More Progress With Nigel And The Trailer!

yayayayayay!

I feel like we are ALMOST over the hump. (man I hope so anyway)

Yesterday, I was able to load Nigel at liberty, lock him in, go about some yard chores, drive him up to the house, let him relax and eat quietly, unload him and have him put his nose into the truck to check me out for more cookies while I was getting ready to back it down the driveway!

He had a few moments of pounding initially when I practiced rolling the trailer back and forth, but when that didn't get reinforced he got quiet, came to the open manger door and looked at me. I clicked for it. Having the clicker has changed this horse's world when it comes to turning of his panic/rage system. In his fury of being locked in, he has moments of softness. That's when I click and treat. It is causing him to hold onto that feeling for longer and longer.

Another note: I seriously think that being able to turn around has been helping him. Its a little like the patience pole..they can move but only within certain parameters. He is finding the peaceful spot more and more! Totally excellent. Now, if I can just get him more experience in small enough increments so as to expand on that feeling.

Scrubbing the trailer.

Holy smokes. I wasn't sure we'd be able to do this but the other day after talking about faith.... thought we should go for it.

...Riding Nigel Bridless For The First Time.

Yahhooo! What fun!

I've been wanting to do this for ages with him! I was just trying to be savvy and be sure I was sure. Of course it wasn't that impressive. Firstly we just did yields, walked around, did a figure eight then stood around chatting with Kip. And secondly, we've ridden without using the bridle at walk and trot nearly every ride. I felt like we could have done much more but I figured I would stop while it was soooo good and not try to find the edge just yet.

Nonetheless, taking the bridle off completely is a matter of trust. And I found that I did trust him. We had had a lovely harmonious play then ride. He wanted to do lots of passage Online*. (we're working on that going to the left as well which is getting better) Canter both ways felt great...he regulated his speed perfectly and I just got to sit there.
So, I felt pretty sure.

He really is quite a safe little steed... the worst he's going to do is spook at a deer or something or kick up at the canter. His spooks are usually a quick sideways maneuver and then he's ok. Not much I can do (or need to do) for a one rein stop anyway. His little bucks are totally Left Brained and not very big so they don't scare me....plus he hasn't offered one in several weeks.

I was thinking how interesting it is that when I really started riding him he seemed to lose confidence to some degree Freestyle* (on a loose rein). In Finesse* (with contact) he must have felt more secure. Which is weird. I would have thought, considering his Horsenality*, he would have preferred Freestyle. I've noticed that lately, he has been a lot more confident just cruisin on his own. Another one for Pat .... this whole Four Savvys, Building a Foundation thing is important. The confidence and obedience was there yesterday for sure plus Nigel seemed to think it was cool. Which made it even cooler for me.

Now, the ticket is not to assume that we'll start at that point next time.....

Openness to Harmony

(youtube link: kip, nigel and passage practice)

Beautiful ride and play with Nigel today. Not perfect...but I loved it because we felt in harmony.

Boy, we still have our on and off days. The session before this was not the best. My fault. I was high on the ride before that and stupidly had the unconscious idea that we'd be starting from there.

I wonder when I'll learn that that is a sure fire recipe for a let down. I need to remember to be open. Open to whatever, where ever our partnership is on any given day. Start at the beginning .... start with the 7 games...start with confidence...then curiosity...then teach/practice something...

Today, I did that. And it felt great. Plus I was riding a lot better. We had some really really good moments at canter and some yummy trot circles. (actually online too. straight on the circle and connected...rope soooo slack)

Nigel did some very good counter canter on the left lead. I was seriously impressed. Also a big marker was the impulsion. Our canter in general has been inconsistently balanced. We need more transitions. Yay for us that we have gotten to the place where that is possible. Got some much better canter walks...(into a very nice relaxed walk)..and a few way way better walk canters. He was even letting me tap him a little with the stick for the take off timing. Usually he swishes his tail or bucks. So this was a nice surprise. Helpful too!

I feel like this game of food dominance I've been playing has improved our relationship. Today was the first day he let me find an itchy spot near his sheath!!!!!! BIG HUGE DEAL!!!!! big. huge.

I love Nigel's soft eye...ears forward...relaxed, confident and respectful...no nickering yet...but I've got my ears peeled.

Rapport, Respect. Respect, Rapport. Balance...

Ai yi yi! So much easier said than done! Love, Language and Leadership in EQUAL doses. A pretty dang tall order.

Nigel is forcing me to step it up. We want to be as gentle as possible but as firm as necessary right? Well, I have been faced with the fact that I really don't want to. I don't want to have to get firm with him. (unfortunately this is required in order to be effective...in order to be understood) I don't want to drive him away when he gives me the crappy ears and the driving face. Its one of those "everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die" deals. I want to have a beautiful relationship...I want to have the 51% in the partnership but apparently I don't want to do what it takes to earn that leadership.

In the last year I have worked hard to create rapport. To build Nigel's confidence with me. He is by nature a confident horse and so we've reached the tipping point. Over the last week or so it has become clear that I have two choices. Dominate or be dominated.

