Sunday 29th May
Wasn't feeling too good this morning so stayed in the house whilst the weather got very windy and showery and then popped out to be with the horses when Mark went out to trim Hollys hooves. I put Stormy and Solly into the arena for some nice grazing and they loved that. I then went and groomed them both individually and they enjoyed that too. I then went and put up the jumps that had blown over in the wind last night and decided that although I wouldn't play big time with either gelding I would see if they wanted to 'catch me'!
So, first I asked Solly to catch me and he did a lovely job from quite a distance today...cheered me up no end ;-) I then did some small bits of play to see if we had a connection, mostly driving game, FQ's, HQ's, back ups and draw and then some S2M. We were very connected but he seemed to want to be near Holly by the car where Mark was trimming her as when I asked for a circle he went over there BUT came back to me instantly at a fabulous trot with his ears pricked right forward SO to help him do circles I went closer to where Holly was. There was a fence up between us so Holly was safe from Solly going into her and I just asked Sol to circle. He did great walk circles really close and then I pushed my 'energy wave' out a bit and he went further out.....and then I asked for trot and he did that beautifully, circles to the left twice, I caught his attention, moved back and he drew to me in gait and did a really nice, smooth change of direction in trot and circled twice to the right! ;-)) He's so clever. I then did it again so that Mark could see and he did it well again. After such a lovely play I took him to some nice grazing and set him off from our connection to just graze by himself.
To test my connection to Stormy I did exactly the same with him and low and behold he did two circles to the left in trot (a little bit more work from me needed to keep him on the circle as he loves to come in thinking I've got treats! lol) and then he did a great trot draw from the shoulder and almost managed a COD but he got a bit sticky going to the right, I just held the thought and energy/action until he 'got it' and then I asked for two circles to the right ;) clever boy is our big baby. He did get a treat for it too ;-)
Finally whilst Mark was doing Holly's back feet I asked Tara to catch me out in the big field and she did with enthusiasm and ears forward which was a nice treat. I gave her some good scratches which she loves and then haltered her, groomed her and put a bareback pad on her. I then mounted her bareback from the mounting block and then did some w/t around the field to see if our riding connection was in tact. Not bad but needed to find some flexibiliy SO I did some fig 8's and serpentines with more connected reins to help her move her body (and me mine too) around my inside leg and push her ribs over to create a flexible arc. She took a bit of time but she got it and as I relaxed and got more flexible so did she ;-)
I then took her to the small jumping course and asked her to knock the poles off the jumps and we used these to do some trotting/pole work to help her pick up her feet more, get engaged a bit behind and get more life in her. I did lots of squeeze games over them....go over two poles in trot, poles about 6 strides between them, then DHQ's and stop/wait for a while, then repeat going the other way. She got the rest/reward everytime she went over the two poles and disengaged nicely. I started off with concentrated reins to help her 'find' the pattern (putting in some nice sideways to get straight before the trotting poles too) and then at the end we were working nicely with freestyle reins as she realised quickly that if she went over in a nice trot, picked up her feet well and DHQ's nice and quickly she got to rest the other side for quite a while ;-)) clever girl.
So, first I asked Solly to catch me and he did a lovely job from quite a distance today...cheered me up no end ;-) I then did some small bits of play to see if we had a connection, mostly driving game, FQ's, HQ's, back ups and draw and then some S2M. We were very connected but he seemed to want to be near Holly by the car where Mark was trimming her as when I asked for a circle he went over there BUT came back to me instantly at a fabulous trot with his ears pricked right forward SO to help him do circles I went closer to where Holly was. There was a fence up between us so Holly was safe from Solly going into her and I just asked Sol to circle. He did great walk circles really close and then I pushed my 'energy wave' out a bit and he went further out.....and then I asked for trot and he did that beautifully, circles to the left twice, I caught his attention, moved back and he drew to me in gait and did a really nice, smooth change of direction in trot and circled twice to the right! ;-)) He's so clever. I then did it again so that Mark could see and he did it well again. After such a lovely play I took him to some nice grazing and set him off from our connection to just graze by himself.
