Thursday 25th November
Today we waken to a winter wonderland of snow, there's not really any more snow from overnight but it's time we brought the horses to the paddocks around the back of the house so that we can feed them some hay. There is also some grazing under the 3" of snow here and I know our lot can get to that so there'll be something to eat from the field for a while here ;-)
SO, off Mark and I go to the field in the car, a bit slippery but nothing worrying really. We leave the car there and then ask Tara and Fortune to catch us, which is easy. Then we walk them together to the new paddock which is about a mile. I actually ride Tara which is nicer albeit a bit damp on my butt! lol.
Fortune and Tara making their way to the new field
Walking through the field full of cattle ;-)
Me riding Tara home ;-)I walk through one field as the field inbetween two others to our house has cattle in it, the horses start off worried but the cattle are good and move from the pathway and our horses walk through without any bother. I think this will be good fun going through here when possible with Solly, Tara and then Stormy so that they spend Winter getting used to being with cattle when walking out ;-))
The paddocks go behind the house and either side of it.It's lovely to see them all day, every day ;-)) Must remember to vaseline their feathers tonight to make sure they don't get iceballs on them overnight, it's going to be a cold one. brurgghhh ;-(
Wednesday 24th November
Today it's cold and it looked like it has a sprinkling of snow here by the house. At the horses field there is just green grass so I take Holly and Solly's rugs off, they both came straight up to me with Stormy for fussing and to get the rugs off so that's pretty cool. I then strap the two rugs together again and ask Tara to catch me, which she does very nicely. I place the rugs on her back and then ask her to follow me to the pedastal where I mount her with the rugs in front of me and then together we walk up the big hill with the rest of the herd following us ;-)
I take her out of the field and put the rugs safely in the car and then bring her back to the field. Whilst taking her back to the herd I challenge our relationship to see if I can ask her to Stick 2 Me from Z3/4 with the rope on the outside of her and over her back so that it feels like liberty. She does w/halt/bkups from the tail very well and it was nice to see we've got that bond even though the herd was close by and she usually likes to get back to them quickly....I must be doing something right with her recently as she's been very accepting of me more and more ;-)
When I take the halter off her I ask her to stick to me a bit more and take her to the water as the rest of the herd have been to the stream and are on their way back down the hill and I want her to get water before going back down too. She drinks and it starts to snow ;-( All the horses trot down the hill and I follow suit.
Tara, the pack horse with her 2 rugs on board ;-)
The view from me riding Tara, rugs in front of me riding with one handthe other keeping the rugs safely on her back
Beautiful Tara trotting down the hill when the snow starts
Solly sticks 2 me the whole way down the hill and it's lovely to have him stay close when the herd is in front of us and trotting around. We do some transitions on the way down w/t/bkups and backup from his tail.
I then ask to see if he will circle at liberty! First walk L&R..YUP. Secondly some trot L&R....YUP. Maybe some canter L&R....YEEHAA, yes he does and has worked nicely for the treats I give him ;-)
I let Sol rest and ask Stormy to come to me, which he does. Today, as it's snowing now, I just want to do a couple of things to reinforce the good things from yesterday. Firstly I ask that he lower his head for haltering, it takes a couple of tries but he does it better than yesterday. Next I ask that he try to put a back foot in the tractor tyre like yesterday. He tried really hard and finally go it well with his left back foot. I treat him and then ask him to try his right foot...and he gets this much quicker and I treat him again ;-) This was quite hard as it was now snowing badly in my face so I was mostly looking at his feet. lol. The whole time with Stormy Solly was standing behind me dozing ;-) ahh
Stomy with back left foot in tractor tyre ;-))
So now it is Solly turn. I halter him and then ask him to try to put a front foot on the tractor tyre. He has HUGE trouble putting a foot into anything so asking him to just put his foot on something is a good start (I must try to get him over being worried about putting his feet in something, maybe now his sidepassing is so much better this is the next task to progress). He has trouble but after about 5 mins he puts one front foot on the outside rim of the tyre ;-)) I leave this on a good note.
We go towards the jumps, whist going there I practised, from yesterday, the walk, backup and then turn 180' fast and walk the other way, great for getting weight onto his hindquarters and he did it very well. I then ask Solly to jump a single barrel to the right, then I ask him to sidepass over it to the right...he does both of these and also to the left both tasks when I ask him. This is the FIRST time he's done both of these without worrying or trying to avoid the barrel.
YeeHAA.
So, with all that going well I saddled and cinched him and then mounted from the pedestal which is in the middle of the field. The snow had stopped and left a nice sprinkling of whiteness about the field but nothing too bad to stop riding today ;-)
I did LF to the L&R which he did beautifully and then moved off at a walk. We use fig 8's and weave around mole hills and poo spots to get us around the lower part of the field and then I ask him to trot and focus on the trot and fig 8's which I make larger and larger going towards the hill.
When I get to the hill he STOPS and won't go forward. It's such a strange thing as he goes so well towards this spot, but I just give him my focus and energy and a tap and if he doesn't move I turn him L or R in a zigzag around the part of the hill he can move on. It takes quite a while before he manages to unstick his feet and get past the bad part, once past it his ears go forward and he walks up most of the hill with good focus and calmness, 3/4's of the way up I ask for trot and he gives it to me nicely too. SO weird about the lower part though!!
At the top I let him graze as a reward and then we go out of the field and I walk him to the car to get some treats. I then take him to our mounting block stone at the top of the down hill to the back gateway. He grazes and is alert but calm and then we move off slowly going down the hill in a zigzag motion and keeping to the longer grass rather than the pathway as this is less slippery.
Near the bottom for some reason, unknown to me, he spooks quite quickly, as he is known to do, to the left. I stay on and ask him to move off again but something is worrying him a bit so I dismount very quickly and with my mecate rein lead rope I circled him about and then did moving circles until we were on flatter ground. He calmed down nicely and I then re-mounted whilst he grazed.
The last part of the hack to the back gate was lovely, I asked for trot which he did beautifully and then for 4 canter strides before the gateway which he did beautifully too ;-)) Through the gate and I remounted again and I asked him to do some fig 8's and weave near the arena and then sidepassed over a pole L&R...very cool.
I then unsaddle him and hang out with him and the herd for another 15 mins whilst it snows again. Sol stood with me and grazed with me and it's becomming a nice habit to hang with them before leaving. Very good, albeit cold and snowy, day. Enjoyed the whole session and glad I made the effort to be out with them.
I then ask to see if he will circle at liberty! First walk L&R..YUP. Secondly some trot L&R....YUP. Maybe some canter L&R....YEEHAA, yes he does and has worked nicely for the treats I give him ;-)
I let Sol rest and ask Stormy to come to me, which he does. Today, as it's snowing now, I just want to do a couple of things to reinforce the good things from yesterday. Firstly I ask that he lower his head for haltering, it takes a couple of tries but he does it better than yesterday. Next I ask that he try to put a back foot in the tractor tyre like yesterday. He tried really hard and finally go it well with his left back foot. I treat him and then ask him to try his right foot...and he gets this much quicker and I treat him again ;-) This was quite hard as it was now snowing badly in my face so I was mostly looking at his feet. lol. The whole time with Stormy Solly was standing behind me dozing ;-) ahh
Stomy with back left foot in tractor tyre ;-))So now it is Solly turn. I halter him and then ask him to try to put a front foot on the tractor tyre. He has HUGE trouble putting a foot into anything so asking him to just put his foot on something is a good start (I must try to get him over being worried about putting his feet in something, maybe now his sidepassing is so much better this is the next task to progress). He has trouble but after about 5 mins he puts one front foot on the outside rim of the tyre ;-)) I leave this on a good note.
We go towards the jumps, whist going there I practised, from yesterday, the walk, backup and then turn 180' fast and walk the other way, great for getting weight onto his hindquarters and he did it very well. I then ask Solly to jump a single barrel to the right, then I ask him to sidepass over it to the right...he does both of these and also to the left both tasks when I ask him. This is the FIRST time he's done both of these without worrying or trying to avoid the barrel.
YeeHAA.
So, with all that going well I saddled and cinched him and then mounted from the pedestal which is in the middle of the field. The snow had stopped and left a nice sprinkling of whiteness about the field but nothing too bad to stop riding today ;-)
I did LF to the L&R which he did beautifully and then moved off at a walk. We use fig 8's and weave around mole hills and poo spots to get us around the lower part of the field and then I ask him to trot and focus on the trot and fig 8's which I make larger and larger going towards the hill.
When I get to the hill he STOPS and won't go forward. It's such a strange thing as he goes so well towards this spot, but I just give him my focus and energy and a tap and if he doesn't move I turn him L or R in a zigzag around the part of the hill he can move on. It takes quite a while before he manages to unstick his feet and get past the bad part, once past it his ears go forward and he walks up most of the hill with good focus and calmness, 3/4's of the way up I ask for trot and he gives it to me nicely too. SO weird about the lower part though!!
At the top I let him graze as a reward and then we go out of the field and I walk him to the car to get some treats. I then take him to our mounting block stone at the top of the down hill to the back gateway. He grazes and is alert but calm and then we move off slowly going down the hill in a zigzag motion and keeping to the longer grass rather than the pathway as this is less slippery.
Near the bottom for some reason, unknown to me, he spooks quite quickly, as he is known to do, to the left. I stay on and ask him to move off again but something is worrying him a bit so I dismount very quickly and with my mecate rein lead rope I circled him about and then did moving circles until we were on flatter ground. He calmed down nicely and I then re-mounted whilst he grazed.
The last part of the hack to the back gate was lovely, I asked for trot which he did beautifully and then for 4 canter strides before the gateway which he did beautifully too ;-)) Through the gate and I remounted again and I asked him to do some fig 8's and weave near the arena and then sidepassed over a pole L&R...very cool.
I then unsaddle him and hang out with him and the herd for another 15 mins whilst it snows again. Sol stood with me and grazed with me and it's becomming a nice habit to hang with them before leaving. Very good, albeit cold and snowy, day. Enjoyed the whole session and glad I made the effort to be out with them.
Hanging with herd after play session,snow not too bad on the ground!
