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.

(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!

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.

The Grazing Game

On her blog, Sharon Foley has a post entitled, Grass - the Carpet of Motivation.  I loved this post!

Essentially this is a point to point pattern, using the grass as both point and motivation.  I've done this for years with Cricket.  The game is a wonderful mix of love, language and leadership.  It can turn an ordinary undemanding time session into a great leadership lesson.  It also helps convince your horse that you can have some kick-butt ideas.

There are no rules and no right way to do it.  Sharon uses clicker training, I used my PNH games.  I'll probably try this with the clicker to see if we can make better progress with it for under saddle work.

I've built this game into a great stick-to-me, causing Cricket to canter with me to get to the next grazing spot.  I've used it to motivate her open area liberty, even to the point of canter circles with change of direction.

It's a perfect rapport builder - love, language and leadership in equal doses.

Cookies, Cricket and Connection

I haven't actually taken much time to do anything with either horse.  I wish I could blame the weather but we've had some pop-up thunderstorms that have made it almost down-right pleasant in the evenings.

After my less than stellar ride on Sunday, I've been focused mainly on connection with Cricket.  For whatever reason, she sees no point in making any effort whatsoever to come to me.  For any reason.

I'm just a smidge jealous of anyone who's horse comes to them with enthusiasm.  Any romantic visions of my horse galloping from lush fields just to be near me has been summarily shattered and I believe Cricket is rolling in the ashes of that pipe dream.  Oh well, not taking it personally.  That is going to change.

Yesterday, Allison and I were out amongst the horses checking on Dillon's leg.  With the exception of one, all the horses were milling at the entrance to the runs.  Three guesses who wasn't there.

I called to her once or twice but apparently it is true that grass makes a horse deaf.  No worries, I gave cookies to Bleu and loved on her a little.  It must have finally dawned on Cricket that free access to grass does not trump fleeting access to cookies.  She came right to me, was very respectful of Bleu and I proceeded to give both horses cookies.

With my last cookie, I asked Cricket for a circle (no halter, no stick - not a thing with which to back up my request.  She complied and when I asked for the trot, she was pretty responsive and gave me a soft trot.  I disengaged her, gave her the cookie and a scratch and walked off.  She followed me all the way back to the barn.

Hmm, how interesting.  What part of that caused her to want to follow me?

Oh, a note about Bleu . . . Monday Dillon got momentarily hung in the fence (that's what happens when a stoopid gelding rolls right next to the fence line).  He panicked, the fence snapped and all the horses went a little squirrely.  In the midst of Dillon running/limping around with an "I meant to do that" head twirl, my sweet Bleu ran right up to me.  Oh that was precious.

Day Whatever . . .

I feel... thin. Sort of stretched, like... butter scraped over too much bread. - Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings

abandon, abdicate, back out, bail out, bow out, chicken out, cop out, cut loose, desert, discard, discontinue, ditch, drop, drop out, duck, dump*, dust*, flake out, fly the coop, give up the ship, kiss goodbye, leave, leg it, let go, opt out, pull out, quit, run out on, screw, ship out, stop, storm out, surrender, take a powder, take a walk, throw over, vacate, walk out on, wash hands of, withdraw, yield.

In other words, I give.  I simply cannot commit to my 30 day program.

I had a fairly major meltdown this weekend.  I came to the conclusion that I am simply exhausted.  There are too many pulls on my time and resources and I simply cannot handle it.

So I'm cutting back, scaling back and in other words just learning to say, "No."

After pulling myself out of the ashes of my crash, I spent good time with both horses on Sunday.  I gave Cricket a medicated shampoo bath in the hopes of alleviating whatever is causing her to rub raw spots on her neck.  She stood like a champ for her bath, even when the hose was on her face and between her ears.

Later the same day, when it was cooler and the humidity slightly less oppressive, I returned to the barn to play with Bleu.

We did a little Touch It on the 12' and she is quite eager to find her cookies on the different obstacles in the arena.  I had Ed move one of my bridges into the arena so we played with that in simulation for trailer loading.  I need to be diligent about this as my plan is to take Bleu to fall camp and I want the trip to be as uneventful as possible.

