Conquering Demons In The Pursuit Of The Dragon

Where we've been

   Week 4 has been a fairly quiet week for Blazes Training. We went out only twice as for the majority of the week I spent half the day under my duvet hiding. From what exactly, im not entirely sure. But what I am sure about is that the idea of pulling back my duvet and exposing myself to the world and facing the day felt like the most scariest thing I could do. Seeking refuge in the darkness hoping that the world would pass right by me. The more I thought about all there was to be done, the more I buried my head under my pillows, shut my eyes, and wished that the darkness would consume me. Wholly.  Swallow me up. Snatch me from this life. Wanting everything to stop. End.

Where we're going

   The Right Brain Introvert does not respond well to pressure. To the Right Brain Introvert everything feels like pressure, and it makes us freeze. The shutters come down. The only way to escape it is to hide. Hiding only makes things worse and so the pressure increase, so we hide deeper, which makes things worse, and so the pressure increases and so we hide deeper. Until you no longer even dare to look beyond your own eyelids! Or in my case your duvet. Introversion is a difficult emotion/ state of mind to explain. Probably because anyone introverted enough to empathise is also too frozen to put into words how it is they re feeling, or perhaps a better way to explain it would be to say that in actual fact, introversion is an absence, an absence of thought, feelings. Your empty. Just a shell.

Entering the woods

   Without divulging too much, and talking about inappropriate things, personal things, I guess you could say my little Right Brain Introverted brain is riddled with Demons. The way my brain is wired, memories that haunt and taunt, people and events that have warped my perspectives. This isnt a sympathy seeking "Oh woe is me!" post. It just sometimes gets really hard to stay on top of things, deal with things, function like a normal human being when your own mind can be such a self destructive place to live!

   Despite my little demons running rampant in my old sweed this week Blaze went out twice and she did really great. We went along the road all the way up the long steep hill to the pic nic area and she managed to trot more of it than she did last time. Progress. This is a ride that I started in week 2 and blogged about, I had planned to do once a week but so far have only managed it twice.
   The second ride we did we did half of the same hill, but instead of carrying up to the pic nic area we turned into the woods and did a big figure 8 up some longer hills. Lots of trotting, really getting stuck into this "next gear' we've been working in the past week. She has been doing really great and hasnt struggled with the new pace at all. Every ride we push just that little teeny bit more, just those extra few strides and she loves it. She is really enjoying being back in training. I had left it late in the day to take Blaze out but was determined to get her out nonetheless so at 6 pm when it was raining, miserable and getting dark me and Blaze were out in the woods, training, and I felt right at home.
   Weeks like this it might be really hard to stand tall, stop hiding, get up, get out and do what needs to be done. Im not going to lie, the horses and training can be more of a reason to hide sometimes but when im in that saddle everything seems free and clear.

"Horse let us borrow freedom and lend us the wings we lack"

6pm. Its getting dark. It raining. Its miserable and we're out training!

 

Training Week 3: Working The Muscels

   Me and Blaze went out 3 times last week as once again I was quite busy with the other horses too. I was contemplating registering Shinobi and Piggles with EGB this year too and im glad i decided not to as putting 3 horses into training i think would be near impossible! At least not till the clocks change and I can do 8,9,10 hour days with them again! Bring on summer!
   We have been focusing on her muscles. Stretching the ones she damaged in the accident and working her heart rate.

   We've been upping the anti and whilst still doing very hilly rides we're also doing alot of trotting and cantering, so much so that Blaze is still out of puff by the time we get home so we're having to play some circling game at the walk before we call it a day so as to help bring her heart rate down and just to insure that she has 'warmed down' properly. This is something im alot more vigilant about this time round seeing as Blaze is now 19 years old and not 11!
   She is doing so well. Its not until we ride out with my friend and her fitter Arabs that I realise just how amazing Blaze is a hill work. Whilst my friends Arab is trying to run up them, building as much momentum as possible to help propel him forwards Blaze sticks to a walk, her head down and her hind powering her forwards. When we get to the top, by comparison, she is barely puffing, nostrils barely flared and less a minuet later she is ready to trot off again. Whilst we cant maintain a trot for very long up hills at the moment Blaze has got a really good recovery rate, she has always had a good recovery rate. Her heart rate returns to her resting pulse rather quickly which I think is testament to her over all fitness even when out of work, Blaze lives out 24/7 and I strongly believe that horses who live like this remain fitter than horses who are stabled.

