GET IN THE TRAILER!!

The plan was to load and go to a clinic, where my boy could have his first ride.... the plan anyway.

Reality was a different story.
We had a rodeo instead.
I got it right in the hip bone, and we broke a metal buckled halter.  What didnt work??

The lip chain
The ropes behind the butt to pull in
grain
hay
pulleys
patience
time
rope halter
the buckle halter
etc

the plan?
go buy a stupid junk trailer, park it in the paddock and feed him in it... for a month. 

is there something about dawn?

My boy just hates that time of day when everything is waking up... rooster crowing, dogs barking, birds chirpin, HUGE burn pile looming in the shadows... fly mask making it hard to see, girl walking into padock with halter... He was a nervous wreck, all shivery and prancing and bolting like an idiot.  Stupid thoroughbred.  So I finally, after about 15 minutes, got him into the arena, where he immediatly calmed down and moved off pressure like a champ.  I was touching him about as lightly as i would touch an overripe peach... you know, so it doesn't bruise and leak all over??  And he was great.

He flexed his head today too with no complaint, and then when i let up on the pressure, he just left it there. 

So all in all I can't really complain... he just needs to find his happy place, instead of his flighty place. lol

An early morning, a late night...

Hy horse is beginning to bookend my day... which is good. It keeps me happy.  This morning, he was a good boy and moved off of pressure like a champ, and when I went back to work with him again after having worked the mares in rickreall, he let me put his saddle on and didn't move a muscle.  He has come such a long way! 

But...

He is still so wild and free...  If I don't take extra care to keep him grounded, level headed, and feeling safe, he has a tendency to spook.  Walking him back to his pasture in the moonlight a bat flew by and floored him.  Haunch turns haunch turns haunch turns... and he finally settled down.  If I wasn't so dang stubborn this horse would probably scare the crap out of me! 

Bring it on.

This weekend Ill be trailering him out to a clinic to work on ground driving.  He is too big for me to tackle that alone with no supervision, so the ranch in rickreall is the perfect place... maybe someone there will know CPR??  haha.

Early mornings

In the arena this morning at 5:30 am.  My horse was looking good in his saddle and blue halter.  He lunged great going to the left, but going to the right?  He flipped his lid.  Snorting, Bucking, pawing at his halter...  Its a normal thing to have a bad side, Im just glad he didn't role and try to lose the saddle! haha.

So I calmed him down and did some simple ground work with him: pulling on his stirrups, disengaging his butt, working off pressure...  He did much better.

After work, I went out to Rickreal and worked the paint mares.  Magu did excellent!  Jewel is coming along great on the ground as well.  She even trotted to me when I entered her padock with a halter!!  What a difference!!!

Back in McCleay at 9 pm to feed my gorgeous thoroughbred.  I stood in the moonlight and gave him his hay and grain as his little "girlfriend" looked on jelously.  (Dixie is a pretty little mare that pastures next to my gelding). 

Thank God for horses, their unending willingness to learn, please, and connect. 

Saddle Day!!

My horse put his saddle on today, all buy himself! haha.  He only tried to kick at the cinch a few times, and then he was fine.  I lunged him with it on, and he walked and trotted with it on.  He did great!  I little champ!  He is doing so well!  Other things we accomplished today include:

1.  Picking up his front feet for "inspection"  :)
2.  Letting me brush his whole body, including hind quarters
3.  I braided his tail
4.  More space between him and I (especially while lunging)
5.  Side passing on the ground


And so much more  :)

Here is a little video of him walkin' with his saddle  :)

Training Day 4 and RODEO

Another good day of training.  And after we went out to the Clackamas County Rodeo.  Sat right by the barrel chute and watched hell fly! 
After, we got shmammered and nursed the sickness, but it didn't help. 

Here is a picture of my baby... Thought you might like to see. 

Training Day 3

My horse stepped up onto a wooden bridge, ate his first apple, comes when he is called and gave me a big whopping kick right in the shin.  Thats right.  He kicked me.  Damn it hurt.  Now the outside of my body matches the inside of my heart.  Stupid hurt. 

So what did I do?  I didn't fall over, make a sound or anything.  Cowgirls don't cry.  We just kept working.  And working.  And working.  This gelding is gonna be the best dang horse alive when I'm done with him!!!  So there you stupid hoof in the shin! 

