Renegade and Beau were tied to the trailer next to each other eating their hay from their respective bags and Renegade decided he wanted to try Beau’s hay. It was interesting they shared from the same bag for a bit then Renegade took a big mouthful of hay; I think Beau thought he was being too greedy because he gave Renegade a slight nip on the nose. This is a BIG change for Beau as he’s usually very submissive to other horses. I found myself cheering for him!! Renegade was more polite after that and they continued to share hay.
The workshop was awesome and I learned some strategies to help me with the problems we’ve been having with our circles, especially canter circles, and our change of direction, especially when traveling to the left; I have a hard time drawing Renegade’s right eye. The biggest BFO was that I’ve gotten a bit lax and sloppy in my expectations. I’ve been allowing Renegade to invade my space too much/too often and not asking for snappy responses. Once I changed my approach, upped my expectations, and sped everything up a bit, our results were much better!!
After the workshop, we watered our horses and loaded up for the ride home. Boy did we, Terri, Ingrid, and I, have A LOT to talk about on the way home. It seems we all learned a whole lot during a two hour workshop. We arrived back at Terri’s house and unloaded the horses; Renegade was going to be a visitor for a few hours while we went to dinner so we got the horses settled in then went in the house to freshen up before heading out to meet “J” at Pepe’s in Ocala. We were celebrating Ingrid’s birthday and we were eager to hear about “J”’s first month as an extern at Parelli.
After dinner, we headed back to Terri’s to pick up Renegade and head to my house. Renegade did very well at loading in the dark even though we’d not practiced this much. He looked ready to go home and chill in his own, familiar pasture with his herd mates. If he was as tired as I was, I know he was exhausted. My brain was full and so was my belly; I literally and figuratively had lots to digest. After getting Renegade settled in, I went in the house, got ready for bed, and it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep and I slept soundly all night. Writing up my notes would have to wait until the next day.
Showing posts with label Parelli Play Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parelli Play Day. Show all posts
Sunday, February 20, 2011
WHAT A DAY!!!
I had fully expected to have to work Saturday but at the last minute management decided one admin person could handle the needs of all the management personnel. Rene volunteered to work since her husband also had to work so I got the day off. After hurried phone calls and e-mails, I managed to sign up for the Parelli Games in the morning at the ISC in Ocala and the Liberty Series Workshop, Circles and Change of Direction, with Jerry S. Williams in Williston, FL in the afternoon. To top off an already wonderful day, I had dinner with 3 fabulous friends; it was like the icing on the cake. I absolutely love it when the stars align and everything becomes possible!!
Since my truck is still out of commission, my friend Terri was very generous and provided transport for both me and Renegade. Renegade and her horse, Beau, get along well so they kept each other company while traveling. Ingrid also rode with us (she didn’t take her horse) and the three of us had a fantastic time talking and laughing with each other. It’s always nice to have friends to share with while traveling; we never seem to run out of things to talk about!!
We arrived at the ISC about 9:00 a.m., signed in, parked and unloaded our horses. After letting the horses relax for a few minutes, we tacked up and headed down to the area where they were holding the games. Renegade was distracted by the nice, green grass and that was an indicator of how things would go for the rest of the morning; I seemed to have only 50-75% of his attention. I’d like to note, this is different than having his attention only 50-75% of the time as he was paying attention to me but had about 30-50% of his mind on the grass and grazing. When I asked for something he would comply but didn’t do it with enthusiasm.
The first stop was the station for the online games and I decided not to try the online games right then; there were several people in line and there would have been a wait…more time for Renegade to disconnect from me. I decided to move on to the liberty station thinking that might be a better place to start; there was less waiting and not much lush grass in the honeycomb. I quickly learned my thinking was flawed! While some of our liberty was o.k., it was pretty lack luster for the most part. Stick to me was great at walk, trot, AND canter and back-up and our friendly game was good as was our squeeze between me and the rail but porcupine 6’ was difficult and sideways over a cs on the ground didn’t go very well. BFO…if it’s not going well online; don’t go to liberty!!
I had thought about trying the freestyle games but since I didn’t have Renegade’s full attention on the ground, I decided riding might not be a good idea!! Instead, I thought I’d take him to a different area to work on getting his attention using a squeeze but looking for snappy responses and it worked really well. The first two times through the squeeze Renegade was moving his feet but with no real purpose or direction, he was just shuffling his feet around. The third time through, after getting tagged the first two times through, when I sent him he left at a canter and it was a really nice one!! He was relaxed, soft, responsive, and enthusiastic and was easy to bring back when I asked for the disengage. I’m glad I decided to abandon my original plan and take care of what my horse needed as it helped the rest of the day get better!!
Renegade must have felt very comfortable at the ISC because he rolled 4 times while there. I wasn’t happy that he decided to roll with the saddle on but since it was warm out and he’s still got a pretty good winter coat, he was sweaty and was most likely itchy. He also doesn’t roll all the way over, so I wasn’t worried about the saddle horn. I’ve been working on having him lay down next to me so I decided to take advantage of him laying down and rub him while he was down. Later, after I had untacked him, he rolled 3 more times. I happened to be sitting on the ground the last time he rolled and he gave me a lovely sand shower when he got up and shook!!
After the games were over we were shooed out of Parelli Land so that the staff could get on with their chores and enjoy the rest of the day off. It looked like a giant wave of people moving up the hill towards their trailers with a couple of smaller waves following. It’s easy to get caught up in the feeling at the ISC and not want to leave such a magical place. After waiting for the initial crush of people to leave, we loaded up our horses and pulled out headed to the Holistic Horsemanship Center in Williston, FL for the Liberty Series Workshop, Circles and Change of Direction, with Jerry S. Williams, 3* Parelli Professional. It was about a 25” drive from the ISC to the Horsemanship Center and we arrived there about 1:30 p.m., enough time to unload, water our horses, and give them a bit of hay before the workshop started at 2:00 p.m. I’m going to write up the workshop notes in a separate post on my clinic/workshops pages.
More to come...
Since my truck is still out of commission, my friend Terri was very generous and provided transport for both me and Renegade. Renegade and her horse, Beau, get along well so they kept each other company while traveling. Ingrid also rode with us (she didn’t take her horse) and the three of us had a fantastic time talking and laughing with each other. It’s always nice to have friends to share with while traveling; we never seem to run out of things to talk about!!
We arrived at the ISC about 9:00 a.m., signed in, parked and unloaded our horses. After letting the horses relax for a few minutes, we tacked up and headed down to the area where they were holding the games. Renegade was distracted by the nice, green grass and that was an indicator of how things would go for the rest of the morning; I seemed to have only 50-75% of his attention. I’d like to note, this is different than having his attention only 50-75% of the time as he was paying attention to me but had about 30-50% of his mind on the grass and grazing. When I asked for something he would comply but didn’t do it with enthusiasm.
The first stop was the station for the online games and I decided not to try the online games right then; there were several people in line and there would have been a wait…more time for Renegade to disconnect from me. I decided to move on to the liberty station thinking that might be a better place to start; there was less waiting and not much lush grass in the honeycomb. I quickly learned my thinking was flawed! While some of our liberty was o.k., it was pretty lack luster for the most part. Stick to me was great at walk, trot, AND canter and back-up and our friendly game was good as was our squeeze between me and the rail but porcupine 6’ was difficult and sideways over a cs on the ground didn’t go very well. BFO…if it’s not going well online; don’t go to liberty!!
I had thought about trying the freestyle games but since I didn’t have Renegade’s full attention on the ground, I decided riding might not be a good idea!! Instead, I thought I’d take him to a different area to work on getting his attention using a squeeze but looking for snappy responses and it worked really well. The first two times through the squeeze Renegade was moving his feet but with no real purpose or direction, he was just shuffling his feet around. The third time through, after getting tagged the first two times through, when I sent him he left at a canter and it was a really nice one!! He was relaxed, soft, responsive, and enthusiastic and was easy to bring back when I asked for the disengage. I’m glad I decided to abandon my original plan and take care of what my horse needed as it helped the rest of the day get better!!
