Yesterday was another odd day. My own horse required most of my barn time and it was Matida's day to see the farrier. We did a little bit of work but nothing exceptional. It was like yesterday-lite. Matilda was still very wiggly, but not as bad. She was able to come and back and do a couple of small side steps. She was also more anxious to cut me off as I moved about the paddock.
The big excitement was visiting the farrier. This was the first time I have led Matilda out of her paddock and, although I have been told she is easy to lead, I was anxious to find out for myself how she would do going up the hill. To my delight, she was very easy to lead. She followed behind and responded quickly when I would catch her head as it went down to try and get grass.
Since I had to bring her up, she was wiggly and I wasn't really in a mental state conducive to focused work, we turned it into a field day for Matilda and I.
No one was riding in the ring yet, so I took Matilda into the ring and put her on the fabled longe line just to see what would happen. She freaked.
I intentionally had a tight hold on the line, keeping only about 10 feet of line between her and me. I knew there was a decent chance of some sort of craziness and I wanted to keep any circle she did small so that it would be more uncomfortable for her and she would be more likely to stop or slow down faster. I was SO glad that I did. I snapped that line on her and told her to walk on. She just flew. She trotted and cantered around pulling and pulling away. I had the line in both hands and was able to quickly throw all my weight back and into my heels as I hung on.
For future reference, here is my personal longing rule of thumb: As long as you can keep your elbows tucked into your body, hang on. If you feel your arms extending and you can't bring your elbows back into your body (TOTALLY different from bringing your body up and even with your elbows-you must be aware of the difference), let go. Letting go is always hard, but sometimes necessary.
Matilda and my horse, Bella, are about the same height and weight, but Matilda uses her bulk differently. I don't know how to describe the difference but to say that when Bella has her crazy moments and pulls to the outside, there is always a sense of control-as if she is working something out. With Matilda it feels like she just wants to get away. She really throws all her weight against you and the line. It's intense. I've never had Matilda on the longe line before, so now I know what all the fuss was about.
The chaos lasted about 5 minutes and then simply stopped. She came into me and stood looking at me. I asked her to walk on and she took two steps, stopped turned in to me and stared at me. There was no way I was picking up any kind of whip today. I want to desensitize her to the longe whip somewhere where I don't feel any need to be connected to her, you know? Without any whip, I could not make her walk away or around me. She did do one walking circle around me, but now I can't remember how I managed to get her to move.
For the most part she would only walk when I walked. If I stopped, she stopped. This sounds sweet, and it is, but there is also a passive aggressive thing going on, in my opinion. She hasn't forgotten what longing is, nor has she forgotten that she hated it. I think she is basically saying, "You want me to walk? Make me. I dare you." Not today, sweetheart, but your time is coming.
So Matilda and I walked around the paddock together. We sniffed all the jumps and walked over the cross rails. We would stop every once in a while and she would eat grass or we would do some backing or side steps. I must admit that it was very nice to have the lead in my hand. Like coming home to my comfort zone of pressure, release and control.... but even with me holding her head she can't move laterally down the pole.
When she got a little pushy, we stopped walking and I made her back up a bunch and stand still and back up some more. She was less pushy after I pushed her around a little bit.
When she was grazing, I backed all the way to the end of the line (maybe 30 feet?) and when she looked up at me I said "Matilda, come" very quietly and she did. All in all it was a very pleasant time for us.
After she saw the farrier, it was time for me to take her back down to the paddock.
I have to pause and give a little barn description here. The short way between the barn and Matilda's paddock is a bit of a steep, short downhill trail. On one side of this trail is the giant, composting manure pile. Now that the weather has been so nice, grass has started growing on the giant, composting manure pile. (You are starting to see where I am going with this, aren't you?)
Matilda was walking nicely behind me and, to my folly, I was looking straight ahead at the gate, my goal. I don't know exactly when Matilda saw the grass, because I was not paying attention, but see it she did. And she wanted it. By the time I realized what was going on, my arm was already fully extended. I gave a short tug to see if I could regain any type of link to her, but had to let go and could only watch her cross the giant, composting manure pile as I yelled "MATILDA NO!" as if that might do any good. (I know, it would have been funnier if she had pulled me in, too bad.)
I thought about going after her, but as I watched her sink chest deep into the giant, composting manure pile, I decided against it. Sometimes you just have to wait and pray and hope that an opportunity presents itself. So I did. I watched her cross the giant, composting manure pile, hoping she didn't get stuck, hoping she didn't set tangled in her lead. I watched her go down the far side of the gcmp, where there was lots of nice green grass... well fertilized. It was there she stopped. On accessible firm ground.
I went AROUND the gcmp, walked up to her, picked up her lead and walked her back to the paddock as if nothing had happened (although by now I had picked up a bit of an audience). She didn't balk, struggle or try to get away again. It's as if her brain snaps, sometimes, she goes nuts and then immediately becomes an angel. Sweet as can be.
My mom reads this blog. She thinks it's funny and says that Matilda and I are "two peas in a pod". I don't know about that. Excuse me now, I have to go yell at someone for no reason and then give them a hug.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wiggly Day
Yesterday was a very wiggly day for Matilda. It was difficult to see any clear movement, which makes it difficult to click and reward. I was not able to complete the comfort touching exercise that went so well the day before because she just kept walking away.
We started off by taking a stroll around the paddock. Like Tuesday, she rushed and cut me off a couple of times but did fall into a nice placement with her shoulder just behind me. We were actually able to work on a few specifics, such as not having her nose attached to my hand - clicking whenever she would move her head away.
She did really nice work with this as long as I walked along the fence line, but as soon as I tried to move into the interior of the paddock, in a little more challenging pattern than a series of straight lines, she got really pushy and we quickly moved on.
I brought one of the lighter jump poles into the paddock to check on her lateral work. The idea is that you move her along the pole sideways, keeping her front feet on one side of the pole and her back feet on the other. It was clearly to soon. The pole just made it more evident that every time I ask her to move sideways or "over", she moves in almost any direction but to the side. We quickly moved on. (Am I repeating myself?)
