There Is Hope For Us Yet

I haven't updated on the ponies for a while, so I thought I'd let everyone know about their progress recently. Today in particular went pretty well.

As background knowledge, Moose can't/won't (I'm not sure which one) stand near me at liberty while I pet him. And Dancer has become hard to catch again. But of course, I'm sure that's not anything new.

Sooo. . . .

Moose let himself be petted with no line on!! And while someone could totally ruin this moment by saying that I had treats, he still did it!! So, that made me really happy. And with that, he would've let me put the halter on him, too, had I decided to progress further.

Okay, but now this one is a shocker. Dancer actually greeted me at the gate today. I know, amazing right!? But here, let me just describe the magnitude of this for you. We have 3ish acres of pasture at our house. And she came all the way over from the other side of the pasture!!

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Needless to say, that made my day. But wait, it gets better. She even walked inside the stall! (background knowledge: Dancer has not been inside the stalls ever since Bella came here, because she she got trapped inside a few times). And when I went into the pasture, she didn't leave! She actually stood there and let me pet her!

"How interesting!"

Now for a little lecture, oh the horror. Okay, so I just saw the 6th DVD of L&HB yesterday. The 6th DVD wasn't real long, but I learned an interesting tidbit of information. Linda phrased it better, but basically there are 2 kinds of fear in horses: fear of death, and fear of a loss of dignity or spirit. Horses who have a fear of death are usually the RB kind, and are looking to be safe. Horses who are afraid of a loss of dignity/spirit are usually LB and are dominant.

Reflecting on that, Dancer is not afraid of dying. She is definitely a a more LB type. So, that means Dancer would most likely have the fear of a loss of dignity or spirit. So, maybe that's why Dancer doesn't (I'd say didn't, but I'm being realistic here) like me. Somehow, I am bringing up this fear in her. Hmm. . .

This made me decide to really try to get her rapport. Before, I had an oookay rapport and focused on respect to such a degree that I lost all of the rapport. So, this time I'm trying to do things different. But it's still interesting that even when I'm being nice, she's still dominant. For instance, I'll give her a treat and then she will perk up and barge right into my personal space. So, I wave my arms, like "Sorry, honey you're too close!" Then, her ears go back immediately and she just gets angry. I'm realizing that I have to be a better leader, but how can I do that without losing her rapport or causing her to be fearful?

Ah, well. "Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still." There's my motto for today, lol!

Deb Bennett's Horse Training Commandments

THOU SHALT NOT SCARE THY HORSE TO DEATH

Neither because you're mad, nor by the force of your aids, nor by the force of your personal energy. When your horse makes a mistake, it is not your business to punish, but to teach - and re-teach.

THOU SHALT NOT GET THY HORSE IN TROUBLE

So that he loses his perfect inner comfort; nay, not even because you yourself are brave. Your main aim is to help your horse stay 100% OK 100% of the time. For your bravery does not help him; what he needs is help finding courage within himself. Nor does he understand your "performance requirements." For truly, no amount of performance nor degree of obedience is justified when it is not the horse's idea as much as yours.

THOU SHALT NOT REST AT THE BARN

Neither should you always get off your horse there. Instead, either tie your horse up at the barn, or find some busy work to do there. Don't ride him away from the barn in order to work him - ride him away from the barn in order to rest him!

THOU SHALT NOT WORK THY HORSE HARD

Without thorough warm-up, nor ask of him more work far away from the barn than at the barn, nor overmuch at any time. Remember that your horse learns only upon release and reflection. Blessed is the time of quiet unity which often comes at the end of a ride; blessed is him who would rather play with his horse's tail. And blessed are the little children, for they know not the meaning of hardness and contest.

THOU SHALT NOT RENDER THY HORSE'S BODY HARD

Nay, not even in quest of "fitness." Remember that the horse's heart is already created bigger and his muscles stronger than those of any other creature. Hardness of muscle deprives your horse's joints of range of motion. O vain human! Your plans for fitness are no more than legs upon a snake, and your failures in competition are the result of your own errors.

THOU SHALT NOT PUT THY PETTY AMBITIONS AHEAD OF THY HORSE'S WELFARE

For truly, no horse knows the cut of your saddle, the style of your hat, the color of your ribbon, the time on your watch, nor the smell of your money.

THOU SHALT NOT HANG UPON THE REINS

Neither through thoughtlessness nor because some "authority" has taught you that this is necessary. Never pick up the rein unless you intend to wait at the same pressure until there is a change in the neck and a change in the feet. And when there is a change - then you shall release!

THOU SHALT NOT PULL

You shall not turn your horse's head and neck away from the direction of his attention. For truly where his eyeballs point, there also shall his feet be pointing -- no matter how hard you drag on his head. Horses do not steer from the head; they steer from the brain. Therefore shalt thou call the birdie.

