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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Wanted

I wanted to put up a quick post as I am hoping to find some good deals on the following items.  The items with an asterisk are things I'd like sooner than later.  Please email me at smthorning@gmail.com or comment me if you have any of these items.


  • *Parelli (or equivalent) Bareback Pad, with western cinch
  • *Splint Boots, set of 4, prefer white or black, large or XL (depends on the brand)
  • *Parelli (or equivalent) Shims, thick and thin
  • *Barrels, Cones, Pedestal
  • Western Theraflex Pad
  • Confidence Snaffle
  • 45' Line
  • Horse Trailer - 7'x7' minimum, prefer 2 horse BP - but will look at larger GN too
  • Saddle - Parelli, Frank Baines, Dave Genadek or equivalent - prefer english, but ultimately want both kinds of saddles, so will look at the right western saddle too. 
    • **In the mean time during my search for the perfect saddle I am looking for a *Wintec Wide with a 17 or 17.5" seat.
  • Mastery DVDs 
  • Original Levels VHS packs 1-3
Willing to purchase outright or trade.  Can pick up or pay for shipping.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

March 29 2011 Horsenality Charts



Here are my most recent charts (above), compare to my February charts (below).

The thing I find important to note here is that generally speaking she's quiet, easy, mellow, low key, accepting, and willing about everything.  She'll think about things, be engaged, isn't really one way more whoa than go - they're fairly equal.  Most of the traits on the RB side of the chart are only when she becomes startled or spooked by something.  It's not how she is all of the time... So would that put her more innately LB or RB? More Extroverted or Introverted?






Not Forgotten

I promise I haven't forgotten to post on here - unfortunately I've just been sick and the weather has been bad so between the two I haven't seen Aspen a lot in the last few days.  :(  Really hoping for this evil head cold to go away and then I'll also be ready for some beautiful sunshine!

I did go out to feed and groom her a couple days ago, by the time I got there it was terribly windy so I brought Aspen into the barn.  Who knew she'd get so emotional about this?!  She could barely eat her oats because she was pacing around, listening to her pasture mate call for her, and generally just really nervous.  I closed the barn doors and brushed her while she ate then let her wander around while I did a little sweeping and such.  It was the first time I've seen her really curious about things and really become more extroverted.  When I brought her outside I decided to let her graze a little around the barn and holy smokes, she was snorting and prancing while trying to eat at the same time. 

I've seen Aspen go a little RBE when spooked or bothered by something but quickly come down from it and generally I felt like she was innately more introverted...but since that afternoon seeing her really come out of her shell when stimulated and reflecting on our time together I'm wondering if she's simply more of a mild extrovert?  I'm really confused here.  I've had a lot of horses that fit neatly into one category or another on the horsenality chart... I see a lot of characteristics in Aspen that fit in all 4 quadrants of the chart, but I want to say she's mild in all of those.  I'm going to re-post a chart for her and then do a little more contemplating :)

A close up of an earlier photo.  Love her face :)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Parelli Four Stages of Learning (Phases): Teach, Control, Reinforce, Refine / Horse Training Video

Below is an outline of the Stages of Learning as written by Teri Sprague in the February 2011 Savvy Times.  I think this is essential knowledge for anyone practicing Parelli Natural Horsemanship.
(To read the full article you can log in to www.ParelliConnect.com and search the Learning Library for back issues of the Savvy Times!) 

Remember to account for your horse's horsenality (whichever one shows up that day!) every time you play together.


Teaching
Goal: Communicate new ideas while promoting trust and diminishing opposition reflex.
  • Release comes after the slightest try
  • Phases move in equal intervals, every 3 to 4 seconds - longer for introverts
Controlling
Goal: Maintain safety and/or establish leadership
  • Match horse's energy and then exceed by 4 ounces
  • If it is necessary to repeat then double the correction each time for 4 times, then return to the 4 ounce rule
    • Example: You've asked the horse to stand/ground tie.  Horse moves forward 1 step, back him 2 steps (doubling the infraction). Horse moves forward 1 step again, back him 4 steps.  Next time 8 steps, then 16 steps, then back to 2 steps.
Reinforcing
Goal: Develop positive reflex without assumption of fear
  • Long phase 1, then quickly to phase 4
Refining
Goal: Improve maneuver or task, especially in speed, distance, or accuracy
  • Similarities between reinforcing and refining
  • Improves quantity (i.e. number of steps), quality (i.e. distance), speed or precision
  • Long phase 1, then quickly to phase 4 improves quantity, quality, and speed
  • Precision requires long phases because the action required is very precise
  • Precise timing of the release means zero criticism and zero micromanagement



