The saddle is seriously a pain in the butt!!!
Anyway, I went to the bowtie focus station bareback. I did not want to mess with the saddle. So we did our hind end disengagements into canter departs that way. She got the pattern and we moved on. She's much to quick to get it!
Then the shim mess started. And that took a long time. Eventually we settled with one, but as soon as I got on I felt like i was falling forward :( She didn't really like it either. But we just kinda dealt with it and we started trotting around the enchanted forest. She was a little RB so we did lots of circles around trees as we made our way closer to home and then when we got to the main gate I kept her going. She weaved around some and kept trying to stop at the round pen (that's our lay down routine), and I would ask her to maintain gate. Finally the last one, we were pointed towards home and I asked for a trot again and she didn't rush off! So we left it at that.
That was about it for today! Oh we did work on getting laterflexion without reins, and disengagements without reins, and that worked, so that was super fun!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Riding again!
Today was our first riding day again. We got to play with the balls and the seat builders which was fun.
Avery did a great demo on how to get your horse ready and really working with the porcupine game. I'm going to use that a lot when I work with Blue because it will really help with her dealing with pressure behind the ears and not freaking out with being tied.
I went to the shim check and messed with it some, but in the end, I still pretty much hate the saddle! Blue doesn't seem happy with it, I just think it gets in the way, blah... Anyway, it was ok with walk, and trot, but once we started cantering it didn't go very well. There's a downhill slope to the honeycomb, so she really got annoyed at the canter. I think the saddle is just pressing down on her then because she isn't really rocking herself back yet, and then my weight and fluidity isn't helping I'm sure. Anyway, it looked a bit like a stretch/crow hopping session for a bit. So finally I just ditched the saddle and worked with her. I put her in the round pen and for a good two rounds she just stretched her back out. So that tells me the saddle was really messing with her. I'm really going to have to figure this out these next two weeks!
Then after supper I went out with Sandy and she followed me on her Indy and I got to smack Indy for coming to close, haha. After a few good hits she got the hint! Then we took it up to walk/trot/stop/backups and Indy got it! So we quit. It was great for Blue because I was less particular and not paying attention to her and then she likes it much better because I'm not nit picking and I'm slower to correct her, which she's a fan of as well.
Anyway, it's dark out and I'm heading home!!
Avery did a great demo on how to get your horse ready and really working with the porcupine game. I'm going to use that a lot when I work with Blue because it will really help with her dealing with pressure behind the ears and not freaking out with being tied.
I went to the shim check and messed with it some, but in the end, I still pretty much hate the saddle! Blue doesn't seem happy with it, I just think it gets in the way, blah... Anyway, it was ok with walk, and trot, but once we started cantering it didn't go very well. There's a downhill slope to the honeycomb, so she really got annoyed at the canter. I think the saddle is just pressing down on her then because she isn't really rocking herself back yet, and then my weight and fluidity isn't helping I'm sure. Anyway, it looked a bit like a stretch/crow hopping session for a bit. So finally I just ditched the saddle and worked with her. I put her in the round pen and for a good two rounds she just stretched her back out. So that tells me the saddle was really messing with her. I'm really going to have to figure this out these next two weeks!
Then after supper I went out with Sandy and she followed me on her Indy and I got to smack Indy for coming to close, haha. After a few good hits she got the hint! Then we took it up to walk/trot/stop/backups and Indy got it! So we quit. It was great for Blue because I was less particular and not paying attention to her and then she likes it much better because I'm not nit picking and I'm slower to correct her, which she's a fan of as well.
Anyway, it's dark out and I'm heading home!!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Holy storm!
Ok, so about 3 a.m. it was pretty damn scary! Wind, lighting, thunder, crashing rain! I was not able to get back to sleep so I had to read part of midnight sun! Finally when it settled I could sleep again.
We show up at Parelli at about 9:40 a.m. Oh my gosh!!! There are like 8 trees down! So I give Blue her breakfast and I put on my riding gloves to help drag tree branches. We worked with all the Parelli faculty and externs and more volunteers. Crazy how the trees roots are so shallow, it's like I coulda pushed them over!!! And a lot of them were hollow! But super tall trees at that. It's pretty sad to see a lot of them gone :( I guess it's time to start planting some! It was perfect before the storm, if they get another storm it's going to start looking empty :( At about 12 there wasn't much more to be done without the big machines, so then I took Blue out.
Blue I had had a blast. She took me around and did all her things that she knew would get her some grain. She's a total one trick pony! Once she gets it, she wants to do it over, and over, and over again! She understood I wanted 4 feet in the water, so that's what I got, 4 feet and then she'd turn and come back out and get grain. She did this about 15 times! Then she took me to the carwash and went through it at liberty about 30 times! Grab a cookie and turn around and do it again. She is so stinking funny!
I also took her up on the hill for a workout. we did traveling circles at the trot and canter. It's funny, the more she canter the more uncomfortable she gets. If I don't have her check in then she starts getting worried. But we worked through it and she blew out and was my little Blue Bug again. She really doesn't enjoy getting worked up! And the girl is hard to get sweaty!
This week we get to ride :)::):):):):) Woohoo, now we can really canter all over the place :):):):):):) Woohoo, less running for me!!
Anyway, it was a super nice day and I think I got a wee bit sunburnt.
Dustin called and said he made it safe back to Korea, so I'm happy about that. Not that he's in Korea, but that he's safe :)
We show up at Parelli at about 9:40 a.m. Oh my gosh!!! There are like 8 trees down! So I give Blue her breakfast and I put on my riding gloves to help drag tree branches. We worked with all the Parelli faculty and externs and more volunteers. Crazy how the trees roots are so shallow, it's like I coulda pushed them over!!! And a lot of them were hollow! But super tall trees at that. It's pretty sad to see a lot of them gone :( I guess it's time to start planting some! It was perfect before the storm, if they get another storm it's going to start looking empty :( At about 12 there wasn't much more to be done without the big machines, so then I took Blue out.
Blue I had had a blast. She took me around and did all her things that she knew would get her some grain. She's a total one trick pony! Once she gets it, she wants to do it over, and over, and over again! She understood I wanted 4 feet in the water, so that's what I got, 4 feet and then she'd turn and come back out and get grain. She did this about 15 times! Then she took me to the carwash and went through it at liberty about 30 times! Grab a cookie and turn around and do it again. She is so stinking funny!
I also took her up on the hill for a workout. we did traveling circles at the trot and canter. It's funny, the more she canter the more uncomfortable she gets. If I don't have her check in then she starts getting worried. But we worked through it and she blew out and was my little Blue Bug again. She really doesn't enjoy getting worked up! And the girl is hard to get sweaty!
This week we get to ride :)::):):):):) Woohoo, now we can really canter all over the place :):):):):):) Woohoo, less running for me!!
Anyway, it was a super nice day and I think I got a wee bit sunburnt.
Dustin called and said he made it safe back to Korea, so I'm happy about that. Not that he's in Korea, but that he's safe :)
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Sticky Saturday!
Today was hot and muggy! Ugh..... And now it's all windy and pretending it's going to be all stormy, but no sign of rain yet!
Today I took Blue out in the enchanted at liberty again. I asked Julia if it was ok, so I wouldn't get in trouble. She stuck to me, so I was really happy about that. We just roamed around and did little things here and there. Nothing too exciting really, just fun to watch what she comes up with. She did take off in a little jog and I was like, OH SHIT! But she took me to the water pond and offered to put 4 feet in :) For the rest she walked over some poles, went in the trailer again, got up on the big square sand jump thingy, and just little lots of cute things. Pretty much more of the same. I can tell she likes liberty much better because she always pulls the rope out of my hands when I have her attached to it, it's funny.
She did ignore me once today when she found some really good grass and was not hiding her hiney and coming over, so I decided I would put the halter on, before I really delivered a phase 4. I crouched down and sure enough, nothing, so WHACK!! and ta-da! she was fixed, hahah, the little monster! She loves to see if I'll really follow through. A lot of the time I don't, but that's because she responds, yes, a little slower then I would like, but in the end, I still get what I hoped for.
