Riding in the New Year

Cricket, rigged up in surcingle, bridle and long lines.

There are numerous superstitions and traditions surrounding New Year's Day.  Some make sense.  Having money in your pocket or paying off debt before the stroke of midnight signal hope for financial prosperity.  Others not so much.  Seriously, what's up with wearing yellow underwear? (I'm not kidding, google it.)

My only New Year's tradition is to do on this day all the things with which I hope to fill the coming year.  I spent time with friends and family, puttered with some hobbies, worked a little around my house, got in a bit of exercise and, of course, played with my horse.

Becky and I make a point to meet on New Year's Day and do something with the horses.  The weather was supremely cooperative this year and we had a truly glorious day.

After hand-grazing and grooming, I played with Cricket just briefly.  I need to work more variety into our ground play and until I get my creative juices going, I just want to make sure she's free and forward.  She offered me some beautiful circles and I was pleased.  I sent her over a small cross-rail, part of a pattern that was set up in the arena, and she took it nicely in stride.

I saddled up with my ReactorPanel, my fantabulous English saddle.  One of my goals is to start jumping and to do so, I need to reacquaint myself with my English saddle.  I decided to shorten my stirrups as I have a feeling they are way too long.  It felt awkward at first but as soon as Cricket picked up a trot, I realized how much easier it was to rise to her trot with shorter stirrups.

After a nice warm-up, I took her through the jump pattern.  We trotted up the east wall and around the north side of the arena.  We turned in and took three trot poles back towards the east wall.  Following the east wall, we came around the open south end towards the small cross-rail.  And then we jumped.

Okay, not a real jump.  Cricket took the jump in a high trot stride.  But still . . . She was so soft and forward.  She felt so balanced and sane.  It was wonderful.  I wasn't afraid at all.  Well, maybe I was a little apprehensive but it felt so good.

So we did it again.  And then again.  The final time through, she jumped a little more and that was just fine.

I was thrilled!

We finished with some left lead canter circles.  I had asked Cricket for a right lead and she was very rushy and I didn't like it.  I put her on the left lead on a question box.  The first time, she popped two little bucks.  I think I was squeezing her with both legs.  The second time, she was relaxed and forward.

I decided to strip her saddle off and rig her up in long lines and her surcingle.  It's been ages since we've done anything with driving and I'd like to get back on track with it.  We did a simple follow the rail and we just worked on solving the puzzle of following a feel on the lines.  I asked her for some trot but was unable to be effective from Z5.  We need to play with that some more.  I quit when she offered a canter stride - not because I wanted the canter but because she tried really hard to do what she thought I was asking.

The day ended with more hand grazing in neighbor Dave's field.

If that day is a sign of things to come in the new year, I couldn't be happier.

Emergency Dismount

This past weekend, I survived my first true emergency dismount.  I was bareback and bridle-less and Cricket became a runaway . . . at the walk.  She was crossing the gravel road as I planned my dismount but as soon as she got off the gravel, she broke into a trot.  I vaulted off and landed on my feet.  Unfortunately, I was facing the wrong way and Cricket's momentum pulled me backwards and I softly toppled to the ground.

Since this event, I've been reflecting on a few things.

It didn't scare me.  At all.  It was my choice to get off.  The power of that decision preserved my confidence.  Later that day, I haltered her and rode her from the barn back to her turnout field.

I've also thought about when the runaway actually started.  Most people hear "runaway" and picture a horse at a full gallop and a rider hanging on for dear life.  In reality, a runaway occurs when your horse disconnects from your leadership.  When you don't control the brakes, it's a runaway.  But when you don't control the accelerator, it's also a runaway.  A horse can runaway in one step.  If you fix all the little runaways, you never get to the big one.

So when did Cricket runaway?  Honestly, before I ever go on her.  I asked her to pick me up at the mounting block and she didn't.  I had to coax her with the stick.  I thought, "Well, I'm just going to sit on her while she grazes.  We'll be fine."  I failed to establish my leadership and since nature abhors a void, someone had to step up.  It doesn't take much for Cricket to take over.

My last thought was about the actual emergency dismount.  I have never vaulted off a moving horse.  Ever.  I've become very fluid in my bareback dismount and it was that muscle memory that saved me on Saturday.  I also practice landing on soft knees and ankles, sinking further than necessary to ensure the shock is absorbed throughout my body.  It was that softness that allowed me to tumble backwards and prevent injury.