Snow on hill to top gate at feedtime today...4pm! ;-( eek
Tuesday 23rd November
Today there was a fox hunt going on locally, the men and hounds were down the glen and a few men near the horses field ready to get the fox if it came this way so when I got down to the field the horses were a bit on their toes to say the least! lol BUT always looking for the positives in situations this is what I did with some of them today;
TARA:
My first task was to take Holly and Solly's rugs off, they were all understandably at the bottom of the field so I went and took them off and then asked Tara to catch me, which she did very nicely. It was almost as if she (and the others too) found comfort in my being there and they all hung around me a bit. I did lots of friendly game in our last home where there was LOTS of shooting birds SO maybe this is now paying off ;-)
I put the halter and 22' line on her and then played some stick 2 me whilst going up to where I'd put the rugs. I then tied the rugs together with a savvy string and placed them on her back and held the end of the string to keep it from falling off. Then she and I took them up the hill again with the stick 2 me game. We took some rests on the way up, it's a big, steepish hill and also took some rests to make sure Tara was okay about going up the hill. The fox hunting men had been along the track and the cars passing behind their field along the track made them all a bit nervous BUT Tara did a fab job of bringing the rugs up. Near the very top her head was pretty high, she was very alert although by this time the fox hunt had moved onto someone else's land and were nowhere to be seen! I got he out of the field and along the track to where my car was parked and we stashed the rugs in the car and I gave her a few treats.
The whole way back down the hill in the field she was lively and alert but calm and attentive, we trotted down most of it with a fabulous stick 2 me and I made sure she was back in the herd before letting her go. She hung out with me a little longer and I treated her for being such a good horsey ;-))
Not often seen...Tara with her head up off the grass! lolShe's so pretty and although alert she was focussed on me the whole time ;-))
The herd were still on their toes and I just followed them about to keep with them mentally and physically, keeping calm and singing so that they know I'm relaxed. At one point they all go along the bottom of the field in herd order and I manage to get my camera out and photograph it
Herd walking along field in heirarchy order! How interesting.Holly, Stormy, Solly (who took time out to check I was with them, cool)
Fortune and then Tara (who also checked in with me...very cool)
STORMY:
Next I had a very cool time with Stormy, I wanted to do something with him today but wasn't sure he was 'do-able' due to his being very 2nd in command today, on his toes and keeping the herd in order BUT he knocked his 4x4 tyre down the hill yesterday, we put his feed bowl in this and it stops him from kicking it over onto the floor and this needed to get back up the hill. Last time he did it I dragged it up the top but it's very heavy and the hill is steep and long SO it's his problem and today hopefully was the test! ;-0
First of all though, even though on his toes, he decides to play at liberty with me...very cool. He catches me, plays yo-yo, puts his front foot/feet in a tractor tyre, for which he got a couple of treats and then I ask him to circle around me. Really not sure he is going to do this BUT he does walk two laps in both directions, then trot in both directions with a fabulous COD in the middle and then I ask for a FIRST...can he canter around me both ways!! YES HE CAN and I'm SO PROUD OF HIM ;-)) BIG TREATS for this one.
Liberty: front feet in tractor tyreSo after this fabulous liberty session I then put his halter and a 22' line on him...he was being a bit high headed SO I spent some time asking his head to come down (often. lol) and relax before putting the halter on and tying it. It was hard for him as he was very distraced but I just kept being passively persistent and he got it.
The task of taking the tyre up the hill was going to be fun in more than one way:
1) we've not actually done this for a LONG while and never made it a pattern so this is really a first for him.
2) up the hill is where he perceives danger to be so he will be alert and a bit more active with his flight instincts.
3) He's about 1 TON of heavy horse, with his energy up and I have to stay calm, relaxed and in control of the situation so that he stays calm, relaxed and does as asked nicely....should be fun then! lol
BUT before we can do anything I need to find my 4 flight checks with him (RELAXATION, WILLING OBEDIENCE, IMULSION, FLEXIBILITY). I know that at liberty he was attentive but he had the choice to go back to the herd if/when wanted, having him in a halter and on a rope I know makes him feel a bit restricted but he needs to follow my leadership and this will be a big test of that.
SO, to get him focussed and to get relaxation I put him to a small, thoughtful task...this works wonders with him. I ask him to try to put ONE BACK FOOT in the tractor tyre. Now, he's NEVER done this in his life SO it should captivate his imagination once I've got his focus. lol
It takes him a long, long time (well about 15 mins) and he has trouble first with putting Z5 near the tyre and then always stepping over the tyre with his back feet BUT I just stay put, never move my feet and keep asking gently but with a great focus. I can almost hear his brain thinking it over, once I have his attention he really tries hard to find the solution to my new puzzle ;-))
The task of taking the tyre up the hill was going to be fun in more than one way:
1) we've not actually done this for a LONG while and never made it a pattern so this is really a first for him.
2) up the hill is where he perceives danger to be so he will be alert and a bit more active with his flight instincts.
3) He's about 1 TON of heavy horse, with his energy up and I have to stay calm, relaxed and in control of the situation so that he stays calm, relaxed and does as asked nicely....should be fun then! lol
BUT before we can do anything I need to find my 4 flight checks with him (RELAXATION, WILLING OBEDIENCE, IMULSION, FLEXIBILITY). I know that at liberty he was attentive but he had the choice to go back to the herd if/when wanted, having him in a halter and on a rope I know makes him feel a bit restricted but he needs to follow my leadership and this will be a big test of that.
SO, to get him focussed and to get relaxation I put him to a small, thoughtful task...this works wonders with him. I ask him to try to put ONE BACK FOOT in the tractor tyre. Now, he's NEVER done this in his life SO it should captivate his imagination once I've got his focus. lol
It takes him a long, long time (well about 15 mins) and he has trouble first with putting Z5 near the tyre and then always stepping over the tyre with his back feet BUT I just stay put, never move my feet and keep asking gently but with a great focus. I can almost hear his brain thinking it over, once I have his attention he really tries hard to find the solution to my new puzzle ;-))
Asking Z5 to be next to the tyre, as straight as possible please ;-)
Putting Z3 over the tyre and then sidepassing from 20' away...not right but a great try ;-)
You can see how alert he is and still worrying about the fox hunt!
Great try again, almost there with both back feet ON the tyre rim! lol
YEEHAA...he's got it...one back foot in the tyre ;-)) So now that he has his attention on me and he is relaxed and being obedient I put some more play his way. We go to some circles online. I'm now looking for imulsion and flexibiliy and by doing circles I can see both of these. If he gets 'worried' and runs about I'd put him back to yo-yo's or sideways but he circles nicely, both ways, in trot and whilst he does this I take back the space by his Z3 with my short training stick and string so that he flexes more in an arc around me rather than looking out on the circle. He does this well and so I stop and treat him. He is now ready to put to the task of dragging the tyre ;-)
I use the 22' on the halter and only have a 45' to hand so I use the 45' to pull the tyre, it will help in the long run by allowing the tyre to be a long way off and thereby not cause him worry about it being too close to him.
I put the 45' rope through the tyre and using the carabiner clip I clip it on itself to secure it. I then ask Stormy to be one side of the line and put it first around his chest and then around, over his withers where I then take the end (abour 5' of it) and wrap it twice around itself to make a loop around his neck. I hold this end and if anything untoward happens I can let it go immediately to release him and not cause him to panick.
I put the towing line in my inside hand with the training arm, holding this half way down so that I can ask him forwards but use the other end to keep his head straight. I hold the 22' line attached to the halter in my outside hand and use this to 'lead' him with. SO, everything in order I ask him to walk on.
He does very well, I drop the pulling rope twice when he's a bit worried about things....more worried about going up the hill to where he perceives there is danger, and also about going away to that space and leaving the herd behind, pulling was fine. I also stop regularly to make sure he's okay about going up the hill, this also gives me the opportunity to change sides and make sure everything I do is equal. He does marvellously and brings the large tyre right up the hill except the last part where he's too worried about being at the top of the field so I stop on a good note and drag it the last 10' myself ;-) To keep his mind on me at the top I ask him to put his foot into the tyre and he does it after a couple of attempts.
I use the 22' on the halter and only have a 45' to hand so I use the 45' to pull the tyre, it will help in the long run by allowing the tyre to be a long way off and thereby not cause him worry about it being too close to him.
I put the 45' rope through the tyre and using the carabiner clip I clip it on itself to secure it. I then ask Stormy to be one side of the line and put it first around his chest and then around, over his withers where I then take the end (abour 5' of it) and wrap it twice around itself to make a loop around his neck. I hold this end and if anything untoward happens I can let it go immediately to release him and not cause him to panick.
I put the towing line in my inside hand with the training arm, holding this half way down so that I can ask him forwards but use the other end to keep his head straight. I hold the 22' line attached to the halter in my outside hand and use this to 'lead' him with. SO, everything in order I ask him to walk on.
He does very well, I drop the pulling rope twice when he's a bit worried about things....more worried about going up the hill to where he perceives there is danger, and also about going away to that space and leaving the herd behind, pulling was fine. I also stop regularly to make sure he's okay about going up the hill, this also gives me the opportunity to change sides and make sure everything I do is equal. He does marvellously and brings the large tyre right up the hill except the last part where he's too worried about being at the top of the field so I stop on a good note and drag it the last 10' myself ;-) To keep his mind on me at the top I ask him to put his foot into the tyre and he does it after a couple of attempts.
45' line around Stormy's front for pulling
The tyre about 30' away and tensioned ready to pull ;-)
Again he's thinking about the herdbut managed to focus on putting his foot in the tyre ;-)
Our task now was to get down the hill, back to the herd, in a relaxed, calm, orderly fashion. I was a bit worried that he may want to scoot down the hill fast SO I asked him to backup, he turned sideways and I took that and he sidepassed in walk and sometimes trot the whole way down the hill. I changed sides for him a few times so that sometimes he was facing the herd and other times not and he did it fabulously, calmly, relaxed and totally focussed. Fab stuff..
