It's OFFICIAL!!!!!!

I am officially L1 Parelli. I got my certificate and red string and pin. It means I am back in the game. Back in my life and, as only a direct line thinking predator can desire, I have something to show for it. WOO HOO! Now to tape that L2. Hopefully I won't be too hot tonight, and I can tape it again. I will tape it 10 times (not all tonight of course, 1 a day) and re-evaluate from there. Some how the fear of failure is starting to melt away. We shall see!

So Inspired

I took my mother to see the movie Julie & Julia. I was inspired. I have decided to make my blog more official. Or something like that…more purposeful. I am going to count all the tasks in the self assessments and official auditions, see how many days seem feasible to accomplish this but no more than 1yr 1mo. That will be my birthday. I am turning 40 in just 30 short days. I have been depressed about it for years. Now that it is finally here, I am not sure how I feel about it anymore. I know that I was upset that I never realized most of my equestrian dreams. I never went to the Olympics, I was never Rookie of the year in grand prix show jumping, I never rode a grand prix dressage test at Buckingham Palace. I never competed in three day eventing. Heck, I don’t even have a shelter for my horses anymore or an arena to do all these tasks in. But I do know that I am Officially L1 in Parelli. It is kind of a joke now as it was really not a test of my skills for sure, but the real accomplishment was the fact that I did get off the couch and get back into my life after a year and a half off. I am a great horse person who still has a lot to learn, but I CAN pass L4 Parelli, I just need to put my mind to it. I think it would be a real inspirational thing to do, considering how I thought I would just die if I ever turned 40. Take the whole dreaded year and make it something greater than I ever thought it could be. So that is my plan, now I just need to do the math. ICK!
Savvy On
Michelle

Old friends, New Beginnings

OMG! So much to tell since Wednesday. I can’t believe I haven’t posted since then. Shame on me! The queen of excuses...it was really too dang hot to do much! I will stick to the freestyle stuff here and then put the rest in the misc category. I gave Snookie a little break on the hill therapy and let her work on the flat for a few days. I knew our big ride was going be this weekend and didn’t want to KILL her! Also, since it was my best friend riding her, who knows nothing about horses, I wanted to do a little test drive/tune up. She was light as a feather in all the seven games and lateral flexion. Not bad for not being played with for so long. Except for yo-yo…backing has always been hard for her, but still she did it well. So, she is really starting to put good weight on…Yay! I could not tell my friend how nervous I was, for all of us. Snookie being old and prone to spooking, her knowing nothing, me and my nerves riding Rose, and Rose because it was her very first REAL trail ride. We got off to a late start and by then it was getting quite warm. We hosed the girls off first, then loaded up. Short drive to the lake. Small issue getting mounted. …Next time I will remember a mounting block! The plan was to just take it slow and respect the horses thresholds as we got to them. First one was 10ft down the trail. Stop chew weeds, 4 more steps, and so the first half hour went. Rose was in the lead, as I feel Snookie didn’t feel as confident with a non horse person aboard to take the lead like usual. Rose the brave one…not so brave. That’s ok. Took a while but we made it about 100 yards. Then the dried creek bed in the shade with berry bushes. That was a NO GO! I dismounted and led her through. Found a rock and remounted. Finally I urged my friend to take Snookie in the lead. No need to request twice. She clearly was ready to stop fiddle-fart’n around and get the show on the road. Rose immediately followed suit and both were as calm as can be. Then we got to the fork in the road, both trails lead to a switch back up a pretty steep hill. We chose the harder one by mistake and Snookie led the way. Halfway up I could see her falter and had Joni stop and we dismounted again. After we mounted back up, we enjoyed the beautiful view of the foothills. We eventually came to another steep hill and decided it was just too much for our first outing and not fair to Snookie. We headed back and of course, now headed home, the two had a steady rhythmic march. We dismounted again to traverse the switchback downhill. I knew Snookie couldn't handle it. Mounted again, and stopped in the shade and let them graze a few minutes. We made it back safely and had a wonderful time. When we started…my friend literally knew nothing about riding. Snookie took good care of her, and us of her. I survived my fear…in fact conquered it. I was terrified I would kill my best friend or my senior citizen mare. We decided we will do it again soon, but next time we will go to the other lake with not so steep hills. What a great birthday present!
Savvy On
Michelle

