fixed and broke

I've been trying to write this for a week and have had trouble.  So I thought I'd look at what's troubling me.  First, I tend to have trouble writing about horses anyway.  Maybe they mean too much to me for words.  Maybe it is that what I absolutely do NOT mean is training advice.  Maybe it is that I tend to write "this happened then that happened" and get lost in that instead of what I mean to actually be conveyed in the description.

After I fixed it, I knew how I broke it.  Although "fixed" and "broke" are the wrong words and if I could think of others I would surely use them.

For years I've ridden her outside, in the fields, in the open, with others and alone.  But sometime in early winter she had a estrus from h*ll, fell in love with another mare, and threw a fit on me one day.  A fit enough that she scared me.  I'm not that easy to scare, but when I'm in the fields alone and think about the possibility that I could come off and it could be awhile before someone could find me, and that I could really get hurt, and that I have no insurance, and that it could be the last time I ride, I can get scared at my age. At 20 it wouldn't have phased me.  At 54 (jebus no sh*t almost) it does and I'm not ashamed that it does, I just don't know what to do with it.  Anyway, that day, that ride, the "broke" ride, I was mostly just irritated by the whole thing, a bad day, a bad ride, but I didn't really think that much about it.  We went into the arena and finished our ride.  I continued to ride her but we didn't do a whole heck of a lot of riding this winter and I didn't have the opportunity to go outside again for awhile.

And then, the next time I took her into the fields she was all pissy.  Balky.  "No, I'm not going." We went, but we didn't go far and we didn't go pretty.

She is a horse who can be really incredibly soft, if a little slow.  And her feet are sticky.  And she has trouble cantering.  Not physically.  But even in the field, you don't see her canter much.  But I do love it when I go to get her in and when she hears me whistle and spots me, she comes to me.  Mostly at a walk.  Sometimes at a trot.  Once, after getting chased by Annie, at a canter but I thought I'd take that anyway.  Mostly at a walk.  In the recent Michael Sparling clinic we participated in, one of the things that hit me as truth was, "Look at how she relaxes and her expression softens when she trusts that you mean to really move forward."  Oh.  Don't reassure; MOVE.

And so the day came again with a perfect opportunity to ride in the fields.  Why those days always happen on open arena days beats me.  Well, part of it is my and my family's current schedule.  Sunday tends to work if the weather does, and Sunday is open arena.  So there are people and frankly I don't want to get in a fight with her with people watching.  People watching and maybe I'd give up too soon or fight for too long but I don't so much trust myself with people watching.  Strangers anyway.  So of course no one is there until I get her tacked up, then two trailers.  So I have to trust myself anyway.

So, to avoid that blow by blow stuff, a major balk happened very soon, I used some approach retreat, I used some pressure release, I used some MOVE (yes that is better).  And after we'd worked past that first balk, there was one more to which I said, "H*ll no" and to which she said, "I want to buck. . .oh no I don't either, I think I'll move and be rather happy about it", and then after that there were a couple of sticky feet moments which rather simple pressure release took care of, and that was pretty much it.  And we just took a nice walkabout in the sun, in all the fields, and took in where the grown-up fence rows have been taken out, and did a little bit of precision "put this foot there" sorts of work but always in the process of having a nice walkabout.

Today we did it again with zero balks, and nearly no sticky feet, and real work where ever we happened to be, circles and closed serpentines and hq yields and all gaits and transitions and soft feel and work on breaking at the poll and not at the third vertebrae and halt and stand and relax and walkabout all.

It is a funny thing, a thing I don't understand and don't always know what to do with it, but as her confidence increases (she was THE *MOST* unconfident horse in the world), it comes out first as pissiness.  I think I have to not be afraid to say a hard "Oh h*ll no" because, counter-intuitive to me, that is not going to decrease her confidence in herself but actually increase it in me.

We'll see.

what you have, where you have it

Post by John Saint Ryan.

