Thursday 31st May
Rainy/drizzly today but a bit of a respite from it all around 2.30pm so off I go, walking to the horses field. Holly is the first one to come and greet me and I rub her all over and clean her hooves out. Then Solly comes over and we go at liberty to the round pen. We do some S2M and take that into circles but I feel he's very very slightly lame on his front right, check it a couple of times when watching liberty circles in trot and yes, very very slightly lame on the front right SO I bring him to me, give him a big hug, check his feet (nothing that I can see or feel there) and set him back out to grazing. The boys have been hi-jinxing it with some yeehaa's since Tara went back, the boys now have two mares to fight over! ;(
SO, I go and check to see if Stormy wants to play, and he does. I halter him and put him on the 22' feather light and play with one of the jump poles that is down. He does great, coming over it one foot at a time with rests inbetween feet....then back all the way, one step at a time with rests. Then we set a challenge to sidle over the pole with his front and back left...yeehaa, not a problem ;)
SO, I go and check to see if Stormy wants to play, and he does. I halter him and put him on the 22' feather light and play with one of the jump poles that is down. He does great, coming over it one foot at a time with rests inbetween feet....then back all the way, one step at a time with rests. Then we set a challenge to sidle over the pole with his front and back left...yeehaa, not a problem ;)
And then I ask him to backup off it whilst still keeping the pole underneath him.....YES, not a problem either ;) Clever boy that he is.
I then ask him to do some circles to see how those are today and he doesn't look quite right!! SO I ask him to try to trot to the left and right and he is lame on his back left....keeps doing what Tara did a week or two ago, putting his toe down and not the whole hoof!!! darn it, that's TWO horses lame, the boys and it's probably with the wet and the slippery field and their hi-jinxing about....darn it ;((
So I have to set him back to the herd too...not going well today. I go and see if Tara wants to be with me and yes, she comes quite nicely for some scratches. I then take her at liberty to the roundpen, groom her and saddle her up. She seems a bit grumpy but then she's not been saddled for months (mostly ride her bareback). But continue on and cinch her, take her out of the round pen and mount her. We then take about 20 mins to do some walk/trot transitions, RtR around the main pens and weave and fig 8's around the cones that are about the field. She wasn't lame but was a bit stiff moving off a straight line so took it easy with her. It was a nice ride and we got to ride circles around Solly which was fun....he wondered what on earth we were doing! lol.
So I have to set him back to the herd too...not going well today. I go and see if Tara wants to be with me and yes, she comes quite nicely for some scratches. I then take her at liberty to the roundpen, groom her and saddle her up. She seems a bit grumpy but then she's not been saddled for months (mostly ride her bareback). But continue on and cinch her, take her out of the round pen and mount her. We then take about 20 mins to do some walk/trot transitions, RtR around the main pens and weave and fig 8's around the cones that are about the field. She wasn't lame but was a bit stiff moving off a straight line so took it easy with her. It was a nice ride and we got to ride circles around Solly which was fun....he wondered what on earth we were doing! lol.
So, after all the lame horses AND the rain coming back and soaking me I decide to actually tape off all the arena's and half the grazing. The electric fencing was set up to do that eventually but have left it open until now as the grass wasn't growing but I think it now is so cutting down their intake is a good idea. I hope that Stormy keeps out of the electrified bits and keeps to his side so that Tara and Solly don't get big and unhealthy. Am thinking up ways to cut off more of the field or keeping Tara in a smaller bit with a water trough as now with the rain and the sunshine beforehand the grass is going to grow with a vengence ;( Will do my best to keep the fencing up and probably bring Tara to the house paddocks during the day when the sugars/fructans are high in the grass and then ride her to the field for extra exercise. Just have to see how it goes ;) Hopefully Solly and Stormy will be sound again soon as I would like to keep up their play/riding now that Spring/Summer is here.
Wednesday 30th May
Enclosed by Scotch Mist today, a bit damp and drizzly but not bad enough to keep me inside ;) I put Tara into a small grazing paddock this am to give her something nice to eat but within a few mins I couldn't see her?? Went outside and she was GONE!!! grabbed halter/rope and legged it down the track from our house as I know where she's going...back towards the herd and the big field. When I got over a small hillock there she was head up in the air, looking a bit worried about being on her own but facing the horses field.
The first metal gate stopped her thank goodness and I called out to her so that she knew she wasn't all alone...she took one look at me and turned around and legged it to get to the gate first. She was telling me in no uncertain terms that she wanted to BE WITH HER HERD and I couldn't let her down. She is such a quiet, peaceful girl but if something gets to her you know about it SO, I halter her and walk her to the horses field.
Once back in the field she trotted all the way down the big hill to reunite with Holly & Stormy and then Solly came cantering over from the other side of the field to be with his girl. Tara looked so animated and happy ;) I'm having to re-think keeping her away from the herd, it's just not mentally or emotionally fair to keep her away SO putting my thinking cap on to try to keep her there but off so much grazing!
So, I walked back to the house for my b'fast and office work and then around midday I took the car down to the field and went to play/ride Solly. He was pretty happy to see me and very happy to see Tara back so the herd is complete and happy again. I halter Solly and then ask him to try some obedience games with me....the poles off my jumps were all down so as I went to put them all back again we played with each one differently.
First off on the 22' feather light I asked him to walk in front of me (me in Z5) and walk then move HQ's, turn FQ's and walk on again a few times, this was good communication and proved he was relaxed to start with. Next the poles, first one I asked him to squeeze over it L&R and then back up over it just one foot at a time with 30 second breaks between....he did it great and was very proud of our communication with that.
Next jump pole I asked him to sidle over to it and then put his right front over it, rest. Then his right back over it, rest. Then his left front, rest and finally his left back over it and take a break. He was SO good ;))
Sidled over a pole, me in Z1 ;)
Third pole I asked him to back up all the way with me at about 15' away. Then I put the jump pole back up as a jump and asked him to slowly jump it/front feet/halt and sidepass off it...not a problem, did it very thoughtfully, calm and no rushing ;)
The forth pole I asked him to forward squeeze over it and then back up over it with me in Z3 this time. He initially had a problem with me asking him to back up and swung his butt away from me so that he could face me but I didn't move and just sidled his hq's back towards me, cued his back feet up to the pole and asked again and he obliged nicely for me. Then I put the pole back up as a jump, asked him to slowly jump it/front feet only/sidepass off TOWARDS me and again he did this very well. Great to have these poles down and think up so many things we could do with them ;)
Now it was time for some more impulsion so we worked on circles, mostly at trot with COD's and then multiple jumps L&R using COD's between jumps...he did great...I love this horsey, he's SO cool and does everything so willingly.
On that good note I take him into the DA and saddle, cinch and then mount when ready. Todays riding is going to be just w/t and slowly as again his back feet need to become balanced after loosing some horn from the backs of both due to winter abscess's SO not too much fast work and make sure he doesn't loose his footing too much or he could strain himself.
Solly waiting to be saddled
I start just in walk doing 20m circles and halting at each quarter of the circle so that he really takes note of what a 20m circle looks/feels like. He does well so we also do it in trot, thereby getting h/w and h/t transitions already. Next up is some RtR in w/t and we pop in some shoulder-in to help strenghten his back legs more. After this we do some walk leg yields and I really try to not use my leg, keep myself balanced, keep my lower legs long and straight and relaxed and also my hands down...so much to think off but it's all just muscle memories and once I've got used to the position again then I can relax about it all ;)
After a short break I then ask him to go out into the JA again and we do lots of fig 8's around different jumps, changing the direction regularly and trying w/t, but he seems more reluctant to go into trot on these fig 8's but I just keep it simple and pleasant as I know the ground is more bumpy there and his back feet are slipping a bit ;( He does a very nice shoulder-in on the back arc'd fenceline which was nice and with that I took him through the DA again, out the other side and into the main field area where I have placed 4 cones and I ask him to weave around them in walk. We does this the first time by using the cones for a game of 'touch it' with his nose. Once that has been done then he was happy to weave around them, although getting a bit slower. On the first few weaves I keep to the 4 cones, then I ask him to weave around just 3 and then finally fig 8's around just two....he then stops dead and I realise he needs a wee....ahh.....once done he is much faster and offers trot ;) lol.
