Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Running

So, Nathan took me on another run this morning. At first he told me 4 miles, and that was a "no". I said "no more than 2", and of course that means 2. Ha ha... It went really well, he told me to pace myself and keep it. He starts with a nice pace but then he kinda goes freestyle.

I figured out that I breath with my mouth closed, he told me to open it, I said no. He told me I sounded like "a dieing duck", I said no. I was not opening my mouth 'till the last min. I got to the mail box where you can see our house and started to cool down, then when I got to the mail box before ours, I sprinted.

Over all, I feel **pretty** good.

Toodles!

Priscilla

Monday, June 28, 2010

Thrush!!

Um!

Well so I was outside to day picking the horses feet and I noted a foul smell (but not enough to knock you over) coming from Leah and Cricket's front feet. I very quickly noted it had slowly increased in the past 3 days and I ran inside to look it up online. Yes, it was a mild and early case of Thrush!

It makes perfect sense! The rains we got in the past 2 weeks, standing in the same place for feeding every day for hours at a time. It really fits together!

This is what a mild and early case of Thrush looks like; moist/wet hooves, stinky hooves, and a small amount of blackish pasty mud in the cracks of the hoof.

No! I didn't stand around like an idiot and think, "I say! Hmm! This might be bad!" .... No, I found out how to treat it! You get a bucket of warm water and add some dish soap and vinegar, then get a hoof pick and scrub brush, get your horse and pick it's feet and without letting the hoof fall, scrub for ages until all the black comes out! AND, after all that you have to dry the hoof with a towel until **all** the moisture is gone! It takes for ever and from what I heard it still leaves a stain. Repeat for a week or till all moisture is gone.

So about where to feed, I'm going to move the hay and be sure they stand in a dry spot.

All this treatment and talking makes me feel like a hoof and horse care expert. Kinda like a doctor! . . . . Well . . . . Let this be my lesson. . . . . Clean the hooves more often and feed in dry places. Well, at least I caught it and it's all under control!

Toodles!

Priscilla

Sunday, June 27, 2010

I have **news**.... Goooooood news!

HEY!!

I have **VERY** happy news!!! I did a self assessment for Cricket and I's Liberty and we're LEVEL 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AMAZING!!!!!! There were a bunch of boxes to fill and I found I could fill **almost** ALL of them!!!!! I am TOTALLY doing a liberty audition as **soon** as I can set up a round corral!!!!!!!

HOW GREAT IS THIS!?!!?!?!?

A very Happy Priscilla and Cricket 

Friday, June 25, 2010

"Can you?...."

I'm making a list of things Cricket and I can do, not just do but the more advanced:

Friendly Game: Helicopter, vigorously slapping the ground around her, rub/touch her everywhere.
Porcupine Game: Leg yields walk and trot on a weave pattern (freestyle), drive from zone 5, flying lead changes.
Driving Game: Draw at Canter (Liberty), Reining Spins (online and liberty).

Yikes... Don't get to finish this post... ugg... gtg!

Toodles! More later... It's not about what you can do, but about how you do it! :) "Naturally"

Priscilla

PS. Comment!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Session with Leah

Hello everyone and especially, Emily!

I had a really good session with Leah last night. I haven't jumped her since January, I tried again and she was great!

This is the full story.

I went to the pen and caught her, she didn't try to run away so I just walked up slowly, asking permission the whole time. I gave her her treat and led her up to the halter.

She was VERY spooky by the time I actually got on, I had to "dismount" about 4 times. She hadn't been truly been ridden in a month or two.

I made up a game at the trot. Whenever she'd trot so fast that it would make the wind whistle by my ears, I'd stop her with one rein and turn her in a slow circle (*with feel*). She very quickly felt the need to slow and listen more. It was fun and very engaging.

After she stopped rushing the trot, we went over to the jump and sniffed it a bit and sighed. That was good, I then backed her and had her approach to sniff it, then the next time we walked up to it, she stepped over it. I asked for a trot and she willingly hopped over it. Although we didn't try a Canter, she was starting to relax and soften. She was SO Right Brain (nervous, fractious, and panicky) in the beginning. Her Horsenality is really changed in the past year, she is no longer afraid to show her opinion. She is Left Brain Extrovert/Right Brain Extrovert (willful, exuberant, mouthy/nervous, fractious, and panicky), that's really good and different.


Thank you for reading!

Priscilla

Monday, June 21, 2010

A true Horseman

"Anything forced or misunderstood, can never be beautiful." -Xenophon

How true is that?

Friday, June 18, 2010

Video Tutorials

Hey people!

I was wondering if you guys would like me to start making video tutorials? I think it would be great fun! :) You guys will just need to have questions! LOTS of them! :) So go ahead and ask! :)

Priscilla

PS. I know! Two posts in a day!

Tearing down walls

break·through


–noun

1.  any significant or sudden advance, development,achievement, or increase. 

I just realized that ya'll must be thinking every time I write a post, "Why does she always have a breakthrough every time she plays with a horse?!"-- Well, I just do. A horse having a breakthrough makes me have a break through too.... and vice-versa. 


"Come tear down these walls that I've built around my heart" - those are lines to a song by Katie Drake, I think that's what I do little by little with Cricket. 


-Priscilla Anne

Thursday, June 17, 2010

More stuff

Hey ya'll!
These are somethings I'm going to try with Cricket in the VERY near future:

Piaffe
Passage
Cantering sideways (still working on the trot)
More consistent flying lead changes
Sitting (her sitting, that is)
Next stages of lying down (she has it as far as pawing and putting all 4 feet close together)

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Incredible!!!! MUST SEE!





