Sunday 31st July
Last day of the month, skies look like rain but it's an idle threat as it stays okay all day, bit humid really and although I take a jacket out with me I have it tied around my waist the whole time. We go down to the horses around midday, I ride Tara down and set her loose when down there and Mark takes the car with the equipment in it.
Solly and Stormy come in to the small grazing 'pod' and we groom the two dirty boys. Then I play with Solly at liberty to get my 'connection' and to work on some willing obedience and ask for some backups, sideways away and towards L&R and some circling with COD's, L&R and in w/t/c (all at liberty). He's good, obedience okay, nothing fancy today, just basic's. I then play some liberty S2M with Stormy and he goes off from me a couple of times but very easily comes back and wants to be with me. I then go and saddle and play at liberty with Solly for cinching while Mark saddles and plays with Stormy for the same ;-)
Then we walk the boys up the main hill and out of the field. Mark mounts Stormy straight away and I walk Solly a little way to get our 'connection' out in the big world and also to get past some cattle in the hill field to our left.
At the first opportunity I get on Solly and we follow Stormy towards the village. Stormy has a 'stop' before the wooden bridge and I get off and walk Solly over it and Stormy follows, I get straight back on and we do some walk/trot transitions into the village.
It was a nice walk in, met some kids on bikes and some walkers and also a car came up behind us and we waited in a field while they went by. Very nice to see so many people using the 'Cateran Trail' this year ;-)
At the shop I bought two ice creams, two apples and two carrots and we sit with the horses eating our picnic at the shop. A few people stop and say hi and pet the horses and then Mark mounts back up and I walk Solly across the main bridge from the village back to the track and get on off the road.
At the shop I bought two ice creams, two apples and two carrots and we sit with the horses eating our picnic at the shop. A few people stop and say hi and pet the horses and then Mark mounts back up and I walk Solly across the main bridge from the village back to the track and get on off the road.
The ride back was as faultless as the ride in and it was fabulous to ride Solly out in Stormy's company. Stormy was a bit fitter than last time and didn't tire out like last time which was good. Mark also rode him with looser reins and with a stick to direct his nose so that Stormy didn't get bracy or heavy on the reins and this really worked well and helped Mark have a lighter ride without Stormy's weight on the reins the whole time ;-) Both boys were brilliant and it was a lovely, uncomplicated, happy ride out. Right at the end we both had fantastic, calm, relaxed canters up the last hill before the horses field and it was a perfect end to a perfect ride out. Love those boys ;-)
Set the boys free in the field and Tara came and caught me, I put her bareback pad on, say goodbye to the boys and we set off for home leaving Stormy having a wonderful roll, he LOVES his rolls after rides. lol
Saturday 30th July
Took the day off today, totally...sat around with Mark and dogs, watching the insects buzz by and enjoying the sunshine filtering into the house. Fab. What I did do was manage to kill without maiming this monster of an insect and finally finding out what the hell it is (after 10 yrs of trying).
It's a very big beastie at around 3cm long and is one of a few insects called 'Horse Flies'. I always thought there was only one horse fly, the cleg which is annoyingly quick and bites (me especially) to where I have lots of very sore, itchy spots on my arms and legs. It bites through clothing (even jeans) and also bites horses and other mammals. The cleg bite is very sore and it's the female of the species (Haematopota pluvialis) that needs blood to reproduce. We're used to clegs and the horses regularly ask us to swat them off their bodies.
This beastie (below) is another horse fly called a dark giant horsefly or dark behemothic horsefly (Tabanus sudeticus) and is truly a beast. It's noise in flight is enough to get you worried. Again it's the female trying to get blood to reproduce, mostly from horses and we've noticed they try more with our dark brown horse than the others!! strange!
It's a very big beastie at around 3cm long and is one of a few insects called 'Horse Flies'. I always thought there was only one horse fly, the cleg which is annoyingly quick and bites (me especially) to where I have lots of very sore, itchy spots on my arms and legs. It bites through clothing (even jeans) and also bites horses and other mammals. The cleg bite is very sore and it's the female of the species (Haematopota pluvialis) that needs blood to reproduce. We're used to clegs and the horses regularly ask us to swat them off their bodies.
This beastie (below) is another horse fly called a dark giant horsefly or dark behemothic horsefly (Tabanus sudeticus) and is truly a beast. It's noise in flight is enough to get you worried. Again it's the female trying to get blood to reproduce, mostly from horses and we've noticed they try more with our dark brown horse than the others!! strange!
So, not only am I glad to have finally put a name to the insect but I'm glad that I killed one so that it stopped it from trying to bite our lovely mare Tara or putting her into a bucking fit from trying to get away from the nasty big thing ;-)
Had a lovely ride out later on following Mark walking the dogs to see the horses and feed them dinner, then Mark rode Tara home most of the way whilst I did some walking with the dogs...perfect day all round ;-)
Had a lovely ride out later on following Mark walking the dogs to see the horses and feed them dinner, then Mark rode Tara home most of the way whilst I did some walking with the dogs...perfect day all round ;-)
Friday 29th July
Hot, hot, hot today. Out in the am but at the horses by 2.30pm. Spend undemanding time with them and Solly and Stormy go into the long grazing arena while I sort out some fencing (again! lol)
I then played around with some Liberty catching game and 'true connection' to sort out some issues with Stormy. Solly came to me almost right away and hung out behind me, away from the action but Stormy needed to move his feet and I stayed following him in the centre of the small arena and the only thing I do is not allow him to 'take space' from me (ie. stop and graze) the only space he's allowed to stop at is with me but only on my terms (ie. not allowed to come in to me with ears back, dominant or with any attitude ;-)
He doesn't take long to want to come in and we rest and play friendly game together. Solly's still at my side which is cool. I then play a bit with them, backups and try some sideways but Stormy needs to move his feet again SO off he goes and I help him go. He comes back much quicker this time and he does this in total 3 times, each time coming back quicker and with a nicer attitude. We then play with the big ball and he plays with it better today like he's figured out he CAN play with it and it's okay. He then gives me some fabulous sideways away and towards at liberty along the fence which was fab.
