Creativity

I have been struggling with a very herd bound RBE. She has been getting herself so worked up it feels like our relationship is non-existent. Today I did the circle game last since that is our hardest game when she wants to go fast unconfidently. Everything checked out, I was confident it was going to be good - and I was on my 45ft. I started her on a small circle to start and it was almost an immediate blow up. Then any little noise made her jumpy and sprinting forward (I haven't experienced this with her until today). Keeping myself calm and collected is always the hardest thing. Because I take it as a reflection on myself and since I am natural unconfident - that makes it harder for me to stay a confident leader. I was able to calm her down using touch it and approach and retreat. I saddled her and started the warm up in our indoor arena since there is less distractions. This is where the creativity comes in - I had a hula hoop that was given to me (thanks Mrs. Mary) so I wanted to try it riding around her neck like a savvy string and see if it could help me with my shoulder placement. It didn't really help too much so I was able to use it as a point to point. I held it with my arm out next to her while I was riding and kept my focus on the hula hoop and until she touched it with her nose I kept it there and kept my pressure there. Trying to help her understand 'put your nose where my focus is hoping the next and feet will follow' giving her a reason to focus with me and making it a game. I was (and still am) so proud of myself for coming up with this little game! I was also able to backup into a gate so that Annabelle's but was actually pushing the gate open - HUGE trust improvement especially with gates! When I was done riding and let her back out with her friends she opened the gate with her nose and closed it! It was so adorable :) here's the video

http://youtu.be/BZfBkeZyO0U

I do know what I'm doing?

I added a question mark to the beginning of this post because I have learned this week that I do have the confidence in what I am doing (most of the time). The past couple of days have been huge learning experiences for me. From mainly only working with Annabelle I don't notice how much my skill level with horses has gone up. Yesterday Annabelle was extremely RBE she had to move her feet and her head was up and she continued to snort out into the field. I was able to get some connection on the ground but not much responsiveness. I decided to ride because she does very well at the game of contact on days she is more right brained. At first she automatically offered collection without me asking but she was fast and had no rhythm. I allowed her to trot quickly but continued to stroke my reins to keep her head lower and help her release the adrenaline. Then I was able to walk and then she could stand still as I talked with Taylor for a while. I started walking back towards the gate because I was very pleased with this transformation and she took off trotting and bucking I disengaged her got off and put my 22ft line on. She immediately started cantering and bucking so I asked her to go a little faster, knowing this was LBE behavior. She was flinging her head up and down. After about 2 mins of my attitude being calm but playful she decided she just wanted to stand still (being more introverted at heart) and started playing with the ropes. I got back on and asked for a small trotting circle, and slowly got bigger, then we walked towards the gate and away multiple times before I got off at the opposite end of the arena. I have always struggled when she becomes RBE because she is unfocused and it makes me become unfocused and unconfident. I walked away from it feeling positive about myself and what I have learned.
Now Today: It was a completely different story. Majorly RBI, you can see the changes in the pictures below. She wouldn't take a treat from me she was so into herself and her emotions were running high. I was at liberty (with my telescoping pole tried it for the first time today and it was awesome!) and she had no blow ups she stayed connected, but I took things extremely slow and gave her plenty of down time and comfort and she was slowly able to lick and chew and shake her head. I was waiting for the yawn but she didn't. At the very end she took one treat for me very slowly and sucked on it a little bit before chewing. However, I noticed the horseanality and by doing the right thing for her in that moment I was able to still progress and not get frustrated with myself, which is my weakest quality. The horseanalities are so important from me and the thing I am really passionate about, I can't wait until I know a lot more about the horseanalities so I can pin point and help horses become calm, smart, brave, and athletic.



How we started

You can tell in her eye and face, so amazing to me now.

A little bit softer, she was able to lick and chew

Still had an amazing liberty session, very connected and she stayed calm . Even got a liberty spin:
http://youtu.be/TiWicuK1knw