Danny is a saint in a furry bay TB body. I love this boy! I'll have to beg for some pics from Joe soon to add to this....
He's a younger gelding, around 6 years old, and needs strengthening in his stifles to improve his canter. His owner had to have surgery, so he's going to be working with me a couple times a month to start learning what he has to do to advance his movement, musculature, and training.
Danny did very well last night. I spent almost 2 hours with him, actually. We started with longing, and I longed him with side reins to help him engage his hindquarter. We worked on walk and trot on a nice, loose tempo-filled gait with impulsion and proper topline. Canter was not bad overall--the sidereins make a marked difference on how well he can hold his canter and the overall quality of it! The transitions in and out were not as explosive as the first time I longed him (improvement!) but I was also careful to prepare him and not rush the transition. I got small releases and "head drops" in the canter, but nothing as marked as the walk/trot. That takes time. I did work him a good bit on the longe working to train in the cue for him to drop his head and release his jaw, stretch his neck and work into the bridle. Walk/trot he was there, canter he was not. I settled for at least softening his poll and bending his neck a little into me.
In hand, we worked on moving the hindquarters (a lightbulb went off), then went to shoulder-in, travers, leg yeild and a tiny bit of halfpass.
Physically, he was tired, so I got on him and worked him in walk advancing his lateral work. We worked on shoulder in (he got it going counterclockwise, but anything clockwise, where he had to stretch across the left side and step up forward with his left hind (like he would in canter on a right lead) he fell apart a bit and his stifles got "sticky". I worked on him really understanding that when I put leg on, it meant YIELD and MOVE AWAY, and had him do 45 degree head to the wall counterclockwise (to improve the clockwise shoulder in). Unlike his last training session, though, his significant improvement was the understanding that in shoulder-in he responded to the half-halt of the inside seat/thigh/rein connection so that he didn't wander into the middle of the ring. Not so good clockwise, but after the 45 degree head to the wall work where I defined the step sequence and the aids, he was better.
I did some leg yielding under saddle--he really has a hard time picking up either stifle and stepping under, so this will just do him a ton of good. He gets his hinds "stuck" on the ground and in a position where he doesn't pick them up for the crossover (hence the 45 degree head to the wall work and in-hand work too). I tried for a little travers/halfpass but he need much more work on what a half-halted rein means and how to lift a shoulder before he'll respect that aid.
Then, since I could feel his stifles fatigueing, and he has done a ton of collected work, albeit in walk, I trotted him out and just finished up with some simple bending exercises where he had to support himself in serpentines, pay attention to balance, and change his bend. Asked him to stop and back a few times, and refused to get off of him until he gave me a couple snappier walk/halt/walk transitions vs stroll, eventually grind to a halt, stroll.
I was shocked to find he had a clue about a driving seatbone. I put mine down and asked for more reach/extension in the trot and he moved right off! Yeah! That's a hard concept to teach a horse, esp one that's not very forward and has a great capacity to ignore a whip (Danny says "lalalalalalalalala I can't HEAR you!") So, it was a good button to find.
Of course, I completely expect Danny to pretend not to know ANY of this when his owner sees him on Sunday!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Time to start up the training blog again
Well, we've moved locations to Hampstead, and I know I'm going to be training a ton more horses, so I decided it was time to fire up the old blog again to track their progress!
So, without further adeu, here's to 2009, an awesome training year in our NEW 60 acre facility, with indoor ring and cross country course!!!
Whoo-hooo!
So, without further adeu, here's to 2009, an awesome training year in our NEW 60 acre facility, with indoor ring and cross country course!!!
Whoo-hooo!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Weekly summary 6/18-25
Well, I've been working horses but it's been VEEEEEEERY late into the wee hours of the night. When everyone else has gone home, I'm usually riding LOL! The horses are becoming more nocturnal . Case in point, I was riding Hersh last night at 7, Ariana last night at 9, and Gene last night at 10pm!
It's been an exciting week, with the arrival last week of Bear (short for Bärenjäger) the buckskin German Warmblood x out of Jettie's mare Dee. Hershey, a 4 y.o. Friesian gelding sent to me for saddle starting, is moving along in leaps and bounds now--he has been getting ridden while "attached" to the lunge line at the walk and trot for confidence in open spaces, and came off the "leash" this week to work independently. We still put it on for his first nighttime work in the dressage ring (scary shadows!!) and while he was "up" he was overall very well behaved. I rode him yesterday for the first time on his own (no leash) in the dressage ring and he was EXCELLENT!!!! He REALLY is beginning to understand the concept of reaching for the bit and working into the bridle freely. He's starting to develop bigger, more swinging gaits and use his hindquarters a little more. He's still downhill for now, but hey, he's a kid that's only been under saddle independently about 15 times!! Steering and trotting was, well, interesting---I always get "unexpected steering results" at this stage. Overall, though, he was EXCELLENT in the dressage ring. Really perfect. Couldn't ask for anything more in this stage in training (ok, maybe some bravery, LOL!). Some pictures of him are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/LegacyStables/Hershey
Scooby ROCKED this past week in training! Alex (who is much smaller and lighter than me, let alone jumps extremely well!) has been working with me in training Scooby for jumping. I set up a line for him to learn striding-- a x rail bounce to a 1-stride vertical to a 2 stride vertical to a 4 stride oxer. I also set up some very large obstacles for him to jump to see how his bascule would change over the larger and wider fences. He LOVED it, perked his ears up and jumped extremely well--naturally balanced, relaxed, and with lots of natural talent. Sure, he had some refusals and some miscommunication, but overall he was a willing and excellent pony jumping some very impressive heights and widths!!!!
Go here to check it out: (light was fading, it was late.....so the pics are quite blurry!)
http://picasaweb.google.com/LegacyStables/ScoobyJumpTraining
Uma has been getting light work during her quarantine these past couple weeks with Devinne and I. She has AMAZING gaits--relaxed, extension and engaged and slow relaxed canter on the lunge. Really remarkable and athletic gaits for a Lusitano. To get her used to the environment and to get to know her, Devinne and I have worked her together also "on a leash" (lunge line) while in the dressage ring. She did wonderful on Friday, working relaxed and in frame, reaching in her strides and really coming together once she was warmed up. She had a little anxiety about the woods behind the ring (many horses do) and scooted and boogied a little, but otherwise worked very well. This week we'll try "leash-less!" and see how she does independently.
I've been working with a Swedish Warmblood mare named Gretta--she's been teaching me, actually, and we're really starting to come together. My last ride on her last week was the most "together" we've been yet. We worked on simple transitions, simple lateral work, and some canter pirouhette work. While its fun to work her in piaffe/passage and tempis, right now we just need to work out the my seat in her right lead canter (she loves to flip over to the left) and working on her "sitting" more on the left hind, esp in lateral work. She's older, so I'm doing mostly conditioning work when I ride her now, though some days I just have fun and dance with her. She loves to passage and loves to half pass in the passage, so I harness it from time to time to work on my timing for signalling passage steps.
