Where to go from here?

As with all plans in life, there is a series of events that happens along the way to our destination, that causes us to scratch our heads and re-think the situation. Like a plane that takes off from the airport, wind, speed, temperature and pressure continually knock it off course a bit...and if the pilot does not adjust accordingly, he will not arrive at the destination that his passengers have paid for. Sighs. The good news is that some of these events have been a blessing, others not so much. I just taped and submited Online L2. BIG step for me. A small triumph over depression, fear and physical ailments. I have to say, I love the new audition process. I have made more progress in "official" grading than ever before. I suppose it has something to do with being a Gold savvy club member too. As I have never felt before that I could justify spending the money on something like an assessment when it plain wasn't necessary. Now I can just do it, send it in and move on. I also love that it is not structured by tasks, and that each audition (savvy or level) doesn't need to be with the same horse. It gives me more freedom, creativity and time to play with all my horses, as I can concentrate a little here with one horse and a little there with another and then everyone wins. Snookie gets ridden, Rose in Liberty, Miyagi online. I like that! Anyways, it is dark when I get home from work now, Snookie is recovering from some minor injuries, I have these mini's, and it costs money to take my horses to any local arena. Money I just don't have right now. Especially since I have to buy the new levels program when it comes out a special price.So do I concentrate on one savvy at a time, achieving L4 on line, then liberty, then the riding in the spring. Or do I stick with my original plan of following the pathways, one level at a time, until I Officially pass L3 and go from there. Good news is that soccer season is over next weekend after 4 tournament games, and we opted NOT to do basket ball and my husband has got Boy Scouts covered. So even though most of my time is spent in darkness, at least it is mine. I know I have enough space and light to play with the mini's at home. Ochi needs some basic schooling. I guess I could play with her in the evenings for 10-20min. That is something that I CAN do. Play with Miyagi and Rose on the weekends. If weather and my wallet permits, I can go to the arena and tape my freestyle L2. At least I know I can do that one in my sleep on either Snookie or Rose. Lord though I do hate the way look in a saddle right now. Jeans...that's what I need...no breeches! If I time the money and the weather just right, I may even be able to tape my Liberty L3 on the same day with Rose.I don't want to be too goal oriented, thinking only of what I know I am capable of and then the pressure to perform gets to me, fear of failure sets in, and then I sit on the couch and do nothing. I need to remember each day to do what I know can do, no matter how small it may be. Miyagi is working wonders on that whole expectations disaster, so I think I will start on the 45' line with her this weekend. And concentrate on passing L2 with my freestyle. I think if I distract my self with too many other things, I will never do it. So that is it. It is settled. Next stop Freestyle L2.
Thanks for following on THAT journey in my head with me.
Savvy On
Michelle

L2 on line taped with Miyagi...say what?

After we delivered Ochi's sister Onyx to her new forever owners, Kandi came over with Babe to play with us and we had a good time. With Kandi's help I finally taped my L2 online again, and this time it was with Miyagi. The one I taped with Rose, I just was not dressed appropriately for a world wide access debut on youtube. Regardless, I could not be more pleased with her progress. I have only had her for 5 weeks and she was essentially a wild RBE when I got her. Remembering back to day two...bath day....when she darn near pulled my arm out of the socket. I thought she and Ochi had done serious damage to my surgery site. But it was just real sore for a couple of weeks. WHEW!So in our audition, in addition to the compulsories:Trot fig 8, trot-stop-back up, massage front legs, friendly with stick and string, put front legs on pedestal.We: lead by the front leg, side passed over a pole, figure 8 over a pole, solved the "squeezed thru cones with a ball" puzzle, pushed the ball around, friendly game with the ball.Had I known that we were still under 8 minutes, I would have shown more of her 7 games, like yo-yo driving and porcupine. But if I should not pass for some reason, I will remember to add them. Not too bad for a couple of old ladies, I say.The only pattern that needs more work is the weave at a trot and the circling game at speed. She also needs more trust to trot behind me. She tends to drift out a little, but we make strides during each play session. She still gets a little right brained at this point with distance and speed and I cannot fault her for that. Nor will I push her thru this. On each of the patterns I play with each day, if she is ready for a higher degree of difficulty then we do it, but I don't push her in another as they are not transferable. Her overall progress alone is outstanding and she deserves a big 5 star hug for the level of trust she is giving me thus far. She is getting a little "trick" IE, in the sense that she assuming I want something and starting to offer before I ask. Also not a bad thing especially at this stage. So now it is time to start asking her to listen more and wait for instructions without making her feel wrong for what she is offering. She gets upset really easily if I ask her to stop doing what she THINKS I want, so this will be a great test of my savvy.I am sure some people will wonder why I would choose such a green horse to tape something that comes so easily to another of my horses. And the answer is this....my return to a life with horses after my absence has been hard on me mentally and Rose feels it. She gets bored easily, and I feel I am torturing her during this process of fighting my own demons. Not fair to her. I get very nervous when "performing" be it something as big as a show or as small as a private video taping. So add to that, my fear of not living up to my own expectations with Rose, and my emotional fitness goes to hell in a hand basket like a rocket to the moon. Long story short, I feel no expectations with Miyagi for the auditions and thus I can relax because I am just so proud of not only her progress, but my own as well. I can be proud of my knowledge and ability to help horses transform from fear full to trusting, from uneducated prey animal to a willing partner.
To see the video click link below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7k0SM9N2_g
Savvy On
Michelle