The forth pole I asked him to forward squeeze over it and then back up over it with me in Z3 this time. He initially had a problem with me asking him to back up and swung his butt away from me so that he could face me but I didn't move and just sidled his hq's back towards me, cued his back feet up to the pole and asked again and he obliged nicely for me. Then I put the pole back up as a jump, asked him to slowly jump it/front feet only/sidepass off TOWARDS me and again he did this very well. Great to have these poles down and think up so many things we could do with them ;)
Now it was time for some more impulsion so we worked on circles, mostly at trot with COD's and then multiple jumps L&R using COD's between jumps...he did great...I love this horsey, he's SO cool and does everything so willingly.
On that good note I take him into the DA and saddle, cinch and then mount when ready. Todays riding is going to be just w/t and slowly as again his back feet need to become balanced after loosing some horn from the backs of both due to winter abscess's SO not too much fast work and make sure he doesn't loose his footing too much or he could strain himself.
Solly waiting to be saddled
Circling for cinching
He really knows about relaxing on circles now....to the right...
....and to the left as well ;))
I start just in walk doing 20m circles and halting at each quarter of the circle so that he really takes note of what a 20m circle looks/feels like. He does well so we also do it in trot, thereby getting h/w and h/t transitions already. Next up is some RtR in w/t and we pop in some shoulder-in to help strenghten his back legs more. After this we do some walk leg yields and I really try to not use my leg, keep myself balanced, keep my lower legs long and straight and relaxed and also my hands down...so much to think off but it's all just muscle memories and once I've got used to the position again then I can relax about it all ;)
After a short break I then ask him to go out into the JA again and we do lots of fig 8's around different jumps, changing the direction regularly and trying w/t, but he seems more reluctant to go into trot on these fig 8's but I just keep it simple and pleasant as I know the ground is more bumpy there and his back feet are slipping a bit ;( He does a very nice shoulder-in on the back arc'd fenceline which was nice and with that I took him through the DA again, out the other side and into the main field area where I have placed 4 cones and I ask him to weave around them in walk. We does this the first time by using the cones for a game of 'touch it' with his nose. Once that has been done then he was happy to weave around them, although getting a bit slower. On the first few weaves I keep to the 4 cones, then I ask him to weave around just 3 and then finally fig 8's around just two....he then stops dead and I realise he needs a wee....ahh.....once done he is much faster and offers trot ;) lol.
I take his trot and go back into the DA and dismount, we didn't do too much but got out to ride in the big field a bit more today and it felt good. I treated him and then sent him back to keep an eye on his Tara ;)
Monday 28th May
Another gloriously hot day here but by the afternoon a lovely strong breeze was blowing and it was much better riding weather. On that note I go and trim Tara's back hooves and as she's not lame now on her back right the job didn't take too long.
That done I take her for a nice walk/trot hack to the grazing field where the boys gave her a very good welcome back and she enjoyed their company ;)
Stormy and Solly greeting Tara
I set her amongs the herd for a while to say hello but then I put her in a small paddock at the back of my Dressage Arena so that I could keep an eye on her grazing. I then went and said hello to Stormy and Holly and asked Solly to catch me, which he did from a good distance today.
I played slowly with him asking for some obedience and he did a fantastic 'Rolling Rock' pattern and I hardly had to move at all. Rolling Rock is where you ask the horse to back up some steps, then move his forehand over one way, sideways a bit, move his hindquarters over, backup a bit, then move forehand over the other way, sideways a bit the other side and move hindquarters over again...repeated as many times as you want or in our case until I felt he was being willingly obedient with some energy in it too ;)
Next I took him to the DA trimmed his back hooves and then saddled and cinched him and mounted. I wasn't going to do tons with him today, his feet are still recovering from some breaks in the outer horn from a couple of abscess's he had over winter but we could do w/t/bk up work and so this is what we did.
Two new things we did today was halt/trot transitions at every quarter marker in the DA...they went fab. Then we started to attempt some hindquarters in manoeuvres. I started by asking him at every centre marker of the DA to stop going forward and just move his HQ's over so that he was facing the fence at 90*. This went well. I then asked him to try to move one step over with his HQ's and then keep moving and that went very well too. We tried it out in both directions and left it on a good note ready to expand on that at a later date ;)
Whilst playing around Tara and Stormy had a wonderful grooming session over the fencing and it was lovely to see them interact so nicely...they miss each other, in fact they all miss any member of the herd but it's nice to see Tara interacting with the others as when left in the field normally she doesn't ;)
I played slowly with him asking for some obedience and he did a fantastic 'Rolling Rock' pattern and I hardly had to move at all. Rolling Rock is where you ask the horse to back up some steps, then move his forehand over one way, sideways a bit, move his hindquarters over, backup a bit, then move forehand over the other way, sideways a bit the other side and move hindquarters over again...repeated as many times as you want or in our case until I felt he was being willingly obedient with some energy in it too ;)
Next I took him to the DA trimmed his back hooves and then saddled and cinched him and mounted. I wasn't going to do tons with him today, his feet are still recovering from some breaks in the outer horn from a couple of abscess's he had over winter but we could do w/t/bk up work and so this is what we did.
Two new things we did today was halt/trot transitions at every quarter marker in the DA...they went fab. Then we started to attempt some hindquarters in manoeuvres. I started by asking him at every centre marker of the DA to stop going forward and just move his HQ's over so that he was facing the fence at 90*. This went well. I then asked him to try to move one step over with his HQ's and then keep moving and that went very well too. We tried it out in both directions and left it on a good note ready to expand on that at a later date ;)
Whilst playing around Tara and Stormy had a wonderful grooming session over the fencing and it was lovely to see them interact so nicely...they miss each other, in fact they all miss any member of the herd but it's nice to see Tara interacting with the others as when left in the field normally she doesn't ;)
So, back to Solly's riding session. We also did some great 20m circles at each end of the arena and also in the middle and my accuracy is getting much better with circles now. He did some great trotting serpentines and also leg yielding without me doing too much.
It wasn't a long long session but we improved our walk and trot and today I put only one shim in the front of the saddle as I felt his muscling up is coming along nicely now and putting two in the front of the saddle made bad sweat patterns under the saddle last time we rode...the middle didn't seem to be making contact with his back and this would make it very difficult for him to raise his back in collection SO we're trying out just one to help his shoulders and my balance point without unbalancing the saddle ;)
All in all a good day, nice ride although would like more time next time so we can start actually getting out to the cones scattered around the main field.
It wasn't a long long session but we improved our walk and trot and today I put only one shim in the front of the saddle as I felt his muscling up is coming along nicely now and putting two in the front of the saddle made bad sweat patterns under the saddle last time we rode...the middle didn't seem to be making contact with his back and this would make it very difficult for him to raise his back in collection SO we're trying out just one to help his shoulders and my balance point without unbalancing the saddle ;)
All in all a good day, nice ride although would like more time next time so we can start actually getting out to the cones scattered around the main field.
