At Home & A New Adventure

Playing at Home, Playing Someplace New

AT HOME: This week most of the training has been happening at home. We have been working in the round pen, doing LOTS of ground work and leadership walks and lots of riding up and down hills, around trees and through obstacles. We have gotten into the habit of doing about 45 minutes of ground work and a solid 30-40 minute ride. This is helping Cearra’s fitness level and confidence. We like to introduce the “new” exercises at home when we can. Just makes the learning process easier. We see improvements or refinements almost every day and we catch glimpses of who this horse will be. At this point it is her fitness level that is holding us back. She simply can’t do the “long rides” part of the “long rides, wet saddle pads and concentrated training” formula. What this means is that Cearra is a more long-term project for us. It also means we’ll be able to achieve a bit more and that should make her even more marketable! Of course she is growing on us (this is both good and bad) so who know what the future will hold.

            ORANGEVALE PARK: We loaded up Sunday morning to meet some members of the Golden State Horsemanship Club at Orangevale Horse Park in (you guessed it) Orangevale, CA. for a “Spur of the Moment Ride.” This was Cearra’s fort time there. She surprised us by only being a slight spaz now and then even with all the “new to her” horses and surroundings. What made this session different is the facility has a HUGE round pen (we were able to have three horses worked on the ground and under saddle at a time in this pen, that is how big it is) which was awesome. The footing was soft and deep which made the effort for the horses both comfortable (impact wise) and a more intense workout (think running on the beach in deep sand). We also had a planned program for the day. We all worked on improving our round pen skills off the lead line. That was fun! Then we worked on Ground School Circles (readers of this blog should know what those are by now. In short it is an awesome 5 in 1 type exercise. Major thanks to Susan Wirgler for teaching us this one!), followed by lateral flexion, desensitizing and a few other cool things. Then we mounted up and worked on several riding exercises that helped us with handle, bend and teaching the horse to be responsible for her feet without being micromanaged. Walk/trot and walk/trot/lope transitions were also worked on.

At this point Cearra was done. She hit her fitness limit. So we tapped out. She got a nice long drink of water and then got to stand ties to the "tie post of knowledge" while we finished out the day.

I saddled up Ronan and we headed over to the big arena. There (after getting the horses comfortable with the new place and doing some Schooling Circles Under Saddle as a warm up) we began to work on lateral/diagonal motion, working the “bend” with our horses at the walk and trot and even side passing along the fence! Today Ronan was a loping machine. Probably the smoothest and fastest loping he has done since we got him. It was something to ride let me tell you. We wrapped up the day with some more lateral work, some forward/backward transitions and a nice cool down walk! The “Most Improved” award goes to Travis and her mustang mare Impala (such a cutie). They tries new things and took their skills to a new level! Everyone worked hard and had some great wins!

It was a good day! We met some new folks who were curious about what the group was doing and we got to network a little bit. We are going to try our best to get out to that facility at least once a month. It is about an hour drive for Laurie and I but facility offers some unique training and exposure opportunities that we want to continue to utilize! Thanks everyone who came out to make the day so much fun!

Of course we forgot to take pictures of the cool stuff. We just a couple of Cearra being the demo horse for the “Ground School Circles”.

Sigh.

 Ground School Circle - at the walk.

 Travis and her mare Impala

Ground School Circle - at the trot

 Ronan asking "How YOU doin'?"

Ground School Circle -at the lope

Daddy's Little Angel & Soccer Craziness!

Daddy’s Little Angel

After the rather long and trying day we had last weekend Cearra had a bit of a sore back. Understandable. So she got time off, massages to help with the stiffness and lots of TLC. Today we started training again.

She was awesome.

We worked on the line first. Ground School Circles to warm up and then we went through all of her current ground skills. She rocked it. Then we went into the round pen. She rocked those skills too. Really focused on the “quiet conversation” and performed well. Under saddle she was soft in her body, in the bridle and really gave me 100%. She was a true pleasure to work with.

Horses. They do keep you on your toes. We’re heading over to Pioneer Park Arena again. She’ll get more of the same. We are also gearing up with our other two horses for a Medieval Horsemanship Challenge happening next month so everyone gets lots of saddle time.

Should be fun! Stay tuned!

Soccer Games, Screaming Kids, Bouncing Sunshades….Oh My!

