Frustration. *sigh*

I've been working at the lope for almost two weeks now. I was told that I should shorten my reins, which in turn shortens Gunny's body, so she can go into the lope nice and easy. Unfortunately, when she does lope, she lays back her ears, and throws her head almost so high, you'd think she'd hurt her neck. I don't know why she does this. She does on the lunge line too. Don told me to yank her to a stop and back her up on the lunge line whenever she throws her head when I ask for the lope. Ever since I started doing that, she began to start going very fast and uncontrollable at the lunge. I can't get her to slow down...not to mention she still tosses her head when asked to lope. It's like she's trying to go fast to get out of working..which is a weird thought in the horse world.

I've also tried this under saddle. The minute I shorten my reins, she anticipates that we're going to go faster and gets "jiggy". I feel like I'm on a pogo stick because she trots in place at times and has her head way in the air. I figured that I should ride with a short rein at the walk, also...and let her relax so she won't anticipate me asking her to lope. Once I do ask her to lope, she goes from relaxed walk to HEAD UP, EARS BACK, LETS GO FAST AND UNCONTROLLABLE. She braces against my hands, keeps her head up and is very difficult to control. When I ask her to lope I kiss and push with my legs...however, any time I put a leg on her side now she thinks it means lope. I was told to stop her when she shows resentment at the lope and try again...however it's very difficult to stop her...she wants to go...and braces against my hands. If she does stop, she won't stand still...so I feel like I have to walk for 10 minutes to try the lope again...otherwise she's on that speed "high". I can't ask her immediately after that because her head is sky-high and she wants to run. As soon as I ask her to lope again, it's FAST, and she often bucks a little bit. This becomes very frustrating because I feel like I get nowhere. You think she's calm and relaxed...and the moment you ask for the lope she changes into a different horse...0 to 60 in 3.5.

I worked so hard getting her to calm down at the walk and the jog...and as soon as I started working with her at the lope, it's like all my progress was lost. I don't want to back track, I want to move forward. Even today, I went on a trail ride...just so both of us could have a mental break...and all she wanted to do was go. She wanted to jog down hills... it's like she won't calm down. How can I get her to calm down and be relaxed...if my progress is always reversed whenever I try the next step (loping)?

Here's a video of me riding her and her behavior:
Click here


I want to continue doing well together, it can be so frustrating sometimes. I know it's probably me making tons of mistakes in my training, which is making her worse. All I want to do is get better and be successful.

Slow progress

Wow, it's already almost been a month since I last posted. My, how the time flies.

Well, I was able to continue on with my Training Performance Horses class...since I could walk and jog Gunny on a loose rein. Now it's time to work on the lope.

Like I said, I do have access to an indoor arena...so that has been a blessing. Although, because Gunny can't see the other horses, she doesn't care to be in there very much.

I was working her in a small circle at the walk and jog...but I figured I needed more room for the lope, so I expanded to the perameter of the arena. I tried walking and jogging on the rail and she had a hard time staying on it. She wanted to continue going to the center. She's always done that -- even before I started this course. I'm not sure why. Anyway, I tried loping her on the rail and she was a maniac...it was hard to stop her and she wants to go to the center before stopping completely.

So I decided to try working her in that small circle again, even at the lope, because she's use to it from lunging.

I started lunging her at the lope...letting her go a few strides...then stopping her...then making her WALK to settle down. I have more control of her when she's on the lunge and I can see what she's doing. It's gotten a little bit better, but she does throw her head and often flips the rein over the other side of her head...I often wonder if that's a way to get me to not make her work...because I have to stop her to fix it.

Anyway, I started riding her in a small circle...and whenever I ask her to lope, head goes up and she DARTS into it. Either that, or she just trots really fast and lays back her ears. It's very difficult to get her to settle down. I have been able to stop her a little better at the lope, although yesterday she was so touchy...any sound I made at all -- clearing my throat, sniffling my nose, etc, she wanted to bolt. It wasn't good.

She has had about 5-6 days off because of deer hunting season, so hopefully today will be a little better. She progresses better when she's worked daily.

Updates, soon!

Settle down, pony!

It had been two days since Gunny was at "Circle B" ranch, and I figured she'd be nice and relaxed and settled in.

She and her pasture mate have not really made friends yet. Gunny will be in one corner of the pasture, and the gelding in the other. She does, however, nuzzle and hug her buddy Cody over the fence, since he's in the neighboring pasture, and they know each other from our previous barn.

It's been rainy, windy, and cold here for the past few days. I did take advantage of the indoor arena yesterday -- after all, that's why I moved her there in the first place. To begin, she was pushy and hyper because she was nervous and wasn't around Cody. She was winnying and turning her head away from me. He attention was on everything BUT where it should have been -- me.

