Trailer loading with Twosox

November 29 2009

This afternoon I played with Twosox and the trailer. It was the first time that Twosox has been near a trailer in almost two years!!! I was really proud of how well he handled everything too.

At first I was making no assumtions and so I let him eat some grass for a little while when we slowly moseyed over closer to the trailer. That was when Twosox go really worried about it. He was snorting, he couldn't look at me with two eyes, he couldn't eat etc etc so I backed up until he could walk in between me and the trailer and be confident..... it was about 35ft!!!!!! He was really worried!!!

So we just did squeezes back and forth until I could be about 10ft away from the trailer and Twosox was okay with it. He was gaining more confidence really quickly so then I asked him to touch it. He touched the spare tire that was on the side. We imediatly left and went to the other side of the yard and rested there. Then we went back. This time Twosox was WAY more confident. I went and sat on the fender and just let him eat near the side of the trailer. He was fine with that but we stayed there for a while. Then I asked Twosox so go and check out the ramp he went over and sniffed it out for a while I brought him back and gave him a rub. Twosox was really getting more confident now. He was fine putting his front to feet on the ramp but he still got a little worried when he looked right into the trailer but then I remembered that our friend suggested opening the side door. So I did that. It isnt' a big door but it is big enough that Twosox could see out. That seemed to help.

Twosox started getting really curios about the trailer and he put all of zone 1 and half of zone 2 in the trailer and was checking out the divider. I figured that I should set a goal of where I wanted to end so I decided that we would end when I could send Twosox onto the trailer ramp and back him off confidently three times. The third time Twosox actually wanted to go farther into the trailer but I just backed him off and then sat on the ramp and we hung out together for a while. I was really proud of Twosox!!! He did so well!!!! I am hoping to do it like a pattern and play with it for 4-7 times. We have it for about 2 weeks so I hope I can do that!!!

Should be fun!!
~K

Ruffy trim

November 28 2009

Today I trimmed Ruffian. This time I was able to use the trailer mats of our friends trailer that she lent us. It made it so much easier!!! Ruffy stood really well for 90% of the time. He wasn't sure about putting his front feet on the stand but he wasn't to bad. I am really glad to have all four horses trimmed. I know I will have to do it again but I know have a really good idea of how each horse will stand the next time I trim.... and I hope they will be even better!!

The weather was SO much nicer then yesterday. The sun was out and it was warm!!! It was wonderful!!!

~K

November 27th playtime

November 27 2009

Today was miserable weather wise but we still had fun. It was raining when we left with the horses, snowing when we got there and then raining when we left.

After we unloaded the horses Prince and I walked into the arena. I took one look around and decided that there was nothing that I wanted to play with in there. So Prince and I walked out the gate and went and played out in the small field beside the round corral. We did some Circles first. Cantering, transitions, and change of directions. At first Prince was pulling a little bit on the rope but after the third lap he lightened up and put slack in the line. After that we did some Stick to me. We practiced our canter stick to me. Prince did really well with that. It was really cool because Prince was really in tune with me that as soon as I stopped cantering in my body Prince would stop canter, then when I slowed down Prince slowed down too. It was fun!!

Then I tied the 22ft line into two lines. It was a little short but that was okay. At first we just did Point to point then we walked over to the driveway and did some Weaving [with out cones], transitions, lots of trotting, and other stuff. Then we trotted all the way down the driveway and back to where my mom and Knightly were.

After that we did some Stick to me over to the arena gate. It was SO cool because all I had to do was think trot and Prince would start trotting then I would think walk and Prince would walk. It was fun!!!! Then we played with the single barrel that was there. I asked Prince to jump it while I was about 15ft away and he did!!! Normally I have to be pretty close to it when Prince jumps it. It was neat!! Then I asked Prince to go sideways over it. By this time the rope was pretty wet and heavy and I think that was why Prince wasn't quite sure what I wanted. He tried but had a hard time with it. We kept with it until he got it. Then he had a big lick and chew!!!

Then we went into the arena and switched to the 45ft line. I set two of the plastic barrels up on there end away from the fence. Then I sent Prince on the circle and put the barrels in his “way”. The first time he half jumped it but I didn't quite line it up right so he missed them. So we played around with it until Prince jumped the barrels. Prince got a long rest after that!!! After that I sent Prince out on the circle. He was about 35ft away from me and cantering around connected and all!!! It was amazing!!!  He gave me two circles at the canter on the 45ft line which was a first for us!!!! I was about to bring him in but then the rope got caught on some metal barrels that were standing up and Prince got scarred  and ran off plus our friend was coming down with her horse and an umbrella. I couldn't believe how scarred Prince was!!!! I have never seen him that scarred!! He did look really pretty though ;)

After I caught Prince again I put the 12ft line on him and then my friend handed me the umbrella. My mom was holding Prince for me because I had to go back to the truck to get something, on my way back I was watching Prince out of the coner of my eye to see what he was doing. I didn't walk straight to him but I walked all around. He really wanted to come to me so my mom let him go and also took the rope off. Prince got about 15ft from me then stopped so I turned and walked towards zone 5 and then every time he turned and looked at me I turned and walked the other way. Soon Prince was confident enough to walk up to me so I just stood there and let him sniff me and the umbrella out. It was really neat!!! I put my savvy string on Prince's halter so that he wouldn't be in the way of us filming. He stood quitely beside me and then he started licking and chewing, sighing, blowing, and yawning. He must have been on a lot of adrenaline. Then he started pawing the ground and I had a feeling it was going to roll... and he did. So now my horse was wet and muddy. He was cute though!! The cool thing was that Prince has NEVER rolled when I have had the halter on him!!! It was really cool!!! After we were finished taping what we needed to tape I walked over to the pedestal and climbed up on it. Prince was totally fine with the umbrella over him, opening and closing etc etc. He was way more confident!!! It was really interesting [and a lot of fun] for me to have to get Prince confident with an object when he was so worried about it!! I have played with an umbrella before with him but this one was a different colour and it was totally different circumstances!!!

It was then lunch time and so we went in. I was so glad to be out of the wet, cold, and all in all miserable weather ;)

~K

Knightly trim

November 26 2009

Well today was very successful. I trimmed Knightly this morning and it only took me 2 hours!!!! It helped that he stood very well and was a perfect gentleman plus there wasn't as much to trim on his feet as there was on Prince. So that helped. Just as I were finishing his last foot it started down pouring.... I guess we got that 40% of rain they were calling for ;) hehe

I was even more confident then I was yesterday. I knew what I needed to do and did it. I also knew how I could improve from what I did yesterday on Prince so that was good. I was relaly sore yesterday but  thanks to my mom's back rub last night I wasn't to sore. I am sore now but that is okay. Tomorrow we are taking the horses out to our friends farm again. I hope I am not to sore to play with Prince!!! I will make sure to get to bed on time tonight and get a good rest!!!

You can look on my other blog [thenaturalhoof.blogspot.com] for more about yesterday and today.

Well that is all for now!!

~K  

Prince trim

November 25 2009

Today I trimmed Prince for the very first time!!!!! It took me 4 1/2 hours. I started at 11:00 and finished at around 3:30. It was well worth the time though because I could see the change in Prince. He left side was the hardest but I figured it would be. The cool thing was that by the end of the trim Prince was offering to pick up feet up for me!!! Plus instead of just lifting his foot off the ground a little bit and then letting me pick it up the rest, Prince was handing me his feet softly. It was amazing!!!

I am not going to type about everything I did in the 4 hours because it would be boring.... but lets just say that it was a lot of fun and God gave me the patience and wisdom that I needed to not get frustrated or mad a Prince and to stay calm and think of it as a game!!!

I was really proud of Prince and it can only get better!!!! And the best things is I know that I will NOT need to put another 8 hours into handling Prince's feet before I trim him again ;) I was doing it all for tomorrow. So it might have taken longer today but next time, if I did it right, it shouldn't take as long.

Tomorrow I am hoping to trim Knightly and then on Saturday I am hoping to get Ruffy trimmed!!! I hope that goes well!!!

~K

November 23rd playtime

November 23 2009

Wow Twosox and I had an interesting playtime today. We started our in the corral and just did some Touch it then we went up the riding ring and did some circles up there. I wanted Twosox to trot 4 laps each way. It took a while but finally he did it. During the process he got a little worried but then calmed down. After that we played with driving the hind quarters. That was really interesting because I thought Twosox knew that..... maybe he forgot ;) Twosox will move his hind quarters away when I am farther away from him but when I am standing by his shoulder he would only take a couple steps then stop or walk forward. So we played with that until he could move his hind quarters in a full circle.