I switched to the 22' and we played with some Figure 8 and circles.  For the F8, I just want her to find the draw as she comes around the cone - she tends to zone out a little when in motion.  On the circle game, she offered more relaxation and less anxiety.  I asked for a little bit of canter with some "mirror me" and her transitions were racing and somewhat unbalanced but relatively unemotional.  I think she's starting to figure out I want an upward transition and not just more speed.

I saddled her and rode her.  There were other horses in the arena and though none were her pasture-mates, I think she felt a little more secure.  We played with gait and direction, whoa and go.  She gave me some good, sustained trotting and I jumped off and called it a win.

Yesterday I mustered enough energy to go feed.  When turning them out, Bleu paused in her gateway and I came in to scratch her.  For the very first time since she came into my life, she let down her reserve and thoroughly enjoyed the scratches and attention.  That just made my day.

I'm still committed to playing with them both - on some level, even if that's only friendly game.  I just need the breathing room to just be.

Day 9: Starting Back Slowly

So I'm back from Columbus - more on that later. I'm ready to get back into my program with my girls. But not too quickly.

Yesterday was the epitome of lazy days. I don't know that I made it off my couch until I finally decided I needed to go to Target. At 5pm.

I did get out to the barn at nearly 9:00 last night. Not much time or energy for playing. But I fed everyone and just spent some quiet time with Bleu and some scratchy time with Cricket.

For Cricket, any time is a good time for me to focus solely on her needs. Would you expect less from a completely self-confident, totally left-brain introvert? I think not. Bleu, on the other hand, is more reserved and just a little guarded. Trying to groom her while she ate caused her to walk away from her food. Hmm, how interesting. I moved her food further from the door and retreated so she could finish her dinner.

I turned all the horses out and, as has become her custom, Cricket stayed back until she had me all to herself and then came in for her scratches. I'm finding it interesting how she is working a little harder for my attention now that "Big Sis" is in the picture.

Today I plan on getting back to more serious play. I learned some things this weekend that I think will help me with both horses. I promise to post on the tour event when I have a bit more time and my notes in front on me.

Day 8: Mi Familia

So I have decided to keep Bleu.

Call me crazy. Whatever. Right after I published yesterday's post, I emailed Bleu's owner and said I was keeping her. I haven't second-guessed the decision. Not once. Good sign.

Clare asked a good question: Does Bleu meet my needs?

I don't really have a good answer. I don't actually feel I need another horse at all. Despite the occasional frustration, Cricket and I have been doing just fine.

So here is my happy little family. Minus the cat. I spent yesterday hand grazing my girls. For Bleu this is about finding comfort away from the barn. For Cricket, it's a chance to work on becoming as wide as she is tall. For me, it's just about enjoying a peaceful summer evening with my horses.

Does life get any better?

Day 5-7: Approach Avoidance

So it seems I'm a little conflicted. Nothing new.

This weekend I experienced some serious approach-avoidance issues with going to the barn. I've been great guns and all of a sudden Whoosh! there went my motivation.

Have I mentioned I suck at "middles"? Who knew Day 5 constituted the middle of a 30 day program. Apparently I also suck at math.

I need to make the decision to keep Bleu or give her back. While I appreciate the 2 month trial period, it just prolongs the agony of the actual decision. Just rip the damn band-aid right off. Please.

Because right now she's floating in that space of mine, but not quite. And I keep talking about future plans with her, always caveated by "assuming I keep her." Well, why the hell am I making plans for the winter if I'm not going to keep her?

My plan was to finish this 30 day program, the end of which coincides with the end of my trial period. Perfect time to make a decision. But I think I just need to bite the bullet. Sign on the dotted line. Resign myself to a life of blissful pony-poverty.

I didn't exactly meet my criteria of "10 minutes of something positive and progressive" this weekend. I just didn't feel up to it. And that's okay.

With Bleu, I did some "leave your stall and the world does not end" friendly game. One day we just hung out in the hallway and I let her eat off the hay bales. Another day, I just took her into the arena and hung out while other horses "worked."

