Comfort Zone Training – part 7

This last session of the 1st unit of CZT has been good,  I rode Solly in the top round pen BAREBACK which is a rare thing for us but it felt GOOD doing it and testing all that we’ve done over the last 6 sessions, it was only a short session so I put another quick session in at the lower field round pen where we did some bareback and bridleless riding. It was very good to feel confident to do this, to be in a comfort zone of the round pen but doing something above and beyond normal riding in bridle and saddle and it also was good to check in with our balance.

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Balance is everything, balance of our connection, of draw/drive, of forward/back, of up/down transitions, of left/right and balance of our emotions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next training session will be the start of the next CZ ‘unit’. It will start in the area we worked in today but it will progress to the gate area and  beyond so that we can progress OUT of our present CZ field and into the ‘LEARNING ZONE’…in this zone we learn to take the familiar into the unfamiliar and work until the unfamiliar is familiar thereby widening our CZ.

For more info on Comfort Zones go to my TRAINING TIPS:  ‘Stepping out of your Comfort Zone to Progress’

  • Shelley – HorseSavvy

 

Liberty Challenge 7

Try this Challenge at Liberty and also Ridden, preferably bitless or even bridleless if you are that advanced.

If you are just starting Liberty work you can play around with these tasks online. All tasks are changeable and do what is best for your horse and your abilities. If something is too hard then do something similar  and then progress to the harder tasks as you practice over time.

1) Liberty or Ridden: Open gate, squeeze horse through any way you want, close gate.

2) Liberty or Ridden: Trot through narrow gap, halt just before end and back up through gap. Trot on out of gap.

3) Liberty: Trot weave around 6 cones in a straight line with flags (or something flappy) in them. Horse to weave, handler to stay on one side and direct horse in weave.

Ridden: Either trot weave or weave using leg yields in walk

4) Liberty & Ridden: Jump small jump, handler to run alongside with liberty one

5) Liberty & Ridden: Drag an object for 10′, you and horse side by side, and then turn horse and yourself to drag with you and horse backing up together.

6) Liberty: Trot onto tarp and halt then turn the horse 180* any way and trot off again.

Ridden: Trot onto tarp, halt then 180* turn on the forehand (ie. turn the horses hindquarters and pivot forehand)

7) Liberty & Ridden: Ask horse to follow you around a Labyrinth pattern

8) Liberty: Trot your horse through some sort of ‘washing line’ with clothes hanging of it.

Ridden: Same (or if you and horse not used to going under things then go to washing line, take one item off the line and ride with it around the line where you put it back up on the line without horse worrying)

9) Liberty & Ridden: Trot fig 8’s twice around two barrels or tall  obstacles. Obstacles close, about 5-6 paces apart.
NB. Large obstacles could be 3-4 tyres stacked on each other or a tall jump wing!

10) Liberty & Ridden: Sidle over a largish pole, left feet on one side, right feet on the other side. (Try to use a pole thicker than the average jump pole)
NB. If cannot sidle one side of horse over then do 2-4 feet over then back up over it.

11) Liberty: Get a flag and wave it about whilst walking around your horse.

Ridden: Wave flag whilst sitting on horse.

  • Shelley – HorseSavvy

 

LC7

 

 

Liberty 

 
Ridden bitless

 
Ridden Bitless and Bareback

 
First time EVER ridden agility bridleless on Solly