At least I don't take it personally. Watching Nigel out in the field I see him behave the exact same way with the other horses. He is passively...subtley...surruptitiously dominant. He doesn't seem to go out of his way to make a big fuss about moving up the pecking order. He just is where he is. (somewhere in the middle of the herd of 7)

Its actually pretty humorous. The other day Jack was trying to get him to move his feet. He got so frustrated trying to get firm enough with Nige that he actually jumped on him. Nigel is like 14.2 ... Jack is about 16.2 . Jack was standing beside him with one leg on either side of Nigel's withers...Nigel sloooowwwwly moved sideways so that Jack slid off. I was vindicated! If all 1400 pounds of Jackson is having trouble getting Nigel to move...I don't feel so bad about not having figured it out yet.

Reverse psychology does work brilliantly because if I set it up to make it seem like his idea he thinks he's dominating me. And of course he naturally wants to do that. However, I think there is a time to make sure that I get a response. For instance, in the yoyo game..he can really suck me into nagging him. Finding an effective phase four is requiring me to stretch and grow my leadership skills.

When playing with Nige, I've been trying to visualize Travis who is the alpha in the herd. He's 27 and still in charge. He is the king of getting in and getting out. And he doesn't give a tiny little rat's ass (emotionally speaking) if the others are trying to move up or not. He just lays down the law very frankly. He's like an electric fence. If somebody steps out of line...he puts them back. Simple as that.

They either cause him to just lay his ears back as a reminder... or like the other day with Jackson...Jack caused Trav to run him around until he would stand still respectfully and not move... until finally Trav gave him permission. That was a big eye opener. Travis ran Jack into the fence repeatedly....making him do rollbacks...playing the squeeze game...playing the circling game making him go around and around. The mud was flying! If it had been dry there would have been a cloud of dust for sure. I watched him give Jack opportunities to stop ... but Jack would try to sneak forward...so he'd send him off again.

I would have felt horrible! Like a total predator if I would have been doing that to Jack. I'm consciously trying to emulate the way Travis does not seem to get mad. I know that is a big part of me being successful. The detachment of it. The attitude of justice. Cause and effect. Its when predators get emotional that horses get scared. I noticed that Jack was not sweating one bit when he finally decided comply. Very interesting.

Playing with Nigel yesterday I decided to try the flag instead of a savvy string. Friendly game was interesting....he wasn't too worried but especially on his right side he was lookier at it. Interestingly enough this caused him to want to bite it ... not really aggressively...but almost...dominantly. He didn't strike at it which I thought was noteworthy.

The flag did elicit more of a response. And I loved it because I could just change my expression from friendly to driving and wave the flag instead of having to smack him with the stick or tag him with the string. (which as I said has been marginally effective ... both for me and his herdmates) I was able to use the flag to drive him back when he gave me the bad ears with great success. I've also been using the flag to cause him to stand respectfully away from his grain and hay in his stall until I invite him to it. We'll see how long the flag remains effective.....

It does seem like this is creating MORE rapport instead damaging it. He also had seemed spookier since he took leadership....over the last few days...with me taking it back...he has been less so....very noticeably. Oh phew! Man I love this horse. Preserving and developing our relationship is my number one priority. I guess Pat was right. "Horses are natural followers and they are looking for natural leaders." Nigel just expects a lot out of his.

The super duper cool side effect is that Nigel is causing me to be a better leader...being a better leader causes Lil to be more confident with me. Nigel is providing me the opportunity to become an even more confident, balanced rider...which is causing Lil to be more confident with me as her rider. So as I improve (kicking and screaming sometimes) I am killing two birds with one stone so to speak. Efficientcy... I love it.

Trailer Breakthrough!!!

Hooooooooo Boy! Feels like a lot has happened in the last week with Nigel. It was all set off by one of the best calls ever with my Coach Rachel*.

We came to the conclusion that Nigel's trailer issue was separation anxiety ... not the trailer. If you put that horse in a trailer with several other horses...he'd be happy as a clam to go wherever. He would be with the herd which is were he is the very most confident.

Once this became clear we were able to formulate an appropriate strategy. ... and to cotton onto the fact that I was now dealing with Left Brained* behavior. It had started out as a little worry (especially after we went next door a month or so ago and we had that big meltdown when the other horses got all worked up about him being over there)....but now....he had my number.

It came down to needing to let him stay in the trailer longer. The thing was, he was still banging around and making such a racket! But...he seemed to be just fine to stand in there and eat his grain. As soon as the grain was done the symphony began.

As we know, Right Brained*, stressed and scared horses won't eat. They usually won't touch even their favorite treat because food is at the very bottom of a horse's hierarchy of needs. Sooooooo this was a great "tell". He was cocking a leg munching away...until he deemed the grass outside the trailer more appealing than the hay inside the trailer.

The thing was that I couldn't just keep letting him out now that it was Left Brained. Rachel instructed me to clean stalls...weed the garden...whatever...just ask him into the trailer, feed him his food and leave him be. When he got quiet (even if it was for just a minute) I could let him out. Duh right?

