Great day!

7.5 with kk at Hidden Mesa with all 3 horses. Gem running alongside us off lead. KK had a fantastic time, and so did I. trimmed Rain, touched up Z and Gem. Then some liberty with all 3 in the round pen. Rain is the weaker link - need to work on some liberty with her.

Hosed them off and Z and Gem went down to roll in the round pen, but not surprisingly, Rain didn't. She's never been much for a roll. not sure why.

Rain and Starlet work up a sweat!

Rode Starlet after a few minutes of falling leaf and circle game. We rode in the front pasture and I kept it to walk/trot as I haven't ridden her in quite some time. We worked on lateral flexion, backing and maintain gait. She was nice and soft and easy-going. Next session, I'll up the ante and ask for more speed and some maneuvers to stretch her. She did quite well though.

Then, I pulled Rain out and decided to pony Starlet off of Rain and move on out. We left the property and headed down the trail. Rain left the property so easily which is impressive as I haven't ridden her off the property in months. She was full of life, too. We cantered some, which got Starlet excited - but it was fun! Starlet is so much faster than Rain, so we did more trot than canter just to keep things manageable. Coming back, the herd was anxious for their missing mares and a couple geldings called, but Rain and Starlet stayed on task - not at all concerned.

A really nice time and I was out with them until the sun went down and the sky was dark.

Focusing on good posture

I played with Z in the arena, then Z and Gem around the south pasture. Zarah and I played with improving her posture in the trot and then trot/canter transitions. She tends to want to get strung out and tip her nose up in the transitions and I believe it's time to help her power from behind and keep her back solid and round. She did make some positive changes and ended up cantering with her head a little lower than I wanted, but I encouraged the change as it will be easier to flex her a little higher. Her canter felt much nicer this way and we'll continue to play with that way of going.

After the arena time, we ponied Gem around the south pasture following the rail. I was asking Z to trot with elevation and be round and flexed vertically. This was more challenging with a pony horse but good to get them both moving.

I really wanted to ride Gem, but the rains came (as they've been doing every... single... day...). The grass is gorgeous and green!! The mosquitos are starting to appear and the track has the largest water crossing I've ever seen. No complaints - it's been neat to see my property this wet.

I also trimmed Z and really focused on the quarters on her hinds. I was a little worried she'd be sore from the change, but she felt fine. Her hinds looked better so we'll see if they function better, as well.

A day in Chenango

I decided to spend the day with my bestie Jen. I hauled Gem and Z over for some arena time and some trailriding. Before we left, I gave Gem a quick trim just to stay on top of the good shape we've got going. He's getting some very nice hooves!

I decided to try to pony Z on the trail to get to the arena. I can't believe I did that, really. I have ponied horses a ton and often 2 at a time. But I've never ponied a horse off Gem and I really didn't know how he'd feel about it. Interestingly, he has way more respect for Z's space than I ever imagined he would. When she came toward us, he would move out of her bubble so fast - at one point he even trotted sideways! We settled into things pretty quickly, though. I felt myself relaxing and we had a nice walk to the arena. It was an amazing feeling to ask Gem to do this and for him to get with me and get the job done. My confidence in him (and us) continues to grow like crazy. I'm super excited!

At the arena, I tied Z off and rode Gem around a bit. His canter is so nice - definitely his best gait. We played some leap frog with Kirk and Jen and then did some cavalettis and weaving. Gem just felt so great to me. He was responsive, willing, just a nice ride. At the end, I cantered him some and played with stopping and backing. I need to build his canter maintenance - he goes into the canter nicely, but doesn't stay there. We have to put that on the priority list- maintain gait at the canter. We need work there both online and in the saddle. He's a bit lazy, so I've got to find ways to motivate. Ugh - that's hard for me. Some point to point in the front pasture maybe - with a treat at each point. We'll work on it.

Then, I left Gem in Jen's stall/run and took Z for a trail ride. Z was wired for sound! She was willing to walk nicely, but she walks so much faster than Jen's horse. We played with backing, sideways, shoulder/haunches in, just making use of her energy to keep her from moving too fast. We got to a boggy area and played with confidently going through it. I tried to help Jen by riding Lynx through it too, but Lynx was under-impressed and determined to not go through it. Jen ended up getting off and sending her through. Z was unconfident but went through it repeatedly for me, each time making a bigger mess and sinking deeper into it. The mud was to her chest but she continued to go through for me. I really appreciated all her try. I love that mare.