But anything accomplished is still one thing accomplished, right?

1.  He picked up his feet and stood on the wood bridge
2.  He mirrors my feet and does cross overs with me, both directions
3.  He mirrors my feet trotting and walking
4.  The back up signal is getting better - nowhere near perfect though
5.  He comes when called

When I finally took my boots off at the end of the day, I had a bruise the shape of a hoof on my shin, two bloody toes, and so much dirt on my face I looked tanner than a hawaiian in July. 

Training Day 2

We started the day walking around outside, trotting a bit, practicing WHOA... My horse struck at me, so we practiced the "back" signal, but he is pretty much turned off of that thanks to Bi-otch's little stunt yesterday.  So...  We went inside the arena, worked with a big ball, a barrel, a step stool, and lots of other things.  My boy did great. He only stepped on my boot twice!  (OUCH!) 

What did we acomplish today??

1.  built a lot of trust today
2.  He took his de-worming meds like a champion
3.  Continued spacial awareness
4.  intro to stepping up onto things (a wooden bridge)
5.  Playing with his tail
but here is the big one:
6. I stood on a step stool and layed over his back.  He just stood there like a lamb!

Its hard to believe how far he has come in 2 days!  From ground zero to a solid start.  Its great.

As for me?  I'm doing all right.  I keep myself busy.  I'm looking forward to the rodeo this weekend.  I'm looking forward to the look on certain peoples faces when my horse can cut in no time at all.  I'm still hurting.  Bad.  You know its bad when music even hurts to listen to.  That never happens to me.  I get that sinking feeling deep deep inside.  But my horse helps.  He depends on me, and I depend on him.  We really are great together. 

Training Day 1

Today was a very eventfull day.  Besides arguing the crap out of the Progressive insurance claims representative (who won't pay me to cover damages on my truck) I had a decent day working with my new horse.  Considering we started at 7 am and he was completely green (Im talking no experience with a lead rope, brush, water on his feet, NOTHING) we ended the day having accomplished the following:

1.  respectfully walking on a lead roap (no crowding)
2.  Haunch turns from ground level
3.  Moving away from pressure
4.  Familiarity with brushes, combs and water
5.  Comfortable in cross ties
6.  a solid WHOA!! 
7.  Follow the leader walking and trotting
8.  A full circle around me, while I'm standing still
9.  backing up off of hand signals
10.  Squaring up front feet
11.  moving away from pressure on hind legs
12.  playing with a large exercise ball (He had the thing bouncing off his head, shoulders and side with no trouble) 

And lots more.....

But then a lady came in and tried to tell me what to do with MY horse and she grabbed him, shanked him and backed him up with force, no hand signals, and my gelding flipped his lid and regressed a TON.  So... I hope tomorrow will be a decent recovery day of the above mentioned skills??

Stay tuned for his training updates to come!  He is a beautiful, talented beauty!

As for my heart, its lonely and really down in the dumps.  The horse helps, but not enough.  :( 

Funny how just one voice can make the whole day amazingly good... just one call. 

Yesterday was peachy... in the afternoon.  LuMagoo did good during our "neck reining" practice.  She was crossing over, side passing and even doing some decent haunch turns.  :)  YAY!!  Hopefully she will be ready for a show soon?  Her trot is like a frickin dream, so I am thinking the walk/trot competition? Now if I could just get her to relax her head and give to the bit...  then we will be ready  :)

What else?  I had a really awsome morning.  Can't say why, but I did.  It was like a breath of fresh air, I laughed, I was happy, I was relaxed...  And then after, I cried like a baby.  So - back out to the ranch this afternoon to patch me up again.  Are you ready LuMagoo?  Because my little heart needs a horse to love on, and you need your butt kicked.  :) 

So, its wed. but its my friday because vacation starts tomorrow (woohoo!).  I hope and pray its a good vacation... over a week... i hope i find something to do!!!