   We have also been focusing on suppleness also. Even before we had the car accident Blaze was always described as "wooden" by my instructor and friends who I let ride her (Yes, once upon a time I had an instructor, we're talking about 9 years ago though!) but Blaze's inability to bend and flex became 10 times worse after the care crash.
   In the accident she ripped open her stifle on the left and sustained major soft tissue damage down her neck, forequarter and back on the right from the impact of the trailer flipping and Piggles landing on top of her. The surgeons at Tewkesbury Three Counties Hospital said that the soft tissue damage Blaze had sustained was by far more severe than her stifle wound.

   Blaze had physio every 4 weeks for 12 months after the accident and was treated by the top psychotherapist in the area. It was a very difficult task to help loosen her muscles, she was being treated with all sorts of techniques and brand new gismo and gadgets over her 2 hour sessions. Whilst she would have improved by the end of her session no matter how many times we did her stretches and pole work exercises by the next session she had always tightened up again. She has always suffered tightness ever since. Its like her neck, shoulder and rib cage are one solid piece of wood. Its hard to flex and bend them and to get them to move separately. Whilst she has never been in any pain, she has sailed up and over mountains since the accident, and still maintains her super amazing, one of a kind iconic super extended trot Iv known that suppleness has never been Blazes strong point.


   Now that she is back in training and is doing more I feel it is important that this be something we work on, helping her to use her body more effectively, and be as comfortable as possible, so prior to our rides we have been focusing our online sessions on suppleness.  We have started with the basics which she has struggled with but we are definitely making improvements and it is definitely setting us up for some nice rides. So far we have been focusing on;

• Lateral flexion. Bring him nose round to her shoulder, then her side and working towards her flanks. Her left side is by far her worse side, I imagine because her right side is the side that is tight and cant stretch to allow her to bend to the left.
• Disengaging the hind whilst holding lateral flexion. Once her lateral flexion improved i asked her to hold is and then swing her hindquarters away. Blaze initially found this very hard. She wanted to straighten out her body and then side step her bum around. This is what i meant when i said it like the first half of her body is one solid piece and doesnt like to move separately. She has made some lovely progress with this and it is becoming less and less of an issue.
• Bending on the circle. Blaze is always very straight on the circle. So much so that on a shorter line her circles are circles at all, they are more ovals and when it comes to the archs she has to slow down, often walking 'the corner' then trotting a straight line. So every time she straightens out the the circle iv tipped her nose towards me and pushed her ribs away from me so as to create a bend/ arch in her body, trying to get some bend and suppleness in her ribcage. It took a while for her to understand what I was asking but we got there and she was doing some nice stuff. Definite improvement
• Sideways whilst bending. Iv also been asking her to bend through her ribcage by pushing her sideways. Similar to what i ask on the circle i tip her nose towards me and push her ribs out, asking her sidepass.
• Forequarter yields. We have also been doing lots of forequarter yields too, trying to get her to really cross her legs over and stretch out hoping it will help to loosen off her shoulders too. 

If anyone else has some online exercises (by online I mean on-a-line, with a halter and lead rope. Its come to my attention that when I say online people think I mean something to do with the Internet!)  that think might help Blaze to loosen up and stretch id like to hear them, thank you.

Training Day 18: We're Official EGB Horse and Rider!

I jumped off for the down hill bits. Some we ran down together

   A faster ride than normal today. Now that Blaze is back in work she is very happy and subsquently full of beans, so we upped the anti today. We did walk trot and canter. Choosing long, but slightly gentelr hills to trot and canter up and along the top as well as a couple of steep ones at a walk.