Sunday 27th May
Another scorcher or a day here and with Tara's lameness seeming better (trotted up nicely last few days) we decide to go down to the big field, Mark walked and I rode Tara. Tara's walk and trot were back to their normal swing and she felt good, took it easy on her though. Once at the field we set Tara in with Solly, who was very attentive to seeing his big mare back and we caught Stormy and Holly and took them out for a mosey, heading for the stream with some water fun in mind ;)
Mark walked Stormy, I walked Holly and both were nice, attentive and didn't try to grab too much grazing off the verges! lol. Once at the stream field we entered and took them both into the water and they LOVED it, standing getting their hooves and legs cool and then putting the whole of their noses into it. I think Holly was blowing bubbles in it and then tossing her head around splashing water everywhere....it was lovely to see them enjoying the water.
We then splashed them down all over (or as much as we could reach. lol) with big handfuls of water. Holly stood perfectly still enjoying the cool water all over her, Stormy was a bit more sceptical but Mark got his neck and forelegs wet which he enjoyed. Then we took them out of the water and let them graze for a while in the shad of some nice trees nearby.
Then off for the walk back to the field. Half way Mark jumps on Holly bareback, I walk alongside Stormy and we were back in the field before we knew it. Put S&H back in and collected Tara and she and I enjoyed a hot ride home to the house where her prize was a good bucket soaking from the stream by her paddock...she loved it ;)
Here's some piccie's:
Mark walked Stormy, I walked Holly and both were nice, attentive and didn't try to grab too much grazing off the verges! lol. Once at the stream field we entered and took them both into the water and they LOVED it, standing getting their hooves and legs cool and then putting the whole of their noses into it. I think Holly was blowing bubbles in it and then tossing her head around splashing water everywhere....it was lovely to see them enjoying the water.
We then splashed them down all over (or as much as we could reach. lol) with big handfuls of water. Holly stood perfectly still enjoying the cool water all over her, Stormy was a bit more sceptical but Mark got his neck and forelegs wet which he enjoyed. Then we took them out of the water and let them graze for a while in the shad of some nice trees nearby.
Then off for the walk back to the field. Half way Mark jumps on Holly bareback, I walk alongside Stormy and we were back in the field before we knew it. Put S&H back in and collected Tara and she and I enjoyed a hot ride home to the house where her prize was a good bucket soaking from the stream by her paddock...she loved it ;)
Here's some piccie's:
Riding Tara again....missed this
The herd coming to greet Tara
S&M heading out for their mosey and some undemanding time
Stormy and Mark
Holly checking out the field before commiting to the stream ;)
Blowing bubbles in the water! lol.
Splashing around in the water....FUN ;)
Stormy here with his nose right down under the water ;)
Splashing water up on Hollys back...
...made sure I did both sides ;)
Big beasties enjoying the water together
Stormy LOVES water and enjoyed cooling off from the heat
Mark splashing some water on Stormy's chest and front legs
Me grazing Holly in some shade
Stormy having a mud bath once home again ;)
Me riding Tara home, Mark making sure
the cattle are safely off the track before we get there
the cattle are safely off the track before we get there
Tara enjoying her cool shower
So glad Tara is sound again,
hopefully she will now be my transportto the horses field daily when home ;)
Saturday 26th May
Very hot today but a nice breeze down in the horses field and Mark films our May OLHA Online and Liberty competitions. He did very well and although he dropped the pole on the liberty jump I felt they were good play sessions so have submitted them ;)
I then take Solly to the round pen, saddled and cinched then mounted. Again, I did freestyle and finesse, some w/t/c, fig 8's, leg yields, shoulder-in and he went quite well for me but the heat seems to make him (and me) a bit lethargic. I trimmed his front feet before play today and think that helped. Will do his back feet tomorrow ;)
Just some pic's from today's nice session:
I then take Solly to the round pen, saddled and cinched then mounted. Again, I did freestyle and finesse, some w/t/c, fig 8's, leg yields, shoulder-in and he went quite well for me but the heat seems to make him (and me) a bit lethargic. I trimmed his front feet before play today and think that helped. Will do his back feet tomorrow ;)
Just some pic's from today's nice session:
Friday 25th May
Very hot today and out this am in town SO back to take Tara out for a walk which included 15 mins of grazing and also Mark filmed her trotting up for me and I rode her w/t to see how she 'feels' in her feet today. Actually she looks pretty good and I spend some time trimming her front hooves today, they've grown really quickly and she had quite a bit of 'false sole' to take down so quite a bit to do. On that note I just do her front feet as it's SO hot here, will do her back's either tomorrow or Sunday. Think the trim helped her feet a lot today and she got a mineral lick to play with for being such a good girl.
Thursday 24th May
I'm hoping that on Sat we'll film out Online and Liberty OLHA tests to send in and hope that it's not quite so hot whilst we do it....not complaining though.
So, out of the HA arena I take Solly back to the Dressage Arena and saddle him up, play for cinching and mount up. We work on freestyle RtR w/t, fig 8's small and large, serpentines w/t and general moving feet and gaits. Then we work a bit on finesse with all the same stuff plus some shoulder-in w/t and leg yielding w/t and then three leg yield strides one way, then the other etc. And some nice canter too. I then ask him to go out of the DA and into the Jumping Arena and we pop a couple of jumps just for fun, back into the DA and dismount, unsaddle and then wash his back with some of my bottled water and a dandy brush...He enjoyed it which was nice ;)
So, out of the HA arena I take Solly back to the Dressage Arena and saddle him up, play for cinching and mount up. We work on freestyle RtR w/t, fig 8's small and large, serpentines w/t and general moving feet and gaits. Then we work a bit on finesse with all the same stuff plus some shoulder-in w/t and leg yielding w/t and then three leg yield strides one way, then the other etc. And some nice canter too. I then ask him to go out of the DA and into the Jumping Arena and we pop a couple of jumps just for fun, back into the DA and dismount, unsaddle and then wash his back with some of my bottled water and a dandy brush...He enjoyed it which was nice ;)
Chilling out after our jumping
So, after a short but good session we go and feed them at the top of the hill. I wasn't happy with the way Tara looked on her front feet so I walked her back to the house to keep an eye on her and to be able to give her feet a well needed trim again. Whilst at home I braid her mane as she is SO hot with the weather her mane is too thick. She likes being braided and stands totally still for me to do this. Praying her feet get better asap ;)
Monday 21st May
Home from a few days teaching in Aberdeenshire today with good friend Mary as we're going to a Mark Rashid (Natural Horsemanship trainer and writer) clinic tomorrow..SO, while we have a spare day AND it's sunny and hot we go out and play/ride some horses today ;)
They all come over to green me and Mary and I halter up Tara and put her on the 22' feather light rope, with Tara I hopefully showed how to encourage a very low spirited RBint to want to participate in some interaction with her human and Tara is very good at trying for me so it looked quite good. I play with her, just really checking to see if she's still lame and the best way of seeing if she has back leg movement is to ask her to disengage her hindquarters, if she can't cross over the inside leg under and infront of the outside leg/foot then she has some stiffness. She's a bit stiff with her bad, back right leg but otherwise not too bad. I show I ask her to sidle up for mounting and I mount bareback and bridleless, just a training stick. Then I ask Tara to gently do some walk/backups/walk/trot transitions and some DHQ and move forehand around the round pen. She actually doesn't feel too bad but has difficulty turning with her back end so I jump off and set her loose to graze again. She tries her heart out for me and I love her to bits for her big TRY for me ;)
Next I halter up Holly and play around with her for a while showing how I work on her Relaxation/Obedience/Impulsion/Flexibility as a very centred RBext. All went well and actually I need to do this and ride her this week to see if I can help her with her flexibility more but all the games and patterns were fab and I again then set her out to graze.
