Friday, Sept. 4th:
I have to admit... I was reluctant to play with Satin because our lesson the day before was so intense. I didn't know if I was up for such an emotional test. Could I stay calm and in a teaching frame of mind while Satin blows through pressure over and over and...
I decided to make no assumptions. We were going to work on what we had learned. Make no assumptions, Kathy!
I got the girl from the stall. Driving from zone 3 out of the barn. She still doesn't seem to get this yet. Whether it is our of habit that she doesn't understand or that she doesn't want to cooperate because it is a change. I am not sure.
I can drive her forward but as soon as I start to walk with her, she stops. We do this 'start, stop, start' dance for eternity. Then when she gets going and I direct her nose with the CS, she stops. Maybe my CS directing is too 'loud'.
We got out to the pasture and immediately started playing with the send & touch it. SHE. WAS. AWESOME.
She really must have learned from the lesson because she did NOT understand prior to that lesson. Today she walked with impulsion towards an object and touched with curiosity!
I am beaming!
Gosh, this girl will teach me so much.
Showing posts with label lesson parelli professional. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lesson parelli professional. Show all posts
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Growing up and Getting Particular
As Satin learns and understands, I also must become more particular.
I spent every day for the week after my lesson playing with Satin. Sometimes it was just driving from zone 3 from the barn to the pasture. Sometimes I met her in the pasture and played "hide your hiney." But I was focusing on the basics - friendly (especially on the right side because she appears to have issues with looking at me with her right eye), porcupine, and driving games. I was rewarding the slightest try.
She gets it now - she understands when I approach her hind end and apply pressure (with my posture, my stick), then she should swivel and face me, just like she would to an alpha horse. I was very particular with her "walking through me" and kept her out of my bubble, knowing she would try to take that extra step into my space if I allowed it. So I didn't. It was hard because she is constantly taking that extra step and suddenly her shoulder is in my space. I have to be so vigilant!
We had our third lesson on Thursday and it was amazing!
Karen said she noticed an immediate improvement in my horsemanship from the moment I unloaded Satin from the trailer. I was disengaging that hind end left and right as Satin attempted to ignore me. But Karen made another observation right away: it was time to take my assertiveness up a notch. I was being sort of a pushover. Sometimes when I would apply pressure to disengage the hind Satin would look the other way, pull on the rope, and lead with her shoulder away from the pressure. We would walk in the lazy circle until she finally would give up and turn toward me half-heartidly.
What I learned:
1) ALWAYS offer a suggestion first.
Example: Leading from zone 3. The suggestion is: bring up your life, lift the rope.
2) Neutral, neutral, neutral! Satin does not yet understand the concept of "keep doing what I'm doing when my human partner is in neutral". She would move her feet before I asked her to do anything, and usually she would move into my direction.
3) Correct immediately. I may be asking for hind-quarter disengagement, but if she starts to move forward - correct her. Make the suggestion first (stick in front of her chest or head), then increase phases as needed. But she needs to know that when I ask for hind-quarter disengagement, that I don't mean "move your feet where ever you want". I get very direct-line thinking and I focus on "hindquarters hindquarters hindquarters" while she's moving her feet forward and thus we're defeating the purpose of the game. I have to correct that immediately, then go back to the hindquarters and ask again.
4) Satin tells on herself. This was a funny comment from Karen. She said, "Satin tells on herself and on you. She's honest. She doesn't hide her emotions. This makes her much less of a challenge to teach!" Satin pretty much wears her heart on her sleeve. She tells you how she feels and why. She's honest and straightforward. I'm not peeling away tons of layers to try to find out why she does what she does. If she doesn't like pressure, she pulls away or blows through it. If she is disrespectful, she walks into your space. She's a banana, not an onion.
5) The "Driving Line" is real! Karen took Satin to demonstrate how I can help Satin understand the beginnings of the send. You suggest with your "lead it, lift it"... and if you need to help them move forward all you have to do is get your pressure behind the drive line. It was like magic!
6) Satin lacks impulsion. Impulsion and flexion are connected/intertwined. Sometimes gaining one will bring along the other. Satin's lack of impulsion might be the root of several of her issues. She doesn't want to go forward when driving from zone 3, so if we gain impulsion, this issue might become obsolete.
7) Becoming particular. It's time to get more particular. When I ask something that she knows, expect an answer. She needs to be a partner and I promise not to be a predator. I give suggestion, phase 1, phase 4. By the end of my lesson Satin was behaving like a different horse. She was actually responsive. Karen thinks she is a sensitive horse (really? Satin!?) but has fallen into these cycles of dull and bored and lacking impulsion. When I step up to the plate as an alpha, Satin perks up and puts a smile on. I need to be particular with my questions now. I asked you this, this is what you should want to do. Make the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard.
