15. September 2009 by Edie.

“Long reins are harsh reins.”  ~ Walter Zettl 

Today we began in the lodge with a review of yesterday.  We went outside early and did some simulations of weaving patterns and other riding patterns in Arena Grande.  Then we got our horse out this morning and worked on these patterns until about noon.  HotShot was, of course, excellent at all of this.  We ended up helping a couple of riders with their horses who didn’t like having other horses nearby - HotShot is SUCH a trooper - he just goes along when the horse next to him is crabby - so used to training “rookies,” I guess.  Belinda (the other cop in the class, from Oregon) said “he is just so darned confident - he doesn’t worry about anything or anyone.”  That’s my Hotty!

So, after this, Kathy took us outside and had us prepare for an exercise ball simulation.  It started to rain, so we all bounced our balls up to the Big Top -wish I would have gotten a photo of that!  Pete was helping us with this simulation as well (photo).  So, we sat on the balls with a partner behind us - they had their hands on our shoulders.  We found our balance point and alternated between our “stacked” seat (which is balanced and strong, a la Linda’s core exercises), a “Raggedy Ann/Andy” floppy seat, and a tensed/stiff seat.  Our partners bounced us on the balls and were to give us feedback about our seat.  Cynthia was my partner and it seems that my “stacked” seat is pretty solid and straight, so that was good.  It was interesting when you got into a good rhythm and a helpful simulation for riding with feel and balance.

After lunch, we were supposed to go back to Arena Grande for more formation/pattern riding.  As HotShot and I approached the arena, I swear I heard him say as clear as day “Oh, PLEASE, Mom - not the dreaded ARENA again - I can’t take it any more!”  So - in an effort to honor my LB horse, we went into the grassy meadow and I let him graze for awhile at liberty, which made him VERY happy.  Actually, I was happier too - been there, done that formation stuff ad nauseum!  The weather looked good, so I thought we would go up to the playground and do some more practice videos for our on-line audition.  We worked on this for about an hour and just towards the end, Hotty was getting pretty distracted - he obviously knew that it was “hay time.”  Always the piglet at heart!  So, I was getting our stuff together near the buck fence to go back down to the pens.  I let him graze with the 22′ rope still attached and suddenly, he started walking along the fence away from me.  I couldn’t BELIEVE he was going to leave me, so I kissed to him, but I already knew . . .  Sure enough, he gave me a VERY left-brained look and TOOK OFF down the hill, through the gate, and all the way up to the pens (about 1/2 mile walk from where I was).  His tail was straight up in the air and he was thoroughly enjoying his freedom!

So, off I walked down towards the pens.  Alicia came around the small coverall with Hotty in tow and said “Did you lose someone?”  So, instead of dinner, he got to return to “the scene of the crime” with me, wait for me to put the green ball back in the Big Top, the cam-corder back in the truck, etc. etc., then I mounted up and he carried me and all the ropes, etc. back to the pens, where he got to stand tied while I cleaned his pen!  After that, I did let him in the 75′ round pen to roll and eat his grain, then got him a big drink of molasses water - then he got put to bed in his pen - naughties!  This was the first time in almost a month here that he has left me like that - just goes to show - we’re not perfect yet!

Edie

Posted in 2009 ISC | No Comments »

15. September 2009 by Edie.

“The process doesn’t always look like the product.”  ~ Pat Parelli 

Wow - I can’t believe it’s already Day #1 of Week #4 - where has the time gone?!

To start with - I MUST tell of our Sunday adventure/nightmare!  Alicia and I and Debbie and Jane (two endurance riders in our course) decided to go into the high country trail-riding today.  So - we got directions and headed off the ranch with our horses in tow around 9:30am.  Well, Debbie’s van broke down, so they had to go back, which left Alicia and I to go on alone.  We were fine until we took a left instead of a right and some local apparently decided to have fun with us.  I asked him if we were going the right way and he said “Oh yea, but it’s a narrow road and you’ll have to be careful.”  He said the road ended in a turnaround “big enough to turn a semi around in.”  Well, off  we went up the mountain and let me tell you, it was treacherous!  We ended up in switchback after switchback, one-lane dirt roads, etc. for about 12 miles - about an hour up the mountain before we realized that we had been “had” by a less-than-decent jerk (we had few other choice words for him that will not be written here).  Anyway, we decided that we HAD to find a way to turn around - talk about the scariest thing I’VE ever done with a horse trailer!  I had to trust Alicia that I could go over far enough to turn around without going straight off the mountain!  On top of that, Alicia is afraid of heights and was NOT doing well. 

