Wednesday 29th April
Good weather today, bit chilly but dry and that's good enough for me. Here is today's play session:
1) Friendly:
Grooming with hand, extreme friendly with cs/ss and then also rope over head from Z3. All good with these.
2) Circles on the Move:
I put the halter around his neck today, not tight, just seeing if he will work from this like it is at liberty. He does circles no problem at trot, pop in a few jumps and he has no problem doing that.
3) Fig 8's:
At trot and canter, trotting is great, canter he does them quite close to me so I make sure he's further out today, using more of the 22' and he does canter with FLC's for about 3 circuits. Fab ;-)
4) Jump Circles:
Do lots of circles and move around two jumps I have set up at right angles to each other. By moving around the jumps he gets to jump each jump differently each time, then I ask for COD and do it again the other way, in trot and canter. He does well and doesn't miss a jump.
5) Saddle/Bridle:
He has a bit of trouble with the french link again, okay once in and I will definitely go back to the regular snaffle tomorrow (or when I ride again) to see if it's a change in what we're doing or the bit that's making him move his head about more. I take the reins off and with the halter under the bridle I cinch him in three cinchings.
6) Take halter off under bridle:
Thought I'd take piccie's of how this is done so that you can see it...hope it makes sense from the piccies'....
7) Clover leaf:
We do this in finesse in rising trot to the left twice, rest and then to the right twice. He does it very well and is getting the hang of circles more now.
8) Ride the rail:
I decide to take him out of the large rectangular arena and use the rest of the field. It is straight and flat at the top but is on a hill the rest of the way so we have to go down a hill, along the bottom and then up the hill again before re-riding the outer rail of the arena. We start at the top in trot, go down the hill in walk, trot the bottom and then trot up the hill which has 6 trotting poles which he does very nicely.
We do this twice but the third time he stops dead before the down hill - won't budge an inch and decides he needs to go backwards. I make no headway at all but asking him to try so there is something worrying him (probably a deer in the next field!) SO instead of giving up I turn him and ask him to back all the way down the hill which he does very willingly, I am hardly moving the reins at all. I stop now and then to make sure it is me asking him to do this rather than him rushing backwards and it is me!! When we get to the bottom I turn him and he trots the bottom and up the other side without a problem!! weird ;-)
Then I ask him to go the other way and again he can't move, this time he can only go sideways, to the left so I ask him to really go sideways right to the other side which he does beautifully, then I turn him and canter up that side of the hill and rest him at the top. He was worried about something (could be stoats or mink in the stone wall!) but he wasn't RB or anything like that or I would have gotten off.
9) Jumps:
To end the session I choose two jumps at opposite ends of the big arena and he does them well, with a little canter in between them. I actually use the 'butterfly' rein for both jumps to make sure I don't accidentaly hurt his mouth with my hands. He's becomming very confident about jumping now ;-)
Good session, lots of riding especially trot, trying to build up his stamina and help make those back legs stronger.
To end the session I choose two jumps at opposite ends of the big arena and he does them well, with a little canter in between them. I actually use the 'butterfly' rein for both jumps to make sure I don't accidentaly hurt his mouth with my hands. He's becomming very confident about jumping now ;-)
Good session, lots of riding especially trot, trying to build up his stamina and help make those back legs stronger.
Tuesday 28th April
On Saturday I played and hacked out on Tara. On Sunday I played with big Stormy. This week was for playing with Solly again but yesterday it was drizzly and cold and today it is much the same making it very cold and very wet to play in. Sollys quite enamoured with our chestnut Fortune at the moment so he's got things on his mind ;-) I will try to get out when it's time at least dryer, at least the rain will help the grass grow which is good.
Eventually the rain stops and I manage to get out to give 4 of the horses a good groom and get rid of some more hairyness. I didn't get time to play but Solly followed me around a bit and we had some cuddles and he also tried to help with the poo-picking which was nice....
Friday 24th April
Today is nice and dry and not too hot so here is what we did today:
1) Grooming:
At liberty, he stands still for lots of good scratches and less and less hair moulting now. phew!
2) Stick to me:
Do this from the bottom of the field to the 50' roundpen, w/t/bckup.
3) Saddle:
Today I decide to saddle at liberty before playing so that we can play around with the saddle on.
4) Liberty Circles:
I ask him to circle at liberty with the saddle on and we get some great upwards transitions, trot, canter and a bit of a gallop too! yeehaa. I do this both sides using a COD and then DHQ to me for a long rest.
5) Bridling:
Today I put the bridle on over the halter so that I can use the halter/22' rope to play still whilst the bridle is on. I take the finesse reins off and we do some playing with circles to settle him down ready for riding.
6) Halter off:
Once the bridle is on it looks impossible to get the halter off from underneath it when ready to ride but I learned a neat trick from two x-pnh instructors (Dave Stuart and Inge Larsson) where you undo the halter as normal, bring the halter down over the nose, put the nose piece into the horses mouth, over and under the bit and hey presto your halter is off! Very cool and Solly did it without any fuss at all! ;-)
7) Riding:
Started with Clover leaf pattern (w/15m circles) to the left two circuits with and then to the right two circuits with a break in the middle. Solly did very well, I was using concentrated reins but I was using my body to make the turns and it felt very smooth and synchronised. All that freestyle is paying off now.
8) Ride the rail:
Used one very long top rail to ride along doing LOTS of w/t/w/t transitions along it. Trying to get his energy up and his responses snappier.
9) Weave:
Using the top rail which is made up of 17 poly posts about 6' apart we weave beautifully with a concentrated rein along it a couple of times.
10) Bow Tie:
I use this pattern very loosely in trot, trying to get him to 'let loose' a bit, relax but also to keep his attention. I want him to learn the pattern so that when it comes to doing them in canter he knows where he's going.
11) Serpentines:
Again with a concentrated rein we do quite few of these making sure I really get a good bend with some leg yield before going around the corners. Sol does a great job with them.
