Our Partnership Together

Look back through 2011

2011-12-31T10:53:00.000-08:00

Wow this year has gone by so fast! Seems like only yesterday I was with Chris celebrating the coming of 2011...seems like only yesterday did I move Sonny to a new barn...can't believe that the time went by so fast!

So let's see if I can sum up 2011 in this post, and share what I've learned and so on...

After Sonny dropped weight (probably about 25 pounds maybe more...never really weight taped him) in January through February, I decided it was time to leave Morning Side Farm, the quaint little, quite horse farm just outside the heart of Ballston Spa. Sonny dropping the weight was what gave me the real kick to take him out, but there was a lot of other things that helped push it along.

Being a Parelli student, it makes me always look at things from the horse's side of view, being able to tell what they are thinking (or at least if they are confident, scared, unsure, etc). Being surrounded by Clinton Anderson followers it really made me sit back and be so thankful that Pat Parelli is helping the world become a better place for horses and I tried my best to set a good example for those C.A. followers and all the "normal" horse owners there.

I do have quite the competitive side, or more of a show off/"look what I can do" personality so I definitely used that to an advantage there. So when the C.A. follower's method of "whack the horse and make them submit and behave" just wasn't working, I would take my horse in the middle of the arena (so they would be able to see) and have my horse do whatever they were trying to get their horse to do...yet Sonny would do it with ears forward and nicely, without any hesitation, force, or second thoughts. Not only was I so proud of Sonny, but I got so many looks of shock/anger/surprise.

Sonny then started dropping weight really fast in the winter. The hay quality was bad, he wasn't fed enough, and the guy who owns the place was in the hospital so his son and his wife was taking care of the horses...they knew nothing! So after I could start seeing ribs, I put in my month's notice and left for Meadow Hill Farm.

March 2011:

Sonny was moved to Meadow Hill Farm and definitely saw an improvement with his coat, his weight, and his happiness. Though it's a normal barn, and I'm the only Parelli student, they are very very supportive and is as natural as a normal could get.

Sonny has gone through different pasture mates to find the one he gets along with perfectly...

Amigo & Holly: Sonny and Amigo got along great, but Holly did not like it when Sonny would say hi to Amigo so she'd bite and pick on him.

Moose: Sonny and Moose got along great, but Moose got too attached to Sonny and would get upset if he left.

Sterling: Sonny's current pasture mate and they get along great! Sonny is the herd leader but isn't aggressive at all towards her and he could care less when she gets taken out to be fed or ridden!

April 2011:

Turned 21 years old! Legal drinking age! YAY! Went out to dinner with Chris and our friend's Matt and Ashley...the food was AMAZING! I definitely want to go there again!

Chris finally got his own apartment after living with his parents for almost close to a year after he left his last one. It was quite the relief when he got his own...no more listening to his parents and his sister fighting, no more stuck in one small room or anything. It was nice!

May 2011:

I quit my job as a veterinary assistant and started working as a Pharmacy Technician at Rite Aid Pharmacy! Pay increase and more hours which was great! (considering that my savings went from over $3000 to less than $1000 in the 5 months because I made so little.

August 2011:

Chris' brother, Brian, got married end of August and the wedding was absolutely beautiful! We went to Wisconsin for the wedding and had a great time!

October 2011:

ENGAGED! October 30th Chris popped the question and gave me a beautiful engagement ring...of course I said yes! We went to the barn, he was so sly and took pictures of me and Sonny (so our engagement ring was visible) and sent out a text to everyone announcing our engagement :)

December 2011:

Got a chiropractor out to check out Sonny and see what could be causing all the issues we've been having (I'll make another post after this one summing up the Chiro visit since I never got a chance to do it yet.

Now I sit in Brian's house on New Years Eve trying to remember events that happened this year and it was harder than I expected!

Update on Sonny and I

2011-11-25T18:30:00.002-08:00

So for those who do not know, I’ve been having alot of issues with Sonny lately…from not turning, stopping, to not flexing, etc…

So today started out great…Sonny officially knows the sound that my car makes when I drive up. As my car went up the hill, Sonny poked his head out of the run-in-shed and watched me drive up. I went into the barn and out the blankets to dry him off with (wasn’t sure if my barn owner had put his blanket on or not) and then grabbed the apple in my purse and halter then walked out to his pasture. I was paying close attention to where I was walking as it was puddle after puddle and when I happened to look up……Sonny was at the gate waiting for me! I gave him the apple (well I *had* to give his pasture mate a bit too…it wasn’t fair to her not to) then Sonny drove his pasture mate away and I put on the halter and took him out.

After grooming him, I brought him out to the indoor to do some ground work before I rode and he was kinda friskie but well behaved. We got some nice cantering on the 12 ft rope and almost no pulling (though I did have to do the traveling circling game with him as he still doesn’t like going that small of circles at the canter

Then saddled him up and went into the arena. Lateral flexion went BEAUTIFULLY! Very nice and soft and sensitive. At the trot, I had a bit of resistance when turning clockwise which has been normal…after maybe 15 minutes of keeping the pressure there he finally turned his neck and became soft!!!!! After that he turned nicely…still a little hesitant on that side but a lot better than before…
We got our 9 step back up nicely and softly!!!

Also, I switched my shims so I just had one shim in the shoulder, as ar back as possible and angled down and that seemed to work. You guys were right…it was tight when standing still, but when he started moving…I could put my hand in there…quite interesting how that is!!! Pictures will come at one point…once I take the pictures off my camera

Back from Wisconsin!

2011-11-25T18:30:00.001-08:00

Aug. 30, 2011

We left Thursday to go to my boyfriend’s bothers wedding! We flew from Albany, to Cleveland, then to Milwaukee (and yes I can spell that city now lol!!). When we flew in we got our rental car then left for the fiance’s parents house.

When we got there I helped Amber, Linda, and Marty with little projects that needed to get finished before the wedding on Saturday. We worked on the welcoming bags, and labeling the water bottles! After all that was done we went with Matt, Ashley, Foss, and Dan to visit Scott and Erica who got married about two weeks prior but we were unable to make their wedding. We probably walked about 5 miles that day and boy oh boy were we tired! Then after we sat down by the water and had a drink we went to a nice little restaurant and had dinner. After taking a taxi back hope, I passed out on the air bed.

The next day was the rehearsal dinner and afterwards we went back to Emery’s parents house for dinner and drinks. We had great Italian food and wonderful home made sugar cookies. YUM!

The day of the wedding…so exciting! After getting ready we went into the lobby and waited until the bus came to bring us to the BEAUTIFUL botanical garden! The wedding was absolutely amazing and Emery looked so beautiful! After the photographer got all the pictures done we drove over to the reception which was at a country club. The food was amazing..though I regret not getting the fish (I got beef) and then the dancing began! I have never danced before but dancing with Chris was amazing…it was so much fun!

I really cannot wait to start planning my own wedding, to be able to pick the reception place…what the meals are going to be and everything fun that goes with it. Maybe soon you’ll have an update from me with a ring in it…I’m hoping Chris and I will get engaged soon but only time will tell.

Stubborn, Jerk, Butthead, etc

2011-11-25T18:29:00.001-08:00

Aug. 15, 2011

Those are only some of the names that I have heard people call the horses they ride (whether it is their horse or just a lesson horse that they ride) yet it kills me to realize that hardly any of those people will ever truly understand why the horse is doing what he did. He isn’t doing it to be a jerk…he isn’t doing it to hurt the rider or be a total butthead.

Horses do things for one of two reasons:
(1) what we, as humans, have taught them or have asked them to do whether on purpose or unintentionally.
Or
(2) instincts

I think the majority of the problem is that people do not realize that they may be part of (or most of the time completely all 100%) at fault for the horses behaviors. Most people cannot even fully comprehend that.

Humans have often been described as the ultimate predator…though I know many would disagree, but we have opposable thumbs, the intellect to make weapons out of our surroundings.
Where as horses are the ultimate prey animal, in the sense that, look at other prey animals….look at deer or even skunks! They all have some form of weapon…bucks have antlers and skunks have that god awful smell which I am sure we are all familiar with…and they will fight back when they feel their life is being threatened. Horses on the other hand will 90% of the time if not more run away from anything that could pose danger to them (innately…taking away any confidence that may have come from being with a human). Some will fight back,yes, but that is normally a learned characteristic more so than instincts.

I really and truly do wish that everyone could understand horses fully and realize how they think and act….realize that horses are truly sensitive creatures that want more than anything to follow a leader…a leader that is just…that offers love, language, and leadership in equal doses, not one more so than another. I know if they truly knew that they would have a better relationship with their horses (a partnership) and have better days with their horse.

Thank you Parelli for showing me a different approach…without Parelli I would be no better off than the person that inspired me to write this post.

Sonny and I have been doing Parelli Natural Horsemanship for over 3 years now and the changes and improvement that have been made is beyond incredible. He is more confident, more willing, more relaxed, more loving, and just a better horse to be around…..and it has taught me to truly be a leader that my horse needs AND deserves while helping me with people also!

The Catching Game

2011-11-25T18:28:00.002-08:00

Aug. 15, 2011

Though yesterday definitely did not go as planned, I will say I had many “hmm…how interesting” moments and did in fact have a good time with Sonny.

After grooming him, I took him out to the outdoor arena to do some ground work and was planning on working with him at Liberty. I took off his halter when he had finished playing online and bam! He ran around and around and around the arena…bucking, kicking out, farting, tossing and snaking his head. Someone had some energy to get out :) Once he seemed to get sick of running I approached him, which he responded by taking off….at first it wasn’t a right brain thing, in fact it was definitely a Left Brain response but as I continued to play the catching game he kept getting a tiny bit more unconfident. I made sure I had only the slightest amount of pressure on him when I was approaching him, but the second he looked at me I would turn and walk away. After about 20 minutes (and a sweaty horse…from him running around…not because he was right brained), Sonny finally caught me and was staying at my side for the most part.

Liberty would be so much easier if we had a round pen set up somewhere, but unfortunately the smallest place is the indoor area (which is still HUGE) and it was filled with trailers of hay. I worked on different things, some which I realize was too much at the moment and others were “hmmm…how interesting” moments.

The most interesting moment was during our Yo-Yo game. I would ask him to go backwards, and he would back nicely at a phase 1. But when it came time for the bring back he would just stand there….the only way he would approach me is if I swished my carrot stick behind me and made a kissing noise. Hmmmmmmmm how interesting!! Not sure if it’s a right brained response or a left brained response….gonna be a big puzzle.

Then I hosed him off and of course he HAD to roll :p thankfully it rained all night so he should be somewhat clean now :)

Toby and the incredible licking Sonny

2011-11-25T18:28:00.001-08:00

Aug. 8, 2011

Yesterday I went over to a friend’s house to work with her paint gelding, Toby! I had a blast! This horse was such a great little guy. From what I could tell, total Left Brain Introvert but tried his heart out. I worked on sending him which we were able to do at a phase 2 (…he thought grass was better than the stranger with the orange stick haha), then worked on Yo-Yo game since Kris said they really had to toss the rope back and forth and he started to respond nicely to a phase 2 (…again grass is so much better than me!!) and then worked on picking up his hind feet, which he was a total butt for. I could pick it up and hold it fine with the rope…but if I went with my hands he would try to kick. He was totally Left Brained about it and everything was slow and deliberate…and of course he was still eating grass as he was “kicking”. But all in all that’s one great little horse and he’ll make a great partner for Kris and her daughter!!

When we went to see Sonny (Kris went along with me) and Sonny definitely thought she was tasty! He would lick her and lick her and lick her! He greeted us at the pasture gate and I felt so bad as I normally have an apple for him! I can’t wait until apple picking season comes and I can pick some just for him!!

What an…um…exciting night?

2011-11-25T18:27:00.000-08:00

Jul. 31, 2011:

My little kitten has been sick since Thursday with coughing, sneezing, weezing, very hot to the touch, and now a runny nose and dehydrated. I spent four hours last night (until 2:30 am) at the emergency veterinary hospital to make sure he is alright. The vet, though she did nothing but take a temperature and feel him, said it’s more than likely a respiratory infection and told me to give him some antibiotics twice a day…and weird enough…the antibiotics are bubble gum flavored…..I guess I missed the memo that cats like bubble gum.

But on a good note I had an AWESOME ride with Sonny today! He truly followed my focus and even stopped nicely when I stopped my energy :) We did nothing hard or strenuous as it is very hot out today but he was a perfect angel after his little “I don’t want to” tantrum. I’ve come to the realization that I may be infact reading him wrong…when I think he’s right brained he might just be left brained…instead of releasing pressure when he wouldn’t flex his head I gave him an effective phase 4 to which he took his head and knocked me off the mounting block. Keeping calm and remembering not to get upset I quickly asked him to trot and I had him switch directions over and over again. Once he seemed confident with the fact that I am the leader he flexed nicely to the one side when I asked, so I got on and rode him around the arena…his turns were so nice and he really followed my focus which he never used to do!!!

