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 

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 :)

Fired Up Friday!

Welcome to this week's FIRED UP FRIDAY!

Most of us tend to get caught up in our goals.. this could be passing the Parelli levels, progressing to Prelim in XC, running a quicker pole pattern, etc. Goals are fabulous and they keep us going. Many of us don't need to be pushed to progress, compete, and up our game in general. But what we also need to keep in mind is our inner child. Have fun with your horse! They get burnt out just like us, and sometimes we look over the signs when our tunnel vision kicks in and says "I need to get a 65% at the Ice Breaker Dressage show, I better train hard!". 

This is what your horse will say when Serious Sally walks into his field!

Let's also look at it this way, with a perspective we can all relate to. You're at work, and your company is trying to beat your competitor across town in sales. Manager A comes in and just stares over your shoulder while your working. Then she starts to nitpick. "Sit up straight. Why did you wear that outfit today? How are your numbers? You need to be utilizing the strategies I emailed you. Have you followed up on all your voicemails?". She means well, and she wants to see you succeed, but she does it in a critical, goal oriented manner. She might even say it with a smile, but that doesn't help your anxiety levels every time she comes around you.

Next, Manager B comes waltzing up to your desk. "Heeeey! How are you? {gives you a hug} Is your head cold getting any better? Your numbers are looking fabulous, and I even emailed you a list of strategies to help keep them soaring. Let me know if you need anything, and by the way, love your shirt!".  She has a genuinely positive attitude, takes a personal interest in you, not just your performance, and you feel more at ease and confident every time she comes around.

Seriously, who would you rather work for? More specifically, who would you go the extra mile for? I'm pretty sure we would all pick Manager B, and so would your horse. Like Pat Parelli says, they start feeding off of your engergy before you even enter the pasture. We need to make down time a priority and take advantage of our horse's play drive. When I was young I did what now would be considered the extreme friendly a LOT. I tied my sweater over my horse's eye balls, put my gloves over his ears, did summer-salts between his legs, rode him backwards, you name it I probably did it at some point. When I look back, I realize how much better my relationship with my horses was, and what a big impact goofing off had. He was definitely desensitized to anything and everything, he was confident in new situations and with new objects around him, and that little guy put his heart and soul into everything we did. We had an amazing bond, and our main priority was fun. 


 

I love seeing people making leaps and bounds with their furry friends, and it's so cool to watch them continue to climb the ladder and accomplish their horsey dreams. However I keep reading about horsewomen and men hitting a wall, finding a decline in their rapport and relationship, and feeling totally lost. Don't ever forget the value of play for yourself or your pony. Stop taking everything so seriously, and just relax. If you're not smiling and laughing when you're together, find a way to make that happen, and if nothing else you'll walk away from having the time of your life with your bestest buddy :) 

Hybrid Halter

This morning, as you may know, Kalley Krickeberg revealed her new product, the Hybrid Halter. It is half web halter, half rope. There is already a lot of controversy about it, as there is when anything new comes along and challenges someone's "normal". 

What I personally like about it is that it should keep the nose band knots in correct position much better than a normal rope halter, and no matter what happens during your play session (or in the event of an emergency), you know you won't have to struggle to remove the halter. For me this is fantastic since Gweny likes to get carried away and go balls-to-the-wall bucking and rearing and pull on my rope when she feels good when doing COD or cantering on the circle game which tightens the rope halter like nobody's business. One woman pointed out that these would be great for highlining and camping with your horse since they can't get their foot caught in it like they may be able to in a rope halter. I personally have never had that issue, but if you have a horse that is accident prone this may be a good alternative. Also, I personally like the look of web halters a little bit better, so the aesthetics aren't bad either. A little goofy looking, but still nice. 

The cons I see are that it is a heavier halter so playing with a horse may not be as effective as a rope halter. One Parelli student pointed out that the rope behind the ears was helpful with the porcupine game when asking your horse's head to come down. The yo-yo game is the first one that comes to my mind that might be interesting since the halter is in fact heavier, so I'm thinking you would have to put more energy down your line for the horse to feel the phases. Another aspect that concerns me for the yo-yo game are the metal connectors on either side of the nose band; they look as if they'd slap your horse in the face? That may be a game I'd skip with this halter. 

Either way, I say don't knock it until you try it. I don't think it is the "perfect" halter, but I definitely wouldn't pass up the chance to try it out with one of my girls. It will be interesting to keep an eye out in the next few months for reviews from natural horsewomen/men, and I have a feeling there will be a modified halter down the line that will address whatever issues they find. If the price ever comes down (I'm sorry, but $70 for a halter is ridiculous), and if they make one in a warmblood size, I would be really interested in getting one for Gweny. 

What are your thoughts on the halter? Have you already ordered one? What pros and cons do you see? I would love to hear your opinions!

