Kota was a good boy last night and is coming along nicely. His owner came out to ride and see how he was doing. He had a bit of an issue being tied, a first with me so far, and danced much more than I would have liked but under saddle he was very good. Standing while being mounted appears to be installed nicely which was the biggest request of his training. Once we started riding we were able to get real half passes and some actual turns on the forehand and also some turns on the haunches. The owner is anxious to have him sidepass so I need to start working on that now that we have both the shoulders and haunches moving when being asked.
The trot is also coming along with fewer and fewer corrections being needed. I was able to ride one handed and correct him when he would go faster and he responded the first time almost every time. His owner was happy that the neck reining hadn't been "uninstalled" and that he will do some of the things he is learning without holding onto both reins. I did advise that since he is leaving in a couple of weeks these things won't be hard coded in his mind yet, she will need to ride him with two hands for at least another month until he learns his new behaviors as a habit. She seemed okay with that so hopefully she can keep up on the training aspect of it.
I did show her our canter and she was impressed I was able to keep him on a circle as her biggest complaint in the canter is the complete lack of steering. I told her that is due to his being so heavy on his forehand and that he has has zero balance so he has a hard time/is unable to respond to directional requests as he is working so hard to just canter. I suggested to put him on a circle in a field and keep working at getting him to push with his haunches versus his shoulders and that will help him be balanced, once balanced the steering would come easily. I explained the difference in feel and demonstrated it a few times, she said she was able to see when he would dive onto his forehand versus when I would put him onto his haunches and see the difference it made. This makes me happy as I wasn't sure if she could see it and am still uncertain if she can feel it. Hopefully I can get his canter a little more solid before he goes home. I should be able to, I just hope he can keep it. He is, however, pretty good with responding to the canter cue and we were able to get both leads last night. Progress is being made!
At the end of the ride I had her ride him so she could experience some of his new buttons. She was extremely happy with his standing while being mounted and not moving until being asked. It is such an easy thing to teach compared to everything else we have been doing but this is what she was most excited about. Quite amusing IMO. I guided her through a few half passes each direction and then some trotting each direction. She said his trot is 100% better, before he would be so bouncy she would almost fall off if she didn't post. I believe the issue was he was so heavy on his forehand that he was just going fast without balance, thankfully I never gave him the opportunity to show that part of himself to me. I gave her some tips on how to keep him in the "new" trot and that he shouldn't do any other kind of trot for another 60 days so that it becomes habit and he doesn't revert. He needs to build the correct muscles, once he builds them it will be easier for him to trot "good" versus "bad". We finished up with my guiding her through some turning on the forehand/haunches and backing. She seems happy and I hope it makes them partner better. Only 2 weeks left with him!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
New additions to LogDog Acres
So we bit the bullet and have added new creatures to the zoo around here. Introducing our new chicks.
They are straight run so we won't end up keeping all of them, only the girls. They came from the home of one of my students and they are super friendly.
I have 2 Blue Wheaton Ameracauna's, 2 Black Copper Maran's, a Wyandotte and a Wyandotte/Silky mix. They were hatched out for me from their flock, I think that is pretty cool. They hatched on 4/8 and 4/9 so they are still just a couple of days old but they had no problem with the move or adjusting to their new home. They are currently in one of my big aquariums/old gerbil cage and am hoping it will be big enough until we can move them outside in a month or so.
Until then I get to listen to peep, peep, peeps as they peck around in their cage in my office. They are quite amusing to watch and their napping is too cute, they droop or flop onto the floor.
Hope to keep a picture diary of them as they get bigger, maybe my camera and schedule will cooperate.
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| Hey Y'all |
They are straight run so we won't end up keeping all of them, only the girls. They came from the home of one of my students and they are super friendly.
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| No, we are suspicious. Don't mistake friendlyness for info gathering |
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| Send help, we are being held captive |
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| Mmmmm. Nap. |
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
In other news
Happy Birthday to our TWH! He turns nine today, it has been a long road since August, 2007 but we've gotten through it and he is better for it. He is also now SOUND! He has been lame since March 9th, I pulled him off of confinement and wrapping last Friday and am giving him this week and next week off and then he is going back into service. Am very excited to get my blond boy back under saddle.
