Jim Anderson Clinic - Day 4 - Groundwork with Peppy the Firecracker

90% of horse training is knowing when to quit.

Peppy’s day

Background on Peppy.  She is a 6yr old mare that I raised.  Great lil horse but a firecracker.  She is always in a hurry.  She is sensitive and overreacts to cues.  “Clucking” as softly as I can to ask her to trot or lope is like touching her with a cattle prod.  I don’t even own one but she acts like I carry it in my back pocket.  She tries so hard to anticipate what I want and then gets rattled if she guesses wrong.  That’s without me asking for anything.  She is a full sister to Cayenne.  Their dam was hot and maternal grandsire was a firecracker so they come by it genetically.  I think I escalated the sensitivity with Peppy because I pushed her too hard, too early.  When I started her, she reminded me so much of Cayenne only maybe better, that I asked for a lot.  Last year, I backed off and only rode her at a walk and trot, focusing on bending, rating, and building her confidence.  I also started doing groundwork with her after my first Jim Anderson clinic a year ago.  I was helping some but mainly just skirting around the issues of her overreacting. 

I took Peppy to the last (4^th) day of the Jim Anderson clinic to ask him for help with my lil crackhead.  He watched me send her around at a trot and stop her in each direction on the line.  Her trot was voluntary as soon as I sent her out (with the softest directional cue with my whip that I could muster) and 900mph.  Jim immediately said I need to stop moving quietly around her.  He said overcue her to desensitize her.  He had me cluck repeatedly so she quit jumping out of her skin when she heard it.  He wanted it to not mean so much to her.  He worked her and had her switch directions every time she trotted until she’d just walk on the line.  It didn’t take long at all, she just needed to know what to do.  He had me use a stick and string instead of a whip.  He did that because you can’t be as accurate with a stick and string.  The cues with it are a lot more random so she stops thinking that every movement or noise means something.  He also had me use a plastic sack on a stick to cue her with to help her chill out.  She is not afraid of a plastic sack but it helped to add variety and furthered the idea that “not everything is a cue to jump over the moon.”

The first thing he tried with her was to have me lope her on the line and then stop and rest her until her head dropped.  She ran around the small circle completely discombobulated, rushing and tense with her tail in a kink.  He had me do that while he worked with the other people in my group.  Each time, she scurried around in typical Peppy fashion but she did learn to relax quicker in between.  Mind you, we were not physically wearing her out, she only went a few laps before I used any softness or positive change for an excuse to reward her with a stop and rest session.  Jim observed that the exercise was not working how he’d hoped so he changed it up.  This is one thing I admire about Jim, he will observe and adjust as needed to help each individual horse more effectively. 

Jim wanted to work the tension out of her body and have her bending on the circle.  He used a short, blunt stick, kept her at a walk on only a couple feet of rope and bumped her on the shoulder and ribs any time she wasn’t giving softly with her head and neck.  This seemed to help a lot and also set a foundation to move her to a trot (and eventually a lope after I do lots of homework) out further on the line while staying soft and bendy rather than stiff and rushed.  I worked her at a walk with rest periods in between then moved her to a trot, still on a very small circle.  When she stayed softly bent with slack in the rope, I dropped the stick to cue her to stop and let her digest the information. 

Jim added another exercise for me to work on after she’d licked her lips between bending work.  Peppy had rattled her nose at him early on and moved away like she was afraid of him coming up to her.  She can be like that.  He had me jump around, run at her and then pet her so she’d stop flying around when someone approached her too fast.  She caught on to that pretty quick.  That will help with her being so sensitive, too. 

Peppy was so much better with Jim’s guidance.  He said to just work her for 10 minutes at a time.  As she gets better and better, I can move to a bigger circle and faster gaits.  She just has to stay soft.  If I do my homework, when it comes time to put her back to work under saddle, the softness will carry over.  One thing he said about a horse like Peppy is that you have to work her with her feet moving.  He said you can desensitize her to a plastic bag (for example) while she’s standing still but once she gets moving, everything will change.   Other types of horses carry over that type of work from standing to moving much better.  I’ve noticed that with Scrappy, my other 6yr old, as well as other horses but didn’t realize that some types of horses are more prone to be like that.

