Twosox: Playing around the shelter

March 31 2010

This morning I went out and played with Twosox. I went out extra early so that I could play with him before I had to trim Knightly. We didn't go up to the riding ring but stayed in the corral and played in and around the shelter. Twosox is really unconfident going in there because it is small and not much room to move around if the other horses come in. So I decided to play with that today. I did a little bit with Twosox on Monday and we played in the shelter but not a whole lot. It is important that he goes in there because that is where the salt and Hoffman's minerals are so if he doesn't go in he won't get any. At first he was really worried about even putting his head in so we played with that. Doing a lot of approach and retreat. Then we did some yo-yo's in and out, in and out etc etc until he was okay with that. After that we just did different things. I backed Twosox into the shelter from 20ft away, and some other things. Then to end I asked Twosox to stand at the back and we just hung out there for a while. A couple minutes after that Twosox really relaxed and started yawning and licking and chewing. It was so nice to see him relaxing instead of having a high head and being really tense. Twosox even started eating some of the Hoffman's minerals! Hooray! Success! When I took the halter off Twosox just stood there sleeping until I left and then he left. Hopefully he will go in there by himself now. 

Naturally,

~Keri

Ruffian: Transitions, Weaving, and just having fun!

March 30 2010

Wow! What a play time with Ruffian! He was incredible! This time after I haltered him he didn't go internal so that was really good. Once we were up in the riding ring we did some circles and other stuff. We had a blast! I was surprised that Ruffian didn't seem to have a whole lot of energy! He was happy to go and happy to slow down. We did some circles, change of directions, and transitions. I still can't believe how amazing Ruffian's transitions are! He listens so well and does exactly what I ask. It was so cool!


Then I set the two barrels up their ends and asked Ruffy to jump them. He wasn't even cantering and he flew right over them like it was nothing! He is so athletic! After that I asked Ruffy to sniff his tail. The first try wasn't very successful but the next time he did it perfectly! He tried to hard and did so well! Then we did the Weave pattern at the trot. Ruffy offered a really nice slow trot and I hardly had to direct him at all! He did most of it! It was lots of fun :)

After that I decided to ride Ruffy for a little bit. He did really well. We did some Figure eights, follow the rail, direct and indirect rein, 9 step back up and we started sideways. Ruffy layed down and rolled once but I made it off safely ;) It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. It has only happened to me once before and that was a most four years ago so it has been a while! After Ruffy finished rolling I got back on and off we went again. All in all it was a good ride. Ruffy did well.

It was a really great play time and we both had a lot of fun. Ruffy really seemed to be partnering with me and he was so willing to try! It was great!

Naturally,
~Keri

Prince: Stick to me, Circles and more!

March 30 2010

This morning I played with Prince. It was so nice outside! Yesterday it snowed so I didn't get a chance to play other than a little bit with Twosox at Liberty in the corral. So it was great to be back outside! Prince and Ruffian were up in the riding ring when I went out so I went up there to see them. They both looked pretty happy to see me. I spent some time just rubbing them before I haltered Prince. Before I actually haltered him we did a little bit of Touch it and Stick to me at Liberty. It was fun! 

After I haltered Prince we did some Touch it and sideways and then we did some Stick to me, walk, trot and canter. I am starting to ask Prince to cantering in straight lines instead of us doing it in circles. That is going really well and today we made huge progress! At first Prince wasn't as in tune with me so we had to play with that but by the end he was really in tune with me! It was cool! We cantered in a straight line all the way to the other side of the riding ring! 

Then I decided to play with our circles. Prince did really well and did so well but since our riding ring is small all of our obstacles are every where so there isn't really any clear space. Which is fine for the most part but today they were in the way. Prince was cantering a long and wasn't able to do a good circle because he had to watch out for where he was going and so he ended up getting worried. So I had to stop and move all the obstacles from the one end of the riding ring so that we could play with our maintaining gait at the canter with out Prince tripping over everything. Prince did much better and looked way more relaxed. Plus he had slack in the line. So after that we did some transitions and change of directions which Prince did really well with. We got some really nice walk to canter transitions! 

Then I asked Prince to jump the barrels while he was coming into me (like we did last day) He got it on the first try! Hooray! He learns to quickly! This time we were able to go the whole pattern and I was backed him back to the barrel after he jumped it. So that was really cool! We also did a little bit of one line zone 5 driving. And every once and a while I would ask Prince to do a spin and keep going in the same direction but the rope would be on the other side. He did those really well (that was another thing that we did on Saturday!) 

Prince stayed with me after I let him go and so we walked down the hill and into the corral together. So all in all it was a great play time and I will know for next time what to do before we do our circles!:)

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: Having fun in Online, Liberty, and Freestyle.

March 27 2010

So this afternoon I played with Prince. We had a lot of fun and played in three savvies, Online, Liberty and Freestyle... well I guess four because we did a little bit of Finesse. Before I start though I just wanted to share what happened this morning while my mom and I were cleaning the corral.

While Mom and I were out cleaning the corral Prince layed down. So when Mom took a load of manure out I went over to see Prince. Over the winter every chance I have gotten I have went to him while he was lying down. Sometimes he would stay down and other time he would get up. But I was just happy that Prince would let me get any where near him while he was lying down. When we first got Prince he didn't trust anyone near him while he was lying down. If you walked out the front door he would be up right away. So slowly but surely he has gotten more and more comfortable with people around him. So today I went over to see him and he was fine with that. So I sat down beside him and rubbed him for a while until Mom came back. I did this every time Mom took a load out (we were rotating who took the load out). I was surprised how long Prince stayed down but it was nice because it gave me a chance to leave and then come back and so on. One time I decided to lean on Prince and he was fine with that so the next time I came back I decided to see if he was okay with me sitting on his one side. At first he wasn't to happy about it. He pinned his ears and tried to bite me. So I just blocked him and then when he put his ears forward I would get off. I did this a couple times until he was okay with me sitting there. Even though I was there I wasn't putting a whole lot of weight on him. So the next time I came back I tried actually sitting on him and putting my weight on him. He was perfectly fine with it! It was so cool! I sat there for a couple minutes and then I got off. I didn't actually swing my leg over but hopefully I will be able to do that soon! After that I just sat beside Prince and we hung out together. It was really a special moment! :)

Once we got up to the riding ring we smaller things, Touch it, sideways towards and away, yo-yo's and some other stuff. Then I lined the barrels up a long the fence and asked Prince to come towards me, jump the barrels and then back up to them. That was the plan but Prince offered to straddle them and thought that was the answer for we played with that. It was so much fun having something to challenge us! Slowly but surely Prince started getting the idea that I wanted him to jump the barrels. He can do it with a log but we never tried it with barrels so that is what made the difference. After a while Prince finally got it! He trotted up, jumped the barrels and came trotting to me! I was so happy! The look on his face was priceless! He knew he figured out the puzzle and was happy!

After that I stood one barrel on it's end and sent Prince off on the circle at the canter then as he was coming aroun I put the barrel in his way and guess what!?! He jumped it! He still knocked it over with his hind legs but that is okay for now. His legs are so short but he still tried really hard and almost made it! I could see that he knew what he was supposed to do it was so cool! Needless to say Prince got a long rest after that. Then I helped mom with her Figure eights and so Prince got a long rest. He was happy about that though. 

Then I got on Prince and we had a great ride. After we had ridden around for a while and did some sideways, transitions, and some other stuff I decided to try some Figure eights at the trot. Prince did soooooo  well! He only broke gait a couple times but other than that he was perfect! Since I was riding bareback and there was hill on part of the Figure eight I decided not to trot down it. So we would walk down that part and trot the rest. I was so proud of Prince! Then mom suggested we try a couple different things so we did. The first thing was trotting over a small jump. Prince didn't actually jump it but that was fine. He still trotted over it. At first it was maybe 6inches high and then after that couple squeezes over it mom raised it another 6inches or so. It was a lot of fun and hopefully Prince and I will continue progressing with that.

