I lay in the grass, one leg stretched out and one slightly crooked. My feet, bare of shoes but comforted by socks, pointed up and out to the sky. One of my arms folded in underneath my head of hair, soft and left untouched for today. Up, reaching toward the bright blue, was my right arm and hand. The fingers curved slightly to the calm of the day and the tiny hairs on my arm reached out to catch the sunlight. A smile brushed my face at nothing but the beauty of what little I could see, of a white arm reaching up to a bright blue sky in a glorious light. There is nothing more freeing of a moment that only takes a breath but lasts an eternity.
A warm breath was let out on my neck. Each skin cell and each hair jumped for the opportunity at a piece of the friendly warmth. I laughed at the days of others, wondering why their days couldn't be so wonderful as to include some magic such as this. I turned my face to the side so that I could watch my curving fingers reach toward her face and stroke her jaw line. She brought her head lower to the ground, closer to my face and smile. Amber eyes sparkled at me, completely captured in the moment. A breath of wind brushed both of our faces and each of us closed our eyes softly for a moment in pure joy. The symphonies of the world are far greater than any orchestra could create.
Those are two moments that I would like to share from the last couple of days. I wonder at other people sometimes, knowing that they don't feel the same way I do about small things like that- but still wonder how they get through the day.
Saturday felt so nice, very warm and slightly breezy. I enjoyed every moment of the seven hours that I spent with the horses. The only time I haltered them was to take them in the barn to eat their grain- for the rest of the time, I played with them, spent undemanding time with them, and cleaned some of the poop out of their pasture.
The rhythm of the pitchfork scooping, lifting, and tossing the poop into the wheelbarrow, which met each other with a soft thud, had become very soothing. I was thinking about a million things but with this extremely soft energy as if I was only thinking a single thought, if not less than that. I turned at the sound of a large "huff" and a soft thud, only to see that Hope was peacefully resting not seven feet away from me. A couple hours earlier she had tensed even at my approach. I softly watched this once fiery chestnut mare lay on the earth, in a completely vulnerable spot but very trusting that I would not hurt her. I decided that since the other horses were standing, it must be safe for me to rest as well... So the next thing I know, I was taking the same huff of a horse and sitting in my halfway cross-legged fashion on the ground. Before I knew it I had half fallen asleep in the sunshine. The warmth of the day and the slight breeze playing with my bangs and brushing against my face was enough to loll anyone into a peaceful sleep. After a long time, I heaved myself up and my feet began to take steps toward the water trough. I paused at the edge of it to bend down and make trails with my fingers in the clear liquid. Two of my fingers dipped into its refreshing coolness, and I wondered if I should not just submerge myself in the water. The thought made me laugh at myself- here I was in January wondering whether or not I should climb into a water trough. After a few moments, I turned slowly and began to walk towards the log which happened to be just a foot or so away from Hope. Upon reaching it I sat down and let my legs stretch out. I bent over slightly and let myself enjoy a different angle of sunlight and a different type of rest- a much lighter one, not quite half asleep but definitely very restful. Hope had only acknowledged me by a slow turn of one ear and a slight, soft look before going back to her previous position. Her nose rested upon the earth, eyes three quarters of the way closed. Her ears were in a bent position, completely drained of stiffness. I watched her for a moment, this extremely soft creature and knew that some day we would be one. It would only take time.
Today, I did spend a couple hours with the horses in the morning but then went on to watch five hours of the old Level 2 Blue DVD set. My mom and I enjoyed watching it together, filling ourselves up with knowledge, and stopping to have deep conversations in between. Afterwards I did go back out to see the horses again before tending to them for the night. Every day that I spend with them, no matter how much I do, I think that all of us enjoy it.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Letters to Julia
[As a forward note- I have started a series of writings that I call "letters to Julia". Due to the fact that I find it hard to write my ideas down without having any subject or face to direct them toward, I have picked my dear friend Julia to direct the letters toward. They are not necessarily all speaking of her when speaking of a subject, but instead bringing a subject to mind. I say "you" because it is easier than saying "them"... because there are so many different thems out there. They have become letters after I had originally designed them only as elaborate paragraphs, but I do not so much mind them this way. I have been writing one every night, but only for three days. I have decided to share this one. Note to Julia: No, I will not be sharing all of my letters with you unless I feel like it. Why? I don't know. This is the way I work, welcome to the side of me that I tend to be... reserved with. Added notes will be in italics.]
1/27/10
Dear Julia,There are so many people who do things in life just to get one rank over another, just to prove that they are worthy, just to show that their service to someone in need is greater than yours. Here is where you may come to know why the civilizations of the world are falling apart. This is an exaggeration of course, I know that they are not literally falling apart. They have countless power struggles, and they never embrace themselves. They sell their souls only to make themselves feel worthy- and I hope that this is never a choice you make.
Anger is only admittance that something has control over you- otherwise you would not feel the need to become angry. Assertiveness is a different thing. I.e... When someone is bullying a kid at school, I do not come back in rage but in a calm, stern manner. Usually I add a bit of sarcasm just to offset them... and because it is in my nature. Fear is a show of what we have convinced ourselves to stay away from. Some people show love in fear- the more you fear something, the more you must have cared about it in the first place in order to make yourself go through so much. Do not be worried about your fear, especially your fear with horses. Tend to it, care for it - for your fear, I think, is only love with scars and love afraid of damage to itself. Do not ever dismiss your fears - for now it is the only way your body knows how to care. As you tend to and care for your fear - your injured love - more, you will find that you will come to no longer have fear, but a filling, content, complete love. It only takes time. It of course also takes... love, language, and leadership with yourself.
That is all I have for thought just now. Take care dear.
Smiles,
Kara
Sunday, January 23, 2011
I walked out to the barn planning to play On Line, but instead decided against it. I had just read a blog about testing and teaching and was inspired to test my relationship with Cherish. I grabbed a couple Carrot Sticks and walked out to the pasture. My mom already had Hope on a 12' line and Finale and Cherish were waiting for me by the gate. I asked both of them to follow but Finale did not understand what I was asking of her- no big, I'll just play with Cherish at Liberty. I played Stick to Me for a bit and noticed that her backup at Liberty was very weak- something to work on. I got her to do backup in several different ways like Stick to Me, backing up by the tail, and doing the yoyo game with just a finger. She was able to figure each thing out, so I just stood with my back to her face and scratched her withers as another horse would. She began to stretch her neck out, feeling really good about it. After a moment she reached back and put her nose on my back, just rubbing it in circles there. She knew not to be too rough with her rubbing, just lightly circling her nose on my back. I smiled to myself as the whole world filled with warmth. My girl sighed deeply and I turned to face her slowly, still with a very contented feeling. She stayed with her head turned and just encircled me, bringing her nose up to my shoulder and holding me there. I reached forward with my left hand and stroked her jugular, one of the most vulnerable places on a horse. She did not tense up for a moment and in fact seemed very soft when I did so. I got her to disengage her hindquarters by tilting my head and shoulders just slightly, then walked over to the fence. I tried to do sideways against the fence, but went to fast with my phases. Even though my phases technically were slow, they were no where near slow enough or mild enough for her. All I had needed to do would be to lift the stick- I probably wouldn't have even needed to shake it at her. Instead I put forth way too much energy and she walked a few steps away. I thought for a moment before she came back and I just stood there stroking her for another few minutes. Even though I fumble here and there in my horsemanship, I know that with every fumble I stand up and learn why and what led to that. I smiled at her and continued to stroke her before asking her to move just her hindquarters, this time with Finale next to her. She looked away and I did not retreat, so then she walked away. This time she stopped, turned her head back, watched me for a moment and decided that I was not neutral enough to go back to. Instead of feeling really discouraged, I decided to go and stroke Finale before watching my mom. She was playing the circling game with Hope. Both of them looked very soft but it didn't quite look like a game... It almost looked like a task. It wasn't quite a job, not too unpleasant, but just something to do. I asked my mom to get her to think... "Is Hope very curious?" She disengaged her and Hope came in very softly to stand next to her. She looked at me with her thinking face for a moment before answering, "I haven't been able to play with her much...." which started out soft and then faded. The second thing she said was much stronger and went something like this: "What can I do to get her to be curious?" I answered, "You could drop the rope or go behind the fence." I walked away but could see her looking at me funny out of the corner of my eye. A minute or so later I looked back over to see her crawling between the wires on the fence and Hope looking at her like.... "WHAA.....?" She started to play a couple games and Hope was completely thrilled! She was asking questions right and left and I could see a laugh in my mom's eyes. That's what I love to see. My mom is naturally a very soft person, so she got Hope to be very soft. It is good for Hope to be soft because she is innately RBE, but there needs to be a balance of soft and fun. My mom had made Hope into what she is... One of the greatest human wants is to turn everything as similar to ourself as we can because that is the one thing we understand the best.
