The Power of Feel

I just had an incredible session with Moose. Like I said in the last post, I haven't been able to see him very often lately, so this was quite a pleasant surprise.

I decided to try to emphasize feel today, because I really want to have a light horse if I'm going to be doing liberty and higher level 3/4 things eventually. It turned out incredible. I rarely had to go to phase 3/4, but if I did, I was very clear about it, and then didn't need to again. Moose was really responding well to the lead rope. I tryed to be as subtle, but clear as possible, so his brain got involved. He had a great expression when we were done and was really LBI. I was really happy with our progress.

And it came to me today, hey, if you can ride your horse with just a string around his neck, why can't I play with my horse with just a string for a line, too? So, I think that's going to be something to aim for in the future. I want to see if I can play with my horse with just a binder twine around his neck, or something of that sort. Now that's a test of a light horse!

Besides, Moose was a lot happier today, too. I really felt like he was himself. And it was incredible how slowly we went! I really felt present with him, because I was trying so hard to go slow as to have hands that open quickly and close slowly, so I didn't want to miss his try. And he really hooked on to that.

Overall, a very neat day. I can see now why feel is so fascinating. Very cool.

And the next prospect is . . .

My mom and I made a 2 hour trip out to go see a Thoroughbred named Stella yesterday. She's about 15.2 and was SOOO calm 4 a Thoroughbred. That made me happy, lol. Anyways, the ride there was uneventful. Once we got out of the car, her owner Maggie said hi. And then, I saw her. Oh, boy! The poor pony, Stella was sooo thin!! I mean, it wasn't like neglected thin, but she was too thin! My mom guessed that she could use about 150 pounds. But then again, we're used to seeing fat horses, so that might have been WAY off!

Well, I took out my 12' and played with her for a while. She was sleepy at the beginning. Once I woke her up, she was acting kind of RBI. So, I went slow and made sure that she understood things (she had done some Parelli before). Then, she flipped to LBI and really started thinking. Well, Friendly game is great; Porcupine needed some more work, she usually got around phase 2/3; Driving HQ phase 2, FQ phase 3; Yo-yo phase 2/3; Circling was in need of improvement; Sideways was good, but her HQ lagged behind; Squeeze was alright, but she didn't really understand it.

After she was deemed ridable, Maggie got on and showed us Ms. Stella. They looked quite impressive together, I must admit. But Stella didn't want to go, that's for sure! Actually, it was interesting, because it was hard to make her go, but once she was going she didn't want to stop! So, I'm not sure what I'd rate her on the Impulsion scale: she'd need straight lines and circles!

After Maggie was done showing her off, it was my turn to give her a try! I got on and realized really quickly that Stella moved predominantly from leg cues. Now, I tend to use my hands more than my legs so that was an interesting experience for me. And she was a bit testy, like going in a different direction (duh, tit for tat. . . blanked on that one) and such. She was interesting, though because sometimes she was RBI about it. Like there was a corner that she avoided, and I'm pretty sure she was scared of it, for whatever reason. Though, I'm happy that I got to change her impulsion a little bit. I was having trouble getting her to trot so I did some straight lines. She trotted much easier, then!

So, I've been thinking and I've decided that Stella might work for me. She has a lot going for her, that's for sure (knows Parelli, a CALM Thoroughbred, tall, etc), but she also has some major faults. She's never been on trails before! And I'm looking for a trail horse, but I'm prepared to take the time it takes to get her to do well on trails, so I think I can handle that. The two/three things that really have my parents worried are that she's thin (and a hard keeper), and that she cribs. The cribbing wouldn't that bad, she'd be outside 24/7 anyway. The only thing is that her front teeth are really worn down from it. The thin part would be bad, though, because in my parents' opinions thin means health issues (and money spent). Did I mention that Stella had a cold, too? So, she'd definitely have to pass a vet check before any concrete plans are going to happen.

Well, I guess we'll just have to see. At the moment, I don't really think I'm going to get her, because we just didn't have that chemistry. . . Ahh, well another learning experience. I'll update if I change my mind.