Sunday 31st June
Last day before I go out teaching for a week around Stirlingshire/Lanarkshire/Dumfries & Galloway.
I play with Stormy after saddling to see how he is feeling about riding today...
Listening to my energy and body cues nicely
I rode him, looking for softness, lightness, willingness, go = whoa and ease of turning...he really did well, the more we do the lighter he becomes.
SO, with all things going so well with me and Stormy I decide to take him out of the round pen and do some jumps!!! ;)
Finishing June on a very high note, bring on July ;)
Friday 28th June
Oh what a fun play/riding session I had with Solly today. We did something different for a change, I took him on the 45' line into the long grass field next to ours. This field has nothing on it this year (apart from a few cheeky escapee sheep and deer! lol) so it was a test of leadership for us to be able to play circles with COD's in walk, trot and canter. He did brilliantly and he really started using his hindquarters more up and down the hills, his back lifting nicely and tracking up well too ;)
Here's some pics to show what we did in the big field...
Here's some pics to show what we did in the big field...
The ridden work went very well too....no arena work, just saddled in a round pen and then mounted off a jump in the main field. We did walk and trot around the field, around the pens, around the cone circle and plenty of stops and rewards by specific obstacles when he put in some effort. He was light, willing and listening intently to my requests. Transitions were off my thought/energy and to finish we had a lovely canter up the big hill to Tara's paddock ;) FAB
Thursday 27th June
Late start today but got out and played and rode big Stormy....yipee and yeehaa ;) I MUST do this more often so that he gets better and better with our riding.
I start by letting Tara out of her paddock and she had a nice run with the herd and when they settled I asked her into one of the round pens, this way she gets to eat a little but not gorge herself whilst out.
I start by letting Tara out of her paddock and she had a nice run with the herd and when they settled I asked her into one of the round pens, this way she gets to eat a little but not gorge herself whilst out.
I then went and asked Stormy if he wanted to play and he came over and allowed me to halter him nicely so that was a yes. Here is out play session in pictures....
Jumping went very well, he did more but it's difficult to play, hold rope and take pictures too. lol. He had fun so we had a rest, some scratches and treats and then went into the Horse Agility arena for more fun.
That was a LOT of fun playing with him and he was in such a good connection with me that I went and saddled him and played with him in the 2nd round pen.
I then ask him to sidle over to my mounting block and relax whilst I get on. I'd forgotten how good he feels to sit on, so big and strong but also not big BIG or fat....great to sit on him again ;) I then check things like lateral flexion and disengagement of his hindquarters. All working well so we work on forwards....straight to the first cone for 'touch it'....yup, keeping games the same so there is some consistency for us.
We work on touch it around all the cones one way, then the same going the other way with good breaks at some cones and rest times at different cones so that he doesn't always stop at same cones. Works well ;)
Next I ask him to weave around the 6 cones one way and stop, then the other way and stop and then weave and not stop so we can work on some variety too. This is fun and when he has a little 'stop' in his step we work on moving his hindquarters to create forward motions...works well...also work on bumping rein and heel on sides instead of steady pressure, this work better than steady pressure too ;)
Next I ask him to weave around the 6 cones one way and stop, then the other way and stop and then weave and not stop so we can work on some variety too. This is fun and when he has a little 'stop' in his step we work on moving his hindquarters to create forward motions...works well...also work on bumping rein and heel on sides instead of steady pressure, this work better than steady pressure too ;)
After a good rest by one of the cones I decide to do fig 8's around any two cones that are places around the round pen, this gives us some variety which keeps us both using our minds and bodies and at the end of this we're much more connected and getting fluid....love it ;)
My last task is to ride Tara bareback around the round pens and then back up to her night time paddock, the herd follows us which is so cool.
going up the hill at the end of our session ;)
FAB SESSION, love riding our horses, they're the BEST :)
Monday 24th June
Been a few days but got around to playing with Solly again today. We had a lovely online session where I used a Horseman's flag instead of my normal training arm/string. Solly was totally unphased which was good, if he was worried by it I would have spent a long time working on the friendly game with it. I used it mainly to help encourage his near hind leg to start to 'engage' more, to step forward and underneath his body more and free up his back. It worked quite well and we ended on a good note with that.
