Blue String!

Only my Parelli buddies will give a whoop about this, but what it means is that I passed my Level 2 On Line and Freestyle that I auditioned for WEEKS ago. It was shortly after my first lesson with Farrah and by Fran's encouragement that I decided to submit a video of the compulsories. I thought it was just too much hoopla to go through it--and for what point? I was enjoying my horses and who cares if I got an official "Levels" designation? I think I wrote about earlier, this idea changed after I became involved with Farrah's professional instruction. My lesson with her last week involved having instruction in Level 3 tasks and to me that spells progress!

This week has been a blast since I got some new direction to take with Cerra and it's working beautifully. We are getting along better than ever and I think we have made some positive changes in our way of being.

This all translates over to Cheyenne, too. She is so much more compliant and easy going that I don't need deal with her in the same way that I do with Cerra. Her main problem is her refusal to trailer load. We have worked on this for about two years now and now that I have some new techniques to use I am hoping we can accomplish this task soon.

Pony Weekend Coming Up!

I'm still waiting to hear the outcome of my Level 2 audition on line and Freestyle. Was rather hoping to be confirmed before this weekend when Farrah Green will be here for another two days of individual lessons. Everyone is judged by the video and my spots are so boring compared to the stuff Fran is doing--bridless and bareback at that!

The Emmy Goes To....Me!

Actually, her name is M&M, but I think Emmy suits her better. A sweet cross between her mom, an appaloosa mare, and a pony stallion. Her coat is red roan with a buffy white blanket-- just a couple little subtle appy spots. She's really more a small horse than pony and is 8 years old. 

Our neighbors were moving and selling off their horses so I took the opportunity to increase our herd. The main objective is to have a horse for the niece and nephews to learn on this summer. 

The welcoming committee (Paisley and geese) were on hand for her arrival, and later she got to meet Chy and Cerra amid lots of squealing and kicking. Everyone survived and finally exhausted themselves to a tenuous acceptance. By tomorrow they won't be able to live without each other.

This will be a fun opportunity to start "Level 1" with a new horse--she needs it!

Sun, Wind and Weeds

Sounds like a good band name! Time has been flying by so quickly and every day has been full of spring jobs to be done. I love it all and this is what we have been waiting for. This past week has been spent doing one of the tasks that I could live without--the weeding of my flower garden patches. I got a whole pickup load of milled bark mulch to apply as I clear out the weeds. So I hope I won't be doing the HEAVY WEEDING again for a long time. If I keep up on it--maybe never! My new middle name is MULCH. 

It has been very warm today--90 degrees for some bizarre reason and I feel like I have been in a convection oven all day for I am as  ".....brown as a berry from riding the prairie..."

Riding? What is that? It's gardening season!! Friend Fran is getting ready to hit the road with Farrah Green (from Aberdeen!)  for five weeks of clinics, events, lessons and learning so I'll be "on my own" with the girls. We have our PATTERNS to learn while she's gone!

The Benson kids (nephews and niece) were here tonight and Cerra was the old pro giving bareback rides. Cade and Carter were the cowboys--our little cowgirl Paige decided next time might be soon enough.

Chicken is better than Dead Duck

I am thankful Fran was able to ride with me today on the Trailblazers ride. She broke her toe after a horse stepped on it and it was doubtful that she would be able to ride. But, tough girl that she is, we were able to take Cerra and Cheyenne out for an official trail ride with the club. There were about 50 riders and horses of all sizes and colors. This was Cheyenne's first trail ride and after her clinic experience two weeks ago, it just fell into place. 

I rode Chy for the first 3/4 of the trip and then we decided to trade horses. We had no sooner made the switch and were on the home leg when one of the rider's horse spooked when her saddle suddenly tipped off to the side! The rider got off ok and then the horse made a wild gallop up through the trail. I saw this unfolding and the horse coming at us and both Fran and I got off our horses immediately and took control of them as the other horse came racing by. She eventually got stopped by the group ahead of us and all was well, but the best part was I realized my new instinct was to get OFF to control the situation instead of letting the loose horse spook mine and have two accidents in the process. The Parelli voice spoke again--"Better to be a chicken than a dead duck!" 

And coincidentally, the charcoal chicken dinner that followed was delicious!

Video production day

Fran and I had a big pony day yesterday. She asked me to film her audition for her Level 3 Parelli test so we set up the obstacle course and got the cameras charged up and went to work--or as we Parelli people say---PLAY! (I love work so I don't consider work a dirty word!)

Fran did two awesome routines--one "On Line" with a 45' line and the second one was "Freestyle" which was riding bareback--without a bridle!--a walk, trot, canter and a huge JUMP no less! I was behind the camera taking in every turn and I could only dream to ride like this young lady. She is doing the final computer work to put the clips on YouTube for the audition process so I'll post those later.

