Training the Lightning: Day 30-31

DAY 30: We went back to the El Dorado Country Fairgrounds Arena tonight. It was chilly and the horses had more energy than usual. Both Brody and Argent like the great footing but are learning to deal with a lighted arena and evening sessions. With the overhead lights reducing the visibility past the rails to about five feet it seems the equine claustrophobic nature is at work. We did lots of desensitizing and sending near the scary objects (trans: the signs, the barrels and the tool shed). After our warm up ground work we focused on Circle Driving, Leading Beside and some of the Backing exercises. Brody seems to take joy in the groundwork. He seems to get focused nicely (lots of licking of the lips and lowering of the head). We’re trying to get these exercises from a C, C+ to an A! So far, so good! We’re sitting at a healthy B- average right now! The groundwork has helped his stamina and his mental alertness/focus. He seeks approval and reward more that other horses I’ve had experience with so I have to constantly remind myself to allow for rubbing/reward time and to talk to him. Sounds funny but he responds to this very well. He is willing to work without much fuss but needs the reward time to feel good about the efforts being made. It is part of the charming being that is Brody. Under saddle our focus was brakes and gas pedal. Lots of one-rein stops as he kind of blows off the seat cue but stops when you touch the rein. Really want the seat to be the break. We’ll get there. Brody moves out with a squeeze or a squeeze/cluck combination. His stamina is the hard part. He can’t trot very long with me on his back (about 15 minutes) before he needs a break. It is already improved but we’ve got work to do. His lope is getting better too but we are, once again, facing stamina issues. It is just a matter of time and conditioning. The session ended with some easy ground work to cool down. The improvements are small but consistent. They certainly warm the heart and keep us motivated. Looking forward to tomorrow nights session!

DAY 31: Another night at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds Arena. The horses are getting used to it. We did our usual warm up and then we did some Sending near the scary signs and construction material that was on the other side of the rail. The two feral cats we saw like to torment the horses a bit as well. It was a chilly night and the horses had some pep in their step So we did more ground work and got creative with it. We were working on Lunging for Respect Stage 2 and I (the human) could not get my body to move right. Brody finally figured out what I was asking by I felt (and probably looked) like a monkey doing a math problem. Not pretty. It was going to be one of those nights.

We then saddled up. I have become a major fan of Brody and his willingness to please and his desire for affirmation of a job well done. Even when I mess up an exercise he is willing to plug on through. Love that about him. We started off working on the gas pedal (Cruising Lesson) and the brakes (One-Reign Stop) at the walks and trot. Improvements happened and things were going well. We then did some circles at the trot and a serpentine/ribbon pattern while working on walk, trot transitions. These were a bit smoother and showed signs of improvement. It is all about those baby-steps and celebrating the small victories. We then tried a couple of trot-lope transitions. The first issue was the human! I could not find the rhythm of the stride at all. Ugh! It was not pretty. I felt too tight at my hips and core! Brody was doing the waltz and I was doing the cha-cha. Then Brody showed me his "gaited horse" impression by demonstrating the "tro-lope" which is a combination of a trot and lope alternating from front to rear. While it was amusing (according to my sweetie Laurie) to watch it was disconcerting to try to "sit" (and I use the term loosely). Perhaps it was his new rear boots which we introduced to him (along with my new handy stick). Let’s hope for my sake, he doesn't do any more impressions. After that we took a break. I got off and we just hung out to watch Laurie and Argent have a great time together. After about 15 minutes I got back on and we did Follow the Fence at the trot and walk with some noticeable improvements, did some direction changes at the walk and started to get some collection in our backing. We got two nice trot-lope transitions (half-lap around the arena, one each direction) and then some cool down laps. It was a night of small improvements for Brody. It was a night of hitting the wall for me. Ah well. Tomorrow Brody is getting his feet balanced and trimmed so he’ll have the day off. We hope to do more training Thursday –Saturday.

