Oh...oops...okay moving upwind now...lol

April 3

Chickadee
Our groundwork today was rather quick, as her owners were coming out to see her under-saddle and I wanted to have her saddled by the time they got there. We whipped through all her 7 games and the patterns - she was great and even improved over yesterday's session. Her owners got there just as I was saddling her, which was sort of neat because I was saddling her ground-tied and she stood still throughout the process (as usual), so they got to see that part as well. I wasn't quite sure what they wanted to see so I just went through everything we normally do under-saddle, but in a shortened format. We did walk-trot transitions along the rail, circles on the rail, etc. I think they were sort of starting to doubt me at this point; Chicka was spooking at the far end of the arena so I played a little touch-it under-saddle with her, having her walk up to the areas that were spooking her and putting her nose on them. She did it fairly easily, but her owners seemed like they were wondering what we were doing and whether it was her or me having control, haha. I explained the procedure to them before moving on to some stuff that would help them see better where she was at (by then she was pretty good about the far end of the arena). We did some trot and came down the center line weaving through the cones. I wasn't sure if she'd miss those cones or not because I could feel she was a little anxious, but she didn't which made sure we did look good haha. She looked great weaving through those cones at the trot. We also did some figure-8 at the walk and trot, showed her owners her back-up, and did some canter in either direction. They seemed very very pleased with her progress, which was great. She is doing very well, though today she was a little on edge so I was hoping she could accurately show them where she was at, which she did nicely. Over the next two weeks here I'd like to re-cement tarps, ropes around her rump, ropes being swung off of her, and get her leg aids down better than they are. Generally I'd just like to clean up what we have, ie. snappy downward transitions, clean corners, relaxed gaits, etc. She's doing great though and should go home in good order on the 19th :)


Link
Wow my favourite man was amazing today! When we entered the arena it was empty, so he was pretty uptight initially, spooking at everything and generally restless. I did not tie him and although he calmed down throughout the grooming process (so much damn winter hair! haha) he was still pretty restless. Doing our games though he slowly relaxed as we worked our way through them, but he still had that tendency to be RB. We tackled all other 6 games (which were great, most phase 1 or 2) before trying out the circling game and its associated patterns. I spoke to him a lot today, constantly saying 'easy' while he circled at the trot - it really really made all the difference today!! For the first time ever, we did the traveling circle at the trot, full 22', and he remained at the trot and relatively calm. He was a bit on edge, but never once tipped over that edge, which he usually does. We also did some transitions, which he started to pick up really well by the end, and we did some changes in direction; today he was anything but reactive. He was a little excited but held gait at the trot and was very responsive! We worked a little more on the driving game at this time too because he had the tendency a bit to just ignore me (out of disrespect, from what I could see); with a little work though he was soon hiding his hiney quite nicely and very quickly. When I asked him to disengage today, rather than disengaging and trying immediately to take off in the opposite direction, he was actually pretty calm (he looked like he wanted to take off, but didn't) and just walked up to me instead of taking off. The taking off is a manifestation of his feeling the need to continuously move his feet (flight), so it was great today to have him feeling like he did not have to move his feet so much. Next we took on the weave pattern - I really had to work uber hard to relax my body so that he wouldn't get RB and pick up speed on me. Once I learned to pay attention to myself and relax my body (I'd thought I was relaxed, but when I really evaluated myself I realised I wasn't completely relaxed - it was like I was trying to be relaxed but was poised to spring after him to correct him and him being so sensitive he definitely was picking that energy up), he really responded. He has a really long stride, so at the trot it was hard for me to stay super relaxed and still keep up haha but I figured out how to do it, and in doing so he also relaxed his trot so that I could keep up and he just naturally did the pattern well even when I fell behind, because I was allowing him to think rather than (inadvertently) pressuring him to be almost RB. The figure-8 he did perfectly at the trot...he was a little RB at first and even threw in some canter (!! haha) but he still did the pattern perfectly and then relaxed.