I worked with Gene last night in the Fhoenix saddle http://www.enlightenedequitation.com/public/saddles_fhoenix.html with the suberpanel and he LOVED it. I have to say, so do I! It's a great, comfortable saddle I could sit in all day long, can ride in a more classical seat and really sit back and swing to absorb the bigger gaits comfortably. More importantly, Gene really rounded his back up to the saddle and worked in frame for me with no problems--something that, on a normal basis, is hard to get unless he's really warmed up (hey, he's an old man....he's allowed to creak!). It easily fit a 10 month pregnant mare (Ariana!) and a high withered TB X one after the other. The suberpanel fills in any muscle wastage at the wither and forms itself across the horse's back to a custom, no-pressure-point-having fit. The seat to the Fhoenix also forms itself to YOU as it heats up. Talk about NEAT!!! Sure, I love my Kieffers, but this will become a valuable part of my training equipment as well.
Rambler got "bike" training this past week--should have seen me wheeling around the barn on a mountain bike in breeches! People kept asking me if I gave up horses :-) He also did tarps, pedestals, jumps in hand etc. Great day for desensitizing.
Stay tuned for next week! I figure it's best for me to do weekly updates--I can keep up with that! LOL!
It's been an exciting week, with the arrival last week of Bear (short for Bärenjäger) the buckskin German Warmblood x out of Jettie's mare Dee. Hershey, a 4 y.o. Friesian gelding sent to me for saddle starting, is moving along in leaps and bounds now--he has been getting ridden while "attached" to the lunge line at the walk and trot for confidence in open spaces, and came off the "leash" this week to work independently. We still put it on for his first nighttime work in the dressage ring (scary shadows!!) and while he was "up" he was overall very well behaved. I rode him yesterday for the first time on his own (no leash) in the dressage ring and he was EXCELLENT!!!! He REALLY is beginning to understand the concept of reaching for the bit and working into the bridle freely. He's starting to develop bigger, more swinging gaits and use his hindquarters a little more. He's still downhill for now, but hey, he's a kid that's only been under saddle independently about 15 times!! Steering and trotting was, well, interesting---I always get "unexpected steering results" at this stage. Overall, though, he was EXCELLENT in the dressage ring. Really perfect. Couldn't ask for anything more in this stage in training (ok, maybe some bravery, LOL!). Some pictures of him are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/LegacyStables/Hershey
Scooby ROCKED this past week in training! Alex (who is much smaller and lighter than me, let alone jumps extremely well!) has been working with me in training Scooby for jumping. I set up a line for him to learn striding-- a x rail bounce to a 1-stride vertical to a 2 stride vertical to a 4 stride oxer. I also set up some very large obstacles for him to jump to see how his bascule would change over the larger and wider fences. He LOVED it, perked his ears up and jumped extremely well--naturally balanced, relaxed, and with lots of natural talent. Sure, he had some refusals and some miscommunication, but overall he was a willing and excellent pony jumping some very impressive heights and widths!!!!
Go here to check it out: (light was fading, it was late.....so the pics are quite blurry!)
http://picasaweb.google.com/LegacyStables/ScoobyJumpTraining
Uma has been getting light work during her quarantine these past couple weeks with Devinne and I. She has AMAZING gaits--relaxed, extension and engaged and slow relaxed canter on the lunge. Really remarkable and athletic gaits for a Lusitano. To get her used to the environment and to get to know her, Devinne and I have worked her together also "on a leash" (lunge line) while in the dressage ring. She did wonderful on Friday, working relaxed and in frame, reaching in her strides and really coming together once she was warmed up. She had a little anxiety about the woods behind the ring (many horses do) and scooted and boogied a little, but otherwise worked very well. This week we'll try "leash-less!" and see how she does independently.
I've been working with a Swedish Warmblood mare named Gretta--she's been teaching me, actually, and we're really starting to come together. My last ride on her last week was the most "together" we've been yet. We worked on simple transitions, simple lateral work, and some canter pirouhette work. While its fun to work her in piaffe/passage and tempis, right now we just need to work out the my seat in her right lead canter (she loves to flip over to the left) and working on her "sitting" more on the left hind, esp in lateral work. She's older, so I'm doing mostly conditioning work when I ride her now, though some days I just have fun and dance with her. She loves to passage and loves to half pass in the passage, so I harness it from time to time to work on my timing for signalling passage steps.
I worked with Gene last night in the Fhoenix saddle http://www.enlightenedequitation.com/public/saddles_fhoenix.html with the suberpanel and he LOVED it. I have to say, so do I! It's a great, comfortable saddle I could sit in all day long, can ride in a more classical seat and really sit back and swing to absorb the bigger gaits comfortably. More importantly, Gene really rounded his back up to the saddle and worked in frame for me with no problems--something that, on a normal basis, is hard to get unless he's really warmed up (hey, he's an old man....he's allowed to creak!). It easily fit a 10 month pregnant mare (Ariana!) and a high withered TB X one after the other. The suberpanel fills in any muscle wastage at the wither and forms itself across the horse's back to a custom, no-pressure-point-having fit. The seat to the Fhoenix also forms itself to YOU as it heats up. Talk about NEAT!!! Sure, I love my Kieffers, but this will become a valuable part of my training equipment as well.
Rambler got "bike" training this past week--should have seen me wheeling around the barn on a mountain bike in breeches! People kept asking me if I gave up horses :-) He also did tarps, pedestals, jumps in hand etc. Great day for desensitizing.
Stay tuned for next week! I figure it's best for me to do weekly updates--I can keep up with that! LOL!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Catching Up Summary
Well, it's been a BUSY BUSY month. Sorry for all of you who got addicted to the blog and then got let down with no updates. I was afraid that might happen LOL!
So, in summary, here's how training has gone this past month:
Peanut's gait returned to its previous quality, with more symmetrical gaiting and no more "weak" leads! His topline came together, his stifles strengthened, and he finished off his training by gaiting in frame in a state of self-carriage in walk, gait, and canter. He was proficiently performing walk to canter transitions and also simple lead changes on figure 8s and serpentines from his "good" lead to his "weak" lead. His previously "weak" lead has strengthened to a point that his slight unbalance in that direction is hardly perceptable. Some pics from 1/2 way through his training:
Hershey, a 4 y.o. friesian gelding, has come in for saddle starting. He's been intro'd to equipment, lunged over cavelettis, line driven, and is now under saddle walk/trot. He's got LOTS to learn about confidence, for sure! Overall he's been progressing quickly and doing extremely well.Scooby has had his "good hock" and "bad hock" days. On good hock days, he's w/t/c GREAT, in frame, bending both directions, and generally excellent. On "bad hock" days I can feel the weakness in the hind and am careful not to push him. Last week we worked on "trail work" pn the trail behind the barn, having to be brave with stream crossings and ride by himself through the woods behind the barn. He did EXCELLENT and is getting braver on the driveway and in new situations in general. This past session Alex rode him in a lesson with me and we worked on teaching him how to stride over poles, jump about 18" jumps and by the end he was trotting and cantering confidently in a gymnastic line with a x rail, a vertical and an oxer at varying stride lengths.
I took my 2 y.o. andalusian colt to a USDF DSHB show and he got 1st place in his breed class. He was SO QUIET and excellently behaved I couldn't be prouder.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Peanut 5/6
Sara took a lesson today on Peanut and we worked on lateral work (she needed confirmation of the aids). I taught her how to influence his straightness by asking him to move over off of the right leg. We worked on making it clear to Peanut when a rider asks "over" or "forward" with the whip. Whip tickling on the hip means "over" while whip behind the leg means "over".
