GOT IT...

I watched Leading Behind again.  We practiced it at a walk.  The trot wasn’t happening for us. 

Soooooo, I took that as a starting point and we practiced LB at the walk for two days.

To get the trot, Clinton Anderson says to move their feet in a circle then just turn and start jogging and let him come out of the circle behind your jog while his feet are still moving.

We walked with LB then I leaned forward and jogged – no trot from Max, so I spun around and moved him off into a lunge then changed directions, then changed directions again – then while his feet were moving I jogged off.  He stopped. 

Right away I moved him into a lunge, changed directions, then changed directions again. While his feet were still moving I turned and jogged off and lo and behold he trotted right behind me!  Hallelujah!  I kept trotting so he would get the idea that this is what I wanted then we stopped and rested. (I more than he.)

We rubbed and Good Boyed! 

Then, we did it again – Hallelujah! He trotted behind me.  We kept it up.  Whenever I led him around we practiced first walking then trotting. 

WE GOT IT!

Just let me tell you right now – If you weren’t in shape before you started teaching this exercise, you’ll be in shape after a few days of the LB exercise.  It is definitely exercise. 

I rode for an hour.  We trotted and posted lots, and cantered several times.  He got a little snarky and tried to get all crazy and show me he was ready to stop.  So I ORS-ed him and then turned him in circles one way then the other –then rode for 15 more minutes.  It was the best ride I’ve had since the new year!!  GID-DEE-UP!!

Have a good ride,

Greenhorn

Leading Behind...

We're Back!  Click back to the first few posts to see how I came to use Clinton Anderson's DownUnder Horsemanship method in order to train me to handle Max on the ground and to gain confidence in the saddle.

Leading Behind…

Max and I kept practicing through the holidays.  Yesterday we started on the Leading Behind lesson.  Max is fine with the walking and stopping, but he is refusing to trot when I jog.  At first I tried bump, bump, bumping the rope (This is not what I learned on CA’s dvd.)  I don’t know why I did it.  It didn’t work.

I abandoned the trotting part and went back to reinforcing the walking and stopping part.  He did very well.

Then, we practiced side-passing down the fence line.

Moving down the fence to the right (left foot crossing over right foot) he did pretty well.  Moving down the fence to the left (right foot over left foot) was not smooth or pretty.  We had lots of corrections to make all down the fence.  We practiced each way a few times.  It did get better each way with practice.

Max is now doing Lungeing for Respect Stage 2 pretty darn well.  We have come a long way on this one.

I need to work on getting him to roll back on his hind feet and make that 180 degree turn.  He’s almost there but he keeps trying to come forward about halfway through the change of direction.  I’ll watch that LFR-2 segment again this week.

But tonight I’m watching that Leading Behind segment again...

Have a good ride,

Greenhorn

Longer Sessions...

            See how Max and I got to this point using Clinton Anderson's methods by reading the first few posts.


LONGER SESSIONS...

             Max and I had a good, long session on Saturday.  On groundwork, we’re well into Clinton Anderson’s Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground-Series 2. 

We worked on backing with me lifting the clip under his chin and him backing.  He’s doing well with it.  We also backed with the touch and rub on the nose exercise.  He’s doing well with that one, too.  They’ll both require steady practice to get near perfect, but we’ll do the practice and make the grade.

We did changing eyes, we lunged a little.  We practiced side-passing slowly, slowly along the fence all the way down, then the other side all the way back.  (My arms were killing me half-way down the fence line.)  Again, it’s not perfect, but it’s a start.    

We practiced the touch and rub on the ground.  I’ve got it now.  I’m glad I stuck with it.  I was feeling so awkward in the beginning with this exercise.  No wonder Max wasn’t getting it.  But I’ve got it now and we’ve made great progress.

Our groundwork session lasted a litttle more than an hour.

Then, we had an hour-long ride.  It doesn’t sound very long, but it was for us.  I’m trying to slowly increase our training time both on the ground and in the saddle.  It'll take us a while to get into better shape and do really long sessions.  When under saddle, Max has a tendency to want to stop before I’m ready to stop, so we’re going to have to get over that.  And right now I'm thinking slowly increasing riding time is the way to work on that.

