Clinic Sep 24/25 2010
Saturday
Calm, smart, brave athletic
Zones 1-5L3 play in zones 3-4L4 play in Z5 a lot, driving, long lines, 2 lines; Good to take a horse through level 4 on line before you ever ride a horse—zone 5 imp—what if biker comes up behind you on the trail?
Distance 12’ is level 1, 22’ is level 2, 45” for L3-4--L3/4 goal is to develop an amazing connection
Longer rope good to allow drift for RBE, keep RBI who wants to be close from running over you, LBE keep him away and budy, LBI good to help LBI want to move.
Phases: L1 promise, L2 tell, L3 ask, L4 suggest (horses do this w/each other “the look”Teach reinforce refine??? Check this
Parent /child—I’ll wait to 3.5 to do it to avoid the phase 4. So once they learn goi to a quick 234. Not nagging at a 2/3. If you are nagging at a 2/3 you will never get a phase 1
Level 4 look like the horse is reading the human’s mind becauser the phase 1 is so good.
We did
1. Walk with Try 15’ or so behind. Goal to stop and have her back—want her to move more than me and use string/string aimed between her legs
2. Driving 2 22’ lines—focus walk stop back turn ? weave, pedestal
3. Circling: bring her in instead of change of direction and give her a cookie. 45’ line for communication
4. Porky all 4 legs from a snap (cookie). Also one leg front back lead by the leg
5. Yoyo driving over and back platform
6. Stick to me from z5 – liberty demo
Private riding session fluid rein, combing the rope:
Reach all the way to the mane, good contact
Do not sit the trot while doing this. Look for stretching and the feel of round up , more vertical me and use Linda physicality. Focus ¼ on the circle.
Sunday
1. Haunted house
2. Circling variations: important bring back and treats trot and canter for relaxation, flying change, drive the shoulder
3. Sideways from popper of the 22 with energy: treats only for good energy. Helper w/sideways towards
4. Freestyle riding session: lat flex and indirect rein from stick/2sticks/look and be relaxed—not leaning on the rope.
5. My bridling and saddling needs work.
6. Freestyle carrot stick weave and question box
7. Afternoon private session:
a. Combing the reins to get a good stretch
b. Hands close together
c. Relax my body but Linda’s physicality
d. Focus on the circle
e. Relax my shoulders and scoop out belly
f. Leg go when Try stretches
g. Did circle (not egg) bulls eys
h. Also leg yields on the rail w/suspension rein and inside leg
i. Lots of inside leg, suspension or direct rein to get good bend on the circle and hind leg really stepping well
Monday, September 27, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Phone call with Dan Thompson 9/21 to answer questions
Dan notes phone call 9/21/2010
1. Draw issue—Try stopping on the circle and turning head to look at me but not coming to me. Dan: remember Try is an extreme LB horse—this is not a confidence issue—I do not need to retreat i.e. remove pressure. Retreating/removing pressure will NOT create draw!! Two ways:
a. If Try is tired she will decide drawing to me is the better deal—that is her choice not mine—a decision made on her terms.
b. On my terms: Move closer and closer and add phases with stick and string—if still on the circle pressure in Z5—behind the tail. Even if Try leaves then we continue to play the game the next time around the circle. I don’t have to move my feet that much—see if she can find the good deal when she comes around again. I am still drawing and putting pressure in Z5. BUT THIS IS ALL WITH AN ATTITUDE OF DRAW supported by the driving game. Can spank in front of her also. I haven’t played the game until I truly do what it takes to get her to CARE. Currently I am playing the right game and but not strong enough. Occasional phase 4 if necessary. She will begin to respond more easily. If she has turned her body toward me that will probably be putting pressure in zone 2.