Waiting for his turn was dear Stormy and I haltered him and brought him in for some fun. I showed how much fun a LBext can be and how to allow him to have FUN whilst training and how not to be too specific with him as he really tries to be good but likes to have fun doing it. lol. Anyway, he did great and then I ask if Mary wanted to play with him and she accepts the challenge...and does incredibly well too ;) Here's a couple of pic's from their play session:
They all come over to green me and Mary and I halter up Tara and put her on the 22' feather light rope, with Tara I hopefully showed how to encourage a very low spirited RBint to want to participate in some interaction with her human and Tara is very good at trying for me so it looked quite good. I play with her, just really checking to see if she's still lame and the best way of seeing if she has back leg movement is to ask her to disengage her hindquarters, if she can't cross over the inside leg under and infront of the outside leg/foot then she has some stiffness. She's a bit stiff with her bad, back right leg but otherwise not too bad. I show I ask her to sidle up for mounting and I mount bareback and bridleless, just a training stick. Then I ask Tara to gently do some walk/backups/walk/trot transitions and some DHQ and move forehand around the round pen. She actually doesn't feel too bad but has difficulty turning with her back end so I jump off and set her loose to graze again. She tries her heart out for me and I love her to bits for her big TRY for me ;)
Next I halter up Holly and play around with her for a while showing how I work on her Relaxation/Obedience/Impulsion/Flexibility as a very centred RBext. All went well and actually I need to do this and ride her this week to see if I can help her with her flexibility more but all the games and patterns were fab and I again then set her out to graze.
Waiting for his turn was dear Stormy and I haltered him and brought him in for some fun. I showed how much fun a LBext can be and how to allow him to have FUN whilst training and how not to be too specific with him as he really tries to be good but likes to have fun doing it. lol. Anyway, he did great and then I ask if Mary wanted to play with him and she accepts the challenge...and does incredibly well too ;) Here's a couple of pic's from their play session:
So after such a wonderful play session I ask if she wants a picture sitting on him and she says yes...so I saddle him up and just think about her sitting on him BUT Mary rides him. Now, Stormy is being re-started as he's been off for two years really, he's a bit clumpy and sticky but safe and Mary did a great job pottering around on him asking for fig 8's in the roundpen...HATS off to you Mary, you looked like a jockey on a big horse but you took the STORMY CHALLENGE and did him proud ;))
Finally Solly came and caught me nd I took him into the round pen where I played online and at liberty. We did some great Z5 liberty driving fig 8's in walk and then started out some walk/trot/walk transitions ;) Fab.
Then I saddled and cinched, mounted and worked on some freestyle and hen finesse. He was offering canter today and it all felt the best ever together ;)
Then I saddled and cinched, mounted and worked on some freestyle and hen finesse. He was offering canter today and it all felt the best ever together ;)
Wednesday 16th May
Today the weather looked better than yesterday, calmer, couple of hail storms but no rain, warmer and hopefully more peaceful in the field too. SO, off I go to the field and this is what I first saw...
I went and fixed some fencing that was down and put up the cones again and then ended up beside the herd and hung out with them for a bit before the boys stood up and then the girls....and back to grazing
The herd at peace
Solly came and caught me and I stroked him all over then asked him to S2M back into the round and grooming. He stood very well and then we played some S2M in the pen, walk and trot and into circles w/t.
I then haltered him and put hi on the 22' feather light rope and played with sideways and circles, transitions and cod's from the round pen to the HA arena. He did great and light with transitions up and down, cod's and also really stretching long and low w/circling at trot, he also tried to be long and low whilst cantering...whoop whoop ;)
Now we spend some time walking around the HA course together, taking it slowly and testing each obstacle and our communication. Then I ask him to trot around the course as if filming and sort out some sticky bits as we go. Generally it all went very well ;)
Then I ask him to sideways and circle all the way back to the round pen and saddle him up and play until his cinching is good. I put the clip on reins in our 'new position' on the halter and I mount up.
I then haltered him and put hi on the 22' feather light rope and played with sideways and circles, transitions and cod's from the round pen to the HA arena. He did great and light with transitions up and down, cod's and also really stretching long and low w/circling at trot, he also tried to be long and low whilst cantering...whoop whoop ;)
Now we spend some time walking around the HA course together, taking it slowly and testing each obstacle and our communication. Then I ask him to trot around the course as if filming and sort out some sticky bits as we go. Generally it all went very well ;)
Then I ask him to sideways and circle all the way back to the round pen and saddle him up and play until his cinching is good. I put the clip on reins in our 'new position' on the halter and I mount up.
Putting the clip on reins higher up the halter
helps them to work better than on the lower loop ;)
helps them to work better than on the lower loop ;)
So as we've not done anything for a while I go back to just walking the round pen, asking for turns and circles from my seat and legs and then taking it to trot slowly. We worked on impulsion and getting our circle shape better and I began to find my trot was getting better, longer legs with less movement, deeper seat and feeling more of harmony between us. I just asked for consistency in the trot and had a few rest sessions too.
All went pretty well and rode for about an hour. Left it on a good note and it felt great to ride again. Off teaching tomorrow and then off to Aberdeenshire for Fri, Sat, Sun but back on Monday and hope to get a play/ride session in with a friend that's coming over. Will try harder to get some consistency in the last week of the month and hopefully also try to film our Advanced Online and Liberty OLHA too ;)
All went pretty well and rode for about an hour. Left it on a good note and it felt great to ride again. Off teaching tomorrow and then off to Aberdeenshire for Fri, Sat, Sun but back on Monday and hope to get a play/ride session in with a friend that's coming over. Will try harder to get some consistency in the last week of the month and hopefully also try to film our Advanced Online and Liberty OLHA too ;)
Tuesday 15th May
Went down to do some more re-connecting with the herd, Tara came up and connected well, asked for some scratches on her belly and we had a good grooming session. Then there was a bit of commotion at the top of the field along the track with a farmer, sheepdog and moving some lost sheep back to the right side of the fence and the herd just went crazy...running around, yeehaaing, Solly looked like an arab, prancing, legs everywhere. Holly was on a 'run at top speed' mode and Stormy was with her the whole way ;)
I kept hold of Tara and let the herd run around and then when they were a bit calmer I released Tara and played extreme friendly in a quiet spot...Solly came over as soon as he could think and I'm really glad we've worked on extreme friendly over the years ;))
Here's a couple of pics I managed to get:
I kept hold of Tara and let the herd run around and then when they were a bit calmer I released Tara and played extreme friendly in a quiet spot...Solly came over as soon as he could think and I'm really glad we've worked on extreme friendly over the years ;))
Here's a couple of pics I managed to get:
Monday 14th May
Well I have been away teaching for a few days and yesterday went down to see the herd and to help feed them dinner and they all totally ignored me!!! May have been away just a day or two too long me thinks...could also have been the miserable weather BUT come down and re-connect with them all today and the first thing they do when I arrive in the field is surround me SO that made me feel much better (well except Tara who stayed laying down having a snooze! lol)
On that note Mark plays quickly with Holly and I play with Stormy and then Mark trims Storm's front hooves whilst I sing to him...it really does send him to sleep. lol
I then play with Storm to where the herd are and set him free to run to Holly and I walk up towards Solly to see if we have a connection that will bring him to catch me and he does...big smile on my face as not only been away but then ignore him to help with Storm so not an ideal start BUT he is here for me now and I halter him and play, but today's play is just about re-connecting so I start with bullet point (1) RELAXATION and play with extreme friendly around all zones of his body and he happily stays and snoozes ;)
Next I work on bullet point (2)...willing obedience and ask for some very very light back up and draw play....he's very light after such a big break. Then we have some fun with some bullet point (3)...impulsion and circle in walk/trot with some very very smooth COD's ;)
On that note Mark plays quickly with Holly and I play with Stormy and then Mark trims Storm's front hooves whilst I sing to him...it really does send him to sleep. lol
I then play with Storm to where the herd are and set him free to run to Holly and I walk up towards Solly to see if we have a connection that will bring him to catch me and he does...big smile on my face as not only been away but then ignore him to help with Storm so not an ideal start BUT he is here for me now and I halter him and play, but today's play is just about re-connecting so I start with bullet point (1) RELAXATION and play with extreme friendly around all zones of his body and he happily stays and snoozes ;)
Next I work on bullet point (2)...willing obedience and ask for some very very light back up and draw play....he's very light after such a big break. Then we have some fun with some bullet point (3)...impulsion and circle in walk/trot with some very very smooth COD's ;)
Circling game went very well, Solly was
extremely attentive, light and relaxed,
flexing both ways nicely
extremely attentive, light and relaxed,
flexing both ways nicely
So, that also worked for bullet point (4)...flexibility too and so we went to working on some different zone play with Z5 draw from the tail backwards and 22' distance sideways L&R. Both games were fab and after these two Solly yawned BIG TIME and that reassured me that he felt I was being a good leader ;)
Z5 backup from tail was beautifully
light and compliant, at the end he
was backing up from just me clicking
my fingers ;)
22' away, I didn't move my feet, he moved
away from me and kept pretty straight too ;)
We then had a short break and he wanted to do a bow for me so I cue'd it and he did a long, low bow that was fab. He's such a clever boy and this is really a great stretch he does.
