Prince: Freestyle circles

February 11 2011

Today I trimmed Prince but before we started I rode Prince bareback and with one rein in the corral. We did some sideways, direct and indirect rein, and then we played with circles. This was interesting as we haven't ridden circles in a while. At first we started by going around the tree but it was hard to get a good circle because of the other tree that was in the way. So we had to do really small circles.

Then we moved over to the other side of the corral and were able to do a little bit bigger circles. We stayed at the walk and at the end, once I gained a really strong focus and could envision the circle better we had success.

After that we rode over to the gate and opened and closed that. It was a bit challenging because of the snow and it is a big green gate but Prince did well and we got it done in the end. Then we just hung out for a bit in the sun before heading over to the drive way to trim!

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: Bridling and Liberty!

February 7 2011

Prince came into the riding ring after I let Twosox out after our session. We played at Liberty for a while. We did Stick to me at the walk, trot, back up and canter. Then we went over to the barrels that were set up as a jump by the fence and my Mom asked me to try asking Prince to jump the barrels, turn face me, jump them again and repeat the process a couple times, and with speed! So we did that about 5-6 times, where Prince jumped the barrels, turned, jumped them again etc etc then we ended with me changing it up and asking Prince to straddle it, which he did perfectly!! It was a lot of fun and the look on Prince's face at the end was priceless! 

Then we came sideways towards me off the barrels and then took a short break before I asked Prince to go sideways over the barrels while I stood about 20ft away. At first he was trying everything when I just wanted him to line up in front of me and wait and then go sideways. So we played with that until Prince figured out that I didn't want him to do anything yet. 

Once Prince stood still I then asked him to go sideways and he was so light. I just lifted up my energy and focused straight over Prince to the other side of the barrels and Prince sent sideways perfectly right over the barrels. 

While Mom and Knightly played for a while before we started playing together at Liberty Prince and I went over and played with bridling. Prince knew exactly what it was and was reaching for the bit while I held it like I would bridle him. Through out the process I was able to guide the bit into Prince's mouth three times. The second time he tossed his head a little but when it stopped and lowered it I took the bit out. The third time though he took it really nicely and then continued licking the honey off then his mouth went perfectly quiet and he was fine with it!! So I guided it out and then I just put some more honey on it and let him lick it all off and didn't put it in his mouth. He was amazing!! Prince has made such huge progress in the last couple sessions it is incredible!! 

When Mom and Knightly were ready we played at Liberty together again. We decided to send the horses in the other direction around the riding ring this time and we also set up two jumps in different places so we could judge whether they were staying to the outside of the riding ring or not, and also to keep it interesting for them. 

The horse kept wanting to change direction at first but once we got that figured out the horses cantered about 3 really nice laps except Prince kept missing the jump. So we played with that until Prince jumped it and didn't go around it. Towards the end though Prince was getting tired so we decided to let the horses trot instead of canter, seeing as they had already cantered some really nice laps. At one point Prince was cantering around, jumping, and doing everything beautifully but Knightly kept turning and facing Mom after he jumped the barrels so once we solved that everything went really well. 

The horses were pretty tired after all that but it went well all in all. They had the most beautiful expressions on their faces when they came in too!! It was fun! We ended after that because they were getting sweaty and we didn't want them to get a chill or anything. Plus they had done really well. 

When we were cleaning the corral this afternoon Prince was following me around everywhere and when I was in one spot for a while he would just stand beside me and fall asleep then when I moved, he moved to right beside me again. We must have had a good session :) 

Naturally,

~Keri

Twosox: Liberty

February 7 2011

Well I went out to play with Prince but Twosox was the first to come into the riding ring when I opened the gate (all three horses were standing just outside it while Mom was playing with Knightly) so I decided to play with him at Liberty.

We started with Stick to me along the rail. The snow is really deep in the riding ring except for along the edges where Mom shoveled a path so that made it easier. Then we played Touch it with barrels, pedestal, tires, etc.

Our draw has improved so much. It used to be our biggest issue at Liberty. Twosox was fine unless he left or we did things from a farther distance and then he wouldn't know what to do. So it has greatly improved over the last couple months and it is really effecting, in a positive way, our Liberty!!

We ended by hanging out on the pedestal and Twosox had a big lick and chew. It was great!! :)

Naturally,

~Keri

Twosox: Freestyle

February 4 2011

After I trimmed Twosox today I mounted up and we rode around on the front yard a little bit. We did some really basic tasks such as direct rein, indirect rein, one rein back-up's and stops and point to point. Twosox really wanted to walk up the road towards town so we went a little ways and then turned back and rode over to the gate where I got off and we finished there.

