Here's a cute little video from this summer in which Blondie and Rose show off how they can load themselves in our straight-haul Brenderup trailer.
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Here's a little video of the groundwork I did with Rose this weekend. The ground was still frozen so we couldn't do much, and she was pretty distracted since the rest of my family was skating off-camera, but I'm happy with her. I'm glad we got to connect after not doing much this winter, and I'm excited for what's to come this year! So this video is from our little play in the round pen on Tuesday. This is my favourite one yet but as I was re-watching other videos of Rose and I playing, I realize that we have progressed. I wasn't noticing this until I compared this video to the very first time we attempted to play at liberty (I realize I haven't actually ever explained that "at liberty" means without any ropes attaching you to each other - the horse can leave at any time. Google "Liberty Horsemanship"). The thing is, I like that I didn't realize we were progressing. I like that every day was a new experience, and that I wasn't aiming to progress or had this idea of"practicing" in my mind. I was just playing around with Rose because we both enjoy it. And I think back to when I first learned what a horse was - I didn't have a desire to ride them or make them do things, just to be with them. To stroke them. To run with them through a meadow. To feel their warm breath on my skin. To have a mutual trust and enjoyment in being together. These were only dreams to me as a child, but now they're starting to come to life because I have no expectations anymore and I'm just enjoying every moment I have with the horses. And here are some photos as well:
As always, Rose made today a thousand times better for me. My guinea pig had to be put down this afternoon so I was quite sad, and Rose cheered me right up like I knew she would. We were very connected today. My mum and I got to the barn around 7pm, and the horses were already in their stalls. It's the most beautiful sight to walk into the back end of the barn and see my two girls staring at me eagerly over their stall doors, the sunset light giving everything a copper tint, a few strands of hay hanging out of Rose's mouth. I first took Rose straight out to the lunge pen for a little play before our ride. It was so fun! We were only out there for maybe ten minutes but she was so connected to me - we're really understanding eachother's body language better. She was energetic when we were playing so I knew she'd be like that for our ride. After our little play, I brought her in and quickly put on her saddle and hackamore so that we could join my mum and Blondie out in the big arena (which is dry enough to ride in now and has very nice footing!). We had a sweaty, concentrated ride today. Rose and I practiced walk, trot, and canter transitions using only a voice command. She's getting better at not freaking out when we start cantering - I think she'd finding her balance a little better. I ride her on a loose rein most of the time, and when I first started doing that she thought that cantering on a loose rein meant galloping flat out. So now she's figuring out that she can stay calm and canter at the same time! Who knew? lol. I'm also noticing that my seat has gotten a lot more "centaur-ish" - like I'm molding into Rose's back and absorbing the motion. I used to bounce when I tried to sit the trot and hit the saddle with my bum every stride of canter, but today I rode the entire ride without my butt leaving the saddle - sitting trot and everything. It's actually quite easy now. Anyways, we had a great time in the sunset today. I wished I had brought my good camera to take some photos in the gorgeous pinkish light. Rest in peace to my little piggie Roxy - you were so sweet and up for a cuddle anytime. You never failed to make me smile <3 So today the girls got some fancy new shoes! After being barefoot all winter, it's quite a change. They sound so different walking down the concrete aisle in the barn now. I stopped by Greenhawk on my way to the barn this afternoon to buy some Quest Plus dewormer for Blondie. We got their fecal egg counts back - Rose's was 75 and Blondie's was 650! So I dewormed both of them today but Blondie got the special brand that targets the specific egg species found in her poo. Sounds kinda gross but welcome to horse ownership! After deworming, I put the girls in the roundpen to hang out and wait for the farrier to get to the barn at 3pm. Soon after putting them out there though, I realized I had fourty minutes before the farrier was due to arrive. So I went inside and brought out the bareback pad and Rose's hackamore. I laid them on the fence and went into the round pen with the girls. I was planning to ride but then Rose kinda just started playing with the bareback pad. She kept picking it up in her mouth and tossing her head around haha. (Side note: today Rose also used her dexterous lips to pick up my cellphone, a water bottle, and a brush - she was bored while getting her feet done lol). So instead of riding, the three of us ended up just playing around without any real goal in mind. I set up the video camera and had fun editing the video below. (The first half is from another day recently, second half is from today). Well today we did something a bit different. I have both the girls to myself this weekend as my mum is in Penticton, so I went out to the barn with the goal of giving them both some love and exercise. When I got there, I had the idea of taking them BOTH out on the trails at the same time. I've only done this before when I ride Rose, and "pony" Blondie - basically hold Blondie's leadrope as she follows behind Rose. But today, I thought I'd switch the roles and ride Blondie instead, and see what Rose thought of being ponied. She handled it quite well! We trotted a lot, through the fields and along the ditch. I haven't gone riding on the dyke or past the bridge at all recently because the farrier is coming on Monday to trim the girls' hooves, which means their hooves are quite long right now. So if I rode them on gravel ground, their hooves would get chipped. So soft grassy trails only right now! When we got back, it was around 5pm so I just put them in the round pen while Rob was putting out the horses' dinners in their stalls. And then, I just stayed with them in the round pen and Rose and I played a little! She was engaged and interested in what I was asking of her and it made me really happy because she wanted to play with me. She could've walked away and started grazing, but instead she stayed with me. So I was able to set up my phone camera and videoed a little bit of it. Here's the video I put together: I love making videos like these because I can go back and relive moments that I never want to forget. The song I chose is one from the soundtrack for my all-time favourite movie, "Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron." LOVE MY GIRLS
Today was the first ever time that we drove both of our horses in our own trailer! It only took six months of owning the trailer haha. But we did it! Both of the girls loaded without a problem, Rose was fine with the butt bar and ramp being done up, and we drove down the road to MacDonald beach. We just turned around in the parking lot and drove back to the barn. The whole trip was only about ten minutes, but it marked a big milestone in our horse life. Now a whole new world of possibilities has opened up to us! We could just drive out to Campbell Valley park for a trail ride, or Southlands Riding Club! Or we could drive all the way to Hope, BC to go on the Twisted Terrain Horse Park, something I've always wanted to do. We could drive them anywhere! I love our Brenderup trailer too. Everything about its design is just so clever and efficient. One thing that I discovered I really love is the window at the front of the trailer. This enables me to watch the horses through the window by just turning my head and looking out the back window of the truck. This is a photo of the girls in the trailer today: After our little adventure, we unloaded the girls and had a nice, fun, easy ride in the arena. I rode bareback and I remember having this moment where I realized how much Rose has learned since she came to me. She was so responsive to my aids and I was riding her bareback, on a loose rein. We were doing these tight turns at the trot and weaving between jumps and she's even learning to spin (basically turning on the haunches but way faster - look up western reining moves). She's also gotten very good at backing up and will back up when I move my heals back and touch them to her sides, paired with the verbal "back" command that I always say.
