Since I made it a goal to buy a Western Theraflex, I decided to actually discuss buying one. And the good news is, I might have found one. That's still a might, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
So, I was thinking about the Theraflex and riding: I've had a lot of good opportunities lately as far as riding goes due to that clinic last weekend, so I've had it on the brain recently. And Moose has done really good recently: we even accidentally did some more liberty stuff 2 days ago. So, our relationship is definitely improving!
Well, I decided to bite the bullet and maybe try to ride today. But the important thing here was I wasn't direct-line about it. I said I want to ride, yes, but I'm not going to be stupid and get myself hurt. So, I went and haltered him, and brought him inside the barn. I tried tacking him up with Bella's saddle this time to see if that one would fit him a little better. It seems like they're both pretty equal to me. But tacking up went smoothly, except for 3 times when I had to take him outside to show Bella that indeed he has not left, and is actually where he was 2 seconds ago when you were looking at him. Silly girl. And he was in a pretty LB mood today, so all was good. There didn't seem to be any cinch issues.
So, I got my helmet and put a 22' on him and back into the pasture we went. We did some Circles. I tightened the cinch. I had him trot, and walk. No cantering today, because he's still got the Scratches on his back leg, but I thought he seemed fit to trot. We changed directions a few times, and he wasn't doing it very well, so I put some pressure on him to change a little better. When I back up for the change, he likes to just pretend I haven't moved at all, so I have to stop him, and then send him the opposite way. He does this a lot. So, this time when I asked for the change, I backed up, and he still was trotting off, of course, so I stopped him and then immediately said "you should be gone!" because we've been doing this for long enough that he should understand there is a pattern. So, he jumped a little when I smacked the ground for him to leave, but I just took a mental note. If I remember quickly, he licked his lips farther on the circle. Next time I asked for the change, I had to stop him again, but when I started to increase my intensity like "you should be. . . GONE!!" he kind of jumped and trotted off, before I got to the "gone" part. It was a little wierd, but I let it go. So, then he was trotting around the circle doing just fine, I brought him in. Tightened up the girth a little more. Backed him up, sent him to the right. He did fine. Then, "all of a sudden for no reason at all" he threw a bucking fit. I interrupted the pattern hard throughout the whole thing. The saddle flew upwards, so the back of it was up in the air, and the pad flew out the back. I'm guessing that scared him even more. He was still bucking, but now he tried to run and buck. I was able to hold on, since he didn't pull hard like Bella does, and still keep Phase 4ing him with the rope. Then, the saddle flipped over and now was under his belly. :-0 Now, his brain kicked in, and he backed up, but there was obviously still a boatload of tension there. I had an extreme RBI at that point. So, I moseyed up to him, and tried to undo the saddle without scaring him more. Well, I couldn't do it alone, so with my mom's help we got the saddle off, and Moose didn't freak out. Needless to say, he was pretty listless after that.
We spent the whole rest of the session just chilling, since I wasn't sure if he was introverted, but I could definitely see that he wasn't the same Moose I had had before. Like I said, he was pretty listless. So, I wanted to see where he was at mentally, so I tried doing some stuff with spins. He looked fine. So, I got down on my knees to see if we could do a figure-8 with me down low and not moving. He did it fine. Seemed alright, but just kind of shocked, maybe. So, we just hung out some more. Bella was giving my mom some issues, being a sassy pants, and trying to swing her butt at mom, so she got a lesson in leadership today. Turns out little miss teddy bear actually does have a 'tude every now and then! But this was great for Moose, so he could just relax without my focus on him. It took him at least 15 minutes to come off adrenaline from the bucking incident.
I'm trying to think what in the world caused it this time. I mean, when he bucked from the bareback pad, that was entirely my fault for being direct-line, but I don't think I really was today. Yes, I wanted to ride, but I wasn't saying I have to ride right now. I wasn't pressuring him. And I know he has an issue with Zone 3 confidence/ the girth but I did approach and retreat with it during saddling and he was fine. After I circled him a little, I even took it off, because I had to move the saddle up further, so that was a big retreat for him. The only thing I can think of is maybe when he wears the saddle, he feels threatened by the pressure I put on him? Like when I got assertive about him doing the changes, he was being a little silly. Maybe he attributes Phase 4's when he's wearing the saddle to being the saddle's fault. So, maybe I'm firmer with him when he's wearing the saddle, because I'm actually thinking of this as preparation for riding instead of just playing. . . . that's a possibility. The other thing is maybe just the saddle noise scares him. This one did bounce a little when he was trotting, so it made some noise.
But I learned from this, there's a reason I'm not riding him (just confirms it, since I doubt myself even now and then). We might need a back-cinch for that saddle. Moose has a somewhat-extreme form of claustrophobia/fear with Zone 3. And I need some help :)
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thoughts about Thinking
I've concluded that I think too much . . . at least recently, anyways. I've been thinking, and I think that thinking is my best friend and worst enemy. It's one of those love-hate things. It helps me in some situations, since it helps me be observant and logical, but it also sometimes makes my progress go out the window, because I over-analyze.
Like you know that little program I did with Moose a while back because he kept putting his head up when I haltered him? It didn't do anything. He still does it. It's just that now I've accepted that I'm not going to fix that right now. It was a complete moment of "can't see the forest for the trees." I'm glad it did it, since I usually don't stick to programs because every day I want to try out something new, and this one actually lasted for a few days, but I still see now that it was pointless.
