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Post by beksnjake on Jan 2, 2012 19:33:47 GMT
Yep - one which has hit a brick wall (mother!) - its not going to happen. Although I would love Steve to meet Josh.
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Post by kas on Jan 7, 2012 19:13:33 GMT
Never mind Becks, great changes have been made and you and your mum are having some fun together.
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Post by beksnjake on Mar 19, 2012 16:18:20 GMT
Well as mum is away and Josh was being really grumpy this morning (very bitey!) I thought I'd take him down to the sandschool for some GW.
Very different attitude once his halter was on and he walked quietly beside me to the school - kept putting his head on my hip, which I thought was really endearing until I realised that I hadn't put his mask on & he probably had an itchy nose!!
Anyway got to the school to find that a car was parked in the entrance so couldn't get in - well Jake would have no problem squeezing through but Josh does get very anxious in small spaces so thought it best not to attempt it. So we turned round and walked quietly back home - with a couple of trots.
Put him straight out in the field on his own. Jake somewhat confused by this as he stayed in the yard until I'd finished the stables. Josh was on his own for nearly half and hour only called once and didn't run about. He told Jake off when I put him out ;D
Will take Jake out for a short hack tomorrow after putting Josh out I think.
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Post by beksnjake on May 7, 2012 12:02:16 GMT
Well there was this strange ball of light in the sky this morning - the SUN!! So took the opportunity to give Josh something to think about - groundwork! He's taken advantage of mum being away and is literally piling on the weight, his neck felt a little cresty this morning so I really need to work him as much as I can for the next week - weather permitting. Walked him to the sand school and he was as good as gold, mooches along beside me, occasionally nudging for reassurance. It must be a good 4 or 5 months since we've done any GW together so I wasn't sure what to expect. Last time he kept leaving. . . . . But the break seems to have done him good. He was quietly responsive, even when cantering - Josh usually belts round at 900mph and I had this lovely steady rhythmic canter today One or two bucks but no attempt to leave at any point. Moving the shoulders is softer too, one side more so (can't remember which now!) - my only issue with him is his constant need when changing direction to walk through me. He works nicely at walk, trot & canter, slows down to pretty quiet signals (I think). I move the shoulders, then I lose the flow and Josh walks right on me to change direction. I jump up & down, swing the rope etc and he just goes "whatever". I know I have said before I'm wary of "shouting" too much at him as his default setting is to leave (speedily) when pressured too much. So I'm not sure where to go from here - his back-up is getting softer too, but still won't relax his head/neck fully when doing it. But for a pony with such a strong sense of self preservation backing up has been incredibly hard for him emotionally, so to have him stepping back 3 or 4 strides is pretty cool. Weather permitting will try to do some more tomorrow.
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Post by beksnjake on May 11, 2012 11:44:29 GMT
Due to the absolutely appalling weather my plans to work Josh in the school have come a little unstuck. The sandschool itself got very waterlogged so I have had to resort to taking Josh out for walks. And I have to say (so far!) he's being a little superstar. Very calm with me, walks at my shoulder but insists on trotting behind me with his nose (& sometimes teeth!) in the small of my back. As he's taking full advantage of the lack of work and increased grass I am trying to run with him so he works just a little harder, as he is beginning to resemble a ball (I worry about laminitis too).
Today we did proper roads - I've been sticking to very quiet single track lanes as Josh has issues with tractors etc but I felt it was time to try somewhere new on foot - he's done this route ridden loads of times. We didn't meet anything too challenging, but met a few friends along the way so had to stop and chat. We had a lovely time, mooching along - Josh does try to eat all the cow parsley, I try to stop him but he does get the odd bit!!
