Beauty and I have made a lot of progress lately! (video)

[Dakota Sunrise]

Well, just like the title says, Beauty and I have made some new progress lately and have kind of come to an understanding (more about that later- I'm too tired to explain tonight, lol). I'm pretty happy about it, so I thought I'd share.:)

The last two times I've ridden her she's done pretty well. We've been working on walk-to-trot, trot-to-walk, walk-to-whoa, trot-to-whoa-to-balk, etc. transitions and it's really helping her A LOT. I have her doing a nice, easy trot (like a semi western jog) 90% of the time, and when she tries to go too fast and go into her working trot, I can slow her down by saying "easyyyyy".
She's getting better about her flexing too, and her circles and figure eights aren't too bad now.:)
I've also been teaching her to stay on the rail (she likes to cut the corners so I'm keeping my leg on her and holding her out) and to not turn until I say so. She tends to anticipate when I'm going to ask her to to turn, and ends up making our circles resemble more of a square.:rolleyes: But she's doing much better.
I'm hoping that switching gaits often will keep her on her toes and waiting for my next command, and will make teaching her to lope without freaking out and going too fast much easier.:cool: At least that's the plan. :D

We were really concentrating in this video. I was not only schooling her, but I was trying to think about my equitation, and really sink down into her trot and keep my heels down so I wouldn't be bouncing too much. So this would actually be a good video for you guys to comment on and critic my equitation if you want too.:) I don't know how well I did, my equitation is not that great.:innocent: But at least I made an effort, lol.


One important thing- in the beginning of the video right after I mounted, we had a little disagreement, just so you know. She decided to give me some classic Beauty attitude (gotta love her:D)and "forget" how to back.:rolleyes: I promise you she knows what "back" means and knows exactly what my cues for it are and is quite cabable (sp?) of doing it, and has many times before. She just didn't want to for whatever reason. But we worked it out and I won; I got her to back up around 1:02ish and again later on in the vid with no problem (the whole reason I asked her to in the first place is because she walked off before I asked her to when I mounted). Just so you know what was going on.:D

I also took her for a little trail ride after out schooling session, just for a change of pace. Usually she spazzes when she's by herself on the trail, but I kept her close to home and she did all right. I rode her in our front and back yard because there's all kinds of "scary" stuff there (the clothes line, picnic table, a terrifying black pipe that took us a while to step over:rolleyes:) and I wanted to get her out of her comfort zone and thinking. I was proud of her, she didn't do half bad.:)


I'll actually have another video (and a lot of pics!:D) to show you guys soon. Beauty and I have discovered a new thing to do to goof off and get a break from schooling.:D But that's another story.:p And I'm ready for bed!

Hope you like the video!:) YouTube - Schooling Beauty
For those that can't view youtube: http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=760383d6564aaaae2b13ab

Edited to add a few pics. :)

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc148/dakota_92_2007/transitions001_0001.jpg

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc148/dakota_92_2007/transitions001_0004.jpg

pretty girl, posing for the camera: :) She's lost a little weight, but you probably can't tell.
http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc148/dakota_92_2007/refusals030-1.jpg

hehe, bad pony. :D
http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc148/dakota_92_2007/transitions001_0005.jpg

[Arrow]

Sounds like you guys are making great progress! Great video!:)

[mandisue]

Great job Dakota, sounds like you two have had a meeting of the minds so to speak!!

[valleyrider]

Great job Dakota, :)nice video & great pictures. I find that transitions is the key to get them to pay attention to you and keep them guessing. It also helps to slow them down & think if the get walking or trotting too fast. She was a bad pony in the beging but you did win in the end, but she did settled down and listen to you.:cowboy:

[Dakota Sunrise]

Arrow: thanks.:)

mandisue: well at least it wasn't a meeting of the mindless!:p lol, jk. Thanks.:D

valleyrider: thanks.:) I'm finding that the transitions are really helping. A lot of times she tries to go too fast and gets rushy, so this is great for her.:)
Hehe, yes she was a bad pony in the beginning. I don't know why she suddenly decided to rebel against backing.:rolleyes: But we worked it out so it's all good.:D

[PoniesRock101]

glad all is working out well, you guys look pretty good togethor! :D cantwiatfor the next video

[Gypsy Rose]

You and Beauty are making such great progress! Transitions are definitely a horse person's best friend, lol!

Great video!

[WashingtonBay]

You guys are doin' really good :) Stick with her, and you'll keep making progress.

She's sure turned into an 'easy keeper' hasn't she? :) It's a little like Cyn when we got her and she was so thin. We fed her like a hard keeper for a year, until one day we realized she had slowly become as fat as a harbor seal. She's been living on air ever since.

[vicklynn]

Keep up the good work!!

[Dakota Sunrise]

PoniesRock: hehe, thanks!:D the other video will be finnished soon. I wasn't sure if I should post another so soon, don't want you guys to throw rocks at me!:p But I guess I will, as soon as I finnish it.