   We did it completely bareback again and it look a little longer thani would have liked for me to 'go with the flow.' To start off with I kept coming off my balance point and found that i was having to put alot of energy and focus into my fluidity. Usualy my body flexes and moves with the horse and my balance is bang on, always moving with the horse in what ever direction and at what ever speed they do with ease. It's all very natural, I dont think about it, i just do it and we feel like one being. Its been a LONG while since iv ridden Blaze bareback and so this wasnt the case to start off with but my half way found i was trotting down hills, cantering along tracks and walking up near vertical slopes WITH Blaze easey peasey. Just by lifting my focus point up I felt myself come back on my balance point, and when I truely was sat back on my balance point my lower back rounded (not hollowed) my seat was anchored onto Blazes back, my hips and lower back flexed and moved with Blaze, my legs stopped bracing and the tension in my upper body disappeared. Once again using what the Parelli programme has taught me and using it as a set of diagnostics to work out which part of the equation was broken and needed fixing. Focus!

"Focus gives your Feel. Focus and Feel give you Timing. Focus, Feel and Timing give you Balance." -Pat Parelli

   When we got back Blaze was still blowing so we played some circling game at the walk when we got back to help bring her heart rate down before we called it a day.

EGB Membershhip Stuff!

   The ground it firming up nicely and so come first March i'll be able to put into place a proper training resigm! Including Hill work (like we've been doing,) Fartlek Training, Freestyle and Finesse (Schooling for those not Parelli,) Online play, and some long trail rides, a few hours long, that will incorporate all sorts of terrian and all 3 gaits, like a mini EBG Pleasure Ride. Let just hope that we're not due another 40 days and 40 nights of rain!!!

All of mine and Blazes Endurance GB registration stuff has come through the post so once again we are OFFICIAL members of Endurance Great Britian and the Offa's Dyke EGB group which is our local Endurance GB group that covers Hereforshire, Monmouthshire and Gwent.

   Me and Blaze have now officialy been upgraded to 'Open' (Intermediate) Level, its printed on all our registration stuff, our membership cards and our master card which is so exciting! Blaze's medal should be arriving in the post soon!

   Iv had flick through the Offa's Dyke Rossette and Trophey catagories and me and Blaze qualify to go for a couple of those too, so if we work hard and fingers crossed we might win one or two of those too!

         

Also I need to contact The Offa's Dyke group secretary as I want to know if me and Blaze are still entiteled to the rosettes that we were eilagible for when we competed in 2005. These being the Pandora Rosette- Presented to horses completeing atleast 240, 320 or 400 km in the currant season. Blaze clocked up 248 kms in just Competetive Rides alone, thats excluding Pleasure Rides! And the Junior Rosette- Riders aged 15 completeing any 3 EGB Rides. Well I was 12 and completed 7 EGB Competetive rides and many more EBG Pleasure Rides!

   

Training Day 16. Ninja Move 101!

   Blaze has had a pretty easy week this week, only having being worked Tuesday and today (Sunday), partly because iv been busy with the other ponies (Me and Piggles went to our first Horse Agility Event and came first with 85 out of 90!) and my health, having Raynauds Disease makes yard life pretty painful in the cold!

   A bit of a slow one today. We just sat back and enjoyed the scenery. After having a such a manic Weekend (Horse sitting Friday, worked all Friday night, did Horse Agility on 3 hours sleep Saturday, then worked all Saturday night!) I didnt have a very "Go, Go, Go, Go Training" attitude. It was all walk with minimal hill work.

   

   Im sure you have heard me sing and dance about how wonderful Blaze is. How safe, calm, confident, and genuine she is. This is true. But. She also has a little mischievous streak. This little mischievous streak is something I love love LOVE about Blaze because it's what prevents her from being so robotic. It wonderful to have such a safe and genuine pony but I dont want a robot, I want to ride the free thinking, individual, living being Blaze is, with a heart and a mind and idea's and opinions and feelings. Not a robot. Blaze can be mischievous without being dangerous, its a fun and fantastic mix. She has this very distinct and iconic look about her face, she rounds her neck, tucks her nose in and gets a special glint in her eye when she is about to do something naughty, its a side to her that i have seen less and less of over the years, unfortunately. 

