New blog....

Due to issues with my old email address it became tedious to sign in & out of this blog so I've streamlined things & started a new one. If you want to follow check it out here.......http://lvandalusians.blogspot.com/


This will be the last post here. Thanks for following!

Enjoying Fall!

I'm not sure if it's official yet but we've been loving the slightly cooler more fall like weather recently. We've completed an addition to our barn in the form of a very large run-in for the horses in the pasture around the barn to enjoy. At present the mares have access to this as Miles enjoys the larger & grassier pasture in the back. They thank us for building it by spending time under it several times a day. It's going to be particularly nice for me later this fall when it gets rainy meaning really good shelter for them & less barn clean-up for me!

Miles continues life as a retired man! The quintessential Thoroughbred, he is a hard keeper & can be hard to keep weight on during the winter months. So trying to get as much weight on him as possible... not much is possible but I try none the less. Zorra has continued her ground work in prep for riding next spring. She's very relaxed & seems to enjoy any attention. I'm pleased with her movement. She's extremely rhythmic in her gaits showing really good balance & athleticism. She does a lot but our main focus has been a few trot-canter transitions. She likes to play but does well with her short, fun sessions. Foxy has a friend who comes out every week or so to learn about riding from her. Kisia is gorgeous in pregnancy & not so sure about the changes in her body. Valencia now seems to be fully integrated into the herd of mares & gaining health after a rough transition to our hot, buggy climate from California. She's wonderfully friendly with a natural elegance & posture that must be seen to appreciate. She walks around as if she's on stage. I believe she's grown a couple of inches since arriving & is easily our tallest mare with Zorra just behind her in height. Kisia is the smallest but stands out with the biggest personality & extreme beauty seen in the picture posted here. Very much looking forward to her 1st foal next spring. Would love to see Kisia's beautiful face on that baby. Should be a beauty & a mover! Will certainly be plenty adored.

Normal to Natural

For those outside the horse world, it can sound like people with horses speak their own language with terms & sayings that mean little to others. Even within the horse world, different disciplines have their own lingo. If you follow natural horsemanship methods, you often hear the word "normal" used in contrast to the way those who consider themselves "natural" do things. For me, it's not negative, just different & a choice in how the horse is handled. I like the natural way & believe my horses do too.

I've recently acquired a new mare. Valencia is a two year old PRE (Spanish Andalusian) filly. She's been handled in a more normal or traditional way. The contrast between her & Zorra (my home bred two year old Andalusian cross) is clear & fascinating. My spring project is to get her to behave like a partner in all we do! Things that stand out are: she likes to be very close to you when leading, right at the shoulder, she has difficulty standing still for grooming & especially having her feet handled, pushes into pressure & has little respect for my personal space. When worried she'll constantly push into my space & spooks in my direction. She is very gentle, kind & smart without a mean bone in her body. She's trusting (excluding the feet) & loves people. So we've been spending time leading using the "swing the end of the lead rope" as we walk so she stays out my space & isn't constantly able to push into that halter which, by the way, is physically exhausting to my shoulder & arm! She's learned this super fast & seems to be way more relaxed leading. Valencia is very big. At two years old she's already 16 hands. I'm not a big person. Not only am I not able but I've no desire to man-handle any horse. While grooming she's been quite fidgety. I just stay patient & ask her to come back & stand here please. She got this very quickly & doesn't mind standing still. That is until I ask for a foot! So lots of friendly with her legs, which she firmly plants on the ground at the mere idea of picking them up. It takes a good deal of time, but she's allowed me to pick up each foot & is putting them down more softly. Just takes lots of massage & patiently waiting for her to get tired of me asking to get each foot. It's much like it was teaching this to baby Kisia & Zorra, but with a much bigger & stronger horse. So far once she understands & trusts my intentions, Valencia is more that willing to comply. Not sure yet, but still thinking she might be RBI (right brained introvert horsenality) which is so cool! Kisia & Zorra are both LBE (left brained extrovert). Having one that is opposite their horsenality but also my own personality type (RBI) will be a nice contrast to them & provide much learning.

I call myself lucky to have the opportunity to spend time with this new & fabulous mare. Valencia is a type that breeders don't often part with. She'll eventually be a foundation broodmare for our budding program. But for a few more years, I'll enjoy developing a partnership with her & learning more as a lifetime student of the horse.