Watch this fantastic video from 4-Star Senior Parelli Professional Ryan Rose on the Stages of Learning: Teach, Control, Reinforce, Refine!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Aspen the Rodeo Star

It's absolutely gorgeous and sunny out right now, albeit 34 degrees, with just a little wind.  As soon as I finished my post about the broken Yo-Yo game I went out to see Aspen, who has been dubbed Moose Lips by the way.  She's got the cutest, moose-y lips ever, and when I look at her muzzle I can't help but think of a little moose.  :)  So endearing.  :)

She once again followed me into the arena after being fed her grain and once again knocked over all my buckets, barrels, and jumps that I had set up.  We started off a little differently today than normal, I got her moving sideways, doing some good yo-yos (without the anticipation of a send!), and thinking about doing a lot of Touch It on different things, finally landing on the saddle.  I found my girth extender and felt like today was the day to introduce her to it.  We worked on her putting effort to getting to the saddle - she is starting to get the idea to look for obstacles and things to put her nose on...but has a really strong focus on me.  If she can draw into me, follow me around, and stand next to me that's her main goal - which I find invaluable... However, I do want her to feel equally as confident about visiting other things than simply trying to come into me all the time.

I saddled her with the rope on the ground, she was very confident and very polite about standing to be tacked.  Surprisingly no negative reaction to the saddle, pad, or girth (but she's got a negative reaction about being mounted/dismounted...how interesting!).  I tightened her girth three times all the while getting her to move her feet, sideways, over poles, jump the barrels, back up, etc.  Very positive and confident.  Yay! :)

Unfortunately the arena has some very deep spots of sand that are nearly impossible to avoid when Aspen's moving out on a bigger circle.  As she was trotting around she would hit a deep spot of sand and speed up.  My impression was that of a horse trotting up a hill.  It's easier with some momentum.  But she kept getting faster and faster through the deep spots, off and on breaking into a canter (a beautiful, collected one btw!).  All of a sudden while coming out of the deep sand she went to bucking - I mean really going for it!  Both heels were straight up in the air, you could almost hear them snap as they lashed out and in, out and in.  HOLY COW!  Then she'd come out of the deep spot and trot around, hit the deep sand and BAM - bucking.  I was too confused and surprised to really have noticed if it was RB or LB bucking... My gut is saying it wasn't RB.  She was very keen on my body language and kept offering to come back into me even when she was hopping around... She's never done this before, I'm not sure if it was strictly coincidental that I happened to have her saddled today and for whatever reason she was dealing with a separate issue in the sand or if the saddle compounded an existing issue...or... what?!  I let her go at it until she could trot around quietly, even got her headed over some jumps and obstacles to see if it would push her to buck again but it didn't.

Before ending our time together today I practiced the steps of mounting, up and down on both sides and lateral flexion.  She wasn't nasty and grumpy about the mounting/dismounting but it definitely wasn't eliciting confidence and relaxation.  I ended on a positive note and called it a day.  It will be very interesting to see how she does the next time I come out.

Check out my YouTube channel to see a video of her trying out her new saddle.  It's not the best of saddles but it's what I have to work with for now - so getting my pad and shims correct will be very important in her comfort and in bring out her athletic potential.

Took some photos of her sweat patterns - anyone with any input would be greatly appreciated.  It had one thick shim and she seemed to have plenty of room to rotate her shoulder blades back all the way.... I'm still new at interpreting the secret code of the sweat pattern - so I will be posting pictures and tracking them over time as I experiment with the saddle.  Need some more shims - anyone have some for sale??

Aspen stretching out in her saddle.

