Training WIth the Lightning: The Two Month Mark

DAY 55-57: We just about hit the two month mark! It has been a whirlwind journey for this great gelding and he has really learned a great deal. His health has continues to improve and he has consistently been a willing partner in all of our adventures!

Day 55 found us at the fairgrounds arena. We met a fellow Brumbie’s member (Kimberly) at the arena as she was in the area after visiting her three year old Kiger mustang gelding (Armando) and his trainer. She has done LOTS of the ground work with him but wanted to get some help getting him ready to be under saddle. We started with our usual warm up exercises and then got into some Leading Beside (with and without the lead rope), Circle Driving and Yielding the Forequarters. These went pretty well over all for the horse. The human was having a bad day…hitting himself with the string, tripping over the rope, dropping the rope and dropping the stick. I believe Brody was laughing on the inside. We finally got the human (me) together and moved on. Next we worked on Sending. Something near the rail was not agreeable to Brody and he over reacted to passing the section of fence. So, after inspection that nothing harmful was in the area we began Sending and worked on it until he calmed down and reflected the energy I asked for. Once we forgot four good passes each side we took a break. We tried our hand at the Intermediate level execise C- Patterns and we did okay (probably would get a C to C+ on the exercise). Then we let Kimbery work with Brody a bit and she did well with him. They did a quick review of the groundwork exercises we focused on. After a breather and a beverage we got to work under saddle. Brody seemed amore energized and focused. We ran through some basics and then Kimberly got a ride and they two had fun. Brody actually attempted several lead changes! It was neat to see him move like that. We wrapped up with some cool down work and headed home as we had folks from out of the area coming over to participate in a weekend long workshop on living history skills.

Day 56 found Brody being the center of attention! He was used for a Body Language/Footwork class with several western martial arts students. The round pen exercises teach the human about focus, energy, intent and position. It is amazing how working with a 1000 pound animal can alter one’s focus and…eventually…improve it.

Lots of rubs and treats were Brody’s reward for putting up with the silly humans. He took the different accents in stride and really gave it his best. Later in the day he was helping teach a Horse 201 class. He helped folks learn about how to move a horse’s feet on the ground and under saddle and humans should develop an independent seat. He really took care of the novices and gave those with some confidence a great ride both in the round pen and out in the pasture (he got to trot and lope around Argent and show off a little bit which was good for his ego). He got some great grooming and extra Stable Mix as a reward when the class was over.

            Day 57 found us back in the round pen to try Changing Sides, Run Up and Rub and The Plastic Bag as well as out usually conditioning work. Changing Sides took him about 10 minutes to understand and perform at a C+/B- level which seemed just fine for a first attempt. The Plastic Bag was very scary at first and he reacted as expected but not quite as scared as was assumed. Within 20 minutes or so he was comfortable (albeit not happy) about the bag being in his personal space and on himself. The Run Up and Rub…well…it was human error for most the exercise but he eventually stood calm and accepted the rubs. More work on this is slated. Three “new” exercises and his normal conditioning routine was a enough for the third-day-in-a-row and we ended our session with some wins.

            We have come pretty far in a very short time. We could not be happier that Brody came into our lives when he did. Spring is slowly coming to the Sierra Foothills. We have a Play Day set for March and a two day camping trip at a very unique site (trails, arenas, obstacles and more) for April. This is shaping up to be a FUN season! Stay tuned!

Training with the Lightning: Day 47-50

DAY 48-51: Schedules, weather and demands on our time have made this last week a bit crazy. Still we got in four training sessions. The goals were to review and gain refinement of round pen skills and body language/cues which occurred as did getting more steps from the Yield the Forequarters exercise. Progress was made.

Day 48-49 were ground work sessions. The goal in the round pen was to maintain the energy level and gaits longer which adding more dynamic “yes, sir” direction changes. Our round pen is not the most level and the footing is rough so some care had to be taken. Improvements in these areas were made after some moments of over reaction and turning away from me during direction changes. I was hoping that just stepping in front of Brody’s nose would generate the “stop and turn” part of the exercises but I ended up needing to take a step or two backwards to help him turn inwards before departing. Once I smoothed that our things went MUCH better. After review of our progress it was determined that we needed more work on Yeilding the Forequarters, which I admittedly id a poor job of properly introducing during my enthusiastic reception of our new guy in December. I took this opportunity to do it right. We struggled a little bit at first but before long Brody was crossing his steps and not over reacting to the pressure. After four good tries on each side we called it a day.