Later, we ran into llamas and alpacas. Z has seen them before, but never so many. And I would say she wasn't confident in the past encounters anyway. We hung around, I got off so I could support her from the ground (she then stood behind me!) and we watched the small herd of 8 move around and show interest in us. Z seemed to calm down and we moved on. She was quite happy to get back to Gem and they called to each other once or twice. It wasn't the conditioning ride I wanted, but it was a fun time with Jen and my mare. I can always work on confidence with Z, she comes from such a right-brained place.

The horses stood tied at the trailer while we ate with Jen and Kirk (Steve and KK were there, too). They loaded beautifully, Jen and I checked out hooves, and then down the road we went for home.

I've had such an amazing weekend. I'm so proud of Gem and the progress we're making together. I'm so happy I got the time this weekend. Life is just good.

Great day with friends

Christy came down with her friend and her friends daughter. We rode the trail. Kendall lost her confidence so I brought her home.

Rain was not working with KK, KK wasn't being a good leader for Rain. I'm sorry to see them struggle and I'm committed to spending more time on Rain to help her soften back up. Kids are pretty good at making horses bracey and stiff. When Rain doesn't listen, KK feels out of control and that's scary. We'll rebuild from here.

Z was marvelous and we ponied Rain and KK home together. I was proud of Z - she doesn't like to pony horses.

We then went back out after Kendall was safely home and did some racing on the trail! Z is so darn fast at a full gallop. I loved it!

Day 5 - Dave Ellis

Just cutouts - DE told a great story about meeting bears on the trail while riding on a ridge. He dealt with it by continually telling himself that the bears were just cardboard cut-outs. He knew if he kept himself calm, his horses would stay calm. It was a cute story but very clearly about our emotional fitness and what we have to do to maintain calm control of ourselves and our horses.

How he met Pat - interesting story of seeing Pat at a fair and Pat showing his stuff. Dave repeatedly asked Pat how he trained his horse to do that. Pat would answer every time that the horse already knows how to do these things. Eventually, DE ends up with his horse getting a lesson from Pat as his horse is a run-away. Pat tells him to let the reins go and let the horse run. Dave does and the horse stops running. Dave has been studying and learning from Pat every since. Pretty cool.

Keep porky light - don't let my horse get me doing more! I know this, do I always do it though? No. Keep practicing on finding this with my horses.

Played game of focus in round pen. This was cool with Z and I working on the "laser beam" for transitions. I pointed my stick at the wall of the pen and each time she ran through it, I walked in a slightly larger circle from center. Eventually, she'd see the stick was in her way and transition down. Over time, she will learn that when I lift the stick, it's time to transition down.

Worked on timing and release from porky game.

Precision patterns with circles going through the intersections and midpoints. This was a hard session for me. My brain was bored. I needed music or something. I struggle with precision patterns in the arena. Z, however, did very well and seemed to enjoy the repitition! How interesting...

Got the very best canter walk transitions I've ever gotten. After a while, I was getting the softest and most beautiful halt-canter transitions I've ever gotten from Z. She was responsive and I simply leaned back a little for the canter and lightly sat down for the down transition. Wow! I enjoyed that riding immensely. I could get use to dressage, perhaps. Z got supple and round. She was on her hind and ready for the transitions. Her canter was the softest I've ever ridden. Just Brilliant.

Ponied tina around track and hills. We were gone for quite a while cantering up and down hills, around trees in patterns, over obstacles. Tina is a great pony horse now and Z was learning to have a pony horse by her side. Z doesn't like it, but Tina did her job well. I was having a great time working with these two great horses, getting them more fit and exercising their brains by changing the pattern or game often.

A great day!

A little trailriding

Today, I planned to take Rain and Tina on the trail. I wasn't sure about how the ground would be with the frozen ground, but I figured we'd try. I tacked up Rain and haltered Tina and off we went. This was my first ponying since my broken arm. I wanted to take it easy and keep myself out of trouble.

We made it 1/2 way down the driveway when Gem appeared. He was out in the front pasture and decided he'd like to come along with us. It was a little tough because he'd stop to munch on grass, then canter to catch up. It's always tough when you've got a horse cantering up behind you. Tina was defensive about Gem getting too close and I didn't like it much either.

When we got to the gate, I saw the ground was slick and frozen. I sat and thought, then decided it wasn't worth the risk to ride on ice. I just don't want an injury to them or to me. So, we rode the property instead. We followed the fence and then back at the barn, we did some obstacle course stuff. It was a nice break-in back to ponying.

