All horses deserve, at least once in their lives, to be loved by a little girl

Wow, its been a long time!! This weekend was my first time out to Little Patch of Heaven in about a month, and it was awesome. I tend to forget how happy horses make me when i dont spend time with them for a long amount of time. This weekend was filled with fun and learning. Mariah holds play days once a month now so there was one on saturday and one today, i slept over saturday night so i could do both days (: So i will talk about one day at a time.

Saturday

I got there around 8am and helped Mariah feed up, then she asked me to groom some of the horses, while i was grooming Breeze she fell asleep, they were all so dirty. Then after i had finished i tacked Bebe up and we went down to the play area, which is new at LPH. There is two bigggg logs and a round corral and about 20 smaller logs that are set up like trotting poles. Then lots of cones and green balls. We worked with traveling circles and he jumped both logs, i have never seen a horse that likes jumping like he does. Then we did some stuff with the poles, and bebe backed over all of them! Then we went into the round corral and did some liberty, i did circling game at the walk and trot, with change of direction. He did really well, Mariah said he gets kind of unconfident at liberty, but he had his head low and lip hanging the whole time so i was happy. Then i sat down in the middle and he came trotting over and lowered his head down, he was about to lay down when the people arrived for the play day. One girl brought her little black mini, he was adorable. Then i hopped on Bebe, and we rode and rode and rode and rode. He was awesome so Christian and i went on a few trail rides and then we let them go and we galloped around for a while. It was SOOO much fun, Bebe is so speedy haha. Then we came back and jumped the logs and i hopped off. I went and grabbed Breeze and we worked on sideways and traveling circles, she was really good. Then i hopped on and we did sideways and backed up over the small logs. Then Christian offered to let her and Reina (he was riding her) gallop up the pasture, of course i accepted that offer…after asking her to canter i realized who i was riding…an ex racehorse. I trusted her though and she galloped extremely fast, but the best part is i was relaxed the whole time. We cooled down then hopped off and cleaned up, then we went inside and watched some of the new levels DVDs then i fell asleep. Oh and on our trail ride we went through the lake (: i didnt get wet though because we went through the shallower part, it came up to my boots.

Sunday

Today, we woke up and ate french toast haha. Then we went out and fed the horses, i went and grabbed Bebe and Breeze and Starsky. I led them all up at the same time and they all did so well. Starsky is  like a different horse since last time i was there, he is doing soo well. Then i cleaned up a little and the people arrived, when they got their horses off the trailer the first one i noticed was Bo. He is a 14.3 gelding and they are not quite sure what his breed is but i am pretty sure he has some haflinger in him. Anyway i spent a while grooming Mr. Sleepy (Bebe) and tacking him up. Then i spent some undemanding time with him and played some games and did a few patterns, then i hopped on and we hung out in the play area for a while. Then i saw Bo’s owner having a hard time getting him to jump the log. They were new to parelli and i realized that his owner kept asking him to trot and he wouldnt just let him go, so i thought hmm maybe i can try. His owner was getting frustrated and more than willingly handed him over to me. All i can say is i will never ever forget that horse, as soon as i got the line i knew i would like him. He had a past and had some stuff, he would go from extreme LBI to extreme RBE but i spent a long time with him. By the end he was cantering over the logs and cantering to me. Then i introduced the figure eight to him and he got that instantly, when i was finished i went back to his owner and he said to me ‘Wow, how old are you again?’ when i told him i was 14 he said to me ‘you did so well with him, i have never seen him act like that he was so focused on you and he wasnt trying to pull away from you or anything, you could take him so far, you dont by any chance want a horse do you?’ i was so shocked but i couldnt accept the offer. That was such a great compliment to hear and left me smiling all day. He also said how he knows now its not his horse its him and hes not going to give up on Bo. Anyway, then i hopped back on bebe and we went on a small trail ride and investigated some pigs haha. Once we were finished i took Bebe back up to the barn did some undemanding time for about an hour. He rested his head in my lap and fell asleep, it was really hard for me because my mom recently said how she doesnt think i can go out to LPH anymore because of the long drive. Even though i have only known Bebe for a few months, i love him, i really do, he helped me get through things when i moved here. Its so hard for me to say goodbye to horses that i love. Oh and one of the people at the play day came up to me at the end and said to me ‘have you ever heard the saying ‘ all horses deserve, at least once in their lives, to be loved by a little girl?’ because that horse is so lucky to be with you, i can see you really do love him’

Anyways, we fed up and it was time for me to leave. This weekend was amazing, and i am pretty sure i wont forget my experiences! (:

Add a comment March 21, 2010

If its cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile..