12) Fig 8's:
At trot with concentrated reins, again using the leg yield to create a good bend in the centre (X) before going on the next circle. He does these very well and I'm very pleased with how they're going. So I upp the anti and ask for canter around the circles with trot SLC's in the centre. We do two circuits of this well and then I stop at X for a big rest. I need to work on my position and generally be a better rider and then it will be much easier for him but we're working things out together which is good. I need to ride for much longer to get better so thank goodness the good weather is here more often, maybe by the end of the year I won't have to 'think' about how to do a canter lead as it will be a good muscle memory by then ;-)
13) Stand on Ped:
He stands with front feet but he doesn't want to put all 4 on so don't push it, will keep trying this though.
14) Sidepass over log:
He seems a bit worried about trying to sidepass over the whole log so I position him in the centre of the log, get him to put his front feet over it and then sidepass to the left. I then do it again but sidepass to the right. He sidepasses very well so I will work on getting the whole log under him as we go.
15) Canter in open field:
Today I pluck up the courage to go to the bottom of our field (which has a good hill in it) and ask him to just 'GO' and see what he gives me. I was worried that he'd run off, gallop with bucks and all sorts of naughtiness BUT what did he give me? A few steps of canter and then a petered out trot/walk. I laughed so much, he really can be a LBint when he wants to be. I must admit that if we continue riding more and he gets fitter then he may just gallop up the hill but we can get fitter together, physically and emotionally for that one ;-)
Had a very good day, after grooming him again I let him loose and I sit and watch whilst he grazes nearby for a good 10 mins after session. Today was fun.
Thursday 23rd April
Started off as drizzly and misty but soon it was dry and turning out warm and sunny so off I go to trim Tara's feet. I wasn't sure if I was up for playing today after doing Tara's trim, thought about giving Solly a day off but he was there and almost willing me to go play with him by staring at me lots when I was with Tara SO play I did. Here's what we got up to today.
1) Catching game:
Started off playing this as Solly was having fun playing with me today. He caught me fine when he'd had his bit of fun working the herd up into a canter around the field...he's such a show off ;-) Played lots of friendly game and he was ready to play with me then.
2) Stick to me:
At liberty again in the large field, brought him up to the 50' roundpen with w/t/bckup no problem. I then do this with some canter too in the roundpen.
3) Liberty circles:
Tried these out for fun really, wasn't sure what he'd do, he used to change gait and try to change direction sometimes before but today he was cool. He did a few laps at trot just like being online and I didn't leave him out there for to long so it didn't bore him. Played around with some cod's and on his draw too, so looking much better than before. I then put a barrel on the circle and asked him to jump this squeeze style and then on the circle too and he managed two jumps and then avoided it just for fun ;-)
1) Catching game:
Started off playing this as Solly was having fun playing with me today. He caught me fine when he'd had his bit of fun working the herd up into a canter around the field...he's such a show off ;-) Played lots of friendly game and he was ready to play with me then.
2) Stick to me:
At liberty again in the large field, brought him up to the 50' roundpen with w/t/bckup no problem. I then do this with some canter too in the roundpen.
3) Liberty circles:
Tried these out for fun really, wasn't sure what he'd do, he used to change gait and try to change direction sometimes before but today he was cool. He did a few laps at trot just like being online and I didn't leave him out there for to long so it didn't bore him. Played around with some cod's and on his draw too, so looking much better than before. I then put a barrel on the circle and asked him to jump this squeeze style and then on the circle too and he managed two jumps and then avoided it just for fun ;-)
4) Liberty Circles w/obstacles:
Then I put a barrel near the circle and a cone the other side and asked him to walk, then trot and finally trot/canter to one obstacle and stop at it. He really got this idea quickly and after a few tries it didn't take much to stop him next to the obstacle. Cool ;-)
5) Riding Bareback:
Well I didn't think I'd be riding today let along bareback!!!! I just decided it might be fun SO I mounted from a block and checked out our LF and DHQ. I then put the Savvy String around his neck (had hackamore on for safety) and used only the CS and neck string for guidance for a change. I asked him for fig 8's in walk and then ride the rail with some circles in walk/trot and finally I asked him to ride the rail in trot/canter....yeehhaaaaaaa ;-) He was very smooth and I stayed on okay.
6) Sideways 22' line:
After a good fun riding session I went back to online and decided to do some sideways over things. First up was a small tyre, he was worried about these last time but today he went over quite well from the left and right.
Next I asked him to sideways over a log with me sitting down on a log in Z1. He did exceptionally well going to the left but had a bit of trouble going to the right but we got there with patience and lots of rests.
After this I asked him to sideways over my triple logs (two at bottom one on top to make a small jump) with me sitting on the ground 15' away in Z3. He did this one very well, slowly, but very well and I let him graze for quite a while after this.
Finally on sideways I asked him to TRY thinking about sideways over a barrel. He has real trouble with this so I asked quietly and got him to where he could put his side right next to the barrel on both the left and right but left it there for today. I must work on this one as I know it's just a matter of helping him through it.
7) Online Fig 8's:
Finally I tried our fig 8's again, he went straight into canter did three sides (left, right, left) all with FLC's and we stopped on such a superbly good note. He looked chuffed at himself and I was really chuffed with him.
I took his halter off and rubbed him all over and sat on the ground next to him. He relaxed and watched over me for 10 mins or so and then I got up, rubbed him, hugged him and walked off giving him my signal that play was over. He glanced at me quickly and then trotted over to our herd leaderＨolly who was lying down and proceeded to watch over her instead. He's such a fun boy and I'm glad I went and played with him today ;-)))))))
Wednesday 22nd April
Sunny weather, bit of a breeze, perfect for play with Solly. Today there was a tractor ploughing the field next door to our field so I wasn't sure how Solly would react/respond to that so took things slowly but here's what we did:
1) Friendly:
Grooming at liberty and rubbing him all over with hands and CS/SS
2) Stick to me:
At liberty we played with walk, trot and back up through the field to where I left the halter/rope. He did very well and never thought about leaving which was lovely.
3) Circles:
22' line in the 100' roundpen we worked on moving his shoulder, ribs or HQ's over in walk and trot. I move his body about with my hand, whichever part needs moving to help him arch his circles moore. He's slowly getting the hang of this.
4) Fig8's:
Solly was cool with these today, I started at walk, swiftly went into trot and then he had the energy for canter and he gave me a few canter fig's with FLC's. Still working on getting his right shoulder over more and quicker but he looked so pleased with himself today for getting it done so nicely. Just proves what prior and proper preparation does! lol.