Then mom set up a L shaped lane with the poles and wanted me to back through the L and then around again to the where we started. Prince did so well! He put a lot of effort into it too! It was fun! Then mom asked me to go sideways over the one set of poles in the same L shape. The first try Prince didn't do so good but on the second try he did much better! The next and last thing was something we saw at a Parelli clinic. It is a type of Yo-yo game where you take one step forward and then one step back, then two steps forward and then two steps, three steps forward, three steps back and so on all the way up to ten. Prince did really well and when we got to five he put a lot  of effort into backing up. Eight, nine and ten were a little mess because I was really focused on counting and I think I was messing Prince up plus we ran into a tire... so our back up wasn't totally straight but it was still fun and something to play with!

After I got off we played at Liberty for a while. We did jumping the single barrel, straddling it, sideways towards and away, stick to me, Touch it, leading by the tail, yo-yo's, close range circles, and lots more! Prince left a couple times but he always came back.  We tried figure eights but since we weren't in a round corral Prince got lost a couple times. So we didn't continue on with those. That was okay though because even though our figure eights are really nice Online we haven't been able to really practice them at Liberty. So all in all it was a great play time! Prince and I both had fun and that is the most important thing!

Naturally,
~Keri

Twosox: 2 year anniversary

March 27 2010

Before I go into the details of the play time that Twosox and I had this morning I just wanted to say that today, March 27 2010, I have had Step of Faith aka Twosox for exactly two years! It has been a wonderful two years and I have learned so much from him! I really am looking forward to this next year with both Prince and Twosox. It will be so much fun! 

So this morning I played with Twosox. We had a lot of fun! I brushed him before we went up to the riding ring. It was warmer than it was yesterday which was so nice! Prince and Ruffy weren't in the corral when I went out so when Twosox and I went up to the riding ring Knightly left. I was surprised at how well Twosox did. The first thing we did was played with getting our Yo-yo's straighter. Then we did some sideways, Touch it, circles, and some other stuff. It was really fun! 

After that we went over to the barrel and I asked Twosox to walk up to it, jump it, and then walk after that, like we did last time. He pretty well with that then one time I accidentally relaxed a little to soon and Twosox straddled the barrel! I was really surprised that Twosox was that in tune with me! It was incredible! We played around with that for a while. It was really amazing how fast Twosox caught on. I only had to relax and Twosox would stop right over the barrel! 

Then we did some Liberty. We did some Stick to me, jumping, and some other stuff. Then I let Twosox go but he stayed with me while I got all my equipment so we went down the hill together. It was a great play time and it was a whole lot of fun! I can't believe how fast Twosox learns! It is amazing!

Naturally,

~Keri

Ruffian: Circles, Stick to me, and more!

March 26 2010

Before Mom and I left for our Parelli play day I played with Ruffian. Talk about weather change! Yesterday it was warm (even though it was windy) but today when I went out it was -10 but with the wind it felt like -20!! Wow! Bring out the winter boots, hat, coat, gloves, scarves, extra socks etc etc. It was a great day for playing with Ruffian though because you stay warm! :)

I decided not to brush Ruffy before we played like I normally do, I thought he might like the extra hair today ;) So after we went up to the riding ring. I have noticed a pattern in Ruffian that after you halter him he goes internal for a couple minutes (sometimes it happens just before I halter him also) so I will wait until he comes out of it and then we will continue. Because of this we always start off slower and then pick up the pace once Ruffy is ready. Normally by the time we get up to the riding ring Ruffy is ready to play but sometimes he needs a little bit more time. So it depends on the day. Today though he was ready to run! So we did some traveling circles at the canter. We have to travel around a bit because our riding ring isn't quite big enough plus you can put different obstacles in the way. Ruffy had a lot of energy but not like the last time we played so that was nice. :) I don't mind his energy but last times was a little too much! 

Ruffian and I had a lot of fun though... but then we always have fun! After Ruffy had run for a while I started throwing in some transitions in. I couldn't believe how in tune Ruffy was to my energy! All I had to do was relax and he would slow down and then he would speed up at a phase 2 or less! It was really neat! After that we did some Stick to me, walk, trot, back up etc. Ruffy was really in tune with me. Our back up needed a little bit more attention but Ruffian did very well over all. 

Then we did some yo-yo's. I couldn't believe how much effort Ruffy put into backing up! Cool! I asked him to back all the way out to the end of the 22ft line and then I sent him over to the barrel that was by the fence. I wanted Ruffian to jump it but I wasn't planning on asked him yet but he must have read my mind because he jumped it! And it was almost from a stand still! It was really cool! Ruffian it such a cool horse! 

After that I let Ruffian go. He stayed with me though so we spend a little bit of time just hanging out before I had to go. So even though it was cold we still had a whole lot of fun! :)

Naturally,

~Keri 

Prince: Undemanding time

March 25 2010

I was going to play with Prince this afternoon but Mom and I ended up making a gate so that cleaning the corral would be a lot easier so that took most of the afternoon and it was 3:00 until we were finished. So I decided to halter Prince and just groom him. So I spent about 1/2 an hour just hanging out with Prince and brushing him. Just for fun I picked up Prince's feet and picked them out. Prince did really well! After I took the halter off Prince stayed with me for a while and then I left. It was really nice not to do a lot with Prince and just hang out with him. 

Naturally,

~Keri

Twosox: Touch it, jumping and more!

March 25 2010

It was really windy outside when I went to play with Twosox and so he was a little spooky. I decided not to do circles because that would just make things worse so we did a lot of Touch it. I asked Twosox to put his nose on just about everything in the riding ring. Twosox did really well and when I asked him to touch things on the ground and such he tried really hard and was asking loads of questions! It was great! 

We also did some sideways, yo-yo's and jumping as single barrel. I taught Twosox to walk up to the barrel, jump it, and then walk on the other side. It took a while because Twosox would always walk up to the barrel, jump it and then trot after. But finaly he got it! It was really fun! We had a lot of fun playing and after a while neither Twosox or I even noticed the wind! 

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: Figure eights, circles, and more...

March 24 2010

This afternoon I played with Prince. I took him out to the front yard to start off with and we played out there for a while. There were a couple things that I noticed about Prince (1) His ears seemed always to be back and (2) when I asked him to do something his head seemed to be higher and (3) he wasn't licking and chewing. So I noted those three things and continued on. I figured that it could have just been because we were in a different place. We did some Figure eights, circles, transitions, change of directions, yo-yo's, sideways, and some other stuff. Prince did everything well but something wasn't right. So I decided to go up to the riding ring and play up there to see if I could figure out what was wrong. Once we were up there I decided to play around and see why Prince's ears were always back. I thought of a couple reasons and the first thing I tried was was he being dominate/ was be bored. So we did lots of different things. I got really creative with our circles and transitions (we did a Question box type game on the ground, which was really fun!) but that didn't seem to help. Prince got a little bit more interested of a look on his face but still his ears were 90% of the time back, which for Prince isn't normal. The next thing was confidence, was he unconfident? So I slowed everything right down and just did some basic stuff, then it hit me, the last time we played I had found an effective phase four in our driving game and it was possible that Prince lost confidence because of that. That seemed to be the most probable answer so I played with that. After every time I asked Prince to do something I wanted for him to lick and chew... the first time it was a long time but each time he took less and less time before he licked and chewed. That was interesting because Prince normally licks and chews right after we finish something. There was a couple times I had to get to a higher phase but I made sure I wasn't nagging and Prince responded and seemed to be more confident. Hmmm... how interesting. 

