Enjoying the indoor!!

A few mins with Kendall, Rain and Z. Just stayed on the ground, KK practicing bareback.

Bus Stop Pickup on Horseback

With Rain and Z, bareback. Kendall was so happy. Then practiced bareback in the arena until it was too dark. I love riding bareback!! Kendall couldn't get enough today, either.

Cantering bareback and more Spinning

Today I had some time for 1 horse and I chose Z. I decided to do some more bareback riding. I also put a bareback pad on with a saddle pad underneath, thinking that I could ride her longer and help her stay comfortable. We warmed up and then I started to ride in the round pen. The pads definitely made it easier! Her withers hit my pubic bone sometimes and the pad stops that discomfort. She cantered off my ask easily and we were flying around with ease. I worked on canter/trot transitions and found them easily and fluidly. We'll continue to practice and improve.

I got a little video that I'll post thanks to my supportive husband.

We also did some ground work and progressed with the spin. Z seems to have some fun with that! She shoots out from the spin with gusto then comes straight back to me. I don't necessarily want her coming straight back to me, but for now I'll reward that because the spin is so good! Proud of my mare and had a great session.

Breaking through and THE SPIN!

I spent 3 hours with Tina today. With the relatives in town and graduation, birthday, anniversary festivities, I had to put horses on hold for 4-5 days. So, today I had big plans to play catchup - specifically with Tina. I committed to 7 days of JUST ground work and confidence building. We did our 7th session last weekend and today I wanted to get back to working on mounted sessions. Tina has come back around so beautifully. She's regained the confidence she had and then some. She's calmer and braver. She's learning so well (she can only do that if she's not afraid). She's trying new things and showing curiosity. She's ready for mounted work.

We started tacked and ready to go. We played for quite a while first. I started teaching her to sidle over to a mounting block - a great skill for any horse to have. Today, I built on that and also desensitived her to my foot in the stirrup with a ton of stimulation. I wiggled, poked, prodded, etc with my foot in the stirrup until the flinching was gone and she relaxed. I layed over her and made sure she wasn't flinchy on the off-side, the flank, etc... She was quite relaxed - like she was when I first started her.

I decided to have Chrissy help by holding the lead line of my rope hack while I mounted and rode. This way I have reins and Chrissy can help disengage the hind if things get rough. I mounted repeatedly and she was calm and relaxed. She actually started to nap a little! This pleased me tremendously. I swung a leg over and sat on her back and sat for minutes at a time. She didn't do a ton of blowing, which shows me that she wasn't holding back or showing right-brained introversion. She was truly calm and ok. I must admit that I have to learn to trust her and this was a positive step. It was insanely windy and in the past I wouldn't have bothered even trying to mount on her on a windy day. All things considered, we've made huge progress together.

Chrissy and Cowboy had a great day too. Chrissy is starting to work on her bareback riding so she hopped on and we talked about her seat and how to achieve balance. I believe this was really her first time focusing on this and there's so much to learn from riding bareback! Good for her. She said she liked it better than riding in the saddle. I agree!

I spent a little time near the end of the day on Z bareback. We rode around the property and I tried to make it enjoyable for her by letting her stop and graze often and for long durations. I just wanted to hang out on her back. Afterwards, I hopped off and we did a short liberty session in the round pen. For the first time, I asked for the spin at liberty and wow!!! I got several beautiful spins in both directions! I've been building this maneuver online and just whimsically decided to test it. How impressive that she was willing and able! Her Spanish Walk is beautiful too. We really need to film! I'm excited to see where we are and how far we've come.

Pony rides and Bareback :-)

With the relatives in town, we decided to give the nephews some rides on Rain. The kids had a blast! I led them around the yard, asked Rain to stand on the pedestal and other obstacles and the kids were thrilled. The kids took turns standing on one end of the teeter totter while Rain, on the other end, would weight her side and cause the kids to go up and down. Even my sister-in-law hopped on for a little ride around the yard!

When that was over, Marla hopped on bareback and I gave her some help getting started with developing balance. She loved that and spent about 45 mins figuring out her seat and how to balance. I hopped on Z as well and did some trotting practice. Z was calm and felt great! Marla was a great time and I know she wanted to go longer.

I also pulled Gem out and showed some of his play! I was working on getting the rear, but he was acting pretty lazy and I never got it. However, he showed some good stuff and we had fun. I think the relatives enjoyed seeing the kind of things I do with horses.


Rain was a great "party horse" and I'm thankful to have her in my life and in my herd. She's a pleasure. Z and I are getting better and better and I'm going to keep trying to log 4-5 hours per week bareback.