Peppy is one of my “left behind” horses that I’ve not had the time to work regularly.  These ten minute groundwork sessions will be easy for me to accomplish with her.  Peppy’s hypersensitivity and tension was not only a pain in the butt for me, it was unhealthy for her mind.  I think that she will have a better quality of life overall without the worry.  She is a fun horse with a kind eye.  She is an overachiever with endless heart.

Jim Anderson Clinic - Day 4 - Wrapping Up

October 3rd, 2016  

I rode Cayenne the majority of the lesson on the 4th day.  I want to just throw in here how fortunate I feel to be able to take 4 days of a Jim Anderson clinic.  This includes 2 days off work.  I have learned a lot and intend to do my homework so my horses and I will continue to show improvement.

I loped circles in good form.  I picked her up in the bridle and pushed her hind legs deeper underneath her with my legs.  She does not hold form for long.  She will go a few strides, maybe a quarter of a circle before she starts to string out again.  I think the longest was half a circle.  She noticed the pigeons flying around but hardly bobbled at all.  She was concentrating more on me than what was going on around her.   I release her slowly because if I drop the reins too fast, she bobbles and almost breaks gait.  It probably takes me 2-3 strides to completely release her to a drape rein.  I am just amazed at the transformation from the only semi-giving horse I had a few days ago to the much softer one.  Big lessons include picking her up smoothly, not bumping, and holding her steady until she gives.  I have always treated her like a colt and gave to too many “tries” rather than asking for a more responsible horse.  I’ve ridden this horse for seven years, we’re done trying the easy stuff.  She’s ready to do it.

Speaking of ready, Jim told me to put her in a solid mouthed shanked bit long term.  We discussed my Monte Foreman curb, which is completely solid.  The bit Jim had me use on Cayenne has a solid curb mouthpiece but the shanks swivel out a bit.  I’d say it’s a medium port.  He said the port was important for tongue relief.  His bit had a pretty thick mouthpiece and then the port tapered some for additional relief.  Jim said as long as I can get her head to the side with one rein in the Foreman, to go ahead and use it.  I already know that I can.  He said play with it for a month or so then go back to the looser mouthed curb I’ve had on her.  If I need more lateral at any time, just switch bits.  It made me happy to hear that she’s ready for a solid bit. 

Since our loping went well, Jim asked me what else I’d like to work on.  I asked for a lesson on speed transitions within a gait ie. Rate.  I used to have cues that worked alright for what I was doing but with all the fine tuning/finesse work Jim has been teaching me, those subtle cues are mixing together.  For example, to slow my lope before, I just sat deep while keeping my legs on.  Jim has me sitting deeper in my saddle all the time and even deeper when doing a rundown to a stop.  That takes my “sit deep to slow” cue out of the picture. 

He said it’s mainly below the knee to cue for faster or slower.  Put leg on to build speed.  To rate down, squeeze your thighs, take inside leg off and tip toe up/push heel down like stop position while keeping outside leg on to keep loping.  If she doesn’t respond, draw her back softly with my hands.  I practiced a few times.  Taking the leg off and pushing my “brake” broke her to a trot immediately.  He had me just push her back to the lope and then reward her with a walk and stop.  Nice and easy.

One exercise Jim said he does to help enforce the idea that running fast will be followed with relaxing is to run around the arena fast, rate back, get on an obstacle and sit.   That works great on cowboy challenge horses especially because on your free ride, they are anticipating the slow down and chill coming up.  That is one of the coolest things about his yellow mare, Marilynn.  She will run her heart out on free rides, hustle between obstacles and then just drop to a standstill and chill.

We wrapped up by spinning each direction.  She is not spinning as fast as I ultimately want but we are laying a good foundation.  She was even more relaxed and I am rocking her back pretty well as needed.  She did not grab the bit and chew on it like she has in the past while we’re standing after a spin.  She spins better right than left.