The App is doing very well, thankfully he has stayed sound this whole time. He is being ridden almost every day that I ride Kota by RB4 or RB3 so he is staying fit thankfully. I am hopeful I can get him ready for an eventing derby on May 6th, it will be just 2 weeks after Kota leaves and I haven't been jumping him. RB4 said she was willing to put him over some small jumps to help strengthen his tendons until I can ride him again, planning on taking her up on that! Unfortunately he has 2 lessons this weekend, since the TWH is still on rest, so I can't ride him on Sat over fences. Am hoping I can get some saddle time on Sunday or thrown him over some fences on a lunge. Need to get moving!
The App is doing very well, thankfully he has stayed sound this whole time. He is being ridden almost every day that I ride Kota by RB4 or RB3 so he is staying fit thankfully. I am hopeful I can get him ready for an eventing derby on May 6th, it will be just 2 weeks after Kota leaves and I haven't been jumping him. RB4 said she was willing to put him over some small jumps to help strengthen his tendons until I can ride him again, planning on taking her up on that! Unfortunately he has 2 lessons this weekend, since the TWH is still on rest, so I can't ride him on Sat over fences. Am hoping I can get some saddle time on Sunday or thrown him over some fences on a lunge. Need to get moving!
Kota - 2 and a half weeks in
Kota is moving along spectacularly in his training though I really wish I could have another 30 days to solidify some things because time is moving really fast right now. On Friday Kota went on his first trail ride with me and was awesome. He even kept a correct trot for about a minute all on his own, a huge improvement for him. He wasn't spooky at the flapping flag, the kids playing basketball nor even the other kids playing volleyball. He was well mannered, listened to leg cues and didn't give any trouble.
Last night we worked on leg commands more, introducing the turn on the forehand as well as a half-pass. The turn on the forehand was difficult for him to grasp during the last ride so I rode in spurs which made a big difference. He was very confused about what to do and it certainly took longer for him to "get it" then the turn on the haunches but in the end he figured it out. At the end of the ride I could get him to move all 4 quarters independently of each other and without using spurs. Success!! The half pass isn't nearly as exciting as it sounds as he seemed to understand it pretty quickly after figuring out "move haunches". We were able to do a half pass from the rail into the quarter line each direction so I called that part good for the day.
We then worked on the dreaded...CANTER. He has a right lead canter but when I cantered before he refused to offer a left lead canter. No worries though as I was on a mission to try to get both. His canter feels like he is 95% on his front end, has no balance and he has virtually no steering, you just power along and hope walls or horses don't get in your way. I am trying to also teach him a canter cue, inside leg on/outside leg back, at the same time as I am running out of time, I am only hoping he gets it before time is up. We started with his right lead canter and I was able to get him into a circle by pushing him into the reins for balance or really pulling into the correct direction couple of times. Once he understood circle I tried to get him to balance a little and he finally offered me a stride and a half of balanced canter. Wahoo! Big steps for him, he even offered it a couple more times despite not keeping it for more than two strides.
With the success of the right lead, I figured I would try the left lead, we got the right lead. We tried again, and got the same result. I tried a circle without success and then tried a sharp turn to force him to push off with the correct lead and voila, he gave a flying change and the left lead introduced itself. The left lead is just as bad as the right but in the end he gave me a single stride of semi-balanced canter and was halfway decent with steering. I didn't push the canter much as this is only the third time we have cantered and I know he isn't strong enough to carry himself but it is nice to know he is willing to try a new way.
Only a couple of weeks left and I am gone for 4 days of it. Have a lot of riding to get done, time for someone to get some serious learn on.
Last night we worked on leg commands more, introducing the turn on the forehand as well as a half-pass. The turn on the forehand was difficult for him to grasp during the last ride so I rode in spurs which made a big difference. He was very confused about what to do and it certainly took longer for him to "get it" then the turn on the haunches but in the end he figured it out. At the end of the ride I could get him to move all 4 quarters independently of each other and without using spurs. Success!! The half pass isn't nearly as exciting as it sounds as he seemed to understand it pretty quickly after figuring out "move haunches". We were able to do a half pass from the rail into the quarter line each direction so I called that part good for the day.