To test my connection to Stormy I did exactly the same with him and low and behold he did two circles to the left in trot (a little bit more work from me needed to keep him on the circle as he loves to come in thinking I've got treats! lol) and then he did a great trot draw from the shoulder and almost managed a COD but he got a bit sticky going to the right, I just held the thought and energy/action until he 'got it' and then I asked for two circles to the right ;) clever boy is our big baby. He did get a treat for it too ;-)
Finally whilst Mark was doing Holly's back feet I asked Tara to catch me out in the big field and she did with enthusiasm and ears forward which was a nice treat. I gave her some good scratches which she loves and then haltered her, groomed her and put a bareback pad on her. I then mounted her bareback from the mounting block and then did some w/t around the field to see if our riding connection was in tact. Not bad but needed to find some flexibiliy SO I did some fig 8's and serpentines with more connected reins to help her move her body (and me mine too) around my inside leg and push her ribs over to create a flexible arc. She took a bit of time but she got it and as I relaxed and got more flexible so did she ;-)
I then took her to the small jumping course and asked her to knock the poles off the jumps and we used these to do some trotting/pole work to help her pick up her feet more, get engaged a bit behind and get more life in her. I did lots of squeeze games over them....go over two poles in trot, poles about 6 strides between them, then DHQ's and stop/wait for a while, then repeat going the other way. She got the rest/reward everytime she went over the two poles and disengaged nicely. I started off with concentrated reins to help her 'find' the pattern (putting in some nice sideways to get straight before the trotting poles too) and then at the end we were working nicely with freestyle reins as she realised quickly that if she went over in a nice trot, picked up her feet well and DHQ's nice and quickly she got to rest the other side for quite a while ;-)) clever girl.
For a last play I cantered her back to the herd, dismounted and untacked, gave her a treat and a hug and set her back with the herd. A nice afternoon's interlude with the horses that didn't tax me too much or the horses. Think they enjoyed it as much as I did ;-))
Friday 27th May
A bit grey today but went out to see horses around 2pm again, Mark to poo pick and me to practise some L4 online stuff again, maybe put in a short ride in the arena too.
All started well, groomed both Solly and Stormy as again both boys were waiting to get some extra curriculum grazing. lol. Then I haltered Solly and put him on the 45' line (which I managed to remember today! ;-) Here is what we did:
1) 45' Play:
Started with arena extreme friendly and then went to 45' distance yo-yo's which went well after I got a bit more respect from Solly (did this by doing lots of short, faster yo-yo's). We then tried some sideways from Z1 from 20' away on a circle...went very well and Solly did enormously well with this to the L&R ;-)
Next we went straight to some circling and I asked for him to be further away from me in w/t/c with some transitions t/c/t...not bad but could be better. Tried then for some canter FLC's and he managed a couple so we stopped and I let him graze for a bit.
Then we went out into the field play area and started again with xtreme friendly, backing from a few hairs on the tail and into some multiple spins (he still moves forward a bit on these but getting better). Then off into some circles, moving circles, circles w/multiple jumps, cod's and then straight into fig 8's in canter w/FLC's. After yesterdays worry about him getting a bit close to me going from right side fig 8 to left side I figured out what was drawing him to me rather than pushing him over to X and the other jump!!!! IT WAS ME...always is isn't it ;-0 As soon as I actually turned to where he was supposed to go and put my thought/energy/hip into his space he found it easier to move his shoulders over and change lead and get the jump too ;-)) yeehaa. lol
He did so well we stopped and hung out for a while for a reward. I then put the Longreins on him and did some w/t/w/t transitions and then over some jumps, jump and back ups and then into some weaves in walk and then trot changing the ropes each time and then weaves staying on one side and just using the reins for directions. He did well with both.
After this we did some weave, fig 8, weaves with me in Z3 and then we did some Z5 leg yielding L&R and backups.
All went okay but I'd like it much much better before filming really. I think both of us were a bit stiff from yesterday (maybe just me mainly though) so things weren't as fluid as yesterday.
2) Riding:
I took him back to the arena for grazing and to saddle him up and we had a nice enough ride (similar things to yesterday) but it was under-impulsed and I felt pretty stiff. Walk and trot, circles, fig 8's, serpentines and clover leaf was okay, all freestyle with not much rein play but no canter today. He felt awkward and his back feet slipped a couple of times on the grass as it had been raining earlier SO I decided to stop on a good note and not push him when he could slip and loose trust in me. I dismounted and untacked him and we had a nice liberty walk out of the arena, through two gateways and over the bounce jump and I gave him a few carrots for a treat before taking him back to the herd and setting him free from our connection ;-)
All started well, groomed both Solly and Stormy as again both boys were waiting to get some extra curriculum grazing. lol. Then I haltered Solly and put him on the 45' line (which I managed to remember today! ;-) Here is what we did:
1) 45' Play:
Started with arena extreme friendly and then went to 45' distance yo-yo's which went well after I got a bit more respect from Solly (did this by doing lots of short, faster yo-yo's). We then tried some sideways from Z1 from 20' away on a circle...went very well and Solly did enormously well with this to the L&R ;-)
Next we went straight to some circling and I asked for him to be further away from me in w/t/c with some transitions t/c/t...not bad but could be better. Tried then for some canter FLC's and he managed a couple so we stopped and I let him graze for a bit.