We worked on driveway work at the end and tied the lateral work into the gait improvement work. Peanut needs more right leg, left seat and slight touches of the whip to keep him straight. Once straight, his gait smooths out, his head-wag really starts and he racks on. Sara has really only ridden his flatwalk, so the faster gait was a new experience. She was working injured, though, so she could not quite apply the aides as uniformly as she wanted to. Because of this, she got to practice a one-rein stop when Peanut decided to canter instead of gait :-) Overall, though, a great learning experience for Sara as she was really starting to react to Peanut's shifting balance in the gait and guide him more effectively.
We worked on driveway work at the end and tied the lateral work into the gait improvement work. Peanut needs more right leg, left seat and slight touches of the whip to keep him straight. Once straight, his gait smooths out, his head-wag really starts and he racks on. Sara has really only ridden his flatwalk, so the faster gait was a new experience. She was working injured, though, so she could not quite apply the aides as uniformly as she wanted to. Because of this, she got to practice a one-rein stop when Peanut decided to canter instead of gait :-) Overall, though, a great learning experience for Sara as she was really starting to react to Peanut's shifting balance in the gait and guide him more effectively.
Peanut 5/5 Trail Work
Peanut went out to Susquehanna State Park today to do trail training. He's been very quiet and responsive on trail, so we brought along a completely green, never been ridden on train before horse named Lori. It ends up Peanut was "having a day" and Lori ended up being the rock on trail LOL!
The ride started with us rounding the corner and immediately seeing all kinds of dead farm equipment, old round bales, and large construction sized piles of dirt and cement blocks scattered all around the trail. We had to walk right between all of them, and I admit if I were a horse, I'd think all that stuff looked strange. Peanut stopped, planted, snorted, and sidestepped until Lori walked up beside him. What an example, eh? But overall, he was good--just evasive for about 10 seconds until he realized that not starting the ride wasn't an option. He was tense, so I asked him to relax at the poll, put his head down and walk forward. He did a fast powerwalk, tense but obedient on past all the obstacles. It set the tone for the ride, though, so he was reactive to any stimulus the rest of the time.
We saw more round bales scattered around in an open field and he tried to turn back once. I simply kept his head pointed where he needed to go, put his head down and send him forward and he was tense, but went forward. As we passed the last round bale, I had him walk up to it and sniff it. He took a bite, relaxed and walked on LOL!
We ran into several bikers on trail and he did well. He did the quick "startled" jump in place and then would walk past them with encouragement. Lori thought Peanut was silly and would jump when he jumped, but then walked by the bikes too.
He crossed every water obstacle and bridge with no problems or hestitation and relaxed in the woods. I worked on keeping him STRAIGHT between my aides (he escapes with his right hind and requires left seat/rein and right leg to keep him straight) and really focused on building his hindquarters on the uphills. His balance has truly gotten better since last year and he was able to negotiate the downhills and large steps down very well.
On the way back, we did some gentle cantering and he was excellent! Very good day overall. A little spooky, but under control and came back to relaxation well.
The ride started with us rounding the corner and immediately seeing all kinds of dead farm equipment, old round bales, and large construction sized piles of dirt and cement blocks scattered all around the trail. We had to walk right between all of them, and I admit if I were a horse, I'd think all that stuff looked strange. Peanut stopped, planted, snorted, and sidestepped until Lori walked up beside him. What an example, eh? But overall, he was good--just evasive for about 10 seconds until he realized that not starting the ride wasn't an option. He was tense, so I asked him to relax at the poll, put his head down and walk forward. He did a fast powerwalk, tense but obedient on past all the obstacles. It set the tone for the ride, though, so he was reactive to any stimulus the rest of the time.
We saw more round bales scattered around in an open field and he tried to turn back once. I simply kept his head pointed where he needed to go, put his head down and send him forward and he was tense, but went forward. As we passed the last round bale, I had him walk up to it and sniff it. He took a bite, relaxed and walked on LOL!
We ran into several bikers on trail and he did well. He did the quick "startled" jump in place and then would walk past them with encouragement. Lori thought Peanut was silly and would jump when he jumped, but then walked by the bikes too.
He crossed every water obstacle and bridge with no problems or hestitation and relaxed in the woods. I worked on keeping him STRAIGHT between my aides (he escapes with his right hind and requires left seat/rein and right leg to keep him straight) and really focused on building his hindquarters on the uphills. His balance has truly gotten better since last year and he was able to negotiate the downhills and large steps down very well.
On the way back, we did some gentle cantering and he was excellent! Very good day overall. A little spooky, but under control and came back to relaxation well.
Scooby 5/5 SCOOBY IS A HORSE AGAIN!!!
He's a real horse! He can WALK, TROT and CANTER on a long, relaxed frame and not skygaze!
Ok, folks--after the last training session with Scooby, he had a bad day and had stepped backwards ALOT. Horses have bad days, they're allowed. And I am HAPPY to out-stubborn a horse all day. I really am. I have the patience of a saint when it comes to training, can do numerous repetitions of boring work (pressure, release, pressure, release, pressure, release). I can sit there and hold a snaffle bit rein for 10 minutes, waiting for the horse to figure out "rein pressure=give". Fact is, Scooby already had the training. But, he also has a hard mouth and was choosing to close his ears and IGNORE any requests from me to give. I am a HUGE proponent of working a horse in a snaffle, all the way up to the highest level of dressage. I'm all about working bitless (I'm doing it now with Peanut!) or just putting on a double bridle for the day of competition. But sometimes, when a horse just BLOCKS YOU OUT, and you KNOW you're being completely ignored BY CHOICE, not by lack of training, it's time to up the ante.
So, I temporarily moved him to a low ported kimberwick, using a single rein and curb chain. Yup, you read that right.
I got on him and was able to ride like I had reins made of thread :-) The angels SUNG, the birds chirped, and Scooby gave to the &%&$^%# bit.
Scooby went back to kindergarten. I didn't just get on and ride him in a new bit. I immediately started over with teaching him "head down" and "nose in". We started at the halt. After about 50 repetitions (and he LISTENED!) of gentle rein pressure, he was giving the moment the rein was picked up. We put some motion to it, and I got him walking and trotting with his nose completely on the ground, brushing in the sand. Brought him back up into frame and got all 3 gaits with his head down and relaxed at the poll, and moving and bending nicely. His gaits were amazing again. He is back to the "weirdness" going to the right (tossing himself WAY in the air in his trot with impulsion well beyond what you're asking for) and I was able to start showing him he didn't have to RACE around in the trot. We were able to go back to working on his original issues! Yeah! He even did some happy "jog" work for me, pretending to be a western pony :-)
He got a major workout, and I was so glad to see him doing so much better. His transitions were still rough at first, but he was able to relax at the poll and transition up without coming too far off the vertical and pretty quickly get himself together up front in the next gait without stressing out, skygazing, trying to grab the bit, or coming against it and panicking. By the end, he was transitioning nice and relaxed through all the gaits.
To test him, Hanna (Brianne's little sister, about 10 years old, I think?) hopped up on him to do walk/trot. He happily walked and trotted around with her, though he did get a little mischeveous and decided to canter off and leave the ring for a few strides. Hanna thought this was the highlight of her day and thought Scooby was amazingly fun to ride. She was able to get him to go right back into the ring, walk, trot, and stop willingly and quietly.