Renegade must have felt very comfortable at the ISC because he rolled 4 times while there. I wasn’t happy that he decided to roll with the saddle on but since it was warm out and he’s still got a pretty good winter coat, he was sweaty and was most likely itchy. He also doesn’t roll all the way over, so I wasn’t worried about the saddle horn. I’ve been working on having him lay down next to me so I decided to take advantage of him laying down and rub him while he was down. Later, after I had untacked him, he rolled 3 more times. I happened to be sitting on the ground the last time he rolled and he gave me a lovely sand shower when he got up and shook!!
After the games were over we were shooed out of Parelli Land so that the staff could get on with their chores and enjoy the rest of the day off. It looked like a giant wave of people moving up the hill towards their trailers with a couple of smaller waves following. It’s easy to get caught up in the feeling at the ISC and not want to leave such a magical place. After waiting for the initial crush of people to leave, we loaded up our horses and pulled out headed to the Holistic Horsemanship Center in Williston, FL for the Liberty Series Workshop, Circles and Change of Direction, with Jerry S. Williams, 3* Parelli Professional. It was about a 25” drive from the ISC to the Horsemanship Center and we arrived there about 1:30 p.m., enough time to unload, water our horses, and give them a bit of hay before the workshop started at 2:00 p.m. I’m going to write up the workshop notes in a separate post on my clinic/workshops pages.
More to come...
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Offerings and Fun!!
Got home from work and first had to fix the hotwire…Bert had it crunched and had part of the fence crunched too. While I was fixing the fence, Renegade came to visit me and kinda hung around for a few minutes. When I finished and went to the gate, he followed me.
I got him out, saddled him up, and we went to the “arena” to play. I thought I’d warm him up a bit online but ended up only needing to move him around enough to do my three cinch tightenings. He stood still while I got on and while we did out lateral bends and then we walked off on my cue. Boy, did we have fun. We rode the large circle at the walk; all I was looking for was a soft bend and understanding the pattern. We did pretty good for our first time, maintaining the walk and the circle but there’s definitely much to work on. We did an energetic walk over the cavalettis (set at 8″ – we’d done 6″ many times before), trying maintain straightness and not tick his toes. By the 4th time across, he was doing good (no ticking). The weave at a walk was fun, when we get good at that, I’ll try it at the trot. The most fun was with the bow tie pattern…seemed like Renegade really got this one. When we came around the cone with me doing partial dhq I was going to ask for the trot at first but Renegade said “why not canter”!! The first few times, I got 2-3 strides of canter but the last time we cantered 1/2 the length of the “arena”. I decided we’d done enough…he gave me so much and so willingly!! Sadly, I probably needed to spend my 1/2 hour UDT with Renegade tonight but it was already getting dark and I still had to feed everyone. I’ll make a point of having enough time to hang out tomorrow after our play.
Oh yeah, must add...I got two nice back up steps off my seat...no reins!! WHOOT, WHOOT!!!
I got him out, saddled him up, and we went to the “arena” to play. I thought I’d warm him up a bit online but ended up only needing to move him around enough to do my three cinch tightenings. He stood still while I got on and while we did out lateral bends and then we walked off on my cue. Boy, did we have fun. We rode the large circle at the walk; all I was looking for was a soft bend and understanding the pattern. We did pretty good for our first time, maintaining the walk and the circle but there’s definitely much to work on. We did an energetic walk over the cavalettis (set at 8″ – we’d done 6″ many times before), trying maintain straightness and not tick his toes. By the 4th time across, he was doing good (no ticking). The weave at a walk was fun, when we get good at that, I’ll try it at the trot. The most fun was with the bow tie pattern…seemed like Renegade really got this one. When we came around the cone with me doing partial dhq I was going to ask for the trot at first but Renegade said “why not canter”!! The first few times, I got 2-3 strides of canter but the last time we cantered 1/2 the length of the “arena”. I decided we’d done enough…he gave me so much and so willingly!! Sadly, I probably needed to spend my 1/2 hour UDT with Renegade tonight but it was already getting dark and I still had to feed everyone. I’ll make a point of having enough time to hang out tomorrow after our play.
Oh yeah, must add...I got two nice back up steps off my seat...no reins!! WHOOT, WHOOT!!!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Fun and Games!!
What a fun morning!! We were a bit rushed as we “were late for the show”. I normally like to arrive a bit early, unload my horse, walk him around a bit and check the place out but this morning we arrived at the ISC, had to fill out some paperwork, unloaded the horses and had to saddle them up right away. Missed the meeting at the big pond so on the way down the hill, we stopped and did the online challenge. Renegade and I made our time, completing all 5 obstacles and didn’t break the tie until he decided he wanted to go check out some grass a bit farther out than the 22′ line lol!! Liberty was great, we completed our 5 tasks with 1 second to spare and he even sidepassed the cs laying on the ground – this has been a huge bug-a-boo for us!! We did FRT/STM at the trot, I got greedy and tried for a canter STM but it didn’t happen. I was o.k. with that since he’d just given me so much during the online and liberty challenges and he was rather distracted by the grass, the cold air, and the cold breezes. Wasn’t sure about doing freestyle games because Renegade had been distracted but decided to give it a go and was glad I did. We made our times, with time to spare…did the weave at a walk, mostly off of my body but did have to make a few corrections, we trotted the straight line back to the box. The barrel pattern was fun, would have been better if not for “operator error” lol!! We did the first part of the pattern at the walk and Renegade was pretty unfocused (maybe I was too??!!). The second half of the pattern was better, we did it at the trot and it would have been fantastic but I got the pattern wrong; did the first barrel right and mixed up the next two, bummer!! I definitely need to work on getting my pattern straight!!
It was fun to see Renegade so confident today. There was a young horse that had never been over the bridge before and wasn’t confident about it at all so Renegade led (with me driving from zone 4-5) the way and that little horse followed him right over. It was especially nice because Renegade sometimes has zone 5 issues but didn’t have them today.
Especially nice was seeing our progress since last year when they held the games. Our scores were much better this time, Renegade was much more connected to me, and he really tried for me today!! Couldn’t be happier with how we did today!!
It was fun to see Renegade so confident today. There was a young horse that had never been over the bridge before and wasn’t confident about it at all so Renegade led (with me driving from zone 4-5) the way and that little horse followed him right over. It was especially nice because Renegade sometimes has zone 5 issues but didn’t have them today.
Especially nice was seeing our progress since last year when they held the games. Our scores were much better this time, Renegade was much more connected to me, and he really tried for me today!! Couldn’t be happier with how we did today!!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Hummm....
Played again tonight and just like last night, trot circles were fabulous in both directions but canter circles were non-existant, so rather than repeat a negative pattern, I went back online to fix it. The reason I tried first at liberty is to make sure last night wasn’t an off night and to give Renegade the benefit of doubt. Going back online helped a whole lot and we ended up doing three nice canter circles in each direction and I stopped with that for tonight. We backed, leading by the tail, all the way across the diameter of the 70′ play pen!! Also lead Renegade by the (L) ear for 10 steps. I also trailer loaded Renegade from the fender and he went right in!!
During the post play UDT, Renegade did alot of licking, chewing, and yawning unlike last night when he did very little and he laid down next to me again twice. This time I rubbed his forehead and he rubbed back a bit and he stayed down just a little longer tonight that the past few nights. Can’t wait until I can “do a Cheri” and have him sleeping with his head in my lap.
