June 23, 2011 - Making a break for it





Today's ride was a little exciting, but kind of fun too.  Rory was very good for the pre-ride longe which took less than ten minutes.  He did tend to look out the back door of the arena as he went towards it, and the circle started to get something of a corner in it's shape.  Rory managed a little canter on the right rein.



"You are NOT going out that door!"
Rory did keep his balance with a few quick sidesteps.







I mounted and dismounted two or three times on each side before picking up the reins and asking Rory to walk on.  The first time I picked up the reins he shifted his weight to take a step, but I reminded him about standing still before he moved a foot.  For the second time Rory started off with a humped back and snaking head.  He was a bit worse than last week, even getting to the point of trying to trot towards the back door.  I kept focused on what I was asking him to do and like last week, after a halt he suddenly relaxed and listened well.  It only took five minutes to get to that point today.

...and turn...

Trotting past the door.

We moved on to trot, and the first time we went towards the far end of the arena Rory took over and headed for the door.  I was determined that he was not going to get out today and got him stopped with his feet just barely inside.  The next time he tried harder and got his front feet just outside, but I wouldn't let him go any further out and backed him a step or two before turning in again.  After that I kept him further away from the door, but it took two more tries on the left rein before he managed to trot past with only a couple of walk steps.  We changed direction and he trotted past the door (well to the inside) twice on the right rein.

Rory trotted out the door, but he didn't get very far.

Since he'd been good, and he was so determined to get out of the arena I decided to ride out and in the back door.  Rory got a bit excited as we headed directly for the opening, but did listen when I insisted he stop and stand quietly inside for a few moments before going out.  He wasn't keen on going back inside, but didn't put up much of an arguement.  The next time we approached the door he got ahead of me and broke into a quick trot.  I managed to stop him, though we ended up going sideways and I was a bit worried that he might slip on the wet ground.  It rained last night and things were a bit slick in places.  Oddly enough Rory was heading off away from his paddock.  He didn't want to head back towards the arena, but once we got moving he walked right in without hesitation.  We went out and back in once more and Rory was very well behaved.  Then out for the last time and walked back to the barn.

Walking back inside without a fuss - Good boy!

Walking calmly outside again.

Rory eyes the puddles as I tell him he can walk between them.

June 17, 2011 - Who's running this show?

After Sunday's excitement I decided to start in the arena today, thinking I could ride him out and around the sand ring if all went well.  Rory was very good for the initial longeing.  He did keep looking out the back door and tried to go out once.  The view out the front door was also interesting, but he wasn't trying to make an exit at that end of the arena.  We did a little walk, trot, and even a little canter on the right rein.  I didn't ask him for the canter, but he did a very calm transition to an easy canter so I encouraged him to keep it for part of the circle.

Fussing with the bit

He's gotten very good about standing quietly for mounting so I have been doing less of the mounting exercises before getting to the ridden work.  Today I did a partial mount, leaning over his back and patting his other side before getting down again.  I got on and off from each side a few times as well.  Rory wanted to get moving and started walking as I picked up the reins the first time.  He halted reluctantly, and I hopped off and took him back to the mounting block.  That time he stood and waited for me to ask him to walk on.

Oops!  Rory made it outside and didn't want to come back in!

At first Rory had a hump in his back, and kept pulling on the reins twisting his head around, up, down and sideways.   Very early on he dropped his head down in a bucking attitude, but without lifting his hindquarters off the ground.  He halted reluctantly, and got stuck in one spot twice.  I ignored the snaking head as much as possible, focused on where we were going, and praised him as much as I could when he did cooperate.  Very suddenly after almost ten minutes, he walked out of a halt calmly, relaxed and quiet on the bit.  After checking that he really was relaxed through some changes of rein and another halt I asked him for a bit of trot. 

Back inside and Rory just wants to go back out.

