Liberty Video

I don't think I have ever videoed us playing at liberty before, so here goes:

 

I do realize that it looks slightly slow motion. Oh, my LBI. Maybe next time we will look a little more...alive ;).

Lessons in Liberty

I love liberty and so does Sonny. But lately we have been a little....stuck. Since I moved to the new barn I haven't done much liberty. We didn't have fencing for a while, the outdoor is ginormous, and the indoor usually has someone else in it. I don't want to risk Sonny running away while sometime is trying to ride so I normally stick to online or freestyle.

The past week or so I have been really trying to get back into the swing of things. That is when this happened. He got away from me which isn't a big deal, but he was doing it so much I got frustrated. I put him back online and started over and the next time we played he got away from me again, and again, and again. 

So finally two nights ago I was playing online and thought that maybe I would just take the rope off and see what happened. He was fabulous! We played a little stick to me, sideways, driving, and ran through the games. Circling game at liberty has been our archnemesis. That's usually when things go haywire. So that night I tried to break down the problem. I have been circling him close to the wall (about 10/15ish feet away) so that I could use that to help me keep him on a circle rather making it more difficult on myself and circling him in the middle. Last night I really focused on what he was telling me. When I started the circle, just at the walk he was fine, but when he got to the wall he turned and burned. DUH. Lightbulb. How is my squeeze game? I am not sure why it just occurred to me to check that before my circling game but better late than never. Rather than chasing after him trying to play the catching game, like I usually do, I just stood where I was and waited. He walked right back to me. Huh, how interesting! The game wasn't so fun when I didn't feed into it.

So I moved on to squeeze game. He didn't have the confidence to go through where I was when I asked for the circle. I backed up again and he went right through. I did it a few more times and tightened the gap and his squeezes were beautiful. So then I asked for the circle again. Voila! Perfect walk circle at liberty :). I was so happy I ended there. After a few weeks of trying with no success all it took was for me to listen to what my horse was telling me.

So last night I played at liberty again, just for the fun of it. Which I think is a really important concept for me to grasp. A lot of times I go out to play at liberty with an intention of accomplishing something, or anything. But, he feeds off that mind set and it does that the fun out of it for him. So tonight I just took the halter off and played around. We started with some zone 3 driving which was going so well I played with zone 4 and 5. I know, I know I barely have any experience with Z4&5 driving online, so I shouldn't be doing it at liberty but what the heck. It went so well and I think we both actually really enjoyed it. He followed the rail with me in zone 4 and 5 which I think was interested because we have never played follow the rail online just freestyle.

He was showing great interest in putting effort into things and acting like he was really enjoying it. So I asked for another walk circle and it was perfect! So I asked for a trot circle and it was really great, too! He got a little bigger than I expected, but he a) was so focused on me he didn't care that all of the other horses were getting grain except him b) maintained gait c) maintained direction and d) had a beautiful bend in his body. It was excellent! I am definitely one to quit while I am ahead, but because if my play frame of mind I just started walking to see what would happen. He did a traveling trot circle at liberty to where he was circling me perfectly in the middle of the arena. Wow! That blew my mind! I stopped there and played some more games, but I wanted to end on a really good circling game. I asked for the trot circle again and when he got in front of me he started to come in, but I senesced a direction change in his mind so in order to encourage his own ideas I asked for the direction change. My first one at liberty on a circle in the middle of the arena and it was perfect! The best part was after he changed direction, he maintained a perfect close range trot circle around me. He is so fabulous! He definitely knows how to put a huge smile on my face!

I tried to get a picture, but the indoor arena lights, plus night time, plus close range trot circles do not equal good pictures. You can't even see him in half of them. Maybe I will have someone get a video soon? 

Finally: Some Play Time!

I finally got to play with Sonny today. I think it has been at least two weeks since the last time we did anything. I could definitely tell, but I don't think he minded.

It's been really muddy lately but we still were able to use the outdoor. We splashed through the puddles had a good time making a mess. I got on bareback and bridleless, and actually savvystringless because it was covered in wet sand from playing online. His warm up was pretty good online and he was being super responsive when I was on him. I didn't feel the need to push for anything and there wasn't anything specific I wanted to work on so we headed out to the big open field.