Then we went out into the field play area and started again with xtreme friendly, backing from a few hairs on the tail and into some multiple spins (he still moves forward a bit on these but getting better). Then off into some circles, moving circles, circles w/multiple jumps, cod's and then straight into fig 8's in canter w/FLC's. After yesterdays worry about him getting a bit close to me going from right side fig 8 to left side I figured out what was drawing him to me rather than pushing him over to X and the other jump!!!! IT WAS ME...always is isn't it ;-0 As soon as I actually turned to where he was supposed to go and put my thought/energy/hip into his space he found it easier to move his shoulders over and change lead and get the jump too ;-)) yeehaa. lol
He did so well we stopped and hung out for a while for a reward. I then put the Longreins on him and did some w/t/w/t transitions and then over some jumps, jump and back ups and then into some weaves in walk and then trot changing the ropes each time and then weaves staying on one side and just using the reins for directions. He did well with both.
After this we did some weave, fig 8, weaves with me in Z3 and then we did some Z5 leg yielding L&R and backups.
All went okay but I'd like it much much better before filming really. I think both of us were a bit stiff from yesterday (maybe just me mainly though) so things weren't as fluid as yesterday.
2) Riding:
I took him back to the arena for grazing and to saddle him up and we had a nice enough ride (similar things to yesterday) but it was under-impulsed and I felt pretty stiff. Walk and trot, circles, fig 8's, serpentines and clover leaf was okay, all freestyle with not much rein play but no canter today. He felt awkward and his back feet slipped a couple of times on the grass as it had been raining earlier SO I decided to stop on a good note and not push him when he could slip and loose trust in me. I dismounted and untacked him and we had a nice liberty walk out of the arena, through two gateways and over the bounce jump and I gave him a few carrots for a treat before taking him back to the herd and setting him free from our connection ;-)
Thursday 26th May
A lovely day off with the weather not too bad either. Off out to the horses around 2pm and as soon as I got there dear Solly and Stormy were waiting for me to bring equipment into the field and they followed me beautifully to the arena where I set things up and then let them in one at a time and allowed them time to graze before starting play.
First of all I just groomed them both and spent a little undemanding time with them as it's been about a week since I played with Solly and it looks like about 3 weeks since I rode him!!! eek ;( Didn't realise it was that long, work has been busy so between that and the weather I've not had time to ride him SO today is the day to have some fun and a ride ;-)
This is what we did together today:
ARENA
1) OL Friendly:
First of all I just groomed them both and spent a little undemanding time with them as it's been about a week since I played with Solly and it looks like about 3 weeks since I rode him!!! eek ;( Didn't realise it was that long, work has been busy so between that and the weather I've not had time to ride him SO today is the day to have some fun and a ride ;-)
This is what we did together today:
ARENA
1) OL Friendly:
Haltered a few times, getting him to be softer, more relaxed, stop playing with the tools and his head down into the halter. Once the halter was on I allowed him to graze and played an extreme friendly game with the cs/ss, all around him, over him, helicopter, all zones, tossing the 22' rope over his head too.
2) OL Yo-yo:
He was very willing and my phases were very much 'thought' then 'energy' but I stopped whenever he put his ears (or one ear or part of one ear) forward so as to reward him for a nice expression.
3) OL Sideways:
3) OL Sideways:
We did sideways away from a distance, sideways towards with a bit more distance although I still have to touch him with the ss off the cs for the first step. Then we did some sideways from Z1 from 15' away and then same distance and over a log L&R...cool.
4) OL Circling:
4) OL Circling:
Static circles w/t/c with cod's and him trying some FLC's for me and then we did some moving circles in t/c which he did well with. I much prefer the 45' line now and so does he by silly me forgot to bring it down today! ;(
FIELD
1) OL Circles;
Both directions with multiple jumps, bounce canter jump and a good set of close circle jumps where I've put two jumps at right angles to each other so I can just walk around the jumps and Solly has a different jump each time on his circle. He did these marvellously, about 12 jumps without a stop ;-)
2) OL Fig 8's:
FIELD
1) OL Circles;
Both directions with multiple jumps, bounce canter jump and a good set of close circle jumps where I've put two jumps at right angles to each other so I can just walk around the jumps and Solly has a different jump each time on his circle. He did these marvellously, about 12 jumps without a stop ;-)
2) OL Fig 8's:
Did this around two jumps and then moved myself a few steps back and incorporated the jumps with the fig 8's too ;-)) I like this pattern and it helps Solly try out some more canter with FLC's. He did very very well from left to right but has trouble changing tightly from right to left so missed the left hand jump a few times but hey ho something to work on ;-)
3) LR (long reins):
3) LR (long reins):
He did some good transitions and then we got some lovely DHQ's from the outside (put rein over withers and do a DHQ towards yourself) and then did some walk forward, DHQ move forward transitions ;-) Then we did some weave with me in Z5 in w/t which went very well. Then we worked on doing a jump with me in Z5 and him backing up to the jump, did this a few times to help get a good pattern going.
ARENA RIDING
1) FR (Freestyle):
ARENA RIDING
1) FR (Freestyle):
After grooming, saddling, cinching and mounting we started small (also got Stormy out of the arena before starting! lol) . RtR in w/t freestyle and then some serpentines trot in freestyle. He was moving well from my outside leg and energy which was lovely. We then did some turns making square patterns with some fq turns and then hq turns...this was making sure I could talk to each foot in turn, we walked (or trotted) turned (with fq or hq) and then walked or trotted on so making good smooth manoeuvres. Then we went to do some cloverleaf in trot freestyle and I was amazed that he really remembered this pattern as we've not done it for a while.
