Saturday 29th September
A lovely day out with Mark and the herd and SO many pictures that today's blog is a picture one ;)
STORMY
Play at liberty and he has some yeehaa moments (being an extrovert I expect nothing less! lol). It was a nice session and he wanted to play so much but it took some time before he could cooperate and take note of what I was asking as he needed to move his feet a lot, so I went with the flow and when he came back to me in his mind we had a nice willing play session too. Always allow the extrovert horse to move his feet before he can use his mind ;) (introverts are opposite, need to use their minds before they can move their feet! lol)
Here's some pics' of the session....
COD on his HQ's in a pivot
YEEHAA again ;)
Back on halter and 22' feather lights....fig 8
SOLLY
Solly wanted head scratches ;))
Halt and backup in sidepull
Freestyle riding
Jump 3
Jump 4
Jump5
Riding familiarisation with the flag...
Mark getting Stormy ready
Picnic goodness from path banks
The boys ;)
Stormy eats some tree leaves...makes Mark
look tiny ;)
bit high headed...
familiarisation of bridge and the noise of it...
...and then back over calmly ;))
Stormy inquisitive about part of the field he's
never been to ;)
Solly, Storm and Mark crossing the village bridle
Me riding Solly back home ;)
FAB day out, loved walking and riding Solly. He was calm, willing and happy and a good babysitter for the big monster Stormy ;)
Thursday 27th September
Lovely day today...well at least dry and not too cold! lol. Out with herd in afternoon and trimmed Tara's feet first of all. This took some time as she's slow and her joints aren't as supple as they used to be...mine aren't either ;) so we just took the time it needed and gave ourselves plenty of rests. Not too much off fronts, backing up mostly and heels lowered and all okay today ;)
The herd had gone up the hill for water whilst I was sorting Tara's feet SO I took advantage of having Tara with me, jumped on her bareback and rode her up the hill to collect Solly who was waiting for me there. He caught me easily and we wandered down the hill and into the first big round pen. This pen was the one that he was having trouble with yesterday so it's good we got to play in it first thing today.....and no problems today. We then went into the next round pen (another new one, bit smaller) and we played at liberty in that one, some circling, fig 8's w/t/c with some FLC's. Made the play short and fun and then left that one to go play in the field with the jumps and trotting poles. Have made two of my tyre jumps taller (they were 2 tyres high, they're now 3 tyres high so a bit of a change there) and put a couple in different places to change things around a bit for us. Love the consistency and how it keeps us in a good place but need the variety to keep it challenging and fun.
All play online & liberty good so saddled up and then went into usual round pen to mount. Now today I did change two things:
1) Stirrup length: found that when cantering more now I am loosing my stirrups SO that means they're too long...had to take them up a bit but feels better now and I know I could jump in this length too and not loose my stirrups.
2) Bridling: Have put the pretty sidepull noseband/bridle on again. Last time he objected to it by tossing his head about, like he used to when we had a change and went to a bitted bridle. This time, however, I decide to just sit it out and see what happens. He tossed his head quite a lot but I left the reins totally loose and then he realised it wasn't a torture device and settled down.
On that note we played about in the round pen, working on stop/starts, left and right turns and transitions. He reaslied that my riding hasn't changed. We do everything from the leg/body weight and when I eventually took up a 'contact' he was fine with that. The main reason I wanted to try the sidepull again is that I want to work freestyle and finesse in one session without using the bit. I can do this with the rope halter arrangement BUT when we do backups the reins on the knot under the chin is still putting pressure on his neck for the backups (and I'm putting the reins further forward now but it's not satisfactory). It's fine with freestyle because I'm using flapping legs to create backups BUT with finesse and holding two reins it's just not working properly ;(
BUT he seemed to take the pressure on the nose from the sides of his face well and understood it quickly. So quickly in fact that we got bored in the round pen and I opened it up and we went out. We then proceeded to do w/t/c, multiple jumps including the two higher ones (yeehaa) and some leg yielding around the field. Think this is going to work. We had a good time and also did a long 'rest' period where I just sat on him and he relaxed and stood still (fab). Then we trotted up the big hill and I dismounted and untacked and left him and the herd up the top waiting for their dinner. Great ;))
Pretty boy in his blue sidepull to match his saddle blanket ;)
reins are in a better place for refinement/finesse ;)
Wednesday 26th September
Yeehaa...the sun is shining after two days of blustery wind and on/off chilly showers...time to go play with some horses ;)
First to the round pen today is Stormy. He looks like he wants to play and comes into the round pen to catch me quickly today, before any others come up. We have a quick groom and then play. He is fab today, willing, eager, cooperative, fun, playful and does his very best to do everything I request and he gets some treats for it too ;)
We played with: LIBERTY in the pen using long light driving whip / backing up from z1, z2,3,4,5 ;) Circles in w/t/c, Fig 8's in w/t and Sideways away L&R and towards L&R.
