Days 299 & 300

Saturday

We got out late today because my car was dead at school and my dad had to come jump it. =/ Thankfully it's working now and he charged up the battery so it should work for a while!

That said, my dad had to stay home because he would've been late for work otherwise. It was so nice going and not having to rush. I got our new carrot stick in the mail, so I used that with Brie. She didn't seem too into working today. She barely came out of a walk on the longe. I think it was because it was so hot out today. We played a bit of the friendly game, yo yo game, and porcupine game. I can't get the front end down pat yet. Instead of moving sideways, she just goes forward and I don't know how to get her to change it. I need to look into it more.

She's been giving me trouble on the mounting block lately, so I squeezed her between the block and the fountain next to the sound board. She knew it was coming from last week, so she resisted, but I got her in there. I didn't get on and go right away, but got on and off a couple of times, that way maybe she would get the picture that I want her to stand still at the block. She was doing so well but now she's testing me again!

She had a wonderful walk and we walked outside a bit in the arena too. She was a little hyper walking around the fields, but manageable and good all the same. She got a bath afterwards and I led her out for some grass =]

Sunday

This is it. The last day of posting. I feel like maybe I should've done something more, but this was really a perfect day. What a great ride to make a last post about.

I played with the carrot stick more with Brie today and tried to do the driving game but she was not having it. I think she actually fell asleep...it was pretty warm out, so I don't blame her. The mounting block was better today and she was a little limpy at the beginning but worked it out. She had a wonderful walk, corto, and largo. I couldn't ask for more. If she keeps up calm like that, we'll definitely win at Michigan.

After we worked, we went outside and walked around. She actually walked!! We had a slow corto going too. She was absolutely amazing. No issues, no drama, just a great, enjoyable ride. Like I said, even though it was nothing spectacular, it was spectacular just in itself. I couldn't have asked for a better ride than that to make my last post about.

After the ride, I gave her another bath and grass, like yesterday, fly sprayed her up, and gave her carrots. Today was the exact kind of day that everyone dreams about at the barn, and I wish I didn't have to ever leave.

This weekend we might not be going out, because we're trying to go to Spectrum in Miami. It's a giant horse show down there, bigger than Nationals even, and we've always wanted to go check it out and now we have the chance, so we'll see.

This feels so weird, knowing I'm not going to post anymore. I'll see where we're at with shows at the end of the summer and make that my final update on this blog. I don't know what's in store for me in the future, with graduation next month and law school starting in August, but I hope that I still have time to ride. Riding is what I look forward to the most in my life, like I'm sure it is for many. It gives me time to focus on animals that need me to take care of them, a chance to bond with them, and a way to get away from all of the problems from the rest of my life to just focus on what is right there in front of me. I have to say that I'm sad, ending this blog, but I know it's just opening up for a new journey ahead. Who knows, I may start another one, and this time I may even be a real horse trainer. Not just a horse trainer in training.

So with this post, I wish you all luck on your journeys with your horses, wherever you may be. Don't ever give up on them, because even if it takes 3 years, you will get to where you want to be and you will never regret it.

With love,
Lexa

Days 297 & 298

Saturday

Only two more days left!!!

Thursday was Nina's birthday! Happy 7th Birthday, Nina! =] She still is a little baby horse to me <3 p="">
I didn't really work Brie today. We mostly just kind of walked around a bit to stretch out in the indoor and then went outside to go find where my mom and brother went. My mom was working Harry in the round pen and he looked good! If there was a round pen class, he would win it. I don't get how he is perfectly okay going in a circle and pretty much okay going around outside, but when he is in the arena, if he largos, he has a tendency to pace.

After my mom was done, we went for a walk around outside. All was going well until we started to come back. My brother just lets Nina go wherever she wants to outside, even if it's away from us, but Harry always wants to be by Nina so if she starts to go away, he wants to catch up to her. Well Nina started to walk back to the barn and Harry was back with me and Brie, a ways away from Nina. We were walking back to the barn too, but Harry wanted to catch up to Nina. My mom let him go into a largo but he tried to start cantering. First of all, Harry doesn't even have the coordination to do a canter. Really, it's true! He never picks up the right lead! And it takes him a while to pick it up. So as he was trying to pick up his canter, my mom started bouncing in the saddle and started to fall over. She almost righted herself, but not enough, so she rolled out of the saddle and into the grass. Thankfully, she is okay.

When that happened, Harry turned around and looked at her on the ground and backed up a little bit before standing still and putting his head towards the ground. He was looking at her like, "Momma? What are you doing down there??" It was the cutest face! I was scared he was going to bolt, but he just stood there as I got off Brie and went over by him to hold him and help my mom up. She got back on and rode Harry back to the barn by the outdoor arena and worked him in there for a while, but he was pretty shaken up after she fell off so he wasn't really cooperating. We brought them all in and brushed them off before we gave them some giant carrots for Nina's birthday.

Sunday

Happy Mother's Day! I made my mom pancakes today before we went to the barn.

I worked Brie today. She was a little canter-y on the corners, so I was working on slowing that down. She was coming along great! I really want to show her at Michigan.

Mom and Harry worked more in the round pen before we walked around outside for a bit. Brie has gotten this nasty habit now of trying to race to the little hill in the back as soon as we get out the door. She likes to look over everything. But she has to know that she can't do that if I don't want her to do that! No one fell off today, which is great =]

We came in and Jane was having a hard time with Taco. She just got a new jaquima for him and he was acting up and cantering the board and generally not listening to her. My mom adjusted it because it was pretty tight and then raised the bit because that was pretty low. No wonder he was being weird, he was uncomfortable in the face and lax in the mouth! After that he was a little better for Jane, but still was being weird and spinning the reverse back onto the board, so my mom offered to get on.

Taco was super good with my mom! He was gaiting and looked fantastic. Super fabulous. I forgot how pretty he could look. And he sounded like a train! If that was a class, he would've one first place. After my mom got off, Jane got back on and he was better for her, but she needs to work on faking him out before he reverses back onto the board because he anticipates it and spins it, which could lead to Jane falling off if he goes too fast. After her short little trial, she was satisfied with him being nice to her and got off.

