Friday - Dan Thompson

2013 10 18

·        Questions/help

·        Slow, fun non-physical stuff on line or liberty—filling her +s bucket priority—creative ideas??

·        Stiff on right side – lateral flexion

·        Canter and emotion—Dawn comments—does Try ever like to canter—always emotional?

·     

·       ·        Balance in Try’s life

o   Dressage learning—shortens the body, tightens the spring, benefits to health and to my learning. So far Try is positive or neutral in response. This includes stretching.

o   Loosen the spring necessary for balance. This is the yeehah factor—go out in the field and just go for it stuff. Ride ‘em cowboys. Barrels and poles: has she been taught use of body or just pushed thru it like jumping.

o   Filling the + bucket

§  feeling smart and appreciated without much physical exertion

§  sweet spot like the pedestal

§  precision and degrees of advancement

§  short duration of high physical activity or emotional stress

§  Parelli puzzles—solving a puzzle and nicker—enjoying learning process

§  Dwell, do nothing

§  Mirroring, sync

§  RIGHT SIDE

o   Fixing emotional issues:

§  right side emotional stiffness

§  intensity is our friend

§  Canter:

·        Lateral movement to release emotion

o   Offensive/defensive

o   HQ/shoulders/ribs

o   Serpentine

o   Heavy on forehand—counter bend on the circle—leg yield for lateral drift to take tension out of the ribs

o   Task her brain to get focus off the emotion

·        Vary the speed within the canter—use this in an approach and retreat manner to reduce the emotional reaction. Change her expectation and help her find a better answer.

·        Note: most emotional bending around the corner on the right lead—right side lack of trust and confidence.

THE RIGHT SIDE

·        ONLY the right side unless not possible until 2014.

·        Constant conscious awareness—post reminders at home—calendar etc. and in tack trunk, etc.

·        Ask BA/Dawn etc. to help with this when leading/dwell time

Preparing to ride

·        Lead on Try’s right side and spend extra time there as halter fastens on left

·        Groom both but spend more time on the right side

·        Tacking up can be done mostly on the right side

·        Mount and dismount on the right side

On the Ground—On Line and Liberty

·        7 games

o   Friendly!!! Including dwell/treats especially after riding

o   Porcupine and driving

o   Sideways to and fro and bring yer butt

o   Squeeze—pedestal

o   Touch it

o   Sticking together

·        Obstacles—cue from the right side

o   Weave

o   Tarp

o   Sidepass the barrel or whatever

o   Touch it cone on barrel

o   Straddle a pole

o   Small jump

Riding the Right Side!!!

·        First Can Try think out of the right side when touch right side from a stand still?
·        Then think and move stepping first with right front foot
·        Add HQ good step release and watch for right eye to relax (white not showing)
·        The walk and slow trot turns from right and left side and later without using the reins
·        Then release ribs and shoulder releases·         

Kathy comments:   Dan said he has been working on a book as he has been exploring,  what he refers to as having the horse think out of their stiff side.  By watching the horses eye you can see where they are thinking/leaving.  A horse may be doing what you are asking, but, where are they really thinking.  The hook is that when a horse is giving you stiffness, resistence, spookiness it may not be naughtiness, leaving etc., it may be that the horse just can't think out of that side of the brain.  It is not a right brain controlling the left side motor responses as in a brain injury, it is something no one has ever taught them or given them the chance to solve/find the right answer.  WHen I reran my mental images of Try in my head, I could see the biggest problems have been on the right side.  It was a totally new way of thinking about and looking at a horses' problems.  It reminded me of my first horse Nauti, who had rt lead problems and they were corrected by my touching her on the right shoulder to signal which lead she should throw.  In essense, I helped her think out the right side.  It is a very new way of looking at how horses think and connect to & with us.  Dan is so interesting.