We then worked on the dreaded...CANTER. He has a right lead canter but when I cantered before he refused to offer a left lead canter. No worries though as I was on a mission to try to get both. His canter feels like he is 95% on his front end, has no balance and he has virtually no steering, you just power along and hope walls or horses don't get in your way. I am trying to also teach him a canter cue, inside leg on/outside leg back, at the same time as I am running out of time, I am only hoping he gets it before time is up. We started with his right lead canter and I was able to get him into a circle by pushing him into the reins for balance or really pulling into the correct direction couple of times. Once he understood circle I tried to get him to balance a little and he finally offered me a stride and a half of balanced canter. Wahoo! Big steps for him, he even offered it a couple more times despite not keeping it for more than two strides.
With the success of the right lead, I figured I would try the left lead, we got the right lead. We tried again, and got the same result. I tried a circle without success and then tried a sharp turn to force him to push off with the correct lead and voila, he gave a flying change and the left lead introduced itself. The left lead is just as bad as the right but in the end he gave me a single stride of semi-balanced canter and was halfway decent with steering. I didn't push the canter much as this is only the third time we have cantered and I know he isn't strong enough to carry himself but it is nice to know he is willing to try a new way.
Only a couple of weeks left and I am gone for 4 days of it. Have a lot of riding to get done, time for someone to get some serious learn on.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Kota - Day seven - Moving away from pressure
Kota is making advances and is learning quite nicely. Tuesday became it a "spa day" for my lame one, the TWH, and thus he got curried, brushed and clipped so he would look like a respectable beast again. When I was done I remembered clipping is one of the things I was asked to work on so out Kota came. Overall he did really well. We started really slow and he was very good for most of it. I was able to trim his muzzle, beard hairs and his left ear without almost any reaction. On the last section though, his right ear, he threw a fit. He reared and backed several times, cutting my thumb and rearranging all of my aisle mats in the process. Yanking on the halter wasn't making a difference so I brought out the stud chain to remind him that rearing is never the answer and when he reared I backed him at least 150 feet each time. In the end he seemed to have gotten it as he let me hold the clipper to his right ear three times and we called it a night. Last night I started with a review of the clipper session and was very pleased that while Kota threw his head a couple of times, his feet stayed firmly on the ground and he allowed the clippers on both ears. Progress!
When I had ridden him on Monday I had noticed his saddle really doesn't fit. He had a nice sweat pattern everywhere but his withers and his rump so today I took some time to investigate. Unfortunately the saddle sits directly on his withers and is completely bridged over his back and doesn't make contact again until right behind the cantle. Damn. I dug out one of my sheepskin pads and a gel pad and with some creative stacking/folding I was able to get the saddle to sit on him fairly properly. I, however, was perched about 3 inches above him. The owner won't be pleased to realize her saddle doesn't fit, hopefully she can get another saddle or find a pad(s) that will work in the interim.
The ride itself went really well, the best ride yet in fact! Kota stood like a good horse while I mounted, stood while I picked up the reins and walked off nicely when asked. He bent pretty well both directions at the walk, willingly gave a shoulder in both directions and even offered a baby halfpass. Wahoo! He didn't offer to stiffen and blow through my leg a single time (and I wasn't riding with spurs) and was easy-peasy. His trot is coming along as well, last night we worked on getting him to rate his own speed and it was a success. We worked on getting a good, slow trot, having me let him go and not touching him unless he sped up. By the end of the ride we were able to make one lap around the arena with only one correction. That is a huge step for him in my book. We also worked on figure 8's and this time he was finally able to get the change of direction without falling apart.
To finish the ride we worked on some turn on the haunches with success and tried a turn on the forehand with complete failure. I may need the spurs or a crop again to get him to understand to move the haunches away from the leg pressure. No biggie though, we are still taking baby steps. We also worked on backing with a leg cue instead of yanking on his mouth, personally I hate seeing people pulling to get a horse to back. IMO a horse should back with light pressure from the bit or with a leg cue so I am installing a leg cue as his current "button" is pulling. A night off tonight, ride tomorrow and the Crazy April starts.
