Windy Weather

I really enjoyed my session today with Remy.
It was really windy this morning, but apart from that it was a lovely day, so decided to take him into the school to see how he dealt with it.
He was pretty jumpy, the cows in the field next door were running around and the wind was making a lot of noise through the trees. I put him on the lunge and moved him around the school but he was very distracted and spooked a few times. He was fixated on the cows so we went over and just stood quietly and watched them until he turned his attention to me, then we continued around the school, taking in the poles, with circles and lots of walk and halt transitions. Eventually he started to calm down and we managed a short in-hand session. I was over the moon that he released and relaxed his jaw from a light vibration on the inside rein and that he felt safe and able to lower and stretch his head and neck down.

After my session with remy I had a short in-hand session on the yard with Anky asking for flexion and lowering of her head and neck. It was still blustery on the yard, but she stayed calm, stretched down nicely and was much more relaxed in her mouth.

All trimmed

Our trimmer came over last evening, he'd been working away from home so we gave him an evening meal and a bed for the night. That was fine except for the fact that we'd arranged to start the trmming at 8am this morning. Why did we do that!! It has to be said that I'm not an early riser and getting up at 7am to bring them in and give them their breakfast was not easy. LOL Anyway they're all done and we're really pleased with them. Corky and Anky transitioning from shoes are doing really well and the two youngsters have good strong feet which shouldn't cause us any worries.
I had time for a short session with Remy before we put them out. He's showing more patience and calmness during the in-hand work which is great as he can be so easily distracted.

Back in the school....

...with Anky and Remy. First with Remy, a short session in-hand, concentrating on relaxation with walk and halt transitions. He was very motivated  and walked out nicely with really good focussed halts. I then took him for a walk down the track to the small lake. He's never been down there before and as it takes you from bright sunlight into a very dark wood  I was interested to see his reaction. He was fine and I think he enjoyed it, we passed our apple trees at the top of the field so I think that was a good incentive.
Same with Anky, a short in-hand session, continuing our work on the release and stretching down and trying to keep the softness in the walk and the transitions.  She was relaxed and calm and I think, a good start. We then  took the same walk down the lane and although she started off a little  hesitant, she remained calm and was happy to go.

Remy Pics

Me and my Boy

A few clips taken by Jim when we backed Remy .

The penny drops..........

.....for me, that is. I had time for a short session in the stable with Anky this morning, but had to wait until this evening to take her up to the school.
We started in-hand, asking for the release and the stretch down, slight flexion inside and then transition to walk. 
 We were suddenly doing it, our first (albeit very basic) tension free, relaxed work in-hand. A light vibration on the inside rein to ask for the flexion and as she released, she also took the rein down. The more we did, the more she seemed to want to stretch. I felt a real connection, I imagined her sigh of relief that mum had finally 'got it'.
Of course, it was there all the time, I just had to find it.  It's a start.

Super Suber

I've gone back to basics and for the last few days I've been working with Anky in the stables, simply asking for a release and relaxation of the jaw from an upward, gently vibrating rein on the corners of her lips. She's guarded, and you can feel the tension in her lips, but we've been making some progress.
Today I took her up to the school and we had the same session in-hand. It seemed like suddenly it clicked, but I know that she's been mulling it over and coming round to it for the last few days and has now decided that it's ok and she can do it. She released, relaxed and stretched her head and neck down to the ground. A modest start, but I'm hoping that this will be the start of work with less tension and more relaxation mentally and physically. After this short session, I sat on, asked for the release down whilst onboard and then rode her back home down the lane and I don't think I imagined the lighter, more relaxed feel in the rein.
I tried the Suber Pad under the saddle and even though it looks bulky, it doesn't feel that way. In fact, it felt very good.
A short session with Remy on the yard, working on the same thing, relaxation of the jaw, followed by stretching the head and neck and taking the rein down. He's quite happy with it all and doesn't have any reservations like his mum. I just have to try to keep his attention as he's so easily distracted, but he's learning to listen and wait quietly for my signals. The swelling under his knee seems to have settled so I'll start taking him in the school again.
Another short session for Bonbon with the bridle, she's settled with it now, holds the bit nicely and relaxes her jaw when I lightly vibrate the ring.

