Guess what I did last night?

As well as working Livvi in hand, I tacked her up, just happened to have my hat on so I thought I would do a bit of something different........I didn't sit on her yet but.....I leant right over and she walked off round the yard with me laughing and wiggling and se didn't bat an eyelid, I stood in the stirrup from both sides and leant up her nekc, pulled the saddle about and generaly made a bit of a to do out of the whole thing! She couldn't have cared less! :-D

All tacked up and no where to go!

Things get better and better!

We definitely have the in hand work cracked :-D Today, we did 2 perfect straight lines so I moved onto circles and she has totally GOT IT! Livvi is a dream to work with, she is totally focused on what we are doing and tries so hard...my dad came to watch us and was very impressed, he said you can see her concentrating and she is desperate to please me...I am so glad that I took the first few weeks slowly, I have definitely built the foundations of a fantastic relationship and I just get a bubble of happiness and pride when I think of how fab she is.

Anyway, we worked on the circle for about 10 minutes, on the right rein we just concentrated on flexion and asking her to open the outside shoulder and even though this is her bad rein, she is almost better at it this way, she tends to drift less. Where as on the left rein she can over bend and that means she falls through her shoulder, you have to be firmer with the outside rein......but on the left rein I have started to ask for leg yield and she tried really hard and gave me a couple of really nice strides...I didn't over do it and left it very positive so hopefully when we pick it up again tomorrow, she will have thought about it.

Finally I decided to put her on the lunge, she needs to work to build some muscle and get a bit fitter and I know she has done this a Gills so its familiar. Again, I couldn't have been more pleased, she is very responsive to my voice so we did lots of transitions from walk to trot and back again with her totally focused and I just LURVE watching her trot! lol! We kept the session short as I don't want to bore her or over tire her and she is so enthusiastic I want her to enjoy and look forward to our sessions.

Did I mention that I adore this mare!

Success!

After a miserable start, my brain got coorinated with my hands and I think I have it cracked!!

I think I was doing several things wrong, firstly Livvi is quite claustrophobic and I think we were too near the fence, secondly I was trying too hard and not rewarding every try.

We have had two more sessions since Monday and both have been fab! On the left rein she is light and responsive and I have started some circle work. On the right rein she has lightened right up but I am having resistance with the halt, I know that I am different on the right rein too so some of it could be me!

Circle work is also good, I am asking for flexion and when I get it I am asking her to step over and open the outside shoulder. She is soft and relaxed, I could play all day! Livvi also seems to have taken to this like a duck to water, she is a very bright girl and I think she actually really enjoys what she is doing, you have to drag her back to her stable when we finish. lol!

So onwards and upwards and a huge thank you to Becky for opening this door to us!

Today I also introduced Livvi to the hose as I desperately want to bath her. She couldn't care less about it until water comes out the end and then its OMG I'm getting wet feet, can't you see mum? There is WATER on the ground and its wetting me!!! :-D What a prissy mare! lol! We did some approach and retreat with the water and she got better but I dread to think what she will do if I get all of her wet!

Our first attempt alone in hand

Went terribly!

Left rein was actually OK, but right rein was a complete disaster, she just kept leaning on me through her shoulder and barging me away from the fence, if I tried a bit more outside rein then she threw her head in the air...we did get a few nice steps and just when I thought it was going well, she would tense and it would fall apart again! Very frustrating!

Anyway, on consideration when I got home last night I think she gets tense, so I get tense and she kind of panics...I will try again today with the onus on me staying relaxed (well I will try) and perhaps change my fence line so its different for us both.

Livvi and I have an in hand lesson

Today, Livvi and I had a lesson from Becky (Helen came with Whisper too but I'll let her make her own thread! )I am totally enlightened

Becky knew nothing about Livvi and I was not totally sure what I wanted from the session so after a quick discussion we decided what we both needed was in hand work. And it was EXACTLY what we both needed and I feel like I have the key to my way forward.