I have a challenge for you: Do not try to make your horse similar to you, but instead adapt yourself to meet your horse's needs. This may sound very basic to some of you, but I still find that many natural people do it and even strive to do so! Being yourself is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself and for others- let your horse be beautiful. Do not try to navigate where their horsenality grows into, but instead let the beautiful flowers grow where they want to. You will end up with a more beautiful garden than you would have if you had planted them in lines- a NATURAL garden.
I have a challenge for you: Do not try to make your horse similar to you, but instead adapt yourself to meet your horse's needs. This may sound very basic to some of you, but I still find that many natural people do it and even strive to do so! Being yourself is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself and for others- let your horse be beautiful. Do not try to navigate where their horsenality grows into, but instead let the beautiful flowers grow where they want to. You will end up with a more beautiful garden than you would have if you had planted them in lines- a NATURAL garden.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
General Updates
Creating our play ground is in the planning stages. We have a section of the backfield picked out where we will put obstacles and survey/check it frequently as to keep holes, sticks, etc out of it. We have purchased obstacle plans (balance beam, teeter totter, and pedestal... and think we will be able to build a bridge as well), we have a man to create obstacles for us (he has a lumber mill in his backyard and is happy to do it for us), I am really good with a hammer, we have some extra paint and wood stain left, and you can see where it's going from there... We have a lot of logs in the pasture, so we will be using those as well. The man that we bought our land from has a couple old tractor tires that have been slashed and are no longer usable on his property that he has no use for. There is a wonderful ditch/ravine/dried creek bed thing that is over there as well. I am hoping to get something that we could put noodles or plastic strips on. I have also gotten my new Equi-Spirit ball for Christmas from my grandmother! We also have portable fencing in case we wanted to have a piece of fence for teaching sideways at Liberty or having a squeeze game or something. As soon as the weather is no longer mucky, the playground will be a go.
I am hoping that we will be able to get a trailer... Question is, where will we get the money?
Cherish is starting to show some great qualities for Liberty. She is becoming very sensitive now and usually when I am leading her I just throw the rope over her back. I have not been able to play with her very much because of the icy/slushy/mucky/snowy weather and being sick on and off ever since just before Christmas break, but the last time I did I was just starting to get sick again. My head was pounding, I felt like I had a fever in the teens (temperature), my throat was sore, etc... But I was able to ask her for a Circling game and she was going around me at a nice trot in a small circle around me with a 12' line. We started to play Stick to Me. I asked her for a canter, she took two beats and tripped... But so did I, because it was in the snow that was almost a foot deep and iced over the top. She was wonderfully connected. Lately, without being able to play, a few fear/trust related issues have popped up again but that is because the only time I see her really is chore time- and sometimes "chore time" turns into "hurry it's so freaking cold outside, get the horses in the barn, feed them, hurry hurry hurry time". Finale has been becoming much lighter and her nervous moments are very few and far between. Hope is leading much nicer and following a feel so much better than she was before. I do not have any timed goals, but I do know where I want to go with all of them.
There are a couple people that we are helping getting started with Parelli. Their names are Teresa and Anna Hanes- mother and daughter. I am really psyched about showing them some of the stuff because they have begun to have some leading and dominance issues with their gelding Basanji. Liberty doesn't always want to be caught, and Shiraz doesn't always want to do things for you. I think that all three of their horses would improve dramatically since they're already really nice horses. They're three beautiful bay Arabian horses and I know that they would appreciate having the relationship and trust in their humans very much.
My friend Aubrey has asked me to continue teaching her, which I am very happy about. She likes horses but is not terribly familiar with them other than camp and hippo-therapy horses. I am planning on teaching her how to understand how the minds of horses trigger their actions and how to deal with them accordingly at first. We will go from there.
Julia and I's one year "anniversary" of meeting each other will be coming up! We met each other somewhere around my birthday last year through the Savvy Club and have been keeping in touch and forging a friendship ever since. We will have to celebrate with something- I'm thinking of balloons. If you know me, you know that I love balloons- especially red ones.
The horse course with Julia this summer is definitely a go. We will be getting together for two weeks at my house to have an all out Natural Horsemanship educational course. She's going to bring Sharlie (and hopefully Casper) to our house for these couple of weeks at the beginning of the summer. We will be helping each other with our Natural Horsemanship, studying intensely together, playing with each other's horses, etc. At first we had planned to have a Levels type deal, but with just two weeks I'm not so sure. We're definitely going to have goals and schedules and such though so that we get a lot accomplished during the course. I am super excited for this- can't wait.
Even if we don't get a trailer, I have gone on a trail ride with Teresa and Anna once and will be going on them as often as possible. They don't invite us to go very often, but when they do I will be looking forward to it. Cherish is an amazing little trail horse.
I am in the process of developing a natural way to train our dogs. So far I have come up with some things for Sarge and Ruby, but Georgia still has me lost. Georgia and Sarge are both rescue dogs, but Georgia more so even though she didn't come from a rescue shelter. She found us, but when she did she was petrified of humans and would only permit us near because she was too afraid to run. She was terrified of all loud noises, all things that moved too fast, and all things that moved towards her. When you try to make the wrong thing uncomfortable for her she goes so far introverted it's crazy. I will be playing with them more often to try to continue to perfect my dogmanship, which is far lacking compared to my horsemanship.
My room, my computer files, my writing, and everything as a whole in my life has become and is continually becoming more and more organized. For a while I was extremely disorganized but have found that I love organization. I had always loved organization until about two years ago when I decided it wasn't worth the effort anymore, but have realized that it definitely is. My room is organized and typically stays clean. I have organized and cleaned the tack room, which I am loving now. The hay loft has been organized. My mind is more organized now. My computer files actually make sense... And I just have a whole lot less crap everywhere. I got rid of the things that I know that I don't need or want and kept the things that I really love. My large room looks very empty right now. I still haven't gotten everything out of it yet... I was inspired to become more organized and less junky after reading the "Miss Minimalist" blog. http://www.missminimalist.com/
I have been avidly studying Parelli Natural Horsemanship and becoming more curious and looking into other Natural Horsemen/women out there. A couple that I have come up with are Carolyn Resnick and Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling. Even during this mucky weather my knowledge and savvy has definitely grown.
I have become a much more responsible person overall. I decided to do this because I got fed up with pretending to watch myself and being aggravated at what I saw. Every time I would pretend to be watching the situation from another person's viewpoint- I was a complete slacker. I typically don't talk back, do what I'm told, finish my homework, study for tests, keep up my chores and responsibilities, take care of the horses, make sure my room is clean, clean up the dishes... I have been trying to be really good about even little stuff like this because it can make a big difference. I don't like having to be pestered all the time about "Kara, do your laundry." I would much rather just do it on my own... This has helped me a lot and made me much more content with myself.