Cheeky Pony!

   Well, being back in work seems to have lit that cheeky spark because i saw it Friday when me and Blaze were helping a young girl with her cantering. I asked for the transitions and instead of the nice controlled transition she normally does, she had that look and zipped into it, unseating the young rider. Again not dangerous, she didnt lower her head or drop a shoulder or run off, and when i asked for her to come back to a trot she responded immediately. She just had a little sass about it!

   On the way home we had fallen a way behind and so i asked Blaze to trot and catch up. The cheeky little monster stirred and we had a very zippy walk to canter transition which would have been lovely if it meant i didnt have to deploy ninja move 101 and lean forward and slide to the side (Im riding bareback) at the canter so as to avoid the low hanging tree! Once i had composed myself i asked her to stop and she did so we did that bit again, only a little more controlled! Cheeky Pone!!!

   

Training Day 11

The view from the start of our ride today

   Not much to report other than a really lovely day with the golden girly today. Played online for about half an our, encouraging yet more mental engagement, getting her to ask questions and share idea's. We started off with a game of "Touch It" again, developing it further and upping the difficulty using a pole on the ground instead of big obstacles. The idea being that we'd be building on our level of communication in order to get the message across. The message being that I wanted her to put effort into putting her nose to the floor. The next few minuets were all about feel.
 

Feel is something that my introverts have taught me so much about. I like to think I have a really intuative sense of feel. The horses have taught me to feel for the intention. Like Pat says, in order for a message to reach a horses feet there is a process, first of all the mind is moved, then the weight and then the feet, and i like to think that i can feel when the mind is moving, when the horse is thinking, before that thought has become an action. Timing the application of pressure and the release of that pressure just right so as to communicate as clearly as possible. Also applying the right amount of pressure, the lift of a finger, holding tension in the upper body, pivoting away, adjusting every part of my body as subtlely as possible. If im too loud in my body then Blaze isnt going to take any notice of the small obstacle lying on the floor, she'll be focused on me and the pole.
 

 Another great view!

   From an outside perspective it probably didnt look like we were doing much. Extending a finger to encourage Blaze to try, then leaning back into neutral when she drops her head. Cocking my head towards her hind to envoke some curiosity and question and then directing her focus with a shift of weight towards the pole, not once moving my feet (thats too much!). This is why i LOVE introverts! They are the best teachers when it comes to teaching you all about feel, timing, energy and release. They teach you just how quiet you can be and still be affective.
   Blaze licked her lips and asked questions and then 'Touch Dooooown!" she lowered her head all the way to the floor, touched the pole with her nose and then looked at me "Was that what you wanted?"
   I invited her in, we had a really lovely draw with both eyes and cuddled in the sun for a while.

We've just walked up here

Now trotting across the top

   Next we played around with the circling game, asking her to do less that what she was offering. Blows her mind when I sent her out and when she walks off dragging her feet at a snails pace a shout "Woah there Blaze, slow down!" and ask her to go even slower! Like a child that does nt like to do as they are told she starts to speed up. Only slightly, we're not breaking the speed barrier here but its a start. Then i ask for even less, less still, just a couple of steps is enough and soon enough everytime I stopped her Blaze wanted to take more steps!
   New game, "Tag!" Tag looks like this;

"Id moove oooooooout the waaaaaaaay if i weeeere yooooooooooooooooou...... TAG! Told you!"

Headin home. Hill number 1.