Yesterday Rose and I had the most wonderful ride. I drove out to the barn after lunch and when I got out of the car, the wind almost knocked me over! It gets quite windy sometimes on the Richmond floodplain where the barn is but this much wind is rare. I had basically decided right then that I wouldn't be riding, as that would be dangerous in wind that strong since the horses have a much higher chance of spooking and just acting crazy in general. The wind carries sounds and smells that the horses can't place because they came from far away, so they get alarmed and sometimes spook. Anyways, I went out to get Rose and I brought her inside. I put her saddle on just in case the wind died down once we got out there. I also marvelled at how light and shiny she's getting as she sheds her winter coat. She goes from dark brown and fuzzy to light brown and sleek in a matter of days. I took some photos of her because I wanted to see the shiny coat, but also for a conformation shot to look back on in the future: So first we did some groundwork in the arena. She backs up when I hold my finger up in the air and say the word, "back". She also plays the "circle game" at walk and trot.
She was being super calm and content, so I decided to put her hackamore on and go for a trail ride. Keep in mind, it was still extremely windy at this point. We started out down the lane and once the trail opened up to the first field, we trotted. We trotted all the way to the bridge. Rose hesitated at the bridge because there was this big pile of reeds that someone left there after pruning around the ditch and she thought it was very scary-looking. But she walked past it after a bit of coaxing and we continued on. When we got to the dyke, I asked for a trot again. About a third of the way along, Rose was trotting calmly on a loose rein and we were feeling the wind in our hair and I just gave the vocal command for canter (I hardly ever give any other cue for canter other than my voice now) and she happily jumped right into it. I crouched down low, with my hands grabbing her mane and my chin close to her neck, and just let her rip. Rose galloped down the dyke and it was the most beautiful scene. The sunshine, the powerful wind whipping the trees around, the sound of Rose's hooves thudding on the ground, the feel of her mane tickling my face, the nature around us. It was breathtaking and I realized how lucky I am in that moment. I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've been given and I truly treated life as a gift today. After our big gallop, Rose walked back home on a loose rein again! I would've thought she'd be at least a big crazy because of the wind, but she was calm as ever. It's amazing that I can take her out by herself when it's windy and go for a gallop. My last pony would never have done something like that so willingly. I think it's because Rose genuinely enjoys what we do together as well so she's ready for anything the day throws at us. Love my girl <3 So about five days ago, my mum and I had the idea of feeding the horses their dinner in the trailer. Up to this point, Rose has been able to load very well and without hesitation, but she's still uncomfortable with the butt bar and therefore we hadn't actually done it up before.
But this day, we did up the butt bar for the first time! So we brought both the girls in from the field after setting up the trailer with the buckets of grain all ready to go inside. We led them up there and loaded Blondie first. She was resistant, but once she realized there was yummy dinner inside, she walked right on. We did the butt bar up and locked Blondie in and she was happily munching while I walked Rose into the left side of the trailer. She was happy enough to go in. She did think it was a bit weird to have Blondie there beside her, but happily started munching her dinner as well. Then my mum came around to her bum and started stroking it and talking like we had done a few times before. Rose was listening and cautious but she was okay with my mum being there. Then, my mum just locked in the butt bar! I didn't know she was going to do it that fast so both Rose and I were a bit unprepared but nevertheless, there wasn't a big fuss. Rose was alarmed at first when she realized that she couldn't back up, and tried to lean on the bar. But I put a little pressure on the leadrope to get her to move her weight forwards and I asked her to focus her attention back on me by talking to her, and she did. My mum undid the butt bar as soon as Rose stood still instead of leaning on it. The whole thing only took probably two minutes, but it seemed a lot longer in the moment because there were so many things I was thinking about. I'm very proud of Rose for handling that weird experience quite well. She and Blondie finished their dinners and then we took them into the barn to tack up. We ended up taking them on a bareback trail ride in the evening sun. We went all the way out along the ditch, across the little bridge, and we trotted down the dike and back. It was beautiful and made me realized how lucky I am to have a life like this. I was also very thankful that I have a horse who I can just take out on the trails with no saddle, only a halter and reins, and feel completely safe. Rose enjoyed herself too, as always. I love these simple rides where all I have to think about is having fun with Rose, not training for a specific event or anything. This lazy summer will be the best one ever. The last week and a half, Rose and I have been doing a lot of groundwork. Over spring break while I was in Penticton, I went to a used bookstore and found a book called, "Discovering Natural Horsemanship" by Tom Moates. It's basically a memoir about his journey with natural horsemanship. He still considers himself a beginner so it's refreshing to read something that's not written by a professional - just another human trying to find a harmonious connection with their horse.
