My Parelli Journey

New Parelli journey blog!

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:51:16 GMT

I am switching blogs. Here is the link to the new one,http://savvyisthegoal.blogspot.com/

This one will still be here if you want to read older posts.

Thanks!
~K

Catching up....

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:25:48 GMT

Well I am a little behind on my play time post because things that been SO busy and it looks like it will be busy for the next couple weeks at least. So I will try and remember what all happened in each play time.

June 8 2009

My blue savvy string and certificate came in!! I can't believe that it is here!!! Of course it just had to come in after I played with Twosox ;) hehe

I played with Twosox before it got to hot. I put my Fusion on him and rode him in that. He did really well. On the ground we played on the 45ft line. Of course we didn't have enough room to play with the whole length but we still got a little bit more room. We did traveling circle game, Weaving, Touch it, Zone 4/5 driving, Figure 8's and Leading by the tail.

Then I got up and rode. We did follow the rail, Weaving, Figure 8's, Transitions, We worked on trotting for longer distances and Sideways. Twosox was a lot happier in my Fusion then in the english saddle but he still didn't seem totally comfortable in it. Something to think about.

When I first got up to ride Twosox didn't want to stand still. So we played with that. We rode over to a tire and stood there until he could stand still. When ever Twosox left or started leaving I would bring him back and then leave him alone. Pretty soon he was able to stand still and wait until I asked him to go. Then we rode about 10ft over to another tire and stopped there. This time Twosox stayed there and didn't try leaving. We kept doing this for a bit then we would ride longer distances then stop then we would trot a little bit then stop at something. Twosox used to have a hard time standing still once he had being trotting but since we fixed the problem at the walk he knew that when I stopped we were supposed to stop!!

It was interesting! I always get something to think about when I play with Twosox!!

~K

Lots of stuff to lick and chew on...

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:33:14 GMT

June 7 2009

So this morning I went out and played with Prince before church. Instead of putting the halter on him like normal I just put my 45ft line around his neck and took him up to the riding ring like that. I wanted to play around with Prince with the rope like that and see if there was anything we could improve on. Well little did I know that we would have A LOT to improve on. Prince showed me where we have a lot of.....gaps? things that I have sort of missed and never fixed when we were playing.

When we were doing the circle game Prince was pulling and leaning on the pressure. He wouldn't come off of it and was very plainly showing my that if that rope wasn't there he would be GONE!! It wasn't getting any better so I was going to take the rope off and put his halter on but Prince took off running. He was cantering around the riding ring looking rather.... shall I say scarred?!!?!!! Every now and then he would stop and look at me. Then he would come to me. Then as soon as the rope moved again he took off again. This happened about 3 times. I had no idea what to do. So I sat on the pedestal and prayed. As soon as I sat down Prince stopped and looked at me. Then once I left emotionally composed I got up and walked over to Prince I sat on the barrel for a bit. Prince stayed right with me then I put the halter on him.

I know what we needed to work on so I put the 22ft line on him. We did some Touch it and Prince went sideways over the barrel.

Then we worked on our circles. We started at the walk. Like normal Prince took all the length of the rope and was pulling. Not as much as he was earlier but just like what he normally does when we play. So like Mr.Parelli says "It is my job to put the slack in the line and it is your [the horses] job to keep it there" So I asked Prince to circle closer to me then I let the rope drag on the ground. Prince didn't keep the slack there so every time he hit the end of the rope I would bring him back in so that the rope was dragging on the ground then go back to netural. Pretty soon Prince was walking around with the belly of the rope dragging on the ground. I brought Prince in and gave him a rest then we did it again but at the trot. Prince had a little bit more trouble with this but he soon figured it all out and he was trotting with slack in the rope. If the belly of the rope left the ground he still didn't pull. So there was always slack in the rope.

I then started asking Prince to come in closer to me and stay there while circling. He could do it at the walk but not at the trot. So we went back to a short range circle until Prince understood what to do. Then Prince was able to do it better.

Then we played with Transitions. I really had to get more energy in my send. I thought I was doing pretty good but I didn't know how much energy I had to have until I did a really big send and Prince cantered a lap with lots of energy. I brought him in. I had to think all that over!!! Once I got that down our upwards transitions got really good!!!! But then we had to work on our downward transitions. They were a lot harder. Prince would come down fromt he canter but he would be trotting really really fast and I had to get big before he would come down to the walk.

It seemed like after Prince cantered he would get his adrenaline up and have a really hard time slowing down. But if I didn't ask him into the canter his walk/trot transitions were great!! Hmmmm How interesting!!
So I made sure that I was really relaxing my body. That made a bit of a difference. But Prince was still having some trouble with it. One thing that I did notice was that when Prince was cantering he wasn't pulling on the rope!!! HOW INTERESTING!!!! It was SO nice! I mean normally when he is cantering he is pulling really hard on the rope but now it was cantering with slack in the rope!! It was cool!!

So Prince and I played around and got our walk to trot and trot to walk transitions really good so that Prince was really listening to me and paying attention then we went to the canter. I would ask Prince to canter about 1/4 of a circle then come down to a slow trot then back up again. Until those were good. Then we stopped.

Prince was doing really well and I just have to make sure that I was really relaxing my energy for downward transitions and really getting my energy up when I was asking for a upward transitions!!

We also did some sideways at trot. Prince did it once from a stand still but after that I had to ask him into the trot before I asked him to go sideways. It was good though!!

So a lot for me to think on!! I can't wait to get back out there!!! Should be fun!!

~K

Twosox.....

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:25:33 GMT

Yesterday Twosox and I played again. I was able to get out before the bugs got back so that was nice. I saddled him in the english saddle that I am trying out and then we went up to the riding ring. My brother was really kind and took picture of us playing. I don't have any recent picture of us so it was nice.

We started out with some sideways towards me and some touch it. Then we worked on our transitions and change of directions. They are getting SO much better!!!! One thing that I noticed was that Twosox didn't want to canter. Normally he will canter pretty willingly but not today. He would trot really fast so I took that. We also did some figure 8's at the walk and trot. At first Twosox was a little distracted but then he connected and they were great!!

Once Twosox was ready to ride I got on. I was able to mount from the ground which it something I hadn't done in this saddle before. I checked our lateral flexions and indirect rein. They were pretty good. So we start off. One thing that I noticed was that when ever I asked Twosox to stop and bend he was having a really hard time with it. So we played with that till it was a little better. We did Weaving and Follow the rail. Then I asked Twosox to trot but he only trotted for about 2 steps then stopped trotting. I said "hmmmmm how interesting" Normally Twosox will trot longer then that. So we played with that I had to get to a phase 4 before Twosox would trot and that is not like Twosox. When he did get trotting his trot was REALLY fast and not like the trot he gave me when I was riding in my Fusion saddle.

So I didn't ask Twosox to trot again because I could tell that something wasn't right. We worked on our sideways too. Twosox was really good at then once he got going. He had a little trouble getting started but then he was okay and we got some really nice sideways.

Then we had a lot of trouble with out lateral flexion. Twosox would bend but then spin around so since it wasn't getting any better with me on him I got off and we fixed it from the ground. Then I got back on again. It was much better. I made sure that I was doing everything right in my body and really relaxing too. That helped a lot. We a lot of them before we start walking. Twosox didn't want to stand still though so he would start walking and I would stop him and wait till be relaxed then I would let go then he would start up again. Finally he stopped and was able to stand there. That is when I got off.

So I think that it was the saddle that was making Twosox impulsive and not wanting to trot but not walking to stop. It wasn't my normal Twosox to say the least. After I took the saddle off I played around with some shimming to see of I could get it right but nothing seemed to work right. Maybe I will just ride Twosox western till I can get a Wintec Wide.

All in all it was a pretty good play time though. I am glad that the bugs weren't as bad as last time!!

~K

Freya!!! What a change!!