“All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.” - Ellen Glasgow

2011-11-25T18:24:00.000-08:00

Looking back at some of the times spent either at my barn or just any time in general spent with “friends” (there’s a reason for the quotations) I always have to stop and ponder what exactly happened then and now. It’s quite humorous and yet depressing to look back at memories, ones that you at one point cherished and wish they would happen again but now not so sure.

It’s weird sometimes to compare a person back then to the person you know now and see that their attitude, their personality, and everything about them has changed and sadly sometimes that change is not for the better of the person. Sometimes I stop and think that maybe I’m better off without the person (I know a few I am) but the good memories of others make me quite depressed…depressed that the time now is so different and our friendship has more or less slipped away.

There is no way to change a person back to how they were, and I feel that there is little to no hope in returning the friendship to what it was before. It seems like when a person hangs out with a different type of crowd…especially a crowd that is in no way a good one…the person changes and turns into one of the people that before they used to make fun of.

Do I miss the old times that we had? Yes without a doubt but I am, in a way, happy. Happy that I can see now what type of people they are and happy that I do not have to be around such immaturity. Taking a step back and viewing from another angle…the angle I am at now…I do see how the person truly is and am thankful that I see them for what they truly are.

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” - Marilyn Monroe

Hmm...how interesting....

2011-05-10T07:03:00.001-07:00

Well this is going to be a quick post as I have alot of stuff to do today but I thought I would share....

I've still been having alot of issues with Sonny...online, liberty, even freestyle still so I decided to buy the Digital Horsenality Profile...I was utterly convinced he was RBI but I thought it would give me some good insiders on how to help him because I've really been feeling down when I see him because it's just a whole mess of things.
According to the Horsenality Profile, Sonny is extreme RBE NOT RBI...hmmm how interesting. I was very skeptical at first but reading some it does pretty much pin point Sonny.

Back at Level One: Day One

2011-05-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

Well things went well from what I believe. I did take videos of all 7 Games and they are on youtube.

The Friendly Game:
From what I see, he started out tense and nervous, when I started playing the Friendly Game behind him he relaxed a bit but tensed up more when I was in front of him. He definitely needs alot more Friendly Game and I will be focusing on that alot from now on.

Porcupine Game:
This game was one of our best I believe. On the left side (when I was standing on the left side) he responded light and very supple. But on the right side, he was a bit more tense. I have found that that is his more Right Brained side so it is something we will work on and build his confidence more.

Driving Game:
Again one of our best games I believe. He was very light. I did get a bit more picky on how he moved around, making sure he was turning on a leg instead of moving all around the place. Once I slowed down and asked for one step at the time I think it went into his brain and he started understanding what I wanted more. Once we get it better I will perfect it more and actually ask him to really use his hindquarters for the spinning.

Yo-Yo Game:
Decent but our draw isn't that great. The more I ask him to back faster the more he braces so until he is 100% confident and he offers going faster that is the speed I will get. He still keeps turning his hindquarters out when backing up so I still have to constantly remind him to go straight.

Circle Game:
The Circle Game was alright, he seemed very stiff in the hindquarters (but he did work out of it afterwards thankfully). We still have to work on keeping slack in the lead...he likes to pull. I don't know if it is more of a Right Brain reaction or a Left Brain but I am doing what Susan Nelson 3* Parelli Professional suggested so we shall see if we can get it better. Our change of direction was horrible but Sonny really had no motivation (though I should have tried it after I played stick to me...that always seems to perk him up)

Squeeze Game:
Was good even when I got really close, he spooked that time because of horses and people making noise outside. And after that his attention was on that, not me.

Sideways Game:
Still won't go sideways straight (if you get what I mean lol). But after I used a bit more guiding from the Carrot Stick he seemed to do it better and understand it. He still seemed to be a bit bracey to me in it but not as bad as I've seen.

Trotting Poles:
I seriously thought he was going to trip and hurt himself...I thought I had the wrong distance originally because he stumbled, so I moved them closer but then he was stepping over one, so I moved them apart again and that seemed like the perfect distance and he went over nicely. I don't know if that will do the trick to help build back muscles or if hill therapy will do a better job but I will wait until the good weather to do hill therapy, and then on bad days I'll use the ground poles

Stick to me:
As you could see when we started going counter clockwise, stick to me really brings up his energy level. Normally I play it on my 22 Foot Lead, so he didn't have alot of room to run around and be crazy but he seemed to enjoy himself...and the draws were nice...trotting to me, ears up and good expression on his face.....now only if we can transfer that to the Yo-Yo Game.

All in all today was a good day, other than the issue with the circling game (the pulling) and then just confidence and trust, I don't see many holes (maybe other people can be watching it) but maybe just fixing the trust and confidence and the problems with the circling game I'll be able to get better liberty.

Perfecting Phase 1

2011-04-29T06:26:00.001-07:00

What I have noticed lately that though Sonny has gotten super super sensitive, we are still lacking in things that we should have had since level 2 and some things since level 1. Our groundwork isn't the same as it used to, and even our friendly game is different.

I have decided I'm going to go back to Level One and perfect my phase 1s. I still sometimes have to use phase 4 on him and I feel like as a level 3 student I shouldn't have to even come close to a phase 4. I'm also going to try to find what could be missing, any holes in foundation that I did not notice.

I'm going to try to keep a daily blog (well daily in the sense that each time I go up to play with him there will be an update) with everything I am able to perfect, what observations I see, and just my thoughts :)

What an interesting week or two......

2011-04-12T14:11:00.001-07:00

Not sure if I mentioned it in this blog (I must have though...) but for the last year I have really haven't had a good ride on Sonny...like good as in a nice relaxing ride without having to brace or worry about if he'll take off. It started happening when I had a trail ride up north with John. Sonny almost close-lined me twice and wouldn't listen...ever since then Sonny has been a nightmare to ride....taking off, not stopping, going too fast, not listening or turning....and god forbid if we were on a trail ride...I stopped trail riding with him or riding him outside of the arena...I tried playing with him online first....that did not help at all...I tried riding him through it...that worked him up more...I tried circling...that did not show any difference either. After a while I kinda ignored it and forgot about it...this winter was horrible and I wasn't able to play online or ride at all from all the ice.

When I moved barns I had decent rides in the sense that I didn't fall off...but I did not trot much I mainly just walked....but the other day when I was riding I was determined to get a nice trot...we would circle after circle after circle in hopes of getting a nice slow trot....but to no avail. Then he decided to be a butt and take off into a real fast canter with a HORRIBLE depart that flew me back (back in the saddle not on the ground). I one-rein stopped him, and held him till he relaxed
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Circling
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Head Tossing
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Pawing
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Grunting
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Slamming my legs into walls
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Threatened to rear
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Finally after 2.5 HOURS he relaxed a bit and I released and got off of him. He was totally left brain throughout the whole thing...you could see his left side of his brain going the whole time. He worked himself into a sweat by the time we were done.
I was totally upset (sad not angry). Where did my great level three horse go? Where was the horse that I could ride bareback and bridleless, WTC and not have a worry when I was on his back? I have not had that horse in a year and it made me stop and think about him...was he worth all this trouble? Is it worth feeling like this and having those types of rides all the time? Is this dominance? Is it pain? Is that him saying I don't want to? Many questions ran through my head.
Ground work wise he is perfect...listens at phase one and is amazing...but riding he was a nightmare.

The next day I came up I saddled him up and started doing ground work. He seemed very in tune with me so I hopped on him.............
.......
......
An IMMEDIATE change....he listened, almost perfectly...he turned, backed, side-passed, turned on haunches pefectly...so I tried the trot....I had to circle twice then it was back to his nice western please trot that I fell in love with when I first rode him...it was a bit bouncier but I am taking that as he is not shuffling his feet anymore like he was before and he is learning to carry himself uphill versus downhill.
Even in the canter he is good...still rushy at times but will stop when I ask, and if I have to one-rein stop he relaxes within seconds instead of hours! Waiting that 2.5 hours was worth what I have now...I ended that day with two flying lead changes :)

Ever since then our rides have been great...or at least better than before. The ride yesterday wasn't perfect as all he wanted to do was canter canter canter but I allowed him. "If you want to canter, you can canter....but don't stop until I say so"....after about 9 laps around the arena (him sweating too) I felt like he had enough...I asked for one more round, then stopped him. He did a beautiful stop, and then I dismounted.
I think soon, if I go up and ride often enough I'll have my bareback and bridleless horse back. Once we get the canter under control we should be good :) YAY :) :) :)

Anyone seen the videos before I bought him?
His for sale video back then
My lesson on him (wow I was a horrible rider back then lmao)

Enjoy!!

New barn :)

2011-03-29T18:34:00.000-07:00

Well I haven't written here as often as I said or had wanted but this have been crazy lately...let me try to start from the beginning.

The bump on Sonny's leg is an abcess according to the vet. For a week he was on 14 tablets of SMZ pills twice a day, also I had to cold hose, clean with soap, and put Itchathmmol on it. Going up 14 times in 7 days was a pain in the butt! It ate up so much gas but also it took up so much of my day. Each time took up at least 30 minutes if not more.
Not only that but Sonny's pasture at MSF was totally flooded....more than half of the pasture was under water and some parts were 2 feet deep. Not only that but it was so muddy and nasty everywhere. It was horrible...and then my silly horse decides that it would be fun to roll in the deepest part AFTER I cleaned his leg....I was screaming "NOOOOOOOO!!" and he gave me such a proud look afterwards.

I finally decided also to look for a new barn...some things happened at my current barn and I felt that it was better for Sonny if I left and moved him to a better place. The place I am at now is beyond amazing. First off the two barn owners are very nice, care for the horses, and very kind. They have a huge indoor outdoor arena, a HUGE indoor arena, and nice facilities.
I am also not the only Parelli student there which is nice :)

Sonny is back on his SMZ as the abcess isn't gone yet. The puncture wound on his leg has healed but there's still alot of heat in his leg so I am afraid I might have to still get the vet out yet again to check it out....another vet bill I cannot afford.

But on the bright side because of the indoor arena, Sonny is back into riding and we are working on not only calming down (he has the spring crazies) but being more soft and supple. He needs his teeth floated and until I hear back from my old barn owner the name of the dentist I am riding him in my hackamore. He's very sensitive when it comes to flextion but it's still turning when he doesn't really want to go the way I'm asking him to go. It's a work in progress. My barn does shows in the summer and maybe if I can get him really good I might enter one of the shows...it might be interesting.......lmao

I tried out a new shim pattern and it seems to be working alright...the saddle is sliding forward a bit but it has to be my doing because when I'm doing ground work, it doesn't slide down at all. I will have to work on being more fluid with him. I can see what exactly I'm doing wrong for trot but I haven't started cantering yet (I want to make sure all winter crazies are out of him) but that was where the saddle really slid forward the most but I don't recall doing anything wrong but I sure I am...just to figure out what...............

On a side note...anyone wanna give him a conformation critique? I'm bored and I figured that would be some fun lmao

Ice, ice, ice...GO AWAY!

2011-03-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

So I wanted to spend all day with Sonny...the weather is decent...a bit cold and windy but it isn't snowing or raining...I woke up early, changed my shim pattern to the new one that Parelli Saddles suggested and drove all the way to the barn.

The whole walkways were a solid sheet of ice. Not thin ice either, but probably 1-2 inches thick in places...and not only that but all the pathways the horses made in their pasture was solid ice! I went into the pasture and put the halter on Sonny thinking we could find a non-icy place to do some ground work, but he wouldn't even budge. It was too slippery for him.
What made it all worse was he had this great expression on his face and you could just tell he wanted to go out and have fun...but it isn't possible....it hasn't been possible for over a month :(
Not only that but he has a bump on his rear leg. It isn't sensitive or sore....nor does there seem to be anything causing it but there's heat around it. I put some drawing salve on it in hopes that will take care of it, but I don't know.

I'm so sick of all this ice...I know this is the winter we are supposed to get here in New York but it's beyond horrible. I wish that it was summer already

Well..it's been a while!

2011-02-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

Wow it has really been a while since I have posted anything! Life has been so busy and crazy right now that I guess I just haven't found time.

Where do I begin?.........