I then pop Storm into the next grazing arena and play with Solly on his own. Solly is great, very attentive and happy and so I go and get his saddle and saddle him up. I put him at liberty to play for cinching and he does some fabulous liberty circles at walk, trot and canter...everything going okay so I halter and mount up.
I didn't want to do too much, just keep our riding connection good so we did some freestyle RtR, circles and then some finesse 20m circles, fig 8's, serpentines, 10m circles, corners game and in walk, trot and canter ;-)
I then took him out to ride in the Horse Agility arena, over the tarp, fig 8's around cones and then a jump and fast trot to the gateway where I dismount and unsaddle Sol and put him with the herd. I catch Tara and ride her up the hill, the herd following to the water hole. First to drink is Holly and Stormy, then Solly and then Fortune and Tara.
I then played around with some Liberty catching game and 'true connection' to sort out some issues with Stormy. Solly came to me almost right away and hung out behind me, away from the action but Stormy needed to move his feet and I stayed following him in the centre of the small arena and the only thing I do is not allow him to 'take space' from me (ie. stop and graze) the only space he's allowed to stop at is with me but only on my terms (ie. not allowed to come in to me with ears back, dominant or with any attitude ;-)
He doesn't take long to want to come in and we rest and play friendly game together. Solly's still at my side which is cool. I then play a bit with them, backups and try some sideways but Stormy needs to move his feet again SO off he goes and I help him go. He comes back much quicker this time and he does this in total 3 times, each time coming back quicker and with a nicer attitude. We then play with the big ball and he plays with it better today like he's figured out he CAN play with it and it's okay. He then gives me some fabulous sideways away and towards at liberty along the fence which was fab.
I then pop Storm into the next grazing arena and play with Solly on his own. Solly is great, very attentive and happy and so I go and get his saddle and saddle him up. I put him at liberty to play for cinching and he does some fabulous liberty circles at walk, trot and canter...everything going okay so I halter and mount up.
I didn't want to do too much, just keep our riding connection good so we did some freestyle RtR, circles and then some finesse 20m circles, fig 8's, serpentines, 10m circles, corners game and in walk, trot and canter ;-)
I then took him out to ride in the Horse Agility arena, over the tarp, fig 8's around cones and then a jump and fast trot to the gateway where I dismount and unsaddle Sol and put him with the herd. I catch Tara and ride her up the hill, the herd following to the water hole. First to drink is Holly and Stormy, then Solly and then Fortune and Tara.
the annoying flying ants which are
abundant on the two grey horses Sol and Storm
but not to be seen at all on any of the darker horses??
WEIRD
abundant on the two grey horses Sol and Storm
but not to be seen at all on any of the darker horses??
WEIRD
Wednesday 27th July
Started off grey and dull but around noon it was blisteringly hot with a soft breeze and beautiful ;-) Off out to horses about 12.30, rode Tara down to the field and let her graze with the herd whilst I put the arena electric fencing back up. Stormy (and the others) pull it down regularly around this time of year, he's determined to get as much grazing as he can and we try to keep him off too much of it so that it lasts until Winter and when they come back to the house. Sometimes I think Stormy just likes to play so much that the posts are fun for him to fiddle with..hey ho, it gives me something to do whilst being around the herd with undemanding time. lol
Stormy and Solly came into the Horse Agility arena when I first started the fence and Stormy keeps playing around with my rucksack, riding hat, fleece and equipment so I go and ask him to stop...he thinks this is a fine time to start some play so I take the challenge and play with him and Solly at liberty in the big arena.
They run around, quite calm but happy to be moving their feet and I just passively follow. Anytime they stop I take back the space they're claiming from me and my arena and put them on the move again. They're both having a right old time of it and enjoying the interaction with me ;-) After a while though Solly has the right idea and comes over to me in a wonderful canter draw.
Stormy and Solly came into the Horse Agility arena when I first started the fence and Stormy keeps playing around with my rucksack, riding hat, fleece and equipment so I go and ask him to stop...he thinks this is a fine time to start some play so I take the challenge and play with him and Solly at liberty in the big arena.
They run around, quite calm but happy to be moving their feet and I just passively follow. Anytime they stop I take back the space they're claiming from me and my arena and put them on the move again. They're both having a right old time of it and enjoying the interaction with me ;-) After a while though Solly has the right idea and comes over to me in a wonderful canter draw.
So, I have Solly behind me, playing friendly game with him and Stormy still out cantering around enjoying himself but realising that he's on his own and trying to stop in the corners. I run around taking back my space in the arena and Solly is shadowing me well whilst I'm playing hard with Stormy. This was really fun, having one horse connected to me and another playing out in the arena....fabulous that Solly was so connected and happy to be with me that my playing with Stormy didn't upset him or faze him out, he knew I was focussed on Stormy playing but well connected to him behind me all at liberty still ;-)
Finally Stormy thought about coming in and we had a couple of tries and then he came in to me with a lovely trot draw. Great. We all relax and I play friendly game with them both, flicking flies off for them. Then I did some play with them both together. Managed some really nice sideling up to each other, backing up's and two really nice sideways together going to the left at liberty ;-)) That was really cool as a couple of years ago my leadership wasn't quite so good and the two boys together played and kicked out at each other but this time they were both very connected to me, listening and not worried about who was getting more attention from me etc. Cool ;-))
Finally Stormy thought about coming in and we had a couple of tries and then he came in to me with a lovely trot draw. Great. We all relax and I play friendly game with them both, flicking flies off for them. Then I did some play with them both together. Managed some really nice sideling up to each other, backing up's and two really nice sideways together going to the left at liberty ;-)) That was really cool as a couple of years ago my leadership wasn't quite so good and the two boys together played and kicked out at each other but this time they were both very connected to me, listening and not worried about who was getting more attention from me etc. Cool ;-))
I then put them both into the grassy arena for a break and to just hang out. After I'd had a break and said hello to the mares I decided to play 'ball' with them for fun. It was too hot to ride or do anything 'serious' so playing ball, I thought, would be liberty fun for them both. Funnily enough Stormy, the big playful boy, wasn't that interested...although I will try again another day to see if he realises how much fun this can be. BUT Solly was a star, he really enjoyed sniffing it, biting it, kicking it and moving it about with his head. He even tried to dominate it with a long neck lunge at it! lol. Here's some pic's....
