Thursday 30th July
The sun has been shining today and to stop me being stressed or too nervous about the upcoming Parelli course, I've found that just being out with the horses gives me a good focus away from it all. So, with that in mind I trundle out to the paddock with halter, 12' line and bareback pad in hand to see what I can do for a bit of fun.
Well Mark's horse Holly just wouldn't stop following me about, she did this yesterday too! I gave her some scratches on her itchy spots on her belly but when I went around to the gate of the roundpen and opened it she popped right in and asked to be played with. Not a problem with that. I played with her and rode her with the bareback pad for about 1/2 an hour and it was very pleasant for both of us.
Next Tara came and caught me...it's like they all know I'm going away soon and want to be with me as much as possible while I'm here ;-) She got some big scratches on her belly too as she very very much likes this now. I then haltered up and put the bareback pad on and rode her around the estate her for about an hour. She's such a wide backed girl and so comfy to ride without a saddle.
When we got back to the field I did some canter lead changes around the outside of the roundpen and some sideways in freestyle along the fence line. She is very responsive and a very good L3 girl.
After all that I thought I'd just hang out with them all BUT Solly came over and asked 'is it my turn now mum?' so it was only right that I play with him too ;-)
I did some online stuff, sideways over barrel, backup from tail, circles, jumping the barrel, yo-yo's and lots of friendly. I then put on the bareback pad and he sidled up to the mounting block superbly for me today and I jumped on. I did LF and DHQ's and then took off the halter/rope to go bridleless again. We started off with some passenger at walk and it was much nicer on his back with the pad today. He did so well that I then asked him to go up into trot (first time for this event!), today I had my ss on my wrist so if he was reluctant to go I could go to ph3/4 with that but he was good to go and we trotted about the arena, sometimes going where he wanted, sometimes going where I asked which was lovely. I was very pleased with him and my balance felt much better today.
He really moves his outside shoulders a lot when turning and today I figured out that when he turns to the right if I bring my left shoulder quite far forward it keeps me more balanced (and the opposite for left turns). Sort of makes sense really but until I'd done it I didn't realise I was doing the opposite and making myself feel unbalanced more.
This evening after Mark had fed the horses I went back out to the roundpen and do some more bareback and bridleless riding so that he can take some piccie's for the blog...and here they are...
Solly sidling up to my mounting block
Mounted and LF to the right
LF to the left
I was sometimes a passenger, sometimes a guider
Having fun together, letting loose at trot
Whilst sitting on Sol I took the bareback pad off
His ears are nicer now, more often forward
Maybe the pad was rubbing his withers?
Still having fun and working in trot more
Half way to standing on his back, kneeling is a good start ;-)
Friendly game lying down...
...and friendly game sliding off his rump ;-)
Stormy, our 18hh Shire ;-)
Wednesday 29th July
Only 3 days until Solly and I set off to Edinburgh to start our journey south to the Parelli Masterclass for the whole of August. I'm getting very excited and now the packing and organising has been done I can't wait to start the journey.
So far today to calm me down a bit I went out and just groomed all 5 of our horses. They really appreciated being brushed in their itchy spots and I helped get the flies off for a while. They now all look great but it probably won't last. I am hoping for a dry day between now and Sunday so that I can wash Solly but it needs to be dry and warm and preferably without flies around, fingerscrossed! lol.
Monday 27th July
Today I went out again after the horses evening meal and Solly came into the roundpen with me of his own accord. Again I had NO equipment at all with me. I started with him grazing and me rubbing him all over with my hands, I then asked him to DHQ's and move his FQ's using part driving game, part porcupine game. After this I asked him to stick 2 me in walk and asked for trot too. He was very lethargic tonight and I had to take my fleece jacket off and use the arms as a 'tool' to motivate him to trot. Once he got it he was fine. I then asked and asked for him to canter too and after a while he got that too and cantered with me both to the L&R stopping with me in the centre in between both.
Next we went to some sideways around the barrel like yesteday and then I brought in 4 cones and put them very close together, say a horses length, and asked him very slowly to weave through them in walk. He did this very well, I was actually gob smacked that he did it so well. After this I took two cones away and put about 12' between then and asked Sol to do a brisk walking fig of 8 around them. He did this twice and did it so well he got to graze for a bit.
So, after doing some nice tasks I again went over to the mounting block and asked Sol to sidle up to it for me. It only took two times tonight and he positioned himself very well. I made sure his feet were in a good strong position and then jumped up on his back and rested over him on my bellybutton, then I slid off using this as a friendly game. I then asked him to move away from the block and re-position himself again. He did this first time this time and I really am so pleased with this, at liberty and with no equipment ;-)
I jumped up on him and sat still while he grazed for a bit. I then asked him to move off at a walk so that I could do some more pushing passenger...well he was very very reluctant to go forward, grazing was so much more fun and I really had to go up my phases to get him to move even a few steps, again the sleeves of my fleece came in handy! lol. I got about 6 minutes of pushing passenger at walk and then decided to put in some 'guiding' with his moseying about. SO, the next time I asked him to move I started using my leg and balance to guide him. I also used my fingertips on his neck infront of the withers to guide his head a bit. We had some nice turns and 90% of the time he did as I asked and he got to graze some too. The times he didn't go in the direction I suggested was probably due to a piece of the roundpen being rather wet with some muddy/puddly patches in it which he didn't like going in. But all in all the riding was fun and I was getting more confident. After about 20 mins again I decided to let him graze and dismount BUT this time I played LOTS of friendly on his back and even kneeled on his back a few times, going up/down to get him used to it. I then dismounted by playing the friendly game over his back with my whole body and slid off over his butt. I wasn't sure if he was going to be okay with that but I've been doing lots of friendly in this area for months now so it was just me being a bit worried that stopped me doing it before.
SO, I wanted to make sure this was a pattern we could do more of so I asked him back to the mounting block once again, did some pushing/guiding riding for 5 mins or so then knelt on his back a couple of times whilst he grazed peacefully and then slid off his back/butt again to dismount. It felt good to have progressed with a couple more things this week. It really feels like we've got a good partnership going on ;-)
~~~~~~~
That was the end of the session but at about 9pm this evening I noticed the horses were in my friends paddock all racing around having a bit of a race. Our horses have never been together before and I realised my Stormy had been banging on the metal gate and it had 'pinged' open. I rushed out there with my halter, rope, cs/ss and proceeded to get into the field to see if I could get our 5 horses away from my friends 2! lol. So, I stood in the middle of the field and looked at what was going on, some squealing, some prancing about, some protection of individual mares. BUT during all of that I called Solly and guess what...yup, he came over to me to be haltered! how cool is that. I just tied the halter around his neck and took him out of the field and went back to the 'fray'. Next to catch me was my level's horse Tara who positively wanted to be back with Solly as she fast trotted out of the field with me ;-) Third out was our companion horse Fortune who had definitely had enough of running around and when I just opened the gate she cantered out to be with her sister Tara and beau Solly. Holly was next to catch me, being the herd leader I thought she may have been more difficult but the main beau (Solly) was out so she may have wanted to be back with him. And last, but not least, the boy who likes to play came and caught me...dear Stormy ;-) So, all is back to normal, our horses are happily settled back into their own field and an electric fence now keeps the bad gate at bay from our playful Stormy's feet! lol.
Sunday 26th July
Today just rained and rained and rained, I thought it was never going to stop but luckily at about 5pm it stopped so I walked the dogs and then went out to feed the horses. This is usually Mark's job but he's away until Tuesday so I'm doing it and I'm enjoying being with them everyday even if it is raining and I can't get out to play.