Since I often ride bareback in the winter, I think this is an excellent time to improve my emergency dismount.  I want to be able to vault off Cricket, from the walk or trot, and land safely on my feet.  I'm going to start at the halt so as to retrain myself to twist my hips and land facing the same direction as my horse.  When that gets good, we'll put it in motion.

As weird as it might sound, this is one of my best moments in my horsemanship journey.  I vaulted off a moving animal, landed on my feet and was just fine.  A year ago, I'd have fallen off, gotten hurt and taken months to rebuild my confidence.

Playing in the Dirt

Cricket and I got to play in the dirt yesterday.  It was so much fun!

The owners of my barn are having some major earth work done around the boarding barn.  The result of Sunday's work was two big piles of dirt where one of the terraces used to be.

When the bulldozer guy took a break, I asked if I could play on the dirt with my horse.  He grinned and said, "Have at it."  I'm not sure he really understood what I wanted but was happy to oblige.  I ran off to get my boots, giddy as a school-girl.

I brought Cricket out, hooked her to my 45' and off we went.  The dirt was in two piles, a smaller one down away from the barn and a pretty large one in the paddock.

She was pretty easy going and we started with some friendly game of just moving around near the dirt.  Cricket was pretty nonplussed about the whole thing.  I asked her to head up the big hill and up she went.  She got to the top and looked around as if to say, "well, this is different."

The front of the hill, where she went up, was pretty well packed from the bulldozer.  The steeper back side was all loose dirt.  I asked her to crest the hill and come down the steep side.  Over she went and down she scootched as if she it were an every day occurrence.

From the ground, we played with both dirt hills.  I asked her to go up and over or go up and wait before turning around and going down the way she came.  I stood on the smaller hill and had her circle around me.  She was a little confused but eventually figured it out, even jumping part of the dirt pile as she traveled around.  I played with yo-yo, standing at the top of the hill and asking her to back at the bottom and then run up to me.  That was fun.  I even asked her to back down the hill from Z5 while I stood at the bottom.

Everything was going so well, I saddled up and decided to ride on the hills.  Going down hills on horseback scares the begeezus out of me.  Cricket and I nearly somersaulted down a hill during our one ACTHA ride.  But I figured this was a good opportunity to practice.

My Crickie-Monster was an absolute champ!  She took me around, up and down.  The little hill was okay - the top had a good platform to turn around and walk back down the packed side.  The big hill was a little narrower at the top.  Our first attempt was a little nerve-wracking.  Cricket tried to go down the loose dirt but I was able to clarify my request and face her down the "ramp."  Where she stopped dead in her tracks.  I encouraged her forward and she walked calmly, straight down the hill.  Where she got lots of cookies at the bottom.  We finished our dirt play by riding up the small hill and then backing all the way down.  I took her out into one of the open fields and we did a little trot and canter before ending our ride.

My view from the top of the smaller dirt pile.

Pure. Unadulterated. Joy.

This weekend was simply amazing.  Better than any ride at any amusement park.  Ever.

Other than feeding, I've done little with my horses in weeks.  It's been unseasonably hot and muggy and just the act of toting feed pans and filling hay nets was enough to have me drenched in sweat.  At 9 o'clock at night.

On Thursday I noticed the air seemed less thick and Cricket wasn't sweating from just standing in her stall.  I decided if Friday held the same, I was getting on my horse.

Well the weather was beautiful - hot but not humid - all weekend and I rode all three days.

On Friday, we just rode in the paddock.  I didn't want to bother with anything too specific, so I just put a bareback pad on her and asked her to move around a little.  We did mostly walk but a fair amount of trotting - at least considering my trepidation about bareback and the fact we were "outside."  I actually had fun trotting her up the small rises in the paddock.  We played approach and retreat, stepping up onto my new pedestal.  It scares me to no end when she steps up there.  Twice I asked her up and just scratched her and that was enough.

