I have a lot of updates about Gwen, but this post is not about that. This post is about taking a firm look at my financial situation and making some tough choices. Money is tight, and I'm already doing all the usual "money saving" techniques (like taking my lunch to work, not eating out, not going to movies, cutting back on cable, etc), but things are still pretty... tense with me. I want to buy a house in the near future, if only to cut my monthly rent payment down a bit.
So, in an effort to spend money only where I MUST, instead of just where I want to... I have chosen to cancel my membership with Parelli Connect. It was a difficult choice, and I will definitely miss all of the free advice, lessons, and sheer online content that Parelli Connect offers, I was not utilizing the website (or the Parelli merchandise discount) enough to justify the monthly cost anymore. Even tho it was only $10 a month, that's $10 I can now invest in my savings account, for the future.
Hopefully, within the near future, things will change for the better and I will be able to re-join.
J
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
Slacker and An Awesome Dream
I've been slacking, and it shows. I've been taking it real easy lately, using the weather as my excuse. It's been rainy, so I've only gone to the barn to dust Gwen's feet with powder, and then used the mud as an excuse to go home. It's starting to show. Gwen's body condition has gone from decent to pretty sad (not in an under fed sort of a way, just a general lack of conditioning). She's RBI, so I *know* she's not exercising herself out there!
I feel bad about this. It's part of my job as her leader to make sure she is getting the best care possible, and physical fitness is important. She's not getting any younger, which is starting to hit home lately, as I watch her develop physical symptoms of age. I know that, if she were properly conditioned, she would look and feel a lot better. So, today I did a bit of reading on conditioning programs, and how best to condition a horse. Since Gwen and I don't do anything strenuous (we don't compete, for example) I'm not worried about getting her into top showhorse form. I just want her to have decent muscle mass and healthy stamina.
But how do I balance her physical need for exercise with her mental desire to stand still? Of course I could make her move, both on the ground and in the saddle, but that could result in the destruction of our relationship. It certainly won't help it. At this point, I think the best approach is going to be short bursts of intense physical activity (my idea of "intense physical activity" for Gwen is cantering 3-4 laps online, or once around the arena... probably not very intense for most?), followed by slow/low intensity activity or rest. Hopefully, this will fulfill both needs, physical and mental (physical to move, mental to not move). But, we'll see how it goes.
Of course, I plan to take things VERY slow. The last thing I want to do is injure Gwen physically, or push her too far mentally. We've been pretty connected, the last few times we played, so I'm not as worried about upsetting her, or pushing her past her threshholds, but I will definitely be looking out for her emotional well being first. Our relationship is more important than muscle tone!
Anyone reading this... any thoughts on other ways I can condition Gwen without upsetting her mentally?
Now, on to the second part... my Awesome Dream!
OMG I had the most amazing dream about a horse last night! I was at Fort Sam Houston riding stables, which is located on Fort Sam Houston military base. (I rode there for a year or two, when I first came to Texas, before I moved to my current barn). Anyways, I'm at Fort Sam stables, watching a girl about my age ride this absolutely beautiful bay mare around in the arena.
She's this gorgouse, leggy thoroughbred/cross looking mare, chocolate bay with a white star on her forehead *sigh* so pretty.
So I'm standing at the side rail, with the girl's mom next to me, watching her ride this horse around the arena. Suddenly, the horse spooks violently. The rider falls, and the mare bolts off at a gallop, broken reins flapping, and saddle missing (not sure how she lost the saddle... it's a dream after all!). While mom/everyone else goes to check on the rider, I manage to catch the horse. She's trembling and obviously hopped up on adrenaline, so I decide to play the "You better run!" game with her. (By now, the horse is wearing a halter and a lead rope... dream remember. But it's not a rope halter, just a traditional halter with a long nylon lead).