5) Long Reining:
Went over to the 45' line and doubled it over for long reining. We went next to the rail at walk and trot with turns to the left and right. Then I asked for the fig 8's again with me standing still near the middle of the two cones. He went at a very slow walk but managed a few of these. Once he is more confident about what he's doing it will be easier, so just taking it really slowly with this for now. He tries his heart out for me which is so lovely ;-)
6) Stand on Pedastal:
Today I ask him to stand with two feet and then all four feet on the ped from about 30 feet away. I make sure I don't move my feet once and he does it for me so nicely.
7) Weave:
Using the 45' line still I stand about 12' away from a line of polypoles about 12' apart and weave Solly through them at walk and trot. It's taking less and less to drive and draw him and he's not rushing through them with me having trouble keep up like he used to do. Good fun ;-)
8) Circling:
On the 45' line again I ask for some circles with more energy today. He gives me quite a bit of canter and it's lovely to see him stretch himself more now. I manage to move around with him in canter and incorporate a couple of the jumps for him too, again which he is putting more energy into now. He's not stopped once at a jump for a long while now and he seems to quite like doing them which is cool ;-)
9) Ridden Finesse:
After saddling and bridling with the finesse bridle I go to the 100' roundpen (for safety as the tractor is still in the next field) and play around with riding the rail at walk, trot and canter. All goes well and Sol feels okay about being ridden with the tractor next door.
10) Finesse Fig 8's:
Playing around with walk and trot on the fig 8's. He's very responsive in finesse and I work on getting my balance better for him.
11) YinYang:
This pattern is where we do a circle on the rail then come towards the centre in an arc from the rail to the centre and then change the direction of our travel by arcing back out to the rail. I worked in trot and then worked on trot through the centre and asking for canter out of the rail again giving us some SLC's through the centre. We need to work on this as we've not done a lot of transitions involving canter but this is a good way to start more.
12) Open Gate:
Again today I work on opening the electric fencing (not on) around the pen, sideling him over and closing it again. He's really getting the hang of this now and is much lighter and easier to move around the fenceline.
13) Jumps:
As a finale I put him to the two jumps photographed above going from one to the other in an arc and he did both of them beautifully.
Had a fab session today and must really start doing more ridden work, hopefully the tractor won't be there tomorrow and I'll keep my fingers crossed that the weather is good again ;-)
Tuesday 21st April
In between sun and showers I go out to play with Solly. Didn't get time to ride as the rain came down big time whilst I was out and I was soaked and had to come in. But here is what we did today:
1) Friendly game:
Grooming with my hands, all over his body, getting some of that hairiness out.
2) Stick to me:
On the 22' line we did walk, trot and backups
3) Circling:
6 laps at trot which went superbly today, I then went into asking him to move his ribs over on he circle in walk and trot and he did a bit better today.
4) Fig 8's:
Well I stuck to the 22' line today and made sure the cones weren't too far apart and he did great fig 8's at trot and then he did them in canter, the first couple with SLC's and then the last two with FLC's. I was over the moon ;-) what a clever boy to figure out how to do a FLC at the centre of the fig 8 ;-)))
5) Long reining:
We then went to the 45' line and did some long reining. First along the inside fence of the 100' roundpen where we did walk, trot, turns to the left and right. I then went to the fig 8 cones and he did figure 8's at walk with me standing still in the middle. He did so well, only did a couple and then rewarded him with a long rest for being such a clever boy ;-))
6) Liberty:
In the 100' roundpen we did stick to me at walk, trot and canter and then I asked for backups from zones 3, 4 and 5 (the tail).
7) Jumps:
I then went back to the 22' line and out of the pen into my large rectangular arena area where I have set up the 4 cones for the clover leaf pattern in the centre but popped a few barrel and tyre jumps around the sides. Solly did multiple jumps on a circle with a change of direction thrown in for fun. He did the jumps beautifully and without hesitation.
8) Sideways:
Today just before getting soaked by the rain we did sideways towards well, he's better coming to me ith his left eye but the other way is getting better, he's willing but just a little crooked (more head than HQ's). After this I tried sideways from Z5 and he obliged beautifully to both the left and the right.
Fabulous play session today, he was totally fun, willing and eager to please. When I put him back with the herd he had a touch of spring fever and ran around the field with the herd for a few mins which was lovely to see. He's such a playful boy and Im totally grateful for his attention in our play sessions nowadays. He's such fun to be with.
Sunday 19th April
Another lovely sunny day so Mark and I go and get our horses to catch us and play ready for a short hack out again. Today catching was easier as they're all in the top play field so they're in the right place to start with. This is what Solly and I played with on the 45' line before the hack:
1) Friendly:
1) Friendly:
Mainly grooming, he Summer coat is coming through now and not so much hair coming out.
2) Yo-yo:
Worked on these for a bit ready for our circling and fig 8's.
Worked on these for a bit ready for our circling and fig 8's.
3) Circles:
Getting his energy up and asking for some canter with this now too.
4) Figure 8's:
These went okay, he still has a problem drawing to me from a longer distance. He can do the fig 8's at walk and trot and often canter on the 22' line but he get's that 'lost' feeling when he's on the 45' line with the cones further apart so will work on this more to find out what it is that bothers him so!
These went okay, he still has a problem drawing to me from a longer distance. He can do the fig 8's at walk and trot and often canter on the 22' line but he get's that 'lost' feeling when he's on the 45' line with the cones further apart so will work on this more to find out what it is that bothers him so!
5) Jumping:
Today I challenged Solly (and myself) to see if he could jump 2 barrels when I'm sitting on one end of one of them...he did pretty well and I was impressed with his calmness and clarity going over the jumps.
Today I challenged Solly (and myself) to see if he could jump 2 barrels when I'm sitting on one end of one of them...he did pretty well and I was impressed with his calmness and clarity going over the jumps.
6) Saddling/Bridling:
Saddling fine, bridling a pain in the butt again today. He just wouldn't take the bit. I played the 'game' with him for ages and then decided to go to the right side of him and he took it almost instantly!! Should have remembered that one. I use the finesse bit (french link) and finesse reins today so this is a bit different but on hacks he's better with concentrated reins so a french link is for two rein communication rather than the single jointed snaffe I use for the freestyle one rein riding we do.
