Barrel Racing Sundance

Sundance and I started off with our level 3 tasks, catching on SO fast! Then we once again played with our double figure eights, WE ARE SO CLOSE to taping it! Maybe saturday we'll tape. Afterwards we did some barrel racing just a little fun for his enjoyment, he's never competed in it and I introduced it to him myself. He just enjoys it himself and I do believe we will compete next year! When I am savvy enough. ;)

Today was awesome with both horses!

xoxo

Brother playing in Level 1 & Bebe Trotting at Liberty

My brother is going to graduate Level 1 probably next month if he

keeps on doing as well as he did this morning, him and Breeze are a perfect pair.

Bebe Trotting the Circling game at Liberty & Jumping!

We attempted the trot at liberty, at first he was confused but he got a hang of it without getting right brained. I did not spend a lot of time focusing on this task, it's not good to wear out a task like that. Then for the first time without feeling unbalanced or out of control, we cantered around and jumped barrels! It was so much fun, I feel so in sync with him now.

xoxo

April 29, 2008- Flying Lead Change Success

Sundance Flying Lead Changes

We played with our double figure eights, they are getting better!
Then we went and experimented with flying lead changes, so easy surprisingly!
Then we went on a trail ride, it was beautiful!

xoxo

April 28-29, 2008- Brother Starting Level One

Sundance Big time figure 8 Success
Day 1 and 2- We played with our figure eights and liberty both days, we are almost ready to tape our Freestyle Double Figure Eights! Yes!
Bebe HUGE Circling game Success!
Day 1 & 2- We played with our circling game, he now can do this by himself by his choice out in the open. INCLUDING a confident change of direction, I am very sure that I will make sure this will NEVER be boring for Bebe. We also played with bridless riding, he can now back, stop, turn etc. without a bridle. Good boy! Wow, what progress!

My brother is now starting the Parelli program in Level one with Breeze, my horse I originally assessed Level one with a year or so ago. She is a great candidate for my little brother, they BOTH catch on so fast! Brother is really wanting his red savvy string, I can't get him to stop talking about Parelli. It will be very nice to have a fellow PNHer to talk with here at my stables, a little 10 year old in Level 1! I am so proud of him!
xoxo

Liberty SUCCESS

Bebe- Liberty Success!

WOW! I was not expecting a good session today for some reason. Boy, was I wrong! Bebe did amazingly! We got about 4 full laps of the circling game and even a change of direction. He offered a lot more today too. He seemed more playful and willing about scary liberty. He was confident, which is great because a week or so ago he found that disconnection threatening between us. We also went out of the fence and did some UDT and moseying, what a GREAT session!
Tomorrow will no doubt be better!

Sundance- Figure eight Success
I had another BFO today, I knew if he was in a bigger circle he would do better at the figure eight but for some reason I did not apply that to the double eights and got frustrated, well we did big circles today and voila!

xoxo

NOTE TO SELF

I watched some of the April 2008 Savvy Club DVD, Pat stated you want your horses to be:

1. Calm


2. Smart


3. Brave


4. Athletic

How did last night I expect to teach Bebe when he was not calm?

I cannot expect a horse to learn something new when they are not calm.

When the calm comes in the smarts will and that is what you need when

teaching a horse something new. Another savvy arrow in my quiver!

xoxo

April 25, 2008 - Sundance

Sundance- Level 3 Tasks


I did not have much time but we did get to play with a few Level 3 tasks, he did great!

L3 Trotting and Cantering Sideways
L3 Running backwards
L3 Serpentine Backwards

xoxo

Bebe's First REAL Liberty Session!

Today Bebe surprised me with enough happiness and cooperation to start together his first Level 2 Liberty session! He just plain old amazed me, he was asking questions confidently and really honestly trying to figure out and do what mommy was asking. We did all but one of the 7 games at liberty, he is not quite ready for the circling game especially since we do not yet have a smaller round pen. I will continue to prepare him for the circling game at liberty and now try and finish up the rest of his skills at liberty, I do believe he will excel in this area and not take very long. After we finish up liberty we will be officially done with Level 2 groundwork, then while I finish him in Level 2 riding (which he is almost done with) I will be having him start his Level 3. I told you he was catching up with Sundance, he is so smart!