Headin home. Hill 1

   I ask her to circle with a long phase one, giving her plenty of opportunity to depart from the spot of ground she is stood on, the part of ground i am going to tag with my stick and string. If she moves she does nt get tagged, she wins the game. If she does nt move she ends up getting tagged and she looses the game. So i pointed, my energy intense and body language full of tension, almost like in slow motion and stepped forward and swung my stick and string at the spot of ground under her tail, slow motion but with lots of intention and lots of intesity. TAG! She didnt move out the way and she got tagged. Blaze tossed her head, bucked and cantered off and then bucked some more, I disengaged her and she ground to halt and looked at me like "Wow! Where did that come from?"(That would be another question) She paid more attention to me next time, i pointed then took a step towards her, tagged the ground and.... she had already moved out the way. I disenaged her again and brought her in for cuddles, a reward for winning the game. I sent her back out and this time as soon as i pointed she trotted off. Stop. She is now putting more effort into 'forwards' and so i want to reward her for that. If i ask too much for forwards she is going to get demotivated and sour because trotting mindless circles is b-o-r-i-n-g!

Heading home. Hill 2

   So during our little online play we had lots of questions being asked and more licking and chewing. Im definitely starting to get through to her mind more and more each day and we're starting to build on communication. We had a lovely draw and on several occasions she wanted to come in and stay with me.

   Tacking up was great. She didnt put her ears back, swish her tail, or walk off. She stood still, at liberty and checked in with me everytime i offered her my hand. By 'checking in with me' i mean she reach out and put effort in to touching my hand. Just like how horses stretch out their noses to touch an unfamiliar horse, kind of like a hello. When working with introverts it can be very easy for them to tune out everything that is happening around them and ignore it. I dont want Blaze to be tuned out, i want her to be present. They can tune out for a couple of reason, firstly because they are bored bored bored and secondly because they are unconfident. They are afraid and essentialy hiding within themselves, like a shrinking violet. I wanted to check that the reason why Blaze was standing still and letting me tack her up wasnt becuase she had gone Right Brain Introvert, frozen to the spot "Im just going to block you out and pretend this isnt happening." If she had gone RBI then her mind would be frozen in fear and she would nt be able to check in with me.
   She sniffed the saddle pad and the roller (i rode bareback today) and stood happily whilst i tacked her up. Such a great improvement on the last few days and off we went!

At the top of hill 2

   We pushed a little harder today and dug a little deeper. I asked her to walk up a slope and then straight away trot across the top. On the way home we did 3 steep slopes in quick succession. The first was a new hill we've not done before, it was uber steep, i asked her zig zag across it instead. The second was just as steep as the first but we had to go straight up and at one point she almost came to a stop and really had to dig down deep and push off those hind quarters to propell herself forwards and up. The third and final slope was really short but the terrian is tough, its rocky and slippy and she was still huffing and puffing from the the last two slopes.
   When we got home she was blowing and panting like a good 'un so i hopped off and had to walk her around the field for a while untill her breathing and heat rate had returned to normal.

 

Heading home. Hill 3

   She was so enthusiasic on this ride, really enjoying herself. Its amazing the effect working with a horse's mind can have on a horses body. Im really noticing the benifits our online sessions are having on our ridden work. This natural horsemanship stuff really works!

Training Days 8 and 10: The Bigger Picture

On Saturday me and Blaze rode out with a friend and took it nice and easy. We went for a nice stroll around the block to round off the week, nothing strenuous, just enjoying the sun, clear sky and beautiful scenery. So not much to report for Day 8.

Blaze enjoying training today

   Day 10. Me and Blaze spent a couple of hours together this morning and it hit me just what this journey will mean for mine and Blazes relationship. I began to understand a whole new level to the saying "Foundation before specialisation." Parelli is a foundation programme. Over the years iv taken the boys through the Parelli levels, because they had behavioural issues they were my priority. Blaze is always so calm, confident and obedient I did very little Online work with her, she was a happy hacker with no issues so we just used to cuddle and go for lovely hacks. When she was doing so little, when we had no focus this was enough. Blaze knows the 7 games and a few patterns. In her older age she can sometimes get a little stiff in the winter when she has nt done much so I'll pop her online and use the games to do a few patterns to help warm her up before riding and and Iv always used approaches Parelli has taught me when I interact with her or if she has had difficulty with something etc but thats about it. We have never really played, only occasionally. 

