2/2/2012
Questions
1. Time off:
a. Bucket/respect
b. Lack of confidence??
c. Getting back—riding before ground—energy/ability
to catch the moment/awareness
d. Liberty vs. nylon halter. Getting loose with
loss of my focus.
e. 2 good trail rides
2. Fears and emotion
a. Me—downhill canter
b. The gate: lost ground—pushing buttons on
purpose??
c. Definite improvement in staying relaxed with
transitions/canter/lead change simple
d. Jumps—video—relaxation—using the proper
amount of energy
3. HQ isolations—couldn’t figure out what to
do—from session Dec 23
4. Stretching
5. GoC progress
Talking before doing
in back paddock:
Downhill canter: look for opportunities i.e. this would be a
great time for patterns on the 45’ line in the hilly field to assist Try in
learning to use her body on inclines instead of only riding.
GoC comment: this is a friendly game and it says to Try—you
are doing great, keep doing it.
Canter simple changes: to prevent assumptions and promote
asking questions. Vary the pattern. I.e. in asking for a simple change—could do
so and ask Try to pick up the same lead instead of making a lead change. Good
for building impulsion and relaxation. (Our habit is coming back to the rail at
a canter—a drop to trot means make a lead change to Try.)
Warm-up at liberty:
Greater intensity: it is not just ok to respond with faster
or snappier etc. but we MUST play through until we get more quality. By that is
meant that the CONNECTION is better. This goes beyond the feet doing the task.
Jumping:
I think of this as a
last frontier for Try. Circling the jump (vs. squeeze game) Try need to figure
out to maintain gait and take the responsibility for figuring out the proper
approach to clearing the jump. i.e. if the pole is at a trot height then I need
to give my smart talented horse the opportunity to feel good about figuring out
that she needs to trot the circle and trot over the jump—rather than
micromanage or quit too soon. Allow it to happen—be patient as my RBE self
likes to quit too soon or try to make it easier for Try which takes away the
sense of accomplishment for her.
Try did after a few circles figure out to trot over the jump
rather than hop/canter over it. So the next concept is variety. Dan changed the
pole height so Try could figure out to maintain a canter on the circle and
canter over the jump BUT kept at it until Try figured out how much energy and
clearance she needed so she would not do it bigger than necessary. Then change
the game each time so Try could make choices each time.
Cause vs. allow—TRY needs to be allowed to figure it out.
Variety and
responsibility will cause Try to tune in to the game instead of just
following her habit of rushing and over jumping. Dan agreed that I do not need
to ride her jumps.
Also of interest is how do you define a jump? If Try is
trotting over it’s not jumping, if she canters as a slightly elevated stride—is
that a jump or just another canter stride? I think Devon looks like he is just
cantering and floating over jumps—as he doesn’t change stride and seems so
effortless.
Circling game over the jump:
·
Maintain gait—keep going until gets it,
·
Make the right choice for that jump.
Variety i.e. maybe
alternate circles of trot and canter. Also could ask that the circle/jump be a
consistent walk. Jump as X gives her choice of jumping it high or lower. Dan
said not to stay away from asking for some height—she can do it—just don’t ask
for much of it. (?Age/conformation—Dan did say that Try looks younger.)
Go over jump, 2 strides, stop and back to the jump. IF I am
in zone 3/4/5 10’ away etc., my cueing Try to stop, we have a habit of Try
moving her HQ away and turning to face me. This makes it hard to back to the
jump as she is not in position.
So worked on driving Z1 to draw Z4 and drawing Z4 from a
distance to help me with this issue for the above task and who knows how many
other things.
Driving Z1 to draw
Z4: Dan tapped Try’s nose with stick with phases for quite some time before
she took a step with her HQ toward Dan. But once she knew what he wanted, she
had it and when I tried it I was able to do it with lighter phases not even
touching her with the stick. HOW cool is that!
Drawing Z4 from a
distance: My using the string over her back to cue I learned is phase 4.
Phase 1 is my intention only. Dan demoed with me using intention only (very
intense actually) to show clear draw and drive with no other cues from
tools/body. Phase 2 is stick string overhand circle--lightly towards Z4 and
then up phases. Also if I was good phase 4 could be popper getting her on the
other side of her body. This could then also work with Z5 and that would be
mega cool!
Want to be able to draw all 5 zones (at phase 1?). Also test
myself—drawing from ever greater distances.
Using the stick: it means—Try, you haven’t found the answer
yet—it doesn’t mean go away.
Riding in the ring
Warm-up: discussed
could I just saddle up if emergency and gallop away? I think so but I want to
allow my LBI time to start slow, blow and say she is ready. Dan suggested that
walking on the rail mindlessly is not so good—two humans together—it doesn’t
take long to start a conversation so break up the walking a bit so we are
connected. Actually if I don’t do this she will start to play games with me. I
will often break it up with my Pilates, little jog to walk, GoC, and Dan
suggested leg yield on and off the pattern.