My amazing barn owner sold her farm so I moved to a local barn about 20 minutes away from my house. I have been there since July(ish?). The place is nice, HUGE pastures and large outdoor arena. But sadly they only put no more than two horses in a pasture and the outdoor is unfenced....some of the boarders say it's so the horse's don't get arena sore....but the fence doesn't make a horse arena sore, it's the rider ;)
There are maybe 8(?) other boarders there, 4 of them are Clinton Anderson followers and I'm the only Parelli student. It's hard having no one there that you are really close to to share ideas or thoughts...or no one there to have play days with.
But as of next month, I am moving to another barn...the barn is about 20 minutes away from my house also, has a HUGE indoor arena, huge outdoor arena, and someone on property most of the day. I will again be the only Parelli student there unless my one friend moves there with me but it seems like a very nice place and open to NH :)

I sadly wasn't able to watch Road to the Horse but saw pictures on line and just seeing the pictures of Pat and his horse, I am definitely proud to be a Parelli student :)

Well I'll try to put more updates up soon :) I haven't had much time to see Sonny lately because of the horrible weather (at least NY is getting the winter they are supposed to) and because I've been working so much and started college again. But he is doing good and is definitely a huge cuddle bug now. Since I've moved to my current barn he's definitely gotten alot more attached to me and our relationship has grown. He's happy to see me, and wants to be with me :)

New Video!

2010-01-18T06:33:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to quickly give the link to my new video. Played at liberty with Sonny and realized the reason why he kept running off at liberty wasn't because he didn't have trust in me or whatever, but i was putting too much pressure on him by having him in a too large of area that he was ready for.
So here is the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG2gFABNsrg

Enjoy! Feel free to comment :)

Lesson!

2010-01-17T12:50:00.001-08:00

Gave my first official lesson today to an awesome friend of mine and her simply adorable LBE pony :). Had a blast doing it and I'm thrilled to hear that she enjoyed it very much!

Sonny was an amazing demo horse and responded like an old pro and did everything he was supposed to when I asked so I could give my friend a good explanation and to show her different things. He stayed out of the way, even at liberty, and kept by my side as if he help me teach :) :) He seemed to have fun watching the two play and enjoyed it even more because I rarely asked him to do something :) :) He's such a smart guy and I"m lucky to have him :)

Gabe (the horse) was an amazing little guy, was very willing and seemed like he was having fun! LBEs are so fun to play with and to watch! I loved how he started some of his little hissy fits but didn't do anything :) :)

Sideways :)

2009-12-31T10:42:00.000-08:00

Sideways has always been our weakest thing. Not sure if I was just asking for it wrong, he just wasn't clear on it, or maybe a mixture of both, but it's something that has always bugged me. Back when I thought he was a Left Brain Introvert, I thought that our problem with sideways was more or less him being dominant and not wanting to do it. We couldn't do it straight, Sonny's body would be curved (hindquarters more towards me and forehand farther away). If we did it without a log or fence infront of us it was more like side-passing. It wasn't straight...it was curved and he was stiff and not fluid at all in his movements.

The arena was too icey to do any trotting work so I focused alot on the friendly game, level one stuff, and then waiting until he licks and chews. Extreme Friendly game is awesome now! Helicopters, hitting the ground, doesn't matter. He's fine. He puts his ears back to listen but doesn't seem frightened. A bit concerned at times but that is normal for any horse that is just getting find with extreme friendly game.

I also did work on sideways in zone 1 which he did awesome. We did it over a log so he couldn't go forward too much and then I tried sideways towards (haven't asked in a while) and he did it at phase 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-25T11:11:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Hope everyone is having an awesome Christmas and staying warm! Thankfully the weather is nice here and should stay nice for a while! :)

Great liberty session with my RBI

2009-12-23T08:14:00.001-08:00

Had a great, but short, liberty session with my newly found RBI. I know it's going to take a while for me to get used to doing things differently since I spent a whole lot of time studying LBI behavior and also believing that he was an LBI, so it will take some time, but I'm looking at the Savvy Club vault daily to find new information on how to be better for me little RBI :)

Sunday I took him out to the play pen and did things very slow to see what he'd offer. I was fooling around with different things and each time he did something I'd release the pressure by sitting down (or laying down) on the ground.
Not sure the reasoning but I decided to ask for the circling game and to my amazement he didn't just walk off and go to the rail...he stayed close (about 4ish feet) around me and stayed around me....only occasionally increasing the length but never got to the rail. He would do half a circle, then stop, so I'd turn and wait for him to ask a question and when he did I'd ask for him to continue. He was pretty neat :)

Then I ended it with just playing the friendly game. We can now do the extreme friendly game with helicopters, hard slapping of ground and much more! I need to have someone film it so I can put it on youtube to share with everyone :)

Well Christmas is in 2 days and it's sad to say but I really could care less. I'm not in the Christmas spirit this year and I don't really want anything for gifts. I know one thing that I"m getting, which is the breast collar for my wicked awesome Natural Performer saddle but I have to order that and I haven't gotten around to order it at all. So that's all that I know for sure but I'm tempted to buy the Parelli jacket that they have on sale for $150...wicked awesome price and the jacket is awesome!!

Having a Christmas party on the 26th but with the weather looking very bad, I might have to cancel. Don't want anyone to drive out in freezing rain. Guess I'll have to deliver presents myself to all my friends. Some were so hard to shop for...I hope they like what I got them! John, Lynne, and Mackenzie were the hardest to shop for. Then I got presents for their horses also :) :) and of course I saved some for my little horsey also!!

In a way I am thankful that Sonny is a RBI. It will further my savvy. I am confident handling RBEs, LBIs, and LBEs but definitely not RBIs so it will definitely teach me new things. And Pat did say that RBIs are the hardest horsenality in one of the Savvy Club DVDs. He's border line RBI/LBI but is super emotional and sensitive so anything hard makes him go to RBI then breaks...turning into RBE.
I'll keep everyone up-to-date on my progress with him :)

RBI

2009-12-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

Well I think I've figured out that Sonny is more RBI than LBI after all. He does have LBI of course but innately I think he's RBI.

I'm not going to go into a huge thing because it's late and get to hang out with a friend tomorrow. But also adding one of our Christmas pictures!!

AMAZING DAYYYYYYY!

2009-11-22T13:41:00.000-08:00

I went to get Sonny out of the pasture, and I felt bad for taking him out right away because they were just given a round bale, so I put the halter on him, then just stood there for probably 10-15 minutes just letting him eat, as I occasionally had to defend his space at the round bale. After I would get another horse away for him, he'd turn and look at me and touch me with his nose ("Thanks mom!" )

So after a while, and once the horses started acting up a bit (and I felt a little worried for my safety) I took him out of the pasture and brought him into a stall. My barn owner was adding a hitch to their truck and from the nose that he was making, Sonny was snorting and was RB. After a while he went LB again (I stayed out of the stall until he stopped pacing and snorting).
Once he was LB I went in and groomed him (he was a mess!!!!!!!).

Then I put his halter and 22 ft lead on him and brought him out to the pasture. My friend was out there in the pasture playing at liberty with her horse. I asked if I could bring Sonny in and play with him (wanted to make sure it was alright first). she said yes so I brought Sonny in and started playing with him online.

We started with the friendly game (of course) and then I asked him to approach me...he would not, and just turned his head...waited about 5 minutes to see if he'd decide to, but he just ignored me more, so I said "ok well if you're not going to come, I won't let you come in" so I asked him to circle around me. I let him walk the circle for two rounds, then asked for the trot, we went around once and he acted like he was going to go poop, so I asked him to go to a walk, then a halt....he did nothing so I asked him to trot again, then asked for a change of direction...he did a beautiful change of direction, then continued on trotting. I asked him to disengage.

Then I decided what the heck, and unhooked his halter from the lead rope and started to play at liberty.....

What I expected was him to stay with me until he saw Hannah (my friend's horse...and Sonny's girlfriend), but to my amazement he stuck by my side. We started walking over to the far tire (away from the gate and Hannah) and then thought "Hmmm wonder what he'd do if I started trotting". I took of trotting, and he took off with me. He was pinning his ears, but I was not going to be picky and ruin a good day so far so I ignored it before...then I stopped and walked.....and HE stopped and walked .
Then I stopped and backed up, he turned, EARS UP and towards me and walked over to me : )

Then when we reached the tire, I asked him to go up on it...normally when I asked him to go on somethign at liberty he'd walk around if and if I kept persisting, he'd take of...but not this time! I pointed, and he walked right over and stepped up on it . I gave him a treat and rubbed him, then let him rest for a bit, then asked him to put all 4 feet on it. Then gave him another rest.

Then we continued on to the car wash. He went through it great, then came right back to me and gave me the "Was that good???" look.

After that, I brought him back to a stall, and tacked him up (also trying a new shimming pattern...wish us luck!). We went on to a pasture ride and he was the well behaved one

After we finished, I grabbed my halter and carrot stick again and went out to the pasture. We played with to me at trot and canter (but canter he didn't really want to stick to me...he wanted to go past me, then turn around and tell me to keep up ).

Then I set up some tires to do the Figure 8 but he wanted nothing to do with them. When I persisted he took off....I said "hey?! what are you doing???) right as he trotted off...at that second he kicked up dirt...and being an LBI and good aim...I had dirt in my mouth *spits* yucky!

It was such a great day...

and my hmmm how interseting moment...my draw is better at liberty then online what is that supposed to mean? Liberty = truth so what does online mean lolol

The Importance of Treats :)

2009-11-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I sat back and thought over the days when I played with Sonny. What stuck in my mind was whenever I asked him to come into my his ears would be back. Not in a pinned "I'M GOING TO EAT YOU!!!!!" way, but what I thought was an unconfident way.

So I went to play with him last week and each time he gave me those ears I'd sit down and wait until he licked and chewed. Sooner or later he'd lick and chew, but still would give me those ears, just not that "strong".

So today I thought I'd try not only waiting but when the ears went up and he approached to give him a treat, and start rewarding the slightest tries (even on stuff that he does without a thought). And well, it worked and the ears were up and he was asking questions and was definitely more willing. I will have to start making more treats, but making them small so they aren't really that much so he can't get fat again :)

Weight wise he's maintaining a weight tape of 1009...which is what I'll keep until the winter is over...he still has a bit of a belly, but he needs a bit of fat for the winter...and I'll just have to monitor his weight and keep it in check from now on.

:) :)

2009-11-07T15:40:00.001-08:00

Well Sonny is starting to look good :) :)
He weight taped at 1000 on Thursday

I had a somewhat good day with him Thursday. He was very dominant and I kinda got a bit frustrated with him, but we ended it nicely and did some UDT as a way of saying sorry.

Friday we had a party for Kresney as she is leaving for Florida to be a PARELLI INSTRUCTOR on Monday at around 3 am. We had a blast. I hope she enjoys herself and learns lots. She'll be a GREAT asset to the Parelli program. Maybe I'll be able to follow her down there and be an instructor myself....hopefully :)

Day 6

2009-11-02T05:52:00.000-08:00

YAY so I'm finally starting to see a difference in his weight alot by looking at the first pictures I took to now. The bad thing about it is I'm realizing his "topline" wasn't really muscle, it was just fat so I have to work on building a bit of a topline now. I'm going to have him do some jumping online when the arena is dry enough to allow me to send him over it safely.

Weight Taped: Approx 1045 (yay!! hehe he's getting down there!)

Day Two picture (extreme before...compare with the now picture)

Last time (day 5):

Now (Day 6):

Day Two front shot (to see sides):

Day 6 (now) front shots:

Now you can't see any belly on the sides (or alot less) I feel like I'm riding a post now and not a couch haha. Now hopefully with more muscles, he'll look more sexy than he already does (of course my guy is sexy now haha)

Anyways yesterday was fun, nothing special, had a very pissed off moment (will not go into details as everyone has access to my blog and someone might see it that I don't want to see it). But let's just say it involved Sonny going RB and freezing in a corner and someone being a predator and saying to get him out of the corner. My poor buddy :( When we went back to being LB he cuddled up in my arm.

Yesterday we had a good liberty day, nothing huge just did a figure 8 which is our hardest to do at liberty! I was so happy :)

Day Five

2009-10-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Weight Tape: 1100 (approx.)...so he's lost a bit of weight!! The last part that he weight in on was WAY too big now :) He's lost alot off his sides! YAY
Cinch Wise: Can get it to the third without being too tight at all (still using the second though)...and can get it half way to the 4th)

Day 4:

Day 5:

(Yes he looks a bit hollow on this...after any day that he is RBE he tends to look very hollowed, but that should go away soon...if not it's belly lifts after belly lifts for a while :) )

Day Four

2009-10-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

Weight Taped: 1175 (I must have done something wrong the time before because there is no possible way he gained that much since the previous day!