Cricket - just friendly time. We had a big first - I rode her bareback and bridless out of the arena. On a whim, I hopped on her from the tailgate of my truck. I did have the sense to put a string around her neck and take a carrot stick with me. Little good it did. Let's just say it gave me the illusion of control. Oh well. Let's just say that as long as my idea was "go wherever and graze" then she was following my leadership. But it was fun and just a little reckless and it certainly wasn't over-thought. If anything it was under-thought. I'd say that's progress - for me.

Day 3: Puzzles and Questions

Yesterday was all about puzzles and questions.

I wasn't sure I was going to get to play - right when I arrived at the barn, a big thunderstorm rolled in. I decided to review the self-assessments and see if I could wait it out. The storm finally moved on and I went ahead with my session.

I decided to start Bleu on the L1 on-line patterns, beginning at the beginning with Touch It. I set up the arena with obstacles and cookies and then went to fetch her. She caught me right away, walking up with confidence. Love it!

Going into the arena, Bleu can get pretty uptight. She's not used to arenas and as a RBI, gets pretty skeptical. Once in the arena, I decided to check her friendly game and just tossed the string over her back, around her legs - just a basic L1 friendly game. Just that soft rhythm helped her to relax. I need to make sure I make a program of relaxation first so we start off on the right note.

I started the pattern, driving her from Z2/3, asking her to touch obstacles with her nose. By about the third obstacles - after interrupting forward at times and redirecting Z1 - she sort of started to understand that touching yielded a cookie. Then we came to the tarp and Bleu showed me a major threshold.

Taking a strategy from Natural Solutions for Spooky Horses, I moved her between the tarp (big threshold) and pedestal (relative confidence). I didn't care how close she got to the tarp, as long as she didn't try to push past me to get away from it. I also wanted to prove to her that when she was worried, she could trust me to help her and not over-face her. Finally, when it was her idea to be brave and confident, she sniffed at the tarp and was rewarded with two cookies.

I moved on to playing with more friendly game and checking her forehand porcupine game. We finished with a little more touch it, revisiting the tarp. After some more approach and retreat, she offered to put her foot on it. TOUCHDOWN! I walked her away and tied her to the rail while I went and got Cricket.

With Cricket, I wanted a low energy session that really worked on her mind. Wendy Morgan, soon to be fully licensed 1* Parelli Instructor, helped me set up some puzzles for our partnership. It's about working on a task - like sideways from Zone 1 - but setting up a puzzle that causes you and the horse to work together using the skill rather than just pushing the horse by drilling the skill. I call them Wendy Puzzles.

I set up a sideways/backing puzzle and a squeeze with options puzzle. The first had me behind a pole and Cricket between two cones with the tarp behind her. The puzzle was sideways from Zone 1 between the cones, adding in a back up to stand on the tarp. By the end, I had her going sideways from one cone to the middle, backing up to stand on the tarp, coming forward and then asking the question to complete the sideways to the other cone.

The squeeze with options had me behind a pole with the pedestal and a cone. I had the option of squeezing her onto the pedestal or going between the pedestal and the cone. For Cricket his is hard because she makes a lot of assumptions about the pedestal. The first few sends, I had to be clear, tagging her shoulder to get her off the pedestal and do the squeeze I requested. She finally got it and gave me a few "yes ma'am" squeezes.

Then I changed my focus and asked her to cross the pedestal. She got it right away. Then I changed my focus and asked for the squeeze. She was absolutely convinced she needed to cross the pedestal. I had to come across my pole to reinforce the squeeze I wanted. When she came through that squeeze, she was licking and chewing and licking and chewing. After that, she just got it. I did a squeeze over the pedestal followed by a squeeze around the pedestal and she just got it.

I doctored her belly spot (which is finally healing) and put her back in her run. I got the stuff to doctor Bleu's latest hickey and then turned all the horses out. Cricket hung back in her run while everyone else left. Then she mosied right up to me. It's almost like she was waiting to have me to herself. I gave her scratches and a cookie and headed home.

Day 2: A Herd of Three

I decided on a low-key day for yesterday's session. I want to keep Cricket guessing when I ask her to catch me and I am still developing rapport with Bleu. The weather has been excruciatingly hot and sticky and the horses' coats are matted and dirty. I decided a good grooming was in order. As part of the session I wanted to work on building our herd of three.