I sat on the ball and Solly hung out with me for quite a while this way...it was lovely to be with him, peaceful, quiet and happy.
Mark then came to the field and trimmed Stormy's feet. I held him whilst he did this and flicked flies from Stormy's face which he really really appreciated it, he hung out almost sleeping behind me whilst I flicked them with a stick with some leather tassles on it, might have reminded him of being with another horses tail ;-)
Whilst flicking flies with Stomy I watched and photographed Tara going up to Solly to say 'Hi'...then her walking off and Solly following her for ages.
Then Tara went and said hello to her sister Fortune which was lovely
and then Solly came up and groomed Fortune....I love 'horse watching' ;-))
Stormy's feet done he was set back with the herd, I got Tara to catch me and I rode her back to the house....think I got a suntan today ;-))
A lovely day spent in the company of our herd of 5, liberty fun with Sol and Storm and loving that 'true connection' with Solly, completely at liberty with him today...LOVE IT ;)
Saturday 22nd July
What a beautiful sunny day today has been, from first thing all the way though, consistent sunshine and a light breeze...PERFECT.
On this wonderful note we go out early to hack out. I ride Tara with her saddle on (for a change) down to the field and Mark takes the car. He catches, grooms, saddles and plays with Holly and we're ready for a hack out. We leave Solly, Stormy and Fortune lazing about in the sunshine ;-)
We hack for about 3hrs, down to the village, up the hill onto the moorland and back down to the shop for apples and carrots for the horses and crisps and ice creams for us...yum, yum..now that's what a hack out is all about! lol
On this wonderful note we go out early to hack out. I ride Tara with her saddle on (for a change) down to the field and Mark takes the car. He catches, grooms, saddles and plays with Holly and we're ready for a hack out. We leave Solly, Stormy and Fortune lazing about in the sunshine ;-)
We hack for about 3hrs, down to the village, up the hill onto the moorland and back down to the shop for apples and carrots for the horses and crisps and ice creams for us...yum, yum..now that's what a hack out is all about! lol
Hacking Tara out to the village...
After the village shop we just come home. We did lots of transitions, grazing spots and enjoyed ourselves enormously, the weather was stunning and everyone we met on the track was happy and smiley today ;-)
Back at the field Mark lets Holly go and I catch Fortune for Mark to trim her hooves whilst I trim Tara's again. It's easier to keep them trimmed weekly or fortnightly in the Summer as their feet grow quickly this time of year.
Back at the field Mark lets Holly go and I catch Fortune for Mark to trim her hooves whilst I trim Tara's again. It's easier to keep them trimmed weekly or fortnightly in the Summer as their feet grow quickly this time of year.
Me bringing Tara and Fortune to the car for trimming
Just before leaving the field I let Solly catch up on some reading, we're doing a Perry Wood clinic in August so it's good to re-read his book so that both Solly and I are reading from the same pages ;-)) lol.
Friday 22nd July
Tara at the house this morning ;-0)
Looked like rain this morning so as soon as I could (around 11am) I rode Tara down to the grazing field to be with the horses. Funnily enough it doesn't rain at all and I have a good few hours with the herd before coming home. This is what I did....
1) Put up the electric fencing that Stormy has broken again this morning. I make the fenceline shorter to give them some longer grazing for a while. Usually when Stormy breaks the electric he's telling us that he needs more to eat and he prefers longer grazing SO hopefully with the new batch of grass he'll maybe leave the fenceline alone for a while! lol. I also hang out with Fortune for a bit, petting her, hand grooming her and sititng with her when she lay down for a rest.
Our beloved Fortune taking a snooze ;-)
2) Put Tara into a small area to graze down at the end of the big arena, do this after she's spent some time with the herd, saying hello to her sister Fortune and flirting with Solly and Stormy ;-)
3) Play with Solly (45'):
a) Friendly: all in place, no problems with relaxation today. It's been a few days since play/riding him so I'm going to put in the time to make sure we're still working from the same horsemanship space and not just assume that things are okay with him.
b) Backups: he's not bad on these but reinforce a good attitude as he's a little sticky at about 20'.
c) Sideways: about 15' away from Z1 L&R...not bad at all.
d) Circles: working on obedience rather than impulsion to start with and that's not bad BUT when I do get to work on impulsion he's very sluggish and breaks gait a lot SO, get more particular without being critical about both obedience and impulsion using circles with COD's and then onto fig' 8s. This combo works well. We end up doing some nice canter circles with a jump and some moving circles which we both like.
e) Sitting down: I then sit on a barrel that is laying down and ask Sol to go sideways over the small white barrel at a distance. I wasnt' sure if this would work as not tried it before BUT his sideways is going well and needs moving on as it feels a bit boring now even though it's not perfect yet. Doing sideways from a distance, putting me a bit in Z1 was fun, he did it well and it really showed me that our communication is very good and refined now ;-) I then stay sitting and ask him to put his front feet into a hulahoop. This takes some time as he's some distance away. He puts feet in hoop quite quickly but I spend some time reinforcing that he's to stay there and not move his feet out. lol
4) Riding:
a) Saddled and cinched I have Sol in the halter, reins with the bridle ontop without any reins on to see if he can just hold it whilst riding around. I try this for a while and maybe should have done it longer BUT he's very reluctant to go forward and my hamstring injury is starting to ache so I take the bridle off (once again) and work with just the halter/reins.