Well, I proceeded to do this. And Nigel proceeded to pound. Arg! I just wanted him to stop! It was making me crazy! I told Kip later: "thank god this wasn't in a nice new trailer. we'll have to keep this one for practice for sure." What was I going to do though? He was in the trailer! I couldn't move him around until he wanted to keep his feet still....I needed a way to make pounding less desirable...

Then it came to me.... A flag! I marched into the barn and tied a plastic bag to a carrot stick. When I came back out I simply mirrored him. He pounded...I waved like a mad woman. At first he looked at me like "what in the hell???" (I was watching carefully to make sure this was just annoying him and not really scaring him) He kept pounding...I waved...he got still...I got still...he clonked his hoof experimentally....I waved softly... About five minutes of this tit for tat....he looked at me....cocked a leg and started eating his hay. GOTCHA!

I've felt as if we were at a plateau with the trailer. This tipped the balance. Now I've got his number. Today, he chilled in there for almost 45 minutes. 5 of those he was completely shut in. At the end of the 45 minutes...he started yawning...he finally, finally, FINALLY..let loose. Oh thank god.

...and Our Passagey thing is getting better....

To View With Full Screen Option go to northwood's youtube

Nigel and I are slowly working on a more elevated trot moving towards passage and then piaffe. We don't have that much going on from the hind legs yet (thus the head in the air to lift himself up)...but its just in the last week or so that he's really gotten the idea of upwards in the front with his energy....so...I figure .... when we've got that on cue we'll just add more forwards which will really be just more impulsion from the back UPWARDS!

Even though it might look better...I am NOT willing to tie his head down to a surcingle at this point. I want the truth about where we are and allow him the freedom to do what he needs to in his body to sort it out.

I'm thinking that the ears and the highheadedness will improve like it has on the circling game, the squeeze, the back-up etc... I know he's not hating me because actually, he's looking at me more and more eagerly with two ears forward and coming to me to put his nose in the halter each day. More than ever! Plus he's the one that's offering this passagey thing...it is in general a dominant behavior so that probably is also contributing to the ears...I just make sure I'm balancing it with a nice respectful back up and all manners of the driving game.

I don't want to be greedy..... I guess I'm a little insecure about the way our relationship looks at this stage...but I mean really...does everyone else's passage look beautifully harmonious at first??? And he's OFFERING!!! I am NOT forcing him. I'm simply just asking for a bit more effort ( a bit more extreme yoyo game ) before a rest and a treat. I admit though I can't wait for it to look prettier.

One more note for posterity...I had just gotten on after filming this...we were doing our forehand yields and oh my god a deer appeared on the hill behind the arena! Nigel had a big ol sideways spook and a nice loud snort. Yikes! Thank goodness for being on my balance point. (thank you Linda and my fusion saddle) I hopped off and after a few disengagements of the hindquarters, turn face and wait, he was calmly standing with a leg cocked licking and admiring the gorgeous creatures.

I got back on and decided to make the rest of the session about relaxation and confidence. Lots of partial disengagements, walking pirouettes (getting better too), the Figure 8 Pattern*, sideways and backwards. Then a few really nice trot walk trot walk transitions on that pattern. He started to really relax his ribcage so we stopped in the middle.

After just a few moments he sighed and blew out!!! I remember last summer when he would not do that! He'd just hold it and hold it. I thought about riding for tomorrow...so I got off. Yahooo!

Day 3 out of at least 7 of avoiding avoidance with Nigel and the trailer......

It was better. A little better. A little tiny bit better.

I would say that yesterday Nigel was mostly Left Brained*. There was no sweating, no dancing around after getting out of the trailer. Just heading for the grass. I'd redirect him and send him back in. The one thing I did notice was that his tail was tight. Now, this is a typical thing for him. When we got him he would clamp it to his bum. No way he'd raise it for us. Even when he was super Left Brained and everything else was very relaxed. Of course, he's over that now and for the most part it is loose. He even happily does lead by a tail 80% of the time. So yesterday while he was standing in the trailer, I played friendly game with his tail just lifting it gently and swishing it back and forth.

He understood that swinging the door meant keep his feet still but, it was many many time of getting in and getting out before he decided to. I started a new thing which was to bang loudly on the door every time he would paw on the front of the trailer. LOL. We were both making quite the racket. That worked though. He would quickly stop and either get out or look back at me like: "what in the hell are you doing?".

I'm getting this feeling that he's now just trying to out persist me. Especially with the door open. I think he is worried about getting shut in all alone and going away....but yesterday I kinda felt a lack of try. Well, a lack of trying to do what I wanted. He wanted to get out and eat grass....lots of try for that...mostly in a passive-ish way. "She lets me get out...so I'll get out....how many times before she gives up." BUT. I can be pretty dang passively persistent in the proper position too. *narrowing eyes in determination..... Not even Pat Parelli is more persistent than an Emma Kline.

