We had a St. Patricks Day show this past weekend. It was the same format as Valentine’s Day – Liberty/Online Spotlights, then riding in the afternoon. We had to be indoors because of poor weather, but it was interesting to see what the kids could do in close quarters. We play music throughout the show to help everyone feel festive and keep things positive.

The ponies are ages 3-12 and trained with natural horsemanship and clicker training, which we call EQxpressionism. The kids are ages 7-14.

Penny, the white mini, invented a couple new tricks on the spot – she did a double humming top, then targeted the Tiger backwards with her rump. Today we started teaching the other ponies to do rump targeting with the Tiger because it’s pretty cool! This was also Penny’s first time debuting her Spanish Walk in a show.

We went to the dollar store to pick up more bright colored leis after Blue Man snatched three through a stall grate and decorated his pen with petals. Fortunately he didn’t eat any! The store was out of tropical colors but had St. Patrick’s Day white and green, and it worked out perfectly.

March weather here is quite tough. We had wind and gray skies – not what we were hoping for! The kids were all coming down with bugs, but remarkably, still did some pretty cool stuff. We played Irish music for the show. I was especially impressed with Linnea (10), who helped our new student, Ella (7), perform with Lily. Lily is the pinto mini. You’ll see them really going for it, chasing the Tiger across jumps and all over the arena. Ella, who just turned 7, has only had about 6 lessons but clearly wasn’t going to let that hold her back!

PonyPros is not affiliated with 4H but we volunteered to give 3 presentations at 4H Idea Fair – Classical Dressage, Hunter/Jumpers, and Horse Agility & Trick Training. The kids were out of school Monday so we did a mini-camp where we worked on horse agility. We used a pattern that was designed by the International Horse Agility Club so the kids could prepare to enter online competitions. We did a lot of simulations for fun and to help the kids learn the course. Each of the less experienced girls was buddied with a more experienced girl who was there to help teach. That afternoon, we took a trail walk in the snow so the kids could work on migrating with the ponies. At the end, there is footage of the kids singing a song we made up. It’s a variation on “There were 5 in the bed and the little one said…” This is “There were 11 in the SHED and the little mare said…”

What We Did Today:

Learn, Do, then Teach

• Gaskin, Cannon, Pastern, Hock song
• Hokey Pony song
• Tack anatomy with Bumpity Bump Bump Bump
• Course setting
• Riding demo with TAGteach
• Working on Challenge Sheets

Photos:

• Counting strides (4 people steps = 1 horse stride)
• Haley trotting a jump, working on her “crest release”
• Working the angles for a straight approach to the jump
• Riding our imaginary ponies to the jump
• Linnea working on 2-point (because you only have 2 points of balance, one on each foot versus 3 if you are sitting)
• Putting up the jumps, choosing the appropriate height
• Counting strides
• Linnea’s first time doing posting trot
• Anna doing a twist

Long Version:

Today’s mini-camp got off to a bit of a rough start. One of the horses had an eye injury in the middle of the night and was undergoing minor surgery when we arrived. It is always very difficult for the other horses when something like that happens because the energy of the situation is scary to them. The outdoor arena was also frozen so we chose to give the indoor to a gal who’s trainer had driven in especially for a lesson. So, we had to change our plans on the fly and start with the quiet indoor games we’d planned to end with.

We went into Karen’s shed to get out of the wind and worked on horse anatomy and parts of tack. We did two songs – “Gaskin, Cannon, Pastern, Hock” (akin to Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes) and “The Hokey Pony” (like the Hokey Pokey but with horse anatomy). Then we looked at English, Western, and Endurance saddles and talked about the differences and why they are made that way. The kids learned the parts of the tack like cantle, pommel, fenders, irons, billets, etc, and we played a game called “Bumpity Bump Bump Bump” where the kids had to recall the names quickly. The kids also learned to feel out the saddle’s tree and got to feel the difference between treed and treeless. Horse anatomy and tack anatomy are really important parts of a complete horse education but very difficult to find time for so it was especially great to get to cover these things today. Makes giving explanations while teaching so much easier!