Walking around, getting a feel for the Theraflex pad & saddle.

Sweat patterns from her saddle (On-Line play only today)

Sweat patterns on the right side

Sweat patterns, left

Sweat patterns, left

Broken Yo-Yo (Monday the 21st)

I am a little late in posting for my time with Aspen on Monday!  Everything went well - very excited to see her today!  The thing I really took away from Monday was in regards to our Yo-Yo game.  I've noticed On-Line she'll tend to not go back straight, some of this I attribute to a lack of confidence and the other part to her assuming I'm going to send her somewhere.  It's not a lot of crookedness but it's some.  When I tried to Yo-Yo her back just a step or two in the round pen at Liberty it was a big surprise to me when she couldn't go back one single step without trying to leave on a circle.  Without my rope there as a crutch she couldn't make any backward motion without going out on the circle.  It definitely didn't seem like a lack of confidence here, but rather Aspen simply assuming she needed to go somewhere.  Ugh.  How could I have missed it for so long?!  I suppose that's the beauty of Liberty because once you remove the ropes you have nothing left but the truth.  And my truth for Monday was a broken Yo-Yo! :( 

So I plan on fixing that with more Friendly and more plain old go out and draw backs - no sending until she doesn't assume that's the pattern.  *Slapping forehead right now*  Argh, I know better.  If you can create positive habits and patterns in a horse, so you can create negative ones as well.  It's beautiful and sunny out today so hopefully I'll get some good photos and have good things to write later!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Hill Therapy

I'm going to be starting the Hill Therapy program with Aspen soon and have created a blog to keep track of what we're doing each day and to keep before and after photos.  Please take a minute to visit my Hill Therapy blog to learn about the program.

A Little of This and a Little of That

It is windy and snowy as I write this now but a little while ago it was a warm 39 degrees and still air.  You bet I took advantage of that and went to see my little Aspy.  She was a dirty mess when I got there so I spent quite some time cleaning her up and covering her in lavender baby oil.  We then played On Line where she showed me a much improved Sideways, put an effort into seeking out the jumps (and even offered to jump the barrels!), and put effort into putting her foot on and in the center of the tire.  We trotted the weave pattern with more quality today and I can see the value in repeating the pattern not for hours at a time but day after day.  A little bit of this and that each day builds great foundations over time!

I mounted her from a bucket today which required me to jump up onto her back and she had NO negative response to the mount or dismount today! Just practiced some Follow The Rail, changing direction, and some small circles.  I keep forgetting to get my colt saddle out there so I can send her to it and let her investigate it and play some good quality friendly game with her and the saddle.  Until I do that it's just bareback riding for now.

After that I put her in the round pen and asked her for a little Sideways at Liberty and a few circles - the draw was awesome again!  I took some video of her which you can see at http://www.youtube.com/user/samanthamt7 - sorry for the poor quality, it's from my cell phone again.  But at least there is no annoying wind in the background!  You'll see a snubbing post in the round pen (not even in the center) that I routinely run into while trying to do things in there!  I deleted the video where the post and I had a formal greeting this afternoon - haha!
The other horses in the pasture with some of the mountains behind them.

Trotting in the round pen.
Imagine what that stride will look like when she actually starts using her back!


Coming to me off the circle.

Love the mountain and clouds behind her.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Liberty at Last!

Today started off great because I got to sleep in this morning!  Finally!  Seems the mornings I get up before the sun happen way too often!  To my pleasant surprise it was sunny outside and not very windy, which meant a trip to see my lovely Aspen was in order. 

Somehow earlier last week the horses opened the gate again from the pasture to her paddock and all shuffled around.  Her donkey, Bambi, is now out with the herd on the pasture and she has a new, very handsome gelding by the name of Michael to keep her company  now.  Michael is very dominant and was very sure that I really brought out the oats and Dynamite vitamins for him instead of Aspen.  At first as I chased him off it really bothered Aspen and she went running with him but after a few moments decided to come back over.  She quickly realized that she was safe by me and that I was going to defend her and her breakfast from Michael.  I'm pretty sure that earned me instant bonus points for the day!

