Good, Long Session...

If you're new, click back to the first few posts to see how Max and I came to use Clinton Anderson's training methods.


GOOD, LONG SESSION...

As of today we’ve made it to disc 4 of Clinton Anderson’s Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground-Series 2.  There are only four more exercises in this series, so we’ll be starting Series 3 soon.  YEE-HA!!

We flew through desensitizing with the plastic bag, body, face and head.  We had no problem with throwing the rope to stop either.  It only took a couple of times throwing the rope and he stopped.  I totally forgot about see-sawing the rope.  We’ll work on that another day.

We practiced side-passing.  Max is getting pretty good.  Not perfect, but okay so far.  He tends to keep moving a little bit forward while side-passing so that he’s right up to the fence after a few steps.  I need to watch the segment again on side-passing to see what the correct correction is for that.  He’s really trying though.

We also worked on Lungeing for Respect – Stage 2.  CA is right about getting the steps down before you try this with the horse trotting or cantering around.  He’s also right about taking your time between each step until you get them down.  I took it really slowly at first.  It helped tremendously.  After a few slow times I sped it up just a little.  Here again, Max and I aren’t perfect with this exercise.  He’s not rotating around on his hind feet like Clinton Anderson wants them to.  But… he kind of does, sometimes.  We’re working on it.

We ended our groundwork with a walk through the woods.  We walked back and forth down a short trail about three times.  He did great.  No spook.

We worked about three hours today.  It was a good, long session…

Have a good ride

Greenhorn

Another Long Session...

We had another long session on Sunday. 

On the ground we worked on backing, yielding forequarters, side-passing down the fence-line and we lunged a little.

I’m going to move on and introduce the next exercises on Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground-2.  We’re not perfect at the exercises we’re doing now, but with practice we’ll get better.  We need to work on something new so things don’t get stale. 

So, I’m going to introduce throwing the rope and stopping, and see-sawing the rope this week.  We’re also going to do desensitizing with the plastic bag.  I don’t think Max will have a problem with it since he’s pretty laid back.  

I’ll let you know how we did.

We had an hour-long ride again.  We worked on yielding hindquarters at the standstill, backing, trotting and posting and cantering.

Max is really tossing his head when we yield hindquarters at the standstill and I’m not sure why.  He gets very irritated, tossing his head and chomping on the bit.  I put a chin strap on his bridle after I read about it keeping the bit from sliding through his mouth, but after this ride I took it off to see if there will be a difference. 

He wasn’t doing all that anxious behavior when the strap wasn’t on the bridle, so we’ll see if there is a difference tomorrow when I ride without the chin strap.  And I don’t think the bit was really sliding through his mouth anyway.  I was just trying to be pro-active.  I don’t think we need it. 

Also, it’s a chain strap because that’s all I had.  I think Clinton Anderson only uses leather chin straps.  Leather probably feels better than the chain, and probably does the job just as well as a chain. 

I’m not progressing quickly with the riding exercises at all.  And it’s me, not the exercises or Max or anything else.  I canter now, but still need to canter more to get super comfortable with it.  Once I get really okay with it, we’ll move forward.  I’m not going to push it. 

Another long session tomorrow…

Have a good ride

Greenhorn

Stuck in the Saddle

              
               I really need forward movement with my riding.  I’m stuck on cruising at the trot.  I work on cantering.  But it’s really just me trying to stay balanced and not be afraid to keep going at the canter. 

Now I know Clinton Anderson says, “If you want to learn how to stay on at the canter, you have to canter.”  I repeat.  I know that.  I want to canter more.  And I would canter more if I didn’t feel like Max was going to spook every time we got down to the end of the arena and on the north side of the arena.  (That’s using the term “arena” loosely.)

I feel sure he would also say I need to tackle the spook problem I have “straight away.”  I am tackling it, but from the ground right now.  (I have really gained tons of confidence with control on the ground since following CA’s exercises.)  And I realize that I won’t be able to solve all spook problems from the ground.  I won’t even be able to solve all spook problems period.  But I’ll get more confident in handling them when they happen. 

Here are some things I’m doing right now to de-sensitize him to the woodsy area. Clinton Anderson says, “Rest ‘em in a place they don’t like.”  So when Max and I are doing groundwork and it’s time to rest, we rest in the places where he’s most likely to spook. 

