Bored vs. Tuned Out

I know Linda Parelli talks about horses being bored but I'm not sure if I buy it.  Cricket spends her day nibbling grass, napping and swishing her tail at flies. How is it possible to be more boring that?  Seriously!

To be bored is to be dissatisfied with what you are currently doing and to wish to be doing something else.  I'm not sure that's a thought process that fits in with the general "in the moment" mentality of the horse.

So I just don't buy into the "my horse is bored" theory.  I don't even buy the "my horse finds me boring" approach either.

Any time I interact with Cricket, there is more energy and activity for the duration of our time together than she sees for the entire rest of the day.  Maybe even the week.  Unless there are a lot of flies.

So what is it?  Could it be that the energy we bring lacks meaning and clarity and as such the horse simply tunes out.  It's not that he'd rather be somewhere else but he'd rather understand what you are asking so he can respond appropriately?

I don't know the answer.  I just don't believe my horse is bored.

If I watch her when she's wearing her alpha mare hat, there isn't a lot of activity.  There aren't feet flying and teeth gnashing.  It's actually quite subtle but it is crystal clear.  There is purpose - focused intention - behind every action she takes.  And even in the actions she chooses not to take.

When I look at my feeble attempt at leadership and compare it to hers, I see what I lack.  And it has nothing to do with boredom.  What I'm missing is the focus, intention and purpose.  What I fail to offer is a true release.  What I miss is the natural rhythm of equine interactions - rest, initiate, play and a return to rest.  What I forget is that action must be sustained for a purpose.  Horses do not naturally move except with purpose - fleeing from prey, establishing the hierarchy and winning breeding rights.  So where is the purpose in what I'm asking?  Where is my intention?  Where is my focus?

Super Camp

So I'm slowly returning to reality after an amazing time at Super Camp.  I was able to audit part of the camp last year but my nanny duties kept me from seeing a lot.  I decided to sign up for the following year thinking it would be fun.  I had no idea just what I was getting myself into.

I really was not prepared for how this experience would stretch and test my horsemanship.  I'm pleased to say that Cricket was a total rock star even when I wasn't.

One of my biggest issues in riding with a group is Cricket's intense defensiveness of her space.  She pins her ears, can lunge and has wheeled to kick.  It looks aggressive but I know better.  Cricket is so overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking care of me because for so long I was such a poor leader from the saddle.

On the first day of camp, I mounted up and we were in the arena with about 35 other horses.  After a brief walk to warm up, we moved out into a crazy forward trot and made our way all around the arena, weaving through horses in various stages of saddling, cinching, warm-up etc.  It was crazy!  And Cricket was amazing because my focus was on going somewhere and taking us through the "minefield."  I won't say we were perfect every day - she did pin her ears and she nearly kicked the little Gypsy Vanner - but on the whole she was INCREDIBLE!

Another issue we have is trail riding.  We went out twice, wending our way down paths that had been mowed in the hay field.  The first outing was strictly walk, with most of the camp group, and we went down to a small obstacle course.  Cricket handled every thing I asked like an absolute pro.  Having never done an "in and out" she was one of the few horses to take it completely in stride.  Some of the "seasoned trail horses" refused to go in or rushed the exit but not my rock star pony!  We passed on the "scootch hill" - I'm still a little freaked out by hills.  Maybe next year?

I had a session about re-shimming my saddle.  We stripped it down to just a center foam shim and I love it!  By the third day, Cricket was noticeably less defensive about girthing and by the last day she was actually nudging the pad and saddle towards her back.  Pretty cool!

I have some brief notes - some thoughts collected through the days but most are from the last day.

• Phase 4 means "game over" - you get one touch and then it's back to phase 1
• If your leg = go, use lateral flexion then disengage, then return to lateral flexion.  When you do, change your energy AND your body position . . . neutral, active, neutral (e.g. sit back up - I kept missing this step and wondered why Cricket wouldn't return to lateral flexion)
• Circle game send - weight should be on the back leg; weight on the front leg=attack and causes your horse to come in and through you vs. out and onto the circle
• If your horse is moving, stop driving!
• Use rockslide, falling leaf, etc as purpose - get the energy up or as point to point; don't do it "just because"
• Under saddle, once you get the stretch, do something with it - snakey bends, etc.
• Circle game: energy for upward transition can be 180/90 behind the horse OR behind the drive line (for the more technical folks!)
• If you can cause your horse to engage, he'll offer incredible things.
• You need respect (the appropriate response to pressure) before you can truly activate "the game."
• "Feel of, feel for, feel together" can easily get lost in the complacency of familiarity
• There is not a brace that doesn't affect EVERYTHING you do with your horse

One of the biggest things I've learned is how heavy I've become.  I can start out light and playful but I loose that sense of fun through the game.  I was challenged, on many levels, to get my good better and my better best.

I signed up again for next year.  I hope it works out so I can go . . .

Two Fabulous Days

I'm a little late in getting this posted but I had a simply fabulous weekend with Cricket.  I managed to play both Saturday and Sunday and I am still pleased at how everything went.

I have a standing "pony play date" on Saturday afternoons with two dear Parelli friends.  It's just a lovely, low-key time to play with like-minded friends.  All three of us are in it for the relationship above all else and so there is great energy when we are together.

We started with a good grooming session.  The warm weather is upon us and Cricket is actually blowing her coat instead of letting it go one hair at a time!  This is peaceful and meditative - mainly because you don't talk whilst grooming lest you end up with a mouthful of hair.

I started Cricket on a traveling circle game.  I've found it to be a great tool for teaching Cricket her responsibility to maintain gait as there seems to be some built-in purpose (e.g. we are going somewhere).  She gave me some beautiful canter and even when I arrived at my destination, she continued the canter circle.  Fabulous!  I disengaged her and allowed her to graze.

