Ohio Bound

Well we are Ohio Bound! My mom, sister, Aunt and I are leaving for Ohio this morning. We shall spend a week down there, meet some very close friends and I get to meet my bestest friend... Lea (http://www.leapnhjourney.blogspot.com/) plus we are going to the Parelli Celebration. Should be fun! The only down point is that I will not see my horses for 10 days. It was really hard saying goodbye yesterday but they are in good hands. I will miss playing with them though. Anyways. I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Naturally,
~Keri

Ruffian: Playing...

June 18 2010

After I played with Prince I played with Ruffian for a little while. We had a lot of fun. He wanted to play so badly. So I let him move his feet and have some fun. We did jumping, circles, change of directions, maintaing gait at the canter on the circle, sideways, straddling and jumping a single barrel that was in the middle of the riding ring, falling leaf at the walk, trot and canter.And lots more! It was a blast. Then we went over to the fence and I asked Ruffy to come sideways over to me and I sat on him for a couple minutes then got off and we finished there. He followed me down the hill and into the riding ring. Where the other horses were. 

It wasn't a long play time but it was great just to be with Ruffian and spent time with him.

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: This doesn't seem real!

June 18 2010

Today's playtime with Prince just didn't seem real. He was incredible! I saddled him at Liberty again and then we played in the corral. We did sideways down the fence while I kept my feet still. Touch it from about 20ft away, yo-yo's over things, backing up by the hocks, leading by the tail, spins (we even did a double spin!) and lots of other fun things. Then we went up to the riding ring. First we did Figure eights. Prince wasn't as connected with me as he was before so we stayed at the trot until he was able to do that well and then we went into the canter. Prince did pretty good at that. He even cantered around the one barrel and through the middle once. Which was really cool. 

Then we did circles. Prince did very well. We did 13 circles to the left and 10 to the right. The last 4 circles to the left were amazing. Prince circled really, really nicely and stayed connected the the whole time. After that my mom and I made up some puzzles for us to do. The first one was I set a pole about 20ft away from a tarp that we had hung in the tree {I wanted to stand on Prince to tie the other end to the branch but mom said that it was to close to us going away ;) that's okay. I had to stand on a wobbly barrel instead :)]. So here was the task, we had to send our horse sideways over the pole, then back over the pole, between the fence and the standing up tire and then back through the tarp, stop, wait and then come back to us, stop over the pole, go sideways off of it and then that was the end.

It was really fun. Since the task wasn't super hard for Prince and I we focused more on being particular and doing simple things with excellence. After that we set three barrels in the middle of the riding ring and the plan was to send the horses around and have then jump it. Well that was interesting. They both did well but Prince wasn't so sure he wanted to jump it. So we played with that and pretty soon he jumped it nicely. :)

Seeing as the barrels were now not where they started but more in a shape of something we could weave through we did a weave over to the fence, I got on the fence asked Prince to come sideways over and then I got on. We then rode over to my helmet and I got that on. Here is something interesting... (don't worry, it is a good thing) Before I got my new helmet I would ride a lot with out one. The ones we had didn't really fit me and so I didn't like them. But I really like my new helmet and I actually feel safer when I am riding when I am wearing it. Not that I didn't feel safe before but I guess I just know that my head is protected :) Even though I still fully believe that it is what is in your head that will save you not what's on your head. BUT things happen and this way at least I have something on my head too :)

Anyways. Our ride was incredible to say the least. Prince was fabulous. We rode over to the gate which was still open and we closed it. This was when I realized just how light Prince has gotten. Before it was a struggle to close the gate, now it is so easy!! After that we went over and rode some figure eights at the walk. Prince wasn't as in tune with me at first but then he got it and we got some really nice figure eights. Then we did a little bit of follow the rail. At one point we were trotting around and we came around the one end and there were two barrels that mom had set up for Knightly to jump. Now I wasn't about to jump them so I softly asked Prince move over and around the barrels and then back over to the fence. There was nothing to extraordinary about that except that I only used my legs!! Prince responded to just my body and legs and it was so smooth! Prince is also offering some really nice slow trot. I think it is because he is finally relaxing on the circle and so he is starting to relax when we ride, which is nice.

Then we did circles! This time I changed things up a little. Normally when I ride circles I have my carrot stick in one hand and my reins in the other. I don't use my reins unless I really really need to, which doesn't really happen. So I decided that today I wanted to try not holding my reins. So we started out. I was holding my savvy string though, and my carrot stick. But then I decided to go outside my comfort zone a little and not even hold my savvy string. Just my carrot stick. It was so much fun! I thought it would be outside my comfort zone but it wasn't at all. I was totally confident. You see if I had of tried that 4 months ago. I would have felt a lot of things, fear mainly. But through taking the time is takes it did take less time and here we are today.

Prince did really well on the circles too. It didn't take long before we rode two circles each way with out any corrections with my carrot stick. I did have to use my body and leg once or twice but mostly Prince was just responding to my focus. Which was incredible! After the circles we took a rest and Prince took a nice nap. I love this horse to much! God has been so good to me in giving my the family, horses, friends, and life that I have.

Naturally,
~Keri

Twosox: Figure eights, Follow the rail, and having fun!

June 17 2010 

After I played with Prince I played with and rode Twosox. We had a lot of fun. On the ground we did jumping, Figure eights, sideways, straddling the barrels, circles and Touch it. Then while we were riding we did Follow the rail, transitions, indirect and direct rein and some other stuff. I was riding bareback but we still did quite a bit of trotting. I made sure not to use my reins while we were trotting and Twosox trotted almost half of the riding ring! I was really proud of him! Going to the left his trot was a little bit bumpier so we did lots of transitions so get it softer. Our follow the rail was really good too. I only had to correct him once or twice!  

I didn't ride long but we had a really good ride none the less. After I let Twosox go he stayed and waited for me outside the corral and then we went down the hill together. He is so sweet! :)

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: Amazing difference!