So reading this on my week away from the horses made me remember the ultimate relationship I'm always striving for with Rose, and gave me new motivation and inspiration to continue working on my relationship with Rose every day. Since I got back, I've done simple groundwork exercises with Rose everyday (think Parelli Seven Games), and I'm already seeing a difference. She's learned to back up when I wiggle my finger at her, which is very cute. She's also getting more responsive to pressure, whether through physical contact or just through meaningful looks. Still practicing trailer loading every day. She's got loading downpat, she just needs to accept the butt bar being done up behind her. It's taking a long time because I need another person to do up the butt bar while I stand at her head inside the trailer, and it's usually just me at the barn. Today, I didn't ride Rose. We first got in the trailer a few times, then went out to the arena and had a lunging session. She was a bit lazy at first, but once she warmed up, she started to be more energetic. It was very cool to watch the progression of how she carried herself as her body warmed up. At first, she was very stiff, not tracking up, her head was high, neck tense, and she was going pretty slowly. But after about ten minutes of trotting and walking, she limbered right up. Now her body was longer, stretched out, back rounded, tail held up, neck long and nose almost touching the ground, hind legs reaching forward and tracking up, and face relaxed. She just looked a lot more comfortable. That was when I knew it was time to practice some canter. So she's getting so good at vocal commands. She responds right away when I say the command for canter or trot, under saddle or on the lunge. The key is to keep it consistent, and use the same tone every time. At the end of our lunging session, I decided to ask her to jump a cross pole on the lunge a few times. She had so much fun with that! She would just have the cutest, most determined look on her face as she faced the jump, then afterwards I'd praise her and ask her to stop and she'd look at me and spin around to face me, then put her head down and start to lick and chew. Licking and chewing means she's relaxing and thinking and learning. It was the cutest thing, watching her go for the jump. Anyways. I just love being able to do these fun things with Rose because I've established and keep teaching a communication system that both of us understand. Love you Rosie! I just wanted to write a short post about something special that happened this evening. Today was the girl's day off, and they enjoyed it very much. When I got to the barn around 3:30, the sun was blazing and hot so I went out to the field and took off the horse's blankets. As soon as I took off Blondie's she promptly trotted off with a flick of her tail, soon breaking into canter and having a little victory gallop around the field. I remember thinking how great it is that she's in a place where she can gallop around as much as she wants. I rode Finny first since I've kind of been neglecting her because of the event, and she was very good. I'm starting to get her a bit "lighter in the bridle", meaning she's not pulling against me, more like resting her mouth onto the bit and contact. She's also getting more attentive to my aids. Then I went out to get Rose. She seemed pretty happy to see me, which is good. I took her to the lunge pen, took off her halter, and let her run around. We played around at liberty in the lunge pen and Rose seemed very pleased with herself. Then I put the rope halter and lead back on and we practiced some lunging, yielding the hindquarters, voice cues to change the speed of Rose's gait, and backing up when I shake the lead rope and say, "back". She's also pretty much caught on to the cue for when I don't want her to eat grass and when she's allowed to eat grass. When I took her inside, it was getting to be evening. I put her in her stall and gave her some grain for dinner, then I stood leaning against the stall door and watched her eat. I talked to her and both of us had finally calmed down from the weekend's events. Now here's the special part: after Rose finished her grain, she came over to me and put her head over the stall door and my shoulder. I reached up to her withers and started scratching her there, which is the place where horses would groom each other. I just kept on scratching her in a way that imitated a horse's mouth, and then she was feeling friendly and decided to groom me back. I was sort of hoping she would, and it was an experiment to see how much I could imitate a horse so she'd get it and groom me back. Which she did! She shuffled her lips back and forth along me arm and shoulder, and was very gentle about it. It was better than a massage! We stayed like that for a long time, until Rose decided she was hungry for some hay. At that point I had to leave, so I said goodbye to her and Blondie and came home feeling content. After our crazy ordeal last night (I'll talk about that in a minute), Rose and I needed a day to re-establish the relationship we knew. At our lesson with Pippa last night, Rose was being a completely different horse and because of that I had know idea how I should ride her and communicate with her. We were on different wavelengths.
First I'll talk briefly about last night's lesson. To start with something positive: the riding club looked beautiful in the sunset light. The prettiest I've seen it. Now on to the happenings. Before I even got on Rose, I knew she was different. She was completely distracted, swinging her head around to look at things she hadn't previously cared about. It was hard to get her to stand still at the mounting block and when I finally got on, she was dancing around and just couldn't keep her feet still while we were trying to tighten the girth and adjust my stirrups. She pranced her way down the track toward the big outdoor arena, looking every which way at once, while I kept on telling her that she was not at the racetrack. Rose looked and acted completely Thoroughbred last night. In our lesson, she didn't ever really calm down until the last two jumps. Sure, she jumped everything easily, but she was spinning and doing little bucks in between the jumps. It also caused me to pull on her mouth more than I would want to. Definitely NOT normal for Rose. We were bewildered until Pippa suggested that Rose might be in heat, because usually mares go into heat at this time of year. This would explain all her crazy antics last night, so I'm just gonna go with it. Even though she still has to work on her relaxation while jumping, Rose still amazed me today. She jumped a 2'6"ish oxer with WAY too much room to spare. I can't wait until we're jumping higher. I won't push it of course, but once the jumps get raised I think Rose will pay a bit more attention to them. ----------------------------------------------------------- Now onto our lovely day today. First of all, Rose was a completely different horse. I brought her out of the field (getting her apple juice slobber all over my jacket) and immediately took her over to the trailer, where we practised loading a few times. This time I started to ask her to stay standing in the trailer with her head facing forward into the corner while I backed up. This is to teach her not to turn and try to follow me once I've tied her up in the trailer and need to walk away to get the partition locked in. She kind of got the idea, although we'll have to work on it a lot more. After a few times going in and out of the trailer, I brought her back into the barn, groomed her, and took her to the lunge pen. First we did the normal groundwork exercises we've been working on with the stick and string. Then I unclipped the lead rope and tried doing the same exercises at liberty. She stayed with me pretty well, but was still showing some distractedness from the night before. After about fifteen minutes of playing around at liberty, I decided we were on good enough terms again to try a little ride. My whole theme today was to always give Rose the option to leave at any time. Throughout our whole session, she could have left me and gone to eat grass somewhere else in the lunge pen. First I slung a rope around her neck (planning to ride bridleless today) and then she stood still while I slung the saddle over her back and girthed it up. Then I was even more amazed when she stayed still while I got up into the saddle from the ground. Remember, she has no bridle on, so she could have just walked off while I was getting on. But she didn't, and I gave her tons of praise for it. We then practiced walking, turning, and halting with the neck rope. After that I asked Rose to move right up close against the fence so I could grab the stick and string that was leaning against it. I then had a lot of fun kneeling on the saddle while I swung the string around in the air, whacking the ground on either side of Rose and making it into a helicopter propeller over her head. I made sure to get lots of whooshing sounds out of it. She stood still throughout all of this, and I moved around a lot so that she would get used to riders legs and arms everywhere. I then tried something that was probably taking it a bit too far but I don't regret it. I tried sitting on Rose backwards. She was okay with it at first, but once she felt my legs squeeze her from a new position, she got a bit weirded out and started walking. Which threw me off balance so I had to put my hands on her bum to steady myself, which she thought even weirder so she started trotting. I just slid off her at that point because I could tell she would start cantering if I didn't get off. It was all good and I landed on my side. I laughed because as soon as I fell off, Rose slammed on the breaks, spun around to face me, and put her head down. She looked at me like she was saying, "Oh my gosh mom, I have no idea what happened there but I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry". She's so funny and sweet sometimes. I got back on her because I didn't want to end the session with me falling off, and we practiced a bit more in the lunge pen. Then I went to get her bridle and put it on and we went for a short little trail ride. She was very agreeable and didn't "suggest" anything about turning around the whole time. I'd say we both had a lot of fun today! P.S: Also I can't believe I've forgot to say this, but last Friday Rose got her first ever pair of shoes! She's now got two nice shiny new metal shoes on her front feet, and she's adjusted to them well. Rose has amazing feet and could easily go barefoot her whole life, but since she's competing and will be jumping more, I don't want her feet to start hurting and then her losing confidence over jumps. Also because we're taking her someplace very rocky over the summer so she'll need shoes for that. Today was all about Rosie. Both Blondie and Finn got the day off, and Rose and I got to spend 2 whole hours together in the rare sunshine before I had to bike home.
I had a bad/boring day at school (not uncommon now that it's so late in the school year) and I just needed to see Rose at the end of the day. I brought a nice juicy apple out to Rose after trudging through the ever-growing muck puddle that is their field and almost getting my boot pulled off a few times. First, we did some groundwork with the carrot stick again. She's starting to get what it is. I got her to stand still while I walked around her and rubbed her all over. I also moved the stick and string around in the air. I taught her how to change directions on the lunge line without coming into the middle of the circle, which she picked up pretty quickly, and how to back up when I move the stick up and down in the air at her chest. I also lunged her over a few jumps. After about 15 minutes of groundwork, I brought Rose over to where all my tack was (I had brought it out earlier because I didn't want to make more trips through the mud than I had to) and asked her to ground tie while I switched my rubber boots to riding boots and fiddled with all the equipment. She stood quietly when I threw the saddle over her back multiple times, from both sides. I really want her to stop jigging around whenever I put the saddle on, so I just put the saddle on her bare back and took it off over and over again, until she was completely relaxed about it. Then I girthed up the saddle and put her bridle on, and it was time to ride. We had another simple flatwork ride today. Didn't ask too much of her, and did a lot of trot-walk transitions. She was just starting to relax and accept the contact when things started happening around us - people bringing horses in the for evening, horses galloping around in the field, somebody else lunging their horse in the arena. All these things distracted myself and Rose and she went back to where she had been at the beginning of the ride; tense, defensive, and distracted. Which was understandable, but I did still try to get our focus back on each other. At this point we had worked a lot on the right rein, which is Rose's good side, an not much on the left rein, which is Rose's bad side. After seeing that I wouldn't be able to get Rose's complete focus back, I just asked her for a few more trot-walk transitions going to the left and then did some leg yielding/turning at the walk, and then finished on that. It's always important to remember to finish every ride on a good note, so the horse A) doesn't think that being "bad" got them a ticket to finish the ride and go back out to their field, and B) doesn't remember every ride as being horrible, and doesn't get a bad feeling about working. So that's what I did to save this ride today; just ended on a good note by asking Rose to do something easy, that I knew she would succeed at. Lots of praise, and then I got off her and led her back into the barn. If I had made a big deal out of her distractedness and tried to MAKE her accept the contact on the left rein, it would definitely not have happened and I would have ended with a horse whose opinion of riding had been soured. Even though I wasn't able to accomplish everything I had planned for today, I'm still happy with Rose. We always have the next ride to work on new things. I haven't written about the last few rides. School has kept me very busy! All the teachers are loading up on the homework before spring break... ugh. Anyways, I've still gotten out to the barn every day recently (the weather is just too good to pass up!) but haven't had time to write since my last post on Friday. So here's what happened with beautiful Rose and me: SATURDAY: Jumping! Today we set up a small course of jumps (a vertical on one long side of the arena, a cross pole on the diagonal, and a two stride line on the other long side of the arena). I made sure to get Rose into the jumping mindset right from the moment I got on her. I collected her up and made sure she was listening to my half-halts and bending around my legs. I did a lot of lateral movements at the walk to loosen her up, then we warmed up at the trot and canter. Rose was calm and energetic at the same time - the perfect combination. She was so "on the aids" today, meaning she was always alert and ready to carry out any request I might ask. Our movements were in-tune with each other. This is the state that a horse has to be in before I can completely trust them to go over some jumps. It's not so crucial at this low-level stage, but once the jumps get raised, I want Rose to know how much concentration and focus she needs for the job. I want to develop this mindset in her early. We had a great time and put together a course with a few jumps near the end. She didn't bat an eye at the two-stride line, so we were able to raise the second vertical a bit after she had gone over it a few times. I'm glad I have a horse who takes off from a long distance instead of putting in another extra half-stride if the distance isn't perfect. SUNDAY: My mum and I took Rose and Blondie on the trails today. I love sunset trail rides because the horses' manes look so shiny and warm from my viewpoint on their back. I rode Rose in a halter today, just attached the reins onto the side rings of the halter. She really doesn't need a bit, it just helps define our communication, as I've said before. So when we're planning a relaxing trail ride, I just ride her with the halter so her mouth gets a break from having a bit in it every ride. After walking for around fifteen minutes, we got to a long stretch beside