Testing...testing...1..2..3

I figured now that I have Snookie going and following a good evening habit, it was time to drop the excuses and get back to L2 online. Snookie can't handle Rose leaving her, and vice versa. I have been doing hill therapy in the pasture and then taking Snookie out to eat next to the fence. I had to think about how I was going to get Rose out without snookie and without the others eating Snookies food. So I figured take Rose out and let Snookie and spirtit graze while we played. Then put Rose up and feed Snookie. Yet again Snookie blasted through the gate. I was none to thrilled. But that is a lesson for another day. I told myself, for motivation purposes, I would tape my L2 online every night till I was satisfied, even if it takes a month. That takes a little pressure off of me since I get huge anxiety at shows and while taping. I play Rose a while and try a "car"pod for the camera. It was too far away, so I asked my husband to tape me. The taping went well except for I hate the way I look...trying to put those issues aside...and Rose wanted to be very close to me a few times and I had to really put pressure on to get her to move out. We did all the compulsories and a few "show your stuff" stuff. Nothing too fancy. But my husband started whining about the barbecue being left alone and I got a bit stupid. Turns out it melted the knob off...oops. My big problem was after we were done and the logistics of feeding Snookie. She was loose and since I soak her food, there wasn't time for the "soak" with her digging through it. I will have to plan that out a little better or I will never move forward, All in all it was a good play session and we even learned something new. I watched the video, not pleased with my body or my general "flow" but at least I know what I am dealing with and can plan accordingly to dress different and what areas need to be fine tuned. I can say that I am happy I am keeping a diary of all this so I can look back at my growth thru this difficult time of dealing with the fear of failure and mostly I am being held accountable.

Fun But little progress

Well, aside from the bizarre walk about on sat, Sunday was a great horse day all around. I had fun with my friend for NINE hours, delivering, picking up, picking up, delivering and bringing home a bunch of mini’s. The smallest….26”. I got car sick for a while, and we had to avert some major traffic delays, but all in all was a fun day. Saturday I did nothing with Snookie…I figured her stroll thru the neighborhood was enough for both of us. But Sunday I amped up the hill therapy. We did 10 laps each direction of walking downhill and trotting uphill. I got her enzymes in the mail…think I already mentioned it. Last night I had a parents boy scout meeting, so I couldn't’t do anything by the time I got home. Tonight I am gonna try really hard to play with both Snookie and Rose tonight, but the farrier is coming for Rose So I may get cheated out of it again. I have to have help trimming feet…my back is killing me, and Rose is the biggest PILL for me. Not bad, my back just can’t take her right now. Once the farrier is done I will be able to keep up on her feet in a matter of minutes with the power grinder. Since Hill therapy is #1 priority, as it the first step to riding again and passing L2 Freestyle, Snookie gets the play time first for a few weeks.
Savvy On
Michelle

Avoidance is like a drug!

I need a patch or something. So even though I have made it out there every day for Snookie...I only played with Rose once. Ya, there was back to school night, my sister came in from Arizona, it was hot, I was tired, some really good reality TV...but the reality is...I was avoiding. Hmmm. At least the first week of hill therapy is over and we made progress. Now I suppose I shall play with Rose tomorrow whether I want to or not. Gonna be hard. Lots of excuses. Going to see a horse with a friend and sons first soccer game of the season. But I know I am going out of town with a friend on Sunday to pick up and deliver two horses. I can feel the comfort of my couch cushions gently caressing my behind and telling my rump love stories to keep me there. Maybe I can tape a couch pillow to my arm as a patch. LOL. That would at the very least be a good friendly game with my RBE! Wish me luck and sweat...it's gonna be a scorcher.
Savvy ON
Michelle