I watched that video and grinned, laughing inside, because at that very moment we had a horse at the barn I work at who was being led in and out of turn-out with a chain over or under his nose.  "First, take the stud chain off."  But I still wasn't brave enough to do it.  I was amazed that this horse could be working for about anyone at 1st level, schooling higher, beginning flying changes, and yet had not been taught to pick up his feet, stand for the farrier, or lead.  You could canter this horse around and yet you could not stop at the end of the barn and catch up on business with someone while you were leading him out.  His legs were important and expensive enough to be booted up but he was not capable of standing there while you took them off.

Honestly, it didn't take me long to teach him to stand there while I took those boots off.  About a week.  But leading him, with another horse, without a stud chain?  In truth it was the cowboy who was hired to put some miles on the horse who got tired of dealing with the chain and put a cotton lead on, and once it was there I left it.  And it was fine.

And what I was thinking in regards to this is that you start where you are.  And you start where the horse is.  You work where you are, with what you have.  I remember Buck talking about colts in the East, and how they don't get to be colts and horses in the way they do in the West.  And he has a point.  I don't live where a horse has a regular job.  I don't make a lot of money but I've got to make some and I've found I can't sell snake oil no matter how hard I try so I do what I do and feel lucky to be able to do that and little along, and part of what I'm doing now and will likely always be doing as long as I get to work with horses is dealing with boarders' horses with said boarders having very different ideas of horsemanship and horse behavior and needs than I do.  And working with other minimum wage workers, mostly boys, who are doing a job temporarily until they find something better, who's idea is to get to the end of the tasks and not to take care of the horses.

And none of that matters.  I do what I do.  I learn.  I do better.  I am where I am.  I hallucinate that someday my horse(s) will be so extraordinary that people will say, how did you do that?  But usually they just say, will you teach my horse to pick up his feet?  And I'll tell ya, I'm grateful for the opportunity.  Because I learn.  And the horse learns.  And I get to do stuff.  And I get to care, and take care, and sometimes even to be taken care of.

feel the feeling of pleased

The power of pressure and release, and particularly of well timed release, never fails to amaze me.  I know a lot of times my timing is not perfect and thus my results are less than they could be and my horse is less sure and happy than he could be too but other times it works out pretty good.  Sometimes I get a whiff of that feeling I used to have of knowing exactly what to do. 

I feel pretty good that the horses I work with tend to come for me when I go for them.  Yeah yeah yeah it helps that it is winter and the grass is not green and succulent and their bellies would especially welcome a bit of grain and I could make caveats for myself forever but the fact is that if I go to Jin's field and whistle and she sees me, she'll walk to me from just about anywhere.  And I play with CC and Blaze and Lily in their field about every morning when I check water and so they'll pretty well always come too.  Not always down from the top, but often.  And even Zip and Whiskers, both newer rides for me, are curious, receptive; Whiskers more skeptical but then, he's been ridden more before me too.  Sometimes it takes them awhile to get over that feeling that there is nothing in it for them.

And then there is Brat.  She isn't my horse but my daughter rides her some, learns with her some.  Brat knows everything but Brat is a very shut down horse too.  And Brat will almost never come, even for her "mother". 

But the other day I went for her.  And I knew she wouldn't come and I was mostly just relieved when I walked out there that she wasn't at the top of the field.  I walked toward her with purpose and Blaze was like, "Me?  Me?" and I rhythm-ed "no" to him and said aloud, "I am not here for you Blaze.  My intention is for Brat," and I held the intention strongly and walked.  And she raised her head.  And I stopped and cocked a leg and though, "hmmmm."  And she put her head back down and I continued to walk toward her with purpose and the next thing she did surprised me so much:  She raised her head and took a step toward me in one motion. 

I stopped, cocked a leg, laughed, and got a treat out of my pocket.

perfect practice

There are things I learn a hundred thousand times, and things that never quite make sense.  Release is the first -- I've learned its importance over and over again, like I've always known it and yet continually learn it.  But perfect practice?  One I never feel perfect.  And two, perfect is the enemy of good.  I'm pretty sure there are more quotes about that too.

