Oh My Gracious...

..............................................

Testing, testing -- 1,2....3?

Is there anybody still out there in blogland...somewhere? lol

Many MANY apologies that I haven't blogged since -- JANUARY?!???! 

Gracious me...

Um, let's see, what has happened? 

(Hah. You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you.)

Well, I finished my freshman year of college. Sophomore year starts on Monday. Geez how time flies. I feel like I should be inside doing school with the kids at the kitchen table instead of enjoying the sunshine in this hammock and...being a terrible steward of this blog...buuuh.

My plans for the summer were few but still plans: Work a few horses for some people I knew around town. Attend Breyerfest with my cousin. Show Joey Joey in the local horse shows this summer. I got a job, so there's that to keep me busy. And enjoy the swimming pool -- aahhhhh.

What ACTUALLY happened this summer: 

I, er, I.....kind of went to Alaska for 3 months instead?

Working horses?

Cliff diving?

Beach racing?

Bear hunting?

Halibut fishing?

Crabbing?

Canoeing (with killer whales)?

Climbing?

Counseling?

But I'll stop making excuses now.  

We also obtained a tenant this summer just before I left (which was, like, two days after school ended):

Joey's first horse interaction in 5 years. ^.^ 

Name's Cody. And we all know age doesn't matter in this world, regardless of who you are. He's my pastor's reliable mount who hasn't had serious work in a long time. Pastor wanted me to come over and train him. I was always busy. So Pastor brought him to me -- two weeks before I left for 3 months. Woops. And now I understand perfectly why he wanted me to come give him some serious rides. -.- 

Pastor or Pastor's Wifey -- I'm sorry if what I'm about to say offends you or worries you in any way. But this is my blog and I'll say what I want.

*ahem*

After those two weeks of consistent riding on my part, Cody was deemed unridable for the rest of my family (and honestly I was a little afraid to keep climbing on him. There was just no end to his bad attitude). 

I come home (last week) after 3 months of gaining new confidence in risky ventures on wild young horses in Alaska and find my barn much worse than when I left, both unhealthy horses, and Cody pushing and threatening all the humans around him. The old fart. -.-

First day back I rode both of them -- just out to the field, a few circles and a little trotting and then back again. (They were honestly that malnourished and left to themselves that I didn't feel safe or comfortable doing anything more.) But boy did I miss my Joey. He was an angel, just as always. ^.^ <3 A day or two later, I saddle up Joey and we go on a long walk with Cody following freely behind us. (They have developed quite the friendship.

...oh dear.)

And yesterday morning I was rudely awakened from my slumber by the exclamations of "Sam! Come quick! Cody's out [again]!" -.- I take my sweet time getting ready...for war. I go out, tie him up, feed Joey. And then Cody and I saddle up and ride away. 

First I took him to the field to figure out how the heck to lunge this horse. I've been told he can do it. But the last time I tried, he was the local idiot. This time, I made him figure it out. Made him.

Yay! That was [finally] a success! Now let's go on a trail ride and see what you can really do undersaddle when you're not distracted by Joey Joey. 

Man can this horse run.

And man can this horse pitch a fit.

And I haven't been this afeared for my life on horseback in.....at least a while if ever. 

But we don't let him know that. Hah.

He tried every trick in the book to scare me off. But I've just come back from riding The Big Cheese at Echo Ranch in Alaska -- I bet I'm tougher than you. lol

Anyway, to make a long and scary ride short: I didn't die. And Pastor or Pastor's Wifey -- I'm not giving him back. At least not right now. 

But yeah. So that was pretty much my summer. I a teeny tiny nutshell. I'll try and write more about Alaska later (some pictures? would you like that?) :)

Thanks if you're still around. lol You're hilarious.

~Sam + Joey 

.....and now Cody....

What I've Been Up To and Gorgeous Horsey Photographs

Bad blogger! Baaaad blogger! >.<

Hello, once again, friends! So sorry for the delay. I've been. . .

. . .away at music camp. Man, what a blessing! I REALLY didn't want to go (went kicking and screaming, as it were); but God never fails to use those situations in my life to teach me some big stuff. I made some of the best friends ever and learned more than I expected there was to learn about being a vocalist (I now know the difference between sopranos and altos, and basses and tenors. :P ).

 My solo recital piece. :)

 

 

. . .finishing up preparations for college -- which starts next Monday (August 19). O.O In prep, I have received my very own laptop (touchscreen, too :P <--funny story. . .) as a graduation gift from Mom and Dad. Her name is Stella, and her favorite color is purple. ^.^

 

Me, Stella, LuLa, and demon-puppy-Lexi. :P

 

 

. . .playing a whole lota guitar. It's been way too hot this July/August to ride. *sad face* :( (of course, what summer isn't?) Poor Joey is sweating buckets of black sludge from 7:00 AM to 9 o'clock at night. I feel so terrible for him; especially because I'm such a weakling that I can't bear to go out and visit him very often.

 

That black log kinda off to the side is my other dog, Maggie. :P

Ok, one more quick thing before I sign off for now (and she did not ask me to do this ;) ):

My cousin, Erin Long, is just about as horse crazy as you can get. Which makes us the best of cousins (sometimes we wonder why we weren't born sisters?? o.0 ) Horses have been her hobby since we were leetle kids. (We kinda host a webpage together of anything and everything having to do with horses; still kinda new, but check it out: http://herdnerds.weebly.com/ ) She rides all the time; and we've both always been HUGE fans of Breyer horse models. But within recent years, she has been trying to make a name for herself in the artsy world of horses: she customizes Breyer models, sketches amazing equine artwork, and takes simply stunning photographs of everything and anything horsey (will give you a view into horse heaven down below)! In short: You NEED to check out her website. At least check it out, if not help her spread the word about her amazing talent. The best part is that all of the proceeds (outside of shipping and materials) go toward JustWorld International, a charity that aids children in third world countries through the equestrian world!
Here's the link to her studio site:  http://modestmarestudios.weebly.com/

And here's the link to her studio's facebook page; give her a like and stay that much more up-to-date on what she offers: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Modest-Mare-Studios/184302188413841?ref=hl

A lot of her photos are of her own horse Sid and his pasturemates.

I call it "Contentedness". :)

A photo she took of my Joey during our own personal photo shoot.
I've used it as a possible book cover idea. :D

One of her sketches.

Another sketch.

 

Her latest project (and my personal favorite so far): somewhat before. . .