After their feed I walked with them from the upper small paddock by the house to the lower field with the pond in it. I did it just to be with them more and it was very nice being a part of the herd. When I got to the flat part of the field Stormy and Solly stayed with me for a bit longer, they love their scratches and me swatting horse flies really is a good bonus! lol. Anyway, Solly started sticking with me quite a lot and I casually went down and opened the roundpen and he came with me! How cool was that ;-))
Once in there I wasn't sure what we could do as I had NO equipment, no halter, rope, cs or ss at all...just little 'ol me and that's it. I just did what I normally do and watched to see what would happen. I went through the friendly game in all zones, then I moved his FQ and DHQ's effectively. Then I started to ask him to stick to me around the roundpen. This worked okay, not all the time, sometimes he just stood there and looked at me as if to say 'what are you going to do about it'. When he did this I DHQ's and moved him on. Once he decided he wanted to run from me so I ran with him and he turned quickly into me and stopped like he did the other day, almost like he thought that was a bad idea as I could stay with him in the roundpen! One point to me! lol.
I also put out the low barrel with layed down cones on either side and he jumped it nicely after a couple of times of me asking him. Now this is pretty good, I'd not done any warm up online before doing liberty so I was happy with what he was giving me.
Next he went up to the barrel so I asked him to sideways around it to the L and R. He did this well, his HQ's were slow but he generally did sideways. With this in mind I decided on the spur of the moment to see if he would sidle up to my mounting block. I stood on my beer crates (mounting block! lol) and did exactly what I would do if he was online, asked him to come over, move past my belly button with his head and move his HQ's towards me ready for mounting. Well he did very well, he came over, didn't get close enough a few times so I moved him on and back again but he never wandered off, he knew what I was asking and was trying his heart out for me. Eventually we got a good stand still in the right position so I jumped up on his back with my belly over his spine and I stayed there for quite a while just playing the friendly game on my belly ;-) Then I jumped down and decided to do it again for my confidence. Now this is me and Solly in an 80' rounpen completely bareback and bridleless!
When he came over this time I got on his back and just decided to sit up on his back and stroke him that way. It all went so well and when he started grazing and walking a bit to graze I just stayed up there. In the end my confidence grew to the point where we did 20 mins of pushing passenger in walk. He stopped to graze a lot to start with but it was almost like he was taking care of me, not going more because he could feel I was a bit unconfident. By the end of the 20 mins he was walking around, doing tight turns to the L&R and being a good boy by letting me have the passenger lesson I needed. I think I may do this again tomorrow if it feels right. It certainly gave me more confidence in trusting Solly without any equipment. They say all things happen for a reason ;-)
When I dismounted he stayed with me through the gate of the roundpen and back to the herd, I stroked him, gave him some scratches and a big hug and walked away with him watching me as I went. I blew him a goodnight kiss and left him to his herd for the night ;-)
After their feed I walked with them from the upper small paddock by the house to the lower field with the pond in it. I did it just to be with them more and it was very nice being a part of the herd. When I got to the flat part of the field Stormy and Solly stayed with me for a bit longer, they love their scratches and me swatting horse flies really is a good bonus! lol. Anyway, Solly started sticking with me quite a lot and I casually went down and opened the roundpen and he came with me! How cool was that ;-))
Once in there I wasn't sure what we could do as I had NO equipment, no halter, rope, cs or ss at all...just little 'ol me and that's it. I just did what I normally do and watched to see what would happen. I went through the friendly game in all zones, then I moved his FQ and DHQ's effectively. Then I started to ask him to stick to me around the roundpen. This worked okay, not all the time, sometimes he just stood there and looked at me as if to say 'what are you going to do about it'. When he did this I DHQ's and moved him on. Once he decided he wanted to run from me so I ran with him and he turned quickly into me and stopped like he did the other day, almost like he thought that was a bad idea as I could stay with him in the roundpen! One point to me! lol.
I also put out the low barrel with layed down cones on either side and he jumped it nicely after a couple of times of me asking him. Now this is pretty good, I'd not done any warm up online before doing liberty so I was happy with what he was giving me.
Next he went up to the barrel so I asked him to sideways around it to the L and R. He did this well, his HQ's were slow but he generally did sideways. With this in mind I decided on the spur of the moment to see if he would sidle up to my mounting block. I stood on my beer crates (mounting block! lol) and did exactly what I would do if he was online, asked him to come over, move past my belly button with his head and move his HQ's towards me ready for mounting. Well he did very well, he came over, didn't get close enough a few times so I moved him on and back again but he never wandered off, he knew what I was asking and was trying his heart out for me. Eventually we got a good stand still in the right position so I jumped up on his back with my belly over his spine and I stayed there for quite a while just playing the friendly game on my belly ;-) Then I jumped down and decided to do it again for my confidence. Now this is me and Solly in an 80' rounpen completely bareback and bridleless!
When he came over this time I got on his back and just decided to sit up on his back and stroke him that way. It all went so well and when he started grazing and walking a bit to graze I just stayed up there. In the end my confidence grew to the point where we did 20 mins of pushing passenger in walk. He stopped to graze a lot to start with but it was almost like he was taking care of me, not going more because he could feel I was a bit unconfident. By the end of the 20 mins he was walking around, doing tight turns to the L&R and being a good boy by letting me have the passenger lesson I needed. I think I may do this again tomorrow if it feels right. It certainly gave me more confidence in trusting Solly without any equipment. They say all things happen for a reason ;-)
When I dismounted he stayed with me through the gate of the roundpen and back to the herd, I stroked him, gave him some scratches and a big hug and walked away with him watching me as I went. I blew him a goodnight kiss and left him to his herd for the night ;-)
Saturday 25th July
I didn't do much today as I had a lot of stuff to do in the house preparing to go to Stoneleigh next Saturday but it was good to get out and be with Solly for a while he caught me very well and we went into the roundpen. I didn't bring a carrot stick and only had a 12' line as I had intended to just bring up Holly for a wash but the sun was a bit unpredictable so instead I had fun with Sol.
After some friendly game and backing from the tail I started with sideways over the barrel. Now not having the CS made it a bit harder to direct him but he understood what the swinging rope meant quickly. He did sideways to the R and L and with a good attitude too.
I then turned up the barrel and sat on it and asked him to circle me in trot 4 times to the L&R. He went down to a walk a few times but I just asked him to COD and we got the laps nicely. The COD's at close range were lovely. When I DHQ and he stopped by me he was so cute and rested his head on my hand for a while ;-) ahh.
Next I asked for some sideways towards using just my body language and a throw of the end of the 12' rope over his back. He's very good with this game and stops well too.
I decided it would be fun to ride him bareback in the roundpen and it would be good to do some one rein riding too so I stood on my mounting block and he sideld over and I mounted bareback. He has a totally different feel to my gypsy cob, with her it's like being on a sofa, wide and soft and easy to ride backback. Sol has a grass belly but his back is fine and it felt like there wasn't a horse under me! lol. BUT this is something I need to do more of now so I just asked him to follow the rain in walk and I shuffled about finding my balance point. I changed the direction using the direct rein adn then doubled back on myself using the direct/indirect reins. I was still shuffling about a bit and when he moved quickly to the right I felt very off balance, but I continued.