Here's a few pics I took whilst playing:
Fab, backing up from just thought/energy/body cue/finger cue ;))
Liberty circling L&R
Backing up with just 'thought/energy/body cue/word 'back'
Fig 8's in trot ;))...
...nice trot around to next fig 8 obstacle ;)...
GREAT trot turn around obstacle ;))
and some yeehaa canter fun...
He wanted to move his feet so I encourage him and go onto circles...
...nice canter circles BIG Stormy ;)
Then we work on some small cooperation tasks,
one of which is sideways over cone...
...going well...
...xcellent...
...clever boy ;))
Next wanting to come in was Holly SO, Stormy went out with a treat and Holly came in for another liberty session. Today is the third session at liberty with me, each time she's sticking with me more, the connection is better and she is understanding her responsibilities and mine more ;))
We played with: LIBERTY in pen using light dressage whip / S2M w/t with COD's. Fig 8's in walk and circles in w/t and backing up from Z5 with just my hand softly under her tail at dock end ;)
The S2M in w/t is very good now. The fig 8's are going well, I'm walking less and less but she still has a problem taking some pressure behind her left shoulder and takes this as a cue to run around tossing her head like the lead that she is! lol. But she connects and comes back to me at X quicker and quicker each time. Today too I worked softly with a dressage whip to help communicate with the length of her body whilst i'm in front of her or when she is further away from me and that worked out nicely.
Holly being a 'lead' horsey. lol
and again, a 'you're not the lead' stature whilst trotting around the pen! lol
Really enjoyed Holly's session and am learning lots from her, things like MORE patience, more lightness, more softness and fluidity, she is a good teacher ;) So, I took her out of the pen and she trotted off and I called her back, squatted down and asked her to come back rather than just 'go' off like that. With my patience she eventually came back, I rubbed on her and gave her a treat and then walked away from her as the lead and closing off the connection so that she understands that I am the lead ;)
Next up was Solly, he'd been waiting his turn and I hope this is good for him to wait whilst I play with other horses and realises that it doesn't mean I love him less. He used to get a bit 'peeved' when I did this BUT I do make sure I acknowledge him first when I come into the field, rub on him and make a fuss of him BUT I am making the point that I can play/ride any of the herd when/if I want but acknowleding him first has helped ;)
Solly, Holly and Stormy want to play even though I just invited Solly and Holly
and Stormy have both been played with beforehand!! fab ;)
Holly & Stormy wait whilst I take Solly into the pen,
what a handsome pair they make ;)
Here is what we played with: Longreining in large area, turns, cod's, weaves and fig 8's. Then long reining and using outside rein for a dhq turn. We then go into the largest round pen and do w/t fig 8's with indirect rein turns leading up towards SLC and FLC's. He actually did one part of the fig 8 in canter, down to trot to cod and then trot 2nd part of fig 8 so this is a fantastic start to one day getting the good, balanced FLC fig 8's ;)
Long reining
Over jumps (hard to photograph when on my own!)
Long reining around the outside of round pen...
...using an indirect rein for a hindquarter yield/turn away from pen ;)
I then saddle, girth and mount up for some riding fun. Solly was good but his attention when going down the far end of the field was on the herd which were back at the other end SO I approached and retreat in trot, using some jumps as an excuse to get there and back. This helped his impulsion and we are regularly going into a bit of canter work now which is great.
I then ask Solly to go into the largest pen which is sort of close to the forest but in a place that they have been regularly grazing the whole year!! He had a bit of a strop there, something in the forest has made him a bit sceptical but we are going to work in this pen and we did the long reining fig 8's here SO, instead of him stressing out about me taking the electric fence off the post and replacing it when in the pen mounted I dismount, bring him into the pen and then remount after some circling, cod, play online. He seems a bit more settled now and the riding is okay. I was trying out some new techniques I saw on a dvd but they really aren't working for us at the moment and everytime I try something new I always revert back to what's already working for us!! Today I tried new shimming of the saddle, back to normal way. Tried changing length of stirrups, back to normal way again. Tried putting clip on reins in different places on halter, back to normal way again!!! Solly just seems to be happy where he is for now and it's all working okay BUT would like to be able to get a smoother backup or 'collection' a bit without putting reins under halter thereby pushing on his neck with knot under halter....may try the sidepull again tomrrow and see if we revert back to 'normal' again! lol.