As I was standing there I was thinking over the first part of our play time and I came to the conclusion that at the beginning of our play time I was to ready to correct and I wasn't trusting enough that Prince would respond so he lost confidence. Interesting! After I let Prince go he stayed with me and didn't leave so we played at Liberty for a bit... with the corral gate open! It was cool! We did some Stick to me, Touch it, Sideways and lots of other stuff! One of the things we did was straddling a single barrel. Prince did it from a stand still... twice! It was so cool! Prince was so connected with me the whole time! So even though the beginning of our play time started off different I am really thankful that God helped me switch it around and we had an amazing ending! :)

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: Zone 5 driving, Circles and more!

March 22 2010

After lunch I played with Prince. He was lying down when I went out so I went and sat with him for a while. Then he got up and but still stayed with me so I haltered him and we went up to the riding ring. I wasn't planning on doing a whole lot with Prince but we ended up doing a lot. We started off with Figure eights. A couple days ago I was think and I realised that a lot of the things Prince and I are having a harder time with (or aren't as advanced as other things) is all because of our draw... Hmmm... How interesting. Our draw isn't broken and we still have a good draw but it is one of our weaker points. More so when we get to faster gaits. So over the last couple play sessions I have been playing with different things to improve our draw. So today when we were doing figure eights I noticed a difference. Prince was responding to my body and the belly of the rope was on the ground for 90% of the time. It was really cool!

After that we did some circles. Prince was, yet again, amazing! I had a little bit of trouble finding a place to stand in the riding ring where Prince would be able to canter and have enough room too. So I wasn't able to count how many laps he cantered but I think it was around 5. After that we did some transitions. Prince did really well. He was able to canter and then slow down and walk with out breaking out into the trot all the time. So that is progress! Plus there was slack in the rope the whole time. Prince did so well! When I asked for some change of directions Prince did really well with those too. There were a couple I didn't set up right so they weren't as nice but the others were great!

After that we played around with jumping a single barrel that was standing on its end. Prince never cleared it perfectly but he tried really hard! He is starting to get the idea now because you can just see him trying! It was really cool! Then I got the other 22ft line and we did some zone 5 driving. I decided not to use the 45ft line tied into 2 lines because the end kept getting caught on everything last time so I wasn't able to concentrate on what I was asking of Prince. The 22ft lines worked much better. I felt that I was able to be softer and more fair with them. We did the Weave at the trot (it always amazes me how fast Prince learns things! He did the Weave perfectly and only broke gait once!), Touch it, yo-yo's, circles, change of directions (they were much better this time. Prince was very responsive, part of that was me though... I was softer). I decided not to over do it this time. A couple times we actually got to the end of the lines, which is really hard for us because Prince looses motivation or something. We are starting to be able to canter on the circle now also. Which is huge! Prince is was so much lighter and it is only day two!

After that I decided to do some stick to me. So we played around with that. Prince did really well at going forward with me but when I would start backing up he would back up but not match my energy. I have known that for a lot time but I never seemed to take the time to fix it and when I brought my carrot stick it in support it Prince didn't respond any faster. So today I decided to fix that. I knew it was a broken driving game. So I played around with a couple things and it came down to the fact that my phase four was not being effective. I do have a phase four but it wasn't firm enough. I decided to play with it while driving Prince backwards. Off we went... I had to get a lot harder than I would have liked to get but it was necessary. I found an effective phase 4! Prince put more effort into backing up and doing all sorts of things. It was interesting that's for sure. After that we ended. Prince had a HUGE lick and chew. He wouldn't stop! So it much have meant something big to him. So yeah... I had a lot of thinking to do about that.

There is a TobyMac song called "I'm for you" and one line in the song is "What ever I gotta be, I be for you" and I was thinking about that was I was sitting there with Prince. I have to be what Prince needs me to be, I have to be the leader he needs me to be. If I am anything less then I am not holding up my part of the partnership. It may mean getting firmer, it may mean getting softer, it may mean a million of other things but I need to be what my horses need me to be. It may not be comfortable, I may not like it, it may mean it will take more time... but it is what Prince (and Twosox and Ruffian) need from me. It also means that if there are things that I have been avoiding, I am not being fair to my horses. I have to be what ever my horse needs me to be on that particular day...

Naturally,
~Keri   

Twosox: Figure eights, zone 5 driving and more!

March 22 2010

This morning I played with Twosox. I have decided that for the next couple days I am going to focus on Zone 5 driving with both Prince and Twosox. Of course we will do other things then just that but that will be what I focus on. So today while I was playing with Twosox I was preparing him mentally and emotionally for our driving session. I wanted to play with figure eights again also because they kind of fell apart after I had them fixed back in the winter. So we started off with that. Twosox did really well. What we did last day seemed to have helped. We did a couple figure eights and then once I got a really good one we quit. After that we did some circles, jumping, change of directions, transitions, weaving, touch it, leading by the tail and some other stuff. Twosox did very well at the weave. We did it both at the walk and trot. 

After that we did some Stick to me along the fence. Twosox was really in tune with me and listened so well! Then we did some one rein zone 5 driving. Twosox did well with that. First we went along the fence doing some transitions/ yo-yo's. After that I decided to try a weave. Twosox actually did really well considering it was with one rein! Then we switched to two line driving. Twosox did very well but I noticed that he wasn't bending his body when we were doing the figure eight. So we played with that for a while. We only did the Figure eights at the walk but Twosox did well other than the fact that he wasn't bending. I decided to play with that on the circle instead of doing it from zone 5. So we did some other things like Weaving, trotting, and some circles and then I decided to play around with getting Twosox to bend his body. Twosox caught on really quickly and tried so hard! We did close range circle in both directions. Then after Twosox was bending better we stopped. That was enough for today!

Twosox stayed with me after I un-haltered him. Prince and Ruffian were playing but that didn't bother him. He just stayed with me until I left. It is hard to believe that I have almost had him for 3 years! Time flies!

Naturally,
~Keri

Fast Fact:

In the last 6 weeks I have spent @36 hours playing with Prince, @19 hours with Twosox, and @9 hours with Ruffian. Now this is just playing with (and riding) them so that doesn't include all the time spent in the corral, scratching and just hanging out with them which I do almost every day.

Naturally,
~Keri

Prince: Online, Liberty and Freestyle...

March 20 2010

Yes, I played with all three horses today! What an amazing day! I had a couple things in mind that I wanted to play with with Prince so I set some stuff up on the riding ring and then went and caught Prince. Once we were up in the riding ring I switched to the 22ft line and we were off! We did some smaller things then we did some circles. Prince was incredible! At first we did some Change of directions and transitions then I asked Prince to canter and we did some traveling circles. At one point I asked Prince to do a change of direction and he got the rope caught under his leg so I brought him in and then sent him back out again. The really cool thing was that Prince cantered 7 laps with me in complete neutral!!!!!!!!  It was so amazing! As I have said before Prince would only maintain the canter if we were doing a traveling circle so this was huge! When I brought Prince in he came cantering in to me also! What a cool horse!!!!! Of course Prince got a long rest after that!

Then I put the 45ft line on Prince and I asked him to back in between the tires. At first he didn't go straight but after a couple tries he got straighter. So that is something we shall have to play with. Then I tied the 45ft line into two reins and we did some zone 5 driving. We did some Touch it, jumping, Weaving at a trot, sideways, yo-yo's, circles, transitions, cantering on the circle (!!!!), change of directions and lots more! Near the end I think Prince got a little bit confused as to what I was asking him but we sorted it out. It was really amazing all that Prince offered me! I still have to get better with my tools though. But it will take time... and practice! ;)

After that we played at Liberty! Prince left a couple times through out the whole session but considering we don't have a round corral I think it was pretty good. We did Stick to me, Touch it, sideways, jumping, doubling jumping (where Prince jumps one jump and then another on right after it), straddling (a first for us at Liberty! Hooray! Prince caught on in no time!), sideways towards me, close range circles at a walk, leading by the tail and lots of there things! One time when Prince left me I decided to use it and I turned it into a circle. It wasn't a perfect circle though but it was still a pretty good one plus it was at the canter! Prince cantered 4 laps! WOW! I am not totally sure if Prince knew he was circling but he stayed on the same track the whole time so who knows! Either way he came in when I asked him to and was really responsive! So maybe he did know!

