Happy Turkey Day.!!!
Well today is the day to be thankful. I have many things to be thankful for. My family that allows me the time to play with my horses comes to mind 1st. They are the most important thing to me. They don't have the love and passion that I have for my horses but they try to understand that this is what makes Mom happy. A happy Mom is a good thing!!!
So spent the day with my Dad , up in Chiefland , and helped put up Christmas decorations. Then we came back down here to Dunnellon and picked up my Mom . We went over to Debbie and Jimmy's house for a 2nd dinner with the Love side of the Family. Both dinners were delish!!Yum. My poor horses have to carry me around now....Wonder just how many pounds I added to today?
After getting home , I went and got Shan out. Played online for about 30 min. Yielding zone 1 both porcupine and driving. Then played stick to me. Then some sideways next to horse trailer.
Worked on speeding up the game.....using energy....I am almost trotting at him. He wasn't to sure about that one but settled down to it. Ended with playing again at zone 1 yielding.
Plans for tomorrow.....Bath horses ........weather is finally perdicted to be warm some.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Playing with my horses
Sunday, Nov 23rd
Shan has popped an abcess RH . Small drainage from cornet band. Soaked footed. Him seemed like nothing was bothering him. Hopefully everything will work out with no problems.
With Beau I decided to soak his hooves in lysol mixture. He stood well and tolerated it all very nice. Then we went out on to the property and hung out some. Did alot of the friendly game. Slapping the ground and waiting to see some relaxtion before I would stop with the slapping. He is getting better with it. So now I have to keep working to get my better best. Did a lot of massaging of legs. He really got relaxed. Then we started to mosey some and began with stick to me from zone 2/3 area , go and whoa with energy. Whoa is good Go needs work. Also played with yeilding zone 1 with porcupine and driving game. Driving is much better than porcupine.......once again , need to get my good, better and by better best.
Monday, Nov 24th
Left Shan alone. Played with Beau on line for about 30 minutes. We reinforced yielding zone 1 . Then moved on to some circling game with change of direction. Also more stick to me , go and whoa . Nice relaxed horse.
Tuesday, Nov 25th
Trial ride at Pruitt trailhead. Rode with Tia and Kash. It was a great day to be out. Big blue ski and nice cool breeze. We started out the greenway but ended up going over to the Swift Mud side. I have never rode there before. It is more two lane roads thru pines and open marsh land. Some of those trails are suppose to take you down to the river. I will have to try that maybe the next time we are out there. Both horses did well . Beau started out alittle sluggish but came out of it and seemed to enjoy himself. As Tia and I were loading up some old friends of mine came riding up. Judy, Linda, and Craig which I have not seen in a couple of years. We got to chat some and see each others new horses. They are camping at Ross Prairie for the weekend.
Wed. Nov 26th
Beau kinda of snobbed me today. That is ok maybe he is a little tired and needing a break. So I just went and got Shan. He seems to be moving fine. Clipped up his legs (or should I say hacked at them) since they looked like a wooley bear. Then went out on line and played . Stick to me from zone 2/3 . Traveling circles, transitions , and change of directions. Sideways away and to me , worked on me being soft and focused...just how little does it take? Horse is very light and pretty responsive. After finishing with Shan ......went and just groomed Beau and turned all horses out.
Shan has popped an abcess RH . Small drainage from cornet band. Soaked footed. Him seemed like nothing was bothering him. Hopefully everything will work out with no problems.
With Beau I decided to soak his hooves in lysol mixture. He stood well and tolerated it all very nice. Then we went out on to the property and hung out some. Did alot of the friendly game. Slapping the ground and waiting to see some relaxtion before I would stop with the slapping. He is getting better with it. So now I have to keep working to get my better best. Did a lot of massaging of legs. He really got relaxed. Then we started to mosey some and began with stick to me from zone 2/3 area , go and whoa with energy. Whoa is good Go needs work. Also played with yeilding zone 1 with porcupine and driving game. Driving is much better than porcupine.......once again , need to get my good, better and by better best.
