GETTING BACK IN SHAPE!

FIRST “CONDITIONING SESSION” OF 2017

RANT ON: Personal “Pet Peeve” before we get started: Folks who contact us about Cearra (or any project horse) and ask to come see her and then when we give them options to do so we get a “that won’t work for me so just keep me informed.” Um, NO! It happened again. A “professional” contacted us saying she wanted to come see the horse. We asked some screening questions (we always do) and then gave her a variety of options. She then says “Tuesday.” Nothing else. Well he have another family coming out Tuesday and since we don’t want anyone to feel rushed we gave this “professional” some options. Got the above quoted answer. When we asked for some suggestions we got nothing. Sigh. Fired. Just because someone says they are a “professional” doesn’t mean they actually have a clue on how to act professional. Just…fired. RANT OFF.

CONDITIONING SESSION: After yesterday we decided it was time to get Cearra (along with Argent and Ronan) back into shape both mentally and physically. We worked from home today so we “snuck out” and headed to a local arena to work with the three (3) horses. Lots of groundwork, with trotting, direction changes, loping, more direction changes, flexion, yields….basically the works. If you have bee reading this Journal you are pretty aware of our groundwork program. Sweat happened. Focus happened. Then we rode!

Laurie and I both rode Cearra. Took her through all three basic gates, worked on transitions, bends, lateral/vertical flexion, backing, yields…again, the works. We got a little sass and a little attitude but that quickly went away. Then she tried the “I is stooped” trick where is attempts to play dumb. We worked through that. Then we got some really good teaching and conditioning moments. Her mind…blown. Her body…sweaty. Her final attitude…AWESOME! Like we wrote earlier, this part of the year is all about review and refine. Seems like a good plan.

We had some posts up to market her but after this last round of “people” we have decided to pull her off the market until late February/ early March. If training goes as we think it is going to go her asking price is going up too.

Onward and forward!

Kicking Off 2017 With A Workshop!

FIRST WORKSHOP OF 2017!

The Workshop: We hosted the first Lucky Star Horsemanship Workshop of 2017 this weekend. We traveled to a local arena, set up a “temporary round pen” and made magic happen! Really good turnout. Lunch was very good! The Participants had a variety of “skill levels” as did the horses. This always makes the session illuminating (and challenging) for everyone!

We started off covering the concepts of SAFETY and then the Mental, Emotional and Physical aspects of being a “good student” of the horse as well and developing a “quiet” mind and level of energy. Then we started in the often overlooked but SO ESSENTIAL skills needed in the Round Pen to develop a solid foundation. This really could be its own workshop and people really do struggle with these foundation level skills. The goal was to be in the correct position and have the correct focus to encourage movement at a desired gait (consistent direction), then get the horse to stop, turn and face the human calmly (getting two eyes) and then change direction and maintain gate without a “screaming U-turn” happening (consistent changes of direction). This has to be done with clear communication, intent, body language and focus. SO MANY PEOPLE do not have these (in our opinion) essential skills in their toolbox and it shows in their horses and their horsemanship. We got everyone to try the exercises and got some improvement in the horses and humans. Some of the horses had not been work in well over thirty days and most had never really been round penned to the level of expectation the Workshop established. Lots of lightbulbs went off in the brains of the humans.

We then moved to Lead Line work and getting control of the hind end and front end. We worked on lateral flexion/softness, backing to steady and rhythmic pressure, yielding of the hind end with steady and rhythmic pressure and some other lead line/ground work skills. Again, these skills have to be performed with clear communication, intent, body language and focus. The humans did not have an easy time of it! There was A LOT of skills and parts of skills to learn. Folks and their horses began to pull it together and hopefully established their “new starting points” so when they are at home they know what to expect and where to set the performance bar.

Lunch happened. Conversation happened. Friendships formed. Good times.