I've been really studying Cesar Millan (the Dog Whisperer on National Geographic), including reading his books - for awhile now, and have been finding a lot of it applicable to horses even!! One of the points was to not reward excitable energy, for example, you wouldn't put the leash on the dog until it's calm submissive, rather than excited dominant (for example). Excited submissive is a step down and is okay if it's part of the progress, but ultimately you do want calm submissive. Well with the horses then, and in particular then Link today, I didn't reward his RB behaviour by halting the pattern, even though he'd done it perfectly a few times already. Instead, I waited until he was calm and submissive before asking him to halt. It doesn't matter that he does it or not, it matters how he does it (which can affect whether he does it or not too). Pat I believe mentions this in his patterns dvd though, to not stop until you have the horse doing the pattern calmly. There's a lot more that I have found transferable from Millan's dog ideas to Parelli's horse ones.

When I originally brought Link in I had not planned on riding him, I did not think that I could get him LB enough to do any under-saddle work, as there was no other horses in the arena and he does not yet fully trust me as his leader. When we finished all our groundwork though he was great - he was very LB and I'd seen a drastic transition and a lot of thinking on his part from beginning to end of the ground session. He was a little ancy saddling, he kept his feet still after one correction but bobbed his head quite a bit, a manifestation of his anxiety. At that point actually someone came in to watch us a bit and so I wasn't sure how that would play in with Link's need for a herd - when she went to leave later would he be upset, or would he still see me as an adequate leader? We did all our level 1 patterns, walk-trot transitions, circles on the rail, figure-8, back-up. He did well at all of them and was much more responsive at our 3-part maneuver - particularly the bend to a stop!! His right side was hugely improved to the point where he wasn't moving his feet much and he was bending his neck with no resistance!! I was very proud to have him working as a partner with me. At that point the individual who had been watching us left, and Link's partnership with me did not change whatsoever. We did some point-to-point on short lines to relax him at the trot and work on our halts from the trot. His halts from the trot got better and better with each short line, to the point where I threw in some canter as well, on slightly longer lines. At first he was a little RB, wanting to take off and he felt like he might even buck, but by that point we'd already be at the halting point, so he'd have to halt. With a number of repeats he was giving me an actually pretty calm canter!! Still a ton of work to do, but I was very proud of him to get such a nice trot out of him after the point-to-point lines and to actually get a decent canter without his becoming too RB!!! All in all he was amazing today!! We finished with him completely LB.

The best part too was afterwards when I untacked him and he followed me about rather than pacing the fenceline. He paced a couple of times when I'd leave to take tack out to my car, but would immediately stop and remain LB when I returned!! Normally once he gets into his pacing pattern he doesn't stop for anything. It's like he gets into this unhealthy, unstable (mentally and emotionally) zone and cannot leave it for the world. So to see him pace, but still thinking while he did it, was amazing - and therefore to have him leave that pattern to follow me again was even better! He'd go from his grain bucket to follow me, then back to the grain bucket, then check out what I was doing, etc. A huge difference from some of our past sessions, it was great to see him so LB and thinking, and to see him working as a true partner with me. It was a fabulous feeling!!


Koolaid
His knee is still a little swollen, but there was less warmth there than yesterday, which is an improvement for sure. Full flexibility and no cracking noises or anything else unusual today!

When I was out checking in on Koolaid and Silver though I thought I could see out in the next field over (under different ownership), two cow bodies. So I went over and checked...the rest of the herd was a little ways off and I couldn't tell if they were pregnant or not, but there definitely wasn't a single calf on the ground out of say 12 or so cows that I could see (some were behind hills and such though). The cows I found were definitely pregnant. The first one had been torn apart a bit by coyotes, but she hadn't been dead for more than a day or so. The calf was still inside (very visible though thanks to the coyotes) :S I couldn't tell if he was breech or something, it was too hard to tell and I wasn't going to pick through everything with bare hands (lol). The second cow hadn't delivered either, and there wasn't a mark on her as far as coyotes go. She hadn't been dead for more than 15 minutes, maybe up to 30 but that's it; she still had foam around her mouth, she was still actively bleeding, etc. Her vulva seemed torn and she was definitely bleeding, but not enough to kill her...but perhaps there was more going on internally? I found it interesting that the second cow had chosen to lie (and later die) so close to this other dead cow... Also, I found it pretty maddening that these cows had died fruitlessly. Cows are expensive to lose, especially two, PLUS their calves! Where was the owner of these cows??? Why weren't they in? Why were they left to calve out in some field far away from any watchful eye?? Were these the only pregnant cows in the herd and so the owner did not value them or their calves?? I don't understand, but it's such a waste and it makes me angry that two cows suffered and died without someone even trying to save them or help them. To lose a cow or a calf despite every effort is one thing, but to lose one because you didn't (seem to) give a shit, is another. I'm not in that rancher's shoes so I cannot really judge - maybe the two calved earlier than the rancher had anticipated and so were not brought in yet, but it is still upsetting to find two cows and their calves in the shape they were, with no apparent care. My only recommendation is to stay upwind. Don't walk downwind of dead animals...like I did. Lol.