After about 2 hours, I hopped off, put Tina and Rain back on the track and tacked up Z. Z and I just rode around the property as well. I'm trying to just get back into my regular routine of riding every single day I can. Z and I have some filming to do soon - I'd like to get that filming done asap. So we practiced our bridleless cues and riding w/o reins.

A good day back in the saddle and I started to long from spring - or at least longer days.

Trying to trail ride

Finally, a break in the cold. This is sure one hard winter. It's been frigidly cold and the snow hasn't melted. Today, it was about 30 degrees and I was determined to get out and move some horses. I tacked up Rain and grabbed Miss Tina, thinking we'd head down the trail. I figured we'd just walk and take it easy. When we got to the gate, I realized there was a good coating of ice and I was concerned that Rain or Tina would slip. I decided to stay on the property and ride through the snow on the perimeter.

Tina ponied very nicely, no pulling - just staying in her spot and paying attention. Rain was my trusty mount as always. Gemini was out on the front acreage, so he was silly running around us, stopping to eat, charging forward to catch up with us, just lots of energy. It made me laugh and it was a good test for the mares to pay attention to me and not him. A couple times they thought about running off with him when he ran past. It only took once or twice for them to realize it was about what I was asking for and not about following Gemini.

It was a nice little jog around the property and I let Tina go to hang out with Gem to play with Rain alone a little. I worked on sideways towards in the barn aisle with Rain and amazingly, she earned it in 10 minutes. We have a great relationship and she is a fantastic learner. I was so proud of her and she could tell. She must have licked for a solid 30 seconds when she really had it. We quit there.

I put her back out with the herd and brought Gem and Tina in. I want to start working on clipping confidence with Tina. As a dressage horse, she'll need to be good when the clippers get pulled out. Gem also needs more clipping confidence, so I figured I'd work with them both. Tina was very afraid and I had to take it very slow. I got her to the point where I could rub the running clippers around her neck up towards her throat latch and she was starting to relax. Good place to quit.

Then, to keep things interesting, I broke the clippers. I dropped them. When I turned them back on they were super loud and scared ALL the horses. :-) I played with the noise for a few minutes, looking for them to get used to the noise, then I called it a day. It was a great 3 hours! Between the weather and my broken arm, it's been a hard horse winter.

Leaving a trail of dust!

I had to go see a friend and I decided to take a few horses in the trailer for some trailriding since it would take me too long to see my friend, come back, and still have decent riding time. I loaded Rain, Gemini and Tina and planned to take them for a nice long trail ride.

They had to wait in the trailer for a bit while I helped my friend out, but we managed to get to the trailer around 5pm. With the short days, I knew we needed to hustle if we were going to cover the whole 7.5 mile loop. We went to Hidden Mesa, which has some great open areas for moving out and some steep climbing and rocky areas - great for conditioning the horses. It's dark by 7pm now, so I knew we'd have to move out on the open areas to make it back to the trailer before dark.

I brought my dog Deuce, too.

Hidden Mesa is shared by bikers, hikers and equestrians. Sometimes the bikers are not so horse savvy and don't share the trail well. I was slightly concerned that with my "wide load" of 2 pony horses and a dog, we might run into trouble. I was counting on Friday night at dinner time making the trail a quiet place to be. I mean really, don't people have plans on Friday night?? :-)

Anyway, Tina did so so well. We cross a running creek and she was very unsure about crossing it. Rain and Gem think nothing of it, but I did not allow the lead on Tina to get tight. I saw her hesitation and we waited - Rain and Gem standing in the water while Tina decided if it was safe. After 20 seconds or so, she put a foot in, then another... Having two horses to follow makes it much easier for her. Giving her time to think about things is just what she needs to gain confidence. Then, we were in the open area - time to cover ground!

This trail has a high population of prairie dogs who leave hoof-sized craters in the ground everywhere. I'm not inclined to steer horses around holes in the ground. I treat them as obstacles and I want my horses to pay close attention to where they put their feet. Also, if one foot steps where there is no ground, the horse will use the other 3 to regain balance. I would not take a horse galloping over a prairie dog village but a walk or trot? Absolutely.

