For those of you who know me, I am not one to let a sleeping dog lie if they are not in a good spot. With the horses in general and maybe espeicially with Kat, letting the previous crappy workout go was just not in the cards. Yes we ended on a good note, but the overall workout was not a shining moment in the least. I did not want Kat to get a break after that and when we have time for another workout, reverting back to the last one he remembered and just slipping into "repeat" mode.
I wanted to erase as much of the 'bad workout' as I could from his mind and see what needed to change and salvage what I could of the good. In long lines he was going forward with enthusiasm, engagement, thrust and momentum to spare. With the cart and the change in bits- there was a lot lost and I needed to recover what I could. I went back to a ring snaffle, but this time the one I used has a slightly thicker mouthpiece. It is also a brand new bit.
With the new bit and back in long lines again, our workout went much better. It was not quite the same as we had before, but far better than the last workout which was, in one word- dreadful. Kat was a bit more responsive, I still need to work on softening him up on the left again and for me- letting him go, but I didn't have to take a hold of him and literally pull him around the turns. Our stops were good. Not great, but still good.
With this bit having smaller rings than the half cheek, I don't think the mouthpiece was low enough for Kat to be getting his tongue over it. It also wasn't loosely bumping and flapping around in his mouth that he would have to pick it up and hold it to be comfortable with the bit either. Then there's the matter of the mouthpiece and ring attachment and nothing he could have been getting pinched by either. When training your horse, these are all things you need to look at, consider and probably far more importantly understand. The horse is merely reacting to what is going on, what they feel and often are not able to tell you- other than by resisting or ignoring the cues. The last part of the article I linked to in the last post is this-
"Resistance in the mouth is the horse's only way of telling us that something is wrong somewhere. It is up to you to find out what. Only one thing is for certain: A more severe bit will make matters worse!"
If you did not read that article- I strongly suggest you do so now. Various bits and their effects For me not wanting to screw things up miserably, I have gone back to the simple loose ring snaffle. In speaking with Mikael about bits, one thing she mentioned that makes a lot of perfect sense (to me at least) was this-
"When people are giving you advice on what to do, what to use, how to fix something or whatever with YOUR horse, stop for a minute and ask yourself this. What do THEIR horses look like? How do THEY move/perform? Do you LIKE what you SEE?"
When you think about it, that is a pretty good measure of how much that person knows, how they apply it and what the results are. It applies to both riding and driving and horses in general, spans the breeds, disciplines and covers it all quite nicely. You can also carry it with you wherever you go, use it without anyone knowing and then decide for yourself, maybe more so for the sake of your horse- whether or not to consider what they told you or forget it and move on.
Granted now, some of us have developed an eye for what is correct and what is not. Some of us are still working on it, and others, well until it smacks them square in the face and the light bulb comes on- it just isn't happening and they are not going to see it. All things considered, that is one of the best things I have heard in a long, long time.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Whole lotta Huh???
As the readers here may know, Kat has been moving forward in training in such a bold way lately and I have been riding the wave of that excitement for the past couple of weeks. But then something I read caught my attention. It is an article on Carriagedriving.net, written by Heike Bean called Various bits and their effects. It cites information from Carol Lavell, John Lyons, Dr Deb Bennett and Ron Meredith. It is a good article and well worth the read. If anyone cannot get to it through the link, let me know. I will copy, paste and send it to you in an email.
In the article it is essentially stated that the use of a leverage bit, such as a curb bit, liverpool or such only gets two responses- slow or whoa. There is no way of getting any true lateral flexion by using a leverage bit. The non leverage bit- or snaffle bits are much nicer on the horses mouth and you can get lateral flexion as well as the standard flexion of the horse breaking over at the poll. Knowing I need to work on letting go with my hands, Kat getting his tongue over the bit and softening work... when I went out to work him last night I thought about all of this and decided I would change up the hardware.
I have been doing all of the long line work in his old harness. The harness saddle and the bridle with a loose ring snaffle. This bridle has no noseband, but instead it has an overcheck on it. Since these are not allowed in competition and taking it off would require either work or cutting it, I just set it as loose as it goes and snap it on the ring to keep it out of the way. His standard harness has no overcheck, but does have the noseband. I have been using either the butterfly bit or the pelham since the CDE back in March. Since he has been doing so well in the snaffle, I went with the half cheek snaffle. With not so good results.
Softening work at the walk seemed ok. I focused on ME and letting him go. Soft tugs or 'feathering' the reins to signal for turns and bending. Everything seemed fine until we started trotting. Kat seemed to build up, getting stronger and pick up speed going around to the left. My inside rein meant nothing unless I took a good strong hold and pulled. Hard. Not what I wanted to be doing to my pony or his mouth so we slowed things back down to a walk. Things seemed fine so we picked up a trot again. We were going the other direction and everything was normal. Or at least what has been normal for us. A few circles to the right and I asked for a serpentine.
Again he got incredibly strong on the left side, I found myself taking a hold of him again, and checking or half halting the right rein and then for a time he seemed ok. I let him move forward, I slowed him down by telling him 'easy' and we did our slow trot. We did a few up & down transitions, trot, stop, trot, stop- our halts were instant as usual and he stopped dead and square. A couple of times I had to pull on him and haul him to a stop, but then it was back to not having to do more than say the word whoa.