2. Energy, focus, intention—
a. I do less she does more. My question about teaching Try to respond to my energy: Continually teaching (REMEMBER TEACH CONTROL REINFORCE REFINE) just teaching your LBI to be lazy. Try already knows when my life and focus comes up that would mean something i.e. if it was another horse bringing life up she would know that meant something. So I am teaching her it doesn’t mean anything. This is like doing homework for your kid and the kid never learns the material. So long phase 1 (life up focus) then quick 234. Not longer phase 1 if Try is going blah blah blah but longer if the horse is trying to figure it out. i.e. backing—life up, focus, lean and Try goes blah blah blah then give her a phase 4 she CARES about and it will be better next time. If not, it wasn’t a good enough phase 4. The next day may require reinforcing this with perhaps a lighter phase 4. i.e. may require repetition. In time Try will need the phase 4 less and less.
b. Arnold Schwartzenegger vs Richard Simmons. Arnold is into power, Richard is busy busy busy. Both will go to a phase 4. What do LB horses responds to best: Arnold!! Try will love it.
c. Try has a high play drive. Short horse will play hard but not for a long time.
d. Don’t waste Try’s exuberance. ID it and decide how to use it. Don’t use it up on the ground and then expect to find it riding (you know what you’ll get instead LOL)
3. Girthiness
a. Honestly listening to her
b. People are often rude to LBIs—think they can handle anything.
c. From Try:
i. As a human do you know its going on? Awareness
ii. Human do you care?
d. Girthiness—just wait for her.
4. Indirect rein on the right—leaning.
a. I have been trying to apply phases and not being effective
b. Set my hand and let Try sort it out—her timing is so much better than mine.
c. I have taught Try that the second she releases I release.
d. Need to hold it longer and vary it i.e. 2 sec, 5 sec whatever so she doesn’t assume she knows what the game is.
e. Reward the slightest try for the teaching phases and we are way beyond that.
f. Find a more effective phase 4 if need be i.e. add stick??
5. These are all foundation things that will effect lots of different stuff.
6. Snappy go and stop. Used to be ok to go and stop slowly but not any more. Dan says Try will like the snappy go and whoa
7. Soft feel: Get to holding it longer and do more with it.
8. 2nd horse/new horse. Horsenality? Balance on impulsion scale how GOOD is the GO and Whoa. Quality is getting better.
9. Game of Contact:
a. in the beginning freestyle and finesse are separate but there becomes a grey area between the two. If you are excellent at freestyle and Try confidently understands and respects contact in freestyle then a lot of finesse is done. Its still all body language, do it without reins.
b. Isolate and separate:
i. Z1 game: Try—can you accept the contact,
ii. Respond to it and realize it’s a conversation that is occurring partly thru z1
iii. Body connection (Linda’s physicality) becomes the connection of the two of us
iv. OK to add my physicality to the 7 step soft feel
10. Circling game: leaning on the rope
a. Continually pulling the rope to get slack is like pulling the horse’s nose out of the grass.
b. Try’s sweet spot is the gate so she will be leaning on the rope on side closest to the gate and cutting in on the other side—thus the egg shape.
c. Remedy: When Try puts pressure on the rope—I am a fence post and I lean on the rope stead and drag my feet if she pulls steady pressure
d. Z5 stick and string if necessary—her reaction doesn’t matter—can turn with her—my standing in one place is L1! Not necessary any more. Turn with her if needed to maintain power position. Apply enough pressure that she will hunt for a better answer. When she pulls on the rope she is playing her game not playing with me. She likes her idea better. Cause her idea to be uncomfortable. When she slacks or checks in with me THEN release the pressure
e. Don’t chase the heck out of her but may energetically spank the ground.
f. NOTE: If she pulls harder or goes faster that means she CARES—cause her to care until she slacks.
11. Ear pinning on the circle
a. Same as above EXCEPT if she is bored take it personally!! Variety mix it up. ONCE she gets it you don’t need the 4-7 program at that point you’ve got to put it to a purpose.
12. How to be a better learner?
a. I don’t need to learn it all!! Can’t do it all—focus on some and progress on those.
b. This learning is difficult because it goes against our predator instinct and messes us up until the learning becomes instinctual.
c. L3 know more than lots of professional trainers.
d. Story L1 clinic 60ish ranchers there because their wives learned Parelli and out performed the young cowboys. Ranchers said they felt like they had never handled a horse before.