But I did experience something about perfect practice the other day.  I got Jin from the field, and now she is again out in the big front field with about ten other horses so it is a bigger deal to go get her.  Probably is for her too although she seems to be doing fairly well there.  And the first thing was that all the horses were waaaay in the front but as soon as I caught sight of her over the rise, I whistled and her head came up, and after a short pause to look around she started toward the gate between the field she was in and the one I was in.  She didn't trot but she sure came steadily.  It was heartwarming.  Since the rest of the horses had not come, we just led by liberty to the gate.

I put the halter on her and got her through the gate then turned her loose to get the gate and she very quickly said, "Grass.  Over here.  See ya."  Ok.  Message received.

I've worked with Jin a relatively long time.  She knows how to saddle, and how to saddle correctly, how to stand still.  She's always wanted to move a little forward, especially if I do it in the stall, but she knows, especially in the hallway.  I haven't tied her or gotten someone to hold her in forever.  But I also know that the last few times I've saddled, which have usually been with some kind of  hurry, she didn't stand so well.

So there we are, in the hallway, and I decide that yes, I'm going to insist you do this correctly.  If that is all I have time to do today, we will do that.  Just like with a colt I throw the pad a few times, correct a few times.  No big deal.  She stands with the lead just resting over my arm.  I pick up the saddle.  And make her step back.  She's very soft about it, not resistant, not scared.  I start with the saddle.  And make her step back.  In the end I probably threw the saddle (well, not throw) seven or eight times.  It was just a step.  But I did it until she didn't do it.

And what I thought about was all the times I hadn't insisted on that.  Because it was "just a step".  Because she was soft and not resistant and not scared.

We have a big fancy expensive dressage horse boarder and for all his training, he doesn't know how to lead.  Because no one ever taught him, or expected it of him.  And I thought then that I just wasn't expecting enough of Jin.

Sometimes I don't know what to expect, what to release for.  Sometimes I waller through stuff trying to get to something to release for.  But not that time.  And yet I had neglected that looking for other things.

As Kathleen said recently, " If you build your loop with a twist built in it, you're going to end up with a loop with a twist in it."  I don't know a thing about roping (at least not yet) but even I can understand that.

We had a lovely ride in the fields, after some groundwork and after I insisted that yes, she was too going on.

change and stability

So, I changed this blog again.  This is its 3rd iteration.

I'm not sure what to say about that.  About doing the same thing, differently.  About the different paths one takes with the same goal.  About how you have to have a direction to get anywhere, and how you have to change too.  This is more like a dance and you do want to get better at the dance, not finish it, and always be aware of your partner in that dance too.  I want to have clearer communication, I want to have better timing, I want to be more effective.   And yes, I would like every horse I ride to be my feet in whatever manner they are capable of.

I've been reassessing.  This year my focus is on doing the work.  It isn't entirely up to me but I plan to focus on Jin, Whiskers and Zip at McQs, and on actually doing something with Increase here.  And also working on Clyde's ground manners because he has none.  He ties, he drives, he doesn't lead worth a crap.  I want him light leading, not running over my ass or pushing Ro around.  I have available some clinics with Michael Sparling using primarily Buck methods.  Ro has my Carol clinic spot this year (and I am very tickled with that), although I may think about doing some level 3 auditions if the family membership thing comes available especially.

Do the work.  Although this dang freezing weather ain't going to help either me or Ro this week.  But I have hay and a truck that works and I have morning pages every day and I may be old but that's ok because I'm still moving and I'll go get Jin for some ground work at least -- I want to rope those feet, follow a feel is the goal for this week and I'd like to do it with the three of them.

Inky, hon, you are a magical pooka horse and I thank you.  Let us move it forward again.

make love, not war

Don't worry any more about the specifics.  I mean, do, of course, worry about the specifics but not weight and seat and left little finger.  Stay in the middle of the horse even when you are not on him, focus on willingness and good posture in the horse no matter what you are doing, train yourself to do the same thing everything time you expect the same thing.