Last night I had a dream.  I was walking into a church that had an underground section.  The walls were white marble and the floor was cream with gold flecks.  I turned left down a corridor and walkd into a separate room.  My eyes went from the floor to the other end of the room where a small couch had been placed against the wall.  I walked towards it, and after a few steps, I realized it was Granpa Walt lounging in the counch, just the way I remembered him.  He had on a white undershirt, jeans and his tan socks.  He was holding a tiny baby, wrapped in a white blanket.  The child was so small, a premie, tucked right into the crook of his right arm snuggled between his barrel chest and his elbow.  Granpa Walt smiled at me and I ran to him and gave him a hug.  Then he simply said, "you guys will all be all right, don't worry."  And that was it.  I woke up.  I knew right away what he was talking about, and who the child was.  All I can do is pray for that child and hope that everything goes well. 

shesh.  It has been an extremely stressful week.  A smashed up car.  A friend dying.  A difficult separation.  Little sleep.  Too much work.  The list goes on and on.  And now a weird dream that makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.  And its only Tuesday. 

Well, I thought I should list some good things, for my own sake  :) 
1.  Shania Twain has that really awsome song that always makes me feel awsome: "Black eyes Blue Tears".  Yeah, I listened to that song about 100000000 times, and it came on today while I was driving to work.  It was awsome.
2.   Im going down to look at a horse probably Saturday, so that should be fun.
3.   We had corn on the cob last night.  Awsome.
4.   My vacation starts on Thursday.  (That could be good or bad, dependig...)
5.   I have an awsome tan going on.  :)

So there are 5 things to remind myself that life is good.  And it really is.  Besides, it was really cool to hug my Granpa.  :)

When I was little, Nana and I used to make jam and pie and anything else we could think of.  So today, I was feeling down and kind of lost, so I went for a long walk all over this farm and looked for blackberries. I picked enough for a big pie and then got to work in the kitchen. This house used to be Nana's house, and while I  was working, I could almost see her, all four feet eleven inches of her, on the other side of the kitchen cleaning the berries, or shaping the lattice dough.  I remembered how she would leave a trail of berry juice on the counter, and how we would giggle about the dumbest things, or eat more than we cooked.  It was a great memory, but it left me missing her more than anything. 

Sometimes you just can't get over it, you know?  Everything reminds you of a good thing, but then the good thing reminds you that it isn't a part of your life any more... just a memory.  Like Nana.  And that hurst.

I had a great time today working out in Rikreall.  It will be an adventure thats for sure.  Will be learning alot, and hopefully will be contributing alot as well.  On my way out there though, I had another hiccup.  I got rearended.  My beautiful 4runner took one for the team, and now needs a good bandaid.  :(  Sorry little toyota...  hang in there and please don't get totaled!!!  (cross my fingers)

As for how I'm doing today - I could be better.  It hurts to say the least, to be so close, and yet so very far away.  It hurts to know that there is nothing I can do.  I am the kind of person that fights for change, makes a difference, solves problems... and now this.  There is nothing i can do but wait.  And I don't wait well.  I wait really badly actually. 

1.By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
2.I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
3.The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?

-song of songs 3:1-3

You know that feeling you get when you wake up and for that split second, everything is as it was in your dreams?  For a moment, you are content, at peace, and then the world rushes in... You remember.  You realize that you woke up, and reality hits you like a brick.  No matter how hard you try to go back to sleep, you just can't get away.  Thats what happened to me this morning. 

Good things come when we least expect them... and so do bad things

Found out today that a friend of mine hung himself in a tree in his back yard.  They found his body hanging there, and cut him down.  No one knows why he did it.  No one know what pushed him to it.  It hit me like a knife.  It stabbed me, kicked me while I'm down. 

Its day one, and I'm drowning.  My heart is aching.  My lungs are under water.  My face says "Hello, how can I help you? Please come it!"  But my eyes say, "when will this be over?  When will I know?"  And my heart says, "Hang on... for the love of God, HANG ON." 

What else could go wrong?   Yeah, it sucks, but I got up this morning and took a shower and felt good.  I ran last night and kicked my own butt - tried to make the heart pain go away by making the knee pain come back.  It worked until I stopped running.  Then they both hurt like hell. 

So then I tried to sleep, but I could not.  So I pulled out my Bible, and read, and read, and read and read.  It helped, a little.  I finally fell asleep with my head plastered to Psalm 131, and I woke up in the same spot two hours later.

So where does this leave me?  At the end of day one.  But I was taught to always end on a positive note, so here it goes:  Tomorrow I'll be heading to the ranch in monmouth to work with some green horses, which should at least distract me for a little while... right?  RIGHT?? 

One down.  13 (or so) so go.