Best Wishes to You All!

Well, we had the most anticlimactic appocolypse ever, and I haven't heard of a single zombee sighting either, so it looks like Christmas and new years will happen just as planned. 

This Christmas we will be having some down time, quiet family time and just enjoy the season.  My favorite part is always the gift GIVING.  We will be having Christmas supper with my sister and her husband.

It's been an incredible year but I'm not sad to see it end.  I know there are a lot of incredible things lining up for next year! 

Thanks for reading along (RP!) and I hope you have a fantastic holiday season too.  All my best to you in the new year!

How Priorities Change

Now, you need to remember that I did not have a horse growing up.  I rode everyone else's horse.  I would do anything to be around horses when I was a kid and I didn't get my first horse until I was 17.  I got a yearling PMU filly named Gee Page.  PJ was great, I loved her and learned so much from her.  Unfortunately I also loved dressage and she was not going to be a suitable dressage mount. 

And so my journey to find the best dressage horse started.  My Sam, best boy EVER, competed with me to 3rd level and we would have gone higher if not for his incredibly unfortunate injury that cut our journey together far too short.  He was by an imported German stallion out of a Standardbred mare.  Here was my first incling to the importance of HEART in a horse.  He had more than his fair share, for sure.  But, even while I had Sam, I knew that I was going to need something even more to be successful in dressage.  So I bred Ritchie.

Now something accidental happened in the last few years.  When I lost Sam, I knew that I would need to find a horse that I could feel safe on, love, and just enjoy riding and some low-level training with.  I purchased a horse who seemed to fit the bill exactly, a draft cross mare.  However, she had other ideas in mind and decided that she was not going to be a safe horse to ride at all and even fractured my husband's wrist, jaw and bruised some ribs when he went to ride her one day.  No warning from her, just piled him HARD.  That was just not fun.  Need to find something fun. 

Ah Northstar!  I'm forever grateful for the time I got to spend with him.  With Northstar I got to learn so much again, I learned trick training, and I got a lot of confidence back . I also found that Ritchie needed a buddy so I picked up Jose.  As luck would have it, Jose decided he was more of a lover than a fighter and did not do very well with Ritchie, who is very much a rough play kind of guy.  So, can't have him sitting around doing nothing, so Jose would get started under saddle. 

Northstar sold, had nothing to ride for a few months, got Jose sent to a lovely trainer and started under saddle.  Now, here's where the wierd thing happens.  All this time I'd been so super excited about Ritchie and what this wonder stallion will do and dressage and Grand Prix and WOW, but I've found that having a super sensible and workable young horse (Jose) is FUN!!!  It doesn't matter if Jose shows dressage well.  He will have limits for sure.  I'm ok with that because he's got incredible heart and try.  I have FUN every time I work with him, every single time.  I really hope Ritchie is as much fun when he gets going or I'm going to have a hard time convincing myself to get working with him.  Of course I still want to train GP dressage, I want to be able to say that a horse I bred and trained did this with me, but I really want to ENJOY it every step of the way.  And I want my horse to be fun to work with.  So there you have it.  My dream of coming down centre line doing single tempis is not important if I can't pop on my horse bareback and go hack in the hay field.  My dear Ritchie, you have big shoes to fill. 

The Target

I have to say, I'm totally in love with my little feller. 
Yep, just a track-barn reject who wouldn't pace.  But he's a superstar!  That's right, my José.  Tonight I had one of those sessions that left me feeling on top of the world.  We worked on all the tricks I'd taught him so far (wave with both front feet, smile, hug, kiss on the cheek) and then got to working on the pilon target training.  The idea with the pilon is for him to touch it with his nose, no matter where I put it.  I hold it in my hand out to one side or the other and he'd target it just fine.  But when I'd put it down on the ground, he got confused.  Well he connected it tonight and we worked liberty to run together and I'd drop the pilon, give the command, and keep running.  He stopped right away and went to the target.  Good boy!!!!  He got it so solid that I put the pilon on the end of my dressage whip and put it up in the air.  He thought about it and then reached waaay up to touch it.  Up next, target training for him to stand front feet on a target.  The target right now is a white baby pad.  I think a flutter board would work really well too though. 

I've been thinking lately about putting together a trick training clinic.  I'm no Jackie Johnson, but I have some ideas on helping people get success out of the trick training by tayloring their program to their horse's personality.  Some horses are just more inclined to engage and do silly things like wave and lay down and such. 

Tonight I also got to work my horse with other people at the barn!!  This was the first time since I got to the barn.  Really nice people, from diverse backgrounds.  Everyone respects everyone else and just has a good time with the animals they love.  That's what it's all about afterall!  Can't wait to go tomorrow.  Maybe I can talk someone into taking pictures or video!!