the ditch, and decided to have a canter. Rose was amazing! While Blondie was misbehaving and not listening to my mum's half-halts, Rose was calmly cantering along, not getting too fast. She came back to me and slowed down as soon as I asked her. I love being in the position with Rose where I can give her the opportunity to enjoy herself (such as letting her canter without any restraint from me) because I have complete confidence that she will listen if I ask her to do something (such as slow down). It's this awareness that partnerships are built from. Some photos from today: MONDAY: Today Rose and I had a GORGEOUS ride in the sunset! We rode in one of the vacant fields that has dried up so much from all this sun that the footing was perfect for riding on! It was a great change from riding in the arena, which isn't very big. Rose was a bit tense for the whole ride today because of the new surroundings, but I didn't let that change my attitude, like it might have a year ago. My level of patience and self-assuredness has skyrocketed since Rose came into my life. If I had been riding a horse who was tense and rushing like this a year ago, I'm sure my temper and expectations would have gotten the better of me. But instead, every time I felt Rose was getting too tensed up, I would just ask her to halt and we'd stand there until she had regained a somewhat calm attitude. My whole objective for the ride was trying to get Rose as calm as possible, which kind of happened by the end. She wasn't nearly as quiet as she usually is, but I know that is because we were riding in a new place. Rose and I were both sweating at the end, which I guess means it was a productive ride. It wasn't a nervous sweat like Rose used to get either. It was a what I call a "working" or "thinking" sweat. Oh also, today it was so warm I could ride in a t-shirt! I can just taste summer! TUESDAY (TODAY): I just love that horse more every day. Today, we played in the vacant field again. It's going to be occupied as of tomorrow (spring field rotation) so I thought I would use my last opportunity to ride/play in the grass with this wonderful dry footing today. I've ridden Rose the last four days, so today I knew was going to be some kind of play/groundwork day. I took Rose out of her field and brought her into the vacant field, starting off with lunging her. Rose was quite unsettled, for whatever reason, and didn't want to pay attention to me. After a few sporadic circles on the lunge both ways, I decided we better not keep this up as it was going nowhere, so I asked Rose to stop, and we just relaxed for a few minutes to regain ourselves. These short moments of relaxation, in which I'm asking nothing of Rose except to calm down and think, is more important than the actual work we are attempting, I believe. Without these short sessions of doing absolutely nothing for a minute or two, Rose and I would just get carried away/riled up with whatever work we are doing and forget to stay present and grounded. Few humans put any importance in just being together like horses do. After out little relax session, I unclipped the lunge line and asked her to come with me. We played a game of tag, Rose never leaving my side. I ran as fast as I could and walked as slow as I could. I turned, and sprinted, and skipped. Rose made up her own dance moves to follow mine, and we danced around the field together, our mental connection stronger than any rope. The whole scene put me into a simple, blissfully happy state. The sunset, the golden grass, the gentle breeze on my skin, the orange shine of Rose's coat, and movement for no reason other than the joy of moving. I've felt a bit disconnected from Rose this last week. I think it's because I've been caught up in trying saddles in hopes of buying a new jumping saddle and I haven't actually been able to focus on our rides together. We also haven't done many things from the ground this past week and a bit.
I usually have a rule/guideline in which I don't ride for more than two, sometimes three days in a row. I try to ride two days, groundwork/play/something else one day, then ride again the next day, etc. This way, Rose is always interested in whatever we are doing together and wanting to work, instead of being bored because of repetition. Rose is a smart horse, and usually doesn't need repetition to learn something. This means if I teach her something new one day, she'll remember it even after a few days and it's almost better to let her sit and think about what she's learned instead of asking it over and over to make sure she knows it. Which means not doing the same thing in any ride. Anyways, I've felt disconnected from Rose because we've ridden in the arena the past few days, trying saddles. Repetition, nothing new, no concentration. Rose was starting to shut down because of my lack of attention to her. I was noticing she's less energetic, less attentive/aware, and just not really that interested in me. Truthfully, she's starting to resemble most horses these days: too calm, too still, glazed over eyes, "perfectly behaved" because they're bored out of their minds or worse, feel they aren't in a safe place to express their opinions (their spirit is "broken"). Rose isn't like that, but she's been reminding me of why I take such a positive and free approach to training a horse - so that they keep their personality and spirit through the whole process. I think, as usual, Rose is reflecting what I'm unconsciously feeling. Which is a horse's most powerful asset; to literally BE the mirror of your unconscious self. Once you can read a horse and have learned their language, knowing yourself is so much easier. If there's a feeling you have that you can't describe, just be with a horse and they will show you something about yourself that you've been oblivious to. Today I went out to the barn, keeping this in mind. I kept telling myself - you don't NEED to ride. Rose will not suffer if she isn't ridden for two days in a row. She won't forget what she's learned. It's not "wasting" a good horse, like so many people have told me. I've had this mentality ever since I started competing. That I HAVE to RIDE the horse every day or most days of the week to keep it fit, if the horse doesn't sweat, the ride was a failure, if I don't actually get on the horse's back, the whole trip to the barn was pointless. This has been drilled into my mind by the people around me, and I still find myself repressing this attitude sometimes. The truth is; riding is definitely NOT the only thing one can do with their horse. I only do things with Rose that both of us find fun and exciting. If I or Rose doesn't feel like doing one thing, we can always do something else. So today I decided to squash those previous notions and just be with Rose. I really felt like playing with her today, trying to re-kindle that gentle energy that is so unique to this lovely little brown mare. I basically wanted Rose to forgive me for my carelessness the last weeks. We went into the lunge pen, and basically had a conversation with our body language. It was really fun, interesting, and precarious. Rose showed me all the things I had been missing and let me back in. By the end of our little session, she had her energy back and I could see what I can only describe as pure happiness in her eyes. I'm sure it was a reflection of what I was feeling. Through knowing, loving, and being with Rose, I've learned all the mysterious ways of energy. Energy is something that is defined but undefinable. It is physical, mental, emotional. It can be projected, and manipulated, and changed. The energy in a silent language such as that of the horse can be so powerful you can almost see it, or so delicate that the only way to know it is there is by believing that it is. Rose and I play with this energy every second we are together. It is the basis of our communication, whether used through voice, body signals, or eye contact. But it is always there, always helping us along our way in any and every form we know. Today I didn't have much time for Rose before the sun set after I had ridden one horse already, so I decided to just take her for a hand walk on the trails. We've been doing a lot of riding lately anyway, so I figured it was time for some groundwork.
