SCREAM!

I just talked with Charlotte (http://foxpointfarm.com/) at the Savvy Conference, and she said the Parelli Kids probably will be performing at the conference next year and I  WILL TOO! I  will be performing with Sundance, at a savvy conference next year! AHHH! It will be either in Tennessee in January or Florida in October. I AM GOING TO EXPLODE! I also got done talking with Fran (http://savvyup.blogspot.com/) and she will be telling Pat and Linda hello for me, since I know them. Once again, I am going to EXPLODE!

Hurricane Hanna - Forcing me Inside

Title says all, tell Hanna thank you because you get an extra post today. The funny thing is, my first name is Hanna! So I am making myself stay inside. The Savvy Conference in Colorado is going on now as I speak, what a bitter sweetness. I sit here and look at the rain, as the savvy conference goes on. It is supposed to be raining there too, what irony. I bet all my friends including Ginger, Sue, Stef, Fran, Misty, Charlotte, Parelli Instructors and many others are having a ball listening  to Pat & Linda in Colorado. But that's okay, I will be going next year. I am enjoying catching up on my emails, making plans for all the parelli events coming up and enjoying family time. I am looking out my school window, I can see the horses sleeping under the tin roof of the shed listening to the rain caressing them to sleep overhead. It really is beautiful, peaceful and calming. I love the sound of the rain hitting the tin roof of the barn, I could just sit out there forever and listen with the horses beside me. Listening to them breathe in and out... smelling the wonderful scent of their fur and looking at the natural beauty around me. Sounds relaxing huh? It is. Well, I guess I should talk about what I did yesterday with the babies! Well, I just did some liberty outside with Bebe. He is such a sweet heart! We didn't do much since we did a lot on the 45 foot line the day before. Sundance and I worked on his bow with treats, he is starting to offer to stay down longer so he gets more treats. I say why not? Why not take it up another notch. I hooked on the 45 foot line and we worked on cutting each other like cows, which he now enjoys! It is getting a lot better, and made him appreciate the lower key liberty preparation we did afterwards. We played on the 12 foot line in the liberty arena, we played with our walk which was really good and close just like at liberty. We went into the trot, which was a nice close shuffle and played with change of direction at both gaits and stayed really close. Was VERY nice, fluid and savvy. The best thing is he offered for the very first time, a really really slow lope around me at about a 4-6 foot diameter for about 3 laps with EXTREME slack in the line like it wasn't even there. It was AWESOME! That was the end of the lesson, I mean when he offers something this 'with me', this savvy, I stop, rub, give him a ton of treats and let him stand on the pedestal. So yesterday, we had an AMAZING session. I checked off boxes in the Level 3 - Stage 3 booklet this morning, and we have 6 out of ten done. There are 4 left, and we are almost done! I think stage 3 is the fastest booklet we have gone through, and one of the most challenging but fun! I am very happy, and am waiting for the rain to stop so I can go out and play.

August 31 - September 3: Amazing Progress! WORDS FINALLY ADDED

Bebe and I had a break through on August 31 with the 45 foot line, I taught him with a different sideways que how to walk straight in front of me (like one line driving) the whole length of the 45 ft line, find the end and go in the circle. It really helps him understand that I want him way out there, even though he'd rather be cuddling with me. I have noticed that doing a brain teaser before we go and do something like this really gets him thinking and with me, he really enjoys it too! I wants to play a lot now, I will ask Sundance to come to me in the pasture and Bebe ends up coming to me and beating Sundance. What a booger! I love it! I must have done something right! Now, every time I work with him, no matter how close he is he comes in to me with positive happy ears forward at a trot or a canter. How amazing is that? I would say VERY! He is a very challenging horse, but I do believe with passive persistence in the proper position he can get through Level 3. I don't ever feel like much of a failure with him if we do not get things right away because I know I can already do this with another horse, Bebe takes a little longer to get through the RB side and into the LB side, and I am having to learn about him by myself, just one small savvy step at a time, making me a savvier more emotionally fit person every time and making him a better, stronger, smarter more courageous horse! This journey is such a great thing for me, such a test, such a challenge, such a privilege. I am so blessed!

Bebe posing for his 'Save the Donkey' shoot...

I decided since I had time and it was gorgeous outside I would get up and go straight out to the horses as soon as I got up, Bebe did great on ground work before (break through!) so I decided to ride him. Well, everything was going great until Taco escaped and went blasting around the property for fun. We decided to follow after him, so we blasted behind him and finally after about 45 minutes later got him back to the house and alerted the family to get my brother the donkey whisperer and put the dern burro up. Bebe did amazing the whole time, did exactly what mom said with no spooks or snorts and was a good baby! I was so proud of him! The pictures were taken right after the chase, he was looking pretty hero-ish so I decided to take a snap shot... Good job Bee!