So let's see... I have accomplished improving myself, coming to a point of peace in my life, and de-cluttering/organizing my stuff. I have become much more dedicated of a Natural Horsemanship student (not that I wasn't before, I just didn't study it as often) and a much better student/more responsible person. I have created a friendship (Julia) in the last year and know that it will probably last for a while. I am beginning the creation of a playground, wishing for a trailer, and planning for a two week horse course with Julia. I have goals with the horses and know where I am going. I have three "students" lined up, for my mom and I to introduce to Natural Horsemanship. On top of all of this, I am in the process of creating my own version of "Natural Dogmanship". I'm also studying psychology and philosophy on my own and taking a class on computer programming and scripting. I read all the time, write all the time, and love to take pictures but have a hard time doing it consistently.
I guess you could say that was my look into the past and the things for this year... I know, I'm supposed to do it at the beginning of January, but I didn't feel like it until now.
I am hoping that we will be able to get a trailer... Question is, where will we get the money?
Cherish is starting to show some great qualities for Liberty. She is becoming very sensitive now and usually when I am leading her I just throw the rope over her back. I have not been able to play with her very much because of the icy/slushy/mucky/snowy weather and being sick on and off ever since just before Christmas break, but the last time I did I was just starting to get sick again. My head was pounding, I felt like I had a fever in the teens (temperature), my throat was sore, etc... But I was able to ask her for a Circling game and she was going around me at a nice trot in a small circle around me with a 12' line. We started to play Stick to Me. I asked her for a canter, she took two beats and tripped... But so did I, because it was in the snow that was almost a foot deep and iced over the top. She was wonderfully connected. Lately, without being able to play, a few fear/trust related issues have popped up again but that is because the only time I see her really is chore time- and sometimes "chore time" turns into "hurry it's so freaking cold outside, get the horses in the barn, feed them, hurry hurry hurry time". Finale has been becoming much lighter and her nervous moments are very few and far between. Hope is leading much nicer and following a feel so much better than she was before. I do not have any timed goals, but I do know where I want to go with all of them.
There are a couple people that we are helping getting started with Parelli. Their names are Teresa and Anna Hanes- mother and daughter. I am really psyched about showing them some of the stuff because they have begun to have some leading and dominance issues with their gelding Basanji. Liberty doesn't always want to be caught, and Shiraz doesn't always want to do things for you. I think that all three of their horses would improve dramatically since they're already really nice horses. They're three beautiful bay Arabian horses and I know that they would appreciate having the relationship and trust in their humans very much.
My friend Aubrey has asked me to continue teaching her, which I am very happy about. She likes horses but is not terribly familiar with them other than camp and hippo-therapy horses. I am planning on teaching her how to understand how the minds of horses trigger their actions and how to deal with them accordingly at first. We will go from there.
Julia and I's one year "anniversary" of meeting each other will be coming up! We met each other somewhere around my birthday last year through the Savvy Club and have been keeping in touch and forging a friendship ever since. We will have to celebrate with something- I'm thinking of balloons. If you know me, you know that I love balloons- especially red ones.
The horse course with Julia this summer is definitely a go. We will be getting together for two weeks at my house to have an all out Natural Horsemanship educational course. She's going to bring Sharlie (and hopefully Casper) to our house for these couple of weeks at the beginning of the summer. We will be helping each other with our Natural Horsemanship, studying intensely together, playing with each other's horses, etc. At first we had planned to have a Levels type deal, but with just two weeks I'm not so sure. We're definitely going to have goals and schedules and such though so that we get a lot accomplished during the course. I am super excited for this- can't wait.
Even if we don't get a trailer, I have gone on a trail ride with Teresa and Anna once and will be going on them as often as possible. They don't invite us to go very often, but when they do I will be looking forward to it. Cherish is an amazing little trail horse.
I am in the process of developing a natural way to train our dogs. So far I have come up with some things for Sarge and Ruby, but Georgia still has me lost. Georgia and Sarge are both rescue dogs, but Georgia more so even though she didn't come from a rescue shelter. She found us, but when she did she was petrified of humans and would only permit us near because she was too afraid to run. She was terrified of all loud noises, all things that moved too fast, and all things that moved towards her. When you try to make the wrong thing uncomfortable for her she goes so far introverted it's crazy. I will be playing with them more often to try to continue to perfect my dogmanship, which is far lacking compared to my horsemanship.
My room, my computer files, my writing, and everything as a whole in my life has become and is continually becoming more and more organized. For a while I was extremely disorganized but have found that I love organization. I had always loved organization until about two years ago when I decided it wasn't worth the effort anymore, but have realized that it definitely is. My room is organized and typically stays clean. I have organized and cleaned the tack room, which I am loving now. The hay loft has been organized. My mind is more organized now. My computer files actually make sense... And I just have a whole lot less crap everywhere. I got rid of the things that I know that I don't need or want and kept the things that I really love. My large room looks very empty right now. I still haven't gotten everything out of it yet... I was inspired to become more organized and less junky after reading the "Miss Minimalist" blog. http://www.missminimalist.com/
I have been avidly studying Parelli Natural Horsemanship and becoming more curious and looking into other Natural Horsemen/women out there. A couple that I have come up with are Carolyn Resnick and Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling. Even during this mucky weather my knowledge and savvy has definitely grown.
I have become a much more responsible person overall. I decided to do this because I got fed up with pretending to watch myself and being aggravated at what I saw. Every time I would pretend to be watching the situation from another person's viewpoint- I was a complete slacker. I typically don't talk back, do what I'm told, finish my homework, study for tests, keep up my chores and responsibilities, take care of the horses, make sure my room is clean, clean up the dishes... I have been trying to be really good about even little stuff like this because it can make a big difference. I don't like having to be pestered all the time about "Kara, do your laundry." I would much rather just do it on my own... This has helped me a lot and made me much more content with myself.
So let's see... I have accomplished improving myself, coming to a point of peace in my life, and de-cluttering/organizing my stuff. I have become much more dedicated of a Natural Horsemanship student (not that I wasn't before, I just didn't study it as often) and a much better student/more responsible person. I have created a friendship (Julia) in the last year and know that it will probably last for a while. I am beginning the creation of a playground, wishing for a trailer, and planning for a two week horse course with Julia. I have goals with the horses and know where I am going. I have three "students" lined up, for my mom and I to introduce to Natural Horsemanship. On top of all of this, I am in the process of creating my own version of "Natural Dogmanship". I'm also studying psychology and philosophy on my own and taking a class on computer programming and scripting. I read all the time, write all the time, and love to take pictures but have a hard time doing it consistently.
I guess you could say that was my look into the past and the things for this year... I know, I'm supposed to do it at the beginning of January, but I didn't feel like it until now.
I have been meaning to write this here. This took place on Monday the 17th.