After a break we did clover leaf in trot with the long middle section in canter ;-) I was still sitting back on him and after a couple of times moved to our 'new' canter position of putting my weight in the stirrups and lifting my weigh off his back, butt still sort of in the saddle but very lightly and my upper body more forward (like a cross country canter where rider gets off back) and he went much better again, ears forward and freer.
Another break and then we did some RtR in canter, three sides of the arena in forward canter and he did great.
Next we did some smaller fig 8's in freestyle and he got this very quickly, I just used my inside rein as a suspension rein sometimes to help put the energy from the inside rein to my outside leg to help correct his neck/rib position and that helped set him up straighter ;-)
2) F (Finesse):
After a break we did clover leaf in trot with the long middle section in canter ;-) I was still sitting back on him and after a couple of times moved to our 'new' canter position of putting my weight in the stirrups and lifting my weigh off his back, butt still sort of in the saddle but very lightly and my upper body more forward (like a cross country canter where rider gets off back) and he went much better again, ears forward and freer.
Another break and then we did some RtR in canter, three sides of the arena in forward canter and he did great.
Next we did some smaller fig 8's in freestyle and he got this very quickly, I just used my inside rein as a suspension rein sometimes to help put the energy from the inside rein to my outside leg to help correct his neck/rib position and that helped set him up straighter ;-)
2) F (Finesse):
Another break for being a good boy and then I tried out some HQ's in off a small circle and he gave me one step, got it again and then left it for him to think about.
FIELD RIDING
1) FR (Freestyle):
Again mostly freestyle today apart from helping with the inside suspension rein control for body awareness. We went around the whole field using fig 8's and serpentines and putting in some squares using the fq or hq turns, around the arena and then played around with doing fig 8's around some jumps and weaving around all the cones laid out there. He did exceptioinally and not a hesitation at all today ;-)) YEEHAA.
I then asked him to go up the hill in the field. In the past this has been a bit of an issue (probably me) but he's been hesitant and often downright obstinate with refusing to go forward at all up the hill, trying to buck when I've asked him more assertively. SO, today I didn't think at all about those issues and just thought about going to the small plateau near the top so that we could just come back down again (usually I ask him to go up to go out and for a hack on his own so maybe this change in my mental state helped him to realise I wasnt' taking him away from the herd today). He had a couple of thesholds but I stayed passive and persistent and he walked half of the way and then I asked him into a trot and he did the other half in trot...fab. We rested for a bit and then I asked him to come back down. I made sure my legs were forward (it's a steepish hill) and put my weight into my butt and he was calm and relaxed the whole way down. I then took him through the cones again at trot weave using one hand and almost neck reining him, around the arena, over to the far side and then turned him towards the arena and asked him to canter back to the arena which he did very very nicely.
What a lovely day to have at home with my Solly...really enjoyed myself and Solly did too ;-)
FIELD RIDING
1) FR (Freestyle):
Again mostly freestyle today apart from helping with the inside suspension rein control for body awareness. We went around the whole field using fig 8's and serpentines and putting in some squares using the fq or hq turns, around the arena and then played around with doing fig 8's around some jumps and weaving around all the cones laid out there. He did exceptioinally and not a hesitation at all today ;-)) YEEHAA.
I then asked him to go up the hill in the field. In the past this has been a bit of an issue (probably me) but he's been hesitant and often downright obstinate with refusing to go forward at all up the hill, trying to buck when I've asked him more assertively. SO, today I didn't think at all about those issues and just thought about going to the small plateau near the top so that we could just come back down again (usually I ask him to go up to go out and for a hack on his own so maybe this change in my mental state helped him to realise I wasnt' taking him away from the herd today). He had a couple of thesholds but I stayed passive and persistent and he walked half of the way and then I asked him into a trot and he did the other half in trot...fab. We rested for a bit and then I asked him to come back down. I made sure my legs were forward (it's a steepish hill) and put my weight into my butt and he was calm and relaxed the whole way down. I then took him through the cones again at trot weave using one hand and almost neck reining him, around the arena, over to the far side and then turned him towards the arena and asked him to canter back to the arena which he did very very nicely.