Link under-saddle!

April 2

Chickadee
Chicky seemed like she'd maybe slid a 1/4 step back today, but nothing serious, it just meant we had to work a little harder than usual. We worked quite a bit on achieving a higher level of respect, as she did not seem at first too keen on giving me all that much. We got some snappy transitions and changes in direction at the 7 games. Overall she was not as sensitive and was somewhat unfocused (she was quite concerned about what was outside that open arena door...but she ignored the other working horse -who was quite reactive much of the time - completely, which was great!). Her yo-yo was Phase 4 today (and HUGE Phase 4) when it is usually Phase 1 or 2 at most. Her porcupine was alright, but I had to use some driving game. Her driving game was great though. At the circling game she kept wanting to canter, but pretty soon she was doing the traveling circle at the trot. Changes in direction were a little rough on her right side (which is always her worst side anyways) but got better throughout the games and patterns. For the sideways game we had to use the wall - little more work to do in that area but we finished well. Her patterns were great after some initial mistakes!

By the time we got to her under-saddle work, the other horse and rider were gone, so Chickadee was even more distracted, but overall she did great! Her patterns were perfect, her transitions were okay (distracted), and we got quiet, comfortable w/t/c's in both directions. Her back-up was horrible though, she absolutely refused to back up, even though she normally does so in an instant when I so much as pick up a rein and ask with the lightest touch. It took a lot of work just to get two steps each time I asked! Afterwards we went for a bit of a walk around the yard outside, say 15 minutes. At one point she spooked at a tractor that roared up a ways behind her, but after a turn-and-face she was great. We walked through snow, huge mud puddles, slippery, sticky mud...etc and she was completely calm and great throughout.

It's probably too much to ask that she be where we left off after 6 days off like last time she had 6 off! I guess I can't be lucky every time. Haha. Oh well, a 1/4 step back is not much ;) we'll bring it back up by tomorrow hopefully :) On another note, she was great to catch today!


Link
Monkey walked up to me today on his own to come check me out ;P I did not tie him up either (I caught him after putting the yellow Dee away) and he was quite calm throughout, lead rope just looped over my arm. He was a little curious of everything (1 - part of his extroverted personality, and 2 - part of his being a young extroverted 5yo toddler) but for the most part remained still, even when I used the metal shedding blade on his winter coat (which he normally does not allow - I'd forgotten he didn't like it and had just automatically started using it before I remembered hehe). No pawing, no pacing, no bobbing his head, no anxious behaviour whatsoever, which was great!

We started out on the ground with our 7 games, which he breezed through with ease for the most part. Our first "game" was to do some switchbacks, just to establish communication (I wanted to show him I was calm and reliable, that we could communicate in a LB state of mind...after a few moments he relaxed with me and we got onto the same level of communication). I had to remain very calm and quiet and just walk my straight line while casually cueing him to continuously change direction. He did great though in the end! He was a little too right-brained to do the sideways game without the wall though. His yo-yo was much better than usual, Phase 3 (wiggling my forearm) - but a very very light Phase 3!! Normally he is at Phase 4 (wiggling my entire arm) - full-out (uber wiggling, lol), and he still stands with his head raised and body tensed; it's taken a lot of work, but he is getting there! His driving and porcupines both were phase 1 with 180-360 degree circles. Since it had been awhile since we'd last played, and even longer since just him and I had played all the games together, I started off the circling game with the 12'. This was the point where the other rider in the arena (different from the one working while Chicka and I were at play) told me I could borrow her longe line. Actually, no. Buuut thanks anyways. I put him on my 22' and we continued our circling game. He did tend to want to go RB and canter, but for the most part he was on an edge, like he wanted to stay LB but was teetering to falling of that edge and becoming RB. We started off slow, with short lengths of trot before I'd ask him to hide his hind and relax. A few times too when he took off into a run I stopped him but then had him move out immediately afterwards, keeping his mind busy. The thing that I felt had the largest affect on him today though was talking to him; I just kept repeating easy, easy, the entire time, and we actually got several laps (one+ at a time) in either direction, which is a lot of progress for him, particularly after 6 days off!

