blog has moved

the location of this blog has now moved to:

http://www.natural-haflinger.blog.co.uk/

21st March

A week of horrendous weather, thought we were gonna blow away in the gales!!

So have done no riding or groundwork, but today marked the beginning of a journey to a truly natural haflinger, and Giddy's shoes have been removed, so I now, after 2 years of thought have a barefoot horse!!

She was really very cuddly whilst farrier was here, and after he left and I took some photos; I may well be anthropomorphising, but maybe she was thanking me for taking the metal off her feet!!!

Walked out nicely in the yard, and had a good old run around when I turned her out

Have been feeding a "food state" type biotin supplement rather than an isolated one and hopefully this will help

I really hope we have a smooth transition, and that this could perhaps be part of the puzzle with this very challenging mare

13th March

Had a dreadful session earlier in the week, so much so that i didnt even write down my notes! Once again it was Gidy's new game of taking me off the the left, she took me into the electric fencing (off), I got really mad, so got off, and then made her move her feet on the ground, hopped back on, did some LFs and then got off

Today, I had a plan, cuz if we dont get through this soon, it is going to become a really ingrained pattern like the grass eating used to be... as I am finding it impossible to be effective with stick / string etc, I decided to change approach and took down a long dressage whip. Set things up so I was at the top of the field to give me more room to try and stop her getting to the fence on the left, so literally just tried to ride straight lines along the top, there it was, she tried to set off to the left, so I gave her a good old firm tap on the outside quarters, and held the right rein.. bingo, this seemed to do the trick, tried once more, again got a good result, so rode that unbraced body to the top right, then released and got off. Releasing and turning her out when we have achieved something, even if tiny on the ground has made a big difference, so made a point of doing this

So whilst a dressage whip is not my first tool of choice, it is much kinder than getting into a kicking pulling, bracing, unhappy situation, so I am happy with my decision making on that

3rd March

Group lesson today with Ali Jones at Cholwell; had literally done nothing since last post as the mud and rain has made anything literally impossible, really is getting depressing now!

It was a great morning; particular highlight was 5 horses, on 22ft lines in a carousel, circling and with a jump to negotiate, initially it was a bit chaotic, but after a short time, horses and humans all settled and went without fuss - great stuff!! And considering the group - all pretty complicated, it was pretty impressive

When we started this game, Giddy went into overdrive and showed how she can move when she really wants to, she was trotting with real power and beauty, tail up, head arched - looked fabulous; I hope one day she may look like this under saddle - could take a few years ;0))

Also played with dragging objects which was interesting to see how it really got all the horses curiosity up!!

My ridden session was pretty frustrating, was asking for some more speed around the school - at one point she went straight into the wall at the end as i was trying to ask for a canter - she is so strong willed!! Right rein was awful, and she just kept pulling to the inside, but Ali helped us through and it did improve; but I was very disappointed that I did get very frustrated with her!!

Trailer loading was good both in the morning and going home

21st Feb

Our sideways was much better today ;0)) At first ask, she snorted and jumped on the spot a bit, and then we were off, got a bit of the pushing on my bubble from zones 1 / 2 but it is much improved, and she was yielding better when I asked her to straighten up

All a bit too muddy to do much tho, this dreary Cornwall weather is very frustrating, hopped on for a short ride, but its no fun for her sinking into the mud so much, so called it a day

Feb 21st

As somebody at the Keep it Natural group was asking about what the changes were in relation to now being able to get a canter; I tried to collect my thoughts!