Spring Update

Spring arrived early in Mississippi this year & looks like summer has too. Kisia is now comfirmed in foal to the fabulous black PRE stallion Klickitat. Klickitat was bred by Jackass Mountain Ranch, who are known for producing some of the best PRE horses in this country. He has an incredible resume that includes National Championship titles in conformation & movement & is presently competing at 4th level in dressage under his owner/trainer at Villa Rosa Dressage. He's wonderfully complimentary to Kisia. We're anticipating a super nice foal out of those two.

We've also aquired our 2nd foundation PRE mare who arrived a few weeks ago. She's pictured here with our niece, Maddie. Valencia ADP is a big, striking, two year bay mare who I've been trying to get my hands on for a while now. Her breeder at Andalusian Dressage Partners is wonderful & has been quite gracious to help make getting this filly a reality.

Valencia has had a little trouble settling in in the form of an allergic reaction to our multitude of different species of biting insects. Our vet, Jennifer Dunlap, reports this isn't uncommon for a horse from a different type climate to experience their 1st summer here. Nothing extreme, but she has hives so will be a bit before we get more pics of her. She's being treated with meds, supplements & limited exposure. We're slowly integrating her into our little mare herd. She spent a couple of weeks getting to know the others by sharing a fence-line. Now she is with our other two year old filly, Zorra, for a few weeks before they go in with the other big mares. They seem to be getting on pretty well. Valencia is gentle & non-confrontational. Zorra is more confidant but not physically confrontational either so just some face making & moving around a bit before they settled.

My "dream" for sometime has been to have two foundation PRE mares of quite particular types. It's taken years to find & aquire each of them but so cool to be in this place. They are both inscribed in the Spanish Studbook. Next year when Valencia turns three, we'll pursue getting the next step accomplished for both, revision. So exciting times with an up & coming foal, a new mare & my personal indulgence, Zorra, being more fun than should be legal who will be ready to ride next Winter/Spring.

New video!

Randy & I recently attended this year's Parelli tour, "Horse & Soul" at Conyers, GA. We were only there for the 1st day. The video here was created by Randy to submit for their social media contest. A winner was chosen for best video & best photo. The winner would receive one of their new video courses. He certainly deserved to win in my not so humble opinion! Thanks to Randy for winning me the new Game of Contact course, which I've been thoroughly enjoying & hopefully Kisia will feel the same way soon!

Spring has arrived early here & we're taking full advantage of it! We recently completed a big fencing project to allow my Thoroughbred, Miles, a larger & grassier area to enjoy his retirement. This also means a smaller & less grassy area for the mares. This too is wonderful & may allow Kisia to spend more time with her friends this spring/summer rather than be relegated to the dry lot. My mares are all easy keepers with Kisia being an exceptionally easy keeper, so less is more for them when it comes to grass.

Kisia & I are playing with some of the concepts in Linda Parelli's Game of Contact. We also made a trip over to Cedar Winds for a lesson & came home with some more "Classical" training tips to add to our riding. Next month we will make the trip to our Repro vet to start watching for Kisia to be ready to breed. Hoping she'll prove easy to get in foal & handle the process with ease.

Winter Update

Horsey life has been quiet here this winter. While it's not been so cold this year, it's been rainy leaving things too muddy to do much with the horses. Late fall we made some improvements to the foundation of our riding arena & had sand placed. When things dry up enough this spring, the sand will be graded to about 2 inches deep, then will start looking into placing some fencing around the area for a real place to ride & play finally! The horses have lost access to our front pasture & pond for the next few years. We're unfortunately losing some land & lots of trees due to road construction. In anticipation of this, we've planted a little over 100 Pines, a hand full of Oaks & have some flowering trees coming to add to the mix. Will be re-routing our driveway & moving some plumbing soon then just wait till it's over & allow our new little forest to grow. Kisia (our 5 year old PRE) & Foxy (Randy's Tennessee Walker) have both slimmed down nicely this winter despite giving me the big starving horsey eyes every possible opportunity! I've ridden Fox a few times just walking out for a trail ride. Kisia has learned to put her head down for me to jump on then pop up so I can get on her bareback....not graceful but gets me up there! Zorra (our Andalusian cross filly), who is now our tallest mare, seems to have slowed down growing somewhat. I've taught her the Spanish Walk & spent some time in the barn getting her used to saddles & tack. She'll be two in April so we'll start some prep for riding. Miles, at almost 21, remains a challenge to keep weight on. Although, he's held what he had this winter so far. Always the quintessential Thoroughbred, he just can't be still for long....you'd never know he has arthritis & growing melanomas. At this point my goal is to keep him happy & comfortable in retirement. I've chosen the PRE stallion Klickitat AK to breed Kisia to this spring. I've literally taken years to choose him & believe he's quite complimentary to Kisia. Hoping all is easy with her first attempts at breeding. To learn more about him, check out http://vrdressage.com/. Picture above of our beautiful Kisia.

