my life through parelli colored glasses

My new life.....

2010-09-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

As a show mom.
After 9 months I think I'm finally getting my head above water with these three kids and am able to add more to my life..Like horses. My poor horses. It's been a rough year for them. Talk about culture shock. I think they were as surprised as I was at the changes this year would bring. All that has changed now and I'm back at the barn. My eldist is 6. She is horse crazy so its nice to have a partner in crime somtimes. We got her a horse this past week and she went to her first gymkana on Sat. Talk about nerve wracking for me!!! She hadn't done anything but trott the mare until the morning of in the warm up I see her come loping across the arena to me. I almost had a heart attack!!!! I had no idea how hard it would having kids involved with horses. She is fearless that one. By the end of the day she had ridden in the events, all over the grounds and even found a telephonr poll to jump! Needless to say I was completley exhausted by the end of the day.
There is another gymkana this weekend. I'm thinking of riding myself and see how it goes with a kid and 2 horses to worry about. As if I don't have enough to worry about:)

Update: Game change

2010-03-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

Oh how my life has changed since my last post...A week before Christmas we were placed with a 4 year old boy and a 6 year old girl for adoption,(we are also adopting a 1 year old boy.) So needless to say ALL my horse activities come to an abrupt halt. They were lucky if I remembered to feed them there for awhile.
My life is crazy now but we are starting to get a routine down now and I've actually gotten to ride both my horses in the past week.
I got pretty obsessed with barrel racing this past year and then adding the EIPH made it all-consuming. That is not conducive to raising a health stable family. Some people may be able to do it but not me. So, barrel racing is out,(at least for a few years.) That being said I do have to take care of myself and if I have learned anything in the last 3 months it is that I cannot function without my horses. It's not fair to me (or my kids!lol)
So I have decided to work on my Parelli L3 again. I've even signed up for a clinic with Dave Ellis in July. I'm so excited! I was in one of his clinics a few years ago and achieved my L2. I have never learned as much in a clinic as I did in his.
I am having Jim Taylor make me a barrel saddle with the Parelli tree. That should be here in April. I'm really looking forward to riding in a saddle that is comfortable for both me and my horse! I loved my Fusion saddle but I didn't really feel safe in it because it was so slick and open. Plus I know this new saddle is going to be gorgeous!!
Although I'm a litle disappointed I won't be barrel racing I am excited to be try for my L3 again.
Unil next time....

Disappointed

2009-12-08T20:04:00.000-08:00

Well the first round of EquiWinner patches didn't seem to work. They may have helped some but he still bled after my run on Sunday. He didn't start coughing immediately like he has done. This time it took about 3-4 minutes for the blood to come out his nose. It clotted right away this time though. The bleeding lasted about 10 minutes. I'm going to use my last ten EwquiWinners and see if they will work this time. I am also still giving the herbs but that will take awhile before I see a difference, I think.
He also didn't run well this race. He kept switching gears throughout the run. By the way he turned the 2nd and 3rd barrel it makes me think he is sore on his left hind because it seemed like he didn't want to use it.

Man was it cold! 31 degrees! When I started to get ready for the 2nd run I noticed that he still hadn't eaten or drank anything that day. Earlier I thought he was just nervous but it was noon. He also only pooped a tiny little poop. I suspected he was colicking so I red lighted him. After I was done I started to take him over to warm up again and heard them calling my name! I only had time to put my rubber bands on before we went. Well that didn't go over so well with Dude and he wasn't going to let me get away with that! Just watch what happened...

I deserved it.

Almost game ready

2009-12-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

I've been getting Dude legged up again these past two weeks in hope that he will be ready to rumble on Sunday for SOBRA. And I think he will be!
I've been reading up and watching lots of videos. I really like winningruns.com. they only show clips of their videos in youtube otherwise you have to pay like $50 a month to see the whole thing! I really struggle with keeping things interesting for him when working on things that apply to the pattern. So today I watched a video of Marne Loosenort. She did a demo where she did roll backs on a circle using the fence at a 45 degree angle. I totally forgot about this exercise so it was fun to get to work on it today!
I started with point to point since it woke him up so well yesterday. Then went into the rollbacks. He uses so much energy being lazy. But after a few point to points he was a wild man again.
I think I will have a lot more run at the barrel race this weekend. He seems to be feeling wayyyy better and moving really nicely. I'm getting excited!

Lit stick of Dynomite

2009-11-29T08:06:00.000-08:00

I took Dude down to the beach yesterday. He was pretty full of himself. I think the only thing that kept me from getting bucked off was that he knew he shouldn't do it. He wanted to kill the dog, the foam on the beach and the horse we were riding with. It was chilly and windy and he hasn't been off the place for awhile. I'm feeding him up and stalling him up so I totally understand why he wants to blow up. I think he is still sore on the back end. Its hard to really tell in the deep sand. I'm going to take him to a big flat pasture and ride today to see if I can pin point the problem.
We only have 2 more EquiWinner patches to put on and then we are done with those. The herbs will be here on Tuesday. The formula is primarily dealing with lung, kidneys and spleen function all of which are involved in the creation of Dude’s Hemoptysis (coughing of blood). I also started him on Stamina Plus about 4 days ago. I think the Stamina Plus is the real reason he is feeling so good. That stuff is amazing!
It will be interesting to run him once we're done with the patches and now that he is on the Stamina Plus. Both increase performance and it certainly feels like they are doing their job!

Just a bug maybe?