After a wobbly start I went up into trot and did ride the rail with yin-yang changes of direction, throwing the rope over his head was easy as we've practised this a LOT, getting my balance was getting better too. When we started into trot he changed gait to walk a lot and I think this was because he felt I was unbalanced and it was probably a bit unsettling for him. He is a very sensitive horse and once I got my balance more under control he stayed in trot more...how interesting ;-)
I left him on a good note and felt much more connected to him going bareback. I will try to do more of this during this week to improve my balance and get used to the feel of him without a saddle.
Friday 24th July
I was going out to see my friend Carin and her horse Charlie today to help them with some imagination tasks so I went out first thing to play with Tara and then Solly, just for a short time but little and often is good and in the morning it's good as there are fewer flies.
So I start with friendly game when he came to catch me and then I halter him and go over to the large log that he jumped the other day. He went straight to stand on it and he stood on it, I backed him off it and then asked him to stand on it again. He likes standing on things and it's a great stretch for his spine ;-)
So I start with friendly game when he came to catch me and then I halter him and go over to the large log that he jumped the other day. He went straight to stand on it and he stood on it, I backed him off it and then asked him to stand on it again. He likes standing on things and it's a great stretch for his spine ;-)
Next I stood on the log and with him facing me I asked him to move his HQ's over to the left like sideling up to mount. After lots of friendly game I ask him to move his HQ's all the way over to the right and friendly game again. I do this three times each way without me moving but him moving his HQ's 180' around from the left to the right.
He was in a quiet mood so I took the halter off and decided to take advantage of him being dozy and massaged his neck, withers and shoulder area. I then leant over him, across his withers, his back and his butt too just playing lots of friendly game and letting him experience the pressure of me in different part of his back. He was very cool about it all.
Lastly I mounted him bareback and bridleless and played lots of friendly game, dismounted and mounted again. I did this about 4 times and he didn't move once. After the last dismount I jumped off the log and asked him to stick 2 me back to the herd where I set him free to graze.
It was a short session but very pleasant and it was great to see the trust and respect there now ;-)
He was in a quiet mood so I took the halter off and decided to take advantage of him being dozy and massaged his neck, withers and shoulder area. I then leant over him, across his withers, his back and his butt too just playing lots of friendly game and letting him experience the pressure of me in different part of his back. He was very cool about it all.
Lastly I mounted him bareback and bridleless and played lots of friendly game, dismounted and mounted again. I did this about 4 times and he didn't move once. After the last dismount I jumped off the log and asked him to stick 2 me back to the herd where I set him free to graze.
It was a short session but very pleasant and it was great to see the trust and respect there now ;-)
Wednesday 22nd July
Well I didn't think I'd say it but it was a LOVELY cool, grey, drizzly day today and it was perfect...without flies. I went out as I needed to play with Solly so that I could trim his feet, the backs were both flared a bit on the outside as I can't trim him with the flies about as he can't stand still for long. SO today was perfect.
We went into the roundpen and I started today with some friendly game and then sideways over the barrel leaving the 12' rope longish to teach him to do it at liberty. He did the barrel very well and we did it a couple of times each way, until he was totally relaxed about doing it.
Next we did some circling at liberty. It was like a Stick 2 Me but with me further towards the centre of the circle (so I didn't have to run around so much! lol). We did it at w/t/c. Then we went on to do some driving game, getting his HQ and FQ turns better and then some HQ towards me better too.
He was pretty chilled out and there were no flies so I trimmed all his hooves and then played friendly game again. He stood totally still the whole time and only ground tied too ;-)
I went on to try some liberty sideways with me in Z1, he did this really well and I was so pleased. I made sure he did it towards and away from the barrel so that one day he'll just do the barrel at liberty too.
To get his energy up I played about with Zone 5 driving with the 12' rope. I did it along the roundpen fence at walk and trot and put in some slow spins with me throwing the rope over his head. He's getting the hang of spinning but it's still a new thing for him so he doesn't know it without thinking yet.
Next we do some FQ's towards me at liberty, I had to put the cs/ss around his neck to help him remember this as he had forgotten what to do and wanted to move forward. But he got it quickly again after some help with the cs/ss.
I then thought we'd try some circling/spins at liberty for fun. I started off being very close to him so it's more like a Stick 2 Me with some close spins. He was okay again going to the right but has trouble going to the left side, moving his head back onto the left circle is harder, he throws his head up to avoid doing it and I have to be so quick but gentle. In the end he wanted to move his feet and he was cantering around the arena but wouldn't disengage. It was more of a LB I won't than a RB I can't so I decided to try a game with him....I went to one side of the arena and wiggled the cs/ss really hard (going gently just make him more determined to run past it) he would then change directions and run the other way....so I ran to the other side of the arena and did the same thing. I was roughly going across the pen so that he only had half of it to run in...it was quite a bit of fun, he would spin once and go in the opposite direction and I would run over the pen centre to stop him that side...ALL of a sudden he just put his head up, pricked his ears, locked onto me and trotted beautifully in to me at the centre. It was perfect and felt wonderful, like he'd decided that I was the leader and that he wanted to stop and be with me. I just sat on the barrel in the centre of the pen and let him (and me) rest for the longest time together. That was FUN ;-)
Sunday 19th July
A bit drizzly today but Mark and I took Holly and Solly out regardless. It was just nice to get out with the horses, Mark's horse Holly is always much calmer and focussed on Sunday if she's been out on Saturday, Solly too, so we were determined to go out and have a good hack.
I went out and Solly caught me totally on his own today, he stuck to me into the round pen and I played with him in there at liberty to start with, this is what we did:
Libety Roundpen play:
Friendly game all around, gently and extreme. Backed up from the tail 6 steps very well. Then into Stick 2 Me at w/t/c/bkup, very good today. Next we did some sideways away, towards and towards with the HQ isolation, he's very good with this and towards is getting very light and responsive.
Next I went to do some circling at walk with some trial spins put in for fun. He did them very slowly and well to the left but going to the right was a bit harder for him, he really didn't want to do the extra turn back to the circle BUT I persisted and slowed it all down and he got it, we ended on a good note with these and hopefully the seeds of learning have been planted.
As we were doing well at liberty I thought I'd try sideways'ing him over the small barrel and he so nearly did it. He got really close but then his HQ's moved away from the barrel and I knew he didn't have quite enough confidence for it so I put him back online and did it from Z1 as I have been doing but with a very very loose rope. He did it both ways very well without me having to hold the snap on the rope, this is working towards him doing it at liberty ;-)
I went out and Solly caught me totally on his own today, he stuck to me into the round pen and I played with him in there at liberty to start with, this is what we did:
Libety Roundpen play:
Friendly game all around, gently and extreme. Backed up from the tail 6 steps very well. Then into Stick 2 Me at w/t/c/bkup, very good today. Next we did some sideways away, towards and towards with the HQ isolation, he's very good with this and towards is getting very light and responsive.
Next I went to do some circling at walk with some trial spins put in for fun. He did them very slowly and well to the left but going to the right was a bit harder for him, he really didn't want to do the extra turn back to the circle BUT I persisted and slowed it all down and he got it, we ended on a good note with these and hopefully the seeds of learning have been planted.
As we were doing well at liberty I thought I'd try sideways'ing him over the small barrel and he so nearly did it. He got really close but then his HQ's moved away from the barrel and I knew he didn't have quite enough confidence for it so I put him back online and did it from Z1 as I have been doing but with a very very loose rope. He did it both ways very well without me having to hold the snap on the rope, this is working towards him doing it at liberty ;-)
22' line fun:
We did figure 8's at trot and canter with SLC and FLC's. I just wanted to do these as on Friday he seemed reluctant to canter the fig 8's. It was good to see he can still do them but I need to practise this more, get him further away on the 22' or 45' to increase his confidence at a distance.