So, my inability to stick to programs and my tendency to over-analyze has caused me to think some more. (God help me, more thinking!) I need to make a program and just stick to it, so I don't bore my horse, or get stuck on one little task. So, my solution to this is to come up with a program for each session, so I have a focus on what I want to do. Normally, I would
n't decide to do this, because I get direct-line, but I had a thought a minute ago. If you have 15 minute to play with your horse, that doesn't mean that you have "get 'er done" in that time. It just means you have 15 minutes. Good to know. I'll update again when I decide how exactly I want to proceed with this. . . we're able to do Liberty somewhat consistently now (YIPPEE!!!!!!!), so I might try for my Level 2 Audition and then start making programs, but we'll see. It's a balancing act: Relationship vs. Progress. Take too long in the relationship department, and you'll wind up not making any progress and dealing with a bored horse. Go too far down Progress lane, and your relationship goes out the window.
A tad off topic, but I don't know if any of you have read the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (it's on Parelli's recommended reading list, and is a very interesting book), but one of the things the author mentions is that in order to become an expert at anything, it takes approximately 10,000 hours. I copied the following excerpt from Catherine Nugent's "How to become an Outlier??"
Very interesting. Especially since I have professional goals, I found that incredible how to become a master horsewoman, I'd need to spend 3 hours a day for 10 years. Lately, I'm getting around 3-5 hours a week, which makes my grand total hours with Moose somewhere near 370 hours. If you're curious how many hours you've played with your horse, there's 2 options for ya:
Like you know that little program I did with Moose a while back because he kept putting his head up when I haltered him? It didn't do anything. He still does it. It's just that now I've accepted that I'm not going to fix that right now. It was a complete moment of "can't see the forest for the trees." I'm glad it did it, since I usually don't stick to programs because every day I want to try out something new, and this one actually lasted for a few days, but I still see now that it was pointless.
So, my inability to stick to programs and my tendency to over-analyze has caused me to think some more. (God help me, more thinking!) I need to make a program and just stick to it, so I don't bore my horse, or get stuck on one little task. So, my solution to this is to come up with a program for each session, so I have a focus on what I want to do. Normally, I would
n't decide to do this, because I get direct-line, but I had a thought a minute ago. If you have 15 minute to play with your horse, that doesn't mean that you have "get 'er done" in that time. It just means you have 15 minutes. Good to know. I'll update again when I decide how exactly I want to proceed with this. . . we're able to do Liberty somewhat consistently now (YIPPEE!!!!!!!), so I might try for my Level 2 Audition and then start making programs, but we'll see. It's a balancing act: Relationship vs. Progress. Take too long in the relationship department, and you'll wind up not making any progress and dealing with a bored horse. Go too far down Progress lane, and your relationship goes out the window.A tad off topic, but I don't know if any of you have read the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (it's on Parelli's recommended reading list, and is a very interesting book), but one of the things the author mentions is that in order to become an expert at anything, it takes approximately 10,000 hours. I copied the following excerpt from Catherine Nugent's "How to become an Outlier??"
This got me thinking- how many hours have I spend with my horses? No much when you consider that it takes 10,000 to master a skill, according to the book. I spend about three hours on average a week with my horse. Not nearly enough! I've spend about 470 hours since I started Parelli with my horses- give or take a bit. I've spent about 35 with Archie- not much when you look at it like that, hey? That's one weeks worth of working hours to me. One week! That's nothing! If I want to be really good with horses, then I need to get 10,000 hours. That's 3 hours a day, seven days a week for ten years; Or 8 hours a day for 3.5 years. Interesting hey? How good would I be if I spent THAT much time with my horses? How good would my horses think I am?
Very interesting. Especially since I have professional goals, I found that incredible how to become a master horsewoman, I'd need to spend 3 hours a day for 10 years. Lately, I'm getting around 3-5 hours a week, which makes my grand total hours with Moose somewhere near 370 hours. If you're curious how many hours you've played with your horse, there's 2 options for ya:
- If you play daily, multiply your average hours playing with your horse by 365 days in a year to equal your grand total.
- If you play a certain amount weekly - let's say 5 hours a week, then multiply that number by 52 weeks in a year to equal your hours per year. In this case, it would be 260 hours per year.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
My Reaction to a Dressage Lesson Gone Bad
I attended a dressage clinic this past weekend with a friend of mine, and really learned a lot. It was interesting to see how subtle things are, and how at high levels, the riders are actually quite aware of their horses! I say 'actually' because I'm used to people who don't practice natural horsemanship methods not understanding their horses. So, this was quite a pleasant surprise.
But I wanted to mention what happened with one of the horses/people. We'll call the girl Kayla and the horse Skip. See, Kayla is afraid of Skip. She made that clear from the beginning of this 2 day long clinic. That, and the fact that it took her 2 hours to get him loaded into the trailer made me want to watch her lesson. I wasn't watching the time, so unfortunately I only caught the last 15 minutes of it. But he did superb! The crowd knew Kayla was afraid of him, so everyone was cheering to offer encouragement to her. Kayla is actually a pretty good rider for being afraid, since normally fear literally makes riders "scared stiff." She flowed with Skip pretty well. They did the normal walk, trot, canter. She got off and was all smiles for the next few hours. The lesson was fantastic. The clinician and myself (and probably some of the crowd) were wondering what made her so scared of him. He was a pretty mover, and didn't look too bad. I wondered what dark side of Skip we weren't seeing. I wasn't sure if I was over-analyzing or not at the time, but the only thing I found odd was his head set. It seemed unnaturally forced. He held his head where it was supposed to be, even if she let the reins out. I admit I found that strange.