2009-11-23T07:43:00.000-08:00

I rode Dude yesterday. I didn't want him going to mush in the stall, anemic or not. I didn't do much with him, mostly I just wanted to see if he got winded again after a tiny bit of work. To my pleasant surprise he is not! He was pretty energetic and just broke a little sweat. I did notice though that at a lope going to the left,(our bad side.) he was holding his head up and off to the right.I had to sit wayy to the outside of the saddle to get him to go along semi normal. It's like he has a kink at the poll,(or close to it.) He also wanted to run off going that direction. I'm thinking it is because of that slip we had at the first barrel in our last run. It was dark out and I couldn't really check him out like I would have liked. I discovered the blood when I got home and the whole EIPH saga started so he has just been standing in a stall. Poor guy is probably terribly stiff ad sore.
I've had him blanketed this past month. He hates to be blanketed and acts all sour and grumpy about it. Well yesterday after I road I had a couple of hours left before feeding time so I left his blanket off. When I came back to feed and put his blanky back on he sure was a happy camper,(and it wasn't because of it being feeding time because he always has hay in front of him.) Turns out he isn't such a tuff guy after all! I love him he is such a fun horse. He keeps me guessing.
Oh! One thing I noticed when I took off the EquiWinner patch is that it was soaking wet underneath and really really warm. And where the little buttons touched his skin were deep indentions. I think that is strange since its just a sticker with a couple of nubs on it.
I think I will take him to a race once I'm done with the EW patch and see if it works even though we wont be done with the herbs yet. Dr. Thomas is still formulating the blend so it ma be next year before we get to race again if I wait for those!

On the mend..Hopefully

2009-11-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

Today I started using the EquiWinner patch http://equiwinner.com/ I have to use them for 10 days in a row and then let him rest for 5 days. I can work him lightly if I want to. They say this will take care of the EIPH. I'm willing to give it a try.
I am also having Dr. Thomas from forloveofthehorse.com formulate a special blend of Chinese herbs for him. After looking at his blood work he thinks Dude has a complex case of anemia,(whatever that means.) He should have the blend ready sometime next week.
Dude seems fine. You can tell he doesn't have a lot of energy though because when I put him out with the other horses today he barely ran around. That is not like him.
His blood work doesn't show any infection so that is good. So I guess we will wait to see if this voodoo works!

interrupted by illness

2009-11-14T16:44:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like Dude does have EIPH. I am working with Dr. Thomas from fortheloveofthehorse.com he will be customizing an herb blend specifically for Dude and his problem. He is concerned there is an infection causing this to happen since Dude has been healthily up to this point so I have to get a CBC on Monday to rule out infection. I am also planning to use EquiWinner.com patches I don't really understand how they work but I have read a lot of success stories about them.
Odiously we won't be going to any barrel races until we get things figured out. I'm thankful to have caught this so soon, before serious damage cold be done.
Today when I played with him he got really winded and sweaty. Way more then he should have for how cold it was and how little I worked him. Poor guy!

Slippin' and a sliddin' into 2nd

2009-11-12T09:27:00.000-08:00

11/11/09 Barrels by the Bay

I am really enjoying the Wednesday night barrel races put on in Fortuna. Its small and everyone is very friendly. Barrels by the Bay provides the perfect environment for me and Dude to get our skills and confidence up.

I was happy with my run. Unfortunately we had a pretty scary slip at the first barrel which really effected our time. It's such a bummer because I really felt like he was "on it" this week!

I was at the bottom of the rake in the second to the last set of girls to go,(they rake after every 5 riders.) I ran him in pretty hard,(didn't have trouble staying on for take off this time.) I rated him deep at the first barrel but I'm not sure if I didn't follow through with the rate or it it was just to deep for him to get his footing. I could feel him scrambling to stay up. We went almost to the wall as we turned the first barrel. By the time he righted himself we were to far to the left of the second barrel which cost us more time. He quickly picked up the pace and made two really nice turns. I was really happy with what he gave me. I felt like he was really trying for me. He is such an amazing athlete! We ran a 15.37 Come to find out I wasn't the only girl that slipped. One gal even hit the wall!!

He broke his wind again,(or so I thought that was what was happening.) It was dark so I didn't realize it until I got home and saw the blood all over me. After doing some research I think he has Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (EIPH). Bleeding from blood vessels within the lung (pulmonary) which occurs during strenuous exercise (exercise-induced). I am going to put him on some herbs for respiratory health and see if that works. If not I'll have to take him to the vet. I'm praying the herbs will work.

My video was blurry but you can see how much harder he's running and how he hustled to right himself after the first barrel. This run is a perfect example of how you can do everything right and still not have things work out because of circumstances that are out of your control.

1st in the 1D!!!!!

2009-11-01T19:48:00.000-08:00

Okay so I am totally stoked! I went down to Barrels by the Bay on Wed and we won the barrel race!!!!! We ran a 14.07.
I was pretty happy with my run. He almost unseated me taking off. I over corrected and we almost turned in front of the first barrel. Thank goodness he is so athletic. He ran really well for me and pretty smooth. I felt such an improvement in his "TRY" this run.
I watched a little snippet of Sherry Cervi on a horse that worms up stiff on the left side. She warmed him up with a lot of reverse arcs and bending.
Dude is always a little stiff on the left so I tried this for the warm up and it worked! He was super responsive and really light. I also changed to some shorter leather reins so my hands wouldn't slip to the middle and render me ineffective. Something must have worked:)
This video is kind of funny. For some reason I think I look like I'm running Pluto around the barrels instead of Dude. Heehee!

$$$ 10/25/09

2009-10-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

I won a check! 3rd in the 3D wasn't a huge check but it will pay for the next barrel race. I also accumulated some points for BRND4D. That was exciting since only one of the two races on Sunday was co-sanctioned and it happened to be the one I placed in.
So my first run was OK. He was running better then he has been but I didn't have enough rein and he overran the first barrel. 2nd barrel was ok. I had to help him a little. He tripped on the 3rd and kind of shut down on the run home. We ran a 15.9

I've been listening to Jane Savoy on the way to my barrel races. She is a motivational coach that has a lot to say about fear, nerves and competition. I am trying to apply her techniques to my competition but I am struggling with the first run. I can't seem to get control of my nerves enough to really THINK. I am going to get it down though!
The second run wasn't very good at all. The good part was that he was actually running throughout the run pretty consistently. We overran the first barrel again. Went wide coming off which meant we crossed the 2nd barrel just before we turned it which set us up to come off wide and run wide again to the 3rd barrel. This all took up quite a bit of time which resulted in us running almost the exact same time as before. 15.9 even though he was running harder this run.
My game plan is to change my reins from nylon to leather and shorten them. I shortened my stirrups before this last race and I think it really helped me to ride up top a little better rather then behind him. I am defiantly out of shape. I need to work on my stomach muscles. I feel like I am just getting ROCKED every time we run!
All in all I felt like me made some improvements so I am happy!