I'm seeing so clearly how much she trusts me now as she will literally follow me anywhere, like she proved today. I went to get her from the field (she comes right to the gate when I call her now!) right as all the other horses were being brought in to the barn for their dinner. So already I was asking Rose to do something in which resistance on her part would be totally understandable. I was asking her to leave the herd AND walk away from the barn AT DINNERTIME. But almost like she wanted to prove to me how well behaved she can be, Rose marched along behind me without a backward glance at the barn. We went for a walk on a trail that I recently discovered - the only one with hills around here. Since our barn is on the Richmond floodplain, everything's pretty flat. So hills always excite me! Our walk consisted of stopping, starring, backing up, trotting, and grazing. I was amazed when Rose was climbing/descending the hills with me (which are pretty steep) and she didn't try to speed up even though horses find it easier to tackle hills as a faster pace. But Rose waited for me and stayed right beside me, our shoulders in line, slowly and carefully picking our way down the hill. I felt like we really were best friends in that moment, just exploring together. She seemed happy enough the whole time, if not a bit alert. She's never been in that area before, so I was expecting that. I'm glad that she stayed focused on me though, and knew where my body was so she always respected my personal space. Whenever her mind strays, I just ask her to do some simple task (turn around, back up, bend, etc.) that is easy for her so that she brings her attention back to me. Today started out bad. The skies above had decided to give us another downpour. It's almost like every once in awhile, the rain gods feel they have to remind us what they're capable of and go all out - strong, loud, vicious rain all day long. Because of this, I stayed inside all morning (finished a lot of homework!) and hoped for a time when the skies would clear up so I could see Rose. Actually, that isn't completely true. I did go outside in the morning - to work on my own fitness. I always try to spin negative into positive so I decided to embrace the rain storm and head out for a run around the park. I run around 3k, plus a bunch of interval sprints and some sets of step-ups on a low rock wall. I loved the feeling of getting completely soaked and not having to worry about it. The park that I ran in today usually has a lot of runners using the big trail around the perimeter of the park, but today I was the only one. I'm proud of myself for getting out there and I had a lot of fun too! Then, around two in the afternoon, the skies miraculously cleared up somewhat and my mum and I headed straight out to see the girls. We brought them in from the (very, VERY muddy) field and while my mum was grooming Blondie, I took Rose out for a little play in the sand arena - which had basically turned into a winter beach, with big, shallow puddles everywhere. For no reason in particular, I decided to take off my shoes. I always like playing with and riding the horses without shoes when I can, because I feel closer to them and to the earth. I set up my phone to take a video of us playing, but unfortunately the angle wasn't right so you can only see our legs and torsos - not heads. But it's still an interesting video as when Rose and I move, you can see the energy shifts mostly through the legs. There are also times when we connect up so well that we are stepping with the same foot at the same time. Here's the video: The song I chose for the video from today is from my favourite childhood movie, "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron". I thought the lyrics were very fitting and the words are everything I would say to Rose.
I feel really happy today. Tomorrow we're looking forward to a nice long trail ride with Blondie and my mum. Rose and I are a team, training to compete in a sport. This means we are both athletes. I think one of the first things people think of when they hear the word "athlete" is a fit, healthy person with a strong goal in mind.