When I had ridden him on Monday I had noticed his saddle really doesn't fit. He had a nice sweat pattern everywhere but his withers and his rump so today I took some time to investigate. Unfortunately the saddle sits directly on his withers and is completely bridged over his back and doesn't make contact again until right behind the cantle. Damn. I dug out one of my sheepskin pads and a gel pad and with some creative stacking/folding I was able to get the saddle to sit on him fairly properly. I, however, was perched about 3 inches above him. The owner won't be pleased to realize her saddle doesn't fit, hopefully she can get another saddle or find a pad(s) that will work in the interim.
The ride itself went really well, the best ride yet in fact! Kota stood like a good horse while I mounted, stood while I picked up the reins and walked off nicely when asked. He bent pretty well both directions at the walk, willingly gave a shoulder in both directions and even offered a baby halfpass. Wahoo! He didn't offer to stiffen and blow through my leg a single time (and I wasn't riding with spurs) and was easy-peasy. His trot is coming along as well, last night we worked on getting him to rate his own speed and it was a success. We worked on getting a good, slow trot, having me let him go and not touching him unless he sped up. By the end of the ride we were able to make one lap around the arena with only one correction. That is a huge step for him in my book. We also worked on figure 8's and this time he was finally able to get the change of direction without falling apart.
To finish the ride we worked on some turn on the haunches with success and tried a turn on the forehand with complete failure. I may need the spurs or a crop again to get him to understand to move the haunches away from the leg pressure. No biggie though, we are still taking baby steps. We also worked on backing with a leg cue instead of yanking on his mouth, personally I hate seeing people pulling to get a horse to back. IMO a horse should back with light pressure from the bit or with a leg cue so I am installing a leg cue as his current "button" is pulling. A night off tonight, ride tomorrow and the Crazy April starts.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Kota - Day six - Bird? Nope. Bend is the word.
Things have started to bubble around LDA as April roars in. April is a very busy month and this is the calm before the storm, after this I won't have a relaxing weekend until May as I will either have people in (the in-laws), I will be out of town or SO will be out of town. Hoping I stay sane but there aren't any guarantees! Anyway, I rode Kota last night and am pretty impressed with the results. I did about 5 mins of groundwork after saddling him and was able to get on and pick up the reins before he moved. I got off, moved him back and did it again and he stood stock still. Progress indeed and it makes me very happy.
Due to being in a rush I had forgotten to change boots and so I was riding without spurs. I almost went back into the barn to get them but figured why not, I should see what I have first. We walked around and did some basic bending and I am thrilled that Kota is "getting it". Of the entire ride he stiffened and blew through my inside leg only about a dozen times, big improvement! He is getting better at bending and I was able to get him to move shoulders-in both directions a few times. He is also starting to understand the turn on the haunches better and will do it correctly for a couple of steps about 75% of the time.
We did a lot of trotting this ride, a first for us. I worked really hard on getting him to trot at a medium pace, without him changing pace even when I am not touching his face. It is going to take some time but I think I can get it by the end of the 30 days. We worked a little on bending at the trot and were able to get a 20m circle at the trot without him locking his shoulder, another big accomplishment for him.
Overall things went very well. I am happy with his progress and am optimistic on what we will be able to accomplish. Today is a day off and then will ride on Wednesday and Friday and probably the weekend too. At some point he needs to go on a lunge so we can try that canter again too. Anyone have some time I can borrow?
Due to being in a rush I had forgotten to change boots and so I was riding without spurs. I almost went back into the barn to get them but figured why not, I should see what I have first. We walked around and did some basic bending and I am thrilled that Kota is "getting it". Of the entire ride he stiffened and blew through my inside leg only about a dozen times, big improvement! He is getting better at bending and I was able to get him to move shoulders-in both directions a few times. He is also starting to understand the turn on the haunches better and will do it correctly for a couple of steps about 75% of the time.
We did a lot of trotting this ride, a first for us. I worked really hard on getting him to trot at a medium pace, without him changing pace even when I am not touching his face. It is going to take some time but I think I can get it by the end of the 30 days. We worked a little on bending at the trot and were able to get a 20m circle at the trot without him locking his shoulder, another big accomplishment for him.
