Worked Maddie alone today, doing more at the walk and challenging her to reduce her energy and deal with the environment without getting nervous or balky. In the woods I spent time tree bending and desensitizing her to all the sticks and branches. I was very surprised to learn how sensitive she is to branches. After doing a little tree bending, backing, etc, I hopped off and went to find a branch I could rub over her. As soon as I touched her with it, she contracted hard and I could barely hang on to the rein. She was going around me in a circle but in a real panic. I immediately dropped the stick and it still took everything I had to hang on and calm her down. She was crashing into small trees, careening over sticks and rotting logs, and really getting worked up. No wonder I failed to hold her the other day when I was on the ground after having just come off.
Anyway, I retreated to smaller sticks and very soon I was able to push all kinds of branches into her legs while she walked around me calmly. But I will have to repeat this again and keep working on it. Her haunches are still very electric. Similarly, I am still working to be able to rub behind the saddle when mounted. When I do this for the first time each ride, she is still squirting forward. I repeated the stick work towards the end of the ride today, and she was only marginally better. This time her haunches brushed a sapling pretty good and it really panicked her. I think the woods in general are mentally challenging for her and we will just have to keep chipping away at this.
We worked in the Schumann's outdoor arena again and Maddie was really making nice circles. I am now working on getting her straight on the diagonal and the centerline. Canter departs on the left lead were ugly--only got the correct lead about 50% of the time today. At the walk her renvers is coming along, which will be key to improving her canter leads. Getting some half pass to the left now, too. All in all, a fun, solid ride.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
left bend left bend left bend...
A somewhat shorter and more intense session today. The trails were wet so I just went next door and worked in the outdoor arena. This was the first time for her in this arena, and it took her about 10 minutes to settle down. Even then, for the entire session she would occasionally revert to spookiness and drunkenness. This arena is an olympic sized (and groomed) affair, so I worked on straight lines and round circles. In between trot and canter work I focused on shoulder in and developing renvers/half pass/turn on the forehand with opposite flexion/etc. The left bend is still her glaring weakness. I made some progress and finally saw some honest half pass to the left. But her natural position is bent to the right, that is for sure. In shoulder in to the left, it's easy to be fooled by a neck that is mostly bent to the left, but her nose is tipped out. I experimented with different combinations of hand and leg to help her along.
It's so much fun to canter a horse that does not want to run away! She really has an honest canter. Towards the end I had to be careful when transitioning to trot that she did not die out. I also did a lot of walk-trot transitions on circles, using inside rein to keep her from contracting.
It's so much fun to canter a horse that does not want to run away! She really has an honest canter. Towards the end I had to be careful when transitioning to trot that she did not die out. I also did a lot of walk-trot transitions on circles, using inside rein to keep her from contracting.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
2nd session
Went back at 4:00 for a quickie, which was a solid hour of riding after all. Did a little work on the Irish steps at the Kind's cc course, cantered around a couple of hay fields, and visited a couple of barns. My driving aids are really coming along, and I think my timing overall has improved. A couple of times when she was stuck, I only had to reach for the flogger and she jumped forward. A little tree bending, a couple of jumps, and a bunch of canter departs. I've also started practicing backing and little rollbacks.
The walk of shame...
Outstanding ride this morning, I mean it! Learned a lot and accomplished a lot. I went out early to get a session in before my noon class at the Y. Maddie walked out well. I was riding with a dressage whip for the first time with her. Today I decided to wait out her slowdown spooks until she came to a complete halt, then ask her to move off again. I wanted to get out of the pattern we had started, and to try and be very black and white about it. She would start to really really walk slowly around something spooky, but I decided that as long as she was moving, I would leave her alone. This strategy worked well and I think we made progress on her confidence.
Rode up to the Schumann's and chatted with Jane for a few minutes. The dog gave us some good barks but Maddie did not notice. Maddie stood very well and let Jane pet her.