But we found out the next day. I was cleaning my friend's horse's stall when she came and got me to tell me I should watch this, since I do natural horsemanship. A horse was rearing. I walked into the arena to see the clinician ground-driving Skip in what I thought were side-reins. Something was obviously going on since everyone was huddled together in the observation area. Kayla left, crying. (I later found out that Skip had reared 3 times with her on.) The clinician tried to coax Skip into trotting and he reared up and fell over. I admit my heart was racing, and adrenaline was pumping. I was scared, because I thought I was going to have to take over. It would've been obvious to any natural horsemanship person there that this horse was an extreme RBI (okay, so maybe only Parelli people would classify horsenality, but you get what I mean), and I didn't think the clinician understood that. She did dressage after all, and I mean what the heck? She was driving a rearing horse in SIDE REINS. I actually spoke up and said that that she should take them off. Someone proceeded to explain to me that they weren't actually side-reins, they were sliders. The horse could move his head around if he wanted. Personally, I still don't think that was the best choice, because that enforced his wierd head-set. And then I had an epiphany: the reason Skip's head-set was so wierd was because he was gone mentally. Yeah, his head was tucked and he was going around her on a circle, but he felt like he was going to explode to me. That's part of the reason I got so nervous.
But anyways, that was the last time he reared in that lesson. And I do really like what the clinician recommended to Kayla afterwards. She told her to learn to ground-drive him. She said she had a horse she had raised since a baby that whenever she put any leg on her, the horse would rear. So, she started ground-driving her, and stopped riding her for 6 months. By the end of those 6 months, she could do 3rd level dressage on the ground! And so when she finally started riding her again, she took her to a dressage show and won grand champion! I thought that was great advice, since without a doubt Skip doesn't seem fit to ride right now.
And I really wanted to analyze my reaction to Skip. I got nervous, had adrenaline-pumping. Well, makes sense. I was mentally preparing to take over, like I said. But why? Well, this truth bites: I thought I knew better than the clinician. Dang, that sucks. But my conflict with non-natural horsemanship folks is another topic. I just thought my reaction was pathetic. I mean, I have no where NEAR the skills to play with an extreme RBI in the first place, and to take over from the clinician would be a no-no (since the horse stopped rearing, after all. . . ), and if I did get to play with that horse, how would I help him when I'm nervous to begin with? That was my big thing. How can I help a horse when I get so nervous beforehand? This has happened to me before, so I want to find something to get that non-chalance that Pat Parelli and Dave Ellis have. Obviously, that comes from experience and savvy and skill, so I don't expect to be nearly that good. That'd be nice for the long-term, but I'm thinking short-term right now. I remember hearing that Pat learned it from Tai-Chi. I borrowed a DVD from the library about it, and I really don't think it's for me. It was okay, but just not my kind of thing. Neither is yoga, although yoga is better than Tai Chi. Basically, I'm looking for something to help center my RBI side a little bit.
But I wanted to mention what happened with one of the horses/people. We'll call the girl Kayla and the horse Skip. See, Kayla is afraid of Skip. She made that clear from the beginning of this 2 day long clinic. That, and the fact that it took her 2 hours to get him loaded into the trailer made me want to watch her lesson. I wasn't watching the time, so unfortunately I only caught the last 15 minutes of it. But he did superb! The crowd knew Kayla was afraid of him, so everyone was cheering to offer encouragement to her. Kayla is actually a pretty good rider for being afraid, since normally fear literally makes riders "scared stiff." She flowed with Skip pretty well. They did the normal walk, trot, canter. She got off and was all smiles for the next few hours. The lesson was fantastic. The clinician and myself (and probably some of the crowd) were wondering what made her so scared of him. He was a pretty mover, and didn't look too bad. I wondered what dark side of Skip we weren't seeing. I wasn't sure if I was over-analyzing or not at the time, but the only thing I found odd was his head set. It seemed unnaturally forced. He held his head where it was supposed to be, even if she let the reins out. I admit I found that strange.
But we found out the next day. I was cleaning my friend's horse's stall when she came and got me to tell me I should watch this, since I do natural horsemanship. A horse was rearing. I walked into the arena to see the clinician ground-driving Skip in what I thought were side-reins. Something was obviously going on since everyone was huddled together in the observation area. Kayla left, crying. (I later found out that Skip had reared 3 times with her on.) The clinician tried to coax Skip into trotting and he reared up and fell over. I admit my heart was racing, and adrenaline was pumping. I was scared, because I thought I was going to have to take over. It would've been obvious to any natural horsemanship person there that this horse was an extreme RBI (okay, so maybe only Parelli people would classify horsenality, but you get what I mean), and I didn't think the clinician understood that. She did dressage after all, and I mean what the heck? She was driving a rearing horse in SIDE REINS. I actually spoke up and said that that she should take them off. Someone proceeded to explain to me that they weren't actually side-reins, they were sliders. The horse could move his head around if he wanted. Personally, I still don't think that was the best choice, because that enforced his wierd head-set. And then I had an epiphany: the reason Skip's head-set was so wierd was because he was gone mentally. Yeah, his head was tucked and he was going around her on a circle, but he felt like he was going to explode to me. That's part of the reason I got so nervous.
But anyways, that was the last time he reared in that lesson. And I do really like what the clinician recommended to Kayla afterwards. She told her to learn to ground-drive him. She said she had a horse she had raised since a baby that whenever she put any leg on her, the horse would rear. So, she started ground-driving her, and stopped riding her for 6 months. By the end of those 6 months, she could do 3rd level dressage on the ground! And so when she finally started riding her again, she took her to a dressage show and won grand champion! I thought that was great advice, since without a doubt Skip doesn't seem fit to ride right now.
