7 Keys to Success: 1) Attitude

"1) Attitude - Keep it Positive, Progressive and Natural
You have to have a natural attitude. An attitude is a multitude of actions and interactions at any given time; therefore, every action and/or interaction represents an attitude. Natural horsemanship is an attitude for people who are positive and progressive, and who believe in the natural point of view of the horse." quote Natural Horsemanship by Pat Parelli.

Question: How do you react when your horse is being difficult? How do you react when he does something right? Is that what you should do, based on his Horsenality?
Challenge: if your horse defies you or gets the better of you, or you just get frustrated, stay positive and smile. Whistle. Its hard to frown when you are whistling!

Bareback Pad & Trailer Loading

This is for yesterday afternoon when I played with the horses.

Casper:

(This photo is from the summer)

We played the 7 games and spent alot of time on the Friendly Game. Then we moved onto Porcupine, Driving, Yoyo and Circling. We didn't get to the last 2 games. But I did tasks from Level 1 and 2 out of those 5 games so I am very happy with the results. Casper is still a little afraid and wary of the carrot stick, but I think that with time he will become more confident with it around. After playing with the 5 games, we walked over to the trailer. This is the first time I have ever tried to load Casper and I had no idea how he would do.
*Dramatic music
The first try he sniffed it cautiously and then hurriedly walked away. After walking around we came back and he walked straight in! He walked all the way in, stood there for a bit, then backed out. What a good boy! After this small victory, I decided to try on the bareback pad I am borrowing from my good friend Kara. I was suprised to discover that Casper had no real problem and did not object to having it put on his back. Maybe our previous work with the saddle pad has paid off for something. He did not appear cinchy and just stood there patiently. However, it was when I got on that the trouble began. When I first swung my leg slowly over his back, he shied away from the step stool. Luckily I was on before I had time to lose my balance and fall. Then he tried to bolt into fences until finally I managed to stop him for the split second I needed to hop off.
After calming him down, I decided not to get on all the way. Just to...hang. I kept my feet resting on the step stool because whenever I would lift them off, Casper started to move. Slowly but surely, with many strokes and sighs, finally Casper did the cock of confidence. I ended it there, wanting to leave it on a good note. I found this play session quite progressive, despite the bolting part.

Sharlie:

(This photo was taken yesterday)
Sharlie was slower to get going, if that makes sense. It took longer to get her in a playful frame of mind. We played with the weave pattern and figure 8, which she seemed to recognize from liberty. After a few minutes of that we walked over to the trailer. One of my horses can load, could the other? First time we approached it, she got in with two feet and then backed out in a panic (a loud truck out on the main road) We walked away and when we came back, she needed no encouragement. She walked in, unfazed by the sound of the rattling trailer. In fact, I had to make her back out otherwise she probably wouldn't have gotten out. I didn't want to push it with her being in there too long because every time I push my luck a little too far, we take a step back. After rewarding her with a few minutes of grazing, I tried the bareback pad on her. It fit her nicely and I quickly hopped up and was out on the trails. I didn't try any trotting till she was accustomed to the strange feeling of the pad. Then finally after alot of walked here and there and back and forth, I asked her to do a slow trot. Slow she did. I didn't touch the reins, I just let her go where she wanted while I was concentrating on being fluid and staying on! We ended on a nice long trot.

So my question/challenge today is to play with a trailer, or a trailer simulation because you never know what will happen, like I had to learn the hard way.
So thats all for today!

Staying warm!
Julia

On The Ground- What is it?

What does on the ground mean? It means everything you do when you're not in the saddle. Your relationship with your horse is going on constantly whether you're riding him or not. Most people think they affect horses only when they are on their backs. Realistically, it's every moment of time you're with your horse, whether you have a halter and lead rope on him, or he's free and you're going to catch him or groom him, etc. Your horse is thinking of you whenever you're near him. He's trying to figure you out, trying to see where you're at, what kind of look you have on your face, what kind of mood you're in and so on. Even when you don't think you're affecting the horse, you probably are in some way or another.

In the Parelli Program Online and Liberty are done on the ground. Some are more confident on the ground (like me) while others are more confident riding.

Just thought I should write about this because it is a subject that affects me often.

Horse Behaviour

Hey Everyone!

Some of you may know that I am paying off Casper's lease by doing the chores at the barn. People laugh saying that after a year of doing the chores I won't enjoy doing them anymore. Well I have been doing them several times a month since August and I still find it fun and educational. I love doing the chores because it is a great time to watch and observe horses in their fields. I can probably name every horse's Horsenality without having to play with them. Of course some horses are different in and outside of the field. I could probably predict that too because of the way they act when I walk up to them. As a part of my quest to make my blog more interesting and to improve my writing abilities, I want to start posting about things other than just Sharlie and Casper. Maybe I can write a bit about what I think about each of the Parelli Principles, interesting people, etc...