Then she offered him to me. I haven't ridden Taco in a long time, not since last year when I was trying to train to bring him to the State Fair because Paco was complaining about it. Paco didn't want anyone else to ride Taco and complained to Jane that I was screwing Taco up, even though he was getting better with me at the time. So I got mad and just stopped. So I was iffy when Jane asked me to ride him, but I did after my mom pressed me on. Taco was like a dream! He wasn't pulling like he used to, he was practically floating. I would love to show him, but I don't know if I want to deal with the sass and remarks from people about what I do when I ride him.

Finally, I don't know whether we're going to go to a Parelli clinic or the Michigan show...if we went to the Michigan show, I could show Brie for the first time in years, and I'd really like to because she's coming along great. I would also miss my friend's graduation...If we went to the Parelli clinic, we would bring Harry, and I think it would be beneficial for him in the long run. I could then potentially go to my friend's graduation. I really don't know what to do. I was so set on showing Brie this year and I'm not sure if I'll have the chance to again this season if I don't go to Michigan. I don't know what to do.

Day 296

Sunday

We didn't end up going out yesterday because on Friday, our new puppy, Pepina, accidentally ate one of my brother's pills and she had to stay in the overnight ER. She is okay, thank God, but we stayed home on Saturday just to make sure that she returned to her normal, happy self.

I rode Brie today, since we're aiming to take her to the Michigan show next month, and I wanted to make sure that she stays focused and calm like she has been. We rode in the outdoor arena because it was absolutely beautiful out today, even a bit hot!

I never thought I would say this, but I think that Brie is pretty much finished. At 11 years old, I think that she is done trying to one-up us and has settled into the program -- we come out, we pet her, we groom her, we want to have a nice ride, we give her carrots, we go home for a week. Her attitude is completely relaxed in comparison to the whole rest of her life. I have to say, I think it's probably the magnesium that she's on that's helping break down the sugar in her blood so she's not so hyper all the time. But I also have to give us some credit. Without our understanding and patience, I'm sure she'd still be a crazy fool.

We had a beautiful ride and even did a slow canter...A SLOW CANTER. It was fantastic! And also she was strangely nice to Sadie today, and Sadie was nice to her...we think it's because there's a new mare on our side, Isabel. Brie and Sadie hated each other, but maybe they're teaming up against Isabel. Thankfully they're not all put out together!

My mom was having a hard time with Harry today. I blame it entirely on the wind, which is kind of dumb, but horses make up things in their heads to be afraid of, and it was pretty windy outside. So my mom took him in the indoor, and then the round pen, where he apparently had a magnificent largo. I wish I would've watched, but Brie and I were roaming around the property at that time. Once Harry came out of the round pen, he joined Brie, Nina, and Sadie for a ride around the property. We went a little ways down the street before a big gust of wind came by and Harry got a little iffy, so we turned around and went back.

Afterwards, we scrubbed them with a good bath! Brie was soooo dirty. When I was brushing her at first, the more I brushed, the more dust came up! She was pretty grey by the time she was "clean"! After a good bath, they all felt smooth and I took them out for some grass in the sun before bringing them back in and worming them. For me, it was the perfect day at the barn. Doesn't get much better than that!

Day 295

Saturday

We switched Harry's bit today back to Nina's expensive bit. I went back and read posts from this time last year, when he was doing really well, to try to solve his pacing problem and that was one of the changes we had made and he was gaiting really well. So we did that today and he didn't pace at all in a corto! He had a hard time doing a largo, though. He's not a very fast largo horse, so all we can really do is make sure his corto is super slow, that way there is a difference in speed when they ask for a largo.

My mom and I both rode Harry, plus my mom rode him outside for a bit, so he was super tired when we were finished. I hosed him off and of course the first thing he did was roll around in his stall after that!

I also rode Brie, which was nice to do after not having ridden her for a couple of weeks. She gave me a bit of a hard time trying to mount, and I started getting angry and it wasn't working even more...so I really made myself relax, I pet her for a bit, which calmed both of us down, and after that she let me get on quickly. Just goes to show that anger will not get you anywhere!

Brie is doing really well and I can't wait to show her! I hope she doesn't have any show anxiety, because then we'll definitely win 1st places!

Update: Sunday

We didn't go out today...my mom had a headache and I was too nervous to drive out by myself...

My mom's also decided that we're not going to St. Louis for the show next week...Harry isn't prepared enough. Even though I would love to bring Brie instead of Harry, since I feel confident in her, we're just not going at all...

Now to wait until Michigan.

Days 292 & 293

Saturday

It was absolutely freezing today, such a difference from last week.
During the week, everyone got their hooves done...well, mostly. Nina didn't get her hooves done because the new farrier said that there wasn't enough growth to trim or put nails into, so he is going to let her grow until next time. He said that Brie's hooves were too small to support her frame, so he's going to work on letting them grow in a certain way so that they are more effective. I'm not entirely sure how much he wants them to grow, as they've never been very big her whole life. We'll see. And Harry was a good boy and didn't need to take the tranquilizer so I was proud of him =]

I didn't ride Harry today. I was more focused on Brie. I was super proud of her for not embarrassing me at the mounting block in front of everyone. She let me get on in one try! She was in a very fast mood today and we worked on reversing. She is getting better at not speeding through them and breaking into a canter. It took a while for us to get into our groove, but once we did, I felt her collecting a little bit. Not as much as those couple of times, but it was a definite improvement. I felt her rounding her back and really settling into it.

Sunday

Day to night, this weather is. It was 70 degrees out today, so I took advantage of it by riding outside. Brie is so much more relaxed now in the outdoor arena than she has been in the past and I really think it's because I take time before we tack up to go longe out there. I think it helps her set up where we're going to be for the day. I will have to try to get to the arena early at the shows so that we can do that there too. The main arena, not just the warm up one.

She was SO good walking outside today! We actually walked out in the pasture. AND on top of that, we all went for a mini ride down the street! Down the street from Gary's place is a dead end, so we rode down to the end and back. Everyone was super calm, even Harry. I can't even tell you how proud I am of everyone, especially with a barking dog in someone's yard. I feel like their good behavior out on trail means that they really trust all of us that nothing bad will happen to them, which is exactly what we want them to understand. It's nice to finally be getting there.

I suppose with our first show coming up in 2 weeks that I should start riding Harry more. I will have to make it a point to ride him each day every weekend until the show comes to make sure that we're on the same page. If he stays in gait, he will sweep the pleasure classes.

Day 291

Sunday

I didn't make it out yesterday because I was touring an open house for one of my law schools. Hopefully I will have the whole of next weekend, willing that I get back from another law school on Friday as planned!

