A Learning Way- Ear Shy

Q. Ear shy (won't let you touch his ears)

Answer:

Ear shy is more of that is there delicate place and they would rather you not hurt it. Especially if they have known people to handle them roughly, they definitely do not want those people handling their delicate ears. But, if there is a small child who only walks in the field with them and strokes them, then they will lower their head for her to stroke their ears kindly, for they trust her with their delicate places. They know that she would never try to overpower, never hurt, not just because she is physically to weak, but also because she has never wanted to. It is a matter of mutual trust here. Cherish has come to trust me with her ears, and I have come to trust her with standing above me. It is all because we know that we will never hurt each other. Mutual trust.

Thank you to Kara Cumberton. Here is her blog

Next time: A Learning Way- Won't pick up the feet

Brats & Bracing

I apologize for the lack of posting and the short posts.

I know that after my daily blogging during camp, this is definitely a drastic change. Even I feel it.

Starting today, I am living in a suitcase. Not all bad of course, but don't expect many blog posts. Except maybe while I'm at Emily's (Check the ticker! So excited! You have NO idea!)

So yesterday was the 4th of July barbecue at the stables. Oh. My. God. It was sooo hot and humid! Especially in the barn (which unfortunately all the food was. I think the hay in there contributed to the heat in there considerably!)

After eating some delicious hot dogs (Well done Curtis, they were excellent! Well done Tom, those chicken legs were fabulous!) I decided to go play with the horses because there were bound to be fireworks once it started getting dark. Even though it was blistering hot and humid (torture!)

I caught Sharlie (who came trotting to me! Love that pretty girl) and led her out to play on the ground a bit. Something however was rather off. I didn't know exactly what at first till Sharlie started trying to push me around, nearly knocking me over while going for a patch of grass. I got rather frustrated. I didn't know why she was acting this way, especially after how good she was just after camp. Was it maybe because she could sense that I wouldn't be around at all this next month?

When I took her into the arena (that had recently been tilled and had no grass) and she did indeed improve. I decided to try and do a little 1 rein riding, something I had never done with Sharlie before. But I was comfortable with the idea now as it had been something I had been practicing with Casper of the last couple weeks.

At first Sharlie did alright but she quickly became defiant and disrespectful. Bratty.
I tied the lead rope in order to make it two reins. Then Mom and I took the horses out for a small walk, me riding Sharlie and Mom leading Casper.

Sharlie continued to misbehave. This included pretending to stop and itch her leg or even to pee as an excuse to snatch at grass. Finally when she tried to get me off by unbalancing me I decided to get off.

On the way back I decided to ride Casper with 2 reins. While he was attempting to snatch at grass now and then, he was no where nearly as bad as Sharlie.

However one thing that dumbfounded me to no avail is the fact of Casper being very tense and bracey on his left side. Why is this so unusual? He is usually very bracey on his right side, which is his unconfident side.

He remained rather difficult on his left side, even when I rode with 1 rein. Finally when he softened slightly I decided to get off.

I'm glad to say our riding sessions are getting longer and longer.
Our first official one (in the vid) was about 10 minutes.
The one the other night was about 15 minutes.
This entire ride was about 30 minutes. That's double!
I don't think he could handle much more. But he is slowly building up his mental, emotional and physical stamina. Remember he is around 20 years old and we are still building up his muscle. Which is why at the moment we are only walking.

Being back in his old field with Sharlie that is basically a rather sharp incline is definitely helping. I swear I saw some butt muscle the other day! :P

I do love my babies. (Though Casper is older than me!) Even Sharlie when she is a brat because we have our good moments (hey, she trotted to me!)

Did I mention Casper came cantering to me the other day? *falls in love...again*

Goodnight! No more blogging this week I'm afraid apart from the A Learning Way series. Rememember you do not have to read those. Just for those interested in learning more about Kara & her ways.

Toodles
Julia

A Learning Way- Horses Reflect Humans & Vice Versa

Q. The horse reflects the human and the human reflects the horse. With joy, anger, tension, emotions, memories...? (By adding a question mark to the end, I am asking for your reflection on that and your comment. As I wasn't sure how to phrase it into a sentence.)