I think that was my first time riding him outside in the field without at least a savvy string around his neck. He was perfect. We cantered and trotted and did figure 8's and quick stops. Anything I wanted it was there.

My favorite thing from today was after my ride. Out in the field I got off and walked him back to the arena to get my things I left there. All the way back to the arena we had to go through grass. I played spot to spot, which I normally do. But the weird thing was: he didn't put up a fight. Every time I walked off he walked with me, no questions asked. Which is so strange for my food obsessed LBI. I am pretty sure he has never stopped eating to walk with me without there being any motivation on my part. Normally I have to use my carrot stick (or leadrope when I am not at liberty). S it completely blew my mind that he just stopped eating and walked with me. It was so relaxing to not have to worry about asking him to walk with me; he just did it. It was definitely the most enjoyable walk we have ever had together :).

Galloping through the field bareback and halterless :).

Wordless Wednesday

Pretty Impressive

First of all, if you aren't my facebook friend you have to watch this. This is Take 1 of my liberty jumping from the other day.

As funny as it is and as many times as I have laughed uncontrollably over it, there really is something interesting about it.

Stop the video at 0:16. Then watch Sonny closely for the next two or three seconds. If you notice at about 0:17/0:18, he looks over at me. The second my leg his the jump, he is already flexing his body towards me. Wether he heard/saw/felt me, he knew something was going to happen and was already thinking of turning and facing me while he was still in the air. I think that is so cool! I may be wrong, but I think this shows just how connected to me he is.

Unfortunately my phone only takes 20 still shots in a row. I would have love to have caught some of what happened after what you can see. He turned around and put his nose to my face. I am not sure if he was checking me out, confused, or just flat out laughing at me. It's fun to think what he might be thinking.

"Oh, you are so embarrassing!"

 "Your squeeze game sucks" 

"Human training is harder than it sounds"

"So THAT is why you need me to jump for you"

What do you think he is saying? 

Imagine That

Sonny and I had an absolutely fabulous time today! He was such a super star and I couldn't be any more proud.

Background: The first time I ever played with barrels Sonny he cut his leg pretty badly on one when going sideways over it and has been pretty afraid of them since. I have done lots of friendly game and over the year since the accident he would do everything but go sideways over them. It has been a huge challenge for me and I get so frustrated with it.

Back to today: I had intentions of wrapping his legs and trying sideways. I was in a hurry to get to the arena to help a friend so I didn't have time to wrap his legs. I had the barrels set up so I just played figure 8 with them instead since I didn't want to mess with sideways and risk his legs again.

I was spicing up the figure 8 with transitions when I happened to halt him at the side of a barrel. With me standing in figure 8 position, he took it upon himself to go sideways over it. As you can imagine, my jaw hit the floor. I didn't ask for a single step and it went as perfect as could be. He kind of paused over top of it, but I didn't want him to think I was pushing him so I let him figure it out. After a few seconds, he continued sideways over it like an old pro. Of course my LBI would do it when I didn't ask! I can't believe all the arguments we have been in over this simple task and he completes it with flying colors when I didn't ask him to. Go figure...

Needless to say, I was quite ecstatic about it. That definitely made my life complete! I am just thrilled. As if that wasn't enough, he jumped with me three times at liberty. This wasn't like any other time we have ever experienced. He put effort into the jump. He didn't try to run out. I didn't have to ask him to do it. My LBI willingly exerted energy to stick to me. Wow! By this point I was just blown away. I was so shocked, surprised, excited, happy...just on cloud 9. He has never jumped with me at liberty over a jump in the middle of the arena without trying to get out of it. He even cantered a stride before! I don't have words to express how happy he made me today :).

Yes, I have the cutest horse in the world.

Funny Sonny

When Sonny was at liberty the other day he got away from me. He normally goes to the other end and comes back. As he came back to me, he did something I would never expect my LBI to do: he went sideways over a pole on his own!

Okay, so I know that he likes to think he knows what I am going to ask of him and he will do anything if he thinks a rest or treat might be in store, but for him to walk up to a pole that we hadn't been going sideways over and just decide to stop half way over it and sidepass down the entire thing....that's pretty funny!