I rode Harry today! It was super nice outside so we let them all run around outside first, which mainly resulted in them eating, but at least they got to stretch their legs before we started with them. Harry was beautiful when I made him longe. I was careful to work on flexing before I got on and he was much more willing today. I'm using my hands to directly push the points that need to be flexed, as he flexes just with his nose and not with his whole head and that seems to be part of the problem, so I push the top of his head too. He got kind of bugged by it at first, but when I turned it into a fun hug he went along with it!

I used the draw reins on him to see if it would help him keep his head down. He was compliant, but didn't seem too pleased by them as he kept bobbing his head forward throughout the ride. He was very relaxed and didn't really break gait, so that was great. I feel like he's a bit pokey, but I guess that's what we were going for back when he was hyped up. We're toying with the idea now of taking him off his calming supplement and seeing how he does without it, but I'm not sure now if we should change that so close to shows starting.

After we worked, I switched to normal reins and took him outside. He has such stubby legs, everyone else can walk faster than him! So he had to canter a bit to keep up with everyone, but they slowed down for him and he could just go at a brisk corto haha. What a short little guy.

This week, we're switching back to an old farrier that the barn flies in due to the whole vet v. farrier debate that happened a couple of weeks ago...I really am not a fan of this guy mainly because of his attitude and his unwillingness to answer lots of questions...doesn't seem like a people person. But we'll see how his work measures up after he trims and shoes them. I hate not being there for it. I like to think that the staff won't be rough with any of them, but I'm not 100% confident, and it is worrisome. We left tranquilizer for Nina and Harry though, so they should be okay. Brie loves getting her hooves done, but is a little wobbly on her bad leg sometimes. I hope they don't take that for her being bad...

Days 288 & 289

Saturday

We got up and out super early. Surprisingly, I was full of energy! It was also super nice outside, so I decided that I would ride outside. I was a little hesitant, since they haven't been ridden outdoors since fall, but I took Brie out to do our little program like nothing was different and after a few bucks of happiness, she settled right into it! We got ready to ride and were out there riding before anyone else was ready and she was sooo calm! It was a really nice surprise. She walked so slowly and was just happily going along with no problems. She tried to speed up a tiny bit when we would turn the corners to face going towards the gate, but with a little correction she regained her focus and settled back into a beautifully slow walk. Our corto was equally as calm. It was fantastic! Once everyone else came out she got a little hyper, but not really badly. We went outside in the fields to walk around and she was not super crazy so that was a plus! She actually wasn't bad at all. Never tried to stop or run away on me, just plugged along in her corto. =] It was truly a great day.

In other news...we're changing farriers. Our current farrier, according to the vet, cut Jane's horses hooves at all different angles. This lead to mass confusion but when confronted about it, the farrier had good explanations (supposedly) for what he did. After talking more with Nick, he explained how just being off on angles a tiny bit can make the horse not gait well or go into a pace. Harry has been pacing...so now we're concerned. We've decided on going back to a previous farrier that Gary and Nick fly in from Puerto Rico who supposedly specializes in Paso Finos.

This whole farrier v. vet business makes me anxious. Do farriers and vets ever really get along? And I'm not entirely convinced that Pasos need a special farrier just for their hooves. If the farrier is good, he should be able to comprehend adjusting the angles as necessary for the breed and conformation of he horse, right?

Sunday

Rode Brie some more today. I didn't use the mounting block because everyone was standing around it like a herd of cattle. I don't get it, really. No one outside of my family uses the mounting block for their horses, but they keep it in an area where they all stand. I might just move it to the corner or something, that way I don't have to keep asking everyone to move so I can use it and then feel judged if Brie doesn't stand still the first time. Also, there is a gazebo in the middle of the arena for this gathering purpose! Can't they go in there?!

It was crummy out today, so as much as I wanted to go back out, we got stuck inside again. Oh well. I'm really confident that Brie is going to do well if we take her to Michigan. This whole spring and show season is getting hectic, at least for me. I want to go to Michigan to show Brie, but my best friend has her graduation on the second day of the show...I'm not sure if my parents will want to drive back on Saturday night so that I can go to graduation. Otherwise, I might just stay home and then Brie will miss another year of showing, since I think Michigan is the last local one before State Fair, which I won't be able to go to because of law school starting, so no one will bring her to show anyways...plus I wanted to be the one to show her...

Anyways. This weekend is Easter! Maybe we'll go out on Friday and Saturday to make up for missing Sunday.

Day 256

I wish I knew what I was doing wrong and how to fix it.

So, I've started really trying to work on my seat and posture while riding. I had this terrible habit of sticking my butt out when it's supposed to be in, and while it's been proving useful on Brie and she is responding very nicely, Harry is just not having it. He thinks that when I do that, he is supposed to go faster, even when I half halt him. Do I need to just have a bad seat in order for him to perform? I don't think that can be so...

Before we rode, we took them all out in the grass out back to longe and play with them a bit. Mom put Brie on the longe line, the really long one, and had her longe around the field and up and down the hill, working her back legs. Brie was like a pro, she even had this beautiful trot going, which meant she was super relaxed. Harry at first didn't really want to do anything except eat the grass, so I just held up the carrot stick and he wiggled it every time he wanted to stop and eat and he was going nicely. Nina slipped and had this dramatic slow fall onto her butt in a muddy spot, but she was okay. When my mom took Harry to go on the longe line, he was like "Oh my god! What do I do!? I'm free! I'm free! Oh no! Why am I still on this rope?! I want to be freeee!" and she had to end up reeling him in quite a bit...I think we will be practicing in the arena with that one for a while until he gets used to being so far out away from us. Then she tried to get him to longe on the hill and he got mentally stuck trying to come back down, so after much encouragement, he tiptoed back down the hill. While she took Nina to longe on the hill, I took Harry to a less steep part of the hill and had him longe over that and he went okay.