            The next day, later in the afternoon that originally planned we were at it again, looking for improvements! They were there. Some larger ones (great energy in the round pen and good reception to cues) and some smaller ones (six tries per side on the forequarter yields and some two-steps as well). We wrapped up with some Long Line work and Leading Beside. Treats are a great “atta boy” and given for a job well done. I decided I wanted to make treats part of a game. So, I removed Brody’s lead line and asked him to lock on. He did, got his neck rubbed and a treat. I asked him to follow me like in Leading Beside. He did so neck rub and treat. We tried several of the exercises he knows in succession and each time he did them he got a treat. Then we tried the same exercises all in a row and when he performed them, a treat and a neck/face rub was his reward. The change of pace was great for us both and was great for our bonding and respect.

Day 50 found us at Pioneer Park in Somerset (the Fairgrounds arena was closed due to a 4H Show. After our warm up and ground work time, we got a little crazy! Tried to make the groundwork a (forgive the term) game of sorts. Wanted to flow from one exercise to the other and try to create a dance...like we have seen Clinton do at Tour Stops. So, in the large arena (what was I thinking) I took off Brody’s lead rope and we ran through several of the exercises including Leading from Beside (both sides) at liberty. While we were NO WHERE CLOSE to being as good as we have seen on Tours Stops, the energy and the fun was there. Brody stuck with me like we've been doing this together for months. It blew me away! Work under saddle went well. We worked on transitions (learning is in the transitions so the saying goes), bending and softening our cues. We worked around some cones and generally had a solid ride until Brody began to show signs of being tired. I could feel him beginning to slow in his efforts and knew we were getting near the end of his endurance. So before he quit me, I quit the session after getting one last win under saddle.

Day 51 and we were a Pioneer Park again (Presidents Day = Fairgrounds closed) and went through the same routine. This time we had an audience of five children and some parents who were amazed at the liberty work Brody did and how friendly/calm our horses were. It was another positive session. Brody is really fun to work with and we seem to have built up a respectful relationship. We have LOTS of work ahead of us but the foundation is being built and with any luck it will remain strong.

Some pictures of Brody after our session on Day 49.

 

Training with the Lightening: Another Four In A Row!

DAY 41-44: We did it again! Four in a row!

Day 41 found us at the local arena again. It was a chilly afternoon! We groomed, tacked up and began our warm up exercises followed by our ground work. Our friends Angela and Sean joined us and helped work with Brody and Argent on the ground. We worked on Sending, Circle Driving and Leading Beside. Things went nicely. Working with the humans took more energy than with the horses because we had to work on position, intent and timing with body language. Brody was patient and willing even when the cues were a tad off. We then saddled up. I put Brody through some basics to make sure he was focused. We did some gait transitions, some direction changes/pseudo-roll backs and some Follow the Fence/One Rein Stops. Once we got some wins with these exercises I put Angela up in the saddle. She and Brody cruised a bit and cot comfortable with one another. Once again, Brody reflected the energy of his human and ambled along in a mellow fashion.. Couldn’t be happier with that attitude of his! Angela and I switched places and we did some conditioning work before Angel did some cool down exercises on the ground with Brody. A much appreciated brushing and some cookies wrapped up the session.

Day 42 was a bright and sunny day with temperatures in the high 40’s/low 50’s. We started off in the smaller arena which has some trail class obstacles in it. Lots of our usual ground work with the addition of going over and through some obstacles. The horses took this in stride. It is a blast watching them investigate, get curious and then get confident. Our friend Angela came back for round 2 today. The Fairground crew was moving some large equipment around and were kind enough to let us know that it might spook the horses. Of course we took that opportunity to desensitize the horses and expose them to new sights and sounds. Good times! I decided that Brody seems fairly comfortable with the trail obstacles and knowing that tomorrow at the Nor-Cal Downunder Brumbies practice we would, in fact, be doing work with obstacles, it might be best to ride him through some…we did just that. He did just fine over the bridge, through the gate and everything else the space had to offer. We then went to the large arena and did some conditioning work. As a wrap up Angela and Laurie did some exercises that had them working on seat/leg cues, timing, feel and gait changes. Things went well. Keeping a keen eye on Brody I could tell when his normally patient mind set started to go south. So we quit him before he quit us and I got on to put him through some more mentally stimulating stuff. We wrapped by doing some ground work at the walk and Leading Beside with the addition of backing and hindquarter yields just to keep it fun.

