Update

Winter weather.
Monday/Tuesday: visited with Try a few minutes.
Wednesday/Thursday: COLD, sleet--did not even go to the barn

Thursday: finally an afternoon of 47 degrees and sunny. Felt sooooooooo good.
Try and I did not have the best day however--we were never really on the same page. Stick together was stick to her. Some nice responsive on line with new light 22' line. Riding alternating freestyle/finesse. Soso we did get some sidepass with arms folded facing a jump. Ride out of the arena--Try's energy came up and we circled and repeated until we could leave the ring calmly then went to the paddock and messed around some, dismounted and dwell time. BA said walk looked good and impressed with how calm Try was out of the ring and around the farm.

Sunday am break in the weather

Sunday morning tho muddy was 50 degrees with a break in the rain. Try and I did a little liberty stick together in the new paddock then saddled up with western saddle. Passenger walk trot canter in the ring but quit when Diesel kept following dangerously close. So Try and I went on a passenger trail ride around the farm, into pastures, etc then went into the paddock played with the 20x40 new precision pen, a small jump, new trot poles and a weave then trotted for awhile. Then grazed on line on the way back to the pasture.

Cold weather week continued

Monday and Tuesday visited with Try for a couple minutes. She was in the pasture under two blankets.
Thursday: weather just a bit warmer so we played liberty stick to me and online with the new feather light 22' line which I love it feels like a cross between on line and liberty.

Friday: Yeah 48 degrees--a heat wave--Try and I rode in the ring. Gently as neither of us were feeling real ambitious. A little game of contact at the stand still. A little trot and canter. Canter--emphasis on relaxation after wards. Folding my arms: backup good but not sideways so that is something to play with in the future.

We finished by riding out of the ring over to the new play paddock, walking around in there to check the footing for use as a possible riding spot then back to the barn and Try was nice and relaxed the whole time!

Friday

1. pasture togetherness celebration
2. forgot chaps so Try and I rode to barn to get them--only one hint of unrelaxed energy from Try.
3. walk variations warmup
4. my new learning reins don't mean go. Taking contact from a standstill means we stay there relaxed until a signal from me to go forward, back etc from my body energy NOT leg.
5. bareback canter: lost rhythm and did not know why--wished I had filmed it. we did 5 circle and 1/2 laps
i.e. at least a 1/3 of a mile
6. end coming off the rail from far side of ring--Try began to get "up" I asked her to stretch down and she relaxed!!!!!
7. Play paddock easy repeat of L3 On Line tasks weave, side away and toward over barrels and circle to see difference over the year: good to film but I felt slower more relaxed and Try more responsive. Yoyo after circle Try assumed another circle and I said no just yoyo--coming to me at the trot. Challenge can I get the draw without touching the rope/slack etc???

Improvements

Rode in close contact saddle, Amer foreword sys for first time in months. Bethanna was in the ring and commented that she could see real improvements in Try's carriage--more on the HQ--especially in the canter. Try's canter has been much improved for nearly a month now. Try seems happier about it also!!

Wednesday

Game of Contact:
From a standstill: took contact—no need for smiling cheeks—Try walked off slowly and calmly with contact maintained (not a surprise)—few strides then complete release. No displaced behaviors.

Try was clearly slightly nosed out. Will continue to watch for tho.
Trotted a little but I’m not as clear about this and I lose contact—did not want to do more than a few strides until I have a clearer picture in my mind. Forgot all about Michael Jackson and did remember slow hands.
Sitting the horse back—only after we are trotting and Try takes the contact—or each time making downward transition from the trot?? I can see the benefit in getting Try more on her HQ!!

Interspersed with freestyle riding in muddy ring--windy day but really nice time together.
Try happy to be with me today.



Thanks—when you get tired of me just quit answering—I am so into this.

What we did Tuesday--five hours in all!

Elizabeth Pope with Try, (On Line, 30 mins) Today was 70 degrees—took advantage of that for a good spa bath, break time to dry with some online friendly grazing in all the best places at the barn followed by circling variations etc in our new big play paddock, then blanket clip to prep for lotsa riding in the cold. Pulled all my cold weather riding gear out last weekend.

Also spent an hour with Bethanna going over the Game of Contact GoC notes etc. This looks very promising.

My December goals include
1. draw and relationship
2. consistent physical conditioning for both Try and I in the Christmas rush
3. play around with GoC


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