to see her truly stay in Level 1 for a couple weeks and move on and progress. I've watched so many linger and go stale and their horses become tortured. I'd like to help Chrissy avoid that if possible.

During Chrissy's coaching time, I had Nina. I've got to get her back in gear and start developing her some more. For now, she can do most things at a L1 level, but I need her doing more at L2-3. Our friendly game needs some time invested so we can progress with the other games. She's such an extrovert and she has some good tricks up her sleeve. She managed to get away from me 3 times before I got my act together enough to stop that behavior. She's learned some very non-partnership responses that we'll have to get through. I'll be getting her back on the trail soon, too.

Then, I haltered up Gem for some session time. I'm so proud of him! We had a nice, progressive ground-working session. His sideways has come along nicely and it's time to get farther away. His responsibility on the circle is better and we're now building his canter circles. He can barely canter a single circle right now. His change of direction looks fantastic going one direction, but we need to build changing to the right. Our transitions online are coming along very nicely, too!

I then mounted and used a loose ring snaffle for some arena time. We followed the rail, practicing walk/trot transitions. He was light, responsive and just generally in synch with me. I swear, I don't think he's ever felt that good. He was just willing and happy to provide a yes answer. We did a few trot/canter transitions and a few circles (me practicing counting the footfall). His down transition is sooo light and easy. I had a big smile on my face most the time.

Now, I want to start taking him off the property and teaching him to trust me away from the herd. I'm excited about the possibilities.

I trimmed his hind feet and made sure his feet were doing fine. I've got to get a few more trimmed this week.

But a simply fantastic lesson with Gemini!

Playing with the Geldings

Had a great day with the geldings! I spend so much time with Z and Rain lately - Z as we finish L3 and Rain because she's Kendall's mount and just an all-around fantastic horse. I leased Gemini out for a month or two, but it didn't work out so now he's back in my development program. I have Cowboy and I'm working on helping him be more productive in the human world. He's a great horse, a nice mover, but he's pretty dominant and can easily get his own idea about things. For him, my main goal is to eliminate the brace.

Gemini now lives in a run/stall. I learned recently that when I put Gemini away for a week, all bite marks ceased. All this time, the only horse actually leaving marks on other horses was Gemini! I thought they were biting each other all this time. Wow! So, obviously he's not the benevolent leader I thought and he needs some time alone. It's fine, I'll play with him and develop him and he can live in the large run/stall until I can turn him out in one of the pastures (after the spring grass growth). He's fine and all the horses look better w/o bite marks. :-)

I put him in the arena so he could run and roll as hard as he wanted. He tore off bucking and farting, rolled wildly, then ran some more. He looked awesome. Then he hung out eating the grass growing around the arena's edge and I went for Cowboy. I haven't spent much time with Cowboy lately and he does well whenever we play. I want to help him overcome the brace and I want to help him feel comfortable with humans. He's doing quite well and his displacement behavior is more mild all the time. When he starts to get concerned and "swallows his tongue", I offer him a treat. He's so food motivated, that he snaps right out of his shell!! I groomed him for a while, tacked him up and then we played on the 22'. We now have a nice figure 8 pattern and he's not feeling threatened from the squeeze in the figure 8. He really wanted to eat grass, so we had to have some "discussion" about that. He's welcome to eat grass - but if I ask for something, he'd better pay attention because Phase 4 will come. He figured that out darn quick.

I hopped on and we went around at all gaits. He tried to eat grass and again, I tried to make it clear that it's his choice. What was funny to me was that he would go to eat grass, I would ask for forward and when he decided eating grass was better, I instituted phase 4 by reaching around and spanking his rump. The first time, he was startled and when back to work. The second time, less startled but he went back to to work. The third time, he actually lifted his rump in defiance before going back to work! I had to giggle. The fourth time, he showed defiance, but much more mild. The fifth time, he responded to phase 1 - he didn't move forward but he responded. That time, however, when I raised my arm to phase 4 his rump, he moved out and went back to work! So, I'd call that a phase 2/3. In short order, we had established some rules of engagement. It's his choice to eat grass while I'm asking him for something, but it will have a consequence. I learned some things about him and I believe he learned some things about me. I thought about going in to the arena so that grass wouldn't be such a challenge for our progress and I decided not to. This is one of Cowboy's challenges and it was appropriate to go through these motions so he could figure it out. I have expectations and I respect him enough to let him make the choice. I'm clear and precise in my ask and he has a job to do. By the end, we were doing beautiful trot/canter transitions, figure 8's in the green grass, sidepassing and absolutely no tongue swallowing. He had gotten with the program fairly quickly and I found the perfect place to quit. I'm so much better at making good use of time with the horses - I know he'll be better next time we play. He'll soak on that and so will I.