I was NOT expecting him to do anything of the sort, so by the time I realized what was happening he was almost done but I caught the very end of it on tape.

I love the face he gives me at the end. "That's what you wanted, right mom?". He's so stinkin' cute!

The Little Things

I finally got a chance to ride tonight! I wanted to play with the GoC because it seems like I never have the opportunity to be consistent. I started it right before my 3/4 clinic at the end of June and never played with it again until a few times through out July and August. I took a huge break from it and recently picked it back up a few nights ago. So I am going to work really hard to be consistent, but I guess I need more arrows in my quiver.

Tonight started out well; he was good online and super forward and responsive riding freestyle. When I picked up the reins he knew to keep moving and stretch. Trot is the issue. He tends to curl his neck and avoid the contact, rather than take the contact and stretch. It's hard for me to tell as I am riding, but I had a friend video tonight and it seems like he is still avoiding the contact to some extent? After watching the video I tried again and took more contact to encourage him to take more, but then he reverted back to old habits and stopped. So then I started with stage 1, reins mean go and worked our way back up to trot with the same results. Ugh. If you always do what you have always done...

Here are two pictures from the last 15 seconds of the video my friend took. Most of the video he just curled his next, but for a few strides he looked like he actually engaged behind and pushed into the contact. I knew it felt good because that's where I stopped. Sorry the photos are so bad; they are screen shots from the video on my phone.

I wish I had more arrows in my quiver, but I guess the only way I can add to the ones I have is through experience. I am going to go back through the DVDs and make sure I am covering every point and try to go from there. I just feel so bad that Sonny has to be my 'sacrificial lamb' :(. But, I know he is very forgiving and as long as I keep my attitude positive and always reward the slightest try, I guess he isn't going to be too offended. Then again, look at all the mistakes he has put up with from me in the past three years that we have been doing Parelli ;).

As I was feeding him dinner and getting him ready for bed, I was kind of down in the dumps about our ride. As he was finishing his dinner I cleaned my saddle, put my tack away, cleaned up my tack room, locked everything up, got things ready for the A.M., and then went to kiss him goodnight. (Just to update those who are new: Sonny has his own barn. His 'stall' is a 15x16 area in one corner. His gate is at an angle on the corner closest to the inside of the barn. His gate had a bungee on it so if I leave it open it just shuts behind me and he can't get out). Well as I went to kiss him goodnight I saw his gate was wide open. It's not really a big deal if it is; the farm property is completely fenced in and everyone knows that if Sonny were to get out, he would never make it past the first blade of grass. But, he was just standing there waiting for me to come back. It really reminded me how lucky I am to have such a fabulous horse. I can only imagine where some people's horses would have been (some might have even been half way across the country as slow as I was being in the cold tonight).

It really made me smile and appreciate all the little things we have. When I was done riding tonight, we had excellent liberty walk and even trot circles! He stood still for me in front of other horses while I went to get water for grain, and he stood still after walking through the human door and porch as I went back to shut the door behind us. Along with that, he pooped (twice!) and peed ONLY in his pea grave tonight :). Just because we are having a difficult time learning something new doesn't mean that we are failures or that I am screwing him up or whatever it is that I am afraid of. We are just learning, haven't put that much time into it, and it's a total 180 from what we both have learned our whole lives. Of course we can't change that over night! So I am going to take the time it takes and be positive and progressive :). In the end, at the core of it all we still have the relationship, which is what really matters!

Let It Be

Sonny and I had a fabulous liberty session today! I didn't have a whole lot of time (what's new?) so I just wanted it to be short, sweet, and successful. I haven't played at liberty very much this summer, if even at all. Well, besides walking him to his paddock and back, but that's about the extent of it!

We went in the big outdoor, which probably wasn't the best place to go, but it was so nice out today I definitely didn't want to be inside. For once I didn't have any plans in my head about what I wanted to do, I just kind of flew by the seat of my pants. I practiced some sideways over me, realizing that the one way is broken. Did some driving game to fix it and it turned out great! Then I played with the difference in going sideways towards me and backwards towards me at a distance. He caught on really quickly!