I then set him at liberty and gave him a big hug and kiss but when I walked away he kept with me at liberty and didn't want to let me go far from him so I stood with him and gave him some hugs.
Saturday 5th May
Not too hot, not too windy and no sign of rain...yippee...off Mark and I go to play/ride horses today ;)
First up was a double session with me and Stormy and Mark and Holly. I showed one play move and he copied it with Holly. This gave Mark new things to try out and I explained why I was doing which game at which point. Both H&S are extroverts (H=RB / S=LB) so they enjoyed the same games for different reasons. We started with some relaxation and really helped both horses with the extreme FG, in all zones and later on whilst in motion too ;)
Next we played with drive and draw with the yo-yo game and seeing just how light it could be. Both horses were on Body Cue (3rd phase now within original Phase 1!!)...now that's pretty darn light ;)) Draw as good too but now helping Holly get used to the X.FG draw that I use with Stormy and Solly now.
After this we worked on circling, asking horses to keep responsibilities...one lap L in walk, cod, one lap R in walk, cod, two laps L trot, cod, two laps R trot, draw engaged. Both horse did very well with this but Holly isn't as used to being so disciplined with Mark so it was a task for both parties on that one.
Then we started some moving circles, cod's, fig 8's and jumps which both horses enjoyed and really got into. They love to move their feet and once engaged with their minds through some obedience games this game then is a lot of fun. We finished with me playing a bit with Holly and Mark playing a bit with Stormy.
I ended Holly's session with doing Ingela Larsson Smith's FG of 'butterfly'. This is where, when her head is up, I have an open hand and wiggle it around her face, ears etc whilst gently encouraging her head down for relaxation. I did a LOT of this when we first got her to help her find relaxation with her head down to get endorphins (rather than negative adrenaline with her head up like a scared chicken!). It took a lot of time and effort as her head was UP a LOT in the past, not thinking, panicking and not able to listen to anything a human was saying on the ground (or in the saddle). SO, I check it every now and then to see if she remembers the game and by gollly gosh she just plonked her head down in 4 nice, calm, relaxed stages (see pic's below for two of them.)
Butterfly Friendly game...
...and totally relaxed ;)
Mark having a special moment with Stormy...aah
So, after this Mark gets on Holly bareback and does some slow flexing of her body with 20m circles in freestyle. Not very good circles but the exercise helped both of them move their bodies fluidly and flex Holly L&R which helped her when going straight. In the end they managed to get a few good 20m circles...it's not as easy as it looks when only using body aids and not the reins!! ;)
Next was for me to saddle and cinch Stormy and then mount for our ridden session today. We kept Holly close too so that he felt very secure in the D.Arena. He wa a bit obstinate when I asked him to walk on or turn left BUT Mark and I had a realisation about this....I was looking down, every time I ask him to walk on from a halt I look at my hands!!!??? where did THAT come from?? but Stormy is a very very sensitive boy, especially on his back and any forward movement or weight makes him STOP immediately and often go backwards (great..now I know where his light back button is! lol ;) SO, Mark got me to totally look at the horizon a lot and talk my way through what I was doing. So, this meant I literally said YES when Stormy did something I asked for well (which was a LOT of the time actually...Perry Wood calls this the 'YES GAME') and then I talked the walk through ie. Now let's head for the farm house on the horizon...YES..and now lets head for the letter A...YES...and how about going towards the house on the hill...YES. Really worked, kept us together focus wise and our fig 8's around the two mounting blocks started to flow much better. YEEHAA. Right at the end when I was thinking about stopping he popped in three steps of trot too so that was cool ;)
I dismounted and gave him plenty of hugs and a treat and after a while Mark mounted him and rode him too...this time with energy and lots of trotting...good for Mark, he and Stormy look fab together and I'm so glad Mark is a relaxed, confident rider who enjoys energy as Stormy looked like he really enjoyed himself. Here's the pic's of saddling and riding with me and then Mark.
I dismounted and gave him plenty of hugs and a treat and after a while Mark mounted him and rode him too...this time with energy and lots of trotting...good for Mark, he and Stormy look fab together and I'm so glad Mark is a relaxed, confident rider who enjoys energy as Stormy looked like he really enjoyed himself. Here's the pic's of saddling and riding with me and then Mark.
We then untack Stormy and Mark takes H&S back outside the D.Arena and sets them back to grazing with the T&Sol, both of whom aren't too far away and Mark and I walk back to the H.Arena for some water, biscuits, check on the dogs and for me to play with Solly and practice the HA course for May...whilst walking there Solly was nearby so I called to him to catch me and he trotted up straight away and we walked companionably to the arena where he was at liberty grazing and hanging out with us whilst we took a short rest.
I went around the HA course with Solly at liberty first, this way I can tell if he's truly worried by anything or doesn't understand the task well. He did very well and everything went smoothly...even the JUMP/STOP as he'd obviously been thinking over the work we did yesterday as he did it first time ;))
I went around the HA course with Solly at liberty first, this way I can tell if he's truly worried by anything or doesn't understand the task well. He did very well and everything went smoothly...even the JUMP/STOP as he'd obviously been thinking over the work we did yesterday as he did it first time ;))
JUMP...
...and STOP (straight too ;)
So after that success I thought I wouldn't bore him any longer on that and took him online out of the arena into the big open field and worked on some impulsion/fun games. This involved circles, cod's, fig 8's in w/t/c with SLC and FLC's, weave, squeezing through gateways in trot and canter and finally into the D.Arena. It flowed non-stop for over 15mins and was lovely to feel him interact with my slightest requests. Think he enjoyed it as much as I did.
COD w/FLC ;)
I then saddled him up and gently cinched him up using sideways, circles and cod's to help him warm up to the saddle well.