Barrels by the Bay 10/14/09

2009-10-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Barrels by the Bay is held in Fortuna on Wed nights. I went alone so I didn't have anyone to video my run. I wish I had though because we had a great run!!

Since I am noticing that Dude needs a practice run in a new arena before he can settle down and really run I went ahead and did a time only first. It helped me get rid of some excess anxiety as well so I could settle down and think before my run. For now I'm okay with needing to do that, we are just getting back into things.

For the time only run I planned to use my crop and spank him as we took off and then between each barrel and home. I did spank him as we left however it scared him so bad I had a runaway past the first barrel. We almost ate it as I tried to steer him back on course. He ran pretty good the rest of te run. We ran a 15.something Its crazy how athletic he is. I know he has gears I've never seen.

I remember the spring I got him. We were living in Colorado. I let him out with a couple of horses to run in this big arena. They all took off running and Dude was in the back meandering along. Then I guess he decided he wanted to be first because he caught and past them all so fast it made my head spin. I remember thinking,"I hope he never does that with me!" That was so out of character for me. Looking back, I think that was the first piece of my competitive edge that started to crumble.

He is such a sensitive horse that I think he felt my apprehension and sort of adjusted to my comfort zone. But as I gained confidence he stayed the same and became a little lazy, I think. I got tired of fighting this horse that didn't want to run. So I quit. Of course quitting had a little bit to do with a wreck we had a few days before my last race. We were making a practise run and hit a hard pan on the third barrel. His feet slipped out from under him and before either of us knew it we were in the dirt. I didn't even brace myself because I didn't see it coming. I had bruises of my organs on my stomach the next day and that weekend at the barrel race I started peeing blood and vomiting. I can't imagine how he felt! After that I was done. Neither of us were having any fun anymore.

I think the Parelli program has made me a smarter rider. I have had more technical training on barrel racing then most. I am grateful for those who invested time in me. Especially Cheryl Price who taught me so much and even let me live with her for a time.

Over the last few years I have contemplated why I wasn't more successful in barrel racing. I had the training and the heart and was a very dedicated student of the sport. I did everything anyone who knew anything told me to do yet I still wasn't getting anywhere.

Going through the Parelli program I noticed that I have a hard time going outside the box. I want to follow the directions and get the promised result. But I have learned that the people who are successful,(in most things) think outside the box. That is why no matter how many clinics I go to or whatever if I rely solely on what the instructions say and don't actually think for myself then I will,(as history has proven) progress very slowly or not at all.

Up to this point I have been thinking of getting out of the box. Last week I even cut a hole out so I could see what it looked like on the outside. Well today I am moving out! Hell! I might even throw the dang thing away!(whoa, lets not get crazy here..) Okay..enough goofing around. Back to the barrel racing..

My second run at Barrels by the Bay was awesome! I didn't have to ask him to go he just WENT!! I was flying by the seat of my pants. It was awesome. I wont even pick it apart because it doesn't matter whether it was perfect or not. It was a huge improvement in impulsion and that was what I was looking for. Plus I ran a 14.4 and got 3rd place in the 1D!!!!! I just wish I would have had it on camera! Maybe next time.

S.O.B.R.A 10/11/09

2009-10-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

I have been going to the Southern Oregon Barrel Race Assoc. off and on since I was 14 years old. I have never finished a series due to lame horses, weather conditions (or last time) loss of interest/fear. I am hoping that maybe this year I will get to finish the series and go to the finals. The atmosphere is really family friendly and everyone was very nice. Not cut throat at all. It is a nice environment for me to gain confidence and work of some issues we are having.

The first run was not that good. I wanted to be able to go in there and spank him going to the 1st barrel since he likes to give a quick burst of energy at first sand then slow down to a nice lope about the time we pass the eye. But I was so nervous that I couldn't get a plan in my head and he could totally feel that. He didn't run very hard for me and he was real scotchy and looking around at everything. As we were coming out the gate he started coughing and choking. I noticed his nose was bleeding so I took him to the trailer. The blood just kept coming for like half an hour. It finally stopped though and he seemed fine. All I can figure is that he broke a blood vassal or something. Here's that run:

We ran a 19.4 and placed 11th in the 3D.

The 2nd run was better. I wasn't as nervous and was a little mad at him. I had a plan and a focus and I wasn't going to let him pick the pace. My intention must have transferred to him because the next run was much better. I didn't actually do what I planned but just having a plan I think really helped.

We ran an 18.6 and placed 7th in the 2D. I thought that was a pretty nice jump.

Back in the game!

2009-10-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was just going to log my progress on youtube and be done with it but the reality is, I am way to long winded to be satisfied with just putting up an video! So here I am. Speaking of which...Where have I been for the last year,(maybe longer???) I've been here, just being a mom. I have been so busy with that that there was no way I could put enough mental energy into it. I was trying to get my L3 taped but I just couldn't focus. So I have been taking a parelli break. It's not like I've given up on Parelli or anything like that. It's just that my horse is so freaking bored of all the games and how many different ways you can do them and frankly so am I. So I decided to change the scenery.

We are barrel racing again! I've gone to 4 races so far. 2 were gymkhanas so I was able to implement "move closer stay longer" since you have to go in and run fiftymilliongillion times! It's been very interesting so far.

The first race, I had forgotten what a horrible horse he is to practise barrels on. I couldn't get him to lope a pattern without breaking gate to save my life! I was sure he was going to embarrass me at the race by going out there and trotting around each barrel. You can imagine my surprise then when they opened the gate and my old barrel horse showed up! It scared the living daylights out of me! By the end of the day I was like a big pile of mush from the overdose of adrenaline. We ended up getting 2nd in the barrels. I was surprised and happy and I won back the days entry fees. Can't beet that!

This is our practise video where I was so worried about him braking gate in the pattern.

This is from the 2nd gyhmkana. I think I got 2nd here as well but I think they only payed first that day.

At both gyhmkanas I made 2 actual barrel runs. Each day was pretty identical. On the first run he spooked at the chutes on the 2nd barrel and on the 2nd run he didn't. Although he isn't running very hard on either days. He seems to be just out for a joy ride.