We began work on figuring out the offensive sidepass position (could be fully sideways—hardest or
walk on the rail and ask for it coming diagonally off the rail—easiest.) Remember
the sword fighting image. Try’s HQ and FQ are bending toward the direction we
are going. To do this I use direct rein to bend FQ, leg at the girth to drive
on the opposite side and gently carrot stick on that side on HQ to suggest that
they bend as well. Variations could be asking only for FQ or only HQ to bend.
Want to speak to both bending/no bend/one or the other bending in the sidepass.
Offensive: specific purpose driven.
I felt this just once really work—I was walking down the
rail at the time.
The GATE
Figure 8 with the x in the middle of the gate.
The attitude is the game. Use wheelbarrow turn (turning from
HQ/inside leg) when Try is emotional and shaping the turn for refinement.
Control vs. refinement. Check by stopping in the x or wherever—no reins, no
movement from Try and I can move my body, arms, legs and she will stand still.
Variations can we ride it calmly with no reins for stick. Can she do it at a
trot or canter? Vary by going in and out of ring and nearby paddock
alternately. The difficult gate—can do online for variety—figure 8. We want to
use the fig 8 as a tool not just as a mindless pattern. Make the ring, x, etc.
the sweet spot. The open/close gate—start by making stopping at the gate the
sweet spot.
Miscellaneous:
Note: the angle of my shoulders should be matched by Try! Cutting
game is an example.
Dad talked about AJ: in 3 seconds going from impulsion level
of 5 to 9 (run away) and then in two circles of bull’s-eye back to a five. Fast
is good, emotional/impulsive is not. A horse could possibly gallop with level 5
of impulsiveness. (??Ask Dan about impulsion vs. impulsiveness vs. speed.) For
Try--don’t get stuck in a pattern i.e. point to point--change it up, especially
if Try gets emotional.
Hilly field: SPEED AND EMOTION ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS
Saturday: Audited
1.
Find my focus then back keeping the focus. Take
it further—keep focus/connection and weave the backup. Doesn’t have to be
pretty—it’s the connection that counts.
2.
This also is a form of match my shoulder to keep
the focus/contact—I want to review the cutting game with Try.
3.
Turns on the forehand and hindquarters: big step
out with first leg and big step across with the second—check these on the
ground. Film riding??
4.
Concept of engaging or disengaging to a stop.
Disengage is life down, disengage HQ etc, slow relax to stop, etc. Engage to a
stop is active, use HQ coming under, an energetic stop.
5.
I learned on line circling can be creative and
fun!! Dan played with Suduko using his body language and intention/intensity
for upward and downward transitions of gaits and it can be used for speeds
within a gait. I an excited to try this out! I have paid no attention to this.
So Try may think my energy doesn’t matter that it is noise or she may be
responding to it and I don’t even know. If I have desensitized her to it then I
may need some phases to let her know that my energy matters. FUN. Inner
intensity to drive and draw. Neutral on the circle doesn’t mean life down but
it is whatever I want to communicate to Try. Match my shoulders comes into this
as well. Check this with sticking together as to energy, shoulders, maintaining
focus.
6.
My doing nothing in neutral or not knowing what
I am doing as RBE could well be boring Try or be obnoxiously confusing her. No
wonder she hates the circling game.
7.
Shoulders game—same thing—need to let Try know
that it does truly mean something now.
8.
More refinement and connection as a new habit to
create.
Riding
1.
Backing with one rein coordinated with the foot.
Start with the logical front foot, take a few coordinated steps, then use
direct rein to step out with front foot and then my opposite leg at the girth
to push Try’s second front leg to cross over. This should help with the stretch
for the shoulder we have been trying to do.
2.
Use my ribs and leg coordinated with Try’s swing
of the barrel for HQ yields on the circle.
3.
Indirect rein to disengage HQ in turn and if she
moves front feet, maintain the rein contact and move my hand forward and up to
stop the front end.
I learned today that I communicate to Try’s individual body
parts better riding than on the ground. This is just from riding lessons in the
past and shows a lack of refinement in my on line sessions.
WHERE is your horse thinking?
This concept plus gaining the horses’ focus through control
of the HQ have been huge for Dan.
Horses can play two ways: with you or without you, with you
or away from you.
To refine that further—
Both with you and without you can be confident or
unconfident horse. A confident dominant horse can play with you and connect but
it could be that you are the toy so that is not a positive connection for the
human. An unconfident horse can escape from something else and come to you as
the sweet spot—this is still an escape and thus not positive.