We loaded up about 9:15am and headed to Pioneer Park Arena. Today was going to be Cearra’s first ride in the BIG arena. Of course today was the day when no less than SIX (6) soccer teams happen to set up for games and there were several parties in the park happening too. This always makes for some unique training opportunities to say the least!

Groundwork happened first. Had to get her focused on me through moving her feet and THEN we got as close as we could to the “action”. We did some exercises near all the possible horse eating stuff and when she realized it could not hurt her she was fine. Sigh. Young horses. We went through a variety of exercises that went pretty well. Then we got crazy! We introduced the Flag and the Drag-A-Bag. She ROCKED it. Didn’t bother her at all. So then it was time to put on the bridle and get in some saddle time.

We have determined that short rides (being 25-30) minutes are where she is at right now. Physically if you do more than a walk in a session that is about all the gas she has before her muscles tire out and fatigue. So we did some circles, serpentines, backing, walk/trot/lope, forward/back/forward transitions and even some work on body control through the cones and the walk and trot. All in all she did really well give the TONS of external distractions! Glad she is coming around. By the 30 minute mark we could tell she was getting pooped so we just walked around the arena for her cool down and did some big circles. Really nice ride.

Then she got to hang out in the long run and pen attached to the arena. This allowed her to watch the soccer action and stroll the entire length of the arena. In fact Ronan and I warmed up along that side of the arena (w/t/l and rollbacks) with Cearra following us along. She also got LOTS of attention from the kids and parents.

It was a good learning session for everyone.

We even shot a short video: It can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTRDbmzUfe8

Lead line

 Flag

 Flag

 Drag-A-Bag

 Drag-A-Bag

 Drag-A-Bag

 Cruising

 Backing

 Break time

 Cones

Some Days You’re The Winshield, Some Days You’re the Bug

Horses will push every emotional and physical button you have. Trust me on this. Today was the Golden State Horsemanship Club’s Nor-Cal Chapter Practice and Cearra’s second public debut.

Practice Review: First off a HUGE THANK YOU to Wendy and Les Belt for hosting us at Belt’s Ranch in Placerville, CA. Not only is it a great place with a BEAUTIFUL barn (which has been converted into a great guesthouse) with some awesome trails and obstacles but they served lunch! Yes, we enjoyed a day of horsemanship and a super tasty BBQ lunch of pulled pork sandwiches, fruit, chips and a berry cobbler with ice cream! It is okay to be a little sad if you missed the session.

The day started about 9:30am. After some minor trailer adventures we got set up and started the day!

We had twelve (12) horse/human teams out today. As we always do we started with groundwork exercises. These exercises were focused on helping the participants prepare their horses to experience the MANY obstacles on the trail course and in the arena. It was interesting to note that the humans often confuse the horse with unclear cues, energy, focus, body language and position all of which send messages to the horse. We did our best to (as Susan Wirgler says) give the horse C.P.R being Clarity, Patience (Faith) and Release (Reward) on a consistent basis. Everyone worked pretty hard and the unique mix of human skills and horse skills made the first session challenging. Next we headed over to the obstacle course. Everyone worked with their horses on the course, introducing the wide variety of obstacles to their horses and helped them build confidence. C.P.R. is tough to maintain at times but everyone got some solid wins.

Some of the obstacles we played with today were: The Barrel Full Of Monkeys (a barrel with a lid and a pulley system. You pull the rope, the lid rises up and there is a monkey or other surprise in the barrel that rises up with the lid.). The Aqua Hoop (a LARGE archway that mists water out on three sides.), logs and low jumps, The Camp (a teepee set up, a sheep skin on a saddle rack, an L Box, a Cowboy Curtain, a Teeter-Totter, Pedestals, a Water Box, Ring Joust, Flag Carry and more! There were ample challenges for everyone of every level. Plus we got to cruise around the property on some nice trails too! Most everyone did some arena work (as you do) as well.

After lunch we saddled up and “rode the ranch” on the trails, arena and obstacle course. Again the focus was clear communication and C.P.R. with the horses. All the feel, timing, cue management and other skills we practiced on the ground translated to performance under saddle. It was interesting to see how people changed in their riding throughout the day. The fellowship and support as well as the coaching was awesome all day!

Of course no one got any pictures. We need to assign a photographer to these days. Sigh.

We wrapped up about 4:00pm. Everyone (horse and human) had “their hard drives filled” and  had some respectable wins. Super proud of everyone who works so hard and brough so much positive energy to the day! THANK YOU everyone who made the day so special! It is really what the Golden State Horsemanship Club is all about.