I spent a long time brushing her and rubbing her and finally headed over to the arena to set all my stuff back up that between the wind and the horses is always a mess when I get there.  She followed me into the arena and all around as I moved everything and reorganized some of my obstacles.  Then, here was a first, as I was untangling her rope halter and trying to get it ready to put it on Aspen stuck her nose in it for me!! Really cool!  We then played On Line for a while, spending a little more time on Sideways with and without a fence as well as a straighter Yo-Yo.  She had a really excellent draw coming in which was very nice!

I don't have a pedestal for the L2 Touch It task but I do have a tire in the arena that she can put her feet in or rest one foot on lightly.  We played a bit with both the Driving and Porcupine games to get her foot in and on it.

Because Aspen had so much draw to me today I decided to try her in the round pen at Liberty and see what we had.... Moment of truth!  I started by playing some Friendly with her and getting her to turn a full circle on her hindquarters and forehand!  Then asked her to move out into a circle!  The first couple times she offered to come in - cool! - but after that I politely asked her to stay on the circle.  Well - wouldn't you know she had an opinion about that!  Tossed her head, kicked up her heels, and jumped and frolicked back out on the circle!  Very fun to see her getting into it and with enthusiasm!  When I did ask her to come in she trotted to me!  Every time she trotted in, and the one time she didn't I kind of jogged in place and she instantly picked up the trot as she was drawing in!  Perceptive! 

We then played a little Stick To Me.  Started at the walk (with stop and backing transitions) then moved into the trot.  At one point she started looking around at other things besides me so I took off and she came galloping after me!!!  I slammed on the brakes and she skidded to a halt behind me, sand flying everywhere.  I turned and ran off the other direction and she zoomed off after me and stayed with me as I transitioned down to a walk!  I had to tell myself not to get greedy and quit while I was ahead - this was only our first Liberty session.  I opened the gate to the round pen and asked her to go out, turn/face/wait all at Liberty still.  She did, then I jogged off around the arena to gather my ropes, jacket and stick and she stuck right with me!  When I opened the gate into her paddock she again very politely went through the gate, turned and waited for me, then walked with me up to the front fence where the rest of my stuff was.  SO FUN!  I can only hope we have this much fun the next time I see her.  She's really coming out of her shell and I can see her wanting to try new things and be with me more and more.

If tomorrow is nice I'll see if I can't snag a friend to take some pictures and if not I'll take some more myself.  I'm really very excited about all of this! 

Also got permission to play with two more horses at the barn, I'll be keeping some updates and photos on here of them as well as Parelli Connect

Take a look at my post below this one - I have a list of wanted items.  If you have anything you'd like to part with let me know!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Wanted

I wanted to put up a quick post as I am hoping to find some good deals on the following items.  The items with an asterisk are things I'd like sooner than later.  Please email me at smthorning@gmail.com or comment me if you have any of these items.

  • *Parelli (or equivalent) Bareback Pad, with western cinch
  • *Splint Boots, set of 4, prefer white or black, large or XL (depends on the brand)
  • *Parelli (or equivalent) Shims, thick and thin
  • *Barrels, Cones, Pedestal
  • Confidence Snaffle
  • 45' Line
  • Horse Trailer - 7'x7' minimum, prefer 2 horse BP - but will look at larger GN too
  • Saddle - Parelli, Frank Baines, Dave Genadek or equivalent - prefer english, but ultimately want both kinds of saddles, so will look at the right western saddle too. In the mean time during my search for the perfect (expensive!) saddle I am considering Wintecs with a WIDE gullet - general purpose, 17-18" seat.
  • Mastery DVDs 
  • Original Levels VHS packs 1-3
Willing to purchase outright or trade.  Can pick up or pay for shipping.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Beautiful Day With My Beautiful Horse

Today has been a GORGEOUS day so far!  No wind!!!!  Lots of big blue skies and warm sun! The horses are beginning to shed out some of their winter hair.  What a refreshing breath of Spring we had this afternoon!