7) Cinch Playing:
Today I do some circling with porcupine to help him bend around me in circles, he does this well and I find a good spot where he's bending with the driving game too.
8) Riding:
I start to ride him in the field to make sure we're safe before going out.
9) Transitions:
Around the 100' roundpen I ask for LOTS of walk/trot/walk transitions. Then I put some backup in it and then I ask for walk/canter/walk/halt transitions. He is very light and getting more balanced in canter now.
10) Freestyle Fig 8's:
He did these very well today, I just tried to stick to using the CS rather than the reins and we did quite a few fig 8's.
11) Hack out:
Mark and I go down the short route we've been doing over last weekend and Solly is light, responsive and calm. I use a concentrated but light rein and he is a joy to ride. He has one bad spot, near a house (which all our horses seem to dislike ;-) and I have to get off and lead him through a sticky patch. Once he's going again I re-mount and we head for home.
Again we come down the squeezey lane, past the big stones (not bothered) and the big bag of stones for the road (not bothered about these either now) and we walk down the tunnel bit without a problem. He is very alert, head up but not nervous or worried like he was the first or second times down here. We get to the fence and I get off and lead him to the river...he goes into and through the river first time today and I'm so proud of him. I then re-mount at a fence and we walk to the gate. Mark and Holly open the gate but me and Solly close it so he's getting good at standing still for me to lean over him and close these metal gates now.
In the big field I again work him quietly through some circles, fig 8's and serpentines until he's very soft, it doesn't take long and he really is a lovely ride when he's working in finesse ;-)
When we get home Mark trims Hollys hooves and I do a bit of trimming on Solly's too, just to keep them in shape as now that Spring is here they do grow longer quicker. After this Mark and I jump on our horses bareback and ride back to the field in walk and trot. This is the first time I've ever done this, Solly was calm and confident and a lovely ride back to the field. A great end to a lovely day ;-))
Saturday 18th April
Well today was the big field move day, we've moved all the horses up to the play field as the other Winter field needs a rest now and the playfield has some nice grass just growing in it so we can stop feeding hay now! yeehaa. They all went up to the field two at a time and it was great to see them moseying about the field grazing and resting in the sunshine.
In the afternoon we decided we'd go up and poo pick the field and groom them or just BE with them as it was such a lovely day we just wanted to be with them. After poo picking I decided to take some pictures of them and then something funny happened whilst I was photographing them. I'll let the pictures tell the story......
What could Solly be worried about...
It's even worried Holly and Stormy...
Even stalwart Tara is concerned about something...
what could it be?...
Oh what a scary thing...Shelley being a predator on the ground! ;-)
Solly really is curious but quite unconfident about it all...
Back and forth I go to get him curious but less unconfident...
They're a bit softer and confident when I go away from them...
I walked about what seemed like the whole field for about 20 mins to try to help them get over their worry, they started following me a bit. Stormy, Tara and Holly were quicker to realise it was just me mucking about but Solly and Fortune had a harder time being convinced. I stopped regularly when they were calm and they grazed around me closer and closer. It was good fun to see how they became less concerned as I continued being on the ground...funny how something upset them isn't it ;-)
By the end of the session I was lying on the ground and Stormy and Sol came over to say hi to me and get some scratches.
By the end of the session I was lying on the ground and Stormy and Sol came over to say hi to me and get some scratches.
The field doesn't have water in it so we've supplied it with a water bowser and trough and I made sure they were all cool with that scary thing before leaving them for the day.
Tara, Stormy and Solly at the 'Watering Hole' ;-)Thursday 16th April
Today I still feel a bit under the weather but manage to get out with Solly for a short while, this is what we got up to today:
1) Friendly game:
Just hand brush him all over and get some relaxation in whilst he grazes.
2) Stick to me:
At walk and trot, try to porcupine his HQ's or FQ's or ribs over if sticking in my space. Do this until he relaxes around me more.
3) S bends:
These are like the falling leaf but with me walking backwards. I'm looking for relaxation and softness with these and his ability to move his head and shoulders over rather than into me. He does really well with them.
4) Fig 8's:
With only the 12' line today he does really well in walk and trot.
5) Circling:
I go for 12-15 laps at trot today and he just goes out and does them...yeehaa ;-) When he's done enough I end on asking him to move the part of his body either side that is sticking into my 'bubble' as with point number 2. I'm trying to get him to 'let loose' to me, lower his head, blow through the nose etc but it seems really hard for him. Will keep practising this exercise though to help him, this should really help him when we're riding too.
6) Put your foot on...
Today it's a tyre, he's still worried about the small tyres in the field so I don't ask him too much but want him just to put his foot on the side of it. After a while he does this and we move off.
7) Circling at Liberty:
Something new! always fun to try. I stand myself in the centre of 4 cones (the middle of my QB pattern) and ask Sol to gently circle around me and the cones. When he moves his head to the outside of the circle I know he's thinking of going off so I gently DHQ's just a bit to bring his head back to me and the circle. After a couple of practises he does two full circles very slowly to the right and left ;-)
8) Circling:
I again do circles/stick to me as in point number 2. He is getting slightly more rounded and he's finding it a bit easier to move over when I porcupine him with my fingers. I let him graze for quite a while after this.
9) Riding:
Well I'm not up for much ridden but I ask him to sidle up to a mounting block a few times and jump up on his back from both sides and then just sit on him with one rein moving as he moves whilst he grazes. It felt good to just be up there and not doing anything for a change.
I enjoyed today, it was pretty undemanding stuff really and it felt good being able to play with Solly at close distance now without worrying about his hindlegs kicking out anymore. Cool ;-)
1) Friendly game:
Just hand brush him all over and get some relaxation in whilst he grazes.
2) Stick to me:
At walk and trot, try to porcupine his HQ's or FQ's or ribs over if sticking in my space. Do this until he relaxes around me more.
3) S bends:
These are like the falling leaf but with me walking backwards. I'm looking for relaxation and softness with these and his ability to move his head and shoulders over rather than into me. He does really well with them.
4) Fig 8's:
With only the 12' line today he does really well in walk and trot.
