Mo is Sick, Gambler is a Star

Firstly, Mo is sick :( I am super stressed about it, mostly because I dont know what it is, and neither does the vet, conclusively. She was sick on Friday last week, with a fever and slightly colicy symptoms but nothing typical, so when the vet came out Friday night, she said she didnt think it was impaction, but maybe just the fever that had caused her to be all lethargic and not wanting to eat/drink, and then since she wasnt eating and drinking, there obviously wasnt any poops or pees. She got better, from the fever, and is all about food again, but remained 'tucked-up' in her belly, which resulted in my calling my poor over-dialed vet again. This time, she came out again and saw what I was talking about more, the "shes just off" and not wanting to move, and lethargy more than just listless due to not eating.

Our kind of go-to at the moment is Anemia. [Says the vet: ] It would explain her low energy, unwillingness to move, and lack of tolerence for exercise. While checking her for lameness yesterday, when the vet was back again, she trotted a few circles [barely, she did NOT want to go, and in an 'I cant" way, not an "I wont"] and then later cantered maybe one, just to be sure she wasnt off, and she was breathing heavily and even a little damp from exertion! For a horse that was competition fit in July, that should have been nothing! Poor Mo!

So, until further notice, Mo is on iron and general supplements via a liquid called Red Power, which I guess is to super power up her red blood cells so they can do their thing with oxygen and whatnot. We have drawn blood, one sample to test her iron, I suppose and the other to see WHY. If her liver is unhappy, or kidneys or something else internal, or if its just her body not absorbing enough of what it needs from the pasture. Hoepfully I will hear those results tomorrow, so I can sleep a little easier, and know that my very special Mo will be ok. Right now I just feel like she has the plague, and Im just scared all the time. At least she seems happy, if not quite right. Shes perky, bright, nickering to me all the time and generally trying to eat everything, as per usual. So that makes me feel a bit better. I just wish she would stop making all those wierd grunty 'Im in pain somehow" noises and be able to just TELL me whats wrong.... Wheres Dr Dolittle when I need him??

Such is my journey with Mo right now, just a whole lot of GET BETTER PLEASE vibes going around. I sure hope she gets better soon :( In the mean time, I think she is enjoying the lawn-mowing priviledge.

On a much happier note, Gambler is a freakin rock star. We are FINALLY starting to connect on the same wavelength. It was like before, I could get to DO stuff. But it wasnt really his plan, and he kind of exploded most times. The last time we played, he didnt explode once, AND we cantered online in a big space without him leaving :D He is so smart. His figure eight in the round pen is amazing, he is offering me the whole pattern at a canter with a flying change, and lightness on the turns and just incredible engagement mentally. He also looks amazing when he does this...

Our riding is coming along finally too. In the beginning, I was being so careful with him, and treating him all right brain, but the other day I ponied Zephyr off of him just for something different, and a buddy for my want-to-be-trail-ride, that I had a PURPOSE [duh....] which kind of got me to get him to be where he needed to be for Zephyr, no matter what. We had some little conversations a few times, because he wanted to GO HERE, but Zephyr needed him to BE THERE, and we managed. That simple. He didnt blow up, he didnt freak out, nothing. Just kind of went " Oh, well, since you have an idea, I guess I will listen..." I facepalmed after this. Have a plan, work the plan. Follow through. He is left brain. Play to the left brain. DOI!

Our next ride was great. The ride with Zephyr, we almost died via KILLER GATE [not really, but Gambler thought the gate swinging toward him might eat him] so we played with being able and confident to move the round pen gate, which is much stickier and requires me to actually physically push it rather than just swinging away when unlatched. That went much better. We got some isolation in the front and hind end, and more move-off-of-not-into-pressure-please-and-thanks! It felt great. We also went in the round pen and played the GAZILLION and then some transitions game. walk-stop-walk-trot-slowtrot-fasttrot-stop-walk-backup and so on. Super fast, super precise, evil thought stealing transitions. And he was RIGHT ON!

It was so cool, as we were trotting, the first time I thought "and now, we shall SUPER TROT" and he just powered off into a super speedy trot, and then I thought "Feel the inner turtle" and we slowed down to the slowest moseyest trot any western horse would be jealous of. He was just so in tune! I thought canter once or twice, but when his back came up, I wasnt sure if it was power or buck, so I just left that one for now. Ill try it when Im not home alone! Safety first and whatnot.

That ride we just stayed inside of fencelines, played with gates that werent alive, and it was GREAT! The next ride we had a similarly super great warm up, that included SUPER play outside the round pen and over some log jumps. Then we went on our first SOLO trail ride, playing point to point with grassy spots and apple trees. Man oh man was that Gamblers most favoritest game EVER! You would think he was starving to death or something.... I say this while you try and find his ribs beneath that solid fat covering... He is misled on his fed-status! Thirty acres of food and youre hungry, my foot!