I really didn't like having to get after Kat like that. I feel bad for doing it, but if he was not responding, what do you do? Let him go cruising forward and smack into a fence? (Although he is smart and likely wouldn't do that, I hope, or at least wouldn't do it twice...) So I ended our workout with more walking and softening, bending, giving... working walk, extended walk on a loose rein, halt, walk, halt, walk... and all seemed good again.
I checked his mouth after removing the harness. No points or wolf teeth. Check. I lunged him beofre and watched him the whole time we worked- no lameness or soreness. Check. I checked his back afterwards. No soreness there. Check. So something is making him stiff or sore and he is ignoring me or resisting because of it. Check!
While feeding and filling waters, I texted a friend of mine. I knew as I described it, she may have some insight or answers, suggestions, tips and things to try if not a good solid explanation as to why, how or what the problem is. Bottom line- something is not right. He is resisting contact on the left, his butt is swinging out to the right as evidenced with dirt & grim on the inside of the shaft and something has got him evading contact.
While the bit is not too different, one of the factors about it is. The half cheek is a touch too wide and I noticed the one cheek is a bit loose in it's attachment. So we will again be backing up to the long lines and switching bridles and bits to find the golden combo that works for us. The right bit, the right amount of contact and the right responses. I hope it works because the ADT is the beginning of the month. The Grass Ridge CDE in Sonoita, has been cancelled due to family emergency so we are going to the ADT up north instead. I am a bit disappointed, I mean, I made my jacket, apron and a few other things... but we can still go compete at a different event and have fun.
Kat has been there before and it is at the same facility as last months Darby. Maybe this time he will get in the water while we are on course. Maybe... The person leading our Training Pony/Green Driver division has 8 points and has been to every event. We have only been to 2 and are sitting in 2nd with 4 points. There is another ADT in November after the horse show, so we will have to see how we do and where we end up. Either way- next year we will both be moving up to Training Pony division. There is more competition there and it is tough.
In the article it is essentially stated that the use of a leverage bit, such as a curb bit, liverpool or such only gets two responses- slow or whoa. There is no way of getting any true lateral flexion by using a leverage bit. The non leverage bit- or snaffle bits are much nicer on the horses mouth and you can get lateral flexion as well as the standard flexion of the horse breaking over at the poll. Knowing I need to work on letting go with my hands, Kat getting his tongue over the bit and softening work... when I went out to work him last night I thought about all of this and decided I would change up the hardware.
I have been doing all of the long line work in his old harness. The harness saddle and the bridle with a loose ring snaffle. This bridle has no noseband, but instead it has an overcheck on it. Since these are not allowed in competition and taking it off would require either work or cutting it, I just set it as loose as it goes and snap it on the ring to keep it out of the way. His standard harness has no overcheck, but does have the noseband. I have been using either the butterfly bit or the pelham since the CDE back in March. Since he has been doing so well in the snaffle, I went with the half cheek snaffle. With not so good results.
Softening work at the walk seemed ok. I focused on ME and letting him go. Soft tugs or 'feathering' the reins to signal for turns and bending. Everything seemed fine until we started trotting. Kat seemed to build up, getting stronger and pick up speed going around to the left. My inside rein meant nothing unless I took a good strong hold and pulled. Hard. Not what I wanted to be doing to my pony or his mouth so we slowed things back down to a walk. Things seemed fine so we picked up a trot again. We were going the other direction and everything was normal. Or at least what has been normal for us. A few circles to the right and I asked for a serpentine.
Again he got incredibly strong on the left side, I found myself taking a hold of him again, and checking or half halting the right rein and then for a time he seemed ok. I let him move forward, I slowed him down by telling him 'easy' and we did our slow trot. We did a few up & down transitions, trot, stop, trot, stop- our halts were instant as usual and he stopped dead and square. A couple of times I had to pull on him and haul him to a stop, but then it was back to not having to do more than say the word whoa.
I really didn't like having to get after Kat like that. I feel bad for doing it, but if he was not responding, what do you do? Let him go cruising forward and smack into a fence? (Although he is smart and likely wouldn't do that, I hope, or at least wouldn't do it twice...) So I ended our workout with more walking and softening, bending, giving... working walk, extended walk on a loose rein, halt, walk, halt, walk... and all seemed good again.
I checked his mouth after removing the harness. No points or wolf teeth. Check. I lunged him beofre and watched him the whole time we worked- no lameness or soreness. Check. I checked his back afterwards. No soreness there. Check. So something is making him stiff or sore and he is ignoring me or resisting because of it. Check!
While feeding and filling waters, I texted a friend of mine. I knew as I described it, she may have some insight or answers, suggestions, tips and things to try if not a good solid explanation as to why, how or what the problem is. Bottom line- something is not right. He is resisting contact on the left, his butt is swinging out to the right as evidenced with dirt & grim on the inside of the shaft and something has got him evading contact.
While the bit is not too different, one of the factors about it is. The half cheek is a touch too wide and I noticed the one cheek is a bit loose in it's attachment. So we will again be backing up to the long lines and switching bridles and bits to find the golden combo that works for us. The right bit, the right amount of contact and the right responses. I hope it works because the ADT is the beginning of the month. The Grass Ridge CDE in Sonoita, has been cancelled due to family emergency so we are going to the ADT up north instead. I am a bit disappointed, I mean, I made my jacket, apron and a few other things... but we can still go compete at a different event and have fun.