It wasn't too long after that when we got to the point where Matilda just started trying stuff. I couldn't lift a hand or speak a word before she would start offering anything and everything. Little pieces of every behavior we have worked on, but all at the same time. She ended up just circling around and around me in something that looked like a series of awkward and sloppy turns on the forehand (turning around her front feet) and turns on the haunches (turning around, you guessed it, her back feet). (We don't even GET to those until Chapter 2!) Not necessarily bad stuff, but not even close to what I wanted. In lateral movement, I really want her to move AWAY from me, not AROUND me. Especially when she is not giving me a chance to ask for anything and my nose is 3 inches from her side... It really must have looked quite silly, come to think of it.
When I didn't click, she became frustrated and started nipping at me. I gave her 2 chances to stop and settle and then had to leave her. There was no focus and we were going into a behavioral death spiral.
Now, I have to tell you in Matilda's defense that Wednesday was a very different day. Typically I work with Matilda sometime between 9:30 and 11:30, just after she finishes her morning meal. Due to happenings with my own horse, I did not start with Matilda until about an hour and a half before her evening meal. We certainly have not worked together long enough for her to focus through heavy distractions such as an impending meal time. The important thing about the day: work was done and time was spent together. We'll do better. I know it.
We started off by taking a stroll around the paddock. Like Tuesday, she rushed and cut me off a couple of times but did fall into a nice placement with her shoulder just behind me. We were actually able to work on a few specifics, such as not having her nose attached to my hand - clicking whenever she would move her head away.
She did really nice work with this as long as I walked along the fence line, but as soon as I tried to move into the interior of the paddock, in a little more challenging pattern than a series of straight lines, she got really pushy and we quickly moved on.
I brought one of the lighter jump poles into the paddock to check on her lateral work. The idea is that you move her along the pole sideways, keeping her front feet on one side of the pole and her back feet on the other. It was clearly to soon. The pole just made it more evident that every time I ask her to move sideways or "over", she moves in almost any direction but to the side. We quickly moved on. (Am I repeating myself?)
It wasn't too long after that when we got to the point where Matilda just started trying stuff. I couldn't lift a hand or speak a word before she would start offering anything and everything. Little pieces of every behavior we have worked on, but all at the same time. She ended up just circling around and around me in something that looked like a series of awkward and sloppy turns on the forehand (turning around her front feet) and turns on the haunches (turning around, you guessed it, her back feet). (We don't even GET to those until Chapter 2!) Not necessarily bad stuff, but not even close to what I wanted. In lateral movement, I really want her to move AWAY from me, not AROUND me. Especially when she is not giving me a chance to ask for anything and my nose is 3 inches from her side... It really must have looked quite silly, come to think of it.
When I didn't click, she became frustrated and started nipping at me. I gave her 2 chances to stop and settle and then had to leave her. There was no focus and we were going into a behavioral death spiral.
Now, I have to tell you in Matilda's defense that Wednesday was a very different day. Typically I work with Matilda sometime between 9:30 and 11:30, just after she finishes her morning meal. Due to happenings with my own horse, I did not start with Matilda until about an hour and a half before her evening meal. We certainly have not worked together long enough for her to focus through heavy distractions such as an impending meal time. The important thing about the day: work was done and time was spent together. We'll do better. I know it.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
A Beautiful Day
I declared Monday a non-working, face time day. I went to the barn and tried to just spend time with Matilda and her paddock mates, my own horse Bella and a new pony Lady. It was a beautiful day to sit under a tree and read a bit, but that proved difficult with Matilda's nose in the book. Occasionally I would get annoyed by her closeness and ask her to back up or do a little side step and she did. Once after she moved a little she was so still that I started touching her all over. I was able to pat her from her nose down her neck, back, belly and legs. I think I forgot to mention last week that I did some clicker training to get her to allow me to touch her cheeks without fussing and it worked. I did a nice massaging rub down on her and she stayed perfectly still for it. Of course, I had no carrots and that helps with this sort of thing.
Unfortunately, this was a fleeting moment. Matilda and Bella were not happy with their new friend Lady and, for the first time, I became very nervous in the paddock as they chased, bit, bucked and kicked at each other. Lady was removed from the paddock and I left shortly thereafter, grateful to have had no expectations for the day. While Matilda did not seem particularly fussy with me, that is not the kind of energy I want to work with.
Tuesday I built on the good things of the previous day. I entered the paddock without carrots and asked Matilda to come to me, which she did: YAY! I asked her to stand still and began laying my hands on her, petting and massaging (This is an actual exercise from the book: The Comfort Touching Exercise). I brought the soft brush with me and after I had finished the exercise, I started to brush her. She balked a little when I tried to brush her face, but not as much as I had anticipated and she didn't move her feet. In fact she stood beautifully through the whole thing. I was very proud.
I don't know what else to say about the day other than that Matilda was near perfect. She backed, came, stood still and moved sideways. Now, I relaxed my demands for that sideways movement for today. I didn't worry about how big the movement was or whether or not she moved forward while moving laterally, I just clicked for any kind of lateral movement when I pressed her side and said "over". She's getting more comfortable with that, on both sides, so I might give her one more day before I start trying to fine tune the movement.
We walked together a little bit and Matilda went back into her rush and cut me off mode, but I stood my ground and backed her up and out of my way. After doing this 2 or 3 times, she stopped cutting me off. She was still walking a little fast and ahead of me, but as long as I am not looking at that wall of white, I'm feeling pretty good today. Yep, this is all I'm looking at when she steps in front of me.
I should also mention that once I had the carrots with me, she did not stand still quite as well. That being said, I was able to work it until I could walk from her left side then out in front and around to the right side, a step in to lay my hand on her, then back out and around to the front without her moving.... I may need to start timing them, as the book gives me goals of 1 minute, 5 minutes and one other one I can't remember. I hope it's not 10 minutes of standing still, yikes.
After a break, I decided we should spend the rest of the time playing with the ball. We've decided to see if she can pick up the ball and toss it to me, eventually. She did pick up the ball a couple of days ago, but not by the convenient handle. I made that a possible goal for the day. Starting out by clicking for touching the ball, we worked up to picking it up in her teeth, but she was grabbing the round side, not finding the handle. I went ahead and clicked for picking it up anywhere a few times and then zoned in on the handle. It wasn't long before she touched the handle while she was rolling the ball around trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. Not long again before she was picking it up, shaking and flinging it around. We'll build on that later until she's flinging it in my direction! A very good day.