. . .and somewhat after :P

You should really go check out her website. She has some really neat-o in-barn pictures that I simply adore (she's currently loading them onto her site, I do believe; if they're not there, I know they are already posted on Modest Mare Studio's facebook page).

 

I hope you have a wonderful day!

 

~Sam

 



 

Just Some Pictures of Joey and I Out Doing the Impossible

Did I mention my horse is blind and that people told me that I would never be able to ride him?
‎#inyourface ‎#thepowerofGod ‎#nevergiveup ‎#dreambig

 

Babe, the Mustang Racehorse

Somebody I met at camp last week asked me for some advice/suggestions on how to get his new mustang mare to go forward without going 0 to 60 in 2.3 seconds. I thought I'd (b)log what I told him here in case anybody's ever interested, but mostly just so I could have some place to file it away. :)

"I don't know how you've been raised to think about horses or what theories you may have developed about how best to train and work with them. This is my opinion after all that I've seen and learned about horses, from horses so far. The biggest thing that I can tell you is that when I listened only to the human voices and advice, Joey and I were much more confused and frustrated. But when I would actually take the time to listen to the horse and open up my mind to what it could possibly be thinking about the situation, things became so much clearer and progress and success is usually inevitable. Like I said: this is my opinion; you can take it or leave it.

"It sounds like your mare could have people problems worse than her owners having horse problems.

I don't know how she handles on the ground. If she's wonderful and just lets you do anything and everything with her, then we won't have to start from square one. But if she's a little standoffish or wary of you then I would suggest that you spend as much time as possible just hanging out with her, letting her know that you're not the bad guy. I've found that horses are really just like everything else in life in that you get out of them what you put into them whether it's time, effort, or affection. I don't know if you'll be willing to spend time just hanging out with her, but I'm telling you what I've learned is that it helps a whole lot. We've got to take into consideration where she's been so far in her life. If it's been rough for her, either due to stupid people or her own nature, then you've got to set a different standard. You've got to help her realize that she can trust people, and she can trust you. I believe that gaining that trust is the first step to getting her to ride smoothly for you.

"Next I would say that you need to be able to bet your life on her brakes before you start working with the speed (even trying to downsize it). If the only speed she knows right now is full-speed, then logically you're gonna need some reliable brakes so you both don't get hurt like before. Since the only forward motion she seems to know is run, then let's try backing up. You can stop from back up, so let's give it a go. I just recently taught Joey how to back because he hated it and normally would only do it if I was super rough and loud with my cues; and even then, he was angry with me while doing it. I knew that wasn't right, so I tried to think how I could get him to be more supple and consistent. Guess what worked? I had to get supple and consistent in my cues. Horses can feel the slightest movement or touch. So we went back to the beginning, to the softest cue: I shifted my weight backwards in the saddle. At first, it was an obvious shift, just to let him know we'd changed our tune; but now I just have to think about shifting back, and he gets it. So I shift; then almost immediately on top of that cue, I pick up the reins ever so slightly (not pulling them back, just picking them up); and then almost immediately on top of that cue, I gently bump my legs in a steady rhythm against his sides while saying "back" or "back up" in the same voice. Everything has to be the same every time I do it; you'd be mighty surprised at how observant horses can be to detail. And I'll let you know that I'm somebody who is hard-wired to try the quick-fix system. But it is true what they say: practice makes perfect. And the more Joey and I work on backing, the better we are at literally backing up, or even just slowing down from a faster, forward gait. It really does pay to be soft and consistent. I've tried the harder, "more dominant" methods out there. But I've found that this works the best; and Joey and I are both having a ton of fun by the end of a ride that may have started out less than perfect.

"After you can rely on Babe to back up at the slightest pressure (and stop from that backing up and stand still), then I would begin slow work on getting her to move forward without becoming a frantic racehorse. Keep in mind that this may take quite a while to work through and get right for her. It may really depend on how much time (and affection) you put into her.

"Like I said: Joey used to be very much like your mare. It was either we stood still or we galloped around the paddock; there was no happy-medium. And since she responds so well to heavy pressure, this is where you'll really have to pay attention because we want her to respond to light pressure. We want her to respond to light pressure, because the slap with the reins seems to make her frantic and take off (at least that's what it did to Joey: it made him get super tense). I have a dressage whip that helps me in this department. But just a long-handled anything could work (preferably with something ticklish on the end). Again, I would start from the beginning with the softest cue: a squeeze or bump with my calves just behind the cinch. He didn't respond, so a squeeze with my calves and then a slight tickling or teeny-tiny tap with the whip. That would usually get him to wake up and pay attention. Maybe he wouldn't move off just yet; so I squeeze again, tap a little harder with the whip, and now he may be ready to jump out of the starting gate like he used to, but here is where I do something different: instead of tensing up, ready for that jump, I stretch my spine up and my heels down into my stirrups in balance and I shorten my reins gently and softly massage the reins until he slows back down. Sometimes I have to sit deep in my saddle and roll with him while I massage the reins if he decides to be hard-mouthed. Bring him back down to a halt and start again. If you work at it enough and are soft and understanding every time you do it, eventually your mare won't tense up anymore which will then let her be able to go from fight-or-flight mode to thinking mode: "Hey, I wonder what he really wants me to do?" The key is rewarding every time you feel a try. Even in backing up or stopping, a try might be just a teensy shifting of weight. But you've got to be on the lookout for even the tiniest try, and reward it. You'll gain success and progress much faster if you keep your eyes open like that. And then build on the tries. To begin with, you might reward a slight shifting of weight in the correct general direction; but after that you can wait and reward her when she takes a step in the correct general direction after shifting her weight. You see what I'm getting at? And rewards can be anything from a pat on the neck, to a generous word of praise, to the complete release of pressure, or even a cookie. Joey responds much better and tries much harder if I notice even the slightest effort and give generous praise while we're out riding, even if it's for something that he should have already known how to do.

"Another key is to give your mare a chance to respond to your cues. After you squeeze with your legs, give her a second to try and figure out what it is that you want from her. More than likely at the beginning of training, she won't think for herself, because she's expecting you to just slap her and tell her what to do. But if you consistently give her even a millisecond of chance to think for herself and respond, she'll get it that much faster."

Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear your opinion on the matter, so leave a comment below.

~Sam

Guitars and Horses -- Who Needs Anything More?

So, apparently reverse pschology doesn't work as well as I had hoped.

But here I am, back again to raise your hopes that I will be more consistent with my posting. Whatever.