After that I got on and rode. When I asked Prince to trot he bucked a little bit so I stayed on just to see if he would still listen to me but he did it again so I got off, played with him for a couple seconds and then got back on again. This time was much better. We did the Weave at a trot (bareback too!), sideways, Follow the rail, point to point, 9 step back up and a couple other things then I got off. We didn't ride long but since we did a lot of other things both Online and at Liberty I decided to keep it short.

So all in all it was a great play time even though there were some "Oh boy!" moments.

Hopefully this next week is just as good as this week was, horse play wise.

Naturally,
~Keri

Ruffian: So much energy!

March 20 2010

After I played with Twosox I played with Ruffian. He had followed us up to the riding ring when Twosox and I went up and stayed there the whole time so I decided to play with him. It was so much fun! He had a lot of energy so we had a fun time played with that. All Ruffy wanted to do was run, run, run. So I let him. We got some really nice circles as a result! At first I just let Ruffy canter as long as he wanted but after  while I started doing different things. We did some transitions (Ruffy even galloped!) change of directions, jumping, and some other stuff. I couldn't believe how much energy Ruffy had!  

At one point the rope got caught under Ruffy's leg so I just let go considering he was cantering rather fast, then the rope flew up and got caught under his tail... which of course clamped down as soon as Ruffy felt that. So I just stood there watching. Ruffy gave a couple good bucks then proceeded to run around the riding ring. After a couple laps he stopped and looked at me and then came over and we continued. I decided not to let Ruffy run to much more in case he scarred himself again. So after that we did some Touch it, sideways over the barrels, falling leaf, and some other stuff. Ruffy did really well and was asking loads of questions! 

I decided that I wanted to teach Ruffy how to lead by the chin. All the other horses know how to do it but I never took the time to teach Ruffy so I took the lead rope off and off we went. I only had to use the halter as a back up a couple times. So that was really good. Normally Ruffian will just toss his head and really resist it but today he did very well and followed the feel perfectly!! We even did a little bit of trotting. After that we played at Liberty for a little bit but then Ruffy realised that he could leave (out part of the fence where the top rail is broken. So he trotted off and went down the hill into the corral. So I went and got him and brought him back up. I could have ended down in the corral but I wanted to finish want we were playing with. Ruffy came back up with me and we finished up and then I let him go. He stayed with me though so I rubbed him for a while before I had to leave.

I am really going to try to play with Ruffy and Twosox more and still keep up the 3-4 play times a week with Prince. It will be really hard once summer gets here but I have to try. It might mean cutting back on other things but this is really important to me. So hopefully I can figure something out. If I could play with three horses each day that would be fabulous but I highly doubt I could keep that up for long! I will try for two horses a day though. One in the morning and one in the afternoon and once summer comes and the bugs get back I will do one in the morning and one in the evening... or something like that :)

Natrually,

~Keri

Twosox: Figure eights, Stick to me, and confidence in zone 5

March 20 2010

This morning I played with Twosox. I groomed him first because he was covered in hair! Pretty soon I was covered in hair... but that's okay ;) Then we went up to the riding ring. We started off with Figure eights... which was interesting. Twosox was being... exuberant I think is probably the right word. So it was interesting. After we were finished doing Figure eights we did some circles. When I asked Twosox to canter he cantered quite a ways before breaking gait so that was good. We played around with that for a while and then I asked Twosox to back up to a barrel. He could get about 1ft away before he got a little bit unsure so I would bring him forward a step let him have a little rest and then back him up again. Each time he got a little bit farther finally after a little while he backed straight and his back legs touched the barrel! It took a while but I knew it probably would. He was asking questions the whole time too! 

After that we did some Stick to me. Twosox would keep getting a head of me so we did lots of transitions, stopping, going, backing up, etc etc. Then after a couple minutes he started getting really in tune with me and he stayed right beside me the whole time, doing what ever I did. It was really neat! We then switched sides and did the same thing on the other side. Twosox was really good on both sides. Then I let Twosox go. He stayed with me even though the gate was open. So we spent a little bit of Undemanding time together before he left. 

So even though we didn't play long we still did quite a bit and had a really good play time! :)

Naturally,

~Keri 

Prince: A million transition, Weave, and connected circles!

March 18 2010

It was another beautiful day out today.  So this afternoon I played with Prince. After I saddled Prince we did some different things, Circles (Prince was very connected and kept the slack in the rope 90% of the time!), Change of directions, Weaving, transitions, sideways and lots more! Prince did really well at everything! He was connected to me and was really willing to try what I asked. Our Change of directions are slowly getting them back again! After that, just before I got on to ride I took one barrel and put it up to the fence and sent Prince over to it. The first time I didn't line it up right and so he went in between me and the barrel so I disengaged him and then he offered to jump (from a stand still) the other barrel and straddle it! It was so cute the look on his face after he did it! So after that I sent him over to the other barrel and asked him to straddle it. I hardly did anything and Prince straddled it perfectly! I was really proud of him! Then after that I asked him to jump it. It still amazes me just how in tune Prince is with me! He know exactly when I want him to straddle it and when I want him to jump it! 

After that I got on. We were going to do the Weave first but I we ended up doing the A Million Transition pattern and boy was it fun! We were trotted everywhere! The first time I asked Prince to come off the rail and trot straight down to the other end of the arena hadn't figured out the pattern yet so he didn't go completely straight but that was okay so the next time we tried it Prince went perfectly straight! This was the first time we have actually done a lot of trotting (with out breaking gait) all over the arena. Normally I will stick to the rail or to what ever pattern we are doing (i.e. Figure eight, Weave etc). The really cool thing was that I was perfectly confident and wasn't even thinking about Prince trotting. I was so focused on the Pattern that I wasn't worried about anything! It was a wonderful feeling! Another thing that amazed me was that Prince only broke gait about two times! The rest of the time he just trotted! Plus we were doing the pattern on my hard side! :) 

Prince got a long rest after that. Then we went and did the Weave. This time Prince got it right away. He knew exactly what to do and did it. We trotted the whole Weave and did 3 complete weaves. I was so proud of Prince! He did so well! After that we did some sideways, lateral flexions with the carrot stick, Point to point (Prince loves standing on the pedestal with all four feet! I think that is his favourite thing to do) Then my mom and I did a trail ride simulation. Prince and I were in the lead and Mom and Knightly were following. It was fun. At first Prince kept trotting so I would ask him to walk again so after a while he figured out that I just wanted him to walk and not break gait. The other thing I noticed was that since all winter we were riding about 3ft from the fence when ever to were doing follow the rail (because that was where the path ended up) Prince would walk 3ft from the fence now even though there is no snow bank there. So we had to play with that. After a while he figured it out though so that was good! It is interesting what you notice when you slow things down. 

Prince did so well the whole ride. I think it was a little long for both of us but he still did really well. I can't wait till we can ride again! I am trying to ride as much as I can because it is spring and once summer comes... the bugs come. So I am taking advantage of the nice weather!

Naturally,

~Keri

Ruffian: Transitions, and jumping.

This morning I played with Ruffian. After I haltered him I let him eat for a while before we went up to the riding ring. While he was eating I brushed him. Then we went up to the riding ring. It was really nice to play with Ruffy and not have to worry about snow and also it was nice to have our obstacles back! Hooray! Ruffy had TONES of energy. I really want to play with him more but I just can't seem to find the time! I will have to figure out some thing. Even if it is only twice a week.