I stepped outside into the warmer-than-usual weather. Snow still dusted the ground but was melting in patches. The girls had heard the door open and close. I grabbed a bright blue saucer (like a child's sled- circular and with a handle on the front) as a second thought and navigated through the beautiful soggy land. When I reached the fence, I glanced at the beautiful creatures who were gazing at me in wonder. With my writing and drawing notepads, I stepped through the fence and situated myself on the snowy hill that looked down over the horses. I did not look at them again, but instead just sat on my saucer and went at writing. My legs gently laid in front of me, each one bent a bit. The muddy, torn boots that I wore on my feet made me smile for a moment before I heard the beat of a trot coming closer. My head raised to show the gorgeous Finale slowing from her trot and into a soft walk. Her first expression was curiosity- I had never done this before with her. She gently halted just in front of me and lowered her head. Instead of raising my hand to greet her, I began to sing as I sometimes do with the horses. The song that escaped from my lips was soft and quiet, not contained by words. When I sing like this, it is not from what I have heard or what I wish to be like but is instead a reflection of my inner-self. My inner-self is not just my current emotion but my personality and character as a whole. It was calming, peaceful, content, whimsical, and felt like a tune you would hear out of a fairytale. I had not noticed that I had closed my eyes until I opened them to Finale with her eyes closed. There was never a break in my song but only growing fascination. Finale appeared to be half asleep, as I must have been as well, but fully here both mentally and emotionally. I say "half asleep" because that is often a place used when referring to being completely at calm and at a feeling of rest. As the song continued, she carefully stepped closer to me as if she were of great strength and she had been given a china doll to hold. Her head was now at my level and she was open-eyed. Very carefully, she took my arm in under her nose and lifted it. Her head was at an odd angle to support the weight of my arm, as it was limp and would have fallen if she had let it. After a minute or two of this, she gently laid it back in my lap. Her eyes were then attracted to what was in under my writing notebook. She lifted the notebook gently with her mouth. At first I grabbed for it, not wanting her (tending to be) mischievous self to take my notebook and run off with it, parading it around thinking she was so smart. After a moment she got this really soft look in her face and I knew that she was not going to take it anywhere. She dropped it on the side of my lap, just far enough to where she would be able to see the drawing notebook in underneath. Her head tilted as if she were trying to study the drawing with great focus and wonder. My voice continued to sing still, but now to her about the drawing. She felt it with her nose, as if she were feeling it with her hands. I let her do this and then gaze at it again before she nosed the writing notebook back over it. My song changed again after a minute, more similar to the one before and without words. Cherish walked over and lowered her head, sniffing over my shoulders and the rest of me. Finale gave her a minute before she decided that Cherish was too close. She watched were she stepped and walked carefully around me, guiding Cherish away. When Hope came, she did the same. She then returned and put her nose on my shoulder and on the back of my neck after that, letting it rest there. All I felt was a soft joy and full peace. Finale moved her head back to my lap and fell asleep completely this time. When she awoke and stepped back, I agreed that it was time to part. This was the first time I offered my hand to her. As always, my fingers were bent downwards. She gently rolled my hand over and put her nose in my palm. We stood there for a moment like that before I stroked her forehead, shoulder, back and down the side once before turning and walking away in song. Finale watched me go and turned when I was safely out of the fence. I whispered a thank you to her from here, even though I knew I had already thanked her with that wonderful stroke, and she had thanked me with the gesture of putting her nose in my palm to rest.
What a wonderful world we live in.
I stepped outside into the warmer-than-usual weather. Snow still dusted the ground but was melting in patches. The girls had heard the door open and close. I grabbed a bright blue saucer (like a child's sled- circular and with a handle on the front) as a second thought and navigated through the beautiful soggy land. When I reached the fence, I glanced at the beautiful creatures who were gazing at me in wonder. With my writing and drawing notepads, I stepped through the fence and situated myself on the snowy hill that looked down over the horses. I did not look at them again, but instead just sat on my saucer and went at writing. My legs gently laid in front of me, each one bent a bit. The muddy, torn boots that I wore on my feet made me smile for a moment before I heard the beat of a trot coming closer. My head raised to show the gorgeous Finale slowing from her trot and into a soft walk. Her first expression was curiosity- I had never done this before with her. She gently halted just in front of me and lowered her head. Instead of raising my hand to greet her, I began to sing as I sometimes do with the horses. The song that escaped from my lips was soft and quiet, not contained by words. When I sing like this, it is not from what I have heard or what I wish to be like but is instead a reflection of my inner-self. My inner-self is not just my current emotion but my personality and character as a whole. It was calming, peaceful, content, whimsical, and felt like a tune you would hear out of a fairytale. I had not noticed that I had closed my eyes until I opened them to Finale with her eyes closed. There was never a break in my song but only growing fascination. Finale appeared to be half asleep, as I must have been as well, but fully here both mentally and emotionally. I say "half asleep" because that is often a place used when referring to being completely at calm and at a feeling of rest. As the song continued, she carefully stepped closer to me as if she were of great strength and she had been given a china doll to hold. Her head was now at my level and she was open-eyed. Very carefully, she took my arm in under her nose and lifted it. Her head was at an odd angle to support the weight of my arm, as it was limp and would have fallen if she had let it. After a minute or two of this, she gently laid it back in my lap. Her eyes were then attracted to what was in under my writing notebook. She lifted the notebook gently with her mouth. At first I grabbed for it, not wanting her (tending to be) mischievous self to take my notebook and run off with it, parading it around thinking she was so smart. After a moment she got this really soft look in her face and I knew that she was not going to take it anywhere. She dropped it on the side of my lap, just far enough to where she would be able to see the drawing notebook in underneath. Her head tilted as if she were trying to study the drawing with great focus and wonder. My voice continued to sing still, but now to her about the drawing. She felt it with her nose, as if she were feeling it with her hands. I let her do this and then gaze at it again before she nosed the writing notebook back over it. My song changed again after a minute, more similar to the one before and without words. Cherish walked over and lowered her head, sniffing over my shoulders and the rest of me. Finale gave her a minute before she decided that Cherish was too close. She watched were she stepped and walked carefully around me, guiding Cherish away. When Hope came, she did the same. She then returned and put her nose on my shoulder and on the back of my neck after that, letting it rest there. All I felt was a soft joy and full peace. Finale moved her head back to my lap and fell asleep completely this time. When she awoke and stepped back, I agreed that it was time to part. This was the first time I offered my hand to her. As always, my fingers were bent downwards. She gently rolled my hand over and put her nose in my palm. We stood there for a moment like that before I stroked her forehead, shoulder, back and down the side once before turning and walking away in song. Finale watched me go and turned when I was safely out of the fence. I whispered a thank you to her from here, even though I knew I had already thanked her with that wonderful stroke, and she had thanked me with the gesture of putting her nose in my palm to rest.
What a wonderful world we live in.
Friday, January 14, 2011
On the Other Hand
You have flowers and then you have dirt.
Flowers- the things most loved by house wives. You walk into the every day American home and see flowers on the window sill, flowers in a vase, flowers on the pillows, flowers on the decorative lamp, flowers carved into the wood shelves, flowers on the fancy plates, flowers on the kitchen table, flowers next to the bathroom sink, flowers next to her side of the bed, flowers painted in her child's bedroom, flowers outside of her window, flowers just before her front door in her tiny garden bed. They are worshiped over throughout the day, fiddled with to get them standing in just the right direction so that the light hits them perfectly. They are moved and moved back to look just perfect in just the right place. Great thought is put into the average woman's flower scheming.
Dirt- the thing most hated by house wives. They toil day and night to get it out of their house. "Leave your boots outside the door!" yells the mother from upstairs, as she is dusting the dirt off of the wood furniture. Taking your outside coat off is a general rule. The dog runs in the door and the woman of the house gasps in horror- you would think she had just seen a monster. To her, she has. There are tiny bacterial monsters all over her just mopped white tile kitchen floor, beautifully cleaned and scrubbed for hours, and now that - beast - of her husband's and the kid's has trod it's disgusting filth all over her tile. How dare it!
It's ironic that the two things vital to each other are thought of as such opposites by the average American woman. Without the roots of flowers, the dirt would wash away constantly and there would be no top soil left. Without dirt, flowers would not be able to live for longer than a few days- which is about all they live in a vase of water. Dirt carries the nutrients that the flowers need to live, and when they die the flowers return the nutrients to the soil. They depend upon each other. It is a cycle of opposites being equal.
