My little horse is so funny! Today after finishing his dinner he wanted some more treats, "hmm" he said... and then he walked away a few meters to lay down.
Last time he did that I think I scared him abit by moving towards him too fast with the treats and I didnt want to do that today so I didnt move. But when he layed down he turned his head towards me, "hello, cant you see that Im laying down? where's my treats?". Nothing else to do than to give him everything in the pocket and some scratches! I wonder what a normal person would say about that, my horse get the most treats for taking naps, and not to speak about all those coffee-breaks we have when "working" in the arena! ;)
måndag 31 januari 2011
söndag 30 januari 2011
Increasing my trust.
We've found a part of the road without any ice so today we went there to play, the road is still pretty hard so it was mainly at walk but also some trot.
Started out with some online to get connected and then I rode some, did some exercises at freestyle to get all parts of the body working (both mine and Nalle's!) and then we played with some contact.
I've seen video-material lately with Pat and Karen and both talked about seat connection, I had to check my seat connection and how much he understands when I only use my seat. We need to work more on that but he understands more than I thought. I also had to check how little I could do, that's something I always should try to do but that tend to slip my mind. He understands direct vs indirect rein very well, back up also works well but sideways still need bigger aids.
I rode him bareback today, last year I would never had done that. I still cant push that thought about him going bananas out of my mind, which is bad since he havent gone bananas one second this winter.
"Watch your thoughts because they became actions".
But Im trying to trust him more and more, every time I trust him a little more he proves to me that I did the right thing. Today I had him loose most of the way down to the stable and when we were on our way back to the pasture he was loose the whole way. On the way back he deciced to take another way than the road since the road still got some ice on it, on the way he took there's a small hill and I sent him up there. When I did that he cantered up and I thought "oh-oh, he's running back to the herd".
But when he got up there he stoped turned and waited for me, "are you coming or what?".
Ofc he got a treat when I got up and then he waited for me to show the way again, oh I love that little horse!
I know Ive got trust-issues with other people but I have to learn to trust my horse much more,
after all he trusts me with his life.
Started out with some online to get connected and then I rode some, did some exercises at freestyle to get all parts of the body working (both mine and Nalle's!) and then we played with some contact.
I've seen video-material lately with Pat and Karen and both talked about seat connection, I had to check my seat connection and how much he understands when I only use my seat. We need to work more on that but he understands more than I thought. I also had to check how little I could do, that's something I always should try to do but that tend to slip my mind. He understands direct vs indirect rein very well, back up also works well but sideways still need bigger aids.
I rode him bareback today, last year I would never had done that. I still cant push that thought about him going bananas out of my mind, which is bad since he havent gone bananas one second this winter.
"Watch your thoughts because they became actions".
But Im trying to trust him more and more, every time I trust him a little more he proves to me that I did the right thing. Today I had him loose most of the way down to the stable and when we were on our way back to the pasture he was loose the whole way. On the way back he deciced to take another way than the road since the road still got some ice on it, on the way he took there's a small hill and I sent him up there. When I did that he cantered up and I thought "oh-oh, he's running back to the herd".
But when he got up there he stoped turned and waited for me, "are you coming or what?".
Ofc he got a treat when I got up and then he waited for me to show the way again, oh I love that little horse!
I know Ive got trust-issues with other people but I have to learn to trust my horse much more,
after all he trusts me with his life.
fredag 28 januari 2011
torsdag 27 januari 2011
Nice day in the sun
You know that feeling you get when you let go of tension if you e.g. get massage?
That pleased feeling that makes you want to sleep?
Nalle had that today when he finally after a month could walk and run without being afraid of falling on the ice. We went to one of the stables near by to borrow their paddock because there wasnt much ice left. I thought Nalle would go bananas when he finally could run, but no...
We did exercises online to stretch out the body and then we played some with different ways to activate the hindlegs from the saddle. We also moved the front end for the second time and he did that very well, and when my little LBI got some treats for doing it well he did it even better... ;)
But most of the time we spent sunning and yawning!
That pleased feeling that makes you want to sleep?