Joey and I have been lazy so far this summer.
Through the first couple of weeks in June, I was pulling out old training articles from my saved Horse Illustrated and Horse & Rider magazines, and we were riding pretty consistently -- every morning before the sun was fully up (and the heat could get us down). I was rereading training techniques on things that Joey and I are less than perfect on like suppleness and response time (for him), and softer, yet firmer cues and more compassion and understanding (for me). Those rides were some of the best we've had yet! Five out of six mornings on most weeks we were perfectly syncronized, and it seemed that neither of us really had a care in the world, though we each gave it our best shot every time we tried to bend a better circle or refine a cue of some kind. It was great!
But reach the middle of June and it brings with it scores of horseflies the size of baby carrots, 100% humidity by 5:00 in the morning, and buckets of grimy sweat from just trying to tack up alone. I just can't bring myself to go out and cinch up that hot, bulky saddle onto my boy, no matter how much he may whinney and run to the gate, obviously wanting to go out and jog around on the trails as much as I do. I know he gets awfully bored in his own fenced acre; but go out to pet him, and your hand comes away with black, sludgy ink all over it. Poor boy. :(
So we've been going on handwalks when the air outside is bearable enough for me (I know, I really am a sissy), grazing along the trail and just enjoying the sweet companionship of being with each other. I love my sweet horse so dearly! Hard to look back and remember that it was everything less than love at first (and second and third. . .) sight for the two of us. We've come a long way on our many, many adventures together. <3

A short random video showing you my boy in "action". ;)

The only other thing that I've been up to is spending all of my spare time on my guitar (which is adding up to quite a few hours, lemme assure you). Have you seen her? Her name is LuLa, and to some she is obnoxiously pink. Ya can't miss her. ;)
 The cheapest pretty guitar I could find on Amazon, and with the exceptions of my clingy dog and my blind horse she is my baby. Only started playing last January, but with the help of YouTube, I (and I counted them) have learned and memorized 50+ songs. I was hoping to have reached 100 already, but in due time. (And given, the majority of those learned are Taylor Swift -- it doesn't get much more repetitive than that, folks.) I am proof that anybody -- ANYBODY -- can pick up and learn the guitar. I tried taking a year's worth of lessons once. Good money wasted is how I look at it now. I didn't learn a single thing that I use today; not even the names of the strings. I came away with sore fingers and a broken ego, declaring that I would never again pick up a guitar because it was stupid and not worth my time. For a long time after that I seethed inside at every guitar solo that came on the radio (and there sure are a lot of them).
But still, inside, there was a dream. . .
. . .To make a long (and oh, so hilarious) story short (so that I can save it for another day ;) ): I mistakenly bought a bright pink guitar off of Amazon for $50. She arrives, and it's love at first sight. Even though I knew absolutely nothing about guitars. I knew that she was pink, her name was LuLa, and she was now mine.
First song I learned? "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson. The guy on YouTube said it wasn't for beginners. Guess I showed him.
So there ya go: I'm living proof. But not just for people who have that deep longing to play the guitar like a boss when their favorite song comes on the radio. No, if I've learned anything through this experience it's that I shouldn't be afraid to do anything that I dream of doing. Because honestly, I can do anything that God sees fit to bless. And that's the real adventure of life: finding out what those things are.

~Sam

Consistent Posting? *snort* What was I Thinking??

Ok. So, when I say I'm back for more consistent posting. . .it never quite works out, does it?

*ahem* I am NOT back for more consistent posting. <--period for added effect (Let's see how reverse psychology works.)

My cousin apparently wants me to be a contributor on her new horse website HerdNerds. Check it out. And pay close attention to her side of things -- she is super experienced and super talented when it comes to the horse realm. My stuff: eh, not so much. I mean, seriously: my experience is riding my blind pony around in my backyard. O.O
With a few years of hunter and jumper training mixed in there somewhere. And riding a couple'a barrel horses a time or two. But that's ALL the hands-on experience I have. Everything else is via reading and reading and reading and some more reading -- oh, and research.

Since I last left you: I finished and graduated from highschool/gradeschool-- kind of an exciting time *_* ; participated in my piano teacher's year-end recital that she holds for all of her students -- I played "Dawn", from Pride and Prejudice for both of her recitals in the same afternoon; I've FINALLY completed registration for and will be officially attending my town's local community college in the fall (that only took how long and cost everyone how much effort? -.- )

And I'm being lazy and spending my first summer days reading all about horses and training and messin' around with JoJo. :) Oh, not to mention all the fun my sister and I are having with my new camcorder and Breyer Horses. ;)

WAAAAIIIT!!! I almost forgot to mention one of the most exciting things! "See No Evil" is in its third editing process; and it is already available for *purchase* through myself (I may have a teeny little secret. . . ;) ). Ok, ok, so it's not "officially" published -- but it's a start, right? And I'm hoping to try to get it out there on the table and at least figure out what the word "publishing" really, truly, exactly means by the end of the summer.

Last year my summer project was to crochet an afghan. This year it's to publish my book. A step up? I think so. But Joey and I are ready for it (I hope. . .) ;)

~Sam

No Access to Blogger And A Horse Journal Entry

I will not have access to blogger from Monday to Friday. Just sayin'. :)

Horse Journal 2-18-13

I haven't been writing much in here because Joey and I haven't been doing as much. I think weather is to blame, again.

As far as training the bow goes: Joey can bow his head to the ground between his front legs and lift his left leg at the same time, on cue.
Mosie still hasn't gotten the second video up for training the bow; but I saw she mentioned in one of her comments to somebody else that one of the next steps is to get Joey to extend his right leg. After thinking forever on how to make that step up (and wondering if I should even attempt it on "my own", meaning without any idea of what I was doing), I decided that we would go about it like we did the leg-lifts --- I mean, it's kinda the same thing only uncurling out.
So the last three sessions, besides reviewing what we already know and just plain messing around, I've been lifting Joey's right leg and slowly uncurling it to the front until it's resting, extended on the ground in front of him.
I even started saying an unconscious verbal cue right from the start: "Forward". I never thought about what verbal cue I was gonna use; it just happened, like most of my verbal cues, because I talk to my pets while working with them.
During the first leg-ex. session, because he had no idea what I had in mind, Joey's leg was quite stiff as I slowly uncurled it to extend as I lowered. Since then, in three sessions, we've done it the same way numerous times and I think he's starting to get the idea of what I'm looking for. He's not one who will generally try to figure it out on his own; he needs a lot of guidance during the first few lessons. But with most things, he's a pretty quick learner. And he usually remembers things well.
Sometimes, he still thinks I mean "back" when I say "left". And when we go into "forward", he thinks I'm looking for "left".

