Thursday - lesson with Kathy and Try

Next ride: Set up camera(s) so I can match what I feel with what I see on the subject of quality of trot.

What we did in a nutshell--used partial displacement of HQ to power up/energize the walk as preparation for the trot and later on the circle to loosen/relax HQ as preparation to power down/lower my energy before making a downward transition to slower trot or walk.

KG- As partial displacement is usually used to slow the horse in Parelli, that is what the horse thinks the correct answer is, but the rider has to see the partial displacement as a "power up".  It is loosening the HQ & back and the inside hind is placed deeper under the body and gives deeper engagement which creates more energy.  In slowing a horse down using PD is unhooks the pushing power.  So the horse needs you to power-up and send the intent of increasing their energy.  The horse learns that there are 2 possible answers and they need you to be sending the right intent. 

I was pleased when Try decided to really speed up and go in the trot that we did not shut her down. Kathy said Try just looked so happy letting loose and I had been thinking that Try needed a YEEHAW day not a precision day.

 KG- sometimes you have "Happy Accidents" and rather than shutting them down, I like to have the horse & rider rejoice in what the horse is offering.  The rider has to recognize what is being offered and be willing to go with the horse 

Walk: alternating HQ and tapping stick on my leg to get energetic walk--she figured it out but the HQ yields in the beginning caused her to slow.

Trot: sometimes I got behind the beat/her movement--Kathy said lean forward more to get in sync.
Downward transitions--less energy for us both at the trot--then sit the trot--then ask for downward transition.

KG- bend a bit forward from the waist to help your body be more relaxed & supple and able to stay with the horse.  You can post as fast as the horse can trot, you just have to realize the horses center of balance is further forward the stronger the trot is...hence bend from the waist

On the circle outside rein gives inside leg something to push into to get the HQ yield.

KG- you want the horse to find security & balance when standing up into the outside aides.  Your outside leg is the "go" leg & outside rein can increase the half halt asking the forehand to wait till the HQ catches up and is engaged enough to allow the horse to shift weight to HQ. 

Also to get HQ yield--use leg well behind the girth to cue and if need be hold a little piece of mane to steady myself to do that.

KG- at first you may have to move inside leg further back to help the horse understand that the correct answer is to release the HQ and yield.  Stick elongates the leg if you need to phase up.  As horse understands this you can refine how far back the leg needs to go

Issue: my awkward moments when something happens and we lose rhythm--I noted that Kathy has been remarking on these and is concerned and I just have been considering it an aberration and not important. It causes a break in what we are doing to get back on track. This generally happens when I feel something happen in Try's body and I react in mine and Try reacts to that causing us to have to regroup.

I was pleased that at the end of the session Try was much happier than in the beginning.

Wednesday - Devon on a Gorgeous Spring Day!!

Brief day at the barn. Devon (16'2 very successful hunter with some early dressage training--Bethanna's show horse) Devon was in his stall as were several other horses getting ready to show or go to clinics etc. He was asleep when I got there so I gave him a treat and hung out with him a little while so he could wake up. Then a nice grooming--he is so lovely and well groomed. Made me think I should consider what it would take to have Try look really well groomed--she is shedding--her legs were never clipped and she looks a sight.

Yesterday MH had lesson with German fellow new to town and used Try for the lesson as she is so safe and relaxed. She puts her riders at ease. He had said he was a beginner--Bethanna and MH said he and Try rode really well together and that he is intermediate and somewhat the same level as Jennifer and I. He will likely ride Gretzky next as anyone can ride him and, although a hunter, can do first and some second level dressage--perhaps if that goes well even a free lease. Hope that works out--it would be fun to have him as a new boarder. There is a new mare Serafina who had a ?4th level and some grand prix level career years ago with a good friend of MH's but MH says she is sassy and does not like the upper level stuff. Apparently she has been doing nothing and unhappy at some barn so a friend of Bethanna's suggested she come to Rollover so Bethanna and MH can figure out something better for her.