What a lovely day to have at home with my Solly...really enjoyed myself and Solly did too ;-)
Saturday 21st May
Wind wasn't too strong and the rain held off until we'd filmed the OLHA May test with Solly & Stormy...phew!! The course this month was in trot so I had my work cut out for me with dear Stormy. I worked with both horses and transitions a lot so that they were working from my energy connection to keep them 'with' me whilst being energetic and having fun. Solly, as usual, was a star and even astonished me when he went over the 'bottle bank' obstacle ;-) Stormy was trying his very very hardest to be willingly obedient for me, it's hard when you're young and just love running around a lot! lol. The two video's of the tests are now up on this blog's HORSE AGILITY section, hope you like them ;-)
For now here are just a couple of piccie's from today:
Haltering with a nice attitude
Stormy be and me having a lovely moment together
Showing the only way I can cuddle Stormy from the side...to have a good pedastal to stand on myself ;-)
Mark and Holly with the 'bottle bank' obstacle...no problem ;-)Friday 20th May
It's been just over a week since being at home and able to play with the horses but I have three days to make up for lost time and today is the first one. I have to film my OLHA (on line horse agility) May test and today is a practise session. I managed to collect all the necessary items for the test, including a friend who donated all the plastic bottles for the bottle bank...thank you Ann ;-) SO now we have a day to have fun with it and hopefully tomorrow we can film it with Solly and Stormy.
Here are a few piccie's from todays session...
...needs a bit of leadership to persuade him to try harder with the feet...
...manages 'nose, neck, maybe the feet' but then gets stuck andmentally can't move forward so I ask him to back up which helps ;-)
From another angle he now has no problem putting hisfeet onto the bottles and finds there's nice grazing in the triangle too ;-)
He also finds grazing out of the triangle and is happy to leave his back feet in with the bottles ;-)
He then tries it at liberty with no problems
No problems at all...and I thought that he'd be worried by the noisy bottles under and near his feet!!!
Stormy was curious about the 'bottle bank' anddidn't have any worries with it at all
Enjoyed a good game of chase the bottle too ;-))Friday 13th May
On/off showers again today but take my chances around 12 noon and drive to the horses field. As soon as I get into the field the two boys are waiting at the arena fence...now I know they're wanting the off limit's grazing in the arena BUT I'm taking advantage of their enthusiasm to be in there for my own gains....they're both now Horse Agility Members so it's necessary to practise the OLHA test for May with both of them. SO, in they pop to the arena to graze and I take this time to set the OLHA obstacles up ;-)
Once the stage is set I ask Solly to catch me from a distance. He manages to stop grazing for a while and halters nicely. I then go through the obstacles one at a time in walk and then working them in trot seperately for now. The only obstacle I don't have set up is the 'bottle bank' but I'm working on that one. He does the whole course very well so then I just go through it in order in trot...phew, I'm glad this boy stays at my pace. He did very well but need to just work on him staying in gait through the narrow gap. I praise him well and then let him go back to grazing for a while.
Next I ask Stormy to catch me, which for once he does very nicely!! I must have fooled him into it as usually his biggest most fun game is to play with me by running around and showing me how fast, sleek and strong he is! lol.
So, haltered up we go through the obstacles one at a time to make sure he's not spooked by anything and that he will go through them in walk and trot with me to one side at the start. Then I go through the whole course in walk with him and he's great...a bit clumsy sometimes but getting much better than he used to be. I then attempt to take him through the course in it's correct order in trot. He had a small problem stopping after the narrow gap but did very well backing back through it. We had a problem both going through the May Day flowered archway but will just manage what we can with that one! lol. The weaving went very well considering and I was proud of him as he came to the pole on the ground and I completely let my energy out and he stopped with the pole underneath his belly! very cool ;-)
Going through the scary corner was only a matter of trying to stop him eating everything or putting things in his mouth and trying to play with them! lol. The jump was interesting and I'm going to just allow him to do the jump with me to one side so that I don't get squished. Going through the curtain is great, not a problem at all and over the water feature was good too. WOW...I was exhausted though and I've either got to get him to trot at my speed or I'm going to have to learn to trot FASTER which may be hard as I have a slight injury to my left hamstring!! eek. lol. I'm going to have fun figuring it out though and definitely have fun filming it too. Here's some piccie's from the day.
Curtain...no problems
Scary corner was Stormy's idea of FUN ;-)
So handsome with the May Day archway ;-))Then once I'd dismantled all the obstacles to keep them from being damaged by the wind I went to ask Stormy to catch me again and he decided that now it was time to have that play with me. lol and he went careering around the arena with some yeehaa's and some big strides, here are some piccie's of him doing so.
Light on his feet for a big boy ;-)
At full stretch.....WOW!So, now a bit tired I let the boys back to the herd and put the banners and flags away, by the fence dear Tara was resting and she came and caught me for some scratches. I haltered her and took her out of the field, up the hill and put on the bareback pad from the car. I then walked her through two fields as the cattle were on the track so I needed to keep her feeling safe. She did very well and when one of the cows on the pathway stayed on the path it was almost like Tara realised that she was MOVING the cow AWAY...her stature changed and she looked much more 'in the moment' rather than worrying or trying to run off ;-) Cool.