Jim Anderson Clinic - Day 3 - Pick Up Smooth & Lope Pretty

Sunday, October 2nd, 2016.  Previously posted on Facebook:

I guess I don't need to tag Lisa Lichte and Laurie Ward since so many of my friends have responded to my clinic reviews with either positive comments or pm's. I didn't actually expect more than five people to sit and read through the whole "book!" I am glad that others can learn from my successes and my mistakes. Day 1 and Day 2 have already been posted and if anyone missed them, I will briefly go over them before continuing to post about Day 3. If you are really bored, go read the first posts in their entirety for more detail.

In review, on Day 1 of the Jim Anderson clinic, I brought a fairly green colt and did groundwork. That went very well. I also rode Cayenne briefly at the end of my session to check out my spin. That went well. I went to the "scary" end of the arena to work on loping circles on a drape rein. She had warmed up well but caught me off guard with a quick spook. She then reacted to me off kilter and spooked away from me and I got dumped. I held onto a rein instead of just turning her loose. She did not give to the rein and ended up doing a tapdance over the top of me and sat down, tangled in her rein. There were literally spots before my eyes and I'm glad she didn't actually step on me! We were both fine and I loped her more on not so drape of a loose rein.

On Day 2, Jim expressed his concern about the spooking incident on Day 1. He was not worried about the spook itself, he was worried about the fact that she stayed in an elevated flight mode and didn't give to the rein I was holding. We discussed "why" it happened and determined it was likely because she had been in "trouble" for spooking. I had created more tension in her because not only was she afraid of "things," she was afraid of my reaction to her reaction. We set her up to be spooked and Jim found that she was not giving to pressure when she was scared, she went into flight mode and stayed there for much too long. He worked her on the ground first then I worked her, just getting her to bend her head and neck laterally and give up the spook. We moved to the saddle and worked a one rein stop to help her learn that as soon as she spooked, we went right into relax mode. Retraining the brain. It seemed to work quite well. She will still spook but will not have the high level of anxiety of "what's going to happen now?"

Day 3. I warmed Cayenne up on the ground to check out our "scary corner." She was much, much better although I did take the opportunity to bend her around when she tried to hurry past the portion of her trot circle closest to the wall. I then warmed her up under saddle and she did better but not great. She would lope her circles but with a lot of leg and guidance. No spooking sideways but definite tension about the pigeons, the sunlight streaming through a crack, etc. Jim observed then put a person with a flag on my end so I could try to work her through the issue. She still didn't have the dramatic reactions from the day before but was almost asking me to just pull her head around and "save her" from what was coming. My steering was going to heck as she made me pick up my reins in both hands and really guide her around.

Jim came back, saw what was going on and decided we needed to adjust since she was now comfortable with the one rein stop and relax idea. He got on Cayenne and really got into her because she wasn't trying hard enough. She was giving 75% but the other 25% was gawking off in the corner and looking for upcoming scary things. She gave him a lot of resistance for a few circles. Like, "Whose spotted horse is that?" kind of resistance. He got her giving vertically, driving up strong in the lope, and "with him" 120%. When she was soft, he gave her a loose rein. When she came out of form, he picked her up, fixed her and let her loose again. When he picked up on the reins, she was asking, "What do you want, Jim?" She wasn't even thinking about flags, pigeons, corners and was loping so pretty!

I got back on and Jim had me lope her the same. He tells me over and over (he must think I'm deaf or slow sometimes!) to pick her up smoothly and hold her until she gives. I want to pick her up bumping her mouth and I don't pick her up far enough. I also give when she head bobs, not truly holds the position. In other words, I don't ask for enough of her at this stage of training. I'm sure I didn't have her loping as pretty as Jim did but it sure felt good when it was good and it was easy to fix her up when she started to lope flat. She did not even think of spooking because she was concentrating so hard on me and what I wanted.

