Ohio Recap Pt 1: Processing, etc

I know my followers are going to kill me for this post. It's going to be a far cry from the "I can't wait for what Fran blogs about after that lesson!" post that a lot of people mentioned to me at the Ohio Celebration!

This week has been a far cry from break-through week. I've learned since being at the Parelli Center, that more often than not, "seeds" of knowledge are planted in your head, and you've just got to trust that they'll come about and grow when the time is right. I knew this lesson wouldn't be an exception to that, so instead of going out and immediately trying everything that Linda had us playing with, I've opted to take a slower approach, and allow the information to sink in as I go S-L-O-W-L-Y with Cresty.

The main things we HAVE played with have been finding responsibility and asking questions with the Patterns. That's something that I was confident enough in to begin with that I feel like I can support him through it. For those that weren't in OH, basically Linda commented that Crest wasn't asking many questions online, and that I was greatly over-using my stick to micromanage him though the motions, but he wasn't really thinking about the pattern. Using the figure 8 pattern, Linda had me interrupting Crest's pattern of continuing to circle, and then send him through the cones, and tag the center of the pattern...that way if he didn't put effort into it, he'd get tagged.

That's going well, today will be magic session #4, and I'm sure, just like with everything else, that we will begin seeing some understanding. Our previous 3 sessions have provided some small changes (the first session being the one some of you saw in OH), I'm having to interrupt him coming around the cones a lot lighter and less often, and he knows what he's supposed to do when I do, so I HARDLY have to bring my energy up and he goes through the cones. I call it success :)                                    

Other than that, I've not been on Crest's back since the lesson. Mentally, for me to go that introverted MYSELF, for HIM, was very trying, and I'm just allowing the experience to process and sort itself out before I dare go and play with what we learned there. Hopefully as things sort out a bit, and I understand more for myself what I'll need to do to help his many layers become confident, I'll have a more thoughts on the experience for you. For now, all I can say is that slow and right definitely beats fast and wrong, and I'm looking forward to what the future holds, but I need to think before I act.





So for now, keep it natural.  Stay tuned for a Part 2, and who knows how many more!  Stay savvy!



                                                            

New Website, New Blog, Exciting News, etc

Howdy folks. Yes. I did abandon you again. I had some things to sort out, here. But, the good news is, I am here now. Alive, well, happy, and ready to continue to learn, and progress in my crazy journey.

So, First order(s) of business. Who's game for some updated material?

I have a brand spankin' new business name, new website, and new blog to go with it!

I am now proud to call my business Heart and Desire Horsemanship. My website is getting the finishing touches put on, so if you go check it out immediately, bear with me if there are a couple of blank pages yet. You can view it by clicking here: HEART AND DESIRE HORSEMANSHIP WEBSITE Take note of the URL while you're there!

Secondly, new blog! A place for me to share all things going on with my business--Trainee horses, posture and trimming experiments with my own horses, lesson highlights, and learning opportunities. Check that out here, and FOLLOW: HEART AND DESIRE HORSEMANSHIP BLOG

Thirdly, I have some HUGE news! HUGE HUGE HUGE!

Crest and I have been accepted, and invited to participate as "Linda's Lesson" at the Parelli Across America event in Columbus, OH! You want to talk about one proud, excited mommy! I've been hoping for an opportunity like this for years with this horse. I told Parelli that my goals for the lesson were to gain some insight into a more safe, enjoyable, and eventually, progressive riding experience with Crest. Since his online and liberty are L4 quality material, I'm struggling to find where there might be a hole in our communication on the ground, and so am searching for thoughts from atop zone 3 to progress us beyond Crest's emotional tendencies. This'll be a wonderful opportunity to have a lesson with someone who is considered a master! I can't wait, and of course there'll be a play-by-play post (novel?) and many pictures to follow!

So, was that enough of an update for you? Will I see any of you in Columbus?

Savvy on!

Yes, I'm Alive!

Hi everyone!


Just wanted to pop in and let you know that I'm still alive. Insanely busy, perhaps, but alive, none-the-less.

Things are going pretty well here at Heartland. The facility is absolutely gorgeous, and the people and horses are wonderful to be around. I'm playing with between 3-8 horses a day depending on the day, doing some facility maintainence (Fancy phrasing for "grunt work"!) and some work on Heartland's website, as well as taking lessons and developing my own horsemanship.

The current excitment around the barn is that we've got a mare who's due to foal literally any time. My guess is that she'll go tonight, she's starting to act a little "labor-y", getting cranky, defensive of her space, and isn't eating so much. I'm on the "foal watch" crew, which basically means I've been keeping really odd hours the past couple of nights, and have to be ready to spring into action at any moment. I'm well over-due for a nap, to say the least. I'll keep posted here as things progress, and yes, of course I'll have a camera at hand!

Today is technically my day off, and I just returned from a really nice ride out with Farrah, Farrah's husband Michael, and another gal who works here named Dana. It was a beautiful (albeit EXTREMELY windy) afternoon, and we had fun taking our horses out for a trek around the property and through the beautiful fields. Prin was wonderful and we played with some lead changes in the field, and are playing with developing her canter some.

So that's what's up here. I'm off to take a nap for the rest of my afternoon off so that I can stay awake tonight. I'll try to get this up and blogging again more often, but it's been really hard to find time to do more than check email occasionally, so I'll do my best!


Savvy on!