In other news, he bit me on purpose for the first time ever the other day --- just chomped down on my arm and left two large bruises. We were girthing up for a ride, and even though he didn't appear to be girth-sore when I checked, I still wonder if it was just a knew-jerk reaction to some sharp pain from the girth. Either way, I let him know that biting is not okay period by telling him to get away from me and leave me alone for a few moments. He stood, saddled, looking very sorry and dejected on the other side of the paddock while I checked my arm for severed skin underneath my sweatshirt. Then I went over and clipped the lead line back onto his halter and we continued on with our ride and breakfast as if nothing had ever happened. He hasn't bitten me since, though he watches me closely while fiddling with the girth.

As far as riding goes: for the last four days or so, we've been riding consistently. I haven't been pursuing that partner-connection as much (or rather, I just haven't been completely focus on it). We've just been riding for the fun and sake of riding.
I've noticed that his brakes hardly work at all from anything faster than a fluid trot. The only time I felt in full control while trotting and cantering was when I felt like I had the bit too high after I experimented by tightening/raising the bit in his headstall. It can be kind of a problem, and I'm not really sure how to fix it.

I also want to take note here that Joey has not been acting completely like himself lately. He picks at his hay and acts bored and grumpy --- or did until we started riding again. I think maybe it was because I couldn't get out to spend time with him because the weather was bad.

Back to present day.

I do have an update to post since this entry in my Horse Journal was written; but I am out of time for today (and have already done two posts today). Unfortunately, it will probably have to wait until the week after next. :/

Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your comments!

~Sam

Joey's Two Cents

Joey here.

I was beginning to doze the other day as Mom and I stood together absorbing the sun's warm rays, when she began one of her jabbering spells again. (She does this most times, I think, without realizing it: we'll have a long period of thoughtful silence, and then she'll startle me awake with a spell of talking. It makes sleep nearly impossible because she usually starts talking just as I'm beginning to doze off.)
Anyway, this time what she had to say actually interested me. She said that she had been asked by more than a few people to write a blog post on what it's like to own a blind horse. And she was despairing of the fact that to her, interacting with me was pretty much like interacting with any other horse. She said she couldn't think of any differences to set out in a blog entry.
Now, hearing the sometimes frustrated comments that I do from her from time to time, I know that what she says about there being no differences isn't entirely true. Perhaps she was just having one of her super uncreative moments -- I don't know. But I thought that, since I am said blind horse, I would help her out by writing my own bog post. (Technically I'm dictating to Lexi, who is typing it out for me seein' as how I appear to lack fingers. In return, her tribute will be finished and posted in the next entry.)

Being blind isn't nearly the sob-story that some might make it out to be. Sure, it can be frustrating at times, not being able to see where you're going (I'm constantly tripping over roots; Mom says I just need to pick my feet up more. . .but, whatever.) The way I see it, you can't spend your whole life just standing in one place. Despite the darkness, you gotta move on, always reaching forward -- that's how you go places.

Training used to be a problem for Mom and I. It took her a while to understand that she couldn't use the same body language cues like she does with other horses because I just couldn't see them. I could hear her sighs and growls of frustration as I didn't respond the right way when she tugged on a rope -- I tried my best, I really did! Especially when she got it into her head to rely on sounds rather than sight. But, again, she didn't completely understand. She was headed in the right direction with her theories; but there were too many sounds -- the wind whistling in my ears as I cantered around her on the lunge line; the beat of my own hooves as well as her boots stomping, trying to cue me to do something; along with the many clucks, smooches, words, tones, and breathing -- all the sounds seemed to pile on top of each other and they became confusing as well as frightening!
Add to the mixture my analogies of the ground under, behind, and in front of me as well as what I thought was around me, and you've got a potentially stressful training session in sensations alone, at least, for me.

For a slightly accurate example: Has there ever been a time when you were in one room, and somewhere else in the building there was what appeared to be a strange noise. You can't see what made the noise, but in your mind you race through all the possibilities that you know of that would explain it. Well, that's kinda what it's like for me -- only most times there's much more than one sound to analyze, and there's smells and my image-less surroundings as well. A lot of horses my mom tells me about sound like they couldn't even take the guessing game with helpful images to add to the picture. My world sound a lot more frightening and stressful -- and sometimes it can be -- but, for the most part, I enjoy the logic that goes into figuring out the guessing game. And, for some reason, I don't get scared.

The only thing that frustrates me about being blind (besides the tripping over numerous roots in a row) is when my mom likes to play hide and seek with my food. I will hear her in the grain room getting my ration; and then suddenly everything will get really quiet. . .and I don't know where she is with the food. . .
Then I'll hear her rattle the feed on the other side of the pasture, and I'll have to figure out where she is, exactly, and how I can get to her. She laughs and pokes harmless fun at me while she encourages me; she even moves to an easier spot if it proves too difficult. But no matter how many times she says it's good for me, I will always believe it is an unnecessary waste of energy. -_-

Some days the blindness leaves for a little while and I can see some vague shapes and bright colors. Mom never wins hide and seek when she's wearing her bright red rain coat on those days. ^.^
But for the most part, my world is made up of sound, touch, and smell.

That's all the time I have for today; unfortunately the farrier just got here to trim my hooves (and I thought I heard something about worming. . . >_> ). I might do another post some other time. I like this blogging idea. For once people can hear it "straight from the horse's mouth". ;)
If you have any specific questions about blind horses concerning working, training, or just life in general-- or questions about myself-- feel free to ask in a comment below.

Here comes Mom with the rope halter. Gotta go.