So that was just super super super! We even navigated the gate horseback, out and back in, NO PROBLEMO! Smart pony! And since that ride he has been stalking me like "When do we go out again??" and its adorable. He is such a goober.

NOTE TO MOM: Picture day? Soon please? Roni, and Indy and Phyr Phyr at least.... likely not Mo since she is not up to more than an 'every girl needs a fan' kind of picture. 

So Gambler is a pro at life now. Its awesome. He is just a dream cloud to ride. I thought Indy was nice. Really, I did. And now, when I get on her after Gambler, its a bit of a letdown.... sorry spotty pony.

 :)
S

What Happens When Then SUN Comes Out!

FINALLY! A long awaited visit from Mr. Sun, and I sure made use of this fabulous sun-shiny day!

First things first, I went on a bike ride with my Aunty, and that was super fun. Havent biked in ..ever [since florida, surely] but, its like... riding a bike... [haha] not something you forget at least :-)

After a nice bike ride we actually opted to saddle up and go for a ride! I chose Mo, because Indy and I were slated for a play-day later in the afternoon. Mo was good coming in from the pasture, they were all at The Spot, so I didnt have far to go and she came and met me part way. I groomed and saddled her in the barn and then went ot the ring to play some ground games. We did just little focusy things and played with her helping me mount again, culminating in her actually helping me mount! YEY! That was cool. Pretty much by the time I got on Aunty was done schooling in the ring, so we hit the trail.

We went down the galloping track as a short cut to avoid the laneyway due to bugs, but were thwarted when some 'vicious' cows ran at the fence scaring our ponies terribly. Lucky for me, a one rein stop is really sinking into my muscle memory and Mo and I both survived. Aunty and Candy did to! We backtracked our way back down the galloping trail and went down the laneway instead. Luckily the bugs werent to bad yet and we werent swarmed.

Slowly but surely we made our way down the dirt-dead-end road and onto the trail that connects to it. We moseyed a bit there and up into the forrest where we WERE swarmed by deer flies and that was no fun so we opted out of the forrest! Someone has been back there with a bush hog trimming cute little trails so we toured those for a while before heading back home. Mo was really good. She was a bit skeptical of a couple of rocks, but we did well.

Back at the barn I untacked Mo and let her graze while I loaded up the trailer for Indy's adventure. It was really nice that when I went to get Mo off of the lawn she actually came over to me, instead of waiting for me to come tell her to stop stuffing her face! That was a good feeling. After turning her out and giving her the sufficient quota of cookies, I went to hitch up the trusty trailer.

I have to say, my trailer is among my most favorite possesions in the world. I LOVE my trailer. It is perfect. Anyways! Once that was all done [thanks Aunty, it always goes better when I have help!] I went to fetch the Diva Queen, aka Indy. She was cute and coy as per usual. I usually go out with some crunch in my hand and she has gotten into this routine of waiting to see if I am coming for her or someone else. She sends her lackeys over to check me out first before coming over herself. Trixie is always first, then Tripp and then Crystal. Once they all pass free and clear she comes right over and everything goes great. Silly horsey.

I brushed Indy in the barn and then off we went to visit our new amis. Luckily they only live about 10 minutes away! That is SO nice! When we got there I left Indy loaded to go say hello and such. That kind of thing is good for her because every time she sees the trailer she goes "OH NO Not another 26 hour trip to florida!" so just waiting, relaxing and getting off after a ten minute trip is perfect right now.

When she did finally come off, she came off super quietly and most of all, CALMLY! I cant even express how proud I am of Indy for this whole day. She did FABULOUSLY! For a previously extreme RBE, she was just super! We hung out chatting with S and D by the trailer for a little while and then I went to set my stuff on the fence and play in the ring while they got their ponies.

Since I had the ring to myself I opted for the 45' line and went out to play! We had some cones set up as a question box, some barrels on a weave and a trampoline! COOL STUFF! I tried to start out with some nice relaxing friendly game but Indy wanted to move her feet. When I remembered that extroverts need to move their feet before they can move their brains, I relized that I should allow her to move out instead of trying to shut her down. Duh... Slow brain!

After a nice travelling circle across the ring, we settled in the back half where there were no obstacles to catch the rope on. Indy mostly wanted to trot, so we played with some transitions and change of direction until I felt like she was focusing more on me and more willing to stop/slow down. We played a little bit of sideways and yo-yo and a little bit of yo-yo on the fenceline with canter departs to back up. That was pretty cool to see the power come through.

On to the TRAMPOLINE! S set the challenge when she brought it out - mounting via bouncing - and I was really curious to see what Indy would do! Sure I have jumped all around her on the ground and such, because I am a lunatic like that, but a trampoline? Who knows... Indy gets skeptical of some things I wouldnt expect her to, so I had no idea what her reaction was going to be!

