Tuesday with Try

In the midst of household chaos over renovations, I was able to get to the barn and see Try for my enjoyment.

We did
1. briefly on the cueing--I picked the backup as that is our weakest of what we worked on with Dan.
I did the visualize, energy up, seat to cue direction then one leg at a time--she did not respond well--just kept turning. On the repeat then she backed directed from the seat cue. We walked a little and came back to it--with the same result--first going to leg and not getting a clean backup, then start over and Try offered backing from the seat cue.

2. I explored the idea of the release being the best friend energy--I forgot that it is non focused completely like free radicals floating thru space. It did seem to promote some nice relaxed time together on a day when I was frazzled but I can see with our 10 year history--it will take some time to get Try to "crave" or seek or truly understand release as best friend/big enveloping warm loving feeling mode.

3. We finished with going for a walk on line--passenger what-ever she wanted to do. Up the road a ways before Try decided she wanted to go back--I realized at that point that she was concerned about Mimi who was tied in the ring. Also after we went back to her pasture and hung out a while--she paced the fence line concerned about Mimi.

How to set do-able goals to get 'er done?

I will drop the LBE + energy in relationships with humans and my need for physical fitness NOT because they are unimportant but because of my huge, overwhelming, emotional need to achieve progress in cueing. I want to stay focused until we succeed.

Goals:

1. Riding: cueing--see list--21 days to a new habit--visualize, think through the steps, take my time--be persistent--reward with the cookie of big positive energy.
2. Riding: yeehaw--match time spent on precision with non focused time

Possible third goal fear
3. On the ground cueing: fear crossing the ditch--my goal now that she is offering the cross and doing it with less energy to ask her to take it in baby steps. Also making the judge's stand the sweet spot in preparation for opening and shutting a gate fears. (touching/claustrophobia)

Possible fourth goal
4. Take an online game i.e. touch it and explore body/mind/energy--reading Try and the big positive energy in the release. Give Try enough time to really respond to that energy so she can learn to seek it.

Saturday - body mind energy

Kathy and I decided to check this out--

This was very very wonderful. She was training wild mustangs with her body/mind/energy plus a soft golden colored ribbon. It was precise and lovely. It was a directed focus on to get the slightest response followed by a release of a wholistic positive energy to teach that yes that was the right answer.

It gave me a whole new idea of "neutral"--She organized her body/mind/energy as "Best Friend" mode--I interpret as a sense of oneness--overwhelming warmth, relaxation and loving energy that is scattered or loosely held--not hanging on to it. She gave an exercise to find it--use an image for 3 minutes, then give the image a one word and experience the word for 3 minutes followed by count down from 60 to 0. Perhaps to do upon mounting.

Focused body/mind/energy to ask the horse to do something she called "Tiger" mode. It has no negativity attached--simply a directed focus. She demonstrated using it to teach three areas of body control, hip, shoulder and back up. For instance she pushed the hip to get forward motion by focusing narrowly on the stifle--one clear forward thought by the horse and she released into the "Best Friend" mode etc.

For me--how to ask--

1. Creating best friend mode--I have an understanding of what this can be for me--it will take practice to have the timing to make the shift and do so as completely as I would like. This can be my neutral--both Try and I will love it. Isn't this what being with a horse is all about? Remember: Attitude class and Course in Miracles/law of attraction to create that state of being. Sunday ride glow vs oneness. A good way for me to feel this is to rub/touch Try--she doesn't really like it--Dan suggests I rub myself in her presence instead. LOL

2. A weak area for me--consciously visualize with my mind the "movie" of what I would like to happen.

3. Rhythmic circles for relaxation?

4. Reading Try for her first thought toward the ask

5. Increasing pressure when LB confident Try has not decided yet that she wants to play????? i.e. Touch it game?? She doesn't need time to process what I asked when she is confident?

What Try and I already do

We  have learned a lot of matching and mirroring body shaping, gaits, energy levels on the ground and in the saddle. It is likely we are just scratching the surface but we are on our way. Learning to control thoughts in my mind--I understand and sometimes apply this--if I am thinking loving thoughts that will draw Try, if I am thinking about what I want to get done that will send Try away mentally/physically. Being pleased with Try's effort is powerful--she seems to crave confirmation that she got it and is smart. She loves to show off for an appreciative crowd--picking up on their positive energy--when they think she is wonderful and amazing.

Thursday last day with Dan at Rollover

2014 2 20

TRUST MYSELF

I want to truly accomplish small very do-able goals and I absolutely have all the knowledge to do so.

Misc. thoughts to begin the day on Thursday

·       Do not make Try feel wrong when she is unconfident.

·       Changing me is the issue—go slow, step by step cueing, FEEL not think

·       Circling game clean up—open the door

·       7 games clean ups—review cueing etc./clarity

·       Learning the many ways I am unconsciously rude to Try

·       To some extent I feel my 3.5 years with Dan has been frivolous as compared to MH and BA this week—there time with Dan is providing a FUTURE for young horses. In comparison I am to some extent just contemplating my navel.

·       

      The news this week of osteoporosis in my hip is likely a game changer and I need more information but surely need to be even more careful especially when I am in RBE mode.

·       Dan and the babies—teaching them that intensity can be ok—not every horse owner, however accomplished at riding and physically developing a horse for sport, is trained to do this. Bethanna, however, can likely do much of this—has the timing and ability to read the horse. She has not known as much as she would like about fixing on the ground to insure her safety in the saddle and has turned to Davo to help. BUT through all the explanation from Dan is likely set up now to do this for herself, with what Roscoe needs at least. I suspect she learned the most the past three days of all of us.

·       BA, MH, Dan and I had lunch and enjoyed being together—we have never done this—we are always busy and all about business!

My session with Dan and Try on Thursday

—again about basic 101 riding cueing!! I suggested help with cueing laterals from body shape/weight/seat and that he feel to take the time to talk about it with MH and Kathy (my two dressage instructors) who were watching!! Kathy and I have already started talking and thinking along these lines to some extent.

Backing—so cueing for backup from wheelbarrow backing game:

1. Life up--go slow so it can register—attenshun —(visualize for me so Try can read my intention)

2. Back in my body--again slow, distinct step—the direction Try is backward

3. The time to begin is now: Porcupine touch with one leg and release, again slow and clear

4. Repeat with other leg

5. repeat legs

6. if she wants to go forward instead of backing--lift the rein--do not pull back to cue a backup

7. Day 2—reviewed and she had it from the first leg touch and then from my seat.

Now—21 days to build a new habit for me—I MUST progress this with distance, speed, pattern or ?? or Try as LBI will hate the repetition I need to form the habit

Also I have to read Try constantly and quickly—is there a lack of information and understanding? Teach. Or is it a LB druthers or lack of attention then control or reinforce. I can annoy her with my stick and Dan says my arms and legs are sticks also. It is NOT ok to let Try blow me off!!!

Thursday going on

Forward—

1.     Life up—tenshun—(visualize for me so Try can read my intention)

2.     Seat says forward without closing my hip angle (thank you Kathy!!) And it says only that the direction is forward?

3.     Touch says now it’s time to move

4.     This was even easier than backing

5.     We progressed this to use seat/1/2 halt to slow up the walk. In the future we can play with this to both slow and speed the walk. (I did not take the time to go through the steps slowly and carefully in my mind and body and it didn’t go as well.)

Laterals/Turning—match and mirror

1.     Straight on the circle/turn

a.      This is what I have been doing with Kathy—

b.     we do NOT need reins and I do need some leg to say what shape and size of the circle ONLY because I am not careful to teach in my body the amount of straight turn determines the circle.

2.     Bend in my body

a.      (not turn in my body with straight torso)

b.     Modern dance spiral

c.      Had to keep correcting myself

d.     Yes Try would respond and turn

e.      I wasn’t really paying attention to the difference in Try’s body

f.      By really sitting deep using leg/lifting rein and holding rein we got some nice pivots on the HQ

My aversion to contact at all. I love to have Try stretch and to come up through her topline. It is important that that happen from what happens in my body rather than fingering the reins on contact!! Dan said thinking of horse and I get higher and shorter—my paraphrase. Using my body to cue, as a former dancer, is much more natural to me than reins. How close am I to Try and I being able to match and mirror in this way? 

WHY do any of this stuff anyway??

1.     On line and liberty

a.     For a mutual need for fun and freedom

b.     To alleviate fears Try or I may have: ditch/gate

c.      To check connection and readiness to ride (i.e. good attitude, not safety LOL)

d.     To practice or review a concept to promote understanding in the saddle i.e HQ yield

e.     Periodic clean-up of my skills

f.       I have no interest in PNH as such only where I see that it will promote my understanding and thus relationship.

2.     Riding

a.     For fun, freedom, release, yawhoo, not thinking—as ½ of what we do this is a big need that both Try and I have and we can't be happy without plenty of it to balance the precision!!!!!!

b.     Precision riding

                                                    i.     At present spending the majority of our time breaking down, practicing cueing, Both Try and I enjoy precision but repetition quickly gets boring for us both without progressing it to have new thoughts and problem solving.

                                                  ii.     I have no interest in dressage as such—only as it helps Try and I relationship and fitness. I have no interest in any competitive discipline.

Friday - On Our Own

I was bored watching on line CLE class required to maintain my law license--SO--I decided to take the lunch hour etc. and go to the barn and give Try a little loving/carrot as a thank you for being her and being a part of a great week.

I got there and Bethanna and MH had had issues with Mimi (RBE) being upset while MH's LBE Charm was so happy and better in his pasture with all the big boy geldings. Apparently they had brought Mimi in to groom handle (she turns 2 in October) as she has been living out and the decision has been made to offer her more experiences. Anyway she was unhappy and when she got back to her new pasture with Try she was really annoying to Try. Bethanna wanted me to take Try out and we rehearsed how to do this safely--turned out to be a non issue as I am handy with stick and string. LOL

So why not go ahead and ride? Bethanna wanted to get Roscoe and see how she would do with the ground work prep Dan did before she rode yesterday and needed someone else around for safety, especially because it was very windy with storm coming.

Try and I played with the cueing--see notes for 21 days to form a habit.

Some interesting highlights:
Try offered, out of the blue with no cueing whatsoever from me--
1. Riding: Sidepass the cavaletti
2. Liberty--walking together--she stopped and offered vertically straddle a cavaletti
3. Riding: Cool sidepassing at a trot right and left on the driveway--she wanted to leave the farm and get to the good grass out on the road. I could have shut this down but it was fun so why not. We could even use this another day to play with my cueing it from the straight or shaped turn in my body.
4. Glorious, sweet, relaxed, helpful stick-to-me and the golf cart when I brought all the equipment, tack etc in when the rain started. walk/halt/changes of direction, maneuver around obstacles etc.

The cueing and above interspersed with plenty of dwell time as Try and I watched Bethanna and Roscoe. I thought about not having a plan and just doing, had some passenger time and just hanging out.


Bethanna and Roscoe's session: I was surprised that it did not meet expectations. Bethanna wasn't sneaky cautious but didn't push his buttons like Dan did. She also didn't work on as long a rope tho he did get a chance to let go of energy circling with the flank rope. She was able to swing stick/string all around his body and he was tolerant of her in zone 4. He was good with lateral flexion but stiff on the right side. Bethanna was concerned that she did not get the tension out of his ribs, especially right side and she felt a potential buck when she tightened the girth.--but did give riding a whirl--it was fine walk and trot in a ??30 meter circle but when she tried riding around the ring into some of the claustrophobic and scarier areas and the wind really picked up--she got off. I think she is going to call Dan to ask a few questions as Dan set her up so beautifully to ride Roscoe yesterday. She does not want to risk being bucked off--if she can't fix this then he will need to go to someone in the area who "breaks" horses and she does not want to do that. I just hate this--people should not have equine babies unless they are prepared to give them the early experiences and start--to set them up for a happy life!!!!

21 days to form a new habit(s) days 1-3

It is the highest priority to me to start at the absolute beginning of cueing while riding from the standpoint of teaching/control/reinforcement and refining or putting to a purpose/progressing.

Why? 1. Contact with a horse's mouth is so far something that emotionally I can't feel good about.
2. The better my cueing, the more polite and respectful of Try's ability, the happier she is and our relationship.
3. Cueing from my body language--matching and mirroring is the most natural riding aid to me with my dance background of communicating to an audience through movement.

For success:
1. Go slow and go step by step to be clear and polite
2. Druthers--LB--I need polite, consistent way (with phases) to have a conversation with Try that yes I understand this isn't her first choice of activities at the moment but yes this is what we are going to do and I would like you to pay attention and give it your best effort.


So--redo my cueing list I started a few weeks ago updating with what I did with Dan riding. Then need to fill out/redo the upward and downward transition cueing.

Then--21 days of repetition--with variety and progression to keep Try happy.
Analyzing how effective I am and why/whynot.
Most important not to get side tracked.

Day 1: Dan and the backup--see notes
Day 2: Dan--backup, forward with changes of speed within a walk, turns on a circle straight or shaping and pivot on HQs. see notes

Day 3: first day Try and I on our own.
Backup: I was able to get it from wheelbarrow leg. But I have a question--if my body says the direction is backward and the first leg says GO--when or if--can we drop all leg cueing in the backup? We did put this to purpose of backing a cavaletti pole and she offered to sidepass off the pole. Later we backed along a jump--this could be further put to purpose of backing along the rail at the judges stand or out by the pasture gates. Also speed, distance and pattern.

Forward from a standstill: This is the easiest to cue. To progress this add changes of speed within the walk before trotting.

Turning straight in my body--we have this at the walk and trot--thank you Kathy.
Turning by shaping/bending my body--I really felt how to do this without twisting from my hips and it was incredible--that little bit of bend in my body she would match so easily.
We were able to progress this into serpentines so easily and I am sure we are ready for the trot. Also I want to think of a couple of good patterns.

Pivot on HQ--Dan and Kathy were pleased with this Day 2 but I still don't like it--I feel that I am hauling Try around by her front end.

Also transitions of gait in the future. Turning we started because I have felt very uncomfortable cueing laterals with all sorts of leg and rein aids in lessons.

Wednesday - Dan Thompson - babies and Try

Today was exciting to watch and do, fun and full of ideas to chew upon! In the afternoon, as I was driving into town savoring the 78 degree, sunny weather, I thought back with a warm all encompassing feeling of how good everything is. I loved the camaraderie and sense of all of us helping each other.

Roscoe and MH's babies: So impressed with what Dan was able to accomplish while explaining it for all of us with such a sense of fun and joy for us. Roscoe hugely improved on Wednesday the second day. Interesting to compare how much farther along Roscoe is than the babies.

Part of me wishes I had that skill to do the fixing of emotional issues and/or work with young horses--there is a reason that few Parelli instructors are licensed to work with problem horses or young horses. Honestly I don't read the horses that well, quickly enough or have the timing although I know so many of the games and alternate ways to play. Even with the number of years of Parelli study I have under my belt, I can not read horses as well as Bethanna who is not a student of PNH. I need to come to grips with the fact that I will not achieve the level of horsemanship of Dan or Bethanna nor will I have the knowledge of dressage of Kathy or MH.

Try and I and Dan (and Lisa observing):

We went last and had a riding session as we did not get to that on Tuesday. I like the clarity I am gaining from talking with Dan and Dawn about where I am at--my dislike of riding with even the soft feel.

So began the session and ended it that my plan now is
1/2 my riding each week to be the yeehaw, fun, freedom, not thinking, let loose time
1/2 my riding for precision as both Try and I like this when successful. This precision to be aimed at a new mind set for me about cueing in riding--awareness and consistency but a program to get away from using the reins and legs and toward using seat and weight cues.

For this session we picked the precision rather than yeehaw--perhaps because the ring was muddy again and footing iffy. Dan challenged Try and me to back up from seat cues. We can do this but not consistent and it wasn't working. We could do it with seat and then light rhythm of carrot stick to tell Try what I was asking BUT if I had been consistent she would have been sure that seat means backing--though there is always the issue of druthers (control/reinforce). Dan suggested an intermediate alternative--so cueing for backup from wheelbarrow backing game:
1. Life up--go slow so it can register
2. Back in my body--again slow, distinct step
3. Porcupine touch with one leg and release, again slow and clear
4. Repeat with other leg
5. repeat legs
6. if she wants to go forward instead of backing--lift the rein--do not pull back to cue a backup

I did get to experience twice the sense of closing my eyes and feeling us in sync with my leg and hers in the backup. Initially before I slowed down I caused Try, who cares so easily, to get emotional. RBE in a rush.

Homework: take my cuing lists for riding out and fill out the steps/phases/caveats/etc. Will email them to Lisa to provide built in discipline.

Next I mentioned a remaining "fear" Try has is opening and closing a gate. A claustrophobia--perhaps from pushing into the gate/barrier--complicated by my LBI/RBE get er done/rushing. I thought the issue might be my leaning on her right side but I changed my mind. There is only one (or two) gates on the property that can be opened/closed from horseback so I have found I can practice this on the rail at the judge's stand. Try will sidepass in to pick me up to mount and be very relaxed but not with me on her back. SOOO go slow, smaller chunks, build confidence and relaxation in the smaller chunks.

Playing with the gate concept--I initially just rode up to the rail and leaned over and Try stepped away. Dan asked--"What is the only thing I didn't care about in that maneuver? Dan said I would not like the answer and I didn't and I still don't--the answer the only thing I wasn't caring about was TRY. I so want to change this!!!!!!!!!!

At the end Dan said for me to TRUST MYSELF!!