After our sojourn in the garage, we took the less experienced kids to the arena to learn about setting a jump course. I bet the kids were surprised to see how much thought goes into the obstacles we set out for them! Setting a course is a very interesting process because you have to count the number of horse strides between each jump and also set the jumps up on the correct angles so that the horses can make proper turns. The kids rode imaginary horses through the course and it was very revealing to see that they made the same mistakes without horses as the do with them I was glad we did the exercise because it gave us an opportunity to teach them how to look ahead through the turns and plan a good approach. No doubt this will come in handy down the road when you are teaching them to drive

Next Emma, Katelynn, Morgan, Maddie, and Zoey did a riding demonstration for us using the course we built. While the more experienced girls were riding, we asked the younger girls questions about what they were doing that was good and had them Tag the girls for a good release over the jump. In other words, the girls used a clicker to mark the moment they saw the riders extend their arms to allows the horse to extend its neck while jumping. I was impressed – the younger girls didn’t miss a single tag point. That’s very good focus for such young kids and for tagging a task most had never done themselves.

While the more experienced riders untacked we went and got the less experienced kids’ ponies. Unfortunately right about this time the temperature dropped suddenly and the wind ramped up. None of us were expecting it and before we realized it, the sudden change had as all a bit on edge. Not really realizing how tired we all were, we continued on with our activities (see highlights).

Highlights:

- Hannah trotted a pole on the longe for the first time
- Anna learned to write her name in the air while riding
- Lauren concentrated really hard to learn to bump, drive, then send the horse out on a circle to smooth out her lunging
- Taylor did a good job learning to increase her phases and match Sarah’s energy level when Sarah got a little pushy because she was nervous about the blocks under her feet
- Linnea trotted on Lily for the first time in a saddle and learned to post
- Haley worked on jumping on the longe and is getting much quieter hands
- Zoey did a great job riding Wallie faster and getting him over the 3-jump gymnastic
- Morgan did a great job getting Ilo over all the jumps and taking the jumps like hurdles versus big events
- Katelynn did a great job keeping her seat and not putting any weight on Q’s neck over the jumps
- Maddie did an extra good job keeping her cool after riding and then going on to helping Hannah
- Emma did a really good job being self-directed during her warm-up and focusing right in on her turn to jump the course

So, if the kids are really tired, we are too! Being a little off schedule meant that there was less one-on-one pony time than expected and the activities requiring a lot of exertion were at the end instead of at the beginning, not to mention that lunch was late. That said, everyone did some really cool things today and the kids are learning a ton, even if they haven’t realized it yet Right now the forecast for Friday is mostly sunny so hopefully it will be a little warmer out. We have the option of pushing back to 12-3 also if that would help.

Today we started camp by showing the kids a sheet with challenges. We explained that they would each try to complete a certain set by the end of the week. The goal for the week was to get all the kids confident in the skills they already have and set them up to take on some new fun challenges in the new year.

Highlights

-Riley worked really hard to learn about keeping contact on the longeline so Sam would stay confident
-Hannah learned how to put on a Western saddle
-Haley did sideways over new, bigger obstacles for the first time
-Linnea rode in an English saddle on Lily for the first time
-Anna learned how to have CuteZilla back up while playing Stick Together
-Maddie did a great job explaining posting diagonals very correctly to Hannah
-Katelynn caught on really quickly to teaching Anna hoof picking tag points
-Emma made sure to have Lil and Blue fed and grained when we got there
-Morgan did a really good job teaching Haley change of directions at the trot, which is tricky

Photos

• Kids raising their hands to show that they already knew how to do many of the tasks and would just be working on perfecting them.
• Playing a game called “I Like” to teach everyone each other’s name
• Playing “Pulse,” a game that teaches kids to use laser focus and improve click timing. The person in the middle clicks when they see the “pulse” going around the circle.
• Laughing while playing Pulse
• The kids learning about how clicker training works with other animals, like dogs. They took turns having our dog, Asher, do regular dog things like sit, roll over, etc, and pony things like jumping the blocks.
• Linnea having Asher jump, Riley giving the treat
• We paired the kids who had more experience with the newer kids. The more experienced kids helped the younger kids work on their Challenge Sheets, which included ground skills and riding.
• Just a funny picture of Koa, Les’ horse, laying down during lunch
• Everyone lined up to eat while we waited for parents

Featuring…

• Trail ride with Emma, Maddie, Zoey, Les, and Kali
• Penny’s first bath
• Les’ fabric paintings
• Kira (10) and Gideon’s (13) second lesson with their Mustangs
• Kali and Ilo
• Simone (6) and Thistle
• Elijah (5) and Thistle
• Anna and Sargento