I find watching natural horse behavious fascinating. After all, Natural Horsemanship is about being as similar to the horse as possible and learning more about their way of thinking.

So I am going to do something new, and ask you to spend some undemanding time with your horse in their natural environment- their field. Learn about how they act around other horses, where is their favorite grazing spots, how do they eat their grain, where is their itching spot...


Stay Savyy!
Julia

2 horse liberty & To Do list

Yesterday I had both Sharlie and Casper in the round pen together. I had a plan: do what Pat did in the L&HB Dvd when he has his Casper and Allure in together. Allure and (my) Casper are similar, unconfident and RB. (Pat's) Casper and Sharlie are similar, more confident and advanced. I played with them together for a few minutes. I already expected Casper to lose confidence quickly, so I knew what to do. I concentrated all my focus on Sharlie and totally ignored Casper. I played with Sharlie at liberty. I had a large come in there (as bit as Casper!) 2 posts for a figure 8 and a plank to use as a pedestal. All 3 objects were new. While Sharlie and I played with the figure 8, Casper played around with the cone. Then Sharlie and I played with the pedestal. That is still a work in progress, but we are getting there. I am going to film Sharlie and me playing at liberty so a friend can look at it and see what we have to work on for an audition. Casper isn't ready for liberty yet, and he is scared of the Carrot Stick so we worked online with the cone and the figure 8.

I have decided that Sharlie and I will take a break from Freestyle and what little Finesse we were doing and then in early spring we will start over from scratch. Also Sharlie will definitely be needing hill therapy by the time spring comes, so that is already planned. If Casper is advanced enough online for hill therapy by then too, then he will do it too.

With Christmas coming soon, I am asking for money because among other things, I want to send in my liberty and online audition for Sharlie. I am undecided about Casper...

If you think (or don't think) I should film and send in my Level 1 Online Audition for Casper vote over to the right in the column.
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The Irony of Life

I am not the religious type. In fact living in the Bible Belt has caused me to become much more negative toward religion then I would probably be if I continued living in France. Yes, religion is everywhere but its only here where they wave the Bible in your face, saying they are right and I am wrong. Saying that I have to believe in Jesus or go to hell. Those things have happened to me. I don't mean to offend anyone, because I know so many of my friends go to church. When my friends ask me what religion I am, I tell them I am a person. Thats all.

So keeping in mind the paragraph above, I find it close to amazing what has happened over these last few days. Since I told everyone that I was taking a break from the blogging world to find my journey, many strange things have happened. Sharlie and Casper will soon be together in their own field, presenting us with many new and exciting opportunities for playing. (Despite the approaching dreadful and muddy weather...) Then Mom met some ladies that practice Natural Horsemanship (or as they call it the Dark Arts). They had been to some of Carol Coppinger's clinic and in a few weeks they are going trail riding at East Fork Stables.
This gave me the idea of perhaps going camping there with my friend Kara and the horses next summer. That is still unsure, but an idea. I thought about which horse I would bring and I decided perhaps Casper would be the better choice... Which has led to helping me decide what to focus Casper's training- cross country/trail horse. Casper is not made for the arena. From past experience he has grown to be terrified and tense in the arena so his heart and soul can never fully be there. If I can get his confidence much stronger and better, perhaps we can start some driving.

Right now with Sharlie we are going to be working on liberty and hill therapy...oh yes definitely hill therapy!!


Thank you everyone for your support.
~Julia

Casper's Story

I realized looking back over my posts over the last year and a half or so that I have never mentioned Casper's story. Indeed he has been weaving in and out of posts for almost a year now. You all know Sharlie's background and history (They are the very first posts on the blog. Click here to go to the first post.) So it is only fair for me to tell you about Casper.

Casper is a 13 hand pony. His coat is seal brown. We thought he was 12 or 13 years old until this summer where by examining his teeth we discovered he is probably only 6 or 7! When he first arrived at Mercy Stables he was extremely green, unconfident and extremely right brain. (He belonged to the stable) We didn't have much chance to interact, especially after I got Sharlie. I tried to stop thinking about Casper but I always seemed to notice him. I watched him...I subconsciously discovered where his favorite tree was, where were his sensitive spots and how he kicked out at the other horses- Left hoof first, but it was the right hoof that usually made contact with the other horse. Soon I started trying to involve myself in his life because I did not agree with the way he was being trained and used.

When the cold came in December 2009 it gave me the chance to interact with Casper on a daily basis. When no one was around or watching, I would go and sit by the fence with a few treats, waiting patiently for him to walk up to the fence. I fed him through the little wires squares which began a game of him sticking his nose through holes and me tickling it. Soon he started meeting me there when he was near by. Then I started barely stepping into the field by the gate and feeding him there. By early February Casper was allowing me to start touching his face and neck.