Before:

After:

Sonny was VERY RBE today, so I mainly did UDT with him. Everyone needs a day off, but I'm curious to know what exactly was bothering him for he was certainly afraid of it. Was it my lack of a hat?? Or my green parelli rain coat (even though I normally always wear that)? or something else....hmmm how interesting.

But by the end of the day he wasn't as RBE as before. He still had a touch of it, but was getting very LB also. My poor silly horse

Day Two

2009-10-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

Weight Tape: 1037 (I know a weight tape is not accurate, I'm using it to see if he looses weight not to find his weigh...I know he is NOT 1037...I'd be happy if he was 1037! lol)

Before Picture:

Day One Picture: (no work, just being on low sugar/starch/carb...as much as possible...and then being turned out in a pasture with hardly any grass)

Day Three: After two days of work, this picture was before riding or playing.

So far his belly has gone down at least an inch (as of day three). For the back since I used to only be able to put it on the second hole but now it does on the third hole. So that is good at least!

Today I worked him pretty hard. He was quite full of himself so I didn't feel too bad for working him hard but I did have to give him 5-10 minute breaks when he was good. I not only did ground work but I rode him, and did some jumping at the new log that my barn owner put in the arena. It was fun. We even got a flying lead change over the jump as we were doing figure eights!! Jumps are fun actually...as long as it's small lol. I don't like high jumps. This jump was only like 1.5 feet maybe (bad at guestimating....guessing and estimating hehe).
He got nice and sweaty today so he had a good workout. But weird enough only his chest and neck area got sweaty...but not under the Theraflex pad.....how interesting....hehe probably was just not warm enough

Weight Loss Day One

2009-10-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

So I am going up to the barn every day (hopefully) this week to work Sonny and slowly get him in better shape and maybe even have him loose the extra pounds before winter.

Today we did alot of trotting and figure 8s and circles and many other things. We worked online and then at liberty, at which Sonny tried to jump the 5 ft round pen...it was my fault, I had a bit too much pressure on him. I think next time I'm going to put the 22 ft rope on him and ask him. I'm not unsure if it was an RB/Unconfidence thing or a "I'm done" thing. He was LB up to that point but I'm still unsure.

I will keep daily progress of his "weight" (an approx because using a weight tape) and will be taking daily pictures (conformation shots) to see if that belly has gone down any.

Note: The picture is edited so it makes his fur look lighter on parts...it's edited using my phone lol made it look weird hehe

Oh Boy...insulin resistance :(

2009-10-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, well I haven't done an update in a while, so let me see if I can sum everything up :) :)

Sonny has been amazing for any liberty work. We had a great liberty session one day with a trot to me and figure 8s....sadly now I can't remember how I did the figure 8s lol. I'll have to go back and watch the Liberty Patterns again and see what I'm doing wrong.

Every Sunday we've been going on a trail ride almost every Sunday (unless it rains) with my friends Chris, Nicole, Kathy, Andrea and others depending on the day. Well the first time we went we went through the trails then down into the village of Mechanicville. We stopped by Stewards and got coffee (well everyone got coffee...I got hot chocolate). Then as we were heading back to the farm we saw how much of an ass people can be. People have no respect for horses or anyone.
Ok if you were driving a HUGE white and shiney RV and you saw horse and riders, and then all of a sudden ALL the riders jumped off, what would you do? I would hope that the majority of readers would SLOW DOWN or even stop. But nope this guy went right on coming, and didn't stop until the one horse's hooves were literally 5 inches away from the RV. Chevy, Chris's horse spooked at the scary RV and tried to run infront of it. Well thankfully Chris held on to the reins but I wish that guy would have gotten too nice horse hoof sized dents in the side of his RV....maybe that would have taught him. Both were fine, Chevy was just worked up and lost 2 back shoes, and Chris was fine :)

Then this Sunday it was too muddy (or we figured it would be too muddy) to ride the trails to we went on a "road ride" hehe. It was fun, but does not beat the trails that we have. The weather was nice but it was windy, making it colder than what it really was.

Then two weeks ago (I think it was two weeks ago) we had the vet out. I asked him about Sonny's weight as I've been concerned for a while. He believes that Sonny is either very close to being, or has a slight case of insulin resistance. So I have to put him on a diet. He probably has to loose a good 100-150 pounds, he can only have low/no sugar/carb/starch treats, hay and everything else. Next year he won't be able to be turned out with the herd in the large pasture, and he'll have to wear a grazing muzzle. I'm hoping to get those pounds off before the winter snows come but I don't think I'll be able to. I'm going to try to go up for 1-2 hours a day to work him for a bit and get him on a good schedule for working.

I will keep everyone updated with how he's doing and if he seems to have lost any weight.

Great Session

2009-09-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

First off, today I had an amazing session with Sonny. I decided to take him out in the obstacle course and play with him on the 22ft lead (would have done liberty if it were not for the 2 yearlings that are turned out in that pasture). When I first was leading him out of the big pasture that he's kept in I asked him to trot up because he was lagging behind and my lead rope that I use is simply a cheap snap on reins (use it just to get him from the pasture then ride him back to the barn...then I switch to my good halter and lead), I was surprised how much effort on my spot and how much energy I had to put out for him to trot forward....and each time he'd trot, he gave me a nasty look and his ears were pinned back. With some ground work in his pasture, I finally got his ears up and I didn't ask him to trot as we went back to the barn.

Grooming went normal, and he was of course very well behaved for that. Then I put on the halter and he very nicely put his nose in the halter and then I snapped on the 22ft lead.

While playing I was thinking that he would be totally dominant and unresponsive from how he was in the pasture. But it was the total opposite. I was able to play THE EXTREME FRIENDLY GAME (huge thing for me because I've never been able to do that before....I was able to do the helicopter and slap the ground all around him as long as I kept my hand on him if I didn't he'd start disengaging lol...and then helicopter behind and slapping the ground behind.) It was amazing! During the different games and obstacles his ears were up and whenever I asked him to disengage he had a happy look on his face and he was licking and chewing. I only had one dominant part when he just gave a flat out "No I am not going to jump this log...and if you want me to well even more of a reason for me not to" so with some work and one phase 4 he looked at me, I pointed for him to go over the log...and HOP he bunny hopped over it. Silly LBIs.

Then I saddled up and me and a friend went out for a trail ride. Sonny was great as normal. We even cantered in the field where about 6 months ago he took off on me at a gallop (and I was bareback). We did a nice calm canter until I asked him to go a bit faster and he stopped great also (unlike last time where I couldn't even one-rein stop him).

Wow

2009-08-13T18:05:00.001-07:00

Well all my liberty playing has paid off. Today I brought the lead rope and his new treats (Flex cookies for joint health), and walked over to the pasture. Pearl greeted me at the gate and I gave her a quick pet then yelled to my horse. Sonny looked up, letting me know where he is (there's 4 bays in the pasture) so I walked in his direction. As I came close (probably about 10-15 feet) he turned around and walked to me.....without me even asking! (normally I have to say his name and motion for him to come). So I petted him and gave him his new cookie. Not quite sure if he liked it...probably a weird taste...something to get used to.

Then for some reason I decided to see if he'd follow me to the gait (not sure why I thought he would) but to my surprise....HE DID! YAY
So I let him have an easy day today.

We went on a trail ride around the pasture and then I hosed him down, put fly spray on him and then ended :)

Our first REAL Liberty Session! YAY!

2009-08-03T04:30:00.001-07:00

Ok today was AMAZING!

After I got him out of the pasture and put him in a stall and groomed him, I then fooled around with shimming (still am stuck on placement...this is getting frustratint (sent an Email to them...haven't heard back yet )
Anyways, so after I gave up and then took Sonny out to the one 1 acre-ish pasture and played the catching game.

At first it was a battle of wits...who would give up first? Who would get bored and give up? Sonny would gallop away when I came close "haha catch me if you can" and would stop to look at me "giving up yet?". He realized that I wouldn't give up when I continued to play even when it started pouring. Our battle of wits probably lasted an hour (not sure really...didn't time it) and then he snorted and walked towards me. When he approached and touched me with his nose I opened my treat pouch and gave him a small handful of grain (his reward for coming) then walked away. He followed me into the play pen, and I gave him another handful and then let him graze for probably 10 minutes.
I expected him to stay in the round pen like he did last time when I left the play pen, but amazing enough, he looked up, turned around and followed me out.

I walked over to the gate of the obstacle course and I unlocked the gate. I opened it and asked Sonny to come in. He entered and turned and faced me and WAITED for me to shut and lock the gate. Then I walked away and went to the large small tire (large as in diameter...small as in height). I asked him to go on there and he got that "pfffft I ain't gonna go on there" and he cantered off.
I started playing the catching game again with him this time in the obstacle course (about double the size of the first pasture we started in). He came to me faster than the first time, and then we played at liberty in the obstacle course for a bit. He went on the platform, and the teeter-totter, but when I went to the same tire, he cantered off again.....
HMMMMMMM how interesting............

So I played the catching game once again and he came again faster than the other previous times. Then we went through the car wash, and he went on the tall small tire (tall as in height and small as in diameter), then I brought him over to the log hoping he'd step over it, but he wouldn't so I didn't push them. Then it started to rain really hard so I was like "umm okay let's go!" lol
So he followed me to the gate, and I opened it, then headed to the main gate to get my halter. I decided to try Stick To Me, so I "trotted" off and he started trotting also!!!!!!!!!!!! And when I stopped and walked...HE DID TO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I put the halter back on and walked to the barn. I put all my stuff away, then put him back in the pasture (of course after giving him lots of cookies)

I'm just soo happy. Normally anything liberty he just either walks away or goes into lunging mode and won't stay with me at all....I was able to play the friendly game when we were walking to the different obstacles and he asked so many questions. I'm sooo happy. I'm going to try to go the catching game every time I go up to hopefully make our bond greater and have him actually want to be with me.
He's gotten better. He still won't meet me at the gate, but he'll approach me in the pasture without me asking and puts his head in the halter.

Susan Nelson Clinic 7/23

2009-07-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Wow is all that I can say describing this clinic. It was downright amazing and I learned so much.

Well to kinda start the whole thing off. I woke up at around 5:30am to get ready and get all my stuff in order. I got a text the night before from my barn owner saying that the clinic would start an hour earlier than scheduled for a reason I did not ask. Anyways, so after getting in the clothes I was going to wear and then checking my email and so on I left for the barn.

The first class was Level One Online Review:
Wow. I didn't expect this class to be that good. We went through all of the 7 games (well no I lied...we only did 6 games) and then got feedback on how we did it and many different things. I definitely learned that I have to be a little more demanding with Sonny as he's just doing things slowly like a teenager out with the rolling eyes and all haha. We got a really nice yo-yo game and it was just really awesome to see what I was doing wrong and how it should be done.

After the first class we had a lunch break. We got catered by The Ugly Rooster, a new Mexican Cafe that recently opened. Though I didn't really try any of the borritos but everyone that did said that it was amazing. The Fruit Salad that they gave us was yummy and the Hamburger was awesome (the reason I had a Hamburger and not a burrito is that I wasn't sure if they put any sauce on it...I think I'm allergic to some Mexican sauces cause I get headaches afterwards).

The second class was Carrot Stick Riding:
How Susan taught this class was simply amazing. She started us out like we had never ridden with a carrot stick before. We worked on lateral flextion, disengaging, turning, transitions, and many other things. It was nice to be able to learn the correct way of riding in with the Carrot Stick. I picked up my rein once when Sonny got a little too carried away while trotting. He has the bad habit of wanting to race with the horse in front of him if the knows and likes them.
We did a pattern that was confusing but fun, and me and John were the only ones in the class that trotted it. Sonny did really well with it. I'm uber proud.

All in all the class was AWESOME. I learned so much. I wish someone took pictures of the whole thing cause I would have loved to have pictures. I did ask someone to take pictures, but she didn't :( :( :(

Susan Nelson Clinic

2009-07-23T03:13:00.000-07:00

Well this won't be a long update..just updated to say I"m heading out to a Susan Nelson (http://www.socalsavvy.com/) level 2-3 clinic today. It will be a Level 1 Online Review (in the morning) and Carrot Stick Riding (in the Afternoon).
It will be fun!! First clinic I've ever attended (like actually participated in) since I've bought Sonny.

I'll hopefully find someone to take pictures for me so I can have some pictures and I'll let everyone now how it goes :)
Oh but on a good note...I think I have almost solved my shimming problem :)

Shimming all wrong :(

2009-07-14T09:35:00.001-07:00

Well Sunday I had a lesson on how to shim the theraflex pad/saddle. It was amazing and I learned alot. I shimmed Sonny myself, but to my dismay I did something wrong (or too many shims?) and it was putting pressure points on his withers.

