The 4 days spent at the clinic was a lot of fun and challenging at the same time. With so many new words and things to remember such as : Bubbles, speaking to the space, "we" not "I", resets, resets are not releases, lead, dominant, and passive. There were so many concepts covered, some new to me some not. I was lucky in the fact that my horses live at my trainers barn and since Aimee Brimhall is her trainer I was able to take lessons and prepare for the clinic. And now going forward I can work closely with my trainer to continue and grow. One of the biggest take aways I got was the reset of the phases. It's important not to stay at phase 4 when asking a horse to do something because then they come to only expect phase 4. Also it gives them something to brace off of. This is something that will help Navi and I. In fact it already has...she is already leading much easier! The other thing I realized is I need to make sure I am offering "we" to all the horses, not just Pixie. I realized I tend to be an "I" around Jess because that is what he is offering. Jess would be considered our most "broke" horse as in the amount of training and what he is capable of doing, but now I see that he is also the most disconnected of our horses. He is an "I" horse completely meaning he does everything mechanically, but if something goes bad he isn't going to think of me at all. And that is apparent with our last couple of messy moments. Do I think we have a bond with Jess, of course we do, but it isn't the same as with the mares. Jess has spent his life as an "I" because that is what most if not all rodeo/ranch horses are. They are a means to an end. They do stuff because they learn they have too. I want to go back to basics with Jess and see if I can't get that "we" connection, but in order to do that I have to make sure I am offering the "we" not just riding him as an "I". Time will tell, but I am excited to try and make a better connection with him. Just think of the things we could accomplish then. We were able to try and make the connection with Pixie and Willow a long time ago, because we had to teach them new things. And they don't take to force real well. This is also exciting for Navi and I because she is such a clean slate that she will never have to know any different. Hopefully this will mean great things for our future riding partnership :)
I want to clarify that "I" horses have the ability to look amazing at what they do. Mechanical can be very impressive. And there are very few people that can tell the difference in when a horse is connected with its person and when it's just doing the motions. But what I learned this week (which is something I always had an idea of) is if there is more force required then the connection has been lost. This is something I am guilty of also, even with Pixie. When something wasn't going my way I moved to stronger aids instead of trying to find the missing piece. I went to a twisted bit and spurs. Now I know bits are only as strong as the hands behind them, but when you transition up for the sake of control it is being used for the wrong reasons. At the time I didn't have the knowledge to get what I wanted without force, then I made the move to my trainers barn and have since been learning. I am happy to say my spurs haven't left my trailer since the move :)
This last week inspired me to grow so much. I can't wait to see what the future holds now that I am armed with this new information :)
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Aimee Brimhall Clinic Day 4
Our riding and ground work continued on day 4. In the morning session we learned about the driving game while riding, and for our ground work lesson we learned a circle exercise that involved moving forward to backwards with no stop just a fluid transition from forward to backward. The end hope is they will stay on the circle to back, but for now we just focused on getting the back up no matter which direction they went. Pixie and I did fairly well at this exercise she of course would stop and turn in as soon as I sent the intent to back up, but that was ok. She was listening and we got some great backups that were continued at a phase one. She was far from the circle, but we have a year to practice :)
On to the riding exercise we were given a sting (no string) and told to ride without leg or reins. We were to just practice our front end/hind end yields to a stop by driving from above with the stick. I must admit I was a nervous nelly for this exercise. I found myself thinking Pixie was going to go back to her old ways and be scared of the stick. Even though she couldn't care less about it on the ground I have never ridden with the stick. I saddled up for this game to give myself more confidence! I had to get over the nervous feeling if I wanted to be successful at this. So I jumped on with stick in hand. What happened...Nothing! Pixie acted the same as if I was on the ground :) So we ventured off to practiced. She would yield easily on the front, but the stopping was a bit harder. Once I learned to relax and turn my body off she found the stop easier. I found the right hand side to be the easiest since I am right handed, but soon enough we got the left side down too. We didn't end up getting a hind end yield that day...she is too forward thinking still, but with practice we will figure it out. Before we broke for lunch we gathered to go over our findings. Mine was that I have to give Pixie more credit. I sometimes still live in the past and she is long over the past. I have to trust her as much as she trusts me!
