Changes

There have been a lot of changes in my life recently, both physical and psychological. I have a new job, with brand new responsibilities at a new company. It has allowed me to make a dream come true: purchase Gwen. With it came some changes in routine and schedule. Until recently I was unable to go visit Gwen after work, because it was simply too dark. Now that it is lighter later, I am able (on occasion) to make it out to the barn after work. But there are still days when I am unable to do so, either because I lack the desire/energy, or I end up working into the dark hours of the evening. It is worth it, though, because I have Friday off. So my riding schedule has changed from Mon-Fri with weekends off, to Fri-Sunday, with occasional rides during the week.

Cute Gwen Face.

There have also been some changes in my riding style. I won't say my goals have changed because they really haven't, but my philosophy and training style have definitely evolved and changed over the past few months.

Which leads me to a major topic of today's post. Parelli. I no longer consider myself a Parelli student. While I still believe in the core values of the Parelli training method, I no longer call myself a student of Parelli, and I no longer train using Parelli-only techniques. I say "Parelli-only" because to say I don't use Parelli at all would be a lie. The fundamentals of the training program will always be a part of my interaction with horses, but those fundamentals are not exclusive to the Parelli program.

This turn away from the program happened very gradually. It wasn't as though I woke up one day and decided to no longer be a Parelli student. It's not as though I have a problem with the training method or come to some sort of epiphany about it. Nothing like that at all, really.  Simply put, I realized that it was not the program for me any longer, because I wasn't seeing the results I wanted.

Nom nom nom.  Old picture

I won't say that I am at fault, and I won't say that I'm not at fault for this. There are a combination of factors working toward this conclusion that it's just "not working" for Gwen and me. Chief among them would be my lack of support. I do not know a single person in San Antonio who practices Parelli. I can look for Parelli trainers through the website, but it does me little good when they don't make house calls, and I don't own a truck, or trailer, and therefore have no way of getting myself or my horse there. But lack of support wasn't my only reason for moving away.

I am finding this post hard to write because I feel as though any reason I give for why I don't practice Parelli is going to be met with criticism from the Parelli-crowd. As though all my reasons for not being a Parelli student somehow means I am putting myself before my horse, or that I'm being selfish, or wanting "instant" results. I'm not, and I don't.  I have my reasons for not practicing Parelli anymore, and they all boil down to this: it just isn't for me.

I think the Parelli method is an amazing training program that connects thousands of people to their horses in ways they never thought possible. I believe amazing things can be done using the Parelli training method, and that the lessons and products are all of great quality. I have seen incredible things done with horses using Parelli. But I have also seen incredible things done with horses, by people NOT using Parelli.

Gwen with looooong mane

Just because I am no longer a student of Parelli does not mean that I will suddenly put my needs above Gwen's. I will always keep her needs and feelings at the forethought. I will conduct my training and riding in such a way as to keep Gwen's confidence and dignity. I will continue to use body language, and to read her body language to decide whether or not I can push her, when I can wait, and when we need to back up. I will always put the good of my horse above my personal goals. Those things won't change.

Braided tail. Cause I could.

I will still utilize ground work to help strengthen my relationship with  my horse, and to establish trust and respect. I may utilize some of the patterns and games that Parelli has taught me. But I will deviate as well. I won't progress through the Parelli levels, and I will not be using the title of "parelli student" when I describe myself to others.

I don't know what else there is to say about it. This was such a gradual change that I don't know how to feel about it, either. I'm not really sad. Not exactly happy. It's just became a natural part of my life. It is what it is.

Gwen with "even'ed up" mane. I didn't like it.

That's about it for now. I want to continue to blog (not that I've been so great about it before now...) and one of the things I would like to change in the future is the frequency of my blog updates. If nothing else, I would like to keep a chronicle of my journey with Gwen. That was the point of this blog in the first place.

Sleepy Gwen with "pulled" mane. Much better!

For now, enjoy some pictures of my first braiding attempt after "pulling" Gwen's mane. (I actually shortened it very carefully with scissors, as I don't really like pulling her hair out).

First attempt at braids with "pulled" mane. 

There's something over there!

J

Cave-in

A few posts bag, I mentioned that I was having issues with Blogger and my internet browser, and that I was contemplating a different blog host. Subsequent posts (i.e. everything between that post and this one) had been written via phone app.  But typing on a phone is ha-ard. And I like things easy.  So today I finally took some time to figure out what the deal was with Blogger vs. Internet Browser, and what my options were.

Apparently, blogger does not like whatever version of Internet Explorer I have been using. Which happens to be (according to Internet Explorer's web page) the most up-to-date version. So hrm. No fix there. Next I perused a couple other blogging hosts, to contemplate a move. But, I hate change (I am very RBI) and I've had this blog for a long time now! I didn't really want to relocate...  So my third and final option (which is the option I went with, in the end) was to download a new internet browser. Again, I'm not so good with change... but this was the easiest option, and I figured I had very little to lose.