Nalle had that today when he finally after a month could walk and run without being afraid of falling on the ice. We went to one of the stables near by to borrow their paddock because there wasnt much ice left. I thought Nalle would go bananas when he finally could run, but no...
We did exercises online to stretch out the body and then we played some with different ways to activate the hindlegs from the saddle. We also moved the front end for the second time and he did that very well, and when my little LBI got some treats for doing it well he did it even better... ;)
But most of the time we spent sunning and yawning!
onsdag 26 januari 2011
"When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it;
the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes."
Henry V (Shakespear)
I found this quote when I just started ridingschool and it has been following me since,
I even made a painting with it that my parents still keep hanging on the wall.
No wonder that horses are magical to me with that start :)
the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes."
Henry V (Shakespear)
I found this quote when I just started ridingschool and it has been following me since,
I even made a painting with it that my parents still keep hanging on the wall.
No wonder that horses are magical to me with that start :)
måndag 24 januari 2011
Playing with a little lady
Playing with a 3 years old spanish little lady who belongs to a friend of mine.
This is the 4th time she's worked with, my trainer has worked with her before and this was the first time for me.
She's very acrobatic!
I didnt release the second she did it right because I've seen her do it well before and I wanted her to get more relaxed in her body and her movement before the release, that worked pretty well.
At first she was flying, but at the end I took the rope of to check if I had pushed her to hard, "what remains is the truth", and when I did that she stilled followed me.
She got very tense when she saw that we were going into the arena, so when we were done and the other horses had left I let her run any frustration off (I would have prefered to start with that).
That also gave her time without pressure in the arena and hopefully she will be a little less tense the next time she walks in there.
söndag 23 januari 2011
Farrier-issues
The farrier came some days ago to take a look at Nalle's hoofs and make them pretty again, I use to take some on them myself to get him more comfortable with that but since I haven't been abled to take him down to the stable for a while I havent done anything with them and they needed some fixing.
Lifting the hoofs has always been a tricky thing for us, at first it was hard because he had to lift his hoof and loose control of his escapeway, then it was hard to for him to find his balance on 3 legs.
It wasnt until he was around 4 he could shift his weight to the other legs and relax with me holding his leg. But ofc he had to see the farrier during this time and ofc he had the same problems with them plus the fact that he didnt trust them.
I've accepted so many things done to my horse that I regred knowing what I know now, but you cant do wrong if you handle out of lack of knowledge.
They have tried to tie his hindlegs up, they have hit him, they have tried to "raise" him, they have drugged and other ugly things people do when they get frustrated and scared.
When he was around 4 and got started he had to get shoes on his forelegs, "oh no" was my first thought.
But when he was about to get started I realised I couldnt do that myself because I couldnt communicate with him, that's how I found PNH and my trainer. So it was his farrier who was going to take care of that and he did it fast with no problems. That made me realise that it wasnt about the hoofs...
When we got back home I at last found a farrier who was good with horses, he wasnt the best farrier but he always stayed calm and friendly.
So when I moved back to my hometown I didnt know what to do, I didnt want to go back to my old farrier, no way! Lucky for me one of the girls in my stable who practise NH got a trainer married to a farrier, so with me fixing his hoofs around once a week and that farrier with his knowledge we are doing pretty ok.
Last time he was there he was abit out of balance, nothing big but Nalle noticed that and tried to make him more emotional. But he didnt fall for that and all went well.
This time Nalle started to juggle with one of his hindlegs but as soon as he did that he got really scared, "I know what's going to happen now!". My farrier could see that Nalle got seriously scared and proved to him that he wasnt going to hit him, nothing bad was going to happen.
After a while Nalle could relax again and I hope that was a small step for him to gain trust for farriers.
Im doing what I can to prepare him and I've got other people to lift his hoofs every now and then.
Another funny little thing is that some days ago I slip and fell on the ice in their pasture. Nalle was eating and when he saw me flap my arms he got abit scared, but the moment I hit the ground he came walking towards me and put his muzzle on my shoulder, "are you okey little human?".