April 23-24, 2008

Sundance Level 3 Fun!

DAY 1- We started off with the shoulder game and sideways at the canter, he did amazingly and was so fun to play with. Then we did the dreaded double figure eights, I found a way to make it fun and interesting for both of us. He did very well, I do believe if I am passively persistent in the proper position we can get this done without boring him and becoming less of a leader. One of my savvy friends suggested I go and swim with the horses, I didn't want to get wet so I hooked on the 45 foot line and Sundance and I headed to the lake. Boy did we have fun! Sundance was very attentive and wanted to do everything I asked, but the good thing is all the while he was having so much fun! I caught a picture of his eager happy face as you can see on the fourth picture, THAT is the face I am now getting all the time. Doesn't it just melt your heart? We rode back to the house bareback and bridless, with smiles on our faces!

DAY 2- This morning we played with our Level 3 back up and sideways, he did awesome! AGAIN! :)

Bebe Progress in the MAKING

This morning after doing some sideways and circling game, I decided Bebe was ready to move on. We prepared for liberty! Preparation for downward transitions at liberty, and you know he caught on so quickly being the smart baby he is. I am very proud of him, tomorrow is going to be even better!

xoxo

Bicycles?

Last night while my brother was riding his bike in the pasture I found out that Bebe was terrified of a bike. It is amazing how strong a horses sense of self preservation is! I felt so bad for him! So I decided if I could get my hands on him I would put the halter (and much needed) 22 foot line on and help him face his fears. First I did some sideways to get him thinking while my brother slowly rode around us, then when he was calm enough I did the squeeze game with him. He would eventually walk past it without looking frightened. Then I had my brother ride around with Bebe and I right at his tail, it had Bebe feeling a little more confident about the whole situation. Then I had my brother hold the lead rope and lead him around on the bike, by the end of the session he could confidently walk and stand by the bike. This morning he was not as near as frightened of the bike, I had my brother go around in a circle while Bebe followed in with the circling game. Then we did squeeze game and then we played with approach and retreat and got the bike up on his back! We ended the session with him calmly standing by me, and chewing on the tires and handle bars. He also found it very handy as a scratching post! Doing things like this for a horse is one of my favorites, hopefully his trust in me will be better after this. I also played a little at liberty with Sundance, he was very energetic and dominant today, nonetheless he did very well!

xoxo

April 21-22, 2008

We did the same thing yesterday and today, I got up and played with Bebe & Sundance while Breeze was eating her morning snack. I don't ever get to play in the morning on a school days, it was very nice. I may even get to play with them again tonight, that would be great too!

Yesterday we did our worming, everyone did very well! Breezie got a little freaked once but she calmed down, sighed and licked her lips in contentment afterwards. The funny thing is Doc has to take two tubes of wormer, the lady at the register wanted to know if we were worming an elephant and I said "Yes, yes I am." and chuckled. It was a beautiful overcast perfect day yesterday and was very nice this morning. Bebe and Sundance were curious and beautiful as usual so I got some good snaps with my camera, I love to take pictures of anything beautiful. I guess I am starting photography as a hobby now that I think about it, nature and horses are amazing pieces to photograph. If there was anything more beautiful, God must have kept it for himself.

Sundance- LEVEL 3 SUCCESS!

DAY ONE - We tried another Level 3 task, cantering sideways! And you guessed it! HE DID AWESOME! We got a fair ways both sides at a canter and as soon as we stopped to go the other way he trotted to me with his "Oh my mommy! That was fun, what are we doing next?" face, which I do not see very often. We did our shoulder game, he is getting good! It looks more like he is cutting a cow now, with me as the cow.

DAY TWO - We did the same exact thing this morning except we did it in half the time and tons better, he was very much on his toes this morning. Cool beans! We did some cutting each other this morning too! Even cooler beans! We played with another Level 3 task, advanced back up.

Where I sprint forward and he runs back and then backing up with more finesse by backing him in a serpentine. Very very successful, especially for the first time! I am so excited about Level 3! Could it get any better? Hmm... How Interesting!