Saturday, I brought Cricket and her BFF, Etruska, out to play a little.  We did a little stick to me and some tandem circle game.  I find it interesting that Cricket will offer and maintain a canter on this type of circle game but it's like pulling teeth to get her to canter any other time.  How interesting!  I put my bareback pad on Cricket and ponied Etruska around for a little.  There were a lot of other horses and Cricket and Etruska were very good.  On a whim, I parked Cricket and asked Etruska to circle around us.  It was a little challenging to get Etruska to understand what I wanted but once she got it, she gave me a beautiful trotting circle game.  Then I asked Cricket for a yield on the hindquarters to follow Etruska around the circle.  That was incredible!  Cricket had a harder time to the left but to the right she gave me a full turn and Etruska maintained her trot.

But all of that pales in comparison to Sunday.  I've decided it's time to push my boundaries again and start riding Cricket out of the arena more.  When I audited Carol's Super Camp, I was so jealous of the folks out cantering in the field.  And I thought, as I watched, "I can do that."  So it's time to put action to thought and get out there.

Our pasture for the boarder is about 6 acres, cross-fenced to make three larger fields and one smaller "catch paddock."  After saddling Cricket, I walked her out to open the gate between two of the fields.  At the back of the top field I used a ditch to mount up and we rode back towards the barn to meet up with the other two riders.  Cricket showed no signs of spookiness or nervousness and I was pleased.

We started with some trotting, following the fence line.  The entire field is terraced and so we had the fun of going up and down some gentle rises.  I was happy to feel Cricket work to maintain the trot but not rush as the terrain undulated.  We rode out to the back field and did some free-form trotting.  Cricket was pretty attentive and pretty relaxed so I was feeling good about our ride.

I don't know when we started cantering.  I want to say I asked for it but maybe she offered and I agreed.  Who cares!  The point is we started cantering out in the field.  It was a little helter-skelter for awhile but it didn't take long to introduce some discipline to our ride.

I think Cricket enjoyed cantering up the terraces.  It was a total rush to feel her power up the incline, even the small swells of the terraces.

I had two separate sessions of working some circles and simple lead changes.  In the second session, I was able to let go of the rein and really ride her freestyle.  That was cool to feel the trust and communication.

When we were ready to wrap up, the barn owner cantered off to the gate between the fields to close off the upper field.  I followed and urged Cricket into the canter.  My intent was to head down the long fence line, all the way to the corner of the second field.  Cricket slowed at the gate and broke gait one other time but I just urged her to turn loose and she did.  The last stretch of fence line, it felt like she was flying.  I could feel the wind in my face and I was probably grinning like an idiot.

As we approached the corner, I rated her back down to the walk and turned and headed back to the other riders at the gate.  I just dropped the reins over the saddle horn and let her walk.  When I met up with the others, we turned to the barn and I walked Cricket all the way back.  Not once did I need my reins, not once did she dive for grass.  Come to think of it, I don't think she dove for grass the entire ride.  How interesting!

I have waited years for that ride.  It was worth it.

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).

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

When I went to the barn to feed on Monday, my intention was to pull Bleu out, groom her and then feed and leave.  My house has returned to it's "federal disaster area" state and I need to get things in order.

Ed came out and said that Jeanne and John were coming so I decided to stay - at least to visit.  Despite the fact that I live on Jeanne and John's farm, I rarely get to chat with them.

So I stayed.  And I ended up having a lovely session with Cricket.

I played with her at liberty.  She's still reluctant to maintain a canter.  As with most everything else, I'm 99.9% sure it's got more to do with me than it does with her.

I put a bareback pad on her and got on bridle-less.  Because there were other horses, I just rode her to the rail and put her halter on from there.  She was pretty reluctant to hold her head to the left - partially her opposition and partly I really think she needs to have her teeth done.

She was wonderful.  Only a few snarky faces to the other horses.  I've been diligent about leadership and confidence under saddle and it finally seems to be paying off.  We walked and trotted around with relaxation and flexion.  She carries herself so beautifully, so naturally.  One of these days I hope to have the skill and knowledge to take her to the next level.

We even cantered.  Yep, you read that right.  We cantered.  Just twice.

I put her on the pattern we used before and just opened the door to see if she was in the mood to go through it.  She was and we did.  The second time I just took her on the pattern and when I felt her connected to me, I asked and she obliged.

Again, this is only 2-5 strides.  But it's earth-shattering to think that I can even consider asking Cricket to canter bareback.

The end of our session I played with posting bareback.  Not something I've ever done before.  I think Cricket liked it and she even got to the point where she was gathering herself to offer the canter.  I brought her back down, thanked her and got off.

Fun.  It was just FUN!