Next we had a fabulous liberty session in the round pen. I asked him to follow me whilst I walked backwards and asked him to snake around my training arm, like a shoulder in, both sides went very well. We next had a lovely session of Zone 5 driving in walk and trot getting some beautiful fig 8's with lightness and connection ;) Then I asked him to circle around me and then put some COD's in there.....built this up to fig 8's in trot and then finally in canter. He did a nice FLC one way but had difficulty doing it the other way....I noticed a graze on his back leg...looked like he'd been kicked out at so he may be sore on his hind right leg and that maybe why he was having difficulty. Ended on a good note and he did a lovely 'bow' for me ;)
Then I put the lunging pad on him and the Light Rider bitless bridle and 'Lungie bungie' and did some work with that. Going very slowly with it to help him find balance, lightness and ease with this equipment. We did walk L&R then trot L&R and then we did some long lining with it too. Very pleased with this so far and will continue to use it to help him learn about engaging his hindquarters so that riding will be easier for us both.
Here's some pic's from the lunging section today:
Next we had a fabulous liberty session in the round pen. I asked him to follow me whilst I walked backwards and asked him to snake around my training arm, like a shoulder in, both sides went very well. We next had a lovely session of Zone 5 driving in walk and trot getting some beautiful fig 8's with lightness and connection ;) Then I asked him to circle around me and then put some COD's in there.....built this up to fig 8's in trot and then finally in canter. He did a nice FLC one way but had difficulty doing it the other way....I noticed a graze on his back leg...looked like he'd been kicked out at so he may be sore on his hind right leg and that maybe why he was having difficulty. Ended on a good note and he did a lovely 'bow' for me ;)
Then I put the lunging pad on him and the Light Rider bitless bridle and 'Lungie bungie' and did some work with that. Going very slowly with it to help him find balance, lightness and ease with this equipment. We did walk L&R then trot L&R and then we did some long lining with it too. Very pleased with this so far and will continue to use it to help him learn about engaging his hindquarters so that riding will be easier for us both.
Here's some pic's from the lunging section today:
and working well with the big Storm
finding it very comfortable to use too ;)
Tuesday 18th June
finding it very comfortable to use too ;)
Tuesday 18th June
Lovely day for playing SO resting Solly today and went to play with Stormy...oh what fun ;)
Firstly I let Tara out of her small 'safe grass area' and let her catch up with the herd, then I wizzed around on the quad bike and Solly ran with me...how cool is he :) I then caught Tara up and put her in one of the round pens, this way the herd comes down off the hill and Stormy came up and asked to play. This is what we did...
1) Online/Horse Agility Fun:
We played on a 22' feather light rope and it was a lot of fun.....scary corner, tarps, hula hoops, poles, squeezes, sideways and barrels.
Firstly I let Tara out of her small 'safe grass area' and let her catch up with the herd, then I wizzed around on the quad bike and Solly ran with me...how cool is he :) I then caught Tara up and put her in one of the round pens, this way the herd comes down off the hill and Stormy came up and asked to play. This is what we did...
1) Online/Horse Agility Fun:
We played on a 22' feather light rope and it was a lot of fun.....scary corner, tarps, hula hoops, poles, squeezes, sideways and barrels.
He's such a funny boy....asked him for one foot but
he decided to try both for me ;)
not a lot of horses can do this! lol ;) so clever
It was a lovely agility session and Stormy really outshone himself, we did some things we've never done before and he likes new challenges, it keeps him thinking, fresh and interested.
2) Bitless bridle play/jumping:
Next I put his sidepull bitless bridle on and a long flat lunge line on him and we played about with circles and jumps in the big field...he LOVES his jumping.
2) Bitless bridle play/jumping:
Next I put his sidepull bitless bridle on and a long flat lunge line on him and we played about with circles and jumps in the big field...he LOVES his jumping.
2) Long lining:
I gave him a short break and then I put two lunge lines on him and we played about with long lining. He did very well with it all and I stayed mostly behind him so that he gets used to the feel of the bridle again. We walked around the found pens in a fig 8 pattern, then we trotted them (I had to run to his trot....phew, worn out!).