Fabio being GORGEOUS, practicing his modeling skills with our new barn fan...

Since Sundance and I have moved up in our Level 3 (SCREAM! SMILE!) We had some new tasks to take on, which were not simple but easy! Thanks to my perfect Einstein (Well, Sundance's hair looks cute, not frizzy) partner and the foundation we have. We are starting downward transitions at liberty from w-t-c-t-w-stop-c-t-w etc. really hard stuff, so we did this on the 12 foot line making sure it's gonna be really good and within the first session he was doing this with the 12 foot line so slack and him so close I thought he was going to trip over the line. So it is ready for liberty, I will do this a couple more times but in the arena so he can make the connection. Then we moved onto the flank rope task! (Yes! Couldn't wait for this one.) You use the 12 ft line on the halter as a guider, teacher and safety net. Then you take the 22 foot line and put it around his flank area, but through the metal loop so you can take the pressure off easy.

See diagram below...

You are supposed to play the circling game (w-t-c-stop) with JUST the flank rope as a result, and should practice a long time. So you have to get the circling game really good with the flank rope and not have to use the 12 ft line and have it loose, just like at liberty. You can use a carrot stick but I just prefer to point forward with my leading hand to ask him to go forward, lots easier so you won't have to multi-task as much. If you need to you flip the rope to tap him on the side to go, and you tighten the rope to ask him to slow down and/or stop. Of course my Einstein with cute hair got EVERYTHING within 5 minutes, so we are almost ready to do it at liberty. So I can just check that off my list! I was so happy, could have done flip after flip. What a smarty, and got to say his favorite word... NEXT! So now we get onto Stage 4 online, I wonder what's next. How exciting!

Mariah & Fabio practicing their modeling skills with new barn fan...

Starsky is progressing very well, I have been doing a lot of stretching exercises with cookies because he is so tight because of his severely ex-club footed feet. He looks forward to them everyday, one of my students passed her Level 1 ground with him yesterday and rode him. I was so proud of him! He is doing great, just got to get this riding down pat.

Oh, and I forgot to add. Sundance and I actually are models together, we have modeled for equine clothing companies and work pretty well together!

To Purchase Portrait or to Purchase Her Not? Some one better! - Added Progress with Sundance

Gorgeous Portrait was mesmerizing, but a little too advanced for my student right now. It would be nice to have lil' P over here but she's not the one for her, I will be able to see lil' P a lot anyway. We think "Dabba", Charlotte's gorgeous LBI sorrel quarter horse mare that seems perfect for her and would help her confidence rise and help her excel as a learner instead of being a challenge. I am excited for my most dedicated student, she is doing great and tries very hard! She deserves a horse of her own. Yesterday I played with Bebe in trying to help him get a little more confident and comfortable with being way out on the scary 45 foot line, I noticed in the past two sessions that if I wiggle the rope while it lags behind him in the tall grass it freaks him a little bit. He soon got used too it and then the terrible horse flies got after him, it was HILARIOUS! One horse fly got after him, then he started a big RB canter. He was cantering around with the horse fly CHASING him around in circles, then ANOTHER horse fly joined in and Bebe blasted out in a panic gallop. It's mean to laugh but it was SO dern funny! I couldn't help my self, it was no use interrupting the pattern because he had already gone there so I decided to let him sort it out himself. I stood there for about three minutes, very glad I was using the 45 foot line. He decided to come back in, as I ignored him as he came behind me and acted surprised he was there... like I didn't even know he was there. That little stinker goes from RB to LB in a millisecond! I LOVE HIM, he is so good for me. He calmed down, the little sweetheart and I figured out that I could send him out and he would walk forward (single line driving) all the way out to the end of the line, then I would send him out so it would be his idea, which is great! He tries really hard, EVERY single time I asked him in yesterday he came in trotting to me with and eager ears up face. And it was NOT RB! Later in the afternoon I went and did some bareback and bridless riding with Sundance, which went amazingly. He did so well it really surprised me! Our forequarter turns have gotten so well he is doing that really fast twirl that reiners do, which I want his job to be when I finish Level 3! So he is well on his way as a reiner. His canter is beautiful and got into a 6ft diameter and cantered real slow... felt amazing. So the bareback and bridless is ready to move onto stage 3, which I think we already can do. Let me check real quick, got the booklet here... YES! We already can do these tasks. I am so excited! I will be doing a bareback and bridless demo at the breed show on October 12, so I am very excited and ready to do that demo. That's a couple months away, so we will be able to do even more amazing jaw-dropping things by then! Because we will have improved much much more.