Day 4: More and Better

Yesterday I focused on building on what we started the day before. I want to be diligent and focused about taking Bleu through the levels self-assessments and really using the Patterns with her. With Cricket, it's just whatever I can do to make our on-line sessions fun again.

I started with Bleu. The arena was set up with our same Touch It pattern and I "pre-loaded" the obstacles with cookies. When I squeezed her into the arena I noticed she became rather tense. I paused to play friendly game but she wasn't relaxing. I squeezed her out and re-played the squeeze allowing her to show me her thresholds. She finally relaxed and on the next send, walked confidently into the arena.

She was more confident with the Touch It pattern and I had to use less rope/stick to help direct her Zone 1. The tarp was still ultra-scary but in a new tactic, I walked right past it between two obstacles. When she sort of pushed into me, I just moved her shoulder out and said, "don't worry, it's not about the tarp but the next obstacle." Squeezing back past it, she didn't bat an eyelash.

When we finally approached the tarp, she was a little skeptical but more sure of herself. Before long, I couldn't get her off of it! I squeezed her over it in both directions and then walked away for dwell time. She had a big, yet soft, adrenaline release and then proceeded to lick my arm and my leg!

I asked her for sideways on the rail which confused her at first but she figured it out and was nice and soft. To the left is easier than the right. We finished with another squeeze on the tarp followed by retreat and another adrenaline release.

I put Bleu back in her stall and fed her and Dillon. I asked Cricket to come up to be caught and she did so, rather willingly.

We started with the Wendy Puzzle of sideways and backwards. She remembered and we moved on. I asked for some falling leaf and canter transitions. I failed to reward one big effort and she sort of petered out a little. Oh well, sometimes we learn what works by doing what doesn't work.

She was offering me decent energy with good mental connection. I don't really remember her pinning her ears or swishing her tail at all - something she often does when I try to play on-line. I sat on the big soccer ball and dwelled with her. She offered a nice adrenaline release and then proceeded to play with the nearby cones.

I finished with a little rope-stepping friendly game and she was awesome about giving to the pressure. I couldn't be more pleased.

I fed Cricket and Etruska their measly evening rations and before I had the buckets rinsed and ropes put up, they were both done. I turned the horses out, asking Bleu to walk with me down the run and keeping Dillon out of our space. It was funny to see the horses in the adjacent runs mirroring our starts and stops. Not one horse walked in front of me and Bleu. Hmm, how interesting! As is becoming her custom, Cricket hung back until she had me to herself and we had a scratch fest.

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.

Oh What A Feeling!

I am just giddy. There's no other way to describe it. Giddy as a school girl.

I wasn't going to ride last night. After my Pilates session, I'm usually pretty wiped out. When I arrived at the barn, another boarder was there and the company incentivized me to pull out my horse.

We started with a fantastic ground warm-up. We played a little on-line and then moved to liberty. I had so many fantastic moments, I could go on for days describing each of them. One of the coolest things, Cricket offered a flying lead change on a liberty circle in the open arena. Too freakin' cool!

I pulled out my saddle and asked Cricket to stand for saddling. Advancing our saddling friendly is one of my current "sub goals." She stood stock still. Never moved a foot. My pony girl ROCKS!

Mounted up and did our "hurry up and wait." Nice relaxation. Headed out on the rail at the walk. She was soft and easy so I transitioned her up to the trot. Soft, cadenced and relaxed. We did a circuit or two and she just felt wonderful. And the moment was right and my horse felt connected and we came around the corner and I just asked for the canter. She picked up the canter and we cantered down the rail on the right (as in correct and right fore) lead. Downward transition not the most graceful but who the hell cares! More trotting and then a right lead canter that took us most of the way around the arena.

Back to the trot, change directions. The left bend. My current Achilles heel. Decided to go back to the Question Box. Only one problem - the pattern had been disassembled. No worries. I found the middle, where the box used to be and stopped. I asked Cricket to trot out to the rail and follow the rail around back to the imaginary box. All systems go. Out at the trot, through the "box" and ask for the canter. Easy upward transition into the canter onto the correct lead.

We finished with a little trotting and walking. More on our program of "gate friendly." With only one correction on a totally freestyle rein, Cricket stood while I swung the gate back and forth. She protested slightly when I asked her to walk off from the gate. I need to work that one out and I have some ideas.