We had a rest and then I took him out of the roundpen and did some circling around the field and then asked him to put two feet onto the log for me. He did this beautifully even though the log was a bit slippery from the rain.
So next I thought I'd challenge him to see if he'd jump the log, as he's so used to standing on it, would it be a problem to actually jump it? well, the first time he stopped, the second time he scrambled over and then when I'd worked on his impulsion a bit he just did it beautifully, and it's quite a big wide log ;-)
So after this fab bit of play we went up to the house and groomed and saddled and then walked a bit to cinch him before getting on for our hack out.
Well the hack out was fab and fun. We went down a stony track and cantered up the whole of the hill to the forest, first time he's done this and he did very well. He was calm and focussed again, not panicking about Holly speeding up ahead and looking where he was going. It was a lovely canter. As it was uphill I was unsure if I should sit down or stand up so in the end I stood up in a jockey style to give his back room to move and so that I didn't inadvertedly bash his back if I happened to be unbalanced at any time. I think this worked well as he went well. The hill normally takes me 10 mins to fast walk and is steep enough to make it a good fitness exercise.
Next we walked/trotted down the other side of the hill, between forest and he was so calm, not head up looking for spooky things like deer or birds and he felt very good. He started stretching down with his head and blowing out and this is the FIRST time out on a hack (or anywhere really) that he has felt confident to really chill out like this, it was a lovely moment.
At the bottom of the hill we turned left and towards the top playfield. This field now has long grass in it so we don't really use it much, hopefully it will be a winter grazing field. We turn into this field and I do a bit of walk/trot along a fence line. Mark then suggests we walk the field perimeter and maybe canter/gallop up the field back to the gate, this is a slight hill and to canter or gallop it is feels very safe as it's uphill. SO, he and Holly and me and Solly walk quietly down the field and along the bottom, I wasn't sure if he would canter to the top but he went off very well. About half way up I felt he was very calm and not rushing so I let the reins out a bit and encouraged him to put some more effort in...WELL he GALLOPED really nicely to the top, had a bit of trouble trying to stop him but I realised I needed to relax more so I did and he stopped nicely. This is our FIRST GALLOP together and it felt really nice. No rushing or panicking, he didn't buck or strike out and stopping will get better the more we do it together. I'm really pleased that our progress is coming along with gaits and jumping and everything really. We're really enjoying being together now ;-)
After a rest we go back out of the field and along a short road, down the track that is tunnelled by trees and again around the fence and into the stream without thinking about it. Back onto the track for home, into their grazing field and Mark cantered/galloped off and Sol and I trotted beautifully back to the roundpen where I unsaddled and set him free. He followed me all the way back to the paddock by the house and it was lovely being with him.
We had a lot of YEEHAA moments today, I really enjoyed myself.
Saturday 18th July
Today Mark and I go out to play for a short while and then saddle up and ride a short hack out. I chose Sol again today as after yesterdays session was so good. The play before and during cinching was the 7 games in and around my large roundpen. I mount in the pen and do some freestyle manoeuvers with ride the rail and yin-yang cod's.
The hack out was good, no spooks and he went into the river first time again around the fence. His cantering was smooth and not rushed at all. It was nice and breezy so not many flies and we had a nice hour or so out in the countryside enjoying being out and having some nice stops with grazing every so often. Glad I went out even though it looked like it was going to rain as it blew some cobwebs out of my head. Think Sol enjoyed it too. Again he was light and bouncy. We did a lot of counting steps in w/t transitions and he was definitely counting steps with me. His trot was so slow and light it was lovely to ride.
The hack out was good, no spooks and he went into the river first time again around the fence. His cantering was smooth and not rushed at all. It was nice and breezy so not many flies and we had a nice hour or so out in the countryside enjoying being out and having some nice stops with grazing every so often. Glad I went out even though it looked like it was going to rain as it blew some cobwebs out of my head. Think Sol enjoyed it too. Again he was light and bouncy. We did a lot of counting steps in w/t transitions and he was definitely counting steps with me. His trot was so slow and light it was lovely to ride.
Friday 17th July
Today I went out and played a bit with Solly to get some relaxation and obedience and then brought him up to the house, groomed him, put his tail bandage on and loaded him into the trailer and off to the indoor arena again. This time my friend Carin and her horse Charlie met me there, it was lovely to have company and it was good to see that both horses could get on with what they were asked to do without wanting to rush off to the other horse in the arena ;-)
So, here is what I did today:
45' line play:
Backing him up into the arena was a cool way to start.
Sniff 4 barrels in a row, different directions and distances, me staying still. Went very well and Solly was right out about 30' feet from me.
Getting the draw at trot better, after this we rested for a while.
Backing up from the tail and then sideways from Z5, back to backing up from the tail again. He was getting a bit confused between these tasks with me in Z5 so I slowed it right down and asked until he got each task better.
Sideways from Z3 also very good, using driving and porcupine games. He's very light with the porcupine now which is great, makes the riding much lighter too.
Z5 driving around the arena, in trot and with turns and changes of direction where I have to throw the 45' rope over his head to be on the other side ;-) Very cool, this is just a huge friendly game to him now and it's a fun game now.
Jumping some low barrels, a regular upright jump and some small upright barrels. All looking good, his jumping is very consistent now.
Circling at trot and canter with COD's thrown in now and again. His paces are smooth, he's not leaning on the rope and he's listening to what I ask nicely with some impulsion. After this we rest for a while again.
Next, still on the 45' line I ask him to put one foot, then both front feet over a pole and then back up. After a short rest I ask him to try to back up over the second pole behind him. He has a bit of trouble but I do my best not to move my feet and to get it where his back feet are about 6" away from the pole and he's nearly straight. I let him rest and lick and chew on that and then I porcupine him back over the pole with his back feet and drive his front end over last of all. Big rest for doing that as he does find Z5 difficult with obstacles so he did really well.
Extreme friendly is fab as usual, he is quiet, peaceful and rested in each zone and on both sides.
22' line play:
Fig 8's in trot today, he didn't want to try it in canter so I didn't push him. Maybe the space was a bit inhibiting, there were weave barrels near us so this could have made it felt a bit claustraphobic. His trot fig's were good, we lost the connection when I tried to help him go further out and use more of the 22' line but this is something we can work on now that I know he has a bit of a problem with this.
2x22' longrein play:
We did some nice walk work and then into trot where we did circles, serpentines and fig 8's all mixed up. We used the whole of the arena and along the rail changing directions with small circles at each short end of the school, my rope throwing is getting much better and this session was good.
Saddling, Bridling & Cinching:
All went well, bridling is something I don't really think about now, he's pretty cool with putting it on. To be honest I thought I was going to do more finesse today but did mostly freestyle so could have put the hackamore on but hey ho, it's good bitting practise ;-)
With the cinching we did lots of circles in w/t/c with COD's and jumps thrown in . After that we did some sideways over a pole and a set of three small barrels with me in Z1 (first time three barrels! yeehaa!) which went VERY WELL, jumping the small upright barrels again and finished off on some fig 8's.
Ridden play:
Started off with some trotting the rail freestyle. Much better today, I felt much more relaxed and confident today with Sol and he was more relaxed too so his trot was comfortable and not rushed. I then did some canter the rail too, putting my outside hand thumb on the cantle of the saddle to get a better seat connection. This worked very well and this was the BEST freestyle let loose canter to date. I rested him after this for being such a good boy.
