The Right Brain Extrovert goes BRIDELESS for the FIRST TIME!!

Today is a total first for Indy!!!!!!!!

I have been having some impulsion issues with Indy. Everytime we trot freestyle, she had been running away at the trot a little bit. Very strange, but not really unexpected due to her nature. We have been playing with it, while working on fluid rein and transitions with contact. I feel like she felt a little lost with no contact in zone one.

With that in mind I have been playing with riding with contact and loosening it and picking it up again etc.

Today when I went to play with Indy we warmed up extra strong online. My initial plan had been to play with more contact riding, so I wanted her uber ready to ride. We played with maintain gait at the canter, figure eight - with some real enthusiasm, stick to me at the walk and trot, and getting her to stop over the barrels coming at them at a trot. She was a little go-ey today, really ready to move and I had a hard time stopping or interrupting her patterns, but when she finally got balanced she was my little hovercraft on hooves!

With that nicely acheived, I bridled her with the confidence snaffle, grabbed my dressage whip [was planning on playing with getting lighter sideways] and mounted up. After some friendly and lateral flexion checks we walked off on the rail, with the reins on her neck.

We walked circles and a little bit of cloverleaf as a warm up - with the reins on her neck. Then I got brave and asked for a trot... and we did the same - with the reins on her neck. I only had to use the stick a handfull of times when she leaked out a little on the turns. Then I got braver and asked for a canter, and we cantered the rail, balanced, and confidently - with the reins on her neck!!! HOLY WOW!!!

This is the horse I have been wondering if I would ever advance to bridless riding with... and look what we just accomplished!! I cant believe it!! Her stops and downward transitions were seamless!!! I even got a little bit of transition within gait at the trot!

Lesson of the day : WARM UP STRONG!! I learned that in Florida... why havent I been applying it consistently?!?!?

I am SO proud of Indy!!!!! Even though my plan went right out the window, I cant be happier with what we DID accomplish!!! I even was able to lead her at liberty from the ring to the barn and out to the pasture - another first for her! *squees happily*

:-)
S

Thunderstorms Get In The Way...

I know this is Canada, and as such I should be used to inclimate weather and such, but really, it has rained basically every day this summer so far. Even the great sunshiny days, it rains at some point. I am sure there are statistics about it somewhere!

When I got out to the barn today it was SUNNY. So I thought *yey* I can finally play with Crystal again, since the eons of rain have prevented to much play, when I do get out to it, I want to play with my ponies! They were all in "The Spot" when I went out. Everyone sort of waltzed over slowly, faster after the first to arrive got a small cookie! Crystal seemed pretty pleased to be chosen, but Mo was rather put out. She cracks me up that one!

As soon as Mo saw me halter Crystal she marched her butt right up to the gate and basically intimated that she got to come in to or else. Realistically, I could have made her move, but I was feeling generous so I let her into her stall for some nap time. Goober pony.

Crystal and I had some really nice online play time! She is improving every time. She goes out into the pasture when I dont play with her and just soaks on what she knows. Thats what it feels like. She just gets better and better. Her figure eight today was practically flawless. Trotting calmly and just flowing. So responsive and sensitive to what direction I was asking her. Love it!

I also made a circling game out of two sets of barrel jumps, one of the big barrels lying down and one of the small barrels lying down. She had to circle jumping both of those each round. That was cool. Her squeeze game over barrels was so good now, but she would turn face and wait after each time she jumped, if I asked her to or not - hence the new game! Fixing the assumption! She picked it up right quick and was really starting to jump nicely!

When she first started actually jumping instead of just pushing through, I have to say, I didnt know if she would ever figure it out. Lo an dBehold though, she has the makings of an adorable hunter in her! Even a jumper maybe! She sure has the legs for it! Just needs that summer belly worked off a little bit...

I rearranged the ring to make it suitable for a cloverleaf game. During that time I parked Crystal at a barrel, which was cool. She just hung out and waited. Investigated the barrel and such. No fear in that one anymore! I love it. I *adore* seeing her confidence blossom. It is my favorite thing about playing with her. She was such a little skittish thing, and has been since ever, but really she just needed to know HOW to be confident. Even the boarders are commenting on how much more friendly she is in the pasture - like she is a different horse! GO CRYSTAL!

When I sent her to the saddle she went right to it, sniffed it and was content. I saddled her up and off we went again, this time negotiating the assumption that yo-yo means take off on a circle. She is pretty clever though and got it after two tries.