And I really wanted to analyze my reaction to Skip. I got nervous, had adrenaline-pumping. Well, makes sense. I was mentally preparing to take over, like I said. But why? Well, this truth bites: I thought I knew better than the clinician. Dang, that sucks. But my conflict with non-natural horsemanship folks is another topic. I just thought my reaction was pathetic. I mean, I have no where NEAR the skills to play with an extreme RBI in the first place, and to take over from the clinician would be a no-no (since the horse stopped rearing, after all. . . ), and if I did get to play with that horse, how would I help him when I'm nervous to begin with? That was my big thing. How can I help a horse when I get so nervous beforehand? This has happened to me before, so I want to find something to get that non-chalance that Pat Parelli and Dave Ellis have. Obviously, that comes from experience and savvy and skill, so I don't expect to be nearly that good. That'd be nice for the long-term, but I'm thinking short-term right now. I remember hearing that Pat learned it from Tai-Chi. I borrowed a DVD from the library about it, and I really don't think it's for me. It was okay, but just not my kind of thing. Neither is yoga, although yoga is better than Tai Chi. Basically, I'm looking for something to help center my RBI side a little bit.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Worthy of Your Time
Lots to talk about today! I had a great session with Moose 2 days ago I didn't get to talk about yet, and have been reading a great book! So, here goes!
The Book: I've been re-reading Ray Hunt's book Think Harmony with Horses and I don't know why, but I've gotten sooooooo much out of that book by reading it this time. I bought it maybe a year ago, read it, thought it was good, but now I just seem to really grasp what he's talking about. I understand it and can apply it. That's why Moose did so well!
So, my session with Moose: Well, there's quite a few topics that fit under this, but I'll try to sum it up for ya. Since Moose's got Scratches, I decided to take it easy today. Just walking and trotting. No cantering for now, since that's hard for him to do relaxed even on a good day.
Well, I decided to try out some principles from Ray's book. Mostly going back to the foundation. And I was really thinking about one quote from his book: "Horses get to where they'll do anything they can for you, but they know that you will for them too." It really got me thinking. Well, then I wonder how sure Moose is about what I'm asking him to do! I was also thinking about the Phase 1 before Phase 1. How I don't have a "get ready" cue. It's just a "go" and then "you should've gone." By not having a "get ready" cue I wasn't setting him up for success. This was further emphasized by another of Ray's points which was that in general people ask for the horse's attention way too much. I can relate to this, just by watching how some people are with their horses. And I realized that not having a "get ready" cue meant I expected his attention all the time, and that isn't fair.
With these things in mind, I went out to play with Moose. I took everything back to foundation level. I focused a lot on FH yields today, since his HQ moves noticably easier than his FH. And I was astonished! My horse is way smarter than I give him credit for. After 3 repetitions of bringing my energy up (get ready), focusing, phase 1 with stick, followed by 2, 3, 4, he moved off my focus. I was really proud of him. And now I'm making my own program of saying "get ready" before I ask anything, until it becomes an ingrained habit.
I also experimented with non-chalance. I really tried not to move my feet, and having an attitude like that of Dave Ellis. I talked about attitude a lot when I audited a clinic of his, so if you want to know about that check out August's posts. It worked out really well. If I did phase 4, I did it with justice and without raising my energy.
And I fixed one of our super-long-time issues! On accident! One of the things I see Linda do during Circling Game is to stop Remmer and have him back up. Now, logically, this would be smart to develop in a round pen. Well, before this summer, I didn't have a round pen. So, whenever I tried to get him to stop at the Circling Game, he'd face me. And if I tried to get him to back, he'd always back facing me. At first I encouraged it, because he's trying after all. But I didn't know how to get him to realize that when I ask him to back up, I want him to back from where he is, not turn and face me, then back. Well, using our newfound FH moving abilities, I asked him to move his FH without me moving my feet. He did, but then he turned and faced me. I had to move my feet, but then I asked him to move his FH again, since the last thing he did was move his HQ, and that wasn't what I asked for. We kept this up for a little while until he finally stopped perpendicular to me. I about jumped for joy when I realized what I had just done! My horse stopped perpendicular to me!
I realized that I have inadvertently taught him to turn and face me, and then act. So, it was my problem not his. But I'm so excited that I figured it out. This book really is doing wonders to my awareness.
And based on impulse I went to Barnes & Noble the other day and bought a book by Buck Brannaman and one by Bill Dorrance. I'm reading the one by Buck right now, and it's interesting. It's more about his life story than horses, so far, but I'm finding a lot of parallels between his life and Monty Roberts'. It's still interesting to hear, but I think the one by Bill Dorrance is more designed to teach you about the horse. After all, it's like 370 pages! Now, there's a natural horsemanship textbook if I ever saw one! I'll let you know what I think about it once I start reading it.
The Book: I've been re-reading Ray Hunt's book Think Harmony with Horses and I don't know why, but I've gotten sooooooo much out of that book by reading it this time. I bought it maybe a year ago, read it, thought it was good, but now I just seem to really grasp what he's talking about. I understand it and can apply it. That's why Moose did so well!
So, my session with Moose: Well, there's quite a few topics that fit under this, but I'll try to sum it up for ya. Since Moose's got Scratches, I decided to take it easy today. Just walking and trotting. No cantering for now, since that's hard for him to do relaxed even on a good day.
Well, I decided to try out some principles from Ray's book. Mostly going back to the foundation. And I was really thinking about one quote from his book: "Horses get to where they'll do anything they can for you, but they know that you will for them too." It really got me thinking. Well, then I wonder how sure Moose is about what I'm asking him to do! I was also thinking about the Phase 1 before Phase 1. How I don't have a "get ready" cue. It's just a "go" and then "you should've gone." By not having a "get ready" cue I wasn't setting him up for success. This was further emphasized by another of Ray's points which was that in general people ask for the horse's attention way too much. I can relate to this, just by watching how some people are with their horses. And I realized that not having a "get ready" cue meant I expected his attention all the time, and that isn't fair.
With these things in mind, I went out to play with Moose. I took everything back to foundation level. I focused a lot on FH yields today, since his HQ moves noticably easier than his FH. And I was astonished! My horse is way smarter than I give him credit for. After 3 repetitions of bringing my energy up (get ready), focusing, phase 1 with stick, followed by 2, 3, 4, he moved off my focus. I was really proud of him. And now I'm making my own program of saying "get ready" before I ask anything, until it becomes an ingrained habit.