Gem did slide a front into a hole for a moment and quickly rebalanced on the other 3 and he never did it again. Tina was meticulous about where she landed her hooves - never once hitting a hole. That takes thought and I was very impressed by how much "thinking" Tina was doing. This is her 3rd time ponying on the trail and definitely the toughest trail she's encountered. I always ask myself, would I ride this pony horse? Is this horse ready to be mounted on the trail? With Tina I say, "Yes, she is!". She's ready. She's thoughtful and responsive - she does what she's asked as long as she can and she aims to please.

Gem was actually great too, except for the desire to be in front. He wants to lead the trail - he's a brave and confident horse with a desire to be the leader. I expect that from him. I would have ridden him on this trail ride too. He was a very rideable horse tonight. I'd like to someday develop him as my trail horse where I can pony others from his back but at this point, I do not trust him like that.

Gem had some trouble on the rocks and I wished I'd booted his front feet. I forgot how rocky some of the trail is and he does not have great, strong feet. He has a nice shaped hoof and a nice solar dome, but he can barely walk on the rocks at home and he's been barefoot his whole life (to the best of my knowledge). Next time, I'll boot him. Sorry, Gem. After a while, I let him off the lead rope so he could pick his spots to walk and give himself more comfort on his feet. We came upon a biker while he was at liberty and I'm sure we were quite a site. Me on Rain ponying Tina, my dog right close to my horse's feet, and Gemini behind us with no strings attached. The biker stopped to let us by and Gem trotted straight up to him to check him out. Gem is a huge horse and I quickly said, "There's a lot of us, but we're all perfectly harmless!". The biker seemed to get a kick out of Gem coming up to him and he pet Gem's face for a moment. I just had to laugh.

We made it back to the creek and Tina crossed it with only a slight hesitation. Rain was sweaty and thirsty so we stood in the water for a bit. We'd trotted and cantered a lot of the trail, only walking with the rocks were dangerous and it didn't make sense to move faster. Tina wouldn't drink and I found that interesting. I'd like to know she'll drink on the trail for the times we take even longer rides.

We made it back just as it was getting dark. It took us 1:45 to do the whole trail and the horses were well exercised. Everyone loaded with ease and we headed home. Deuce was asleep in the front seat before we even left the parking lot. Now, that's my idea of a great Friday night!

Note to self: teach Tina to back out of a trailer.

Trailriding before the sun goes down...

Tonight, I was determined to hit the trail! I used to trail ride all the time and these days I spend so much time training horses or developing my Parelli skills that I forget to just go cover some miles and enjoy the sounds of the trail. I wanted to take a couple horses with me and after thinking it over, I decided to take Gemini and Tina as my pony horses. So, I rode Rain and ponied Gem and Tina for about 5 miles. I'm sure we're quite a site as 2 of my dogs come along and they both like to follow right on the heels of the horses.

It was getting dark as we were coming back and cooold! But Tina and Gem had done really well as pony horses - especially Tina. She's learned how to lead up nicely and to not be afraid of being close to the lead horse (Rain). She seemed to really enjoy the trail, her ears were forward the whole time and she even got confident enough to try to pass Rain a few times! That's a big thing for her and her submissive nature. She's getting more and more comfortable with what I ask of her and her ability to handle it. She's also getting softer and softer with her responses - I was able to just gently ask that she lead closer up or slow down and she responded quickly and nicely. Good girl!

When we got back, I worked on hooves. I started with Rain and it was mainly just a balance trim with some frog management. She made my job easier and really cooperated. Then, I trimmed Gem. He started off wanting to give me some trouble, but I made a point of not giving him anything to brace against and he quickly let go of the idea to be obstinate and I had his feet done in no time. He's developing some nice concavity on the front hooves. It's taken a long time as he had pretty flat soles in the beginning. I wanted to get Nina done - she's very due for her trim. I'll get her trimmed first tomorrow. I'll also give Tina another trim to help bring her bars under control.

Z's leg looked less swollen after her cold hosing tonight. The wound on the outside is pretty rough looking, but the others on the inside of her leg will be healed up fast. Her front leg wound looks great, but the healing is slow. She looks a mess! She's locked in a run, which she hates, because I want her taking it easy on her leg and not straining it any more than she needs to. She's not happy about lockdown. Perhaps tomorrow, if the swelling is reduced, she can go back with the herd and I can just cold-hose it and treat the wounds every day.

Nice night.

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.

