Whats New... Finally!

Finally I am posting about what has been happening since I've arrived back from camp.

Sunday morning at 11 (after Sunday school), I met Terrie, Eve, and her daughter Kaitlin out at Joy's farm to help Terrie trim. However, Terrie asked if the three of us would be willing to work with the horse's because they have virtually no manners (never really been worked with). We got halters and started teaching the horse's some basic stuff: lead off pressure, back up off pressure of the halter, wiggle rope to back up, and disengaging the hind quarters. I started with Ella, the smallest of the six horses who has a reputation of not wanting to be caught. I haltered her pretty quickly and spent some time rubbing on her and itching some itchy spots. I then began to ask her to walk forward, which proved to be the biggest challenge for her. She would walk a couple feet, then stop, then walk, then stop. I got it going pretty smoothly though eventually. She backed up both ways well and disengaged and crossed her hind feet over really well also. Terrie pointed out I should teach Joy how to do what I was asking her to do, so I gave Joy a mini lesson about how to get a horse out of her space, how to protect her space (these horses are notorious for bursting personal space bubbles), and how to lead and disengage in emergencies (she had recently gotten kicked by the biggest of her horses, so by knowing how to disengage she could get that hiney away from her). It was surprisingly really fun teaching her how to do that stuff, and Terrie pointed out that I was a good teacher, which goes against my notion that I am a lousy teacher. I guess this means the prospect of being a trainer isn't out of the realm of possibilities....
Next i worked with Tristan, the second largest horse there. He led pretty well off pressure, but his down fall was that when I asked him to back up from the halter, he used his massive head against me. He would poke his nose out and try to fight it, but I persisted and got a change. Eventually he got pretty good at backing off that pressure. He also disengaged really well. All in all it was a fun day where I got to experience teaching someone.

Monday I went out to play with my horses, and I started with Charlotte. I took her to the round pen along with the sidepull. I worked on getting her responsive to the wiggle of the rope, and the send off onto a circle where she gets a little sluggish. She did pretty well with that, so I put the side pull on and hopped on. We rode around the arena a bit working on going off my leg and stopping more promptly. She did well, so we went outside. We went in the front yard a bit, then for a walk around the pond. We walked and trotted around, and she did well minus a few mini spooks at frogs jumping in the water or fish flopping in the pond. We had to turn around at the end of our trail because the path to continue around hadn't been mowed for a while. We cantered/galloped up the hill a ways, then returned back to the barn to see Woody and Teddy RACING around the field calling. They are so darn dramatic! They caught sight of us and ran to the fence near us. Charlotte did good and I think she enjoyed getting out on a trail ride after not being out last week.
I played with Woody next, and I caught him and put his saddle on. He was really relaxed and cool with saddling, so I got his bridle, my helmet, and headed out to the round pen. We played a bit, just tuning up some stuff and checking to make sure he was paying attention. I bridled him fairly easy, then hopped on and practiced a bit in the arena. I then opened the gate and we rode around as well. We went down to the dam, but we didn't continue around the pond because he was nervous about something down there, so we turned around and galloped up the hill. I then turned him toward the driveway and we went down about halfway, then turned around due to time constraints. On the way back I asked him for a trot, and he flung his head up and took off at a very fast trot. I brought him back down the a walk, and asked again, but still he gave me the fast/bracy trot. We walked back to the round pen, then I worked on getting a nice soft trot in there and him thinking around the turns I asked him to make. He did pretty good, but he still had a bit of that fast trot in him. I called it a day, put him up, and fed everyone a cookie.
That afternoon I talked to Terrie touching base on something, and I mentioned the fast trot. She said it could be because he was sore from all the intense riding we did last week, and I felt so stupid for not thinking of that and making him trot a lot in the round pen! I went out to rub and push on his back later that evening and couldn't find any sore spots, but Woody's a trooper and doesn't always show his pain. Oh well.

Wednesday Terrie came out to trim the horses and I got to catch up with her then as well. I watched her trim and learned a bit more about the natural trim. We were going to practice trailer loading, but it was very windy and the last thing I wanted to do was give Woody a bad experience with the trailer.

Yesterday I went out to play wit the horses again. I hadn't played with Teddy for almost two weeks, so I decided to play with him first. I haltered him, grabbed my flag, and headed to the round pen. We worked on some of the basics. I got and kept his attention fairly easily. He was pretty good with the leading forward off a feel, but his back up needed some work. I wiggled the rope, and rather than getting bigger to say hey pay attention I'm here! I just got a little bigger to be clearer for him. He is SUCH a quick learner, so by the end of our session he was moving off just the wiggle. The main thing I worked on with him is his send off. I aksed him to back up, then pointed and bagn to crowd him in order for him to step his shoulder over properly. He would get very nervous on the circle and need to trot, but I would go with him, then ask him to walk. I also rubbed him with the stick as he was moving, and used it to motivate him when he was getting a little sticky in his forward. He stopped really well when I stopped, and came in looking confident and curious. He had some really good moments, and I was really proud of both he and I; he handled himself well, remembered what I had previously taught him, and learned really quickly, and I was patient and understanding, and didn't get emotional at ALL. I also knew what to do and how to handle the situations thrown at me. It was one of those moments of joy where you know thats what your calling is.
I put Teddy up, then got Woody and put the bareback pad on him. He had some trouble staying with me, but I just kept insisting he stay and he didn't have to leave, and he had a god lick and chew and relaxed. I brought his bridle, my helmet, and the flag and went out to the round pen. I wanted to work on getting and keeping his shoulder out and away from me, in sending off and change of direction. We worked on that for a while and he did really good. I had to get back a couple of times and firm up to block his thought of resisting what I was asking, but I got a change and he did well. I then bridled him well, got up on the fence, and he came right over to me to get on. We rode around in the round pen a while, and he was really responsive to all my aids. He even gave me a couple nice canters! We did some trotting over ground poles, then I opened the gate to let us outside. We went all around the perimeter of the pasture and he really felt good to me. I asked him to canter up the hill, and man, what a canter he gave me. He continued all the way along the flat stretch, but came right back to a trot when I asked. We went back to the round, got his halter and my stick, and headed back to the barn. On the way he had a series of 3 or 4 really good blows and snorts and he seemed like he was enjoying himself.

Following working with Woody I worked with Charlotte, she seemed responsive, so I bridled her, put the bareback pad on, and rode around the pasture some. We worked on getting that soft, nice trot that she can do but rarely does, and it went well. All in all, good day for Eden and the ponies!

Today Mom and I are heading out for the weekend to go audit Buck Brannaman in Asheville, NC. I am excited, and I have been reading his book all week so I know who he is as a person. When I get back I will update with any new insights, the lastest on the Kathleen Lindley clinic next weekend, pictures of Harry Whitney camp, and much more! Until then!
~Eden