We spent about 20 minutes in the outdoor arena. Circles are getting rounder, and canter departs are coming along. Did a little bit of lateral work. We took some of Wendy's jumps, both around the pasture and in the woods. After a jump series in the woods I let her rest, and she managed to step into a pretty large branch that was on the ground. The branch got caught up in her feet and slapped her on the hindquarters. When she started to dance, I came off in a slow, undignified slide to the right. I had a good grip on the reins, but I was on my back and she just kept dancing and prancing. I tried calming her down but she would not shut down. After about 20 seconds I let go of the reins and she trotted off. Never looked back. Aaaaargh!
I called Maria at home and started walking in the direction Maddie had taken. It was 20 minutes before I got to the Kind's. Maddie was not there, but Maria was there tacking up Jordan. She headed out and I hopped in the truck to go find that mare. I found Maddie in a plowed field off of 7 Mile Rd. and it was no problem to walk out and catch her. Once she saw it was me, she trotted towards me a bit and then halted and waited for me to walk up to her. Jane helped me as I parked the truck in a safe place and found my helmet. I rode Maddie back to the farm without incident.
I'm not particularly concerned about coming off today. Maddie did nothing wrong or vicious, and 14hh horses were made for dumb-asses like me that can't stay in the saddle. We will work harder to get her hindquarters desensitized, and I'll try to react quicker next time. I know that she would not have spooked like this in the company of another horse, and that pretty soon even this kind of mental challenge will be easy for her.
Rode up to the Schumann's and chatted with Jane for a few minutes. The dog gave us some good barks but Maddie did not notice. Maddie stood very well and let Jane pet her.
We spent about 20 minutes in the outdoor arena. Circles are getting rounder, and canter departs are coming along. Did a little bit of lateral work. We took some of Wendy's jumps, both around the pasture and in the woods. After a jump series in the woods I let her rest, and she managed to step into a pretty large branch that was on the ground. The branch got caught up in her feet and slapped her on the hindquarters. When she started to dance, I came off in a slow, undignified slide to the right. I had a good grip on the reins, but I was on my back and she just kept dancing and prancing. I tried calming her down but she would not shut down. After about 20 seconds I let go of the reins and she trotted off. Never looked back. Aaaaargh!
I called Maria at home and started walking in the direction Maddie had taken. It was 20 minutes before I got to the Kind's. Maddie was not there, but Maria was there tacking up Jordan. She headed out and I hopped in the truck to go find that mare. I found Maddie in a plowed field off of 7 Mile Rd. and it was no problem to walk out and catch her. Once she saw it was me, she trotted towards me a bit and then halted and waited for me to walk up to her. Jane helped me as I parked the truck in a safe place and found my helmet. I rode Maddie back to the farm without incident.
I'm not particularly concerned about coming off today. Maddie did nothing wrong or vicious, and 14hh horses were made for dumb-asses like me that can't stay in the saddle. We will work harder to get her hindquarters desensitized, and I'll try to react quicker next time. I know that she would not have spooked like this in the company of another horse, and that pretty soon even this kind of mental challenge will be easy for her.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Jump day in the woods
Looong ride with Maria on Jordan today. Maria is impatient with anything that smacks of training, so it was primarily an opportunity to put miles on Maddie. We did a little bit of tree-bending when Maria wasn't looking, and some lateral work. Starting to develop a transition from shoulder-in to haunches in, with either the same bend, or a change of bend. I'm happy with her progress.
We felt a little bad tacking up Jordan and Maddie when we arrived at the farm. The herd was camped out in the mud lot, every horse sitting down and soaking up the sun. We are so pleased that Maddie has a group to hang out with. They get turnout on green pasture twice a day.
Pleased to report that her left canter was clean today, without jumping into the cross canter. In fact, once or twice she even chose the left canter herself. So I'm feeling pretty good about her gaits today. I pushed her out front when she was ready for it, but overall I tried to avoid provoking conflict with her today. A couple of times when she was out front she came to a dead standstill over something that concerned her, but I just waited for Jordan to pass us and she walked on. This happens primarily at the walk, but she has shut down from the trot or canter, too. She will always walk forward when Jordan is out front, no matter what is concerning her. At one place where Jordan did not want to pass, Maddie led the way in a super-calm fashion (while poor Maria was 50 feet behind me trying to get Jordan to stop rearing).
