Super hilarious video

Someone posted this on the savvy club forum - and it so reminded me of how we have these dreams of owing and riding and quite often they end up like this... and most people just carry on like these two do and convince themselves they are still loving every minute - but as Pat Parelli said 80% of people give up on riding in the first 2 years (after getting their first horse)..as their dreams turn into frustration. But not before many instructors and artificial aids...

Thank goodness I found Parelli is all I can say!!

Dinner time

It was a really stormy night last night and finally now it's settled so I fed the boys earlyish - look how brave Coco is now. Next step is to shut his yard gate as well. The boys survived the night fine, the barrels had gone walkabout (one all the way into the orchard - goodness knows how it got through two lots of electrobraid! Maraschino and Garbo both have a slightly runny nose so I have upped their garlic. I have been inside watching Savvy Club videos of the online self assessments today (Pat's version). I think I could pass L3 online looking at them. Definitely L2 (and plus I don't have a 45ft rope yet so maybe I'll buy one (and another 22ft - then I can do the long reins parts too.) at the SCC) online anyway and L2 Liberty I would say (except I don;t have a round pen). So that's cool... of course I ahve a few things that I think - hmm I would have to really set that up for success before turning the camera on!

Ride somewhere new

We went out for a ride today - to a farm in Kaukapakapa (pr. cow coppa coppa)... a friend of Michelle's runs a horse farm out there (lots of wee foals and Mums)...

We arrived and I saw two fat pigs in the same area the float was parked. Garbo saw them and kind of froze so he rushed off the float a bit, but after a few stares he was fine about them.

I took my bareback pad and hackamore and we went for a big ride - for about an hour in a big green paddock - it's about 3 acres big I guess. Garbo seemed keen to carry on around the farm (through the gates at the far corner of the paddock). We mainly walked with a few steps of trot every now and again for me to practice.

He loaded like an angel by the way - we had our hack with Shadwick the clydie 5 year old that Michelle rode. He's very cute.. but I didn't take any photos - sorry!

No no photos of the farm, the clydie or the pigs!

Garbo seemed reluctant to go home after meeting his new friend, but he loaded and off we headed home again to see how Maraschino was. George said he called out a bit in between eating and a couple of spurts of trot to and from the gate and the clay pile. But all in all he was fine.

I hope the walk today was good for Garbo's back - I didn't use the saddle for that reason. He seemed very happy and was very calm considering it was a new place - with pigs!

Forest today

Today was the first day there has been no humans home to watch over Maraschino while I went out. But we had some more seperation training on Friday and he was pretty good then - still I couldn't help but worry but knew I needed to do it sooner or later.

So I made up some food for Maraschino and Coco and after I loaded Garbo (he went on perfectly with me outside the float - no carrot stick either), I went back to the wash bay and Maraschino had spotted the food buckets so could not care less that Garbo was on the float!!

I took the buckets out to them and off we went.

This is the entrance to the horse park, just inside the locked gate where we drive in.


These are what the majority of the tracks look like.

There were quite a few people there but Garbo was pretty laid back. We saddled up and got on and headed off on a new track - it was quite hilly and had deep sand. At one point Critey and Garbo got a bit of a fright when they heard a logging truck (they are logging at the moment), Critey did a 180 followed closely by Garbo - I just grabbed one rein and turned him back the other way, and they both carried on.

Garbo checking to see if there were any more carrots while we were getting ready.

Ready to go!


Garbo was a bit tired today and by the end of the ride he was ready to stop, I think a mixture of the tracks with the deep sand and the higher humidity.

I was pleased I didn't get too worried about the logging trucks when they could hear them as I was worried about coming across one.

Off we headed home after Garbo had a big roll in the sand and a wash down. And an apple of course. This is the drive to the locked gate form the horse park - that's Critey...


Coming down our road I was looking out for Maraschino but I couldn'r see him. Good sign I thought. I backed the float into it's spot, and unloaded Garbo (all that noise) and headed for the gate before Maraschino even looked up from grazing. Yay.

I am a bit sore today -it was quite a long ride. Just tired I think. It was nice feeling nervous (too much) about going to the forest - although last night I hooked up the float and couldn't get the electric brakes working and the little voice inside my head was telling me it was a good (truthful) reason to cancel. But I texted George in Cairns and he gave me a few ideas and I got it going.

Moving closer

But not literally.

I have been doing what Pat and Linda always say - do the opposite of what your horse expects and blow his mind. So instead of trying to get Coco to take carrots from my hand I have been putting them in one spot and walking away. Apart from that I really just ignore him and chat to him if I am walking past. I am not focussed on touching him, or getting the weeds out of his mane, or his halter off... as I was in the first month, just doing everything but.

This has worked wonders - he now comes up quite quickly when he sees me - to a safe distance. But in the last few days he has been getting closer and closer to the other two when they have been in their yards. So two nights ago I got him a baby bucket for some mini dinner at night with the big boys. Last night I put the bucket in the entrance of the third yard, and tonight, in the yard - just a little way. He came straight in, and I ducked under into Maraschinos yard. Here he is eating with the big boys.

Initially I thought he was not interested in humans at all but I now think he is - think (as Cilla says) that he would like to be my friend - he just does not know how.

They are all getting on really well now which is good.

Gazebo

I have the boys grazing some of our topsoil pile for about an hour a day. They love it because it's full of yummy weeds and also it's really good for them as they have to negotiate tight spaces, steep banks and sometimes eat with their front feet quite alot higher than their back - kind of like being on a pedestal. They are both getting more confident going up and down this bank you can see now.

I got this gazebo for $24 and decided to put it up for us to sit in the shade and also to use for float training preparation for Maraschino.





Maraschino was in the same area while we were erecting it and he ran away a few times, but soon enough he was coming over to see if I had any food while I was sitting under it.

I didn't get it completed till evening and then the wind got up so I took it down soon after, it's not ideal as it has guide ropes to anchor it on each leg so don't think it's completely right for horses...

Introversion - has many subtle signs

Maraschino is a real mystery. He is RB/LB Introvert. Definitely introvert. Alot of the time LB but sometimes very RB. Very curious, very mouthy.

Anyway - today I was playing on the 22ft line with him - he is still very wary of the savvy string and of the rope. I asked him to follow me while swinging the CS and savvy string from side to side and there was slack in the rope most of the time. He kept a close eye on it though and his head high.

I asked him to circle and he did at a slow walk.

I asked him to go over a jump - his legs are so long he can just step over it but he caught his back legs on it and got a fright but recovered well. I asked him back the other way and he picked up his back feet. Then he looked sleepy again - as he does when we play. His eyes start closing like he is falling asleep (like babies do when they are fighting sleep)... this time I sat down under his head and waited. It was about 5 minutes and he finally yawned a few times and then started to lick all the suntan lotion off my shoulders and neck.

LOL I tried swinging the savvy string and carrot stick behind me while I was walking, like Pat did with the RBI in the January DVD, with it casually swinging over the horse, and it hit him on the rump and he jumped! Hmmmm... Pat made it look so easy!

Garbo and I did a bit of liberty and I took him for a graze away from Maraschino since they had not been seperated for a few days. Garbo couldn't back into his yard today, unless I sent him in first and yo yoed him in and out one step at a time. Once zone 5 is clear though he can't back up straight again.

Posing

I was trying to video some liberty and Garbo decided to pose for the camera rather than do anything else.

I kept it though so you can see Maraschino in the background. He was playing with Garbo's lead rope (22ft) and halter and it chased him!

27 degrees today!