Short rest and then we went around the pens again but at each quarter of the pen we put a small circle off the pen in the opposite direction so it was like going around a clock face and at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock we did a circle up and around the clock number and back onto the fence in the same direction/
Another short rest and then we walked around the pens again (still in the fig 8 pattern) and did small half circles around 3,6,9 and 12 o'clock numbers but went back to the fence in a different direction. WE then tried a couple in trot and when he put a nice effort in we stopped and I walked him back into the round pen to untack him and give him a few treats...what a good boy, think he enjoyed himself too ;)
Last thing I did was to jump on Tara bareback and ride her back to her evening paddock...she seemed in good spirits ;)
Short rest and then we went around the pens again but at each quarter of the pen we put a small circle off the pen in the opposite direction so it was like going around a clock face and at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock we did a circle up and around the clock number and back onto the fence in the same direction/
Another short rest and then we walked around the pens again (still in the fig 8 pattern) and did small half circles around 3,6,9 and 12 o'clock numbers but went back to the fence in a different direction. WE then tried a couple in trot and when he put a nice effort in we stopped and I walked him back into the round pen to untack him and give him a few treats...what a good boy, think he enjoyed himself too ;)
Last thing I did was to jump on Tara bareback and ride her back to her evening paddock...she seemed in good spirits ;)
Monday 17th June
My best boys ;)
Lovely day today so out with the horses...both boys came up to me on the quad bike and got a treat for being so brave. I decided to just play/ride Solly again today, to help reinforce the good rides we've had recently ;)
Whilst sorting out some equipment I looked up and saw Stormy making a good use of my new 'water tray' under my red jump!!!.....
With Solly I first play at liberty, then online with the 2x22' feather lights working with circles, jumps, cod in and cod's out too ;) He did very well, smooth, staying in gait, direction and so willing and capable. Next we work on a bit of long lining with the roller and then we work for a short while on the 2nd setting of the 'lungie bungie' for some circles in walk and trot. All went very very well ;)
tracking up better in places today ;)
After such a lovely warm up and lunge session I gave him a rest and a nice groom and then saddled him up and rode him. Today he was quick to start off (no sticky feet) and we came out of the dressage arena very quickly as a reward for his nice walk/trot and circling (20m, 10m with fig 8's).
We then went and worked around the round pens, first just trotting around them with a stop in the middle of them for a treat if he put some nice effort in. Then we put a twist on the round pens to keep it fun and progressive, we trotted around the pens but at every quarter we did a small circle away from the round pen, so that gave us 4 smaller circles outwith the big circles...fun and Solly did them very well, with effort, willingness and his circles were round, stayed in gait and I could be light and effective with body aids ;) FAB DAY, loved the riding today, really working nicely in the Light Rider Bitless Bridle ;)
We then went and worked around the round pens, first just trotting around them with a stop in the middle of them for a treat if he put some nice effort in. Then we put a twist on the round pens to keep it fun and progressive, we trotted around the pens but at every quarter we did a small circle away from the round pen, so that gave us 4 smaller circles outwith the big circles...fun and Solly did them very well, with effort, willingness and his circles were round, stayed in gait and I could be light and effective with body aids ;) FAB DAY, loved the riding today, really working nicely in the Light Rider Bitless Bridle ;)
Saturday 15th June
Out with horses to play/ride with Mark today. I first went and played online and at liberty with Solly, he did brilliantly ;) He was light, attentive, willing and obedient, fun and loving his liberty. Whilst I was doing this Mark was playing at liberty with Stormy and then did a short bareback ride in the round pen on him too.
Then I started the next level of Solly and my journey which is some long reining/lunging with a 'lungie bungie'. This is hopefully going to help him figure out his hindquarters for collection without me sitting on him. The bungie will represent the reins and will help me to help him accept connection with the reins and find his body balance so that when I do ride him more with connected reins he'll find the same body balance ;)
Then I started the next level of Solly and my journey which is some long reining/lunging with a 'lungie bungie'. This is hopefully going to help him figure out his hindquarters for collection without me sitting on him. The bungie will represent the reins and will help me to help him accept connection with the reins and find his body balance so that when I do ride him more with connected reins he'll find the same body balance ;)
worked well for the first session ;)
After this nice session with Solly in walk and trot I then saddled him and did some w/t ridden work. He was a bit sticky to start with so I moved his hq's a lot and then we had some nice ridden work. Every time he did something with willing, nice, effort he got to stop and I gave him a treat. It really worked well. Really enjoyed this ride, he was turning on my body movements, the reins were connected but light, his jumping was relaxed and his trot was starting to feel powerful ;) fab.
