Walker and I becoming real Partners

Walker and I had the most wonderful online and freestyle play sessions this weekend. Online, Walker is almost jumping barrels with confidence thanks to Karen Rohlf's squares and circles pattern. The pattern consists of going around a rectangle, stopping in each corner, changing gaits and adding circles along either of the lengths of the rectangle. The pattern is designed to get your horse to listen attentively to your body language, keeping your horse from crowding you and to be ready for the next suggestion. I tweaked what she showed us this month in her online video classroom by putting a two barrel jump in the middle of one of the long sides of the rectangle.

What this did for Walker was amazing. It made him focus on the next task that would come right after the jump, to stop at the upcoming corner of the rectangle. It helped Walker not to crowd me after going over the jump, and it helped him maintain an even gait before and after the jump, something we have been struggling with for awhile. Within just three turns around the rectangle, Walker looked 70% smoother going over the barrels and he was much more calm and responsive to my suggestions. Thank you Karen!

The following day, to my chagrin, the barrels had disappeared from the arena, and I looked around, no luck, could not find them. I needed a new plan. So I thought to myself that since Walker had made such big strides with the barrels, maybe it was time to start playing with trotting over a jump and stopping before the back feet followed the front.

I set up a six foot jump first, and Walker was able to trot and stop over it after a few tries. I raised the jump to 12 inches. Now, the RBE came out. He was worried. I stayed calm, smiled and soothed him each time he tried with my voice and my body language. When he did finally stop over the jump, he looked at me, and I smiled even bigger, fed him cookies and stroked his nose.

Time to raise the jump to about 18 inches, a much bigger challenge for Walker. I decided not to push the issue if he lacked confidence, but I wanted to see how he would respond. He stayed left brained, but clearly did not like the idea of hopping over the jump and stopping without clearing it altogether. But since he was calm, I persisted, and after five tries, he got it! He hopped over the jump and stopped. Now I was really grinning and quickly running out of cookies... :-o I asked Walker to go sideways over the jump, which he did well, and that was that! Time for freestyle...

I am not going to describe what we did, I will just download a couple of videos so you can see for yourself. I would, however, like to thank a few people and animals for helping me get to this wonderful place with Walker: bareback, bridle-less and completely relaxed, the both of us. Here I go:

Nancy Cloud, who I think saw something really tenacious in me, even though I was really, really green. Thanks, Nancy, for firmly setting my feet in the right direction. Look at us now, Nancy!

Wendy Carpenter, who convinced me to buy Maverick with her, the horse who in turn convinced me I had to get into shape and lose weight. Wendy also helped me realize where the teacher in me should be focusing. Look at us now, Wendy!

Kerri April who has provided a safe place for me to learn, grow and experiment without judgements. When she sounded surprised that I was totally unconfident about riding Walker bareback and bridle-less, I knew I had a big new goal in front of me. Look at us now, Kerri!

Lei Clay, who provides our horses with a natural place to live. We don't have to get our horses in the right frame of mind when we get to the barn, they are there all the time. Look at us now, Lei!

And to Randy Farmer, my husband, who has lovingly tolerated all the hours away from home so that I could follow my dream and my passion. Randy has quietly watched and supported me all along, when others thought I was just plainly nuts. Look at us now, hon!

Roll the tape...

Online and Freestyle in the Heat

Mav and I had an excellent online session yesterday. We played with Karen Rohlf's circles and squares pattern, and I thought again putting a jump in the middle of it would help Mav with the jump, but in a completely different way then from Walker. For Mav it's about getting the momentum to get over the jump without just hopping it, which will come in handy later, but for now, I want him to work up the energy for it. 

He balked at first, so I split the two barrels to allow for a small space through which he could pass through them. He learned to keep his energy up until we got the the corner of the rectangle, and by the second pass, I knew he was ready to try jumping them again. And I was right! He had plenty of energy to clear the barrels and make it look easy. Good for you Mav! 