I mounted and warmed him up with the usual flight checks, we were using the halter and clip on reins to start with and my main concern was to get the trot with impulsion and light aids with the shoulder-in and leg yields. SO, off we went. Impulsion came pretty quickly today and he was pretty light with the lateral stuff too. I checked the whole time that my upper body and lower body were in syncronisation with his (as yesterday realised I don't turn my upper body to the left when turning to the left, causing a big brace on that one...and he has trouble working 'around my inside leg' and rounding around it...probably my shoulders causing that as today he was a bit more supple on the left circles ;)
Reallly enjoying our trotting now, conscious also of keeping my legs from moving too far backwards with rising trot or leg aids and this helped me keep my lower legs longer around his sides and me in balance too.
Reallly enjoying our trotting now, conscious also of keeping my legs from moving too far backwards with rising trot or leg aids and this helped me keep my lower legs longer around his sides and me in balance too.
So, on this good note I dismounted and changed the halter/rope for the bit/bridle and continued on riding but with more connection this time. It was great, the impulsion is coming so well in the bridle now and communication with lateral stuff much better with the consistency I'm giving Solly.
Shoulder-in left ;)
Feeling so connected today that after some loose rein trotting with impulsion for relaxation I gathered up the reins again and we had a canter on both reins. Again this is something I now have to put into the sessions for longer and longer but it felt good today and I allowed him to stop when he felt like it...no pressure today, the day was way too good to muck that one up.
Mark took absolutely hundreds of pic's from the sessions today (me too! lol) so I hope the ones I've picked do the day justice. Just to finish the last few pic's are some intimate moments during the day with me and Solly and I liked the close up effects of them. Enjoy.
Friday 4th May
Well the weather has turned a bit cold today and in the horses field it's quite windy BUT decided I needed to get out and have a good day anyway. lol. When I got to the field I replaced some inner fencing that was down and set up some cones around the place to use for focus when out riding the field with Solly...we could also use them for weaves, fig 8's or for focussing on circles too ;)
Then when I'd set up my saddle and equipment and put up the HA obstacles that I take down (arch and curtain) I thought I'd go and see if Stormy wanted to play today, he was the closest and he came to catch me when I looked nicely at him ;)
I quickly groomed him and put his old blue headcollar on (think the other draft sized one is just a bit too big, it swivels on his head and when riding with it the loop underneath the fiador knot often touches the underside of his neck so not good) and the 22' feather light rope. So with the old headcollar working nicely we play some games for obedience, softness, lightness and flexibility. He does GREAT ;)) His circles are improving daily and he upholds his responsibilities better now we've got some consistency going.
I then saddled him and played whilst cinching up and then thought about mounting. The wind was up a bit but not enough to distract either of us fully SO decided to mount and get off immediately I felt that I should if necessary (plan A)....and to stay there have some fun and do a bit more than yesterday if okay (plan B).
So, it worked out to be plan B which was nice. He started off with some very uneven circling around the mounting block but I just kept things simple...walk and be guided into a better circle is possible ;) In the end, with plenty of stops at the mounting block for a reward he was managing larger circles and fig 8's with a bit more lightness and understanding. Am going to continue this new journey with Stormy as much as I can...we both enjoy the play and am starting to enjoy the riding again as he really wants to learn but has had a bit too much time off recently.
On that good note I play a bit to the gateway at liberty with big Stormy and he does lovely w/t/h/bkup transitions and a lovely squeeze through the gate that I reward him with a treat. He seems quite eager to be back with his Holly so I mentally set him free and he canters over to her. Holly takes this as a sign to run around and it ends up with the herd having a YEEHAA moment or two, running around and kicking up their heels (well not so much Tara but she keeps close to them all). Here are the pictures of them having fun, me waiting patiently at the bottom of the hill for Solly to come and catch me! lol.....Enjoy the pics ;)
Solly has other things on his mind...."now where did I leave my Tara"
Holly and Stormy quickly get back to the serious business of grazing together and Solly stands on the hill with his Tara...so cute. I ask him to come catch me but it takes a little while (probably catching his breath) and then he slowly comes down the hill, Tara behind him and he goes past me and then turns and as I call him he comes my way but then stops beautifully at one of the cones I'd put out today. lol.
I call him again with my 'cue signal' and he then comes over to me, relaxed and calm as if he'd never done all that running about. The thought came to me that he knew we were going to play/ride and he and the herd just needed to run big time first before he could come to me calm and relaxed, the wind often does this to them, well Solly and Holly mostly...must be the TB in them both ;))
So, with Solly catching me we walk companionably together for a while and then I halter him and put him on the 22' feather light rope. We play some obedience games and then launch into moving circles where we travel down the whole field from the jumping arena to the HA arena. With those circles we also covered all transitions, COD, weave and fig 8's in t/c. He totally kept his responsibilies up and when we went into the HA arena he was relaxed, willing and flexible. We wandered around the HA course but the wind was making everything flap BIG TIME, so I took down the scary corner flags, the archway and the flapping curtain, the noise was too much for me too.
We played with the scary corner for a while but the bunting was very noisey so finished on a good note there. Then we played with the narrow gap (electric fence line and then barrels, tyres and a wooden pole on other side) but I had to make it a bit wider as the wind was blowing the electric tape around quite a lot and that was a bit too much for poor Solly ;( But once wider he did the gap much calmer.
Then we played around with the jump/stop. He has huge difficulty in stopping just after the jump so I'm making it that he takes 1-2 steps before stopping but he still has trouble. SO, I lower the jump and then work away from the jump with a hand signal for stop. I do a large breath out and put my outside hand up...away from the jump it starts to work well and then we go back to the jump and start applying it there. It takes some time, very consistent and very persistent but we leave it on a better note than when we started! lol. Hopefully he'll think about it over the weekend and it'll click with him that way, often does with him ;)
It was just coming up to 5 o'clock after all this and I knew Mark would be coming down to feed the horses at around 5.30 so I had 30 mins to do some riding. So, back to the D.Arena and saddle up, cinch in a few sittings, put rope reins on and mount and sit and do nothing for a while. Solly grazes a bit and I let him as a reward for the faster cinching today.
Only 20 mins left so my plan today was to check his trot, get a bit more impulsion to it and not worry too much about anything else, we have our freestyle hackamore on anyway so not bridle/bit today. So off we go. Get his impulsion in walk better and then onto trot too, working on getting one step lower gait and straight back into higher gait and working well. We put in some 20 m circles, fig 8's and 10m circles and fig 8's too. Impulsion working well all the time today.
Next I work on some walk shoulder-in's L&R and then shoulder-in's L&R using just the INSIDE rein...it worked!! yeehaa ;))
Then we work on some leg yields in walk L&R and then leg yields in trot L&R...fab. Much better than yesterday where I was over-thinking everything! lol. I then try out the leg yields L&R using just the INSIDE rein...again, slow and right was fab...felt very good and realised that my body position was much better today, more upright and my shoulders turning both L&R better (found that going to the left my shoulders weren't turning!!!).
It was a short but very sweet session and our trot was so much smoother with impulsion and my rising trot much more fluid too. Loving this riding every day ;))
I dismounted, unsaddled and treated him to some nice herbal treats for his great performance today. I then set him free and made my way to the top of the hill to help Mark with their feeding.
We played with the scary corner for a while but the bunting was very noisey so finished on a good note there. Then we played with the narrow gap (electric fence line and then barrels, tyres and a wooden pole on other side) but I had to make it a bit wider as the wind was blowing the electric tape around quite a lot and that was a bit too much for poor Solly ;( But once wider he did the gap much calmer.