Training the Lightning: Day 27-28

DAY 27-28: Well, the barn name “Brody” seems to have stuck. He hears the names and comes to meet us (most of the time) when we call him so…Brody it is. It is sometimes hard to remember that he has been with us less than a month! We have really tossed him in the deep end this season! We suspect he has been more active in that several weeks than he has in the last couple of years. Still, he seems to enjoy the mental and physical activity and always seems willing to try. Our challenges have been (in order of priority) getting the right balance of weight (muscle/fat) on his frame, getting his feet balanced and healthy, increasing his strength/stamina and working through the Fundamental level of the Method. Our exercise challenges have been (on the ground) Yielding the Forequarters, Circle Driving on the right side and proper targeting of Flexing. In these exercises he would probable get a C grade. Still he is improving (and my feel/timing is getting better too –grin). Under saddle we work on his brakes with the One Rein Stop and his steering wheel with Follow the Fence (along with some other drills). His stop is something that seems to need the most work as I have set the bar at rating my seat. He will stop when you lift and pull back slightly on one reign (better on the left than the right) but he mostly misses the seat cue. So, the focus is to make the cue exaggerated and do it MANY times. Follow the Fence has been hard until recently because the public arena in Somerset has been a swamp at the rails. On the up side, he is able to trot longer than in previous training sessions and relaxes on the loose reign without speeding up (which is SO nice). He is beginning to pick up the seat/leg cues better and when corrections with the reins are needed he is pretty light and is not over correcting as much.

I have to remember that he was a family horse for the last six years and while he most definitely was loved he was not on a regimented training program with goals and standards. So in essence he is learning a new language and new standards which cannot be easy for him. Sweat happens regularly…but so does love, scratches, rubs and cookies! It is all about balance.

            We introduced a new element to Brody today (Day 27)…barding! Barding is like a blanket and was used in the middle ages to protect the horse in battle and to dress them up for occasions like parades and tournaments. Brody’s barding is fairly light and hangs almost to his knees. We put it on him without any fuss and did some groundwork in the round pen and pasture for about 30 minutes. He did fine and it didn’t seem t bother him at all. The next step will be to tack him up and do the process again followed by some riding (if all goes well. Why use barding as part of the training process? Laurie and I are part of a living history group and when horses are a focal point we dress them up and run various gymkhana style games with them (along with ACTHA trail challenges and other activities). Medieval clothing on Brody’s human will also happen in the near future!

                We went to a new place! Our pass to the El Dorado County Fairgrounds Equestrian Park came today (Day 28). The arena has lights and a cover so now rain or darkness won’t be a road block! We got to the arena last night about 5:30pm. It was already dark out. Once unloaded from the trailer, Brody seemed a bit excited. So after checking his feet we did some groundwork to calm him down and get him focused.

