It's a confidence thing.........

The last few in-hand sessions with Remy we've been concentrating on halt/walk transitions  - starting and stopping, having a quicker reaction into the walk transition, more energy in the work and a cleaner, lighter halt. This is improving and he's becoming more self motivated and we're starting to get a more forward, consistent walk. He's a very patient horse and he's coping with everything really well considering that I'm a beginner at this in-hand stuff and we're both learning together. 
He's starting to listen and wait until I ask for something, his focus and attention are really improving and I'm beginning to be able to break things down into small pieces of information that we can both grasp and build on.
All this is an ongoing thing and it's still very early days, but I feel that now, I need, and, I think, am able to work on the flexion, keeping the flexion and softness from the halt into the movement, working step by step until we have more consistent softness, bend and fluidity with no resistance. I think that then, we can start to progress with the lateral work.
 Thanks to Trudi  and her ongoing help and support, I now have more confidence to continue, and I think that we can make good progress.
I rode Anky in the school today, we've not been in there for a while and I was pleasantly surprised at how relaxed, forward and receptive she was. We worked at walk, working on circles, halt/walk, halt/reinback/walk transitions  and a little leg yield and shoulder-in. It was a really enjoyable session.

Had a fun, musical afternoon at Rickys.

A head full of scrambled thoughts

I needed to continue from yesterday with Anky to see if I could figure out what was happening with her. I walked her around in-hand on the headcollar, asking her to stretch long and low, massaging her neck and trying to keep a nice bend to the inside. This was ok. I did the same thing using the bridle,  contact on the outside rein, asking for flexion to the inside. Not so good, a mixture of me not feeling the outside rein and my in-hand technique being pretty dodgy.  From the start, she's corkscrewed her neck badly on the left rein, and tipped her nose instead of giving correct bend, but from our ridden work I've realised that I have to have her neck very straight and good connection on the outside rein before asking for any bend inside. She finds it hard to accept the contact on that side. Recently she's been more accepting of the outside contact and I've been able to ask for an inside flexion with some degree of success. On the right rein, we have a reasonable contact on the outside rein, but get resistance when asking for inside flexion, so again resistance on that side.
I then put her on the lunge, starting with walking her around, letting her stretch and relax, then asking for a trot transition, wanting her to continue to relax and stretch down, but even though she responded well in the transition, the trot was braced, and she didn't look quite level. It was more of a 'holding herself' kind of stiffness, tight in the shoulders and not using herself well at all behind. I kept her going in the trot, out onto a large circle, bringing her onto smaller circles, taking her up the long side, and although she loosened a bit and looked slightly more free on the right rein, she was still tight and not quite right. I decided to really push her on and she rushed forward, brought her onto a circle to regulate the trot a little and then brought her down the long side over the poles. The first time, she rushed over them but the second time she regulated her own speed and really used herself over them. Immediately she looked better, I asked her again and she carried herself much more fluidly over them. I tried on the other rein and the same thing, started to use herself and , hey presto, she looked like a fully sound horse.
I've been trying so hard not to ask too much that I don't think I'm asking enough ( I think).
With this in mind (activating the hind end) I sat on for a few minutes, started with a long rein, lots of changes of direction, then taking up the reins, the balancing act of feeling the connection on the outside rein, keeping the neck straight,stretched out in front of me, asking with a lift of the inside rein until she gives me flexion, then allowing her to stretch forward into the hand. I realise that what I haven't been concentrating on was keeping the back end working. She's not been grinding to a standstill (not quite), but she's not been active enough behind. I think this was the problem yesterday, combined with the fact that I was probably asking for too much sideways. Today, as soon as she started to back off, sit on my leg, or became unsettled in her mouth/neck, I reminded her to use her back end and it was much better, more consistent.
It's basics, isn't it, I should know this. I'm not good at working alone and after re- reading this post I'm not sure if what I've written is right. I'm really struggling with this working alone, what I wouldn't give for a trainer who could watch my every move and tell me right there and then where I'm going wrong and when (if ever) I'm getting it right.
I'm going to start her stretching exercises again, which can only help.