After lunch we did review to wrap things up. We went back to our indirect rein conversations and practicing circling the barrel. This is a challenging exercise for us. Then we gathered to answer final questions and took the class photo. It was a great 4 days with lots of stuff to remember. Now off to practice for next year!
On to the riding exercise we were given a sting (no string) and told to ride without leg or reins. We were to just practice our front end/hind end yields to a stop by driving from above with the stick. I must admit I was a nervous nelly for this exercise. I found myself thinking Pixie was going to go back to her old ways and be scared of the stick. Even though she couldn't care less about it on the ground I have never ridden with the stick. I saddled up for this game to give myself more confidence! I had to get over the nervous feeling if I wanted to be successful at this. So I jumped on with stick in hand. What happened...Nothing! Pixie acted the same as if I was on the ground :) So we ventured off to practiced. She would yield easily on the front, but the stopping was a bit harder. Once I learned to relax and turn my body off she found the stop easier. I found the right hand side to be the easiest since I am right handed, but soon enough we got the left side down too. We didn't end up getting a hind end yield that day...she is too forward thinking still, but with practice we will figure it out. Before we broke for lunch we gathered to go over our findings. Mine was that I have to give Pixie more credit. I sometimes still live in the past and she is long over the past. I have to trust her as much as she trusts me!
After lunch we did review to wrap things up. We went back to our indirect rein conversations and practicing circling the barrel. This is a challenging exercise for us. Then we gathered to answer final questions and took the class photo. It was a great 4 days with lots of stuff to remember. Now off to practice for next year!
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Aimee Brimhall Clinic Day 3
Day 3 starting the riding portion of the clinic. We started with classroom and simulations before grabbing the horses. We worked on finding the connection while riding in the morning session. This was interesting because almost all of the horses were disconnected for the most part. Pixie was having a lot of "I" moments, but at the same time I was too because I am just as easily distracted. It took us a while to find our "we" during our ride. I should say ride loosely because it involved more standing and flexing and backing then actually moving, lol. We ended on a good note before breaking for lunch though.
After lunch we focused on the porcupine game while riding and moving the hindquarters. This was a good exercise for me because we were challenged to disengage the hindquarters with no leg pressure. We were only allowed to use our indirect rein. And we had to circle a barrel without leg pressure or direct rein. We had to complete the circle using only the horses hindquarter yield. Needless to say our circle was not pretty and wasn't really a circle, lol. By the end of the exercise we at least got a few good circles both directions. It was a hard exercise and something we will continue to work on. It made us work on our phases 1234 and reset to 1234 instead of just staying at 4. After the barrel exercise we moved on to riding on the rail then yielding hindquarters so the horses where facing the wall. Again this was to be done without leg and indirect rein only. By the time we got to this exercise Pixie was starting to get the hang of things and we did fairly well. We struggled a bit with not going all the way around to line up to the rail (we practiced this a lot for fence opening on the trail) But we got over that quickly.
Overall lots of good stuff on Day three. There will be a lot of things I look forward to practicing not only with Pixie, but with all the horses. I have lots of thoughts about things too, but have decided to put those in a separate post after the clinic is over :)
Off to start day 4!
After lunch we focused on the porcupine game while riding and moving the hindquarters. This was a good exercise for me because we were challenged to disengage the hindquarters with no leg pressure. We were only allowed to use our indirect rein. And we had to circle a barrel without leg pressure or direct rein. We had to complete the circle using only the horses hindquarter yield. Needless to say our circle was not pretty and wasn't really a circle, lol. By the end of the exercise we at least got a few good circles both directions. It was a hard exercise and something we will continue to work on. It made us work on our phases 1234 and reset to 1234 instead of just staying at 4. After the barrel exercise we moved on to riding on the rail then yielding hindquarters so the horses where facing the wall. Again this was to be done without leg and indirect rein only. By the time we got to this exercise Pixie was starting to get the hang of things and we did fairly well. We struggled a bit with not going all the way around to line up to the rail (we practiced this a lot for fence opening on the trail) But we got over that quickly.
