Ive been really trying to fine tune our liberty circles the last few times Ive played with Munroe. I have to remind myself to keep my sessions on this short and sweet and when to end on a good note. Its a precarious balancing act of stopping at the right time to reward his tries, not getting greedy when hes doing well, and asking him to take a few extra steps, while doing what I ask correctly, before he stops on his own. I just introduced close range, slow loping a few sessions ago and Im pleased with the results so far. With liberty, your horse can decide to peace out at any point. One stride out of reach and you have no way to reinforce what youve asked for. I have to pick my spots and hope and balance my energy just so, so that he doesnt run away from asking to abruptly or just continue jogging because he really doesnt think Im going to follow through. This is where having a round pen would come in handy hahaha. For now, three to four strides in a row without breaking, with me deciding when he can jog again, is a pretty decent effort considering he can choose to walk (or lope slowly in his case) away from me and any pressure Im putting on him. Youll notice that our circles are more egg shaped and not quite circles. Notice how he moves away when he gets in front of me and gets in close when he comes behind me. Hes so sensitive (and smart) that he can feel my energy projected through my body language in front- hence why i look down, drop my shoulders, rest my leg and let my hands stay relaxed. I cant reach out and get him (or at least Im less likely to do so) while hes behind me, but I have, by times, reached out and poked him a little to encourage him to go when hes in front of me. If I have my stick in my hand, he moves away far enough that I cant get him with my stick. Genius horse, I tell ya.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 21:26:11 +0000
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