Kat has been there before and it is at the same facility as last months Darby. Maybe this time he will get in the water while we are on course. Maybe... The person leading our Training Pony/Green Driver division has 8 points and has been to every event. We have only been to 2 and are sitting in 2nd with 4 points. There is another ADT in November after the horse show, so we will have to see how we do and where we end up. Either way- next year we will both be moving up to Training Pony division. There is more competition there and it is tough.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Whooooaaaa!!!!
I had emailed my mentor from afar late last week and asked what I need to work on with Kat. It is like lessons by proxy, but it works for now. A friend of mine had commented on Kat getting his tongue over the bit. "He got his tongue over the bit, he can get it back under it. Sometimes they are just looking for release."
Which makes sense since I know I can tend to hold onto him at times when I need to let him go. I am used to riding with contact. So I know needed to work on letting him go and I needed to work on softening, he was refusing to give to the left... These aren't things that will take a long time to fix or work on so I asked what else I should do with Kat?
"Circles, serpentines, up & down transitions, ENGAGEMENT and several other things I probably forgot to mention. Focus on dressage, it is important!" All of which are softening and engagement excersises. And since there was water- why not work IN it?
As much as I dislike draw reins, they can be useful at times. I attached the shorter lines for ground driving and used my lunge line as a draw rein. The draw rein is held a touch looser than the direct rein. It is merely a backup and hardly used. I ended up switching it over to the right side for a little bit too before taking it off to concentrate on other work. We did our up & downs, we did a lot of circles and since we were working in a smaller area, the serpentines weren't really an option.
I have to say though, Kat LOOKED every bit of a big horse, moving perfectly on a semi loose rein and ROCKIN' IT. He was also trotting through the water with no hesitation at all. In fact- he was Plowing into and through the water like it was nobody's business. He looked like this horse only with his usual Katman markings and he was right on the vertical-
(photo is from Maverick Sporthorses and is a Holsteiner mare they have named Gradina. I think she is gorgeous and a lovely mover!)
Those up & downs? They help with the engagement of the rear end, lighten the front end and can help make a horse that is built slightly downhill, appear to travel a bit more uphill. The up & downs worked so well in fact, that a couple of times I had Kat trotting and asked for a stop. He planted his ass and stopped so hard he slid a good 3-5 feet like a reiner. Then he looked at me like "Holy Crap! Did you see me do that? That was COOL!" It was cool, but I think it would be heavily frowned upon in the dressage ring.
Last night I went out to work him again. I have kept the old crappy harness in the trailer for long lining and so I can work him without lugging the big box with the good harness back and forth. I figured I would just use it again and put Kat to the cart with it. We did it before the good harness, what's one last hurrah? Man is that thing CRAP!
I was going to toss it once we got the new harness, but I was advised to hang onto it. It is good for getting a horse (small pony) started without trashing your good harness. Which makes sense and all, but after last night- I will not be using it to put anything to a cart again. I had to make a few adjustments, which is not a big deal, but it was not as good as using the new harness, which I have had a little over a year now. I will keep it, but the most use it will see is the bridle and harness saddle for long line and ground driving work.
We strarted out in the back pasture and did a few circles and I let Kat loosen up at the walk. We went both directions and headed out into the big pasture with the cows. They were up front so we had the back section to ourselves. I pushed him into a trot and we did some circles, a few serpentines and then a few up and downs. I kept trying to focus on my hands and remember to let him go. Trust him and let him do the work. Old habits can be hard to break and it's not like you can just push the 'Reset' button on some things.
After doing a couple of trot/stop/trot/stop sets, I stopped Kat and he was fidgety. He didn't want to stop and he didn't want to stand still. I tried backing him up a couple of steps and found out our Reverse gear failed. The harness didn't help and rather than screw with it and make an issue out of backing up, I let him walk forward. Our up & downs now had walking mixed in a bit more to relax my pony before he became hot. The cows migrated to the west corner of the field and we worked in the east end.
As we finished up I let Kat play and have some fun. He hadn't shown any soreness in his work so I pushed him for a little more. I began kissing to him and we picked up a very fast trot. We were circling to the right and I kept kissing to him urging him on. Finally he picked up a canter, but only held it for a few strides. All along I have scolded him for cantering with the cart. Now I praised him.
He dropped back to a trot, but soon picked up a canter again, right lead and all, head up and elevated, the shafts seemed to bounce up and down with him each stride, but he cantered on. We made about one lap around like that and he eased down to a swift trot. Since we did it going to the right, now we had to do it going to the left. We changed directions and this time it was a little easier to get him into the canter since he understood that I was asking for it. A few kisses each stride and he picked up the left lead and cantered on. The shafts bounced up and down, I let him know what a good boy he is and we made a lap and a half around before we eased back down to a trot, then a walk and finished up there. He seemed to enjoy it, but he was getting tired.
Now that he knows when I want him to canter, how I will ask for it, we can throw out the milk bottles, make up a course and play some more. He will probably get a bit too excited about that.
Which makes sense since I know I can tend to hold onto him at times when I need to let him go. I am used to riding with contact. So I know needed to work on letting him go and I needed to work on softening, he was refusing to give to the left... These aren't things that will take a long time to fix or work on so I asked what else I should do with Kat?
"Circles, serpentines, up & down transitions, ENGAGEMENT and several other things I probably forgot to mention. Focus on dressage, it is important!" All of which are softening and engagement excersises. And since there was water- why not work IN it?