Today was sooo cold, it was 38 out. But despite the freezing cold weather i had an awesome time!

I got out there and the horses were already fed and the chores were already done So i got Bebe out and brushed him off then took him to the arena and worked on traveling circles and the figure eight at the canter. He offered 3 flying changes!! He is so sensitive to my energy, so sensitive to anything. I worked on sending him at the walk, trot and canter and projecting my energy correctly so he understands me. Then he wanted to jump the barrels so i played around with that, then moved away from the barrels and ended up playing the cutting game without even realising it. Got flying changes with the circling game and left it there. I helped Miss. Kathy with her horse Bert, who is a HUGE left-brain introvert. Reminds me a lot of Linus when I first started working with him. Sideways for him, is wow, its like trying to move a log sideways, he was so dull. I was phase 4ing him for about 3 minutes before he even moved his foot. Finally got three steps of sideways with Bert and left it there. Then i hopped on Bebe bareback and worked on the figure eight at the trot and canter, did simple changes and then we went on a trail ride.

Put Bebe back out and he stood at the gate while i played with Sundance. Sundance is an awesome horse, so smart. Did some stuff in zone 5, backed up by the tail etc. Then played with the weave apparently at the canter. Haha, i was only asking for the trot but he started cantering doing flying changes between the cones. What a good boy?! Then i did some extreme friendly and some undemanding time, i sat on the barrel and he put his head in my lap. Went on a ride out in the pasture on sundance, by myself, gave me time to think about things. Then he wanted to play so i let him trot which turned into a canter, then he was galloping around and it felt so good. Took him back up and cooled him off.

Then i couldnt resist Bebe nickering at me, so i went and got him and took him back to the arena…i wanted to try some liberty. I wasnt sure how it would go but it went awesome again. I decided to sit down for some reason, and Bebe shocked me and LAID DOWN!!!!!!! About 3 ft away from me, so i kind of went over and sat there and he kept nudging me with his nose, so i sat and leaned against his neck and he wrapped his head around me and laid his head in my lap. I wish i’d had my camera, i had tears in my eyes, i never thought a horse would trust me that much. Then i got up and he got up, i guess he remembered playing traveling circles, lol, he started cantering in circles around me. Haha. not going to decline that offer so i went with it and we traveled all over the arena from the ball to the pedestal to the barrels. The barrels were upright but Bebe wanted to jump them so i was like okay and i got my energy up and i got all excited and he jumped the barrels, at liberty, standing upright..woo hoo!!  Then i put the barrels between us and ran back and he cantered forward, jumped the barrels and stopped right in front of me and put his nose up to my face. Then i laid the barrels back down and sat on them, he put his head on my shoulder, then i guess he got bored and put his foot up on the barrel and looked at me like ‘look what i can do!!’ haha. Then it was time to go, so i said bye and put him out, he just kind of stood there at the gate..

I had a very good day today, i will never forget those ten minutes when he laid down with me, its the best feeling in the world to have a horse trust you enough to do that. Well, thats all for this week, only a few more posts then i will be done for a month or so, while i am recovering from surgery   no ponies

1 comment December 12, 2009

You give me the wings to fly..