By the time we started riding, it was raining. Thank god the heaters were all installed yesterday so we could ride indoors! I put the rear end collector on Harry today because he's been floating out for a couple of weeks and tried to use the draw reins on him as well. They did make his head set really nice, but I felt like I had no contact with his mouth and couldn't really control his speed. Plus then I realized in my autopilot state that I had put the wrong bit on, which might have added to the unresponsivemess, so I took the draw reins off and switched bits and just kept the rear end collector on. He was still a little fast, and he was a little touchy when I was flexing him before I got on, so while I tried to get him to do nice, big, slow circles, he ended up spiraling into tiny medium speed circles. He must not have been that sore if he spiraled in on his own. Then it started thundering and he got a little spooky, but I was determined to finish my ride. He wasn't too great on the board today, he was a little poopy and I don't know how to get him in that right spot where I can keep my leg on him and not have him take off. It's just really such a puzzle to me why he was so good for that 2-3 month time in the spring and now he's like just confused seeming. Am I trying to change too much with myself and he doesn't know how to accomodate that? All the changes I'm making to my posture, my legs, my hands, they're all supposed to be for the benefit of his comfort. Sitting further back and deeper in the seat, not letting my legs swing out in front of my knees, not letting my hands get really high off of the pommel area...and he just isn't doing too great ever since I started those changes. Brie has been reacting so nicely, but Harry...I don't know. I don't think that I should compromise what is supposed to be good for him, but if he doesn't like it, maybe I should go back to riding more sloppily with him. I hate to go back there, but if he performs better....

In the end, we got a good board and walked and while everyone left and we were still cooling, he was circling around the door trying to get out, so I decided to activate his brain a little by dismounting at the mounting block. He wouldn't stand on the correct side to dismount, and barely wanted to stand for the wrong side to dismount, but he did for a bit, so I got off. They built a new sounding board area, and it has patio blocks, a little fountain, and a little raised deck in between the boards, and my dad was sitting on the deck and I wanted to walk over to him, but Harry didn't want to go. I couldn't tell if he was bothered by the mounting block or the fountain, as the block was in front of the fountain, so I told him if we went by the fountain we could go inside. Well he went there and walked around it and then I said "Okay, one more time" and he looked at me like "you've got to be kidding" and just planted himself in the dirt a foot away from the fountain. So I sat down on the edge of the fountain and told him I wasn't moving until he came over by me. I must have sat there for 20 minutes, and at one point my dad left to go close the arena doors. Harry thought that my dad was going to go and push him from behind to go onto the patio to go by the fountain, so he backed up frantically, but I didn't move from the fountain, just gave him more pisador line, and waited. He took little baby steps towards the patio, and instead of going the close way to get to me, he eventually decided to go all the way around to come by me. Then I told him he was good and we left, much to his relief.

Nina was still pawing at the ground when we were leaving, so I gave her a bit of hay to occupy her until it was dinner time. I hope that she doesn't keep doing that all week, or we'll have a serious problem come the next weekend.

Day 252

I started off Harry today in the same way as yesterday and I've learned something --- he does not like the outdoor arena. We made a little more progress in the Friendly Game, and I got him to step up onto the concrete pad in the middle of the sound board outside all by himself, but he was very anxious and skippy once we started riding and we had to take lots of circle breaks.

Then we heard a dog barking and thought it was Paco's dog in the woods, so my brother and I rode out towards the back of the barn and as soon as we left, Harry started walking and was super calm. We ended up finding the dog -- she was just mad she was in her kennel.

Once we went back in the arena, Harry tensed back up. So my goal was to just get him to walk, since he started skipping only when I asked him to work. We ended up going out on trail again, me, my mom, my brother, and Kimmy with her horse Sadie. We rode in the road next to the property and followed it back about a half mile past the barn, going down a slow incline. Everyone was well behaved! I was a little iffy going back up the incline because there wasn't much grass to walk on and Harry has shoes, but we made it up just fine. There was even a car creeping behind us for a while and everyone was totally normal! I'm so proud of Harry and Brie for being so good.

When we got back from our ride, the horses were kind of sweaty so they got showers. Harry was falling asleep in the shower, silly thing! He must have been tired from doing something different and stimulating and having the chilly breeze in his face. Everyone will sleep well tonight, including me!

Day 251

During the past week, I signed back up for Parelli Connect after reading a bunch of articles from their blog archive. As I've said, recently I've been feeling a little lost with what to do with Harry and Brie. I didn't really have a goal or a purpose with either of them and that was not making any of us feel too great, so with Parelli Connect, I have a bunch of goals that I want to meet and they give you guidance through reading and videos on how to get there. Now my goal is to basically build trust and further our relationship in order to add performance on top of that in the next show season. This goal was really established after reading this article on enhancing performance naturally. It discusses how so often competitors get so caught up in the competition that the horse suffers through lack of guidance or becomes bored or strung out, which I think is what is happening with Harry. In a way, building up to your best performance is like baking a cake -- it can look really nice on the outside, but can taste terrible when it comes down to it. The only way to really perfect it is to make the best batter and only then is it worth it to decorate.

Source

After thinking about all of that, I approached Harry in a very different way today. Instead of throwing on the jaquima as usual and having him longe, I put on the rope halter and lead line underneath his first bit, along with the saddle. Then we went into the outdoor arena because there was construction in the indoor. I figured between the two distractions, the construction might be scarier. Instead of longing him, I took a long time playing with him. I played the Friendly Game and rubbed him all over and then tried to swing the rope at him, which he was not having anywhere past his shoulder, so we need to work on that. We played the Yo-Yo Game, which he loves. Then we just did some follow the leader and I walked backwards and forwards around the arena in zigzags and through the poles and once he realized that I didn't want him to longe, he snorted and just went along with what I was doing. Once I felt like he was calm enough, I got on.

He was a little scared because it was very gusty out, but I made sure to do my best to keep a loose rein and not let myself tie up with him because that makes him very anxious. So with a loose rein, we tried to calmly go around the arena. He was going a little fast and tap dancing because of the wind, so every time he started to get anxious, instead of pulling back and making him stop, I let him go in a little circle and went into it very calmly and he followed. We didn't have the best performance across the board, but he was calming down, so that's all I really cared about.

Meanwhile, my mom and brother were riding Brie and Nina and my mom wanted to go outside to walk around, so we all went. Nina was voted trail leader and she stayed in the front while Brie was in the middle and Harry was in the back. I made sure to keep a manageable rein on him and he was totally fine! Then my mom wanted to venture out along the road, not very far, just down the neighboring field and then come back. We were all a little hesitant, since we never have really gone outside of the property with them, but we put on our brave faces and guess what...everyone WALKED! Even Brie! Harry didn't get scared of anything, even a sports car that zoomed by! We were so amazed and proud and it was just the best feeling. No one got crazy, even on the way back. It was such a beautiful ride and I think it really did something for their confidence as well. 