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:01:14 GMT

June 5 2009

Okay so my mom and I went out to our friends farm and while we were there I played with Freya [she is being kept there for a couple weeks before she goes back home]. It took me like 2 seconds to catch her. Can you believe it!!!!! Not like the first time we met... We played a little bit of friendly game then we just chilled by the fence while the others got ready to go play. One thing that I noticed was that Freya is still a little unconfident when you first go to swing the carrot stick and savvy sting over her back but after you do it a couple times she is okay with it.

We we headed down to the big riding ring to play. Freya only wanted to eat grass so that was interesting. When we got down there we played some Touch it, squeeze game, figure 8's, and lots more friendly.

Then we played around with some new stuff that the lady who owns the farm said she had learned when she went to a private lesson recently. The first thing we did was kind of like stick to me but what you had to do was make sure that the horse moved his/her feet first then you go with them, plus you have to have really strong focus and keep your energy up while you are walking. You do the same for the trot also. Freya was really good on one side and pretty soon we were walking, trotting, stopping and backing up. The stop and back up were the best. I just had to think it and we were doing it. It was amazing just how sensitive Freya is.

We then went and worked on our figure 8's. At first when ever the rope touched the barrel Freya would stop and look at me but pretty soon it wasn't bothering her as much and we got some AMAZING figure 8's!!! It was SO cool!!!!

We then went and did some sideways and Touch it. Freya was really good at sideways. She got a little worried once but didn't run off or anything. We went over to the pedestal and Freya offered to climb up on it. I just wanted her to sniff it but she climbed right up no problem!!

Then we went and played around with Freya jumping the barrels. At first I had them set up so that there was about a 3ft gap between the barrels and the fence then when she could go through that gap okay I made it smaller and smaller until she had to decided whether to jump it or not. She was trying really hard and I could see her thinking about it and getting closer to jumping it then one time she was coming around and SHE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was SO proud of her!!!! We took a long break and she licked and chewed A LOT over that. It was great!!

Everyone missed it because they were all talking so they asked me to try it again. So we went back. At first Freya wasn't sure about it but she did it!! She had gained SO much confidence it is amazing!!!!!

I played with extreme friendly game. I would be hitting different things like the barrels or the tarp. Freya did really well and stood there like nothing was happening. We then went and I sat on the log and we just stayed there for a while. I played a lot of friendly on the side that she is less confident. Then we went back up to the corrals and I let her go. It was such a great play time!! It will be really neat to see how she progresses!!!

~K

Bugs, Bow ties, and Brakes

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:26:08 GMT

June 4 2009

Wow finding three words that start with "B" can be hard!! hehe

Anyways, I played with Twosox today. I wanted to get out earlier then I did but I offered to cut the grass in the back yard for Dad so I was a little late. The bugs weren't bad down in the corral but they were really bad up in the riding ring. Twosox was a trooper though and did really well.

We had a GREAT time playing. I can't believe how well it went. We did Transitions, Change of directions, cantering, Touch it, Sideways towards me and away, Figure 8's, Weaving, Stick to me and lots more!!

Once we had played for a bit I rode Twosox. I had the english saddle on him. This is when the bugs got really bad!! Poor Twosox. We basically only did the Bow tie Pattern. We did it at the walk and trot though. We would walk/trot down the fence do a indirect rein to direct rein back to the rail and repeat it all over again. At first Twosox didn't get the pattern so I just kept doing it until he started softening and responding really well then we stopped. Twosox got really good at our Indirect rein. It was amazing!!!

We ended once we had gotten 3 or 4 good Bow ties. The bugs were really bother Twosox so I didn't want to ride to long. I will just have to get up earlier if I want to beat the bugs!!

~K

Yet another great ride with Prince!!

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:34:49 GMT

June 3 2009

So Prince and I played and rode again. I am really trying to get into the habit of riding pretty much every time I play with either Prince or Twosox. It seems to be going well plus my riding has taken leaps and bounds!!!

So let see... where do we start....

After I saddled Prince we started up the hill to the riding ring. We stopped at some medium size rocks that were at the side of the path. We did figure 8's around them. At first Prince was like "What are we doing?" but then he caught on to it. The space between the rocks was small so Prince had to watch where he was going. Then we kept going. There was a small log on the hill, and I mean really small, like 1ft long and 5inches wide. Prince and I stopped at it and I asked Prince to step over it with his front feet then come sideways over it towards me.

Once we got up to the riding ring we did some circles on the 22ft line. We did Transitions to start with. We worked on our Circle Pattern also. It was so much fun!! We did a canter to halt transitions too. Prince was cantering up to the pedestal and I relaxed just as be got to it and he stopped and climbed up on the pedestal!!! Then he looked at me like "I did it!" He is such a cute boy!!!

Our change of directions are a million times better!! Prince is paying attention to me and they are snappy!!! We did some zone 5 driving. Not to much because I can't keep it interesting for to long. So we just did some Weaving, Figure 8's, Touch it, Sideways, trotting, and back up. Just enough that we made some progress but we were both still interested.

I was about to get on Prince but the saddle slipped so I had to tighten it a little. So I moved Prince around a little. It was SO cool because Prince was trotting up to one of the barrels that were in the middle on the riding ring and HE JUMPED IT!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it!!!! It was so cool!!!!

After that I got on and rode. Prince really wanted to trot a lot so we did. I was able to ride his trot even thought it was really fast. It was great! We started doing Weaving at the trot too. At first Prince would trot a but then start walking but at the end we trotted at least half of the weave!!!!!! It was so cool!!!!!

Prince and I worked on our sideways. Prince and I went like 25ft sideways with out a fence!!!
I will tell you one thing, our sideways when I don't have my carrot stick is WAY better then when I have my carrot stick. Hmmmmm.... I think that it is because when I have my carrot stick I don't give Prince enough of a chance to do it by himself and I just micromanage him. So I have something to work on!!!!

We also did Follow the rail and Million Transitions. Prince is getting a lot better at both. He is really listening to my body and I don't have to use my reins as much.We also worked on our 9 step back up, getting it softer and faster.

My sister video taped me which was really nice of her. I was able to watch it after and see where I need to improve and also see things that Prince and I can advance on because he knows what to do and he will start getting bored soon.

~K

Interesting time with Twosox....

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:05:58 GMT

Yesterday I played with Twosox. I put my Fusion saddle on him for the first time since last fall. Now I should have checked and made sure that he was okay with the back cinch and all the saddle strings before we went up to the riding ring but want one does and what one should do are two different things.

Twosox did really well while I saddled him. I had to re shim my theraflex. He did so well. He just stood there while I got everything just right. I then saddled him up and we went up the hill. Well I asked Twosox to catch up to me and he broke into a trot so we started running up the hill. Then he started trotting really fast he ran past me and started bucking and totally freaking out. Then he ran down the hill bucking the whole time, ran into the corral, scarred the other horses then started eating. HMMMMMM........ HOW INTERESTING!!! I went down the hill and walked up to Twosox. He was a little bit jumpy so I let him settle down then I loosened the saddle and put it back in to the right place, this time watching to see if Twosox was going internal etc he was okay. So I tightened the saddle up, moved him around a little bit. I asked him to trot some too. He was okay now. So we went up to the riding ring.

Twosox seemed to be okay but I wasn't taking any chances. Considering I was planning on riding him later and I knew I couldn't ride Twosox's bucks. So we did some circling, walk and trot. Then when I asked him to canter Twosox took off cantering and bucking. Hmmmmm..... He couldn't go far because the gate was closed. Soooooooo............... I got him back and we continued. He wasn't scarred once he stopped so I am not really sure what happened. I did learn that when I am asking the horses to canter I need a bigger send. Now you wouldn't think that would be hard for an extrovert but it is! I NEED MORE ENERGY!!! Twosox went into the canter perfectly when I got more energy when I asked him for it.

We did lots of trot to canter transitions and back down again. We kept doing that until Twosox could canter and not run off bucking. Our transitions got REALLY good!!! We did some Weaving, Figure 8's, Zone 4 driving, Sideways towards me and away, leading by the leg and lots of other things to make sure that Twosox was totally okay with the saddle on him.

