My New Year's Resolutions are the following: - 2012 will be a year to meet new people and make connections in the Natural Horsemanship and Parelli world. - I shall finish at least one novel and continue to improve my writing. - I shall continue to put the relationship first with both Sharlie and Casper, fix my flaws and make progress in our horsemanship journey. - Survive the end of the world. :)
This is a new thing I want to do for the blog, if only till the end of summer. Not only is this an attempt at attracting more readers and followers, (who am I to complain though with almost 10,000 views) this is also an attempt to read more non-fiction and horse related literature.
So I just finished reading Mark Rashid's book Horses Never Lie and to describe it in one word: magical.
This edition of Horses Never Lie by Mark Rashid was combined with beautiful drawings and sketches as well as well-spaced words. Overall it's rather large book but it's such an easy read.
I believe that the rather large layout makes it easier to read. The whole atmosphere of the book and reading the book is magical itself. Mark Rashid gets you very detailed examples are both entertaining and educational and give you a clear picture of what he's talking about.
Being the kind of person I am I need to rate it out of five stars. I would give this 4.5 out of 5 stars because while it was very entertaining and educational read, it did tend to lag in some parts. This could be just me and my problem or it could be the book itself that's up to the reader to decide.
One thing that I feel I must point out is that through his writing, you can find that Mark Rashid actually has a great sense of humor. His words are also able to relate to you how easy and laid back he is. I can truly admire a writer who can indirectly inform the reader of what his personality is because I've read too many books where the writer is cold and inpersonal.
I do look forward to reading his other books in the near future.
I know I have been absent from here for a long time so I think that this is the time for a well deserved blog post.
School is finally out for the holidays. I plan to do a lot of writing and riding. Or- knowing winter weather- just a lot of horsey time.
As my Christmas post I have decided to talk about my darling Casper. Honestly- what is new with Sharlie? Not much...
Plus Casper and Christmas...both begin with C! :)
So Curious Casper. I have noticed that Casper's attitude while being ridden with or without a bareback pad/saddle are different. Completely bareback he is relaxed and curious. (Though it kills me because it is so bony. It is actually really painful) However with a pad (which is much more comfortable for me) or saddle he is tense, walks faster and more likely to spook.
A few days ago I went to go play with both Sharlie and Casper and I rode both. I rode Casper with the bareback pad and he was very difficult. I needed to cool off so I put him in the round pen while i played with Sharlie.
When I came back 20 minutes later to take him back to the field, I hopped on him completely bareback with just a halter and leadrope- no helmet, no nothing. And he was the best little horse I could imagine. He was curious, wanting to investigate everything. He even tried to climb into the tackroom. He went up to and pawed at the roof tilings that he had found terrifying only an hour before.
Perhaps it was my attitude too, as well as his that caused this.
One thing is for sure. No matter what I do when I ride Casper, I always feel extremely safe on him. Even when he is like a coiled spring, ready to be released. I've ridden him a bit without a helmet and those rides seem to be the best that we have.
Merry Christmas
Julia
PS- Sorry its short. Will have another post on this subject in a few weeks. :)
Just felt like sharing my adorable kitties with you guys!
Wapka: Wapka is the oldest cat. He is black and white, has the cat equivalent of a beer belly and is about 70 if you translate from cat years. He has traveled the world. We believe he was born on the Mexico/California border before being picked up by the pound in Orange County. We adopted him and since then he has traveled to South Carolina, France, England and now Tennessee. He is grumpy, lazy and loves Gold Fish and Lays. Don't question it!
Walle: You know how they say someone has 'lost their marbles'? Well Walle never had any marbles to begin with. Walle is open, friendly but still rather stupid. He is the cat that you will find laying out in the middle of the street when the garbage truck is coming. Walle is now 3 years old and has lived on this block of the neighborhood his whole life. He was born next door and now lives here. He is the hunter of the family. (As proven by the dead squirrel on the porch as well as countless birds, mice and chipmunks) There has been some suspicion he is an alien from another planet here to steal human brains and replace them with his own. It has not been confirmed nor denied.
