MOULTON COLLEGE
Northampton
8th & 9th April

Level 2 / 3 Course

Phew! another day this time with a different group being the advanced Level 2 and Starting Level 3 students. With four of us in the group there was no escaping the beady eye of Alison, no hiding in discreat corners, no tucking behind another horse. Alison spotted you and that was it. This was brilliant..... it meant you got more from Alison, less chance of needing to dodge others and so much room to play in.. After all the indoor arena is the size of two large dressage arenas.
The start of the day was like any other, filling in forms and introducing our horses and ourselves. In the group was

Doreen Hunter
Moira Dixon
Myself
Maxine Easy
Specting we had
Mary Scott-Morgan
Mags Hawkins
Julie Bettinson
Kerry Ann Jenkinson

We played with our horses while Alison set up a round of obstacles for us which was being set up to task ourselves and give ourselves a points rating. In this we had

1) A jump, which points are awarded for the choosen height and wether at liberty.
2) Two cones placed approx 6ft apart then one pole 6ft away and a second pole approx 20ft away.
3) A single pole to play yoyo. this was awarded points pendign on the distance and if at liberty.
4) The fourth was Circling into a Gallop using the second half of the arena.

We were called back and discussed how we thought we did and what rating for each task we give ourselves. Alison give us sound advice and one thing in particular which we all rated ourselves low on was the circling onto a gallop. I myself made the mistake thinking I had to allow Kyle to gallop a good few feet. Something which literally I don't have the energy to do. "All you need to show is a few strides may that be one or two" Alison tells us. She then demonstrates what she means and then one by one we have a go. Isn't it easy to visulise in your head what to do and then think your doing it right only to be shown how to use yourself better thus the horse understanding you more. What was reasurring was Alison never once made us feel we were wrong in any way but instead guided us in the right direction without bad critizism.
I was having difficulty with Kyle on the circling game, not the actual circling but the send which went into the circling, let me explain.... When I asked for the send no matter how little or how much my energy was Kyle would lean out. This meant my shoulder muscles took the strain. I jsut don't want big shoulders. I ofund it was my shoulders that ached then my arms got tired then my brain... yes don't laugh there is a little one in my head somewhere LOL. Anyway.... If I tried to release using approach and retreat he just leant out further more. I used advice gained from previous courses and though I do get some good sends it is not consistant and it also means Kyle has issues. I mentioned this to Alison and she suggested a technique that I hadn't used before or heard of and within minutes the results were showing. Soon on either lead Kyle was giving flexion to the inside, no more trying to escape and he seemed so much more in harmony with himself and totally relaxed. In other words he seemed so much happier....

First thing Monday morning Alison asks who had heard of and played the Congo.....Eyebrows raised and puzzled expressions on a few of us including myself indicated a no no! Others had heard of it but not played so that was that.. Spectators ...no escape for you as Alison got you to join in. Hang on ...take a step back...... "The Congo" what is it for those of you who don't know....? It is playing simulations being the horse or student.
For the first Congo we had 4 people, 3 being the horse (head, body and tail end) and the fourth person being the student/handler. The handler was to play with their horse for approx 5 mnin then had to ask each part of the horse for feed back. The feedback was not to contain any negativity but to give helpful advice. The handler whatever was said was only allowed to say "Thank you" and not question their reasons. You could think about it and learn from it. This was played until everyone had been the student/handler.
For the second Congo we went into groups of three. One person being the forehand of the horse, the third person being the quarter's and the 2nd person being the rider. This game involved the rider asking various tasks of the horse without speaking or using any equipment. All you could do was use body language and energy. Thus asking for disengagement of the quarter's and the forehand. Asking for impulsion, slowing down or halting. Yielding and Yoyo, going over poles etc. Then after each turn of being the rider you were again given feedback. After everyone had taken the place of rider we were called into a horseshoe and discussed what we had discovered about ourselves. In the first Congo I was surprised to find with my friendly even though my mouth smiled my eyes did not. That was a HUGE surprise and made a massive impact on me. I now think about my friendly a lot more and it does help. I would never have learnt this if I hadn't of been on the course and played this game. I do tend to look like I am not happy quite a lot because I am concentrating so much.. I must relax more and it might even help stop all these wrinkles lol. Oh! Near on forgot, Alison pointed out how we all tended to lean forward so that we did not stand on each others feet. Instead she says we needed to lean back slightly to simulate being on the quarter's rather than the forehand and this would have made it easier to move around. A good one to try.

we also played at being the horse with a handler while on line. Now this was fun and we really had to think like a horse, what would the horse do and it was great to see how the handler coped with situations. Different people acted out different behaviours, whether LB or RB and it was interesting to see the outcome.