Becky took Livvi first to see what she was like and where we needed to head. Livvi is a green youngster and needs to start at the begining so Becky worked her using the fence for support. The aim was/is to get Liv to understand the rein contact and be soft as well as learn what the outside rein means, to lighten the shoulders, to move off the inside shoulder and ensure that they are flexible as well as have control of them so that we get her to lift up in front (and then in future, when tyhis is established we would ask for flexion at the poll and voila! )

When Becky started, Livvi had no idea what was expected of her and wanted Becky to be in the lead but she is a clever girl and soon got the idea. Becky worked her for a good 20 minutes, patiently correcting her and Livvi concentrated so hard I could have cried, I was so pleased to have this door opened to us.Becky makes it looks soooooooo easy where as a felt like I was bumbling along with my tangled knitting! BUT I did feel that towards the end I was getting more confident and when Livvi was light the feeling was awesome .







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxxnAL23JhE

Just a quick update all round and to say....

....if you read this then please feel free to comment, its nice to know that someone is looking! (and that means you too Claire! lol!)

Well, Drummers headshaking has settled again thank goodness, although I am still going to chat to the vet as I need emergency measures for bad days. I have spoken to other people with head shakers about last week and they all said the same, so it definitely has something to do with conditions!

and on another note, Drummer now has a new little friend to call his own :-D he has a 6 year old sharer called Rose who absolutely adores him. He is sooooooooo good with kids and although Rose is only a dot, she is full of confidence and I am hoping that this is a match made in heaven!

As for Livvi, things are still going great! I thought I had made a boo last week though...Don (my OH) came to watch us and I showed off, Livvi was great, we did join up and I got her to follow me and then I made the mistake of sending her out again to do some pole work....she was so cross!!! I realised what I had done, I had sent her away when she was being a star and she didn't understand why I was punnishing her...talk about feel guilty!

Anyway, since then she has almost concentrated on me more and she HATES it when we do circle work with a rope, she pins her ears and just looks grumpy, but I don't think there is any disrespect meant, its the opposite, she wants to be with me...the minute we stop she has her head in front of me and she has even started sort of nibbling me to say hi! She follows me so closely its funny! I seem to have achieved my join up anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Drummers head shaking

Bit down at the moment. Drummer had been doing really well this year, I have him on Y30 from Trinity consultants and it seemed to be working until this week :-(

He head shook at the fun ride on Sunday but it wasn't as bad as he has done in the past and he had missed 3 days of the supplement over bank holiday so it may have got out of his system....but....it must be back in now and the past 2 days he has been terrible, even head shaking in the field, standing with his head low, looking miserable and twitching.

I have rung the vet for some advice and I gave him a spray of beconaise which seemed to relieve the him a bit...I think the pollen must have been really high wed and thurs and I will see what he is like now that it has rained, hopefully he will improve.

I am LOVING this journey!

I can't help it and I expect that I will fall down sooner or later but at the moment I am in 7th heaven...I adore Livvi, she is so rewarding to work with and I can see everything I do with her working. Its quite a step learning curve for me but I have confidence in my abilities and in how and why I am doing everything that I do, even when others look at me strangely. She is giving so much and she has made me take a look at my own behaviour too!

I can't say much about tonight other than she followed me on a walk down the field (Drum came too at a distance) in very windy conditions that I knew she didn't like but she looked for me to guidance and relaxed and plodded along. We played a circle game on the 12' line and went over trotting poles and she responded to my body language and voice and she gave 100%

Anyway, tires aren't scary especially when they have grass in them, lol!

And on our walk with Drummer!

Fun fun fun!

Had a fantastic day yesterday with Helen and Marie, we went to Admington fun ride :-D Much fun was had by all including some fab gallopies and jumpies....Drummer was a loon and I need to each him to stop!! But to be honest, its the only time we are out of control EVER and its like twice a year! My legs, arms, thighs, fingers and back are all killing me today though! Unfit thats me!!

So whilst Drummer relaxed today, I got Livvi in for a groom and a play...she wasn't keen on the wind and everything was scary but once we were in the round pen and she was concentrating she was fine.

