Christmas Vacation!

I'm sitting at home 1000 miles away from the ISC as I type this, and let me tell you, it is COLD here!!  My lucky horse is still in Florida, and I miss him quite a bit.  This is the longest that I've spent time away from him since I got him almost a year ago! I'm sure he's doing fine though, 2 of my extern friends are taking care of him while I'm here.  I got some awesome christmas presents both parelli and non, and best of all, I got to see my fiance!!  I had to drive 4 hours to get him at 7am, but he made it home for Christmas!  Overall, best Christmas yet, and I'm feeling very refreshed and ready to head back to the ranch.  My brain has been working overtime making plans to progress with my life with my fiance, and to progress with my horse.  New updates soon!  I'm off to get ready for my last Christmas party!

Busy-ness again!

I thought to myself today, "Wow, its been a long time since I've updated my blog!" So here I am, typing away on my day off!  First off, its been a great day off, I've spent tons of time with my horse, who has been fabulous!  We played around with having as small of a phase one as possible, and it went really well!  I was amazed at how much effort he was putting in to things.  I asked him to back up over a pole today, first time ever, and he did it!  He also put all 4 feet on the bridge and stayed on!  Before, he would put 4 feet on, and get right off, but he finally got on, stopped and looked at me, and waited.  I'm so happy with him.  I've been focusing on doing the little things really well, and its really been paying off.  He stands still for blanketing, which is wonderful.  He has gotten very focused on where he puts his feet, especially when he backs up.  Its to the point that he can back up to any object and place his feet so close to the object that his hair is brushing it.  I'm just so proud of him.

I did find something out that wasnt very exciting though.  My poor horse is allergic to something in Florida!  The vet thinks its something around his pen that triggers it, but couldnt figure out what.  His recommendation was for Pistol to be in a pasture as much as possible, and happily, that is working out.  He is getting much better now, and even has a palm tree in his pasture!  Welcome to Florida! :)

I've been making lots of friends down here, and having a great time.  Its so wonderful to be around nothing but Parelli all the time.  I've been told I will have kind of a hard time going home though, because I'll miss everyone here!  I'll worry about that when the time comes though, which won't be for a good long time!

2 weeks at the Parelli Ranch

As I'm just finishing up my second week here at the ranch, so much has changed, that its time for another blog update!  I've settled in to my permanent "home away from home" here, a Luxury Rv trailer that I share with 1 other working student and 2 externs(for now! as more students come, that is subject to change).  We have been having a great time settling in and getting to know our new digs.  It turns out, there's all sorts of rules for living in an RV, like how you shower and what toilet paper you use!  As I have never lived in an RV before, this is all completely new to me, so I'm going to have to remember everything so I don't mess up!   I've gotten things sorted with my horse, he should be picked up Monday morning if everything goes as planned, and be dropped off Tuesday afternoon.  I'm not going to relax until I get the phone call that he's on the trailer though, because I know my horse!  I wish I could just explain to him why he needs to come down here and live with me, because I'm not coming back home to live for a long time.  I'm sure if I could tell him that, he would hop right on, because my grandparents said he stares over the fence and whinnies for his "herd-mate" all the time.  But I'm just going to trust my shipper, who sounds fabulous, and hope that they load him all right.  I've been making some friends here, which has been fun, and having some great times creating funny stories with them.  For instance, there has been a velociraptor siting on campus, and she happens to be my roommate!  I'm missing my fiance and our dog terribly, but hopefully I will get to go home for the holidays and see them both!  Anyways, I'm off to bed because we have a huge list of things to do tomorrow morning!

A whole week on the Parelli Campus!

That's right, I've finished my first week as a Parelli Working Student!  Whoo-hoo!!  Its been pretty challenging, but I've had a great time learning new things and meeting new people.  My horse didnt make it down yet, but he will.  I just have to have faith that things will work out at home to send my horse down here!  And on a more personal note, I got engaged!!  It was the sweetest thing ever.  My boyfriend and I have been dating for almost 3 years, and he was happy that I was going to be a working student, but knew he was going to miss me.  So, I didnt know it, but he put my engagement ring in the pocket on the seat of my truck, and after my first week was done here, he told me about it!  He told me he didnt want me to stay home because of it, because he was so proud of me for becoming a working student, but he really wanted to propose, so he thought up this way.  I am so excited!  There is no date set, but thats ok, because we both have to get done with school and starting our careers first.  I'm off to bed, and planning on enjoying my first day off tomorrow!

Last night in Michigan Take Two!

Yep, that's right, I'm still in Michigan.  My shipper showed up at 10am, and we spent 7 hours trying to load my horse.  Guess what?  He didnt load.  So I'm still in Michigan for one more night, and tomorrow I will be leaving to go to the ISC without my horse.  My shipper is coming back sometime in the next couple weeks, and I'm hoping to get someone to come out and work with Pistol once or twice before his pick up date and be there to load him.  So for the first 2(ish!) weeks, I will be horseless. :(

This is it... The last night in Michigan...

I've said goodbye to my boyfriend and our dog, and tucked my horse in for the night.  Tomorrow when I wake up, all I have to do is load my horse, and drive away with my truck.  We will probably make it to Tennessee tomorrow night, and be in Florida the night after.  I'm going to miss everyone terribly, but I'm counting on having a good time at the ISC so that I don't worry too much.  You know you have a good boyfriend when you're saying goodbye before leaving for 6 months to be on a horse ranch and he tells you "Do a great job down there. I know you will!" And on that note, I'm off to finish packing.  ISC here I come!

Health Certificate

Yep, Pistol got his health certificate today.  And guess what?  He's fat. :(  The vet said its not super bad, but he could tell he'd been eating grass all summer.  Especially around his butt!  I was like "oops..." I didn't think he was that bad.  It shouldnt be a big deal though, he's not hideously overweight, just a little chubby, according to the vet.  Plus we are going to the ISC, so he will be on a hay diet, no rich grass!  But at least my horse is an easy keeper!  Plus he did a fabulous job for the vet again.  He stood still for all the stethoscope stuff, and even was good about the thermometer.  He has a clean bill of health, and will be leaving the state Friday!  But he's listed as Sparty on his coggins, so his health certificate had to say Sparty too. :( 

Change of plans... again.

Yep, good thing I'm pretty laid back, otherwise I'd be a mess right now.  6 days until I leave, and we are just now finalizing plans.  Yikes!  But I found a transporter that I liked MUCH better than the first guy I talked to, so I told her I was booking with her immediately.  And boy am I glad I did.  I got an email from her that she had another horse traveling with mine to florida, and because it was just the 2 of them, she was putting them in box stalls to make it easier for both of them.  Plus she won't charge me a difficult loading fee if Pistol takes awhile to get on the trailer, thank goodness!  And best of all, she's letting him travel in his Parelli halter.  Phew.  I was going to feel silly having my horse get off the trailer at the ISC in a nylon halter.  Not to mention I was like "good luck leading him without his rope halter!".  But this new woman totally understands, and she is glad I do natural horsemanship with Pistol, because she loves those kind of clients that don't bully their horses into the trailer.  Yay!  So now I think my plans are finalized.  She is picking Pistol up October 1, and he should make it down there right around the time I do.  I'm bummed that I can't drive him myself, but I get the reasoning behind it.  And really, it doesnt matter, because I'm confident my shipper will treat him well, just like I would.  She even will give him treats if she thinks he wants one.  :D

Even shorter now!

It looks like I have a transporter secured for the time I want, but he wants to leave one day earlier than planned.  Now because this is my horse's first time doing something like this, I really would like to be at the ISC when he gets there, so I will most likely be leaving early as well.  Which means Thursday morning I will be on my way and so will Pistol!  The only bummer is that the transporter does NOT want Pistol in his Parelli halter, he wants nylon only.  :(  So I've got to have my horse show up at the Parelli center in a non-Parelli halter.  Luckily I still have the nylon halter he came with.  I tried it on him yesterday, and played with him a little bit, and boy was he confused!  He still responded pretty well, which made me really happy, but he seemed puzzled that the halter didnt feel the same, and was so much heavier.  He was super happy to get it off, and stuck his nose right in his Parelli one. :D  I am glad I still have his old halter though, otherwise I would've had to buy a completely new one for 1 trip, which seems silly.  But at least my horse will make it to the center right around the same time I will, not 2 weeks early, or 4 weeks late(I had both quoted to me by shippers!).

7 days until Florida!!!

That's right, its now my last week in Michigan!  I'm going to miss everyone, so I've been running around like crazy making last visits, but of course I have a cell phone, so I won't be completely cut off from everyone. 

I've been packing up everything Pistol and I will need, and so far I'm a surprisingly light packer!  My boyfriend predicted I would pack way more than I needed, but so far... I think I have the things I need without going overboard. 

I've been working with Pistol and my trailer, but it looks like we are going to have a transport company take him down to Florida.  Because I haven't driven a loaded horse trailer before, my grandparents were nervous about the trip, and thought things would easier if I wasn't trying to navigate and deal with my horse.  I'm kind of bummed, because I was looking at it like an adventure, but I'm guessing it will still be an adventure, except this way I will meet Pistol down in Florida.  A race! Haha. 

And apparently I'm doing a good job of not communicating any nervous excitement to Pistol, because he is acting completely normal and nonchalant.  No jitters or anything.  Its like he doesn't know he will on his way to Florida in a week! ;)

8 days and counting!