I’m wondering if I’m confusing Renegade by playing with my energy…maybe I’m playing with it too much, maybe I should just try one change or a little change at one time rather than experimenting? Jerry…I’m still trying to get the hand of that Spiderman thing of throwing the web lol!!
Anyway, it was another interesting evening of play!!
During the post play UDT, Renegade did alot of licking, chewing, and yawning unlike last night when he did very little and he laid down next to me again twice. This time I rubbed his forehead and he rubbed back a bit and he stayed down just a little longer tonight that the past few nights. Can’t wait until I can “do a Cheri” and have him sleeping with his head in my lap.
I’m wondering if I’m confusing Renegade by playing with my energy…maybe I’m playing with it too much, maybe I should just try one change or a little change at one time rather than experimenting? Jerry…I’m still trying to get the hand of that Spiderman thing of throwing the web lol!!
Anyway, it was another interesting evening of play!!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Where Are We Going??
Tonights session was interesting. I could feel my energy level was not has high as it has been the last 4 days and Renegade’s energy wasn’t as “up” there either. Trot circles were amazing, 6 to the right and 5 to the left, nice, cadenced, soft. Canter circles…well, they kind of fell apart tonight…I’m wondering where all that wonderful impulsion from last night went??!! I couldn’t get Renegade to give me more than 1/2 lap in either direction tonight. Something to ponder on tonight.
On the flip side, leading by the tail was fabulous tonight – we backed softly and straightly 3/4 the diameter of the round pen!! I finished our session by tying the 22′ line into reins and asking Renegade to side pass to the rail to see if I had permission to get on and he moved right into position. I got on bareback and did a 15″ passenger lesson at the walk. I haven’t been on him bareback in ages and it was fun!!
During our undemanding, post play time, Renegade did alot of licking, chewing, and yawning and ta da…laid down next to me twice!! I found it interesting he also spent a fair amount of time softly investigating me tonight with his nose and by licking me. He was checking out my coat sleeves, the hood of my coat, my hair, and even my face. He was gentle about it and even licked my face. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about that given his past history of biting but I kept my nerves in check and allowed it but was ready to move him off if he got too pushy. No worries though…he was just fine.
Lots of different stuff happening tonight but just as exciting as the past few nights…just different. Not sure where all this is going but I really want to find out!!
On the flip side, leading by the tail was fabulous tonight – we backed softly and straightly 3/4 the diameter of the round pen!! I finished our session by tying the 22′ line into reins and asking Renegade to side pass to the rail to see if I had permission to get on and he moved right into position. I got on bareback and did a 15″ passenger lesson at the walk. I haven’t been on him bareback in ages and it was fun!!
During our undemanding, post play time, Renegade did alot of licking, chewing, and yawning and ta da…laid down next to me twice!! I found it interesting he also spent a fair amount of time softly investigating me tonight with his nose and by licking me. He was checking out my coat sleeves, the hood of my coat, my hair, and even my face. He was gentle about it and even licked my face. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about that given his past history of biting but I kept my nerves in check and allowed it but was ready to move him off if he got too pushy. No worries though…he was just fine.
Lots of different stuff happening tonight but just as exciting as the past few nights…just different. Not sure where all this is going but I really want to find out!!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Day Three of the Rendezvous
SATURDAY, October 22, 2010
Day three started early although I did sleep in a bit; I had trouble getting to sleep the night before thinking about the day and how to best get and keep Renegade's attention. Bless my friends that fed and watered Renegade so I could sleep a little longer!! I really wanted to try a tournament or two and a spotlight or two, so after coffee and breakfast, I went to sign up. The online spotlights and tournaments were already full so I signed up for a liberty tournament and a freestyle spotlight. After signing up, I went to the barn to get Renegade.
Imagine my suprise when he met me at the gate, nickering happily. I haltered and saddled him and we went out to mosey a bit, look around, then warm up online. Renegade was really connected to me online so we did a bit of liberty in the round pen. That went o.k. but not spectacular so I figured we were in trouble for our liberty tournament and I was right!! I didn't know the only thing we could use the round pen for was the circles, everything else was OUTSIDE the round pen!! Had I know that beforehand, I probably wouldn't have signed up for it, but since I did, we went to do it. I started in the round pen and our circles were great so I thought I might get lucky with the rest outside the pen. Well, it wasn't meant to be...Renegade left me twice! He didn't go to the far end of the arena but I had to play the catching game to get him back. I know he was playing with me because he came back at the trot!! I decided not to push it after that and our three minutes were up so I stopped there rather than take the extra 20 seconds.
I went back to playing online with Renegade a bit and it went well so I decided to mount up and ride around. I happened upon the gaits and distances tournament and no one was waiting to do it so I gave it a go. Renegade and I did it at a fast walk and our time was 3:36; the big QH ahead of us did it at a fast walk in 3:33. I think our time was pretty good for my little pony boy!! The nicest thing is the second half of the pattern we rode off feel and focus, NO REINS!!
By the time we were done there it was time for our freestyle spotlight so off we went to the arena. I had hoped to do an online spotlight to introduce Renegade to the arena environment with all the noise, music, people in the stands, clapping, etc. but didn't get to do that since they were all full. The best I could do is have him near the gate while the last of the liberty spotlights finished up.
I'm very grateful my friend, Tinker, was with me. Her humor and conversation helped me get my mind settled and my butterflies in formation. She also held all my extra stuff, like my lead rope and carrot stick, etc. I was suddenly feeling like I just had too much stuff to manage. Bless Tink for being there to help me!!
Before we went on, I was asked if we had music we wanted to use. I didn't know we could do that and it wasn't listed in any of the applications, etc. so I asked them to play something by Josh Groban and something country and western. They chose "My Confession" by Josh Groban and "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim McGraw. I couldn't have picked better music for us; I love both of those songs and the tempo was good.
When it was time for us to enter the arena and they opened the gate, I felt like I was on a barrel pony. Renegade was a bit excited and I thought we could run a barrel pattern in 17 flat lol!! I flexed him a couple of times and disengaged his hq a couple of times and he got focused and we entered the arena. I had decided to stick to patterns we know and can do well so I started with FTR at a walk. Renegade did well but had a couple of bobbles where there were alot of people in the stands and about 1/2 way down the arena were there were some gates with a screen on them; he wasn't too sure about them. I think he's seen too many gladiator movies and thought the lions were going to come out of those gates lol!!! After a couple of passes, he was fine with them so I asked for a trot FTR. His trot was a mix of relaxation and a bit of tension in a few spots (same ones that were problems at the walk), but after a couple of passes he was much more relaxed.
There were some cones set up in the arena so we did a weave at the walk up, back, and up again then went to push the big green ball. We did that at a fast walk and Renegade pushed it for quite a distance. I asked Renegade to walk over a tarp and he spooked in place a bit when the dirt made a funny sound going onto the tarp. I asked him to try again and when he put a foot on the tarp, I left it for a little bit. When we came back to it to ride over it Renegade did great; went straight over it.
I had thought if everything went well and Renegade felt really relaxed, I might try a canter FTR but while he felt relaxed, I felt if I asked for the canter it might just be too much for him so rather than sacrifice everything that went to well, I quit while I was ahead. I'm getting smarter that way...sometimes, no...make that most times...less is more!!
I had asked when we entered the arena if everyone could hold their applause til the end since I didn't know how Renegade would handle it. When we finished, I got off and when the applause started, Renegade didn't even flinch. He stood quietly near me while I collected our ribbon and he was loose, I didn't have a hold on him. I was trusting him to stay and he did!!