I talk to my horses a lot (usually) and do find it has an effect. Chickadee seems to always perk up and know she's done well when I tell her good job; they are able to read our tones of voices. I always knew it had an impact, but with Link it just really sank in because of the drastic difference it made with him. So that is my goal, to talk even more with the horses - with Link today I even added in the good job line (lol). I think the easy's cause him to relax because when he's on that verge of becoming RB, he's not paying so much attention to my body language anymore, he's tense and is becoming more and more "zoned" - the RB walls are approaching closer and closer until they're surrounding his vision like a tunnel and he stops thinking and seeing. So the voice is something that he doesn't have to see and notice himself - he automatically hears it and in it he hears relaxation, and so he follows that leadership a bit. The good job's seem to convey my happiness in their achievement, so that they know they've done well. We even ended up doing some successful changes in direction at the trot (usually cause him to become RB)!! We did do a few transitions (w/t) but did not attempt the traveling circle or spiraling today though - another day!

Our weave was a little sticky at first; usually I start Link off on the figure-8 to get him in a good frame of mind before moving on to the weave, which is more challenging for him to play than the figure-8, but today the other rider had her daughter riding the horse around the barrels I'd set up and I didn't feel like asking for the barrels back (lol). So we started with the weave! Doing the weave with my being on his left Link was fine, even at the trot, but my being on his right side was trickier for him (his right side is always the trouble spot on the circling game and under-saddle too). It took a number of runs (to which I got a hey look, he knows the pattern now! in a I-think-he's-done-that-pattern-enough-times voice from the other rider, haha) but we eventually got a more-or-less LB trot down the weave on his right side, which was great! If a pattern is boring a horse, it is definitely time to move on, however if it continues to teach a horse, then it is definitely okay to continue! Afterwards I decided to just use the cones for the figure-8 rather than steal the barrels back - besides, using the cones would have been more challenging. He was brilliant! At first he did not quite understand and was a little RB (manifested particularly on his right side by taking off when that side faced me), but once he figured out all we were doing was the figure-8 pattern he performed it perfectly, and at the trot!

He was doing so well and I was thinking I could handle the challenge today (or at least try it), so I tacked him up, leadrope looped over my arm again. He was actually very still to be saddled, though he did bob his head a bit in anxiety...so more work to do there ;P It took a few tries before his feet stopped moving when I tried to mount up, but he let me up in the end. We started out with our 3-part-maneuver; the latter 2 parts (turn on the hind, turn on the fore) were great but we had trouble bending his nose to my knee on the right side - he kept bracing against me and moving his feet. Finally I figured out though to a) ask softly - when he pulled his head away, follow him without trying to pull his nose back, then re-ask immediately and softly, and to b) accept small! By rewarding his slightest tries (rather than expecting the same response I was getting on his left side and only rewarding that), I actually got a lot more from him. I started by rewarding when he so much as bent his nose a little to the right (even if his feet were still moving) and kept asking for more until he was bending his nose to my knee easily and without a fight (just for a few seconds, but that was great progress for him!!). We worked on our under-saddle patterns - officially and all of them together for the first time ever: walk-trot transitions (if I talked to him calmly I was able to get longer LB trot), circles on the rail (extremely soft and responsive to my leg - these were a breeze for him!), changes in direction (same response as the small circles on the rail), and back-up (a bit of a challenge for him - whenever I asked he'd become anxious and try to paw, bob, and even brace a bit against me, but we got a few responsive and soft steps each time I asked). We also did the figure-8 pattern - he was a bit RB but still did it well...more repeats (ie. more sessions doing our the figure-8 under-saddle) will improve that area though. We did not do too much moving out otherwise, a little bit of trotting figure-8's and down a bit more of the long side of the arena than usual (usually I keep his trot lines pretty short) and he was great...a little RB and as a result I could feel his body tense the entire time and he even threw in one small, smooth buck (so smooth I'm not even so sure it was not just an extra-long trot stride hahaha) - part of his RB reaction to get me off so he is free to take off in flight should it be necessary, but otherwise he did fabulous! I think more repeat sessions will help calm him down and allow him to be relaxed under-saddle and particularly at the trot. Also, the woman with the other horse in the arena had taken over again (ie. kicked her daughter off the horse) and was yelling at this Appy (little sidenote: this Appy is 4yrs old and ridden by a 11yo or so girl...the horse doesn't even know what she's doing yet, how can you expect it to follow the direction of an 11yo, especially when said 11yo is unfocused and crying because her mom is yelling at her to take control of the horse...) while kicking her sides violently and making the horse turn tight circles (nooot a pretty picture...and then she was wondering why the horse kept biting at her and bucking). The horse herself was not really RB but the energy the woman was projecting (and all that yelling), had a huge effect on Link - he'd humped his back a few times in nervouseness before while we were trotting but had not bucked until the woman began yelling. Just as we were about to pass her on her horse (she was in the center but at one end of the arena), she really took the yelling and kicking a notch up and Link spooked a bit, throwing in that afore-mentioned buck to get rid of me in case the screaming predator taking down that Appy decided to take him down too! Lol. At that point I actually dismounted, which helped him go back to being mostly-LB once again. Once the woman dismounted (a good 5 min later), I remounted and we played another 5 minutes or so to end on a good note. We ended there and I led him out before the other horse could leave; as well as he was doing, he was still quite tense and on the verge of going RB and so I did not feel he was in the right frame to be working in the arena alone once the other horse left. We'll save that for another day when we are better prepared! Once our foundation is firmly cemented it will not be an issue whatsoever to work on our own.