Sheila was having some trouble with her little gelding and I helped her with the challenge of "I'm not going" and "I'm not looking at you."  I had such fun with Nipper.  He's got a pretty big play drive but can easily lose his confidence.  I showed Sheila how she could be quite soft yet still have some intention and intensity.  I gave him back and she had much greater success and Nipper came out feeling like a winner.

It's been awhile since I've challenged Cricket's trailer-loading so I decided to see what we could do with Sheila's small, 2H slant-load.  Cricket was pretty happy to check it out and just fine to go all the way in.  I loaded her from the fender and then from the hitch.  She was so funny as she'd only circle out half way down the line, stop at the fender, go sideways and then curve around the back to load.  All on one send.

The big challenge came when I asked her to accept the squeeze of the divider.  Cricket is a big mare and it is a small trailer.  She tried her heart out for me and with some approach and retreat, she accepted the closed divider.  We finished with some yo-yo at the edge of the trailer, increasing her confidence to step down.  All in all, she was a total rock star and we had a super fun day.

On Sunday, I brought her back to the field to graze while I played with my 45' line.  I need to become more proficient if I have any hopes of achieving L4!  I threw it out and re-coiled it until I felt more fluid in the movement and the rope was laying better in my hand.

I hooked C up and we played off and on with canter at the end of the line. For not having been on the 45' in some time, she was fantastic.  While I cannot say we got a true canter depart, she did canter within about two strides of a soft, phase 1 send.  I'll take it to start.  We finished with six laps at the canter with only one correction.  Again, we are on a mission to improve her "maintain gait" and I was super-pleased with her rhythm, relaxation and connection.  My biggest challenge is getting more athletic in my rope handling and getting Cricket to better understand "canter draw, redirect, FLC".  But we're getting there!

Back to Basics - Part 1

When I set out on my Parelli journey in 2002, the home study program went through L3. So that was my goal.  Achieving my green string left me a little lost.  What to do now?  Surely L4 with a LBI was insane and totally out of the question.  In the past several months, Cricket's extroversion is growing and suddenly L4 doesn't seem like such a pipe dream.

But I keep having this little stumbling blocks.  Like maintain gait at the canter.  Like circle at the end of a 45'.  Like execute a clean FLC on line.  In thinking about this - because I'm a left-brain introvert and we love to think - I came to the realization that if L4 is just L1 with excellence, I needed to look in L1 for my answers.  I decided to revisit Parelli Connect and work through the eLearning modules, looking at the L1 concepts through the lens of a L4 student.

What follows are some of my thoughts from the first 4 or 5 lessons.

Too often, I treat Cricket like a prisoner instead of a partner.
In reading the first lesson, I realize that too often I treat Cricket like a prisoner. No, I don't trap her or cross-tie her but have a tendency to get stronger instead of softer and I'm far too impatient with her. Need to start framing things like a partner.

Preparing to Play: Simulations
I don't know if I've ever made a program of simulations with my carrot stick. Hmm, how interesting! I lack precision in L4 . . . Could the two things be related? Methinks yes.


"Your [carrot] stick is attached to your attitude." ~ Linda Parelli
In my last Carol camp, we talked at great length about *intention*. The stick is an extension of your intention. So rolling this all together, if the stick is just my attitude and intention, C's actions in response to the stick are nothing more than her attitude and intentions about me.

I know that sounds a little garbled but where I'm going is that using the stick is not about getting a particular movement but offering an attitude and intention that creates desire and movement. If C responds appropriately to my attitude and intention then I'll get the requested movement but that flows from her attitude.

It's little wonder why on line was/is my worst savvy. I can use that halter and rope to either make Cricket do as I please or at the very least make us both miserable in the process. If the CS is an extension of attitude and intention - if that's what makes it a "tool" - then the halter and lead are no different. If I use the line to make her do something then all my "natural" just went out the window.

"Most people keep having the same problem over and over, year after year… which adds up to a lot more than two days."
This is the crux of my impetus for going back to L1. I have certainly spent much more than 2 days trying to cause Cricket to maintain gait on the circle, especially at the canter. I don't think we've solved it, by any means. But paying attention to *intention* and thinking about Cricket as a partner vs. a prisoner has yielded some of the most positive results we've had in a LONG time.


"When you open your hands, you release everything." ~ P. Parelli
The above might be a bit of a paraphrase as I don't have the scrap of paper where I wrote it down. Pat was discussing "hands that close slowly and open quickly as well as energy control.

So how many times, when I release, do I hold the tension or intention in my body? How is my grip on the line? On the stick? How is my attitude towards my horse? Have I truly released her into the movement or I'm I holding tension in critique?

Please feel free to join the discussions by connecting with me and looking for the eL-TotD (eLearning Thought of the Day). 

Having FUN

I was chatting with my friend Tina the other night on Facebook and we were talking about having FUN with our horses.  It's in all caps for a reason because we think, say and even type it with enthusiasm.  I am coming to realize that most of the really cool stuff going on with Cricket is because I'm having FUN.

My only real goal with Parelli was to pass L3.  I started PNH in 2002 when the home study ended at L3 and anything beyond was available only through direct study at the centers.  Even when the program changed to put L4 in home study format, I never changed my original goal.  With Cricket being innately introverted, I imagined L4 to be another adventure in frustration for both of us.

So when I returned from camp with my green string, I became lost.  I didn't know what to do so I just started goofing off.  Trying things just for fun and laughing when things didn't go so well.  And that's when it all started changing.  Cricket started becoming more engaged.  She began offering more energy.  She started having FUN.