Turns out I had nothing to worry about. I sent her over to investigate, she did, no problem. I stood on it, no problem. I sat on it, no problem. I started bouncing... NO PROBLEM! HA! Go extreme friendly game! So I bounced away until she was calm, approaching and retreating as needed. The first time I launched myself at her, I wasnt the most graceful in doing so and she sort of shivered in her skin a bit, but didnt move. Lots of rubbing and scratches to make up for that! I continued though, to jump and lean over her and *try* to mount. The thing about Indy though, is she is TALL. And I am not! So even with the trampoline and bouncing, I just wasnt making it high enough.

S, though, is my good luck charm! She came out with her pony and saw what I was doing and encouraged me and VOILA the first time I try as she came out I made it up! That was a cool feeling!!! I hugged Indy and jumped down and did it again! Cool horse :-)

We went back to playing around then. Some circles and figure eights and such before saddling up. When I was ready to mount I thought it would be fun to still use the trampoline as a mounting block, but I had to be creative because now I had a saddle in the way. So... I mounted *behind* the saddle. I was midly concerned that Indy may not appreciate that, so I did some test half-mounts, but she passed the tests and didnt move an inch while I clambered up behind the saddle and scooted forwards to the right place! Yey!

Once settled we went out on the rail and played a little bit there but she got really impulsive so I put her on about a 22' circle. She tried to canter it but soon got herself under control enough to trot the circle calmly. Even going so far as to experiment with putting her head down! That was nice. What felt like a gazzillion circles later, she offered a stop so I took it and relaxed with her until she offered more go and we changed directions. Much less time to stop this go-round.

Feeling like our impulsion was pretty happy, we went over to the weave and did some of that at a walk and a trot. She really picked up the idea and tried really hard at that. It was a real treat today, to ride with her in such a partnership frame of mind. We also played a little cloverleaf uding the question box setup before SPARKY came in!

Now, Sparky is this super-awesome-uber-cool ROBOTIC roping cow thing that L has. Its kind of like Pat's except you dont have a remote control steering, it just staying straighish. I am pretty sure Indy never got to see Pat's while we were in Florida, so this was a first. I dismounted for this, just in case and went over after it stopped to say hello. We played with some squeeze games first, then when she got brave we moved up to touch-it and sideways around it. She got confident with it standing still pretty fast so we moved on and I remounted - again with the trampoline! I need to get me one of those!

When L was ready we played with Sparky. Well, we all followed while he roped it. It would go off on its line, he would chase it to rope, and the rest of us would follow and go touch it when it stopped. Indy was a little hesitant at first but she got into it really fast! I think she had fun with it.

Oh! Before we played cow ponies, we had some fun on a circle - all four of us! Two of us went one way and two the other way, with one way being spinning in the middle. We alternated which ring of the circle we played according to horsenality [Indy never made it to the middle] and trotted and cantered circles that way! It was really fun. Indy started on the second ring from the middle trotting and then as her impulsion stayed under control I moved her to the outer most ring and we did CALM FOCUSED canter circles. RHYTHMIC and RELAXED. It felt fabulous. Casual rein, happy pony, good fun! So that was really cool. We did LOTS of circles to. It was a game, so it worked for all of us.

We played a lot with the cow. That was really really cool. Indy was pretty fascinated by it, and at the end, she got confident enough to play control-holder pony, which involves standing beside the cow and keeping beside it as it runs [so as to be able to invoke the stop button in case a fence looms near] It was such a treat to see her go from afraid to confident in the span of about an hour. She is getting so... I dont know, she is just wowing me so much.

*Then* came nemesis numero deux de la jour. Im am fairly certain Indy has seen a giant green ball before, I am just not terribly sure if she has *met* said giant green ball before. From the look on her face, I am going to vote no. Her head went waay up and she got all frozen and wide eyed. Luckily I was on the ground because I volunteered to hold L's horse while he put away Sparky and fetched out said ball.

Interestingly, it really didnt take much to get her focus back, she kind of relaxed all on her own and I felt good to mount again [used the fence since the trampoline got kicked out of the ring!] The trick to the ball confidence thing for Indy was not to follow the ball, but to follow the HORSE following the ball! S's horse is SUPER confident with the ball, loves it and loves pushing it around so we opted to follow him for a while first. When Indy felt ok we approached the ball and she had no idea what to do. It was so cute. She kind of just stopped in front of it and sort of asked "What now?" I suggested she kick it, which she did, sort of, and so began our ball playing fun!

We progressed from "OMG WASSAT!?" to being able to trot and play pony soccer in one go! I really think being around the other horses that were confident with it played a huge role in Indy's success though. So that is something to remember for the future. We played ball for a while, even scored a few goals!

Eventually though we all got tired and it was time to go home! Indy got to load up and hang out some more in the trailer while I chatted and said my goodbyes [and THANKS for an awesome day] before we headed homeward bound.