Oh and then Linda came by on Remmer and all I could think to say is, Hi! For real, my mind went blank after that!!! So so much for small chit chat. I told Kelly she just missed linda and she said, "What did you say to her?" Ahhhhh, nothing! She said, "You could have asked her how her ride went!" Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, right, yeah, that would have been a good one. Man, i'm so socially moronic at times!
That's about all for now. Going to give her a little more snacks for tonight and head home to watch a movie or something.
Today I took Blue out in the enchanted at liberty again. I asked Julia if it was ok, so I wouldn't get in trouble. She stuck to me, so I was really happy about that. We just roamed around and did little things here and there. Nothing too exciting really, just fun to watch what she comes up with. She did take off in a little jog and I was like, OH SHIT! But she took me to the water pond and offered to put 4 feet in :) For the rest she walked over some poles, went in the trailer again, got up on the big square sand jump thingy, and just little lots of cute things. Pretty much more of the same. I can tell she likes liberty much better because she always pulls the rope out of my hands when I have her attached to it, it's funny.
She did ignore me once today when she found some really good grass and was not hiding her hiney and coming over, so I decided I would put the halter on, before I really delivered a phase 4. I crouched down and sure enough, nothing, so WHACK!! and ta-da! she was fixed, hahah, the little monster! She loves to see if I'll really follow through. A lot of the time I don't, but that's because she responds, yes, a little slower then I would like, but in the end, I still get what I hoped for.
Oh and then Linda came by on Remmer and all I could think to say is, Hi! For real, my mind went blank after that!!! So so much for small chit chat. I told Kelly she just missed linda and she said, "What did you say to her?" Ahhhhh, nothing! She said, "You could have asked her how her ride went!" Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, right, yeah, that would have been a good one. Man, i'm so socially moronic at times!
That's about all for now. Going to give her a little more snacks for tonight and head home to watch a movie or something.
Savvy Spotlight
I'm here at the Parelli center on Saturday morning so that Blue can get some food in her belly. Then I'm going to let her run in the big arena with Rein and then we're going to go check out Ocala and all the tack stores. Blue's been eating wood, so I've been told that she's lacking copper. I'm going to try and add some seaweed to her diet, so we'll see how that goes. Then later on in the afternoon I'll come back here to play with her some more. So gets so dang bored in her stall, even though it's pretty big and there's lots to look at.
Well, yesterday was a treat :) I got to try a savvy spotlight practise with 10 other people in front of the faculty that was around and the rest of the students. I was 9th on the list, so I had to wait about 30 minutes before it was my turn. In that time Blue just molested me the entire time. She played with the rope, the carrot stick, my hat, a faculty member, non stop messing with everything. But it was fine, we were just hanging out.
Then it was my turn and I was a little worried. We've been going into the round pen everyday and it has become a habit to lay down first. Sometimes it takes longer then others for her to find the right spot. So I was worried that it may take her 3 minutes, the entire song time that I had, to find a nice comfy spot. So that would have sucked. Luckily she was AWESOME! We walked in and within three seconds she was laying down :) I gave her some grain, sat on her back, and then got up to ask her to stand. Of course she looked at me like that was not near enough grain, but after a couple of secs she joined me. The rest of the savvy spotlight is on my facebook video's, and the 2nd view point is on my youtube page. It doesn't seem to want to load on facebook :(
Anyway, point of the story is, Blue is awesome. We did laying down, stick to me with walk/trot/stop/backing up, the pedestal, little bit of accidental sideways, spin to the left, spin to the right, trot to me, back by the tail, mount by neck, dismount by butt, and bow, I think that's it, all at liberty. She was awesome!!! There were only a few instances that we lost a little communication, but she caught right back on when I asked a little clearer. She was adorable :)
The rest of the day we just kinda hung out and played. It was fun :) Next week I get to ride :):):)
Then we went out with the girls and two of the guys in our class. It was hilarious. We did some line dancing, some booty dancing, and some country dancing. Oh, and I rode the bull! Which is fricking awesome fun!!! I rode it twice and then the operator made me come back and ride it backwards, hahahaha. The first time I rode it with no hands because it just seemed awkward to hold your arm in that position, but the second time I toyed with me, holding on and then releasing and seeing what I liked best. Anyway, it was super fun, and I want one for my birthday! Haha! It was fun to have that many girls out all dancing around, i'm so lucky to have such an awesome group to hang out with!
That's all for today, i'm going to let Blue stretch her legs!
Well, yesterday was a treat :) I got to try a savvy spotlight practise with 10 other people in front of the faculty that was around and the rest of the students. I was 9th on the list, so I had to wait about 30 minutes before it was my turn. In that time Blue just molested me the entire time. She played with the rope, the carrot stick, my hat, a faculty member, non stop messing with everything. But it was fine, we were just hanging out.
Then it was my turn and I was a little worried. We've been going into the round pen everyday and it has become a habit to lay down first. Sometimes it takes longer then others for her to find the right spot. So I was worried that it may take her 3 minutes, the entire song time that I had, to find a nice comfy spot. So that would have sucked. Luckily she was AWESOME! We walked in and within three seconds she was laying down :) I gave her some grain, sat on her back, and then got up to ask her to stand. Of course she looked at me like that was not near enough grain, but after a couple of secs she joined me. The rest of the savvy spotlight is on my facebook video's, and the 2nd view point is on my youtube page. It doesn't seem to want to load on facebook :(
Anyway, point of the story is, Blue is awesome. We did laying down, stick to me with walk/trot/stop/backing up, the pedestal, little bit of accidental sideways, spin to the left, spin to the right, trot to me, back by the tail, mount by neck, dismount by butt, and bow, I think that's it, all at liberty. She was awesome!!! There were only a few instances that we lost a little communication, but she caught right back on when I asked a little clearer. She was adorable :)
The rest of the day we just kinda hung out and played. It was fun :) Next week I get to ride :):):)
Then we went out with the girls and two of the guys in our class. It was hilarious. We did some line dancing, some booty dancing, and some country dancing. Oh, and I rode the bull! Which is fricking awesome fun!!! I rode it twice and then the operator made me come back and ride it backwards, hahahaha. The first time I rode it with no hands because it just seemed awkward to hold your arm in that position, but the second time I toyed with me, holding on and then releasing and seeing what I liked best. Anyway, it was super fun, and I want one for my birthday! Haha! It was fun to have that many girls out all dancing around, i'm so lucky to have such an awesome group to hang out with!
That's all for today, i'm going to let Blue stretch her legs!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
An oh boy moment!!
So last night after I wrote my blog Blue and I went for a walk in the enchanted forest at liberty (Blue is loose), there's a fence that surrounds the area, but it's about 10 acres or so. Anyway, we strolled around and she was real sweet and stuck with me the entire time. Sometimes she'd let herself fall behind and then she'd come flying to come catch up to me again. We grazed some at the back and strolled back again. We came by the pedestal and she got up on it and so I gave her a cookie. Well, seeing she got a cookie for that she went and loaded herself in the trailer, hahahahah! So now I really have a self loading pony :) It was a nice night.
Then today, we did our morning routine of going to lay down in the roundpen while I fed her grain. She basically brings me to the roundpen now! Then we learned about synchronizing, and taking leadership, and then letting the horse take the leadership.
In the afternoon I went to the Savvy Spotlight remuda, but before that I took her to the roundpen to do some practising. Well, that's where I made the mistake. I decided at that time that I was not going to give Blue as many grain treats, I was not going to let her turn and face me for grain treats, and last I was not going to let her bring her shoulder in to me to come stand next to me. Well, big mistake! By the end of that roundpen session she really didn't care so much for me :( It wasn't that dramatic, but she definetly let me know that her feelings were seriously hurt!!! Her shoulder moving in is her comfort, so I don't think I'm going to push her away really anymore. She asked much more politely after I told her not to do it. And she's being better about the grain as well.
But the problem was, we had to go put on a savvy spotlight! So we had 4 people at a time with a bunch of people watching. The 4 people had to play with their horses for a song. Well, my draw was basically half broken. She was coming in, but it wasn't like it was the day before. And she was doing half of what I asked her. So I just kept it light and easy and just took what she offered. 3 minutes is really to short to do much of anything anyways. But it was fun, and I learned not to be hard on my pony.
