It Was a Good Day Today

It really was. Not a super fantastic great day, but it was a solid check in the Good box. Nothing extra ordinary happened. I went over to do my day of stalls this morning but I kept getting distracted by ponies... as is wont to happen fairly often. Mo actually watched me come in the laneway and then met me at the gate, which was adorable. Indy was in an attention grabbing mood to, so that was nice.

As it was warm out [hahahah sure, yea right, it was +1 C] I actually left the barn door open and was serenaded by the gate clanging as Roxy kept trying to reasure me that she would indeed fit through the space between the chained-closed gates. By the time I finished the first two stalls - one of which belongs to Indy - my princess was not so patiently waiting at the gate, so I got her some hay [she's dropping weight :-( ] and let her in to munch. She seemed pretty content to eat, even though being in the barn is not usually her favorite thing. Mo loves to be the only one inside, she gloats and carries on, Indy just wants to be outside again. Funny horses.

I finished all the stalls in a round about way and then went to see Mo, who was at the side gate again when I dumped the last load. Yesterday we played with backing out the gate because it is a tight squeeze with no turn around room due to the tractor being parked right there. When I went to just say hello and hug her, she obviously wanted to come in, so I tried to engineer a repeat of yesterday, but with the added challenge of being at liberty. Things didnt really fly so well and indy started making noise, so I just told Mo try-again-next-time and went to stuff some more food in front of m'dear noisebox.

Interestingly, when I popped my head back outside, Mo was still there and looking like she would please like to try again, so I offered her another chance. Lo and behold, she backed right out and pretty much all the way into the barn on her own. I will admit it was a little bit of an assumption on her part, but still pretty cool! I will have to work on that a little, change things up so its not always a super back up with no draw.

Mo got to hang out in her stall munching while I took out Indy. I shined her up and detangled her fair share of hair. Someone has been munching on it lately, so its all ugly and uneven now... she looks goofy. When it grows a bit I will even it out with the rest of her mane.... Poor girl.

After grooming her I grabbed the snazzy little gadget I aquired from the dollar store yesterday - one of those noisey three legged massager things. PERFECT clipping practice! I had intended to do this with Mo, but Indy was there, so I did it with her instead. I let her sniff it, then turned it on and walked away. She was a little skeptical of the noise at first, but her curiosity peaked pretty fast. It wasnt long before she was trying to get closer and closer and finally putting her nose on it, while it was on. Cool stuff. This is very similar to what we did in Ocala last year, so I am glad it stuck.

We progressed fairly quickly to rubbing her body and legs. She was a little concerned over her back at first but relaxed on the second try. She didnt do anything extreme, just flexed her back away from the vibration. The only thing the she actually moved her feet for was when I tried under her jaw. That was my fault. I saw after that I had blown through some thresholds under her neck and chest area, so I went back and worked with those and quit when she was ok with that and licking and chewing. We will tackle the jawline another time, she did awesome and I wanted a good note to end on since my fingers were losing circulation..!

In the barn I saddled her up with our new toy and off we went. I was VERY happy to see her blowing out and stretching in the walk. Indy RARELY if at all stretches and blows during a ride, and certainly not at the very beginning. That was a treat. We walked down the laneyway doing little transitions, freestyle, and little isolations of her fore quarters and hind quarters. I was a little miffed to find that they were softer and more precise than Mo's! How that happened, I really dont know... will have to see to that though! It was a lovely feeling though, the speed that she offered in the turn on the haunches was really fun to ride. I can see why people like to ride spins.

Another really nice part of the ride was the incredible light soft flowy sideways she offered. Sideways under saddle is usually really sticky for Indy, so that was a treat. I think the biggest thing for me to see today was the walk/trot transition. *Usually* going up into the trot, her head comes up and her ears get snarky - just a bit. Not today. Nope. Head stayed low, ears stayed happy. How interesting.

We didnt canter because the laneway was a little slippery, and we didnt make it to the road because we hit a big threshold that I didnt want to explode through, but we had a great time. It was nice to be able to hang out with my ponies two days in a row. Even if all I did with Mo was hug her and say hello [which is all I did]

I dont do well in the cold... Yes, it was nice out compared to standard fare around here, but it still wasnt summer, and I got cold and numb fingers, so after getting off of Indy I opted to go drop off Richard.

Like I said, it was a good day

:-)
S

Finally!

Well I am home again, begrudingly. I went yesterday to visit Mo and Indy to re-aqquaint myself with my fluffy friends. Indy was prety much indifferent to me showing up, she perked her ears and said hello but then moseyed on her way. Mo, on the other hand delighted me entirely. She was in the far corner of what used to be Candy's paddock and didnt notice me until I called her name. What followed was utterly adorable and totally made me squee. Her head shot up, she looked around to see where I was and then GALLOPED her lazy bum allll the way over to me. *squee* You know when your heart does that extra little thump-thump when something really touches you? Thats what happened to me. I just couldnt believe her reaction. I loves my Mo!

I dawdled around with her outside a little, playing some tag and what not before taking the round about route into the barn so I could open the door and let Mo in. Indy, the ever present oppurtunist, weasled her way in as well. Mo and I hung out a bit, played with trying to kneel [its still a bow] and then she went back out. Indy just got some cookies and then went out.

Today was actually a great day. I thought it was raining when I woke up and heard the water dripping from the ... words escape me.. the piping that runs the length of the house and then drains down one tube *right* by my window? Anyways, usually that means it raining, and it was supposed to be, according to the radio weather man. The only plus of the whole forecast was that they were calling for above zero temperatures! I woke up planning my day centred around indoor activites - watching Parelli dvds! Finally got my Savvy Club dvd after all! When I finally dragged myself out of bed and went up to check the actual weather, I was pleasantly surprised! All that dripping I had heard was not the called-for rain at all... it was SNOWMELT! WHOO!!

It wasnt exactly sunshiny, but it was warmish, and not raining. Bonus. I had some things to do this morning - like go to the dollar store, trying to find a ketchup squeeze bottle to make  putting molasses on the bit super simple... alas, no luck on that front, but I did find a snazzy massager to practice clipping with! When I finally got over to the barn, I realized I had forgotten said massager, but all was well, because what  I hadnt forgotten was my Fluidity Saddle!!! Thats right! After goodness knows how long, I finally got to try out my loverly saddle!