As much as I dislike draw reins, they can be useful at times. I attached the shorter lines for ground driving and used my lunge line as a draw rein. The draw rein is held a touch looser than the direct rein. It is merely a backup and hardly used. I ended up switching it over to the right side for a little bit too before taking it off to concentrate on other work. We did our up & downs, we did a lot of circles and since we were working in a smaller area, the serpentines weren't really an option.
I have to say though, Kat LOOKED every bit of a big horse, moving perfectly on a semi loose rein and ROCKIN' IT. He was also trotting through the water with no hesitation at all. In fact- he was Plowing into and through the water like it was nobody's business. He looked like this horse only with his usual Katman markings and he was right on the vertical-
(photo is from Maverick Sporthorses and is a Holsteiner mare they have named Gradina. I think she is gorgeous and a lovely mover!)
Those up & downs? They help with the engagement of the rear end, lighten the front end and can help make a horse that is built slightly downhill, appear to travel a bit more uphill. The up & downs worked so well in fact, that a couple of times I had Kat trotting and asked for a stop. He planted his ass and stopped so hard he slid a good 3-5 feet like a reiner. Then he looked at me like "Holy Crap! Did you see me do that? That was COOL!" It was cool, but I think it would be heavily frowned upon in the dressage ring.
Last night I went out to work him again. I have kept the old crappy harness in the trailer for long lining and so I can work him without lugging the big box with the good harness back and forth. I figured I would just use it again and put Kat to the cart with it. We did it before the good harness, what's one last hurrah? Man is that thing CRAP!
I was going to toss it once we got the new harness, but I was advised to hang onto it. It is good for getting a horse (small pony) started without trashing your good harness. Which makes sense and all, but after last night- I will not be using it to put anything to a cart again. I had to make a few adjustments, which is not a big deal, but it was not as good as using the new harness, which I have had a little over a year now. I will keep it, but the most use it will see is the bridle and harness saddle for long line and ground driving work.
We strarted out in the back pasture and did a few circles and I let Kat loosen up at the walk. We went both directions and headed out into the big pasture with the cows. They were up front so we had the back section to ourselves. I pushed him into a trot and we did some circles, a few serpentines and then a few up and downs. I kept trying to focus on my hands and remember to let him go. Trust him and let him do the work. Old habits can be hard to break and it's not like you can just push the 'Reset' button on some things.
After doing a couple of trot/stop/trot/stop sets, I stopped Kat and he was fidgety. He didn't want to stop and he didn't want to stand still. I tried backing him up a couple of steps and found out our Reverse gear failed. The harness didn't help and rather than screw with it and make an issue out of backing up, I let him walk forward. Our up & downs now had walking mixed in a bit more to relax my pony before he became hot. The cows migrated to the west corner of the field and we worked in the east end.
As we finished up I let Kat play and have some fun. He hadn't shown any soreness in his work so I pushed him for a little more. I began kissing to him and we picked up a very fast trot. We were circling to the right and I kept kissing to him urging him on. Finally he picked up a canter, but only held it for a few strides. All along I have scolded him for cantering with the cart. Now I praised him.
He dropped back to a trot, but soon picked up a canter again, right lead and all, head up and elevated, the shafts seemed to bounce up and down with him each stride, but he cantered on. We made about one lap around like that and he eased down to a swift trot. Since we did it going to the right, now we had to do it going to the left. We changed directions and this time it was a little easier to get him into the canter since he understood that I was asking for it. A few kisses each stride and he picked up the left lead and cantered on. The shafts bounced up and down, I let him know what a good boy he is and we made a lap and a half around before we eased back down to a trot, then a walk and finished up there. He seemed to enjoy it, but he was getting tired.
Now that he knows when I want him to canter, how I will ask for it, we can throw out the milk bottles, make up a course and play some more. He will probably get a bit too excited about that.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Water????
Oh yeah! We were in it!
Yesterday we irrigated. So last night I threw on my pajama pants and muck boots, grabbed the harness and headed out! Of course I long lined him first. He got a little squirrelly on me but soon figured out he wasn't getting out of it so he may as well get into it and in he went. I let him put his head down to sniff/drink the water and wouldn't you know it, he finds the grass sticking out and starts snarfin it up. Um, not what we are doing little man. Get to work...
A few circles around in the water, out one gate, around the 3 stalls and back in the other gate, into the water from another angle, no muss no fuss- let's go get the cart!
I put him to and we headed back into the water for a few more rounds of in and out. He was even trotting into the water. YAY! Progress!
I stopped him and grabbed my cell phone out of my back pocket to get a shot of this. We are facing the two gates and the 3 stalls. I can come in either gate, loop around and line up to go out the other one and we did this a few times.
Here we are coming up out of the one gate on the left in the first picture. A little blurry, but hey, what do you expect from cell phone cameras on the move?
Heading along the front of the 3 stalls. Did I mention the three mares in these stalls? He doesn't even bother to give them the time of day when he is in harness. Nope it's work time, not play time.
To give everyone an idea of what it is like, I went back to my one handed rein holding and put the whip down to get this- The constant clucking is to get him to move and maybe trot. Without the whip to tap him for encouragement, I did manage to get a few strides of trotting into the water, but that was it. I couldn't manage the whip and cell phone at the same time. The reins? That wasn't perfect either.
As an added bonus, something you cannot see at the beginning of the video as we are approaching the gate and reach it- we pass by the stall of my WB mare on the left. She despises and loathes Kat for some reason. Absolutely hates his very existance and charged the fence at him (ears pinned, teeth bared of course!) as we went by. You can see his reaction- or lack of. I luv my pony!