Unfortunately, this was a fleeting moment. Matilda and Bella were not happy with their new friend Lady and, for the first time, I became very nervous in the paddock as they chased, bit, bucked and kicked at each other. Lady was removed from the paddock and I left shortly thereafter, grateful to have had no expectations for the day. While Matilda did not seem particularly fussy with me, that is not the kind of energy I want to work with.
Tuesday I built on the good things of the previous day. I entered the paddock without carrots and asked Matilda to come to me, which she did: YAY! I asked her to stand still and began laying my hands on her, petting and massaging (This is an actual exercise from the book: The Comfort Touching Exercise). I brought the soft brush with me and after I had finished the exercise, I started to brush her. She balked a little when I tried to brush her face, but not as much as I had anticipated and she didn't move her feet. In fact she stood beautifully through the whole thing. I was very proud.
I don't know what else to say about the day other than that Matilda was near perfect. She backed, came, stood still and moved sideways. Now, I relaxed my demands for that sideways movement for today. I didn't worry about how big the movement was or whether or not she moved forward while moving laterally, I just clicked for any kind of lateral movement when I pressed her side and said "over". She's getting more comfortable with that, on both sides, so I might give her one more day before I start trying to fine tune the movement.
We walked together a little bit and Matilda went back into her rush and cut me off mode, but I stood my ground and backed her up and out of my way. After doing this 2 or 3 times, she stopped cutting me off. She was still walking a little fast and ahead of me, but as long as I am not looking at that wall of white, I'm feeling pretty good today. Yep, this is all I'm looking at when she steps in front of me.
I should also mention that once I had the carrots with me, she did not stand still quite as well. That being said, I was able to work it until I could walk from her left side then out in front and around to the right side, a step in to lay my hand on her, then back out and around to the front without her moving.... I may need to start timing them, as the book gives me goals of 1 minute, 5 minutes and one other one I can't remember. I hope it's not 10 minutes of standing still, yikes.
After a break, I decided we should spend the rest of the time playing with the ball. We've decided to see if she can pick up the ball and toss it to me, eventually. She did pick up the ball a couple of days ago, but not by the convenient handle. I made that a possible goal for the day. Starting out by clicking for touching the ball, we worked up to picking it up in her teeth, but she was grabbing the round side, not finding the handle. I went ahead and clicked for picking it up anywhere a few times and then zoned in on the handle. It wasn't long before she touched the handle while she was rolling the ball around trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. Not long again before she was picking it up, shaking and flinging it around. We'll build on that later until she's flinging it in my direction! A very good day.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Catching up part 2: Thursday
Did I mention that this week was absolutely, stunningly beautiful? Sunny and in the 60's and 70's. Wonderful. But that has nothing to do with anything else, so onward.... (I love .....)
Yet another Matilda met me on Thursday. This one was petulant. On the drive out to the barn, I went through the same mental routine and was determined to have a pleasant time with Matilda no matter what. She had apparently gone through a mental routine of her own and decided to test me.
I try to spend a little time with Matilda, but without carrots, first thing. I kick the ball or scritch her (She's much more amenable to contact when I don't have carrots. Brat.) and just relax. I'm starting to realize that this is also a good way to gauge her mood before we actually get into work mode.
On this beautiful Thursday, she walked right up to me and checked me for food. Our basic mauling scenario. I shoved her away and started playing with the ball. She didn't even look at it, just walked up and nosed me all over again. "Please, not another Monday," I thought. I walked away and she came after me, then passed me, then cut me off. Things were not looking good. We worked this out a little although I had to press her back, whereas yesterday all I had to do was point and say "Back".
When we got to a nice sunny spot, I started to give her what I thought was some nice scritching. This is when Matilda showed me something new.
She walked away and turned her backside to me. She didn't go back to her hay spot or feign interest in the ball or nose around the ground, ignoring me. She simply turned her "back" to me. Her head was up and she was watching me over her shoulder as she stood there, unmoving. I really didn't know what to do with that. She was making a loud and clear statement about how she felt today, that's for sure. If I hadn't been so surprised and perplexed I probably would have just fallen on the ground laughing.
If I could be at the barn all day, every day I would just come and go, working with Matilda in little bits throughout the day. But I can't. I have 3 days... 3 mornings. I have a routine. Walking away is so hard, we have so much to do.
I came back later and we attempted some of the basic things that she had done so beautifully on Tuesday, but 'twas not to be. Every time I moved a hand she nosed it. The quietness was gone from her body. Another decision to be made. This time I didn't leave, but I made an abrupt change to the plan and focused on the ball.
I kicked it over to her and when she put her nose on it: Click! Within a few minutes of clicking, she was actually able to pick up the ball with her mouth and shake it a little. I was enjoying watching her figure it out. Then she was done. I could just see the disconnect in her face. I might have been able to work with her on something else, but why risk the frustration and possible mauling. Remember, I was determined to keep a positive attitude today. She had started on something new and done pretty well, especially when you consider how the morning began. Let well enough alone.
It's obvious that Matilda and I still have some serious relationship building to do. Things are improving, however, and I learned many valuable lessons this week. A few of them are:
1) Give Matilda your time and attention by making a conscious effort to be relaxed, not rushed.
2) Be willing to walk away.
3) Be willing to change things up radically instead of putting your head down, barreling through and forcing things that are probably not going to happen.
4) Get sunscreen.
Another thought has occurred to me since Thursday:Are our bad days the ones when I haven't seen Matilda for a day or two? Do our good days tend to be the few days when I have been able to work with her on consecutive days? Something else that bears observation and awareness going forward.
Yet another Matilda met me on Thursday. This one was petulant. On the drive out to the barn, I went through the same mental routine and was determined to have a pleasant time with Matilda no matter what. She had apparently gone through a mental routine of her own and decided to test me.
I try to spend a little time with Matilda, but without carrots, first thing. I kick the ball or scritch her (She's much more amenable to contact when I don't have carrots. Brat.) and just relax. I'm starting to realize that this is also a good way to gauge her mood before we actually get into work mode.