Wabu: We got Wabu about a year ago from the pound. At first he meowed and meowed and meowed. Never ever shut up! Now he is much more quiet. He has let his walls fall slightly and we can see the vunerable, insecure Wabu. (Which is not always a good thing!!) We now get to see paranoid Wabu, damsel in distress Wabu, can't-hold-onto-my-bladder Wabu and many more. However he can still be rather affectionate and lovable. We can only guess that Wabu used to live in a frat boy college dorm room/gay couple's apartment. Not quite sure which one. :)
Wikipedia: THE FIRST GIRL CAT WE HAVE HAD IN OVER A DECADE! We picked up Wiki in the Mcdonald's parking lot.We planned to give her away to a good home because we were happy with our three cats (above) but she has wiggled into our hearts like some sort of adorable fluffy heart worm. She is rather intelligent and communicates via a series of purrs, squeaks and tiny mews. She the inspiration of a Christmas story I am writing.
Hi, As a result of spending bill H2112, slaughterhouses in the United States will be able to resume slaughtering horses for human consumption.We are not a nation that raises horses as food animals or one that consumes horse meat. Rather, horses are largely considered companion animals, more similar to dogs and cats than to animals raised for consumption.They should therefore be treated as such, and not subjected to mass slaughter. "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi That's why I signed a petition to The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate and President Barack Obama, which says: "We ask that the House of Representatives, Senate, and President Obama pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011, S.B. 1176/H.R. 2966, to ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption.This is particularly importantfor the following reasons: 1) Horses are revered for their contributions to the building of this country, their long-standing history of working alongside humans in a variety of tasks, their companionship, and their special bond with people; (2) Horses are not raised for the purpose of being slaughtered for human consumption and as a result, American horses are not raised, fed and medicated within the FDA guidelines established for food animals, making them potentially unfit and unsafe for human consumption; (3) Horse slaughter is not humane euthanasia, and does not allow for each animal to be respectfully treated as an individual; (4) Banning slaughter would encourage breeders to be more careful in the number of foals they produce, and ultimately would reduce the number of horses in need, while improving horse welfare; (5) President Obama made a campaign promise to permanently ban horse slaughter and exports of horses for human consumption; and (6) Allowing commercial horse slaughter for human consumption in the US uses American tax dollars to support an industry that caters entirely to foreign interests, instead of directing those tax dollars to domestic interests." Will you sign this petition? Click here: http://signon.org/sign/ban-horse-slaughter-now?source=s.em.mt&r_by=1731668 Thanks!
This happened a few weeks ago but I forgot to write about it!
I have always wondered what would happen if you put a Level 1 horse on a 45-foot line. Pat and Linda always talk about it, how you shouldn't do it until you and the horse are ready for that sort of thing.
I understood why but some part of me couldn't help but wonder...what would happen?
So one evening I clipped the 45 foot line onto Casper's halter and began playing the 7 games. (Except Sideways. Still having trouble with that game) I left Circling for last. The other games went fine. He didn't act any different. He didn't really stray more than 15 feet away though either.
So last came Circling Game and I knew that this is where something would probably happen. At first I asked him to walk then trot. I asked him to move out 15 feet away...then 20...then 25. He was a little unsure at first but after some Bullseye-ing and walk/trot transitions he was pretty relaxed. I even got him to jump over a barrel a few times!
Then I decided to ask him to canter. He gave me a look as if to say "Really?" before he bolted! He took off faster than a bullet from a gun. I gripped onto the end of the rope while he took me skiing. I didn't even think of letting go. All I did was tell him "Casper! Young man you better stop right now! What do you think you are doing? Casper!!"
Then as suddenly as he had took off, he stopped - dead on with a cone too. I can see that Point A to B paid off- and looked at me as if to say "What? I only did what you asked. Its not my fault!"
I couldn't help but chuckle. He was rather silly. He just did it to have some fun since his ears were pricked the whole time. But dang that little pony is strong!!
Anywho. Now I know what happens if you put a Level 1 pony on a Level 3 rope. :)
Let me start out by saying Happy Turkey Day to all of you, even if it is a day or two late!
So as you probably have guessed I have been a very busy girl. School has been working me to death. I know its horrible. But yet I am such a hypocrite cause I love my school :) No seriously. I had a bad dream that it was shut down and I had to go to the high school in Ooltewah and I cried. And cried and cried.
Dead serious.
I am probably the only kid who enjoys school. Oh well. I always knew I was weird.