I managed to get Gemini trimmed before calling it a night, too.

Great day sharing horses with the city folk!

Playing on a Saturday

Nice to get some time with the horses as we've had snow and rain all week! The ground is soft and mushy, so keeping things low key.

Tina - more ball! She was so great today and pushed the ball around with confidence! She actually rolled her front legs over it at one point and I could see her thinking, "Wow, that was kinda fun!". We worked with plastic bags and she's doing great dealing with the plastic bag rubbing on her face, neck and chest. We did some driving from zone 2 and stick to me. She's doing more licking and chewing during our sessions and seems to be ready to progress to riding again. I laid over her bareback and rubbed her all over on the off-side and started teaching her to sidle over to the mounting block. This was the 7th session of ground work and confidence building. Now, we get back to work on bringing her along as a trustworthy mount.

Cowboy - I played with Cowboy and put a ride on him for Chrissy. The ground work went well and although he had a little attitude in the beginning, he quickly softened up (10 mins?) and got his head in the game. I rode him into the arena and we played with transitions on the rail. We started with moving the fore and hind and those felt better. He's still bracey there, so we'll keep working on it. Transitions were nice and he did a lot of blowing! That means to me he started more tense about the arena riding than he showed. He was transitioning up and down from only my seat after a little time and just a pleasure to ride. He's so cool.

Chrissy then hopped on him and worked on relaxation. She seemed the more relaxed she has in a while and we talked and joked while she worked through her nerves. A great step!

Zarah - more bareback transitions from extended trot to canter. We left the property alone and I took her to a great place for grass. She was eager and willing to leave - no resistance. This was nice to see since I haven't ridden her alone on the trail in a while. My seat is better and better and I felt very comfortable and fluid on her bareback today. Excited to start jumping bareback.

I also played with Z on the 45'. We went to the hills and I asked her to go over jumps and play a solid circle game. She must have been feeling good because she galloped around me for probably 10 laps each direction! I didn't ask for that, she offered it and I allowed it. In the end, I asked her to walk the circle on the 45' and that was actually quite a challenge for her. She was just feeling good and ready to go! Her backup on the 45' was straight and beautiful. We should get started on filming our L4 online. We're ready.

Gem - trimmed his left front and hind. His hind frog was interesting and I was able to get it cleaned up and open the sulcus for better health. His lateral wall needed a strong roll but it didn't have near the white line stretching that I expected to see. I love that horse - I need to find more time to ride him somehow.

Day 2 with Kime

More bareback. Focused on riding the fast, extended trot into the canter and back down to the fast trot. Z's large and bouncy trot is much easier to ride fluidly now.

Simulations with the 45' - how to tell a left handed from a right handed 45'. Coiling it so it doesn't get twisted. I'm using a rt handed rope, so learned how to work with that and make sure I don't foul myself up working backwards. Talked a lot about safety with the 45' and avoiding an accident with loops on the ground. Tell a rt handed from left handed by holding the end with the bull snap away from you and seeing which direction the threads go.

Tina hanging out while we watched trailer loading and getting on the pedestal - she was so cute and extremely confident! I was suprised and impressed by her. We sat on a large tractor tire filled with dirt with the instructor did a trailer loading demo. Tina continued to vie for attention by loading herself onto the tire with all 4 feet! I wish I'd taken a picture. She was so cute and nuzzled me constantly. We've hit a new plateau in our relationship.

I decided to play over her back while the trailer loading went on. I bellied her, rubbed her all over, made some commotion above her... she took it all in stride and only thought to move her feet once or twice. I realize it's not me she doesn't accept, it's the saddle.

Loading to leave, Tina went to look under the panel and lost her footing. She slipped and fell in the trailer. I opened the panel quickly and she righted herself and got out. Poor girl! I let her settle down, another student did some acupuncture with the red light to relax her (worked great!) and then about 30 mins later I loaded her again. She was fine - not scared or worried. I took my time and loaded her respecting her thresholds the best I could. I quickly loaded Z so Tina was calmer quicker.

My abs were sore for a couple days after all that bareback riding! I probably rode bareback for 6 hours in the 2 days. Pretty cool! I'm excited to start jumping bareback. Z was awesome the whole time. She was relaxed and sensitive and paying attention. She was a great partner most of the time. Tina was calm and her ground work looked fantastic! We're working on a straight backup to 22' away and she's doing great.

Enjoyed my time at Nancy's immensely!