I had to gave him a treat for that and a big hug when I got up :)
Lifting the hoofs has always been a tricky thing for us, at first it was hard because he had to lift his hoof and loose control of his escapeway, then it was hard to for him to find his balance on 3 legs.
It wasnt until he was around 4 he could shift his weight to the other legs and relax with me holding his leg. But ofc he had to see the farrier during this time and ofc he had the same problems with them plus the fact that he didnt trust them.
I've accepted so many things done to my horse that I regred knowing what I know now, but you cant do wrong if you handle out of lack of knowledge.
They have tried to tie his hindlegs up, they have hit him, they have tried to "raise" him, they have drugged and other ugly things people do when they get frustrated and scared.
When he was around 4 and got started he had to get shoes on his forelegs, "oh no" was my first thought.
But when he was about to get started I realised I couldnt do that myself because I couldnt communicate with him, that's how I found PNH and my trainer. So it was his farrier who was going to take care of that and he did it fast with no problems. That made me realise that it wasnt about the hoofs...
When we got back home I at last found a farrier who was good with horses, he wasnt the best farrier but he always stayed calm and friendly.
So when I moved back to my hometown I didnt know what to do, I didnt want to go back to my old farrier, no way! Lucky for me one of the girls in my stable who practise NH got a trainer married to a farrier, so with me fixing his hoofs around once a week and that farrier with his knowledge we are doing pretty ok.
Last time he was there he was abit out of balance, nothing big but Nalle noticed that and tried to make him more emotional. But he didnt fall for that and all went well.
This time Nalle started to juggle with one of his hindlegs but as soon as he did that he got really scared, "I know what's going to happen now!". My farrier could see that Nalle got seriously scared and proved to him that he wasnt going to hit him, nothing bad was going to happen.
After a while Nalle could relax again and I hope that was a small step for him to gain trust for farriers.
Im doing what I can to prepare him and I've got other people to lift his hoofs every now and then.
Another funny little thing is that some days ago I slip and fell on the ice in their pasture. Nalle was eating and when he saw me flap my arms he got abit scared, but the moment I hit the ground he came walking towards me and put his muzzle on my shoulder, "are you okey little human?".
I had to gave him a treat for that and a big hug when I got up :)
torsdag 20 januari 2011
My little LBI
The last couple of days I've spent alot of time just being in the loose housing with Nalle and the other horses. There's still thick ice on the road out from the pasture and Nalle is like Bambi stepping on it, he has been falling trying to walk on the ice the last days I've been there and he is tence in his body from trying to keep his balance all the time. I gave him some massage on the hind legs today and he couldnt decide if it was nice or uncomfortable, his ears went back and he looked like he wanted to kick me but then the lower lip went down and his facial expression was like when I scratch his "scratch-spot".
He couldnt decide which feeling to go with, enjoy it or kick me because it was uncomfortable so his ears went back and forth.
The last time he got massage from someone who knows how to give it he was abit cold and tence in the hind legs so when she gave him massage there he kicked at her, 3-4 times... It's not nice always nice to own a LBI ;)
I think Nalle likes all the time I spend there, today he neighed when he saw me. He use to be happy to see me but he's not a man of big emotions, he usually thinks it's enough to come walking with a happy face.
When he had his injury and during his rehabilitation I spent hours and hours with him since he had to stay in the stable all day for the first weeks and then he was allowed to be in s small pasture for another couple of weeks, during that time and some time after when he was allowed back in the loose housing he neighed at me every day. He also liked the training we had during the rehabilitation, short intense sessions at walk online and riding so he could use his brain but not his leg too much, and during that time he neighed as well.
Since I cant do anything with him now we will have to take it abit easy when we can start to do things again, that will give me an opportunity to really test where his limit is.
If he starts to say "oh hi, it's you again" instead of "Oh it's you! I've missed you!" I'll back one step and increase the pace even slower, after all I want my horse to enjoy playing with me as much as I enjoy playing with him. That dont mean that I will stop push him across the borders of his comfort zone, that place have to constantly grow, it just means that I will try and find a different way to plan my goals with my LBI.
I've got high goals and Nalles likes to use his brain to figure out new challanges, but I want our relation to grow during that process instead of paying for the fancy stuff with his trust.