Next I did some finesse sideways over a pole...first time for this task too today, he was such a calm, confident horse today ;-) and after this I did some jumping. We did 10 jumps without stopping, trotting mostly around the arena, one jump at either end and one near a short side so that two jumps were pretty close. He did them all wonderfully and it felt much better and smoother today. Mark video'd it for me and although I'm not the most elegant horse woman the jumping was looking much better too. At the end of 8 jumps I cantered the whole way around the arena to do two last ones at the short end again. It felt really good and now I have to work on cantering around and doing jumps from canter. Cool ;-)
Finesse play:
Just to finish off the session as Sol was now very 'with me' I did some sitting trot finesse circling, serpentines and backups. The reins were very light and his trot was wonderful. I was hardly using the reins, it was almost like a perfect freestyle session. He worked off my body dynamics and it felt like we were floating. Great way to end the session. I will try this again, doing the jumping before the finesse as it felt like he'd really had a good stretch with the jumping and was able to move and bend much easier and lighter afterwards.
Getting the draw at trot better, after this we rested for a while.
Backing up from the tail and then sideways from Z5, back to backing up from the tail again. He was getting a bit confused between these tasks with me in Z5 so I slowed it right down and asked until he got each task better.
Sideways from Z3 also very good, using driving and porcupine games. He's very light with the porcupine now which is great, makes the riding much lighter too.
Z5 driving around the arena, in trot and with turns and changes of direction where I have to throw the 45' rope over his head to be on the other side ;-) Very cool, this is just a huge friendly game to him now and it's a fun game now.
Jumping some low barrels, a regular upright jump and some small upright barrels. All looking good, his jumping is very consistent now.
Circling at trot and canter with COD's thrown in now and again. His paces are smooth, he's not leaning on the rope and he's listening to what I ask nicely with some impulsion. After this we rest for a while again.
Next, still on the 45' line I ask him to put one foot, then both front feet over a pole and then back up. After a short rest I ask him to try to back up over the second pole behind him. He has a bit of trouble but I do my best not to move my feet and to get it where his back feet are about 6" away from the pole and he's nearly straight. I let him rest and lick and chew on that and then I porcupine him back over the pole with his back feet and drive his front end over last of all. Big rest for doing that as he does find Z5 difficult with obstacles so he did really well.
Extreme friendly is fab as usual, he is quiet, peaceful and rested in each zone and on both sides.
22' line play:
Fig 8's in trot today, he didn't want to try it in canter so I didn't push him. Maybe the space was a bit inhibiting, there were weave barrels near us so this could have made it felt a bit claustraphobic. His trot fig's were good, we lost the connection when I tried to help him go further out and use more of the 22' line but this is something we can work on now that I know he has a bit of a problem with this.
2x22' longrein play:
We did some nice walk work and then into trot where we did circles, serpentines and fig 8's all mixed up. We used the whole of the arena and along the rail changing directions with small circles at each short end of the school, my rope throwing is getting much better and this session was good.
Saddling, Bridling & Cinching:
All went well, bridling is something I don't really think about now, he's pretty cool with putting it on. To be honest I thought I was going to do more finesse today but did mostly freestyle so could have put the hackamore on but hey ho, it's good bitting practise ;-)
With the cinching we did lots of circles in w/t/c with COD's and jumps thrown in . After that we did some sideways over a pole and a set of three small barrels with me in Z1 (first time three barrels! yeehaa!) which went VERY WELL, jumping the small upright barrels again and finished off on some fig 8's.
Ridden play:
Started off with some trotting the rail freestyle. Much better today, I felt much more relaxed and confident today with Sol and he was more relaxed too so his trot was comfortable and not rushed. I then did some canter the rail too, putting my outside hand thumb on the cantle of the saddle to get a better seat connection. This worked very well and this was the BEST freestyle let loose canter to date. I rested him after this for being such a good boy.
Next I did some finesse sideways over a pole...first time for this task too today, he was such a calm, confident horse today ;-) and after this I did some jumping. We did 10 jumps without stopping, trotting mostly around the arena, one jump at either end and one near a short side so that two jumps were pretty close. He did them all wonderfully and it felt much better and smoother today. Mark video'd it for me and although I'm not the most elegant horse woman the jumping was looking much better too. At the end of 8 jumps I cantered the whole way around the arena to do two last ones at the short end again. It felt really good and now I have to work on cantering around and doing jumps from canter. Cool ;-)
Finesse play:
Just to finish off the session as Sol was now very 'with me' I did some sitting trot finesse circling, serpentines and backups. The reins were very light and his trot was wonderful. I was hardly using the reins, it was almost like a perfect freestyle session. He worked off my body dynamics and it felt like we were floating. Great way to end the session. I will try this again, doing the jumping before the finesse as it felt like he'd really had a good stretch with the jumping and was able to move and bend much easier and lighter afterwards.
Tuesday 14th July
The flies are bad today but I went out and played with Solly anyway, I miss playing with him and spent the weekend with Stormy so need my Sol-time ;-)
Here is what we did, albeit it was a short time out:
1) Friendly:
He caught me beautifully from quite a distance away and I rub him all over with my hands and cs/ss, from all zones. Getting flies off him is actually helping our relationship as he now comes to me for support in getting them off hard to get places like his face, belly, inner thigh, chest and neck.
2) Yoyo:
Using the 22' and using a really light ph1. Really waiting for him to 'get it' better and better.
3) Spins
He's very good with these online, will try them at liberty later on ;-)
4) Circling/Jumping:
Didn't do many circles but asked for w/t/c and then over some low jumps. His canter today was very good and usually I have to canter too but today I just had a very large/energetic walk which was good, and less tiring! lol
5) Jumping towards:
I asked Sol to jump towards me and then back up to the fence. He was pretty good with this, I stopped asking him to go backwards about 2 ' away from the fence as he wasn't confident with it, slowing and asking when he was more confident really helped him.
6) Fig 8:
I used the two jumps for the fig 8, asking Sol to jump them on each side of the figure. He so gets this fun task now and it's a nice spin on the fig 8 pattern.
7) Sideways:
Today I just ask for this over the small white barrel, to the L&R. He did it so nicely today, he thought about getting worried but I supported him and he just did it. I made sure he sidewaysed much more than just the barrel length so as to help him understand it wasn't about the barrel. Very pleased with him being able to do this now. Once he's very VERY confident about this I will try with the full sized barrel ;-)
8) Stick 2 Me:
In the roundpen (made it much larger now) at LIBERTY. We did w/t/w/h/bk/w/t/c/h. Had a lot of fun with this one today.
9) Close Circling:
I sat on the upright small barrel and asked Sol to do small circles around me at Liberty. He didn't get it at first and walked off a couple of times BUT I stuck to my guns and stayed sitting on the barrel to get him back (which he did nicely) and asked again. He got the game and did the circles very well.
10) Spins:
I attempted to do some Libety Spins today....first time. He was a bit flighty but I slowed everything way down and he did some nice spins for me. I made sure we had the support of the fence to help him to not run off and when he'd done the spins he DHQ's very nicely.
I wasn't out very long but we did a good routine with some good puzzles. I enjoyed it and think Sol did too.
Thursday 9th July
Today it was nice and breezy again so I went out quickly to play with Solly and to get him ready to go out for a short ride. So, he caught me well and I haltered him up. We came into the small paddock by the house and did some yo-yo's up the hill, which he did very well, and then some circling on the hill too. He didn't want to go much with this so everytime he stopped I would put in a slow COD, soon he stayed out on the circle as I asked which was cool.