So tonight I went into the enchanted forest again and we played a bit at liberty. At one point she saw another horse and trotted off and left me, hahah. But when I got about 100 feet from her I whistled and she came cantering back to as if to say, what took you so long! So then I played with her on the 45 and was practising cantering out there by herself. WOW, did we have a RBE moment! First it started with a simple buck in one "corner", then the next time she went around it was another buck, added by another one a couple of feet further. Then the third time she really got creeped out and had a little rodeo, and then she went completely peppe le pew crazy tearing around. So I watched her for a bit, because I don't get to see it very often, it was cute! Then she was really getting crazy and just running as fast as she could, so I decided it better be time to interrupt the pattern before she's hurt. She was still there because she turned and cantered towards me and snorted right in my face, a couple of times! hahaha! Then I send her and did some falling leaf and that was fun!!!! I never get to deal with a right brain anymore, so it was fun!!!!!!! But not good for her, so I got her to settle down. Then she really stuck to me!!! After she caught her breath I send her out on the canter again and she controlled herself :)
On our stroll back we stood on the pedestal again and she loaded herself again. Then I asked her to load up again and she did so I was able to get to the front of the trailer and give her some grain. Then she took me to the roundpen because she wanted to lay down and eat some grain again, hahah. It's her new trick now. I wonder if I should keep her out of the roundpen tomorrow until my savvy spotlight, haha, because she'll want to lay down right away, hahah. We'll see how it goes tomorrow!
Then today, we did our morning routine of going to lay down in the roundpen while I fed her grain. She basically brings me to the roundpen now! Then we learned about synchronizing, and taking leadership, and then letting the horse take the leadership.
In the afternoon I went to the Savvy Spotlight remuda, but before that I took her to the roundpen to do some practising. Well, that's where I made the mistake. I decided at that time that I was not going to give Blue as many grain treats, I was not going to let her turn and face me for grain treats, and last I was not going to let her bring her shoulder in to me to come stand next to me. Well, big mistake! By the end of that roundpen session she really didn't care so much for me :( It wasn't that dramatic, but she definetly let me know that her feelings were seriously hurt!!! Her shoulder moving in is her comfort, so I don't think I'm going to push her away really anymore. She asked much more politely after I told her not to do it. And she's being better about the grain as well.
But the problem was, we had to go put on a savvy spotlight! So we had 4 people at a time with a bunch of people watching. The 4 people had to play with their horses for a song. Well, my draw was basically half broken. She was coming in, but it wasn't like it was the day before. And she was doing half of what I asked her. So I just kept it light and easy and just took what she offered. 3 minutes is really to short to do much of anything anyways. But it was fun, and I learned not to be hard on my pony.
So tonight I went into the enchanted forest again and we played a bit at liberty. At one point she saw another horse and trotted off and left me, hahah. But when I got about 100 feet from her I whistled and she came cantering back to as if to say, what took you so long! So then I played with her on the 45 and was practising cantering out there by herself. WOW, did we have a RBE moment! First it started with a simple buck in one "corner", then the next time she went around it was another buck, added by another one a couple of feet further. Then the third time she really got creeped out and had a little rodeo, and then she went completely peppe le pew crazy tearing around. So I watched her for a bit, because I don't get to see it very often, it was cute! Then she was really getting crazy and just running as fast as she could, so I decided it better be time to interrupt the pattern before she's hurt. She was still there because she turned and cantered towards me and snorted right in my face, a couple of times! hahaha! Then I send her and did some falling leaf and that was fun!!!! I never get to deal with a right brain anymore, so it was fun!!!!!!! But not good for her, so I got her to settle down. Then she really stuck to me!!! After she caught her breath I send her out on the canter again and she controlled herself :)
On our stroll back we stood on the pedestal again and she loaded herself again. Then I asked her to load up again and she did so I was able to get to the front of the trailer and give her some grain. Then she took me to the roundpen because she wanted to lay down and eat some grain again, hahah. It's her new trick now. I wonder if I should keep her out of the roundpen tomorrow until my savvy spotlight, haha, because she'll want to lay down right away, hahah. We'll see how it goes tomorrow!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Nothing but smiles :):):):):):):)
Ok, another awesome day. I really can't help it. Maybe my positive attitude is clouding my vision!
Anyway, this morning Blue and I did our morning routine now of laying down a bit. Then a little liberty play with walk trot canter stick to me, on a small circle. She does pin her ears at the canter, but I don't know if it's because she's concentrating so hard, or because she's pissed off. She could leave, because it's at liberty................hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....
Anyway, today was horse/personality day again. I joined the LBI and I definetly fit in there as well. Especially with someone telling me what to do, instead of asking me! I will do everything in my power to not do it, just because someone told me to! And then coming home to unwind after a busy day. Dustin is still reeling at this point and still needs to unwind, but as soon as I enter the door I want to get on the couch and CHILL! Even after we've gone out partying, he wants to turn on the music and start cooking and all I want to do is hop into my warm bed. I love knowing about these horse/personality charts. They just explain so much! I'm dissecting everyone I know now!
And of course our horse conga's were tons of fun. We practised spins and change of directions.
So I got my Blue bug and we moseyed our way up the hill. Did a little trot, walked way out behind her and focused on the trailer and she jsut walked right on in and waited for her grain snack. This focus thing is seriously start to work now. I mean, I was like 15 to 20 feet behind her and she went right in!!:)
Then I went into the round pen and played with the draw again. Once the draw was at a good place, which took about 6 tried for her to really come cantering/trotting in, then we could move on the change of direction. So we did change of directions at a trot and ofcourse she remembered it all from yesterday and just started to offer after I reminded her once that that was what we were doing! I seriously have the smartest little mare, and she does not like it when she's wrong!!! So then I tried figure 8's at the canter and that went pretty well, sometimes she'd drop to a trot, but would pick it up right away again. Pretty flying lead changes :)
Next it was trying to start the spins, with the two different methods. One was starting with the drive zone 1, and then other was starting with a draw first. Well I started with a drive and first she just wanted to sidepass so I had to help her move her nose a bit more around and then I ran to the other side of her to let her know she was perfectly correct by doing so! Well, ofcourse when I told her it was right, that was it, she had it! and as soon as she brought her zone 1 around I was there to draw her back in and send her in the opposite direction! It was so cool! It totally worked!!!
I did both directions at a walk, and then moved out of my round corral and just did at liberty in the honeycomb, so that added a little more fun because there were other horses in there with their owners. Blue was a champ and stuck with me. And if she did walk just a wee bit too far away I would whistle and she would come right back to me :)
So then I tried the other spin where you draw them towards you first and then send them, and it worked too :) I was a little nervous because if I sent out too much energy she could have left me, but she was awesome!! So we did those a couple of times until she really got it and then we got off of it!!!! :):):)
Oh Oh, I got a great tip from Avery. What I didn't realize that I was doing was when I was drawing her in my body had the attitude of game over! Well, this draw is not supposed the have the attitude of game over, but of come to me and be ready to do something else! So I REALLY have to watch that now!!!
Then we grazed for some time and chitchatted with whomever was close by and spend some quality time. Ofcourse I wanted to push my luck just a little more and I tried a spin at a trot, hehe, and it worked :) So I really left it after that one!!! She is just the best horse.
Oh another thing I discovered is that Blue was a RBI!!! When I filled out the chart I had dots in all the other three quadrants, but zero in the RBI. But as I got deeper into it and starting thinking back when I had just gotten her, and remembered how patient I had to be with her, because she always wanted to check everything out before she was ready to move on, I was basically doing RBI strategies. But now she doesn't really have any of the worry qualities unless we start something new and I don't take it slow enough. If I help her just the right amount she never gets overwhelmed and she just flies through all the new tasks. But if I go to quickly then she'll get really frustrated with me and herself for not understanding. So, huge lightbulb in my head!!! I never even looked at her like that anymore, because she has all the other qualities on the horsenality scale, in LBI/LBE/RBE when she wants to have a little fun.
Anyway, so all is well. I'm having a SUPER blast and every day is totally awesome!!!!!!!!!!
I really miss Toby, my gelding, because he's a RBE/LBE and he would have so much fun here! I would like for him to have the same experience. He would just love all the things they have to offer here!