I edited this picture through picasa and I ended up liking it alot.
Posted by Picasa

Monday, June 14, 2010

Pirouettes?!?


As Cricket and I were doing our flying lead changes the other day, I was doing them in a zig-zag pattern, and as we came around one of the corners, she did this really collected canter turn. I had forgotten the word and so failed to post and tell you about it. Well... I figured it out!!! It was a Pirouette (half of one at least)!!! YAY!!!! AND SHE OFFERED IT!!!!

I plan to practice more of the flying lead changes and see if she will offer any more...

Toodles!

Priscilla

PS. The video above demonstrates a full pirouette.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Freestyle Audition-- not mine...


This is what I want my Freestyle Audition to look like! It's starting to... :) The side-pass is quite inspirational. :) I love it. Flying lead changes are getting better people! I got 5 more!!!!! 5!!!!!!

Toodles!

Priscilla


Sunday, June 6, 2010

Brego- Gaining weight!

Hello!
I had a small session with Brego and here's how it went:

We started with just doing a little yo-yo game and Hill Therapy, his posture is improving very nicely. Not only his posture but the speed of his canter and his mental health is great. Instead of rushing out on the circle, he trotted slowly out and I asked for a canter and he loped nicely around me. No rush! This was really nice, BTW he's a Right Brain Extrovert (tense, more "go", panicky).

After this and some squeeze game.... Oh! Squeeze game! We worked on jumping the tires then I realized he was stopping and couldn't think, I lowered the height and spread them out and he trotted nicely and hopped over! :)

Then I feed him his grain and I put the bareback pad on him. He stood still and wasn't very tense. :)

I then worked on sideways without a fence and I had him mentally engaged by the end even though he wasn't perfectly straight. Well, slow and right is better than fast and wrong, right? :)

We then proceeded to work on backing by the tail and I could see him thinking, nice. Thinking! lol. He is rather distrustful of humans around his hind-quarters so I worked on getting back there, sighing and relaxation. His yo-yo game isn't very straight when in zone 4/5 so I worked on that. He likes to just turn and face. By the time I was done he did backing by the tail really well with no tension. Abby, I congratulate you on a very nice and willing horse! Phase 1/2 is all he needs.

He is starting to do drive with one rein in zone 5 and he is really sweet! :)

Goals for the next week:

Teach him to come up to an obstacle/fence for mounting.
Have him drive (one rein zone 5) transitions; walk, trot, halt, back-up.
Get sideways without a fence really good; mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Encourage a really slow lope.
Work on getting a better squeeze game.

Ok.... Keep it natural, safe, and savvy!

Toodles!

Priscilla

xoxoxoxo

Friday, June 4, 2010

I finished feeding all the animals at 6:15. They weren't even awake yet, the horses were still sleepy. :) The dogs didn't bark much as it was early for them and they were wondering what I was doing up so early. It's so funny when you surprise an animal.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

A whole new level

Hey,
Those Flying Lead Changes I did yesterday have already opened up a whole new level of learning and communication. When I ride her I feel as though I'm actually talking to her, not in a weird way. I was out there just hanging out and touching the horses softly, I had no treats yet they all crowded (<--spelling?) around me and when I took a few steps away, they all followed. Brego was even very confident, he nibbled on my arm-- so cute! :)

I have had a cold for the past couple of days. I was feeling so very lazy and weak this morning and didn't know how to motivate myself. I went outside and even though my physical condition didn't improve, mentally I was quite a different story.

Thanks for reading...

Priscilla

xoxoxo

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

After the part Audition

Ok... So right after doing part of the online audition earlier on today, I went to the dentist. *ouch*

So the lady dentist that gets the mental pick that looks like a wire and starts scrapping at my teeth and yanking out gum with it. *yoooouch!* Meanwhile she was telling me how I need to floss by those molars (*wince*). I do floss ! Really! I do!

The doctor (it was a lady) came in and thankfully saved me but then asked me if anything was hurting and if I'm feeling ok. I very untruthfully said no. I wanted to say, "Are you kidding me?! This lady has been ripping my mouth out 'till I feel like I don't have any teeth or gums left! And then you ask me if I'm feeling ok?"....

Ok....  wasn't that bad.... Oh... I have 3 wisdom teeth, does that mean I'm smart?!!

Oh! When I got home I went out side to work with Cricket! We ended up working with circles and flying lead changes (riding). I got many circles, 3 flying lead changes, and many simple lead changes.


Toodles for now!

Priscilla

Xoxoxo

Hello Wonderful peoples!!

Hello People!
Can you guess how I'm  feeling? What do you think I just did? I'm going to pause and let you think.

Pause.

Paws.

Pa's.

Ok..... *Drum roll*..... Guessed yet?? ... Nope, nope, and nope.... (you had three guesses, and I know you were wrong).... Here goes!

I FILMED PART OF MY LEVEL 3 ONLINE AUDITION TODAY!!!!!

I did transitions and trailer loading (the harder stuff) and it went great!!! I only used 3 min and I have 7 min left to do the easier stuff.... Mommy's going to film the easy stuff and it will go well because it's a piece of cake.

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, PEOPLE!

TOODLES!

Bitty

xoxoxox

PS. *doing a happy dance!*

PPS. Wish me luck for the other stuff!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Today after an amazing session I whispered to Cricket that she is amazing. She listened. :)

She cantered a circle around me jumping all the obstacles in her path. If there was a day this week to film my level 3 online audition it should have been today. Yet.... there is also tomorrow.

Toodles!

Priscilla

xoxoxoxo

PS! It's June 1st and I do believe this is the 100th post this year!!! Hip hip--