Then we played with the our transitions on the circle, especially the canter, to see if Mav would flow into it better without putting his head down and wanting to buck his way through it. He got both left and right canters really nicely, so we stopped there. I decided he looked calm enough to take him out the the park so we could ride in the shade, so that is where we headed next. 

I have realized that it takes a lot of savvy and discernment to figure out when a horse is ready to move on the a bigger challenge. Riding out in the park with out any other horses, away from the barn and everything that feels safe for Maverick is a very big step. But realistically, the only way you can be progressive is to take those "chances" with your horse when it feels right. 

And how do I know when it feels right? It's hard to explain, but it is usually when Mav or Walker demonstrate something to me calmly, thinking their way through and not reacting or blowing through a task. And if they do this more than once, I know they are ready. 

Then, of course, I have to be willing to go beyond my comfort zone. That can involve some pretty serious increases in heart rate and blood pressure, but as long as I can still think myself through something, than I know I am ready also. I am no good to myself or my horse if I get emotional or bracy in the middle of an exercise. 

Of course, getting myself into shape has also given me the physical ability to do things I was really afraid to do, even a year ago, like riding bareback and bridle-less on Walker at the canter. Today we did that while videoing it at the same time (see my next blog for that!)

Once out in the park, I let Mav graze for a bit, then I hopped on and we started our freestyle play session. We started with walking and trotting a figure eight around the trees, and Mav did this very nicely. Then we started doing transitions on an oval around two of the bigger trees. 

Mav struggled with the canter at first, I am not sure he really wanted to canter yesterday, it was so hot, but I assured him I really wanted him to! So after a couple of hissy fits, he did canter very nicely. I was so proud of him for working through his reluctance. We were finished in about 40 minutes, so I hopped off and let him graze again, this time at liberty, which he seemed to enjoy immensely.

Lots of folks at the barn

Between a long week of work, my Mom spending a couple of nights in the hospital and the ridiculous heat we have had to deal with, I have not spent much time at the barn since last weekend. However, I did get a chance to go last night. Lei had a photography party, complete with chocolate martinis for the adults, and birthday cake and chocolate covered strawberries for all the kids. Several people at the barn had birthdays in July and August, and we were celebrating all of them. 

Walker hams it up for cookies

Wendy and I brought our boys out for the fun. I decided to ride Mav and Walker around bareback. Mav went first, and wow, did he have a mind of his own about where he wanted to go. Mostly, he wanted to mug all the humans for cookies. He was pretty successful at doing that.


Next came Walker. He is such a ham. He also mugged everyone for cookies, but he has additional tricks under his forelock, raising a front foot as though to shake hands, bending his neck around and gently nuzzling people with his nose. He did manage to wheedle cookies out of several people. 


Lauren D. was our photographer, and when I get those, I will definitely post them. The two photos here were taken by Lei, who got my iPhone to take them. Yes, that is a martini glass in my hand. Thank you, Lei! The chocolate martini was delicious!

Walker poses for the camera, or does he want some of my martini?

Ashley, Abby and Cat all took me up on the offer to ride Walker bridle-less. It was fun watching the girls ride, all fearless. It was wonderful to see Walker, left-brained and being really good with the girls. 

Finally, we tucked the boys in for the night and fed them all. We were rewarded for this with nickers all around.

Thank you, Lei, for a wonderful evening.

Walker and Mav on a Different Timeline

I realized today that Mav and Walker are on two very different timelines, but that playing with Maverick is helping me to accelerate my learning in helping my partnership with Walker. Walker has become so much more left brained of late that the same strategies I am using in playing with Mav are helping me to play with Walker as he becomes a more centered horse. 

And the help is reciprocal. Because I learned so much in playing with Walker, it has really helped me be more progressive with Mav. Like yesterday in the park. I wasn't sure how Mav would do, just the two of us pretty far away from the barn, but he was very calm. It probably did not hurt that is was about 95 degrees out with hardly a breeze to stir Mav's mane. First, I threw the rope over his back then backed away a couple of steps. I waited about five minutes, and continued to be calm. Then I stepped back about 5 steps, still calm, never stopped grazing. Then we moved to another spot where it would be easier for me to sit, and I stepped about 10 paces away. He remained calm and grazing. 