~Joey

Teaching Joey to Bow -- Parts 2&3

THE BOW PART 2 -- I totally agree with Mosie when she says that training tends to sink in better over night (for both horses and humans, I think). The next morning after that first session of teaching Joey to bow, I went out to grain for breakfast. I figured while he was eating that I would tidy the paddock until he was done and then we could have another small session before I had to go in and take care of schoolwork. Well, out of habit, I accidentally threw hay out for him to eat. *facepalm* Now I thought there would be NO WAY we were going to have a morning session -- Joey tends not to be very interested in anything, let alone WORKING or LEAVING when food is available. But after a while, I noticed that he had come over -- LEAVING the hay completely -- and was just hanging out while I tidied the pasture. I asked him if he was bored with eating (we have been making free-choice forage available 24/7, after all), to which he replied with a big sigh. :P So I put away the manure fork and the wheelbarrow and grabbed some treats and our dressage whip. To see if he was really interested in working with me while food was available, I asked him to follow me around, which he did eagerly; and then I asked him to back up, which he also did willingly. So I tapped his leg with the whip, said "left", and went to pick it up for him the first time or two, thinking he might not remember yesterday's lesson. But before I could bend over after the tap and the verbal cue, he popped his foot up on his own, put it back down, and asked for a treat! I was so happily surprised! ^.^ Treat, and we asked for the trick again; he complied eagerly. I'm so excited that he got it after just one quick session (I've never really worked on teaching him anything like this before)! And now that he's got lifting his leg on cue, we're going to concentrate on holding it for longer periods of time. We've had two more session since (5 total), and he's getting the idea, which is really exciting. :D The next thing to incorporate that Mosie introduced in the first video is the target touching.So last night after supper (our 4th session) I tied a plastic baggie onto the end of our dressage whip. He was very curious to know what the sound of it meant (since he can't see, and plastic bags are generally noisy objects), but he soon got used to it (I was actually surprised he was never afraid of it). During that session, we began with what we knew: a few leg lifts, which he performed easily and eagerly (he even tried to do a few "extra" without the cue, to see if he would get extra cookies :P ) Then we introduced targeting. Mosie suggested that since he's blind, we adjust "targeting" to him just keeping his nose on the target. I'm open to this idea, but I wondered if he could find the target, especially if I used a noisy plastic bag? So I began a method: I shook the plastic bag a little, said "touch", and then touched his nose with it and praised. We did this exact thing several times, and then ended the training session with a few leg-lifts (I'm a firm believe of ending every training session on a positive note, with something that your horse already knows how to do and preferably something that he thinks is fun so that he will think he's had a very productive and fun lesson and will be more receptive of the next session).This morning (session 5), we began with a few extended (meaning time) leg-lifts (he really likes doing these; he thinks he's very clever ;) :P ); and then we worked more with the targeting. After how well he's progressed with the leg-lifts, I was kind of hoping that things would "click" in his brain the same for the target -- but it didn't appear that it had. After doing exactly what we had done the first time, several times, without any real recognition of what we were attempting to do that showed on him, I thought about switching things up. Now, I no longer brought the target to him; instead, I kept shaking the bag gently, and repeating "touch", and when he moved his nose and slightly brushed it, I praised. Well, he was very surprised indeed that THIS was what I was looking for! And I saw some recognition in his eyes, like something had finally clicked in his brain. By the end of the session, I was still shaking the bag lightly and saying "touch, Joey", but he was definitely LOOKING for the bag, and even lipping it. I was so ecstatic with our progress! Again, we ended the session with what we were confident in: leg-lifts. :)
THE BOW PART 3 -- Sorry I haven't been updating as much. Actually, I felt there wasn't much to update on; Joey and I were faithfully practicing our leg-lifts and our targeting at least in one session a day. He absolutely loves doing the leg-lifts (he thinks he's VERY clever ;) ); and the targeting has become a kind of game for us, even to the point where sometimes I'll dash away to a distance and say "touch" and shake the plastic bag, and he'll see how quickly he can follow me, find the bag, and touch it. He's liking that game more and more every time we play it. ^_^
But I didn't feel there was much updating to do since we've been working on the same things as in the other two entries I've done thus far.
Last weekend, when I was sure he knew the leg-lifts by heart and knew what the concept was for the targeting, I tried to begin asking for them at the same time and came up with a problem: We're using verbal cues for both "left" and "touch"--how was I supposed to say them at the same time and ask for them in a way that Joey would understand what I was asking for? We tried a couple times, but to no avail, and we both became frustrated at something that didn't come quite as clearly and easily, so we immediately went back to what we already knew: leg-lifts and targeting, and we were ok and having fun again. But it bothered me that I couldn't think of any possible way for us to get both tricks done at the same time in a clear and concise way. :/ I slept on it for a few nights with no inspiration; and then I got suddenly and unexpectedly busy with school, chores, and extracurriculars; so our play sessions had to be put on hold for the first few days of this week.
After we rode this afternoon, it was so clear that Joey still wanted to spend some quality time hanging out, that I went to get a few bits of cookie and our dressage whip. We practiced our leg-lifts a couple of times and played the targeting game for a few minutes when I began to realize something: When I asked Joey to touch the target closer to the ground and nearer his front legs, he was doing a leg-lift at the same time -- putting the two tricks together on his own! He acted like it was almost a game with himself: let me see if I can balance on three legs while I touch the target really low like Mom's asking me to. I could tell he thought he was really clever, and even a bit funny. :P I was shocked that he would do such a thing, though; but I was so ecstatic!! I didn't have to come up with a way to ask him, after all; I just had to give us both a little while to mull it over, and then just remember that it's all about having fun and building our relationship, even if that means we won't get to do everything that I might want to do. I'm so immensely proud of him! <3 ^_^

Entries From My Horse Journal and Teaching Joey the Bow

1-19-13

Today, I really wanted to have another lesson bareback and bridleless; but Joey shifted away from the fence twice when I tried to mount. And though I didn't pay attention when he did that yesterday, I took it as him telling me that he didn't want to ride tonight.
Now that I think about it, he did the exact same thing last night -- I just wasn't paying attention in my eagerness to be consistent with our bareback, bridleless lessons; I quickly slid on before he could move away a second time. And you know what? We rode all the way down to the second paddock, and even half a circuit around it before Joey quit! It didn't feel quite like the connection we had the last time. . .but still.
So it was really tough for me to respect Joey's movement away today as a "no". But, though I had the fear that he'll now say no every time, I finally decided to go with respect instead of "ignorant" force this time.
Instead of riding, I wanted to see if he would walk willingly with me; that's one of my big horsey dreams (besides bareback/bridleless riding): to have a horse that will want to be with me no matter what; even following to the point of running with me. Joey and I walked the entire perimeter of both paddocks. He took some coaxing at only a couple of spots; and I reinforced with bits of cookie at intervals. Not once did Joey's ears go back or head and neck relax; even when he stopped and looked as if he might not follow me, he always looked interested. And I guess that alone (much less coupled with the fact that he did end up following me all the way) is a step of progress just as much as anything we could have accomplished bareback and bridleless. It's all about the attitude and the perspective.