For some reason all the horses were together in Aspen's paddock when I got there so I took the opportunity to  brush each one and get to know them all a little better.  I may have fallen in love with one of the weanlings that I helped to halter not so long ago.  He's really great!  I'll take some pictures of him and post them.  Someone tell me I don't need/can't afford a second horse! :)

Aspen got a pedicure today from my trimmer Pam Dunkle - she did a wonderful job on her feet and Aspen stood there like a lady! 

We had such fun play today - it was a hundred times better than the last time we played!  I was really aware of how much energy I had, my body language toward her, and remembering to breathe deeply.  Amazing what a huge difference that makes!  She has been steadily making progress but today was different because she was offering me so much more!  In everything we did we had a really nice balance of drive and draw which was evident in our figure-8 and weave pattern as she offered to do them at the trot, stayed on pattern, and left slack in the rope.  It felt and looked great!  Our stick to me was unlike any other time before!  I didn't have to use my stick at all - she was totally with me!  Walk, trot, stop, reverse, stop, trot, - whatever it was I was doing she was right there with me.  She even got into it a little with some head shaking and spunk!  Is that a left brain horse I see in there??

She jumped the barrels today which she has been struggling to do before and jumped my rail jump which is set at about 2'3" with ease.  Worked on transitions of gait, change of direction, and canter departs (gets her right lead easier than left).

Aspen offered to yield sideways toward me today.  I had my stick up on her neck as I took a step away from her and she brought her front end toward me then the hind end.  It was all her idea and it was really neat.  She had a lot of draw today! :) 

For the first time she had no negative reaction whatsoever when I got on her.  We did the touch-it, figure-8 and weave pattern while riding and did some trotting circles.  She's very light to my body but very heavy on the hands.  She felt hard mouthed the day I tried her out to buy her and I can feel it still through the reins.  She has a lot of opposition reflex there...starts with her bracing against the reins than raising her head to evade the pressure.  So we did lots of yield to pressure/porcupine games with lateral flexion, 9-step backup, and disengagment.  It helped some by the end of our session and I'm confident that pretty soon she'll have a really good feel in the halter.

I feel really, really happy with our time together today!  I hope this weather continues into tomorrow and I can go out there and play with her again in the warm sunshine!

My budget playground!  Buckets for the weave pattern, barrels for my squeeze game, logs shaped like an L for backing through, sideways, etc, a water trough and logs for a jump, and a tire (not pictured) for her to put her feet in.  There's also a hula hoop for me to stand in so I stop drifting around!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

The Three "Fitness-es"

Physical, mental, emotional.  The three types of personal fitness one may or may not have.  No matter how fit you are there will always be room for development and continued growth in all three of the fitness-es.

Here are the definitions I use for myself when gauging how fit I currently am and where I'm headed.

Physically Fit: I am height/weight proportionate, athletic enough to pursue the things I love in life (horses!), and am balanced in my body's nutritional needs.

Mentally Fit: I am in a positive, open, learning frame of mind, I have a strong basis of specific and dependable knowledge for my line of work, my hobbies, and a broad general knowledge on a variety of topics to be well rounded.

Emotionally Fit: I am able to handle situations of stress, adrenaline, excitement, discomfort, etc in a rational and appropriate manner.  

My emotional fitness has always been the hardest for me to master.  I wouldn't say that I am an emotional person by nature, at least on the outside.  I'm in introverted personality type.  I chew on ideas, experiences, and problems for days at a time before acting on them.  I feel things intensely and, for an introvert, have a deep, driving, strong energy.

If I feel un-confident or afraid my mental side takes over and begins organizing the feelings for me - telling me that I am either over-reacting or responding appropriately.  My mind is great at saying, 'Samantha, it's not personal' or 'You should be afraid no matter what anyone else says, that horse is dangerous!' or 'Don't get frustrated.  Anger is often the result of ignorance.  You simply don't have the tools yet...'  I may know that I should get off, and physically get off the horse, but emotionally I beat myself up for it... If only I had the tools, the knowledge, the resources, the confidence, etc I could have handled that situation better.  For me knowing and feeling something are two completely different experiences.