Answer:

The horse reflects the human.

The human reflects the horse.

With joy, anger, tension, emotions, memories.

This can happen often times......BUT........it's different. I'll use Aubrey as an example - she was crying next to Dante, and Dante became more nervous and also a bit sad, but not because she was sad - because he was sad. If Aubrey was sad, but Dante was not sad, he would become more of a comforting role with a bit of empathy - but it would not become his own emotion. Typically, horses only mirror people's emotions when they are trying to send them a message. If you understand your horse and you can hear your horse and listen to your horse, and you are feeling some emotion, most likely you will also be fairly balanced. It seems like all of these things pretty much go hand in hand with animals. It is mainly the unbalanced and distorted or hidden emotions that make the horse show you something. If you are frustrated, and acting as if you are, but you are truly nervous in underneath out of complete and utter fear, the horse will show you the complete and utter fear that you hold, and will also become nervous itself. Horses have this thing that tells them not to trust anything that denies its true emotions - because these creatures tend to be very unpredictable and taunting. They think they're on top, and that they know all through logic and that they can conquer all through simple means - and that is exactly the problem with humans.

Tension is something that results from distorted, unbalanced, or hidden emotions. If you are nervous, you can still be nervous and hold no tension. Sometimes I become nervous, but never do I become tense. This is because I am completely truthful with myself about my nervousness, the gravity and weight of it, why I'm nervous, and how long it's been there... etc etc. You will only gain tension from having facades and whatnot and being unbalanced. Tension is created from incongruent "innerds", as Ray Hunt calls it, of the human.

Thank you Kara once again! (And Aubrey too) Beautiful Dreamworld

Next time: A Learning Way- Ear Shy

Awesomeness Once Again

(Wednesday 29th)
So so so where were we?

I haven't really written alot because I haven't been doing alot.
Why?
Well I don't have any lead ropes that I can really use at my disposal. I have a 6 ft leadrope and a 8 foot lead rope that I am using. My 22ft is broken (we need to fix it) and my 10ft lead rope is also broken.

On top of that for the first time ever Sharlie has been wanting to and offering to do Level 3/4 stuff. She will offer Sideways at liberty in the field, or try and run ahead and jump the log in their field. Ironically, I only have this little short line so we can't really do much.

I rode Casper again tonight ( Thursday 30th) Amazing.

I love my Casper so much! I rode him around in the round pen with the saddle. His lateral flexion on both sides is the best its ever been, he started listening to my aids (seat, weight, focus, etc...) before I had to use the reins (though some rein was still needed) He is slowly starting to become lighter and lighter when it comes to riding in general and not having as much brace when it comes to physically, mentally and emotionally. :) So so so happy right now!

Maybe when I come back from the internship and Emily gives me a lesson with him, we can have our first trot together!

A Learning Way- 'Accident Prone' Horses

Q. Do you believe in such a thing as 'accident-prone' horses or is it more 'accident-prone' humans? 

Answer:
The "accident prone" horses and humans are the horses and humans who are too nervous, too distracted, or too dead to be able to pay attention to their surroundings. Horses naturally pay attention to their surroundings, but when they are any of these three things, they tend to not be able to so well. People say that "Arabians are so accident prone" and that Thoroughbreds are as well - but this is not because they truly are accident prone. No, this is because people make these horses so nervous by taking their independence and forcing them into things that they are forced into being on edge all the time. These horses become so nervous that they don't judge the severity or the depth of their surroundings accurately. 


Thank you to Kara once again! Here is her blog: Beautiful Dreamworld


Next time: A Learning Way- Let it Be

"We Are Parelli Because..." video

Hey everyone,
I know it must seem odd that I'm not updating everyday like I was at camp but not really that much has been going on. I have been working on the video for the "We Are Parelli Because..." competition and I finally finished it!

However because Facebook, or otherwise known as Failbook, has banned me from uploading videos to Failbook you won't find the video on there OR youtube. I'm already emailed the video to Parelli and I will have to call them on Monday to make sure that they receive it and will accept it as part of the competition.

So here it is. There are alot of special moments in this video. You will see Sharlie do a change of directions from 30 feet away,  my first official ride on Casper as well as some video from camp.