It's been awhile since Link and I have done anything under-saddle, so I was proud of him for us having such a successful session with his working like a partner!! Overall he was quite tense both on the ground and under-saddle, but even so he did everything very well and I strongly feel repeat sessions (particularly if I can get him on a regular, daily schedule for a bit here once I am done practicum) will help him relax into a deeper LB state. In the mean time we'll keep progressing through those patterns to develop that partnership :) I'm keen on experiencing some of the liberty Link and I did this winter but I guess I'll have to wait a bit hehe.


Koolaid
His knee is still a little swollen, which worries me, but he maintains full flexibility, even after 3 days without physio (I was on practicum). When I did his physio today his knee cracked a couple of times and sounded a little "rough" as I initially picked it up of the ground, but he had no troubles flexing it and the joint itself felt really smooth as I did his physio, even from the very beginning. So, so far so good...hopefully that swelling (and a little heat) goes down soon here! My hope is that the weather is nice enough tomorrow to take his half-brother Silver out for a ride!!

Of coyotes and dogs

Today I had to jet off back to my EMT practicum and so only had time to work with the little yellow mare Chicka. I felt pretty bad for pulling the little Dee out of her pasture, as when I got out there today she was actually munching on some hay...she stood quietly for me while I worriedly and somewhat annoyedly (make new word up today: check) watched Aly (my dog) disappear to the size of a small black dot as she chased after a coyote (she actually nearly caught him too!), then also as I fiddled with the halter and finally got it on her head. No more halting and refusing to walk forward, either! Now she calmly follows behind without my applying any pressure to the lead.

We started out today with trotting the figure-8 and weave patterns, which she performed beautifully with minimal direction and only minor mistakes. We did some traveling circle, transitions and changes in direction - the latter being a little rough but successful all the same (practise makes perfect). Next we moved on to the games; her porcupine was pretty dull but we spiced it up with some driving game and brought it to some lighter phases. The rest of her games were done on the 22' as well and were pretty much your norm for the day. She was, as usual, very quiet to saddle up and mount up. Our 3-part maneuver was pretty clean until she spotted - from the corner of her eye - a white pickup truck drive past the open door. I don't think she actually got a good look at it, so just seeing the movement and hearing an unfamiliar noise had her distracted and wary of that end of the arena for nearly the entire session. As time passed she became quieter though and after getting a good look at the truck as it drove past in the opposite direction later, she was almost back to her normal self. Liiiitle jumpy but otherwise pretty much LB. We of course did the figure-8 pattern (trot and walk), at which she performed brilliantly - very soft on both sides. Next we tackled some walk along the rail just focusing on sticking to the rail, some trot, some small circles on the rail (alright), and lastly, some canter on the rail! She was pretty soft on the left rein and was very relaxed during her laps. Since she was still a little leery of the open-door-end-of-the-arena, she tended to cut corners there a little at first (I even was "lucky" - hehe - enough to experience some true cutting-horse-action as she cut the corner and also a barrel I had set up with the figure-8 pattern...her idea not mine haha) but after a lap she was moving into the corners fairly deep for me. The right rein is still not her strong side so we ended up doing about 4 laps in that direction - I wanted to wait to transition her down until she was relaxed and was not cutting corners. She also had the tendency to go extremely deep into one of the far corners and almost hit the wall today, despite by attempts to draw her down the long side of the arena (rather than straight...into the wall, lol)...I have full confidence that as she relaxes on the right rein at the canter though she'll balance herself better and be more responsive to my requests. So we'll keep at 'er!