1. Draw issue—Try stopping on the circle and turning head to look at me but not coming to me. Dan: remember Try is an extreme LB horse—this is not a confidence issue—I do not need to retreat i.e. remove pressure. Retreating/removing pressure will NOT create draw!! Two ways:
a. If Try is tired she will decide drawing to me is the better deal—that is her choice not mine—a decision made on her terms.
b. On my terms: Move closer and closer and add phases with stick and string—if still on the circle pressure in Z5—behind the tail. Even if Try leaves then we continue to play the game the next time around the circle. I don’t have to move my feet that much—see if she can find the good deal when she comes around again. I am still drawing and putting pressure in Z5. BUT THIS IS ALL WITH AN ATTITUDE OF DRAW supported by the driving game. Can spank in front of her also. I haven’t played the game until I truly do what it takes to get her to CARE. Currently I am playing the right game and but not strong enough. Occasional phase 4 if necessary. She will begin to respond more easily. If she has turned her body toward me that will probably be putting pressure in zone 2.
2. Energy, focus, intention—
a. I do less she does more. My question about teaching Try to respond to my energy: Continually teaching (REMEMBER TEACH CONTROL REINFORCE REFINE) just teaching your LBI to be lazy. Try already knows when my life and focus comes up that would mean something i.e. if it was another horse bringing life up she would know that meant something. So I am teaching her it doesn’t mean anything. This is like doing homework for your kid and the kid never learns the material. So long phase 1 (life up focus) then quick 234. Not longer phase 1 if Try is going blah blah blah but longer if the horse is trying to figure it out. i.e. backing—life up, focus, lean and Try goes blah blah blah then give her a phase 4 she CARES about and it will be better next time. If not, it wasn’t a good enough phase 4. The next day may require reinforcing this with perhaps a lighter phase 4. i.e. may require repetition. In time Try will need the phase 4 less and less.
b. Arnold Schwartzenegger vs Richard Simmons. Arnold is into power, Richard is busy busy busy. Both will go to a phase 4. What do LB horses responds to best: Arnold!! Try will love it.
c. Try has a high play drive. Short horse will play hard but not for a long time.
d. Don’t waste Try’s exuberance. ID it and decide how to use it. Don’t use it up on the ground and then expect to find it riding (you know what you’ll get instead LOL)
3. Girthiness
a. Honestly listening to her
b. People are often rude to LBIs—think they can handle anything.
c. From Try:
i. As a human do you know its going on? Awareness
ii. Human do you care?
d. Girthiness—just wait for her.
4. Indirect rein on the right—leaning.
a. I have been trying to apply phases and not being effective
b. Set my hand and let Try sort it out—her timing is so much better than mine.
c. I have taught Try that the second she releases I release.
d. Need to hold it longer and vary it i.e. 2 sec, 5 sec whatever so she doesn’t assume she knows what the game is.
e. Reward the slightest try for the teaching phases and we are way beyond that.
f. Find a more effective phase 4 if need be i.e. add stick??
5. These are all foundation things that will effect lots of different stuff.
6. Snappy go and stop. Used to be ok to go and stop slowly but not any more. Dan says Try will like the snappy go and whoa
7. Soft feel: Get to holding it longer and do more with it.
8. 2nd horse/new horse. Horsenality? Balance on impulsion scale how GOOD is the GO and Whoa. Quality is getting better.
9. Game of Contact:
a. in the beginning freestyle and finesse are separate but there becomes a grey area between the two. If you are excellent at freestyle and Try confidently understands and respects contact in freestyle then a lot of finesse is done. Its still all body language, do it without reins.
b. Isolate and separate:
i. Z1 game: Try—can you accept the contact,
ii. Respond to it and realize it’s a conversation that is occurring partly thru z1
iii. Body connection (Linda’s physicality) becomes the connection of the two of us
iv. OK to add my physicality to the 7 step soft feel
10. Circling game: leaning on the rope
a. Continually pulling the rope to get slack is like pulling the horse’s nose out of the grass.
