​This month’s challenge is “Anything with poles.” The goal? Discover how comfortable your horse is with objects on the ground. Can she walk over a pole? ...a bunch of poles? ...trot? ...back up over one or more? Is she ready to start more advanced pole/cavalletti work?
Practices are always better than film time for us, because I get an agenda and they don’t like that. My friend was here to help, so we jumped on the opportunity to film.
Overall, awareness and confidence continue to build. Shiraz actually backed up over the tarp and surprised all of us. I gave her points for hitting the same pole with all four feet when she backed over it. (Something to work on.) And Jalila is showing flashes of brilliance. Our frustrations still outnumber the moments of brilliance but, as you will see, it doesn’t take much to keep me encouraged.
One discovery made last weekend (not on the video) = Jalila is starting to develop a nice lateral bend on her circles when we work around the round pen (the pedestals with a rope strung between, I’m on the inside and she is on the outside), but when I take that supporting element away, she leans like a motorcycle and falls in on the circle. Making that transition will be interesting.
(6:30 minutes/both horses)
Check it out:

Shiraz hasn’t been ridden, since she returned from a training situation with PTSD three years ago. She has come to a place where she trusts me implicitly and having a rider climb onto a bareback pad is okay but, as you will see, she caves under pressure, even what seems like no pressure to us. Maddie, sat on Shiraz applied minimal aids while I gave familiar instruction from the ground. It’s not really riding, but it’s as much (or maybe even a little bit more) than Shiraz can handle. Crossing the tarp was a bridge too far and we turned ourselves inside out to find a happy place to end the session.
It is also worth noting that Shiraz’s ulcers flared up after this riding session and we learned that “stubborn” is the first symptom of something bothering her.

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​2 weeks after our failed attempts to cross a tarp while mounted, I did some emotional release work for abandonment and anxiety, and Shiraz crossed the tarp. She didn’t actually step on it, clever girl, but we were elated! 

March 2019 CT Stationing Challenge
As you’ll see, this winter has been a challenge. My work area and most of my objects are under snow. Besides that, packed snow is now ice, and melting makes puddles. So slippery! All I’ve done for the past 3 months, along with absolutely nothing but feeding, is have the horses (1) come to me when I squat on the ground, and (2) casual connection time (hanging out together). Lots of that and, boy, has it paid off!
Standing on a board or platform is not a challenge so I used a saddle pad. I employed the target to focus the horses’ attention on the area of the pad and had high value treats, carrots and cookies, for putting a foot or feet on it. Jalila finds the target irresistible, Shiraz, not so much, but she does love to come to me when I squat down.
The milestones for each of us in this video aren’t about stepping on the pad. Our progress is remarkable:

1. Jalila is relaxed.
2. Shiraz is engaged, happy, and confident.
3. I’m having fun.

A big shout out to the Red-Winged Black Birds for the soundtrack!

In this video, Ghost of Christmas Present, Jalila and Shiraz get dressed up to meet the Ghost who shares the secret of how rewarding patience with silly humans can be.
It’s the Connection Training December Christmas Challenge
You may notice that Jalila is a tad less confident than usual. Our neighbors put a dirt berm along the length of my arena and the horses can’t see over it. Sometimes there are workers or deer back there and suspicion can get the best of them the best of them. As always, Jalila is braver than Shiraz (And hogs the camera! She targeted it twice while filming). Shiraz is just so sweet; they both make me laugh. All in all, we had some fun doing this and I got positive feedback from the Connection coaches.

​I made this video to enter the Connection Training November 2018 Challenge to teach your horse to Stay.
Why Stay? Horses can get stuck wanting to keep their noses with you and with the treat. Stay teaches early on that it’s ok for you to work in different positions.
It’s also a really useful exercise in teaching your horse patience and is the foundation of many of other exercises such as standing tied, being groomed and standing quietly in the horse box or trailer.
I’m looking for my horses to understand Stay, or stand still, while I move around them or walk away.
As always, working with these two horses requires different approaches for each. What is amazing to me is that Shiraz frequently offers to do things that she has observed Jalila doing. For example, I never taught Shiraz about the orange road cone target. I worked with her on a mat. (The double stay was sort of a fluke but I had it on film so I added it in.)

Jalila turned 6 in June of 2018. She transformed from a rehab project to a beautiful, functional horse. I have been sluggish with my posts but I do have documentation to share and now that there’s snow on the ground, I’m more inclined to sit at my computer. From here on, I’ll also be documenting my work with Shiraz, another Drinkers of the Wind (DWA) Arabian mare who lives with to keep Jalila company. They are frenemies. Jalila regularly reports that Shiraz is being a “B”! Better that than living alone.
My posts won’t be in progressive order. I’ll eventually get caught up. One of my biggest discoveries was the Connection Training team in England, Hannah Weston and Rachel Bedingfield. I signed on to learn more about reward-based training and have been inspired to document monthly training challenges.
Here are two videos from the Halloween Theme Despooking Challenge