On this beautiful Thursday, she walked right up to me and checked me for food. Our basic mauling scenario. I shoved her away and started playing with the ball. She didn't even look at it, just walked up and nosed me all over again. "Please, not another Monday," I thought. I walked away and she came after me, then passed me, then cut me off. Things were not looking good. We worked this out a little although I had to press her back, whereas yesterday all I had to do was point and say "Back".
When we got to a nice sunny spot, I started to give her what I thought was some nice scritching. This is when Matilda showed me something new.
She walked away and turned her backside to me. She didn't go back to her hay spot or feign interest in the ball or nose around the ground, ignoring me. She simply turned her "back" to me. Her head was up and she was watching me over her shoulder as she stood there, unmoving. I really didn't know what to do with that. She was making a loud and clear statement about how she felt today, that's for sure. If I hadn't been so surprised and perplexed I probably would have just fallen on the ground laughing.
After a moment, I realized that she was not going to move on her own, I was not going to go get the carrots while she stood there (I suppose) pouting and I had brought my camera with me. I didn't take a picture of that moment, I wish I had, but this one is similar to what I was seeing from her.
Since I had my camera, I wandered around playing, taking pictures of interesting stuff in the paddock. She continued to watch me over her shoulder for a while, before moving back to her hay and I had a decision to make. Apparently Matilda was in a mood, so did I get the carrots and start in on work? I felt like that might be giving in, so I went the other route and left her. This is a difficult thing for me to do.
Since I had my camera, I wandered around playing, taking pictures of interesting stuff in the paddock. She continued to watch me over her shoulder for a while, before moving back to her hay and I had a decision to make. Apparently Matilda was in a mood, so did I get the carrots and start in on work? I felt like that might be giving in, so I went the other route and left her. This is a difficult thing for me to do.
If I could be at the barn all day, every day I would just come and go, working with Matilda in little bits throughout the day. But I can't. I have 3 days... 3 mornings. I have a routine. Walking away is so hard, we have so much to do.
I came back later and we attempted some of the basic things that she had done so beautifully on Tuesday, but 'twas not to be. Every time I moved a hand she nosed it. The quietness was gone from her body. Another decision to be made. This time I didn't leave, but I made an abrupt change to the plan and focused on the ball.
I kicked it over to her and when she put her nose on it: Click! Within a few minutes of clicking, she was actually able to pick up the ball with her mouth and shake it a little. I was enjoying watching her figure it out. Then she was done. I could just see the disconnect in her face. I might have been able to work with her on something else, but why risk the frustration and possible mauling. Remember, I was determined to keep a positive attitude today. She had started on something new and done pretty well, especially when you consider how the morning began. Let well enough alone.
It's obvious that Matilda and I still have some serious relationship building to do. Things are improving, however, and I learned many valuable lessons this week. A few of them are:
1) Give Matilda your time and attention by making a conscious effort to be relaxed, not rushed.
2) Be willing to walk away.
3) Be willing to change things up radically instead of putting your head down, barreling through and forcing things that are probably not going to happen.
4) Get sunscreen.
Another thought has occurred to me since Thursday:Are our bad days the ones when I haven't seen Matilda for a day or two? Do our good days tend to be the few days when I have been able to work with her on consecutive days? Something else that bears observation and awareness going forward.
Catching up part 1: Monday and Tuesday
Monday was a total wash. Matilda and I were completely out of sync and she had either forgotten or was refusing to give me even one side step. She started walking ahead of me and cutting me off again, which I don't think she had done in a few days. Frustrations ran high on both sides and it was not a day that is really even worth mentioning other than to say I went and we tried.
On the way home I thought about the fact that I really felt rushed from the moment I got to the barn and had been anxious to get home. hmmmm.....
Tuesday I spent my 45 minute drive in reminding myself that there was nothing pressing at home. It was going to be a beautiful day and that I had all the time in the world. I also reminded myself not to be frustrated if Matilda moves forward and sideways at the same time. Perfection is not required...
If you can believe it, it was a much better day. Matilda was quiet, calm and respectful. Rather than jump into the lateral movement, we started slowly with all the things that are comfortable to us: Come, back, stand still and a little bit of touch the target stick. We walked together and she stayed pretty well to my right and behind so that I could click and drop carrots every few steps.
After all of my consternation last week, she stood beautifully, allowing me to go from side to side and even walk up and touch her side without moving away from me. No props required on Tuesday.
I don't know how to describe the feeling other than to say that there was a quietness about her that certainly wasn't there the day before.
Since I was trying to keep things simple and relaxed I decided not to bring target sticks and dressage whips into the paddock to tap or press her over this time. I just used myself. I walked over to her good side and put one hand against her face (a feat in and of itself) to keep her head straight and pressed against her side with my fist just behind her front leg, where the girth would be. She offered all the usual straight forward and straight backward movement, but I kept the pressure on until she moved a lot forward with a little to the side. We only did that a few times before I moved to the right. It was the exact same experience.
After that, we did some neck stretches and I left it at that. It was a very short work day, but pleasant and, as I said before, quiet. Since the day before I had left the paddock angry and exasperated, this was all I could ask for. It was a day for small successes.
On the way home I thought about the fact that I really felt rushed from the moment I got to the barn and had been anxious to get home. hmmmm.....
Tuesday I spent my 45 minute drive in reminding myself that there was nothing pressing at home. It was going to be a beautiful day and that I had all the time in the world. I also reminded myself not to be frustrated if Matilda moves forward and sideways at the same time. Perfection is not required...
If you can believe it, it was a much better day. Matilda was quiet, calm and respectful. Rather than jump into the lateral movement, we started slowly with all the things that are comfortable to us: Come, back, stand still and a little bit of touch the target stick. We walked together and she stayed pretty well to my right and behind so that I could click and drop carrots every few steps.
After all of my consternation last week, she stood beautifully, allowing me to go from side to side and even walk up and touch her side without moving away from me. No props required on Tuesday.
I don't know how to describe the feeling other than to say that there was a quietness about her that certainly wasn't there the day before.