He needs more work now to confirm all of this again, but I can officially say Scooby is a real horse again!
Ok, folks--after the last training session with Scooby, he had a bad day and had stepped backwards ALOT. Horses have bad days, they're allowed. And I am HAPPY to out-stubborn a horse all day. I really am. I have the patience of a saint when it comes to training, can do numerous repetitions of boring work (pressure, release, pressure, release, pressure, release). I can sit there and hold a snaffle bit rein for 10 minutes, waiting for the horse to figure out "rein pressure=give". Fact is, Scooby already had the training. But, he also has a hard mouth and was choosing to close his ears and IGNORE any requests from me to give. I am a HUGE proponent of working a horse in a snaffle, all the way up to the highest level of dressage. I'm all about working bitless (I'm doing it now with Peanut!) or just putting on a double bridle for the day of competition. But sometimes, when a horse just BLOCKS YOU OUT, and you KNOW you're being completely ignored BY CHOICE, not by lack of training, it's time to up the ante.
So, I temporarily moved him to a low ported kimberwick, using a single rein and curb chain. Yup, you read that right.
I got on him and was able to ride like I had reins made of thread :-) The angels SUNG, the birds chirped, and Scooby gave to the &%&$^%# bit.
Scooby went back to kindergarten. I didn't just get on and ride him in a new bit. I immediately started over with teaching him "head down" and "nose in". We started at the halt. After about 50 repetitions (and he LISTENED!) of gentle rein pressure, he was giving the moment the rein was picked up. We put some motion to it, and I got him walking and trotting with his nose completely on the ground, brushing in the sand. Brought him back up into frame and got all 3 gaits with his head down and relaxed at the poll, and moving and bending nicely. His gaits were amazing again. He is back to the "weirdness" going to the right (tossing himself WAY in the air in his trot with impulsion well beyond what you're asking for) and I was able to start showing him he didn't have to RACE around in the trot. We were able to go back to working on his original issues! Yeah! He even did some happy "jog" work for me, pretending to be a western pony :-)
He got a major workout, and I was so glad to see him doing so much better. His transitions were still rough at first, but he was able to relax at the poll and transition up without coming too far off the vertical and pretty quickly get himself together up front in the next gait without stressing out, skygazing, trying to grab the bit, or coming against it and panicking. By the end, he was transitioning nice and relaxed through all the gaits.
To test him, Hanna (Brianne's little sister, about 10 years old, I think?) hopped up on him to do walk/trot. He happily walked and trotted around with her, though he did get a little mischeveous and decided to canter off and leave the ring for a few strides. Hanna thought this was the highlight of her day and thought Scooby was amazingly fun to ride. She was able to get him to go right back into the ring, walk, trot, and stop willingly and quietly.
He needs more work now to confirm all of this again, but I can officially say Scooby is a real horse again!
Peanut 5/3 The "other riders" test
Peanut's work today was focused on "giving results" to other riders. One of the things I do with training horses in the later stages of their training (or a "refresher" horse like Peanut) is giving a lesson on the horse. I choose a level of student appropriate for what I'm looking to get out of the horse. My point in this is to confirm the horse's training. A trained horse that ONLY works for their trainer is useless to an owner. My goal is to give a client back a horse that not just I can ride, but hopefully ANYONE can ride, and get similar results.
I had two people get up on him who had NEVER ridden a gaited horse before and he naturally offered them a decent gait. A little pacey, but not bad overall. I was able to talk them through improving the gait and get the timing to influence the gait to an even step sequence successfully. He also nailed his right lead canter easily.
To end, he was taken onto the driveway for more exact gaitwork. I talked Vicki through adjusting her balance to improve/influence the gait and got on and demonstrated as well. Peanut was excellently behaved for his work, and complied with everyone's requests with good humor, patience, and performed as expected and sought after.
I had two people get up on him who had NEVER ridden a gaited horse before and he naturally offered them a decent gait. A little pacey, but not bad overall. I was able to talk them through improving the gait and get the timing to influence the gait to an even step sequence successfully. He also nailed his right lead canter easily.
To end, he was taken onto the driveway for more exact gaitwork. I talked Vicki through adjusting her balance to improve/influence the gait and got on and demonstrated as well. Peanut was excellently behaved for his work, and complied with everyone's requests with good humor, patience, and performed as expected and sought after.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Peanut 5/2
Peanut's work today consisted completely of groundwork. With many gaited horses, I really like to sort the gait out on the ground and let the horse figure out how to begin to naturally carry the gait without rider interference. While I know I can get a perfect 1-2-3-4 step sequence now from the saddle by rebalancing him, I like to really "teach" the horse the muscle memory to do it more naturally on their own. Sara (his owner) was there and was observing the training session.
We worked on open lunging, and I showed her how to reinforce the lateral in-hand work that I was using to sort out his unilateral weakness in the hind. I was able to demonstrate his weakness/slowness in the left and right hinds and give her a "blow by blow" view of each and every adjustment I make on him in hand to rebalance and guide his movement and why.
In open lunging, Peanut did excellent--he was able to walk, gait, and canter in both directions on a longer lunge line. He showed a lot of progress in his confidence and I explained to Sara as I was working when I would increase or release pressure from Peanut from my body posture and positioning.
We worked on open lunging, and I showed her how to reinforce the lateral in-hand work that I was using to sort out his unilateral weakness in the hind. I was able to demonstrate his weakness/slowness in the left and right hinds and give her a "blow by blow" view of each and every adjustment I make on him in hand to rebalance and guide his movement and why.
In open lunging, Peanut did excellent--he was able to walk, gait, and canter in both directions on a longer lunge line. He showed a lot of progress in his confidence and I explained to Sara as I was working when I would increase or release pressure from Peanut from my body posture and positioning.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Peanut 4/28
Peanut went on a trail ride today to Stoney Forest. He was being ridden by a true novice rider who has only had a few lessons on him, and they are the first lessons/rides on a horse she's ever had. Marie knew the rule was to keep his ears at "wither level" and to keep asking him to relax and put his head down whenever he popped it up to look at anything.
While riding down the road to get to the park, we rode past a house that had two riding mowers going in the front yard, with a kid on an ATV popping around the back of the house repeatedly as he was riding loops around the yard. Right next door was a large birthday party going on, complete with balloons tied to the mailbox, people parked on the shoulders of the road on both sides etc. Both Peanut and Ariana just walked past, relaxed and without a care in the world. We kept on walking past houses full of barking dogs, dogs that people inexplicably let run loose on weekends (and were out in the road checking us out), an entire large herd of cows, chainsaws, traffic, and all kinds of noise and commotion. The only thing he didn't like was a gunshot, which his rider put his head down, told him to go forward, and just buried his nose right up Ariana's butt for about 10 strides. He then calmed right down and kept on strolling.
He really handled everything in stride with a COMPLETE beginner on his back. We went into the forest and he walked right through a stream with no problems or hesitation, went uphill and down without a care in the world, negotiating the trail with ease. As we were coming back to Legacy, we picked up speed and he gaited down the road and up the driveway, relaxed and happy. He as a little tired and had to be encouraged to gait, but was happy to go forward.