We had a lot of fun playing. We did lots of cantering on the circle. Ruffy really seemed to enjoy it! We did some totally amazing canter to halt to canter transitions. They keep getting better and better! All I had to do was relax and Ruffy would stop and then at a phase one he would canter off again. Ruffy was really, really in tune with me. We also did some change of directions, Touch it, sideways, and lots of other stuff. The last thing we did was I set up the barrels standing on there end and asked Ruffy to jump them. He jumped then twice from a trot! He had no problem clearing them! I can't get over how athletic Ruffy is! We didn't play long but it was still lot of fun! Ruffy stayed with me after I let him go. I really have to think of some new things to teach Ruffy because everything I thought of he learned really quickly....

Naturally,
~Keri

Twosox: Circles, Weaving, and more!

March 17 2010

Twosox had a lot of energy today! It was a lot of fun to play with! I was going to brush him first but I just had a feeling that he wanted to move so we did some traveling circles... and boy did he have energy! So we played with that for a while, doing some transitions, change of directions, and lots of other stuff. It was fun! After that we did some Figure eights. Twosox did really well with those and even offered to canter through the middle a couple times! 

After all that I brought Twosox in and brushed him. He is shedding so much hair it is crazy! I brush him one day and the next day he is covered in hair again! So after a good brushing I got on and rode. We had a great ride! We walked the Weave pattern. Twosox did really well. We did about 3 complete weave's then I stopped. Twosox had a huge lick and chew over that. Then we did a little bit of Follow the rail. I asked Twosox to trot a couple times too. The riding ring is drying up nicely! It should be totally dry soon! Twosox did really well when I asked him to trot. I was hardly at phase 2 and he trotted! So we played around with some transitions. Twosox has a really nice slow trot actually! Hopefully he will keep that up ;) 

So yeah, it was a really fun ride! I didn't ride long because it was really windy and I wanted to make sure that we ended on a good note. I can hardy wait for our next play time :)

Naturally,

~Keri 

Prince: Weaving, riding with two carrot sticks and lots more!

March 15 2010

Prince and I had the most amazing play time and ride!  It was incredible! Almost all the snow in the riding ring is gone and so I decided to saddle Prince up and ride. Prince and I had a lot of fun playing Online. Since we now have our obstacles back it was even more fun! I asked Prince to come to me over the pedestal, one foot at a time. He did really good when he was coming off of the pedestal. We are still working on him keeping his last back foot on the pedestal but we it is going really well! My mom had set up two poles about 3ft apart in front of two of the four tires that made  a box (if that made any sense at all I am not sure, but basically the two poles made a alley way into the little box) I wanted to play with getting our yo-yo's straighter and faster so I asked Prince to back in between the poles into the box and then he got a rest. We did this a couple times on the 12ft line, Prince did really well. he quickly caught on and started putting more effort into backing up. Prince will back up straight until he is about 20ft away from me so I decided to switch to the 22ft line and see what it was like. Prince put so much effort into getting back into the box it was incredible! He backed all the way to the end of the 22ft line, he was straight and he went really fast! It was really neat! Plus the second part of our Yo-yo got better! The bring back! Prince was ultra straight! 

Then we did the Weave pattern at a trot. At first Prince and I were both very uncoordinated! But we soon got is all figured out and Prince even offered to canter! It was fun! After that we did some traveling circles, there were a couple slippery spots so we tried to avoid those. We didn't do a whole lot of circles because we had done the Weave. But I did ask Prince to canter just to make sure he wasn't going to buck. Then I lined the barrels up along the fence and I sent Prince over to them. The first time I asked him to jump it and the second time I asked him to straddle it. All I had to do was relax and Prince straddled them! It was so cool! The belly of the rope was on the ground the whole time! It was incredible! I asked Prince to come sideways towards me off the barrels. Prince's hindquarters were lagging a little bit so we played with that until Prince gave me a couple really steps of sideways. 

After that I got on and rode. Since the snow is mostly gone in the riding ring I want to start riding other patterns. So I picked the Weave. We did a couple at the walk before I asked Prince to trot. It took us a while before Prince would trot the whole Weave. At first he would trot around a couple tires then break gait. So I would reward the slightest try and then we would go again. After a while Prince trotted through the weave, walked around the ends (I asked for that because there was snow and ice around the end tires) and then he would trot down the other side. I was really proud of how well Prince did! 

After that I grabbed two carrot sticks and we rode around doing some transitions (walk to trot, trot to halt, etc) Prince did really well. We also did back-ups, sideways, indirect and direct rein and all that kind of stuff. It was a lot of fun! Prince did really well with the sideways. We went sideways at least 20ft! Oh and we also did Point to point. Prince climbed up on the pedestal twice with all four feet and I didn't need to touch my reins! It was really fun! 

I also taught Prince to do a lateral flexion with a carrot stick! It is something we had been playing around with for a while now but I never really took the time to do it. So today we did. Prince caught on very quickly. So we now can do it both ways! Hooray! The last thing we did was I asked Prince to climb up on the pedestal and put all four feet on it then I stood up on him! That is the first time I have done that with the pedestal being as tall as it really is (the last time I did it there was snow and so the pedestal wasn't as tall). 

After I got off I asked M1 & M2 if they wanted to ride Prince so they both had a turn. Prince did so well and was perfectly fine with then being up there. Then I asked my older brother if he wanted to ride Prince. This was the first time in four years that a man has ridden Prince! I wasn't exactly sure how Prince would do because before I bought him he was abused my men. But Prince was fine. He is such a special horse and I love him so much! I think both Prince and I had a really good ride! When I took the saddle off there were just a couple ruffled hairs (which some of that could have been from my brothers riding) so that was encouraging! 

Naturally,

~Keri 

Ruffian: Transitions, Liberty, and more!

March 11 2010

This play time started out really special, when I got to the corral Prince came over to see me. I rubbed him for a while then went to see Ruffian. He was eating so I waited for a while then I haltered him. Since I have found that if I put to  much pressure on Ruffy to soon he will get worried I decided to get him continue eating for a while after I haltered him. Prince had followed me over to the manger so I rubbed him and then I climbed up on the edge of the manger and asked Prince to come sideways towards me. He did but wasn't totally sure if that was what I wanted him to do. So I helped him figure it out. Once he was beside me I started leaning on him, rubbing him etc. He was fine with that so I put but leg on him and and the since he was fine with that I climbed on him. Prince stood there and was perfectly fine with me sitting on him. I put my savvy string around his neck and then I just sat there, rubbing Prince and hold in Ruffian lead rope. After we had stood there a while I asked Ruffy to come over to the other side of Prince. I was really proud of Prince and how well he did even when the lead rope was hitting him and when Ruffy was all over the place. Finally Ruffy got where I wanted him and then we did some yo-yo's. I wanted to see how Prince was with Ruffy being really close to him. Prince was fine. So then I asked Prince to back up a little bit so I could do some other things with Ruffy. Prince responded so well and was very light I was hardly putting any pressure on with the savvy string. It was so neat! Then we went over to the other side of the corral. Ruffy was lagging behind a little bit but that didn't seem to bother Prince. So we walked over to the pedestal and I asked Ruffy to get on one. Ruffy got up but was a little bit unsure so he got off. No problem. We walked a little bit farther way so he would have some more room and so it wouldn't be as much of a squeeze. We were facing the wrong way though so I asked Prince to turn.... and we pivoted over half a circle with just my focus and a little bit of pressure with my leg!!!! It was sooooooo cool!! Then I sent Ruffy over to the pedestal. He was okay with it this time and stood up on the bigger one for a while. Then I brought him to me and rubbed him for a while. Prince did really well in knowing when I was asking something of him and when I wasn't, which was really wonderful! Then we walked over to the other side of the corral and I got off. I was really proud of both Prince and Ruffy! It was a lot of fun too! I can't wait till we can do it again! 