Now I have this tiny inkling that maybe L4 is possible.  But if I'm going to get there, I'm going to play my way there.  I'm going to have FUN.

Last night I had FUN.  Since the stalls weren't ready when I arrived at the barn, I took Cricket and Etruska into the arena while they were being cleaned.  I put them both on featherlines -one white and one black so I knew which was which - and I played tandem games with my LBI/E and my best friend's RBE/I.  I had them circling, Cricket stretched and blowing at the canter and Etruska stretched and blowing at the trot (because she's a big ol' warmblood and can trot to Cricket's QH canter).  We did some COD and that was a little comical but we worked it out.  I finished with some FLC with Cricket alone and we had a fabulous canter draw to finish it off.

Yeah, maybe we can get to L4 if we keep having FUN.

Shift

I wish I had Cricket's original horsenality charts.  Honestly, I don't even remember if I properly charted her.  I do remember thinking that everything about the left-brain introvert was patterned directly on my mare.

Following are the charts I did for her this weekend.  I've done both the horsenality and the positive attributes charts.

 

I find it fascinating how her chart has rotated about 45° clockwise.  Her original charts were very heavy LBI with a few dots in RBI and a few in LBE.  Now she's moving more into LBE and has a few dots in LBI and RBE.  Hmm, how interesting!

 

Looking at the positive attributes, she's all over the map.  Pretty cool!

The thing I need to remember is even though she's charting LBE, she's innately LBI.  It's not about making her into something she's not; it's not about staying where I'm comfortable.  It's about understanding that, although she's displaying more extroversion, she's still an introvert.  I need to be aware that I don't use and abuse the beautiful energy she's offering.  I need to keep my eyes open to those moments when she needs a little extra time to think or when her confidence waivers.

Unscripted

Sometimes the best sessions are the ones we don't plan.  Where we just play and we just BE.

With Cricket, those sessions are rare.  She is so full of her own ideas that without a plan, I usually don't stand a chance.  Monday was one of those precious moments.

Cricket came in from the field wet.  I had an idea to play with emergency dismount but sitting on a soggy pony wasn't my idea of fun.  I turned her into the arena while Bonnie cleaned stalls.  I thought maybe we could work a little on laying down.  Wet Pony + Sand = Roll.

Cricket had other ideas.

One of the best ways to get her feet moving without breaking the connection is Squeeze Game.  That mare will canter a squeeze and easily disengage when any other send will elicit a bolt.  I sent her over the small jump and she just sailed right over and looked at me as if to say, "what next?"  So I upped the ante by asking her to jump the cross-rail and then a single down barrel.  Piece of cake.

After a few repetitions, I decided to move on with some stick-to-me and maybe build a circle game.  As we left the jumps, the big 40" ball was right in her way.  She jumped it.

I stopped dead in my tracks.  She knows it moves.  But she jumped it without disturbing the ball at all.  Did I mention she's an introvert?  A left-brain introvert?

Since she was still cool with jumping, we played with a three jump combo - cross-rail, barrel and ball.  She never got all three in a row but she did get two out of the three most of the time.  Including several more jumps over the ball.

We finally moved on to F8 and I blew it.  She was cantering around the left cone and I wanted a FLC in the middle. She tried and tried and eventually bolted.  Damn it!

I got her back and we played very slowly with the F8.  I used a few bits and pieces from The Project and eventually we finished with a soft, connected F8.  Not a bad recovery.

With her energy down, I asked her to try to think about laying down.  We never accomplished the lay down but her connection and curiosity were worth every minute - including the ones where I went down and rolled in the sand!

I think we are making huge strides in our liberty connection.  I know I threw in a little circling and she never left me.

Magnetism

I need to find a way to increase Cricket's magnetism.

It's different than draw. We have draw . . . most of the time. If we had magnetism, we'd have better draw.

A while I go I blogged about rapport being more than just handing out cookies; I realize that's part of my solution.

But first, the problem. Or rather the challenge.

How do I cause Cricket to understand the send on the circle in open area liberty? How do I keep that rubber band whereby even as she leaves, she's being pulled back?

This is isolated to open area liberty. In the round corral, she circles just fine. She'll even offer short-range circles and doesn't rely on the panels to "hold her in."

I'm not worried. I'm not taking it personally. I'm just pondering ways in which I can, in our daily play, begin to build the rubber band.

Like Coming Home

I was able to play with my pony tonight.

Simply wonderful.

I wasn't asking for much and I wasn't expecting much.  And in return she blew my socks off.

My normally introverted and sullen mare was so beautifully and openly extroverted.  Something I haven't seen in our on-line play in a very long time.

Things were good when she offered a little trot in our warm-up.  Things were better when she gave me a gorgeous forward trot in the circle game.  She gave me some easy, 3-beat canter and an exuberant flying lead change.  We played with some long distance, energetic touch-it - asking her to really hook onto my idea.  On a focused send, she went straight for the jump and cleared it with beautiful energy and intention.

And that was it.

I sat on the barrels, scratched her belly and then put her up and gave her dinner.

Like coming home.

Making it a Game

I have finally figured out how to make the phases into a game.

It's only taken 9 years, 3 horses, 13 clinics/workshops, 2 trips to the ISC, taking countless lessons, auditing numerous clinics and thousands of dollars to figure this out.

Yeah, I can be slow.

Here is my realization: You cannot avoid something that was never coming in the first place.

Let me translate that into Parelli-speak: If I never intend to offer my horse a phase 4 then she cannot play the "ha, ha you missed" me game because you cannot avoid something that was never coming in the first place.

Get it?

If you do not intend to go to phase 4, your horse cannot make a game out of moving first.

Get it?