On the Straight and Narrow

Marijke de Jong is a horsewoman from the Netherlands that teaches "straightness training", and I absolutely love watching her work with horses. She had a horse who favored his right side and found bending/tracking to the left for any maneuver to be quite challenging, which made him difficult to ride or work in hand. Marijke began reading training books from some of the old masters and found that a horse's natural imbalance had been recognized for hundreds of years. Through reading these old books she found a polite way of communicating straightness and balance to her "problem" horse, and developed a training method she now teaches today. 

Inspirational photo from Marijke's FB page

There is something to learn from everyone, to limit your masters is to limit your learning. I personally look for horseman and women who have a light hand and a psychological and emotional understanding of the horse, and soak up any and all information I can that in my opinion is a polite and effective method. It can be scary to branch out from a training method you've been following for over a decade, afraid to trust yourself and not a proven master of horsemanship. However I believe once you have a good foundation and understanding of quality techniques, finding mentors is much like reading food labels. You find a product (or trainer) and look at the ingredients. Are they all natural, or are there more preservatives and chemicals than food in there? Trust your judgement, and broaden your horizons. No one person has all the answers. Plus, for me at least, it can get a bit boring, no matter how amazing the information. My LBE side kicks in, and I need a change of pace. I'm still learning and advancing, and I'm adding more maneuvers to my mental card file, more arrows to my quiver ;)

Below is a video of Marijke demonstrating her straightness training in a Parelli halter. I love watching all her cues, and how soft she is with the horse, and the horse's willingness to perform, to play. I think this would be really fun to try out, and would do wonders for my girls, especially Cheyenne, who naturally carries herself in a "bad banana" posture.


Marijke de Jong - Straightness Training 

Higher Expectations

"When working with horses, expect a lot and accept a little. If the horse knows you have a high expectation, they're going to pay attention to you. If they know you're going to expect them to try hard, they're going to be focused on you, and you're going to feel that connection more. If you have low expectations and do a lot of rubbing and petting, that's all fine and good, but you loose a little something when you don't have a higher expectation. Focus on a goal. Even during struggle and strife, when you get through it, you will actually feel more connected, you understand each other to a deeper level, and that special thing occurs." ~ Kalley Krickeberg

I often see videos or pictures of incredible horseman, and to be honest, it sometimes looks a little rough. Especially when they're working with a high spirited or fearful horse. They obviously know what they're doing, but I often wonder why that take that approach. There are many ways to skin a cat so to speak, but not all the ways are right. But these are incredible natural horseman, and when you watch the segment to the end, when it is all said and done, there is an incredible bond between horseman and horse. And I think the above quote explains just that. Horse training isn't all touchy-feely, kittens and rainbows, warm and fuzzy experiences. There is going to be learning taking place, and sometimes that means controversy. It makes me think about when I was growing up, and when I disagreed with my parents, specifically my father. He sometimes told me things I didn't like, or that I maybe didn't want to hear, and it would lead to an argument. I would get upset, but once I cooled off and my emotions subsided and my brain decided to kick in again, the majority of the time I realized he was right. Yes there was a moment of us butting heads, but when it was all said and done I was back to being a daddy's girl and in the end I had a lot more respect for him. Conflict isn't always a negative thing, as long as it is navigated correctly. 

Ray Hunt working a young horse

I also love the main message of that quote, which is to expect more of your horse. It creates a higher connection between the two of you, and you achieve things you didn't think you could accomplish before. It's just like handing your horse to your Parelli instructor and watching them do things with your horse you've never done before. When Cheyenne was about 4 years old I took her to a L2 clinic with PP Marc Rea. We had done some sideways but not a lot, and at that point it was often slow and stumbly. Marc asked to use her for his sideways demonstration, and right off the bat he had her trotting sideways at the end of a 22' line. I had to pick my jaw up out of the arena sand after seeing that. It really showed me the power of intention and what simply expecting more out of a horse can do. It was so simple, but to me it was a huge "mind blown" experience that I'll never forget.

Horses conflicting with each other - It is all part of communication

So, the lesson for today kids, is to expect more out of your horse, and to push yourself and your horse out of your comfort zone more often. It's something I personally really needed to read, and something that every great horseman seems to preach. I tend to get really bored when working in the pasture, but it's my fault for staying within my comfort zone and not upping the ante.  Often your horse will amaze you at what they're capable of if you just present them with the challenge and allow them to shine.