Linda Parelli often uses the cliff analogy when talking about humans pushing horses off a cliff to do things they're not ready for.  For example, if we were to ask our horse to cross a river we know there is no danger but our horse may feel insurmountable pressure, impending doom and know a torturous death awaits them... often at times when we think we're not even pressuring them at all!   I am the the horse in the analogy that's afraid to approach the edge of the river of my fear when asked to, frantic on the inside, trying to be brave and look over... AND I'm the person saying "JUST DO IT ALREADY!  You'll be fine!  Go! Go! Go! Pansy!"  Can you see the imbalance between my mental and emotional fitness?

So, why talk about this now?  I have been thinking a lot about the other day with Aspen and I am coming around to the idea that her off day and impulsive nature was most likely a direct result of me!!  I had a rough morning and while I thought I had pushed all my irritation aside when I got to the barn, in reality it was simmering somewhere inside, and that agitated energy was up too high for her. I was happy to see her but I knew that I wasn't in the best 'state of feeling'.  (See the know vs. feel concept here again?)  I should have done less with her until I was totally neutral.  As I said earlier, I have an intense energy and I know now that with a horse as perceptive and sensitive, and bless her heart as trying, as Aspen is that my emotions and energy have to be in total check before I play with her.

I must find the balance between my mental fitness and my emotional fitness by exercising them - respecting my feelings, recognizing them, and not sweeping them under the rug.  By doing this I will be more able to understand the energy I have and am projecting subconsciously.  It will translate not only in playing with horses but in dealing with people as well.

What fitness is your weakest?  Your strongest?  How would you be a better horse person if you honed your weakest fitness and made it stronger?

Monday, March 7, 2011

Different Day

Touch-It on the 22ft line




Touch-It on 22ft line
Changing her mind about going over the barrels
We've got the nose and neck over! :)
Trying to put in as little effort as possible to get across the poles!
March, march, march!


























































































Today was definitely different than our last couple play days together.  First change was that I put her halter on and left her to eat grain while I set up some new things in the arena (buckets for a weave pattern, etc), normally when I'm done I'll go and collect her after she's finished her grain.  Today she met me in the arena! 

It wasn't a bad session today but we just didn't have that same connection we've been having the last couple days.  Which surprised me being that she came to meet me.... She was very impulsive, really needed to move her feet today (even broke a sweat for the first time!) and defecated numerous times - something she normally won't do more than once. 

I tried to reduce the amount of pressure I was putting on her when she was calm, and tried to match her and use up her adrenaline when she was getting impulsive. 

She balked at the barrels when set up as a squeeze pattern, let alone jump them.  Funny because she'll squeeze between an object and the fence or me and the fence, or over jumps made of rails the same height as the barrels w/o issue.  Wondering if the solid nature of the barrels add more pressure?

I did get on her again today.  Much better with the mounting but this dismounting still causes her to be icky.  She's SO sensitive.  I can really direct her with my eyes/bellybutton before reins... I wonder if getting on/off feels sloppy to her??  I'm going to bring my colt saddle out so she can sniff it and do whatever to it and I can throw it up and toss it off of her.  Get a little more desensitization going on up there. 

If the weather holds out I think a little undemanding time is in order while I sort out the small behavior change in her this last time.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

More Positive Expressions!



View from above.



Positive expression when I got on!











Another good day of playing the games and making progress!  Going down my checklist in the levels and I really need a pedestal! 

Aspen is definitely alert to things that are unfamiliar and tends to get her emotions up a bit if I ask her to move her feet too fast.  I found a good balance today of refocusing her when she became unconfident by matching her energy and directing it with repetition.  I worked hard on maintaining neutral after I asked her to do something.  I drew little circles in the sand everywhere so I could have a visual of where I needed to be.  Amazing how much drift my feet have without my brain being aware of it!  Wouldn't you know that when I found a good, solid, clean  neutral Aspen was able to respond much better and apply herself to the patterns much more effectively.  I'm going to be bringing out the hula hoop for me to stand in next time! 

I just need to mostly work on the proper use of my phases, a true neutral, and being consistent in my direction, support, and releases.

I love how progressive this program is! :) :)

Did I mention that it was sunny, 40 degrees, and NO WIND?!  Sooooooooo nice and refreshing!  I hope we see more of this weather again soon!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Good Ride - Great Play!

