First off, many thanks to Kristi Smith for an amazing private lesson and workshop yesterday.
I am so excited about where my journey with my horse is going. Kristi told me yesterday that the foundation was all solidly there, now I get to have some fun and get super creative for my boy.
Took it slow in the morning and brushed him up before our private lesson. He was a little distracted by a visiting horse and all of the new sounds/people/stuff, so I just made sure to play lots of little friendly, porcupine and driving games to keep him “with” me. Went and played out front with some touch its and some new phase ones and more subtle gesture with my body. Hung out with him on the tire, since I know he likes that. When Kristi was ready for us, she asked if she could play with us with some Level 4 concepts online and so began the awesome amazing online lesson I was able to have. 
She just watched us play a bit first and said she was glad to see how light things were getting, but now she wanted to see me really asking him to put effort into things and getting his play drive up. Both of which will lead to better flying changes. She had me get more unpredictable with my phase fours and really had his zone one moving out quickly on the send in our circling game. One of the big keys of getting a flying change and one we struggle with, getting some energy into zone one on the change of direction. We also played with transitions and I got some really fantastic upward and downward transitions with simply inhaling and exhaling. From there she had me playing with adding in lots of variety and quickly moving from one thing to the next to keep him interested and engaged.
Then we played with Mocach and I’s zone five driving, something that has given me lots of puzzles lately. Kristi had me following the rail and playing with transitions, then from there showed me how to ask him for a haunches in from zone 5 as we followed the rail. That proved to be a little tricky but with Kristi’s help my boy and I got it! 
She also helped me with a little mental brace of my own with our zone five driving. When he’d start to get a little worried, I would stop all together. But Kristi showed me how to just give him a rub and give him a minute to think the request through he would do just fine. Another good lesson in waiting. Once we got that good a few times we played with the weave pattern from zone five. I was a little confused with my stick/rope coordination at first, but I watched Kristi do it with him and then I was able to do it was well. We’ve always had a super hard time getting that one in zone 5, was so excited to have some success with that yesterday!
De-briefed with Kristi after that and then it was back to the barn to put his saddle on and eat lunch. The afternoon was a freestyle workshop. Played with the boy a smidge more online and then put his bridle on. Started out the neutral and indirect and direct rein. Really focusing on just getting it in my body and not having to use my stick. From there we followed the rail at the walk and once again played with indirect and direct rein. Once Mocachee and I were getting it nice and light, Kristi played the matador game with it and once again added in asking him to put some effort into it. We went back out and I tried achieving the same results out on the rail and we were starting to get it. I never knew my boy could do an indirect/direct rein so tight and fast!
Impulsion patterns were next, played with point to points and the corners game with my buddy to start getting his life up a little walk and trot. Kristi also had me lengthen my stirrups and tweaked my fluidity a little. The clover leaf was last and there was where my boy almost got me on emotional fitness. My water loving horse who normally does the cloverleaf just fine at the walk decided he couldn’t walk in a straight line because he was not going to walk through any mud puddles. I started getting frustrated and finally I just flexed him and gave myself a minute. Then I went and asked Kristi how she would deal with the mud puddle issue. She reminded me it was just a leadership question and I just needed to prove to him that I was the leader and he wasn’t going to get me emotional. It took quite a bit of effort and lots of deep breath on my part but I just stuck with it and finally my buddy was traversing through mud and back to normal. Kristi also had me start throwing in some transitions on the cloverleaf which certainly got his attention and made the pattern more interesting. Got some transitions off my breathing again and got a corner each way with just my focus and then it was time to horse shoe up. I think the highlight of my whole afternoon was managing to hold it together for my pony and managing to “win one”.
Played with our online stuff a little again this afternoon as I had a few minutes with the boy. Had some moments of unconscious incompetence and a little bit of conscious incompetence but just played lots of friendly game and did my best to make sure my buddy didn’t feel like he was wrong for me getting my timing wrong or messing up with my stick, string and/or rope. We got a step of the zone five driving haunches in both ways and he licked and chewed both times. We’re just taking it nice and slow with that, trying to not to push him while he’s trying to figure it all out. Transitions on the rail from zone five were much better. We had a couple rope failures on my part but he handled them really well. The weave started out so-so and I accidentally got too fast with my phase four at one point so I just went with him, told him I was sorry and I fixed up my friendly game a minute. I thought back to the stuff Kristi was telling me and remembered her talking about the goal being me just sticking my stick out and him making the turn. Went back to the weave and slowed it down and really made a effort to just lift my stick up and we got a whole weave with him at the walk making the turns with me just lifting my stick up and out! The best part of today? A really amazing, clean, exuberant flying change online at a phase one! The boy had so much forward energy I didn’t even have to touch him. Promptly turned him back out once we were done, which also left him licking and chewing.
I think the concepts are what is really going to help me with Lucy. Plus, I got lots out of watching everyone else with their horses. I feel like a year after going to the center it’s starting to click. It’s like it’s not so much knowing the stuff in my head, it’s knowing how to really put it into practice. As well as knowing it on a different level. The concepts just had to sink in and I had to give myself some time to grow, I guess. The best part is, I’m sure as time goes on it’s just going to click more and more. Overall it was a fantastic day and I can’t wait to see what happens next on this journey!
Some pictures that Katie took during the workshop . . .
-
- Bridling
-
- My gorgeous boy
-
- A lick and c ahew when I checked his girth, I think? He’s doing something with those big lips of his, lol
-
- After playing the matador game with Kristi
-
- De-briefing in the “horse-shoe”
-
- Mocachee decided he needed a nap
-
- Yep, it was a long day for my little LBI
-
- Just for fun, my hat hanging out on the fence