What an awesome spectacular day! Good things happen with its SUNNY!!! Hopefully the sun will stick around for a little while!

:-)
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

Sunday, Sunday

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Not so much in the sense of weather - it was humid and threatening rain, although gracefully breezy - but in the sense of what events came to pass.

Saturday during the day my aunt had told me "If its not raining tomorrow, come over and make me ride!" So Sunday morning when I woke up and things were drying off from the night time downpour, I was quite enthused. I walked into their kitchen and proudly announced "Its muggy, its cloudy, its breezy, and we are going riding!" Turned out all four of us would be mounted this day!

When I went to fetch Indy the funniest thing happened. All of the horses except Mo were down by the lower fenceline, bordering Candy's paddock. Mo was off near the road on the barn side. I had to wade through ponies in order to achieve my goal [Indy] because I have been going out for undemanding time with treats in my pockets so now all of the horses are my best friends. I shared a few treats before starting to protect my herd of two and haltered Indy quietly and calmly.... until behind me I hear thunder. No, not thunder. Mo.

I turned around to see what was going on and I see Mo galloping hell bent in our direction looking right at me. She gallops by and I laugh at her and call her name so she trots over with this "You have the wrong horse haltered" look. It was priceless. She hasnt figured out she will be stuck with me for six weeks straight yet....

I gave her some crunches from my pocket while Indy stands back indifferent, and Mo just looks at me with bright eyes. Aww... I hugged her and loved on her a bit, but I really really wanted to take Indy out so I eventually [softly] asked Mo to move. You would think I shunned her for leprosy or something at the way she took off galloping away. My whole [considerable] walk back to the barn was followed by an entourage consisting of the entire herd, with one dorky Mo galloping circles around us with her tail and head up like an Arab, and then trotting for all her Hackney blood is worth. Jesus. What a goober. A gorgeous goober, but a goober none the less. It was hysterical.

My aunt and Chelsea were standing at the fence post when we got closer and asked me what was up with Mo. I had to answer jealousy, because that was completely what it looked like! It was like Mo had super sonic hearing/eyesight and as SOON as I tied that knot on Indys halter she thundered over.

Before I brought Indy into the barn I called Mo's name again and she came to get more hugs, so I am glad she wasnt offended enough to not want her hugs. After I brought Indy back I brought Mo some treats at the gate to, which she came over willingly for, so that was good. An offended Mo is never a good thing, it behooves one to stay in her good graces.

*Pan back to Indy* I spent some time gussying up Indy and saddled her in the stall mostly just because I was trapped and had to kill time. When I could get out, we did and went to play on the ground in the ring. We played with our figure eights with barrels, and I found out that blocking zone one with the carrot stick works better to slow her down than using the rope, so neato!

Indy offered me some really nice sideways steps as well as relatively fast backwards at phase one. She also offered some BEAUTIFUL vertical flexion out on the circle at a trot, stretching into the saddle and new shim positions again. So that was nice. I switched to my hackamore and felt spoiled because the mounting block was out. I sent Indy over to investigate it and she was so cute. She went over to it, sniffed it, and just stood there resting her nose on it until I came over.

When I climbed up onto the block she actually positioned herself for me to! How sweet! Once mounted we set off at a walk [very energetic] and worked on our follow the rail at a walk and trot, with lots of back up transitions - which are getting better! We didnt canter A) because it was to wet and B) because I have decided she needs more balance before we up our speed.

It was a really nice feeling though when she was responsive off of my leg. Both in speed and in turning. It wasnt long ago that I had neither. What a treat. Our general group plan had been a mini trail ride for our outing. So ring stuff was basically just a warm up. A good one though. I have to be more concious of transtions in the trot though. I get so caught up in her wonderful flowy giant stride that I forget to ask for transitions.

Chelsea opened the gate for us as we headed out down the trail. Chelsea and Tripp were in the lead, with Colleen and Candy second, then Indy and me and Aunty and Tucker. We trotted most of the trail, I had to make sure to give them a head start so Indy's super trot wouldnt just over take Candy's pony trot in two strides. It worked out well.

When we decided the galloping trail was to moist for action we walked up the laneway - some where Indy has never been ridden before. I trusted her with a casual rein, and my trust was returned tenfold - she was a STAR! Indy was perfect! Tripp spooked once right in front of us because Legend was rustling in the bushes and she responded perfectly when I did a one rein stop, stopping and relaxing completely. She had only tensed a little when Tripp jumped, but still, I was very proud!

We wandered up the laneway, wending our way slowly until we hit the road. At the road we decided to make a left and ride out the width of the pasture. A good first road ride for Indy - and Tucker for that matter. Indy looked a bit crosswise at the mailboxes, and one of those electric kid cars someone had in their laneway, but I never pushed her and just let her do her own thing. It was perfect. Indy was perfect. We rode the whole time on a completely casial rein, relaxed, happy and interested! I was SO PROUD!