The funny part is that I tested for Level 2--which evidently I could do--bypassing Level 1 and getting both with two 10 minute auditions. One was on a 22' line and the other was riding. Our May 1st deadline was looming and after having had the experience with Farrah I realized I need to achieve some of these milestones so I can take more lessons from a level that is supported by official accomplishment. I think I'll be withholding my YouTube link!

The interesting part of this is--it has been said that if you once get your head into Level 3 you won't quit there. I have felt my head expanding after having had a long drought over winter. 

Horse event

Yesterday was a full, and I mean FULL, day of horsey bliss. Even if it didn't start blissfully. Farrah Green, (in these photos) the two star Parelli instructor from Aberdeen, South Dakota, arrived Tuesday evening with her three horses in her huge living quarters four-horse trailer. Wednesday morning started early with loading everyone up to move the whole half mile to the arena! My horses were in the pasture directly across from the arena so I saddled up Cerra and ponied Chy. Chy didn't want to leave her new herd and kept balking and pulling back. We crossed Highway 35 and I realized that she had pulled her nose out of the halter and it was looped around her neck. In my moderate haste to get that halter back on, she took the first opportunity when I loosened it from around her neck to pull her head away and wheeled back to Fran's horses left in the pasture! So here she is running at large down Highway 35. My worst nightmare is unfolding before my eyes. My angels were on duty and thankfully there weren't any cars coming. She was heading for home until I took Cerra away from her and she decided to follow her. Phheww!

I had 90 minutes with Farrah and Chy--worked on some sticky parts and generally got refreshed and renewed in the Parelli spirit. Three others had lessons also and then the grand finale with Farrah and her two wonder horses, Ceasar and Wesley. She was joined by Fran and Princess and they wowed the crowd with jumping, dressage and bridleless riding. We got done around 6 pm and then took the horses home, unloaded equipment and savored the experiences and learning.

It was sure a great lesson day for my horses. Because I rarely take them anywhere they haven't been well socialized in "horse show" behavior. They were pretty loud for awhile! Once they settled down I went to work on probably the biggest homework lesson--getting them to be apart and calm at the same time. I spent the day alternating between horses--playing with one while all the time going farther away from the other. Then switching off to the other. It was a lot of exercise for all three of us and I was beyond tired by the end of the day. 

This morning Fran and Farrah loaded up and headed off to Madison for a 10 day tour of the Midwest Horse Fair and clinic days. Before they left Fran had her lesson with Crest in the round pen which I was invited to watch. Farrah's horses were with us and one of their signature moves is to lie down--and they don't get their morning feed with out this little performance! It's no wonder Farrah's business name is Sitting Horse!

 

New Year arrives at Catfish Corner

Our first day of 2009 was a big one with the annual lutefisk feast with the Benson's. Don's brother-in-law and nephew with his wife and three kids under 8 made for a very full, active and noisy, house! I made foods galore, because not everyone will eat lutefisk, which included a big lasagne, ham, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, relishes, dips, chips, pecan and lemon pie for dessert. 

The kids had fun with their shooting gallery toys Don picked out for Cade and Carter. Unfortunately the digital camera for Paige refused to operate so I have to look into replacing that in the coming week. 

We fed the horses carrots and picked eggs out in the hen house for the whole rural experience. The kids are used to going to their other uncle's farm so it's not a big deal for them, but they do get to have the pony experience here. This year they were brave enough to feed carrots by themselves to those big bossy noses.

Friday was clean up day and Saturday Fran came over and we took the horses out for the first ride of 2009. I only rode once or twice in December so I felt pretty out of shape. We went out to our snowy 66 and let the girls have a run. All was fine until Fran took Cheyenne on a turn and she lost her footing. They both landed in the snow and weren't hurt, thankfully! Glad it wasn't me--I would have probably broken in two! The footing isn't that bad.  The problem is that the snow cover has hidden the icy spots so we had to just generally be careful. It was sunny so we didn't really notice the cold until we got into the blue shadows of the woods. Then the fingers and toes told us it was time to go in for tea.

Fran leaves for the Parelli center in Ocala on Tuesday and will be gone for a month so I'll be without my riding buddy. It's very motivating to have a youngster around to get the old lady out to ride so who knows how much ponying I'll get done while she's gone.

Trick or Treat?

Horses are so goofy! One little thing that's new in their surroundings and you have a circus on your hands. Being Halloween, I played a little game of Trick or Treat with the girls! While they were hanging out in the box stall, I took two wire tomato cages, two big black plastic bags and some treats out to their pasture. After setting up the cages I put the bags over the support and put a horse treat on top. It was just windy enough to create a spooky billowing and blowing of the plastic. 