I finally get it.

I noticed a huge change in Cricket after camp.  I started thinking about phase 4 before offering phase 1.  I got  very focused on phase 4 as I offered phase 1, 2 and 3.  And Cricket started offering more at lighter and lighter phases.

Sure, my intention and focus was better but the promise of phase 4 was now real.

And my phase 4 is not a "whack her, beat her, how hard can I hit her with the popper" kind of phase 4.  It was about delivering a kiss to the tip of the hair with a smile on my face.

The last time I played with Cricket, she offered me a soft, true canter at phase 1.  She offered me a soft flying lead change at phase 1 and she finally hooked onto my idea of cantering circles and settled into a beautiful forward canter.  It truly was a game.

Normal, Naturally

I have this thought gnawing at my brain and I want to see if I can get it out before it festers.

I read a Parelli Central blog post about "breaking horses."  It wasn't the actual post that got me thinking but rather some of the comments.  I don't want to pick on people but I want to explore an idea about normal vs. natural . . .

There is a pervasive idea that Parelli horses are "crazy."  You don't have to be a super-sleuth to find this out.  You simply have to Google Parelli and you'll find a host of anti-Parelli websites and people who wouldn't touch a Parelli-trained horse with a 10ft pole.

Parelli people don't always help this image.

It is possible to get so wrapped up in what we think is creating relationship and preserving dignity that we fail to realize our horses are brats.  Or worse, dangerous.

"He needs to move his feet."  Sure, he does.  But not while the farrier is up underneath him.  True story - a Parelli student allowed her horse to just walk off and wander around, leaving the farrier with a dumbfounded look.

"She's unconfident in new situations."  Sure, she is.  But that doesn't mean she gets to shoulder through the vet tech who's trying to hold her for x-rays.

"He's food motivated."  Of course he is.  But that doesn't mean he gets to pull the hay out of the barn owner's hands while she's trying to put out hay for the boarder horses.

"She's dominant."  I get it.  But that doesn't mean she gets to charge and kick when another boarder comes to get her horse.

Here's a bit of a news flash: Your horse may not always be under your care.  But . . . but . . .  No buts.  It's reality, folks.

My mare spent four weeks at the teaching hospital at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.  She had three major procedures and had to undergo daily sedation and nerve blocks.  While this may be an extreme case, it's an extreme example to illustrate my point.

I had ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL over the people handling my horse.  Worse, few vet students have large animal experience and some are very afraid of horses.

I remember handing Cricket's lead line to the vet student and simply saying, "Don't hold her close and trust her."  I couldn't explain the million things that had gone into her training and development.  I had to trust my horse and the preparation I'd given her thus far.

It is my responsibility to help Cricket get along in a normal world.  A world where horses are not seen as sensitive, emotional animals.  A world where they are expected to meekly obey every cue and command.  Where they are supposed to lead on a short line and stand tied and lead into a trailer and go into stocks and stand on scales.  A world that expects her to be "normal."


I train my horse to be normal, naturally.  I treat everything the normal horse world expects of her as a friendly game.  She will lead on a short line and stand tied and lead calmly through gates.  She'll back away from her feed bowl.  All the behaviors that make her an equine good citizen.

To make the world a better place for horses we need to spend some time making our horses better for this world.

(Not) In the Mood

It's been ages since I've updated my blog.  Every time I start a blog post, I just sort of fizzle out.  What's up with that?  Maybe it's just a bit of the winter blahs . . . Who knows!

I've had several good play sessions with Cricket in the past weeks.  We continue to work on and refine what Carol taught us at camp.  In so many ways, my relationship with Cricket has never been better.

We've been playing with more intention on-line.  Using softer phases and stronger focus has my little mare offering more with me doing a whole lot less.  She's beginning to offer draw at speed, we've gotten some soft flying lead changes on the change of direction and she's offering canter more and more.  I need to remember that I turned groundwork in to drudgery and it's going to take some time to convince Cricket we are actually playing.

Under saddle, we're still having a ball!  I've been playing with steady rein and stretching into bit contact.  Cricket picked that up in no time and now I'm teaching her to follow the feel of the bit - forward and down or back up into my hands.  She totally gets it!  She can get a little resistant about holding frame so we're just going soft and slow.

I've been teaching her correct bend for lateral work and she can nail it on the right bend but we've been fighting (for lack of a better word) on her left bend.  Her lateral flexion is fine to both sides and her freestyle HQ disengagement is fine to both sides.  But for some reason, when we put them together, it all goes to hell.  Carol helped me break it down and Saturday, I asked for the bend and when I asked for the HQ she gave me the weight and body shift.  Loved it!

I want to start preparing Cricket to be able to ask for flying lead changes under saddle.  I never imagined this would be something I would do but I think we're ready.  At least for the ingredients.

We're starting to introduce speeds within the canter.  Unfortunately our arena isn't wholly conducive to this but we're making the best.  I've started asking her for more speed on the long side and then to slow on the short side and speed up down the long side.  It's a little hit or miss but I think that has more to do with Cricket trusting me than anything else.  When she figures out I really want her to turn it on, I think we'll have some fun.

I also got a wild hair to start asking for freestyle walk-canter transitions.  I saw it on a Mastery Lesson and thought, "why not?"  I can get a little rattled asking Cricket to canter freestyle, simply because I had this idea that going from the walk to the canter was a finesse thing.  Don't ask me where I got that idea.  So last Saturday I just started playing with it.  At first, Cricket gave me a racey-bracey trot.  I just brought her back down and asked again.  A few repetitions on the left lead and she got it and I rode one of her best freestyle canters EVER.  On the right lead, she nailed it on the first try.