So, we followed an amazing day online and freestyle riding with this grazing Liberty session, things that took me years to accomplish with Walker. As much as my horses are becoming transformed, I am becoming transformed right along with them.

Walker grazes at Liberty and ...

Walker is becoming a much more centered horse. When he gets more extroverted, he is much more the LBE than the RBE. When his left brained side kicks in and his energy comes up, that can be quite a challenge, but also quite a lot of fun. What an amazing partner he is becoming. To think, before I found him, he was headed for someone's dinner plate.

Too hot to do much...

I did not have the energy to do much today, between work and the heat. So a little time out front, some hose downs, that was what we did today. Bringing Maverick, Bingo and Walker out together is always fun, sometimes surprising, sometimes challenging. Today was no exception!

A Stroll in the Park

I decided that today would be a good day to get Mav out on the trail. Granted, the trail would amount to a stroll across the street into the park, but you have to start somewhere.

So my plan was this: play in the indoor arena with the touch it game and the circle game to warm him up and get connected with me. Which is exactly what I did. Mav wants to mow down every obstacle that gets in his way; today I asked him just to put his nose on things. It was hard for him to do it; he just wanted to crash into everything. Eventually he slowed down before each obstacle, cone, barrel, whatever and just stood there. I thought that was good enough for today.

Then we did some circle game with changes of direction, and he offered the last change of direction just by my turning slightly to back up. Green light!; time to head out the front gate.

Vicki and Jet were out there too, which was probably a good thing for Mav to start out. However, as soon as we got to where they were standing, Mav went right past them with his ears at attention, taking everything in. He was keenly curious and attentively alert. He did not feel nervous, but his energy was up.

I tried to turn him to go back to Vicki and Jet, but he wasn’t having it. He was having too much fun walking around and checking everything out. There were birds scattered over the lake and in the trees. People were fishing along the banks of the lake on either side of us. Some locals were walking their dogs. He saw it all with great interest, so I let him wander around and satisfy his curiosity. 

Vicki decided if Mav was moving in that direction anyway, she would ask Jet to go down the hill towards the water to graze where the grass is really lush. With Mav there, Jet had the courage of the herd with him. Mav went down the hill quite skillfully and settled next to the water to graze.

We spent about 15 minutes there, chatting while the horses grazed. Mav kept moving ever so subtly towards the water. I had the feeling that given the chance, he might venture in there, so I moved him gently away from the waterline. I also had some unpleasant thoughts about snakes…

I don’t think Mav has ever gone up a steep slope, because as we went back, he did not want to go straight up, he wanted to go sideways instead. Eventually, it was down to the lake or back up the hill, so he pointed his nose up the hill and cantered slowly up the bank. That was fun, but he will have to learn to collect himself and walk up hill, something for us to play with.

At that point, we did some figure eights around the trees, which Mav did very well. We grazed a little longer before Vicki needed to leave, and I thought Mav would likely want to go with them. When they turned to go back to the barn, I turned Mav to go with them, but he got very sticky feet. He did NOT want to go back. What a fantastic feeling. He wanted to hang with me and graze in the park. It just does not get better than that.

Maverick Maturing as a Horse-Man

Mav at the hose down area

Mav and I had a fabulous play session online and freestyle. First, online, I have been using one feather line to see if our communication is getting better, and it is. We played with a six cone weave, which we did very slowly at first, then at the trot, and he did it really well. We will start playing with doing it at longer distances soon. 

We also played with the circle game transitions, and when I am good at getting his attention, he does extremely well, even the canter, both left and right. Just lovely. I have been playing with lightly drawing Mav back into the circle when he veers off a bit. I really want to be as light as possible so he never gets dull. It would be so easy to make an LBI dull. 