Even better than getting our ribbon was the complement Dave Ellis gave us when he said "he's a nice little pony"!! I was over the moon right about then!! When we exited the arena, Tink was there and so were my friends Ingrid and Bob. Ingrid and Bob hugged us and congratulated us, Tink had tears in her eyes and that made me tear up too. It was emotional for me because I realized just how much my horse had just given me in that arena. It may not have looked like alot to an observer, but knowing where we started from, he had just given me 310%. Renegade was also yawning like crazy while we were standing there so I know he was a bit "up" in the arena. That also told me I did the right thing by not asking for the canter in our spotlight. We stretched ourselves without overwhelming ourselves and that is a HUGE success!!
Of course, we had to go show off our ribbon and Liane got some nice shots of Renegade with the ribbon on his halter!! I took Renegade back to the barn with the intention of unsaddling him then having some mosey and undemanding time but he wanted back in his stall. I think he was tired both emotionally and physically and was ready to just rest. Besides, it was past his normal afternoon nap time!! I figured it was just as well since it was about 2:30 and I was hungry...I hadn't had anything to eat since an early breakfast.
I gave Renegade some hay and molassas water and I went back to the campground to have a snack and decided to celebrate with a beer!! After hanging with my friends for a bit, having a snack, and drinking my beer, we decided to watch a couple of spotlights then get ready for dinner out with Jerry and Bonnie Williams and members of our Jingle Group. I think I'll cover dinner out in another post since this one is getting pretty long!!
Day three started early although I did sleep in a bit; I had trouble getting to sleep the night before thinking about the day and how to best get and keep Renegade's attention. Bless my friends that fed and watered Renegade so I could sleep a little longer!! I really wanted to try a tournament or two and a spotlight or two, so after coffee and breakfast, I went to sign up. The online spotlights and tournaments were already full so I signed up for a liberty tournament and a freestyle spotlight. After signing up, I went to the barn to get Renegade.
Imagine my suprise when he met me at the gate, nickering happily. I haltered and saddled him and we went out to mosey a bit, look around, then warm up online. Renegade was really connected to me online so we did a bit of liberty in the round pen. That went o.k. but not spectacular so I figured we were in trouble for our liberty tournament and I was right!! I didn't know the only thing we could use the round pen for was the circles, everything else was OUTSIDE the round pen!! Had I know that beforehand, I probably wouldn't have signed up for it, but since I did, we went to do it. I started in the round pen and our circles were great so I thought I might get lucky with the rest outside the pen. Well, it wasn't meant to be...Renegade left me twice! He didn't go to the far end of the arena but I had to play the catching game to get him back. I know he was playing with me because he came back at the trot!! I decided not to push it after that and our three minutes were up so I stopped there rather than take the extra 20 seconds.
I went back to playing online with Renegade a bit and it went well so I decided to mount up and ride around. I happened upon the gaits and distances tournament and no one was waiting to do it so I gave it a go. Renegade and I did it at a fast walk and our time was 3:36; the big QH ahead of us did it at a fast walk in 3:33. I think our time was pretty good for my little pony boy!! The nicest thing is the second half of the pattern we rode off feel and focus, NO REINS!!
By the time we were done there it was time for our freestyle spotlight so off we went to the arena. I had hoped to do an online spotlight to introduce Renegade to the arena environment with all the noise, music, people in the stands, clapping, etc. but didn't get to do that since they were all full. The best I could do is have him near the gate while the last of the liberty spotlights finished up.
I'm very grateful my friend, Tinker, was with me. Her humor and conversation helped me get my mind settled and my butterflies in formation. She also held all my extra stuff, like my lead rope and carrot stick, etc. I was suddenly feeling like I just had too much stuff to manage. Bless Tink for being there to help me!!
Before we went on, I was asked if we had music we wanted to use. I didn't know we could do that and it wasn't listed in any of the applications, etc. so I asked them to play something by Josh Groban and something country and western. They chose "My Confession" by Josh Groban and "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim McGraw. I couldn't have picked better music for us; I love both of those songs and the tempo was good.
When it was time for us to enter the arena and they opened the gate, I felt like I was on a barrel pony. Renegade was a bit excited and I thought we could run a barrel pattern in 17 flat lol!! I flexed him a couple of times and disengaged his hq a couple of times and he got focused and we entered the arena. I had decided to stick to patterns we know and can do well so I started with FTR at a walk. Renegade did well but had a couple of bobbles where there were alot of people in the stands and about 1/2 way down the arena were there were some gates with a screen on them; he wasn't too sure about them. I think he's seen too many gladiator movies and thought the lions were going to come out of those gates lol!!! After a couple of passes, he was fine with them so I asked for a trot FTR. His trot was a mix of relaxation and a bit of tension in a few spots (same ones that were problems at the walk), but after a couple of passes he was much more relaxed.
There were some cones set up in the arena so we did a weave at the walk up, back, and up again then went to push the big green ball. We did that at a fast walk and Renegade pushed it for quite a distance. I asked Renegade to walk over a tarp and he spooked in place a bit when the dirt made a funny sound going onto the tarp. I asked him to try again and when he put a foot on the tarp, I left it for a little bit. When we came back to it to ride over it Renegade did great; went straight over it.
I had thought if everything went well and Renegade felt really relaxed, I might try a canter FTR but while he felt relaxed, I felt if I asked for the canter it might just be too much for him so rather than sacrifice everything that went to well, I quit while I was ahead. I'm getting smarter that way...sometimes, no...make that most times...less is more!!
I had asked when we entered the arena if everyone could hold their applause til the end since I didn't know how Renegade would handle it. When we finished, I got off and when the applause started, Renegade didn't even flinch. He stood quietly near me while I collected our ribbon and he was loose, I didn't have a hold on him. I was trusting him to stay and he did!!
Even better than getting our ribbon was the complement Dave Ellis gave us when he said "he's a nice little pony"!! I was over the moon right about then!! When we exited the arena, Tink was there and so were my friends Ingrid and Bob. Ingrid and Bob hugged us and congratulated us, Tink had tears in her eyes and that made me tear up too. It was emotional for me because I realized just how much my horse had just given me in that arena. It may not have looked like alot to an observer, but knowing where we started from, he had just given me 310%. Renegade was also yawning like crazy while we were standing there so I know he was a bit "up" in the arena. That also told me I did the right thing by not asking for the canter in our spotlight. We stretched ourselves without overwhelming ourselves and that is a HUGE success!!
Of course, we had to go show off our ribbon and Liane got some nice shots of Renegade with the ribbon on his halter!! I took Renegade back to the barn with the intention of unsaddling him then having some mosey and undemanding time but he wanted back in his stall. I think he was tired both emotionally and physically and was ready to just rest. Besides, it was past his normal afternoon nap time!! I figured it was just as well since it was about 2:30 and I was hungry...I hadn't had anything to eat since an early breakfast.
I gave Renegade some hay and molassas water and I went back to the campground to have a snack and decided to celebrate with a beer!! After hanging with my friends for a bit, having a snack, and drinking my beer, we decided to watch a couple of spotlights then get ready for dinner out with Jerry and Bonnie Williams and members of our Jingle Group. I think I'll cover dinner out in another post since this one is getting pretty long!!
Day Two of the Rendezvous
FRIDAY, October 22, 2010
Woke up at 5:45 a.m. and went to check on the horses to see how they did overnight. They were happy to see me, and happy for a hay and water refill. Then back to the campground for coffee and to get dressed for the day. After we had breakfast it was back to the barn for stall maintenance then took the horses out to move them around, play with them a bit to see what horses showed up that day, and let them graze a bit before it was back to the stalls. Then it was off to the arena for all horse participants to join the remuda with Pat to find out how the Rendezvous was going to work. After the meeting, we then set about exploring a bit and finding the sign up/registration for spotlights, demos, tournaments, etc.