  Wow, yesterday was SO much fun! I am getting knee surgery december 29th and next weekend the farrier is coming, so i wont be riding for a long time…

When i got out there Mariahs friends were all still there from her 18th birthday party, so we were going to go on a trail ride. I got Bebe and put the old english saddle, the only english saddle Mariah has, with the english theraflex pad. Bebe was being kind of right-brained because of all of the nervous energy. So i took him to the arena and played some games, Mariah had previously told me his mom was a big jumper. So he was jumping the barrels and playing around with me. I worked on sideways towards me and i got that over a cone. Then i worked on circling game, with transitions and change of direction. Well i got a flying change in both directions   Bebe was left brained by the time i was done playing so i hopped on. I did the figure eight at the walk and trot then Mariah asked me if i wanted to try the figure eight trotting through the center cantering the bends. I am not used to his canter, so i asked if i couldt try cantering him on the rail first. His canter is really really up and down. I was finally used to it, so i tried the canter on the figure eight and it went well. I got it in both directions then left it there. Then Mariah asked me if i wanted to jump him, so i was like okay. So i focused ahead and he went flying over the barrels, i was like wow. Then i jumped out of the arena and jumped back in, it was amazing. Then i went and ate lunch, then i came out and cleaned stalls and swept the barn. Then i went and took Bebe to the arena to try some liberty and that went awesome!!! He was cantering with me and it felt like we were truly playing. Then i tried circling game and he was circling around me in tiny circles. Then we did sideways which went really well, so then i did some undemanding time and i sat on the barrel and he stood over me and put his head on my shoulder.

Overall  it was an awesome day

1 comment December 6, 2009

A fresh start, a natural beginning…

Yesterday was the best day i have had in a while, since the clinic. I got out there and Mariah had mentioned to me that she had a new Arabian filly she was developing. So i went over to the arena and she was teaching and stood there with her was Amira, the most precious thing i have seen in a long time. She was so little and skinny, but i could see in her eyes she was a strong little filly. This is Amira’s story…

   Amira was dropped off  at one of Mariah’s students’ house, Amira was tiny and they told them she was just 5 months old. Her name was originally Princess, but Mariah didnt like Princess so she chose the arabic version of princess and Amira had a new name. Amira had been out in a pasture since she was born but they didnt have space for her anymore so Mariah’s students family took her in, there was a problem though. They had never owned a horse, they owned cows and chickens. They knew nothing about horses and here was a little filly, never touched by human hands until now. Mariah saw her and knew she had to do something, so she spent a long time with Amira just in a stall and when Amira finally came over Mariah put a halter on her and trailered her and after what seemed like forever Amira came to Mariahs. Mariah has been working with her everyday and her confidence has approved so much. She finally trusts humans somewhat.

Well Mariah told me that Amira is still very scared around humans but i could try to spend some time with her. So i sat on the barrel and Amira walked over. From then on, all day, Amira followed me everywhere. She kept putting her nose up to my face and breath with me. I fell in love with  her and Mariah told me i could work with her every saturday, i just wish i could get out there more.

Anyway, i spent some time with Amira then went and did some chores. Then i came back to the arena and she was stood in the same spot waiting for me. I came in and she stood next to me with her head stretched up to my face. I went and got Sundance for my private lesson, i worked on my change of direction on the circling game and i worked on how i project my energy when sending him off at the walk, trot and canter. I felt so happy when i got it, because he got it right with me. Mariah commented on how is ear was always on me and she was so happy when he kept coming in with his ears up, she said its the first time he has ever had his ears up and not laid flat back against his head with another person other  than herself. He is really dominant. Then i hopped on and did some walk trot transitions, halt back-up then we did the serpentine at the walk and trot. By the end i only had to look for the bends. Then Mariah gave me free time and went over what i had to work on and what we were doing next week….simple changes! I am excited. Then we went on a bareback trail ride and i rode with Christian on Sundance. Sundance is such a LBI, while Mariah on Bert and Emily on Bebe were galloping around Sundance was jogging and walking, haha. Then on the way back up Sundance jumped the creek and galloped up the hill. It was so much fun. Then i went and spent some undemanding time with Amira girl, i was sat on the barrel and she put her head around me and tucked her nose in and started breathing on me. It was the best feeling ever, having a filly, who didnt trust humans, treat you like another horse. Then i put her halter on and she can do yo-yo, porcupine and driving. We did some lead by the leg and she was amazing she is so smart, she got that right away. Then i worked on picking her feet up and playing with her legs, they are so light and tiny. Then she put all 4 feet on the pedestal, all 4 tiny feet! haha. Then my mom came.