Sure enough, they got curious and came around the side of the barn. Proceed with ** SNORT ** STOMP ** BOLT ** WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?! DANGER!!! ** It would be funny if it wasn't so potentially dangerous -- not to them, but if one was riding a horse that was this reactive in this situation on the trail there could be trouble. This little simulation is the beginning of future plans to have this same test out on the trail--- for real.

Cerra turned out to be the leader this time. How interesting! A skitterish Cheyenne was on her heels and jumped back at the slightest movement of the plastic. It didn't take long after a little circling for Cerra to home in on the fact that it wasn't going to attack and--gee, I smell treats! She stuck her nose in the plastic bag and came out with the surprise. Chy came over, too, and she got fed a treat by hand. Then they knocked the whole thing over and ground the plastic into the dirt. Mission accomplished?!

Cerra spotted the other spooky object and headed over to it cautiously. She's smart--didn't take as long to find the next treat while I was setting up the first display in a new spot. We did this at five or six different places and when I ran out of treats it was game over. They were the only trick or treaters we had at our house!

The Camera Doesn't Lie

With my little horse buddy off hobnobbing with the Parelli's I had to rely on myself. How hard could it be? Set up the video camera, grab a horse and do some stuff with the horse. Little did I know the little circus that would ensue.

A little background for the non-horse person. Horses are simply little kids. Depending on their temperament they can act like kids do around 8 to 14 years of age. Cerra is maybe a "thirteen year old". Cheyenne is probably 9. That means that Cerra is going to be in the teenage "I'm too cool to do this" stage. Chy as a 9 year old is wanting to be the center of attention--PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!

I got the camera rolling and got Cerra on line. Chy celebrated by rolling. (lol) In front of the camera. Look at me. I tried to focus on Cerra. Chy went over and stood in front of the camera. LooK At Me. She got chased away. Back to Cerra. We are going sideways over the barrels--not bad--except Chy was now standing with her butt to the camera. LOOK AT ME!!! Stopped and moved her again.

I guess I don't need to say more--you get the idea. Even after moving on to the round pen it was the same story. It was actually hilarious--laughed a lot! I didn't get any time worth saving for posterity (or YouTube!) but I did learn some things and this is the whole point of this post.

I haven't had the experience of seeing myself in a ground session and it was valuable in the sense that I now had irrefutable evidence that --- I -- am --- (terrible, lacking, etc.) ok, not good. Granted the focus was scattered, but I got to see first hand that I'm doing a lot of things wrong. I move too much, I use my stick too much, I'm "clucking" too much, I'm not energetic enough, the horses are lackluster because I'm not asking enough. I could go on, but self-flagellation is not my strong suit.

Fast forward to today (Monday)--new game plan. I started the session with Cerra on the 12' line instead of the 22'. Instead of flopping around clucking like a dying duck, I had my stick at the ready in a range that I could make my point. Got their attention--and results--all while picking up points for lots of friendly mixed in. Cerra had one RB (right brain) outburst that was purely a test of me and we survived it and were better for having had the experience.

Turned out today's session was one of the best I have had for several weeks. Cheyenne's was especially good because she walked the teeter-totter for the first time without scaring herself. Next she mounted the wood pedestal with both feet! I asked Cerra, at liberty, to stand on the tire pedestal and I had two glorious horses showing off for our little world and mommy was so happy!

Took off Chy's halter and trotted myself back to the barn with two sweet horses following on each side. It doesn't get better than that!

Horses want their pictures on the internet

The girls--Cheyenne and Cerra

Cerra is six this year and Cheyenne is four years old. They are my "girls" and are recently without their guy, Ranger, who was 20 when he had to leave us this spring. It has been a very interesting summer. I want to be their new alpha--leader of their herd of two. Making it a herd of three. I have been a Parelli student since I got into horses again after a break of 30 some years. My first two horses were older, Beau (13) and Lalique (15) and that lead to acquiring Ranger (16) and after that, the youngster, Cerra as a yearling. I found the Parelli program because I wanted to get into the educational aspects of horse ownership and found that things had changed dramatically since 4-H in the early 1970's!  

The Parelli's, Pat and Linda, teach us that it's about Love, Language and Leadership, which resonates with me.  After moving to Pepin I was fortunate enough to find that there is a young lady, Fran,  who is deeply into the Parelli program and she has helped me tremendously with my horses.  In fact, we got Cheyenne the proper start totally with the Parelli program. More about that later.

Fran has a blog which describes her experience with the program and her further training and experience so I won't try to explain it here. Just visit her journey if it is interesting to you at ---savvyup.blogspot.com

The interesting thing about Cheyenne (black) and Cerra (brown) is that they have the same (close to it) facial markings, have identical leg markings (three white feet).  Isn't that what girls do when they find something that works? One in brown, one in black?!