Jim Anderson Clinic - Day 2 - Spooking My Horse On Purpose

Saturday, October 1st, 2016.  Previously posted on Facebook.

Here is my review of my go at Day 2 of the Jim Anderson clinic. We went "back to basics." After Cayenne's little demo of her spook on Day 1, Jim said he thought about it a lot and wanted to help me get her better. Not that she will not ever spook because she is a horse and a cow bred, looky horse. He said that the spook itself didn't bother him so much as her continued elevated adrenaline level afterwards and the fact that she did not give to pressure (when I held onto the rein) I would not have ended up getting danced on and nearly sat on if she would have just given to that rein pressure.

We went over what I have done in the past when she has spooked. Like I said, she is very "looky" and that doesn't bother me. But, there have been times where she will take huge leaps straight in the air or whirled 180 degrees and launched over relatively nothing. She is very fast and I have been lucky to ride her out every time except 2 of those spooks. I've hit the ground twice this year including Day 1. It does not matter if she's fresh or physically tired. I have gotten her in big trouble on some of those spooks and sometimes just when she's going overboard with lots of little spooks or the tippy-toe-high-head-blowing-nose crap she will pull. I have pulled her head around, jerked her around, spurred her on the inside to kick her hind end around, etc to try to let her know that it is absolutely not acceptable. She maintains a little better after that but it really hasn't helped. I never did that to her when she was green because I am a lot more understanding and patient with a young horse. Cayenne is 10 years old and I started her as a 3 year old. I have ridden this horse a lot of years and at about 6 or 7 was when I started having issues with the violent spooks. That correlates with about the time when I started thinking, "I've had enough of this, now you will get punished for spooking." I figured she was trained enough, had been hauled to countless events, trail competitions, etc that she should be trying harder to maintain. While I still think that is true, I went about it the wrong way.

So, Jim helped me get to the root of my issue: Cayenne is a spooky horse and when she spooks, I have caused a fear of punishment. So, I get a big spook and then a high level of tension in anticipation of the aftermath. The "fix" is to teach her a new result of her spook. We started on the ground with her in a rope halter. I stood in the "scary corner" of the arena with a couple flags and Jim checked her out. She did her typical flyaway, high anxiety reaction. Jim pulled her around and asked her to give both vertically and laterally with her head/neck. She flew around quite a few times and was braced up against the pressure. He got her to give and then we started again. I took her after a few minutes and he flagged. We got her where she'd trot around in circles and I'd use a blunt stick to keep her out of the circle when she went by him (by poking her in the shoulder or ribs) and if she reacted dramatically to the flags, which she did many, many times, I'd drop the stick and grab the rope up close and bend her head around to her shoulder/armpit until she stopped and gave softly. We'd stop and give her breaks as she really was trying. Once we had it in hand pretty well, Jim had someone else be my flagger while he worked with other people in the clinic. He said that once I could get her bent around and soft in 2 seconds from the spook (rather than 6, 10, or 20) then I could saddle her up. We got to this point.

We actually put her in the round pen and did some joining up first just to help her get back "with me." At that point, we also dealt with her excessively pinny ears at liberty. She used to pin her ears on the line, which Jim had me fix this spring by chucking her under the chin with the tail of my whip. Jim chucked her under the chin when she gave him a dirty look and then called her to him with the other whip. Of course, she was completely shocked but she kept her ears up! I had to chuck her twice to get her snarly ears up and then she quit. I'd actually forgotten that she did that since she hadn't done it on the line in so many months.

Under saddle, Jim rode her to feel out her spook. I stood in the corner again and he loped circles on that end of the arena. He did a one-rein stop on her a few times without her being spooked. Then we moved on to me scaring her with the flags. As soon as she'd spook, he'd one rein stop her and wait until she gave completely (standing with head at his boot) She was not in "trouble" like I'd taught her. She just had to give to pressure and use her thinking brain rather than stay in that elevated state of mind. He did it quite a few times and then I got on. Nothing like knowing someone is purposely going to spook your horse while you lope circles!