Bebe- Circling and Sideways Savvy
DAY ONE & TWO - We played with our advanced circling game and sideways without a fence. AWESOME! *squeal* I am so proud of the baby boy. We also played with Stick 2 Me out in the pasture at liberty, he did so well! We are almost ready to start liberty, oh my goodness. My baby is getting so smart & advanced. He will be turning 5 on June 3, Sundance will turn 8 on March 31... their getting old on me. I am even getting old on myself, I will be 17 on December 15. We all know that will come so quickly, with the months going by like weeks now I will be in Florida before I know it!

April 20, 2008

Faster Savvy- Quick savvy tune-ups at 10:00pm


Sundance (Tasks at Liberty)
Friendly,
Porcupine,
Needle Prep,
Back by Tail,
Lead by Legs,
Lead by Ear,
Circling at Liberty &
Friendly Mouth.



Bebe (Tasks at Liberty)
Friendly,
Porcupine,
Needle Prep,
Back by Tail,
Handling Feet,
Friendly Mouth &
Stick 2 Me (Walk, Trot).

Sunday at the Beach

I have read my books, surfed on the savvy club site and improved my website the past couple days. I'd say I've done a pretty good job. It is beautiful here, I will bring my camera next time so you all can see how beautiful it is down here. I am not sure when we leave, but I know it will be today. I have for once actually enjoyed a weekend here at the beach! But nonetheless I will be happy to be home. I have found laying and tanning on the beach to be addicting, listening to the crashing waves by your side and feeling the warm sand in your hands. I dream one day Sundance and I will ride on the beach! I have thought about me going to Florida in 1 & 1/2 years a lot this weekend, I cannot wait to go but have a lot of great things to accomplish in between then. Life is great, life is amazing when living your dreams! I am just so excited about life, my future, all the time, God has given me a purpose and I am fulfilling it. I hope you all can say the same, there is nothing like it! xoxo

Equestrian Oceans

I wish it was an equestrian ocean! Hey, I can make our own little place savvy if I wanted too! But we don't even have any land here... darn! I will just stick to the books. I've got a red chest and shoulders from laying out at the pool for an hour with my nose stuck in Tom Dorrance's book, True Unity. What a great book, it's the kind of book where you have to read one sentence twice to really get what he's saying and when you do you get a BFO (blinding flash of the obvious) and a "Wow, I never thought of it that way!". It is a book Pat Parelli reads once a year, I will read it once a year too... It's the kind of book you read and get more out of it every year. Good thing I'm in love with learning, I don't think I could finish it if I wasn't. I highly recommend this book along with Dr. Miller's books, like Discovering the Ancient Secrets of the Horses Mind. That's a good one, I am reading it too along with some of his other books. Well, I need to scoot! Remember, keep it natural! :)

xoxo

Ahola Friends

I am here at the beach,it is beautiful short and t-shirt weather here. I brought my success series DVDs here and watched the Natural Collection DVD, it was awesome! I also brought the about 11 books Pat and others recommended me read, so I will be set for a very long time. I am not going to worry about the horses, and look at this as an opportunity to get used to traveling so much with and without the horses as a future instructor. Emotional Fitness! I know I am being the best I can be and doing the best I can do and there is nothing else I can do so, I will NOT be hard on myself. I will be particular without being critical! Such a great way to grow as a person, I love life!
(I did not take the picture on the left)

Fast Savvy

Bebe Fast Circle Savvy- Bebe did AWESOME again today, we did our sideways and circles faster today, I had to we are about to leave... I think around 9 pm tonight. But he did amazing, he now can canter with the 12 foot line slack! Oh my goodness, and with no right brained behaviour either!
Sundance Fast Figure Eights- Sundance did good, we got with done the same thing we did yesterday except in half the time!
xoxo