Day 1 with Kime

Bareback - once with Kime, once alone, getting much more fluid. With Kime, she has the 22' line and she's asking Z over cavalettis, in tight circles, quick transitions between gaits, etc... It's much harder than riding Z bareback alone. I also did a lot of zone 5 driving with Z. Her turn to the outside needs a little more work, but she was able to stay pretty far ahead. We were driving from zone 5 with the 45 so I was able to get 20-30 ft behind her. However, the turn to the outside was tough if it was away from the barn and the other horses. I'd creep close, make the turn, then move back. We'll keep practicing.

Tina: we worked on playing over obstacles, loading into trailer (large and small), standing on pedestal, change of direction, she is so much calmer and better!! Is it the sessions of not riding or is it the magnesium? Or both??

She was awesome. She was a horse that I'd ride - calm and thinking.

Advancing my bareback riding

Had an very great lesson with Kime today. I decided I wanted to focus on improving my bareback riding so we spent 3 hours with Zarah. First we worked on the ground (of course) and I realized I've somehow broken my "allow". Hmmm, when did I do that? We fixed that and then we worked on squeezing over jumps. I told Kime that I want to get my bareback jumping more solid so she wanted to make sure Z was going over jumps in a "rideable" manner. We worked on lots of jumping and making sure Z was efficient and smooth over the them.

We improved the falling leaf by me asking for a partial disengagement sooner than I'm used to. That allowed Z to keep the forward motion and turn on the fore with less of a struggle. We also squeezed over 2 cavalettis at w/t/c. We played circle game among the obstacles and the barrel jumps on the circle at all gaits. We were looking for Z to make the decision to go over versus me asking her to go over (maintaining gait on the circle). Her attitude was much more compliant at the end of the ground work. I've been lazy with her ground work as I've been training for endurance and spending more time groundworking others.

Then, I showed her how I'm doing with my bareback riding and we decided the best place to start was improving my ability to ride the extended/fast trot fluidly. The fast trot is the hardest gait to ride bareback because there is so much motion in the horses back. She wanted to do a "lunge line" lesson, so we put Z on the 22' and got started. She focused on transitions so that I could improve my fluidity between the up and down transitions (walk, trot, canter, fast trot, halt). It was my first time doing that bareback and it was quite a challenge! I never knew what would come next and I had to really stay balanced to ride the transitions that quickly. It was a blast and I was actually quite exerted. A couple times, I asked her to stop so I could catch my breath.

A few friends came to watch and had good things to say about how intense the lesson was. I wish I would have had one of them video the session.

Afterwards, Chrissy took a lesson with her (her first lesson with anyone besides me). I've been pushing her to do this. I know I benefit greatly from hearing and learning from as many instructors as I can. They may mean the same thing, but they say it differently and I might hear it in just the perfect way from a particular instructor. I also think they focus on different things and it helps me be more rounded. I commit to myself to take lessons as long as I'm able.

Chrissy had a good time and was glad she did it. So was I.

Before closing the day out, I trimmed Cowboys fronts.

Back on the trail

With Rain and Tina, first true trail ride in a while. We went about 5 miles and though a few spots were mucky from melting snow, most of the footing was pretty decent. Tina has come a long way as a pony horse and the trail doesn't seem to upset her at all. She's not nervous or worried on the trail - she's got her head low and she just goes along. We can trot and canter and she stays in her spot and maintains the gait we're in. Pretty impressive.

The horses have thick winter coats and the temp was nearly 60, so both horses got pretty sweaty. It was great to be back on the trail, covering some ground. I've missed it. We were out about 2 hours.

When we got back, I did a little ground work with Rio, prepping him for bareback mounting and a little ground work. I was going to ride him bareback, but he seemed not quite relaxed enough for that, so I just stayed on the ground and played. I go to the carribbean with my husband in a couple days and I don't want to take a single chance of getting hurt.

I then grabbed Miss Z and asked her to stand on the smaller tire pedestal. She's getting quite good at the pedestal. I will continue by asking her to stand on smaller and smaller objects. Then, I hopped on bareback and just rode her for 10 minutes around the trees, weaving around obstacles, etc. Just a fun little ride with my levels mare.

Lastly, I grabbed Gem and did about 15 mins of groundwork, asking him for sideways, back and a some stick to me. He was extremely responsive and he made me smile. We've got to get some good dressage practice going so we can show this year!

Successful Night with Horses

Got a lot of things going tonight! It was a great night. I started off with Tina, teaching her to drive from zone 3. She's new to zone 3 work and she did quite well for her first time. She was over-reacting to me when I asked her to mind her shoulder and keep it out of my space, but she walked forward very well (of course) and touched her nose or hoof on everything I asked. The longer we played, the better she felt about the game. She was actually started to seek the object I was focusing on. Pretty cool.