Elvis is For Sale!

**If photos don't format correctly, click on image and it will open in a separate window**

**I'm Advertising this horse for a friend/student of mine**


Elvis is an 11-year-old Arab/Appaloosa Gelding. He stands about 14.2hh, and 1000lbs. He is dark bay with a star and two small white socks.

Elvis has been brought through Level 2 of the Parelli Program, and is a Left-Brained Extrovert. He has lots of confidence and energy, and loves to be played with. He’s a very brave horse. He knows the seven games up to a 22’ line, handles scary obstacles in stride, and has been ridden freestyle in both a Parelli hackamore and a snaffle bridle. He’s been ridden on trails, and was used in two lessons with 3* Parelli Professional Farrah Green in 2009. He is currently ridden in a western saddle, including a back cinch.

Though Elvis is a smart, playful guy, I wouldn’t suggest him for a total novice. He does best with consistency, and enjoys being played with on a daily basis, and appreciates a leader who can offer him variety and mental stimulation.

Elvis is only for sale because current owner is looking for an older, more reliable mount horse to introduce her husband to Parelli and riding.

Asking $1300, negotiable to a loving, Parelli home.
Contact Fran with any questions regarding Elvis.
Email: savvyup@yahoo.com Cell #:715-495-0094

More photos below!

Well That Was Humbling...

So I did something different today.

I went out to the barn and had my mom film me just for the heck of it. I saddled Prin up, bridled her, and rode some patterns at a L2 standard--casual rein with Carrot Stick, like what's required as a compulsory for the extern audition. It's been about 3 months since I've had enough decent footing to play with anything other than isolations and follow-the-trail, so I wasn't expecting perfection by any means...

As the title implies, I was given a bit of a check to the ego. Not only does my riding look horrific (Tell me, Fran, have you ever ridden in a saddle before?), I seem to have forgotten how to be NEUTRAL!

I confess, I've neglected my fundamentals a little. I've done so much bridless riding on Prin that I forgot how to ride casually with reins and a bridle! I found myself lifting my reins before switching my focus, lifting my reins before asking her to turn with the stick, lifting my reins to stop, lifting my reins, lifting my reins!!! Arrrgh! Beautiful excuse for my LBI to lose impulsion, I'm so sorry, dear Prinny!

So, needless to say, I'll be teaching myself to ride again this week! I'll probably continue filming it, too. It's really good friendly game for me, because I tend to get kind of bracy in front of a camera, too. So, I shall keep you posted.

Slow and Right...

"Slow and right beats fast and wrong, and slow and right BUILDS fast and right, and NOTHING beats fast and right!" ~Pat Parelli


Over the past few days, I've gained a new appreciation for that Parelli-ism. You see, I've been hitting a new level of incompetence with Crest. It seems to happen more often with him than with my other projects, which is not all-together to shocking, but this particular bout of incompetence has been a bit more extreme, in that I couldn't simply step back and research my way out of it.

To be honest, this all started with my realizing that I'm unconfident enough that I cannot canter on Crest and feel safe, and I feel like that's really holding us back from progressing into L3 freestyle.

It's cause by different things for both of us. For me, it's fear. I've never been hurt cantering on him, but I've had too many near misses and little hits to my confidence that have built up over time, as well as not recognizing fear and plowing my own thresholds. That's an easy enough problem to solve with approach and retreat mentally--but then actually fixing my fear on his back is really hard, especially since it's not a worry about my ABILITY to canter (put me on any other horse and I'll canter standing up, backwards, forwards, you name it, all with confidence), but in my ability to canter ON HIM.

For Crest, it's an emotional issue. He comes unglued really fast and really easily with a rider. You've probably heard me elude to that fact in prior posts. It used to be that he had a hard time controlling his body--he'd get very emotional even cantering online, but after spending the early summer with Farrah, and spending the majority of the fall developing his online to L4, that's not much of an issue anymore. When I get on his back, though, he falls apart. I'm sure I'm not helping. I tend to want to canter, but only a little bit, so to speak. That trust isn't there 100% a lot of the time.

The issue I was faced with was how one builds confidence as a rider, while helping the horse become a less-emotional individual WITH a rider. To me, it seemed like the kind of thing that shouldn't be solved at the same time, but the problem was, I couldn't seem to find another way to do it.

I sent emails to 3 friends of mine who are Parelli professionals, seeking their thoughts and feedback. Two of the three gave me really really good philosophical thoughts to ponder...post-its with these thoughts now line the frame on my monitor as I type this. The third came back with "hands-on" information, and this is where "Slow and right" comes in.

We often generalize that extroverts need to move their feet. They are, after-all, extroverts. What I seem to forget, apparently too often, is that confident, Left-Brained horses are not always confident left-brained learners. In fact, in Crest's case, he's not a confident learner at all.

The FIRST thing my friend said in her email was this thought-provoking paragraph:

"You have to make your horse's confidence primary. When you get him calm, confident and trusting, it will be easier for you to trust him. I think that you're not paying enough attention to his emotional state and pushing him over thresholds that you are probably not even aware of. Slow down, make it easier for him. Break things down in to little chunks. And where necessary, get off for HIS confidence - which probably goes before yours. And when I talk about his confidence, it may not be that he's afraid, as in prey animal afraid, but that he's lost confidence in your leadership."

...Naturally. We've been through this before. I think there's a blog entry from early 2008 with nearly the same advice with regard to a different subject.