   We have wonderful moments together. Its not like we have no relationship at all, in fact we have a very good relationship. She nickers to me when I call her and she comes and buries her head in my chest then drops it between my knees so as I can rub her ears in that very special way she likes best, she often drifts off pressed up against me in my arms, but there has always been something missing. Something that I have with the boys that I dont have with Blaze and this is highlighted now that we have a focus, a goal. Now that we have a specialisation im beginning to see the holes in our foundation. These holes have nothing to do with confidence, calmness, trust or obedience but everything to do with connection and communication. Conversation. A conversation is two or more individuals sharing an idea and Blaze is incredibly difficult to engage with mentally and share ideas with. REALLY hard! She'll do as you ask without asking questions. I dont want this! I want her to engage with me, ask me questions, offer me answers, show me what she is thinking, share her ideas. 

View on today's ride

   Its like what I said in my last post, I promise to nurture the mental and emotional, not just the physical. This journey is really going to cause me to build on the mental and the emotional, because if I dont then training is going to soon be all about doing it TO her and not FOR and WITH her. I want to be more than a horse and rider, more than I ask and she does. I want to be 6 feet, 2 minds and 1 heart. I want unity, and this journey is going to cause me to make sure that happens. If i dont put in the time and effort to build on the mental and emotional side of our relationship then it'll be a hollow victory and I will have achieved nothing more than a pretty ribbon.

   I got out my halter and Blaze swished her tail, had a sour look about her face and walked off into the next stable. Definitely sharing her feeling about going out today! The past two days I have taken the time it takes when it comes to tacking her up, rather than "On it pops and off we go!" (as explained in my last post) and it has made a small difference, but like Blaze pointed out today, its going to take more than that to fill in the holes in out foundation. Message received! The ground is getting firmer now so Im able to play with the horses online a little before we go out. Yes! I LOVE playing online, i find its the easiest savvy to use to reveal your horse, share ideas and get a conversation going. 

   Armed with my trusty carrot stick me and Blaze went out into the field to try and encourage a bit of mental engagement. To open up some communication between us both before we head out for more training. "Touch It" has always been a great game to play to help get a horse thinking and asking questions and it was the game that caused Blaze to ask me her first question when we had our first play session together. For those of you unfamiliar with the game "Touch It" the aim is to build enough curiosity in your horse to get them to firstly touch an obstacle with their nose, and then with their feet. Its a great confidence builder for the more spooky horse but its also a great game for getting those thinking introverts asking you some questions "What do you want me to do with this?".

   We played with this for a couple of minuets. She did great, touching it with her nose and her feet, she asked me a question and we had a couple of really nice draws. She came in giving me both eyes and she was enthusiastic (as enthused as Introverts get!) about coming in to rest with me. She pressed her head into my chest and I ran my fingers over her eyes, her head dropped more and we stayed like this for a while.

We go along the field, into the dark green bit of wood, out the other side and into the woods at the very back!

   Next I wanted to see if I could get her to want ('want' being the key word) to move around a little more, if i could inspire a little more enthusiasm and motivation. Back ups were really nice. I had to swap around with my phases a lot, as one minuet she was focused on me and was light, the next she was looking at something else, distracted. The next moment she had her 'introverted thinking face' on, then she was focused, then she was thinking, then she was playing her own game of "I can out persist you." Believe it or not this was great! The aim of the game was to inspire motivation and yes as of yet we had zilch BUT I was starting to turn the cogs in her brain, I was sneakily beginning to evoke some mental engagement! And that is the bigger picture here.

   We started playing the circling game and after less than half a circle she came in and lowered her head as if to say "face rubs please." This was a nice 'relationship point.' She came in wanting to be with me so i took it, adding to an imaginary 'relationship score board' enough points and we reach the goal of unity!

   After a bit of affection I backed her up and resent her, we managed a little more than half a circle when she came in, head lowered, "face rub please." A quick rub as if to say "thanks girly" I resent her again, and again she came in uninvited only this time I resent her out on the circle immediately. "Thank you girly but thats not what I asked." Being firm but fair, the attributes of a leader. 

