Red Letter Day

[diplomaticandtactful]

Leo our little comtois pony has always been tricky to catch, and also has refused to participate in joining up. He gets so far but just can't quite manage it or it is pitch dark by then and you just have to call it a day, or night.

He did manage it slightly at our last training session but that after more than an hour of stalking him.....after I got too cocky and managed to let him go with rope and collar still on.

Today I had worked him in the field, doing really nice circles very very good turn in and halt, and I tried him with some no rope/collar exercises which he did well. Then he lost interest and wandered off. Cardinal sin, he wasn't told we were finished.

So do I anticipate 3 hours to catch him or leave it be. Knowing that my trainer would have said, get him back, do something then let him go, I sighed and got on with it.

Stalked him in a large circle, called him, looked at his quarters to try to encourage him to move them and come and face me and lo and behold, he does a beautiful turn, then walks down the field and presents himself for rubbing and attention. Just like he had on the lunge, where you just have to think come in and halt and he is there in front of you looking appealing.

He must have come 8 or more strides to me, first time ever he has volunteered this. So pleased with him.

 

[Trewsers]

That's great - I can imagine how chuffed you are feeling:smile:

 

[tbaynancy]

Very happy to hear this - well done!

 

[Cortrasna]

Very rewarding after all your hard slog. Are you finding it useful and more helpful using these methods your trainer suggests, as opposed to whatever you might have been doing before with groundwork for them? It certainly sounds as though you are getting a lot of positive feed back from the 'pupils'.:smile:

 

[diplomaticandtactful]

I think what has happened is that I now think in NH terms so I can do stuff automatically rather than having to think ooops this has happened what do I do now. So if I want them to move over, I look at where i want to go and they move out my way. If I want to go somewhere it's their job not to block me but move out of my way and follow me, no matter what it is. And without any touch on the rope or any pulling/discussion, where I walk, they have to come with me and stay out of my space.

Certainly Leo and Suze respond instantly to almost a thought, or just a tiny suggestion of what you want, they are very sensitive and sharp and very controllable, they don't pull, barge, assume, they are polite, they know where they are supposed to stay, and you really don't have to ask for it, they just put themselves there. Leo can half pass to the right at the drop of a hat - he just hasn't worked it out going left! If you walk to him, he instantly backs up, ditto Suze. I even managed a circle in the field with her without collar or rope, just body language. If they get it wrong, just a sharpening of my body language or a flick of the rope and they are back in line - ok I lose them from time to time, as anyone does when you push them out of their comfort zone but with Suze, I can get her back to total relaxation and calmness really fast, whereas before she would escalate until she kicked, as she got more and more worried.

Bud is better too, he doesn't pull you around - if he offends, he is made to move his bottom and come to face you, so it gets boring so he doesn't bother.

What I like about it is the fact that it is all about not getting into arguments, keeping very calm, very quiet, very miniscule commands. We have started learning loading, they all walk onto the ramp, back off it, repeat, calmly quietly not anxious. They get praise for each good step each good decision.

The only thing I find different I suppose is that you really try NOT to use the rope, you don't pull or tug, you just show them gently where you want them to go and they follow the direction and if they overstep get too ahead of you, you ask them to come round to face you and regain attention/control, rather than them setting their necks against you and pulling/dragging you. It's all about being very polite on both sides.

The fact that I can control Suze, who is a big heavy girl and could drag me if she wanted to, with one finger, or a look, makes her so much easier - for a heavy horse, she is incredibly light and sensitive, because she has learnt by not being pulled, tugged, instead it has all been about getting her to understand in tiny tiny steps.

Does this differ from conventional training - I don't know.

 

[Cortrasna]

As you describe it I would automatically think of some old (and probably now dead!) horsemen/women I have know in the past that just had that very special knack of getting a horse to comply with little or no outwards sign of what was going on.

No force, no shouting just an understanding that the horse would comply with them if they asked clearly and quietly through body language and sometimes small barely audible sounds.

I suppose at the end of the day the descriptive umbrella is of no importance, but the fact that these methods are gentle, non confrontational and are obviously helping you build a huge bond with them and gets excellent results then it has to be good for them and for you.

Very interesting subject I think, the various approaches to groundwork. :smile:

 

[diplomaticandtactful]

it is definitely not the ra ra parelli approach, it is very quiet, very low key. If anything, it is do as little as possible and once they understand, do even less. to the point where you need no props, hardly an instruction.

They work 5-15 minutes per day, just tiny repetitions. Of simple exercises to get them to listen, pay attention and relax.

The first thing they had to learn was just to stand, not move, stay out of my space. Suze nods off now. And when you want them to do something, you change your energy to say expect action! But now that can be such a tiny instruction with them. I can leave her in the stable at the end of the long rope, and when I ask her to come, she walks out straight to me, but she'll stand there until invited.

Suze will out out on a circle just be moving my hand a few inches and offering her the direction - off she plods, if I want her to come in, I just look at her bottom and she turns around and walks straight to me.

All I can say is it works. Leo, if you ask him to come in to you, it's like he's on elastic, suddenly his muzzle is there to be stroked, he is desperate to come to you.

I am a total novice at it, but at least now I can work it out without thinking.

Bud, we are retraining him to load, as he braces, puts his head up, and is likely to hit it. So we're trying to get him to totally chill, and just ask him to walk on and then walk back inch by inch, head down, relaxed. He used to reverse out at 30mph which was very dangerous - this is a horse that has been travelled - but he is very frightened of hitting his head. So now we have a poll guard and just load him a few steps, then back him off slowly and try again. He is the worst loader, Suze and Leo are more confident than he is! No doubt he will go in if you shush him up from behind, but what I want to try to get him to do is self load, so that I can do it solo, so it will just take time for him to feel confident that the trailer is big enough for him.