After that we went to Figure eights. I was planning on playing with getting Twosox to trot the whole figure eight... or at least more of it. But as soon as I asked Twosox to speed up he got worried, he started looking out as he was going around the barrels and he couldn't give me two eyes [sometimes he couldn't even look at me with one eye] so I tried different things, standing farther away from the barrels, standing closer, not using my carrot stick, and lots of other things. Nothing really seemed to help except this one thing..... we went back down to the walk and our figure eights were no better. So I figured that we should fix then again. So what I did was everything Twosox came around the barrel and was bracing I would bring him in all the way instead of sending him out again, rub him and then back up out and send him through the barrels. After a while of doing this Twosox started giving me one eye, then two eyes when he was walking around the barrels. So at least our Figure eights at the walk are back to where they were before the start of our play time. I think I will email the Savvy club member support and ask them because I am out of arrows. Everytime that I ask Twosox to pick up the pace a little he gets scarred and our Figure eights fall apart but there has to be a way to keep his confidence but still get the trot.

My mom asked me to show her something with Knightly. She was having trouble with getting him to move his forequarters over and not walking forward. So I left Twosox on his “spot” and started playing with Knightly. With in a couple minutes Knightly figured out exactly what I wanted but then there were some other things that needed to be solved.... aka yielding his hind quarters with out pinning his ears and tossing his nose at you. So we played with that. Pretty soon Knightly figured out that he couldn't do that!! So then we went and did some sideways with a fence and played around with Knightly not putting his head over the fence when he is going sideways [he figured out that if he put his head over the fence the rope would get caught and then he wouldn't have to go sideways.... clever LBI]. It was really fun!!! We pretty much did different forms of the Driving game the whole time. Knightly is really light when he wants to be but while he is being light he is also giving you other problems..... pinning his ears, swishing his tail etc etc.

All this time Twosox was standing where I left him. He had moved a little bit but other then that he stayed right where I left him. When I got back to Twosox we did a little bit more Figure eights at the walk. They were MUCH better. Twosox could look at me when he was coming around the barrels and was confident the whole time.

After that I let Twosox go. He followed me over to the gate at Liberty. It was definelty a play time that made me think!!!!

~K

November 22nd Playtime

November 22 2009

Wow. Prince and I had a wonderful play session today!!!! Plus an amazing ride!!! Prince, Ruffy and Twosox were up near the riding ring when I got out there. So I decided to take my equipment up there because there were a couple of things I wanted to do with Prince before I saddled him. I managed to get everything up in two trips. The first time Prince saw me he turned and went the other way and totally ignored me. How interesting!! I always love feedback!!! I didn't pay any attention to Prince and just continued up the hill. The second time I was going up the hill, this time with my saddle, Prince did the same thing. He turned his zone 5 to me and ignored me. I just walked right on past him. Ruffy on the other hand couldn't be any more curios!!!! He followed me right into the riding ring and was checking everything out. Since I wasn't paying any attention to Prince he suddenly got really interested in me. I decided to do something different and I closed the gate so that Ruffy and Prince were closed in the riding ring. They started playing so I just watched. It was SO cool!!! Ruffy can get Prince to canter 2 ½  laps in a circle just by chasing him and trying to bite his tail!!!! I love watching them play!!!!

I sent the horses around the riding ring. They cantered off and cantered about a lap then started trotting. I let then trot for a little while then I asked Prince to disengage and they stopped and looked at me. Prince didn't want to come to me but Ruffy came right over. I rubbed him and didn't pay any attention to Prince. Ruffy decided to take off again. He had SO much energy!!!! Prince went off after him. Ruffy tripped on something and was limping for a couple minutes. It is amazing how he went from galloping around one minute to peacefully sleeping in the sun the next. Since Ruffy was limping I decided to play with Prince a little bit at Liberty. We did Touch it from 30ft away, sideways over the barrel, Stick to me, I stood about 35ft away and send Prince over to the pedestal and asked him to put all four feet on it and he did!!! He knew exactly what I wanted!!!! Prince was now glued to me!!!! It was so cool!!!!

After that I went and got my halter and haltered Prince. Then we played around with bowing. We are just starting it but Prince is SO clever!!!! After that we did some Stick to me Online. We did walk, trot and canter. The first two time I asked Prince to canter with me I had to support it with my carrot stick a little but the third time when I started cantering in my body Prince did it at exactly at the same time!!! It was SOOOOO cool!!!!!! I didn't need to use my carrot stick at all!!! Then we went and I asked Prince to jump the single barrel that was lying down. At first he just trotted past it but finally he figure out what I was asking and he jumped right over it!!

Then I went and saddled Prince. He stood perfectly still while I got him ready then we went off and did some Porcupine games and some stick to me. Then after the saddle was tight enough I sent Prince out on the circle. I only asked him to trot. I gave him a long phase 1 and then a quick 2,3.4 and he was off. It took us a little while before Prince gave me 5 circles at the trot with out breaking gait but we got it. Prince even offered to canter a couple times and he cantered for 1 laps or so then went back down to the trot. I think he was expecting me to ask him to canter. Hehe I love doing the opposite of what my horse things I am going to do!!! :) We then went and played with sideways at a trot. I asked Prince into the trot and then sent him sideways. He went off at a really fast trot so we got a really fast sideways. It was cool!!!!!

Prince was ready to ride so I got on. I just tied my lead rope into two reins because my mom was going to use the hackamore. I actually like that better for some reason. Not sure why. Prince and I started off with some Follow the rail. We did a lot of trotting. One thing we have to play with is getting or Direct and Indirect reins tighter and not drift quite so far from the fence. We did the Follow the rail with a carrot stick this time. I don't really like trotting with a carrot stick yet but it was really nice today. My riding has come leaps and bounds in the past few months!!!

After we had finished doing Follow the rail we did some Sideways, 9 step back up, pivoting on the hind quarters and some point to point. Prince was SO light!!!! Our sideways was a MILLION times straight too!!!!

Now here is where it really gets fun!!!! Ever since I started riding the Patterns I have avoided Figure eights like a lot of people avoid the porcupine game and that is because I couldn't figure out how to get my body right so that Prince could do it right. So finally over the last couple rides I have been playing with it and just doing it!!! At the walk we got it figured out but once we went up to the trot everything fell apart again. Again I have been playing with it and we finally had some success and now I can't wait till we can ride Figure eights!! So today we played with them. I did the first couple at a walk just to make sure everything was smooth then I asked Prince to trot. He would trot through the middle then he would break gait when we were half way around the barrel. Since I didn't have my hackamore on I didn't have anything to get to a phase four with so once we got a fairly good Figure eight we stopped and I took my savvy string and put it on my wrist. That way I could get to a phase four if needed. That really helped Prince. At first he wasn't to happy about it and pinned his ears a little but after that he was very snappy!!! He went into the trot at a phase 1!!! We kept at it and finally we got almost a complete figure eight at a trot. So we took a LONG rest. Prince had a big lick and chew also. Then once we had our rest we started off again and we got a complete figure eight on the FIRST TRY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so proud of Prince!!!!!! It is interesting because when we are doing things like Weaving and the Figure eight Prince's trot is slower and a lot easier to ride but when we are doing some thing like Follow the rail his trot is faster. I like it though!!!!

After we had another long rest we went and did some Weave. We did both at the walk and at the trot. When we were doing the Weave at a trot Prince brought gait the first time but that was only because we had to go in bwteen Knightly and the tire but after that we trotted the whole Weave!!! After that I got off. All three of the Patterns that we did were so good!!!!! It was so much fun!!!

After I had gotten off and un-saddled Prince I picked up his feet. It wasn't perfect but it was so much better then it was yesterday!!!!! Prince's was REALLY good on his right side. He let me do almost everything with them!!!! I made sure to put his foot down before he started pulling and if he did pull I just went with him and didn't try to hold on or anything. That way I was able to have my hand on his foot but now act like a predator and get tight. Before I asked Prince to pick his foot back up again I would take a couple seconds and just rub massage his leg. It really made a difference. When I went to Prince's left side he was a little bit harder but he quickly figured it out and relaxed and let me hold his foot no problem!!!! His left hind foot was the hardest. I could feel that even though Prince was letting me hold his foot and he wasn't pulling he was still tense. So I just massaged it while I was holding it and when he relaxed I would put it down. That helped and in the end I was able to clean his foot out and he wasn't tense, not prefect yet but a lot better then what it was!!!