I decided to try the Fast Track experience demo and it was interesting although I think I was a day early for Renegade. It was obvious he was still more interested in everything going on than in me and what I was asking. John Baar gave us several tasks to accomplish, squeeze over barrels in both directions, all 4 feet on a pedestal, circles with transitions, etc., to be sure we had our horses mind before we could get on to ride. I started with the pedestal since it's usually Renegade's favorite thing...he will put his feet on everything and anything, especially if he can get out of work lol!! Well, long story short, he wanted to do everything BUT put his feet on that pedestal!!! I spent the whole Fast Track experience being coached by Kathy Baar until Renegade finally put two feet on the pedestal. I knew right then I better get busy and play with Renegade to get his attention before the whole weekend turned into something I didn't want!!
We went out to the practice arena and played all 7 games and did some patterns online until Renegade was focusing on me. I had to be quite firm at times, very clear in what I was asking, and particular in his responses. That's how I spent the second half of the second day but I'm glad I did it because it's what Renegade and I both needed to get focused and help the rest of the weekend be successful for both of us. Needless to say, I didn't do any spotlights or tournament games on Friday!!
Woke up at 5:45 a.m. and went to check on the horses to see how they did overnight. They were happy to see me, and happy for a hay and water refill. Then back to the campground for coffee and to get dressed for the day. After we had breakfast it was back to the barn for stall maintenance then took the horses out to move them around, play with them a bit to see what horses showed up that day, and let them graze a bit before it was back to the stalls. Then it was off to the arena for all horse participants to join the remuda with Pat to find out how the Rendezvous was going to work. After the meeting, we then set about exploring a bit and finding the sign up/registration for spotlights, demos, tournaments, etc.
I decided to try the Fast Track experience demo and it was interesting although I think I was a day early for Renegade. It was obvious he was still more interested in everything going on than in me and what I was asking. John Baar gave us several tasks to accomplish, squeeze over barrels in both directions, all 4 feet on a pedestal, circles with transitions, etc., to be sure we had our horses mind before we could get on to ride. I started with the pedestal since it's usually Renegade's favorite thing...he will put his feet on everything and anything, especially if he can get out of work lol!! Well, long story short, he wanted to do everything BUT put his feet on that pedestal!!! I spent the whole Fast Track experience being coached by Kathy Baar until Renegade finally put two feet on the pedestal. I knew right then I better get busy and play with Renegade to get his attention before the whole weekend turned into something I didn't want!!
We went out to the practice arena and played all 7 games and did some patterns online until Renegade was focusing on me. I had to be quite firm at times, very clear in what I was asking, and particular in his responses. That's how I spent the second half of the second day but I'm glad I did it because it's what Renegade and I both needed to get focused and help the rest of the weekend be successful for both of us. Needless to say, I didn't do any spotlights or tournament games on Friday!!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Awesome Playday Today!!
Went to an Ocala Parelli Players play day today at Nicole's and had soooo much fun!! It took a bit to get Renegade's attention to do the circling game but doing some changes of direction, "tag the spot" where he broke gait down to a walk, and transitions up to canter and he decided trotting a circle wasn't so bad after all. After that, circles were nice, smooth, at the end of the 22' line (I had the popper in my hand).
Someone had set up a jump and it was at least three feet high. I decided to give it a go and see what happened. I figured Renegade would, at a minimum, stop at the jump and I was right. What really suprised me is when I asked a second time he jumped it and it was from a stand still. Luckily I got it on video...you can hear me and some of the other playday participants cheering in delight when he jumped!!
We also did some weave and figure 8's online and they were o.k. but ridden weaves, figure 8's, and circles were really nice and for the most part we did it off feel and focus alone both at the walk and the trot!!
All in all it was a really fun, relaxing, inspiring day!!
Someone had set up a jump and it was at least three feet high. I decided to give it a go and see what happened. I figured Renegade would, at a minimum, stop at the jump and I was right. What really suprised me is when I asked a second time he jumped it and it was from a stand still. Luckily I got it on video...you can hear me and some of the other playday participants cheering in delight when he jumped!!
We also did some weave and figure 8's online and they were o.k. but ridden weaves, figure 8's, and circles were really nice and for the most part we did it off feel and focus alone both at the walk and the trot!!
All in all it was a really fun, relaxing, inspiring day!!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Hahaha!! I Love When A Plan Works!!
Hahaha!! Had success with circling while sitting on the barrel tonight, actually got two circles in each direction. I did notice that Renegade had that "I'm kinda outta here" nose tilted to the outside so I played with bringing him in when he tipped an ear to me and it worked!! It started with an ear on me, then he ever so slightly looked at me and when I rewarded that, he started to look to me asking questions. Hehehe...love when a plan works!!
I haltered/unhaltered while sitting on the barrel and that went well. I unhaltered after we did the circles and we did some liberty play, did stick to me and WE CANTERED TOGETHER going to the right!! We then played with some turns and squeeze over the barrels. Renegade was really "with" me tonight during liberty and when I asked him in at the end I allowed him all the way in. He put his head on my chest while I gave him a good rub. He's never done that before.
At the end we had some hang out time with me sitting on the ground and Renegade standing next to me. I started scratching one of his favorite itchy spots and oh boy...I could tell he was really enjoying it, those lips were really twitching lol!!
When I invited him to leave the round pen he waited for me (at liberty) to collect my gear then we went together back to the pasture so he could graze. It was a great night!!
I haltered/unhaltered while sitting on the barrel and that went well. I unhaltered after we did the circles and we did some liberty play, did stick to me and WE CANTERED TOGETHER going to the right!! We then played with some turns and squeeze over the barrels. Renegade was really "with" me tonight during liberty and when I asked him in at the end I allowed him all the way in. He put his head on my chest while I gave him a good rub. He's never done that before.
At the end we had some hang out time with me sitting on the ground and Renegade standing next to me. I started scratching one of his favorite itchy spots and oh boy...I could tell he was really enjoying it, those lips were really twitching lol!!
When I invited him to leave the round pen he waited for me (at liberty) to collect my gear then we went together back to the pasture so he could graze. It was a great night!!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
I Love Li"Bert"y!!!
Played with Bert tonight and wow!! I got some nice, soft circles at the walk and trot, and he even had a slight bend in his body!! I’m so pleased…my really skittish, RBE has come so far since I got him as a baby!!
Played with Renegade online tonight trying to get better, quicker responses, snappier COD’s, and snappier hq disengage. It was a GREAT session, lots of licking and chewing…both Renegade and me lol!!
Played with Renegade online tonight trying to get better, quicker responses, snappier COD’s, and snappier hq disengage. It was a GREAT session, lots of licking and chewing…both Renegade and me lol!!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Splitting Your Horse In Half!!!
The play group, Ocala Parelli Players, I belong to has been having challenges this summer to keep us all progressing during the long, hot summer. The object of the challenges is something that is low key, requires focus, and can be done in a short session. Members volunteer to provide a challenge and each challenge lasts for two weeks. The only requirement was the challenges had to involve something that was on the self assessment sheets but that could be done by any level student. I haven't blogged about each challenge but thought I'd blog about this last one because it's something I've been playing with for a while now.
The challenge is: have your horse put one front foot and one hind foot over a log or pole. One of our OPP members named this challenge "split your horse in half" lol!!
Well, I tried this tonight and didn't quite get the split in half but we did get close. I know, I know...close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades lol!!
Renegade is good at putting one front foot over or one back foot but not both on the same side at the same time but tonight we did get the left front over the log and the left hind resting up on the log. It was a brief rest but it's closer than we've gotten before and I figured I'd better quit while I was ahead. Going to try again tomorrow and see what I get!!
I tried to pay particular attention to rewarding the slightest try and I think it worked because Renegade knew he “got it” tonight. I was tapping his hip to ask his foot to move closer to the log and I tried to notice when he first “thought” about moving that particular foot. Well, I must have gotten it right because he really put some effort into figuring out what I wanted after that!! And the look on his face when I rewarded him placing his foot on the log, well, his ears pricked forward, he arched his neck a little and nickered at me!!! Sounded so pleased with himself!!!!!!!!!