Mo was out with the herd in the middle of the pasture along the treeline, but once more, to my infinate delight, she cantered and trotted her way over to me when I called. LOVE IT! Mo is a rock star and a half!  In the barn I brushed her all up, detangled a weeks worth of tangles in her many many hairs... I swear they get thicker when I am not looking... !

After she got all gorgeous we went out to play on the 45' line because it doesnt get so heavy when snow laden. I didnt use the whole thing, but we played with circles and me being NEUTRAL. I have gotten in the habit lately of playing with tranistions on the circle, and not really giving an allow... This last week really reitterated the importance of neutral and an effective allow, so I wanted to play with that a little bit. At first Mo was everywhere, but on the circle. She was going sideways, stopping, turning, going, pulling, trying everything basically, except going forwards on the circle. I just had to laugh because the look on her face was "What about this? No.. how about this??" She is such a goofball.

When she finally got it, I found out my maintain gait is pretty good! Especially for climbing through snow and avoiding frozen-to-the-ground barrels. She was even asking some questions about the barrels, putting feet on them and such. We played with some moving circles and change of direction [can we say rusty?] until everyting was flowy and nice. Driving from zone 3, we headed back to the barn. After an interesting gate adeventure, we made it and I started playing with shimming.

My first thought when I put the saddle on Mo was actually "uh oh, might need a super-wide!" but once I got things shimmed, I think it was good. More playing required either way. Mo always ends up more beefy than I imagine... I started with a three shim wedge, made from two thicks and one thin, but when we went to play with that things were slipping forwards and sideways, so obviously the stability was being compromised, so I put it down to one thick shim, and then hopped on to try it out. Throughout the ride I pretty much decided to add one more shoulder shim, but it wasnt disastrous, just not perfect.

Being that its winter, and this is Canadia, I didnt really have to many rideable areas as options. The ring would have been ok, but the deep snow would have made it harder for Mo to move and she would have wanted to stay on the few paths the horses have created. That left the laneway and the road. Off we went, with Teddy [dog] as our leader!

Teddy trotted happily off down the laneway and me and Mo came after at a more sedate walk. Mo was looking around, happy and stretching. She is usually pretty stretchy, so I am not sure if I put that down to the saddle exclusively yet or not. We picked up the trot and played with some transitions a bit, Mo was pretty go-ey for her! She didnt really want to slow down, which is good because sometimes she is hard to motivate, but I'd also like her to pay attention to me! We did a whole bunch of isolations, fore quarters and hind quarters and a little sideways to. She is getting really good at those, almost at spin in slow motion... almost! She is getting much better at staying straight to, and not just spinning like a top.

As we progressed down the laneway something really fun happened. We were trotting, and then I asked Mo to walk.. but she didnt. In an "ok, lets see what she offers" kind of moment, to not make her feel wrong, I just kept my energy low and waited... what I got was the most lovely, slow, wonderful jog/trot ever. With a little more suspension it could have been passage! How cool is that? I've never been offered that before! It was wonderful! I also tried some canter transitions, but Mo wasnt super confident with the footing [snowy/icy a bit] so I didnt push her.

Once we made it to the road we played with a lot of transitions, sideways at a trot and I *think* we even got a little shoulder in! To make things more interesting for me [extrovert] and Mo, I used the lines on the road as transition points, or as a weave to go through - which I decided we should have to go through sideways, at a trot. Mo was a complete rockstar, she was right on! I have never had her so light and willing to go from side to side! By the end she was a little hover craft.... MY little hover craft! It was so neat! It got to where I was accidentally shifting my weight and she would go "sideways? yes?" and step over a step or two before I could apologize and get back to centre. I will really have to work on ME now!

As I was playing some people on skidoos were coming so I did the savvy thing and jumped off. I had no idea what Mo's reaction would be, since I am sure the last time she saw a skidoo up close was at least two years ago! All for nought though, she calmly watched them pass [slowly, thankfully, they were polite skidoo-ers] and licked and chewed after they were gone. She didnt even move one foot! Isnt she great? I hopped back on and we proceded home, I didnt really want to over-do it on her first ride out since... a really long time ago? I cant even remember the last time I really rode.. ack!

Either way, it was a super awesome ride, Mo was and is a super mega rock star. LOVE my saddle. It was warm. I saw sun for ten minutes. Good times!

:-)
S

BIG NEWS!!!

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, I really havent done ANYTHING because of the weather - rain, rain and more rain. That, coupled with several work roadtrips, means very little more than "Hi ponies" *brush brush brush* and leaving again.

IN OTHER NEWS!

From a WONDERFUL Savvy Club member one of my long standing dreams has finally come true!  I FINALLY OWN A FLUIDITY SADDLE!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEE

And of course, today is the first blizzard of the year so the odds of said saddle seeing a horse before spring... slim! Oh well! Until then, I get to polish it and drool near it and enjoy the smell of leather!

:-)
S

Fun Stuff

A couple fun things lately.
Yesterday I took Mo over to D, L and S's place to play. K was there to, and we all had a blast. We played with Sparky again, which I always love! Mo loved it to! Instead of playing in the arena, we played in the straw field!! There were rows of cut straw so when the cow went out of the path, it had to jump over the rows which gave an extra little fun bit!

Me and Mo played with some contact with the Cradle bridle, and some bridless stuff too, which was a blast. S and D had set up an awesome obstacle course that we played online and the undersaddle as well, which was a super challenge and fun. Mo was really tuned in and I am super proud of her.

Today I went out to test out some new saddle fitting things on Indy.  OH WAIT! I forgot!! I changed the gullet again in my saddle! It is now on the uber widest one, and I am currently playing with shim patterns to figure that one out.... I havent found the perfect one for Mo yet, but B gave me some good ideas the other day via skype [which I adore] that I am playing with. I am not sure how well it works for Mo, but I tweaked it a bit today to fit Indy better and it really seemed to work. I think I could use one thin shim, just for me to get better back on my balance point, but other than that I was happy with it - and better, SHE was happy with it - she was actually OFFERING to put her head down at the trot after a while, and we were just in the halter and 12' - that is something she has never done without being prompted by a fluid rein! So joy for that!