Yesterday we irrigated. So last night I threw on my pajama pants and muck boots, grabbed the harness and headed out! Of course I long lined him first. He got a little squirrelly on me but soon figured out he wasn't getting out of it so he may as well get into it and in he went. I let him put his head down to sniff/drink the water and wouldn't you know it, he finds the grass sticking out and starts snarfin it up. Um, not what we are doing little man. Get to work...
A few circles around in the water, out one gate, around the 3 stalls and back in the other gate, into the water from another angle, no muss no fuss- let's go get the cart!
I put him to and we headed back into the water for a few more rounds of in and out. He was even trotting into the water. YAY! Progress!
I stopped him and grabbed my cell phone out of my back pocket to get a shot of this. We are facing the two gates and the 3 stalls. I can come in either gate, loop around and line up to go out the other one and we did this a few times.
Here we are coming up out of the one gate on the left in the first picture. A little blurry, but hey, what do you expect from cell phone cameras on the move?
Heading along the front of the 3 stalls. Did I mention the three mares in these stalls? He doesn't even bother to give them the time of day when he is in harness. Nope it's work time, not play time.
To give everyone an idea of what it is like, I went back to my one handed rein holding and put the whip down to get this- The constant clucking is to get him to move and maybe trot. Without the whip to tap him for encouragement, I did manage to get a few strides of trotting into the water, but that was it. I couldn't manage the whip and cell phone at the same time. The reins? That wasn't perfect either.
As an added bonus, something you cannot see at the beginning of the video as we are approaching the gate and reach it- we pass by the stall of my WB mare on the left. She despises and loathes Kat for some reason. Absolutely hates his very existance and charged the fence at him (ears pinned, teeth bared of course!) as we went by. You can see his reaction- or lack of. I luv my pony!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Wahoo!
So this is the 100th post on this blog. Considering I started it about driving Kat and training him for the sport and all, how far we have come in a year and now the 100th post. Looks like everything has come a long way since the beginning. Doesn't seem like it has been that long either.
A few things about the Darby. Before we headed out from the hotel we had already been busy. We had breakfast in the lobby and I headed back to the room to get organized, packed, loaded up and we would be on our way. Although we had put up the privacy thing on the door, we had a visitor in our room. No big deal, I could work around that.
I got everything ready to go and about then hubs came back to help get everything in the truck. I showed him our visitor and snapped a couple of pictures. There was a small lizard on the floor of our room. He was on my side of the bed, right in front of the nightstand. Both of us decided he needed to go outside before we left and the cleaning crew came in. We didn't want the little guy/girl sprayed, squashed or harmed. So we set out to wrangle a lizard. And the lizard didn't want to cooperate!
JR tried to herd the lizard towards the door. The lizard ran towards the wall, but moved sorta that way. Then the lizard spotted my boots and came back away from the front wall and seemed to hide by my boots. JR had tried to pick the lizard up on a brochure or something but the lizard didn't stay on it long enough to get to the door. When it stopped by my boots, I decided to try. I reached down and cupped my hands around the lizard. It crawled up on my hand and I made my way to the door.
I managed to get outside and one more pic before setting the lizard on the ground and sending him/her on his/her way. Cute huh? JR had a hard time keeping it on the brochure because little things like this move very fast. Once on the ground, the lizard took off to freedom. I thought of blogger Mikey and some of her adventures. All I could think was- Only in Arizona...
After the Darby we had the pleasure of sticking around to play in the water hazard. Since Kat had been in without the cart, now he needed to go in WITH the cart. Wouldn't you know it, as we headed down off he hill to the water hazard- the wind kicked up, the clouds started blowing in, it became overcast and rain was looming. The wind was blowing across the top of the water and making ripples. Kat thought he was doomed for sure.
He was hesitant and resisted, put up a decent fight of "Oh Hell NO!" but in the end...
I L-O-V-E his walk as he goes into the water.
We went through a couple of more times and even still, unless we went straight in at the shallow end this is what happened-
Unless we were aimed right at it at the wide shallow spot, Kat refused. He was beginning to rear a little and backing up a few steps here and there. Neither is allowed so I had to correct him and drive him forward, using the whip as needed. He got the point and we went through a few more times before calling it good and taking him back to the trailer. As I was un hooking and untacking him, the rain came and started to cool things off.
Over the weekend Kat and I started working. We both need to get into shape before the CDE in Sonoita at Grass Ridge. He was whipping around on the lunge line like a crazy man and working like nobody's business. I got a few pics of him afterwards and I have to say- I am lovin' my pony.
My camera angle wasn't so good here.
A few things about the Darby. Before we headed out from the hotel we had already been busy. We had breakfast in the lobby and I headed back to the room to get organized, packed, loaded up and we would be on our way. Although we had put up the privacy thing on the door, we had a visitor in our room. No big deal, I could work around that.
I got everything ready to go and about then hubs came back to help get everything in the truck. I showed him our visitor and snapped a couple of pictures. There was a small lizard on the floor of our room. He was on my side of the bed, right in front of the nightstand. Both of us decided he needed to go outside before we left and the cleaning crew came in. We didn't want the little guy/girl sprayed, squashed or harmed. So we set out to wrangle a lizard. And the lizard didn't want to cooperate!