So for the past week, Crest and I have been taking it SLOWLY. When I say slowly, I mean observing MICROSCOPIC behaviors. I've re-watched some key demos in the Liberty and Horse Behavior pack, and have actually incorporated some things Pat has done with Casper into our liberty play, here, as well as lots of short pattern-oriented rides. Haven't seen any huge effect yet, but again, "slow and right..." We'll get there, it's been a great lesson in dropping the time-line (which I hadn't even realized I had on him!)

Interestingly enough, the effect that this has had on Prin is for the better, too--I think my introvert is feeling a little resentful--"Sure, you'll finally slow down if it's HIM?" ...nah, kidding! But seriously, she's doing really well as a result, too--the giddyup and go that she's got in her draw, flying changes, and circling game are pretty impressive. It's only taken me 7 years and another horse to teach me the lesson, but hey!

So anyway, with that said, I'm off to go play with a couple ponies.

Somewhere in Level 4, Precision is Born

Hey all,

Just wanted to share a few photos from today with you. I'm not usually one to be very pleased with the way things turn out with pictures, but I'm quite happy to see the results of these! My horse looks very happy and content in all of them, her physical posture is AMAZING, and I actually don't look too shabby either. I guess that's what L4 is all about--isn't that where mental, emotional, and physical come together to form a magnificent performance creature?

Anyway, check 'em out! If the computer screen formats the shots funny or cuts a piece off, click the image, it'll open the photobucket link they're taken from :)


FQ Isolations done with refinement (Mane hair and body language!). She's in mid-speed spin here, actually. I can't get over how blissful she looks!


Trotting. She's looking VERY through and athletic in her movement. Very driven from her HQ, and looks very loose and light in front end, not to mention HAPPY! WOW! Plus--that trot is actually getting hard to sit!


Just a hair more flexion, and she'd be vertical on her own volition! Wow. HUGE for this stock horse. Talk about developing self-carriage! I love her so much!

So that's all for now, let me know what you think if you feel so inclined :)

Savvy on!

Road Trip!

Okay, I'm seriously REALLY BAD at updating this bad-boy. I think I might be the last person to actually accept that fact, but hey. I try. I really do!

Anyway, Prin and I had a little adventure over the past couple of days! As I had mentioned in a previous post, one of my goals currently is to head to Florida to do an Externship at Pat's barn. There is an application process to this, and one of the things that they ask for is an audition video. It's a pretty basic thing, the requirements are online, liberty, and freestyle, show saddling and bridling, ride some bareback, and some patterns under-saddle. All pretty easy stuff to do, provided you've got the footing to do it in the winter, which we certainly don't, right now.

So, on Thursday, despite freezing rain warnings, Prin and I loaded up and hauled to The Horse First Farm in Brooklyn (just south of Madison), WI, to film my tape with my friend and 2* Parelli Professional, Michelle Manshardt. This was my first solo haul, and it was a bit stressful--Firstly being that I was driving a borrowed rig, of course carrying my baby inside, and with the weather. Fortunately, it went fine, and I gained a lot of confidence in my ability to drive with a trailer. (Previously I'd only driven a couple small rigs locally is all) So that's a new arrow in my quiver of "stuff I can do within the horse world".

Thursday was pretty much my warm-up day. I still have a tendency to get a little paralyzed and forget how to use my brain in front of a camera, so the better a plan I can have ahead of time for what i need to show, the better I do. Prin was pretty much the happiest I've seen her in weeks, and after some tips and suggestions from Michelle, we had improved several aspects of our relationship (including our much-struggled-with large area liberty) substantially. My horse now sticks with me in the 100x200 arena (with a couple other horses in the arena at one point) without thought of leaving--too cool!

We finished out the evening at Sr. Peppers (local Mexican restaurant, one of my favs!) and had some nice chat time.

Yesterday was filming day...ahhhh! I'm not going to lie, I totally clammed up. Michelle was very patient with me, and although I'm sure it was really hard for her to watch, she was wonderful, and was able to play enough friendly-game with me and the camera, that after starting over several times, everything flowed. We got everything but three tasks filmed (freestyle patterns on a casual rein), simply because we were so crushed for time, my camera battery died, and Prin was HOT (talk about totally NOT being in condition to be moving for an hour and a half straight). But I feel REALLY good about what we got filmed, which doesn't happen very often. Though it's really kind of a glorified L2 tape (7 games on a 22' line, and at liberty, some bareback riding, saddle and bridle, mount, etc), everything looks SO quality and flowing, I feel very confident that it's exactly what they're looking for. I've got a few more tidbits to film before I send anything in, but I really do feel good about it!

So...that's what we've been up to. The time spent between my last few posts has pretty much been spent keeping my horses alive and getting other aspects of this application package put together. Oh, and I had a lesson with Kristi Smith in there a couple weeks ago too, on a gigantic, fancy Warmblood mare, who had a lot to teach me about emotions and fluidity. But that, my friends, is another story all together. So until next time, savvy on!

Three LBEs in the Snow

Yeah, that's what happened at Brown Coulee Farm today. It was chilly again, though not nearly as cutting as it was yesterday. I was going to play with Prin, but one look told me she was not in an active mood, which is never pleasant when it's chilly outside. But I knew who would be in the mood to move...