I might sound a little (or a lot) direct lined. However, I have thought about this. I know we've done plenty of preparation. Nigel can jump over stuff, he can stand with four feet on a pedestal, he can back over a pole, he can squeeze sideways over the barrels, he can maintain gait and direction both Online*, Freestyle* and Finesse* etc, etc, etc. He also can stand calmly for quite a long while in all four Savvy's*. There comes a time, I've learned, when you've gotta get to it.

I imagine starting a horse undersaddle. Even when all the preparation is done, the horse needs to wear the saddle. In fact, he needs 200 hours undersaddle to have a proper foundation.

As Pat has taught us, the trick is to put principles before purpose and let the horse be in charge of the timeline. I feel like I'm doing that. I'm using Love, Language and Leadership....keeping the Eight Principles in mind and yet NOT AVOIDING THE PURPOSE. I feel like I'm letting Nigel be in charge of the timeline by not just locking him in the trailer and heading off to where ever I want to go. We'll just practice and practice and practice, isolate, separate and recombine, until he finally accepts the purpose and lets loose.

But only after playing with my least favorite toy.....

It was a funky day with Nigel. After yesterday's short trip in the trailer just to the neighbors he couldn't stand calmly in it with the door shut.

Even moving the door around was trouble. The good news is that he didn't have any big resistance getting into the trailer or standing in it with the door open. Actually, it was good too to see him touching a lot of stuff in the trailer with his nose. The sides, the roof, the divider. This should help build his confidence and hopefully it'll stick better.

So we made the session about just being able to stand still with me swinging the door back and forth, back and forth. Omgosh. I don't even know how long we did it. He got out. I asked him back in. He got out. I asked him back in. He pawed the floor, he did levade, he did piaffe. I kept moving the door until he could just stand. As soon he was still I kept the door still. He was training me.

We ended when he could stand there with me swinging the door once or twice. After munching grass for about five minutes we went up to the arena and did some nice standing friendly game undersaddle while we watched Kip and Jackson play. (they did great)

But, oh man the trailer is so the bane of my existence. I know we'd better knock off at least 5 more sessions before a break and not avoid it like I REALLY REALLY want to. To get it better its just repetition. "polite and passive persistence in the proper position" so that we can do our "prior and proper preparation to prevent p poor performance" as pat says. I guess. *big huffy sigh. God I hate it. I just want Nigel to be happy and to love me. Getting him outside his comfort zone is counter intuitive for rapport.

In my heart I know that this is one of those things that will make our relationship stronger. Taking the time it takes ....whatever it takes....to develop ultimate confidence in the trailer and traveling will make him and I a better Horse-Man in the end. This goal.... this dream...... is enough to outweigh the trauma thankfully.

It reminds me of my brother Isaac's favorite quote: "The only way out is through".

Boring! Yaaaaaaaaaaahoooooooooooooo!!!!

I just had a few minutes this morning before work. So I figured a little trailer dwell time sounded like a good plan.

Nigel marched right down to the trailer and hopped in. I shut the door. He quietly munched away while I emailed and got my day sorted. I looked up. Still munching. Made a few phone calls. I looked up. He smiled down at me still munching, still quiet, still relaxed.

Figured I'd better test the getting out and in. He got out as soon as I opened the door but confidently. I rubbed his head. I asked him back in. No problem. Back to munching. I shut the door. I was wishing that I had the 22ft line with me so that we could check off trailer loading from the bumper.

No more phone calls or immediate emails so I put in my Ipod and checked the time. I thought, geeze I'm not doing the best job of relaxing and enjoying the scenery. So I looked at the scenery. . . . . . . beautiful trees. . . . beautiful sky. . . . beautiful horses. . . . and the remainder of the half hour dribbled away with me admiring the angel horse in the trailer and listening to Malcolm Gladwell talk about Cesar Millan and body language.

I opened the door and Nigel got out. Even more slowly. I asked him back in and didn't shut the door. He cocked a leg and went back to munching. Right. Boring. Love it.

....playing with the new plan Coach Rachel* helped me lay out for Nigel.

Wow it was a great call. We were talking about Nigel and developing Piaffe. Rachel really helped me break everything down into teeny tiny pieces. In the final analysis its all about the Principle Games (Friendly, Porcupine and Driving). Plus, developing a more excellent Life up, Neutral and Life down.

Sometimes Nigel gives me the bad face...ears backish. He used to do it a lot...instead of worrying about it, I've just tried to be progressive and fun. Sure enough, he is doing it less and less. I asked Rachel about it, wondering if she had any other ideas.

She said that there are a few reasons that could be contributing to "the bad face". Yelling at him by not having a quiet enough phase 1 and yelling at him by not having a good enough neutral. Ah ha. So with this in mind we returned to the subject of Piaffe.

I needed to be reminded that I can run through my phases (not necessarily getting the exact desired response) and then stop. Then, start again. As we know horses learn what happens before what happens happens. Phase Four can be pretty soft in this situation.

My aim now is to get a very very good driving from zone 2/3* with snappy departures and downward transitions. First halt-walk-halt. Next walk-trot-walks. Next halt-trot-halts. Next walk-backup-walk. And finally backup-trot-backup.