Prize Fighter

2008-10-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

This is a website that has a quiz to find out what type of personality your horse has. Its not Parelli but its fun. Dude quized as a Prize Fighter. Kinda funny but there are some similarities.

http://www.horsepersonality.com/horse-person-descript.html

Today I tried to keep things short, sweet and interesting. I played a little with jumping over the small barrel and a few other things. He was pretty compliant so I rode him. I played with transitions and he kept switching from extrovert to introvert. So it was transitions on the rail, then on the circle then back to the rail then the circle and so on. He is a wild man and then he is as stubborn and lethargic as an ox all within a few minutes,(sometimes seconds!) He is fun but he is defiantly keeping me on my toes!!

Jumping was fun. I didn't die. We jumped doing point to point and circles depending on which horse turned up after each jump. He kept getting more and more animated so I quick before things went south.

OH! Last week I was walking Sonic in the trails and I let Dude come along at liberty. He was having a blast running up ahead and then running back skidding around and playing. We were on the back side of the trail just heading back to the barn when Dude went trotting up ahead, spotted the road and took off! I figured he cut back through the trails and would soon come bursting out from somewhere happy to see his buddy. I kept walking back to the barn. No Dude. Sonic, (realizing Dude wasn't coming back started freaking out!) I tried to hurry back to the barn but Sonic is lame so it took awhile. Still no dude. Then i get a call from Jody asking me if I know where Dude is? He ran all the way down to my house!! He totally could have cared less about being all by himself. He stayed up there eating grass for quite awhile. What a horse.

Flank Rope

2008-10-10T13:58:00.001-07:00

I have been playing with the flank rope with Dude. I can't believe how it has changed the way Dude moves! He doesn't naturally want to use Z3 so when I am able to communicate with it directly it really makes a difference. When you add in the cradle bridle (utilizing the small ring) I have a horse that I (1) don't know and (2) have no clue how to ride. But I am getting it worked out. We are having fun and I am making it important to me that he always come to me. Its amazing how it works.
With the presents of falls' brisk winds I defiantly have to make sure I do my "pre-flight checks" because he is feeling good and isn't afraid to tell me ALL about it.
Yesterday we played a little with jumping. I even got up the nerve to jump a small barrel bareback! I had to make my sister watch,(in case I died) otherwise I would have chickened out. I don't know why jumping is such a mental block for me. Give me speed but please don't give me heights!

2008-09-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

Having company, dealing with adoption stuff and lastly having the flu for a week I haven't had much time to play with Dude this last month. I have a lesson with Helen Topp on Tuesday and I haven't gotten to advance as much as I would like in preparation for the lesson. Oh well, what can ya do right?

Yesterday I just played with him in his pen since he wouldn't come out to play with me. Sonic pulled ligament so he is out for a few months and in a stall so Dude has no one to hang out with but me!

Today I was messing with our "program" of the barrels, and weaving. He was very exuberant to say the least. After he was screaming around the barrel pattern and jumping the weave pattern I decided to let him move his feet. After we played traveling cirlcing game I sent him sideways down the fence at a trot. He went at a lope at first and then settled to a strong trot. I then sent him in a half circle in the other direction so we could sideways that way. He shot around like a bullet out of a gun! Woohooo was he ever full of himself! It was pretty cool to watch him come together and really use himself. Once he stops dinking around and being a punk he starts to look like that Spanish bred stallion I know in my heart he is instead of the dumpy ex-barrel horse he likes to imitate.

Ever since the Helen Topp clinic he has been increasingly "punky." Extremely exuberant and obstinate. When i asked him to do a pattern he runs off and trys to act scared or purposefully misses the mark to see what I will do. I have been working on hands that close slowly and open quickly and allowing him to mess up and just smile ask ask again. I find that I have a lot less piss with the vinegar since doing this. Today, after the piss had been strained out I had a nice aged balsamic to enjoy. Corny little description I know...or maybe just a tiny bit clever??? :)

surprise liberty session

2008-08-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

The other night I went out to play after the horses had eaten. Dude seemed rather surprised to see me. I haven't really played for awhile so I had a list of things to play with in case I went blank. I let him off to roll in the arena. When I asked him to come back to me he just stood there so I played a little catching game. Catching game turned into stick to me and then I asked him to jump over a pole. He didn't want to so I moved out to the middle of the arena and played yo-yo and more stick to me. I would run forward and then stop and back up. It was really fun to have him so willing to hang out with me. I took him to the barrel pattern and asked him to go around the barrels. He ended up trotting the pattern at liberty a couple of times!!! I stopped there and we went and grazed for awhile. Hmmm... maybe we can do liberty!!

8 principles

2008-08-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

I just read this in the Savvy Times.

"Horsemanship can be obtained naturally through communication, understanding and psychology versus mechanics fear and intimidation because..."

1. Horsemanship is Natural.
2. Don't make or teach assumptions.
3. communication is two individuals sharing and understanding an idea.
4. Horses and humans have mutual responsibilities.
5. The attitude of justice is effective.
6. Body language is the universal language.
7. Horses teach humans and humans teach horses.
8. Principles purpose and time are the tools of teaching.

-Pat Parelli

Headline: Savvy girl bites the dust!

2008-08-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

Well, the flag carrying didn't go so well on rodeo day. I learned that prior and proper preparation DOES prevents piss poor performance and isn't just a few of the Parelli "P's". It is the truth! Oh yeah and DON'T make assumptions, (principle #2.) It seems like I've been over this before...hmm...When will I ever learn? AHH!