While riding down the road to get to the park, we rode past a house that had two riding mowers going in the front yard, with a kid on an ATV popping around the back of the house repeatedly as he was riding loops around the yard. Right next door was a large birthday party going on, complete with balloons tied to the mailbox, people parked on the shoulders of the road on both sides etc. Both Peanut and Ariana just walked past, relaxed and without a care in the world. We kept on walking past houses full of barking dogs, dogs that people inexplicably let run loose on weekends (and were out in the road checking us out), an entire large herd of cows, chainsaws, traffic, and all kinds of noise and commotion. The only thing he didn't like was a gunshot, which his rider put his head down, told him to go forward, and just buried his nose right up Ariana's butt for about 10 strides. He then calmed right down and kept on strolling.
He really handled everything in stride with a COMPLETE beginner on his back. We went into the forest and he walked right through a stream with no problems or hesitation, went uphill and down without a care in the world, negotiating the trail with ease. As we were coming back to Legacy, we picked up speed and he gaited down the road and up the driveway, relaxed and happy. He as a little tired and had to be encouraged to gait, but was happy to go forward.
Scooby 4/27
Scooby was a hard horse to ride today! Every horse is allowed a bad day, for sure, and his movement and ability to bend was much better overall. Unfortunately, he just had it in his head to ignore me, the bit, my weight, and pretty much anything I asked for. He was willing to trot in frame once I wrestled him there *sigh* that horse has a hard mouth and a great propensity to ignore...... He has a great ability to lock his poll, jaw, neck, and just stick his head out and ignore all attempts to "get through" to him.
I did warm him up by lunging him in sidereins and he was soft and responsive on the lunge. He did try to occasionaly "hanging" behavior with the sidereins as well, which I would tap him with the lunge line and he would bring his head up.
I decided to start from scratch and insist on looseness at the poll, a refusal to let him "hang" on me or pull on me (he loves to throw his head down and pull his rider right out of the saddle) and just get transitions. I worked on walk/halt transitions, insisting he remain soft in the poll and would "bug" him until he released his jaw. While much of the work was dependant on an ability to "out-stubborn" and "out-wait" him for a response, it was still frustrating at best, as I KNOW this horse can do better. I did get after him for any pulling, and he was quite willing to move foreward.
He did get his teeth done this week, and they were quite sharp according to the dentist. His resistance to the rein was more "even" at least......still a little more resistant to the right rein (a recent change since he's been on the Bute protocol).
I worked to get good transitions with a loose poll from halt to walk and from walk to trot. He's able to walk in frame on a nice loose rein. Transitions from walk to trot were truly fought for, step by step. I could reliably get a decent (meaning not "rocketing") transition to trot when essentially "throwing away" the reins and allowing him to skygaze a bit, then slowly working him back down, but he would hit a resistance point when about halfway to where he needed to be and begin to fight and skygaze again. Trotting is truly his issue, and cantering is slightly better than trotting. Once he unlocks the poll, his gait relaxes and he moves correctly. But the transitions this day were awful. Just a bad day for Scooby.
Ironically, while according to my standards Scooby was doing poorly, two people commented on how much better he looked as I was working with him. So that's a bright spot, eh? I expect this week he'll do better (anything would be better!! LOL!) Again, I think Scooby was just having a particularly bad day. Horses are allowed to have them, just like people :-)
I did warm him up by lunging him in sidereins and he was soft and responsive on the lunge. He did try to occasionaly "hanging" behavior with the sidereins as well, which I would tap him with the lunge line and he would bring his head up.
I decided to start from scratch and insist on looseness at the poll, a refusal to let him "hang" on me or pull on me (he loves to throw his head down and pull his rider right out of the saddle) and just get transitions. I worked on walk/halt transitions, insisting he remain soft in the poll and would "bug" him until he released his jaw. While much of the work was dependant on an ability to "out-stubborn" and "out-wait" him for a response, it was still frustrating at best, as I KNOW this horse can do better. I did get after him for any pulling, and he was quite willing to move foreward.
He did get his teeth done this week, and they were quite sharp according to the dentist. His resistance to the rein was more "even" at least......still a little more resistant to the right rein (a recent change since he's been on the Bute protocol).
I worked to get good transitions with a loose poll from halt to walk and from walk to trot. He's able to walk in frame on a nice loose rein. Transitions from walk to trot were truly fought for, step by step. I could reliably get a decent (meaning not "rocketing") transition to trot when essentially "throwing away" the reins and allowing him to skygaze a bit, then slowly working him back down, but he would hit a resistance point when about halfway to where he needed to be and begin to fight and skygaze again. Trotting is truly his issue, and cantering is slightly better than trotting. Once he unlocks the poll, his gait relaxes and he moves correctly. But the transitions this day were awful. Just a bad day for Scooby.
Ironically, while according to my standards Scooby was doing poorly, two people commented on how much better he looked as I was working with him. So that's a bright spot, eh? I expect this week he'll do better (anything would be better!! LOL!) Again, I think Scooby was just having a particularly bad day. Horses are allowed to have them, just like people :-)
Peanut 4/27
Peanut worked today on open lunging again. He showed great improvement and increased trust by willingly going forward on the lunge walk, gait, canter in both directions and I was able to use a lunge whip as well. I kept the lash up at first, but was able to let the lash drag soon after we started. I was able to do larger circles with him consistantly moving forward with only a few stops. He remained relaxed the whole time during lunging.
Under saddle, he was a little more flexible at the poll, a little more "together" with his hindquarters etc. He was starting to finally "lighten up" on me with the rein during gaiting for several steps at a time and I was able to start putting him in a more independent frame (i.e. not hanging on me) for several strides. He still needs to build fitness, but seemed slightly better after only 2 days of work. We worked lots on "gait and bend" and also reviewed his lateral work as well.
Under saddle, he was a little more flexible at the poll, a little more "together" with his hindquarters etc. He was starting to finally "lighten up" on me with the rein during gaiting for several steps at a time and I was able to start putting him in a more independent frame (i.e. not hanging on me) for several strides. He still needs to build fitness, but seemed slightly better after only 2 days of work. We worked lots on "gait and bend" and also reviewed his lateral work as well.
Peanut 4/26 The Crazy Horse Trial
Peanut worked more on the lunge in open space today, now willing to go a little faster, accepting of the "tapping" of his hindquarter with the in-hand whip on a small circle, and was able to go into a slightly bigger circle and even offered to canter when asked without screeching to a halt, stopping, turning in, and backing wildly. I still just used the in-hand whip (no long lash) and reviewed in-hand work with him. He was more willing to work with me, was more flexible than yesterday, and was a little more coordinated in his 4 track shoulder in work. He was more animated and coordinated with his back legs, but showed a clear unwillingness to move as fast or as well on the right rein.
I rode him, and he was very heavy and pulling hard on the reins. His right lead canter has lost much of its former balance and was very heavy on the forehand and "running", though he could sustain it very well and was happy to do so. He was hard to encourage in a frame above a walk and even in walking was heavy and occasionally throwing a 'tude about needing to "give" to the rein. He could not come int o a true frame when gaiting, but was able to sustain a "1-23-4" gait (slightly pacey) easily. I took him out on the driveway, which I use as a sounding board for gaited horses. I was able to keep him closer to an even 4-beat gait, but he wanted to go more hollow backed to do it. He was able to really "rack on!" with his head wagging back and forth when I let him come up, but he would often still leave his hindquarters behind after several strides. His poll was not as soft and responsive as I'd like to see it (and had it previously). To summarize, he lost conditioning over the winter but retained his gait and ability to get the right lead. He just needs some targeted strenthening and re-tuning of his gait, along with needing to get more stamina (he was huffing after about 20 minutes of sustained gaiting and cantering).