b) Impulsion: work through a thousand quick, calm transitions especially using backup as this seems to be very sticky today. It takes about half an hour but his trans and impulsion are working better after I have a little talking to him ;-) lol.
c) Flexibility: after we get our impulsion back I then work on lots and lots of circles and fig 8's, over trotting poles so that we get more lift in his body and more bend to L&R equally. Again he's a bit sticky/stiff in his flexing but circles with plenty of inside suspension rein and inside leg to help him curve around my inside leg. Once these are more in place then I go to riding the rail.
b) Impulsion: work through a thousand quick, calm transitions especially using backup as this seems to be very sticky today. It takes about half an hour but his trans and impulsion are working better after I have a little talking to him ;-) lol.
c) Flexibility: after we get our impulsion back I then work on lots and lots of circles and fig 8's, over trotting poles so that we get more lift in his body and more bend to L&R equally. Again he's a bit sticky/stiff in his flexing but circles with plenty of inside suspension rein and inside leg to help him curve around my inside leg. Once these are more in place then I go to riding the rail.
d) Riding the Rail: I'm using this pattern today to help with a new ask for me and Solly. I decided that today was the day we'll attempt/try and make better our walk/canter transitions. I've really been working hard on my own body to help be more symetrical and when I can't be symetrical at least to try to be in the right place at the right time to ask for canter L&R. I have trouble asking for left leads as my right hip is more dominant but riding Tara bareback as much as possible has been helping me place my body in a better position for asking this now.
It takes some time and it's not very refined or 'pretty' BUT we start to get walk/canter transitions YEEHAAAA...this is a first for me and Solly and I'm very chuffed with our tries together.
It takes some time and it's not very refined or 'pretty' BUT we start to get walk/canter transitions YEEHAAAA...this is a first for me and Solly and I'm very chuffed with our tries together.
d) Out in the big field: I decide to end the riding training session for today and ride out into the big field for some fun and general riding around. I go out of the HA arena and to the herd and then ask if Solly will take me at least half way up the hill...NOPE...he has a very strong reaction to not going up the hill and I work for a while on fig 8's around, away and near the problem area. I'm determined to help him get through this sticky place that keeps being a problem and so I actually sit on him for 20 mins asking for one step forward when he can give it to me until we finally get past the sticky patch??? Very strange and it really was a problem, he was backing up, thrashing his head, not wanting to turn left and generally being worried and stressed about something at this spot. It wasn't as if the herd would be out of sight, they were just to our right!!!? weird.
But finally he does it and I take him just a little bit past the problem area, come back down and then straight back up and do this with some small circles L&R thrown in until we could come all the way down and then half way back up the hill again! weird to say the least...note to self to do this often to help break down this barrier!!
But finally he does it and I take him just a little bit past the problem area, come back down and then straight back up and do this with some small circles L&R thrown in until we could come all the way down and then half way back up the hill again! weird to say the least...note to self to do this often to help break down this barrier!!
~~~~~~~
After all the play and riding done today I feel I've left Solly in a much better place than when I found him. He was nice and peaceful but now has some nice willing obedience, soft impulsion and rounded flexibility ;-))
I jump back on Tara and make my way back home. At home Mark has just finished the first of two bridges between the winter paddocks. This first one is over a small stream that gets quite wide when the snow melts or rains come so it's important to have somewhere we and the horses can cross without making the river banks more squidgy. And here it is, officially being opened by me and Tara ......
I jump back on Tara and make my way back home. At home Mark has just finished the first of two bridges between the winter paddocks. This first one is over a small stream that gets quite wide when the snow melts or rains come so it's important to have somewhere we and the horses can cross without making the river banks more squidgy. And here it is, officially being opened by me and Tara ......
Thursday 21st July
Had to go out this morning and came back, got ready to go out with the horses and guess what? It started to rain hard. Thought it would stop but it only stopped at 5pm so rode Tara down to horses with Mark walking dogs at the time when he goes to feed horses dinner. Good ride there although still drizzling. Let Tara hang out with the herd for a while before feeding and then put her in her little paddock with her dinner ready to ride her back home. Going home Mark rode her and I walked the dogs for a change ;-)
Miss being with the herd today but determined to spend the whole day with them tomorrow and Saturday to make up for last two days ;-)) pray the weather is nice to us so that I can go and play/ride Solly, play with Stormy and groom them if possible. Here are a couple of pic's of Mark riding Tara back home in the grey Scottish drizzle of Summer.......
Miss being with the herd today but determined to spend the whole day with them tomorrow and Saturday to make up for last two days ;-)) pray the weather is nice to us so that I can go and play/ride Solly, play with Stormy and groom them if possible. Here are a couple of pic's of Mark riding Tara back home in the grey Scottish drizzle of Summer.......
Wednesday 20th July
Very tired today after driving quite a lot over last few days SO instead of taking tiredness down to the horses and playing I take a nice quiet, slow ride on Tara down to the horses field, let her off and then sit and stand with the horses helping to shoo the flies off them. Stormy came up for some help with flies first and then Solly came and stood with me for about an hour...think my fly shooing is getting better with the stick/string I use ;-)
I rode Tara back to the house after Mark came with the doggies to feed the horses dinner. It was a nice, peaceful bit of undemanding time with the herd and it was perfect for how I was feeling. It also helped to get my connection back with them without asking anything from them, to just 'BE' with them in their world on their schedule...perfect ;-))
I rode Tara back to the house after Mark came with the doggies to feed the horses dinner. It was a nice, peaceful bit of undemanding time with the herd and it was perfect for how I was feeling. It also helped to get my connection back with them without asking anything from them, to just 'BE' with them in their world on their schedule...perfect ;-))
Sunday 17th July
Driving up to Loch Ness this afternoon so out with horses as early as possible to get some special time in with Solly online and ridden before I go. Didn't do too much, just some online games for fun and seeing where his impulsion and obedience are today and then saddle up and ride for about an hour. Took it slowly and did lots of w/t transitions. Walked over the tarp and lots of fig 8's and serpentines to help his flexibility. Didn't feel on top form today so didn't overdo things. Managed some canter trans and a couple of small jumps and called it quits ;-)
Here are a couple of pics from the day:
next best thing....jumping it ;-)
Saturday 16th July
Been away teaching again and yesterday I was completely tuckered out but today the day according to the Met office was dry in the am and raining in the late afternoon SO out we go to see the horses before the rain starts. Day starts out pretty nice actually and I have a polo shirt on and NO fleece or jacket (yeehaa) BUT the clegs are in their prime and as I ride down to the field on Tara I'm just so glad she's a good girl as she takes me to the field on auto-pilot whilst I kill as many clegs that get on her and me as possible! yuk.