Everything was going great so I tried circling game. This game has always been hard for us at liberty so I usually avoid it. I get frustrated and he knows it and ends up trotting around the arena and pretending I don't exist. That frustrates me even more and I end up giving up. So today I set myself up for success by standing about 10 feet away from the long side of the fence, so a portion of my circle would be along the rail. I sent him off at the walk and it was perfect! He was doing these perfect circles, maintaing gait, direction, and flexing towards me! Then, when I took a single step back, he came in to me! I was blown away! I played with some changes of direction, a bit of trot, and he was awesome! I was so impressed!

Walking a small circle :). 

So my lesson of the day: Let it be! Of course I should always aim to get my good better and my better, best, but there is no rush. You have to have all of the pieces of the puzzle to see the big picture. There is no point in trying to force things, but rather to figure out what is broken and go from there. It reminds me of back when I started Parelli and was flying through things because Sonny was so smart. Before I knew it we could do level 3 tasks, but did we have a level 3 relationship? Of course not! I was forcing him to do things, there wasn't any communication, I was just demanding things of him like the rest of the un-natural horse world does. I didn't find a level 3 relationship wasn't until I slowed down focused on what was important: the relationship not the tasks. So today was a friendly reminder to just take it slow, go with the flow, and focus on what really matters! :)

Trotting on a circle with a great expression! 

The Late, Great, Eight

I feel like a lot of my posts lately have been about some huge life lesson, savvy lesson, or some major breakthrough. Today's post is just about what a great, simple, successful time Sonny and I had last night. Hope that doesn't disappoint anyone!

I didn't have a whole lot of time last night due to work, but I was determined to get his mind going. I just set up two cones and figured we could focus on figure 8's. We haven't done anything with them in a while so I thought it would be good to check that he still remembers the pattern.

We started online and just through in some changes of direction around the cones. He was very responsive and asked a LOT of questions. Definitely made me happy! He didn't give me a whole lot of great faces, but I figured I should be grateful he was interested enough to ask questions. I tend to get frustrated and upset when he comes into me with his ears back (not dominant, just not forward), but I am learning to not let it bother me. When I let it bother me, it puts me in a bad mood then he mirrors that, so getting upset by his faces is NOT going to make them get any better.

I took the lead rope off and played online for a little bit. We played with some liberty circles and stick to me. He got 'stuck' backing up; he kept avoiding it by going sideways. I made the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy and before I knew it he backed up more than 22 feet away :).

I tried liberty figure eights at the walk for the first time since who knows when. It has at least been since Sonny as at the boarding barn, so sometime before July 1. They were perfect. He did these beautiful figure 8's with minimal effort on my part. All I did was back up and re send and he knew exactly where he was going, came right back around the cone to face me, and didn't protest being sent off again. I was so impressed! Completely blown away.

I got on and did a few figure 8's freestyle. Those still need some work; I let him rely too much on my leg still. I ended on a good note and called it a great day :).

Dust Bunny

Hot, hot, hot! It was so hot today we didn't do much. Took him outside in the breeze and ate some grass. Played with a few small things, like sideways towards me his bad direction. I am not sure why, but the one way he will go sideways towards me from 22+ feet away, but the other side he can barely manage a step. Probably 99% of it is my fault, so I need to put effort into improving that way. 

We came back in and played with the laying down in the arena. I haven't asked him to do it in a while and I think he partially forgot what it means. He actually rolled pretty quickly after I asked him, the only issue was that he didn't shake! Ahhh! 

Can you guess what side he
rolled on? ;)

My little dust bunny! 

That is a dust line, to show how dirty he is. 

Hahahaha. Look at his neck
where he didn't get dust. 

After getting the dustiest I have ever seen him, I had to wash him off. He got a liberty bath today. He actually stood really, really well. Never moved a step! :)

Bad picture, but you get the idea.

Liberty, and Justice for All

If you have ever been around an LBI, they definitely don't like to be told what to do. In fact, I believe that Sonny spends his nights in his stall strategizing on how to do the exact opposite of what I want. Okay, not really, but sometimes it does seem like that. Linda always talks about how much reverse psychology works; I believed it after the first time I told Sonny to not get on the trailer and he did.