I sent her round in trot again and put some poles out to get her to think a bit but I still worked on the join up principle. She started to lick and chew and so I invited her in and when she didn't, we did it the other way. The 2nd time she turned right in to face me so I invited her to me and she stepped forwards as I went to her....we played follow my leader round the pen but after a few turns she suddenly stopped and refused to move so I sent her out again...the next time I saw her soften, I invited her in and she turned, paused and then walked towards me no hesitation!! :-D We played follow for a couple of minutes then called it a day!

I am VERY pleased with my girlie, she is much more focused on me, interested in what I am doing but polite...I feel that I have made a good start and need to decide what should be my next step!

More join up :-D

Thursday night I didn't work Olivia at all, just played with Drummer and had a fun ride messing about with a 12 year old!!!

So last night I thought I would give the join up another go. (Livvi could also do with the exercise as spring grass is enlarging my pony! lol!) We made a fab start, I sent her away and round the pen, she had one ear on me and was really concentrating, this time she started to lower her head and lick and chew so I stopped an invited her in... I got a good response, total attention on me, fully focused with her head turned towards me, but she wouldn't move in.....I sent her back the other way (to the right) but interestingly she doesn't like that way at all and when I stopped to invite her in she just turned and ran the other way...now this is where I became unsure and so did she, she upped the pace to canter so I kept her there for a couple of curcuits and then invited her in BUT she wouldn't stop! I even sat in the floor, she had one ear on me and it took about 6 curcuits for her to come done to walk.....I called her name gently and she stopped briefly but then walked on, I persevered, walking towards her slowly side on and guess what???? :-D IT WORKED...she stopped, turned in and I gave a rub and then walked off an she followed me :-D I twisted and turned and then walked back to the yard (we did have one stop for a mouthful of grass) but I walked straight into her stable and she followed!

I think this has really made a difference, she watched my every move over the stable door and when I turned her out she said hi to Drummer but then turned back to me!!! Normally she just walks off! So I HOPE I have now got her attention and we can continue ground work my way!

Join up

Well, I decided that it was a worth a try so off we headed for the round pen.

It went OK, my inexperience didn't help but I thoroughly enjoyed watching Livvi trot round me and she got a bit of a workout so something gained whatever! lol!

Actually, it went OK, I started with an exercise she knew, backing up, then I tried asking her to move her hindquarters away but she just walked off and through me, so I decided nothing ventured nothing gained I would try join up!......I only did it in trot as our round pen isn't full size (its home made!) and canter is OK for Drum in there but Livvi is a bit big!......I sent her out and away from me with the end of a rope (I didn't touch her) and made her circle several times before stopping and asking her to come in. At first she gravitated towards Drummer, who was in the field 10 yards away, but gradually she stopped and looked at me. We didn't make it as far as her coming to me but she always had an ear on me and was thinking hard and licking and chewing....I ended the session when she was looking at me and focused on me and as I approached her, she turned towards me then followed me a few steps......tomorrow I am going to do a bit more, gaining respect and trust is not a 15 minute wonder.

A lesson learned!

Don't start a session and then have to deal with the photographer who can't work the camera...it all goes to pot!! lol! Look at her concentration, we just worked on what we did last night and she was focused and doing fab! But then I asked for video and we lost it!

It didn't help that mum was riding Drum, Jeanette was riding Bella, Caragh was riding Brook and Shadow was hanging over the fence...FAR to much to look at! :-D

So after being totally ignored and finally getting Livvis' attention, we finished on a good note and went for a walk with Drum...this photo makes me chuckle so much, she just looks like she is off on her own with Drum following!

I think I will try some loose schooling in the round pen Gill, it gives me security and I might try a bit of join up when she won't concentrate! I agree about the leg, but it is kind of cute!!! She does it now when she sees me coming!! I am just ignoring it and hopefully it will go away the more she has to concentrate on!

Success!

Having had a lovely ride on Drummer I decided to try again with Livvi!