Ruffian and I then went up to the riding ring to play. It was really slippery in some parts but in others it wasn't as bad. We did some traveling circles, transitions, some really cool canter to walk and then back to the canter again transitions, change of directions, sideways, leading by the tail, Touch it and some other things. Ruffy did really well the whole time. One time he slipped and fell but he seemed to be okay. 

After we had finished playing Online we played at Liberty for a little bit. I was really proud of how well Ruffian did. Normally he doesn't stay with me at Liberty but today he did really well. We did some Stick to me, Touch it, sideways, and some yo-yo's. It was really cool! I made sure to end before he got bored and decided to leave ;) 

So.... it was incredible play time from tart to finish!

Naturally,

~Keri

 

Prince: Figure eights, straddling a single barrel and more!

March 10 2010

This afternoon I played with Prince. I was supposed to play with Ruffian but Prince came over to see me so I decided to play with him. Before I haltered him I spent some time scratching some itchy spots! Then I halter him and I sat on the fence for a while and leaned on Prince. I think we both could have taken a nap ;) After a while we went up to the riding ring. We went over to the pedestal and I sat on the edge and Prince climbed up behind me. I was really rather tired because I trimmed Twosox this morning and even though it went faster than it normally goes I was still really tired.

To start with I sat on the pedestal and sent Prince around circling. Then we did some Figure eights. Prince did really well. He had a little bit harder of a time coming around the right barrel but that makes sense because he circles to the right better than to the left. So we kept with it until he was able to stay connected to me. After that I took a barrel over to the fence, my plan being to ask Prince to straddle it. The first time I just asked him to jump it. I could see Prince hesitate a little bit just as he was going over the jump, he wasn't sure if I was going to ask him to straddle it. The next time I did ask him to straddle it and he did it perfectly! The only problem was that there just so happened to be a puddle of water right where Prince landed... and well the impact of Prince landed cause the water to come up... and well... get me wet.

After that I got on and rode. We didn't do a whole lot but what we did do was really cool! We started off with some follow the rail, it was really slippery in the middle of the riding ring so we stayed away from that for the most part. Then we did some point to point. Prince will easily climb up on the pedestal with all four feet no problem. Most of the snow has melted from around it so it is a lot higher now! While we were following the rail I asked Prince to trot and it was totally amazing because I could ride Prince's trot a million times better than the last time I rode him bareback! It was incredible! I felt totally balanced and it wasn't bouncy at all! It was so nice! After that we did some sideways.... I really had to play around with my body and using less of my reins because if I used my reins to much Prince would started moving his forequarters over and pivoting so I really had to make sure I was using my body and carrot stick and not use my reins. The cool thing is that Prince did way better! We went sideways over 20ft, without a fence and Prince was putting extra effort into going sideways.

Then we did some savvy string riding, backing up, sideways, direct and indirect rein etc. Prince did really well and when I asked him to back up I just wiggled my legs a little bit and Prince would back up. When I was ready to get off I asked Prince to go sideways over to the fence so I could get off. Just for the fun of it! I love finding new things I test us! Prince did really well and went sideways right over to the fence and I got off. It was such a wonderful ride! I can hardly wait till the riding ring dries up a little bit more so it won't be so slippery then we came play with some more patterns other than follow the rail... which has gotten really good since around the outside of the riding ring isn't as slippery! :)

Naturally,
~Keri 

Twosox: Having a lot of riding!

March 9 2010

Wow! What a play time! Twosox and I had a great play time today! My new Parelli equipment came in today, which was perfect timing since my carrot stick broke yesterday. So I was able to use my new one today! I am keeping my savvy string until the mud dries up so that it won't get extremely muddy on the say out. Plus I am going to use my 12ft line for reins seeing as something is very much wrong with my hackamore.

Anyways. Back to our play time.... before I haltered Twosox I brushed him. He was shedding a very large amount of hair. So it took a while. Then after that I haltered him and we went up to the riding ring. We did some Touch it, and then switched to a Touch it kind of thing on the circle. So I asked Twosox to stop at each barrel, and the pedestal. At first he wasn't paying attention and so he wouldn't stop at each thing. But after a while of doing the same pattern he caught on and started asking questions and stopping at each obstacle. So that was neat! Then we did a couple change of directions and transitions not to many though because it was so slippery.

By this time the rope was soaking wet...

The last thing I asked Twosox to do was I put a barrel by the fence and I asked him to jump it. It took him a couple tries before he jumped it but then I found out that I needed to have more energy in my body. Once I asked him with more energy he jumped the barrels no problem! Hmmm.... how interesting!

After that I got in. At first we didn't do a whole lot. We did about one lap of follow the rail then I wanted to play with our sideways. Twosox goes sideways one way really nicely but the other way he has a much harder time. So we went sideways up and down the fence. Until finally we got some nicer sideways to Twosox's harder side. After that I wanted to do a little bit of trotting. So off we went. The first couple times Twosox had a huge trot! Or at least it felt like it! So we did lots transitions. After a couple Twosox's trot got a little less bouncy. It was really fun though considering that I haven't trotted a lot on Twosox since I fell off of him last summer. The pattern we did was we would trot about 12ft and then walk 12ft and so on. At the end Twosox really got into the pattern! It was really nice!

The interesting thing was that the whole time Twosox was confident. Which is really good! Before he would be really tense when I asked him to trot. So now he is so much better :) Tomorrow I have to trim Twosox. So hopefully that goes well. If is supposed to be sunny so that is really good! I much rather trim in the sun shine then in the rain or snow :)

Naturally,
~Keri

Prince: A lot of "How interesting" moments!

March 8 2010

This morning I played with Prince. I think I am going to really like this spring weather! It is so beautiful outside! I can't believe that winter is over. It seemed to do so fast! Hopefully summer won't drag on though. It always seems like winter goes fast but summer just drags on and fall never comes! But I am not going to worry about that right now. I have all of spring a head of me, a great winter behind, and two wonderful horses to enjoy it with!

So as I was going outside this morning I thought of something quite brilliant I think. As I have said before there are times when I ask Prince for a change of direction and sometimes he will just go faster and faster and not responds to the pressure. So I was thinking and the thought that came to me was this... maybe if I ask for the change of direction when Prince is at a certain place he feels the pressure and it feels like it is coming from in front of him and so he starts going faster because he knows to respond to that pressure. It was just a thought but I decided to play around with it once Prince and I were up in the riding ring.

I brushed and saddled Prince up totally at Liberty! We have only done that a couple times but Prince stood nice and still and everything went smoothly!  We played at Liberty in the corral for a little while and guess what??? We did our very first close range circle game at Liberty! Yippee!! It was so cool! We did it both ways and changed direction a couple times too! After that we did some Touch it, stick to me and a couple other things then we went up to the riding ring. This time I was not going to mess up and start off to quickly! So we started with some Touch it. I sent Prince to the barrel and didn't really have an idea of what I wanted him to do but I wanted him to try something. At first he looked totally not interested. Like what could possibly be interesting about a barrel. But then he started getting interested and offered to put his foot on it. Then we went over to a tire. Prince put his front front foot in it so I took that and then asked him to put his back foot in it. At first he wasn't really trying but the he got really interested and it was a matter of seconds before he figured out the puzzle.

Then we did some circles but not a whole lot because it was slippery. I only asked Prince to canter a little bit. Just enough for me to know that he wasn't going to start bucking because he hasn't had the saddle on for a while. He was fine. We did some transitions first. Prince was really soft and responsive. So then we did some change of directions. I tried my new theory out and guess what!?! I think it worked! I wanted till Prince was just behind me but not to far and then asked for the change of direction and right away Prince turned and went the other way... and the really cool thing is that the belly of the rope didn't come off the ground! That is a huge thing for us! Our change of directions have never been that soft!