June 17 2010

Today's playtime with Prince was soooo different from yesterdays but in the same way it was a lot a like. Prince was lying down when I got out there so I went over and sat on him for a while. Then after a while I got off and then a couple minutes later he got up. I decided to saddle Prince at Liberty and that way if he really didn't want to be with me he would most likely leave. Well he didn't. He stayed with me the whole time and we played at Liberty for a little while too. We even went up to the riding ring at Liberty. Then we played! 

We did Figure eights and Stick to me first. Our figure eights are getting even better. Prince had a little bit of trouble cantering through the middle at first but then he figured it out and they were really nice! Then we did some jumping, sideways over the barrels and some other stuff. Then we did circles. I really had no idea how they were going to go after yesterday. I did how ever have the idea that I would check our close range circles and see if Prince would keep the slack on the ground for those. And he did! I was really impressed! We went to the right first. Guess what!?! Prince gave me 10 circles with the slack on the ground 95% of the time! They were amazing! We didn't do 30 laps because Prince did so well on the first 10 I wanted to reward that. The last circle was perfect. He stayed a little farther our but the belly of the rope was still on the ground and he had rhythm, relaxation and connections! I was so happy!

Going to the left Prince still kept the slack on the ground but he wasn't connected to the circle... in other words, the circle wasn't a circle ;) So I just waited and on the tenth circle Prince offered a really nice circle about 8ft away from me!!! It was amazing. I guess I must have done something right yesterday :) 

Then I got up and rode. I wasn't planning on doing a whole lot. The one thing I did want to do was ride down the hill... but first we did lateral flexions with the carrot stick and with the reins, indirect rein and direct rein, back up with out using my reins and sideways. Nothing really hard. Just some things that we are really refining. Prince had some trouble pivoting to the left but in the end we got it. Before we went down to the corral I decided to do some Follow the rail. Something we haven't done for a while. Prince was incredible! We trotted the two laps each way and I only had to correct Prince once the whole time! The gate was open also so I wasn't sure how Prince would respond to that. The first time we went past I was thinking about the gate but focusing on the fence post and so Prince wasn't sure if he was supposed to go out the gate or keep following the rail. That was my fault though. So the next time we were trotting up to it I made sure to think about following the rail and Prince didn't even think about the gate, just trotted right on by. 

A couple times Prince offered me a beautiful, slow trot. It was amazing! Very comfy! The whole time I didn't use my reins at all and it felt wonderful! Then we went down the hill... on a totally casual rein! I wanted to give Prince the responsibility of not breaking gait or changing direction. He did so well. He walked down the whole way and it was really fun! When we were in the corral we played the catching game with Twosox. At first Twosox wasn't sure because I was riding Prince and all but then he figured it out and turned and faced us. He didn't come over but that was okay. I just rubbed Twosox for a while. It always amazed me how when I am doing something with another horse, while riding Prince, how Prince really becomes a part of me and responds so well! Not that he doesn't respond well when we are riding every other time but he does even better! I am so proud of how far Prince has come! 

Then Prince and I went back up the hill. I wanted to play with getting our departures a little snappier. So we trotted up the hill, which was so much fun! Prince did really well though and we did some nice walk/trot/stop/backup transitions. Prince and I then gave my youngest brother, who was watching, a ride. He sat in front of me in my saddle and we rode around. I was really proud of both of them but especially proud of Prince. He did so well! We did a little bit of follow the rail and then went and stood on the pedestal.

When I let Prince go he stayed with me and didn't want to leave. So I rubbed him for a while and before I had to go. After I left and went to play with Twosox my two little brothers came over to the fence and Prince came over and stood right by the fence for at least 20 minutes while they brushed him. It was so sweet to watch them! Prince is so amazing!

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: It was just one of those days!

June 16 2010

This morning I played with Prince. Everything started out great. The end was more of a "How interesting" and "Oh boy" but I will tell you about that later...

Prince and I started off with sideways towards me and sideways away. I would send him sideways away from me to the end of the 22ft line, without a fence while I stood still and then I would ask Prince to come sideways back over to me. I did have to move closer to him to ask him to come sideways towards me but eventually I won't have to. Prince did well and the last one we did was almost perfect! Prince went sideways straight and came back really nicely too.

Then we went up to the riding ring and we did some Figure eights at the walk, trot and canter! We took it up a notch and I asked Prince to canter through the middle. He did so well! Next time though I will place the markers a little farther apart just so that he has a little bit more room to move but Prince did very well! After that we did leading by the front foot and leading by the hocks. Prince was so light when I asked him to back up by the hocks! It was really neat. We haven't done that in a long time and he was responding at a phase one!!

Now this is where it got interesting. Prince and I then did circles. Of course, I was looking for rhythm, relaxation and connection. Well going to the left Prince took 59 circles before he connected to me and going to the right it was well over 100. It might have just been the day but it took along time. No longer will 30 circles seem like a lot! :) Hopefully tomorrow will be better though since I ended with Prince was connected. Should be interesting. I emailed a couple instructors about it so we shall see what they say. Normally Prince is really connected to me, or if he isn't he will find the connection really quickly. It is all so interesting!

After our circles we ended and I went and trimmed Ruffian and now it is raining! 

Naturally,

~Keri

Twosox: An unusual playtime

June 15 2010

Twosox and I had a very unusual playtime today. We went up to the riding ring together at Liberty for starters. Twosox followed me up and he ever stayed with me as I opened the gate. Then we played at Liberty. We did Stick to me, sideways towards me, straddling the barrels, jumping them, Touch it, and lots of other fun stuff. Twosox only left one the whole time! Then I decided to climb on bareback and bridleless! Twosox was fabulous! We didn't do a whole lots. Just some Follow the rail, Figure eights, direct rein, backing up by the savvy string, and some other simple things. It was so much fun! Twosox was calm and responding the whole time. 

