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!!

The Incredible Lessons Learned

I got the opportunity to go home. 

Now, if you're from somewhere that you loved, that left a special place in your heart, you'll totally identify with this.  My home was Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.  I grew up with the local riding club as my playground.  The people there taught me valuable life lessons and gave so much of their time and knowlege to me freely.  I have never forgotten and have always wanted to give back in some way. 

Well, I got a chance to go and do an equine first-aid certification clinic there last weekend.  Super exciting!  I decided to leave a donation to the local 4H club.  I didn't ever get to be in 4H, but I really support the program for kids and families regardless. 

I invite the local newspaper to come out and cover my clinic and the donation I made.  Here's what they printed: http://www.paherald.sk.ca/Local/News/2012-11-19/article-3123193/Former-P.A.-resident-holds-equine-first-aid-course/1

I'm very pleased with the way the article turned out.  He spent about 2.5 hours with us out there, must have taken a few hundred pictures.  The group was fantastic and it was very heart warming, the whole experience.  I would love to go back again!

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Americans who celebrate today.  I know I'm thankful for every opportunity and kind person who has come into my life.  I'm also thankful for the unkind and unpleasant because I have been able to learn lessons and take away life experience from then also. 

My Pony's the BEST Pony in the World!!!

My Standardbred is incredible.  Have I said that?  In-freaking-credible!  So he's done his 60 days of training, which was lovely although he came home hella skinny (he's picking up quickly now though) and I've moved him to a new barn with a resident peacock, Mr. Peacock.  I was not sure what my poor pony would think of this bird, but I was obviously more concerned than the pony was. 
Score 1!

So we started doing tricks.  Since he's so young, I don't want to do too much on his back, but still want him really well rounded and we can do lots on the ground.  The smile is awesome!  He learned a very enthusiastic wave in 2 sessions and now we're progressing to giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  Sweet fella!
Score 2!

I think my husband's rifle target practise at home saved my life today.  Here's why:
At the new barn is a very old plastic step stool, the kind you would have found in a library back in the day.  I used in the last time I went riding and pulled it out again today.  I stepped up on it, put my foot in the stirrup, hand on his mane juuust stepping up on him when CRAAACK!!!!!  The whole thing SHATTERED under me!  I thought, oh crap, I'm dead.  But José Did. Not. Move.  Not even a blink.  I think he just held his breath and waited for me to tell him it was ok.  Boy did I ever!!  I praised that little feller from top to bottom!  Smartest boy EVER!!
Score 3 - 5, I think that deserves bonus points!

I had an epiphany this evening while actually riding my pony.  I've been working on trying to have him soften and supple to the right, he's very stiff this way.  I have the chiro booked for early December but, in the mean time, I want to continue to lightly work with him.  So we talked a little about yeilding the hind quarter to leg pressure, easy peasy he says.  And so from there, in the walk, I started to ride him straight.  Not to soften and swing his head (and really throw him off balance...) but straight with corners being more like almost a couple of steps around of pirouette instead of asking him to collapse the shoulder... duh!  Wow, what a genious.  And what happened when I rode him with light, even contact and balanced his hind quarter straight behind him?  He softened his jaw, thought more about taking bit contact and lowered and lengthened his topline.  Holy cow.  Man I'm an idiot... why did I not just do this before?  Ride the horse so he can balance us both?  No way!  That's logic!
Well, better at ride 4 than ride 439...

Score 0.5 for me.  :)

SNOW DAY!!!

Ah, lovely, tropical Alberta <3  How sweet your breeze sings, how beautiful the snow...

Ok, back to reality!  It's a BILZZARD out there!  Highways are closed!!  I'm 50 km away at work, my daughter's at daycare and I don't think it's safe to go home.  What to do...

Check into a local hotel for the night and have a mommy-daughter mini-vacation!  That's right, if you take a look around, you can usually find a good side of a bad situation.  Just have to get creative and improvise a little. 

A lady I used to work with me grumbled at me one day and asked me "You're on of those
the class is half full' kind of people, aren't you?"
I answered her very honestly, "Nope, my cup runneth over!"

Happy Weekend!

We wished out little boy of this year a very fond fairwell.  Monty (Sumthing Khompletly Difrent SE) is off to his new home with his new family. 

I'll miss that little feller but I think his new family is more excited about his future.  On last report, he made it home just fine, settled in with hew new buddy, a Paint gelding, in knee-high straw.  Life is so rough sometimes....

On other news, I got to ride my pony for the first time yesterday!!!  José Jalapeno is coming along so well in training. He's nearing the end of just 60 days with his trainer and I'm so pleased with how sensible and honest this little (16 hh little) guy is.  The vet was out to float his teeth and found him to be not yet 3 years old!!!  Oy!  So lots of playing and tricks and we'll take it easy with the riding for the winter.  Nice and slow and confident. 

Black does look good one me doesn't it?  Yeay José!!