The things that have made the difference are I think the following; but there are lots of things I can't put my finger on!! In particular I relate this to cantering on the 22ft, this was a massive problem for us.. it used to be trotting!! When I finally started getting a canter, the next trick Giddy would throw at me, was tipping her nose out and then taking off at a right angle across the field, rope trailing behind her; she even managed to succeed doing this with Eddy Modde on a course ;0) She hasn't dont this for ages now, although it used to happen most sessions

• REALLY long dwell and comfort to really reward when she goes forward, sometimes even 10 mins + doing nothing for just offering a canter transition - this is a massive test of my patience, previously I used to dwell for just a minute or so maybe, it can feel like a really long time, but just being in the moment really helps
• Changing the subject and going to something else, or even calling it a day when we got a canter and turning her out
• Part of these long dwell times is giving her huge scratches in her favourite places, she loves this!!
• The next thing I introduced, was asking her to canter and then slowing to a trot after just a stride.... after just a few sessions of this, things really started changing, and all of a sudden she started offering canters - i.e. it became her idea to canter
• On a really personal note, I am quite reserved emotionally, so worked a lot on really showing her I was pleased, lots of positive energy, smiles etc, that may sound silly, but again, I think it made a difference when I really conveyed to her how pleased I was
  We also had problems with bucking, so she would go into canter, then stop, turn towards me and buck and jump off the ground with all four feet, in the past I think I had released here as it would get quite dramatic, so had to be firm about asking her to move on
• Another thing, I worked with a 45ft, and this made a BIG difference, although it's a challenge to handle!! But giving her more room seemed to really help, an things were much better when we went back to the 22ft
• Food, being a Haflinger, she would do almost anything for food, for a long time, I never gave her treats, as this was opening the door for pushy behaviour, but, now our communication is better, I am confident that I can give her a treat without her pushing on me, so I dont do it consistently but now and again, when she offers something nice, or at the end of one of the really long dwell times, she gets something from my pocket, and this too has helped
• Point to points with cones under saddle also transferred to ground work, so if I set it up right, could get her heading for a cone with enthusiasm...although for a while, she would head for a cone, stop and buck ;0)) Now if she sees cones, she will invariably head for them and pick them up or paw at them, talked about this with a recent lesson with Ali, and she said to make sure I mix this up - its good shes asking questions and offering something, but I dont always want her to stop at cones ;0))))
• Moving with her also helped, and certainly for a while I had to turn with her otherwise I couldn't see that nose tipping out and I would lose her
• Winning other games and general relationship building I am sure all played a part in our (long) journey to this point, in particular getting control of zone 1 as this is how she dominates me, and when i was losing her on a circle, for us at least, this was partly about zone 1, trailer loading, and realising it was about zone 1 made a difference in all sorts of areas

20th Feb

What a day!! I set out with a very clear focus today of working on our sideways game so that it's up to scratch for assessment

As per normal, she was not happy with me stood in zone 3 on the right, I think this is partly because I favour the other side; for an absolute age, she was pushing her zone 1 and 2 at me, and was clearly showing she wasn't happy with me there; another example of it all being about zone 1 dominance with her; this game went on for quite some time, and when I got her lined up straight, I gave her loads of comfort and dwell time, and some grass for good measure, I have to really force myself to give her longer to just chill, this is one of the big things that has made the difference in recent weeks I think, it's hard for me to just be in the moment, but crikey it makes a difference to her!!

It was a good reminder how persistent she is about things like this, but it's so much easier on the ground, I wish i could be as patient as I was today when I ride... maybe one day!!

So after working on friendly in zone 3, asking her not to push on my bubble with her zone 1 /2 and life up, life down and getting some decent sideways, I started asking for a bit more speed, but still kept going back to having to drive zone 1 as she pushed into me after I dropped my energy for a stop. Interesting that really focusing on specifics kept her interested, I often think I need to really mix things up, and certainly that's good, but occasional sessions like this with a clear vision and working on just one thing are also effective at keeping her attention

This went on for a while, and then really started to pick it up, then out of nowhere, she went from sideways into a flat out gallop on the 22ft... didn't shut her down immediately, as I now know not to make her feel wrong when this energy comes out, so disengaged, brought her in, rubbed her nose, yo-yo'd her back about 10ft, and again she just took off, absolutely flat out, she has never done this from a yo-yo, and it wasn't right brained chaos, she was easy to disengage and bring in, and there was no head up, tight face, shallow breathing etc, hmmmmmm I thought very interesting

