Fearless Riding

Tranitional Haflinger Horse Race

2012-02-24T06:57:00.000-08:00

Picture it ... a field of golden ponies all running like thoroughbreds. It happens. In Meran, Italy the race season is kicked off at Maia Racecourse of Merano by these noble little ponies running like the big boys on Easter weekend. With much fan fare, including a parade through the streets, the Haflinger star in not only a horse raise, but demonstrations of western riding and even a trotting race.

In this video we see the snippets of the whole spectacle. The first half shows the parade with people in traditional costume playing music as the they walk through the seats. Many beautiful Haflinger ponies are show cased in the procession also. With riders of all sorts and sizes. At marker 3:17 we see a pair of cute girls. One in traditional dress and the other just a tot riding in a western saddle. The parade ends with a street cleaner.

Then on to the races! Men and woman ride these golden wonders what is sure to be an exciting race.I love to see the Haffies on their way to the field. In America these would be the ponies leading that big race horses to the track to at this track today, they are the stars. This next video shows more of the race and even tells a bit more about it, unfortunately it is in German, but it is still fun to watch.

Apparently at the Meran Mais Racecourse they also have a Haflinger steele chase. Now that would be something to see too!

Had a ball!

2012-02-20T15:48:00.000-08:00

It has been at least 6 months since I rode her. Six months of her lazying about the pasture, getting a little grain treat here and there. Maybe pulled up to have her feet trimmed but other than that, she has been living the life. Today I show up and realized this is why I have Corrie. We pulled her out of the pasture and did a little grooming, saddled up, little ground work and got on.

Corrie was wonderful!

One of the first things I spied is that my trainer got one of these balls. (Sorry I left my phone in the car so I couldn't take pictures.) She sniffed it and nudged it. Was a little worried about it rolling toward her, but we did a little ground work around it and she was fine.

Hoped on and walked around the arena. She was just as quiet as can be. Looked at the paper bags in the corner a bit. We faced them, took baby steps toward them until she touched them with her nose. After that she was fine with them.

I didn't do a lot of work with her. I rode her around and played with the ball. My trainer came out and rode with us.

Corrie didn't like my trainer's horse. I don't know why. She was letting her annoyance be known too! I started playing with the ball. She would rub on it. Eventually she would would send it flying with a good nose push. After a few of these nose pushes we noticed that she only pushed it to my trainer's horse when he went by. She is a character!

Mostly I just walked around. A little trotting. Corrie has not been worked in forever and right now she is going to be worked only 2 x a month. Not enough time to really "do" anything but enjoy her. And I plan to. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T04:31:00.000-08:00

These are my Valentine's Present and Past

Abby and My Mom

Rocky

Ike and Madison

Sophie

Zoe

Remington Steele

Corrie

Rebels Hope

NEXT Weekend

2012-02-12T08:10:00.000-08:00

Oh I really was going to go. I just forgot one little part of planning in the midwest, check the weather before you make plans, and not just noting the temperature. It was supposed to be in the lower 30's today. Not bad for this time of year.

Yesterday was so cold a trainer I know canceled lessons, and she will ride in anything. It was only supposed to be in the 20's but still. I thought she would ride in that. I thought to myself, I better check that weather again.

Sunday forecast:

Mostly Sunny Hi 30° RealFeel® 16°

RealFeel® 16°???

Ummm ... Okay I admit it. city life is making me soft and if I am planning on not going up every weekend maybe I should choose a good weekend.

Next Sunday ...

Hi 42° RealFeel® 45°

That is a bit better. And I have Monday off.

NEXT weekend it is.

I am actually really disappointed. I have been jumping around the house singing I am going to see Corrie for a few days now. Mike thinks I am a bit strange and says he understands but of course he doesn't. Not his fault. How could he possibly understand this strange attraction for a beast that literally could kill you if it wanted too. Not that Corrie would have murder on her mind, unless you are keeping a handful of peanuts from her and then I think she would only think it.

I have been down every weekend for awhile now. It is really taking a toll on the both of us. I just could not figure out what it was. Looking forward to the weekend is the highlight of the week. Then it would come and their would be an ache down deep that just couldn't be satisfied. I needed something. When the realization came, my horse, I just miss my horse. I decided to take action. Why sit around acting like I don't have a horse when I do ... she is just far away. So I can't see her every weekend. Once or twice a month? I think I can do that. Makes the money I pay for board at least a little more reasonable.

Until next weekend Corrie ... I miss you!

Damn It I DO still have a horse

2012-02-09T17:42:00.001-08:00

I still have Corrie and this weekend screw that my car is aging! Screw that it is a 2 hour drive! Screw that it cost a lot in gas! I am going to see my horse Damn It!

Finding Horses Where I can

2012-02-06T06:15:00.000-08:00

This weekend was another one of those weekends that I just needed to get out and do something. I wrote about it on my other blog, Country Girl in Chicago. We went to the Oriental Institute of Chicago. A fabulous museum and I managed to find horses.
This was a very large relief from Assyria. There were several reliefs from this time period that I found very fascinating.

The next three are all from the same relief. They are beautiful and portray nobles hunting lions. This first one gave me a bit of pause. I was unsure why the driving was using three reins. On one of my favorite horse sites someone pointed out that there are three plumes. I had missed that. So this chariot is being pulling by three horses.

This one is actually behind the first one. So these riders are following the chariot. Notice no saddles. Below you can get a bit of a better view of the bridle and the tack that was on the horses. Looks something similar to some arab costumes in the modern day arab shows.

Here we have moved on to Persia or Iran. The bridle here is rather interesting as in the bit that was used. If you look at the nasty bit below you will immediately feel sorry for the horses of this time period. It is really rather hideous. The center ring was for the reins, the holes above and below the center ring are what held the bride to the bit, cheek pieces basically.

This bit really is nasty. The mouth piece is lined with lots of metal points.

These final photos show the first saddle that uses a tree. It is a Nubian saddle and the next photo shows how it is used.

Well that sums the horsey part of my trip to the Oriental Institute of Chicago. I really love to look at the history of the horse and how he has worked along side of man. How we treated him and what his role was.

Regrets

2012-02-04T08:06:00.000-08:00

Regrets ...

Today I was thinking I am not so much disappointed about my life at this moment, just the fact that the 10 years before that I really wasted. There was so many little things I could have done during my 30's that I didn't.

Speaking mostly of the horses, I had a wonderful little driving pony that I let sit for most of his life. Ike was fully trained when I got him. I had a cart, I had a harness, I did not have experience with driving. I wish I had looked harder for a trainer to help me with driving. How much fun I missed out driving him!

All I said for all of Madison's life was what a cute little driving horse she would have been. I had the time. I had the experience to start her out. I would have been getting more experience in driving if I had just done it with Ike.

Now where are those horses? I can not even type it. I still have a hard time thinking about it. So much wasted talent and life. Both mine and theirs.

Those are just two of the many examples that is hard to swallow now. Where did the time go? Why didn't I just get up off my ass and doing some of those things? What am I missing out on now that I should just do?

What to do without a horse

2012-01-16T20:12:00.000-08:00

I guess we all have times in our lives when we can't have a horse in our life. I have decided I am not going to run from who I really am this time. Or as Story put it "deliberately suppressed the horse crazy girl." I am not going to do that this time.

So what is a horse crazy girl to do?

Well youtube is wonderful! I wish I had this as a kid!

I LOVE this video of a mini barrel racing!

This one makes my heart ache, but I love it anyway:

I visit one of my favorite message boards: Ultimate Dressage
Very knowledgeable people from all levels of dressage. From the lowly backyard rider to the FEI level riders. People from all over the world. And we talk about everything from how to get your horse to walk nicely on a loose rein to why they are lame. From what we ate for breakfast to how to handle the most complex problems. Great group of intelligent people.

I am able to start reading blogs again. Some of my favorite are listed ... well ... here ----->

Watching horse movies is always fun. Found this one on Hulu the other day: Shergar

I listed Corrie on Craig's List again. I listed her cart too. *sigh*

But I am still a horse crazy girl.

Life without horses ... I don't think so?

2012-01-15T06:13:00.000-08:00

My bag that I take to work everyday has this motto on it. I take that bag and put it in a locker everyday while I go and do I job that I admit I love to death. Then I goes bac into my car. I bet it is has been so long that it doesn't even have any horse hair left on it.

That bag along with a fleece pad that is now used as a dog bed, and a few other objects are just remnants of a life I used to have.

"Your the only girl I know who has hay in her car." Mike said that to me the other day, and a little spark lit in my heart for just a beat. I remember getting hay and stuffing it into my trunk. That was then.

I have been thinking about this blog often and all the friends I met doing it. I miss blogging and I miss reading everyone else's blog. You guys really helped me to grow.

My heart is so conflicted when it comes to the horses now. It is an ache that hurts so much when I think of them and often I just don't. For a long time I would watch youtube videos and get a far away look. "Watching horse videos again huh?" Mike would say. If he looked closely he would have seen a few tears escaping too. It took several months but I have put up some of my horse art around the place and even brought a picture of Hope and of Rocky. Just now he walked out from the bedroom and ask if I was okay. This is really hard to write.

Corrie is for sale. I don't know what else to do with her and it breaks my heart. I wish I could find affordable board around here, but honestly I am not even sure how much I could see her. "Affordable" board is around $400 a month. If I got to see her every weekend that would be $100 a ride. I could take lessons for less than that and not have to worry about the rest of the care. It is not the same though. Not like having my own horse.

I don't see her now. I have not seen her in months. Not since last September. I trust my trainer and I call to see how she is doing. Everytime I drive to Wisconsin I see my mother. We have next to no time together and then I have a 2 hour ride back to Chicago. Now my car is getting so bad I am not sure I want to risk taking it on an extra 4 hour drive.

I did have someone come to look at her. A therapeutic riding place. The shook maracas around her, and crumpled papers, and played with balls. She was awesome I am told. They loved her gaits and her manners. But in the end they didn't even want to try her for 30 days because she walked too slow when lead. In hindsight I should have had Sensei work with her between their visits to have him get her to lead the way they wanted her to, but I didn't.

I love Mike with all my heart. He is the sweetest guy I have ever met and he seems kind of taken with me too. I am happy here in Chicago with him. I am very sad to be without a horse. It is like a part of me is dying. Some how I want to find a way to take lessons or at least be able to visit a barn.

My weight is still an issue and gives me pause about going to ride at a stable. Money is also always an issue. I guess I will have to see what the new year brings. Life without horses? I really hope not.

Well ... it has come to this ...

2011-08-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

I told my trainer today that Corrie was for sale.

I got a job in Chicago. I will be taking up residence this week and starting my new job next week. I am really excited about my job, but not making as much as I had hoped. It doesn't make sense to try and keep Corrie knowing that I will see her 4 times a month for the next several months, and that we can not really afford it.

I am not giving up riding though. At least that is not the plan. I will start looking for a place to just take lessons down there. I know that for most places I will need to loose a little more weight for them to even let me ride, so I guess that is my next goal.

These past two weeks and been filled with sorrow and excitement. When one chapter ends, another starts and new adventures start. I hate the thought of losing Corrie, I really do. Yet I can not help being excited to starting a life with M.

I will still keep this blog going because I plan on still having horses in my life some way.
I am also starting a new blog Country Girl in Chicago. You all are invited to check out that blog as well!

Well ... short on words today. Too much going through my mind.

A Blink of an Eye

2011-08-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

My heart is still aching for the loss of Madison, Ike, and Sophie. Rocky is still calling for his friends. Rocky and Madison were born a month apart on the same farm. They both traveled to me together when they were 4/5 months old. They have never been apart for 9 years. But that is how life goes. In a blink of an eye things can change.

I found this quote in the past few days: When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. ~Kahlil Gibran

I realized that I am sad because those three did bring me such delight.

No more watching Rocky and Ike play fight. Oh yes, miniature stay much more playful that big horses. Ike and Rocky would chance each other, rear up and and bite at each other and then take off for the chase again. Madison and Sophie would join in on the racing all around the pasture. That is all over now.

Madison was very much a mama's girl and would often come running up to me if I were in the pasture. In fact all of them were very much pocket ponies. Ike would wait until I have him a scratch on his butt before he would go out to pasture or when he came in from the pasture. Sophie was always waiting for her ears to be itched.

It is all of those little things that I think I miss the most: Listening to the call each other or for Sophie's bray or watching them graze in the pasture. Playing with them or taking photos of them or grooming them for photos, I miss those things.

On the farm it just seems like something is missing, a huge something is missing. I can not even begin to telling what a hole in the place those little guys left, not to mention the hole in my heart. But if I had never had them, so many delightful moments would never have happened.

Tragedy

2011-08-03T17:23:00.000-07:00

Severe wind, a neighbor's tree

an electric fence and ponies are free

car, crash, they fail to flee

one, two, three

***

Rest In Peace

Fike's Angel Fire

Madison Avenue

and Sophie

Love Changes Things

2011-07-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Love is a pain in the ass.

I know, I know ... blue birds and rainbows, that is what love is supposed to be. Never really bought into that type of thing. I never really meant to fall in love.

M changed that, the jerk. No, I am totally kidding. I adore M. I adore him so much. It was nice at first, we would get together every week and that was fun. But then I fell more in love with him. He lives in Illinois and it takes a bit of time to get down there. Once a week I make the trip down to see him. I love that time, but the next day I head back up to Wisconsin. It is getting harder and harder to come back up every week.

I just found the best horse for me. I love her to death and she is the exact right horse for me. Then I find a man I can say the same things about. Unfortanately he lives in a large city in Illinois, and when I say large I mean big. Bigger than Madison, Wisconsin. Bigger than Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Care to take a guess? Yes, Chicago. I am not talking about a suburb of Chicago, I am talking about the great city.

See the problem here? Chicago is known for a lot of things. Beautiful buildings, culture, art, food, music. I mean there are a lot of nice things about Chicago. Wide open spaces suitable for horses is not one of them. I don't think they have been too keen on farm animals since Mrs. O' Leary's cow almost took out the whole city with one kick. Who cares if it really wasn't the cow's fault, she is still blamed.

So I sit here pondering my next move and what to do with Corrie. Where will I keep her? Will it be worth it to keep her in a suburb? How often will I be able to go a see her?

Exercise Excuses

2011-07-08T05:34:00.000-07:00

I have gained weight. A lot! But as I write this, I proud to say I just got back from a 30 minute bike ride.

I am the excuse queen when it comes to exercise. It is too hot. I am tired. I missed the class I wanted to attend. It is too cold. I can't find the remote for the Wii. Do I need to go on?

Over the last several months I have a role model for exercising. I don't know if he knows he has been a role model for me but I have been watching his attitude towards daily exercise. That person is M, my special man friend. He has been a wonderful role model for exercising.

This guy runs outside almost everyday. When it was cold, he ran. When the side walks were covered in snow, he ran. When it was rainy, he ran. When there was a heat advisory, he ran. Okay for that one I told him he was stupid and he agreed. But he doesn't use the excuse that the weather is not perfect, he just does it. Even when he is busy and ends up running a night he still goes. I might be down for a visit, but I know he is probably going to pop out to go to the gym. It is important to him and he makes it a priority. Now when I am relucant to go and workout I do think about how he never allows an excuse to keep him from exercise.

I have to stay that for as important as execise is to him, he never pressures me. He is fine if I lose some weight and he is fine if I gain some weight. He wants me to be healthy, but he accepts me the way I am. That has made it so much easier for me to just observe him and learn.

Now, when I start to think it is too hot or too cold or too late or .... I think about how M would not use that as an excuse. I am not as good as he is, but I am getting better.

Going it Alone and Being Safe

2011-07-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

There comes times we all have to ride alone. Although for some the idea of riding alone fills them with dread, I am not one of them. I am quite happy to take off for a nice ride with just myself and my horse, but, I try to do it safely. Last week's ride I have several safety minded choices to make.

My plans were to ride outside for the first time in awhile. Yet the weather was a bit worrisome. I was starting to change my mind as a few water droplets hit my windshield. I am not a big worrier when it come to weather, but a few years ago there was a boy killed in Wisconsin from lightening. He was coming in from the fields when the sky got dark and there was thunder. Apparently you don't need rain, if there is thunder there is lightening. So please be careful if you hear thunder while riding. Today, just a few droplet of water though, so I still was not sure.

When I pulled up to the barn, decidedly absent was both Sensei's truck and his trailer. Sensei often hauls for people or may have taken his granddaughter on a trail ride. Normally this is not a cause for concern because he will be back, but this time I remembered he and his wife were going to pick up a wagon and would be gone for the weekend.

Now I started thinking. Nobody was at my house and knew that I was at the barn. Sensei would have someone coming over, but who knows when they would come. This is a private barn, only a few boarders that don't come out often. I did have my cell phone, but we all know that people can be knocked out cold from an accident with a horse. So I did what I think everyone should do in my situation, I called a friend. I called my boyfriend, M. He is in Chicago, he knows nothing about horses, but I gave him my location, the local police department, and told him I would call him in no more than two hours.

So simple, but if anything had happened to me and I could not call for myself, I knew that M would. I did not think anything would have but, come on people we are dealing with horses here. ANYTHING can happen! Just walking out into a field of horses, one could
run into you, knock you down and leave you unconscious. These like that happen.

As I explain to M that I would call him in a few hours I went to get Corrie. Sensei says a few sayings. One is that when you are with your horse, you are training. Training does not start in the barn, or when you put your foot in the stirrup. It starts when you walk out to the pasture. He believes in taking full advantage of every moment he has with a horse, including walking to the barn. So he would probably not have liked that I was on the phone and not paying attention to Corrie, but I was and atleast now someone knew I was riding.

Sensei has another saying, listen to what your horse is telling you. Doesn't matter if you are alone or not, listen to what your horse is telling you. Our horses will tell us if they are having an off day. They will tell us if they are ready to do something new. They will tell us if they are going to behave if we ride in that new bit or try to go bare back.

On the way back to the barn Corrie was her normal self, although I was still talking to M. There is bit of a routine that we follow to get into the barn. There is a pipe gate, and the not 4 feet further is the door, which is summer is usually left open. So as I open the gate for Corrie, I have to ask her to step half way through the door and whoa while I close the gate behind her. I never have to let go of her and she knows the routine very well. But apparently not today. She didn't whoa, although M heard me loud and clear as I shouted it into the phone. I finished with M and did a little training with Corrie.

Already Corry is telling me that she is not up to riding outside. So I canceled those plans. Grooming was not much better. So I decided that riding was out the window too. Corrie was telling me what she needed to work on. She needed a little reminder in her ground manners.

How often do we say to ourselves that we have plans of what we want to do and we are going to do it. We don't care if our horses are being dinks, we are going to do ride on the trail/ ride bare back/ whatever anyway. I know I'm guilty of it. I was not listening to Abby when I fell off of her. I am learning that it is so important to do just that though.

I did continue to work Corrie. We worked through some groud work issues. I have to tell you, I was annoyed at first that she was acting like she didn't have a clue about what I was asking her to do. But even though she was brilliant a few days ago, that day, she was not responding the way I expected to her and all I could do was work with the horse that was in front of me. Most importantly, I had safe enjoyable time with Corrie because I was safe about it.

So my three safety tips for the day are
1) Pay attention to the weather and heed weather warnings.
2) Make sure someone knows you are working with your horse.
3) Listen to your horse and take into concideration what they are able to do or not do on any given day.

Back in the Saddle Again

2011-07-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have been absent from the blogger scene, even worse I have been absent from the barn.

When I most needed my pony I wouldn't go out. WHY? Well this is really embarrassing from the queen of "think positive" but I just was feeling so negative. I kept making excess, which Sensei informed me were not good enough. At first they were actually reasonable, I think. I would want to get lunch after working out at the YMCA or it was raining and I knew my horse would be wet. Those didn't really fly with Sensei either. Then it was just embarrassment that I had gone a whole month without seeing my horse. I got depressed about it and I felt down. Honestly not just about that but about other things in my life too. I let things spiral.

Looking back I feel really silly. I know that going for a ride would have boosted my mood and given me better out look just because I would be engaging in something I enjoy. Well, I am back out at the barn again. I am getting razzed from Sensei but I deserve it, and it is all good natured.

Emotions really can take us for a ride unless we decide to take control. It is not enough to want to go and ride, because I really did want to. It requires action. Sometimes when I get down I just don't want to be active. I want to hide. That is where good support comes in . . . and I don't mean in a bra (although in riding that is important too!) I have a few good friends that are really good about kicking my butt when I am down and telling me to get up and get moving again.

Really! They don't sit there and stroke my ego. They tell me to get off my ass and start doing things to make changes in my life that I want. It is nice to sit around and have pity parties from time to time, but I value those friends of mine that just don't fall for it. They tell me like is and push me to action. Thanks Guys!

Wordless Wednesday (a little late)

2011-06-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

A good horse

2011-06-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

No, not ... "is never a bad color." Although that is true too. Although I, myself, have a stunningly colored horse (blonds always have more fun) there are good horses that come in plain packages. But that is not what this post is about.

It is about a very flash pinto gelding that Sensei had. He was a nice horse. Perfect mind, willing attitude, and an all around good guy. His 6 year old grand daughter took this paint out on the trails and was running circles around everyone. Brave as anything, both horse and child, they ran past havesters in the field. I am not talking about people but big, noisy, farm machinery. Ol' Paint never blinked an eye at them. Nor did he balk about leaving the company of the other horses.