He couldnt decide which feeling to go with, enjoy it or kick me because it was uncomfortable so his ears went back and forth.
The last time he got massage from someone who knows how to give it he was abit cold and tence in the hind legs so when she gave him massage there he kicked at her, 3-4 times... It's not nice always nice to own a LBI ;)
I think Nalle likes all the time I spend there, today he neighed when he saw me. He use to be happy to see me but he's not a man of big emotions, he usually thinks it's enough to come walking with a happy face.
When he had his injury and during his rehabilitation I spent hours and hours with him since he had to stay in the stable all day for the first weeks and then he was allowed to be in s small pasture for another couple of weeks, during that time and some time after when he was allowed back in the loose housing he neighed at me every day. He also liked the training we had during the rehabilitation, short intense sessions at walk online and riding so he could use his brain but not his leg too much, and during that time he neighed as well.
Since I cant do anything with him now we will have to take it abit easy when we can start to do things again, that will give me an opportunity to really test where his limit is.
If he starts to say "oh hi, it's you again" instead of "Oh it's you! I've missed you!" I'll back one step and increase the pace even slower, after all I want my horse to enjoy playing with me as much as I enjoy playing with him. That dont mean that I will stop push him across the borders of his comfort zone, that place have to constantly grow, it just means that I will try and find a different way to plan my goals with my LBI.
I've got high goals and Nalles likes to use his brain to figure out new challanges, but I want our relation to grow during that process instead of paying for the fancy stuff with his trust.
måndag 17 januari 2011
Playtime in the barn
Today it hit that even if I cant take Nalle out of the loose housing I can still play with him... in the barn!
We did some sideways away from me and then back towards me and some yoyo.
After that he started to scratch the ground so I gave him a treat, it didnt take long for him to turn that into a game. Last time we did that it ended up with him laying down, not this time but we're working on it.
Think I'll start to keep a carrot in my pocket for when he lay down :)
We did some sideways away from me and then back towards me and some yoyo.
After that he started to scratch the ground so I gave him a treat, it didnt take long for him to turn that into a game. Last time we did that it ended up with him laying down, not this time but we're working on it.
Think I'll start to keep a carrot in my pocket for when he lay down :)
söndag 16 januari 2011
Rain again :(
After a few good days with snow and sun we got more rain again and we now live in something that looks like a scene from "the Ice storm". There's nowhere to play and the roads are thick of ice so there's no point taking Nalle from the pasture and risk an injury.
We will have to do alot of undemanding time and protect your herd of two instead, but that's nice to :)
That also gives me time to catch up with all the DVDs I've got and the huge vault on the savvyclub-page!
We will have to do alot of undemanding time and protect your herd of two instead, but that's nice to :)
That also gives me time to catch up with all the DVDs I've got and the huge vault on the savvyclub-page!
torsdag 13 januari 2011
Riding in the snow
I thought Nalle would go bananas today we when rode in the snow in the big summer-pasture but he stayed very calm. Probably because the snow was very deep and he's a small horse... Found some tracks made by the tractor that was easier for him to walk in, he could even trot and canter without jumping like a rabbit :)
We did some nice stops, he was so with me today that I couldnt sigh without getting a stop.
onsdag 12 januari 2011
Jihu some snow to cover the ice!
Today I didnt have a plan when I got to the stable, it's hard to make plans when you dont know if there will be snow or ice or perhaps both...
The arena was hard to walk in even if it wasnt slippery today so I brought Nalle to the small field where we hang out yesterday to feed him, used a small hill to jump on his back. Im glad I've got a small horse when it comes to stunts like that! ;)
When I sat there I could feel that he suddently frooze and then I saw one of the horses in a pasture near by cantering towards us to find out what we're doing. I could feel his heart beating faster and his body preparing to run but I decided to be still and do nothing until he did his "next move".
But instead of tossing his head or get more adrenaline he made a big sigh and lowered his head to eat again, that felt so good that after he finished his food I decided to take a short trailride bareback.