Bleu is not sure about being caught. She loves the safety of her run and as a RBI isn't so sure leaving is all that good of a thing. I spent the time I needed to catch her attention and interest. At one point she walked up but couldn't touch me. I was able to use light pressure (i.e. let me halter your butt) and she turned, faced and allowed me to halter her.

With Bleu in tow, I headed towards Cricket's stall. Cricket, waiting out in her run, was interested but not wholly convinced she should come to me. I just called to her and she finally came to the door so I could halter her.

Cricket is the alpha of the herd and has the right to push Bleu around. Except when I'm there. And that was part of what last night was to enforce. Setting us up for success, I sent Cricket out in front, driving from Z3/4, and allowed Bleu to trail at whatever distance she felt comfortable. After all, she doesn't yet know that I can protect her from Cricket.

I hitched both girls to the arena rail - Cricket in a blocker tie ring and Bleu with her rope loosely wrapped around a post. I alternated grooming each horse. First Cricket, then Bleu then more Bleu and then back to Cricket.

Cricket loves a good grooming. You can dig and scratch and curry and she just gets into it. Bleu is a little more sensitive. I was pleased, however, with how well she accepted the currying and brushing. I take it as a small sign that her reserve is cracking and she's more accepting of me touching her.

After grooming it was doctoring. Cricket has a bad belly spot already. So I put some Swat on her mid-line. Bleu has another "hickey." This is the worst bite Dillon has given her. I swear I'm about to tie that gelding's mouth shut! I've toyed with putting Bleu in a run by herself but I feel the companionship is more important. When I drive up, Dillon and Bleu are nose-to-tail, swatting flies for each other. When I get her fly sheet back on her, it should offer her a little protection.

I led both mares out, side by side, to the pasture gate. Bleu was very close to Cricket's butt and my sweet girl just accepted it. I was so proud of how she accepted my leadership and didn't so much as flick an ear towards Bleu. I squeezed Bleu between Cricket and the gate and the allowed Cricket to follow.

I turned Cricket loose and she just put her head down to eat. I un-haltered Bleu and she headed straight for Dillon, nickering - the poster child for Battered Mare Syndrome. I turned everybody else out and turned to head home. My Principessa asked for more scratches so I spent a few more minutes loving on her.

Whirlwind Weekend!

So here I am trying to recover from another busy weekend. My good friend and soon-to-be fully licensed 1* Parelli Instructor Wendy Morgan was here for a weekend of lessons. I have the incredibly fun job of watching Wendy's 2 1/2 yr old daughter, Stella, while Wendy teaches. I don't know who gets more exhausted - Wendy or me!

The Sunday lessons were unexpectedly cancelled due to some savvy decisions by the students. Their horses had trailer loading troubles and they wisely decided to stay safe and not push the issue. I have a feeling Wendy will be invited back for some special trailer loading sessions as soon as she gets her full 1* status.

With the cancellations, we had the opportunity to work with my horses.

For Bleu, I wanted some feedback on her on-line canter. I have only played once with her canter and it was pretty exciting. Wendy helped me with a couple of approaches - first using a marker to ask for the canter and then using a traveling circle game with some "mirror me". Both techniques worked but I think the "mirror me" worked better. We'll keep playing with that to help Bleu develop better balance and confidence.

One big thing Wendy pointed out is that my "neutral" has become very fuzzy. I don't have a true neutral and so "coming out of neutral" is rather ineffective. We worked a little on the idea of happy neutral and really bringing up my life to come of neutral. I need a TON of work on this idea.

Next we played with Cricket. Wendy showed me some new techniques for helping Cricket with her rope-stepping issue. I've tried so many different approaches and none of them have helped. Wendy took it a step further and I think, with lots of repetition, I can help Cricket re-program her automatic response when she steps on her rope.

Then we started playing with play drive and I went totally RB and it got very awkward and uncomfortable. Wendy and I had a bit of an emotional de-brief afterward and I'm glad we did. It's hard being such good friends with her and then switching roles to "instructor" and "student."

Wendy really pushed my assumptions about what Cricket could and couldn't do; what she would and wouldn't do. And I was incredibly resistant and just shut down. Eventually we talked through it and Wendy and I are fine.

