More Time To Work...

If you're new, click back to the first few posts to see how Max, my first horse, and I came to use Clinton Anderson's methods so I could get control on the ground and re-gain my lost confidence in the saddle after an incident last autumn.

MORE TIME TO WORK...

Yes!  Today we made more progress on the ground and good progress in the saddle.  Our groundwork is coming from Clinton Anderson's Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground-Series 2.  Our work in the saddle is from Riding With Confidence-Series 1.

We had quite a workout on the ground first.  We backed.  We yielded forequarters.  To the right we’re doing great.  To the left…still not so great.   We lunged just a few circles each way.  (We’re still not ready for Lungeing for Respect-Stage 2.)  Then, we sidepassed all the way down the fence, turned around and sidepassed back.  It’s still rocky.  But we’re getting there…slowly.

In the saddle, we backed, trotted and posted and cantered. 

We also yielded hindquarters at the standstill.  I had forgotten to practice this on the ground today, so I really wasn’t expecting much in the way of Max remembering our practice yesterday. 

But he did remember. 

We yielded a couple of steps on both sides.  Good Boy!  This was major for me because, if you remember, I’ve had such an issue with the teaching of it on the ground.  My problem with it was that I was slow to catch on to the movements I needed to do to teach it, which made it confusing for Max.

I guess it just goes to show, when I got over myself and just did it exactly like Clinton Anderson said to do it, it works.  Anyway, now that I have these small results, I’ll be practicing it consistently until we’ve got it down.

We definitely need to get back to more nice, long workouts…

Have a good ride

Greenhorn

I'm a Lopin' Lady!

***To read how Max and I came to use RFD TV's horse trainer Clinton Anderson's Downunder Horsemanship methods, click back to the first few posts...


I'M A LOPIN' LADY!

               I’m a lopin’ lady!!  We had a terrific ride!  We walked, trotted and cantered all over the arena!  I tried out the cruising exercise a little.  I didn’t really get the exercise going for as long as I should have, but we got a good taste of it. 

He’s getting into the canter right off, and a few times he was on the correct lead.  Now, I know in cruising, Clinton Anderson says you don’t even worry about things like correct leads, and I wasn’t worried about it.  I just happened to notice that a few times he was correct.

I’m really excited about this whole cantering thing.  His canter was noticeably slower and smoother, and I had all kinds of control.

WOO-HOO!  It’s definitely a breakthrough for me. 

I'm a LOPIN' LADY!!

Two Days Later:

Good groundwork –all review and practice -  

Good ride –

We “cruised” at the canter some.  Max’s canter was still nice and relaxed until he decided “riding time” was over.  He was ready to quit and sped up going toward the gate.  I closed it down with a one-rein stop.  

We rode outside the arena, and he was all about quitting and getting back to the barn.

I didn’t let him, and it was a little scary at times.  He was tossing his head and fighting me about which direction to go. 

I made us go back into the arena, ride slowly for just a minute or two, and then I dismounted deep in the middle of the arena, away from the gate.

I’m going to have to increase our riding time slowly each day.  Also, we need to ride outside the arena more.  Clinton Anderson says you really shouldn’t do that until you have control.  I think I have control, but then today, for example, I was having a hard time having him stand still outside the arena when he was ready to quit and go to the barn.   

 I kept pulling him around to a one-rein stop when he took a step that I didn’t ask for.  He didn’t seem to mind and kept taking that step.  I was definitely uneasy. 

Why do I still count it as a good ride?  It was good because I learned from it.  I learned that I clearly do not have the control I need…yet…

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

Update on a Few Points...

             
              We have definitely reached a turning point of some kind.  We have developed a different connection, a new connection. 

Max seems more likely to expect me to give him direction rather than just move around on his own when I’m nearby.   He seems to be paying more attention to me when I’m around.  When he sees me coming with a chore to do and he’s right there up close to the barn door, he begins to back up when I’m walking toward him.  I do like that.  Thanks, CA.

I introduced the “touch and rub” exercise from the Riding With Confidence – Series I dvd.  I’m reeeeeeeeally clumsy doing this one.  I really had to take it super slowly and concentrate on which hand was doing what.  He’s big.  I’m short.  I was afraid his big rear end would move into me and his hind feet would step on me.  But once I got it, it worked. 

I’m not totally comfortable yet with the timing and the moves, but with practice I think it’ll come. 

When first introducing the “touch and rub” exercise Max kept thinking I wanted him to move his forequarters, (probably because we’ve had to work on it so much) so he kept side-stepping. 

(Okay, I know this so girly, but he was really cute.  He was dipping his head and looking at me like, “See?  See?  Look what I remembered?  Is this right?  Is this it?  I’m doing that thing you wanted, right?”  I know, I know, he’s not supposed to be “cute”.  But it did show me again he has that “try”!) 

Only I have to tell him, “Uh, no, that’s not it this time.”

Actually, until today, I’ve really been working pretty exclusively on the Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground – Series I exercises.  I felt like I needed to feel super comfortable on the ground first considering my confidence issues.

