Walking on Cloud Nine!

AMAZING!!! No other word can describe the feeling I had yesterday while riding (really riding) my 2 year old, Cody. I am sure some of you can relate to my experience. Jenn has done an amazing job. She is so patient with these young horses. It is really cool to watch. Don't get me wrong, when push comes to shove......it is the horse that will get the shoving! Jenn doesn't let these little ones get away with anything.

Riding Cody yesterday put a permanent smile on my face for the rest of the week. He was so compliant. No pressure, no bootin' him, no fighting with him. He was so soft and supple. Of course, I have to be really focused because if I don't correct him at the exact moment, he will try to wander. Jenn taught me so many "training techniques" that I sometimes feel it is information over-load but every session I remember something new. He is so different from riding Cheyenne. Cheyenne is great too but in a whole different way!

Photos of me and Cody in action to come later!

BOOT CAMP

My heart was aching for days until earlier this afternoon when I got the best news, EVER!!!! Cody is finally getting it. Meaning, he has finally figured out that life is more fun when you follow the path of least resistance. I am so elated. Given this information, it looks like Jenn will soon be working more with Cody from a different angle....in the saddle!

I think this calls for a toast! A toast to both Ian and I for creating a monster and especially to Jenn McBride for bringing him down a notch or two. There is still hope for me and Cody to ride into the sunset afterall!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Jenn also said he is a really nice mover. I love Cody!

Major and Leanne - Best Friends

This is what I hope to be able to do someday with Cody.....ride him!!!!!! Cody is being such a brat these days. Surely he must be tired of looking at his stall wall by now?????

The best ride ever!!!!!

I had the most amazing ride on my mare, Cheyenne last night. I had a perma-grin on my face afterwards. Jen's little corrections and new techniques that she showed my the other day helped enormously. Cheyenne and I had a great time.

It's funny because so of the things she corrected me on were stupid little things but if you don't have a teacher/coach remind you then your riding technique has a tendency to slide a little especially given that I do not compete and I ride simply for the pleasure of it. This is ironic because not all my rides lately have been pleasurable on Cheyenne.

Another little insight that I had recently was thanks to a book I have been reading called Cesar's Way from Cesar Millan. He is a "Dog Whisper" and writes about understanding and correcting common dog problems. The interesting thing is I have been using it more to understand my horse more so than my two dogs. It is all about being the leader of the pack. By doing so, your animal leads a more healthier life than if you let him/her walk all over you....and trust me, once you read this book, you soon realize that in some way your animal has been the leader of pack on not you, the silly human!

I can't wait to get an update from Jen and Cody's progress (I am thinking positive!). No news is good news? I hope this is the case.

My heart aches - Cody goes to Camp!

As Kathy, from Bridewood Farms would say "Oh My God!!!". What a weekend. Nervousness, sadness, excitement, happiness. I think I went through every emotion possible. And it wasn't early signs of menopause. Where to begin?

It was a typical Saturday morning at MoorMair Acres....until a big scary truck showed up pulling a horse trailer. Kathy, owner of Bridewood Farms and Jen, trainer, had the exciting task of loading Cody onto the trailer. This was a first time experience for Cody. The first 20 minutes was pretty typical. Lots of snorting, sniffing and waiting. I am truly amazed at how much patience and true horsemanship this two ladies have. Thoughout the whole experience, there was no bribbing the horse, there was no pulling the horse, there was no beating the horse into submission and there was no letting the horse get away with avoiding the issue at hand. The last being the most common problem have when loading a horse. The techniques used on Cody were simply common sense.

Unfortunelty Cody is not a stupid horse and that is when the excitment began. After the first 20 minutes, Cody decided that he didn't really want to move forward and onto the trailor. At this point, the issue was no longer that he was exploring this new thing that was in front of him. The issue became that he didn't want to move forward when the handler asked him to do so. This is when all the fun started and at last, Cody's first lesson. Move forward when the handler tells you to move forward...not backwards, not sideways...FORWARD! It is not that he didn't know how, it is that he did not want to do it when he was asked. This my friends can become an issue because if you can't move your horse forward when you ask and on your terms then how are you to do it when you are on his back. Simple as that!!! Your not. You will have a horse that will do what you say on his terms never on your terms. So one day you will ask something different and WHAM! wake up call!! You are in a situation whereby the horse is deciding what goes when, where and how.

The biggest insight into that whole experience that day was that unless the horse has excellent ground manners then there is no point in even getting on him. Example, you may think by leading your horse to and from the pasture everyday that this is leading him...NOT. It is not until you start pushing his buttons (making him go where you want him to go, etc.) that you soon realise, as does the horse, who is really leading who. I have only ever seen this type of training in the Western world. Simply amazing. All the crazy work is done on the ground so when it comes time to mount the horse, generally it is smooth riding. The more issues you work out on the ground the safe the horse becomes in every other aspect.

You might be asking yourself, "but he is just a baby"....yeah, that maybe the case but he is a 1000lbs baby and I weigh 130 lbs. So these issues need to be worked out now!! Whether I like it or not. I don't particulary like to be drag across the field when Cody feels he wants to go in another direction. He is not responding to the pressure. We are not dealing with a puppy that you can put in your handbag or that pulls you while you take him for a walk (and by the way that also is a form of dominance!). We are dealing with an animal who's first response to any given situation is fight or flight. You can't say "oh silly horse, why did you barrel into me, knock me over, and brake my ribs". They don't understand that. You have to teach it to respect you ALL the time. There are many. many little things that we let our horses get away with because we think they are cute. In fact, whether it be leading issues, or stomping a foot and brushing his head on your body, these are all forms of dominance.

Given that Cody has the "spoiled brat syndrom", it is going to take alot of tough love but in the end I am going to have the best and the safest horse to ride.

I can go on some more but I will leave that for another day given that was his first lesson and we had not even made it to Bridewood yet! Later I will write about my first "turn-up" lesson on Albert (Cody's dad) and Cody's first offical lesson at the Bridewood Farm (that is a whole other story!). I am very excited to learn the new riding techniques Jen picked-up in Texas. Basically, once your horse learns these techniques, it is your horse doing all the work and not your legs. Got to love to KISS (keep it simple stupid) princliple!