Rory was willing to go forward and he had a lot of energy coming through his back making me think he was going to run off, but I trusted him and let him go forward as I concentrated on where we were headed.  He gave me a good trot, relaxing into it, but when we got near the back door he veered towards it and we halted just barely inside as I insisted he turn and stay inside the arena.  The next time he managed to take that last step and get outside.  I didn't let him get very far, turning him back right away, and we had a discussion about where we were going next.  Rory didn't want to go back inside, but I kept his nose pointed into the arena and kept asking him to walk forward.  It was a pretty minor disagreement.  Apart from a few wiggles, backing up and refusing to step forward Rory really didn't do anything.  Once we did get back inside Rory tried balking again, but I persisted and he walked on.

Starting the early turn to trot past the back door.

We trotted again and I tried to keep him trotting past the back door.  The first time we were too close and he walked when I insisted he stay inside and keep going.  The next time I turned him early to cross the arena and although he drifted towards the door he did keep trotting.  We trotted past once more, a little closer but still leaving lots of room for drifting and Rory kept going without much effort.  I praised him and took him down to the back door again at the walk.  Rory was all ready to march off outside, but halted when I insisted.  We stood for a moment, then I asked him to walk out through the door.  After walking a little figure eight I turned him back to the arena and he walked forward and put his first foot in without hesitation, then changed his mind and backed out.  Our discussion about going back inside was much shorter that time.  I quit there as I'd been riding a bit longer than fifteen minutes at that point.  I would have liked to have gone in and out of the arena until he wasn't hesitating, but Rory had listened to me and our time was up.

Drifting towards the door, but we're far enough
away that Rory can keep trotting as we go by.

I count today's ride as a success because Rory was pretty determined to get what he wanted, but discovered that I was more determined.  When I start a horse I try to avoid getting into an arguement for as long as possible so the horse gets into the habit of doing as I ask.  That doesn't mean I back off if the horse does refuse to do what I ask - that would teach the horse that he could refuse to do something, but I try to avoid asking for things that I think the horse might be unwilling to do.  The more times the horse agrees to do what he's asked, the less effort he will put into refusing when he finally decides not to cooperate.  I think most of Rory's attitude came because he found the arena boring, especially now that he's been outside a couple of times.

May 25, 2011 - Posting to two beats



Totally comfortable with me on his back.


Today I asked Rory to canter a few times each way on the longe line.  He did leap into the canter and toss a buck in once, but most of the transitions were pretty quiet.  He still finds the arena a little small to keep his balance at the canter so I don't ask him to go all the way around a circle.  We should have been outside in the big ring (half again as wide as the arena) but it's been a very wet spring here and the dry ring days haven't been the same as my Rory riding days.

When it was time to ride I cut the mounting exercises down to just three or four times up and down before walking on.  We walked a bit to start and I went to the point to point exercise almost immediatly.  He's getting better at going straight to somewhere.  The first couple of times he trotted Rory was a little hesitant and did a short little trot step.  I asked him to trot the long side, walk the corners and short side, then trot across the diagonal, walk the next corners and short side, and then trot up the other long side.  As he trotted more times Rory went forward with a little more confidence and longer step, and went round the corner in trot.  My observer today even mentioned how he was going into a better trot each time.  He was trotting more forward, but I could feel that he was still far from a reasonable working trot.  It's exciting to think about what his gaits will be like when he develops more strength and confidence. 

No I don't have a real contact on the reins yet - yielding his jaw
and bending through his neck was part of the steering training.

When he first trotted I went into a sort of half seat to just stay out of his way while he worked out his balance.  Later I started to post the trot, and though he did turn his ears back to me Rory didn't mind.  My other horse stopped dead with a "what are you doing up there?" reaction the first time I posted his trot.  I asked Rory for a bit more forward in his trot, and to go a bit further before walking, and by the end he managed to trot about one and a half times around the arena.  After that trot I halted him and gave him some carrot and lots of pats.  Rory had swung his hindquarters way over to the right when he stopped so we did a few more walk and halt transitions as I paid attention to keeping him straight in the halt.  By the second halt he was straight without effort. 

I really didn't want to quit at the end of our fifteen minutes, but I behaved and dismounted.    I had it in my mind to ride Rory around outside for a few minutes today, but as it turned out I was enjoying the trot, and Rory was really getting better at trotting with a rider and we ran out of time.

Rory and Totyo enjoying some hand pulled grass.