Grooming and tacking happened. Brody is a bit “cinchy” especially when tied up. He dances about a bit. He has some saddle spots on his back so we assume he was cinched up a bit harshly in is past. We are working on this by bending his head towards the cinch and girthing in stages followed by praise and rubs. It is getting better but it is going to be a process. Once that was done we entered the arena and started on our ground work. At the time there was one other person in the large arena so we got to the middle and did our usual routine. We always get looks from other horsemen/horsewomen when we do our exercises. Curiosity I guess. Once the horses (Argent was here too of course) we saddled up. The footing was really nice! The lighting cast some unusual shadows and made it hard to see past the rail which led to some corrections during Follow the Fence. Just as we were getting started two other folks showed up. We found out that on Wednesdays folks ca practice barrels and bring out obstacles. Well these two horsewomen bring out their mounts who are already revved up and proceed to trot and lope all over the place with little regard to where we were. It felt kind of rude but we stuck to our program and tried to stay out of the way and we walked and trotted along. The one gal decides, unannounced, to run a barrel pattern, just as Brody and I pass through to the middle of the arena in order to get out of the other gal’s way who was cantering about without much control. Sigh. So I put on my” martial arts teacher/stern face” and trotted over to Rude Gal #1 and mentioned that if she would announce that she is going to do a run we can move out of the way…unless she can’t control her mount long enough to allow us to give her room. That seemed to fix the issue. We won’t even get into the cigarette smoking in the arena issue. I think my “really?” comment shut that down quickly. Brody did well all in all. It was apparent that he knew what barrels were (he had be doing them when he was 3-4 years old according to the last owners) and thought he was supposed to run them. We discussed the matter and he was allowed to trot around them a bit. He felt better after having got the impulse out of his system. When the gals did a run we parked ourselves in a corner to watch. We did lots of trotting in this session which was nice. Brody’s had a legitimate spook and slip (I stayed on –no unauthorized dismounts around the rude people) so we walked and trotted past the scary place and he calmed right down (I think it was one of the feral cats moving under a tarp just at the edge of the lighted area). Later as we were doing some direction changes at the trot, his right rear leg slipped/gave out a bit. He recovered quickly but I took that as a signal that it was time to cool down. We lapped the arena at the walk a couple of times, went to the center, backed up and dismounted to watch Laurie and Argent work. We did some stretches and Leading Beside to keep Brody’s limber. We left the arena a little after 8:00pm. All in all it was a good session.

Training the Lightning: Day 9-16

DAY 9:  Both Argent and Brody got wormed today. It was much easier than expected, although Brody gave me a look like I violated his taste buds. Sweet carrots, treats and a vigorous brushing followed and that seemed to make up for the offence. The footing the round pen was less than optimal so for safety sake we kept things easy. We refined the exercises of Establishing a Direction, Consistent Direction, Establishing a Change of Direction and Consistent Changes of Directions at liberty without too many “errors”. A couple of honest (and humorous) mistakes happened. Soft corrections and lots of praise occurred. We focused on several Backing exercises and Yielding the Hindquarters 1 and 2 for a bit and got some real improvement there. Lunging for Respect 1 and 2 were also worked on. Brody is adapting well to the new lifestyle and the routine of training. We’ve introduced beet pulp pellets into his feeding program. Not sure he like them. We will be sculpting his feeding program over the next several weeks in order to get the right kind of weight on him. Being an Appendix Quarter Horse the TB aspect of his genetics seems to show up in his metabolism. He is more of a challenge to keep weight on. Some resistance to Flexing on the right side was met today. He knows the exercise but was testing his boundaries a bit. This seems to indicate that he is feeling better due to the increase in the amount and quality of his feed and the level of trust we are working on. He did the typical circling and backing but we stuck with him, moved his feet and made the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult. When the right thing was attempted the level of praise was high and quickly given. Brody seems to learn quickly which is a plus. The challenge will be to keep him mentally stimulated as his training improves. Overall he is a very willing gelding who seems to have heart and curiosity. The day ended when we had 4 to 5 “wins” with each exercise, followed by brushing, a nice snack and then some time on the tree of knowledge.

Day 10-13: The weather was horrible. We had to travel away from home over the weekend and came back with winter colds. Everyone got some time off. Sigh. We got lots of questions from friends about whether Brody is a short term or long term horse. Frankly, we don’t know. It’s like we are dating and finding out if this can be a long term relationship or just some fun and enriching companionship for a time. It feels like long term but we’ll know more as his health, training and aptitudes/interests develop. For know he is enjoying his new lifestyle and that is what matters.

DAY 14: Brody got to give a lesson today! Our friend Katie came over and was interested in learning more about our style of horsemanship. The clouds were rolling slowly in so we decided that a ground work session would be the best course of action.