When I was POSITIVE that Twosox was ready to ride I got up. Now I have been riding with out a helmet when I mom is there. Unless I am doing something new. But today I was like "I am not getting on with out a helmet" Not that I thought Twosox wasn't safe to ride [or else I wouldn't have gotten up in the first place] Just to let you know nothing happened and we had a great ride!! I checked our lateral flexion and indirect rein from the ground then I got on. We started out with making sure that our lateral flexions were good and solid. Then we started following the rail and every now and then making sure we could stop.

Twosox was doing really well. The saddle felt really good. We did Weaving, Figure 8's, Transitions, Point to point. Then when everything was feeling really good I asked Twosox to trot. He gave me a nice slow trot!!!!!!!!!! That is a first to Twosox!! Normally it is a really fast, big trot! I could actually sit it!! It was great! We did trot long but it was interesting because after Twosox slowed down to a walk he would have a really hard time standing still......he would get a little bit of adrenaline up and then he wasn't able to stand still and be calm. So we did lots of walk to trot to walk transitions. Then when I would ask Twosox to stop I would make sure to hold my lateral flexion until he really relaxed.

Once that was going well I grabbed a carrot stick and we worked on Sideways. Something I have been avoiding because I knew Twosox didn't know what I wanted and I didn't know it well enough to teach it to him. But I felt that I we could do it today so we walked up to the fence and started. Like I thought, Twosox didn't know what I wanted him to do. He was trying everything but wasn't getting it. Pretty soon though he figured out to move over sideways! I re-leased immediately, waited for him to think about it then did it again. This time was still hard for him but he caught on sooner. By now we were no where near the fence so we walked back over to it. Twosox didn't want to stand straight infront of the fence so we had to play with that until he was okay with it. Then I asked him to go sideways and he did! We went like 10ft sideways!! I waited for him to think about it then I got off.

It was a really good ride. Twosox did really well. He didn't do any stretching like he did in the english saddle I rode him in but I did notice today that his scapula is getting better so that is good. Lets hope his whole conformation gets better!!!

~K

Knightly play time

Sun, 31 May 2009 23:54:18 GMT

Today I played with Knightly. It was interesting. He is defiantly getting more friendly!! He came over to the gate and just stood there while I climbed in. He is still shedding out some of his winter fur. He has a big brown patch on his back where his winter coat it still there. But I am happy that he is black!! Now he just needs to grow more [which he will ;)] and my mom will have her tall, black horse!!

We played up in the riding ring. There were a couple things that my mom wanted me to do with him because she was having trouble with them. We started with some driving game on the forequarters. Then we did some circles. Knightly trotted two circles then I asked him to slow down to a walk. At first he didn't really know what I wanted and stopped and looked at me. So I re-sent him. We played with that for a bit. Until he could go from the trot to a walk with out stopping and looking at me, Then I asked him to canter. he cantered a whole lap!!! Wow! I wasn't expecting that!! I brought him in for a rest. I wanted to make sure his transitions were really good so I sent him back out after he had had a rest. His trot to walk transitions were AMAZING! I just relaxed and wiggled the rope a little and he slowed down.

While he was walking and trotting around I started shortening the rope a little so that he would have to circle closer to me. Knightly did pretty good with that. When he got with in about 5ft he wasn't sure what to do but he soon figured it out.

One of the things that my mom was having trouble with was that Knightly wouldn't put his nose on anything when they were playing Touch it. He would put his foot on it but nothing else. So I sat on the pedestal [yeah I am lazy ;)] and I send him to the tire that we have standing up by the fence it was about 20ft from the pedestal where I was sitting. At first he kind of just stood there not interested at all so I would ask him to take a step forward or move closer to it and every time he put his nose even just a little bit closer to it I relaxed and stopped asking him. Pretty soon he caught on and he put his nose right on it and checked it out!!! Then he looked at me and asked a question! He is so cute!! I brought him and waited for him to think about then we went to other things checking them out. Knightly really quickly caught on to the fact that I wanted him to put his nose on the thing.

We then went and did some sideways. This is were it gets even more interesting! Knightly would go sideways about 2 steps and then turn his hind quarters to me and walk straight. OH BOY! So I had to catch it before he had a chance to do that. I had to tag him a couple times but then he got worried and started running off. So we went around the riding ring trying to get sideways. He would give me a couple really nice steps then it would get all messed up. But finally some how we got through that and got somewhere. I gave him all the 22ft on rope and got really soft and then after about 10ft he would go sideways really nice. So I would give him a long rest then go the other way. He had a harder time on the right side but we stuck with it till he could go sideways evenly on both sides. I let him have a long rest and a chance to think about all that.

Then we went to figure 8's, the other thing that my mom was having a little bit of trouble with. Knightly would pin his ears when he was going in between the barrels. So we started out slow and ever time he put his ears back I would shut him down then ask him to go again. Pretty soon he was trying to figure out what I wanted. He was moving his ears back and forth so I left him. The figure 8 pattern wasn't very pretty but I didn't care Knightly was trying to figure it out. Every now and then he would stop at the barrel and sniff it and paw it. I let him until he lost interest in it then we carried on. I wanted him to be curios because that it what I want when we are playing Touch it. Knightly was asking lots of questions too. It was great!! At the end our figure 8's were amazing! Knightly even offered to trot!!!

We ended there. So all in all it was a pretty good play time. It really challenged me and made me think hard!! It was good though!

~K

Totally SUPER DUPER AMAZING time with Prince

Sun, 31 May 2009 21:04:25 GMT

May 30 2009

Prince and I had a GREAT time together today. It was a little hot but not to bad. We played on the ground for a bit then I rode.

We did circles, Prince trotted 4 laps and we did a change of direction. It was great! We did some transitions too, walk to trot, trot to canter, canter to trot, trot to walk, walk to halt, halt to back up!!!! It was SO COOL!! We did stick to me, sideways towards me, zone 4/5 driving with one line. I didn't want to do to much on the ground and then Prince not want to give me any energy while we were riding. So once we had played for a bit I got on and rode.

Prince wanted to trot, trot and do more trotting!! I didn't mind a bit!!! Now that I am really confident trotting I don't mind going fast!! We did follow the rail, a Million transitions, Figure 8's, 9-step back up [getting it softer and faster], Weaving. We got some AMAZING Sideways with out a fence!!!!!! We went around 20ft perfect sideways and I didn't even have my carrot stick!! Prince just listened to my body and my leg!!!! Prince is getting SO responsive!!

We did a lot more trotting then we normally do. We even trotted some sharper corners and I was totally fine with it!! It feels SO good not bracing in my stirrups or anything!! It is great! I was even able to trot without having to hold my reins! We trotted to shade patch to shade patch too! Since the bugs were kind of bothering Prince it was great incentive for him to trot and then stop! I was able to ride his trot to walk transitions better too. I was even able to ask him to stop trotting with out getting off balance or anything!!! It was great!

I remembered to give Prince time to lick and chew also. He would lick and chew so fast!! There were a couple times that he took a little longer to think about something but that was normally after we just did something new!

It was such a great play time and ride!! It really makes me want to get back out and do it again!!! The rainy weather has almost stopped. It is supposed to rain on and off for the next couple days. That is okay as long as I can get out with the horses! I really miss not being able too.

~K

Saddle fitting, Twosox ride, rain..... what more could you want! :)

Sun, 31 May 2009 19:19:28 GMT

May 29 2009

So even though it was raining a little I went out and played with Twosox. I REALLY wanted to play with him so the rain didn't matter. It started raining harder once I had caught him :( so we went into the shelter and I saddled him in there. I have an even longer girth to try on him. It was a little short but it was okay. The billets on that saddle are SO short!! ah well. No big deal. My sister let me use her theraflex too. Twosox looked really good all tacked up in an english saddle!!