I had some ruffles on the left side, but I think that might be from me re-adjusting the saddle because the girth wasnt tight enough in the beginning. I will keep an eye on it either way though, to make sure it isnt a fluidity issue in me! Interesting note to, she picked up both leads pretty easily. The last time we rode she could not for the life of her [OR ME!] get the right lead -which is interesting because Mo has a hard time with the left lead! So... what does that say about me? I havent quite figure that out yet either.... Lots of figuring going on currently!

Actually lately I have felt a bit stuck, so I have to keep reminding myself that when you feel stuck or like you are moving backwards, its just a new level of concious incompetence. Its a good thing. I just forget that sometimes... it is hard to feel stuck when you want to feel progressive all the time! Things ARE progressing though, I think sometimes though my expectations just get to high for what I am actually doing - in contrast, having high expectations is what has pushed me to get where I am now, so thats not a negative.

In a 'things are progressing' note, I am now consistently and confidently [and regularly!] riding Indy bridless around the pasture at a walk and trot and in to the barn. Little liberty things coming along nicely with her to, which is a nice treat. Mo is being her usual goobery self tonight. I just brought her in to brush her [all those hairs take a lot of upkeep!] but she was so cute and searching out treats that we played with practicing her bows on both sides. I am also trying to figure out how to turn that into lying down without ruining the bow. Yet more figuring! YIKES!!

Lots to think on!!

:-)
S

Oops...

Interesting observation today.

I changed the gullet in my saddle - a Wintec Wide - to be the medium sized one. The saddle comes with three, all extra wide, but a small medium and large extra wide, so I guess 1x, 2x and 3x [or some such] Today I put the 2x gullet into the saddle, after having been using the 1x one for the last... ever. The idea was initially for Indy, as her muscle is building up so much that the saddle is really getting to small for her. I thought I would have to shim like crazy to get it to fit Mo now!

Apparently I was wrong!! Mo was the close one after I did the re-adjusting so I brought her into the barn to do a shimming session with the new set up. Upon really looking at her and feeling around the saddle, I think she could actually even maybe use the biggest gullet! YIKES! I will have to check it out with Indy and maybe just go right to that one. For now this one suffices, and with two thick shims and a thin one it seems really good, has great clearance in the scapula and actually put me on my balance point!

ANYWAYS! The point is that when I took her out to move around to see what she thought, I got some fun reactions. Her first thing when I asked her to move out was head up brace for half a second followed by head on the ground blowing and trotting like that. Hmmm. Both directions that happened for, AND she offered me some super soft CANTER circles on the 12' line, which is a first [in a left brain state!] So that was uber cool. We played with that for fie minutes and then I mounted up to test it out with my influence [ostensiably for just a few minutes... ]

HOLY CRAP! Mo was just sooo flowy. This gorgeous slow smooth trot, head on the ground and this AMAZING slow cadenced canter. She was light, she was supple, she was paying attention and she was HAPPY!! She was offering me the canter and we just did all kinds of cantering. I couldnt believe the totall turn around. This complete reversion to MY Mo leads me to believe that it may have been a pinchy saddle contributing to the snarky Mo I have been around for the last little while. Mo never has been one to suck it up and be good anyways, I am just not always so clever at finding out what it is thats bothering her!!

Now I know that at least the saddle was part of it! What I wouldnt give for a Parelli saddle... ! Maybe in a few paycheques... hahaha! It was just so nice to be able to have a nice connected ride with Mo without her being bracy and concerned about everything. I forgot what a treat that is. It will be very interesting to see how m'dear Indy likes it tomorrow!!

I am happy now that Mo is happy. I was getting very concerned! Should have clued in when bareback riding was still going well... DOI. Oh well! Hindsight 20/20 right? At least I figured it out now :-)

:-)
S

So Many Things!

What a cool day today was. Figuratively and literally. Great great things happened today, and it was also not so very warm!! Apparently, Mother Nature lost the memo that said "BTW, its JULY!" *sigh* Moving on...

This morning I had to go over to Auntys house to let Pridey in because they are being lucky and off on a massive road trip and such. So ponies are my responsibility for the next however many days. Cool beans. I went out to fetch Pride and technically Crystal, to play with but its funny how things dont always work out how we plan them!

Pride completely ignored me, and since it was cold and there werent any bugs, I ignored her to, to let her graze until she wanted to come in. She really only comes in to get away from the bugs anyways. INDY on the other hand, saw me coming, watched me for a while then walked 1/3 of the way across the pasture of to me. OVER TO ME! She didnt run, no, but she walked, steadily, in my direction, a rather long distance to come check me out, say hi and ask to play. How cool is that?!?! I was super excited! Since Crystal wasnt exactly offering herself in Indy's place, I haltered Indy instead and we went on our way back to the barn, playing little stick to me games on the way.

Inside the barn I shined her up, and made her look her most gorgeous. I really need to get some new clipper blades so I can re-clip her legs, but other than that she looked fabulous as per usual. Going out into the ring I grabbed the 45' and off we went. Usually things go really well on the 45' with Indy but I guess her adrenaline was way high because she was completely out in left feild and I just couldnt get the attention of my beautiful, rather large, kite flying 45' away from me! Doing what I hope was the savvy thing, I swapped for my 22' and moved on. OH BOY

Things completely turned around! Our session turned into the most fabulous thing! She was so attentive and wonderful. We played with transitions on the circle, being more particular about fast trot and slow trot, that got her licking a LOT even while she was out on the circle. Also, since her adrenaline was up, she was pulling on the line. Funny little habit that comes up only when she gets hyper and disconnected now. So we played with that, transitions and dont pull on the line and she gave me some of the most fabulous relaxed, rhythmic and connected circles on a loose line. The funniest thing happened with one of the transitions, she got confused and started to brace to pull away off the circle and then just stopped, and backed up six steps. Fast! So random! But I think it is from all the times we did backing circles and backing ransitions in her pen in flroida! It was an awesome self-check on her part. She really was going to pull away from me to, so fabulous timing on her part.