Day 43 found us in Lockford, California! Yes, it was time for the monthly Brumbies practice! We had eighteen attendees at the February Nor-Cal Downunder Brumbies practice (and horses of every experience level too). The weather was wonderful, being clear and crisp in the morning and by lunch the temperatures hit the high 50’s/low 60’s. The facility is surrounded by a vineyard and green pastures. It was a great way to start off our 2013 practice season. After a little cow wrangling we started the session with some warm up exercises and then got to work. There was work in the round-pen for those that wished it and we ran through about six or seven different exercises. We then focused on Sending Leading Beside and Circle Driving. Once everyone felt like they had the concepts down we did some troubleshooting. Horses and humans got support, coaching andshowed great improvement and growth during the day.

We then broke for lunch, made introductions, discussed upcoming events and gave the facility owner our Thank You gifts. The atmosphere was really positive. We discussed our challenges and our goals which really motivated everyone. We even shared creative ways to desensitize our horses on the cheap!

The group then tacked up. Everyone was pumped to play on the obstacle course!
After folks worked their horses in the arena, making sure that the thinking side of the brain was fully engaged they moved at their own pace to the large open pasture behind the arena. Some of the notable obstacles were the Jungle Gym, the Cowboy Waterfall, the White Foam Circle, the Serpentine Poles, The Zig Zag, the Logs, the Diagonal Cones and some very unique farm equipment. Folks did ground work and work under saddle for the rest of the session and every horse showed great improvement. It was amazing to se how quickly a horse went from scared to curious to courageous using the methods of Advance and Retreat and Sending. By the end of the session folks were riding all over the place with big smiles and glad hearts!

That is what the group is about: support, encouragement, coaching and improvement. Seeing horsemen and horsewomen get fired up and excited is always a blessing. Thank you everyone who came out to help make the day such a great one!

Pictures of this fun day can be seen at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.425093634235111.98782.123626137715197&type=3

            Day 44 was a short one. It was pretty chilly bordering on cold by the time we got to the arena. We had some goals for Brody and Argent and promised ourselves that if we got three wins at each goal we would quit. Ground work and work under saddle occurred. Brody decided to forget and over react to some of the Backing exercises on the ground and we had a discussion followed by lots of validation when he got them right or at least gave me an honest try. Be as gentle as possible, as firm as necessary and always reward the slightest try is a motto we believe in. Work under saddle went well and Brody seemed to have more steam in his engine, even after the rather long day he had at practice. He let me know he was getting tired through his body and we called it a day doing some ground work to cool down followed by lots of rubs, cookies and TLC.

Our vocabulary is getting better and better, even when we have those discussions. We get back to the wins faster with each session. Looking forward to warmer weather and longer days!

Training with the Lightning: Four In A Row!

DAY 33-36: Our First Four In A Row!

Yes, we actually got in four training sessions in a row! The stars aligned and we made it happen. Whew! The first session (Day 33) was a bit rushed as we got to the arena later than we had planned. Brody got maybe 10 minutes of groundwork to warm up and then we worked at the walk (20%) and the trot (80%) doing Follow the Fence and making circles and diagonals. It was weird for us because we usually use groundwork as a teaching tool and prefer to do at least 30 minutes of it. While Brody felt less focused than normal he was adaptable to the change. We actually got some nice attempts at collection and speed control on the trot. We worked on a loose rein and with some contact. We did two trot/lope transitions which were improved and felt nice. We wrapped up with some Backing under saddle and then cooled down with some Leading Beside on the ground. A vigorous rub down and Frosted Mini Wheats (he loves them) wrapped up the session. 

 Our next session (Day 34) found us at Cedar Springs Livery & Sables in Placerville. We met our friends Gale and Katie there. Katie is a novice horseman who is learning the program of training we follow (the Downunder Horsemanship program) and after some warm up exercises we started on Lunging for Respect 1 and 2, Circle Driving, Sending and Leading from Beside. Brody and Katie worked together and did the teams of Laurie/Argent and Gale/Janie. Other folks joined in and asked questions as I floated about trying to help as I could. Part of the arena was still muddy so our work space was reduced, which allowed us to desensitize the horses to bright yellow caution tape, cones and PVC pipe!  At one point Janie chose not to canter to the right. Gale really tried to get the point across but ran into Janie’s stubborn streak. So, we took her to the round pen and reviewed the basics of moving out when told. Janie know me now and know that she has to try or the pressure doesn’t back off. As soon as she tried, she was rewarded. We spent about 15 minutes in a refresher course with lots of direction changes and rewarding the slightest try until she felt like she understood what was asked of her. While I worked in the round pen Gale worked with Brody while Laurie let Katie work with Argent. We really focused on good training tool use, using good body language and being clear in what we wanted our horses to do. The groundwork went well and the humans improved. Then after a short break we saddled up. I rode Brody, working on his softness, his steering and his gas pedal. We did several one-rein stops and some walk-trot-lope transitions. After giving Katie a primer on how to cue Brody and a short lead line lesson she felt confident to move out on her own. Things went very well. Brody really played to her level. He gave her the slowest walk I have ever seen him do and his trot was mellow and slow. They really had a great session! Once I noted that Brody was zoning out a bit I had Katie stop him, back him up and then dismount. I got on and we did more active riding with direction changes, attempts at rollbacks and gait transitions. It was a great visual example of how Brody reflects the energy he is given and how he likes to move. We ended with some Leading Beside (on the ground) and playing a little on the line. Has Brody’s condition improves his personality is coming out more. We are learning the signals each other gives and the partnership is really developing.