Next I thought it would be interesting to see if he would jump the deep ditch we have in this field! Well he took me totally by surprise as he just went down to the ditch slowly and with great trouble sniffed the bottom of the ditch. He looked slow and worried and on the verge of going introverted so I gently backed him out of the ditch and waited...he licked and chewed. I asked him to try again and had similar results so I spent about 15 mins or so approaching and retreating, waiting for the licking and chewing and asking again. Then he just went right down into it and slowly went up the other side! I left him on that side for a long time and he licked and chewed BIG TIME. I then took him to a very shallow part and asked him to come back to me which wasn't a problem ;-)
Next I thought it would be interesting to see if he would jump the deep ditch we have in this field! Well he took me totally by surprise as he just went down to the ditch slowly and with great trouble sniffed the bottom of the ditch. He looked slow and worried and on the verge of going introverted so I gently backed him out of the ditch and waited...he licked and chewed. I asked him to try again and had similar results so I spent about 15 mins or so approaching and retreating, waiting for the licking and chewing and asking again. Then he just went right down into it and slowly went up the other side! I left him on that side for a long time and he licked and chewed BIG TIME. I then took him to a very shallow part and asked him to come back to me which wasn't a problem ;-)
Sol in the ditchAfter a bit more circling I asked Sol to go over another very little ditch but with only one foot and then with only two feet. He had a bit of worry but once he realised what I was asking he stayed with the ditch underneath him until I asked him to move which was very cool ;-)
Sol with small ditch under himAfter this Mark came out and played with Holly and then we took them both to the house, groomed them and saddled up. Sol was fab as he was 'ground tied' and stayed totally still whilst I went in and got his equipment and sorted myself out. He's such a sweet boy.
Then Mark and I led our horses up the road a bit, playing stick 2 me along the way and cinching before getting on at a stone wall. We walked and trotted up the road to our top playfield (which has very long grass in it now) and Mark's horse Holly headed straight into the field (although we were going to go along the road past it!) I was a bit worried as there are pheasants in the long grass BUT Sol wanted to go in too so we went in and whilst Mark was galloping about with Holly me and Sol cantered around near the gateway where the grass is a tad shorter. I got confident about taking him in the field and he was very relaxed so in we went and did some finesse weaving in and out of my polyposts, cantered to the gate and then poppped over a couple of jumps. After watching a LOT of showjumping on YouTube I have started to understand the jumping position more again and the jumps today with Sol felt much smoother. I think I was thinking too much about it but now it's in my memory I can just 'feel' going over the jumps better now.
All going well we went off out of the playfield and down the road to a smaller road where we had a lovely canter to some trees and there we had a graze. On the way back from the trees I took the lead with Solly and we cantered very nicely back to the road again.
Then walking and trotting down the quiet country lane with Holly in front again we come to the part of the river we have to go into to get around the fence...I follow on Holly's heels and Solly pops into and out of the river like a pro....how cool was that!
A short trot to the back gate of our grazing field, Mark opens the gate, we close it and then off towards the house. I let Solly canter after Holly but he decides to try to take over and become faster and faster (as always in this field for some reason) and I lift one rein high and stop him before he totally takes over and we have a nice trot again. He feels very bouncy and I decide not to let him just run off without a care and sit back, relax and bring him home quietly in trot. He is very good to slow and stop now and I will allow him to canter more in this field when he doesn't go 'loopy' after Holly in what seems to be a race to the gate. (I know they race each other along this path when Mark has their feed at the gate, so it could be just that he's re-inacting!).
A very good ride out, glad we just went out and had a bit of afternoon fun ;-)
Wednesday 8th July
Today is grey and breezy...yeehaa! no flies! lol. I go out at about 2pm and Sol catches me and we wander down to the roundpen to have some fun. Today I am going to try liberty again and work on transitions and COD's, then I hope I manage to get a little bareback riding in.
First I groom Sol and incorporate some friendly game with that. Then I play around at liberty with some porcupine, moving any and every part of his body away from me. I then make sure our drive/draw is working okay with some yo-yo's. He's paying attention nicely so I go on to the circling game.
For today I just want him to try to put some more effort into cantering at liberty around and to see if we have any communication with transitions from trot to walk and up again. Well his transitions worked very well and I used the psychology of asking him to go slower so that he would want to put that effort into trotting and then cantering. It worked nicely and he kept the trot for a few laps and also the canter when we went up to it.
Next we played around with COD's at liberty and he isn't bad going from circling to the left changing to the right but the other way is not happening at all SO I put Sol back online and practise more with the line on. He does fabulously online so I rest him LOTS before continuing.
I then put 6 cones around the arena so that we can try our liberty weaving. I've not done this often at liberty so I start off with asking him to Stick 2 Me weaving around them, resting after a good round before trying the other direction. Then I ask him to move away from me further and try it again. He is good at going around the cones but it's harder again for him to come in to me so it's me doing something. I think hard about it and realise again that my belly button is putting pressure on him so really make sure my body is facing the direction we're going in rather than on him UNLESS I'm driving him around the outside of the cone!! This works well and we stop on a good note in the centre of the arena and he licks and chews lots.
About this time we have a sunny spell and get invaded by clegs again BUT this time I stay with him, getting the clegs off him until the breeze comes back and they dissapear! yeehaa again ;-)
I then put my bareback pad on Sol and I try a couple of libety COD's off the circling and ask him to only walk doing the circle so that he can concentrate on what I'm going to ask him. He does the COD's well, both ways and I leave that game for today but remember to check the cinch as it's loose now.
So, time to get on and see if I can ride bareback today. The arena is probably a bit small as we can't do canter without getting dizzy in here BUT it's a nice safe size and I feel okay about trying some walk and trot in here. I mount from a box and do LF to the L&R with the CS. Then I do L&R DHQ's and backup a couple of steps too. Then off we go in walk around the arena, changing up to trot when I feel balanced. He's good to me and doesn't do anything silly, I change the direction with a yin-yang pattern and walk and trot in the other direction. I enjoy riding him and it feels good so I end it on a good note after a few rounds and COD's.
Tuesday 7th July
We had a major thunder and rain storm here yesterday with a deluge of rain falling. It was very refreshing and really cleared the air a lot. Today is mild and fresh and the horses tails are hardly swishing (no flies!) SO I grab some equipment and head on out to the field to see if Sol and I can have some play.
Sol catches me at the gate and we mosey on over to the 50' roundpen I set up the other day. Once in the pen I set him loose and check the posts, he follows me around which is cool. Here is what we did today:
1) Friendly:
Quite extreme friendly in all zones and as many ways as I can think of...hands, string, cs, helicopter etc. He just stood there dozing and relaxing ;-)
2) Porcupine:
I just moved him about a bit in all zones wiht just my fingertips which was lovely. I also led him by the tail backwards which he remembers well.
Sol catches me at the gate and we mosey on over to the 50' roundpen I set up the other day. Once in the pen I set him loose and check the posts, he follows me around which is cool. Here is what we did today:
1) Friendly:
Quite extreme friendly in all zones and as many ways as I can think of...hands, string, cs, helicopter etc. He just stood there dozing and relaxing ;-)
2) Porcupine:
I just moved him about a bit in all zones wiht just my fingertips which was lovely. I also led him by the tail backwards which he remembers well.
3) Stick 2 Me:
I go around the roundpen doing transitions, w/t/c/t/w/h/bk to the left and the right, his canter comes easier going to the left but I make it a continuous flow from transition and changing from L to R so keep trying the canter to the right to help him relax to it. I'm also almost touching him on his withers whilst we play this game which is cool, usually during the canter I move away as I was worried about him bucking or striking out, now we're both happier about being closer with the transitions. He does very well and I'm pleased with our progress with this game.
