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PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:56 am 

Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 9:30 am
Posts: 289
Location: Australia
Hi Volker, I just started riding him again today. Here's the video. :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH1W3srrtI4

(By the way Volker, I'm going to write something in your diary or video thread soon, once I've properly caught up reading and watching, but just wanted to quickly say here that I absolutely love what I have seen of your videos with Mucki recently. Fantastic stuff! :cheers: )


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:22 pm 
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Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 11:57 am
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Location: provincie Utrecht
Looks nice kate.
What you can do also if you wanted to ask your horse to go in walk.
place some buckets in the field with some cookies or carrot pieces then you can walk from bucket to bucket
and each time he gets a reward by going forwards.
after a few times or maybe one time he begin to like it and understand what you wanted.


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:45 pm 
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Thank you Kate! I like your videos too! Always nice to see such calm and positive examples of starting a horse. :thumleft:
I had to laugh about your "mounting block" :funny:. And there I thought I was daring with my barrel!

What kind of bridle do you use for Billy there? It´s hard to see, because the video is a bit blurry. I still have not decided what I should buy for Mucki ;).

And how do you get him going forward? That´s one thing I´m struggling to learn right now... It´s more of a game of chance right now :blush:.

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PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 1:23 pm 
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Love your patience and trust :) How old is Billy?

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PostPosted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 1:43 am 

Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 9:30 am
Posts: 289
Location: Australia
Thank you very much Inge, Volker and Josepha! :)

Inge – thanks for the idea, I might try that! Although knowing Billy, if there are buckets, it may result in trotting before either of us are ready for that. ;) But I could try with little piles of something on the ground.

Volker – it’s really a game of chance for us, too! In the video of the second ride, he went forward because my mum was calling him. In this recent video, I was throwing bits of carrot and he went forward to get them. Otherwise, I tend to use lifting the rein and putting it out or forward as a cue to move, which seems to work to get their feet moving (sometimes :funny: ), but not really for forwards. Although, if you have a look at the videos of me riding Albus, he did start to get it eventually... but I really need to find a cue that works properly, and preferably NOT the reins (especially as I'd like to ride without reins too!) - I only do that because nothing else works – nothing that I do on the ground seems to work once I’m up there, it must seem too different a cue when I’m on his back. :huh:

Haha, yes, I have to improvise a lot for mounting blocks. I really need a proper one!

The bridle I’m using is a LightRider Bitless noseband. http://www.naturalhorseworld.com/Products/LRBridle/EnglishBlackTrav.jpg There’s a clearer photo of it (I think that's the complete bridle, I just have the noseband).

Josepha, Billy is 9 years old (just turned 9 in October). :smile:


Last edited by kate on Tue Mar 27, 2018 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:03 pm 
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Location: provincie Utrecht
kate wrote:
Inge – thanks for the idea, I might try that! Although knowing Billy, if there are buckets, it may result in trotting before either of us are ready for that. ;) But I could try with little piles of something on the ground.


Hmm thats not what you wanted.
Or put it on a voice command. If you walk next to your horse each time you begin to start walking you give it a name.
in dutch it is "stappen" translated "walking" when you understand it after awhile you climb on the horses back and you use the voice command and .... he start to walk.
That had worked for me ;)

Almost each new movement i learn it on the ground and with a voice command and some bodylanguage and then later, on the horses back. (As far the exercise is possible to put under a voice command.)


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 1:17 am 

Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 9:30 am
Posts: 289
Location: Australia
Inge, I have tried voice cues, but it doesn't work when I'm up there. It must be that he doesn't understand the word as much as I think he does, must be more my body language getting him to walk on. More practice on the ground is needed, I think! :smile:

Just quickly here are a couple of videos of Harvey from September and October.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKk2I6LRWJI - just running around in the paddock, I was trying to leave bits of food, run to another spot and call him (to teach him to come when I call) but he kept coming while I was still running, but that was okay. We had fun. :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRpgOi2iK6g - getting him used to being touched all over. From outside the fence, because I don't trust him completely. He's very quick to turn his rump towards me if something upsets/frightens/offends him (and this is very easy to do accidentally!). :ieks: Although, he doesn't actually kick, it's more like he's turning his back and sulking. ;) But he's getting better - he actually hurt his leg last week and let me (without a fence in the way) feel the swelling without any problem while he was loose in the paddock. Getting a halter on him is actually more difficult than handling him free at the moment. :huh: I'll get some more recent videos once his leg heals and we can do things again.


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PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 5:24 pm 

Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 9:30 am
Posts: 289
Location: Australia
It's after 3am and I really should be sleeping, not posting videos, but quickly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQD5mdYr8D8

Just a 6 second clip of Willow and me jumping a palm tree.