Mothers Day, Chores and Riding

Had a great Mother's Day! I did chores outside, which is quite rewarding. I weeded the arena (not all, big arena!), fixed some fence, moved some rocks for drainage and cleaned up the barn. Then, I got Gemini out to run in the arena. He tears off with so much gusto and then comes charging back to me. He stops just in time to not plow me down. I know he'll stop so I don't flinch or move. I'm sure to a non-horse person, it would look like madness as he's running towards me at a full gallop. He puts on the breaks beautifully, though. And he gently reaches his nose towards me to say, "So, what's up?". Then, I gave a slight gesture to move him away and he tears off with a fart and a buck. He's fun.

I then trimmed Rain's fronts. Her front legs are crooked so the front hooves are a little strange. They capsule wants to turn in and I'm trying to trim to keep the capsule as straight as possible. I'm not sure how good of a job I'm doing - probably time for some advanced coaching. Otherwise, her frogs look great - all the horses have nice healthy frogs lately and everyone seems to be going along just fine. I'm so pleased! I thought about having someone come and trim a few horses for me since I have 5, but I really enjoy it and I'm not ready to give that chore up. I'm learning a ton about horses, their hooves, their behaviors, how to succeed and get them to partner with me, just great stuff.

I then tacked up Rain and took a nice, long ride with Z as my pony horse. We went about 10 miles, mainly at trot speed. We cantered some, walked a little, and stopped for grass munching in strategic locations. The grass is amazing now - the best it will be in our area for the entire year. Rain now knows our regular munching spots and it works in our favor for keeping her motivated on the trail. She moves out quickly as we approach the next munching spot instead of dragging herself down the trail wishing she was home in the herd.

Z was an energetic pony horse and I had a harder time than normal keeping her in her "spot". I want her ears lined up with my knee and I try to keep her there. It should be her responsibility, but she was so forward today! She's much faster than Rain so when we canter, she shoots off like a rocket and gets ahead. I add commotion to Zone 1 and get her back in her spot but at higher speeds, it's a constant game of reminding her to stay in her spot. I realized today that I'm not setting her up for success. I need to do more practice in the arena or at home, making sure she understands her responsibility. She's such a go horse, she forgets as soon as we turn up the speed.

About 1.5 miles from home, I found a tree with grass all around it, hopped off and laid down. I let the horses graze for a while and stared up at the clouds. I just relaxed, listened to horses munch and tried to enjoy the moment without thinking about anything else. It's a very hard thing to do - turning off my mind to just enjoy the moment I'm in. I'm trying to teach myself to do that occasionally. My mind is always so full and spinning, I'd like to learn to shut if off - even if only for a moment. I had 2 dogs with me for the trail ride and when I laid down under the tree, they laid down right next to me. It was really nice.

It was a fantastic day and I love my animals. Thank you to my husband for allowing me this time. It's very healing.

Hitting the trail with my girls

Had a great 8 mile ride on Rain and ponying Z. First time riding the trail in a month or so (at least a nice long ride like that). Rain was feeling full of life and wanted to canter the whole way. I love when she's "up"! At one point, we were galloping full speed and Z started full-on bucking! Kind of like, "Yeeee-hawwww! This is fun!". It made me laugh.

It got a little cold at the end and my hands were freezing. It was a great ride though. Love my mares!

'Riding in the snow', 'to load or not to load', and 'canter much'?

Saturday, at last. And a license from my great husband to get some horse time. For the past few months, it's all about the weekend because my job doesn't allow weekday horse time right now. Life is tough lately with my job and very little time to do things that I enjoy.

The plan was to go to Jen's place, coach her a little more with her horse and spend a little time with a couple of my horses at her neighborhoods large arena. I was thinking to take Nina, for trailer experience, and Cowboy for large arena passenger lesson riding. I started off loading Cowboy...

He was happy to go in, but he was not cool with staying in. I had hay in the trailer and he'd go in relaxed, eat it, but when I went to close the panel, he became unconfident. I'm doing my best to get Cowboy past the unconfidence - I didn't want to force him to stay in the trailer.

I decided that it might him if another horse was already in the trailer. I decided to get Nina since she's pretty confident and she really needs more exposure. She, like Cowboy, was happy to get in the trailer. She wasn't confident to stay in, though. I need to spend some time getting the horses comfortable with being IN the trailer. Darn! I let Nina go back with the herd.

So, I decided to get my trailer-nanny, Rain. She walked in, took her spot and I closed her panel. Cowboy was even happier to get in, but still wasn't happy to see the panel start to close. I was surprised because I've loaded him and trailered him before with no trouble. I realize I haven't played with him much lately and maybe that's part of the problem. I'll be spending time with him tomorrow for sure. I decided to get him in successfully, let him stand quietly a couple times, and then send him back out with the herd.