Then we played around with the jump/stop. He has huge difficulty in stopping just after the jump so I'm making it that he takes 1-2 steps before stopping but he still has trouble. SO, I lower the jump and then work away from the jump with a hand signal for stop. I do a large breath out and put my outside hand up...away from the jump it starts to work well and then we go back to the jump and start applying it there. It takes some time, very consistent and very persistent but we leave it on a better note than when we started! lol. Hopefully he'll think about it over the weekend and it'll click with him that way, often does with him ;)
It was just coming up to 5 o'clock after all this and I knew Mark would be coming down to feed the horses at around 5.30 so I had 30 mins to do some riding. So, back to the D.Arena and saddle up, cinch in a few sittings, put rope reins on and mount and sit and do nothing for a while. Solly grazes a bit and I let him as a reward for the faster cinching today.
Only 20 mins left so my plan today was to check his trot, get a bit more impulsion to it and not worry too much about anything else, we have our freestyle hackamore on anyway so not bridle/bit today. So off we go. Get his impulsion in walk better and then onto trot too, working on getting one step lower gait and straight back into higher gait and working well. We put in some 20 m circles, fig 8's and 10m circles and fig 8's too. Impulsion working well all the time today.
Next I work on some walk shoulder-in's L&R and then shoulder-in's L&R using just the INSIDE rein...it worked!! yeehaa ;))
Then we work on some leg yields in walk L&R and then leg yields in trot L&R...fab. Much better than yesterday where I was over-thinking everything! lol. I then try out the leg yields L&R using just the INSIDE rein...again, slow and right was fab...felt very good and realised that my body position was much better today, more upright and my shoulders turning both L&R better (found that going to the left my shoulders weren't turning!!!).
It was a short but very sweet session and our trot was so much smoother with impulsion and my rising trot much more fluid too. Loving this riding every day ;))
I dismounted, unsaddled and treated him to some nice herbal treats for his great performance today. I then set him free and made my way to the top of the hill to help Mark with their feeding.
Wednesday 3rd May
Another super sunny day and I go out to horses around midday. I spend about an hour and half setting up the new May OLHA course and also enjoying watching the herd grazing and interacting. Stormy and Solly came close to the HA arena fence line and I spotted them mutual grooming...so cool that they groom, interact and also play...good mates our boys ;)
The herd were very chilled out today and it was lovely to see the herd bonds of alpha/beta (Holly/Stormy) and middle dominant/passive (Solly/Tara) in play today.
(my two main horses/introverts)
(Mark's two horses/extroverts)
So after all that physical work for me I decided some grooming and play was in order. First up was Stormy, he came to catch me and was very positive about wanting a groom first, so I obliged ;) He stood totally still for me to groom and lowered his head nicely today for me to do his mane and forelock...getting to be a much better habit now that I'm taking the time to make these habits again with him...regularity and consistency is good with this boy ;)
I then put the halter and 22' feather light rope on him and we played together. First we did some small bits, he was totally relaxed so we started on the willing obedience with him...some very very VERY light backups, sideways around me in a circle L&R which was fun. We then went to some impulsion games...started with one circle to the left in walk, then put in a nice calm COD for one lap circle to the right in walk. Then another nice COD and into trot left for two laps and then another COD for two laps circling to the left and then as he was So good I drew him into me engaged (ie. a shoulder draw not a dhq).
I gave him lots of praise and rubbing to say he was a good boy. I then asked him to circle to the left straight out in trot and then into canter for one lap, change down to trot and put in a COD and then canter for one lap right finishing on a shoulder draw to stop with me again ;) He is such a clever, clever boy, who loves his play and is getting so light to my thought/energy/very small body cue requests now.
SO, on that note I saddle him up and play a bit to help with a nice slow cinching. Then I ask him to sidle up to my mounting block...which he always does first time and very smoothly too. Then I mount and just sit on him for a while, not asking anything from him.
Then I go through my flight checks: LF, DHQ, move FQ's L&R...all smooth and understood well.
Now today I decided that I just wanted more forward with Stormy and take our riding now as if I'm re-starting him. I know he's a LBext so he is okay with requests and I need to make sure I don't bore him, be too rigid or too slack either. So, on that note we set off in walk. He didn't want to go far from the mounting block and so we walked a small circle and went back to the block. I rubbed him and then asked him forward in walk again and we do another circle and back, each time now I ask him to not stop at the mounting block and to try to make the circles a bit bigger.
In the end we ended up doing nice 10m circle fig 8's around the mounting block ;)) I end on a good note, where he did one fig 8 staying on the pattern nicely and without thinking of stopping. It felt good, not a long ride but certainly more than last time and we can build on this each time more and more. Fab ;)
So, I set Stormy back to be with Holly and go collect Tara and Solly. They've been hanging out a lot together since Tara came back to the field so it was nice to bring them into the dressage arena together. I closed the top end of the arena so that Solly could be at liberty whilst I play/ride Tara but first of all I groom them both.
I want to see if Tara is still lame on her back right leg and to be honest the only way I can tell truly is to sit on her and trot SO, I mount her and play plenty of friendly game and then I set her to RtR in walk, taking it very slowly and in her own time, I do some 10m circles whilst RtR and change direction to ride both ways. Then I put her into trot L&R and with some bigger circles and she trotted very well, not any lameness there to speak of but her ears were back and she seemed kind of grumpy so we ended at the arena gateway and I set her lose back to her grazing. She may have been a bit sore, hense the grumpiness or she could be in season..either way I won't be riding her regularly yet, give her plenty of time to recouperate fully, but I was very happy with her progress today ;)
So, now it was just me and Solly in the arena. I put the halter and 22' feather lights on him and start some gentle play. Some very very light backups, sideways from a distance and onto some nice circles, transitions, COD's and fig 8's. He is very light and fluid today. On that note I open up the arena sides again and play circling game transitions and COD's all the way in the open field to the HA arena. It was nice to start playing again in all the field.
In the HA arena we walk around slowly and I ask Solly to go and investigate anything he wants to, this was good, he was touching everything with his nose full of curiosity and sniffing everything ;) Here's some pics of him doing just this...
I then put the halter and 22' feather light rope on him and we played together. First we did some small bits, he was totally relaxed so we started on the willing obedience with him...some very very VERY light backups, sideways around me in a circle L&R which was fun. We then went to some impulsion games...started with one circle to the left in walk, then put in a nice calm COD for one lap circle to the right in walk. Then another nice COD and into trot left for two laps and then another COD for two laps circling to the left and then as he was So good I drew him into me engaged (ie. a shoulder draw not a dhq).
I gave him lots of praise and rubbing to say he was a good boy. I then asked him to circle to the left straight out in trot and then into canter for one lap, change down to trot and put in a COD and then canter for one lap right finishing on a shoulder draw to stop with me again ;) He is such a clever, clever boy, who loves his play and is getting so light to my thought/energy/very small body cue requests now.
SO, on that note I saddle him up and play a bit to help with a nice slow cinching. Then I ask him to sidle up to my mounting block...which he always does first time and very smoothly too. Then I mount and just sit on him for a while, not asking anything from him.
Then I go through my flight checks: LF, DHQ, move FQ's L&R...all smooth and understood well.
Now today I decided that I just wanted more forward with Stormy and take our riding now as if I'm re-starting him. I know he's a LBext so he is okay with requests and I need to make sure I don't bore him, be too rigid or too slack either. So, on that note we set off in walk. He didn't want to go far from the mounting block and so we walked a small circle and went back to the block. I rubbed him and then asked him forward in walk again and we do another circle and back, each time now I ask him to not stop at the mounting block and to try to make the circles a bit bigger.
