L3/4 Clinic with Terri Martinus

My first clinic this year was with Terri down in Sussex. Lots of nervous build up after last years antics having a scared right brain horse running about on the end of a rope, wondering at what point he was going straight over the top of me, and not to mention trying to get him into a little cage on wheels to get him there.

Well we got there with no stress, and when the snorting orange monster came out of the box, puffed up to ten foot high, it was seconds before he came off his adrenaline and listened to me and walked reasonably calmly to his stable.

I have to eat my thoughts. I underestimated jack and the progress we had made. He was so well behaved and responsive I felt proud of us both,and I certainly don't give credit to me easily! We were given tasks on the 45ft line, travelling circles, can you get your horse to back up 45ft to a cone, then do it sideways (at which point I was making a good impression of a flapping chicken to try and communicate down the line), and do a 180 degree turn with all the other horses in synch on a fence line. I liked that one!

We were then tasked to do follow the rail with two 22ft lines, driving from zone 5 behind. I have never used 2 lines before so just getting hold of them and then get me behind jack without getting all tangled was a mission at the start. Then I had to get him to move forward, but we have been doing a lot of backwards from zone 5 so he just kept reversing bless him. Terri helped me give a slightly different command and voice cue and finally he got it and we were off. Loved it, and jack took up contact and did everything beautifully, except eat grass. Well he probably ate grass beautifully, but he wasn't supposed to be munching and I had to develop a knack of getting his head up and moving him forward without getting the ropes stuck under his legs whilst standing behind him. Glad no one had a video camera!

Long reining on 22ft feather lines

In the afternoon we played at liberty. There is nothing like slipping off the ropes and knowing that your bond with your horse is so special he stays at your side. We are good at this at home and get very playful, but how about taking off the halter in a very large field with nine other horses and owners there?  I have to be honest jack is so nosey and social I figured that as soon as that halter came off he would be off to say hello to the other horses. What he did melted my heart. He stayed with me by my side. What an honour. Even with all those other distractions he stayed with me. He did some beautiful work in the round pen, and I could see no tension in him, working properly through his back and having amazing self carriage.

Circling close at Liberty

Stick to Me

Circling in the roundpen at Trot

Home time came all too quickly and I actually felt no worries about loading he was so chilled.   BUT as I approached the trailer a herd of cows appeared behind in the lane. Jack has never seen a cow before. He grew tall, snorted, grew taller. I tried to explain they were black and White horses, but no he wasn't having any of it. Then he had to move his feet. 100 miles an hour (ok, maybe 30 but you get the idea!), around me on my little rope. At one point he jerked my shoulder as he went to rear and he broke my rope. I quickly disengaged his hindquarters and got him to come to me, thank goodness for our relationship, and I tied him back on, then moved away quickly as he was not in the right frame of mind where you want to be standing right next to him. Thirty minutes later I got some element of calm. He was sweating tons and certainly not in the right frame of mind to get back in the trailer.

Terri came to my rescue.  I knew I would need help or have to get a tent out for the rest of the night.  My shoulder hurt, I was tired and the last thing I wanted to do was lose my patience after such a lovely day.  He was still hyped and took a while to get into the trailer, but she managed him very nicely.

Note to self - add to task list - introduce Jack to cows!

Lesson with Terri

Great lesson with Terri but every bone in my body aches.  She took one look at me today and said that she was going to be particular...with me!  We set off to get Jack more responsive to his porcupine.  He tends to brace and fight pressure and push against it, and this needs to change.  We started off with some simple pressure and release on his face, and chest, and moved on to the more difficult areas like his chin and ears.  He needs to learn to follow a feel.  We progressed quite well and I was given techniques to get him more responsive.  Terri also showed me how to start Jack off with getting the lead by the tail backwards by threading the rope through his legs and using the rope pressure of a yoyo on his nose, whilst pulling him back.  He got a bit confused, but after hanging in there we managed to get a step.....and quit.  Now time for him to think it over and digest his learning, so tomorrow we get two steps.

Moved on to improving my draw, by using a slide and grip technique with using a stick and string slapped hard on the ground to increase the pressure. Terri expected Jack to get 'emotional' and he didn't disappoint but wasn't unmanageable, though I did take a little sand skiing trip!  I found this quite difficult. Definitely got some improvements but I need to think about my body position and my timing is not great.  Another porcupine area was the figure 8, falling leaf and 's' pattern.  Terri gave me a technique of crossing my arms putting the stick under the rope to disengage the hindquarters, and then following the feel through and across. ......difficult to describe.  It was awkward at first, but once I got it, it was great and Jack responded well.  With the figure 8 I need to push Jack out wider on a circle so he has room to move, and push him in zone 1/2, not 4/5 like I was doing.  Then as he comes into his figure 8, I need to move directly backwards and get him to follow the feel through and take up any slack in the rope so I don't allow him to drift.  All complicated stuff in higher gaits!

Moving onto my freestyle, I had my first carrot stick ride.  It all went quite dandy until I upped it into trot and Jack started to want to come off the rail.  The stick, reins, horse, and speed all seemed too much and I got in a muddle, then Jack started to lose his confidence and got faster, and then I started to lose my confidence.  But, that aside it all was fine, and in the lesson I pushed myself.  I can now go back to my comfort zone, now the learning has taken place and practice and refine.

FUN IN THE SUN :0)

Had an absolutely lovely day.  Josette came to play with Jack and learn from a different horse.  Started off on the ground online and Jack was very attentive and relaxed from the start.  We played some circling game and yoyo.  Josette loved the way Jack asked questions all the time.

We then worked on maintain gait, maintain direction and look where you are going without being told.  Jack was a poppet.  No problems here so Josette popped him over a small jump.

We then moved on when Jack was ready.  I asked Josette if she would like to ride him, and was met with a huge grin and a 'Yes please'!!!!  I offered to ride him first  so she could see him.  Started as always with my pre-flight checks and lateral flexion to make sure my brakes were working properly.




Brakes were in good order, so we started with follow the rail.  Lovely and relaxed with no tension in the walk.  He was so chilled his nose was on the floor.  I know I want calm, but I would like awake!!

We then did a bit of trot work.  Good follow the rail which I was pleased with.  Jack didn't deviate, just needed minor corrections to keep his nose on the rail and reminders to maintain his direction.  He did however look a bit tense in trot today.  We have been getting some lovely impulsion and engagement from his hind, but I didn't feel any lift today at all.  That is why we have tomorrow..........

It was then Josette's turn to ride. She remembered that I was struggling to get my sideways in the saddle so she tried first while I watched from the ground and then helped me get the correct position to communicate what I wanted.  He was trying so hard to get what I was asking, and then when he got it, he kept offering it over and over.  Such a trooper!  We also tried it with the back up, and we experimented with the tummy crunch idea we had from the recent club DVD, and the result with Jack was instant.  He couldn't back up fast enough bless his little cotton socks!


Here is a very short video of my first sideways in the saddle !!

Have had an absolute brilliant afternoon, and really enjoyed sharing the learning with someone else.
I Love this picture of Josette and Jack having fun.  The smile and the ears say it all really!