Okay... for those who were not there,(meaning you don't live in Del Norte county) this is what happened.
We arrived. Everything seemed fine. Dude was pretty quiet and doggy. I (assumed) he was okay because he is a "seasoned" rodeo horse and he has seen all of this stuff before. We warmed up outside of the arena,(the last 2 times we were there we played in the arena before getting on.) Then we rode over to get our flag boot on. The gal gave us brand new flag boots. (I had a fleeting thought that it might be a bad idea to give the little kids a new boot since it holds the flag in so much tighter. I opted to not worry about it. How tight could it be right?)
The stock were in the holding pens, there were tractors and a water truck around. Dude was worried about the stock so I just worked on getting his attention on me. Sonic was worried about the water spraying out of the truck so I had Tia follow it. We tried that for awhile but the water truck driver was a little on the unpredictable side and odviously had no clue what he was doing. We abandoned that idea and Tia just kept an eye out for him. Sonic seemed to calm down. Dude was worried about the bulls in the pens by the bucking chutes. I tried to take him over there but the water truck kept parking there and then speeding off. I figured he'd been fine. He HAS done this before you know.
They cleared the arena and we all lined up to get our flag. We had to shove the flag into the boot. It was in there pretty tight.
Sonic and Dude seemed content watching all the goings on while we waited. Then the music cued and we were off!
Trotting into the arena I glanced back to check on Tia. Sonic was being a little chargy but at least she was still back there. We trotted the little pattern around half the arena, cut in on the back side along the chutes and rode into the middle where we all stopped in a line. One woman's horse (who was very green) started bucking and planted her in the dirt right in front of us. Bummer.
The "Proud to be an American" song played as a horse and rider tore down the arena flying the American flag. Dude started to get fractious. He was looking back behind us at the bulls, then he started moving around body slamming the horses next to us. He began to paw first with the right foot then the left. I tried to keep him subdued but it just made him madder. I knew he needed to move his feet but what was I supposed to do in the middle of the national anthem? Trot circles? Get of and play some games? Ugh..no.
Finally the singing was over and the line started to move towards the gate in single file.
I heard the announcer say my name and then Tia's. Dude started bucking. He was mad! I could see he wasn't going to let me off easy so I moved him out of the line to prevent a pile up. This only ticked him off more and his bucking got more focused. I knew I couldn't ride his bucks out if he got much more serious. I tried to ditch the flag but it was in so tight that I couldn't get it out of the boot. I had visions of Dude running out the gate terrified with a flag and rider dragging behind. I concluded that the flag was in it for the long hall and apparently so was I. I had to get him stopped! Ahhh, The one rein stop! I dropped one rein and tried to pull his nose to my knee. One problem. The rein wasn't quite short enough and I was still holding the flag. So instead of him stopping so I could bale he started spinning in a circle. Round and round and round we went. I could feel myself getting sucked into a vortex. I was coming off. I hoped it wasn't the end. I hoped the flag would come out when I came off so Dude didn't get hurt trying to get away. I hoped I wouldn't get drug but I was sure all of the above was about to happen. But then my body weight pulled Dude over. I slid off the saddle and down his butt to the soft dirt. He didn't roll on me or step on me. I had plenty of room where I landed and the flag came right out. We were fine!
I grabbed my hat and the flag and ran to the gate after Dude. A guy had him caught there so I took him and went looking for Tia. Poor thing. I found her not far from the gate sitting on Sonic looking as though she was going to cry. I assured her I was fine and she calmed down.

So I assumed that Dude was going to be fine because he has done this kind of thing before. Because I assumed, I didn't properly prepare him which resulted in a piss poor performance. If I could think of the other principles and responsibilities I am sure I violated them as well. My butt is bruised but my pride was the only thing really injured. I will defiantly take more time to prepare next time and not allow anyone to convince me that things will be fine. I knew it was a bad idea to do it with only 2 practices left. I should not have allowed other peoples needs and my desire to "do something" to compromise my Horse~Man~Ship. I am just fortunate that it happened to me and not to Tia.

Its interesting when I think back on the situation from a Horsenalities point of view.
Dude being the LBI that he is didn't look to me for safety in a scary situation like a RB horse might. He looked for a way to get rid of me so he could save himself. I put Dude in a situation where he wasn't confident. I didn't prepare him well and I didn't play with the horse that showed up. I proved to him that I wasn't a worthy leader.

I have always had this fantasy that if I was ever in a dangerous situation, (like encountering a bear or cougar or a bad man on a trail) that Dude would sense the danger and "take care" of me. He wouldn't go ballistic or run off bucking. He would run fast carrying us both away to safety.
But the reality is that he is a pray animal not a super hero. His instincts tell him to ditch the predator on his back and save himself. That is how horses have survived over the centuries. By being cowards, closter phobics and panic-a-holics. NOT by being dragon slayers.

Prior and Proper Preporation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance

2008-07-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

Last night was my 2nd and last flag practice before fair. I was pretty nervous because Dude was so exuberant last week and I really felt unprepared to deal with that and then again in front of a gillion people on Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised however when I unloaded him and he just looked around as if to say "oh, here again." and started grazing. I actually had trouble getting him to go this time and was able to ride him on a loose rein while warming up and a fairly loose rein when practicing. It was so refreshing! Towards then end of the practice they decided to have us all trot past the bucking chutes so that the people sitting on them could simulate what it will sound like when the bucking stock in loaded in them. One of Tia's little friends who has carried a flag before told her to hang on tight and to grip with her knees because this part is really scary! Tia looked at her like she was crazy and told her what was the opposite of what she should do. She told her that to grip with her knees meant to go faster. Even though the explanation was not entirely correct I think she is getting the gist. I felt extremely proud of Tia for #1 listening to the things we have told her and #2 for sticking to her principles! Her and Sonic did extremely well and neither of us got "involved" with the pile-up and downright disaster that resulted from their little simulation. The end result was the decision to ask the stock contractors to load the stock AFTER the flags had left the arena. It would have been somewhat comical had it not been endangering peoples lives!

I had a chiropractor/acupuncturist work on Dude. He had minimal issues except for he found that he has herpes caused by a lysine deficiency which was causing his lameness. Apparently herpes is very common in horses and easily cured. I bought some lysine from him and he said I should notice a difference within a month. I put Sonic on it also since he is frequently lame in the HQ. We shall see how it works.

scoring points and airs above the ground

2008-07-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

Picture: Here we are at the Helen Top clinic playing follow the leader.

