January 13, 2012 - Back on board, but...

I rode Rory today after a quick longe.  I did have to remind him about standing still for mounting.  He fussed at the mounting block, not wanting to stand still and swinging his bum away then backing up.  He was okay the second time.

I rode for almost fifteen minutes.  Started with walking and asking him to give me a nice yield to the rein as we turned.  He was better on the left rein.  Walked over the poles a couple of times.  His trot was a bit lazy at first, and he was shaking his head when I pushed him more forward.  He did settle, but seemed not quite right.  Not lame, just not his usual self.  I asked him to do a few steps of leg yield which he did willingly enough.  By this point he was yielding to the rein better as we turned.

I hopped off and moved the video camera down to sit on the mounting block so I could tape him walking and trotting away from and towards the camera.  I didn't see anything off in the video, but there was something wrong today.

July 1, 2011 - A good ride.

We started in the arena today.  I wanted to go outside, but there was another boarder riding in the sand ring.  Rory longed well.  He didn't pull as hard towards the open back door and managed a bit of canter on each rein.  He was full of energy and very forward today.  There was one head down bouncing fit for a full circle before I sharply told him to "Get up!" and off he went.  A few times he got a little distracted - he could see the horse in the sand ring outside, a chainsaw was in use outside, horses walked by the big doors three times.

When it came time to ride Rory walked off the first time I jumped onto the mounting block.  The next time he stood still then walked again when I put my foot in the stirrup.  I did a bit of on and off exercises just to remind him about standing still, then led him away from the block and back to it.  Second time up he walked off but halted easily.  I hopped off and backed him up and remounted. 

He was quite relaxed as we walked away from the block today.  Near the back door he got a little sticky, but we were able to go quite close without a big problem.  The chainsaw didn't really bother him after he'd thought about it for a moment.  He trotted easily when I asked, and tried a little harder to go out the back door as we went by, but I was ready for him.  The first couple of times past the back door he did break to the walk, but then I managed to keep him trotting.  On the right rein Rory trotted easily around the arena.

He was being very good, so I dismounted and picked up the little mounting block and took Rory out to the sand ring.  I did a quick mount/dismount reminder to stand still before mounting up and asking him to walk on.  Rory was happy to be outside and looked around as we walked around the ring.  A couple of times he was too intent on what he was looking at and ignoring my steering aids.  Once we trotted the steering got worse.  Rory was going places and I halted him a couple of times right before he got to the fence.  Although he pushed the trot forward he didn't hump his back or put his head down and shake it.  After a few minutes I tried to separate the turning and forward aids by closing my hand as I rose, and using my leg when I sat.  It wasn't immediately successful, but Rory very quickly started to respond and we managed a very rough figure eight to finish our ride.  He got lots of pats and praise.

May 6, 2011 - We're walking away!

I asked a couple of my fellow boarders to keep an eye on us today so that I could get on Rory again.  We started with a quick longe as usual.  Rory has gotten stronger and we are moving towards using the longeing exercises to build his strength for carrying some weight.  I'm asking him to trot for longer periods, and for more changes in trot pace (going more forward and slowing down again).  The longe session is still under fifteen minutes, but I can see the changes in him. 

I am fortunate to have had a good teacher who refined my longeing skills.  A mare who was imported from Germany.  Most of the riders I've known who longe tend to use it as a way to get excess energy out either before riding or instead of riding.  Learning to longe is a general idea of standing in the middle of the circle with the longeline in one hand and the whip in the other and keeping the horse out on the circle.  The basic theory seems simple and I had longed occasionally for years.  The mare showed me that I could have a lot more finesse which turned longeing into a more useful tool in my training kit.  Rory is getting the benefit of that training.

After the longeing session I repeated the ususal pre mounting exercises.  Rory started walking once when I was lying over the saddle and I hopped off and stopped him.  I got on and off, and on and wiggled the saddle again and leaned out to each side.  Rory was very unconcerned about it all so I decided to try the next step.  I mounted up and Rory turned his head to nose my right boot.  He grabbed my bootlace and pulled it loose before turning his head straight again.  I picked up the lead rope reins attached to his halter and wiggled my legs against his sides.  Without any hesitation Rory stepped forward into a walk.  I could feel his back come up a little and I asked him to whoa.  My weight shifted back and he wasn't sure about that so it took a bit longer to stop that I expected.  When he did stop I hopped off and gave him a carrot and pat.  We went back to the mounting block and I mounted up again.  This time he started walking before I asked and I let him get a few steps and asked him to halt again.  His front feet stopped first and he turned before coming to a halt.  His back humped a little more than the first time, but he trusted me enough to stay calm.  I hopped off and gave him another carrot and pat.  One of the horses that we could see out the back door of the arena started running around so I didn't ask Rory to walk again, though I did get on and off one more time just to remind him to stand still and wait when I got on.