Now I'm going to go for my evening stroll with Blue :)
Anyway, this morning Blue and I did our morning routine now of laying down a bit. Then a little liberty play with walk trot canter stick to me, on a small circle. She does pin her ears at the canter, but I don't know if it's because she's concentrating so hard, or because she's pissed off. She could leave, because it's at liberty................hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....
Anyway, today was horse/personality day again. I joined the LBI and I definetly fit in there as well. Especially with someone telling me what to do, instead of asking me! I will do everything in my power to not do it, just because someone told me to! And then coming home to unwind after a busy day. Dustin is still reeling at this point and still needs to unwind, but as soon as I enter the door I want to get on the couch and CHILL! Even after we've gone out partying, he wants to turn on the music and start cooking and all I want to do is hop into my warm bed. I love knowing about these horse/personality charts. They just explain so much! I'm dissecting everyone I know now!
And of course our horse conga's were tons of fun. We practised spins and change of directions.
So I got my Blue bug and we moseyed our way up the hill. Did a little trot, walked way out behind her and focused on the trailer and she jsut walked right on in and waited for her grain snack. This focus thing is seriously start to work now. I mean, I was like 15 to 20 feet behind her and she went right in!!:)
Then I went into the round pen and played with the draw again. Once the draw was at a good place, which took about 6 tried for her to really come cantering/trotting in, then we could move on the change of direction. So we did change of directions at a trot and ofcourse she remembered it all from yesterday and just started to offer after I reminded her once that that was what we were doing! I seriously have the smartest little mare, and she does not like it when she's wrong!!! So then I tried figure 8's at the canter and that went pretty well, sometimes she'd drop to a trot, but would pick it up right away again. Pretty flying lead changes :)
Next it was trying to start the spins, with the two different methods. One was starting with the drive zone 1, and then other was starting with a draw first. Well I started with a drive and first she just wanted to sidepass so I had to help her move her nose a bit more around and then I ran to the other side of her to let her know she was perfectly correct by doing so! Well, ofcourse when I told her it was right, that was it, she had it! and as soon as she brought her zone 1 around I was there to draw her back in and send her in the opposite direction! It was so cool! It totally worked!!!
I did both directions at a walk, and then moved out of my round corral and just did at liberty in the honeycomb, so that added a little more fun because there were other horses in there with their owners. Blue was a champ and stuck with me. And if she did walk just a wee bit too far away I would whistle and she would come right back to me :)
So then I tried the other spin where you draw them towards you first and then send them, and it worked too :) I was a little nervous because if I sent out too much energy she could have left me, but she was awesome!! So we did those a couple of times until she really got it and then we got off of it!!!! :):):)
Oh Oh, I got a great tip from Avery. What I didn't realize that I was doing was when I was drawing her in my body had the attitude of game over! Well, this draw is not supposed the have the attitude of game over, but of come to me and be ready to do something else! So I REALLY have to watch that now!!!
Then we grazed for some time and chitchatted with whomever was close by and spend some quality time. Ofcourse I wanted to push my luck just a little more and I tried a spin at a trot, hehe, and it worked :) So I really left it after that one!!! She is just the best horse.
Oh another thing I discovered is that Blue was a RBI!!! When I filled out the chart I had dots in all the other three quadrants, but zero in the RBI. But as I got deeper into it and starting thinking back when I had just gotten her, and remembered how patient I had to be with her, because she always wanted to check everything out before she was ready to move on, I was basically doing RBI strategies. But now she doesn't really have any of the worry qualities unless we start something new and I don't take it slow enough. If I help her just the right amount she never gets overwhelmed and she just flies through all the new tasks. But if I go to quickly then she'll get really frustrated with me and herself for not understanding. So, huge lightbulb in my head!!! I never even looked at her like that anymore, because she has all the other qualities on the horsenality scale, in LBI/LBE/RBE when she wants to have a little fun.
Anyway, so all is well. I'm having a SUPER blast and every day is totally awesome!!!!!!!!!!
I really miss Toby, my gelding, because he's a RBE/LBE and he would have so much fun here! I would like for him to have the same experience. He would just love all the things they have to offer here!
Now I'm going to go for my evening stroll with Blue :)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Another good day :)
Ok, today was super fun again! Shees, i'm totally getting spoiled!
We did a super fun game with our remuda's with the savvy strings and learned a lot about communicating with body language and being a leader and a follower.
Then with the demo we got to see 4 different horsenalities and then play with horse conga's, which I just think is too much fun as well!
Oh, and I forgot to mention, I have a super fun group of friends here! Steffie from Germany (28), Tiziana from Spain (24), Kelly from Missouri (I think, and about 25) Vip from Thailand (19), and Alex (no clue how old, and pretty shy). Then there are just a ton of nice people in my class. But our group is super fun and we eat our meals together and hang in the afternoon to let our horses graze. Everyone gets along so well because we always talk about our horse/personalities and it's just super fun. We always call each other out about it. And we learn so much from each other. Kelly is a total info book about horse health and nutrition, so I'm constantly picking her brain. I must be annoying the crap out of her. And oh, Sandy (from Ontario, the extern) and Brittany (California, also an extern) are around a lot too, and are a hoot to hang out with. We watched Twilight Sunday with this group (without the guys:)) and just ooh and ahhhhed about Edward, hahhaahahah, it was fun!
So I got Blue in the morning and played with laying down and Shirley took video, but It's too long to add to you tube or facebook, so I'm going to have to take a short one tomorrow.
Then in the afternoon we practised increasing circles on the circling game according to our horsenalities. So for blue just see if I can add a couple more. I didn't push it, I got about 5 for each one and will build from there. I don't really count when we are doing travelling circles, but we probably get more then because we're actually going somewhere.
Also worked on our Figure 8's at liberty and they are coming along! I was quite surprised! I thought that was going to be the hardest one, but setting it up in a round pen makes it so much easier!!!!! Now it just feels like we are dancing together :) It's just so much fun. I love making sure i'm not pushing her too hard, and keeping it interesting enough, but not over doing it with new things, and just adding on to what we practised the day before. It really is just super fun!
Just now I went for a walk with Shirley and we let them graze in the back of the enchanted forest. Blue always pouts when we head home again, so I try and be sure to have some dinner or some treats ready for her. I wouldn't like a boring stall either!
Anyway, time to head home and read Midnight Sun!
We did a super fun game with our remuda's with the savvy strings and learned a lot about communicating with body language and being a leader and a follower.
Then with the demo we got to see 4 different horsenalities and then play with horse conga's, which I just think is too much fun as well!
Oh, and I forgot to mention, I have a super fun group of friends here! Steffie from Germany (28), Tiziana from Spain (24), Kelly from Missouri (I think, and about 25) Vip from Thailand (19), and Alex (no clue how old, and pretty shy). Then there are just a ton of nice people in my class. But our group is super fun and we eat our meals together and hang in the afternoon to let our horses graze. Everyone gets along so well because we always talk about our horse/personalities and it's just super fun. We always call each other out about it. And we learn so much from each other. Kelly is a total info book about horse health and nutrition, so I'm constantly picking her brain. I must be annoying the crap out of her. And oh, Sandy (from Ontario, the extern) and Brittany (California, also an extern) are around a lot too, and are a hoot to hang out with. We watched Twilight Sunday with this group (without the guys:)) and just ooh and ahhhhed about Edward, hahhaahahah, it was fun!
So I got Blue in the morning and played with laying down and Shirley took video, but It's too long to add to you tube or facebook, so I'm going to have to take a short one tomorrow.
Then in the afternoon we practised increasing circles on the circling game according to our horsenalities. So for blue just see if I can add a couple more. I didn't push it, I got about 5 for each one and will build from there. I don't really count when we are doing travelling circles, but we probably get more then because we're actually going somewhere.
Also worked on our Figure 8's at liberty and they are coming along! I was quite surprised! I thought that was going to be the hardest one, but setting it up in a round pen makes it so much easier!!!!! Now it just feels like we are dancing together :) It's just so much fun. I love making sure i'm not pushing her too hard, and keeping it interesting enough, but not over doing it with new things, and just adding on to what we practised the day before. It really is just super fun!