Now, Rose isn't fit right now, but she is healthy. Fitness is what I will start building with her once she has the technical part of the equation down. However, I already have the technical part down. Which means I'm starting to work on my own fitness so that when we start competing together, Rose and I will be equal partners in our little team. We will be athletes. I think a lot of riders forget that they are just as much an athlete as their horses. Which means they should be getting just as fit as their equine partners so that they will not be a hindrance to the horse, instead they will be an asset. I mentioned in an earlier blog post that I adopted a new mantra of sorts in order to reach my goals with Rose in the right way. To quote my other post, "This will now be my goal to work towards, for Rose and I to be in complete harmony with each other and to have mutual confidence in ourselves and in every challenge we attempt together." I think a definite way to achieve complete harmony together is by going through the same process/journey at the same time. Putting the same amount of effort in to every training session we have, together or apart. Basically I want to push myself to get stronger and train outside of just when I'm working with Rose. If I expect her to work up a sweat, then I sure will too. I think she expects it of me. This leads us to the other part of the mantra, "mutual confidence in ourselves and in each other". Getting stronger will make me more confident in myself, and Rose will be more confident in me because she knows I can help her to my full ability. Similarly, if Rose gets stronger and learns in the right way, she will become more confident in herself. This makes me more confident in her because I know she can perform her best if she's secure in what she is attempting. This is the mutual confidence I'm aiming for. Anyways, since this is a blog about OUR journey together, and not just Rose's journey, I thought I would write about my training sessions outside of what Rose and I do. Just a little comment on the end of each post. Today, for example, I did a 25 minute outdoor workout consisting of 3 sets of this:
I also have to bike to the barn and back every time I want to go out there, which means I am biking for at least 15 minutes everyday of the week. ----------------------------------------- Today I didn't ride either of the girls because the wind was outrageous at the barn. Instead, I took Blondie for a hand walk on the trails (chatting to her the whole time) and then I spent about half an hour sitting in the field/playing tag with Rose. She's almost protective of me when I'm with all the mares in the field. She likes to stand with her head very close at all times, and follows if I leave. She doesn't like other horses getting too close either, but she's fine if Blondie wants to come and say hi too. Rose really knows my voice cues and when we are playing, if I up the energy in my voice, she resounds by trotting or showing more cadence, which I love. She's so beautiful all the time, but especially when she's trotting around like a Spanish stallion. As an equestrian, never forget why you're in the sport: because you love the raw beauty of the horse and couldn't think of anything better to do than just sit among them. If you don't, I suggest you find another hobby. Here's some photos of beautiful Blondie in the field today: Today Rose and I did some groundwork because the ground was frozen. First, I set up a bunch of obstacles in the arena and we had fun playing with those on the ground. I got her to weave through barrels, walk over scary plastic bags, and go through tight spaces. We then went on a walk together on the trails. She was so much calmer since the first time we did this, I think she's trusting me a lot more now. There was no complaining about leaving the other horses, and she was very calm the whole time. Here's a video from our walk: Today is a perfect example of how easily my plans can change when it come to horses. I had gotten out all Rose's tack and set it up, ready to bring her in from the field. I was planning on taking Rose out for her first trail ride by herself.
When I got to the field, Rose just didn't seem in the right mood for it. It's hard to explain, and I couldn't really say why I decided to change plans, but I did as soon as I saw her, before I even touched her. I decided instead to take Rose out to the big field across from Rose's usual field, and beside another field with a bunch of geldings in it. So I took her in to this field that wasn't being used and played with her. We walked, trotted, did lateral movements, danced around, and just had some fun together. I was really proud of Rose because even though there were five or six geldings on the other side of the fence that were very interested in what Rose and I were doing, Rose still kept her attention focused on me. It made me feel very special. When I felt she was really connected with me - mirroring all my movements - I unclipped the lead rope. Now, you have to understand that this field we were in was easily four or five acres, maybe more. To Rose, she wasn't really fenced in. It made my day as soon as she decided to stay with me. I would run and jump around, and she would run after me and toss her head. She even bucked a few times out of pure joy. It was a great feeling and I think we're starting to become real partners. After five minutes without the lead rope, Rose got bored of me and decided she wanted to explore her surroundings instead. So I let her gallop away and say hello to the geldings across the fence. At this point, I was a bit weary because the fences aren't that strong and one of the geldings (almost 18 hands!) could easily jump out if he wanted to. So I called Rose and it's almost like she suddenly remembered I was still there. She was all the way at the other end of the field at this point. So when I called her, she galloped back up the fence line (with the geldings following right beside her), and she almost stopped in front of me, but then decided she was going too fast so she just kept galloping and stopped at the gate. At this point, I decided that Rose had had enough fun and I really didn't want to rile up the geldings further, so I walked slowly up to her as she stood by the gate. I could sense the heightened energy around us, and could see by Rose's body language that she was very excited and ready to gallop off at any second. Her head was up high, her neck was tense, and her ears were pricked. She was breathing hard and I could see the soft air coming out of her nose with each breath. Her thick winter coat was curled by sweat. I knew she would take off if I came any closer, so I just crouched down in the grass and tried to relax the atmosphere by relaxing my own body. I had done this a lot in our play previously, so I could show Rose that crouching down meant having a break/gaining back the relaxed attitude that she might have forgotten about if she had just been galloping around like a maniac a few seconds before. Crouching down also sparks a curiosity in any horse, and often they can't help but come closer to get a good look. So I was crouched down in the grass and talking softly to her until I could see her calming down a bit more. Even then I still didn't walk up to her, just waited. Patience is key when doing anything with horses. Eventually, after me coaxing her with my voice and body language, Rose walked up to me and I discreetly clipped the lead rope back on to her halter. She then followed me out of the field, across the road, behind the barn, and we went on a nice hand walk on the trails. She did have some resistance once she realized I was asking her to separate from all the other horses at the start of the trail, but I just kept up a continuous conversation with her (pretty one-sided though!) and asked her to walk on forward, and she calmed down. By the end she was completely relaxed with me and we were walking side by side, the lead rope slack, my hand on her withers. I feel like I wouldn't have been able to take her out on the trails alone today without connecting with her first in the field were she had every right to go join her friends instead of stay with me. But she did stay with me when given the choice, and that is my signal that she's starting to trust me as a leader as well as her horse friends. Only after we've established trust with each other will we be able to accomplish anything worthwhile. Since it's winter break, I decided to have an entire day at the barn. I worked with/rode four horses and had a lot of fun with each of them.
Before I went to work, I first ventured out to the mare's field and took some photos with my amazing new camera! The horses were very curious and I got some great shots. After that, I took a mare named Finesse who I ride twice a week out on the trails by ourselves. We had a nice canter along the dyke, and everything was tinged with grey fog. I then brought Blondie in from the field and played with her on the ground. I got some plastic bags and tied them to the end of a dressage whip. Blondie was very freaked out by these weird things and she started acting like an Arabian stallion! It was pretty funny. She got over her fears somewhat by the end and tolerated me rubbing the plastic bags all over her body. After that I took Rose on another trail ride, this time with two stranger horses and a dog! There happened to be two other people at the barn who were planning on a trail ride, and I just joined them. We walked for most of it but Rose had fun cantering up a small hill at one point. She also had to tackle the scary orange bridge again, and have a bouncy yellow lab puppy running around her legs. It was a great day at the barn. I arrived at 10am and left at 3:30pm! Here's some of the photos I took out in the field today: Though it be muddy, the sun did shine today. And I took the opportunity to do another liberty session in the lunge ring.
