Update on Training

The weekends are awesome! We don't have as much time limit and we can work each horse for as long as they each need. Some times that is for an hour of long riding where you can work on more difficult things, or it might be a good 30 minutes of training on the basics. It's a good training session if the human and the horse are calmer at the end of the session than they were at the beginning. 

Shine: We love having weekend time to ride together. I tacked Shine up in his stall and walked him out to the field to mount. He stood calmly while I mounted. I rode him at the walk around the field, picturing myself riding in the arena that we hope to work on this Spring/Summer. The field is still uneven, but he doesn't seem to mind. We then trotted, I have been working on keeping my balance centered and ready in case he stumbled. The bird were calling the trees, but he stayed focused on me. We even did some cantering. While cantering, I'm working on him staying on the path I tell him to. He has a tendency to canter on the diagonal rather than keeping his hind end in the right alignment with his head, neck, and front feet. He only does it on the same side, so I think he's trying to get to the other end of the field because he stayed lined up when I direct him over there...We also worked some in the barnyard. Since it has sand, the footing stays more even and is easier to ride in all the time. It helps to work on things with Shine in different places on the property. He learns he can be calm anywhere. I like the barnyard because it's fenced and we can work on hard stops and turns. He finally understands the rollback and has done it perfect several times in a row...I also had time to work with him walking past the house, like he does when we go get the mail out front. He was having a tendency to not want to walk back toward the ranch area when we were on the way back, so I walked a short distance and turned around then walked a short distance back and turned around. I want to work on that a few more times before we just walk straight out to get the mail...Shine is also over his "fear" of plastic bags. There were a few of them blowing across the yard, so later in the day, I put on his halter and we went to grab them from the field. He followed along right beside me and even stood still while we worked a plastic bag through the fence that had become caught on the opposite side.

Soot: He has been mostly calm during the weeknight training sessions, but over the weekend we were able to get him moving. Once he was moving he didn't want to stop. Heehee! We didn't do any pulling yet this weekend, but we did get the saddle on him again. The stirrups are more English style and come off quite easily when he's cantering with no person on his back. They flew off a few times. We got him cantering which he probably finds easier when he can really see where he's going. We still don't have arena or area lights to use during the dark evenings. He wanted to keep stopping when we started off in the round pen, but we kept him going and then he didn't want to stop. We worked on having him continue to change directions and stay out away from us, so he could really pick up the canter. We worked him until he wanted to stop, then we kept him going for a few extra minutes. When we were cooling him off, I mounted up and rode in the saddle at the walk while we lunged. That saddle is different than the other saddles we use, so it will help the more comfortable I am riding in it. I think we'll do that during his cool down for the next few times we use it. At first I was pulling on his mane to keep balanced, it felt like I was moving all over. Soon though, I realized I wasn't pulling anymore. It takes some getting used to because his stride is so much longer than Shine's. He was much better when walking him back to his stall at the end.

Serita: She still comes to greet me when I enter her stall. Getting her halter on is easy. She actually puts her nose into it sometimes. I am still working her on the basics having her step forward when I tap her hip and doing that multiple times in a row. The key there is to keep tapping until she actually steps forward then stop tapping immediately. Sometimes I tap for a long time before she moves forward and other times she steps forward right away. When cleaning up her stall the other day she came forward and reach out like she was trying to get me to leave. I decided that to break this habit, before it even got started, I would tie her up while I clean. She stands calmly the whole time and will let me walk right up to her afterwards or even let her loose from outside the stall. After she tried to pull away from me when I walked her outside her pen, I haven't taken her out again. I have instead practiced leading her around her pen, stopping and moving, then stopping again to get her to behave correctly in the controlled environment before taking her out again. I am setting her up to succeed and answer correctly every time. She continues to improve with holding her feet up while I clean them and will stand still most of the time even when I just put the lead rope up over her back. She has a tender stomach and twitches a lot when I brush her under there. I am working on having her stand still by brushing her softly and then stopping before she moves away. Her tendency to move is slowly improving for sure.