So I am doing a *happy dance* right now as I write this!  Aspen was so, so, so wonderful!  Everything we played with today was a direct reflection of how we did yesterday.  Everything just flowed better, all the games were done with more quality, and I could see her looking for the patterns and getting it! I had to be careful not to get greedy while I was playing with her - I could feel myself wanting to push to do it again and again because I was having so much fun!  While I was visiting with my friend Will (who came out to meet Aspen today) she went over to one of the jumps, knocked part of it down, then offered to jump it herself, turn, face, and come back to me! Really cool (and kinda funny too!)!

Also, big news, as far as riding!  Today she got right up next to the fence and stayed there.  As I put a leg over her she thought about leaving so I did some approach and retreat until she was confident.  When I sat down on her she lifted her head a bit but no dragon face/grumpy ears, I laterally flexed her and offered her a carrot (that's always a winning idea with Aspen!).  Will was standing near us when I got on her and she offered to follow him.  She went with him, stopping when he stopped, with a very positive expression!  I was really pleased!  It was our first ride that felt relaxed, confident, soft, and happy!  Yay!  Can't wait to build on this!

Will is not familiar with horses so while we were out there I explained to him some basic things about horse behavior and why I was doing what I was doing with her, how it was all coming together in her mind, to build to bigger things.  I know 100% that everything in me wants to do this for a living.  I want to share horses and Parelli with others so they may have the same success that I have achieved so far through the program.  I am SO excited to sign up for a fast track next year! I only wish I could get there sooner!  Thank you Parelli for everything I've learned so far!!!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Another great day!

















Aspen was great again today!  We built on the wonderful session we had yesterday!  She was very light, responsive, and interested!!  I set up two different kinds of jumps, two barrels for the figure 8 pattern, and an L shaped set up of logs for her to back through or go sideways over.  She put a good feel in all the way down the rope while we were playing, offering to put the slack in it herself.  Lots of licking and chewing, and some really good deep breaths/blowing.  While I was setting up the obstacles for us she followed me around and sneakily destroyed everything I put up as soon as I walked away from it.  I'm going to have to build stronger obstacles/jumps or little miss curiosity is going to continue to knock them down/roll them out of place/pick them up when I'm not looking! :)


Until I can figure out how to embed videos again (temporary brain fart here!) check out my new YouTube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/samanthamt7

The only videos I have up are from this afternoon, taken with my cell phone, in a lot of wind.  I'm still working on that new video camera and tripod idea! But for now you can take a quick peek at Aspen in motion! :)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Great Day!

Aspen was great today!  I really feel like we connected!!  Much more confident and trusting with the extreme friendly game, learning that every time I pick up the stick it does not mean lunge!!!!!

Played with the falling leaf pattern a little.  I must have had my energy up a little too much because at first she got really into it and then she just got going a little too much!  We lost the feel through the rope and got a little out of whack.  She had a great draw back to me and then we started over, I made a change mentally/emotionally to really try to be SOFTER and voila!  She was doing a beautiful falling leaf with a great feel back to me.

Also created a little jump to use for our squeeze and circle games.  She promptly went over to investigate the structural integrity of my jump and proceeded to show me just how flimsy it was by knocking it down!  It was really comical as I watched her (she was loose, I was about 20ft away) do this then immediately look up at me like "did I do that??" and come over!  Super cute!  She was great over it and was a lot more confident squeezing while presenting her right side to me.

No more grumpy ears when I jump up and down next to her side, but tried to mount bareback from the fence yesterday and she did not give me permission.  Kept moving away and getting an evil look on her face.  That's fine with me - I don't need to ride until I have her permission and confidence!  Once I do then the riding will be easy (and fun!).

I just feel really good about our time together today - she's such a special horse with so much to offer.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Update Photos :)

 Aspen checking out Oliver
           

                                 Pretty lady :)



Bambi the donkey observing Bandit's fruitless attempts to herd her through the fence.



Bambi loved me today! She followed me around until I sat down then stood over me while I tried to take some pictures of Aspen. 


"Whatcha doin' under the donkey Mom?"