Back to Gizmo Already!

Back to Gizmo even if it isn't his week, Can Do was limping. I'm starting to put two and two together and figured the only reason she is mine is because she probably has some old injury that keeps popping up. Everytime I get going with her this happens. I'm not even pushing her. I'm talking a couple of laps around the arena trotting and loping. Anyway, Gizmo and I worked on sideways with me in z 2, but us doing sideways together, kind of like a stick to me. I think he caught on, but it was just the first day. We also played with straddling the pole which he had no problem with. Then I moved on to the larger pole and it took a little time. After he got it, we moved on. His cod to the left is still a bit sticky. Practiced it just a little today after I saddled him. We rode with the carrot stick to start out. Lateral flexion, stopping on the rail at a walkk, stopping on the rail at a trot. He does good with stopping from my seat so that wasn't an issue. Then I started the indirect turn to the rail without using my reins. He became a little confused but I hung in there. I also was applied pressure with my leg before I used the stick. He gave me some nice turns and some not so nice. I do find him turning with my seat more than he ever has, so we are improving. He is definately my sacrificial lamb!!!!

Respect

We reviewed what it means to respect me. He remembered farely quickly, ha! Rode freestyle and patterns and when he was responding I quit. He is picking up the lope from the trot very well. He has trouble maintaining gait though. Both of my Parelli horses have no stamina. Whats up with that? I will start building distance of the lope gradually with both of them starting with a half of a lap. They should be able to do that. His backing got more responsive with the mecate going back and forth on his shoulders. Wake up, I say! Gizmo is just like my youngest son. After riding Can Do lately, Gizmo's lope is very comfortable

Transitions

Today we practiced transitions as it has been my weakness. I'm trying to get the trot, walk, or lope in my body and for Can Do to pick it up. Sometimes it works, sometimes not! I believe I'm not consistant enough. We also did follow the rail which both of my Parelli horses should have by now. My focus needs improvement because I felt her all over the place as I was trying to do my transitions and then all of a sudden I put her on the weave and she did it so nicely. It reiterated how strong my focus needs to be and that I must let it slip a little at times. At one point I moved off of the rail to do transitions because I felt like I was trying to do two things at one time - stay on the rail and transitions. When doing that I'm realizing that she is unconfident on one side of the arena. It is the side away from the pasture horses. This explains alot and gives me some 'how interesting' thoughts. She kept coming off of the rail at the same point so if she came off, I'd bring her into a lope. Hope this helped as I'll know more in the near future. As I write this, I'm realizing I forgot to go to the right. This was all done going to the left which is her favorite side. Oh well! All in all, this day went pretty well. Can do is getting her girly figure back after being on a diet for a couple of months. I'm getting her in shape to bring her to a clinic in Wiggins in April. I think she's 18 years old, not a spring chicken anymore!

Punk!

Didn't feel any different today. Did I make any progress with his brain, probably not, but I quit when he responded. Hoping he realized it and wants to be my partner tomorrow. He is like trying to move a bulldozer and he knows it. With him, it is completely his mind that I have to partner with not his feet. He refuses to move, and when he does, it is a baby step. I do not know what to do with this. I think I have tried to move slowly on his terms, not to much pressure, I have also tried to use pressure, like phases, I get nothing. Some days are better than others. Some days I feel he really tries, but we cannot progress in the program with "every now and then". He understands, because his groundwork is awesome. When I'm on the ground and I move the reins like I would be if I were on his back, he is very responsive. Why would anything be different if I were on his back. A porcupine game is a porcupine game right. 4 ozs of pressure is 4 ozs of pressure right? He is a punk! And I have not figured out how to make him tick! I'll keep at it though because I'm determined to get to level 4. I want to be there someday!
        I still cannot get my horses to follow the rail. I do exactly what I'm supposed to and they keep coming off. Well, today I said " you  want to come off of the rail, lets go trot in the middle of the arena". I think it may have worked. We had to come off of the rail probably about seven times, but I noticed at the end of the session, he was staying on better. Today was only day one, so I'll keep track of that for the seven days of the pattern. I also got out the carrot stick and when I asked him to move the front end around his back end and he didn't move, the bulldozer thing, he got a thunk, Thunk, THUNK! When he was moving off of the stick with ease, I quit the lesson. Man, I've got to do something different. I'm getting nowhere. So this will be my new pattern, I'll keep you posted!

