So Ernie and I had the pleasure of spending half a day yesterday 1-2-1 with Rosie Jones, one of Kelly Marks' IH recommended associated. Rosie is an expert on backed issues, in particular napping.
Ernie enjoyed his summer rest quite a lot and has been a bit bolshy since my return so this was definitely perfect timing. I think the problem started when I took him on a 3 hr plus hack!
Anyway so Rosie came down to Mascal's.
First we took Ernie up to Taylors to do some groundwork and generally acquaint ourselves (and get quite wet!). And have a go at one of his favourite naps, re-entering the gate. Firstly, we put him in his new Dually and started getting the back up. Rosie showed me how to work the pressure/release process more effectively, the key being both strength and then the speed of release once willingness shown, though quite often I just wound him up at first, but we achieved more willing reverses than I've ever seen him do.
Once we had achieved some willingness and acceptance of the halter Rosie suggested long-lining him with two lunge reins. This is driving him from behind, almost as driven a cart, but from the ground. After a little sensitising of his hocks to the lines via turns on the ground, he reacted very very well to Rosie's commands. We did figure of eights, forward and back, and in/out of the gates. Me too! Rosie then tried out the shaker, a nice piece of high-tech for driving nappers forward, a plastic coke bottle with stones in. One shake and he does his bat out of hell with Rosie attached. Use sparingly! I have to say I really enjoyed long-lining, think I will defo do more.
Then Rosie got on him with a normal bridle, he was much less responsive to directional command, particularly "go back" so we attached the reins to the dually and "hey presto". Maybe its the riding school years, maybe Daddy's concrete mittens, but is overly definitely desensitised to his bit.
Next we took him to the woods - still in his dually I add - his bit unattached to reins. Rosie backed him from MM car park. We managed to get to the gate, before he showed his colours, think we took about 10 mns here, then we took him up to the top of the first fill where he has been particularly naughty over last week.
This was a long session much to the surprise of passing riders. Anyway Rosie slowly establish a weaving exercise. So when he naps, we stand and calm, then with one hand lead a tight turn, at least 90 degrees, once achieved do the opposite - very exaggerated movement, leaning motor-bike like with the turn - nominal if any leg, only to support the bend. Keep this up until he offers straight, stop and praise him. Do it again. Then let him start moving forward. We also carried the shaker here and if got really stubbon then shook it, first following from ground, then in the hand of the rider - both of us. Always remembering to be balanced and let him go when he ran.
I think we spent an hour in about 100m of joydens, stopping, turning weaving, shaking, trotting away, repeating etc. Ernie engaged with relative honesty, and by the last few times he was almost walking straight out of the weave and moving forward. :). I had the pleasure of doing it myself as well. Rosie has left me a lot of tips and I'm looking forward to working, both on ground and on saddle.
I am going to try and ride him more on dually at least for schooling - until I've achieved a better "stop" - which worked ok away from home in the woods but towards it was a lot more difficult.
A technical observation too, his saddle needs refitting. I felt good here having worked this out myself and already sorted and booked. Rosie thinks this will help his mind too.
Tips
1. break it down into things you can win - therefore avoid the fight
2. praise
3. variation and more leading, even with hack
4. school sometimes in the dually
5. it is ok to get off to pass points of stress when riding out
6. hack in company, but lead
7. when he naps, no legs, right now he reacts against them
8. when weaving only focus on the turn
9. release has to be exaggerated and immediate
We haven't cured things but we have an opportunity to train them out without conflict. This is central to my first promise on taking Ernie so I'm happy. I have always wanted to do some proper instructed horsemanship, long before I had my own horse, and now I have. In fact it was my http://www.leadchange.com/ experiences that told me horses had to come back to my life. I can't express how much I enjoyed that morning. This is why I ride, this is why I so wanted Ernie. It is worth all the misbehavior to be able to experience days such as these! (Though we now move on of course).
Happy days....
The continuing learning curve that is my life with Ernie
Friday, 26 August 2011
Sunday, 14 August 2011
The good, the (slightly) bad and the dreamy ...
It's been a while.... and lot's to tell. We have some real progress, an illness scare and my first absence.
So I've just been on holiday. The emotional envelope to that first concerned-owner absence was the dreaded strangles. Thankfully full symptoms never manifesting (limited to lymph swelling beneath the jaw), and cleared my vets both before and after holidays, but some hairy moments in between. The lowest moment was definitely arriving back a Stansted and fearing the worst, noting his swelling had burst two days before. But all said and done, we're good. God knows what caused it, but it wasn't as bad as it might have been and he confirmed non-contagious. All breathe long sigh of relief.
Notwithstanding this, he seems to have "happily" managed his couple of weeks between turn-out, horse-walker and staff lunging. In fact he seems to have relished the rest.
Anyway back to the good stuff....
About 10 days before going away we suddenly worked out how to establish and maintain a proper school canter. Ok it needs refining, but it is now there, and it is there whenever asked for. Can't believe it. He has such a light canter (which I knew from hacking) which sometimes feels like flight as he covers so much distance with one stride. So we quickly dropped in a Prelim 18 and interdressage WTC test before we went away, all video'd for posterity, lest it all dissappear or be forgotten in my absence (by me I hasten to add not the big E). See youtube. But no.... Today my teacher noted the best canter she had ever seen him do, both on the straight track and 20m circle. It seems so common place to state it here, but we have to remember this has seemed some holy grail for what seems so long. And we've done it our way, gently and smoothly, without a fight, domination or coercion... this why I got my own horse. And as if by magic the bucking has almost completely dissappeared too. I am smiling a lot these days.