Rose did some fun little bucks, I think she was enjoying the crisp weather. The footing was deep so she really had to push herself in every canter stride. I knew she was enjoying herself though as I didn't ask her to canter, just asked her to move out of my space. I was expecting just a walk, but she surprised me with a big burst of canter/bucks. I had to be careful not to teach Rose that all I wanted her to do was run away from me. I also wanted her to join up and follow me around, so I had to get that idea in her head. She wasn't as focused on me today as she was the first time we tried this, as there were more things going on in the barn. But I do feel like she's getting to know me a bit better. Day three of Rose coming up to me when called in the field! Not much to write today, and sorry about the lack of photos recently. Here's some of my fifth ride on Rose instead: Today was a great day. Rose seemed really happy which made me happy too. I really can feel what she's feeling and have a sense of what she's thinking if I focus on her, just like I ask her to focus on me. It snowed today, which made the whole barn have a new perspective. Rose came right up to me in the field and loved the carrot she got. While my mum had a great ride with B (bareback in a halter), I took Rose into the arena and did some groundwork. We jumped over jumps, backed up and trotted over poles, played with a giant garbage bag (which Rose found less scary than good old Blondie!) etc., and it was all a lot of fun. Rose was very focused and relaxed today. Then I decided to take her around the orchard by herself with me leading. We wanted to go all the way around, but the footing turned out to resemble a swamp, so we only stayed at the front part of the trail. Rose was pretty good about being out there all by herself, although I could feel she was a little tense: After that I took her in the lunge pen and did a bit of play at liberty for the first time. She joined up with me in under a minute, much to my surprise. I even started teaching her how to bow: All in all, it was a great day at the barn. I feel like I'm starting to build a relationship with Rose - slowly.
Here's some more pics from the lunge pen: I thought I should write about a lesson Rose had last week. It was her first time practicing loading into a trailer!
The only other time she had ever been in a trailer was when she was being transported over to my barn, and to get her in that time we kind of had to chase her into it. But today started a proper education of how to load in a trailer correctly - meaning walking right on in with no hesitation and standing quietly once inside. The session took a full hour but by the end she was following me on as described above and even waiting in the trailer for me to tell her she can come out again. Basically, I spent the first few minutes letting her sniff around the outside of the trailer and get acquainted with it, then proceeded to lunge her nearby. We did some groundwork to get her focussed on me, and then I made her lunge around me while passing between me and the trailer, kind of like the "squeeze game" I think is what the Parelli people call it. After she was comfortable with that, I led her up to the trailer and let her stand looking in to it. I had opened all the windows and doors of the trailer so it looked very open to her. I gave her scratches as she peered inside and sniffed everything. I repeated this groundwork/sniff trailer exercise a few times, and then came the moment of truth: asking her to actually step INSIDE the big box. Now, this stage took about a half an hour before she realized where I wanted her to put her feet. I could see the gears turning in her brain. She was trying very hard to understand and even worked up a sweat. I would stand just inside the trailer and gently tap her hindquarters with a dressage whip until she got annoyed by it and moved a fraction. Then I would stop and give her lots of praise. She got it pretty fast, and was standing right up against the platform of the trailer - and then she was stuck. "Where do I put my feet, mom? There's this thing in the way!" Well Rose, you're actually supposed to put your feet ON that thing in the way. So ensued her various efforts to find the place where I wanted her feet to be. She was swinging every which until she finally tried jumping into the trailer, because she thought it was too high to just step into. Well, at least she was inside, and lots of praise and treats were given. Her expression was that of triumph, as she had finally found out kind of what I had wanted. After letting her chill in the trailer for a minute, I turned her around and told her to stand still before getting out. More scratches and praise. The rest of the lesson was quite easy. I was very surprised when she stepped right on in with me on the next go, no more jumping into the trailer. She seemed to be very pleased with herself, and so was I. I continued loading and unloading her a couple more times until I felt she really knew it, and then ended the lesson for the day. This horse just keeps surprising me everyday. I am blessed with how quick she picks up on things and her raw desire to please. It's amazing. So unfortunately I only had this brilliant idea to make a sort of "training diary" three weeks after Rose actually arrived. Which means I'll have to recap all that's happened during that time. The first week was kind of a "get to know each other" week. I learned what Rose did and didn't already know, and basically let her settle in her new surroundings. I rode her twice, lunged her a few times, and did some groundwork. On the fourth day, Rose showed me she's destined to be a jumper by clearing the 4 foot gate of her paddock to join the rest of the mares being turned out that morning. Great first impression, Rose. Now the rest of the barn thinks you and I are both crazy. The next week held her very first trail ride. We took her out around the fields for only about 20 minutes, just to get her used to the concept. We went with my mum and her twenty year old mare, Blondie (a schoolmaster in all aspects of Being A Riding Horse). Rose blew my mind with her bravery, as she promptly decided to be the leader at the start of the ride and didn't spook or have any problems whatsoever the whole time. It was like she didn't even know Blondie was there. In short, I was very proud of her. After that and into the third week was work in the arena. She cantered for the first time, and even did a few little jumps and trot poles. She learned to move off the pressure of the leg, and started turn on the forehand and a bit a leg-yeilding down the long sides of the arena. She also learned the concept of contact with the bit. We also took her on two more trail rides, in which she conquered the big scary bridge with no problems. This one's definitely a cross country horse. So that pretty much summarizes the first three weeks. Now I'll be posting hopefully every day/after every session with Rose. I'm excited to see the progression. A few photos from Rose's third trail ride:
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