So I play the game with her, and she goes tearing around in a circle around me. I do my best to avoid things like cavaletti and cones, and eventually we're in a space where she can run and not trip. She goes barreling around this circle for two or three laps, and then slows down and comes in, trying to connect with me. I immediatly fall in love. I mean, this horse is BEAUTIFUL, and she's looking at me all calm and trusting and cute...!!
She's still tense, but not freaking out, so I walk her back over to mom and rider, who have both made it back to the arena fence by this point. Rider is fine, just a little spooked. I ask her if she's considered selling the mare. She says no, but she was thinking about it now. She looks at her mom, who says they can definitely discuss it. In the dream, I know that I know these people at least a little (probably met them at the barn before, talked, but we're not friends or anything.). I know them well enough to know the girl's been having problems with the mare, and it's not getting better. The mom asks for my phone number so we can hash out the details.
At this point in my dream, I go on this weird epic journey to look for a piece of paper, all the while leading this RBE mare around behind me, thru a barn that turns into a train... it gets weird. Anyways, I find a napkin, somehow get the horse stabled (at least, I'm not leading her anymore) and head back out to find mom/girl again.
I know the horse is going to be expensive (like, REALLY expensive, cause she's obviously well bred), but I've decided I can make it work by taking out a short term loan to pay for her (I'm not even sure you can do that, but hey... it's a dream). I make it back to the mom, and we start discussing price. Before I can actually by the horse, tho, I wake up (Aw man!)
I know that it would have worked out, tho, and I would have bought the mare. *Sigh*. It's one of those dreams that makes you sad when you wake up and realize it wasn't real. I am desperately in love with this dream horse, now. I've always wondered if I would like an RBE, and I think I have my answer, lol!!
She didn't have a name in the dream (or, at least, I never learned it) so I've decided to call her "Prophetic Dream" in the hopes that I find her someday. She's actually replanced my childhood dream horse, as my new dream horse! Yeah, I'm a kid at heart like that ;)
If only dreams were real!
J
I feel bad about this. It's part of my job as her leader to make sure she is getting the best care possible, and physical fitness is important. She's not getting any younger, which is starting to hit home lately, as I watch her develop physical symptoms of age. I know that, if she were properly conditioned, she would look and feel a lot better. So, today I did a bit of reading on conditioning programs, and how best to condition a horse. Since Gwen and I don't do anything strenuous (we don't compete, for example) I'm not worried about getting her into top showhorse form. I just want her to have decent muscle mass and healthy stamina.
But how do I balance her physical need for exercise with her mental desire to stand still? Of course I could make her move, both on the ground and in the saddle, but that could result in the destruction of our relationship. It certainly won't help it. At this point, I think the best approach is going to be short bursts of intense physical activity (my idea of "intense physical activity" for Gwen is cantering 3-4 laps online, or once around the arena... probably not very intense for most?), followed by slow/low intensity activity or rest. Hopefully, this will fulfill both needs, physical and mental (physical to move, mental to not move). But, we'll see how it goes.
Of course, I plan to take things VERY slow. The last thing I want to do is injure Gwen physically, or push her too far mentally. We've been pretty connected, the last few times we played, so I'm not as worried about upsetting her, or pushing her past her threshholds, but I will definitely be looking out for her emotional well being first. Our relationship is more important than muscle tone!
Anyone reading this... any thoughts on other ways I can condition Gwen without upsetting her mentally?
Now, on to the second part... my Awesome Dream!
OMG I had the most amazing dream about a horse last night! I was at Fort Sam Houston riding stables, which is located on Fort Sam Houston military base. (I rode there for a year or two, when I first came to Texas, before I moved to my current barn). Anyways, I'm at Fort Sam stables, watching a girl about my age ride this absolutely beautiful bay mare around in the arena.
She's this gorgouse, leggy thoroughbred/cross looking mare, chocolate bay with a white star on her forehead *sigh* so pretty.