I figured, if anything, I could just download the browser and use it ONLY for updating my blog (yeah, that's how non-change oriented I am). I downloaded google's Chrome browser, which is what I am using right now. So far, it's OK. I like the idea of a home page, with quick "app"s to my favorite places. And of course I like that it is compatible with Blogger, and YouTube (duh, it's Google) which are the major things I use the web for these days...

Anyways. The idea here is to make blogging easier, so that I update more often. We shall see.

Next post will be horse related!  I need to post an update on braiding progress (probably combine "attempt 2 and attempt 3" into one post.

Right now it is a whooping 32 degrees outside (Which is crazy cold for my part of Texas!) so I am huddled up inside, sipping coffee and contemplating a bubble bath. It's supposed to warm up tomorrow and, if so, I will be at the barn with my pretty Gwen :)

J

Back in shape

So for the past week and a half or so I have been really pushing Gwen a bit harder in an effort to both assess her soundness and start getting her fit. She has been doing so well! So far she's shown no sign of lameness, just a bit of stiffness when I get her going. I contribute this to her lack if exercise, the chilly weather, and the fact that she has been locked in a stall for three months.

Last night and this, I've been asking her to do a lot of extended trot, both on physical extension and in length of time in the gait. She even started offering to canter! I can't wait until the end of February when I can finally ride her again! 

My pretty girl!! Sorry for the slightly fuzzy quality.

J

Exciting news!!

As of Saturday January 18th, I am the proud owner of a beautiful sorrel quarter horse!  Yup, that's right! I bought Gwen!!!

I am super thrilled. :)

I did a lot of thinking about whether or not I wanted to purchase Gwen or try to get a younger, more athletic horse... At the end of the day I went with my heart. Everything I want to do, I can do with Gwen. If I someday get really into showing, nothing says I can't own two horses, right? ;) 

Honestly tho, I chose Gwen because I knew what I was getting, and what she could do. I chose that over the unknown. Plus, I love her.

J

Perfect practice makes perfect...

Gwen is doing well! I got her out today on my 22' line and we practiced yo-yo, circles and had a long friendly game while I answered a phone call. She did SO well! It's literally been months since we've really played, but I was getting good responses off phase one including a reverse and half- circle backwards Whoohoo! 

Also, as part of my 2014 goal of attending a horse show, I have begun practicing braids! This is harder than it first appears (and it already appears pretty damn hard!) because I refuse to pull or shorten her mane. Yes, I am a little bit crazy. But, I know this can be done because I have seen it in person!

Anyways. I have never before attempted to braid hunter style braids, let alone on long hair. My goal is to practice every week end, with the hopes of being proficient enought to do my own braids when we are ready to show later this year. And, I want to document my progress! Below is perhaps the worst attempt at braiding ever documented, but I will show it because I want something to compare to next weekend. 

Ta da!!! 

The sad part is that the really GOOD braid is hidden from view by her lock of hair. Oh well! And, btw, this little length of braids took me thirty minutes, thanks to a very curious horse.

Till next time,

J

( posted using my phone)

Need a new blog host

I need a new blog host. Blogger has been great, but now it is incompatible with my internet browser. This is frustrating since I would like to post more updates as part of my New Years resolution, but that just isn't working out at the moment. I am using the app on my phone to write this. Any ideas??

In other news, Gwen's recovery is going smoothly. She is showing no signs of pain and can walk/trot on concrete in a straight line with no limp. Slight orchids when we turn corners tho, so our next job is to do some phys therapy to help her work thru that. In very optimistic that she will be fine. It will be three months since the incident on January 19th and I plan to give her until mid dr before we ride again. 

J

Not so Good News

So... last Saturday I went out to get Gwen and saw this:

It's a laceration about two inches long and about an inch deep on her right hind, just below her stifle. While it doesn't look *that* bad at first glance (bad, but not life threatening bad) it's very deceptive.  A hour or two later, she started squirting joint fluid. Not. Good. She was immediately put in a stall, and a vet was called.

Good news: she's expected to make a full recovery. The injury doesn't seem to be too severe, and our biggest fear at the moment is infection. She's on some very powerful (and expensive) antibiotics and confined to a stall for the foreseeable future. But it's going to be a long recovery period. Like, three to four months. Ugh.

Tomorrow will be one week since the incident, and so far her wound is looking SO much better!  She stopped leaking joint fluid on Monday, and she's not limping very badly at all (she has no trouble walking around her stall, and is actually doing donuts out of boredom. More on that later). The vet should be out again tomorrow to take another look, but it's healing so quickly that I think we'll be fine.

I'm hoping I'll get the go-ahead to start doing some gentle ground work with her. No circles, of course, but at least some porcupine game. We need to refine some of our games and I think it would help cut her boredom if I gave her something to think about.

But yeah. This week has been "fun".

J