Tara realising that cattle will move FROM her ;-))Tara stayed at the house for a while whilst I had some tea and sorted out some computer stuff. I then asked her to catch me, haltered and saddled her and then rode her back to the field. Into the first field and she wasn't sceptical as normal about where the cattle were BUT I heard my friends Quad Bike and a couple of others in the field next door bringing some wayward sheep back to where they escaped from (lol) and I took Tara off the track and although her head was up she was obedient and watched the procession pass by without moving her feet in worry and it was good to see her so brave ;-) The rest of the ride was great, w/t/c/bkups, opening/closing gates and having fun together.
Thursday 12th May
OMGoodness....have just spent the last two hours setting up the May OLHA (On Line Horse Agility) test. All my obstacles were out in the big field for practising my L4 PNH audition and I had to bring it all back into the arena....will have to put it all back out in the field beginning of June for the audition again...I MUST BE MAD! lol
The course has a nice flow to it this month and I went around it slowly in walk with Solly and then my big boy Stormy. Solly found a couple of things sceptical but that's what practise is all about and I may have to re-cycle some plastic bottles from a re-cycling bin when I see one as we don't have plastic bottles like those in our house! lol. Can't think of anything else to use for this item so it's got my brain working it's imagination that's for sure ;-)
I'll probably do a couple of 'dry runs' with everything in place and then try to get it filmed when things are going well and I have time here at home. I'm working away from home a lot at moment but it's a good challenge to get everything done well and in time isn't it.
Thursday 5th May
Today started off a bit chilly and the forecast was for rain so I went out early today to get some playtime in with Solly before heading off for a long 4 day weekend in Dumfries & Galloway teaching ;-)
SO, today Solly almost followed the car into the arena, when I got out of the car he was standing at the gateway asking to come in which was so cool. I let him in and then let him graze whilst I got the equipment out of the car. Then groomed him, put his halter on and the 45' line.
Out into the field where all the obstacles are now and we did a practise of our Level 4 online audition. We will practise the parts of this in the new area until Solly is happy with it and then we'll hopefully film it and send it in.
Practising today we did: Xtreme friendly from Z5 and then tossing the 45' line over his head from Z5 L&R. Backing up from a few tail hairs. Then onto circling with transitions w/t/c/t and putting in some fig 8's around two jumps, me moving back and fig 8's WITH the two jumps and then moving the circles away doing some canter work with fig 8's and FLC's without obstacles and then back to the jumps, into trot, then walk and jump/stop/sidepass towards me. All this goes pretty nicely I just need to work at handling the heavy PNH carrot stick again as I don't use this anymore due to having a nice shorter, lighter one from Ingela Larsson Smith's course now.
After a short rest where I take the 45' line off, wind it up nicely and put on the 2x22' featherlites on we start back with longreining w/t/jump/backup with reins either side of Solly, me in Z5. We then move onto some really nice weaves with the reins differently (one on his inside, one over his back from outside and switch/throw reins over his back each weave we do). then put in a fig 8 at trot with me standing still showing rope handling skills and then back to the weave and out from the cones to show some walk leg yielding. Last but not least we tried to get our Canter/Trot/SLC's transitions better with the longreins and he was trying his heart out, got a bit worried at one point but I stayed with it and stopped on a very positive note ;-)
The other things I have to practise is 45' line stand on a pedastal (have to maybe use the big stone at home for this as wooden pedastal broken now) and 45' line and long reining trailer loading. I will have to put two edit's into the audition as my trailer and the stone are nowhere near the arena/field and cannot be put there so hey ho...just how it is ;-)
Really looking forward to practising this audition and I've booked myself off on holiday from teaching from June 4-12th to get it good and film it so fingerscrossed.
After the groundwork I groomed and saddled Solly and mounted. We did short corners game w/t/c to get transitions to help with impulsion. Then I did a few very large fig 8's in trot and then big circles in canter with a stop at X. He wasn't as good today, maybe too much canter online today or maybe, like me, he was a bit stiff from working the other day. Maybe because I am a bit stiff he felt a bit stiff too...our horses are our mirrors!! ;-)) Looking forward to 4 days teaching but also looking forward to progressing our audition test so that it flows when we film it.
Wednesday 4th May
Managed to get out to horses in the afternoon today, it was good to give Solly some time off as I don't like to play/ride everyday or make set routines with him, I like to make it more fun and less like drilling so going out later is good. I decided that all I was going to do was move some 'toys' about and groom them all as they're still moulting a bit here.
First up for grooming was Fortune, she's still got plenty of loose hair on her butt and she stood at liberty thoroughly enjoying the attention and scratches. Her mane is also very very long and tail very very thick so I took the time to get those both detangled and shiny again ;-)
Next up was Tara, she LOVES her grooming sessions and scratches on her belly. She has less hair moulting now as I've been grooming her regularly but her mane and tail are also very very thick and also thick feathers on her feet so that was the main grooming today.
Then up comes dear Solly, he has very little moult left as I've been grooming him almost daily and he's looking nice and clean and shiny at the moment. He loves his tail, dock and inner thighs scratched so again I took the time to give him some of those.