I rode when away in France, three very different horses which I have ridden before and loved, still loved them but they really weren't my Ernie and they seemed hard work by comparison. That is the school horse, I should note they are very capable talented animals. In the last weekend I taught myself to leg-yield in canter and whilst this was quite a feeling in itself it had the interesting side effect of so engaging the horse's hind quarters that I felt an unbelievable strong impulsion that I have never felt before (really like there was a force behind me, lifting me and driving us forward, I've read about this but what a feeling).
Having got over the sickness scare I'm pleased to say we're back on the road: I was pleased to discover our progress remained fresh on my return, Sophie has been around to ride him which is really good for him, and he has been treated to a three-and-a-quarter hour hack (mascals, tile kiln lane, piggeries, cabbage farm, golf-course, joydens, chalk woods and then the whole thing in reverse). It should be noted he was very tired and I think his muscles a little sore this morning, though he (very honestly) still carried around my lesson up at Taylors.
He remains a source of wonderment to me, as I have said before he is waiting for me to work out how to ask. That said, I think I can see how we will start to focus on improving through this winter, however for now the rest of this summer is for enjoying!
One small cloud, he rather hurt a small boy's finger this morning - bruised and broke skin I think. I felt terrible, especially when the boy was still crying very loudly 20mins later... needless to say I apologised quite a lot (perhaps a bit much) though I have to say I don't really think it was Ernie's fault particularly. I think he'd been trying to give him a polo whilst I was talking to the mother. I have to say she was very understanding and supportive. That can be trouble with a busy and very public yard.
We have some great highlights ahead, the MM summer show, definitely some jumping there are probably some "handsome gelding" again, so need to do some more in-hand. Also the MMRC dressage the next weekend where we're booked for Intro B and Premin 7.
I am going to have a session with Kelly Marks' reps too to try and find a route through the napping - which to be honest is really really reduced, but I want to do this with them. I promised myself. Rosie Jones coming on the 26th, so lets see.
So bring it all on. Watch the big E take on the world! For he can for sure.
So I've just been on holiday. The emotional envelope to that first concerned-owner absence was the dreaded strangles. Thankfully full symptoms never manifesting (limited to lymph swelling beneath the jaw), and cleared my vets both before and after holidays, but some hairy moments in between. The lowest moment was definitely arriving back a Stansted and fearing the worst, noting his swelling had burst two days before. But all said and done, we're good. God knows what caused it, but it wasn't as bad as it might have been and he confirmed non-contagious. All breathe long sigh of relief.
Notwithstanding this, he seems to have "happily" managed his couple of weeks between turn-out, horse-walker and staff lunging. In fact he seems to have relished the rest.
Anyway back to the good stuff....
About 10 days before going away we suddenly worked out how to establish and maintain a proper school canter. Ok it needs refining, but it is now there, and it is there whenever asked for. Can't believe it. He has such a light canter (which I knew from hacking) which sometimes feels like flight as he covers so much distance with one stride. So we quickly dropped in a Prelim 18 and interdressage WTC test before we went away, all video'd for posterity, lest it all dissappear or be forgotten in my absence (by me I hasten to add not the big E). See youtube. But no.... Today my teacher noted the best canter she had ever seen him do, both on the straight track and 20m circle. It seems so common place to state it here, but we have to remember this has seemed some holy grail for what seems so long. And we've done it our way, gently and smoothly, without a fight, domination or coercion... this why I got my own horse. And as if by magic the bucking has almost completely dissappeared too. I am smiling a lot these days.
I rode when away in France, three very different horses which I have ridden before and loved, still loved them but they really weren't my Ernie and they seemed hard work by comparison. That is the school horse, I should note they are very capable talented animals. In the last weekend I taught myself to leg-yield in canter and whilst this was quite a feeling in itself it had the interesting side effect of so engaging the horse's hind quarters that I felt an unbelievable strong impulsion that I have never felt before (really like there was a force behind me, lifting me and driving us forward, I've read about this but what a feeling).
Having got over the sickness scare I'm pleased to say we're back on the road: I was pleased to discover our progress remained fresh on my return, Sophie has been around to ride him which is really good for him, and he has been treated to a three-and-a-quarter hour hack (mascals, tile kiln lane, piggeries, cabbage farm, golf-course, joydens, chalk woods and then the whole thing in reverse). It should be noted he was very tired and I think his muscles a little sore this morning, though he (very honestly) still carried around my lesson up at Taylors.
He remains a source of wonderment to me, as I have said before he is waiting for me to work out how to ask. That said, I think I can see how we will start to focus on improving through this winter, however for now the rest of this summer is for enjoying!
One small cloud, he rather hurt a small boy's finger this morning - bruised and broke skin I think. I felt terrible, especially when the boy was still crying very loudly 20mins later... needless to say I apologised quite a lot (perhaps a bit much) though I have to say I don't really think it was Ernie's fault particularly. I think he'd been trying to give him a polo whilst I was talking to the mother. I have to say she was very understanding and supportive. That can be trouble with a busy and very public yard.
We have some great highlights ahead, the MM summer show, definitely some jumping there are probably some "handsome gelding" again, so need to do some more in-hand. Also the MMRC dressage the next weekend where we're booked for Intro B and Premin 7.
I am going to have a session with Kelly Marks' reps too to try and find a route through the napping - which to be honest is really really reduced, but I want to do this with them. I promised myself. Rosie Jones coming on the 26th, so lets see.
So bring it all on. Watch the big E take on the world! For he can for sure.
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