Twilight Zone

It's been a funny weekend.  Yesterday was so hot it was unbearable outside (for me, anyway,). Today, I awoke to faint rumblings of thunder and a bright, luminous, really weird, almost green light shining into the bedroom. I went to bring the horses in and they were very edgy, expectant of the impending storm.  It started to rain just as we'd finished getting them into the stables.
The last few days I've been continuing my sessions with Anky, asking for a release to the bit. It takes lots (and I mean, lots) of patience and I do believe Anky is teaching me well. I think we're making progress though, we'll continue and we'll see.
The Suber Pad has arrived, so, hopefully tomorrow we'll have chance to test it out. I've tried it on Remy's back and the saddle seems to sit well.
We've also introduced Bonbon to the bridle over the last few days and, as expected, she accepted it with her usual grace. :-)
Couldn't stop Jim taking pics.

 He said he couldn't resist taking this one of the 'big fat arse' - Bonbon's I hope!

Thoughts partially unscrambled......

I've not blogged the last few days, I've lots of thoughts in my head but not been able to unscramble them.
I've had a busy time with Anky, stretching sessions, lungeing and ridden sessions. Our ridden work is very basic stuff. Anky has never been able to relax and her usual way of going is to throw her head up and go hollow. We work only at walk in the school and my prime objective is to get her to relax and lower her head. It's not as easy as it sounds and I'm not sure I'm doing it right, she's very inconsistent and if I give her a long rein, she doesn't want to stretch into it, bracing herself through her neck and in her mouth. She has muscle under her neck which has built up even though I've ridden her very little, this is how she carries herself at liberty.
The stretching exercises will help her, together with the lungeing, but my thoughts are that her main problem is with the mouth. She doesn't like the bit, the first thing she does when you put the bridle on is to hang onto the bit and hold it tight. Her jaw is rigid and I have to teach her that she can release and relax the jaw and trust that everything will be ok. We have done this before and we have made some progress, but it's not a 'real', consistent release of the TMJ, she doesn't trust the contact and therefore is very inconsistent.  Until we have this we can't progress, so I've gone back to the beginning, the asking for the release by a simple lifting of the bit on the corner of the mouth, we must have relaxation in the jaw if we're to have relaxation through her body. I find myself particularly focussed and determined, and the last couple of days I've had several sessions in the stable, simply asking for this release. She's determined also, but we have made a little progress and I'm hopeful that when we do get it, it will make a world of difference to her way of thinking and her way of going. I'm wondering if I should try her bitless, she may have no reason to tense up in the first place then?

I've not done anything in the school with Remy over the last few days as he has this little swelling under his knee. It doesn't seem to be getting any bigger and hopefully it won't be a problem. I've had a few short sessions in the stable concentrating on walk/halt transitions though.
After contacting the Suber Pad people, I'm now waiting for my new pad to arrive and when it does I can start to ride him.

