My special project.......

Recently I have been committed to work with Miss.Betty for at least an hour each and every day! No matter the time of day or the activities that I work with her on I try my best to make sure she understands what I want from her!I pick five games from either Parelli or Clinton Anderson to work with her on to see how she does with each and every one. What she needs to improve on, what she is getting better at, what she has officially mastered. All of this and how she does I document in my journal for each and every journal entry! I work with her on the Porcipine Game the Yo-Yo Game the driving game and the circling game!

I have finally at least at a walk mastered the lunging game for both sides! She now every few times that I do the lunging game with her she does turn he behind to me like she wants to kick me but I soon remind her that I am her leader and that I will keep her safe and that she can trust me and nobody will hurt her! I want to start getting her to trot on the lunge line but we are not quite there yet as her bone spur after a "agressive" trimming acts up and she is lame for a couple of days. I try not to overdue it with her on days that she is having problems! Every single time after I work with her I usually get a couple handfuls of hay pellets and spray them with the Dynamite Relax spray! This helps to calm her down if she seems tense and to release all of the bad energy.

I try not to ride Betty frequently and because of her bone spur I really can't! The most I can do with her as a mounted rider is a walk, turning, reversing, stopping, reversing and all of that good stuff! That's about it! The Bone Spur's don't go away for about three to four years with the addition of "Agressive Trimming" and consistent exercise! She still needs to master the aids of a mounted rider but I have her for a long time so that probably will take some time and yes I'm okay with that!

Pole Work is also a good way to get good exercise and to maintain their brain extroverts to keep their minds busy of always thinking of what you want them to do next! By setting up the pole horizontal, diagonal, vertically, or on top of each other they have to take some time to think about it and an turn you are keeping their mind busy. By keeping things the same they get board after a while and they don't want to do anything but if you mix it up a couple times they find a way to keep themselves interested and focus more on you!

I love my girl so much and she has come such a long way from where she was when I first met her! Thanks to groundwork and connecting through that. That has given us our much needed partership and friendship!

Why the rush to ride?

What have you done with her? Did you ride her at all this evening? How long did you ride? Yes, most of these questions passes by me most of the time that I spend time with Miss.Betty. A lot of people ask me why are you not riding her, how much training have you given her under saddle. Well the answer that I have to all of these questions is WE HAVE TIME. Betty is only eight so I have her entire life ahead of her to do whatever I please with her. There are some moments where I do think that I should be riding her but I also think that instead of getting right on and riding her I need to build that trust with her first. I need to be able to connect with her on a deeper level instead of just getting right on and riding her away into the sunset. Being able to communicate with your horse from the ground first plays a impact for how you will be "in touch" with your horse while you are in the saddle. If you don't have a good relationship and respect of leadership on the ground than you can forget riding. Most people don't think about stuff like that, they just think about the basics. Every single evening even for at least 15 minutes or even for 30 minutes I try to do at least five Parelli Games with Miss. Betty. Taking the time to do each game very carefully, by being patient, and loving. These are the games that I practice with Betty every single night. The Yo-Yo Game, the Friendly Game, The Porcipine Game, The Circling Game, and most of all playing with the Equine Ball and practicing her soccer skills! Each game usually lasts for about five to ten minutes depending on how good and how familiar they are with these games they should do extremely well! The art of lunging and desensitizing games are also extremely useful as well (it helps them towards trail riding). If you have an empty feed bag, grocery bag, or tarp these things should do great in desensitizing your horse to loud and scary noises and objects!

Every single time that I work with Betty Boo I always write in my training log for her to keep track of what I did each and every day, what I am going to be doing tomarrow. What she could improve on, what she is getting better at, what I will work with her on next time. This seems to help me in seeing how she has been improving over the years and what she still needs to work on for the next couple of months. Keep checking out my blog for updated posts and more!