THOU SHALT LEARN TO USE THE OUTSIDE REIN WELL

You shall not steer; but instead, you shall prevent the horse from turning away. You shall call the birdie into the turn, knowing this will turn the feet as well as shaping up the body. You shall guide the inside forefoot by connecting that rein to it, and you shall anchor the outside hind foot by feeling of it. And to stop you shall stop the feet, not the face. And when thus for a time you shall have turned and stopped, so that the horse's body and postural habits shall have developed, truly will you call that collection.

THOU SHALT LEARN TO WAIT FOR THE HORSE TO RELEASE

And if he does not release, you shall continue to wait at the same pressure. And while waiting you shall not move your hand forward, neither shall you move it back, nor yet shall you repeat your first request, but you shall simply wait!

THOU SHALT NOT TRY TO OBTAIN COLLECTION BY "CAPTURING THE FACE" OR MERELY BENDING THE NECK

Nor through a "head set," nor by means of a "frame," neither by "pushing the horse forward from the seat and leg into a fixed hand," nor yet by leaning back to "weight the hindquarters." For these are the dictates of ignorance. Thou shalt remember that a horse is "on the bit" when every change in the rein creates an equivalent change in the hindquarters. This saying is correct, and implies humane and intelligent technique; but even technique shall pass away. Yet unto those that live all these commandments, collection shall be given: for the truth is, the horse collects from his innermost self, out of the joy of his being; he teaches people what collection is, and for this he needs no help from you.

THOU SHALT MAKE THE WRONG THING DIFFICULT AND THE RIGHT THING EASY - BUT THOU SHALT EMPHASIZE MAKING THE RIGHT THING EASY

How easy it is for us to make it tough on the horse when he makes a mistake! How difficult to create ways to make doing the right thing easy and obvious!

THOU SHALT STRIVE TO GET YOUR HORSE TO WHERE HE WANTS TO BE WITH YOU MORE THAN HE WANTS TO BE ANYWHERE ELSE

For truly, your ability to create ways to do this is the measure of your intelligence, and this shall be the measure by which results are measured out to you.

©1999 by Deb Bennett, resposted on internet with permission

If my horse is my mirror . . .

What the HECK do I look like?!?!?

Oh, how I wish I could have someone videotape me during sessions! That would be SOOO beneficial! Especially today . . .

I had lessons today, so I couldn't play with the ponies for very long. I decided to just take one of them out and just let him/her graze. Well, Moose volunteered to be haltered (yippee!), so I attempted to take him out. We didn't make it past the gate. I hadn't noticed beforehand, but Moose has a threshold practically ON the gate to go outside (which basically shows how herd-bound he is). Therefore, I suspended all plans for outside activity and just went back inside the pasture. I can't deal with thresholds under pressure when I only had a limited time.

So, we went back in and just messed around for a little while. I checked out our Friendly, did a little Porcupine. Mostly, I just was trying to read him correctly, so we didn't get a whole lot done. But we really had a "HOW INTERESTING!!!!!!!!!!" moment. Moose tried to rub on me, and I immediately took it as dominance. So, I reacted with a strong Forehand driving game. I automatically regretted that: what if it ruined his confidence? But, then I tried a Friendly toss of the string over his back and he didn't care! And I mean really didn't care! He was too busy licking and chewing! He seriously was licking and chewing for at least 3 minutes straight! His head was down, and he kept licking over and over again. If he wasn't licking, his head was down and he was blowing. He blew for a long time, about every 45 seconds. He even moaned, hehe! Then, he started itching! *Lightbulb clicks on* I realized that Moose never itches on line. And so, that made me wonder if he was actually trying to be dominant in the first place!

So, I thought about the whole thing, and came up with the phrase "My horse is my mirror." Then, was Moose trying to tell me that I was hyped up, too? Because I know there have been times that I've been on more adrenaline that that! So, maybe he finally finished settling in or something, because he was really digesting a thought there! Or . . . he could've just been plain itchy!

Step in the right direction

Well, I had an interesting experience a couple days ago. I played with Moose, and for once actually felt like I was doing Parelli!! I mean, it's a little hard to describe, but I mentioned previously that when I played with Moose I felt lost. . . that feeling dissapeared! So, a step in the right direction, I'm sure!

And I got to experience something very interesting, too. . . Moose was defensive! He wouldn't let me rub his belly! I have to admit, it was exciting and scary at the same time (though excitement won), for I've never dealt with a horse that didn't like the Friendly game before. That event made me thankful that I've watched the L2 pack before, because there's a session in there about a gelding that didn't like his sheath being touched. Linda said that in the last L2 class she taught a horse was being RB defensive. So, whenever you started rubbing the carrot stick by its sheath, it would start kicking. And Linda just kept rubbing and rubbing until the horse stopped kicking. After they had that discussion, the horse started wringing his tail. So, this time she would rub, until the horse stopped wringing its tail. Basically, I did this same thing with Moose. But he's such a fast learner, it barely counted, lol.

I'm hoping that getting through his defensiveness has progressed our relationship, for whenever I try to pet him with the carrot stick his head jerks up. I got about 5 times or so that his head didn't come up when I pet him which was great progress!