No horse is perfect and Ol' Paint wasn't either. He did a kind of wobble thing when first mounted. Particularly by adults, like my trainer. Never seemed in pain, never balked at being mounted, but still it was puzzling. After countless appointments with chiropractors and vet specialist nothing particular was found wrong. Nobody could pin point the problem. Ol' Paint was basically used lightly as a trail horse anyway and did that job very well.

Sensei, who buys and sell horses, found an ad for someone looking for a nice all around mount for a pre teen girl. He thought that Ol' Paint might just be the ticket for them. He called them up and arrangements were made for a showing. They fell in love with him, like everyone does. Ol' Paint was as steady as he always was. And they bought him with a one week grace period. If they didn't still want him after a week they could bring him back. After a vet check, their vet could not pin point the exact problem but did find some evidence of a former injury.

Good to his word, Sensei said he could pick up the horse if they didn't want him now. "Oh No," the woman exclaimed, "this horse is wonderful. Anyone can ride him. He is a barn favorite. We wouldn't part with him for anything."

My last post was on attitude. This is yet another horse that exemplifies the importance of having a good attitude. Even though he was slightly off, and nobody can say for sure how long he will stay sound, he has a home because he has such a good mind.

I think that it is often an under valued trait when picking out horses today, yet I believe it was much more valued in times gone by. I know my trainer has bought more than one horse with that one consideration that the horse was willing partner. I read stories of people's problems with their horses and some of the time it just seems they have an unwilling partner. When I think back to Rebels Hope, she was a stinker! But she was a willing partner and although not the best trained horse and I didn't always do the best when working with her, she was a willing horse. She would take little kids for rides and never take a step wrong. I could put anyone on her and not worry. Corrie is much the same way. They have good attitudes and good minds. They are good horses.

Attitude is Everything

2011-02-16T04:25:00.000-08:00

SmartPak sends out more than just catalogs. They also send out a guide for horse care. This guide has little articles in it, most include why adding supplements to your horses feed is important, but sometimes they are just good common sense. In the winter 2011 issue there is an interesting article on attitude, "Attitude Do's and Don't". Read my blog for very long and you know how important attitude is to me. Attitude is everything!
The main points of the article are:
*Do focus on the ride, Don't focus on the result.
*Do challenge yourself, Don't get discouraged.
*Do plan ahead, Don't worry if things change.

Nothing Earth shattering there really. Sometimes hard to follow for sure, but most certainly doable.

On Monday I had to put these in to practice. Corrie was not her nice calm self. It was the "other" mare. I am not sure what to call Corrie's alter ego, but she most certainly has one. Oh yeah, that face looks it can give you tooth decay, but she can be spooky when she wants to be. Corrie has been under saddle for about 2 years now, and honestly she was broke to saddle and then more miles were put on her to drive, so her riding experience is rather limited. She has always been an outdoor horse for the most part too. Noises on the roof or outside the arena are scary. On Monday it was water dripping off the roof, normally Corrie is not that sensitive, but on Monday she was.

She started out just being a tad spooky, but it built up. That end of the arena was off limit according to Corrie. She made that point very clear by backing all the way across the arena, ignoring my leg the whole time. I love that completely out of control feeling, don't you? That feeling when your horse is not listening to anything you have to say. Yeah that is how the ride started out. After getting a little compliance from Corrie, I hopped off.

Let me take a moment here to just talk about my feelings. I was not scared. At least not scared of coming off. That thought did go through my mind and I was a little nervous about that but honestly not shaking in my boots like I would have been a year ago. I was more nervous that I would create a bigger problem. I knew that this was a very important moment in my relationship with Corrie. I would either be teaching her how to get out of work or reinforcing that we have a partnership and need to work through these problems together. That is why I hopped off and called Sensei.

I asked Sensei to come out to the barn; I love having my trainer on site! After being called on no brainer things, such as, why are you still riding in a rope halter when you know that your horse is having issues. Oops. He just said those things that I know but help to have someone call me on. Like relax, which I did as soon as he was in the arena; or at least relaxed some. The problem with getting nervous is that my brain stops functioning as well as it should. I forget some basic things like breathing. Or that it is important to focus on what you want not what you don't want.

Riding around the arena I was called on that right away. Sensei pointed out that both Corrie and I were riding around waiting for an explosion to occur. We, and by "we" I mean "I," needed to just ride her through our fear. I am the leader and she needs me to tell her that it is okay by just riding her like I expect her to respond like she normally does. Of course that sounds all sunshine and rainbows, which we know is not always the case.

The second thing Sensei reminded me to do is to have a "plan B." What would I do if she did spook. In this case, as I was riding her in figure 8's around the I would pick up on the side rein. NOT pull back with both which would she would, or could, just run through if she was really scared. Plan B would change as I moved around, not the actual plan, just which rein I would use. Having a plan helped me to relax also. I knew what I would do if my plan to just keep her moving and working normally failed.

The ride ended with her working nicely off my leg at the end of the arena that made her nervous. She was responding like I would expect her to, nothing that would an observer would point out as being a stellar ride. But the ride ended with a calm rider and a calm horse, working together and listening to each other. That was a good ride.

Relationships

2011-02-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

We are about to have another cold snap. I wanted to get out to see Corrie before that happened. When it is really cold I just don't want to be out in it. If it hard for me to breath, I figure it really isn't all that great for Corrie to try and breath harder either. So before that snap came, I managed to get a little ground work and spend some time riding her, bare back again.

As I have my pony time, I like to think. I was was not working on anything difficult, but I was having a difficult time walking around a barrel. The barrel was in a corner and I would push her into the corner and around the barrel. Once through the corner and pasted the barrel, she would want to drift to the side again. I had to work really hard to keep her on a line. We did several other line across the arena too. Always a having to ride every stride. Aways her wanting to drift and needed support.

My mind wandered back to Hope. How I would just think about where I wanted to go and that is where we would go. I had owned Hope for several years and we had been through a lot together. It is a was not that way in the beginning. My first ride on Hope left me in the middle of a field with my left stirrup as she ran back to the barn. It looks a lot of time, a lot of fall, a lot of fights, and just general discussions, before we were able to reach the point that we were just comfortable being with each other.

When I first had Corrie enter my life, about a year ago actually, she was just a horse I used in lessons. When she became mine there was such a feeling of joy. The new part of a relationship where all things seem possible. I had grand ideas of driving her around my neighborhood and up and down the trails. I had a lot to over come but I had my new pony and that was going to make all things possible. It's the the most wonderful part of a relationship, isn't it? When it is all still so new. I decided I don't think so.

It is like planing a seed in the spring. The thought of how that plant is going to grow and give us tomatoes in a few months. All a gardener thinks of as she waters and tends that little seed is what it is going to be. Then come the weeding, which really rather sucks. The work that goes into the tending of that plant over shadows the thoughts of the ripe tomato that will make the most perfect salad complete. Sometimes the gardener may wonder if it is all worth it. Then one day the signs of fruit appear. The little tomatoes and again we are excited of the prospect of the fruits of our labor. Then the day comes and we pick the most perfect tomato, and it tastes so good. Of course so much can go wrong between the planting of the seed and the final harvest of the fruit.

Reflecting on new relationships vs. old ones, remembering Hope, I realized how valuable the old relationships are. We can't just jump to the old comfortable partnership though. We must go through all the work. We must make that connection to our partner, fall off a few times, deal with the disappointments of dreams changing or even redefining our goals wot match our abilities. It is all part of growing together and to reach that point were we are just comfortable.

Corrie and I are in that work part now. We are learning about each other. We are finding out what makes each other tick, and although sometimes that is fun, sometimes it is not. But the work is worth it in the end. So although I had to keep after her, in my mind I was thinking ahead to the time when we will just be old friends.

New Years Resolutions

2011-02-01T13:04:00.001-08:00

Okay so it is not the first of the year, but it is close enough. Closer to the front of the year than the back right?

Anyway, I had an awesome year last year. Going from being terrified to ride to riding my own pony bare back in a halter and lead. I also got out on the trail and actually had some pretty big spooks, ones that almost dismounted me actually. But we handled them and it didn't stop me from riding. Also learned to drive, a solid beginner, but still I am a driver. In fact there is only one goal that I did not meet last year, canter. It was not for lack of trying either. We almost got there but then had those lameness issues.

So for the new year I have some more practical goals.
1) Ride at least 3 times a week. For Corrie and for me. She is going to be 12 this year. For her own health I need to keep her moving. I also need to keep riding her. I love to ride as you all know but it is the getting out there and doing it sometimes, especially when it is blustery outside and I am trying to accomplish other things in my life. Even still this is an important goal to me.

2) That damn canter. Oh yeah, 2011 is the year to canter. I am going to do this barring any physical issues on Corrie's apart. There is no reason that I should not be back to cantering again.

3) Get that balance back baby! Okay, so this should before the canter phase but I really want to work on my balance. I have lost a lot of balance over the years but I want it back damn it! Riding Corrie bare back is one way, using a halter is my way of being kind to mouth. I am not know to use the reins for balance at all, but even still, don't want to start jerking on her poor mouth. Am also taking classes at the YMCA. These are helping a lot with my balance and general core strength. So this is more a feel and hard to define as a goal, but I think I will see improvements as they are made.

4) Rhythm. Some where over the years my rhythm has suffered too. Not just in keeping it but damn if I can get my correct diagonal without looking. How embarrassing it that at this stage of the game! I have noticed riding that I don't have that natural flow the way I used to with the gaits, the ones that comes from being in complete sync with the horse. Another one that will be hard to define, but I think once I can start keeping a track of the foot falls and maintaining a steady rhythm I will count this one as a complete. Or at least it will be time to set a new goal for rhythm.

5) Drive independently in my own space. Meaning in my own yard or in my little area around home. I want to harness and drive Corrie on my own. I had difficulties with this last year. I could do it at Sensai's but after a good spook that left me a little shaken in my skills I got nervous and didn't want to try.

6) Go on a group trail ride. I will have to bum a ride with someone but I hope that I can find some local people to go on a trail ride with and head out with them at least once this summer.

7) Not really a goal for me or for Corrie, but I would really like to get my city slicker friend up on Corrie. Why? because I want to share this thing that is so important to me with him. It is a totally selfish goal, but I hope I can pull it off.

Not sure these are the best goals this year. Little vague for my liking and so I might tweak them over the next few weeks. Still a good place to start, like seeing her at least three times a week. Of course the next time I have scheduled to see her is tomorrow morning and we are expecting a blizzard tonight. Guess I am just going to have see how that goes. If I can get out of the drive way though I will be at the barn!

Bareback

2011-01-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

Oh is there any better way to ride than bareback?

I am not sure that there is. Especially on a cold day, when the warm of the horse's body radiates to keep yours warm as well. I love it. And with a haffie, I have a built in hand warmer. Just slip those cold hands under her thick double mane. Corrie is also blessed with a thick winter coat, a coat that only a true pony can grow. She holds in the heat so well, never have to worry about her getting chilled and she can keep me warm too.

Except for my feet. There is that moment when the ride is over and I just sit there and think about slipping off. Knowing that my cold cold feet are going to smart when they hit the ground. That is the time to just grin and bare it. It is also the time I am so thankful for my rock of a mare, who just stands there while I decided to slip off.

I admit that I have been bad about riding. Seems we have had more cold days that tolerable ones. Today was a tolerable day and so I slipped on over to see my girl. I am getting lazy as I am getting brave. I didn't want a saddle, and if I don't have a saddle why mess with a bridle. Warming the bit, naw, rope halter it is.

Besides my balance is still not what it should be. And although there is no better way to get your balance back than to ride around bareback I am trying my best to keep her sensitive to the aides. I wobble a bit here and there. Corrie is tolerate and sweet natured, I don't want to ruin her mouth by pulling on it so a halter works fine. We practiced walking around and moving off of leg pressure, which is hard to do as I am trying to keep my balance and not use her sides to do it. She is pretty sensitive all things considered and would really hate to teach her to ignore my leg.

It was a short ride. I am working out at the Y too. My legs are getting stronger but at the same time they are still sore. My inner thighs were launching a complaint almost from the on set. Still I was on my pony and we had a good ride.

To think just a year ago I was afraid to even sit on a horse. My the things that can change in a year!

I have award. I'll share that next time. Also need to set my goals for this year.

Thanks for all the support

I'm Still HERE

2011-01-08T15:45:00.000-08:00

Oh I am SO sorry to all my reader for leaving you for SO long. And So long is really an understatement isn't it!

My life has had some amazing changes take place in it. I found someone to help me out of a rut and he really did. In the process I have been out living life. Something that I had not been doing for a long time.

I am so happy to report to you that Corrie and I are going strong. She is back at Sensai's for the winter. He has an indoor after all. That has been a blessing, although I must confess I have not been riding as much as I would like.

I have joined the YMCA to get some much needed exercise and gain strength. I have not been doing too hot on the weight loss front, but getting healthier is going really well.

Another draw on my time is a special someone. Special someone does not really close, although we do get together once a week. I am smitten I admit it! He has met Corrie and dubbed her Emo Horse. LOL. He was very upset that we forgot to bring her an apple or a carrot and we discovered that she does not like tic tacs.

This is just a short note to let you all know that I am alive and well. I will write a longer post soon. Promise!

It is what it is

2010-09-11T06:51:00.000-07:00

I have been neglecting coming on here. I am so sorry. We have been doing a lot of stuff around the house and with Corrie here I have not be doing as much with her. Isn't that always the way. Anyway I wanted to share a little parable I heard recently about how we look at situations in life as we go through them.

A rancher had a nice place with a few hundred acres and 4 nice horses. One day his neighbor stopped by and commented on how nice his horses were.

"It is what it is, for good or for bad," replied the rancher.

A few days later a big storm hit and knocked out part of the corral fence. The 4 horses ran away. The neighbor again stopped by.

"Too bad about your horses," said the neighbor.
"It is what it is, for good or for bad," replied the rancher.

About a week later the horses returned and with them were four more mustangs.

"Wow those are some nice looking horse, how lucky you are that you have 8 fine horses instead of just 4," The neighbor commented.
"It is was it is, for good or for bad," The rancher said.

With the extra horses, though, came extra work. The neighbor had to help out.

"Man there is a lot of extra work now," said the neighbor. "We can't go on nice long trail rides anymore."
"It is what it is, for good or for bad," came the expected response of the rancher.

The neighbor's son needed a job, so the rancher hired him instead.

"Wow this is great!" said the neighbor. "My son is gaining so much experienced from training those mustangs and making a name for himself."
"It is was it is, for good or for bad," The rancher said.

Okay this story could go on and on. The version I heard and a few more things happen in it but I think you get the idea.

Weight Loss Wednesday: Accountability

2010-08-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

I have been slacking in the weight loss area. First it got hot and was hard to exercise, and then I was always out at the barn and working with Corrie, and of course work picked up and I was doing a lot there. So ya know, things fall by the way side.

Unfortunately in this area of my life "things" are always popping up. I think I posted once before about Jillian Micheal book, in it she talks about three people you need to make changes in your life. One of which is an accountability partner. Just someone you are responsible to talk to to make sure that you are on track. I have not had anyone like that in my life for weight loss. So I found someone. So things should start getting back on track. It is really helpful to have that push from someone else. Knowing that I actually do have to tell another person if I screw up also helps.

I do have an accountability partner on the horse front, Sensei. On that note, I got a little lecture from Sensei when he came out for my lesson because I have not been working Corrie at home. Ya know I did do ground work for a few days and I rode her once. She has not even been here a week, but I was at the barn faithfully every day working her. Now I am slacking because she is here. I need to clean the barn and fix the fence and the ever popular, well I'll do work with her later. So I am going to be making more of an effort to work with Corrie too. If not I'll disappoint Sensei and he give me that disappointed father look. I really hate that look.

So if you are struggling to make a change in your life, my advice is to find that accountability partner. It can be a friend, trainer, partner, someone who is struggling with the same issues or not. Just find someone that you have to report to if you start to slack. Someone you can trust, someone that can give you that look or added guilt for not meeting your goals. It helps, it really does.

Pictures of the harness tomorrow, I was running late . . . more disappoint Sensei looks. So I didn't get them today.

Mind Been Else Where . . .

2010-08-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Well Corrie is settling in really nice.

I did take her for a ride the other day, just around a paddock and she was really good. She seemed to be short striding a bit but I am not sure if that was in my imagination, the terrain, or if she really was. She has not been on bute for the last few days as she seems to be doing really really well. I hate to bute just to do it.

I have been doing my ground work with her and with the other ponies here and there. Yesterday was the first day that I didn't really do anything with her. I am going to try really hard to not make that a habit. It was so easy when she was at Sensei's because I had to make an effort to go out and see her so I always made sure I did something. Now that she is home it is easy to do the slacking thing. Yesterday I was just emotionally tired.

Tomorrow Sensei will be coming out for a lesson and we are going to drive. Yippy! I will have to get pictures of the whole set up; Corrie in her harness and with the wagon. Sensei, as part of the trade, gave me a harness that he had laying around. Trust me it has just been laying around and it took me about 6 hours to clean the whole thing up. It was a mess. Well it turns out that it is a very nice looking harness and is all brass.

Now for those of you who drive you know how nice all the brass looks, and why so many people don't go the brass route. Brass is a pain to take care of. It needs to be shined. I use Brasso. It smells like ammonia and has to be highly toxic, but if you have brass it is what you need. So I love my harness, but it is going to be a pain to take care of.

Anyway, I'll have pictures and an update on the lesson tomorrow.

Corrie out with the herd

2010-08-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

PICTURES!

Corrie was really cute today. I thought she would be totally trying to be alpha mare. Instead she is acting like the new kid at school. If I got out to the pasture she is right there with me. Otherwise she looks a little lost. I think she wants to make friends, especially with Ike and Rocky ( she is in heat). It will be interesting to see how she fits into the herd.

I want Corrie to become comfortable with the pasture areas as that is where I will ride and drive her at first. I already did some ground work out there with her and she was fairly focused. She looked around, but mainly stayed with her attention on me.

Then she went out with Ike, Sophie, and Madison.

But she has to wear a grazing muzzle and the flies are awful so she wears a fly mask too. Looks like she is into bondage or something doesn't it?

She had a good roll.

And looks at how much weight she has lost! Looks pretty good huh?!

Pretty good second day I'd say.

Too Excited . . . Corrie is home

2010-08-20T04:07:00.000-07:00

"To many, the words love, hope, and dreams are synonymous with horses."
~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

I got up at 4 am this morning. I just could not sleep. You would think this was my first horse and I was getting her new today! I am just so excited to have Corrie home.

Corrie is truly a special little horse. I felt an instant bond to her the first time I drove her. It is amazing just how you can click or not with a horse. Kinsey never felt like my horse. From the moment I wrote out the check for her I felt like I bought her for someone else, and maybe I did. But even before I wrote a check I knew Corrie was my horse. Never during the time that I was trying her out did I feel she belonged to anyone but me.

Now she is on my property. She is getting along with the minis. Well minus Rocky, stallion ya know. I keep him separate, but they see each other over the fence. She is not as found of Sophie, but Corrie used to be kept with young jack colts to teach them some manners. Apparently she was enthusiastic about her job, too enthusiastic. So she does not like donkeys, but I am hoping that she will warm up Sophie. Madison is still alpha mare so far. Kind of funny that little Madison tells big ol' Corrie to get out of the way.

Sensei gave me a mini ground lesson before he left. Corrie was very up, more up than I think I have ever seen her actually. Her feet definately were not hurting her at all. At one point she leapt and pulled away from me. I was a bit shocked, she has never done anything like that before. The girl has some spirit after all.

Now she is just chilling out. I wanted to do more with her today, but as soon as I got home from work the the thunder started. Damn it! Tomorrow a bath!

Picture to come soon.

Corrie is coming home!

2010-08-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

During the past few weeks I have been mentally preparing for Corrie to come home. I have also been trying a few more things at the barn. I wanted to iron out few more things before I could not just call out and have Sensei come running to help.

*I rode her in the pasture by herself, while everyone else went back in after group riding activity. I passed with flying colors, she sucked.

*Took her for a quick drive down the road which ended with Sensei trying to grab the reins for the first time ever. So we had to work through that and I am not planning on driving outside my pasture until we are totally comfortable with that.

*I took her for another drive a few days later and both of us did much better. Still going to wait to drive her outside the pasture here.

Those last few test, particularly keeping her in the pasture as the rest of the people I was with went in really gave me a lot of confidence. Corrie really wanted to spin and take off for the barn. Although she never got above a trot the intent to run off was there. I handled it and was not afraid. Woo Hoo for me!

Last thing we need to do before she comes come is get her feet taken care of. Corrie doesn't have her shoes on yet, well actually now she might. She is getting them on tonight. Tomorrow Sensei is going to watch her and see how she is. Just to make sure that she is adjusting to her shoes fine. He also happens to be her farrier. Then Friday morning she is coming home! Yippy!!!

Good bye round pen, indoor arena, and on site trainer/ farrier. Hello trails, instant access, and riding and driving as much as I want. I think it is a good trade off this time of the year. When the snow flies she will go back to Sensei's. In winter "indoor area" kicks "instant access" butt. Besides the trail by my house is tended by a snowmobile club and it is closed to everyone else when the trail is covered in snow. Right now, she will be here so I can enjoy her as much as I want.

Counting the hours.

How to tie a rope halter.

2010-08-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

I thought I knew how to tie a rope halter until I tied it in front Sensei.
I thought I would share what I learned.

There is a right and a wrong why to tie a rope halter. The wrong way and the halter will loosen as we work, right way it doesn't. I know that I often had to tighten my rope halter when I was doing ground work, this way I don't.