April 16, 2008-

Sundance- Figure Eights
Sundance and I played with the shoulder game and then we did our double figure eights. For some reason he is having trouble getting the concept of staying on the circle, I make sure I am sitting more on the inside of his ribs so he has his ribs in the right position and makes it easy for him to circle. I guess it is boring for him, I just may need to be more persistent OR make it more interesting.
Bebe- Circling Success
Bebe's session went very well again! We played with Friendly: At liberty I can walk around him while slapping the ground violently without him looking stressed of agitated. Then we played with sideways which is getting SO much better! Then we did our circling, Bebe is catching up with Sundance. Sundance you'd better watch out!
Bebe is so very smart, he is so full of potential, I can't wait to see what he can do!
xoxo

April 14 & 15- Unimaginable Success

Sundance (both days) Stretching Out

Day One- We played with our figure eights online then did it bareback, he did very well. One thing I found very interesting was that when I let him go in larger circles he would start to put his head down lower and start to stretch out, it sure felt good and made me smile.
Day Two- We did the same exact thing as we did yesterday, except I started to circle the barrels two times. He wasn't 100% for it at first but he came along nicely later on. I am learning how to control my emotions more with the horses, getting mad just makes everything worse!







Bebe (both days) Unimaginable Success

Day One-We played with our sideways and circling game, he was confident enough again to play! I got some great trot departures and change of direction, very snappy ones too! He even squealed once! I decided to hop on him and see how he was doing sideways with a person on him, he did pretty well. We also played with his speedy back up, it was fun synchronizing and playing with his feet! He is such a fun horse to ride, I can't wait to start to strengthen his top line and get him to stop pulling with his forequarters. He even pulls with his forequarters at a walk, watch his movement in this video closely and you will see how much he pulls with his forequarters...

Day Two- We only played with the circling game today, but we had so much excitment!
HE DID AWESOME! I could get a walk departure, a trot departure AND a CANTER departure with just a point of a finger and change of energy in my body. His downward transitions and change of direction were great too! He is so smart, we just needed to get past his fear issues in order for him to be the best he can be.

xoxo

April 13, 2008- Motivational Confidence

Sundance- Figure 8 Preparation
Sundance and I played with the Shoulder Game & Stick 2 Me for motivation before we did our figure eights. I extended the barrels to the 50 foot marker and let him do it on the ground first, then I hopped on bareback and we trotted around the barrels for a while. He didn't need much motivation to trot, he wanted to do his rocking horse canter a few times. He was not squirreley or over impulsive or anything, he just felt I was asking for a canter. By the end he did the figure eights with out me trying to motivate him and only correcting him twice. I was very happy, by then it was very windy and dark so we went to the barn so I could feed him and play with Bebe.

Bebe- Motivational Confidence
Even though it was very stormy Bebe was confident and willing, what a surprise! We got to move on with 'our' journey. We stayed out and played in and near the shed just in case it started to rain, started out with the friendly game just because I get time to read him a while and see how he is feeling about everything. Then we did some sideways then did it over some buckets and feed pans, he seemed confident so I started with the circling game. He didn't get right brained or anything, so I asked him to play a little with the trot... No confidence issues there! I started to play with trot departures and change of directions at the trot, very soon he was making really snappy (quite dominant) trot departures and change of direction. I was very excited and proud of him, what a great step forward! I treated him to a scoop of sweet feed and a cup of corn oil for being such a good boy. I love what I do! I love Parelli! I love my life! Thank you God!