Pics by Coco

Slideshow of photos taken while Kisia & I were in Ocala, FL attending the Flex-track course at the Parelli Center. The Parelli Center in Ocala is a magical place. I was lucky to get to attend one of the last courses held there as it is now for sale. I'm not always comfortable with pictures of myself which is why one typically only sees horse pics here. But, these are more about the relationship &, I think, Coco did a great job of capturing that on film.

Deliberant, consistent & persistent

Florida was another wonderful experience at the Parelli campus. Kisia & I are both glad to be home enjoying getting back to our routine & a bit of rest to digest some of what we've brought back. My personal focus during the Flex Track was on Freestyle riding. It's been a challenge for me as I'm used to riding with contact as is my mare. What I realised during our course was just what I was missing. I was not being clear or consistent enough with my phases. I also was giving up way too soon when things weren't working & going back to what I knew worked.....riding with contact. After getting some clear instruction on just what my phases should be....not nagging with one too long before going to the next...& staying with it until Kisia was able to understand what I wanted....we put it to test. My big break through was while trying to walk around a tree in a circle. I kept having to go to phase 4 with the reins & put her back on the circle. I knew that all I had to do to ride a lovely circle around that tree was pick up the contact! But it was not about the circle, it was about allowing Kisia the time to understand what my intention & body were asking her to do. As these things go, she "all of the sudden" got it & turned at phase 3 with just my outside leg. That was it! We still had moments of needing to go to the reins for a correction but she knew what that leg meant from that moment on & even began to turn from my eyes/belly & focus later. This also translated to other areas for me as to the importance of being very deliberate & consistent with the four phases as well as staying with it as long as needed for the horse to understand what your trying to communicate. We stayed so busy that I didn't get many pictures but did have a photo session with Coco. Should get those photos in about a month & will share here.

What we've learned so far....

Kisia & I enjoyed watching "Parelli Games" this morning & spending some undemanding time together today. After a very full week, it's nice to have a day to relax & think on some of what we've learned. One area where I got some great suggestions was on Kisia's desire to dive down to eat grass about anytime I'm not actively asking her to do something. One instructor suggested using a voice cue "head-up", then kiss, then a bump on her rope. This helped but wasn't effective enough as a bump on the rope doesn't bother her too much. I questioned another instructor who suggested to "try to beat her to the punch" giving her a tap on her hiney as soon as she would start to dive for a bite. We made a game of this, moving around to different grassy areas. It worked like a charm. Took about 3 times for her to get it so I then added the voice cue "head up" & the tap if needed. Again about 3 times & she was able to understand that "head up" meant a tap to the toosh would soon follow if she went for grass. Next step was to get some communication going as to a cue that meant...."yes this is a good place to eat grass, go ahead!". So I began asking her to lower her head....she was pretty skeptical that it was OK so I very quietly took a few steps away from her physically & directed any energy well away from her. Didn't take long for her to get this part either. This has been an annoyance for me for some time with Kisia with things like grooming, tacking up & bathing in grassy areas. For me this is a priceless bit of learning & goes back to the saying to make the wrong thing uncomfortable & the right thing easy. We're had some great break throughs with our freestyle ride as well that I'll share here later!