Bring the end though the loop and bring it up tightly.
This is actually a little lose on Corrie, but taking pictures while tying is difficult. This next picture shows the the right way to tie. We are going to tie our knot ON the loop. See how I have brought the part I am going to tie below the where the end comes through the loop

Here I have just made the knot tight. I hope that this is easy to see. I guess I should have done one wrong so you could see that too. The key is that the knot is on the loop, below where the tie come through the loop. That is what holds the loop tight.

Insulin Resistance and Horses

2010-08-17T04:34:00.000-07:00

Corrie has been doing a better job on her weight loss program than I have. Maybe I need to have someone lock me in a dry lot and control how much food I got. Okay maybe not but it is sure working for her. Like in humans there are several reason why it is important to keep horses fit and trim. Health issues pop up more readily in unfit animals. Insulin resistance, or Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS), is a one of them and is comparable to type II diabetes in humans.

Insulin is a hormone produced by the of Islets of Langerhans. I just wanted to type Islets of Langerhans. Makes me think of a series of little islands near the pancreas, but I digress. Simply put, the purpose of insulin is to help break down carbohydrates (sugar and starches), fats and proteins and get it out of the blood system. When the horse has eaten a lot of carbohydrates the body need to produce more insulin. On the other hand when working the body produces less.

The problem happens when the horse's cells become less sensitive to the effects of insulin. The pancreas in turn produces more insulin than is needed. The body just doesn't seem to know how many carbohydrates are in the body. So what, right? Well that in turn leads to bad things like reduced body weight due to losing muscle mass, fatty deposits over the tail head, behind the shoulder or over the loins, cresty neck, and the worst of all, chronic laminitis. It is that last one that often pushes people to see their vet's help. My worry over Corrie's recent lameness issues is what prompted me to think twice about this condition.

When I talked to my vet about having Corrie tested, he assured me that they could do that, but he was not positive that it was necessary. Plus every thing I have found says that is not the most reliable test. Horse should be tested more than once due to normal fluctuations. After we found that she did not have laminitis it seems that she probably is not insulin resistant. He suggested that I just feed Corrie as if she were insulin resistant since she already as so many precursors already. She

Feeding a EMS horse is not really all that tricky, especially with all the information out there now. Most important in feeding a EMS horse is to keep sugars and starches to a minimum. This means no lush pasture. No sugary treats like apples or carrots. Feeding grassy hay and having it tested for sugars. Soaking the have for 30 -60 minutes is also an option to get rid of extra sugars in the hay. Adding supplements can help too. There are supplements out there now jut for the EMS horse. Often they contain such things as cinnamon, fenugreek, and magnesium.
These are the most basic of guidelines.

In almost every article I read about EMS horses, exercises was always listed too. Exercise helps reduce the amount of insulin in the body, as well as helps keep the horse at a good weight. Riding, driving, lunging, ponying, even hand walking help the EMS horse, as long as she is not laminitic. For the Laminitic horse, one should consult with their vet for an exercise program that won't aggravate their conditions.

This as been a very very basic overview of EMS. I have over simplified some parts just to get the basic gist down. Also, I have not brought up Cushings, but it is closely related to EMS. My intent was just to give basic overview. I listed some more articles below that you can visit for more information.

Balanced Equine Nutrition
Need to sign in to The Horse:
No Sugarcoating: Diagnosing and Managing the Insulin-Resistant Horse
GetSmart Series: Managing Insulin Resistance
Obesity and Cushing's Disease

Corrie has heart but no soul . .

2010-08-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

. . Er sole.

For the past two week we have been battling lameness issues that come and go. Bute for a few days and we're good to go, only to be lame a day later. I have been able to ride her lightly, bare back or walking around the field. We even managed to go for a short drive. Then she started getting really bad.

The thing was that there was no heat, no obvious cause, no wound, and she didn't exhibit any classic symptoms of anything. She seemed to be lame in the right front and then in the left front. Her hooves were cool with no pulse. Joints were cool to the touch and it always just seemed to be a hoof problem. She stood stretched out, not like an abscess was coming with her weight shifted back. But not like a typical laminitic stance either.

So she was really bad this morning and I finally had it. I called out the vet. After watching her go he was as puzzled as I was. She was not reacting very much to the hoof tester, although he did note that her feet were really flat. She is trimmed well but just the structure of her hoof is very flat soled. We numbed her right heel to see if she would move off sound. Nope, then she just because lame in the left. We both really could not believe it was laminitsis, but being a fat Haffie mare, it was still a chance. So it was time to pull out the old x ray machine.

Well not old. I can not believe how technology has changed how our horses are diagnosed. With a few machines, a lap top, and wires going every where we had images of Corrie's hooves right away.

Should I leave this as a cliff hanger?

Naw, I won't. Corrie's coffin bone looks like it is right where it should be, maybe a little rotation, but he would not even concider her laminitic. What he did note is that she has very little sole. She should have 1 cm of sole under her coffin bone. On the left front she has .8 cm and on the other she has .4! No wonder the poor dear is so tenderfooted!

I was so relieved though. The fix is shoes with pad. Now I prefere barefoot horses, as does my vet, but really of all the things that could have been wrong and the expense of the treatments, I will take 6 mos of shoes with pads. So once I get that done she should be as right as rain again.

Win a book from Linda Benson's blog.

2010-08-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

I love my books! I have way to many of them, but when a contest to win a book come up I am right on it. Linda Benson has such contest at her blog right now. You win TWO books! So check it out!

Finding a Tutor

2010-08-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

I love art. I dabble in drawing myself. I love to look at fine works of art of horses and dogs. If you notice my blog roll I have one blog I follow called “Epona Studios.” Deborah O’Sullivan has done some very lovely works of horses in general and dessage horses in particular. Just beautiful.

Today she had a guest blogger who talked about finding an art tutor. So much of it rings true for finding a teacher/ trainer/ tutor/ mentor of anything I wanted to share a link to that blog. I make no secret that finding my trainer has been key to me getting over so many issues. I also know that my attitude has played a key role in my willingness to get over myself at times. Corrie, of course, has been a great steady partner to me too.

Some of points I really appreciated that Charles Sluga brought up in looking for a trainer are the ones that really push the student to be her own person and find her own style. Also the points that show that the trainer is her own person and does not just follow the steps of another. There has to mutual respect between a tutor and a student. and no egos. All very good points.

On the flip side, I think we often put a lot on our trainers and forget that we too have a role to play. The first thing Charles Sluga points out is that the student needs to work hard. I know I can be a slacker sometimes, waiting to be pushed. Yet I do go out and work with my horse everyday. I think a lot of trainers would be surprised to see “ask questions.” So many trainers I know are really intimidated if their students start asking too many questions, yet we really need to.

When I got to the point that the student should not “be only interested in the final result.” I had to chuckle. How many students have their eyes on a prize that is way off in the future when they should be happy with the small victories that they made today. It’s okay, you can raise you hand, mine is already up.

Go take a look, it is a really well written insightful post.

“Grab life by the reins.” ~Anonymous

2010-08-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

. . . and some times a bit of mane too.

I will get back to IR in a bit right now I just have so share something.

I did something I never thought I would do again. I rode bareback in a halter.

REALLY!!!

I went out to the barn today and Corrie seems a bit sluggish today, I thought about not riding but Sensei said I really should do something because she needs the exercise. I hemmed and hawed until he suggested I ride bareback with a halter. Then I slammed on the brakes and came up with a dozen excuses. I think I got played in the next few moments, because all of a sudden I am walking to the arena with only a halter and lead. . . oh and in the halter was Corrie, of course.

After crawling up the pipe fence, I slid on and was holding on to the mane as tight as I could. Corrie just walked around. I had only the lead, I didn’t have it tied up like a set of reins, so steering was a bit of a challenge. I would flip the lead over her head, but I was a bit terrified of doing this so she just kind of did more of what she wanted than what I wanted. As I got more comfortable I actually started holding her mane less and less. Sensei would look over the arena gate from time to time; mostly to tell me to breath. I keep forgetting to do that.

I NEVER thought I would be able to feel a horse like that again. Just feel the muscles moving. Feel the rolling and the movement of her back. Feel the heat and even the sweat. I remembered all these feels again. I was so happy! There is something so special about the feeling of riding without a saddle.

Sensei came back in and warned me that he was going to be running some horses up to the barn and so I hopped off while he did that. Before I hopped back on, I tied the lead like a rein. When I went to get back on, I had to crawl up a panel fence again. Corrie normally is really good about this but she swung her butt out and started to back, I yelled at her to stop. Sensei peeked over the arena gate door when he heard me.

“You’re pulling on her.”

I was thinking: “She started it!” Instead of saying that, I tried to figure out something else, but I am on top of the fence and trying to not let go. I am trying to figure out how to not pull, not let go of the lead, and not fall off the fence. That was a lot of figuring for a few moments time!

“You’re still pulling on her.”

I made a few adjustments. I stopped pulling, she stopped pulling. Amazing! Yes, I knew that would happen.

“Now what are you going to do?”

I am still on the fence, one hand on the lead. Corrie is no where near me. “Are you going to tell me or do I have to figure it out?”

“I would prefer you figure it out.”

Like I didn’t know that answer was coming. Sensei never stops teaching: be it a student or a horse. I mean it, from the time he slips a halter on the horse he is training all the way up to the barn. Likewise, if he thinks I should be leading, haltering, standing next to my horse in a different manner, I hear about it. And I better have a good reason for what I am doing. Sensei told me in my last lesson, “I don’t care if you do it right or wrong as long as you can confidently tell me why your doing what you are doing.” So as Corrie was standing several feet from me with her butt swung out away from me, I sat there a moment trying to figure out what Sensei would do.

I could have solved this problem easily, but I am trying to learn how to not only solve the problem at hand but train the horse as to what is expected in the future. We sorted things out and I slipped on again with a few instructions about what I did right and wrong. I really like that. Feedback is so important to learning.

Sensei brought out a haffie he has in for training after I assured him I would be fine. I learn so much from just watching him, and I was still just walking around anyway. I am amazed at not only how well he works with the horse, but at the same time he is working with me. I asked him at one point, as he was working the gelding closer to me that I would have preferred, if what he was doing was for the gelding’s benefit or mine.

“Both, and breath.” Typical.

By now I have let go of the mane almost completely. I am able to steer pretty well. I walked around for about an hour. My inner thighs are starting to sting too. What a great feeling! I really didn’t want to get off but I had something to do that I couldn’t blow off, trust me, I really wanted to.

I can not believe I rode bareback today. I honestly can not believe it even now. Well, then I get and walk across the room and my muscles remind me. What a day! What a great ride! Some days are just like that!

Labor of Love

2010-08-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

“But a horse is a labor of love as well as a responsibility, an aesthetic as well as a dynamic pleasure, something to contemplate as well as ride.”
~Sarah Montague

As I lay in bed in the morning and I try to get a few more moments of rest a cacophony of barnyard noises erupt just outside my window. Bleating of goats, quacking of ducks, crowing of rooster, and the unignorable bray of a donkey. All urging me to get up and start the day.

When most people are nursing a hot cup of coffee and fixing some breakfast, I am outside filling troughs, opening gates, hauling hay, and doling out feed to chickens. Horses and goats need hay, and as I haul it, I have two chickens and a duck following me looking for some feed. Holding back is a hen with her five little chicks, all just trying to stay out of the way. The back drop of this morning song is the goats wanting their fair share too. Soon I will have Corrie here which will complicate things even more.

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions everyone. I know that dealing with an Insulin Resistant horse can be difficult and until I get a vet out here I am just going to assume that she is IR. She has been getting a mere handful of grain with her supplements, but I am going to switch to a soaked hay cube mixture. Her vitamins are pelleted, but the joint supplement is a powder, which is actually why I went with sweet feed in the first place, so it would stick. At the time I was not even thinking IR, just fat. I know that I will be trying different things with Corrie and will have to add even more labor to my schedule, but in the end it is all worth it.

At the end of the day, I listen to a whinny from Rocky as I throw hay over the fence. Daphne, my duck, quacking and following me around. Zoe will be bounding around the yard after her yellow ball. Goats excited to see me no matter what time a day, and horses of all sizes running around the pasture. I would not trade places with anyone in a beautiful high rise apartment in down town Chicago what have their horses boarded at a posh facility, because at the end of the day when I have had a beautiful drive behind my beloved Corrie, eaten fresh eggs from my own chickens, and finally washed up with soap make from my own goat’s milk, I know that it it really is a labor of love.

Fat is the best color

2010-08-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

“You sometimes hear the old saying, ‘Fat is the best color.’ This means, of course, that fat covers a multitude of conformation faults and therefore looks good~ especially to the less discerning horseman.”
~Eleanor F. Prince and Gaydell M. Collier

I have never heard of this saying before (again it come from my new book: The Gigantic Book of Horse Wisdom) but it sure fits my fat little pony. Not that I agree with it. I hate a fat horse, I really do. On the Henneke Body Score I would like to see horses between a 4 and 5. Some like to see horses up to 6 and really that is probably the best for Corrie, but is a bit fat for my tastes.

When I say Corrie is fat, I mean fat. She is at least a 8 if not a 9 on the the Henneke Body Score. She does not even hold it well, she looks to have swallowed a box; typical of a brood mare. Corrie is an air fern, as some would call her. The worst I have ever seen actually.

I am a bit worried about her. She is on a grass pasture, well eaten down pasture. I also give her 1 cup of sweet feed with vitamin and joint supplements. That is not enough to make her fat. Plus she gets worked everyday. Not hard, but at least 30 to 60 minutes of walking and trotting. That has made no difference in her weight. None of the other horses are as fat as Corrie, even though she is the only one worked every day. We pulled her off of the pasture and put her on dry lot. When she comes here she will be on dry lot and a few hours of pasture with a muzzle.

While looking into this problem I have been doing a lot of reading about thyroid dysfunction. If you subscribe to The Horse (which is free) you can get this article on thyroid dysfunction. Summed up it says that it is really difficult to diagnosis a thyroid problem in horses and that it is really rare anway. It goes on to say that there are a lot of reasons that a horse could be having symptons that look like a thyroid dysfunction and that treating a horse for a thyroid problem when it does not have one could have the opposite effect we are looking for. Great.

This is another great article on feeding the fat horse. Again subscribe to The Horse. This article goes on about fat mares in particlar. It puts everything in persepective. Ponies were designed by nature to untilize feed very effectively. One thing that this article mentions is that just limiting the feed can often back fire. Horses need to graze, they are built to eat, but ponies need to eat really low quality feed. They even suggest feeding some straw. Never even thought of straw as a feed but now that I have Corrie I might add a little to her diet. I also want to get a few small mesh hay nets.

So many horse are overweight, I really take Corries weight seriously. Hopefully we can get this under control soon.

Black Horse Chapter Closed

2010-08-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

“We all want everything to be wonderful. Every woman wants to sit upon a horse dressed in bells and go riding off through the boundless green and sensual forest.
~Clarissa Estes

Abby is gone. This makes me sad.

The quote at the top of the post, which I found in a big huge book of horse quotes I just bought, seems to really fit the situations with Abby. I had been told by almost everyone how beautiful she was. She was gorgeous! I even had perfect strangers tell me that women buy horses like Abby for romantic reasons. This might very well be true. The few ride I had on Abby made me think of brave knights riding off to fight dragons.

Although I did develop a good relationship with Abby, there was always a little romance dancing in the back of my mind. Big beautiful black mare with a flowing mane and a high stepping gait. I could watch and marvel at her for hours.

Abby is now with a nice family that Sensei knows. She is going to have a job and be used for what she was bred to do, drive. The wife, of course, just thinks she is beautiful and fell in love with her. She is still in the area too. Although Sensei is knows where she is, I don’t.

It is all for the best. That chapter has closed. A new exciting one is starting. Corrie will be coming home soon.

A partner

2010-08-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

Everyone’s perfect mount is different. Some really love the challenge of a hot horse. Others like a needy horse to nurture. Still others like a calm and submissive partner. There are really countless personalities that fit everyone’s needs. There are so many horses out there, but it is so difficult to choose that perfect horse for ourselves, or indeed, to know what that perfect mount for us is.

In the past few days I have been lamenting the loss of Abby. Sensei is sending her to a friend of his for awhile. I have finally started really realizing that she is not mine anymore. Although Sensei has offered her back to me on numerous occasions, he won’t even entertain the idea of me riding her, at least not on his property. Says he has no desire to see a wreck. While he can not stop me from riding her on my property, I know can read between the lines. I know in my head it would be a bad thing.

Yet when I have been comparing Abby to Corrie, I really like Abby’s spirit. I like that she is a little more hot. I like her movement and style. She is very bonded to me, follows me around like a dog. Yet she is a lot of horse. I mean an OTTB can be a lot of horse, but they are half the size of Abby. Now Abby is not red hot, but she is very opinionated.

There are two basic kinds of draft horses. Your typical mellow “farm bred” horses. These are the draft horses that people like to ride. These are the horses you see working the fields of Amish country. They are very laid back and what many people think of when they think of a draft temperament. Then there are the “hitch bred” horses. Hitch horses are hotter. Ever go to the fair and watch the big fancy 6 horse hitches? Those are the high-stepping fancy draft horses. They are anything but mellow. Abby is “hitch bred” I believe. She has longer legs and more of an “up” attitude. Well half hitch bred, but she really got that temperament.

I have found myself in the past few days, turning away from Corrie and wanting to hold on to Abby with everything I have. She is a big, beautiful, and powerful. Corrie is, well Corrie. Short and dumpy old brood mare. Corrie is not flashy. Corrie is safe.

See how boring that even sounds? She is safe, if I lose my balance she slows. If I drop my stirrups she stops. If I feel nervous she takes over and does what she thinks is best, often involves stopping. Corrie is not always easy to ride, I will admit that. She gets ideas in her head and that is what is going to happen. I really need to step up to the bat and make her get on the ball, but still she is safe.

When I nag Corrie she put up with it, but Abby, well Abby will trot off in her own direction. I keep being told that if I ride Abby and let her do what she wants, everything will be fine, but if I choose to make her do what I want- I’ll have a fight. I know that is true.

Guess what I really need. Safe. I would love to ride my hot sensitive Abby, but what I need is calm, sensible, safe Corrie. In a year? Maybe I could ride Abby. Yet, in a year I could become an even better rider and driver and really pull out Corrie’s potential. The trade off is difficult sometimes to consider.

My choice is to have Corrie. It is my choice. I could have Abby, but the cost to me is too high. Others, they choose that difficult horse. They choose to fight their fear by conquering a more difficult horse. Who is right? Nobody. It is all a choice. We all have to deal with what our horses dish out. We all have to deal with the limitations of our horses. What we each, as individuals choose to deal with is so personal. As long as our horse is meeting our needs and we are meeting theirs, then it is all good.

I love my safe, dependable, stubborn Corrie. I miss Abby.

Experiements

2010-07-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

I had a fun time riding today. I tried an experiment. Sensei is all about doing less, getting horses to work off of a feel. He does not get English riding at all, too much contact. Trust me we go round and round about this, but I have decided to just give in and do it his way. Good learning experience.

So today I decided to try to ride with no contact at all, just all off of leg. It was really interesting. I made my reins as lose as possible and then held on to the horn of the saddle to keep myself from cheating. Just just my legs. Now I have to admit that we did fairly well, but not perfect. I did a figure eight around two barrels, and even managed to weave some cones.

I did learn where her sticky spots were. Actually just going around the rail was the hardest part! Certain areas of the arena pull her into the center where as other push her to the wall. For some reason she is really pulled by barrels. Maybe I should do barrels with her. . . .Okay that would be a site, the poky little pony doing barrels.

After that I tried the same thing, but would just lightly lift up on the side where I wanted to make a correction. Still no contact, well okay, in my book no contact but in Sensei’s book if you touch the reins, it is contact, so I guess it depends on who you talk to. She was actually responding really well to the lightest touch.

I was a little tickled that I was riding around with no contact, steering my horse with only my legs, where as I few months ago if I did not have a death grip on the reins I would feel out of control. It really is amazing. I keep thinking, and where will I be in another 6 months?

I then tried something else that is difficult for us. Trotting around the arena, I mean all the way around without breaking. Poky little pony likes to break if she thinks she can get away with it. This is where I have a HUGE issue. I am not consistent. That would be in the saddle, in harness, or in real life. I told you, horses show you what your issues are, be it in the barn or not. I tend to get side tracked and want to do something else. So I made sure that we made it all the way around, at a trot. That took us quite a bit of time, but I did it.

Over all it was a great riding session. I was pretty proud of what we got done.

Honest vs Honorable

2010-07-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

Lisa from Laughing Orca Ranch left a really heart wrenching reply to my last post. Check out her story of the bucking horse.

I think she brought up a really good point. Not all horses are honorable. I know that horses can tell who their rider is, they seem to even be able to tell when they have a filly or colt on their back. They know kids and novices. Some are really nasty with kids, while others will babysit. Who doesn't know a pony that would take off as soon as look at you when they had a kid on their back.

When Sensei was working with Kinsey and she was being such a witch I said in her defense, "She is just a horse." He replied, "She has choices." He has repeated this with other horses too. That a horse has choices about how they handle situations was really a bit of a mind bend for me. I never really thought about that before, but they do! A horse can chose her attitude same as a human. She can chose to be snotty or peaceable. Oh sure we will blame how they were trained or treated. Yet, to point out Lisa again, her mare is a perfect example, a horse can chose to be forgiving and work with humans. (I hope she doesn't me me using Apache as an example)

Apache reared with her last owner and has had some other issues। She never did any of that with Lisa। Apache was ridden in a Tom Thumb and her teeth where bad. Lisa fixed those as soon as she could, but even before all the fixes Apache had been wonderful with Lisa. Since the issues have been fixed, Apache as been as good as gold and better. Could this mare have decided that she was not going to trust humans? Sure. She could have turned sour and taken to all kinds of horrible vices. Again, I से,

Another horse I know is as close to saintly as a gelding can be. He is a great horse, and my first rides on him he was as careful as he could be. I mean this horse was serious about not taking a wrong step with me. To the point that he looked lame walking because he was just going so slow and deliberate. Yet I saw this exact same horse being ridden by his former owner. You have never seen such a turn around. Saintly ol' boy was down right snotty. He even tried to bite his former owner on the leg as she was riding. It was actually quite funny!