I was very proud of him and almost hope he pushes the tyre back down the hill so that we can do it all again...in fact, maybe I'll push it down the hill so that we can do it again! ...now there's an idea ;-)
Back with the herd Stormy went to them and came back to me twice for some hugs which was lovely.
SOLLY:
When I took Stormy back Solly came and caught me, he'd caught me three times today and when the herd were trotting about he actually came and stuck 2 me and walked, backed up from a few hairs of his tail and walked/trotted on with me which was pretty cool. I wasn't sure I was going to do anything with Sol today as I don't like riding when guns are being shot but the hunt was over (it was now 1pm ish) and the herd was pretty calm and grazing again so it was a good time to try some play and see how he felt.
First of all I decided that to play at the place where he was 'sticky' when riding up the bigh hill, the lower bit and he was 'sticky' when playing too but I was persistent that he do as asked in a nice manner and I asked him to circle w/t/c all around the sticky places then I did some small play, stick 2 me, yoyo's, jumps and a new item....asked him to stick 2 me in walk, then backup a few strides to get his weight on his HQ's and then stepped away from him slightly in the back up, put a feel onto the rope/halter upwards and asked him to spin his FQ's away from me to turn him the other way (hope that makes sense) he was a bit slow the first two times but then he just 'got it' and was pivoting on his HQ's and turning 180' towards and around in front of me....it was fun and showed me that he could move lightly when I got his body into a good position to do so ;-)) FUN.
Then I groomed and saddled him, the wind was blowing a bit down the end of the field where I do this and he was a bit sceptical of the forest but I kept calm and just did what I needed to do. I then cinched him going away from the forest edge and when I felt he was calm enough I mounted. He seemed to relax straight away and it was a good feeling. The herd was straight in front of me, right next to the big hill that we were going to ride so I just asked him to walk towards them, putting in some turns to the L&R to make sure he was focussed on me and not the herd.
He thought about stopping once when asked to go away from the herd but I was very focussed on the walk and getting towards the lower part of the hill...the 'sticky' patch. Getting to the hill I kept circling, fig 8's and using mole hills as focus points, then I asked him to start to climb the hill, he started out okay and then put in a couple of stops. I quickly, calmly but decisively turned him to the right and then to the left with a few steps and he then just went up. Near the top he offered trot and I took it, felt good. I was only going to take him up this hill and then stop but decided to continue the round route to the back gateway as this was the new pattern that we needed to 'get'.
i did decide though, to not ride behind the forest today, he was very high headed and quite sceptical about the forest and I didn't want to blow him up SO I walked him w/t/bkups along the track and where the hill starts to go down again outwith where the forest is I mounted from a large boulder. He grazed straight away and I did a couple of dog barks to see if there were any deer about, they can spook him if they stand still and then start to run nearby.
We just went down the hill the same way as yesterday, grazing inbetween to keep him sweet and at the lower part a small herd of deer did pop around the further forest edge and back into the forest and Solly looked up at them alert but then went back to grazing...phew! lol
At the very bottom I asked for trot (not canter this time as don't like to make habits like that) and he gave me a wonderfully controlled, calm trot to the gateway. It was a good ride out and I'm glad we did it today after all the noise and movement of the hunt. Solly was wonderful and we'll see what tomorrow brings ;-))
I was very proud of him and almost hope he pushes the tyre back down the hill so that we can do it all again...in fact, maybe I'll push it down the hill so that we can do it again! ...now there's an idea ;-)
Back with the herd Stormy went to them and came back to me twice for some hugs which was lovely.
SOLLY:
When I took Stormy back Solly came and caught me, he'd caught me three times today and when the herd were trotting about he actually came and stuck 2 me and walked, backed up from a few hairs of his tail and walked/trotted on with me which was pretty cool. I wasn't sure I was going to do anything with Sol today as I don't like riding when guns are being shot but the hunt was over (it was now 1pm ish) and the herd was pretty calm and grazing again so it was a good time to try some play and see how he felt.
First of all I decided that to play at the place where he was 'sticky' when riding up the bigh hill, the lower bit and he was 'sticky' when playing too but I was persistent that he do as asked in a nice manner and I asked him to circle w/t/c all around the sticky places then I did some small play, stick 2 me, yoyo's, jumps and a new item....asked him to stick 2 me in walk, then backup a few strides to get his weight on his HQ's and then stepped away from him slightly in the back up, put a feel onto the rope/halter upwards and asked him to spin his FQ's away from me to turn him the other way (hope that makes sense) he was a bit slow the first two times but then he just 'got it' and was pivoting on his HQ's and turning 180' towards and around in front of me....it was fun and showed me that he could move lightly when I got his body into a good position to do so ;-)) FUN.
Then I groomed and saddled him, the wind was blowing a bit down the end of the field where I do this and he was a bit sceptical of the forest but I kept calm and just did what I needed to do. I then cinched him going away from the forest edge and when I felt he was calm enough I mounted. He seemed to relax straight away and it was a good feeling. The herd was straight in front of me, right next to the big hill that we were going to ride so I just asked him to walk towards them, putting in some turns to the L&R to make sure he was focussed on me and not the herd.
He thought about stopping once when asked to go away from the herd but I was very focussed on the walk and getting towards the lower part of the hill...the 'sticky' patch. Getting to the hill I kept circling, fig 8's and using mole hills as focus points, then I asked him to start to climb the hill, he started out okay and then put in a couple of stops. I quickly, calmly but decisively turned him to the right and then to the left with a few steps and he then just went up. Near the top he offered trot and I took it, felt good. I was only going to take him up this hill and then stop but decided to continue the round route to the back gateway as this was the new pattern that we needed to 'get'.
i did decide though, to not ride behind the forest today, he was very high headed and quite sceptical about the forest and I didn't want to blow him up SO I walked him w/t/bkups along the track and where the hill starts to go down again outwith where the forest is I mounted from a large boulder. He grazed straight away and I did a couple of dog barks to see if there were any deer about, they can spook him if they stand still and then start to run nearby.
We just went down the hill the same way as yesterday, grazing inbetween to keep him sweet and at the lower part a small herd of deer did pop around the further forest edge and back into the forest and Solly looked up at them alert but then went back to grazing...phew! lol
At the very bottom I asked for trot (not canter this time as don't like to make habits like that) and he gave me a wonderfully controlled, calm trot to the gateway. It was a good ride out and I'm glad we did it today after all the noise and movement of the hunt. Solly was wonderful and we'll see what tomorrow brings ;-))
Monday 22nd November
Well today is the first day of my intense Solly hacking training! lol. I decided that from now until I go back to teaching horsemanship in the Spring that my time should be used to help Solly and me get back to hacking out here at our new house. SO, today was the first day and unless the weather gets bad then I shall do my best to go out and ride everyday with Solly.
I went into the field and knew that this morning was going to be riding Tara to the village for some supplies BUT Stormy came up to me first and I gave him a treat for catching me nicely. Then I stood on the pedastal and fussed him from up here, he moved his FQ's and HQ's nicely like sidling up for mounting and behaved beautifully so I treated him again. Next I walked off, he stuck 2 me in walk and trot and backup ;-) gave him another treat. Then I asked to see if he would put one foot into the large tractor tyre...no problem...two feet in the tyre??? easy peasy lemon squeezy ;-))
Big treat for doing this...all at LIBERTY too ;-))Then I asked to see if he would circle around me to the right, he did two laps I DHQ and treated him ;-) Then I asked the other way, he has trouble going the other way...or should I say he's got learned behaviour of not having to do the other way so seriously!! BUT I asked and then re-asked until he got two laps...big treat. Then I asked circle to right in trot and put in some energy myself and guess what....HE DID IT. He's such a lovely boy, he got treats and hugs for all that liberty play ;-))
SO, then I fussed Solly as he came up and caught me too...probably jealous that I was playing with Stormy but it worked. lol. Gave him a treat for catching me and then asked them both to wait whilst I fussed Holly and then asked Tara to catch me..no problem there.
I played with Tara on the 22' line as we walked/trotted back to the saddle. Then I groomed her, saddled and cinched and then mounted. We took it slowly to start with, walking along the field and up the big hill to the outside gate. Then to the village without any incidents, w/t/c and she tied to a tree at the shop, I did my shopping and came out with a carrot and apple for her which she enjoyed immensley. Then w/t/c back home and went to the back gate to the field where in the field I mounted again from the ground and trotted and cantered her over a jump and to the saddling place for unsaddling, groom and fuss.
Lastly, at libertym Tara and I played stick 2 me w/t/bkup, change sides around Z5 and do same on other side all the way back to the herd where I treated her and set her free to graze. It was lovely to have Tara's attention ALL the way back to the herd and for her to not just run off back to them without me!! cool.
SO, next came Solly's turn. He'd been watching over Holly and Stormy with Fortune whilst they slept whilst Tara and I were out so he'd had a good rest and now it was time to play/ride ;-)
I kept in my mind lots of positives ie. We're playing stick 2 me, We're playing circles together. I used my shorter, lighter training arm I got from Ingela Larsson Smith's course (Honza Blaha sells them and they're very light and easy to use, not such a heavy dominant tool and I think I have a better attitude with it so therefore Solly does nicer things with it!).
We did a few games: yo-yo, circles, cod, transitions, jumps, fig 8's and then saddled and cinched. I made sure we didn't play TOO much but that I'd tested all the gaits and his attitude to the work, all went well so I then mounted.
Again I kept my positive attitude: 'we're walking to the jump'...'we're walking around the cone', 'we're trotting fig 8's'...etc. I tried very hard NOT to think of anything negative like I sometimes do (ie. he usually bucks here, he usually stops here, etc) and this really helped us to relax and just ride together as partners. We did lots of w/t with some backups, using circles to keep momentum and focus and straight lines to keep forward motion and impulsion going. It was pretty good, he did as I asked without too much attitude of trying to stop and we rode around most of the lower field which is pretty good ;-)
Next it was the task of tackling the hill. My aim is to have him relaxed and trotting/cantering up this hill. In the past he's either completely refused to go up it (maybe herd sweet) or he bucks when asked to do anything more than a very slow walk!! eek. SO, with my new positive attitude I do some small fig 8's at the bottom of the hill and then coming out of that pattern to go up the hill...he refuses, ears back and when I tap his shoulder he tries to run backwards!! I hate it when he does this BUT I relax and ask again and then tap him behind the girth and he tries to put a foot forward but has trouble SO I turn him to the right and ask for the step forward in that direction which he manages to do.