When I let him go he stayed with me and didn't leave. It was a lot of fun just doing something a little bit different. I can't believe how far Twosox has come in just 2 and a bit years. He is amazing!

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: I think I am getting it!

June 15 2010 

This morning the horses were in the field when mom and I went out. So we played there first and then came home. Prince and I had a lot of fun. I didn't ask him to canter on the 45ft line today because I really want to get him connected to me at the trot in open spaces before I ask for the canter. Prince did really well. We did 30 circles to the left and 37 to the right. Ruffian and Twosox left between the time that we did the circles to the left and to the right so Prince wasn't as connected to me. But in the end we got it. I was really pleased with how well Prince did considering we weren't in the riding ring. Hopefully it will just keep getting better. 

When we got to the corral we saddled up and then went up to the riding. We didn't need to do a whole lot because Prince was already in tune with me. So we just did some jumping single barrels, straddling them, a little bit of cantering, stick to me, hindquarter and forequarter yields (using the porcupine game) and Touch it. Then I mounted up. 

We started with lateral flexions, we are now up to 30 seconds on each side that Prince will hold the lateral flexion! Then we did direct and indirect rein. Each one Prince did very well. When I asked Prince to do a direct rein I made sure to focus on asking him to move his shoulder over. He did it almost perfectly! I didn't even need to use my reins and Prince was pivoting really well. I can tell that getting our porcupine game lighter on the ground has made a huge difference in our riding. When we did an indirect rein Prince planted his front foot and pivoted on it plus he put a lot of effort into it!!

Then we did circles! This time I had a barrel in the center which helped. At first Prince just wanted to go to the middle and rest... LBI much? He knows exactly where the rest it! After Prince realized that he wasn't getting a rest quite yet he started doing better. I had a really hard time focusing and getting mentally connected to what I was asking Prince to do after that but I was able to fix that and once I did the next two circles were beautiful!! I didn't need to use my carrot stick at all and I hardly needed to correct Prince. We took a long rest at the barrel for that. Then we went out in the other direction. We didn't have as much trouble but Prince kept wanting to go to the center so at first our circles were more like potatoes. Then I felt Prince change and we trotted a circle, a beautiful circle, I didn't have to correct Prince and it was closer to the barrel but not really really close, probably about 12 feet from the barrel. It was amazing to feel Prince change and he got connected to the circle. It was cool! 

After that while Prince took a nap I helped mom with her Figure eights. Then Prince and I went and rode some wonderful figure eights at the walk. On the one end I had to help Prince more but going around the other one, I only had to correct Prince once or twice! It was so cool!

Up next was sideways. At first I didn't feel that I was being clear enough in what I was asking so we took some time to figure that out. Prince would get confused between an direct rein and sideways. So I knew that I needed to be very clear in what I was asking. It didn't take long before I was able to figure it out and it made a big difference to Prince. Even though at first he still got a little confused by the end he knew the difference between sideways and direct rein. Prince was so light. All I have to do to ask him to back up is wiggle my next a little bit and he will back up. We also played with indirect rein and I didn't use my reins at all. Prince got really good at listening to my body and responded so well. 

I have really been trying to not use my reins and not bother Prince's head unless I am asking for something that really needs them. I think it has helped me become a better rider and my phases have gotten better. Plus it is a fun challenge ;) Prince stayed with me after I let him go so I asked him to smell his tail. He brought his head around by himself and we got 10 seconds!! It wasn't perfect but it was 10 seconds. Now we just need to get that solid.

It was definitely a great play time and ride. Prince was incredible!

Naturally,

~Keri

Ruffian: Having so much fun!

June 14 2010

Even though I wasn't planning on it, I played with Ruffy this afternoon. A rare treat to be able to play in the afternoon! I have to say, we both had a blast!!! It was so much fun. We started off with some small things. One thing was that I stood about 20ft away and asked Ruffy to walk up to a barrel and then jump it. At a phase one Ruffy flew over the barrel and then turn faced and waited! It was amazing! After that we did circles! But I have to say, these were so much better then the last time we did circles. Ruffian was so connected to me! We did some circles at the trot and then at the canter. I asked Ruffy to canter one lap each way. He caught on really fast and was happy to do it. We also got a canter draw too! Which was cool! 

Then after that we went over to the barrels. One by the fence and the other two were part way out, making a triangle with out the last point. I asked Ruffy to walk up to the first one, stop, then jump it part and and straddle it. He did that perfectly then I asked him to go sideways off of it and we went over to the one by the fence and did the same thing, then came sideways towards me and then went over to the other one and did the same thing. On the last one though I kind of had the feeling that Ruffy just assumed that I wanted him to straddle it. So we went back to one of the other barrels and I asked him to jump it from a walk. He did. I just can't get over this horse! He is so cool!

After that we did a little bit of leading by the tail. Ruffian will back up a couple steps and then go turn a little bit. So I have been playing with different thing for the past while but today I think I might have figured it out. Ruffian isn't totally confident backing into things, putting an obstacle in zone 5 and seeing as I am in zone 5 when I ask him to back up by the tail... interesting eh? So since Ruffian was in a great learning frame of mind I decided to teach him to back up to things, confidently. It took a little bit but we finally got it. By the end he backed right up to the barrel and stood there confidently. 

We then went down the hill and I took Ruffian out to graze for a while. He really enjoyed that. We had such a fun time playing! Ruffian is such an amazing and I love him so much!

Naturally,

~Keri

Twosox: Building draw

June 14 2010

After I played with Prince I played with Twosox. We played with building our draw. At liberty Twosox will get stuck at certain points. It has gotten a lot better but sometimes he will just stand there looking at me asking a question but not knowing what to do. So we played with that. At the end Twosox was following me around and stayed with me. If he got stuck some where then I was able to help him and we kept going. Then I scratched him for a while. Prince was near by and wanted to be scratched too so I was scratching both of them at the same time. Then they started scratching each other so I left them to do that and I went over to see Ruffy who was lying down. I spent some time sitting with him and just rubbing him for a while. 

