Top Barn Week 10, Stressage, And Hard Work

 Yes we have completed Week 10 of the Top Barn Challenge.  We have had our Rollover week, but not a Holiday week, so technically Week 11 is the last to complete the challenge, but I am still expecting snow! Ok so the last week has been mostly sunny.....I can feel the warmth of the sun, and layers have been stripped off.

Charlie has been full of spring grass, even though we cannot actually see it growing yet. It may be all in his belly. It is showing in his springy heels!!!

We have not been totally connected.....Charlie has his mind on fresh grass and the mares (probably in that order), so we have spent the last couple of weeks playing at Liberty and working on a dance routine. However although I haven't actually got on him, we are getting close.

We have also been working on our Stressage Competition. What was I thinking? Back in the day, I hated Stressage, the most boring part of ODE. And that was ridden!  In-Hand Stressage? Am I crazy? I have to run! With my Dodgy Lungs!! But anyway we are sort of getting there.  Jo filmed a couple of run-throughs today for me.  Charlie was fairly good. But I wasn't satisfied. So back I went this evening with Mark The Mechanic and Horse Whisperer for yet another take.  Although willing to work, Charlie decided it was too dark to trust me on his blind side.  I would say he 99% trusts me, but when he is struggling with what he can see.....At the end of the day (literally) I am not a horse!!  Yup Sorry to break that to you!  With his feral background he still looks to other horses to keep him safe. 

So more filming to come (sorry Jo).

As much as I have loved my 4th Top Barn Challenge, I may have to take a week off to recover at the end.  Its all been a bit hard core. I am still looking after my Mum 4 days a week.  And the Winter seems to have dragged on (even though its getting warmer).  It's the extra work involved in the Winter months that's the killer! Jo and I are on our knees!!! It hasn't helped this year that our Hay Barn is being restored.  So our hay is delivered once a fortnight. It lives outside, so we have a daily battle with a gigantic tarpaulin and several hundred bricks and pallets to keep it warm and dry.  We should be experts at putting up tents!

Daily we move 4 ponies onto the up-coming grass for 2 hours.(The other 2 stay on the night paddocks as they are Fat Fu****, I mean Good Doers). Then its a round of hanging up hay nets in the field, filling Hay Feeders, Filling Water Tubs, Poo-Picking, emptying Poo trailer, forking up Muck-heap, cleaning trailer, refilling Hay Nets and trailer with hay,  bringing back 4 ponies onto night paddocks. At this point we are exhausted and need to stop for a coffee and a biscuit! We have help at the Weekends, but we desperately need weekday help! It's the hay wrangling that's killing us.  SO.........

Do you have free mornings?  Would you enjoy the fresh air and exercise? Would you like to share a loving Highland Pony in exchange for a bit of hard graft and a small contribution towards her keep? Daisy has so much to give, and although we love her very much, she would love to have her very own human that she doesn't have to share with the other 5.  Daisy is a bombproof, but forward going Happy Hacker. She hacks out alone and in company, is very loving and sweet. She is in her 20's and is not going to set the world alight, but may well light up your world!

 

Storm Dudley, Storm Eunace and Storm Franklin versus Top Barn Challenge and A Dressage Test!

 Ok so this is not a weather Channel! However it may as well be.  After jinxing things with the last blog, by daring to mention how kind the Weather Gods had been to us so far in The Top Barn Challenge, they threw their toys out of the pram and sent us Storm Dudley, and Storm Eunace ....and Storm Franklin. Thanks! 

So week 7 of The Challenge started with Storm Dudley....  It was a bit blowy, but we are used to wind here on the East Coast. This coincided with my Nurse duties being upped as my Mum had hospital and hairdressing appointments. That was 3 days written off. As the well publicised Storm Eunace was do in on Friday I decided to take my Rollover Week ( still saving Holiday week for the Snow!!!).  Having banked 2.5 hours, I snuck in the needed half hour on Thursday, filming Rhi's Random, in between storms.  A Lunging task....Lunging is Charlies Nemesis.  However we have been working on it, and he completed the task.

 And so Friday dawned. Remembering the Non Hurricane of '87, I half thought the Weather Boffins were just covering their arses.  The other half was slightly excited at the thought of a mighty wind. Yup it blew a Hoolie.  I had to ride the hay trailer, to hold it down, standing upright was a bit of a problem, but it wasn't hurricane force.  The horses couldn't have cared less.  Bringing them in from the Summer Grazing to their Night Field, I got caught by a gust and the field gate.  As I sailed past Charlie, like a Galleon under full sail, I grabbed a handful of his mane.  He immediately anchored up and stood firm as if to say "I got you Mum". He's got Brownie Points for at least 3 weeks! 