I spend about 5 mins doing this, him refusing, backing up or threatening to buck and me relaxing and re-asking each time he does something I don't want. I then go back to large fig 8's at the bottom of the field and sing to myself to relax me and get my mind focussed on riding the hill rather than stopping at the bottom of it (I sang Jingle Bells and so glad no one about to hear me! lol)
Eventually I get a couple of steps up but then the attitude, stop and swishing tail...I tap him twice on his butt and then ask again, he doesn't buck which is good but he doesn't move either SO again I turn him to the right and ask him to go and circle the nearest poo pile, then when he stops there I turn him left and focus on another poo pile and before we know it we're half way up the hill!! yeehaa. At about half way up his attitude changes, his ears go forward and he calmly trots tot he top when I ask him to trot ;-))
So it seems I have to work on the bottom half of the hill, association maybe of me giving up and getting off to walk him up has become a learned behaviour...I am going to change that over the next few days with constant riding out on this short hack: in the field, up the hill, out of the gate, along the forest and then down the next hill back to the horses field back gateway;-) Short but sweet with a few obstacles along the way like hills, trees and muddy tracks.
At the top of the hill I get off, squeeze him out of the field and let him graze as a reward. Then I re-mount and ride along the back part of a pine tree forest, he SPOOKS by where I've parked the car but I blow out, relax and just continue my focus on getting back to the field back gateway...phew!! lol
Going down the hill around the forest is fun and I use the incentive of grazing the long grass to keep him from rushing down this hill and sort of zigzag down it to keep it interesting, in and out of old white birch trees and finally to the flat part facing the back gate. Until now I have kept the focus of 'we're WALKING down this hill' then I change it to 'we're trotting a few strides' and finally 'we're cantering together to the gateway'...then I ask him to canter to the gate and he does it, nice, big steps, calm, relaxed and happy ;-)) YEEHAA...best canter for ages. This is a big treat and I'm really really happy that he could canter nicely for me...I made sure I just asked for the canter and then sat relaxed and let him take me to the gate. FAB.
Through the gate I re-mounted from the ground and then trotted around the arena and jumped the small tyre jump and cantered out of that to the right and to the saddling area, dhq and sidepass into position facing the fence then dismount and untack ;-)
After this I put Sol to liberty and he stuck 2 me back to the herd just like Tara did. I also sent him off to the herd but he came back three times as I think I hadn't really cut the mental bond, it was lovely to have him as a boomerang! lol The last time he came back I crouched down and just hung out with him, playing friendly with my training stick and string and just being at one with him...he totally relaxed and almost went to sleep. It was good to hang out with him before finally mentally setting him back to the herd, when I did this he went but as I walked off I turned and he'd stopped and looked back at me too! cool ;-0
SO, then I fussed Solly as he came up and caught me too...probably jealous that I was playing with Stormy but it worked. lol. Gave him a treat for catching me and then asked them both to wait whilst I fussed Holly and then asked Tara to catch me..no problem there.
I played with Tara on the 22' line as we walked/trotted back to the saddle. Then I groomed her, saddled and cinched and then mounted. We took it slowly to start with, walking along the field and up the big hill to the outside gate. Then to the village without any incidents, w/t/c and she tied to a tree at the shop, I did my shopping and came out with a carrot and apple for her which she enjoyed immensley. Then w/t/c back home and went to the back gate to the field where in the field I mounted again from the ground and trotted and cantered her over a jump and to the saddling place for unsaddling, groom and fuss.
Lastly, at libertym Tara and I played stick 2 me w/t/bkup, change sides around Z5 and do same on other side all the way back to the herd where I treated her and set her free to graze. It was lovely to have Tara's attention ALL the way back to the herd and for her to not just run off back to them without me!! cool.
SO, next came Solly's turn. He'd been watching over Holly and Stormy with Fortune whilst they slept whilst Tara and I were out so he'd had a good rest and now it was time to play/ride ;-)
I kept in my mind lots of positives ie. We're playing stick 2 me, We're playing circles together. I used my shorter, lighter training arm I got from Ingela Larsson Smith's course (Honza Blaha sells them and they're very light and easy to use, not such a heavy dominant tool and I think I have a better attitude with it so therefore Solly does nicer things with it!).
We did a few games: yo-yo, circles, cod, transitions, jumps, fig 8's and then saddled and cinched. I made sure we didn't play TOO much but that I'd tested all the gaits and his attitude to the work, all went well so I then mounted.
Again I kept my positive attitude: 'we're walking to the jump'...'we're walking around the cone', 'we're trotting fig 8's'...etc. I tried very hard NOT to think of anything negative like I sometimes do (ie. he usually bucks here, he usually stops here, etc) and this really helped us to relax and just ride together as partners. We did lots of w/t with some backups, using circles to keep momentum and focus and straight lines to keep forward motion and impulsion going. It was pretty good, he did as I asked without too much attitude of trying to stop and we rode around most of the lower field which is pretty good ;-)
Next it was the task of tackling the hill. My aim is to have him relaxed and trotting/cantering up this hill. In the past he's either completely refused to go up it (maybe herd sweet) or he bucks when asked to do anything more than a very slow walk!! eek. SO, with my new positive attitude I do some small fig 8's at the bottom of the hill and then coming out of that pattern to go up the hill...he refuses, ears back and when I tap his shoulder he tries to run backwards!! I hate it when he does this BUT I relax and ask again and then tap him behind the girth and he tries to put a foot forward but has trouble SO I turn him to the right and ask for the step forward in that direction which he manages to do.
I spend about 5 mins doing this, him refusing, backing up or threatening to buck and me relaxing and re-asking each time he does something I don't want. I then go back to large fig 8's at the bottom of the field and sing to myself to relax me and get my mind focussed on riding the hill rather than stopping at the bottom of it (I sang Jingle Bells and so glad no one about to hear me! lol)
Eventually I get a couple of steps up but then the attitude, stop and swishing tail...I tap him twice on his butt and then ask again, he doesn't buck which is good but he doesn't move either SO again I turn him to the right and ask him to go and circle the nearest poo pile, then when he stops there I turn him left and focus on another poo pile and before we know it we're half way up the hill!! yeehaa. At about half way up his attitude changes, his ears go forward and he calmly trots tot he top when I ask him to trot ;-))
So it seems I have to work on the bottom half of the hill, association maybe of me giving up and getting off to walk him up has become a learned behaviour...I am going to change that over the next few days with constant riding out on this short hack: in the field, up the hill, out of the gate, along the forest and then down the next hill back to the horses field back gateway;-) Short but sweet with a few obstacles along the way like hills, trees and muddy tracks.
At the top of the hill I get off, squeeze him out of the field and let him graze as a reward. Then I re-mount and ride along the back part of a pine tree forest, he SPOOKS by where I've parked the car but I blow out, relax and just continue my focus on getting back to the field back gateway...phew!! lol
Going down the hill around the forest is fun and I use the incentive of grazing the long grass to keep him from rushing down this hill and sort of zigzag down it to keep it interesting, in and out of old white birch trees and finally to the flat part facing the back gate. Until now I have kept the focus of 'we're WALKING down this hill' then I change it to 'we're trotting a few strides' and finally 'we're cantering together to the gateway'...then I ask him to canter to the gate and he does it, nice, big steps, calm, relaxed and happy ;-)) YEEHAA...best canter for ages. This is a big treat and I'm really really happy that he could canter nicely for me...I made sure I just asked for the canter and then sat relaxed and let him take me to the gate. FAB.
Through the gate I re-mounted from the ground and then trotted around the arena and jumped the small tyre jump and cantered out of that to the right and to the saddling area, dhq and sidepass into position facing the fence then dismount and untack ;-)
After this I put Sol to liberty and he stuck 2 me back to the herd just like Tara did. I also sent him off to the herd but he came back three times as I think I hadn't really cut the mental bond, it was lovely to have him as a boomerang! lol The last time he came back I crouched down and just hung out with him, playing friendly with my training stick and string and just being at one with him...he totally relaxed and almost went to sleep. It was good to hang out with him before finally mentally setting him back to the herd, when I did this he went but as I walked off I turned and he'd stopped and looked back at me too! cool ;-0
Hanging out after our ride together 
Playing friendly with my new shorter, lighter training armSunday 21st November
OK so today Mark said he'd play/ride Solly...I couldn't wait!! lol. I had the lovely chance to play/ride his Holly so this could be a fun trip ;-)
We got our horses and Mark just saddled first then did some yo-yo, circles and sideways...very quick, obedience and relaxation in place. I watched and it all went well, just amazed at how Mark just saddled and then played with Sol and how little he actually did. He does this with Holly too and does okay. I on the other hand put Holly through some games: yo-yo, fig 8's, circles w/t/c (with buckaroos there! lol), multiple jumps and lots of friendly. She did well and I went and saddled and cinched her.
Mark and Solly trotting around the field without a care in the world!!Mark was already on Solly and he didn't have ANY trouble at all with him, he didn't do THRESHOLDS, he didn't STOP and not GO, he just went!! how interesting!!
Holly and I did some ridden circles and halts/backups and then both Mark and I went to the first 'task'......trot/canter up the first hill in the field to the gateway!! Mark sat on Sol and asked for more than walk, I came up on the inside and thought about trot, Holly gave it albeit a bit fast for my liking, I brought her back to walk and watched Mark....he tapped Sol for canter up the hill and he went into a canter for a few strides, he then went down to a trot and Mark encouraged him back into canter with a tap with the whip and Solly put in a buck...Mark calmly sat to it, got himself into position and encouraged him again totally ignoring the buck...he gave the canter okay, bit of a struggle but he cantered to the top eventually.