Speaking of right lead canter, I think we've finally exorcised the Corner's Demon.  You know, the little devil on Cricket's shoulder that convinces her to run hell-bent for the corner every time we take the right lead.  She offered a right lead canter on Saturday and rather than say, "No." I opted for "Me Too!" and she gave me several circuits of the arena with no indication of running for the wall.  None!

And I have finally found the perfect bit.  Because sometimes equipment matters.  In the time I've been riding her in her new bit, she's come to the point where I hold out the headstall and she reaches for the bit and takes it up into her mouth.  Recently, when I went to remove her bridle, she continued to play with her bit and I stood, for about 10 minutes, holding her headstall while she played with the bit.  The past weekend, she tried to pick up her bit while the headstall was still on the wall and I was still saddling her.  I think we found a winner.

So there's the update.  In all of this, Cricket's attitude towards me is just amazing.  She nickers to me, comes to me with purpose and intention.  She's getting into the conversation more and more.  In a word, she's becoming willing.  It's beyond "I'll do what you say" obedience, it's "sure, that sounds great" willingness.  Not all the time but more and more.  Loving it!

Endless Possibilities

Camp was an absolutely amazing experience.  Every year I say best camp EVER and this is no exception.

I don't usually take notes during camp but this year I did.  There was so much great stuff and I'm glad I took the time to write it down.

Please remember that my notes are my interpretation, taken through the filter of my experience.  Nothing in this post is to be construed as the definitive way something should be done.

• It really is about playing a game.  Until you evoke the game, it's just "make" and you'll constantly be doing more and getting less.
• Phases, at this level, are about stealth.  Carol gave us the analogy of a hunter going through the woods.  If he crashes through the brush, calling "Any deer around here?" by the time he gets to the clearing, he's going to think there are no deer in the entire county.  You have to sneak up on Phase 4 so you cause your horse to really pay attention.
• Phases are about intention, not motion and commotion.  Phase 4 should be delivered with a smile and you should aim to kiss the hair on the top of zone 5 with the popper.
• When your horse knows your phases and is counting on the consistency, start mixing things up.  But don't just go to phase 4 every time.  It's got to be a game!
• Until you have a consistent canter at phase 1, you are working on snappy departs and not maintain gait.
• There is a big difference between a phase 1 canter and a phase 4 canter.
• You cannot hide behind your tools, thinking the CS alone will get you a canter depart.  You must have intention.
• Using the slingshot to invoke the game - slow draw towards and a speedy redirect, aiming the popper at the belly, just behind the elbow.
• Level 4 is about accessing the athleticism of the right brain with the left brain in control.  In the early levels, it's all about safety but in L3/4 you need to unlock the right brain and clear out the cobwebs.
• Getting to the right brain can get a little unfriendly - your LB horse, who thinks she knows everything about you, needs to learn your less predictable than she thought.  It's okay for your horse to be a little frightened.
• Put purpose to everything you do.  Don't do a falling leaf "just because" - use it to invoke the game or get more snappy or as a "consequence" for not upholding a responsibility.  Don't just go from one end of the arena "doing a falling leaf."
• Have a clear idea of what your looking for and how to reward it.  Stop when you get what you want.
• Once your horse hooks onto the idea, reward it and stop.  At least for a little while.
• Forget the horse you had yesterday, this morning, five minutes ago or even five seconds ago.  That horse no longer exists.  What horse do you have in this moment?
• Asking a worried horse to calm down only adds more pressure.
• Retreat doesn't have to mean going away completely.  In a new environment, retreat from one object by going away to another and another and another.  When you return to the first object, it's suddenly familiar.
• FORWARD IS THE KEY.  If you don't have forward, do what it takes to get it.
• Can you use your tools independent of everything else? Can your horse yield to the CS without your body?  Can he yield to the bit without your seat?  The key is intention.
• The horse must learn to uphold his responsibilities.
• Can you cause your horse to stretch forward into contact?  Can you cause him to stretch into contact and offer forward into that contact?  This is the key to real finesse riding.  It's not just about the headset or the frame but rather about the horse really understanding contact.
• The more your horsemanship develops, the less overtly evaluating horsenality matters.  You just know where to be, why to be and what to do when you get there.

I'm sure there's more but this is the nuts and bolts of what we covered during camp.  As I moved through the four days, I realized that I do not play with Cricket.  On the last day, during our individual liberty session, I found the play, not just in me but in her.  And it was fabulous.

Prior to camp, I had this idea the level 3 meant we were done.  As I think about invoking the game and causing Cricket to want to offer more, suddenly I see door opening everywhere and the possibilities are endless.  Here's to dwelling in the world of possibility.

I Did It!

There it is.  My green string.  I can hardly believe it.

I PASSED MY LEVEL 3.

This means more to me than I can ever explain.

I set out to achieve L3 and somewhere in the middle, I realized that what I wanted was the horsemanship and not the string.  After my liberty audition, I was determined that my freestyle would flow naturally out of my progress with Cricket.  I was not going to "try for my freestyle."

So I just went about playing and riding.  And things got better and better.  I had folks telling me to just video it and get it done.  I didn't want to - not because I was afraid of failing but because I didn't want to turn everything into something artificial.

My goal, as I prepared for camp, was simply to go and just let things unfold.  If nothing else, Carol would give me feedback on what I needed to achieve L3.

On the second day of camp, Carol asked us to ride a figure-8 with 1 or 2 sticks.  When it was my turn, I just started at the walk, asking Cricket to find the pattern.  We moved to a trot and then just flowed into the canter.  It was a little helter-skelter but it was okay.  We worked it out.  I could hear the strains of "Barbie Girl" over the loudspeaker and just started to have FUN!

