Photos from Kathy

 Thursday Kathy Glielmi took these photos at Rollover:
Sephira and Diesel

Friday

As I have had good experiences with Sharon Baldwin, animal communicator, when I was concerned about Try and couldn't figure out the problem, I decided to ask Sharon to do a reading on Sephira. Emails below:

Glad I could help, and no she's not telling me why her tongue's sore. She may not know..if she pops something out to me I'll definitely let you know. So good to hear about you, and Try! Can't wait to hear more!! Blessings, Sharon

On Fri, May 23, 2014 at 5:43 PM, Elizabeth Pope <ehpope@embarqmail.com> wrote: This is excellent!!!! Did she give any indication why her mouth is sore? Thank you--I soooooooo wanted her to know where I am coming from--that I want to be different for her. I will keep reading your notes over and over I am sure!! AND let you know how it goes. Try and I have been having a lot of magic times together. Elizabeth 

From: Sharon Baldwin [mailto:critterbanter@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2014 5:15 PM
To: Elizabeth Pope
Subject: Re: Sephira

Here ya go! She’s very abrupt in her speech. Interesting! She’s used to seeing life in a very cut and dried way of being. She’s trying to understand your quiet-ness. She’s stiff because that’s all she knows how to be. And..when I say stiff, I mean like the difference in a New Yorker, and a North Carolinian. She has to work on relaxing, and she’s willing.

She’d like to be your teacher. She thinks she’d be good at it. I’ve explained that works both ways and that you need to learn together and become a team. She understands you need to take care of each other and she’s open to see how it goes and if and how the bond strengthens. She’s never had that before so she’s a little unsure of commitment..just yet! I do feel it will happen! She would think less of you if you were a pushover so no worries on that count.

She says her mouth is a little sore. Her overall health seems to be good. She maybe a bit sore in the poll area from bracing even though it’s been a while since any of this happened.  Might want to check just because..could need some chiropractic although that’s kinda iffy!

She is very smart, and she’ll keep you on your toes. Don’t be too forgiving..She’s also willing to send you thoughts and feelings. She asked if you’d take a few minutes daily and open yourself to her..and trust!

She feels more comfortable by herself for now. She’ll let you know when she’s ready to have Try as a pasture-mate. 

I’m glad you have this mare, girl. I really like her, and with your knowledge and hers I think you’ll make a good pair. Just remember it took her many years to build these obstacles, and it might take a lot of time and patience to tear them down. I have faith in you, and the mare! Have fun!!

Sharon asked for pic/bio and my questions before proceeding:

Pic Sephira

BIO

17 year old Dutch Warmblood, shown third level dressage and training to at least FEI Intermediate. Lots of baggage—pressure, heavy use of aids and artificial aids, burned out and angry then owners got angry at her. Then turned out and nothing for several years. A trainer at the barn, loved her, thought her very spiritual and wanted to find her another home so she came to Rollover where I board for that purpose. That trainer thought Sephira and I would be a good match. She came to me as basically a give-away, throw-away. We are doing just a bit of ground work and just starting to ride together. She has an exquisite trot and easy canter—lovely energy. She is not comfortable with expressing thoughts and feelings and doesn’t get it about puzzle solving together as yet. She is smart and we are beginning to get on the same page more and more. I will need to find the balance with her of her respect that I am not a push over while at the same time I will do everything possible to have her be happy and content.

__________________

I would like Sephira to know that I know she has been mistreated and that I will do everything I can to prevent that from EVER happening again but I am not perfect. That I know that she has suffered too much pressure, overuse of aids, and rudeness and I am striving to be a different kind of human.

In return I would ask of her

1.      To be safe

2.      To have her be my teacher for some easy lower level dressage stuff

a.      To make me a better rider

b.     To assist me in developing knowledge of a horse’s physical needs

3.      Also I would like to know if she prefers being in a pasture by herself or would she like to be pastured with my horse Try/palomino in neighboring pasture.

Thursday - took a spill

Lovely grooming session with Sephira: no one on the farm but me. Very relaxed, soft, no opposition reflex.
Mounting and warmup walk and trot went really well.

Hmm--as I remember Sephira felt soft to me on Tuesday when I brought her in for vet--shots, coggins. Relaxed after Monday Parelli on line with Marie also. Tuesday BA commented that she has perfectly happy with BA brushing her forelock. But energy really changed with the vet--over shots/drawing blood or even energy she was picking up for vet. When I walked her back to pasture her energy made me nervous. I realized in a bit that I forgot her flysheet and went back and put it on her at liberty and she was perfectly lovely about it. So the +/-'s come and go relatively quickly.