Anyway, had a good ride out, took him, with her to the top of the hill to unsaddle as dinner time came up quicker than I realised. Good riding, quiet, calm, responsive and cooperative. Another day tomorrow.
Last pic of Holly and Tara watching over her in the sunshine today ;))
Monday 24th September
It is wild and windy today...not too windy but on/off rain and pretty nasty but I go out to horses as needed to take down the electric fence that seperates the grazing field and the 'play' field...the horses now have the run of the whole 7 acres BUT I did put up two more round pens. I did this not only to keep them off some of the grazing but so that we have 4 large RtR pens to ride around now...and insides for liberty play too.
Solly was following me around all the time I took the fence down and was playing with the poles as I put up the round pens so playtime was what he wanted. I haltered him and put our normal 22' feather light on and went to play around the jumps and put in some nice backups, sideways L&R, sideways towards L&R, weave and fig 8's around the cones and generally toning up.
Solly jumping the wooden pedestal! lol
Jumping a tyre jump I just put up for fun ;)
Testing the tyre jump again for consistency
as he was a bit sceptical about it at first
So, after this nice start (albeit through some nasty wind and rain) I saddle up, girth and mount. We do some RtR w/t and then RtR around not just our normal 2 round pens but all 4 of the pens now up. He was a bit hesitant about the new pens but after a couple of rounds he was fine (takes time with changes...bit like me!). We then popped a couple of jumps and worked on the cone weave but I could hear hunters in the glen popping off a couple of shots now and then and with the wind and rain thought it best not to push our riding today. We had a good half hour of riding and then I called it quits on a good note ;)
Solly waiting patiently for his treat after riding ;)
I then went and asked Tara to catch me...I had originally wanted to go out to the village with her as she's not been out or ridden much lately but the weather just put me off! ;( But we played a bit, I asked her to think more about moving her front legs gently, she's a bit stiff on her front left and then tries not to do much when turning but I ask her to try to move a little bit better, not faster or more, just a bit better and more fluidly. Once we have a bit more fluidity I mount her bareback and just work on RtR around all of the round pens in walk and then trot, really asking her to move her ribs over and arc around my inside leg more so that her turns are a bit smoother. Again, on a good note I dismount, treat her and send her back to the herd and then meet them all at the top for their dinner time ;)
September 23rd September
IN PICTURES:
After having a good online play session I have saddled and girthed Solly and
am now doing some familiarisation with dragging a tyre around...
am now doing some familiarisation with dragging a tyre around...
firstly in front of him, then next to him, then behind him
both L&R sides ;)
both L&R sides ;)
A connected moment whilst I was on the mounting block ;)
Asking Solly to sidle over to be mounted
LF both L&R
RtR in walk
RtR in trot
Freestyle weave L&R around cones
Using jumping for fun impulsion games
Really thinking about keeping butt in saddle and elbows in...
...working some of the time. lol
Good jump ;)
Postion better ;)
oops...elbows! lol
First time done this jump, although not high
it was our first 'wider' jump together.
Elbows....darn it! lol
Better...now have to sort out toes out!!! lol
Much fun....love our jumping and hopefully try to get some
proper plastic jump wings so that we can increase the height
slowly for us both ;)
proper plastic jump wings so that we can increase the height
slowly for us both ;)
SO, now back to that dragging task...asking Solly backwards,
bringing scary tyre towards him...
Dragging behind...started him trying some good leg yielding
but once he settled he became straighter. Did it in walk first...
...and then in trot L&R...
...and then dragging backwards again...
...and then at standstill I made the 22' line looser and played
extreme friendly with the rope by tossing it over his head,
still attached to the tyre for stability ;)
extreme friendly with the rope by tossing it over his head,
still attached to the tyre for stability ;)
We then had some fun and worked in canter around the two
round pens, using them as a large fig 8. He cantered almost all the
way around both of them with a SLC in the centre X ;))
round pens, using them as a large fig 8. He cantered almost all the
way around both of them with a SLC in the centre X ;))
Loving his canter now...jumping has really helped him think more
about canter as he usually comes out of the jumps in canter now ;)
Saturday 22st September
IN PICTURES:
(Liberty really does show the truth and helps refinement)
Holly came and caught me...the boys follow on,
all at liberty...way cool ;)
Holly and I connected at liberty
Mark and stormy connected at liberty ;)
Working with Holly at liberty: testing DHQ
Testing moving FQ's
S2M at walk
She feels now and then that she needs to run:
sometimes my light pressure is too much for her,
other times she's showing her leadership!