And I think we’ve made progress.  But slooooow progress.  When I first started doing this he had a hard time relaxing in those places.  Sometimes it would take a few minutes.  Now, most of the time, he relaxes within several seconds.  I also rest Max up and down those “scary” sides of the arena and in those “scary” corners while I’m riding. 

  And in Max’s defense, he’s not just spooking for no reason.  Thar’s wahld animals in them thar woods!  He does hear things and see things that I just don’t see.

I just want to be able to ride the whole arena without being ready for a bolt 50% of the time I’m riding.  Now I know a horse can spook or bolt at anything, anytime.  And I know that you’re thinking that maybe if I rode him in those spooky areas everyday to de-sensitize him and deal with the problem right now in a direct manner that it would get solved. 

I agree.  That would be ideal. 

But I’m a greenhorn, remember?  I don’t ride that well.  I’m just learning all this stuff.  And I would like to spend the biggest amount of riding time right now learning to stay on while the horse is walking, trotting and cantering around in a non-threatening environment.  I need to keep building confidence. 

How I have the pen situated now seems to bring on some “horse anxiety” in those places close to the woods.  And my body language adds to that.  I get so worried that he’s going to spook that I can’t relax.

Bottom Line:  I want to ride around a little more relaxed for a while.  I need us both to concentrate elsewhere.  I want to work on other control issues right now.  I feel like I need to control the gas pedal and the steering wheel better.  Can’t I come back to that when I can stay on a little better?

That said, I was actually more confident today with the riding part.  I rode him on those two scary sides at a trot.  Rested him on those sides.  Walked up and down those sides.  Then, I took him out in the pasture and trotted him and backed him.  I think I’m okay (confidence-wise) at a walk and trot. 

Max has a fast canter, and that’s where I’m stumped.  And I know, to get a slow canter, you have to canter.  I know.

Sooooo………I think I’m going to move the arena fence.  I don’t know if that sounds like giving up or giving in or what, but that’s what I’m going to do.  If I move the fence (It’s just several 10’ Priefert panels.) then we’ll be at least 50’ feet away from the woods on the north side.  On the east end I’ll have to deal with the woods.  But that’s only 25% of the arena that’ll worry me instead of 50%.  I know I should deal with the spooking issue, but I do deal with it when he does spook. 

I do a one rein stop when he turns to run away from the woods, then I keep him turning or backing or walking around the area.

Now, if he still acts spooky when we’re that far away from the woods, and I can’t get him to get over it, then I’ve got a way bigger problem than I thought. 

With me…

Have a nice ride,

Greenhorn

My Training Begins...

Like I said in the previous blog post, someone must have trained Max well.  (I wouldn’t have him if he wasn’t.)  And, like I said previously, I don’t know if his trainer used Clinton Anderson’s “method” or not.  I understand that pressure and release methods are what many trainers use.  

I could tell Max had been desensitized at some point.  Neither the rope nor the stick and string seemed to bother him.  I could also touch, pat, rub all over his body and head.  He was a little sticky with his ears, but after watching Clinton’s approach and retreat technique on an RFD-TV episode, and trying it out on Max, he was soon okay with his ears, too. 

Max is pretty easy to catch.  He just about always comes to me and lets me put a rope or halter on him.  I’m working on those kinds of things, too.  I have a Clinton Anderson dvd on Problem Solving that I thought might help me gain some confidence in just being in the company of horses while working around the barn, etc.   It has great tips and techniques for handling everyday-type “horse business”, like catching them, bridling, worming, etc.

But, back to our lesson in Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground-Series I (GRCG-I)   

Max seemed adequately desensitized so we moved on to yielding hindquarters.

I watched the segment on yielding hindquarters a few times to really memorize what the teaching looked like.  I wanted to give clear signals.  I followed the directions as exactly as I could. 

I’m a bit clumsy with the equipment and the movements, but I guess it was clear enough to Max.  He moved his hindquarters.  He was a bit clumsy at first, too.  But we practiced and he got it and he crossed his hind foot in front of the other.  We did one step first.  Then, went on to two steps and three. 

I am definitely not as fast as CA.  But I’m pretty sure that’s normal!  I’m not used to using the tools and I’m just learning about handling horses.  We didn’t perfect it today, but we got a good start.

It’s pretty amazing that if you do what these folks tell you to do just like they do it, it works!  Hopefully, it will keep working like that as Max and I move forward.

I feel a little better…

Have a good ride,

Greenhorn