We practiced trotting and posting, we cantered and we practiced backing. 

We also yielded hindquarters at the standstill.  Since we’ve been doing the touch and rub at the hindquarters on the ground, we’re making much better progress with it in the saddle.  It's definitely worth doing on the ground.  The connection from the ground to the saddle is happening. 

While he usually gets it to the left, he doesn’t want to yield his hindquarters to the right when I’m in the saddle.  He tosses his head like crazy.  (It’s a bit unsettling.)  I’m not exactly sure what’s causing him to toss his head so much.  I try to make my signals clear and direct so there’s no confusion about what he’s expected to do.  I’m hoping this is just one of those examples of, “sometimes it gets worse before it gets better.” 

We both could use more long sessions…

Have a good ride

Greenhorn 

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

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

Anyone Else Using Clinton Anderson's DVDs?

***Read more about how Max and I came to use Clinton Anderson's Downunder Horsemanship methods, click back to the first few posts and see how we've progressed...


ANYONE ELSE USING CLINTON ANDERSON'S DVDS?



               Before I tell about our training experience today, I would like to ask anyone reading who is using Clinton Anderson’s training DVDs to feel free to tell us what you’re working on and how it’s going for you in the comment section.

Also, I read some good information on the http://www.horseforum.com
 website.  It really helped me to know more about what to look for while Max is lungeing at the canter.

I was glad to read that many who were commenting encourage cantering on the ground first to get the horse used to it and to teach correct leads.  Yea!  I’m doing something right. 

I originally went to the website to see if I could find out anything about horse chiropractors.  I was beginning to think maybe something was wrong with Max’s right shoulder since when I’m in the saddle doing the very little cantering that we do, 99%  of the time he takes off on the left lead. 

Does anyone know if horse chiropractors really help?  I mean really help?

When I canter him on the ground he’s not nearly as smooth on his right lead either.  On horseforum.com folks were saying that getting horses cantering on the ground helps get them used to using this gait.  Some also said that cantering on the ground is helpful in teaching correct leads.  More than one suggested cantering on the “bad” side more than on the “good” side.  Clinton Anderson also suggests that whenever there is one side that’s not as “good” as the other (this goes for any skill) to work that side two or three times as much as the other side.

Makes sense…  So we did that today, and I know that small improvement was made. 

I went back out this evening when it cooled off.  We lunged a little and Max is doing better all the time on that right lead.  I’m doing it twice as much on the right as on the left.  He still doesn’t look real smooth on the right.  I’m letting him go in big circles as someone suggested on horseforum.com. 

We also did sending.  He’s getting it, pretty well.  He trots through with lots of encouragement.  He still goes a too far around behind me when going to the left.  But I wiggle the rope to back him out and he gets back in position to come through to the right. 

Max is still yielding forequarters correctly to the right, and he really did better moving to the left.  Not yet pivoting on the left hind foot, but crossing his right foot over better and more consistently.

Run up and rub was fine.  Slap and tap was fine.

Anyone else working on any of these exercises?         Anyone…anyone…?

Have a good ride

Greenhorn

Progress On the Ground...

Max was great today.  He lunged at the canter more smoothly.  His canter seems a little less clumsy.  He knows to accelerate from a trot to a canter when I lift my hand and point.  I love that.  He takes the correct lead when he takes off 99% of the time.  Good Boy!

We worked on Sending.  I pointed, clucked and waved the stick with energy near his head and neck.  He didn’t move. 

So, I rotated the stick and string as if to start lungeing.  And whattayaknow?  He moved.  He trotted across and yielded.  Yea!  I guess he didn’t remember our struggle last night, or else he doesn’t hold a grudge! LOL –

What I discovered is this.  In the segment of the Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground-1 dvd about Sending, Clinton Anderson says with most horses you don’t need to move the stick in that big rotating motion to get them to move across in the Sending exercise.  He says usually, unless they’re really lazy and hard to get going, you’ll only need to create some energy with the stick near the head and neck.