 The wind got up, so I went for a walk down the Beach with Freya Dog, and Other Half.  I say walk!  They went for a walk while I filmed the sea. And got pushed nearer and nearer to the waves. Eventually I grabbed the anchor rope of a beached boat and pulled myself away from the Sea. As soon as I let go I was blown over.  My Other Half (Mark The Mechanic and Part Time Horse Whisperer) said it was like watching a rag doll being shaken by an angry Bear! Freya Dog who is 20kg lighter than me, had no trouble staying on her feet, although she is slightly lower to the ground and all muscle. 

And so Week 8 began.  With Storm Franklin, who was never mentioned until it started. Not quite as blowy, but very wet. Poo Picking was like having a power shower.  If I'd known I would have brought shampoo, and saved some time!

But this is the Top Barn Challenge, so to hell with the weather!! I seem to have entered The Hub In-hand Dressage Comp. It involves running....I mean who am I kidding???  Charlie and I set about practicing, in the 'School'.  Heaving for breath I measured the 'School' knowing it wasn't 20 x 40, but hoping it wasn't far off. it was!  In fact its 35m x about 14m.  So I set about making a 'Dressage Arena' in the flattest part of the Summer Grazing. The sun shone, the birds sang, spring was in the air. I grabbed Charlie and we started practicing. Suddenly all Hail broke loose. The 'Arena' was white within seconds. But this is the Top Barn Challenge...so we carried on!

Friday we had a Round Pen Session working on sharper transitions, and some standing at the mounting block. Of course I was up on the mounting block with my coffee. Charlie moved, so I asked him to reposition himself. He kicked the (flimsy) block, my coffee flew skywards and landed all over his ears. he curled his lips and that finished me off.  We may have to rework this!!

Today was warm (9c) and I was able to have my fleece surgically removed to soak up some Vitamin D.  Charlie and i spent a glorious hour playing at Liberty, starting Spanish Walk and generally having fun.  And so I have not got on him yet (again) as we have been pushed back a week......But next weeks looking good!

Listening To The Horse - Horsemanship Summit

Wow. Brain Spin!!!  I saw a post online the other day inviting people to The Horsemanship Summit.  Two days of videos worth over £1000 for free. They started streaming online today.  Trouble is, you only have 24 hours to watch the vids!!!!  It has some amazing horse trainers on it though, including Mark Raschid, Steve Halfpenny, Ellie Ross, Pat Parelli etc etc.  All trainers that ring a bell with me.  I have just binge watched about 3 hours.....hence the brain spin.  I have sat here nodding and agreeing with stuff.....But they put it so much better than I can. I also scribbled notes.  So here is a summary of what I have seen so far!!!!!

For starters I watched Steve Halfpenny (Lightness Training), experience a few days in Spain learning classical training.  It turns out it is sooo different in many ways.  Did you know they only ever ride one-handed?? Did you know Dressage just means Training? And that training was for war-horses?  Makes Dressage sound less boring huh??  Basically that one hand is used to fix the horses head....not for stopping or steering. It remains still, while the other hand is free to wield a sword or lance.  The steering and stopping is done entirely through shifts in the body-weight. If that hand that is holding the reins moves, the horses get tense.  So learn to ride your horse one-handed, using just your body for control.

Next up was a lovely Irish girl called Elaine Heney, who shows us how to calm an excitable pony.  The pony in question just wanted to go.  Instead of slowing it, or making it stand, she showed how we can use the horses energy, let it go, but control the direction by doing mini serpentines. I have used this sort of thing for a while.  Our Daisy particularly has a mouth of iron, and pulling against her will have no effect, except to make her pull back.  With Daisy I have always relaxed the reins, but put her on small circles.  It is very effective!

I next watched an hour long video on collection.. It all makes sense.  A collected horse puts its weight onto its hind quarters, engages its back muscles, lifts its back and steps under itself. This makes the horse more flexible, light and strong. We have all ridden horses that are on the forehand.  They lean against your hands and drag their back end along behind them.  This does not do the horse any good and will lessen its useful working life.  There was a lot of useful input from a lot of trainers and riders in this video.  Here are the key points.

1: Less is More....This refers to equipment and over-riding.  To become collected the horse needs freedom of movement.  If the Rider is tense for example the horse will be working against this tenseness, and become tense aswell. The rider needs to relax and allow the horse forward.  A lot of riders start by pulling their horses head in.  This does NOT work.  The neck may be bent, but the horse will be hollow and dragging its back end. Allow the horse forward.

Do Not use the reins for control, they are merely there as a form of communication.  Learn to control direction and speed with the seat and legs.