A big light bulb moment was Rachel explaining why backup to trot is the most perfect for developing Piaffe. Its two beats to two beats! I mean duh! Walk-trot is four beats to two so automatically we'd have to have a change in rhythm. With Nigel, very soon I think, the first steps of going forward from back-up to trot will be Piaffe/Passage-ish steps. So I'll just need to recognize them and reward the slightest try so he'll figure out that ultimately that's what I want.

BIG IMPORTANT THING THOUGH: I must cue the Piaffe. It has to be more than just asking back-up to trot. So if I think he's going to do it I need to back-up...then cue the Piaffe...then ask for a snappy forward departure...then reward the Piaffe or beginning suspended steps

In order to get these precise snappy departures I needed to be more clear myself in my phases. For an upward transition:

Phase One: Life up in my body with my stick resting behind his withers.
Phase Two: Slide the stick to zone 4.
Phase Three: Lift the stick.
Phase Four: Tap zone 4.

So the other day I started the halt-walk-halts with Nigel. Eeeeek! It was so much more of a mess than I thought it would be. I mean, we've done the Touch It Pattern* so I thought this would be easy. Nope. He figured out the walk forward with phase one pretty quickly but the halt with just my life down without an obstacle to stop at took quite a few tries. Also he tends to want to really come around me in a tiny circle so I had to keep asking him to stay straighter. Ai yi yi. We quit when we got one decent walk-halt. ONE!

I think this is actually pretty dang cool. We found a hole in our development. Which, as Karen Rohlf www.dressagenarturally.net reminds us, is a gift. Getting him more in tune with me and my energy instead of just seeing the obstacle and stopping.

Another nifty thing, I think, is that this progression towards Piaffe will just be another level of excellence in our foundation. It doesn't even really seem that advanced because Piaffe is so natural for Nigel. Its just another gait in his daily life. For Lil it would be asking a lot more because although an elevated trot comes naturally to her when she's on adrenaline...not so much if we're just calmly practicing transitions Online* or if she's playing out in the field.

Phew! That's a lot to spit out. Fun times ahead......

...Having a Video Day with Nigel.

Nigel and I were practicing our "airs". He is now understanding that I want him to stay up there. In the first one on this clip (the best most amazing one) kip didn't expect him to keep going up so he ended up going out of the frame. lol. To me that means he's getting stronger. Also, he's beginning to understand that there is another movement..more the Levade style. This according to my understanding is a 45 degree rear with knees together. I'm trying to get 2 different cues going. One for the bigger Mezair style rear ( much higher and pawing the air) and one for the Levade. I left the rolling at the end so my coach Rachel Jessop* can see more of his horsenality. ...btw, have I mentioned that I love him?

...a few days ago with Lil...and yesterday with Nigel

I noticed the other night when I was sitting in Nigel's stall spending undemanding time that my poor horsey Lil was climbing the walls. After we played over the weekend she had been pretty quiet Sunday and Monday....it was Tuesday night that she started to have trouble again.

So, Wednesday we marched up to the arena to move around. It makes me so happy that now she can partner with me even in self medicating. After a quick roll she almost seemed to say "right, here I go"...she took off at a speedy tail in the air canter to the right. But, she maintained gait and direction and looked where she was going.

The last few times we played she only needed 10 or so laps to really calm down and feel better. Wednesday she got to 20 laps before her tail relaxed and she made a smaller circle to avoid the muddy patch that she had been slipping on for the previous 1/2 a mile.

We played with all our normal stuff...she still is choosing to go sideways and around the barrels at Liberty* instead of hopping halfway over. . Online*, she does it every time. Ah...Liberty is such a good test. I'm pretty sure its a confidence issue that will be fixed with repetition.

Our close circle at Liberty is coming back. yay! And we're getting it at walk now which I feel shows more understanding. We are getting a few halt canters Online although the it ends up being walk to canters every 2nd or 3rd ask. Lead by a tail making turns is better...our close spin left to right is ok (I hate that she moves her HQ though) we need a little polishing right to left... The next time Kip is with me I'll ask if he can see anything different in my body language going that way.

It was one of those days when she doesn't quite feel fully present. Our draw was maybe 60% of what we have on a good day. She still did a lot of licking and chewing..still much improved from what it was even a few months ago...but I couldn't see very much tongue. However, she didn't suck on her tongue so that was good. I felt like I was going maybe one click too fast..

A great sign that Wednesday was ok, was that yesterday when our Farrier did her feet she was in one of those super mentally engaged moods. She was snuggling with him and lifting up her back feet for him and even offering to put her front feet on the jack stand! What a good girl. She had lost both her back shoes and the accompanying shims so both she and I'll be glad to have that fixed.

With Nigel yesterday I'll just say he was amazing as usual. He seemed to realize that I wanted a big rear with more airtime. He put A LOT of effort into staying up there. 5 seconds he gave me! 5 seconds!!!!!!!!! That's the record for sure. I wooped it up for that one. The whole valley probably was wondering what in the heck was going on. LOL

Our ride was good. I have 2 thick shims in the front and it was too much. This next ride I'll switch to a thick and a thin and see if that's just right or if I just need a single thick one. Maybe that means he's traveling more uphill?...