The first day I went to play with Dude he was acting so dominant I could not believe it. One second he was the old LBI lazy as all get out horse and the next he was flying down the arena like a bat out of hell only to get to the end, turn and trot right back to me twirling his head! At first when he took off I thought I had put to much pressure on him but after he came right back all cocky I decides to take it as he was just trying to "score points" on me. So I said, "you want to run around and be crazy? ME TOO!!" And we were off. Changing direction, sideways, backwards, jumping barrels and turning barrels. This got his attention and directed that access energy on the changing scenery instead of outsmarting me! It worked and then we were able to settle down and play with downward transitions and changing directions online.

Flag practice:

The other night Tia and I took the boys to the fairgrounds to practice carrying the flags for the rodeo grand entry. Dude was high as a kit when I unloaded him off the trailer. As we walked over towards the arena he was even doing some passage. Pretty fancy for an ex-barrel horse! We took the inside of the arena to play because everyone else was riding around the rail. There was some fun music on the loud speaker so it really help to get the "mood" going. Dude was spectacular!! He was jumping around and running and bucking. I had to get his attention in all that commotion so I matched his energy plus 4oz. I had him doing some pretty snappy changes of direction and really nice and straight sideways without a fence at the trot! It was fun because my horse wasn't acting perfect but I had the tools to deal with it. I played with the horse that showed up and in this case the horse that showed up was a wild Lipizzaner stallion, (or at least he thought so.)

Helen Topp is awesome!!

2008-07-18T14:28:00.001-07:00

Wow! What an amazing weekend. 3 days was not enough yet I could not have asked for more! It was by far the best clinic I have ever taken. Helen has a great and simple way of explaining things and she is also very good at making you be responsible for your own learning. She gave us clear instructions and then let us work it out. Another thing I really liked was that she didn't "drill" us on an single exercise. She explained it, we tried it and then we moved on to the next thing. After the 3 days, (2 day clinic with a 3 hour private lesson on the 3rd day.) we had done 31 exercises and quite a few of those had three outcomes!
Quality, Distance & Speed. I think these three words impacted me the most out of everything I learned. Those words expanded each of the the 7 games and every other excerise I do in three new ways! When you add an obstacle in the mix the possibilities are limitless!!!
I also really enjoyed getting to know Helen. She is a neat gal and I am looking forward to having her back next year.

HELEN TOPP clinic!!!!!

2008-07-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

Tonight kicks off the private Helen Topp clinic we will be having here at the house. We will have 7 riders and that is it! I will be keeping notes and then blogging come next week. YEEEHAWWWW!!!!

so its not just a gimmick!

2008-07-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

I tried the RBI C2 cradle bridle on Sonic the other day. This is a horse that chews through bits and the ones he doesn't chew through he chews the edges to a fine blade. When ever I go to but a bridle on him he starts chewing like crazy and trying his best not to go introverted. Sometimes he even flips his eyelids and goes catatonic! So I put the bit on him the other day and low and behold HE STOPPED CHOMPING!!!! I was speechless. It was like riding another horse. Its so hard to describe what this horse has been though but if you had been there and been a huge part of the abuse that he endured you would know what an AMAZING breakthrough this is!!! I am so thankful to the Parelli's for coming up this this "gimmick." I just ordered the LBI C3 bit for Dude.Can't wait to blog about the changes I see in him!

riding for tomorrow

2008-06-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

after very little interaction in the last couple of weeks i figured that dude would be a bit of a sullen pill but surprisingly he wasn't. we played in the pasture with jody and odie. i was feeling very uninspired and pretty sleep but i pushed though since i had already gone through the trouble of hauling him over there. we did the usual run through the games and then i decided to get him to do sideways while his from feet were on a board that was laying on the ground. then jody wanted to see him stretch like we are learning from karen rolf. it was a lttle harder for him b/c it was his first time doing it on uneven ground. we worked though it and in the end he had the usual euphoric look on his face that he normally gets after the stretching exercises. i had a passenger lesson around the pasture then angus started chasing the neighbors out the driveway. we went chasing after him so dude got really interested. i quit then. he was happy and not trying to ripe the reins out of my hands so he could eat. he was happy i was happy and now we are set up to have a great day tomorrow!

2008-06-08T16:40:00.000-07:00

~This picture is of me and dude, Jody and Odeipus and Tia and Sonic. It was a fun day playing out at Jody's playground.~

I went to play with Dude today and he wouldn't come out of his paddock. I guess yesterday wasn't as good for him as it was for me...oops! I checked his back and he seemed a little sore. Its understandable since I'm a little sore as well. I decided to be savvy and let him graze today.

So Sonic was the lucky one! I saddled him first and then played with him. He seemed a little puzzled since I almost never play with him let alone ride him. I consider him a LBE but after observing him I think he is also a RBI under saddle. Or at least when I am riding him. He just feels so much different with me then how he looks when he is with someone else. Every time I even look like I am going to get on him he starts chewing, tensing his neck and sometimes even flipping his eyelids,(he didn't flip them today.) I think it stems from our "history." I just don't know how to prove to him that I have changed.

I just played follow the rail at a walk and trot hoping to establish some repore. He didn't chew as much after he realised I wasn't going to ask alot of him but it was still hard for him. I felt like it was a pretty successful play but at the same time I am at a loss as to how to build his confidence in me. Maybe I'll write Pat and Linda...

its been awhile

2008-06-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

i haven't been playing a whole lot lately but what i have been doing i have been trying to make count. it seems to be working to because dude is always very excited to see me.
today it was pretty windy so dude was a little on the spooky side. plus he has been getting grain the past 2 weeks so he's definitely feeling it. i could tell when i pulled him out of his stall that i needed to have my leadership up cuz he was in a very pushy mood. i started with the porcupine game in zone one and then driving in zone one. he was pretty "up" when we were walking to the arena so i matched his energy plus 3oz and played squeeze game through the gate a few times. that got his blood pumping and so then we did sideways down the fence at a trot and lope. his "horns" were still out so then i moved into a circling game at the fast lope/gallop with a change of direction every half circle. i was definitely pushing a fine line but i had to do something to get his attention. i could tell he was digging it though because he was very athletic. if he gets scared he gets flat and clumsy. i let him rest after that and then we played sideways to the end of the 22' line and then some yo yo. i was running out of exciting things to do with him so i decided to saddle him before i got to boring.
i decided to play with that exercise from the lesson with linda on the last savvy club dvd (with erin and katie.) dude took to it really well and i was able to feel him a little better then last time. i have more trouble getting coordinated going to the left then the right. i just cant get my hip to drop while pushing with my knee and putting weight in the stirrup. he was full of energy so it wasn't a problem working on a circle. we also played with trot to canter transitions. he felt so round. we finished the day with a short trail ride and then i let him out to graze with sonic. i think he had fun.
i have also been playing with the stretching exercises from karen rolfs book. he got it right away and i can see big changes in his back.

was it good for you?