And FEEL it.  Dance it.  Love it.

long & low & loose & forward, II

Two years ago we did this test.  We are doing it again.  And adding the one that adds canter although she still has issues with it.  She's come a long way and I've learned a lot despite doing the same test still.  Horse show week.   Long and low and loose and forward.  Sit back.  Have fun.

And this time I get to take the girls!

only a four hour panic attack

It was only a four hour panic attack.  It reminded me of a time long ago but that wasn't what it was, not exactly anyway.  I was scared because I was sitting there watching the class I was supposed to be in do things that I knew would be challenging to impossible for my horse and me, and instead of being in that class, we would be in a MORE advanced class where I KNEW we weren't going to be able to do . . . anything?  A lot anyway.

And so I had a panic attack.  And then I relaxed into it.  Show me in clear relief what I do not know and how to get there.  Of course it wasn't comfortable.  I felt like an idiot, an incompetent, a boob, a failure, defeated.  I knew just being there, however, was good for Jin.  And so we just went through it.  And I didn't cry.  And the other participants were nice and tolerant and (for the most part) helpful.  And I certainly did get a handle on what I didn't know.

But more, I *think* I got a handle on what to do about it.  Parelli has felt mostly like trying to learn and speak to horses in Spanish.  I don't know Spanish.  There are things that aren't that different; there are things that are.  There have been things that I don't understand how to understand.

And I just don't do things mechanically very well -- I either understand or . . . I don't.

there's always another dance baby

I am older and I am in horses and so while I am occasionally inspired by people who are older than me who are still very active in horses, I am also very aware that I am older, that I am finite, and that this life is finite. 

And so I do what I can. 

Sometimes I long for things I can't have or can't do -- could I not go to about 12 clinics a year, could I not apprentice with someone who knows a heck of a lot more than me and is actually willing to share that knowledge (even if I have to do it in short spurts because I do have a life too). 

I am constantly aware of what I do have -- the opportunity to ride more horses than I can ride, the ability to be with horses and good horse people every day, and the care, the care of horses. 

And I am constantly aware of the precariousness of that situation.  Anything could happen.  Just like it has in the past.  Who knew?  Who knew? 

And who knows?  And so that is possible in the future too that due to the finiteness of one thing, there will be another . . . thing

fear and hope (PTSD)

We have a smallholding, and for a decade we had Duke, a Belgian, who helped us work it. He was blind in one eye, and had some ring bone so he was never 100% sound, but we didn't ask much of him -- just to plow the garden in the spring (for which he got some bute) and pull the occasional log. He had a good life and enjoyed himself with our goats (he was a goat midwife, I swear) and our donkey. Then, after a decade, he got to where he wouldn't eat enough and died.

So then another Belgian, Bill, was looking for a home so he plowed our garden one spring, then came to live with us in the fall. But in December he fell and broke his leg just above his hock and we had to kill him.

So we went one year and just worked our corn field by hand but at the fall auction I found Rose. She was just an old, gentle BelgianX mare. Because we didn't know her history, she went to the facility where I do some work so we could drive her in an arena for safety and confidence (for me) for the first time. She had checked out as a wonderful animal and we were ready to bring her home when she colicked, her stomach ruptured, and the vet put her down.

So everyone has been looking for a suitable animal for us and our farrier found one, Clyde. I just got a call today that Clyde's coggins came so he is ready to come to us. And it scares me to death. Oh, there is no way I won't do it but it hurts everything there is in me. It is like the older I get, the more the hurt just builds up or something.  The kindness makes me cry and the fear makes me cry and maybe I'm just pre-menstral.

May we have years and years with Clyde the Belgian.

Why I Am A Working Horseman

A while ago someone said to me, "So you're a professional horseman."  And that statement caused me to hiccup, to stammer, to say, "Well, I clean stalls too."