I don't fully understand why I became so internally emotional about the whole thing. I've had bad days with Cricket. I've had instructors become very blunt with me. I've been pushed out of my complacency. While I don't always enjoy it, I'm rarely so RB emotional about it.

I realized, in my reflective moments, that I'm just in a vulnerable space when it comes to my Cricket. Bringing Bleu into the "family" is redefining my relationship with Cricket. And I'm struggling with how I feel about it. Cricket has been the center of my equine universe for seven years. Bleu is rocking the order of our world.

We finished yesterday's session with an impromptu bareback and bridle-less ride. I just slid onto Cricket from the arena wall. She was sticky and grimy so it wasn't so slippery. We wandered around - no stick, no neck string, just her halter for a little driving game. I asked her for a trot - crazy damn thing to do - and she sort of took off down the arena wall. I thought she'd stop where Wendy was on the observation deck. Nope. I started thinking about the best place to bail. And then she eased and slowed in the corner. Not too bad.

I turned her back and we went to the observation deck and had a major wallering & scratching session. I crawled all over her, scratching and just loving her. It was the most fun I've had with her in months. And it's the first time I've been on her since the beginning of May!

It's alright that Bleu is here. She takes nothing away from what I have with Cricket. She brings something new to the mix. She has her own gifts and talents and she has something new to teach me. What I've learned with Cricket will benefit Bleu and what Bleu has to teach me will take my time with Cricket to the next level. I just need to let down my guard, release the emotion and go with the flow.

So Much For Horse Time!

Well so much for getting in more horse time. Life, or more accurately work, intervened and the best I've managed is scratches, treats and kisses.

I did ride Bleu early last week. We started with some simple passenger lesson and worked our way up to more leadership. I asked her for some sustained trotting. She wasn't so sure about that and it took lots of repeated requests. Finally, she gave me the trot and maintained it long enough for me to ask her to transition to the halt. I jumped off and called it a day.

I'm trying to balance my time with Cricket. When Bleu first arrived, Cricket would bang on her stall door, demanding my attention. Then she started just watching me. Finally, last week, she just stood -looking entirely too dejected - out in her run. My plan had been to take Bleu for a trail walk but I decided to leave her graze and spend some quality time with my Principessa. I grabbed a brush and curry and called her up and went to town. I tell you, nobody appreciates a good "elbow grease grooming" like my Cricket.

For the last several days it's been little more than a pat and a cookie for either of them. Work has been busy and hectic and I just want to crash at the end of the day. This weekend Wendy Morgan returns for another weekend of lessons. Starting Monday, I want to get Bleu out of the arena and start working with Cricket some more. We'll see how the next set of plans goes . . .

Catching Up

It's been ages, or so it seems, since I've posted anything. This is due in large part to the fact I haven't been doing anything.

Well, that's not entirely true. But what I have been doing is rather unremarkable. Nevertheless, here it goes.

I believe I mentioned that Cricket came back from camp "sore." No real idea what's bothering her but something just ain't doin' right. Friday I had my farrier pull her shoes and hoof test her right front. Nothing. She's got a touch of separation around her white line and maybe that's all it was.

Leading up to her farrier appointment, I had her on a course of anti-inflammatory meds. I played with her on Monday and she was short-striding but not off. She's always a little short out of shoes so maybe it's nothing major. And when we opened the gates to let them all out, she tore off at a mad gallop. Oh yeah, she's sore!

I've been spending the last week or so getting to know Bleu. She arrived at the barn last Sunday. I have her on trial until mid-July.

For the first few days, we did some pretty low-key stuff in the arena. She's a little worried about everything - the arena, the other horses, the whole change in her world. I've been playing a lot of "me & my shadow" and she really digs the game. We start out standing stock still and eventually her breathing deepens, she lets out a big sigh, followed by a big lick & chew. And then we're off.

I'm working on some circles with her. I want to build her confidence and balance so I can start introducing canter work. We'll get there.

Saturday I rode her for the first time since she arrived. She did great, all things considered. My plan was to extend "me & my shadow" into passenger game under saddle. Excellent plan! She was pretty concerned about being away from the herd and the passenger game allowed her to go back when she needed it. Eventually we walked up the middle of the arena and I dismounted and called it a day.