The following day (Day 35) we hit the Fairgrounds Arena. This was our first daylight visit. We did a bit of exploring around the two arenas and the grounds themselves. We did our warm up and then ground work in the smaller arena with the trail class obstacles. This was a first for Brody. We crossed the wood bridge and sent over the square marked by timbers, backed between some markers (and the rail) and even played between the cones! It was mentally stimulating for both Brody and Argent and fun for us too. Then we saddled up and got to work. The issues with the girth are slowly improving. Each training session Brody calms down a little faster. Sometimes he reacts after the fact…meaning we tacked up and then he pulls back or rears up a little. He gets corrected quickly and then we move on. This seems to be his biggest issue so far. He has spots on his back from past saddle sores (probably from his barrel racing or ranch days) and has not let it go just yet. It will take time and the use of advance, retreat, reward as a training process but we feel that we can overcome this. Another issue we tackled today was the fear of the sheds and announcer booth that sit along one side of the arena. We used advance/retreat and Sending to help build Brody and Argent’s confidence near these scary objects. Once we felt that some wins were achieved we mounted up and began to ride. Today was about conditioning for Brody. Lots of trotting and some transitions filled the first half of the session. When we got some wins in the areas of effort, speed control and steering we took a break. Other riders were there enjoying the nice weather and we got to see some fine examples of equitation. After the break we worked on the exercises, including Diagonals (a first for Brody). Since the arena is pretty big we trotted to the middle, stopped, backed up a few steps and then finished going across. We did this at the canter a couple of times too. More one rein stops were a big part of the process and something he is picking up more slowly than I had hoped. While this is a boring exercise I think next week it is going to be the primary focus as I really want his stops to occur off of my seat. He does stop when the left rein is lifted/pulled quickly, the right…not as much. The balancing act of getting Brody in shape to train within the program and actually training is tough. He is mentally improving faster than his physical side due to how thin he was. I love his work ethic and his desire to give 100%. My job is to ensure that every training session is positive and rewarding. It was a fun day!

After work (Day 36) we loaded up and hit the arena. The sun was setting as we arrived and the parking area for trailers was pretty chaotic. No thought as to how others could get in by the folks who were there. Makes a person crabby! A group of folks were running barrels (even though it was not allowed on this night…sigh…and their dog was running around loose too) so as we groomed and tacked up Brody watched the horses run. He seemed to remember doing that and sort of revved up a bit. We got tacked up (minus the bridle) and walked about the ground. Not sure if they got the hint or not but soon the barrels were being put away and the dog put on a leash as their horses were allowed to tear around the arena in a turn out fashion. We waited for this to conclude before entering the arena and got to work. Brody was more willing to flow into the canter on the line than in previous sessions, hence the revved up and remembering observation. It was heartening to see to be sure and we worked with that energy doing about 45 minutes of groundwork, reviewing and refining most of the skills he knows. While this was happening the barrel race group left and other folks showed up. We went about our program, mounted up and began our ride. Brody was still not as focused on me as I liked and blew off some of my leg cues so I got out my spurs. The jingle of the rowels got his attention. Hardly used them at all which was nice but the improvement in Brody’s focus was noticeable. During a break we watched folks do groundwork. To say it was interesting is an understatement. Some folks were very clear and some were…well…not. What was reflected back by the horse was the proof of how effective the human was.

We got into a groove and rode longer than we had planned originally. The indication that we overshot the time to quit was when I asked Brody to move out and make a right turn. He literally dragged his foot and sighed heavily. While he does take deep breaths he never drags his feet like that. Oops! We them walked to the center, backed and dismounted. We did some cool down line work at the walk and some Leading Beside.

Extra feed for dinner was the reward for a job well done! The lesson here is that Brody is not quite ready for four ground work/riding sessions in a row just yet, even if his brain says he can. We will return to three full sessions and one groundwork only session for the next few weeks and see how he does. His willingness is a bit contagious and I have to be aware of that. Also I am really focused on his rest/reward periods. He needs that validation to feel good about the process so…more cuddles/rubs during training it is!