Understanding (most of the time)

Well Spirit and I are still doing well. We still get about four or five hours in a week. We were doing so good before the Thanksgiving Break. The things that I was really excited for was Spirit was reading my energy level a lot better, I was focusing my energy into always positive direct energy, I was getting better at helping him familiarize himself with new things, he stands still a little better for me to get on, and he was maintaining a trot for at least three laps. We were working on a lope before I left for the Thanksgiving break and he would at least do it without me using a savvy string. Now that I am back I went to work with him today we got almost an hour in. There was Hillary, Carlee, and myself out there. I thought that it would be faster for me to just catch him and work either on the ground or ride bare back. Also they were working with a bob cat in the arena so I thought Spirit would be a little difficult to engage. So I went and go him from his pen and when I came up to his pen he was standing by the gate waiting for me. I love those moments when he wants to go play it makes me feel so good. Then we went into the big scary green barn, well that's the way Spirit sees it.
      Oh did I mention that Spirit is freaked out about the barn, but I think I figured out a way to help him. Spirit loves to eat I have found because on the way from and back to his pen he is always trying to stop and eat the hay laying on the ground. So I decided that if I pick some up and take it into the green barn with us then feed him it once he is tied up. By doing this I am hoping the green barn will start registering in his head as somewhere where he can get a treat. Thus far it has helped. He is not completely calm yet unless there are other horses with him but at least he hasn't freaked out again.
          So back to today. Well I just had a halter on him and we went into the arena. I went in not paying attention to the workers and bobcat and just started to ask him to do things. He was doing amazing and was not scared in the least from the workers, noise, or open door. So, I jumped on bareback and started to ask him to go around barrels and poles. He had a fabulous bend and was so so so soft around the barrels. Well, okay he wasn't perfect around it but he was softer than he has ever been. I tried to focus a lot on being precise in my ques and using my feet and hands correctly. Then we went up and down the bridge and worked on the front yields and back yields. He does them so well with just a little bit of hands and kinda a lot of leg. I think there is potential for both of us in that area. Then we worked on trotting which was harder for me because I am not that good bareback. Spirit seemed to be okay with it and kept a nice gait. I figured since he was doing so awesome that I would try a lope. The first couple of times I asked he did not want to do it. Then he did for a little distance. So, we just repeated this pattern until he was tired. We rested a while and then tried again. He seemed a lot more willing to pick up gaits. Probably because he wanted to go back to his pen and be done. He volunteered a trot and went for a longer time in a lope. I was so excited and it was great for me because I practiced sitting the lope since he has a weird one for me to stay with. So all in all today was another successful day and bareback was scary sometimes but a good choice for both of us.

 Spirit can be the funniest of horses. As you can see in these pictures that were taken a couple of weeks ago he is completely relaxed and almost lazy like. Although this last week as I have been taking him outside, down to the river, and then just in the barn by himself he is so very Spirited. For the longest time I wondered why they named him Spirit and now I am starting to find out why. He can be a very lazy horse and usually doesn't care about much but the times when he gets "spirited" is when he is scared. I have usually been able to work with Spirit in the class time til about 11:30 and then I was able to squeeze in an hour or two on my own time. I found that it was not enough and so I rearranged my work schedule and then one of my block classes finished so I have been able to work with Spirit during class times and then about an hour or so almost every day. By doing this I have been able to try a lot of new things with Spirit and have found the times when he is scared so becomes very dominant and spirited. The times when he is scared is when he is left alone without any other horses around or even when I am not there. He also doesn't care for when we go next to tall things or things that he has never seen. When he is scared by himself he jumps around, moves a lot, snorts, has really tense muscles, and even strikes sometimes.

 

Today he was showing those scared signs to me when we were saddling up in the barn. We were the only ones in the barn because everyone else was already riding in the arena and Spirit did not like it. I tried to stay calm myself and be the leader but I found it hard to be so when he started to pull back really hard and then jump forward and start jumping everywhere. I know I am suppose to be the leader at that time but for me I felt like it was not safe so I stepped back and then when he had somewhat finished his fit I stepped in because I felt like it was safer. Then when he started to be dominant towards me I became big and didn't let him step over me. I am not for sure if that is how I was suppose to handle the situation but in the end I was able to finish saddling him and walk him into the arena. Once we were in there I decided that the best way to have a good experience for both of us was to just do ground work. So we did, and I tried to engage him but going around poles and doing a squeeze game and directing his anxious movements into circles or somewhere else. It seemed to work for the most part and I thought at least he never tried to get away from me or completely forget that I was there. So I considered it a somewhat successful day. On a happier note he has been doing great this past week outside. He is still scared of things but not to where he feels he needs to defend himself. That scared I have figured out how to work through and then he is fine once he has seen it and done the squeeze game. When we were in the outside arena on Thursday he was so willing to trot and even go into a lollop and maintain it for a while. I need to work on being a better rider though, because his lollop is one that I have never felt before where his back end goes up more than his front. Then when we went down to the river he listened to me so well and trotted well for me down there. When he did get spooked he was never to where he wouldn't listen to me or listen to a one rein stop. I love the way he listens to me body and I can cue him into a trot or slow him down. So I think now I need to work on being a better leader when he is so scared he feels he needs to defend himself. So we will see what happens.