jolly ball beatdown

What a seriously fabulous day at the barn! Except for maybe the Jolly Ball beatdown. But I can look past that in light of how great today was.

I did my usual spiral lunging with Shyloh. She looked better to me and was really forward. No problems there. But the best part. . .when I ask Shy to stop she normal turns in to me. The other day she took a step forward to me, but stepped on the lunge line and stopped herself. Today, she walked all the way in to me! She has never done that before! And it wasn't a fluke, she did this more than once. 

I think we have reached another new level in our relationship. The last significant level up was in December of last year. . .almost a whole year! Now, Shy is letting me catch her in the pasture without treats (as long as she was not just let out) and it just seems we have morphed into something new and better. 

We lunged, mostly at a trot in both directions. I used the timer feature on my phone to time us, just to make sure I am lunging both sides evenly. Then we went through our stretching routine and I lunged her once more for less time. Great results again!

Shoulder release down and back

Bringing the  hind legs forward

The chiropractor was scheduled to come out today, so I kept Shy busy by working on some clicker training with the mat. I used a new mat and not a piece of wood. Now she does not tap dance on it. 

What a cutie!

Then I tried something new. I moved Shy a few feet from the mat and told her to go to it. She did! I was stunned! We did it a few more times, clicking and treating each time. It was really cool to see her do that!

We were still waiting on Dr. Dave, so I put Shy back in her stall. The Jolly Ball, which I have never seen her interested in, except when I introduced it to her as a click and treat exercise, was not the object of her affection. All on her own, she kept picking the ball up and swinging it around. Then she got me. . .right in the nose on one of those swings! Ouch!! She got me again in the chest. I was stunned! Beat up by my own horse! I was still awestruck by how she was all about the Jolly Ball!

Finally, Dr. Dave got to the barn. Shy was dropping her right shoulder kind of hard, which crosses over to that darn left hip. Shy got her adjustment and was very well behaved for Dr. Dave. He said the lunging, backing, hills, and stretching were the best thing for her. He also said to add stretches where she bends between her front legs (like practicing for bowing), and this will stretch her withers. And then he said to add a saddle to the work. This way, she gets used to the saddle and will have a little extra weight on her. He even said eventually to put sand bags around the horn to add even more weight. The saddle and no rider should also help with her breathing. Shy will learn to breathe, since she trends to hold her breath for a while when we start working. Then she does a series of blows and starts breathing. 

Overall it was a great night! Shy is doing well with her chiro work and her strengthening exercises. And she seems to be connecting with me on a new level. Happy dance!!

Super relaxed pony

frustrating mare

Oh Shyloh, Shyloh, Shyloh. . .

I asked Beth to watch me lunge Shy in her spirals and give me some advice because Shy was giving me a hard time. When we do small circles, I am able to keep her moving forward, but when I open the circles up, I cannot keep Shy at the trot. Frustrating. 

I had only walked Shy a few circles when Beth came to watch. I was warming her up, so I did not have side reins attached. Beth asked me to trot Shy. . .I did and immediately Beth said "She is still off." Ugh! Frustrating.

But then Beth clarified and said she is tracking up okay, but her movement in her left rear is not fluid, it is jerky. Beth asked to try something with Shy. My answer was of course! Beth attached the side reins and adjusted the lunge line in a different position. Then she had Shy do very small circles and asked her to step her inside leg underneath her at a criss cross almost.  

Kinda like this. . .make sense?

At first Shy would only do a step or two with bringing her leg underneath her. This horse just does not want to use that rear end! All the other exercises I have been doing, Shy figures out ways to get around using that rear end. She ends up compensating in various ways to not drive herself from behind! Frustrating.

Eventually, Shy was able to do more than a few steps in each direction. Each time, I let the lunge line out some to give her release. And she began to keep a forward trot when I let the line out! Beth said she noticed Shy was moving better after using her legs, so maybe she is just stiff at the start of her exercises and loosens up when used. Frustrating.

How long has this been since Shy has been off? Too long! It is frustrating to me that everything I try, Shy figures out how to get around it. But this new exercise seems to really put Shy to work. She was not sweating after our workout, but she was breathing hard. We did not work long, Beth said it was hard work for Shy. So. . .we will add that to our routine. Frustrating.

Question of the day. . .Why does Shy have all these pool noodles on her back? Find out Sunday!

autumn fun day!

Today is the first day of autumn and Shyloh and I had a fun day! We did do a little bit of work. . .spirals on the lunge line in the arena. It was raining all day! But after that, we had a lot of clicker fun!

And Shy was featured in the Stale Cheerios blog for the Almost Wordless Wednesday this week! It is a blog on clicker training and it has a ton of great resources for anyone who wants to try it. 

For our Autumn fun day, we. . .

• Did a lot of at liberty clicking, see, no halter, no lead! Shy was amazing. She walked right up to her "new" mat without a problem. The old mat was leaving chunks all over the arena. The new mat is a little too narrow, but that didn't stop Shy!

On the mat!

• Played with cones. Lots of cones. Shy was all about cones today! I was trying to get her to hold them for longer so we can work on more tricks. 

There is something on my butt. . .

A cone on the butt. . .a cone in the mouth!

• Kicked the ball and licked the pole. I was trying to teach Shy to kick forward, but she likes to kick back. Something to keep working on.

Then we got some horsey friends out and played with them. Casi and Robbie wanted to play way more than Shy did!

And. . .I found another toad!

Toad on Shy's butt

Toad on Shy's head

Shy liked the toad so much she tried to eat it. I had to pull it out of her mouth! Poor toad. . .I put it in a safe place, far away from Shy's chompers. 

The first day of fall gave me and Shyloh some good old fashioned fun, even though we were stuck inside because of the rain.