JR tried to herd the lizard towards the door. The lizard ran towards the wall, but moved sorta that way. Then the lizard spotted my boots and came back away from the front wall and seemed to hide by my boots. JR had tried to pick the lizard up on a brochure or something but the lizard didn't stay on it long enough to get to the door. When it stopped by my boots, I decided to try. I reached down and cupped my hands around the lizard. It crawled up on my hand and I made my way to the door.
I managed to get outside and one more pic before setting the lizard on the ground and sending him/her on his/her way. Cute huh? JR had a hard time keeping it on the brochure because little things like this move very fast. Once on the ground, the lizard took off to freedom. I thought of blogger Mikey and some of her adventures. All I could think was- Only in Arizona...
After the Darby we had the pleasure of sticking around to play in the water hazard. Since Kat had been in without the cart, now he needed to go in WITH the cart. Wouldn't you know it, as we headed down off he hill to the water hazard- the wind kicked up, the clouds started blowing in, it became overcast and rain was looming. The wind was blowing across the top of the water and making ripples. Kat thought he was doomed for sure.
He was hesitant and resisted, put up a decent fight of "Oh Hell NO!" but in the end...
I L-O-V-E his walk as he goes into the water.
We went through a couple of more times and even still, unless we went straight in at the shallow end this is what happened-
Unless we were aimed right at it at the wide shallow spot, Kat refused. He was beginning to rear a little and backing up a few steps here and there. Neither is allowed so I had to correct him and drive him forward, using the whip as needed. He got the point and we went through a few more times before calling it good and taking him back to the trailer. As I was un hooking and untacking him, the rain came and started to cool things off.
Over the weekend Kat and I started working. We both need to get into shape before the CDE in Sonoita at Grass Ridge. He was whipping around on the lunge line like a crazy man and working like nobody's business. I got a few pics of him afterwards and I have to say- I am lovin' my pony.
My camera angle wasn't so good here.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Darby time!
First off we have the course map. Which doesn't want to load because it is a pdf file and beyond my blogger capabilites of translation or ??? that needs to be done to make it happen. If anything changes- You will see the map here instead of a lengthy description of what it was.
Enter the Start/Finish gate where your time starts when the horses nose crosses the line. Head straight for a line of cones 1, 2, 3 & 4. Right turn to go through 1, sharp left to come around to 2, sharp right to come around through 3, sharp left again to go through 4 heading away from 5 so a hard right to get back around to go through an opening into Fort Atonna and look for gates A, B & C.
Here we are coming off A and circling around to get to B. I don't know if anyone else went this way during the day or not. The beauty of hazards and obstacles- you get to choose your own course. As long as you are going through the gates in the right order, the right direction, how you get to them is up to you.
Heading into A there is a big pile of tree branches/small logs stacked up in a diamond shaped pile, and Kat sorta spooked at it. He took a couple of hesitant steps off to one side or another, but hearing me urging him on and forward, got over it and went right on past without another look.
Through the three gates and off to the second set of cones... 7, 8, 9 and 10 were set up sort of as a square. If you could manage going through 7 and pull a sharp leftt to go through 8 (we did) then cool. Otherwise you looped around to the right to line up for 8 which the bigger horses pretty much had to do. Go through 8 and loop around to the left for 9, back around to the left to line up for 10- be careful not to knock down any cones...
Although it looks wide, (horses and ponies have one setting, mini's another) it is still pretty easy to take out a cone or bump it hard enough to knock balls down. 10 second penalty for each ball down. Thankfully we were clean! Last year- 1 ball down.
After going through 10 you are headed back to the water hazard. Gates A & B don't require going through the water, but to get to C quickly- you cut through the water. Although Kat had gone in the water on Saturday in long lines, adding the cart and two passengers- whole 'nuther story. Nuh uh, not today! He pretty much planted his feet and said "Not happening!" After two attempts and a lot of urging, we ditched that thought and went around.
You can see the cement in front of the mermaid statue. Those red PVC poles protecting her? Kat took them out on Saturday, trying not to get his feet wet. They are designed to come apart to prevent a bigger wreck. We were not the only entry to go around the water instead of through it. The horses a few of the minis and Kat, had other ideas that day and water was not included.
Once we went through C we headed off to the other side of the property for hazard 12, more cones and hazard 18. Going through A, B & C on the hazards, you can go back through a gate to get out, which in this case would line you up for a straight shot at cone 13. In a Darby, the hazards, once you go through a gate it is now 'dead' and you can go back through it to get to another. Cones are never dead. Cutting through a set of cones to get to something else- elimination!
Straight through 13, loop around left to get to 14, right around 13 and loop to get to 15, another loop around to the right and past 16, hard right to come back through it, sharp right loop to get back around and go through 17, line up to go through the poles of 'Paulden Forest' for A, around a pallet box to go through B and straight out through the 'forest' again through C and back to the other side of the property...
The cones for 19 and 20 were right by the start finish gate. 19 was headed away from them while 20 was headed back the same direction as the finish gate, but further away from it. We wound our way through both of them and through the finish gate. Kat was a bit pooped and had slowed to a walk a few times on the course. Having too much time off didn't do him any favors in the fitness department. Looks like we will both be working on that before the CDE in October. At least we have some time to ease into it.
Enter the Start/Finish gate where your time starts when the horses nose crosses the line. Head straight for a line of cones 1, 2, 3 & 4. Right turn to go through 1, sharp left to come around to 2, sharp right to come around through 3, sharp left again to go through 4 heading away from 5 so a hard right to get back around to go through an opening into Fort Atonna and look for gates A, B & C.