I left her in her stable while I poo picked and I was pleased that she was happy to chill and mooch. BUT I had just put her rope halter on ready to play, when Marie lead her 2 out to the field...Livvi had a fit, not anything awful, just a complete tantrum with me in the way, lunging at the door and totally ignoring me/running through me, pawing, she went from being totally calm and happy, actually putting her head down for the halter, to almost dangerous!

She doesn't worry me at all though (and I find this odd in my own mind as I am so used to my nerves!!) I refused to let her carry on with me standing there, every time she came at he door I backed her up and I refused to move..when she stood still I praised her but the minute she moved I sent her back again.. after a couple of tries at this she started pawing, she litteraly stands on three legs and waves a front leg in the air....this I can't let go on as she could knee cap someone quite easily!! I tried ignoring her as I really feel that it is totally attention seeking and "I can't get my own way" but this will be a woekin progress.....I have to tread carefully...I must not give her attention for doing it but I must reward her for standing calmly!!

So eventually, on my terms, we left the stable and went to play...as we had started on backing up in the stable I thought I would continue the thread and ask her to step back away from me in the open...she will go back if you look her in the eye, point at her chest and say back, but out in the open, she decided to resist and rather than go back she tried to trot off around me...so I let her.....I am learning here too and I must not let her move me, so I stood still whilst she put in all the effort...it was VERY interesting because she is one clever girl and it only took a couple of goes for her to realise that the easy option was to do as I asked....I sisn't do a think when she ran off, just invited her back to me and tried again..it was FAB :-D I could see her thinking and re evaluating me! She is so funny, when I invite her back to me, she sticks her head right into my chest and hides!

As you can see, I am bouncing :-D and the BEST bit is, I turned her and Drum out and then I have to walk through their paddock to get home and for the first time, she came over and followed me!!!

Anyway pic of the herd for you

Focus

I entiled this focus as its what I am struggling to get Livvi to do. I am doing everything from the beginning starting today (now that stitches are out). She has been here 3 weeks and is settled enough that work should begin.

Today I worked on moving away from pressure, I started with moving towards me and backing up, both of which she is fine with, I then moved onto moving the hind quarters away. I started with less tactile pressure swinging the lead rope at her bum but she ignored it totally. I want to try to get her to respond to my body language rather than just touch but I am not getting her to focus on me. To me this is showing a degree of lack of respect and I need to gain that respect but I am not sure how.

We returned to the yard where I found I became more interesting and I asked her to step over with physical pressure, which she will do but walks forwards too.

Livvi is very clever and I am trying to get her to engage her brain and think about what I am asking, but without her focusing on me and what we are doing I'm struggling. I had thought about trying join up as we have a round pen but she is very sensitive and I was worried that sending her away might have a negative affect.

On reading this back, I think that perhaps I may need to do more walking in hand and desensitising her to her environment before I try to get her totally focused...everything is still so different to her that she must find concentrating very hard.

Stitches came out

and this time she wasn't a good girl!!! Apparantly vets with needles are VERY scary (but then I had to agree) and no way was she coming near her, we had complete tantrums which ended with one lot of sedation on the floor!...I could have got a bit cross wth the vet as she decided Liv was being naughty and started to get a bit agressive in her manor but the vet picked up on my vibe and listened to me so went allgently gently with Livvi and calm was restored!! Just goes to show hey!

Anyway, wound is fine, a bit of bleeding and looks rawish at the moment but give it a couple of months and I think it will disapear. Livvi also had her teeth done as I took advantage of the sedation! They were quite sharp but now I know I can get on with backing her properly with no excuses! Oh.. except she has a wolf tooth but the vet said not to fix what ain't broke and leave it for the moment, if it causes a problem in the future then it can come out.

As for Drummer...I think and hope that he has found a 9 year old girl to love and share him! :-D Waiting to hear from them as they have been a couple of times but were a bit worried about his head shaking...although Drum has been on Y30 from Trinity consultants for the past 6 weeks and other than the odd tick and snorting he has been fine!

The little girl is VERY keen but she was a bit nervous and is quite a novice but she sits nicely and was really listening today when I was telling her what to do so I hope that Drum has found a friend.