A head full of scrambled thoughts

I needed to continue from yesterday with Anky to see if I could figure out what was happening with her. I walked her around in-hand on the headcollar, asking her to stretch long and low, massaging her neck and trying to keep a nice bend to the inside. This was ok. I did the same thing using the bridle,  contact on the outside rein, asking for flexion to the inside. Not so good, a mixture of me not feeling the outside rein and my in-hand technique being pretty dodgy.  From the start, she's corkscrewed her neck badly on the left rein, and tipped her nose instead of giving correct bend, but from our ridden work I've realised that I have to have her neck very straight and good connection on the outside rein before asking for any bend inside. She finds it hard to accept the contact on that side. Recently she's been more accepting of the outside contact and I've been able to ask for an inside flexion with some degree of success. On the right rein, we have a reasonable contact on the outside rein, but get resistance when asking for inside flexion, so again resistance on that side.
I then put her on the lunge, starting with walking her around, letting her stretch and relax, then asking for a trot transition, wanting her to continue to relax and stretch down, but even though she responded well in the transition, the trot was braced, and she didn't look quite level. It was more of a 'holding herself' kind of stiffness, tight in the shoulders and not using herself well at all behind. I kept her going in the trot, out onto a large circle, bringing her onto smaller circles, taking her up the long side, and although she loosened a bit and looked slightly more free on the right rein, she was still tight and not quite right. I decided to really push her on and she rushed forward, brought her onto a circle to regulate the trot a little and then brought her down the long side over the poles. The first time, she rushed over them but the second time she regulated her own speed and really used herself over them. Immediately she looked better, I asked her again and she carried herself much more fluidly over them. I tried on the other rein and the same thing, started to use herself and , hey presto, she looked like a fully sound horse.
I've been trying so hard not to ask too much that I don't think I'm asking enough ( I think).
With this in mind (activating the hind end) I sat on for a few minutes, started with a long rein, lots of changes of direction, then taking up the reins, the balancing act of feeling the connection on the outside rein, keeping the neck straight,stretched out in front of me, asking with a lift of the inside rein until she gives me flexion, then allowing her to stretch forward into the hand. I realise that what I haven't been concentrating on was keeping the back end working. She's not been grinding to a standstill (not quite), but she's not been active enough behind. I think this was the problem yesterday, combined with the fact that I was probably asking for too much sideways. Today, as soon as she started to back off, sit on my leg, or became unsettled in her mouth/neck, I reminded her to use her back end and it was much better, more consistent.
It's basics, isn't it, I should know this. I'm not good at working alone and after re- reading this post I'm not sure if what I've written is right. I'm really struggling with this working alone, what I wouldn't give for a trainer who could watch my every move and tell me right there and then where I'm going wrong and when (if ever) I'm getting it right.
I'm going to start her stretching exercises again, which can only help.

Hmmmm.........

I noticed a little swelling on Remy's leg this morning,on the inside, about an inch and a half below his knee. It looks like the beginnings of a splint. I've hosed it morning and evening, and put some leg ice clay on it overnight. Hopefully it won't get too big, we'll see.
I took Anky in the school again, started in-hand and then sat on for about 30 minutes. She's definitely making progress, she stretches down on a long rein, is more responsive and forward, and overall, much more relaxed. There's a 'but' in that statement. Today, when asking for leg yield, she started twisting her neck and yawing as if it was uncomfortable. I gave her a longer rein and she stretched down into it. I wonder if I'm doing too much - although I only work at walk and give her plenty of breaks on a long rein. Perhaps it's because she's started to give a little and is starting to use muscles differently, so they're tiring easily?  Perhaps I'm asking too much of her, I don't know, I just hope we're heading in the right direction and not cocking it up big-time.

One of those moments

I graded the school first thing as I wanted to lunge Anky and  it had become compacted and a little bit too hard.
I got up late (again) and it just took me ages to get going, so instead of taking Remy up to the school, I had a short flexion session in the stable with him before going up to the school with Anky.
I started with in-hand work, small circles and leg yields and then a short lungeing session with some trot work over the poles. I got on and she was pretty relaxed and focussed, I started  as I finished last session, from halt asking for flexion, then a walk transition, working on circles and asking her to move away from my inside leg. I then moved on to the leg yield exercise - walk down the long side, half circle back to the track and then leg yield, facing the fence, straighten and then repeat in the opposite corner. She gave me some nice steps of leg yield, followed by nice bend through the corner.  As I came out of the corner onto the long side, she felt balanced and soft in the hand with a slight flexion to the inside. It occurred to me that it would be a good time to ask for a trot transition, and almost before the thought left my mind, there it was, a beautiful, soft, round transition, followed by half a dozen forward moving, easy strides. I asked for a walk transition just as I felt her start to rush and she came back easily. In the scheme of things it was a very small thing, but in our world it was mega, definitely one of those moments..........

