Yesterday we had horse project at 4-H. I was looking forward to a great day with Lady- and we did start out nicely. She was really relaxed on the ground. Her trot was nice and slow. I got up and did my stubbies (three times around the arena now- yay!), and did some trotting with her, and she did wonderfully! But then, Mrs. Miller put her on the 22' line, and started doing circles with me at the trot. When we started doing the circles with a rider on her back, Lady blew up. She was bracing, bending the opposite way I was, trying to do straight lines instead of circles, wringing her tail, pinning her ears...the whole bit. We tried just getting her to relax- no luck.
I ended up falling off of her. She did what Lida Parelli calls the "dolphin"- where the horse starts to canter, but the head goes done and the hind end goes every way it shouldn't go. It actually kind of looks like they're hopping when they do this. Lady did that. And I fell off. I landed on my knuckles, with my back all twisted up. No damage done though, I think. I'm just super sore right now.
Anyway, Mrs. Miller had me go sit down for a while, and she worked with Lady for a bout 20 minutes. I think this might have been a mistake. Right brain Extroverts need short sessions. But there certainly was no good note to end on. She didn't want to ANYTHING yesterday. SO I don't know what we should've done. I'm kind of of the mindset now that I don't really have any business working with Lady...she's to advanced a horse for me. But then I go back to thinking that she's good for me to work with, because we both learn so much....
I got back on after Mrs. Miller finally got her to want to relax. She was much better...but I don't know if it was because she was tired or she had actually thought something out. She had an hours rest before the next 4-Her go on her, and she did fine for her.
Anyway...not a very successful day. At all. I looked at the Do's and Don'ts for a Right Brain Extrovert, and we did pretty much everything right- except for the length of the session. That may have been our whole problem. I don't know. I think I need to chew on all of it for a few more days.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Synchronization and Grammar
I was going to title this post "Hung out with Buster today...". But that got me thinking...what is the proper way to say that? Obviously, "Hanged out with Buster today..." doesn't work. Neither does "Hunged". I had to ask the Dictionary- aka, my mother.
She said that "Hung" is actually the proper way to say it. Still doesn't sound right to me though. How about this instead:
"Associated with Buster today..."
Or:
"Mingled with Buster today..."
Whatever. Seeing as how this post is half about grammar now, I've renamed the post. x)
ANYWAY- getting on to the horses...
So I 'hung' out with Buster this afternoon. I was actually planning on filming my level 1:2 audition and just seeing how it would go, but the wind was brutal!! All of my obstacles were going everywhere, no matter how much I weighted them down. So we basically just played today. His yoyo was absolutely fantastic, circles were bad again though. I emailed Pat and Ralph Moses (2 Star Parelli Instructors that we've worked with a few times) about circles. I'm hoping they'll reply soon.
I did a ton of synchronization with him today, which he loved. We worked on trot to back up some, but he wanted to canter so bad, so we did some of that too. We would canter down the length of the arena, stop, do a 180, and then take off back the other way. I also tried cantering with him, and then stopping and crouching down. He would stop, and then tiptoe over and put his head down my mine. We focused on bringing our energies up and down really fast.
And then!!! We did the most awesome thing- we sidepassed together! I would stand right next to him, facing the same direction as he was, and I would use my carrot stick to moves his front and hind ends over. He picked up on it right away, and we got about 5 steps sidepassing together! He had a lot of trouble with it on the right side, which didn't surprise me, but that's something we'll be working on more this spring! It was pretty exciting. :P
That was pretty much it. I'm a little bummed that I didn't get to film my audition, but the fact that we got that sidepass made me feel a lot better about today. We're getting more and more warmer weather streaks, so hopefully I can get back to some regular schedule with him.
She said that "Hung" is actually the proper way to say it. Still doesn't sound right to me though. How about this instead:
"Associated with Buster today..."
Or:
"Mingled with Buster today..."
Whatever. Seeing as how this post is half about grammar now, I've renamed the post. x)
ANYWAY- getting on to the horses...
So I 'hung' out with Buster this afternoon. I was actually planning on filming my level 1:2 audition and just seeing how it would go, but the wind was brutal!! All of my obstacles were going everywhere, no matter how much I weighted them down. So we basically just played today. His yoyo was absolutely fantastic, circles were bad again though. I emailed Pat and Ralph Moses (2 Star Parelli Instructors that we've worked with a few times) about circles. I'm hoping they'll reply soon.
I did a ton of synchronization with him today, which he loved. We worked on trot to back up some, but he wanted to canter so bad, so we did some of that too. We would canter down the length of the arena, stop, do a 180, and then take off back the other way. I also tried cantering with him, and then stopping and crouching down. He would stop, and then tiptoe over and put his head down my mine. We focused on bringing our energies up and down really fast.