She is teaching me ;)
She comes back to me in the centre...safety ;)
We check out some liberty fig 8's...
...she needs to run off...I allow her to do so...
...but there is the 'snotty' head toss at me!!
I take this as her showing leadership SO...
I ask her to go around the pen faster than she is going...
...she tries to avoid me and go find comfort with Mark
(at the camera) but I push her on faster as Mark isnt' the
comfort zone today...I am and she needs to figure this out ;)
(at the camera) but I push her on faster as Mark isnt' the
comfort zone today...I am and she needs to figure this out ;)
...then she quickly decides that maybe coming to the
centre with me is good ;)
centre with me is good ;)
She then again gets a bit snotty and off she goes,
I help her run this time...
I help her run this time...
(she is testing my consistency and persistence)
Ahh...quickly back to me and comfort...
...but what about quickly running off again...
I consistently help her run off away from me...
...and she has second thoughts and comes quickly back to find comfort...
...and there it is....comfort, scratches and relaxation with me at X ;)
Even though she is adamant she doesn't want to do fig 8's,
I am consistent in asking her for just one set, with me in a S2M
so that we end on a good note with fig 8s' ;)
and she does some nice L&R turns with fig 8.
She is very one sided due to her having
broken her right hip as a baby but I don't let
her off being snotty...she can do a lot of good moves
when she has a mind to.
And a wonderful 'thought/energy/bodycue' stop...
NOTE: no stick/stringShe has taught me that we don't need them
for communication, she is a very sensitive mare who can handle
extreme friendly game with said stick/string but has told me in no uncertain
terms that it's not necessary for communication and it she is teaching me
to become lighter and better with my body language ;))
NOTE: no stick/stringShe has taught me that we don't need them
for communication, she is a very sensitive mare who can handle
extreme friendly game with said stick/string but has told me in no uncertain
terms that it's not necessary for communication and it she is teaching me
to become lighter and better with my body language ;))
And a wonderful, light backup ;)
Then some nice S2M in walk and trot without her running off!! ;))
Lovely communication, her really listening and me being really light
Nice S2M trot on other side...the 'normal' left side is her hard one ;)
And a fabulous draw in trot
Mark with his fab S2M with his two beauties ;))
Then I play with Solly (after doing online with him)
now some liberty for saddling/girthing ;0)
Liberty circles going great ;)
A quiet moment before mounting
Riding some weave/fig 8's around cones
Using some fun jumps to help Solly get that
important impulsion going ;)
Loves his jumping
Good position, slowly coming for me
His impulsion gained by having some fun ;)
(impulsion means checking whoa=go and that
we have a go button but as importantly we
have a whoa button too)
Do some nice circling in between jumps
A few more jumps as we are both enjoying ourselves ;)
Last one ;))
Having ridden through the whole field
up to the top before dismounting and
going out on a hack with Mark/Holly ;)
I walk Solly out to the village...
he's not been out for a few weeks so this is for safety reasons
and also I enjoy walking him out. He actually would
have been fine to ride but young cattle in field near
pathway got me anxious ;)
Mark and his Holly on the trail ;)
Coming down a steep hill on the trail
Having a grass/thistle stop
Solly checks out the Ardle river
below the village bridge ;)
Mark, Holly and Solly next to village shop,
they've had their carrots and apples and now
want to eat our ice creams! lol
Riding Solly back....lovely to be out and about
The last track of the ride
Happy bunnies ;))
Coming back to the field via the forest that
runs one side and behind it ;)
A good test of leadership coming into the darkened forest
It's quite steep and slippery with lots of old tree branches
laying over the tracks and often deer and sheep hiding in places
Solly checking for scary things amongst the trees ;)
Lastly, I have a bareback session with Solly....
....have not done this for a while but it's all still in place...
...kept thinking I was causing his ears back/nasty face BUT actually
he was talking to Tara...who totally ignored him! lol
My freestyle position is now getting better due
to the amount of finesse we do now ;)) fab
Me and my herd....connected at liberty in 7 acres ;)
Mark and his herd...connected at liberty in 7 acres ;))
Friday 21st September
Friday 21st September
An odd day with the horses, went down in the afternoon and the herd were together with Tara laying down for a change. They were all by the fence line and they didn't come over to see me as normal. In fact only Holly came over to investigate and check me out, she probably thought she'd frisk me for treats but I don't carry them or feed them until after a session of play/riding SO, instead of getting a treat she followed me into the 100' round pen. She came willingly and I think (after the event now) that she came over to teach me something important ;)
Firstly I asked her to play S2M, she wasn't too bad but had problems staying with me from a distance and had the inclination to run off. I thouthgt this could be my energy but wasn't sure. Next we played around with S2M fig 8's and then asked her to S2M but do the end bits of the fig 8's on her own...again when I was on her left side, she had the tendancy to run off wildly around the round pen. At first this seemed to be an insecurity thing, a bit of sceptism and fear coming in. After a while though when she settled down a bit I could see it changed and it was more of a 'you can't catch me' and a yeehaa thing going on! lol. Funny how things change so quickly...from fear to confidence, from worry to play.