Forth up was big Stormy and he was very hairy still on his sides and butt. His mane and tail were also needing a big tidy up and he did fabulously to turn around for me so that on the hill we were on I was uppermost so that I could actually reach his back properly. He really enjoyed this session and was totally relaxed and also at liberty like the others ;-)
Last, but not least, was dear Holly. She came over to me and just stood perfectly still. Her moult is basically over as Mark has been grooming her daily when he feeds her in the morning and she's got her lovely bay dapples back which are lovely. Her mane and tail are very thick and long now and this took the most time to groom and she's very happy to be scrached on her belly and inner thigh so I obliged for her.
After all that grooming and me ending up looking a bit hairy I decided to move the jumps about so that they are in a bigger space. The double 'bounce' jump I left as this is good practise and three other jumps I put further away but following on from each other making a triple jump with two canter strides between each. I also put another two jumps 6 strides from each other to make a set up for fig 8's around and fig 8 jumps ;-)
I then asked Solly to catch me, which he did nicely, put him on the halter and 22' featherlite line and went around the jumping course to see how it went. He did fabulously, jumped everything and did the fig 8 jumps perfectly. We'd done these before a couple of years ago and he remembered very well. His fig 8's around the jumps in trot was VERY smooth and lovely too.
Next I put the other 22' featherlite rope on and did some nice longreining around the jumps, over some jumps and backing up afterwards, then some beautiful weave in trot around the cones I placed in a row (6 strides between each) and some leg yields in the middle of the field ;-)
It was a lovely session and I let him go with a huge hug and kiss for being such a clever boy for me. I then asked Tara to catch me which she did beautifully as normal, haltered her and jumped on her bareback from a barrel. We did some fig 8's freestyle in w/t and then walked casually up the hill where I let her go and then got their feed ready for the evening. A lovely day, tiring but lovely.
Tuesday 3rd May
Another fabulous day and out with Solly for more fun and play. The herd were playing up a bit again but I just stayed with them and Solly came and caught me quicker today. I haltered him (again no resistence today) and put him on the 45' line.
We played with sideways, yo-yo's and then straight into circles, moving circles, cod's in trot (very nice thank you) and then up into canter. He was being a under-impulsed today so I got after him in a nice way and he maintained gait better after that. I asked for one fab canter circle with me totally neutral in the centre and he gave them to me L&R. I then asked for circle, canter with a FLC on COD L&R and again he did great so we stopped and grazed and then went into the arena.
After a nice groom where he got clean and I got hairy (lol) I put him on 2x22' lines and did some longreining. We did transitions bkup/h/w/t and some trotting weaves and fig 8's. All going well. We then tried the longreining canter SLC's which were okay but we didn't quite get the FLC's today, so more play with that later on.
For a change I did some longreining leg yielding L&R and he was fab with this, never really tried it before so very pleased with his effort with that. I then took him to the car and saddled him and cinched after playing a bit more. We went to the mounting block and I put the bridle/bit on him, mounted and started doing some relaxation things and then transitions. I decided to go back to the block and get off, change his bridle/bit for the halter and rope reins as I wasn't happy about working in the bit. I felt I was worried about his mouth, he has a crease in the corner of his mouth which I don't like at all and because I was thinking more about what I was doing with his mouth I wasn't riding normally SO, changing back to the halter/reins was for ME and I think that maybe where all the trouble was anyway ;-)
We did some lovely ridden work, working with contact and doing leg yields, fig 8's trotting and weave trotting and then we did a lot of canter big circles L and then R and put them together with a short break at X to make canter fig 8's with a short SLC in the centre!!! yeehaa...a new thing done today and we will practise this as much as possible for relaxation and canter circles until we get some good quicker canter fig 8's with SLC at X ;-))
OH and I found out Solly and I have won the OLHA (on line Horse Agility) April test...third month running ;-) What a cool horse he is.
Monday 2nd May
Well a lovely day today....but the horses all had Spring in their manes and tails today. I went in to ask Solly to catch me to play and he, Holly and Stormy (the main playful culprits) all charged around the field 6 times, cavorting, canter, gallop, boys leaping about...it was fab to watch. I stayed persistently passive and just walked to where they stopped and asked each time for Solly to come and catch me. In the end Holly bit his butt and he came over with a lovely look on his face ;-)
Literally seconds after Holly bit his butt ;-)So, he caught me and was nice and calm. I haltered him without much fuss and put him on the 45' line. We played with some sideways away/towards and then some yo-yo over some poles and multiple jumps including his double, canter 'bounce' jump ;-) Then we went to some serious circling, moving circles, w/t/c and fig 8's with FLC's thrown in. His FLC' from right fig 8 side to left is starting to look a bit better, not so close to me and more curve in his body. I've been working on this for a while and am really helping him to 'move his ribs over' to help with this manoeuvre.
