With the audition sent in I found that I mentally relaxed. As a result Filly and I started having more fun. It is annoying how preparing for a test can actually interfere with the very things that the test is actually about. In this case rapport. I hade become too focussed on getting that perfect sideways, circle, squeeze game etc, and had stopped being "childlike" and just playing.
Well the audition was submitted and I went back to the yard to play with Filly with no pressure on. The result was that as I was now more enthusiastic so was she. Suddenly all the above list I had been struggling with came easy. We have spent several happy days now doing all sorts of new things. To start with I felt that if she was putting some effort in so should I. I have taught her to transition to canter at Liberty just by simulating cantering myself. I would like to say that we do canter at "stick to me", but she is a race horse and I am not that fit. We have reached a compromise. She stays by my side for walk and trot, but does a larger circle for canter, coming back to me for trot. That way we both get a good run around !
I have also worked on her canter lead changes. To say that she is a natural is an understatement. She has never yet missed one front or back. They are acheived simply by asking for a change of circle at canter. The only fly in the ointment is that her expression is not great as she draws towards me. Other than that it is just a matter of me getting my timing right with the re-send in the opposite direction.
We played with a few fun things tonight at liberty. To give the various driving games a purpose I started to get her to do 360 degree turns whilst in front of me. Start by driving zone 1 and 2 around until the tail is facing then switching the stick hand ask for zone 4 to drive away to complete the circle. The first one worked really well, but then she got bored and wandered over to the rolling spot.
Not all is sweetness however. As we were leaving the school I aksed her to backup as I stepped backwards opening the gate. She was not very responsive to this and a difficult 10 minutes of remedial backing training at stick to me followed. My basic method was to walk with her between me and a wall, then start to backup. All the time I am twirling the rope end in my outside hand so that is is passing in front of her nose. This is in effect a sort of freindly game as I am not using the rope to ask her to do anything. As I backup, of course, the twirling rope gets closer and closer to her nose. If she fails to follow the suggestion to follow me back it eventually bumps her on the nose. There is a huge and important difference between this and me just hitting her on the nose with a rope if she fails to respond. The difference is choice. She knows the twirling rope is there and is coming towards her. It is her choice to stick her nose in the fan. If the rope came out of nowhere and hit her as a punishment then she has no choice and I have just done soemthing nasty too her. After a few goes at this her backup improved, but I continued to work on it until we got a few steps with impulsion. Going through the gate next time was much better.
I have received the results of the audition and Fillly and I have been given Level 2+/ Pre-Level 3 Online.
I will try to post the result form in all its gory detail when I can work out how to do it !
Well the audition was submitted and I went back to the yard to play with Filly with no pressure on. The result was that as I was now more enthusiastic so was she. Suddenly all the above list I had been struggling with came easy. We have spent several happy days now doing all sorts of new things. To start with I felt that if she was putting some effort in so should I. I have taught her to transition to canter at Liberty just by simulating cantering myself. I would like to say that we do canter at "stick to me", but she is a race horse and I am not that fit. We have reached a compromise. She stays by my side for walk and trot, but does a larger circle for canter, coming back to me for trot. That way we both get a good run around !
I have also worked on her canter lead changes. To say that she is a natural is an understatement. She has never yet missed one front or back. They are acheived simply by asking for a change of circle at canter. The only fly in the ointment is that her expression is not great as she draws towards me. Other than that it is just a matter of me getting my timing right with the re-send in the opposite direction.
We played with a few fun things tonight at liberty. To give the various driving games a purpose I started to get her to do 360 degree turns whilst in front of me. Start by driving zone 1 and 2 around until the tail is facing then switching the stick hand ask for zone 4 to drive away to complete the circle. The first one worked really well, but then she got bored and wandered over to the rolling spot.
Not all is sweetness however. As we were leaving the school I aksed her to backup as I stepped backwards opening the gate. She was not very responsive to this and a difficult 10 minutes of remedial backing training at stick to me followed. My basic method was to walk with her between me and a wall, then start to backup. All the time I am twirling the rope end in my outside hand so that is is passing in front of her nose. This is in effect a sort of freindly game as I am not using the rope to ask her to do anything. As I backup, of course, the twirling rope gets closer and closer to her nose. If she fails to follow the suggestion to follow me back it eventually bumps her on the nose. There is a huge and important difference between this and me just hitting her on the nose with a rope if she fails to respond. The difference is choice. She knows the twirling rope is there and is coming towards her. It is her choice to stick her nose in the fan. If the rope came out of nowhere and hit her as a punishment then she has no choice and I have just done soemthing nasty too her. After a few goes at this her backup improved, but I continued to work on it until we got a few steps with impulsion. Going through the gate next time was much better.
I have received the results of the audition and Fillly and I have been given Level 2+/ Pre-Level 3 Online.
I will try to post the result form in all its gory detail when I can work out how to do it !
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