I have a little project visiting me for several weeks right now--my friend Micky's horse, Shadow, is here to have some foundation time put on him. It's a nice swap, Hart is living with Micky for a while to get some extra feeding and provide her with some confidence.

Anyway, Shadow is a character, I blogged a little about him when she first got him last summer, but here's a little refresher. Shadow is a 3 yr old bay roan AQHA gelding. Totally a LBE, very dominant, (I must be drawing these horses to me, subconsciously!)and so far, hasn't really done a whole lot just with schedules being the way they are. So he's pretty fresh.

I've had a couple sessions with him already, but figured I wouldn't blog until there was actually something to talk about. Shadow, being extremely dominant, is not the type of horse that I'm going to be playing with on my own on the ground at first. It's really difficult, and not safe for me to try to build rapport with a horse that wants to be on top of me, and even more unsafe for me to try to establish boundaries with him, because of his punk tendencies (that include rearing and striking--I've watched him extensively in the herd). So with that in mind, I've decided that until I can safely, lightly, and effectively play all 7 games with him from the back of another horse, I'm not going to attempt to talk to him on my own.

Today was my second day of playing with that, and I used Crest as my back-up, because he is Mr. Amazing when it comes to colt starting...something about the responsibility that it gives him really works well. Anyway, it was quite interesting, it was really a good-natured battle of wills between the three of us (all LBEs, yikes!), but the fortunate thing was that I had Crest on my side. We played with only very basic things--friendly games (He has the same over-sensitivity to high energy that Crest does), and learning to yield HQ and FQ, which wouldn't have gone nearly as well, had it not been for Crest's awesome assistance. He was not only solid and confident for me, but he also helped out applying pressure when it was needed, and reinforcing my phases when Shadow got sassy. He's turning into such a fabulous partner.

Shadow learned the basics of yielding his forehand and hind-quarters, follows a feel, and plays stick-to-me pretty well. We need to keep playing with desensitizing him to high energy, but sensitizing him to driving games (in other words, creating more of a defining line between the two), and all around developing more respect. I'll keep blogging as we go, and I'll try to get some pictures of our upcoming sessions--perhaps even tomorrow, since Micky's going to spend the day with me.

Savvy on, I'm going to bed early!

Principle #7...In So Many Ways!

Here it is, as promised, the beginnings of what I hope can actually be an account of my sessions again. Bear with me, awkwardness may ensue, I've really taken up the life of an introvert in the world of my ponies--really focusing on learning for me.

Today, my friend Jessy, a very driven and enthusiastic L2 student, came down to spend a day learning and playing with me. She was partnered with Prin, and I chose to play with Crest, since he's had almost 3 weeks off.

Jessy has a LBI of her own, and so her focus in playing with Prin is to learn to motivate an LBI that already knows her responsibilities (Principle #7: Horses teach people and people teach horses), as well as to just plain ol' advance her horsemanship. Prin proved to be an excellent teacher today. Jessy learned immediately that being slow and particular (and slower, and slower and slower) is a valuable tool in motivating Prin. We showed her some things, too, the difference between Prin's just doing the task, and putting effort into it. Jessy hopped on later, and discovered, much to her dismay, that she and Prin had a communication breakdown.

I've got to segue here for a moment: Even though Prin is playing late into L4, she's still my horse--she doesn't ride the way she does for me with anyone else, and for that, I'm extremely grateful. She's by no means dangerous, but she will expose holes in communication effectively. I'm so grateful to have her as my partner in teaching, as well as my personal horsemanship journey! Anyway!

Jessy was a little upset, I think at having my horse test her. She felt there was a BIG roadblock in front of her. Something to prevent her from progressing. At this point, I introduced her to the concept of Isolate, Separate, and Recombine. Through this, Jessy figured out that she and Prin had not established a strong enough driving or porcupine game on the ground. This gave Jessy the ideas she needed, and she got off, and set to establishing that communication with more refinement. I'll be interested to see how their relationship develops from this knowledge and new set of tools.

Meanwhile, I had one HECK of a session with Crest. He's had about 3 weeks off now, 3 weeks in which he must have sat and come up with a zillion ways to make me laugh. I put him on the 45' line today, and though he was wild and crazy, he just wanted to play with ME! We spent the better part of 20 minutes just running around being sassy. Crest was jumping, kicking, rearing, bucking, striking at the air, tossing his head, and overall just showing off and feelin' fine. Throughout this magnificent display of athleticism, however, Crest maintained contact with me, and eventually, I was able to take his energy and "Shwung" and put it to something productive--using two lines in driving reins, we were able to achieve several strides of passage (which were STUNNING...I wouldn't have believed it, except that two other people saw it as well), as well as a couple of lovely flying changes (complete with head toss and body flail), as well as just some beautiful round, Andalusian-looking movement, transitions, etc.

I also got on his back briefly, and we played with HQ/FQ isolations (He's learning to SPIN, too cool!) and also being particular with all things walk. He's getting his pleasure-horse walk down so nicely, even with the time off. Hooray for emotional fitness development in the world's most emotional horse!

So...That's it for today's session. Fun was had by all, I think everyone learned a ton. In reading back on this, I think my personal homework I'm going to take from all this is that I should how to express what I learned in half the text--jeepers, I'm wordy!

Anyway, stay savvy, play often, have fun, and let me know what you think! I'm off for bed!

Here, There, and Everywhere!

Hi guys!!