Kathy arrived for lesson and I got her to hold Sephira while I made quick errand. That broke the energy we had going. Sephira would back at the mounting block. Warmup with Kathy ok as I remember it.

I was too tired and it took me awhile to understand what Kathy was asking with little 1/4 turn on the haunches with Sephira--when I got my weight right I did not need reins!!

However I was too tired and couldn't keep all my body parts working correctly and was quietly crying. I should have stopped.

About 30 minutes into the session we were trotting tracking left coming around the curve toward the tree when Sephira took a big stumble and I came off. Little hip soreness and shoulder majorly painful. Sephira just stopped near me. I was very glad that Kathy was there as it would have been difficult for me to get Sephira back to the barn by myself. Both of us spent time reassuring Sephira.

Kathy and I sat at the picnic table and had really good discussion about bridging the gap with Sephira--how to pick what parts of what she knows to build our rappore and what to avoid that might invoke negative feelings from the past.

For humans and horses: creativity requires positive atmosphere (love/fear--one-ness) and then the expression of thought and emotion can occur and horsemanship can be a creative/shared/joint art. The horse can not be a slave--obedient without personal expression. For that matter--neither can the human!! Ballet choreographers that remove the creativity from students through fear and intimidation! AND this means I can not blindly follow any instructor--I must have a relationship where I can be open with my thoughts and it be a shared partnership with common goals.

Kathy and I talked about using patterns as a bridge for Sephira from what she knows to trust. Kathy suggested lots of curved lines for suppling as her shoulders are stiff/tight. While I am at it I have my own shoulder issues which can be getting in my way and my horses' as well. WAKE UP CALL HERE. Kathy suggested repeat the exercise we did with mini turns on the haunches. Also careful not to throw her away with the reins. That Sephira is not ready for me to her straight--??--need to get clarification on that--because of stiffness in FQ?? Mental stiffness??

Followup: first fall in 3 or 4 years and never from Try! Shoulder sore, feeling a bit feverish and nauseated Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun. Monday: feeling better, range of motion nearly back to normal, much less pain. This is scary and makes me feel old. Bruise in photo

Thursday - Alchemy update in prep for lesson with Kathy

Alchemy of Lightness--see previous post

Jotting down my thoughts and quotes/restatements

Introduction

• If we believe/see the horse/human partnership as creative art, the horse and human need the proper environment for creativity--especially the horse?--prerequisites are 1. a positive, safe atmosphere, 2. encouragement of thoughts (inward), and 3. encouragement of personal expression (outward). So with Try and I--that good happy BF oneness feeling is a great place to start then both of us free to be creative--Try encouraged to express her thoughts and feelings--have them recognized and appreciated and then filtered within the scope of what we may be doing. By the same token can Try consider my thoughts and feelings and take or leave them in a positive way?
• Barbier says what the French school of dressge describes as lightness he calls elusive oneness achieved through what he terms Molecular Equitation--that is a flow of molecules in time and space that generate and enhance horse and rider communication with science to back it up.
• Scientific info on why people feel better around horses--bigger heart energy
• importance of visualization before asking
• to gain the horses trust we must give away complete control--then he gives us back a new type of consciousness--thus the horse becomes a means to enlightenment/spiritual development for the human.
• connected field of energy and horse and human

Chapter 1

Wednesday - just a bit of followup to Monday

Try: after her shower we played outside briefly so I could review in my mind the steps for the new circling game.

1. stand with my side to her zone 1
1. send (thumb in my pocket)
1. lead it is belly button
2. lift it is stick at 180 degrees comes off the ground to 180 degrees parallel to ground
3. swing it is one smooth motion with appropriate energy laterally to her zone 3
4. Touch it
2. allow if we have a circle and if Try is connecting with me; once she reaches 180 degrees I can circle with her
3. bring back
1. if there is an issue disengage HQ and begin again
2. if all is well or a step has been made in a good direction reward by back and bring her in to me.
2. what helped was the next game--go forward but yield HQ was improved and helped me to get the circle and keep Try the distance I chose on the circle.

I am thinking it might be wise to actually watch the new Four Savvies dvds. LOL

Sephira:
Catching game worked but not as clearly--I may have quit too soon or should have upped my energy to over ride her being very in season, distracted, extra energy.