Monday I gave her a bath. Turns out her previous owner was big into "My Pretty Pony" - Bleu stood like an old pro. She's a bit touchy about her teats but she doesn't trust me all that well so it's no surprise.

My plan is to ride more this week and see how things go. I've already learned a lot about my own horsemanship in the brief time I've had Bleu. I promise to post something more introspective soon.

Camp Report

It seems that my camp was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. I had some pretty high hopes to take what Cricket and I have been developing over the last several months and be able to shape and refine it.

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men . . . Apparently that applies to horses and humans.

Saturday was particularly emotional. I lost my temper with Cricket, worse than I probably ever have before. I'm ashamed of my behavior and I'm glad nobody was there to see me. After reaching into her back molars to retrieve my chap stick and holder, the emotion and adrenaline got the better of me. Nothing I did permanently damaged our rapport and I certainly didn't hurt her. In fact, she nickered to me after I put her back in her stall.

Sunday was as good as Saturday was bad. We did a lot of transitions using the carrot stick and I have never felt Cricket so positively responsive to CS riding. With such lovely trotting during the group session, I used my private session to focus on that relaxation and respect. I asked her for a right lead canter and she gave me a beautiful upward transition and a lovely canter. I called that a win.

Monday we were confined to the indoor arena due to rain. Our ground session was pretty good but it fell apart during the riding. We were doing some high level finesse and the compression of the exercises coupled with the compression of the "line-up" was more than Cricket could handle. After one particularly upsetting moment in the line, Cricket was on the brink of kicking another horse. I pulled her out and dismounted until we both became more emotionally collected. I remounted and stationed her near Carol's "swing out car wash." Cricket proceeded to play with the plastic strips to her heart's content. She finally relaxed and the session ended better than it started.

Tuesday I had a great private session in the round pen. Cricket's draw is getting more solid and we played with 2 carrot sticks working on spins on the liberty circle. Her biggest issue is maintaining forward. Often her draw falls apart at the canter so we did a few canter circles, draw to me and stop. Our group liberty was done in a rodear - a living round pen created by the other students and their horses. Cricket did great but it became obvious that she was sore. After the rodear I played with her on the 22' trying to isolate the source of her lameness. I couldn't find anything but took her down to cold-hose her legs, apply liniment and give her some anti-inflammatory medication. By the afternoon she was better but still off. I rode her at an easy walk, asking for wide turns. She did great and I dismounted, put her in the round corral and watched the rest of the session.

Camp was very anti-climactic. It seems that I am past the point of Wow! and blinding flashes of revelation. Gone are the Shazaam! moments and instead it's the dawning realization that it truly is time to perfect L1. It was filled with moments of "Oh, that's why that is so important."

Don't get me wrong - I learned a lot. But it's mostly about how the little snags and wrinkles in my foundation become gaping holes if I try to progress without addressing and correcting them. And that's a bitter pill to swallow at times. It's not always about "having fun" - you have to put in the time to make sure the fundamentals are rock solid.

More on some of the specifics later . . .

A Good Time Was Had By All

So in case anyone is wondering, because it's not been clear in my last several posts - I love my horse. She is unbelievably awesome and her fabulosity shines through more and more. This is not because she is becoming a better horse but rather because I am figuring how to be a better human.

Just a couple details on the play session. We had a brief warm-up in the paddock and then I saddled her in the aisle way. With her 22' piled on the ground, she stood, facing the grass and accepted the saddling and girthing. She moved once or twice but I just calmly put her back where I wanted. Once mounted, I worked a little on "don't graze until I give permission." This is a leadership issue and we're addressing it.

The idea was to go on a little trail ride. Didn't really work out. The setting sun brought out the little bugs and Cricket started headshaking. At first I wanted to just push her through it. Don't ask me why. I quickly got hold of myself, told the others to go on and turned her back to the barn. I stood her tied while I did some feed prep and then took her back into the arena.

In the arena we played with walk-trot transitions and Cricket's new favorite thing - cantering. Not quite sure why my LBI loves cantering in the arena. Maybe it's her way of defying definition. I worked on some control at the right lead - cantering down the long side, circling the back half of the arena and then continuing down the other long side. We even picked up the left lead and went about 3/4 of the way around the arena.