Then I went in. Even though it was really cloudy it only rained on and off so that was nice. There were some bugs but not enough to make it unbearable. All in all it was a perfect morning of play. :)

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: You can't force connection...

June 14 2010

This morning I went out and played with Prince. Even though it was raining that didn't bother us. I actually like playing in the rain now. The only thing bad about it is that you can't ride... but that is okay. I spent some time scratching Prince before I haltered him. He literally put his head in the halter. I guess he wanted to be played with ;) First we did smelling the tail. The first time I had to guide Prince's head around but then the next time Prince brought his head around part way and the last time as soon as I had the end of his tail in zone 3 he brought his head all the way around the kept it there!! I did place my hand on the side of his nose once he had brought it around just so that he knew to keep it there. Prince's nose and tail were touching for 6 seconds and then we stopped. Prince was relaxed the whole time and was very soft. It was so cool!! Prince is such a clever horse! 

Then we played around with some circles at the walk on the 12ft line. Prince had the rhythm and relaxation but not a lot of connection so we played around with some different things but nothing really helped. So I decided to go up to the riding ring where there are more room. On our way up we did some yo-yo's, stick to me and some other things then we did circles. I was planning on doing 30 laps each way or until Prince found the connection. Going to the right first we got to 26 laps and then Prince gave me a beautiful lap at the trot on the 22ft line and he was so connected to me. He was about 12ft away and had an amazing look on his face and actually arched his body around me!!! It was incredible! I could see it coming through out the 26 laps. At first he was trotting at the end of the line and the rope was off the ground about 60% of the time then his trot softened and he started getting more connected to me on one side but then on the side where there was a little hill he would take more rope. So I just waited and then he slowly started getting more and more connected to me and to the circle and on lap 26 he trotted a full circle being connected to me and to the circle and I brought him in. He got a long rest and then we went the other way. 

This time (going to the left, his hard side) it only took 6 laps!! Right off the start Prince had the rhythm and relaxation, something that he doesn't normally have until the 4 lap or so. Plus he didn't break gait! I could see him trying to figure out what he needed to do and the pieces were coming together and on the 6th lap he gave me an even nicer circle then the one going to the right!! I was shocked but totally happy! Prince was incredible! So what did I learn? You can't force mental connection, it has to be given, offered. How do you get the horse to offer it? Well I am still figuring that one you ;)

So after another long rest and big lick and chew Prince and I went over to the barrels and I wanted to play with getting Prince to straddle the barrels while I stood farther away. The first time I asked Prince to jump the barrels. He did that no problem. Then I asked him to straddle it, I was standing 22ft away, at the end of the rope, Prince trotted up to the barrels and all I had to do was relax and he stopped perfectly. Then he looked at me with the cutest look on his face and asked a question! 

Before I let Prince go I asked him to yield his forequarters over. He did it perfectly. His shoulder wasn't lagging and he put effort into moving over. Then I got down on my knees and took the halter off. Prince stayed with me though so we just hung out for a while and then I asked Prince to do some small things at Liberty. I wasn't planning on it but it went so well. I asked him to do hindquarter yields, forequarter yields, backing up and some other things and Prince was very light. Then I asked Prince to do a figure eights around two tires.... and he did!!! It was amazing! Prince was so connected to me and he didn't even think of leaving, which is big because when we used to try that in the riding ring he would just run off. 

When you have the connection Online, it will follow over to Liberty. Like Mr. Parelli says "Liberty is the truth" I think that a lot of the problems that Prince and I were having at Liberty before were just that our connection, even though good, needed to be just that much better. 

Prince followed me down the hill and into the corral and we hung out together for a while before I played with Twosox. It was truly an amazing play time. I learned a lot and will have to think about how it shall apply to everything else but I know that it will. I love learning! 

Naturally,

~Keri

Twosox: Just hangng out together.

June 12 2010

This evening I haltered Twosox and brought him out to graze on the front yard for a bit and then we went into the garage and I gave him his supplements. There were some people across the road talking and vehicles coming and going so he was a little worried about all that so we just stayed there until he relaxed. I have been oiling my saddle so I continued doing that. It helped because that way there was no pressure on Twosox at all. I was ready to stay for how ever long it took. It didn't really take long though. Then after a while we went back to the corral and then I just spent some time scratching the horses. They were really itchy. Since it was getting a little bit dark I went in. It was really nice just doing little things with the horses. I am hoping this up coming week will be nice weather wise. I shall be away all next week so I won't be able to play then. So I shall have to play a lot this week and a lot when I get back :) 

Naturally,

~Keri

Ruffian: Connection!!

June 12 2010

This morning it was raining. So I wasn't planning on going out and playing but I had a sudden urge to get out and do something with them, even if I got drenched in the process. So out I went. The horses weren't in so plan A couldn't be fulfilled. So I took plan B into action. I went out and found the horses. They were in the field trying to find what ever grass they could. When they saw me all four looked up. When Knightly that it was just me he went back to eating but Prince, Twosox and Ruffian all stared at me [possibly thinking that I was crazy to be out in the rain ;)] then they all came over to me. I have to say, that made my day! My heart did a cartwheel! It was so special! They all stuck around for a bit and then Prince started eating, Ruffian was determined to have me play with him and Twosox just stood there behind me looking very content. So I decided to play with Ruffy. I only had a 12ft line for a rope so I knew I couldn't do lots and lots of running around. So we did some small things. I let Ruffy move his feet a little. We did some circles at the trot. Ruffian didn't want to trot. So I was patiently persistent and after a little while he trotted nicely. Now the interesting thing is this... Ruffian was connected!!! He had rhythm. relaxation and connection! Even on a 12ft line. It was incredible. I couldn't even feel him on the end of the rope. We did it both way. Then we did some sideways, yo-yo's and porcupine games. 