I suppose that my contact with "professional" horsemen hasn't left that good a taste in my mouth.  I hadn't really realized that until faced with that question.  It is like the term "cowboy" -- it can be a  term of great derision or a term of great respect but you rather need a qualifier to tell which one.

I've noted the term "working" used as the qualifier for "cowboy" to delineate it from wannabe or pseudo or weekend or play pretty or dress-up or whatever cowboys.  I've decided that I am a Working Horseman.

When I show up to a feeding, I'm not trying to finish as soon as possible and get out of there.  Rather I like horses and I like being around them.  I want to notice how they are doing, are they drinking, are they pooping, are their eyes bright, are they curious.  The "Professional Horseman" often misses this part, and especially the part about poop.  When I ride, I'm concerned with how the horse is doing, and why that might be, and how my relationship with that horse can improve that, rather than what the next showing will be like.  I pay attention to the horses out in their fields, not just for their beauty but because that is a huge part of a husbandman's work.  I make sure the hoses are drained even if I'm not working the next really cold day.  I pay attention.  I do less sooner, or at least that is always my ambition.  I do not think it is someone else's problem.  Because to me, horses are not problems.

I am also not trying to convince anyone of my invincibility.  I'll be honest as to what my opinion is even if I know you won't like it.  I don't think anyone is below me.   Whatever it is that you know, I'm interested in knowing it too.  If your horse is looking good, I think that is great and I want to know what went in to it.  I'm not in a competition and I'm not in a hierarchy.

"Working" implies a level of aspiration.  I'm working on it.  I haven't arrived, and never will.

Thus I am a Working Horseman.

The Buck Notes, Lexington KY 2013

Today the next clinic starts, the clinic after *my* clinic.  And my life goes on, blessedly not skipping a beat.  But the time outside of time, the time in the magic rectangle of an arena . . . yes, I do want to be there again.

So the biggest thing that I've brought away from the Buck clinic is that I can do it.  Maybe not to that level, but there are tools, there is timing to work on, there is the horse, there is feel, it makes sense.

First there is groundwork.  There is not anything in groundwork that is not directly applicable to riding, and it is all about getting control of their feet.  Eventually, depending on how good you are, their feet become your feet when you are riding.  And it is all about getting them to follow a feel, to be light, responsive.  One of Buck's "isms" is that a horse can NEVER be light to your hands if he is not light to your legs.  If he is light to your legs, he has a chance to be light to your hands.

Another "Buck-ism" is that it isn't about training the horse but about training your body to do something consistently.  If your body will do it consistently, your horse will pick up on it; will get the message.  And so perhaps the first discipline is to always ask as though you are on the most highly trained horse there is.  The very first time you ride a colt, ask him to walk through moving your pelvis from position 3 to position 2.  He won't know what the heck you mean, but then you back it up with the equivalent of phases and soon he will know what you mean when you move your pelvis to ask him to walk. Always always always start light.  Do this when grooming in a stall, when walking out to the fields, ALL THE TIME:  know what you want and ask with the least possible thing.

So on a lead rope, there is always float in the rope.  You can't pull a horse along: drive.  Always be prepared:  if you don't have your flag, use your rope.

Another principle is, whatever you are doing, keep doing it until you get a change.  If you are doing the half circles on a line as you walk, keep going until the horse respects your space, follows a feel, and offers good expression (for example).  YOU have to have PRESENCE to get this done.  YOU have to change.  The horse changes very easily -- it is MUCH harder for you to change BUT if you want the horse to change, YOU have to change.  The whole point of this is to not train your horse but to get your horse's feet to be your feet.  If you can do that, you can do anything (dressage, cow work, jumping, roping, trail riding, anything).  But don't ever stop doing something when it is bad -- keep at it until it is better.