Overall things went very well. I am happy with his progress and am optimistic on what we will be able to accomplish. Today is a day off and then will ride on Wednesday and Friday and probably the weekend too. At some point he needs to go on a lunge so we can try that canter again too. Anyone have some time I can borrow?
Monday, April 2, 2012
Kota - Progress being made
This weekend went by too fast but I suppose that is how things go anymore. Saturday Kota's owner came over and rode the App while she watched me ride Kota. She was very, very happy (as was I!) that Kota is walking with his head down, that he stood still for mounting AND stood still while I picked up the reins. Wahoo! Progress is being made. She wasn't as concerned about him walking like a giraffe under saddle as I am but I will continue on the course of "Horse, head down!". It will only help him in the long run as he develops correct muscles and can then use his back more.
Since we had such a time with bending and blowing through my leg on Thursday, Saturday I upped the ante by wearing my spurs. Note my spurs are very small, blunt english nubs. Kota's owner was concerned that I would A) train him to not be neck reined anymore and B)train him to only ride with spurs. It took some convincing that I was not removing his neck reining training but I need to direct rein to install some buttons, like installing her desire to have him move away from leg pressure. Finally I told her I would re-install neck reining if I needed to. I also reminded her that none of my horses have to be ridden in spurs and that spurs are a reinforcement aid. I then showed her how to tell when I was even applying the spurs so she could see I wasn't using them all of the time.
This ride went much, much better than the first ride. There were several times he tried very hard to blow through my inside leg when bending but he respects my little spurs and gave a decent effort of trying. He only tried his sit back/not rear a couple of times which is a big improvement as well. I tried his trot and he can have a nice slow western pleasure type jog when he stays balanced. When he gets unbalanced or isn't being rated he will gladly fall onto his forehand and go faster, something the owner would like "fixed". I told her I can't completely "fix" it with 30 days of training but I that I will try to get him trotting slower more than he will trot faster. We will see. She also wanted me to slow his canter so I decided to tried it out. He only seems to be able to canter on the left lead under saddle and has no education about his canter. He is very heavy, very fast and very unbalanced. I will need to try some lunge/long line sessions to get him balanced a little. I again told her I can't "fix" it with the time frame she has given me but I can get his training started. She will need to finish it.
Overall it was a nice ride. We accomplished the basics of a turn on the haunches, we got a little bend to the right and we got a decent trot. I will be riding again today, Wednesday and probably Friday. Hoping he will have enough of a foundation to ride him on the road this weekend and maybe trails next weekend. Time to get in the saddle!
Since we had such a time with bending and blowing through my leg on Thursday, Saturday I upped the ante by wearing my spurs. Note my spurs are very small, blunt english nubs. Kota's owner was concerned that I would A) train him to not be neck reined anymore and B)train him to only ride with spurs. It took some convincing that I was not removing his neck reining training but I need to direct rein to install some buttons, like installing her desire to have him move away from leg pressure. Finally I told her I would re-install neck reining if I needed to. I also reminded her that none of my horses have to be ridden in spurs and that spurs are a reinforcement aid. I then showed her how to tell when I was even applying the spurs so she could see I wasn't using them all of the time.
This ride went much, much better than the first ride. There were several times he tried very hard to blow through my inside leg when bending but he respects my little spurs and gave a decent effort of trying. He only tried his sit back/not rear a couple of times which is a big improvement as well. I tried his trot and he can have a nice slow western pleasure type jog when he stays balanced. When he gets unbalanced or isn't being rated he will gladly fall onto his forehand and go faster, something the owner would like "fixed". I told her I can't completely "fix" it with 30 days of training but I that I will try to get him trotting slower more than he will trot faster. We will see. She also wanted me to slow his canter so I decided to tried it out. He only seems to be able to canter on the left lead under saddle and has no education about his canter. He is very heavy, very fast and very unbalanced. I will need to try some lunge/long line sessions to get him balanced a little. I again told her I can't "fix" it with the time frame she has given me but I can get his training started. She will need to finish it.
Overall it was a nice ride. We accomplished the basics of a turn on the haunches, we got a little bend to the right and we got a decent trot. I will be riding again today, Wednesday and probably Friday. Hoping he will have enough of a foundation to ride him on the road this weekend and maybe trails next weekend. Time to get in the saddle!
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