AND Nickers comes Sunday. And MH's new syndicate mare arrives soon. Try will have a pasture mate and MH's yearling mare Mimi will have Serafina and the new mare. Also Bethanna and Jocelyn were not at the barn--off looking at a pony prospect. Gotta love spring and things happening!!

So back to Devon. I remembered on the way to the barn that his sweetness makes me want to be very gentle and loving but then when we get to the ring he can play tricks and test me. So I figured gentle and loving in the grooming and the minute we stepped out of the barn I changed my energy--higher energy and all business. Devon did not play any tricks at the mounting block--either moving out of place OR walking off when I mount.

I was hugely impressed that all the cueing I have been doing with Try Devon picked right up on. forward from my seat. halt from my seat. turns etc.

I kept remembering suggestions I had been given in riding Devon--I found myself getting a bit irritated at a yucky trot--we worked through it but I will ask BA what she would suggest. It takes him time to get going which is fine but it isn't relaxed and wonderful like Try during warmups.

Devon's canter was to-die-for--truly the bareback-on-the-beach kind of canter. He did not break gait but I was able to feel a slow down coming and cue him and stay relaxed about it--no effort. In between cantering directions I come to a trot. He is usually fired up and has a big powerful trot--I love it but BA has suggested not to trot as he is potentially too much horse for me and to walk until he relaxes so we did. I had to use reins a few times to keep him from going from walk to trot. After the second direction cantering we trotted a few strides and then asked for the walk and he made the downward transitions from my saying "aaannnd."

All in all, I did not have to use reins or even much leg for the hack.

Back to the barn and back to gentle energy to sponge him, give him some sugar cubes etc.

What is important? True goals

As I sit pondering starting the Savvy series on line it occurs to me why I don't want to do it (in addition to wading through material that is hugely repetitious for me tho necessary for those starting the Parelli program.)

What is the goal? What is important?

The goal is a happy, confident, engaged, interested Try who can be pleased with her life and, for me, the enjoyment of being with her and the satisfaction of us deepening the connection by using the learning of new stuff. The stuff could be anything and is not what is important.

Thus the true goal each day is to serve our mental (and physical) health and enjoyment. It is never about achieving progress as a Parelli student per se. Parelli levels/materials are secondary--stuff to do to further the relationship although they do further relationship better than other stuff ie dressage, hunt seat equitation, and western pleasure. i.e. learning lighter and lighter cueing is something that makes Try happy and satisfies my learning needs.

When Dan would come, he would always ask for my thoughts on the session and structure it to fulfill those needs. My perceived needs were about the relationship and some how never about Parelli task. That may have been the way I was thinking anyway or Dan may have led me to thinking that way over the 3.5 years. However, with psychology and social work backgrounds it is likely that I always think that way and enjoy determining what is happening as far as emotion/psychology with Try and I.

Revisiting an old post

Funny how perception and meaning changes over time. I thought about this and "best friend" mode and Try and my abilities to affect each other's relaxation and sense of well-being. I want to continue to think about this so am reposting.

Post at ParelliConnect

Jolene McDowell 1* Junior Instructor said 

"Recent studies conducted by the Institute of HeartMath provide a clue to explain the bidirectional "healing" that happens when we are near horses. According to researchers, the heart has a larger electromagnetic field and higher level of intelligence than the brain: A magnetometer can measure the heart's energy field radiating up to 8 to 10 feet around the human body. While this is certainly significant it is perhaps more impressive that the electromagnetic field projected by the horse's heart is five times larger than the human one (imagine a sphere-shaped field that completely surrounds you). The horse's electromagnetic field is also stronger than ours and can actually directly influence our own heart rhythm!

Horses are also likely to have what science has identified as a "coherent" heart rhythm (heart rate pattern) which explains why we may "feel better" when we are around them. . . .studies have found that a coherent heart pattern or HRV is a robust measure of well-being and consistent with emotional states of calm and joy--that is, we exhibit such patterns when we feel positive emotions.