Lots of strong trot and canter today, and we took a bunch of jumps in the woods. Maria could not believe it! These were the biggest jumps to date--some honest 2 footers. Maddie felt so smooth and solid! She showed no signs of refusing, and she took beautiful arcs and perfect take-offs, every time.
We felt a little bad tacking up Jordan and Maddie when we arrived at the farm. The herd was camped out in the mud lot, every horse sitting down and soaking up the sun. We are so pleased that Maddie has a group to hang out with. They get turnout on green pasture twice a day.
Pleased to report that her left canter was clean today, without jumping into the cross canter. In fact, once or twice she even chose the left canter herself. So I'm feeling pretty good about her gaits today. I pushed her out front when she was ready for it, but overall I tried to avoid provoking conflict with her today. A couple of times when she was out front she came to a dead standstill over something that concerned her, but I just waited for Jordan to pass us and she walked on. This happens primarily at the walk, but she has shut down from the trot or canter, too. She will always walk forward when Jordan is out front, no matter what is concerning her. At one place where Jordan did not want to pass, Maddie led the way in a super-calm fashion (while poor Maria was 50 feet behind me trying to get Jordan to stop rearing).
Lots of strong trot and canter today, and we took a bunch of jumps in the woods. Maria could not believe it! These were the biggest jumps to date--some honest 2 footers. Maddie felt so smooth and solid! She showed no signs of refusing, and she took beautiful arcs and perfect take-offs, every time.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Two kinds of spooks
Today was VERY windy and I was so impressed with how Maddie handled it. I was all alone and tacking up was the calmest it's been since the Pink Barn. She sat still and seemed relaxed. Before mounting, I worked on her lateral flexion, which has just been getting duller and duller. This is strange to me, since the last two horses I worked with got so light so quickly. With Maddie I am focusing on picking up contact more gradually and trying not to surprise her. I made progress today, but it's going to take some time to get the lightness back that we had at the Pink Barn.
Maddie walked out pretty well, just sticking a little bit in the driveway. Once we were in the woods, she did not have trouble moving forward. I found a place where we could work on "tree bending," where I ask her to bend around a tree, come to halt, back up, and repeat on the other side. She softened well and we were able to move up to the trot. We repeated this exercise off and on for the rest of the ride. She was changing sides fairly well and a couple of times she was showing the beginnings of sitting on her haunches and coming across in front.
After a bit of work in the woods, we walked out into the fields and went to visit some new farms. She alternated between relaxation, electric spook, and dead-duck spook. Let me explain.
"Dead-duck spook" is the most frustrating. Maddie will see something (today that included an excavator, a yard full of trailers and equipment, a flapping vinyl fence, and several undetermined stimuli) and come to a DEAD stop. Dead, nothing. No movement, not particularly upset, just unwilling to pick up a leg and take a step forward, despite me giving her everything I have (legs, end of the reins, crop, flogger). Her lateral flexion and yielding of hindquarters is also very poor in this configuration. Today I took some advice from John Lyons and tried to keep her moving in other directions, then offering her the direction I want. This helped a lot, but at one point she found all points of the compass equally spooky and she just sat still. I could not even turn her around to go home. Surprisingly, it was in an open area along a fenceline with friendly, calm horses in the pasture and no buildings nearby, on a hilltop with a good view in all directions. To get out of there I had to back her up. Once we were 100 feet away, moving towards home, she reverted to "electric spook."
"Electric spook" is when Maddie is dancing in her gait with a high head and zero softness in any part of her body, ready to canter or bolt with the slightest encouragement from me or the environment. In this situation I can either pet her on her neck, go into a smooth posting trot, or yield her hindquarters and try bringing her attention back to me. Tree bending is especially helpful for electric spook. She at least has movement and some working controls, so I find electric spook much more preferable than dead duck spook.