Just now I went for a walk with Shirley and we let them graze in the back of the enchanted forest. Blue always pouts when we head home again, so I try and be sure to have some dinner or some treats ready for her. I wouldn't like a boring stall either!
Anyway, time to head home and read Midnight Sun!
Monday, March 23, 2009
IEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Ok, so first off the weekend was super fun!!! Check out my facebook page for pics! I met Dustin on Friday in Tallahassee and we drove around a little to find a place to eat. We ended up eating in a bar, but their burgers were fantastic. So we got lucky for bar food!
Then Saturday we ate at IHOP's, and drove down to the coast. We took a nice walk along the beach and then went on to St. George's Island. There I had raw oysters for maybe the 2nd time, I can't really remember if I had them before, I had them steamed I think. Anyone, the idea totally creeped me out!!!! But surprisingly they were decent/good ? Not sure yet, I'll have to have them again. And Dustin said they were the best oysters he'd ever had! So lucky for me, if they had been worse then I'm not sure if I'd like them. Then we drove back and went and had Indian food.
In the morning we went to Cracker Barrell and puzzled out that little game they have on the table, and then we parted ways :( It was a short trip but WELL worth it! I already miss him horribly! I'm supposed to not see him until the end of July, but I'm not sure if I can hold out that long, and I may meet him in Japan when he's there.
Anyway, I made it back to the Parelli center around 2:30 pm. Blue gave me the cold shoulder for the first minute or so. Yes, she wears her feelings on her sleeve! So I gave her a cookie and she still decided I wasn't worth her time, because I had left her for a day and a half. I played hide your hiney about three times, and then she was all smiles again. Ready to buddy up with me again :)
Well, I had my belly belt full of grain and I headed for the sand round corral. I was hoping to get her to lay down and stay down with me. Luckily I only had grain on me, so when she rolled I made my way over and gave her the grain. Well, guess what! It took her a while to eat all the grain out of my hand, so she didn't get up, and then I was ready with another hand full of grain!!! So I got her to stay down with me for probably 5 minutes. Then I got up. She got up and I was ALL SMILES!! We played a little, but mostly just had fun.
So Monday rolls around! Well, I give her her breakfast and then I eat mine. I go out to see her and she leaves her breakfast for me and is ready to head out. I take her to the round corral again and hope for the best. I mimic the laying down process and sure enough she lays down and I shove her full of grain :):):) It totally worked. Well, then to my surprise we got up and started walking around again, and ofcourse I try to push my luck, so I mimic laying down again!!! GUESS WHAT!!! IT WORKED!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
So yeah, we probably did that 5 more times!! I even had my friend watch her real quick so I could get more grain and do it again.
Then we had class and it was all good stuff again about Prey/Predator relationships. It's all so dang interesting!!!
After lunch I get Blue and I head to the round corral again. And sure enough, it still works! We laid down together again and she just loves her grain!!! We did it a couple of times. It's funny because when I ask her to lay down a couple of times she needs to actually roll at a certain point too, hahah, so I'll get up to get ready to leave and she'll actually get down and really have a roll, haha.
Then we worked on figure 8's at liberty and that was a blast. She gave me lots of attitude, probably because I asked with too much energy, but it was hilarious. In the end we were making process. Then we took a break in between the honey comb and once again I push my luck. It's a grassy spot, but she was a bit sweaty, so I start mimicing laying down again, and TADA!!!!! She lays down :):):):):):):) x 1,000000000000000000!!!
Everyone was asking if I asked her to do it, so I asked her to get up and asked her down again.
It is so super fun!!!!!!!!!!!
Tomorrow I'm only going to allow myself to do it in the morning so I don't burn her out on it. But it's like her new trick, so she's happy to do it for me.
I let her graze a lot today, so she was happy. And she's so sweet, she keeps checking in on me. And now when she gets a ways away I can whistle and she comes over to me with the sweetest face you'll ever see. I'm the luckiest horse owner in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!! We really are connecting on a higher level and I'm just not getting mad or upset anymore. Everything she offers is just absolutely wonderful, even if it's not exactly what I want. She's just a super horse :):):)
Anyway, I'm going out to give her some more snuggles!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, I'm just so excited!!!!!
Then Saturday we ate at IHOP's, and drove down to the coast. We took a nice walk along the beach and then went on to St. George's Island. There I had raw oysters for maybe the 2nd time, I can't really remember if I had them before, I had them steamed I think. Anyone, the idea totally creeped me out!!!! But surprisingly they were decent/good ? Not sure yet, I'll have to have them again. And Dustin said they were the best oysters he'd ever had! So lucky for me, if they had been worse then I'm not sure if I'd like them. Then we drove back and went and had Indian food.
In the morning we went to Cracker Barrell and puzzled out that little game they have on the table, and then we parted ways :( It was a short trip but WELL worth it! I already miss him horribly! I'm supposed to not see him until the end of July, but I'm not sure if I can hold out that long, and I may meet him in Japan when he's there.
Anyway, I made it back to the Parelli center around 2:30 pm. Blue gave me the cold shoulder for the first minute or so. Yes, she wears her feelings on her sleeve! So I gave her a cookie and she still decided I wasn't worth her time, because I had left her for a day and a half. I played hide your hiney about three times, and then she was all smiles again. Ready to buddy up with me again :)
Well, I had my belly belt full of grain and I headed for the sand round corral. I was hoping to get her to lay down and stay down with me. Luckily I only had grain on me, so when she rolled I made my way over and gave her the grain. Well, guess what! It took her a while to eat all the grain out of my hand, so she didn't get up, and then I was ready with another hand full of grain!!! So I got her to stay down with me for probably 5 minutes. Then I got up. She got up and I was ALL SMILES!! We played a little, but mostly just had fun.
So Monday rolls around! Well, I give her her breakfast and then I eat mine. I go out to see her and she leaves her breakfast for me and is ready to head out. I take her to the round corral again and hope for the best. I mimic the laying down process and sure enough she lays down and I shove her full of grain :):):) It totally worked. Well, then to my surprise we got up and started walking around again, and ofcourse I try to push my luck, so I mimic laying down again!!! GUESS WHAT!!! IT WORKED!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
So yeah, we probably did that 5 more times!! I even had my friend watch her real quick so I could get more grain and do it again.
Then we had class and it was all good stuff again about Prey/Predator relationships. It's all so dang interesting!!!
After lunch I get Blue and I head to the round corral again. And sure enough, it still works! We laid down together again and she just loves her grain!!! We did it a couple of times. It's funny because when I ask her to lay down a couple of times she needs to actually roll at a certain point too, hahah, so I'll get up to get ready to leave and she'll actually get down and really have a roll, haha.
Then we worked on figure 8's at liberty and that was a blast. She gave me lots of attitude, probably because I asked with too much energy, but it was hilarious. In the end we were making process. Then we took a break in between the honey comb and once again I push my luck. It's a grassy spot, but she was a bit sweaty, so I start mimicing laying down again, and TADA!!!!! She lays down :):):):):):):) x 1,000000000000000000!!!
Everyone was asking if I asked her to do it, so I asked her to get up and asked her down again.
It is so super fun!!!!!!!!!!!
Tomorrow I'm only going to allow myself to do it in the morning so I don't burn her out on it. But it's like her new trick, so she's happy to do it for me.
I let her graze a lot today, so she was happy. And she's so sweet, she keeps checking in on me. And now when she gets a ways away I can whistle and she comes over to me with the sweetest face you'll ever see. I'm the luckiest horse owner in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!! We really are connecting on a higher level and I'm just not getting mad or upset anymore. Everything she offers is just absolutely wonderful, even if it's not exactly what I want. She's just a super horse :):):)
Anyway, I'm going out to give her some more snuggles!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, I'm just so excited!!!!!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Fun Friday!
Today was good again.
I took Blue out in the morning and we went for a stroll. Then I let her go in the large arena and we did some at liberty playing. We had lots of fun again. She did a little pepe le pew canter, and it was adorable.
I keep getting asked what breed Blue is. Is it not obvious? I sure thought so. But some think she could be mixed with a lusitano or andulusian (spelling?). My friend tells me she has one that looks just like but isn't a QH. Oh well, she's cute as a button to me, no matter what the breed!