A couple things worth noting: Tina doesn't like things touching her ears. We need to get beyond that. Also, she has such left-brained tendencies. When she's got even a little confidence, she investigates lots of things with her mouth. I'll keep watching and rewarding that sort of behavior. Bravery is her biggest hole.

Chrissy was driving her horse from zone 3 too, for the first time. She was a little soft at first, but she was quickly learning how to get effective with phase 4. After a short time, she was getting a much better response. Her horse was staying out of her space and going forward with a subtle ask. I think Chrissy was feeling more empowered, too! We talked about trailriding that way until she gets all her confidence back. I hope she gives that a try.

The sun was setting quickly and the temp was dropping. I decided to load up a few horses and head to my friend's indoor arena. It's a good situation - I give her lessons and she lets me use her indoor whenever I want to. So, I loaded Gemini, Rain, Tina and Cowboy. Chrissy wanted to come along, which was great!

The horses loaded fairly easily. Tina is probably accustomed to being lead into the trailer and I want her able to be sent in - so that's how we did it. She doesn't know how to back out of the trailer, so we worked on that a bit. I made a mental note to get that fixed up soon. Gemini is still slightly concerned about the panel closing, so we took the time and her was ok. Cowboy loaded last and he was happy to follow after 3 others into the trailer.

Once there, I started with Gemini. He has a swollen area on the right girth behind his elbow. I decided not to saddle him. Guessing he got a defensive kick when he was trying to boss another horse around. We played on the ground just a little and then I taught him to bring his hind end to me - the beginning of sidling up to a mounting block or fence. He's never done that and it took a few mins. Once he understood, we went to the mounting block and I rode him bareback. We practiced backing up, disengaging, moving the fore and simply walking around quietly. He was calm and really doing nicely! I was impressed as the other 3 horses were running around the arena willy-nilly.

Then, I tacked up Rain to get some things done with Tina. I need Tina to be a good pony horse for me so I can get her out on the trail for more distance. First, Rain was pretty bracey from Kendall riding her the last few times. So, we practiced lateral flexion for several minutes. Then, once she was softer, I took Tina around working on yielding to the poll pressure and yielding to my carrot stick when I asked her to go from side-to-side. She was overreactive at first and we just kept at it, with me being as subtle as possible and releasing on the the slightest try from her. She got braver and more confident as time when on and by the end, she was beautifully switching from a left-side pony horse to a right-side, walking when we walked, stopping when we stopped. Ahhh - a huge improvement! We'll be able to get some good things done on the trail now. We finished by standing quietly for maybe 10 mins, me on Rain, Tina next to us with her nose nearly touching Rain and Gemini right behind. Gemini had followed us at liberty the whole time - that was very interesting and surprising! He wanted to fall in line and follow, unusual for a boss hog horse like him.

While I was playing with the my three horses, Chrissy had been enjoying Cowboy. They practiced driving game, circling, and some other things. She also enjoyed just watching the horses interact while we were in a more enclosed area. Cowboy and Gemini played a little, Rain didn't do much at all, and Tina trotted around everyone stopping often to check every object out. Tina has become much calmer since she arrived and I expect to see her get calmer every month she's here in training. She's learning the language we use and she's finding her place. She's a little fat right now- which means she's getting plenty to eat in the large herd. I'm super pleased with how she's doing.

At the end, I asked Chrissy if she'd get on her horse bareback and she surprised me by saying YES! So, she got on and I helped her find her balance and ride with her horses back. She didn't seem too afraid and her horse was super calm for her. It was a triumphant moment as she hasn't ridden a horse bareback since she was a kid. I'd love to see her do that more - it's the best way to learn balance and building an independent seat. Good for Chrissy!

We loaded all the horses up to head home. My trailer light isn't working, so we had to load the horses into a dark trailer. Rain was not at all worried and I loaded her first. Then Tina. Tina was a little reluctant, but I didn't force her and just applied approach and retreat. Gem was a little concerned about the panel closing again, but it took 20 seconds for him to find calmness. Cowboy loaded last, but he kept turning around and wanting to come out. It took a few minutes to get him calm enough to stand while the door closed.

It was great to get that many horses going last night, loading, playing in an indoor, ponying, bareback riding... Fantastic.

Tricks and bareback

Z is now bowing!! Whoo-hooo! And the Spanish walk is coming along very nicely! I started moving to the Spanish walk que from her back and she was right there with me. How cool is that? I started teaching her to rear, but she wasn't getting it at all. I abandoned that and moved on.