4) Sideways:
Away, towards, HQ and FQ individual now without even the cs/ss on him, just my body movements! cool ;-)
5) Circling:
He does a couple of circles at trot both ways BUT the clegs must have heard we were playing as all of a sudden Sol starts to stop, breaking gait and thrashing about a bit trying to kill the pesky things. Weird, the temperature must have changed or the breeze slowed or something to get these horrid beasties to come out again.
I was so enjoying our session but hey ho, some play is better than nothing and we did have a great session so we finish on a friendly note (me killing as many clegs as possible for him) and then I squeeze him out of the pen and he sticks to me all the way back to the gate where the other horses are.
I go around the roundpen doing transitions, w/t/c/t/w/h/bk to the left and the right, his canter comes easier going to the left but I make it a continuous flow from transition and changing from L to R so keep trying the canter to the right to help him relax to it. I'm also almost touching him on his withers whilst we play this game which is cool, usually during the canter I move away as I was worried about him bucking or striking out, now we're both happier about being closer with the transitions. He does very well and I'm pleased with our progress with this game.
4) Sideways:
Away, towards, HQ and FQ individual now without even the cs/ss on him, just my body movements! cool ;-)
5) Circling:
He does a couple of circles at trot both ways BUT the clegs must have heard we were playing as all of a sudden Sol starts to stop, breaking gait and thrashing about a bit trying to kill the pesky things. Weird, the temperature must have changed or the breeze slowed or something to get these horrid beasties to come out again.
I was so enjoying our session but hey ho, some play is better than nothing and we did have a great session so we finish on a friendly note (me killing as many clegs as possible for him) and then I squeeze him out of the pen and he sticks to me all the way back to the gate where the other horses are.
A cleg (horsefly), they 'bite' and leave a swelling
very annoying flies that itch and hurt when they 'bite'
Monday 6th July
Well the heat and flies have put everything on the back burner with horses since Friday. There have been a plague of clegs here and it's impossible to do anything apart from undemanding time with fly killing as an extreme friendly game! lol. If there aren't clegs there are swarms of midges so I'm not fairing very well on either getting out to play or ride OR keeping myself from being bitten, I have lots of nasty red swollen cleg bites all over my body, they even get through my jeans and bite my legs! arghh.. I am hoping to book the indoor arena again on Friday the 17th so that will be a good playday for sure. In between now and then I try to get out and play, I have set up a roundpen and some 'toys' down in the grazing field where there is less long grass SO if it's clear I can go and quickly see if Sol will catch me for a liberty session ;-)
For now I'm just trying to avoid flies, clegs or midges. Maybe I should start playing at night!
For now I'm just trying to avoid flies, clegs or midges. Maybe I should start playing at night!
Friday 3rd July
Today I had a fabulous session with Solly. I hired a local indoor arena for a couple of hourse so trailered him up and went down for an adventure. I wasn't sure if Sol had ever played/worked in an indoor arena before, I know he was stabled in a large barn which is similar so didn't think he'd have too much problem with it BUT I wanted to be sure he was okay with the situation as a task before going to Stoneleigh.
Well we arrived with 15 mins before my time to enter the arena came, which was perfect, as we had time to sort out obstacles in the arena (no one else was using it) and then unload him and let him get used to where he was. We wandered around outside the arena, checking out the sides of it, finding some grazing, working off the trailer sweat he'd got etc. I didn't do much but made sure he was attentive to me, changing his direction every now and then to keep him focussed on where I was. He loved the grazing and it was breezy down here so that was a huge bonus.
When my time came up I squeezed him in and out of the arena and he didn't have a problem with it at all AND although it was HOT in there it was totally FLY FREE....yeehaa! I knew he would be able to concentrate on playing here and this is what I've wanted all week.
I played exactly the same as at home, working on things that needed doing in this situation but basically staying to our routine so that things were 'the same' even though our environment was different. The 4 things I made sure were in place (online and ridden) were these:
RELAXATION . FLEXIBILITY . OBEDIENCE . IMPULSION
and I worked through all the 4 savvy's: Online, Liberty, Freestyle, Finesse.
So, here (mostly in piccies) is what we did during our 2 hour play session:
A) ONLINE
1) Friendly:
Xtreme and in all zones
2) Driving:
Sniff the barrels and jumps, go into the corners and check out the whole arena...including the wonderful mirrors at one end, Sol was very admiring of himself! lol.
3) Fig 8's:
Really working on getting my body in the right position for the COD's and we did really well with this game today, flowing, not stopping at the barrels, and low phases
4) Weave:
Again we worked together really well with this, his focus and me making sure my belly button is in the appropriate place to get the drive and draw right.
Well we arrived with 15 mins before my time to enter the arena came, which was perfect, as we had time to sort out obstacles in the arena (no one else was using it) and then unload him and let him get used to where he was. We wandered around outside the arena, checking out the sides of it, finding some grazing, working off the trailer sweat he'd got etc. I didn't do much but made sure he was attentive to me, changing his direction every now and then to keep him focussed on where I was. He loved the grazing and it was breezy down here so that was a huge bonus.
When my time came up I squeezed him in and out of the arena and he didn't have a problem with it at all AND although it was HOT in there it was totally FLY FREE....yeehaa! I knew he would be able to concentrate on playing here and this is what I've wanted all week.
I played exactly the same as at home, working on things that needed doing in this situation but basically staying to our routine so that things were 'the same' even though our environment was different. The 4 things I made sure were in place (online and ridden) were these:
RELAXATION . FLEXIBILITY . OBEDIENCE . IMPULSION
and I worked through all the 4 savvy's: Online, Liberty, Freestyle, Finesse.
So, here (mostly in piccies) is what we did during our 2 hour play session:
A) ONLINE
1) Friendly:
Xtreme and in all zones
2) Driving:
Sniff the barrels and jumps, go into the corners and check out the whole arena...including the wonderful mirrors at one end, Sol was very admiring of himself! lol.
3) Fig 8's:
Really working on getting my body in the right position for the COD's and we did really well with this game today, flowing, not stopping at the barrels, and low phases
4) Weave:
Again we worked together really well with this, his focus and me making sure my belly button is in the appropriate place to get the drive and draw right.
6) Squeeze:
Having fun with multiple jumps, putting in some circling and making sure Sol and my body's are flexible to get the turns in nicely around the arena.
B) LIBERTY
7) Liberty Stick 2 Me:
This worked very well, he really is happiest at liberty and I take lots of mental notes of how I do things with him in this savvy to make sure I use the same methods when online. After this I saddled him up.
8) Fig 8's:
At liberty in walk and trot. I haven't done this at liberty since our L3 audition but it was a lot of fun, he was really focussed on me and he managed some lovely figures in trot for me ;-)
9) Backups:
Really did some fab yo-yo's at liberty. Walk/backup and trot/backup with me in Z3.
10) Jumping:
Again some jumps with the saddle on, working on the cinching slowly for him. His jumping is getting SO good now.
11) Sideways:
Did some sideways away and towards and then some individual FQ's towards me which today was light and pivoting.
12) Stick 2 Me:
We LOVE this game and this time I actually ran as fast as I could down the long side of the arena and Sol stayed with me, I think he was having fun seeing if I could keep up with him! lol
13) Circling:
He was great at walk and trot circles and attempted canter with me but he got sidetracked by Mark taking piccie's of him and kept going over to him instead of focussing on me. I managed to help him focus by DHQ's before he got towards Mark and this kept him watching me a lot more.