Gizmo

After a week off so that I could focus on Can Do, Gizmo was his complete self, very sticky. We did follow the rail, passenger lesson, and backup. He still tries to come off of the rail on a regular basis, and I can't figure him out. It has been two years in March that we have been doing freestyle. I feel like we just started. His backup was ok, but not what it should be. I do have to be possitive and say that he was turning with my body better. He didn't make the complete turn, but I think he is starting to respond to that better. Today I will be super soft and try and discover his try and reward that. I will also not ask for the complete circle back to the rail. I will ask for him to cross the arena at x and then go straight. I think this will help him out some. Something is telling me that I'm too hard on him. Online we did sideways. He did well. I sent him sideways from z1 and z3 over a pole. He was on.

LB or RB?

This week is Can Do's week. We played online with maintain gait on circle. She gets it a little quicker than when we first started and when she maintains the trot, I stop and then we move on to something else. Her sideways needs improvement. She wants to bring her rear end towards me when I try to drive it away. I think I caused this problem because this summer I taught her to stand next to me for mounting. We also did figure 8's. She is hilarious. I really have trouble with her LB/RB. She changes in a nanosecond. I love watching her trying to figure it out. She definately goes right brained when obstacles are involved and she is so clumsy. When she asks me a question I bust out laughing. When she knows she's getting a treat she snorts like a pig, which she must have been in a former life. I really must have overdone touch it with her feet, because she wants to stop at everything and touch it with her foot. Then she gives me one of those looks, "Look at me mom!". Also, she knows that when I say "good girl" she must be getting a treat I may have overdone that one also. I love her!!!! When riding, we always start with passenger lesson. She has trouble with go, which suprises me. She stops every couple of steps like she isn't sure of what I want. We will practice this. Her follow the rail stands at she won't follow the rail. She seemed to be really worried by the orange trees today. I handled this by backing and asking her to go forward again. Then we did some indirect turns. She did those pretty good then it was time to quit. I am bringing her to my next clinic with Maurice.

One Funny Horse!

Gizmo is a riot! Today when I went to get him (he was at the gate) the phone rang and it was my son's school. So as I talked to his math teacher (who had bad news), Gizmo proceded to do a spin in front of me for a treat. It was hilarious.Gotta love them LBI's. After that we played sideways on a log and the circling game. His circling game was a bit boring (my fault of course) so then we moved to fig. of 8. It was so so. He would not maintain gait. We then saddled up and moved on to the arena. We started with a passenger lesson at a walk, which he has done lots of times. It went well even to the degree of trotting and our first canter passenger lesson. Hardly took anything for it to happen. We didn't do much because I didn't want to make it work for him.We did lots of transitions and he respected me entirely. Then we moved on to follow the rail and 4 corners. Gizmo did not stop great in the corners at first. It took a little repositioning and then I let him relax when he was lined up with the fence. I did feel like he was trying for me and we ended on a good note of moving around the haunches for a half circle in both directions. I have noticed that when he does not understand me he shuts down. I have to keep that in mind sometimes when I feel him not responding. Is he being a LBI or is it unconfidence in what I'm trying to ask him to do. It is definately me and my actions and I know this!

Follow the Rail

Had a 2 hour session today because he needed it. I think the session went pretty good but our one issue was following the rail to the right at a trot. There were a couple of spots that he just couldn't stay on the rail. He would turn into the rail and head the other direction. I could not figure out what the problem was and it seemed to be left brained to me. At first I would keep him turning until we were going back on the rail in the same direction and then I tried the concept of "you want to go the left, me too, lets go faster". I thought being an introvent he would hate that. But, he flew to the left at a canter. It didn't bother him at all. Then when I asked him to slow, he did. Just perfectly, for him, I might add. Didn't seem right brained at all, hmmm, how interesting. Finally, he gave me a slow controlled trot for one lap, no exiting the rail, so I hopped off and called it a day. I'm always wondering if I did the right thing, and we'll see. The next time I ride, it should take less time, right? I'll keep you posted.