I learnt a lot today, Amira is going to be an amazing horse/pony. She is having the best start possible, she may not have had the best 5 months in life, but it will just get better for her. I am so excited to be a part of her while she is growing up.

1 comment November 22, 2009

All that i’m after is a life full of laughter…

I haven’t been out to the barn for two weeks now… Mariah is getting so busy with other clients who have much busier schedules than me,but can only go out on saturdays for lessons, like me. I am hoping  to get out there next saturday. If this doesnt work out there isnt many options left, but i will find a way to stay with horses. I know its not going to be easy but i need to keep trying. I was thinking maybe doing a full lease on a pony closer to my house, at a ‘normal’ barn but starting parelli with him/her. I just know that will be a lot of pressure on me. I will find something though, eventually i just have to keep at it..

Add a comment November 14, 2009

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance…

Wow, i have been soo busy. Sorry i didnt blog last night, i have had so much going on. Anyway yesterday…

I learnt SO much yesterday from the farrier, Healthy Strides farrier Fred came out to do the horses feet and while he was there he was also teaching Mariah so i was watching and learning. The difference with Healthy Strides is that when they come they watch the horse walk and they decide where the horse is putting his weight in his hoof, then they trim the part that needs it so the horse is putting an even amount of weight around his foot.  Anyway, I learnt a lot!

After watching him for a while I went and stood with Bebe out in the rain. He rested his head on my shoulder and fell asleep on me while i got warm   The farrier got there at 9am and it took him until 5pm to do 3 horses!! After we fed up i did the stalls and the trailer from Mariahs private lesson with Jessie Peters on thursday. Mariah told me i could get Sundance out to play with him and that i could do whatever i wanted with any of the horses. So i got Sundance and went to the arena, wow he was amazing, he is Mariahs levels horse and she is level 4 with him i think. First, we went and stood on the pedestal and i got him to circle around the pedestal while keeping his back feet on it. Then we played the circling game, he is a major LBI, so i was getting him to step one foot at a time then stop then one more foot. We did that for a while and he just wanted to go so i asked for the trot and he did 5 laps of the trot and then i ask for the canter and he did 5 laps and i asked for a change of direction at the canter and he gave me a flying lead change. Then i did some sideways towards me which he did really well with. I took his line off and decided to try some liberty. I was pretty amazed, i did some zone 5 driving and back up by the tail with turns.  Then i was like well i can try the circling game, he did 2 laps at the trot in really small circles around me. Then i did some stick to me at the walk, trot and canter and he did awesome.

After that, i hopped on bareback it was so much fun, we did the figure eight at the canter and follow the rail at the walk, trot, canter. I only had to think something and he would do it. Soon enough i was soaking wet so i hopped off. I took him back to the barn and then me and Christian went on a trail ride. I rode Breeze and he rode Bert. It was really fun, when we came back we went 4-wheeling and i DID NOT fall off haha, we saw some really cute tiny puppies! When we came back i didnt know what to do so Mariah told me i could take Breeze on a long relaxing trail ride around the pasture. I hopped on her bareback, and took a long ride it was so nice, i  was just thinking about everything and how excited i am for the clinic. Then i realised that since i have been at this barn i havent worn a helmet while riding…BAD BETH and i was riding Breeze a RBE bareback in an open pasture. She was being very left brained though walking and occasionally jogging. We had to go through a little ditch to get to the next section, it felt weird, haha. I am not used to tall slender horses so i was trying to stay comfortable. When i got back Mariah asked me to go play with Breeze again to get some of her energy out, she was being a LBE and with the farrier all she wanted to do was move. I  took her to the arena and did some stick to me at the walk and trot, then i did the figure eight at the walk and trot. Then we did circling with a jump there, for a 27 year old mare she can jump high!! She was jumping the big barrels at a walk. I got two laps at the walk, trot and canter and did some downward and upward transitions and change of direction, she couldnt seem to get the change of direction at first. Then she finally got it in both directions and i stopped there. I took her back to the barn and we spent some undemanding time while she ate grass and i watched her. I was amazed at what love and food can do for a horse, she was a rescue off of the track. I had this feeling that i will do well with Breeze, she is so loving, i really like Bebe, Breeze just seems right. I dont really know but i really like her. I like all of the horses here, Sundance taught me so much in such a short time, Bebe is adorable and wants to be with me, and it feels like i am getting somewhere with Breeze already.