3 big steps for horse, one giant leap for Freestyle

Hill therapy...today she actually took some BIG steps, about 12-15 inches in stride with the hind, going downhill to the right. They have been mostly been 4-6 inches. We always start to the left as I want her to have the warm up, joints lubed, before we go to the right. It was after 10 laps, she just went for it. I have been really watching how she moves, what muscles are engaged and when. The level of her head...almost to the ground at times.....and the best of all...all her licking and chewing. I don't know what it is that she is "digesting". All I am doing is standing in the middle and making sure she is moving. How she travels is totally up to her. I watched the top of her neck grow out of her withers today while going uphill, so round and "on the bit"....dressagy term...Then during her bath, I gave her a massage while she ate. I felt these new muscles behind the scapula and also on the hip. Cool! I got her enzymes in the mail today...yeah! Riding is just a hop skip and a jump away!Savvy ON

Hill therapy breakthrough

Last night was a big breakthrough in the hill therapy. She made it 15 times each way. Good girl Snookie. I was really studying her body afterward while she ate. I gave her a half bath…top line only…and felt some new muscle development, and a bit of fat pad on her side right about where the saddle and girth meet. I think I will add a little more food, now that she is used to the extra feedings she is getting. Can’t wait for our trail ride and my special Freestyle audition. Don’t want to spill the beans and then not be able to do it. But I am working on the plan in my mind. Great fantasy at the least.
Savvy On

HMM How interesting

So I start off the night making Snookie's food and meeting her at the gate. She saw the carrot stick and walked away but came right back. Rose and Spirit are far away. I halter her and we walk down the hill. We start off to the left as we have been and added 2 laps totalling 12. Rose and Spirit narrowly close to watch the alpha be my minion. Snookie's circles take an egg shape as she gets close the the others. Small rest near Rose before we change direction. Turn to the right and proceed with a small..."I'm old, I don't think I can do this today" protest. I assure her that she can proceed and aim her toward the rock free path down the hill. She stops again and looks at me..."are you sure I have to do this?"....I assure her that YES she does. One lap complete and yet another question on the down hill path. "lick chew, lick chew..NO" I reassure her that even though she is old...she will not die from this. 3 laps down...I get the "let's see if she is really serious" look. YES I am serious....please keep walking. I don't want to be down her tonight either...so let's do 5 more and we will call it quits. 4 more laps down..now totalling 7. No sooner do the words..."one more" leave my lips...when something up the hill causes Rose to take off in the only way an LBE can......SQUEALING AND LEAPING. All of a sudden my "I can't make it another lap" senior citizen has an RBE moment and is careening around, in the only way an RBE can...."I don't care if I break my legs in the process...I will not be left to die alone" 1lap, 2laps, 3 laps 4....I lost count... could be more!...lots of dust and rope wiggling and back to something resembling a non right brain horse makes a lap that is walking, thinking, licking and chewing again. As we walk up the hill toward the gate, I turn to her and say..."I thought you couldn't do any more?" She replied..."Ya well...where's my grain". We walk thru the gate and I notice my wonderful husband was tearing out the broken door jam of the garage and making horse eating monster noises. Thanks hun. She is definitely getting stronger just 3 more days and I am changing to a spot where she can trot. I plan on riding Saturday and Sunday at the walk.