Corky rides

I took Remy for a walk along the lane and then up to the school this morning. We worked in-hand , concentrating on a nice, forward, but not rushed walk stride with a relaxed neck. I moved him around the school, using the sides of the arena and then bringing him off onto a circle and when he was balanced and soft, asking for some lateral steps. He was very responsive on the left rein, but more resistant on the right, and I massaged his neck until he relaxed and gave me a more genuine inside bend. I was really pleased with the session and we finished with some free play over the poles.
While I was in the school with Remy, Jim took Bonbon for a walk around the yard and garden, and then I tacked up Anky and we went out for a hack with Jim and Obi.
I had a musical afternoon at Ricky's which I enjoyed very much. Her family are over for a holiday, and after an hour or so sitting and playing by the pool, Ricky's daughter and two grandchildren, Gwen and Chris came  back with me and helped with the horses. Corky was a star as she was petted, groomed, and then ridden around the grounds.

Squealy Baby

I don't know what they'd been up to, but  both Anky and Remy came in this morning with a swollen eye, nothing serious, just a little weepy, so I left them in the stable and took Bonbon up to the school.  She was a little hesitant going up there, but we arrived wth no problems. In the school she was a really good girl. We started off by asking for walk and halt transitions, working on a small circle with me at her shoulder, then moving off around the school. Up the long side, across the short side and down back over the poles. We did this on both reins and she was brilliant. She was better on the right rein, keeping a nice distance with a good walk stride. On the left rein she wanted to come in to me, but after a few minutes she got the hang of it and started to walk out nicely. It was a good session. We'd almost got back to the yard, down the hill appoaching the gate when she started to trot, I was just about to ask for a walk when she squealed, started to canter and legged it towards the small paddock which leads to the main gate to the yard. I knew that I couldn't hold her so let go the rope. I hate doing this, but there was no way I could have held her. She cantered around for a minute or two as I followed her up the field, then went to stand at the gate. She was a bit hot and bothered, but fine, and calmed very quickly. I took her out of the field, back down the yard and through the far gate, back into the field at the same point she'd just run off from. We stood calmly at halt for a couple of minutes and she was very well behaved, so I led her out and back to the stables. I don't know what caused her to do it, but I'm happy with the way she dealt with it when I led her back there. I'm not sure what to make of this squealy behaviour.
It was slightly overcast this afternoon and a bit cooler, and when I checked Anky's eye it was pretty much back to normal so I decided to ride her. I took her up to the school and she was jumpy and distracted, usual behaviour when I take her out of her normal routine. I walked her around, lots of changes of rein, trying to keep her attention and get her to relax. It wasn't easy, and she was concentrating on everything except me, backing off my leg one second, scooting forward the next. I really needed to get her attention and wake her up to my leg, so gave her a couple of sharp nudges  to get her to listen and get her going forward. Once I'd got her attention, I slowed it right down and took it step by step, asking for a halt, flexion and then a walk transition, working on small circles asking her to move away from my inside leg and keep the bend, if she started to rush and fall forwards, I lifted her head and as soon as she softened, relaxed my hand and let her stretch into the contact. If she continued to resist I brought her back to halt and started the process again. I don't know if I did the right thing, but at times she felt to be in much better balance, with good response to my leg and soft in the hand. I was pleased with the session, it had started off badly, but I think we achieved some positive results.