Trail Ride

After Spring’s terrible weather, we’re anxious to get out on the trails and migrate this summer! Les and I took Maddie, Emma, and Zoey out on a trail ride across the street from the ranch. Fortunately we are right across from the Badlands Wilderness, which includes an expansive 29,261 acres. We’ve been riding on a new trail with an awesome hill. It’s very hard to find hills in our area! This one has a nice, wide forest-service type road, which is great for the kids and dogs. Maddie and I have been going out and practicing trotting duration and it was cool to see that Peanut could come back and do a mellow walk with the group without issues. Wallie is still a little nervous out on the trails, and Zoey, being 8, tends to forget everything as soon as the pony’s life comes up while riding, so Zoey showed good thinking and chose to walk Wallie instead of riding him. Maddie and I each rode Wallie for awhile, just to help him learn the ropes, and he made a little progress. It’s interesting because Wallie tends to be more consistent at shows and Peanut tends to be more consistent on trails. Peanut is LBE with RBE tendencies and Wallie is LBI with RBI tendencies. I’m sure there is something to that but haven’t quite figured it out.

Thistle led the way on the way out. She made her way to the front, even passing Koa and Ilo, who would logically be above her in the herd. Thistle’s uncontested path to the front of the band interested me in terms of alpha leader theory. Presently there are a lot of articles circulating the dog potentially debunking alpha leader theory. The argument is that  individual animals display “agonistic behavior” when it comes to their most prized resource, referred to as “subjective resource value.” Herds and packs may not have “overall hierarchies” as originally thought, but instead have different pecking orders when it comes to different resources like shade, food, and water. I have noticed that individual horses also seem to value certain resources differently than others in the herd might.

So, Thistle led the way out, and interestingly, also wanted to lead the way back. To help her settle in, I took the opportunity to do a lesson with the kids on the varying degrees of flexion. I had the kids practice using a suspension rein to put the pony’s weight on her haunches, then yield the sidebody to create a turn on the center (this is a good video to explain the movement, but we were doing it with vaquero style reining as we are riding with rope halters). The kids are finally starting to get how to use their hands this way. It’s hard, but will ultimately give the kids the ability to take a very slight flexion to regain the horse’s attention, versus disengaging the hindquarters completely and starting over. Being able to take a slight flexion and release immediately builds a finer degree of communication and will help kids and ponies stay connected in distracting environments. If anyone knows of a good resource for vaquero bosal riding, let me know. I’m collecting information about it!

Penny’s First Bath

Gina prepared Penny for her first bath by doing lots of clicker work with the hose. Penny, being a very confident little mare, went from truly being very scared of the hose to pretending to be very scared of the hose for her own enjoyment, almost imperceptibly! After about her 3 clicker sessions with Gina, Penny was ready to  just go for it. Gina hadn’t been exposed to much pressure and release training in the past, but bathing Penny made for a really interesting example. When I turned the hose on, Penny reared and struck at the spray with her forelegs. She tossed her head and stomped her feet a little, and definitely created some commotion, but she didn’t behave like what one would normally expect from a frightened prey animal. Had Penny been really scared, she would likely have displayed the typical flight-mode maneuver – running over the top of the human (ie., bunching up with the herd), then flying around in a circle when the human fails to let go of the rope. Instead, Penny mostly retreated, but did not make any huge attempts to put the hose in the dust behind her. Because she did not hurry to run me over, I felt that Penny was present, thinking, and ready to learn. I put my thumb on the hose and Penny reeled backward. I sprayed until she leaned ever so slightly forward, then immediately released the spray. Though she could have chosen to stand still because the aversive disappeared, she danced because her energy was up, so I aimed the spray at her chest and continued on. She reeled backwards, I let the rope slide but kept her with me, and when she leaned forward, the spray stopped. In about 5 minutes, Penny was standing quietly letting me spray her all over. She even rubbed her face in the spray a little, which is the start of most of her playful behaviors. She loves to toss her mane and shake her head!

There is a time and a place for pressure and release as a teaching tool. To know when to use it, you just have to remember to ask yourself what the horse is motivated by – safety, comfort, food, or play. Penny is mostly motivated by play. She gets bored easily and loves to have an audience. However, because she is a baby and because she is a horse, her first instinct is often to be afraid. Given that, Gina did a great job making Penny feel safe by getting her used to the hose slowly with clicker, comfortable by getting Penny confident in her environment and in the mode of teaching, and created Penny’s motivation through the use of food. As it follows, the last necessity for her learning was to turn bathing into a game. By spraying Penny with the hose until she came forward slightly and stopped pulling away, I gave Penny an opportunity to win the game. Of course the human’s intention is paramount in this type of training, and every other. Energy is everything to horses and I took care to maintain a playful expression and demeanor while getting Penny used to the water.