The good part: he was a ROCK STAR at the end. I rode him down the driveway and Dancer and Aurora (in the front field) were more up than I have ever seen them. When they saw Peanut, they began racing around the field going CRAZY, bucking, farting, rearing and tossing themselves so high I thought they were going to clear the fence. All the while, Peanut just kept walking, relaxed, wondering why they were playing so hard, I'm sure. I took him down the road to the neighbor's driveway, with Dancer and Aurora galloping at full speed, sliding to a stop right behind him and BLOWING alarm blows, neighing, then bucking and tossing themselves around and taking off again to gallop around the field. They did this the WHOLE time while he calmly walked along the fenceline ont the road. I turned him around, and that was the ONLY time he showed any tension, just because he was wondering why we were changing direction. He simply put his head up, stared at the horses for a second, but had no tension in his body. He was just casually watching. He then walked back calmly and then gaited all the way back up the driveway. Peanut made me quite proud of his trial by fire!
I rode him, and he was very heavy and pulling hard on the reins. His right lead canter has lost much of its former balance and was very heavy on the forehand and "running", though he could sustain it very well and was happy to do so. He was hard to encourage in a frame above a walk and even in walking was heavy and occasionally throwing a 'tude about needing to "give" to the rein. He could not come int o a true frame when gaiting, but was able to sustain a "1-2
The good part: he was a ROCK STAR at the end. I rode him down the driveway and Dancer and Aurora (in the front field) were more up than I have ever seen them. When they saw Peanut, they began racing around the field going CRAZY, bucking, farting, rearing and tossing themselves so high I thought they were going to clear the fence. All the while, Peanut just kept walking, relaxed, wondering why they were playing so hard, I'm sure. I took him down the road to the neighbor's driveway, with Dancer and Aurora galloping at full speed, sliding to a stop right behind him and BLOWING alarm blows, neighing, then bucking and tossing themselves around and taking off again to gallop around the field. They did this the WHOLE time while he calmly walked along the fenceline ont the road. I turned him around, and that was the ONLY time he showed any tension, just because he was wondering why we were changing direction. He simply put his head up, stared at the horses for a second, but had no tension in his body. He was just casually watching. He then walked back calmly and then gaited all the way back up the driveway. Peanut made me quite proud of his trial by fire!
Peanut 4/25
Today was Peanut's first day in training. He is a coming 6 y.o. TWH that is "barefoot and bitless". He was in training with me last year due to a lack of 4-beated gait and a need to be able to canter on his right lead. He would either pace or trot. He has a "slow" left hind, meaning it tends to stay on the ground just a TAD longer, which of course means he would have trouble getting his right lead and would throw off the 4-beated gait. He also had some kind of abusive practice/training method used on him prior to his current ownership, as some things "trigger" abused/panicked responses from him, such as lunging in open areas, whips, and occasional headshyness. His owner has worked through many of these issues using NH techniques, and I am continuing her work in those areas.
In the 30 days training I had done last year on him, he was taught framework, as he was mostly a pacey horse and needed to be taught self-carriage in a frame and how to half-halt to put more weight on his hindquarters, round up and then he would gait perfectly. To correct the "slow" left hind, he was taught to bring it up off the ground when I would tap with a dressage whip, both in-hand (with sidereins---yes, you can do that bitless!! and an in-hand whip) and from the saddle. It retrained his gait and muscle memory to gait properly and keep the 1-2-3-4 even step sequence. To fix his canter, I taught Peanut lateral work in hand and did tons of 45 degree head to the wall on the left rein to have him step out with the left hind, and tons of shoulder in work also, to strengthen the left hind and get him more ambidexterous overall. By the end, he was consistantly taking the right lead canter, could rebalance with a half-halt, and was sustaining a 4 beated gait for longer and longer periods (up to a half hour or more) on straight lines. He was JUST learning how to "gait and bend".
In the past year, his owner has taken lessons with me to learn how to "shape" the gait, how to sustain it, how to get it back when he falls out of it, and how to ask and consistantly get the right lead canter and support his balance in the right lead canter. He also learned how to jump (another hind quarter strengthening exercise) and she was learning to jump also. Once all of this was successful in the ring, we began to focus on trail work.
Peanut's focus in this training month is to "tune up" his gait, as he's had much of the winter off, and to expose him to as much trail work as possible to continue bombproofing him.
The first training sessions was short--pretty much just fitting all of my equipment to him, confirming his memory of the in-hand work I taught him, trying to work through a little of his fear of lunging, and re-introduction to siderein pressure. He showed his return of a weak LH, but worked through his fear of going forward on the lunge and was willing to walk, gait a few steps, and stop in both directions. When giving him a longer line, he would stop and turn in. Due to the "abused mind" wiring, aggression to "send him on" in an open space causes him to short circuit and panic, pulling back, launching backwards, running backwards etc. He's fine in the round pen with or without a line attached. He only exhibits the behavior in the open when he has possible "escape routes". Ignoring his occasional stopping behavior and using gentle and positive-only reinforcement works well in getting him to calmly start walking again.
In the 30 days training I had done last year on him, he was taught framework, as he was mostly a pacey horse and needed to be taught self-carriage in a frame and how to half-halt to put more weight on his hindquarters, round up and then he would gait perfectly. To correct the "slow" left hind, he was taught to bring it up off the ground when I would tap with a dressage whip, both in-hand (with sidereins---yes, you can do that bitless!! and an in-hand whip) and from the saddle. It retrained his gait and muscle memory to gait properly and keep the 1-2-3-4 even step sequence. To fix his canter, I taught Peanut lateral work in hand and did tons of 45 degree head to the wall on the left rein to have him step out with the left hind, and tons of shoulder in work also, to strengthen the left hind and get him more ambidexterous overall. By the end, he was consistantly taking the right lead canter, could rebalance with a half-halt, and was sustaining a 4 beated gait for longer and longer periods (up to a half hour or more) on straight lines. He was JUST learning how to "gait and bend".
In the past year, his owner has taken lessons with me to learn how to "shape" the gait, how to sustain it, how to get it back when he falls out of it, and how to ask and consistantly get the right lead canter and support his balance in the right lead canter. He also learned how to jump (another hind quarter strengthening exercise) and she was learning to jump also. Once all of this was successful in the ring, we began to focus on trail work.
Peanut's focus in this training month is to "tune up" his gait, as he's had much of the winter off, and to expose him to as much trail work as possible to continue bombproofing him.
