Spent a lot of time with Tina today. It was her 3rd session of 7 where I decided to commit to only getting her groundwork better and building more of her confidence. Today, I chose the big ball for our session. I wanted her to be able to push the ball around confidently and to carry the ball on her back. The ball is huge - it reaches my thigh so guessing it's about 2.5 ft in diameter.
I started by just asking her to put her nose on it. We played other games (circle game, sideways, squeeze) and then would go back to the ball. Each time we broke from the ball to do something else, she had more confidence when we went back to it. By the end of our session she could move the ball with her legs for a step or two.
I bounced it next to her which suprisingly didn't bother her at all. What really bothered her was when I picked up the ball and began to get her used to it touching her shoulder, neck and eventually ribs. We played with approach and retreat - I would put the ball in a more threatening place (to her) and when she seemed to be coping better, I would pull it away. Over the course of the session, she was able to let the ball rest on her back! This was a huge step for her! I focused on approach and retreat where I never pushed her hard enough to cause her to want to move her feet. She did a lot of blowing, a lot of licking and chewing and she was just overall relaxed. I really felt like we made a lot of progress in her self-confidence and trust in me in this session.
We also practiced the teeter-totter, standing on the tractor tires, falling leaf and change of direction. Her change of direction is beautiful and she floats through it.
A wonderful session!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
More building with Tina
Session 2 of 7 to rebuild Tina's confidence and trust in me as her trainer. Another fantastic session! We worked on the 22' line so she is farther away and has more room to move if needed. I'm aiming to make sure she can do all of Parelli level 3 online work. She knows most of the asks and understands the communication so this 7 days is about making sure she can perform the tasks requested of her w/o becoming afraid.
Today, she was even more confident than the last session. She was moving freely, expressing opinions and most importantly offering amazing try! We played more on the teeter-totter. She wants to walk off after she's rocked it and I'm asking her to try harder to rock it repeatedly and step off only when I've asked. She's standing on the tarp calmly and quietly. She can stand with only her back feet on the bridge with ease (tough one). We worked on her putting only 1 leg over a pipe. I want her to calmly cross the pipe one leg at a time. This is a huge challenge for Tina and she was able to stand with one leg over after a few minutes figuring out what I wanted. She's assuming that I want her to step over, so interrupting that pattern and looking for her to ask more questions vs simply moving forward all the time.
We played a game called Touch It. In this game I point at things and ask her to put her nose on them. This is a huge confidence builder and she caught on extremely fast! After a few rounds, she'd quickly touch her nose to the object I was pointing to, then look at me as if to say, "Like that?". Very cool.
We did probably 20 minutes of sideways alone. I still am asking her for more straightness and she had an opinion about that. She tickled me because she really wanted to eat grass and stop going sideways. I stayed with her and rewarded everytime she gave me softness, calmness and willingness. I'd let her eat some grass and then we'd go again. Wow - this had a big impact on her! Her bravery was growing in front of my eyes.
We played with Yo-yo (keeping her draw in tact and advancing her straight back-up to the end of the 22'). We did some falling leaf and quite a bit of figure 8 with objects that were very close together. Having objects close together helps her think through the task because she has to watch her feet carefully.
Another great session and I'm very pleased with the calmness she's developing and the tension that's nearly disappeared. Again, 7 sessions... Horses seem to be able to make a full change in their understanding over 7 sessions. They learn in 3's and 7's. At session 8, we'll see if it's time to mount again or if 7 more sessions would help ensure success. It might makes sense to do 7 session of mounting only until she's completely calm about that before swinging a leg over again.
Anyway, we're back on the right track. I'm listening to the horse and she's telling me she's much happier with this plan. Great!
Today, she was even more confident than the last session. She was moving freely, expressing opinions and most importantly offering amazing try! We played more on the teeter-totter. She wants to walk off after she's rocked it and I'm asking her to try harder to rock it repeatedly and step off only when I've asked. She's standing on the tarp calmly and quietly. She can stand with only her back feet on the bridge with ease (tough one). We worked on her putting only 1 leg over a pipe. I want her to calmly cross the pipe one leg at a time. This is a huge challenge for Tina and she was able to stand with one leg over after a few minutes figuring out what I wanted. She's assuming that I want her to step over, so interrupting that pattern and looking for her to ask more questions vs simply moving forward all the time.
We played a game called Touch It. In this game I point at things and ask her to put her nose on them. This is a huge confidence builder and she caught on extremely fast! After a few rounds, she'd quickly touch her nose to the object I was pointing to, then look at me as if to say, "Like that?". Very cool.