I also experimented with non-chalance. I really tried not to move my feet, and having an attitude like that of Dave Ellis. I talked about attitude a lot when I audited a clinic of his, so if you want to know about that check out August's posts. It worked out really well. If I did phase 4, I did it with justice and without raising my energy.
And I fixed one of our super-long-time issues! On accident! One of the things I see Linda do during Circling Game is to stop Remmer and have him back up. Now, logically, this would be smart to develop in a round pen. Well, before this summer, I didn't have a round pen. So, whenever I tried to get him to stop at the Circling Game, he'd face me. And if I tried to get him to back, he'd always back facing me. At first I encouraged it, because he's trying after all. But I didn't know how to get him to realize that when I ask him to back up, I want him to back from where he is, not turn and face me, then back. Well, using our newfound FH moving abilities, I asked him to move his FH without me moving my feet. He did, but then he turned and faced me. I had to move my feet, but then I asked him to move his FH again, since the last thing he did was move his HQ, and that wasn't what I asked for. We kept this up for a little while until he finally stopped perpendicular to me. I about jumped for joy when I realized what I had just done! My horse stopped perpendicular to me!
I realized that I have inadvertently taught him to turn and face me, and then act. So, it was my problem not his. But I'm so excited that I figured it out. This book really is doing wonders to my awareness.
And based on impulse I went to Barnes & Noble the other day and bought a book by Buck Brannaman and one by Bill Dorrance. I'm reading the one by Buck right now, and it's interesting. It's more about his life story than horses, so far, but I'm finding a lot of parallels between his life and Monty Roberts'. It's still interesting to hear, but I think the one by Bill Dorrance is more designed to teach you about the horse. After all, it's like 370 pages! Now, there's a natural horsemanship textbook if I ever saw one! I'll let you know what I think about it once I start reading it.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Pastern Dermatitis
Umbrella term for: Scratches, Dew Poisoning, Greasy Heel, Mud Foot, Mud Fever, Foot Rot, Cracked Heels
Basically, it's what Moose's got. Let me know if you know of anything I can do to help him out. I've looked it up online, and it seems that he has Cracked Heels, specifically. I heard that I have to remove the lumps, crusts, whatever you want to call them, but carefully as they hurt. And I have to keep his foot dry. So, we're going to have to section off part of the pasture, because it's really muddy in one place where they always stand.
Yeah, well I'm getting my emotional fitness developed. Here's some pictures of Moose's foot. They're not that good. Sorry, don't know why they're different sizes, but Photobucket's not letting me re-size them. Just click to look at them.
Basically, it's what Moose's got. Let me know if you know of anything I can do to help him out. I've looked it up online, and it seems that he has Cracked Heels, specifically. I heard that I have to remove the lumps, crusts, whatever you want to call them, but carefully as they hurt. And I have to keep his foot dry. So, we're going to have to section off part of the pasture, because it's really muddy in one place where they always stand.
Yeah, well I'm getting my emotional fitness developed. Here's some pictures of Moose's foot. They're not that good. Sorry, don't know why they're different sizes, but Photobucket's not letting me re-size them. Just click to look at them.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Busy Day
Bad News: Moose has some kind of funny looking thing on his foot. I don't even know what to call it. It's right below his fetlock on his right hind foot, and it's like a bunch of lumps that looks like mud but they stand apart from his skin. They're attached to his skin, though. I tried removing one and he moved his foot, so he didn't like that idea. My mom's going to look at it tomorrow and see whether we need to call the vet or not. So, I just rented a DVD on Tai Chi and I think I might try that in a few minutes to calm down. I hate unknowns like this, so I'm overreacting a little. Sorry.
I was very proud of myself today, though. I spoke up for a horse! I was putting a horse out in his pasture when I heard someone yell. After the horse was in, I saw Bandero eating grass with a blanket half-on and put the pieces together. :) I haltered him up, and the guy who had tried to put the blanket on him came over. He held him while I disentangled the blanket. Once its off, he tells me to stand back. I move away. He slaps Bandero on the butt with the end of the lead rope. I was astonished, for this guy does Parelli, too. I actually defended the horse, because that wasn't fair. I'm proud of myself for sticking up for him, because normally I wouldn't have the confidence to speak up in front of someone I don't know very well. So, a step in the right direction.
Based on the last post I wrote, I went outside today and got Moose all tacked up. I think he's crooked in his body, because I only have 1 shim and I put it in the same place on each side and his right side was perfect, but his left side was tight near his shoulders no matter where I put the pad. I don't know if I'm being too picky or if I'm blind, because it was tight no matter where I put it. I admit that it frustrated me. Just another reason I can't ride yet. Ah well, great time to use "oh boy!"
The cool thing was that I realized Moose is being dominant. Know his unconfidence in Zone 3? That's still an issue, but I realized to compensate for it I've been letting him boss me around a little bit. I thought he was unconfident with the saddle, so I let him sniff it and whatever, and I think he was a little bit unconfident. But then, he gave me this face today: his ears weren't really back, but it was kind of like a warning face. I ignored it at first. But, then he did it again. I backed him up hard. He licked his lips. Ding! Point for Erica. So I felt cool I found out that the threshold has moved and I noticed.
Then, this translated into our Circling Game. Moose was doing pretty well, until he started coming in when I didn't ask him to. He came in 3 times on one lap. First 2 I let him, it's about the relationship after all, you know? But by the third, I was like "Okay, dude, that's enough." And I Phase 4ed him twice with the stick. He was surprised, but it was definitely a dominant thing, because he tossed his head and ran off. He did 4 laps trotting and then I brought him in. Then, we did a little bit with our downward transitions, because I always focus on upwards instead of downwards, so they're practically non-existent. Funnily enough, Moose performed perfectly, even though he shouldn't've even known what I was asking. Hmm, "how interesting!" So, we ended the session when he was able to canter without pulling on the rope. Oh, forgot to mention: cantering was WAY easier for him today. Don't know why but it was.