The rain stopped so we went up to the riding ring to play. We did some Touch it, Weaving from zone 4, circles, transitions, change of directions. Twosox was stretching at the walk so I let him experiment with the saddle and all. Then I asked him to trot at first he his head was high then he lowered it and started trotting with his head REALLY LOW!!! I was only on the 12ft line so I switched our circle game to a traveling circle. Twosox was trotting really slow, stretching, and blowing. It was amazing!!!! I have NEVER seen him do that before at the trot with a saddle on!!!

We did some sideways towards me with out a fence, something new for Twosox. He did really well. We also did some zone 5 driving. Lots of fun!!!!

Then I got on and rode. The saddle was really comfortable!! I could feel Twosox move under me. It isn't as nice as riding in my Fusion but it was a lot nicer then the last time that I rode Twosox with an english saddle. We rode around at the walk for a bit. Twosox had his head low and would lower it then lift is up again the lower it. He was great to see him stretching when I was riding him. We did some Follow the rail, Weaving, Figure 8's, and 9 step back up. Twosox was listen to my body so well! A couple times I didn't even need to use my carrot stick when I asked him to turn it was GREAT!!!!

After a bit I asked Twosox ot trot [some thing we haven't done since last fall] It was great!!! It was different trotting in an english saddle for me but not bad. I was able to ride his trot no problem. At first Twosox was trotting with his head up like he normally did but the next time I asked him to trot he lowered his head and was trotting with it really low!!!!!!! I was glad that I had my 12ft line tied into two reins because that way I could let Twosox stretch and he wouldn't bump into the halter. We played with that for a little while. Doing lots of walk to trot, trot to walk transitions.

Twosox started trotting slower too!!! It was SOOOO nice to be able to ride his trot and feel totally confident!! I placed my reins on his neck and we rode around with no reins for a bit [not even a carrot stick!] Twosox would go, stop, turn everything!!! And all with out me even using my reins!!!

We ended there. I let Twosox lick and chew before I got off. He started yawning and licking and chewing. He did it for a long time. I unsaddled him and let him go. He slowly walked off. I haven't decided if I am going to buy this saddle or save up and in the fall buy a Wintec wide. That way I will have a saddle that would fit both Prince and Twosox. I will have to think about it.

I don't think that I have ever had such a great ride on Twosox!!! I think I like riding Twosox english better then western. I am not sure why but I do. It was really cool because it didn't rain while we were outside but once we came in it started raining!!!! Answered prayer!! Perfect timing!!!

~K

Rainy rain....

Thu, 28 May 2009 14:21:14 GMT

It rained all yesterday and it is raining today :( plus it is supposed to rain till MONDAY!!!!!!!!!! Yikes! Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be kind of nice so I hope I can get out with the horses then. I really want to play with Twosox soon.

I do hope the rain stops SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~K

Take the time it takes so it take LESS TIME!!!!

Mon, 25 May 2009 22:00:29 GMT

April 25 2009

Well I learned the true meaning of that today. In SO many ways! Let me explain...

So last time my mom and I were talking and we were looking at the Parelli Pattern maps and I had like a huge BFO! I am kind of all over in the Patterns like Level 4 Touch it, Level 2/3 Figure 8's, Level 3 Weaving etc so I was looking at the circle patterns and I was like "I don't think Prince can trot 4 laps with out breaking gait" I mean I am always doing transitions and change of directions and I don't think I have ever tried it. And then I thought "Wait a minute if I am not even sure he can trot 4 laps WHY am I asking him to CANTER 4 laps" Prince has cantered 5 laps at the most but that was like once and we have never gotten that again. I realized that I had to go back to the foundation and really check EVERYTHING!!! I don't mean the seven games but like if I want Prince to do something can he do it at a slower gait, from an easier zone etc.

So........today I went out ready to play and see where we had gaps. Plus I had a plan of some new patterns that I wanted to work on. So out I went. REALLY excited to see where I had missed things and where we could improve. Our first "problem" was catching. Prince didn't look at all enthused about being with me. He was standing with me at liberty but had the most awful look on his face. I was like "This is so cool!" I don't know why but I was almost laughing. Maybe I have really gotten the "Oh boy" and "How interesting" thing.

So I grabbed my halter and went straight to rubbing Prince's back legs, tail, anything that didn't have to do with his head or being haltered. We did leading by the back legs, massaging them and tones of other stuff. I was trying to think of a new way to halter Prince. So I got on my knees and Prince automatically lowered his head and his ears came forward. He was like "That isn't normal! What are you doing down there" I put the lead rope over his neck and ask him to lower his head again. He kept it low while I put the halter on. Then he started licking and chewing. Hmmmmm interesting!

Before I saddled Prince we went and played Touch it but since I know we can do the normal Touch it we played it where Prince had to put different zones on the things. Instead of touching it with his nose I asked for his neck, or his shoulder or his tail!! It was SO MUCH FUN!!! At first Prince didn't really get it but soon he figured it out and was really interested. One time he walk up to the fence and offered to put his neck and shoulder on it!!!!

We played around the shelter. I sent him in then we back out. So he had to back to the back of the shelter then turn his hind quarters then back to the other side then turn again and back out. At first he wasn't sure how to do it but he soon figured it out and was able to make all those turns.

We then we went over to the saddle. Now yesterday when we were out seeing Freya again and watching some stuff Mr.Wilson quoted Mr.Parelli "When you are saddling your older horse saddle him like this is his first time being saddled and when you are saddling you young horse saddle him like you have been saddling him for all of his life" [or something to that effect] I was like "WOW!!!!" So I went out today knowing what I would do! I was going to saddle Prince like the time I saddled Knightly. I will tell you one thing!!! I noticed a lot more that I was missing before!!!

As soon as we got over there Prince got that "I know what is going to happen" look on his face. I let him smell the brush then gave him a quick brush. Then comes the fun part! I got my theraflex. Prince still had that look on his face. I let him sniff it for a bit. He checked it all out then I put it on, but I didn't put it on his back. I put it on his neck. It was so funny because Prince turned and looked at me like "that wasn't normal" I rubbed him all over with it then put it on in the right place. Prince had a better look on his face by now.....until I got my saddle :) His ears went back [almost pinned]. I just held it there for a bit then I walked away and put it up on the fence on the other side of the corral. Prince turned and looked at me, with his ears forward and the cutest look on his face. Then we walked part way over to the saddle, stopped and then I went and got the saddle but while I was coming towards him I was watching his ears and when ever they went back I would stop and take a step back. Then his ear[s] would come forward and I would start walking again.

I let him sniff the saddle, check it all out then I swung it up on him. His ears went back again. I then took the saddle off. Prince's ears went forward, his head went low and he started licking and chewing, yawning etc. I was like "COOL!!" It was great! So I started again. He was okay with the pad and the saddle going on. His head was low and his ears were forward. Even though it was okay with it I figured that I would take if off one more time. I took it off and he started licking and chewing again. He was totally fine with me saddling him this time. Through the process of me tightening the saddle I was watching Prince and seeing what feed back he was giving.

It was all so amazing because before [as in like the last time I saddled Prince] I just figured that Prince was okay with it all and it was no big deal *cough cough* yeah right!

We went up to the riding ring. We played the whole time on the 12ft line. It was really cool because we normally play on the 22ft line or the 45ft so it was fun to be able to challenge ourselves and play on the 12ft line. We did circles. Only at the walk and trot. But I did find out that Mr.Prince can't circle more then 1 lap at the trot with out braking gait!!! Now it might have been because he was on the 12ft line and he wasn't used to it but still. I was like "OH BOY" So we played with that and before long Prince could trot 2 laps. We did some change of directions too. Prince even offered to canter!!!!! WOW!!!! That was cool!!! I would have played with it longer but I didn't want it to get to hot before I had a chance to ride.

We did some zone 3 driving at the trot. We went around checking things out. Then I kind of changed it to stick to me and we worked on really quick stops. So I would run and Prince would be trotting and when I stopped he would stop. To keep it interesting we did it so that we were stopping over things i.e. poles. It was SO much fun!!! Prince really quickly caught on and he would stop right away and he was straddling the pole. Eventually it will be a barrel but we are starting out small!!