That's right, I am almost in my final week of Michigan time.  I've been working with Pistol TONS to get used to the trailer, and he's getting pretty good.  Every time I send him into the trailer, he puts 3 feet in, without fail.  And, every session he has put all 4 feet in, but hasnt stayed in.  I do have Meggie Allen, 2* Parelli Professional, coming out tomorrow to help me with him.  I can't wait, because I'm really hoping she can figure out what's going on, and maybe "solve" the problem.  I really would like to haul him myself, but if I can't get him to load reliably in my trailer, I will have to either hire a company to transport him, or rent a stock trailer to haul him in myself.  Either way, that's not really an option I like. 

I've heard from Parelli-land about things I should bring with me, so the mad dash packing starts now. :D  Looks like I wont need sheets, but I will need towels. How weird.  Plus I'm planning on bringing tons of bug spray and sunscreen!  I dont want to fry, and I dont want bugs eating me! 

I'm curious to see how Pistol will do with all of this, because he hasn't really traveled much in his life.  Pretty much he's spent his whole life on the same farm, except for the trip to the trainers.  So this whole trip should be very interesting, and I can't wait to see how he handles it.  I'm hoping he will be left-brained the whole time.  Since I've been working with him, he has gotten so much calmer about new situations, which should be an asset on the trip. 

Also, my boyfriend has found something to occupy his time while I'm in Florida: truck driving school.  I said great! you can haul my horse so I don't have to! Hahaha. 

Spending some quality time with Pistol

Another day, no time to think!

I've been so crazy  busy all day, that I haven't had much time to work on anything at home.  I was at work from 7:30am-6:30pm, watching/participating in a saddle fitting on the horses at work, and then in a meeting.  I got home and was completely exhausted, but I knew I needed to work with Pistol.  So... I went to grab him, and he did a nice job haltering.  That is something I am just so incredibly proud of. :D  We worked on some stick to me over to a figure 8 pattern.  I played with the figure 8 pattern until he did 2 nice circles on his own, and passed through the middle without pinning his ears.  Once I stopped him, he started licking and chewing.  Then I went to work on sideways, because that game needs tons of work.  I started on the fence, and discovered that going left, with me standing on his right side, goes beautifully, but the opposite side is horrendous.  We worked on that a bit, with me trying to push Pistol just enough to motivate him without actually pushing him.  He got frustrated and kept backing up from the fence, so I took him out away from it and asked for sideways without a fence.  Once he got a couple good steps sideways, I stopped, and got more licking and chewing. I went outside to work on circling on a surface with some give, and got some really nice circles at a walk and trot.  Pistol still has a bit of an issue with cantering, either he bolts off and loses focus, or he turns it into a trot.  So I've been working on that, but because it was so hot, I didn't push him to do much trotting or cantering.  We headed over towards the trailer in the backyard, because I was going to work on saddling again.  However, something came up.  As we rounded the house, Pistol noticed the gap in the porch covering underneath the deck, and the air conditioner was on!  TWO scary things in ONE spot!  So we had to do some approach and retreat with the gap under the deck and the air conditioner.  Once he walked up and touched the air conditioner with his nose, he noticed a GIANT spider next to it, and wanted nothing to do with that!  I didnt blame him because I didnt either!!  It was getting pretty late, the sun was already setting, so I bagged the idea of saddling tonight and figured I would work on it tomorrow.  I came back and looked at the spider, which is literally the size of my palm and black and yellow, and according to google, it is a non poisonous zipper spider.  I decided I didnt care though, I didnt want it living right outside my bedroom window!!!!  I cant stand spiders.

I forgot to mention, I recently joined Giddyupflix.com, and rented L&HB from them.  DVD number 5 came today, which I ordered first, because of the trailer loading demo.  I dont believe I will have time to order all of them before I leave, so I'm watching the ones I need most right now, and will watch the whole set in order another time.  I'm super excited though to be watching this. :D

a really good day

It was a really good day today with Pistol  We did some easy circling work, and I got some really nice trotting from him, very rounded and collected, and some really pretty changes of direction. Being a LBE, he had to throw in some bucks, but I've learned not to react, because then he thinks I'm fighting with him. If I just ignore it, he does his thing and moves on, and besides, I dont mind him being a bit cheeky. I think he's funny most of the time. :D We got in the trailer again to eat dinner, and he was super cute about it. Plus later when I went to shut the pasture gate, he started running around me at liberty and wanting to play, and almost playing tag with me. He would run in circles, and as soon as he looked at me, I disengaged him, and he whipped around, looked at me, and then did a little "cutting horse" moves and started running in a circle bucking again. I waited during most of this, just encouraging him occasionally, and pretty soon he got his exuberance out, and came in for a scratch. He even started scratching me while I scratched him. What a cutie.

What a great way to end my day...

Half way there, but after this he did hop right in his trailer(off camera of course!!).  This is after 6 days of not working with the trailer at all because we were fixing the brakes.  I'm so proud of him!

Whatever I'm doing is working...

Seriously, I didnt exactly have a great play session today, Pistol seemed pretty unhappy during parts of it. BUT... later tonight when I went to shut his pasture gate, he came up to me, and got really cuddly. He stuck his head right in my arms and when I started petting him he closed his eyes and leaned on me. It was adorable!! And then he noticed my flashlight, so he wanted to play with it. I let him for a bit, but then he tried to bite it and I was afraid he would break it, so I gently took it away from him. He started nuzzling my hand, and I held my palm out for him, and he starting flapping his lips on it and licking it. That's a wierd little thing he does sometimes that seems to really calm him or soothe him, he closes his eyes and just stands there. And then, here's the best part: He turned his face over to mine, and rested his muzzle on my cheek!! It was a huge trust thing for both of us, because I didn't push him away, and he didn't bite me, and it was just adorable!! It definitely made up for earlier today, and convinced me that even though today was a bit rough, he is still on board for the journey.

R.I.P. Big Green Ball...

Just after this, he somehow managed to POP the ball!! 

Trailer Simulations

I've been busy all day, so I just now got out to play with Pistol, even though he has been hanging around waiting all day.  He has a little routine, and he doesnt like it when I mess it up.  I go out and feed him, then he moseys out into his pasture to eat for awhile, and then he comes back in and wants to play.  Now I used to be able to play with him in the morning and at night, but then I got busy with work, and have only been able to play with him once a day.  So today I got out there, and he was happy to see me, especially when I started scratching him.  He even turned around and started scratching me.  Once he was in the mood, I put his halter on, and practiced driving from zone 3/4 on the right side.  That is the harder side for both of us, and I realize I need to work on it more than I have been to get it better.  So we did some driving out to the front lawn, and then I played around with the rock slide pattern with him.  He got it perfectly the second time at a walk, so I left it alone and moved on to circles again.  After just a couple laps he relaxed and gave me a really beautiful rounded trot with the rope dragging on the ground all the way around the circle, so I brought him in and scratched him, and then sent him out to the right.  This time he got a bit cheeky with me, deciding to run and buck.  So I let him for a little bit, and then added my 4 ounces to it, and pretty soon he said "can I please walk?"  Then I asked him for a trot again, and this time he did a beautiful circle to the right with a rounded body and the rope on the ground, so I started traveling.  He did great with that too, until we reached a scary spot.  So we had to do some approach and retreat with the whole area, because there were several scary trees and plants and a porch that might eat him.  Then we headed for the back yard, and my grandpa started to mow the lawn.  Not a big deal, I thought, Pistol can deal with it.  And sure enough, he dealt with it just fine.  There is a big bush in the back yard that I had Pistol back up to as practice for when the trailer doors close behind him.  It took a bit, because he would get so far, and then scootch his butt so it went away from the bush.  After the first time, I knew where his threshold was, and didnt ask him to go further.  I brought him back, yo-yo-ed him again, and he took a step closer.  A little more of that, and he had his tail in the bush.  I waited, and pretty soon he started licking and chewing.  Woo-hoo!!  Just then, my grandpa drove by on the mower, and Pistol had to go investigate it.  So I did some more zone 3 driving back to the pen, shut the gate, and had Pistol back up to that.  He got it much quicker that time, and I rewarded him with lots of scratches, and removed his halter.  I think tomorrow if all goes well, I will see if I can ride him.  I did all his preflight checks again today, and he passed them all.  He was so soft, I really wanted to get on him today, but I knew I wasn't ready for it.  Tomorrow I'm going to get a pair of boots, which is a long story, but when the store finally sent them to me, they sent the wrong size, so I have to go back tomorrow and get the right size, and I will feel better about riding in boots.  Silly, I know, but still.  One can't be a cowboy in tennis shoes. :D

circling game and exploring

I've been working with Pistol on the circling game a bit, because he's been having some wierd issues with it lately. I think its because I've been working with him on trailer loading. Its created some problems in the circling game now, mostly bolting on the send and not paying attention/tipping the nose outward. So I've been playing with him in my front yard, because that has a different feel than his pen. Its much more cushiony, and has a better "give" to it, so its more similar to what an arena would be, instead of the rock hard ground in his pen. Today I really got in depth on the circle, because he was getting so "bad" about it. I had to constantly do a pattern interrupt, and keep his focus. It took FOREVER, and quite a few bucks/rears, but finally at the end, he was doing a BEAUTIFUL circle with his nose tipped in, 1 ear on me, rope dragging on the ground and a nice rounded gait. I was so proud of him, I know it was rough, but he finally figured it out, and started licking and chewing. We practiced the rock slide pattern that was discussed on the savvy club forum, because at some point I'm planning on doing some cutting/reining/roping type stuff with Pistol. He really gets it, and seems to really love it, and constantly wants to do it FAST! :D Silly boy. He's so cute when he figures a pattern out.