b. Try’s sweet spot is the gate so she will be leaning on the rope on side closest to the gate and cutting in on the other side—thus the egg shape.
c. Remedy: When Try puts pressure on the rope—I am a fence post and I lean on the rope stead and drag my feet if she pulls steady pressure
d. Z5 stick and string if necessary—her reaction doesn’t matter—can turn with her—my standing in one place is L1! Not necessary any more. Turn with her if needed to maintain power position. Apply enough pressure that she will hunt for a better answer. When she pulls on the rope she is playing her game not playing with me. She likes her idea better. Cause her idea to be uncomfortable. When she slacks or checks in with me THEN release the pressure
e. Don’t chase the heck out of her but may energetically spank the ground.
f. NOTE: If she pulls harder or goes faster that means she CARES—cause her to care until she slacks.
11. Ear pinning on the circle
a. Same as above EXCEPT if she is bored take it personally!! Variety mix it up. ONCE she gets it you don’t need the 4-7 program at that point you’ve got to put it to a purpose.
12. How to be a better learner?
a. I don’t need to learn it all!! Can’t do it all—focus on some and progress on those.
b. This learning is difficult because it goes against our predator instinct and messes us up until the learning becomes instinctual.
c. L3 know more than lots of professional trainers.
d. Story L1 clinic 60ish ranchers there because their wives learned Parelli and out performed the young cowboys. Ranchers said they felt like they had never handled a horse before.
Questions I had for Dan Thompson
Questions for Dan 9/18/10
1. Catch me—draw issue: On the circle Try is no longer turning away from me and when I back up she stops and alternates looking at me and looking straight on the circle and does not come to me. I think the good deal she has found for herself is stopping on the circle.
2. Energy, intention and focus. I have given this a lot of thought. Inner furnace from acting class. Now issue I am considering is teaching this or maybe better said is making this a new pattern for us to replace “my doing more.” So far as I experiment I am finding some success with huge internal energy and a mean face to get a backup and to get a HQ yield. With the yoyo backup I am not getting the idea across when I relax my energy that she should stop. I picked these games to use as ones where she would see/feel me the best and the movement is simple not requiring a complex combination of steps.
3. Girthiness. Too funny. She has really changed as far as nice ears when I pull the girth. BUT now I am getting more pinned ears on the prior steps. What a clever girl!
4. Swinging the saddle: I got the idea of buckle under the arm pit and holding on the diagonal and I am swinging it on her and better swinging it onto the fence that is lower. But next time I would like help to refine this.
5. Lateral flexion and indirect rein: This is improved for lateral flexion and indirect rein to the left. To the right she is still largely leaning on the rein. At first she would change so quickly from leaning to slack to leaning to slack that I was having difficulty applying phases. Recently she has been clearer and taking more time to either lean or have slack making it easier for me. I think as I continue to do this every time she is going to find the good deal is to maintain the slack.
6. Snappy go, stop, back and wait with the reins down: Snappy go and stop is better but I haven’t kept snappy in mind consistently. However, having her relax and not move off after cantering has been great most of the time—even with bowties.
7. 7 step soft feel—I believe I am getting the idea of this. Try seems pretty happy—infrequent reaction and I am varying what we do once I get the feel—walk, back, turn, sidepass.
Other stuff:
• I am borrowing another horse from a friend for the variety and am looking at the possibility of purchasing a second horse in the upcoming year and would like advice on a good match up. Bethanna, my riding instructor, would like us to talk about this as well. We are thinking better conformation for riding, more willing but perhaps lower on the impulsion scale?? I rode a TB at the barn this summer who was probably a 4 on impulsion scale and found getting him going easier for me than the kids who were riding him and that I loved his way of going.
• Try seems to be a 4 on the ground and I would like a 6-7. Riding--Try is a 6-7 which can be an issue when she is pounding on the forehand—as I am putting effort into helping her find a good rhythm (circles/cloverleaf) rather than focusing on improving my riding. I do want to encourage her to express her LBE side and would like advice on this.