I then realised that she was also REACTING to the stick/string that I use for distance work. She's fab with this tool as a familiarisation tool with energy/motion/noise but I could feel her defending her space against it SO I put it down and started working with just my thought/energy/body cue and my arms/hands in place of any tools. This really had a profound effect on her, she started to respond rather than react to my requests. My requests started to feel and look more fluid and dance like. I really think Holly was there to teach me today about lightness, the most lightest of light and ask me to learn to trust that she knows what I'm asking now without the tools.
She inately is a Right Brained Extrovert who looks more and more nowadays like a LBext but as the herd leader she doesn't need big signals, she SEES EVERYTHING....I'm going to experiment with this tomorrow too and see what happens. For now here are some pics from today:
Beautiful Holly strutting her stuff...gorgeous ;)
Coming to me but a bit wary now she's at liberty
Relaxing in the sunshine with me
Running around the round pen...I wait patiently in the centre
Running around again, note head looking outside....
if she's looking out, she's thinking out!!!
I drop down on my haunches and breathe out big time...
....she comes in to me at the centre ;)
It was a very interesting day and after the circling we managed to do some nice S2M fig 8's and then some S2M large circles in walk and trot to L&R without her feeling the need to run off ;)
At the end of the day Solly, Stormy and then Tara came over to me. Not sure what happened to them today, probably just wanted to spend more time snoozing than being with me, but nice that they came up to check me out and to say hello after the play with Holly.
Solly came for nuzzles and scratches ;)
Tara came for scratches too...
and the sun was out so we saw our shadows,
we both look so tall in our shadow-land ;)
Wednesday 19th September
Feeling a bit less tired today so off out after lunch time to see the herd and to have some fun. First up was Stormy, he kept hanging around me and I invited him to step inside the 100' round pen and he did so with a nice look on his face ;) SO, we played at liberty for quite a bit, here's what we did:
Round pen:
1) Liberty fig 8's w/t: went well but stuck with it as sometimes he just wanders off to the rail (because he can!) so I persevered and gave him praise everytime he came back to me but ended on a good note where he did 2 fig 8's without wandering off ;)
2) Liberty sideways: Away and towards over a cone...he's big enough to do this with a cone upstanding.
3) Liberty backups: stood just to his left and backed him up 5 steps from just clicking my fingers and then stood just to his right and asked for 5 more steps from that side same way ;)
4) Liberty turns: asked him to turn his hindquarters L&R and then his forehand L&R independantly away and towards me....he does this kind of thing well ;)
5) Liberty spins: ask him to move his hindquarters away half circle and then move his forehand away half circle...excellent and he really turns nicely.
Field:
1) Liberty jumps: out of pen and in big field he plays S2M and does three nice jumps and then I let him back to the herd.
Storm sidepassing away over cone, at liberty ;)
I then ask Solly to catch me, which he does very nicely and we go and have a play session too, here's what we did today:
Roundpen:
1) Liberty S2M: do some nice w/t/backups, then some nice circles in w/t and some drawn circles where I walk backwards and ask his forehand to draw into me more. I also pop in some COD's from the circles too.
2) Liberty Fig 8's: these go very well but when he looks bored I ask him to circle the round pen and then come back to me.
3) Backing up: from just me clicking my fingers behind him he backs up about 15 steps. Such a good boy.
45' Line:
1) Sideways: He does a very nice sidepass over the small white barrel laying down to the L&R ;)
2) Jumping: We walk around the field doing moving circles and Solly does a grand job of jumping whatever comes his way...and we have quite a few jumps up now ;)
3) Weave: I stand in the centre of 6 cones that are about 20' away from me, 8 strides between each of them and I ask Solly to weave in trot to the L&R with a COD in the middle. I found that he knows the pattern so well that I didn't have to move from my spot, I just used my belly button for draw and drive very subtly ;)) fab.