We did some sideways towards me too. Prince was lagging his hind quarters at first but soon he was doing perfect sideways towards me!!! Plus it was over a log!!!!

Prince was ready to ride so I got up. Before what Prince would do was as soon as I got up there he would take off... well not really take off, he still is a LBI :) So he would start walking but we have been working at it and every time I would get on him we would just stand there for a little bit then we would start. So today Prince just stood there perfectly until I asked him to move.

We started with some follow the rail. It was REALLY good! I mean I hardly even had to correct him!!! We did it at the walk and trot. Plus I wasn't even holding my reins. I had my carrot stick though. Our carrot stick riding has gotten a MILLION times better. It is SO much fun!!!!

Then we did some Weaving. We only did it at the walk but it was still AMAZING!! I only had to use my carrot stick a couple times and but for the most part Prince was listening to my body and responding. Then we went and started a new Pattern.... Million Transitions. Prince and I have already been doing something like that but not to the same extent. Prince caught on really fast. We did all kinds of transitions. I needed to use my reins for this but I was still able to hold my carrot stick which was really big for me because I used to be SOOOOO clumsy.

Then we worked on trotting, me riding the trot and Prince trotting for longer periods of time. Both happened REALLY fast. Prince was willing to trot and I was able to ride his trot for A LONG TIME!!!!!!!! It was SO great! I mean it felt so good to be able to ride his trot with out any bracing in my stirrups and I didn't even have to hold the reins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The first time Prince trotted around the end of the riding ring and I felt totally confident. We did little bits of trotting here and there not to much but just enough.Near the end of our ride I ask him to trot we trotted the whole length of the riding ring!!!!!!!!!Which is like 100ft!!!! IT WAS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We played with sideways too. We were having trouble doing it with out a fence so we went to the fence and I didn't even have to use my carrot stick!!!!!!! Prince responded REALLY nicely to just the pressure of my leg and the reins!!! We went sideways about 20ft then we stopped!!!! Our sideways has NEVER been that good!!!

Prince and I stood on the pedestal. Prince offered it so I took it then I asked him for all four feet. He gave me three so I took it. One things I really tried to make sure I did was to give time for Prince to lick and chew and I think it paid off. Prince caught on SO much quicker and stayed REALLY interested the whole time we rode.

It was such a great ride. It was by far the best ride we have ever had and the good thing is THAT IT WILL KEEP GETTING BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~K

Saddle fitting, Twosox, bugs..... and more!

Fri, 22 May 2009 18:37:30 GMT

Well this morning was great! I went out and played with Twosox. He came over to see me when I got in the corral. I rubbed him for a little bit then I haltered him.

Wanted to try my sisters saddle on him. It fits him really well actually. So we went up to the riding ring. It was really cool because when Twosox was walking he had his head really really low. Every once and I while he would lift it then put it back down again.

We played for a bit. Doing some traveling circles, Touch it, jumping the barrels, sideways towards me and away from me etc. Twosox was responding really well. So I got up and rode him. I was able to mount him from the ground. Even though the saddle is to big on me it wasn't to uncomfortable. One thing I did notice was that I felt like I was sitting on top of Twosox and not on him. We walked around for a bit. We did some Follow the rail, Figure 8's, Point to Point, Weaving, Direct rein, 9-step back up and Lateral Flexion. Twosox did REALLY well!!

After a little bit I got off. The last time I rode in that saddle it was a lot worse then this time. I was riding Ruffy and the saddle kept sliding and it was really uncomfortable so this time was a lot better.

My sister rode Twosox after me. She played with him a little then gone up. She said that the saddle felt really weird and it felt like you were riding really far up. So she got down and we took the saddle off and then she rode BB. She said that she felt a lot better.

Twosox did really well and so did my sister! She looked really good up on Twosox. Maybe it is because they are both RBI!!! They are great together!!

I am thinking that maybe in the fall I will buy a Wintec Wide. I am trying out another saddle right now but I am not sure if it fits Twosox. I want to get another saddle so that when we go trail riding we can at least have two saddles. Plus I want to ride english as well as western. I don't need another saddle right now so I can wait and save up for a saddle that will fit both Prince and Twosox. We shall see!!!

~K

Colt starting with Terry Wilson...

Thu, 21 May 2009 21:27:25 GMT

Today my mom sister and I went to see Freya at a colt starting clinic. WHAT A CHANGE!!!! I mean she was a totally different horse!!! I am SO glad that she was able to go to this clinic!!

The guy starting the horses was Terry Wilson. www.terrywithhorses.com He is a 2 star Parelli instructor. I was able to watch him ride one of the horses. It was really good!!! I got a couple of new ideas of what I can do to help Prince's and my riding get better.

Plus! I got to see a Natural Performer and a Fluidity saddle!!!!! Okay maybe it might not be a big deal for some but I WAS EXCITED!!!! It was SO cool!!! It was funny because we were in the tack room where the people who brought there horses for Mr.Wilson to start kept there saddles and such, we were just standing around talking and just happened to look over and see the Parelli type english stirrups. I couldn't see the saddle because there was a Theraflex pad on top but I was trying to see what kind of saddle it was. Then I finally just went over and lifted the pad and looked at it. Then when I went back to take a better look at the Fluidity saddle I saw the NP!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a light oil colour and REALLY nice!!!

Since it is really hot here and the bugs were awful it was nice that we could spend part of the day out there. Mr.Wilson was really friendly and we had a great chat. It was really nice!

~K

I rode Knighty!!

Wed, 20 May 2009 00:24:09 GMT

May 19 2009

Well I didn't wake up this morning thinking that I would ride Knightly but as things turned out, I did. The black flies and mosquitoes were horrible but there was a strong wind every once and a while that blew the bugs away.

Knightly did really good on the ground. We did Touch it, Figure 8's, traveling circles, transitions, stick to me, change of directions, sideways and Weaving. He had a little bit of trouble on the Figure 8 but we just kept doing the pattern till he got it then we stopped.

After we had played for a little bit I climbed up on the fence and asked Knightly to come sideways over to me. He knew exactly what to do. I leaned on him, swung my carrot stick around and he was fine, until I started rubbing him with the carrot stick around his face. He didn't like that. So we played with that. Pretty soon he was okay with it. Then I check our lateral flexion. Good thing that I did because they were awful!!! I got on the ground to fix that. One side wasn't to bad but the other side was really bad. We worked on that till I could ask for a lateral flexion and he would bend his head with out moving his feet.

Then I brought him over to the fence again. I started with just putting my leg on him then rubbing him and then since he was okay with that I slid on. He just stood there. I got off then got back on again. I did this three times. Then I just sat there rubbing him making sure that he was okay with my moving around on him. I checked our lateral flexion.

Then he started walking. He was a nice slow walk so I decided to stay on. He walked over to the gate then I asked him to stop. I wasn't even half way through my lateral flexion when he stopped!!!!! Smart horse! We stood at the gate for a little bit then I got off.

I couldn't believe how thin Knightly was!! I mean it was like sitting on a fence rail!!!!! But then I am used to riding Prince and Twosox and they are like.... WIDE! It was still a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again!

~K

Ride out!

Mon, 18 May 2009 21:40:18 GMT

Yesterday I rode Prince out!!! He was such a good boy!!!! We rode on our front yard and up the road. I let Prince eat grass for a little bit then we played point to point, going from grass patch to grass patch. At first Prince just wanted to eat but then he figured out that there was a reason for moving. Every now and then I would ask him to trot a little bit. Prince trotted so nicely. I was able to sit his trot longer then I have ever been able to do plus I was able to ride his trot with out pushing in my stirrups [something that I was having trouble with].

After a little bit Prince and I rode up our rode. He was totally interested in everything that was happening. When we got to the end of the rode we stopped and turned and headed back to the house. Then I let Prince eat for a little bit then I unsaddled him and then we went back into the corral and I let him go. He stayed with me for a little bit then I left to pick up my stuff and Prince came back to me!!! I found an itchy spot so I scratched him for a bit then left. He did so well. I didn't think that he would have a problem with it, after all he is a LBI and loves change.