In one hand, you have a pile of dirt. In the other hand, you have a small pick of daisies and wildflowers. Most people would pick up the flowers- the woman for herself and the husband in some form of forgiveness to the woman because he spilled beer on his wife's wood floor and it has now stained there. Most people do not stop to think that your flowers will die shortly without the dirt that you hold in the other. No one said that you had to pick one or the other- so why not pick both the dirt and the flowers? Your flowers will last so much longer and you will be able to enjoy them for months, instead of just days. Yet still... we pick up the flowers.
Often times in life we see situations like this- the dirt usually being the past and the flowers usually being the future. Why would we not associate the present with the flowers? The human race, although not willing to admit, is generally very pessimistic when in the safety of their own brains. Your past or present may not be so grand as you wish it to be, but this does not mean that you should shame it with the pointing of your finger and the nagging mother voice inside of us all going, "That is dirt and dirt shall NOT be here in MY presence." Why do we assume that we are too good for the dirt? Humans constantly glorify themselves, and as they do so unknowingly diminish their greatness. The dirt, although usually not thought of as attractive as the flower, is so much more practical. Without the dirt, we would not be here and we would not be going anywhere either. The dirt is the best thing that has ever happened to us, and the flower can only come with the dirt. The average housewife does not notice all of the beautiful flowers that she has set all over her house because she is too busy worrying about how to keep the dirt out. It is the same with the average human's brain- our brain tries to expel and denounce whatever it thinks is unworthy and glorify whatever it thinks is worthy. While becoming so busy expelling and denouncing it puts the worthy thing on the "back burner" because it is so focused on the unworthy. This makes the unworthy ultimately the more important and greater.
On the contrary, there are those who tell us to only focus on the worthy. Look towards the future, dream about the future, care about the future. If you only put the future in the limelight, how will you ever get there? You will spend all of your life dreaming and dreaming and you will never realize how the dirt of your yesterdays has helped you get to your today... So many people never realize that TODAY is their garden. Today is where you may plant new flowers, bring in more dirt. Either way your garden will look more beautiful, just in different ways. Without any dirt of the world there would be no flowers and no humans... and furthermore, no horses. You may think things in your life are "good" or "bad" but those two words are too shallow to describe it. They all create your todays, make your yesterdays, and eventually feed your tomorrows. How will you ever have specific flowers if you do not have a garden? How will you ever have a garden if you had no dirt in the first place? Of course your past will contain both flowers and dirt and your future will contain more to come, but today is your garden and it is your choice what you make of it and how well it is taken care of.
I hope this made sense to someone.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Challenge
Alright, yes, you are supposed to do this day by day but... I'm too impatient for that. I'll just do it all in one post. :D
PNH BLOG CHALLENGE
Day 1-How did you find PNH
Hope was at the time an extreme RBE/LBE and we had her at a friend's house. This woman was actually Teresa, who took Cherish and I on a trail ride about a week ago. We weren't finding any answers and Hope wasn't improving at all. She let us borrow her Parelli Level 1 set and we couldn't go back from there. We knew it was the right thing to do and Hope has now improved dramatically. She is very mild and calm now, and very happy with Natural Horsemanship. I can't ever go back to treating horses normally.
Day 2-What is your favorite savvy and why
Even though I haven't gotten very far with it, I love to play with the horses at Liberty. I also love the Horsenalities savvy arrow that I have because I have used it literally everywhere I go.
Day 3-What is your partners favorite game
Cherish has recently decided that she loves to play the Stick to Me game, but we also enjoy the other various games.
Day 4-One BFO (blinding flash of the obvious) moment you've had
Oh wow.... Hmm... Probably when I finally realized that I was being too direct lined and even though I always used Phase 1, was still WAY too "loud" for my RBI. Everything that I did, I thought I was being so light, but to Cherish it was like I was SCREAMING at her.
Day 5-What is your favorite DVD, Celebration, Tour Stop etc..etc…moment
I love to watch the Live Celebration DVD. I also really liked the Liberty and Horse Behavior set too. I haven't actually been to any Celebrations or Tour Stops.
Day 6- What is your dream with your horse
My dream is to have Cherish to be connected enough to me that I can ride her on an Endurance ride bridle less.
For Hope, I want to be confident enough to ride her at back up, halt, walk, trot, and canter in Freestyle. The past that I have had with Hope has definitely influenced our present. She is the only horse I still have confidence issues with when riding.
For Finale, I want to have her trust me and care about me enough to play at Liberty in a pasture and not have her leave.
Day 7-A time you turned a moment of frustration into a moment of "Hmm How Interesting?"
Cherish used to go explosive every time I played the Circling Game with her. One day, I thought "Hmm... How interesting." When I finally started to use more neutral and make it more fun with obstacles and traveling circles, she improved dramatically.
Day 8-What is your horsenality, what is your partners horsenality and how do you make them work together
My personality is actually RBI/LBI innate. If you look at the RB/LB characteristics of the human brain, one side is analytical and the other is artistic. I have both. Cherish is a RBI who can switch to any of the other three horsenalities very quickly. We actually go together very wonderfully. Hope is an innate RBE with some learned LBI tendencies. This has been an interesting mix and has definitely taken more savvy on my part. Finale is a LBE with learned RBI tendencies. She is fun to play with and I am able to let my "fun" side shine. I am able to get really hyped up and creative with her, but also have to withdraw at times.
Day 9-A moment you have had with your partner that would not have been possible without PNH
Plenty. With Hope, I am able to play with her for hours at all the gaits. Before I couldn't even lead her at a walk on a six foot lead rope. She was terrified of two things: Everything that moved and everything that didn't.
When I got Cherish, I couldn't even come near her in the stall, much less the pasture. In the stall she threatened to kick (out of fear) every time, in the pasture she would just walk away. She learned the seven games fairly quickly but I had to go very slow because she would explode at any moment if you did just the wrong thing. She has definitely taught me to be light and neutral- two things that I never had before. She only knew how to be ridden by kicking to GO and I mean GO, pulling really hard to whoa, and neck reining her to turn. I had to teach her all of the new aids... I have ridden her bridle less several times (in the pasture), taken her on a trail ride (where she did wonderful and even impressed the endurance people who I was riding with), played with her at Liberty, and gotten really far On Line.
With Finale, simply getting her out of the pasture and home safely would have been impossible if it weren't for our savvy. We have had some good times On Line, but we still aren't very far with her thanks to the wonderful winter land weather we have been getting.
Day 10-Post your favorite picture of you and your partner and write about it
I don't have very many pictures of me with any of the horses because I am the family photographer. This is a picture of Cherish and I that my mom took. I love it because she just set her face into my arms... This never would have been possible without Parelli.
Day 11-Pat and Linda don't where a helmet….do you? Why or Why Not?
I always wear a helmet because I know what can happen to someone when you don't. I have had many falls in the past, but one in particular that most likely would have caused brain damages if I hadn't been wearing a helmet.
Day 12-Your favorite horsenality to play with and why?
I love to play with all of the horsenality. It is probably a little biased to say that I love playing with RBIs because of Cherish. I also love to play with LBIs, which I found out recently. It's a great puzzle to solve and once you get to their mind, it is really easy to get to their feet.
Day 13-Post a video (could be an audition) of you playing with your horse
I actually do not have one.
Day 14-What PNH tools, clothing, tack etc. do you own?
I have a RBI T-shirt- "Be gentle with me." I also have three 12' lines, a 22' line, 9' foal handling and get down string, 9' tie line, plenty of savvy strings, three Carrot Sticks, two Cradle Bridles with two C2 bits (for Hope and Cherish), three 9' Finesse reins, a Confidence Bit, a Sweet Iron Snaffle Bit, and so many DVD sets, SC DVDs, SC Audio CDs, and Savvy Times... I can't even count.