When we got back to the barn and untacked we brought the horses to graze in the backyard. Chels actually got a leg up onto Tripp, so I got an idea and brought Indy over to get personal with Mr. Trampoline. That went super well and I was able to mount her from the crinkly trampoline! How cool! I was pretty proud of the to - especially since the siddling up/sidepass towards thing Mo does isnt something I have taught Indy yet. So YEY Indy!

When I finally let her go out the back gate, she stayed and waited for me to run and get her another handful of crunch. She even kept her happy look when I ran back directly towards her!

What a spectacular horse... she is so clever! I will have to make sure to play with Mo a few sessions in a row now though to aleviate any residual jealousy *giggles*

:-)
S

Just Incredible...

Perhaps I should named Indy Incredible instead of Individuality. Perhaps...

Last night was just flat out amazing. Just phenomenol. I couldnt stop smiling at her and calling her wonderful clever and beatiful. Like every good diva, Indy preens at the compliments [or I just imagine she does..]

Fun things started when I went out into the pasture to secure me a pony.... they were all on the far side of the feild, completely ignoring me. I filled my pockets once more with crunches and started my trek out. Pleasantly surprising was the fact that Clarisse, the six million year old pony, walked RIGHT up to me! She and King had been hanging out at the "Spot" where all the horses stand in the high summer to swish each others flies. She walked straight up to me, ears up, super happy and was all "Hi!! How are you? Whats going on!" She looked so happy and sweet and I felt privilaged that she chose to come say hi that I gave her some crunches and a hug before continuing on my way.

Here now, is something that REALLY surprised me! I was maybe one hundred feet from where the herd was congregated - even Mo. One hundred feet away, I whistled and called Indy - she looked up but didnt move - but CRYSTAL, [yes, seriously, the horse that isnt even mine!] Crystal looked up, saw me, went OH BOY and walked enthusiastically ALL THE WAY OVER TO ME! Holy cow, I was just floored. What a doll. I gave her lots of scratches and crunches for that - at least until Mo got jealous and came trotting over to see what the fuss was about. What a goober. Mo got hugs and crunches to before I went over to Indy. Talk about starting off with a nice high!

Indy was with her new bff Tucker and didnt really want to leave him but when I was close enough they both came forwards. More crunches. Indy surprised me a LOT when I went to halter her. I even took extra stock notes in my head when it happened because I wanted to emphasize the importance of it! Indy TURNED HER HEAD towards me - over and down, just like we have been playing with - and offered to be haltered, no questions asked! WOW!! That is HUGE for her!! HUGE I tell you!!

So after much gushing and loving I asked for a driving in zone three ish game on the way back to the barn. It took her a little while to get up her confidence to step out in front of me but she did! We went over and jumped the tree a few times, played falling leaf a tad and some beginning stick to me. Her energy and play were coming up nicely! Interesting to note that Indy's dominance comes up in equal doses as her play drive comes out... will have to be careful with that - had to remind her not to pin her ears at me twice.

In the barn after being beautified we went out to the ring. I put the saddle on the rail and grabbed a 22' line. On our walk into the barn we had a walk and a very slow lagging trot so we played with send means SEND to the point where I pointed and she took off at a canter - BUT [my goodnes this is a BIG day for Indy] - SHE NEVER HIT THE END OF THE LINE!!! She used to pull and lean on the line relentlessly, but not yesterday! Not even when she tore off like a lunatic! WHOOHOO!!! I was soo ecstatic!

We played with figure eights to - Indy got it really quickly to! Got some really nice soft sideways by accident... which was fun. I was in zone four asking for forwards but I guess I asked wrong because I got super delightful sideways... *insert more gushing over Indy here*

About now I saddled up, it went really well! Indy is starting to be more animatedly interested in the process, licking and chewing, and wanting to investigate the tack. Wonderful! I actually rearranged my shims last night to. After Mo's indefinable session, I decided to try a new shim pattern. Seems I am on the mark for Indy at least because while trotting around for girth tightening stretching down and arching her neck.... So there I am spinning on my circle when I am supposed to be standing still, mouth gaping open, drooling over how she looks.... WOW... does even cover it... I will definately have to try to get pictures of this. These little flashes of what she *could* be, what she will be, are just incredible.

So after picking up my jaw from the ground, I finally mount up [from the ground, yey me!] I started out with a carrot stick, and found that I am slowly getting actually direction control with my legs! WHOOO!!! I cant even express my joy at that. After YEARS of riding side dead lesson/camp horses - even Kota sometimes, it is such a pleasure to ride a sensitive horse. Not that I would qualify Indy as sensitive yet, but she is on the road! Mo on the other hand... I have to work on that since she is getting *too* sensitive. I need to define more what means turn the corner vs sideways etc... She tries so hard and is so light though, so its all good.