Hill therapy day 3

Wow…this is starting to work. Last night she went, 11 laps to the left and then 7 to the right. I could tell that was it for her. I can really see a difference in the way she is starting to move her body. At first she was really pulling herself up the hill with her front end now she is starting to push more from behind and even take some bigger steps. She has always been a little more short strided with the right hind, so when her left hind touches the ground going uphill, I kiss a little to ask her to push a little harder with that leg, to help her take a longer stride with the right. She is licking and chewing every time she gets to the top of the hill. I am patient and let her stop sometimes on the downhill. She gets all four feet square under her then starts again. She is cute and does ask me. The look says…”hey I’m old, do you mind if regroup?” I think it is helping our relationship as I think she is aware that I care about the fact that she is doing the best she can and I don’t push her. Since she knows she doesn’t get her evening gruel with out a therapy session, she is still waiting at the gate for me. That makes me happy that she hasn’t decided to head for the back of the pasture. It must not be that bad in her mind. I re-read the Parelli hill therapy outline and decided to stick with the walking for a at least 7 days or until we make 15 laps each direction. Not sure yet, but that is my current thought. It says that 7 days in a row the first week is imperative. My sister showed up from Arizona last night. So that is all I did with the horses.

Back to the Basics

Rose did well last night, but golly my arms get tired with that heavy 22’ line. We started with the 7 games. She seems really stuck in the driving game HQ on left side. We will play with that some more tonight. Yo-Yo from a finger wiggle to the end of the 22’ line. Played the friendly game with her muzzle. Porcupine back by tail pull…needed a phase 3 though. Side ways game to the right, hind end trailed and was slow to respond. Same as driving game. Needs more playtime. Figure 8 at a trot was nice. We side passed over the pole and played the friendly game with snookie's butt at the same time. She was perfect. I think she enjoyed playing with me…she has been quite jealous of Snookie. Hopefully we will be back to L3 soon. No pressure though..I can't handle it. I keep telling myself...start with what you CAN do.

Hill therapy off to a good start

Snookie is doing well on her new diet, is getting about 3 baths a week now. Everyone is towing the line with the routine and not getting as jealous. I purchased an enzyme supplement for her today. Hopefully those will help her. She is doing well on hill therapy too. She has had hip/hock problems with her right hind for years now so she doesn’t do as well going to the right. We walked 6 circles to the left, then 4 to the right then 4 to the left on a hill that is . I only make her go to the right till I see her start to shake on that leg. First day was 3 circles right, last night 4. I think I will go to a less steep hill tonight and try trotting a bit. Maybe rotate 1 day trotting 1 day walking 1 day flat with cavaletti.. For more info on Hill Therapy google “parelli hill therapy” We should be riding at a walk this weekend and taping L2 freestyle no later than 9-13-09. I have a wild idea for my audition….but it is my little secret for now…

How stupid could I be?

So I decided that a good move toward riding was to clean my saddles. My friend and I are going on a trail ride in a few weeks, thought it was also a nice gesture not to have my non horsey friend ride in filth. So I dug out all my saddles and drug them to the garage, stand and all. Then I went on the hunt for my saddle soap and conditioner. Geez I couldn't find it. Reorganized the tack room a few months back with a friend. Looked in the boo boo goo drawer, as the conditioner is in a jar like fura ointment. It is an expensive German bee's wax goo, and the jar is white and orange. So, after searching every nook and cranny of the tack room, when I found it, bottom of jar broken and covered in dirt and grass at the bottom of my trunk with my saddle soap, thought nothing of it. Cleaned the jar, wrapped it in tape, labeled it, and proceeded to spend almost two hours cleaning and hand rubbing the conditioner...no rags. My saddle seemed a little sticky, but I figured since it was so danged hot....what ever. I grabbed my surcingle and decided to have a glass of ice water and a smoke before starting the next item. So I sat, and as the cool water passed my lips, I noticed something odd, peeking out behind my careful tape job. I scrunched a bit of tape down to notice the words...."water soluble antibiotic for the prevention of infection"WTF...I just spent an hour rubbing my $1500 dressage saddle with fura ointment. Apparently one time, I bought a jar that was not in the usual black container with neon yellow lid. It never occurred to me to read the jar. It is the only thing I own...I thought...in a white and orange jar. At least I know my saddle will never get an infection.Now where in the heck could that conditioner be. Guess I will start tearing apart the house.Good news is that I started hill therapy with Snookie. Her special feeding program is going quite well. I can lead her to and from the pasture with out a halter, and the others are learning not to rush the gate while I take her out. Snookie is enjoying the attention. Rose is jealous. What a brat. Squealing and rearing and running around when we leave. Begging for my attention when we return. Spirit, what a champ! He knows I am never coming for him, so his sweet face just politely asks for a cookie. BTW did I mention it looks like an Anna Sewell pasture. Rose is near black...like Black Beauty...Snookie, a dainty copper chestnut like Ginger, and Spirit a plucky little grey pony like Merrylegs. I love it...like my childhood dream come true!Savvy ON