Day 15-How is PNH perceived where you live, board or ride at?
We have our horses in our backyard, so our barn is a PNH only barn. Any horse that steps foot here will be treated with savvy, love, language, leadership, and lightness, and any person that steps foot here must at least be kind to the horses- if they don't know how to be savvy.
Day 16-What is the most challenging horsenality for you to work with?
Definitely the RBE horse.
Day 17-What is your favorite game
I love to play all of the games...
Day 18-A time you have seen Pat & Linda live. If you have not seem them live would you like to, what do you think it would be like?
I have not seen them live. If I saw them on the street, it wouldn't be too big of a deal because I'm not the type of person who gets really "celebrity oriented". If I saw them playing with their horses, now that would be cool. I love to watch people being Natural with horses and the more chances I get to see it, the more I enjoy it.
Day 19-A time you were able to help a "normal" horse or horseman using PNH
A friend in Mississippi was having problems working with and riding her Arabian/Appaloosa cross. This horse was a LBI with some learned RBI tendencies. I had that horse doing some Level 3 things for me On Line within fifteen or thirty minutes, and we must have played for a couple hours. When I rode her, she was very LBI but I had her doing everything for me that I asked her to.
Day 20-A PNH clinic or lesson that was inspirational. If you have not been to a clinic or had a lesson what educational material has been particularly inspiring
I love to watch all of the materials that we have. They have all helped me at different times. We have a great PNH library.
Day 21-Criticism you have about the PNH program
There is the problem of prices. It tends to be pretty expensive and even when they said that they would drop the prices, it didn't really seem like it. All it did was shush the public. I would love to see them making their courses more affordable because as of right now it seems I will never be able to afford it.
Day 22-How do you explain PNH when people ask what you are doing with your horse
It depends upon the person. I have to treat different people differently- there are some people who want to hear about the dream, some who want to hear about the systems and levels, some who want to hear about the different horsenalities, some who want to hear how far you can go, and some who want to hear about my personal experience. You have to treat each person differently.
Day 23-SADDLING: do you use the PNH saddle and/or theraflex pad if not what do you ride in and what does your horse think of it
I do not, but I do use a barefoot saddle and barefoot saddle pad. Because this saddle was designed to morph to the horse's back, my girls absolutely love this saddle and so has any other horse that I have ridden in it.
Day 24-A time PNH made things harder for you and your horse
Everything is so much easier in the long run. It may have taken more effort and time from myself but it was all so worth it.
Day 25-What is the most challenging aspect of your relationship with your horse
Cherish will still switch to the other three horsenalities frequently and I think that she will continue to. I have to morph myself and make myself flexible to deal with each horsenality that she shows. I have to be so very light because if I suggest too much, in the wrong way, or with too much pressure she switches on me.
Day 26-What is your favorite obstacle to play with
I love creating things out of different obstacles. For example, we have drainage pipes left over from building our house. I put each end of the drainage pipe (probably 12' long when stretched out?) on a different cone and made a squeeze game out of it.
Day 27-A time you have impressed someone with your PNH skills
Just recently, when Cherish did so wonderful on her first trail ride.
Day 28-Love, Language, Leadership: what is the easiest for you and what is the most challenging
When I was starting out, language was the hardest for me to display. I would not say that any of these are challenging for me now.
Day 29-If you could ride one of Pat or Linda's horses which one would it be and why?
To tell the truth, I don't think I would want to ride Pat or Linda's horses. I would not be a partner to this horse, nor would I be used to its horsenality. Why ride a horse that is a stranger to you?
Day 30-What have you learned about yourself since you have started doing PNH
I have learned a lot about myself... Especially with how nervous I can get. I have also learned how to control my direct lined and more dominant behaviors around people. I am two extremes- I used to be either way too assertive and argumentative, or be too timid and give in very easily. I have learned how to balance out my personality more now... But have kept the good things, like insight, very extreme.
ORIGINAL EQUESTRIAN BLOG CHALLENGE
Day 01- When and why you started riding
I started taking riding lessons when I was four years old. I was always begging for riding lessons, always begging to pet a horse, always begging to go and have a pony ride. I was bitten by the horse bug at birth...
Day 02- The last time you rode a horse and what you did
I rode Cherish on the trail ride. I left the reins on her withers just in case (riding her in the Cradle Bridle) and had the savvy string around her neck. I was using my legs, seat, and energy most of the time. I only had to use the reins a few times when we got near the roads and then when we had to go underneath a tunnel bridge with traffic above.
Day 03- A video of your best riding
Once again, I have no videos.
Day 04- A ride that impacted your life
The first time I rode a horse after I lost all of my confidence- on the same horse that had originally taught me to ride. He had carried me with caution then and carried me with caution again when I was beginning to take steps to gain back my confidence. He died when I had gained just enough confidence to go on and be around other horses.
Day 05- Your first fall
I really can't remember.
Day 06- All the tack and riding clothes you have (brand/color/other details)
Oh, I don't know. I have a lot of Parelli stuff. We have an HDR saddle but never use it because it doesn't fit our girls. I wear Kerrets Jodphurs when I wear jodphurs. Usually, now, I just wear jeans with half chaps.
Day 07- Your favorite ribbon won at a show and why
The Champion ribbon that I got at the Harmon Hopefuls show- it wasn't a big show and for most people was a "practice" or "training" show, but I really enjoyed myself.
Day 08- A little about the barn/stable you ride at
I ride and play with our horses at home. We are all natural here and only have ourselves. We don't have any boarders, but friends are welcome when we invite them to play. We have a four stall barn that I designed, a small-ish arena, two pastures that are each about four and a half acres, and are getting our playground put together in the backfield that we have. We also have a forest of pine trees that we are hoping to thin out in a few years so that we can ride through it.
Day 09- Any injuries that occurred from riding
I never got any outward injuries, but I did get a concussion.
Day 10- How your family/friends feel about your riding
I think it has scared my dad ever since I started. My mom loves it because she can play and ride with me- she also loves horses and plays with Finale and Hope all the time. My friends are okay with it, some of them think it's cool. I have a couple friends who have horses- one that is natural and one that isn't. They both think that it is really cool that I have the relationship that I do with my horses.
Day 11- Find a horse for sale online that you would want to buy
I would love to be able to have a foal at some point, imprint on it, and eventually take it into competitions. This would probably be later in life because we don't have the set up that I would want for the foal here. The foal would most likely be a Canadian Warmblood, Irish Sport Horse, or otherwise Warmblood/Arabian cross. I would also love to rescue horses, and am hoping to be able to rescue a horse before I leave for college. I will most likely rescue an Arabian because they are one of my favorite breeds.
Day 12- Favorite horse color
I started writing them but realized that I was about to write all of the colors of horses on here. The only ones I really don't care for are the lighter duns/buckskins or the pintos with the large, round spots.
Day 13- A video of your worst riding
Once again- no videos.
Day 14- Your dream barn/farm
I wrote about it in the last post.
Day 15- If you could speak to any horse, dead or alive, what would you say?
I wouldn't. That's the beauty of horses- you don't have to use your words.
Day 16- Your most recent fall
The last time I fell was pre-Parelli. I am so fluid on a horse that I usually don't fall off, but most of the time I realize the warning signs and deal with it before it gets too bad.
Day 17- Your equestrian idol
I don't have an idol.
Day 18- Your grooming routine
The horse doesn't care about a routine. I don't either. I do groom them usually every other day though.
Day 19- A discipline you would like to do that you’ve never done before
Reining seems fun, and I would love to try Endurance. I would also love to get back into Dressage and Jumping, but I guess that doesn't count because I've done/started that before.
