Posts Tagged ‘bitless bridle
Down for the Count
Sharing some photos today of Boomerang’s latest trick…well sort of. You may think by the photos that I taught him to lay down (which I do fully intend to to). But in actuality this little photo op happened by accident.
I was working with Boomer in the ring on his leading (while not trying to bite off my arm) when I walked away from him for a few minutes to get something. When I got back I saw that he was about to lay down and roll. Probably not the best idea when he has a saddle on. But rather than freak him out and run at him with flailing arms – yelling get up – I decided to use this opportunity. Instead I approached him slowly (before he rolled onto my saddle is the key here) and offered him a treat. Intrigued Boomer layed there trying to figure out what he was doing to warrant the treat. I gave him a few more rewards then proceeded around to his backside so I could sit on his back. (at which point I yelled to my little sister to get the camera – I never pass up the chance for a good photo). After several minutes (and photos) later I asked him to get up with me on him. I then made a big fuss and gave him another treat.
The goal here was not to teach him that laying down with a saddle on would get him food because I’m sure you can imagine how that will end. The goal was to get him used to having me around while he was in his most vulnerable position and make it a positive experience for him. So that when I do go to officially teach him the cues for laying down he will see it as a positive thing. I also decided to give him a big reward for getting up because I wanted him to know when I ask him get back up there is a reward for that as well. That way just incase our little session prompted him to lay down right again I would have asked him to get up quicker and then rewarded – I really didn’t want him confusing being saddled with laying down.
But – as I suspected – after Boomer got back up he tried a few things to get more treats (offered a few behaviors like giving me a kiss and saying no) but he didn’t think to try laying down again. Which is fine, because I’m not to the point with him where I want him to learn to lay down yet.
Laying down is in Blitz’s and Boomer’s future for sure, Minnow…I’m not so sure. Minnow has a lot more trust issues…and I’m worried laying down will undue a lot of training I have done with him. But perhaps one day we will be able to master this feat. Maybe little brother Boomer can show him that its ok.
Can’t use the Accelerator if the Brakes are Cut
Blitz and my mom warm up
On Sunday Boomerang and Blitz traveled 2 1/2 hours to the site of the United States Equestrian Team training facility, Hamilton Farm, in Gladstone, NJ. It was a long journey (with us up at 4am) but it was well worth the trip for the hour of riding we did due to what we accomplished alone. We were to compete against two other teams in the pairs division – teams with top riders and ponies much more advanced than our boys. My mom and I saw this as another step in their training – to play against better/faster horses…and for the boys to keep their cool.
See in mounted games many of the horses feed off eachother. They stand at the start in a line waiting for the flag to drop, one horse jigs and gets excited, the next starts to rear, and before you know it the whole line is dancing around with adrenaline. Adrenaline – its the curse for all of us, how do you control a 1,000lb animal that can’t control its own emotions? Trick question – because you can’t! But you can teach your horse how to control these emotions – inturn making your horse controllable to you.
As the other horses reared and danced Boomer and Blitz stood like statues waiting for their cue from us to take off. And take off they did…well Boomer did atleast, Blitz’s idea of taking off is a few speeds slower – but thats fine, because thats the way my mom likes it. I decided to use this fairly low key competition to ask Boomer for a little bit of speed. Despite the overnight rainfall I felt the footing would be ok so I used the opportunity to test out his wheels. And wheels he has. We aren’t too far off the speed I want out of him, but I definitely don’t want to ask for it all yet.
I strongly believe that the “meltdowns” of many a games ponies are due to the fact that the riders push them too much too fast. As a rider in an extreme speed discipline its hard to not want to go fast all the time. Once you feel that rush its in your blood and its hard not to want to feel that all the time. But for a young/green horse going fast is the last thing you want to do. In training, ponies should be working on spins, stops and most of all control. You can’t step on the accelerator if your brake lines are cut!
So when I asked Boomer for a little more speed I only did so because I was comfortable in knowing that I for one had a really good stop on him. I say whoa and he slams on those breaks (and of course looks for his reward haha). I also knew that he had his adrenaline under control. Our months of racing up hills than asking him to stop and stand after a flat out gallop have really helped to teach him to control his emotions.