The first training sessions was short--pretty much just fitting all of my equipment to him, confirming his memory of the in-hand work I taught him, trying to work through a little of his fear of lunging, and re-introduction to siderein pressure. He showed his return of a weak LH, but worked through his fear of going forward on the lunge and was willing to walk, gait a few steps, and stop in both directions. When giving him a longer line, he would stop and turn in. Due to the "abused mind" wiring, aggression to "send him on" in an open space causes him to short circuit and panic, pulling back, launching backwards, running backwards etc. He's fine in the round pen with or without a line attached. He only exhibits the behavior in the open when he has possible "escape routes". Ignoring his occasional stopping behavior and using gentle and positive-only reinforcement works well in getting him to calmly start walking again.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Scooby 4/18
Well, the Bute made a HUGE difference! Scooby can bend left now!!!! YEA!!!! If anything, he now has trouble bending and tracking to the right, but that felt like a teeth issue and not a back/hock issue. The locking was often in the jaw vs the whole body. Once he was tired, I could feel the change and he was showing resistance in the hind to the right, coming from the hock. But, he was able to bend left easily and relaxed the whole time--something he couldn't even approach doing before!
He also was less "stuck" in the huge extended trot and was able to transition into a trot with less vigorous "jump" and more collection. For the first time, he was not coming up off the vertical so violently in his transitions, and by the end he was actually transitioning pretty softly in his poll (as long as I gave him a big release from pressure as a positive reward for going forward). We worked on LOTS of serpentines and trotting while changing direction. While he was fresh, he was excellent, perfect, soft, responsive! But I could feel the hock begin to break down underneath me as the session went on, and his framework and tension built. I was very careful in working through it, asking him to "just try" and the moment he did, I would lessen my seat, rein, and sometimes let him walk as well if he showed lots of effort. We did lots of transition work and worked with learning the "gaits within gaits", learning how to support himself a little more on his hind and generally re-learning his trot gait, as I could feel he's been compensating for a while and has to un-learn that way of going.
He's still in pain and will need further therapy to get him fully sound, but overall he is responding well and showing improvement! He leg yields were soft, relaxed, and excellent. He even tried to give me a trot shoulder-in! The only thing I really had to get on him about was his lack of paying attention to my seat in walk-halt transitions. His ears would telegraph that he'd gotten the cue, and he'd half-halt, but he would continue to saunter along and not actually stop until I really used the reins to get his attention.
I did a couple quick canter circles at the end, but he was already spent and bunny-hopped in his canter in both directions. He tried to relax down and round in the canter, but just didn't have enough support in the hind to do it.
I also had not lunged him before riding the past couple rides and will return to lunging him to warm up his topline first the next time he's ridden, as I expect his canterwork will improve with lunging first.
He also was less "stuck" in the huge extended trot and was able to transition into a trot with less vigorous "jump" and more collection. For the first time, he was not coming up off the vertical so violently in his transitions, and by the end he was actually transitioning pretty softly in his poll (as long as I gave him a big release from pressure as a positive reward for going forward). We worked on LOTS of serpentines and trotting while changing direction. While he was fresh, he was excellent, perfect, soft, responsive! But I could feel the hock begin to break down underneath me as the session went on, and his framework and tension built. I was very careful in working through it, asking him to "just try" and the moment he did, I would lessen my seat, rein, and sometimes let him walk as well if he showed lots of effort. We did lots of transition work and worked with learning the "gaits within gaits", learning how to support himself a little more on his hind and generally re-learning his trot gait, as I could feel he's been compensating for a while and has to un-learn that way of going.
He's still in pain and will need further therapy to get him fully sound, but overall he is responding well and showing improvement! He leg yields were soft, relaxed, and excellent. He even tried to give me a trot shoulder-in! The only thing I really had to get on him about was his lack of paying attention to my seat in walk-halt transitions. His ears would telegraph that he'd gotten the cue, and he'd half-halt, but he would continue to saunter along and not actually stop until I really used the reins to get his attention.
I did a couple quick canter circles at the end, but he was already spent and bunny-hopped in his canter in both directions. He tried to relax down and round in the canter, but just didn't have enough support in the hind to do it.
I also had not lunged him before riding the past couple rides and will return to lunging him to warm up his topline first the next time he's ridden, as I expect his canterwork will improve with lunging first.
Val 4/18
Val just did some quick, quiet work today. He has issues with backing when the bit gets put into his mouth (Fran is getting his teeth done when he heads back home for a month) and has issues trying to knock into you with his jawbone while haltering. So, I took a halter and bridle down to his paddock and just worked with him on putting it on and taking it off about 100 times. Also worked with letting me handle his ears and just general head-handling work while in the open. It's different when the horse is in a stall or confined area, but when you're at a show and you realize you've never put a bridle on your horse out in the open, it's an eye opening experience! Some horses just stand there, but Val likes to try to back out of it or walk away. So, we worked on "bridleing" and "haltering" in the open. It also gives him a chance to retreat to a larger distance and then get more and more comfortable with the experience as well.
Val 4/17
Fran visited today and Val was excellently behaved, especially considering the "distraction" of having "mom" there :-) Of course, part of that could have been me telling him that if he wasn't on his best behavior, his "mom" was going to leave him with me FOREVER. Boy, did he straighten out quick! LOL!!!!
I reviewed with Fran all of the various commands I use in general handling with Val. I showed her the "rules" I have set up for him, and how subtly he (and any horse) can test them. At this time, Val is in "boot camp" and cannot get away with a SINGLE infraction. It also takes very real attention to notice when he's even thinking of breaking a rule (like "no pawing while in crossties" or "don't move into my space when I walking around you" etc). I showed her how to watch for even subtle shifts in his balance, and to watch his face and eyes for any indications of him thinking of nipping etc. I also advised her NOT to get into his space at this time, NOT to handle his mouth/lips at this time, and to make VERY sure that playtime is playtime but work is work. I advised her while he's JUST starting to learn these new boundaries and they're really starting to sink in, NOT to tempt him to break the rules by getting into his space and giving him openings for misbehaving. I have started to purposely break the rules, and show him that I can get into HIS space any time I want, but he must never get into mine without being invited. He's learned this with me, but he needs more repetition with Fran before he can start to leanr the difference between work and play and purposeful invitation.
I showed Fran his cues for moving his hips over or asking to back in the crossties. Val likes to pretend he's made out of stone and will stand and plant when asked to move at times, sometimes even shifting his weight INTO you in defiance. So I showed her an easy way to get his attention when touching his hip points and asking him to move over by using a hoofpick to "poke" on the hip a little. I've worked with him on this, and if he doesn't listen to a gentle finger put on his hip and the verbal "over", then I go to putting my whole hand on his hip and pushing. If that doesn't work, I touch him with the hoofpick and over he goes in a flash :-) Next time I go to ask, I usually don't need the hoofpick! I also showed Fran some of the "rules" I have set for him and the exceptions. When we went to secure the field the round pen is in, we left Val tied and walked away (he ties like a champ--Fran made sure of that with hours of tying him and primping LOL!) and he started to paw once I was out of sight. She told me and I told her that was ok. As long as I can't see him pawing and it's not in a human's presence, I'm ok with it. Paw all day in solitude. Do not paw while I work with you.