Now, Max and I are coming along verrrrrrrrrrry slowly, but we’re coming along nonetheless.  (I don’t have to do it as fast as Clinton Anderson does it, do I?)  And I don’t know about Max, but I have enjoyed every bit.  So far, I think Anderson has mapped out his methods in an excellent step-by-step sequence.  There hasn’t been anything yet that has been impossible for me, as a beginner, to do.

I think whenever we start something new, there’s an adjustment in thinking.  For example, being a former Reading and Language Arts teacher, I keep wanting there to be some instructions I can give Max or some way to use words. 

 I’ll start to say something, then look at Max and close my mouth.  (I know some trainers do use verbal cues.  I have done this also.  But right now I’m following Clinton Anderson’s method and there are no verbal cues.  And this way makes sense, too.  I rather like it.  And anyway, we all need to shut the heck up sometimes.)

I am also having to get used to the new moves I’m supposed to make while training Max to make his moves.  I enjoy that it’s body language that’s essential in communicating with horses. 

It’s kind of like learning short new dances for each skill I want to teach him.  In other words, what’s my body supposed to be doing so that Max will know what to do?  And like dancing together, one leads and the other follows.   

Lastly, there’s the equipment to work with.  In any new sport one has to get used to the equipment.  Whether its’ mitts, balls and bats, or sticks and strings and lead ropes and halters, it takes some practice and everyday “using” to get natural with it.

The next thing I need to do is re-make a list of the exercises on GRCG-I and RWC-I.  I made one a few weeks ago on an index card and put it in my pocket when I went to the barn each morning, but it became unreadable after being slipped in and out of my pocket for several days.  Before it completely faded away it was very helpful in keeping me focused on goals for the day. 

So, to move forward, I’ll remake my list of “exercises to practice” and make sure that I include the “touch and rub”…

Have a good ride,

Greenhorn

Seeking a Remedy for Lost Confidence

 I had a little “lost confidence” issue that grew into a big “lost confidence” issue after being thrown (fell off!) during a lesson last November.  (See previous blog entry.)  I had to do something to get my confidence back.  (This was now probably February.)  And I have to tell you that even though I was fine with riding Max right after my fall, there came a time when I began to UNINTENTIONALLY ALLOW Max to “bully” me a little on the ground, getting too in my space, not wanting to be led, etc.  My confidence regarding control began to erode quickly.   

In the saddle it felt like he was crow-hopping a little and rearing up just a little when I would cue him to a trot and/or canter.  I’m sure I was so nervous I was giving him all kinds of mixed signals and he just didn't know what I wanted.
I became more and more sensitive to every move he made.  I was way over analyzing every move he made.  Every move he made was making me a nervous wreck! 

I had to face it.  The wreck I had experienced in November had caught up with me.  I was miserable, wondering if I would ever be able to ride Max like I had before the incident.  But I kept going out, saddling him up and riding… 

That’s how it all started with me using Clinton Anderson’s dvds.  It seems like it was sometime in the spring when I saw on RFD-TV an episode that was the second part of a two-part dvd he had entitled Regaining Lost Confidence.  He was working with two women who had confidence issues, one with her horse on the ground and one with her horse in the saddle.  Perfect for me since I had lost confidence in BOTH situations.

I had to get the dvd set.  I wanted to see Part I also.  Let me just say right now that I am not blogging in conjunction with any of the horse people I talk about.  I don’t work for them or get paid by anyone.  I’m not a member of anyone’s “club” or whatever else they offer.

Okay. That said, I am a beginner and don’t advise anyone to try any of the activities I do with horses, or any of the activities that are on any trainer’s dvds or tv shows or clinics.  Horses are BIG and potentially very DANGEROUS!

 

Now, back to my lost confidence…  I found a used dvd set of Regaining Lost Confidence.  Watching the two women he worked with go through the exercises and regain their confidence with each step helped me to know I could get back out there and control Max on the ground, and I could get back in the saddle without being a nervous wreck.  If these two women could do it, I could do it!

I sent Max to the trainer for a tune up.  He probably didn’t need it, but if it helped my confidence I knew I needed to do it.  When he returned the trainer rode him in all the places I planned to ride him so I could see he wasn’t a raging, maniac, devil horse, and I got a lesson on him at home so I could be assured that some ancient curse stating that I would forever evoke rage in all horses I rode was not on my head. 

I don’t know how many times I watched, no studied, those two Regaining Lost Confidence dvds, (There are two in the set.) but every time I did I felt more and more like I could do it, too.  (I know Chris Cox offers a clinic especially for people who have lost their confidence.  I’d like to talk about this one in the future.)

But…since Clinton Anderson is the one I connected with first, that’s the one this blog will focus on first.

I kept riding Max.  I took it slowly and easily.  I was feeling better, but I needed to know more about handling horses.  Period. 

I was regaining my confidence, and I couldn't wait to learn more.  I came to own a set of his dvds called Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground – Series I.  (Recently I acquired GRCG-Series II and III.)  I started watching them.  No, I studied them.    

Now, you should know that Max was well trained.  Whoever trained Max, I have to thank.  Whether or not he was trained with Clinton Anderson’s method, I don’t know.  Although I swear that sometimes I think I hear Max sigh, “Oh, yeah, I remember this one.”

And so, I began my training…


Have a good ride,
Greenhorn