The whole time I being very particular with out being critical. Ruffian responded very well and was light and tried really hard. When we did forequarter and hind quarter yields Ruffian did well. He wasn't as light as I wanted but he is getting there. Near the end he gave me some really nice yields. Then we hung out for a bit. I waited for Ruffy to lick and chew and then I took the halter off. Ruffian stayed with me though and didn't leave. Just as I was un haltering Ruffy Twosox layed down so I went over and sat with him for a long time. Ruffian came over too and took a nap. And then after a little while Prince looked at me and came over. So there I was, Twosox laying down and Ruffian and Prince standing near me. It was wonderful. After a while it started raining harder so I decided to head home. 

It was a really nice time just being with my horses and hanging out in their world for a bit. 

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: Doing simple things with excellence

June 11 2010

This morning I played with Prince for a little bit in the corral. It was really interesting! My focus today was on doing simple things with excellence.... or at least we were trying ;) Since Level 4 is basically doing Level 1 with excellence I decided to try doing the first couple Level 1 Online things on the self assessment chart... again with excellence. So first of course was haltering with savvy!! It was very fun. Prince did very well. There is one little tiny thing that I need to change but I over all it went just like it normally does, very smooth. 

Then we did some different friendly games. I rubbed Prince all over with the carrot stick. He actually fell asleep while I was doing that. It was a "How interesting" moment for me because I realized that Prince doesn't really fall asleep very often when we are together. Except for some times when we are riding and standing still helping my mom. He was a little tense when I was rubbing his head. I know why too but I shall discuss that later on. After that I did some other friendly games and tried to have good rhythm. It was really interesting. 

After that it was Porcupine games!! I have really come to love this game, yes our porcupine game always needs to be improved but I think that is why I love it so much! Because the better it gets the better everything else gets! But then it is like that with all the seven games ;) First we did backing up by the nose. Prince has gotten really light and we are now playing with speed and distance. These are coming a long really quickly. Hindquarter yields were really easy. Prince pivoted a full circle and kept his one front foot still. At the end you would see the spiral in the ground! It was really neat. We did that both ways and then went to the forequarters. This was a little bit more challenging. Prince was all over the place. So I switched to driving game just to help him get his shoulder over. Now this is where I had a BFO. Prince, for what ever reason, isn't moving his shoulder over as fast as he moves his face and neck... and that carries over to our riding in so many ways! Once I really started thinking about it it was incredible how it is effecting our riding I now understand why I am having problems with anything that has to do with circles, because when I ask Prince to move over or to get back on the circle etc he moves his head over but not his shoulder and we end up going in the same direction. 

I had noticed this before while I was riding but I didn't clue in that it was effecting so much. And it also explains why Prince is gets a little tense when I rub him when the carrot stick near his face. I was bothering the wrong zone so it wasn't fair and instead of getting dominate he got worried..... "HOW INTERESTING" This is fascinating! It took a while for Prince to start moving his shoulder over but I rewarded the slighted try and he learned quickly. When we ended Prince was doing just over half a pivot and he was moving his everything that needed to be moved, together. I am excited to see how this shall effect our riding. I know it will. Hopefully this upcoming week we shall be able to play with it. 

After that Prince and I just hung out together for a bit. When I let him go he stayed with me and so I scratched him and then went over and sat on the edge of the manger and spend some undemanding time with all the horses. 

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: Trimming and hanging out!

June 10 2010

After I played with Twosox I trimmed Prince. He stood well and the trim went well. After I finished trimming I was exhausted... not sure why. Normally I am not so tired. Maybe it is the weather ;) I let Prince graze on the front yard for a while. Then I decided to climb up bareback and just sit on him while he grazed. It was so much more comfortable then standing! Prince and I moseyed around to different patches of grass and then mom my needed a lawn chair moved so we went over and picked it up and moved, it was a little challenging because we only had one rein but we got it. Prince did really well. Then after a while we headed over to the corral and I asked Prince to go sideways over to it so I could get off. Then I just spend some time hanging out with the the three horses. Giving scratches and then went in and not it is raining. 

Naturally,

~Keri

Twosox: Responsibility #4: Look where you are going!

June 9 2010

This morning Twosox and I played with his responsibility to look where he is going. We went out to play in the field where we figured the horses would be. They weren't there but as we were walking through the field Twosox came from the bushes and came over to us. He is so sweet! The other horses were still no where to be seen. Mom and I rubbed Twosox and then Ruffian came from a different path... then a couple minutes later Knightly, Prince still didn't show up. That was fine though. I scratched Twosox for a bit and then haltered him. I had to trim Prince today so I didn't play with him. Then Ruffian and Knightly decided to leave and head home, still no Prince. So I called Prince. He came from the woods shortly after. He stuck around for a bit and then joined the other horses heading homeward. Twosox got worried because he was left behind. So we started doing some different things, I wanted to give him a job. We did some Touch it first and then we did some falling leaf. That really helped Twosox. He was calmer but not really really calm yet so we kept playing. Then we did some circles. But I picked the spot where he would really have to watch were he was going. He had to think and not just run away with himself. He tried to get away a couple times, but I knew what happened before what happened happened. So I was prepared. 

By this time Twosox was switching between dominance and being worried. It was fun to read the difference! At first Twosox was tripping over things and not really watching where it was going so we kept going until he wasn't tripping. Then we moved to another spot where he had to go down a little gully and then it was flat for a couple strides and then over a hill and such. He did really well and maintained gait the whole time. 