Once we worked on the rock slide pattern and he was doing it correctly and licking and chewing, I started walking around with him and driving from zone 3/4. We walked all around the edge of the front lawn, which has all sorts of interesting decorative plants for Pistol to investigate. He's never seen much of anything that wouldnt be around a normal barn, so anywhere I take him, there's something new and exciting for him to look at. Today, that new and exciting thing was the yellow line in the middle of the road. Now mind you, I dont want him walking in the road, I have NO plans of riding him on the road, but I also didnt want to discourage his curiousity. So... we examined the yellow line. I had to do some approach and retreat with him because he got a little scared of the road(its a different material that he's never seen before). Just like when I first got him, he had never walked on asphalt before. He got out there, and sniffed the line, wiggled his lips on it, and stuck his hoof on it like "so THERE!" He was so adorable doing it. And of course once we had investigated it, he was done and ready for his grain.

Riding Prep

I've been working on getting Pistol ready to ride lately, because I really would like to ride him before we travel to Florida. I'm not making it a goal, because I dont want to put unreasonable pressure on us, but I would like it if we could practice some freestyle before arriving at the ranch. So, I've been researching as much as possible, and I have finally decided on a plan. Pistol was saddle-broke before I bought him, he spent months at a trainer's barn, and then all last summer being ridden by the barn owner of the boarding stable he was at. However, from the things theyve told me, I'm not sure he was actually ok with being saddled. Actually, I KNOW he wasn't ok with it, but because I didnt see it, I dont know if it was left brain "you cant make me" or right brain "oh NO!". I have saddled him a few times, and he did just fine with being saddled, but once he went to move he started bucking. The barn owner told me he did that, so I'm not sure if it is a learned behaviour, or actual fear. I'm taking things much slower with him, using a 22 ft professional line to simulate a girth/saddle and playing with tightening and loosening it, and then moving him around. So far, he's been doing really well. I start out tossing the rope over his back, and then running the rope through the ring and doing some approach and retreat with tightening. Once its tight enough to be there, but not pinching, I loop it around so that I can toss the end over his head, and daisy chain it through the ring just like you would with a mecate. That way, he has the "girth" around his middle, the "breast collar" to hold the "girth" in place so it doesnt fall down to his hips, and the "mecate" so he gets used to having that rope bouncing there. He's been doing a great job, really thinking about it, not panicking anymore. He trotted today, and even did a couple steps of a canter without panicking. I'm so proud of him!

Busy Busy Busy

I'm trying to prepare for Florida, which means TONS of work on my trailer to get it in tip-top shape for the trip, and planning the route, getting Pistol ready to stay in the trailer, getting Pistol in shape, getting myself in shape... the list goes on!  Luckily though everything I've been doing has really been resonating with Pistol, and our bond is getting even better.  He's become such a gentleman in the few short months I've had him.  Everyone that has come over has noticed how even in a week's worth of time, he gets even more polite and soft.  He hasn't lost any of his exuberance, but he is no longer so "bratty" all the time.  He seems to have finally decided that it is ok to work with me, instead of against me.  Looks like all my passive persistence paid off!  He has gone from saying NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! all the time to saying "Oh, did you want me to put my hoof over there?  Should I put my nose on it? How about I jump it instead?", which is WONDERFUL.  Its so awesome to see him transforming into the really sweet horse I knew was in there.  He really is becoming a partner, and I have a feeling that we will be able to work on our freestyle pretty soon. 

On another note, my friend came over again to work on trailer loading, and she commented that he was a completely different horse from the last time she was over.  He still has lots of tricks, but yesterday was more introverted about the trailer (I dont want to, so I'll just stand here like a tank, just MAKE me move) instead of extroverted(You cant make me, you cant catch me, if you even LOOK at me I'll buck!).   But also, along with being more introverted about it, he was still MUCH more polite.  No more kicking, bucking, rearing, or biting.  He still wouldnt get all 4 feet in the trailer with my friend there, but he has done it before, so we discussed what I need to do to teach him about the butt bar and door.  Also, next time she will bring her horse, so we can play together.  That should be interesting for Pistol, since he is the only horse on the ranch right now, and this is HIS turf, and he is usually very dominant.  Also, he hasn't seen another horse in 3 months.  I wanted to be able to take him to work with me a lot, so he would have the socialization with other horses, but he had other plans.  Apparently he is fine being an only child! :D  But I'm trying to get him used to anything and everything that he will encounter on the way to florida, and on the ranch in florida.  I wouldnt be doing my job as his partner if I didnt play with him while other horses were being played with, or trailer load him with other horses/people around or anything else that might happen while we are travelling and living on the ranch. 

My poor horse

He did it again.  This time he caught his hoof in the ONE spot on the trailer that was dangerous.  Another vet visit, another vet bill, this time for more than last time, because he had to be sedated during the exam and treatment, got a bunch of shots, and meds.  Poor baby!  He sliced his hoof bulb/wall on the trailer side, and the vet said I got REALLY lucky that he didnt damage himself more than he did.  Also, we got lucky that the vet thinks it will heal up just fine and in time for Pistol to go to Florida still.  Sidenote, Pistol loves my vet, and his truck.  It was so cute when he pulled up, Pistol wanted to go see his truck so badly, but then when the vet got out, his attention shifted to him and wanted to go see him.  He picked his hoof right up for him, and the vet even peeled back the flap that was sliced, and Pistol just stood there.  Now remember, this is the horse that will NEVER pick his feet up for the farrier.  And I warned the vet that Ive never had to do an injection on Pistol, so I had no idea how he would behave, but apparently I didnt need to warn him!  He pinched his neck, inserted the needle, and Pistol didnt even flinch!  I thought about asking him if he did farrier work, since my poor farrier has such a rough time with Pistol. :)  But now I just have to keep an eye on his hoof, try to keep it clean, and give him his antibiotics.  That poor horse is probably thinking that moving in with me was a bad plan, since he's had SO much more happen than he ever did before.  No quiet life with me!  Good thing I have a LBE. :D

4 feet in the trailer!

That's right, Day 3 of the 7 day pattern, he put all 4 feet in the trailer!!!  I was so excited, I could barely stand it.  I wanted to take a picture so bad, but I knew by the time I got everything set up, he would get back out.  But still!  He got all 4 feet in, all by himself, and even stood there and ate his grain while I walked around the trailer, reached in the windows, all that kind of stuff.  He backed himself out just fine too, which is huge, because in the other trailer I had, he wouldnt back out calmly, he would fly out so fast he would almost fall.  I'm so proud of him!  Once he got out after eating all his grain, I opened the other side of the trailer and started grooming him next to the trailer.  He was so cute about it, he kept opening the trailer door.  It would swing out, and then back, and he'd bump it again like "Hey... I just opened you, what the heck??" He must have done that about 10 times!  He even stood quietly while I picked up his hooves, cleaned them out, and applied thrush meds.  I'm so darn proud of him!  I stood there scratching his withers, and he did his little parrot lips thing, and then turned his head around and rested it on me.  I even hugged him and he kept his head there, and did a big sigh.  I wish I had been taping, I totally would have submitted it for the video call to action thing this month. :D  What a great start to my day!

Sassy Sassy Sassy

I had planned to work with Pistol today on going sideways to the block, and teaching lateral flexion from the ground, but... you deal with the horse that shows up.  Pistol was in a SASSY mood, so we played some catching game, and then once he caught me, I haltered him, and we did some really exuberant stick to me.  He really hasn't had to do much with stick to me, because we've been working on so much else.  Just the basic walk/trot/stop/back up.  But not today.  Today, I'm sure he was wondering what happened to his mom, and where'd this herd leader come from again???  I started asking him to circle and change directions, almost the falling leaf pattern but not quite, and then started moving with him.  I started trotting with him, and changing direction and having him change direction with me, which meant switching sides as well.  It was quite interesting, because he picked it up right away travelling with me on his left side and switching to the right, but the other way around seemed to really be difficult for him.  So... we kept going, switching from walk to trot to canter, and then stopping and backing up.  Then I got really tricky on him, by changing direction at the trot, trotting a couple steps, and changing again!  Then doing it again!  He was reeeeeeally thinking at this point, and getting quite sweaty, since it was so hot out, so I slowed down to a walk.  Guess what? Licking and chewing.  Once his breathing slowed down a bit, I stopped, and started to play the friendly game.  He dropped his head, sighed, and cocked a hoof.  Silly boy. :)  Guess every LBE needs an exuberant day now and then. :D

Playing tonight

I went out to play with Pistol, and had planned on working on the trailer again.  When I got out there, he reeeeeeeeeeeally wanted to run, so we played some catching game.  When he came up to me, I just had a feeling that the trailer would not be a good idea right now.  So, I grabbed the mounting block, and worked on coming sideways to it.  Pistol played soooo many games; "oh you want me to go forward? sideways AWAY? backwards? knock you off?".  But I had an answer for everything, and he finally went oh ok, and came to me sideways. Treat time!  So that got some licking and chewing, and the next time I asked, he was even softer about it.  Once he was reliably coming to me sideways, I started scratching him.  I've been noticing some rusty friendly spots, he is not very confident with the carrot stick on his opposite side across his back, so we played with that until he licked and chewed, and then I stood there scratching him for awhile.  He got so excited/stretched out that he moved away from me to the point that I couldnt safely scratch him while standing on the mounting block, so I started tapping his side with my hand, and he came back over to me!  I really scratched him for that.  He kept moving around, not really being confident with me in zone 3, so I just kept scratching wherever he presented to me.  Pretty soon I got some licking and chewing, and I started asking him to keep zone 3 next to me.  He still had his head high and was a little tense, so I just kept scratching and acting like no big deal, I'm just gonna scratch your other side, i'm gonna lean on you and scratch your hip, and so on.  Finally, after about 1/2 hour, he did a big sigh, lowered his head, and then did a couple big rolly-eyed yawns.  I stopped right there, and he did some more yawning after I took his halter off.  Sidenote: I am so proud of him when it comes to haltering/unhaltering.  He will now turn his head to me while I'm standing at his shoulder, and hold his head there while I halter him and unhalter him, and wait for me to completely remove the halter to move his head away.  He used to be SO bad about haltering, because the people at his old barn never asked him to hold his head still.  woo-hoo for progress!

