Building on the Basics

Sky learns very quickly as there's no 'sludge' from previous miseducation, so, to keep her engaged, adding more activities in the mix was needed. In addition to the groundwork, which was coming on brilliantly, I added in obstacles and, perhaps due to her curious nature, she was pretty unflappable. I introduced the umbrella, kept it down low, then moved it up and down and soon we could walk around with it, and had another person near us put it up and down. The hoop was another thing she enjoyed, I just had to show her what to do by standing in it myself, then she instantly did it with one, then two feet.  This will be really helpful with trailer loading. The ball in the haynet was another thing I introduced, and dragged it around near her. Not that I plan on roping cows, but being unfazed by something dragging near you can be a helpful skill for a horse. Hopefully that thing is never me! I also added in a mounting block, standing up high so she gets used to me being above her, in preparation for mounting. She has had previous tarp training, so that was no problem for her, which hopefully will help with loading and river crossings.

The groundwork has developed well. She can now go out on a circle calmly without trotting, and her softness in yielding the hind legs, backing up, then yielding the front legs is improving. She can lead nicely from both sides, around and over poles and gives me more space, trusting me as her leader. She's less pushy on the right, but still a little more worried at times on that side, so I'm spending more time there so ease this. We're also working on transferring the leading work out of the area (see 100 mile walk).

Her back ups are dreamy and light, and she'll match my steps beautifully. She is less rushed at side pass now, and can do this without a secondary cue. I can lead her on a long rope and she picks up on my body cues, turning, halting, yielding as I move.  

She picks her feet up calmly now and seems more balanced and less troubled by this. I halter and unhalter her mindfully, in preparation for bridling, asking her gently to turn towards me, and reach down into the nose loop as I halter her, or to reach down and wait for me to lower this as I unhalter her. She'll allow me to catch her politely, and acknowledges me as I enter the field, however, I'd like her to catch me, without thinking of me as a source of food/treats, but just because of our partnership, so I'll be working on this a little more. I'm pleased with her progress in these first two months.

Another month in, and now Sky can move up from a walk to a trot on a circle from my energy rather than a larger cue (e.g. flag flap), and she's now learned to pick me up from the mounting block. She has managed beautifully with other obstacles/challenges such as noise makers, bunting, bigger flappy flags, larger umbrellas, and walking across streams in hand. She's also fine with her saddle being on. doing all of the above. She's also now seen cows and sheep up closer, managed to keep it together when curious cows have approached, and stands patiently when dealing with gates. We've had motorbikes come reasonably close to us, and she's been fine with cyclists passing us. Still lots to do to build an all round confident horse, but we're getting there. Walking out in hand and getting more exposure to the big wide world is next now we have these basics more established (see 100 mile walk).

Now at 5 months in we're working on 'draw' cues on the ground now she understands this (from the mounting block pick up work, which she can now do both sides). She's very cued in and really tries to answer any question I ask of her. However, I'd like her to settle down emotionally a little more, as she seems a bit 'up' energy-wise, which can sometimes be enthusiasm but sometimes she looks a little worried. So I'm currently working on helping her see these tasks as being fun, and supporting her in regulating her nervous system by not 'over-doing' things, keeping the question asking calm, and rewarding quickly, so everything stays 'sweet'.

We're also spending a little time focusing on connecting using liberty connection sessions in the arena (See Building a Deeper Connection).