Training Plan: Winter & Spring 2013

Over the next few months I aim to refresh and tweak learned behaviours and our general relationship to where we left off a little while after I fell pregnant with my son.

*Who is now 6 weeks old, where does time disappear to!* 🙂

Also I hope to resume our Straightness Training sessions, which we had just started.

Behaviour refreshing to work on:

– Standing on my right hand side patiently and relaxed for up to 10 seconds.
Will also help with refreshing food manners, use highly motivational rewards.

– Refine mimicry, jackpot relaxation and ability to resist the temptation to busy body.

– Improve half halts.

Straightness Training:

1. Work on relaxation while wearing the cavesson.

2. To be comfortable and able to remain relaxed and still with my hand on the line in position.

3. To follow my hand/feel/
direction of line.

4. Correct forward down.

Play Sessions:

– Navigate (jump?) tyres.

– More Painting sessions.

– Cone work.
WWYLM help to start Straightness Training on a circle?

– Ball play.

To update regularly.

About Us, 2013 New Beginnings

I’ve had the pleasure of Rosalle for 3 years now.
When we met she was just turning 3 and had already gone through a fair few owners.

When we went to view her she was the sweetest filly you could imagine, only been sat on once ect, she let me ride her around the school and even push for a small trot, what people call a true easy going and naturally agreeable type.

*Laughs*

Now that is NOT Rosie.

Either she was doped (which at a dealers yard you’d think quite likely)
Or it was just meant to be that she be coming home with me.

After a few months of learning about the real Rose,
(in short a horse that will not submit to egomaniac behaviour, which is after all what allot of horse people are about, it seems)
we discovered that this was not new for her and others had come against the same issues.

She’s taken me on a journey of learning and growing,
I’ll even go as far to say that she has changed me, and continues to every day.
Because when you get through the initial brambles of horse training, you end up somewhere that I believe it would have taken me years to find had it not been for that ‘troublesome’ horse.

We truly are blessed with horses, especially ‘problem’ horses who make us change for the better, and I know it happens to many horse owners.

We still have so much further to go and due to my own up and down health and the arrival of my baby boy, progression has been slow with quite a few knock backs and delays.

But 2013 is the year and I can’t wait to see where it takes us.

Recipe For Success

What can be done to assure that training sessions
will be positive for both me & Rose consistently?

Not that every session will produce amazing, magical results
(although that would be nice lol)
But rather NO sessions will end with a confused & frustrated Jess and Rosie.

Making sure I’m in the right mindset.

Planning the session to suit Rosie’s mood.

Paying attention to whether Rosie fully understands what I’m asking.

Reinforcement rate.

Body language and breathing.

Listening to Rosie’s point of view.

Making sure that work is play.

Justify why i want to achieve a goal, making sure that goal is appropriate for the time & mood.

Not focusing on reaching the goal but on staying in the present and making the best reaction to each moment, a reaction to create peace not war.

Let the moments lead to the goal, not the goal controlling the moments.

Will update regularly.