From the ground we get movement

I am going into my fourth month of Princess Nenya ownership and only now have the chance to create and update this Blog so bear with me while I try to recap all the training and work I've done and from there take us forward. I promise it will hurt much less than a flu-shot.

Having been around Arabians before--and Nenya being mostly Arabian (mentally and psychologically for sure)--they become very bonded to their "person." They need a gentile but firm hand and most of all someone who very much is aware of them. Nen was missing this and I wanted this to be an all-around positive and productive experience for us both. My first month goals were to establish a positive bond and also start conditioning her on the ground.

Coming off the winter--here in Washington we still seem to be in winter--Nenya really wasn't worked or ridden. I knew going into her purchase that she had very "low miles" on her. In other words, lightly ridden. But she had good ground manners which is oh so important. I watched her former owner work her offline calling out commands and then it was my turn. Poor confused Princess couldn't understand why two people were making her work.

I called to her to make her move and I'm not sure if it was me or because Mara was there she reluctantly worked.

The real test came a few weeks later when we moved her to the barn where she lives now. I was so excited that I couldn't wait to start working with her and bonding. My husband and parents came to welcome Nen home. I wanted to show them all how talented she was and how smart she was that I could lunge her offline. As you can see that really didn't go according to plan.

So Step One: purchase lunge line (in pink of course).
Step Two: establish bond
Step Three: spend every day at barn with Princess Nenya for a couple of hours.

Fast forward a month and we are moving like a team and I can work her offline and online! Hurray--there was much applause.



And then came the complete poneh meltdown and she realized that this isn't fun anymore and she refused to move. No forward, backward, anything. Now those of you who have experienced this, it is infuriating. I liken it to a toddler having a temper tantrum in the mall and everyone is looking at you like a bad parent and you have no clue how to resolve the situation. So what does one do? Consult friends with experience and the interwebs.

I pulled out Clinton Anderson's "From the Ground Up" series and it gave me some great advice. But it was something my my good friend CeCe gave me--a copy of some of John Lyons' ground training and how to get movement that really gave me the most positive and successful results with my stubborn Princess Poneh.

Lyons' "Go Forward Cue--Talk to the Hip!" article was exactly what we needed. I found in that applying a small amount of pressure or tapping on Nenya's hip she moved forward. At first I asked once and as soon as she responded by moving forward I stopped her and gave praise. After a few forward steps the next time I asked she was stopped and praised again. And then a few more steps and then more praise and so on. I repeated this the start of every day for two weeks and now I've found that I don't even need the crop for this exercise. The minute I point to her hip she moves forward. And there was much rejoicing.



I know that this all seems trivial, but a horse who will not take commands from the ground is likely not to take commands from the saddle. Although it was a set back, I realized that I was moving Nenya too quickly and she was overloaded in a short amount of time...or else her Arab brain just had to be rebooted again. Or maybe both. Taking the time I did to do some research has actually strengthened our bond and her understanding of my expectations.