Not enough time!

I've been so busy lately at work, I haven't had much time for Pistol in the last few days.  I have managed to spend some time brushing him today, since he looooooooooves being brushed.  He was so cute, because I didn't have much time for him yesterday or the day before, just some quick trailer play sessions.  He got really excited about being groomed, and started playing with all the brushes.  I took things nice and slow, and realized that part of my friendly wasn't very good.  He is normally very confident with the carrot stick and string and lead ropes in zones 4 & 5, however when I went to move back there, he started putting me back in zone 3.  So I started doing approach and retreat with it, and pretty soon I got some licking and chewing.  I moved over to the other side, and did more approach and retreat, and this time got several big giant rolly-eyed yawns.  So I kept on brushing him, paying special attention to his itchy spots, and pretty soon he was presenting zone 5 to me for scratching.  Yay!  So I guess the friendly game wasn't that bad, just a little "rusty".  But after that little bit of work, he was totally confident with me in zones 4 & 5, which made me really happy.  But unfortunately for my poor horse, I had a party to go to, so I had to go inside and get ready for it, which made him hang his head over the gate and whinny for me. 

Lots of learning today

I played with the hose today, since Pistol has been doing so well with the flyspray.  He was a little more skeptical, because he really is scared of the hose, but... I was able to convince him that everything would be ok.  We did lots of approach and retreat, and treats every time he stood still for the hose to come closer.  Pretty soon he was licking and chewing and blew a big sigh, so we stopped.  I managed to win even more trust from him, because a GIANT horsefly was buzzing around him, and I was trying to kill it so it would leave him alone.  It only took a couple times for Pistol to realize what I was doing, and once it landed on him, he stood perfectly still so I could whack it with my carrot stick.  And once I had killed it, he actually turned his head and nuzzled me!  It was so sweet, I just stopped and scratched him.  I showed my sister how I load him into the trailer, because she knows a bit about PNH, and is kinda sorta interested in it from when she volunteered at the stable I work at.  He did pretty well, we spent about 10 minutes of him standing in there eating without coming back out, which I REALLY like.  All in all, it was a good day!

Pedigree update...

Guess what?  It turns out my vet was right, Pistol is part foundation quarter horse!  I heard back from the barn owner, and she had found his sire and dam for me, and found out that apparently he is registered with the ApHC.  His sire is Clarktowns Mr Doc, and he is a GORGEOUS foundation quarter horse.  His dam is 50 roses, and I have not been able to find a picture or any record of her, but according to the barn owner, she was a really pretty appaloosa.  So... that explains why Pistol looks like a foundation quarter horse, and it explains why he is still growing.  His sire is 16 hands, and Pistol is a little over 15 right now, but still filling out. 

Trailer loading and Flyspray Part 2!

That's right, I worked on both today with Pistol, and again, it went fabulously!  This morning I went out to put thrush medicine on his hooves, and noticed there were TONS of flies on him, so I thought I'd better spray him.  I loaded up my pocket with treats, and haltered him.  Sidenote: I am so proud of his haltering now, as soon as I walk to his shoulder and rub, he turns his head to me so I can halter him!  He stood nice and still for the spray, he only moved once.  And the time he moved, I kept spraying and as soon as he stopped, I stopped, so I got some licking and chewing and a "can I have a cookie please?" face. 

Then later I worked on trailer loading, and ended up working on it twice today.  The first time, he got 1 back hoof in the trailer while my grandpa was mowing the yard right next to the trailer, so we stopped and I got some licking and chewing.  I really feel like we made a breakthrough today, because the second time we worked on the trailer, I could almost SEE the lightbulb go off, and he went "she just wants me to get in the trailer!", and I didn't have to do anything more than send him to the trailer, and he walked right in.  He kept getting back out, but every single time, when I sent him in again, he went further in.  The hay guys were baling hay in our field directly behind the trailer, which again, makes it kind of scary, but he was totally fine with it.  He put one back hoof in again, and had his whole body in there, with the exception of 1 hoof.  I can't believe he managed to stand like that, but he did.  I'm so proud of him!  He's really trusting me, even though he has NEVER been in a trailer like this before. 

FLY SPRAY!

First of all, my horse is terrified of things that spray.  I've been slowly working on this with him, and being really careful not to push through any thresholds, because this is a very deeply ingrained fear.  He's been doing great, he plays with the hose now while its on, but fly spray still has been a major problem.  When I went out to work with him today, I needed to put fly spray on him, and usually I spray it on a brush and then brush him.  Today, the wind was blowing, and every time I sprayed, the mist would get the brush, but also drift past and hit him.  I noticed that he was still standing perfectly still and unconcerned about the spray hitting him, so I thought it would be a good time to work on it.  I stood next to him with my hand on his withers, and sprayed his shoulder.  He didn't move, so I gave him a cookie.  It took a lot of time, and a lot of moving around and approach and retreat, but I was able to stand in front of him, and spray out next to his shoulder.  I did that until he started licking and chewing, and gave him a cookie.  That really got his attention, and he allowed me to spray his ribs.  I did this on both sides, and if he got too worried about his ribs being sprayed, I would move the spray back to his shoulder.  At this point, he finally dropped his head, and cocked one leg.  I started moving down his body while spraying continuously and giving him a cookie every so often.  To my surprise, he stood there the whole time.  We have been making some big breakthroughs lately, so I suppose I shouldnt be surprised, but the last time we dealt with flyspray was nowhere near as easy.  This time, things went much better.  While I was spraying his legs, he even turned his head and stuck his nose in the spray, and then stood there watching me spray him.  So while I was spraying and treating, he finally sighed and dropped his head even lower, so I thought I should end the session.  I was so proud of him!  He was obviously trusting me very very very much, and I am so honored that he trusts me like he does.  I think he's realizing that I'm not doing things TO him, I'm doing it with him and with his permission.  After that fly spray session, even putting his thrush medicine in his hooves was easy!  He picked up both feet on the first try, and held them until I was done with them.  I think we really accomplished something today. :)

More trailer-loading

Yes, I know, I'm spending tons of time talking about the trailer.  But he's just doing so fabulously I can't wait to share it!  I got home from work SUPER late tonight, so I thought I wouldnt do anything with the trailer, just spend some undemanding time grazing.  Well then my mom and sister showed up, and I wanted to show them some of his cool stuff.  So.. I went to scratch him, and asked him to back up using just a few strands of tail hair, and he backed up 5 whole steps!  I saw their jaws just drop, which was pretty cool.  The last time they saw him, he was still half-feral, not really "tame" from sitting out at pasture without any human attention.  Then we went to show off with the trailer, because my mom has a friend that works with horses traditionally, so she knows a bit about the traditional method of trailer loading(and has tried to offer me tips!).  I stood at the tire, and sent Pistol into the trailer, and he walked right in.  He stopped before his back feet got in, but I'm ok with that, because he offered a really fabulous try.  Up until this point, he has been a little reluctant to get in right away, its taken some time to get him to decide to go in.  But this time he just marched right in.  My grandpa even went up and opened up the tack storage doors, and the side access door, and he didnt budge.  This is also huge, because he used to go RB very quickly, but has started spending more and more time on the LB side.  As I stood there with him, he looked out the windows, sniffed the roof vent, cocked a leg, and blew a big sigh out, so I got him out and gave him a treat, and got some licking and chewing.  It was getting pretty dark(another big deal!!!) so I ended the session right then and there.  I love my horse!!  He was definitely the right horse for me. 

Ooohhh... the farrier...

I forgot to mention the farrier in my earlier post.  I have a wonderful farrier that has come out twice now, and she puts up with so much from my horse.  I thought she would be pleasantly surprised, because he has been doing so much better for me with his hooves.  I've been picking them up, cleaning them, tapping on them, pulling them forward, etc all at liberty.  But... apparently that didn't translate to the farrier.  He was still a pain for her, he tried to kick, rear, walk away, lay on her... :(  I'm not sure if he just doesnt like her or what.  Like I said, I can do it at Liberty with him, but I am in no way confident enough to trim him myself.  This woman doesnt do Parelli, she does Clinton Anderson instead, but I honestly have not seen her do anything I wouldnt do.  For sure, if she pulled some real CA stuff, I would stop it immediately, but... everything she's been doing has been right in line with what I think she should do.  Pistol just seems to think that his hooves never need to be trimmed.  Sorry pal, but they were looking bad.  Plus we discovered thrush in TWO hooves!  :( So now I have yet another medication to put on him.  Ugh... that poor horse.  This has been a bad week for him veterinary-wise. 

Woo-hoo! 2 feet plus zone 3 in the trailer!