We did some bareback and rode the Cloverleaf pattern. I noticed how nicely muscled she looks. I asked Loma the other day if she was seeing imbalance in her muscling anywhere and Loma noticed just ahead of the wither needing to muscle up better. I expect the more advanced our riding gets, the better that will be. Her rump looks awesome and so does her back. The cut on her leg is healing very nicely, too. I think it will only leave a minimal scar.

Chrissy was in the arena on Cowboy and I threw some coaching her way, but she's really become very self-sufficient at this point. I'm very happy for her!!

I also tacked up Nina and played with her for a while tonight. It's time to get back on her and start developing the saddle work. She's doing quite well, calm and responsive. We played with the figure 8 pattern and she really got it figured out. I've also got to start putting a bit in her mouth.

I haven't spent time with Gem or Rain in nearly 2 weeks because of the all the video I'm trying to get and coaching Chrissy. That will be my next session.

Attempt at finishing Instructor App Video

Steve had committed to helping me get the final video bits done. We have a short list left before I go into full-blown video edit mode. I've still got to capture the freestyle section, 3 patterns on a casual rein, and some bareback riding and online.

We warmed up some, but our on online was definitely a little lack-luster. I made the mistake of using the 45' but then playing in an area too small to support that length. Then, Z was lacking energy and I was trying to bring her life up w/o causing her to get introverted. We got some nice things, but I think we could do better. I always think we can do better - hence the misery of video taping. I rarely think it's good enough. I just recently decided to get the freestyle video in the mail for L3 that I did a month ago. I want perfection. There's no such thing.

I imagine my Freestyle vid will pass level 3. Then, I can focus on L4. The thought of passing L4 is very exciting and motivating! I also need to pick a competition and get out there with my horse to see how we compare to others. Ok, I digress...

So, we did some liberty, too. It was just fun stuff. I'm teaching Z to spin when I spin. Right now, I'm only getting a change of direction when I spin. That's ok - it's a positive response and we'll develop it quickly, I'm sure. Also, I'm working hard on getting her to show exhuberance. She's more playful than ever and I think it's a direct reflection of my horsemanship improving. I'm getting better at having fun and being less serious - probably one of my biggest challenges.

We did some bareback filming, just a little as the ask on the application was to just show a little. Then, we went to do some patterns in the arena - specifically, we must show figure 8, cloverleaf and bullseye. Well, Miss Z had tons of energy to spare and I was having a hard time getting her to trot and not canter. We did PPL at the canter for several minutes, hoping she'd think slowing down would be ok. We finally started to get the trot consistently and I decided to quit there. We'd been at it for hours and she'd found a nice relaxed place to be. I guess I should be surprised since we hadn't ridden in 6 days and the weather was cooler.

I'll post some of the video moments asap. For now, I'm the video editor until I get this application submitted. Maybe we can get the freestyle and patterns done tomorrow.

Lazy Sunday...

I had the day to myself. I had no kids, no husband and the weather was decent. But for some reason, I just didn't feel like developing horses. I wanted to be with them, but I just wanted to chill out. I've been pushing hard to get video done and I think I've pushed myself to a point where I just need a break.

I edited video - I have a ton of video to get through so that I can submit for L3 Freestyle and the Instructor class. I have a freestyle vid ready, just needs some music. The instructor vid needs more editing. I need to get them sent off and done. I just don' t feel great about them - I think we can do better and it's hard to not put my best show out there. It's also extremely hard to get our best show filmed!

Anyway, I went out just about the time Chrissy showed up. It was a good thing - I can coach her and just hang out with my horse vs. trying to develop me or my horse. She was ready for a riding lesson! So, she tacked up and we went to the arena. I did a couple little things with Z, but mainly we just hung out. Chrissy mounted and started with passenger lesson at the walk. She's developing her independent seat and also better communication with Cowboy. After a while, she was asking him for trot and building up her confidence. He was being very good for her and I felt completely comfortable with how she was doing. I helped her with her rein position and feeling in charge.

I put a bareback pad on Z so we could practice some bareback in the arena while Chrissy rode. We practiced the cloverleaf pattern a little bareback cantering. Z and I are in a great place right now. We're getting some great things and our relationship is strong.

Chrissy rode for 1.5 hours! She was breathing, smiling and feeling good. Very proud of her! She'll be able to trot for 21 mins as a passenger soon. It's not a task anymore for the program, but it's a very important step to take for good riding. Also, she'll need to start developing her follow the rail pattern.

Good stuff!

Hail hurts!

The day was dedicated to training horses as the family is still out of town and there's not much I'd rather do with my free time.