And then I heard it.  Carol's voice.  "That's solid level 3 riding."  And I knew we had it.

As we wrapped up camp on Tuesday, Carol asked us for our highlights.  I told her my biggest highlight was not necessarily my green string.  It was that I came to camp and for the first time, I wasn't the one saying, "I'll just trot" or "I'm not going to canter."  It was that I made this journey with my horse.  Truthfully, the string was just gravy.

Camp Day 4: Wrapping it All Up

The last day of camp is always a little bittersweet.  The longing for more is all jumbled up with the fatigue and brain-fry that comes from spending 10-12 hours a day in a pretty intense learning environment.  So we don't do a whole lot of new stuff.

Almost half the private sessions for the morning consisted of chatting at the picnic table.  It was so cool to have that one-on-one with Carol and interesting that so many of us came to the same idea.  I think I got something out of each conversation - maybe even more than I got out of my own.

We had individual liberty sessions in the round corral for our morning ground work.  I was a little nervous, this kind of spotlight can send me a little right-brain.  I decided just to focus on the skills I needed to get Cricket more responsive.  I was really pleased with our session.  Carol coached me through my phases and I actually felt playful with my horse.  Nothing earth-shattering but I started to get some nice upward transitions at phase 1 and that's part of what we need to have even a hope of maintain gait.

The weather was a little non-cooperative but we were able to ride for about an hour before we wrapped up.  I think I have some better insights into getting Cricket to stretch and come into contact and once we get some of these basics, I think our riding is going to get really good.

Camp Day 3: Rise and Fall

My private session this morning was a bit of a fall from glory.  After ending on such a high yesterday, it was bound to happen.

I wanted to work on maintain gait on-line.  At the canter.  It wasn't pretty.  At least to me.  I felt uncoordinated with my tools, my horse was unenthusiastic about my efforts and I felt as if we did a whole lot of something for a whole lot of nothing.

I'm sure that's just my perspective.

In our ground session we did long line driving.  My frustration from my private session spilled over into our group session.  I was way too hard on Cricket, probably as a reflection of being too hard on myself.  Cricket got just a little scared of me.  While I'm thrilled to see her access a little of her right brain, I'm not proud about how it happened.

We wrapped up driving and did some liberty.  Of course Carol calls on us to do our liberty circle game right as Cricket and I are in this uncertain place in our relationship.  It was okay but I could tell Cricket wasn't so sure about it.

As we played at liberty for the session, Cricket tried so hard to please me but I think my confusion made that very hard for her.  While I was asking her for a figure 8, she left me and went to the middle of the arena and offered a circle game.  By herself, complete with change of direction.  Around no one.

Later she went out from my figure 8 and offered a figure 8 on the other side of the arena.  By herself, completely alone.

She hooked up with my friend Margenia's horse and they proceeded to take a casual stroll on the wild side.  Carol had Genia and I meet up in the middle of the arena and ask them to circle us.  It was pretty cool as both mares worked out a circle together.  When they hooked onto the game, we disengaged them and they came right up to us.

Our mounted session was better.  A review and extension of the previous day.  We also introduced some lateral work, building the blocks towards half-pass, side-pass, haunches in and shoulders in.  I really struggled with Cricket's bend to the left.  I asked Carol about it and she helped me to separate each element and figure out what was confusing Cricket.  I'm not sure how long I played with this but I finally started making some progress and called it a day.

Camp Day 1: Exceeding Expectations

The first day of camp was amazing.  Every part of the day exceeded any expectations I had coming in.

I have to admit to some trepidation.  Cricket and I have a bit of a rocky history with camp.  As hard as I try not to carry that particular baggage with us, it's hard.  I have so much time and emotion invested in this horse and we can crash pretty hard.

Almost every moment of the first day was just knock-your-socks-off kick-butt.

Each day of camp starts with private sessions.  Then we usually do some sort of simulations before starting our ground session.  After a lunch break we have a riding session and then finish the day with some more private sessions.

One of the early morning private sessions was focused on the circle game.  And that was the key, it's a GAME.  I think I got enough out of that 15 minutes to make the entire camp fee worth it.  Our simulations focused on steady rein and weight aids and that was cool.  Our ground session focused on the game of the circle and building the ingredients for on-line flying changes.  My favorite part of the morning was when Carol demonstrated with Cricket.  I had questions about how to ask for more without being critical of what she's doing now.  In riding, we did steady rein and stretching, asking the horse to move forward into contact.  In my private session I wanted to work on maintain gait at the canter and Carol put me on a reining pattern of fast and slow circles throwing in some lead changes.

I have more detailed notes and will probably post more once I get back home and can process everything.

Concerning Circles

I have this idea that if could ever achieve even a modicum of mastery of circles with Cricket I would be somewhat of a horseman.

And not just will she send, will she stay out, will she come back.  I mean rhythm, cadence, tempo, impulsion, obedience, flexion and maybe a little exuberance.

Cricket on a circle is the picture of resignation.  She puts forth only as much energy as it takes to create motion in a sort of forward direction.

Nothing I have done has produced consistent results.  I've tried psychology - do less to try and cause her to want to do more.  After awhile she realizes she can just do less.  I've tried playing a game - come here so I can tag you.  That will get her energy up but only in short bursts and it's pretty easy to cross the line into offending her.  I've tried leaving her alone and rewarding her when she offers more.  I've tried a driving circle game.

But fundamentally, I saw no purpose in the circle game.  And neither did Cricket.

Sunday night, I asked my friend Kathy to watch our circle game.  At best she might see something I was missing; at worst she could at least commiserate with me.

So I just played while Kathy watched.  Cricket did her poky little trot.  Her canter was barely a canter.  It was more of an "un-trot" - four beat, stilted and just crap.  Her walk was not easily distinguished from her halt.