Jim Anderson Clinic - Day 1 - Horses and Birds

I am firing up the old blog after three years of silence.  This is at the suggestion of several friends, both "real" and "Facebook."  I posted a few incredibly lengthy Facebook reviews of a clinic I went to last weekend.  It was for the benefit of a couple friends who were not able to be there.  I expected possibly a total of five people to slog through the entire post.  Boy, was I wrong!  The response via comment, private message, text and actual real face-to-face conversation (happens on occasion) was eye opening.  I either have seriously interested friends or they are bored, nice, or a combination of both. 

I apparently entertain, educate and well, give people someone to laugh at when all else fails.  Someone asked me, "Don't you ever get embarrassed?!"  Not when it comes to horses and learning.  What could possibly be the most embarrassing thing to happen at a clinic?  Most of us would say falling off my horse or arriving to the clinic naked.  I checked the "Fall off horse in front of a world renowned clinician and random friends and strangers" box on Friday.  I could say that my green colt broke in two and bucked me off into the rafters.  I can't.  A pigeon scared my horse.  My colt.  No, not really.  My "broke" horse had a heart attack and dumped me on my head over a domestic bird.  I am smiling just thinking about it.  Read the copied and pasted Facebook post below for all of the glorious details plus the seriously great lessons I learned from Jim Anderson.  

I am cheating a bit and basically copying and pasting it to my blog over the next few days.  After that, I promise my writing will be all original.  

Friday, Sept 30th, I took Pistol, my 5yr old gelding, with me to the Jim Anderson clinic for some help with groundwork. Pistol is a gentle, laid back character with a tendency to lean, push and just not be very responsive both on the ground and under saddle. I had him doing the basics on the ground and he has about 60 rides, but hadn't been worked in 2 months. Pistol tended to trot around me on a line with his nose straight or tipped out and pushing his shoulder into me.

Jim immediately put a lariat rope halter on him so that it was more uncomfortable for Pistol to lean on the end of the halter rope. I would send Pistol around me at a trot and any time he took up the slack in the rope, I stepped back so he had to give to get relief. I also used my whip to flick him on the shoulder or rib cage to get him to arc his body properly on the circle. This worked well and Pistol was "getting" the idea of trotting around with his body arced properly with his shoulders freed up instead of bound up.

I definitely see where this will help his lope circles. I work hard loping him properly as he wants to drop his shoulder in, tip his nose slightly out and cut the circle. I have to basically drift him with the reins and push him out with my inside leg a lot more than should be necessary. We also worked with the sidepass drill down the fence to help him free up his shoulders and worked on reversing direction on the line without cutting into me too much. He is not rocking back on his hocks like is ideal but he responded well.

For our final work, we moved to the round pen and turned Pistol loose. He was very attentive to me and quickly picked up the idea of facing up and following me. I was very happy with Pistol. He was nervous when we first got to the arena but even though he was quivering, he would stop and stand when I asked him on the line. Sometimes he creeps forward because I think his favorite place to stand would be with his feet on your feet and his head laid against you. He backs off easily when told as that is a typical Pistol move. After his work, he stood tied to the trailer very well, only nickering occasionally. No holes to China or hoofprints on my fender.;)

I quickly warmed up Cayenne for the last little bit of my clinic time. She actually warmed up well without her typical spooky crap, which led me to go to sleep at the wheel a little later and get dumped! Yes, I got to eat some arena dirt.:) I had her loping on a very draped rein and she spooked hard right from the pigeons. It unseated me and she rolled back away from me and that was that. It wouldn't have been quite as exciting but I held onto a rein and it wrapped around her legs, causing her to do a tapdance trying to keep her feet and not step on me. She almost sat on me! I don't know why I didn't just let her go!