I started lunging her to get her to calm down. She wasn't paying attention to me, so at times I had to "pop" the lunge whip a little bit to get her going. She naturally wanted to take off...and I immediately stopped her. After a little patience, she started to mellow out and just go the speed I had asked. It's funny how quickly she'll settle down now that I'm working on compliance through nonresistance. I used to lunge her and run her hard to tire her out...and that didn't always work half the time. I really like these methods.

Anyway, after lunging her for about 10 minutes or so (it did take a little longer than normal to calm her down) I mounted up. I started by just having her stand in place...bending her neck a little, and getting her to calm down. She started to focus on Cody whinnying instead of me again, so she was hollerin' for him. So I kept her busy and kept her feet moving. Not fast, but I kept switching directions and stopping her. I must say, her "ho" is getting much better. In fact, I rarely have to pick up my reins. After working with two hands and pressing the indirect rein into her neck, I decided to try simply neck reining. I had to use a lot of leg to turn her and make her turns more gradual, but I was amazed at how well she did. I had almost a flawless ride. I feel like I WILL accomplish my goal of having a pleasureable horse to ride in the future!

Anyway, long story short, she did very well and I plan on going out there again soon. I'll try to get some videos within the next few sessions.

Back In Action!

Hello, hello!

I know it has been a long time. I spent the entire summer on Mackinac Island working full time as a tour driver. Yes, I got to drive a horse-drawn carriage and give tours of the island all summer. Talk about a cool job! I got to bond with a lot of the horses too. What a great experience! I plan on going back next year.

Anyway, I'm back now and ready to get started up with Gunny and my courses again. Because I made some money this summer, I found a different facility to move Gunny to. It has a much larger outdoor arena, a small indoor arena, and acres upon acres of trails. I hope to have riding buddies there too. I am so happy with it so far, and I think the indoor arena will come in handy once the snow falls..and that way I don't have excuses to not go to the barn!

She's been there for two days now, and unfortunately I've been busy with unpacking and chores around the house, so I haven't seen her since the day she moved. I did, however, ride her once we got there. She was really nervous (got really sweaty in the trailer) and I put her in her new pen with an older gelding. It's about 5 acres for the two of them.

I figured once she settled down a little, I could see how she'd react to the indoor arena. Meanwhile, she's whinnying and upset and nervous. So I lunged her. Naturally she wanted to go fast. I just stopped her and had her relax. She eventually was going slowly and collected and I decided it was time to ride. I hadn't ridden her all summer so I just wanted to check and see what it is she remembered, and what I had to touch on with her.

I mounted up and tipped her nose in both directions. She was good there. I rode her around in a small circle at the walk...good there. It took her a bit to settle down but I tried to remain relaxed and to carry myself well..and she started to relax her head and carry it level. She did excellent! She remembered everything and I felt so accomplished. She stopped verbally very well. Just where i left off. I was so proud.

Now, in the arena there was a tarp hung from the ceiling cut into strips...so it was an obstacle to walk through. I thought she would FREAK OUT, so I walked her up to it (on the ground) and lead her through it. The first time she jogged through it. The second time (after she realized it wasn't going to EAT her) she walked calmly through it. I was so proud! Then, after riding her around the circle, I tried riding her through the tarp. SHE DIDN'T EVEN FLINCH -- IN EITHER DIRECTION! I was so incredibly proud. I knew when I got there that I could remain calm and help her get into a relaxed frame of mind..and she trusted me enough -- even in a new environment -- to go through that tarp.

All in all, it was a successful day. I plan on going out there more frequently to ride and eventually jog her on a nice, loose rein. That's the goal ultimately.

My new barn owner has "Extreme Cowboy Race" type competitions every year...and I have a goal to go to one eventually with Gunny. I want to work up to that :)

Anyway, more updates soon!

Same old same old

Well, I was in a bit of a crunch for time today, so I didn't get a chance to get a video. I wish I would have, because Gunny was excellent. Responding to my leg cues, bending around my leg, and stopping much better than yesterday. She was relaxed and seemed very willing today. I was very happy with our success. I was able to get 3 feet to stop over the log this time. That sure is a challenging exercise!

Our riding didn't take too long today. I rewarded her for doing everything I asked.

Well, lucky for her, she'll have a few days off now. We (my family) are heading up to Mackinac Island to stay with my mom (who's currently living up there for the month of June). I'm really excited. No motor vehicles - Just horses! :)

More to come when we return!

Focusing on stopping

Good evening!

 It was a beautiful day, high 70's and sunshine. I got out to the barn today, Gunny seemed quite content. I saddled her up and whatnot, set up my camera, and went for a ride. I put a ground pole closer to the camera to practice stopping one foot over at a time. I continued doing the figure eight at the walk around the cones as well.

