Uh oh....

Well, things were great yesterday. But today Sharlie is limping. And it's very pronounced at the trot. So now Hill Therapy is canceled, because I have to let Sharlie take it easy. And now the days are too short for me to start over again! :( Plus we were doing so well. She was starting to collect!! :(

I hope that it isn't an abscess. Alot of horses at the stable have been getting them, and the vet has had alot of abscess cases... :\

Short Term Goals

I have been thinking alot about my short-term goals. I have come to a short list of things I want to accomplish before A) Christmas, B) Valentine's Day and C) My birthday, which is April 5th!

A
~ Sharlie gets all the way into the trailer more frequently, for a few seconds at time
~Start to teach her Spanish walk on the ground
~Be close to passing Level 1 Freestyle (Self-assesment)

B
~Sharlie gets all the way into the trailer for at least a few minutes at a time, calmly.
~ Knows Spanish Walk on ground okish....
~Level 2 Freestyle
~Getting close to passing Level 3 Online
~Doing well with Liberty

C
~Sharlie can get into trailer confidently for severel minutes at a time, can move and (maybe) close door. (If I can not get her in calmly by April, I'm calling Jennifer!!! :o)
~Knows Spanish walk on ground, maybe transitioning it to riding....
~Auditioning Level 2/3 Freestyle
~Self-asses Level 3 Online
~Level 2 Liberty...(Maybe...:D)

These are my goals. Only the trailer one is critical. It is the most important! The others...ahhh, they are just fun~

After-Playdate Syndrome...and its spreading! :D

Hehehehe! Yes, I am suffering of After-playdate Syndrome. And it has spread to Sharlie! She obviously wants to go to Jennifer's camp at the beginning of summer!

Because today, she was amazing!

At first, she didn't want to be with me. She wasn't interested in me and what I was doing. That stung a little bit, so I decided "Fine Sharlie, we will do it your way." So I took her to the round pen, and decided to "Mirror-me" at liberty. Well, it worked! She was pacing around, calling out to the horses in the barn. But after a few minutes, she started to realize that I was pacing too, shaking my head when she did. And she started to make me do silly stuff, like she would canter one way, then stop and trot the other way, and I copied her! She threw a buck, and I copied her! Finally, when she cantered to me, ears pricked and looking at me asking me "What do we play now?" I let her come in, and rewarded her. Unfortunately I only had about 15 minutes left before I had to leave, and I still hadn't fed her!

So I quickly grab her feed, a bucket, open the trailer, and see what Sharlie would do. Well, she got in, 2 feet only, grabbed the bucket with her teeth, and pulled it to her!!!!! :D I let her grab a few bites before I asked her to get out so I could put it back up. And then.............................................SHE GOT ALL THE WAY IN, ATE SOME FEED FOR ABOUT 15-20 SECONDS, AND THEN CALMLY (somewhat) GOT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D ;D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D ;D!!

So I am quite content right now. Sharlie made a 180 today and got into the trailer calmly! Amazing!!!!! After-Playdate Syndrome is definitely spreading!!!!!!!!

Playdate-Outstanding, Amazing and Inspiring!

Wow! Yesterday was amazing! It was inspiring to watch Hannah play and ride! Elijah looked great on Angel, Ellen and Sarge were amazing! Patches and Amber were gorgeous and I think that they are perfect for Alison and Danielle! Danielle and Amber matched in hair color, which I thought was cool!
My mom and I arrived first, so we were able to groom Misty (the horse I played with) before anyone arrived. Then it was Hannah followed by Ellen (I think) and last was Alison and Danielle. Once everyone arrived, I had my lesson with Jennifer playing online and freestyle that helped me alot and gave me some ideas to try with Sharlie. She also showed my 9-step backup, riding with a stick. Thank you Jennifer!
Then I decided to join the others in the big field where I got to watch Blaze try to be a monkey as he climbed from tire to tire. It was hilarious as he got up and down from the big tire. He has got to be sore from that! :D
Everyone left to go to the arena, and I decided to play for a few minutes on the ground before going to go with the others. When I joined the others, I rode some more. (Because 1. Everyone else was, and 2. I haven't ridden in weeks and was desperate to ride)
And then...I had the chance to ride Blaze a little bit! I was soooo lucky! Thank you Hannah!!!!! Blaze is amazing! The reins meant little to him, so I had to depend on my seat. It was such an interesting experience to be up there (well, not really up...Blaze is SHORT!!! :D ) on Blaze and feel how responsive he is! I don't ever want to forget it because for the first time ever in my life, I felt in complete harmony with a horse. I enjoyed it and didn't have to depend on reins to keep the horse under control! So thank you Blaze and Hannah, so much. That one short little ride got me to believe in Sharlie again and let myself believe that one day, I will get Sharlie to be like that.
I had a nice talk with Elijah, Hannah's brother. He is a really nice guy and he seems to love horses alot. Then lunch. Mom's brownies were a hit, and Jennifer told me about how camp works. I got really interested. I can just imagine how far Sharlie and I can go. Plus, with an arena full of sand, I may be able to actually advance in liberty, without Sharlie wanting to just keep circling, or wanting to eat the whole time! After lunch, we set up a course and Elijah was the judge. We practiced, and then did the real thing. Everybody won! I had fun on Misty and got some inspiration for Sharlie. Maybe I can find a branch to work as a jump......
And alas, all good things must come to an end. I said goodbye to everyone, and managed to catch Hannah playing with Blaze and Angel at liberty. Wow...And then I got a shock. (A good one!!) I realized that like Elijah said, Hannah had gotten no outside help when she was playing with Blaze. And now look, she is level 4/5/6! And he is right. Anyone can do it, as long as you are committed. Well, now, I am committed. I am going to be like Hannah and Blaze one day. I am going to go to Jennifer's camp. I am going to put the relationship first. I want to be able to ride Sharlie bridless!