Before we quit for the day I walked Rory around the arena and practiced some halts off the bit.  The carrot rewards worked their usual magic and he started to respond faster.  We did a short trot in hand before going back to the barn.

Rory eating his dinner while the mini mare watches.

May 1, 2011 - All aboard!

The weather was nice, the barn was quiet and the barn owner was on the property today.  After grooming and tacking up I left Rory on the crossties for a minute and went and asked the BO if she minded coming to keep an eye on us for a few minutes.  Her son came too, probably hoping for some fireworks.  Rory was a star longeing again today.  This time both big doors in the arena were wide open and although he looked outside he was paying attention to me and responding well.  When I get on a horse for the first time I want it to be a boring, non-event.  If I think the horse is likely to do anything silly for whatever reason, I won't get on that day.  Today looked like a good day.

I reviewed jumping up beside him and leaning on the saddle, and then stepped up to lie over the saddle (with helmet this time, and person watching!)

Rory moved as I put my foot in the stirrup and I walked him around the block just to ease the "strain" of standing still for too long, then draped myself over the saddle again.

First mounting part one:
1) Rory was distracted by the end of the lead rope dangling under his chin after I tied it back to his halter for "reins"
2) Stepping up
3) Lying on the saddle again, but leaving my foot in the stirrup so I can...
4) ...swing my leg over. keeping my body low and close to where he's seen me before.

First mounting part two:
5) The instant my butt hits the saddle I pull my foot out of the stirrup and
6-7) ...jump down
8) Carrot time of course!

Second mounting:
1) Rory turned his head to see what I was doing this time
2) Swinging over with my body a little higher this time
3) Butt in saddle, foot out of stirrup and pause, sitting quietly for a second or two.
4) Then dismounting on the right

Third mounting:
1) Rory's unconcerned and takes a look at the mounting block as I swing up
2) He noses my right foot and tries to untie my boot lace
3) Sitting quietly for a bit and giving him a pat
4) Dismounting

I usually quit after three times mounting up because I'm getting tense waiting for something to happen and I want to quit before transmitting that to the horse, but with Rory I was feeling more relaxed so I did one more.

Fourth mounting:
1)  I'd moved Rory a bit after the third mounting and the block was a little far forward, but he didn't seem to mind my awkward moves to get ready
2) Swinging up
3) Foot out of stirrup and sitting quietly
4)  Wiggling the saddle left and right
5) Slowly leaning out to the left...
6) ... and then to the right
7) Dismounting to the right

Installing the "leg means go" aids

After all the excitement, I started my "leg means forward" exercise.  It's a crappy picture lifted off the video, but I have the reins bridged in my left hand at his withers, and the right holding the stirrup leather above the iron so I can tap his side with my hand/wrist.  Rory seems to already know this - it's very similar to the one-sided steering exercises we've done in the past.  I also started putting a little pressure on both reins when I wanted him to whoa since he was so comfortable about going forward and steering.

On the way out Rory grabbed the cones while I picked up my camera.

April 29, 2011 - Halfway up!

Rory was so good about longeing today that I changed directions and worked each rein again asking for more variations in trot speed.  He was very responsive.

Preparing to jump up, and stepping down as Rory looks for his carrot

 Today's pre-mounting exercise involved me jumping onto a mounting block beside Rory as I pulled on the saddle to simulate mounting.  This exercise gives the horse a chance to see the rider making a sudden move up beside them, and allows the rider to stay above the horse safely even if the horse moves away.  Many horses will start to walk, or swing away when the rider jumps up, but Rory stood still.  I jumped up and leaned over the saddle and patted his other side and rubbed over his hindquarters.  Another time I leaned most of my weight on the saddle and he started walking.  I corrected him, tried again, and he walked forward again.  The next time he stood still.  The last time I jumped on the block, put my foot in the stirrup and draped myself over the saddle for a second.  I shouldn't have done it alone, and with no helmet, but it worked out okay since Rory stood still.  Now I just need to find a quiet time when someone is around to keep an eye on us for the few minutes I need to get on properly for the first time.