Next I put him in the arena for some grazing and then put him on the 2x22' featherlite longreins. We did lots of transitions h/w/t/bkup and canter and stuck to weave and fig 8's for patterns. In the fig 8's we started to explore the idea of FLC's in canter and he is really getting my energy more and understanding where the fig 8's from Z5 are going and he did me proud by trying a few attempts with the FLC's. He's really putting his brain into his play now and it shows ;-))
Longreining trot
Longreining canter w/left lead
asking for the lead change...
...yeehaa, he did it ;-)
and longreining canter w/right lead ;-)
What a fabulous draw, he just knows he did the FLC brialliantlyand that reward of rest is a thank you ;-)
After such a fabulous session I let him rest and graze on his own for a while, I just sat on a barrel and watched him. I then trimmed his feet, which are growing much better this year. Lastly I sidled him up to the barrel and jumped on his back bareback and sat whilst he grazed. When Mark came over from poo picking we did some fig 8's in walk and then some nice leg yields back to the gate where I gave him some treats, a hug and set him back with the herd.
Bareback leg yielding ;-) Sunday 1st May
Me and Stormy ;-)Another stunningly sunny day and Mark and I go out for a hack with Tara and Holly. Both horses were willing, fun and did well for the 3-4 hours we were out and also had plenty of carrots and apples at the shop which they totally deserved. Tara was cantering a lot of the way back, Holly was calm and very relaxed today and they both enjoyed our hack as much as we did ;-))
(Hopefully pic's up on blog soon, broadband not up to it just at the moment!)
Saturday 30th April
(for some reason this would not post in April's section!)
(for some reason this would not post in April's section!)
Sunshine today and back from two days teaching in the Borders so it's time to play with my own horses for the next few days. Out and down to the horses by noon and I go and touch in with all the herd members today. They're all looking great and they all enjoyed some scratches and hand grooming. I then ask Solly to catch me and I give him some very special attention with grooming and scratches. He looks very pleased to see me and that's pretty cool.
I halter him (without any head tossing or biting of the ropes today!) and put one 22' feather light rope on it and together Sol and I go down the hill playing Stick 2 Me w/t/bkups and get a good connection by the bottom.
He then gives me some very nice sideways away from a distance L&R and then we move onto a 45' line and go into some moving circles. Starting with walk and some trot we take it slowly with lots of rests and praise. Then into some canter and then into some canter straight from the backup onto the circles with a couple of small amounts of canter then stop and then more and more. He does really well and he also does some fig 8's on the longer line, in canter with a couple of COD's w/FLC's ;-)) The fig 8 right circle to left is his hardest and although he does do the FLC it's very very close to me BUT he does it and we keep the canter going so that he's back on a bigger circle going to the left which is good. Having the longer rope helps as I can now try to warn him that a COD is going to happen in canter from further away and maybe he'll be able to sort out his body arc to try to stay out further as we practise this more and more.
I let him rest and graze for quite a while and then we go to the jumps and back onto the 22' feather light. He goes well with the jumps and does the small canter bounce double jump easily and a few times too! ;-) More rests and grazing for such a clever boy.
I then put two 22' feather lights on him and we show Mark how to long rein, a rein either side of horse and also a rein on the inside of horse and the outside rein over the back of horse. Solly makes it look easy. Mark then try's this with Stormy (after playing well with him in the big field). I also do some more later with Stormy on the 22' feather lights and he needed to re-learn stop, left and right and start listening to my body energy and cues from Z5 so hopefully when Mark tries it again tomorrow Stormy will have been licking and chewing on his lesson with me overnight. He did very well with me and we managed some nice weaves ;)
Back to Solly and I saddle and bridle him. By gosh, the bridle almost went on without a fuss today...in my mind I said that he could graze but only if he'd put the bit in and by golly he did just so. Is the horse reading my mind more and more now!! I must be careful of what I'm thinking around him. lol. I was concerned that the bitting sessions last time didn't go well as maybe the bit is now just too loose and maybe sitting and banging on his large tushes (canine teeth below the bit). SO, I put the bit up two holes which keeps it from his teeth but doesn't crease the corner of his mouth too much so won't be uncomfortable there either.
Played some games to help cinch him up, Mark by this time trimming Hollys feet, and I mount and let him graze. I'm very aware of just asking for a forward step and praising, another step forward and praise/graze. I think positively and although not rushing around with huge impulsion he goes forward and respects the bit, no pushing hard onto it, no leaning on the reins, no wobblin of his head to avoid contact. I ride just the same as when I'm doing freestyle SO that means with legs on and asking for impulsion and taking the slack up on the reins to create natural contact without any pulling his head in. We do some w/t and a bit of canter and I stop on a good note, keep it sweet and will try it again on Monday and Tuesday hopefully. I was very pleased that I re-tried the bit in a different position, using the french link polyurethene bit so no metal near his teeth. He seemed pretty pleased with himself too and maybe riding finesse with freestyle in my body more helped too.
