Last Post of the Year Unless...

**********Click back to the first few posts in August to see how Max and I came to use Clinton Anderson’s Downunder Horsemanship method to train me in handling Max on the ground and to regain my confidence in the saddle.

LAST POST OF THE YEAR UNLESS... 

            We’re still practicing Lungeing for Respect – Stage 2.  We’re getting pretty good at it.  Max understands what to do.  He turns better when changing from clockwise to counter-clockwise.  He is reluctant to make a smooth turn and change to going clockwise.  We keep working on it.

            We’re also still practicing side-passing.  Here again, he’s better at it going to the left than going to the right.  We’ll keep working.

            Due to weather and Christmas activities, I haven’t ridden much.  I’m still getting in at least one ride a week.  That isn’t helping me in making progress in the saddle, but it keeps my confidence up.

            Max and I will keep practicing our groundwork until after January first, and then start making progress again.

            So, this will be the last post of the year unless….........we somehow make big progress between now and January 1st…

            Have a good ride

            Greenhorn

Back to Short Sessions...

***Click back to the first few posts to read how Max and I started using RFD TV’s Clinton Anderson and his Downunder Horsemanship training method.  We've made great progress! 

BACK TO SHORT SESSIONS…

For the last couple of days I’ve returned to short sessions for my training.  Like I mentioned in the last post, Max and I are still on Clinton Anderson’s Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground – Series 2 – disc four.  We have three more exercises to go in this series:  leading behind, leading beside and turn and go.

We’ve been practicing side-passing and lungeing for respect-stage 2 in the afternoons this week.  We’ve had short sessions each day of 30 minutes to an hour.  It seems to work well for us like this. 

I’ve only had one ride this week though.  That won’t do.  I like to ride four to six days a week.

This week Max was reluctant to begin lungeing when I pointed and clucked, especially to the right for some reason.  So, we worked on it.  It took many tries, over a period of a few days for him to remember to "go" when I point and cluck.  But we’re getting it now about 90-95% of the time.  The other 5-10% of the time he gets it with slight encouragement.  So, that’s progress.

Clinton Anderson says you probably shouldn’t be doing lungeing for respect-stage 2 if your horse doesn’t “go” when you point and cluck in stage 1.  Max used to “go” when I pointed and clucked.  He just needs a refresher.  We had that couple of weeks in which we weren’t able to work, so he got a bit rusty.

We are working, slowly but steadily, on lungeing for respect-stage 2.  We’re really sloppy at it, but we’re correcting mistakes as they happen, then trying again. 

For example, Max and I are having a hard time with when we want to change direction, him stopping and getting his front end around quickly enough.  He wants to ignore me and the whole quick change of direction thing, so he keeps on in the same direction just trotting a little bit slower, and looking at me the whole time like he knows what I want, but wants to see if I’ll do it his way this time.  

Of course, I won’t, so I stop him, back him up by wiggling the rope because by this time he’s moved in closer to me, yield his hindquarters and start him in the other direction while keeping his shoulder out and away from me.

Like I said, we’re really sloppy, but we’ll keep practicing.  We’ve both got the time. 

Side-passing is going a little more smoothly than before.  We’re still on the fence and he’s still moving up to the fence frequently so that we have to back up and then continue the side-passing to the right.  To the left, he’s doing quite well.  Again, we’ll practice a little everyday.

I need to watch disc 4 to see how to do the last three exercises.  Hopefully, we can start those next week.

The short sessions are working for us again…

Have a good ride

Greenhorn

Training Takes a Back Seat...

** To read how Max and I came to use Clinton Anderson’s Downunder Horsemanship training methods click back to the first few posts…

TRAINING TAKES A BACK SEAT...

For the last three weeks other commitments have moved to the front of my activities forcing mine and Max’s training to take a back seat.

Looks like my plans for longer training sessions won’t be realized until after Christmas.  Until then, I’ll be doing short training sessions to keep Max and me in practice.  We’ll learn some new skills along the way, but our progress will probably not be very fast paced. 

We still need to complete disc four of Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground-Series 2.  We were there three weeks ago when other activities began to take my time. 

Since then, I haven’t had many rides, so no progress in the saddle.  We haven’t progressed on the ground either.  But we are doing just enough groundwork so we don’t get totally out of practice.

We’re going to begin working on the exercises on disc four of GRCG-2 next Monday. 

We’re experiencing some snags in lungeing for respect – stage 2.  Max is not rotating around on those hind feet and taking off in the other direction.  But we’re working on it. 

Hopefully, training will be taking a back seat for only a few more days…

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

Things To Remember...

Make sure your signals are black and white, no gray areas.  Don’t nag.  Success is usually right around the corner.  The problem is that most people quit right before the turn.  Sometimes things get worse before they get better.  Reward the slightest try.  These are all things Clinton Anderson says when discussing horse training.

These are all concrete instructions to remember as I’m working with Max. 

Today we made new progress in two areas.  First, the touch and rub exercise continues to improve.  We got two steps with Max crossing that hind foot over.  We kept at it for quite some time today and it was worth it.  We’ll try for three steps tomorrow.

We did a lot of backing today.  He’s backing much better in his new halter.  We practiced the four methods of backing, plus we practiced touch and rub on his nose.  He was reluctant at first, but got the hang of it.  He tried tossing his head and lowering it to get rid of my pressure on the halter knots, but I stuck with him, and we were successful.