So speeding away we went. I was so proud when several times we came neck and neck with another rider and thanks to Boomer’s speed we actually crossed the finish line first! And what I didn’t expect out of Boomer’s speed was that he actually transferred it over to my vaulting. If you have been following along in my posts, you remember that we’ve been working on leading (and not biting) while under saddle. All in the hopes that Boomer will match my speed when I’m ready to vault on. So in the past several weeks we’ve completely stopped working on vaulting and focused only on the leading part. I expected Boomer to be somewhat respectful while leading, but I still thought he’d revert back and stand still while I vaulted. I definitely was surprised when I placed my hands on his neck (in my typical vaulting position) and he proceeded to take off in a controlled canter. Wow this is exactly what I wanted (I really made sure to make a fuss and click and reward him)…however since I didn’t anticipate this my vaulting was a tad delayed. Sadly I’m a little rusty on my speed skills since we’ve spent the past year doing things slowly. So when I vaulted I kept ending up behind the saddle – or missing alltogether. Thankfully Boomer didn’t buck me off and I was able to claw my way into the saddle as he galloped towards home.
All this made me realize in what bad shape I’m in. I’ve been focusing so much on Boomer’s progress I forgot to keep myself up to par. Looks like I’ll be spending the winter doing pushups again!
Anyway to wrap up the day. We placed 3rd – but respectfully points wise. And although we didn’t take home the blue ribbon, we were both extremely pleased with the boy’s progress and thats all that really matters. Riding to us is about personal goals. Winning is nice, but if you can’t be happy with what you have done/accomplished than none of it really matters. Each day the Trick Ponies learn something new, and for that we are proud. We are thankful that we have been able to create a partnership and a language with our horses – and it makes riding and competing that much more enjoyable for everyone involved!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Follow Me
So I’ve mentioned before that one of the things that Boomerang really needs to work on is his leading skills. For some reason when I try to lead him (this mostly only happens when he is under saddle) he tries to bite me. Not only that but he will resist my rein pressure when I try to direct him from the ground. This can be a real problem in mounted games especially, because I need him to match my strides when I lead him so that I can easily vault on and off of him.
Ok, so how do I fix it? I had a lesson with the trainer I’ve had since I was 10 years old a few weeks ago. She’s very much into the Parelli method, but has been able to adapt what she knows into my clicker training. We devised a plan to work on Boomer’s bad habit.
The first part of the training is to teach Boomer to match my stride. My goal is to keep myself right at his shoulder – if I do this he is unable to bite me without getting me to move ahead of his shoulder because he can’t physically reach me. So in order to do this – if he doesn’t at first respond to my body cues (a cluck to move forward or a change in my body’s energy) then I use the end of my lead rope to give him a gentle tap on his hind end. And if he tries to dislodge me from his shoulder – I back up to keep in line with his shoulder.
Meanwhile I am also clicking and rewarding Boomer everytime he puts his ears forward during our “session”. Below you can watch a video of our first practice session.
As you can see near the end of the video we have a little battle as Boomer tries to back up in order to dislodge me from his shoulder so that he can bite me. He is unsuccessful and I keep him moving forward until I can reward him for ears forward.
Later the same day after more practice I took this video. As you can see he is no longer trying to dislodge me in order to bite me, but he still has a nasty look on his face. However, he is quicker to put his ears forward and he is matching my stride mostly with the change of my energy rather than me having to use the leadrope on his rump.
Since these videos were taken I have practiced with him several other times and he continues to progress. I haven’t been bitten since we started and he is now consistently matching my stride. My hope is that I can eventually keep his ears forward the entire time as well as teach him that when I place my hands on his neck in a certain position (the position I put them in in order to vault on) he will move quickly forward at a trot or canter. We still have a lot more work to do, but for now I am happy that I don’t have to ice my arms from horse bites. Aren’t ponies wonderful?
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
The Bronco takes to the Open Land
The Dachshund and I are exhausted after a long day
So my weekend was filled with heavy lifting due to moving all of my personal belongings into my new house. Lets hope I never have to do that again. I can’t name a muscle that isn’t sore right now. And while we are officially moved into our first home – we’re still sleeping on a mattress on the floor and living out of boxes in the basement. Hopefully this is only temporary as we plan to finish our hardwood floors in the next 2 weeks. The dachshund is utterly thrilled that we are sleeping on his level. He has been using our mattress as a wrestling ring with my parent’s dog, Trooper.
And while things are finally starting to settle down in regards to home life – I was actually able to get my first ride in over a week on Boomerang. On Monday my plan was to go on a nice quiet trail ride with Boomer while my mom rode Blitz. Now Blitz has turned into an exception trail horse (we all fight over who gets to ride him). He goes the pace you want, doesn’t try to grab grass, and is relatively non-spooky. Thanks to clicker training him to “touch the goblins”. Boomer on the other hand isn’t the dream trail horse. At 6 years old I think he still has a lot of growing up and maturing to do, I’ve been told that Chincoteague Ponies actually mature later than most horses. I’m hoping this is the case for Boomer anyway.