Then it was time to RIDE! We divided folks up based on their skill set/level of experience and worked on control, confidence, “quiet conversation” cues and more using a variety of exercises and patterns. We had some low level obstacles in the arena as well which gave folks who were finding their confidence something to challenge themselves and their horses with. Novice got some schooling on simple cues, seat and hand work. The more advanced riders worked on transitions, focus, getting “bend” and more. In short we loaded up everyone’s hard drive and gave them lots to work on at home until the next workshop! The ten page handout was well received as well.

Looking forward to February when we’ll have a Focused Practice and another Workshop!

CERRA’S DAY: Well…it was not great, not bad but not great. We have always told the “good, the bad and the ugly” in this Journal. With more than 30 days off and NO SADDLE or TRAVEL time happening and only doing limited ground work at home, Cearra was a bit fresh. In the round pen she showed off her athletic side and her inner Arabian. Flagging her tail, kicking up her heels and not being as focused because “everyone was watching her.” For the purposes of the workshop it was great because we could demonstrate how the exercises help to regain respect and control in short order even with this length of time off. She performed all the groundwork exercises pretty well but had “itchy feet” and her “temporary human” was not the strongest leader so there was some mischief. We hustled her feet quite a bit and engaged her brain to help her focus. Lots of “new to her” horses around –some of them behaved in a less than optimal manner – which just fed into her “lack of focus throughout the day. In short she got her feet hustled and worked up a good sweat. Even though she was to be a “loaner horse” for the day we ended up “firing” her from the riding part of the workshop as a loaner horse because the novice rider was not confident enough as a leader to re-engage Cearra when her focus wandered (the two novices rode Ronan who was a rock star). On the good side of things Cearra helped to drive home how important it is to “set goals, have a pan and BE FLEXIBLE” when training with your horse. Today we was five…going on three. Annoying? A bit. We know the “fix” is more travel, more group rides, more miles and more training. She is a young horse and had had limited life experience. Beautiful, smart and eager…she is still a young horse.

The journey continues!

..and yes she gets DARKER in the winter!

 Cearra in the Summer (Aug. 2016).

 Cearra in the Winter (January 2017)

We didn't get too many pictures at the workshop (happens when you are running everything) but we got a couple of our gal doiing some ground work and hanging out.

BODY CONTROL

WINTER LESSONS 3: Body Part Control

GOALS: 1) To improve upon yesterday and Cearra’s confidence through the large puddles. 2) Get her mind engaged, body supple and work ethic back in shape. 3) Work on improving control of the major body parts.

SESSION REVIEW: We hit 45 degrees fairly early up here in the Sierra Foothills this morning so more snow melted. This creates some very slippery footing which is deceptive looking because the top 1/8 inch of soil “looks dry” but it is not. Lots of puddles to play in too.

We did some basic round pen work then moved outside to the trail course. Did some low log jumps, puddle crossings (nice and calm) and some of the other confidence building exercises and obstacles. Then we worked on some methods of backing, yielding the hindquarters, yielding the forequarters, lowering at the poll, lateral flexion, vertical flexion and some ground school circles to bring it all together. All went nicely. Lots of subtle refinements and more “softness” which was nice. The horse eating puddles are now just icky.

It was a good session. Tomorrow is a day off. Saturday is a Workshop. Going to be from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Long day but it should be fun!

More Wintertime "Fun"

WINTER LESSONS:

Picture the Scene: Today the sun came out. After more than a week of rain, snow and cold the sun finally came out. The temperature never broke 40 but the snow was beginning to melt in places and the horses were feeling playful. In out training area we have a large fir tree. We have it limbed up so folks can sit under it during the various workshops. Nice shade, great smell. To the left of the tree there is an area that catches quite a bit of water when it rains. If the little drainage ditch can’t handle the flow it backs up into our “pool noodle” area. Make a pretty extreme water crossing! It was into this scene that today’s lesson took place. It has been a full week since Cearra’s last session.

Rule of Behavior #5: No pulling and acting the fool! If the horse is asked to do a thing and it expresses refusal it MAY back up calmly or stand still. A little short or head tossing is also allowed. What is NOT allowed is to lose one’s brain, pull back hard and generally act the fool. That response equals getting sweaty.

