learning with whimsy

Over the past few weeks, Dezi has been a wee bit off, so I have used the time to progress with Whimsy. She is a 7 year old Connemara, 14.2HH and full of girl drama. Patience is not her best virtue, so we have made a project out of that, and the results are paying off.
She now ground ties most anywhere and waits on me from a distance of about 20-30 feet. In a group setting, she prefers to hang closer to me (like when she works with me while I teach workshops), which work fine too.
How did we "make a project out of it" you ask. Well, I started by taking Whimsy with me to places where she could hang out and letting her hang out on the end of the halter rope with the middle of the rope on the ground. If she moved, even one foot one step, I politely corrected her without moving my feet. As she got the idea, I began to drop the rope and increase my distance. If she moved, I would ask with my body language first for her to go back to exactly where she was and if she did not, I would pick up the rope and correct her with the rope, then return the rope to the ground. Once she could stand for a nice amount of time (at first this was only 60 seconds), I would pick up the rope and go to another spot and start over, gradually increasing the time she could stand in one place. Now (a few weeks later) she can stand for as long as I like. The longest I have asked is around an hour. And overall, she is much more settled in her skin.

foot placement ex. 40

I still have not figured out how to delete the sound or better yet, add music...but wanted to get this up. You will get to see us work a bit to get this. In the beginning she is heavy, pushing on me with her nuzzle and then her shoulder. I decide to abandon the exercise and send her shoulder out, work her in a circle, get a better hq and start over. I find when working on the isolation of a foot, if things get sticky, it is easier to move the feet a bit, then go back to the isolation exercise.
Looking forward to getting to the riding exercises!

ex. 33 from book

So, here's exercise 33, prep for sideways. I did talk during it, but not sure if you can hear the sound. You might have to turn your volume up.
I do not hold the rope as closely as the book says, I find it too constricting. Take your time and move the hind, then the front. If one breaks, abandon the exercise and fix the end that broke and go back to the exercise.




Below is ex. 39, slipslide and ex. 24, changes of direction along a line. I needed to put a pole down because I needed to know what the camera could see...this was a "hit record, run do my thing, then hit stop". (the farm kid who was shooting wasn't around for today's shooting!) The pole also helped me see if I was going straight, which I see now, I was not.

In ex. 39, you will see I have to use a wiggle rope back up to correct her forward movement. When I see her move sideways, I offer a release to her by standing still, allowing her to move sideways away from me as I exhale and think positive thoughts.

I actually use 24 (hinds to fronts along a straight line) a good bit when wanting to make sure I have separation from front and back end and when my horse has way too much energy when I am leading or driving and I want to get to the mind but I need to get somewhere.

I am trying to learn to edit, but have yet to figure out how to do sound...I am not talking during this one, but there are lots of back ground noises I tried to turn off, but wasn't sucessful, so turn down your volume, otherwise the annoying leaf blower in the back ground will drive you crazy.



Hope these help you a bit, I see I need to smile a bit more! I am actually having fun!

and something funny

thought I would share my horse Whimsy and what she thinks of a good belly rub! Gave all of us a good laugh!



That Whimsy is a funny girl!

hindquarters

So here's an example of two requests for hindquarter yielding (indirectly, meaning not touching the horse when asking). The first you will see not much stepping under, watch the horse's feet, they do not consistently cross under and the horse sort of wanders out of it. Watch the position of the person in relation for the understanding from the horse. Think about rope angles in relation to what you want from the back end of the horse. This is Linda Crookshank and her morgan Chase in Big Indian, NY.



In the next video, she does not get the hq all the way around, but with a loose rope and positioning her body, watch the feet really step under. I would not recommend bending over quite so much, you don't want to get in the habit of getting your face 'in there' in case a horse kicks. The real difference between the two videos of hq is how Linda's position effects the footfall of Chase.




Thanks to Linda and Chase!

learning with others

So, in my never ending quest to keep up with technology, I will attempt to use my blog to help illustrate some points brought up by questions from the online book forum class I have been teaching. The class is reading 101 Horsemanship Exercises by Rio Barrett.

I have short some short video segments I will post. Now I am not yet clever enough to add music, so you'll have to listen to my comments...so the first is hq to fq. This is Carol Fitzpatrick and her horse Twinks. Watch the first, then see what looks better in the second. Notice the position of Carol's shoulders, see how that directs her horse.





That was not so clean for a hq to a fq. She had to use her rope to back the horse up, then the horse wasn't sure where she was supposed to go. Separating the hind from the front is critical in really "getting to your horse's feet". This kinda follows exercise 50 in the book. You should take your time, if you do not get a clean hq, do not go on and ask for the front, just hq to a stop.



In the second video, you can see how the horse is following the feel. The hind is moving separate from the front. And the horse's footfall follows that of Carol's. When Carol's feet stop, so do her horses. Very nice, thanks Carol and Twinks!

having fun!

Having fun isn't something that comes easy for me, especially when I consider it "work". Thanks to my time with horses and friends, I am better at it than I used to be. Horses, like Lakota (pictured above and who belongs to Julia Mitchell) make having fun easy. Lakota is very curious and interested in new things. Over the past several months, I have been encouraging this curiousity with giving her time and at times, "following her lead" if you will.
What's interesting here is that we had only been on a wooden pedestal when we were in SC several months ago. I had brought Lakota with me to this farm to ride her after I taught a lesson. I arrived in the ring, dropped the rope on Lakota to walk back to get the camera to take pictures of the student and turned around to see this! I guess she remembered the pedestal and thought she'd try it.
For me, it was a reminder to keep things fun. I am not sure I would have thought to try her on the pedestal here for I had brought her for riding. I am glad she remembered to keep the fun! My student and I both got a good chuckle, and I got a great picture to share with you.

summer goals

"And where did you go today?"









Each season, as a way to progress my personal horsemanship, I try to set goals for myself with my horses. With my days filled with horse work and managing my horse business, it is often hard to make it a priority to work with my own horses. (Though with the lovely turnout here in NY and the other horses around, I doubt Whimsy and Dezi are disappointed when my business keeps me away! )
By setting goals, it inspires me to make the time to work with my horses and helps me to keep my personal horsemanship advancing.
One goal I have this summer is to continue to expand my horse's exposure and ability to go places together and alone. I call this "changing the environment". Many of you who have worked with me have probably heard more than once, "get it good, then go somewhere with it." Changing environment can be as simple as riding or doing ground work in a different location. For the horse, it helps develop an adaptable, calm and confident horse. It also helps alleviate boredom for both horse and rider. For my horses, changing environments means going to other farms, seeing lots of other horses and being in the right frame of mind to work regardless of what is going on around us.
One mantra that keeps coming up for me is "don't reward the anxious mind". It is easy to want to pet, talk nice and soothe your horse into relaxing, but a better way is to work through it by moving the feet, getting busy and having a job to focus on. With Dezi, the half-Arabian part gives me plenty of opportunity to work on just that.
So next time you think all is well and your not sure what to do next, try changing the environment. It can give you lots of feedback as to where you are at with your horse and can make thing more interesting and fun!

enjoying progress

Appreciating progress is key in continued success, happiness and fulfillment as we continue on our journey of learning with horses. Being very goal oriented, I often forget to stop and do just this. Lately, I have been making a point to slow down and just take in "what is", particularly with my own horses. Being in the business of helping horses, I am often pushing, working and moving right along, not always taking the time to enjoy and/or appreciate what's been accomplished and what is working well. By taking 2 minutes at the beginning and end of work with my horses, I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude for "what's working good" and what each horse brings to the relationship. This has been a wonderful gift and has greatly influenced the tone of each of our work sessions. I find both myself and my horse more relaxed and much more connected to what we are doing. So I offer to you today a reminder to slow down and be grateful, you might just be surprised by all the progress you have made if you just think about it!

two blogs in one day

So, here is test number three, let's see if this works. Again, this is video of Jessie Bongers with Maggie doing some very nice groundwork! I have really enjoyed working with Jessie and her sister Ashley, they are 8 and 10 years old respectively. They both have learned much in a very short amount of time. If this works, stay tuned for more!

prioritizing

If you have been waiting a while to hear from me via this blog, please accept my apology. I admit, getting to my blog has slipped down my list of priorities. As the days have gotten longer, I find myself spending all my time outside. By the time I get inside, have a shower and eat dinner, I am off to bed. If you've been by the farm lately, you will see where some of my time has gone as there is new landscaping around the barn (thanks to help from Mary, my barn manager). Additionally, lessons and horses-in-for-help have been keeping me very busy.
I am happy to announce I have a new apprentice, Elizabeth Boggs. She is a wonderful young lady from Gilbert, SC who has already been a tremendous addition to our program in SC. She is starting a blog (since I can't get to it regularly, you might enjoy ready things from her perspective) which can be found at www.gallopingapprentice.blogspot.com
Hope to adjust my priorities and blog more soon!

finding the try

One of the things I try to help people with most is to recognize "the try" in their work with horses. Sounds easy enough, but often people miss it. For example, after working really hard with softness and feel with their horse during a lesson, they grab hold of the lead rope and take their horse back to the barn without ever giving back or putting slack in the lead. For the horse, this feel like dragging and negates all that was done in the previous session. Or worse yet, once out the gate of the arena, the horse gets ahead of the owner taking the slack out of the rope and pulling them back to the barn. For the horse, this is really taking over and also negates all that was done in the previous session.
"Finding the try" is something that once learned, will really shift the horse/human relationship. Once you learn to see the try in a horse and offer up a release to reward the try, the horse will start trying in all areas to see if offers up the same results. A try can be as simple as the horse leaning in the direction you are asking him to yield, turning his head or cocking an ear in your direction when asked for attention, or moving off a weight shift under saddle when asked to follow a feel. To try this, simply look for what your horse does right before he does what you were asking for, then the next time, release when you see the first sign. If your horse does not follow through and finish by giving you what you asked for, simply ask again.
"Finding the try" should start as soon as you see your horse when you arrive at the barn and not end until you head away from the barn to go home. Play with this, give it a try and you will be amazed at the results of "finding the try."

working on bridle less

One of my favorite things to work on with my horses is getting to bridle-less. For me, it is the ultimate in communication when I can direct my horse without ever picking up the reins. Often, to really illustrate how far you can take your riding to an advanced communication level, I take off whatever is on my horse's head. As I do this, I always say to people "don't try this at home." Every so often, a student will admit to me that despite my warnings, they have taken off the bridle and tried it. Most of the time, the rest of the story is not so good and often ends with the rider having a fall of some sort. For me, I have a check list before I take the bridle off. I have a communication system with my horse that is very specific. I check things out before I just take off the head gear. If things are not working or my horse is not sharp and listening, I won't take off whatever is on his head. It is only setting us up for failure. So, in case you are thinking bridle-less looks fun, please, check things out before you pull off the bridle. It is about communication, make sure you have some!

working through frustration

My favorite saying in regards to horse work and frustration is Frustration begins where knowledge ends. In every case I can think of where I found myself frustrated, this has proven to be true, although at the time I might not have realized it. Many times, if I had known what to do or had a guess at what to try, I would have directed my energy into that instead of getting all bottled up in being frustrated.
Having been a student of the horse for quite sometime now and really understanding the need for knowledge, I rarely find myself frustrated. Instead, when I find myself at this place of getting stuck or not getting the results I am looking for, I feel perplexed and intrigued. I then allow myself to get really curious about what is going on in the situation at hand. This always opens up new avenues to information and I am happy to report, keeps the feeling of frustration far, far away.
So the next time you find yourself frustrated in a situation, take a deep breath and ask yourself if more knowledge would help you get unstuck. Then get creative and find ways to increase your knowledge and let frustration be on its way.

unspoken communication

Dezi, the bay horse on the left, has been with me for over 15 years. Our relationship has seen it's ups and downs. I often tell people our relationship is much like an old marriage, we are very comfortable with it, we read each others minds, but are always looking for ways to add in some fun. Thus, Tommy 2Face, the jack puppy on the right. He has been with us for a year and a half, and has really added some fun into our world.
The two of them have a unique relationship, it has been fascinating to see how they work things out between themselves. Mostly unspoken, though Tommy offers a grumbly growl from time to time, they have developed quite the relationship. In the arena, Dezi is in charge and can move Tommy all around and out of the arena when he wants. Out on the trail, it seems Tommy is in charge, often leading the way picking the path for Dezi and I to follow. Between the three of us, we have an amazing flow of communication, though hardly a word is spoken. It seems I can think things and both Dezi and Tommy understand. And I like to think they think things and more often than not, I can understand them. When I saw this picture (to be honest, I cannot remember taking it), it made me smile and see the unspoken communication that flows, and keeps my days interesting.

a new year

Happy 2009! With this New Year, I am filled with a sense of optimism and hope. There is so much to be grateful for, my health, my horses, my dogs, Andrew, my friends & family, Dragon Fly Farm, and Helpful Horsemanship, Inc. As I look back, '08 was pretty great. As I look forward, '09 has endless potential, even though there are obvious challenges with our current economy. I heard someone saying the other day that in tough economic times, when the panic subsides, a new joy is often found in the simpler things in life.
In my work life, I am blessed to be making a living doing what I love, helping people with horses and horses with people. What I teach is the basics, the foundations for which all levels of horsemanship can be achieved. And in these tight economic times, I encourage people with horses to invest in themselves. Now is not the time to send your horse away to some trainer who can "fix" this or that. It is the time to spend your money on yourself, getting the education to help you achieve and succeed with your horse. Whether it is with me at Helpful Horsemanship(obviously the best choice =) !) or with another teacher, get back to the basics and get out there with your horse. Get yourself good, solid education that enhances your safety and increases your knowledge base so you can do what you dream of with your horse! It is a New Year and a great time to set some goals for yourself and your horse! Happy 2009, hope it includes some "horsehappys"!