Lots of Friendly Game and a Great Walk
It’s been a good horse week! I got to spend a bit of time at the barn yesterday morning while the kids were at camp since I worked Tuesday morning and Tuesday night. I had a nice morning with Lola yesterday. I spent lots of time working on the porcupine game since that is the section I’ve been reading about most recently in my Level 1 kit. I’m even making really good progress moving her front end which has been a sticking point for us.
I did a bit of Friendly game with the clippers. She’s certainly not excited about them, but she is getting better and better. She’s also getting better about letting me rub her nose and inside her mouth.
After lots of porcupine practice, I took Lola for a walk down the street. It was by far the most relaxed walk I’ve taken her on so far! Now there wasn’t much traffic at all, which I’m sure helped, but there was just something about her demeanor that was very relaxed. She wasn’t fighting me to get to the grass. She just walked and looked around and stopped once in a while to sniff the air. It was great! As we turned around to head home, I did let her graze a bit on the side of the road. She was on a very loose lead rope the whole time. It was great!
Today I started with lots and lots of Friendly game in her stall before we even went out. I played Friendly with the clippers, and she was more hesitant than yesterday, so I didn’t push it. I got her to the point where she would stand calmly while the clippers were on and touching her side and I called it a day.
I got a needle-less syringe and filled it with apple sauce and started playing the Friendly game with that today. She wasn’t sure what to make of it at all. Lots of rubbing it on her neck and around her nose. She wouldn’t let me put it anywhere near her mouth. I did squirt a little of the applesauce on her lips, but it didn’t entice her. That’s something I plan to work on lots with her. It would be nice to be able to worm her without it being a big fiasco every time. Eventually she put her nose out and sniffed the apple sauce and I called it a day on that note.
Also played Friendly with a plastic bag. I think the crinkly noise made her think she was getting treats because she kept sniffing the bag. No fear there at all. I waved the bag around and made all kinds of noise with it and she couldn’t have cared less.
Worked in the indoor today and spent some time working on Porcupine game again. She is really moving nicely. I had her back with and without the carrot stick, moved her front and hindquarters, and had her put her head down. I also tapped all four feet and asked her to lift them. The Parelli video also has an exercise where you hold the snap of the lead rope and ask the horse to move forward and back from that pressure and Lola did great with that today.
Did some Driving game today and had luck moving her front end with it for the very first time today! We are definitely making progress. She is getting much easier to move in lighter phases.
Even though I have done all the Parelli stuff before, I’m really trying to work with the home study program and keep to the steps. I feel like it will keep me progressing in the right order and not skipping around. I do find I’m learning new ways to do things with the program and lots of tips that are making things easier. I love the way the program is organized with books to read and videos to watch. It’s very well organized and easy to follow. Officially, I’m reading about and working on the driving game.
I did the Yo-Yo game with Lola a couple of times today and she was awesome. I pushed it a bit today and asked her for more than one step at a time. She didn’t quite understand at first, but she figured it out quickly. I backed her all the way to the end of the 12 foot line and brought her back a couple of times.
We are heading to the lake next weekend for a whole week. I know Lola will be in good hands and she probably won’t even miss me, but it is going to be hard to not see her for a whole week!
I did a bit of Friendly game with the clippers. She’s certainly not excited about them, but she is getting better and better. She’s also getting better about letting me rub her nose and inside her mouth.
After lots of porcupine practice, I took Lola for a walk down the street. It was by far the most relaxed walk I’ve taken her on so far! Now there wasn’t much traffic at all, which I’m sure helped, but there was just something about her demeanor that was very relaxed. She wasn’t fighting me to get to the grass. She just walked and looked around and stopped once in a while to sniff the air. It was great! As we turned around to head home, I did let her graze a bit on the side of the road. She was on a very loose lead rope the whole time. It was great!
Today I started with lots and lots of Friendly game in her stall before we even went out. I played Friendly with the clippers, and she was more hesitant than yesterday, so I didn’t push it. I got her to the point where she would stand calmly while the clippers were on and touching her side and I called it a day.
I got a needle-less syringe and filled it with apple sauce and started playing the Friendly game with that today. She wasn’t sure what to make of it at all. Lots of rubbing it on her neck and around her nose. She wouldn’t let me put it anywhere near her mouth. I did squirt a little of the applesauce on her lips, but it didn’t entice her. That’s something I plan to work on lots with her. It would be nice to be able to worm her without it being a big fiasco every time. Eventually she put her nose out and sniffed the apple sauce and I called it a day on that note.
Also played Friendly with a plastic bag. I think the crinkly noise made her think she was getting treats because she kept sniffing the bag. No fear there at all. I waved the bag around and made all kinds of noise with it and she couldn’t have cared less.
Worked in the indoor today and spent some time working on Porcupine game again. She is really moving nicely. I had her back with and without the carrot stick, moved her front and hindquarters, and had her put her head down. I also tapped all four feet and asked her to lift them. The Parelli video also has an exercise where you hold the snap of the lead rope and ask the horse to move forward and back from that pressure and Lola did great with that today.
Did some Driving game today and had luck moving her front end with it for the very first time today! We are definitely making progress. She is getting much easier to move in lighter phases.
Even though I have done all the Parelli stuff before, I’m really trying to work with the home study program and keep to the steps. I feel like it will keep me progressing in the right order and not skipping around. I do find I’m learning new ways to do things with the program and lots of tips that are making things easier. I love the way the program is organized with books to read and videos to watch. It’s very well organized and easy to follow. Officially, I’m reading about and working on the driving game.
I did the Yo-Yo game with Lola a couple of times today and she was awesome. I pushed it a bit today and asked her for more than one step at a time. She didn’t quite understand at first, but she figured it out quickly. I backed her all the way to the end of the 12 foot line and brought her back a couple of times.
We are heading to the lake next weekend for a whole week. I know Lola will be in good hands and she probably won’t even miss me, but it is going to be hard to not see her for a whole week!
posted by Lisa @ 10:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home