It was an amazing playtime from start to finish!!!!! Hopefully Wednesday I can trim Prince. It might take me a long time but if I do it right it will keep getting better!!!

~K

November 21st Playtime

November 21 2009

My sister and I went out this afternoon and played with Prince and Ruffy. It was reminded me of the days when it was just us four!!! It was fun!! Not that it isn't fun now though ;)

It was a gloomy day but we went out anyways. I love watching my sister and Ruffy play!!! I am positive that Ruffy would almost do anything for my sister!!!

Prince and I had a pretty good play time. It had it's “Oh boy” moments that is for sure. My plan was to play with Prince's feet. I didn't go to that first though. We did some circles, sideways, and leading by the tail. We played around with Don't change gait on the circle. Prince would canter about 2 ½ laps then break gait. I know how I could have done better now but I guess I will be prepared for next time!!

After we had played for a bit I then asked Prince to pick up his feet. Prince kept pulling back and did not want me to hold his feet. It felt like we were back to square one again. I took the end of my rope and wrapped it around Prince's leg that way I could go with him when he was pulling and not release on a brace. Today that didn't work as well as it did before. Prince just pulled harder and got worse. So I changed stratigies and so if Prince pulled his foot back and I couldn't hold it I just rubbed it and calmly picked back up again. I also noticed that if there was any tension in my arm when Prince pulled, he pulled harder. Hmmmm.... How interesting!! So I really hard to make sure that when Prince started pulling his foot I just calmly went with it and didn't act like a predator and get harder. That made a HUGE difference!!! At first Prince wouldn't even let me pick out his foot!!! But pretty soon he figured out that I wasn't going to get frustrated and I would just rub his leg and then pick his foot back up again. No big deal. So if Prince was trying to push my buttons and get my frustrated that wouldn't work or if it is a trust issue rubbing his foot then picking it back up again will help that. So either way it would help.

I was able to pick up all four of his feet and get a good idea of what I need to trim when I do trim him. So that was really good. His left hind foot was the hardest. So I will have to do a lot of friendly on that foot. All in all though Prince did really well. It will be interesting to see how he does the next time I pick up his feet. I really want to trim Prince's feet. Hopefully on Wednesday I can trim him.

Looking back I know I could have handled our play session a lot better but I know for next time and so I guess that it good.

I can't believe that it is almost December!! I hope I can get at least two more horses trimmed before the snow get here. I am praying!!! :)

~K

Hoof Trimning lesson

November 18 2009

Today was my hoof trimming lesson. All in all it went really well. We only got Twosox done but that is okay. I would have liked to get at least one more done but it got dark and so we couldn't. We have ordered a right handed knife and a blade sharpener so once they get here I will start trimming the others. Plus we did some shopping around for a hoof stand... or something that would work instead of one. I think we have found something that might work. When we go into town next we are going to get one and hopefully it will work. I am excited!!!!
That is all for now!
  
~K

November 17th playtime

November 17 2009

Oh man!!! I just had the most amazing time with Prince!!! I have been spending a lot more time riding lately, mostly bareback because I haven't felt like saddling Prince. I have to say though that since I have been riding bareback more the rest of our riding has gotten a lot better!!

Anyways back to our playtime today.....

Before I went out to play with Prince I thought of a couple things I wanted to play with during our playtime. I decided to try my Wintec Wide on Prince. Just for the fun of it. I wanted to ride in a saddle but since I am still trying to get over this cold and am a little tired I didn't feel like dragging my Fusion out. So this was a good alternative. After I had saddled Prince I moved him around some. We did some Stick to me. That was really cool! If I leaned forward Prince would lean forward if I leaned back a little Prince would shift his weight back. It was fun!!

We also did some circles. We were only on the 12ft line but that was fine because I have been trying to  ask Prince to circle on different lenghts of rope that way he can learn to use his body in different ways. It has really helped our Figure eights while riding also because Prince learned how to move on a tighter circle. So I asked Prince to trot 2 laps each way. Nothing to hard. He did that really well. Then I asked him to Change direction a couple times. We also played around with going faster and straighter when doing sideways with out a fence. At first Prince had a hard time getting straight, especially when we started going faster. Pretty soon he got it though and we got both the speed and straightness that I was looking for.

It was a lot of fun playing on a shorter rope. I had to unsaddle Prince, change the shims around then resaddle him again so I had to move him around again. I asked Prince to circle at a trot about 6ft away from me. This used to be REALLY challenging for him. At the walk he was fine but when I asked him to trot and leave slack in the rope that was a totally different story. Today though he was wonderful!! There was slack in the rope, he didn't break gait and we even did some Transtions and Change of directions!!! We also did Leading by the tail and extreme friendly game in all zones. Prince was SO light when I asked him to back up by the tail!!! Normally he will back up but it will be slow but today he was very responsive and we were able to pick up the pace a little bit and actually keep it up!!

Prince looked ready to ride by this time so I decided to get on him in the corral. The saddle was more comfortable then I thought it would be. I was able to fine my balance point way easier then when I was riding Twosox with that saddle. I had to play around with the stirrup length. Prince stood perfectly still while I fiddled around with it. Before when I have ridden him in the corral he has always gone straight from the manger but today he was much better!!! He didn't even try to go to the other horses or the hay.

We stood still for a while because I was helping my mom with something. Then when she was ready to go up I got the crazy idea that I wanted to ride up the hill to the riding ring. I have never ridden up it before because it is really steep but today I felt up to the task. So I got off, tied my 12ft line into two reins [I actually like riding with one rein now!! It is more of a challenge! :)] I had to change my boots also because I didn't have my proper riding boots on. Then we were off!! I wasn't quite sure how Prince would do, I knew he could make it up the hill no problem, but would he listen to me while we were going up the hill... there was no need to worry though because Prince was totally perfect in every way!!! ;) We walked up the hill with no problem at all. It was totally amazing to feel all that power under me. It was incrediable and totally undescribeable!!!

When we got up to the riding ring we took a little rest. While we were riding up the hill Prince listened to me so well. We didn't go up the hill in a straight line that way it would be easier for Prince but he listened to my body and reins and was SO light!! I hardly had to put any pressure on the reins and he would move. It was amazing!! Once we had taken a little rest we did soem Follow the rail, Transitions, Weave, and Point to Point. It was nice riding in an english saddle but I do like my Fusion better. Trotting english it a little bit more complicated but I got the hang of it pretty soon. Our Weave was AMAZING!!!! We only did it at the walk but Prince was SO light!!! He followed my focus and was perfect!!! We did one complete Weave then had a rest. Prince had a big lick and chew then we were off again. I had to do a one hand pushing passenger when we were trotted for the first little bit. I was okay if I could do a sitting trot but when Prince's trot got faster I went into a rising trot and that was harder. Put I think I got the hang of it in the end.

We did Figure eights also. PRINCE WAS INCREDIABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is amazing how good Prince is when I get it right in my body ;) hehe The barrels were on a little bit of a hill so that added a little extra challenge to our Figure eights but that was fine. Prince really arched his body around the barrels and he was so responsive!!! We did about 5 complete Figure eights and then we stopped in the middle. All I had to was relaxed and Prince stopped. One time when we were doing Follow the rail, we had been doing walk trot transitions also and we were walking a long and just as I was relaxing Prince started to trot, it all happened in a split second but Prince had just started trotting but when he felt that I relaxed he stopped right then and there. It was a good thing I was on my balance point or else I would have fallen off forsure. Prince stopped so fast. It was amazing though because he was so in tune with me that he felt me relax and stopped.

Then we played around with trotting departures. At first I thought that Prince wouldn't like them because I was asking him to go faster quicker but instead he did an AMAZING job!!!!  I think he liked them because we would trot about 5ft then stop, have a quick rest then trot off again and repeat the whole process. Everything that I asked Prince to do was so light!!! Even our sideways was soft and straight!!! We also practised our 9 step back ups. Prince is getting lighter each time!!