And he even offered to do some close-range Circling Game! He was trotting, and I asked him to canter, but instead he circled around me. It wasn't super close, but it was way closer than normal. Very cool. He had his head nicely tucked and his body was curved, too, it seems, so sweet!
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sit on him today (I was hoping to) because he got nervous about the saddle. I don't know what set him off, but he got a little jumpy and didn't seem happy. I didn't think the saddle changed at all, but the pad has a tendency to slip back, so I decided to just take it off. He did good for one day. Besides, it's not about the saddle.
And also, Bella is terrorizing our round pen! Since it's in their pasture, she's learned she can push on the wire and spread it out. Well, she keeps knocking the wire down, and tried to walk through it today. What a sassy! I'm thinking I might need to switch to boards, because if she no longer respects the fence, it isn't going to last long.
Oh, oh! Personal best time: I carried a saddle with girth falling off, pad, shim, 22' line, carrot stick, and 12' line into our barn through the mud at 1 time without getting anything dirty. Sorry, had to brag! I should've got a picture. I could barely see where I was going.
Also, I thought about my personality around the horses, and I think I'm LBE. This is a theory in development, so not going to go into lots of details. But I thought about how when I'm outside by the horses I'm direct-line a lot, and pretty goal-oriented. Well, those aren't exactly LBI characteristics! So, we'll see. . .
I was very proud of myself today, though. I spoke up for a horse! I was putting a horse out in his pasture when I heard someone yell. After the horse was in, I saw Bandero eating grass with a blanket half-on and put the pieces together. :) I haltered him up, and the guy who had tried to put the blanket on him came over. He held him while I disentangled the blanket. Once its off, he tells me to stand back. I move away. He slaps Bandero on the butt with the end of the lead rope. I was astonished, for this guy does Parelli, too. I actually defended the horse, because that wasn't fair. I'm proud of myself for sticking up for him, because normally I wouldn't have the confidence to speak up in front of someone I don't know very well. So, a step in the right direction.
Based on the last post I wrote, I went outside today and got Moose all tacked up. I think he's crooked in his body, because I only have 1 shim and I put it in the same place on each side and his right side was perfect, but his left side was tight near his shoulders no matter where I put the pad. I don't know if I'm being too picky or if I'm blind, because it was tight no matter where I put it. I admit that it frustrated me. Just another reason I can't ride yet. Ah well, great time to use "oh boy!"
The cool thing was that I realized Moose is being dominant. Know his unconfidence in Zone 3? That's still an issue, but I realized to compensate for it I've been letting him boss me around a little bit. I thought he was unconfident with the saddle, so I let him sniff it and whatever, and I think he was a little bit unconfident. But then, he gave me this face today: his ears weren't really back, but it was kind of like a warning face. I ignored it at first. But, then he did it again. I backed him up hard. He licked his lips. Ding! Point for Erica. So I felt cool I found out that the threshold has moved and I noticed.
Then, this translated into our Circling Game. Moose was doing pretty well, until he started coming in when I didn't ask him to. He came in 3 times on one lap. First 2 I let him, it's about the relationship after all, you know? But by the third, I was like "Okay, dude, that's enough." And I Phase 4ed him twice with the stick. He was surprised, but it was definitely a dominant thing, because he tossed his head and ran off. He did 4 laps trotting and then I brought him in. Then, we did a little bit with our downward transitions, because I always focus on upwards instead of downwards, so they're practically non-existent. Funnily enough, Moose performed perfectly, even though he shouldn't've even known what I was asking. Hmm, "how interesting!" So, we ended the session when he was able to canter without pulling on the rope. Oh, forgot to mention: cantering was WAY easier for him today. Don't know why but it was.
And he even offered to do some close-range Circling Game! He was trotting, and I asked him to canter, but instead he circled around me. It wasn't super close, but it was way closer than normal. Very cool. He had his head nicely tucked and his body was curved, too, it seems, so sweet!
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sit on him today (I was hoping to) because he got nervous about the saddle. I don't know what set him off, but he got a little jumpy and didn't seem happy. I didn't think the saddle changed at all, but the pad has a tendency to slip back, so I decided to just take it off. He did good for one day. Besides, it's not about the saddle.
And also, Bella is terrorizing our round pen! Since it's in their pasture, she's learned she can push on the wire and spread it out. Well, she keeps knocking the wire down, and tried to walk through it today. What a sassy! I'm thinking I might need to switch to boards, because if she no longer respects the fence, it isn't going to last long.
Oh, oh! Personal best time: I carried a saddle with girth falling off, pad, shim, 22' line, carrot stick, and 12' line into our barn through the mud at 1 time without getting anything dirty. Sorry, had to brag! I should've got a picture. I could barely see where I was going.
Also, I thought about my personality around the horses, and I think I'm LBE. This is a theory in development, so not going to go into lots of details. But I thought about how when I'm outside by the horses I'm direct-line a lot, and pretty goal-oriented. Well, those aren't exactly LBI characteristics! So, we'll see. . .
Friday, October 23, 2009
Scattered Like the Weather
Well, since the weather's getting chillier and chillier every day, I'm finding my motivation to go out and play is waning: specifically, yesterday and the day before. I had a chance to play for a few hours yesterday, but I walked outside, picked up a halter, and just couldn't do it. My heart wasn't into it. Naturally, I want to justify my action by saying that "it's just the stupid weather's fault. If it wasn't so cold out, I'd play with my horse a lot more!"
But, in all honesty, I might as well suck it up and play now while I can, because there isn't snow on the ground yet, and no negative temperatures, so it can't be that bad.