In the field Solly and Stormy come over to get their grazing and I go and groom them at liberty. It's so nice to be back with my horses, amongst the herd, getting my 'connection' back with each one ;-) I know the rain is going to come so I decide that although we've only glanced over the OLHA courses this month I will just film them without any practise today as I'm working over the weekend and quite a bit next week and with the weather the way it is I just have to take the opportunities when I get them.
In the field Solly and Stormy come over to get their grazing and I go and groom them at liberty. It's so nice to be back with my horses, amongst the herd, getting my 'connection' back with each one ;-) I know the rain is going to come so I decide that although we've only glanced over the OLHA courses this month I will just film them without any practise today as I'm working over the weekend and quite a bit next week and with the weather the way it is I just have to take the opportunities when I get them.
So, off I go. First I film Solly in his online class, then in his liberty class. I put him back to grazing after being a good boy for me and Stormy wants to play. Mark then video's me and Stormy online and then for fun at liberty too. My two boys did me proud. It was a lot of fun playing with them today, not too much to do but a nice interaction from them both.
To see the four OLHA video's for July go to the buttons on the right hand side of this blog (1b) Horse Agility. I'll post the results as soon as I get them ;-)
Stormy played around with the big green ball after his session which was fun too, here are some pics:
Ride Tara back to the house and here is some pic's of our gate closing...we do this gate regularly and Tara is really good with gates now ;-)
Tuesday 12th July
Didn't get to the horses until 4pm today but that was okay as I just wanted to 'connect' with them rather than play/ride too much. I've been working on/off and today just felt like a day to hang out with them a bit.
So, Mark drives down to the field and gets to trim Fortune's back feet...that makes all the 5 horses now trimmed up neat and tidy ;-) I ride down on Tara and she's nice and lively today with quite a bit of canter in her which is lovely to ride.
When we get to the field I set Tara loose to say hello to the herd. She says hello and squeals with Solly and then heads straight for her sister and they graze side by side for a while. In the meantime I put Stormy and then Solly into the main arena for their grazing and then go and fetch Tara and put her into a smaller area so as not to blow her diet. She's lost aIl about 52kgs this month by being at the house and it really shows in her body and her energy levels. Her legs look longer (no big fat belly) and this makes her look taller ;-)
I then go into the arena, say hello to Stormy and then ask Solly to come and connect with me, he comes over beautifully and we played a bit at liberty. We did some S2M, w/t/h/bkups and then some sideways too. He's very relaxed so I halter him up and we do some sidepassing over a small barrel L&R. Not bad but still not smooth or totally calm so will keep practising this.
I then take him out of the arena into the HA arena to work on some bits of the OLHA course this month. We start out with the hulahoop and he manages to put his front feet in one and his back feet in the other after about 4 attempts...so not bad at all. I leave this and ask him to go over the pedastal...okay with that one.
I have his bridle with me today and I'm not saying that I'll ever ride with the bit/bridle on to ride BUT I realise it is a good exercise to bit him often to keep him sweet about me in his mouth, he will need to see the dentist this year so I don't want him worrying about it OR being dominant about opening his mouth at all. SO, I go to bit him and he's back to his old tricks of not wanting to bridle up, head up, head down, teeth clenched and a lot of other behaviours that had gone when I bitted him regularly. In the end, with calmness, I stand in front of him and hold just the bit up to him, with the bridle hanging down/inside out, and then ask him to open his mouth with my fingers either side of his mouth and pop the bit in, he plays around with it a bit but I just ignore it all and go and play.
Then we end up going around the OLHA course in reverse order just for fun and he does very very well with it all. I'm away working for the next two days but on Friday I may just put in some practise with Stormy on Friday, tweak the hulahoops with Solly and then film it all on Saturday (fingers crossed the weather is nice on Sat! ;-) By playing with the bit/bridle on I hope he realises that it's not about me riding and using the bridle, but about him being more willing to let me into his mouth. At the end of playing I gently take the bit out, he holds the middle bit in his mouth (not wanting to let it go...you can see how this is HIS game and I have to figure out how to take his game more and make it my own), whilst he's holding it I pop it back into his mouth without a problem. I do this a few times and then take it out cleanly by asking him to open his mouth fully and drop it. I then hang it up on a fence post and ignore it again. So that was day one of bitting again, I will continue to do this every day, even if it's just play/bitting and then off again.
So, after all that fun I just decide to jump up on Solly bareback (now note I didn't have my riding hat and I apologise for the pic's as I always wear a hard hat now but we only did backup and a fig 8 and I jumped off). It was lovely to sit on him and feel how light he is nowadays, his backup was fab.
I set him free in the main field and go and collect Tara to get me back home again and when she came out of the arena Stormy and Solly were there to greet her. Stormy says hi and then moves off, Solly stays with me and Tara (he loves us both ;-) and I do some S2M w/Tara online on my left and Solly at liberty on my right (w/t/h/bk ;-)
So, Mark drives down to the field and gets to trim Fortune's back feet...that makes all the 5 horses now trimmed up neat and tidy ;-) I ride down on Tara and she's nice and lively today with quite a bit of canter in her which is lovely to ride.