Why would your horse want to be away from you? Fear/escape
where we need to bluild confident that we are the good eeal and the sweet spot,
also the horse could want to leave physically OR mentally if bored or angry.
With a LB confident horse. We don’t want a slave with 100%
of their attention on you and not aware of their surroundings i.e. tripping,
aware of dangers—we don’t want them to be surprised.
If Try is alert and aware and I am boring then she is apt to
go away from me to something more interesting and I gather she doesn’t have to
move her feet to do so—going away in her brain.
IF YOUR HORSE ISN’T THINKING WITH YOU, THEN YOU DON’T HAVE A
HORSE TO PLAY WITH.
Allow is passive, Cause is active.
Passenger is an allow. But can be active i.e. sweet spot
game.If horse has druthers and a primary sweet spot then game becomes ride as
passenger until horse learns not to go to the gate/wait at the gate etc by
doing something (perhaps something annoying and small as Dan did—slapping his own
thigh rhythmically). If the horse looks for a second sweet spot you have made
progress. Once you go through all their sweet spots, then the horse can learn
that you are the sweet spot and tune in to you.
Our job as passenger is to be a passenger—NO ulterior
motives or desires. Not even thinking I wish you wouldn’t go to the gate or I
wish we could hurry up and get this over with.
IF YOU WANT THE HORSE TO CONNECT WITH YOU, FIRST YOU MUST
CONNECT WITH THEM. If I don’t trust Try, why should she trust me?
If I approach LBI Try with my RBE energy—that is a turn off
and will send her mentally away from me. Matching energy requires a knowledge
of horsenality.
Catching game with an LB confident horse: I do not retreat
to bring her to me. Dan demos a mismatch with Walt—being real RBI assuring with
LB human and it is obviously annoying. Are you ok? Are you ok? Walt knew he was
ok and we as humans need to respect that in our LB horses. WE NEED TO THINK
WITH THEM IF WE WANT THEM TO THINK WITH US.
Passenger game can be more active or completely passive.
More active i.e. sweet spot game. Lots of ways to be creative.
Linda talks about tit for tat and then some. I did not
realize until today that tit for tat is for RB horses and then some for RB. No
wonder I found tit for tat frustrating. (Tit for tat repetition is good for RB
horse.)
Where is your horse thinking? If your horse has druthers,
then that horse is mentally leaving you.
Dan is finding new things that have been making a difference
to him:
1.
Control and direct through the HQ. If horse is
out of control (for Try and I the gate on Fri) then HQ yield is a way to get
the control. (Note: out of control can be LB even at a standstill.) If the
horse takes over the game i.e. use us as a toy, go where they want, try to get
ride of us. Then can use HW to get them thinking with me and asking questions.
Even if what they are asking is what the heck do you want? And are ticked off
at you. That is till progress and part of the progression of searching for the
good deal.
2.
If I play until I win her brain, then the feet
become pretty easy.
3.
Example: using focus in the backup. Getting her
mind is the $100 prize, the feet the $10 prize but of course we want it all,
the $110.
Dan did demo with Chris who initially just wanted to go eat
hay. She was escaping until she connected with Dan and got the idea of moving
her HQ. We could see her make the mental switch from no connection to connected
and Dan had to do what it took to get her to care enough.
Question about wheelbarrow riding and when do you know if
you’ve got the HQ yield. Keith really felt the big 2nd step across
and swing of the hip. If you are uncertain, you don’t have it. Try has always
done these leg yields from my leg but they can be sloppy and if so need carrot
stick or spur to reinforce my leg. If the 2nd step is across in
front that is a yield and BEHIND it’s just an ESCAPE.
Horses really motivated by comfort/discomfort and not by
punishment.
Dan says don’t try to control the horse’s power, until she
is mentally with me. Dan caused Chris to care and I will need to explore what
this means with Try. Note: Dan did this without doing anything in zone 1! Test
it don’t use it if you don’t need to. This may of course mean stick or spur or
NOT. Look for the mental shift.
Once you break the ice, then you can start to refine. BUT
YOU HAVE TO COMMIT FULLY TO IT!!!! If you don’t commit then you get a ½ ass
result and the learning doesn’t take place. Don’t commit to dangerous but do
commit to win/win of the game. All horses are looking for the best leader.
Dan’s success with Craig: He did fully commit and did match
her different energies. It was clear when Chris started to think with Dan.
Dan says this where is the horse thinking and HQ for control
have made the biggest change in his horsemanship of anything in 18 years.
Did simulation with Keith: I wanted to drop the commitment
after awhile as I couldn’t figure out how to get the connection—the thing that
made Keith care I stumbled onto—he is ticklish. For Keith, with my being the
horse, when he took the pressure off and retreated with a nice smile I just
gave in and couldn’t see any reason to resist the connection.