Indy and I did some walk trot and trot halt transitions while playing follow the rail in both directions. She is really good at that. I ended up ditching the carrot stick because my darling had her giant stride on today and I wanted to be able to grab mane should I lose my balance - eventually I will stretch my balancing talents to doing all sorts of things while she trots, but for now I am pleased just to keep my seat and stay out of her way so her confidence stays intact!

I really got to test how our yeilding to leg was going without the stick - and to see how she responded if I talked with rein. I found that she is a little like Mo, and will stick her nose where the rein goes [if I use it] but may or may not always follow with the body. Interesting. Moving off the leg was pretty good considering three rides ago I had NOTHING. She also has a little bit of the Mo thing where if I ask to turn a corner she checks if I mean faster first... oh extroverts!

After a whole honking bunch of transitions and follow the rail I got bored [*coughextrovertcough*] and so we went to the gate to head for the trails. Another moment of Indy-genius. She REMEMBERS how we need to move to open the gate. As soon as I focused on it and thought 'I need to move over to reach it' poof, there she was, softly moving sideways so I could grab the gate - we got through the whole gate opening process without a single hitch. WOW!! I love my horse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So we set off, at a lovely sedate walk on a casual rein. We moved up to a lovely sedate trot [a DREAM to sit] and then Indy sort of went "OH BOY! The TRAIL!" And went power trotting... I kid you not. I felt like a total slob posting to her trot because I was working so hard to find the right rhythm! Her stride when she does that is ENORMOUS. I finally found some vague sense of harmony and it just felt like flying. A minor hitch occured at the top of the hill where we can see the river. A cleverly places heron took off at just the wrong time and Indy went "OHNO"... and forze. Boy it was bizzare. She froze, to the spot, rigid, tense, *thinking* about running. Hmm.... I wondered what on earth I should do and opted for lateral flexion. Well as soon as I touched the rein she snapped out of her fuge and sort of spun to run home, but because I was already bending her we didnt go anywhere but in a circle. Whoo for right choices in that 50/50 draw!

She braces, and looked paniced for a short while, and then, miraculously, released to the pressure and sighed! I gave her a few crunches for extra distraction and we set off at that ground eating trot again. A few times she broke to a canter, but I just brought her back to the trot and left her alone on a casual rein. It was sooooo hard for me to do that. My head was literally screaming at me to slow her down. But it was just my lack of confidence. I went through the same thing with Mo's speedwalking. This is just how Indy trots!! She was calm, cool, and fully present, looking around, not spooking, nothing. It was all me - just because her stride is big and I am not used to it. So in a monumental feat of internal strength I grabbed mane with the hand on the reins so I wouldnt pull subconciously and just focused on finding my harmony with her. I am quite proud of that.

We went up the hill at the end of the trail, and down the galloping trail a bit at a walk before it pushed a threshold, so we turned around and walked - a fast, flowy free walk - all the way back down the trails at to the barn. When I dismounted at the barn Indy turned her head and looked at me like "That was fun!" and that is exactly how I want her to feel!! I let her graze for a while after unsaddling. She was super soft yeilding her head when I eventually let her go.

I am sooooooooooooooo beyond proud of Indy. She is fabulous, and has so much potential!

:-)
S

Good/Bad/Interesting

Given the title of this entry you should have some idea that I have no idea what to think of last nights session with Mo. I really dont. A few things were off kilter - I forgot my ipod and I had a time limit - that I think affected me in some way.

When I got to the barn all of the horses were in the shed hiding from bugs. Those blasted little tiny blackflies that never went away all summer. Walking to the barn I called Mo's name and she looked over at me ears forward, good sign! I filled my pockets once more before going out. I forgot to grab a halter.

Indy was at the very edge of the shed so that when I went through the gate I could see her bum. I called her name and much to my surprise she turned around and came over to me! Hmm!! I gave her some treats and checked that her milk wasnt causing problems and was confronted with Tucker, who was watching the whole procedure with intense curiosity. Tucker is usually kind of a reculse to me, doesnt like to be scratched on his face at all. I offered him a chance to sniff me and gave him a crunch. He looked pleased at that so I went back to loving on Indy a bit more before going to find Mo. On the way I met Pride again, who looked thrilled that I had another treat for her.

Past Pride was Delilah, who actually half pinned her ears in my direction! When she did, I stopped and then she sort of did a double take and went "Wait.. what?" And looked at me ears up so I gave her a treat to. Interesting. Behind her was Trixie and Mo, with Tripp in between the two. As soon as I ducked under Delilah's neck, Tripp turned around and made to leave. Trixie and Mo on the other hand looked really happy!! I spent some time with those two while Tripp left - which made me sad but it really is not my business.

I got Trixie to move eventually, along with Delilah's bum so Mo and I could leave and off we went. We hit a minor hitch when Indy blocked our way at the end and Mo left when I went to move Indy - jealousy I think . The second time I brought Mo forwards we got to the gate no problem and I let her into the barn. She went down the aisle and into Prides stall.