When we get to the field I set Tara loose to say hello to the herd. She says hello and squeals with Solly and then heads straight for her sister and they graze side by side for a while. In the meantime I put Stormy and then Solly into the main arena for their grazing and then go and fetch Tara and put her into a smaller area so as not to blow her diet. She's lost aIl about 52kgs this month by being at the house and it really shows in her body and her energy levels. Her legs look longer (no big fat belly) and this makes her look taller ;-)
I then go into the arena, say hello to Stormy and then ask Solly to come and connect with me, he comes over beautifully and we played a bit at liberty. We did some S2M, w/t/h/bkups and then some sideways too. He's very relaxed so I halter him up and we do some sidepassing over a small barrel L&R. Not bad but still not smooth or totally calm so will keep practising this.
I then take him out of the arena into the HA arena to work on some bits of the OLHA course this month. We start out with the hulahoop and he manages to put his front feet in one and his back feet in the other after about 4 attempts...so not bad at all. I leave this and ask him to go over the pedastal...okay with that one.
I have his bridle with me today and I'm not saying that I'll ever ride with the bit/bridle on to ride BUT I realise it is a good exercise to bit him often to keep him sweet about me in his mouth, he will need to see the dentist this year so I don't want him worrying about it OR being dominant about opening his mouth at all. SO, I go to bit him and he's back to his old tricks of not wanting to bridle up, head up, head down, teeth clenched and a lot of other behaviours that had gone when I bitted him regularly. In the end, with calmness, I stand in front of him and hold just the bit up to him, with the bridle hanging down/inside out, and then ask him to open his mouth with my fingers either side of his mouth and pop the bit in, he plays around with it a bit but I just ignore it all and go and play.
Then we end up going around the OLHA course in reverse order just for fun and he does very very well with it all. I'm away working for the next two days but on Friday I may just put in some practise with Stormy on Friday, tweak the hulahoops with Solly and then film it all on Saturday (fingers crossed the weather is nice on Sat! ;-) By playing with the bit/bridle on I hope he realises that it's not about me riding and using the bridle, but about him being more willing to let me into his mouth. At the end of playing I gently take the bit out, he holds the middle bit in his mouth (not wanting to let it go...you can see how this is HIS game and I have to figure out how to take his game more and make it my own), whilst he's holding it I pop it back into his mouth without a problem. I do this a few times and then take it out cleanly by asking him to open his mouth fully and drop it. I then hang it up on a fence post and ignore it again. So that was day one of bitting again, I will continue to do this every day, even if it's just play/bitting and then off again.
So, after all that fun I just decide to jump up on Solly bareback (now note I didn't have my riding hat and I apologise for the pic's as I always wear a hard hat now but we only did backup and a fig 8 and I jumped off). It was lovely to sit on him and feel how light he is nowadays, his backup was fab.
LF with Solly
Fig 8's...he's so light to my legs now
I set him free in the main field and go and collect Tara to get me back home again and when she came out of the arena Stormy and Solly were there to greet her. Stormy says hi and then moves off, Solly stays with me and Tara (he loves us both ;-) and I do some S2M w/Tara online on my left and Solly at liberty on my right (w/t/h/bk ;-)
S2M backups with my two horses ;-)
COOL....I LOVE OUR HORSES.
Here's a couple of pics from today that I thought were nice:
This really shows the difference in the size of our two boys
Stormy (18.2hh) & Solly (16hh)
Stormy (18.2hh) & Solly (16hh)
Stunning Stormy ;-)
More beautiful Stormy...he's got lovely soft eyes
Sunday 10th July
Today started off a bit rainy but then we had a break in the weather so we grabbed the chance to get out with the horses.
I decided that today was the day to set up the OLHA (on line Horse Agility) course for July and it took quite a while to sort things out but at least now they're in place ready to practise.
I then thought I'd just pop through the course for some online practise with Solly. He was quiet today and we did plenty of rubbing and scratches to make up for the fact I've been away for a while teaching. We then went through the course. Solly is doing the First Level / Class 4 horses.
I decided that today was the day to set up the OLHA (on line Horse Agility) course for July and it took quite a while to sort things out but at least now they're in place ready to practise.
I then thought I'd just pop through the course for some online practise with Solly. He was quiet today and we did plenty of rubbing and scratches to make up for the fact I've been away for a while teaching. We then went through the course. Solly is doing the First Level / Class 4 horses.
1) Front feet in a hula hoop / back feet in another hula hoop.
He actually did this a couple of times and once where to help him get the idea I put his fronts in the hoop and physically picked up his backs and placed the hoop so his feet were in the hoop.....noted to self that if he has trouble putting his feet into one or other hoop on the filming day I will take this approach...doesn't say anywhere that I can't!! ;-)
2) Onto tarp and turn horse around 360 without stepping off tarp.
He didn't have a problem with this but I was very specific about whether I wanted a HQ or FQ manoeuvre and slowed it all down.
3) Back horse up through a narrow gap of 3' wide.
I used two barrels for this as I know they're harder to do but it's good practise. They are also sturdier so he's more likely to be careful about where his butt/feet are going.
4) Back over two poles 30" between poles.
He started off with a bit of trouble but I remembered our 'up feet' cue (which is me asking for backup from Z1 and raising my hand/energy more in a 'lift' thought) and he did the two poles well.
5) Drape a flag over his head and draw it off over his body and tail.
Very lucky that we've been doing a LOT of playing around with the flags this year or this would have been very difficult for dear Sol. As it was his head went up for a second at the start but he stood still and didn't worry at all about this task ;-)
6) Carry two plastic bags over horses back for 12'.
Forgot the bags so didn't do this task BUT did the liberty task which is to drape arm over withers and walk with horse for 12' and that was okay but will practise that one. Having a 16hh horse makes it harder to drape my arm over him...and you can just imagine what fun I'll have trying this task with 18.2hh Stormy! lol.
7) Weave at trot.
Not a problem with this, he was smooth and respected my space.
8) Jump, 20'30" high.