I tend to be a very controlling person; I am a perfectionist and what everything exactly the way I want it right now. If you keep up with my blog, you will know that lately I have been on a serious "horsenality movement", trying to understand my LBI to the best of my ability. A major part of my "horsenality movement" is to be able to be the best partner I possible can for Sonny.

We had a great time playing yesterday online. He gave me some really happy faces and I kept it short and sweet. I went back down last night to load him up and take him over to Stephen's. Stephen was running late so I had about 20/30 minutes to kill. I wanted to take him out for a walk around the barn, but I changed it up. Linda said to change things up, do something unexpected. So, I took him at liberty.

I didn't do a whole lot. We walked around the barn, through the grass, out to the front, then back in. He never left my side. Even through the grass and past multiple other horses. When we got back in, there were a bunch of horses in the aisle, so we had to stand and wait for such a long time. He was still at liberty (I had my savvy string around his neck for my safety net) and stood right with me. He never tried to move and was happy to just stand there with me. Which totally blew my mind, because even when I have the halter on I have to remind him every two seconds to stand still. And that's when he isn't dragging me around the aisle vacuuming up all the hay on the ground. The feeling that you get as you weave in and out of people and horses and go through arenas and grass and gates and your horse stays at your side, well that's one of the greatest feelings I have ever had. Without a halter and rope, its like we had something tying us together so much stronger than my 12 foot line. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

I've always had an idea that Sonny loves liberty. It is definitely his favorite savvy, and not because he thinks he can get away or get more food that way. It's because there's justice for all. Justice is defined as "the quality of being fair and reasonable". Not saying that I am not fair online or while riding, but what better way for him to voice his opinion to me than by what he can say at liberty. There have been times when he has shouted at me online and I was oblivious. He doesn't even have to raise his voice for me to hear him at liberty. Liberty requires us both to do our part, and recognize each other's needs. At liberty, we are equals.

Therefore, I am going to try to start applying that same concept to all other savvys. I want there to always to be mutual respect, great communication both aways, and most importantly, the partnership. The more I trust him (and vice versa), give him a bigger responsibility, and don't make assumptions, the happier he will be and that will build an even better partnership for us.

When you take the halter or bridle off, you are left with one thing. The truth. And the truth is, I am so lucky to have such a great partner.

The love of my life <3

Back That Thing Up

Last week I posted about having issues with backing, mainly due to respect. Well, backing has improved tremendously since then!

Tonight I played a bit at liberty. To start off, his sideways was amazing. That was definitely the furthest he had gone sideways at liberty from phase 1 without moving forward. Awesome!

From the sideways we moved on to two trot circles. He happily trotted along around me (even though his buddies were standing at the far end of the arena and he could have gone to hang out with them!). When I disengaged, he gave me two eyes and two ears and politely waited for me to ask him to come in. Is this really the same horse as last week? Wow! Love those happy faces!

I wanted to test our back up, because once you take the halter off nothing is left but the truth. The truth is: our back up really did improve as much as I thought! I got him to back up more than 22 feet from phase 1/2, then he waited so nicely to come back into me.

Success! Super happy with tonight!

On a side note, we had a really great time yesterday, too. It was 65 degrees and beautiful outside so we went for a trail ride! There really isn't anywhere to ride but the road we just walked a little over a mile up the road. He was so great! We went down a lane to get to the road and he trotted over nicely when I asked and came to a halt without using my reins! It is so wonderful to have a horse than you can ride anywhere on a loose rein! What a fabulous few days we have had!

Time Out

I mentioned in a recent post that I started playing with the Corners Game (which you can find out more about it in the freestyle patterns or in the new level 3 freestyle DVDs) with great success. I rode last night and warmed up with the corners game and again it worked out great! Even though the corners in my arena are dark and filled with toys, Sonny definitely gets the idea. I feel like I am putting him in time out sitting in the dingy corners, but I find it relaxing and I think he does, too. He is putting so much effort into getting to the corners, he was even trotting when I didn't ask him to. An LBI trotting when you only ask for walk is huge progress! It also is greatly improving our follow the rail. He used to constantly dive into the middle of the area or hunt down the question box, but now is happy to stay along the rail to make it to the next corner. 

We played with more canter last night and it is going better! He is making really ugly faces, but canters from phase 2 so I am hoping the faces will improve with his stamina. 