She was going so well that I thought we'd venture a bit outside...after all I would like to get her out on the trails a number of times before she goes home. She's still a young horse and needs all the experience she can get. I wasn't sure if she was ready yet though, so at first we just stuck to the outdoor arena. There the ground was pretty hard so we mostly walked (few trot steps, but that was it, I did not want to stress her legs on that hard ground or risk her slipping and falling). There was also a lot of deep snow at either end of the arena, but especially at the far end - horse-knee deep; she never batted an eye when I asked her to go through it multiple times, all the while carrying me. She of course was interested in her surroundings and so was looking around curiously, but was 99 percent LB the entire time and was 99 percent focused entirely on what I was asking! The Dee would bend when I asked her to, change direction, do figure-8's, circle...whatever I asked, without qualm (and all within sight of other distractions, such as horses). Finally, I opened the arena gate off her back and we ventured outside and explored a bit of the yard together. Again she was very curious but calm and very responsive, even in new areas we had not yet explored together even on foot. I was not sure how she would be today and was a little leery of riding her outside in a rope hackamore (the Parelli one), but she blew me away. My rule is always: if I can't ride a horse in a hackamore (and preferably bridleless, but 30 or 60 days with a horse does not allow for all that much liberty work!), I have no business riding that horse in a bit. On the other hand, safety first, so if I can't ride that horse in a hackamore, I need to get off (and maybe stick to the arena first to build a stronger foundation). Buuut that is also why I proceeded with the outdoor arena first, as opposed to the fields nearby :) Even when she spooked at the truck in the arena, she still remained responsive and allowed me to bend her to a stop; afterwards she was tense but she remained pretty responsive and was not explosively reactive in the least. Her remaining responsive despite being afraid gave me confidence that outside the arena I could still maintain control. So next shot we'll do some outdoor ring riding again before perhaps (depending on the session) tackling some field riding! Wooohaa!

Lessons of the human variety

March 25

Well today was supposed to be lesson day but student numero uno (a family member) backed out so it was just a friend and I, the friend with Link and me working with Sonny. The quick run-down:

Link
The dark kid went well today, he tested his limits a bit with buddy but with the one-on-one session, my friend got a pretty high level of respect from him at all his 7 games (buddy even had him squeezing over a set of barrels!!) with the 22' line. I sent the two on the patterns before we returned to the games for the circling game and it's accompanying patterns. They started with the figure-8 at the trot (flawless) before moving on to the weave at the trot. Link missed a few cones initially but buddy kept trying with him until he got the weave at the trot. He's (buddy, that is) starting to learn to read Link better now too so that he's able to stop him and have him disengage when he's starting to get right-brained. Next they tackled the circling game, during which Link only went RB once; my friend immediately disengaged him and re-tried. For the most part, Link was very left-brained - the two got in both walk and trot as well as direction changes and even some traveling circle. A very productive session that challenged both horse and human and caused both to learn and grow.

Sonny
His 7 games went alright (he squeezed pretty nicely over the barrels as well after some initial hesitation) but he was much too RB during the circling game to work on anything - I could not even get him to disengage his hindquarters for me. He was in complete flight mode and as such, completely ignorant of anything I was attempting to tell him from the sidelines. His figure-8 was impossible so we did not even attempt the weave! An all-round black day for the kid, despite my repeated attempts to encourage him to relax through friendly game, rest breaks, rubs, etc. I think another day I could have done better with him too (perhaps approached it from another angle?), but I just was not into it today and so instead just turned him out again to be with his buddies. Maybe next time I'll be more into working through his challenges and hopefully next time he's not in such flight mode the entire time! Fingers crossed.