We worked a bit in the Schumann's outdoor arena, making fairly round 15m circles at the trot, and doing a lot of canter departs. She cross fired again at one point. We also went into the woods and did a few more jumps. She has not shown any problems with going over simple log jumps. Good impulsion, no sign of refusal, and no over jump. I'm really pleased with that.
Finished a great ride (close to 2 hrs, I'd say) and I threw her back with the herd. No one looked up when she entered the mud lot. Maddie rolled and munched on some hay.
Maddie walked out pretty well, just sticking a little bit in the driveway. Once we were in the woods, she did not have trouble moving forward. I found a place where we could work on "tree bending," where I ask her to bend around a tree, come to halt, back up, and repeat on the other side. She softened well and we were able to move up to the trot. We repeated this exercise off and on for the rest of the ride. She was changing sides fairly well and a couple of times she was showing the beginnings of sitting on her haunches and coming across in front.
After a bit of work in the woods, we walked out into the fields and went to visit some new farms. She alternated between relaxation, electric spook, and dead-duck spook. Let me explain.
"Dead-duck spook" is the most frustrating. Maddie will see something (today that included an excavator, a yard full of trailers and equipment, a flapping vinyl fence, and several undetermined stimuli) and come to a DEAD stop. Dead, nothing. No movement, not particularly upset, just unwilling to pick up a leg and take a step forward, despite me giving her everything I have (legs, end of the reins, crop, flogger). Her lateral flexion and yielding of hindquarters is also very poor in this configuration. Today I took some advice from John Lyons and tried to keep her moving in other directions, then offering her the direction I want. This helped a lot, but at one point she found all points of the compass equally spooky and she just sat still. I could not even turn her around to go home. Surprisingly, it was in an open area along a fenceline with friendly, calm horses in the pasture and no buildings nearby, on a hilltop with a good view in all directions. To get out of there I had to back her up. Once we were 100 feet away, moving towards home, she reverted to "electric spook."
"Electric spook" is when Maddie is dancing in her gait with a high head and zero softness in any part of her body, ready to canter or bolt with the slightest encouragement from me or the environment. In this situation I can either pet her on her neck, go into a smooth posting trot, or yield her hindquarters and try bringing her attention back to me. Tree bending is especially helpful for electric spook. She at least has movement and some working controls, so I find electric spook much more preferable than dead duck spook.
We worked a bit in the Schumann's outdoor arena, making fairly round 15m circles at the trot, and doing a lot of canter departs. She cross fired again at one point. We also went into the woods and did a few more jumps. She has not shown any problems with going over simple log jumps. Good impulsion, no sign of refusal, and no over jump. I'm really pleased with that.
Finished a great ride (close to 2 hrs, I'd say) and I threw her back with the herd. No one looked up when she entered the mud lot. Maddie rolled and munched on some hay.
Monday, March 26, 2012
stuff to work on
I went over to the barn after teaching my spin class and together Chuck & I let Maddie out into one of his pastures, along with Chuck's morab, Moses. We put the other two, more dominant horses into the other pasture. Maddie did great and there were no fireworks. After 30 minutes we put Maddie into her stall and everyone else back into the mud lot.
Around 3:00 I came back and went out on the trails with Chuck on Moses. We took the river trail and I spent some time working Maddie around trees while Chuck walked ahead. Along 7 mile road we picked up the canter and Maddie bolted when a noisy truck came by. I had to circle into a wheat field to get her under control. Not my favorite thing to do on a horse! But she calmed down quickly after that, and it only took a half-circle to get her walking. But there were some serious gallop steps in there, I assure you.