5) Circling:
I go for 12-15 laps at trot today and he just goes out and does them...yeehaa ;-) When he's done enough I end on asking him to move the part of his body either side that is sticking into my 'bubble' as with point number 2. I'm trying to get him to 'let loose' to me, lower his head, blow through the nose etc but it seems really hard for him. Will keep practising this exercise though to help him, this should really help him when we're riding too.
6) Put your foot on...
Today it's a tyre, he's still worried about the small tyres in the field so I don't ask him too much but want him just to put his foot on the side of it. After a while he does this and we move off.
7) Circling at Liberty:
Something new! always fun to try. I stand myself in the centre of 4 cones (the middle of my QB pattern) and ask Sol to gently circle around me and the cones. When he moves his head to the outside of the circle I know he's thinking of going off so I gently DHQ's just a bit to bring his head back to me and the circle. After a couple of practises he does two full circles very slowly to the right and left ;-)
8) Circling:
I again do circles/stick to me as in point number 2. He is getting slightly more rounded and he's finding it a bit easier to move over when I porcupine him with my fingers. I let him graze for quite a while after this.
9) Riding:
Well I'm not up for much ridden but I ask him to sidle up to a mounting block a few times and jump up on his back from both sides and then just sit on him with one rein moving as he moves whilst he grazes. It felt good to just be up there and not doing anything for a change.
I enjoyed today, it was pretty undemanding stuff really and it felt good being able to play with Solly at close distance now without worrying about his hindlegs kicking out anymore. Cool ;-)
Wednesday 15th April
(sorry about the size of writing, this blog sometimes has a mind of it's own and I've tried to adjust it to no avail! ;-)
(sorry about the size of writing, this blog sometimes has a mind of it's own and I've tried to adjust it to no avail! ;-)
Monday I was out watching a PNH course in Fife, yesterday we just wormed them, with the new Equimax tablets...so easy to feed them now, just like treats ;-) Today I wasn't feeling very well so I just went out in the afternoon and groomed a few of them. Solly really enjoyed his groom and when I first got to the field he came over straight away for some hugs...like he'd missed me. I missed him too and the gromming was lovely to spend some special time with him. Hopefully tomorrow I may feel a bit better and play a bit with Sol ;-)
Sunday 12th April
Great weather again so out we go and this is what we did today on the 22' line.
1) Grooming:
His coat is coming through nice and soft again, he's also looking in good condition. Today I put the saddle on before playing.
2) Yo-Yo:
This is a good game and it sets us up well for circles
3) Circles:
Like yesterday I put myself in the centre of 4 cones and he circles beautifully until I ask him to stop, not sure how many laps he just stays out there until told otherwise which is so fab now. It's only taken a week and I quite like circles now, so does he ;-)
4) Fig 8's:
We do this in walk and then trot and after a break I ask for it in canter but go back to trot as he got a bit confused.
5) Jumps:
He squeezes over the barrels beautifully, calmly and from a standstill.
6) Mount:
I stand on the laying down barrels and mount Solly from there today. He's really got the hang of sidling up to me for this. I then do my ridden session.
7) LF, DHQ
Goes well as normal
8) Fig 8's:
Today I did this in the open field around 2 cones and Solly actually did really well. I used a HUGE amount of focus which I really think helped us.
9) Ride the Rail:
Did this around the outside of the 100' roundpen, first w/t/w/t then I tried w/c/w transitions. These are going to take time I know but I will start doing more of these and I will start counting strides for it too as I think this will help us both.
10) Stand on Pedastal:
Today I decided to see if Sol would stand on the pedastal wtih me riding him. It took a few tries but then he just stands on it and it felt cool ;-)
11) Ride Out:
Mark and I go out on the same ride as yesterday but a bit shorter along the road before we turn around for home. I ride in the hackamore for a change.
When he sees he large white bag of stones he was not bad with it, we did some approach and retreat and then he went up to it and put his nose in it. Once he'd done that it was no longer an issue and we moved on. The large stones were also not so bad today and I used the same approach and retreat with these and Solly did well working out that they weren't going to harm him. We then retreated to some nice grazing for a short while as a reward.
Then I ride him down the pathway that yesterday I lead him down. He was very aware but he wasn't scared and I stroked his neck now and then for comfort and he did a brave job of going down the lane for me.
When we got to the part where we have to go through the side of the river because the gateway is blocked we managed to get down to the river but he was very unsure of going into the river with me riding him so I dismounted and took the time to squeeze him through the river. It took a little while but I made sure his confidence stayed in tact. He did a good job and was much quicker than yesterday. I then re-mount from the gate and he gets to graze for a reward.
We then ride on to another gate that is the back of the horses Summer grazing field so Solly knows the field and I was a little concerned that he could rush off through it so my plan was to keep his focus on me going through this field. SO, what I do is lots of finesse circles, figure 8's around grass tussocks and serpentines to the next gate out of the field. Solly doesn't put a foot wrong, he is calm, collected, willing, his turns are smooth and flowing, it felt wonderful to ride him.
The last step of the ride is going past our house, up the road, past the pheasant pen and back to the horses field. We trot up the road and Sol doesn't worry when a pheasant goes past him. I really really enjoyed todays ride and I really feel Solly's confidence and trust in me growing each day. Realy feels good ;-)
Saturday 11th April
Weather is calm, trying to be sunny and no wind. Time to play ;-)
Today we did some good stuff, here is what we did on the 45' line:
1) Grooming/Friendly
Serious moulting today. lol ;-) But he really enjoys it and he gets to graze around while I do it which he loves. Great way to start.
2)Sideways:
Do this about 25' away from me without a fence which went very well both ways and then sideways towards which was very easy to do today. Cool ;-)
3) Circling:
I stand in the middle of 4 cones which mark the corners of a square (the square is about 12' square) and ask Sol to circle around me and the cones. I also ask for between 6-10 laps in trot. He does this well and it was funny to see that the first lap was outside the cones but all the others were inside the cones but not on top of me which was nice. The rope was slack and we were on a slight hill so Sol did very very well with his circles today.