So not a whole lot but it was fun and warm!! The sun was out and it was beautiful out! Perfect for trimming and riding.

Naturally,

~Keri

Ruffian: Waiting for that relaxation!

February 3 2011

Ruffian and I had a fantastic session today. We played up in the riding on the 12ft line. Since things were going well in the corral on the 12ft line and Ruffian was confident and connected I decided that we were ready to try it up in the riding ring. I took my 22ft line up just in case Ruffian needed a little extra room but we didn't need it.

We started with Touch it because after all the snow we got on Wednesday, it was actually only about a foot and a half so really not that much... we are used to more ;) but it was the most snow we have gotten this year at one time and everything looks so much more scary when there is a foot and a half of snow on it right? Well Ruffian thought so.

After he figured out that everything was the same we did some circles. Ruffian was connected and kept the slack in the rope almost the whole time. While going to the left he was super relaxed, he had found a really soft rhythm and he was so connected. So after 4 laps I asked him to come in.

While going to the right everything was going well until a lot of snow fell off of the fence and spooked Ruffian and so after that Ruffian wasn't not confident around that part of the riding ring. At first I wasn't to concerned about it and we continued playing. He didn't look really right brain or anything. We did continue doing circles until Ruffian stopped coming in on the circle a bit on that side.

Then we played with turning circles into sideways. This was fun and Ruffian caught on really quickly. When we ended Ruffian was able to trot on the circle and then I would walk over to the fence and then push him sideways. At first Ruffian would stop and then go sideways but at the end he had more "flow".

While we were doing some squeeze games at the one end of the riding ring that Ruffian wasn't 100% confident about being around I noticed that it was a bigger issue than what first caught my eye. Which I should have known because when Ruffian is scared or worried it never looks as bad as it really is, that what makes him so complex because he can go from being extroverted and playful to being really introverted.

So I decided to go back to circles and wait for the relaxation. It took about 12 circles until Ruffian started blowing and stretching, lowering his head and relaxing. Once he did that and I could tell that he was relaxed I brought him in and he was way more relaxed. He came in and his head was low, he was licking and chewing, and he was actually sweating!! So there must have been some emotional sweat in there because it was only 12 circles at a trot and even though it was warmer it wasn't that warm.

Then I took the halter off and we hung out at Liberty for a while before going down to the corral. Like Mr. Parelli says "Take the time it takes and it will take less time" If I didn't take the time today, it very well could have been 20 circles tomorrow... 30 the next day and it would have just gone on and on.

Ruffian teaches me so much! Principle #7!!

Naturally,

~Keri

Ruffian and Twosox: Friendly game with the bit and bridle and other stuff!

February 1 2011

I also had a chance to play with Ruffian and Twosox with the bit. They both figured out really quickly that there was honey on it and Ruffian, who has never had a bit in his mouth before, was so amazed by it! The look on his face was like he was thinking "Finally Keri has a toy that I can put in my mouth and I am allowed to chew!!" It was fun to be able to watch him explore it and play with it.

Twosox did well and lowered his head nicely and practically put his head in the bridle just to lick off the bit. It was great!!

Ruffian was in an extra playful mood so we played at Liberty for a while. I backed him into the shelter from about 15ft away then after a short rest asked him to come back to me. We did some stick to me, sideways, touch it and friendly game around the legs and tail. Ruffian was connected for the most part except once when he left but he came back and we continued playing.

When we were up in the riding ring Ruffian and Twosox came up and started playing. It was fascinating to watch because Twosox is really starting to show signs of wanting to play. So the two of them were playing really hard, rearing, striking, kicking, biting etc etc all the stuff that horses do when they play.

One thing that I noticed was that they were playing a lot around the chin and trying to bite around the bottom of the lip area. Now what was really interesting was their response, when Ruffian did it to Twosox, Twosox would throw his head up in the air... which is the exact same thing that Ruffian and Twosox did when I first started to teach them to lead by the chin... hmmmm..... how interesting! No wonder! It is a game that they play!! Fortunately they don't do it any more but it is still really interesting!

I always love watching horses play with each other. It is so entertaining and educational at the same time! The amount of persistence the boss horses have to have is incredible!

Naturally,

~Keri

Prince: Bridling, Liberty and more!