14) Weave:
He did this very well at liberty. First time trying it really. He missed a couple of draws but this was totally my fault as my body/belly button was still pushing pressure towards him rather than away, once I sorted out my own body dynamics he did the drive/draw very well. He's so cool ;-)
C) FREESTYLE
15) Corners & Ride the Rail:
I did a bit of both of these but realise I really need to do a whole LOT more of Freestyle again. I was worried he'd rush off so was a bit tense myself but in general he did very well, stopped at corners very well and didn't do anything silly. I was a little worried of slipping in canter, especially as I tried a few manoeuvers with 2 CS's this time but the arena surface was superb and my worries were unfounded. I just feel I need to do a lot MORE again of canter to get my balance/seat better so that Sol doesn't have me bouncing about on his back.
Having fun with multiple jumps, putting in some circling and making sure Sol and my body's are flexible to get the turns in nicely around the arena.
B) LIBERTY
7) Liberty Stick 2 Me:
This worked very well, he really is happiest at liberty and I take lots of mental notes of how I do things with him in this savvy to make sure I use the same methods when online. After this I saddled him up.
8) Fig 8's:
At liberty in walk and trot. I haven't done this at liberty since our L3 audition but it was a lot of fun, he was really focussed on me and he managed some lovely figures in trot for me ;-)
9) Backups:
Really did some fab yo-yo's at liberty. Walk/backup and trot/backup with me in Z3.
10) Jumping:Again some jumps with the saddle on, working on the cinching slowly for him. His jumping is getting SO good now.
11) Sideways:
Did some sideways away and towards and then some individual FQ's towards me which today was light and pivoting.
12) Stick 2 Me:
We LOVE this game and this time I actually ran as fast as I could down the long side of the arena and Sol stayed with me, I think he was having fun seeing if I could keep up with him! lol
13) Circling:
He was great at walk and trot circles and attempted canter with me but he got sidetracked by Mark taking piccie's of him and kept going over to him instead of focussing on me. I managed to help him focus by DHQ's before he got towards Mark and this kept him watching me a lot more.
14) Weave:
He did this very well at liberty. First time trying it really. He missed a couple of draws but this was totally my fault as my body/belly button was still pushing pressure towards him rather than away, once I sorted out my own body dynamics he did the drive/draw very well. He's so cool ;-)
C) FREESTYLE
15) Corners & Ride the Rail:
I did a bit of both of these but realise I really need to do a whole LOT more of Freestyle again. I was worried he'd rush off so was a bit tense myself but in general he did very well, stopped at corners very well and didn't do anything silly. I was a little worried of slipping in canter, especially as I tried a few manoeuvers with 2 CS's this time but the arena surface was superb and my worries were unfounded. I just feel I need to do a lot MORE again of canter to get my balance/seat better so that Sol doesn't have me bouncing about on his back.
D) FINESSE
16) Flexibility exercises:
We did serpentines, small/large circles, leg yields on the circle, fig 8's. He finds it hard to 'curve' on left turns so I worked a lot on asking him to move his left shoulder over so that he didn't 'tip' to the inside of those left bends. This worked nicely and it was good to work on something that was not quite right for him.
16) Flexibility exercises:
We did serpentines, small/large circles, leg yields on the circle, fig 8's. He finds it hard to 'curve' on left turns so I worked a lot on asking him to move his left shoulder over so that he didn't 'tip' to the inside of those left bends. This worked nicely and it was good to work on something that was not quite right for him.
17) Jumps:
Again this is something I NEED to really WORK on, get myself a line of jumps and sort out my position. Sol is jumping really well and I need to just go with it. I find I'm often rising up too early rather than letting him take me up and over and then on the downside of the jump I have been leaning forward thereby putting my weight onto his FQ's, I need to sit up and back when coming down on the jump to help him stay light after the jump. I realised that there were a few issues for me with jumping and the main one has been that for the last 7 years my Parelli Levels journey has been with my 15hh Gypsy cob who doesn't like to jump. She would regularly crash through jumps after slowing down to them, sidle past them or just plain STOP before them. I have an innate memory of my horse stopping and not jumping which isn't SOLLY and that is putting me off. I need to just go somewhere safe, put some jumps up and just jump them until I feel safe, I can relax and learn to go with the flow. Maybe hiring this arena again would be good for that as the surface is great.
Again this is something I NEED to really WORK on, get myself a line of jumps and sort out my position. Sol is jumping really well and I need to just go with it. I find I'm often rising up too early rather than letting him take me up and over and then on the downside of the jump I have been leaning forward thereby putting my weight onto his FQ's, I need to sit up and back when coming down on the jump to help him stay light after the jump. I realised that there were a few issues for me with jumping and the main one has been that for the last 7 years my Parelli Levels journey has been with my 15hh Gypsy cob who doesn't like to jump. She would regularly crash through jumps after slowing down to them, sidle past them or just plain STOP before them. I have an innate memory of my horse stopping and not jumping which isn't SOLLY and that is putting me off. I need to just go somewhere safe, put some jumps up and just jump them until I feel safe, I can relax and learn to go with the flow. Maybe hiring this arena again would be good for that as the surface is great.
Me a little forward in the take off
Me letting the reins go as I was worried about hurting his mouth with the bit in it.
Luckily he is in a great position and jumping despite my lousy position but it will get better if I practise it more ;-)
E) LIBERTY
18) Stick 2 me:
I decide at the end of the session to set him free again, hoping he'd go and roll but he doesn't. Instead we play follow the leader, stick 2 me with jumps and running about for fun ;-) I love him following me.
18) Stick 2 me:
I decide at the end of the session to set him free again, hoping he'd go and roll but he doesn't. Instead we play follow the leader, stick 2 me with jumps and running about for fun ;-) I love him following me.
Right at the end of the session (just like the beginning) he went and introduced himself to himself in the mirror. He was quite taken with that beautiful grey the other side of the wall! lol.
It was a great session and so lovely to be away from flies, although we sweated a lot in the arena due to the heat. Next time I'll keep the door open and put a jump up to stop him going out during liberty. Piccie's were a little blurred due to the speed we were moving but also because the camera had to deal with being indoors which isn't it's favorite thing, although the pic's show what we were doing okay. I may try to get back here before Stoneleigh to do more jumping and freestyle stuff. Going out of my comfort zone is difficult and it takes me a few sessions before I feel comfortable in a new zone but I know I need to do this to keep moving on with my journey.
Thursday 2nd July
The heat has been really unbearable the last few days but more than that the clegs (horseflies) are horrendous. I've been going out thinking I can at least play with Solly but he and I both cannot concentrate from the biting clegs all over us.
Today I made an effort to go out and took 6 polypoles with me, there was a breeze and I thought that this would make a difference to the fly situation.
Solly came and caught me and we went across the grazing field to where there is a flat surface. I put the polypoles up in a circle around me and then played with some friendly (hit the fly is quite popular! lol) and then some yo-yo and worked a bit on draw to me at trot. I then put Sol out on the circle and asked him to circle around me whilst weaving in and out of the poles on that circle. We started in walk and moved onto trot quickly as moving faster kept the flies off longer ;-) He did so well doing it.
Only thing today was that he tried everything to do sideways towards so that he could brush up against me to kill the clegs on him. In the end I gave up, took him back to his herd mates and stood for a while killing clegs on him again before heading towards the cool of the house.