Thank you to everyone! Thank you Jennifer, Hannah, Ellen, Alison, Danielle, everyone!!!!!!!! I had the time of my life and hope to see you all soon!

(PS- Hannah, if you do move to Franklin, we are always here for a pitstop! :D)

Hill Therapy

Well, since Hill Therapy is canceled until at least spring, here is the first 2 days. :\

Hill Therapy

Week 1

Day 1- 11/6/09

Today I started Sharlie’s hill therapy. I hope that is works and Sharlie’s back is round and her gaits smooth out so we can advance with our Freestyle.

First day went pretty well I think. I chose to only ask Sharlie to trot because the hill I chose is about 30* degree angle. It’s the mildest hill I could find. I think Sharlie coped faredly well. We have played alot on those hills before, and Sharlie’s field is full of steep hills.

But I’m wouldn’t say it was easy fore her. No, not at all. Even though she kept her gait at a trot, I could tell she was having a tough time. Up the hill she would have to pull herself up with her front legs, and down the hills, she sped up but not on purpose. She had to go down at a slight angle not to fall.

All to be expected for the first day according to Linda. I’m excited to see the results! At least afterward she was rewarded by going down to the stream and then going to play with a once “very-scary-horse-eating” log. But the log and Sharlie are on better terms now.

Day 2-11/7/09

Lets just say Sharlie had a ...challenging time.She had to canter up the hill. Even on her blind side, which she never did before. She also used all 25 feet on the rope, unlike yesturday where she only used about 12-15 feet of the rope. And she was concentrating so hard on me and the hill, she didn’t seem to notice the gunshots in the distance. Usually she stops and is stalk still for a few moments, and then she continues doing whatever she was doing. This time, nada! She didn’t do a thing! So I am happy for today. We made progress with the trailer afterward and ended it on a very good note. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Day 3-11/8/09

I have photos!

Busy Busy Busy! Every single savvy!

Omg! I have been so busy lately and haven't been able to update. So here is the wonderful update now.

Level 1 Audition Online
I sent it in on Friday, and WOW! I got my results back on Monday! So I advice to those who are planning to send in their Audition soon, SEND IT IN BY EMAIL NOW AND U WILL GET A QUICK RESPONSE!!!!! Anyway, I assesed Level 1, and I passed Level 2+. The thing I still can't believe is that I'm going to be playing with Sharlie at Level 3 now, very close to HANNAH!!!!!!!!! :o :D

Freestyle

Winter is approaching rapidly here in Tennessee, or at least near me. It can be beautiful and bright, but chilly. And Sharlie is becoming a real pest when it comes to riding. I have even come to the horror of having to use the bridle to keep her from taking off. I wish I hadn't left riding till now, and now I won't be able to. During the summer, we were great! Having fun, and even almost ready to canter. We self-assesed Level 1, and almost Level 2!
And now....back to zero. I even have to work very hard to keep Sharlie's walk controlled (as in not wandering off the trail, falling 20 feet when she reaches the ledge and dying, or her taking off at a full gallop) I hope they build the arena soon because we have had enough of the round pen, and the trails are 2 foot deep mud!

Finesse

I was looking forward to doing more Finesse in September and October, but due to unseasonal cold spells and rain (and school), we have only been able to concentrate on Online and Liberty. And now its turning cold again, and Sharlie is a true blue B-R-A-T when I ride her. So I prefer to get our Freestyle up to date before attempting Finesse again!

Liberty

Well, with winter, we are going to be concentrating mainly on ground work, so online and liberty. Right now, I have been trying to get Sharlie to understand NOT EVERYTHING I DO MEANS GO OR FOLLOW ME!!!!!!!!!!!!! But we are making slow progress. More porcupine and squeeze is getting her mentally involved which is very good. Alot of licking!

MENTAL STIMULATION WHILE GROOMING!
Yes Yes YES! This is mostly for LBI's, and mainly for Sharlie, but Sharlie could never really understand the point of grooming, and found it terribly boring and always tried to walk away. I have found a way to solve the problem! But, it is late now, so I will explain it tomorrow! *wiggles eyebrows* :D