It’s official. Rose had been making a CHUMP of me. Only thru clarity of mind was I able to cure it. If you had the time to view Saturdays video, you will see a marked improvement in Sundays. And I know now why I was unable to achieve any satisfying results last year. I was not emotionally ready to deal with anything. Barely physically, but for sure the one thing I was severely lacking, was clarity of mind. I was in a fog, still in a lot of pain from time to time, and grieving a few great losses. I was mad at the world last year and I was lost. I thought I had found my self, but really I was just living in a fake it till you make it funk. This has been a long process, with a lot of detours, to lead me to yesterdays victory. It has been like putting a puzzle together with all the wrong pieces. Yesterday, all the pieces finally fell into place.
Funny thing, I always tell people,….” Extreme frustration is always (if you are looking for it) followed by profound discovery”. Yet when it was my turn, I shut down and did not look for an answer. I am so glad I used the gold hot line for Cha’Cote’s little cantering problem on monday, because by the time they were able to catch me on the phone on Friday, I now had a cantering problem with Rose. hmmm how interesting. Both my wild extreme RBI mustang, and my well trained mid level 4 extreme LBE TB….had the same problem. HHMMMM…I say….How interesting? The advice I got for Cha’cote was spot on….teach him a better yo-yo game in walk and trot in the circling game. LOTS of transitions within and between the gaits. I hadn’t yet really taught him that….BRAVO….correct diagnosis, AND it worked well. So I slipped in my question about Rose before she could hang up on me. Her advice was to use a 45’ line, something I am not comfortable using yet. I cringed when she said it. But, we didn’t go too deep into it other than that, because I didn’t yet realize just what a huge problem I had until the following day. I had been confused a week ago, she was awesome and ONLY needed help in the canter….and it deteriorated from there.
Here is the cool part….this is a bit odd but follow along…the PP’s advice was wrong….for now….but I think in the end it will be right. Because her other advice about Cha’cote led me to discover the right answer in what is wrong with ME, so I can fix what is wrong in her. But before I can fix HER confidence issue about cantering in my crappy yard, (the 45’ line should give her the space to be a little more balanced and actually complete a circle in canter) I had to fix our little struggle for who is in control, and who is steering the ship on our journey. While I hadn’t taught Cha’Cote the yo-yo in depth on a circle, Rose has a great yo-yo, but it was broken(along with driving and porcupine). I was treating her like I was teaching her these things for the first time, and giving her WAY too much leeway and benefit of the doubt. And with each day, she was growing more and more militant. To the point where I felt like I was trying to push and pull a tank around. I was treating her like a baby, and not like the highly intelligent being that she is. So she was treating me like an idiot and playing some serious games with me, when I tried to regain control, just to see what I would do. Turns out not much. And that is when she started to take advantage of the situation. I watched Saturdays video about 10 times, and I just kept screaming at myself….why are you doing this?…why aren’t you doing that? And it became glaringly clear…..I was a CHUMP. I had no phase one, because I really had no phase 4. AND…get this…..the answer to my own little problem, is the exact same answer and had literally, just given someone else during a phone coaching session, moments before I played with Rose on Saturday. DOH! Talk about clueless. Small but Looooong phase one…..EFFECTIVE and fast phase 4. Couple that with working solely on yo-yo and do you wanna know what?….Canter became Rose’s Idea! Saturday, she was pulling…. constantly pulling on the rope, and Sunday there was slack in it! Saturday, I couldn’t make her GO-YO, ended up with a NO-NO, Sunday, I couldn’t make her whoa-YO, and hopefully tonight will have a nice YO-YO. I know things are a little hard to see in the video as we are a distance away. But what you will see, is that Rose CAN see every little thing I do, and is capable of responding, but was choosing not to. And I was doing little about it (even though I was doing too much….nag…nag….nag), thinking it was going to take time, probably a considerable amount, to get things back like they were. BULL CRUD. She is capable right now of putting effort into responding to my requests. Then I can choose how to respond to what she is offering me, instead of just giving me nothing. You will see, instead of Saturdays episode of ME putting a whole lot of effort into trying to get her to move…..ON Sunday….ha ha ha…..long small phase one (sometimes it’s so small you wont be able to see at the distance) and a VERY “just” phase 4. You will see her stand and stare at me like she is blind, then shoot like a rocket. Funny thing is….I only tagged her once…maybe twice…..Saturday she was getting tagged a lot, and I was getting less and less of a response. Not any more…I say jump….she says how high. Also, I would not allow her to come in unless invited and with a very happy look, not a crappy look!
Regardless, this was a big gamble, as I could have been way wrong, could have had her tie up, could have ruined the relationship, could have been reading it all wrong….again….
But I know it was right by the results. We went to the pedestal, and played sideways, and I was more ‘benefit of the doubty” because this particular game is new to her, and I could see her unconfidence and treated her accordingly. In the end, I took the halter off and played a minute at liberty and we did our first ever sideways at LIBERTY! Caught on camera too! Before the accident, this is what we were working on, in a round pen, and she would always bail on me. And that is when I was playing with her, at the top of our game, everyday. I have to be on the right track…just have to be. And I am thinking that Sundays session should be it in the extreme phase 4 department. I have a feeling tonight I will have a whole new horse on my hands. Possibly with one little reminder.
One last note….I am now absolutely, 100%, not shadow of a doubt convinced…..she steps on that rope to dominate me. My skills are no different with any other horse, yet she is the only one to constantly step over and on the rope.
Sorry the videos are long, but they are real time, un-edited, no holds barred insight, and invaluable as a learning tool to me to review as many times as required to find the problem so I can find a solution. I have somewhere 1000’s of hours of dressage riding on VHS. What a dork I am!
Savvy On
Michelle
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I know I am not perfect.....so be nice!