Day 20- Your favorite horse show
I don't know.
Day 21- Your perfect schooling outfit
Haha.
Day 22- The importance of riding in your life
The importance of horses and the partnership I share with them is far beyond the importance of riding.
Day 23- Critique a famous/well known equestrian’s jumping round of your choosing
No thanks.
Day 24- Your best riding friend
I enjoy riding with different people because each experience is different.
Day 25- Your dream trailer
I would love to have a trailer that you could change the angle of the slant so that the horse wasn't always falling on one shoulder. I would also love to be able to have a trailer where the horses were loaded backwards, because they would prefer to be either sideways or backwards.
Day 26- Biggest riding pet peeve
When people bounce all over the horses back, pull on their mouths too much, have all these gadgets to tie the horse's head down, etc, etc.
Day 27- You know your an equestrian when….. (Give 5 original ones)
You come in with hair on your seat, you have more saddle leather cleaner than Windex, you pass up friends for riding days, you find yourself thinking about the newest challenge you have with your horse and how you're going to go about it while in Biology class...
Day 28- Helmet or no helmet?
Helmet.
Day 29- A style/trend in tack/riding appearal that you don’t like
Shiny sequins ALL OVER the western shirts, with the shiny half chaps, giant red lips, red cheeks, shiny blue eye liner, colored saddles... ugh.
Day 30- Your Future With Horses
Wherever I want it to go. [:
PNH BLOG CHALLENGE
Day 1-How did you find PNH
Hope was at the time an extreme RBE/LBE and we had her at a friend's house. This woman was actually Teresa, who took Cherish and I on a trail ride about a week ago. We weren't finding any answers and Hope wasn't improving at all. She let us borrow her Parelli Level 1 set and we couldn't go back from there. We knew it was the right thing to do and Hope has now improved dramatically. She is very mild and calm now, and very happy with Natural Horsemanship. I can't ever go back to treating horses normally.
Day 2-What is your favorite savvy and why
Even though I haven't gotten very far with it, I love to play with the horses at Liberty. I also love the Horsenalities savvy arrow that I have because I have used it literally everywhere I go.
Day 3-What is your partners favorite game
Cherish has recently decided that she loves to play the Stick to Me game, but we also enjoy the other various games.
Day 4-One BFO (blinding flash of the obvious) moment you've had
Oh wow.... Hmm... Probably when I finally realized that I was being too direct lined and even though I always used Phase 1, was still WAY too "loud" for my RBI. Everything that I did, I thought I was being so light, but to Cherish it was like I was SCREAMING at her.
Day 5-What is your favorite DVD, Celebration, Tour Stop etc..etc…moment
I love to watch the Live Celebration DVD. I also really liked the Liberty and Horse Behavior set too. I haven't actually been to any Celebrations or Tour Stops.
Day 6- What is your dream with your horse
My dream is to have Cherish to be connected enough to me that I can ride her on an Endurance ride bridle less.
For Hope, I want to be confident enough to ride her at back up, halt, walk, trot, and canter in Freestyle. The past that I have had with Hope has definitely influenced our present. She is the only horse I still have confidence issues with when riding.
For Finale, I want to have her trust me and care about me enough to play at Liberty in a pasture and not have her leave.
Day 7-A time you turned a moment of frustration into a moment of "Hmm How Interesting?"
Cherish used to go explosive every time I played the Circling Game with her. One day, I thought "Hmm... How interesting." When I finally started to use more neutral and make it more fun with obstacles and traveling circles, she improved dramatically.
Day 8-What is your horsenality, what is your partners horsenality and how do you make them work together
My personality is actually RBI/LBI innate. If you look at the RB/LB characteristics of the human brain, one side is analytical and the other is artistic. I have both. Cherish is a RBI who can switch to any of the other three horsenalities very quickly. We actually go together very wonderfully. Hope is an innate RBE with some learned LBI tendencies. This has been an interesting mix and has definitely taken more savvy on my part. Finale is a LBE with learned RBI tendencies. She is fun to play with and I am able to let my "fun" side shine. I am able to get really hyped up and creative with her, but also have to withdraw at times.
Day 9-A moment you have had with your partner that would not have been possible without PNH
Plenty. With Hope, I am able to play with her for hours at all the gaits. Before I couldn't even lead her at a walk on a six foot lead rope. She was terrified of two things: Everything that moved and everything that didn't.
When I got Cherish, I couldn't even come near her in the stall, much less the pasture. In the stall she threatened to kick (out of fear) every time, in the pasture she would just walk away. She learned the seven games fairly quickly but I had to go very slow because she would explode at any moment if you did just the wrong thing. She has definitely taught me to be light and neutral- two things that I never had before. She only knew how to be ridden by kicking to GO and I mean GO, pulling really hard to whoa, and neck reining her to turn. I had to teach her all of the new aids... I have ridden her bridle less several times (in the pasture), taken her on a trail ride (where she did wonderful and even impressed the endurance people who I was riding with), played with her at Liberty, and gotten really far On Line.
With Finale, simply getting her out of the pasture and home safely would have been impossible if it weren't for our savvy. We have had some good times On Line, but we still aren't very far with her thanks to the wonderful winter land weather we have been getting.
Day 10-Post your favorite picture of you and your partner and write about it
Day 11-Pat and Linda don't where a helmet….do you? Why or Why Not?
I always wear a helmet because I know what can happen to someone when you don't. I have had many falls in the past, but one in particular that most likely would have caused brain damages if I hadn't been wearing a helmet.
Day 12-Your favorite horsenality to play with and why?
I love to play with all of the horsenality. It is probably a little biased to say that I love playing with RBIs because of Cherish. I also love to play with LBIs, which I found out recently. It's a great puzzle to solve and once you get to their mind, it is really easy to get to their feet.
Day 13-Post a video (could be an audition) of you playing with your horse
I actually do not have one.
Day 14-What PNH tools, clothing, tack etc. do you own?
I have a RBI T-shirt- "Be gentle with me." I also have three 12' lines, a 22' line, 9' foal handling and get down string, 9' tie line, plenty of savvy strings, three Carrot Sticks, two Cradle Bridles with two C2 bits (for Hope and Cherish), three 9' Finesse reins, a Confidence Bit, a Sweet Iron Snaffle Bit, and so many DVD sets, SC DVDs, SC Audio CDs, and Savvy Times... I can't even count.
Day 15-How is PNH perceived where you live, board or ride at?
We have our horses in our backyard, so our barn is a PNH only barn. Any horse that steps foot here will be treated with savvy, love, language, leadership, and lightness, and any person that steps foot here must at least be kind to the horses- if they don't know how to be savvy.
Day 16-What is the most challenging horsenality for you to work with?
Definitely the RBE horse.
Day 17-What is your favorite game
I love to play all of the games...
Day 18-A time you have seen Pat & Linda live. If you have not seem them live would you like to, what do you think it would be like?
I have not seen them live. If I saw them on the street, it wouldn't be too big of a deal because I'm not the type of person who gets really "celebrity oriented". If I saw them playing with their horses, now that would be cool. I love to watch people being Natural with horses and the more chances I get to see it, the more I enjoy it.
Day 19-A time you were able to help a "normal" horse or horseman using PNH
A friend in Mississippi was having problems working with and riding her Arabian/Appaloosa cross. This horse was a LBI with some learned RBI tendencies. I had that horse doing some Level 3 things for me On Line within fifteen or thirty minutes, and we must have played for a couple hours. When I rode her, she was very LBI but I had her doing everything for me that I asked her to.