Pretty much as soon as I mounted it started thundering. Yep, seriously. I didnt really think anything of it, not much will get me off a pony weather-wise save lightning or walls of water. So Crystal and I walked a couple of laps and trotted a couple of laps and got ONE cloverleaf pattern in before the drops hit. I thought it might just sprinkle so stayed out...

Enter WALL OF WATER.

Yep, wall of water. Talk about moisture! *insert running for the barn here* I even hung out in the entrance for a while thinking it could rain this hard for long... turns out it can. 40 minutes later, it was still raining. So I gave in and unsaddled Crystal, gave her her treats and grain and put her out. HUGE compliment here -HUGE - Crystal STAYED at the back door for something like 20 minutes. I am not kidding! FIRST ever! Not because of the weather, because its not sheltered back there, just because. She was looking in the barn, watching me hang with Mo, generally just relaxing by herself. That is a total first for Miss Herdbound. JOY!!!!! I am SO proud of her!!!!

On to Mo! Of course, my dear napsalot was fresh up from a snooze, shavings decorating her everywhere. So cute. I didnt really do to much with Mo other than practice our mounting thing in her stall - her stall is the foaling stall [for no reason other than she likes luxury and it was the only one left] so its practically 10 x 20 giving us lots of room! I played from a bucket and that went well so then I practiced getting her to keep her head low enough for me to swing over from the ground and getting her confidence with that. In the end I got up three times, which was cool. Not sure it was entirely left brain though, so I am not celebrating yet! Going to let her simmer on it for a bit before asking again. Definate improvement though!

Oh, and Mo also is figuring out that if she bows, she gets a cookie, so when I ask her now, I dont always have to show her nose where to go, which is really cool. She is starting to ask her own body questions and try to figure out where it is supposed to go in order to win a treat. Such a doll! After all that I spent some time attacking the millions of hairs on her head that are soooo long, making her look like some acient flowy goddess pony.

I loves my Mo :-)

:-)
S

So When You Think The Girth May Not Be Small Enough...

Indy had a really great day yesterday. I am incrediably proud of her. Firstly, I clipped her legs for the third or fourth time and she was an angel. THEN we saddled up in a borrowed Parelli Fluidity [which I have to stop doing, because I know Indy LOVES it and not my saddle anymore] and a borrowed girth. Well.... the girth, on both sides of top holes was really just holding the saddle in place, but it was ok, so off we went.

We rode in an arena starting at a walk and then she kept wanting to trot so I said hey cool lets do a cloverleaf pattern then. So clover leaf at a trot we did... except on the long ends, where she cantered. Overall very impulsive and go-y and not so much paying attention to me, so I didnt slow her down, a couple of times we used the fence to stop, but really we just kept on the pattern. Until she finally just trotted the pattern and then *poof* clicked over to LBI and stopped in the middle and looked at me like "So.. what are we moving around for?" Which was perfect. We walked around a little more and then I jumped off.

When I got off I noticed something rather interesting. While riding I thought my stirrups sounded extra jingly when hitting the girth buckes but just thought it was because they were to high. Now that I was on the ground I could see the actual issue. I could see AIR between Indy and the girth. AIR! It was just hanging there, completely loose, not doing anything at all really. HMM! The saddle didnt even move though, so I suppose thats nice that I am balanced? At least a little bit. Anyways, that was fairly interesting, so I just unsaddled her then re-mounted bareback because it was nearly lunch time. We moved a couple of cows before heading down.

THEN after lunch Indy and I played cow pony a little and it was fantastic and I am so proud of her. We also got some help with our fore/hind quarter isolations for pivot/turns and that helped LOADS. So.. YEY INDY!

Both girls got their inspection today for their health certificates to go home.... I am planning on it being toasty warm when I get there. I am having to much fun here though.. I cant believe its been three months already! Where has the time gone?!!??! I am so not ready to go home, but the bank account demands I must. Dang.

On the up swing, I may be able to conduct a sort of business proposal that will result in my having a delightful Parelli boarding/lesson barn in my area. So joy for that, because it has an indoor arena! I am trying anyways! So, if you could have a playground to play in at your boarding barn, what would you put in it? A honeycomb? A bridge? A pedestal [or several?] Trees to jump? I need ideas so I can plan. I have some, but others are always welcome!

:-)
S