In the end we ended up doing nice 10m circle fig 8's around the mounting block ;)) I end on a good note, where he did one fig 8 staying on the pattern nicely and without thinking of stopping. It felt good, not a long ride but certainly more than last time and we can build on this each time more and more. Fab ;)
So, I set Stormy back to be with Holly and go collect Tara and Solly. They've been hanging out a lot together since Tara came back to the field so it was nice to bring them into the dressage arena together. I closed the top end of the arena so that Solly could be at liberty whilst I play/ride Tara but first of all I groom them both.
I want to see if Tara is still lame on her back right leg and to be honest the only way I can tell truly is to sit on her and trot SO, I mount her and play plenty of friendly game and then I set her to RtR in walk, taking it very slowly and in her own time, I do some 10m circles whilst RtR and change direction to ride both ways. Then I put her into trot L&R and with some bigger circles and she trotted very well, not any lameness there to speak of but her ears were back and she seemed kind of grumpy so we ended at the arena gateway and I set her lose back to her grazing. She may have been a bit sore, hense the grumpiness or she could be in season..either way I won't be riding her regularly yet, give her plenty of time to recouperate fully, but I was very happy with her progress today ;)
So, now it was just me and Solly in the arena. I put the halter and 22' feather lights on him and start some gentle play. Some very very light backups, sideways from a distance and onto some nice circles, transitions, COD's and fig 8's. He is very light and fluid today. On that note I open up the arena sides again and play circling game transitions and COD's all the way in the open field to the HA arena. It was nice to start playing again in all the field.
In the HA arena we walk around slowly and I ask Solly to go and investigate anything he wants to, this was good, he was touching everything with his nose full of curiosity and sniffing everything ;) Here's some pics of him doing just this...
Then we went around some of the obstacles and walked through them slowly. First was the scary corner where one of the flags was a bit worrying by flapping in the path needed to take through the corner but he was calm and brave and just did it with some gentle encouragement. Then we worked on the narrow gap and then on the archway and flapping curtain.
In the end we went around the whole 10 obstacles in trot and he did very well with all of the tasks but we need more work on the jump/stop but it'll get better if we practice.
Next I took Sol back to the dressage arena in a nice relaxed walk together and I saddled him, cinched and mounted. Firstly I wanted to do some freestyle so we were still using the rope halter with clip rope reins. We did just some warm up transitions, serpentines, fig 8's and circles. Then I worked more on his trot taking him down one step to walk and straight back up to trot to help improve his trot impulsion..works well every time. With this nicer trot I then took him out of the D.Arena to other area's of the field.
Again he was calm, relaxed and we worked on fig 8's around the jumps, RtR on all the fencing around the other area's, transitions, circles off the rail often and generally exploring more open area's...loving this freedom as his trot certainly gets better and so does our confidence together ;)
Back at the D.Arena I dismount, take the rope halter off and put the bridle/bit on Sol. Then mount up again and go to play around with more lateral stuff. He goes well in the bit, nice shoulder-in's L&R and leg yields L&R w/t...letting him take his head often for rest periods but staying in trot, he stretches his head long and low well and brings it up nicely too so it's all going well.
It all went so well I then took Solly into the other area's too and we had a very nice ride ending up at the bottom gateway where I dismounted and untacked him, gave him treats and then walked him back at liberty to the herd.
Next I took Sol back to the dressage arena in a nice relaxed walk together and I saddled him, cinched and mounted. Firstly I wanted to do some freestyle so we were still using the rope halter with clip rope reins. We did just some warm up transitions, serpentines, fig 8's and circles. Then I worked more on his trot taking him down one step to walk and straight back up to trot to help improve his trot impulsion..works well every time. With this nicer trot I then took him out of the D.Arena to other area's of the field.
Again he was calm, relaxed and we worked on fig 8's around the jumps, RtR on all the fencing around the other area's, transitions, circles off the rail often and generally exploring more open area's...loving this freedom as his trot certainly gets better and so does our confidence together ;)
Back at the D.Arena I dismount, take the rope halter off and put the bridle/bit on Sol. Then mount up again and go to play around with more lateral stuff. He goes well in the bit, nice shoulder-in's L&R and leg yields L&R w/t...letting him take his head often for rest periods but staying in trot, he stretches his head long and low well and brings it up nicely too so it's all going well.
It all went so well I then took Solly into the other area's too and we had a very nice ride ending up at the bottom gateway where I dismounted and untacked him, gave him treats and then walked him back at liberty to the herd.
Lovely day, progressing with both boys more now and hoping to do the same tomorrow;)
up the feed bowls after their food
Wednesday 2nd May
Another stunningly sunny day here and before we had to go out Mark and I went down to the horses for some fun. I decided to spend the short time we had (2hrs) with Solly and play/ride him and advance the ridden stuff where we could venture out of the dressage arena and explore the jumping arena and the space around the round pen. Solly is quite an arena bound horse and it's helped us get back our confidence with the ridden stuff BUT now we need to take that confidence out and about, return to the arena often (approach and retreat with our new confidence) and start riding bigger spaces...today was a good day to start this.
We started in the dressage arena but I again kept the top two open fences open so that we could use the arena but just slide on out when feeling good. This is a good concept as it keeps our focus on the arena we're working in but there's no hassle with electric fencing gateways when we want to just ride out and about. It also lets me know that Solly isn't thinking of rushing out of gateways, he stays focussed in the area we're working in which is good.
First off I start with just some warming up and a thousand transitions of w/t using one step down to walk and straight back up to trot to help Solly's natural impulsion work for us ;) He does some nice trans' and also backing up is great today (we're working with the halter reins today for a change...don't like to make too many habits with Solly! lol). Then we worked on large circles, medium circles, small circles throwing in some changes of direction and fig 8's. All going well and his impulsion is much better now and not so sluggish in trot.
Then we work on trying out some shoulders-in and leg yields in TROT....he tries his hardest and the leg yields are getting better, as long as I remember to stay straight and 'go' with him rather than try to push him over...and the shoulder-in's went well as it was our first time trying this in trot...he did a few steps in trot, I straightened him up again when he went into walk, got the trot back and another few steps in trot ;)) He does try for me which I reward a lot by voice and by resting the manoeuvre for a bit and then going back.
After all this good work I decided to play with just stepping out of the dressage arena and using the outside of the fence as a RtR in a different area. He did FABULOUSLY well considering he is often nappy or unsettled when changes occur in his routine. We managed to ride in w/t the outer fence of the one near the round pen and also fig 8's around some jumps in the jumping arena. I like to do different things in different area's (ie. fig 8's around jumps) so that he doesn't go into any one area and think he knows exactly what's going to happen there...keeping it consistent to start with is great but keeping variety keeps him focussed on me and what I'm going to ask him to do ;) We also popped a couple of jumps just for fun.
In the larger area Holly and Stormy were grazing peacefully so we actually did a few fig 8's around them, keeping all our 'bubbles' in tact and just focussing on the task, even when they moved, we kept up with them without any bother ;) We also went back to the dressage arena with a nice loose rein. I enjoyed today as I feel we're now progressing well into larger area's and our connection/communication is working well in all these area's now. Will keep it up and hopefully find soon that we can ride anywhere at all in the field and not worry about any of it or worry about where the herd is either. Here's some pics from today's session:
Fig 8's around the jumps
Fig 8's around jumps
And more fig 8's
Popping over a jump
Fig 8's around Holly and Stormy whilst they graze ;)
Enjoying fig 8's around the other horses
And moving off from fig 8's with a good focus on the fence line again
Nice loose rein towards the dressage arena and finish the session ;)
What a handsome, clever boy he was today
Going to get his treat rewards...I put Solly in 'Park' and he usually stays there...
There's a TREC horse in there waiting to get out ;)
There's a TREC horse in there waiting to get out ;)
The herd leaving together after saying good bye to them this morning