Patting his other side, leaning on the saddle, and using the stirrup to step up onto the block

April 18, 2011 - Bringing the stirrups into play

 It's time to move on to the next step and work specifically towards that first mounting.  There was a post on an internet bulletin board last week asking about training a young horse which got me thinking about how I prepare a horse to accept the rider mounting up.  I usually work alone with my young horses due to two experiences I had fairly early on.  In the first case I wasn't involved with the training, just watched a guy mount a green horse for the first time and he had his helper block the horse's eye from seeing him mount up.  That wasn't a problem until it came time for him to dismount and the horse was badly spooked by seeing him shift off to the side to dismount.  Even when the helper went back and blocked the horse's vision again, the horse knew what was happening by the weight shift and it was a very dangerous situation for everyone involved.  In the second case I was working with a horse who got easily distracted by someone on the ground.   Even without having his vision blocked he just wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing, and I was afraid he'd miss something important.

Longeing Rory with the stirrups down and loosely tied together with a spare stirrup strap to limit movement.

The post on the BB got me thinking.  I want mounting up to be anti-climactic for me and for the horse.  In order to increase the chances of that happening I break the process down into what things the horse needs to be okay about before the big moment.  He needs to be okay with me making a sudden sharp jump up beside him. And a sudden jump down beside him. Okay with weight in one stirrup pulling to one side. Okay with seeing me up behind his head. Okay with something moving against his sides as he moves. Okay with weight on his back. Okay with that weight shifting as he moves. He needs to know whoa. Steering would be a good idea, though perhaps is not necessary for just getting on and off.


The first time hopping up beside him, Rory walked off - I was moving ahead too fast.

For something moving on his sides I use a spare stirrup leather to tie the stirrups together under the horse's belly - just tight enough that they won't flail and bang when he trots or canters, but loose enough that they will move a bit.  I took my spare stirrup leather out with me today, and after the few minutes of longe command refreshing I pulled the stirrups down and buckled them under Rory's belly.  Rory was completely unconcerned by the irons at his sides, and I even loosened the belly strap to allow more movement after the first minute.  On to the next step.



Pulling on the saddle, pulling on the stirrup leather, bouncing up and down while pulling on the saddle, and reward.

  The next step covers weight pulling to one side and a little of the sudden up/down movements beside him. I stick a knee in one stirrup and hang onto the saddle while bouncing my other foot off the ground. If the horse moves I can just step down, halt the horse, reassure him and try again.  Rory was okay with me pulling on the saddle and putting my knee in the stirrup, but started walking away when I bounced up and down.  I was asking for too much at once.  What was most important for him to do was to stand still while I bounced up and down, so I took a step back and rewarded him for standing still while I wiggled his saddle, and then pulled it towards me.  Then I changed to pull on just the stirrup leather, again rewarding for standing still.  The next step was to bounce up and down beside him with a little pull on the saddle as I did so.  Rory very quickly figured out that he was to stand still in order to get his carrot chunk.


And finally back to the knee putting weight in the stirrup as I jump up beside him.

 After Rory was standing still while I bounced up and down I tried putting my knee in the stirrup again and leaning on it before trying to bounce up.  I use my knee in the stirrup because it would be very difficult to get stuck in the stirrup, and I can just step down if the horse starts to get concerned.  It also lets me work from the ground without having to worry about a mounting block.  This time Rory stood still.  He did consider moving when I put my knee in for a second try, but I just checked him with the lead rope and waited for him to settle in balance before bouncing up again.  Each time I did the exercise I jumped a bit higher. 

I just work one side at a time for anything new.  I feel it's important to introduce one concept at a time and allow the horse to gain some understanding of what is wanted.  To a horse turning left is different from turning right and they need to be learned separately.  When the horse is learning something new he's getting the right answer by chance, not by understanding.  Asking him to do several different things he doesn't know can frustrate the horse and make him sour or unwilling to try because he doesn't understand what is wanted.  We want to work both sides of our horse evenly, but a couple of days working on one side before introducing the lesson on the other side is not going to make the horse unbalanced or over developed on one side.  It will allow his brain to process the lesson and he will likely gain an understanding of the "right answer" a little faster.  Which is not to say that we can't introduce something on both sides of the horse on the same day, but it is a good idea to do another exercise that the horse does already understand in between.  Right now Rory's lessons are short and I'm happy to work one side until he's showing that he's understanding the general idea before going to the other side.  Today I put weight in the left stirrup, and will work on his left again next time.  When he's comfortable with what I want, I'll move over and repeat the process on his right side.