Called it a win! Worked on opening the gate and exiting the arena. She's a little difficult going through the gate but better than she's ever been about standing while I close it. Having a savvy string on the gate has helped give us more drift and thus more success.

Wandered in the paddock, chatting with some friends. Played more "don't eat, yet" and had moderate success. Considering this is only our second time playing with it under saddle, I'm more than pleased.

I'm having more fun with her than I could ever imagine. I need to work on downward transitions - it's very unpretty right now. But I don't care. We'll figure it out, just like we have everything else.

Getting Back to ME

I am finally getting back to my life as I want it.

Right before Thanksgiving Cricket lost a shoe. Taking the opportunity to give her feet a breather, I had my farrier pull the other three. She ended up sore on all four feet. There just wasn't enough hoof growth to allow her comfort after he tidied up each foot.

The Tuesday after Thanksgiving all hell broke loose at work and I ended up putting in very long hours for two weeks, including working on the weekend.

I was able to get out to see Cricket once during that time. I called to her and she whipped her head around as if to say, "Where have you been?! I've missed you!" It was so hard going from seeing her every day to not seeing her for almost two weeks.

My brother and sis-in-law arrived the week before Christmas and what time I had off was now devoted to visiting with family I hadn't seen in about 18 months.

I finally got out to the barn for some really horse time yesterday. I know the importance of rebuilding the rapport with Cricket. We started in the lush field with hand grazing and some simple "respect my leadership" games. I worked on some circle game with her, asking for canter transitions and change of direction. Her canter was wonderful. Her change of direction was better than ever. I played with the techniques Pat (re)introduces in the new L3 On-Line program. I got at least one FLC from right to left but none left to right. She was, however, more willing to pick up the right lead canter after the FLC. I'm pretty sure I need to have the chiropractor out.

We went into the arena and played a little at liberty. Before the 30 day program, her open area liberty consisted of a left-brain bolt. Now she is very connected and it feels wonderful. I used "late and light" (from the new L3 Liberty program) and our stick to me was better.

More as a friendly game than anything else, I asked her up to the mounting block. I just played with jumping and laying over her back. Cricket can get snarky with mounting so I'm trying to play more friendly game. I decided to get on and when I sat up, she was stock still. I shimmied around a bit. No bad ears, no turning to bite. I asked her over to the rail and I took the string off my stick. We walked around the arena totally nekkid - her not me, this is a family barn, after all.

We did a little follow the rail, some turns and halts. She pitched a minor fit when I asked her to move away from some friend with whom I'd been visiting. She settled down and we just stood in the middle of the arena. I asked her for lateral flexion with the stick. She was pretty soft and I decided that was enough. I hadn't been on her back in about a month and my first ride was bareback and bridleless - not too shabby!

We finished with a little liberty in the paddock. I just need to get to and get that filmed! At the end, I allowed her to graze. She was fantastic.

I am so pleased with her. Despite the time off, she was pretty willing to give me back my leadership. I felt at ease on her even though it had been weeks. I cannot wait to start putting in more time with her!

Day 7 - Simplicity

Sunday I opted for a day of simplicity with Cricket. On Saturday, as I was wrapping things up and chatting with a friend, we hit upon an impromptu plan to go trail riding on Sunday. The plan was to go for a long walk - Cricket is still green when it comes to trail riding and she hasn't ridden her horse in about a month.

We decided to head to the local Rails to Trails. This is Cricket's third "official" trail ride. I'd love to get her out more but I have neither a trailer nor a truck with which to pull one so we don't get out nearly as much as I would like.

My friend arrived at noon and we loaded Cricket and headed off. As we were saddling the horses, I reminded my friend that the most important thing to me was my horse's confidence and my own. Though not a PNH student, my friend was very respectful and agreed the ride was just for fun, no goals and we'd stay out as long (or as little) as necessary.

We headed out. Her horse is a half-Arab and while he's older, he's much more "nervous" than Cricket. He had a lot of "what was that?" starts and Cricket would react to him with "huh?" It was good, in a way, because I got to ride lots of mini-startles and develop a feel for what happens before what happens happens.

