mucking about in the round yard

[blitzen_]

some very low energy (from both of us) work in the round yard. please excuse the gratuitous cleavage shot, any strange noises i make AND the inappropriate attire, but eh... it was 37degC yesterday so ... and i couldn't get the tripod right so he isn't always in frame... srsly need someone to video for me.

critiques welcome.

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i notice i have 1232

Comments

[penella22]

:D It is SO COOL to get to watch this video!!! And you guys are doing great! Wow is Beej more responsive than Sage!! I'll try and get some at liberty video with sage for comparison for you, but with the snow being so deep lately that might be hard. You've inspired me though...so now I'll have to try.

I don't think you're that unclear with him...he seems very smart and very good at reading your body language and what you want even when your cues aren't perfectly consistent. I don't see a confused horse for more than maybe 3 seconds of this clip.

Its clear that he's a pretty confident horse as he tries to stay in the middle with you a bit and be in your space more than was asked for, ah-hem!! But he also listens to you when you say 'get out of my space' and he's pretty 'yes ma'am just testing' about it.

I would guess your body language is clearer than mine at this point, but what I do see a bit of is your timing needing work. I see a few spots where he's actively trying/doing as you ask and you're continuing to push forward with the same intensity of cue, rather than dropping back to a phase 1. Beej seems pretty forgiving of that here in small amounts, but I can see where if you guys got into a more charged situation that that could make him more explosive...it will feel like you're not listening to him try.

Mostly what I see is one VERY HAPPY HORSE!!! You should be so proud!!! he is clearly enjoying what he is doing, and I'm impressed with how well you guys do at liberty. I would also love to have an area about that size in deep sand like that, looks nice!

I love hearing your Aussie accent! And seeing Beej's horsenality shine through. :-)

[penella22]

Oh, one more thing...at the very end, and also one spot before that it looks like you're asking him in driving game to move his butt around (?) I think?? And both times it seems he's inclined to ignore that. I can't tell if that's him ignoring you deliberately and testing you or if its you not being in the right position, but that's the only spot I saw a potentially confused horse.

[blitzen_]

thank you so much for the super nice comment. i was hanging to see what you thought! i'll try and get more this summer as well. idk what i was doing with the driving game at the end - i put my hand on his chest to stop him coming forward but i think he was only coming forward because i was a bit antsy about asking and didn't do it properly/with meaning. when i MEAN what i say, he responds appropriately & that is definitely one thing to remember about him. you have to be super clear with stuff or else he'll have a tantrum OR give a half arsed sort of effort & try to evade. this DEFINITELY translates to riding as well.

and yes, super confident. i think this indicates how our relationship has changed tho & how much happier he is since i've been playing around with parelli. when we first started (and even still if he's in a mood) he would just stay on the outside of that circle and i would have to make Very Big Noises to get him to pay any attention to me at all. even when working on the line he would just get so bothered by outside things i'd have to have high energy/phases to get him to pay attention.

and yes, i agree that i don't drop back the phases when he responds, as well as i should - timing has never been a strong point.

[glenatron]

I remember reading what someone had to say about Tom Dorrance and how when he was teaching them, whenever they got something they were pleased with going with their horse he'd say "that's great- now can you put in half as much and still get that result?" I try to keep that in mind when I'm doing stuff with pony the whole time.