After that I got on. It was nice to be back riding in my saddle! The only thing I wanted to do while we were riding was play with our transitions. Since the snow is melting it was really slippery but Prince was really good and took his responsibility of watching where he was going well. I decided that the best thing would be to do it while following the rail. That way we could stay off the ice for the most part. So off we went. I started off my walking a lap or so just so that I could get a good idea of what the footing was like. Then I was able to work it so that we trotted on the not to slippery parts and then walked on the icy parts. So that worked well. The whole time I tried to keep a totally loose rein. Or as much as possible. That is one thing that I have a harder time with especially when we are trotting fast. So that was one thing, plus I played around with my fluidity. Since I haven't ridden in a saddle for a while I had to play with that. Not that it is a huge difference from riding bareback. But I didn't trot as long or far when we were bareback but with a saddle I can. I found that I was a little bit tight in my hips.

Prince did so well. One really cool thing was that after a while he started blowing, stretching a little bit and he lowered his head! That was really good! I don't think I have ever trotted so much in my life! We did A LOT of trotting. The really neat thing was that when I asked Prince to trot he would maintain gate until I asked him to slow down. There were a couple times that he broke gait but for 95% of the time I was asking him to walk, or trot etc. A couple times we trotted almost two full laps around the arena!

One time it got really winding and we were trotting right into the wind and my hat blow off! Fortunately it got caught on my ponytail so as we were trotting along I was reaching back trying to get my hat while trying to stay balanced. The good thing was that Prince is now really good at stopping when I relax. Now you may think that for a LBI that would be no problem but there was a time when Prince wouldn't want to stop that quickly. So all I had to do was relax and Prince stopped. It was funny though because as just as my hat was coming off I though "I sure hope it doesn't come off and hit Prince and spook him" But Prince stayed calm and relaxed the whole time. What a good boy!

When I took the saddle off I was right... I wasn't moving my hips and shoulders enough. There were sometimes that even at the walk I could tell that I was out of sync with Prince. So next time I will have to pay attention to that.

So all in all it was a very  good play time and ride. I can't wait to do it again! The only bad thing was that my carrot stick broke :( The leather loop thingy broke. I was waiting for it to happen though because it was hanging on my just a little bit of leather. At least I can use it for carrot stick riding :)

Naturally,
~Keri

Prince: Playing on the 45ft line, traveling circles and riding!

March 6 2010

This afternoon I had an interesting play time with Prince. There were a couple things that I wanted to play with and one was doing spirals on the circle (Increasing and decreasing the circles) so I took the 45ft line up with me. Before we went up to the riding ring I did a little bit of leading by the tail, I am teaching Prince to make turns also. So that is fun! Prince is slowly getting the idea!

I think the first thing that I did wrong was that I started off to quickly without doing some smaller things with Prince first. I went right to Figure eights and while that would have been okay normally this time we were on the 45ft line and I asked Prince to canter them. So I didn't get Prince properly prepared and in a learning frame of time before I started that. Oops. Well you live and learn! Then we did come circles. My mom was video taping and when I was watching the video I counted that Prince did at least 20 circles and only broke gait a couple times (once was down to the walk and a couple times he started cantering) So that was really good because I never remember to count when I am doing circles with Prince... I always seem to have something else on my mind ;) I think that our play time would have gone a lot better if I had of started off right but I didn't and so now I will have to go back and fix a lot of things.

Before I played on the 45ft line today I knew that I wouldn't be able to give Prince all of the rope (not even half of it really) but I thought I would try again and see if I would be able to keep the rope away from my feet and have fun with the extra little bit of rope. Well Prince did enjoy the extra room but the rope kept getting caught around my feet. Our riding ring isn't wide enough to let Prince have even half of the 45ft line so it would end up all around me. It got to a point where I got frustrated because I was trying to focus on Prince and getting him connected to me again and then the snow was slippery and the rope was tripping me up. I wasn't frustrated at Prince but I know he felt that I was frustrated and it effected him. So I switched to the 22ft line and because of all that our change of directions, which were really, really good before today are not... well lets just say we are almost back to square one again. Instead of Prince responding to me when I ask for a change of directions he gets faster and faster. I think it is more of a RBE response. I don't think he is being dominate *sigh* I am more frustrated at myself then anything.

I felt our change of directions at the point where at the walk and when Prince was trotting slowly he would change direction. Another things I noticed was that Prince would always cantered off after the change of directions. So I taught him to stay in the gate that he was in before I asked for the change of direction. It was interesting. We did some really nice canter to halt then back to the canter again transitions though! We also did some traveling circles at the canter, sideways, jumping (Prince offered to jump a single barrel a couple times! One was from a walk too!)

After that I got on and rode. I had tied the 22ft line into reins but forgot that it was supposed to be tied around the part of the fence where a board it broken. So when Prince saw the gap he headed straight for it. I directed him away though before we got to it. Prince wasn't happy about that and decided that every time that I asked him to go forward he would buck a little. So I decided to get off, fix that on the ground and then get back on. After I got back on everything went smoothly. Prince was seemed to forget about the fence and we did some sideways, some really nice transitions (trot,walk, halt, backup, trot, and so on) Prince was super light the whole time! After that I asked Prince to trot one way, then stop, pivot half a circle and then trot the other way. Prince did really well with that and seemed to get the hang of it.

Since things were going really well. We did some savvy string riding. We did transitions, point to point, sideways and some other things. All with out touching my reins! We ended after I asked Prince to stand on the pedestal with all four feet, and I stood on him. Since the snow in melting the pedestal is slowly getting higher and higher. Plus some of our toys are getting uncovered! Yippee! I do so love spring!

Prince stayed with me for a while before he left. We did a little bit of stick to me at Liberty too. So lots to think about that's for sure!

Until next time,

Naturally,
~Keri

Twosox: Zone 5 driving, transitions, and more!

March 4 2010

Today Twosox and I had a great play time! It was so much fun! We played at Liberty a little bit before I haltered him. We just did some basic Stick to me, hindquarter and forequarter yields, backing up etc. Once we were up on the riding we did some Touch it, then we played around with the barrels for a little while the I sat on one barrel and set Twosox around in a circle. We did transitions, and LOTS of them! Twosox was really interested! Then I got off the barrel and we did some Change of directions. Twosox was really really good at those. He just keeps getting better! I also asked Twosox to canter a little bit. That is coming along slowly just surely.

After that we some zone 5 driving. I can't get over how well Twosox is doing with that. He is so much more confident now then he was when I started! We did some Touch it (we got all four feet on the pedestal!) Then we did some yo-yo's. Twosox got a little bit worried as we were trotting along the rail so we slowed down. Then I did some friendly game. I tossed the rope over and his back and some other stuff. Twosox relaxed and then after that we did something on the self assessment sheet called "Spin and go" Basically it is where you get your horse to spin and then trot off on the circle. The first couple tries Twosox got a little worried but after that, and after I got the hang of what to do with my tools ;), once we got about three really nice ones I stopped. Twosox did so well!

After that I got on. Twosox did really well while I was riding. We did lots of stuff! Sideways (I don't even need to use my carrot stick now! He will just move off of my body!), pivoting on the hind quarters, Follow the rail, Figure eights, a little bit of trotting, and lots more! Twosox was relaxed and confident the whole time. I was really proud of how well he did! My bareback riding has come a long way this winter since I haven't ridden in a saddle for a while (being winter and really rather cold I decided just to ride bareback this winter and not worry about proper riding boots, etc etc) so it will be interesting once I start riding in my saddle more now that it is spring. Hopefully I will be even better ;)

I am so glad that it is spring now! It is so nice to see the sun again!

Naturally,
~Keri

Prince: Figure eights, mounting by the neck, and more!

March 3 2010 

 I had an absolutely incredible play time with Prince yesterday. We started out by playing a little bit in the corral. Since it was really muddy I put my savvy string on the halter. Then we did some close range circles. Prince is getting really good at those! He kept the slack in the line the whole time! Soon we will try them at Liberty! After that we did some sideways and other things. I wanted to try mounting by the neck so we did that next. After a couple tries we got it. It wasn't perfect but not bad, after that we rode around did some direct and indirect rein, backing up with one rein, sideways etc. Then I got off and we went up to the riding ring. 