That's right, we worked on the trailer today, since I would like to trailer Pistol to Colorado in a month.  He put both front feet in and had his back feet right up to the step.  He started licking and chewing and did a big yawn and sigh, so I ended the session.  Go us!  I'm really hoping I can get him to Colorado, because otherwise, I would probably have a really hard time continuing with the working student opportunity.  I'm confident we will get it though.  Also, its been a really bad week for him medically, between the scratches on his sides, and then developing thrush in 2 hooves, and then whacking his head on the trailer door... Its been a rough week for him.  He's getting so sick of his medicines, every time I walk out with it he gives me the saddest hang-dog look like "do I have to...?" But he's been pretty good about it.  I can't wait for the scratches to heal up so I can spend lots of time brushing him again.  That was one of his favorite things before he got scratched up, and he's just dying for a really good top-to-bottom brushing.  Every time I even brush a little bit, he stretches out and looks at me with his parrot lips going "PLEASE????"  Poor guy.  At least things are looking up still.  :)

EXCITEMENT!

I just got word today that I am accepted as a working student at the Parelli Center!  I almost fell off the couch reading the email, because I was NOT expecting to get an email about it on Sunday!  So now, I have to run around and make sure I get everything together to go down there in about a month, and get my horse ready for it as well.  It means I have to find someone to do my job while I'm down there, and I probably will be down there for about 6 months, because I want to work off all my tuition, not just part of it.  I'm so excited about this, I'm practically bouncing off the walls.  I worked with Pistol using the new trailer, and things went fabulously.  It took a lot of exploring, but I finally got some licking and chewing, plus a big sigh, so we moved on to walking down the driveway to play with new things, and circling on a slope.  Of course, he did fabulous.  And I got a response from the owner of the stable where he used to be boarded, apparently he was foaled in Spring of 2006, so he is just barely 4 years old.  Plus, he's a purebred Appy, which fooled my vet, who thought he was an Appy/Quarter horse cross.  He has appaloosa characteristics like the striped hooves and mottled skin, but not the spots, and he is built like a foundation quarter horse.  Confusing!

Things are much better today!!

The vet came out and looked at Pistol, and turns out everything will be ok.  Go figure, right???  He was a little concerned about the swelling, but thinks the bute will take it down in a couple days.  Plus, I'm so proud of Pistol for how he handled this whole thing today.  I hadn't worried too much about preparing him to stand inside my garage, because it was supposed to be sunny today.  Well, not 10 minutes before the vet was supposed to arrive, it started POURING.  So we emptied the garage and stood in there with him.  Our pole barn doesn't have lights in the horse side, just a large door to open, and the natural light wasn't enough.  The vet got there, and started poking Pistol, and he just stood there the whole time.  He handled it so well, he didn't even offer to kick or rear or anything.  It turns out too that Pistol is even younger than we realized.  I was told he is 4 years old, but he hasnt lost his 4 year old teeth yet... So the vet thinks he's just barely 4 years old.  Also, I managed to sell my old trailer yesterday, and buy a new one today!  The old one was all open, with a ramp, and it just wasnt safe for me to try and load Pistol in it.  So the new one I bought today was cheaper, newer, and better.  Its 15 years newer, all the lights work, it has inside lights as well as outside, a water tank and hay rack, and 2 closing doors, plus tack storage.  It was almost dark by the time I got it home, but Pistol got super excited about it so I grabbed him and let him investigate it anyways.  He was a little skeptical, one of those "You expect ME to go in THERE?" kinda looks, but I said "nope, just sniff it", which rocked his world, and I got instant release of tension, so we headed back to the pen.  I bet tomorrow he will hop right in once he can see it in full light.  Hopefully I can sleep tonight through the excitment. :D

Oh no........

I was at work today, just wrapping things up, and I got the kind of phone call that you never want to get about your horse.

"we dont know what he did, but there's a situation here, we need you to come home, your horse is out".
!!!!!

So I went flying home, and I live a half hour away from work, so I spent a half hour worrying, because I couldnt get ahold of my grandparents (I live with them and so does my horse). I got home, and found my poor horse has huge scratches down both sides of his rib cage, with a huge gouge on his left hip. His fence was sagging by his pasture gate(I have electric braid) so I went to investigate, and found that somehow he had snapped the gate post off 1 foot into the ground, and knocked the post the gate latches to sideways. There's chestnut hair all over the latch and I think that's where the gouge came from, but we cannot figure out what happened. Its a 6 foot gate, and he is the only horse on the property, so another horse didn't chase him into it or anything. And even if they did, that doesnt explain how both sides are scratched. So the poor baby is just miserable, and I had to put some Blu-kote on his scratches to keep the flies out while they heal.

THANK GOD for the Parelli program!!! This horse was a fruitcake when I got him(no fault of his own,btw!), and I've been working with him for 2 and a half months, and I was able to spray the Blu-kote on a cotton ball and wipe it on his cuts at Liberty. He is terrified of spray, which is why I couldnt directly spray it on him (yet!) but I've been working with him, so I can spray it near him in any zone, as long as I dont actually spray it on him. Now I've worked at traditional barns before I discovered Parelli, and they have done some horrible things while trying to medicate/treat horses. But because I've worked with him, he let me poke and rub and investigate him. He even picked up each hoof for me when I ran my hands down his legs, even though I was checking for cuts/punctures, not trying to pick up his hooves. I cannot imagine how awful this could have been without Parelli, because I would never have been able to treat him without a halter using traditional methods. He was definitely in pain, but because the trust was there, he knew I was going to try my hardest not to hurt him more. He even rested his chin on my shoulder at one point during the treatment!

I think he will be fine, but of course, I'm worried about him, who wouldnt be? I just wanted to share my story, and how wonderful it is that even when he's hurt, he can still trust me.
 
I did find out what happened the next day, when I was able to check everything out in the daylight. On closer inspection, the prong of the gate latch was bent, and had hair and skin flaps on it. Plus the actual latch had skin flaps on it too, so somehow he pulled the gate loose from the post it gets tied to during the day, and tried to squeeze through even though there wasnt room. My guess is something spooked him, and he knocked over the post holding the gate open, and tried to run around it even though there wasnt room for him, and he ended up tearing his sides up on the pieces of the latch. poor guy. So now he has purple spots all over his sides. My appaloosa finally has spots!
 
I don't even think he will need the vet out(fingers crossed), because there isnt even anything to stitch, and only a couple are bad enough to really need a protective covering. I'm hoping they will heal cleanly so a) he won't have scars, and b) the vet doesn't have to give him antibiotics.
Now though, he has developed a large lump right between his front legs. I'm concerned, because it definitely hurts him, but I can't figure out what it is. It wasn't there last night when he injured himself, it just appeared this morning. He will let me touch it lightly, but is really uncomfortable, and if I try and manipulate it or anything, you can tell it hurts him.
 
I'm still keeping an eye on him, this is kind of a post that has been ongoing since last night.  We are in the middle of fixing the gate posts, and the goofball is over checking all the tools out, and helping as much as he can.  He rolled the posts off the trailer for us, and is having a blast picking up all the tools, and trying to figure out the tractor.  I'm glad he's still curious, it makes me glad he's not in so much pain he can't be curious.  I'll keep posting with updates as it happens. 

Eventful weekend!

Well... I just got done teaching an advancing natural horsemanship camp for the past 3 days.  I've barely had time to play with Pistol, and have sacrificed some time with him to spend time with my boyfriend of almost 3 years, Ian.  But... that was a nightmare.  Luckily we talked things over and are good again.  We hung around and watched some tv and played with our puppy today, and once he left, I went out to spend some time with Pistol.  It was fabulous!  I played with him at liberty, because I feel like he is getting bored online.  He backed up with just a few tail hairs, which he has never done before!  He also backed up with me in Z5 "drawing" him.  I was able to play with the tarp on his back a bit, waving it around and crackling it, and got some licking and chewing, so I started scratching him.  He's been super itchy lately because of the flies.  :(  This big giant 2 inch long horse fly found him, and kept trying to land on him.  I shooed it away repeatedly with my carrot stick, and my silly horse started licking and chewing.  ^_^ I started scratching his right side while standing on his left side, and he stood perfectly still and started doing parrot lips.  So I thought "hmm, what if?" and put all my weight on his back while I was scratching.  He stayed perfectly still, still doing his happy parrot lips, and turned to look at me without moving his feet.  I rubbed his face, and he turned back and concentrated on how good the scratches felt.  I just barely had my toes on the ground, and we stayed like that while we watched the sunset.  The funniest thing is he actually watched it!  I saw him roll his eyes up and look at the moon a couple different times while I was hanging on his back.  I ended our session with that, since he was so happy and everything went so well.  Thank goodness everything went well in the end!

Woohoo! Difficult Liberty Tasks!

That's right, I did even more liberty with Pistol today.  I feel like he and I are both bored online, because he's already playing with some level 3/4 tasks online.  He's so busy-busy-busy all the time, I need to keep teaching him new things every session, or else we lose our focus and start on the dominance games again. So, I've started playing with even more liberty, and he's gotten really connected to me.  I can tell he's really watching my body to see what I am going to ask of him.  I know you're not really supposed to do anything at liberty that you havent done online, but I was just playing with him and seeing what he would do, so I stood behind him in Z5 to play extreme friendly, and I wondered if he would back up again.  So I asked him to, and he did, but this time he barged into me.  I thought "that's not good", and I sent him forward from Z5.  He picked up on it right away, and moved away, so I then asked him to back up again.  This time when I stopped and he didn't, I tapped him lightly on the rump with my carrot stick.  He stopped, and gave me the goofiest look like "whaaat?" I played around with that a bit more, and got him to the point where I would back up, ask him to back up to me, and tap him to get him to stop.  I would like him to understand eventually that he really shouldnt back up into me without having to tap him on the rump all the time, but I figure that will come with time.  For now, I rewarded him BIG TIME every time he did it right, and pretty soon I got some licking and chewing, a sigh, and a big old yawn!  Time to move to something else! :)  So I grabbed my grooming stuff, and started brushing him, and working on his feet, since his farrier is coming in about a week.  Last time, he was HORRIBLE for the poor farrier.  He wouldnt stand still, leaned on her twice, tried to kick, literally walked away with just 3 feet while she was still holding his foot, you name it he did it.  This time around I'm hoping she will be pleasantly surprised by how good he is.  When I was working with him today, still at liberty, he picked up all 4 feet for me, not once, but TWICE.  And... he held them up in the air for me to grab them, and waited until I set them down.  I'm so proud of him!  I've only had him about 2 and a half months, and the amount of progress we have made is unreal.  I feel like he already knew this stuff, and was just waiting for someone to come along that knew it too.  I usually play with him at least twice a day, and I've had days where I play with him 5 times a day, because he wants to.  Its such a nice change from the very first week I got him, when he didn't want to do much with me.  Now, any time he sees me, he whinnies at me, and heads for the gate, and if I meet him there, he whinnies even more.  I can just tell he has so much FUN with what we are doing, even though I'm pushing him a tiny bit, because he thinks all the time.  His mind is always going, so the more I play with him, the happier/calmer/smarter he is.  This has been such an interesting time, seeing just how much progress I have made with him in the short amount of time I've had him.  I feel like I've been working with him my whole life, we just have such a tight bond. 