In the forest he stopped every 20 meters to watch the snow-monsters, but everytime he stopped he turned his head and looked at me and asked me what to do. A year ago he would have stopped and turned and if he couldnt turn he would have bucked, so I wouldnt even had considered riding out bareback alone.
It feels like where are really starting to get somewhere!
On the way back we did some zone 5 driving, he's getting good at that :)
The arena was hard to walk in even if it wasnt slippery today so I brought Nalle to the small field where we hang out yesterday to feed him, used a small hill to jump on his back. Im glad I've got a small horse when it comes to stunts like that! ;)
When I sat there I could feel that he suddently frooze and then I saw one of the horses in a pasture near by cantering towards us to find out what we're doing. I could feel his heart beating faster and his body preparing to run but I decided to be still and do nothing until he did his "next move".
But instead of tossing his head or get more adrenaline he made a big sigh and lowered his head to eat again, that felt so good that after he finished his food I decided to take a short trailride bareback.
In the forest he stopped every 20 meters to watch the snow-monsters, but everytime he stopped he turned his head and looked at me and asked me what to do. A year ago he would have stopped and turned and if he couldnt turn he would have bucked, so I wouldnt even had considered riding out bareback alone.
It feels like where are really starting to get somewhere!
On the way back we did some zone 5 driving, he's getting good at that :)
tisdag 11 januari 2011
Ice ice baby
The weather right now isnt made for horsepeople. We had alot of snow and then we got some heavy rain so now there's ice everywhere. The road down to the stable is very slippery to walk on so Im not gonna go there with Nalle, some of the forest tracks are as bad and the arena is like a bumpy skating-rink.
I found a small field between the road and the arena that we at least could walk on but the snow there is still thick and my horse got short legs... ;) I brought him there to feed him and did some passanger lesson at walk, it was really nice to sit on his back and enjoy the silent evening.
On the way back to his pasture we had to cross the slippery road and then walk on a snowy/icy smaller road and I didnt want to fall so I put a hand on Nalle's wither, that way I got six legs instead of two...
He thought that was very weird, he asked alot of questions and had full focus on me.
We couldnt play much today but at least he got to chew abit and we could test our communication :)
I hope we will get more snow soon or at least some rain so the ice melt, this weather is worthless!
I found a small field between the road and the arena that we at least could walk on but the snow there is still thick and my horse got short legs... ;) I brought him there to feed him and did some passanger lesson at walk, it was really nice to sit on his back and enjoy the silent evening.
On the way back to his pasture we had to cross the slippery road and then walk on a snowy/icy smaller road and I didnt want to fall so I put a hand on Nalle's wither, that way I got six legs instead of two...
He thought that was very weird, he asked alot of questions and had full focus on me.
We couldnt play much today but at least he got to chew abit and we could test our communication :)
I hope we will get more snow soon or at least some rain so the ice melt, this weather is worthless!
söndag 9 januari 2011
Playing in the rain
The day after our trailride we took another one, took the same way but the horses acted abit different from the day before. After a while we realised that they reacted on the shadows! That day was very sunny and there were long shadows on the ground from the trees. They also had some muscle soreness from the day before, there's deep snow on the roads we're riding on and they have to work alot.
I could feel that Nalle was abit stiff, "I'll do what you ask me to but I wont/cant put my heart into it".
Yesterday the plan was to do some online, I've bought a 45" rope that is as thin as the new feather-lines.
For that worked better than the "lasso". I thought Nalle would be sore and not want to play but he was in the mood Im getting spoiled with nowadays, "jihu, what do you want us to play today?".
After a while we did liberty instead because he felt so nice and the liberty worked even better.
He's starting to really get backing up with draw from zone 5, my instructor told me that when they get things in porcupine game it's easy for them to do it at driving game. Sometimes when I back him like that I use some hairs from the tail so we keep that alive aswell, Im also working on how far away I can stand and ask him to back up. We wrapped it up with his favorit game (apart from sideways towards me that he wants to show that he can do now...), stick to me. He usuallly thinks it's really fun to run with me, stop and back up or run and do a fast turn. And to be honest I think it's fun to, mostly because he gets so happy.