The last two times that I have ridden Prince we have ridden out so the riding ring looks rather boring. Prince and I have a lot more fun trail riding. The funny thing is that trail riding isn't something I have always wanted to do. But I think that since Prince is having fun I am having fun and since we are both having fun we are HAVING A BLAST!!!!!!!!!

Before I rode Prince we played up in the riding ring for a bit. I asked him to put one foot on the pedestal. At first he was like "oh great I have to stand on the pedestal again" he climbed up on pedestal and looked totally bored!!! But soon he was like "What do you want?" he started trying to figure out what I wanted and finally he looked at the pedestal and put one foot on the pedestal then looked at me like "I did it!"!!! Such a smart boy!

We went sniffed out the barrel then I asked Prince to go sideways over one barrel while I was about 20ft way. After that we did some circles. Prince gave me three circles at the canter and I stopped there. It was funny because he was cantering along and all I had to do was bend over just a little bit and he disengaged his hind quarters and came in. Prince is ALWAYS ready to stop!!!

So this is when we went down to the front yard and rode!!! I still can't believe how well it went!!!! Prince and I both had a blast!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait till we can do it again!!

~K

Our first almost official trail ride!

Sun, 10 May 2009 21:05:24 GMT

May 10 2009

Happy mothers day!!! I hope you all have had a great day! I sure have!!!

Prince and I had the most amazing play time and ride today!! My mom and I went out to find the horses as they hadn't been in since last night. They were in the field peacefully eating. Prince came over to when he saw me and then he stayed right with me. I was kind of surprised but I didn't mind!!! He had lost some weight which it GOOD!! Plus he is staying dark and shining!!! Normally in the summer he gets really light and pale. I am really happy about that!!

We played on the 22ft line for a little bit. We did some AMAZING transitions. There was slack in the rope, in fact the belly of the rope was on the ground. We did walk to trot to canter the back down to a walk. It was totally amazing. Prince was SO in tune with me that it took a very little bit of pressure and he would either slow down of speed up, depending on what I was asking him.

We did some zone 4/5 driving. I noticed that I need to fix some thinks in zone 4 because they aren't going well in zone 5. So we worked on turning, backing up, and trotting all in zone 5 with one line. Once that was going really good we started doing them in zone 5. Everything was a million times better. I just have to make sure that I keep it really interesting for Prince and myself or Prince will get bored and started taking over. At one point Prince was so in tune with me that if I started running he started trotting and the moment I slowed down and started walking Prince walked and all in zone 4!!! It was cool!!

For some reason I had never asked Prince to go sideways with me in zone 5 with one line. I don't know why but I just skipped to asked him to do it with two lines/reins so even though we were having okay success with two lines we went back to one line and PRINCE WAS AMAZING!!!!! I mean pretty much did it all by himself!! I just put a little bit of pressure with the rope and he knew exactly what to do!!! Slow and right beats fast and wrong! If I had of just done it right the first time it would have saved us a lot of trouble!! Oh well you live and learn!!!

We also did some change of directions. The first one was a little messy but the others were great. After that I switched to the 45ft line. We were about 40ft from where the 45ft line was on the ground so I asked my mom to give us something to do to get over there. She wanted me to play all seven games on the way over. So we started off by playing Friendly then we did leading by the mane at the trot part for a could feet then sideways towards me, then I stood in zone 4./5 and asked Prince to drive his forequarters in a full circle, we did a squeeze between my mom and also some trees, then I asked him to circle 1 lap and stop over the rope that was on the ground and then I backed Prince off the rope.

I was kind of surprised that we got all seven in there but we did. It was so cute because Prince stopped and looked at me and asked a question then started licking and chewing. We then we and played Touch it at the end of the 45ft line. Well almost the end. It was funny because one time the rope got caught on a twig and Prince was trotting out on the circle. Prince felt that little bit of pressure and change directions all by him self. Talk about sensitive horse!!!!

We then did some traveling circle game. We did it at the trot and Prince had to go down hill and up them, over or around rocks, really look where he was going. It was fun!! Then one time when Prince was trotting that and I asked him to canter he offered A GALLOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! like can you believe it!!!!! My LBI who never wanted to even trot OFFERED TO GALLOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was SO surprised!!! He got a big rest after that.

Then I got on Prince bareback. It was so much fun riding around in the field. I remember thinking last fall that I could hardly wait to ride bareback in that field but I never would have thought that it would have been so soon!!!! God is so good!!

I had to get off twice. One time was when Ruffy came over and since I didn't have my carrot stick I couldn't send him away so I had to get off and get it. I wasn't sure how Prince would respond to me getting back up again but he was totally fine. We rode around a little finding some good grass. Then Ruffy decided to leave Prince wasn't really worried but I wasn't sure I wanted to ride him through the woods. So I go off but after talking to my mom I decided to try riding Prince home. Prince offered to trot a little bit. He gave me a nice slow trot. Then we walked through the bush. I had to move around to make sure that I didn't get hit in the head with branches. Prince did so well. At one point I had to lean right down because the horses don't seem to make very tall paths!! :) It was fun.

I didn't realize how much riding over poles and small logs in the riding ring would help out on the trail! But it did. We had to go over a whole bunch of fallen down logs, stumps and rocks and I was perfectly fine because I am used to riding over lots of things. My mom was walking in front of me and Prince and every once and a while she would stop and back up. To keep Prince out of her personal space. It was funny because at first Prince was walking faster and really crowding mom well after a couple times of mom stopping and backing up Prince stayed back and made sure not to go to close to mom.

When we got to the road Prince still was following mom. It was really funny. Prince was listening to me but making sure not to go ahead of mom. We rode up the big hill. That was fun. I just grabbed onto Prince's thick mane and held on and he just walked up it no problem. We trotted up part of it and then walked the rest. Going down the hill was interesting too. We walked down it then I asked Prince to trot to the next little hill.

Prince didn't really want to walk through the mud but I didn't want to walk up on the rock ledge with no helmet. When we got home I gave Prince some oats and let him go. The other horses didn't follow us so it was nice to see that Prince would go away from them.

What an amazing play time and ride!!!!! It was a lot of fun for me and I think that Prince had a lot of fun too!!

Tomorrow I am going to play with Fraya. So I am excited about that!!!

~K

Great Twosox play time

Sat, 09 May 2009 20:53:33 GMT

May 6 2009

Twosox and I had a GREAT play time. We did ZONE 5 DRIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was SO proud of Twosox. I didn't think that it would come that fast. But it did. Twosox was great. We basically did Touch it for the most part but it was so cool. Twosox was totally calm, cool and collected!!!

- Figure 8's. They were better. Twosox hardly even braced. So I started asked Twosox to trot a little. He braced a little bit more then at the walk but was still a lot better then before.
- Weaving. He was great at this. He wasn't as good at the walk for some reason. He was better at the trot so we played with that. Pretty soon he got it though.
- Touch it. We did most of this from zone 5. It was SO much fun!!
- Transitions. We did walk/ trot/ canter transitions. Twosox offered to canter half a circle so I took. Our trot to walk transitions are getting REALLY good.
- Change of directions. Twosox was able to look at me with two eyes a lot quicker this time. So that was good. They were really good.
- Sideways over a barrel. At first he had a little bit of trouble going sideways over the barrel but Twosox soon got it. We would go half way over the barrel then got he other way. He is SO sensitive!!!
- Leading by the Tail. This was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! Prince and I have something to work on!! We even did it over two poles that were on the ground. Twosox has gained SO much more confidence with me in zone 5.

The black flies were getting really bad to so I decided to end early. I sat on the ground and took the halter off Twosox. He kept his head there for me and stayed with me and followed me around. He is such a great guy!!!