On another note, I got some more information about the working student opportunity yesterday, and I am VERY excited about it.  I'm really hoping to get accepted into the program, because paying for a fast track course right now is completely out of my reach.  But, heading down to the ranch to work off my board, Pistol's board, and my tuition is very doable for me.  Plus, I think it would be a fabulous experience for Pistol and me.  I can't wait to hear back from Ann Kiser! 

Liberty Today!

I just got back in from playing with Pistol at Liberty today. I took things slow, since he seemed kind of introverted today.  I started by asking him to back up from Z5, which he did beautifully!  I got 4 steps from him, straight back, at liberty!  I was so impressed with him that we spent some time scratching his favorite itchy spots.  Then we played with some Z3 driving, and point to point "touch it".  He did all of it beautifully, and even did a nice little sideways for me on the fence.  I feel like we are truly getting connected, and he understands WHY I do these things with him, which is making all the difference.  I now have a happy horse, who whinnies at me whenever he sees me!  Its wonderful.  Plus, he's keeping his sense of humor intact.  Once I got done, I started to fill his water tank (I give him molasses water).  He moseyed over and started biting at the molasses jug, which made me laugh, and then, without any warning, he grabbed my belt loop and pulled!  I laughed and tried to get him to let go, and the funny part was, once he let go, I petted his face and he started licking and chewing.  I love my horse. :)

Woohoo! First steps to riding!

Yep, I took the first steps towards riding Pistol today.  I dont have a mounting block yet, so I took him to the side porch on our house to practice things.  I would never really get on there, it has too many things around it for him/me to get caught on or trip on, but for practicing it works just fine.  I got up there, and asked him to come sideways to me, which he has never caught on to before, but this time, something clicked, and he got it!  I started rubbing his back, and putting some weight on my hands, and pretty soon, I was putting a lot of weight on my hands.  I even picked my leg up and threw it over him like I was going to get on, and he was totally fine with it.  I'm so excited!  I'm heading to the store for a mounting block tomorrow,and hopefully I will have enough time to play tomorrow. 

Saddling, again

I got pistol saddled today with no incidents, which I am SO happy about.  He has had several incidents with saddling, including at his old barn where they "let him buck for 20 minutes" before they got on. So I'm taking saddling him super slow.  I put the pad on, which didnt bother him at all, so I moved on to the saddle.  That didnt bother him either, but he had an itch that he reached around to scratch on his back leg, and I was a little worried that the saddle would fall right off.  I've worked on bouncing the ball off his side, and rolling it over his back, so I dont THINK he would panic about it, but you never know.  I started with his girth on his "off side" and did some approach and retreat on his left side.  I've found that even though he is LBE, he is very treat motivated, so I gave him a couple pieces of his favorite molasses cookie each time he let me approach("tighten" the girth and hold it there).  I know that many treats is probably overkill, but for the first couple of times, I really want him to think "wow, being saddled ROCKS" so I'm willing to take the chance.  He's doing so well with everything they say you need to do in order to ride, driving in z3, bouncing the ball on his back, extreme friendly in z3-5, that I'm thinking I might get on him bareback to ride, while still working on the saddle.  I've noticed varying opinions on saddles vs bareback for starting riding, but I'm starting to think that bareback might be the way to go with him.  He's showing that he is ok with me getting on, but he's still unsure of the saddle, so I think if I get on bareback, there won't be anything to spook him like there would be with a saddle.  Plus if he does get upset for any reason, sliding off bareback is MUCH easier than getting off a saddle.  Any thoughts?

I think I forgot to mention this...

I'm supposed to pass Level 2 Online and Freestyle by September 1st for my job.  I work at a riding center that uses PNH to teach, and while we are not Parelli Certified, we still have requirements to work there.  The biggest one that we just implemented is that you have to pass Level 2 in order to teach there.  The current staff is the first to have to do this, so we have been given the summer to work on it.  Well... my horse is green broke, and I have yet to ride him.  I'm not sure if I can pass Freestyle with him before September 1.  I am getting ready to tape my online audition with him, but if I havent even gotten on yet, I doubt Freestyle will happen before the deadline. 

Back to work

Yep, its true, I'm working again, so I have even less time to play with Pistol.  I had errands I had to take care of during the morning, and then work from 1pm-8pm, so by the time I finally got home and sorted everything out, I didn't have any time to play with Pistol.  All I could do in the time I had was feed him and head in because of the bugs.  I'm still hoping to tape my level 2 online assessment soon though. 

HOT HOT HOT

Its so hot here, I haven't had much chance to play with Pistol.  I did go out and brush him a bit, and we played fishing for pistol!  I started wiggling the savvy string around in the air, and Pistol tried to grab it.  It was soooo funny, he got such a happy look on his face when he caught it.  Also, he let me clean his sheath today, which he has never done before.  I've had him almost 3 months, and he hasn't been comfortable with getting his sheath cleaned before this.  But I took it nice and slow and started rubbing his leg, and soon enough he dropped it, and let me start peeling smegma off.  Pretty gross, but I'm glad he trusted me enough to let me do it.  I know its been bothering him, he's been kicking at it and trying to bite it even.  Poor guy.  Also, we played a bit with a sprinkler today, since Pistol is still kind of spooky about water.  That was interesting, he really wanted to play with it, but he couldnt quite bring himself to touch it. 

I read this to my boyfriend, and he laughed, but thought I was serious! :)

OCEANS Syndrome


Just recently, after years of research, I have finally been able to give a name to what my wife and I have been living with for years. It's an affliction, for sure, which when undiagnosed and misunderstood can devastate and literally tear a family apart. Very little is known about O.C.E.A.N. Syndrome. But it is my hope this article will generate interest from researchers involved in the equine and psychological sciences. You will, no doubt, begin to identify similar symptoms in your own family and hopefully now be able to cope. Obsessive Compulsive Equine Attachment Neurosis Syndrome (O.C.E.A.N.S) is usually found in the female and can manifest itself anytime from birth to the golden years. Symptoms may appear any time and may even go dormant in the late teens! , but the syndrome frequently re-emerges in later years. Symptoms vary widely in both number and degree of severity. Allow me to share some examples which are most prominent in our home.

The afflicted individual:



1. Can smell moldy hay at ten paces, but can't tell whether milk has gone bad until it turns chunky.



2. Finds the occasional "Buck and Toot" session hugely entertaining, but severely chastises her husband for similar antics.



3. Will spend hours cleaning and conditioning her tack, but wants to eat on paper plates so there are no dishes.



4. Considers equine gaseous excretions a fragrance.



5. Enjoys mucking out four stalls twice a day, but insists on having a housekeeper mop the kitchen floor once a week.



6. Will spend an hour combing and trimming an equine mane, but wears baseball cap so she doesn't waste time brushing her own hair.



7. Will dig through manure piles daily looking for worms, but does not fish.



8. Will not hesitate to administer a rectal exam up to her shoulder, but finds cleaning out the Thanksgiving turkey cavity for dressing quite repulsive.



9. By memory can mix eight different supplements in the correct proportions, but can't make macaroni and cheese that isn't soupy.



10. Twice a week will spend an hour scrubbing algae from the water tanks, but has a problem cleaning lasagna out of the casserole dish.



11. Will pick a horse's nose, and call it cleaning, but becomes verbally violent when her husband picks his.



12. Can sit through a four-hour session of a ground work clinic, but unable to make it through a half-hour episode of Cops.



The spouse of an afflicted victim:



1. Must come to terms with the fact there is no cure, and only slightly effective treatments. The syndrome may be genetic or caused by the inhaling of manure particles which, I propose, have an adverse effect on female hormones



2. Must adjust the family budget to include equine items - hay, veterinarian services, farrier services, riding boots and clothes, supplements, tack, equine masseuse and acupuncturist - as well as the (mandatory) equine spiritual guide, etc. Once you have identified a monthly figure, never look at it again. Doing so will cause tightness in your chest, nausea and occasional diarrhea.



3. Must realize that your spouse has no control over this affliction. More often than not, she will deny a problem even exists as denial is common.



4. Must form a support group. You need to know you're not alone - and there's no shame in admitting your wife has a problem. My support group, for instance, involves men who truly enjoy Harley Davidsons, four-day weekends and lots of scotch. Most times, she is unaware that I am even gone, until the precise moment she needs help getting a 50-pound bag of grain out of the truck.