We also practiced sidepassing on the fence.  This is out of order according to the presentation of the exercises in Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground-Series2, but I wanted him to cross those front feet over in a new exercise.  And he knew both the steps involved in the exercise.  There was no nagging.  No gray areas.  He’s not perfect at it, but we worked our way slowly down the pasture fence line.  Both ways.   The slightest try was rewarded.  And it showed up again that he was not as fond of crossing his feet over to the left.  But we kept it up anyway.

We had a short ride again.  We mainly practiced backing, trotting and posting and cantering.  It went well, just brief.  After practicing touch and rub on the ground, I flat forgot to practice yielding hindquarters in the saddle.

I’m going to work on increasing our riding time little by little.  We both need longer rides…

All of the above…worth remembering…

Have a good ride

Greenhorn

Progress After Katy...

After the trip to Katy for Clinton Anderson’s Walkabout Tour, I was re-pumped, ready to get home and make progress with my groundwork and riding.

I bought his halter and 14’ rope while I was at the show.  I was thinking that I can really use the extra control that this halter is supposed to give.  It uses stiff rope and four knots across the nose.

I liked the 14’ training rope because it had a nice big clip that’s easy to open.  The one I have been using is a pain in the neck.  It’s the kind of fastener that’s not even a clip.  You have to twist it around to open it.  Most of the time it won’t twist.  I finally had to clip another clip that opens easily to it so I can get it open and off and on the halter quickly.  It made a really heavy, bulky hunk of metal under Max’s chin, and it was hard to manage.  It worked, but it was far from ideal.

I began using my new halter and rope this week.  It works great.  I do think I’m getting better results with the stiffer, knotted halter.  The clip on the rope works easily.

Max and I, again, have taken a step backwards in yielding forequarters to the left.  I know I said I was going to leave it alone for a while, but it’s hard to leave alone.  One thing Clinton said at the tour was, “Sometimes things get worse before they get better.”  He said many people quit when they get worse and don’t work through to the “better”.  So, I’m going to keep working on it.  I’m not leaving it alone…yet… 

We are making good progress with the touch and rub exercise.  We worked on it for a couple of days this past week.  I’m still a little awkward with it every once in a while, but most times I’m giving clear signals and we’re getting it. 

We’ve got one step across pretty consistently.  Now I’m working on more steps.  Max doesn’t like to cross his feet over, so it’s always a challenge.

I had a very short ride today.  I needed to ride though, no matter how briefly, to keep my confidence going.  It was a good ride.  We trotted, backed, cantered a couple of times, practiced the one-rein stop and that was about it.  I need to get some long rides going again to make real progress in the saddle.

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

#1-What Is TVhorsetalk?

So, what is TVhorsetalk?  I like watching all the horse trainer shows on RFD-TV.  A few years ago I discovered that there were several popular horse trainers with regular shows.   (I know I’m a little behind everyone else.)  Clinton Anderson, Chris Cox, Craig Cameron, Julie Goodnight, Ken McNabb and Ryan Gingerich are a few. 

Who knew that while I had been working and living in the big city all these years that there was a whole horse world of trainers and clinicians going on out here?  They’re all good.  I have watched all of their shows and have learned from each one. 
We didn't get RFD-TV in the city.  Now I don't get enough of it! 

TVhorsetalk is about the experiences I’m having as a BEGINNER using the techniques I learn from the TV horse trainers.

            Did I mention that I’m a lifelong horse lover?  I love everything about them.  I like watching shows about them, reading about them, talking about them, watching them, watching others work with them and ride them, and I love riding them myself, too.  Badly, but happily, riding them. 

            And a few years ago, when I knew getting my first horse was going to happen, but was still a little way in the future, I saw the clinician (new word for me) on RFD-TV named Clinton Anderson.  He was really good, both training the horse and explaining how he did it.  At the end of his show they listed locations of his upcoming tour stops.   
             I went, I saw it live, and I loved it.  I boldly ventured to think, “Boy, when I get a horse, maybe I can do some of this!”  I mean, who knew?  I never knew all this stuff about horses, but it made absolute sense.  That’s been a few years ago. 

            Fast forward to now.  I have moved to the country, out in the woods, with plenty of space, and I acquired my FIRST horse.  (The one my family had when I was a kid was really my brother’s horse.)

            And I still love to watch all the horse people on tv train horses… and train people who ride horses…

Last September I got Max.  I wanted a ten to twenty year old dead broke beautiful golden palomino quarter horse about 14 to 14.2 hands high.  Max is a six year old, pretty darn broke, (more on this later) pretty nice-looking, pinto grade quarter horse about 15.2 hands high. 
And I love him.

I decided I'd use the information and techniques I'd been watching on RFD-TV in order to become the leader of the pair of Max and me, and to improve my practically non-existent skills. 

I have a few background entries first so you'll know where I'm coming from.  And Clinton Anderson is the first one I'll explore because he's the first one I connected with.  (See later posts for explanation.) 

I’ve been keeping a log as I have been following Clinton Anderson’s Round Penning, Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground-Series I and Riding with Confidence-Series I.  I’ll post one or two entries per day until I get caught up with “real time”.  You're welcome to share our journey through TVhorsetalk as Max and I follow Clinton Anderson's method.  I'm looking forward to extraordinary results! 

Have a good ride!

Greenhorn