I hope you enjoy!

A Learning Way- Repetition with Horses

Q.  "Horses only learn through repetition." What do you think?

Answer:
 No, no, no, no, no. Horses are so intelligent! They learn through far much, far past repetition! I have come to absolutely hate teaching my horses in repetition, especially Cherish. She actually hates it when I teach her repeating, repeating, repeating things. She loves to have new things to learn, and trust me - she always learns the first time. It's not so much how many times you repeat the lesson, it's how you teach it the first time. The first impression always matters more than the next - much as the first lesson matters more than all of the next. The only reason I ever see meaning in repeating things is simply for me to improve on them - not the horse. The horse is already smart enough to be able to do all of that by herself, so I simply get better and better at it myself. It is a constant and forever self improvement. The better I get at it, though, doesn't necessarily matter - the most important thing is that I keep the connection with her as I learn more and more. No matter how hard I try, how much I learn, or even how aggravated I get... there always has to be the connection, openly, when with the horse.

Thank you to Kara Cumberton for answering my questions. Read her blog here.




Next time: A Learning Way- Accident Prone Horses

A Learning Way- Biting & Cribbing

Q. "Once a biter, always a biter." What do you believe on this subject?

Q. Other than lack of mental stimulation, do you believe there is more to cribbing?

Q. Biting, nipping, lipping, snapping the air. (Aggresive/Fear vs. Emotional release)

Answer:

Ah, hah, the "biting syndrome". This one always makes me laugh. No, of course a horse is never ALWAYS  a "biter"! In fact, horses can't be described by one bad habit or stress outtake. The biting is not caused simply by a person... Biting is usually the horse showing that they are extremely unhappy with their life, and all of the small things within it. Each time that the person does something that the horse doesn't like, or the horse doesn't like something that is done to them or that they are put somewhere, they bite! It doesn't really matter what they bite - it's all biting. The horse starts out with biting when the person is pressured, when the horse is made to physically submit to something, when they are forced to stand... And it ends up at almost every single thing that is proclaiming their lack of independence. Pretty soon, horses will start biting each other over the stall wall, biting the stall wall, biting the bars, the buckets, and I've even seen them bite their own legs and shoulders when it just gets too far. So how do you "fix" biting? It's very simple actually, and something that most people would never think of. You give the horse its independence. You let them bite you, and instead of scolding them, you treat them as a horse would, stomp the ground, throw your head, and push them back with your self presence, energy, etc.You treat the horse like a horse, and you let them have full independence. You do NOT debilitate them, distort your emotions, you do NOT force them, make them submit, or even pull on their rope. You must put the utmost importance in the careful practice of not taking any tiny bit of independence from your horse. You must allow them to be their full self. Not only will the biting then stop, but so will all of the other stressful habits that you may or may not have noticed. If you give your horse full independence, full freedom, full expression, and have full play with you. You must be willing to listen to your horse and do everything that they truly wish for - all of the things that I have listed, and more. They've never wanted to be "ridden". They've wanted to connect with a human, with their true human rider, and to forge a bond so strong that it can never be separated. And what have humans given them in return? Well, you already know.

A horse is only a biter because he feels he has to be. It is his only way to grab onto anything that allows him to have independence. He has independence of biting - and once he is completely stripped of that, in the wrong way, he will die. When he has been stripped of the ability to fight back from what he is made to fight back from: stripping of his independence... his soul will die.

There is way more to cribbing. It is similar to biting, except for it is the next step. It is after a human has stripped the horse of the ability to bite or fight back, and then they will take to something where they may simply grab on for dear life and pull - literally and metaphorically. They suck in because there is no hope for anything else. They suck in to take it away, because it blurs everything. It is extremely depressing. But the more they crib, the more dead they are, but by the time they're cribbing,  they're already dead. 

Anything in aggression is not out of hate, but out of the wish for you to realize something. If the horse is acting aggressive toward you, ask yourself what they're trying to tell you. It could be anything... But most often, I've found that it's out of wish for more independence, out of wish to not be surpressed by the human. And you know what I give them when they act aggressively towards me? Well, first, I make myself safe... Often times, if you tell them that you feel unsafe and that they are scaring you when they act like that, they will apologize and stop... Maybe not the first or second time, but definitely after that. (nothing is fixed immediately. it is a journey, and it takes time.) And then I give them all the freedom possible.