Now you can better see how O.C.E.A.N.S. affects countless households in this country and abroad. It knows no racial, ethnic or religious boundaries. It is a syndrome that will be difficult to treat because those most affected are in denial and therefore, not interested in a cure. So, I am taking it upon myself to be constantly diligent in my research in order to pass along information to make it easier for caretakers to cope on a day to day basis.

Audition Part 2

I practiced filming for my Level 2 audition today.  It went fabulously, until the mosquitos came out!  We had to abandon it because they were so bad! Tomorrow I will try it during the day, and see if it goes better! :)  Pistol was so bummed though, you could see that he really wanted to play still, and even he got frustrated when the bugs wouldnt leave him alone.  He'd be in the middle of doing something and stop to itch really quick and get this frustrated look on his face.  Oh well, we will try during the day when the bugs aren't out. 

Getting Ready for an Audition

Last night I had one of the best play sessions I've ever had with Pistol.  It was late, about 8:30pm, but he really wanted to play, so I went ahead and haltered him.  We've been practicing our haltering, because one of my co-workers keeps saying we should be level 4 in haltering no matter what level we are in anything else, so I figured that's what I would shoot for.  He will now turn his head to the left if I stand at his shoulder and draw him using my hand, and puts his nose in the halter for me.  Usually he puts his mouth on it first, but I have been letting him do that since I watched Linda Parelli haltering Allure and he did the same thing.  LBE, what can you do? :)  So once we had the halter tied, he was ready to go, so I sent him in a circle, because he usually gets himself really riled up.  Sure enough he started to buck, so I decided to change the pattern.  We started a traveling circle, and had TONS of obstacles in the way for him to look out for.  We travelled across the pen, and he settled into a beautiful canter, jumping over his pedestal, a barrel and a pole.  I headed back the way we came, and this time he stopped and hopped on to the pedestal.  I waited a second while he went up there, he looked at me, and I said thanks but I really wanted you to keep circling.  So off we went again, and when we got back to the other side of the fence, I asked for the sideways game.  He had a rough start with it, but managed to straighten out and finish pretty nicely, so it was back to a travelling circle.  I could sense he was getting bored, so we changed to Stick to Me, and headed for the tarp.  I asked him to trot over the tarp, and he did a wonderful job, so I asked him to canter back over it, which he also did.  The big green ball was sitting right next to the fence, so I asked him to go sideways on the fence, and instead of pushing it with his nose like normal, I asked him to push it with Zone 3.  He picked up on it right away, and I even saw some licking and chewing.  Then we pushed the ball to the tarp, which blew his mind.  The ball rolled across the tarp, and he got super excited, like "My two favorite props just COMBINED!"  I got creative with the tarp too, asking him to go sideways around it, sideways across it to me and away from, and back up across it, which led to even more licking and chewing.  Then we played the friendly game with the ball, bouncing it around to zone 5 and back to zone 1 and then to zone 5 on the other side.  He even let me bounce it up to zone 3 and rest it on his back, and then roll it down his tail.  I was ready to be done, but he wasn't, so I thought "why not? let's keep going" and we headed back over to the barrels.  He immediately looked at it like "I'm gonna jump!" and I said "No, lets go sideways around it" and got some more licking and chewing from him.  He went completely sideways all the way around it away from me, and then we changed directions and did it again.  Once we did that, I thought it was time to be done, and he agreed because he was so itchy.  So he got a nice scratch and a couple treats, and we had to be done anyways because it was getting dark.  It was so wonderful!  His ears were forward the whole time, and his whole attention was on me.  I was watching Level 2 passing auditions today on ParelliTube, and I'm feeling pretty confident about taping and submitting an audition of my own. :)

Wound up again

Yesterday Pistol was super duper wound up again, so we ended up only doing Liberty.  I've found that when he is really wound up, if I try to put him OnLine, he starts biting while I'm trying to halter him, and then starts acting up whenever he is asked to do something.  So... starting with Liberty in the catch pen is usually better for him.  I can usually get the halter on with lots of approach and retreat and all, but I feel that he is trying to tell me something on days like this.  So, no halter to start, we head straight to Liberty.  First I asked him to Stick to Me, because that has been a real challenge for him both at Liberty and Online.  He sticks just fine, but doesn't want to change gait.  I've found as well that sometimes treating him like a LBI helps him get through tricky spots, so we walked, trotted a couple steps, and got a cookie.  That made a huge difference, but I have to be careful not to use cookies too much, because he becomes a cookie monster!  So I usually only use 1 or 2 during the session to keep his attention on the task instead of the cookie in my pocket.  We went from stick to me into squeezing through the barrels, which he did really well at.  I sensed he was getting bored with smaller and smaller gaps, so we moved on to the pedestal instead of jumping the barrels like I had planned.  I asked him to stay on the pedestal with his front feet (its an old tractor tire filled with dirt, so its really not big enough for all 4 feet) and disengage his hindquarters.  He's gotten really good at it, but every once and awhile he still thinks he should be going sideways around the pedestal, so he will back off and go sideways around the edge of the tire.  Then I asked him to go sideways down the fence while I stood still, and he went what I judged was about 22 feet away without making me move my feet!  I was so proud of him for that!  I decided the session should end pretty soon since he was doing so well.  The last thing I did was ask for a circle, even though I was in a big square pen instead of a small round pen.  He gave me one full circle at the walk, about 12 feet out, and disengaged perfectly when I asked him to.  Session over!  And I finally had a calm horse that was happy to do things instead of an exuberant mess. 

Wintec 500

I got a brand new Wintec 500 with the interchangeable gullet system today.  It seems to be a good cheaper alternative to a Parelli saddle.  I wish I had the money for a Parelli saddle, but right now, the Wintec is what my budget can handle.  My boy is a wide guy, I joke that he is built along the lines of a foundation quarter horse, with a reaaaaaaaaaally wide sprung rib cage and a broad back.  Luckily, he is only in the large gullet, so we still have 2 wider gullets to go to if and when he bulks up more.  Its a really nice saddle, I'm quite pleased with it.  I just tested it on him a couple minutes ago, and we finally had an easy time saddling.  The other saddles didn't fit correctly, so he was really uncomfortable even having them on his back, which made saddling impossible.  But this time, I went out there, and I played the friendly game with the saddle pad, put the saddle up on his back, and stood there.  He stayed still the whole time with a nice calm expression on his face, and so I started playing with the girth.  He can get a little claustrophobic about the girth, so I did some approach and retreat with the girth.  He has an itchy spot right between his legs all the way back to his belly, so every time I put the girth up on his belly, I scratched that itchy spot.  It only took a couple times and he decided he was okay with the girth being buckled.  Keeping in mind that he gets claustrophobic really easily, I did some more approach and retreat with actually tightening the girth as well.  He did really well with it, and I was able to tighten the girth with no problems.  Now this is really important because he has had a couple of bad incidents with saddles, so I really wanted to make sure this time went well.  Once the saddle was on, all I did was stand next to him and scratch his itchy spots.  He ate some grass, and I took the saddle off.  Because he is a very young LBE, I'm trying really hard not to push him past thresholds and lose his trust, so I'm taking things pretty slow with saddling.  He is already doing some nice level 3 stuff OnLine, but I haven't actually ridden him yet.  We had a nice time OnLine too, even though he was a bit "fizzy" at first because I hadn't played with him in 3 days.  He started rearing and bucking, so we did a lot of fast things: sideways to circling to squeeze and back through.  He finally calmed down and started licking and chewing, so I slowed it down and asked for better quality of the games.  He gave me a beautiful sideways on both sides, so we moved on to Figure 8's, which he also did a beautiful job at.  All in all, it was a great day.

Home after a long weekend

I'm back!  We headed to Parelli Across America for the weekend, and I had TONS of fun.  The things Pat Parelli does with horses are amazing!!!  Plus, I got tons of shopping done.  But, of course, I had to leave Pistol at home, which neither of us was happy about.  So when I got home last night, I immediately went out to say hi to him, and he came cantering over to the gate to see me.  I went out this morning to see him too, and brush him a bit.  The flies here are terrible, so I had to put his flysheet and mask on, and he is such a goofball about it.  He helps me put his sheet on, because it doesn't buckle in the front, its sewn together, and being that Pistol is a mouthy LBE, he holds the front of the sheet while I pull it over his head and shoulders.  The funny part is, I didn't even "train" him to do that, the first time I went to put it on him, he grabbed the front, and I decided to go with it, so now every time I put it on, he holds the front while I pull it over his head and shoulders.  I love LBE's, they are so much fun.  Then it was time for the fly mask, and I had him hold that while I brushed his face.  He likes to hold the top(the part that goes on his poll) because it has a hole for his forelock, and he plays with the hole with his lips.  So once I was done brushing him, I drew his head over to me at his shoulder, and he dropped the mask right into my hands.  What a smart boy!  So once his mask was on, we had a good scratch in his girth area, and I went around buckling all the buckles on his sheet.  He LOVES having his sheet on, he feels so smart once he's helped put it on.  Plus, when I scratch on top of the sheet, it feels even BETTER than just a brush. :)  Now he's out eating some grass, and we are going to play a little later. 

I DID IT!