Once (by the grace of God!) we got turned around, we headed back down the mountain and found where we had been meant to go to begin with. - Poison Park trail-head.  It was a beautiful day and even though we were about two hours behind schedule, we ALL needed a nice ride, so we rode for about two hours.  The trails were pretty slick, steep, and rocky - kind of like Wildcat mountain in Wisconsin, and Alicia’s “Jade” had only ever been on one other trail ride, but she did stellar!  We had a few easy water-crossings (see photo of Jade and Alicia on her first crossing) and rode down to a beautiful meadow with some incredible peaks right there - it was awesome.  We met some hikers who said they were going to hike to the continental divide and would get there by tomorrow - they were heading the same direction we had already gone with our horse trailer - so we figured we had crossed the continental divide earlier in the day!  Anyway, the day ended well and everyone was happy (OK, and a bit relieved) by the time we got back to the ranch.  Of course, chores don’t go away on the weekends, so we had our usual pen-cleaning, feeding, and watering to do - we were pooped!

Today we start our Natural Performance riding week - basically more finesse or “precision” riding with contact, as opposed to freestyle riding.  We started in the lodge with John welcoming some new students who are here for the next week or two.  John talked about fluidity for the horse (rhythm and relaxation) and for the rider.  He introduced Avery, Julia, Melissa, and Ben as assistant instructors for this module.

John reminded us and told the new students what Pat’s philosophy of teaching is - he says “I can’t teach you anything, but I can set it up so you can learn something.”  Again, emphasizing our empowerment as learners here.

He reminded us why humans and dogs get along so well - we are both VERY verbal, while horses are primarily non-verbal, which makes it more difficult for us to communicate with them.  He talked again about love, language, and leadership and said that primarily at this level, most of what we are now learning involves leadership, which is the most challenging because it involves: responsibility, accountability, balance, vision (where are we going?), having a plan, and dedication.  He talked ab out the “easy” parts of being a leader: praise, recognition, $$, promotion - and the hard parts: making tough decisions, being held accountable, having to fire someone, etc.  Been there, done that - all of the above!

He then talked about how this place will change you if you allow it to - and that we should “turn loose to it.”  He also warned us not to get sucked into the “downward spiral of despair” if things aren’t going well, and to use pattern interrupt if we find ourselves complaining about anything (weather, horses, etc.).  He reminded us to “soar with eagles, not to fly with turkeys.”

So, to begin our week of precision and harmony, we went out to Arena Grande and walked patterns - just to get them into our heads.  Then we came back into the lodge and spent some time with Kathy, who talked to us about finesse.  We watched a couple of very inspiring videos and brainstormed what finesse riding means to us - all of the following words came out: precision, refinement, grace, details, unity, focus, feel, beauty, lightness, impulsion, self-carriage, engagement, awareness, balance, power, leadership, posture/core, timing.  Then, we watched a short video of two horses playing and came up with even MORE: exuberance, athleticism, majestic, skills of communicator, enhancing ability, extension, collection, suspension, mirroring, PLAY!, on-call, elegance w/power, hovercraft!

THESE are the things that INSPIRE us in horses - how can we get these things with our horses - how can we GET OUT OF THE WAY?

- independent seat

- even both sides (ambidextrous)

- mental/emotional/physical fitness

- end goal in mind

- ingredients

We talked about how all four savvies need to be equal to get these things.  We talked about “longitudinal flexion” as opposed to lateral flexion (the horse stretching down and through his back - using his hindquarters effectively).  We watched a video of a dressage rider (Rafelle - Jarez) and saw a VERY exuberant, happy horse. We decided that what we want with our horses is exuberance with obedience.

Kathy talked a little more about Walter Zettl and how he says that NOTHING is the horse’s fault, but if it’s your fault when it goes wrong, it’s BECAUSE of you when it goes right!

We ended with a funny Disney cartoon video of Goofy and how “the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.”  I remembered seeing this in 2006 - would love to have a copy - hysterical!

After this, we went outside and did a demonstration of “sticky hands.” This is when you partner with someone and go palm to palm with them, changing roles as leader and follower when they (or you) move your hands around - very interesting.  We then did a seat-builder exercise with this same simulation.  I tried to close my eyes while doing it - not as easy as it looks to keep your seat and balance while one person on either side of you is moving your hands and arms around, let me tell you!

After lunch, we met in Arena Grande and practiced pattern and precision riding. Hotshot is, of course the KING of this, with all of his formation riding training, so we did fine.  We did a “Barbie hands” exercise, where we were not allowed to pull on the reins, but only hold them between our thumbs and forefingers with our fingers forward.  Belinda and I were laughing - we never played with Barbies!  If the horse pulled the reins out of our hands, we were to let them slide, then go back to our pattern.  Lesson learned: it’s very hard not to micro-manage your horse!  It started raining around 4pm and everyone got caught in a HUGE thunderstorm.  I had my slicker and was OK down to just below my knees, but the bottom of my legs got soaked.  HotShot and I ran for the tree in his pen, which wasn’t too bad, but when it looked like it was going to last awhile, I got my saddle off and made a run for the lodge.  Still, it was a good day and we got a lot accomplished!

Edie

Posted in 2009 ISC | No Comments »