Since I was trying to keep things simple and relaxed I decided not to bring target sticks and dressage whips into the paddock to tap or press her over this time. I just used myself. I walked over to her good side and put one hand against her face (a feat in and of itself) to keep her head straight and pressed against her side with my fist just behind her front leg, where the girth would be. She offered all the usual straight forward and straight backward movement, but I kept the pressure on until she moved a lot forward with a little to the side. We only did that a few times before I moved to the right. It was the exact same experience.
After that, we did some neck stretches and I left it at that. It was a very short work day, but pleasant and, as I said before, quiet. Since the day before I had left the paddock angry and exasperated, this was all I could ask for. It was a day for small successes.
Friday, February 11, 2011
We All Have Our Crosses to Bear
Matilda and her ball. She still doesn't know what to do with it, but I kick it to her and around her... someday she will kick it back to me on her own. At least it gives me something to do while we are not actively working on, well, work.Yesterday was a change up day, while I am figuring out the stand still thing. (Thank you, those of you who gave suggestions. It is much appreciated.) It's hard to find a healthy balance that avoids monotony while preventing Matilda from becoming a "jack of all trades and master of none." You know, you get bored with task one and move on to task two before she really masters and understands task one.
I really want her to have a good understanding of all the things she is doing, but I didn't think I can face more "come", "back", "touch" and "stay". Fortunately, Kelly Marks' book breaks things down into groups with a sort of checklist of accomplishments. There are 5-6 things in each group and I feel comfortable working on those things in tandem. The tasks in the current group include all those things I've been working on: come, standing still, backing and (today's focus) lateral movement, aka moving side to side.
In addition to starting work on lateral movement, I also re-introduced the dressage whip.
Here is a picture of the three types of whip/crop that are typically used. The short one is a crop, used largely for hunt/jump riders. In the middle is the dressage whip and the big one with the cord is the lunge whip.
I decided to bring in the dressage whip since she is familiar and comfortable with it. I really just wanted to see how she would react to it since she hasn't seen it in a while. It was no problem. She walked right up nosed it and tried to eat it.
The interesting part came when I started touching her with it. She was fine on the left (now known as "the good side"). I could touch her from neck to haunch and down to her knees without event. I could even run the tip of the whip down her back.
When I moved to her right, I could see her skin crawl the moment I touched her. She could stand still as long as I did not let the whip lay against her for any length of time. The challenge was to be able to run it along her back, just as on the left side. I ended up laying the entire whip across her side and following her as she moved forward and back and circled around and around. The second she stopped moving: click! And we moved on from there.
I was, at the end, able to put the whip pretty much anywhere without her moving too much. I even lay it down her face, between her eyes and down to her nose. I tried not to leave it there for too long, lest we take a step backwards, just a second or two. I consider that a triumph.
Onto the lateral work. This is important stuff. It is good for working in close quarter with a horse, as in a stall or trailer. The ultimate goal is to be able to tell the horse "over" with maybe a finger on her side and have her move away. It's also useful when a horse steps on your foot. :)
It was one of those rare days when I was super focused on work and Matilda was not. Let me extrapolate. You may not believe me, but there are actually days when Matilda is thinking and focusing on what I am asking and what she is doing. Her movements are very deliberate and there are more pauses between the motion, not what I would call stillness just pauses.
There are also days when Matilda is just focused on the carrot. Sloppy days of constant motion with no real purpose. The neck and head wrapping around me in various configurations with eyes always on the pail, rarely on me. That was yesterday. That was the day we tried something new and relatively unfamiliar for the first time in several days.
I did not think it was going to be quite so difficult to convey to Matilda what I wanted. On another day it probably would not have been. I won't go through all the details of everything I tried just say that I tapped, pressed and prodded. She moved backwards, forwards and I am pretty sure that there was some more spinning around and around again, as she tried to reach the carrots and I tried to keep them away. I became the pivot point around which she moved and spun, working so close to her body that there was no way to see the big picture of what kind of movement was actually happening. (Fortunately, I am a blonde, so spinning and dizziness don't effect me the way it would a brunette or red head. It is closer to my natural state.)
I could feel the frustration rising up in me so I took the carrot pail and tossed it over the fence. I thought I would see how she did using some basic pressure and release tactics without the distraction of the carrots. This was when we reached a serious impasse. Roots grew out of Matilda's hooves and dug deep into the ground. If I had been working on "Stay" it would have been perfect.
I have tried over the last couple of years to adjust my thinking about my relationships with the animals around me. Tried to start viewing us as working in cooperation with each other, as partners, rather than seeing it as them vs. me, which is my natural leaning. I have done very well with this adjustment, but this was CLEARLY a her or me moment. A battle I had to win.
Again, I tapped, pressed and prodded alternating between the dressage whip and target stick, ultimately leaning against her with my hands/shoulder/body. At one point I looked like that "Far Side" Midvale School for the Gifted comic. The one where the kid is leaning against the door that says pull. She would not budge. She wouldn't even back up!
We reached a dangerous point. I was losing it and she was very close to finding out that she's stronger than me. I needed a moment and some space. The dilemma? She refused to move and I couldn't let her think that she was pushing me around. The solution? I told her to "Stay" and walked away, a little reverse psychology. Whether it was for her or for me, I know not.
She followed me, of course, but by that time I had a little distance. And I still had the dressage whip. Don't worry, I didn't whack her with it, I just waved it under her nose with that nice "whoosh" sound that good whips make and told her to "go". Go she did. She took off to the other side of the paddock at a trot and the battle was won. I had re-affirmed to both her and myself that I had the power to move her where I wanted her to go. I also had the space and time I needed to think about how to break this down for her.
And that's what happened. We broke it down. I had been asking her to move her entire body laterally, taking sidesteps with both her front and back legs. What if I just focused on a sidestep with the back legs for today? Neither of us have paid any attention to her hind quarters yet; when she backs up I am always looking for movement in her front legs. It's time to start giving some attention to engaging those back legs too.
I invited her to come to me. She did but very cautiously (happy dance), and we started in on that right side. I used the target stick to apply pressure to the rear hip and just watched those feet... Back, forward, again and again. Then nothing. I switched to the good side and kept that pressure on. My arms were hurting a little by now, but never fear, she did it. She took one small step to the side with her far leg. Hoorah! As soon as she stepped out, I clicked and released the pressure from her hip.