Overall lots of good stuff on Day three. There will be a lot of things I look forward to practicing not only with Pixie, but with all the horses. I have lots of thoughts about things too, but have decided to put those in a separate post after the clinic is over :)
Off to start day 4!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Aimee Brimhall Clinic Day 2
Yesterday was a continuation of ground work from the day before. We got into some more technical things. We covered the friendly, driving, porcupine, and circle games. We learned some new ways to look at these games and some more ways to practice. Body language is such a big thing! We did some simulation work with human partners and when I was the "horse" I realized just how a tiny shift of the "humans" body meant something else to me. Especially in the circle game, one tiny shift of weight sent a signal of go out or come closer. The way your body is angled can make the difference of going straight or in a circle.
Pixie and I had some great breakthroughs. She has always been a little sticky in some areas when circling and backing. But we made some progress because Aimee showed me how to adjust my phases just a tiny bit. Pixie needs quick and light not slow and steady. She needs me to be very clear but in a light and quick way. I was trying so hard to stay at phase one to make her light I was actually making her heavier in areas because she was unsure of what I was asking. I also realized I have given up the porcupine game without knowing it. I had gone on to driving only in an effect to be super light and continue on to liberty work. I now understand where we need to go back and work on the porcupine game and it will only make other things better not diminish my liberty work.
In an effort to be lighter and quicker...I bought a new stick and string. My original one was the traditional Carrot stick. I love the feel the lighter weight brings to our play sessions.
I look back to three years ago when Pixie first came home and realized just how far we have come. We have had our share of challenges, but its nice to be in a spot now where we really don't have problems any more just opportunities. There are a few ladies that came to the clinic because they are having problems with their horses. A few worse than others, but none the less they are there to fix something. I am so glad Pixie and I are not here to fix something, but just to grow as partners. Maybe that is where the "we" factor comes into play. I don't see our imperfections as Pixie's fault instead I see them as something we need to work on together to get better at. It may take us a long time to get perfect at something, but we will get there at some point, lol. Three years if you would have asked me to take this clinic I would have jumped at the chance with the mindset yes, finally a chance to fix Pixie's problems. I was still thinking as an "I" then not a "we".
Today starts the two day riding portion. I am excited to learn lots in the riding segment because I know this is my weaker area. I have grown up riding horses, but just not super well behaved ones. I can ride about any thing...never having been thrown off (fallen on a total of three times) Now I was young then and bounced, lol, or should I say they bounced off me well. I am pretty sure if a rearing horse flipped on me now I would crack in a few places. So I would like to learn how to teach so I don't have to go through a rodeo ride :) And with Navi going under saddle in a year, now would be a good time to learn these things :)
That's all for now, more later. Off to pick up dessert for the BBQ tonight after the clinic :)
Pixie and I had some great breakthroughs. She has always been a little sticky in some areas when circling and backing. But we made some progress because Aimee showed me how to adjust my phases just a tiny bit. Pixie needs quick and light not slow and steady. She needs me to be very clear but in a light and quick way. I was trying so hard to stay at phase one to make her light I was actually making her heavier in areas because she was unsure of what I was asking. I also realized I have given up the porcupine game without knowing it. I had gone on to driving only in an effect to be super light and continue on to liberty work. I now understand where we need to go back and work on the porcupine game and it will only make other things better not diminish my liberty work.
In an effort to be lighter and quicker...I bought a new stick and string. My original one was the traditional Carrot stick. I love the feel the lighter weight brings to our play sessions.
I look back to three years ago when Pixie first came home and realized just how far we have come. We have had our share of challenges, but its nice to be in a spot now where we really don't have problems any more just opportunities. There are a few ladies that came to the clinic because they are having problems with their horses. A few worse than others, but none the less they are there to fix something. I am so glad Pixie and I are not here to fix something, but just to grow as partners. Maybe that is where the "we" factor comes into play. I don't see our imperfections as Pixie's fault instead I see them as something we need to work on together to get better at. It may take us a long time to get perfect at something, but we will get there at some point, lol. Three years if you would have asked me to take this clinic I would have jumped at the chance with the mindset yes, finally a chance to fix Pixie's problems. I was still thinking as an "I" then not a "we".