Got a plan!

Well I finally have a plan for freestyle. Get snookie some weight and conditioning. Do a trial run on L2 taping. Should be do-able. All that will get her ready for a ride with my friend at the lake. We plan on going in a month. I am very excited about the ride. It will be Rose's first time at the lake, and the first time riding with my best friend since we were kids and rented horses. She is not a "horse lover" but Snookie should babysit her just fine. Ahhh, something to look forward to.

New Long Lines

Bought some new long lines. Well rope anyways. I chose 3/8's so they are not so heavy for my arms and 18' so they are not so long. When I tried them out, they kept coming undone. I also kept letting the rope drag as my arms were killing me, so she kept stepping over them....her favorite game. But nonetheless we persevered and practiced weaving at a trot. We did well for the first time on that pattern at a trot. 1 down and 6 to go. I went and bought snaps, that will help. And I am gonna dig out the surcingle. I suppose I have a disability for now, and besides, the great classical dressage masters use surcingles, so I won't put myself down for that. Now I just have to find the dang thing.

Initial Progress

Well this has been a big week for me. Without going into too many details……due to the car accident, surgery, putting a horse to sleep and some “home” issues, I havn’t played with my horses for basically a year. And to make matters worse, barely cared for them from jan-june. July was a pivotal month. I finally got the health & desire to play again, and this week to do even more than that. I think I am about to take my life back. I realized that my level 4 goals were a bit too much pressure for me and my horses at our current level of fitness and being so out of tune. If I can’t even make it from the couch to the tack room, how am I gonna go passing L4. Not to mention, when I did play with my horses I expected us to pick up right where we left off. I know better than that, but I couldn't help being frustrated that we both were so out of tune and sync and that the accident has caused my arms to be so weak and uncoordinated. It sucks to have the knowledge in your head, but you can’t make your body do it. What do I do now? I did some reflection of the last 6 weeks. It was the kick in the butt I needed to get started. I now own every educational piece of Parelli material…just missing mastery manuals 1-6, but those are not far away. I have no excuse to not to figure this out. So I pondered. “Take the time it takes…so it takes less time” Starting over will take less time, than to sit in this funky place, floundering around in the stink of mediocrity for the next few months.So I re-arranged my life so that I can “move closer and stay longer.” I re-structured some things that will facilitate success instead of setting my self up for failure. This blog is one of them. I hope that it will keep me accountable to myself for my time. Another is that I upgraded my Parelli Savvy Club membership to GOLD. Since my pathetic performance yielded a PASS for L1, I will tape my L2 online this weekend and see how that goes. And since it is “free” now to audition, I can just start from scratch and go one level, one savvy at a time and there is no pressure on me to “perform”. I realized that my fear this time was 'fear of failure". If I sit on my couch, I can live in my little fantasy world of how great I WAS. But if I played with my horses I would have to be faced with my current level of mediocrity. Fear of "whatever" is the single greatest crippling disability.I woke up Sunday and asked myself…what “CAN” I do Today?I can give the horses a bath….done. I can go to the store and buy new long lines…done. I can “try” the new long lines out on Rose…done. I can trim some feet…done. I can hop on bareback for a few min and play at the walk…done. I honestly feel like I have accomplished more in the last week than I have in the last six. With the herd smaller by one, I can also cater to Snookie’s special diet more easily. She can eat her special food without being bombarded on both sides. I hope her senior butt can recover the weight well. She has always been a hard keeper. So onward and upwards….Savvy On