OLL2 Miyagi ~ Pass 2++

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Houdini Who!

Well we have been having a blast with these little ladies. After a week in the pony palace, Ochi decided she wanted to be with the big horses and kept escaping! I came out one morning and she was gone. I look over and see Snookie, Rose and Spirit in a huddle, staring toward the corner. They couldn't decide if she was boogie mans minion or a very ugly dog, and were all frozen with fear. I put her back and a few hours later she was out again. I put the big horses in the front and turned Miyagi out there too for the day and put them back that night. Come out the next morning to find Miyagi alone again and Ochi standing under Rose's nose. I gave up putting her back and tore the whole thing down. Of course Spirit and Miyagi went at like old rivals fighting over some unclaimed country. Over the next week, there were some skirmishes at feeding time, but over all things were going well. Then last weekend some one kicked the crud out of Snookie and cut 3 of her legs. Poor old lady. I ran out of bandages quickly. She is OK but still healing. I noticed that both Miyagi's and Ochi's back toes were quite sharp. oh dear! I wasn't quite ready to deal with hoof trimming these ladies. Miyagi first. With the help of Kandi holding the lead, I was actually able to use the grinder on Miyagi. Whew...that's a long way down to the ground, and the grinder sure makes fast work of a hard job. Ochi on the other hand has demonstrated that she is truly an LBI except with those feet. Man alive can she kick. It was lightning fast. definitely an RBI response. With alot of savvy approach and retreat, I was able to file them the old fashioned way. Oddly she had no problem with me holding her leg with a rope, but if I put my hand down there.....SHAZAM! It took a little while, but eventually she was confident enough to let me do my job. We also had a terrible storm a few weeks ago. I got them each a blanket. I started with Ochi as her blanket required a bit of adjustment. When I put her back in, I wish I had a video cam with me. Miyagi freaked out at the sight of her. She ran around like an idiot, snorting and tail high. Ochi quickly discovered that she could now chase her cranky grandmother around and proceeded to do it for a full 2 minutes. Then she rolled 20 or so times to try to rid herself of the beast. I took Miyagi out to put hers on, and she was not so agreeable. She decided there was no way in hell I was getting the thing that ate Ochi anywhere near her. But alas, she was no match for my savvy, and went back in prepared for the storm. They were just adorable in their little blankies!I know that I just don't have the time everyone needs to keep them both, and since Ochi is younger, cuter, and more easy going...I have decided it will be easier to re-home her instead of Miyagi. She is as sweet as they come and reminds me alot of Tiger Lily. She has no fear of the biggies, and has even been shown to pin an ear or two at them, though she moves quickly out of their way.I have been working with Miyagi and come to the conclusion, after alot of head scratching that she is an RBE/LBE, albeit a calm one. I can at least catch her now with out alot of effort on my part. Definitely have to use the catching game strategy though. She is a smart cookie! You can read about her on-line progress in the On-Line category of the blog as it applies to my L2 audition.
Savvy On
Michelle