Monday, Nov 24th
Left Shan alone. Played with Beau on line for about 30 minutes. We reinforced yielding zone 1 . Then moved on to some circling game with change of direction. Also more stick to me , go and whoa . Nice relaxed horse.
Tuesday, Nov 25th
Trial ride at Pruitt trailhead. Rode with Tia and Kash. It was a great day to be out. Big blue ski and nice cool breeze. We started out the greenway but ended up going over to the Swift Mud side. I have never rode there before. It is more two lane roads thru pines and open marsh land. Some of those trails are suppose to take you down to the river. I will have to try that maybe the next time we are out there. Both horses did well . Beau started out alittle sluggish but came out of it and seemed to enjoy himself. As Tia and I were loading up some old friends of mine came riding up. Judy, Linda, and Craig which I have not seen in a couple of years. We got to chat some and see each others new horses. They are camping at Ross Prairie for the weekend.
Wed. Nov 26th
Beau kinda of snobbed me today. That is ok maybe he is a little tired and needing a break. So I just went and got Shan. He seems to be moving fine. Clipped up his legs (or should I say hacked at them) since they looked like a wooley bear. Then went out on line and played . Stick to me from zone 2/3 . Traveling circles, transitions , and change of directions. Sideways away and to me , worked on me being soft and focused...just how little does it take? Horse is very light and pretty responsive. After finishing with Shan ......went and just groomed Beau and turned all horses out.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Playing around the house
OK Today I went out to play with Shan the Man. It's been a while since I have done anything with him. Poor boy , I feel bad about that one. He is so wooly and dirty. I don't think I have ever seen him this dirty, but it's been cold so I guess he is staying this way for now.
Played on line . Decided to see how he yields zone 1. Better at the driving game but difficult at the porcupine game. Trying to get him to yield zone 1 and keep hind legs in a circle. We had a few moments of right brian but after we got settled down I had a nice soft responsive horse. We made some pretty nice circles. Then we played with sideways. He loves sidepassing to me. Now I am trying to have him sidepass to me without having to touch lightly on the opposite side. Just lifting my carrot stick and using some motion. Then he also went sideways away from me too. All pretty nice. Shan is such fun to play with...I really need to do more of this. I am thinking of taking him to the next play day at Beth's .....Shan has never been to a playday. It should be real interesting that is for sure.
Called for Beau and up he came from the pasture. At liberty we went around the property some . Then played with a plywood board , having him crossing it and backing on and off. He was staying calm ...making progress with his problems of placing his hind feet on something.
Then we also worked on yielding zone 1 with the porcupine and driving game. He is getting softer.
Also played friendly game , slapping the savvy string on the ground and seeing how it effects Beau. He did better with it. Stayed relaxed and did some chewing.
Played on line . Decided to see how he yields zone 1. Better at the driving game but difficult at the porcupine game. Trying to get him to yield zone 1 and keep hind legs in a circle. We had a few moments of right brian but after we got settled down I had a nice soft responsive horse. We made some pretty nice circles. Then we played with sideways. He loves sidepassing to me. Now I am trying to have him sidepass to me without having to touch lightly on the opposite side. Just lifting my carrot stick and using some motion. Then he also went sideways away from me too. All pretty nice. Shan is such fun to play with...I really need to do more of this. I am thinking of taking him to the next play day at Beth's .....Shan has never been to a playday. It should be real interesting that is for sure.
Called for Beau and up he came from the pasture. At liberty we went around the property some . Then played with a plywood board , having him crossing it and backing on and off. He was staying calm ...making progress with his problems of placing his hind feet on something.
Then we also worked on yielding zone 1 with the porcupine and driving game. He is getting softer.
Also played friendly game , slapping the savvy string on the ground and seeing how it effects Beau. He did better with it. Stayed relaxed and did some chewing.
Level 2 Lessons with Jerry Williams
Nov. 19th Wed. 1st in a series of 6 lessons with Jerry Williams.
