Karen O'Connor, you are amazing

As we all know, the O'Connor's practice PNH. This video is an example of extreme friendly game, and the perfect example of why so many people say Parelli is the answer :) Middle of a competition, crowd cheering, her adrenaline is going as well as her horse's, and they recover beautifully... cheers to you, girl!!

Weird day in the neighborhood..

Weeelllllll today was just weird. Of weird pasture days, this definitely makes the top 10. 


In two days, it's gone from 24 degrees to 54. A weather change like that has effected the horses before, and even got Cheyenne to colic once when she was about 4 years old. So today when I came home from work and saw Chey facing an end of the pasture she usually ignores with her head down and looking pretty out of it, I was concerned. I went out to check on her, and when she saw me approaching the pasture she walked halfway to me then stopped (which is odd, she usually meets me at the fence). I walked up to her and listened to her belly, and there were normal stomach gurgles, which was a huge relief. She seemed alert, but just a little laggy.. a little out of it. Then, she turned around and walked away. I'm totally confused at this point. She walked over to the corner to go to the bathroom, so I just kind of figured she went away to do her business and come back. When she didn't come back to me, I asked her to come over and scratched her and cleaned her up a bit. She seemed healthy, and since the wind was up today thought maybe she was just trying to put up with it. (However, in Pasco we have high winds quite a bit, and she is used to them and normally doesn't really pay attention to it. So something was still off.) I put the bareback pad and savvy string on her, haltered her and started to walk to the gate. She just didn't seem quite right... to be safe, I transferred all the take to my Gwenasaurus Rex (who was nosing my back pretty much this whole time) and let Chey just take the day off to get over her funk and give her some space. All the way to the gate, however, Cheyenne was trying to come between Gwen and I and chase her off, and when I walked out of the pasture she nickered to me. It was SO cute! I think that's the first time she has nickered for me since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. <3


I was planning on doing another passenger lesson with Gwen, and maybe ask a little more of her today because she now equates passenger lessons with a pasture buffet with a rider on her back. Now, to back up a bit, when I first came out to the pasture and Chey was off in her own little world, the rest of the herd was getting pretty excited about something to the north out in the Bureau of Rec land, but I have no idea what. So Gwen and I are now riding into the pasture to the north, and her life begins to rise. This mare, as I said in the previous blog, is normally pretty dang bombproof in the pasture. Nothing really gets her too excited, and if it does, she is over it pretty quickly. I let her stop and look, and once she put her head down a bit I asked her to walk on. 


There is a corner in this pasture that is right next to where I feed the horses, and when the wind picks up it flings some hay into this corner where it gets caught in some wheat grass. Gwen knows its there, but I do my best to keep her away because God only knows if that stuff is even good for her anymore, and up until today it's been covered in snow so I couldn't clean it out. So Gwen of course had to re-visit this contraband corner during our passenger lesson. I've learned I can't just TELL her to turn, I have to do small "pressure and releases" to ask her to turn. She threw a fit when she wasn't getting her way, and with her life up more as it was, she started stomping her front feet and backing up one or two steps. I asked her again, and she turned 180 degrees, took a few steps and ate again. I gave her a scratch and let her eat for a second for listening, but when I asked her to go again she took a step or two and her head shot up and she froze. You know that little hump in a horses back that grows when they're about to buck? Yeaaahhh... she grew one of those. Mind you, this mare is 16hh and half Friesian... she is a LOT of mare. And I am sitting on a bareback pad lol. Not exactly the ideal situation. I let her have her looky-lou time, and tried to keep riding, but her concern about the boogyman in the distance kept growing, so I slid off and decided to re-direct her focus with a few games on the ground. Circle game, jumps, and some OL stick-to-me (stm) and she was completely focused on me again. However, she was now throwing fits about having to jump lol. Oh man. Gweny, I love you. She is so funny. I do believe on her back she was genuinely scared of whatever it was in the distance, but now she was taking that energy and converting it to classic LBI "you can't make me!" energy. When Gwen doesn't feel like doing something, as in jumping or slowing down, she rears, paws, and sometimes throws in a little crow-hop to keep things interesting. I've learned not to make a big deal of this, and just let her have her little episode, stay calm, and just ask her to do the task again. It works pretty well, and by the end of the night she was calmer, carrying her head level with her withers, and more willing. 


I'm taking tonight as a "meant to be" OL lesson with Gweny, but I still cannot get over how bizarre today turned out to be. Chey acting off, Gwen all amped up for who knows what reason... haha oh man. Play with the horse that greets you, right?


Today was fun. It was still really weird, but I'm kind of glad in a way it turned out the way it did. I'm going to switch the girl's routines around, and concentrate on more riding with Cheyenne and more ground work with Gwen for a while. I think it's what they both need. But I know one thing for sure, these ladies will keep my day interesting! =p 

*: My Goals for 2012 :*

After moving back home from the city last year, I remembered all the goals I had before I moved that I never really pursued. I've got a new fire under me, and honestly moving away was the best thing that has happened to my horsemanship in a long time because I realized what was important when it was no longer in my back yard anymore. 