Once Twosox was calm and left brain I decided to go find the other horses. My 22ft line was very muddy and gross. So I switched to my 45ft line. I really want to play with getting Twosox out on a longer line but he wasn't in the frame of mind to do that today, plus the mosquitoes where really bad. The horses actually weren't that far away. We hung around with them for a bit and then we headed over to the big stump and I asked Twosox to climb up. He wasn't to sure at first but pretty soon he put one foot up and almost put the second foot up but wasn't sure if he could do that. So we stopped there. Great place to end! 

When I let Twosox go he stayed with me and followed me when I walked away. It was really fun to play with the horse that showed up!! 

Naturally,

~Keri

Ruffian: No Connection

June 7 2010

 After I played with Twosox I played with Ruffian. We had a really interesting play time. We started with some traveling circles, jumping, sideways and some other stuff then we did some more circles. I we were only supposed to do 30 laps each way but well... Ruffy needed more until he could find connection, and even then I had to really help him find it. So it was interesting. Going in the other direction took less time but it still took some time. So I shall have to play with it more next time. 

Anyways.... we still had a good play time. :) 

Naturally,

~Keri

Twosox: Hmmmm... How interesting.

June 7 2010

This play time with Twosox was really good but it had an "How interesting" moment. I caught Twosox and we went into the riding ring. I saddled up and then we went and started playing. I had just tightened up the saddle to the second stage and I asked Twosox to trot a little bit. To my surprise he took off bucking... BIG bucks. Twosox has done that before but not in a while and long time. It is normally something to do with the saddle. I let go of the rope and Twosox ran around bucking for a couple seconds and then came trotting back over to me rather scared. I had taken one shim out when I saddled Prince and so when I went to saddle Twosox up I decided to see if it was okay for him too. Well the saddle must have really bothered him, probably pinched him. When I saddled up again with the shim in Twosox was perfectly fine. No buck what so ever. Interesting eh? This horse is incredible!! 

We continued on playing. We did circles w/t/c, change of directions, sideways, jumping, straddling a barrel and some other things. Then when I was confident that Twosox wasn't going to buck again I climbed on. He was a little bit unconfident but not enough that I felt the need to get off. So we stood still for a while and then mom and I did some follow the leader. Twosox and I were in the lead and mom and Knightly were following. That really helped Twosox relax. First we did one lap around the riding ring and then we did some point to point, indirect and direct rein, 9 step back up, and some sideways. By the end Twosox was really relaxed and that was were we ended. I wanted to end on a really good note. 

I hadn't ridden Twosox in over a week so all things considered he did really well. He teaches me so much!!! When I took the saddle off there were no rub marks or anything so that was good. Hopefully the reason for the bucking is just because of the shimming.

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: Progress...

June 7 2010

Be prepared for a long post!! :)

This morning we were up early again to play. It was really nice out. It was cooler and just perfect for playing! There were no bugs! Hooray! The horses were out in the back field so we went out and played there. At first mom and I just sat down on a rock and watched the horses. Ruffian was the first to come over soon after we got there then Prince and Twosox came over also. It was really sweet! I love my horses! I spent some time rubbing each one of them and then Prince and I played at Liberty for a while. It was so much fun! Prince stuck with me the whole time and we did Touch it, Stick to me, yo-yo's down, through and over things, leading by the tail and smelling his tail. Prince didn't move his feet once when I asked him to smell his tail! And we are now at 7 seconds! Getting closer! Prince was fabulous! 

Then I haltered him and we played on the 45ft line. I am really falling in love with this rope! It is so nice to be able to give Prince the extra room and it is fun to challenge ourselves to do new things. To bad that we have to go to the back our our 28 acre property to play with it... but that is okay. For now it is working :) We started out with some yo-yo's. I backed Prince out to the end of the 45ft line. It was the first time that we have done that and I haven't had to move my feet!! Then mom challenged us to do some different things, the first one to to get Prince to put two feet on a hill while I stood about 35ft away. We did back feet and Prince backed up onto it. Then mom wanted me to get Prince to put one front foot in one tire and a back foot in the other... while I again at about 35ft. At first Prince wasn't sure what I wanted so I had to move a bit closer to help him but then I moved back to where I was standing before. Then Prince started trying really hard. We would get one foot in but then Prince wasn't be lined up to put the other one in so we had to play with it. Then Prince put his back foot in so all that was left was to put his front foot in the other one. He was facing me so I asked him to pivot and put his foot in the other tire. Part way through I saw the look on Prince's face change and he figured out what I was asking. Prince lifted his front foot up and just held it there waiting for me to tell him where I wanted it. I relaxed when it was over the tire and he placed it right there. It was really fun! After that Prince looked at me and asked a question. It was so cool!!

At one point the rope was dragging through some deep, wet dirt and Prince felt the rope tug on his halter. At first he just tipped his head, then he arched his body still trying to go the way I had sent him then he turned and faced me because the pressure didn't go away. I couldn't believe that Prince was that sensitive! Then we did circles!! They are so much more fun now that we have more space. I could tell right off the start that Prince was way more connected to me. Not perfect yet but getting there. So after some circles at the trot I asked Prince to canter. We just played with our canter departures. Things were looking promising but then the horses left... and Prince being the boss got worried. So we lost our connection. He still tried to do what I was asking and soon he was connected again and we were able to continue. It is going to take some time before Prince is cantering even 4 laps like he was on the 22ft line but I know that he wasn't connected to me at all on the 22ft line when he was cantering so when we get 30ft of canter with Prince connected to me it is a hundred times better then 5 laps but with no connection. So it will take time but I willing to take that time. 

Then we went in the other direction and I was really pleased at how well Prince did. It was amazing how a strong send will fix a lot of your problems in your allow ;) After we finished our circles we went home. On our way home we stopped at a big stump and I asked Prince to climb up on it. Prince did it with out even hesitating!! He stood up there and looked around and was very content! It has taken us a while to get that but finally we did! Once we got home I saddled up and then we went into the riding ring to play for a little bit and then ride. We didn't do a whole lot Online. Just enough tighten the saddle and make sure Prince was light and responsive still. I had to reinforce our porcupine game. It was a little slow so we played with that and Prince was light again. Then we did some jumping, stick to me, sideways, straddling a single barrel etc. Prince did really really well. Then I got up and we rode!! 

