circling game help?!!!!

[michelle c]

yesterday i was playing the circling game with meg ( in trot) and she decided it would be easier to circle near me (she was on 12 ' line) i could almost touch her, she was circling that close. does this mean she wants to be with me more? i thought only fit horses/ponies could circle this tight without leaning ? oh and should i correct her for this? :rolleyes:

[Jacquie]

Hi Michelle,

Lucky you, it seems as if your Meg would rather be with you than at the end of the 12' rope. :D

Level one isn't about perfection, as long as you can show the send, allow and bring back it doesn't matter if she circles close to you. ;)

[michelle c]

thanx jacuie, meg used to be the type that didnt want to be around me or any person for that matter! so im glad she does now!!! i hav had her 8 years and its only these past 2 years doing parelli that we have stopped fighting and i hav stoped thinking i hav 2 win!! i had my L1 ground skills passed first time round, :D but need to get going again with riden tasks!!! the thing is i need to practice mounting 3 times and lateral flexation, thats about it!

[AHorseOfCourse]

My friend is having this problem with her mare. The mare is so dominant oner her that she bites and kicks her! I am the only one that she has never went after. But anyhow, **I** would not allow it because the closer they get, the less repect they have at level one. Circling close is in higher levels. You sent her out there, it is her responsiblity to stay out there. That is the point of the circling game. I would disengage her and send her back out when she gets too close. JMO Good Luck! :D

[David80]

Just wanted to add a bit to this.

I have an ID who is very sweet natured till he comes to the circling game when he explodes. Also in the early days of L1 he managed to kick me and crack two of my ribs (both barrels). My fault - too much too soon, but the memory lingers on.

As we progressed and the circling improved he wanted to be close and not on the end of the line, which seems fine but he was a bit bracey and I was not confident that he would not land one on me.

When I was a Solihull I managed to speak to Linda about it and she said "wanting to be close was basically a good thing but if he was being threatning then send him out to inspect things, such as going over to stand by a barrel or whatever. Let him stand there for a while before sending him elswhere"

At this stage I had managed to move the explosions from walk up to canter, and spoke to Inge about that. She told me to match his energy plus some. So when he started bucking I jumped up and down with great energy. The look on his face was amazing - could not believe what I was doing. He has tried it a few times since but it is now a bit of a non event, and our relationship has improved. He is now trying other things but that is another story.

I agree with what Jacquie says but make sure he is not putting you under threat. When I got kicked it was totally left brained and calculated.

[michelle c]

hi AHorseOfCourse,

im not sure i agree with you as she is not dominant over me and she respects me more now than b4( b4 she tried to run away from me with the circling game)

David80,

im sorry to hear you got broken ribs. i got kicked on the squeeze game b4 coz too much too soon!!!! on the circling game she is not threatning me, her neck is flexed towards me and her back leg closest is muving under and towards the outside ( if you know what i mean) bending around me, and is very relaxed, i have now learned not to push her too much that she would retaliate!!!! thanx for your advice!! :)