Fall Fun

Sorry I have been so quiet this summer! I am only able to get out to see my girls on Saturdays, but I feel we still have accomplished a good deal. Two weeks ago Cheyenne astounded me and found the courage to walk by the mini donkeys, mini horses, and mare-eating goats for the first time ever! She stopped to look around a few times, but never went stoic like she typically does before she panics and insists that we head back to the pasture. We enjoyed a two hour solo trail ride, and I'm hoping to use that trail a lot more often since we have a new goal of doing a 25 mile endurance ride next year! :)

One of the horse-eating ponds on the trail :)

At the end of the trail, enjoying the view :)

After our trail ride I noticed she had dry spots above her scapula and ruffled air down either side of her spine. After some help from a Parelli Professional on Parelli Connect I learned that her saddle is pinching her withers and too wide on her back. I decided it was time to do some saddle fitting, so last weekend I spent all my horsey time measuring the withers and back of Cheyenne and Gweny, and to my surprise Cheyenne has extra wide withers (I'm guessing because her withers are nearly non-existent so it's really sitting more on her shoulders) and Gweny's are medium wide (her withers are taller but narrower). My western saddle fits neither of my horses, and so I think it's time to sell a few saddles and buy two newer, well fitting saddles :) 

Today was pretty random. I had no real plan, and just decided what our game plan was while haltering. With Cheyenne I suddenly felt a spark up my ass to finally try a spin at liberty, so off to the round pen we went. We practiced online for about 10 minutes having her do her spin around a cone so she had a reason to spin (to circle the cone) and then I felt she had enough of a general gist of the exercise to throw the halter off and try it at liberty. She needed a little reassurance after the change of direction to keep turning, but she really hung in there and just blew my socks off :) We did it a few more times just to solidify what she learned, and called it a day.

Our first spin at liberty

With Gweny I am embarrassingly not as far as I should be. Yes she is LBI and challenges me constantly for dominance which slows progress, but with only getting to see my girls once a week, and Cheyenne being my much more advanced horse, it's easy to put Gwen on the back burner. Alanna Farrell, my Parelli Instructor helped me out with my impulsion issues under saddle via video coaching and just doing more point-to-point and having a true destination in mind made a huge difference in our riding. She started to see me as more of a leader since I had a game plan and stuck to it, and in one ride offered me more than she had in all of our other rides combined. Today however I had a different game plan for her ;) We did something I have been putting off for far too long, and that is change of direction. She picked it up so quickly! When I taught Cheyenne I had to use the fence to stop her so I could turn her around and finish the change, but with Gweny she just needed a little driving game with the carrot stick, and she was off in the other direction! I think a big factor was that I am a lot clearer now with my ques than I was when I taught Chey because I was learning as well, but it made me feel great that a mare with dominant, argumentative tendencies didn't put up a fight when asked to change directions, which is a dominate request. We did it a few times both ways and called it a night :) I am so blown away by these two incredible girls, and I can't believe I'm the one who gets to learn and play with them. I feel so honored and so lucky to have them in my life. One great day in the pasture makes the other six days of the week seem so much better.

Gweny taking a well deserved break 

Springtime Funtime

The last few weeks have been full of mini adventures with the horses :) For mother's day my mom and I did a mini photo shoot with her and her Friesian x Mustang mare, Lena, which was a huge blast! I also hopped on Lena that day and was her first official passenger! She did so good and took it all in stride. As the summer continues I'm hoping to help my mother start her more under saddle and get her more solid so she can become my mom's next trail/dressage partner :)

Last weekend Cheyenne and I had a great break through under saddle! Or, mote accurately, I had a break through ;) She was great online, and was calm, cool, and connected. However when I swung into the saddle her energy spiked, she came alive, and our connection flew right out the window. I'm still not sure if it was my energy coming up unknowingly, or if by accident I have conditioned her to bring her life up under saddle and to expect a faster pace. I started with some figure eights around the cones to get her more focused on my aids which (kind of) worked, then decided to play Follow the Rail and ask for a walk/trot transition every 15 strides. Our down transitions were extremely rough and I felt like I had to be very firm with my reins to get a response. Obviously this still wasn't engaging her mentally, so we started having an up, down, or backing transition every four strides. Bam! Instant success! She started paying attention to my aids, and by the end of the ride I could ask her to move down from a canter to a trot with just my seat aids :) I have learned it's necessary to take the ideas behind the patterns I've been given and start thinking for myself and start tweaking the patterns to find something that works for the horse I'm on in the situation I'm in; there is no cookie-cutter solition. Chey was SO relaxed and responsive by the end of our ride, and I couldn't have been more proud of her :) I was even able to canter on a completely loose rein and steer with just my seat/leg aids 80% of the time :) Progress!

Yesterday my back was hurting pretty badly, so we just had a day to hang out together, be mellow, and enjoy the sunshine :) Honestly I feel like we have the best time when we just sit around and do nothing lol. 