Anything in fear is the same - it is not that they are absolutely terrified of you, it is that they are afraid of something though.... And it could be almost anything. It is, most often though, when the horse is afraid of losing its freedom.

And why do we continue to go back to freedom and independence? Because the horse's largest need is freedom, and the thing that humans most often want to take away from them is... freedom.

When things are done for the purpose of your emotional release, it means that the horse feels fairly comfortable in showing you what is wrong. They are trying to tell you something, as they always are when they nip, bite, lip, or snap at the air. That is the most important thing to remember - that they're always speaking to you, unless they're not, and it's better for them to speak to you than to ignore you or to be dead, so take everything they say as something that you can learn from. Even the things that hurt.

But don't let them trample you all the time - safety does matter - but they won't see the need to if you are in understanding with them, or even if you don't quite understand them, but if you are trying to listen.

Now. What does it mean? Is that what you wanted? If not, can you explain your question more?

Do you want what it is, why it is...............

Thank you to Kara Cumberton for her genius. http://cherishingdejavu.blogspot.com is her blog link.


Next time: A Learning Way- Repetition with Horses

June 20th- The Farrier and Sharlie & Casper reunited!

Hey!

So on Monday the farrier was coming to do some horses, including Casper. (Cause let me be honest. They were in HORRIBLE condition!) Casper only needs to get his hooves about once a year. But as I begin to start playing with him and he gets more exercise he may start needing it a bit more often. Anyway, back on point!

I was slightly nervous as how Casper would act with the farrier. Last time he was very stubborn about not picking up his feet. Also the 97 degree weather hadn't put him in a good mood either. (Nor me for that matter)

However when George asked him to pick up his hooves, he did so without protest and stood lazily as George did each of his hooves.
Now on Casper's back right leg there is a crack that goes straight down the middle. It has somewhat healed but it has been there forever. I asked if it was something I should worry about or if it would ever completely heal.

George's answer fascinated me. The reason it wasn't healing is because there was a lack of blood flow where the crack was. This also extended up as a scar up his leg.

Some how in the past, he had had a severe injury there and the scar was there to prove it.

It makes me wonder whether or not this injury could have affected some part of him permanently...?
His behavior?
His gait perhaps? Maybe thats why its so bumpy! Aren't gaited horses supposed to be smoooooooth?

I'm going to research it. If you guys know anything let me know!

Final Reflections of 'Back to the Herd' Camp 2011

Hello Everyone,

Well this is the last and final post when it comes to camp. It is the Final Reflections post. 

First of all I want to talk about camp in general, as an experience. The first word that comes to mind is amazing. It was an amazing experience! Wonderful, inspiring, educational, outstanding, energizing, emotional, tiring, exciting...

Something worth doing again. 

What I learned...

What I have learned during the past two weeks is more internal than personal than external. I can't share my new knowledge with the world as it has been solely self-growth and learning about myself. If someone were to ask me to show them what I have learned at camp, I wouldn't be able to. I think that it is the same for both Brita and Kara. 

Brita Kara and I are the only humans that will be able to see the complete difference in me. As for horses, every horse I meet and interact with from now on will experience this new change in me.

I hope I will be able to become more connected with Casper and Sharlie. I hope to be able to feel more.

To start dancing more.

Looking at the view.

Where do I go from here...

I wish to continue on the pattern I've been set. A pattern of growing, learning, exploring...both with horses and with myself. 

Goals:

~Summer~

For Casper my summer goal is to pass Level 1 with him. I also have a goal to be able to make him a confident, calm, trusting and willing trail pony and can be ridden at the walk with a saddle and hackamore. However, seeing as I won't be spending much time with my horses this summer... (it suddenly got filled up. Camping, internship with Emily, England...then school!) that goal will be extended to October/November if that makes sense. 

For Sharlie I hope to be able to self-assess Level 3 Online and Liberty and start working toward Level 2 Freestyle.

 Also another goal I have that should last me a while is the "Twelve Things to be Done With Excellence."