Following the rail even doing a big stretchy trot and cantering is much better. Our weave at trot Level 2 style was almost perfect...Doing the cantering Bow-tie Pattern* was better..ish. Still needs work. His canter depart even from the walk Online is doing great...I can't wait for them to improve undersaddle. I hate that feeling of disharmony when they aren't.

Ok. I have to confess that I had some ruffled hairs on the left hand side just behind the withers. Poo. I think it was some of our canter halts. I was bracing too much in my stirrups.

I quit while he seemed to be eager to do even more things (yay me) and we walked with a swagger down to the barn. I haven't put him in the trailer for a few weeks so I thought we'd better practice. He jumped right in. I shut the door..he was just fine with it. For the whole rest of the day he was tracking me wherever I went with two interested ears forward. Excellent.

On New Years Day Weekend...

...with my parents who came out to the farm to visit.

On Friday we decided to film my Dad's official level one audition. He's been playing with the horses a little bit at a time and over the years. Both he and Mom have been to two Parelli Tour stops and watched many hours of Parelli Dvds. ("ok guys you gotta just see this one video") I knew he could do it....I wondered how Lil would feel about being his partner in it.

They both did really well! Lil was very patient and when Dad asked correctly she did it. Dad did wonderfully with accepting what she was offering (even if it ended up being a Level 4 task instead! lol. like halfway over the barrels...or her thinking he wanted sideways towards instead of away) and then sorting out what he needed to change to get what he actually had intended. I am very proud of both of them.

Mom and I had the best time watching Kip play with Jack. I brought Lil up to the arena the day after dad did his audition...she rolled...and then (clearly before any grooming) stayed down and took a nap. A loooong nap. Mom came up to hang out with me. She and I stood by Lil protecting our little herd and watching Kip play with Jack. Lil was cantering and nickering in her sleep. It was really funny.

Today I got to play with Nigel. We just fiddled around. Checked off a bunch of 2 carrot stick riding tasks from the L3 Freestyle* list. Kip came up to take a break from football to say hello and brought the video camera.

We just had 8 min of battery life left so here is just a few little Online* clips. We were playing with rearing online which as you can see is a pain because he gets tangled up in it...I move backwards to try to avoid it...he thinks that means come forward...so we don't end up with a real Levade. . on the other hand that seems to be getting more of a Mezair effect. . . the flying change was nice...the cones were in my way so I had to hold the rope up...I'm glad to have the beginnings of a few elevated trot steps on vid because I know those will really improve...

Christmas Break

I've been having a great time with the Nigel and Lil!

Nigel is, as I've almost come to expect, learning things at the speed of light and Lil is much more confident than she was last winter.

Nigel offers to do levade (sustained rear with knees together) and mezair (basically rearing and pawing the air. used to be beating down doors in battle) all the time now. I have no idea how to cue them individually though! Yesterday I was able to count to 4 while he was up in the air. He's getting the idea that I like it when he perches up there.

He is clearly getting stronger.

I love it when Kip gets to play with Nige on the weekends and is impressed with how he's developed. I like to see him smiling and saying "woah! thats awesome!".

Riding Nige has been waaay fun. Our steering is getting A LOT better. The other day I almost took the bridle off. I decided to keep it on and just looped the reins over the saddle horn and did a pretty perfect walking cloverleaf pattern* without having any need to touch the reins. Big progress. Our canters have gotten better and follow the rail without touching the reins is very good at trot and coming along at the canter. We got a very pretty sideways at the trot too.

I've checked Nigel off on everything on the Level 2 Freestyle* list except open a gate. We did it in the summer....but I want to double check it ... its been so muddy by the gate to the arena since we put it in.

I've been asking him to get into the trailer quite often. Shutting the door and feeding some breakfast. That too is getting better all the time.

Lil and I are on a licking and chewing record! Plus she fluttered her nose (her little Right Brained Introvert* version of a nicker) at me two days in a row!!!

We've been doing sideways at canter away from the lead...kind of an interesting effect...and her extensions at trot are getting really pretty online*. She is now offering to do it undersaddle as well.

Yesterday we had a lovely ride. We got a really nice little bowtie pattern using canter walk canters. Super cool! I need to see it on video...her walking pirouettes are staring to feel really good.

I just don't know what I would do without the Horsenality* information. It would have taken forever to learn what she needs by trial and error. Yesterday she galloped it out for about a mile. The funny thing is that she seems to know that its ok to do it now. Like she's not wondering if its upsetting me. She just gets out on the rail and does what she needs to do. Then comes back and says "Phew" I feel better now. What do you want to do?"

Looking forward to more pony time tomorrow. Here are a few picts from Kip and I's playtime with the white horses yesterday.

Apparently Boredom Sparks Creativity

Well, the arena has been too rock solid to do much on.... bummer dayz. I'm starting to get bored enough to get creative.