Another thing I'm finding is that I still wish I was further along with Moose. I've inquired about a few apprenticeships recently, to further my horsey education, and have come short on both checklists for future applicants by a "Time in the Saddle" requirement. So, I thought about how how long I've been riding, and I figured out that I have somewhere between 60-80 hours of riding experience. Okay, so do you think that's enough for me to ride/start young horses? Sorry, but no. 60-80 hours, by my standards, isn't even intermediate level.
Also, apprenticeships seem so easy, but it's so hard to go out and play with Moose recently. I feel like I need someone watching me to tell me if I'm doing things right, because I over-analyze him so much. Apprenticing with someone would be easier to find out if I'm doing things right, because they'd let me know. So, when they say "oh, just ride more and we'll talk some other time" I'm like "yes, ma'am" in theory, but actually going outside and applying that is like "*sigh* here we go again" because I never never really know if I'm right or not. But heck, there's a 50-50 chance, right?
So, I've come up with 4 solutions to get me back in the saddle. New Goals to add to my sidebar.
The first thing is to make sure the saddle I have will work for Moose. It's a saddle just to get the job done, not to get it done prettily, so I'm not expecting it to be the most perfect saddle for him, but I want to make sure it will suffice. I've thought about sitting on him with the saddle on before, but I'm nervous he's going to buck or something if the saddle doesn't fit right (been there, done that). I admit this is somewhat of a good fear, because it'll help Moose be comfortable, but the sooner I get the fit checked out, the better, so then we can move on. I just hope it gets a thumbs up, though, because I don't like saddle-shopping.
And then, once my saddle gets the okay (being optimistic here), I need a pad. The Western Theraflex Pad has gotten good reviews by quite a few people, so I think that's the way to go. So, selling my old saddle will help with buying this one. . . . Anyone interested in a 16" black Abetta saddle, weighs about 20 lbs, 8" gullet, excellent conditions? Comment with your e-mail and I'll tell you more about it. I haven't bought the pad yet is because I don't have the money for it, so the sooner I sell my saddle the better!
Thirldy, get better balance. This is another thing I've been playing around with and noticed a pattern with myself. (Talk about the pattern first, then what balance)I found out that I learn tasks by individual details, not just by doing the task.
I found this out by atempting to ride a unicycle and shooting a bow and arrow today. I do archery every once and a while. Although I'm still a beginner, I can consistently get the arrow on the target. I am left-eye dominant, so I shoot lefty. Storytime: well, today there were no lefty bows available to use for 1 round, so my choices were to skip or shoot righty. I never tried righty before, so I decided to give it a shot. Um, yeah, I didn't even get NEAR the target! It was pathetic, really. But when I analyzed why I shot so bad, I realized I had forgot all about my stance. I guess the sensation of shooting right-handed was so overwhelming to me that I forgot about my position. If you really want to know how you're supposed to stand, that's what Google's for. I'm not an expert, as I said, but suffice it to say that your supposed to stand with your feet perpendicular to the target, shoulder-width apart. Well, in my confusion, I was standing almost facing the target, which is clearly going to affect my shooting ability.
I thought about this today, and realized that this is a pattern of mine, through Guitar Hero and riding a unicycle. I've experienced the same overwhelmed/confused feeling here as I did when trying to ride a unicycle yesterday. Like I said, my goal is to improve balance. That's one of the ways I'm trying to do that is by riding the unicycle. Well, yesterday was my 3rd day on it, and I noticed my balance was a lot better. It was easier to sit on it without practically tipping the thing. My set-up is in my garage. There's a table on my right for support, and I get up by putting the weight in the right pedal first (which is the same way I pedal a bike and hop on a pogo-stick, "how interesting") and then getting on. For some reason, I tried to get on it by putting my weight on the left pedal. Couldn't do it. I almost fell over: it was hard.
Useless Side Info: The same pattern is in Guitar Hero for PS2. I'm pretty good at it on Hard, but on Expert I'm not so great. I use the controller instead of the guitar (can't switch between the green and orange keys fast enough), so in Expert I can't tap the buttons that fast. My solution to pass a song is to cheat, and whenever scales come up use the controller, and whenever they play the same note over and over, I pause it and switch to guitar. Cheating I know, but hey, whatever works! So, since my preferred way to play is on controller, I use that one most often and am best with it.
Well, my friend has Guitar Hero, but for Wii. On first glance, they look pretty much the same, but if you compared them side-by-side, you'd find a difference between the two. I know so, or I'm going crazy, because I fail at GH on Wii for almost the first 10 songs until I can finally get my act together. So, the difference between the two? Wii uses a remote system, so there is maybe a half-a-second delay between the time you press a button on the guitar and the time that Wii recognizes that. PS2 is instant. You press a button, bam, it's there. So, my timing is completely screwed up just because of that half-second.
So, from this all, I've realized that I think in terms of processes and details instead of concepts. I already knew this, but now it has re-affirmed its place in my mind. In order for me to learn to play Guitar Hero on Wii, I have to almost start all over again, because I learned it differently on PS2. To shoot righty, I have to learn it all over again. I guess what I'm saying is that when I learn things like kinesthetic/body type stuff, it doesn't apply from situation to situation like other things might. It's like a horse and right side, left side stuff. You have to teach both sides, so they both understand it. I guess I'm the same way. "How interesting!"
Wow, that was a long side-trail. But back to balance. I'm trying to pratice every day for like 10 minutes to improve it. Balance helps riding, and I realized I have bad balance. More about that later.
Lastly, taking lessons. I have a few instructors in mind, but haven't picked out quite who I want to use yet. But my tentative plan is to start up soon with someone to learn to ride naturally, and go from there.
But, in all honesty, I might as well suck it up and play now while I can, because there isn't snow on the ground yet, and no negative temperatures, so it can't be that bad.