When I got back to the stable they asked me if I didnt know that it was raining, I think they had seen us play, and I had notice the rain but we didnt really care to much about it, we've had too much fun.
I could feel that Nalle was abit stiff, "I'll do what you ask me to but I wont/cant put my heart into it".
Yesterday the plan was to do some online, I've bought a 45" rope that is as thin as the new feather-lines.
For that worked better than the "lasso". I thought Nalle would be sore and not want to play but he was in the mood Im getting spoiled with nowadays, "jihu, what do you want us to play today?".
After a while we did liberty instead because he felt so nice and the liberty worked even better.
He's starting to really get backing up with draw from zone 5, my instructor told me that when they get things in porcupine game it's easy for them to do it at driving game. Sometimes when I back him like that I use some hairs from the tail so we keep that alive aswell, Im also working on how far away I can stand and ask him to back up. We wrapped it up with his favorit game (apart from sideways towards me that he wants to show that he can do now...), stick to me. He usuallly thinks it's really fun to run with me, stop and back up or run and do a fast turn. And to be honest I think it's fun to, mostly because he gets so happy.
When I got back to the stable they asked me if I didnt know that it was raining, I think they had seen us play, and I had notice the rain but we didnt really care to much about it, we've had too much fun.
torsdag 6 januari 2011
Trailride in an snowy forest
I had a lovely trailride on snowy forest-tracks today, had company and both horses got nice energy but stayed relaxed. I feel so privileged on days like this, when I was younger I promised myself to never ever be sad again if I ever got my own horse because that would be a dream come true.
Ofc that's very hard to live up to but I always keep in mind that no matter how much I get on the minus-account I've got something that outweighs it a thousand times.
I also have to say that going for a trailride with another PNH-student gives so much more than riding out with a normal rider, you can relax and do your thing and dont have to feel any pressure if you have to stop and wait for abit. When/if I ride with normal riders I always feel like I have to take responsibility for their horse since I know they dont always know how to read or stop their horse, and they dont want to hear that...
Ofc that's very hard to live up to but I always keep in mind that no matter how much I get on the minus-account I've got something that outweighs it a thousand times.
I also have to say that going for a trailride with another PNH-student gives so much more than riding out with a normal rider, you can relax and do your thing and dont have to feel any pressure if you have to stop and wait for abit. When/if I ride with normal riders I always feel like I have to take responsibility for their horse since I know they dont always know how to read or stop their horse, and they dont want to hear that...
onsdag 5 januari 2011
How to forget a 12hour day
Went to Nalle after work and got home around 21.30 after being away the last 12 hours, I could fall asleep in the sofa in 2 seconds... When I got off work at 20 I just wanned to go home and sleep, but when I got in the car to go home the car somehow found it's own way to the stable, magic!
As soon as I got into the pasture (they live outdoors in the forest) I got boosted with energy and even considered riding, but that would have been crazy ;)
Spent some time with Nalle giving him food, scratches and got some cuddling (and food) myself.
When he was done and he had his last scratch he said "ok, we've got a new hay-bale, byebye" so I turned to get back to the car.
When I got the gate I turned around and saw him coming back to me, he NEVER do that! I gave him a pat, said good night and then he walked back to the other horses. Got back to the car with a big smile and Im glad that I went there tonight :)
As soon as I got into the pasture (they live outdoors in the forest) I got boosted with energy and even considered riding, but that would have been crazy ;)
Spent some time with Nalle giving him food, scratches and got some cuddling (and food) myself.
When he was done and he had his last scratch he said "ok, we've got a new hay-bale, byebye" so I turned to get back to the car.
When I got the gate I turned around and saw him coming back to me, he NEVER do that! I gave him a pat, said good night and then he walked back to the other horses. Got back to the car with a big smile and Im glad that I went there tonight :)
tisdag 4 januari 2011
Downside of winter
Havent done much lately, but I blame the ice... Nalle is barefoot so I avoid playing too "hard" when there's ice or slippery snow. There's no point to try and do everything that I would do in good conditions but have to do things like slow down in the corners when cantering and get bad habits. He likes to play at a slow pace and use the head but I dont want to overdo anything, you should always have a balance, so he's getting alot of "time off" now.