The backup was light and really more responsive whether from rope, porcupine, stick etc. BUT it may have been more of an escape. Porcupine--moved HQ/FQ some also.

As her concentration was coming and going I went back to old circling--easy send allow a bit until she relaxed and was ready and brought her back--just a couple minutes did it.

Wednesday - MH and Try

MH shared this article on Tuesday about not blocking the horse's energy flow in the trot, etc.

http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2014/05/20/classical-training-catching-energy-trotting-nine

Quotes:

"Developing an engaged, active, swinging, rhythmic trot is very difficult to achieve and takes a great deal of technique, feeling and balance on the rider’s part; to allow their horse the room to move freely through the rider’s realm. 
In the dressage world today, it’s not enough to have a rhythm, swinging trot and to earn yourself the marks that puts you ahead of your relaxed neighbour, but to also show your horse’s expression.


The key in creating a trot with expression is in encouragement and allowing the horse’s energy to flow from the back to the front and up through the rider’s body simultaneously, with a lightness and freedom that only comes when the two parts can unite as one unit.


During the demonstration Carl spoke about how Charlotte “would ask the hind legs of the horse to push and then with a very steady hand she would catch the energy” without blocking it at any stage in either her seat, legs and hands.
 "

Before the session began we had a chance to catchup:
That I had seen improvement in Try being forward in the trot with joy--kinda yeehaw--the catch being the amount of HQ engagement--sometimes yes and often I would like to see more. Also talked about the following figure:

I have added this before. But I am finding that my aversion to touching the horse's mouth isn't really a good thing. If the energy needs to flow in a circle by not having a connection the line of energy is broken. When Try and I are trotting and I ask for stretching and get a glorious powerful trot that is with a connection. My best synced strides thus far with Sephira's trot have been with a soft feel connection.

So we began the lesson with warmup: walk on a loose rein checking cueing and responsibilities at a walk not using reins. Then trot a bit building to yeehaw and Try was using her HQ pretty well.

MH suggested on our own we could trot a bit longer--great to get energy level up for LBI horse. Next MH asked that we play with lots of transitions as a method to get mental and physical connection. We did this on a loose rein and later with a soft feel and later still with stretching/maintaining the connection while combing the reins.

My use of my body and aids--visualize to learn. 

1. for downward transition think to cue first lengthen my torso up thru my ribcage 2 inches and then 1/2 halt through my core (Try got this!). Also to add outside rein only--just a tiny bit and Try made the dn transitions nicely and promptly. (Remember: inside rein a bit higher--it bends and shapes. The outside rein helps balance the horse/maintain straightness.)

Monday with Marie, Try and Sephira!!

2014 5 20 Marie, Try and Sephira

Sephira

·        Catching game: straight lines

·        Friendly briefly

·        Porcupine especially backup from chest and nose—softening

·        Yoyo: back up from phases quit on a lower phase

·        Lead her is she soft on lead and staying with me

o   Use HQ yield to keep her with me, try to lose her

Recommendations: dwell time, DO NOT pull on the rope (reins), short work time periods, only use rope to teach, thumb in my pocket

Try

·        New circling game from belly, lateral stick swing

·        Game is will she keep the connection to 180 degrees on the circle? Then turn with her in neutral in my body

·        Find my focus game—is there a way to bridge to what we already know or better to let her figure it out from “scratch”?

·        HQ on the circle—cue with stick whatever is lagging

·        Riding

o   HQ yields

o   HQ on the circle

o   Focus game

o   Back up: maintain gait—my teaching assumption

o   Use lift one rein as prep for two reins

§  With connection soft feel—do not pull, not loose

General

Phasing: begins at phase one with energy, intention and visualization and we are on a path to learn that that is an effective phase. (hair, skin, muscle, bone for porcupine) Influenced by Parelli, BMe, new book Alchemy of Lightness (recommended by Kathy) and past pursuits toward spiritual growth, relaxation, control of my energy levels and a sorta “oneness with the universe” idea. Journey toward lightness and connection.

Using ropes: time to move beyond ropes! Lead rope: Thumb in my pocket. Unconsciously not only using rope but even pulling on rope rather than maintaining a soft connection on rope like using reins.

Porcupine game is an underutilized game and particularly important for riding for obvious reasons! All zones—goal is softness and lightness—release comes when the horse offers the lighter response. This game should be supported with the driving game if needed to be effective.

Driving game: phases—visualize, energy up, facial expression and then body language. Check for unconscious noise with the stick and string. I feel with Sephira we are learning so go slowly through the phases. With Try we are refining so again slowly through the phases. I truly do not like touching her with the stick and that is something I like about what I have seen of MMJ approach thus far.