4) Long Reining:
Today we do some more longreining but do it as Pat Parelli shows in the Patterns pack for Level 4 which is not with the 45' line but with 2 x 22' lines. They are heavier but he's okay with the ropes now around his body so we start with going forward, backup and left/right which was quite hard today. He really didn't understand forwards from me slapping him gently on the sides or butt with the side of the ropes (left CS today as too much in hands otherwise). I took it slowly and eventually he understood but went very very slowly. Once we had a semblance of forward movement I asked for a bit of left turn and then right turn. Again this was hard for him but he go it eventually. As a finale for todays longreining session I asked him to do a figure of eight with me walking behind him (not static in the normal fig 8 position yet) and we did that a couple of times and then left it there. We need more play with this but that's always the way when starting something totally new. I did find the 45' line easier to use as it's so light on his halter and hocks but we'll work with the 22's for now to see how it goes.
5) Saddle/Bridle:
Went well today
6) Ridden Fig 8's:
These went very well today, I really put an effort into pushing from the outside around the cones, putting my weight in to the outside stirrup and my butt on the outside and making my ribs in the right shape as I want him to do. I think this whole effort really helped him. I made sure also that I left the reins on his withers and only used my weight, position and CS if necessary. I only did this in walk today.
7) Transition:
Working in and also later outside the 100' roundpen I asked for transitions whilst riding the rail. We did w/t/c/t/w/backup on both reins and it was very calm and feeling much better and more balanced than ever before.
8) Gate opening:
I asked him to help me open and close 2 electric fences (not on obviously) and he's really getting the hang of me bending down to open it, getting him to go through, turn and face and then sideways over to the closing post for me to bend down and attach it closed again. Fun ;-)
9) Hack out:
Mark and I with Solly and Holly go down a nice quiet road today for our hack out. Solly was pretty calm and I made sure I listened to all his thresholds but today he had only a couple so that's a HUGE improvement. He walked and trotted on light commands. I had him working in finesse as I've found this is easier for him, like I'm holding his hand whilst out and it helps him relax too. I also had him doing some very nice leg yields from one side of the track to the other, this really helps him focus on me rather than on Mark and Holly cantering by! lol ;-)
Along the way are a group of trees quite close to each other and we often use these to see if our horses can weave inbetween, around and through them. Solly on a concentrated rein did fabulously well. Very light to comands and I was making sure I used my body weight more than the rein to emphasise freestyle riding and he was great.
We went for a couple of miles with some grazing spots along the way. We came across a local lad buzzing by on his scooter but he was kind enough to stop the engine and push the scooter past us as Solly was a bit high headed about it. When he got back on we used that opportunity to follow the scary thing for a while which helped.
Solly was still eager to get home so I asked for some little serpentines along the track and transitions. Although he gets very engaged in his hindquarters he is very very light to control and he goes into a fabulously bouncy trot which has a lovely feel to it. This is a very LB thing and it was great.
On the last bit of hack we go down a new track that we don't use on the way out. There were some pretty scary things down that, a big workers bag full of road stones, dogs barking, back gardens with kids in them but what really got Solly worried was two very LARGE stones in a field. He must have thought they were some HUGE animals there as he spooked slightly at them. I used the squeeze game from a distance with them and he went past okay in the end. Really do have to see it from the horses point of view don't you! ;-)
Lastly we had to squeeze down this pretty narrow corridor of trees, by a river, through some muddy track and I thought as it was Solly's first time down this track I would get off and lead him down it to help his confidence. I think he really appreciated me doing this.
9) River:
Lastly but not leastly we had to go into and out of the river 'Shee' to get past a fence. The gateway has been blocked by HUGE stones to stop kids on quad bikes going through but it doesn't deter us, we just go into the river. With our other horses (Tara, Stormy and Holly) they all have done this route and we can ride them into the river and out again BUT this was Solly's first time so I go around the fence and squeeze him around it, after he'd had a good drink that is. lol.
Today we did some good stuff, here is what we did on the 45' line:
1) Grooming/Friendly
Serious moulting today. lol ;-) But he really enjoys it and he gets to graze around while I do it which he loves. Great way to start.
2)Sideways:
Do this about 25' away from me without a fence which went very well both ways and then sideways towards which was very easy to do today. Cool ;-)
3) Circling:
I stand in the middle of 4 cones which mark the corners of a square (the square is about 12' square) and ask Sol to circle around me and the cones. I also ask for between 6-10 laps in trot. He does this well and it was funny to see that the first lap was outside the cones but all the others were inside the cones but not on top of me which was nice. The rope was slack and we were on a slight hill so Sol did very very well with his circles today.
4) Long Reining:
Today we do some more longreining but do it as Pat Parelli shows in the Patterns pack for Level 4 which is not with the 45' line but with 2 x 22' lines. They are heavier but he's okay with the ropes now around his body so we start with going forward, backup and left/right which was quite hard today. He really didn't understand forwards from me slapping him gently on the sides or butt with the side of the ropes (left CS today as too much in hands otherwise). I took it slowly and eventually he understood but went very very slowly. Once we had a semblance of forward movement I asked for a bit of left turn and then right turn. Again this was hard for him but he go it eventually. As a finale for todays longreining session I asked him to do a figure of eight with me walking behind him (not static in the normal fig 8 position yet) and we did that a couple of times and then left it there. We need more play with this but that's always the way when starting something totally new. I did find the 45' line easier to use as it's so light on his halter and hocks but we'll work with the 22's for now to see how it goes.
5) Saddle/Bridle:
Went well today
6) Ridden Fig 8's:
These went very well today, I really put an effort into pushing from the outside around the cones, putting my weight in to the outside stirrup and my butt on the outside and making my ribs in the right shape as I want him to do. I think this whole effort really helped him. I made sure also that I left the reins on his withers and only used my weight, position and CS if necessary. I only did this in walk today.
7) Transition:
Working in and also later outside the 100' roundpen I asked for transitions whilst riding the rail. We did w/t/c/t/w/backup on both reins and it was very calm and feeling much better and more balanced than ever before.
8) Gate opening:
I asked him to help me open and close 2 electric fences (not on obviously) and he's really getting the hang of me bending down to open it, getting him to go through, turn and face and then sideways over to the closing post for me to bend down and attach it closed again. Fun ;-)
9) Hack out:
Mark and I with Solly and Holly go down a nice quiet road today for our hack out. Solly was pretty calm and I made sure I listened to all his thresholds but today he had only a couple so that's a HUGE improvement. He walked and trotted on light commands. I had him working in finesse as I've found this is easier for him, like I'm holding his hand whilst out and it helps him relax too. I also had him doing some very nice leg yields from one side of the track to the other, this really helps him focus on me rather than on Mark and Holly cantering by! lol ;-)
Along the way are a group of trees quite close to each other and we often use these to see if our horses can weave inbetween, around and through them. Solly on a concentrated rein did fabulously well. Very light to comands and I was making sure I used my body weight more than the rein to emphasise freestyle riding and he was great.