Today we had a good day with some fresh snow on top of the old hard one in the arena but I worked all day and then I had to take care of two other horses beside Nalle so instead of having fun in the arena we hang around for abit in the pasture. I wish I some day can train horses for a living so I dont have to be to tired from work to play with my horse...
I've dont have alot of days when I cant find the motivation to play with Nalle, so those few days when I cant find it I cut myself some slack and think to myself "ok, today I dont want to do anything, I'll not hate myself for it". And I know that Nalle is as happy if he just gets hit food and some scratches in his ears... :)
I've got some days off this week and if the weather allows it we're going trailriding, what would do us good.
Today we had a good day with some fresh snow on top of the old hard one in the arena but I worked all day and then I had to take care of two other horses beside Nalle so instead of having fun in the arena we hang around for abit in the pasture. I wish I some day can train horses for a living so I dont have to be to tired from work to play with my horse...
I've dont have alot of days when I cant find the motivation to play with Nalle, so those few days when I cant find it I cut myself some slack and think to myself "ok, today I dont want to do anything, I'll not hate myself for it". And I know that Nalle is as happy if he just gets hit food and some scratches in his ears... :)
I've got some days off this week and if the weather allows it we're going trailriding, what would do us good.
måndag 3 januari 2011
Todays "aha"-moment and thoughts about demos
I've just watched the first part of the savvy club dvd dec issue and I remembered some things that my instructor told me this summer when I worked there. He asked me to do a small demo of trailerloading since we had practise alot and got the a stage where we could have fun with it. Ofc I got nervous, Im not used to do things in front of people and it's outside of my comfort zone.
He told me that it is important to get as prepared and practise as much as someone who works with horses at a circus would, if you work as a circus-artist you cant hope for things to work or have things that works sometimes but not all the time Everything have to be there every night when the curtains get up.
He also told me to not try to do "spectaculare" things in the meaning of doing things that are fancy but not yet rock solid, I should do things that I would do home on an ordinary day. It's better to show things that we really can and do it well than to try and show off but not make it.And also, if you show something on a "lower level" than what you practise at home you have more space for "oh-oh" and a bigger ground to stand on, if something happens and I get stressed I always fall back on what I've learned and got in my backbone.
I often think of praticing like a circus-artist with her horse, learing everything like running water before showing it to people (even filming auditions).
I played with and rode Nalle today, he had a really fun day!
He was abit unfocused when we first got to the arena but the second that I asked the first thing from him his ears turned to me and he stopped, "what do you want me to do?.
I had a real "aha"-moment riding, we did some freestyle bareback and played with sideways, transitions and back-up. As we did that I thought about some of the others horses I've been riding alot in my life and had a connection with and I realised that what I have with Nalle is so much bigger and more beautiful than anything before. I thought to myself that "oh my gosh, I wonder if he knows what a good horse he is" and then I realised that "aha, that's my job to tell him!". I have to make my horse understand and feel what an amazing horse he is and that he's perfect, sometimes you can read something and hear something hundreds of times but you need that "aha"-moment to really get it!
He told me that it is important to get as prepared and practise as much as someone who works with horses at a circus would, if you work as a circus-artist you cant hope for things to work or have things that works sometimes but not all the time Everything have to be there every night when the curtains get up.
He also told me to not try to do "spectaculare" things in the meaning of doing things that are fancy but not yet rock solid, I should do things that I would do home on an ordinary day. It's better to show things that we really can and do it well than to try and show off but not make it.And also, if you show something on a "lower level" than what you practise at home you have more space for "oh-oh" and a bigger ground to stand on, if something happens and I get stressed I always fall back on what I've learned and got in my backbone.
I often think of praticing like a circus-artist with her horse, learing everything like running water before showing it to people (even filming auditions).
I played with and rode Nalle today, he had a really fun day!
He was abit unfocused when we first got to the arena but the second that I asked the first thing from him his ears turned to me and he stopped, "what do you want me to do?.