At first when I got up I had a couple things that I wanted to do but I didn't really have a plan. Prince sensed that and I did too so we stood still for a while as I made up my plan. Once that was done we set off. We did some forequarter yields and indirect rein and then we did figure eights. Now as you may have read in previous posts that is something Prince and I have been struggling with. But we have kept plucking away at it and I think we are finally breaking through. We stayed at the walk today and things went really well. Prince responded very well to my body and I didn't have to use my carrot stick nearly as much as I used too. It stayed on my shoulder about 75% of the time!! I had to be careful though because Prince was so in tune with me that if I wasn't focusing on the right place Prince would go exactly where I was looking. So at first our figure eights were a little bit messy but we stuck with it and when I realized when I was doing, things got much better. The last figure eights I only had to use my carrot stick less then 3 times and it just a small correction and it was back in neutral again. Prince got a long rest after that then we did circles!! 

They were fun!! So we started off going to the right. We didn't have to do as many circles this time before both Prince and I got the pattern and we would have done even less if I had have learned what I learned later on sooner... more on that later ;) So after we did circles to the right we went to the left. Now in my mind I had 4 points in my circle. But some where along the way I kind of lost my focus and  that was when Prince started coming off the circle and such. When I realized this I started focusing on my 4 point and our circles immediately got better. Prince got back on the circle and two laps later and trotted into the center and stopped. Now here is my point... FOCUS!!! On a circle Online we expect our horses to be mentally connected to us and the circle right? So when we are riding we, the human also have to be mentally connected, and not just on the circle but on every pattern we ride. If we aren't why should be expect our horses to be. So this is what I am going to really be playing attention to. Now I know that it can be hard with other distractions and such but I am going to get my focus really good. When I am riding, or playing  I am going to make sure that (1) I know the pattern in my head before I ask my horse to do it and (2) while we are doing the pattern be fair to the horse and concentrate, focus.

I changed the shimming pattern in my theraflex to see if it made a difference and it did. I didn't get Prince sweating but there wasn't any rub marks (Yippee! My fluidity is getting better!) so we shall see if it makes a difference in the sweat patterns. 

Anyways... I played with all three horses this morning. I will write about their play times later :) Especially about how one very small change showed me just how sensitive Twosox is...  again. ;)

Naturally,

~Keri

Undemanding time

June 5 2010

This morning it was rainy so I didn't play but I did spend about a hour or so of undemanding time with the horses. It was wonderful! I mostly just scratched them and hung out with them, not doing a whole lot. But I did play with Prince a little bit at Liberty. One of the new things that I have been teaching Prince is to smell his tail. So I decided to play around with that a little bit more. I started out by just asking him to bring his head around and hold it there. Then once he could do that and not move his feet I put it all together. Now the really neat part is that after we had done it twice successfully I wanted to do it once more so I brought Prince's tail around and just before I was going to ask him to bring his head around he tipped his head towards me!! It wasn't all the way but I decided in a split second to release. So we continued to play with it and Prince had figured out the pattern!! It only took a couple times and Prince actually brought his head all the way around as soon as he saw that I had his tail in the proper position!! Prince is so smart! I couldn't believe it!! So now we are up to 6 seconds. A little over half way to my goal of 10. 

Another couple other things that I noticed was that (1) Prince was following me around everywhere I couldn't walk away with out Prince following me and (2) part way through while I was rubbing Twosox and Prince was behind me he sent Twosox away. Twosox didn't go far because I blocked Prince a couple other times Prince sent one of the horses away if they came near me. Once I saw the pattern, at first I though maybe one of the horses had gotten to close to him or something, I started asking Prince to stand a little farther back when he was with me. Not as punishment but just so that he could still be with me but if I was scratching another horse he knew that I was still boss. By the end Prince was fine again and I was able to scratch both him and Twosox and they were both really close and there was no issues. Prince has never done that before though so it was interesting. 

The whole time Ruffian was eating and didn't even come over to see me, which was weird. So I asked him to come over to an d we spent some time together away from the other horses. One thing that I have been noticing with Ruffian is that he doesn't bring his head around to be haltered as he used too so I decided to play around with that. I tried a couple different things and one thing that seemed to make a difference was when he did bring his head around I rubbed the side of his face that was closest to me. I am not sure why but that really helped. After that he brought his head around really nicely and kept it there. I then wanted to wait until he had licked and chewed. He took a long time to process that. It must have been a good 10 minutes. Finally he relaxed and started licking, chewing and yawning. Then he lowered his head and went to sleep. 

I had a lot of fun just being with the horses and watching them, interacting with them and just hanging out!! I can hardly wait for Monday to start a whole new week of playing... hopefully it shall be a better week weather wise and that was I can play with all three horses more. 

Naturally,

~Keri

Ruffian: New places

June 4 2010

After I played with Prince I took Ruffian out to the front yard and let him graze for a bit then we went over to the garage. I opened the big door. Ruffian wasn't to sure about it so I waited until he relaxed and then we went in. We did some yo-yo's in and out and then he was fine. He was checking everything out. It was interesting to see the difference between how Twosox and Ruffian handled the same situation. It was really neat. 

Even in the garage there was at least 10 horse flies. They weren't biting though so that was nice. Since the bugs were so bad I decided to take Ruffian back to the corral early. He did enjoy some really nice long grass though :)

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: Isolate, separate and recombine...