Now for the UGLY part of the day....

Cearra’s Second Public Outing: Today Cearra attending the practice noted above. Her round epn work was good. Most of her ground work before the obstacle course work was okay. The rest….well…it just sucked.

Seriously.

Sucked.

Not from fear but for a really crappy attitude. She earned the neickname “Alpo” several time over. Every unfamiliar obstacle became a fight before she gave in and actually attempted the new thing.

And that was on the ground.

She did finally do the teeter-totter. We got two feet in the water box, we walked through the recycle box once. And after she scared herself in the trailer (one of the obstacles) it took lots of “moving of the feet” and a few rid tabs to get her to stop crowding the human and simply walk on the trailer. Things she was familiar with were fine. Unfamiliar meant fight. Not try fail, get scared and then maybe fight the process…just fight. Sigh.

Under saddle it was all about the trot, blowing off leg and seat cues and just being a bitch. She crow hopped a couple of times and there was a Gypsie Vanner that she just hated. Tried to kick him several times. It was not a fun day.

We finally got some nice circles around two barrels, some “not so bitchy” attitude outside the arena and some relaxation around other horses who were moving.

I think we are both going to be sore tomorrow.

It is the three-week “curse” that seems to happen with every darn project horse. Day 2 they get fussy because they are being asked to work and reality is shifting. Cearra was a handful on Day 2. Week 3 and the reality that life has changed big time seems to hit home. Inevitably at the least desirable moment the horse has its meltdown. The brain fall out of the ears and it is just ugly. She hit every negative emotional button she and I had. Never a good thing. The whole ride was me looking for a decent win so I could quit the session. Seriously. When we finally got it I was out of the saddle.

Some days you’re the windshield, some days you’re the bug.

I feel like the bug.

I love horses (and I’ll keep saying it until I believe it again).

Tomorrow is another day.

Sigh.

Labor Day Weekend Adventures

THE LONG WEEKEND

Well, we certainly had a fun filled weekend with the horses and good friends! It was pretty awesome.

First thing is we have decided to change Toimpulsivetonotice’s “barn name.” While we like Cali it just doesn’t seem to fit her personality or speak to who she is as a horse. Sounds silly when we write it out but we felt pretty strongly about it. So after much discussion and deliberation we have opted to go with the Celtic name (sticking with a theme here) of Cearra (See-R-ahh) which means “mountain range.” Why” Well she is brown underneath, has snow on top, is awfully pretty to look at and can be inspirational. In short it just felt right. She seems to respond well to it too.

We went to Pioneer Park Arena this weekend. More riding in the warm up pen and more desensitizing/socializing opportunities, more improvements. It was a good session.

We had friends over this weekend. One of them was really curious about how we are working with Cearra and her progress up to this point. So, we did some groundwork together. It was a  great opportunity for her to work with a new person with limited experience in our style of horsemanship. She really had to focus on the “weird accent” and give it her best to comply with the requests. Both of them did a great job. While this was happening, Ronan got to work with a 7 year old girl (Laurie was there to assist) and they had a nice ride together. Then Cearra and Ronan got to pack my friend and I around as we worked on the obstacles and trail course her on the property. Cearra did really well! She moved with more confidence and seemed in better control of her own balance. This was our longest ride to date (well over an hour on some terrain) and it pushed her physically. The upside is she seemed well adjusted mentally. When she related she was tired we took a break. It was really nice to see that open communication happen. We played, we focused on cues and we made it fun. It was pretty cool. The smiles on the faces of our friends made it extra special.

The following day we did it again! More outside play time! Even more improvements occurred. We even shot a short video of Cearra playing through some of the obstacles. She is starting to blossom in her abilities and confidence. The sweet and trusting side of her nature is also coming out with the consistency provided. Really proud of this horse.

It was a great weekend! Next Sunday we are headed to a brand new place – Belt’s Ranch – here in Placerville. We will be meeting with our friends at the Golden State Horsemanship Club’s Nor-Cal chapter practice. It will focus on training on the trail and obstacles! Should be a great opportunity to expose Cearra to new experiences! And so the journey continues!

OBSTACLE VIDEO: https://youtu.be/yisQvSG_zwU

Two RIders, One Horse & Playing Outside!