I had a real "aha"-moment riding, we did some freestyle bareback and played with sideways, transitions and back-up. As we did that I thought about some of the others horses I've been riding alot in my life and had a connection with and I realised that what I have with Nalle is so much bigger and more beautiful than anything before. I thought to myself that "oh my gosh, I wonder if he knows what a good horse he is" and then I realised that "aha, that's my job to tell him!". I have to make my horse understand and feel what an amazing horse he is and that he's perfect, sometimes you can read something and hear something hundreds of times but you need that "aha"-moment to really get it!
söndag 2 januari 2011
Time and patience
I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. -Michael Jordan
My instructor use to say something similar, you get the horse you deserve.
That is so true, if you put your heart into it and walk the long way you will get a superb horse.
Time is the most important key to me, I often think about take the time it takes so it takes less time and
show your horse you've got all the time in the world.
That was something I really had to get good at while trailerloading, we spent 6 weeks doing that last spring and my goal was the old trailerloading test, "swing the rope over your horse back, send him into the trailer, walk away and make sure he can hear you walk away, your horse should stay loose in the open trailer for at least 1 min and dont back out until you ask him".
I would say that before I showed my horse that I can be the most patient and stubborn person alive I didnt have his full respect, I had to walk the long way do the hard work take the time and now we're starting to get results.
My instructor use to say something similar, you get the horse you deserve.
That is so true, if you put your heart into it and walk the long way you will get a superb horse.
Time is the most important key to me, I often think about take the time it takes so it takes less time and
show your horse you've got all the time in the world.
That was something I really had to get good at while trailerloading, we spent 6 weeks doing that last spring and my goal was the old trailerloading test, "swing the rope over your horse back, send him into the trailer, walk away and make sure he can hear you walk away, your horse should stay loose in the open trailer for at least 1 min and dont back out until you ask him".
I would say that before I showed my horse that I can be the most patient and stubborn person alive I didnt have his full respect, I had to walk the long way do the hard work take the time and now we're starting to get results.
My furry friends
I do belive that if everyone could spent some quiet time together with a bunch of creatures who dont have any worries the world would be a better place. I had my magic moment with my furry friends tonight, a frosty winter-evening with snow everywhere and sparkling stars in the sky. Those moments gives me so much energy and makes me calm, everyday I turn a little more into a hippie but I love it!
lördag 1 januari 2011
Sideways
The sun was shinning today but we had warm weather tonight and cold again this morning so there was too much ice to ride or do something like that. We first went to one of the summerpastures to play but the snow was hard to walk in, we went to the arena instead and Nalle wanned to play.
We've been doing alot of sideways lately, away from and towards me, and now we're stepping it up again. Played abit with sideways in trot and Nalle seamed to like that, his spirit got up when I asked him to do sideways away from me at trot the first time so we kept playing with that for a while.
Tried to make him trot sideways towards me and he understod the meaning of that game pretty fast, he was in a really nice "let's play!"-mood. Troting sideways is hard for him since he havent done that before so he havent used those muscles alot, it's more about not stepping on himself than doing something fancy right now.
So he really needs it! He needs more muscles and better control of his hindlegs to get a better motor.
Those days when I feel that he really wants to understand me and play with me are worth every rainy, cold day spent hanging with him and watch him eat. Even if he shares his food with me, my hair, my arms, my legs, my back and my belly... he's sucha nice horse ;)
We've been doing alot of sideways lately, away from and towards me, and now we're stepping it up again. Played abit with sideways in trot and Nalle seamed to like that, his spirit got up when I asked him to do sideways away from me at trot the first time so we kept playing with that for a while.
Tried to make him trot sideways towards me and he understod the meaning of that game pretty fast, he was in a really nice "let's play!"-mood. Troting sideways is hard for him since he havent done that before so he havent used those muscles alot, it's more about not stepping on himself than doing something fancy right now.
So he really needs it! He needs more muscles and better control of his hindlegs to get a better motor.
Those days when I feel that he really wants to understand me and play with me are worth every rainy, cold day spent hanging with him and watch him eat. Even if he shares his food with me, my hair, my arms, my legs, my back and my belly... he's sucha nice horse ;)
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