Holly did some fast trot and a small canter, I think I was worried about bucking with her (she used to do it too) and quickly realised that my fears were being passed onto my mounts but it's only been 5 months since my bad accident off Stormy so understandable BUT now I realise it I can do something positive about it ;-)
Then we went on down the track to the village. Mark took Solly in front (something he is unhappy about doing with me) and he did't put a foot wrong. Walk/trot and some canter towards cattle too, I worried a bit about the pure energy Holly had with her trying to race Solly (she's normally in front) but we sorted that out calmly and quietly and she came to my energy level's and helped me with some butterflies in my tummy.
Mark next to the cattle and Solly not really bothered by them at all ;-)We got to the shop without incident, Mark even took Sol through a small gap where he had to duck to Sol's neck under a tree branch and Sol just did it without worry. At the shop we bought the horses some apples and carrots which they loved. Great incentive to see the shop regularly...they probably had to buy more carrots and apples because of us! lol
We then went home and again Sol was a perfect gentleman, Mark sat him calmly without worries and with a LOOSE REIN!!! yeehaa ;-)
Just before their field we both had a long canter, me first on Holly and she was lovely, great canter. Then Mark, and I made him do it three times so that (1) camera wasn't set up properly the first two times and (2) to see if Solly would actually do it WITHOUT bucking!! no problem ;-)
Mark then makes me go back with Holly to get some pic's of us doing it too.
We then went home and again Sol was a perfect gentleman, Mark sat him calmly without worries and with a LOOSE REIN!!! yeehaa ;-)
Just before their field we both had a long canter, me first on Holly and she was lovely, great canter. Then Mark, and I made him do it three times so that (1) camera wasn't set up properly the first two times and (2) to see if Solly would actually do it WITHOUT bucking!! no problem ;-)
Mark then makes me go back with Holly to get some pic's of us doing it too.
Mark and Sol trotting along the track
Solly cantering up the last hill with easeMark just sits in the saddle calm as anything ;-)
Great look from Solly, calm, relaxed, enjoying himself ;-)
Even a bit of a slip on Solly's part and Mark just sits it....
....and carries on without thinking about it!! ;-)
Me cantering Holly...yeehaa ;0)
At the top we go into a power trot
Holly and me enjoying our ride outHolly is a RB horse who is mostly LB now but she can really GO if she wants to but has a great whoa on her now ;-) Forgot how good she is now with all the horsemanship training she's had.
SO, fab ride out, lots of fun for me on Holly and I re-learned that she (like all our horses) only need focus, relaxation and a light touch....and of course two way trust. Mark showed me that Solly actually is a great horse and our training has made him so but to stop worrying about 'what could happen'.
I thank Holly for helping me today and for Mark who rides all our horses with calmness, focus and the unwavering belief that everything is always okay at all times...fab stuff babe...I think you could have been a great colt starter ;-)
Saturday 20th November
Today Mark and I are out hacking with Holly and Solly, both a bit RB'd but Holly is more LB now and really partners up with Mark nowadays SO she will be a confidence giver to my more sceptical Solly today ;-)
Mark plays for a bit with Stormy first whilst I do some play on the 45' line with Sol. Sol is attentive and pleasant, we get some lovely rounded changes of direction and this really puts a better curve on his fig 8's and he gives me w/t/c with FLC in that.
He also does everything I ask, jumps a few jumps in a row, jumps and stops and sidepasses both to the L&R ;-) He backs up nicely, not fast but I never like asking too fast anyway. All going well so I groom and saddle up. By this time Mark has finished playing with big Stormy and has got Holly with him. He grooms and saddles and then plays too whilst I cinch and then mount up ready to ride.
Sol is a bit reluctant to go, he's more concerned about where Holly is with Mark or what Stormy's up to SO I play around with point to points and circling constantly around little markers like mole hills etc to keep his feet moving and get his mental connection more on me. This works nicely. Then we head on up the big hill to the outside gate and track! Sol is reluctant to go forwards again but I just keep with him and let him trot when he feels he can but don't let him take over the 'controls' as I can feel he's very much tuning in to Holly again!!
I get off to go through the first two gates but then ride the whole way to the village. Only one spook when I go under a tree branch and it's a bit noisy going over my plastic jacket BUT we control it nicely and continue well. He's a bit high headed with Holly ahead, he seems to have all his focus on her BUT he does do nice things for me too which is good.
On the track Mark keeps in walk for me unless I ask for trot, whilst Mark and Holly are calm and consistent in front of us I ask Solly to listen to me and do some halt/backup/walks so that I know his mental connection can come back to me the instant I ask him to give it. I then ask him to do some halt/backup/trot back to Holly which go nicely. His trots are very nice and I'm working always in finesse with the hackamore and this suits him well ;-) We also do a few leg yields off the centre track and into puddles which he was reluctant to do but I persevered as I know now how this lad can take this as learned behaviour and make things awkward later on for us.
We get to the village and have apples and carrots whilst resting there. Here I take the opportunity to ask him to backup and wait until told otherwise, it takes a while for him to be able to settle and actually STAY where I put him but it works in the end and it's worth taking that time out to do this with him.
Next Mark and I go to the recycling point where we grab some old newspapers out of the bins there to start our stove with as we've run out. Luckily bought the old rucksack with us today so Mark carries this on the way home.
Holly and Solly waiting patiently whilst Mark fills the rucksack with newspaper for our fire
Then we remount and head off home again. Solly is pretty nice but he does worry when Holly goes away in front of him a bit so I keep calm and ask him to 'come back to me' mentally and physically and only allow him to trot after her when he's listening to me rather than wanting to rush off on his instinct to be with the herd mare!! all goes well, he's pretty light to ask to stay, wait and then go nicely off in walk/trot so this is a good sign. I ask for more transitions all the way, some shoulder-in and also leg yields so these actions keep him focussed on me better.
On the last uphill part I decide to let Mark trot on ahead of me and Sol and I take it slowly, then I ask for a nice trot and finally I ask him to canter nice and slow...he does a few strides and then puts a small buck in...I hate bucking so stop him and just trot up the hill. Now I know he could be bucking from sheer joy OR he could have bucked if his back legs slipped on the mud. Sometimes I just hate him doing this as it is a confidence issue with me since having a bad fall off him a couple of years ago and also the bucking accident I had off Stormy 5 months ago. I just don't think bucking is a good idea...he may have bucking as a learned behaviour! ;-( and I am not going to sit to it and let it happen due to the accident issues I've had SO, Mark has offered to canter/gallop him up the first hill in the field tomorrow with him and see what happens. He is so calm and relaxed (and never had a bucking accident under his belt) that he may be able to get this issue out of him. I remember years ago that I did just this with his Holly as she had a bucking learned behaviour issue and I sat to her doing it three times in a row but then she stopped doing it. Now it's Marks turn to do it with my horse! ;-)) Will let you know how it goes.
Anyway we go through the top gate and then around the forest along the track and down the hill outside the field to enter the field at the lower gateway ;-) All goes well but just before the last small hillock Solly tries to go faster downhill and twists his body in an attitude I dont' like SO I jump off and play backup and circle with him until we're down the hill to a safe flatter part. He's very much on his forehand going downhills so I have been trying to teach him to go more on his HQ's and going slower, he just seemed to want to take over today but I didn't let that happen. At the flat part I remount from the ground (yeehaa) and then trot and canter him to the gate. Then I ask him to go BACK to that point (some stickyness here but I persevere and do lots of small circles again to get his feet moving...he's so stubborn and frustrating at times!!) and we get to that point and I face back to the gate, straight into trot and then canter back to the gate ;-) Much better the second time around and I'm going to practise this every day this week I can.
Mark lets us into the field and I don't just get off, I ride in the field, around jumps, cones, fig 8's, small jump and then sidepass over a pole, walk on and turn then sidepass over it again...I do that 7 times until he does it without thinking!!! This is the FIRST TIME he's sidepassed over anything ridden ;-))
A bit of a heart thumping hack out as Solly wasn't as calm as normal BUT maybe I need to get used to a bit of energy under the saddle, SO used to calm ploddy Tara or Solly out of company that this energy may not be bad, just not what I'm used to! Will play around with it though and hopefully this year we'll make a difference..if not I'll have to think up a new plan!
On the last uphill part I decide to let Mark trot on ahead of me and Sol and I take it slowly, then I ask for a nice trot and finally I ask him to canter nice and slow...he does a few strides and then puts a small buck in...I hate bucking so stop him and just trot up the hill. Now I know he could be bucking from sheer joy OR he could have bucked if his back legs slipped on the mud. Sometimes I just hate him doing this as it is a confidence issue with me since having a bad fall off him a couple of years ago and also the bucking accident I had off Stormy 5 months ago. I just don't think bucking is a good idea...he may have bucking as a learned behaviour! ;-( and I am not going to sit to it and let it happen due to the accident issues I've had SO, Mark has offered to canter/gallop him up the first hill in the field tomorrow with him and see what happens. He is so calm and relaxed (and never had a bucking accident under his belt) that he may be able to get this issue out of him. I remember years ago that I did just this with his Holly as she had a bucking learned behaviour issue and I sat to her doing it three times in a row but then she stopped doing it. Now it's Marks turn to do it with my horse! ;-)) Will let you know how it goes.
Anyway we go through the top gate and then around the forest along the track and down the hill outside the field to enter the field at the lower gateway ;-) All goes well but just before the last small hillock Solly tries to go faster downhill and twists his body in an attitude I dont' like SO I jump off and play backup and circle with him until we're down the hill to a safe flatter part. He's very much on his forehand going downhills so I have been trying to teach him to go more on his HQ's and going slower, he just seemed to want to take over today but I didn't let that happen. At the flat part I remount from the ground (yeehaa) and then trot and canter him to the gate. Then I ask him to go BACK to that point (some stickyness here but I persevere and do lots of small circles again to get his feet moving...he's so stubborn and frustrating at times!!) and we get to that point and I face back to the gate, straight into trot and then canter back to the gate ;-) Much better the second time around and I'm going to practise this every day this week I can.