4) Cone fun: I then ask Solly to back up from me at the centre of the cone circle towards a cone, then halt, then sidepass from a distance to the next cone trying to keep as straight as possible. We then halt and go back the other way ;) excellent
5) New Field: I then take him out of the field and into the next field which used to have some cattle in it...just for a change of scenery. We wander around with some S2M, he was a bit sceptical but not much and soon he is snatching at some grazing and then I ask him to do some circles for me...COD's normal and COD's outwith the circle still on the 45' line ;) After that I ask for some trot circles with me ontop of a hillock and Solly having to go up and down the hill...he does very well with that.
6) Saddling: We then go back into our normal field, I groom/saddle him and then we play for cinching over some jumps.
7) Drag object: I then hook a cone onto the end of my 45' line and drag it around so that Solly can get used to it moving in front of him, beside him, behind him and also whilst he backs up...all goes well.
Here are some pictures from this part of the session:
Solly relaxing with liberty circles
Loving those fab draws to me ;)
45' line moving circles
Multiple jumps around field....
...jump 2...
...jump 3...
....nice canter away from jump ;)...
...jump 4...
...jump 5...
Looking around the 'cattle field'
Moving circles in cattle field ;)
Relaxing on the circles...and snatching grazing too. lol
We slowly circle around back to the horses field and go back in and straight over to saddle and then play some with the saddle on. First I do some front leg stretches, then we work on moving circles again, over jumps, COD's and in w/t/c ;)
Helping saddle settle with some jumps
A quick COD and back over this one ;)
And then over the double drainage one...not a problem now at all
Then just to slow it down a bit and to check on familiarisation we do some dragging of a cone from the 45' line, Solly now on the 22' feather light one. I wanted to do this to see if he remembers it from a few years ago but also because I thought it would be fun to drag it from the saddle, so checking it's okay from the ground first is a savvy thing to do ;)
I drag it in front of him so that he can follow it and get confident, then I let it a bit looser and drag it next to him and I drag it behind him so it's following him, finally I drag it with him next to me facing it so that he is backing and it's following him...he does great and seems to remember the game well. I then place the cone standing upright near the fence of the round pen and hook the first piece of 45' line on an electric fence post so that it's easy to get when in the saddle...all is prepared now.
Dragging in front for confidence
Dragging whilst Solly backs up
Solly touching it with his nose to make sure all is confident with this game ;)
Riding:
Firstly I forgot our rope reins, hey ho, so improvise and make up reins from our 22' feather light (pic below)
1) RtR: I first work on riding the rail around the two round pens...each is about 100' round so are nice and big and give us plenty to work on with w/t/bkup transitions. He's a little sluggish so to help him with his impulsion I pop over a couple of jumps. Jumping really seems to energise him so I use this to help with transitions and RtR so that it's more fun for him. His impulsion starts to rise and we go back to RtR.
Whilst doing RtR we work on one pen for a while, then another and then putting the two together as a large fig 8, mostly in trot now. I'm just asking for an energised trot with a good forward movement in it.
2) Jumping: To save us from getting bored I go back to some jumping. We have quite a few tyre/pole jumps around the big field now and Solly has fun jumping every one of them, often coming out of the jumps in canter now which is super.
3) RtR: We then go back to RtR but this time I'm asking him to canter. I often get unbalanced, and therefore so does he when going into canter as I try too hard to set my body up in the right position, so this time I just sit where it's comfortable, in a good position for canter leads and then use my ground work voice cue for canter and hey presto there's our canter ;) fab. He does 3/4 of the round pen in canter both ways and we rest at X in the centre after each attempt. We do this just twice, each time it's good and then I get off it so as to not dull down the offer he gave me. Very happy bunny with this, it's taken it's time to get here but finally feel very comfortable and confident and balanced in the canter he gives me now ;)
4) Drag object: So, on that good canter note we walk to where the cone is set up for us, I get the 45' line in my hand and we walk backwards whilst watching the cone drop from standing up to on it's side...Solly's ears go forward but he's not spooked! phew ;)
Next I ask him forward and from my hand we drag the cone around the field with it on his left, then on his right in walk and then both sides in trot too...this is FUN and Solly is doing a great job of being my cowhorse today ;))
Double feather light reins today! lol.
Not bad improvisation if I do say so myself ;)
Dragging object whilst riding a back up ;)
My reins and holding the 45' in left hand ready to drag cone forward behind Solly
Dragging object behind us safely and having fun ;))
After having so much fun I dismount and give Solly a nice treat of a licorice lick. I groom him and set him free in the grazing part of the field with Stormy and Holly and then go back for Tara who has been in one of the round pens all this time and ride her bareback up to the top of the field for their dinner. It's been a fabulous day with lots of new things done and old things remembered ;)
Just as I was getting ready to leave the field dear Stormy did a big roll at the top where there is some mud...this is him just getting up from said roll...he's a funny boy and I love him to bits ;)
Tuesday 18th September
Feeling a bit lethargic today but went down to see horses, let Sol and Tara out of their paddock and leave them with the herd for a few days as Autumnal changes in their systems makes them feel they need to eat more at moment so giving them the chance to do that but will keep an eye on their weight too ;)
I opened up the large grazing area and we all moseyed into that and then I got to work moving the jumps all out of the arena's into the large area and took down the HA fence so that the HA corner is now available for grazing when they're in this section.