Mark and I then had a nice session of play/riding with a friends lovely 12yr old daughter. She came down for some horsey contact and groomed/played with Stormy and then this with Holly. I think Holly is enjoying helping people be better with horses ;)
The end of the session had me riding Tara bareback and bridleless, arms crossed, showing our young friend how the ground work goes into liberty which goes into ridden work, connected rein work and this with Tara shows how good the relationship, relaxation and connection can be between horse and human. It was also a lot of fun ;)
Mark and I then had a nice session of play/riding with a friends lovely 12yr old daughter. She came down for some horsey contact and groomed/played with Stormy and then this with Holly. I think Holly is enjoying helping people be better with horses ;)
The end of the session had me riding Tara bareback and bridleless, arms crossed, showing our young friend how the ground work goes into liberty which goes into ridden work, connected rein work and this with Tara shows how good the relationship, relaxation and connection can be between horse and human. It was also a lot of fun ;)
Tuesday 11th June
Another good day out, weather bit cooler with a nice breeze, started to drizzle later on but great for being with horses ;)
Out to play/ride Solly again, getting some consistency with him now. Today I played with Solly on the 45' line. I asked for a decent trot, at a distance, tackling any obstacle that came up...mainly jumps...putting in plenty of COD's in trot to help keep him occupied. Then we went and worked on walk/trot with circles on a hill. Doing this mainly because he's great at being relaxed, long and low on a circle but now want him to engage his hindquarters more and to stop throwing his weight all on his forehand (and this then leading to thinking about bucking when ridden)...I need to teach him to anchor his hq's ;)
All went very well, he started to really get his hq's underneath him going up the hills, I allowed him to walk down the hills but always had to trot up them. Will continue to do this as much as possible now, no easy flat surfaces. He also did all his jumps very well, at a distance and really looks for the jumps now.
Out to play/ride Solly again, getting some consistency with him now. Today I played with Solly on the 45' line. I asked for a decent trot, at a distance, tackling any obstacle that came up...mainly jumps...putting in plenty of COD's in trot to help keep him occupied. Then we went and worked on walk/trot with circles on a hill. Doing this mainly because he's great at being relaxed, long and low on a circle but now want him to engage his hindquarters more and to stop throwing his weight all on his forehand (and this then leading to thinking about bucking when ridden)...I need to teach him to anchor his hq's ;)
All went very well, he started to really get his hq's underneath him going up the hills, I allowed him to walk down the hills but always had to trot up them. Will continue to do this as much as possible now, no easy flat surfaces. He also did all his jumps very well, at a distance and really looks for the jumps now.
Rode again in the Light Rider bridle which is starting to really feel nice with Solly, he's understanding it's requests more and I feel the nice noseband is happier on his nose than the rope halter now ;)
We did some nice walking out, good pace, no sluggish feet today. Then tons of quick transitions from walk/trot/walk just on energy/breathing techniques which felt lovely. Then I asked him to do some shoulders-in and haunches-in along the outside of the dressage arena to begin our lateral moves again properly. He did them very well and we ended on a lovely note of a few jumps. Lovely day ;)
We did some nice walking out, good pace, no sluggish feet today. Then tons of quick transitions from walk/trot/walk just on energy/breathing techniques which felt lovely. Then I asked him to do some shoulders-in and haunches-in along the outside of the dressage arena to begin our lateral moves again properly. He did them very well and we ended on a lovely note of a few jumps. Lovely day ;)
Stormy, just being Stormy....beautiful
Monday 10th June
Went to play/ride Solly today, he's been having 'sticky feet' recently and not wanting to move off from halt after mounting!! SO, decided today that it's 'back to basic's' and we work on moving off my leg better/lighter and to just spend an hour WALKING around the field.
This brought up another issue today, that of a stiff right side, making right turns hard SO, worked on those too. This is what we did today:
1) Groom, saddle up and liberty work:
Decided to just play at liberty when saddled to save time today, I also just put the 'Light Rider' bitless bridle on him, start as we mean to go on. He was fine with it all and the liberty work was pretty awesome. S2M for a bit in w/t and then some COD's in w/t and then I asked him to canter around the big round pen and staying with him he cantered around the pen twice, once slow and once much faster...good boy ;)
This brought up another issue today, that of a stiff right side, making right turns hard SO, worked on those too. This is what we did today:
1) Groom, saddle up and liberty work:
Decided to just play at liberty when saddled to save time today, I also just put the 'Light Rider' bitless bridle on him, start as we mean to go on. He was fine with it all and the liberty work was pretty awesome. S2M for a bit in w/t and then some COD's in w/t and then I asked him to canter around the big round pen and staying with him he cantered around the pen twice, once slow and once much faster...good boy ;)
2) Mount and Ride:
We do our LF's L&R and move hq's and then the sticky feet appear! SO, what to do? I've tried a string slapping me then him, I've tried a tap with stick on my feet and then his shoulder or his butt, but really don't like doing this so it was time to try another approach today.