Must take a tape measure down for all these measurements as only have tyres and poles so not sure what 20-30" looks like! lol. Luckily I don't have to jump this for this level (but will at Stormy's starter and Sol's liberty bits..often I don't jump w/Stormy but stay beside as don't want to get pushed whilst jumping next to his big body) Anyway, Sol jumped two tyres with a pole across and then three tyres with a pole across so jumping not a problem ;-)
9) Walk through a zig-zag.
I made sure the passage way was big enough for me and a horse and this went very smoothly.
10) Imagination Task.
Well I've set up a few things for this as we have to do it on each test. For Stormy's Starter level I'm going to ask him to put his two front feet into a very large tractor tyre, maybe even move around the whole thing with his feet in there! Will see how it goes. For Solly's First level I think he will stand all 4 feet onto a pedastal under the curtain and for Solly's liberty test we're going to do the HA blue hoop jump. He practised both his tasks and did very well on both of them. YEEHAA, love watching him jump the hoop, he did it SO neatly.
Whilst I was having fun, dear Mark was trimming big Stormys feet and he now looks more balanced. After playing with Solly I then did his feet and I've been doing his feet regularly every 2 weeks now and they were easy and quick to do which is half the battle of trimming them ourselves. Then it started to rain, Mark got the course obstacles down and set Solly back into the grazing field whilst I put a bareback pad on Tara and in the pouring rain we went home for tea and cake ;-))
Fed up with rain but we've been clever enough to take advantage of the dry spells and manged to do quite a lot with the horses over the weekend. All the horses have now been trimmed and that's a relief.
(kept singing Queen's 'your my best friend' to her as it seemed appropriate!)
Saturday 9th July
Starting off sunny and warm so out we go to play/ride horses. I saddle Tara up at the house and follow Mark in the car to the grazing field. There the horses give Tara a nice welcome and I ride her around with the other horses whilst she says her hello's (this usually consists of nose to nose breathing and then a sharp squeal and strike out of a front leg from Tara. lol)
Mark goes to get Holly and I take Tara into the Horse Agility arena where I decide to do some flag 'acceptance' work with her. NOTE: I decided as a trainer to stop using the word DESENSITIZATION as I don't want a desensitized horse, I want a sensitive horse that accepts many unusual things!!!
She is quite a sceptical horse being a RBint by nature but she is also very trusting of a good, calm, competent leader. I know her worries and work with her with the flag above her (ok), next to her low (ok), and behind her (ok). Her main worry is with it low and infront of her, it seems to block her forward movement SO I take the flag and have it down, infront but just to the side of her and ask her to 'follow' the scary thing (just as I have done on the ground) and she tries her best with this and slowly gets more confident about it being with her everywhere she goes.
In the end we have some nice trotting work with the flag pole sitting on my foot and she's not worried by it at all ;-)
Tara following the flag whilst riddenMark goes to get Holly and I take Tara into the Horse Agility arena where I decide to do some flag 'acceptance' work with her. NOTE: I decided as a trainer to stop using the word DESENSITIZATION as I don't want a desensitized horse, I want a sensitive horse that accepts many unusual things!!!
She is quite a sceptical horse being a RBint by nature but she is also very trusting of a good, calm, competent leader. I know her worries and work with her with the flag above her (ok), next to her low (ok), and behind her (ok). Her main worry is with it low and infront of her, it seems to block her forward movement SO I take the flag and have it down, infront but just to the side of her and ask her to 'follow' the scary thing (just as I have done on the ground) and she tries her best with this and slowly gets more confident about it being with her everywhere she goes.
In the end we have some nice trotting work with the flag pole sitting on my foot and she's not worried by it at all ;-)
Put horses front legs in one hula hoop and back legs in another hula hoop.
Just in case BOTH boys decide on filming the OLHA this month that
they can't do it, I've proved that it can be done by the wonderful Tara ;-0
Mark by this time has saddled and played with Holly and we take them both out to the village to get some electricity. The ride was good, they went past a dustcart (working on a Sat?) and also did very well when a mountain biker passed us on the narrow track. We gave them apples at the shop and had a drink ourselves and then back without incidents. Lots of transitions and it was very enjoyable.
Just before we went out the BOYS were showing off, maybe because they were deciding who was getting Tara if she stayed OR the flies getting to them OR Holly being taken away? not sure why BUT they were racing around the field like a wild herd with a bear chasing them! lol. I managed to get my whits about me and take a couple of pictures but they raced around away and to us about 4 times and it was very exciting. Here are the pic's from it.
Just before we went out the BOYS were showing off, maybe because they were deciding who was getting Tara if she stayed OR the flies getting to them OR Holly being taken away? not sure why BUT they were racing around the field like a wild herd with a bear chasing them! lol. I managed to get my whits about me and take a couple of pictures but they raced around away and to us about 4 times and it was very exciting. Here are the pic's from it.
After trimming Tara and Mark trimming Holly and fronts of Fortune,
the herd calm and relaxed while the rain poured from the sky.
Leaving Tara there until later when she'll come back to the house paddocks
to keep her weight down. Lovely to have them as a herd for a while ;-))
Sunday 3rd July
SUN, SUN, SUN...wow....two fabulous days so far, yesterday I had blazing sunshine auditing a Perry Wood clinic in Fife and today it's still with us and we get to hack out in just shirt sleeves! FABULOUS ;0)
So, today we decide to ride Solly and Stormy out. Mark rode Holly yesterday and I'm riding Tara daily from the house for exercise so the boys could do with a fun hack out. I ride Tara down to the field and Mark drives the car with the equipment in. The boys catch us immediately and we put them into the large HA arena to graze for a while and I let Tara loose in the big field so that she can be with her sister Fortune and herd leader Holly while the boys are hacking with us. It's nice to see the 'girls' have some time together without the boys pushing them around.