After that we had Pat come in and talk about what's going on in the program and why all the changes and of course it all makes sense. The things that he's going to have going on in the future with ambassadors and such are cool too. So good things to come.
Then we had our going away chitchat and then it was lunch time.
After lunch I played with Blue on the 45 and she took me to all the obstacles. I mean literally, we would head in the direction and she'd go, yeah yeah, I got it. So while it was fun in the beginning, after that it got annoying. So then I had to take some of the leadership back and she didn't like that much. So we had a little conversation and then it went much better again. We also did 2 line driving and it's improving. First she gets all pissy because I have so much control, and then she finally accepts it and stops fighting and works with me, instead of against me. Then she gets a cookie :) However, I need to cut back on those now too, because she expects them every 5 minutes. So now it's time to level it out again. So that's going to be the challenge again.
So it's back to stand on your mat and don't move your feet. That's the easiest way for her to remember who's in charge by 1% :)
Anyway, now I'm off to see Dustin, so it's going to be a great weekend :)
I took Blue out in the morning and we went for a stroll. Then I let her go in the large arena and we did some at liberty playing. We had lots of fun again. She did a little pepe le pew canter, and it was adorable.
I keep getting asked what breed Blue is. Is it not obvious? I sure thought so. But some think she could be mixed with a lusitano or andulusian (spelling?). My friend tells me she has one that looks just like but isn't a QH. Oh well, she's cute as a button to me, no matter what the breed!
After that we had Pat come in and talk about what's going on in the program and why all the changes and of course it all makes sense. The things that he's going to have going on in the future with ambassadors and such are cool too. So good things to come.
Then we had our going away chitchat and then it was lunch time.
After lunch I played with Blue on the 45 and she took me to all the obstacles. I mean literally, we would head in the direction and she'd go, yeah yeah, I got it. So while it was fun in the beginning, after that it got annoying. So then I had to take some of the leadership back and she didn't like that much. So we had a little conversation and then it went much better again. We also did 2 line driving and it's improving. First she gets all pissy because I have so much control, and then she finally accepts it and stops fighting and works with me, instead of against me. Then she gets a cookie :) However, I need to cut back on those now too, because she expects them every 5 minutes. So now it's time to level it out again. So that's going to be the challenge again.
So it's back to stand on your mat and don't move your feet. That's the easiest way for her to remember who's in charge by 1% :)
Anyway, now I'm off to see Dustin, so it's going to be a great weekend :)
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Phew, it was hot today!
Eating tilapia! Even the food is great here!!
Today went well again!
Our classroom sessions were very interesting again. We talked about the 8 principles. Then, TADA! In walks Mr. Pat Parelli himself!!!!!! With Dr. Miller and his wife!!!!! So double awesomeness!!!!!!! He just said hello to everyone and asked where everyone was from and then they had to leave again, so we could get back to class.
Then we're out with our demo and I look up from my conga horse and there's Linda towering over us with Remmer!!! We were in the middle of the conga, so we couldn't really stop and stare, haha. But super awesome!!
Oh, conga horses, Totally fun!!!! Hahah, it's such a laugh! We should definetly do more of that at home!!!
I'm already getting the reputation of the girl with all the energie. The older ladies tell me that they love watching me run with Blue as fast as I can through the fields, so that's nice. And then my other friend, who held Blue for me while I ran into the store said that she'd never seen a horse so attached :):):) Blue was trying to find me and head into the store :) Everytime I'd yell out to say that I was almost done, Blue would try and find me again. So she finally told me to be still, because she'd have to get Blue resettled each time. Extremely nice compliments!!! I'm totally flattered!
After lunch I went and got Blue, but I was completely drained from our conga horse session and sitting in the sun. So we just walked out through the enchanted forest and did a little walk/trot/canter, but I was so dang pooped. So I just let her go in the large arena and she had herself a good little run. Then I went back and watched a dvd on farrier prep and had an ice tea and we were rejuvinated!
I went up on the hill and played with all the obstacles again and well, Blue found her favorite!!!! It's like a small car tent! Open on both sides. The first time I was driving from zone 5 and she trotted right on through, so when I popped out, she disengaged. Then we went back through. Well, then I wanted to leave and she wanted to go in again! I had to literally drag her away. We played with sideways around obstacles, and weaves, and jumps, and the ramp and she's totally awesome at all times! But once again, on our way back to the pens she took me straight to the tent! And then she stopped underneath it and relaxed! So I walked in with her and she didn't want to walk out, so we hung out for a good 20 minutes! She's pook her head out and watch all the horses play, and then she's back up and reposition herself for a couple of grass pieces, then she'd bug me some, then she'd bite parts of the tent! She just loved it under there. It had a really nice breeze, so I can't blame her. If you guys have seen my Blue pics, she did the same thing to our ratty "car wash" that we set up. That was her hang out while the strips of tarp blew around her. She's such a ham!!! And then finally we strolled on and made our way back.
Man oh man, it's just so fun! I hope I have more energy tomorrow, because I'm driving to Tallahassee to meet Dustin :):):) How did I get so lucky to get both of the things I love ??!?!
Oh, and I may be stuck in Florida longer because I'm not allowed to leave the States, or I won't be allowed back in!!! And there aren't any appointments available as of now for my trip back!!! Oh my, what a place to be stuck in!!!!!!!
Today went well again!
Our classroom sessions were very interesting again. We talked about the 8 principles. Then, TADA! In walks Mr. Pat Parelli himself!!!!!! With Dr. Miller and his wife!!!!! So double awesomeness!!!!!!! He just said hello to everyone and asked where everyone was from and then they had to leave again, so we could get back to class.
Then we're out with our demo and I look up from my conga horse and there's Linda towering over us with Remmer!!! We were in the middle of the conga, so we couldn't really stop and stare, haha. But super awesome!!
Oh, conga horses, Totally fun!!!! Hahah, it's such a laugh! We should definetly do more of that at home!!!
I'm already getting the reputation of the girl with all the energie. The older ladies tell me that they love watching me run with Blue as fast as I can through the fields, so that's nice. And then my other friend, who held Blue for me while I ran into the store said that she'd never seen a horse so attached :):):) Blue was trying to find me and head into the store :) Everytime I'd yell out to say that I was almost done, Blue would try and find me again. So she finally told me to be still, because she'd have to get Blue resettled each time. Extremely nice compliments!!! I'm totally flattered!
After lunch I went and got Blue, but I was completely drained from our conga horse session and sitting in the sun. So we just walked out through the enchanted forest and did a little walk/trot/canter, but I was so dang pooped. So I just let her go in the large arena and she had herself a good little run. Then I went back and watched a dvd on farrier prep and had an ice tea and we were rejuvinated!
I went up on the hill and played with all the obstacles again and well, Blue found her favorite!!!! It's like a small car tent! Open on both sides. The first time I was driving from zone 5 and she trotted right on through, so when I popped out, she disengaged. Then we went back through. Well, then I wanted to leave and she wanted to go in again! I had to literally drag her away. We played with sideways around obstacles, and weaves, and jumps, and the ramp and she's totally awesome at all times! But once again, on our way back to the pens she took me straight to the tent! And then she stopped underneath it and relaxed! So I walked in with her and she didn't want to walk out, so we hung out for a good 20 minutes! She's pook her head out and watch all the horses play, and then she's back up and reposition herself for a couple of grass pieces, then she'd bug me some, then she'd bite parts of the tent! She just loved it under there. It had a really nice breeze, so I can't blame her. If you guys have seen my Blue pics, she did the same thing to our ratty "car wash" that we set up. That was her hang out while the strips of tarp blew around her. She's such a ham!!! And then finally we strolled on and made our way back.
Man oh man, it's just so fun! I hope I have more energy tomorrow, because I'm driving to Tallahassee to meet Dustin :):):) How did I get so lucky to get both of the things I love ??!?!
Oh, and I may be stuck in Florida longer because I'm not allowed to leave the States, or I won't be allowed back in!!! And there aren't any appointments available as of now for my trip back!!! Oh my, what a place to be stuck in!!!!!!!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
I'm going to have to start writing each day!