I started with Gemini. He and I are making such great progress and I'm just super pleased. We worked on the ground some, continuing to build online transtions, more figure 8, change of direction and sideways. We played over the cavalettis some using the squeeze game. His responses are more positive all the time and he's interested in my asks. I've been playing with him on the ground while tacked and his rear cinch response is nearly gone or gone. He hasn't thought to buck in the past 2-3 sessions. He and I did something incredible. I asked him to stand on the teeter totter, then I asked him to rock it back and forth, never moving his feet. A simple weight shift in response to my ask and he was rocking it back and forth. I wish I had that on video!!

Then, we rode in the arena, doing 21 mins of PPL at the trot. He's taking his responsibility on much more nicely and I'm rewarding him with breaks at the far end of the arena. That helped tremendously as his slow jog became an energetic trot after a few reward sessions. What a good boy! I look forward to getting him down the road soon. I'm trusting him more and more and he's finding the right answers are easy to give. He gave the nicest, most forward trot I've ever felt at the end of our 21 minutes and I decided it was the perfect place to hop off and reward him. He stuck to me beautifully across the arena and I tied him to the hitching rail for some soak time.

Then, I wanted to get some time with Cowboy. He's been getting the least amount of my attention, which is just fine for me. He's having a good time being a horse in the all the pastures and he's settled in so nicely in the herd. He's always happy to see me and happy to play and get some human attention. He's got a nice brain and a nice demeanor. I look forward to truly developing him. At first we played the catching game for about 45 seconds. It was interesting, I was 2 feet away and following him closely at a walk in zone 5. I really think he thought I was driving him away. I have to drive him away sometimes because he can be quite the pocket pony. All of a sudden, he turned and faced, as if to say, "Oh! You want to catch me!". We never have to play the catching game, so I'm convinced he was misunderstanding me.

I put him on the 45' and we played some ground games - figure 8, circle game, over obstacles, over the teeter totter. Then, I tacked him up and started with lateral flexion. This is one of Cowboy's toughest areas - he has so much built-in brace that a simple thing like lateral flexion is a big challenge. He lolls his tongue, he works his mouth, he just doesn't find peace or comfort in a bit. He can stand with it in his mouth just fine, but when I try to communicate with him through the bit, he braces and goes introverted. I took my time and stayed patient, asking for lateral flexion and rewarding the slightest tries. He was getting quieter and quieter and I found a place to quit. We have to keep working on that and perhaps for the rest of his life. Humans before me have left their mark on Cowboy's behavior and I'm a little sad about it.

I rode him around a bit, circling the round pen and asking for walk/trot/canter transitions. His canter feels a little rough right now. He's not balanced or using himself well. Some more riding and many more transitions should get him framing up better and using himself in his gaits. We did a lot of serpentines, trying to loosen his brace and get positive responses to my asks for bends. He loosened up quite well and rather quickly. We moved the dogs a little - he enjoys that tremendously! He's a very cowy horse. We also worked on disengaging the hind - which is great because it incorporates lateral flexion with a bend in the body. At first, he wasn't disengaging, he was stiff and rigid. After a few minutes, he gave the nicest, most fluid disengagement with a soft feel and I laughed and hopped off. He knew how happy he made me - he had a proud look about him. He could give the right answer and find harmony with his rider. I think he has very little history of finding harmony with his rider from his younger years.

Z's leg is healing nicely and I was trying to decide if I should/could ride her. I took Rain for a little bareback riding around my house while I decided what to do next. Chrissy was over and ready to try out some new riding attire, so I decided we should get some time on the trail together. The sky was "iffy" and it seems to rain every freakin' day. But, the storm that I thought would produce rain had moved off and out. There were more clouds, but the looked far enough out that we'd be ok. I gave Chrissy some hints on tacking up and getting her horse ready. It can get a little old tacking up multiple horses when the rider is fully capable of doing it themselves - with a little coaching. I'm all for helping her become self-sufficient.

We headed out, Z not especially happy about leaving home - I hadn't ridden her in 8 or 9 days and we didn't do a proper warm-up on the ground. I had the sky in mind, thinking it was now or never with the potential storms all over the sky. I tried hard to not compromise our relationship, allowing her to turn back if needed and then asking her to face the trail again. It was a subtle brace, just her saying, "I'd really rather..." and me saying, "I hear you, but how about my idea." About a 1/4 mile later, she was tuned in and not thinking about home.

I took Chrissy on a more challenging ride, some inclines and declines, crossing roads, trees... We also talked about developing her seat. She asks great questions and she really wants to improve. I'm excited for her to gain confidence with Rain and become a great riding partner for me. We are building to that and maybe one day, we'll even do some trail riding competitions together.