Today starts the two day riding portion. I am excited to learn lots in the riding segment because I know this is my weaker area. I have grown up riding horses, but just not super well behaved ones. I can ride about any thing...never having been thrown off (fallen on a total of three times) Now I was young then and bounced, lol, or should I say they bounced off me well. I am pretty sure if a rearing horse flipped on me now I would crack in a few places. So I would like to learn how to teach so I don't have to go through a rodeo ride :) And with Navi going under saddle in a year, now would be a good time to learn these things :)
That's all for now, more later. Off to pick up dessert for the BBQ tonight after the clinic :)
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Aimee Brimhall Clinic Day 1
The first day of the clinic had a lot of classroom time which was good because it gave us a change to understand the material before handling the horses.
The first concept we covered was the "I" and "We" topic. The person and the horse are each an "I" so how do you work together to become a "We". We talked about traits that made up a "I" person/horse and traits that made up a "we" type person/horse. In that topic it was also discussed that when working with your horse you shouldn't put all of your attention on the horse you should have 60% of your attention on you (meaning what are you doing to get the behavior you want) I find these concepts make complete sense, but it sure is hard to write it out to make sense :) There were so many more concepts that we covered that I can't figure out how to convey in writing this morning. Hopefully after the clinic I can go back over my notes and get them all down.
After learning the concepts we practice with each other in pairs of two. One person being the horse during role play. I always have a hard time with these things just because I am such a matter of fact kind of person. I have a hard time imagining things like this. But it was fun and proved to be a great learning experience...even if it meant I had to let loose a little bit.
About 3 pm we got our horses. There are three people who brought more than one horse to work. I almost at that point thought to alternate between Pixie and Navi also, but changed my mind. My original plan was just to work with Pixie in the clinic and that is what my final decision was. While it would be nice to have Aimee's help with Navi I feel this clinic can bring Pixie and I farther along in our journey if I can focus 100% on her. Plus I always have my trainer at the barn. Biggest perk of my horses living at my trainers barn. Weekly lessons are so easy! So Navi gets the four days off, but little does she know I have a three day weekend before heading back to work...so we get to practice our stuff then :)
After we worked with our horses freely for about 30 minutes we gathered around to cover what we had learned and answer questions. I was proud of Pixie, while she was distracted enough that going faster than a walk wasn't a fun idea for her so we kept things slow. That was good for both of us. I want her as light as possible and if that means we work at things like side passing for a month then so be it :) I found it was hard to stay in the "we" frame of mind. I tended to go back to thinking "I". As much as I thought I was always asking, I realized I would get frustrated and start telling. So I went back to square one and focused on what I was doing wrong. We got some of the lightest and best side passes down the wall to date :) Where they perfect...no of course not. But they were a great effect on her part so I will take it.
Off to get ready for day 2!
The first concept we covered was the "I" and "We" topic. The person and the horse are each an "I" so how do you work together to become a "We". We talked about traits that made up a "I" person/horse and traits that made up a "we" type person/horse. In that topic it was also discussed that when working with your horse you shouldn't put all of your attention on the horse you should have 60% of your attention on you (meaning what are you doing to get the behavior you want) I find these concepts make complete sense, but it sure is hard to write it out to make sense :) There were so many more concepts that we covered that I can't figure out how to convey in writing this morning. Hopefully after the clinic I can go back over my notes and get them all down.
After learning the concepts we practice with each other in pairs of two. One person being the horse during role play. I always have a hard time with these things just because I am such a matter of fact kind of person. I have a hard time imagining things like this. But it was fun and proved to be a great learning experience...even if it meant I had to let loose a little bit.