Here's some more really helpful advice from Mosie:

"The best thing that really changed everything for Annie and me was approaching [ riding] not like an expected service a horse must give but rather a gift they are giving you. When you are on him, I believe it is better not to even think of what he "isn't doing" or what is "not right" (of course being safe). Rather, focus on and rejoice in every small gift he gives you. It will make you feel better, and thus allow him to be more receptive, if you aren't commanding/demanding him to turn. Evey thing should be a question - a request. If you ask if he would like to turn and he does, then praise like there is no tomorrow because he is willingly giving you the joy you are looking for! He will be more likely to turn for you again the next time if he knows it is a grateful partnership. With this attitude, if he doesn't do what you ask, it is not big deal - you are still happy to just be with him and because it wasn't a demand, your "pride" isn't hurt and you (meaning whoever!) can stay calm. You want the experience to always be positive :) ... you sound like you know this though ;) This is still how I ride with Annie - every ride is a gift she gives to me - I try to always be very grateful and conscious of that."

 

Present day.

 

I've been worried about Joey's fitness lately. The other morning he galloped up from the second paddock for breakfast; and though it was 5 or 6 strides, he had sort of a coughing fit when he stopped in front of me. I remembered a fitness schedule that was published in one of my DK "Horse and Pony Care" books, and decided to start him on that. They start you out just walking for the first two weeks, gradually building up from 20 minute lessons to 45 minutes. No training and gridwork or hacking is involved -- just a pleasure walk on level ground.

So we walked around the only little bit of level ground that we have in a clearing in the woods that we kids have always called the "wheat field" (there's no real wheat there; but the grass grows shoulder-height and turns golden in the summer). Joey tried to be fresh; and I found that there were a lot of things that I need to work on, like staying still and steady through my legs and seat and hands (we rode bareback).

 

I'm part of a little horse-owning/loving group that Mosie brought together on Facebook. She came up with the idea of doing a kind of group project. We all agreed on the project of teaching our horses the bow. She put up a video of her teaching it to a new horse named Sierra using liberty methods (I also got to see the way she uses clicker training-- something new to me). She really only did two steps in the first video: getting Sierra to lift her left front leg on visual command, and then combining that with a target-touch between her front legs.

I was so excited to do this group project; but Joey can't see my visual cue [of lifting my hand to indicate a leg-lift] and he can't see the target to touch it. But I wasn't about to give up the group project; it's just the accountability I need to teach Joey the bow. So I just shrugged my shoulders and told myself that I would just have to get creative.

Because I'm not a very creative person, all I could come up with was tapping Joey on the leg with my whip and saying "*left". (*My idea with "left" is that maybe Joey can memorize his left and his right? It sounds a lot like "lift"; so if I need to abandon that thought and go with the simpler idea of "lift" just meaning lift a front leg, then we can. :) ) But right off the bat, Joey was backing up instead of lifting; and Mosie emphasized (kinda) be careful what movement you reward.

Now I was torn: I feel that I would really like Joey to think about the training and try and correct himself/figure it out himself; but in the past when we've taken that attitude, he doesn't try anything except  what he did before that isn't working (in this instance, the back up), and then we both get frustrated.

So I opted for the less painful route: I asked Joey to back up to the fence and then I picked up his leg as if I was going to clean his hoof, and said "left". (I should note here that before I asked him to back to the fence, I did try to break it down to me picking up his leg as if to clean his hoof; but even then, for some weird reason, he kept backing.) Then I remembered that we were going to use the whip as an aid; so I began tapping his leg, saying "left", and picking it up. After several gos at this, I stopped picking up his leg and just tapped it and said "left". He lifted his leg! But after that, he wouldn't; so we went back to what we knew: me picking it up. We got to the point where I was gently leaning into his shoulder to shift his weight, tapping, and saying "left", and he was picking it up (for the most part).

I have a feeling that it's going to take us a while to get to the actual bow. But that's ok: slow and steady wins the race; patience is a virtue; and most of all: I'm learning a ton about training horses while doing this, and I am finally clued into breaking the big things down into little steps and working at the horse's pace (both things I've never been able to wrap my mind around and totally understand).

I will note that a couple of times Joey pawed instead of just lifting. The first time, I accidentally rewarded; so he did it a second time, which I did not reward because it wasn't the movement I was looking for. I was excited when I asked for the lift a third time and I saw him thinking hard about what it was I wanted him to do. He tried just lifting his leg like we had been doing and he got rewarded! :P

 

We had another lesson in leg-lifting after supper. I screwed up my courage and positive attitude (I was sighing a lot, believing that because it was a little difficult the first time, we were never going to get it). Do you know what? I was prepared to lift his leg like we had already done so many times because he seemed like it wasn't connecting in his brain; but I tapped his leg with the whip, said "left", and touched his shoulder with mine as I was bending down, and his leg popped up before I could grab it! You can imagine the praise he got for that! ^.^ I only gave him a second to think about it (Joey tends to lose interest if I let him sit too long without presenting the cue again) and then I tapped his leg, said "left", and touched his shoulder. He lifted his leg again! We did it several more times; and though we were not able to do it just yet with just the voice command of "left", at least I wasn't having to bend over and pick his leg up for him anymore!

 

I'm beginning to think the bow is possible for Joey and I! ^.^

 

~Sam

 

 

Lots of Stuff About Joey

Time for a new blog post!

But first, an announcement: I am proud to announce that Joey Joey won the honor of Horse of the Day on horsechannel.com on Sunday! ^.^ I was excited; we've been members of the website (and subscribed to the magazine, Horse Illustrated) for three years now and hadn't ever gotten HotD.

An entry from my Horse Journal, 1-16-13

It is Wednesday. I am not kidding you: it has not stopped raining since Saturday night. Really. I've kept careful track. So, I haven't been logging much because it has been too wet (and cold) to do anything with Joey as of late.
Today, to boost my spirits (not really specifically for me), Mosie posted the amazing, dream-attaining video of her and Annie riding bareback and bridleless on the beach -- just like The Black Stallion! I was [jealous, but more] so excited for her! She totally deserves that experience after all of the faith she's put into the dream. Joey and I wouldn't be where we are today without her, so I am truly ecstatic for her! (Here's the vid. You need to watch it.)

Earlier this week, Shelby and I took Joey for another walk in the woods. He enjoys getting out.
And I think back on rain-less Saturday, Shelby and I put him under saddle for a 10 minute walk-halt lesson; but that was all the real exercise he's gotten in almost a week. But that's ok, because it's been super cold and he needs his energy to stay warm in such a damp world.