For some reason, I had it in my head that I really wanted her to take the near leg and cross it in front of the far leg. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I like the look of flexibility or it will be helpful in the future if we ever get to more advanced movement. I realized on the way home that that really had nothing to do with the exercise at hand but it's what I wanted so it's what I pushed for.
And I had to push for it, quite literally. She figured out almost immediately that I was looking for sidestepping, but she was giving me step-touches (stepping out with the far leg and bringing the near leg in next to it) when I was looking for a grapevine (that's a shout out to all of my old show choir/theater geek friends). Once she got the hang of the stepping out, I stopped clicking for that particular movement and kept pressure on the hip. Her sidesteps got bigger and bigger until there was nothing she could do but cross that near leg in front of the far one in order to keep herself lined up and in balance. Click! The connection for her was instant. Within three clicks I could tap her gently on the hip and say "over" and she performed the cross step I was looking for. On the left.
Back to the right. At least this time she got the sidestep a little faster, but not that cross step. We worked it for so long without success that I had to switch back to the left side just to prove to myself (and to her?) that she had actually done it. I hadn't dreamed it. Sure enough, on the left, it's an all too simple tap-cross step, tap-cross step. We did it 3-6 times without fail.
Back to the right. Step, together, step, together, step, together, over and over again. I was not physically capable of putting anymore pressure on that side. Step, together, step, together, step..... CROSS! "Hallelujah, thank You, Lord! Here's your apple. See you next week!" I've never left the paddock so fast.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Sometimes life intrudes.
So, I've actually been to the barn three times since my last post, but the worries of this world have been on my mind and they have been rather unproductive days. My timing has been off and/or non-existent to the point that I caught myself, at one point, tossing carrots on the ground without clicking at all. Since this blog is about Matilda and me, how she affects my life, not the details of my psyche and innermost thoughts, I've sort of left it alone.
Matilda has picked up on my mood in many ways. The other day she actually bit me. Not nipped, BIT. I lost my temper and left her immediately after that. I didn't give her an apple either. So there!
She started a nasty habit when we walk together, too. She speeds up and turns directly in front of me, cutting me off. I have had a time figuring out how to deal with that one. If I just ignore it and stand still, she's in control and starts the nipping. If I turn and move in another direction, she is effectively herding me.... um, no, can't happen. When I am faced with her side (my eyes are about even with her back - it's like facing a wall of white fur), I know I cannot physically move her out of the way. I have been trying to think of how to get her into the desired position, just behind me and to the right.
Today I realized that I don't need to worry about where she is, I just need her out of my way. We returned to the old stand by: Back up! Every time she cut me off, I simply stood my ground, pointed and said "Back!" then waited until she was completely out of my way before continuing on with my stroll. I need to focus on breaking this particular habit, rather than worry about precision motion right now. Of course, she will only get rewarded for walking in the proper place but I don't need to be pro-actively trying to get everything done at once.
I've also been trying to stop her before she gets ahead of me. As I notice her speeding up, I stop and tell her "Whoa!" Click/treat for stopping, then make her back a step or two before continuing on. This 2 part approach seemed to be working for her today. At least I didn't get bit.
I am realizing again and again how hard "stay" is going to be for her. Matilda is just not used to standing still. It is becoming more and more important for her to understand stillness. I am trying to think of/find something for her to stand on or some kind of visual marker that she and I can both see. Something so that when she moves I can bring her back to that precise spot. I like visual aids:) I tried a beach towel, but my biggest beach towel was too small for her. She also shuffled her feet all over it and just rumpled it up. As important as it is, it is a good idea to leave off concentrated work on the "stay" until the answer to that problem presents itself. I'll do some looking over the weekend and if anyone has any ideas, let me know.
I will say that, even with my distracted self, Matilda is performing "come" and (of course) "back" very well. Those rare moments when she is walking with me, she stops when I stop and say "Whoa" but still has a little difficulty stopping when approaching me. Her "stay" is ok for short periods, but only if I stay directly in front of her or to her left. If I move too far to her right she moves, I think so she can keep her left eye on me. We started working on stretching her neck with her nose all the way to the ground today, using the target stick. She likes to do that, but bounces her head up and down, so next we will work on her extending the time on those stretches... again, stillness.
A couple of other nice things I've noticed, whenever I bring something new into the paddock (books, beach towel, ball) she approaches immediately and checks it out. I like to think that this is a sign that she is beginning to trust me and know that anything I bring to her is for her interest and not her harm. When I threw a ball across the paddock, she didn't flinch at all. She was curious about it and nosed it around but kept looking to me as if asking for direction. I was just hanging out with her at that time, watching her, and when there were no clicks, she gave up on it and left it alone. I was hoping she would play with it; she just didn't know what to do. I'll bring it back into the mix later.
I'll also be bringing a lunge whip into the paddock soon. I don't intend to use it, but I do want her to be well rounded and comfortable with anything that she sees. The whip has been a sore spot for her and I would like to see how she reacts to it after not seeing it for so long.
I am supposed to go back to the barn tomorrow but it may snow tonight. I hope it is a small amount so that I can keep on with Matilda tomorrow.
Matilda has picked up on my mood in many ways. The other day she actually bit me. Not nipped, BIT. I lost my temper and left her immediately after that. I didn't give her an apple either. So there!
She started a nasty habit when we walk together, too. She speeds up and turns directly in front of me, cutting me off. I have had a time figuring out how to deal with that one. If I just ignore it and stand still, she's in control and starts the nipping. If I turn and move in another direction, she is effectively herding me.... um, no, can't happen. When I am faced with her side (my eyes are about even with her back - it's like facing a wall of white fur), I know I cannot physically move her out of the way. I have been trying to think of how to get her into the desired position, just behind me and to the right.
Today I realized that I don't need to worry about where she is, I just need her out of my way. We returned to the old stand by: Back up! Every time she cut me off, I simply stood my ground, pointed and said "Back!" then waited until she was completely out of my way before continuing on with my stroll. I need to focus on breaking this particular habit, rather than worry about precision motion right now. Of course, she will only get rewarded for walking in the proper place but I don't need to be pro-actively trying to get everything done at once.