I'm usually guilty of getting greedy and trying for the whole enchilada but tonight I decided to stop while I was ahead and oh, is that hard for me to do lol!!! I'm really trying to work on myself and stop being so task oriented!! I hope tomorrow night we'll make more progress and get a longer rest of his hind leg on the log, maybe some friendly of his hind leg while it's up there will help. We'll see what happens.
The challenge is: have your horse put one front foot and one hind foot over a log or pole. One of our OPP members named this challenge "split your horse in half" lol!!
Well, I tried this tonight and didn't quite get the split in half but we did get close. I know, I know...close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades lol!!
Renegade is good at putting one front foot over or one back foot but not both on the same side at the same time but tonight we did get the left front over the log and the left hind resting up on the log. It was a brief rest but it's closer than we've gotten before and I figured I'd better quit while I was ahead. Going to try again tomorrow and see what I get!!
I tried to pay particular attention to rewarding the slightest try and I think it worked because Renegade knew he “got it” tonight. I was tapping his hip to ask his foot to move closer to the log and I tried to notice when he first “thought” about moving that particular foot. Well, I must have gotten it right because he really put some effort into figuring out what I wanted after that!! And the look on his face when I rewarded him placing his foot on the log, well, his ears pricked forward, he arched his neck a little and nickered at me!!! Sounded so pleased with himself!!!!!!!!!
I'm usually guilty of getting greedy and trying for the whole enchilada but tonight I decided to stop while I was ahead and oh, is that hard for me to do lol!!! I'm really trying to work on myself and stop being so task oriented!! I hope tomorrow night we'll make more progress and get a longer rest of his hind leg on the log, maybe some friendly of his hind leg while it's up there will help. We'll see what happens.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sometimes A Break Is Just The Thing!!
Here I was feeling guilty because I hadn't been working on my canter goal I want to meet by the end of the year and I also hadn't been working on my liberty goal of having Renegade trot and canter 3-4 circles with a barrel as an obstacle and jumping it. Instead, we were playing with obstacles in prep for the obstacle challenge benefit last Saturday for Beauty's Haven Equine Rescue.
When I left off a couple of weeks ago, I could get 3 circles at trot and canter going left with him jumping the barrel but to the right that third circle was eluding us. Well, I went out tonight and Renegade met me at the gate and offered his nose for haltering...so nice and soft. We went to the "play pen" and I backed him in and unhaltered him, didn't even do an online warm-up. I thought I'd see what I would get. Renegade really suprised me; he volunteered canter circles both to the right and left and jumped the barrel each time. He did at least 6 circles in each direction!! I then tried asking for a change of direction but Renegade was blowing through my cues so I decided not to push it...we were having too much success with the canter circles which is what I've been trying for for sooooo long. I figured I better NOT ruin it by throwing too much at him at one time, especially since he was already offering me so much!!
After all those canter circles and jumps, I brought him in and we took a little break then did some rock slide which went well – he’s still dragging his hq a bit but doing better. We also did an awesome draw back to me…about 20 steps!! Then we played with putting different zones on or near things, being particular about it. It was a nice, low-key finish and Renegade was really engaged with me.
When we were done, we spent some undemanding time while Renegade grazed a bit. After a few minutes he came over to me (I was sitting on the ground) and I started scratching his chest and neck…well, I found a “spot” cause he stretched his neck out a bit and his lips started moving. When I stopped he put his nose on top of my head sort of like a “please, don’t stop” so I started scratching again and he stretched out his neck again and was really moving his lips. A nice finish to a nice session!!
I led him, at liberty, from the play pen and turned him loose on the lawn to graze while I fixed feed for all the horses. Renegade came over to check out what I was doing and he'll usually try to sneak a quick bite or two but I wiggled my finger at him and he backed up with real energy. I pointed to a spot he should go to graze and he went leaving me to finish preparing the feed. When I set out the feed, I invited him to his bowl and he politely went to eat!! YEEEEEHAAAWWWWW!!!!
When I left off a couple of weeks ago, I could get 3 circles at trot and canter going left with him jumping the barrel but to the right that third circle was eluding us. Well, I went out tonight and Renegade met me at the gate and offered his nose for haltering...so nice and soft. We went to the "play pen" and I backed him in and unhaltered him, didn't even do an online warm-up. I thought I'd see what I would get. Renegade really suprised me; he volunteered canter circles both to the right and left and jumped the barrel each time. He did at least 6 circles in each direction!! I then tried asking for a change of direction but Renegade was blowing through my cues so I decided not to push it...we were having too much success with the canter circles which is what I've been trying for for sooooo long. I figured I better NOT ruin it by throwing too much at him at one time, especially since he was already offering me so much!!
After all those canter circles and jumps, I brought him in and we took a little break then did some rock slide which went well – he’s still dragging his hq a bit but doing better. We also did an awesome draw back to me…about 20 steps!! Then we played with putting different zones on or near things, being particular about it. It was a nice, low-key finish and Renegade was really engaged with me.
When we were done, we spent some undemanding time while Renegade grazed a bit. After a few minutes he came over to me (I was sitting on the ground) and I started scratching his chest and neck…well, I found a “spot” cause he stretched his neck out a bit and his lips started moving. When I stopped he put his nose on top of my head sort of like a “please, don’t stop” so I started scratching again and he stretched out his neck again and was really moving his lips. A nice finish to a nice session!!
I led him, at liberty, from the play pen and turned him loose on the lawn to graze while I fixed feed for all the horses. Renegade came over to check out what I was doing and he'll usually try to sneak a quick bite or two but I wiggled my finger at him and he backed up with real energy. I pointed to a spot he should go to graze and he went leaving me to finish preparing the feed. When I set out the feed, I invited him to his bowl and he politely went to eat!! YEEEEEHAAAWWWWW!!!!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
WOW!!! What A Fun Day!!!
I'm so proud of my "pony boy" Renegade!! We did an obstacle challenge today that was a benefit for an equine rescue and had a super day. This was our first attempt at an obstacle challenge and I think we did really well; we scored 49 out of 70 points. The thing I'm most proud of is that I didn't sacrifice principles for purpose. When Renegade had difficulty with the first two obstacles because of the sprinklers involved, I patiently worked him through his thresholds until we could complete the obstacle. Of course, that meant we took longer than the alloted time but I didn't blow my horse up and we completed the obstacle with confidence which set us up for success for the rest of the course. Our confidence increased, our communication got better, and our scores increased as we completed each obstacle.
I am pondering what a judge at one of the sprinkler obstacles told me: that Renegade was outright refusing, he wasn't scared, and I needed to "put more leg on him" to make him go. I believe that would have been the absolutely wrong thing to do...it was our first obstacle, he was having doubts, his head was up, I could feel tension in his body, he was trying to look at everything with "both sides of his brain", and he was backing up very quickly - that speaks unconfidence to me. I allowed him the time to look (from a distance he deemed safe), feel confident, and proceed when he was relaxed. Had I pushed him at that point to force him through the obstacle, I believe the remainder of our course would have been a repeat of the first obstacle - having to force him through each one. The one thing I want to avoid with my horse is a battle of any kind or to force him to do something...neither one of us wins that way.
The other thing I need to mention is it was a very busy day at the venue: new place, lots of traffic, lots of horses, lots of activity, ATV's, and of course all the obstacles with all the "strange" stuff. I gave Renegade the benefit of the doubt since we'd never been in such a "active" environment. I think he handled himself very well!!!
I put principles to purpose today but didn't throw out the principles just to get a job done. I'm proud of myself for that and my horse came away being relaxed, confident, and willing!! I'd call that a very successful day!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Discussions and Ruminations!
