Reading Horses

After watching a savvy club dvd at our camp this weekend about patterns, I've decided to actually log (like they tell us to do) how many days in a row that we do it. And really stick to it (like they tell us to do)! I'm guilty of starting and never completing this. I am very scatterbrained but i'm working on it. Today I helped Can Do with fig. 8. I used concepts from Mickey and think I may have made points with her. We did both sides and I got tons of licking and chewing. I tried to keep my body calm and to give a phase 1 of a phase 1, as sometimes that is all she needs. Very sensitive sometimes! Her ears are what really needs work. She lays them back frequently then pops them up as fast as they went back. Hard to read for me because before I can correct her they are up again. I will continue with this schedule and see what happens. We also worked on not changing gait and look where you are going. She is very clumsy. I laid down some pilings about 6 in in diameter and sent her in a circle. At first she went down to a walk and made it through. She did this a couple of times. I tried to be non reactive with her but kept my "you need to keep going" posture and look. Low and behold, she started to walk the first couple of poles and trot coming out on the last couple of poles. Not long after that she really tried hard to keep the trot. She did it! I stopped her and gave her scratches and rest. Then we did the other side. Same experiences. Feelin very savvy! We then went to freestyle.