Thankfully his back is getting ALOT better. Originally his back got bad from an unknowledgable person saying a saddle fit him, when it truely didn't. Thankfully I now have the savvy to listen to my horse and let him tell me if it fits or not :)

I fell off of Sonny yesterday and did a not-so-graceful fall as usual haha. I'm alright of course.

I don't have alot of time to write but I was bad and didn't tell anyone about my camping trip we went to...so once I'm back from work and if I'm not too tired I'll tell you all about that. All I can say is that Sonny has so much muscles now and his back is looking alot better. Still more to go but I think that maybe by the end of the summer his back will be all back to normal yay!

On a side note...and not sure if she is on anymore on here...but Jenna you are doing amazing with Trigger! He is the smartest little horse that I know and is definitely giving you everything. It's also good seeing Star again.

FLUIDITY SADDLE!

2009-06-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

Well I saw an ad last week on the Savvy Club forum for Two Fluidity Saddles for sale. I opened the post and the one caught my eye. Medium seat SuperWide Fluidity Saddle that includes theraflex pad, 5 shims, carrying case, and girth for a wicked good price!
So I contacted the seller, talked with her for a bit and decided what the heck...why not buy it. my friend let me use her paypal account to send the money and then it was shipped the next day.

The saddle arrived Wednesday and it was beautiful! Practically brand new looking (can hardly tell it's used) and it was just wow! lol

Thursday, my instructor shimmed the pad for me (I was watching to see what she was doing) and then I borrowed some stirrup leathers and irons and I rode in it.

I saw an instant transformation on how Sonny responded to leg pressure for turning. He did it so much easier and his body seemed to bend easier. His gaits seemed to be longer and smoother and his ears were almost always up (with the occasional "I'm listening" ears back). My friend who was watching me said that his shoulder looked so much freer and that his gaits just looked better.

For me, the saddle was really comfortable. I was worried that I'd be flopping everywhere because that's what I always do in english saddles, but nope...it was fine. It was 100% natural to stay in my balance spot...I didn't even have to think about it!

I absolutely LOVE this saddle. Definitely worth the money that I paid for it and much more. But I must say, the standard wouldn't fit my Quarter Horse built Paint at all. The SuperWide was the width to go.

Happy Birthday Sonny!

2009-06-11T20:10:00.000-07:00

June 10th was Sonnys birthday! YAY! He's now 11. I've owned him now for 1 year 5 months now and he'd without a doubt my dream horse.

This isn't going to be a long post as I have to go to bed soon in order to wake up in time to go to work (eh...I don't want to go to work tomorrow).
But I wanted to share with you the two videos of me playing with Sonny. I hope you all like it! I had a blast doing it and will definitely do more!

Video 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPmgv7OK1KE
This shows yo-yo game stick to me at walk, trot, and canter (online), jumping, sideways towards...and more

Video 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEJW7wanMnU
Look at all those questions my little LBI is asking me!!!!!! Isn't he so cute?!?!?!

Please do post comments :) I wuv reading comments on youtube!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a good day.

2009-05-21T17:22:00.001-07:00

When I went to the stables and saw the pasture that Sonny was in empty, the first thing that crossed my mind was "great....just watch him not come to me or stay still". So I walked over and low and behold he didn't run like I thought he would. We played the catching game for a while, then he walked over to me. I put the lead rope on him and walked back to the farm.

For groundwork he was really good, extremely responsive, and had a nice look on his face! So when I sent him to grass to eat...guess what?! He wasn't interested in the grass. He'd put his head close (occasionally in my arms) for almost 3 minutes, and then went to eat on the grass...but when I stood up, he looked up!!

Because he was so good, I just put him back in the pasture, not wanting to push my luck and then get him so where he started acting up.
After that I went to help Kresney (my barn owner) build the run-in-shed in one of the 20 acre pastures. And boy oh boy was it HOT out!!
Then after that, me and Kresney took the truck to a gas station to get gas, and then nice cold drinks. I drove her truck! OMG her truck is awesome!!!! It's soo smooth and I was trying to watch my speed and I couldn't tell at all that I was going 50 mph!

Then after we got back and drank the drinks (my friend's Fiance took my drink, but ah well lol) we hopped on the horses bareback in the pastures. Boy oh boy...Sonny was amazing....it was really hot so we did no trotting, just walking around but he was amazing!!!!!

Parelli rocks! I'd never do that before!!

What I've realized...

2009-05-18T04:48:00.000-07:00

The more I thought about it the other day, the more I realized Sonny's hate for the arena is more my fault than anything else. Being an LBI, I think he needs more motivation and reward when he does something instead of a little cookie here and there when he does something extremely well.
What I might do (not sure exactly how I'll set it up or anything) I'll put little clumps of hay in corners and around different spots of the arena. When he does something, immediately afterwards I'll take him over to one of the hay spots to eat. That way that's his motivation and reward for doing something.

I don't know if I'll use hay or maybe small bucket of grain but something that he'll like. Maybe I'll see if I can get sideways on the fence and put grain or cookies on each of the fence posts (or every other since they are kinda close) and he gets a reward when he goes there.

I hate saddle shopping!!

2009-05-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, so what have I been up to lately? Well other than work let's seee......
On one Thursday me and my barn owner went on a short trail, nothing horrible, just long enough that we had some fun and then hung out for a while at the house. Then on that Sunday we went out with other people to go on a trail. Sonny was good other then he wasn't paying any attention to me. When we got into the field we split up into twos. I went with my barn owner and she cantered off. Once I got Sonny's attention on me (or so I thought), I asked him to trot up. Off he takes into a nice canter so I accepted what he gave me and rode on...little did I know he kept speeding up and speeding up and speeding up. Next thing I knew I said to myself "Hmmm this doesn't feel like a canter anymore". We were galloping. So here I was galloping in a huge field, BAREBACK and unsure of how he was going to stop, I quickly did a one-rein stop (tried to that is) and after maybe a minute, I was able to disengage him and he was ok. He was totally full of it for the rest of the trail ride.

When I got home I immediately emailed savvyclub@parelli.com and asked on how I could better get Sonny's attention cause there were points in the trail that I was worried we both would get hurt if he kept trying to speed up.

Oh and about my saddle. The ^#*(%^& of a lady recieved my money...then SOLD IT TO SOMEONE ELSE! Yes I got my money back but still. ARG! I wrote her an email, explained to her how unprofessional she was, how I'd never buy anything from her again, and said also that if she tried selling someone on the Savvy Club again I'll probably mention what happened to me....not only to warn people so it doesn't happen to them, but also to hopefully embarrass her.

So now I'm saddle shopping. There's a guy in Texas that makes Custom Wade saddles (or just custom saddles) so I'm thinking maybe I'll get a saddle from him. My barn owner is getting one from him, so I'm going to wait until he gets his before making a decision, but the guy told him that he would make a saddle on a flex tree as long as he bought the flex tree. So I'm assuming as long as I bought a flex tree, I could get him to build a saddle on top of it.
I have been contacting Steele Saddle Tree LLC and Ed Steele said that he could make me his Equi-Fit Flexible in a Wade styled tree. So I'm hoping that if I like the saddle I'll be able to buy one. So far he hasn't emailed me back on an approx price (though I've asked him like 2-3 times on how much it would be.

Circle Y also has a saddle that is a flex tree and a wade tree!! But I don't particularly want to do business with Cheshire Horse. I find their staff knows little to nothing about saddles, at least the ones in New York doesn't seem to be. I bought my Tucker from there as was "assured" that it would fit my horse. Well guess what? It didn't lol
But I'll keep ya all updated on how my saddle shopping is going.

JOIN SHAREPARELL.Com

2009-05-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

Click the link above to go to ShareParelli.com. Please join! It's awesome!!

~*~Jenny

RIP Hamlet

2009-05-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

I told myself I would not cry when your time came. I knew you were old and had a great long life, but I didn't realize that loosing you would be so darn hard. The worst part for me is that I didn't even get to say goodbye. I got home from work, and did the normal stuff like get dinner and then watched a movie. I went up to feed you and Mynts, and you didn't greet me when I called. My heart sank...

RIP Hamlet. You will be forever missed.

Wow what a great trail

2009-05-05T06:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Sonny and I went on your first official trail ride for the year!! It was AMAZING! Sonny was a real trooper and gave me no hassles at all. We trail rode for 3 hours if not more and had a blast. Up steeeeeeep hills that if we stopped we'd fall back down....down steeeep hills that Sonny had to slide down on his butt....cross creeks....it was awesome!!

It was fun watching my friends Fiance ride in an English saddle. He did good.....better than I'd do. I'd be off on the first hill.

But it was sooooo much fun. The only thing I wanted to kill myself on....I FORGOT MY CAMERA grrrrrrr. And my phone so I have like no pictures :( :( :( :( :( :(

Harrisburg Parelli Conference

2009-04-21T18:41:00.001-07:00

Oh my GOD! This was sooooooo amazing!! I can't believe how much I learned and how much fun I had.

Day One (Friday): There was alot of Savvy Spotlights for the savvy's online, liberty, freestyle, and finesse. Then Pat worked with one of the horses that did the online spotlight. After that Pat met and played with Miss Judge, a beautiful TB mare from a local rescue. He went so far with her just in the first day...it was amazing!!!!!!!!

Day Two (Saturday): Some more savvy spotlights but either two horses and multiple savvy's or one horse and multiple savvys. They were all amazing. Pat worked with Parker the horse from the previous day again then afterwards worked more with Miss Judge. Then Linda did a demonstration on Left Brain Extroverts and Introverts with guess who?.....CORRECT!!! Remmer and Allure....who spent the first 10 minutes rolling haha. But the demonstration was beyond words! So informative and just awesome!!! I got the two demonstrations on video and they are on my youtube account if you are interested in wastching them.

Day Three (Sunday): More Savvy Spotlights and then Pat worked with Miss Judge again. This time he rode her in his saddle and bit. It was amazing how well he did in just the three days!!! She is a total sweet heart!! Then was Linda's dressage lesson with Walter which was awesome! Remmer is such a beautiful mover and you could tell he was HAPPY doing it and was offering so much including flying lead changes.
After that we left, sadly...but I guess what we missed was Pat's talk on ShareParelli.com, then Pat roping (I think) a fake cow, Jesse and his mustang that he trained, then the Gold Medalist (forgot her name) with her horse.

But it was so awesommmmmmmmmme!!! I can't wait to go back to another one.

As for what I bought:
Green Bareback Pad (on order)
Black Hackamore
Horsenality T-Shirt
Back Pack
Two Hats
Hat & Shirt Combo
Rain Jacket
Cowboy shirt
Bracelet
Saddling DVD

And then I bought some stuff for my friend for her birthday :D

What an AMAZING day!!

2009-04-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

At 1:30pm I decided that I would go up to see Sonny today to check on him and see how his back was doing. So after work I went up to the barn.
When I first brought him in, boy oh boy...was his ears pinned back. I told him to go and that he wasn't going to come in OR get the treat that I had with that look on his face. At first he was good and would back up and then he expression was gone, but after 2-3 times of him giving me the look, buuuuut after that 4th time he was like "you know what, if I won't accept the look, then maybe I'll leave" and he left. So after a while he finally turned around again and was like "oh....you're still there, darn it!" lol.

Once I finished grooming him, I took him to the arena to play. We worked on traveling circling without pulling on me when he was going behind me...which he did wonderful....and we worked on side-ways to me...WHICH HE DID AMAZING ON!!
He also would follow me at the walk, trot, AND canter now without having me have to ask with the carrot stick.
That is a HUGE improvement since when I first tried it for the very first time, he'd go Right Brained and totally freak out!!!

Every day that I spend with Sonny gives me more of a reason to love him even more. He used to be such a horrible horse, always spooking and totally unreliable and untrustworthy. Now he hardly ever spooks, is a reliable lazy horse (in a good way!!!) and totally trustworthy! I trust this horse with my life now and can't imagine my life without him! He's my best friend...he's so awesome :)

What a good day!

2009-04-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful day....bright and sunny....kinda windy, but not too bad.
Poor Sonny had a nasty looking bite mark on his back right where his spine is and then one a little far below that on his side. Both were extremely sensitive...so much so that if I just barely touch the one on his back, he'd curve his back down. Poor guy!!

So I just did alot of UDT and then played with him some. Then he got a bath....yay clean smelling horse for a day. I had to then do traveling circles at the trot for him to dry off fast so he could go back in the pasture, and by the time that was done he was totally pooped. No energy left, but still wanted to follow me.