June 4 2010

This morning I played with Prince. We played in the field, which was really nice. Even though the bugs were really bothersome. On our way to the field (it is at the back of our property) Prince and I did zone 3 driving. I wanted to see how in tune Prince was with me and just test some thing out. Prince did really well. When we got to the turn around we did some circles at the walk, Prince was really connected to me, which was amazing!! Then we did traveling circles at the trot. One of my goals is to have Prince circling on a traveling circle and have the belly of the rope on the ground. I think we are getting close! 

Once we got to the field we did some circles at the trot and once Prince gave me rhythm, relaxation and connection I brought him in. I didn't want to spent to long on the 22ft line before I went on the 45ft line. So then we went to the 45ft line. Prince loves it! It was amazing to see the difference. Yes we do need to play with getting more connection but Prince wasn't pulling nearly as bad as he was on the 22ft line at the canter. 

So today I wasn't really "teaching" anything. I stayed in the "testing" stage and just played around with different things. We did transitions and lots of circles at the trot. I would ask Prince to canter, he would canter a couple strides and then break gait, so I would let him trot until he was connected to me and then I would ask him to canter again. Once Prince comes down from the canter he is on a lot adrenaline and that is what makes us loose the connection. So we shall have to play with that more. One other thing I learned is not to rush Prince into the canter. With LBI, or any horsenality for that matter, you are supposed to do what?? Wait! So I asked for the canter really nicely, and waited and watched! Prince started going faster so I released. Then after he had trotted a couple strides I asked again, this time he went even faster but not into the canter yet. So I released and repeated the process. This time though he went into the canter and cantered, connected and with the belly of the rope on the ground, and his canter was slow, rhythmic and he was cantering properly. He didn't canter long, about 30ft and then I brought him in but that was perfectly fine with me.

I think the main things I learned from that was (1) Don't rush him. If Prince isn't responding then do something about it but if he is trying, leave him alone, (2) Prince already has a hard time getting himself cantering properly, he normally is either counter cantering or cross firing. He will correct himself but it takes a little bit. So if I rush him, even if I don't mean to, he will be rushed into the canter, we will loose the connection and it all goes down hill from there. So those are the main things that I learned.

I can't wait to play again and see what else I learn!


Naturally,
~Keri

Prince: They never said that learning was easy...

Just 2 2010

Even though today's play time was a hard one I know that it is an important part of our journey. Again our struggles were with our circles at the canter.  I won't go into detail. Nothing was "bad" per se but it was just hard. I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing and then the bugs didn't help. There was a new kind of bug that we haven't had before. They are really little and bite real bad. 

I know though that Prince and I shall get through this, together. Is it a learning experience, I am outside my comfort zone, it is different, challenging, and it would be so much easier to just go back to what we can do and stay there, to just ignore the hard stuff. But that wouldn't get us any where. So I shall continue on and keep experimenting and see what we can come up with. I have a couple ideas and so I shall most definitely let you know how they work out!

Naturally,

~Keri

Twosox: He really has changed!

June 1 2010

So we finished cleaning out the garage today. It is all ready for tomorrow. Yippee! It looks wonderful! Now the only think left was to make sure that Twosox was ready... so after supper I took him out and first let him eat for a bit and then we went to the garage. My goal was to get him confident being in there so that I could trim in there tomorrow. I think I prepared for the worse. I was ready to be out there for as long as it took... it took about 1 minute. He walked right in and was looking around, checking things out... he was fine! Of course he was alert but not scarred. By the end of our session my two little brothers were roller skating by, people were talking, I was making noise, lots of stuff and he was standing there nice and relaxed. I did back him in and out a couple times just to make sure and then I stood on the out side and sent him in and he was okay with all that too. 

Then I brought him out to the side of the road and let him graze for a while. I was really surprised! Twosox's confidence has sky rocketed! He is so confident and willing. It is really wonderful! 

Naturally,

~Keri

Need your opinion!

What do you all think of the new blog colours and backgrounds?  Any suggestions?

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Naturally,
~Keri

Prince: Playing on the 45ft line, and riding.

May 31 2010

This morning I played with Prince. Before we went up to the riding ring we played at Liberty for a little bit Prince did some really nice figure eights!! I was so proud of him!  I took the 45ft line out to see if that would help Prince while he was cantering on the circle. We played on it for a while and did some nice circles. Prince enjoyed the extra rope we did some circles at the walk, trot and canter, change of directions, and transitions. Prince did really well. The extra rope helped but I also need to play with getting Prince more mentally connected to me at the canter. It will take time though.

When we were ready to ride I mounted up. We did a little bit of Follow the rail and then we went into Figure eights. Prince and I spent a lot of time with these. We started out at the walk and played with them. Prince was not listening to my body so it took a while. Once things were going better at the walk we went to the trot. Again it took some time because Prince had other ideas. Finally Prince started trying to figure out what I wanted. I couldn't believe how much we trotted! After a long rest we did some forequarter yields, sideways and some other small stuff then we did circles!! These were fun!!! We did them at a trot and circled around a rock and later when I took my long sleeve shirt off that was our center. At first Prince wanted to veer off but after a couple circles he was doing better. Then we did quite a few circles and after a while I suddenly realized just how fast Prince was trotting! I couldn't believe it, I was riding a really fast trot, and I didn't have any negative emotions!! Plus I carrot stick riding and I had a completely casual rein! It felt wonderful! That was huge for me!!  We continued on and also went the other way. This way was a little bit harder but since I knew exactly what I was looking for and how to get it it didn't take as long.

I have to play around with some different shimming because there was some dry spots that I noticed when I took my saddle off. I hadn't noticed them before because I never got Prince sweating! But now we are doing a lot more so he is, plus the heat helps :)

So yeah. All in all it was a great play time. One thing that I realized after was that I can tend to get stuck on what the beginning and middle looked like and I forget what the end looked like. The middle might look bad or in my case feel bad but if the end didn't then you know that there was improvement :)

Naturally,
~Keri