Gypsy Rose: thank you!:) I'm lovin' the transistions, lol.:D


WashingtonBay: thanks, I hope so.:)
And yes, she is quite the easy keeper.:rolleyes: It took me a while to realize that--I always pictured her neglected and skinny like when I got her--, but one day I went out to feed and realized I had one very fat horse on my hands.:eek: Now that I've adjusted her diet she has actually lost a little weight and is looking better, but you probably can't tell.

vicklynn: thanks, I'll try!:D

[WashingtonBay]

She's doin' fine, she just no longer resembles the skinny horse you brought home. :)

[Dakota Sunrise]

She's doin' fine, she just no longer resembles the skinny horse you brought home. :)

Thanks.:) And that's a good thing, I couldn't stand it when she was skinny.:( It took me over a year to figure out that Dakota would never be a stocky horse, and that he's not really underweight, I worried/worry over him constantly. It's just his age and the Saddlebred in him that makes him so lean. I usually like my horses big and stocky, but he's my exception.:D

[JackieB]

Great job, Dakota. You're really turing into quite the horsewoman! Excellent work with Beauty.

Keep doing those neck flexing exercises. I remember you asked me if I had any suggestions a week or so ago and I never got back to that thread to respond. My first suggestion is just to do a ton of them. Not so much that she gets bored, but if you do four or five a day, everytime she has either a bridle or halter on, she won't get bored, neither will you, and she'll continue to learn.

Try to get to the point where a very light pressure on your part has her turn her head all the way to her girth. As soon as she gives, be sure to release the pressure. She learns from the release, not the pulling. Sometime, set the camera on the post and do just a bunch of flexes for us and we can comment.

Getting that great lateral flexion will help with problems like she was giving you in backing up. It won't occur to Beauty to be as stiff as she was vertically (straight through her neck to her nose) if you do more of those lateral flexes. She'll give her nose, bring her chin back to her chest, and will likely back up more easily.

Transitions are brilliant. They have had so much to do with finally getting control over Buster's speed. Great job with them.

Awesome work. Thanks for sharing. Never worry about giving us too many videos. We really enjoy watching them and know that you don't have other horse friends nearby to appreciate your work and help you and your horses progress.

[Dakota Sunrise]

Great job, Dakota. You're really turing into quite the horsewoman! Excellent work with Beauty.

Thank you!

Keep doing those neck flexing exercises. I remember you asked me if I had any suggestions a week or so ago and I never got back to that thread to respond. My first suggestion is just to do a ton of them. Not so much that she gets bored, but if you do four or five a day, everytime she has either a bridle or halter on, she won't get bored, neither will you, and she'll continue to learn.

Try to get to the point where a very light pressure on your part has her turn her head all the way to her girth. As soon as she gives, be sure to release the pressure. She learns from the release, not the pulling.


We have been practicing that and I think she is starting to grasp what I want her to do.:) She will come half way around willingly with only light preasure, but not far enough. That is when I increase the preasure until she tips her nose just a little farther towards me, then I release and praise her. Does that sound about right?

Sometime, set the camera on the post and do just a bunch of flexes for us and we can comment.

I'll do that.:) I tried to get it on video this time, but I somehow managed to get out of the camera's line of vision when I did it.:rolleyes:



Transitions are brilliant. They have had so much to do with finally getting control over Buster's speed. Great job with them.

Thank you.:) They are doing wonders for Beauty with her speed issues too!

Awesome work. Thanks for sharing. Never worry about giving us too many videos. We really enjoy watching them and know that you don't have other horse friends nearby to appreciate your work and help you and your horses progress.

Thank you for watching.:) I'll have another video for you guys real soon. Just remember that you asked for it!:p

[JackieB]

She will come half way around willingly with only light preasure, but not far enough. That is when I increase the preasure until she tips her nose just a little farther towards me, then I release and praise her. Does that sound about right?

Yes. Absolutely perfect. Light pressure, release as soon as she gives. But if she stops before coming all the way to her girth, pick up there with pressure again. Try to time it right at the point where she stops coming toward her girth so that she can get the idea that "I'm doing the right thing, just not quite enough of it for Dakota yet. OK. I can go farther. No problem."

The next important thing, and it's very important, is that you never stop with these exercises. It's definitely a "practice makes perfect" type of exercise. Refine, refine, refine. Not enough that you or Beauty get bored as we have discussed before, but a few flexes every single time you ride or have a halter on her. Over time, she will get softer and softer and softer until you eventually get to the point where you could do flexes all day long with a weak piece of sewing thread if you felt like it.

Good Job! Look at how far you have come with her and it hasn't even been a year yet. That sure is something to be proud of accomplishing.

[carla]

Good work, Dakota and Beauty! Keep up the good work. :)