Our only "issue" the whole session is Cricket's attitude about being on-line. She just doesn't like it. And I'm not sure what to do about it. Cantering on the 22' she gives me a choppy, four-beat canter. It's ugly. At liberty it's a soft, forward three-beat movement. Same under saddle. So what's up with the on-line thing? I think I know but I"m not sure how to fix it. Might be something to address with Carol when I'm at camp.

So my big realizations: I'm not afraid and Cricket's canter now feels like just another gait. How cool is that?!

The Other Shoe

Damn that shoe. That blasted "other shoe."

Last night was beautiful. After our freak cold snap on Monday, the temps climbed up into the 60s. The sun broke through the clouds. When I arrived at the barn, it was quiet. Cricket greeted me willingly at the door. And yet all I did was brush her and then feed all the horses. Didn't pull my saddle out. Didn't clip a line on her and play for a bit. Nothing.

My motivation has been stalled. I promised myself something every day until camp. But yet I just balk at getting back on her unless someone else is there to kind of push and prod me. Didn't have this problem during my 30 day program last fall. So what's the problem?

I'll tell you what it is. It's that shoe. That blasted "other shoe." And waiting for it to fall.

See, every good thing with Cricket has eventually been squashed by that other shoe, falling when I least expect it. And I'm afraid. I'm afraid the beautiful things we have achieved will be mashed when that other shoe drops. So if I don't do anything, the shoe will have nothing to squelch. We can rest, albeit lightly, on our laurels and I can say, "this is what we have done."

Unfortunately, resting on laurels leaves you stymied forever in the past. There's no new things to talk about, no new adventures to have, no new accomplishments. That's not what I want.

The trust I must find is not necessarily in Cricket but in us. I need to believe the foundation we are building is solid. I need to believe what she is offering is not a fluke. I need to believe in our partnership. It's hard.

So I have a new goal for my program with Cricket. To do something. To not be paralyzed looking skyward, wondering where the "other shoe" might be. If it does happen to fall, leaving tread marks on my head, then I'll get up - as I always have - and figure out how to move on.

Fantastic Weekend

I have fallen in love with Cricket all over again. I can hardly find the words to describe how I feel about my horse and the place in which we find ourselves.

Friday I played with her on the ground. Using a modification to the Figure-8, as suggested by my friend Kathy, I wanted to see if Cricket could find more purpose and thus a happier attitude. I'm not sure what went wrong - or if anything actually went wrong. Cricket has a bit of a LB emotional fit and ended up cantering, full tilt, at the end - and I mean the very end - of the 45' line. She went up and down the terraces, around obstacles and over jumps. She wasn't exactly tuned out but neither was she ready to tune in. I worked with her a little and finally got her to send without flying out. We re-approached the jump that caused her difficulty and when she put forth good try, I called it a win and quit for the day.

We had a "pony party" on Saturday - Genia and Kathy hauled their horses to the barn and Becky, who boards with me, joined up with us. We started with some ground play then broke for lunch and then saddled up to ride in the afternoon.

I revisited the F8 with jumps and Cricket took it like a pro. Her attitude was better using the jumps rather than just going around barrels. Of course my flow was pretty poor but I'll get there. We did a little circle game with maintain gait over the terraces and then a little with good canter departs on the circle.

After lunch we saddled up and rode in the arena for awhile. Cricket was all over the map. First, the strange horses and close quarters brought out a lot of her unconfidence. She was pinning her ears and just thinking evil thoughts. We tried to trot our mile around the rail but she just wasn't in to it. She gave me a super soft little trot but she just wouldn't maintain her gait. I opted not to push the issue with her, feeling it wasn't worth it to argue for the sake of arguing.

When I got a clear end of the arena, I put her on the Question Box pattern and asked for walk and trot transitions. She was soft, responsive and arced nicely on the circle. I asked her for some right lead canter and she was just as willing as could be. It was the first time I had asked her to canter since the end of our 30 day program in November.

We took a little stroll outside the arena and I worked on "don't eat until I say so." It's nowhere near as good under saddle as it is on the ground but we'll get there. I asked her to trot out in the field and eventually she would trot on a loose rein and maintain gait until I asked for the halt.

Sunday I headed out to the barn to ride again. I need to expand the question box pattern to the full figure 8 so I can one day "work" on simple lead changes. I need to increase my confidence with left lead canter. I think Cricket is more comfortable on her left lead but I'm not.