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

No other happiness could be as great as this :)

242 miles later, I am enjoying another pony weekend :) The rope I had up for my round pen has mysteriously vanished, and the arena has turned into a bushy, goat head infested forest, so play area it was :) I grabbed Cheyenne and we warmed up with a little OL play.. she was LB, sluggish, and did what I asked, but she was by no means connected. Just happy to be next to her, I thought "I don't care" and just hopped on bridleless after she had been untouched for over a month. She still wasn't going anywhere fast, but she decided to pretend like she didn't know any of her leg or neck string cues, so it was back to ground work to get a good connection going and get that responsiveness back. It took about two minutes haha. We played the yo-yo game which quickly woke her up when I didn't allow her to fiddle with anything and everything as she thought about backing, and then we moved onto "a million transitions" on the circle game both ways. Tracking left she tried to convince me she didn't have the physical ability to walk, but once she finally offered consistent down transitions and maintained the walk for an entire lap we switched directions and tracking right they were near flawless :) We played STM in a rapid "walking for two strides.. NOW TROT!! Ooh now we're stopping and backing five strides! Now trot two! Now walk! Back up again!" and she was quickly matching me step for step. Her expression improved and her eyes unglazed.. she knew Momma was back!

I put her back to bed for a few hours during the heat of the day, and after I took her halter off she was a totally different horse than when I went in to halter her :) In the beginning she wanted to play, but she seemed indifferent to me and basically had an unconcerned, alpha mare attitude. However when putting her back, she was glued to my side with a happy, content expression, and as I walked back to the house she hung her head over the railing and watched me all the way back to the door. Aaah, the little things in life :)

I went back out around 6:00, this time with my 12' line as well, ready to ride. I really wanted to focus on responsiveness, and kind of go back and refine the basics. It's funny how gentle we try to be with these animals, and rightly so as they are very sensitive, but watching them interact together opens my eyes to how lenient I have been when I ask them to do something. I walked into the pasture, and as per usual I was instantly surrounded by four eager muzzles. Cheyenne put her barrel up next to me trying to claim my right side, and when Gwen tried to approach Chey charged her, sending her into the loafing shed. When Gwen came back, all Cheyenne had to do was pin her ears and push the air with her nose and Gweny went flying. How interesting! Phases in the backwards order. Straight to phase 4, and the next time it took what I would guess would be a phase two? Either way, it was extremely effective and what better way to study horse behavior than straight from the source.

We went into the play area and on the 22' line and after the previous session her responsiveness improved ten fold. Yo-yo was snappy and she was responding off of subtle cues. I drug the 100 gallon water trough into the play pen (after evicting the world's largest black widow.. I felt imaginary spiders all over my skin for the next 10 minutes) and turned it upside down for a more challenging jump for her. This mare totally blew my mind! I've only asked her to go over it a handful of times before, and not only is it taller than most of my other jumps but it is also solid and has some width to it. Her little 14.3hh bad self cleared it with room to spare and gorgeous form, I might add! The next Theodore O'Connor? You betcha!

I switched to the 12' line, tied it into reins, and jumped on bareback to play with a million transitions to get her focused and relaxed. This is seriously one of the greatest patterns of all time next to the figure eight for so many reasons. It didn't take long for her to start focusing on me, and once we got good downward transitions I knew she was focused. Being bareback on her slick summer coat (and Arabian like frame) it can be hard to stay centered on her, so I made it a point to figure it out tonight. I am fortunate enough to have pretty long legs, so I made a conscious effort to stretch my legs as far down her barrel as possible and keep my seat centered. It worked really well, and I also as a side bonus figured out if I round my back (I'm sure it doesn't look correct) when I ask for an upward transition into the trot, not only am I more secure, but it couples perfectly with squeezing by cheeks for her cue. I have never felt so fluid trotting on her bareback in my entire life! I have pretty solid bareback balance on most horses, but she is a particularly hard one to sit between a thin frame and her ADHD swervy movements, but tonight it really clicked and it felt incredible! Such a great break through!

We spent the rest of the night going over smaller jumps and reminding her that just because there is grass in the field doesn't mean it is an on-the-go buffet ;) She felt so amazing, I felt every happy side effect a person could possibly feel! Light, energetic, bubbly, enthusiastic, and totally in flow with my girl. I had a sudden urge to gallop through all of the pastures and jump everything in sight, however being bareback and her feeling like an equine slip n' slide, I figured I would take our trotting success as enough of a win and call it a night. I let her grub out as I set up the cones into a question box for tomorrow, and put her to bed. We spent some good quality time together, scratching her in all her favorite places (in her ears, on her belly button, and in between her teets). While I was in town I picked up a Himalayan natural salt block and was super excited to see how they liked it! Chey, as you can see below, basically molested it from every angle and seemed pretty excited about it :) They get vitamins and have a salt block, so she shouldn't have been lacking too much salt, but she acted like it was the best thing ever. Which, in the summer, it probably is. A well deserved reward after an incredible session :) I can't wait for tomorrow!

Grubbin'!

The smile of approval on her new treat!

Happy ladies waiting for their turn to play :)