I just went through, found, read, edited, and ultimately deleted literally 4 posts that I have started to you since my last one, and then got sidetracked on before finishing. What an awful blogger I am! So sorry!

Per usual, life has been insane around here. This month has been a particularly busy month, coupling horses with really cruddy weather has not done nice things for me. I've had two trainee horses come and go (Sunny and Gunner), and practically no time for my own ponies, mainly because every waking moment at the barn NOT in the pouring rain (and/or snow!) was being spent putting time on the horses I was being paid to play with. It's a wonderful concept for an LBE, being so busy you don't have time for relaxation, but it got a bit overwhelming toward the end. Fortunately things have calmed down here, and I can now relax and breath a little. I'm looking forward to having the rest of the fall to develop and advance my own horsemanship and focus on my students as well.

I have some exciting upcoming events around here--I have a lesson weekend in Mosinee (Near Wausau, WI) planned weekend after next (if Anyone is near or around Wausau, and would like a lesson, please contact me (savvyup@yahoo.com), I'd be happy to swing by Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, November 6th-9th.)

On November 12th, I'll be heading down to FL for a week. As of right now, my plans are to ride down with a friend who's going to the Parelli Center for a month, (that'll be an adventure in and of itself--the two of us in a truck for 26 hours is a hilarious thought!) and I'll stay with my friend Susan, in Orlando. I'll be teaching, riding, and just re-connecting with friends and enjoying the nice warm weather :)

Finally, schedule pending, Farrah Green may be in the area teaching in late November. Hopefully that happens--it's been discussed. If that is the case, I will be filming part of my Level 4 that weekend. Won't THAT be neat? Freestyle for sure, hopefully my online, as well. If not then, I'll do it sometime before FL--our freestyle especially is just SPECTACULAR, I'm so proud of Prinny!

Anyway, I think that's all for now--I'll leave you with some fall photos from the Brown Coulee Farm Paddock! Enjoy!


Prin came trotting to me when she heard me call this afternoon--it warmed my heart to see that eager expression, had to snap a photo :)


What a pretty face, despite the mud! Such an exceptional girl!


I've been lusting over Crest since I downloaded this photo. Isn't he just GORGEOUS?! And check out those leaves!!

Fran and Crest--"The Story"

Introducing Fran and Crest's new video! Finally! Please give me some feedback :)

My Sacrificial Lamb

"You can be so stubborn, there's times I think you just like to fight. And I hope and pray I live to see a day when you say I might be right. And there's times I'd rather kill you than listen to your honesty. But you've always been a friend to me."
~Garth Brooks, "A Friend to Me"


Pat Parelli has said that the first horse a person brings to level 3 (and now level 4) is a "Sacrificial lamb" of sorts. That horse is the one that is put up against all our personal flaws, teaching errors, emotional fitness (or lack there of), and they help us become who we need to be as we learn.

I've been thinking about this concept all day since it came up in the lesson I was teaching this morning--one of my students inquired about something, and I explained that sometimes, though we do our best, the horse we learn PNH with gets to suffer some blunders for the sake of learning.

I had a learning day with Prin today. A big one. It's been an off couple of months for us, and I'm FINALLY starting to get back into my routine of "normality"--that is to say, being able to go to the farm and be positive, progressive, and natural, all at once. Since our freestyle is pretty much ace, I've chosen to develop and focus a bit more energy on our online, while of course keeping the balance with our other savvys. So--to our online.

I made an observation while playing yesterday that really was spark for some thought last night and into my session today. With regard to the circling game, Prin, though very light and responsive in her send, is not biomechanically correct. Breaking down the movement, my horse is not *really* using herself. She falls onto her forehand, and actually does like a haunches-in out onto the circle--her weight falls inward and forward, and her ribs invert toward me. The overall lesson she taught me yesterday was to be more particular about her zone 3, something that I put into practice immediately, and have seen some nice changes with already.

Today, I started out playing with some review of what we did yesterday with zone 3, which went alright. I recognize it's a learning process, and so grant her (and myself!) some room for improvement. We also played with strengthening and stretching her haunches using more vigorous and particular sideways, coupled with circling and slow, flowing backward S pattern. Also played with finding more refined communication with long lines (When did I get so clumsy with 2 reins?!) Though this all went "okay", Prin was erm...kind enough (?) to show me some holes in our online communication that are key to the holes in our communication in large area liberty. These are answers I've been seeking for quite some time, so I was glad for them, but at the same time, it was a bit difficult to stomach. Accepting self-inadequacy is not always an easy go, especially when one is looking to make progress.

I took some of what she showed me, put together a slip-shod plan, played a little until we found a good place to stop for the day, and I packed up, and headed home to think. At first I felt VERY inadequate and frustrated, thinking how badly I wished I had found all this prior to the 6 week hiatus, and how I felt like I was right back to where I was about this time last year: non-progressive, annoyed, and lost as to where to go next. But as I thought further, I realized this is not the case at all. The trend here is simple, I'm not AT ALL where I was last year with regard to HORSEMANSHIP...mentally maybe, and here's why--when Prin gets brutally honest, it's usually because she's telling me I need to move on, that there's more to be learned, and I'm stalling (and by extension, boring the snot out of her). Last year, it was just before I made huge leaps into finishing up L3. I think the trend is the same here--she's asking me to "finish what I've started" so to speak.