We got to a point on the trail where I could look up to the sky. Uh oh, we are TOAST! The storm that was brewing looked menacing and we weren't going to make it back in time. Zarah was not in a good place for fast speeds. She was impulsive and a little emotional. I also didn't know how fast Chrissy would want to go - most of our riding has been at the walk. Even if we galloped the whole way, we wouldn't have outrun this storm. CRAP!

So, one of my fears... lightening. Lots of animals and people get struck by lightening in Colorado. Being out in the wide open trail on a high hill during a thunderstorm is not my idea of a wise decision. Our Colorado storms typically bring hail and heavy rain and there was no place to hide. First drizzle, then rain, then torrential downpour with wind! We abandoned the idea of making it home and found a tree to hide under. A single pine tree, with less than thick branches and down in a gulley. My expensive saddles were also getting soaked. Arrgghhh!

Chrissy and I tried to take refuge under this slightly pathetic single pine, while the horses did their normal "butt to the wind" stance, waiting for it to let up. We were getting cold! And then, to add insult to injury, the hail began. Geesh - hail hurts!! I had my back to it and luckily we were wearing helmets, but the hail balls hitting my back... OUCH! We just had to laugh. The gulley now had a fast moving river running through it and I hoped it would end soon. The sky was so dark and the thunder was constant. Just a constant rumble and roar - an angry sky.

The sky started to show the slightest signs of getting lighter. The rain started to let up. Luckily, it was going to be a quick storm. It lasted maybe 20-30 minutes and Chrissy and I were drenched - head to toe soaked. It was time to go the last mile and get home. The sun was actually starting to show. We decided to walk home. Our feet were squishy and water bubbles appeared with each step on the top of my shoes. After about 1/2 mile, Chrissy's fiancee appeared at the trail head. Chrissy rode home with him and I rode Rain, ponying Z. The horses were excited and "up" and Rain wanted to get home FAST! She does her best gaiting when she's got druthers and she was moving so beautifully in her 4-beat gait. Z had to canter to keep up next to us.

It was a great day with all the horses, adventures in the rain, trailriding, arena riding, just everything. Loved it!

More Undemanding with Z and bareback riding

Amazing how a little undemanding time with Z brings her right around. I'll keep focusing on staying more balanced with undemanding time between the progressive riding and ground sessions. She's much happier to see me, nickering when I come out, not leaving when I have a halter in my hand. It's so interesting how she goes in and out of feelings of fondness for me.

I sat with her in the aisle after grain time, brushed her, talked on the phone while she nudged me repeatedly demanding that I scratch her face. She loves her face scratched! Then, we did a little bit of ground work and more trailer loading into the 2-horse straight load. I had some things dropped off for my horse playground (2 large tractor tires, 3 barrels, some 12' piping). It made a huge pile and she was extremely suspicious of this changed play area. We did approach and retreat and she gained confidence with the new stuff. Then I squeezed her over a few of the new things. At the end, she stood with the new piping under her belly and I was pleased. We moved on... Oh, an interesting note - my horse is so RB when it comes to new stuff! She was curious, but very unconfident!

Then, I hopped on for a few minutes of bareback riding. I haven't ridden bareback in a while and I may want to do my freestyle audition bareback. I'm permitted to ride in a saddle, but then I wouldn't possibly be eligible for anything L4. Anyway, I need more bareback practice - it can only help. I used to ride bareback all the time; on the trail, in the arena, wherever. Z's impulsive nature has made me feel less confident bareback. I'd still ride Rain bareback anywhere. Z is not quite a 5 on the impulsion chart - she's probably more of a 7. Makes a big difference.

The weather is amazing but I have kid stuff to do! More time tomorrow perhaps. Want to progress more with Cowboy.

Finding time

I finished work a little early, got kids snacked after school and then I headed out for an hour of horse time. I headed out and felt like kicking off with Cowboy. I had some ideas of things to try with him to cause him to be more supple. We started with a little ground work, but today I wanted to start upping the game. He can do more than I've been asking and he's ready.

I started by asking him to trot when I trot, canter when I canter. He seemed to have some fun doing that! I had him pretty close - maybe 10 ft away and he was engaged and ready to transition up or down as I asked. Then, we went for some trotting sideways on the rail. He got a little defensive as I asked him for more speed going sideways, but he quickly got the idea that I wasn't criticizing him - I just wanted him to offer more to the game. I actually got some cantering sideways! Then, we went for some circle game and I asked him to canter more laps. Until now, I've been happy and content with him simply cantering when I ask. Now, I took it to the next level by asking that he maintain the canter for longer. It was a different game and he was a little confused, but he caught on quickly and got the idea in no time. He's smart, smart, smart.