I read a number of blogs and bulletin boards. I read about lots of people's relationships with their horses. Some I just want to shout, "why are you still with this horse?" Honestly some of us let our horses treat us so badly and yet we would never tolerate this from another human.

I'll admit it, I have boundary issues. Again, Corrie points these weakness out. So does Abby actually, which is why Sensei says she is such a bad match for me. I can't keep her away from me, I want her near. This is a recipe for disaster with a horse as large as Abby. With Corrie, I can work on it. Yet both Abby and Corrie are honorable horses. Neither has ever tried to hurt me.

Abby will let me stand next to her and hang all over her, she stands quietly and carefully. Today I was just grooming her, (I know I know I should just stay away). She had gunk all over her back leg. I was working really hard to get it all off. The flies were bad and bothering her but she never lifted a hoof in defense when I was near. I would try to be sensitive to this and back off too. I also sprayed her. Although at one point something startled her. Now I was standing wrapped around her hind leg trying to clean it all up. Abby spooked in place, never putting me in harms way. She easily could have kicked out but didn't. She will, from time to time take advantage if she really wants to.

To point, I found a horse that will not take advantage of me to the point that either of us will get hurt. Corrie will let me know that I am blurring boundry lines, but she does not straight out take advantage of me.

Corrie! Corrie! Corrie!

2010-07-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

That is what Madison and the rest of minis are thinking right about now. Every post is about Corrie! Corrie! Corrie! They insist that they are important too!

I have to agree. Although I am not doing a whole lot with them right now.

So this post is about the minis.

The minis are in seventh heaven right now without a "big" sister around. They have way more grass than they can possibly eat, just looks at them!

Even Rocky who is always a skinny mini:

They honestly are enjoying their new little band. Madison and Sophie, Ike and Rocky. Perfectly matched up. Not chased around, well Madison chases Sophie, but then they are back to grazing together again. I think Madison is really liking being able to be boss mare. Like it while you can kid!

Unfortunately I am not driving Ike because I have no shafts for my cart. Sugar Rock Farm cashed my check for a new pair of shafts, but now won't respond to phone calls or e mails. So I am out the money for the shafts and I can't use my cart. Sort of annoys me, but they are located in AL so I can not really just run over there and demand a refund. Anyway.

I have been doing working to get the pasture ready for, er, well just in better shape. :) Last fall I had plans to split to pasture into some smaller pastures and put in the T posts in. Then I broke my wrist, and then it was winter, finally they all knew where the posts were so I didn't bother to take them down. I was still planning on putting the electric tape up but, well plans change. I plan on doing my first several drives out there with, er, well just out there. It is enclosed and a fairly safe placed to drive and ride too. So with all the rain softening up the ground I was able to pull the last of the posts up. I would also like to put the goats out there some so I have been putting up that snow fencing that has wooden slates on the three rail part of the pasture so the goaties can't escape. Also there are some trees that needed to be trimmed so I don't hit my head on them while riding or driving. I have been very thankful for the cooler temperature to start on this work. Still not done, but good start.

Horses don't lie

2010-07-22T17:26:00.001-07:00

They don't, just as honest as the day is long, as long as the truth is about us. Oh yeah, ever try to hide something from a horse, you can't. A horse knows when you are happy, scared, serious, and lazy. And they will take will show anyone around. Corrie tells Sensei much more than I do. It is rather annoying actually, to be tattled on by your own horse.

With my accident I now say that I spooked, so Abby spooked. She knew I was nervous and since she is a horse that looks to her rider to help her through things, she new something was up and spooked. I could tell it in her too. She was looking for the sound of the motorcycle in the distance. I remember just thinking: "please don't spook, please don't spook." She did.

I have to laugh when I think about riding a few horses after my fall: CJ, Bill, Drew, Corrie. The first ride on all of them was just awful. They barely moved, just walking as slowly as they could. CJ actually looked like he was afraid to take a step, but he did. One after another. I had such a hard time getting Bill to move forward, and Corrie almost went in reverse.

As a kid I had Hope. She was the best horse ever, and I was so much more confident then. When I went out to ride her she would get very up. She would have a little spring to her step and be ready for anything. Yet if I put a friend on her who knew nothing, she was as gentle as a lamb. I had a friend who would ride her when I was away at college. He would call me and tell me about how he took her out in halter and lead rope. I don't know why she didn't kill him, but she never took a misstep with him.

Corrie is showing some of my personal short comings right now. It is rather funny to have a horse tell you, "nope I am not going to do that, your not confident enough yet." Which is what she did today when I tried to get her to canter. She was going to trot as fast as she could, I could not bump her that final step up into the canter. Corrie was right. I'll wait a little more. She has also been showing me, where my personal weaknesses are.

As we are working with our horses, it is not a bad thing to take as step back and think about what the horse is trying to tell us. What are they trying to tell us about ourselves? What do we need to work on. Sure our horses barge past us when we lead them in from the pasture. Do we let others run over us too? When someone else handles our horse, how do they act differently? What does that say about them? About us? Maybe our horse become much more tense when we take the lead. Are we having difficulty letting the difficulties of the day go?

I have tried to hide for most of my life. I try to blend into the background and just go unnoticed. Corrie is actually calling me on this. She tells on me, I have a hard time bringing my energy up. I try, but she will totally match me. So if I let my energy drop she totally drops too. As we were doing ground work last week, I could barely get her to move. She totally matches my energy as I work with her. It was very frustrating. That is telling me something about myself. I need to learn to be more confident and not hide in the corner.

Later I went to Target to shop and I was working on walking around with energy. It was hard to keep it up so long. I walked down an aisle and a woman totally looked up as I approach, almost jerked her head up. I was rather surprised because so many people just ignore me.

Fearless Driving

2010-07-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, I love driving now. I feel so much more confident driving. Sensei is hoping I actually do get a little fear, because now I don't feel scared. I may be nervous from time to time, but I'm pretty sure I can handle it. So opposite of riding, where I am still working up the nerve to do stuff that I have done 1000's of times.

Which, when you think about it, is kind of funny. I have driven 13 times with Sensei, twice on my own with Corrie and maybe 5 times with Ike, my mini. I have had 1000's of rides though. So it would make more sense for me to be more fearful of driving, but it was those few episodes of fear in riding that really give me pause.

Silly right? I mean I should totally be so much more fearful of going for a drive. I think the difference is I have not had a really bad driving accident. I hope that I never do. My worst fear is falling off. I REALLY don't want to fall again and that is a bad fear to have when riding. Driving? I don't have that fear. Corrie has spooked, she tried to run off with me the other day when I was on my own, but I controlled it. She got a little spooky later on with the neighbors moving stuff. Again, I knew how to handle it. Sensei was out there working another horse and his only comment was that I should have held Corrie a little longer. Of all the time that he is telling me to use less rein, for once he actually thought I needed to keep contact longer.

Yet that lack of fear is really helping with my fear of riding. Funny how that works. I have been driving and ground driven Corrie out in the big dry lot and finally I rode her out there. That was such a big deal. If I had not been driving I don't think that I would be half as far along as we are. As I gain confidence in one area, it crosses over to other parts.

Actually everything works together. I ride, drive, ground riding, and do ground work. All four of them work to make Corrie a better horse. Sensei is a big believer in ground work. I have at least on lesson in ground driving a month. Not exactly my favorite, I admit, but when I can tell Corrie to stand, walk out of the arena to my car, come back, and she is still in the same place, that is impressive. Point and she moves. It is nice to have a well trained horse. My job is to not mess her up, which is why I do the ground work lessons.

Guess what I am doing tomorrow.

Fresh air is so nice.

2010-07-19T05:41:00.000-07:00

Yup I rode outside.

I had a mini lesson with Sensei last Monday. He just watched me and gave me some tips. Corrie was still looking out the window and being a bit spooky. After doing ground works and ground driving I realized I was doing something under saddle, because she was fine the other times. A little tweak here and a little tweak there, thanks to Sensei's advice, and Corrie and I are doing much better. Inside is going so well. There are barrels, poles, and cones littering the indoor. I have been using all of them to our advantage and it has been added some variety to our workouts. We have been practicing all sorts of maneuvers. Weaving through the cones, around the barrels, through the poles. She is really responsive to leg.

On Saturday I had thoughts of going outside but Sensei was giving another client a driving lesson out there so I didn't. I didn't know how she would react and I want to tackle one new thing at a time. Sunday Corrie was really calm and responsive so I decided to take her out there after we rode inside. I really felt confident that I had control of her.

I was not as nervous as I thought I would be, although confident would not be a word I used to describe myself either. When I get nervous Corrie's head drops to her knees and she barely walks. Nice quality to have in a horse that is being ridden by a nervous person. She is steerable and has brakes, but not as responsive. That was okay. I was able to pick her up a little by the end. It was also hot and she has been already ridden for a normal amount of time. So I am sure the fat girl was a little on the tired side.

Corrie is just such a steady horse, not perfect. I keep saying that she spooks, but she really is not all that spooky. I think that might be more of me getting in her way. She is a bit of a butt head sometimes. Very much a brood mare, her default is to do as little as possible. Sensei keeps tell me that she is just enough of a challenge for me. I think what he means is that she is not about to do anything stupid, but that she has issues that I can safely work through with her, like being lazy and pig headed.

On the healing side, I find that I don't have to mentally prepare myself as much. I think about what I want to do, but not in such detail. I am using visualization, but not as formally. I think with this conquest I was thinking about it while I was driving. I do believe that now my skills are really dictating what I feel comfortable with. As soon as I gained control of Corrie's feet, I felt ready to take the next step. I don't have that control outside yet so we will just ride around the outdie area for awhile.

I do find it interesting to think back. I have not even owned Corrie a month, although I have been riding her for about a month. I have not been back to riding for more that a few months. It really boggles my mind. Although I think that driving has really helped a lot . Just a little food for thought.

Abby. . . I miss you

2010-07-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

Abby is still at Sensei's. She has made some friends her size. In particular that little haffie mare next to her. No that is not Corrie. She had a fling with the perchie clyde on the end too. Unfortunately she does not have a good influence on those guys and they are getting hard to catch and is very bonded to the haffie.

I admit that I still just adore her. I love to watch her in the field. Sensei drove her the other day and I just wanted to climb up with him. She was not the best, but she has been driven before. She was so beautiful in harness. I just watched her going around.

I do occasionally go out to that field and pet her. Tell her that everything is going to be okay and she is going to find a great home. When I do that I am in awe of how big she is. So much different than Corrie. She is just huge. She knows it too and is just a bit pushy about it. Not meanly pushy, but still pushy.

She had someone come to look at her last weekend. She was on her best behavior, I'm told. Rode really well for a guy Sensei has do some riding work. Then the buyer's trainer didn't want to get on. Why? Who knows but probably just because she is so huge. She is such a big girl!

I am so sad to not have Abby anymore. I really want to bring her home, but she is not going to do anything here but eat a lot. Even though she pulls at my heartstrings, sometimes it is better to let the past go. I could not be doing all that I am if I still had her. I just have to remember that this is the best thing for the both of us.

I failed. . . .

2010-07-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

It was a test: Can I hitch up on my own. Sensei gave me a D-. All in fun but still I failed at hitching. Oh it was bad. I knew what to do first, but I grabbed the tugs before I put the shafts in. I get so nervous when someone is watching me I get especially nervous if I know that they are looking at every little thing I am doing, which Sensei was. Well of course he was and with good reason, the last thing he wants is for me to bring Corrie home, hitch her up and have wreck.

So I can harness and get her in the shafts fine, but Sensei has always done the actually putting to with me. He also does a few things that I don't normally do. Oh he has explained everything and has told me over and over again why we do it in this order and what to do, but ,again,I got nervous. So I don't get to hitch up on my own yet. I am slightly frustrated by this because I knew how to hitch up the horse and messed it up. I hate not doing things right, it frustrates me to no end. I try to remember what I tell my students when they don't do so well on an assignment: what we have learned is that we need to practice this skill more. No biggie. Sensei will watch me a few more times, I'll do it right and I'll have learned better habits.

Luckily for me I have a rock solid horse and trainer. I can screw up pretty badly and Corrie will just stand there. I mean I have done some things and been so thankful that my horse is so well trained and has such a good mind. She just reminds me every day why buying her was the right choice. I have also learned that buying a horse based on who trained it can be a wise decision too. Also I have a trainer that is experienced enough and concerned enough about safety that he he is always ahead of the game. He stopped me before I screwed up too bad. He always questions me about what my plan "B" is.

Last year I signed up to learn sign language. On the first day the teacher told us that it is harder for adults to learn a new skill like a language because they are so much more afraid of being embarrassed by doing something wrong. That is me to a "t". Not to mention that that personal problem I discovered makes me even more on edge about doing the right thing. Pleasing people is a real issue with me.

I'm good though. All is okay. It was a learning experience, hurt my ego a bit but that will heal with time. Riding to day was great. She is getting to be such a little super star. Besides Hope, this is the best horse I have ever owned.

Little Wagon

2010-07-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

Here is my wagon. You'll notice that the pictures have a bit of an ethereal look, it was so hot and humid that the camera lens was fogging up.

Yes it is actually a wagon. Sensei has a thing about two wheeled vehicles. He doesn't like them for various safety reasons. I have one for my minis and I know that a lot of people are happy with theirs, but that wasn't really an option for Corrie and I. A nice old 4 wheeled carriage is just out of the question due to expense. Besides this is a sturdy little wagon I can drive in field and on the road.

This little wagon is nice and light weight, plus it is a very comfortable ride for my mother, who I really want to take for drives. Those front seats are really comfortable. There is a bench seat in back, so we could take 3 other people along for a drive. Under the seats is nice little tool box, don't have anything in it yet, but it is there. It even has lights. It has brakes, again another controversy in the driving world, but Sensei likes them for safety reasons. Brakes don't stop a horse, they stop the vehicle. Just like anything, it is knowing how to use them that is important. Right now I still don't so I don't use them except when the wagon is parked.

Even Zoe is liking my new wagon! The mounting block that I got to get on Abby works great for all of the dogs to get in the wagon. It also works well for my mom too. That first step is a bit tall, but over all the wagon is a nice size. I might train Madison and get another pony her size and they could pull this wagon too, if I got a pole that it.

Oh you may notice something is missing from my wagon. Have you? My poor little wagon has no shafts right now. Oh it does, but my fat little Corrie is being difficult to fit. Sensei is going to give me the shafts after we find which ones will fit her short fat little body. I'll get them before I bring Corrie home, which maybe awhile. That is another story.

Driving lesson #13: Solo!

2010-07-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

Yup I got to go solo for a little while! Just a bit while Sensei helped get a horse off the trailer and settled in. Still I was driving my horse by myself for the first time! AND I get to drive her solo when I want between lessons. Of course this is with a few stipulations, after all I have to use his wagon, as mine is at home, and his harness and all that. Still I am really excited! Of course after he told me this I managed to some how flip the end of one of the line out of the wagon, not a good thing. Luckily I hung on to the part in my hand, but it was still rather funny~ in a scary sort of way. *edited to add that normally I sit on the ends of the line. Never know when you are going to drop and line.*

I have not been blogging as much as I would like for several reasons. I have been actually out doing stuff, like everyone else. Also I have been dealing with some personal issues. Some major ones actually but I am on the right track now. Help is a good thing to ask for. So hopefully I will be on more now. With pictures I don't know, having a few computer problems.

The thing with lessons are they are so insightful for me right now. Many of the problems that I have with Corrie are just a microcosm of issues in my other life. One thing, Sensei tells me, work on one thing at a time. When working on "a" don't worry about "b". We will have to go back and work with "b" but I can't do everything at once. Sometimes if "b" crops up I might have to stop "a" and deal with "b" first. I tend to want to do it all now.

Being consistent, so hard for me. From the moment I put her halter on in the field until I let Corrie go after our time together. Sensei often refers to his training program as boot camp for horses. He also trains all the way up to the gate. Why miss training opportunities.Just being consistent on what I am asking from her. If there is one thing that Sensei is trying so hard to drill into my head, sometimes it is really thick, it is this. If she is not leading well, she is not going to drive or ride well. Issues don't disappear just because I climb on her back or pick up the lines.

Of course this is just a few issues, but I see how they work in my daily life too. Just as Sensei says, doing ground work helps with riding and driving, drive helps with riding, etc. And lessons help with the rest of my life.

Corrie's Quirks

2010-07-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I like a quirky horse. I do! One that has personality and attitude.

Corrie gets an A+ on both accounts.

Corrie's quirks:

1) She does stallion smile whenever I spray her with fly spray. I have NO idea what is up with that. She must not like the smell or something. Almost every time I spray her she does a stallion smile. She sometimes does this when working her too. I am really confused then. One day I thought maybe she is just baring her teeth. . .just kidding I know she isn't but I have never seen a horse that smiles so much.

2) When bitten by a fly on the butt she bucks. Now this is not a rip roaring heels flying buck. No her butt just lifts up. Again, just strange to watch. She got on of those huge black horse flies on her while I was hand grazing her today and all of a sudden she started bucking. Just lifting her butt up. I thought maybe she had a fly in her udders, being a brood mare she has large floppy udders. Then I noticed one of those huge black horse flies on her butt. She let me smack it off.

3) "Aren't I cute!" Really she sticks her head over the stall door doing her best: I am a cute pony, now let me out dammit! So adorable. I just have to kiss that little pink nose!

4) Garbage picker. My horse love to go through the garbage, I am pretty sure that she thinks that something good must be in there. If I don't watch her she inches her way to the garbage and starts sorting through it. We'll just say she is environmentally conscience and is looking for recyclables. Don't really believe it though.

5) Typical mare, I am only going to do this much. She is so funny with that. I am only going to step up with two feet, but the other two aren't moving. Ever seen a fat, parked out haffie? TOO funny.

6) She likes to stop and take care of business when walking up from the field. I kind of like this part. She just stops, does what she needs to and then we go.

I think I could go on and on. But can't we all? Isn't that what makes us love these creatures? So what is your favorite quirk?

Driving lesson #12: With my new wagon

2010-07-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

I drove in my new wagon Wednesday; I have actually driven the wagon before but now it is mine. It is the cutest little wagon with nice bucket seats in the front and a wooden bench seat in the back. I wish I had charged batteries in my camera. I need to get some picture of Corrie driving it. My goal is to do some trail driving with it this fall. My mom can actually get in it too and I think she would really love to drive; she used to ride when she was a kid.

Corrie was very "up," shall we say, today. I guess proving that she can be if she want to be. She did not like a car that was driving rather scarily down the road. She was having trouble focusing on what was in front of her, and has some difficulties keeping herself at a walk for a bit. Actually all that is pretty normal for her. She is such a sightseer.

Apparently she does not like polka music either. Can't really blame her, not one of my favorites either. Actually it just goes back to noise that she can't see the source for. Someone was playing loud music, polka of all things, behind a row of trees. That was scary on so many levels, I have to agree with her on that one.

I am getting ready to bring her home, maybe next month. My driving lessons are really important so that I feel comfortable driving her around my little part of the world. In fact she is not coming here until I get the okay to drive her alone. I will probably do a few solos there and then bring her here. I don't know if I will ride her when I get her home, but I will definitely drive.

Riding might have to be put on hold, at that point, until late fall early winter when I take her back. That will depend a large part on how this month goes. I have so many more issues in the saddle then in harness. Oh well.

I promise to get pictures soon.

Oh that's right, Riding takes work!

2010-07-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

For years I have been daydreaming about what it would be like to just be riding again. I had visions of trotting down the trail with orange and yellow leaves falling on the path in our wake. I imagined doing circle and serpentines while being at one with my horse. Saddling up and mounting without a care in the world. I guess I just didn't think about the fact that is was not just a matter of getting on and going, there are still things that make me nervous. I still have demons. And I have no balance, it is rather embarrassing actually. I fight both with Corrie, my body, and my mind.

I feel really pulled in two directions right now. Tides run one way one day and the next they sway the other. One is my love of dressage. I just love everything about it. On the other hand is a very safe ride. That is basically what I should be doing now. Sensei is totally the right trainer for that. What I need vs what I want. Fantasy vs reality.

Dressage just makes so much sense to me. It is what I read about and study. I love it. I love the connectedness to the horse. The beauty. Helping them to be better balanced and in sync with their rider. Now I am talking about backyard dressage, not moving up the levels type of dressage. Although I would love that too. I love the training of dressage, the nuances of it. Studying every movement of the horse and how to enhance it.

Yet here I am. Forward is not my friend right now. Damn it. I want to move out but I am so conflicted about it. I get remained of that all the time. I don't really want to my horse to move out, even though I do. Damn it! Damn it!! I used to gallop up hills. I quit a trainer as a teen because I was told I couldn't gallop my horse anymore. Screw that! I galloped Hope all the time and was not going to give that up. What the hell has happened to me!

DAMN IT!