AHHHH Freestyle

This will be the last savvy for me to get my L4 in. I know I could pass L2 right now on either Rose or Snookie, but I do not want to tape a L2 and waste $50, just to tape L4 when we finally get there. I have waited all these years for official assessment, I can wait a little longer. That way when I pass L4 freestyle, I will officially get L2, L3 & L4 all at once. I think though that I will start riding Rose around the yard with a neck string. We can work on doing all the patterns at a walk. Maybe I will do this for 5 min after each of my online sessions with her. Since I have alot of work to do to pass the other savvies, and another horse to get into shape, this one is gonna sit on the back burner for now. Who knows maybe I will be able to do it with Snookie. Just wanted a starting point for this savvy on the blog.

Starting Status Finesse

HMMM...good question. I know what I know, and I know what my horses know. At the moment it is way more than we can DO. I have been "in the saddle" once in the last year.....MAYBE twice. Before the car accident, Rose and I were finally making progress and starting to canter a few strides before she would buck. It took me almost a year with Rose to get over the confidence issues I created in myself when starting Jueli the bucking horse. Rose being a LBE, and VERY defensive about saddling when I bought her back, we just needed lots of time together for us both to get over our issues. Of course the parelli program was instrumental in overcoming those issues. I may just pay to have someone ride her a couple of times in canter to get thru it. I havn't made up my mind on that one yet. Baby steps for now. Of course I can do all this stuff (knowledge wise) with Snookie. The biggest hurdles with her will be a bit, I have not ridden her in a bit for about 4yrs. She never liked them but tolerated them. No money for a cradle bridle yet. And also the flying lead changes. Her hip and hock issues may keep her from being able to do them. Together we are a the equivalent to a nursing home. Not the stuff dreams are made of. BUT.....and this is a big BUT....Snookie was my first horse of my very own (apricot really was but I only hima year before he passed away) A Young dumb teenager, I bought her off the track. She is an EXTREME RBE. She has taught me alot over the years, and originally I didn't want to use her for my assessments because I felt it was cheating the NH experience. I wanted my assesments to be from a horse that I started from the beginning naturally. Well now that she is getting on in years, and starting to have her senior moments, I was thinking that it would only be fair to her to be a big part in my passing level 4 PNH. Why not? Regardless of how I taught her what she knows, it was still me who taught it to her. No one else. It is still my knowledge and skills. So I am planning to pass my finesse with her. I would hate for her to pass away and not be a part of PNH journey "officially". I used to ride her bridless before PNH. She wore a bridle, I just didn't use it. So my first step I have planned for my Finesse is to get us both in shape. I have started hill therapy with her, why not, I live on a hill! And I am trying to get a theraflex pad for her. Her withers are so high I don't know if my gel pad will be enough anymore. So I will post as we start to progress.

Starting Status Liberty

This is to have a starting place in the blog, basically, where am I now. On the self assesment, I only have a couple of tasks to complete. My biggest hurdle right now?... No good place to practice liberty. Working on that one at the moment. We need to freshen up on transitions and Zone 5 work. A few of the tasks are ones that were not available until the new patterns, so those are ones I need to complete. Since I have done nothing for 9 mos really, I am starting slow, and one savvy at a time. As soon as I get a play pen together, Liberty will be ON!

