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!