December 3 2010
Prince and I had a great session today. We actually played with a lot but we were able to keep it interesting and have fun. We started out with Stick to me from zone 2/3. I want to play with snappy departure, graceful transitions, and quicker back-up's. We really started getting quicker, snappier back ups when I had a strong focus (physically and mentally). One thing that I have noticed recently is that my energy is not equal when it comes to going forward and backing up. So I have be playing with that and seeing great improvement in Prince's back up's!
We got our stick to me back up's really good and to the point where we could stop quickly and go backwards really fast and Prince stuck right with me the whole time. Up next was backing up by the hocks. Prince caught on fairly quickly. He got a little bit confused part way through so I just used my rope to help him get unstuck and after that he was very light and responded very well.
Next we played with jumping a single barrel and circles, both on the 12ft line. I have really been learning a lot about Responsibility #4 for the human which is - Use the natural power of focus. Especially being mentally focused, knowing what you want, how you want your horse to do it, where you will have to be to set up for success... etc., etc. It takes a lot to become mentally focused, but it is worth it because both you and your horse will have more success because you are the leader and you know what you want! So, with this in mind, we set out to play with jumping the barrel. I can get Prince to jump it fairly easily but he doesn't really offer it and there is hardly any slack in the rope...which means that if Prince was at Liberty he would just go around it.
We have been playing with it for a while and getting some success but it was kind of hit and miss. Today though we were able to get quite a bit of success. One of the main things we played with today was that I asked Prince to put more effort into jumping it. He seemed to know that I wanted him to jump it but he would hit is back feet on the barrel while going over. So I would reward the slightest try and then ask again. Pretty soon he started offering more and when he jumped the barrel and cleared it I brought him in for a long rest.
Next we played with circles. We did some cantering also which was really nice. Prince even put slack in the rope while he was cantering around and so we just played with that a bit and then ended.
When I let Prince go he stayed with me and then after a little while he walked over to the gate and looked like he was going to leave but then he came back to me! So we played at Liberty. We did Falling Leaf at a walk, circles, sideways, and stick to me. One of my goals is to be able to do the Falling Leaf pattern at Liberty and at the trot. It will probably take a while to get but that is my goal. Prince did very well with the circles. He stayed really connected and we were able to get them to be a little bit farther away also, instead of him being really close to me. So that was pretty cool.
Then we went over and hung out with Ruffian, who had followed us up to the riding ring and hung out with us the whole time. He was lying down by this time so we went over and stayed there for a while before I went down and went inside to warm up!
Naturally,
~Keri
We got our stick to me back up's really good and to the point where we could stop quickly and go backwards really fast and Prince stuck right with me the whole time. Up next was backing up by the hocks. Prince caught on fairly quickly. He got a little bit confused part way through so I just used my rope to help him get unstuck and after that he was very light and responded very well.
Next we played with jumping a single barrel and circles, both on the 12ft line. I have really been learning a lot about Responsibility #4 for the human which is - Use the natural power of focus. Especially being mentally focused, knowing what you want, how you want your horse to do it, where you will have to be to set up for success... etc., etc. It takes a lot to become mentally focused, but it is worth it because both you and your horse will have more success because you are the leader and you know what you want! So, with this in mind, we set out to play with jumping the barrel. I can get Prince to jump it fairly easily but he doesn't really offer it and there is hardly any slack in the rope...which means that if Prince was at Liberty he would just go around it.
We have been playing with it for a while and getting some success but it was kind of hit and miss. Today though we were able to get quite a bit of success. One of the main things we played with today was that I asked Prince to put more effort into jumping it. He seemed to know that I wanted him to jump it but he would hit is back feet on the barrel while going over. So I would reward the slightest try and then ask again. Pretty soon he started offering more and when he jumped the barrel and cleared it I brought him in for a long rest.
Next we played with circles. We did some cantering also which was really nice. Prince even put slack in the rope while he was cantering around and so we just played with that a bit and then ended.
When I let Prince go he stayed with me and then after a little while he walked over to the gate and looked like he was going to leave but then he came back to me! So we played at Liberty. We did Falling Leaf at a walk, circles, sideways, and stick to me. One of my goals is to be able to do the Falling Leaf pattern at Liberty and at the trot. It will probably take a while to get but that is my goal. Prince did very well with the circles. He stayed really connected and we were able to get them to be a little bit farther away also, instead of him being really close to me. So that was pretty cool.
Then we went over and hung out with Ruffian, who had followed us up to the riding ring and hung out with us the whole time. He was lying down by this time so we went over and stayed there for a while before I went down and went inside to warm up!
Naturally,
~Keri
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