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Diary of Trail Ride on March 20th, 2005 at Cottonwood Creek Stables
Diary of Wakefield Workshop April 30th, 2005
Diary of American Legacy Workshop Aug. 27-28, 2005
Diary of American Legacy Workshop June 10-12, 2005
Diary of Lincoln Workshop June 13-14, 2005
Diary of Cottonwood Creek Stable Class Sept. 24, 2005
Diary of Madison Clinic November, 2005
Diary of High View Farms Workshop, September 10-11, 2005
Lessons Learned at Madison Jan. 2006
Diary of American Legacy Workshop Jan. 21-22, 2006
Diary of Holstein May 2006
Diary of Weeping Water and BKT Arena Spring 2006
Diary of Sioux City 2006
Diary of Chance Ridge 2006
Diary of Private Lesson Days Summer 2006
Diary of Calamus Women's Camp 2006
Diary of Calamus Youth Camp 2006
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Diary from Lincoln Workshop June 13 & 14, 2005
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After several days of rain the Wrangler arena was pretty muddy. Thankfully Colleen had arranged for us to move to High View Farms indoor arena. Everyone was very happy that we were moved to this facility. The ground was nice and there were no bugs with the fly misters in the barn, plus it was nice and cool. Joline was kind enough to move her concession stand with us, so that we had available lunches.
Unfortunately two students who were preregistered were unable to attend at the last minute. However, the rest of the participants seemed to enjoy the smaller class. All of the students had experience with natural horsemanship principles so it was fun to challenge them further in their skills. Even though one of the riders was only 12 years old she kept up beautifully with us and I would say that she definitely taught the rest of us “older ones” that to be natural with horses you have to think in a younger frame of mind. She was a perfect picture of riding naturally and her horse seemed to be enjoying the ride as much as she was. I think the attitude of “no worries, just play” helps each of us to be more natural with our horses.
As we played the ground games with the horses we discovered:
1. How much predator behavior we still had in us.
2. How much we were hurrying. (Slow and right beats fast and wrong)
3. How much bigger we could be with our movements to teach, and then refine as we go along.
4. How always going back to the basics improves everything you do.
5. How important it is to discipline ourselves to be consistent with our horse and then the result will be better communication.
6. If we act confident with our horses we will instill more confidence in them.
7. Some horses only need very gentle pressure or they get defensive, others need quite a bit of pressure in order to gain respect. Always offer phases, starting as light as possible and getting as firm as necessary.
8. That we could actually close our hands slowly and when we did our horses were actually more responsive and less likely to brace.
9. When your horse gets scared it is very difficult to not act scared.
10. One – rein stops really, really, really, work!
I repeated the half-moon exercise with a couple of horses as I had done with “Summer” in Omaha at Amelg. This greatly improved the attitude of these two horses and they seemed to pay more attention to their handlers after the exercise. We worked so hard, were having so much fun, and making so much progress with our ground games that before we knew it we had forgotten to take a morning break and it was already noon. This was certainly a quieter group than the people in Omaha, or maybe I had just worn them out by not taking a morning break. Joline had some great sloppy Joes and brownies for lunch and I had two helpings. We watched GW (the manager of the stable) ride his stallion, performing some fancy reining as we ate.
After lunch we saddled our horses, however mounting took a little longer than normal. Thankfully the students were very patient with me, as I took the time it takes, so that everyone was safe. I often use the fence or a bucket with my tall mare in order to get on. One of the mares had a history of not standing still for her rider to mount, and the rider needed to stand on something for the procedure. After finding a solid bucket for our mounting block, I played with the mare until she was able to stand still confidently for her rider to mount. We were very happy when she stood still after break and then again the next day. We felt like we had conquered a real mountain with her.
One of the participants chose not to ride because her horse was young and particularly worried about the new environment. He hadn’t been away from home before and the barn had a lot of activity with loud noises, not to mention the buffalo out the back door, which our horses saw every time we passed one end of the arena. I believe that we made the right decision as the next day the horse had settled in and she proudly rode her beautiful 3-year-old Morgan. She had to do several one-rein stops, as did nearly everyone else when the man weed eating threw rocks onto the metal wall outside of the arena. It startled everyone and we got to practice very necessary one-rein stops. It was as if it were choreographed, as everyone was in perfect timing. I kindly motioned him to leave the area and thankfully he left. Everyone was able to breath again.
It was rewarding to hear comments such as:
1. I would never have believed that my horse would respond so well in a halter, she usually tosses her head but doesn’t without the bit.
2. I found out that I don’t have to pull on the reins.
3. Emergency stops are scary but I was able to complete the task successfully.
4. I feel so successful because I could actually get my horse to do things, this is thrilling for me!
5. I didn’t realize that foot placement was part of the exercises.
During the break the 12 year old showed us all up with a relaxed and confident canter on her horse that made us all envious. She was so well matched for her horse while riding, but found some of the groundwork challenging, however she made great improvement. At one point she wanted to put her spurs on to make her horse canter. However, she listened to my analogy and followed my advice. I asked her if she had ever seen a jockey with spurs? Do their horses go fast? How do jockey’s make their horses speed up? Of coarse, she knew that they spanked them. After we put a string for a spanker on her saddle horn and she followed the phases of squeeze with all 4 cheeks, turn the toes out, and then down, followed by spanking yourself her horse departed into a canter without needing to spank him. I think her horse thanked me.
We found out the importance of saddle fit when we were working on balanced riding. It was very frustrating for one of the riders to sit in her saddle properly as it was a very poor fit for both her and the horse. She borrowed a saddle for the next day, and it was a little better, but still not really suitable. Unfortunately it was a brand new saddle, and all I could tell her was “sell it and get a different one” because it was just way to far off. Lesson learned; don’t buy a saddle if you haven’t put your butt in it. It is also best to try it on your horse, or at least measure your horse and compare the measurements before buying.
The second day was even more fun than the first one, except that Keith my husband wasn’t able to attend. He was a great help the first day and I always appreciate his support and encouragement for both the students and myself. He was hilarious when I was doing the focus and balanced riding simulation. He kicked, pawed, reared, and bucked when I was demonstrating. He took me by surprise, just like our horses so often do. I played along with him, and used the friendly game to calm him. Everyone got a kick out of our little drama.
On the second morning we were more particular about our groundwork. During the circling exercises we expected our horses to perform 2 to 4 laps well before we worked on changing directions. It was tremendous to see the horses rise to the level of expectation that we were holding in our mind. The power of visualizing your horse willingly following your clear communication can be the difference between boring mindless circles and circles with exuberant intention which lead to efficient, rhythmic, smooth, athletic gaits. After everyone successfully completed several change of directions while circling and understood the difference between the body language of come back and change directions we moved on to the sideways maneuvers.
While asking out horses to go sideways on the wall, some realized that they were nagging. When your horse is already moving correctly, we do not need to keep asking. The windshield wiper is great for teaching sideways, but once your horse understands, it is time to move on to more subtle cues. We incorporated the L position, and tried to release as soon as our horse took a couple of good steps. I heard over and over, “he/she does it better on one side than the other.” That is totally normal, and it just means that we need to get our friendly, and driving games better on that side for sideways to be more successful.
Before we quit for lunch, each person was able to jump their horse over our make shift jump. (Well at least they went over, some with grace, and some rather clumsy.)
We found a couple of buckets and put a PVC pipe on top. It was pretty scary for one horse and we had to put the PVC pipe on the ground first to gain her confidence. Others just figured out that they could knock it off easily and chose the lazy way out. It was fun to watch the 2 year old really think her way over. It seems to me that when there is an object to cross during a squeeze the handler has a target and is able to perform the squeeze game with more accuracy, not allowing the horse to run around behind them.
We had accomplished so much on the first day of riding, that we put the principles that we had learned the first day to purpose by using cones. We used the cones to practice direct rein so that our turns were smoother. It also helped develop consistency using our phases and focus, plus it helped both horse and rider to be in better harmony with accuracy. Since everyone was doing so well with the 9-step backup we used the cones to develop our timing. We tried to stop our horses’ front feet right next to a cone. It was interesting to discover how much too soon or too late we were asking. As riders became more particular and focused I observed horses responding quicker and lighter.
Before we took a break we walked our horses in a circle feeling for which foot was hitting the ground or leaving the ground. After some practice with this we then tried to ask for a turn with a direct rein staying in time with the horses feet. As the students began to feel this, it was amazing to see their circles getting smaller, the front feet crossing over and the suppleness it was creating in their horses.
We also practiced indirect rein and disengaging the hindquarters before break, then after break we put it to purpose to teach the side pass on the rail. The students were progressing so nicely at riding on the rail with very few corrections, so we incorporated this with the indirect rein, disengaging the hindquarters and then asking for a step or two of side pass. Wow! I was very impressed that we accomplished this much in just two days. It wasn’t perfect, but we were getting a couple of sideways steps. Again, the better your foundation is the easier sideways will be accomplished. The better the horse side passes and backs the better he will do everything else.
Finally, before wrapping up, with this quiet but intuitive group, we rode a challenge task, which everyone performed, to the best of their abilities. After 5 days of teaching, and being without a microphone for the last two days, my voice was shot and I could barely talk. That was a small price to pay for all that I learned and the joy that I experience working with each person and horse.
Soni, it was a pleasure to experience with you your first trot on your 2 year old. She will be a great trail horse for you as she has a really good mind. Keep up the great work!
Leah, you have come such a long way with your walker since the first e-mails I received from you. I have confidence that you will pass your level one real soon!
Deb & Diane your Morgans are so beautiful and well cared for. Both of you made great strides during our time together, and discovered valuable things about your horses and your skills. Take the time it takes and you will get through level 2 before you know it!
Sharon, it was so exciting to see your confidence blooming through the success that you had with your horse during our time together. She can be a handful, just keep learning the language of the horse, loving, her, and developing your leadership, so that you have a safe and happy relationship with her.
Candice your passion and love of riding and your horse is contagious. I was impressed with how you listened and your attention to everything I asked you to do. You Go Girl!
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