We also played with some squeeze games over jumps of barrels and sideways and things, but the circling was the biggest thing. I couldnt really think of anything to *do* while riding today, so I just opted to sit on her for a passenger lap of the ring then sit on her while she grazed in the back yard. Turns out that was a really fun plan! While my dear is grazing to her hearts content, I am sitting on her back playing away! I layed back, using her bum as a pillow, I did around-the-world- several times, sometimes lying on my stomach from sitting backwards, sat side saddle, kneeled on her back, sat on her bum and finally slid off of her from her bum. Super cool stuff. I wouldnt have guessed she would be so calm about all that, but she was perfect. I love my pony!

The only minor grey spot came when I went to put some things away and left Indy grazing and Candy came running in from her pasture screaming like a moron. Apparently she just noticed Indy was here. She scared Indy into walking away, and then Indy scared herself by having the 12' trailing her and she trotted off down the trail. *sigh* I hate that feeling, as you watch your beloved run in a direction you know isnt fenced and you cant run faster than them... Since I was close to the barn I grabbed a bucket with some crunches and shook them hoping for a good response. I got something, she looked at me, but then kept going. Dang, so I started walking.

She was grazing in the tall grass and wandering around, stepping on the rope every so often. I was *almost* to her when Candy comes pounding hellbent down her pasture still screaching and freaking Indy out AGAIN. Cursing the pony as Indy runs into the bushes leading to the neighbours yard I start jogging after her when I hear hoofbeats coming back my way. I stopped and waited and out bursts Indy from the tall grass. She stops, looks at me and then turns to walk away...what an opinion!... I lean down hoping to disengage her hindquarters and VOILA disengage AND she walked over to me! THANK GOODNESS! Lesson number one... make sure your bring back is JUST as good as your send!! Sheesh!

Candy was still doing her song and dance, so Indy wasnt to pumped about grass so I brought her into the barn and rasped her feet by myself for the first time [on her I mean]. She was fabulous, I am really proud of her! After that I turned her out accompanied by many crunches. By this point the weather looked threatening, as if it would storm again, so I decided to get Mo instead of Crystal, incase it did get bad, I knew at least I could for sure trust Mo not to freak out. Weather turned out fine later. Crazy clouds. But I had Mo anywyas, so we played.

Coming in from the field we did little trot-halt stick to me things, and as a change, I got her to back INTO the barn, up the step, instead of just squeezing in. That was fun. Interestingly enough, while she will back out with just one of the gates open, it took having both gates open for her to consider backing in. She had a lot of unconfidence with it and licked and chewed a LOT when she finally went in the first time. The second time she licked as she backed and went right in. Smart pony!

I prettied Mo up, brushing her many many hairs, and making her shiny before taking her out to the ring. I put Mo on a 22' based on Indy's fun, plus, the ring really isnt enough room for the 45'.

Right off Mo was uber tuned in. Like, UBER tuned in. It was fascinating! I turned and looked at her and she shot of sideways with a squeal. SERIOUSLY! I wasnt even trying to ask her anything. Hmmmm... So I used it. We sidewaysed over all the way to the barrel line of jumps and I suggested she jump it. She offered to try and sideways over it. I said thanks, but back up and jump it, so she did and I disengaged her a la squeeze after. I had planned to go on to something else from there, but she turned and jumped it again, so obviously, given Ms. Horrible Jumper was offering to jump, I took it and hugged her! Cool stuff.

We played with yo-yo on energy and got some really cool fast back ups without even having the rope moving! Wherever my introvert went, it sure isnt here at the moment! She was all motion today! But it was all GOOD positve motion, that was the cool thing. She was trying everything for me! On the travelling circle, she jumped the little upright barrels on a SUGGESTION! She easily could have gone around them, but she AIMED for them! How cool is that? Upright those barrels are easily 3 feet, and the jump she took even looked rideable!! Which, I have to say was part of the coolness.

We played some with transitions on the circle again, she was offering a lot more canter today so I took it and did fast canter/slow canter/how slow can you go without breaking gait. Apparently REALLY slow. It was very cool. You could distinctively hear each beat and the pause. One...two...three. She was really thinking about what I was asking and maintaining her responsibility to not change gait! It was really cool to feel her take part and be a partner so much!

We played with trot transitions to, and those went really well too. Then I thought, since I really should be getting to filming my L3, maybe I should *actually* remember to work on my patterns... I am great for playing, then getting home and reading the assessment thing and going DOH patterns dorkball! SoI was proud for remembering.

I set myself up a weave with the little barrels standing up, and let the fun begin. Mo completely remembered the figure eight [which I started with] and offered it right off at the trot. She did it pretty well but drifted out a bit far on the right barrel so we played with that until she got the point. *Then*, oh yes, then, when she got the pattern, it went *click* and she started offering me COOL THINGS. She went, "oh yea, figure eight, no problem, how about I do the figure eight, and jump this single upright barrel on my way by, would that be good?" SERIOUSLY! I love my horse!

She just started offering me these fabulous little tid bits, like cantering, and jumping the barrels, and sidepassing over them, away AND towards me! Very cool stuff!! For me though, the highlight was when we were playing with some more sideways, I just got my "go sideways' ENERGY up and pointed it at her and she flew off sideways [straight to, no leaking forwards!] and licked and chewed and relaxed. THEN from the end of my 22' line I asked her to COME to me sideways AND SHE DID!!!!!!! Like.. four times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I called it quits then.

What a fabulous HIGH note to end on! It was by far the coolest thing ever. GO MO! I just need a personal videographer/photographer at all times apparently, because of course, the day we do some of the coolest things ever, no one is even home. Oh well...

So I didnt even ride Mo, becuase that was such a highlight. I let her graze in the yard though while I put some stuff away and then backed her out the door giving her lots of crunches and hugs. I also got her to bow accidentally while itching her belly, which was kind of cute. I was standing at her withers hugging her whole body and scratching her belly and she started bowing looking for something yummy - her bow suggestion is my tickling her belly lightly. Funny horsey..

*insert lunch break here*

I came back after lunch to play with Crystal. Today was my first time ever riding her sans supervision, so it was going to be exciting!

For the first time ever, while we played online she jumped the barrels calmly! That was a big deal!! And then one random time in the middle she circus ponied it and just got all four feet tangled up close to the barrels, which was really funny before finally popping over it. Silly horse.