Well…that’s us…lazy and hard to get going. 

I happened to remember this part of the instructions out in the pen when I realized Max needed more pressure to get moving.  And he did it. 

I also have to wiggle the rope for him to back up when he goes too far around me or gets too close.  I’m very proud that he moved his feet at the trot during the Sending.  It was great to know I was trained well enough to get him to do it!   

We worked a little on yielding forequarters, of course.  I don’t think there is ever a day that we don’t.  But I heard something interesting about Max.  The friend who guided me to Max in the first place mentioned that no one had really been able to get him to cross his feet over.  Wow!  That made me feel better.  No wonder it was taking so long.  But now… he’s pivoting on his right hind leg and crossing over his front foot to the right. 

To the left…still not so much…but it’s getting a little better each week.  I think he knows I’m not going to let it slide.

I continued to work on Clinton Anderson's "Run Up and Rub," and I did a little “Slap and Tap”.  These are both on the Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground – 2.  Neither of these exercises bothered Max at all.  He just stood there.  Good Boy.

Too hot (100+degrees-again) to ride today by the time we got through with groundwork exercises.

We continue to make progress on the ground…

Have a good ride,

Greenhorn

Speaking of Slow...

                By the way…for those of you just joining us, I like to watch the horse trainers on RFD TV.  I think they’re all pretty darn good.  I’m a “beginner all over again”, and right now, I’m using Clinton Anderson’s methods on my first horse ever.  I’m hoping he can train me on how to handle Max.  Take a look at a couple of my first entries to see how Max and I got to this point.

Back to speaking of slow…

I began working on the Sending exercise a few days ago.  I don’t know if it’s my signals or what but he’s about to go to sleep walking in front of me.  Also, he doesn’t go all the way across the gap between the fence and me.  He goes about half-way and turns and yields his hindquarters.  Help!

I’ll be studying that segment of the dvd tomorrow morning before I go out.

He’s trying though.  He’s looking at me and really paying attention.  My actions must not be clear.

Next Day:

I watched Yielding Forequarters again.  There’s something I’m not doing right for it to take so long for Max to go all the way around.  And I got it. 

I’m not being forceful enough driving him back when he goes forward instead of stepping across.  I’ve only been backing him a couple of steps, gently.  I’m not aggressively driving him back so he’ll remember the mistake.  Clinton Anderson says it’ll take forever if you do it like I’ve been doing it. 

He’s right.  Now I get it. 

Sometimes I have to re-watch the segment.  After I get the basic idea down of how to teach it, I have to re-watch so I can pick up all the “little” things that I don’t do at the beginning.  I watch the segment a couple of times.  I go out and introduce the skill to Max.   

Then, I come back and re-watch the segment, sometimes a few times, looking for answers to the questions I had while I was out doing the introductory lesson with Max.  So far, I’ve always found the answers right there in Clinton Anderson’s lesson.  Then, I go out to teach the skill to Max again, fully armed with the knowledge I need for Max to be successful. 

It’s normal.  It’s difficult to absorb everything after watching a lesson segment one or two times. 

And it helps to go out and do it, then come back in with particular answers to look for while re-watching.

Also, at the end of the segment he says don’t worry if it’s not perfect right now. The rest of the exercises will help this along.

Get across the main idea of crossing that front foot over the other one for at least one good step.

I’m also going to re-watch the Sending exercise segment.

Next Day:

            I re-watched Sending.  There must be something I’m missing.  I kept the pressure on as he crossed through the gap, and when he sped up I released it.  He was starting to trot, but was not really at a trot.  I want him to take off with some energy at a trot and continue to trot through the gap till I signal him to yield his hindquarters.

           

I’ll re-watch the segment.  I think I’ll also widen the gap.  Maybe he needs a little more space right now. 

He’s still trying…

Have good ride,

Greenhorn

A Bright Idea...?

               I watched the Lungeing for Respect-Stage I segment of the Clinton Anderson's Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground - 1 dvd again to brush up on the teaching part so as to help Max “get it” better.  He knows what I want now.  I’m sending clear messages with my body language and he’s not confused.  So, when I point, cluck and twirl my stick and he stands there looking at me like, “What?” I need to run straight toward him after that third twirl of the stick pointing, clucking and twirling until he moves.    