Anyway hopefully with the end of the semester approaching my work load will lighten (not likely) but at least it means that Christmas break is almost upon us! (It can not come fast enough) Between convincing my Algebra 2 teacher to give me extra credit and doodling horses in ACT Prep class, I have my hands full ;)
Now that I have given you the update on school (I know, you guys were so looking forward to it.) Let me tell you about the high light of my Thanksgiving Weekend. I GOT TO WATCH THE MOVIE BUCK!! :D
Trailer below *points down*
I have been looking forward to the day when I could finally see this and I am glad to say I was not dissapointed. I laughed and cried and had shivers running down my spine multiple times. It is an amazing documentary.
Even if you have no interest in horses, I recommend you watch it. It still is just...amazing.
It confirmed several things as well. It confirmed that I indeed was following the right path, the natural path with horses. Also that this is the life I want to have. Clinics, traveling, meeting new people and catching up with the old. Learning from mentors and teaching students. I cannot wait.
On a note of mentors and students. I am glad to say that my mentor Emily Larramore has done splendidly at the Ocala Fast Track despite a hiccup involving switching out horses. She overcame it with grace and still did wonderfully. I hope to talk to her and see her soon. Its amazing how close you can get to someone. Or maybe I'm just clingy. *shrugs*
Now onto students. I have a new student! That brings the number to an all time high of 2!! Riley is a family friend. She is in the 6th grade. Go do the math.
I chuckle when I think of how she thought Casper (a little 13 hand pony) was big. (PS- She is tiny!!) However Casper fell completely in love with her. She was very soft and kind with him as I taught her to lead him around the arena, going over jumps, doing figure 8s around the barrels and so on. At the end of the lesson we sat on our barrels and he just kept his head right next to her the whole time, relaxed and falling asleep. I was taken back by how much he loved Riley because usually Riley is a hyper little ball of energy and for a Right Brain Introvert like Casper, it usually is too much! But she was calm, almost timid!
I look forward to future lessons with her. Jimmy, my other student is doing well. We have already covered the 7 games and more and may or may not be moving onto riding. With the way the weather has turned, it looks like all riding will have to stop soon. Too cold, too wet, too slippery, too miserable.
I have come to enjoy teaching children. It has indeed been a challenge to think of things from a child's point of view. (But you are a child too Julia! True, but when it comes to what I am teaching, I am used to learning it and thus teaching it from an adult's point of view) Though I still hope to be able to teach an adult soon. I think some balance would be nice. Maybe its the fact that I am 15. Why must people always judge by age? Ugh.
NOW onto that pony. Oh goodness, don't we all know I have a soft spot for ponies. All ponies, all horses. I love them all!! Can I just buy all the horses in the world then give them to people who do Natural Horsemanship? (This is where the child inside me comes out) Anywho, back on topic. I am so excited. I got permission today to go and catch the uncatchable horse and groom her! :) So maybe I'm a little confident about being able to catch her. But I was able to catch Casper when he was deemed uncatchable!
This pony isn't much different. She just has associated being caught as a really really terrible thing. (Can I blame her?) As do many horses. As did Casper once upon a time. Anywho I am excited.
To those who don't know- catching is my THING. I love the phycology of catching horses. If I could make a living off of that, I would do it. (Well that and other stuff. I think I would get bored eventually) The point is that the whole though process on both the human and horse's sides fascinate me. Why does a horse react the way they do to when the human moves over here? Why does the human walk around this way instead of that way? Does he think he is being sneaky? Wow really you think the horse can't see you? Wow... (interior monologue continues rambling off until you can't hear it anymore)
So thats all I have for now. I'll let you know how catching the uncatchable works out. I'm SO EXCITED! :D (Can you tell?)
Also- Do you think I can convince my school principal to let the teachers play the Today Show during first block at school? I have been thinking about it because I seriously want to watch the news in the mornings at school while I work. And I love the Today Show.
Maybe I'll shoot her an email after Christmas.
On a final note I have felt somewhat out of touch with my dear horsey friends. So let me just say to Kara, Hannah, Emily, and the others (you know who you are!) (no I totally did not just forget who you are!) I love you guys to no ends. CALL ME!! :P No, seriously. Or email me. EMILY email me girly! I MISS YOU! YOU TOO KARA!! Hannah, I get to see you at Conyers!! EEEEEKK! LICK THE WINDOWS! :D