Then, I wanted to get back to Gemini for some groundwork. Gemini is a fantastic horse for groundwork - he wants to please but he can show some great exhuberance that makes it so much fun! We worked on sideways, lead from Zone 3 (first time for us), change of direction at the trot, maintain gait on the circle, figure 8 (beautifully done by Gem!), and some transitions on the circle. He was having fun and was so locked on to me. Whatever I asked him for, he gave it a hearty try. I was so pleased with him. I am thinking to stay off his back for a while and just get our relationship stronger and his groundwork excellent. Then, I really think he's a restart at this point. His bucking response is alive and well and the 4-6 weeks as a lease horse only reinforced it. I'm going to take him back to L1 riding and get everything solid once we get good strong L3 groundskills going. I think it's a good plan and I'll be spending good time with him this summer. I really love that horse.

I couldn't decide, after Gemini, if I wanted to play with anyone else. I've been reading a book about the Power of Now and starting to think about quieting my mind and finding time to sort of meditate. My mind is overly active and I rarely quiet it and simply enjoy the moment - the details of the moment, really living in the moment. I decided to try to do that with the horses.

The dogs are always with me. I enjoy the dogs, but they can be quite annoying with the horses. UDT can be tough with the dogs. So, I decided to take a chair and sit in a run with the gate closed. This way, the dogs could hang out, I'd be with the horses but not touching them, and I could try to explore the Power of Now. Nina, bless her cute soul, was just aching to be close to me. She was pawing the ground, reaching her feet through the panels, pushing the panels with her chest - she wanted to be closer to me. I scooted my chair closer to the rail and rubbed her face. Ahhh - she felt better and closed her eyes in total relaxation. Zarah did something super surprising. She stood at the gate to the run, looking at me through the gate, ears perked forward towards me. She wanted to come into the run and be with me. Wow! Z and I have really reached a new place.

All the horses had appeared from wherever they were when I setup camp in that run. Rain wanted to be close, but Nina had chased her away. She stood as close as she was comfortable and took a nap. Cowboy wasn't interested in my presence, nor was Abby. But Nina demanded closeness and Z asked politely, can't I come in?

I got up, opened the gate, Z walked in with ease, I closed the gate behind her and went back to my chair. This was upsetting for the dogs, but oh well. Z came over immediately and hung her head over me. She got as close as possible and just hung there. Wow - what a wonderful thing to have a horse feel that way about you, a predator, a human who's often asking for difficult maneuvers. She hung out with me for quite a while, until I had to go in and get back to life. I focused on living in the moment - hearing her breath, focusing on the areas I scratched that made her feel the best, managing Nina's demands for touch all the while, watching Z just feel comfortable and relaxed in my presence. It was maybe one of the most rewarding moments of my horse experiences. I've won Z over. I owe it to Parelli and to my tremendous desire to get to this point. Just an amazing moment. I've achieved something great and anything else I accomplish with Z is icing.

Riding Cowboy and Undemanding Time

I had the most amazing session yet with Cowboy today. I was shocked by him and really felt a partnership from him beyond what I've felt in the past. He's very cool! We started with some brushing and he seems genuinely just happy to be chosen and messed with. We then did some circle game, and some sideways. I realize I have to be more creative, so we walked out to the large south pasture and played circle game while I walk, all the while transitioning between trot and canter. I asked him to jump multiple things and I honestly wonder if he likes jumping a little! He goes straight for the jump and although he seems to use the least energy possible, he jumps whatever I point him towards. We got way out, near the edge of my property and sat and chilled. He messed with me, flipped his lips all over, just general jovial behavior. I discovered that he likes his tongue itched.

We then started with sideways w/o a rail. We haven't done it without a rail, and he had the general idea. I was very careful to reward every try and not get critical. His try has become absolutely amazing. He checks in constantly, too. He soaks up the rewards and praise. I also have started to strategically use treats - he's highly motivated by treats. I want it to be fun for him.

Once we got back to the barn, we played with trailer confidence. He gets in beautifully and confidently, but he doesn't appreciate the panel being closed. So, approach and retreat, playing with opening and closing the panel, allowing him to back out if he needs to. My plan was to try to get him standing in exactly the spot he'd be if the panel was closed. He's not completely confident, but we'll be working on it every session.

Then, I tacked him up and we went to the arena. He's so much more relaxed in the tacking process than he used to be. We started off with 21 mins of PPL at the trot. I'm looking for his mouth to settle, gait maintenance and leaving the barn side of the arena. He did quite well and was less mouthy with the bit. He's still fidgeting, but relaxing more and more. Then, we worked on trot canter transitions. Wow! Best transitions I've ever ridden on ANY horse! He feels my seat and moves with it! Granted, he's innately an LBI and he'd rather trot than canter, but his down transitions were beautiful and he willingly transitioned back up to canter within a stride or two. I've never asked him for those before and I was shocked by how well he did them. I wonder if Z will ever be that good.