Well, I've already forgotten half of the things I did yesterday!
I will try and remember!
Yesterday we covered Horsenalities and other things, but too much to write about. Ofcourse very interesting.
Then my play session revolved around having Blue swim in the pond. Well, I already kinda knew she was not a huge fan, and it's still obvious. She'll go in, and then look at me and ask me what the point of it is. She doesn't really play in there, just walks in, looks at me, and asks to come out again. Next time I'll wait until she's super hot and have her go in and see what happens!
We played with a lot of driving from zone 4 and 5, and everytime something went a little wrong, I just back up a zone and helped her out some and made sure I was being clear about everything. I tried laying on a big stump at one point and she just molested me the entire time! So I got up and played with her some more. My favorite part was asking her to canter on the 45 foot line and then cantering along side her and going as fast as I possible could. She would go flying with me and then I'd slam on the breaks and she's come screeching to a halt :) Of course getting a much deserved cookie!
Today we split up in our own horse/personality group. I, ofcourse, went to the LBE. Fit right in, and everything they had to say was pretty right! I will work on that! For those of you that are also LBE and know what I'm talking about (our bad qualities!). We had to keep our feet moving, but also have a purpose to it. So we walked on the top of the honeycomb rail! We had to make it all the way around. It was super fun and I was hauling ass! Super fun stuff!
Then I had a workshop with driving with two 22 foot lines. It was fun, but quite heavy! I think I'll try the 45 in half next time! Blue responded wonderfully, but at one point decided grazing every two seconds was much more fun! So finally after Avery reminded me that my cluck better mean something, Blue got a phase 4 with the end of one of the 22 foot ropes! Problem solved :) We also did trailer loading from zone 5 and our figure 8's are coming along nicely now in the trot :) Oh my, so much to be happy about!
Then we went out on the 45 again and flew through the field together. So much frikkin fun!!! It was super hot and everytime I would come slamming to a hault she skidded to a halt. One time her hind legs stop, and she made 11's with them because the grass was slippery! Woohoo, reining horse in the making, haha. We played with all the obstacles and she was a star.
However, every time I would sit on the grass for her to graze she just hovered over me. She nudge me some, play with my hair, play with the rope some, but not graze! It was baffling me. And then, as soon as I got up, she'd start grazing!!! I was so confused. I finally asked Avery, and she said that that was wonderful! She said that we had a real partnership, that every time I went to sit down and relax, she would stand gaurd for me, and then as soon as I stood up, she would feel protected by me, and start grazing. That pretty much made my month here already :):):) We're partners :)
She's absolutely the cutest thing as always. I'll walk towards the pens and whistle out to her, and I'll see her head perk up and she'll start looking around trying to figure out where I'm coming from. It's the cutest thing! And then she locks in on me and starts with her soft little nickers. She's seriously the nicest little horse in the world!!! I'm so dang lucky!
Oh, I forgot. I have never been so interested in a teaching setting! For once I know what the teachers are talking about, when they said it would be beneficial to come to class already having studied the material. Well, now it totally makes sense. You can just follow along and absorb everything! I have never had so much fun learning stuff! What a waste those 4 years at college were! I should have come straight to Parelli! I love everything that comes out of their mouths, it just makes perfect sense!!!
Ok, i'm going out now to give my perfect creature her much preferred, and well deserved grain!!!
I will try and remember!
Yesterday we covered Horsenalities and other things, but too much to write about. Ofcourse very interesting.
Then my play session revolved around having Blue swim in the pond. Well, I already kinda knew she was not a huge fan, and it's still obvious. She'll go in, and then look at me and ask me what the point of it is. She doesn't really play in there, just walks in, looks at me, and asks to come out again. Next time I'll wait until she's super hot and have her go in and see what happens!
We played with a lot of driving from zone 4 and 5, and everytime something went a little wrong, I just back up a zone and helped her out some and made sure I was being clear about everything. I tried laying on a big stump at one point and she just molested me the entire time! So I got up and played with her some more. My favorite part was asking her to canter on the 45 foot line and then cantering along side her and going as fast as I possible could. She would go flying with me and then I'd slam on the breaks and she's come screeching to a halt :) Of course getting a much deserved cookie!
Today we split up in our own horse/personality group. I, ofcourse, went to the LBE. Fit right in, and everything they had to say was pretty right! I will work on that! For those of you that are also LBE and know what I'm talking about (our bad qualities!). We had to keep our feet moving, but also have a purpose to it. So we walked on the top of the honeycomb rail! We had to make it all the way around. It was super fun and I was hauling ass! Super fun stuff!
Then I had a workshop with driving with two 22 foot lines. It was fun, but quite heavy! I think I'll try the 45 in half next time! Blue responded wonderfully, but at one point decided grazing every two seconds was much more fun! So finally after Avery reminded me that my cluck better mean something, Blue got a phase 4 with the end of one of the 22 foot ropes! Problem solved :) We also did trailer loading from zone 5 and our figure 8's are coming along nicely now in the trot :) Oh my, so much to be happy about!
Then we went out on the 45 again and flew through the field together. So much frikkin fun!!! It was super hot and everytime I would come slamming to a hault she skidded to a halt. One time her hind legs stop, and she made 11's with them because the grass was slippery! Woohoo, reining horse in the making, haha. We played with all the obstacles and she was a star.
However, every time I would sit on the grass for her to graze she just hovered over me. She nudge me some, play with my hair, play with the rope some, but not graze! It was baffling me. And then, as soon as I got up, she'd start grazing!!! I was so confused. I finally asked Avery, and she said that that was wonderful! She said that we had a real partnership, that every time I went to sit down and relax, she would stand gaurd for me, and then as soon as I stood up, she would feel protected by me, and start grazing. That pretty much made my month here already :):):) We're partners :)
She's absolutely the cutest thing as always. I'll walk towards the pens and whistle out to her, and I'll see her head perk up and she'll start looking around trying to figure out where I'm coming from. It's the cutest thing! And then she locks in on me and starts with her soft little nickers. She's seriously the nicest little horse in the world!!! I'm so dang lucky!
Oh, I forgot. I have never been so interested in a teaching setting! For once I know what the teachers are talking about, when they said it would be beneficial to come to class already having studied the material. Well, now it totally makes sense. You can just follow along and absorb everything! I have never had so much fun learning stuff! What a waste those 4 years at college were! I should have come straight to Parelli! I love everything that comes out of their mouths, it just makes perfect sense!!!
Ok, i'm going out now to give my perfect creature her much preferred, and well deserved grain!!!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Too much fun!
Ok, I'll try and write a quick recap of the last couple of days.
The trip went fine. However, the first day I got stuck at the borderfor an extra 2.5 hours, because of my whole permanent resident card put on hold deal. Horses not too happy, but didn't complain. Then dealt with high winds, which sucked big time, and then a GPS that decided to send on us some miserable driving roads when you're tired and it's dark out. But it all went well. Horses were total troopers.
The next two days went by without troubles as well. Trailer loading went without problems, except that Rein rubbed his bum raw by leaning on the butt bar the entire trip! Poor guy!
They got to settle in and relax all of Saturday.
Dustin made it up Friday night so we got to hang out all weekend which was fantastic. We had so much fun. We went on a kayaking trip down a river (forgot name), but super nice and quiet. Watched the alligators bake in the sun, and the turtles and birds, on a perfect Saturday, not too hot, and no bugs :) Then we went out to the Melting Pot and ate ourselves full! It was great!
Sunday morning we were the first ones at the Parelli center and signed in. Walked around the playground some with Blue and then went to lunch with Dustin.
Then Dustin went home and we had our welcome speech. After that we just spend the day playing mirror me (mirror the horse). Blue decided she needed to be around Rein, so we allowed that, but at all times we protected our herds of two. She was not pleased when Shirley told her to not come close to Rein. I don't think anyone ever shoes Blue away, haha. Then after a while I made it a bit more uncomfortable around Rein and only let her graze when she was away from him. She could walk back towards him, but I wouldn't let her graze when she was near him. So that basically sealed the deal and we walked off on our own. So she was a wee bit right brain the first day, but only a slight case. Nothing with running around or freaking out. So I was super pleased.