We did probably 20 minutes of sideways alone. I still am asking her for more straightness and she had an opinion about that. She tickled me because she really wanted to eat grass and stop going sideways. I stayed with her and rewarded everytime she gave me softness, calmness and willingness. I'd let her eat some grass and then we'd go again. Wow - this had a big impact on her! Her bravery was growing in front of my eyes.
We played with Yo-yo (keeping her draw in tact and advancing her straight back-up to the end of the 22'). We did some falling leaf and quite a bit of figure 8 with objects that were very close together. Having objects close together helps her think through the task because she has to watch her feet carefully.
Another great session and I'm very pleased with the calmness she's developing and the tension that's nearly disappeared. Again, 7 sessions... Horses seem to be able to make a full change in their understanding over 7 sessions. They learn in 3's and 7's. At session 8, we'll see if it's time to mount again or if 7 more sessions would help ensure success. It might makes sense to do 7 session of mounting only until she's completely calm about that before swinging a leg over again.
Anyway, we're back on the right track. I'm listening to the horse and she's telling me she's much happier with this plan. Great!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Kendalls first endurance ride!
Awesome! Just a 15-miler, not an official endurance ride (25 is the minimum for AERC recognition). But nonetheless, it's a dedicated trail ride with a start, a finish, vet checks, a route to follow, fellow racers, and competition in the air. My daughter was an amazing trooper and I'm so very proud of her!
We had some interesting adventures and some challenging moments for sure. The weather started out beautiful, but by 10am the wind machine was on and we were riding in 25mph winds. It was tough because we could barely hear each other talk right next to each other. It's also a very urban ride, so we had soccer games with flags blowing everywhere, a golf course with golfers whacking balls next to us, and a shooting range with non-stop gunfire. Whoo! Rain is fairly unflappable with that stuff, but Z had some trouble spots and I had to get her brain working again a few times.
We crossed very deep water repeatedly (16 crossings) with several so high I had to lift my legs to keep my boots dry! Kendall loves water crossings, so that was fun for her. At one point, we were trotting along and in
the high grass didn't see a big ditch in the ground that had colorful pipes in it. Z spooked hard and I went off to the side. I believe Rain spooked a bit when Z did and Kendall jumped off of her! We were fine, Kendall laughed about jumping off her big horse and we got back on and kept going.
Kendall also had a moment where when bolted for about 50 ft - that scared her but she was a champ, dodging branches and staying in the saddle anyway. She had another moment where Rain decided she really wanted to roll in the soft sand. Ha! We had a good laugh over that and Kendall jumped off in time.
We had some interesting adventures and some challenging moments for sure. The weather started out beautiful, but by 10am the wind machine was on and we were riding in 25mph winds. It was tough because we could barely hear each other talk right next to each other. It's also a very urban ride, so we had soccer games with flags blowing everywhere, a golf course with golfers whacking balls next to us, and a shooting range with non-stop gunfire. Whoo! Rain is fairly unflappable with that stuff, but Z had some trouble spots and I had to get her brain working again a few times.
We crossed very deep water repeatedly (16 crossings) with several so high I had to lift my legs to keep my boots dry! Kendall loves water crossings, so that was fun for her. At one point, we were trotting along and in
the high grass didn't see a big ditch in the ground that had colorful pipes in it. Z spooked hard and I went off to the side. I believe Rain spooked a bit when Z did and Kendall jumped off of her! We were fine, Kendall laughed about jumping off her big horse and we got back on and kept going.Kendall also had a moment where when bolted for about 50 ft - that scared her but she was a champ, dodging branches and staying in the saddle anyway. She had another moment where Rain decided she really wanted to roll in the soft sand. Ha! We had a good laugh over that and Kendall jumped off in time.
The big thing for me was realizing that I'm not as good for Z when I ride with Kendall. I'm so watchful of Kendall that sometimes Z is getting more and more afraid and I'm not dealing with it well. I learned that it is so much better to deal with her anxiety as soon as it appears rather than riding her afraid even for 10 strides. I also want to teach Kendall to ask Rain to sidle up to her on a mounting block or obst
acle so she can mount herself. I always help her up, but she needs to know how to get on the big horse herself. It was an emotionally challenging day for me, but I'd do it again in a minute. I loved it!
acle so she can mount herself. I always help her up, but she needs to know how to get on the big horse herself. It was an emotionally challenging day for me, but I'd do it again in a minute. I loved it!
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