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Post by beksnjake on May 13, 2012 16:00:02 GMT
NOTE TO SELF: If you are going to work Josh in the field its a good idea to electric tape off a small area to work in!! Yep as sandschool not available this morning, I decided that I would work Josh in the field, I mean how difficult could it be? We started well with nice walk alongside me and then progressed to a steady trot. I kept moving the circle so as not to chew up the ground too much (field drying out nicely but if the boys hoon round you still get divots). Guess I got a bit over confident as I thought he was listening & with me. Few changes of rein, still with this problem of Josh getting on-top of me when we do this. Tried a little canter as again I seemed to have Josh's mind with me, kept it steady and then BANG out of nowhere Josh tanks off. I have learnt to watch for the subtle signs he gives, a slight tilt of the head to the outside & leaning in on the inside shoulder - but this time nothing - he just left, was on the circle, nice inside bend, then BANG straight line and I lose him. Then this is where the fact we are in a field becomes a problem, he is running round shouting for Jake (who was asleep in his stable!). I do catch him but he is unsettled. So we go back to basics, walk round with me calmly, slow steady trot with back-ups and changes of rein to keep him busy, and I think I've got him back with me after about 10 minutes. Made the mistake of asking for a canter, one rein nice and steady, change reins and we start nicely and then. . . . . . . . . off he tanks, again no warning that I can see, it's got to be there, I just don't see it yet - I feel Josh is changing what he does as he realises I can recognise what he is going to do before he does it (does that make sense?). So I catch him and take him back into the yard where he is happier and do some work on softening and getting a more relaxed back up. Back up is particularly hard for Josh, he really won't give any relaxation to you as he is always thinking FORWARD. He still will only back-up by moving one foot at a time, today I did on 2 occasions get a diagonal pair of feet to move move back Small stuff but pretty big in my world!
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Post by beksnjake on Jun 5, 2012 19:52:49 GMT
Mum was lunging Josh this morning in the school while I did GW with Jake (not very successfully as he's thrown a shoe & was feeling his foot slightly).
Anyway Josh going quite nicely (had done on Sunday too) but mum felt he was a little more confident today & wondered out loud when he was going to tank off.
Left rein canter that's when - you get 2 maybe 3 strides & then the head tilts to the outside, his neck sets & he goes like a bullet - all in a second! Mum lost him twice, so I said I'd try & work with him. Now this is a little difficult because I don't really lunge any more, but the lunge line is on his Dr Cooks bridle so in actual fact its not so different to working in a halter. Plus I've got about 20ft of lunge line rather than a 12ft rope to work with - I am wearing gloves, always do if working Josh due to his tendency to tank off.
Do some walk & trot work on the right rein - lovely soft & responsive. Change to left rein, trot work nice, try canter transition and again 2 or 3 strides and BANG he goes off. But I'm ready & I manage to keep hold of Josh & stop him. The look on Josh's face is priceless - he cannot believe that I didn't let go. So back to basics, walk, stop, walk, stop - then trot, stop, trot, walk stop etc. And then I try canter, trot, - but Josh is quick, as soon as he makes that canter transition, he's thinking of leaving, again I'm able to catch him before he does.
I then try to change what I'm doing as this left rein is his stiff side, so I think what he is telling us is that this is hard, he finds corners, turns etc difficult on this left rein in canter - and how he is telling us, is by leaving. Even if he gets away from you, he runs to Jake, stops and lets you catch him easily. Josh also runs in a straight line when he leaves. We don't have this problem on the right rein at all.
I try to stay closer to him, playing out less of the lunge line, so that I'm with him when we trot & then go into canter (good job I've been going to the gym regularly because I'm having to run big circles at this point ;D). this worked for about 4 canter strides and then before I could bring him back, Josh just tanked off again. Unfortunately this time because I was running and my weight was forward I couldn't hold him which was a shame. But we finished with some work on the right rein.
So we need to work on softening & relaxing the left rein - problem is with Josh he thinks about leaving & acts on that thought in the same nano-second. If I can catch that thought, I can stop him as he leaves, but he's a quick little sod and he doesn't always give much of a hint that he's leaving!
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Post by beksnjake on Jun 14, 2012 19:05:52 GMT
Since mum's unauthorised dismount she has taped off a small area in our back field where she can lunge Josh when I'm at work as she wants to rebuild her confidence before hacking out on her own again. So today she lunged him for a bit (only walk & trot - no canter) and he is looking much more relaxed on the left rein, not so stiff or anxious. She then surprised me by asking me to do some GW with him. So just put a rope on his halter & took the Dr cooks off. He was lovely to work with. Still alittle in my face at times but this is slowly improving, he will now move his shoulders smoothly to change direction. And best of all we are beginning to get a more relaxed back up moving diagonal pairs of feet. Actually he had started offering this when being lunged when mum asks him to halt to change rein, he just softly backs up 3 or 4 steps - don't know why he does it then but it looks great.
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