Then our first day of class. We went through our lessons and they were very interesting and reminded me again of where my brain needed to be. Then I went out to my focus group of playing "touch it" on the 45 foot line. Well, we had a brilliant day. Blue was totally awesome, very intune, very quiet, very responsive. She touched everything I asked her to, and then she offered to jump everything, or stand on everything, or go into everything. We did the new trailer out there, the trailer simulation tent, the tire squeeze game, the jump squeeze obstacle, the water up to her belly, all without hesitation! She was a total trooper! So I mixed it up with some leading in zone 5, and some stick to me, and walk/trot/canter circles heading in the direction of another obstacle. We just had a blast playing with all the new obstacles. She looked so dang cute jumping over the natural jumps :)
I hosed her down about 3 times, cause the poor little critter was just sweating!
Then it was supper time and we both got to eat. After that she wanted to come out with me again, so we went for a walk while the sun was setting. I started off in zone5 and let her get farther and farther away. Then she got a little worried because I was so far behind her and she was looking for Rein. She went over the bridge and just before the end she picked up a little trot. I just held on and she turned and faced me. So I made sure she was ok with the bridge and hd her walk over it 4 times on her own, and she was fine again. Then she led me to the back on the field where another horse was being ridden and that where we grazed. I laid in the grass and every now and then checked to see if she would come back to me while I was laying there. I would just whistle and slap the stick towards zone 4 and around she came and walked over :) After a while the mosquitos got to me, so I asked her to head back. We walked back with me almost at the end of the 45 foot rope and practised our steering, so that was fun. The rope kept going between her legs, so I would have to disengage half a turn and then ask her to walk forward again so that she would be heading in the right direction, but it worked great. We also did some squeezes inbetween tight trees with me back there and also back over the bridge. I put her back in her pen and she was not happy to have to go back in there. While I was walking away she was still watching me. Oh, she also talks when I get close to her pen, and that is one of the best sounds in the world :) Life is good :)
Not going to reread! Sorry for all mistakes!
The trip went fine. However, the first day I got stuck at the borderfor an extra 2.5 hours, because of my whole permanent resident card put on hold deal. Horses not too happy, but didn't complain. Then dealt with high winds, which sucked big time, and then a GPS that decided to send on us some miserable driving roads when you're tired and it's dark out. But it all went well. Horses were total troopers.
The next two days went by without troubles as well. Trailer loading went without problems, except that Rein rubbed his bum raw by leaning on the butt bar the entire trip! Poor guy!
They got to settle in and relax all of Saturday.
Dustin made it up Friday night so we got to hang out all weekend which was fantastic. We had so much fun. We went on a kayaking trip down a river (forgot name), but super nice and quiet. Watched the alligators bake in the sun, and the turtles and birds, on a perfect Saturday, not too hot, and no bugs :) Then we went out to the Melting Pot and ate ourselves full! It was great!
Sunday morning we were the first ones at the Parelli center and signed in. Walked around the playground some with Blue and then went to lunch with Dustin.
Then Dustin went home and we had our welcome speech. After that we just spend the day playing mirror me (mirror the horse). Blue decided she needed to be around Rein, so we allowed that, but at all times we protected our herds of two. She was not pleased when Shirley told her to not come close to Rein. I don't think anyone ever shoes Blue away, haha. Then after a while I made it a bit more uncomfortable around Rein and only let her graze when she was away from him. She could walk back towards him, but I wouldn't let her graze when she was near him. So that basically sealed the deal and we walked off on our own. So she was a wee bit right brain the first day, but only a slight case. Nothing with running around or freaking out. So I was super pleased.
Then our first day of class. We went through our lessons and they were very interesting and reminded me again of where my brain needed to be. Then I went out to my focus group of playing "touch it" on the 45 foot line. Well, we had a brilliant day. Blue was totally awesome, very intune, very quiet, very responsive. She touched everything I asked her to, and then she offered to jump everything, or stand on everything, or go into everything. We did the new trailer out there, the trailer simulation tent, the tire squeeze game, the jump squeeze obstacle, the water up to her belly, all without hesitation! She was a total trooper! So I mixed it up with some leading in zone 5, and some stick to me, and walk/trot/canter circles heading in the direction of another obstacle. We just had a blast playing with all the new obstacles. She looked so dang cute jumping over the natural jumps :)
I hosed her down about 3 times, cause the poor little critter was just sweating!
Then it was supper time and we both got to eat. After that she wanted to come out with me again, so we went for a walk while the sun was setting. I started off in zone5 and let her get farther and farther away. Then she got a little worried because I was so far behind her and she was looking for Rein. She went over the bridge and just before the end she picked up a little trot. I just held on and she turned and faced me. So I made sure she was ok with the bridge and hd her walk over it 4 times on her own, and she was fine again. Then she led me to the back on the field where another horse was being ridden and that where we grazed. I laid in the grass and every now and then checked to see if she would come back to me while I was laying there. I would just whistle and slap the stick towards zone 4 and around she came and walked over :) After a while the mosquitos got to me, so I asked her to head back. We walked back with me almost at the end of the 45 foot rope and practised our steering, so that was fun. The rope kept going between her legs, so I would have to disengage half a turn and then ask her to walk forward again so that she would be heading in the right direction, but it worked great. We also did some squeezes inbetween tight trees with me back there and also back over the bridge. I put her back in her pen and she was not happy to have to go back in there. While I was walking away she was still watching me. Oh, she also talks when I get close to her pen, and that is one of the best sounds in the world :) Life is good :)
Not going to reread! Sorry for all mistakes!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Less then 12 hours!
Today I moved Blue back to Shirley and that went smoothly. I'm doubt she'll enjoy the three day trailer ride, but she's going to have to deal with it to get to a sunny, and warm Florida, so I'm sure she'll forgive me! Now I'm about to pack my suitcase and try my best not to forget 100's of things! I don't know if I'll have email at our horse motels, so we'll see how that goes. Can't believe I'll be in Florida on Friday!
Monday, March 9, 2009
The start of my blog!
Ok, as you requested, here is my blog. Please excuse my horrible writing skills! English second language student here!
I'm heading to Florida in 2 days with my friend Shirley, and our two horses, Ms. Pure Blue (Blue), and Rein. We will spend an amazing month in Florida studying Parelli Natural Horsemanship! I will be following the level 3/4 Masterclass. I can't even begin to wonder how wonderful it's going to be!
And on top of that I will get to see my husband on the first two weekends :) He is living in South Korea flying the F-16 for the US airforce, but is in Alabama for a special training month. I decided to not to go with him to Korea, because it was an unaccompanied tour. We move a lot because of the airforce, so I took this opportunity to live back at home and hang with the folks and my sister in Ottawa, ON, Canada. I get to spend my days with my lovely horses and learn as much about Natural Horsemanship as possible. I travel back and forth about every three months to spend a couple of months with Dustin, so it has worked out really well. He works way to much for me to be living with him anyways! Over 12 hours a day = not very much time to hang with me. So our living situation is a little tough, but best for both of us for now.
Anyway, I'm off to put brand new oil in my lovely vehicle for our three day drive starting Wednesday :)
I'm heading to Florida in 2 days with my friend Shirley, and our two horses, Ms. Pure Blue (Blue), and Rein. We will spend an amazing month in Florida studying Parelli Natural Horsemanship! I will be following the level 3/4 Masterclass. I can't even begin to wonder how wonderful it's going to be!
And on top of that I will get to see my husband on the first two weekends :) He is living in South Korea flying the F-16 for the US airforce, but is in Alabama for a special training month. I decided to not to go with him to Korea, because it was an unaccompanied tour. We move a lot because of the airforce, so I took this opportunity to live back at home and hang with the folks and my sister in Ottawa, ON, Canada. I get to spend my days with my lovely horses and learn as much about Natural Horsemanship as possible. I travel back and forth about every three months to spend a couple of months with Dustin, so it has worked out really well. He works way to much for me to be living with him anyways! Over 12 hours a day = not very much time to hang with me. So our living situation is a little tough, but best for both of us for now.
Anyway, I'm off to put brand new oil in my lovely vehicle for our three day drive starting Wednesday :)
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