Monday, April 30, 2012

worked in rd pen

I watched CA grade some students on video this afternoon so I had to get out there and work with Jake and Raven in the Rd pen to see what I could do with them. I would probably have gotten a c+ or a b from him. It was really slippery with the rain, I almost fell a couple times as I was backing up to ask them to turn in, so I had to take it a little earsier than I probably would have. But these horses know this exercise and I was just trying to see where we were at. I haven't really worked them in a month or so. However, they gave me some good turns and didn't lollygag through them too much. I got after them to speed them up. Raven does the best at it. I hardly have to ask her and she does what I ask of her. I probably worked them 15 or 20 minutes each in the pen. I had just ate dinner too, so that wasn't a very good idea. Round penning on a full stomach is like trying to exercise on a full stomach. It doesn't work out too good. Anyway, I worked them and then had them follow me around and stop in the center. I then worked on having them keep two eyes on me and put their head in the middle of my chest and leave it there while I rubbed on them. They get the idea. Whenever they took two eyes off me they had to move until they gave them back and then they could just rest and be rubbed. Who wouldn't like that, eh? They learn quick. I finished each of them with about 5 minuters of that then let them out. It was raining so I didn't want them all sweated up either in this dampness. I thought I better get some work done with them before this weekend because I have another horse coming on Saturday and potentially two other horses to work with in the near future so I might not get much time with my own horses. Well time to go so adios!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Draw to a stop

I had a chance to ride Raven today. I read on in the DUH journal about the Drawing to a Stop exercise and realized I hadn't been doing it right. It is designed to get softness in the horse. Something Clinton said struck a chord with me in my memory that you can get vertical flexion without first having lateral flexion. If a horse is straight they are bracey. So I wanted to try this on Raven. I have always had a tough time with softness with her. So when I tried the exercise using the steps of slight lateral flexion first then pick up the other rein to get vertical flexion. I worked on this several times during the ride and couldn't believe the softness and how quick it worked. Then I started asking of leg yields too. This was great. I finally got it with this process. I started actually drawing her to a stop and have to work on the stop more but she did real well and I had a good time doing it. I think I will work on this for the next several rides on her.

Friday, April 6, 2012

day 13

This was yesterday.
Worked with Caesar a short time in pen then back at field. I did some gw with him and then asked him to go in the trailer. It only took a little coaxing and he stepped in. I let him have a 5 minute rest. Then we started working again and then sent him the trailer. He went right in. I let him rest again. All that took about 20 minutes or so. Then I got him out and saddled him. He was the most relaxed yet. He stood real quiet. We did some gw which he was real relaxed at, even when I asked him to trot. So I got on him and we went for a short ride. I took him down the power line to go play in the water again. I balked at the big ditch by the road so after a few minutes I got off and sent him into the water a few times then got back on and he went across for me. We did this twice then back out and trotted back towards home. We did some loping too. He has a real nice lope. I got him unsaddled and loaded up in the trailer loaded the rest of my stuff and took him home. He was glad to be there and so was Dakota his partner.
Mission accomlished with him: 1. to get the buck out of him; 2. to get him to load in the trailer real nice.
I have another horse coming at the beginning of May and will keep you posted about him.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Day 12

What a day today was. It started out great. A quick rd pen, then backing all the way down the trail to my riding area. He did real good. Then, I put him to work with the gw exercises only this time whenever he rested it was at the trailer door. I walked him right in and he rested. Then back out to work again then walked him in the trailer to rest. Then back out and he worked then I wanted to send him into the trailer. He wouldn't go so we went back to work. I offered the trailer a second time and he put both feet in and backed right out so we worked again. A few more times at this and he ran right into the trailer. I let him rest about five minutes. Then he came out on his own and we went to work. I offered again, but he regressed. He walks right in behind me, but I want him to go in on his own.
So then I saddled him. He has never been so relaxed with that. I moved him off and Lisa he was real relaxed even going into a nice gentle trot. I worked him gw and he was real relaxed so I got on and we went for a ride. We started out just trotting 3 laps around in both directions. He wanted to lope so we did he went all the way around but when we got back to the trailer area he didn't want to go any farther. It took some coaxing by me but we got by it. This happened three times, and finally he realized we were going to keep going so he just gave in. It was then that we went on the power line to the water ditch and the road. He balked several times but a little foot work and he was willing to move on. We got to the water and had fun there crossing and wading back and forth in it. We crossed the one at the road a couple times then we came back and got unsaddled and went back to work on the trailer. This time it didn't take long and he walked right in. He had been working for about an hour and a half and was ready to rest. So I asked him to go in the trailer. He walked right in. I let him rest for five minutes and we then went back to the barn. He was done for the day. He did a great job. He needs alot more riding to put a handle on him for good steering and such, but He has come along way. in two weeks.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Day 11

Ok, this was a good day even better than yesterday. I found a very willing horse to work with. A short time in the rd pen and then off to the back field. I had the trailer all set up so I wasn't really trying to get him in it because I still had the gw and riding to do, but I did the gw and let him rest next to the trailer. He even put both feet in. But we had other things to do yet. So I saddled him and boy did that go real well. He stood and took it like a good horse should. Even when we moved off and did YH and YF and back ups. He was so relaxed that by the time I asked him to trot he had no problem. Then it was time to get on. He flexed real good and we started off. Do you know he offered to trot and then canter right away. However, when we got to the other end where we were stopping yesterday he did not like it that we kept going after a minute or so. But we did some laps trotting and if he offered a nice lope I let him go. We did this a few laps around and then just worked on getting him to follow his nose. When it was time I took the saddle off and started working with him to go into the trailer. We just did the progressive thing getting him to put his head in then both feet and finally without too much pressure I walked him right in. Let him have a good rest. Then back out to do all over. All in all he went in and out 4 times. Now I led him in, but that is ok. Tomorrow we will workon getting him more used to being in the trailer and even wanting to be sent into it.
He goes home on Thursday evening so he is going to have to get good at loading before then.

Monday, April 2, 2012

day 10

I had to give C the day off yesterday. We had the grandkids over for the night. We rode my horses instead among other things. However, today I was able to go to work with him this afternoon. We started off great in the round pen then moved to the riding area. Here I
we went through the gw and went back to the water trough ditch and worked on that for a while. When we got back I saddled him and started sending him off a little to early cause he got a little antsy with me. Then when I started YH he bit me on the elbow to which I responded like a banshee and made him think he was going to die, literally. Then he straightened right up. I lunged him some more than got on and rode around for a while at the trot. He still is having a hard time following his nose in certain spots and at certain times. It will just take time to work that out of him. I loped him from one end of the arena to the other several times giving him a rest at each end. IT wasn't long before he was loping when asked with my seat position rather than squeezing with legs or spanking.
Lisa, his owner came over for a lesson with him. We started off with going over the gw and then she saddled him and he did very well. He remained relaxed, even when she finally asked for a trot from him. Then it was time to get on him. He did well for her, but exhibited some of the same traits of wanting to be done so he would drift over to where he goes back to the barn or he would want to stop. However, she did a good job at keeping him on task even though he had been worked longer than he ever has in his life. It was good for him.
Tomorrow will be more of the same, only I am going to work with him going in and out of the trailer. I got that fixed today so we are ready to go with that.
That is all for now.