And then!!! We did the most awesome thing- we sidepassed together! I would stand right next to him, facing the same direction as he was, and I would use my carrot stick to moves his front and hind ends over. He picked up on it right away, and we got about 5 steps sidepassing together! He had a lot of trouble with it on the right side, which didn't surprise me, but that's something we'll be working on more this spring! It was pretty exciting. :P
That was pretty much it. I'm a little bummed that I didn't get to film my audition, but the fact that we got that sidepass made me feel a lot better about today. We're getting more and more warmer weather streaks, so hopefully I can get back to some regular schedule with him.
Friday, February 24, 2012
To Cavalia!!
YYYYYES!!!!!! We are going to Cavalia!! Our 4-H group is going. We're going to have sucky seats, but who cares??? We're going to see the most awesomest show ever!!!
Okay, I'm done now. :)
AS far as riding goes, I've had a terrible week. The guilt is killing me. The weather has been stellar. But the piles of schoolwork are impossible to get through. I understand why momma's scheduling so hard though...as soon as the weather gets nice for good, I won't be in the house for anything but meals and sleep. :)
Okay, I'm done now. :)
AS far as riding goes, I've had a terrible week. The guilt is killing me. The weather has been stellar. But the piles of schoolwork are impossible to get through. I understand why momma's scheduling so hard though...as soon as the weather gets nice for good, I won't be in the house for anything but meals and sleep. :)
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Oh!! And my heavens, I can't believe I forgot to mention!!
I might be going to see a Cavalia show!!!
*SCREAM*
Ahem....I am calm now. :P
Cavalia is similar to Cirque du Soleil- only it's all about horses! Here's the description on the site:
"Cavalia is a fresh mix of equestrian and performing arts, multimedia and special effects. Conceived by Normand Latourelle and often labelled an equestrian ballet, Cavalia is a spectacular and moving tribute to the relationship between men and horses throughout history, a dream of freedom, cooperation and harmony. In a fairy tale setting filled with poetry and emotion, the show innovatively integrates acrobatics, dance, aerial stunts, live music and equestrian arts. Under the largest Big Top on earth, a 50-metre stage permits the horses to express themselves in all their splendour, nobility and strength, often completely free."
I watched some videos and looked at some pictures, and it looks so beautiful!! There was one video where a lady has eight horses at liberty on the stage. She was having them circle around her (circling game), and was having them pivot, change direction, come in, etc. It cool to see how she used her body- the same way Parelli teaches. Step back and send the other way to change direction, step back and disengage the hind quarters to come in....the only cue I missed was the pivot. I'm not sure how she got them to do that. She was so refined that it was really hard to see exactly how she was doing it.
Anyway, the horses look amazing, the costumes look amazing, the place looks amazing, the emotion look amazing.....I'm going. Yes, it's pricey, but I'm going. I'm not sure how I'll get there, but I'm going. :P We're hoping to have a bunch of people from 4-H go to, so maybe we can get a group rate?
I might be going to see a Cavalia show!!!
*SCREAM*
Ahem....I am calm now. :P
Cavalia is similar to Cirque du Soleil- only it's all about horses! Here's the description on the site:
"Cavalia is a fresh mix of equestrian and performing arts, multimedia and special effects. Conceived by Normand Latourelle and often labelled an equestrian ballet, Cavalia is a spectacular and moving tribute to the relationship between men and horses throughout history, a dream of freedom, cooperation and harmony. In a fairy tale setting filled with poetry and emotion, the show innovatively integrates acrobatics, dance, aerial stunts, live music and equestrian arts. Under the largest Big Top on earth, a 50-metre stage permits the horses to express themselves in all their splendour, nobility and strength, often completely free."
I watched some videos and looked at some pictures, and it looks so beautiful!! There was one video where a lady has eight horses at liberty on the stage. She was having them circle around her (circling game), and was having them pivot, change direction, come in, etc. It cool to see how she used her body- the same way Parelli teaches. Step back and send the other way to change direction, step back and disengage the hind quarters to come in....the only cue I missed was the pivot. I'm not sure how she got them to do that. She was so refined that it was really hard to see exactly how she was doing it.
Anyway, the horses look amazing, the costumes look amazing, the place looks amazing, the emotion look amazing.....I'm going. Yes, it's pricey, but I'm going. I'm not sure how I'll get there, but I'm going. :P We're hoping to have a bunch of people from 4-H go to, so maybe we can get a group rate?
The Spanish Walk
Okay, so Kate could give you a much better explanation, but the Spanish Walk is basically a dressage thing, where the horse throws out his front legs as high and as far as he can. Beautiful! Here's a pic with a pretty good example:
And on side note- that horse is gorgeous!!!