2008-03-11T09:36:00.001-07:00

I didn’t do much with Dude yesterday but what I did do counted BIG TIME!! His expression was totally different today. He was so nice and curious. I had a few exercise in mind when I went out to play with him but wasn’t stuck on them. I was planning to play with the horse that showed up. I found a dry spot and stood there with him, (on the 22 ft line.) I played a little friendly and then asked him to circle me nicely. His departure wasn’t very enthusiastic so I spanked my quadrant and lo and behold there was a butt there!! Boy was he surprised. I am trying to be consistent with a long phase one and a quick 2-3-4. We then started playing with change of direction at short range. I would try and “tag” him if I could. He totally got interested and playful. When I stopped there was a whole lot of licking and chewing going on. Then we played with him wrapping his body around me at the trot, (with lots of long soaks in between.) I played with trying to get him comfortable with putting his head threw my lets. I was “baiting” him with a treat but it’s the only way I could convince him it would be fun. I almost got him to stick an ear through so that was cool.

Best part of the play…He was interested and had a very nice expression. I felt like he WANTED to be with me.

Things to work on…Making sure our play is as good for him as it is for me.

mental brace

2008-03-08T11:42:00.001-08:00

I had a very interesting play with Dude yesterday. He actually left the other horses and came to me with his ears up!! Whoohoo! I had planned to ride but decided to play on the ground before saddling since he just LOVES being brushed. Ha! We did some falling leaf and worked on getting his sideways back to a L2 graduate level. Then I decided to play with close range circling at the trot. I started out on a larger circle and ask him to spiral in. He did that so well and even started to wrap his neck around me. So I thought I’d try working on the lope. As soon as I asked for the lope his whole body switched. His head flew to the outside, his shoulder and ribcage dropped in and he got all clumsy. I knew this wouldn’t be easy but I was surprised to see such a drastic change in him. He was trying really hard to do what I wanted so as soon his head came in at all I let him rest. His whole expression changed! His head was down, he was licking, blowing and seemed genuinely interested in what I would do next. So I quit.
So he has a mental brace. Which in is causing a body brace. Hmmm…how interesting! He is often bracey at the lope and especially on the barrel pattern. It explains why his barrel turns are so scary!!! He is totally stiff and not balanced. He tried so hard though. I could see he really wanted to do what I asked but he just couldn’t. We will see what happens next time..

i love my LBI!!

2008-03-05T09:18:00.000-08:00

We worked a little more on getting definition in the gate yesterday. It was much better but I’m not real happy with the “soft feel” I’m getting at the lope. I did work on my focus and that really helped I think. I also played with moving my horses’ body weight side to side and front to back without him picking up his feet. Dude really picked this up fast! It’s a left brained introvert’s dream exercise; he never had to pick up his feet!! We also played with isolating each foot, but that one will need some work. Dude will pick up the front ones when I ask but not the back. It’s like he is saying no no no no…ok fine!! And then moves all four feet at once. I love my LBI!

I also played with “don’t change gate don’t change direction,” (circle until further notice.) We did this through the “lake” in the arena. He of course wanted to stop and take a drink with every pass. So I came out of my little quadrant and spanked where his butt was. Of course he got all BUTT HURT over this and started screaming around in a circle. He went a little RB at first, and then got a little unconfident. I stayed neutral and kept asking for the same thing, (passively persistent in the proper position.)This made him mad and he kept screaming around me, but soon got it and went to work. I only got about 1-2 good passes out of him before I asked him to quit.

Best part of the play…Moving his weight back and forth!

Things to work on…Soft feel, isolating the feet and not being BORING!!!!!

the amazing power of focus!!

2008-03-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I played with filming the first few tasks in the finesse section of L3. It seems like everything gets all gummed up as soon as the camera is rolling. I was trying to show definition of gate in the walk trot and lope. Of course Dude only has one, maybe to speeds in each. Slow and slower. I was getting kind of frustrated because I KNOW he can do it but it felt like he was just jacking with me. So finally my camera girl, (my sis) suggested that I focus on what it is I want to do. It was like magic!! I wasn’t able to get as clear definition as I’d like but there was total softness and harmony! Focus is awesome!!

Best part of the play…Went on a trail ride. It was nice to get out.

Things to work on… It’s not about getting the task taped!!

hey look! there's #4!

2008-03-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

I had an interesting play session with Dude yesterday. I have been struggling all week with getting him interested in me. Well yesterday… Ida brought Colby over and we let him, Dude and Trooper out in the arena to play. Colby is also a LBI. He and Dude were in a “who moves who” standoff and Dude lost!! He was visibly ticked to say the least. He went so far as to almost throw himself on the ground at Colby after he realized he lost. Right after that they left each other alone. Dude went over and picked on Trooper for a minute but he is a RBI and is easily convinced that he is the low man. Then Dude looked at me, (I was standing outside the gate) walked over and was totally like, “Hi Mom! What are we going to do today???” I was totally happy he wanted to be with me, (finally!!) until I realized that he probably got his butt kicked by Colby, (#1) Trooper wasn’t a challenge (#3) and so when he noticed me he was like “Hey! There’s #4.

I was trying to keep my leadership up while also keeping his interest up. We played stick to me, traveling circling at the lope, messed a little with placing our feet and his right foot wave. Then I set up 3 barrels, (knocked over and lined up in a jump) and we played “don’t change gate don’t change direction.” The first send was as I thought it would be, which was take off quick and then stop and look at the barrel in his way. Well, I just turned, smiled and asked him to keep going. He jumped high enough to touch the clouds and started tearing around the circle. He was wild! I had to think of something fast so I asked him to keep going, but at the trot. My focus on what gate I was asking for totally made this exercise NOT about the barrels. After I got him to go both directions at the trot without jumping the barrel like a crazy person/horse I just stopped and we walked to the pedestal, and asked him to get on. I gave him a treat and let him rest. I was so happy with this breakthrough that I just petted him and gave him a cookie now and them. Our play session was over. He was totally enthralled with me. He stayed on the pedestal for the rest of the time, (about an hour) I was in the arena just watching me everywhere I went. It was so cool!!

