Thursday, October 21, 2010

Grueling Gate

ORI: Misty, 1 hour, 10-21-10, afternoon
I stood in the South pasture, waiting for Blu. He stood in his stall, and I stood near the gate . . . looking at each other. It was a battle of who would move first. He finally came out . . . and turned to go into Hoosier's stall next door! So, I took Misty instead. Isn't that interesting?

She came into the halter nicely. I think she could have had more "want-to" improvement, but a good show nonetheless. When we got to the gate, I asked her to wait at the open out gate while I opened the dog gate nearby. I did this blocking her from zooming out. She promptly turned around and began to back out! It was so cool. It was her idea to try that out as an answer to the puzzle.

In the dog pen, Misty grazed for 30 minutes. When we were done, I put the neck string on, got permission to swing up, and cantered to the gate. A long the grueling, ugly gate-working ensued. She exhibited confusion by her opposition reflex, so I decided to do he sideways box for our session.

It took less time for her to relax at the cones where we did the sideways box. Here are the highlights from our Sideways Box pattern:
  • She was sensitive
  • She began moving her hind- and forequarters at the same time
  • She got better at not moving forward while going sideways
  • She was trying
  • She did the opposition reflex when she was confused
Overall, I was pleased with her pattern. Maybe working gates bridleless will get easier, now!

Natural Horsewoman Out.

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I am a young horsewoman with a million things on my mind. I have been a student of the horse all my life. As a little girl, I had a desire to understand horses on deeper levels. I believed that there was no such thing as a bad horse, and I believed that all horses were beautiful. One might say that I was a naive child, but I guess I don't have an excuse anymore, because I still believe all of that, and Parelli Natural Horsemanship is helping expand on this perspective.

What We Are Currently Playing With

  • Moving Close Circles at Liberty
  • Soft, Balanced Canter on 45' Line
  • Zone 5 Driving