We played with lots of squeeze games online today. That was sort of our theme - and the firgure eight pattern. Interestingly, she went a bit right brain in the beginning of the pattern, so I just stuck with it and when she finally calmed down it was just so soft and fluid, it was beautiful! What a cool horse... She just needed to find that confidence with the new task!

When I saddled her up, an interesting thing happened. I backed her up after saddling and getting the girth up, and that was fine. Then she spontaneously jumped forwards two steps half bucked and then I stopped her myself and she stood looking at me licking all innocently " I dont know what just happened there, I think I was possessed..." Strangest thing! She showed no inclination whatsoever to do anything else the rest of the ground session or ride! I even tried to provoke her after that, pushing her into a fast canter, over jumps and things. Nothing! Hmm..

When I finally mounted, I rode with a carrot stick for the first time. Now THAT has to be the best idea Ive had in a while! She went from having no clear idea what leg = turn meant, to having a pretty good semblance of steering on her in one session! YEY! We were also able to maintain a trot for 3 laps or so! WHoo! Go Crystal! No canter yet, but I am working on refining that cue online still, so it will come!

OH! And also, she had the bridle on today to! Not in use, just in a friendly game way. She takes the bit fabulously, lowers her head and opens her mouth and lets it go so gently when it comes off to! All it took was a minor suggestion to look in my palm for a cookie!! Everything about her is so soft and willing... I love it. Shows what you can do when there is no previous baggage!! And of course, when you know what to look for and how to be particular about it... Crystal is teaching me so much! We had a faulous ride, I survived, so did she, and we both came away knowing several new things!

And so concluded my awesome horsey day! I got to play with all of "my" girls and we all did some fabulous things!! I couldnt be more proud of all my pony partners!

:-)
S

The Perfect Summer Day!

Today, as my title indicates, was my perfect summer day. The sun finally made a re-appearance after what seems like a month long hiatus. It was warm, sunny, and generally fabulous.

The morning started things off right, by being able to wake up on my own time. That is always a good thing. I went over to Aunty's to play with Crystal. I had meant to play with her yesterday night, but I ended up getting home way to late and was exhausted. Especially with Crystal right now I want to make sure I am there 100% for her mentally, so I didnt think it would be fair to her last night.

Out in the pasture she walked over to me which was really nice. She haltered nicely and came right with me to the gate to the barn. Mo was also at the gate asking very politely to get in. Things havent been so hot with Mo lately [more later] so I let her into the barn and put her in her stall to nap until I was done with Crystal. Yes, she litterally naps, flat out and all.

Crystal and I proceded out to the ring to change to the 22', grab the saddle and pad and carrot stick. Things went fabulously. She was right on. We played some really nice yo-yo and she finally offered me some ultra soft beautiful relaxed squeeze game over a jump! That was a first! I am really proud of her for that. I asked for a little feet-moving in a circle game before bringing her over to the saddle set up on the mounting block for investigation. She did a good job investigating to. Our Touch It is pretty great! 22' away ... put your nose on the saddle... OKY! Done and done. What a cool horse.

After thoroughly nibbling, sniffing and otherwise curiosing her way about the saddle I walked over and offered to lift the pad for her to check out further. She was thrilled with that! Ears all perked and happy, she sniffed it all over both sides and moved on to the saddle while I threw the pad all over her. This is old news to her, I do this with the bareback pad each time we play. PERFECT!

Next came the saddle. She was pretty interested in that. I dont think she could figure it out. Its synthetic and smells like other ponies but it jingles and is shaped funny... Hmmm! I swung it around a couple times, letting her check it out completely and threw it on and off of her back before finally just leaving it up there. She didnt even flinch. Blinking, licking, and thinking, she was right with me.

I let the girth down and did it up enough so that if she chose to go nuts it would stick with her without being dangerous. Again, perfect. As I stepped back to pick up the stick and ask her something she kinda of tensed and looked a teensy bit tight and concerned. On a 50/50 chance of either letting her wait it out, or explode on the spot, I gave her something to think about [based on previous experience last time she got that look] and asked her for a fast backup NOW.

That did the trick! She tuned right back into me and stepped back nicely and when she relaxed I allowed her to stop. From there we went into a nice soft circling game at all three gaits with transitions and some relaly great disengages and draw. We played some more with the squeeze over the jump, which interestingly, was harder now, so I waited for the relaxation.

When I felt like she was ready I brought her over to the mounting block and did my run-through of pre-riding checks and then.... mounted! TADA. Just like every other time, she just stood still, and offered me lateral flexion. What a doll.

The ride went like a dream, everything I asked, she did. Without hesitation and to the best of her understanding. She tries so hard! Our last ride was out first trotting ride, so we played more with the go button and transitions, doing walkl halt and trot transitions all over the place. She was fabulous. What a clever horse!!!

So Crystals ride went perfectly. YEY! I am so happy with how she is coming along. Aunty is to, and thats my basic goal. Really, owner of horse = second priority after making sure pony is happy. Much happiness all around, on to Mo.

In between Crystal and Mo I went into the house to get a beverage because it was le warm and beautiful out. It would be a shame to waste such a nice day sick due to dehydration!

When I left the barn Mo was covered in shavings, having actually had her nap, but she was up. When I got back, she was snoozing again! Gotta love Mo. She is so cute! The best part about the napping-ness is that she lets me come over to her when shes sleeping and clobber her. Ok, clobber isnt the right word, but I hug her and sit on her and generally adore her.

Such is exactly what I did. Quietly walk over to visit my snoozing Mo and say hi, hug her giant cranium and start rubbing her. Eventually I somehow end up sitting on her..[oops] ... We hang out like that for a while, shes dozing and I am sitting on her hugging her neck, relaxing myself. Now that is NICE. I love that relaxing feeling. It just makes you feel super close to your horse when they let you do that.

After hanging out that way for a bit I went back to kneeling by her head and rubbing her face and such. She then proceded to let out this huge sigh and relax even more. I decided to see what would happen if I tried to suggest lying flat out to her.... MUCH to my surprise Mo promptly groans happily and lies flat out. Like a giant doggie I go and scratch her belly and she luxuriously stretches out her legs and neck like an actual puppy, loving every minute of it. To conclude this lovely session, EXACTLY like I would with my *actual* doggie, I got up and said "Ok, lets go" and *poof* up she gets. HA! My goodness I love my pony.