I think I am just going to have to say, okay. Ride. Just ride. Don't worry about if your horse looks like a damn western pleasure horse (puke). Just follow what Sensei says and get on and ride. That sucks. Not about Sensei, he really is awesome. I just want to ride dressage and I just can't. Not right now. I can just ride. Honestly I have have so many things going well for me. A great horse, a great trainer, and drive to just do it! Getting upset about a disciple at this point just seems silly. Corrie can be driven, ridden, and we are getting rather handy in our ground work too. I have not even had her a month, it might be that I am a tad bit impatient.

Tomorrow I get to drive. Yippy!

What? What was that?!

2010-07-05T05:16:00.000-07:00

Today was beautiful. Gale force winds kept the blazing heat from the sun at a simmer. Ya know what the wind does right, it makes things make more noise. Things rattle and whip. Normally quiet things snap, crackle, and yes, sometime even pop!

I brought Corrie in from the field. I stall her while I feed her a little bit of grain to got with her supplement. For a private barn, there was a lot of commotion going on today. So I ended up talking, brushing, spraying, picking, and over all making her look spiffy for much longer than I expected. She also got to practice standing patiently, one of her fortes. Finally when everyone cleared out, I was able to do some ground work. The tarps snapped, horses whinnied, and what not clattered ( I am really into lists today!) so we worked on this and that until we calmed a bit.

Finally I rode. Not our best ride. She was sluggish today. She did get a spiffy new bridle and saddle pad. I will have to share later. She has earned herself a new nickname, Bump, as in bump on a log. Seems to fit her well. Maybe we need to go more western pleasure.

Anyway, then I decided to take her outside for a little hand hand grazing. She was very alert outside. *warning another list* The corn leaves were high fiving each other for their excellent grown, wind through the power wires was humming star spangled tunes, cars heading for bbq's and parades sped past. Corrie was really looking at were all the sounds were coming from.

I know that when driving she is always interested in lawn mowers. We have never figured out why because if they are close to her, she doesn't mind them. When we are driving in the field across from the church were they often mow during my lesson, she is always looking at them then. I finally realized today that she is more sensitive to noise.

This became even more apparent when the neighbors, who love to watch the horses and love to pet Corrie were out. I took Corrie over to be fawned over and she was eating it up. She stood under two flags which flapped over her and she didn't mind, but all of a sudden she would hear something and start. Just a little jump in place. Scared the neighbors, not enough to really respect her, but ya know. She was actually really good for them.

Just something to file away for future reference and to be aware of.

Sunday Stills~ Framed

2010-07-04T04:02:00.000-07:00

Sunday Stills this week is about taking pictures where the subject has been framed by its surroundings.

Here we have some flowers from a past challenge.

Corrie framed by the door of the stall.

This is Karma. She is a shelter dog that I take to an assisted living facility for pet therapy.

I Finally Got Mad!

2010-07-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

Oh that may sound bad, but it was actually a very good thing to happen. Okay maybe not mad, but peevbed!

I rode Corrie on Thursday and she is getting more fit. She is thinning down a bit, getting a bit more muscle. We are starting to understand each other. Not quite there yet, but we are learning. Corrie is not sure that I mean what I say. I am not sure I mean what I say.

I think she also is a bit bored of the indoor and gets spooky just to liven things up. As we were riding around, after we did our ground work, she was still looky out the window. Then a bird landed on a blue barrel. I had a moment of "oh no", then she scooted, almost out from under me. I almost lost my stirrup and came off. But I didn't. (yeah me!) Then I had a few moment of "Should I just get off?" and then it hit me. She has enough energy to spook, but trotting forward is too difficult. Eff that!

I brought my energy way up, and asked for a forward trot and away we went. I was amazed that she was being so forward with out a battle. She would try to stop and I pushed her on. My mind filled with thing to do. We started making halt trot transition, at every halt we would so some flexing and then trot off to do it again. Darn mare can be darn sensitive when she wants to be!

I have been trying to figure out how to get her more forward with out bring out a whip. It is not that I don't believe is a good smack if it is well time and deserved, but like I said last time, I am not good at the "command" part under saddle. So finding out that just bring my energy way up makes Corrie step out is very encouraging.

So what is energy?

I have heard some pretty interesting responses to that question. Some think it is some new agey or natural horsemanship type of voodoo. Really it isn't. I want you to think about sitting in a chair. Your relaxing and just reading blogs. Basically you are at a very low energy level. You think to yourself, I really need to get up. But your energy is so low. So you sit there and work up a little energy to get up. Then you stand. That feeling you got just before you got up is "energy." If the phone rings and you jump up, that is a lot of energy. Does that explain energy a little better?

Corrie actually responds to my energy fairly well. Especially on downward transitions. That is how she was trained: if your relaxed, she is relaxed. Unfortunately I tend to be pretty low energy when I work with her. Another thing I need to work on.

Ground work Lessons 1&2

2010-06-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned yesterday, I am learning to improve the rider I am now. That rider is not all that right now unfortunately. I am wanting to ask more of Corrie and yet at the same time still not really confident enough if push comes to shove.

So I got a shove, from Sensei, to do more ground work. I have been avoiding ground work because, well, I finally got back in the saddle. I want to ride. Unfortunately I still have issues in the saddle. So while I want to do more, it is really hard. Not that I am not riding, I am. It is just that I tend to find myself nagging. I am not confident enough to get to "command," if "suggest" and "ask" don't work. That is a huge issue. This is where a trainer comes in handy. I could very easily make Corrie even more dull, so Sensei really wants me to do a lot of work on the ground.

Suggest, ask, command: this is a common Ray Huntism. First you "suggest" what you would like a horse do to do, for example move their front over to the left. The "suggest" is just what ever cue you give to that behavior. I raise my energy and left hand. If the horse doesn't respond to a "suggest" we move the "ask." I raise my right hand, which hold the other end of the rope. "Ask" is sort of like telling the horse, if you don't follow the "suggest," I am going to have to "command" you. If the horse still does not heed your warning, you have to "command." In my example that is twirl the rope a few time and finally smack in the butt. The horse should have no choice at that point. The idea is that we always return to a "suggest." We want horses to move off the suggestion. Ever watch Ray Hunt, he is the most harmonious horse person I have ever seen. The alternative is to nag. Right now, in the saddle I nag, and I hate that and don't think it is very kind.

"If you can't do it on the ground, you shouldn't be asking for it in the saddle." Sensei has a point, not just in general but also specifically for me. I am as more assertive on the ground, not as assertive as he would like me to be, but I am much more able to get to "command" than in the saddle. Especially with a mare like Corrie. As much as I adore her, she will do as little as possible and try to push (or pull) her weight around, typical mare attitude.

My other issue is not taking my time. I like to just do it. I want to move. Sensei asks me to have Corrie side pass. So I jump into it. He puts the brakes on; tells me to stop, regroup, and think about what I want. Make sure I am ready to ask, finally ask. I am learning to just chill. It is SO hard. Sensei is so zen sometimes that it drive me crazy. I do tend to want to do, he tends to wait and then do. Although he is all about setting the horse and I up to succeed so really it is all for the good.

So that is a basic summary of the past two lesson. I am hoping that next week we can drive again. I have to practice ground work, of course, but I think I have enough to practice now.

Be the Rider You Can be Today

2010-06-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

Kate at A Year With Horses has a great post yesterday: Ride the Horse You Have Today.

It made me think about where I was at today. I went out to ride Corrie. Sensei was letting the other horses out, which ran beside the indoor. I knew he was doing this and was prepared . The horses ran and we heard them. Corrie was on high alert, but I was able to keep her under control. I admit I was a bit rattled, but I did NOT get off.

As I read Kate's post I thought about that moment. Not only did I have to ride the horse I had, but I had to be the rider I was in that moment. In the past I may have reacted differently. Working Corrie more assertively and although been aware of what was going on, kept Corrie on track. Yesterday, I couldn't do that as well. I modified our work to where I felt I could comfortably keep Corrie under control. I did. We rode on the side of the arena away from the window so we would not see the horses, I keep her focus on me as much as I could. I did not handle it perfectly, I did not handle it as well as I did in my youth, but I handled it.

Years ago I had better balance and more control of myself. I am not that rider anymore. Some rides I honestly get very frustrated that my body does not do what I asked it to do. At those times I have to remember to be the rider I now. Accepting where I am now and moving forward from there. Comparing myself to what I was does not help me to be a better rider now. Being happy with the accomplishments I am making and having my sights set on new goals does help me.

Just like Kate says in her post, although you should go in with a plan, be prepared to alter than plan. Even if your horse is having a really good day we need to take into account our own emotional state. Yesterday I was very stressed, I wanted to just bum around on Corrie. Corrie made it knows that she has other plans and we adjusted, worked through that and then just bummed a bit. Sometimes getting out to the barn I myself feeling very confident. After checking in with my horse to see where she is, I might choose that day to challenge myself.

In a partnership we need to look at the needs of both partners. In some partnerships the the rider is strong enough to just look at the needs of the horse. Other relationships, the rider's need have a lot of focus too. Normally this is a beginner/ rerider, someone like myself that has issues to work through, or someone that has physical limitations. In these cases you need a special horse to pick up the slack. No matter though, we need to be the rider can can be for the horse we are riding today.

Same ol, Same ol

2010-06-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

I really don't know what to blog about. Life, in it's normal cyclical way, seems to be getting more complex. So much of it is personal crap that you really wouldn't care that much about, personal insecurities that pop up from time to time.

We reap what we sow. I hope that I am sowing beautiful wild flowers, but sometimes those flowers turn out to be weeds. Although sometimes it is just about how you look at it. I am hoping for the best.

Corrie is making progress, but she would make more progress if I were a better rider. I admit that it is frustrating sometimes to sit up there and wonder why legs and arms won't work the way they should. Then a few moments later I look down and Corrie is doing exactly what I what, a beautiful little bend around a circle, nicely moving away from my leg. Sometimes wonder if she is just throwing me a bone, 'cause then she is back to trying her best to be a peanut rolling western pleasure horse.

We started doing ground work, it really is a great non threating way to establish a bond with a horse. She learns my body language and I learn hers. Done well, good ground work almost looks like a dance. Right now Corrie and I look like we are at middle school dance just trying to not step on each others toes. Time and patience and soon we will be ready for Dancing with the Stars!

I have other things that are stressing me out, don't we all. So many things seem up in the air at the moment. I have a feeling that tomorrow will looks a whole lot better.

Sunday Stills~ History

2010-06-27T04:51:00.001-07:00

Sunday Stills this week is to take a walk into the past, at least 60 years past. A month or so ago I went to a trail drive. You may remember that. On my way how home I stopped and took some pictures of a historical marker. You can read about it here, I am not sure if the sign is 60 years old or not, but the stone one below is. If you click on the sign you will get a bigger picture, easier to read.Here is another marker of the event. A sad moment in history for Wisconsin.
I love these brown signs. They are all over Wisconsin marking historical happening. When ever we see one we stop and read them.

One important step: Find a trainer

2010-06-25T03:20:00.000-07:00

*WARNING* This is a long post.
In Jillian Micheal's book on weight loss she says that you need a support base of: a partner in crime, a mentor, and a fan. Same can apply to any behavioral change your trying to make. This post is about the mentor. It has been something I have wanted to blog about for awhile. I think that getting a trainer is the second most important thing I did to start the journey of getting over fear, yet it took me forever to do it. The first was to change my mindset to be more positive. After that I think finding a trainer I could work with has been priceless. It may be costing me a pretty penny, but I am riding again.

Sensei was not the first trainer I tried though.

I did find one great trainer a few years ago, but she had some issues of her own to deal with. So while it was great in lessons the rest of the time it was like dealing with a time bomb. She did teach me so much about getting a better seat. She also gave me lot of back handed complements. Like telling me that while other people would say I was too heavy to ride, she would work with me because she though I rode well. Or that I shouldn't worry about my large calves because that was the way I was and even though most people want thin calves, I would never have them but that was okay. Well I never was upset about the size of my calves until after that conversation. I stayed with her for as long as I could because she knew her stuff about biomechanics and was helping in that area so much. Finally it was too much though.

I left her just after I bought Abby. I actually would have never bought Abby if I had known I would lose my trainer. At that point though, I sort of thought I was well on my way and could handle Abby on my own. Besides she had ingrained it in my head that I was so heavy no other trainer would work with me. I was terrified of looking for another one. FYI I am what they call painfully shy.

So with the idea that nobody would work with me on their horse and having no way get my horse to someone or a place to have someone work with me at my place I was stalled for a few years.

During that time I was searching for someone to teach me to drive. I could not find anyone. I would ask around, talk to people who did drive, and nobody in my area taught driving. Or at least that is what I thought. Now just before I bought Kinsey I had gone to look at a very short and ornery Haflinger. I also did a little research about the breed. Wading through the mire of information on the net, I found Sensei. I did not call him then. *kicks self in butt*

Getting the boat load of trouble called Kinsey, I had about given up the idea of riding all together. Horses will be part of my life though, and I wanted to give driving another chance. So finally I did something smart. I called Sensei. Shyness almost won over and if I were not so desperate it really may have won, but I picked up the phone and called.

For driving lesson mind you, nothing else. I was NOT going to take riding lesson from a western guy even if he would let me ride his little horses, something that I highly doubted anyway. Well you know the rest of the story from there. I started driving and then starting sitting on a horse. Finally riding, now I have Corrie. Just goes to show that you can definitely get help from outside your chosen discipline.

If it were not for Sensei I would not be so happy riding again. I would be sitting with two horses I could not do anything with and missing out on riding for yet another summer. Getting a trainer was pivotal.

For the past three years I have been wanting to ride. I have been making little attempts at riding. I have been working, sort of, with my horses. Nothing came to pass because I needed that outside pair of eyes to help me get to my goal. Okay another true confession, I have ADD.

Look a pretty little pony:

See?

I get distracted by this idea and the next. I forget where I am going and end up at the start again. I have done this over and over again. That is one HUGE help that Sensei has given me. When I go out to the barn with some crazy idea, he takes me by the shoulders and turns me back to the goal.

Oh yeah a big pretty pony that I can ride and drive. I remember where I am going now.

That is something that a good trainer should be able to do. Help you find your goals and then stick to the path that takes you there. Weekly I would hear questions about getting my shafts for my cart, ground driving Ike, selling Abby and Kinsey, and other things I had to do to get on the right path for me.

Some of those decisions were really hard to make, like selling Kinsey and Abby. It about tore my heart. I really needed that objective person to help me move on from that point where I had horses that I could not use and were not suited for me at all to finding them good homes so that I could move on to a horse that is much more suited for me. It really has been very liberating.

Not any trainer could have or would helped me through all that. Not every trainer is suited to every student. I told you about one nightmare trainer that was actually good at training, but not as general person. Several years before her I hired a British guy who scammed me out of a lot of money. He seemed knowledgeable about horses in the beginning, but later said some odd things. I would blame odd information on that the fact that he was British. He is actually partly to blame for my fear. Those are the only two trainers I tried to have help me but they really put a bad taste in my mouth about getting help. That doesn't mean though that their aren't great trainers out that that still would not have been right for me. Keep looking until you do find one that you can work with.

So I understand how hard it is to find a good trainer. It isn't easy. I was so gun shy before Sensei. I did not even trust Sensei for a few months. Driving he was knowledge about, but I was not so sure about the riding part. Turns out that he is incredibly knowledge about about horse and people. My first few ground driving lessons were pretty easy stuff. Once we got out in the cart, I think he knew that I just needed to be working with the horse to work through my fear. We did a lot of talking, joking, and teasing. Probably because I was so tense. It was over time that I started to trust him and the horse. So give yourself a few lesson to get to know each other.

It is vitally important to trust your trainer. If you don't feel you can trust him, find one that you can. Especially if you are overcoming fear. You are hiring this person to help you work though some truly scary emotions. A lesson for a person overcoming a fear is very different than a learning to ride/drive lesson. Sensei did not push anything on me, unlike a normal lesson where a good trainer should be pushing you. Or maybe I should say that he was much more subtle about it. He is always waiting for me to make the first move, yet at the same time introducing me to new situations. I was nervous at times but trusted he wouldn't put me in a situation I couldn't handle.

As I get more confident he pushes more, but again that is how it should be. He puts little challenges out there for me. Both to work through on my own with Corrie and in lessons. He still realizes I have issues though. Now that I am feeling more confident, it does not mean that I don't still have fear. I think he realizes that more than I do, he has worked with a lot of people with fear issues. I sometimes think I can go out and do try something new and he will tell me to wait a bit more. Or more often shake his head when I tell him what I did and then tell me to wait a bit.

Trainers are there to be objective and sometime give you a reality check. You need to trust this person. And they need to be knowledgeable enough to be worthy of that trust, again, especially if you have fear issues.

Oh but don't think that I am saying you shouldn't question this person. I think Sensei would be very disappointed in me if I didn't question him to some extent. I want to know why. I don't just assume that he knows what he is talking about, likewise he asks me to explain why I do what I do. I think it is a huge red flag when a trainer doesn't like to be questioned or can't tell you why they are doing something. I am getting better about asking question if I don't understand.

And this maybe one reason that I really like Sensei. He does question me about what I do. Everything I do and rarely excepts an answer of "I don't know." At least not without a follow up lecture as to why it should or should not be done. If I can justify myself, even if it is different than how he does it, it's all good. I am sure that there are some that that would drive them batty.

Which is why you need to find a trainer that works for you. One that you can get along with. Your trainer maybe completely different than mine, but as long as she is knowledgeable, trustworthy, objective, and someone you can work with to meet your goals your on the right path. Just try to find someone and don't give up if the first one doesn't work.

I really wanted to share this because in my journey finding the right trainer has been vital to my success and will continue to be. I did not realize how important that one choice was going to be. Sensei is still going to be there through a whole lot more with me. Getting so I can drive Corrie on my own, bringing her home and driving her around here, going for a trail ride, cantering, and building a good solid relationship with Corrie so that I am not fearful to do all the above things. I know that my journey is far from over but I have a mentor for this journey.

Opps a little too much

2010-06-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

I ride just about every day now. It is so wonderful! I love it.

For the last few days I have been going when it was really hot though, just how my schedule worked out. I went out on Wednesday and I was in shorts and thought, I'll just hop on bareback.

Okay on March 11 was my first ride. I rode twice that month. April I rode twice and twice in May. That is a total of 6 times before June. On June 3 I had my 7th lesson and was the first time I rode Corrie. Total I have has have 8 riding lesson. It has only been for the past three weeks that I have been able to just go out and ride. And only the last two weeks that I have been riding almost everyday. Why I am I repeating all this? Because I have not had that many ride yet, maybe 23 or 24 total ride in the past 3 years. Most in the last month.

So back to my story. I took Corrie out, groomed her up. Lined her up next to the fence and slipped on. We walked to the middle of the arena and I could just feel it. If she spooked even a little I was going to come off. Where has my balance gone? I slipped off before something bad happened and saddled up.

Oh I am so happy that I got on her, but I honestly could not have ridden her bareback yet. She was very "up" for her. We had two minor spooks and both time I though, well that would have gone badly if I didn't have this saddle. Such a disappointment but having really thought about how long it really has been, I guess I am not doing too bad.

* * *

I found a bitless bridle I can borrow. It is a Dr. Cook's knock off. I have thought about trying it out on Corrie but just have not worked up the nerve to try it. I don't know why, I don't use a lot of rein anyway. Maybe sometime this weekend I will put it on her and see what happens.

Weight Loss Wednesday: Support for the Girls

2010-06-23T04:47:00.000-07:00

Yup another post that is about support. When overcoming any obstacle we need support, sometimes lots of it. Like many women I have a particular need for support when exercising or trotting. Yup ladies, my girls and I need support.

For some a good bra is anything you can grab. I happen to not be one of those women. I am rather endowed, as they say. That won't change that much as I lose weight, I just happen to be larger in the boobs department. How I hate women telling me I am lucky, really there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. So keeping the girls in control during trotting or exercising is of the up most importance.

Unfortunately it is hard to find a good sports bra for, shall we say, a shapely lady such as myself. I guess bra makers figure we aren't going to exercise. Maybe a good bet, but when we do decide to get in shape we have difficulties getting the support we need. Help often comes from the most unlikely places doesn't it?

At the Columbus Carriage Classic was a vendor from Essential Bodywear. Inc. As I was walking around looking at hats, harnesses, and what nots, a woman called out to me. "Can I support you today?" Well, although I was a little embarrassed, I was even more embarrassed the last time I was riding and my boobs were bouncing all over the place. So I let her show me the heaviest duty sports bra I have ever seen. According to the sales rep a lot of the woman on The Biggest Loser wear these bras.

This this has it all! Wide straps over the shoulders, so it doesn't dig into my shoulders or fall off. The back has complete support, it rises high on the back and has criss crossing fabric to give plenty of strength. This is not a shaping bra, you do end up with a uniboob, but everything is so well held together it makes it totally worth it. It was incredibly comfortable considering its function and it has the added bonus of helping you have good posture!

Getting into it was one thing, but once I was all snapped in I tried the bounce test. Awesome! No bounce and I have to sit up straight too! I bought one on the spot and came home and played Wii Active.

Wii Active is a much better workout than Wii fit. In Wii Active there is more jumping and running in place. Just moving in general. It is hard to do with your girls leaping out of their hammock. Because I get a much better workout with Wii Active, I would prefer to do that. Well the Ultimate Sports Bra passed the Wii Active test. I could run in place with no escapes!

The big test of course was riding. I rode Corrie on Sunday outside in the round pen. It was our first time outside. I was nervous and she was a little too. After walking around and around like a pony ride at a carnival, I finally settled us both down. So I asked for a trot. Wow! I felt like I could sit up and put my shoulders back. Something that is hard with extra jiggalage. This bra totally passed the trotting test.