Once I put Sonny back in the pasture, I took out one of my barn owner's horse, Shilo...a pretty black App/TB cross mare. She is normally RBE (so says my barn owner) but today she was more LBE for she was so calm.
I worked with her on the ground for a bit and then rode her for maybe 10-20 minutes. Boy, did she make me love my lazy LBI more than ever!! It's been forever since I've been on a green horse and forever since I'd had a horse take off with me bucking. That was fun actually haha.

Then I put her back and then grabbed Sonny out to play with some more....nothing hard, mainly just to be with him.
We FINALLY have the basics for side-ways to me started. He'll do it but he's unsure of himself.

PLUSSS He'll stand all 4 feet on the tire without jumping off yay!!

In the picture above...notice the tongue?!

Where did my LBI go while riding?

2009-04-03T04:59:00.001-07:00

I've always wondered that when I was previously riding. Where has my Left Brain Introvert gone? For the last month Sonny has been nothing but a big fat bundle of energy with no woah....but way too much go. In a way I hated riding him like that because first off he wouldn't want to stop, turning was optional to him and when he did turn it was a 360 degree turn, making me fall off or loose my balance.

But today my LBI for riding is back! He still definitely had alot of his crazies left, but he was better behaved, he turned nicely, and gave me alot of nice stops. On top of that, I can't remember how many times while trotting he would lower his head down to the floor to stretch! Normally he never does that while trotting too much, and especially not with a bit in.

I'm slowly starting to work with him to get his "trust" back in a bit. Not that I don't mind riding him in the hackamore, I perfer to actually, but it's nice for him to be able to be ridden in a bit comfortable without him totally hating it. He did really well actually with the bit. A little chomping in the beginning, but other than that he was good. I'm starting to think I won't even put my money into the cradle bit I'll just stick with this bit and for finesse I'll borrow my barn owner's cradle bit (which is the c3...what he needs) and I'll be fine.

I have given the money for the saddle, just waiting for her to confirm that she got the money through paypal, and then she'll send it out. I'm too overly excited!

Waiting on the saddle....

2009-03-30T04:54:00.000-07:00

No emotional fitness for me, I'm getting impatient lol. I'm soo looking forward to trying out the Parelli Fusion Saddle. I've heard so many GREAT things about it and I just don't want to wait. I finally sold my Tucker Saddle two weeks ago (I think it was two weeks ago) and found a Parelli Fusion saddle for sale on the Parelli Savvy Club for a good price for the condition it's in. It's definitely used, but with a little TLC on my part I think it will look awesome! It's a standard tree, which is that Parelli said I would need when I emailed them, and it's a size 16 seat. Though technically I take a 15.5 or around there the extra room won't hurt and it might be smaller than my last saddle since seat sizes can vary a bit.
So yeah, I'm extremely excited. Hopefully I'll find out how much shipping with me today sometime and then give my money to my barn owner...I'm going to be using her paypal account to transfer the money...and then the lady will ship it out for me to try it for 5 days!!

Sonny was a good boy

2009-03-29T15:35:00.001-07:00

Today I went with my barn owner to a friends house who was having problems with her horse. She just wanted my barn owner to convince her dad that it would be a good thing to sell this horse because she can't handle it.

Anyways, after we did that, my friend came back to the barn with my cause she was interested in learning Parelli with her horse. So I brought Sonny in and groomed him. Talked to my friend (she is my friend from the old barn that I used to board at and she took lessons from the same instructor back then) as I groomed then brought Sonny out to play and to show her the difference that Parelli has done for my once spooky, unpredictable, and "crazy" horse.

First off my friend was amazed at the difference because she knew how bad he used to be (well not bad...but how dangerous he would be because he was spooky). After I played with him, I handed her the carrot stick and lead rope and I let her play with Sonny for a while. I'd explain how his body language was, what I thought his reasons were when he did something, and tried my best to get her interested. She has done some Parelli before, but very little...just what she has picked up from random people.

Sonny was great, though we had a hard time getting him to listen to her. When she was doing the circling, Sonny kept looking towards me, ears were towards me....his attention was on me.

But he was good and though he kept turning into me and checking on me he listened well and my friend thought Parelli was awesome (though she thought having the 12 foot lead rope was confusing and the carrot stick was frustrating ....it kept falling over when she was in neutral).

After that I worked on doing the circling game at a trot and he did it 100% with no stopping! Plus we got in two changes of directions at the trot when I was going the circling game (which we could never do before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )

I passed Level 2 Online!!!

2009-03-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your audition. It has been viewed and it was a pleasure to watch! Congratulations on earning your Level 2+ On Line!!!!! It is clear from your clip that you and Sonny have a great relationship. He clearly trusts you! One thing you can think of is to have a strong focus forward when you are asking him to back behind you. Then if needed use your driving game to get him to back out of your space, if you are effective he will get more respectful and begin backing when you back at a lighter phase. We look forward to seeing you and Sonny in the future!!

Yay I passed!!!! Didn't expect to get 2+ either! YAYNESS!!!!!

My level two online audition

2009-03-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

Well here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocTXDRiqX-g

Hope everyone likes it. It went okay...typical LBI again so he didn't want to trot very much. But I was 100% pleased that he made it around one of the turns at a trot without stopping. I was smiling!!! :)

I'll let you know if I pass!! Yayness lol

I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

Jennifer- Thank you very much for your level 1 audition. The assessment team has viewed your audition and it was a pleasure. We appreciate the opportunity to be a part of your horsemanship journey. Please allow me to be the first to congratulate you! You have completed your level 1! We have evaluated your savvy at a 1+ standard which means that you are well on your way to level 2! WAY TO GO!!!! :-) Now it is time to continue to build on those patterns and look for more and more positive reflexes. Get out on that 22' line and develop your horse's self confidence. Getting some distance between you will also develop that strength of bond and demonstrate is lightness of response. Thanks again for your dedication to your horse and to the Parelli program. We look forward to viewing your future success. Have fun and keep it natural! Please confirm that you received this email by replying with your name and address.

OMG I'm in total shock and actually was in tears for a bit also!! I honestly did not believe I'd pass, but we did! That day I filmed was an off day, Sonny was totally sticking up his middle hoof (lol) to me the whole day but we passed just the same *huggles Sonnnnnnnny*.
Thanks EVERYONE that gave me feedback and was there for me!

Our Level One - Online Audition

2009-03-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

Our Level One - Online Audition

Watch it!! Hopefully we'll pass, but if not I'll live.
Sonny was so dirty today. He was shedding like crazy and by the time we were done grooming I had more hair on me then he did lol.

Short entry tonight since I'm tired, but lemme know what you guys think of the audition! I'll let everyone know the results when I get them back!!

Our first spooks in a long time.

2009-02-22T12:51:00.000-08:00

Well on Tuesday when I went to see Sonny, I did some riding because the barn owner was going to join me. At first, before she came, I rode with another boarder and we rode down to another horse stables...as we approached the stables, Sonny and her horse, Tom, saw the evil horse eating tree that sat quietly waiting in the front yard. Both spooked and kept bracing as they continued to go to the barn.
Once we turned around Tom almost ran his partner into a truck (ouch lol....the rider and Tom is fine...nothing happened) and Sonny kept wanting to run home. When we got to the drive-way I let Sonny canter because he walked home without rushing for more than half of the way.
Then we went on another trail ride behind the pasture's of the large 20 acre field that the horses are kept in in the spring and summer (and part of fall). Sonny was good, but I'm glad I had a saddle on....he wasn't bad, but we had to cross a place that was scattered with sticks, and Sonny accidently stepped into a hole that was hidden by the sticks...I probably would have fallen off were it not for the saddle.

Then today, me and another boarder and a boarder at the barn down the road were just walking on the rode. Me and the boarder were on horseback and the boarder at the barn down the rode was walking her horse who was on stall rest for 1-2 months (poor girl!). As we walked down the road, a car pulled out of the drive-way, causing the mare (being led) to go RB for a minute, then she was fine. Well the driver was kind enough to stop the car to help with the horse, but it was the wrong choice, in my opinion. As we passed him, and was walking away, he turned on the car...all the horses jumped, and Sonny did what felt like a sliding stop in a way (felt weird so difficult to describe). But afterwards, he was fine.
It was reallly snowing by the time we got back. My bareback pad was all wet (used the bareback pad so my butt didn't get wet since Sonny has no blanket on), and my hat was just soaked. My sweat pants that I was wearing was wet and so were my gloves. Thankfully it wasn't that cold of a day or else I would have froze.
At the moment it's still snowing, but I don't think it will last. It's been around 30-36 degrees, changing constantly...one minute it will be snowing, the next it will be raining/snowing (a cross between the two).

I'm so wishinig winter will just be over with so I can actually have some fun with Sonny. I know he is getting bored of ground work and light riding (well I don't think he hates the trails we've been doing), and I'm going to wait until good weather to film my auditions.
I have to remind myself constantly that it will just be better to wait even though Sonny and I can do all the level one online stuff and alot of the freestyle stuff, and some of the liberty stuff, but not alot.
"It's not about the levels.......it's about the horse"

Wow, no updates in a while

2009-02-18T18:45:00.000-08:00

Well...let's start out with last Sunday since that's when I SHOULD have done another post, but didn't....you can all hate me now...I'm sorries.

Sunday:
Well my dad drove me up to the barn that day....scariest drive in my life...he's NOT a good driver anymore and I hope I'm not in the car the day he gets in an accident. Anyways, as he drops me off, I walk into the barn, say hi to Bella (the goat) as usual, then went into the tackroom to grab some treats and my halter and lead. I go out, and yell for Sonny (hopefully the lazy boy would actually walk up to the fence). I look at the horses that are standing up and none are looking at me. Umm...okay....I yell again for him and look at all of them. The horse laying down on the hay turns his head and looks up at me. OMG is that my horse? At first I was worried, Sonny is NOT one to lay down and even my barn owner says, he doesn't lay down that often. So, worried also, I ran back and grabbed my camera and walked down to him. To my amazement, he didn't jump up as I approached (the last time someone approached him when he was laying down, he jumped up and ran off...this was at the old barn). So I went over and started petting him, handed him a treat then snapped some pictures. Then....I laid down with him. It was sooo wickedly awesome!! He was so fuzzy and so cuddley! It was awesome!
As for groundwork, total LBI and had fun playing Touch-It to the extent of him offering to touch anything which was pretty cool.

Tuesday:
Just a normal good day...nothing great nothing bad. We did some groundwork then rode for a bit. Then we rode again and went on a trail which was fun, but he was total RBE for the time which got annoying. But he behaved well enough which I was proud of!

Days like this makes me remember why I'm a Parelli Student

2009-02-12T16:11:00.000-08:00

Today was a decently beautiful day. Wasn't sunny...was windy....BUT it was 45 degrees and as long as it's above freezing, it's good enough for me! The driveway was just a swimming pool of mud, and Sonny...well he looked like he got highlights in his fur from laying down on wet hay lol.
I brought him into the barn to groom him, and we did a few minutes of touch it in there because the wind was making everything sound scary. So I shut the back barn door to keep the wind out and then groomed him on the lead rope in a stall with the door open.

Once I finished grooming, I took him out and headed to the arena. I stuffed some treats in my coat pocket and headed out to the slushy arena. Sonny was extremely bracey. He kept stopping and looking, not wanting to move. I waited for him to come out of the brace and then continued. Stopping each time he braced.
When we got to the arena I did simple friendly games as Sonny is not ready yet for any extreme friendly games. He was still a tiny bit on edge but not bad at all. I was going to practice some of the self-assessments, but I first was doing simple stuff like the 7 Games which I haven't done in a while to make sure he was in a learning mood and not an "OMG you're going to eat me" mood lol. As we moved to the driving game I got tired of worrying about getting my lead rope dirty (lol yes I don't like getting it dirty lololol) so I wrapped it around his neck and then did it at "liberty" but he still had the lead on for confidence to him.
He was good for that, so I decided to try the yo-yo game at "liberty" and see how he does. We managed to get one down fairly good, so I recorded another one (just one set...back and then back to me) just for the fun of it and though he paused when coming back to me because of the wind and scary trees, he did come back no problem.

I walked away to set up some cones and Sonny followed me (even though the arena door was open...it won't close cause of what little snow and ice there is left). So I did some simple stick to me games.
~*~This morning I watched Mariah and Sundance's assessment video and wondered...how the heck can we do that when Sonny won't even follow at a fast paced walk...all he does it walk slowly~*~
I was walking backwards and he was coming to me then I got the urge to run backwards (as best as I could without slipping)....and the last thing that I expected happened......he TROTTED after me. I was amazed (got it on video also actually!) so I stopped filming, turned and ran in the opposite direction..............he trotted FAST after me.
~*~Note: He hasn't chased me at a trot since I was at DEBs Heavenly Acres~*~
So I did alot of games with him by letting him chase me, but I was careful not to ask him to trot on icy spots.

