Play session 7th July 2009

I wasnt actually able to see larry or play with him for 2 weeks during exam time, but once they were finished I was straight up to the farm and out again for a play session. He was happy to see me, came up to me etc and we started off great with some friendly. I was using my 22ft but things went a little sour. I was asking him to do things, but he had changed from LB to RB in an instant for what appeared to be no reason. Things just wernt working, I'd ask him to go over a pole and he jumped it like it was 6ft and run off. I'd ask him to do a circle one way but he'd spin the other way and charge off. Neck and tail high. Things wern't ok and it was serious RB behaviour, not LB play or dominance.
On the other side of me was Kate with Lulu doing some wonderful things and I was beginning to feel the pressure of having Larry on the end of my rope. Even though he never charges off and drags me along (infact he comes into me) we were both bouncing off each others emotions. There was no 'clear reason' for the behaviour from him, his herd were around him and nothing spooky was happening. One of the worst things was (and this has been happening A LOT since the course with his yo-yo) that when i would yo-yo him, he would assume I wanted a circle or to come straight in towards me instead of backing up, and I remember at the Chris Corbidge course being taught to break the pattern. So break the pattern was all that went through my head. My 22ft flying everywhere.
What i know about Larry is that undemanding time and hugs are what relaxes him (and I know that he sometimes uses this to get out of doing things, or especially to hide) but we both needed to relax, take a break and think things through - break the pattern just wasn't working and we were both getting more emotional.
So I went and sat on a log and tried to find the reason he was acting like this. I knew that he was trying trying trying, but getting more and more upset with confusion, and that confusion was because of me. I was not being clear enough and perhaps going too fast in my suggestions to him and being too strong with my "break the patterns", I was shouting at him via my commands.
I decided to retreat to my 12ft and go back to the basics and the 7 games.
Well, that fixed everything!! By the end of the session we had achieved so much more than ever before! Back and forwards over a log, driving from Z3, kick the ball, ball everywhere around him, bouncing and above my head too, foot on jump, Pick foot up with savvy string, yo-yo between two poles, sideways next to pole, sideways over pole, the list goes on! But, two AMAZING things happened.
I decided that I wanted to get on him bareback and spend undemanding time with him, but as he is so tall i need him next to the jump in our play area to get on. I tried and tried to line him up but 1. he has issues with riding (which are just surfacing) and 2. my directing him sideways to me sucks haha. Anyway Im on top of the log jumps and he offers to me even more than I could have imagined from my direct line thought of riding and starts going sideways next to the jump, circles around and steps over it. Well, I was sooo happy! I then decided to direct him from the jump. We were yo-yoing, doing sideways, jumps, circles etc. OMG playing ontop of the jump became so much better than my thought of being a fat blob on him bareback and even more, i was doing it from a different height and he had no issues!WOW!
Perhaps I should have ended the session there, but I became his pet predator again (luckily this did not ruin us) and decided to experiment with some liberty. I tied the 12ft to the halter and round his neck so i didnt have to hold it, but it was there incase. Well, the relationship that day must have been awesome. We were chasing each other around the play area, which is not closed off and is in a HUGE paddock, but he stuck to me. Id run backwards, turn fast and he'd follow. Everything I could have ever dreamed of. We then did sideways at liberty (no circles or yo-yo as Im not that great yet and probably would have lost him :D). I haven't come away from a session that proud of him, or that proud of myself in a while.

All because I sat down and reached a new level of savvy. I stepped back, realised my frist approach wasn't working, and then changed it. THAT'S IT! THAT'S SAVVY!