~K

Prince play time

Sat, 09 May 2009 20:27:50 GMT

May 5 2009

Prince and I had a pretty good play time. When I got into the corral he came and stood with me. We spent some time just hanging out together. I didn't even halter him. After a little while Prince started licking and chewing. After about 5 minutes I haltered him. Then I sat on the fence and we stayed there for a bit.

Then we went up to the riding ring. I decided to play on the 45ft line fore a bit. We couldn't use the all of it because the riding ring isn't big enough. But it was still fun. We started with playing Touch it from around 30ft away. Prince was so in tune with me and was really interested!!! At one point I sent Prince over to the pedestal that had the ball on it. Prince walked right up to the pedestal, pushed the ball off the pedestal. which took a little bit of doing because the dirt in the pedestal is packed down and so the ball wouldn't roll out at first. But Prince got it and then he climbed right up one and looked at me like “look at me!! I did it!” Then I asked him to put all four feet on the pedestal. Prince did but he didn't stay there long so I thought "no problem, but can you put your back feet on it" that way we were both winners!!!

We did some zone 5 driving. That is getting better. We did Weaving, sideways, backing up, and Touch it. I have to think of some new things to do because it is getting a little boring for both of us. We also did some leading by the tail and leading by the hocks. Prince is getting softer and more responsive on both of those.

We then worked on not changing gait on the circle. It was going really well and Prince cantered 5 laps!!!! So then I gave him a big rest then asked him to canter the other direction. He cantered 3 1/2 circles then broke gait. I should have just brought him in but hindsight is 50/50. Anyways we kept going but Prince kept breaking gait. So after a while and Prince would canter 2 circles but he wouldn't canter any more. So since we were both tired I brought him in. He was sweating a lot. I decided to end there because it wasn't fair to ask him to keep cantering. We will work on that another day.

It was a good play time with an how interesting ending!!! Should be interesting to see how our next play goes!

~K

Slowing WAY down for Twosox

Sun, 03 May 2009 20:19:20 GMT

Okay well I ate a huge humble pie today when I way playing with Twosox. I MEAN HUGE!!!!!!!! So like I was thinking that he was being dominate and was really confident when in truth he was not being super dominate and was just being RBI. So when I was treating him like a LBI/LBE he really needed me to treat him like a RBI that had become more confident but not totally. OH BOY .... make that an OH BOY!!!! So let start at the very beginning of this amazing play time with Twosox....

He actually looked happy to see me. He let me walk up to him and he kept two ears and eyes on me. I rubbed him for a little bit then I haltered him. I brushed him to get him kind of clean. Then we went up to the riding ring. We did some Weaving but every once and a while I would change it to figure 8's. We did every thing REALLY slow and then Twosox would start offering to go faster. Every time I asked Twosox to come towards me and then go the other way on the figure 8 I would make sure to wait for him to give me two eyes. At first he had a really hard time giving me two eyes but after a little bit he was able to look at me confidently. What I found was that when I waited for Twosox to look at me with two eyes we then got WAY better figure 8's then we have ever gotten. Like I didn't even have to redirect him he would just go himself. It was amazing!!!

We then did some circles and walk/trot transitions. Instead of just asked Twosox to walk I would ask him to walk really really slow. At first he wasn't sure what I wanted but then he figured it out and would walk so slow. It was fun!!! We got some really amazing transitions. When I asked Twosox for a change of direction I would wait for him to look at me with two eyes and then send him the other way. At first he would be walking into me but still only have one eye on me so I would just keep walking backwards and then when he gave me both eyes I would wait a extra second or two before I sent him the other way. This really made our change of directions better because I was waiting for Twosox be confident enough and after that since he knows the pattern it was great!

We then worked on zone 4/5 driving. I was in zone 4 and Twosox was walking but he had his head turned towards me and didn't look totally confident. He was right brain just not sure if it was okay for me to be back there. I started playing friendly in zone 1/2 while we were walking along. The first time Twosox got worried and turned and faced me. So I rubbed him then we started walking along again. This time he was better and just stopped when I started doing it. The next time was even better he just kept walking and let me play friendly while we were walking.

I was really trying to make sure that I wasn't saying "no" to Twosox all the time and if he didn't do exactly what I wanted or did something completely different I would say "Thank you for that suggestion" Take what he offered and work it so that we were both winners in the end and I got want I wanted but I didn't say "No! don't go there or do that. You are supposed to be over here doing this". Pretty soon Twosox was really trying to do what I asked of him and it wasn't always "No. no, no" I think we both felt better!! One time we were getting some really really good driving from zone 4/5 and I was almost totally in zone 5 and Twosox started coming away from the fence but still walking a head of me and was confident. Well I was just about to say "no" by putting him closer to the fence again but I caught myself and though "Why would I want to put him back closer to the fence when he is offering to walk somewhere else and we are still doing driving from zone 4/5" So I let him walk away from the fence a little and it was great!!! We walk along and went over the tarp, around some tires etc.

We then did some short range sideways and sideways towards me. Twosox did really good at this. He was able to come sideways straight towards me. Then we did some leading by the hocks. At first Twosox wasn't totally confident with it so I stopped and just played some friendly game with me in zone 4/5 with the rope and then asked him again and we got 5 steps backwards with me just putting the slightest pressure on his hocks. IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!

Once time was bring Twosox into me and he OFFERED to trot into me!!!!!!!!!! It was so cool!!!!!!! Twosox was also asked TONES of questions. I would ask him to do something then he would look at me and ask a question!! It was so cute!!!

We also got some AMAZING leading by the tail. Every time Twosox and I do that I am amazed at how fast he picked it up and he is SO light. I am hardly putting any pressure on his tail and he is backing up.

Since Twosox was still a little unconfident with me totally in zone 5 where he couldn't see me I decided to play friendly there do friendly in other zones while I was standing in his blind spot. Twosox was okay with me standing in his blind spot but it was when I showed up on the other side of him that he would turn and face me, not really sure what to do. So I just kept going back into zone 5, stay there for a little bit then going to the other side of him until it was no big deal and he could stand there and be okay.

We did some stick to me at the walk and trot. Twosox is getting SO good at that. He will stick with me and stop the moment I stop. It was so much fun!!

We took a little break. Twosox had a huge lick and chew then I decided to try a little bit of Liberty. Twosox stayed with me the whole time expect for once when he left but he came back.

We did Stick to me, Touch it, and leading my the tail. We didn't do to much at Liberty but what we did do was great!! It was interesting because Twosox had a REALLY hard time coming in to me with two eyes. Online it was okay but when he is a Liberty I guess it is a whole new place. I didn't want to over do it and do to much at Liberty so once we had gotten some good results I went and sat on the big tractor tires and we did some undemanding time.

After that I got on Twosox and we rode for a bit. It is a lot easier riding bareback now. We did follow the rail, figure 8's, indirect and direct rein, and 9 step back up. Our 9 step back up was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! I was keeping in time with his feet and I hardly doing anything!!!!!!!

Our figure 8 pattern wasn't that pretty at first but we kept doing it until Twosox go the pattern and then we stopped. I made sure to give him to time to lick and chew. At one point he was licking and chewing and yawning then he really relaxed. It was great!!!

I wanted to try sideways but I didn't think that Twosox was ready for it. So we just did the things that we could do and got better at them. It was a lot of fun!!!

~K

A day out with Prince,

Sat, 02 May 2009 16:16:32 GMT

April 29 2009

Prince and I went to a friends farm to film our Level 3 Online and Liberty. It was such a nice day, the sun was shining and there was a light breeze. Prince loaded in to the trailer really well considering he hasn't been trailed in at least 2 years. He was a little unconfident backing off of the trailer so we played with that. Once he was more confident backing off and could go right in to the trailer we were off.

I wasn't to sure how Prince would react to all the mares at our friends farm. Seeing as Prince was gelded late. But he handled it like a pro. Pretty soon he found the grass... like a typical LBI.