Then we did Touch-It at liberty and he was great...first time we've done it actually. The first one he kept sniffing and sniffing it so I knew he was thinking "wait.......where's the treat?!?! There HAS to be a treat! I mean I'm doing it...it's my reward! There's no treat! NOOO" so the next thing I put a treat on it and did it for the following one (not hte next one). He stepped up on the platform by himself with me just asking and he stepped down but kept his back feet on it and then looked at me for a treat hehe.

Then when I ran out of cookies, I walked back to the barn...Sonny STILL following me so at times I'd run ahead and he'd chase after me then we'd walk while I catch my breath, then run ahead again.
Sonny braced as I asked him to follow me into the barn but when he walked in, then got unconfident and backed out, he almsot seemed surprised that I didn't correct him and tell him to stay in. Then he came back in and glared at the goat, as I ran into the tack room to shove more treats in my pocket.

We went back to the arena again and played some more until he was done playing. He even trotted TO me! It was awesome!

Then in the field he followed me all the way over to the side where there were no horses and even chased me some. Then I ran back to the herd (or in their general direction) and one of the young Morgans joined in and Sonny got so crazy he took off ahead of my galloping and bucking and rearing. Wish I had my camera on to get that! It was soooo awesome! Seeing my fat little pony kick up his heels!

So that was the end of my day....I'll get up some videos soon of all that happened. So check back on my youtube page (link for that is on the left hand side in red somewhere below hehe). And I'll be adding pictures to my photobuckets page also (again where the youtube link is).

Yours naturally,
Jenny and Sonny

Once was a horse that hated to back up....

2009-02-08T15:40:00.000-08:00

Well I've always had problems getting Sonny to back up. He can be quite the dominant horse and backing up isn't work the effort. He'd side-pass, turn on the haunches....he'd do anything but backup. Well now he's definitely improved, or is it me improving with our partnership and understanding him better and his needs. Is he trusting me more and respecting me as a leader and not the "annoying girl that comes to see me".
Yo-Yo game normally takes just a phase one now unless something is going around and then it takes just a simple phase two. If I am leading him by his side and I stop and back up...he'll back up (sometimes he needs a reminder, but still, he is giving an effort...before he wouldn't do that), he even backed away from the stall door when I asked him to when I was opening it.

I didn't do too much groundwork...it seemed that the groundwork was making him go RB so I stopped and just did some undemanding time and then rode. He calmed down alot as I was riding him and went back to being his normal self. I tried out the new bit I got Sonny and he did seem to like it, but I'm unsure if I liked it. When we were heading back to the barn I was carrying my carrot stick and my halter and lead rope while on his back. And he spooked at something and started trotting....on ice...eeek! Anyways I did a one rein stop and I noticed that the bit kept sliding to the side that I was doing the stop...maybe it was just my imagination though. I dunno

Anyways, after riding I brought him back into the barn and low and behold my two favorite little donkeys, Chico and Poco were in there. So I hurridly put Sonny in a stall so they wouldn't attack him and then got to pet them and give them some attention since they are no longer kept in the pasture were Sonny is in (they used to be friends).

Sonny has been without his winter blacket for a week now and seems perfectly fine. He is all puffy and fuzzy and seems to be fine without it. If he starts to act cold or his weight drops I'll put his blanket back on...but the only blanket I have is a heavy weight and I feel bad keeping that on him all the time, and it is causing rubs on his legs. Poor guy.

Sometime this year, maybe, we might be moving. I'm hoping we don't cause I don't want to move stables again...just when I found my dream barn and am totally in love with the care and not to mention the barn owners are the best around, I might have to leave and go far away...so far that I wouldn't even be able to visit. I'm unsure if we'll be buying horse property or if I'll be boarding...at times I still want to continue boarding, but being spoiled at my current barn I won't want to settle than anything less than what I'm getting now. Sonny's hay is great, great boarders, great horses...I couldn't ask for a better place to be.

Exciting week, maybe

2009-02-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

Well Sunday I of course went to the barn to see Sonny. I was soooo mad because I arrived there just when the barn owner and a friend got BACK from a trail ride! I was dying for a nice long trail ride with Sonny that both of us would enjoy and I was late. How unfair is that!

As I was putting on the saddle and theraflex pad another barn friend drove up and was planning on riding, so we rode around the property and then on the road for a while and tried as hard as we could to stay balanced for some parts were icy. My friend had to get off at one part because her partner, Ben, was starting to get nervous (plus the pretty mare in heat that was infront of us didn't help) but we continued to walk a while. Sonny was decently good at knowing the speed he should go but at times his attentioned drifted and BOOM! He'd slip and he'd wake up again...but of course he kept choosing the iciest path to walk on...trying to show off to the mare maybe? lol

Monday I went to see Inkheart with a friend of mine and I must say, I was reallly disappointed with the movie, especially the ending. Paul Bettany (Dustfinger) was brilliant as expected (as he was in all his movies) and Brendan Fraiser (Mo) wasn't as bad as I thought he'd be but they ruined the plot entirely. Capricorn wasn't terrifying as he was in the book and don't get me started on Gwin the MARTIN (NOT THE FERRET!!!!!!!!!).

Today I have work, then hopefully tomorrow morning I'll be able to go up and see Sonny. I'm hoping I'll remember to print out the Self-Assessment draft and see exactly what we can do and an approx of where I am (of course minus the riding unless it isn't icy anymore...which I doubt). THen work that night (ewwwww)
Thursday I'll be up to the barn also for a longer time after I stop at the bank, deposit my check and then put some cash back in. Hopefully the weather would be good enough that I can go on a mini-trail with Sonny but who knows.

Snow, snow go away! Come again....NEVER

2009-01-30T18:08:00.001-08:00

I must say...I am totally fed up with the annoying white stuff that is falling from the sky...what we call "snow". Wednesday we had a huge snow storm...which we got a good 9-12 inches, not including the freezing rain which totally froze all the land, making it impossible to do anything with Sonny besides simple walking games and even then he had a hard time.
And on top of the snow storm on Wednesdays, it's snowing NOW! WHY?!?!

Well some might have noticed...I changed my blog yay! lol. New look...new layout which looks decent since I'm not artistic in any way.

Hopefully Sunday if the weather is good I'll be able to go up and spend some time with Sonny, play some games with him and try out the Theraflex pad again if he allows me to. If the ground is still really icky I'll shovel a path in the arena lol!!! Boy, I have my work cut out for me if I have to.

Then after that, I'm going out to see Inkheart! YAY!!!! I can't wait to see it! Paul Bettany looks brilliant in it!!

Theraflex review

2009-01-29T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well, my awesome barn owner was nice enough to let me try her theraflex saddle pad on Sonny to see if it did any changes to my Tucker Saddle.
And I must say I was impressed on it even though my lazy boy refused to walk much in the ice and snow. From what I did feel/see was that the saddle was positioned better, Sonny's neck was alot lower and more relaxed, and I was able to move with him so much easier. I could feel him moving so much better and seemed more in contact with him.

So, hopefully when the weather gets better and the snow and ice disappears (or at least the ice...Sonny can live with the snow), I can get a better idea of the saddle pad and see if it really is worth the money. I'm wondering though if I should just wait till the conference in April to buy it since I'm sure they will be having good deals on everything....gah I have no idea!! Just someone...honestly just tell me what to do...NOW lol.

I got Sonny's bit today, I had to order it from Cheshire Horse because though they were "supposed" to have one in stock, they couldn't find it. But it's a nicely looking bit. It's a Myler Loose Ring French Link...plus a friend on SC said if Sonny doesn't like it she'd buy it from me...but I think Sonny will like anything compared to his old eggbutt snaffle....anyone want an eggbutt snaffle? Will sell it for um....paid around $35 I believe....great condition...ummmm $15? lol Will see if someone from my old barn wants it. It's pretty spiffy looking! It's nice and shiney and even has copper inlay (or whatever the right term is for it lol) so Sonny will definitely enjoy that (he loves it on his western bit but I hate using that bit especially for just daily rides or trail rides...and I normally just use my parelli hackamore)

Today with Sonny I did alot of sending him...from watching the BEST PARELLI SAVVY CLUB DVD YET (January 09 edition) in the Horsenality Section, I realized that Sonny might be happier during ground work if instead of me handing treats to him, I sent him to the treats (also stopped him from nosing at my pockets trying to get the treats). He did good, other than the "You think you are so smart...you do know that I know exactly where you placed those treats, right? Stupid predator!" lolol (yeah had to add the predator part...I always laugh when Pat uses that "*gasp* It even scared my predator!" (best part in Liberty and Horse Behaviour!!!!!!!)

Theraflex is worth a try

2009-01-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

After watching the "Fred and Cheyenne" video on the Savvy Club website, I think I might as well try a Theraflex pad out and see if it helps at all with my Tucker fitting.
I'm sure the shimming will totally confuse a total blond (though I'm not really a blond) like me, but I'm sure there's got to be someone out there that can explain it good enough to me so I can understand it....right? lol I hope *sighs*

So I'll let everyone know how it goes. I'll be ordering the pad tomorrow hopefully if I have time to stop at the bank and get the money out, but if not I'll do it Thursday. I'll take pics and so on. I'm wondering how many shims I'll really need. I know it comes with two...but who knows *sighs* So much work lolol....Sonny better appreciate it!!!

So wish us luck...or me luck as I attempt at shimming lol

I would like everyone's professional Parelli-Savvy opinion! PWEASE!

2009-01-26T15:17:00.001-08:00

I went to the barn as usual after being in a total cleaning frenzy (which I have no idea why!!!) and spent some time with Sonny. Lately I've been debating whether or not to sell my Tucker Trail Saddle and I think I have decided to sell it. Though it's a great saddle, I don't like it's meant for Sonny for he seems almost uncomfortable with it.

So I spent part of the time grooming my horse in the aisle...he is alot calmer with me doing it and has offered several times to be in a stall...if he offers and enters himself, then I'll let him stay in there as long as he feels comfortable and then take him out. I gave him some grain on the floor after sweeping the ickies away from the spot so he didn't eat it and I started his normal grooming.

Then, I put on my Tucker saddle to decide if I wanted it or not and how Sonny reacted with it. At the walk he was fine...head down low and relaxed ( SEE VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE ) but at the trot his head seemed higher up and almost stiff like ( SEE VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE ). Normally he keeps his head parallel to his withers or lower (naturally) but I don't know if it was the saddle or the snow that is causing it. I stupidly didn't get a video of him bareback with it, but here are some videos of him trotting without the saddle (with or without me on him hehe)
EXAMPLE ONE - yes he looks off...first day back after being lame for a week...he was extremely stiff
EXAMPLE TWO - head is up but he rests it down also instead of keeping it up
EXAMPLE THREE - would raise his head when I corrected with the CS...kept wanting to go in the middle...but would lower his head afterwards
EXAMPLE FOUR - wow...old circling game one lolol
So...what is everyone's opinion...should I wait on selling? HELP! PWEASE!!!

Also I noticed with my saddle is that, normally he'd listen with phase one when riding bareback but when I was riding in saddle he did NOT want to listen and it took me to my normal phase 4 for him to even realize that I was asking him something. I saddle shouldn't dampen the cues, right? Meaning they should still be able to feel phase 1 without having it seem like a phase 4 to the rider? Even extremely moving over my body weight to turn was hard because he still wouldn't listen. I don't know if he was ignoring me or truely didn't understand...normally he doesn't ignore it though.

HEEEEEELP!

But on the good note: I GOT MY JANUARY DVD TODAY! YAY! The horsenality section looks awesome and so does the knot tieing.

My theory for the desctruction of the world

2009-01-25T08:48:00.000-08:00

On facebook my sister in WA posted her status saying:
"_______________ is s really appreciating the global warming that is white outside."

So, being bored and totally in a creative mood...here is my responce.
"oh no Terri, you misunderstand global warming...it's because of all the heat in the Arctic and colder regions and a nice fast breeze that is making all the ice bergs melt...and the breeze is bringing the once frozen ice bergs to the united stables. Hence the snow is part of global warming (lol do I sound convincing at all? lololololololol) so soon... Read More the ice bergs will be an endangered land mass, and once the evil sun god (rofl!!) destroys the rest of the poor widdle ice bergs, then we, in the last of USA, will face the evil demon's rath....but the people in the lower part of the world won't get it until we are deminished. Then the lower part of the world will face the sun demon's rath...then there will be no human beings or plants, or animals. There will be these little tiny heat resistant organisms that will soon multiply and then they will evolve into these super-dooper human beings, being able to go for years without water and live forever."