2/ Equipment.... Anything that shuts the horses mouth or applies too much fixed pressure is not helpful.  A flash for instance....So the horse constantly opens its mouth, tries to get its tongue over the bit?  Its showing pain or discomfort.  A Flash or grakle that holds the mouth shut is just treating the symptom, not the cause. Gadgets can also be confusing.  We all know about pressure and release right?  You want to halt, you apply pressure on the reins, the horse feels discomfort in its mouth and stops, you release the pressure as a reward. What if you are using very tight side-reins while lunging??  The horse constantly feels pressure on its mouth, so stops.  The side-reins are still applying pressure!!! How is that teaching the Horse anything??? The Horse is very sensitive. If it shows signs of discomfort, use less tack, Not More!

3/ Learn the Gaits.Yes that may sound simple.  But you need to be aware of the footfalls of each gait.  Learn the sequence and feel it.  You cannot influence a foot that is weight-bearing.  For example you are trotting.  The feet move in pairs diagonally. You need to be rising and sitting on the right diagonal to be in balance with your horse, otherwise when you ask for canter, you won't know which hind is ready to strike off into canter.

4/ The Horse Is an Athlete....So treat is as such.  Horses are designed to move.  In the Wild they move as they graze.  They cover at least 20 miles a day. This way they stay fit, agile and muscled up. Ready for action, should a predator appear. In our modern world the horse has become a leisure pet!  We almost treat them as humans.  Yes we may love them.  That love translates into treating them as pets....and it does them no good.  We tuck them up at night into an enclosed space, alone, heaped in rugs to keep them warm.  We ride them for an hour a day, thinking thats more than enough. It goes against all their wild instincts. Horses in the Wild move all the time. Graze, move, graze. For about 18 - 20 hours a day! Moving, 20 hours a day!!! This is what keeps them fit.  And Sane.  So if you can't give your horse 24/7 turnout, then at least work it every day, for several hours.  Otherwise the horse will have a shortened life and injury because its muscles are weak. Or it will become shut down and depressed. It will give up hope and meekly do as its told, while waiting to die. Some people like this, they think they have a well trained horse.  Really? If you truly love horses, its because you love their wild spirit, so let them be horses and meet them halfway as partners!

Finally I watched a video from Ellie Ross about Positive Reinforcement.  This is something I have been doing for a year and a half with Charlie, and more recently with Lil, Dora and Mini. Having tried several methods with Charlie, I found that Positive Reinforcement works well with him. I use a Clicker to signal a right response, so you may have heard of this method as Clicker Training. Works with Dogs, Dolphins and even Chickens!! Many animal trainers use this method. I have even seen a documentary about someone that Clicker trained a Polar Bear!! So I watched this video with interest and lots of nodding in agreement.  Even though I didn't learn anything as such, I noted down a lot of key points as again the Trainer can explain far better than I can!

1/ The difference between Negative Reinforcement and Positive Reinforcement.  We all know Negative Reinforcement.  You want the horse to move forward. You apply pressure with your legs.  The horse moves forward, you take the pressure off. Positive Reinforcement.. No pressure.  The horse does the right thing, ie moves forward. It gets a reward. It doesn't move forward. No reward.

2/ Food Manners.  This can be taught quickly. First associate a sound with a treat. As I said, I use a Clicker as its consistent. Click, treat. Click, Treat. Once the horse associates the Click with the treat, you can start on food manners. If the horse mugs, nips, jostles you for a treat stand firm.  As soon as it looks away, click and treat. It doesn't take long. That way you will never be mugged for treats!

3/ Scary Objects.  Take for example a puddle. Your horse may refuse to go through a puddle. So you push, kick, stop it leaving the 'scene of danger'.  You may be able to force the horse through the puddle, but it will forever associate the puddle with a bad experience.  What if you try a different way??

Let the horse turn away from the puddle. But bring it round again. Use baby steps.  If the horse looks at the puddle, reward it.  Stay calm, relaxed and do not use force. If it moves one foot forward, or drops its head, reward it. Continue in this manner and the horse will come to realize that the puddle is a good place to be.  It has no pressure to stay there, its free to leave, but if it stays it will get a reward. Now your Horse likes puddles!

Clicker Training can bring huge rewards in your relationship with your horse. Test it out.  Go to the paddock. Does your horse ignore you? Or move off? Or does it come to you, excited to be learning something new?

So thats a quick summary of today's Horsemanship Summary.  I will forward on as much as possible tomorrow.

In the meantime, here is today's photos of Clicker Training the Three Amigos.

As you can see, they haven't quite got the tricks yet, BUT loose in a 2 Acre Paddock with plenty of grass, all three of them are there with me, eager to figure out what they must do to get a sliver of carrot. And they are also figuring out that mugging me doesn't work.