When I got the gate latched Indy was there looking sad, wanting dinner so I got her some more crunches. When I fetched Mo out of the stall she was looking very pleased with herself. I brushed and saddled her in the aisle and then we were on our way with a 22' line. We played in the riding ring because the bugs are less vicious there.

I wanted to play with the figure 8 pattern, but needed to retrieve a barrel from the re-flooded portion of the ring. I backed Mo out of the way [so the rope wouldnt get wet, I admit] and proceded in my retrieval pattern.... until Mo went beserk and ran like an insane horse around me. Thankfully, my hand was phase 4 pattern interrupting before my mind conciously acknowledged what had happened. [Interesting to note that I think - one small bit of unconcious competence]

Mo looked very 'up' so I sent her around behind me and backed her a bunch until she remained reasonably attentive then went back to moving my barrel. She moved again, but not insanely, to over in front of my, so instead I just asked her to back away from the barrel as I rolled it. Strange pony.

We played with the figure eight pretty nicely at a trot, with even a few offers to fix her own mistakes when she was going to miss the barrel. That was cool.

When she was ready I mounted up with a 12' tied in one rein and a carrot stick. Riding around at a walk was fine, we chased Candy out of the ring, even getting some back and sideways nicely in our pseudo bridless fashion. At the trot things sort of fell apart. Im not really sure why. I think maybe her confidence just wasnt there so I decided to 'hold her hand'. That worked really well for Dakota last time I had him at Auntys and we got some really great stuff accomplished.

I tied my 12' into reins and ditched my carrot stick. Mo's head was up, so to get a soft feel my reins ended up quite short, which was a semi-novel experience. Off we went into trot/halt transitions and doing a figure eight exagerated and huge around one of the barrels we used earlier and the lonely barrel in the far end of the ring. Mo was really soft in the halter. I was actually surprised. 'Usually' she likes to push against me when I take up any kind of contact on the halter.

Our transitions were good, and she was blowing and calming down so I asked for a canter. Oh boy... scattered! It was rished, it was fast, it felt discombobulated. Oh my! Hmmm... why? I sitll dont know. So I tried to work on canter walk transitions with some full downward all the way to backing thrown in for good measure. Things got better with that. Our canter departs got fairly snappy. I think I wasnt helping to much because I was fighting to stay on my balance point in the Wintec Wide which seemed to be riding really low on her today.... I will have to experiment with more shims in different places or something.

So we went around, with a soft feel and short reins. Things werent great, but niether was I having to phase 4 disengage to stop her. It was all softly done. I remember thinking this is what it should be, and what Pat means when he says softer..softer.. go softly in all those colt starts. Just because Mo's freestyle is getting good, doesnt mean her baby finesse will be. Or does it?

I find I need to relax. Whether it was the saddle or not, I had a lot of tension in my body last night. I had a hard time following her body, a small ache in my back and I generally felt stiff. If I felt like that, how did Mo feel?? I am going to try some different shimming techniques and see if that helps...

When things were mostly ok in the ring I decided to practice my canter fluidity on the trails because of the long straight stretches. I also remember thinking that it *might* be a mistake. Hmm... I cant decide if it was or not. It certainly wasnt what I wanted to do. Mo was tight, concerned that every clump of grass was going to kill her, and only calmed down on the last bit of the ride back to the barn. Suffice to say, my fluidity didnt improve at all.

Even right when I dismounted I couldnt decide how to feel. I dont know how to feel about the session. I am proud that she was soft and responsive, but there was tension and unhappyness about it.... I just dont know.... so we will see where it goes from here.

I am thinking more and more about a Fluidity Saddle for Mo and me - and Indy and Kota to. I am just tired of struggling to find balance in the Wide, and I am not sure the other saddle fits Mo right... let the saving begin I suppose.

:-)
S

Indy's Trail Ride!

Before I get into our awesomely awesome session last night I want to share an interesting observation I came up with while mulling over said session before going to bed. I do that a lot. I get my best thinking done right before I fall asleep. Just like Pat says - do your feeling during the day and your thinking at night!

I was thinking last night about how.... soft.... Indy is. What amounts to a phase four for her on the rein to turn or do lateral flexion is only a phase three for Mo. I thought about this for a good while trying to figure it out, because when it happened yesterday I had to conciously FORCE myself to relax, slow down, and be light [what GOOD training for ME!]

It comes down to this. I think. Inside Indy's head plays refined elevator music. Elegant, fancy, delicate, soft. When she asks a question or makes an observation [such as on the trail] it comes out like "Oh My! What an interesting foliage formation!". Very classy, very educated. That is just how she is. In order to be 'heard' by her, it takes very little, because her internal volume is already on low - thats why I have to be so slow and light. If I give her enough of a chance, she will do everything on phase one and two - with the added bonus of not getting offended!