I was so pleased and we stood and I gave him some treats and we just relaxed and reveled in his glory. He literally shocked me with his willingness and desire to partner up in the arena in this session. I'll have to keep it interesting and progressive and I think he and will go very far.

As for Miss Zarah, well - she saw me messing with the trailer and she went as far away as she could. I'm devoting undemanding time to her for now. I went out to get her and she willingly comes to me and sticks to me all the way to the barn - no need for a halter or lead. But the fact that she leaves when she thinks she has an opportunity to when I first come out and look full of intent needs to be fixed. We'll have to have undemanding time until she realizes time with me doesn't ALWAYS mean leaving the comfort of the herd and/or a boring and uninteresting training session. She's a challenge and she's teaching me. I'm learning that I need patience more than anything.

Lesson with Kime

Had another great lesson with Kime. We started out with my saddle and did a saddle fitting. She changed my shim setup and added a 3rd set to the pad. My saddle was then a little higher in the front and Z had more room for her shoulders. We also talked about riding without the wool pad underneath the Theraflex. I use the wool pad because of the rubbing the Therflex was doing on her sides. I'm going to use the wool pad only intermittently for a while so that I can watch for even sweat patterns. After the lesson, we checked out her back closely for signs of tightness in my body while riding. We found that there were some ruffled hairs directly under my seat, meaning my middle back is tight while riding. I'm not surprised.

We focused on freestyle riding. We used the figure 8 pattern and I played with transitioning up and down without reins. Our stop is getting much better and I'm learning how to be truly consistent with Z. We talked a lot about where I look while riding and where I want to look for turning. For now, I'm over-exaggerating where my eyes look because my head needs to be higher and I tend to look down. I've known that I needed to fix that, but it's the first time I've focused on that with an instructor.

Later, I practiced riding with 1 carrot stick only and transitioning through halt, walk and trot on the figure 8 pattern. Our transitions are so much nicer and Z really moves out with a tremendously better attitude. I'm simply bringing my life up to ask her to up transition and bringing my life down to transition down. I learned that pointing my toes up high helps me to bring my life down.

For the next 2 weeks, I'll practice the bridleless riding, turning with my body and good focus, transitioning up and down and transitioning while turning (wow, that's hard!!).

We talked about Cowboy and some things to work on with him to help him improve. She highly recommended passenger riding regularly. That's where we'll go next.

Getting 2 Going Indoors

Tonight, I took Z and Gem to a good friend's indoor arena to get them exercised. The days are so freakin' short and I'm not accomplishing a lot lately, which is maddening. With the help of my friends indoor, I can play with horses after dark and maybe get back on track.

I played with Gemini and had planned to ride him. However, I ended up only playing with him on the ground. We advanced our circle game and he's getting much better at being responsible for maintaining gait. We worked some on squeeze and sideways as well. We've got to spend more time on sideways. He did quite well through the 3 hours I had him there and actually, he was happy to follow me around at Liberty. I'm surprised how quickly he's re-bonded to me now that I'm playing with him again.

Z and I did a little groundwork, but mostly rode. We worked on lead changes and transitions. I rode in my English saddle for the first time in ages and it was kind of cool. I like my western an awful lot, but I'd like to spend more time riding in both instead of the majority of my time in my western. I have great saddles - I'm lucky.

They weren't too sure about loading in the dark, but they did after a minute or two of requesting.

Squeezing some time in with Z

I'm so discouraged lately. With my broken ankle and my job, I've been moving forward at a snails pace with my horsemanship. My ankle is slowly getting better and I managed to get an hour of daylight after work today. Kendall came out with me, which is sometimes great but not when my time is limited. She wanted to ride Rain. So, I tacked up Z and Rain, did a little ground work with each of them and we went off to ride in the front pasture.

I wanted Kendall to work on transitions. She could really use the help with getting more control of Rain. Rain doesn't listen to her that well and worse lately than ever. Kendall gets very frustrated and Rain completely checks her out. I really should ride Rain more often myself, however she is a different horse when I ride her than when Kendall does.

Z had a lot of energy today, which I love. She was ready to go! I had Kendall, so I couldn't let her move out. Kendall got frustrated at one point because she and Rain weren't getting along so great and she gave up. I ponied the two of them back to the barn, tied Rain off, and took Z for a little bit of riding alone.

We rocked the teeter-totter, trotted over the cavalettis and then did some walk/trot transitions in the figure-8 pattern near my arena. She was quite soft today and had a tremendous backup. Her transition down was very in-tune with my body cues, as was her transition up. It felt really good to ride her. In the last 5 weeks, I've ridden about 3 times because of my ankle. However, I'm not quite ready - my ankle was sore during and after.

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.

Bringing Gemini Along...