I opened up the large grazing area and we all moseyed into that and then I got to work moving the jumps all out of the arena's into the large area and took down the HA fence so that the HA corner is now available for grazing when they're in this section.
I then went and asked Solly to catch me, which he did very nicely and put him online (22' feather light) and we started off some play....I was feeling a bit lethargic and it showed up in Solly too (your horse is your mirror!!!) so we played a bit, did some jumping and then I led them back up to the top of the hill for their dinner ;)
Relaxing with circling
Lovely sunshine today ;)
Asking Solly to target cones from a distance
Going from one cone to another...me not moving ;)
Sol thinks picking the cones up is more fun! lol
And another cone targetted ;)
I found Tara standing near to Fortune's grave...on her own ;(
She seems okay though, must miss her sister a lot ;((
Storm on the horizon! lol
Sunday 16th September
STORMY
HOLLY
Saturday 15th September
The sun is shining and Mark and I have a weekend together....so it's off to play and ride some horses ;)
First off I played with Solly...in a DRESS....just for the fun of it. Solly was a star and we did a lot of liberty stuff in the HA arena.
Solly weaving around cone circle
Solly backing up from just a thought/energy/body cue ;)
Solly following me over the trotting poles
Solly doing a liberty spin ;)
Solly eager to go after a jump
Solly backing up from just me clicking my fingers ;))
Solly and me playing S2M
Solly enjoying his jumping
Solly and me powering along a line of jumps ;)
and back down those jumps....with enthusiasm ;)
Companion walking
Sitting on Sollys bum....extreme friendly
Now that's two horses I have done this with...
think Mark has challenged me to do it on his two too!!
A connecting moment with Solly and me ;)
It was a lot of fun playing in a dress and Solly had fun too. Mark and I then did some ragworting and we only have two sections of field left to clear now, the main bit they graze on which has really nothing there and the small lower bank which has quite a lot. Probably do some more tomorrow but if not then Tues/Weds it will be cleared in our field ;)
So, after so much fun Mark and I saddle Holly and Tara and we go out for a short hack to the village and back, have ice creams and horses apples and carrots and then head on back to be greeted by the boys whinneying...ahh ;))
Mark out on hack with his beautiful Holly
Mark wit Holly and Tara at the village shop
Mark and Holly going around the village play field on our way home ;)
Mark also took some fab pictures of three types of butterfly in our grazing field today. It was hot enough to get them out and about and it was lovely to see....
The Tortoiseshell
The Peacock
The Comma
Friday 14th September
Well it's been a while since playing or riding our horses, have been off teaching in the Borders, Northumberland, Aberdeenshire and locally but now have a few days at home and in between ragworting I will play and ride as much as the weather permits.
It's good to be back and timely too, Solly started off giving me the cold shoulder and coming over but not for long....he's showing how he feels about being left to his own devices! lol. But hopefully today, with some play, we can get our connection back ;)
First I let Sol and Tara out of their smaller paddock to be with Mark's two big beasties, this is them going down the hill to greet Storm and Holly ;)
It's good to be back and timely too, Solly started off giving me the cold shoulder and coming over but not for long....he's showing how he feels about being left to his own devices! lol. But hopefully today, with some play, we can get our connection back ;)
First I let Sol and Tara out of their smaller paddock to be with Mark's two big beasties, this is them going down the hill to greet Storm and Holly ;)
This is Stormy and Tara going to the grazing gateway together ;)
Stormy posing ;)
Once all in the field I close the gate and seeing they were all happy together I went about moving the fence line to give Stormy and Holly a new bit of regular grazing in their field. It didn't take long and once this was done I went and put Tara in one of our round pens (I now have two set up.....both about 100' diameter) and asked Solly to catch me to go into the other one. Solly was wanting to play the 'catching game' today so I obliged to reinstate my leadership. He moved away, I helped him move. He stopped and claimed space so I moved him off, he turned towards me I backed off and invited him in for some scratches. The catching game nowadays with Solly is more of a test of leadership for him and he came to me nicely after we had that bit of a conversation and we walked companionably into the 2nd round pen ;)
One in the pen we did everything at liberty, first some scratches, hand grooming and then started on some S2M in walk. I tested some obedience with asking Sol to move his FQ's and HQ's lightly with some driving games, then tested him impulsion with some transitions of w/t/h/bk/w/t and then tested for lightness by standing behind him and asking him to backup with just me clicking my fingers....all worked well SO onto some more tests for impulsion on circles. I asked for circling close to me in w/t, COD's to test both sides for flexibility, then larger circles in t/c and COD's again. All went well and he looked very relaxed and at times in collection...but think his head lower and on the vertical had something more to do with keeping his head low due to incessant wind/rain blowing in his face....but it worked! lol.
