Second semester begins tomoro, and since it was my initial plan to spend yesterday cleaning and doing chores so I could spend all day today with Rain, we took yesterday off....and since I ended up being a lazy bum yesterday instead, we only had an hour or so to spend together today.
But what a great session! We continued everything that we've been working on, and worked especially on catching and coming when called, in preparation for relocation...hopefully next Sunday (I was going to do it today, but I'm nervous...). We also worked on some lunging, which was quite a bit of fun for me since Rain had a lot of spirit today. It was a bit cooler than it has been, so she was feeling great! There was one point I asked her to turn at a trot, she jumped into the air, gave a joyful little buck as she spun and took off into a canter once back on the ground...I wish I could've gotten a video of that! Too cute.
We also did some work with "the stick" (a cobalt training stick--NOT A WHIP--that I use for sacking out) to help get her used to being touched everywhere. She has no problem with me petting her up until about her withers, but if I try to go beyond that, because when I get out of her eyesight it psyches her out, she backs up and gets antsy, which doesn't make life any easier for either of us. So instead, today I tried the stick. I stood in front of her, and ran the stick up and down her back, around her belly, over her butt and down her legs. This was a major sign of her progress,how she remained completely in control the whole time. There were a few times where she'd pop her head, ears back and alert (notably when I ran the stick down her hips) or pivoted to try and "escape"..but even then, she remained perfectly calm, just one step at a time thinking then I wouldn't be able to reach her. What really impressed me tho was how she handled her legs. Her front legs were a complete nonissue: she lifted each up the first time as it was something new, but then she accepted the contact perfectly calmy. The back legs were a bit more difficult, and we didn't get all the way down to the hoof today. With both back legs as I ran the stick down she first tried to lift her foot out of the way, and then when that didn't work jumped sideways. The difference is, today she just jumped sideways, and I held on with my one hand not even using all my strength and she came back in, and we tried again. (We stopped when she'd at least stand still for contact on her hocks, which is the spot that sent her off. I decided that was at least something, and we'll try again tomoro. She learned the stick wasn't going to hurt her, and jumping away wasn't going to make me stop, and that standing still would...so that's good progress!
A fun little confidence booster today was our audience--typical for a Sunday, but because of the winter holiday I haven't seen anyone since the beginning of December. No one could believe the progress we've made. Everyone was congratulating me on what great work I've been doing, and how she doesn't even seem like a wild horse anymore. And I agree! She is a completely different horse...and I'm so glad I'm not the only one to notice it! One of the moms asked if I've done any video recordings of our sessions, and especially now I really wish I would've been able to. Even if we started now, which I'm not sure how we would, there would still be no way to show just how wild she was when we first started working. Once we start doing saddle work and stuff though I will find a cameraman...I want our first ride recorded!
The same mom who asked about video recording is also running a local rescue (the rescue the newbies came from) and pretty much insisted that starting this spring I help work with them, since she's seen what I've done with Rain and knows what I can do. What a great experience! I'm so excited!
But what a great session! We continued everything that we've been working on, and worked especially on catching and coming when called, in preparation for relocation...hopefully next Sunday (I was going to do it today, but I'm nervous...). We also worked on some lunging, which was quite a bit of fun for me since Rain had a lot of spirit today. It was a bit cooler than it has been, so she was feeling great! There was one point I asked her to turn at a trot, she jumped into the air, gave a joyful little buck as she spun and took off into a canter once back on the ground...I wish I could've gotten a video of that! Too cute.
We also did some work with "the stick" (a cobalt training stick--NOT A WHIP--that I use for sacking out) to help get her used to being touched everywhere. She has no problem with me petting her up until about her withers, but if I try to go beyond that, because when I get out of her eyesight it psyches her out, she backs up and gets antsy, which doesn't make life any easier for either of us. So instead, today I tried the stick. I stood in front of her, and ran the stick up and down her back, around her belly, over her butt and down her legs. This was a major sign of her progress,how she remained completely in control the whole time. There were a few times where she'd pop her head, ears back and alert (notably when I ran the stick down her hips) or pivoted to try and "escape"..but even then, she remained perfectly calm, just one step at a time thinking then I wouldn't be able to reach her. What really impressed me tho was how she handled her legs. Her front legs were a complete nonissue: she lifted each up the first time as it was something new, but then she accepted the contact perfectly calmy. The back legs were a bit more difficult, and we didn't get all the way down to the hoof today. With both back legs as I ran the stick down she first tried to lift her foot out of the way, and then when that didn't work jumped sideways. The difference is, today she just jumped sideways, and I held on with my one hand not even using all my strength and she came back in, and we tried again. (We stopped when she'd at least stand still for contact on her hocks, which is the spot that sent her off. I decided that was at least something, and we'll try again tomoro. She learned the stick wasn't going to hurt her, and jumping away wasn't going to make me stop, and that standing still would...so that's good progress!
A fun little confidence booster today was our audience--typical for a Sunday, but because of the winter holiday I haven't seen anyone since the beginning of December. No one could believe the progress we've made. Everyone was congratulating me on what great work I've been doing, and how she doesn't even seem like a wild horse anymore. And I agree! She is a completely different horse...and I'm so glad I'm not the only one to notice it! One of the moms asked if I've done any video recordings of our sessions, and especially now I really wish I would've been able to. Even if we started now, which I'm not sure how we would, there would still be no way to show just how wild she was when we first started working. Once we start doing saddle work and stuff though I will find a cameraman...I want our first ride recorded!
The same mom who asked about video recording is also running a local rescue (the rescue the newbies came from) and pretty much insisted that starting this spring I help work with them, since she's seen what I've done with Rain and knows what I can do. What a great experience! I'm so excited!
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