After I was finished riding I climbed off. I unsaddled Prince and since my mom wasn't on Knightly yet  I climbed on Prince bareback so we could ride together. Prince and I walked over to the pedestal and climbed up. I was helping my mom with something [I think it was circles] I kind of felt that Prince wanted to climb up on the pedestal with all four feet so I just waited and after a couple minutes he did!!! So we stood there for a long time while I was helping my mom.
My mom had just gotten up on Knightly and Ruffy and Twosox came up and of course Ruffy has to stand right at the gate and bother them. So Prince and I come over and send Ruffy off. Then Ruffy being the LBE he is sees my saddle on the fence and goes over to check it out. I didn't mind that but when he started biting it I got a little bit worried. Prince and I were on the other side of the riding ring so we trotted over to save my saddle. It was really cool because Prince and I had a purpose!!!! We trotted the whole way over to the saddle and Ruffy I picked my saddle and the theraflex up [good thing it was my english saddle!! hehe] and we rode over to the pedestal and half placed it half dropped it there. I was relaly proud of Prince because he did so well the whole time!!! He wasn't at all worried about me carrying my saddle while riding him. I love my horse!!!!

When my mom was ready we did some trail ride simulations. We did about one curcit around the riding ring then we stopped. By this time it was getting cold because the sun was going down. It was a lot of fun though!!! Prince did soooooooooooooooooooooo well!!!!!!

Tomorrow the Proffessional Barefoot trimmer is comming out for a full one on one lesson day!!! I am excited but nervous because I am not sure how the horses will do.  I just hope I can stick to my Parelli pinciples and put the relationship first. Should be fun though!!!

~K

November 16th Playtime

November 16 2009

Twosox and I had a great play session today. He was a million times more confident then he was last time we played. I was only planning on playing around with the tarp but we ended up doing more then that. But that was totally fine. To start off with my mom wanted me to show her how I get Prince or Twosox farther away from me when we are doing Touch it on a longer line [22ft or 45ft] So I stood at the fence and sent Twosox 22ft away to the tractor tire. I was actually surprised at how well Twosox did. We haven't really done a lot of that. I mean we have done Touch it from 22ft away but we haven't done a lot of it while I kept my feet still and sent him all the way out to the end of the 22ft line to touch something. It was neat!!! Twosox asked me a question when he got there and he offered to put his foot on it... or at least try. He couldn't get his foot on the top because it was to high. After I had brought him in and let him lick and chew I sent him over to the pedestal, again keeping my feet still. This one was a little harder for Twosox because he had to go straight in front of me and in doing so put me in zone 5 but he did really well and was confident the whole time. I then asked him to put all four feet on. He had a little bit of trouble with that so I had to move closer to help him. But in the end he got it.

While Twosox was standing with all four feet on the pedestal I went around and set up different obstacles. Twosox stood there the whole time and for Twosox that is really good. Normally he would have climbed off. Right near the end the tarp that was behind him got caught by the wind and scarred him. He jumped like 6ft off the pedestal and then turned and looked at me. I walked up to him gave him a rub then asked him to go stand on the pedestal again. He went right back up and stayed there while I finished setting everything up.

We then went and played with the different toys. It was a lot of fun. A couple times Twosox got a little worried so we just kept with it until he was confident then we moved on. When I asked Twosox to jump the barrels he flew right over them. I am not sure if he was a little unconfident though because he jumped really high. We then walked over to the tarp that was hanging down from the tree. Twosox was doing fine and was confident but then a gust of wind came a just the wrong time and the tarp moved. Twosos stopped and stared at it. So we walked away and did some sideways with out a fence, and then went and did some Figure eights. At first Twosox was not connected with me so we kept with the pattern until he started getting connected and then we stopped. After that we did some Stick to me, circles, traveling circles and I backed Twosox out the small gate. I wasn't sure how Twosox would do backing through the gate because it is not very wide and there is a hill on the other side but he did really well and was confident the whole time.

Then we went and I asked Twosox to back onto a tarp that was on the ground. Twosox wasn't to sure about it at first but then he figured it out and was able to back on to it confidently. There was only a gentle breeze now so we went over to the tarp that was hanging from the tree. I couldn't believe how confident Twosox was with it!!!! He walked right under it like he had done it all his life!!!!! We did it three times and each time he got more confident. The last time he walked right straight under it and the tarp even touched him in zone 4/5 and he was fine. It was AMAZING!!!!!

The last thing we did was picking up his feet. Twosox did really well and let me hold his feet with out to much problems. We are hoping to have the Proffessional barefoot trimmer come out soon for a one on one lesson day. Should be fun!! I think that we will trim Twosox first because he will most likely be the most patient... him being the only right brain horse in our herd.

I was really proud of how well Twosox handled everything today. He was so brave!!!!

~K

November 13th playtime

November 13 2009

We took Prince and Knightly our to our friends farm again. We had a really good time. The horses loaded up nicely and then we were off. When we went to take the horses out Knightly unloaded okay but Prince was really agitated. I think it was because the other horses were running around but for what ever the reason he was worried. More worried then I have ever seen him to be exact. I didn't want to just unload Prince and go play because then there was a good chance that Prince wouldn't be as confident loading up when it was time to go. So I switched my rope to the 22ft line and we played in the field just outside the arena. I was the last thing on Prince's mind so we did a lot. We did sideways, falling leaf, Traveling circles, and lots more. Then when I left that Prince was paying more attention to me and was calmer we went back to the trailer. He was fine going in but he had a harder time coming out. So that was what we played with for a while, until Prince could back out confidently.

By this time Prince had worked up a sweat. We did a lot!!!! But it took a lot for him to realise that I was still there. After that we went into the arena and I saddled Prince up. He stood nice and still the whole time. Then we went and played!! We did Stick to me down to the other end of the arena then I set up two barrels for Figure eights. At first Prince was doing the pattern but he didn't seem totally connected. So we kept with it until I saw a change then we stopped. At the end Prince gave me some REALLY nice Figure eights!!

After that we did some sideways at a trot.... with out a fence!!! That was cool!!! Prince was really connected with me by this time. So I hardly had to do anything in my body and he would figure out the puzzle!! We also did some Jumping and pushing the ball. Prince was SO good at pushing the ball!!! We went all around the arena and Prince would either push it with his legs or his nose!! It was fun!!! At one point Prince almost crushed the ball... oops.... I quickly stopped him from doing that!!

We  were then ready to ride so I got on. We did quite a few patterns through out our ride. We did A million transitions first. Prince did really well. We did walk, trot, halt, and back up. In all kinds of ways. It was really fun!! After that we did some sideways. We went sideways half way across the arena then stopped. It wasn't totally straight but it was almost!! We took it slow and I didn't even need ot use my carrot stick!!! Prince was so in tune with me!! We also did sideways over a log. Normally for us getting started is the hardest part but today it was easy!!! We didn't go all the way to the other end of the log because the bigger log was there but we went part way then went off the other way.  Everyonce and a while we would do a little point to point. Prince was really following my focus. I hardly had to redirect him once we were started!! It is an amazing feeling having a horse so in tune with you, and I am sure I have felt nothing yet!! :)

I didn't have any really big plans for riding so we kind of took it easy. We kind of did a Obstacle course. We walked over the tarp, put all four feet on the pedestal, walked between the two tractor tires that were planted standing up and lots of the other stuff. After I could tell Prince was getting a little bored. He started getting less responsive so we went and did some Figure eights. At first they were just at the walk but then I felt like trying it at the trot so off we went. At first Prince would keep breaking gait but after a little while we trotted two complete Figure eights!!!! I was SO proud of Prince!!!! That is a first for us. It is really easy getting him motivated when we are doing something like Follow the rail but when it comes to Figure eights he is a lot harder to keep motivated. We took a LONG rest after that. Prince had a good lick and chew also.

After that we rode the Weave. We did both walk and trot. Prince was so good at the trot!! At first he wanted to keep breaking gait so I figured out that what we would do was trot the Weave then walk around the ends. That way Prince got his rest and then he would be motivated to trot through the Weave so that he could walk around the end barrels. That seemed to work really well. Prince started to get the Pattern so we stopped while it was at it's best. I also played around with a supporting rein while we were doing the Weave. That actually worked really well. It was fun!!

The last thing we did was pushing the ball. THAT WAS COOL!!!!! It is amazing how well it transferred over from the ground to riding. Prince caught on really quickly and we were off pushing the ball all over!!!! Prince is really started to like that big green ball!!! :) I can't get over how huge it is though!! I can't even lift it!!!