At $66 it is expensive, but on of those expenses that was well worth it. Especially if most sports bras you are able to find are a joke. I got mine in a the next side smaller than the vendor had first suggested, but I think that with weight loss on my mind it was the best plan, I want to be able to wear this bra for awhile.

Speaking of Wii Active. I started the 30 challenge on Sunday. I have never made it to the end of a challenge yet. This time I will! I mean, I WILL. Or or. . . I don't don't know, I am not posting pictures of myself in a swimsuit though. I like you guys to much to do that to you.

The perfect horse . . .

2010-06-22T03:24:00.000-07:00

. . . for me.

At the Carriage Classic this weekend I saw lots of beautiful horses. A hackney horse that just took my breath away. Such beautiful movement! I read my dressage magazines and blogs and look at the big bold warmbloods with huge movement and I drool. Then the exotic breeds always catch my eye: Fjord, Marwari, Andalusians, Gypsy, and Frisian. All these breeds have some draw for me. Even the colorful buckskins and paints make me look twice. Looking for a new horse opens up all the different possibilities of what to own.

Watching the beautiful hackney this weekend I had an epiphany. That horse was so hot and sensitive, he was beautiful to watch. I don't want a horse like that. Other horses were so large and powerful looking, why I thought I needed a big horse I don't know. Still others are still so rare that the price tag on them is beyond my budget. Someone very wise told me that those horses are beautiful to watch and that is just what I should do, watch them, not own them. At the end of the day the horse that really made me look twice was the little haffie that took his driver around the ring and won the class: calmly, sanely, and safely.

Ya' all are smart. Ya know where this is going! Ya know that my heart is being taken by Corrie, a lil Thelwell pony. I gave Sensei a check, so she will be mine at the end of the month. Why wait, I mean I don't think I could find a more perfect horse for me. For every behavior that drives Sensei nuts, I find it totally endearing. She has a normal marish attitude and will do what you want, but holds out just a tiny bit. Cracks. me. up! Nor do I think that I could find a horse that I have as much confidence in, yet still offers me a bit of a challenge.

Here is my first mention of her, and it sums her up so well:
"I drove Corrie. She is a nice mare, but not the most cooperative. She has a bit of a stubborn streak. If you ask her to move up she will take one step with her front feet, but refuse to move her back. She really cracks me up! I actually like her."

I thought about checking out horses on the internet and traveling around to look at them in the surrounding states but all I could hope to get from that would be a snap shot in time. I would not be able to see the horse in different situations and try the horse out over several weeks or months. Horses can differ from day to day, in rain, heat, wind, etc. Since I really wanted a very specific kind of horse, I didn't think that that method of finding a horse was going to work for me. Plus I really didn't have the confidence to try out all those horses. It has only been eight months since I broke my wrist and about six months since I started working with Sensei, four since I started riding.

It is only with Corrie's help that I actually have started making a lot of progress. I need a horse like her to go out and fool around with. To just ride. Oh sure, she is not perfect. She loves food more than life itself. She can be a little lookie when driving and riding. She can be a bit of a plug if you let her. Then she spooks at who knows what. When she gets frustrated or tired her head becomes a 2 tons weight and she can't hold it up. None of it really scares me though.

On the plus side, I have worked with Corrie for at least 3 months. I have been driving her in lessons and for the past month, as you know, riding her. She has all the basics for riding and driving. Some of the parts need to be put together but the foundation is awesome. I have seen her in wind, cold, wet, and heat. I have ridden her inside and outside. I have driven her down the road and around traffic. Another huge plus is that someone who has seen me riding recently and understands what some of my strengths and weaknesses are and knows Corrie and what her strengths and weaknesses are thinks that we would be well matched.

So she is mine. Not going to be a dressage star, but going to be a good minded mount to ride and drive around the neighborhood. Any horse can do lower level dressage as long as they are sound, and she is sound. Not any horse could make me feel safe and she does.

What about Abby? Well Abby is going to be traded to Sensei so he can train her and find a good home for her. He does a good job of matching up people and horses. I think that this is the best thing for her, I can't do what he can. I can't pay him for all the training he is going to give her. I think this is the best shot she has at a good future. In exchange he is giving me a great deal on a wagon and harness. I just have to say that Sensei is the bomb and I really owe him a lot. He really has helped me get my life with horses back.

Columbus Carriage Classic

2010-06-21T03:53:00.000-07:00

The Columbus Carriage Classic is held every Father's Day weekend. It is a formal event. Classical music plays during the classes. As the classes are going on the announcer tells neat little facts about the horse, driver, and their vehicles. The Columbus Carriage Classic is an ADS sanctioned show.
The horses, drivers, and carriages are all beautiful. A lot of driving in a show is about turn out. From little miniature horses pulling medowbrook carts to percheron horses pulling antique carriages, everything is polished and shining. They are all just stunning and oh so interesting. Some are vintage, others are reproduction. One beautiful carriage was pulled out of a bog earlier this year. Another was found in the back of a barn. Yet another was a reproduction made from detailed pictures of the original. Every thing from governess carts to surries. So many different styles it is hard no to find a few that one would love to own. The range of breeds vary just as much. Unusual breeds like the hackney horse to your more common quarter horses are all groomed with great care. Being Wisconsin, Haflingers and Fjords are a popular choice too. VSE (very small equines) ponies, and horses: the differences in sizes in even one class can place a shire next to a miniature. The fashion, oh I am not much in to fashion, but the hats on the ladies and gents transport you back in time to when it was an everyday event to see a haflinger, like this little stallion, taking his mistress to town.

Classes range from basic reinmanship (something akin to an equitation class) and pleasure driving to cones. Cones obstacle classes are kind of like a trail obstacle class. Horses have to follow numbers to various obstacle and complete it with out knocking tennis balls off of cones. It is rather fun to watch.
Another fun class was the carriage dog. Judging was mostly on the behavior of the dog, who must not be attached to the vehicle and is disqualified if she jumps out. First place was this boxer and second was a mini aussie in the cart behind the boxer. All the dogs were so well behaved and is another reason why I love driving, I can share it with my canine friends too.It was a beautiful day. The weather was perfect, I found some great buys. I'll tell you about that later this week. Meet some very nice people and beautiful horses. I need to get driving!

Sunday Stills~ Looking Up

2010-06-20T00:12:00.000-07:00

This Sunday Stills challenge was to take pictures from low place looking up.

Riding Lesson # 8: MUCH better day!

2010-06-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for the encouragement. I am all about being positive, but sometimes we all get a reality check right? I guess mine just bounced yesterday. It happens to all of us doesn't it?
Today was a better day. I went out and asked Sensei for another lesson this week, not something I can really afford to do very often but I needed a boost and I wanted to know we were moving in the right direction.
I wanted to have him help with some issues with Corrie, he has never seen me ride Corrie. She, of course, was on her best behavior. I was almost begging her to do some of the behaviors that we have been struggling with, not that we were perfect and Sensei found some key points we need to work on, well I have to work on. Which I honestly think is a positive reflection on the bond we are forming and improvements we are making. Both of us are getting in better shape. I still feel a bit uncoordinated and so does Corrie at times.

I mean looks at her, she is a bit of a hippo right now. lol

I really have a lot of you to thank. Your blogs have encouraged me and opened my mind to new ideas. You guys have shown me all the fun riding is which was really motivation to get back at it, I have lived vicariously though so many of your blogs. Not to mention all the positive and encouraging comments. Thanks guys!

Driving Lesson #11: Uggg

2010-06-16T17:44:00.000-07:00

Well that was a big ol' sucked!

I am not remembering the way I should.

I feel frustrated that my skills are not where they should be, but it has been years since I seriously rode. And although I am new to driving I shouldn't be sucking this bad.

But really I had a hard time driving Corrie at a walk up a hill and in a straight line. What the hell is wrong with me?

This is not one of my positive days, obviously.

I am just feeling lonely, depressed, and clueless.

Sorry this is a sucky post.

* * * *
Edited after Breathe's comment:

I am sorry for the negative post.

It was really frustrating to walk up the hill over and over and Corrie would veer to the barn as soon as I lost my focus for a moment. She would start to trot and I guess my left hand is stronger than my right so I would inadvertently pull with that hand too hard, which was bad because she wanted to go to the left ( toward the barn) anyway. Well we would go up the hill, half way would be great, I had my focus on where we were going. Then the wind would blow my hair in my face. I'd focus on that for just a second and Corrie would veer to the left. Then I would focus so hard on her not trotting that she would veer again, then as I corrected her she's trot. Arg. Or a dog would trot by and she would want to trot. Or she I'm sure you get the idea.

It ended up being one of those things that I became hyper focused on and would try to micromanage and well that never works, then she looked drunk.

Well with personal issues and what not, I just felt overwhelmed and stressed. But tomorrow after work I am going to go out and ride again and have a great deal of success on this matter, only I will be riding.

Weight Loss Wednesday: Exercise or OMG I hurt!

2010-06-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

I am not a person who really loves to exercise. Am like that last cartoon, it takes me forever to get up and do it. When I logged on to my Wii Fit Plus a few days it go, it said: It has been 105 days since your last visit. Oops.

I find motivation but often it is fleeting. Whoop there it goes.
I like to feel the breeze as it flies by.

Yet, I really love the feeling I get after I exercise, such a high. Although while I am exercises I am counting the minutes until I am done, sometimes yelling and swearing too. Above the tv, where I do the Wii for exercise I have 3 mantras:
Exercise gives me more energy and less fat.
My metabolism is red hot and increases with each minute of exercise.
I am a healthy, fit, and energetic woman!

Corny, but they help. I can not pick up a book lately that does not suggest having positive self talk. These corny mantras give me that little boost to keep going.

Wii Fit Plus is a favorite right now. I like the boxing, step, and rhythm games the best. As I am doing the step for 20 min to a tv show and I really want to quit I repeat my mantras. Wii is really helpful for this exercise. It counts down the time while I watch Monk or Bones.

Yet between the Wii and riding everyday I discovered that today, I am really REALLY sore! I know I shouldn't over do it even though I am having so much fun but, it sort of crept up on me. I was not even planning on riding today because I thought Corrie would be soaked (it rained), but I went out to ground drive Abby, to my surprise Corrie was in. So I ground drove Abby for about 40 min. I thought, well as long as Corrie is in and I'll just be driving tomorrow, I'll ride her now.

Well we had a hell of a ride. She was being a right cow, and I know that I am not helping her to get it. I am starting to get the to the point that my body is remembering how to do things too, so I am trying use myself more correctly as I teach her. She even tried to take off. Okay she trotted off when another horses was being lead out, but hell the last time a horse (Abby) tried to trot off with me I fell off and broke my wrist so this was a big improvement! But still the ride in general sucked. Although as we all know a bad day in the saddle is better than a great day any where else so I am not complaining.

So Sensei (formally known as R, trust me Sensei really fits him) asks me how the ride went and I told him. His suggestion, "Oh we'll work on that tomorrow in your lesson ." I have taken enough lessons over the years to know that any lesson following the phrase" "We'll work on that," is not going to be an easy one. So if you don't hear from me in a few days it is only because I can't use my arms or legs!

Review: Of ME!

2010-06-14T04:06:00.000-07:00

I just can not believe that I can just ride a horse with no fear, well, only a little fear. I mean it is in an arena and I still have issues but it is a long way from sitting in front of the tv playing a game video about riding. I think back to months ago: the fall, the recovery, getting back on a horse, taking lessons, driving, riding, it seems like such a long way. I never really thought I would actually be comfortable on a horse again. So now that it is June, it just seems like a good time to look back and see how my goals for this year are going.

Goals for 2010:
1) Start riding my own horse.
*well if Corrie is to by my horse then I can check this one off, but maybe I should wait until she is actually mine.
2) Ride my own horse walk/ trot/ canter.
*walk and trot are solid and I think I am going to wait for winter for the canter. I really am trying to get outside.
3) Start working with Kinsey on Training level dressage work.
*sadly this one will never be met, but if exchange Corrie for Kinsey, I am on my way.
4) Take a few lessons from a dressage trainer.
*gee when I wrote this I don't think that I even was thinking about taking driving lessons. I would still like to have a dressage trainer out sometime before the end of the year but I am really learning a lot from R. I am even thinking of putting "dressage" on hold and think more about "just" riding.
5) Lose at least 4 lbs. a month. That is really low. I am actually hoping for 8lbs. 4 lbs a month and I will be half way through my weight loss by the end of the year, 8lbs and I will be done.
*I have really sucked on this one, sucked big time actually but that is why I am going back and looking at my goals, to remind myself of what I wanted to do this year.

I am adding a #6. I really want to go on at least one trail ride this year. At the time I said that I really had no idea how that was going to come about, but now I think it is actually possible. Woo Hoo.

As I read these goals they seem so simple yet I remember writing them and thinking that no way was I really going to be able to meet them. Now it actually does seem possible.

Sunday Stills~ Eye

2010-06-13T03:55:00.000-07:00

Eyes~ the windows to the soul.

Zoe:
Cheyenne:
April:Remmy:
Corrie:

See more beautiful souls at Sunday Stills

Inavertant Learning

2010-06-12T05:57:00.001-07:00

Whenever you are with your horse you are training. Oh yeah, how many times have we read or been told that. It makes sense, I am sure that we all agree with that statement.

But what are we training our horses to do?

Well I realized the other day that I have taught my horses something I never intended to.

Okay let me explain. I have a dry lot that my horses are in for the night and at least half the day, none of them needs that much grass. Then I open the gate and they run off to the pasture to gorge themselves on grass, roll and run. In the evening I take a little stroll out to the pasture and herd them back up. Often they see me coming and just run off to the dry lot. They know the drill. I don't normally turn them out until I have worked them or I work them after they have had fun in the sun. I'm too lazy I guess.

Abby is at R's where he has a very similar, although much nicer, set up. So I went out to get her the other day. She would not be caught but instead allowed herself to be herded up to the dry lot area and I caught her with ease. I thought it was a bit odd. I had not made the connection yet, but the next day when we went through the same routine it dawned on me. Oh My Gosh, I just taught my horse not to be caught in the pasture.

It is just a matter of routine, I never gave it much thought. Arg.

Driving Lesson #10: WHY??

2010-06-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

Wow back behind the horse again and was she gassy! Now that I can ride as much as I want, I am doing driving lessons again. After all I can't drive without my trainer, I have nothing to drive except for the horse. Well sort of, I think we have worked out a plan, but she will won't be mine until the end of the month if I can scrounge up the money and she isn't sold as part of a team.

So I got out there early and started grooming Corrie. I love this part of getting to know a horse. She has dapples. Her blaze as two little points on either side. She needs a good bath to see what her legs really looks like, socks or just lighter. All the little swirls and cow licks on her face. Those are the little things that when I notice I think, I wonder who else knows that Corrie has a long cow lick in the middle of her face? I just feel that much closer to her.

I had her all groomed and harnessed up. R rush in through after another lesson. As I was getting her into the shafts, with a bit of difficulties, he ran out again. He was in and out but felt that as I had every thing under control, this was just something that Corrie and I had to work out for ourselves. We did. When he came back she was standing calmly in the shafts, nice and centered.

It was a beautiful day to drive! Sun shined down on us without excess heat. Very little wind. Just a nice day to drive down the road, discussing the ins and outs of driving, riding, and life in general. I guess that is one reason that I like to drive. Instead of needing a horse for every person, one horse can be shared by many. Like sitting at booth in a restaurant, chit chatting about life while sipping on coffee, driving has the same relaxed feeling.

Well it can be relaxing unless you have someone next to you asking you why you do everything you do. EVERYTHING, "Why did you do that?" "What was that supposed to accomplish?" I love that question when what I meant to accomplish really didn't work. Oh that was sarcasm if it didn't come through clearly enough. And I pay for this! This is all meant a bit tongue in cheek. I really do learn a lot about why I do what I do and why I should not do some of the things I do. I leave and think. I tend to get wrapped up in thoughts anyway, so these questions make me ponder the ins and outs of riding/driving.

Today I was feeling a bit frustrated. First of all Corrie was being a bit sluggish. Not uncommon for her but we are working through that. But R was making me think a bit outside the box to get her moving, as well as wondering why I wanted her to move out a bit more. Not that he didn't think she should be a bit more forward, but I have to think about why.

At the same time, since we are not always on the road, I have to think about keeping her at a gait I choose, not letting her trot just because the terrain got uneven or she sees a lawn mower over at the church. Not to mention keeping the reins even over uneven terrain. So she accidentally slips up into the trot, grrr. Response, "you knew at least three stride before hand that she was going to trot." Well yes I did, but. . . What this really tells me is that R holds me to a high standard, and that is good. But grr anyway, because I get frustrated with myself when I am not doing as well as I think I should.

Now to be fair, I did a lot of things right, we got Corrie better at stepping out and worked on transitions. She seems to have an odd lawn mower fetish, she is not scared of them, but really interested in them. I think she is jealous that they are eating grass when she has to work. Looking all around her is another thing I am trying to correct and as smart as Corrie is, she is a mare. I love that about her. She is not hot, but she is not simple.

So the lesson was good. Reminded me that as simple as driving seems some days, it is that complex on others. But life is good. I am working with a horse again.

Weight Loss Wednesday: Riding as a work out

2010-06-09T18:26:00.000-07:00

Rollie Pollie, oh I mean, Corrie and I worked together this week.

With the help of this site: Calorie Counter I can calculate how many calories I burn while engaging in horsey activities.

For me:
I burn 105 calories for 10 minutes of grooming. To make it an even work out, I will groom the left side of the horse with my left hand the the right with my right.

I burn 89 calories for 2o minutes of walking.

I burn 230 calories for 20 minutes of trotting.

Those are not huge numbers but they are numbers that add up.

My actual work out was more walking and less trotting but that is just an example. Corrie and I are both out of shape. Trotting on Corrie is really hard if I want to post because she has the rolliest trot I have ever ridden. It is really quite comfortable to sit, but doesn't help me burn more calories to sit. I probably burn more at the walk because I use quite a bit more leg than a normal walk should entail.

All that being said her walk and trot are getting better. Now we just need to get from the trot to the walk with out making a layover at the halt.

Alas it has been hard this week. My brother and his family are here this week. That means extra treats because we all get together and eat. I have had cake, Culver's Custard, and various other bad crap.

Please don't stop the music

2010-06-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I found my long (4 years) lost i Pod. As it was charging I hung out on iTunes and Equimusic finding music for the walk and trot. Armed with a walking and trotting playlist I decided I wanted to ride. Today I was so excited to try it out with Corrie. I decided that I wanted to ride and just went out and rode Corrie. Man I love being able to do that!

I went out to the barn. While I groomed Corrie, Cadillac Ranch pumped into my ears. When Redneck Woman came on, I was slipping my dressage saddle on her back. Just as I slipped her bridle on, my trainer came out to the barn. Corrie stood, ground tied, while we talked about this and that. Such a good girl. I didn't have a hand on her, who wouldn't want a horse like that?

I have been wanting to ride to music for years! I mean that literally. A song comes on and I wonder if it would be good for walk or trot. I think about how the horse would feel as we move together in time with the music. Today I finally got to do that.

By the way if you have a favorite song with the help of this beats per minute counter you can then compare that to your horses own gaits. Here is more information for how to do that. Right now I am just using generic w/t songs as I am trying to find Corrie's rhythm.

Besides the totally cool feeling of riding to music, it helps with rhythm. One of the suggestions in A Gymnastic Riding System is to do just that. I wanted to use the music to help me keep a rhythm with Corrie. Not only was it helpful, it was fun. Not that I was totally successful at keeping the rhythm, but we got closer!

And again it was fun! I had fun riding! Slipping my leg over a horse and being just alone has been something that I have sorely missed. She spooked a little here and was too interested in what was going on outside, but all that just showed me that she is a horse. She is not dead to the world. A little more savings, selling Abby and I think that I will buy Corrie. Hopefully before someone else tries to buy her first.

Another first

2010-06-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

My mini herd is just so cute out there on their pasture. They have more eats that is safe for them to even eat. I send them out for only half the day and then back to dry lot to digest. Even with only that Madison is getting fat. I think she needs a grazing muzzle. I have to admit that I do like my mini herd. Small, don't break fences, and the amount of hay in the barn right now should last most of the rest of the year! I keep saying I want to sell a mini, but I honestly love all these guys so much. I do want to geld Rocky. The problems this past spring have shown me that he is always at risk being a stallion. Even now he is not normally with the rest of the herd, in the same field but stand on his own. Poor lil guy. I won't geld him before fall at this point though. Not will all the flies.

I had another first today, two actually. I rode all on my own and in my own saddle. It was so nice. Corrie passed the saddle test, it fits her. I worked with her on going forward, going around on the rail, backing, giving to pressure, and just generally got to know her better. Steering is not a big thing right now. You wanna talk plow rein, not pretty at all. What I really want is forward and at a constant rhythm. I am thinking of taking her into the round pen next, which is outside. I want to not have to think about steering. We spend a great deal of effort on staying on the rail. Apparently there is a black hole in the middle of the arena that sucks horses in. At least that is what Corrie tells me. It apparently makes it very hard to keep going, so maybe it is very sticky in the middle of the arena too. All in all though we had great improvements. Actually got a rising trot out of her.

I will say that she was much more forward that the first time. I have a hard time using the whip just yet. I did have it. I rode with it, but the lurch forward is something I am still not ready for and the last thing I want to do is urge her forward and then snatch her mouth. I also still feel uncoordinated. Every once in awhile I feel like I am every where at once. I have to stop and regroup.

