Sneaking In Saddle Time (Roscoe: Day 71-73)

DAY 71: Review and refine was the goal today. We were going to spend the session in the round pen. After yesterday’s performance it seemed to be a great time to go back and kick up the refinement and speed a notch or two. We did the Fundamental round pen exercises at the trot and lope…lots of loping. Direction changes were dynamic and Roscoe really worked up a sweat. He is slowly building up muscles along his top-line and his legs are looking better. He is moving out smoother too. Another balance/trim or two and good nutrition and we should be well on the road to having a balanced horse. Flexing was really nice and pretty light as were the hindquarter yields. We did some Sending inside and out side the round pen as well as Backing. Yielding the Forequarters is getting there. We have work to do in this exercise but Roscoe’s confidence and understanding is improving. The plastic bag, the stick-n-string and the rope were the tool used in the desensitizing exercises. He was mellow for all of them. We finished the session with some Leading Beside and relaxing (tied to our Tree of Knowledge) for an hour. Snack time (supplements) and pasture play time followed. Over the winter months session like this will happen at least twice a week (weather permitting) as well as trail walks where we’ll take the exercises to a new level and get creative with them Review is always a good thing and it is wise to remember that review days are not a bad thing. It cements the skills in the horse’s brain, changes up the pace and keeps things interesting.

DAY 73: The weather has been better but our schedules have been crazy! Training happens as often as we can make it happen but with the light fading so fast (it was dark by 5:30pm) getting enough time to get results is hard. We were able to sneak in some horse training/saddle time this evening. We loaded up the horses about 3:00pm. Argent is starting t play the “come chase me” game. He thinks its fun. We don’t. It took two of us about 20 minutes to catch him. He knew he was in trouble when we both got into the pasture and gave up the game pretty quick. We have a plan to show him the errors of his ways. Over the hill we went to the arena in Somerset, California (which is about 20 minutes from the house). Other folks had the same idea it seems so it was busier than usual. The footing was not great but not horrible. The other horses and humans seemed pleasant. We had some questions about the groundwork exercises we were doing (it always seems to happen) and the ladies who were asking said questions were very impressed that Roscoe was behaving so well given his history. Roscoe was being respectful and responsive to my groundwork cues. He had a nice level of energy in his feet and body. Argent always gets attention as he is a very striking Kiger mustang! Tonight's session had many "wins" and it really felt like all the efforts put into Roscoe began to pay off. The gas pedal, breaks and steering were all MUCH improved! He still needs to get in better shape (he still fatigues within 45-60 minutes) as he tires out quickly...but even that is getting better. We are trotting more, walking less and occasionally loping for a short time or distance. It’s all about those baby steps. Roscoe’s mind is improving faster than his body at this point but it was expected. We did our groundwork fairly quickly as the light was fading. Sadly there was no time to add another exercise to the mix but what we worked on went very well. Under saddle we began with Follow the Fence and One Rein Stops at the walk and trot to warm up. Then it was time to work on the steering wheel! We worked with cones in a zig-zag pattern and really got some nice turns, leg yields and circles around the cones. Trotting the zig-zag patterns was a "win" too! Trot-lope transitions were much improved too. Still a long way to go but we have to honor the improvements! Our hope is to get at least one more session in at the arena before the Nor-Cal Downunder Brumbies practice this Sunday. In between it may be round pen and ground work. Every little bit helps! The November practice is our last one for 2012 and then we take a break for the holidays. December and January are real challenges up here in the Sierra Foothills as rain and snow abound! We’re going to have to suck it up and buy a pass to the El Dorado County Fairgrounds to be able to use their covered arena. Horses…money goes in the front and out the back! I think I am going to feel today's session tomorrow!

Fun At Wendy's Ranch! (Roscoe: Day 70)

DAY 70: The weather has brought a fair amount of rain and snow to our little part of the world so training time has been very limited this week. We did get to spend the day at a friend’s ranch who is also a member of the Nor-Cal Downunder Brumbies doing what we call a spur of the moment ride. We had two “guests” as well. We all started off in the round pen and work on speed control and good body position. It was nice to have feedback in order to refine our techniques. Roscoe will be dong more loping in the days to come and refining his round pen work as we refine ours. Then we all headed to the arena to work on groundwork. Roscoe was worked by our friend Angela on Lunging for Respect 1 and 2 and several forms of Backing. We did some Sending through the pool noodle obstacle and over a teeter-totter (he was not sure about walking on said teeter-totter but he would jump over it just fine). Progress was made during the review and Roscoe actually worked up a little sweat! Then we moved to saddle work. I put Roscoe through his paces with Follow the Fence at the trot (we did lots of trotting), riding through the pool noodle obstacle, around the pedestals and doing lots of direction changes, flexing and circles. We even had one of the longest canters since we started this journey! It was pretty nice. Once I felt like Roscoe was using the thinking side of his brain I dismounted and gave lots of rubs and cookies. We then put Angela up on Roscoe and she did lots of walking, direction changes and circles. She had a decent seat but rides a bit tense. Still the two did well together. Roscoe is a patient fellow and forgive his rider quite a bit.

We broke for lunch (pizza) and gave the horses a break for about an hour.

After lunch we did some more ground work to ensure all the equines were in the game and then we saddled up. I did some checks with Roscoe and then gave Angela’s husband Sean a lead line lesson. We worked on his seat, balance and cues. Once he felt confident we let him ride “solo” while I was on the ground. When Roscoe’s fit would get a little sticky I would catch his eye and walk away so he would follow. At one point I jogged away to get more room between us and Roscoe jogged after me (mush to Sean’s surprise). Both did really well and seemed relaxed by the end of the ride.