• Energy: I would like to be able to truly light a fire under Try on line and liberty—when I videotape us I see a sluggishness that was nice and safe when we were learning L1/2 but I would like to see both of us dancing together now. I don’t know how to get the energy without ticking her off and guess this lack of energy is a dominance/leadership issue between us. I see a better energy at clinics but don’t know but what it is really in her nature to be so slow and laid back and uncomfortable for her to be otherwise.
• Specific issues where Try gets emotional or “up” when relaxation would be nice. i.e.
o Leaving the ring with a rider
o The gate (wanting the session to be over and hold over from trail classes??)
o Jumps—not emotional just over exuberant?? Have reinstated on line and riding walking over small jumps, turn and face and backup variations.
• Game of contact—I like what Linda is teaching about muscularity/alignment for the human. This is similar to what I did with 30+ years of ballet/pilates etc and I would like to incorporate it into my riding in an intentional manner. Obviously it doesn’t work for freestyle. Hunt seat equitation when there is a challenge my body automatically goes into that alignment/muscular mode. It seems for my physical conditioning it would be great to ride with this more of the time. When I take the 7 step soft feel should I add this or remain using the very relaxed freestyle use of myself? FYI: I have signed up to audit Linda’s Game of Contact 3 day course in Ocala in November—as part of trip to visit my Dad in Tampa.
• Lead changes: Try will do them for me but it takes a couple strides before she catches up behind so they are not really “flying”. We rarely do them, I likely need to know more about it, and flying changes are something that can get Try up and unhappily extraverted.
• I have been watching Pat’s mastery lessons and use of “tenshun”, lifting rein as a signal to the horse that coming is coming—how do I do that with bridleless riding—bringing up life in my body is that sufficient? Try does seem to know when I want to canter from the second I think it in my brain?!
• Circling game On Line: pinned ears and leaning on the rope. Pinned ears—my program is to quit when I get the best attitude—note: she pins ears in front of me and relaxes them behind my back. Leaning: I have been giving the rope a tug—she has at least learned that doesn’t mean stop but it isn’t effective, I haven’t seen any sign that she is motivated to not just go right back to leaning in a few strides.
• Learning: I am trying to figure out how to learn more effectively. Any suggestions would be really welcome. Presently I watch dvds and take notes--??2-3 hours per week and go out to the barn and play with concepts—some of it sinks in and some gets forgotten. Clinics: I take really good notes, play with it for several weeks and blog—some of it becomes a part of what we do and some gets forgotten as we move on to the next fun thing. Also this is not like intellectual learning where you are only challenged mentally. This is such a wholistic combination of mental, emotional and physical and thus more complicated to learn—and its two of us doing the learning not just one. This challenge may be why PNH is so exciting to learn but also frustrating not to learn as well as I would like.
1. Catch me—draw issue: On the circle Try is no longer turning away from me and when I back up she stops and alternates looking at me and looking straight on the circle and does not come to me. I think the good deal she has found for herself is stopping on the circle.
2. Energy, intention and focus. I have given this a lot of thought. Inner furnace from acting class. Now issue I am considering is teaching this or maybe better said is making this a new pattern for us to replace “my doing more.” So far as I experiment I am finding some success with huge internal energy and a mean face to get a backup and to get a HQ yield. With the yoyo backup I am not getting the idea across when I relax my energy that she should stop. I picked these games to use as ones where she would see/feel me the best and the movement is simple not requiring a complex combination of steps.
3. Girthiness. Too funny. She has really changed as far as nice ears when I pull the girth. BUT now I am getting more pinned ears on the prior steps. What a clever girl!
4. Swinging the saddle: I got the idea of buckle under the arm pit and holding on the diagonal and I am swinging it on her and better swinging it onto the fence that is lower. But next time I would like help to refine this.
5. Lateral flexion and indirect rein: This is improved for lateral flexion and indirect rein to the left. To the right she is still largely leaning on the rein. At first she would change so quickly from leaning to slack to leaning to slack that I was having difficulty applying phases. Recently she has been clearer and taking more time to either lean or have slack making it easier for me. I think as I continue to do this every time she is going to find the good deal is to maintain the slack.