He's been offering up some nice things and it's high-time I focus on bringing him along. He's gotten very little of my time over the past 6-9 mos as I've focused on Z and L3. Yesterday with Kime was great and so today, I picked him over Z (strange!). I started by brushing him down and making him look like a loved horse. Then I tacked him up and started playing on the 22'.

He did well and his allow on the circle was much better. We had a much nicer send, as well. We did some rock-slide and I'm still not getting a great sideways from him. I have to work on being as clear as possible. I'm not looking beyond him - I know that much. He's moving his fore very nicely, though.

I backed him using better body language and he knew just what I meant. I did transitions on line and they were pretty nice. We played a little with change of direction and got a decent one after several that weren't so great.

Then, I decided to take him the arena and ride him. My ankle is still sore and once I mounted I realized I still can't put it in a stirrup. So, I let my legs hang and we practiced lateral flexion and being quiet in the mouth, disengaging the hind, some slow walking and then some figure 8's. I decided I'd be more effective from the ground, so we did some figure 8's on the 22'. I felt better with my ankle situation on the ground and he was starting to understand that there was a pattern involved. He's obviously never done a figure 8! He kept stopping at the barrels and trying to put his hoof on it. He's sort of a one-trick pony that way. :-)

Actually, he did really well and I've very proud of him. He was calm, he was trying and he was easy to play with. He's my diamond in the rough. After he gains some muscle, gets a summer coat and develops more communication with me, he'll be fine horse to demo with.

Finesse with Z

Had a fantastic ride on my mare today. I bugged out of work (which is killing my horse development plans!) in the afternoon and took a couple hours to practice some L3 Finesse things. I even prepared a list and carried it in my pocket.

My ankle was angry. I can't really put my foot in the stirrup and that makes cantering a little tough. However, we were able to practice moving the hind in the opposite direction of her head. We practiced transitions, figure 8's at the canter, simple lead changes, sideways from the ground from barrel to barrel, and after all of that in the arena, we took a short trail ride.

I needed it. I still have more healing to do, but it was worth it.

Zarah for transportation

I'm helping a neighbor start her horse and I've been riding Z over for the sessions. It's great to ride her over, let her rest in a new place, then get back on and go home. She does so well and she comes up to me willingly and even enthusiastically when it's time to leave. Today, because I've been riding much less than normal, I had to start out with 15 mins of "let's get some harmony". We did lots of transitions, figure 8's and snakey bends by the barn until it seemed that she was thinking about me and "us" and not the herd or the barn. Then we cantered off w/o emotion.

This session with my neighbors horse didn't work out so great for me. I landed on my ankle wrong while playing with mounting energy and getting the horse used to it. I sprained it badly and even had a moment of nausea and dizziness. It was stupid and clumsy and I could just kick myself. The horse was doing amazingly well with the 7 games and then with saddling and mounting prior to my ankle sprain.

I finished up with the horse and hobbled over to mount Z and get my injured self home. She's so well prepared to be what I need her to be. I managed to get my butt on the fence rail, asked her to sidle over close to me, then clumsily mounted with one leg completely useless.

We slowly made our way home. A few times she thought trotting was a better idea and although I always prefer to move faster, the bouncing made my ankle angry. She came right back to a walk for me and then stopped trying. We have a spot where I normally let her eat grass. We stopped for a moment and she grabbed a few bites, but I had to get home. Another person was coming to my house for some coaching and the ankle incident had us running late.

I gave coaching for 2 hours from Z's back once we got home. My horse was so great! She was patient and calm and listening. I was able to demo some things with her to show what things look like when they're working well, like sideways or 7 games with an obstacle. My horse rocks.

Bowing and Riding Z

I've been practicing the bow with Rain for a few years now. I started about 3 yrs ago and barely new what I was doing. She understands the concept, but she would never stay in the bow for long. Recently, I started working on it with her again and now she bows beautifully. I'm going to get some video and put it on youtube. It's pretty cool.

I recently started teaching Z to bow, as well. I'm using a very different technique with Z. We'll see how that goes. A horse has to have a lot of trust and confidence to get in such a precarious position as the bow. It's much easier for Rain than Z, as Z is not near as trusting. I also asked Z to circle me and practice transitions up and down. Her down transition is not as good and she tends to break back into a trot. This is important for us as we go back and retape L3 Liberty.

Kendall and I rode our horses bareback in the round pen after bowing. I asked Z to follow the rail at the trot. We also had the Equiball with us, so we had our horses kicking the ball around. A fun little session.

Then, I tacked up Z and we went for a ride. We practiced canter/walk transitions in a figure 8, snakey bends, sideways over a log (very softly) and canter transitions in a straight line. She gave me the nicest canter depart and down transition so I hopped off and let her eat grass. She's giving me more and more great stuff. My leadership is better and I'm expecting more. She also offered me a very vertical trot, nearly a piaffe, and a rode that a bit asking her to maintain. So cool.