After we were done riding I un-saddled Prince and just before I let him go we played a little bit with Change of directions. Since there was LOTS of room and Prince wouldn't have to run into fences the whole time it made it easier on both of us. My mom and our friend watched to see it they could pick anything up and my sister video taped it. We figured out that when Prince was circling to the left and I asked him to change direction I asked for it when he was right at my shoulder and Prince gave me some REALLY nice change of directions. But when Prince was circling to the right and I asked him to change direction I let him go to far behind me so that when I asked him to change we lost the connection. It was really interesting!! So now I know what to play with!!!

After lunch I took Prince into the round corral and we played at Liberty for a short time. We did some yo-yo's and a little bit of circles. Just some transitions. Our Change of directions aren't soild enough Online for us to try them at Liberty. It was still fun though!! We also did some Stick to me and leading by the tail. Then from there we went into the arena and I asked Prince to stand on the pedestal with all four feet. While he was up there I sat on the pedestal and rubbed his legs, then I crawled under him!!! Prince just stood there and didn't move. Then I went back under him the other way but when I was right under him I just stopped and rubbed him and waited a little while when I went all the way through. Prince was still at Liberty and he didn't move at all!!! Then I haltered Prince. I needed to go get my helmet so I left Prince on the pedestal and went to the other end of the arena and got it. Prince just stood there looking at me and waited till I got back. We have been playing with ground tieing but I didn't know it was that good!!!

I then got on bareback. I just had my savvy string for a rein and I had my carrot stick. Prince was SO light!!! It was amazing!!! We did some Point to point, sideways, one rein back up, extreme friendly game while I stood on Prince's back [That was a first for us!!! It was a little harder to stay balanced while I was swinging my carrot sticka nd savvy string around but some how I managed!! :)]

My mom was ridng Knightly so when she was ready we did a trail ride simulation. Prince and I led and mom and Knightly followed. We did it a long the rail and everyonce and  while we would be a Direct rein or a Indirect. Prince amazed me with how light and responsive he was!! Especcially since we only had one rein and a carrot stick. It was SO much fun!!!!! Prince followed my focus really well and we even did a little bit of trotting. It was really smooth!!!

Then we had to go :( Prince loaded into the trailer really well and he unloaded well also. So that was nice. All in all it was a REALLY fun day!!!!

~K 

November 12th playtime

November 12 2009

                                                         
I was planning on catching Prince and playing with his feet this morning but Ruffy was right there when I went out so I decided to halter him and play around with his feet and such. Prince and Ruffy were up in the riding ring when I went out. Ruffy was very sleepy!! That was a big help!! ;)

Instead of going down the hill the “normal” way I asked Ruffy to back all the way down.... I wasn't sure how he would respond but he did it perfectly!!! I was so proud of him!!! We didn't go down completely straight but it was good enough. Then we backed all the way into the corral too!! Ruffy had a big lick and chew over that!!!

Then I picked up all four of his feet, cleaned them out and simulated a trimming session. Ruffy was perfect!!! I hope when I have to start trimming him he will be that sleepy!! It will make my job a million times easier!!

Since Ruffy was very sleepy and we had played some I decided to climb on him and just do some friendly while I was sitting on him. The corral gate was closed so he couldn't go anywhere. It was really fun!!! Ruffy is a very comfortable ride!! At first I wasn't planning on going anywhere but then we were in the way on my mom and sister cleaning some manure out of the corral so we had to move. Ruffy was so light and responsive. We did a couple direct reins, back up, lateral flexion and then lied down on him. He was a little bit worried when I was lying flat out on him but he soon relaxed then I got off.

I sat down on the ground and asked him to lower his head so I could take the halter off. Ruffy lowered his head softly and kept it there nice and still while I un haltered him!! Ruffy is such a cool horse!!!

Prince session

This afternoon I went outside again and played with Prince a little bit. I didn't go up to the riding ring because we were babysitting so I had to keep an eye on my little brothers and the boy we were watching. My plan was to play with Prince's feet and such but I wanted to make sure he was in a good frame of mind first. We didn't do a whole lot. Just some 1 rein zone 5 driving. We did sidepasses, Touch it, yo-yo's and some other stuff all from zone 5. I couldn't believe how well Prince did!!! He was so in tune with me!!

After that I picked up all four of Prince's feet. I held each one for longer then I normally do, I put myself in different positions, moved his foot around some etc just to get him desensitizes to all that. Prince did really well. His left hind foot was the hardest but other then that he stood quietly. He has come so far!!!!

After that we just spend some time hanging out together then I let him go. Prince stayed with me for a while then left. I am so proud of how far Prince has come with his feet. He is no where near perfect but he is a lot better then he was.

~K

November 11th playtime

November 11 2009

Twosox and I had an interesting playtime this afternoon. We started out in the corral and I played around with Twosox's feet. I kind of simulated trimming his feet. He did very well. Stood perfectly still the whole time. That was REALLY nice!!

After that we went up to the riding ring to play. We started off with some Stick to me and circles. Twosox was doing really well on the circle. We did some Change of directions and Transitions also. He  was in tune with me the whole time. Then something happened that changed our whole playtime..... my mom put the scary Twosox eating tarp down.... a couple months ago we tied a tarp in the tree so that it would kind of be like a carwash. Well Twosox was positive that it was going to eat him. Since he was on the circle he started getting really rather impulsive so I quickly spotted two barrels and we switched to Figure eights. I must say our Figure eights have never been to good!! But of course Twosox has never been so scared. We kept doing the Figure eights until Twosox relaxed and started paying more attention to me. It took a while but finally Twosox started lowering his head and his movements softened. So I kept with it until I knew he had relaxed some then we stopped.

I have never seen Twosox so scarred. We were taking a rest and then Twosox lowered his head, I thought “Good! He is relaxing “ Then I looked again and Twosox was going catatonic!!!! If there is one thing that scares me, it is a horse that is going [or gone] catatonic!! It is because I feel that I don't have enough savvy to deal with it... or prevent it. Since Twosox hadn't gone totally catatonic I softly started moving him around just so that he wouldn't go there. We started doing squeezes between me and the tarp. It was like a 25ft gap between me and the tarp and Twosox was still really worried about it. So I kept backing off, and making the space bigger until Twosox could confidently walk through it. Then I slowly made the space smaller.

Then we went and did some Stick to me. Twosox was glued to me!!! He would do exactly what I did! It was neat!!! We were going along the fence and then I noticed that Twosox's head went up. So we stopped and backed up. Twosox lowered his head. So we stopped there and had a big rest. Twosox fell asleep and totally relaxed. Very good sign!! I kind of ignored Twosox for a while because I was helping my mom with Knightly. It turned out good because that way there was no pressure on Twosox.

After a while we went over to the gate and I let Twosox go. It was a very interesting playtime to say the least. I know exactly what I will be playing with next time I play with Twosox!!! It will be interesting to see how he responds!

~K

November 10th play time

November 10 2009

WOW! What can I say!! Prince and I had a really fun playtime today. We started in the corral by doing some Zone 5 driving with 2 reins. We then went up the hill to the riding ring and did some Touch it and Figure eights. I was amazed at how well Prince did at the Figure eights. Normally he is not connected with me but today he was mirroring my body and they were amazing! Then we went and played with Weaving at a trot. At first Prince would trot a couple steps then break gait so we kept with it and after a little while Prince got it and we trotted one side of the Weave!! I think that the hardest thing for me is keeping Prince motivated while we are doing Zone 5 driving but it is getting better!!! We also did some Sideways and Yo-yo's in Zone 5!

After that I untied the reins. Prince was being a little mouthy..... okay a lot mouthy! ;) So I decided to play around with his mouth a little. I put my fingers in his mouth. He did not like that. So after a little while I decided to use the carrot stick. Prince didn't like that either but slowly [and very slowly] got used to it. I wanted to continue with that but still had some other things I wanted to play with and my mom needed my help. So I decided to try something that Mrs. Parelli said in the Level 2 kit. She said to out a savvy string into your horses mouth like it was a bit and then tie the ends together. Then go play that way your horses mind is on what you are asking him to do and not on the savvy string. My problem was this..... I didn't want to put my blue savvy string in Prince's mouth but I needed to have a Savvy string on my carrot stick. So I put my normal Savvy string in Prince's mouth. He didn't have as much of a problem with that as he did with the carrot stick and my fingers but he still didn't really like it. Then I put my blue Savvy string on my carrot stick. Since it wasn't muddy or wet I wasn't to worried about it getting dirty.