Heading through the trees and up the hill into the woods behind

   When she got to the tyre i asked her to stop, and of course she obliged. Nothing, but she did lick her lip (this meaning she's thinking!). I asked her to start circling and when she got to the tyre i asked her to stop, she looked at me! She asked me a question "What do you want me to do now?" Come here, come here, come in, come in, good girl! I rewarded with more head rubs and it looked like she was drifting off to sleep. 

   I backed her up and sent her out on the circle again, when she got to the tyre i asked her stop again, she did, looked at me and then carried on walking. Great! We've got the beginning of a conversation, she asked me a question and then offered her own idea, and her own idea just so happened to be forwards!
   Okay, yes, we barely scratched the surface when it comes to horse psychology and all that it entails, we uncovered very little and only got Blaze to engage a little but it was a start and its not so much about the quantity as it is the quality. Blaze was licking her lips the whole time, there was loads of licking and chewing, you could see her thinking, she asked questions and she really wanted to be with me. That ticks all the right boxes. There will be days when we have solely online sessions and delve deeper and bring out more and there will be sessions like this, when we do just enough to set us up for a great ride.

Half way up the hill. Blaze trots all the way up

    Our ride was great. She was really enjoying herself, striding out, forward going. A happy pony. We did a big long loop today we call "The Checkly Ride" we go through the woods and out the other side into Checkly village and then back into and through the woods, finishing with an open up hill field that you just feel really rude for not galloping across. A lovely ride that includes, steep climbs, a water crossing, and open fields. Blaze was great, she trotted up a long steep hill, she wanted to go much faster, she really wanted to open out into one of her super extended trots but she needed to pace herself so we maintained a good working trot, got the top and then she galloped across the field. It wasnt my idea, she really really really wanted to go and we've not had a gallop for months and months so i certainly wasnt going to say no!

   I am also really impressed with Blazes feet. Blaze is barefoot and with the wet weather I thought Blazes feet might be a little on the softer side and so struggle with the stony tracks in the woods. Hell no! She's just eating up the  
ground, striding over it like its nothing. Wahoo! No shoes, no problem!

Galloped up hear.

   It felt so great, rushing through the field at such speed. She has such power in her hind quarters she really propels you forward. My golden girly.

   In regards to working on exercising her mind with the online work its become apparent to me how much i struggle to assign Blaze to a horseinality. Blaze is so special, one of a kind, its a fact, how can i categorise her as a Left Brain Introvert or a Right Brain Extrovert, a Left Brain Extrovert or a Right Brain Introvert like any other normal horse when she is so special?! She ought to have a horseinality quadrant all to herself, a quadrant thats one of a kind. Because i refuse to identify her as something as normal as a Left Brain Introvert when it comes down to it i let her get away with an awful lot because she is Blaze, she is special, she is perfect, she is beyond the realms of any Earthly approach to horsemanship. Its like i almost feel that admitting she is a Left Brain Introvert somehow takes away that mysterious perfect essence that makes her so special.

Blaze trotting over the stones easy

   She does not need correcting, I ought to just be thankful that she allows me to ride her and be with her. Its almost like she is my leader, she looks after me. Blaze knows best. Yes, you read that right. That is how highly i think of Blaze and that is just how special she is. Everyone who has met her has agreed that there is something very special, very safe about Blaze. They have never met a horse like Blaze. If anyone has ever read Mark Rashid's Book "The Heart Of Passive Leadership" then Blaze is a Passive Leader, the herd elects her as their leader because she is so safe and calm and wise and peaceful NOT because she is dominant. Blaze does nt need correcting because Blaze knows best. How do you go about working with a horse like that!?
   Despite just how special Blaze is i am going to try and not let that cloud my vision and manipulate our online sessions and i am going to identify her as one of the horseinalities and i am going to play with the horse thats shows up and use my savvy to best address that horseinality. 

