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.
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