xoxo

Beauty in Paradise

4.12.08

Prior and Proper Preparation... and Patience

Bebe- Preparation prevents 'P' Poor Performance
My goal with Bebe today was to move forward some with our circling game without him feeling wrong or having to worry about his self preservation. The sense of self preservation is very strong in a horse, even if it is not in a threatening or dangerous situation. A great way for you to keep your horse from becoming worried is through preparation, prepare your horse for what you want him to do. Make sure all of the 'parts' are together so he can understand it more and not become 'preservative' when you ask him to do it. I knew Bebe would may have started to become right brained when I asked him to do some circling game at a higher gait SO I started (after friendly and other trust building tasks) to play with some barrels, I had him do different things that required lots of thinking and communication. He was confident with jumping the barrel, going sideways with it in front of him and going sideways over the barrels, then I started to do some squeeze game. Point to barrel, he jumps barrel, yields hindquarters then faces me then the other way. I made the squeeze game longer and longer until he was comfortable with walking and trotting in a circle all the while jumping the barrels, we soon moved away from the barrels and did the plain old circling game. I played with transitions and change of direction, all the while he was blowing and stretching out becoming more and more relaxed. That was what I was looking for! Only once did he start to get right brained at the canter, as soon as I saw any hint of fear I brought him back in to me and let him sit there and think his fear through. I sent him back out, he had no other problems after that. His gaits were a lot more consistent, his downward transitions where a lot better and he was confident and happy... What more could I ask? I ended the session. Now our arena has a big 16 foot gate on one side opening out to our large pasture, the horses were at the end at the time. Well I let him out of that gate smiling and wanting to see him happy and canter freely out to his buddies, but to my surprise he just turned around and waited for me to shut the gait! Bebe! Oh man! I could have cried. I thought 'Well, he would want to be with me more and could relate to me more if I went and walked out to the horses or a grassy spot.' So I did, we just moseyed together and enjoyed the beautiful day. Not once did he leave me, I left him once we got to the other horses. I walked over to Doc to say hello and Breeze decided she wanted her itchy spot on her belly scratched and walked up to me where I could scratch. After that I went to scratch with Sundance, Breeze decided she wanted to join in and started to groom with Sundance. What a bonding time for both of us! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sundance- Preparation for a so called 'boring' task (in Sundances opinion)
Sundance and I moseyed up to the arena and fooled around awhile then played with our figure eights on the 22 foot line, he has the pattern memorized so all I had to do is make sure the rope didn't get caught and he maintained the trot. Maintaining his trot is what we are working on with our figure eights, we have to retake our double figure eights at a trot in freestyle for Level 2. So I prepared him for tomorrow, tomorrow I will have him review the trot again then do it on horse back. Then the next day we will probably do the same thing with the addition of an extra circle at the end, a double figure eight. Tomorrow I will hopefully be going over to a friends house to help her with her horse, help her and her daughter get started out right with their first horse.

xoxo

April 10 & 11, 2008

April 11, 2008- Confidence for Horse and Human, and Video Taping Savvy!

Bebe

One of my students came over and did some confidence building tasks for the human and the horse, I did not really play with him and but he did get played with nonetheless.

Sundance

We trail rode over to our friends house and video taped our tasks we needed to redo. He wasn't as in tune as I would have liked him to be, nonetheless he did well. There was only one thing I wasn't sure of him passing (porcupine/driving HQ Liberty) but he did really good in the other DVD, and didn't do bad in this one. I re-did it a few times after the whole enchilada, so he did better after that, we even bowed at liberty at the end! I can't wait to video the tasks we missed for the riding part so we can send it in!

April 10, 2008- Confidence Building and Video Preparation

Bebe

Bebe did so much better yesterday, I guess it's because I took my time and got him thinking.

We did lots of thinking tasks and sideways, and also some undemanding time.

Sundance

My brother and I went to our friends house and we played with our liberty tasks, practicing for the videoing the next day. He did VERY well!

xoxo

April 9, 2008

Sundance
Yeehaw! We retook 2 of our tasks for level 2 and he did AWESOME!
We are going to retake our liberty task Friday, I will be practicing today at my friends house in their pen. We did play with our liberty in our larger pen and Sundance was very enthused and fun, the taping will go great tomorrow.

Bebe
Yesterday was an How Interesting day! Great for my emotional fitness and problem solving skills. Here is a sheet I created for me, I like to do this to help me with my next session...

Bebe's Right Brained Analysis
What did he do in the session that was right brained?
I asked him to do something like walk with me at liberty and he ran around about 3-5 circles with head and tail up, then came in and stood by me and liked his lips for a couple of minutes and did all of this two times. (All the while I was just standing there in a neutral position with very low energy.) He has never done this before, I had done nothing that I know of that would have made him frightened. I am guessing I could have come on too strong by not doing some things online before I did anything at liberty, the lawn mower was also going so that could have caused some right brained behavior.
Solution: Make sure I do some puzzle solving; slow games that make him feel confident online before I go and do something at liberty.

Sometimes when I ask him to trot or canter he goes into a right brained state.
Solution:Do as above, prepare him. If he starts to get right brained do some backing and sideways to get his brain working.