After thinking about Saturday for a couple of days and getting input from a Parelli Professional, I've come to the conclusion that I may have missed some subtle signals from Renegade leading up to his "checking out" and taking over, but I did what I needed to do in that moment to re-establish my leadership. We had a discussion about strategies I can use in the future if this should happen again. We also discussed how I shouldn't overthink the process, just follow my "gut instincts" since my savvy has grown and I'm beginning to develop some "unconscious competence"!!! The suggestion was also made to take this episode and use it to know where the boundaries of tolerance are for Renegade and gradually stretch those boundaries. In doing so, eventually Renegade will be able to stay connected to me even if he has his druthers.
I feel much better now...out with the negative self doubt and second guessing, in with following my instincts more often and staying positive, progressive, and natural!!
I feel much better now...out with the negative self doubt and second guessing, in with following my instincts more often and staying positive, progressive, and natural!!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Obstacles, Challenges, Cantering
I don't know if it's because I'm now studying L3 that I'm starting to really disect the things that happen with my horse, but I've been doing LOTS of thinking about many things lately. The latest "thing" that has hold of my brain is the play day this past Saturday; it was in preparation for some obstacle challenges we're going to do this month and also in October and November.
I utilized the play day to keep Renegade interested by mixing things up quite a bit. Renegade is a LBE/LBI and requires me to keep his mind busy and interested to prevent him from starting his own games because once that happens he takes over and it's really difficult to get his mind back at that point. I did well managing to keep his attention for most of the day, had lots of fun with the obstacles, and did well at most of them. We will definitely need more practice on the water obstacle (man made from a tarp and some posts). After lots of approach and retreat and leaving the obstacle then coming back later, Renegade managed to put one foot in the water. I decided not to push my luck and left it at that!! Interestingly, riding into the lake and around a pole was not a problem!! The other obstacle that was a real challenge was two barrels that had a board across them and the object was to pick up one end of the board, make a 360 degree circle around the barrels, come back to the starting point and replace the board, all without the other end of the board leaving the other barrel. Rather than line up with his zone 3 against the barrel so I could pick up the board, Renegade wanted to face it with zone 1. Hummm...think we need more practice with putting zones in different places!! Also, have I somehow confused Renegade and he really thought I wanted him to face the barrel or was he making assumptions based on the touch it game?
We were successful with lots of other obstacles: a bridge with flapping things on both sides - having to stop for 7 seconds on it...no problem, trot to the hanging pool noodles and stop with them touching our bodies...no problem, walking and trotting the caveletti...no problem, the may pole and spiraling circles...no problem, riding up to touch the smiley faced balloons blowing in the breeze...no problem, whirley gig squeeze...no problem, picking up the BIG whirley gig, riding a circle, putting the whirley gig back...no problem, dragging a good sized log forward and backward...no problem, dragging a bag of cans forward and backward...no problem, forward through the Z and backing through the Z...no problem. I am so proud of Renegade and everything he tried for me. It was a lot of mental work for him and he was a champ!!
For a break from all the mental work of the obstacles, I also decided to practice a bit of freestyle cantering during a break from the obstacle practice/play. This was fun even though we had some oopsies and miscues. We ended up having a couple of good canters and one really nice canter depart. The canter depart was a first, I had never asked him for a canter from halt before because of the difficulty. I'm so proud of my little guy and his heart, desire, and try!!
We all took a break and ate lunch while the horses grazed and rested a bit then decided to go back out and do a bit of bareback riding: follow the leader, can you's, etc. Instead of using the Cradle Bridle, I had Renegade in a halter with finesse reins and he took full advantage of that fact. He started jerking the reins out of my hands, grazing at will, and trotting around with his nose on the ground. I can ride that but the stops can be tricky and he wasn't paying attention to me at all so I got off to re-establish my leadership on the ground. I really put him to work moving his feet, directing him everywhere, over obstacles, falling leaf, changes of direction, etc. and it didn't take long for him to decide it was o.k. for me to be leader again!! He also decided that grass wasn't so appealing after all!! Had I had my saddle on, I most likely wouldn't have had to get off to reestablish leadership but I'm not as secure with the bareback pad yet so I thought it more prudent to get off before I had an unplanned dismount!!
I can't help but wonder if I missed some signals from Renegade before he decided to take over and that maybe he was tired, both emotionally and physically and that's why he checked out? I wonder if I missed an opportunity to less sooner rather than more later to keep him connected to me? Did I overwhelm him by giving him soooo much to do and think about? I have much to think about and evaluate!!
I utilized the play day to keep Renegade interested by mixing things up quite a bit. Renegade is a LBE/LBI and requires me to keep his mind busy and interested to prevent him from starting his own games because once that happens he takes over and it's really difficult to get his mind back at that point. I did well managing to keep his attention for most of the day, had lots of fun with the obstacles, and did well at most of them. We will definitely need more practice on the water obstacle (man made from a tarp and some posts). After lots of approach and retreat and leaving the obstacle then coming back later, Renegade managed to put one foot in the water. I decided not to push my luck and left it at that!! Interestingly, riding into the lake and around a pole was not a problem!! The other obstacle that was a real challenge was two barrels that had a board across them and the object was to pick up one end of the board, make a 360 degree circle around the barrels, come back to the starting point and replace the board, all without the other end of the board leaving the other barrel. Rather than line up with his zone 3 against the barrel so I could pick up the board, Renegade wanted to face it with zone 1. Hummm...think we need more practice with putting zones in different places!! Also, have I somehow confused Renegade and he really thought I wanted him to face the barrel or was he making assumptions based on the touch it game?
We were successful with lots of other obstacles: a bridge with flapping things on both sides - having to stop for 7 seconds on it...no problem, trot to the hanging pool noodles and stop with them touching our bodies...no problem, walking and trotting the caveletti...no problem, the may pole and spiraling circles...no problem, riding up to touch the smiley faced balloons blowing in the breeze...no problem, whirley gig squeeze...no problem, picking up the BIG whirley gig, riding a circle, putting the whirley gig back...no problem, dragging a good sized log forward and backward...no problem, dragging a bag of cans forward and backward...no problem, forward through the Z and backing through the Z...no problem. I am so proud of Renegade and everything he tried for me. It was a lot of mental work for him and he was a champ!!
For a break from all the mental work of the obstacles, I also decided to practice a bit of freestyle cantering during a break from the obstacle practice/play. This was fun even though we had some oopsies and miscues. We ended up having a couple of good canters and one really nice canter depart. The canter depart was a first, I had never asked him for a canter from halt before because of the difficulty. I'm so proud of my little guy and his heart, desire, and try!!
We all took a break and ate lunch while the horses grazed and rested a bit then decided to go back out and do a bit of bareback riding: follow the leader, can you's, etc. Instead of using the Cradle Bridle, I had Renegade in a halter with finesse reins and he took full advantage of that fact. He started jerking the reins out of my hands, grazing at will, and trotting around with his nose on the ground. I can ride that but the stops can be tricky and he wasn't paying attention to me at all so I got off to re-establish my leadership on the ground. I really put him to work moving his feet, directing him everywhere, over obstacles, falling leaf, changes of direction, etc. and it didn't take long for him to decide it was o.k. for me to be leader again!! He also decided that grass wasn't so appealing after all!! Had I had my saddle on, I most likely wouldn't have had to get off to reestablish leadership but I'm not as secure with the bareback pad yet so I thought it more prudent to get off before I had an unplanned dismount!!
I can't help but wonder if I missed some signals from Renegade before he decided to take over and that maybe he was tired, both emotionally and physically and that's why he checked out? I wonder if I missed an opportunity to less sooner rather than more later to keep him connected to me? Did I overwhelm him by giving him soooo much to do and think about? I have much to think about and evaluate!!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Cantering And A Canter Depart!!