Update from FL

Kisia & I are nearing the end of week one here in Florida of the Flex Track course offered at the Parelli Center. The first two days were testing. A theory test, knot tying, online, freestyle & liberty skills. Since I'm here more to develop my horsemanship skills rather than progress through the instructor track, I feel comfortable saying I might prefer no testing in a future course. That said, testing skills in front of an instructor is a challenge for me so good to step up from time to time & give it a go! Day three consisted of a rope handling, knot tying, personal goal setting for the rest of the course & reviewing our test scores (if we wanted them). Disappointing online score as Kisia & I have passed our level 2 online but surprising scores on both liberty (which we've done next to nothing with) & Freestyle. Kisia, having endured a really long trip, got several days off before the course started as we arrived a week before. I'm glad we did that as I feel it helped her to have some time to recover a bit before asking her to start moving & thinking so soon after that stress. She is a young mare, just four & a half, so much is new to her about traveling. She of course draws admirers & charms people who pass her pen. Such is her charisma & beauty. She's proving herself to be true to her breed displaying spirit when she moves, super sensibility in the face of unending new stimuli & ease of training. The new obstacles like the car wash, a nice long isle of blue tarps hanging with cut outs blowing in the wind, tires, jumps & ponds are, for her, curiosities rather than something to fear. She does get quite exuberant at times when riding. But as long as she's connected & listening that's something I personally enjoy. Will get some pics this weekend of this magical campus to post here later & share more of what we're learned as we go along.

Heading to Florida!

Kisia & I are soon to be on our way to FL to attend a 2 week course at the Parelli Center. I'm obviously excited to get to do this but especially pleased to get the attend one of the last courses that will be held at that beautiful horse heaven. It's my understanding that the FL campus has been sold meaning that future offerings will only be at the CO campus. I'll post some blogs along the way about what we're up to down there. In prep for our trip, rather than worry about what Kisia & I can do as far as our skills....of late I've been focusing on helping her to build confidence for the long trailer ride. Kisia is always more than happy to load up & down but has trouble staying in the trailer & gets worried when all the doors are shut. We've only taken short day trips (outside her long trip here from TX as a weanling). Each time we arrived at our destination, she would get off the trailer sweaty, apparently having worried that whole trip. I've tried spending longer periods of time in the trailer which wasn't making a difference. As soon as the butt bar or back gait went up, her stress was clear. As these things go, I had a moment of brilliance walking by the trailer one day & thought....wonder how she'd do if I left her in there with a buddy. Foxy is quiet & experienced in the trailer so loaded her up....loaded Kisia up who immediately started much hay (a first in the trailer)...butt bars up....back gait closed....two mares hanging out munching hay....YES! I made a program of this, leaving them on together about 30 minutes several mornings, then just Kisia. The 1st time she went on by herself, she had a few moments of tension (biting the chest bar & little pawing). Then she settled in & started eating. 2nd round of this no tension, just hanging out eating. I believe that she was unable to find relaxation at all in the trailer & having her lead mare be relaxed allowed her to chill. She was then able to go there on her own. Long trip ahead of us & hoping for as relaxed a ride for her as possible.

Nothing beats fast & right!

To help prepare for a course in FL at the Parelli center this fall, I've been viewing some of my levels videos. While watching the level 4 finess video (for the 1st time) at one point Pat says another one of his well-used quotes...."slow & right beats fast & wrong" but goes on to say something like but nothing beats fast & right or maybe was fast & right is the best! I thought at the time....hmm, that's true...can't wait to be at that point.

This morning I was worming my herd. Miles has always been something of a terror to worm...but since my discovery of approach & retreat, he's actually much better. Took plenty of time with him....he got his medicine down. Foxy was next, if she could speak she might say something like this about worming....."I'll stand here & take it because that's who I am....but if your asking then, No thanks! So again, took my time with approach & retreat until her lips relaxed then......down her medicine went. Zorra, who's not had much issue with worming thought today that it smelled funny & just wasn't interested...so again more approach & retreat till she willingly accepted the funny smelling stuff. Enter Kisia's stall (with slow & right on my mind)who is standing at the door, ears perked & 2 eyes all on me...allow her to smell it..she tries to eat it, touch her with the tube....she tries to eat it, touch her lips with it...she tries to eat it then... Shazam! I realize she's yelling at me...."give it to me! I want that stuff! What's taking you so long!" I've literally spent years preparing this mare to accept all the strange things humans do around horses.....she doesn't need slow & right......she wants fast & right! So I held the tube up....she took it...& believe me...you've never seen a tube of wormer exit a horses mouth that clean. Then she looked at me as if to say "What next?". Yep, your right Pat....nothing beats fast & right!