If he walks around me he will keep on asking and asking questions and if I redirect him and ask him to keep on walking he goes slightly right brained.
Solution:Don’t let him sneak up on you; every time he asks this question ask him to change direction and maybe he will get tired of changing direction.

At the end of the session I would ask him to go from a walk to a trot and I would eventually have to use a phase 4 to ask him to walk, then he perks his ears up asking questions like I popped out of know where.
Solution: He will most likely be in the right brained state when displaying this behavior; do not let him get in this state in the first place.

I have a packed rest of the day so I can't get into too much detail!

Hope you enjoyed! xoxo

April 8, 2008

Sundance & Bebe
I did not have much time yesterday to work, but I did get a few things in with both of them...

• Friendly Game
• Driving Game
• Feet Up
• Yielding by Tail
• Needle Prep

They both did excellent! :)

xoxo

April 6, 2008

Bebe

I decided to play a little with trailering, he did very well. He was slightly right brained in the beginning because some of my family members were target practicing with their rifles, but after a little puzzle solving he was left brained in no time. I left him in there with some feed while I cleaned our messy barn and mingled with Sundance.

We headed over to the arena with a goal, officially pass Bebe in a level 2 task (7 games with an obstacle). I didn't think he would pass but he did very well, he even side passed over the barrels a few times without knocking any of them over. He was excellent, I left the session there. I am glad I stopped when we did, now he has a fresh taste in his mouth and will be even more positive about the next session.

Sundance
Sundance and I played in the arena yesterday, we worked with...

• Departure at Canter (Now ready to tape)
• Departure at Trot (ditto)
• Departure at Walk (Already been taped)
• Change of Direction: Online & Liberty (ditto)
• Downward transitions at Liberty (very close)

He did very well, and was very fun to play with! Today should be fun too.

Afterwards my brother wanted me to go on a ride and I did not want to ride Bebe or Sundance, they had already done enough. So I put my dressage saddle and cradle bridle on my Dressage trained 26 year old mare and hit the trail, all the while playing with side passes at different gaits and vertical flexion. I had forgotten how fun she was to ride, what a joy!

xoxo

My Opinion regarding Normal VS. Natural

Question (from fellow enthusiast)-
Just out of interest, what would be an example of the things you teach in a lesson? How do you determine what is Parelli and what is not? Where are your lines drawn?
K*

Parelli is not a way to train, it is a way of life. Once you go through this program there is no other way to be with a horse. I teach how to tack a horse, brush, and lead horse; the basics. But not in a normal way, for example: Give the horse time to except the girth, it doesn't matter what side you mount the horse on (as long as they're safe, you shouldn't be riding in the first place if the horse is not safe), let the horse get familiar with tack before you put it on their back. When riding I tell them not to just kick horse, go through different steps such as squeeze then kiss. Be soft in the mouth and ask nicely. It is all fairly natural stuff, I can't teach anything else.

I actually don't really like the term natural, It should be referred to as 'Common Sense Horsemanship'. It all makes so much sense, you are in true harmony when you learn this information. It IS the horse, you become one of them. There's not necessarily a definition between natural and normal. Normal isn't at all necessarily wrong either, it is usually a lack of knowledge of the inner horse. You CAN get results through traditional ways of training and being with a horse, but it did not give me the results I wanted. What do I want? I want to be just like the horse, communicate the way they do, have my horses want to be with me, do what is possibly the best for them (tack, not constricting movement). I want my horses to WANT to be with me. I want to truly understand them and want them to truly understand me. Before finding Parelli, I was just doing what I knew and what everyone else did. I didn't know what I was doing was not bringing out the best I could in my horse, there was something more. There is something more! This is that something that a lot of horse owners are looking for. Most people don't know that a relationship like that exists and that you can actually accomplish that success without force, the partnership without dominance, the willingness we want without intimidation, and harmony we long for without coercion.