I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday weekend! Have fun, and don't forget to go play with your ponies!

Lazy Days

The weather always seems to know how to get in the way of a good pasture day ;) With high winds all weekend it was hard to really get anything done, so tonight was pretty chill. The girls got their apple flavored wormer, brushed down (still so much hair!), and Chey got to go for a mini ride. It will never cease to amaze me how sensitive and responsive that girl is, despite the fact she has been more of a pasture ornament lately. I always try so hard to keep her that light, but I feel like after a long break it is easier to do, like a clean slate. 

I finally was able to talk someone into moving the horse trailer into the pasture tonight as well! Now it's in a spot where I'm able to start playing with trailer loading again. If you didn't read my post about my 2014 horsemanship goals, loading Cheyenne at liberty is a big one :) I am really excited to get going on it!

Again, nothing too exciting happened tonight, but here are some pics of our down time tonight :)

A little is better than none

I've had some good horse time in , but it's been a different kind of horse time than normal. A family member just recently asked me to work with her 8 year old paint gelding, Sonny. He is an incredibly intelligent, sensitive RBE who honestly just needs miles on him. His owner is over 70 years old, and the people who trained and bred him are all in their 60's. He has never been cantered and he has bucked several people off. I've done some ground work with him and two trail rides, and he does great! He is confident and curious on the trail and has no problem leaving his full older brother, Bliss, behind to explore what's around him. He is typically very herd bound to Bliss, but once we get going he doesn't seem to care. Watching Eileen, his owner, ride I think I see what the issue is. She is older, and she doesn't have much strength which means the horses have figured out they can dive their nose down and out to rip the lead rope or reins out of her hands and do what they want. She also has a "buck strap" she hangs onto with a death grip the entire time she rides, which makes her entire body tense which transfers down to the horse. Bliss is an LBI and could definitely care less what she is doing, but to a sensitive RB horse like Sonny, that is a recipe for disaster. If she isn't confident, he doesn't think he can be confident either, and things go south. She wants to be able to pony Sonny and pack in the mountains, and I think once he gets some experience he will be a fabulous horse for her!

The adorable mister Sonny :) Look at the 7 on his chest!

Sonny enjoying the fabulous fall colors.

Sonny's full brother, Bliss.

This weekend I was able to visit my parent's house and have some time with my own horses. Saturday I saddled up Cheyenne and I was excited when my sister said she would come ride with me! Growing up we tore up the pasture together all the time playing horse tag, jumping over home made jumps, racing, and every other fun think we could think of. It's been well over eight years since she's been on a horse, and it made both of us happy to have her on horseback again! My five year old nephew is finally getting over his fear of horses, and he wanted to come ride too! I was so excited! I pulled Chey out of the pasture, did a two minute warm up, and she was ready to go! My crazy little firecracker is quickly turning into my steady-eddy, and it warms my heart :) Adonis, my nephew, sat in front of me on the saddle and off we went! He ended up squirming around a lot and it was bothering Chey because he was right on her shoulders, so I hopped off and led him around. He even wanted to trot! A lot! He was screaming (happily) and giggling and making all kinds of noises, moving his legs all over the place, and she never seemed to mind. He is the next generation horseman in the making, and that is one of the best feelings I've ever had. I really hope his love for horses continues and we have many awesome riding adventures together as he gets older!

My sister, Caitlin, and Snicker

The best kind of bonding time there is :)

The next day was Gweny's turn, which was good because even if I hadn't planned on it I don't think she would have left me alone until the halter went on her face. It's crazy how much slower I have to move when just walking with her, much less playing with her. We did some pedestal work, which she loves to find a million different ways to avoid. She is a quick learner though and once she finally got over being stubborn and found out she got left alone if she put her foot on the top we made quick progress. It's a little disappointing how much I have to work to convince her something is her idea as well, when a few months ago she was so eager to please and her expressions were getting increasingly better. However, with every visit it declines. Playing with her once a month just isn't cutting it, and it hurts to watch. My biggest fear is that my horses are going to forget me, but I'm trying really hard to not let that happen.

My mom jumped on Snicker and we rode around, and I played with Gweny on point-to-point trying to encourage her continue forward movement. Trotting takes less now though, and we even started the beginning steps of jumping! She has a talent for it, however doesn't like exerting the energy for it haha. By the end of Sunday I had her trotting over the jump, and she stopped trying to avoid it! Every time she went over an obstacle or jump she found out she got to stop and eat one of the random alfalfa plants growing in the pasture. This was a huge motivational tool for her and she started showing a little enthusiasm by the end of the ride. 

Gweny searching for alfalfa while mom and Snicker ride in the background

Even with not getting played with as often as they used to, they are still making progress. One positive thing that is coming out of this however is that when I see them I just want to enjoy riding or messing around with them, and my competitive side subsides and I just enjoy my time with them. It's kind of nice to put the levels aside and have fun for a while.  

Cheyenne's chestnut heart <3