Another thing I'm finding is that I still wish I was further along with Moose. I've inquired about a few apprenticeships recently, to further my horsey education, and have come short on both checklists for future applicants by a "Time in the Saddle" requirement. So, I thought about how how long I've been riding, and I figured out that I have somewhere between 60-80 hours of riding experience. Okay, so do you think that's enough for me to ride/start young horses? Sorry, but no. 60-80 hours, by my standards, isn't even intermediate level.
Also, apprenticeships seem so easy, but it's so hard to go out and play with Moose recently. I feel like I need someone watching me to tell me if I'm doing things right, because I over-analyze him so much. Apprenticing with someone would be easier to find out if I'm doing things right, because they'd let me know. So, when they say "oh, just ride more and we'll talk some other time" I'm like "yes, ma'am" in theory, but actually going outside and applying that is like "*sigh* here we go again" because I never never really know if I'm right or not. But heck, there's a 50-50 chance, right?
So, I've come up with 4 solutions to get me back in the saddle. New Goals to add to my sidebar.
- Get my saddle looked over
- Buy a Western Theraflex Pad
- Get Moose comfortable with wearing the saddle
- Get better balance
- Take lessons
The first thing is to make sure the saddle I have will work for Moose. It's a saddle just to get the job done, not to get it done prettily, so I'm not expecting it to be the most perfect saddle for him, but I want to make sure it will suffice. I've thought about sitting on him with the saddle on before, but I'm nervous he's going to buck or something if the saddle doesn't fit right (been there, done that). I admit this is somewhat of a good fear, because it'll help Moose be comfortable, but the sooner I get the fit checked out, the better, so then we can move on. I just hope it gets a thumbs up, though, because I don't like saddle-shopping.
And then, once my saddle gets the okay (being optimistic here), I need a pad. The Western Theraflex Pad has gotten good reviews by quite a few people, so I think that's the way to go. So, selling my old saddle will help with buying this one. . . . Anyone interested in a 16" black Abetta saddle, weighs about 20 lbs, 8" gullet, excellent conditions? Comment with your e-mail and I'll tell you more about it. I haven't bought the pad yet is because I don't have the money for it, so the sooner I sell my saddle the better!
Thirldy, get better balance. This is another thing I've been playing around with and noticed a pattern with myself. (Talk about the pattern first, then what balance)I found out that I learn tasks by individual details, not just by doing the task.
I found this out by atempting to ride a unicycle and shooting a bow and arrow today. I do archery every once and a while. Although I'm still a beginner, I can consistently get the arrow on the target. I am left-eye dominant, so I shoot lefty. Storytime: well, today there were no lefty bows available to use for 1 round, so my choices were to skip or shoot righty. I never tried righty before, so I decided to give it a shot. Um, yeah, I didn't even get NEAR the target! It was pathetic, really. But when I analyzed why I shot so bad, I realized I had forgot all about my stance. I guess the sensation of shooting right-handed was so overwhelming to me that I forgot about my position. If you really want to know how you're supposed to stand, that's what Google's for. I'm not an expert, as I said, but suffice it to say that your supposed to stand with your feet perpendicular to the target, shoulder-width apart. Well, in my confusion, I was standing almost facing the target, which is clearly going to affect my shooting ability.
I thought about this today, and realized that this is a pattern of mine, through Guitar Hero and riding a unicycle. I've experienced the same overwhelmed/confused feeling here as I did when trying to ride a unicycle yesterday. Like I said, my goal is to improve balance. That's one of the ways I'm trying to do that is by riding the unicycle. Well, yesterday was my 3rd day on it, and I noticed my balance was a lot better. It was easier to sit on it without practically tipping the thing. My set-up is in my garage. There's a table on my right for support, and I get up by putting the weight in the right pedal first (which is the same way I pedal a bike and hop on a pogo-stick, "how interesting") and then getting on. For some reason, I tried to get on it by putting my weight on the left pedal. Couldn't do it. I almost fell over: it was hard.
Useless Side Info: The same pattern is in Guitar Hero for PS2. I'm pretty good at it on Hard, but on Expert I'm not so great. I use the controller instead of the guitar (can't switch between the green and orange keys fast enough), so in Expert I can't tap the buttons that fast. My solution to pass a song is to cheat, and whenever scales come up use the controller, and whenever they play the same note over and over, I pause it and switch to guitar. Cheating I know, but hey, whatever works! So, since my preferred way to play is on controller, I use that one most often and am best with it.
Well, my friend has Guitar Hero, but for Wii. On first glance, they look pretty much the same, but if you compared them side-by-side, you'd find a difference between the two. I know so, or I'm going crazy, because I fail at GH on Wii for almost the first 10 songs until I can finally get my act together. So, the difference between the two? Wii uses a remote system, so there is maybe a half-a-second delay between the time you press a button on the guitar and the time that Wii recognizes that. PS2 is instant. You press a button, bam, it's there. So, my timing is completely screwed up just because of that half-second.
So, from this all, I've realized that I think in terms of processes and details instead of concepts. I already knew this, but now it has re-affirmed its place in my mind. In order for me to learn to play Guitar Hero on Wii, I have to almost start all over again, because I learned it differently on PS2. To shoot righty, I have to learn it all over again. I guess what I'm saying is that when I learn things like kinesthetic/body type stuff, it doesn't apply from situation to situation like other things might. It's like a horse and right side, left side stuff. You have to teach both sides, so they both understand it. I guess I'm the same way. "How interesting!"
Wow, that was a long side-trail. But back to balance. I'm trying to pratice every day for like 10 minutes to improve it. Balance helps riding, and I realized I have bad balance. More about that later.
Lastly, taking lessons. I have a few instructors in mind, but haven't picked out quite who I want to use yet. But my tentative plan is to start up soon with someone to learn to ride naturally, and go from there.
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