Day 20-A PNH clinic or lesson that was inspirational. If you have not been to a clinic or had a lesson what educational material has been particularly inspiring
I love to watch all of the materials that we have. They have all helped me at different times. We have a great PNH library.
Day 21-Criticism you have about the PNH program
There is the problem of prices. It tends to be pretty expensive and even when they said that they would drop the prices, it didn't really seem like it. All it did was shush the public. I would love to see them making their courses more affordable because as of right now it seems I will never be able to afford it.
Day 22-How do you explain PNH when people ask what you are doing with your horse
It depends upon the person. I have to treat different people differently- there are some people who want to hear about the dream, some who want to hear about the systems and levels, some who want to hear about the different horsenalities, some who want to hear how far you can go, and some who want to hear about my personal experience. You have to treat each person differently.
Day 23-SADDLING: do you use the PNH saddle and/or theraflex pad if not what do you ride in and what does your horse think of it
I do not, but I do use a barefoot saddle and barefoot saddle pad. Because this saddle was designed to morph to the horse's back, my girls absolutely love this saddle and so has any other horse that I have ridden in it.
Day 24-A time PNH made things harder for you and your horse
Everything is so much easier in the long run. It may have taken more effort and time from myself but it was all so worth it.
Day 25-What is the most challenging aspect of your relationship with your horse
Cherish will still switch to the other three horsenalities frequently and I think that she will continue to. I have to morph myself and make myself flexible to deal with each horsenality that she shows. I have to be so very light because if I suggest too much, in the wrong way, or with too much pressure she switches on me.
Day 26-What is your favorite obstacle to play with
I love creating things out of different obstacles. For example, we have drainage pipes left over from building our house. I put each end of the drainage pipe (probably 12' long when stretched out?) on a different cone and made a squeeze game out of it.
Day 27-A time you have impressed someone with your PNH skills
Just recently, when Cherish did so wonderful on her first trail ride.
Day 28-Love, Language, Leadership: what is the easiest for you and what is the most challenging
When I was starting out, language was the hardest for me to display. I would not say that any of these are challenging for me now.
Day 29-If you could ride one of Pat or Linda's horses which one would it be and why?
To tell the truth, I don't think I would want to ride Pat or Linda's horses. I would not be a partner to this horse, nor would I be used to its horsenality. Why ride a horse that is a stranger to you?
Day 30-What have you learned about yourself since you have started doing PNH
I have learned a lot about myself... Especially with how nervous I can get. I have also learned how to control my direct lined and more dominant behaviors around people. I am two extremes- I used to be either way too assertive and argumentative, or be too timid and give in very easily. I have learned how to balance out my personality more now... But have kept the good things, like insight, very extreme.
ORIGINAL EQUESTRIAN BLOG CHALLENGE
Day 01- When and why you started riding
I started taking riding lessons when I was four years old. I was always begging for riding lessons, always begging to pet a horse, always begging to go and have a pony ride. I was bitten by the horse bug at birth...
Day 02- The last time you rode a horse and what you did
I rode Cherish on the trail ride. I left the reins on her withers just in case (riding her in the Cradle Bridle) and had the savvy string around her neck. I was using my legs, seat, and energy most of the time. I only had to use the reins a few times when we got near the roads and then when we had to go underneath a tunnel bridge with traffic above.
Day 03- A video of your best riding
Once again, I have no videos.
Day 04- A ride that impacted your life
The first time I rode a horse after I lost all of my confidence- on the same horse that had originally taught me to ride. He had carried me with caution then and carried me with caution again when I was beginning to take steps to gain back my confidence. He died when I had gained just enough confidence to go on and be around other horses.
Day 05- Your first fall
I really can't remember.
Day 06- All the tack and riding clothes you have (brand/color/other details)
Oh, I don't know. I have a lot of Parelli stuff. We have an HDR saddle but never use it because it doesn't fit our girls. I wear Kerrets Jodphurs when I wear jodphurs. Usually, now, I just wear jeans with half chaps.
Day 07- Your favorite ribbon won at a show and why
The Champion ribbon that I got at the Harmon Hopefuls show- it wasn't a big show and for most people was a "practice" or "training" show, but I really enjoyed myself.
Day 08- A little about the barn/stable you ride at
I ride and play with our horses at home. We are all natural here and only have ourselves. We don't have any boarders, but friends are welcome when we invite them to play. We have a four stall barn that I designed, a small-ish arena, two pastures that are each about four and a half acres, and are getting our playground put together in the backfield that we have. We also have a forest of pine trees that we are hoping to thin out in a few years so that we can ride through it.
Day 09- Any injuries that occurred from riding
I never got any outward injuries, but I did get a concussion.
Day 10- How your family/friends feel about your riding
I think it has scared my dad ever since I started. My mom loves it because she can play and ride with me- she also loves horses and plays with Finale and Hope all the time. My friends are okay with it, some of them think it's cool. I have a couple friends who have horses- one that is natural and one that isn't. They both think that it is really cool that I have the relationship that I do with my horses.
Day 11- Find a horse for sale online that you would want to buy
I would love to be able to have a foal at some point, imprint on it, and eventually take it into competitions. This would probably be later in life because we don't have the set up that I would want for the foal here. The foal would most likely be a Canadian Warmblood, Irish Sport Horse, or otherwise Warmblood/Arabian cross. I would also love to rescue horses, and am hoping to be able to rescue a horse before I leave for college. I will most likely rescue an Arabian because they are one of my favorite breeds.
Day 12- Favorite horse color
I started writing them but realized that I was about to write all of the colors of horses on here. The only ones I really don't care for are the lighter duns/buckskins or the pintos with the large, round spots.
Day 13- A video of your worst riding
Once again- no videos.
Day 14- Your dream barn/farm
I wrote about it in the last post.
Day 15- If you could speak to any horse, dead or alive, what would you say?
I wouldn't. That's the beauty of horses- you don't have to use your words.
Day 16- Your most recent fall
The last time I fell was pre-Parelli. I am so fluid on a horse that I usually don't fall off, but most of the time I realize the warning signs and deal with it before it gets too bad.
Day 17- Your equestrian idol
I don't have an idol.
Day 18- Your grooming routine
The horse doesn't care about a routine. I don't either. I do groom them usually every other day though.
Day 19- A discipline you would like to do that you’ve never done before
Reining seems fun, and I would love to try Endurance. I would also love to get back into Dressage and Jumping, but I guess that doesn't count because I've done/started that before.
Day 20- Your favorite horse show
I don't know.
Day 21- Your perfect schooling outfit
Haha.
Day 22- The importance of riding in your life
The importance of horses and the partnership I share with them is far beyond the importance of riding.
Day 23- Critique a famous/well known equestrian’s jumping round of your choosing
No thanks.
Day 24- Your best riding friend
I enjoy riding with different people because each experience is different.
Day 25- Your dream trailer
I would love to have a trailer that you could change the angle of the slant so that the horse wasn't always falling on one shoulder. I would also love to be able to have a trailer where the horses were loaded backwards, because they would prefer to be either sideways or backwards.
Day 26- Biggest riding pet peeve
When people bounce all over the horses back, pull on their mouths too much, have all these gadgets to tie the horse's head down, etc, etc.
Day 27- You know your an equestrian when….. (Give 5 original ones)
You come in with hair on your seat, you have more saddle leather cleaner than Windex, you pass up friends for riding days, you find yourself thinking about the newest challenge you have with your horse and how you're going to go about it while in Biology class...
Day 28- Helmet or no helmet?
Helmet.
Day 29- A style/trend in tack/riding appearal that you don’t like
Shiny sequins ALL OVER the western shirts, with the shiny half chaps, giant red lips, red cheeks, shiny blue eye liner, colored saddles... ugh.
Day 30- Your Future With Horses
Wherever I want it to go. [:
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