I was really happy with how he handled me asking for more, so it was time to ride. I hopped on (he's so great about mounting - stands still and strong every time) and we started with some simple follow the rail at the walk. I wanted to work on suppling him with bending a lot at the trot. I realized something today, though. He's a short horse! I can do that all day on Z, but Cowboy sees no purpose in moving fast or far. That's when it dawned on me - no wonder he hated cantering on line so much! He's a short horse! So, I had to pause and remember how to motivate a short horse so we could actually progress. I have some obstacles in my arena and I decided to bend around those and circle each one. After we circled 1 -3 of them, I'd stop him at one and give him a small treat. Ah HA! Now we're talking! He started actually getting into it and trying to figure out which obstacle was going to be the "treat spot". He got a little skip in his step and became a little more interested. I realized though, the best suppling is going to occur on the trail. That's where we'll go next - when I have enough time to dedicate to it.

I hopped off and asked for a little more sideways at the trot. I just think it's a good game for Cowboy and I want him thinking sideways and moving off the rail soon.

Then, I tied him off and grabbed Z. I need to ride her bareback - even if it's just 5 mins at a time. She's so sensitive and so annoyed if I ask wrong, we need a lot of practice. I took her into the round pen and asked for some walk/trot bareback. She got annoyed when I asked for forward to strongly. Whoops, sorry Z. But then we trotted for a bunch of laps in both directions easily and happily.

I finished off by spending just a few minutes asking her to bow. We haven't done that in a while and I had to remind her of the cue on her cannon bone. But she went back fairly easily and it's time to ask HER for more. She's comfortable at a certain place and I need to push her comfort zone. It's a hard trick for a RBI - trusting me is a hard thing for her.

Cantering Bareback

With Steve out of town, it is TOUGH! Kyle needs shuttling to work, kids have homework, Kendall is newly in braces and miserable, Kendall also has a cold, I'm about to go on a trip that is my first organized meeting, horses need care (Nina needs a trim), work is tough (con calls all day), and I'm not getting nearly enough horse time. Good thing I'm not having PMS. My head would probably explode.

Today, in spite of all that, I managed to squeeze 45 mins of horse time in. Ahhhh, felt better. I grabbed Miss Z, did a few mins of ground work. I asked her to manipulate the teeter totter, she was perfect. I took her into the round pen and practiced some sideways, some yo-yo, some lead by the lip, tail and hocks, transitions on the circle, and trot in to me. All were great - she's highly motivated by carrots.

Then, with the bareback pad, I asked her to walk, trot and canter with me mounted. I haven't done any bareback riding in a while; I've been focused on Finesse riding. We had the softest, easiest bareback riding canter I can remember after a few minutes and so I hopped off and took her back to the barn. She was great and it was just what I needed to go back to my crazy world.
I've been considering other horses, mainly as I'm being asked more and more to take horses on or start horses. A friend has a horse she wants to sell and I think he's an amazing horse and he could be mine, if I wanted. I already have 3, I don't need another. He's cool though and he'd be fun to train. Tonight with Z reminded me that I need to stick it out with her. She's offering great things and when it's right, it's awfully damn right.

The better I get, the more people will want to give me horses or have me training/starting their horses. The opportunities will grow and become more available. I have to take it slow and easy. This is my journey with Z.

At least for now.

Bowing and Riding Z

I've been practicing the bow with Rain for a few years now. I started about 3 yrs ago and barely new what I was doing. She understands the concept, but she would never stay in the bow for long. Recently, I started working on it with her again and now she bows beautifully. I'm going to get some video and put it on youtube. It's pretty cool.

I recently started teaching Z to bow, as well. I'm using a very different technique with Z. We'll see how that goes. A horse has to have a lot of trust and confidence to get in such a precarious position as the bow. It's much easier for Rain than Z, as Z is not near as trusting. I also asked Z to circle me and practice transitions up and down. Her down transition is not as good and she tends to break back into a trot. This is important for us as we go back and retape L3 Liberty.

Kendall and I rode our horses bareback in the round pen after bowing. I asked Z to follow the rail at the trot. We also had the Equiball with us, so we had our horses kicking the ball around. A fun little session.

Then, I tacked up Z and we went for a ride. We practiced canter/walk transitions in a figure 8, snakey bends, sideways over a log (very softly) and canter transitions in a straight line. She gave me the nicest canter depart and down transition so I hopped off and let her eat grass. She's giving me more and more great stuff. My leadership is better and I'm expecting more. She also offered me a very vertical trot, nearly a piaffe, and a rode that a bit asking her to maintain. So cool.