I walked out of the stall and Mo followed me over to where I usually brush and such. I got my brushes and cowboy magic and started tackling *all* Mo's hairs... and she has many. I promise. Stock in Cowboy Magic, I should buy.

When she was all shiny and beautiful I took a few pictures of my efforts while she harassed the bin she knows the grain lives in. Then I braided her hair up so it would be out of the way and mounted bareback for a brief trail ride. We had played some little games on the lawn and in the barn [Mo bows now! Total accident, she dove for a dropped cookie once so I took it and shaped it!] and off we went on a mini trail ride. We rode through the trails, in the river some and back to the barn. Mo was in a weird mood, but handle-able.

She has kind of been off the last little while and I havent figured out why, so I wasnt going to push her, I wanted this to be a really good session for her, so I got off and snapped on my 22' and started playing on the ground in the ring. We played some really cool sideways from long distances with sideways towards and then played with some rather awesome transitions on the circle. I was *this* close to getting passage!! My focus was transitions within the trot, so slow, medium and fast and then as slow as you can to as fast as you can. Her as-slow-you-can was SO close to passage! I couldnt believe it. I was so proud. We played lots with energy up and down and how little could I do to get a response, send off at a slow trot or send off at a gallop... VERY cool stuff!

We stopped there and I took Mo to graze in the yard while I put things away. She was pretty impressed with that I think. Its only her favorite thing ever :-)

I had originally planned to also play with Indy, but I was super toasty and wanting to swim, so I just took some treats out to her instead - good for the relationship points. Before turning Mo out I also rasped her feet a little and she was a star! I dont have a stand so I had to use a bucket over turned and she was peachy with that. She was actually better today than ever before with letting me do her feet, held them up all on her own and everything. *duh... play with her FIRST!* Why dont I understand that yet?!?!

Either way, Mo had a fabulous session and I am so so proud of her. She was even collecting herself on the circle, tucking her head and stretching alternately. Beautiful! Transitions really do work... !

To complete the perfect summer day, I went to my "cottage" [aka grandparents in suburbia who have a pool] swam for several consecutive hours, had Dairy Queen ice cream, swam some more, then had pizza with the Grammie and cousins. Awesome day. Super worn out now, but awesome day. I love my life :-)

:-)
S

Great Afternoon

This afternoon I finally dredged up some time for MY ponies! I have not really done anything much since before I left for Michigan, so it was a nice treat to have A) daylight and B) the time!

As I walked out to the barn I saw Mo in the middle of the feild and whistled [and was graced with not even so much as a lifting of the head] but then I saw Indy in the shed with every horse EXCEPT Mo, so that was good. When I went to the back door and whistled she came over and I was able to halter her and bring her into the barn.

I brushed her and made her gorgeous [not hard to do] and then brought out my saddle and shims. The last time I had her saddled she bucked and acted generally uncomfortable, so I thought it was time to re-assess my shim pattern. That, and the fact that she has beefed up CONSIDERABLY since coming home! She has a NECK and a CHEST and her back is spreading with muscle like nobodys business! She is just flowering into this gorgeous phenomenol horse. I cant get enough of her.

Shim pattern re-done, I put my saddle and pad outside and grabbed my 45'. We went into the arena and started to play. Firstly I moved some barrels into a row so that we could have them for a jump. To begin with I ended up testing our yo-yo, because she was slacking a bit while I was moving barrels around so we played with "How little can I do while you back up quickly and straight" - now THAT was fun! She really got into it and tried and really got backing with very little more than an energy burst from me!

From there we went into some circles all the way out on the end of the 45' and I got a really nice surprise! ALLLLL the way out there I took two steps back for a change of direction and POOF there it was! WOWWWWYYY!!! I was so thrilled!!!

On that high note our ground play just progressed and was fantastic. We moved on from circles to do a really fun playful squeeze over the barrels that inolved Indy playing Cow pony when I disengaged her as she would cut down low on the re-send. It was hysterical! She also offered some BEAUTIFUL collection on the circle, bending her body perfectly. I will admit I was asking for sideways at the time, but I will take what I can get!!

We went on to do some falling leaf through the small pasture and generally just played around with some high energy things until I got "the look" and had permission to saddle. Saddling was a snap and we went back out to play some more for girth tightening. My pony is getting chubby... the girth only goes up three holes currently! Used to go five or six... oopsy..!

When she was ready to ride I unsnapped the 45 and coiled it up - during which time Indy didnt move at all, which was a real treat and testament to our friendly game progression - and we walked over at liberty to the fence to get the 12' to make into reins. I also put my savvy string around her neck to see how that would work out. Me being me, I just clambered up onto the ledge of the water trough for a mounting block, and Indy being Indy was a doll and just sidled right over to help me on! What a sweetie! Of all things, helping with mounting is one of my very favorite things!

Once mounted I got myself arranged and then set to the task of getting Candy out of the ring because she likes to be a nuisance. Indy LOVED that task! I focused on the pony and she was right there with me! I hardly had to do anything, she walked when Candy walked, and trotted when Candy trotted. Apparently my cow practice paid off! I wish I had a cow here to play with... must ask neighbours.... [more on cows later..good times!]

After Candy kindly vaccated the area we wlaked around, testing our pseudo-bridless brakes and turning and what not. Everything went very well. As per usual, a little more go than whoa, but getting more centered every time. When we picked up the trot Indy was a little impuslsive and trotting around very fast so that was interesting. I offered her some circles and those seemed to help a little bit. She ran into the stick once from trying to get behind the shed, and I have to say that was kind of funny. I put the stick down in a phase on position, and she just turned her head wrong and went THWACK and consequently spun herself in a circle, stopped, licked and chewed. What a dork. Love her!

So on we went. My self-disiplining pony was slightly more compliant now and amenable to my ideas for direction at the trot. She was still impuslive though, which was kind of fun. She kept offering the canter, which I allowed because the last time we rode in the ring her attitude was very much the " I am to BIG I cant canter in here!" so I was just happy she wanted to canter at all.