I’ve never been big on trail riding – mostly because I love to “fine tune” my skills in the ring. My mom loves to – so I mostly go for her sake and for my horses mind. They can’t be expected to do ring work all of the time. So that being said – lately Boomer has been making me despise it even more. When trail riding him, I admit he tends to push my buttons – my normal calm level headed personality gets pushed to the breaking point a bit. Let me explain.
Boomer the bronco
Usually our trail rides start off with a bit of stop and go. Boomer puts on the breaks and refuses to move his feet. He doesn’t call back to the barn or act frantic about leaving home – he’s very calm about the whole thing. He just doesn’t want to do it. So we have a little battle – me asking him to go forward, him refusing (until we get the clicker dialogue going). Finally I get him moving and now he takes off in little spurts. He’ll be walking – then pow- we’re at a gallop and I can’t stop. He does a lot of tossing his head into my lap to evade the bitless bridle as I try to muscle him to a stop (mostly because my whoas and seat position have no effect on him when he’s like this). I finally get him settled and working on a pace I want. When he’s going along at a clam and relaxed walk I click and reward him. Now he starts trying to grab grass. He makes me feel like a little kid sometimes. My stubborn pony darts for grass while I try as hard as I can to pull his head up and keep him moving. And I’m telling you if he gets his head down – no amount of my muscle can get his head back up. I’m tempted to start using grass reins until I can nix this behavior. So now I’m riding with the reins braced in my hands – ready for the moment he tries to make a go for the grass again.
Don't let the innocent face fool you!
Once Boomer realizes his grass attempts are futile – then the bucking starts. Its usually only brought on when we start to move. And I don’t think they are angry bucks, I think they are yippee this is fun bucks. But either way a buck is a buck – and its unwelcome. Now Boomer doesn’t have an ordinary buck. Blitz has an ordinary buck, a little protest with the hop of his back feet – or a tiny jump for joy. No I wish Boomer had a buck like this. Instead I ride a bronco. Looking at him you would never guess that he could jump that high – even from a standstill. And the way he contorts his body – ow, it hurts me just thinking about it. I probably look like a rag doll bouncing around on his back. My mom’s jaw drops everytime she sees him do it.
Yesterday’s buck was exceptionally bad. Somehow Boomer managed to buck while we were crossing a big ditch. It was so powerful that he snapped my neck back (which cracked so loudly I think the neighbors could hear it). Needless to say I can barely turn my head today. I’m lucky he has NEVER (knock on wood) dumped me. I’m not really sure how or why he hasn’t – maybe its my long legs that can easily wrap around his sides. I think if he ever figured out he could dump me I’d be in really big trouble. Lets just hope that day never comes.
So by the end of this horrible trail ride I’m usually fuming (quietly to myself as I’m not one to show too much emotion). The trail rides are supposed to be relaxing and something enjoyable for both of us. Instead they end up being a battle of whits and skill. And I’m really not sure who is wining in the end – but I have a feeling its Boomer. Back at the barn I hose off and take care of my pony – making sure I mention to him that he is not getting rewarded for his bad behavior. After no treat he gets turned out to ponder why no jackpot at the end of the trail ride arrived. Or so I choose to believe….who knows if he understands why he’s not getting his special treat when we are done.
It seems to me as if the clicker and rewards are becoming no match for Boomer’s want for grass. I think all of the issues are revolving around him wanting to eat grass and being frustrated when I don’t allow him to. I’m thinking about trying to reward him with grass (from my pouch and not the ground). I’m not sure where to start with him and this trail riding business – but I do know that something needs to be done about it before I really lose my temper (something that rarely happens to me, especially when dealing with my animals). But we’re all human (or alive for that matter) and sometimes our emotions get the best of his. Boomer gets emotional about wanting grass – I get emotional when he wants that grass. Hopefully we can find a happy medium where neither one of us loses our temper.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Weekend Camping Re-cap
I’m back from my mounted games competition in Mullica Hill, NJ. It was a great trip, as I knew it would be, and despite the heat I had a blast camping and hanging out with the ponies all weekend. My team brought home first place in our division with a score of 61 points (second place scored 52 points). I was especially proud of Boomerang, who performed like he had been doing it all of his life. He’s such an easy pony to travel with, infact all of the Chincoteagues are. I look around at some of the wild eyed/crazed ponies that are really upset to be away from home and I’m glad that my boys are so quiet and well behaved. It makes me really appreciate the Chincoteague Pony Breed.
So for today’s post I thought I would share with you some photos from the weekend. And the rest of the week I have videos of the competition, details on how Ammo my dachshund fared on his first camping trip and overnight horse show, and even some training talk as I discuss how I trained while I rode during competition. So be sure to keep checking in the rest of the week!
Chesapeake Boomerang
Ball and Cone Race
Completeing a Flying Dismount
3 Leg Race with my mom and Blitz