Squealy Baby

I don't know what they'd been up to, but  both Anky and Remy came in this morning with a swollen eye, nothing serious, just a little weepy, so I left them in the stable and took Bonbon up to the school.  She was a little hesitant going up there, but we arrived wth no problems. In the school she was a really good girl. We started off by asking for walk and halt transitions, working on a small circle with me at her shoulder, then moving off around the school. Up the long side, across the short side and down back over the poles. We did this on both reins and she was brilliant. She was better on the right rein, keeping a nice distance with a good walk stride. On the left rein she wanted to come in to me, but after a few minutes she got the hang of it and started to walk out nicely. It was a good session. We'd almost got back to the yard, down the hill appoaching the gate when she started to trot, I was just about to ask for a walk when she squealed, started to canter and legged it towards the small paddock which leads to the main gate to the yard. I knew that I couldn't hold her so let go the rope. I hate doing this, but there was no way I could have held her. She cantered around for a minute or two as I followed her up the field, then went to stand at the gate. She was a bit hot and bothered, but fine, and calmed very quickly. I took her out of the field, back down the yard and through the far gate, back into the field at the same point she'd just run off from. We stood calmly at halt for a couple of minutes and she was very well behaved, so I led her out and back to the stables. I don't know what caused her to do it, but I'm happy with the way she dealt with it when I led her back there. I'm not sure what to make of this squealy behaviour.
It was slightly overcast this afternoon and a bit cooler, and when I checked Anky's eye it was pretty much back to normal so I decided to ride her. I took her up to the school and she was jumpy and distracted, usual behaviour when I take her out of her normal routine. I walked her around, lots of changes of rein, trying to keep her attention and get her to relax. It wasn't easy, and she was concentrating on everything except me, backing off my leg one second, scooting forward the next. I really needed to get her attention and wake her up to my leg, so gave her a couple of sharp nudges  to get her to listen and get her going forward. Once I'd got her attention, I slowed it right down and took it step by step, asking for a halt, flexion and then a walk transition, working on small circles asking her to move away from my inside leg and keep the bend, if she started to rush and fall forwards, I lifted her head and as soon as she softened, relaxed my hand and let her stretch into the contact. If she continued to resist I brought her back to halt and started the process again. I don't know if I did the right thing, but at times she felt to be in much better balance, with good response to my leg and soft in the hand. I was pleased with the session, it had started off badly, but I think we achieved some positive results.

Proud

It was a beautiful morning, sunny but not too warm, hardly any wind, and the horses were perky in the stable instead of the sleepy heads we've had of late.

Instead of hacking out I took Anky into the school and from start to finish she was relaxed. We worked at walk, concentrating on changing the bend, keeping the neck relaxed, asking for a flexion and softness in the hand. She was pretty good on the right rein with a genuine bend, softness in the outside rein and good flexion to the inside. I have to be prepared for her falling out through her shoulder, but today she was fairly straight.
She's more resistant to the left and I have to concentrate on keeping her neck fairly straight, a little feel on the outside rein to soften and keep her nose from tipping to the inside and then ask for the flexion with the inside rein. She was getting it today and it felt good when it came.

I then took Remy into the school and had a lovely in-hand session. We had walk, trot and canter on the lunge, although the canter was in response to something he'd heard down the field, but he was a good boy and we continued with some lovely walk work, soft and stretching over his neck with a lovely, easy stride.

I couldn't leave Bonbon out so took her for a walk up the field. She was so good I took her across the track and into the school. There was a lot of heavy breathing and eyes on stalks as she investigated first the sand (which she's never seen before), then the poles and jump wings stacked in opposite corners of the school. She tentatively stretched her neck as far as she could to look at them before touching them and discovering they were perfectly safe. We investigated all of the school and she was brilliant. I couldn't be more proud. Jim says she's a bit spesh - and she is!!

Anky back in the school and Remy tries out the saddle.

Anky in the school this morning, first time for a while. She was pretty calm, if a little lacklustre and inattentive, but not tense and softer into my hand than the last time we did any schooling. I was tired this morning and a little lacklustre myself so we worked on walk halt transitions and added a little reinback towards the end of the session. So, not too bad a session, lots to work on. If she continues to improve healthwise, we can only get better.
Put the saddle on Rem for the first time and did a little in hand with him. He didn't bother at all. Next time I'll take him in the school and lunge him with it on. He's walking on and halting quite nicely now with me walking at the girth.