About 3 pm we got our horses. There are three people who brought more than one horse to work. I almost at that point thought to alternate between Pixie and Navi also, but changed my mind. My original plan was just to work with Pixie in the clinic and that is what my final decision was. While it would be nice to have Aimee's help with Navi I feel this clinic can bring Pixie and I farther along in our journey if I can focus 100% on her. Plus I always have my trainer at the barn. Biggest perk of my horses living at my trainers barn. Weekly lessons are so easy! So Navi gets the four days off, but little does she know I have a three day weekend before heading back to work...so we get to practice our stuff then :)
After we worked with our horses freely for about 30 minutes we gathered around to cover what we had learned and answer questions. I was proud of Pixie, while she was distracted enough that going faster than a walk wasn't a fun idea for her so we kept things slow. That was good for both of us. I want her as light as possible and if that means we work at things like side passing for a month then so be it :) I found it was hard to stay in the "we" frame of mind. I tended to go back to thinking "I". As much as I thought I was always asking, I realized I would get frustrated and start telling. So I went back to square one and focused on what I was doing wrong. We got some of the lightest and best side passes down the wall to date :) Where they perfect...no of course not. But they were a great effect on her part so I will take it.
Off to get ready for day 2!
Monday, July 22, 2013
Clinic starts today!
The Aimee Brimhall clinic I am attending starts today :) I am so excited to work with her for the week. There is so much Pixie and I can learn! I will hopefully post an update nightly with pictures. Until then...off to start my vacation and clinic :)
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Summer is in full swing
I can't believe summer is almost half over! The days are already getting shorter, but it took me until yesterday to realize that. It wasn't until I was driving to the barn at 5:15 that I noticed it wasn't getting as light :( Oh well, the good side of summer going fast is that means the heat goes away with it! I am NOT a heat person and I do way less in the summer than in winter. However I do love my mornings and summer allows me to ride early in the morning :)
Speaking of morning rides, last week we were able to cross over to the the island on the Yellowstone river. Our side of the river is getting low. In fact it will be gone before we know it and the island will only have one side with river. But none the less its still here for now and its about three feet deep all the way across. None of my horses have crossed that deep and wide of water before that I know of so we set out not knowing what to expect. Pixie hesitated for minute but then went forward. Willow didn't even pause for a second. The were both such good girls walking straight across...thank goodness since I was halfway across when I realized I had my phone in my pocket. It's a new smartphone and I was just hoping we got across the river without going in, lol, I didn't want to ruin my phone.
I am hoping to get a early morning ride in tomorrow. This morning I have an appointment, so riding will have to wait until evening.
Update on Navi. Her knees are finally closing and she is doing great. We have gone back to ground work and she picked up right were she left off. I might put her under saddle this winter if she is big enough or it will be next spring. No rush really, I want to have her sound for years to come and I don't want to push her to hard as a baby. So for now she has the easy life still :)
Hopefully I will update a bit more often now that the babies (puppies) are getting a bit older and can entertain themselves a bit more now. They will be 9 weeks tomorrow :)
Speaking of morning rides, last week we were able to cross over to the the island on the Yellowstone river. Our side of the river is getting low. In fact it will be gone before we know it and the island will only have one side with river. But none the less its still here for now and its about three feet deep all the way across. None of my horses have crossed that deep and wide of water before that I know of so we set out not knowing what to expect. Pixie hesitated for minute but then went forward. Willow didn't even pause for a second. The were both such good girls walking straight across...thank goodness since I was halfway across when I realized I had my phone in my pocket. It's a new smartphone and I was just hoping we got across the river without going in, lol, I didn't want to ruin my phone.
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| Looking over at the island before we crossed. |
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| We made it :) Such a pretty ride minus the mosquitoes |
Update on Navi. Her knees are finally closing and she is doing great. We have gone back to ground work and she picked up right were she left off. I might put her under saddle this winter if she is big enough or it will be next spring. No rush really, I want to have her sound for years to come and I don't want to push her to hard as a baby. So for now she has the easy life still :)
Hopefully I will update a bit more often now that the babies (puppies) are getting a bit older and can entertain themselves a bit more now. They will be 9 weeks tomorrow :)
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Busy Busy
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| Davin |
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| Laurel |
The happy news comes because of sad news though. We lost our oldest dog on Wednesday the 26th of June. She lived to almost 17 and old age just got the best of her in the end. She went peacefully with no suffering. Kylie had come from the reservation many many years ago, so that is why we saw it fitting to adopt from the reservation again. These little ones are helping us move on and celebrate Kylies life with us.
More later, but I am off to go see the ponies :)
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| Playing |
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| Rest in Peace little one. We miss you! |
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