So off we went. At first Prince was thinking about the savvy string in his mouth but pretty soon he stopped thinking about that and started thinking about what I was asking of him. We then did some circles. This is where it gets really cool!! My blue Savvy string is about 1ft longer then my normal one and it has the leather popper at the end. I sent Prince off on the circle at the canter. He cantered for a very short time then broke gait. So I went through my phases [Long phase one, quick 2,3,4] and did Prince ever get moving fast!!! I definitely got the message down to his feet!!

He then cantered three laps, not breaking gait once then I brought him in for a rest and a lick and chew!! After a rest I then sent him out the other direction. Prince very easily cantered three laps that way too!!! I thing I found my effective phase 4!! :) The really neat part was that from then on Prince would stay in the gait I asked him to be in. So when I asked him to trot, he would trot, and when I asked him to canter he wouldn't just canter ¼ of a circle then break gait. He would canter until I asked him to slow down!!! So that was cool!!!!

After that Prince got a long break and I also took the Savvy string out of his mouth. I think he had forgot about it!!! hehe Then I got on and rode. Our bareback riding has come A LONG way since I have been sick and haven't felt like saddling Prince up. He is so soft!! I asked Prince to climb on the pedestal and while we were standing there I asked him for a Lateral Flexion. I wanted to see how if Prince would move his feet and if he did how I light I had to be to get it so that he wouldn't move his feet. The left was really good. Prince thought about moving his foot but then didn't. On the right side I made sure to be really soft and Prince really nicely bent his head around. So that was cool!!

Then we did some Follow the rail and Point to point. Our Follow the rail has gotten SO good!!! I don't need to correct Prince at all!!! We are also playing around with trotting longer distances. My seat has gotten A LOT better since I have been riding bareback more!! I can now ride Prince's trot for longer distances and it doesn't get uncomfortable!!!

We also did some Sideways with a fence. I decided to use a fence because I wanted to help Prince get his hind quarters moving WITH his forequarters. So I didn't want to have to be worrying about that and Prince drifting forward! Prince did very well. He was light and tried to do what I was asking. When we got a couple good steps of sideways we stopped and rested. Then went the other way. After that we did some yo-yo's. Prince remembered from last time and was even better!!! We did a lot of trot to back-up yo-yo's. Prince was SO light!!!

While we were doing Follow the rail we refined our Direct and Indirect rein even more. Prince has gotten a lot more responsive ever since we have been doing Follow the rail. The next thing we have to conqueror is Figure eights. I have kind of put it off a little bit because I know they will be bad.... or just not good. So that is one area that I haven't followed the Patterns to the letter. Oh well. I guess we will have to get on them soon. Maybe on Friday when we trailer our horses out for the Play day.

I was very proud of Prince and how well he did!! Being sick has improved our bareback riding that is for sure!!!!

~K

Catch up time!!!!!

Sorry for not updating this in a while. I finally have time now to post all my playtimes. There is almost a month!! Yikes!! Times flies!!! Hopefully I can get then all posted today, we shall see though.

I apologize in advance for all the post there are going to be :)

~K

Update:

Hi all,

If you have been wondering why I haven't posted in a while it is because our internet has been out. We are on Dial-up for now, until we get our high speed back. I have a Open office document that is at least 8 pages long with all my play sessions typed up. I will post that when we get our internet back on.

One exciting thing that has happened is that yesterday [November 18 2009] a Professional Barefoot Trimmer came out for a One on One lesson with me. We were hoping to get all the horses trimmed but in the end we only got Twosox done. But I am pretty that I will be able to trim the other horses by myself. I just need to get a right handed knife [the store sent me the wrong one] so once I get that I will trim the others.

Anyways I have to go. Hopefully I can post again soon!!
~K

Taking it up a notch....

November 9 2009

Twosox and I took it up another notch yesterday when we played today. I went out with a couple newish [things we either haven't in a long time or have only done once or twice ;)] things to play with. It was definitely an interesting playtime.

We started off in the corral with some Friendly game then we did Stick to me up the hill, Twosox was really in tune with me!! Once we were up in the riding ring we did some circles. I was planning on just doing some walk/trot transitions, maintain gait and some Change of directions. We did those but part way through I asked myself  "Why aren't we advancing?" Really rather random..... then I realised that I think it is because I don't want to send Twosox RB. I can't want him to get unconfident, I want him to stay calm, cool and collected..... but we aren't going to advance like that. We need to go outside our comfort zone, into the unknown.

So we took the step out. I asked Twosox to canter on the circle. Before when I asked him to canter he got worried and kind of froze up while on the circle. He couldn't canter and all he could do was trot really fast. So I was prepared..... almost. The first time I asked for it Twosox took off running. Now it almost looked like a little bit of dominance but I am not sure. I held on and Twosox continued on the circle. I rewarded the slightest try and finally when I asked for the canter Twosox would canter for about 1/4 lap. It was a start. After that was successful I brought Twosox in for a rest. He was unconfident but after a couple minutes he relaxed. One thing that was interesting also was that Twosox immediately licked and chewed!! Then I sent him back out the other way. This time it went a little bit better. Twosox seemed to understand a little but more about what I wanted. He tried so hard!!!

After that Twosox and I did some Stick to me and Touch it. Normally when ever I ask Twosox to trot a long beside me and gets a little worried and trots with me but not right beside me. This time he stayed right with me the whole time!! Then we did some Touch it. I asked Prince to put all four feet on the pedestal. He did it and he didn't even hesitate!!

Then just for fun we did some cutting moves! Twosox is REALLY good at those!!! Then after that we just spend some time hanging out together. Twosox lowered his head and really relaxed. Then I took the halter off and we played at Liberty!!! Twosox did so well!! Our draw has gotten a million times better!!! We did Stick to me, Touch it, and Leading by the tail. What made it even more cool was that it was really windy!! Twosox being a RBI really gets worried when it is windy. So it was a huge improvement that we could play at Liberty in the wind!!

I am REALLY looking forward to playing with Twosox again!!!!

~K

Liberty

I totally forgot this when I was typing my post about the play time Prince and I had the other day. Before I haltered Prince we had a REALLY fun Liberty session in the corral. We did Touch it, Sideways towards me, Leading by the hocks [totally at Liberty!! A first for us!!], Leading by the tail, Stick to me, and some yo-yo's at the trot and walk. It was a lot of fun. Prince was so in tune with me!!! Very fun!!!

One of the cool things was that it felt just like we were playing Online!!

~K

Back at it again,,,,

Well for almost a week I have been suffering with almost all the symptoms of the Swine Flu [H1N1]. It is not confirmed that I have it but it is very likely. So for most of the week I was inside with very little horse time. It was nice having a little break but I am SO glad that, even though I am only feeling a little bit better, I can be getting back out with the horses. I can't move around to much or else I get a head ache but I can't complain!!!

Yesterday Sunday November 8 2009 I played with and rode Prince. I missed him so much!!! I don't know what I would do with out him in my life!!! I would have been happy just doing nothing with him but there were a couple things I wanted to play with.

The first, and the most major thing we did in the play session was cantering on the circle. We had it REALLY good... I mean Prince would canter 5 circles no problem...... but then there were a couple things that fell apart [my fault totally] and that was one of them. When I think about it it wasn't really fair to Prince to ask that much of him that soon, considering we haven't really played in over a week and we have been having a hot spell but Prince did really well and tired so hard!! We got three circles with out breaking gait going to the right I think it was. Then one circle with out breaking gait going to the left. Prince was so out of shape and with his winter coat [or some of it] he was sweating like crazy. I felt kind of bad but he recovered from it. It is definitely something we need to play with!!!

After a long rest I then got my trimming tools and played around with them. I expected Prince to be defensive but he had a nice surprise for me in the fact that he did REALLY well. I didn't actually trim anything but I was simulating it so that Prince will get used to me being the one to do it. I was able to play with all of his feet and he did really well.

So after we were done that I got my helmet and climbed on Prince bareback. Being sick has totally knocked all the spring out of my legs that is for sure!! I tried jumping up onto Prince [which last Sunday I could do] but there was no way that was happening today. My mom said not to exert myself to much since I was still sick so I got onto the pedestal and got on from there. Prince and I had the most AMAZING ride!!!!!!!! I didn't plan on doing much but it ended up being a wonderful, wonderful ride.