Clinic next weekend!!!! I am super duper excited to see everybody, especially Linus. I hope he remembers me !!! haha.

2 comments October 25, 2009

I can see my dreams coming true…

I am EXHAUSTED!! A good kind of tired though, today was interesting/fun/exciting/busy. I know i am going to love it there, i already feel comfortable. A big day with a big blog entry!!

So when we got there i went inside and met Mariahs mom, they offered me breakfast (waffles, yummy) and told me to make myself at home. I was already starting to get comfortable and the nerves started to drift away. Then we went to feed up and i met all of the horses. There is Sundance (Mariahs level’s horse) he is a paint, Doc (a rescue from the Amish country) an 18hh black percheron, Starsky (a rescue with a HUGE personality) he is a bay, Taco (a mischevious donkey), Bert (Bebe’s brother) he is bay also, Breeze (dominant mare!) a sorrel thoroughbred and Bebe (very willing) he is bay too! So when we finished feeding, Mariahs AWESOME younger brother hopped on Bebe bareback and invited me to hop on with him to show me around the place. I got on behind him and we walked through the forest and around the fields, occasionally stopping to feed Bebe some leaves!! LBI, what can i say? haha. When we got back (thanks to my mom, who told them i wasnt afraid of hard work and to put me to work) i had to muck all of the stalls, it was okay though i was excited to mess with a horse. When i was done i got Bebe and braided up his tail and groomed him then let him back out again. I got Starsky on my way back in.

Mariah told me Starsky was a LBI, and to work on the figure eight, sideways game, trailer loading and circling. I started playing friendly and went to work on the figure eight, he was being so dominant on snotty, well after going through my phases to get him to move him, the string touched his butt and he snaked his head and tried to canter off away from me. After a lot of rope burn i finally got him to do a figure eight. Then it was time to do the sideways, he did really well with that. Then on to the circling, well we were in a pasture so he just wanted to eat, well i did my 1…2…3 and when it touched him he spun around and galloped off bucking back up to the barn. I went back and asked if i could go in the sand arena with him. So into the arena i went, well everytime i would send him he would spin around and take off. Finally, i said okay if you want to go, keep going. After about 7 laps of the gallop around the arena he came wandering over i was like ‘oh hey long time no see.’ which made Mariah laugh, haha. I started the circling game again and got a really good lap and called it a day. I put him back out and we went and ate lunch inside and got warm.

 Christian, Mariahs younger brother and his friend, Kyle, asked me if i wanted to go 4-wheeling with them for a while, why Mariah was teaching a lesson. So we did that for a LONG time, it was so much fun i couldnt stop laughing. I then got told i was a real girl because i wasnt afraid to get dirty, i didnt mention i was afraid of mice, HAHA! They then proceeded to tell me i was a CITY GIRL  because i was texting my Juliana while on the 4 wheeler!!! lol. We explored for a while, went really fast, over bumps and hills then went back to the barn. When i got back Mariah asked me to clean out the trailer from Lakeland. That was a big chore, when i was done we went on the ranger thing and drove around, while they laughed at me for screaming when we went through streams and over huge bumps!

When we got back Mariah told me to tack up Breeze girl, to work on her freestyle. My private lesson on Bebe was scheduled for 6pm. I got Breeze out and tacked her up in a WESTERN saddle (just for you Juliana) haha. When i took her to the arena we played the circling game, no rope-burn this time, and worked on change of direction at the trot. I did the figure eight at the trot and did some work with the pedestal. I hopped on and did follow the rail and LOTS of bending around obstacles, the figure eight, weave. Breeze gets really stiff so she needs a lot of bending. Then it was time to work on sideways after 30 minutes of not forward, not backwards, not up, she sidewaysed for me. I was super happy, we ended it there.

