Ruffian: My plan worked!!

August 30 2010

I couldn't believe it, my plan had actually worked! Ruffian didn't try once through out our whole play time to get away. His mind was engaged elsewhere... on what I was asking him to do! 

I did have a lot planned. One thing to be exact. That was all I wanted to do, but with excellence! So we set out to do it. Before we went up to the riding ring how ever we played at Liberty a little bit down in the corral. All I wanted to do was to go from the shelter to the gate (which is on the other side of the corral) and that was where I would halter Ruffian. He however was having a hard time with that. So here is what I did...

Mr. Parelli says "Nose, neck maybe the feet" right? Well that goes both good and bad ways. The first thing Ruffian has to do when he is going to leave is turn his nose away, then his neck and then his feet. So what I did was as soon as Ruffian turned his head away, even if it wasn't for him to leave, I asked him to disengage his hindquarters. That worked really well. The first couple times Ruffian left and ignored it but pretty soon my timing got better and he got more interested. 

Then we had to play some friendly game with the carrot stick because Ruffian was a little bit worried about that. Once he was okay with that again we continued on. I think I am finally beginning to realized where I went wrong with Ruffian, and when he decided to make up his own games. There were a couple play times when everything went really well but my heart wasn't really in it. I was bored and Ruffian was about to get bored (or very well could have been bored already) and then that was when it happened and he started making up his own, more interesting games. 

Once we got up to the riding ring we did some Touch it, sideways and some really small simple, yet interesting, things. Ruffian didn't try and get away so we then carried out my plan. I put Ruffian on a "spot" and asked him to stay (ground tying) while I set up two poles, one on each side of the circle, I brought the ball in and also through some tires around. Then we started! I sent Ruffian off on the circle and at first what we did was basic walk-trot transitions at each pole. So I would ask Ruffian to walk from one pole to the other, transition into the trot and then trot from that pole to the other one, walk again etc etc. The moment that I felt that Ruffian got it I switched it. I wasn't going to let him have any time to make up his own game. 

Then we started doing full circles at the trot then stopping right over the pole, halt-trot transitions, lots of things at the halt, walk and trot. At first Ruffian was kind of interested but not totally but as soon as he started getting really interested I could tell because his one ear was always turned towards me and the other was forward, the belly of the rope went on the ground and Ruffian's trot come really smooth but at the same time energetic (but not RB). It was so cool! 

We switched directions and did some the other way and then we quit. Ruffian had a long rest and finally he licked and chewed. In the mean time I came up with one more thing. I wanted Ruffian to push the ball from where it was by the fence to in between the fence and the tractor tire. It something simple but I knew it would challenge us because Ruffian would much rather flatten the ball then push it. It didn't take long before he figured out to push it and then we had to get going in the right direction but all of a sudden Ruffian seemed to have gotten it and he started putting a lot more effort into pushing it. It was really something!! 

Once we got to the tire we quit and then after a bit I let Ruffian go. He stayed with me though and even once I opened the gate he still stayed with me. So we just hung out for a bit before heading down to the corral. 

I couldn't believe how well it went. God really gave me the wisdom that I needed and I am so thankful! I hope that our next play times go just as well and for that to happen I have to be just as prepared! 

Naturally,

~Keri