Mark lets us into the field and I don't just get off, I ride in the field, around jumps, cones, fig 8's, small jump and then sidepass over a pole, walk on and turn then sidepass over it again...I do that 7 times until he does it without thinking!!! This is the FIRST TIME he's sidepassed over anything ridden ;-))
A bit of a heart thumping hack out as Solly wasn't as calm as normal BUT maybe I need to get used to a bit of energy under the saddle, SO used to calm ploddy Tara or Solly out of company that this energy may not be bad, just not what I'm used to! Will play around with it though and hopefully this year we'll make a difference..if not I'll have to think up a new plan!
Thursday 18th November
Again the weather was against me today to play or ride. Very windy and showery all day, very cold too SO I just left the horses to their own devices until feed time this evening. After their feed (not much really just a token feed to make sure they come and get inspected for injuries etc) I went and rubbed on all the horse to get their coats up from being flattened by rain earlier. They all went away with smooth fluffy coats. I then asked Solly to catch me from 20' away...he wasn't connected well so I went to 15' and asked again...bingo, that was a good connection ;-)
I then asked him to just stand with me and relax and he did. I asked his head to lower at a very light ph1 and he did. I then wondered if he'd just walk a bit with me, just a couple of steps and he did and also stopped when I stopped ;-) I then hugged him and asked him to lower his head when I do this, he did and I released him immediately .
Then I asked to see if he'd DHQ and move his FQ's in one fluid circle ;-) YUP...not a problem. Then I asked if he'd do it on the other side and he was out of there......running, jumping, trying to bite Stormy who ran with him SO I ran (well I call it running! lol) with him and made sure I had a good mental connection of 'running WITH him' even though I could never keep up with him and the herd. He stayed pretty close and when further ahead I kept him in my mind and he stopped and looked for me and I asked him to re-connect physically with me...HE DID ;-)
I stood resting with him, mentally connected but not really physically touching. He looked at me often and then took my small CS/SS and played with it in his mouth a lot, I let go of it and he did too. I picked it up again and he wanted to play with it again! interesting!!
Next I asked him to stick 2 me a bit more, not far, only at walk and he did this with some halt in there too and then he just took off again...I remained mentally connected with him whilst he played and bucked and reared at Stormy, they cantered about, Holly and Fortune joining in and where they went I 'ran' with them, I stared whistling to him (I use a few short bursts of whistle like calling a dog sometimes and the herd often come to me) but this seemed to make him more frisky and he cantered BACK up the hill...maybe he thought it was a food signal? But I kept doing it so he desensitized to it a bit and then he started looking for me again. It's almost like he just needed to run with the herd as once again when I asked him to come to me he came ;-)
We again stood together, me chatting away watching some horse across the glen grazing, then at the sheep in the next door field and I tried to just be there 'in the now' with him. He just stood relaxed almost dozing for a while even though 3 of the herd went back to grazing. Me, him and Fortune just stood dozing together for a while. I then hugged him again, head down, and then stood with my hand just resting on his forehead, he just stood taking my thoughts of love to him and then I said my goodnights.
As soon as I said goodnight and stepped away from Solly, Holly charged down the field taking the herd with her, the boys play fighting along the way and the two passive mares trotting slowly after them. Solly stopped once and glanced back towards me and I put my hand up in our normal 'wave' hello sign ;-0
It was a good half hour of just being connected and it felt good ;-))
Wednesday 17th November
Today has been very VERY windy and showery on/off too so no play or riding today BUT when we went and fed them this evening I hung around after taking up their bowls and fussed/scratched Solly. He seemed to want me to stay a bit longer so I did and we played around with me walking away/turning and drawing him to me with a mental connection at liberty/fussing him/me walking away etc. This worked every time I tried it ;-) We so had a good mental connection today ;-)
Sunday 14th November
Today was dry and chilly but good ground for riding out SO Mark and I go to the horses early to play and ride out ;-)
First I ask Solly to catch me, I stand and wait for him to awknowledge me at the edge of his personal 'bubble' and then mentally open the space infront of him to me and wait to see if this works. Well, he awknowledges me BUT it's Holly and then Stormy who come to me first!!! Wonder if this is because they're above him (in that order) in the herd heirachy?? interesting thought. BUT I take one step closer and then squat down on my haunches and he comes straight over. Funny how BOTH my horses (tara and solly) come to me easier if I squat down!! another interesting thought!!
So, he caught me nicely and I spend some time asking to halter nicely and I don't put it on until he's stopped mouthing it and me and when his head is lowered and quiet. It takes a bit of patience BUT it's worth it in the end.
I want to play with him today but am not riding him out as Mark is playing with Stormy to take out and Stormy is better when he has an experienced confidence giver with him SO I'll be riding Tara out but thought it good to keep the Solly connection today ;-)
He's straight onto the 45' line and we do friendly, yo-yo (one only, back slowly but very nicely) then circling w/t and then we come to the tractor tyre. He puts his foot on it and then into it and shy's when he pulls back on his leg and the tyre drags a bit...I totally ignore this and just ask him to face up to it again which he does after faffing about a bit. I then ask him to jump it, not put his foot into it or anything else, he again faffs about a bit but then realises he can jump it and once he's done that I move away and play Stick 2 Me w/t/bkups. All going nicely again.
Next I put in some fig 8's in w/t/c where he puts in a couple of nice FLC's (so the ground must be better for him today as he offered them ;-) Then I drove him from Z3 up to the jumps and asked him to do 5 jumps in a row on a long line...he did them marvellously. I see Mark is saddling Stormy so I play a bit more Stick 2 Me back to where Tara is grazing and then let him loose to be with me at liberty a bit (w/c/bkup ;-) I leave him with a few treats for being a good boy and pleased that I didn't just ignore him today, this bonding is great even if for only a little bit a day.
Over to Tara and I play some Stick 2 Me, yo-yo, friendly, circles and sideways, saddle/cinch her and then mount up ready to go...she's such an easy horse and very quick to be ready to ride...SO different from Solly! lol. SO, Mark is ready too and off we go, to the village for some apples and carrots ;-)
Mark and Stormy riding up the steep bit of the field, herd in tow wondering where we're going ;-)
Mark and Stormy passing the CATTLE!!! ;-)After my accident with Stormy bucking away from cattle chasing him I've not been confident enough to take Stormy out past the cattle BUT the cattle are a bit bigger now, in a new field with grazing in and less likely to chase like they did earlier in the year. Mark is brave and with Tara with him Stormy looks at the cattle but doesn't pay them much heed on the way out ;-) phew, big hiccup for me past ;-))
On the way home one cow spooks and makes a few others spook, Stormy gets a bit excited and trots fast up to Tara's bum but Tara and I are calm and just walking so Stormy quietens down very quickly. Mark enjoys this sort of thing so it was good he was just up there quietly sitting and not worried about Stormys surge of energy ;-)
On the way home one cow spooks and makes a few others spook, Stormy gets a bit excited and trots fast up to Tara's bum but Tara and I are calm and just walking so Stormy quietens down very quickly. Mark enjoys this sort of thing so it was good he was just up there quietly sitting and not worried about Stormys surge of energy ;-)
Mark and Stormy having a trot on the village green.
Last hill up to where our horses field is andStormy has a canter and gallop up here ;-)
Mark really enjoys the big rush of being on the big boy going fast.
Top of the hill on the track, Stormy looking into our horses field ;-)
A pic of me and Tara...just to prove we were on the ride too ;-)
This was Stormy's canter to the field, we'd gone around thetop of the horses field and down the other side to the back gateway,
good canter ground here and Stormy went for it ;-)
Stormy after a good ole' roll in the mud after his nice hack out ;-)It was a good hack out, Tara was the honest, calm, experienced leader on the trail as always and I had a good quiet ride out. Stormy was a star, went past the cattle without worry and Mark and he enjoyed the walk, trot, canter and gallops they had together. Mark is a good, calm, brave rider and really helps Stormy be a good horse when out and about. I'm glad Tara was there to help Stormy be calm and brave too it really helps to take an experienced, older horse out with a youngster as she's pretty unbluffable and she seems to be more so in young horse company...like she knows she's the matriarch in the situation and handles herself accordingly ;-)
Friday 12th November
Today there's NO RAIN!!! yeehaa...so out I go early to play/ride Solly. I want to be able to get to the village shop to post a letter BUT I'm not going unless it's with Solly SO I need to play and saddle up with a purpose today ;-) Here's what happened:
45' ONLINE:
Start straight away on the 45' line today as it's great when the ground is wet, it doesn't get soggy and heavy ;-) SO, start with some friendly game and friendly with him moving about on small circles. I then ask for a good yo-yo and that's going well.
Circles next interspurced with some COD's, transitions t/c/t/c and then into fig 8's at canter with SLC's as it's a bit too soggy for FLC's today again. He's a bit sluggish but I think the soggy ground is the reason for that as he's pretty willing and has a nice expression on his face ;-)
I then get him to stand and I walk away and back without holding the line, I ask this just as a task like in Le Trec and after we get the stand still he's fine about me wandering around connected to him but not asking anything of him.
So, today I decide that our canter circles are a bit haphazard, he does them SOMETIMES, other times he changes gait SO I set it up for him to canter 2 circles to the left but he finds it difficult. I set it up again and this time I canter each stride with him, I don't turn with him but stay facing one direction in neutral but cantering with him even slightly helps him and he does the 2 laps. I then ask to the right again cantering slightly with him and he does it SO this means really that when I normally ask him to canter and stand in neutral my body isn't giving off a good enough energy for him to feel my canter connection!! how interesting....must work on that one.
On the way back to where the saddle is there is a small log in the grass, I ask him to sidepass towards me over it...HE DOES IT and then I ask him to sidepass back over it away from me ;-)) This was pretty cool and our sideways over things is something I really don't think about anymore. NOW I have to stretch him more to sidepass oversomething RIDDEN!! that'll be interesting ;-)
RIDDEN/FINESSE:
I saddle and cinch with circles and sideways making sure he's relaxed throughout and then I sidle him up to the mounting block on the right and mount. LF then DHQ's and then move the FQ's....NOTHING...he won't budge....just won't move forwards at all. NOW, this is the first time in a LONG time that I've not done any ridden work to start with in the arena...I think he gets arena sweet and I need to get him out of that...in fact he gets herd sweet too.