I showed Fran the universal "finger up" in his face and big "negative noise" I use to let him know he's doing something wrong. I put a lead line on him and we took a walk first so I could also show her the "right turn" cue I train into all horses, especially horses I have to prep for halter shows and doing the triangle (all right turns!). I instructed her that any time he came within a 2 foot bubble to cue him with the lead laid across his neck (like a neck rein) and cue his shoulder to move to the right. It kept him at at least a 2 foot distance from me, which also quells the temptation to nip etc. He walked quietly on a loose lead, no chain. We did lots of stops, starts, standing with her walking all around him like a judge (I do a lot of inhand sporthorse show training), touching him and walking away. We did backing on a long lead, working on a "pillow" of space and him backing away when I went into the "pillow" of space. I showed Fran how to raise her hand, send "energy" down the lead and walk into him (without getting too close!!) and reinforcing with the in-hand whip if necessary to back up. Again, an escalation of cues if the first subtle cue is not heeded. I handed her the lead and coached her through all the moves. I also explained step by step any time he wasn't listening and why, giving her instruction on how to get better responsiveness.
I also showed Fran how she needs to give Val verbal warning before just asking him to stop. I showed her the set "rules" that he has for walking (i.e. he cannot turn his head into me, he must look straight ahead etc.) and showed her how and when to reinforce them. I explained using a warning word "and" as a verbal half-halt to prepare Val to know she'll be asking him to stop. A common mistake in riding, leading and lunging is to suddenly screech on the brakes without warning. That simple "and (pause).....ho." verbal warning kept him from skewing his body around her when she would suddenly ask him to stop.
We went into the round pen and did lunge work in harness. He stood like a champ for getting the harness on and stood well for walking into the gates (he would fidget like crazy before, trying to eat the lunge line, trying to back, getting generally bored etc). At first, we had our daily battle of "you must walk past the mare" (who despises him and rushes the round pen wall, ears pinned and teeth bared, when he gets close) for about 5 minutes. We do this every time, and he stops trying. I did show Fran how to be proactive in KNOWING he's going to try to stop and stand with the horses on the other side of the fence and to start cueing him to remain going forward 2-3 strides ahead and to "lay off" and let him roll when he's going forward willingly. I worked him briefly in both directions to demonstrate and to motivate him forward when he tested with the horse distraction, then handed the lunge line over and coached Fran through doing the same thing. She was thrilled with how responsive he was to walk, trot, stop, stand and NO CHEWING. Not during bitting, lunging, leading, NOTHING. She was floored by the "no chewing" :-)
Fran took the harness off of Val (and he stood like a rock) and then hopped on him bareback for a few rounds around the round pen while lunging. I was proud of her, as I pushed her a little outside her comfort zone and she rose to the occasion with bravery and grace. They lunged around me for a few minutes and we walked into the barn, quiet as a mouse. I showed her how the "right turn" cue works with the bridle as well, showing her how he already knows indirect rein :-)
I reviewed with Fran all of the various commands I use in general handling with Val. I showed her the "rules" I have set up for him, and how subtly he (and any horse) can test them. At this time, Val is in "boot camp" and cannot get away with a SINGLE infraction. It also takes very real attention to notice when he's even thinking of breaking a rule (like "no pawing while in crossties" or "don't move into my space when I walking around you" etc). I showed her how to watch for even subtle shifts in his balance, and to watch his face and eyes for any indications of him thinking of nipping etc. I also advised her NOT to get into his space at this time, NOT to handle his mouth/lips at this time, and to make VERY sure that playtime is playtime but work is work. I advised her while he's JUST starting to learn these new boundaries and they're really starting to sink in, NOT to tempt him to break the rules by getting into his space and giving him openings for misbehaving. I have started to purposely break the rules, and show him that I can get into HIS space any time I want, but he must never get into mine without being invited. He's learned this with me, but he needs more repetition with Fran before he can start to leanr the difference between work and play and purposeful invitation.
I showed Fran his cues for moving his hips over or asking to back in the crossties. Val likes to pretend he's made out of stone and will stand and plant when asked to move at times, sometimes even shifting his weight INTO you in defiance. So I showed her an easy way to get his attention when touching his hip points and asking him to move over by using a hoofpick to "poke" on the hip a little. I've worked with him on this, and if he doesn't listen to a gentle finger put on his hip and the verbal "over", then I go to putting my whole hand on his hip and pushing. If that doesn't work, I touch him with the hoofpick and over he goes in a flash :-) Next time I go to ask, I usually don't need the hoofpick! I also showed Fran some of the "rules" I have set for him and the exceptions. When we went to secure the field the round pen is in, we left Val tied and walked away (he ties like a champ--Fran made sure of that with hours of tying him and primping LOL!) and he started to paw once I was out of sight. She told me and I told her that was ok. As long as I can't see him pawing and it's not in a human's presence, I'm ok with it. Paw all day in solitude. Do not paw while I work with you.
I showed Fran the universal "finger up" in his face and big "negative noise" I use to let him know he's doing something wrong. I put a lead line on him and we took a walk first so I could also show her the "right turn" cue I train into all horses, especially horses I have to prep for halter shows and doing the triangle (all right turns!). I instructed her that any time he came within a 2 foot bubble to cue him with the lead laid across his neck (like a neck rein) and cue his shoulder to move to the right. It kept him at at least a 2 foot distance from me, which also quells the temptation to nip etc. He walked quietly on a loose lead, no chain. We did lots of stops, starts, standing with her walking all around him like a judge (I do a lot of inhand sporthorse show training), touching him and walking away. We did backing on a long lead, working on a "pillow" of space and him backing away when I went into the "pillow" of space. I showed Fran how to raise her hand, send "energy" down the lead and walk into him (without getting too close!!) and reinforcing with the in-hand whip if necessary to back up. Again, an escalation of cues if the first subtle cue is not heeded. I handed her the lead and coached her through all the moves. I also explained step by step any time he wasn't listening and why, giving her instruction on how to get better responsiveness.
I also showed Fran how she needs to give Val verbal warning before just asking him to stop. I showed her the set "rules" that he has for walking (i.e. he cannot turn his head into me, he must look straight ahead etc.) and showed her how and when to reinforce them. I explained using a warning word "and" as a verbal half-halt to prepare Val to know she'll be asking him to stop. A common mistake in riding, leading and lunging is to suddenly screech on the brakes without warning. That simple "and (pause).....ho." verbal warning kept him from skewing his body around her when she would suddenly ask him to stop.
We went into the round pen and did lunge work in harness. He stood like a champ for getting the harness on and stood well for walking into the gates (he would fidget like crazy before, trying to eat the lunge line, trying to back, getting generally bored etc). At first, we had our daily battle of "you must walk past the mare" (who despises him and rushes the round pen wall, ears pinned and teeth bared, when he gets close) for about 5 minutes. We do this every time, and he stops trying. I did show Fran how to be proactive in KNOWING he's going to try to stop and stand with the horses on the other side of the fence and to start cueing him to remain going forward 2-3 strides ahead and to "lay off" and let him roll when he's going forward willingly. I worked him briefly in both directions to demonstrate and to motivate him forward when he tested with the horse distraction, then handed the lunge line over and coached Fran through doing the same thing. She was thrilled with how responsive he was to walk, trot, stop, stand and NO CHEWING. Not during bitting, lunging, leading, NOTHING. She was floored by the "no chewing" :-)
Fran took the harness off of Val (and he stood like a rock) and then hopped on him bareback for a few rounds around the round pen while lunging. I was proud of her, as I pushed her a little outside her comfort zone and she rose to the occasion with bravery and grace. They lunged around me for a few minutes and we walked into the barn, quiet as a mouse. I showed her how the "right turn" cue works with the bridle as well, showing her how he already knows indirect rein :-)
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