We had some palm trees cut down today (fruit bats get in them at certain times, and that's a scary thing with the risk of Hendra Virus in Australia) and I realised that one was left lying as a perfect jump. :)

I mentioned in another thread today about sometimes using a whip with Willow. Mostly only to lunge her, which she does very nicely. That's about the only time I will use pressure with her on the ground. The funny thing is that she will lunge walk, trot, canter(canter when she feels like it only) very well indeed, but if there is any pressure involved near a jump (unless we are counting having a halter and lead on as pressure - she would have still jumped without, but would also have grazed first and after, which may not be safe just there, because of bats) she just will not jump at all. I thought for ages that she couldn't jump, but it was because I was trying to lunge her over the jump. If the jump is small enough she just walks or trots over it, but she just refuses absolutely to jump properly. Which, I think, is good. It helps me to move further away from using pressure at all with her. Anyway it's much more fun to jump with her. :D


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 5:07 pm 
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Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 11:57 am
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Location: provincie Utrecht
Quote:
getting him used to being touched all over. From outside the fence, because I don't trust him completely. He's very quick to turn his rump towards me if something upsets/frightens/offends him (and this is very easy to do accidentally!). :ieks: Although, he doesn't actually kick, it's more like he's turning his back and sulking. ;) But he's getting better - he actually hurt his leg last week and let me (without a fence in the way) feel the swelling without any problem while he was loose in the paddock. Getting a halter on him is actually more difficult than handling him free at the moment. :huh: I'll get some more recent videos once his leg heals and we can do things again.


What i should do if i was you.
Is working on being with your horse, trust each other and have a happy time together. So you and your horse can thouch eachother everywere without fear.
Don't ask anything which is difficult or give you a feeling that it looks like working or what ever.
I think there is a (small) communication obstacle...called trust...being comfortable with each other.
As soon you have "fixed" that then it is more easy to play.

It is not a huge problem as far i can see in de movies. But it is there, you wrote it i dont trust him completly.
Try to find out for yourself when you get that feeling(s) what do you do and what is his reaction. And then you will find the answer...why...so you can work both on that part.

Maybe an idea to look at the website of Carolyn Rensnick. She does not have a special methode but she give some thoughts of how to work. You have to fill it in on yourself. It have to fit in your situation and in your own way.
About timeline and so on. It is to much to write about it over here, but i can asure you that those Waterhole Rituals as she called it will help you to get connected with your horse. Without pressure btw.

And some of mine experiences.
I have a mini shetty who have a bit the same as your horse. When he does not trust my movements or question he will turn his hind to me. Don't kick, your horse don't do that either you wrote. But give you a feeling of... :ieks: whatch out before i get hurt. He does not do it evertime but so now en then.
I had today the same action. i have figure out when and how it happens. it took some time from my side but it is almost clear now. So i have to work out how i can help him to trust me, so he dont have to turn his but to me to make clear that he have to think that something happens or that he have to do something he does not wanted.

i can thouch him everywere, take care of his feed, brush him or what ever. But there are some moments that he show this not so friendly action :smile:
What i have notist today is that when i ask him, while playing, to lift his front feed he give always the same foot.
when i ask for the other he turns his but. So i think at that moment what do i wrong. i ask again, get the 'wrong" foot.
So i help by moving my hand to his shoulder at the side he have to lift his foot. As soon i try to move my hand to that side he turn. I can not even stand next to him at that side, while not ask something. He keeps turning to get me at the otherside.

When i leave him alone for a few minits and ask again, walk to him at the side where is was before not alowed it is okay but he wont lift his foot. But i can stand next to him and pet him. As soon i ask to lift his foot he turns again.
I think there are two options, there is a pain isue or he find it to difficult to keep his balance.
That part i have to figure out and that will take some time. i dont work everyday at the same exercise, to boring ;)

i find it a bit strange because when i take care of his feet, he can stand on three, so why not do his foot forwards and backwards is okay. That's why it make a bit difficult for my to find out.
anyway the WHR (carolyn Resnick) had helped me a lot during the first weeks when the pony's arrived at my place.
They did not trusted me at all, looked at me, who are you, what do you wanted. After a few ours and day's it become better. I waited until they came to me, i did never go to them during those periode. They had to take initiative to come to me. And that worked the best in my situation.
Later on they saw me working with my other pony's and now they try to copy there movements because they have seen that it will give a reward. :D


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 5:08 pm 
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Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 11:57 am
Posts: 1983
Location: provincie Utrecht
sorry forgot to say what a nice jump. :applause:


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