A coherent heart pattern is indicative of a system that can recover and adjust to stressful situations very efficiently. Often times, we only need to be in a horses presence to feel a sense of wellness and peace. In fact, research shows that people experience many physiological benefits while interacting with horses, including lowered blood pressure and heart rate, increased levels of beta-endorphins (neurotransmitters that serve as pain surppressors), decreased stress levels, reduced feelings of anger, hostility, tension and anxiety, improved social functioning; and increased feelings of empowerment, trust, patience and self-efficacy." The Alchemy of Lightness by Dominique Barvier & Dr. aria Katsamanis

My comment in January: "WHO KNEW there was some physical reason for the lovely feeling of being with a horse?"

Bridging

From David Lichman:

A secondary reinforcer is a sound, touch or action that signals to the horse the exact moment he did something correctly. It's called a "bridge" because it bridges the gap in time between when the animal does the behavior correctly, and when he gets his primary reinforcer (reward). 

The bridge, over time, becomes reinforcing in and of itself, and you don't need to use the primary reinforcer every time. In fact variable reinforcement schedules and amounts are more powerful. 

You can also have a version of the bridge that means "keep going" or "you are getting close." The bridge itself would be sharp or crisp - the keep going signal, or "intermediate bridge" would be more drawn out and said with an encouraging tone. If Jennifer Maxwell's horse knew this, she could encourage him as he's coming towards her - "good, good, good... you're getting it!" And pique his interest.

 

Tuesday - setting goals for April 1-7

How last weeks goals went:
We were very successful with distinguishing forward and back from seat cues and cleaning up sideways away and toward as we really have them.

I did not get to where is Try thinking and tapping the opposite side.
I did not stop to think much about learning/refining/reinforcing in cueing.
Also increasing liberty distance with longer ropes on line did not work out for various reasons.

Under consideration for next week:
From the dressage lesson from Kathy and comments from MH I am considering for next week:
1. quality of the trot rhythm--getting it and how long can we maintain it??
2. check circles for straightness--vs falling in or out
3. ask Kathy about how to cue 1/4 turns on haunches from intention LOL

Nickers is scheduled to come for a visit on Sunday in preparation
1. Research beginning with a new horse from Dan notes (Magic/Tango/Roscoe)
2. Begin studying on line and freestyle in savvy packs.

Also my fitness--getting back on track with pilates/riding dvd.

So for next week--I do not want to overwhelm myself with too much.

Horsemanship 8
Riding 7

talent 22
skill 20
try 24
luck 24

I. Cueing considerations:
Where is Try thinking and tapping cue.
Best friend mode.
Bridging.
Stopping to consider teach/refine/reinforce phases.

II Try riding 50% fun and 50% trotting rhythm and straight on the circle
III. Try distance on line/liberty
IV. Research at home for Nickers.
V. Fitness: pilates/riding dvd

Monday - Try was "wild"

Completely frazzled at renovations with workmen every where and left for the barn to escape.

Try was pacing the fence line when I arrived. When I got to her pasture she jumped the ditch and ran to me--way out of character. She was happy to leave the pasture and was covered in wet mud. So we spent some time grooming in a busy barn. MH was there and we decided to take advantage of the time for MH to ride Try with me doing the warmups.

Decided to start the warmups in the pasture because MH was riding her stallion Richmond in the ring and did not want to distract him. Try could not settle or concentrate and got a bit frantic so it did not work to explore the idea of liberty/distance/online.

Went ahead to the ring for pleasant walk/trot warmup and Try settled nicely. She really has the difference now in my seat telling her to go forward or back and can go from one to the other successfully.

Then tested sideways away and toward and fairly quickly we could cue one and then the other from energy and focus. Finished on line with the pedestal and cavaletti as things Try does well and sat together for a little dwell time.

MH then rode Try for 15-20 minutes. Try had not lost much at all since November! MH suggested I concentrate on maintaining a quality trot rhythm and checking Try for straightness on the circle using leg if necessary as a reminder. Also cautioned about slippery spot in the dressage ring and that it would be better to canter circles in the main ring.

Try and I finished with a shower and dwell time in her pasture. She was happy with herself and to be with me.