Finally, I decided to take Z with us. I didn't want to take her originally. I wanted her to see that not every trailer ride would include her. However, I didn't have other horses ready to go. I went to get Z, she came right to me. I walked her out, thinking to play with her a few minutes before loading her. She was pulling to the trailer as soon as we walked out of the barn!! I was shocked. So, i went with it. She hopped in and off we went.

Oye!

Got to Jen's and went to the arena to work on some freestyle riding. Z had a ton of energy and so I cantered and galloped her around as long as she needed to. We did some nice flying lead changes and jumped a few of the lower jumps. I let her go as fast as she wanted and then some. It was chilly and even snowed on us some. It didn't last, though - I had to keep opening her up. She just had so much energy! Jen made some great break-throughs and I was just ecstatic for her. Then, Z, Rain and I went on a nice 2 hour trail ride with my trail buddy Nancy.

Z was still full of energy and we did some good cantering. Rain was a little slow and I felt like Olive Oil a couple times with Z moving out fast and Rain trying to keep up but lagging behind. It was a really great ride and a great day with my mares. Nina and Cowboy next session...

A tough day

A little bit of getting over not passing L3 Online, mixed with hormonal tides, topped with work creeping in on vacation and a sprinkling of intense wind... not one of my better days. Instead of torturing horses, I cleaned up and caught up on chores, read up on the new Parelli Pathways and tried to get my head right. About 2pm, I was ready to get some horses moving.

I decided to hit the trail with Rain and Cowboy. It was a great ride and helped to cheer me up. I wanted to switch at some point so both would get ridden, but I just wasn't in the mood to hop off and move my saddle to Cowboy. So, lucky Rain carried my butt the whole way. She became a little spooky about 1/2 into the ride and I'm not sure if it was the wind or the setting sun or what. She was a little more extroverted, which I enjoy. She was moving out so nicely. Cowboy was a good boy and played his part as the pony horse well.

We did 8 miles with lots of cantering. I spend more and more time with Rain feeling of my body and barely ever using my reins. She's great with go and whoa, we need to build more clarity around direction. I'm not using my reins, I use my stick - but I don't feel her responding well to my body cues for direction.

She was extra pacey today, too. I'll check her hoof balance tomorrow. Cowboy needs to get a trim, too.

Nina's Day Out

Nina and Z to Chenango. Z on trail, Nina in roundpen at Nancy's. Then, reload and took both to Tammy's indoor. Coached Tammy while the 2 horses stood with me.

Rode Z and ponied Nina for practice and learning in the indoor.

Loaded and unloaded Nina many times! Big day for her.

Didn't pass L3 Online - only officially finished with L3 Liberty.

65 in February. Amazing.

Wanted to take Z to Chenango originally, no go. Refocused on our partnership for an hour, then we left with Nina.

Trimmed Z.

A Wonderful Horse Day!

5 miles with Rain and Gemini - an excellent time with Gemini being the best pony horse of his entire time with me. Rain gaiting like a dream! A fantastic ride. Very obvious that without alfalfa, they are much more relaxed.

Grabbed Cowboy for about 45 mins of groundwork - he was just awesome. Cantering online, maintaining gate and direction, sideways coming together. Also did some amazing jumps over 2.5 ft with ease. Maybe he can be a jumper??

Gem in the round pen for stick to me and circle at Liberty.

I love my life.

Three on the trail!

OK - I broke through a new barrier today. Kendall, Kyle and I all went on the trail. I was on Gemini and ponying Zarah. Kyle was on Rain in an English saddle (pretty damn cute). He was wearing his slippers and tight teen jeans with a winter hat on his head. Kendall was complaining a little because she didn't want to be ponied, but I just don't know if I trust Z with a kid on her back. And Gemini hasn't been on the trail in a long time, so I was worried he might start bucking any time.

I actually got off and walked part of the ride. I had a buzz in my stomach and I wanted to be sure we went out and came back safe. I wasn't worried about Kyle so much because I trust Rain so much. She's just a sensible, honest and willing horse. Zarah I trust implicitly when I'm the one riding her. Honestly, I let Marcy ride Zarah once for about a mile on the trail when I was trying to help her with her horse, Holly. I think Jen rode Z once for about 10 mins at a trail head. Otherwise, it's ALWAYS me. So, I don't know if I trust her with Kendall or not.