I've also been trying to stop her before she gets ahead of me. As I notice her speeding up, I stop and tell her "Whoa!" Click/treat for stopping, then make her back a step or two before continuing on. This 2 part approach seemed to be working for her today. At least I didn't get bit.
I am realizing again and again how hard "stay" is going to be for her. Matilda is just not used to standing still. It is becoming more and more important for her to understand stillness. I am trying to think of/find something for her to stand on or some kind of visual marker that she and I can both see. Something so that when she moves I can bring her back to that precise spot. I like visual aids:) I tried a beach towel, but my biggest beach towel was too small for her. She also shuffled her feet all over it and just rumpled it up. As important as it is, it is a good idea to leave off concentrated work on the "stay" until the answer to that problem presents itself. I'll do some looking over the weekend and if anyone has any ideas, let me know.
I will say that, even with my distracted self, Matilda is performing "come" and (of course) "back" very well. Those rare moments when she is walking with me, she stops when I stop and say "Whoa" but still has a little difficulty stopping when approaching me. Her "stay" is ok for short periods, but only if I stay directly in front of her or to her left. If I move too far to her right she moves, I think so she can keep her left eye on me. We started working on stretching her neck with her nose all the way to the ground today, using the target stick. She likes to do that, but bounces her head up and down, so next we will work on her extending the time on those stretches... again, stillness.
A couple of other nice things I've noticed, whenever I bring something new into the paddock (books, beach towel, ball) she approaches immediately and checks it out. I like to think that this is a sign that she is beginning to trust me and know that anything I bring to her is for her interest and not her harm. When I threw a ball across the paddock, she didn't flinch at all. She was curious about it and nosed it around but kept looking to me as if asking for direction. I was just hanging out with her at that time, watching her, and when there were no clicks, she gave up on it and left it alone. I was hoping she would play with it; she just didn't know what to do. I'll bring it back into the mix later.
I'll also be bringing a lunge whip into the paddock soon. I don't intend to use it, but I do want her to be well rounded and comfortable with anything that she sees. The whip has been a sore spot for her and I would like to see how she reacts to it after not seeing it for so long.
I am supposed to go back to the barn tomorrow but it may snow tonight. I hope it is a small amount so that I can keep on with Matilda tomorrow.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
A Little Madness is a Good Thing (AKA Reading is Bad)
Unless you are reading this blog, of course. In that case, reading is good:)
I spent some time over the weekend doing some research. I discovered that there are a lot of people clicker training horses and that one could spend a ton of time and money watching DVDs and reading books or articles about clicker training a horse and become an expert without ever having to actually touch a horse. After a couple of hours "following the white rabbit" I had to look away and shut down the computer. I mean, how many little stories can a person read about Suzie Q, who, after 30 minutes with her head shy horse, can now throw the halter in the paddock and the horse will put the halter on all by himself, even buckling it under his own chin! You know the type I mean. Disgusting. I spent 3 days trying to teach the word "touch." Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to know that help is out there if really needed, but equally delighted to continue working things out without such reminders of my novice-ess-ness. (I don't get help with my English either, so there!)
After this, I picked up the original inspiration for this project: Kelly Marks' Teach Your Horse Perfect Manners. I love Kelly Marks. She's a Brit and that's enough to win my affection, but she was also a lady jockey. Too cool for words. With her racing background, she doesn't look down on Dressage, Western or any other riding discipline. I appreciate that deeply.
This book has nothing to do with clicking. That was not originally part of the plan. She outlines exercises using halters and lead or lunge lines and I was going to simply follow her plan as closely as I could. When I read the clicker books over the holidays, several weeks after deciding to take on Matilda, I decided to add that in. Those who know me know I am not a thing of grace. Long leads and ropes get tangled and stepped on when in my capable hands, so I added the clicker into the mix. (Go back to my very first post and remember that Matilda does not have a phenomenal history with the lunge line either.) I am really glad I decided to go with the clicker, I love the freedom that it gives us both, but I am also glad that I went back to Kelly Marks' book to remind myself of the foundation exercises that I was so anxious to get a handle on: come, stand still, backing up, lateral movement, etc.
Don't worry, I'm not giving up on what I was doing....
With ALL of this in mind, today was totally schizophrenic. We worked on (are you ready?) come, touch, back, stop and stay with a little "walk with me" thrown in for good measure. The funny thing is, it sort of worked for us. When one thing got a little frustrating (aka Matilda started nipping at me), we moved on to something else and just kept shifting gears. There were lots of carrots and very few breaks.
The only things Matilda really had trouble with were "stop" and "walk with me". I know that I was asking her to stop without laying the proper foundation. (Let's face it, whenever there is a problem, the trouble is mine. The sooner you accept that fact with a project like this, the better.) I should have inserted the word stop as she was stopping naturally many many times, rather than starting out by asking her to stop while she was still 20 feet away and moving towards me holding a carrot. Fortunately, with this method it is no big deal. There is no punishment involved, so no real negative connotations become attached to a word or action if not performed properly.
As for "walk with me," polite ponies walk on a person's right, the carrot bucket sits on my left hip. 'nuff said. Again, no big deal.
If you want to see a funny expression on an animals face, teach an animal what the clicker means by doing something like target training and then start teaching stay. Up until today, Matilda was only clicked for proactively doing something. Today, I told her to stay and then clicked quickly before she could move. You can almost see the confusion, "But.... I didn't.... Did I move? What did I do?" Over a few minutes (less than 30, take that Suzie Q! HA!) I was able to move a few steps back and forth in front of her and back up several paces without her moving.
The key, I think, in teaching her to stay was watching her feet. If you watch carefully, you can see her start to rock as she thinks about moving back or forward and you have to be sure to click before she gets a chance to lift that hoof. A second key: I had to give her carrots from my hand, otherwise she moved every time I threw a treat on the ground and I wanted her to hold her place as long as possible. She only got my fingers once though. Matilda got this one pretty well, pretty fast. No expectation adjustment necessary, Tinya.
I also made "touch" easier for her today by putting the target behind my back when I didn't want her to mess with it. Pretty smart, eh?