So I'm standing at the side rail, with the girl's mom next to me, watching her ride this horse around the arena. Suddenly, the horse spooks violently. The rider falls, and the mare bolts off at a gallop, broken reins flapping, and saddle missing (not sure how she lost the saddle... it's a dream after all!). While mom/everyone else goes to check on the rider, I manage to catch the horse. She's trembling and obviously hopped up on adrenaline, so I decide to play the "You better run!" game with her. (By now, the horse is wearing a halter and a lead rope... dream remember. But it's not a rope halter, just a traditional halter with a long nylon lead).
So I play the game with her, and she goes tearing around in a circle around me. I do my best to avoid things like cavaletti and cones, and eventually we're in a space where she can run and not trip. She goes barreling around this circle for two or three laps, and then slows down and comes in, trying to connect with me. I immediatly fall in love. I mean, this horse is BEAUTIFUL, and she's looking at me all calm and trusting and cute...!!
She's still tense, but not freaking out, so I walk her back over to mom and rider, who have both made it back to the arena fence by this point. Rider is fine, just a little spooked. I ask her if she's considered selling the mare. She says no, but she was thinking about it now. She looks at her mom, who says they can definitely discuss it. In the dream, I know that I know these people at least a little (probably met them at the barn before, talked, but we're not friends or anything.). I know them well enough to know the girl's been having problems with the mare, and it's not getting better. The mom asks for my phone number so we can hash out the details.
At this point in my dream, I go on this weird epic journey to look for a piece of paper, all the while leading this RBE mare around behind me, thru a barn that turns into a train... it gets weird. Anyways, I find a napkin, somehow get the horse stabled (at least, I'm not leading her anymore) and head back out to find mom/girl again.
I know the horse is going to be expensive (like, REALLY expensive, cause she's obviously well bred), but I've decided I can make it work by taking out a short term loan to pay for her (I'm not even sure you can do that, but hey... it's a dream). I make it back to the mom, and we start discussing price. Before I can actually by the horse, tho, I wake up (Aw man!)
I know that it would have worked out, tho, and I would have bought the mare. *Sigh*. It's one of those dreams that makes you sad when you wake up and realize it wasn't real. I am desperately in love with this dream horse, now. I've always wondered if I would like an RBE, and I think I have my answer, lol!!
She didn't have a name in the dream (or, at least, I never learned it) so I've decided to call her "Prophetic Dream" in the hopes that I find her someday. She's actually replanced my childhood dream horse, as my new dream horse! Yeah, I'm a kid at heart like that ;)
If only dreams were real!
J
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Best Day Ever!
Today, I had one of the absolute best days with Gwen! It started out pretty typical. It's so stinking hot that I don't bother bringing her tack out; I know I won't ride. So I went out to get Gwen, and as I was walking towards her, I thought about how I always approach her. I try to take my time, "meander" a little so she doesn't feel like I'm coming after her. I always approach, mindful of her reaction. If she gives me an eye and an ear (or both, or all four) I pause a little, smile, and say "Hi pretty girl!" If she keeps looking at me, or she drops her head to eat some more, I'll continue moving forward. If she gets tense, or starts to shift her weight like she wants to move away, I stop or back up, until she relaxes again. Once I'm near her, I'll rub on her for a few seconds until I feel like she's ready to come in. Today, I thought... "What if touching her is too much?" So today, I did everything I usually do except, when I was finally in her personal space, I didn't touch her. I just stood at her shoulder, facing the same way she was, and waited. She kept on munching, then picked her head up, sighed, and turned to look at me. I offered a horseman's handshake, and she responded in kind (which she usually doesn't do! Yay, progress!). And then a wonderful thing happened... I took a step back to find better footing (was standing in hay), and Gwen picked her head up and backed up with me. I thought it might just be a fluke, until I backed up again, and she followed me again. Then she turned, watched me, and followed me all the way back to the gate at liberty! She hasn't done that since last summer! It was a great sign that I am back on the right track with her.