Meet Ingrid at 8 and followed her up to Willston to have our lesson at Forever Springs Farm.
The weather was very cool out......low 30's. Kandy , who I meet at the Don and Rachel Jessop clinic, and another girl named Vicky were in our lessons.
'
Unloaded Beau and he appeared pretty relaxed. AS the lesson started he got a little up. Mostly with friendly game slapping the stick around and then sensitive to Jerry trying to touch him for the porcupine game. That got all worked out. Reviewed the 7 games on line. Really trying to get the horse light and responsive. I have to remember I need to reinforce not teach at this point. Also several ways to up the game. Lightness , speed , distance....but not all at the same time for now. Later you can try two of them and then all 3.
Saddled the horses.....haha.....the worst I have ever done. I need to work on carrying that saddle upside down and then swinging it up. Warmed him up with saddle and even got him to walk up on bridge with all four legs. Not the most confident but up there.
Went in ring to get ready to ride. Learned how to tie up reins with extra lead line.
Mounted and rode nicely until right at the end .......a little RB came out when asked to trot with a sitting position. He wouldn't relax and trot slowly. Will need to address this if it should happen again. But all in all, I do think this will help me fill in holes and allow us to progress further in our journey.
Filled out horsenality chart and positive attributes chart.
Will turn in next lesson. Which is Dec. 3rd.
Meet Ingrid at 8 and followed her up to Willston to have our lesson at Forever Springs Farm.
The weather was very cool out......low 30's. Kandy , who I meet at the Don and Rachel Jessop clinic, and another girl named Vicky were in our lessons.
'
Unloaded Beau and he appeared pretty relaxed. AS the lesson started he got a little up. Mostly with friendly game slapping the stick around and then sensitive to Jerry trying to touch him for the porcupine game. That got all worked out. Reviewed the 7 games on line. Really trying to get the horse light and responsive. I have to remember I need to reinforce not teach at this point. Also several ways to up the game. Lightness , speed , distance....but not all at the same time for now. Later you can try two of them and then all 3.
Saddled the horses.....haha.....the worst I have ever done. I need to work on carrying that saddle upside down and then swinging it up. Warmed him up with saddle and even got him to walk up on bridge with all four legs. Not the most confident but up there.
Went in ring to get ready to ride. Learned how to tie up reins with extra lead line.
Mounted and rode nicely until right at the end .......a little RB came out when asked to trot with a sitting position. He wouldn't relax and trot slowly. Will need to address this if it should happen again. But all in all, I do think this will help me fill in holes and allow us to progress further in our journey.
Filled out horsenality chart and positive attributes chart.
Will turn in next lesson. Which is Dec. 3rd.
Camping McCulley Farms
Nov 14- 16th Camping at McCulley Farms in Jasper , Florida.
This was what I call extreme camping. The weather on Friday was warm in the 80's , wearing shorts and then by Sunday it was in the low 30's and all bundled up.
SO Friday , trailered up the interstate which was Beau's first time on the interstate. He did ok. He was very nervous at the inspection station because all the semis where running right in front of him . When we got to the campground we got the horses settled in and set up camp. Decided to go out for a short ride . The woods were so pretty , leaves changing up there so it reminded me of being up north in the fall. Lot of yellows and reds. Leaves covering the trails. The trails were marked good. Some single paths and others two track. Got to ride back to an old house which is were the great grandfather of the land was born and raised. Dates back to the 1800's .
Then on Saturday, weather started out rainy. Hung out and went into Madison , Florida. Cute little town. When we got back, decided to ride and rode for 3 hours. We ended up riding down along a hwy and under an overpass. We went along the banks of the Withlochoohee River. It was just beautiful. Then we wandered thru the woods and made our way back. But we did have to pass a field where people were bird hunting and shooting their guns. Beau was very well behaved and so was Kash with Tia. It started blowing and misty rain. Weather was dropping fast. Got the horses back under the barn and put sheets on and let them relax with some hay.