She seemed really relaxed today, head down nice and level, however, she didn't really want to stand still (more than usual). So, that's what we focused on today, mostly. I made sure I used one rein to hold the bit gently, and raised the other hand. It took a while to register sometimes, but I got her to stop when I asked. I was able to stop her feet 1/2 and 1/2 today with the pole. Not too bad for the first time. I'd stop her with one foot over, and she'd bring the other one over the pole to balance herself out. It's quite a challenging exercise, but I made it as fun as I could.

I also focused on holding her shoulder up with my leg as well as having her bend around my leg while going around the cones, so she didn't drop her shoulder. I've noticed in the videos that I took today that she was quite a good deal better than she normally is going around the cones. It's great to see progress! I know that it's not perfect by any means, but it's better than it was. :)

I know that the videos are quite boring, as I am merely asking her to stand still a lot of the time, but she needs to learn that when I say "whoa" it means NOW, and it means UNTIL I SAY TO MOVE AGAIN. She has learned to anticipate when I'm going to make her go again, and I have to teach her just to hang out for a while. 

I was trying to practice using the stopping technique Don has told me about, and I hope that I did it alright. 

My camera died before the end of my ride, but I rode Gunny until she stopped exactly when I asked, no extra steps. I then got off and called it a day.

Click here to watch part 1

Click here to watch part 2

Click here to watch part 3

Click here to watch part 4

Click here to watch part 5

Rainy Riding

Well, today was drizzly and grey, so I didn't get a chance to take a video. I did ride though, and I'm proud that the rain didn't stop us. 

Started today with lunging, like always. I'm still noticing head tossing, ear pinning, and resistance when I ask her to go faster on the lunge. I'm not sure how to go about fixing that...she complies with what I say, but just is obviously unhappy with having to work.

After lunging, I stepped on and began to walk in a figure 8 around the cones, just like yesterday. I found some ground poles, and set up two, 2 feet apart from one another. She is doing fairly well with the figure eight, but she likes to turn either too sharply or not sharp enough. Usually, clockwise (to the right) she is either pretty good, or doesn't turn quite enough. I'd rather her not turn enough then drop her shoulder. Now, going counter clockwise (to the left) she gets stiff and resists my pressure for a while, once I apply enough, she'll usually turn 180 degrees fairly quickly. She'll drop her shoulder at times, and quite often speed up during those turns. I'm not quite sure why. I've heard horses are usually better on one side than the other. I think that's showing with Gunny. I've just got to be patient and keep working on things.

For just a little additional work, I would walk out of the circle and have her cross the two walk-over poles. The first time we crossed them, she clunked them with all four feet. She's stepped over things before on trail rides, so I was rather surprised. I tried it again, making sure my reins were loose and she cleared it completely, no problem. I did it about 3 more times (encorporating it into my figure 8 pattern) and she did fine, never hitting a pole again. She picked her feet up nicely, and went fairly slowly over them. There were a few times I felt her going too fast approaching the poles. I stopped her, let her relax, and then proceeded at a slower pace. 

Her "whoa's" were much better today. I only had to touch the reins a few times today to enforce the stop. I felt more confident with her stopping...she got anxious a few times and anticipated walking off again, where I just said "whoa" again, and she stopped and relaxed. I was very pleased.

I also had a neat experience when I put her back into the pasture. She's not usually a very affectionate horse, but when I turned her loose I just pet her head, neck, and withers. She went to go get a drink then came back to me. I gave her a little bit of attention and she seemed to enjoy it. I'm liking the bond we're creating, even though it's very slow. It made my heart smile to know that she enjoyed being with me a little bit.

Supposed to be mid 70's tomorrow, so hopefully it'll be a better day to ride and get a video. :)

More and more walking...

Yep, that about sums it up. Just did more walking today. I set up some cones as a guide so I could see my riding better with the camera. I started applying the indirect rein (Gunny was never very good at neck reining) today and she actually responded quite well. I had to use my leg quite often as well as a bump or tug on the bit a few times, but overall she did well. 

Click here for video one

Click here for video two

I cut out a lot of the riding in the middle because it was just the same old same old. She started to relax toward the end, and it seems to be happening quicker now. She did end up trotting twice, and I tried to remember to stop her with one rein. She did quite well with that as well. She wanted to keep walking off, and I just kept telling her to stand still. (I'm telling you to be lazy, horse! Just stand there!) Lol.

I also focused on sitting back a little more in the saddle. I think she responded better because of that as well.

Overall I am happy with our success today. :) More to come soon!

Lunging and More Riding

Today was very productive. I began by lunging Gunny at all three gaits. She was a little sassy at the jog and lope, but eventually got over it and relaxed. 

Click here to view a video of Gunny lunging

As you can see, she's coming along well with this. If you compare this video to the first lunging video, you can see the slight progress she's making. Her gaits are a bit more collected than they used to be.