Wow...I have lots to post about our OPP play day yesterday but I'll do that later. I am so excited that Renegade and I did our first canter depart while practicing cantering that I had to put it up here!!
Friday, September 3, 2010
More on My Big BFO
THOUGHTS FROM MY PRIOR POST:
I think I’ve had a BFO on something I’ve been wrestling with in my head for a long time now. I’ve had a problem with the whole make vs. want or make and let vs. cause and allow. I think I’ve finally figured it out and duh…it’s so obvious now…the difference between make and let vs. cause and allow is the attitude with which the message is delivered!! However, it’s not that simple: make and let implies force and lack of leadership, cause and allow infers suggesting and permitting.
I’ve included below the definitions I think of when I think of each word:
Make = force someone to do something whether they want to or not
Let = allowing things to happen willy nilly with no plan or leadership
Cause = suggesting someone do something
Allow = the unfolding of the “cause” or getting what you asked for
NEW THOUGHTS:
I like the cause and allow model; it encourages me to set things up so my horse and I can be successful and "get it right" more often than we "get it wrong". After I cause Renegade to do something then it's up to me to allow it to happen. If it's not what I wanted I most likely asked for it wrong, was not clear in the way I was asking, or was not consistent enought for my horse to understand. The allow is my feedback from my horse on whether or not I got it right and if not, well, I need to think about it and try again.
The make and let model suggests to me that I would be forcing my horse to do something and he'd better get it right "or else" with the let being the mess I would get by making my horse do things. I seems to me it would be more of a reaction as opposed to my horse in the allow trying to figure things out.
I'm not done thinking on this yet and will likely add more to my blog posts on it in the future.
I think I’ve had a BFO on something I’ve been wrestling with in my head for a long time now. I’ve had a problem with the whole make vs. want or make and let vs. cause and allow. I think I’ve finally figured it out and duh…it’s so obvious now…the difference between make and let vs. cause and allow is the attitude with which the message is delivered!! However, it’s not that simple: make and let implies force and lack of leadership, cause and allow infers suggesting and permitting.
I’ve included below the definitions I think of when I think of each word:
Make = force someone to do something whether they want to or not
Let = allowing things to happen willy nilly with no plan or leadership
Cause = suggesting someone do something
Allow = the unfolding of the “cause” or getting what you asked for
NEW THOUGHTS:
I like the cause and allow model; it encourages me to set things up so my horse and I can be successful and "get it right" more often than we "get it wrong". After I cause Renegade to do something then it's up to me to allow it to happen. If it's not what I wanted I most likely asked for it wrong, was not clear in the way I was asking, or was not consistent enought for my horse to understand. The allow is my feedback from my horse on whether or not I got it right and if not, well, I need to think about it and try again.
The make and let model suggests to me that I would be forcing my horse to do something and he'd better get it right "or else" with the let being the mess I would get by making my horse do things. I seems to me it would be more of a reaction as opposed to my horse in the allow trying to figure things out.
I'm not done thinking on this yet and will likely add more to my blog posts on it in the future.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Hanging In There!!
Another interesting session again tonight. Played with Renegade tonight at liberty and he did well at maintaining gait, direction, and watching where he was going while traveling to the left, even jumping the barrel obstacle each time. Did two laps to the left. To the right was another story. He had some trouble maintaining gait and the first couple of times around he cut the barrel rather than jump it. The next two times he stopped at the barrel and I rewarded that because he was at the barrel. The next two times he actually jumped the barrel and I rewarded that too. By the end of our session he was much better and more connected to me; I just hung in there until I got improvement and it payed off!!
Monday, August 30, 2010
My Bad!!!
Wow...I didn't realize just how long it's been since I posted anything here. I've been so, so busy with goal setting, workshops, and playing with my horse that I've had precious little time for blogging.
I did set some goals for Renegade and I:
1. Be able to canter Renegade a full circle in a 70’ or 100’ round pen – both my horse and I are fluid and confident – no tension or stiffness. Our canter will be fluid and soft for one lap of the round pen by 12/31/2010.
2. To video tape and submit my L3 Online and Liberty auditions by the end of the year.
3. To video tape and submit my L3 Freestyle audition by April 2011.
I have been using the self assessment sheets to make sure I'm on track with tasks; not that I want to blow through anything but because I don't want to miss anything. I am really looking for quality vs. quantity and trying to practice an attitude of justice. I'm being particular without being critical, being specific in my requests, trying to be just in my phases (depending on whether or not I'm teaching, controlling, reinforcing, or refining).
I've also been building our canter online to transition that to riding and we've made alot of progress in freestyle cantering in a short period of time. It was my fear of the unknown; what Renegade "might" do that held us back for so long. That's sad because when we finally began cantering he offered me a very nice, relaxed canter. I think Renegade was really waiting for me and hoping I would finally catch up, I'm just sorry it took me so long. I LOVE cantering!!! We're not cantering circles yet as those tend to shut him down, he needs long lines to build his impulsion. We've been working on that online but I'm going to wait a while to try it freestyle.
I joined Jerry Williams support group, The Jingle and I love having it as a resource. We have monthly small/regional group calls, monthly large group calls, and e-mail lifelines if we need them. Jerry also gives us "can you" challenges to inspire and motivate us into getting out there with our horses and keep advancing.
I've decided to really start stretching Renegade and myself so we're going to do a obstacle challenge benefit for an equine rescue and then we're going to participate in two ACTHA competetive trail challenges. I'm not out to win; it's about building our confidence and relationship, but if we do win that would be a great bonus!!
I've also been thinking about taking Renegade to the first ever Parelli Rendezvous in Jacksonville, FL in October and entering us in some judged challenges and maybe a timed event or two. Can't imagine a better, more savvy place to stretch ourselves even more!! I think the Rendezvous sounds like it will be a lot of fun!!
I did set some goals for Renegade and I:
1. Be able to canter Renegade a full circle in a 70’ or 100’ round pen – both my horse and I are fluid and confident – no tension or stiffness. Our canter will be fluid and soft for one lap of the round pen by 12/31/2010.
2. To video tape and submit my L3 Online and Liberty auditions by the end of the year.
3. To video tape and submit my L3 Freestyle audition by April 2011.
I have been using the self assessment sheets to make sure I'm on track with tasks; not that I want to blow through anything but because I don't want to miss anything. I am really looking for quality vs. quantity and trying to practice an attitude of justice. I'm being particular without being critical, being specific in my requests, trying to be just in my phases (depending on whether or not I'm teaching, controlling, reinforcing, or refining).
I've also been building our canter online to transition that to riding and we've made alot of progress in freestyle cantering in a short period of time. It was my fear of the unknown; what Renegade "might" do that held us back for so long. That's sad because when we finally began cantering he offered me a very nice, relaxed canter. I think Renegade was really waiting for me and hoping I would finally catch up, I'm just sorry it took me so long. I LOVE cantering!!! We're not cantering circles yet as those tend to shut him down, he needs long lines to build his impulsion. We've been working on that online but I'm going to wait a while to try it freestyle.
I joined Jerry Williams support group, The Jingle and I love having it as a resource. We have monthly small/regional group calls, monthly large group calls, and e-mail lifelines if we need them. Jerry also gives us "can you" challenges to inspire and motivate us into getting out there with our horses and keep advancing.
I've decided to really start stretching Renegade and myself so we're going to do a obstacle challenge benefit for an equine rescue and then we're going to participate in two ACTHA competetive trail challenges. I'm not out to win; it's about building our confidence and relationship, but if we do win that would be a great bonus!!
I've also been thinking about taking Renegade to the first ever Parelli Rendezvous in Jacksonville, FL in October and entering us in some judged challenges and maybe a timed event or two. Can't imagine a better, more savvy place to stretch ourselves even more!! I think the Rendezvous sounds like it will be a lot of fun!!
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