We went for a couple of miles with some grazing spots along the way. We came across a local lad buzzing by on his scooter but he was kind enough to stop the engine and push the scooter past us as Solly was a bit high headed about it. When he got back on we used that opportunity to follow the scary thing for a while which helped.
Solly was still eager to get home so I asked for some little serpentines along the track and transitions. Although he gets very engaged in his hindquarters he is very very light to control and he goes into a fabulously bouncy trot which has a lovely feel to it. This is a very LB thing and it was great.
On the last bit of hack we go down a new track that we don't use on the way out. There were some pretty scary things down that, a big workers bag full of road stones, dogs barking, back gardens with kids in them but what really got Solly worried was two very LARGE stones in a field. He must have thought they were some HUGE animals there as he spooked slightly at them. I used the squeeze game from a distance with them and he went past okay in the end. Really do have to see it from the horses point of view don't you! ;-)
Lastly we had to squeeze down this pretty narrow corridor of trees, by a river, through some muddy track and I thought as it was Solly's first time down this track I would get off and lead him down it to help his confidence. I think he really appreciated me doing this.
9) River:
Lastly but not leastly we had to go into and out of the river 'Shee' to get past a fence. The gateway has been blocked by HUGE stones to stop kids on quad bikes going through but it doesn't deter us, we just go into the river. With our other horses (Tara, Stormy and Holly) they all have done this route and we can ride them into the river and out again BUT this was Solly's first time so I go around the fence and squeeze him around it, after he'd had a good drink that is. lol.
Enjoyed the whole day enormously and I'm very proud of dear Solly who is doing so well with his journey now. I actually remembered today that I've not seen his weird 'sweat patch' on his right shoulder for months now so this is a good indicator of his emotional fitness now ;-)
Friday 10th April
Today I was determined to get out with Solly. I was first going to take Solly up with Stormy as Mark had to trim Storm's feet and before that he needs to be played with and/or graze so that he stands still BUT since the rain has been bad their grazing field looks awful, all poached around the gate and so I decided to take ALL the horses up to the playfield so that they could all have some fresh grass and get off such soggy ground. So two by two I took them all up and set them free to graze.
By the time I was ready to play with Solly Mark came up to trim Storm's feet so I quickly play with him and stood at his head whilst Mark trims away. It doesn't take long.
Now, I thought, some play with my Solly. I go and ask him to catch me and I start to realise it was spitting rain. So I go into the 50' roundpen and play the circling game for something quick to do while the weather is odd. Normally I would play a few other games to get him in the mood for circling and I noticed his circles weren't consistent (gait or shape) so I will remember not to do this again. But by this time the rain was getting harder so I thought 'let's see what happens at liberty with circl s' to end the session and he did a few both ways quite well but by this time we were both totally soaked and the rain was chucking it down in bucketfulls. I finished with asking him to sideways towards me left and right at liberty which he did fabulously well and I was very happy with that. With the rain dripping from every piece of my clothing I decided that enough was enough and with Mark's help took the horses back to their grazing field.
Not much of a play but he got handled, groomed and a bit of play. Wish the weather would seriously cheer up ;-))
Tuesday 7th April
Well I had a great ride out with Stormy (our 18hh Shire youngster) on Sunday but the last two days have been freezing cold, windy with drizzy to slashing rain. I've voted to stay in and stay warm ;-) Hopefully soon the weather will cheer up again, at least to be dry, and I'll venture out with Solly again. One good thing is that the rain will help our grass to grow, which we need.
Friday 3rd April
Today's 45' line play is as follows:
1) Grooming:
Still TONS of hair coming out and his Spring coat is coming along nicely.
2) Driving game:
We play sniff the tyre again today but today I ask Solly to go to three tyres each one further away from the last in distance so this requires sideways communication with him. He does it very well even though the new grass is very distracting for him. First tyre about 10' away, 2nd tyre about 22' away, 3rd tyre about 30' away.
1) Grooming:
Still TONS of hair coming out and his Spring coat is coming along nicely.
2) Driving game:
We play sniff the tyre again today but today I ask Solly to go to three tyres each one further away from the last in distance so this requires sideways communication with him. He does it very well even though the new grass is very distracting for him. First tyre about 10' away, 2nd tyre about 22' away, 3rd tyre about 30' away.
Tyre One...
Tyre Two...
Yeehaa...Tyre Three3) Circling:
Today I ask, and get, 10 laps at trot. Fab stuff, he's really calm and knows what to do without being told once, the only thing I have to do is direct him out a bit once or twice when he starts doing very close circles but a gentle wave of my hand in his direction gets him back out again. When he's done to the right I let him graze for quite a while then ask for the same to the left and again let him graze for quite a while as a reward.
4) Long Reining:
I start with a bit of one rein long reining, this goes well so then I attach the 45' line as double reins and start with going to the left along the outside of the 100' roundpen. We then turn and go the other way. He has a couple of moments of uncertainty but this is mainly stopping and asking questions so nothing to worry about. He also works well away from the pen and does a superb backup.
Long reining with 45' line / two reins
Long reining backup5) Saddle/Bridle:
Goes okay, he had a few sticky moments putting the bit in again but I just have do this every day until it's not an issue anymore.
6) Circles:
I ask for canter circles (one lap) for his cinching and today his canter is pretty nice.
7) Jumping:
One barrel, he does this okay going to the left today but for some reason didn't want to do it going to the right so I just make sure he can stand next to it in a good position and leave that for today.
8) Clover Leaf:
Today after mounting we do the clover leaf straight off in trot to the Left and then to the Right. It wasn't too bad, my balance was a bit out but I got myself together by the end.
9) Ride the rail:
Did this quickly in canter as we've not done much canter recently and I like to do it now and then so that it doesn't become an issue with me.
10) Opening Gate:
We've been practising opening the roundpen gate for a while and it's really coming together now. I try to do it more and more with freestlye and Solly is getting the hang of it well.