After lunging, I practiced riding Gunny on a loose rein, at a walk, in a figure 8 pattern. At first she was a bit tense, but began to relax after a few minutes. I didn't realize it until almost the end of the ride, but I was leaning forward slightly, which I believe was causing her to want to go a bit faster. I was trying to stay off of her mouth except for to bump her the way I wanted to turn. I think me trying to keep my arms out forward to encourage a long frame made me subconsciously lean forward. Oops! That's something I have to work on. At the very end of the ride, I sat up and back slightly and I felt her relax and go slower. Once she relaxed her head and I felt her complying with my wishes, I got off and called it a day.

Click here for the ride today (Part 1)

Click here for the ride today (Part 2)

We still have lots of work to do, but it's good to see things get better, slowly. 

Trying to Ride on a Looser Rein

Well, this video was the first attempt to ride Gunny on a loose (not really) rein, in a small circle, only at the walk. You can tell both her and I were tense. She kept wanting to GO and that was making me frustrated. This was previous to Don telling me to just RELAX. My reins need to be more loose, and I need to not be so tense.

I have to realize, that all this time I have been teaching her to go faster, rather than just chill out. So she really is doing what I have been asking her, in this video. I just wanted to document where we're at at this point. I've ridden her once since this day, on a much looser rein...and she did quite well. She seemed a bit more relaxed. I spent more time grooming her and bonding with her, as well as just walking on the lunge line. She never got to that "worked up" point, and it showed under saddle. 

Click here to see the riding video

Okay, until next time!

Lunging

When I started working with Gunny, she had been trained to run around frantically on the lunge line. I was taught to "take the edge off" because that makes her tired and want to listen.

Well, that just made her more headstrong. It made her WANT to go fast, where I just wanted her to relax.

In my courses I was taught to lunge her slowly, asking for frequent stops. Whenever she decided to go faster, I'd ask her to stop, relax, and proceed again. Here is a video of me lunging her, after teaching her to go slowly.

Click to see a lunging video

She still is a bit feisty, where she tosses her head, and pins her ears if I ask her to move to the next gait. She's nowhere near perfect on the lunge line, but she's a lot more relaxed than she ever used to be. Please excuse the titles, as this was part of a project for "preparing for the first ride".

This video was from the end of April, so it's a little old. I will have to post a newer video of her working on the lunge line soon.

Gunny's Introduction

Let me briefly introduce you to my horse, Gunners Greatest, ("Gunny").  

Gunny is a 9 year old, bay tobiano, registered American Paint Horse. She stands at 15.1 hh and is built very stocky. Her previous owner, who sold her to me, originally bought her to be a roping horse. I have shown her in open shows, doing mostly novice showmanship, western horsemanship, and western pleasure. We actually have done quite well in those classes, but she was absolutely miserable at those shows. She's quite high energy and likes to move. She has a hard time standing still and doing things she doesn't want to do.

Gunny had about 60 days of "training" on her when I purchased her. Her previous owner, who was my "trainer" told me that she would help me work with her to get her up to par. Cathy (my trainer) has been a very successful horsewoman, taking a World Championship Friesian Saddleseat award, winning many roping competitions, many first place saddleseat ribbons at local shows, owns a grand champion halter horse, etc. The only stipulation is, I have been taught to force my mare into complying and working her hard to take her "edge" off. Gunny is an alpha mare and is very headstrong. Her original owner (Before Cathy owned her) would ride her and whenever she would balk, swish her tail, buck, or otherwise misbehave, the lady would get off, unsaddle her, and put her away. I think that will forever be ingrained in her mind, as she always has to test your authority.

Click here to see a video of Gunny with her previous training

As you can see, I have been taught that force is the only way to get my mare to go correctly. It's been four years of teaching her this, so it is all she knows. It's going to be a long process, but I know with hard work and dedication, there is hope for our partnership!

With the help of Don Blazer from www.horsecoursesonline.com, I am working toward rehabilitating her training into a form of non resistance and a quality partnership.

My first step is to go back to square one. Lunging before riding and teaching her to walk in a small circle on a loose rein. I have to teach her to think "slowly" and "relaxed". I do not want her stressed out, fighting me, nor the bit, and stopping only on a verbal command. 

I will document her progress via videos and text throughout the course of her training. I am looking forward to this new project!

I need to teach myself patience and not be in a hurry to move forward. 

My goal ultimately is to be able to walk, jog, and lope on a loose rein, collectedly speaking, stop on command, and have my horse not be totally miserable while doing so. I want to be able to do every maneuver in a snaffle bit, without the use of harsher bits, tie-downs, martingales, or other training devices. I want to have my horse ENJOY being with me and willingly do everything I ask.

Unfortunately, my barn owner and Cathy do not really agree with not using training devices or severe bits. It will be a challenge to do my own thing and not to seek their approval, like I once did. The success and achievement in itself will be more fulfilling than the approval, anyway.

Wish me luck!

Have a great day,

Meaghan