Then we moved on to to freestyle. It has been so hot, I did not feel like putting a saddle on him, so we rode bareback. He had some good energy, so I was hopeful that would translate into our riding. We rode the rail doing transitions, walk, trot, walk, stop, back up and after one turn around the arena, he offered the canter going left, bareback and bridle less. I had one carrot stick and he was wearing a halter with the fluidity reins attached, but I never touched them. Fantastic! 

Then we did the same to the right, and he offered the canter again, picking up the right lead immediately. This is a big deal for Mav, as he has not felt good going that way at the canter, and this time, it was relaxed and rhythmic. It tells me his feet are feeling good. We stopped, I rubbed him and fed him cookies; he knew he had really earned them. 

Then we played with the weave, and when he softened all the way through the weave, we stopped and I fed him cookies again. Then we worked on our spin, doing it slowly now, but getting even right and left. He just gets softer and softer doing it, so we will be able to play with our speed pretty soon. What a fantastic session. 

I was sure he would want to roll in the arena dirt after I took the pad off, but he just hung out with me. I think he knew we had a little magic today, and he wanted to savor it with me. Then I took him to get a nice long hose down, and tucked him in for the night. He gave me his ears at attention until I turned the corner to leave the barn. As I got into my truck, I thought how amazing it is that a 52 year old woman could be playing with a four year old hunk of a horse like Maverick. I am blessed.

Walker is picking up my hat!

About 9 months ago, Walker started pulling his supplement containers out of the bucket hanging in front of his stall with his teeth when I would be grooming him. It occured to me that I could take advantage of this by rewarding him for doing so with cookies. Before long, he started to pull out whatever I put in there for a cookie reward. 

It wasn't long before he was picking up my hat with his teeth from the top of my tack box. Then from the ground in front of the box, and now from the arena floor. 

This weekend, without any hints from me, he started plucking tools from the hanging rack in the arena. First, the feather lines, then his halter, even the carrot sticks. All this from my right brained extrovert. What an amazing horse!

 

Thanks, Wendy, for capturing Walker being so cute!

Happiness is the Foundation

It has occured to me over time that unlike what was modeled for me, happiness is a choice. This subject was actually brought up by Karen Rohlf recently. She talked about how she used to see her horsemanship this way: Dressage as the most basic component, the foundation of everything she did with her horses, with happiness being the ultimate goal. Now she has flipped that over, with happiness as her foundation and Dressage the ultimate goal.

Isn't it fascinating that different people from different backgrounds can come to the same conclusion. It became obvious to me years ago. It was what Parelli refers to as a BFO, a "Blinding Flash of the Obvious". I used to think that excellence in dentistry was my foundation at work, with everyone being happy as the ultimate result.

It did not take long to find out that patients really did not care about the excellence of my dentistry until they knew I was having a good day. Patients made me realize through their questions of me that they were more interested in how I was feeling that day than how good a dentist I was.

I also realized that my office team felt better when I was happy. The atmosphere of the office gradually changed: more relaxed, more productive and relationships became the centerpiece of the practice.

I now think, even without knowing it at the time, that this is what attracted me to Parelli Natural Horsemanship. It's central premise is that everything humans do with horses stems from the relationship we have with them; that horses go farther from heart and desire than coercion and intimidation.

These thoughts passed through my head as I was feeding cookies to Bingo, Maverick and Walker in the turnout yesterday. They literally swarmed me, just the three of them. None of the other horses in the turnout paid me the least attention. I don't have a relationship with them, but I do have a relationship with BMW.

So the foundation is the desire to be happy and have a relationship. Everything good we accomplish is derived from that desire and effort to be happy.

The cookies help solidify my relationship with my horses. But the relationship has to be there before the cookies really mean something. Nothing feels better than to know that they WANT to spend time with me; that they nicker at my approach; that I ask them through the gate and they come without a rope or a halter; that I get up on the mounting block and from 50 feet away, my horses come on over to start our riding play session. They come with me because they choose.

There is just no better feeling than knowing that they choose to spend time with me as much as I want to spend time with them. They are not the source of my happiness, but they do help restore me, and  they make it easier for me to be happy.