Mariah Helms

April 4, 2008

Sundance & Bebe
I decided to fiddle with some Level 4 tasks, playing with a horse on the ground while riding a horse. I this was only the second time I had done this, I felt confident about it myself... Sundance had to get used to the idea that the stick I was using was not directed toward him, after that he was fine with it. Bebe had done this once before, he was not sure at first but afterwards he was doing just fine. Bebe was circling around me at the trot, then we did a cool yo-yo type task... If Sundance walked back Bebe would walk forward, then if Sundance walked forward Bebe would walk back, we even did some side passing together. I can't wait to start seriously into Level 3, it's going to be so much fun.

I found some great quotes of Pat's in my Level 3 Booklet:

"Savvy is knowing where to be, when to be, why to be and what to do when you get there at any given moment, and in any situation with a horse." -Pat Parelli

"Savvy is what becoming a horseman is about." - Pat Parelli

I want to be savvy, it's what I strive for, and hopefully will be.

Sundance

Later that afternoon I hooked on the 22ft line and played with..

~ Departure at the canter.

~Change of direction.

~ Preparation for downward transitions at Liberty.

We will be videoing our re-tasks for Level 2 soon, good thing I do not have a lot to do.

He was a little rusty because of all the mud but other than that he was great.

Bebe

It was starting to thunder by the time I started with the Beebsters but we still got to play...

~Stick 2 Me (Sticking to me and doing what I do no matter what I do.)

~Needle prep

~Holding feet up

~Yo-yo

He was 100% great, couldn't ask for more from my willing little gelding.

xoxo

April 3, 2008

Bebe

It was 8pm on a rainy night, under a noisy shed.

Yo-yo game- He was very light, Responding with only the wiggle of a finger.

Sideways- He was very straight and light both ways, the way I communicate with him during this task is very important.

Feet Up- This is a task where you tap his cannon bone with the stick and he holds his feet up. I had not done this task in a while, He did very well.

Driving Game- Bebe was yielding his forequarters and hindquarters very well, backed well too.

Fingers in Mouth- He mastered this task a few months ago, it's just fun to do and a good way to test your relationship every time you go out to play.

Needle Prep- An accomplished example of this task: You pinch your horse on the neck where a vet (or you) would insert a needle and the horse lowers his head and tips his nose toward you. Why would we want a horse to do that? Have you ever had a horse that gets high headed and their neck is concave and stiff when the vet goes to insert a needle? It is very hard to take blood for testing or give the horse the medicine they need with tight contracted muscles. If your horse has his head down and toward you, he will be relaxed and supple and so will his muscles in his body. Bebe is just now getting a hang of this task, he learns differently than Sundance so I had to approach the task in a different way.

Backing by the Tail- This tasks just proves how soft, connected and supple your horse is. This is a Level 3 Refinement task, stand behind your horse and hold on to the hair of his tail and he should feel the aid and back until you let go. Bebe just learned this task last month and is doing very well.

OF COURSE the Friendly Game!- Bebe decided he wanted to do some friendly after our little session. He rubbed and licked my hand, he also lipped at his halter a few minutes after I took the halter off. He was very friendly and playful, I wish I had more time with him last night but it was going on 9pm and very rainy. Everytime I take the time it takes in a session I see the positive results the next day, yesterday was one of those days I was very thankful for my patience and perseverance in the last lesson.

Todays Plan- I am almost done with school, I have a lesson to teach at 3pm for 1 hour. I will work with Bebe after school and before my lesson, I will have Sundance in his stall ready to go and as soon as I am done teaching I will hop on and ride to our friends house to work with our liberty. That will be my time to work with Sundance, the weather is supposed to be around 70 degrees and very nice so it will be a great day no doubt.

xoxo

A Round Pen Soaking

Sundance

My brother and I trail rode to our friends house a 15 minute rainy trail ride away. They said we could use their 50-60 foot round pen to re-tape our 7 games at liberty. Our huge arena isn't a good place for videoing our Liberty in level 2, Nita Jo Rush says. We went and played in it, it was VERY nice and natural looking. We performed and Sundance got an A+, I am going to go again tomorrow and practice. We are almost ready to tape the tasks we didn't pass. I cannot wait for tomorrow, it's going to be tons of savvy fun! I will be playing with Bebe when I get back to the barn, I just finished supper. xoxo