HQ yield: It isn’t a HQ yield without a lovely big step crossing in front. I like the phases Paula described: intention etc, look at HQ, tap ground, tap air and tap horse. Carrot stick 180 degrees from the horse.

Horse invading our bubble/space—how do we define this? When there is a lack of permission for the horse—depends on how I view my bubble at the moment. Sometimes I have a big bubble sometimes a small bubble or one with permeable sides—the horse’s job to know when she is welcome just like my job is to read the horse and know when I am invading her bubble without permission. Can I read the dimensions of my horse’s bubble?

Circling

1.      It’s all about the connection rather than mindless lunging which MEANS we do not continue on when the connection is lost.

2.      I had trouble remembering beyond the first step of this so here are Paula’s notes:

a.      Circling:  first establish “where is his mind”.  If not engaged to me, then disengage hindquarters (hide your hiney).  Horse’s responses to circling game should be:  maintain gait; 2) maintain direction; 3) look where you are going; 4) be checked in with human.  Step one is send from belly button – chi.  Lead with belly button, stick is 180 degrees away from horse and resting on ground, next phase is lift carrot stick, next is swing carrot stick, next is tag.  When it is good, withdraw and draw horse to you to reward. If horse’s mind doesn’t stay with you, then yield the HQ and start over.  Don’t allow “checking out” on the circle.  When you get a “try”, then withdraw.   Need to have one wave of energy when sending – lead, belly button, lift swing, tag.  Draw back when horse is checked in and forward.   Don’t continually send the horse, as it then becomes a nag.  Be sure to allow.  Get the thought of ALLOW in your brain, not send.   If horse gives you a cocked ear or one eye, take that as a try. 

3.      Investing vs spending time with my horses: again from Paula’s notes:

a.      Remember to INVEST time with your horse with your sessions.  Use short sessions (especially with left brained horses).  Don’t drill.  Have a plan.  Horse needs to be connected mentally the whole time.  SPENDING time with horse is different – that is completely undemanding time – sit in stall with them, let them come to you, etc.  Don’t ask anything of them.  But, when session is on, they should be engaged with us – not checked out.  They need to be connected mentally.

b.      I find this idea limiting. I think Try and I enjoy being together somewhere in between these two—obviously I would like to see three states with an intermediate one of very loose goals and commitment to them, taking Try’s idea and using it maybe expanding on it, praising and just loving being together. Does not matter if anything gets accomplished but it is not dwell time either. I think this is something we need in our relationship. Yes we need being specific and learning for the mental stimulation and sense of accomplishment for us both. Yes we need hanging out time in her pasture, walking around, riding about, passenger etc where Try makes a lot of the decisions and choices.

Try Under Saddle—thanks Paula:

·        Lift the inside rein to ask for softness, then forward.  Want Try always thinking forward.  Want the stepping under with the inside hind to come off of leg, not the stick.    Want Try to think to the inside.  After she reaches under, then come forward energetically.  Note that porcupine issues always show up under saddle.  Try must understand flexion – soften nose, then slowly slip your one hand down, then slip the other hand down.  One at a time keeps the horse from being claustrophobic.  Good preparation for riding with two reins with connection or contact is bending with one rein of soft connection.

·        Lifting the reins should mean “softness” to the horse.  Start with first one side, then the other.  Should just “drip” in to finesse stage, not abruptly picking up contact.  When she becomes soft, give a release immediately. If her mind goes off the circle, open the inside “door” -iInside leg goes on and back. 

·        Back Up.  Lift reins.  Head should be relaxed down, then add leg, think back and remember that she should maintain gait – i.e., if you want 10 steps instead of 4 she should do it.  If head comes up, maintain gait until she drops her head, then release to reward.   

Being particular about sequence is important.

FEELING is more important than thinking.

More from Paula:

Thanks Elizabeth!!  Your notes helped me, too.  Re the part on being "in session" or "just hanging out", I absolutely see where you are coming from and appreciated the comment about not making them a slave during your lesson.  I got a kick out of Try - I think that Marie offended her a bit - ha!  She is such a character!!  What a horse!  Did she ever do that with Dan? (Yes Paula, she is really great at communicating when she doesn't like something--with anyone!)  I remember Dan telling me that "the game is always on when we are with our horses."  My thoughts on that:  they are ALWAYS aware of our body language and that we, as their leaders, are always teaching them in all our interactions, so therefore, we need to be particular and careful.  Perhaps it's like parents and their children - we were always aware of our parents' thoughts and behaviors, even when we weren't particularly paying attention to them.  That may sound crazy, but just is sort of my take on the interactions with our horses.

