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 :)