Training Day 6: Physical Mental and Emotional Fitness. Finding A Balance

   Blaze had some strong words for me today. I grabbed my halter and with that she dove out of her stable on to the yard, when I followed she dove back into the stable. I went back in and she ran straight back out, tail swishing, not a happy pony. A very clear message. I was pretty disheartened, its never nice when your horse walks away from you and the halter instead of coming over and sticking their nose in it, but one of the biggest things Natural Horsemanship has taught me is never to take things personally. Blaze wasnt being personal, just honest, and as her partner I needed to listen.

   You see, Blaze is an introvert. She's a thinker and takes long pauses. Her actions are thought out and meticulous. She is low key. Its all about the mind. Her mind leads and the feet follow. If there is one thing Introverts hate it is being hurried and their human being direct line. I admit to being guilty on both counts this past week!

   I think im a mixture of excited and worried. Excited to be training and hitting the endurance scene once again but worried that Blaze wont be fit enough. This concoction of excitement and worry has channelled itself into some pretty direct line thinking. Direct line thinking is the predators prerogative, not that of the partners, nor the natural horseman, thank you Blaze for reminding me!

   When its been a training day, iv greeted Blaze in the usual way "Hello beautiful" and as always she replies with a nicker, I give her a rub and kiss and then the direct line monster takes over 

Mine and Blazes "training arena." Definitely not stuck for hills to climb!

"Training GO GO GO GO!" 

On with the halter

On with the numnah

On with the saddle 

"C'mon beauty time to go" 

Off into the woods, no time to stop and take in the scenery,

Standing around wont get you fit,

Lets go!

   Iv not been nagging her to go faster or pushing her to do more, about 95% of what we have done this week has all been done at the walk, and iv mentioned lots in my previous posts the importance of taking things slow. I guess you could say physically we've been on the same wave length but mentally, im going 100 times faster, thinking "Lets go go go!" What Blaze practically shouted at me today was 

"Think about the silence between the notes!!!"

   

...So...

Starting a climb through the woods

   I dropped my halter on the floor, and as soon as i did she let me stand with her. I draped my arm over her back and stood with her a while, then I stroked her face in the way she likes best and her eyes began to close and lip began to droop. I ran my fingers over her ear, something else she really likes and her head dropped that little bit more. I went and grabbed her rhythm beads and plaited them into her mane, as gently as possible trying not to disturb her, then returned to rubbing her forehead. Then i went back to the halter, I stood at her side and I asked, not told. I held it out, she paused, then gave me her nose and i popped it on. I gave her some more affection and she went back to sleepy mode. I grabbed her gel pad and again, i asked, she brought her nose round and gave it a sniff then went back to sleep as if to say "Yeah, thats okay" we repeated with the numnah and the saddle, asking every time. Not only is it polite to ask permission from your horse if you can put the saddle on their back but it also encourages some engagement and interaction, it instigates a conversation. A conversation is two or more individuals sharing an idea and it takes two to be a team, and a team is what we are. 

Blaze willingly followed me out of the stable and into the woods. I mounted and allowed her take a few cheeky mouthfuls of brambles before I asked her to set off. She yielded to my suggestion in a way that seemed like she had said "Yes!" before i had even asked the question and we enjoyed a lovely ride.    

   When I mount I hold fire for a bit, allowing her the chance to rebalance now she is carrying my weight, to have a look around to see whats what and to just enjoy a moment together. My horses are not motor bikes and I hate it when people hop on their horses and go. This week has been no different. When I asked to her walk on, she has only taken a step or two before wanting to stop and think, normally id take it, let her look and think (remember Blaze is an introvert. She's all about the thinking! She needs to think before she can move her feet) but this week iv insisted that she get going and i think this is where we have ran into some trouble. I spent about 20 minuets tacking her up today. Approach and retreat, taking the time she needed and it set us up for success and we had a great ride. 

   Iv been so obsessed with the physical that iv completely forgot about the mental and emotional!!! How dumb can I be! Thank you Blaze for being so patient and forgiving and for being such a wonderful and effective teacher.

   I promise to maintain a balance between physical, mental and emotional fitness.