I had a feeling that Prince would have a little bit of energy so I sent him out on a circle. He took off, bucked, and did a little leap. It was funny! We did a couple circles at the canter then since the barrels were placed just perfectly we change into a Figure eight... AT THE CANTER! Prince cantered 95% of it! It was SO cool! Plus he was snappy! When he was coming around the barrels he listened really well and was lighting quick!  It was really fun! I decided not to do any more major circles after that because I didn't need to play with our maintaining gait or change of directions. So then we went and I grabbed a barrel and put it by the fence. I want to get Prince jumping a single barrel more solid. So after he jumped it a couple times I asked him to straddle it. Well Prince knew exactly what to do. He is such a smart pony! 

We then went and did some leading by the rail, Stick to me w/t/c and some other things. Then I had a crazy idea to see if Prince would jump a single barrel... standing up. I tried in a couple different places along the fence. The first try he trotted up to he and jumped it but knocked it over. No problem at least he tried! I moved the barrel one last time to a part of the fence where it is a little straighter and this time Prince cantered up to it and jumped right over it! Whoohoo! He knocked it over with his back feet but I am really proud of him to try! 

After that I wanted to try mounting by the neck again. I wasn't quite happy with the one we did in the corral. This time it went much better. We would have had it on the first couple tries but I didn't jump high enough. After a couple tries we got it. I am not sure if I will be able to do it much in the summer because Prince's mane is to thick and it causes to much friction. I might have to find another creative way to mount! I wasn't planning on doing anything once I was on Prince... considering the gate was open... but after about 5-10 minutes I decided to do a little bit of stuff. It was to slippery to trot a lot... unfortunately :( I could feel Prince slipping so we just did some small stuff. I decided to refine our indirect rein to direct rein/pivot on the hind quarters. At first I had to separate it a little bit but by the end Prince was doing it perfectly! He would do a beautiful indirect rein while pivoting on his one front foot and then I would change of body positions just a little bit and then Prince would pivot a FULL circle on his hindquarters!!! I was shocked at how well he did it and how much effort he put into doing it! One side was harder so we will have to play with that side more but I still couldn't believe it! I was hardly doing anything, everything was very subtle and Prince was responding so lightly and he put a little bit of speed into that pivot! I was so proud of Prince!! 

We ended there. It was an amazing play time and ride! It will be nice once the snow is gone and it isn't so slippery so that we can ride more! 

Naturally,

~Keri

 

Twosox: Figure eights, and advancing our riding.

This afternoon I played with Twosox. We had a lot  of fun! It was so beautiful outside. It felt so much like spring! The sun was shining, it was warm and well just perfect!

We played up in the riding ring. We did Touch it, Stick to me, circles, transitions (w/t/c Twosox is starting to canter more and more now! It is so exciting!) Our change of directions are getting better also. It was fun! After that we did some Figure eights. At first they weren't as good as they were the last time we did them so we kept with it until Twosox offered a couple really nice, relaxed, soft figure eights at the trot. They were really nice!

After that I sat on a barrel and we just chilled out for a while before my mom came out and then I got ready to ride. I totally forgot to bring up my 12ft line so it was a good thing that I always have my savvy string on me so we rode around with just a carrot stick and savvy string. We did a little bit of Follow the rail then some point to point. I was kind of bored and I knew that if I was bored, Twosox probably would be also. So I decided to try some sideways... which is something that I have avoided doing with Twosox since last summer because Twosox had a really hard time with it and it would always end in a struggle just because I didn't know how to teach it very well. I knew I needed to be lighter but it was hard. So today since I only had one rein I had to be lighter and more creative about how I was going to ask Twosox to go sideways. It was really fun actually and Twosox did so well! I couldn't believe it! He figured it out in literally seconds! It was incredible! After that I didn't even need to use my carrot stick. Twosox would just go sideways with just my focus and my leg pressure! I was so proud of Twosox!

The last thing we did was a little bit of trotting. We haven't done that in a long time! Twosox did very well and even though it took a couple minutes for him to actually trot he tried really hard! It was really slippery so we only trotted a little ways down the rail before I asked him to stop. It was really nice though! It was a nice slower trot. Which for Twosox is really good! Right after we stopped Twosox started yawning and licking and chewing. He kept doing it even after I let him go! So that was nice. After I let Twosox out of the riding ring he walked part way down the hill and then turned around and came back! I was surprised! He stayed with me the whole time I was watching my mom and Knightly and then came down with me when I came down. It was really really neat!

I can hardly believe that in less than 1 month I will have had Twosox for 3 years! Wow! Time goes by so quickly!

Naturally,
~Keri

Ruffian: Change of directions, Maintiaing gait and more.

March 1 2010

This afternoon I played with Ruffian. We had a pretty good play time. He wasn't extremely playful at the beginning but once he got his feet moving he had a lot of energy. We did some traveling circles. Lots of transitions and change of directions, maintain gait and directions etc Ruffy did really well.

Then we did some jumping, sideways, I picked up his feet, then when I felt that he was in a learning frame of mind I asked him to sniff his tail again. This time was even better than last time! He did really well! Ruffy stayed in the position for about 15 seconds or so! It was really neat!

So all in all it was a good play time. The snow was really deep so sometimes it was hard but hopefully it will melt soon ;)

Naturally,
~Keri

Prince: Change of directions, backing up in a circle and more.

 February 27 2010

I had a really fun play time with Prince today. It was raining on and off but I was able to get out when it was not raining. Just after I got out though the rain really started to come down. But since I was already out I didn't mind. I am the type of person that has a really hard time getting out (especially when it is gray and cloudy out) but once I am out I am fine. So that is always a challenge for me. I had to laugh though then it started raining because that was the exact reason I didn't want to go out... because it was supposed to start raining. God has a sense of humor I think ;) He knew that if it was raining I wouldn't go out but once I was out I would stay out. It was fun playing in the rain!

Prince and I had a great play time though. We played at Liberty a little bit in the corral. Prince is really getting good a spinning. It is great! After I haltered him we went up to the riding ring. On our way up the hill Prince actually cantered to catch up to me! Which was really special because Prince has a rather bit trot and normally can keep up with me with out having to go very fast. I was totally out of breath by the time we were up the hill. The snow was deep and slippery but we made it. After that we did some Touch it and then some Stick to me. Prince is getting really good at cantering with me when I started cantering in my body. To started we would just go in circles but now we are able to go in straight lines too! 

After that we did circles. Prince was willing to canter a lot so we did that first. We are getting so close to where I will be able to mark off the cantering 6-10 laps on a circle on the self assessment sheet! It is exciting! Then we did some change of direction. The first two were incredible!  Prince cantered the whole way through one! The third one wasn't as good. So I waited till Prince relaxed and found a slower rhythm at the trot before I ask for anther one. It made a huge difference and the next couple were great. Prince even did a couple at the canter but I am not sure if he did a flying lead change. It is something I am going to put a lot more research into now because we are actually consistently getting the change of direction. 

Then we went and played around with the barrels that where in the middle of the corral. Once I asked Prince to jump them a couple times I asked him to straddle it. He did it perfectly! It was really neat because it just showed that he was in tune with me and not just assuming that I wanted him to jump them or straddle it. So that was neat. By this time the rope was getting very wet and heavy so I decided to do one more thing and then end. I wanted to teach Prince to back in a circle... and well what can I say? Prince caught on the first try. He backed over 1/2 a circle and seemed to read my mind! It was so cool! After that I let Prince go but he stayed with me so I rubbed him for a while and we spent some undemanding time together. It was very special. 

Naturally,

~Keri