1) Haltering/unhaltering

2) Picking up all 4 feet

3) Saddling

4) Trailer loading

5) Bridling/unbridling

6) Mounting/Dismounting

7) Nine Step Back Up

8) Soft Feel at Halt

9) Lateral Flexion

10) Direct Rein

11) Indirect Rein

12) Supporting/Fixed Rein

Now of course probably the most challenging will be number 4) Trailer Loading. So my goal is to accomplish the other 11.  

Riding more and becoming more fluid and balanced is also a very important goal of mine.  

For myself, I want to be able to read at least 2 out of the 3 books I have. (More on them later)

Sharlie & Kara play in the arena while Cherish grazes in the background.

Over the next year (12 months) I have a couple of goals for both horses. 

For Casper I would like to start building up his muscle now so hopefully by next summer he will be able to canter while supporting a rider. Also, I want  him to become a confident, calm, trusting, willing and dependable trail pony that I can take places like Chickamauga Battlefield or other places where Kara, Brita and I can go on trail rides. (Or with other people too!) Casper only has a few years left before he will probably retire from being ridden so I hope to make those next few years as enjoyable as possible  by doing what he loves...trail rides. Of course Casper is one of the toughest horses I've ever seen so I wouldn't be surprised if he could still be ridden by a petite rider until he was in his late 20s! (Touch wood!)

For Sharlie I would love to see us being able to canter fluidly, balanced and without bucking at Kara's. I would also love to see Sharlie's trailering much improved if not fixed all together. Both goals will be very challenging and Sharlie and I will have to face many thresholds in order to get there. Another goal I would like to see us accomplish by the end of next summer is to self-assess Level 4 Online and Liberty and Level 3 Freestyle. Then I will be able to actually audition for them if/when I go back to Kara's. (and actually be able to film them this time ;P )

For myself I have a very simple, yet challenging goal. I would like to become much more active in helping the horses and owners at Mercy. Not only as a learning experience for myself, but also to actually help people with their horses, or more realistically: helping the horses with their people problems. There aren't that many people at Mercy anymore but I would love for them to know I am available and more than willing to help.

Our camp T-shirts. Top left: Mine, Top right: Kara's, Bottom/middle: Brita's
Drawn by Kara herself.

BUSY SUMMER:
Now when I say I have a busy summer, I have a BUSY summer!! I've never been this busy before!!
So lets see...in the month of July if I add up all the days I will be home..a total of 9 days! (Give or take!) There is camping, then the internship then England!! Then I'm back only a day or two before school starts! That is why my goals are so simple. I only have a couple of weeks!!

"We Are Parelli Because..."
I'm sure some of you have heard of the video competition that Parelli is having. I plan on entering a video. Who knows, I may just win a day with Pat and Linda! (Not likely though :P) 

We heard a peacock. No joke.
(Yes Kara, it was in the other direction)

When it comes to the Trailer...
I've gotten a lot of criticism over how I handled loading Sharlie in the trailer coming home. Not 'taking control of my horse' or 'my emotions'. I just wanted to say: OH WELL! What done is done! I know it wasn't ideal, that I should be able to load Sharlie calmly but we aren't at that point yet!
The decisions I make with my horses, even if they seem illogical to you, are my decisions and I make them for a reason. What most 'normals' don't understand is that I may be making a decision that is better for the long run rather than in the short term and so they don't see any point in it!
If I had tried to load Sharlie while my hands were shaking because I was so emotional, we would have regressed in progress rather than made any. Just cause she loaded doesn't make it progress. When she loads because she WANTS to, then that will be progress.
A very big part of the reason I was stressed is because we didn't have time. We had to load her up THEN and THERE. 
 That's why I hope that by next summer the Cumbertons will have their own trailer. Then we can take the time it takes to load her up, so then in the long run she will load up in less time.

On the top of the mountain. 

Reading List
Here is my reading list for the next few months.

- Reading the Horse's Mind by Jackie Budd

- Dancing with Horses by Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling

- The Ultimate Horse Behavior and Training Book by Linda Tellington-Jones

Kara and I make goofy faces. Somehow Kara STILL looks adorable when she makes ugly faces!

PS- Just hit 5000 views! :D Thank you!