Sol relaxing into his liberty trotting going to the right
Nice trot draw for the COD ;)
Nice COD
Nice relaxation going left too
and another lovely COD in trot ;)
Nice canter depart to the right
Lovely trot to the left...that headset is looking good
And a collected trot to the right....wind/rain or real collection? lol ;)
And a nice canter depart again, head getting lower
and more relaxed on canters now
I then let him out of the pen and went off to do some ragworting which took me about an hour or so. I then went back and played with Solly in the HA arena. In this arena I have 4 jumps set up and lots of trotting poles and we had some nice fun in there working on the jumps in a row, they're set up to have about 2 canter strides between each and he did them without much hassle at all...clever boy ;) I will try to get this photographed over the weekend...even maybe ride them too ;)
Next I asked him to stand still at liberty whilst I trimmed his feet...not a problem. With that out of the way I then groomed him, saddled him and played to tighten the girth up.
And playing with saddle on before riding
I then rode him for about 40 mins...we did lots of transitions, fig 8'ing around the two large round pens, he also did some lovely leg yielding and shoulder-in in the hackamore in trot. He then helped me open the electric fence gates (electric not on but he's getting braver now) and then let herd out back into the normal grazing...he helped me close those gateways too! yeehaa ;) fab fun.
Lastly I worked him in large circles, small circles, bending nicely around the other horses and then drove Tara a bit up the hill for dinner time. We cantered up a short piece of the hill and then trotted the rest of the way. A nice, relaxed, relaxing ride with a good connection. Love my boy and so glad we got to play/ride today ;)
Wednesday 5th September
Managed to get out to have a quick play and ride before the horses dinner. I wanted to get out to Solly to see how he went today as he had very very sticky feet when I rode him yesterday when our friends were here!!! Today he played well, nothing fast or with attitude and he was willingly obedient and hapy to be with me.
We went quite quickly from play to being ridden. We were working in the bottom of the grazing section of the field, didn't go through to the other section today, but he was nice. Sticky feet for a second but nothing bad and quickly onto some nice riding. We did circles, transitions w/t/c, fig 8's around Tara and Stormy and also some lovely leg yielding.
He was really doing some nice stuff so we started on some new 'patterns' for us to get better before winter, they were:
1) Roll backs: walk (and later trot) in a straight line, come to halt and back up smoothly then turn 180* on the hindquarters and scootch off onto the straight line again. Firstly I'm looking for a basic understanding of the pattern with Solly, then I'll be asking more and more for lightness off my outside leg and reins and finally I'll be looking for smooth, light commands with a yeehaa off from his hindquarters back onto the straight line ;) should be fun
2) HQ turns: with this I'm aiming to be able to do smooth, light turns doing a square pattern by moving Sol's HQ's using a slight indirect rein rather than the normal direct rein to his forehand. I need to be able to move all his feet (which I can) but in motion now too ;)
3) Leg yielding: but this time I'm trying to see if I can ask for it more and more with just my slight weight change and the outside rein (which curves his head a bit around my outside leg). I want this manoeuvre to be as reinless as possible so that I can think it rather than position his head with the reins, so that I can just ask his barrel to arc softly around my leg and we go over the other way...simple really and that's how I'd like to keep it. We started this one quite nicely so now we need to refine and get lighter and lighter ;)
We then did w/t/c/t/w up the big hill, rested and then walked back down nice and slowly and then did a beautiful trot with lots of impulsion along the fence line to where my ruck sack was sitting ;) FUN.
Right after taking Sol's saddle off a local of the village was exercising his cob with a cart along the track above our field and the three 'musketeer' horses had fun running around the field together. It was amazing to watch Holly lead the boys and them back her up as she squared up to face the strange horse out of the field...cool ;)
Tuesday 4rd September
Away for a while but back to play with horses and two friends down from Sutherland...Mandy and Sue who had a lot of fun with the herd too. Here are some pic's from today:
