First coming fast and often

Wendy took Bingo and Walker out today, so I volunteered to bring them in. As I approached the turnout pasture, I saw Walker slowly pacing along the fence line. Bingo was standing along tbe fence in anticipation of someone's arrival, but he did not show any anxiety by pacing. Both of them popped their heads towards me as I came closer, and they started moving closer to the gate. By the time I was opening the gate, they were both there calmly waiting for me to pass through. Since Walker had been pacing, I thought I would go about bringing them in a little differently, a little less direct line in my approach. So, once I had gotten their halters on, I threw their lead ropes over their backs and opened the gate, walking toward the barn. Lo and behold, they followed me! They followed quietly and with no impulsiveness. When we got to a muddy area of the third turnout, they stopped to eat some especially tasty shoots of spring grass. I sat on the fence next to the water trough and marveled at two things: 1) That these two who were clearly anxious to see me arrive not five minutes earlier were calmly choosing to eat grass instead of stampeding in the direction of the barn and 2)Walker chose to step into the muddiest, wettest area of the turnout to eat grass. Just two months ago, he would have taken the widest possible route around mud or water!

So, after watching them in amazement for about 5 minutes, I approached Walker and led him to the water trough. He drank deeply, and when he seemed finished, I then led Bingo to do the same. He also drank a lot of water and then Walker continued to drink right next to him. Bingo did not push him off, he was too busy enjoying the water! When they were done, I lead only Bingo with his rope, and Walker folowed along quite willingly. Fun!

Once we got to the last gate, I backed both of them through and closed it while they waited. After a calm walk back to the barn, they hungrily tucked into their food. 

While Walker ate, I set up the the arena to do some more weave pattern on the ground. Once I had him tacked up, we walked out to the arena, and it was so nice to be leading a horse that wasn't completely wound up from not being allowed to be a horse for months on end. We started with the weave on a circle, which Walker picked up on very quickly. He was so calm, it was time to ride. 

Walker started as he usually does, trying to work his way into the middle of the arena. His constant desire to move the the middle of the arena has been a frustration for me for a long time. But this time, I had three ways to play with that. First, we did several partial disengages towards the fence. Walker was really starting to understand how to do this yesterday, and it went even better today. This gave Walker the idea that I might ask for this at any time. Also, whenever Walker turned into the center of the arena, I went with the "and more" technique of doing what he wanted, but more than he wanted to. So I said to him, sure, go to the center, but in a very tiny circle. He soon decided he did not really want to go into the center. And if those two tacks did not do it, I finally went to phase four when he strayed into the center of the arena by trying to stop him with my leg first and then using my carrot stick with a sharp tag on the neck. I only had to do that once. After one more time on the rail, Walker went around the arena on the rail at the trot and the canter without ONE SINGLE CORRECTION. First time it's ever happened. I still don't know exactly why today, but what a glorious moment.  I immediately stopped with Walker, hopped off and fed him lots of cookies. I took him back to his stall where I took off his saddle. He was so calm, he had barely sweated, so I brushed him off and asked him back into his stall and gave him an extra bit of hay. He's not much of one for scratches and hugs, he prefers food as thanks. So I stroked his neck briefly and left him to his hay. I walked away thinking, "Perfect afternoon . . . "

Evening on the levy

After being cooped up in his stall all day on Wednesday, I took Walker out on the levy to graze. I am sure the women at the barn who saw me walk into the dark and across the bridge thought I was crazy, but since the athletic lights were turned on the soccer fields, I knew Walker and I would see well enough to enjoy our evening "out". After just 15 minutes of grazing, a few deer emerged from the brush and trees that line the Brazos to join us along the levy for a drink of water and to enjoy the fresh glistening green spring grass. Walker was very curious about the deer, but quickly returned to feasting on the grass after giving them an intense scrutiny. I assume since I did not seem the least bit concerned, he felt he did not have to be either. Since I had my ever present fanny pack filled with horse cookies, he checked in with me every few minutes to get a cookie and make sure everything was OK. He never strayed more than a few yards from me. The air was cool and there was a light breeze blowing in from the coast. A soft mist began to gather as the soccer players were practicing, and shouts rose up from the baseball fields on the other side of the road. While controversy and conflict was going on all over the world, our own little corner of the world seemed very far away from all of that.
We moseyed back to the barn after about an hour on the levy. By the time we got back from the levy, there was no one in the two indoor arenas, so we had the large arena to ourselves. I am using the 45' line now as much as possible, and it is a new challenge for me. But that is all part of my own personal journey of never ending self improvement. We played with sideways on the circle game and the bullseye pattern, both of which looked a little better than the night before. I tucked Walker back into his stall when we were done, gave him some hay from my trailer and a bucket of molasses water. After giving him a few more cookies I told him goodnight. When I hit the road, the mist had gotten very thick, creating a halo around all the traffic and street lights. It made for a quiet, pretty drive home . . .

A weekend at Trails End

There are so many things to say about our weekend at Kerri Joosten's place, Trails End, near Austin, Texas. There are so many things to think about, I will have to organize my thoughts as I go.
The energy at Kerri's place was peaceful and relaxed. It was very good for me, as life in the last months have been anything but peacful and relaxed. My challenge will be to bring a little of that home with me so I can draw on it when I need it. 
Spring was starting to show there just like here in Houston. Kerri's playground was covered with the most wonderful spring green grass. Walker loved it there. It was easy to find a way to reward him as we were playing together, I just had to point to the grass all around us. At the same time, it was a little hard to compete with the grass for his attention but I could not give him to hard a time about it. Once we started to play and he was connected, it was a great place for both of us to learn. 
Walker being Walker, he still has lots confidence challenges, especially when it comes to zone 3, the area between the break in his withers and the point of his hip. The good news is that Walker is gaining more confidence the savvier I get. Any foreign object that comes under zone 3 makes him very nervous. Kerri determined early that he was not ready for even small barrels, so the first thing we played with were many of the obstacles scattered all around her horse/human playground. I asked him to put the obstacles under him, like a giant tire pedestal, a stone bridge, the creek, a punching bag, tree trunks and the large trailer. The obstacles that presented the largest challenges were the giant tire, the punching bag and the trailer. By our last morning, he jumped in and out of the trailer easily, though not entirely left brained, he put three feet on the giant tire pedestal and he put one foot over the punching bag. The punching bag was the most difficult and required more leadership from me on that morning because it was the easiest one from which Walker could evade. I made being anywhere but in front and over the bag very difficult, and he finally put one foot over it, stood there and looked at me with ears forward as if to say, "Hah! Got it!!!"
Kerri is a very interesting person, it was fun getting to know her a little better. She is an interesting blend of mom, horsewoman, people person and teacher. Many horse properties I have been to are efficient and horse friendly, but Kerri's place is unique in its feel, which is hard to explain. It may have to do with the backdrop of the desert hill country around Lake Travis, but it probably has more to do with the owner who brings her own special inviting but down to business attitude rolled into one. Her three son's are as friendly as their mom, and they all help out around the place. Her daughter just had a baby girl, and Kerri's face glows when she talks about her. 
Kerri brings a quiet zeal to her responsibility as a teacher of natural horsemanship. At the same time, I never felt harried or judged. I hate feeling judged, probably something to do with my upbringing. It doesn't make much sense, because to get through college and dental school, you are judged every day, often by people who barely know you, but I hate it anyway. Kerri never made me feel that way, and she always acknowledeged the things Walker and I did well, which made me feel good about what we have already accomplished together. To get acknowledgment from someone like Kerri about my horsemanship really felt good.
I will try to sum up what Walker and I learned under Kerri's watchful eye. Well, mostly what I learned. It seems that whatever Walker can do, he already knows how to do, it is up to me to draw those talents from him. So . . . here is what I learned. 
I have to know when to quit. The more Walker learns, the shorter our sessions need to be. If he is in learning over load, than I have to give him time to absorb what he has learned. I must focus on what my horse is telling me, more now than ever before. I have to acknowledge that my horse is a fast learner if I set him up for success. If he doesn't learn quickly, I have to reaccess my approach, my energy, my leadership and/or my emotions. I have to take my ego OUT OF IT. It's about the relationship first!