I rewrote my list of exercises to work on a couple of weeks ago and we’ve been making slow, but steady progress.

Yielding forequarters is coming along.  And I’m getting better at using the equipment, changing hands and timing on the touch and rub exercise.  He’s getting it, so I guess I’m doing okay.

We haven't really started working on Sending, but I just kind of got near the fence to see if he would go through when I pointed.  Max hasn't seemed to be afraid to go through any space I want him to go through, but he walked extreeeeemely slowly through the gap.  I do feel like my cues need to be clearer.  So I needed a refresher. 

Here again, he thinks he’s supposed to yield forequarters while walking through. 

              He’s doing that because as he’s coming through I tapped him on the shoulder in an effort to get him up to a trot, and he thought I meant to yield his forequarters.  I’ve got to point up high, bump, bump him in the correct direction while I’m creating energy with the stick near his neck and shoulder.  This worked a few times to get him to speed up.  He’s doing the Sending exercise, he’s just doing it at a snail’s pace!  (I don’t think we’d rate a B on this!)

Next Day:

I may have had a mental breakthrough today.  A bright idea…? 

Clinton Anderson says to do your groundwork first and things will go much more smoothly in the saddle.  As you know, I am really stuck riding at the trot.  I’m getting better at riding the trot but the canter still eludes me.  I just haven’t been able to grab my seat back at the canter and it makes me way too uncomfortable (afraid) to keep cantering as long as I need to in order for improvement to happen.

Max’s canter is not some fancy-schmancy Western Pleasure horse canter.  He’s got a yahoo-wallopin’-giddyup canter!  He seems a little clumsy, too, probably because he doesn’t get a chance to canter.  Therefore, he also doesn’t get a chance to make improvements in his gait and to slow it down. 

CA says, “Everybody wants their horse to have a nice slow canter but they never canter their horse.  In order to get a nice, slow canter you have to canter.”

Makes sense.
But since I’m too wary about cantering around, (TA-DAH!  Here comes the bright idea part!)  I decided to put the two ideas together and first canter him on the ground.  He needs it anyway.

I started to do this about a week ago to get some energy in his Lungeing for Respect-Stage I and it worked.  He’s lungeing with energy. 

Then, it came to me as I saw him start off a little clumsily, do some tripping, taking the wrong lead, going so fast, that I thought, “Hey, he needs to practice this, too!” 

If I could ask CA a question it would be, “Does this makes sense?  Will it work?”

Next Day:

Is it my imagination or when we did our little “canter on the ground” practice today was it a little slower right from the beginning?  I won’t say for sure. 

Today I felt like I was riding Max, not like he was taking me for a ride.

Next Day:

I just went out today with the intention of just working on the “canter on the ground” exercise.  It is so hot, I can’t stay out too long… 

Max is getting better, smoother.  He’s paying more attention.  He’s doesn’t really arc his body while lungeing.  I do bump his nose in when he looks out.  I figure by this time he needs to being paying attention to me.  And he is getting better at it.  But not enough to get an arc at the canter. 

Next Day:

We’re making good progress on the ground.  I think we’re doing the Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground – Series I exercises fairly well except for Sending.

 We’ve only worked on it a couple of times.  And I mean, a couple of times.  I need to get serious about it and work on Sending each day.  It’s on the list, but we just don’t seem to get to it.  The small amount of time we worked on it, Max did walk through the gap between the fence and me.  I’m hoping that by working on the take-off and energy in lungeing that we can transfer it to smooth sending. 

Also, I’ve worked on flexing and haven’t really talked about it here because Max did it well right away.  However, that said, I have probably not worked on it consistently enough. 

Note to self – Review flexing.  Work on Sending.

Riding is not going quite as quickly.  But I ride everyday and I’m getting better balance and feel more in control. 

And...I am still stuck at cruising at the trot on Riding With Confidence-I!

Have a nice ride -

Greenhorn