Once you get connection, pay attention to keeping it—don’t
inadvertently throw it away. Dan brings halter to Sherry and drops it on the
ground. RUDE We drop horses with the reins and our legs. In the beginning we
were taught to close hands slowly and release quickly. Now I am trying to break
the habit of immediate complete releases. Don’t throw the horse away. Now that
we have this knowledge it is time for refinement. So I can use phases etc to
release. Dan says as little as it takes and then as much as it takes. Use
environment to support it.
Using my ribs to help Try.
The moment of change—what worked? ID it. For me I think
saying out load what is happening will help me to be aware. i.e. Try is now
with me, Try is leaving me, etc.
What % of humans have the horse connected with them?
(watching horse show)
Another issue what about horse that is escaping—how to
change where horse is thinking? i.e. horse that is escaping from something
scarey that is not you. If I am riding I need to make myself more important
than the scarey thing i.e. perhaps big extreme friendly to get their attention.
We need to say to horse: “Let’s do this together.”
Example: how horsenality plays into this. Suduko age 4 spent
3 years as LBE playing at things or someone rather than with and is now
learning the difference. Amazing to see him tuned in and responding to
different cues from Dan’s intensity.
Most horses do 90some %of what we want with 1% of their
attention.
Intense situations where horse and human are really working
together: cutting or the bull fighting video. The bull fighting was life or
death. For me—drill team—my focus so intense on making the pattern work and Try
camealong with me and I had no memory of cuein her after it was over.
Balance: they need to be free to think about their
responsibilities also. We do not want them to turn into robots but to think on
their own safety as well. Examples: gopher holes, unfamiliar terrain etc. Arena
horses going outside thering. (So why is Try so confident on the trail as a
stall/ring raised horse?)
Consider Try getting “loose” and going up the road to the
clover when I dropped my focus on her at the gate. (Like Dan dropping the
halter on the ground.)
In times of intense purpose we are unconsciously competent
and we get it done. Strong purpose more apt for Try and I to be thinking
together.
When Try gets it, add to it, change it up versus drilling or
do something different. Advance it, use it or do something else.
Hunting for focus in different zones. Am I offering Try
something to hunt for? Notein the conga horse simulation Sherry pointed out
strong focus intensity was not supported in a timely fashion so it was not
effective! I had expected when I brought my life up that theconga horse would
back just like Try did. It required lotsa levels of awareness that I didn’t
have! When Walt was zone 1 and I was zone 2 I didn’t knowhe was afraid. When he
was the human and I was zone 1 I was the obedient turned out horse and he
didn’t catch it.
Zone 4 can have a mindof its own. Try especially has an
escaping zone 4. Drawing zone 4—stick onlysays keep trying you haven’t figured
it out yet.
Other:
1.
Consider I was late insupporting my focus.
2.
What is Parelli way of shapingon the circle vs 2
reins/zone1
3.
Try getting loose—I dropped focus at the gate
4.
Try super confident on the trail—leader—but
stall and arena raised?
What is my
horse thinking? Are we mentally connected?
1. Why is it important
2.
Can I identify what is going on with
Try and can I identify whether she is with me or not. Degrees of connection?
3.
How do I get a connection?
4. What do I consider about releasing a connection?
5. Balance for Try of enough mental
energy left to take care of safety and other responsibilities.
6. Putting it to purpose—changing up the
game, going on to something different so as not to be drilling and bore her or
apply too much pressure to cause her to mentally leave me.
The first step for me is awareness.
Degree of connection: Try offered stick to me and was softly
connected, lovely. But when I asked more and she said no it was game on and we
were able to play with huge intensity—my turnin her from side to side in the
corners and matching her energy/Try matching mine. Result there was that she
trotted to me with collected trot and intense connection—she had to touch me
and hang out over me. If I had her just walk in I would have been building
intensity in Try and rudely dropping it. Trot in was putting it to purpose and
Try could not sustain much of it. Goal to increase it.
Circling game: I wanted to check with out with Dan watching
after seeing him do this with Suduko on Saturday. I can go life up and Try will
back (maintain gait) until I go life down—it was really nice. Then a tiny
finger point and she began circling. I was able to convey with my intention
only for Try to go from walk to trot without using the stick or a cluck.
Dan asked for shaping on the circle. This I have attempted
before with Dan and Kelly and it has never gone well. Dan said Try is stiff
here as Try knows that giving her HQ is truly giving up control to me. Dan
worked with her for a long time on this before she would either soften or yield
HQ. Then I got to do it—I need to remember to use my hip in to assist and my
stick points at rib cage or shoulder not HQ. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT I MAKE
PROGRESS HERE.