Kathy and I chatted about it.  She has some similar issues with her LBI TWH mare.  Kathy suggested using raised poles on opposite sides of the circle to see if the pattern itself could cause Cricket to move better.

I put two ground poles on Rail Razers and sent Cricket on the circle.

It's almost embarrassing how un-athletic she was about these little poles.

To clear the poles in stride, Cricket needed to be straight on the circle.  Which she wasn't.  Hmm, how interesting!

So I left her alone and she started to figure it out.  And she started to move forward in a lovely energetic trot.  All without me asking.  I rewarded the trot and then asked her to go again.

On the right circle, she offered the canter and after a few laps, she adjusted her stride and balance and was doing the most beautiful free, flowing canter.  She was taking the poles in stride and she was just relaxed.  I cannot count how many circles she did - isn't that cool in and of itself?!

To the left, she was a bit of a hot mess.  She kept falling in on the circle and loosing the arc.  She was bunny-hopping on her hind legs instead of reaching into her stride.  I had to use some driving on the circle to encourage her and help her understand what I wanted.  Physically, she never got it as well on the left as on the right but mentally she was trying her heart out.  I rewarded her for a good try and called it a day.

So now my quest is to find ways to turn the circle into a "maintain gait" puzzle and build her both mentally and physically.  I was so pleased with how well she worked to figure out the game and this might be a way forward.

More of What's Been Going On

I never did get around to posting about my lesson with Wendy.  Or any of the other stuff I've been doing this summer.

In early July, we hosted Wendy Morgan, 2* Junior Parelli Instructor, for a day of lessons.  I took advantage of being the coordinator and scheduled two sessions for myself.

We started with an easy session on saddle shimming with Bleu.  I had ridden shortly before the lesson and felt I was fighting my saddle the whole time.  The experimentation that comes with shimming is very much outside my comfort zone so I wanted Wendy to hold my hand a little while we played with some changes.

Here's what I learned:

• There are three main points to evaluate for saddle shimming: scapula clearance, muscle atrophy and rider balance.
• Evaluate your horse in motion, free from the saddle.  Observe carriage, head position, stride length, etc.  This is the baseline for anything else you do.  It works best with at least one observer but if you're alone, use a video camera to help you observe.
• If you already have a saddle and pad set-up, saddle the horse and repeat the circle game.  Notice if anything changes from the "nekkid" circle game.
• Take a good look at your horse's back.  Use a carrot stick to evaluate uphill vs. downhill and attach a savvy string (one that contrasts well with your horse's color works best) and drape it along your horse's spine.  This gives you a very clear picture of the shape of the back.
• There are only three basic backs: uphill, downhill and atrophied.  Yeah, it's almost that simple.
• Make a guess and pick the basic shim pattern. Nothing says you cannot change it.
• Observe the horse on the circle with the new set-up.  Is it better? Worse?  Remember, if your horse is introverted, it may take some time for her to relax enough to tell you what she really thinks.
• Experiment until you feel you have a good shim pattern.  Mount up and see if you feel better, worse or whatever.
• Once you've found a pattern that works . . . KEEP EXPERIMENTING.  This is the hardest part for me but it helps the pendulum really settle in the middle.

This was an awesome session and I'm so glad I did it.  First, we had some huge positive changes in Bleu's back.  I had initially shimmed her for an atrophied back but we just didn't see that this time.  When I changed her to a downhill, A-frame shoulder, everything just looked and felt better.  When I rode, I felt more in balance and less pitched forward.  I need to play with it some more but I'm not in a big hurry.  I feel more savvy and confident with saddle shims now.

Later in the day, I rode Cricket in a 2 hour Freestyle lesson with my friend Shari and her teenage daughter, Kim.  While we all had a slightly different focus, the main theme of the lesson was carrot stick riding with greater control and even a little precision.

I have to say, I was so nervous going into the lesson.  Cricket had been doing great but it was in controlled environments and with familiar horses.  I had no idea what to expect and I was just a little worried my expectations and ego would ruin everything.

We started just warming the horses up.  Cricket was doing well and I asked her for a canter.  She gave me three beautiful laps on the left lead, no hands on the rein, stick on the outside.  It was wonderful!

The actual lesson started with tuning up the disengage - making sure leg = yield rather than leg = forward.  This is something I've been working on and Cricket was very good.  Then we put it in motion, asking for a disengage to a downward transition.  We took this onto FTR and did some great CS disengage.  Even from the canter!

Once this was working relatively well, we did some loose figure-8, disengaging to the halt in the center.  The idea was to create a sweet spot in preparation for simple changes through the center.  During this exercise, Cricket got very snarky about the sticks.  I know part of the reason was me getting focused on the task and probably forgetting my phases.  At one point we abandoned the plan and trotted around the arena, swinging the stick in a high-level friendly game.

Wendy put us back on the rail and we did a "jump friendly game" by approaching low jumps and going sideways around them to continue on the rail.  This was great for me since I get very nervous about jumping.  We changed it up again by adding in yo-yo - either up to or after the jump.

To further incorporate sideways without drilling it, Wendy set up a sideways weave.  I opted to dismount to get my spurs.  We did the pattern a few times and Cricket was doing well.

By this time, I think Cricket and I were both a little tired and frustrated with carrot stick riding.  I decided to ditch the stick and just have some free-for-all fun.  Since it was the last 10 minutes of the lesson, Wendy just turned us loose to decompress.

Cricket gave me some great canter and some very soft simple changes.  Wendy snapped a little video of our ride and it was so nice to see how well we were doing.  Cricket is almost to the point where she'll pick up the canter from the walk and that makes everything smoother and more balanced.