6. Snappy go, stop, back and wait with the reins down: Snappy go and stop is better but I haven’t kept snappy in mind consistently. However, having her relax and not move off after cantering has been great most of the time—even with bowties.
7. 7 step soft feel—I believe I am getting the idea of this. Try seems pretty happy—infrequent reaction and I am varying what we do once I get the feel—walk, back, turn, sidepass.
Other stuff:
• I am borrowing another horse from a friend for the variety and am looking at the possibility of purchasing a second horse in the upcoming year and would like advice on a good match up. Bethanna, my riding instructor, would like us to talk about this as well. We are thinking better conformation for riding, more willing but perhaps lower on the impulsion scale?? I rode a TB at the barn this summer who was probably a 4 on impulsion scale and found getting him going easier for me than the kids who were riding him and that I loved his way of going.
• Try seems to be a 4 on the ground and I would like a 6-7. Riding--Try is a 6-7 which can be an issue when she is pounding on the forehand—as I am putting effort into helping her find a good rhythm (circles/cloverleaf) rather than focusing on improving my riding. I do want to encourage her to express her LBE side and would like advice on this.
• Energy: I would like to be able to truly light a fire under Try on line and liberty—when I videotape us I see a sluggishness that was nice and safe when we were learning L1/2 but I would like to see both of us dancing together now. I don’t know how to get the energy without ticking her off and guess this lack of energy is a dominance/leadership issue between us. I see a better energy at clinics but don’t know but what it is really in her nature to be so slow and laid back and uncomfortable for her to be otherwise.
• Specific issues where Try gets emotional or “up” when relaxation would be nice. i.e.
o Leaving the ring with a rider
o The gate (wanting the session to be over and hold over from trail classes??)
o Jumps—not emotional just over exuberant?? Have reinstated on line and riding walking over small jumps, turn and face and backup variations.
• Game of contact—I like what Linda is teaching about muscularity/alignment for the human. This is similar to what I did with 30+ years of ballet/pilates etc and I would like to incorporate it into my riding in an intentional manner. Obviously it doesn’t work for freestyle. Hunt seat equitation when there is a challenge my body automatically goes into that alignment/muscular mode. It seems for my physical conditioning it would be great to ride with this more of the time. When I take the 7 step soft feel should I add this or remain using the very relaxed freestyle use of myself? FYI: I have signed up to audit Linda’s Game of Contact 3 day course in Ocala in November—as part of trip to visit my Dad in Tampa.
• Lead changes: Try will do them for me but it takes a couple strides before she catches up behind so they are not really “flying”. We rarely do them, I likely need to know more about it, and flying changes are something that can get Try up and unhappily extraverted.
• I have been watching Pat’s mastery lessons and use of “tenshun”, lifting rein as a signal to the horse that coming is coming—how do I do that with bridleless riding—bringing up life in my body is that sufficient? Try does seem to know when I want to canter from the second I think it in my brain?!
• Circling game On Line: pinned ears and leaning on the rope. Pinned ears—my program is to quit when I get the best attitude—note: she pins ears in front of me and relaxes them behind my back. Leaning: I have been giving the rope a tug—she has at least learned that doesn’t mean stop but it isn’t effective, I haven’t seen any sign that she is motivated to not just go right back to leaning in a few strides.
• Learning: I am trying to figure out how to learn more effectively. Any suggestions would be really welcome. Presently I watch dvds and take notes--??2-3 hours per week and go out to the barn and play with concepts—some of it sinks in and some gets forgotten. Clinics: I take really good notes, play with it for several weeks and blog—some of it becomes a part of what we do and some gets forgotten as we move on to the next fun thing. Also this is not like intellectual learning where you are only challenged mentally. This is such a wholistic combination of mental, emotional and physical and thus more complicated to learn—and its two of us doing the learning not just one. This challenge may be why PNH is so exciting to learn but also frustrating not to learn as well as I would like.
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