Now I can't remeber when over the two days it was but we also played at liberty but only once Alison thought it was safe for us to do so and the horse was happy to stick by us. We played for a while on line and at liberty and also at Trailer Loading and once again Kyle made it look so easy. The others all had issues in some way yet when I played with Kyle whether at the walk, trot or canter, standng along side the trailer or sitting on the wheel arch he happily went into the trailer. Alison then got me... Uh Oh "Dawn lets have you at liberty" Mmm I've never tried trailer loading at liberty and definitey not with everyone watching. My plan was to play a little stick by me then come around to the ramp with me going along side it and seeing if Kyle would just go straight onto the ramp in go inside the trailer.
Taking a deep breath I ask Kyle to stick by me as I walk off, instead Kyle trots off...........................striaght into the trailer.. I'm gobsmacked... and pleased.. I ask Kyle back out and he does so perfectly and comes to me. I ask him again to stick by me and once again he trots straight into the trailer. I look inside and think.. "That is Kyle isn't it?" lol I try for once last time and again Kyle just trots up the ramp and settles inside the trailer. What is more surprising is the last time Kyle saw Moira's trailer he snorted and wouldn't go in because he thought the silver tassles hanging was electric tape. This time he was happy to go in even though the tassles were still there. AS you can guess I was beaming and couldn't wait to tell everyone back atthe yard and bore them to death lol

Time to saddle up and Alison tells me to take Kyle into the other half of the arena so that we can work on Kyle's impulsion. Now Kyle can trot and boy can he trot fast for a long long time. Being a driving pony he has a lot of endurance and stamina, not to mention he is pretty fit. While I was playing Doreen, Moira and Maxine were playing impulsion games to increase their horses impulison. It was strange seeing these big horses (Chance is 17.2hh) slowly ambling down the arena playing point to point etc and there was little Kyle at 13.2hh his little legs flying down the arena. After a long long time and Kyle was giving me a lovely trot (though at times it still felt fast) Alison called us back ino the horseshoe. But to get there I had to get thorugh the barrier. I was going to dismount but instead Alison got me to open the barrier and close it while still mounted. Thanks to Kyle he made it look like a doddle... So sitting their listening to Alison I started to feel my body close down on me and my chest tightening. I knew I had to get off but my body felt so weak I couldn't move. Alison quickly helped me to dismount using the right technique of supporting me and using her hip to swing me round. I was surprised at how light this was and how easy it felt. Maxine's husband was a fantastic help (Sorry Maxine his name escapes me, do email me a reminder). He immediately seen to Kyle and made sure he was safe and then returned to his seat. Me being stupid wanted to make sure Kyle was okay but I was under guard to stay put lol.

To end the day Alison had Doreen, Moira and Maxine playing a fantastic game, one which had me wishing I was still out there with them. The idea was three people and two Savvy Sticks minus the strings. The idea was not to have a stick but if one was offered to you while they were next to you, then you had to accept it. The winner was the one without the sticks. At first the sticks were being passed around all the time constantly. I happened to say to Alison if it was me as soon as I had passed over a stick I'd scarper so that they couldn't pass it back. Then suddenly Maxine clicked herself and Whoosh.... She and Archie were away like the clappers. By the end of the game Chance discovered the best zone to stand in was the center of the arena while Doreen unsuccessfully chased after Maxine. Eventually Maxine got so worn out she yielded and give up the chase.. LOL The winner..... Moira and Chance.

The day was over and it was time to pack up and say our goodbye's, four days is a long time and I was shattered. A huge thanks to Alison for a fantastic four days which I know you all enjoyed. The smiling faces give it away.
Sorry I don't have any photographs but if anyone has any of the Sunday and Monday please do let me know, send them to me and I shall get them on the site. Remember to check the site for future courses.