Something I forgot to mention is that Casper hadn't been caught since July 2009 and was not planning on being caught anytime soon. So when I began to play with him in the field with ropes, I had to start out with hay strings. These are the steps I used to get him accustomed to strings & ropes.
1. string around my leg or waist.
2. he would let me hold it in my hand.
3. then touch him with the string in the other hand.
4. hay string on back, flank and legs.
5. string around neck.
6. move up to savvy string and repeat steps.

By the time I was to step 4 with the savvy string it was mid-march. When it came time to catch him (not through my choice) to move him to another field. Ever since then I have been slowing playing with him to teach him that he can trust me.
At the beginning of August we arranged to lease Casper for 1 year from Mercy Stables to prevent him being sold. I have always felt a connection with him and it broke my heart to maybe lose him to someone unknown and that didn't listen to him the way I do.

Casper is still green but with time and patience I know he will make a very good pony. I think he will be an excellent trail pony or cross country. He would be a great carriage horse if I could build up his confidence enough. Though my goal for this year is for him to become a reliable and trusting trail horse.

So that is his story. There was a bit of drama concerning him at the stables a few months ago but it has all cleared up. I am happy that the people at the stables have decided to give him a second chance. But more appropriately, all humans at the barn need to deserve a second chance from him.

Taking a Break to Find My Journey

I am sorry for not blogging sooner everyone, but I haven't been doing much with Sharlie and Casper because of the weather. (ugh)

Now I have been thinking that maybe I should take a break from blogging while I decide where I want my journey to go. Sharlie and I are at a point where we need to focus on what we want to do. I was thinking of the Parelli Rendezvous and Spotlights and I realized that Sharlie and I aren't good at anything. Our Online and Liberty are ok, but just ok. Freestyle is pretty bad and forget Finesse! I look at my friends who are so far ahead in their journey. Take my best friend Kara for example. She has had her horse for 10 months and she is already riding bareback and bridless! Hannah Willis and Emily Larramore are in Florida studying under Mirka Pitts. Friends all around me are improving, advancing and moving onward and upward in their journey and I am still close to where I started almost 2 years later. I auditioned for my Level 1 almost a year ago and Sharlie and I are still not ready to audition for anything else! (Especially not freestyle!) Even with Casper...We had made bounds of progress in a short amount of time but now we are a straight line across the graph.

So I apologize, but I will be taking a few weeks off of blogging in order to find out where this relationship is going.

Keep it Natural!
Julia, Sharlie & Casper

First Fall in 3 years

Last night I was trotting on Sharlie and she spooked at something that I didn't notice to be a problem. I could have easily stayed on by grabbing onto her mane, but so I wouldn't spook her more I sorta just let myself fall. I fell on my back, instantly rolling over and hopping up to catch Sharlie's rein. That was the first time I have EVER fallen off of Sharlie (despite many close calls) and the first time I have fallen off in 3 years (since I moved to America.) I have owned Sharlie for almost 2 years, as a fact of interest.

It also made me remember that the last time I fell off, it was voluntary as well. I was cantering in the arena and my pony made a U-turn, wanting to return to the horses standing in the middle of the arena. I could have easily stayed on because I only lost one stirrup but I thought to myself "That one stirrup can cause me to be dragged across the arena if he turns sharply again." so I unlatched my other foot and when Koala made another sharp turn within 2 seconds of me taking my foot out of the stirrups, I sorta just let myself slide and fall. I kept ahold of his reins and got up on my knees immediatly. Its amazing how those sorts of incidents repeat themselves.

(Take that Marissa! lol)

Riding in the Bridle & Horsemanship Du Coeur

Long time no blogging! I am ashamed to say I haven't been down to Mercy as much as I would like to. Yet I still have made progress with my two excellent horses. Sharlie and I have been working on staying more connected at liberty and riding bareback. Liberty is going quite well because we are starting to be able to do the figure 8 pattern consistantly. I am actually starting to wonder whether I'll have my Online and Liberty at Level 4 before even my Freestyle is Level 2! But I will think about that later.

With Casper we have a big break through - Riding with the bridle. Back a few weeks ago I tried this and Casper was about to bolt the whole time. He tried to run for the exits of the arena, his pace was choppy, etc... Well last weekend I tried Sharlie's bridle on him and we went out on a trail ride and he did quite nicely. It still needs work because sometimes I put too much pressure on him and he goes RBE.

Also I have started Horsemanship Du Coeur. The link for the website will be come soon.

Stay Savvy. And in case I dont post anytime soon, Happy Halloween
Julia, Sharlie & Casper