11) QB:
I just take him to the centre of the pattern and do one really nice figure of 8 with the small circles in trot and then stop. Not a lot but we were just heading for the gate as Mark and Holly were ready to go out for a short ride so I wanted to catch him up at the gate.
12) Ride out:
Today we do the exact same ride out that we did yesterday but because Mark was there with Holly I rode Sol the whole way and didn't need to lead him anywhere. We did some nice walk/trot/walk transitions and also a few leg yields across the road. It was fun today again and I love that Solly is getting braver about learning new things ;-)
Goes okay, he had a few sticky moments putting the bit in again but I just have do this every day until it's not an issue anymore.
6) Circles:
I ask for canter circles (one lap) for his cinching and today his canter is pretty nice.
7) Jumping:
One barrel, he does this okay going to the left today but for some reason didn't want to do it going to the right so I just make sure he can stand next to it in a good position and leave that for today.
8) Clover Leaf:
Today after mounting we do the clover leaf straight off in trot to the Left and then to the Right. It wasn't too bad, my balance was a bit out but I got myself together by the end.
9) Ride the rail:
Did this quickly in canter as we've not done much canter recently and I like to do it now and then so that it doesn't become an issue with me.
10) Opening Gate:
We've been practising opening the roundpen gate for a while and it's really coming together now. I try to do it more and more with freestlye and Solly is getting the hang of it well.
11) QB:
I just take him to the centre of the pattern and do one really nice figure of 8 with the small circles in trot and then stop. Not a lot but we were just heading for the gate as Mark and Holly were ready to go out for a short ride so I wanted to catch him up at the gate.
12) Ride out:
Today we do the exact same ride out that we did yesterday but because Mark was there with Holly I rode Sol the whole way and didn't need to lead him anywhere. We did some nice walk/trot/walk transitions and also a few leg yields across the road. It was fun today again and I love that Solly is getting braver about learning new things ;-)
Thursday 2nd April
(Sorry about the size of writing in the next few blog posts, I've tried to change it but this blog truly has a mind of it's own and by trying to change it I've made it worse, sorry! ;-)
(Sorry about the size of writing in the next few blog posts, I've tried to change it but this blog truly has a mind of it's own and by trying to change it I've made it worse, sorry! ;-)
The weather is beautiful and I go out and find Solly to play. He catches me well and this is what I do with him over about 3 hours:
1) Stick with me:
Walk, trot and backup to the playfield
2) Groom/Saddling:
Tons of hair still falling out, like a snow storm today. I decide to play the games with the saddle on for a change and he's fine with that.
3) Circling/Bullseye
45' line. Do some nice circling in trot, a bit of canter and then I take the rope in gently like a bullseye pattern until he's doing close up circles in trot, and then I let the rope slip out again gently until he's doing 30' circles. I do this L&R and he does really well with it.
4) Put your nose on...
I ask Sol from about 30' away to go and put his nose into a selection of tyres, then I let him graze in and around the tyres. He does very well, sometimes I have to sideways him out to the tyre, sometimes forwards or back and he catches every tyre I ask from both sides, I don't move my feet once so I'm well pleased.
1) Stick with me:
Walk, trot and backup to the playfield
2) Groom/Saddling:
Tons of hair still falling out, like a snow storm today. I decide to play the games with the saddle on for a change and he's fine with that.
3) Circling/Bullseye
45' line. Do some nice circling in trot, a bit of canter and then I take the rope in gently like a bullseye pattern until he's doing close up circles in trot, and then I let the rope slip out again gently until he's doing 30' circles. I do this L&R and he does really well with it.
4) Put your nose on...
I ask Sol from about 30' away to go and put his nose into a selection of tyres, then I let him graze in and around the tyres. He does very well, sometimes I have to sideways him out to the tyre, sometimes forwards or back and he catches every tyre I ask from both sides, I don't move my feet once so I'm well pleased.
5) Jumping:
First I ask Sol to jump the tyres L&R then the double barrels and today I got a piccie of him doing it..yeehaa!!!
6) Dragging things:
I don't ask him to drag the tyre today, I just drag it next to him to see if he reacts to it being there. He took it all in his stride and seems to remember me doing this with him last year.
7) Catching game:
I leave him to graze for a while and he wanders off and so I have the opportunity to play the catching game. He was so funny, he went straight away to the centre of the QB pattern I set up for us, like he knows that's his comfort zone....cool ;-) Then he caught me perfectly.
8) Ridden:
He sidles well to the mounting block and we LF and DHQ before setting off on the Clover Leaf pattern. We do walk and trot L&R and he does very well. I'm doing much less with my reins or CS so he must be feeling my body weight more...it's taking a while for him to 'get it' but it's worth it and I just need to do as much as I can of this for it to sink in for him. Good day today though, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with this one.
9) Drag Tyre:
I had set up the tyre on the end of the 45' line and put the line (coiled up) hanging from the fence so it was all ready for me to go pick it up. I start with gentle dragging the tyre (about 25' behind us) to the left and then to the right, each time stopping with a backup. He took to this beautifully and so I upped the gait to trot and he did this beautifully too. He didn't mind the rope on his rump or near his legs so all that ground work is paying off now. My little cow horse ;-)
10) Ride Out:
For a change I decide it's time to tackle riding out on our own again. Last year I did tons of walking him in-hand around the forest track and we've ridden recently with Mark and Holly but we need to trust each other on our own out there now. SO, I mount him from the playfield fence after leaving the field and proceed towards the track. We go a little way but he's worried so I jump off and lead him half of the walk, to the top of the hill before the way down again. Here I jump back on him and whilst singing (to stop me being nervous) we ride the whole way home in walk and Sol doesn't put one foot wrong. We both look out for pesky pheasants but don't meet any for a change and after a while Sol lowers his head and relaxes and seems to enjoy being out and about. YEEHAA!! So pleased with him. Great day out and I feel really good about our ride ;-)
Wednesday 1st April
Well after the news of passing my L3 I decide to do absolutely nothing but groom the herd today. They all really enjoyed being groomed, at liberty in a large field and they all stood totally still whilst I helped their moulting hair come out.
Solly doing his 'mountain goat' impersonation up the hill