It was time to go 4-wheeling again while Mariah taught her next lesson. We were going really fast and i was holding on but he went over a huge bump and i went FLYING off of the back of the 4-wheeler. It didnt hurt and i couldnt stop laughing, i now have a bruise on my back. But being me i got back on and we continued to have fun. Well when i got back it was already 4:45 and i had a text from my mom saying she was coming at 5 so i couldnt have my private lesson on Bebe, but i still rode Breeze, which was fun! It was freezing cold there today!

I had so much fun, my mom is still thinking about the long ride there and back but its going well. I loved it today, i learnt so much playing with both of them! One more thing, i learnt 3 new knots today!! One for the 22ft line, the daisy chain, the one for riding in the hackamore (the one you were trying to figure out, Hannah haha) and one for tying them up in the stall!

6 comments October 17, 2009

The Start Of A New Journey

 Tomorrow, i go to Little Patch of Heaven for my first lesson day. I am going to get there at 8am and leave late-afternoon. Mariah e-mailed me saying that Pat Parelli’s farrier was coming to her barn to give her a lesson and if i wanted to go and watch. I know i will learn a lot!  I am so so so so excited… To finally play with a horse properly.

I wanted you guys to see this, Hannah made it for me and I love it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrKw74aAogQ&feature=player_profilepage    .  I will write about my day tomorrow on here when i get home

1 comment October 17, 2009

This Is Going To Be Fun…

On the way home from school today, i realised that we were going to Little Patch of Heaven tonight, i was so excited. When my mom put it in her GPS it came up as 45 minutes, my hopes dropped, we had gone from driving 2 minutes to the barn, to driving 15 minutes and now it was 45 minutes! The whole way there my mom was saying ‘Beth, this isnt going to work.’

 Anyway when we got there, i was amazed it really is beautiful there.  Mariah had her horse Breezy out, Breezy is a 26 year old chestnut mare. She told me Breezy is a RBE and has a lot of energy and that Breezy is just starting level 2 and that i would play with Breezy today. I was nervous but went along, and played with her after ten minutes Mariah left the arena, told me she was going to get somebody else. As i looked over i saw her running up the hill with Bebe, when i saw him i just stared. He is SOO pretty, he is a bay color and reminded me a lot of Mocachee. So i put my halter on Bebe, and started to savvy up my CLEAN (not any longer) string. Mariah told me, i think Bebe is better for you he is level 3. I took him over to the pedestal and he went straight on at a phase 1. He is an LBI like Linus so it was really interesting how he acted the same, ‘i have to move my feet?’ Haha. I took him over to the green ball and i kicked it, then he kicked it and played for a while. I decided to sideways him over the barrels, he went at a phase 1. Mariah told me to try the sideways towards me, i was kind of nervous because i have never done that, well after she showed me how to do it. Bebe sidewaysed right towards me He was licking and chewing the whole time!! I was so excited, the only thing was time. 

On the way home, we tried a different route and it only took 35 minutes, my mom still has to think about it though. I am hoping that everything works out and Bebe is my new partner

3 comments October 6, 2009

I Miss My Buddy

It has been about two weeks since i last saw Linus, and last night i was laid in bed and i had this feeling. It was like a feeling of sadness that came over me and all i could think about was Linus. I didnt really know what it was or why but i just got really upset about him. I had never really had the feeling that you get when you “miss” somebody until last night. Its like i need him, and i know i will meet a new partner but Linus was special. I know it sounds strange, but i told my buddy everything. When i got right brained i would talk to him and something about him calmed me down. I keep telling myself i will see him soon, but the thought of not seeing him tomorrow, or the day after upsets me. I try to stay positive but the truth is i miss him. I really do miss him. <3

5 comments September 23, 2009