Today I met with Sylvia at the livestock center and learned a lot about what I need to do with Spirit. I wonder if we are suppose to be perfect at this whole training thing or if we are allowed to digress as much as our horses tend to? Because, seriously from watching Sylvia I feel like I have digressed from what I once knew or for some reason I can't put two and two together anymore regarding reading a horse. Sylvia's overall advise was to get much much bigger faster and while riding remember my releases. I should know that duh! Its so nice to have someone watch you because you get so sucked up in your problems and what your horse is doing that it is hard to see the big picture. Maybe that is why dancer always dance in front of big mirrors so that they can see what they are doing and then have instructors. Now for the more specific instructions from Sylvia regarding the problems I was having. First off to keep Spirit going I need to go back a little in my instruction and reward little movements in the right direction. For instance he always wants to go to the other horses because he doesn't feel comfortable or interested in going to the other side of the arena. So where I have just been kicking and kicking what I should do is kick until he takes a step forward whether it be to turn the other way, it doesn't matter. Then just keep asking for little things and rewarding so eventually I can ask him to move in a forward direction and it won't seem like I am a mean person asking him to go work. Then with the lope I should expect him to be able to lope two circles but again start out with just asking him to lope. Next, I need to make sure I only ask when he has messed up not when I think he is about to mess up.
See all of these things I knew before but for some silly reason I have forgotten to apply them now. Ah, I frustrate myself so much!!! All in all Spirit did really good today as Sylvia rode him and I learned/ was reminded a lot.
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