I got back on to do a final check and end on some wins…got some nice gait transitions, quicker responses and really nice stops from the faster gaits.

Everyone was tired when we ended the session but the day was amazing! We hope to do it again soon!

Changing It Up (Roscoe: Day 65)

DAY 65: Change of pace for Roscoe today. One of the hardest things to do when following a training program (especially when time is limited) is keeping it fun for the horses! We are lucky to have an irrigation canal and maintenance trail behind our house. It is horse accessible for about a mile (one way). We often walk it almost all the way to our mailbox and back (making it a two mile walk). There are some slopes and obstacles, tight turns and narrow walkways on the trail. So, today we took a walk-Clinton style! We set out and went up and down, forwards and backwards over the many slopes along the trail. We sent Roscoe over logs and around boulders, through bushes and other fun obstacles during the walk. We practices leading beside and following from behind. Lots of backing up, starts, stops and C-Patterns occurred and we tried to get as creative as we could. We jogged a bit and we kept up a brisk walking pace all the way to the mail box. If our calculations are correct the horses do about two miles of movement on a one mile trail. We got to our mail box, grabbed our posts and headed back home doing the same thing. The goal was to use every exercise Roscoe knew and make it a challenge for him by added other stimuli that he would encounter on the trail. We achieved the goal. Roscoe was a little unsure about walking down the trail so far from his pasture at first because in his mind it was almost dinner time but he quickly figured out that if you walk quickly and do what is asked of you…cookies happen! It was a good experience and one we will be adding to our program at least once per week. Hopefully next time we will bring the camera and snap some pictures!

A Full Weekend (Roscoe Day 62-64)

DAY 62-64: It was a full weekend. We had a retreat weekend at our place. About 12 of our friends came out to have a quiet and relaxing country weekend with good food, good beverages and fine fellowship. Has it will happen around here a mini Horse 101 class spontaneously happened. Laurie and I were both off on Friday so we headed over to the arena. The footing was not stellar after the days of rain we had so we had to be careful. Groundwork (as always) occurred after a little run-around-and-kick-up-your-hooves time. Love that part. We laid out four cones about 15 feet apart in a straight line and set to PVC “logs” out at a diagonal to create some obstacles for us to play with. After we did some Follow the Fence at the walk and trot along with some one rein stops we took to the cones and got creative. Roscoe was a bit stubborn at first because of the increased level of work and difficulty but we got through it and had some nice laps through the course. He was yielding his hind quarters better from under saddle than in previous sessions and his cues felt lighter too. We even loped several times for short distances! He still needed to be in better condition and balance for that gait to be maintained for any length of time but it is a start! On Saturday after breakfast I wanted to have some quiet horsey time with Roscoe in the round pen. We groomed and then hauled tools/tack to the round pen. Folks came out, coffee mugs in hand to see what I was working on. One thing led to another and I started talking through the training process and let folks try their hand at some of the groundwork exercises. Then we tacked up (demonstrated this) and worked under saddle a bit. We focused on our steering wheel and gas pedal. Spoke about and demonstrated the squeeze, cluck, spank method (just had to touch the spanker) and then let folks try a few laps with Roscoe. He was a rock star! He really took care of folks and listened to me when on the line. We had a person who had NEVER been o a horse before and Roscoe walled and trotted (on the line) like a champ. It was a great time for everyone. On Sunday after breakfast I went out to get Roscoe for a quick groundwork review. It morphed into a regular training session and ended up with Roscoe taking a 5 year old and a 3 year old for a pony ride. He did well but got bored with it by the end of the session. I then hopped on and did some mental exercises which made him feel better. Lots of treats and brushing ended the session. Our trail walk will have t be put off until Monday I think (grin). It was a great weekend!

 

It Is A Team Effort (Roscoe Day 60)

DAY 60: Sometimes the demands of life get in the way of our fun and are wants. Had a work emergency yesterday that stopped me for working with Roscoe. Thank goodness for Laurie! She was able to take Roscoe to visit with our friends and Nor-Cal Brumbies members (Gale & Kim) at Cedar Springs Arena and Livery in Shingle Springs, California, for a nice evening with the horses. Gale was working through some of the Fundamental exercises and was looking for a second pair of eyes. Body language and training tool coordination was the focus for the humans while getting better energy from the horses was the equine focus. Laurie does not often work with Roscoe (that’s my job) but today she felt up to the challenge. As always groundwork started the session. According to Laurie that all went well, including the dreaded Yielding the Forequarters!

Roscoe seemed to develop a slight crush on Gale’s horse Janie (a very cute mare by the way).and at times was distracted but quickly came back to focus on the training. Under saddle they did the Cruising Lesson (walk trot) and Follow the Fence which seems to have gone well. Some really basic pattern work and one rein stops were worked in too.

It is getting time to move on to the next set of Fundamental riding exercises and working in more loping into his training. Also we are going to start to add cones and other obstacles into the mix. Need to keep him guessing. If the weather holds out we’ll try some tomorrow. Also the plan over the weekend is a trail walk along the irrigation trail behind the house. Lots of trees, rocks and slopes to move over and around, which is good for mind, body and soul. With the later fall/winter weather the big challenge is to get in training time and be creative with it as well.