My choice to use pressure and release with Penny’s bathing training was reinforced by the fact that when we turned her loose in the round pen to roll, she bucked and romped and pranced all over the place,  buzzing by us like Tom Cruise with air traffic control in Top Gun. If Penny had been really disturbed by the bathing, she would have run round and around the round pen with her nose looking out. Instead, she kept trying to engage us for play

Les’ Fabric Paintings

Les painted these about 3 years ago when we were at grad school in Colorado. They are made from fabric from thrift stores and painted with discarded house paint. The images are all of horses. My favorite one isn’t shown here. It’s a beautiful corduroy horse, a lot like the horse from the Science of Sleep. We have to pick that one up from the book store where it was hanging. It’s about 5ft square and really great!

Kira and Gideon

Kira and Gideon came for their second lesson. Their mom has trained over 40 BLM Mustangs, most from failed adoptions. Marietta is an amazing trainer. We had her judge the outdoor trail course at our Play With Purpose shows and she taught the kids so much. She also did a bridleless flag carrying presentation to open both shows. If you haven’t seen it, watch it now! Back to Kira and Gideon – they remembered most of the 7 games from their first lesson. Both are working with horses at are a little challenging, as all Marietta’s animals are rescues. For their first lesson, we learned the first 3 games and learned about sending. I set a bunch of obstacles up as squeezes by the rail. They sent the horse next to the rail, through the squeeze, and stayed on the outside. That got the horses a little further away from them. It’s a great way to get started.

I have a new trick for teaching circles – I tell the kids we are going to travel from one end of the arena to the other with the horse circling around them. I help them send the horse and then they start walking. All they have to do is keep walking and move the stick when the horse stops. Sure enough, the kids learn Travel Together very quickly. Since learning to play with flow is such a challenge, this is a good way to get started moving with the horse straight away and reduce the whole “stand around looking confused” phase. Travel Together is essential to making ground play fun.

Kali and Ilo

Ilo and I have been working on suppling. Ilo is a very muscle bound little mare. She’s a stocky Mustang from the WY BLM. I’ve been using the suspension rein technique I mentioned earlier in this post to activate her hind quarters, plus using Linda Tellington-Jones idea for an impulsion rope behind,  some stretches to open her hips, and volte’s while longeing. The idea behind the volte, in our case, is to make the smallest circle the horse can make while staying united. This article is kind of similar. Things are working awesome and Ilo is calmer, more synchronized, and more flexible!

Simone and Thistle

Gina gave 6 year old Simone her second lesson. Simone started out doing Stick Together to synchronize with Blue Man but we were moving the ponies to a new pasture outside and their prancing got Blue fired up. After switching to Thistle, Simone did seatwork on the longe and  a tiny bit of trotting on the longe. Bareback, of course, since that’s how we start the kids out. I got some adorable pictures of Gina, Thistle, and Simone. It just so happened the girls all matched today, right down to Simone’s white boots with pink toes.

Elijah and Thistle

Lucky Thistle did 3 lessons in a row Friday. First she helped Alicia, a 5 year old with sensory processing difficulties, then little Simone, then Elijah. Five year old Elijah was in from out of town. His grandma is pony-shopping for him. Elijah had only ever ridden a little mini at the fair so this was his first real lesson. Les taught Elijah the basics of Friendly and Porcupine and they played with a ball and stomped in mud puddles. Thistle is the most amazing pony with little kids. Elijah’s grandma said she couldn’t believe how calm all our ponies are (yay!). Elijah was too nervous to ride, so Les had Elijah tag him for the pieces of mounting up on Thistle, then for little tasks while riding. It must have worked because when Gina taught Elijah’s lesson today, he was on and off riding 3 times and begged for more.

Anna and Sargento

I’ve been working with Anna and her Lusitano, Sargento. Sargento is a huge horse. He’s only about 15h but is built like a Percheron. I’ve been helping Anna to get Sargento’s weight on his hindquarters and limber him up. We’re working on piaffe and taking levade when Sargento offers it. You can see he’s showing good elevation in his canter, now. He’s really heavy and out of balance but he’s Anna’s primary riding horse so we’re just doing whatever we can to get him put together more so she can keep going with him. It’s been cool to work with a Lusitano. He’s a different sort of horse. Very smart but gets very nervous and emotional.

So, we’ve had a busy few days for just getting back from Alaska Tuesday evening! Next stop – Bend Pet Parade. Wish us luck!