Day 244

I really have no clue what's going on with Harry. It has to be more than a simple attitude problem...I only rode him today and I was determined to be patient with him because I have this feeling that there's something wrong, but I don't know what. Before I rode, though, I let them all out for a little romp the in the fields.

So I took extra time with little things before I got on.  I made sure he would longe correctly for me, which was a total surprise. I thought he would be fighting, as usual, but I decided to go straight to the pole to help me so that way we wouldn't be set up for a fight, and he was very calm and nice about it. Then I made sure that I flexed and rubbed him really good on the ground before I got on and also stretched out his legs. When I got on, I didn't go after circle work since he was so good longeing, and I went on to the rail instead. I was just focused on getting him to walk and then stop and flex to the inside both directions around the arena with just the bosal rein. I left the bit rein tied up.

After he did that without any fights, I tied up the bosal rein and took up the bit rein and asked for a corto. It was like he had and epiphany. He was calm and gaited beautifully and stayed balanced and centered and didn't twitch of buck or fight. He even stayed on the wall. I didn't ride very long because I wanted him to remember this good ride and how happy I was with him.

I took him outside afterwards with Brie and Nina and we all walked around. It's funny, because when Brie starts getting ahead of everyone, my brother says "Nina, go get Brie!" and she takes off after Brie. I said "Harry, go get Nina!" and he took off after Nina. At first, he tried just largoing very fast, but he couldn't keep up, so he went into his very first mounted canter! I could tell as soon as he took off he wasn't balanced, so I slowed him back down while Nina and Brie slowed down. On the way back, in the back pasture, Brie and Nina took off again, and I let Harry go into a canter and he found his balance and it was one of the smoothest canters I've ridden! He was great!

I really don't know what to do about him. I want to call a chiropractor, but I don't want to call the chiropractor. Maybe I should wait a couple more weeks and see if he's any better?

Day 243

I rode Brie first today, since my mom wanted to try Harry again because of everything that happened with him yesterday. She changed his bit back to the one that he was wearing about a year ago to see if that would make a difference, since he really seems like he's not respecting the bit anymore. I didn't pay much attention to Harry at first, but apparently he was pretty antsy.

Meanwhile, I was trying to walk Brie around outside. I don't understand her. We've gone outside a million times, but every time is like the first time we're going out. I wasn't planning on staying out as long as I did, but I didn't want her to charge the barn. So I would make her stop every time she started to get crazy. Unfortunately, the flowers weren't saved....we were walking by the pond in back and she stepped into the flowers by accident. I tried to get her out of there with both my legs and the reins, but she wasn't having it and ended up side-stepping all the way across the flower bed.

I feel very defeated with Brie. I know she's come a long way in manners in the arena, for the most part, but she still is crazy outside and I'm pretty sure she has the same attitude about shows, but that I can't be certain of. Should I just give up? I don't know what else I could do to try and make her not as excited outside. I've tried everything I can think of and nothing works.

After I managed to get back to the barn without killing myself, I got on Harry for a bit. He's a whole other problem. I don't understand where he went wrong either. Ever since May or April, he has not been the same. He hasn't been as good and I don't know what we're doing wrong, because we're doing the same things. At one point long ago, he got over his aversion to one wall in the arena. Now, suddenly he remembered that he's scared of it and will not for the love of God walk straight on it. When I first got him, he had such a hard time flexing, and we got over that. Now, he won't flex at all easily without giving a fight or trying to rear. Part of me thinks that there's some anatomical problem going on, but I don't know how to find out what it is. Everyone else thinks it's just his attitude, but why would he change so quickly back to being horrible? No one's done anything to him.

In part to end on a good note, I got off of him and walked him outside by hand. We walked around the pond because I know he's scared of it, and he got pretty close to the water's edge by the end of our walk. Then I lengthened his line and ran over the little ditch and he followed me over and although he was hesitant, he jumped right over it. If he couldn't settle his brain inside, I hope that readjusted it outside.

Lastly, I rode Taco outside for Jane. He enjoyed it and after I got back to the barn, Jane got to talking about letting him canter, since he won't be showing for another year, if he even shows next year. Everyone says not to canter Paso Finos, because apparently it messes up their gait, but Taco has a really smooth, slow canter that Jane likes. We wanted to see if it was a 4-beat canter, since there are classes in Colombia called Trote y Galope where the horse trots and canters and they're judged on that instead of the corto, largo, or fino. I took him across the board at a canter and it was in between a 3-beat and a 4-beat, depending on how his back feet landed each stride. Jane's settled on not listening to the people who bring her down and just having fun with Taco. He's had a lifetime of showing and pressure, so now he gets to relax and have fun.

Days 240 & 241

Saturday

First thing when I got there today, I was bothered. Let alone that it was almost 100 F, but I show up and Paco is riding Taco. And then, to add to it, Samantha's dad is now learning how to ride on Taco. Taco is not an easy horse to ride and aside from the fact that he is not the starter horse, I was upset because I didn't want a complete newbie doing anything to screw up Taco. I never got the chance to say anything, and wasn't quite sure how to, but it stayed with me.

I tried to ride Harry, but it was a total failure. I'm not sure if it was because it was hot outside or because he was stiff or because of my sour attitude about Taco going into riding Harry, but he was just not behaving. He was bad, like trying to buck me off bad. I didn't want to give up, so when I finally got him to just go around without being terrible and make a nice pass across the board, I got off. I wasn't in the mood to fight with him today. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Sunday

I went in wanting to say something to Jane about Paco and Samantha's dad riding Taco before the show, but again I never got the chance to because Paco was always with Jane and I didn't want to just call him out in front of her, even if he does undermine me quite often in front of other people. I just can't be that confrontational. So Jane rode Taco and then Samantha's dad got on for a lesson while I was riding Brie. I made the mistake of taking her outside before she calmed down in the arena first and that set the tone for her whole day, with me and my mom afterwards. She's also hiking her back right hip up and I'm thinking it's because of her arthritis. If it keeps getting worse, I suppose we'll have to give her another shot or talk about other options with the vet, but I hope that it doesn't get worse...she's only 11. I would hate to have her unrideable at this young.