We covered the points of position, intent, pressure, reward and others while working on the round pen skills, Lunging for Respect 1 and 2, Yield the Hindquarters 1 and 2, Backing (Tap the Air and Steady Pressure), Leading Beside and Flexing. Brody stayed mellow and was willing to focus even though he fells he “knows” the exercises. Katie was just learning so body language and intent were her biggest challenges. It really proved how vital good body language is to the training process. When the communication was not “clear” Brody either tried to figure out what was being asked or simply stopped and walked towards the human with a “what was that you were saying” attitude. That willingness to try even if he is unsure is really endearing. The session ended with both the horse and human getting some great wins and seeing how important clear body language really is. It was a good time to be sure.

DAY 16: Yesterday we had rain, now and freezing temperatures so working outside was out of the question! Today however we had better weather and wanted to get some saddle/training time in. So we loaded up the dynamic duo (Argent and Brody) and headed over to the local arena. The footing was less than optimal because of the recent weather so we focused exercises at the walk and trot (yes, we snuck in some lope transitions too) for the most part. Ground work consisted of Lunging for Respect 1 and 2 to warm up then Backing (tap the air and marching), Circle Driving, Flexing and Yielding the Hindquarters 1 and 2 were done. Once we got at least four wins per exercise we moved on (did we mention it was cold out?). We then tacked up and worked on the Cruising Lesson, One Rein Stops and some basic patterns at the walk and trot. Brody is getting better at these exercises and needs to be managed less and less with each session. We are addressing his initial cinching issues by bending his head towards the girth and using advance/retreat. Brody is really rusty on responding to leg/seat cues and his stop needs to be managed via the reins. The goal this season is to get those skills refined and much better. His transitions are decent but his stamina and lack of muscle keep the length of any riding to about 20-30 minutes before needing a break. Still we knew this would be the case and are working towards getting his weight (three meals per day plus all day grazing) and his stamina back to where it should be. In the short time Brody has been with us there has been really understanding, the development of respect and even some bonding. Being excited about the process of helping him get to his potential is quite cool.

This is going to be another unique adventure!

 

Training the Lightning: Days 18-25

DAY 18-25: We have been busy! We have had two trips over to Cedar Springs Livery & Stables in Placerville, a couple of hauls over to Pioneer Park Equestrian Arena and a Body Language Workshop hosted by us at our place in Placerville on top of the normal sessions at home, including the introduction of the long –line and work with obstacles.

We squeeze in training every chance we get because the weather has been fluctuating so much this season. Footing just starts to dry out and we get hit with rain/snow again.

            The first trip to Cedar Springs Livery went well. Brody had not been in an enclosed arena, surrounded by stables in a long, long time. We started the session off in the round pen for about 10 minutes just to get his brain engaged and his focus/trust back on his human. Then he got to meet two other horses and we all did some ground work. We ran through at least thirteen ground work exercises, coaching one another and trying to refine our communication and body language. Then we introduced Brody to some scary objects (valting equipment) before we tacked up. Because the footing was not the best we chose to keep things at the walk and trot. Lots of both occurred as we Followed the Fence, weaved through cones, did some backing, circles and one-reign stops. Brody need work on his stop and reading the seat cue. He seems to require the use of the rein to stop currently. The upside is he is not one to go tearing off at Warp 9 when asked for a faster gait so there is time to go through the motions of the one-rein stop. We ended the session with some wins and a sweaty Brody.

            Later in the week we had a discussion about flexing to the left. This discussion arose because Brody chose not to try to flex to that side, even when bumped. There was some spinning and backing at speed along with much moving of the feet and direction changes. Eventually we got the flexing to the left to an acceptable level. This was our first disagreement and while it was expected (his weight, health and stamina are improving) it was still a little bit emotional for me. I had to review the lessons learned from Shana Terry’s visit (August 2012)  in my head and heart. We got through this bit of ugly and ended up with some good by the end of the session.

            The trips to Pioneer Park in Somerset were productive. Ground work and work under saddle happened. Brody really seems good at the Circle Driving and Leading Beside exercises. We even started to goof around with the known exercises where we chased one another a bit. It was like playing tag but reading one another’s movements. Laughing and playing with a horse is darned good for the mind, body and soul! The footing at the arena was really bad near the rails so Follow the Fence was out. Cruising, using cones, walk, trot, lope transitions and working on his brakes was our under saddle focus.