In understanding this, I realized how grateful I am to have Prin as my partner, and how essential it is that I finish L4 with her. I had toyed with the idea of finishing my levels with Crest--the superior athlete and learner by far, but I realize it's totally not about that right now. Such a patient, kind, and tolerant horse is HARD to come by, and Prin has stuck it out with and for me all the way. I need that friend and that partner with me to help me learn the final stages. So, as sappy as it sounds, I'd just like to take a chance to thank Prin. Thank you for being my Sacrificial Lamb, girl. I need ya more than I sometimes realize!

Parellifying the Beast

I think the one of the most commonly asked questions I've gotten in recent times here has been "Hey, how's Hart?". Remember him? The big Gray Thoroughbred that I bought, and have since not mentioned at all? Well, for those of you who've been wondering, he's still around, and is now doing well. He got kicked in the hock after being here for 3 days, and he was lame for almost 6 weeks off and on, hence my lack of update, there really wasn't much to say. But now we're pretty much out of the woods with his leg, and now we're back to the plan.

So. Parellifying the beast...exactly what the blog title implies, Hart and I are FINALLY getting a chance to play together. He's a hoot, he knows he's magnificent, he moves beautifully, but beyond that, doesn't have a clue as to what to do with himself. I think he's pretty much lived in a field and not been told to do much all his life. So today was our first "official" lesson, though I'd taught him the motions of the 7 games the day I got him. It was a humorous experience tonight, he was very dramatic and prancy. We played with friendly game and porcupine game, and building positive reflexes. He was totally horrified that i wanted to throw my savvy string over his back, but once he got confident, fell asleep with his nose practically on the ground. Silly horse. His porcupine game was heavy, but it didn't take much before he understood what needed to be done. After we found a flow, I hopped on and we played with some transitions and lateral flexion. He's just such a dream to ride, it's like riding a cloud...albeit a cloud with a massive trot.

I'll keep you all posted as I continue to progress with him. I"m so thankful he's sound again, now we can focus on beefing him up and getting his mind stimulated ;)

Savvy on!

PS--had another great ride out on Sunny--we cantered at least 100 feet more than once, she's so brilliant! Carrot stick riding and transitions are getting super smooth too! She also stood tied for 30 minutes while I played with Hart. So proud of her!

Unstoppable!

Okay, so that title may be inspired by the mood I'm in now, by how I feel about my little horse in training, or it could just be inspired by the fact that I have Rascal Flatts blaring as loud as I (and my neighbors!) can stand it at nearly 1:00 am. I'll let you make the call.

Anyway, life has, in essence, been quite the roller-coaster. A bizarre schedule, coupled with burning the candle at both ends, a 19th birthday bash, and Laura Ingalls Wilder Days all were cause for what I can only describe as an off week that I did not plan for. I found myself floundering with organization a little, but fortunately, I've found my track again and things are back to positive, progressive, and natural in a big way :)


Today was a very full pony day--I played with Prin for almost 2 hours this morning. First we went on a LOVELY trail ride. I emphasize on the lovely, because I could not have asked for a more responsive, comfortable, biomechanically CORRECT horse on that ride with me. We did lots of trotting, trying to get back in shape (Prin's rockin' the beer gut a little these days!) and throughout the entire ride, she offered nothing but beautiful rhythm and awesome self-carriage. Too cool! Once we got home, Played with some 22' line stuff. Before her time off, Prin was able to canter between 10-20 laps on the thing without much by way of reminder of difficulty. She struggled to find rhythm in 2-3 today. It's amazing how body condition can degrade so quickly! We'll continue to develop it. We have a lesson with Kristi next week, so let's hope we'll have something to show her at least! I can say though that she was beautifully obedient, just not exactly fit ;)

Also had a lovely session with miss Sunny. I know I've said it in every single other post I've written about her, but this horse is brilliant. She's just BULLDOZING through her lessons, she's been her for 22 days now, and other than needing a bit of smoothing over in Carrot Stick riding, she could EASILY pass L2. We've even started to play with a little liberty. She's particularly talented at downward transitions--last night she gave me a canter/halt that left a cloud of dust hanging! Anyway, today I first rasped her a feet a little, then took her out for her first trail ride alone. She was HILARIOUS, it was by far the most backward trail ride I've had, I couldn't stop her leaving the farm, we trotted a quarter mile at least! We also cantered the first time, it was 3 strides, but it was great. Turning home was a different story, she zig-zagged at a tiny little walk, looking anywhere but up the road, and 3/4 of the way back, she just stopped and refused to go any farther. Her little horsenality reminds me of Micky's old horse Digger, truly a "barn-sour" horse, for once, what a hoot! I'm so proud of her, though. She's awesome! New pictures soon!

Other than that, I've got some big plans cookin' for the fall. Some wonderful opportunities have presented themselves in the teaching department, as well as horsemanship and horse development, and I look forward to seeing what happens. I'll keep ya posted!

Savvy on!

"Mom, I Think We're Ready..."

That's what Prin told me today. I think we are ready to film our L4 freestyle. I've spent several weeks isolating and separating the components, just playing with being very particular, especially in her HQ/FQ yields. I've been playing with only a neck rope, and hardly touching it except to back up my body language, and it's just beautiful how subtle and in tune our communication has gotten. I figure that if I can essentially "ride naked" with low phases, that when I film the audition, and add a neck rope and carrot stick into the mix, she'll have it an then some. And oh boy, will she ever.