I plopped around on Nina while I was waiting for Samantha's dad to finish, and I love her more every time I do! She has such a relaxed walk and she's so focused on what she's doing. She's like a little steam boat. If we make it to State Fair (as now that's up in the air as well), I would really love to do a Pleasure Stakes class with her because I know we could win some money =]

Also more excitement! My dad rode for the first time since he was thrown off of Harry right after we bought him. That's about two years ago! He rode Nina and I knew that he was trying to look like he knew what he was doing as far as making her gait, but she's so automatic that even if he was doing something wrong, she just went on about her business and gave him a really great ride. I think it definitely made him feel better about coming out to the barn with us all the time.

Jane hopped back on Taco after Samantha's dad and so I got on Harry. He was so much better today. He had a wonderful largo and a great board. I think he's super sensitive towards what attitude you have when you get on him, because I was feeling much better today, even though I was still ticked at people other than Jane and I riding Taco. But rather than try and kick everyone else off, it would be more of an accomplishment if I could overcome the obstacle of having other people screwing with Taco and still place...that is, if certain people don't try and take credit for my win, saying that it's because they rode that Taco did so well. Taco might not even be going to the show, because he has to wear pads on his front hooves and that's against the rules, so if the farrier can't put shoes on the back feet or doesn't clear him to take the pads off, then he can't go.

I finally got my chance on Taco and had a bit of a hard time getting him to gait and he did try and pull me into the middle, but after those hiccups had passed, he settled into a wonderful, slow corto and really listened to me. He's even doing better on the corners and isn't cantering as often as before. After he worked (and he was sweating!), we went and walked outside around the pond to cool off. I went with my mom and Brie, and I couldn't believe that Taco was so good outside! He was very relaxed and calm and Brie was the crazy one. I had just anticipated that he would be a handful, but it was a really pleasant surprise to both enjoy the ride and cool down.

I'm really excited for this Friday because the kids that I babysit during the week are coming out. They're little ones, all under the age of 7, and it'll be so great to spread the love of horses with them! Of course, they're only going to ride Nina =]

Days 238 & 239

Saturday

I can definitely tell a difference between Harry on the Calmex and Harry off of the Calmex. He is so much more relaxed when he's on it, but then at the same time, he's so pokey. I don't know which is easier -- to get him to wake up when he's pokey or getting him to calm down when he's anxious. He was a beast to longe today. I ended up having to use the pole, which I haven't in a while, but riding he was very relaxed. I can't believe that State Fair is two weekends away. I don't feel very confident about it.

Taco was great today. Totally performed. I'm feeling very confident about him at the Fair. Too bad I feel more confident on Jane's horse than on my own...I also found out that we can't bring Brie with...Jane gave the spot in her trailer to Samantha. I guess I shouldn't feel too bad about it. Samantha otherwise wouldn't have been able to go, and we would've brought three horses. I guess I just have to wait until next year to try Brie in showing again...

Sunday

I rode Brie a lot today. She is so good. I can't believe all of the progress we've made in her attitude. She just seems so much happier. Although, she did get a little crazy outside when I asked her to canter. I figured she was being so good lately that she deserved it...maybe I shouldn't be asking her to canter anymore either. She was pretty upset after that and it took a couple times around the ring once we got back inside to calm her down.

Taco was still nice today, but a little buggier. He takes a while to settle down into a speed that's acceptable. I brought him outside yesterday and today for a change of pace and he seems really happy!

Harry was a lot better today. He seemed more awake. I'm just really nervous about the show now.

Days 236 & 237

Saturday
Unfortunately, we've decided not to go to the Florida show. On Thursday, my dog got injured and after going to the vet, we've learned that he tore his CCL. The common response to this is to undergo surgery, but since he is so old (He's 11, maybe older, since we adopted him) and he has an existing liver problem, we can't put him through surgery, so all we can do is manage his pain with medication. We've been looking into braces, but haven't gotten far with it yet. We might not even go to State Fair now, because how could we put him in a kennel? He would be so freaked out. The only place he might be able to stay is at the vet's office where it's quiet and he's being watched for his problems all the time, but that's only if the vet says that it's okay for him to move out of the house for that time. It just kills me, because I was finally getting him out on walks since I was home over the summer and he was having such a great time, and now he can't go on a walk again, as far as we know =[

With that said, Harry was pretty okay today. He wasn't bad, but he wasn't super awesome. It's kind of what should be expected on a Saturday, since he hasn't been worked all week. His gait was nice, but now we're working on the largo again since he is back to pacing. He'll get there, I know he will. The calming supplement also arrived this week, so he will be going back on that again as well.

I rode Taco today. Jane bought this calming paste, B Kalm, and wanted to try it to see if it would help Taco and give her an easy ride. She said that he was still pulling tricks, but he listened to the corrections quicker than usual. I got on and saw that he was responding quicker. He is still having trouble breaking into a canter, but I know that as we work at it, it will get better. Near the end of the ride, he settled into an extremely smooth corto, which was great because I was able to get him to slow down for this corto and really make his default speed his largo. His board was phenomenal! But we will have to see if it was this paste or if he is really starting to listen to us.

Sunday
 I am so proud of Harry! He got over one fear today (although it wasn't the tarp). I took a leaf out of my brother's book today when I warmed Harry up by walking in a circle and flexing instead of just walking or just flexing. I followed my mom and Brie outside as opposed to working a lot in the indoor before going outside and I was pleased that Harry only had a couple of bumps getting out to where Brie was and then he settled down wonderfully. He didn't jump or spook or pace at all, just this adorable little gait, and he kept it up when we went back inside. He had a great board, and my last goal for the day was going to the outdoor arena and around the serpentine posts then over the board and coming back inside. He did the serpentines nicely and got on the board nicely, but then we got to the huge concrete pad that they decided to put smack in the middle of the board and he got scared. He jumped off the board and walked around the concrete, snorting. I went on the other end of the board and asked him to go across again and he just did the same thing.

Instead of sitting there and continuing to bother him to go over the concrete, I got off and tried to get him to walk over it on foot. At this point, everyone saw me trying to get him to follow me over it, and my brother and Nina came outside to show Harry that it wasn't so scary. Nina stood on the concrete and after Harry walked around it a couple of times, I lead him on to the board and kind of zig zagged over to the concrete and he walked on it with no problem! After a couple more times of doing this, I was able to walk and approach it on the straight without him bawking at it, so I got back on and after we went all the way across the board and concrete and back again, I got off and told him how good he was. I'm so proud of him!

I also rode Taco again today. I can't tell if the paste helped or if he really is turning over a new leaf in his book of life, but he was great today! The cantering is still a problem, but he is getting better. His board was great and as long as we get the canter out of him, if we go to State Fair, he will definitely do well.