After a brief warm-up on the ground I saddled her up and asked for some follow the rail. Her trot was once again all over the map and she kept trying to canter. What I've realized is that I've relied too heavily on my breathe to cue her for canter. When she hears me inhale, she thinks that means canter. Ugh! So I asked her for the trot and focused intently on a two-beat rhythm in time with my breathing. Finally she stretched way down, nose between her fetlocks, and settled into a lovely soft trot. I think, maybe, she was stretching her back, releasing the tension that's been there for so long.

I put her on the question box, using both sides. I used the open end of the arena for her right bend and the enclosed end of the arena for her left. I have this weird, lingering fear that she'll run away with me. Don't ask.

I played with walking and trotting to the right and then changing the bend to walk and trot to the left. We picked up the right lead for a circle then down to the trot for the left bend. All the while, in my head, I had this idea that this would prepare us for simple changes. But I wasn't ready to ask for the left lead. I came around the right, at the canter, and dropped to a trot in the box and intended to head out to the left at the trot. Cricket - whether she knew what I really wanted or just wanted to show off her utter fabulosity - just eased into a left lead canter.

I wish I could have relaxed better into the left lead. I wasn't ready for it and it took me by surprise. I did manage to canter her back to the box and stop. I jumped off of her and called it a win.

Part of me cannot believe she just offered the simple change. Part of me is not surprised. I wonder how much she felt what I really wanted. I have been so worried and just getting all wadded up over asking for simple changes and she just gave presented me with a lovely, soft, clean change.

I don't know that I'll ride tonight. Maybe just a little ground play, cookies and stretches. We have a cell of nasty weather that won't clear out until tomorrow or Wednesday. But I'm trying to stick to my program - every day until we leave for camp!

Parelli Pony Party and Post-Poned Plans

Cricket, two years ago at fall camp, playing in Carol's outdoor playground

Saturday was fan-damn-tastic. For the past three years a small group of us from fall camp have been promising to get together. Karen and Margaret live only 45 minutes from where I board and Becky and Genia are local. Saturday we finally managed it and by the end of the day we were kicking ourselves for waiting so long.

We started with some ground play in the outdoor paddock. The space I set up for my L3 online audition has just become our outdoor play space. I had Cricket on the 45' and everyone else was on the 22'. We played with the toys and just enjoyed being with each other. I eventually slipped Cricket's halter off and we played at liberty. She gave me some nice circle game with good draw. We did some yo-yo over a jump. I didn't push her too hard. We are still rebuilding our liberty confidence and I wanted to prove to her I was a good leader.

We broke for lunch and when we returned it was time to ride. We spent a little time in the arena. Karen and Margaret have not ridden much away from home (other than camp) and Margaret was nervous as was her horse. I had Genia watch me with my cantering. Though I only did one circuit of the question box on the left lead, it felt good and I stopped on the positive note. I'm trying hard to preserve my cantering confidence and so far it's working.

We decided to ride outside the arena in the paddock where we had played in the morning. Margaret is very unconfident outside the arena but she wants very much to trail ride. We all helped her feel safe and gave her space and encouragement to trust her horse and provide him the leadership he needed. We were just walking around, using the obstacles and having a grand time.

At some point I started goading Genia to jump. In her younger days she took 4' fences with or without a horse. Despite the lapse of time, her body remembers and she is just beautiful over jumps. After rising to my "dare" she turned the tables and sent the challenge back my way. I said, "No way!" The first time I ever fell off a horse was when I began jumping and it's made me slightly afraid of jumping. Genia kept it up and finally I agreed. Margaret lowered the pole and I walked Cricket over it twice before attempting anything else. I then turned her towards it, asked for the trot, grabbed mane and kept my eyes up. Cricket was a little wobbly but she jumped the rail and continued on at the trot.

WOW! I jumped my horse. In an open paddock. Without anyone holding a safety line. I JUMPED MY HORSE! I know the jump wasn't big. But Cricket didn't trot over the pole. SHE JUMPED. I was so proud of myself and my horse. I decided to do it again and it was just a tiny bit better. I cannot believe it.