We played a little bit before we started taping. The first 4 takes were not good enough to send in. But we were getting there. Prince was such a trooper. The last one was better and was good enough to send in. There were some really good parts in some of the earlier takes that would have been nice to send in but oh well. Prince really gained confidence backing out of the trailer. At the end he was able to back out by the tail, when I was about 15ft away and some other ways. He was great!

After lunch we did our Liberty Audition. Prince again was great. I am not sure if either our Online or Liberty will pass Level 3 but I thought I would try. We still had a tone of fun!! I think that it was our best Liberty session ever. Prince's figure 8's were amazing!!! Our change of directions could have been a little bit better but Prince gave me a couple REALLY nice ones.

After we were done I jumped on Prince bareback. Now that in and of it's self is AMAZING. Prince was TOTALLY fine with me getting on him even though I was on the pedestal and normally I get on him from the fence. We didn't really do a lot because Prince was more interested in eating, like go figure my LBI wants to eat???!?!? like yeah right. Hehe. I was okay with that and Prince was totally fine with it too. We just did some undemanding time while I was sitting on him. Then after a little bit I got off.

Prince and I were both ready to go home. I think we were both really tired. Prince loaded like an old pro. Then when we got home he backed straight out of the trailer all by himself. He learns SO fast!!!

What a day!!! It was really fun for me because I was able to see how good our relationship is and where it can improve!!

~K

WE RODE BAREBACK!!!!

Fri, 01 May 2009 15:00:56 GMT

April 27 2009

It was SO cool!!!! I mean, Prince didn't have ANY problem with me getting up on him bareback. It was amazing!!! But lets start at the beginning.....

Prince met he at the fence. So I rubbed him for a little bit then I haltered him. We played up in the riding ring. It was a lot of fun. I took what I knew we could already do and tried making it more interesting. So since I wanted to do extreme friendly game and I knew Prince was okay with me walking all the way around him and all I decided to try standing on the pedestal while in Prince's zone 5 and try that. Prince was okay with it so I started jumping behind him. He wasn't really worried but wasn't totally okay with it.... for about 5 seconds. Then he was like "okay just let me know when we are done!" :) It was funny!!!

We played around with the maintaining gait on the traveling circle game while going over and around obstacles. That was fun!!! Prince was good at the trot but when we went to the canter he kept breaking gait. So.... isolate, separate and recombine. We went to just a plain circle and guess what!!!?!?!? He couldn't maintain the canter...... so we played with that. Once Prince could canter 3 circles with out breaking gait I started walking around putting things in his way and he was fine!!! He broke gait once but he picked up the canter again.

After that we did some zone 5 driving with one rein. Prince was really good with that. We didn't do to much just some touch it, back up and turning.

After that we played at liberty. That was fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Prince left twice but he always come right back. We did Stick to me, draw at the trot, Sideways, Touch it, and Figure 8's. I couldn't believe how much better our figure 8's were!!!!!!!!!! I think Prince has the pattern now. I think Prince and I have a lot more fun playing in the riding ring at liberty then in the round corral. I guess the since both Prince and I are left brain we just don't like round corrals!!! ;)

Then I got on Prince bareback. He was such a good boy!!! We did a whole lot of stuff. Mostly anything that I would do with a saddle we did bareback!!!!! Which that in and of it's self is amazing!!! Other times when I have ridden Prince bareback he would be okay with me up there but if I moved to quickly or something he would pin his ears but this time was totally fine. I was moving around swinging my arms and he just stood there really nicely.

We did a little bit of trotting too. Prince gave me a really nice slow trot it was SOOOO nice!!! I wish he would trot like that when I was riding him in a saddle!!! hehe. After we had ridden for a bit I got off and was going to end there but decided to try mounting Prince for zone 5. Since I knew I couldn't do it if I stood on the ground I lined Prince up so that he was facing away from the pedestal and took a running jump, onto the pedestal and jumped up onto Prince. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!!! Prince wasn;t really that interested. He did really well and just stood there the whole time. I love my horsey!!!!!!!!

~K

YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:28:38 GMT

Well as of today, April 25th I am a Level 2 graduate!!!!!!!!!!!! LIKE HOW COOL IS THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still can't believe it!!!! It is just so cool!!!!

I would like to say a HUGE thank you to my BEST friend Lea for all of her support!!!!! YOU ROCK GIRL!!!! I don't think that I could have done it with out you!!!! Plus all my family!!! Your guys are amazing!! and your support has been so nice!!!

And of course I can't forget my wonderful horse, Golden Prince. YOU ARE AMAZING BUDDY!!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

~K

Twosox play time

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:27:06 GMT

So things went a lot better with Twosox today. I was ready to experiment and find out why he was have trouble and bracing against me. So let start...

Twosox and I went up to the riding ring to play. We did some extreme friendly game. Twosox was okay with that so we went and did some Touch it.

{In no particular order}

- Extreme Friendly game. Twosox was fine with this. So I will have to try and find something else that bothers him ;)

- Short range circles. Since Twosox would brace on the circle when he was circling farther away from me I decided to check and see what he would be like if I did short range circles. He was fine!!! I say "HMMMM HOW INTERESTING!!!!!" So I asked him to trot and stay close to me. He was fine with that also. So slowly I let the rope out but when Twosox was about 15ft away from me. He was trotting around and no brace!!! HOORAY!!!! After Twosox had trotted about 3 laps at a trot I brought him in and gave him a rest!!

- Traveling circles. After I had figured out that Twosox wouldn't brace if he wasn't to far away from me I started walking around a little. Putting obstacles in his face and then if Twosox needed extra rope I let him have it. Since he was watching where he was going he didn't have time to think about bracing. He did really well and he was able to circle and not be as close to me.

- Figure 8's. Once we were able to circle okay we the went to the figure 8's. I made sure that Twosox gave me two eyes before I sent him through the barrels. At first he would still brace but after a little bit he wasn't bracing as much. Then I put the barrels closer together and Twosox was perfect doing them. HMMM HOW INTERESTING!!!
- Touch it. I asked Twosox to stand up on the pedestal with all four feet. At first he wasn't to sure about it but he soon figured it out and was fine.
- Sideways. We worked on sideways at the trot and sideways towards me. Twosox is getting really good a coming sideways towards me now. Plus our sideways at the trot is getting straighter.
- Stick to me w/t. This is getting WAY better. Twosox was stick right to me, when I got faster even at the walk he would too, when I started running he would start trotting. It was fun!!
- Zone 4/5 driving. YAHOO!!!! Finally!!!! We started doing this last fall but Twosox wasn't ready for it so we just left it. Now he is picking it up really quickly. I was in zone 4/5 and Twosox was listening to me. We walked along the fence for the most part but we were able to to back up, go forwards and do a little bit of turning. It was really cool!!!!!

Since Twosox was in such a great mood I got on him bareback. Since I didn't have a helmet on [my mom was there though] I didn't do to much but it was still a lot of fun!!!

- Lateral Flexion. Of course I made sure that we could stop! Most of the time I didn't even need to bend him. He would stop when I lifted my rein.
- 9-Step back up. I remembered to be really soft and light. He was PERFECT!!!!!! He is SUPER sensitive and I LOVE IT!!!! It really makes me be light!!
- Indirect rein. This was really good also. We got about half a circle. Again if I was light he would be. I have to keep remembering that. Twosox is pretty good at telling me though ;)
- Direct rein. Twosox is getting more responsive to me when I ask him to turn and he is started to turn on his hind quarters too. It is cool!!
- Weaving. Weaving is something that Twosox and I haven't done to much of but he did an amazing job. We weaved all the way to the other end of the riding ring. Twosox is such a smart horse!!!
- Follow the rail. This was a lot better. Twosox stayed right by the rail. When I asked him to to a in-direct or direct rein he would do it then we would go right back to following the rail. There was a couple times where I lost my balance a little but Twosox was great and didn't get worried.

When I let Twosox go he stayed right beside me so we stood together for a little bit before I left. Even though Twosox isn't the most comfortable horse to ride bareback it was still a lot of fun!!!

~K