Zorra playing "touch it"

We had about a week of comfortable weather recently. Everyone got to move their feet a bit & do something interesting. Few pics here of Zorra playing "touch it" which is basically a confidence building game & therefore is wonderful for a girl her age in my opinion. Baron, our dane, came out to help & somehow a cat made it into about every shot! Zorra here at 16 months old.

Summer update

We've had another very hot summer which has impacted much of our outdoor activities here. We have, although, the last week had a small drop in temps so I've been able to spend some time playing with Kisia & Zorra. Kisia & I are gearing up to return to the Parelli Campus in FL to attend a Flex-track course. With the recent announcement that the FL campus is closing, I'm feeling lucky to get to attend one of the last courses offered at that magical place & plan to get as much out of it as possible. We'll see if Kisia has the same opinion! She has been playing at level 3 online with us focusing on a final few tasks at that level. We're very close to being ready to film our level 3 online audition which is pretty cool. As far as riding, she is just great! We aren't quite "there" riding on a freestyle rein. She does better with a shorter rein at this point & hoping we'll get some pointers on this in FL. My husband has ridden her several times now on our little trail rides. Let me say here that prior to this he has been a self-proclaimed "trot hater" with no interest in riding a trot. He was a "gaited or I'm not going" type. It's pretty clear that Kisia with her sensitivity, comfortable gaits & equal go & whoa just may be his favorite mount....who knew!?!? Zorra & I spend our time working on being friendly, respectful, taking walks & playing with obstacles including the horse trailer. She's ended up being a low spirit LBE according to her horsenality report. That's a separate blog in itself but suffice it to say I was surprised. Knowing that although, has helped me to be more interesting to her. She's progressed quite quickly with the little games we play. Foxy has had a few rides from family & myself. And, Miles is actually looking good having gained a good deal of weight. He's a hard-keeper on a good day & has been challenging to get weight on. I think he's looking good enough for some pics so when cooler with get out there & allow him to be his dramatic self for some shots. We also have a new barn kitten we named Margarita.....she's into everything & knows no fear so quickly got the nickname Rita Skeeter. If you are a Harry Potter fan, you know she is a busy body into every one's business but her own! Pic of little Rita here.

4th of July family fun pics

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So we've practically got a "herd" of nieces & nephews now! They joined our equine herd for some fun on the 4th.

Friends & what they teach.

I've spent some time the past couple of weeks pondering another one of Pat Parelli's sayings......"pick your partner, not your poison." As I'd mentioned previously, my old riding partner, Miles, recently returned home. Miles is a big 16.2 hand Thoroughbred, ex-racer who just turned 20. I had a friend over to ride & was talking about Miles. My conversations regarding Miles typically consist of some pretty dramatic, often scary episodes. During all this she asked "Why would you get a horse like that?". My 1st thought was that there is a lot of good about him. But I don't often share that. It was a totally fair question. Like much of society, it's easy & often more interesting to focus on the negative or high drama in life. Surely this is the fuel for the popularity of modern reality television. But is that the truth of reality? More often the truth is boring, mundane or dare I say......safe? I realized that in sharing my own reality experience with this noble,yet complicated creature that I've portrayed him only in his worst & ,yes, dramatic or fascinating moments. The real reality is that he's a nice guy with years of well earned experience, training one might dream to have in any horse, confirmation to take  him soundly into old age & an exceptional ability to communicate  (whether they like it or not!) with humans. He will never be beginner friendly & might be even less professional friendly! You know the type! He is a great teacher & for me, an old friend. He's taken me to the highest highs & lowest lows.  Would I pick an easier horse if I'd known more back then? It'd be nice to be able to say yes....but he was meant to be with me. Like youth, loss of a loved one & great heart-break, he's caused me to grow & become better. He's ended up being more that a horse to ride.....so I really did pick a partner...but one that would be way more than a riding horse. A teacher & old friend....water under the bridge & all.