Today was the proof. she was going sideways with just a focus, trot leg yields, doing slow spins with me just lifting some mane hair and shifting my weight/focus, and doing biiiigggg stretchy trot figure 8's with me hardly asking anything. We also played with a squeeze game pattern Pat had shown at the Kansas City celebration--Canter to halt, rollback, canter to halt, etc. Though she was a bit confused at first (totally new pattern for us!) after several slow repetitions, she just got it, no questions. Pretty quality rollbacks off my body, beautiful canter departs. Just awesome stuff. I'm dreaming up ideas to show in our audition, I want it to be just mind-blowing. So...no promises of when I'll have it (I'd like to film soon, but I'm going to prior and properly prepare big time) but know it's in the works. My horse gave me the go-ahead. Her attitude has never been so positive and progressive. So. That's what's going on for now.

Keep your eyes peeled for an update on both Crest and Sunny, too. They're pretty spectacular, too :)

My Little Doppleganger

I wanted to share some more recent pictures of Sunny (taken last weekend)with ya. She's progressing faster than I could have every imagined or anticipated. She's BRILLIANT! She is totally me in horse form...little blonde firecracker! Loving every second of it! Tell me what you think of the pics!


We match ;)


Learning to maintain rhythm, relaxation, and contact at the walk on the 22' line


Learning the weave pattern--my focus is terrible-lol


Figure 8 Draw :)


Figure 8 Drive :)


First intentional canter on the 22' line. Looks pretty pleased with herself ;)


Little bit of liberty...


A good scratch...


Disengaging the HQ


Marveling over her awesomeness, I'm sure.


Playing "Follow Micky" is a fun game!


Anyway, that's all for now. She's really really awesome. She's got a solid L2 going online, and is very soon to follow on the Freestyle front--she's riding walk/trot/halt/back/sideways now, and also ponies from Prin's back beautifully. She's an awesome little learner! I'll try to take some video within the next couple of days.



F

Oh, So THAT'S What Productive Feels Like!

Hi you guys!

It's been a very bizarre week, hence my slight drop off the face of the planet. Physical exhaustion, coupled with major disorganization, and a rather unkind man-made knock to my confidence have all taken a toll on my horsin' around these days. So anyway, I figured you all were due for a bit of an update!

As I mentioned, it's been slow here, and the tension within MY MIND has been building slowly, and got to the point last night that I COULD NOT ignore it anymore. So last night, I broke, and went "I'm going to LISTEN to my body for once! I want sleep, I want to get up early and enjoy the morning, I want to stay hydrated, I want to stop eating crap at random times, I want to read, I want to get back to my learning frame of mind, I want to spend all day at the barn and love it like I used to. I'm going to get organized, and I'm GOING to do this." So I did. I was up early this morning, actually ate breakfast, made coffee, drank 3 glasses of water before I left. I cleaned my car out, then headed to the farm and had my first round with the horses--an hour and a half long session with little Sunny.

That was an adventure. I had a wedding to go to yesterday, and so little Sunshine got the day off, which was fine, she had earned it, but she must have spent the day plotting her next playtime with me! Today's session revolved around all things porcupine. When she arrived here, she was very unconfident in zone one, and made up for it with confidence and dominance in zones 2 and 3. All last week revolved around getting zone 1 really nice and friendly, while keeping her ribs and shoulders where they belong--not on top of me ;)

Today was quite the opposite, she offered some of the most beautiful correct trotting circles she's given since she's been here, but she was very snotty and pushy with zone 1. Talk about swinging the pendulum! Anyway, We played with porcupine pressure on the poll, leading by the chin and ears, as well as by the legs. She was a little resistant at first, but really caught on quickly, and by the end of the session was leading all over the place by different parts of her body, and offering to put her head down, around, or up, depending on what the situation called for. Really cool stuff!

Afterward, I hopped on her back. I'd been on her twice before, and really focused on getting her to accept my existing there, lots of friendly games, etc, and she's been a champ, so today I started teaching her the beginnings of HQ and FQ yields. At first there was a little brace, which was more my not having my weight correctly distributed, so once I fixed myself, she picked right up on it. I think she's going to be just wonderful! Pictures and VIDEO to come, I promise!!!

I headed home, and ate a healthy lunch (I have developed some really unhealthy sporadic eating habits this summer, and that's something I am determined to correct now), caught up on some reading, and then headed back up to play with both Crest and Cricket.

I had a really fun and educational online to Freestyle session with Crest, involving lots of play with a flank rope--how interesting. I followed an interesting path of indicators to get there, and let's just say his take on the whole concept has changed a bit since I last played with it. But it ended well, and I really want to include some of that good stuff in a video of us. He's awesome ;) The Freestyle riding was an entirely different story (For me anyway!). I opted to ride bareback with a carrot stick today and really start developing and progressing towards L3 Patterns. This was interesting for two reasons. One, I haven't ridden Crest in almost 3 weeks, and two, I haven't carrot stick ridden on him in who-knows how long. The main lesson I took out of it was that I need to do it FAR more often, and that I use my reins to balance on him A LOT. Yikes! I'll be playing with that in the near future! Overall his response was great though--much more responsive than I anticipated, and I got gutzy and rode with just a savvy string for a while (hackamore for safety net), and I actually felt very connected with him, which is super cool. More to develop there soon, I'm sure.