Best part of the play…Getting some draw back.

Things to work on…Keeping the draw!!

one step forward and five steps back

2008-02-27T13:13:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I played with Dude on the 12 ft line. Mostly I just worked on keeping him interested. I asked him to go over a small barrel willingly. For some reason when I use this smaller barrel I can keep in my mind that “its not about the barrel.” It was interesting because he tried everything except go over it. So I took him to another obstacle and played then back to the barrel. We did that for awhile but I wasn’t making any progress so I tried doing everything I could think of with the barrel EXCEPT go over it. Then when I did ask him he went willingly. Silly Duders!! After that we took a walk and I let him graze a little. I also practiced jumping on him. That one will need some work!

Best part of the play… I had fun matching his steps on our walk.

Things to work on… (besides everything) generating curiosity.

Today I wanted to ride out without doing a lot of groundwork. Dude hates being brushed, (LBI dominance) so I used the small barrel to my advantage. I asked him to straddle it with one foot. As soon as he would put his foot across I’d drop the lead rope and start brushing him. That way the game was don’t move your feet instead of please let me brush you. After I saddled I worked on moving each foot individually and his right hand wave. We avoided riding in the arena today and went right out on the trails. He wanted to eat and didn’t want to pay much attention to what I wanted. Its frustrating to cause your horse to think you totally suck for the sake of riding in a clinic!! What’s worse is it wasn’t even a good clinic!!! AHHHH! Okay I’m done.

Best part of the play… I was almost able to swing up on his back!

Things to work on… EVERYTHING!!! Especially on getting him to think I’m interesting again.

here we are again

2008-02-23T10:37:00.000-08:00

It was raining yesterday so we hauled into the fairgrounds, (yuk) to ride. There were a lot of people there so it was kind of annoying. This was the first time I have ridden since the clinic last weekend. Poor Dude, he was totally unimpressed to be there again.
He was exhibiting a lot of “druthers” while we warmed up so I played a lot of porcupine and driving in zone 1. That seemed to help. We worked on him “waving” or pawing with his right leg. He does it great with the left but I’d like it to be even. Every time he would lift that RF foot he would give this weird little grunt! Almost like when a cribber sucks air or like just before they squeal at another horse they kind of suck in air. I don’t know why he was doing it but it was funny.
We also worked on sideways to and fro. I didn’t feel inspired to do a whole heck of a lot and so after I felt like he was with me I got on. We worked on getting a soft feel, (funny how much nicer it is when you work on it for three days straight!) And we also played sideways over some ground poles and also backing over them. Then I just sat on him while everyone else played. I think it helped build some report with him since he was pretty unimpressed with the idea of hanging out with me. Usually if I lug that heavy saddle up on him I make sure to make it count. I think he needed to see that we don’t ALWAYS work when the saddle is on. All in all we had a good play session.

Best part of the play… I enjoyed playing with the sideways game over poles. He was very responsive and soft.

Things to work on… Work more on porcupine game in zone 1. I am noticing he is upping his dominance games with me. Also, thinking of ways to make it fun for him.

savvy barrel racer???

2008-02-21T15:49:00.000-08:00

Something I wrote last fall but didnt have anywhere to post it...

So I tried playing point to point to day with the barrel pattern. I set up a 4 barrel pattern and started off stopping at each barrel and then again at the fence. Dude looked like he was saying, "I know what you are doing." but he humored me and at one point even seemed halfway interested. We worked up to loping from barrel to barrel on a loose rein. Then I would skip the stop at one barrel and go on to the next. He stayed relaxed and responsive. At the end I loped the pattern in a loose rein and stopped him at the end. I let him sit and then turned and loped him out the gate, up the hill and over to the other 10 acres to let him eat a little. IT BLEW HIS MIND!!!! We played a little point to point over there and then came home. He was hesitant to go back in the arena but I insisted. I got off just inside the gate, gave him a cookie and loosened the cinch. It was a successful day and I think we both enjoyed it. Now if I can just continue to be provocative!!!

it takes alot to get me bored on a horse!

2008-02-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

I have just finished a 3 day advancing horsemanship clinic with a not-so-well-none colt starter from Texas. I assumed (principle #2. Don’t make assumptions!) That since he was "natural" and I am now a L3 student that there would be something I could take away from his clinic and use. I thought that I could siphon out the good in his teaching and discard the not so good. What I discovered is that I was not at all prepared to learn from a person that didn’t understand or care about how I learn. I was frustrated by the fact that I was frustrated! I have never been in a clinic where I wasn’t able to learn, (Hi, my name is Kristy and I am a recovering clinic junky.) Now, am I implying that I know everything this guy does and therefore he couldn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know?? Absolutely not! At the same time there wasn’t a single exercise that we did over 3 days that I haven’t already done. He seemed to talk in circles and whoopteedoos making even the simplest exercise unrecognizable. It appeared that none of the 14 people in the class had a clue what he wanted. When you would ask for clarification he would either make you feel stupid or make another explanation that was even more confusing. By the end of the day I was so "over it" that I no longer cared what it was he was trying to teach us. Another thing that was bazaar was at the end of each session he would have everyone "circle up" and he would ask if anyone had any questions, and all you could hear is crickets!! I have never experienced a clinic like this before. People were clearly not getting it but still no one ask a single question! Hmmmm...How interesting.Now I am not saying that no one got anything out of this clinic. I know for a fact that a few people did. I am just amazed at what a difference there is between a person that is taught to teach and a person that just teaches. And how a person teaches can either free a learner up to learn or handicap them to such a degree that they cannot learn the simplest thing.The experience has made me so grateful to Pat and Linda Parelli who actually care whether or not a student learns what they are teaching.