I spent every day for the week after my lesson playing with Satin. Sometimes it was just driving from zone 3 from the barn to the pasture. Sometimes I met her in the pasture and played "hide your hiney." But I was focusing on the basics - friendly (especially on the right side because she appears to have issues with looking at me with her right eye), porcupine, and driving games. I was rewarding the slightest try.
She gets it now - she understands when I approach her hind end and apply pressure (with my posture, my stick), then she should swivel and face me, just like she would to an alpha horse. I was very particular with her "walking through me" and kept her out of my bubble, knowing she would try to take that extra step into my space if I allowed it. So I didn't. It was hard because she is constantly taking that extra step and suddenly her shoulder is in my space. I have to be so vigilant!
We had our third lesson on Thursday and it was amazing!
Karen said she noticed an immediate improvement in my horsemanship from the moment I unloaded Satin from the trailer. I was disengaging that hind end left and right as Satin attempted to ignore me. But Karen made another observation right away: it was time to take my assertiveness up a notch. I was being sort of a pushover. Sometimes when I would apply pressure to disengage the hind Satin would look the other way, pull on the rope, and lead with her shoulder away from the pressure. We would walk in the lazy circle until she finally would give up and turn toward me half-heartidly.
What I learned:
1) ALWAYS offer a suggestion first.
Example: Leading from zone 3. The suggestion is: bring up your life, lift the rope.
2) Neutral, neutral, neutral! Satin does not yet understand the concept of "keep doing what I'm doing when my human partner is in neutral". She would move her feet before I asked her to do anything, and usually she would move into my direction.
3) Correct immediately. I may be asking for hind-quarter disengagement, but if she starts to move forward - correct her. Make the suggestion first (stick in front of her chest or head), then increase phases as needed. But she needs to know that when I ask for hind-quarter disengagement, that I don't mean "move your feet where ever you want". I get very direct-line thinking and I focus on "hindquarters hindquarters hindquarters" while she's moving her feet forward and thus we're defeating the purpose of the game. I have to correct that immediately, then go back to the hindquarters and ask again.
4) Satin tells on herself. This was a funny comment from Karen. She said, "Satin tells on herself and on you. She's honest. She doesn't hide her emotions. This makes her much less of a challenge to teach!" Satin pretty much wears her heart on her sleeve. She tells you how she feels and why. She's honest and straightforward. I'm not peeling away tons of layers to try to find out why she does what she does. If she doesn't like pressure, she pulls away or blows through it. If she is disrespectful, she walks into your space. She's a banana, not an onion.
5) The "Driving Line" is real! Karen took Satin to demonstrate how I can help Satin understand the beginnings of the send. You suggest with your "lead it, lift it"... and if you need to help them move forward all you have to do is get your pressure behind the drive line. It was like magic!
6) Satin lacks impulsion. Impulsion and flexion are connected/intertwined. Sometimes gaining one will bring along the other. Satin's lack of impulsion might be the root of several of her issues. She doesn't want to go forward when driving from zone 3, so if we gain impulsion, this issue might become obsolete.
7) Becoming particular. It's time to get more particular. When I ask something that she knows, expect an answer. She needs to be a partner and I promise not to be a predator. I give suggestion, phase 1, phase 4. By the end of my lesson Satin was behaving like a different horse. She was actually responsive. Karen thinks she is a sensitive horse (really? Satin!?) but has fallen into these cycles of dull and bored and lacking impulsion. When I step up to the plate as an alpha, Satin perks up and puts a smile on. I need to be particular with my questions now. I asked you this, this is what you should want to do. Make the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
My Lesson with 2-star PP!
I finally was able to reschedule my lesson with Karen Woodbury, 2* Parelli Professional! I couldn't make it to the lesson I had scheduled weeks in advance because my job scheduled me to work that day from 4:00am-8:00am. No one was available to take my shift and there was no way I would have been able to get home, feed 5 billion animals, get Satin and drive to Micanopy by 10:00am. So I opted to try for another day and I finally made it!