The Session: Riding was not going to be possible. Way too wet and snow covered to be safe. However groundwork was deemed to be safe at the walk and trot. We did some work with Cearra’s feet and legs (especially the rear ones). We desensitized. We did lateral flexion. We backed up with rhythmic and steady pressure. We yielded the fore and hind. We did ground school circles. Thins went very well. Her retention is quite good.

Then, because it seemed like the thing to do we attempted to cross some water. Up to his point most obstacles have not phased this girl. Just review earlier entries or check out the videos. She seemed comfortable with most of the obstacles we have placed in front of her. Well…the DRY ones anyway.

Seems our gal does not have any real confidence crossing water. We asked softly. She totally broke Rule of Behavior #5. Big time. Remember there is snow, mud and standing water in the training area. We did a little mud skiing. We made some very clear corrections and we made sure it was crystal clear that acting the fool does not work to make the thing you don’t want to do go away. Cearra was reminded that breaking the rule is not acceptable. She figured this out but had to be reminded a few times. This will test your feel, timing and patience to say the least. Yet, if you give up before a win happens then you create more issues (which is the opposite of the goals which is to reduce issues before they happen). Yes, this mare can be stubborn and opinionated. She is not a fan of mud or it seems muddy water. We advanced, retreated and rewarded (yes, we did give a cookie or two) once we got a hoof in the water calmly. Then we walked around and did some other obstacles and more groundwork. Once the brain was firing on all eight cylinders we went back to the water. Front hooves in calmly then backing out calmly. Got this about four times in two different locations. Cool. Then we backed into the water. Trying not to laugh as she backs in and then realizes her hoof is in the muddy water. She picked it up and held it above the surface and gave us a look. So we moved her forward, gave a rub and then backed her a little further into the water which created a need for both rear hooves to be under the shallow surface. We got her to stand calmly (she was not amused) and was rewarded again. After a couple of “wins” we wrapped up the session doing things she is confident doing. More rubs and a few cookies happened too.

Lesson learned today: If you are going to introduce something new to Cearra, be sure she has done a bit of groundwork and has her confidence happening in her brain FIRST. Then you have to “baby step” the process. She needs more “soak time” then our other horses. It comes from having limited life experience. Still, if you end her sessions on a win she retains the skills much better. Patience, clarity and reward. These concepts, in equal measure certainly help to improve the results.

Tomorrow we will try it again.

Saturday we have a workshop scheduled. Cearra gets to help work with some newer folks. Should be fun.

Some pictures taken on Monday 01/23/2017

 The Lucky Star Wishing Well

A view of the training area.

Ronan (red), Cearra (purple) and Argent (green).

WINTER LESSONS Pt. 2:

GOALS: 1) To improve upon yesterday and Cearra’s confidence through the large puddles. 2) Get her mind engaged, body supple and work ethic back in shape.

SESSION REVIEW: Setting goals, especially with the weather and the time off everyone has had is important. Expectation in mind and adaptability of training firmly in place the session started off with round pen. Now the round pen has snow in it along with several good sized puddles. We simply did what we normally do in the round pen as a warm up off the lead line. When Cearra tried to “cut the circle” and not pas through the puddles she was softly corrected and when she passed through them she was rewarded. Message received. Wins happened. Warm-up happened. Good times.

Next we played with some obstacles. The footing is snow covered in some places, muddy in others. The turn box, the deadfall box, pool noodle pass, the run-n shelter, the cowboy carwash and others all were played on. Then we attempted the horse eating water paddle again. Not let us be clear: this puddle is about 3 feet wide, 5 feet long and 4 inches deep. Some advance and retreat, some reward and relaxing, a little bit of fussing, and finally several really nice passes through the puddle on the width and the length. Just a couple of small pulls but MUCH less drama than yesterday. No “skiing” or “human drag” at all.

We had some nice “wins”, we got some refinements and we generally had an almost drama free session. It is all about consistency and taking those baby steps. Knowing when to press and when to back off. Cearra did well. One more day of “work” tomorrow then Friday off. Saturday is the workshop!