A big step for us was last night before I got on. After playing online a bit I took off the lead and played with figure 8's at liberty for the first time ever. We had been working so much on the weave that our figure 8's have been improving a lot. At first they were a little sticky and he was hesitate to move forward, but it didn't take him long to realize that the pattern was still the same even at liberty and he made a perfect walk figure 8! WOW! So impressed! Of course I stopped after that :). 

Kisses from my lovebug. 

Round Pen Fun

I have never been in a round pen and am not sure if Sonny has either. We have been playing a lot at liberty lately, but I think a round pen would really help us. Since real ones are expensive and we can't play outside anyways, Evan made us a great temporary one right in the indoor! He used cones, reflective posts, and some kind of caution tape (that is pink and doesn't say caution).

We didn't mess with it for too long, but of course Sonny was brilliant. It was great to see how many laps he could maintain with me in neutral. The best part was he even maintained some trot circles close to me, without following the round pen rail!

After we played a bit with the circling game, I took him out of the round pen, wanting our first round pen experience to be short and sweet!

We then played with a bit of figure 8's, and those were the best we have ever done. I have been trying to do them with the least amount of pressure on my featherline as possible (in preparation for liberty!) and he did fantastic! 

After that, we practiced with some sideways at a distance. I have been trying to improve my savvy by playing the games as far away as possible. His sideways gets a little slower at a distance, but is definitely improving! 

I ended after that because I needed to go home and study, but overall we had a really good night :). Thanks to Evan and Melissa for the round pen and the photos!

Baby Steps

Had another pleasing time with Sonny today! I have a big animal science exam Thursday that is supposed to be really challenging, so I needed all the time I could get tonight to study. I figured I would play a little at liberty since I didn't have a whole lot of time.

I started with some stick to me, which he was putting a surprising amount of effort into! He did so well at sticking with me without lagging behind that I didn't play with that very long. Then I moved onto some small circles at the walk/trot. He stayed really close to me, but the best part was that I barely took a few steps back and not only did he turn into me (that is usually a problem for us, he likes to take off running rather than come into me), he came into me with a happy face! Usually if I ask him to come into me straight from a circle without stopping, he turns it into a driving game and gets really dominate. I was completely shocked that he came into me at liberty with a happy face! Wow! That was enough to make my day!

Along with that, he laid down twice today. I want to teach him to lay down when I ask him to, so I used Marion's advice and rewarded him a ton while he was still laying down. I did that both times and quit after the second time. I didn't 'ask' him to lay down either time, but I am hoping that eventually I can get him to piece together the puzzle. He is so stinkin' smart I don't think it will take long. I will definitely be playing with it and updating here about it soon!

Oh, how I love that little booger!

What's New?

First of all, have you noticed I updated the header of my blog? I have been meaning to put a picture by the title (which is why there was a huge blank space), but never got around to it. Finally I did. I like it, but I think I want to change it. I am thinking I want to change my blog colors to purple. But, it has to be simple! So look for a new design in the near future?

Here is what Son and I have been up to:

Emily Rodgers with Sonny, (Freestyle, 30 mins) Rode Sonny in a bridle for the first time in over two years today! Since I got the cradle bridle for Christmas, I figured I should start getting him more comfortable with the bit. I am not sure what happened in his past with the bit, but it must have been traumatic since nothing bothers him and he shuts down when you put a bit in his mouth. Lately I have been putting the bridle on him and doing easy things, like leading him to the pasture, so that he doesn't associate the bit with negative things. Today I put molasses on the bit (which was super messy) and rode around for a little while. I didn't do anything challenging and I never touched the reins. He let out a few big signs and seemed to realize it might not be so bad! I am very pleased with how it went and can't wait for him to experience the C3 bit!                                                                                                                             Tue 27 Dec 2011 at 08:49PM

Emily Rodgers with Sonny, (Liberty, 30 mins) Had a simple but fun day! Didn't have time to do much so just played at liberty. had some really great stick to me and he out a ton of effort into trying the Spanish walk! He also gave me some really happy faces :).

Wed 28 Dec 2011 at 06:41PM

I seem to be catching a cold, which has put a damper on my horsey time. Hopefully I will get out there today, but I doubt I will do anything. Sounds like a perfect day for some undemanding time!