May 22, 2011 - High energy

There was a lot of activity around the barn today.  Rory was a little up with the distraction, but was listening to me.  I asked for canter on the longeline again today.  Rory had a little trouble understanding what I wanted, but he did go to canter more easily each time. On the right rein we had a little too much energy in one transition and Rory leaped into canter, kicked out and bolted, pulling the longeline out of my hand.  He ran out the big door of the arena and went round to the back of his paddock and stopped.  When I got out there he was trying to figure out how to reach the grass while wearing side reins.  Back in the arena he tried to repeat the bolt out the door every time he turned back towards it on the circle.  He settled in about two minutes, and cantered calmly within five minutes.  I was really happy that he settled back into work so easily.

Cantering brought up Rory's energy

I rode for almost fifteen minutes.  When we first started walking around Rory was still on edge a little bit and I didn't think we'd be trotting today.  I did the point to point exercise - choosing a point, riding straight to it, then choosing another point.  Rory wobbled on the lines to start and then steadied for the second half of each line.  When we went past the big door he would drift towards it, but did turn away or go past as I kept asking for the turn and forward.  As we went along he paid more attention to me, and I decided to try a trot hoping the extra energy would make it easier for him.  He remembered the lesson from last week and went to trot with just my leg and voice aids.  We did a couple of short trots and then a couple of longer ones.  Again the camera missed the best trot - this time due to running out of memory.

May 18, 2011 Doing the two step!

Today was the fifth day I got on Rory.  There was a little wind again, but not as much as on Sunday and Rory was less concerned about going down to the far end of the arena.  He looked a couple of times, once when the sun got far enough over to light the canvas door, and the other time when the canvas bulged in the breeze.  I asked him to canter on the longe a couple of times on the right rein, and he did quite well, managing about two thirds of a circle the second time.

When it came time to mount up I shortened the pre-mounting exercises.  I only leaned over him once before swinging my leg over.  I had decided to use the stirrups today and took the spare leather that tied the irons together under his belly off before starting with the mounting routine.  Rory considered walking off the first time I mounted up, but stayed still.  The first time I picked up the off side stirrups I thought he might take the wiggling around as a go forward aid, but he waited.

Rory was a little slow in his walk again today, but went forward when I asked.  After a few turns and halts I asked him to walk forward more actively.  He was a little uncertain, but then walked with more activity.  I decided to see if he would trot and tried with a little leg and voice.  Twice he almost made it to trot, but wasn't sure I meant it so I asked my friend who was keeping an eye on us to stand in the middle with the longe whip.  With a little encouragement Rory made it to trot.  He got a little quick and I asked him to walk after a few steps.  We ended up stopping in the corner as coming back to a walk took too much concentration for him to manage to turn the corner.  The camera shut off due to low battery power just as he came to a stop in the corner after that first trot so I didn't get the other trots on video.  We walked round the arena and then tried for the trot again as we headed back towards the far end. It took a bit more encouragement to get him to trot again, but he managed it. The next time he made the transition more easily but fell back to walk after only a few steps.  I praised the transition to trot and we tried again.  We trotted four times, and the last one he was much more comfortable making the transition up with very little help from my friend.  I quit after that trot, hopped off, gave him a bunch of carrot chunks and lots of pats.

My friend said she'd be around tomorrow if I wanted to ride Rory again.  I explained that I'd love to, but he's still growing and I don't want to stress his body too much so I'm going to try and ride every third day, but no closer together than every second day for now.  By spreading the rides out, if he's a little sore or strained anywhere his body has time to recover and heal.  Mild stresses with time to recover prompt the body to build strength where it's needed.  Adding stress before the body has time to recover can increase the stress to the point of damage, and the horse can start to move incorrectly in order to protect himself.  Given a few weeks of riding for ten to fifteen minutes twice a week Rory will develop the body strength to handle more work.  We have time.  I don't need to rush things with Rory.