As you can see Corrie is a draft type Haffie. She is really broad in the chest and broad in the back end. Lil' darlin' wore Abby's girth! Seriously! But even though I thought I had it on good and tight, when I got off the whole saddle slipped. I am so happy that I have relatively good balance and was able to keep the saddle on the correct side of the horse as we rode. I think Abby's girth may have been a bit big, but Hope's (my former 15.3hh qh) was too small. I think that she is more drafty makes me like her more. I mean look at that sweet face! She has a personality to match.

R doesn't know if she had been ridden prior to coming to him. He has not done too much with her under saddle. Which is fine. When I talked to him about training, his response really made me respect him even more. He said he didn't think he was the right trainer for her, if I wanted to ride her, because he knows that I ride differently than him. He said I would just have to retrain her anyway. I really have to respect a trainer that can respect what I want to do with my horse. Oh by the way, she is not my horse yet. It was just an "what if" We were talking about. I am sure you can tell I am a bit smitten though.

After the ride I was untacking her. She knows how to stand. She didn't even have a halter on. I gave her a few cookies for being a good girl and then brushed her tail a bit. She knew where the cookies where. You could see in internal struggle, looking at the cookies but knowing she was supposed to stand. It was hard, but I am proud to say that she was strong! She got a few extra cookies for that!

Corrie wants to know if this saddle makes her butt look big. Personally I think it is really flattering! Maybe a different saddle pad. Oh and I need a bridle. I don't have a horse size black English bridle, so this is one of R's western ones, but still just a snaffle.

This and That

2010-06-04T17:05:00.000-07:00

I want to thank everyone for their comments. Ya all really mean so much to me and I love hearing your feedback! I really am treading carefully with this purchase. I don't want another disaster, like Kinsey, or even just an inappropriate horse for me, like Abby. I want to think and digest. That is one of the draws of Corrie. I can get used to her and see if she will really start to come along or it will be a dead end.

I did talk to R, who owns Corrie, and I am able to ride her if I just let him know. So this might work out for awhile. She is not really being use for much right now. Pretty easy horse to drive and not a horse to really give lesson on for riding because she is so green. Ironic isn't it that a green horse gives me confidence? I think Golden Pony Girl really hit the nail on the head. She is not perfect, but I feel perfectly safe on her. I look forward to riding her next. I already have plans in my head, which is a wonderful feeling. I know what I want to work on, keeping rhythm at the walk. It is nice to get on a horse and think, "I can handle this problem" AND having a safe place to do it. When I first got Abby I could handle her, but I did not have a safe place to work with her.
As for Abby, she is doing rather nicely with the trainers. I watched her being worked on the ground and under saddle. Abby gave them a little attitude and I thought, yup, don't want to fight with a 2000 lb horse that has even little temper tantrums, especially under saddle. She is too big to have little fits, I don't think I am physically strong enough to deal with that. Which is unfortunate because I would really love to keep her.

As has happened in the past when I tried to sell her, everyone is in love with her looks and calls about her, but nobody really wants a horse that big in the end. She is beautiful to look at, actually has nice gaits for a draft horse, but is big. Otherwise they want me to give her to them for free. Which I don't understand at all.

So I am going to be able to ride more than once a week, but I am not sure what I am doing over all. Abby either needs to stay at R's which is what I have been planning on doing or coming home. I feel like I'm in a much better place than even a month ago though. I have options.

Riding Lesson # 7 : Could this be the one?

2010-06-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

Today I rode Corrie. She is the haflinger I normally drive. She is not much of a riding horse, but I figured that if I was going to start looking for a new horse I should be riding more than just Drew. Not that I am looking yet, not seriously (okay ya all are all going to call me a liar in a few lines but honestly I am not seriously looking, sometimes things just happen). I still get nervous getting on a new horse and Abby is still not sold (but lots of inquires). Anyway Corrie is also for sale, just as an aside.

Corrie is a, umm, heavy set lady like myself. To say she is an easy keeper is beyond an understatement. I think if I didn't feed her for the next year she would still be fat. She was used as a brood mare for several years and has the shape of one. Her last foal, he is 4 I think, is at the barn and is her team mate. So Corrie can be driven single or double. I actually enjoy driving her. She is a bit of a lookie lou, but honestly she has helped me get over a lot of things already.

I was nervous getting on a new horse, but with each new thing that makes me nervous, I am a little less nervous and it goes away more quickly. Actually I want to brag that I have been on 4 horses since my fall. Anyway Corrie started walking, s . . . l . . . o . . . w . . . l . . . y, I mean this girl made the walk into an eight beat gait. lol. Corrie's default is as little work as possible. I used to buy into this until we were driving one day and heading back to the barn. When properly motivated she can move her little buns. Today, not so motivated.

Yet, when I finally got a half way decent, okay maybe more of a 1/4 way decent, walk out of her, we had some fun. Steers like a cow, but has a really nice trot, once we get into it. Talk about the bottom tier of the training pyramid. She needs to work on rhythm. She does kind of know how to move away from pressure. Sort of gives her head, a little, if you really mean it. lol

So why do I say this could be the one? As I am getting her to trot, and she has this wonderfully rolly trot, I was laughing. I mean she needs so much work, but she is not taking off with me. I mean I have to MAKE her go faster. I think I could feel comfortable going outside on a trail ride with her. She just isn't going to say, "screw you I'm bolting." Her attitude is more like, "Really, it means this much to you? I guess, I could try, a little. Or not" Now she has spooked in harness, but really was easy to bring back. I just thought riding her, although hard work, was fun. And not scary at all. She is only going to get better.

Plus I can work with her for awhile. I have already driven several times, but I don't have to make my decision any time soon. I'd only be worried if someone came out to look at her. I honestly don't want to go looking for horses, only to find out that I saw them on a good day. Or that they are not the same when in a new place. I can work with Corrie at that barn for as long as I like if I buy her. And I would board her out there for a few months, taking driving lessons, and working on her issues. Once I get her home, we will already have a bond established.

I say I want a forward dressage type horse, but what I really want is a dependable, easy going, level headed horse. I know she can move forward, I just might have to ride with a whip. I know that she can learn, she is 12, but she can still learn. This the horse I can ride now. Is she the one, I can't say for sure yet, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Weight Loss Wednesday: ticker

2010-06-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

Look way down at the bottom of my blog. . . I kind of tried to hide it. . . and you will see a ticker. It doesn't tell how much I weigh, but how much I have to lose. So far I have lost 18 lbs. I have 87 more to go. That it a lot of weight.

I am struggling. I have hit a wall, I have a hard time getting below this block and into the next set of 10's. I really want to get below this mark. I have been thinking about why it is so hard for me and right now I am not exactly sure but I think I have some ideas.

So I have done a few things.

1) 1 diet Coke a day. I used to drink 5 or 6. I kid you not. We would go through Diet Coke like nobody's business. One day, it just didn't taste right to me. So I went out and got a bunch of carbonated canned water, Diet 7-up, and Diet Squirt. Well I have managed to not start drinking the Diet Coke again. I have maybe one Diet 7 up or Diet Squirt the rest is water. Eventually I want to switch to plain water, but one step at a time.

2) Eat healthier snacks. I am SO in love with frozen grapes. They are so great! I love them. They are a cool and refreshing snack.

3) Ground drive Ike and/ or Abby every day. I did Abby today, that was work out! I have been doing Ike most night but I did a little ground work with Sophie instead. I really felt good about Sophie and Abby.

I know that doing little things like this will help so much. Next week I will make a few more little changes. So hopefully on every Wednesday you will see that little ticker go down.

Breed Review: Fjord

2010-05-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

This is a breed of horse that has always held my interest. Being Norwegian myself, I wonder if some where in my past is a farmer who worked the fjords of Norway with a team of these beautiful horses. That might be a bit romantic of me, but one never knows. My grandfather, who came over as a child, never liked to talk about his life in Norway.

The Norwegian Fjord is one of the oldest, if not the oldest breed of horse. They are very primitive in looks, resembling the horses depicted in cave paintings. Often they are compared to the Przewalski, although the Fjord horse has been selectively breed for over 2000 years. Fjords come in five colors, all various of a dun. 90% of Fjord Horses are brown dun. The remaining 10% is made up of red, white, gray, or yellow duns. The yellow dun is the most rare. Below is a brown dun on the left and a red on the right.

Steady on feet and steady in the mind, Norwegian Fjords have been shaped by their homeland. Norway is full of fjords, the geological structure, not the horse. These make farming difficult at best. While farming along these fjords this sturdy pony, standing between 13-15 hh, may have to pull for hours up steep and rocky terrain. Compared to goats in the ability to move up and down the steep hill, this is a sure footed horse. Fjord horses are big boned and can almost live on air, also due to the terrain that they lived in for so long. Farmers had to cross the fjords in small row boats, and they took their livestock with them. Between the row boats, narrow paths up the hills, and the general rough terrain the Norwegian Fjord had to have a calm disposition or it would not be around long enough to pass on their good looks.

Obviously Fjord Horses were used to pull: farm equipment, wagons, and carriages. They are, at heart, draft animals. That doesn't dimish what they can do under saddle though. This is a plucky little horse that can do most anything. Really, they can hunker down to do a nice spin for reining or stretch out to make those beautiful extended trots for dressage. Although I am not about to claim that a Fjord is going to be the next US dressage star or hold the world title for reining, they can be competitive enough for the average rider. They are a perfect horse for the person that wants to do a little driving and a little riding and just wants a nice sturdy pony.

Okay they are not without any flaws. The Norwegian Fjord can be stubborn. He's Norwegian, what can you expect? They are also VERY easy keepers. They can live off of very poor forage and still do a lot of work. In today's horse world it can be difficult to keep them at a good weight. When they do gain weight they tend to looks a bit more like a hippo than a horse. Probably the biggest draw back to a person like me us that these are not cheap horses to purchase. Still relatively a novelty, they can be pricey.

If you noticed I have called the Norwegian Fjord a horse and a pony. In its homeland, there was no word for pony, hence it is a Fjord horse in straight translation. Here in America any horse below 14.2 is a pony, and most Fjords do fall below that height. In Britain, a pony has a slightly different definition. Part of the definition is height, but also that they are better able than horses to survive and procreate without the intervention of humans. They are stronger, larger boned, and have more efficient digestive tracts to utilize poor forage than their horse counter parts. Fjords meet all of these requirements.

The Fjord horse meet all my requirements for a new mount too. Hummm. No there isn't one in the barn yet, and I promise that I have not put a down payment on one either.

Equine World
The Scandinavian Horse
Norsk Wood Works
Big Pony, Little Horse

Sunday Stills~ Logos

2010-05-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful sucky day

2010-05-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

Oh I am smiling as I write that, but at the same time my heart is breaking.

I had Abby in the round pen yesterday. She walked, trotted, cantered for me. She stopped, did inside turns in and in general just did everything I asked. Then I took her into the arena and again, followed me around, turned on the fore hand, turned on her hind quarters, back and followed me. She just did everything I asked. She was wonderful.

Damn it!

It makes it hard to keep her up for sale, but as I tried to gazed over her back, loved on her and almost got my foot stepped on, I know she it too big for me. Yet I really want to ride her. Maybe one last time? Am I crazy to want to try and ride the horse that is associated with the only broken bone in my entire family?

Today I had an asthma attack when I went out so I didn't do as much. I got the video. I also got a really low offer on Abby. Trade for a saddle. I honestly would like a western saddle. I honestly am not sure I want trade Abby for one. I think she is worth much more than that, but at the same time the woman sounded like a good match for Abby and the longer I keep her the longer I have to pay board on her.

* * *
Well all make mistakes, and there is a price to pay for those mistakes. Mine is more ground work. Now don't get me wrong, I know how important ground work is. I am just getting sick to death of doing ground work, I have been doing it for years. Now that I am getting so much more confident I want to ride and I want to drive.

I messed Ike up. I had him try to pull too much weight too soon and now he is getting balky. So it is back to almost square one. We we'll call it square two. He is pulling the empty sled. I started adding light things to it as I walked around the yard, but not the barrel that he used to pull. Which means that when I get the shafts it may still be awhile before I actually get to drive while sitting in it.

We also are working on driving by scary things, like the blue recycling bin and the little flags in the yard to mark where we have phone lines. Ya know those things from Diggers Hotline. Well we were getting pretty good at the bin and Ike figure out how to handle the flags, he bit them and pulled them out. I guess that works.

Riding Lesson #6: a milestone

2010-05-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

Another mile stone! I wanted to move my lesson a back an hour so it would not be as warm. I knew that I might have to get started on my own. Toby the dog was the only one in the driveway when I got there. He barked, looked and the house, and looked at me. It was obvious that he knew his dad should be around.

I greeted the black lab and headed to the barn. Now when you work with haffies, they tend to looks a lot alike. Drew is unique that he is a roan. I was pretty sure that I could pick him out if there were not too many in the barn. Mostly horses in training stay in the barn so along with a paint, a gray welsh pony, a big chestnut were two haflingers. Between the two one was roan and a gelding and the other was not.

Sure that I had the right horse, I pulled Drew out. 9:00 I groomed him and picked out his feet. Except for a brief fight about his feet, it was quick work. 9:07. Finding the saddle and pad took a bit of doing, as I have not gotten all this together before. Plus I kept dragging my feet. 9:10. Saddling, getting the bridle, and finally Drew was ready. 9:15. Well, I was not going to just stand there with a saddled horse so we headed to the arena. That was rather nerve racking walk.

When I got out there I mounted, Drew started to back. What the! Not a normal thing for him. I took stock of myself and realized that I was a little nervous. But we settled in and started walking around the ring. I walked and halted, my new feel good maneuver. If I feel nervous, I practice halting. Once I have the horse halting nicely I feel much better about life in general. A lot of walking and trotting, a few new things to spook at. When R got there he just got a training horse and came on out. We had a really good ride. I mean it was so normal! A perfectly normal thing. I wish I could ride more than once a week though.

****

After my lesson I came home and waited. And waited. And watched Abby outside in the paddock for perhaps the last time. R showed up with a trailer to take her back to his farm. He is going to work with her for the next week or two so that if anyone wants to test ride her, they can. I am not sure if I will be able to ride her or not. After the training, I will work with her and hopefully find a really great home for her if she has not found one by then. So Abby may never come back to this property and that makes me a little sad.

Getting things figured out

2010-05-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

Awhile back I wrote down that I had some things to decide. I had figured out that I like to drive. Also that I do want to ride and yet I did not have any horses that would further that goal to start riding. That went hand in hand with, I have too many horses. I wanted to really start working with all of them, but that was too much. I was stuck at that point for quite awhile. I really didn't know what to do. I knew that I was going to have to spend some money and bring in a professional.

At that point my weight loss and fitness goals sort of stood still too. Spending money and the frustrations with too little time and not having horses that were ridable was really getting to me. Bumps in the road. Those little frustrations that make me want to just say, "oh forget it!"

It was the best decisions I made, to sell Kinsy. Knowing that that egg wasn't going to hatch sent me made me reevaluate again. I am finding that I am doing that a lot on this journey. Keeping an eye on what I want, and then adjusting my journey to continue on towards that goal. What else can I do? I'm not giving up, and I am not going to stand still either. Not this time. Keep moving forward.

In a previous comment, Breathe from HorseCentric, mentioned about this being a journey of self discovery. I am finding that so true. With each stumbling block I have to really think about what is important to me. Getting back in the saddle is very multifaceted. Weight, fitness, riding skills, driving, etc. I find that as one part might get a bit stuck it effects the others too. Sometimes I looks focus. that is when a support system is so nice. Just a gentle nudge in the right directions. Sometimes it is as little as a reminder of where I am going.

This blog, friends, family, a trainer, and other sources all keep me moving in the right directions. Minor detours, like Kinsey, are to be expected. Those bumps often so me off track that I don't know how to start again. I really think I am on the right path again though.

Few things I have to do now:
* Sell Abby . . I have to sell her before I get a new horse.
* Continue on the weight loss and fitness path . . . I actually have a number I want to be below.
* Get Ike driving . . . he is ready once I get the shafts
* Continue on with lessons, riding in particular.

THEN I will start looking for a new horse to ride. I am really going to try to stick to this before getting a new horse. I don't want to be lamenting that I have too many horses again or that I can ride them.

Video Review: Riding in Your Minds Eye dvd1

2010-05-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

How often have we heard that practice makes perfect. It doesn't. If you practice something wrong, you will just learn to do it wrong. No magic there.

Perfect practice makes perfect.

That is the premise of this video. If you practice something perfectly, you will make improvements in your riding. Of course it is easier to do things correctly in our minds. Studies have actually shown that visualizing doing something correctly does actually improve your ability to do something better.

The steps Jane suggests you follow are:
1) Know the mechanics before visualization. Know how the aids should be used to get the horse do the movement.
2) Visualize before you ride, this dvd suggest you watch this dvd. In her books Jane suggest that you just watch good riders. Then as your ride keep those image in your "minds eye."
3) After you are able to watch the horse and rider on the screen, try to imagine it is you and your horse.

Covered in this dvd:
*Position
*Alternating between rising and sitting trot
*Upper transitions
*Downward trasitions
*Circles (its a dressage tape, it has to have circles!)
*Shallow loop
*Change of direction
*Medium walk to free walk

The dvd is laid out so that you learn the mechanics and then have a silent period to put the correct image into your mind's eye.

Of course I love this dvd. This is one that I think I will get. As a dressage rider I love to just analyze the process of riding. The video is perfect for actually analyzing how to ride these seemingly simple movements. Study dressage for long and you will learn two things: nothing is simple and if the horse does it wrong it is all your fault. You can use a good video of the disciple of your choice to get that perfect image for minds eye, but this video has really good footage of each movement.

Another pro is it provides a way to "ride" when you just can not get out to the barn. I really wish I had ordered this one when I was in a cast this winter. Now that I am only riding twice a month, I still think that this is going to be a very beneficial video. I think I will be keeping this video for at least a few weeks.

Now if you are not that into dressage, this video maybe a bit much and too simple at the same time. It tells exactly what aides to use and how to use them to make each of the movements. It is based on classic dressage and although I can not image a rider that would not improve after watching and trying the techniques it is very much an English rider's video.

Another potential con of the video is that is meant to be watched over and over again. If you rent it, such I am, then the benefits are not going to be as long reaching. On that note, if anyone has this video and would like to part with it please let me know.

Kinsey Sold

2010-05-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

Well it is both with sadness and relief that I report that Kinsey has a new home. She will be leaving in the next few days to go to Illinois to start her new life. One where it looks like she will be used and well liked. I am excited for her, sounds like she is going to be doing a lot of trail riding.

I promised R that I had learned my lesson. What lesson? I think it can all be summed up with phrase: "Buy the horse you can ride now."

Buying a horse is exciting and exhausting. We often feel many things when looking for a horse. Grandiose daydreams of riding down the trails on a big black horse (ehem). Pressure from a trainer or friend to buy this or that type of horse. Thinking that we will "grow into" a horse. Plus just general antsyness to get a new horse.

Abby is an eye catching, a big black Percheron. She has a sweet temperament and I admit, I get romantic thoughts of knights of the round table when I ride her. Or rather when I have ridden her. She is HUGE though, and has grown since I got her. I figured if I had problems my old trainer could help me. WRONG, she turned out to be pycho, the trainer not Abby. So I have a big horse that I can't ride.

Mistakes
* I could only barely ride her when I got her.
* I fell in love with the idea of riding her.
* I didn't make sure that she would do what I wanted her to: ride outside and trail ride.
* I was depending too much on help from an outside source.

Kinsey was not as appealing to me. I know that is horrible to say, but I just never did click with her. For the first few months I didn't even feel like she was mine. I sort of felt trapped in to buying, not only her, but a horse. I didn't think I would find someone to let me ride their horses because of my size. She was smaller and I was told that she rode well, so I thought it would be a good match. I thought that I could ride her by spring. Guess what? Not so much.

Mistakes
* I didn't think for myself and I didn't heed my gut feeling.
* I thought she would be a great horse for me in a few months.
* I was antsy to get a new horse.
* I didn't see her ridden, although I did afterwards and it went well for awhile.
* I was just not ready for a horse yet, I still had my own issues.
* I didn't wait until I saved up enough money to be able to look at a reasonable price range.
* I didn't have clear focus of what my next horse should be like.

So in short, I could not ride either of these horses when I got them. HEED MY MISTAKES. Really I do hope that this post helps someone, keep your logical mind in the forefront when choosing your next riding partner. Although as my trainer told me today, "Some people just have to learn the hard way." Yup, some of us do.

So am I looking for another horse? Only half heartedly. I think *sniff, sniff* as much as I love her, Abby needs to go too. We are going to see if we can get her to R's so I can work with her. I love her something awful, but she is just too big. She is about 17hh now I am really want something around 14hh. She is an expensive pasture pet and I really think she needs to do something. She is still young and very healthy. Why just let her sit around.

Ickle Pickle

2010-05-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

Where do we come up with the nick names for our horses?

Fike's Angle Fire was called Fire when I got him. . . ick! I was not going to call my gelding Angel, so that was out of the question. I was left with Fike. . ehh, shorted it to Ike. How I started calling him Pickle, I have NO idea. LOL. Ickle Pickle has stuck though, poor guy!

I am so excited that I set off the check to Sugar Rock Farm, the makers of my cart. I should get the new shafts in a few weeks! I am so anxious to drive him now. I am so much more confident to drive him. I just want to drive up and down my street and start to actually work a horse from some place other than the ground. Have goals for the horse and not just myself.

