Improvement

Last Friday, I decided not to give up on Iceman or on myself. I took Iceman into the arena and then let him go. I wanted to watch him and see how he reacts with other horses and by himself. I also brought treats with me and I occasionally approached him, to play the friendly game with him and to give him a treat. He was more willing to let me come up to him in the arena compared to his pen. I observed that he is NOT a dominate horse, he is curious, and he is often a loner. At the end I did put him on line and played with him for a few minutes.

Frustration!

Last week was really difficult for me. I felt like I was failing and that I could not get through to Iceman. I was tired of feeling like I was fighting with him. I felt like I was more of an annoyance to him then anything else. I knew he did not trust me or care to be with me. I really just felt like a failure and that the two of us would not be able to accomplish anything. More then anything I was frustrated with myself for not knowing what else to to and because I knew that I was the one who needed to change and I could not figure out what Iceman needed from me.

Saturday Ride

Saturday's ride was the best yet! We worked a lot on speed control, and we are finally beginning to get it!  I was able to get him to trot a figure-eight pattern. Later I was able to have him trot for a little ways going straight before he went into a lope. It has taken lots of effort and consistency, but I can see small improvements. We are getting better! My faith in myself and my abilities has been strengthened.  I was really worried that Iceman might prove to be too big of a challenge for me, I can do this!

Another Ride

In class on Tuesday we started to work on jumping and preparing to jump. I knew Iceman had no problem jumping but we needed to work on few things first before we went over anything. Brother Twitchell wanted us to be able to two-point over some ground poles first. Should not have been too difficult except that Iceman doesn't really trot. If anything he wants to lope EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME! As class went on, I finally able to keep him at a walk for a little bit. As soon as I asked him to go a little faster, I felt like I lost his mind. He was connected with me at a walk, but when we went faster, I felt that he had left me behind. BUT! we made some improvements. I remembered that on the ground, he does a good job of matching my pace, so I tried to relax myself even more when I released pressure. This helped a lot.

We did the same exercise on Thursday, and we never did get a trot quite right. The walk became much easier and free moving. I believe that Iceman does not know the difference in energy when asking for a trot and a lope because as soon as I would bring up my energy he would jump into a lope. I need to work with him on the ground some more to make sure he can notice my energy changes, and I need to try to make my cues even smaller. 

Tight Places

The first time I attempted to tighten the cinch on Iceman, he became very nervous and danced around. I thought it might be because he was the only horse in the green barn, but later I learned that this behave is due to being very uncomfortable with tight "places". Brother Twitchell and I developed some strategies to help Iceman with his claustrophobia. For instance, playing with the cinch around his stomach, driving him through tight places, and being able to drive him with a lead around his foot and work up to being able to drive him with the lead around his girth are all activities we can play.
The next time I worked with Iceman, I decided to stay on the ground. From my prior experience with him I knew he loved to move, so I did my best to move a lot to try to gain his respect by doing a little of what he wanted to do and felt most comfortable doing. We played all kinds of games- jumping (I knew from before that he liked to jump), weaving through patterns, I asked him to back up into the holding area on the south west corner of the arena, speed control, and getting used to the lead around the foot. While we were playing I came to learn a few things about Iceman- he is very willing to do what ever I ask, he is a very long horse, and he is a right brain extrovert.

A Change

So Gwenevere's back is still sore or something so I can't her any more. I only got to ride her once, but I am happy that I was successful in my goal of riding her bareback. Now I am working with Iceman. The first time I worked with him was a bit rough. All he wanted to do was lope and I wanted a walk. Syliva helped me realize that I was not giving him enough of a release when he did slow down and my body was tense. So my body position was encouraging him to keep his speed instead of slowing down. Once I tried to relax things got a little better.

A Good Day

Gwene and I are good friends. I am amazed at how far our relationship has progressed. She will either let me come up to her in her stall and put her head down for me or she will come to me. Before she would take a few steps toward me and then walk away or she would not want to leave her stall. Today we spent about an hour on the ground. We worked on lots of different things- weaving through obstacles, exploring what a popped ball tastes like, went over the jump with the poles crossed on barrels, we went over the bridge with a scary green ball piece next to it, and we went into tight places to name a few. There were lots of people, horses, and dogs in the arena today and they did not bother Gwene at all. At the beginning of the semester I would have been nervous to have her in there with all that commotion, but now it does not bother her at all.
When I went to take her home, I decided we would go on a walk instead. It was so beautiful outside and I had time so I couldn't resist. I learned that Gwene does not know what to think of sheep, but is okay with cows. We walked all over the back part of the LC and I think the next Saturday if it is nice, we will play outside for more of the time. I really enjoyed being out of the arena and exploring with my friend.