Level 3 liberty audition.

Work today so no horseplay :(

So I am putting up the level 3 liberty audition that we filmed after Ruby and I made a program of liberty! The audition isn't perfect, but that isn't what it is all about. It is definately an improvement, and I can really feel the benefits of being dedicated to doing a designated liberty session each day, even if I don't think they really show up in this video!

For this audition I had the start planned, backing through the tiny gap into the yard, and the end, standing on the mat, but the rest of it I just took what came up.

And I vow I will never try and canter in deep sand again, my lead changes are terrible!!!

Do a lot, and then do nothing!

Well,

Two more liberty sessions since my last blog. I am playing with doing a really intense, provocative, but short liberty session, ending on a really good note, then going off for a ride to 'cool off' and relax.

It seems to be working! Ruby is really alive and attentive! Now I just have to be careful not to squash it...

I have been really struggling with Ruby finding relaxation at a canter, at liberty, ridden, or online, so I have been thinking about how I can help her. I feel she needs to keep at it long enough to find relaxation, but I was finding I was doing a lot of work to try and keep her cantering!

So the plan for today was to take her in to the small round yard, and really work on our circling game. I can send her out at a trot and she will maintain gait, maintain direction, and stay out there all day. But when I ask for a canter, she gets tight, her head goes up, she will take a couple of strides, and drop back to a trot. I had 'do a lot, then do nothing' in my head. It was something Tara and I had talked about regarding Ruby. So I would ask her to canter, then when she broke gait I would make a big fuss, then quickly go to complete neutral as soon as she cantered.

It worked to a degree, I was getting a lot more canter, but she was starting to lose confidence. When this happened I let her drop back to a trot, or her favourite, figure 8's around two buckets, until she was relaxed and in contact again.

Then we would try again. I would reward her by bringing her back to a trot as she offered more and more canter.

So I had mixed success today. I didn't get 20 laps at a canter, or even a lot of relaxation, but I had a horse who was really trying hard, putting effort in, and very responsive! And I am experimenting, and problem solving, and using my knowledge to try and find answers, so that has to be good.

I have also been riding bareback everywhere! Up hill and down dale. And cantering as much as possible. Canter canter canter. We both have to be nice and balanced at a canter, and I guess there's only one way to do it, a lot, and bareback! Jack rode Roxy, Pete ripley, and Ciaran came on Ruby with me, and we rode over the back to shut a gate this afternoon. We were having so much fun that we got almost home again and realised we had completely forgot to shut the gate!! Oh well, a good excuse for another ride tomorow...

Musical coffee!

I'm back!!!

This blog thing is hard! I just don't know where to start. I have been playing with Honey, but haven't got to write what I have done each day, so feel I have to go back to the start, so then it gets too hard, so then I don't write anything.

So today I am just going to write SOMETHING!

I thought I would start with something nice that happened this morning...

In a rare occurence around here, Pete and I were both out playing with our own horses, at the same time. That in itself is a rare thing. I have decided I better do some liberty with Ruby, but Pete and Ripley had beat me to the round yard.

I went inside and made a coffee, collected Ruby, and headed around to wait in line. I decided Ruby had had enough un-demanding time, so I hopped on and started riding the outside rail, practicing our freestyle riding outside the safety of the yard. Pete then got on Ripley bareback and bridless too, so he started riding the inside rail.

I had sat the coffee on a post. We were both quietly doing our own thing, focused on our own horses, then one of us would ride past, pick up the coffee, drink for a few posts, put it down, the other would ride past, pick it up, drink as we rode, deposit it on another post. It was funny. A bit of a dance really. Two quiet, focused, freestyle riders sharing a space, but off in their own worlds! I wish I had it on video.

But aside from the trivialties, I had a productive little play with Ruby. I have decided I need to lift her life in our liberty play. I have been tip toeing around, trying to do things nicely, quietly, calmly. And she has been doing things nicely, quietly and calmly, but apparently not responsively enough. So today I decided I was going to get out of my box and experiment! Being the introverted little butterfly that she is, we started very slowly and gently, then as we progressed, we lifted our life, and played some tag, and got some maintained canter even!!! She missed the hind end on her changes a few times, but at this stage I wasn't worried about that, I was just after energy, when I asked for it! And boy, did all that driving improve her draw! She was asking with two ears to come in, PLEASE! It was cool. Not pretty, but progress.

Pete brought me out some lunch so I went over and sat on the gate, and she straight away sidepassed over for me to get on. I let her stand there while I ate, then for fun I thought I would see if I could send her, from where I was sitting on the gate, to go and try something, even have a roll because she was sweaty. She side passed about 8 metres, then still wondering what I wanted she walked off and found a cone over the other side of the round yard, played with it for a second, then looked over to me to ask if that was what I was thinking about. I wasn't expencting ANYTHING, so, still from sitting on the gate, I said sure, that was great, come back, which she did, and was rewarded with some corn chips! It seems trivial, but I thought that was a nice little problem solving excersise. She could have just left!

I called it a day in the round yard at that, and to further improve her obedience asked her to stand on a piece of rubber outside the shed while I went in and mixed up the feeds. She got off a couple of times, and I went back out and put her back on. She soon got the idea and waited on the rubber until I had finished the feeds and brought hers out. Cool. It was also hard for her too because she couldn't see where I had disapeared to in the shed. She just had to trust that I would come back!

So there. A little update on what I have been up to! I have waffled on for long enough, so I am off now to plan what horsey manouvres I will be up to tomorow!

Nite all...