            Our second visit to Cedar Springs Livery & Stables was much like the first except we were able to work outside in the dressage arena. This made Follow the Fence tough because…well…there were not real fences. Still we had fun and worked hard spending most of our saddle time at the trot. He is slowly getting stronger and we even got some hints of collection for more than a few steps this time. It was really nice to see and feel.

It was a fun and sweaty day! 

The Body Language Workshop was a BLAST! We had eighteen people attend. Brody and Argent were the equine partners for the day. They worked with almost everyone who attended. When Brody gets really tired or a bit confused by unclear body language he sort of zones out. We had it happen twice during the five hour session and I had to reset his filters and regain his focus but it took very little to do that. He was exceptional in my opinion having been with us and doing the Method for less than a month. What a FANTASTIC day! The weather was clear and sunny! The energy of the participants was simply inspirational. What a great way to spend a Sunday!
Many aspects of “body language” were covered. We started by creating a vocabulary for the day so everyone was on the same page then we worked on getting comfortable with the training tools (from the handy-stick to our hands and feet) we use when working with our horses. Pressure, energy, focus, intent, position and active/passive body language were all worked on. We started in the round pen working with Argent (a 6 year old Kiger Mustang) and Brody (a 13 year old Appendix Quarter Horse) at liberty. The goal was to improve our position, energy, focus and intent as it related to our non-verbal communication. The horses each had distinctive personalities and required different levels of pressure and communication to perform the round pen exercises.
When everyone had an opportunity to work on their skills we took a one hour lunch break and enjoyed some fine fellowship. Then we grabbed our lead lines and worked on exercises in the pasture and over some low level obstacles and even did some long line work, all with the focus on our non-verbal communication and improve the clarity and energy we put forth. We wrapped up by covering the key points of the day one last time and sharing what we learned. The success of the day was a great way to kick off our 2013 season! 

 

A Bita Lightning: The Adventure Continues!

DAY 6: We have really thrown Brody into the deep end! He has gone from a small plot of land, low calorie feed and no travel to an almost four acre pasture (with grass), three meals a day, regular training, travel and new horses/experiences. We’re surprised is brain has not popped! We wanted to build on the successes we experienced yesterday so we hauled out to the local arena today. This week as really been about two things: making a connection/getting respect and seeing where the holes are in his training. The arena footing was not bad and we had the place all to ourselves (which was awesome) so we got right to work starting with a nice turnout and run around the large arena. Our plan is to go through the Fundamental level of the Downunder Horsemanship Method with him as we know it will fill in the gaps to his training and build a solid foundation. His previous owners really tried to do right by his development and actually did a fair amount of groundwork with him. As we go through the exercises we see that certain things were done well, certain things need improvement and certain things were not done at all. When we look at the program and say “here is where the challenges pop up” they don’t!  It’s crazy and its fun. We actually were able to do some Circle Driving (albeit roughly at first) today! His ability to read the Backing method of Tap the Air has really improved too. Following Shana Terry’s advice about not babysitting the horse once the concept is understood has help a great deal. Brody learns quickly and needs that positive reward/praise after learning something, especially if a correction was involved. We have been using a 3:1 ratio…meaning that if you “tap” him once, you “rub” him three times as long so he really understands the lesson and doesn’t get his feelings hurt. When praising he seems to want to be close, which is sweet and endearing but we’re working on him being praised and feeling confident outside our hoola-hoop/safe zone and then calling him in when he relaxes.

            Trailer loading a horse can be a nightmare! The horror stories about of horses not wanting to load up. The first trailer ride with Brody was not bad at all, especially since it had been YEARS since he was loaded up in the box on wheels. Today’s ride was great! I was actually able to send him in the trailer with just a point. He darn near loaded himself! We did some exercises outside the trailer first and then asked him to load up. It worked! Love that about him!