No horses today

We had a good night last night at the  market in Rochechouart, home late and up late this morning. It's our communes vide grenier and fete day today so we went down there to have a look around. Just the usual old tat, but some nice music and dancers made it worthwhile.
It was very hot so any plans to hack out with Anky went by the board. I'm hoping to take her down to a friends to hack out this week so gave my trailer the once over. Apart from our trailer training with Remy and Bonbon, it's been sitting in the yard, unused for the last 3 years and it was looking very grotty and tatty. I decided to give it a much needed clean. I'm happy with the result, it looks much better now! Jim took a couple of pics, he says it'll never be this clean again!!

We had a delicious curry tonight, made from a spice paste that Trudi's daughter Lydia made for us the last time she came over - clever girl!!
It's 11.30pm now and we've just put the horses out. We kept them in because of the feu d'artifice in the village. They were pretty much ok, although Remy got a little bit excited.

3 is a magic number

It was, this morning with the horses.
I started with Remy in the school, a short in-hand session, working on circles and then asking for a few lateral steps. It's more a matter of co-ordinating myself really, and today I felt that we both 'got' it, and at the same time LOL
I then put him on the lunge and we had a session over poles at walk and trot. I placed the poles midway down the long side and found it a great way to get a good trot transition, asking just as he came out of the corner approaching the poles, worked a treat, and encouraged him to use his back legs. I enjoyed it.
I then took a squealy Bonbon up to the school, fine until halfway up the field when she suddenly squealed and spun off back towards the yard. I don't know what she'd seen/heard, but she did it twice. It's a funny little girlie noise and had us both laughing, she's a good girl though, she stopped when she felt the rope tighten and made nothing of it.
In the school we worked on walk/halt transitions with me at her shoulder and then had a couple of goes over the poles. Perfick.
Finished off with a lovely hack out on Anky, with Jim and Obi, only about 30 minutes, but down a new track (to Anky) and she was very relaxed. On the way back she stretched over her neck, was soft in the hand, and I heard a very welcome sound - the jingling of the bit.
We're off to Rochechouart tonight, meeting some friends at the marché de nuit. Looking forward to it, we need a night out.

Anky flicks the switch

A short session with Remy followed by a nice long hack with Anky.  No hesitations, thinking forward ( for most of the ride LOL), and we even explored some new tracks. About half way through the ride, she suddenly relaxed, like a switch had just flicked in her head. Wierd, but wonderful.
Jim's spoken to Pascal ( our farmer friend) and he's going to call next week to arrange to sort out the fields. Funny, but my interest in strimmers has suddenly vanished!!
Our neighbours ( holiday home) left today after their 6 week summer holiday, it's gone by so fast. They've told us to pick all their victoria plums, so I reckon Jim'll be making some jam!

Oh what a beautiful morning............

What a beautiful morning it was.
Cool and fresh.
Remy in the school, responsive on the lunge, forward and relaxed in-hand, lots to work on, but it felt right today.
Anky in the school, a short lungeing session followed by a ridden session, some nice relaxation and some nice leg yield steps.
What a bloody awful, time-wasting afternoon it was.
I never want to see a strimmer again (which is going to be difficult as I have so much work to do with the bloody useless thing) after an afternoon of, first of all not starting, then starting and stopping, then not starting again........get the picture.........all in all I managed an hour of actual strimming (well, not strimming, but brushcutting the briar - an absolutely, bloody awful job) out of the whole afternoon.
Apparently there's a knack to it and I don't have it, AND, I'm not a very patient person - a recipe for disaster. I'd decided to go up to the Brico for one that actually worked until I realised how much the bloody things cost!!!!!

Yes, it's a problem..............