And here's a video I found on youtube. Looks like it's made by a fellow Parelli person! :D I think this is the one that Kate is basing her method off of.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suijxnM7XBQ&feature=fvsr
And for some strange reason, the program isn't letting me copy as a link.....grrr...I hate computers. x)
And on side note- that horse is gorgeous!!!
And here's a video I found on youtube. Looks like it's made by a fellow Parelli person! :D I think this is the one that Kate is basing her method off of.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suijxnM7XBQ&feature=fvsr
And for some strange reason, the program isn't letting me copy as a link.....grrr...I hate computers. x)
Lady Miller and Tricks
Worked with Lady Miller at 4-H yesterday. We were both much more relaxed than last week. I started on the ground and did a few things with her, and she never got finicky about it. I worked with her on dropping her head, and leading by the front legs.
I mounted her slowly and carefully today. I made sure to watch her face to see when she was getting impatient, crabby, or bored. She never tried to nip when I got on!! That's a first for her!
Riding went well. We did stubbies twice around the arena so I could stretch, and then we started on trot work, leg yields, and ground poles. Casey told me that she had worked with Lady earlier in the week, and she had found that when she asked Lady to trot, and then immediately relaxed (but not enough to make Lady stop), Lady would go into her nice, slow trot and keep it for a while. It made perfect sense- why haven't I thought of it before?? Anyway, it worked really well! I would ask Lady to trot by bringing my energy up and moving My seat a little faster, and then immediately after she picked up the trot, I would sit down into her back just the slightest bit- not enough to stop her, just enough to slow her. She went into her beautiful, western pleasure, riding-on-water trot- and she kept it almost the entire way around the arena! She's doing so good!
I also got to ride Lacy for a few minutes. Heavens....you look at her and you see her being so good, and then you get on and you realize just how much you have to do to keep that pony focused! But she's so sweet! She's really become attached to Casey...she kept on trying to run back to her every time I asked her to trot.
And in other news- Kate is teaching Lady to do the Spanish Walk! From the ground! She's looked at dozens of youtube videos, and she started training Lady a few days ago using the method she thought looked the best. For now, she's just asking Lady to lift the leg when the pressure is applied. She said she found a little pressure point right behind Lady's knee. Lady's getting it really well! Every time she picks up her leg, Kate picks up her own leg, and says "Step". Then Lady gets a treat. She's already picking up her leg when Kate's getting ready to ask for it, so I think they'll start working on getting some height and some distance soon.
Buster's bow isn't going very well. He's more interested in the treat, rather than learning something new. Little introvert. x) I'm going to do some reading and see what I can find.
I think that's it for now. The weather this week is supposed to be crummy, so I doubt we'll get to ride much. :(
I mounted her slowly and carefully today. I made sure to watch her face to see when she was getting impatient, crabby, or bored. She never tried to nip when I got on!! That's a first for her!
Riding went well. We did stubbies twice around the arena so I could stretch, and then we started on trot work, leg yields, and ground poles. Casey told me that she had worked with Lady earlier in the week, and she had found that when she asked Lady to trot, and then immediately relaxed (but not enough to make Lady stop), Lady would go into her nice, slow trot and keep it for a while. It made perfect sense- why haven't I thought of it before?? Anyway, it worked really well! I would ask Lady to trot by bringing my energy up and moving My seat a little faster, and then immediately after she picked up the trot, I would sit down into her back just the slightest bit- not enough to stop her, just enough to slow her. She went into her beautiful, western pleasure, riding-on-water trot- and she kept it almost the entire way around the arena! She's doing so good!
I also got to ride Lacy for a few minutes. Heavens....you look at her and you see her being so good, and then you get on and you realize just how much you have to do to keep that pony focused! But she's so sweet! She's really become attached to Casey...she kept on trying to run back to her every time I asked her to trot.
And in other news- Kate is teaching Lady to do the Spanish Walk! From the ground! She's looked at dozens of youtube videos, and she started training Lady a few days ago using the method she thought looked the best. For now, she's just asking Lady to lift the leg when the pressure is applied. She said she found a little pressure point right behind Lady's knee. Lady's getting it really well! Every time she picks up her leg, Kate picks up her own leg, and says "Step". Then Lady gets a treat. She's already picking up her leg when Kate's getting ready to ask for it, so I think they'll start working on getting some height and some distance soon.
Buster's bow isn't going very well. He's more interested in the treat, rather than learning something new. Little introvert. x) I'm going to do some reading and see what I can find.
I think that's it for now. The weather this week is supposed to be crummy, so I doubt we'll get to ride much. :(
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