Long lines galore

Last 3 mos update: I started with the long lines driving....and man, that is alot of rope. The 22' line is a bit heavy for me at times since the accident and surgery. We started off by playing with an obstacle course and 22'line. Good way to get back into the groove. Shows me where I need to do the fine tuning with Rose. So I put on a 12' to get the games tuned up. Getting off the couch and out in the yard is a tough one. My husband has offered to play with me to help keep me company and motivated. Say what?! 16yrs never heard that before. I went to the tack room and pulled out the 45' line. Wow...that is alot of dust! I decided I am going to the rope store to get some new skinnier rope and make 2 long lines to drive with. Mine is one looooong one and I get caught up in it and so does she. I also decided to use a surcingle. My arms are just to weak to keep the rope out from under her feet......and she loves to step over the rope. She knows it makes me stop and regroup. BRAT!

Here we go....Let's get started!

This is my Parelli L4 Diary. And all I can say is......It is about time I officially passed L1. I have been studying the Parelli system for 8+ years now. When I started it was with the Original levels program. I wanted to tape it with TigerLily since she was my first pure natural horse that I started myself, naturally, from halter breaking on up. At that time, L1 not only included trailer loading....which I didn't own one at the time, but also cantering in the saddle. I taped everything except cantering, then Tigerlily began to become lame (DSLD). So I started taping it with Snookie, but I couldn't get her in the trailer unless I lead her in. Took her to a parelli clinic with Ann Kiser, and the problem was solved in 5min. My 30hrs....Ann's 5min. But then, with only a couple tasks left to tape, they changed the levels. So I taped it again, and couldn't get it from video to digital. Hmmmm. So then I bought Rose back from the woman I sold her to, decided to tape it with her. All well and good, but before I could get all the tasks edited together, my hard drive crashed. I lost my assesment and about 4000 pics. Learned a hard lesson about backing up your stuff. So I started to tape it all again, almost done, and they changed to the Patterns. At this point...I said "screw it". But then a friend of mine saw that they were accepting auditions for free....did you read that?......FREE! To get the system kinks worked out I suppose. The deadline was less than a week away....and I hadn't touched my horses for close to 9mos, due to my car accident, surgery, winter, and then life. But the friend made me do it anyways. We didn't own the Patterns yet, and were not sure exactly what they were looking for, "wing it" was the motto. My audition was not up to my standard, and I was frustrated and paranoid, that a now L4 student might not pass this easier than ever L1 test. That was 3 mos ago. They recieved so many, that they are still reviewing them. I settled for "just" level 1, as I didn't think it was fair to Rose to put pressure on her like that, and my new place wasn't yet set up for longer ropes. I now have a very small ranch, and space is a bit "cramped" to say the least. Well, I spoke to someone on the phone at Parelli, and she confirmed I passed....woooo hoooo! I would have to kill myself if I didn't pass this very easy auditions process for level 1. My friends and I pooled our $$ and purchased the entire Patterns program and I have decided to go for my L4 in all four savvy's. First stop......Online. With a little tweaking, I should be able to get this done by the end of Aug'09. Hopefully I will get Liberty L4 taped on the same day. I am doing the ground work with Rose as she is the athletic super horse. My goal is to complete Finesse L4 with Snookie before Halloween. She is a senior citizen, and we are both out of shape, but she knows this stuff like the back of her hoof, we just need to get in shape and in tune. Then that just leave the hardest of all. Freestyle L4....hmmm...that is gonna be the toughy. While I can pass L2 with my eyes closed on either Rose or Snookie right now.... in the intrest of $$ I would like to only submit that savvy one time. Rose we have not played bridless yet and we still have some bucking and confidence issues in the cantering department. Snookie being a RBE and sooo out of shape, I am not confident yet about bridless with her, and we also have the flying lead change issues there as well. That will be the last savvy I tackle for auditions, as Rose is still in her prime, age wise, and that will be the direction we need to continue on for years to come. Snookie is a senior at 25yrs old, she is really starting to show her age, and starting to have some senior moments in the health department. I will worry about that one after I have passed L4 in the other 3 savvies. I am hoping that this blog will keep me on track, so I want to say thank you to any and all who follow along with me and my girls.
Savvy On
Michelle