May 15, 2011 - Arena rattles, Day Four under saddle

I was really looking forward to riding Rory again today.  The back door in the arena was closed and it was a bit windy.  The arena was creaking a bit, and the door was banging in the tracks as well.  Rory found it distracting and he didn't want to go down to that end of the arena when I was longeing.  He had more energy today, and he was bouncing and shaking his head when he started to trot.  I just kept pushing him forward until he settled down.  We moved the circle as far down the arena as Rory would go, then I brought him back to walk, shortened the longeline, led him up to the door and asked him to touch it.  Rory touched it easily, but didn't really want to stand still near by.  Once back on the longe circle Rory walked past the door a couple of times, then was willing to trot past.  After changing direction I had him walk past the door a couple of times, then trotted.  I did ask him to canter a couple of times, but didn't want to do too much in case he got wound up before I got on.

Today I started with the reins and skipped the lead rope tied to the halter.  I did the usual run through of the pre-mounting exercises.  Rory was very good and stood calmly.  When I did ask him to walk on he was less forward than last time and I needed to use my leg aids more to keep him walking.  There was some activity outside the arena that we could hear which combined with the noisy arena to divide Rory's attention.  He never totally ignored me, and the one time he needed to stop and listen for a moment I let him stand until his attention came back to me.  As with the longeing Rory didn't want to go down to the far end of the arena so we circled a few times and changed direction before I asked him to go a bit further down the arena.  Rory wasn't sure and he slowed down and wobbled side to side as he tried to turn away, but he went.  I didn't try to go all the way at first, just asked him to go a bit further than he had.  We did get most of the way down using a serpentine approach and Rory didn't get ready to bolt.  I was really pleased with his willing attitude and trust in me.  He got lots of pats and carrots.  

The halts were greatly improved today too.  Instead of using both reins together I used one at a time just long enough to get him to tip his head slightly towards the rein, then switched to the other rein.  By the end of the ride he was stopping very easily.  I'm sure the less forward walk helped.

After I put Rory back out I brought Totyo into the arena and started teaching him about boundaries and handler space.  He was a little distracted by Rory whinnying and running outside, but overall was pretty good for an almost three year old who hasn't had much handling.

May 12, 2011 - Go, turn, and stop

I invited a couple of friends who know Rory to come and see how he was doing today - which gave me a chance to get on him again.  One of my firends operated the camera for me so we have real pictures and decent video from today's session.

We stared with the usual longeing.  Rory was very good and showed off his walk, trot, trot up, out and whoa mastery.

There's something about this picture that I just like.

After the longeing came the usual run through of standing still while I pulled on his saddle and jumped on and off the mounting block.  Then lying over the saddle and patting his other side, and finally mounting up and hopping off.  Rory stood patiently and happily collected his pieces of carrot.

I tied the leadrope to each side of his halter today instead of just the ring under his chin, so when I was ready to ask him to walk away I'd have some steering ability.  Before asking him to walk I sat for a minute, shifted in the saddle, and then eventually picked up the rope reins.  Rory walked off easily, turned when I asked and was a little slow to whoa.  He didn't have the hump in his back that he'd had last week when we walked for the first time.  I hopped off and gave him his carrot, then took him back to the mounting block and climbed up again.

I rode around for a couple of minutes, halting a couple of times, and turning in each direction.  Rory was quite happy to keep walking and didn't need very much leg aid to go forward.  He got distracted by something he could see out the back door and had a tiny little spook which meant he turned a little quicker in the direction I was asking him to go, but he stayed at the walk.  My friend shot video of this part of the session.

Rory was a little resistent to turning with the rope reins and I decided to try the real reins.  I have already taught him to turn with bit pressure, so it wasn't really anything new for Rory.  My friend went back to pictures for this part.  I held the rope with the regular rein in one hand and turned with the other rein, switching the rope to my other hand when I wanted to turn the other way.  Rory responded very well to the reins and I rode a couple of figure eights, and went on a bigger circle around part of the arena.  His whoas were still a little slow - that's something we need to practice on the ground so I can be quick to reward him - but I think were easier than when I used the rope reins.  By the end of that ride I let the rope lie on his neck and just held the regular reins.  I was super happy with Rory's calm acceptance of the whole procedure.  I didn't want to dismount, but I don't want to overdo it either.

Turn the head and keep the feet following just like I
practiced when I was on the ground beside him

"What's next?"

A little loving for a good boy!