Here we are coming off A and circling around to get to B. I don't know if anyone else went this way during the day or not. The beauty of hazards and obstacles- you get to choose your own course. As long as you are going through the gates in the right order, the right direction, how you get to them is up to you.
Heading into A there is a big pile of tree branches/small logs stacked up in a diamond shaped pile, and Kat sorta spooked at it. He took a couple of hesitant steps off to one side or another, but hearing me urging him on and forward, got over it and went right on past without another look.
Through the three gates and off to the second set of cones... 7, 8, 9 and 10 were set up sort of as a square. If you could manage going through 7 and pull a sharp leftt to go through 8 (we did) then cool. Otherwise you looped around to the right to line up for 8 which the bigger horses pretty much had to do. Go through 8 and loop around to the left for 9, back around to the left to line up for 10- be careful not to knock down any cones...
Although it looks wide, (horses and ponies have one setting, mini's another) it is still pretty easy to take out a cone or bump it hard enough to knock balls down. 10 second penalty for each ball down. Thankfully we were clean! Last year- 1 ball down.
After going through 10 you are headed back to the water hazard. Gates A & B don't require going through the water, but to get to C quickly- you cut through the water. Although Kat had gone in the water on Saturday in long lines, adding the cart and two passengers- whole 'nuther story. Nuh uh, not today! He pretty much planted his feet and said "Not happening!" After two attempts and a lot of urging, we ditched that thought and went around.
You can see the cement in front of the mermaid statue. Those red PVC poles protecting her? Kat took them out on Saturday, trying not to get his feet wet. They are designed to come apart to prevent a bigger wreck. We were not the only entry to go around the water instead of through it. The horses a few of the minis and Kat, had other ideas that day and water was not included.
Once we went through C we headed off to the other side of the property for hazard 12, more cones and hazard 18. Going through A, B & C on the hazards, you can go back through a gate to get out, which in this case would line you up for a straight shot at cone 13. In a Darby, the hazards, once you go through a gate it is now 'dead' and you can go back through it to get to another. Cones are never dead. Cutting through a set of cones to get to something else- elimination!
Straight through 13, loop around left to get to 14, right around 13 and loop to get to 15, another loop around to the right and past 16, hard right to come back through it, sharp right loop to get back around and go through 17, line up to go through the poles of 'Paulden Forest' for A, around a pallet box to go through B and straight out through the 'forest' again through C and back to the other side of the property...
The cones for 19 and 20 were right by the start finish gate. 19 was headed away from them while 20 was headed back the same direction as the finish gate, but further away from it. We wound our way through both of them and through the finish gate. Kat was a bit pooped and had slowed to a walk a few times on the course. Having too much time off didn't do him any favors in the fitness department. Looks like we will both be working on that before the CDE in October. At least we have some time to ease into it.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Splish, Splash!
Anyone who has been following this blog knows the Darby last year was Kat's debut event in harness. To think this past year has already gone by is kinda crazy, but it has been Fun! The weather in Northern AZ is cooler, but not by much in some areas. It was averaging around 100 degrees and I still get sunburned but at least it wasn't 110 or more as it was in the valley of the sun over the weekend.
We arrived in Paulden early in the afternoon. The course had been set up on Friday and was open for walking. The dressage arena is always there for use and there were also several cones out there, but I had different plans. I had brought my long lines and was going to try to get Kat in the water, without the cart.
The last time we went to Paulden for the Darby, I had taken Kat in the water on the end of a lead line. I went in with him, we went in the shallow end and he took very little coaxing to follow. This time it was time to step it up a few notches. He would be wearing part of the harness and would need to go in on his own. Time for Kat to grow up and start acting like a big boy.
My paparazzi was a bit distracted so we didn't get any pics. I was trying to drive Kat forward into the water, but had forgotten my whip in the truck or my 'accelerator' as Gary later called it. I had the lines run through the tugs on the surcingle and Kat was being responsive, but at the same time, he was having none of it on this whole idea of getting IN the water. Gawd forbid he get his feet wet...
We tried walking back and forth past it, then turning sharply and directly into it as hubby suggested. That wasn't working too well for us and Kat was trying his best to evade the water and succeeding. We tried on the shallow end, the sides and the deep end and little man was having no part of it.
I finally dropped the lines and went to his head. I had led him in last year to start, I would lead him in again if that's what it took. Kat trusts me and will usually go willingly wherever I lead him. He still resisted a bit, but eventually he got in the water with me. Of course he took a few hesitant and unsure steps that resulted in a bit of a leap and him bumping into me, but I stayed on my feet and we were both IN the water. We also happened to be near the deep end. Not so good on the planning on my part, but at least we got there.
Now that Kat was in the water, you would think getting him back in would be a piece of cake. Nope! Leading him in, he had me as a security blanket of sorts. With me behind him driving him forward into what was surely the abyss- he didn't want to go. He balked, he tried going left, he tried going right, he tried to escape every way he knew how. Every time, every turn, I used the reins to block the intended exit route. I kept clucking, kissing and talking to my pony and still he did not want to go forward.
Mary Jane and her horse Mack were on the course with Gary as a navigator. They drove past us, into the water without a flaw as Kat stood on the banks and watched. He could care less if the horse went in, he wasn't about to budge. After unhooking Gary came back down the hill and helped. First thing he asked- "Where's your whip?"
