Wednesday - Energy - Try

Today was supposed to be a day off but I dug into Karen Rohlf's book on the topic of energy after seeing some lackluster energy in videos lately. Then played with Try in pasture on line with energy. See below. Also lovely long grooming, clip, spa bath, graze/dwell.

Energy Thoughts

1. High energies--looking for powerful but not impulsive (negative emotion). At any time I can think "you are sooooooo perfect" and have Try melt to a stop without residual tension or fear.
2. In front of the leg--Try is carrying me forward. Behind the leg: just jostling up and down. 
3. Clear precise steps in cueing
1. relax and visualize
2. ready?
3. my intention and energy to cue
4. other phases/tools
4. NOT about maintaining an energy in the beginning. If Try knows she is going to have to keep going, she will go into efficiency mode and do as little as possible. Amazing what a difference this made in Try--real change in the effort behind the energy.
5. Try was not always matching my energy intention in the moment of the send. Also I was sometimes overdoing the HQ disengage to stop, creating tension tho I did wait til she relaxed and she did so quickly. Better take the pressure off and allow her to melt to a stop???
6. Reward/thank Try for the effort. (Kathy does this and Try loves it.)
7. Repeat until Try's first thought is to match my energy/intention 100%.
8. "Thank you for that, but lets try again."
9. Maybe just ask for energy on scale of 1-10 and not a specific gait??
10. Reward any big energy from Try!!! She is not wrong--it is wonderful!!
11. I had some "yes, yes, yes" moments.
12. I can choose to NOT be very particular. Lets travel to the other end of the pasture at a trot. and let Try choose the rest.

Here is the exercise:

What I learned:
1. We did a send on the circle game about 4 times each for walk/trot/canter and I came up with a number in advance of the send.
2. In the beginning I did start from relaxation, picture the energy and warn Try before sending--then it got cloudier and in face I found it hard to know what a walk at a 4 is or trot at a 7. I asked for trot at 7 I thought and got a canter.
3. We stopped in between to graze, think, treat or two. But I was not careful to melt to a stop.
4. Try did relax in between and did surprise me with a snappier go than usual.
5. I did remember to get game over and reward when I got what I thought I pictured tho it wasn't always there from the send.
6. Try was definitely moving toward offering a 100% effort to give me the energy she thought I was asking for.

Idea: do this a few more times and film it. Ask Dan for help.
Thought: I have been settling for i.e. a trot at any energy/tempo as long as she wasn't just shuffling along or emotional impulsive. Now I can learn to be more specific. Trot at a 4.5?? wow. This will require my memorizing the feeling of the various trots. i.e. slow, medium, fast.