So, Mark plays big time with Stormy and I play with Solly. Not too long but enough to know they're responsive, light, whoa=go and flexing nicely to L&R. We then both saddle up, cinch and mount up ready for a bit of riding in the arena before going out. All just to check things are working. Stop. Go. Left. Right. Backups. Walk. Trot. Canter. No bucks. No fizz. No spooking. ALL GOING WELL ;-)
Then we ride up the big hill, out of the gate and out on the hack, to the village for apples and ice cream and then back. All I can say is Stormy was a good boy, Solly was FANTASTIC. Both boys were calm, happy and enjoying the ride out. Stormy was the baby and could do with more riding for the basic's (ie. dont' grab at grass so much) but Solly was like the old experienced horse and I enjoyed every second of it ;-) Maybe riding the two geldings is just perfect for all concerned as I didn't have a worry or spooky thought at all today. FAB. Here are some piccie's from our hack:
Me riding Tara to the horses field
Mark mounting Stormy from an upright barrel...only thing high enough! lol
Mounted and ready to go
Cheking gaits, w/t
Checking L&R with some weave
Checking canter out
Out on the track hacking ;-)
Me, calm and happy on a very responsible Solly ;-)
The boys waiting patiently for their apples outside the village shop ;-)
Walking the boys from the village to find a safe mounting block
Me remounted and ready to ride home
Mark and Stormy cooling off their feet together
Me and Solly at the stream, he had a quick drink
Stormy being the lead for a while, our field is just by the tree line there ;-)
Me and Solly having a fantastic canter on the last stretch of hill home ;-)) LOVED IT
Mark and the BOYS after our ride out
Me and Tara just getting out of the field ready to ride back home ;-)
The boys following on to see us off. lol
The boys following on to see us off. lol
Friday 1st July
WOW, it's July already...can't believe hwo quickly the year is flying by. Today is overcast but not cold so I ride Tara when Mark walks the dogs to the horses for breakfast and she whinney's BIG TIME to the herd who all come up to see her again. I fuss around Fortune and Solly and when I look back to Tara she and Stormy are grooming each other. It's lovely to see Stormy welcoming her back to the herd like this ;-)
Tara and Stormy mutual grooming,
the electric fence between them does not stop friends from saying hello ;-)
the electric fence between them does not stop friends from saying hello ;-)
While there is only Stormy in the arena I go in and see if he responds to some liberty, I start off with some catching me game and he does well but then I go to some Stick 2 Me in Z2-3, he has fun there and often finds it more fun to run off so I just walk back to him and in the end work on some Z5 following/driving (what Carolyn Resnick calls 'Leading from Behind') and I like doing this as it establishes leadership and also mutual trust. After he trots/canters of a few times he gets that I can stay behind him but he doesn't need to run off as I'm not driving him, I'm just following him nicely and moving him on gently only if he stops ('Taking Territory'). When he does trot off he only goes for about 2-3 strides, turns and I back up whilst swinging my training stick and string over my head in an arch and he catches me beautifully each time. Slowly building up a better pattern with him with this method and I love playing at liberty with him (and the others) as it really shows where our relationship is ;-)
So, I let Stormy go back to grazing and go and fetch Solly, he comes trotting over to me the second I get into the roundpen (nice ;-) and I take him out into the open area next to the pen. I halter and put the 45' line on him and we work on some very nice back up/draws and then onto some sideways around the outside of the roundpen.....working up to Z5 sideways around the roundpen which was pretty darn good ;-)
We then move onto some circles with transitions (w/t/c) and COD's thrown in at trot and canter with a couple of FLC's. All going well so I take him back to the main arena where Stormy is and saddle him up. We play a little to make sure our cinching is good and then I put the clip on rope reins to his halter and mount up. Today I'm using the dressage whip as I've found that by changing equipment often keeps everything light with plenty of variety. Using the dressage whip also means I can use my hands less and keep a feel on the reins without having to move to flick him with the little whips string if necessary, so therefore is more refined.
We start off with some LF and DHQ's and then move on to walking out and doing 90 degreen turns using the FQ's first and then the HQ's and keeping him engaged (ie. turning using a refined DHQ but only 1-2 strides with full forward motion, not a disengage!) and this helps to bring his inside hind leg underneath him more. He does them okay and we will work more on these online and ridden as we go.
We then do some w/t transitions with some 15m and 20m circles thrown in when needing to ask for more flexibility one way or the other. On a couple of long sides of the arena I ask him to do a small circle at the end and then go into leg yielding for half the width of the school and then back to the track again. Need to do more of these as we go along. His trans are much better, lighter and with a bit more lift in them today which is lovely to feel. I then throw in some canter and again those feel nice too. Everything we did was pretty light, calm and happy which was nice.
starting leg yields...must try to make this more refined
canter is feeling much better and more willing and light
more canter...what a good boy
head nice and low, relaxing after some finesse ;-)
I let him relax with a long rein and then we go into the HA arena for some fun. He was a little more reticent about going in the HA arena today but it may have been because the car was there with the dogs in it but I paid no attention and just focussed on having a bit of fun in here.
We start with seeing if he's happy to go up to the flag which is flying and upright propped in a cone. He actually did very well with this. I could feel he went a little tight but with good leadership he realised nothing untoward was going to happen. We've done a LOT of flag desensitization on the ground so I wanted to up the anti with the flag today. One of my dreams in 2011 is to ride with a flag!!!
So, we work on having the flag near us, in front of us and other places whilst riding....
Sniffing the flag initially, he's buried his head in it! lol
Not sure if he's hiding or just keeping the flies off his face ;-)
Not sure if he's hiding or just keeping the flies off his face ;-)
letting him see and sniff it's end, making sure he's paying attention
slowly opening it out more
bringing it up to his side now open more
getting more upright
...until finally it's upright, leaning on my foot and flying proud.
Another first for Solly ;-)
Another first for Solly ;-)
And then just for fun we do some jumps and then leave it on a fun, good note. I dismount, put him back in the main field with some treats and hugs, bring Stormy out too and then put Tara's bareback pad on and head for home. I love good days like this and nowadays they're more often good than not so good and I love that it's like this more and more ;-)