Yesterday, he and I went on another walk -- or tried to. We got down to the tractor shed and all of a sudden he got it in his head that he knew exactly the way home from there. He took off without me, not seeming to realize it until he was in the front yard, standing on a slope in the drizzle. He suddenly stopped in his march homeward and began looking around anxiously for his herd mate. Of course I was following the whole way, but I don't think he knew that; I called out to reassure him, and he nickered in his relieved tone. Silly boy. Then it was a cookie for comfort, and a squeal and playful head toss + paw combination from him, and then we settled down to graze in the misty rain.

This evening, while he was eating his grain, I piled gravel in his doorway -- it was the worst muddy mess I have ever seen, and I was beginning to get worried about him really hurting himself by getting a leg stuck in the thick mud. I'll have to dig it all out again when I want to close the stall door (which I rarely ever do) (we really just need a gutter) -- but it was worth it (<-- picture that mess). O.O
Then, I decided that Joey and  I aren't going to magically be able to instantly ride bareback and bridleless, no matter how much or what kind of prep work we do. . .right? [Not so sure I feel the same anymore; but we've begun the progress, so might as well continue and see what happens.] So, I tied the lead rope from his rope halter that was hanging nearby into a loop/"liberty neck ring" and draped it over his neck. I got on his back (which, he had the option of walking away from me perched on the fence; I made sure that was clear) and we gave it a go.
I think he did really well (keeping in mind that this kind of thing doesn't happen over night). Whereas before, I had no way of directing him without a bit/when I just hopped on naked Joey in the paddock, I had some more control from the neck ring; which surprised me since it wasn't connected to his face. Let's just say that I felt before that Joey had lost all ability to neck-rein and could not be controlled without reins attached to his nose.
But tonight, even though he gravitated to the gates as usual, we backed and made some turns with only *slight* cues from the neck rope! What a major break through! At some points I found myself really hauling on the rope, trying to get him to go away from the gate. But then I made myself relax and remember that it wouldn't come over night and that this was just for fun. And then just sitting by the gate, or backing a step or two was fun!
But the overall best part that's got me so excited was near the end: I nudged him away from the gate and asked him (lightly and loosely/relaxed) to go out into the paddock, headed away from the gate -- something he hadn't done willingly for me yet. And you know what? I felt him really step out willingly! We walked the length of the barn, toward the second paddock without so much as a slight pick up of the neck rope from me -- we walked there together; he and I! I was ecstatic -- I still am!
It was our first real connection under saddle!

Note: I've also begun giving him free-choice forage 24/7, and I think it's making him feel good/better; he's been more energetic and interested in whatever I'm doing, and it would appear that food is not always on his mind anymore. Yay! ^.^

Back to present day.

Joey and I did another lesson in bareback, bridleless riding last night, after supper. He seemed to be more contrary yesterday; I think he's just tired of all the wet. (For the big finale of the nonstop-rainy week, it snowed two inches yesterday morning, and then melted completely away under a bright sun by the afternoon! What a finish! It was beautiful! ^.^ ) Because he seemed more contrary, I tried to be patient and remember: it's just for fun/it doesn't come over night/"always strive to build good habits and good memories" (a quote from one of my horse training books). So, I did not get worked up about his grumpiness -- which is a big break through for me. ;) And you know what? By the end of the lesson, we had walked willingly the length of the barn (stepping out away from the gate) twice -- bareback and bridleless! I was so proud of him, even though he was being tough for the rest of the ride. And he seemed to perk up a little after I praised him for walking out like that.

As for other business: Last week, I had a moment of discontentment with my horsey situation. (Rather keep the motive to myself.) So I headed out to the barn to do the chore of washing the linens to put myself back in my place, and I ranted to Joey. And do you know what  he told me (more or less)? He said that things happen for a reason -- but then, some things don't happen for a reason.
He said that he has me right now and that I have him right now; and that we might not be famous and/or have the most ideal circumstances (in my mind), but we're learning from each other just the same. And that's the best thing that can happen between a horse and human.
He told me that he's happiest just being able to be a horse and to have good care and good companions -- he couldn't care less about being on the road and/or being some hot shot (like sometimes I wish we were), because that's just not how horses wanna live out their lives. They're quiet, gentle, slow folk.
And when he saw that that didn't quite cheer me up, he reminded me that we'll always have each other -- even into the future, after college.
He's not just my horse or my pet for right now; he's my partner forevermore, even after I get done with my learnin'.
And maybe now is not our time to shine; maybe we just have to be patient, or even just be content to shine through the stories we'll tell when we're old. I mean, how many kids can say that their first horse was a blind one? A young blind one that taught them never to give up in life? That taught them that there's always light in the dark tunnel -- even if it's artificial light you gotta make yourself to keep you believing until you reach the real stuff at the end of the darkness. There's always light. Simply believing that and being friend these past three years is a wonder in and of itself.

So thanks for reading. I hope you did check out the video of Mosie and Annie (if not, you can always scroll back up and check it out ;) ). And I hope you come back for more and/or decide to follow. Don't be afraid to comment if you have questions or advice or anything to say at all.

~Sam

Ranting About Lists and Cleanliness

Ack!!

It's raining and muddy and yucky out; so that puts much of a damper on my time spent with Joey. We want to be together; but the air itself is just so wet and heavy that neither of us are enjoying being out much. So, we go out for feed and a rub, but that's about it at the moment. I love to ride in the rain (except for the mess it makes all over my clothes if I ride bareback and my tack if we ride with tack) but Joey hates getting rained on. He sees no point in going traipsing through the muddy woods with wet leaves clinging to him all over (remember our bur problem?).