Some of the things Buck said:  "It isn't about winning a battle:  It is about developing understanding.  I'm trying to get you all to make peace and you are ready to make war!"  "It is about how little you can do."  "Always be sorting out what works and what doesn't and QUIT DOING WHAT DOESN'T WORK!"  "You thin I'm just doing a little exercise with this horse.  I'm changing how this horse processes the entire species of humans!"  "I'm not a horse trainer.  I take great pride in that.  Horses don't like horse trainers."  "Learn all the things to do on the ground so you don't have to be a great bronc rider."  "Don't prevent the horse from thinking:  Allow the horse to think."  "How little can you do?" 

How should your horse be?  Always relaxed but always ready.  You should be able to bring his life/energy up and down immediately, without trouble.

So, what to do?  First, take time with the flag to get the horse used to it.  It isn't something to be scared of.  They shouldn't even startle at it.  They will learn that the flag means NOTHING if there is not a leading hand.  But that leading hand should always offer on a floating rope, and only if the horse doesn't take you up on that good deal should you drive.  Tap the shoulder, the rib, the hip, in that order, if he doesn't go.  Let him circle, and even pet him with the flag as he does.  Your feet keep moving.  Then walk to the hip, bend with the lead, untrack hind, let him line up with you.  Teeter back.

Buck has very specific ways to saddle and very specific ways to bridle and they are on his DVDs. And they work too.

Colt notes:

The horse should always understand that: 1) I can move his feet; 2) He cannot move my feet; and 3) He can move without being troubled.

The colt homework the first night was: 1) be able to be careless with the flag; 2) circling up (lock lead on outside hip, walk to hip, get flexion and inside hind steps over); 3a) throw rope over face; 3b) lead around outside of horse (rope from halter to behind him), come to pressure (be light); 4) half circle ground exercise.

From the circle up exercise, you are looking to bend and step and hindquarters move on a FEEL.

An exercise to promote precision in the human was to offer on a soft feel, make ONE circle then step to hindquarters, bend and roll hind ONE circle and STOP, being ACCURATE.  Over and over.  Because it is really the repetition.

Mount from the fence stuff includes getting them to lead by on a feel.  Then climb the fence and get them to lead by right to left.  Bump up on lead and STOP bumping when their hindquarters move to the left.  Once they are leading by and bumping up well, dink around them from above them on the fence with ropes, flags, move stirrups, throw a rope and coil back up, everything you can think of.  To half mount, always keep left hand and left foot on fence then if the horse goes, you can stay on the fence.  

When you put on the snaffle bit, you have to do all this again in that.  Bend them in the snaffle.  Get them to lead by in the snaffle.  Bump up in the snaffle.  If they are moving on a feel, this should go well.

Everyone, colt or not, will want to teach their horse to back from the slobber strap.  Take hold of it with palm facing down, pinkie just touching bit.  Ask by feel.  Add rhythm by bumping bit on chin if good deal doesn't take hold.  Keep at it until the good deal works.  AFTER there is NO resistance, add backing circles, backing faster and more slowly, back then forward (if there is resistance forward, drive with flag).  If he flares sideways, back by fence until he can straighten out.  Always build in the FEEL!

Once you do get on, you aren't going to want to ask them to go forward and then take back on them.  Leave their mouth alone.  Use a one rein stop and/or roll hind then front to give their excess energy direction.  You wouldn't be asking for soft feel with two reins until the horse could do this stuff on a floating rein.

He went through some information on hobbling but personally I'd have to know more about it that I do now to attempt to teach this.

He went over the general progression in breaking babies:  When weaned, start with a rope in a foaling stall.  Rope them but don't pull.  Drive, then put rope over hips to turn.  Teach them to corner up to yield hind, then to circle up.  Then you can touch them at their perfect balance point (where they will neither go forward nor backward) and teach them how good your touch feels.  Then to the other side.  Only then put a feel on the rope and wait for them to let the forequarters come.  That's the beginning of leading.  (Horses will learn anything if you can learn to QUIT when they are doing what you want instead of when they are doing something you don't want.)

Those are all the colt notes I have from 2013.

H1 notes:

Obviously I don't have as many specific notes from H1.  I didn't write down any Buck-isms from that.  I just tried to get the progressions mostly.  Let me see if I can get them in some sort of order.