 I awoke this morning to find one of next doors cows in the field with the horses. They weren't upset at all by it, although how they'd reacted when they first spied it in the night is anyone's guess. It had come over through the side field bordering on next door's land,where the fence is not all that good. We have a temporary fence cutting some of that side of the field off as it's too boggy for the horses, but the cow had  somehow managed to get through that too.
The cow wasn't a big problem as after walking after it for a while, it finally made it's way back over the ailing fence.  What is a problem (and I must be blind and/or stupid for not acknowledging it before) is that our land is a bit of a mess, and the fact that we don't have a tractor here in France has, in part, allowed it to get that way!  Walking around after the cow really made me see how overgrown our land has become. Our top three fields are pretty much ok, but the bottom few fields are in dire need of attention. The fencing ( I hope) is pretty safe and we have electric rope all along the perimeter, but there is so much fern and briar that it's going to be a mammoth task to remove it.
It's been raining for most of the day, but I considered that a positive ( it's been lovely and cool) as I donned the harness for the brushcutter. I decided to start at the top and work my way down and managed to do some of the small paddock field next to the yard before admitting defeat. I realise how unfit I am ,it's very depressing and I suddenly feel very old, god knows how I'm going to manage to do it all!!
So, no work with the horses today and even if it wasn't still peeing down, I'm too bloody knackered to summon up the energy.

Hamster chops.......

This morning with Remy, I continued the work from yesterday. I tried to be very clear and precise when asking him for the transitions, and wanting a quick reaction. It was a good session, he was on the ball but focussed, he remained forward in the walk and I massaged his neck as I walked at his side to try to ease out any resistances and encourage him to relax and stretch down. This helped him to give me a more genuine bend. There's more resistance on the right rein, so something to work on. His transitions to trot were really crisp with energy and he was more responsive on the line.
I took Anky in the school again intending to continue from yesterday. I started on a fairly long rein, trying to encourage her to stretch and relax. She wasn't really with me today but relaxed a little. I tried the exercise from yesterday and although she gave me some reasonable steps, she was still resisting and not entirely happy.  I gave her a very long rein and she immediately stretched down so I asked her to walk on and we spent some time on circles with a nice, easy walk, asking for changes of bend without any resistance. At the end of the session she was very relaxed, the most relaxed she's ever been so I was pretty chuffed.

I got stung twice yesterday on the side of my face, (I think it must have been a wasp because I don't think that bees can sting you twice) and today I look like a bloody hamster with a pouch full of food!! I don't know what it is this year - I've been stung 4 times now, which is probably more than I've been stung in my whole life!
 

It's easier with help..........

A big thank you today to Trudi for coming over and reassuring me that what I'm doing with Remy is not bollox!!
A few welcome pointers and suggestions which  has boosted my confidence and given me enthusiasm and renewed excitement for the task.

I rode Anky this afternoon in the school. We worked at walk, concentrating on relaxation,softness and bend. She was sitting on my inside leg on the left rein so I worked on getting a nice flexion inside down the long side of the school, a half circle from the corner back to the track and then leg yield, face to the fence back down the long side.  She became a bit 'stuck' the first couple of times, so I repeated, but asked for a halt just before I hit the track, asked for a nice flexion and then as soon as I got the softness to the inside, asked her to leg yield. She 'got' this and we had some nice strides. If she got 'stuck' , I straightened her and walked her forward to the corner and repeated the exercise on the other rein.  As expected, the leg yield was better on the right rein, but when I straightened her after leg yield and walked her forward, the contact was better on both reins. I felt that we'd done some really constructive work and I'm well pleased with her.

A nice hack before the storm

A cool, slightly overcast, but warm morning. Spurred on by Trudi's early bird hack, I decided to ride Anky out. It was perfect riding weather and even though she was being her usual cautious self we had some nice moments of relaxation and softness. She felt like a much straighter horse and at times when she was thinking forward I suddenly realised that I could control her shoulders with my seat ( a first, I think), which gave me genuine softness and bend. We were out for about an hour, she came back in good spirits and I really enjoyed it.
Shortly after my return home, the heavens opened and we had a big storm, rumblings of which have been continuing all afternoon. After all the dry weather, the ground is soaking up the rain with a sigh of relief.
So, Remy has had a day off, but they all got plenty of exercise when we let them in the front field, galloping and cavorting about. They looked great, why is it that I never have my camera at times like this!!