We encountered two kids on bikes. They were so polite and followed our directions so we could safely familiarize the horses with these strange beings. Later, another cyclist came up behind us and before he could announce his presence, my friend's horse spooked into Cricket which caused her to spook. The cyclist was apologetic and was really good at picking a slow but steady pace and talking to the horses as he went by. We also came across some folks walking dogs and they were polite and courteous towards the horses. We only passed two other groups riding and Cricket was calm but a little disconcerted by the wonky-walking horses. She seemed convinced something was wrong with their legs.

The trail is marked every half mile with distance markers. It's so funny - this is the third time we've been on this trail and every time we pass a mile marker, Cricket turns as if to read it. I know she's saying, "Dammit, we've only gone half a mile. How much further is this place?"

We only rode about 2 miles. Cricket was getting a little nervous and at one point she refused to go forward. I turned her around and she was more relaxed. We decided that was good enough and by the time we were back at the trailer, both horses were soft and relaxed.

When we returned to the barn, I decided to let Cricket graze and I laid in the sun for about an hour just enjoying my horse. We ended the day with some ground driving on the neighbor's property. She is so much more responsive when we are out "going somewhere."

All and all, a very good day!

Day 6 - Pushing the Envelope

I feel like my relationship with Cricket has become a long road stretching for miles in front of me. There is simply no end to what we can accomplish.

As I headed out to the barn I started thinking about cantering. I'm not trying to psych myself up to do something for which I'm truly not prepared. I am trying very hard to get out of my head and to trust my seat and my horse. I'm not in a rush but I am tired of dragging my feet.

Today my plan was to continue our Touch It and Figure 8 and move quickly on to riding. Cricket was much more in-tune with Touch It so I kept it very short with only two touches. I moved to the Figure 8 and asked Cricket to put some energy into it. She offered some fantastic cantering and two FLC from right to left. She was sassy and energetic but quick to relax and offer a L&C when I turned the game off.

Riding was a little more aimless than I would have liked. There were too many people in the arena and not everyone has what I call "arena etiquette." So we moseyed around doing some CS riding at the walk and trot. We followed the rail a bit and did a bit of Figure 8. She pooped in the arena and I used that as an exercise in "we have a job to do." When that was finished I decided to ride with reins - still freestyle but sans stick.

I picked up the bowtie pattern and she was a little rushy but relatively responsive. With a bit of a "now or never" thought, I asked for the canter. She pinned her ears and gave me a rushy trot. No worries, stick to the pattern and ask again. We went through it several times and WE CANTERED. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't anything to win awards. But it was canter and it was freestyle. She gave me two or three decent canters to the right but only some jumpy steps to the left.

That pretty much ended the session. What more could I ask? We finished with some liberty grazing in the lush field.

An unexpected bonus from our riding sessions is she seems more connected to me at liberty. Hmm, how intersting!

Day 4 - Undemanding Time

For a variety of reasons, yesterday was a "no play" day. At about 3:30 I realized I hadn't had lunch and at 4:23 I realized I still hadn't done anything about it and it was time to go. All the way out to the barn, I hemmed and hawed about what to do with Cricket. Storms were blowing in and my tummy was rumbling like thunder. As I pulled up to the barn, I made my decision.

I grabbed the 22' line and brought Cricket out of her day dry lot and headed across from the arena to the ungrazed field. For 30 minutes, I sat on the tailgate of my truck and just enjoyed watching my horse feast on fabulous grass. I knew, as hungry as I was, there was no point in trying anything focused. So undemanding time, it was.

I discovered something interesting. Cricket has a strong aversion to stepping on her rope. I've been wondering if it's RB or LB or what is going on. She is unbelievably aware of her rope and is very skilled about maneuvering around it. As she was grazin, I piled the excess rope in front of her feet. She stepped on the rope and when she moved her head for new grass, she popped it up and did a "soft" pull-back. The catch? Her head wasn't caught. Her foot was on the rope but she had oodles of slack. Twice she moved backwards to free herself when she was never really caught in the first place. Hmm, how interesting! Gives me some things to consider in addressing this issue.

So even my day of undemanding time turned out to be very enlightening