We started off with some Follow the rail, that was really good. Then I asked Prince to trot the first two times I asked him to trot he pinned his ears but then trotted off. So we did some transitions. Then we did a REALLY cool yo-yo game but first... before I went out to play with Prince I was reading in one of the original Level 2 pocket books and it was talking about advancing your 9 Step back up. So I read it. One thing it said was that if while you are closing your fingers (steps 4,5,6,7) you slow do step 8 and 9 you will have a much fast and lighter back up. Okay hopefully that didn't confuse you! So anyways.... I tried that with Prince.............. and you will never guess!!!!! IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Prince was a million times lighter. It was so cool!!! Then that was when we did the really neat Yo-yo game. I asked Prince to walk forward two steps, then I would sit back, focus high and just put a little tiny bit of pressure on the reins and he would back up two steps, then we would repeat the process again. Prince was SO light that we did most of it at phase 1!! Even our back up go so light that I just thought "back up" and focused and Prince was already stopped and shifting his weight to back up. Then we did it at the trot!!!! It was SO much fun!! I couldn't believe how light Prince was!! It was VERY cool!!!

Then we played around with our Direct rein. Again I was reading in the Original Level 2 pocket guide and it was talking about getting your horse to "Cross his front end over" and is said to use your outside leg and that in Level 1 you rode the inside of your horse but in Level 2/3 you want to be pushing your horse more. Interesting. I remember reading that before but it is always good to re-read something. So Prince and I played around with using my outside leg when I asked him a Direct rein. I had been playing around with it before but I was never sure if it was right so I just went back to using my inside leg. So when I tried it the results were incredible!!! Prince responded beautifully!! One time we were walking along the fence and came up to Mom and Knightly so I just looked at the 3 o'clock position and put a little bit of pressure on with my outside leg and Prince turned exactly where I wanted him to go and we walked straight across the riding ring then turned back onto the fence.

Prince and I took a rest after that. My mom was sitting on the fence and had Knightly lined up to get on, she had the rope hanging over his neck and he decided to walk away. So I asked him Prince and I could get him..... I thought that looked like fun!! It was SOOOOOOOOOOOO much fun!!!!!!!! Prince was a gem!!! He even tried to help.... it wasn't his fault that Knightly kicked back at him. The lead rope had of course dropped on the ground so I had to get Knightly to bring his head around do I could get the rope. Then once I had it we started walked a long the fence back to mom. But then Prince started trotting.... I am not sure why but I think it was because Knightly was bothering him. I was trying to let more rope out for Knightly and stop Prince and the same time but something didn't go right so I just dropped the rope. I didn't want to give up then so we went back and got Knightly. My mom tossed my her carrot stick so I could reach the rope.

We were going back to mom and Prince offered me a BEAUTIFUL sideways!!! Then I realised that the carrot stick to "active" Prince was so sensitive!!! So we went sideways for about 10ft then continued on our way. After we had accomplished our mission Prince had a major lick and chew!! One thing that was really cool was that Prince was really in tune with me the whole time, if I needed him to back up I could just wiggle my legs a little bit and he would back up, turning was never easier, our whoa and go were wonderful. It was a lot of fun!!

Since it was a really good note to end on I got off. Then Prince and I just spend some time hanging out together. I love him so much!!!!! He is wonderful!!!! Can't wait till next time!!

~K

CONGRATULATIONS LEA!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Lea on passing our Level 3 Online!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you who don't know my savvy sister, Lea passed her Level 3 Online with a Level 3+!!!! I am so proud of you Lea!!! You and Eddie have a wonderful relationship that will carry you where ever you go!!! When ever I watch you guys play I have to smile!! You guys looks like you are living a dream!!!

Love you girl!!
~K

Here is a friends Level 1/2 Online Audition...

I am so proud of you guys!!!! I am positive that you will pass with flying colours!!

~K

Short but sweet!

November 3 2009

So today I played with Twosox. We didn't do much but what we did do was really fun. For the first little while we just stood together, playing friendly game in different zones, and just over all getting Twosox truly calm before we started playing.

When we were up in the corral we did some Stick to me, Figure eights, and I played around with his feet. Yep, that is all!! But it was really cool!!! When we were doing the Figure eights Twosox started offering things!! He offered to trot and he was bending around the barrels, not bracing the other way.

He did really well with his feet too. I picked them all up and cleaned them out. Lots of friendly game!!! Then I sat on a tire and helped my mom with some things. Right before we were going to finish Prince and Ruffy came up into the riding ring. Ruffy was SO playful!!!! I am surprised that Prince is fat!!! ;) Prince and Ruffy started rearing and a whole bunch of other stuff. I could watch them play for hours!!! It was interesting because one time they got to close to Twosox and I so I started twirling my rope [I didn't have my carrot stick]. Prince and Ruffy got the idea and moved away but what was really cool was that Twosox didn't get worried!! He just stayed right behind me and was calm the whole time, even though I had to bring my energy up really fast!! It was neat!!

So even though our play time was short it was a really good play session because Twosox was relaxed and responded really well!!

~K

Lots of little things...

Over the past week and a half we have been cleaning our corral out. There are over 1ft of wet, soggy manure that we didn't want there. It was awful!! We were supposed to get a guy with a tractor to come clean it out but with all the rain we had the guy said that his tractor would get stuck..... so started the process of cleaning it out....... by hand. It was a HUGE job but we finally finished it on Monday. I was so happy!!!

Anyways the point of me telling you all that was that while we were cleaning the corral out I got to spend some wonderful time with the horses!!! Prince and I had some fun playing at Liberty and just hanging out. Twosox and I were able to just spend some time with each other. It really paid off because I have NEVER seen Twosox so relaxed when he is around me!! It was wonderful!

I also got to play around a lot with the horses feet. I carried my hoof pick out with me each day just in case I got the chance to pick up any of the horses feet. It was really interesting because on one of the days we were working in there I had to ask Prince to move out of the way so we could take a wheel barrel load of manure out, so I asked him to go sideways over..... well earlier that day my mom had to move him and so she asked him to move his hind quarters over and he just walked off but since he moved out of her way she let it go. I think it happened a couple other times also so when I asked him to move over sideways Prince was like "Yeah right!" and he walked off..... well I couldn't just leave it there right?? So I followed through with what I was asking. We ended up going all the way out of the corral, up the hill, back down the hill, into the corral again, and then finally Prince disengaged his hind quarters. Then I asked him to go back over to where he was before he ran off and then I asked him to go sideways... but not just normal sideways.... I asked for quicker, snappy sideways!!!! This time Prince responded and went sideways really nicely!!! I then relaxed and went back to shoveling...... It was so funny to see the look on Prince's face when I left!! 

The horses were really curios about us. It was really neat. Knightly would come and stand right side you and want you to scratch him, and he wouldn't leave until you did. He is funny!! One day I was cleaning out around the manger and of course I couldn't exactly have four horses there or else I would have been taking the ground from under them. So I sent them all away. It was interesting to see how each horse dealt with it. Prince I hardly had to do anything, he didn't even try coming back!! Ruffy moved but tried to get back to the manger a couple times but then he went over to Prince and they slept together. Knightly was positive that I had sent the other horses away so that he could eat. Every time I moved even a little bit away from the manger Knightly wouldn't start to move in. Finally he got the idea that he couldn't eat either so he went and stood in the shelter. Then there was Twosox..... my sweet RBI boy. He figured out that if he was really really sweet and softly came in and moved when ever I asked him to that he was fine and could eat. I have a soft spot for RBI ;)

It was funny because on that same day when I had to climb out of the corral for a minute, as soon as I was gone all of the horses came right back in and when I came in they all left. I guess they figured out who was the Alpha mare ;) hehe

So yeah, even though it wasn't the best of jobs it was great to be able to hang around with the horses!!

~K

A whole new generation is starting.....

November 1 2009

YIKES!!!!!!!! It is November already!!!!!!!! It is crazy how fast time goes!! I remember when it was February and the Auditions came out!!!!!!! Wow!!

My two little brothers had a fun time this afternoon playing with Prince. So that it will be less confusing I am going to call the older of my two younger brothers M1 and ny youngest brother M2 [Both of there names start with M ;)].

M2 lead Prince up the hill to the riding ring. I could tell that he was alittle nervous but still very excited. Since M2 is a extrovert he had A LOT of energy.