I'm trying to teach Nigel to hang up in the air a little longer ala Levade. He's short enough we can play with this in his stall. We've gotten to like a 2 second rear so far.

I think I'll work on lifting up a front leg ala spanish walk. Lil might like that too.

Also maybe Nigel will learn to pick something up and hand it to me. Maybe a hat? Or a brush or something.

ugh................... at least its sunny!

Here's a little Lipizzan Airs Above the Ground clip. I may be getting addicted to this breed. Hopefully Nigel is not one of a kind.

Also here is a hilarious vid about a couple of english ladies playing ponies. French and Saunders-Ponies. Omg. To horse people this is toooooo funny. Apparently Linda shared this with everyone at the UK Parelli Celebration.

And its all frozen.....

In fact everything is frozen. It is dry and beautiful. But very cold (hasn't gotten above freezing) and windy.

Today I played with Nigel and the horse trailer for just about 20 minutes. Frozen. Toes, Nose, Fingers, Pattotie. Even with enough clothes to look like the little brother in A Christmas Story.

He is just so worried about it. In his little Nigel way. "I'm doing it. But I don't like it." We were back to just getting in and hanging out. Because a few days ago...

I thought we were at a point this week where I could drive him down the road and back. So Thursday I loaded him just like we've been doing. . . he was fine to shut the door....I opened it and closed it.....but as soon as I put the butt chain across he started to have trouble. He tried to hold it together and I went ahead and closed the door. Uh oh. Drama. He was not completely Right Brained*. I mean...he was thinking... but he was thinking "I WANT OUT!".

He was pounding with his front feet and rearing. Now bear in mind that he does this when he wants to be let out of his stall too...but there was a definite tone of worry. Jail. Claustrophobia. And not enough trust. One different thing he was doing in the trailer vs his stall was blowing. Like you would think a relaxing sound. But this was fast...like he was trying to calm himself down. Come to think of it, it was the same with the pounding and rearing. It was all faster. And the blowing seemed to wind him up, not calm him down. . . but I didn't leave him in long enough to find out.

I scrapped the idea of driving him anywhere and let him out. After that it took about 5 minutes or so for him to be able to get back in and stand there.

Today, he got right in. But he didn't want to stay in. He would stay in for about a minute and then have to get out. One time I coughed and it startled him... and he had to get out. Eventually I could rattle the butt chain and he'd stay in. Good.

I think its just going to take repeating this process again until he can cock a leg...then I'll start banging stuff around....then when he lets loose with that I'll try shutting the door again....then when he lets loose with that...I'll try driving just a little ways...etc.

The funny thing is with Nige....I still don't know if it'll be 2 sessions more....or 10. I'll bet my next paycheck though that when we get through this and he really gets confident with it....it will change everything between us. And that. Will be great.

and I was rushing. *pounds forehead.

I wanted to ride. Things had gone so beautifully with Nigel the last time we played....I took him for granted.

I only had an hour. (oh how I hate being rushed when its a Sunday and I'm playing ponies) We went out on the hill to play the traveling circling game, back up the steep part, jump the log etc. He did it all and in pretty good spirits but I had about 15 seconds of "dwell" time, (if 15 seconds even counts) in between things.

Now that our trotting circling game is really good, I started the stretching Online* exercise a la Karen Rohlf. He got it really quickly of course and even blew out a little.

We are working on sideways over the cavaletti. For some reason he gets worried about it. Just a little RBI*. But, Arrrrrrrg! I just wanna SCREAM (and cuss. I assure you I'm going it in my head) when I think about how I didn't wait for him. I just tapped whatever part wasn't moving. He did this little suck in of air every time. I was thinking of leadership and just letting the pattern work its magic. After twice each way he licked his lips like a good ole Left Brained horsey.*

The thing is I feel like I didn't build his trust in me. I'm noticing he's easy to push. For me anyway. He is just so good natured and when he's feeling unconfident or resistant I can still get him to "do it".

I don't know, I don't know, I don't know! I thought that leadership was what would help him to trust me. But maybe our language is lacking in spots. (I did check his porcupine game yielding the hindquarters and that was not good at all). Maybe love, (and I'll bet this is it) is lacking. Lacking, lacking, lacking. The thing is, I tend to err on the side of too much love and not enough leadership. (As I've said it was the leadership Lil really needed more of. So I had to step that up for her.)

Linda's advice has always served me well in the past. "You are free to experiment so long as you have your principles in line. If one strategy doesn't work then try something else." BUT I don't know what to try in terms of love. The last time I spend undemanding time in his stall he wanted to do something. I could hand graze...but for some reason that doesn't feel right to me. . will it really translate into a connection? I just don't know if it will...

Wait. How about me and my shadow!?! I could just have him on the 12ft line and let him wander in the big field with me mirroring him. Hmmm. That might work. But on the other hand he gets to do that all the time without me...

Maybe what it comes down to is more dwell time. Doing a little bit. A LITTLE BIT...and then chilling. Like until he gets bored. Not just until he licks his lips. Like I said, I think I just get sucked into how smart he is and how he will just do so many things. That stupid direct lined predator in me has reared its ugly head. (more cussing) I just want to pinch it off.