I do not feel quite myself anyway, what with all the med doses I am having to take with this lymph node problem of mine. What? I didn't tell you about that? Well, long story short: Since Thanksgiving I have had a golf ball-sized lump under my arm; it appeared about the same time as an infectious-looking knot on my finger. Mom and the doc are hoping that it's one and the same thing (my lymph node reacting to trying to get a foreign object out of my finger). Doc prescribed me three doses of steroids three times a day and antibiotics twice a day for a little while and we're hoping that'll take care of it. If not, then it's off to get a biopsy done (ew).
But anyway, the meds (mostly the steroids) are being no fun, making me feel irritable and foggy-headed and nauseous; and to make things worse: I have to take my last dose of steroids for the day at 10 in the evening, so that pushes bed time back a couple of hours (which a horse owner who does enjoy sleeping in can't really afford to do). So yeah. No fun. And messing up the whole routine. Not to mention this weather. *sigh* -_-

So, upon this rainy, muddy, damp and foggy-headed day, I have decided that it is a good day for making lists. Lists of all kinds of things (well, speaking in the horsey realm, of course). It just occurred to me: All my childhood, I dreamed of having a nice, clean, organized barn, even when I just had the one childhood pony. What happened? Did I lose that dream? Because my barn currently does not resemble in any way, shape, or form the cleanliness I had envisioned. I know what happened: reality attacked. Owning a horse takes up a lot more time, effort, and thought than I originally expected as a young girl. Still, my love for the barn work has not been ruined for good; just. . .depressed by the lack of organization.
So, lists it is. Lists of barn chores that I will make it a habit to complete daily; as well as lists of things that I would prefer to be done weekly-- such as rinsing buckets and sweeping up hay, etc. I mean, come on, I was certainly raised better than this (meaning, by the hunter/jumper barn I used to work at during my early teen years). I will strive to create these habits of cleanliness over the next several months and strive to instill them in my apprentice, Miss Shelby Hoskins of 13 years. If anything, I must teach her to run a neat, tidy, and safe barn, even if there is only one horse. The world depends upon it (well, in a way).

During all of this list-making, I am educating myself finally on everything that is usually done at horse farms to prepare for spring. Stuff that we've never done. What do you do around the barn to prepare for spring? I know many horse people compete their horses come spring and summer, but obviously Joey and I can't. But what about barn maintenance and upkeep? Care to enlighten me on your annual routine come March? I dearly hope so.

Note: Took lots of "before" pics to compare with when I finish organizing my messy barn. But alas, blogger is still being a booger head. So we will have to remain patient (although I'm not sure how much more patience I have for this problem. . . I blame the steroids. . .I do with everything else that's been going on. . . -_- )

~Sam

A Grand Day Out

This afternoon, I went out with the intention of riding through our bends and walk-halt transitions since it's muddy. But when I went out to see Joey, he was girth-sore and sleepy, and I remembered that yesterday, after our ride, I had made a mental note that we would take today off from riding since Joey was likely to be sore. Sill me. :)
But I still wanted to spend some quality time with my boy. So I went down to the second paddock and grabbed the blue tarp off the fence and we played with that for a few minutes, eating cookies, and just enjoying being together.
Then I got the grand idea to get out of the paddocks and take a walk on our [only] trail; we hadn't been out in a while. So I grabbed Joey's rope-halter; he came eagerly to have it put on, wanting to know what we were going to do next. We went out the gate; and from the way he "settled in", I knew he thought we were walking laps. :P I grinned and changed the course on him, going around to the backyard. It was a little scary at first (he thought we were going to fall into the pool). We inspected grass, acorns, rotting timber, leaf piles, rotting hay, and old plastic wagon, oil drums, and my dad's goods trailer (ya know: one of those small covered trailers that you can't put horses in?). The trailer was a little spooky, but we managed.
Instead of going down our regular trail, though, we suddenly felt adventurous and turned off of the trail and headed into the woods, down the leafy hill, trying our best to find spaces between the trees and shrubs big enough for a certain large bottom *ahem*ahem*. Joey was just as interested in exploring these new woods as I was; yet, he stayed calm. He had to figure out how and when to reach each hoof up and over in turn in order to get over a tree branch from time to time. And he got his legs into some situations in which I was expecting him to panic; but he never did. Instead, he either calmly worked his way through his predicament, or stood there, patiently waiting for me to get him unstuck.
A couple of these times included there being too much slack in the lead rope, so he would accidentally step on it, pinning his nose to the floor. Each time, he would only sigh and calmly back up, releasing his face. Then I got an idea: why did I need to hold the lead rope when he was following right by my side? Sure, there was the risk that he would spook, bolt, and either run into a tree, or step in a hole and hurt himself; but he had already handled so many other new situations with success on that walk that I decided to risk it (always consider all of the possible risks before doing something out of the ordinary with a horse!). I knotted his lead rope into his mane, leaving enough loose so that I could grab him if I needed to, but not enough so that he was stepping on it. It worked: he followed close behind as we explored our way down the leafy hill, deeper into the strange woods.
Of course, soon we came to the old barbed wire fence that divides the properties. The fence is down in disrepair and buried well under the ground in some places -- Joey and I could have walked across with no problems. But, alas, a large tree had fallen close on the other side of this, and I thought that even the smaller branches looked too solid for Joey to navigate. (And I've always, always had a fear of barbed wire when it's around horses; I've learned the hard way to always expect the worst and the unexpected; especially when it comes to barbed wire fencing.)
So we turned around and headed back to the familiar trail. The only exploring Joey felt like doing after that was of the old, dead grass along the trail. So I went on ahead, trying to see if there were more hidden trails big enough for the both of us away back in the trees. After a while, I threw a glance over my shoulder to check on him, and, much to my surprise, I saw him trot right on past me down the trail, head and tail up, looking like he was searching for me. Suddenly, I thought of how the trail dead-ended at the pond a little ways up, and I came out from "hiding" and he came right to me.
Calm walk home, except for a part where he was once again afraid that we were going to fall in the pool. (I really hope someday we can work through that fear; but I have a feeling it's going to take a long while. :/ )

Aaaand pictures are still not working on blogger. -_-

So I guess to finish up, I want to share something that my friend Mosie told me:

"The difference is (when working with horses) is the intention. It is not about the goal, making sure the horse is "correct", or forcing "fun/activity/etc" - its about the relationship and communication you make on the way. The thing is, the simplicity of it is what makes it so complicated. Children, with their innocence and pure love for the horse and who they are when with the horse, hold the key of trust without trying. The simple connection they have is something people work to get back for years. They automatically possess the "missing piece". Think of yourself, when you were younger - that little girl, the horse-crazy girl who simply loved horses for their grace and beauty (in every meaning of the word), she did not think about what "needed to be done". And she was fulfilled. She was natural with her friend. This is all we need you see... the pure love, the great bliss of simply enjoying each other... this can be the only key. At least that is what I see."

Again, you can view Mosie working through these methods/ideas with her mare Annie at her YouTube page here, or get in touch with her via Facebook here. She's always ready to talk horses, and she's super friendly and encouraging! :)

Thanks or reading; and, as always, I hope you decide to come back for more.

~Sam