My blue-eyed beauty. <3

Lost

If you asked how I felt with Sonny last night, I would reply lost.

Last night I didn't have much time to play, but Sonny has been inside so much I knew I had to go down to at least let him out of his stall! I didn't plan on doing anything, so I didn't even bother putting a halter on to go out to the arena. On our way to the arena a fellow boarder was walking by with a fresh off the track thoroughbred. Needless to say, I wanted Sonny as close to the wall of the isle as I could get him. It was just a simple sideways game...even at liberty he easily followed my phase 1 to step over. After walking by the owner of the thoroughbred asked how I get him to do what I want without touching him. Immediately I blurted out that is just our connection. Obviously knowing what I am suggesting plays a big role in it, but our connection has been so intense lately. Relating back to this post, it is like we are thinking together. In people terms, I feel like we can finish each other's sentences.

Whatever the feeling is, it completely absorbs me. It is like sipping on hot chocolate under a big blanket by the fire and completely forgetting that there is a blizzard going on outside. Lately school has been hectic; finals are next week, I have a midterm tomorrow, have to work tonight, had a paper due Monday, and I just can't catch a break. I have a lesson with Juli Thursday and haven't even had a chance to ride lately!

As Sonny and I entered the arena I had a lot on my mind. Atop it all was the conversation I just had with the thoroughbred owner. As I closed the gate behind us I figure he would walk off and roll and be excited to be out of his stall. Instead he patiently waited for me to latch the gate. I started walking to the other end of the arena where the dirt is deeper and where he usually likes to roll. But, he wouldn't leave me. So I started playing with him! We played with a little STM and went sideways over the ball and I even sent him out on a circle at the trot and he still wouldn't roll! He just plodded around on the circle waiting for me to do something. Finally I went over and sat on the mounting block, thinking that would be so boring he would want to wonder off. Of course he didn't. He moved his haunches over and asked if I wanted to get on. Might as well!  So I got on bareback and halterless with only my stick in hand. But I didn't even need it. He was so responsive he was turning when I moved my eyes and bellybutton. He stopped when I let my life out and he walked when I squeezed all four cheeks.

We played around for a little bit and had such a relaxing, good time. I had completely forgotten about school and everything I had to do. I forgot that I was upset and stressed out and actually felt great. Nothing else mattered anymore. I was lost in our time together. I am so thankful for this horse that I just love so damn much.

You Get Out What You Put In

The past few days Sonny and I have been doing a whole lot of nothing. But... everything means something and nothing means nothing. I really felt the affects of that today when we had a short play session at liberty.

Liberty is by far my favorite savvy; there is something special about not having anything but a bond connecting you and your horse. Especially an LBI, who would much rather be rolling, eating, or not moving at all. To think that Sonny would rather stick with me and do things together rather than stand over by the gate is extremely rewarding and a huge compliment...especially when the arena you are playing in is bigger than a dressage arena which provides a huge amount of area to get away from me if he wanted. Sonny and I never 'officially' started liberty like we did online and freestyle. Since I have never had a round pen, what liberty I do is very minimal and mostly just small things. But, today was definitely very special.

Rather than go off and roll when we first got to the arena, he stuck right with me even though he was at liberty. We started with small things like sideways over a cone or played with our new 'Up' trick. We were really connected today, like he was reading my mind but not in the way that he was assuming things.

There was a small jump set up, only like 6 inches high. Sonny is an expert at getting out of doing things that require energy, so I haven't asked him to jump at liberty since we haven't mastered him offering to jump online. So I started to walk him up to it and was going to go sideways in front of it, but we were so in tune! I just leaned my body and he went sideways so he would be in front of the jump. It was like we were completely in sync. I pointed to the jump, he trotted right over it then came back to me with BOTH ears forward! I was blown away! Not only did he happily go over the jump when he could have so easily went around it, he came back to me respectfully and happy! WOW!

I really believe that today was a direct result of all the time we have spent together just grazing recently. Not only did it give him (and me!) a break physically and mentally, it strengthened our bond and helped him put more effort in the time we spend playing together. Now I will put more effort into making it easier for him to put more effort in. I see a lot of undemanding time in our future!