Anyway, I did have a good ride on her. Her spin is coming way better and the #1 reason is because I've been having her stand between spins until she relaxes. Even at Jim's clinic 2 weeks ago, I'd spin her and then while she stood, she'd nervously chew the bit, stretch her neck and just exhibit stressed behavior. It'd take her several minutes or longer to relax and drop her head on her own. I've only spun her a couple days since that clinic but have emphasized the lesson Jim tries to drive into our heads about WAITING ha ha! Jim also said she is so much more relaxed because she understands what I want better because I am being more clear with my cues. I'm more clear with my cues because I am understanding better, thanks to Jim!

In my lope circles, it's mainly on me keeping my shoulders back further and my pockets deeper in the saddle. There ya have it! I'm off for another day of riding! 

Smart Little Sign: Extreme Cowboy Race Champion

Smarty once again proved to be my steady eddy.  We hauled nine hours to Lynden, WA to compete in Craig Cameron's Extreme Cowboy Race.  I took Smarty and his daughter, Smart Little Cayenne.  Neither horse had been in the arena so I chose Smarty to run on Friday night.  He was good as gold and loped around that arena and over every obstacle like he'd been in there every day!  He won the go round.

I rode Cayenne on Saturday.  She was in rare form and not in a good way!  I managed to milk her through the preliminary round in the Extreme Cowboy Race and somehow she won her go, also.  Both horses made the finals to run on Sunday.

Since I had two horses in the Open Division, the management had me go first on one and last on the other so I had time to switch.  I rode Cayenne first to get her out of the way.  She was a lot better than Saturday but still really bothered by the arena and was acting very mare-ish at the in gate.  She ran a beautiful course other than not ground tying at either spot and not standing still for the dismount, pick up right front foot, and remount obstacle.  It's hard to demonstrate that you are picking up the horse's foot when she keeps picking it up on her own!  She had some great points like beautiful jumps and coming when called for me to mount off of an obstacle.  She has so much energy pumping on the inside that it is hard to remain calm on her!  She probably feels the same about me!

I hurried and switched horses.  Husband, Ransom, gave me a "calm down" talk and I ended up with plenty of time to watch other contestants go before I had to run again.  I stopped shaking and started breathing before I went in the gate on Smarty.  Smarty just oozes confidence and calm.

Our run was super!  Smarty was his usual quiet self and helped me just sit back and work out the details.  Our free ride (gallop around the arena) was relaxed, the gate obstacle was smooth, the tarp carry was wonderful except for it hooking on his tail after I hung it up and rode off.  He was pooping and I didn't pay attention.  He didn't care at all about his tail accessory and I think he deserved extra points for my mistake!  He walked a step or two at the first ground tie while I was "milking" the cow.  His jumps were beautiful and he was in the correct lead every time.  His trash walk (trot) was on a totally loose rein with no hesitation.  The obstacle where I ground tied him and crawled through a tunnel was great.  He stood stock still like it happened every day!  We didn't make it through the cones without spilling a water cup but we tried :)  He stood like a champ while I dismounted on the near side, reached under him to squeeze his off side chestnut for him to pick up his right front foot, and mounted up for my last free ride.  I was (and still am) so proud of him!  Here is a link to his run:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY-aoCQ8D7I

I had missed a couple runs when I was switching horses so was not sure how everyone did.  I figured Smarty was in the top 5 but didn't want to get my hopes up.  During the awards, I was called up for the Reserve Championship.  I was so happy and yet beating myself up for not fixing little bobbles that make the difference between 1st and 2nd place!  Then they called me back up for the Championship!!!  Cayenne had won the Reserve and Smarty took the Championship by a long shot!  I was over the moon! 

I am so thankful for my wonderful horses and even more so for my husband!  Ransom was on the sidelines helping me get prepared, encouraging, calming, and videoing the whole weekend.  I think he understands my horse sickness a little better and saw the extremely competitive side of me.  He even told Craig Cameron how I always ride my horses whether it's after dark or in the rain :)

Freckles On Fire

Long overdue pics of my 2013 filly.  Sired by Smart Little Sign (Smarty) and out of my AQHA mare, Top This Sail, who is by Freckles Flynn.  We call this filly "Slider."  She is probably my best one yet but, of course, how they go under saddle is the ultimate deciding factor!