So far I have Chey just about ready to pass Level 2, and that feels pretty amazing :) Especially since up until December I had 13 hour days of school and work. But I LOVE putting my principles to purpose, and I am very excited to dive into jumping lessons and really make my eventing dream a reality!!


Soo...                                  *:  My Goals for 2012 :*


1) Have more (Parelli) lessons! 


2) Pass Level 2


3) Ride Cheyenne bridless


4)Take the little ladies (Chey & Gwen) swimming in the river


5) Start jumping lessons back up


6) Ride @ Tulip Springs (The local eventing course)


7) Compete in at least 1 jumping show

Jan 22, 2012

First off, let me just exclaim I LOVE MY LITTLE LADIES!! <3 <3 <3. Today was the first time I've ridden Chey in months since we've been focusing on OL/Liberty tasks, and she was a rockstar! We did all the L2 Freestyle tasks that didn't involve the trot/canter (due to the ice layer still laying on about 3-4" of snow). She stayed LB the whole time except for a few seconds during the weave pattern when she was checking out what the neighbors were up to. Today was the first time I've really ridden with my savvy string on her neck, and she already backs up like a champ off its pressure :) We also did mounted sideways against a fence for the first time, and I was really excited to see how well she transferred all her knowledge from the ground into the saddle. She is a smart cookie for sure. Now when I'm on the ground I throw the lead rope over her neck and just pretend like it isn't there, and we do this for pretty much everything... once we pass L2 I'm really excited to jump into L3 liberty!! I think it's quickly becoming my favorite savvy of ALL TIME! haha.

Afterwards I jumped on my Gwenasaurus Rex and took her for a passenger lesson in the snow. Put the bareback pad on her before the halter for the first time, and this gal chilled like a pro letting me make all the adjustments on the pad to fit 16h Gwen from 14.3h Cheyenne. Last time I rode Gwen we ended up getting close to a few arguments, and she is so strongly LBI I really want to avoid all that. So passenger lesson it was! I let her roam around and eat in the melted patches by the fence, and asked her little things here and there (head up, walk to the next patch, let's maybe wander in somewhat this direction). While she ate I went back to being 10 year old Megan and started swinging my legs, messing around with her, and just started desensitizing her. Nothing bothered her, so I decided to lay down on her back. Well, about 20 seconds into that, it was apparently time to move to the next bit of grass!! I tried to stay laying down, but she felt like she might transition into a trot, so I crawled like a monkey on her back to get back on the saddle pad lol. It must have looked REALLY odd haha, but it didn't throw her off at all, and eventually started eating at a new patch of grass. SO impressed! I messed around with her a little more, then slid off her butt for the first time. Gwen acted like it was a daily occurance, ears up and munching away. I LOVE THIS MARE! Less than 10 rides under her, and she feels pretty bomb proof in the pasture <3 Once we get a solid foundation, sometime this summer I'll attempt a trail ride with just her, see what I can get away with ;) LOVE LOVE LOVE MY GIRLS!!

Snow Day Ah-ha Moments :)

Being snowed in the last few days has given me the opportunity (once I finally allowed myself to try and relax ;}) to study. I watched dvd's for all four savvy's to improve my OL and Finesse for my L2 audition which will hopefully be taped in the next month or two, and reading blogs.  I've also been drowning myself in YouTube videos of auditions, tricks, jumps, and demos with Parelli students and their horses. Overall, the following has really jumped out at/stuck with me:

1) Strong elbows = soft hands

2) Remember this is about playing with your horse and doing right by them, not getting competitive and reaching timely goals. I can pick the tasks, but my horses chose how long it takes to get there.

3) DON'T GET SO SERIOUS!! Remember all the FUN you had when you were younger? Ditch the "adult" frame of mind and this will all get easier and more enjoyable :)

4) Never set up a situation to make bracing an option (i.e. Oh, you want to look out of the arena? Here, let me use my carrot stick to help you look out :] )

5) OL, vertical rope wiggling is for downward transitions. Horizontal wiggling is for moving out to enlarge the circle.

6) Think of transitions as the yo-yo game

7) Thermal socks are your friends! =p

Watching so many wonderful auditions (and even a few that made me feel better about my horsemanship lol) were really encouraging and inspiring. It made me thankful to have such an intelligent and willing partner, and even though some days her RBE Hysteria is in full swing and I can't for the life of me get her focused, I know I can come out the next day and have a kick-ass sesh with her. Cheyenne can challenge me in so many ways, but I've learned when to take off the halter and call it a day even if I've accomplished nothing I had set out to do that day. I know as many irritating days we may have, there are 10x more fun, rewarding, exciting ones :) I am so lucky to have a little mare who really tries her heart out for me, and that is what makes me challenge myself to have more patience and try for her when she is feeling nervous and afraid. In the end, it's all about that little mare looking at me with bright excited eyes and ears up with a stoked expression on her face. It's about seeing her excited when she finally understands what I'm asking, it's about looking at the proud face of a horse who feels successful :) Passing the levels is just a plus. It's not a race with any other students, it's about the quality of my horsemanship and relationship with my girl. Even if we have amazing an sideways game for 10 days, and on the 11th for no apparent reason she is all over the place, as long as we both end the day feeling happy and confident, it was worth it :)