Clinic with Sarah Martin

Kisia & I attended one day of a clinic with Sarah Martin. The clinic was held here in Oxford at Cedar Winds Farm. I had heard this clinician was nice so thought we'd give it a try. I'll stop here & say that at this point in my horsemanship journey I don't do mean people anymore. I've been there, done that & have no intention, regardless of what I might learn, in being told anything mean about myself or my horse. So there! If they aren't positive they aren't for me. I had hoped for some insight into helping Kisia understand contact. She has moments where she gets this but I've felt overall that she's not confident with the connection of mouth to hand. I discussed her early training with Sarah who suggested I try lunging her for a short time (10 minutes) in a surcingle, bridle & side-reins to help her learn to find where the contact is comfortable without the rider's issues or influence. She stressed that because Kisia was young, that we keep this lunging & riding her with contact very short. Just a few circles W/T/C & move on. The goal was for Kisia to understand & not to feel drilled. So she showed me the lunging technique asking for a couple of circles trot then canter both directions. Then mounted up & staying on a 20 meter circle instructed me to "be the surcingle & side-reins". We did this for few circles walking which Kisia was nice & quiet for without the usual "rooting" type behavior she normally does when the contact is first taken up. That was impressive to me for a start! Then did several transitions W/T with me maintaining the contact softly but staying consistent allowing her to again find that comfort zone. Then moved on to T/C transitions, the 1st of which blew my mind. So soft & quiet. She did go up & down a bit with her head but never once pulled me or did her dramatic leap into the air with the up transition which for me is just huge. We transitioned up 3 times both directions, then done. It was wonderful. My mare was relaxed & seemed happy! So this was new as I've never used the surcingle/side-reins & honestly never understood it seeing so many people use it as what looked like a torture device. We went on to discuss Kisia's fitness issues. Sarah suggested taking her out & just riding her for fun in the pasture, trails, etc. It all felt classical & natural which to me is pretty cool. Kisia was pretty awesome, so confident & brave. I've decided that if she maintains that state, what I've done is OK & good. Would certainly attend another clinic with Sarah. Links to her site here if anyone interested in learning more......http://www.sarahmartindressage.com/ & http://www.homeschooldressage.com/

An update!

Spring has been way too busy leaving us as fast as it came. We're starting June feeling like mid-summer here which means HOT! That said, the equine gang are all doing well. Zorra is growing into an elegant & obedient young mare. She's outgrown Kisia in height & hard to believe but her forelock is longer than Kisia's as well so looking like she's gonna be the new "hair queen" around here soon. Foxy has been getting a bit more well-deserved (but still not enough) attention in the form of some trail rides. She & Randy have accompanied Kisia & myself on some rides out for fun & to help Kisia learn that riding isn't all work but can be interesting & fun too! Zorra tags along with us as well for our "trail-rides". Kisia & I have been continuing our progress with the Parelli program to get ready for a course in FL this fall. Since being home, I've focused on riding her "freestyle" which has been interesting as she's not been sure what to do with the "free" part of that meaning a casual (loose) rein. So she's expressing her self a bit more then relaxing which is nice! The ground has dried enough that we have started cantering on our rides. She still has her "WEEEEEE!" moments but has offered a few quiet, relaxed canters which just blow my mind as I wasn't sure they were possible. Her trainer said it would happen. Kisia's weight is a huge challenge this time of year. To put it nicely, she's ummm robust! So no grain & this year she's spending most of the daytime in the barn to limit her time on grass. And of course doing our best to get in several days of exercise playing online & riding. The biggest change around here is that Miles has returned home. Such a contrast from my issue with Kisia, Miles came home unfortunately looking like a rescue. He had been at what might be described as a horse heaven type eventing barn. So even the nicest, affluent type barn can neglect the nutritional needs of horses unfortunately. Thankfully, Sedona & Cash (along with Mississippi Horses) taught me how to help a horse needing refeeding. He's a hard keeper on his best day but has surprised me gaining weight quickly so far. Still too thin but not disturbing to see now so making progress. Miles is a ham for pictures so pics coming soon when he's looking better of our now 20 year old ex-racer, ex-jumper, retired dressage horse! Pic here of him shortly before he went out on lease about a year & half ago.

Spring 2011 Herd Pics

Our herd always looks so nice this time of year, we try to get some liberty pics. Obviously biased, but I think they all look pretty glorious!

Zorra One Year Birthday Pics!