Just time for a session with Billy tonight. Filly is now getting out in a field for a few hours each day so I feel less pressure to entertain her every day !
Outdoor school for a change so preparation had to be very thorough on the zone 3 driving game following the rail. All went well until we got to the usual spooky corner where he jumped sideways into me and landed on my right foot "OUCH". He hit the end of the rope turned and approached the spooky spot with an inqusitive face. This was just as well as I was hanging on the fence trying not to swear. I am pleased to report that I never blamed or got angry with him. It wasn't his fault afterall, he was just frightened and I was in the way.
Next time round he snorted and moved sideways and carried on past. Next time he just ignored it.
The rest of the pre ride plan was going reasonably well. There was a sticky bit with doing the girth up. He kept moving backwards and this took sometime to correct. I tried several tactics including helping him go backwards further than he wanted to, or making him take two steps forwards for one back etc. Eventually we got an acceptable standstill, but not great. More work needed.
Mounting was very very challenging. Ritchie suggested I mount from the ground instead of the mounting block. Having got my foot in the stirrup and bounced round to face the front I started to stand up. He EXPLODED. Big bucking fit, the lot. A more energetic Billy than I had seen before. This surprised me as the Standstill during the plan was going very well, with me bumping into his side, swinging my leg up, bouncing up and down etc. Over the next ten minutes we had lots of excitement with several more bolts when I was half mounted. Fortunately I always managed to get off and land on my feet. I tried to stay on and bend him to a stop but failed each time.
Eventually I gave up on trying to actually mount and just concentrated on getting him happy with my leg being in the stirupp and me bouncing up and down. This was eventually achieved and I felt I had limited the damage done by the mounting attempts.
I still wanted to ride, so having got him relaxed and calm again went to the mounting block. It would have been easy to be out focussed by the previous events, but horses live in the moment. He was now standing very relaxed with his head down and eyes soft so I saw no reason not to ride. He willingly came over to the block and stood next to me in the mounting position. With such a clear invite I got on with no problems at all. Even the initial standstill was better than before. Follow the rail was the task again. He gave the spooky corner a wide birth the first time. I did not force the issue and as a result each lap got closer and closer until eventually we stopped and rested right in the corner. A few circles rounded of a good ride. I also made a point of getting off in the spooky spot and releasing the girth there. I want to make the spooky spot the sweet spot.
I won't be able to play for a while now. We have two days at the UK Parelli Celebration and then I have 6 days work, including 3 days in Hyderabad. Plenty of time to watch DVDs and read. Maybe the odd curry as well !!
Outdoor school for a change so preparation had to be very thorough on the zone 3 driving game following the rail. All went well until we got to the usual spooky corner where he jumped sideways into me and landed on my right foot "OUCH". He hit the end of the rope turned and approached the spooky spot with an inqusitive face. This was just as well as I was hanging on the fence trying not to swear. I am pleased to report that I never blamed or got angry with him. It wasn't his fault afterall, he was just frightened and I was in the way.
Next time round he snorted and moved sideways and carried on past. Next time he just ignored it.
The rest of the pre ride plan was going reasonably well. There was a sticky bit with doing the girth up. He kept moving backwards and this took sometime to correct. I tried several tactics including helping him go backwards further than he wanted to, or making him take two steps forwards for one back etc. Eventually we got an acceptable standstill, but not great. More work needed.
Mounting was very very challenging. Ritchie suggested I mount from the ground instead of the mounting block. Having got my foot in the stirrup and bounced round to face the front I started to stand up. He EXPLODED. Big bucking fit, the lot. A more energetic Billy than I had seen before. This surprised me as the Standstill during the plan was going very well, with me bumping into his side, swinging my leg up, bouncing up and down etc. Over the next ten minutes we had lots of excitement with several more bolts when I was half mounted. Fortunately I always managed to get off and land on my feet. I tried to stay on and bend him to a stop but failed each time.
Eventually I gave up on trying to actually mount and just concentrated on getting him happy with my leg being in the stirupp and me bouncing up and down. This was eventually achieved and I felt I had limited the damage done by the mounting attempts.
I still wanted to ride, so having got him relaxed and calm again went to the mounting block. It would have been easy to be out focussed by the previous events, but horses live in the moment. He was now standing very relaxed with his head down and eyes soft so I saw no reason not to ride. He willingly came over to the block and stood next to me in the mounting position. With such a clear invite I got on with no problems at all. Even the initial standstill was better than before. Follow the rail was the task again. He gave the spooky corner a wide birth the first time. I did not force the issue and as a result each lap got closer and closer until eventually we stopped and rested right in the corner. A few circles rounded of a good ride. I also made a point of getting off in the spooky spot and releasing the girth there. I want to make the spooky spot the sweet spot.
I won't be able to play for a while now. We have two days at the UK Parelli Celebration and then I have 6 days work, including 3 days in Hyderabad. Plenty of time to watch DVDs and read. Maybe the odd curry as well !!
2 comments:
Sounds like Billy got really right brain during mounting... Glad you both are ok!
Petra Christensen
Parelli 2Star Junior Instructor
Parelli Central
All better now thanks Petra. He was the most right brained I have seen him. Somewhat unexpected as his friendly game with me knocking into him was so relaxed. I could even nudge with my knee where my toe might knock as I mounted with no negative reaction at all. Chiro coming on Tuesday to check it is not a soreness issue when twisting his back as I load up one stirrup
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