We played around in the ring area for a bit but really she was just feeling good so I directed her out to the pasture area and she saw it and went OH BOY and just galloped down the length of it. Good thing I am ok with that... I didnt precisely ASK for it, but neither did I suggest she slowed down, so long as I chose the direction. After joyously cavorting all the way down and allllll the way back she was happier to relax and pay attention. And I think I was better off for a good gallop to - lets face it, I really do have a need for speed! Speedy cars, speedy ponies... either, or, preferably both!

From there we did some sideways stuff - which is getting REALLY soft [so is her general response to my leg which is SO delightful!] and then went out the gate because I heard a something-mechanical start up and was hoping it was a dirt bike or four wheeler I could follow, but it was the motorcycle and it was leaving. Poopy. Oh well, I went on a trail ride anyways.

Funny thing happened on the very first stretch of the trail though! We were cantering happily along and then I look down to check for pot holes and such, and make sure the ground is actually dry enough to support us and I see HERMIONE! [the cat, well A cat] Right underfoot [or about to be] and sleeping. Gack. I sort of probably created a tiny brace in my body, expecting Indy to go AHHH but I was SO PROUD when all she did was a sort of mini jump over the cat, and keep cantering happily. NO SPOOKING!!! Not even when the poor kitty jumped up, freaking out and ran away! YEY INDY!

*so proud*

We cantered most of the trail, trotting where appropriate and snacking along the way [her, not me] When we got to the top of the hill at the end we did some circles around the tree waiting for the motorcycle to leave and playing Follow Fritz [the dog] Of course, being me, I had this grand idea to race the motorcyle down the laneway on the galloping stretch, and that started out well enough.... until the bazzilion cows in the pasture bordering the stretch decided to race ME! AHH! Indy was sooo not impressed with cows racing her and bolted a teensy bit... just a teensy bit though. I bent her to a stop and then all was fine, we played more tackle Fritz and then cantered back down the trail.

We walked and moseyed and stopped with snacking most of the way in order to 'cool out' but as often happens to my attention span, I got distracted when I saw C and C biking off down the laneway. Indy is a bit sketchy on bikes and moving things like that so I thought it would be a perfect chance to build some confidence. They had a pretty food head start on me so we trotted and cantered after them to catch up and then follwed at a walk for the rest of the way up the laneway. It was really good! C and C stopped at the end to pick some flowers, so Indy got to graze beside the pony-eating-cycles and wasnt really bothered by them anymore when they took off again, so JOY! Mission accomplished!

Funny thing about that though, is about a third of the way down the laneway I hear this quiet thunder and then I look over into the pasture... and there is Mo... looking all dejected following us down the road on her side of the fence! She ran up and down the whole way we walked and when the trees were to thick to see us, she would whinny. How adorable! So when we got to the barn, she was waiting all anxious at the gate.

I brought Indy into the barn and put her in 'The Spot' where she waits. I got her some crunch and then got Mo some and ran down the aisle to give it to her. I figure its good friendly game to hurtle myself at her and then give her cookies... it makes her confident about me running to her. Incedentally, it makes Indy confident about me running behind her, because she gets treats on my return! How handy!

After untacking Indy and giving her TONS of love and treats I backed her down the aisle and squeezed her out the gate where she disengaged happily to come in for some more Apple Snacks. She kind of wanted to chase Mo away, and with Mo trying so hard to be nice and come say hi, I sort of pushed Indy away a little and called Mo's name while *trying* to disengage her. Lo and behold, IT WORKED! She turned and faced and walked up all enthused! Good thing I saved her some snacks.....

When I turned to walk into the barn [ostensiably for the night] she followed me so happily that I just couldnt ignore her! She walked with me into the barn, although instead of sticking with me she wandered over to Delilah's stall to investigate for left overs... its always that stall though, so thats interesting. As soon as I walked by though she came right out to see me. I loaded on the yummies for my little food oriented monster and then yo-yo'ed her ALL the way out of the barn... thats right! Riht up and over the large step out of the back of that barn, and she did it with out even pausing [other than to let me open the gate] AND she offered to come back in and do it again! What a doll! She got me to run back for more crunch something like three times. She knows EXACTLY how to get me! Little monster!

Just when I thought she got bored of me and walked away [and so I did to] she came back with water dripping from her muzzle begging for more hugs! She really has me in her back pocket, because I definately went back to hug her some more. How I loves my ponies <3

Such was my amazing evening.

:-)
S

Progress and Experiments

I decided to play with Indy last night. She was already walking in from the big pasture to converse with her new bf Kota, so when I called her name she actually came over to me, which was nice! After checking me out to see if I brought cookies [bad me, I forgot] she allowed me to halter her. I had to protect our space a little bit from Crystal, who thought resting her head on my elbow while I haltered Indy was just the coolest thing ever. BOY is she sensitive though! I just looked at her with a "GO AWAY!" look and she trotted away! I will have to remember that in the spring... since I am supposed to start her!

Indy and I moseyed back to the gate, had an interesting conversation about going THROUGH the gate, and into the barn. Getting through the gate was fun because I was testing how light we could be and she kept offering to put one foot up on the ledge that separates the barn from the yard. Her: "Put my foot up here? Ok" Me: "Can you go all the way through?" Her: "How about the other foot?" And then look at me with a goofy expression... It was really quite funny so we played with it until she caught my drift and went all the way into the barn and disengaged.

Down the aisle we practiced with backing by porcupining the chest - which is something I have neglected with her and everytime I try to move her I grind my teeth internally and remmeber I should work on that... so we did. And we were successful! Went from needing phase four to phase two in just on backwards aisleway trip! Whoo! Smart horsey!

I brought her right out to the backyard so she could graze while I brushed her. What was an incredibally nice surprise was that every time I wanted her head up, it would just take phase one to bring it up! I have actually no clue where that came from because in the summer she was a grass monger...? It was a nice treat though! After getting all prettified I got out all of our tack, deciding to try out Mo's saddle on Indy, just to see. I put out the hackamore to, in case I rode, and grabbed a 22' for our ground play.