Chickadee
Today Chicka was pretty good to catch! She trotted up in my direction, stopped, whinnied (still not sure who the whinny was aimed at, no other horses had showed up or were in that particular line of sight...), then walked off. As I approached, she walked up towards me again before stopping, walking a few steps off, then stopping again and allowing me to approach. I rubbed her a moment and set about untangling the halter in front of her before even attempting to halter her without her so much as flicking an ear away or shifting her weight. She seemed content to be with me and even a little happy maybe...which is great!!! Our sessions are continuing to pay off :)

Started off the little Dee with the patterns, actually, the figure-8 being the first. She performed it flawlessly and completely LB and so we moved on to the weave...which she also did very well at. She was much more relaxed this time through and did it well at the trot. We did some transitions on the circling game (little rough but were good in the end), some changes in direction (good, though some additional sessions will help us maintain a trot throughout the direction change), some traveling circle (finally kept her down to the trot rather than cantering - she did very well in the end!) and just some general circling. She was pretty keen again to canter on the circling game and while I think it was a result of her needing to move her feet in flight pattern, she remained pretty LB for the most part, which was also a good sign. Next we tackled the rest of our 7 games, which went by pretty quickly and easily.

Saddling up Chicka I was able to do so with the 22' line lying on the ground. On previous occasions she would take a step or two while I did up the cinch, but I have been even more careful as far as taking my time doing it up and doing it up in phases (ie. do it up a little, move around a bit, do it up more) and also I have not been doing it up as tight as I usually do. This horse really has very little wither for the saddle to grip and so causes it to slide a bit if the cinch is not tight...which is fine if the horse is coming along great. If the rider's balance is good they do not usually have to worry much about the tightness of the girth (real story: I've ridden Silver, my Quarab, down a track in a full-out gallop with a very very loose, basically useless-loose, cinch - obviously not planned, but my balance was good enough to keep that saddle in place...I wouldn't recommend having a cinch as loose as I had it that day, but obviously the cinch does not have to be horse-cannot-breathe-tight). So long story short (or, made longer, in my case: make story longer than is necessary and in doing so cause people to fall asleep...check....aaand check), I was doing her cinch up a little tighter than normal because last thing I needed if she threw in a bucking spree (which does, by the way, usually indicate that I did not do my job properly and establish a strong enough foundation before getting up in that saddle, but everyone makes mistakes and sometimes horses need to be pushed a little within certain time constraints) was to have the saddle start slipping, which, especially in the beginning stages of our under-saddle work, would have only caused her to buck harder and longer. Sub-optimal for me. Suub-optimal. Anyways, since she has been going so well and as my fears of her spooking at a slipping saddle have been mostly alleviated, I've been doing the cinch up snug, getting on, then re-doing the cinch 10 or so minutes into our work - that way it's snug, but done up in even better phases, and comfortable. ANYWAYS. She was extremely quiet throughout, I never had to correct her once. We did our three-part maneuver, which is getting lighter and lighter each time. I got a couple 180 degree turns on the hind today even, on a very light rein. Leg aids are not yet her forte though so we did a bit of the cloverleaf pattern at the walk. We also did some stick-to-the-rail, figure-8 (MUCH lighter today, so amazingly light on both sides at both the walk and the trot), and weave (trot). She wanted to move off a little quick but was pretty much LB, I did not feel much RB at all and certainly no reactive-ness. We did some walk/trot/canter along the rail...she was anticipating canter a little so we ended up doing a lot of trot just to make sure she was paying attention and to try and ease her into relaxing and not trying to anticipate the canter. On the right rein (clockwise) she kept turning her nose in to the wall and I found I was trying to micro-manage her so I ended up instead bumping her nose a couple of times with my inside rein and asking for more impulsion and respect at the same time, which had her straightening out some. She tried the same at the canter, like she was going to turn in to the wall and use it as an excuse to stop, while humping her back up a bit...not sure if that was solely a respect issue or if it could also be a physical issue (ie. chiropractic or such) as well, but I'm leaning towards the former. She does not do it on the left rein and after I earned a little more respect she stopped doing it. We'll keep investigating though. On the left rein she was very fluid and relaxed, we got in two laps that were very very pleasant and on the rail the entire time. On the right rein she was a little rough yet, so we'll keep up the practise! Afterwards we had a quick cool-down and I turned her out...a great day for the little yellow horse :)