Here was where I couldn't put anymore I started a new comment to finish my theory:
"...theory of the world's destruction according to Jenny part 2
They will be able to go years without water and food because remember, the sun god destroyed everything...so no more water....EVER! They will be a prosperous community filled with laughter and saracism as they tell stories about the lesser, less "special" evolved ape species, the ... Read Morecurrent human race that is dwelling on this planet.
SO yeah...that's my theory on the world's destruction due to evil global warming. Wow...I'm really bored.
Did ya enjoy reading that? Get a laugh from it?

Just remember....we are next mwuahahahaha lolol"

One Year Anniversary!!

2009-01-24T11:50:00.000-08:00

Yay what excitement! Yesterday marked Me and Sonny's 1 year anniversary. It was 1/23/08 that I first bought Sonny from Delorenzo Training Stables and then last year on today, he was moved to the previous stables I boarded at and spent 6 months there before moving him to my current stables, where I've been for about 6 months now! Yay! lol

Sadly, I did not get to see my boy yesterday, nor will I see him today, but I'll see him tomorrow whether it's raining, snowing, hailing, tornado watch, flooding lol. I'm determined to see him!!

Then sometime maybe next week, I *might* be trailering up somewhere with my barn owner and a fellow boarder to ride, but not sure....I haven't heard anything else other than just the plan. So hopefully it will be something we will do, but if not....well I'll have to find something to do.

Work is getting crazy...working 35 hours a week and might have to be working more now which will be CRAZY.....just CRAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZY! It wouldn't be so bad, if the one co-worker wasn't so DARN ANNOYING. "You're taking too long". "Aren't you supposed to be on break?" OMG I CAN"T STAND HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only is he annoying, but he talks to ME when I'm with a costumer, which Frank (the owner of the store) CLEARLY stated was off limits because it's RUDE to the costumers. "People in green should not be heard on the floor when costumers are in the store" (or whatever he lectured us on lol...yeah can't you tell I clearly listen?). He's only working about 10 hours next week so I'm hoping that means they'll fire him soon enough. I hope! Also, he hardly does any work!
Me: "You know there's lots of stock in back to be put out"
Him: "Yeah I know"
..........But guess what? he walked the opposite way and didn't do it. He went over to the cat litter section and "front and faced" the cat litter....for a good hour....now we don't have *that* much cat litter to take him that long.

The first horse you find will never be your dream horse...

2009-01-22T15:16:00.000-08:00

It's quite funny at times when I look back at the horses that I've fallen in love with, and the ones that I wanted to purchase. At the time, you are truely in love with that horse, but when you own your dream horse, you look back and think what the heck did you see in those horses. Lemme explain:

1) Cocoa - 12 year old Piebald Gypsy Vanner. Cocoa was the first lesson horse I fell in love with, but boy oh boy...stealing the word...he was fugly. He definitely puts Gypsy Vanners to shame because of his horrid looks. His build was good, conformationally, but his looks would break a mirror. Hardly no feathers....a rat would have more feathers than him. And the poor guy lacked muscles everywhere and good bones in his back. He was starting to get a sway back (after I decided I didn't want to even consider buying him cause he was a brat), and he had a horrible attitude. Really disrespectful and horrible manners. Yes they could be fixed, but fixed doesn't mean riding the horse in a thin, harsh western shank bit with your hands so tight that his mouth is fully open.

2) Star (Rebels Dancing Star) - 12 year old Paint (was 10 at the time). I loved her so much I waisted a good $120 on the pre-purchase. But good thing I did...poor sole ended up being slightly lame (vet thought she'd go fully lame within a couple years and that was with just being a trail horse...no jumps or hard rides), and she had horrible arthritis (which was causing the lameness). I passed her on the spot.

3) Jack - 12 year old Spotted Saddle Horse. Okay this was the one horse that I wanted to buy that I didn't have a good reason not to...other than he was a little too small for my taste.

And then came my Sonny boy and I wouldn't trade him for the world. Funny cause I know I said the same thing with the three listed above also.

~~~~
Today was a great day with Sonny, I didn't do much, just a quick ride around the barn and just some undemanding time. He spooked once because the evil, horse eating tarp let out a yawn (lol) but he calmed down quickly.
I didn't do any ground work cause I thought if I did it each time I was up, he'd get too bored, so I just really rode.

Poor Kennedy, a young Morgan gelding...cutest little bugger lol, got himself cast against a hay bail so me and the barn owner had to rescue him. It was so cute, afterwards he trotted up to us as if to say "thanks for saving me!!".

I'm thinking of selling my Tucker saddle or maybe first invest in the Theraflex western pad and then see if that helps at all. Though I'm really unconfident about having to shim it....maybe my barn owner knows how to lolololol. I LOVE my tucker....most comfortable saddle in the world, but Sonny seems to stiff in it, but I"m not sure if it's from the saddle or the 2 inch thick wool pad that I have under the saddle....or a bit of both. If at all possible, I'd love to keep my Tucker, but I won't be if Sonny doesn't like it.

Family wise, my sister is in DC for the March for Life and me and my mom are home. And we are going out to dinner!!! YAYNESS! lol

Not the best of days, but a good day also

2009-01-21T08:42:00.000-08:00

Well, so I did lie...I'm not posting as much as I thought I would be. First off Happy New Year...let's hope we won't die with Obama in charge (no offense to pro-Obama people).

Well because of the awesome new thing on Parelli, I bought the Parelli Patterns and got Liberty & Horse Behavior. So I've been watching both and boy are they both worth the money! LHB is by far their greatest DVD set yet and I"m learning so much (at least I hope I'm learning).

Sonny has been quite unconfident on the ground lately so I've been working more with the things that he's confident with and slowly working with him. Being winter it's hard to do anything because of the snow and the gates won't close.

We worked on alot liberty work, just following me and being confident while we do the first 3 games, and he turned out great and I'd stop if he became the least bit unconfident and just have him relax for a while, while I play the friendly game.
Then we ended the session with 2 loops around the pasture which he enjoyed.

I'll try to be more better with updates lol. With Sonny and working full time now (YIKES! lol) it's been crazy!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-01-02T18:26:00.001-08:00

Happy new year everyone! This is going to be an exciting year.

Well this year didn't start out too well...I got sick Christmas eve-ish, and have it still...but it's almost gone yayness!
I got a new phone on New Years day and FINALLY got texting on it.

In April I'm going to the Parelli conference in Harrisburg, PA which I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO excited about...I can't wait.

Then sometime in the summer, I'll hopefully be submitting my lvl 1 assessment.

Then in September my older siblings are coming out for my dad's 70th birthday...well I hope all of them come (you guys all better!!!)

So, it will be a fun year.

Sadly since I've been sick I haven't been able to see Sonny at all. I'll be seeing him Sunday though, hopefully. And I'll remember to take loads of pictures.

MERRRRRRY CHRISTMAS

2008-12-23T21:11:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd put in a quick post to say Merry Christmas.

Sonny was beyond words today and I'm extremely proud of him. My expensive Mrs. Pasture's cookies are almost gone (hence because of his goodness), and heaven knows what happened to my other cookies (probably the goat ate them...grrrrrr lol)

College is over.....FINALLY. Haven't got my grades back yet for English but my grades for web design are the following:
Final Project (worth 200 points): 200 Points
Final Exam (worth 100 points): 100 Points.
YAYness. Got all A's in that class besides for one B- but that was because the teacher failed to tell us something and wouldn't give me credit for it even though it was her own fault.

Work is hectic because of the Holiday....transfers from store to store are getting messed up and everything else is just crazy.

So back to Sonny: we worked on giving to the hackamore and not bracing against it since he braces on everything. We got it soo well that he even rounded himself when backing up (normally he braces and has his head up really high). We cantered some in the 1.5 feet of snow, but he hated it so we stopped lol.

Good days....and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-18T19:44:00.000-08:00

Well all, Christmas is always here...yayness! I'm totally excited for it. I don't expect much, but hey...as long as I have my horse, who cares about all the other stuff, right?

Well, I definately haven't updated this in a while and I should have been more on top of this...but if it makes anyone feel better (though I doubt I have any readers...hehe) I haven't updated my personal journal at home either. I've been so busy with college classes that I've pushed aside this blog and my personal journal. I will try to be better....can't promise anything hehe.

Anyways, my days have been going great....Sonny actually came to me in the pasture today which was a HUGE improvement for the two of us. I am not going to post much because I am tired, but things are going GREAT with me and Sonny and I'm looking forward for all the days with him.

~Jenny

Wow, stressful weekend

2008-11-23T13:22:00.000-08:00

Well it all started Thursday after college. I went up to the barn to see Sonny and to ride him. I got him all tacked up and brought him out to the arena. I did the Parelli 7 Games and he was fine during it. So I lead him over to the mounting block and mounted up.
I noticed while walking him around that he was really on his forehand and walking really carefully. So I got off and looked at the saddle, I put it a little farther up, because it was a tad bit back and took off the polos, thinking it was him walking funny because he wasn't used to the polos anymore. But, he still felt off, so I got off.
I did the circle game at a trot, and then he showed some slight lameness in his back right leg. He had a small cut on the side of his hock when I inspected the leg and it was super sensitive...so that might have been the cuplrit, but I'm not positive.

So anyways, I went up Friday to check on him, and he wasn't feeling any better, infact he was still lame and three of his four legs were stocked up. So I gave him 2 tablets of bute for the swelling and pain, then turned him back up.

Saturday I had the assistant Barn Owner check on him and give him another dose of bute if he was the same or worse.

Then today I went up to see him and he was alot better thankfully. He wasn't lame, but his two back feet were still stocked up a bit. I gave him one tablet of bute to get the swelling down and I put him out in the pasture after doing some groundwork.
So hopefully he'll be all better tomorrow. I won't ride him until Thursday because I don't want to bother the leg anymore, but I'll be doing groundwork until then to slowly build him back up so he doesn't hurt himself again...my poor poor boy

The Best Boarding Stables EVER!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

Well as some may know....or may not know....after boarding my horse for 6 months at the stables that I took lessons at, I decided that I had had enough with things there (I won't go into details for if I did, this blog post would be a novel), and I started to look for a new place to board my baby, Sonny.
Well I did loads of searching, stayed up till 3 am almost every night, and sent e-mails to probably 20 stables with questions on their boarding facilities and how much they charge. Well, after 2 days I went to see a stables that one of my best friends used to ride at and highly recommended. We went out to see the stables and I was in love immediately.

So on a Wednesday, I informed the barn owner of the stables that I was currently at, that I was leaving the next day. Yes, I did not give 30 days notice, but I thought that my reasons for leaving were more important than 30 days notice. So the next day, we transported Sonny to the new stables, and we've been there ever since.

Well the barn I am at now is called Schuyler Creek Farm. It's located in Mechanicville, 15 minutes away from where I live. It's definately the BEST stables in the area.

SCF offers UNLIMITED hay....grown on the farm and stored so it doesn't get sunbleached. Salt blocks and mineral blocks in every field. De-worming program included and soooooooo much more. I LOVE THE STABLES!!!!!!!!!!

Sonny gets to interact with soooo many horses, he has met lots of new horsey friends and seems to enjoy the stables.

The only downfall, now I have a fat little horsey lol, but at least he isn't as skinny as he was before. So, yeah I spend enough time on the boarding place lol

If you are interested...here is the link:
http://www.schuylercreekfarm.com

First post of many....if I remember I even have a blog

2008-11-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

Well this hopefully will be the first blog post of many, but then again I'm horrible at remembering things so I may forget about this blog.

Anyways a little into about myself:
My name is Jenny and I'm currently 18 years old. I work at a petstore and an a part time college student. I have been in love with horses since August '07 and can't remember the last time I've thought about something else other than horses.

Then a little about my horse:
Sonny is a 10 year old bay Paint gelding (solid Paint...no markings). He stands 15.3 and is currently fat (winter is coming...fat is a good thing now, right? lol). He's a big baby but can be extremely dominant at times.

So yeah, I'm currently doing Parelli with him for I find it has been working the most, and yes, I have tried many different types of riding....traditional riding, Clinton Anderson's NH, Chris Cox, and so on...but I find that Parelli works the best for my horse and is truthful in what they say. I also highly recommend it to everyone because it did wonders for my horse...so much that he is totally different than what he used to me.

So, yeah, anyways, that concludes my first post of the blog! Yipee hehe