Hoping the weather holds!

Goals: Review & Refinment

JANUARY: Review & Refine

If you are reading this and live in California you know that most of the state is getting hit with rain and (depending on where you are) snow. We live in the Sierra Foothills right at the snow line so we have been betting BOTH. Yes, some days it is rain and some days it is snow and some days it is both. Add to this the simple fact that we took a much needed vacation over the Yules Holidays (spent Christmas in the Carolinas and New Years in Connecticut and New York). So, in short, between the weather and our vacation ALL the horses got a month off.

This last weekend everyone got new shoes (Ronan and Cearra) and trims (Argent). Then it was play time. The sun was out and the temps were chilly. We did some playing on and off the lead line and reconnected. Learned a couple new things and simply enjoyed the break in the weather and the soft loam footing in the “day pasture.” We had friends come up for the weekend so the horses got lots of treats and attention. Cearra “played” with some younger kids and enjoyed packing them around on the lead line.

Saturday was a “Two-fer” day. We did some round pen skills review in the morning and made sure all the major body parts were loose. We reviewed the “cues and control” of those body parts. Dealt with a “I just wanna cuddle” attitude and in realtivly short order got back in the working out groove. Later that day it was more time with the younger kids and doing some under saddle work (at the walk mostly because our riding area is REALLY muddy) around the trail/obstacle course. Cearra did well and retained 95% of what we had learned up to this point. Not bad for a month off. She was willing and actually eager to get back to it. Good time.

Sunday was more of the same. The expectation was that she would perform as well on Sunday as she did on Saturday. The goal was to try and get things “incrementally better” and this was achieved. Between ground work, riding and playing with the kids she had a great day.

Monday we added some “next level” exercises and expectations to Cearra’s performance. We took her out of her comfort zone a little bit (remember she had almost a full month off). A small (like really small) protest happened about a third of the way through the session but went away quickly with a clear correction. Then it was business as usual. Not bad at all.

Tuesday saw us at it again first thing after breakfast. This was a shorter session because of “life’s schedule) but very productive. We ended on some nice wins (because you never end on a bad note – ever) and had a good session. Treats and a vigorous grooming session was the reward.

Now we are facing another 5 to 7 days of rain and snow. Sigh.

The plan for January is to review and refine all that we have learned up to this point. Cearra is working with some new folks as a Teacher’s Aid in a horsemanship workshop on the 28^th. Should be a good time. February starts the horsemanship club practice season so we’ll be hauling to different places and exposing her to a variety of new experiences. She just needs miles under her hooves and the confidence that it brings. The process is not a quick one but the reward is very much worth it. We may start showing her to potential families in February as well. As we mentioned we are being VERY particular about her possible new family. We have given the “no thank you” to several already. You have to listen to your instincts sometimes. If the horse and the human don’t click then move on. Of course she has attached herself to our hearts so we may have to have a neutral third party help with the decision of who is the “right family.”

Review, refine and being as consistent as Life and Weather allow. That is the goal this month!

The Season of Breaks....

A FORCED BREAK

We actually had the opportunity to take a real vacation this Holiday Season. Spent Christmas in South Carolina and took in LOTS of cool sites as well as Family Visit time. New Year’s found us in New York and Connecticut doing much the same thing. A thirteen plus hour train ride helped to bridge the distance between these locations. The trip was about two weeks long.

Right before the trip Cearra tossed a shoe. It happens. She LIKES her shoes as they make her feel comfy. So her training was limited until the farrier can get out.

Now we are dealing with weeks of RAIN and SNOW. Sigh.

Training has pretty much ground to a halt. Just feeding and super easy ground work. That is all we can do.

‘Tis the Season as they say!

Hopefully the weather will be kind and clear up next week. We have a workshop here at our place later this month. Always a fun time! Want to use Cearra as a Teacher’s Assistant again and allow other humans to work with her.

Welcome to working with horses!