Once we were in the arena, we did our usual thing of liberty grooming, and then a little play time at liberty, to see how she felt. All I really do is some friendly game, a little driving/porcupine, and some yo-yo. Usually it's at the yo-yo that Gwen decides she's free, and heads off for the gate. Today, however... I pointed as if to send her in a circle... and she actually went in a circle!! It was a really tight circle, but it was a circle! She was not stopping behind me, either, but continuing the shape until she was in front of me again. Whoo! I never thought we'd have liberty circles!
After a little more at liberty (including one really active "Yippee!" gallop-buck thing that had me in a fit of giggles... my little RBI being all extroverted!) we went on the 22' and played with circles and touch-it.
But by far, the best moment as at the end, when I crawled up bareback with just the lead (i.e. not tied as reins) and we went walking around the arena. Not that big a deal, until we stopped and I decided to try a back... and she did! I was getting a back up from her just by shifting my weight and lightly lifting the lead, no tension at all! I did it three times, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, and then hopped off and called it a day. Whoohoo! I am so excited!
I can't wait until tomorrow :)
J
Once we were in the arena, we did our usual thing of liberty grooming, and then a little play time at liberty, to see how she felt. All I really do is some friendly game, a little driving/porcupine, and some yo-yo. Usually it's at the yo-yo that Gwen decides she's free, and heads off for the gate. Today, however... I pointed as if to send her in a circle... and she actually went in a circle!! It was a really tight circle, but it was a circle! She was not stopping behind me, either, but continuing the shape until she was in front of me again. Whoo! I never thought we'd have liberty circles!
After a little more at liberty (including one really active "Yippee!" gallop-buck thing that had me in a fit of giggles... my little RBI being all extroverted!) we went on the 22' and played with circles and touch-it.
But by far, the best moment as at the end, when I crawled up bareback with just the lead (i.e. not tied as reins) and we went walking around the arena. Not that big a deal, until we stopped and I decided to try a back... and she did! I was getting a back up from her just by shifting my weight and lightly lifting the lead, no tension at all! I did it three times, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, and then hopped off and called it a day. Whoohoo! I am so excited!
I can't wait until tomorrow :)
J
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Games, Feet, and Savvy Lessons
Quick update. Sorry, no pictures. It's late and I'm not really in the mood to go thru the motions of loading them onto the computer. Maybe tomorrow? Anyways...
Monday we had a not-so-great day together, and I blame it on myself. I was extremely distracted, and totally unable to meet Gwen's energy level. It had to do with the fact that I was not alone at the barn; the barn manager/riding instructor was there, along with a couple of visiting ex-barn rats (the kind that grew up, moved away, and were in town to pay a visit). She was getting them ready to go down the trails and even though I had the arena to myself, I was distracted by all the commotion of tacking up, etc. I am still self-conscious, and get very uncomfortable when I feel like I'm being watched as I play with Gwen. It's gotten a lot better, but Monday it just wasn't happening. I tried to push past it, but Gwen and I never really connected, and we probably didn't make any progress at all. But, I can happily say that we didn't move backwards.
Tuesday morning, Gwen had her shoes pulled off (Hallelujah!!). I've been dying to have them removed, but since I don't know how to do it myself... I had to wait. The barn manager did it for me, so I wouldn't have to pay the farrier (I swear, they charge for everything! Wasn't it enough to pay to have them put on?? Ah well). So when I got to the barn after work, Gwen was nice and barefoot again. Yay! I am thrilled with this... not so thrilled with the thrush infection going on in her feet. :/ Yeah. That was reason numero uno that I wanted her shoes and pads off; I just KNEW all that nasty weather was going to bring about some thrush. And since I'm a procrastinator, I don't have any thrush treatment yet (I know, I know... I'm a bad horse mama). It's on order, with rushed shipping. I've been meaning to order No Thrush since I first heard about it, but hadn't had a chance yet. Now, it's kind of a necessity...