Anyway, Gemini did fine and today was the first time that I sent him out on the circle with a saddle cinched tight and he didn't buck. I was so pleasantly surprised. Once we headed out I realized I had a buzz in my stomach. That was when I decided that I couldn't be a good leader with that buzz in my stomach and I hopped off and lead Z and Gemini for a mile or so until the buzz went away. It was the right thing to do and I'm proud of myself!

It was a good ride, with no incidents and I got off and on Gemini several times. I have to learn to trust him. It will take time.

Making up for lost time...

Today, I was able to get back into a groove with my horse. I planned to get Kendall out on the trail and try to get all 3 some exercise and movement. I also wanted to trim some hoof wall off my horses. After visiting with Gail, I was feeling pretty motivated to get Rain and Gemini some attention - especially on the fronts. I made the trip the day before to the farrier supply store and I was ready to go.

I couldn't decide who to take on the trail. Kendall was going to ride Rain, should I ride Gemini? Should I ride Z and pony Gemini? Should I pony Z off of Gemini? I had them all tied and I was getting hooves done with Gemini did the damndest thing. I wouldn't have believed if I didn't see it for myself. I was sitting on a stool and trimming his right hoof. There was lots of hoof wall to trim and I only had a rasp, so I was working hard. A couple times, he took his hoof back. When I'd go to get it again, he gave it to me willingly. Maybe he was losing his balance, maybe he just wanted a break from the rasping, maybe he was playing with me to see what I'd do. Anyway, I finally had enough hoof wall trimmed off to call it good. At this point, Gemini shifted to the right about a foot and picked up his left foot and his hoof and cannon bone in my lap. I had never gotten up from the stool and either he knew the routine and offered his other hoof or he liked the way the right one felt enough that he wanted me to tackle the left. Either way, I was amazed and Kendall and I had a good laugh over it. That horse is amazing. I'm so glad I never sold him.

After a little ground work, Kendall and I got underway. We trotted off, which made Kendall happy. We've had so much rain lately and the grass is green and tall. Kendall can ride Rain, but I wouldn't say Kendall "leads" Rain. So Rain was reaching for grass a ton. Kendall was getting frustrated and then she started to have an allergic reaction and her eye was itching and swelling. Darn! I grabbed the lead of her hackamore and ponied her back home.

While I had gotten off to help her on the trail, I'd put the carrot stick in the grass and left it. Dang it. Kendall was really falling apart. We got home as fast as we could, Kendall went in the house for Benedryl and I headed back out for my carrot stick. Z hit a few thresholds and I tried to respect them. We haven't left alone on the trail in a while. I used the grass as incentive. Everytime I asked for forward, I'd let her stop for grass after 10 feet or so. That seemed to work quite well. The grass is so gorgeous right now. Once we got to the mailboxes, I let her graze for quite a while. After that, it was easy going and she didn't have any 2nd thoughts. We worked on canter-walk transitions. We stopped for more grass often - I wanted her to enjoy the ride as much as possible and I really think she did. There were a few deer and one scared us as it ran up behind us. But otherwise, we had a fantastic ride together and covered about 10 miles by the end of the day. I have just really grown to love that mare.

When we got back, I spent a little time with Gemini and took him out to graze with me. He does just what I ask. It's pretty neat. Good day with some horse time. However, none of related directly to completing L3. Sigh.

Love That Trail!

Just had an amazing ride with my 2 mares, Rain and Z. I've had a hard work day and I'm just tired of my job at the moment. I wanted to get a ride in before I spent the evening with my teenager. So, I tacked up Rain and decided to pony Z. Rain and I practiced sidling up to me on the step stool. Went great - she's got it. Grabbed Z and off we went. After the first few miles, I decided to switch mounts. I hopped off and switched the tack to Z and off we went. Z is much more fun to ride than Rain. Rain is great for a beginner or someone who's afraid, but Z gives me the energy I love to ride. We trotted and cantered most of the trail. When I ask Rain for trot/canter, she gives it but she would much rather walk. Z would much rather trot/canter. Very fun. Her canter was the nicest, most balanced I think I've ever felt from her. She was not emotional, either. She was soft and balanced. Awesome. She was happy to walk when I asked, but if I asked for more she immediately gave it with pleasure. She'll be a great trail horse someday. I really want to do the April endurance ride with her. Need to get her more ready.