Days 228 & 229

Saturday
My mom has kind of taken over Harry since she started riding again, which is okay by me because I haven't had that much riding time with Brie as I would've liked to the past month or so. I'm glad that I get to work with her again, because she's gotten a little lazy. Today we worked a lot on calmly walking and then getting more flexible again. They were doing some construction outside of the arena today though, so everyone got scared of the cranes as they went by the door except for Brie and Nina! I attribute it to their being raised outside as babies. I don't know about the rest of the horses that were riding with us yesterday, or even Harry for that matter, but both Brie and Nina were raised outside from the moment they were born up until they were weaned, and even then they were put out in the pasture with other foals that were weaned at the same time, so they had to have hardened up in that time.

Although, that doesn't explain by Brie gets so anxious going outside. My mom mentioned going on a trail ride. Like a real trail ride. I think that would be a wonderful experience for everyone. I truly believe that once Brie gets out far enough that she doesn't know where she is and doesn't see the barn behind her, she'll settle down and be a great trail horse. Harry, I'm not so sure about.

I got the wonderful chance to ride Nina today since my brother was being generous. She is such a doll! I was just going to enjoy a calm walk on a horse that really WALKS, but then I figured I might as well work her a little bit. So after getting some instruction from my brother (keep my hands low and squeeze squeeze squeeze), Nina had the cutest little corto and a largo that could rival Brie's! I can't wait to show her in pleasure class, since my brother is taking all of the performance classes with her. If I won 2nd last year just hopping on her without practicing at all before, just think of what I could win if I practice!

Sunday
Brie just wanted to go go go today, so I let her, but at a sane pace. She didn't really want to walk and I figured heck, if she's feeling good enough, then I might as well let her corto. She was going along beautifully and setting her head so nicely and eventually she slowed herself to an animated walk. We worked a lot on leg yields, which I'm proud to say she is getting great at! When she starts floating off the rail, I'm now able to just shift my inside leg a little bit back and press gently and she'll move right over, without having to use my reins at all! I can even turn her with just my legs, one pressing on the shoulder and the other behind the girth and she turns on a dime! If only she weren't so anxious for shows, she would take all the blue ribbons.

I really wish that there were more fun shows around my area. I would trailer Brie to all of them and go in all of the classes just to get her used to it and make it not seem like a huge deal. If we had a bigger trailer, I would definitely bring her to the State Fair. I mean, it's cheap enough.

After I rode Brie, I got on Harry because he was being a bit bratty for my mom today after being completely freaked out yesterday over the cranes. He settled down, but he is tap dancing and pacing a lot now and I don't know what that's about. He doesn't need shoes for another 3 weeks, so I don't know what his deal is right now. Maybe this upcoming weekend I'll ride him first to figure it out if I can. We were about to all go outside and ride when there were multiple gunshots from down the street, and while I know that Brie wouldn't be phased by it, I was worried about how Harry and Nina might react, so that cut our ride short. I'm sure they were completely fine with it though and getting their cool bath.

I'm kind of bummed because the past two weeks it's gotten so hot so quickly that we haven't really had time to play any Parelli with them. I'm so eager to send Harry over the tarp! Maybe this weekend will be a little cooler so that we could play. 

Day 227

Today was very much the same as yesterday. I worked Brie first. She was limping a little today, so we took a long time warming up. Outside was a little more crazy than yesterday, but she did walk calmly out the door, so that's a plus. We didn't go up and down the hill today, just focused on calming down and then making it back to the barn.

After Brie, I rode Harry. He is terrible at leg yields and I really need to work on that. I say this because he has this nasty habit of riding at an angle of the wall, so that his butt is swung out a little into the arena. When I try to put leg pressure on him, he just speeds up. He was okay today, a little pushy about what he wanted to do, but overall it was okay. I rode him outside and he had a bit of a meltdown because my mom and brother kept leaving me and he would get upset, so I ended up dismounting a ways away from the barn and walking back because he was not having any walking whatsoever once they left and I didn't want him to rear on me. He hasn't been that far out by himself, even though it's not very far, but he was still upset over it.

My mom had a hard time with Brie. She tried to ride her outside and Brie was just not having it. Hopefully the more I work with her outside, the more confident she gets and as she gets better, the less of a bad expectation my mom will have about riding her, that way everyone is happy.

Day 226

Today was my mom's first day riding after her surgery! So that means she wanted Harry. Logical choice, because I've been working with Harry every week, unlike Brie, who has pretty much had a vacation since late April. So she took Harry (who was wonderfully behaved) and I took Brie.

I was beyond pleasantly surprised by how good Brie was. I think that a lot of it had to do with her getting her arthritis injection because the last couple of times I rode her before her little holiday and before the injection, she was kind of snotty and bratty. But today she rode like a dream! I didn't attempt making her stand at the mounting block to get on though, because there were a lot of people standing around it watching their others ride in the arena, so I just got on her from the ground. She stayed still! So I already knew from then it was going to be a good ride. Not that she runs away, it's just that she usually fidgets or backs up a little before you get on, but she was perfectly still today.

We did a good amount of flexing, nothing too hard for her to handle after her break, and then some circles with leg yields before we headed off at a nice walk. Her decision! I felt like I died and went to heaven. She and I walked for quite a while before she decided it was go time and settled into a corto. She was trying to canter the corners, so she must've been feeling really good, but I couldn't let her get away with that bad habit. We did figure 8's and serpentines and had a lovely go across the board. Brie is never out of gait. Ever. So when she was sounding kind of iffy in April, that was the surefire sign that she needed another injection. She's back to a perfect gait yet again.

We attempted some walking in the outdoor arena, but I feel like the combo of being in the outdoor for the first time in a long while and it being seriously hot out today made her uncomfortable, so we only stayed for a while. I settled for a relaxed corto instead of a walk and we headed back in to take the shortcut through the arena out back into the pasture.