Things have unraveled a little since the lesson but that's a subject for another post and something I'm not too worried about.  We'll work it out . . . just like we have everything else.

Bringing up the Butterflies and More

I have been riding.  Honest.

My biggest problem, and not just with my horses, is my serious lack of attention.  I get very excited about something, going great guns for awhile.  Then something else catches my fancy and I'm off like a rocket in a totally different direction.  It's no wonder why I seem to be spinning my wheels all the time.

I committed to my program of carrot stick riding.  Then I got the wild hair to teach Cricket to drive.  From that pursuit, I've developed an interest in classical in-hand training.  All of that got shelved after auditing Carol Coppinger's Super Camp and now I want to ride freestyle.

Really, it's a medical condition and I should seek professional help.

I spent five days at Carol Coppinger's first Tennessee Super Camp.  I was not truly auditing as my primary responsibility was caring for my friend's daughter.  Wendy was invited, by Carol, to assist in teaching the camp and I volunteered to play Nanny so she could focus on teaching.  While I didn't get to really watch, I was able to see enough to get fired up about my L3 Freestyle (again).

Following the camp, and despite the horrible storms that affected north Alabama, Wendy worked with me and both my horses.  The general message - the devil is in the details; it's time to sweat the small stuff.

My lesson agenda was entirely direct-line:  I wanted help with carrot stick riding to prepare for my L3 Freestyle audition.  While we did address that issue, where I found the most help was in my groundwork with Cricket and an impromptu session with Bleu.

The highlights of my session with Cricket:

• Improving the quality of our groundwork and on-line warm-up.  While I'm right in saving the "cream" for our under-saddle work, if the warm-up is ho-hum and Cricket is not connecting mentally, I don't have much hope for a good ride.
• The quality of neutral cannot be over-emphasized.  The pauses between the notes create the music.
• Breaking bridling down into a step-by-step friendly game.  Can you bring your head around and relax?  With my hand between your ears?  With the headstall in my other hand?  With the headstall between your ears, resting on your face?  With the bit at your mouth?
• Cricket is far enough along to understand the consequence of not following my focus.  So with CS riding, I need to be clear about offering eyes, bellybutton, leg, STICK.  The idea is to bring the stick into play with the attitude of "you knew it was coming, hate it for you."
• Getting into the psychology of maintain gait.  How do you make breaking gait more difficult than simply maintaining gait?  Not so easy with a LBI and the canter!

My session with Cricket was great and what we covered is making a big difference in our sessions together.  But my biggest revelations came in my time with Bleu.

Not having a plan for working with her, Wendy started off with a "Seven Games Diagnostic." We focused primarily on Friendly Game and Driving Game (with some Circle Game as an extension of what we did in the Driving Game).

Playing FG with Bleu, Wendy challenged me to maintain the rhythm until Bleu could ask me a question.  It wasn't about moving past tolerance to acceptance but rather going a step further to checking in with me.  I don't know if this was Wendy's intent but I can see serious value in teaching this response.  When commotion starts, don't just accept it, check in with me to see what we need to do about it.

My socks truly got blown off when we played with the Driving Game.  Wendy talked to me about the concept of "bringing up the butterflies" and the "return spring."  Too often, especially with RB horses, we spend too much time going slow to build confidence and deal with thresholds.  For L1 and L2 that's ideal because it's safe.  But in L3 and L4 it's about developing the horse as much as the human and it's time for something more.

The driving question behind this shift is this: Does the alpha mare care how an individual herd member feels?  The simple answer is, No.

This is a HUGE paradigm shift for me.  I've been the biggest advocate of "set it up and wait" and "slow and right beats fast and wrong."  I try not to over-face my horses and would rather err on the side of asking to little than demanding too much.

We used driving backwards to play with the idea that "it's okay for you to be upset, but look at me and do as I say."

I started with a long phase 1 and a slow escalation of phases to get Bleu moving backwards.  Once she got the idea, I increased the intensity and asked for snappy!  The idea was to keep it up until she started offering something a little more - thinking backwards, better flexion, etc.  All through the backing, I used the lead line to bring her head back to look at me with two eyes and 2 ears.  When I found a stopping point, I brought her forward and started over.  No waiting for the lick and chew, no babysitting her confidence.

After about the third repetition, Bleu immediately licked and chewed the moment we stopped.  How interesting!  She never really gave me good flexion but she started putting more energy into backing and she was staying straighter.  I took that as a win because at least she seemed more connected.

We took the same idea to the Circle Game.  Back up like you mean it; send and take your shoulder with you.  If she didn't take her shoulder out onto the circle the I disengaged and resent.  To the left she was good; to the right, much less confident.

In the middle of everything, the most amazing thing started to happen.  Bleu started playing with me!  She was leaping, jumping, cantering and PLAYING!  The best part?  I knew it and was playing with her.  She had a hard time taking her shoulder out to right and I had to be firm and repeat the request multiple times.  But she started departing at the canter, maintaining the canter for multiple laps and drawing to me with this engaged and fabulous expression.  And to top it off, she looked MAGNIFICENT!  She started experimenting with her body and moving with better arc on the circle.  How cool is that?

This is a quantum leap in my thinking.  But it's taking my horsemanship to a new level.  Bleu's general draw has gone through the roof - it's like her leader suddenly appeared and she's happy to be with me.  Cricket is finally willing to acknowledge that a better alpha has shown up (at least sometimes).  Yesterday I trotted circles (both bends) with no hands - total relaxation, cadence and only one or two corrections with the reins.

Just when I'm ready to shelve Parelli for awhile, something like this comes along and knocks my socks off (again).