The first thing is probably flexion and the elements thereof.  In proper flexion the horse's poll needs to be higher than his withers, his head at a 90 degree angle to his body, his ears level, and face perpendicular to the ground (vertical flexion).

Soft feel:  Get a soft feel at standstill, both reins, horse gives head (vertical flexion) without troubling his feet.  Do this thousands of times.  Then start getting a soft feel while moving withOUT it changing the forward.  Only after you can get it with no resistance as a response when you ask do you try to hold it.

One big exercise is the short serpentine.  This emphasizes the hands and bending and all four quarters moving the same.  It is a great calming exercise too.  One of the few exercises you are in position 1 for, and rather choked up on reins.  Outside rein must give as much as inside takes.  Horse should flex to 90 degrees, walk about a four foot (part of a) circle, then walk straight a step or two, then go the other say.  The inside leg is back, the outside leg is at girth.  It would take 10 minutes or more to get all the way around the arena doing this.  Timing should be as inside fore lifts off ground.

Subsequent to this is the open serpentine which emphasizes the legs.  On loose rein with legs to guide, do basically the same thing as the short serpentine.

There are FOUR ways to move the hindquarters: 
    1a) get lateral flexion, add leg to move hind, release hand and leg together.
     b) get lateral flexion, add leg to move hind, release leg and allow him to find stop, release hand.
    2)  center soft feel, leg to move hind, release.
    3)  leg only to move hind, use hands to block other movement.
    4)  flexion without leg and allow them to search for what you want.

Now, to use #4, you need to have it IN MIND BEFORE you do it, and go back and forth from just flexion to flexion to move the hind but ALREADY have it in mind BEFORE you ask.  This one thing will do wonders in getting the horse to try to take a feel of you to figure out what you want (says Buck).

Progression of go:  move pelvis from position 3 to position 2, add vibration to leg, the mean it!  Always offer that good deal first.

Progression of stop:  soft feel, sit on pockets (position 3), then pull if you have to.  How fast and hard you move to position 3 should tell him how fast to stop. 

Every time you stop (on ground or mounted) you should teeter back.

Progression of back up:  1)  Stop, release, back, release every step.
            2)  stop, stay in soft feel, back up, release every step back.
            3)  stop, stay in soft feel, back up, release to stop backing.

Sometimes when you back up, you should rest there and sometimes move forward, even jumping them out (a bit).

Progression to hurry back up (only after stop and back up is PERFECT at all the progressions):
        1) with reins (time a pick up with reins just before feet leave ground to hurry them up).
        2) with reins and legs at the same time.
        3) with legs only.

Progressions of 1/2 circle exercise: 
        1) on floating rein, front end reaching more than hind (time outside leg at girth asking inside fore to open up just as inside fore leaves ground).
        2) soft feel carried throughout (at first you'll get the soft feel, start the 1/2 circle, lose it some, just stay with it until it comes back soft, then release -- eventually it will carry through the whole 1/2 circle).
        3)soft feel, halfway through half circle change the bend and leg yield to the fence with shoulders leading
        4) soft feel, change bend, leg yield to fence, strike off in canter
        5) soft feel in canter, leg yield to fence pushing shoulders over, simple change of lead.
        6) flying change.

Other exercises include getting and holding soft feel while moving without changing forward, slowing body to slow pace (walk as if on eggs, then throw the slack and walk out).  Also backing circles, starting with just a little, maybe a step out every three or four steps back.

(I will note that on the first day in colts he was talking about controlling the feet and knowing where they are and placing them, a front when backing now crosses behind, now in front.  Well, in trying that in warming up that afternoon, I backed the best circles I ever had by thinking about that fore crossing "now behind".  In H1 he asked us to time up with the front foot that was opening instead of the one crossing and I had a much harder and less successful time of it.)

Always build the feel.  Always do as little as you can but always get it done.

There.  I finished these notes a week after I got back home.