February 1 2011

Prince and I had an incredible play session this afternoon. We started out with bridling at Liberty. We started by me just letting Prince lick the honey off the bit. He knew exactly what it was this time and didn't hesitate to get right in there and get it off. So since that went so well I decided to ask Prince to lower his head and I held the bridle like I was going to put it on. Prince didn't avoid it or hesitate at all when I held the bit for him to lick off the rest of the honey. He was actually taking the bit in his mouth part way all by himself. After we played with that for a while we ended on a really great note where Prince was actually reaching out for the bit and wanting it.

Then I haltered him and we went up the hill with me in zone 5. Prince wanted to walk really slow so I took it and asked him to walk even slower, which of course caused him to want to walk faster. I do so love reverse psychology!!

Once we got up to the riding ring we played with some different small things like backing up into an extreme friendly game with me in zone 5 (backing up also). On the first try Prince wasn't sure what he was supposed to do and turned and faced me so we just restarted and this time he got it. I put the rope between his legs so it was going right down the middle under him and that helped also. On the second try he got it and we backed up a couple feet with me doing an extreme friendly game. It was fun!

Then we did Sideways at a trot. Today I was a little bit more particular about Prince's hindquarters being over more. I still rewarded the slightest try but we kept with it until Prince was able to get his hindquarters over more. It was really nice to be able to advance it in a small way and both of us being able to keep our mental, emotional and physical collection ;)

After that we did some close range circles at the trot. Prince put so much effort into doing the circle and the belly of the rope was almost of the ground while he was circling me at about 3-4ft away! It was amazing!

Up next was Liberty!! Prince and I started out with Touch it. Then we moved onto circles. Prince did really well but we needed to play a little bit with maintaining gait. One interesting thing I have noticed recently is that Prince will pin his ears when we are doing close range things at higher gaits i.e. stick to me at the canter and sideways and circles at the trot. It is really interesting because we haven't had to deal with that a whole lot because Prince doesn't normally pin his ears a lot. I know of a couple main strategies to play with to help that though so I am prepared.

Our circles were really good by the end of the session. Prince was connected and maintaining gait and direction while watching where he was going. Then we did Figure eights at the trot from 20ft away!! I was totally surprised at how well they went.

Prince maintained a nice, smooth, relaxed trot and was so connected it blew me away! He didn't hesitate at all when I asked him to come around the barrels. All I had to do was shift my weight back and take half a step back and Prince would come around the barrel and then I would take a half step forward and he would go through the barrels. It was equal on both ends! I was 100% blown away!! Figure eights used to be one of the most challenging things for us to do at Liberty whether it was in a round corral or not. So to get them in our riding ring just like that... it was incredible!!

Then Mom, Knightly, Prince and I played at Liberty together. We started with getting both horses on the pedestal standing side by side. Than we did stick to me along the fence. Knightly was right by the fence then Mom was beside him, I was beside Mom and Prince was on my left hand side on the outside. We started out just at the walk and then once that was going well we went into the trot and did transitions and such, while trying to stand side by side the whole time. It went really well for 90% of the time. One time Prince and I got ahead because when we went around the corner Knightly slowed down a bit but all in all it went really well.

We then played with how we wanted to do the turn to change direction and go the other way. We decided that the best way would be to drive the hindquarters and then bring the forequarters around and walk off. It ended up looking really nice in the end!

Next Mom and I backed the horses out and sent them off around the riding ring. At first we didn't quite know what we wanted except for both us humans and the horses to be able to uphold each of our responsibilities.

At first the horses were breaking gait (from the trot) stopping and turning etc etc but pretty soon I got a really clear vision of what I wanted it to end like, which was both horses cantering one lap with out any more than 1 or 2 corrections from Mom and myself, the horses not cutting corners or running into each other.

It took a little while but eventually the horses would keep to the outside of the riding ring and they stopped trying to turn and change directions. Mom and I each had a side of the riding ring that was our side and so it was our responsibility to correct the horses if needed when they were in our half.

It got going really well and each of the horses started upholding their responsibilities. If we had to correct one horse, the other one kept cantering along. One time though Knightly got too close to Prince and Prince kicked him. After that Knightly kept his space. It went so well and we brought the horses in when they had cantered one complete lap and we only had to make one correction when Knightly broke gait for a couple strides.

When Prince got past my shoulder I brought him in while making sure Knightly kept going then when Knightly got to Mom's side she brought him in. It was so much fun! Both horses had a long rest and huge licks and chews and we ended there. We all walked over the gate and Prince and I opened it then we let them out. It was a lot of fun and once we get better we want to video tape it all :)

Naturally,

~Keri