SO, I just sit there, using the rope around my back or on him causes him to swish his tail and when the rope makes contact with his butt he puts in an annoying little buckaroo (very small). I had thought that I'd made him like this BUT on reflection it really is something he's worried about NOT something he's doing to not work. SO, I go back to what we did yesterday and focus on something really small and close to circle around...a mole hill. Fab, it works. I then find another focus and another until he's half way across the field near the pedastal. I then realise he's really having trouble so I get off and then lead him up the field to the track gate so that we can go to the village.
I decide to just walk him into the village and give him a chance to not go introverted, we play Stick 2 Me all the way there and once into the village where I stop for a chat with a friend he yawns and yawns and yawns for ages....off the adrenaline at last. He's so hard to read for most people as the whole way down the track to the village he was looking around, blinking, moving about, sometimes grazing BUT I could tell his breathing was shallow and quite often I'd walk with him in Z2 and ask his head to come down and his neck was tense BUT asking him to lower his head a LOT really seemed to help him keep his composure. Near the village he often whinney's out to some horses in a field nearby, he can't see them but he can smell them...today I asked him to back up and then lower his head and back up too and this brought him back to me quickly and calmly ;-)
After posting my letter and my friend giving him a couple of polo mints I took him towards the track again, he grazed for a while and then I made reins and mounted off a high bank. He was very calm but I got off him about 200 yards down the road as someone was using one of those 'leaf moving machines' and he was a bit RB about that. Got back on about 50 yards up the road again off a track bank ;-)
We sedately walked most of the way back, had a couple of really nice, calm trots but the track was very muddy often huge puddles across the whole track so walking was best today. He did fabulously, no worries and as I rode I used the pushing passenger position a few times as this helped him get a signal to lower his head and relax and that's becoming a good signal for him. I also did some Shoulders-in manoeuvre (felt like shoulders in anyway! lol) and that was good too. All in all a good day, I got a good walk, Solly stayed calm and relaxed and riding him felt really good ;-))
Solly saddled and ready to mount ;-)
Stormy looking good and wondering where me and Solly were off to ;-)
Solly watching some cattle on a distant hill....me walking him to the shop ;-)Thursday 11th November
Today was on/off rain and I decided that I had to at least go out and make contact with Solly to keep our good connection going SO at around midday I went out and did just that, this is what we did together today:
45' ONLINE:
I went and said hello to all the horses leaving Solly until last and by the time I got to him he was walking over to me to say hello himself!! cool ;-)
I put on his halter with the 45' line and start with some nice friendly game. I then asked him to do some yo-yo's and he did those well for about 3o' of the line, I didn't push for more as it was nice that he was attentive, he doesn't have to be fast.
Next I ask for some circles on a slope and with the slope I ask him to speed up going up, stay in gait on the flat and then slow down going down...by asking him for transitions at the times that he may change himself due to the slope, so we're working together well. I then take the circles on the move around the field a bit in trot and canter.
After a short break I ask him to sidepass towards me L&R and he gets less and less slanted as we do this so that's good. He really tries his hardest with somethings which is why often I'll give him the benefit of the doubt when he has thresholds but know when to ask for a little bit more without blowing it.
I then do something different and ask for fig 8's around the wooden pedastal and the large tractor tyre...these are two things he has never circled around before so he try's to get on the pedastal and jump the tyre but I just persist and ask for fig 8's and he quickly gets that it's not about the obstacles ;-) With these two obstacles there is a space of about 30' between them SO he can do nice, slow canters with some SLC's at X. I don't ask for FLC's today as the ground is just too wet and slippery and he knows when he's unsafe so wouldn't do it without me pushing and that I do my best not to do ;-)
Moving off the obstacles I ask him to just stay circling and move towards some jumps, he jumps the ones up and then jumps the others where the poles are down but still jumps them small anyway. lol. He's done very well considering the wetness of the terrain and that it's just started to rain AGAIN....my only option now is to actually play with the water in the field. Our small stream (burn) at the top of our field has burst it's banks a bit and we end up with a long straight water feature in our field between the lower flat part and the hill upwards. They like this as they can then drink from it without coming ALL the way up the top of the hill! lol. SO, I use this feature to play with. Solly is okay now with water and walks well through it BUT will he trot through it???
Well actually NO, he went into the water at trot but then went down into walk quickly SO I kept circling and putting in some COD's so as not to make it about the water and then he just did it. Not sure he was happy about the splashing...he's not the best water lover (that's Stormy, he's like a swamp fish! lol). Anyway, he did it a few times and I praised him big time for being a good boy.
LIBERTY:
I then took off his halter and we played a bit of Stick 2 Me at w/t/bkup until we were back near the herd and then I just stood with him for about 5 mins of undemanding time whilst he grazed and I mirrored him. Although it wasn't much and I was pretty wet it was good that I came out and Solly really appreciated being together two days in a row ;-) Try to do something good tomorrow too ;-)
Solly trotting through our 'water feature' ;-)Wednesday 10th November
Well it seems ABSOLUTELY ages since I've been out and really played/ridden Solly, so after Mark and I got our first batch of hay sorted this morning I went out and was determined to just get the bond back with Solly, no matter what it took ;-)
Well that must have been the right thing to take to the field today (good attitude) as the whole herd was calm and peaceful when I arrived. I said hello to Holly who came and nosed me first. Then Stormy came up and whilst I was standing on the pedastal he moved about when I asked whilst I groomed him at liberty...nice start.
Then I walked around and said hi to Tara and Fortune and Solly kept looking at me and when I got a bit closer I asked him to come and be with me and he did. Today I have a few treats in my pocket and I think this helped him be nice from the start, even though he can be rude about getting treats today he was good and I rewarded him for every try when he put effort into our play. SO, this is what we did today:
ONLINE/45':
1) YoYo's to start with. I asked for lightness and then more space between us and when he got a bit stuck and couldn't go back I took my energy and walked towards him with my space pushing on his space and then instead of tapping hard on his chest I played the game of 'got you' and did it lightly. This took him by surprise but it worked nicely and he started playing the game of 'you can't get me' and we both got what we wanted (him moving back for me and he not letting his feet be touched! lol)
2) DHQ's was the next one as I started circles but his DHQ was not very good. SO lots of quarter and half circles, off at trot or canter and then play 'tag' to get him to spin his HQ's over more in a stop. It took a while as he wasn't very fast to start with but he got it and I played around with this to the L&R until it was how I wanted ;-)
3) Circles worked really well. Got small ones, relaxed rib arc ones, fast ones, slow ones, big ones and some really nice COD's in trot and canter too. He has really learned where to find relaxation on circles now and it doesn't take much before his head is lowered and he's puffing out relaxing his ribcage. Good boy.
4) Fig 8's and Weave are on the agenda next. His fig 8's are good but I must work harder on using more of the 45' line as this will really help him to find his canter FLC's better. Weave was fab, from about 20' away and without me doing much at all ;-)
5) Sideways without a fence works very well, I'm about 30' away and he goes nicely along BUT could improve on him trailing his HQ's...something to think about next time.
6) Longreining. Decided that all is going so well that we could do with a longlining session SO I put the 45' line onto him and work on fig 8's in w/t. It goes SO well it's unbelievable. I also put in some weave without really using the lines, just working on the liberty theory of asking the horse to curve in an arc to find you in the left or right eye!! pretty cool.
I then ask him to DHQ's with the longlines close up and from a standstill. With me on the right he DHQ's towards me (nose away, line over his back) well BUT has a bit of trouble doing it from the left SO I take the reins from the side I'm on, around his chest and give the feel with me on the side his HQ's move away from (ie. like normal DHQ's but with a feel on the rein as if riding). This works very well and when I return to the 'off' side he manages to figure it out without panicking or moving fast backwards. This was something he had trouble with last time so I'll keep an eye on it and work on it each time I come out ;-)
For fun I ask him to circle around me with the longreins (one over his back) and prepare him for when we start asking for canter. He's used to my voice command to canter so I ask with this and he canters nicely. I canter with him and slowly move towards Z5 and then move onto his other side. It causes him to change down a gait but that's okay, it will improve when he's used to me running around him in Z5. lol. I do this about half a dozen times and am breathless...note to self, get fitter ;-)
Lastly I longline him around the field and then onto the pedastal, first 2 feet and then all 4 feet ;-)) yeehaa.
Everything online today working very well, his attitude is good, relaxation there nicely, impulsion there nicely with flexibility and willing obedience...phew ;-)
LIBERTY/Arena:
After such a good online session I take the line and halter off him and stand in Z4/5. I ask for forward motion and get it and then I shape him to go around the rail, come off the rail, across the centre and then around the rail the other side...effectively a fig 8 from Z5...fab stuff. It was a slow walk, calm, relaxed and focussed. He did the fig 8 a few times and then I stopped and he stopped with me by his saddle. I then asked him to walk a couple of circles around me at liberty and this went well too. I left the liberty on a good note and didn't ask too much of him today ;-)
FREESTYLE/Arena:
I saddle and cinch in the arena and then mount up. I start with LF and DHQ's and move the FQ's into RtR at walk. All well, he's relaxed and I put in some walk circles and fig 8's to see how he's bending and how I'm riding. It seems ages since riding him and I feel a little stiff but that could be due to me having an osteo treatment on Monday and my left leg is getting better but needs some more exercising on it..hopefully this will help ;-)
I then ask for some trot, he's a bit reluctant and when I use the rope to swish myself and then him he swishes his tail and puts in a very small little buckaroo...nothing serious BUT have found the rope swishing not productive so may go back to the dressage whip as this seems to be lighter and more appropriate as it asks for him to move off my leg behind my heel where the aid should be. Anyway I persist in my pursuit for trot by asking, not getting, backing up and asking again and then he does it and we get past that silliness nicely. SO, I do walk/trot/halt/backup transitions with RtR and then do some trotting circles and fig 8's. All going well again, I then ask for 20m circles at one end of the arena and then with my outside leg ask him to spiral down to a smaller circle and then spiral out again to the 20m. This really helps him to figure out his circles, gait, balance and focus more and I only do it once but it's a nicer gait and focus that comes out of it.