Why I let it come out is beyond me. (well, not beyond me..of course it is a perfectly natural human trait.) But it makes me so miserable! Every single stinken time.

I did get to ride. He reached for the bit and then followed me willingly to the mounting block. It didn't feel harmonious though. By then I think the sinking feeling of failure was starting to take over...we did our pre ride checks from the saddle and then the figure 8 at walk paying close attention to a little disengagement of the hind quarters each turn then straight. (same kinda thing as Karen's stretching exercise) Of course he did it. Stretched and relaxed. I got off and he walked down to the barn next to me with his ears forward and a loose neck. After we undressed, he walked with me at Liberty* to the piles of hay I had put on the hill. But I still felt like crap. It was all in spite of me. It still felt like I hadn't improved anything.

He's smart, generous, kind (thank god .. a little difference in his Horsenality*... I'd have been pounded on by now), and FORGIVING. And that is what I've been taking advantage of. To be fair, I guess I haven't done it maliciously...just stupidly.

Well. I am going to get it together. I am going to do better for him. I am going to be effective in putting the relationship first. Not just have it in my head and heart that that is what I want and believe in. Thats not good enough. This is one amazing horse. Brilliant. My dream horse really, in many, many ways. (and yes I know he's really hubby's horse) I am so lucky to get to play with him! *she cried in a strangled voice.

Damn it! I know this is a bit of a bummer post but I think its only fair to share the growing pains as well as the delights of success. Its not really real otherwise right? Gotta have the dark to see the light and all that. (for a more uplifting post see the previous one. lol)

Ok. *wiping tears and taking a deep breath. Today is a new day. I think I'll have time for a do-over too. The time allowed for self recrimination has been spent. I shall now flex my emotional fitness and make a change. After all, courage is not always big and loud. Often it is just a quiet resolve to persevere. That little voice inside us that says "I will try again tomorrow." Well, today is tomorrow......

with Nigel the wonder pony! ( Lipizzan...whatever)

He was just so fun today. The rate at which he learns is unreal. ...I do have to prepare him properly.... help him get into that sweet spot learning frame of mind. When he gets it...watch out! He's almost like a difference species. (maybe he's really an alien)

We did lots of fun things taking advantage of the still dry ground. (yay for that) Traveling circling game was grrrrrrrrrrreat! He seemed to really enjoy it. Hardly touched the end of the line even while cantering and yet he was out there doing his thing. Up and down the big hill even. Then we ended up at the log and he hopped right over! What a good boy! Backed up and down the hills, into the arena...just romped around.

I had an idea to help him want to hop over the barrels. He is all for going through them. lol. Just pushed them out of the way, march through, turn face and wait. Today I put the cavaletti in front of it. Much harder for him to push it out the way with his knees.

I felt better about asking him now that we have our maintain gait, maintain direction, look where you're going over an obstacle so much more solidly. Sure enough he did it. Not super pretty on the first try because he gave them a shove with his nose first and had them in a bit of disarray when he jumped them. But the second time was great. Both times were with me on his right side but that's ok I think. We'll just add the other side later.

Had a great ride too. Man I love to ride him. He just seems so sure footed and solid. We got some blowing out right away too! Totally excellent.

He hardly kicked up at all going into the canter. I decided to experiment with really leaning back and even going more in my body. He extended the canter pretty well. It was funny though because it seemed like he was almost surprised that he was doing it.

Had some beautiful sideways and good bounce the rein to back up. I feel like I want to do the backing up with my legs a few more times. He does it. But now I want to isolate it to make sure he can differentiate all the different ways to ask. We've done so many of them...

Ah Nigel. He got lots of smooches today.

Practicing trailer loading with Nigel.

Now this was interesting. Nigel has not been super interested in getting into the trailer. He's actually made it quite clear that he would rather not.

Part of the reason Kip was so excited to get him was that he really wanted to go to playdays and generally out to events. Nigel's original mom I think taught him to love trailers so I'm not exactly sure what happened. He did travel up here from Cali about a year ago so who knows.. But we really want to get him back to being uber confident.

Again with Nigel it takes him all of about 2 seconds to figure out what we want. Then like yesterday. He just does it.

Kip actually was the one who played with him and sat with him for a while. Then I hung out with Nige while Kip did a few things around the arena.

What I found really interesting was the feeling I was getting from him. I mean he was standing there....he knew he was supposed to. .... and I don't think he was afraid....but he clearly did not want to be in there. . . one time Kip did try to shut the door and Nigel came flying out....we just hung out with him for ages...he'd periodically blow and blow and blow (he is so innately LB. like Pat described once. in that kind of horse their left brain is always trying to override their right brain. so true in this case)

I was thinking of the stages within the friendly game. Trying to assess where he was. I felt like he was tolerating it for sure.....acceptance? I think we did get there when finally he started eating. Then after a good 20minutes he cocked a leg. (let loose?)

Kind of exciting to think of where we can go with this horse when we finally win him over.