TWO RIDERS, ONE HORSE

FRIDAY: Toimpulsivetonotice (aka: Cali, but we are leaning towards a softer sounding name like Fiona, Searra or Ruby) had three days off. The rest periods in between seem to be helping her on many different levels. With Freya now at her new home near Salem, OR we decided to move her in with Wally an OTTB (Off the track Thoroughbred) because they both need a higher calorie diet. After a little fussing they worked out the new living arrangement and are doing fine. Our two primary pastures are less that ten feet apart so they can all see each other. It is a cozy place.

So we began the session in the round pen without tack. Did some desensitizing with the pom-pom on a stick and the stick-n-string. Then it was round pen work and ground work. She is really taking to the exercises and “checking in” with the human instead of the “checking out” mode she was in when we first met. We then saddled up and did a little more groundwork to make sure everything was fitting nicely. We tried a different pad this time and it seemed to help our saddles fit her better. She is still under weight/under muscled but it is getting better. Laurie rode first. Walk, trot, stops, turning to the inside and backing up were the focuses of their ride. We made some equipment adjustments which cleared up the communication (allowed it to be softer/quieter) and they had a good ride.  Then it as my turn. New rider means new relationship. We did some lateral flexion, hindquarter yields, forequarter “sweeps” (just one or two steps) and then the same stuff Laurie worked on. I focused on getting her to elevate the front end a little more. Given her physical condition this is hard workout but mentally and emotionally she seems to enjoy it. All in all the rides went well. The fact that Cali is wiling to work with two riders of different skill and that feel different without too much in the way of an emotional reaction is a really encouraging thing. The flip side is that there are more than a few “crucial skills” that she lacks. Her tool box needs more tools. So that is our job. Get more tools in the tool box and get confident working with them. She is learning quickly so this is not an issue but a time of discovery.

As we enter Week 3 things seems to be progressing at a pace that is good for everyone. The beauty of working with a “project horse” versus one that you are training for someone else is that you are only answerable to yourself and the horse. No one else. No “time limit” or pressure to make the horse “better right now.” We can progress at a pace that works well us and focus on what needs focusing on in order to build a really solid foundation.

SATURDAY: Off to Pioneer Park Arena this morning! Meeting up with some Golden State Horsemanship folks to have some fun. New places = new adventures! Our gal did well in the smaller warm up pen. We saddled up, did some groundwork review and then rode. We LOPED her. Since she is very out of shape the loping aspect of the session did not last very long but we did feel her grow more confident in herself and her ability to be physical without getting emotional. We worked on staying soft in the body and bridle with a variety of different exercises. We also simply enjoyed cruising around the pen together, building trust and finding those communication starting points. It was a good session.

When we wrapped up, she got to hang out in the long livestock run and pen attached to the large arena. This was like the Tree of Knowledge but with more desensitizing and social exposure opportunities as the arena is in a public park. Lots of activity and folks wanting to pet the horses. It is good for them. After we worked with Ronan and Argent we ponied with the girl. This was our first time doing it with her. It went pretty well. She stayed calm and tried to figure out what was expected. Always interesting to try new things!

SUNDAY: We stayed home and played on the obstacles! If you have been reading this far you know we always do groundwork first. We introduced a couple of new exercises, reviewed the one we have learned in the past and looked for improvement. What is interesting is the mental transformation. When we first met her she was sassy and pushy. After a few sessions the sassy gave way to curiosity and being very emotional about “getting it wrong” and now we have a horse that seems very willing, is learning to communicate her needs and is growing more confident in herself and her place in the world. The practice of elevating her energy and then bringing it back down is helping her to remain steady mentally and emotionally. She is looking for the “right” answer and thinking it through as she “self-corrects” during the session. Very proud of her.

We played outside the pen today for the FIRST TIME since we got her home! We always try to ensure we have a connection and a decent handle on the horse before we go outside to a less controlled environment Just seems like it is safer and it sets the horse up for success. We used the features of the property and the obstacles we have in place to test her boundaries and reactions. The inclines were a little taxing and some of the declines gave her pause at first but we worked through them. She handled the first part of the ride solo fairly well but seemed to enjoy it more when Laurie and Argent came out to join us. The pool noodles, deadfall box, low jump, logs, narrow pass and cowboy curtain did not phase her at all (we have exposed them to her on the ground first so she was set up for success). In fact we felt like she enjoyed the experience! There will be more opportunities to play outside in the days ahead. It was a good session with some nice wins.

 Doing the pony thing.

Looking sharp!

 Sending

 Cruising

Thining

 Loping

Cruising

 More of the same