On Thursday I loaded Satin onto the trailer - she's the least claustrophobic horse I've ever met and will climb into anything. Just the other day she was eating hay from an open stall piled high with orchard/alfalfa hay bales when I approached and said her name. She knew she was supposed to back up but instead she literally climbed onto the massive bales until both front feet were two feet of the ground and she had no where to go. She gave up and backed out. Could her lack of claustrophobia be her innate left-brain horsenality, or perhaps all the time I spent playing with her as a foal in the horse trailer, in the shed, the barn, the woods... ? Is confidence a learned behavior or innate? Or can it be both? Hmm.
I got off on a little tangent there. More about the lesson!
We arrived at Karen's farm right on time. Satin unloaded and immediately buried her face in the tall, green grass, filling her mouth as if it were her last supper. She wasn't phased by the new environment and rarely took a moment to check out the surroundings. The grass was so much more important. I let her "adjust" to the new scenery while Karen and I discussed what Satin and I had been doing since our last lesson - our relationship has changed in leaps and bounds due to the simple change of keeping Satin out of my personal space.
We started with the driving game from zone 3 and Karen noticed a few things immediately:
1) Satin had a very difficult time leading
2) I need to mean what I say and say what I mean!
3) Satin has a tendency to "throw" her outside (right) shoulder out - setting herself up to "leave"
4) No impulsion
So what we are to work on for this week:
1) Hindquarter disengagement!!!!!! This is critical since Satin (currently) is constantly thinking about ways to "leave" or pull away and take off running.
2) Point-to-point driving from zone 3 - make sure I don't start walking before Satin. Satin needs to take the first steps. Tap-tap-tap-TAP for impulsion. Mean it when I ask her to "stop"
3) Lots of undemanding time on the right side of Satin since she has trouble looking at me with that eye.
Karen noticed that Satin is a "good learner" as she would literally absorb new information immediately. We licked and chewed at least a dozen times during the hour-long lesson. Lots of blowing and sighing. And Satin fell asleep 3 times! After we would go point-to-point and then stop, she would lick/chew/sigh, then shut down and close her eyes. Karen playfully called it a "thinkity bink", in other words, she was doing some serious digesting! If it were any other trainer they would probably accuse me of drugging Satin - it was pretty bizarre!
We have lots to work on! Our next lesson is scheduled for next Thursday. I have 5 lessons scheduled in advance. So excited!
On Thursday I loaded Satin onto the trailer - she's the least claustrophobic horse I've ever met and will climb into anything. Just the other day she was eating hay from an open stall piled high with orchard/alfalfa hay bales when I approached and said her name. She knew she was supposed to back up but instead she literally climbed onto the massive bales until both front feet were two feet of the ground and she had no where to go. She gave up and backed out. Could her lack of claustrophobia be her innate left-brain horsenality, or perhaps all the time I spent playing with her as a foal in the horse trailer, in the shed, the barn, the woods... ? Is confidence a learned behavior or innate? Or can it be both? Hmm.
I got off on a little tangent there. More about the lesson!
We arrived at Karen's farm right on time. Satin unloaded and immediately buried her face in the tall, green grass, filling her mouth as if it were her last supper. She wasn't phased by the new environment and rarely took a moment to check out the surroundings. The grass was so much more important. I let her "adjust" to the new scenery while Karen and I discussed what Satin and I had been doing since our last lesson - our relationship has changed in leaps and bounds due to the simple change of keeping Satin out of my personal space.
We started with the driving game from zone 3 and Karen noticed a few things immediately:
1) Satin had a very difficult time leading
2) I need to mean what I say and say what I mean!
3) Satin has a tendency to "throw" her outside (right) shoulder out - setting herself up to "leave"
4) No impulsion
So what we are to work on for this week:
1) Hindquarter disengagement!!!!!! This is critical since Satin (currently) is constantly thinking about ways to "leave" or pull away and take off running.
2) Point-to-point driving from zone 3 - make sure I don't start walking before Satin. Satin needs to take the first steps. Tap-tap-tap-TAP for impulsion. Mean it when I ask her to "stop"
3) Lots of undemanding time on the right side of Satin since she has trouble looking at me with that eye.
Karen noticed that Satin is a "good learner" as she would literally absorb new information immediately. We licked and chewed at least a dozen times during the hour-long lesson. Lots of blowing and sighing. And Satin fell asleep 3 times! After we would go point-to-point and then stop, she would lick/chew/sigh, then shut down and close her eyes. Karen playfully called it a "thinkity bink", in other words, she was doing some serious digesting! If it were any other trainer they would probably accuse me of drugging Satin - it was pretty bizarre!
We have lots to work on! Our next lesson is scheduled for next Thursday. I have 5 lessons scheduled in advance. So excited!
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