As he's going SO well I decide to take him out of the arena as I promised myself (and Sol) that we won't get arena bound any more. For the field I do finesse as he gets RBint on me and can spook really quickly sideways so I need to keep him 'with me' when riding out.
FINESSE/Field:
He's worried to start with about going out of the arena BUT I use my focus and Point 2 Point strategy's. I focus first on a cone and get there, his walk is very slow and I can feel his introvertedness but slowly, quietly and calmly persist that he does as I ask if he can. If he needs to stop we stop but I move him on after a very short time so that he can have his threshold BUT not a habit ;-)
Point 2 Point goes well, we move around the field, cone to cone, jump side to pedastal and I try to ask him to get to Tara who is the other end of the field from the arena. I thought he'd jump at the chance to be with the mares BUT he doesn't SO I rethink my idea. I then keep my idea BUT chunk it down into bite sized pieces for him and I ask him to move to a piece of dirt 5' away, then circle it. I then choose another piece of dirt 5' away and circle that. Next is a clump of poop and circle that and I do this with determined focus for about 100', we're almost near to Tara now and he didn't even realise it! lol. ;-)) But Holly is close by so I don't take him too close and annoy her bubble. I then turn and head back to near where we were and point 2 point on a cone and ask for trot...he does it beautifully and when we get to it I drop the reins and relax. He breathes out a big sigh in relaxation...he must have been holding his breath all the way to Tara! lol.
We play point 2 point some more and between two cones he sidesteps VERY fast in a small spook (not enough to dump me luckily), I stay with him, relax and continue to the next cone as if nothing has happened! phew!!! I then take him over a couple of jumps, one jump a few times in the squeeze game as I wanted to practise my position a bit. He does well and then I take him back into the arena.
I'm very VERY pleased with today's session with all FOUR Savvy's. Solly was willing, relaxed and it felt like our bond was back. This evening when feeding him he was calm and non-mouthy which was lovely and I put a rug on him as he was a bit sweaty from our exercise. I'll see what tomorrow brings for us! ;-))
Thursday 4th November
Well I waited for the rain to pass and then went out to the horses, said Hi too all the herd and then ask Solly to catch me. I put the head collar on but take it off again as I want him to stop putting his head up when I do this (it's become a habit without me realising!) and so I work on lowering his head and soon he puts his head collar on nicely with his head down....note to self: watch out for bad habits that happen quicker than I realise. lol
Next we play aruond the field, start on Stick 2 Me w/t/bkup's and he does okay with those. I then ask him to do some moving circles, throw in some jumps and COD's along the way too ;-) He does very very well and also does a great draw from the shoulder (engaged) at canter to me.
I move into the 40x20m arena and work on some friendly gameat liberty with my new shorter training arm. I find this new stick easier to work with when closer to the horses. So the friendly game works well in all zones and I move onto some individual body moves (DHQ and then move FQs). I then asked him to see if he might think about sidepassing over the small white barrel, he passes by the first time BUT I present it to him again going to the right and HEY PRESTO...he did it. Not brilliantly, his hq's move less than his fq's but HE DID IT and I was so proud of him ;-))
So, after a break I go to play with Stick 2 Me in the arena at liberty. He does very well, keeping close but not pushing and he does circling around me in walk and trot....BUT...the herd start to skip around on their toes and his attention is taken from me...this is what happens when I have only spent a few short hours with him in the last couple of weeks...our bond isn't very strong!! Anyway, he starts to run the fence line and I just wait in the middle for him to calm down again BUT he doesn't and then he jumps the corner (all 4' of it, breaks the electric fencing and in the process breaks two of my new long posts!! darn it ;-((
I feel real sorry for myself and go and hang with Tara who loves just being with me, Solly keeps looking up around at me and eventually I ask him to catch me again. Again he pushes his nose into the halter and then decides to mouth the halter and rope A LOT....I just help him to do it and then wait for him to put his head down before haltering him again ;-)
In the field again on the 22' line we work on backups, nice backups with a better attitude! I start tossing the rope over his head from Z1, working on asking for his ears to be not so dominant when he comes in to me. He puts his head up a bit when doing this SO I work on this, asking him to move back or come forward whilst doing it too. It takes a bit but then he softens and I quit.
We then have a rest and I just hang with him for a while. After this we go back to trotting moving circles, asking for his ribs to move in a better circle/arc. This goes well and he really understands how to arc, lower head and blow out now...relaxation quicker but then the herd (Holly followed by ALL the others) charges around up the hill and I'm not sure what she's running around for BUT Solly wanted to go with them and I had a dominant, attitude ridden monster! lol. He kicks out at me on the right rein and I have to stop him being so dominant, ready to take the 22' line out of my hands. Whilst he's thinking up his next trick I put him to some 'Falling Leaf' and am very strict on him DHQ's and NOT coming in on me!!! It takes a while but I get him 'back' to me, in thought and energy and body ;-) PHEW.
As it's now time for feed I ask Solly to Stick 2 Me back up the hill SLOWLY and I ask him to w/bkup
Circles, ribs out, introt, cod/s and when he gives some attite we do some falling leaf and I'm very particular about him dhq's and NOT coming in!!!
Time for feed so I play stick 2 me up the hill w/t/bkup and ask that he lowers his head whilst he backs up, he gets this and it really helps him to focus on me and really go slowly which tests his brain ;-))
Next we play aruond the field, start on Stick 2 Me w/t/bkup's and he does okay with those. I then ask him to do some moving circles, throw in some jumps and COD's along the way too ;-) He does very very well and also does a great draw from the shoulder (engaged) at canter to me.
I move into the 40x20m arena and work on some friendly gameat liberty with my new shorter training arm. I find this new stick easier to work with when closer to the horses. So the friendly game works well in all zones and I move onto some individual body moves (DHQ and then move FQs). I then asked him to see if he might think about sidepassing over the small white barrel, he passes by the first time BUT I present it to him again going to the right and HEY PRESTO...he did it. Not brilliantly, his hq's move less than his fq's but HE DID IT and I was so proud of him ;-))
So, after a break I go to play with Stick 2 Me in the arena at liberty. He does very well, keeping close but not pushing and he does circling around me in walk and trot....BUT...the herd start to skip around on their toes and his attention is taken from me...this is what happens when I have only spent a few short hours with him in the last couple of weeks...our bond isn't very strong!! Anyway, he starts to run the fence line and I just wait in the middle for him to calm down again BUT he doesn't and then he jumps the corner (all 4' of it, breaks the electric fencing and in the process breaks two of my new long posts!! darn it ;-((
I feel real sorry for myself and go and hang with Tara who loves just being with me, Solly keeps looking up around at me and eventually I ask him to catch me again. Again he pushes his nose into the halter and then decides to mouth the halter and rope A LOT....I just help him to do it and then wait for him to put his head down before haltering him again ;-)
In the field again on the 22' line we work on backups, nice backups with a better attitude! I start tossing the rope over his head from Z1, working on asking for his ears to be not so dominant when he comes in to me. He puts his head up a bit when doing this SO I work on this, asking him to move back or come forward whilst doing it too. It takes a bit but then he softens and I quit.
We then have a rest and I just hang with him for a while. After this we go back to trotting moving circles, asking for his ribs to move in a better circle/arc. This goes well and he really understands how to arc, lower head and blow out now...relaxation quicker but then the herd (Holly followed by ALL the others) charges around up the hill and I'm not sure what she's running around for BUT Solly wanted to go with them and I had a dominant, attitude ridden monster! lol. He kicks out at me on the right rein and I have to stop him being so dominant, ready to take the 22' line out of my hands. Whilst he's thinking up his next trick I put him to some 'Falling Leaf' and am very strict on him DHQ's and NOT coming in on me!!! It takes a while but I get him 'back' to me, in thought and energy and body ;-) PHEW.
As it's now time for feed I ask Solly to Stick 2 Me back up the hill SLOWLY and I ask him to w/bkup
Circles, ribs out, introt, cod/s and when he gives some attite we do some falling leaf and I'm very particular about him dhq's and NOT coming in!!!
Time for feed so I play stick 2 me up the hill w/t/bkup and ask that he lowers his head whilst he backs up, he gets this and it really helps him to focus on me and really go slowly which tests his brain ;-))
the 'AND' attitudeWednesday 3rd November
Another cold but bright day and I go straight out and play with Tara, saddle her and then ride her to the village again, today it's for apples and electricity. When back to the field I take Tara the back route to the field, through the forest that runs on two sides of the field...she did good, forests sometimes can worry her but once in there it was okay ;-)
Tuesday 2nd November
Today has been on/off rain today and I wanted to get out and play some more liberty with Solly but the field is totally wet with a huge stream going in the middle of it SO maybe not a good idea in case he slips over if he starts to canter about!! SO, instead I go and catch Tara and saddle up and go to the village shop again. This is a good exercise for big Tara and I enjoy it a lot too. We needed some cake and potatoes today.
We got there in under a half hour and I tied her to my 'hitching post' which is a tree just outside the shop window. She just dozed while I shopped and everyone said how cute she was ;-)
Going home was a bit quicker and once back I took Tara into the field and caught Holly up, took them both out of the bottom gate and then rode Tara whilst ponying Holly back to the house as Holly needed her feet trimmed.
I have never pony'd Holly from Tara and it was a weird experience as Tara is the herd bottom, Holly is the herd leader and Holly tried once to push Tara about, Tara was a bit concerned about being in front BUT once I backed Holly up and made sure she was in position with my carrot stick they both settled down.....hopefully it was my leadership that they awknowledged and they just did what was needed very well.
Back at the house Mark and I tackled Holly's feet together and then let them both out in paddocks whilst Mark and I then tackled a piece of lovely carrot cake and tea before I took the horses back home ;-)
Good day today and hopefully the weather is nicer tomorrow so that I can play/ride Solly again. I will also need to go to the shop again to get electricity, SO Tara to the rescue again...this is great for her waistline ;-))
Me, Tara and Holly arriving at the house ;-)Monday 1st November
I ended up trimming Fortune's feet today, Mark did Stormy, and pretty tired from that so didn't get to play with Solly...will try harder tomorrow ;-)