Anyway. We played online again, as I don't really want to ride her until her feet are better, and our relationship improves again, but instead of staying in the arena, we went for a little walk. My game plan was to go down the trails with her online, but that didn't go so well when I saw how over grown the trails got. It became almost impossible for me to walk around thru all the foliage (and I hate bugs. I really hate bugs...) so we back tracked and took a walk up the road instead. It was good for her to get out of her comfort zone, and look at something new. She did very well, in that she stayed connected to me and responded when I asked her to do things. She never got super concerned, and we made it back alive (obviously) and then went to play in the arena. I blew her mind when I made her back thru the gate into the arena. She was looking at me all "Whaaa?! *back* up? But... it's a gate, we go forward... whaaaat???" As soon as she made it in and I turned to close the gate, there was lots of licking and chewing.
We played touch-it at the trot, which got a bit of frisky behaviour from her (Where did THAT come from? My little RBI acting extroverted, awww) and then settled down to practice our circling game. She's kinda not so good at maintaining gait/direction at the moment (maybe why we fail at follow the rail? hmm) so I played with changing direction every time she wanted to stop. I got lots of questions, and she made a real effort to connect with me. We quit when she made it a full circle without stopping.
Tomorrow I'd like to play more with circles, and possibly figure 8's.
J
Monday we had a not-so-great day together, and I blame it on myself. I was extremely distracted, and totally unable to meet Gwen's energy level. It had to do with the fact that I was not alone at the barn; the barn manager/riding instructor was there, along with a couple of visiting ex-barn rats (the kind that grew up, moved away, and were in town to pay a visit). She was getting them ready to go down the trails and even though I had the arena to myself, I was distracted by all the commotion of tacking up, etc. I am still self-conscious, and get very uncomfortable when I feel like I'm being watched as I play with Gwen. It's gotten a lot better, but Monday it just wasn't happening. I tried to push past it, but Gwen and I never really connected, and we probably didn't make any progress at all. But, I can happily say that we didn't move backwards.
Tuesday morning, Gwen had her shoes pulled off (Hallelujah!!). I've been dying to have them removed, but since I don't know how to do it myself... I had to wait. The barn manager did it for me, so I wouldn't have to pay the farrier (I swear, they charge for everything! Wasn't it enough to pay to have them put on?? Ah well). So when I got to the barn after work, Gwen was nice and barefoot again. Yay! I am thrilled with this... not so thrilled with the thrush infection going on in her feet. :/ Yeah. That was reason numero uno that I wanted her shoes and pads off; I just KNEW all that nasty weather was going to bring about some thrush. And since I'm a procrastinator, I don't have any thrush treatment yet (I know, I know... I'm a bad horse mama). It's on order, with rushed shipping. I've been meaning to order No Thrush since I first heard about it, but hadn't had a chance yet. Now, it's kind of a necessity...
Anyway. We played online again, as I don't really want to ride her until her feet are better, and our relationship improves again, but instead of staying in the arena, we went for a little walk. My game plan was to go down the trails with her online, but that didn't go so well when I saw how over grown the trails got. It became almost impossible for me to walk around thru all the foliage (and I hate bugs. I really hate bugs...) so we back tracked and took a walk up the road instead. It was good for her to get out of her comfort zone, and look at something new. She did very well, in that she stayed connected to me and responded when I asked her to do things. She never got super concerned, and we made it back alive (obviously) and then went to play in the arena. I blew her mind when I made her back thru the gate into the arena. She was looking at me all "Whaaa?! *back* up? But... it's a gate, we go forward... whaaaat???" As soon as she made it in and I turned to close the gate, there was lots of licking and chewing.
We played touch-it at the trot, which got a bit of frisky behaviour from her (Where did THAT come from? My little RBI acting extroverted, awww) and then settled down to practice our circling game. She's kinda not so good at maintaining gait/direction at the moment (maybe why we fail at follow the rail? hmm) so I played with changing direction every time she wanted to stop. I got lots of questions, and she made a real effort to connect with me. We quit when she made it a full circle without stopping.
Tomorrow I'd like to play more with circles, and possibly figure 8's.
J
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