Getting through the gate was fun. Dakota thought I was in charge of his personal amusement and wanted to see what new toy I brought him. Protecting our space wasnt hard, never really is with my three since they are all pretty aware of what I am asking. Mo got all huffy about me picking Indy though, so she squealed and cantered off. I dont know what I would do without Mo to make me laugh every day.... For the record, Mo watched us avidly for the rest of the session, like she was waiting for Indy to screw up so she could rush in and be the super horse. Orrrr I am just making things up, but I think thats what goes on in Mo's head. :-)

First things first, friendly game with the string! Not Indy's favorite thing, and last time I tried it she went bonkers, so I was happy when she kept her feet still, even if she flinched the first time. I just went slow and rhythmically, giving her a treat when she looked confident, and that helped a lot. For the rest of the sesison she would stop dead when I flung the string over her back - so we will have to work on moving friendly to, but its a start!

I put the barrels into a jump line to practice our squeeze game with, since Indy adores jumping. I groaned inside for Mo when Indy floated effortlessly over the barrels. Mo is just SO not a jumper!! Mo looks like a clumsy oaf next to Indy when she jumps... at least Mo is good at ... everything else?

It took a while for Indy to understand the squeeze then turn, face, WAIT part. The RBE part of her just kept wanting to blast off into a circle. There was lots of licking and blinking and ears trained on me going on though, she was trying her darndest to figure out the puzzle! AND [big and for dearheart here] I never had to really go to phase four because she never really blasted off like she can on a circle! So YEY Indy! Eventually she really did get the pattern and I was proud of her for that.

We moved on to a circling game over the barrels and transitions on the circle. I was proud that she remembered from the last session and so that was pretty much a non event. For the next part I had to re-arrange the cones, because Mo keeps taking off with them. I set them up into a weave pattern and started sending Indy through. Well damned if she doesnt do it perfect on the first try.............! SERIOUSLY! Apparently we are doing something right together....

We went throught the weave a few times until I was sure she had it, and she offered a few trots for good measure, that was cool, and then we went over to the fence to saddle up. Indy was all over the theraflex today. She is funny about that - some days she could care less about it and other days it just ends up in her mouth and I get the innocent look saying "Oh.. saddle pad? How did... I have NO idea how it got in my mouth" *said in mumbly tones around said pad* Gotta love Indy. She even snuffled the saddle, making sure she sniffed every inch, right down to under the little flap where the stirrup bars are. That was funny watching her flip up that part with her nose and shove her nose in to see.

In an impressive interesting moment, Mo's girth fit Indy again - on the regular Wintec 500. Soooo... either Indy is just unnaturally tiny in the barrel, or [likely] Mo is just indredibly wide and round. HA. I can tell you from experience, Mo is just ridiculously round. Though I was still surprised that the girth fit Indy. I do apreciate it though, as it saves me from buying another girth - at least until she fills out next summer when she doesnt have to get drained from a baby! I think when all is said and done, Indy will be quite the tank.

Anyways, we fiddled around some more, going through the girth tightenings and such. I got a few "Hey, whats going on back there" looks from Indy so I gave her a treat and that made her happy. Changing out of her halter to the hackamore went great. Though just as I went to mount my aunt came out to say hi, so we chatted a while and Indy just stood quietly waiting while I rubbed her.

When I finally mounted we went off to following the rail at a walk, doing walk-halt transitions. I am ridiculously proud to say that by the end of the ride [and it was short] Indy was stopping of body language! We played with some backing to, which is getting sooooo much better! Now she tucks and lowers her nose and backs quietly and phase two tops. Compared to her protesting nose digging phase four and WAIT refusal style before, this is like driving a Cadilac!

As we walked around, just focusing on stay at the rail, Indy did something she has never done that I remember under saddle before... she started snorting and blowing! OH WOW! YEY!! So we walked, and relaxed, and did the weave pattern, and stopped, and backed up and repeated these things in various orders for a little bit. I tried trotting once, but her head still came up so I stopped and we just walked around all super relaxed. I will have to think more on the trotting thing... do a little research. Some more fluid rein next time I ride to I think. That was helping. I dont think you are supposed to do it in a hackamore though, so I didnt push the trot thing.

Quality at a walk was the focus. Goal attained! It was a really great session with Indy.

When we finished I let her graze some more in the back yard and went to visit my forlorn ponies at the gate armed with reparation treats. Forgiveness doesnt come any faster than when approach two food oriented horses with treats! Kota and Mo were both delighted. Kota showed off his spanish walking skills to Aunty, who thought he was the cutes thing ever [and he is] and Mo just gobbled up treats... I will have to pick a skill for her to. Maybe spanish walk to... I dont know though because she is the type to go *spanish walk when you arent looking* Can I have a treat now?? Dakota is really good about only doing things when asked, which is why I though to teach him in the first place anywyas!

After doling out copious amounts of treats and putting away my tack I went to fetch the princess and attempt to keep her on the right side of the fence again... I put her in with Kota and Mo last night.. we will see if she is there when I go over tonight! Even if she isnt, it was an aweseom session and I am really proud of her!

:-)
S

Saddle Woes Solved.. I hope!

I think I have solved my recent riding woes. Mo has been really really strange and different in a negative way under saddle since I have been trying the Wintec Wide with her again. I think it is because it puts to much pressure on her shoulders. Always under the area where the shims are is a dry spot no matter how sweaty she is otherwise. So tonight after visiting my friends new horse [gorgeous] I ran over to test out my latest theory - new shim pattern, regular Wintec saddle.

I whistled when I got there and both Mo and Kota came over going "FOOD" so that was nice. I quickly haltered Mo and started getting out my shims and theraflex. Mo kept wandering away into the impending gloom of evening so I changed tactics and led her right into the tack room. That fascinated her and kept her amused while I fidgeted.

I deduced a new shim pattern for us. One thick shim in the regular vertical position, one thin shim horizontally and back a little, and then one thick on top of that horizontally back a little more. When I put the saddle on it looked really good so I girthed up and off we went into the ring.

I played a few little games on the ground then mounted up and wlaked off. Mo felt really good and started blowing and putting her head down right away. WHOO!! We trotted around and more stretching and blowing and happiness. Walk trot and canter, all stretchy and blowing! I got a canter to halt INSIDE my hula hoop on try one and basically threw myself from the saddle to hug Mo. MY Mo is back! The Mo I know and love has made a triumphant comeback!! HOORAAYYY!!!!!!

:-)
S