Licking and chewing on this:

1.      Admiring Paula’s specificity vs my seeking global feelings of “one-ness” whereby I teach Try to assume. Are Try and I hanging out and doing Parelli tasks in a stream of consciousness way for our own pleasure and sense of togetherness shifting leadership from one to the other—or are we making a confused mess? It feels good that has to mean something! On the other hand, Dan, Dawn and Marie (Pat) have all said when I get to the barn it should be all about feeling and think/plan at home. How can we be particular and careful and free, uninhibited, feeling and in the moment all at the same time?

2.      I have been using ground/liberty play to balance riding sessions. I feel Try and I pursuing finesse or dressage learning is not in her LBI nature and being pushed and drilled toward a human’s performance goals is something she dreads at all cost. Thus playing around at liberty games whereby Try can feel smart and accomplished is great. For much of our time together over the years liberty has been a relatively undemanding, fill-yer-bucket kind of thing. Sharing, partners, being together. So liberty as a buffer to other pressures.

3.      With riding we are on a really good path thanks to much help—especially Kathy and one great session with Joey Barley. We are feeling a very happy forward relaxed trot—Try has this great yeehaw joy about it. Also when I comb the reins or otherwise ask/allow Try to stretch down (she loves it) she will come up through her topline--especially if I ask by using my core similarly—match and mirror. In addition, I have just started peppering in very soft feel/connection and she is good with it.

4.      Also now that Sephira is here—she can be my main teacher for dressage/finesse/physical development of the horse. (After 10 years of Parelli with my over-riding goal being horse psychology and understanding Try, it seems time to understand the physical rather than rely on a trainer to teach me.) So with Sephira, perhaps I can shift focus with Try to keep the physical development going and be creative about it.

5.      A #1 focus with riding Try, Devon and Sephira is and has been lightness of cueing. Both Try and Devon enjoy and respond to seat/weight, focus and to some extent intention in cueing. For Sephira this is not in her repertoire as yet but I am sure she will love it!

6.      So how to teach/learn? Paula mentioned the slave issue. I can think of two “natural” horsemen who insist on an intense focus/connection from their horse every second of the many hours they spend together. This frankly creeps me out! Reminds me waaay too much of one dance choreographer I worked with for years! Paula asked about Dan and Try and I—I saw a gradual shift in focus the last year or so. I kept saying Try is 22 years old—doesn’t she deserve some sort of semi-retirement of pressure?? (Try really liked Dan but didn’t like the extreme pressure to solve puzzles though she learned and grew from each.) I felt a shift toward my letting go—being freer, improvisational, exploring match and mirror energies for the pure joy of it encouraged by Dan. Also more sharing of leadership between Try and I happening though I don’t know if that was intentional. Dan helped me to see how complicated Try is. I love that she always communicates how she feels about things even if that is negative. She is better with pressure from humans but in the past this was severe. Try can be relaxed to the point of melting, soft and loving. She can be evil and full of powerful RBE energy—which is generally just totally fun for me. Kathy said she met Try as a ?five year old—she had been asked to help as Try at that time had two gaits—halt and frantic.

7.      So TASK: what is the purpose? No task without purpose. To me teaching a task a justifiable purpose can be increasing our connection, learning greater lightness and fun/joy in the moment. There is no longer any task for task sake or passing off a level. Been there done that. With liberty level 3—something that had been recreation for us—I drilled/pushed it to the point that Try bit me.

8.      Connection: This sounds sorta woo-woo but we are always connected. Try knows when I am on the farm. I know whats up with Try when I am riding Sephira. This relates to what Paula said in the first paragraph about children being aware of parents. That everything I do means something to Try and Sephira—that I am always teaching them (and they are very much always teaching me!! Try has shaped me with BMe from day one!!) The challenge is to be more aware of the process between us to be creating good habits. Hmm would be interesting to go back to all the info on habits from Dan. Anyway even when we are seemingly not connected there is an underlying connection between Try and I after our decade or so together—the intensity varies with the situation and I am cool with that.

9.      Try and Sephira already share a connection as they are in adjoining pastures. As Sephira and I get to know each other more, it could be ultra-cool to play with both together—need to know that they can be together without me first tho. LOL