Of course, when she got out she was kind of hyper, but I was determined to have a good ride outside without either of us getting anxious. She tried to jump the little ditch between the barn and the hill, but we walked around it and through it until she stopped trying to jump or rush it. Walking today was not so much of an option at first. She seemed really anxious about hurrying up to get up the hill, which I really didn't want to go straight to, because she kept pulling towards it. We walked to the fence line near the street, turned and walked back, but she was anxious again to get to the hill and kept reaching her head back to my foot. So I figured "Okay, let me hold her here for a minute if she keeps doing that." She was chomping like crazy on the bit while I held her for a couple of seconds until she stopped and let out a huge rush of air, at which point I let go. I held her back a little going up the hill and she was just as eager to rush back down, but I made her stay up on the top for a while. She eventually stopped chomping again and was silent, relaxed under me, and started looking around and I just pet her. After a while, when she seemed really calm, we went back down the hill. She wasn't anxious going down, but a little rushed, so we went back up again. We did this a couple of times until she just walked up and back down.

We were going to go in, but then this little bird by the pond started squawking at us, and rather than go away from it, I went towards it. Instead of flying away, it spun around and started running away! Once I was focused on following the bird without crushing it as it ran away from us, Brie really slowed without me having to hold her back and managed her speed while I followed the bird. Eventually, the bird got the idea that he should fly away, but it was such a cool feeling knowing that she was actually thinking on her own without me having to tell her everything that she had to do.

We walked in and I traded with my mom. Since he looked like he worked fine inside, I took him outside. He was okay until the last point we had reached outside by ourselves, which was the far side of the hill. Then I wanted him to walk to the fence line. He was very concerned about this, but we got there. When I turned to go back to the barn, that's when he wanted to take off, so I had to bend him to a stop. He didn't really stop, he kept spinning, but eventually he did stop and calmed down. We have to work on halting outside and getting the message across that stopping outside is an option, it's not just go go go. So we climbed up the hill (he was also nervous about that, so we had to go up and down a couple of times) and then waited at the top. He was a little more comfortable at the top of the hill, but still shifting his weight and not relaxing, until Samantha came out with Tobacco. Once another horse was out there with him, he calmed down a lot more. I rode with her all out back and then through the front before I came back in and gave Harry a shower.

I did bring popsicles for them, since they like them so much, but they melted in the cooler before I could give them out! Maybe tomorrow I'll have to give them before we ride.

And now for some pictures!!

Brie's favorite activity

I think this is one of the cutest pictures of Nina

Harry was not being very photogenic today.

My three out with Sadie and Taco.

Sadie: "I want a picture!!"

The Bays v The Black (and White!)

Nina mid-roll!

Eating grass while laying down: the epitome of laziness

The leader and her herd!

Day 225

I have some lovely pictures for you all today!

This is Harry's beautiful jaquima!

Sleepy Harry is sleepy.

A close up of the shank of his bit...I should've taken a picture of the port, but I forgot. Notices the double reins!

Our very first saddle. It's from Colombia and is perfect for training.

Harry wondering why I'm taking a picture of his butt. This is the so-called "fruit basket" a.k.a rear end collector

 So as you can tell, I did in fact use the training saddle and the fruit basket on Harry today, hoping that it would get him a little more collected and remind him that he can't just string out like a Quarter Horse (nothing against them, though!) This is the first time that Harry has been very energetic at a longe in a while, since he's pretty pokey, which is okay with me because I'm not getting pulled around. But he was actually very good and responsive.

My brother and Nina exploring.

Brie peeking between the fence while she's eating.

He was a little stiff in this direction, but we worked at it the entire ride and he eventually loosened up. 

 Look at that adorable sashay!

 Now here you can see that he is really collected. He ended up working very nicely. I was able to keep a loose rein on him after the warm up and he was happily snorting along. He stayed pretty collected the entire ride, but he tap danced a little. We didn't work on largo, since we're trying to collect the corto before we can extend the largo at the same time. He was a very good boy and really gave me all he had today. He was definitely listening to me, as his hears were facing towards me the entire ride. He was responding well to my leg and to my reins and while he tried to get away a little bit with his head, after a few quick corrections he settled back like a charm.

Afterwards, we went out exploring without the fruit basket. Once he walked over that little ditch he calmed right down.

We even got to walk near the pond again! So proud of him. Now for some adorable shots of Brie in between bursts of partaking in her favorite activity: eating.

Afterward we came inside, I rode Taco really quickly because he kept pulling towards the door for Jane, so after he calmed down and was able to walk past the doors without wanting to run out back to his stall, I got off and let him go into the stable. Then everybody got a nice, thorough bath and tail scrubbing. Of course, everyone was dirty within 5 minutes, but what can you do.

Day 224

Every time I get disheartened with Harry, I have to remember how far I've come.

So you may remember that he is in a bit of a slump performance-wise lately. He's just not very enthusiastic about gaiting and not doing nearly as well as he was in April or so and I can't figure out why. He just got his shoes done last weekend, so I figured that this weekend there might be a little bit of a change. He's just not having it. He's very stretched out and not collected and despite the huge amount of circlework that we're doing, it just doesn't seem to be helping. He isn't tap-dancing anymore, so that's a plus, but his corto has definitely extended and his largo is more pace than gait. If we make it to the next show, that means I only have five more practice days with him, and I'm not so sure that I can accomplish this big of a goal in only five days, especially when I don't even know where to start tackling the problem.

But I do have to admit, I'm proud of how relaxed he's gotten, even if it seems to be making him a little bit lazy. His whole problem with the tap dancing was because of all this pent up energy and anxiety that he had and now that he's let that go, it's like he has no real steam to fuel his engine, the little train that he is (or was). But today before I rode, I did some more Parelli Games. He let me swish the rope all around him today without continuing to turn so that he was still facing me. He let me twirl the rope like a helicopter and he wasn't even phased by it. He even let me swing the rope over him in an arc from one side to the other without getting scared of seeing it or hearing the hum that it was making through the air! I played the Porcupine Game with him a bit today and he was really good at it. I didn't have to put pressure on either his shoulders or his hinds for very long before he got the idea to pivot away from it. So yeah, our performance might be suffering a little bit, but I would rather be gaining his trust and having him calm down so that he's a sociable animal than being a great performance and absolutely skittish of everything. Now I just need to find a way to combine the two.

After our somewhat depressing ride (only because he was pokey), we went outside with Samantha and Tobacco. I'm so proud of my little Harry! He has been scared of the pond in back for the longest time, and two weeks ago we went out and I lead him around it on foot and we got really close to the water's edge. Well today when we were riding outside, we were able to calmly walk next to it without the fear of being eaten up by the sea demons! In fact, the entire ride outside was wonderful. He's turning into being a great trail horse, but I do still have hope for finding a happy medium between super anxious but good performance and really calm but very pokey. Tomorrow, we're trying the fruit basket.