So, I pondered for a while, it's fascinating, now that this exuberance is starting to show, and she's beginning to really play with me, she is really moving up the impulsion scale, her behaviour today was a reaction to me truly out-persisting her and winning a game; but she was also feeling free and having fun, and felt able to express herself, and WANTS to move her feet..... there are so many things that have come together in recent weeks, but I feel so elated!! Although I obviously don't want her just taking off at a gallop at any moment she sees fit, it is a real sign that she is interacting with the games, and i am pushing her buttons and we are both asking questions; in the past, more often than not, it felt like I was playing the games with an unwilling participant, and there is nothing more frustrating and saddening than that, when you are trying to find that fun and connection. When her life is up like this, the whole thing becomes more fluid and dynamic, and there is something to channel! When I look back to the horse that would be so resentful and unhappy about a few strides of trot online, this energy and excitement is an absolute revelation...

So...... re-visted our sideways after some dwell time, lined her up to be straight, with me in zone 3, and she immediately put herself perfectly straight, and just turned her head to me, and she had ears totally pricked and focused on me, and was looking at me with such intensity, it was quite surreal; so it seems that winning the game in a non-confrontational fashion, caused a reaction and playfulness, followed by a new level of engagement with me, it was very different to the look and feel she gives me which is more along the lines of "why are we doing this"

Although I was saddled up and wanted to ride, I realised that there would never be a better moment to call it a day, give her huge rubs and turn her out

18th Feb 07

Thankfully wasnt raining today!! Another good session on the ground, set up a couple of jumps, and she seemed to be loving these... I never thought I would say it, but we actually need some bigger jumps!!!!

Of course, in our ridden session, there it was again, that drifting left, I managed to stay focused, hold her to the right, and the trick is to ask her forward, and in effect ignore the sideways movement, this seemed to work, and then she resorted to going backwards ;0))) anyway, we got through it, she tried a couple times more, and I sort of won the game, although praps not convincingly, so I rode her up to the other side where she never does the drifting thing and got off there

Popped her bridle on over the halter, and got some great lateral flexion in the new confidence bit - much better than the old one, so am really pleased with that, she seemed to like it, and although I wasnt riding with the halter, she was nice and quiet in the mouth

17th Feb 07

We were booked for a session with Ali Jones at Cholwell today, being in the afternoon, it meant I could stay nice and relaxed and not have to rush first thing in the morning!!

Trailer loading went well, on first time, came off three times, then went in with confidence, all four feet in, so I was happy with that!

We had a great afternoon, we really have turned a corner with our groundwork, got a canter in both directions with out any bracing, pulling back, or stopping on the circle, normally she gets really blocked up in the Cholwell school, some trot sideways, not entirely straight, but she was moving nicely, squeezes with enthusiasm, all in all, she was showing some of the exuberance and playfulness I have been getting at home, I worked hard on giving her lots of dwell time. Did a saddling demo for the level 1 students, and then Ali asked us to jump some blocks - a good test for saddling; I was a bit wary of these wooden blocks, as they are the sort of thing she likes to stamp on, and a bit wider than she is used to jumping; anyway, really got her life up, lots of sends, and eventually got a really nice jump, brilliant!!

we only rode for a short time, got some help from Ali with that pattern she has developed of evading me by wandering out to the left; Ali suggested holding the right rein short, and hold and release, whereas, I have been trying to block / push from the left.... got this a bit better, and Ali emphasised that of course it's all about the release, I know I have given a lot of comfort by letting her get away with this, cuz I don't like getting pushed into the fence; but I think we have a technique now

Loaded Ok at the end of the session, and Ali commented how much we have improved since she last saw her which was a great complement, and nice to know the feelings in my heart on the progress we have made are noticeable to Ali!!