The approach I tried was to have my training arm with string loose and to sweep some energy up and behind him as I would if we were playing at liberty. It worked ;) He grasped the forward energy and moved off his sticky spot. From then on it was nice and easy, albeit slow.
3) Riding around field:
I took that forward motion in walk and we went around the big field, to places we don't normally go such as the steep hill down to Fortune's grave, around the large tyre, between the scary fence and the dressage arena, into the large flat open area at the bottom of the main hill and along the ridge that runs along a short steep section at the very bottom of the field.
I also used all the pens and jumps as obstacles that needed to be circled to L&R and worked on asking Solly to find relaxation in his right turns and circles as he was a bit stiff on that side today. We just worked away at walk at these things and every now and then we'd halt/walk transition again or circle and bend or leg yield L&R to keep his flexibility equal ;)
Right at the end, just before Mark arrived to feed them their dinner I asked Solly to walk nicely up the big steep hill and he did so very nicely for me. He was in front of the other three which was interesting and he didn't stop once but stopped on a breath out when we reached a nice flat plateau where I took his saddle and bridle off.
We do our LF's L&R and move hq's and then the sticky feet appear! SO, what to do? I've tried a string slapping me then him, I've tried a tap with stick on my feet and then his shoulder or his butt, but really don't like doing this so it was time to try another approach today.
The approach I tried was to have my training arm with string loose and to sweep some energy up and behind him as I would if we were playing at liberty. It worked ;) He grasped the forward energy and moved off his sticky spot. From then on it was nice and easy, albeit slow.
3) Riding around field:
I took that forward motion in walk and we went around the big field, to places we don't normally go such as the steep hill down to Fortune's grave, around the large tyre, between the scary fence and the dressage arena, into the large flat open area at the bottom of the main hill and along the ridge that runs along a short steep section at the very bottom of the field.
I also used all the pens and jumps as obstacles that needed to be circled to L&R and worked on asking Solly to find relaxation in his right turns and circles as he was a bit stiff on that side today. We just worked away at walk at these things and every now and then we'd halt/walk transition again or circle and bend or leg yield L&R to keep his flexibility equal ;)
Right at the end, just before Mark arrived to feed them their dinner I asked Solly to walk nicely up the big steep hill and he did so very nicely for me. He was in front of the other three which was interesting and he didn't stop once but stopped on a breath out when we reached a nice flat plateau where I took his saddle and bridle off.
I really enjoyed this ride today, being specific on a few issues and asking for a better walk with better flexibility with relaxation throughout. Solly was very nice and I think I earned some nice leadership points in his mind. I also enjoyed riding in the Light Rider Bitless bridle again, it feels like a normal bitted bridle in that the reins are on the sides and I feel that now Solly has used this and the Dr Cooks bridle he enjoys them better than the rope halter now, which has the wrong feel in the wrong place for connected rein riding ;)
Here too is a short film that Mark took of me with Solly at Liberty yesterday, I use this to help him settle into the saddle and to help girth him up slowly. A nice liberty session showing moving circles and circles in the corners in front of me rather than around me...firsts for both of these ;)
Here too is a short film that Mark took of me with Solly at Liberty yesterday, I use this to help him settle into the saddle and to help girth him up slowly. A nice liberty session showing moving circles and circles in the corners in front of me rather than around me...firsts for both of these ;)
Sunday 9th June
Few hours spent in field with horses and Mark. I first play online then at liberty with Solly while Mark has a fabulous liberty session with Stormy ;) Then I ride Solly and do some jumping and Mark plays with Holly then saddles her whilst I groom and saddle Tara. Mark and I, Holly and Tara then go out for a hack to the village ;)
Here are the lovely pics of Mark with Stormy 'dancing' in their liberty session:
Here are the lovely pics of Mark with Stormy 'dancing' in their liberty session:
Me and Solly jumping:
Me and Tara, Mark and Holly on hack:
Saturday 8th June
Been away teaching last week but now back and had a lovely 'weekend challenges' play day with Mark and horses Solly and Stormy. Here's the pics from it:
