The last couple of days I've only worked Phoenix. I start by refreshing what he knows:
He is desensitized to the lead rope and desensitized to the stick and string part one. The stick and string part 2 looked okay but he'd move at around 30 spanks. But we do have bugs and so today I sprayed him and we got through 40 on the left and 38ish on the right. I also started to twirl the string more and he looked at it quite a bit but then relaxed. The bugs were still out though.
Also the last two days I've worked on yielding the hindquarters part one and backing up 1. Today his yield was some better but then he started to move in a circle around me. Clinton addresses this in his DVD but I couldn't remember and so I'll need to watch it again. His backing up was much better today and we worked some on backing up parts 2 & 3 and he was great.
We had a storm yesterday evening and this morning I went down to do chores and noticed a large branch had fallen on once side of my wood arena fence and busted it up. The branch is 1/3 into the arena :(
Okay so I plan on sticking with the same lessons as today for another day or two. Hope to move desensitizing with stick and string part 2 into the refreshing part and add another skill to work on.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Small Steps
I am going to recap what I've done now so that I can be up to date. I've watched the first DVD which is pretty much on Philosophy and then the Round Penning DVD, okay, most of it. I needed to get my butt out there and work with these critters some. I found that the erena is a real pain to try and do round pen work in.
I have been using my 25 yr old mare the practice on before working on my 9 yr old gelding. The problem is that she is so stuck in her ways and can't understand what I'm looking for. I mean she's turned to the outside for 25 yrs - why turn to the inside? So it's taking a LOT of work. I ended up using the lunge line so that I can get her to turn IN.
Then I watched the desensitising with the rope and stick/string DVD. My mare is rather freaked by the rope and my arm felt like it was going to break off - and then she finally settled down about it. THANK GOD! Oh, and the stick and string - it goes back to the 25 yr old thing... when she sees a lunge whip looking thing she thinks I want her to move in a circle. It's what we've ALWAYS done. So, she's on the rope and I'm walking away from her with the stick out front rhythmically going plop, plop, plop, plop - and she's running 360's around me. I did this for a while and finally at one end I stopped at the end and let her do 180s for a while. Finally she relaxed.
My gelding, Phoenix, is just great. When I bought him his purchase price also included 3 mths of training and the man had a round pen and I know he taught him all of this stuff. When I go to do something with him he's like, "Oh, yeah, that's the way it SHOULD be done." So he's a piece of cake.
I'm thinking of just focusing on Phoenix now. I'm afraid that I'll spread my time out too thin and not get all of the training in on my gelding that I want to get done. I hope to continue to practice what I've taught my mare. We've worked hard on what we have learned - I'd hate to lose it all.
It's here!!
Friday finally came and I was scheduled to help at my daughter's field trip but when I got home - there it was :)
It's one of life's little joys - getting stuff in the mail!
So unpacked everything, and it was all there and looked better than I had hoped for.
Small world/ mysterious ways
So between Tuesday and Friday I did lots of looking up stuff on the No Worries web site. The fall of '09 Journal had an article on being afraid of cantering that I needed to read. I don't like cantering in an arena. Not sure why that is but the article did help me figure some of that out. And I also am now able to watch the shows that Clinton has put on RFD-TV!
It's been a good way to find people in my area that are working on this same kind of training. And get this, one of the No Worries club members was one of the gals that I took pictures for at the de-spooking clinic! AND, she knows my sister and brother-in-law. So we plan on getting together soon.
It's been a good way to find people in my area that are working on this same kind of training. And get this, one of the No Worries club members was one of the gals that I took pictures for at the de-spooking clinic! AND, she knows my sister and brother-in-law. So we plan on getting together soon.
Research
I tried using the point and cluck method to get phoenix into the trailer and it was a no-go. And that got it into his head that he didn't have to go into the trailer at all so I needed to get someone to help me. It didn't take much but was a bummer. Had an uneventful trip home and unloaded and washed out the trailer and called it a day.
Then started my search for the Natural Horsemanship way. I really just needed a halter and rope to get started but I wanted to learn more. Who were these people and how did others know about them.
I found others mention Clinton Anderson and how much more simple he makes his teaching. I liked that. My brain needs simple. Repeatedly I heard of RFD-TV and realized that not having cable TV did have it's drawbacks, although not many. But that's where people get to see a patchwork of trainers. On YouTube I watched some trainers including Clinton. Also found a guy named John Harrer that keeps a video log of his horse Jessie and their progress using Clinton Anderson's training methods.
Time was a wasting and I wanted to get to practicing the stuff I had learned. I ended up getting the Clinton Anderson Fundamentals DVD set, the halter and rope and stick and string. Oh, and it was less expensive if I joined the "No Worries" Club that gave me discounts and access to lots of educational information on the Internet. Glad to be moving fwd on this. It was Tuesday and I was going to get my stuff on Friday before Memorial Day weekend!
Then started my search for the Natural Horsemanship way. I really just needed a halter and rope to get started but I wanted to learn more. Who were these people and how did others know about them.
I found others mention Clinton Anderson and how much more simple he makes his teaching. I liked that. My brain needs simple. Repeatedly I heard of RFD-TV and realized that not having cable TV did have it's drawbacks, although not many. But that's where people get to see a patchwork of trainers. On YouTube I watched some trainers including Clinton. Also found a guy named John Harrer that keeps a video log of his horse Jessie and their progress using Clinton Anderson's training methods.
Time was a wasting and I wanted to get to practicing the stuff I had learned. I ended up getting the Clinton Anderson Fundamentals DVD set, the halter and rope and stick and string. Oh, and it was less expensive if I joined the "No Worries" Club that gave me discounts and access to lots of educational information on the Internet. Glad to be moving fwd on this. It was Tuesday and I was going to get my stuff on Friday before Memorial Day weekend!
Clinic
And so Phoenix did really fine at the clinic and he faced some of the objects much better than I had thought he would. We didn't have time to address every object that they had but the water, plastic jugs, blow up penguin, wooden bridge, the culvert, and a couple of others.
I put him in his stall for a while and watched the next clinic. They were just getting started and after a bit I decided to go and saddle Phoenix up and I practiced what I had just learned out in their jumping arena.Things went good enough that I got on and went around at a walk and a bit of trot and called it quits.
By the time I got back to the clinic I saw that there was one rider that had a camera around her neck and she was trying to take pictures while she was having her horse work the obstacles. Or maybe just of obstacles themselves. So I went out and offered to take pictures of her and her horse. They were doing a good job and I hope I got a couple of shots. Then there was another person with a camera that wanted a couple of pictures.
This clinic got done with and the next one started and I met one person I knew from AND Stables. Her name is Judy and her and a friend came in support of one of her friends that was riding in the last clinic. While I was sitting with them her friend started talking about Parelli and that she liked Clinton Anderson's way of making things more clear but they were similar in content. I jotted that name down, "Clinton Anderson".
I put him in his stall for a while and watched the next clinic. They were just getting started and after a bit I decided to go and saddle Phoenix up and I practiced what I had just learned out in their jumping arena.Things went good enough that I got on and went around at a walk and a bit of trot and called it quits.
By the time I got back to the clinic I saw that there was one rider that had a camera around her neck and she was trying to take pictures while she was having her horse work the obstacles. Or maybe just of obstacles themselves. So I went out and offered to take pictures of her and her horse. They were doing a good job and I hope I got a couple of shots. Then there was another person with a camera that wanted a couple of pictures.
This clinic got done with and the next one started and I met one person I knew from AND Stables. Her name is Judy and her and a friend came in support of one of her friends that was riding in the last clinic. While I was sitting with them her friend started talking about Parelli and that she liked Clinton Anderson's way of making things more clear but they were similar in content. I jotted that name down, "Clinton Anderson".
Friday, May 28, 2010
Nose, Neck - maybe body
So these are the things they had:
- a culvert to walk/ jump over
- a 'car wah' type thing made of a split up shower curtain that the horse needed to walk through
- wooden bridge
- blow up penguin
- blown up tent - looked like a horizontal jump
- rubber hose all curled up
- area of plastic baggies (split up so feet wouldn't catch)
- area of plastic bottles
- ditch with water in it
- paper grain bags
- long 5' wide piece of carpet
- loose ballloons
- a couple of helium balloons hanging around
- an umbrfella
- a squeeze made of a 1/2 wall of plastic blocks and then cardboard to walk on
- tarps (cheap table cloths)
- tractor tire with thick wood top
- kids kiddie pool
- a mattress
- some noise makers: plastic pumkins with rocks in them and a small plastic bag of cans.
I know I must be missing some. The goal was to not cross the thing with your horse or infront of the horse. But to stand on the side and send him fwd.
Oh, yeah, sending fwd. holding your horse's rope 4' away and with the hand closest to the horse you point where you want him to go. Left or right then apply some pressure to the halter and use your other hand and the end of the rope at his shoulder. Get him so he's trying to hide his butt from you. So then when you want him to cross the carpet or bridge, you point to where he's supposed to go, apply pressure, and use the end of the rope on his shoulder.
Remember, Left, right and back are okay - he needs to feel like he can run away in someway. At some point when he's backing up you can say - what a great idea! And then back him up and make him work.
If you can get his nose and then his neck and then relax - you've got a pretty good chance of getting his body over.
I think I'm missing something here, but that's what I took away from the clinic and it worked for me and my horse.
But MOM - it's so SPOOKY!!
This is a continuation of my notes from my de-spooking clinic.
The first thing you do is to show the horse the spooky thing. Or, if you have a normal horse, they will show you the spooky thing. But then YOU should not look at it, and don't look at the horse either. Make your body look and feel relaxed an look to where you want the horse to go.
If you have a noise maker - like rocks in a container or cans in a bag - shake it with rhythm over and over again in a real boring manner. And you're waiting for a relaxation sign from your horse. There are 5 relaxation signs:
1. licks and chews
2. puts his head down
3. bends up his foot in a relaxed manner
4. sighs or yawns
5. softens and blinks his eyes
So immediately you ned to stop making the noise - in this way you're desensitizing your horse to the sound.
If something is spooking your horse - do not retreat. He can back up, go right or go left, but he can not turn around. A good way they showed us to get him over being frightened of, let's say a plastic bag, is to make it so he's chasing it. Or roll the plastic bag into a really small ball and let him look at it and then later have it not as rolled up until it's just a plastic bag.
After the this teaching time they let us go into the part of the arena with the spooky stuff!
The first thing you do is to show the horse the spooky thing. Or, if you have a normal horse, they will show you the spooky thing. But then YOU should not look at it, and don't look at the horse either. Make your body look and feel relaxed an look to where you want the horse to go.
If you have a noise maker - like rocks in a container or cans in a bag - shake it with rhythm over and over again in a real boring manner. And you're waiting for a relaxation sign from your horse. There are 5 relaxation signs:
1. licks and chews
2. puts his head down
3. bends up his foot in a relaxed manner
4. sighs or yawns
5. softens and blinks his eyes
So immediately you ned to stop making the noise - in this way you're desensitizing your horse to the sound.
If something is spooking your horse - do not retreat. He can back up, go right or go left, but he can not turn around. A good way they showed us to get him over being frightened of, let's say a plastic bag, is to make it so he's chasing it. Or roll the plastic bag into a really small ball and let him look at it and then later have it not as rolled up until it's just a plastic bag.
After the this teaching time they let us go into the part of the arena with the spooky stuff!
Get out of my space!!
I've had horses for a while. When I was about 10 yrs old we got a couple of horses and what I learned was from trial and error. And one of the first things involved holding onto your horse. And that is - if a 10 yr old child gives a horse a long lead (hooked to a nylon halter) it can get a head start and break away in a split second and then she'll spend the next 3 hrs chasing them all over the township. So I learned right away to hold them up closer to the halter.
Fast forward to the clinic. Lesson one - get your horse out of your space and hold that leadrope about 4' from his face. He needs to be able to move around. Given the Fight or Flight tendancy a horse will take to flight and if you stop him from this he will want to fight. Let him move around if he wants - that's his business. As long as he stays out of your space!!
Okay, so we're at the clinic and they come out with the hula hoops and put them on the ground a bit out from the wall and evenly spaced. The hoops were for us to stand in - so that we would have a real idea of where our space was. And then for 30-40 min we worked on lessons. The sending away lesson:
The horse is next to you and you want him to back away. Maybe just one step at first but straight away later.
#1 give the pinning your ears back look at him >:
#2 point your finger at him (toward the way you want him to go, which is backward) and wag your finger
#3 if he doesn't back up then wag the rope
#4 if he doesn't back up wag harder until you're flailing it.
But as soon as he even takes a small step back you need to relax. And have a relaxed stance.
Then bring your horse back in and do this again and again.
Lesson two - walking with your horse:
Hold him at 4' and start walking.
To get him out of your space rhythmically swing your arm.
Jiggle the rope to slow him.
Pull fwd on the rope/halter to speed him up or use the end of the rope on his butt.
Change speeds and get him to change speeds too.
Fast forward to the clinic. Lesson one - get your horse out of your space and hold that leadrope about 4' from his face. He needs to be able to move around. Given the Fight or Flight tendancy a horse will take to flight and if you stop him from this he will want to fight. Let him move around if he wants - that's his business. As long as he stays out of your space!!
Okay, so we're at the clinic and they come out with the hula hoops and put them on the ground a bit out from the wall and evenly spaced. The hoops were for us to stand in - so that we would have a real idea of where our space was. And then for 30-40 min we worked on lessons. The sending away lesson:
The horse is next to you and you want him to back away. Maybe just one step at first but straight away later.
#1 give the pinning your ears back look at him >:
#2 point your finger at him (toward the way you want him to go, which is backward) and wag your finger
#3 if he doesn't back up then wag the rope
#4 if he doesn't back up wag harder until you're flailing it.
But as soon as he even takes a small step back you need to relax. And have a relaxed stance.
Then bring your horse back in and do this again and again.
Lesson two - walking with your horse:
Hold him at 4' and start walking.
To get him out of your space rhythmically swing your arm.
Jiggle the rope to slow him.
Pull fwd on the rope/halter to speed him up or use the end of the rope on his butt.
Change speeds and get him to change speeds too.
A new start.
I tried to combine both my Buttercup blog and my horse training blog but couldn't find a straight forward way to change the title. So here I go again:
Besides the wood and tube for this plane that I want to magically appear I also have two horses. Have had them for a while. But then this last week the wind changed direction and things started to happen that have changed my life and my horse's lives. Here's how it happened...
Last Winter I sent an email to a woman planning a de-spooking clinic for this spring. If you live in the Midwest you know that anything is possible when you're in the middle of 20" of snow. Once the weather and footing gets better you'll ride and train your horse every day. So I sent her a note to keep me informed.
Well, the footing and weather DID get better but I wasn't riding. And so I didn't enter the clinic. And then a week ago I got an email from her saying that they had several openings for the morning time slots. When I gave her my excuses she said to come on over and join in on the clinic. I didn't have to ride at all - I could do all of the clinic in-hand! So Nathan (dh) switched the insurance to the good truck and checked the fluids. I called the DOT and sent in the license plate renewal for the trailer. Copied the Coggins test and we were good to go!
To be continued
Besides the wood and tube for this plane that I want to magically appear I also have two horses. Have had them for a while. But then this last week the wind changed direction and things started to happen that have changed my life and my horse's lives. Here's how it happened...
Last Winter I sent an email to a woman planning a de-spooking clinic for this spring. If you live in the Midwest you know that anything is possible when you're in the middle of 20" of snow. Once the weather and footing gets better you'll ride and train your horse every day. So I sent her a note to keep me informed.
Well, the footing and weather DID get better but I wasn't riding. And so I didn't enter the clinic. And then a week ago I got an email from her saying that they had several openings for the morning time slots. When I gave her my excuses she said to come on over and join in on the clinic. I didn't have to ride at all - I could do all of the clinic in-hand! So Nathan (dh) switched the insurance to the good truck and checked the fluids. I called the DOT and sent in the license plate renewal for the trailer. Copied the Coggins test and we were good to go!
To be continued
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