I was really surprised by how well all this stuff worked together today and by how well Matilda coped. Maybe she is a multitask-er like me. The basic pattern was as follows: "Matilda, touch" (immediately after she touches it, put target behind back) "back, stop, stay" (I move from side to side, then back away from her slowly) "Come, stop, back, stop, stay, touch" and on and on. Each time she did what I asked, Click/treat!
Now, this was by no means a perfect performance. As I mentioned earlier, she rarely stopped when initially asked. There were many times when I had to ask for a behavior multiple times and there were other times when she stayed or backed when I said "come." All in all, she did remarkably well (I know, I keep saying that), especially with me throwing so much at her.
At one point, I felt like I was back at school (Ah, Camelot... or Pine Ridge) playing "Red Light, Green Light". I would ask her to stay and slowly back up, then turn my back to her to walk away. As I walked I would here that unmistakable "Clop, Clop" of her dinner plate hooves and turn around to take a step or two towards her "Matilda, Stop! Stay!" We repeated this process all the way across the paddock. She would always stay until my back was turned. I am going to have to turn this into an official game down the road.
I thoroughly enjoyed today, but, more importantly, I believe Matilda enjoyed today. Her ears were moving forward and back, she let me touch her on her nose, she was very attentive and focused. Now, if I can just find a halter that will fit her.....
I spent some time over the weekend doing some research. I discovered that there are a lot of people clicker training horses and that one could spend a ton of time and money watching DVDs and reading books or articles about clicker training a horse and become an expert without ever having to actually touch a horse. After a couple of hours "following the white rabbit" I had to look away and shut down the computer. I mean, how many little stories can a person read about Suzie Q, who, after 30 minutes with her head shy horse, can now throw the halter in the paddock and the horse will put the halter on all by himself, even buckling it under his own chin! You know the type I mean. Disgusting. I spent 3 days trying to teach the word "touch." Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to know that help is out there if really needed, but equally delighted to continue working things out without such reminders of my novice-ess-ness. (I don't get help with my English either, so there!)
After this, I picked up the original inspiration for this project: Kelly Marks' Teach Your Horse Perfect Manners. I love Kelly Marks. She's a Brit and that's enough to win my affection, but she was also a lady jockey. Too cool for words. With her racing background, she doesn't look down on Dressage, Western or any other riding discipline. I appreciate that deeply.
This book has nothing to do with clicking. That was not originally part of the plan. She outlines exercises using halters and lead or lunge lines and I was going to simply follow her plan as closely as I could. When I read the clicker books over the holidays, several weeks after deciding to take on Matilda, I decided to add that in. Those who know me know I am not a thing of grace. Long leads and ropes get tangled and stepped on when in my capable hands, so I added the clicker into the mix. (Go back to my very first post and remember that Matilda does not have a phenomenal history with the lunge line either.) I am really glad I decided to go with the clicker, I love the freedom that it gives us both, but I am also glad that I went back to Kelly Marks' book to remind myself of the foundation exercises that I was so anxious to get a handle on: come, stand still, backing up, lateral movement, etc.
Don't worry, I'm not giving up on what I was doing....
With ALL of this in mind, today was totally schizophrenic. We worked on (are you ready?) come, touch, back, stop and stay with a little "walk with me" thrown in for good measure. The funny thing is, it sort of worked for us. When one thing got a little frustrating (aka Matilda started nipping at me), we moved on to something else and just kept shifting gears. There were lots of carrots and very few breaks.
The only things Matilda really had trouble with were "stop" and "walk with me". I know that I was asking her to stop without laying the proper foundation. (Let's face it, whenever there is a problem, the trouble is mine. The sooner you accept that fact with a project like this, the better.) I should have inserted the word stop as she was stopping naturally many many times, rather than starting out by asking her to stop while she was still 20 feet away and moving towards me holding a carrot. Fortunately, with this method it is no big deal. There is no punishment involved, so no real negative connotations become attached to a word or action if not performed properly.
As for "walk with me," polite ponies walk on a person's right, the carrot bucket sits on my left hip. 'nuff said. Again, no big deal.
If you want to see a funny expression on an animals face, teach an animal what the clicker means by doing something like target training and then start teaching stay. Up until today, Matilda was only clicked for proactively doing something. Today, I told her to stay and then clicked quickly before she could move. You can almost see the confusion, "But.... I didn't.... Did I move? What did I do?" Over a few minutes (less than 30, take that Suzie Q! HA!) I was able to move a few steps back and forth in front of her and back up several paces without her moving.
The key, I think, in teaching her to stay was watching her feet. If you watch carefully, you can see her start to rock as she thinks about moving back or forward and you have to be sure to click before she gets a chance to lift that hoof. A second key: I had to give her carrots from my hand, otherwise she moved every time I threw a treat on the ground and I wanted her to hold her place as long as possible. She only got my fingers once though. Matilda got this one pretty well, pretty fast. No expectation adjustment necessary, Tinya.
I also made "touch" easier for her today by putting the target behind my back when I didn't want her to mess with it. Pretty smart, eh?
I was really surprised by how well all this stuff worked together today and by how well Matilda coped. Maybe she is a multitask-er like me. The basic pattern was as follows: "Matilda, touch" (immediately after she touches it, put target behind back) "back, stop, stay" (I move from side to side, then back away from her slowly) "Come, stop, back, stop, stay, touch" and on and on. Each time she did what I asked, Click/treat!
Now, this was by no means a perfect performance. As I mentioned earlier, she rarely stopped when initially asked. There were many times when I had to ask for a behavior multiple times and there were other times when she stayed or backed when I said "come." All in all, she did remarkably well (I know, I keep saying that), especially with me throwing so much at her.
At one point, I felt like I was back at school (Ah, Camelot... or Pine Ridge) playing "Red Light, Green Light". I would ask her to stay and slowly back up, then turn my back to her to walk away. As I walked I would here that unmistakable "Clop, Clop" of her dinner plate hooves and turn around to take a step or two towards her "Matilda, Stop! Stay!" We repeated this process all the way across the paddock. She would always stay until my back was turned. I am going to have to turn this into an official game down the road.
I thoroughly enjoyed today, but, more importantly, I believe Matilda enjoyed today. Her ears were moving forward and back, she let me touch her on her nose, she was very attentive and focused. Now, if I can just find a halter that will fit her.....
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