My session on Cricket was very rewarding. First of all, I took the time and shimmed her up in my fluidity saddle, which is huge, because when she came here, my 32 cm Stubben Roxane (WAYYY narrow) was too wide for her. She uses less shims in the super-wide fluidity than Crest, now! Gotta love her for that little Arabian rib cage! Anyway, I had a really really nice freestyle ride on her. We played in the round pen first on isolations (HQ and FQ), and then playing with follow the rail and transitions which she did magnificently with. I can't wait to develop her futher, she's going to make someone a PERFECT partner, I just know it!

Anyway, that's all for now folks. It's now 11:00, and I'm going to pattern that whole "early to bed" thing this week! Savvy on!

Subtleties in Adrenaline

It's been an interesting couple of weeks around here, but I'm finally started to settle back into a routine of things with my ponies and the like. I had my second session with Crest since my accident, and like nothing had ever happened, he's back to being a miraculous teacher and partner for me.

Recently, it's become increasingly apparent to me that Crest's walk and canter (and the behaviors that surround them) are connected. He has a tendency to get very adrenalized and excited in the canter with me on his back, and of course, he power-walks like a fiend. I decided to examine his transitions online to see if I could get a feel for how things are transferring to his back.

I've found that Crest had a lot of trouble maintaining rhythm, relaxation, and contact in both canter and walk online. Now granted, I'm looking at this from a L4 standpoint. He's a shoo-in for L3. But he lacks that contact that I'd need to get the kind of ride I'd like out of him. Anyway, I've been playing a lot with getting his walk slow...and...rhythmic...and...not...adrenalized. Yes. At that pace. It is SO HARD for him, especially at the beginning of a session or after a downward transition. He gets very hyped up. Eventually what I'd like to see is for him to do canter-walk transitions online, and be able to find a nice relaxed walk almost immediately.

The key has been to recognize and release when he's truly found his relaxation, so that he knows that THAT is what I am looking for. The rest will come with repetition with him (once he figures out the pattern, he'll be great, he's so clever!). The subtle difference has to do with the tension in his body, as well as his breathing and I have to be VERY careful that I recognize it. I took a couple photos to show the subtleties I'm looking at. Thought you guys might be interested in them :) See if you can spot the difference. And yes, he's covered in mud, it poured all morning yesterday.

The "Adrenalized Walk"

Notice the tension he's carrying, particularly in his back, haunches, and withers. His topline is taught, stride long and deliberate. You can also see a flared nostril if you look carefully. His head is also above the vertical.

The "Calm Walk" (I tried to get it as close to the same place in stride as possible)

Here's his calm walk. Though it's not as evident through a photo as it would be in video, you can see that he's really using his whole body. He's reaching up and over the top, his head is lower, and his hind leg is REALLY reaching under him, indicating that he's actually focused on using his hind end. His head is also much closer to vertical. And finally, take a look at his tail. In the first photo, it's between his back legs. Not that it wasn't a bit sticky and humid, but it indicates that he was pretty braced. In the second photo, near the same place in stride, his tail is loose. Pretty interesting huh?

So that's what I've been playing with in him for now. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this transfers to his back--I may start playing with this walk-trot style freestyle. Let me know what you think!

FANTASTIC Lessons

Hey All,

Quick update. My internet has been down, I'm typing on a library computer right now. I'll have more for you probably on Monday when my mother gets home and can wrangle the turkeys at CenturyTel into giving us information as to WHY our computer isn't working. (That's another story)

So, Kristi Smith was here Wednesday evening through Friday early morning. She taught lessons all day Thursday and we had a TON of fun. I shared a 3 hour semi-private with my good friend Anna and her horse Piper. We had a ton of fun, and by the end, I was literally riding a spotted hovercraft with hooves. Prin was SO LIGHT and responsive to everything Kristi had us playing with, it was truly a pleasure. I'm loving the progress that comes with these monthly lessons--be it Kristi or Farrah.

Richard took a lesson on Amigo which was REALLY nice to watch. Richard hasn't done a whole lot of riding recently--injury coupled with lack of time I think has really gotten his motivation levels. Anyway, they played with freestyle, and the patterns that go with it. Amigo went through one HELL of a transformation. Not that he's a difficult horse, but he hasn't really been ridden at all in the past 6 months. He went from cutting corners and neglecting responsibilities to following the rail and doing figure 8's like a L2 pony should. It was just beautiful to watch, and Richard, Kristi, and Amigo were all smiles throughout :)

We finished with my friend Jessica taking a lesson on Prin, which was just AWESOME. Kristi read my mind on subject matter, put a bareback pad on Prin, and proceeded to blow our minds with the most magnificent freestyle/fluidity lesson and transformation I've ever seen, personally. More on that later, I need to compose my thoughts and actually write this out. It might even be a seperate post, it was that amazing. So cool.

Kristi's demo, though slightly less-attended due to the rain, was wonderful. I was particularly pleased and impressed with her long-line driving, they've come so far even since I was in FL this winter. And of course their liberty, Maxi is such a hoot. Kristi did a great job engaging our group for the Q&A too, there were several...skeptics...in the audience, and she definitely got them thinking. To see members of my local saddle club leaving with horsenality charts was priceless. YAY!

Anyway, there's my short update. There will be pictures as soon as my internet is back up. I have pix of everyones' lessons, as well as some of the demo, courtesy of Raven Flores and Richard Knopf (when they arrive).


Savvy on!