Had a great supper. Steaks cooked out .....YUM YUM! Also had smores out over the hot coals of the fire. Ran the space heater in the trailer and slept all toasty warm.
Sunday morning nice and chilly. Low 30's . We let the weather warm up and started packing. About mid morning we went out on the trail for about an hour. Came back and took pictures which is something I kept forgetting to do the whole weekend. Trailered back and got home around 4 . Got everything unpacked and put away.....set for the week ahead.
Can't wait to go back to McCulley Farms. The trails were great!! Had elec and water at sites.
Bathrooms and a shower area. The sites are out in the open but with hook ups no big deal.
Stalls for horse are ok, but wouldn't like the chicken barns.
This was what I call extreme camping. The weather on Friday was warm in the 80's , wearing shorts and then by Sunday it was in the low 30's and all bundled up.
SO Friday , trailered up the interstate which was Beau's first time on the interstate. He did ok. He was very nervous at the inspection station because all the semis where running right in front of him . When we got to the campground we got the horses settled in and set up camp. Decided to go out for a short ride . The woods were so pretty , leaves changing up there so it reminded me of being up north in the fall. Lot of yellows and reds. Leaves covering the trails. The trails were marked good. Some single paths and others two track. Got to ride back to an old house which is were the great grandfather of the land was born and raised. Dates back to the 1800's .
Then on Saturday, weather started out rainy. Hung out and went into Madison , Florida. Cute little town. When we got back, decided to ride and rode for 3 hours. We ended up riding down along a hwy and under an overpass. We went along the banks of the Withlochoohee River. It was just beautiful. Then we wandered thru the woods and made our way back. But we did have to pass a field where people were bird hunting and shooting their guns. Beau was very well behaved and so was Kash with Tia. It started blowing and misty rain. Weather was dropping fast. Got the horses back under the barn and put sheets on and let them relax with some hay.
Had a great supper. Steaks cooked out .....YUM YUM! Also had smores out over the hot coals of the fire. Ran the space heater in the trailer and slept all toasty warm.
Sunday morning nice and chilly. Low 30's . We let the weather warm up and started packing. About mid morning we went out on the trail for about an hour. Came back and took pictures which is something I kept forgetting to do the whole weekend. Trailered back and got home around 4 . Got everything unpacked and put away.....set for the week ahead.
Can't wait to go back to McCulley Farms. The trails were great!! Had elec and water at sites.
Bathrooms and a shower area. The sites are out in the open but with hook ups no big deal.
Stalls for horse are ok, but wouldn't like the chicken barns.
Update of Month of Nov.
Well after meeting several new people at the playday at my house, I am excited about the fact several of them are very close to me . SO I called and contacted Ingrid and set up to meet her at the Pruitt Trailhead to ride . We met Friday , Nov 7th . We played in the enclosed trailhead area with barrels and cones. Did some patterns and some riding task. Then we decided to go out on the trail. Both horses got along fine. Ingrid has limited experience with trail riding....she seemed to enjoy her self. Beau got a little nervous with stopping and standing still on the way home. So Hum have an area to play with here.
Nov. 8 - 9 . Audited the Jerry Williams level 2 clinic in Williston , Fl. Forever Springs Farm
Nice place. I really enjoyed the auditing. I found it to be very valuable noticing all the different horsenalities and seeing what works and what doesn't. I also really liked Jerry's teaching style. He was pretty direct and to the point , which for some reason I didn't think he would be, but I sure like it. I will start with group lessons with him on Wed. morning for 6 months and see how that helps Mr. Beau and I advance in areas we seem to struggle with and need confidence. I know we have holes in our program together. So I will be trying to fill them in.