When I first got Ike he was 3. He bought him from a video. I ordered a little easy entry cart and my little harness and away we went. I drove him some and let him sit some because I was basically clueless. I think I have told this story before but one day I was driving him, nervous all the time about it too because I didn't know if I was doing it right or not, and Ike took off. I could steer but that was about it. As I am tooling around I am thinking, gee, I can't do a one rein stop. Then I headed him toward a fence. Nope, didn't look like we were going to stop. So we went out to the road, a quiet road. He ran, I was pulling but I was afraid of pulling his jaw off, so we ran. I took him to a grassy area and ran. Eventually he slowed and I got control back. It was a trip and I realized I needed to learn a few things.

It took me all this time to actually find a trainer to teach me to drive. Already I know that I could have brought him back under control by making a big circle. Also once he was under control I should have kicked him back up into a canter, made him work. I have learned so much more and I know the next time I step in that cart behind him I will be so much more prepared.

And so will Ike. We have been working around the yard with a "stone boat" (in quotes because it is really a plastic sled but works for a mini). I haul a barrel around. We also take out the garbage and bring in the cans. We are learning to stand, to pull, to gee, and haw.

Yea, I am a gee and haw person. Just a farm girl at heart. I even want a little wagon and a team of minis. I want to drive to town and get the groceries. Wagons have lots of advantages over those beautiful little carts.

When those shafts come, R is going to come out and help me make sure that I have it all together right. Get Ike hitched up and maybe we'll even go for a trail drive. Woo Hoo. I had hardly wait. Seriously, I am going to be watching for the UPS man like a hawk now!

Trusting the horse

2010-05-21T05:12:00.000-07:00

Muddy K made a very interesting comment about my management vs labor post.

Which comes first, having the confidence to trust the horse or trusting the horse to build confidence. My thought is a resounding both! I did ponder this idea for a bit. I thought back to my own journey and depending where I was at on my journey has made a huge difference in who I trusted: my trainer, the horse, or me.

It really depends on where one is on the journey to overcome fear. Both time that I decided to get back to riding and had success, I found a trainer I felt comfortable with. The first time, I was nervous to get on, but not as scared as I was this spring. Both trainers had horses that were up to the task of taking around a Nervous Nelly. I think that is the key, having a trustworthy horse.

I was looking for something specific when I found those trainers and horses. My first trip down this rode was several years ago. I am not going to talk about that time right now. This spring, I wanted to drive. I felt that was something I could do. I did have confidence that I could handle a horse on the ground. My experiences with R and Bill, helped my confidence in both of them and my skills grow. Everything kind of grows together.

When I decided that I wanted to ride, I already has some confidence in Bill. It was a bit of a leap of faith to get on his back, but I did have a good foundation started. Then I move on to Drew, it was again, confidence that R would not put me on an unsafe horse and my own new confidence in myself. Then after a few rides on Drew, I felt very comfortable with him. My confidence grew in him, that he was not going to just take off and he would stop when I asked.

Now I am past the fear of sitting on, walking, and trotting a horse. I actually feel really good about that. I was not really riding then I was just a passenger. So now I am actually riding. So when I am on Drew, I do have confidence that if I put my left leg on him, he will move off of it. But if he doesn't, I have confidence in myself that I get after him and make him.

So I am far from my journey being over yet. The worse thing I could do for myself now would be to go out and try to ride Kinsey or Abby. I do think that a person overcoming fear is going to have to look for those more trustworthy horses. Drew is not angel. He will spook, but he is not looking to dismount you. I don't think Abby would either, but we have some steering and stopping issues. Kinsey would try to dismount you.

So I guess more than trusting your horse, you need a horse that deserves your trust. From there you can build confidence in your horse and in yourself.

Driving Lesson #9

2010-05-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

MuddyK asked a wonderful question in a comment on my Management and Labor post. I promise I will answer that question. I have a post started but I have not finished it yet.

Today was a lesson day and I had a blast. R. just got a pony for his granddaughter and I got to drive it. Cute little thing and very well behaved. I felt amazing confident. None of the nervousness that comes from any other equestrian sport. I know a lot of that has to do with the size of the equine. Just trotting around the arena, figure 8's, circles, and whatever. It was great to feel confident in myself. Not worried about a run off, I probably would have laughed if I had one. I am just not fearful of driving the little guys at all.

R. has these blue barrels in his arena. They are used for various reasons. They make great obstacles. We were sure what would happen if the pony hit one of these, which can happen when a youngster is learning to drive. So I started to hit them. The pony spook a little at the first one, but just took it all in stride after that. It was actually a lot of fun, and a lot more challenging that one might think. Then we worked on backing. Poor little pony didn't have a clue. So we did that a bit and called it a day. It was fun and good experience for working with my own little guy.

Again it was so nice to be involved in an equestrian activity that didn't leave me on edge. It is fun, just pure and simple. I want to ride and I want to drive the bigger horses, but for an hour I felt confident and had a lot a fun.

After that we talked about Kinsey.

Okay if you don't like sad stories, you might want to skip this part. Kinsey had her first ride yesterday, finally. Monday did not work out at all. She was really spooky about the stirrups, a known irritations of hers. So they had to work through that issue. Yesterday they actually got on. Apparently Kinsey took the bit in her mouth and just took off. Something she started to do on her last ride, at least the last ride I know about.

So many questions have been raised in my head. I have paid for another week of training. I have no idea how to go from here, I can't afford to keep her in training. I'll just have to wait to see how she is then.

More on Labor vs Management

2010-05-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

I mowed the lawn the other day. I have such a hard time doing jobs like that. My mind goes in as many circles as the mower. I just don't know how to quiet it down, so I think a lot. I started thinking about the whole labor and management idea.

Often we are told, as riders, that we need to be in control. Slave and owner has been image in my mind. I hate that. This whole management/ labor idea does hold some promise for me. Although I grew up very pro union with the idea that management is the enemy, I see promise in this analogy.

A manger is just that, someone who manages. Managers come in all shapes and sizes. Some really suck! Just thinking about some of a- holes I have worked for get my blood to boil again. Everything from the manager that really doesn't give a rip what I do as long as my job gets done and I looks miserable doing it to ones that don't even know what my job is but still think that they can do it better. Micro managers that don't trust me drive me insane. Even worse are the ones that give no direction. Teach me to do my job and then just let me do it.

Wait. . . Did I hit on something there?

No seriously, it is not really a new concept to me. A new awakening? Viewing the concept form a new angle? I think I just had a slight shift of understanding. Teach the horse what you want them to do, then trust that they are going to do it. Of course it doesn't stop there. A good manager watches over her laborers. Supports them, makes sure they are doing their job, praises when they do a good job and corrects them when they make mistakes.

Maybe as I reenter the world of working with horses and not just keeping them as pets I have to reevaluate what I believe and what I know.

Dairyland Driving Club Trail Drive

2010-05-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

I recently joined the Dairyland Driving Club. They had a trail drive on Sunday that was combined with a safety talk. After the talk those of use that were new got to tag along with the mentor drivers and pick up some tips. It was really a lot of fun.

The drive was at Blackhawk Ridge near Sauk City. Just a beautiful part of the state. Actually I love Wisconsin, I love all parts but this area is one that was hit by the glaciers and is really hilly because of it. It is also the site of a horrible part of our history with the Native Americans. Here is a plaque that describes the event.

First thing we did was listen to a talk about trail safety. It was a really interesting talk and I picked up a few pointers, always a good thing. One little gem passed on through our speaker but was originally from Jeff Morse. He describes the relationship between horse and driver as labor and management.

I really wish that I was able to hear the talk he gave because it was sure the talk of the drive. The gist of his message was seems to be that we are the management and the horses are our labor. Management makes the decisions and labor does it. Simple as that. If we let our horses make small decisions, then they will continue until they are making big decisions. The example was from our speaker experience. She was describing some difficulties to Jeff that she was having with her driving horse. Jeff asked her how the horse was when she was harnessing. She admitted that the horse moved around a little but nothing really bad. His response was that the horse was being allowed to make decisions that he should not have been making. It made a lot of sense, and seems to be a message that I am getting through a lot of different sources. Something to think about.

I got to drive in a marathon cart, let me tell you I have a new item for my wish list. That was just fun. Spider, a pinto arab, was pulling the cart. Spider epitomizes the expression, 20 years young. He was not like any 20 year old horse I know, more like 20 going on 4. Super horse, the kind you never see for sale because they are just that good.

Our driver shared a little more wisdom from Jeff. His tidbit was, you don't stop a horse with his mouth, you stop him with his mind. Another great little idea to think about for awhile. Nothing really earth shattering, but still something to think about. I think that is something that if you pick up just about any book on riding you find out fairly quickly. We get our horses working off our leg and seat aides, but gaging from the number of horsemen, trainers, etc that have a "bit addition" that is exactly what we try to do.

I met a lot of really neat people. Everyone sharing the same love of driving, and those of use that are really interested in getting involved in it. The were miniatures up to Frisians, and two very lovely Fjords that if I could have I would have squeezed into my Blazer! Everyone was really friendly. I hope to go to a few other events this year.

Book Review: 101 Longeing & Long Ling Exercises

2010-05-16T07:17:00.000-07:00

Sure we all love to ride right? But I have spend a great deal of time lately not able to get in the saddle. And I really don't think that I will ever be riding Ike or Madison, My legs would drag on the ground. Even for Abby though, I have done a lot of ground work. And longeing, around and around and around. It gets boring for the both of us. That is where this book has come in handy.

101 Longeing & Long Lining Exercises: English and Western is a staple in my library lately. Longeing can be a great way to work your horse when you can't ride, but so many people don't have a clue what to do other than endless circles. Longeing can be so much more than that. Once you get into long lining too, the world opens up to so much more. In addition to just adding another tool to your tool box, it helps with under saddle work, and it is an introduction to driving.

I highly recommend this book to be used along with Longeing & Long Lining English and Western Horse, its companion book. This book gives more detail on the how to do longe and long line. Long lining is just another term for ground driving. If you don't have any clue how to longe, round pen, or long line, this book would be the place to start. It covers how to prepare your horse, what equipment to use, and generally all the other stuff you need to know. I really like that Cherry Hill is not a classical dressage rider or a pure western. She shows both an English and western approach.

Once you now how the longe then 101 Longeing & Long Lining Exercises teaches you what to do with those skills. It is broken into 5 parts, in hand, free longeing (round penning), line longeing (longeing on a longe line), side reins longeing, and long lining (ground driving). Free longeing requires a round pen but the rest can be done just about any where. I think Cherry Hills cheats a little. Exercise 1 is "fancy footwork" and exercise 2 is "whip works." neither of which requires a horse. The next few don't really require a horse either. After that though there are some good ideas. Not it just a circle either. These exercises have straight lines, spirals, and other figures other than just traditional stand in the middle and have the horse run around you.

If you have no interest in this type of training, by pass these books. If on the other hand you want to add a new dimension to your tool box pick them up. A library card works great for Longeing & Long Lining English and Western Horse, since it just gives the general how to, once you have that done you don't need the book. Although I have to admit I do pick it up and reread different sections from time to time. 101 Longeing & Long Lining Exercises: English and Western is just as its subtitle says, is a ringside guide. Keep it near by.

Sunday Stills~ Flowers

2010-05-16T01:34:00.000-07:00

This Sunday Stills was really a lot of fun. I took some pictures from around the yard and then headed to the local garden shop. I have SO many pictures it was hard to pick!
Okay not technically a flower but May Flowers sure is blooming! And she now a week old!

Bye Dominique

2010-05-15T14:15:00.000-07:00

I'll miss you!

I got a call this morning for Dominique. One of those, can we come by in an hour types. I was taken off guard because I could not remember where I put it an ad. I had and this couple have been looking for a donkey but didn't want to drive all over the country.

If you don't remember Dominique is the son of Sophie. I got Sophie for my mom and when we went to pick her up the conditions were really bad. Sophie was tied with a horse rope halter to a trampoline. She hid when ever the owner came near. There was loaves of bread all over the ground and when I got home Sophie's bag was really full. Dominique was only 3 months old I figured out. So the next day I went back to get him. Of course over night the price had changed. It was never my intention to actually keep Dom.

So I was actually really happy that I finally found him a home. Even better because the people who bought him live just up the road and I can drive by and see him at any time! Isn't that just perfect. I actually drove by this afternoon to see how he was. He looked very happy. His compamny hasn't changed much. He used to live with goats and now it sheep. The people raise quarter horses and in addition to riding they drive. They are hoping to drive Dom in the future.

Even sweeter when I asked the guy if had trained donkeys before he admitted that he had not but wanted to try. I was thinking of Sophie because I want to do something with her. I am really hoping that my mom can drive her. Dom's new owner said he'd charge me next to nothing to train Sophie to drive. Sure it will be his first time with a donkey, but they have had mules in the family and train horses for a living so it might really be a good deal. I don't know anyone else local that trains donkeys.

Poor Sophie has been looking for Dominique this afternoon. She even tried to go into the goat pen. Poor dear, she really was a very good mother.

Selling Horses

2010-05-14T07:15:00.000-07:00

Selling horses sucks!

Flashy red dun mare. . . blah blah blah.

Photos just so~ That I can never do very well alone. And always the left side. I don't know why. I love taking photos but I hate to get that perfect conformation shot. One foot is always off, or I didn't get down low enough. Or she looks just pissed off.

Wording what she does do, not much. Putting a positive tilt on everything, but not hiding the problem. Even harder when her biggest problem is me! "It's not her, it's me" doesn't go over any better in an ad than it does when ending a relationship.

Now R's assistant (DH) will be riding her for the next two weeks but that isn't going to do much. I need to find someone who will keep riding her and show her for me. Or at least let me video tape her riding Kinsey because I don't think I will be getting on her. Unfortunately that makes Kinsey looks bad too. (Again it's not her it's me.)

Then the tire kickers. I already got a response. I think that it was a scam. I got a response about Dom too, but get this. She called while I was at work. I called her back within a few hour and left a message. She works at a local home and garden place so I dropped by today, I wanted some plants anyway. Meet her and introduce myself. She already found two other donkeys because I "didn't get back to her." It had not even been 24 hours!

I did manage to get some video. Not the best, my first attempt at video:

Riding Lesson # 5 & Bad News

2010-05-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

First of all I had a wonderful ride on Drew. He was a bit of a dink, but overall I am feeling so much more comfortable. I am taking more control of Drew, not letting him get away with as much. I was thinking of the rhythm and obedience a lot and although it was not perfect, in part because I am still getting my "sea legs" back.

The bad new came later. We took Kinsey out for awhile and I think I got the first honest opinion of her. She was not horrible, but she is just as I have been saying. Sensitive, very forward, and not as calm as I would like a horse to be. D.H., R's assistant, said that she acts like she just has not had a lot of handling. Just had a saddle thrown on her and gone. When she is asked to do things she has a bit of a temper tantrum and is just unhappy camper. They are going to start riding her on Monday.

After R and I talked. What kind of horse do I want? And the fact of the matter, Kinsey is not a good horse for me. I have worked really hard to get my confidence back. I have been riding a horse that is sensible, but not perfect. Drew spooks, but he just gives things the eye, not head for the hills. As the question was posed to me, do I really want to lose all that confidence with one big spook from Kinsey? No, I don't.

I know that there is a lot of talk floating around how we shouldn't sell a horse. That once we buy it it is ours for life. I think I own it to Kinsey to find her a good home, the best home I can. I don't think I would do her any service of keeping her around, not willing to ride her because I am afraid what what she will do.

Video Review: About Saddle Fit

2010-05-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

Another Giddyupflix rental, I don't get paid by them but it is a really nice rental place. Much better than buying all these videos. Especially one like About Saddle Fit: What Everyone Needs to Know About Saddle Fitting, chocked full of practical information, but one that I am not going to be watching over and over again.

This video discusses the basics of how a saddle is put together, what it is supposed to do, how tell if your saddle fits your horse, and a few hints of what to do if the saddle doesn't fit. I admit that it is pretty basic, but there was a lot that I didn't know. For example, do you know why you should use a back cinch? That the fore cinch and back cinch should be equally tight? Or how to properly use only one cinch on a western saddle?

Not only does the narrator, a master saddle maker who's name escapes me, tell you all this information, but also shows you why. He has all the parts of the saddle and shows how it all goes together. He show why many of the common measurement we use to describe a saddle aren't that accurate and what you really should look for. Just basic information that, as the title says, everyone should know.

This is a well made video that is very informative. The narrator is knowledgeable and easy to understand. You won't be a master saddle fitter or builder after watching this video but you will be able to choose a saddle much more wisely and have a better understanding of how the saddle works.

I've Got Rhythm

2010-05-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

Now that I am back in the saddle again, so to speak, I want to do something and not just walk and trot around in circles. So I went back the basics of dressage the training scale/ pyramid.
If you are a dressage rider this pyramid no doubt looks familiar. I actually copied it from The Art of Classical Riding, if you are unfamiliar with the training pyramid that site does an great job of explaining it. I highly suggest you head over there and take a look. It is good thing to keep in mind as we are working with our horses, even if you don't do dressage.

A Gymnastic Riding System using Mind, Body, and Spirit, shows a unique way to apply the pyramid. Yes, I know, I have an issue with books. I love them. I have way too many. Anyway, the training pyramid is handled differently in this book. Not only do they have rhythm, suppleness, contact, impulsion, straightness, and collect, but Betsy Steiner broke each level down into mind, body, and oh yes, spirit. She also calls them intellectual element, athletic element, and psychological element. Then she tells how to apply this to both human and horse.

Of course it is always best to start at the bottom, rhythm. Rhythm is the regular, even, steady, cadence of the paces. Using Betsy's book we can expand on that. Rhythm for the rider is knowing the tempo and footfalls of the horse, having the strength to ride all three gaits, and the patience to work with the horse. For the horse this means moving forward off of leg pressure, having the strength to carry the rider at all three gaits, and being obedient and having a good work ethic.

The book gives a check list for horse and rider for each element. I am having fun working through the rider sections. For example under the strength section she teaches about Pilates. She is a big Pilates believer and includes some how to on that. I am going to add some Pilates to what I already do. I have a video I picked up at one time I never actually used. I am not sure how much I can do with Drew, as he is not my horse and I am not riding him more than 2x a month, but we will work on obedience and leg aids tomorrow.

I didn't mark this as a book review because this is more of an ongoing process with this book. Her suggestion is to keep a riding journal. Set goals that can be met in a month for mind, body, and spirit for both horse and rider.

A Special Surprise from New Mexico!

2010-05-10T06:48:00.000-07:00

Today I am taking a deep breath before the day starts. Saturday was quite a day. Waves of happiness mixed with swells of sadness. Excitement and angst swirled together. Sunday was a mass of activity. Here and there and baking for Mom. Monday will be back to the grind. Volunteering at the humane society and work.

On Saturday, R picked up Kinsey will no incident, but I hate my horses not being in my control. I have taken care of my own horses since I was 16. Every time I board I just get a little worried. Not that I don't trust the people who are caring for my horses, but I have had a lot of bad experiences boarding. I know that Kinsey is safe and she will be happy with R but I think part of this angst is wondering if I will be selling this mare or making a partner. I drove over behind R so I could take her off the trailer. The great thing about R is his attitude was, "What every makes you happy." Honestly I just wanted to make sure she didn't think she was sold.

When I got home I drove my mother down to IL to pick up something she ordered. Not much to say other than it was a long drive. When we got back a special package from Lisa (Laughing Orca Ranch) was in my mail box. Some of you may remember a while back Lisa had a contest to give a caption to a completely hilarious picture of a hunt rider on a dachshund on her blog Laughing Orca Ranch. She chose me as the "weinner."

Let me tell you it really brightened my day! First of all she enclose a book I have really been wanting to read Michael Korda's Horse People: Scenes from the Riding Life. A key chain that says: New Mexico, just in time to replace my broken key chain and I will think of her every time I see it. Finally seeds. . . . ohhhh . . tomatoes, winter squash, and swiss chard. And these aren't just any seeds, no these are survival seeds from HomeTownSeeds.com These are seeds that are 100% non-hybrid, 100% non-GMO. Unlike the hybrid seeds that we often get from seed companies, I can save these seeds from year to year and they will grow true. Woo Hoo! You can learn more about these seeds on my other blog: Straw Bale Garden.

Later I found April in the beginning of kidding. Since I have had such bad luck with kidding this year, the moment I thought it was taking too long I took her to the vets. It turns out everything was find and she had the little darling that you have previously seen posted. It was sweet though. I was sitting in a stall at the vets office and talking to the vet on call. I was planning on going home for a few hours and maybe coming back later. April laid down next to me and started having contractions. She pushed and out came the little legs, nose, and finally all of May.

Sunday I just ran, from going to visit Kinsey to making sure May was nursing almost every hour, to making breakfast, cake, and dinner for my mom, it was a rush. I had a great shot on my camera of Kinsey touching plastic bags. . . you read that right. But I was fiddling with the camera and deleted the shots on accident. So you will have to take my word for it that Kinsey, on her own, walked up and touched a while plastic bag!

Today should just be darn relaxing compared to the past two!

Sunday Stills~ Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T07:22:00.001-07:00

Sunday Stills this week is brought to by the letter "B"
B is for blue barrel:Bark from a tree:B is for blaze:
And also for baby!

NHR: Announcing May Flowers

2010-05-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

I have had a horrible kidding year and will probably not have kids next year. Earlier today I rushed April Showers to the vets. It was a little premature but I lost a doe and her kid by waiting too long. So I erred on the side of caution.
Here is May Flowers. . .