As it was, and I noticed this early on, a few times as Kat started to go forward and as I used the line to slap his butt and push him forward, he also got a tug on the bit and it translated into "Go forward, but no don't." This is why the whip was essential in giving clear, concise commands without adding any extra confusion. Gary also told me to shorten up my lines and keep my hands closer together. Something I noticed in the pictures I don't always do.
After a few unsuccessful attempts to get Kat back in the water, Gary took hold of the nearest rein and coaxed him along. He was the new security blanket and although Gary never went in the water, he got Kat in there. Once Kat was back in the water, I kept him there. I circled him around to the left and to the right. Stopped him in the middle and patted & praised him. Kat relaxed enough to drop his head and drink while he was standing there. The water was deeper this year and had filled my boots as I stood there next to my pony.
After that I took him out the shallow end, turned him around and headed him right back in. He hesitated a little but dropped his head and slowly walked into the water again. We went in and out of the water a few more times before Gary had to leave. By then, we had gone in and out at both the shallow and deeper ends of the water. Kat was relaxed and comfortable about doing it. Was he happy about it? Maybe, maybe not, but he was still going in and out of the water.
After that I took Kat out to a big open area and let him trot and blow off some steam. He had plenty of energy and enjoyed stretching his legs and getting it out of his system. After a few minutes of working both directions and Kat being more relaxed- we headed back to the water. We went in and out a few more times. A couple of times, I stayed out of the water while he went in. He also felt so good about himself that he trotted across the water once or twice. He went in and out with no hesitation and I stopped him in the middle, waded out to him while my boots filled with water again, praised him and called it good. The next day we would be trying it with the cart...
We arrived in Paulden early in the afternoon. The course had been set up on Friday and was open for walking. The dressage arena is always there for use and there were also several cones out there, but I had different plans. I had brought my long lines and was going to try to get Kat in the water, without the cart.
The last time we went to Paulden for the Darby, I had taken Kat in the water on the end of a lead line. I went in with him, we went in the shallow end and he took very little coaxing to follow. This time it was time to step it up a few notches. He would be wearing part of the harness and would need to go in on his own. Time for Kat to grow up and start acting like a big boy.
My paparazzi was a bit distracted so we didn't get any pics. I was trying to drive Kat forward into the water, but had forgotten my whip in the truck or my 'accelerator' as Gary later called it. I had the lines run through the tugs on the surcingle and Kat was being responsive, but at the same time, he was having none of it on this whole idea of getting IN the water. Gawd forbid he get his feet wet...
We tried walking back and forth past it, then turning sharply and directly into it as hubby suggested. That wasn't working too well for us and Kat was trying his best to evade the water and succeeding. We tried on the shallow end, the sides and the deep end and little man was having no part of it.
I finally dropped the lines and went to his head. I had led him in last year to start, I would lead him in again if that's what it took. Kat trusts me and will usually go willingly wherever I lead him. He still resisted a bit, but eventually he got in the water with me. Of course he took a few hesitant and unsure steps that resulted in a bit of a leap and him bumping into me, but I stayed on my feet and we were both IN the water. We also happened to be near the deep end. Not so good on the planning on my part, but at least we got there.
Now that Kat was in the water, you would think getting him back in would be a piece of cake. Nope! Leading him in, he had me as a security blanket of sorts. With me behind him driving him forward into what was surely the abyss- he didn't want to go. He balked, he tried going left, he tried going right, he tried to escape every way he knew how. Every time, every turn, I used the reins to block the intended exit route. I kept clucking, kissing and talking to my pony and still he did not want to go forward.
Mary Jane and her horse Mack were on the course with Gary as a navigator. They drove past us, into the water without a flaw as Kat stood on the banks and watched. He could care less if the horse went in, he wasn't about to budge. After unhooking Gary came back down the hill and helped. First thing he asked- "Where's your whip?"
As it was, and I noticed this early on, a few times as Kat started to go forward and as I used the line to slap his butt and push him forward, he also got a tug on the bit and it translated into "Go forward, but no don't." This is why the whip was essential in giving clear, concise commands without adding any extra confusion. Gary also told me to shorten up my lines and keep my hands closer together. Something I noticed in the pictures I don't always do.
After a few unsuccessful attempts to get Kat back in the water, Gary took hold of the nearest rein and coaxed him along. He was the new security blanket and although Gary never went in the water, he got Kat in there. Once Kat was back in the water, I kept him there. I circled him around to the left and to the right. Stopped him in the middle and patted & praised him. Kat relaxed enough to drop his head and drink while he was standing there. The water was deeper this year and had filled my boots as I stood there next to my pony.
After that I took him out the shallow end, turned him around and headed him right back in. He hesitated a little but dropped his head and slowly walked into the water again. We went in and out of the water a few more times before Gary had to leave. By then, we had gone in and out at both the shallow and deeper ends of the water. Kat was relaxed and comfortable about doing it. Was he happy about it? Maybe, maybe not, but he was still going in and out of the water.
After that I took Kat out to a big open area and let him trot and blow off some steam. He had plenty of energy and enjoyed stretching his legs and getting it out of his system. After a few minutes of working both directions and Kat being more relaxed- we headed back to the water. We went in and out a few more times. A couple of times, I stayed out of the water while he went in. He also felt so good about himself that he trotted across the water once or twice. He went in and out with no hesitation and I stopped him in the middle, waded out to him while my boots filled with water again, praised him and called it good. The next day we would be trying it with the cart...
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