Nov 10th Farrier trimmed
Nov. 8 - 9 . Audited the Jerry Williams level 2 clinic in Williston , Fl. Forever Springs Farm
Nice place. I really enjoyed the auditing. I found it to be very valuable noticing all the different horsenalities and seeing what works and what doesn't. I also really liked Jerry's teaching style. He was pretty direct and to the point , which for some reason I didn't think he would be, but I sure like it. I will start with group lessons with him on Wed. morning for 6 months and see how that helps Mr. Beau and I advance in areas we seem to struggle with and need confidence. I know we have holes in our program together. So I will be trying to fill them in.
Nov 10th Farrier trimmed
OPP Playday My House!
On Nov 1st. The OPP group had a playday here at my house. It was the first time for me to host a playday. Way cool! It was a great day out, beautiful weather, clear skies, just a perfect day to be out playing with your horse.
The day started with going over and picking up Kathy's horse, Renegade, and bringing them over here. Then we set up some obstacles , such as barrels , cavellettis, cones, round pen, car wash, and various other things for the horses to deal with. then people starting showing up.
We had......Jessie and Missy, "J" and Britches, Brittany and her horse, Ingrid and her horse, Kathy and Renegade. Other attendees without horses were Tinker, Peggy , Carole, Nicole and her husband, Reason, and then Ingrid's husband. So several here. We had a lot of free play with horses and one parelli game. Everyone seemed to enjoy the game. It was a whooly gig to send you horse from 12 ft or 22 ft and have them touch it. So we played the parelli patterns game 1 touch it., also game one -friendly, and game 3 driving game to get there. Everyone agreed they would like more of the games to try at the future playdays. Afternoon was mostly about getting Beth up on horse. Kash was elected and he was great with her. Nicole and Tinker were great helping with Beth trying to get her to relax and use focuse to ride. Both rider and horse were getting along nicely. Kathy got to ride Renegade some in the ring.
I will have to admit , I had a hard time focusing on Beau with everyone and everything going on . Trying to keep everyone else taken care of. So I will be looking forward to another playday to see if I can improve upon my focus for my horse.
The day started with going over and picking up Kathy's horse, Renegade, and bringing them over here. Then we set up some obstacles , such as barrels , cavellettis, cones, round pen, car wash, and various other things for the horses to deal with. then people starting showing up.
We had......Jessie and Missy, "J" and Britches, Brittany and her horse, Ingrid and her horse, Kathy and Renegade. Other attendees without horses were Tinker, Peggy , Carole, Nicole and her husband, Reason, and then Ingrid's husband. So several here. We had a lot of free play with horses and one parelli game. Everyone seemed to enjoy the game. It was a whooly gig to send you horse from 12 ft or 22 ft and have them touch it. So we played the parelli patterns game 1 touch it., also game one -friendly, and game 3 driving game to get there. Everyone agreed they would like more of the games to try at the future playdays. Afternoon was mostly about getting Beth up on horse. Kash was elected and he was great with her. Nicole and Tinker were great helping with Beth trying to get her to relax and use focuse to ride. Both rider and horse were getting along nicely. Kathy got to ride Renegade some in the ring.
I will have to admit , I had a hard time focusing on Beau with everyone and everything going on . Trying to keep everyone else taken care of. So I will be looking forward to another playday to see if I can improve upon my focus for my horse.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Friday's trail ride
Well it has come back around to a Friday. I am enjoying this day so much. Getting away and taking a nice enjoyable trail just me and my horse. I have been taking Kash out to get him ready for Tia and the campout but today I got to ride Beau. Nice coolness in the area. Blue skies. Couple of girls to ride with. Nice relaxed and calm horse . What more could a person want. We rode out of Pruitt trail head. The woods are just so cool there. Once pst the 1 1/2 of open grass road then it is some of the most wonderful treed covered woods, with trees that have to be a couple hundred years old. The are just hugh! The long flowing branches are covered in moss and ferns. Kinda of reminds me of an enchanted forest. We had 4 horses, Beau, Lacey , Princton , and Amy (young 4 year old) We walked and trotted some. Climbed a hill or two. Everyone was very well behaved and a joy to be with. I a already looking forward to next week!!!
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