A little further along we took a string of at least 8 jumps in the woods, which Maddie really did an amazing job on. These were all log-sized jumps, but it still felt great going over them. She waited for them and did not over jump. She also timed her takeoff well at the canter. Unfortunately, a herd of horses (the same herd that rattled us a couple of days ago) could see us in the woods and came galloping by the fence line, which was only 50 feet away. Maddie picked up on their energy and I had to ask Chuck to come to a walk to stop Maddie from tearing away from me. We ended up on Moses' rump, but no harm done. To get out of there we had to walk directly along the fence line, which was difficult for Maddie to do. The herd was tearing around and she was really feeding off of it. I had to sidepass Maddie to keep her in hand.
After we got back to the barn, I went out alone with Maddie to start working on her weaknesses. She is showing a real lack of confidence in the lead, so I wanted her to be by herself for a bit. When alone, she can spook at strange things and sometimes I find us cutting off the corner of a field, Maddie sidepassing her way around something that doesn't look right to her. At certain points it was just about impossible to get her moving at all. At other times, we could trot or canter with ease. I am also finding that her bend and one-rein stop are very poor when she is like this. So I am going to really work on her confidence and her impulsion this week. Overall, my plan is to hold off on working her in any arenas for a few days and get her trail work while alone better. She needs to give me bend whenever I ask for it, hold her gaits, be able to trot in small circles, and go forward whenever I ask.
During one stretch, I picked up the left lead (her favorite lead is her right) and after about ten strides she began cross cantering and was really stuck there. We also saw her cross canter earlier in the day when she was turned out in the pasture.
When I got back, the 3 horses were out in a pasture together and I put Maddie out there with them. None of the horses paid her any attention and they were all happily munching on grass together. Chuck & I decided to try putting them all together in the mud lot for the night. Diego, the alpha, gave Maddie a few dirty looks, but she trotted away each time and it did not look like there would be trouble. We decided to leave Maddie with the herd for the night. So Maddie finally has a herd! I am so happy. She can move around, roll in the sand, and be part of a group. Chuck will turn them all out in the morning for an hour of pasture. Lucky mare!
A little further along we took a string of at least 8 jumps in the woods, which Maddie really did an amazing job on. These were all log-sized jumps, but it still felt great going over them. She waited for them and did not over jump. She also timed her takeoff well at the canter. Unfortunately, a herd of horses (the same herd that rattled us a couple of days ago) could see us in the woods and came galloping by the fence line, which was only 50 feet away. Maddie picked up on their energy and I had to ask Chuck to come to a walk to stop Maddie from tearing away from me. We ended up on Moses' rump, but no harm done. To get out of there we had to walk directly along the fence line, which was difficult for Maddie to do. The herd was tearing around and she was really feeding off of it. I had to sidepass Maddie to keep her in hand.
After we got back to the barn, I went out alone with Maddie to start working on her weaknesses. She is showing a real lack of confidence in the lead, so I wanted her to be by herself for a bit. When alone, she can spook at strange things and sometimes I find us cutting off the corner of a field, Maddie sidepassing her way around something that doesn't look right to her. At certain points it was just about impossible to get her moving at all. At other times, we could trot or canter with ease. I am also finding that her bend and one-rein stop are very poor when she is like this. So I am going to really work on her confidence and her impulsion this week. Overall, my plan is to hold off on working her in any arenas for a few days and get her trail work while alone better. She needs to give me bend whenever I ask for it, hold her gaits, be able to trot in small circles, and go forward whenever I ask.
During one stretch, I picked up the left lead (her favorite lead is her right) and after about ten strides she began cross cantering and was really stuck there. We also saw her cross canter earlier in the day when she was turned out in the pasture.
When I got back, the 3 horses were out in a pasture together and I put Maddie out there with them. None of the horses paid her any attention and they were all happily munching on grass together. Chuck & I decided to try putting them all together in the mud lot for the night. Diego, the alpha, gave Maddie a few dirty looks, but she trotted away each time and it did not look like there would be trouble. We decided to leave Maddie with the herd for the night. So Maddie finally has a herd! I am so happy. She can move around, roll in the sand, and be part of a group. Chuck will turn them all out in the morning for an hour of pasture. Lucky mare!
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