            We reviewed and refined the exercises we’ve been working on and had the Arena Mates in hand. Brody is beginning to relax once we flog with kindness and do some lateral flexing. As mentioned we worked on Sending and Circle Driving which was fun.

We did about 30-45 minutes of ground work and had lots of rest periods (and baby carrots) as rewards for good work. We then tacked up. Brody is a bit cinchy and will pull pack when tied and cinched up. We noted this on Day 4 and were ready for it. We did some advance/retreat with the girth and bent his head towards us when we did so. He pulled back once after everything was in place…which was funny because it felt like he was doing it because that is what he is supposed to do. We simply did it all again using advance and retreat and all was fine. Lunging for Respect and Backing was the ground exercises of choice before the girth was checked again (no issues) and then we mounted up. Since the footing by the rails was still not great we decided to break out the cones, set them up in a zig-zap pattern and worked on the steering wheel and gas pedal. The Cruising Lesson and One-Rein stops served as our warm up. He needs work on the stop from the seat cue but listens decently to the one-rein stop. His gas pedal functions only needed the “spank” sound on my thigh a couple of times and then all I had to do was reach for the spanker if he didn’t move out. He figured out the squeeze and cluck is MUCH easier than spank and was willing to comply…and get rewarded for it every time.

The cones helped to provide visual markers for us both. We got some really nice responses and we got some dull ones too. It really comes down to being consistent in my equitation and his reading of the cues provided. More saddle time will fix this for both of us. We wrapped up with some nice walk, trot, lope transitions and then dismounted. Saddle time was about 40-45 minutes with some rest periods mixed in. As his condition improves the under saddle part of the training sessions will get longer. Tomorrow we’re giving them a day off to rest and hopefully if the weather is decent on New Years Day we’ll get more training time in!

DAY 8: New Year’s Day! We loaded up the horses in the afternoon and headed out for some training. The arena was busy (which is rare) and there was a diverse group of horses and humans on hand. We saw Arabians, Mustangs, Quarter Horses, a Warmblood of some kind, a mini donkey and even a Frisian stallion (who was very well behaved). There were folks working a variety of things, from Parelli exercises to dressage. It was pretty cool and great opportunity to test Brody’s willingness to focus on us and stay focused during the training.

            We tacked up early this time and worked on the cinch issues. Advance and retreat occurred a bit and we hit only one pulling back episode. The tie rings really help the training because the horse can move its feet while you can maintain some level of control. We got over it, tacked up and hit the arena for some ground work. We did lots of Lunging for Respect 1 and 2 at the trot and lope to get warmed up, followed by Backing with Tap the Air and Steady Pressure (he knew Steady Pressure already). We introduced Marching and Wiggle, Wave, Walk and Whack today. Both went well and he got the concept without too much fuss. The corrections were minor which was nice. Sending, Circle Driving and Leading Beside were all worked on mixed with the various desensitizing exercises. Today the team of Michael and Brody felt good. It really felt that we were not working hard at all, just hanging out and playing with the skills. Days like this are why we work so hard.

            We mounted up after our groundwork and focused on softening up the responses to the cues we’ve been working on. Brody felt much smoother in his responses to pressure. We trotted some nice circles and had some decent transitions happen. Because he is out of shape and kind of thin “collection” is hard for him for long periods of time. His trot was less bouncy and more controlled today. His lope is not fast but he does lurch a bit to get started. His headset is up and down but workable for the most part. We got to socialize with other horse/human teams and share our stories which is always fun. Brody lasted about 45-50 minutes with shorter rest periods work in before he just got tired. We wrapped up with some Backing and Yielding the Hindquarters under saddle and then called it a day. A good session all considered and a really great way to start 2013! Tomorrow we’ll hit the round pen and make it an easy day…as long as the weather hold up!