When compared to my darling Mo, the difference is plain. Inside Mo's head plays something along the lines of the ramjam noise on christmas morning the Grinch is always complaining about. A hundred different do-dads makings sounds in an incoherent mess. When Mo makes an observation is comes out like "OH WOW!!! OMG that is SO NEAT!! What else is there?? Whats over there?? COOL TREE!" Very energetic, verbose and enthusiastic. In order to be heard by Mo sometimes, it comes out as more of a "HELLO Im here!" and she mentally turns on her heel and goes" OH really?? I didnt see you there!" Which is part of why having her attention and keeping it is so crucial - and that while I do have it, the things we can do are crazy insane, just because of that enthusiasm and willingness to try anything.

Polar opposites, and I love the, both. I havent figured out Dakota yet.

So last night!

Last night was just FABULOUS beyond all reasoning. Indy caught me - walked herself to the gate. Haltering is getting so much better! We went into the barn SANS Ivy, which was just spectacular, and got tidied up. I just so cant resist brushing Indy. Dont know why. I didnt braid her this time. I saddled her with Dakota's Wintec Wide, just to see, since I finally remembered my short girth. Seems to fit her really well! I am hoping it will encourage her to use her back and reform all the topline she lost when Ivy sagged her belly down to her knees.

Saddled up and ready to go, I grabbed my 22' and carrot stick and we were off into the riding ring. Candy is such a non-event. Stands in the corner ignoring us. Ivy was making a few small noises, but Indy definately didnt care at all. Whoo! Point for me! We played around with Touch This and softeness with change of direction/falling leaf and not pulling on the line.

Sideways is still hard for her, but she tries so hard! So we get a couple of quality steps and change it up again. Lots of dwell time though. Lots of softness, waiting and dwelling - and you know what? TONS of licking and chewing! TONS! *yey!* *does happy dance*

When I mounted up today there was no drift. NONE! YES! She stood like a rock, and was adorable while I fidgeted with the mecate, tying it to my saddle. When we finally moved off, we set off at breakneck speed.... walking... She ambled off so we dabbled a bit. I asked her to turn with my leg and that almost went over but she changed her mind and ignored me until I put the carrot stick into play.

We went around playing follow the rail at a walk, walking the FULL rail including behind the shed [which scattered Candy each time and made me giggle] After two rounds Indy stopped trying to stop at the gate, which was great. We turned and went the other way - making it almost all the way around on body/leg!- and picked up a trot. It was that trot again. Her stride was even bigger though! I think she was experimenting in the bigger saddle. It was a dream to ride. She broke to the canter a few times hurrying, but I hardly picked up the rein before she came back down to a trot.

We played around both directions follow the rail, walk trot and canter, turning, circling barrels and all the fun stuff until I couldnt take any more of the itty bitty black flies. NOW things got interesting. Base point is I am lazy and Indy is a big horse. Mounting/dismounting/remounting is sort of a chore. So when I decided I wanted to take my big brave amigo out on the trails with only a gate in my way, instead of jumping off and going through the gate and clambering back up, I siddled Indy up to the gate, and in an Indy-First-Ever, we NAVIGATED THE GATE!

We havent done any sideways undersaddle at all yet, so I had to hint a bit with my carrot stick, but overall, it went REALLY well! Indy and I opened AND closed a gate!! Talk about feeling successfull!

As we walked across the back yard, the trampoline looked like a shady character so we approach/ retreated with it until that was sorted, then headed out on to the trail. I let Indy take little bites of the long grass when she wanted, just pleased to even be out here without a major freakout! When we got past the Stealth Trees we picked up a trot and then Indy kept looking around, trying to see around corners, it was so cute. She was so happy!

Her ears were up, her expression was bright, her head was up, but not RB up, just looking around AND [big very happy AND] I was on a completely casual rein! YEY INDY! We did walk trot transitions on the long stretch because she got a little tense, and that settled her right back down. We trotted up the hill and turned around to come back down. She almost wanted to go back to the barn, but decided I might have fun ideas to. It was actually that exact moment that brought me to my softness train of thought.

We walked down the hill no problem and then picked up the trot... and then... the canter! No problems, no spooks, no issues, casual rein, cantering down the trail on my pony! When we got to the curve we slowed back to a walk and walked back to the barn to untack. I didnt want to push it the first day on the trails afterall. Good notes are... well... GOOD!

I cant even express the high I was on. AM on. Indy was just amazing. She surprises me more and more everytime I play with her. WHAT A GOOD HORSE! I let her graze happily in the back yard after untacking her. She was pretty pleased with that. Even when I put her back out she was stellar. She even waited at the gate for me, to bring her a handfull of crunch since I forgot to grab some going down the aisle, when usually she turns tail and walks right off. What a girl.... I love my horse!

And thats the story of Indy's first ever trail ride. ! :-)

:-)
S