I know it only worked because of the time I've put in over the last weeks. I am even more eager to start my next Progressive Parelli Program with my Precious Pony. But alas and alack, it's going to have to wait. I have to be realistic. The impending holiday weekend just isn't going to allow me the time to properly start my next adventure. So the plan is to start Monday November 30. We are going to progress through the Patterns with a focus on riding. I can hardly wait!

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 3 - Doing the Happy Dance

Doing the Happy Dance. Walking on Sunshine. On Cloud Nine. I'm still smiling about my session from yesterday.

The plan was to work on catching and if that went well to go back to Touch It at the popper of the 22' and then some circle game. Under saddle, I wanted to continue Follow the Rail and begin some CS riding at the trot.

The horses were up in the runs so no need to work on catching game. Cricket was nickering to see me. Of course I'm also the one who feeds so I won't read too much into it.

I put the cookies out and Cricket was pretty good about going to the obstacles and getting her treat. I'm using the same three obstacles in no particular order. I'd like to see her asking, "which one?" before I increase the complexity. That went fine and we did some Z3 close range circle game working on transitions. She was completely unfocused, trying to return to the obstacles for treats. And then I got mad. I moved to the middle of the arena and asked her for circling on the 22', walk-trot-canter. She was pissy in the send, sloppy in the transitions and unmotivated to maintain gait. It wasn't a total disaster but it wasn't good. I quit before it got too bad.

I saddled her up, using tons of cookies to change her tacking up behavior. Knowing her as I do, it's not a saddle fit issue. I've also started a homeopathic treatment for "tummy trouble" and that may be part of the solution. Her attitude for mounting was much improved. After checking lateral flexion, a habit I'm trying to rebuild, we started with follow the rail. We're having some trouble with leg = forward so I focused as much as I could on solid halts and clear FQ/HQ yields. She was better.

We started some transitions in the walk and trot. While at the walk, I asked her for a totally freestyle sideways on the rail and she gave me two or three great steps sideways. We actually managed to trot three continuous circuits around the arena with no change of gait. Oh, and we were totally freestyle. I picked up the CS and with a bit of a "do or die" attitude, asked for the trot. Cricket and I have some emotional baggage about CS riding and this is a huge release of "control" for me.

SHE WAS PERFECT. ABSOLUTELY PERFECT.

We did a couple of bowties with the stick, again still at the walk and trot. Not perfect but it's the first time and she was relatively responsive. I'll take it!

Then I got brave. I secured the rein and asked for the trot with nothing but the CS. I don't know how many trips around the arena or how many transitions we rode. I was totally hands free on my horse and I was ecstatic. Even when she got a little fast in her trot, I was able to post with her, stroke her neck and ease her back to a slower trot.

When we turned to go to the left, my PF (pucker factor) went up. I'm less confident in this direction - goes back to my broken arm. Cricket was rushy and non-responsive to my seat. I used the CS to push her nose into the rail for downward transitions. Even when it got a little wild, I stayed off the reins. During a dwell period, I realized I'd set us both up for failure by not trusting her and assuming things would be worse. I started off again with a "no worries" attitude and she was right with me. After a soft trot and a soft halt, I dismounted.

I don't think my feet have touched the ground yet. I just cannot believe this is my horse. I cannot believe how far my confidence has come. I feel so balanced in my body and my seat - thank you Tina and Pilates! I feel cantering is not too far off. Still some emotional bridges to cross but we're on the way.

The Pendulum Swings

I wonder if there will ever come a day when fear and lack of confidence stop biting me in the butt. Sometimes I think we've conquered the demons and then there are the days that remind me we still have the proverbial "miles to go before we sleep."

I cannot look at this in short strokes. My journey with Cricket has to be measured in months and even years. When I look back on everything we've accomplished, I know we are taking more steps forward than back. But it's those backward steps that seem to stick out the most.

This is where I most need to work on my discipline and emotional confidence.

I rode Cricket on Friday evening. I had gone to watch some friends take a jumping lesson. I want to learn to jump. It feels like flying and I love the sensation. I went to the barn after the lesson rather than just feed and go home, I took advantage of the lovely evening and decided to ride my horse.

There was nothing particularly bad about the ride. But I managed to ruin everything good by focusing on everything that wasn't letter perfect. Instead of concentrating on the basics and working on the patterns, I pushed myself to do things for which I wasn't prepared. I caused Cricket to loose confidence in my leadership. Ugh. Will I ever get this right?