So M1 started playing first. He did very well. So did Prince. M1 did Touch it, yo-yo's, circles, sideways with out a fence [that is what you get when you have a Level 1 kid and a Level 4 horse playing together ..... when the release isn't fast enough you get stuff you didn't ask for ;) hehe]. When they were doing Touch it, Prince offered four feet on the pedestal! It was so cute!!!! M1 did VERY well on the circles. Everything, his send, allow and bring back were PERFECT!!!!! I was so proud of them both. M1 looked so savvy!!!

By this time M2, being the extrovert he is, was getting very impatient waiting for his turn. So it was his turn. It was my job to keep his mind on what he was doing and make sure he stayed safe. He did really well though. M2 did porcupine on the nose to back up, he did Touch it [The look on his face when Prince climbed on the pedestal with all four feet then looked at M2 and asked a question was PRICELESS!!!!] I think Prince felt the different energy level between M1 and M2 but he did well. He was so sweet!! Always lowering his head to let then rub him and doing what they asked.

After M2 had played for a little bit he got his very first ride on Prince. When I put him on Prince at first he had SO much energy. I could tell Prince wasn't sure what to do with all that energy up there so I had to tell M2 that even though he was excited he still had to settle down and not have so much energy. At first M2 didn't want to go very far or very fast. But then once we took a couple steps he was fine. He didn't want to get off. So we walked around, M2 would decided where he wanted to go then we would walk over to that spot then stop have a quick rest and then be off again. I had the bareback pad on Prince and it was really cute because M2 was holding the handle and some of Prince's mane. I think I have a picture of it.....

Yep! Here is a pic....

After a little while M2 got down. I showed him how to get off the right way. I was REALLY proud of all three boys [M1, M2, and Prince]. They can hardly wait to play and ride again. M1 has decided that he doesn't want to start riding until he is in Level 2 Online. That is totally fine with me.

After the boys were finished playing with Prince I played around with him feet. He did really well. I don't have to play with him before I pick up his feet now so that is an improvement. After I was done with his feet we just spent some undemanding time for a while. Then just for fun I climbed up on one of the small tires and started playing around with mounting Prince bareback from there. I can do it from the pedestal so this was more of a challenge. Prince got a little defensive about be bouncing up and down. I was prepared for that though because of what happened to him before I got him. So I just kept bouncing and not really playing any attention to his pinned ears and such and after a while he realized that everything was fine. I was able to mount him successfully about 6 times. I was pretty impressed, considering I was only about 5 inches off the ground.

Anyways.....

M2 is now saying he wants a little pony. My mom and I were watching one of the Savvy DVD's and M2 saw Barmun and fell in love with him. So that is how it all started. I didn't know if we will get one but you never know!!! I never thought we would have 4 horses!!!! Should be interesting.....

~K

My boy Prince...

Oct 30 2009

Yet again Prince, Knightly, my mom and I went out to our friends farm! I am totally spoiled!! :) I spent some time cleaning Prince up. He was a mess!!! I don't really mind him being dirty but I did want him to look nice today. I tried to untangle his tail but that was hopeless.... as someone said "It looks like someone dipped his tail in chocolate" hehe that was about right. The first 1ft was nice and clean but the rest was brown. His mane was a little bit more cooperating. By the time I was finished our friend was here and so we loaded the horses up. That went well and so we were off.

When we got there we unloaded the horses. Prince and I did some stick to me in the field. That was fun!! Then I saddled Prince up. He did really well like usual. Then we went and checked out the little kids. Prince loves kids!!! He let them rub his face, hug him, give him apples [that was his favourite of all ;) lol] Then we went and played. We ran most of the way down the arena. Prince stayed right with me the whole time. Then we did some Weaving. Prince was a little clumsy at first so we kept it up until he was paying more attention. After that I asked Prince to jump a little barrel. At first he was like "You want me to do what??" but then he figured it out and jumped right over it!! It was a little but more of a challenge getting him to jump it straight on because is was shorter plus it wasn't as long so he went around it a couple times. In the end he got it though.

After that we did some Traveling circles, Transitions, Change of directions, Sideways over a log from 22ft away [at a phase 1 too!!!!] Jumping, and Touch it. It was a lot of fun. I think that if we go back again I will have to have some new things to do with Prince because I have to say it was a little boring for both Prince and myself. I had to go get the video camera so I let my good friend [parellihorseplay.blogspot.com/] hold Prince and play with him a little. They both did very well. I was so proud of both of them!!!

When we were done playing Online we played at Liberty. We did Stick to me, Jumping, Touch it from 20ft away, Sideways, Leading by the tail and more. One of the things I did [that I have always wanted to do but never had enough room to do it] was drawing at the trot but not stopping when Prince got to me but just keep running backwards [sorry if that was confusing ;)] Anyways.... it worked. Prince kept trotting and we went back quite a ways. It was fun!!! By this time it was raining pretty hard. I still wanted to ride so we kept going. Before I got on I gave a 3yr old girl a ride on Prince. It was the first time that any younger kid has been on Prince since I bought him [only myself and my sister have ridden Prince since I got him]. I wasn't sure how Prince would respond but he was a gem!!! We went for a long walk around the arena. He didn't pin his ears once!!! Which was really nice considering he was used my pony rides before I got him and he DID NOT like the idea of anyone getting on him especially little kids. I was SO proud of Prince. He did so well!!!

Now it turned out good because my saddle was wet and well I got on right after she got off...... and so I didn't have to get my jeans wet ;) ;) just kidding. Anyways Prince and I had a wonderful ride. I have to say I was more pleased with our ride than I was of our ground play. That is weird but I just thought I could have done better when we were playing on the ground. Oh well next time I will be more prepared.

Prince and I had a blast while we were riding. I rode with my two savvy strings tied together to make a set of reins. It was SOOOOOO nice riding with really light weight reins but still having two. We did Follow the rail, A Million Transitions, Point to point at the trot [most of that we did going length ways down the arena!! It was so much fun!!], Sideways, 9 step back up, refined direct and indirect rein, Weaving [at the walk and trot!] and the Question Box.

I want to comment on a couple of the things we did....

First the Point to point at the trot. I was confident enough to go all over the arena this time. We trotted for REALLY long distances and all over the place. Prince did really well and I hardly hard to redirect him and when I did it was really light, not like normal when we are trotting he doesn't want to listen to me. Plus what was really cool was that I could (1) sit Prince's trot for longer and (2) I could do a rising trot [posting] and direct Prince!!!! Normally I loose my balance a little but not today!!! It was wonderful!!!!!!! Prince and I did a lot of trotting. We both loved it!!

Secondly the Questions Box..... IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! Prince was light and VERY responsive. We did it at the walk and trot. I didn't have to correct Prince to much either. I was really pleased with how that one was coming along. It was out third time doing the Question Box pattern at our friends place.

And the third thing I wanted to comment on was the Weave. Prince gave me a nice slow trot [a sitting trot trot ;)] while we did the Weave. I made sure to look where I wanted Prince to go it felt amazing!! Prince was light and we did half the Weave at a trot and the other half at a walk. I am amazed [even though I shouldn't be] but how well Prince responds to my body when I get it right!! Before Prince was just doing what I was asking!! *sigh* Never ending self improvement!! Gotta love it!! :)

After I was done riding Mrs. Smith wanted me to ride bareback for a bit. So I took my saddle off and quickly hopped on before Prince got all wet ;) There was a nice little dry patch where the saddle had been so I didn't want it getting wet. We rode over to the pedestal and climbed up on that. Prince is beginning to really like that thing now ;) Before he would walk circles around it before he would get up, now he just walks right on. After that we trotted the whole way over to the gate. The best part was that (1) I WAS BAREBACK!!!!!!!!!! and (2) Even when the sitting trot got a little bit bouncy I stuck with it and made sure I was doing everything right and it got smoother. It was interesting feeling the difference between riding in my Fusion and riding bareback. There isn't a huge difference at all. Of course riding bareback is a little bit bouncier when you start trotting but all in all it was really comfy!!!!

Since it was still pouring rain we all went in for lunch then when it was time to go my mom and I started walking down to the arena where the horses where. We had just come around the corner and where still really far away and we called them, both of them started walking over to the gate. What was even cooler was that PRINCE CAME TROTTING TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course they got to the gate first but it was SO cool!!! I couldn't believe it because we were so far away when we called. I love my pony!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a really fun day all in all, even though it rained for most of it. I didn't even notice it!! We were having to much fun!! :)

~K