I went and worked with Pistol again, and he was still spooky, so we didnt do very much.  BUT... I taught him how to come to me sideways!  I don't really have a mounting block, so I stood on the back porch, and started trying to drive his hindquarters to me.  I have never done that with a completely new horse, so it was interesting.  He didnt get it, no matter what I did, and I sensed that I was just annoying him, so I changed tactics.  I decided to try to drive his forequarters towards me, and PRESTO!  He got it!  So we did it a couple more times, and headed back to the pasture.  On the way, he decided to stop and eat grass, so I asked him to come sideways to me again, and he did it perfectly!  So we kept on going to the pasture, and he headed right for his water trough to get a drink.  After he was done, I asked him to come sideways to me again to take his halter off.  He not only sidestepped to me, he bent his head over to me for me to take his halter off!!! He is usually polite about taking his halter off, but asking him to come to me sideways before it made all the difference between a level 2 and a level 3/4 halter removal.  I love my horse, I feel like without Parelli, he would be miserable.  He has so much potential just waiting to be uncovered, and he loves using his brain! 

An interesting morning

Today was definitely an interesting morning.   I went to play with Pistol since things have dried up a bit, and man oh man, was he wound up.  We ended up doing some liberty in his "catch pen" because he wasn't feeling the halter at the time.  He ran around for a bit and thought he was really getting away with something because I "couldnt" catch him, and I just waited, and pretty soon he caught me. :)  After we played with the halter, and decided we could play on line today, I asked him for some pretty simple stuff, just a couple hind and fore hand yields, some yo-yo, and standing on the pedestal.  He did amazing with that, he is really putting it all together and realizing that he doesn't always have to gogogogogo.  It was so nice to see my exuberant little LBE yield just 1 step when I asked him softly, and then yield more when I asked for more.  Usually its more "oh did you want me to spin in a circle on a yield?" so that was a pleasant surprise that he paid attention to HOW I was asking him to yield.  I just keep shaking my head when he does things like that, because I don't expect it, but I think I'm not giving him enough credit, because he is smart enough and willing enough that I SHOULD expect it.  So we're working on that, but its a long process. :)  So after we got the halter on, we went to investigate his trailer, and he even did a fabulous job with that.  He went sideways to the fender and actually touched zone three to the fender, put zone one on the fender and the ramp, and put zone one over the ramp while I opened and closed it.  So because he was doing such a wonderful job, I decided to try and saddle him, which we have done before, just to keep in practice with it.  I still haven't ridden him because we're taking it slow, so right now, I saddle him, and we play with the saddle on, and then the saddle comes off and he's done.  The plan was to saddle him, and play stick to me around the front yard (our "arena") and do some circles, and possibly squeeze through the drainage ditches.  However, like Pat says, you deal with the horse that shows up.  The plan changed, in a big way.  I had the pad and saddle on him, and was going to get the girths on, and something spooked him, so the saddle slid, which scared him even more.  So we played some friendly with the pad and saddle to make sure he wouldn't be scared of it, and then moved on, skipping saddling.  My grandparents were working on the garden, and that was realy scary, so we had to go play yo-yo and squeeze by it, which was entertaining.  He gets wound up so easily, but then once he realizes there is nothing scary about it, he's fascinated!  He had to investigate the rake, and the bench, and the tree branches, and the trowel.  He even started picking things up and walking around with them.  Such a silly boy!  But then it got windy, and the flag started flapping, and that set him off again.  I've never seen him look UP at something before, but he looked up at the flag, and started to panic.  So, more yo-yo and squeeze, and then some touch-it and guess what?  That flag pole isn't very scary, it actually has lots of fun little things to play with on it(its a collapsable pole) so he had a good time pulling on all the strings, and lipping the knobs on it.  The flag started flapping while he did that, but he wasn't scared any more, which was nice.  He did look up at it still, but he didn't panic.  He just went right back to playing with the string.  I was just hoping he didnt untie it while he played with it, because then the flag would have come down right on top of him!  But he did such a good job overcoming his fears, that I decided to end the session right there, so we went and grazed for a bit, and headed for his pasture.  He is so connected to me now that I can let him graze on the lawn, without fences, and let go of his lead and he won't leave.  I've even experimented(because our liberty is so good, I'm fairly confident that even outside of a fence, when I ask him to "hide his hiney" he will do it) with dropping the lead and walking away, and he follows me, even though he doesn't have to.  To me, that is such a big deal, that even while he is outside, not attached to me, he still decides to stay with me, even though he could take off and be in the next county before I could catch him.  Even though my plan today didn't happen, I still ended up having a wonderful play session with him, and I feel like our relationship strengthens every time.  I could tell he was really trusting me today, even though things were scary.  He checked in a lot, which is something he didn't do at all when I first started playing with him.   I'm so glad I found him to be my partner.

Stormy days

Its been super stormy for the past couple days, so I haven't had much time to play with Pistol.  I don't have an indoor arena, so when it rains, that limits my time I can spend with him.  I did manage to spend some time with him in his shed while it rained, but there was a tornado warning so I had to go inside. :(  So its already been a couple days of light work for him, and now I'm going to be leaving for Parelli Across America tomorrow, which means no work for him at all.  When I finally do play with him again, I'm thinking he will be full of himself.  :)  What fun.  But I'm still super excited about Parelli Across America.  I've heard there are lots of good deals there, so I'm going to stock up on all things Parelli while I can.

Simple Stuff

I think I have been really focused on increasing Pistol's level lately instead of working on what he already knew, so I decided to take today to add some polish. He has finally calmed down enough that I can redo things without making him throw a fit. I've been working on lots of things with him to keep his clever mind busy, but I decided to work on the pedestal, squeezing over a jump, driving from zones 2-3, and stick to me at a walk and trot. He did a fabulous job, I think he is really starting to understand that there is a reason behind everything I do, I'm not just waving my carrot stick to annoy him. He has been great with the pedestal and squeezing over a jump, so that was just asking him to do it a little better each time. However, for some reason stick to me at a trot really drives him nuts. So we worked on it, and the first time he trotted with his ears forward for a couple steps, I stopped and rewarded him. Surprise, Surprise, he started licking and chewing! Hopefully next time will be even easier because of it. He also did a fabulous job on driving from zone 2-3, I think I may try riding him soon. He was green broke when I got him, so he has had a rider on his back, and she even took him trail riding. The trainer was also the barn owner, and she was nice enough to tell me everything she did with him so I know what he knows. I would love to start riding him soon, but because he is a Left Brain Extrovert, I want to be 100% sure he is okay with me up there. As a LBE, the tendency is to buck or rear, and he has already shown he can do both when he wants to. So I'm going to take it slow, and make sure that I have a good relationship on the ground before I climb on his back. I won't look good in traction. :) When I went to bring him in from his pasture, he was already in, so I scratched him a bit and gave him his grain, which made him super happy. As soon as I was leaving, it started to rain, so I had to go close up his trailer. While I was doing that, he finished his grain, and came over to the gate to whinny to me and beg for a scratch. He has this little pose he does like "If you could just get right -there- I would be sooooooooo happy" so I went in and spent some time scratching him in his shed. He is so adorable when I scratch him, he holds his head really high, stretches his neck out, and sticks his lips out and wiggles them. And then, when I got a really good spot on his shoulder, he dropped his head down onto my shoulder and stood that way for a bit. Even though my horse is suuuuuuuuuuper challenging, I wouldn't trade him for ANYTHING.

The First One!

I'm starting this blog because I've realized I really want to share my journey with Pistol, and I want to share it with everyone I can! :) So... starting now, I'm going to be talking about my journey through Parelli Natural Horsemanship with Pistol, my 4 year old gelding.

I got Pistol about 2 months ago, and when I got him, he was a hot mess. He was a green-broke 4 year old, with the brain of a yearling. He had been ridden and trained a bit, but I was informed that he needed 20 minutes of bucking after the saddle was on and before you got on, and that he "didn't understand lunging". Not a problem I thought, PNH has an answer for everything. I brought my friend/mentor with me to pick him up, and we brought her step-up 4 horse slant trailer to get him. However, when we got there, we found out that he had only been trailered 4 times in his entire life. Oh boy. So my friend started working with him, which took about 3 hours, getting him to yield his front and hind end, squeeze between barrels, and circle into the trailer. Well, he was having nothing of it. I had originally thought he was a Left Brain INtrovert, based on my first visit with him. However, 15 minutes into the session, it was clear he was a Left Brain EXtrovert! He bucked about 15 times when he was turned loose in the arena, ran a couple laps with his tail flagged, and stopped to look at us like "I WIN!". We finally got him into the trailer, which took HOURS, and headed home. Then, when we got home, it took HOURS to unload him! Naturally, I decided that I would need to work on trailering so he didn't get "stuck" in a bad experience and make life more difficult. His first full day at my house, he managed to take his 6 foot gate off the hinges, and was heading out when I got to the gate. I knew at that point that I had an interesting time ahead of me. He was curious about EVERYTHING, and while he would go Right Brain at first, within a week he got himself under control and has been living on the Left Brain side ever since. He managed to pick up on all 7 games in the first day, and I had no choice but to move on, because his mind was busybusybusy. So within 2 days of having him, I was already introducing level 2 concepts to him Online. The changes PNH has made in 2 months is unreal. When I got him, he didn't want to be with me, he thought he was the "dominant horse" in the herd of 2, and was used to doing whatever he wanted, since he had been a bratty pasture pet for 4 years. I had my work cut out for me, but after just 2 short months, he now trots and even canters to meet me in the pasture, lets me pet him everywhere while he is laying down, hangs out in his trailer all the time, and does so much more. To date, our biggest accomplishments include: jumping barrels on the ground because he was terrified of it for the first month, getting 2 front feet and 2 back feet on the pedestal seperately, stick to me at a trot without pinning ears, loading into his trailer while I am standing at the rear fender or the rear tire and while he is at liberty, and approaching the spraying hose at liberty and sticking his muzzle in it(he was sprayed as a 3 month old, and was TERRIFIED of the hose). We are still progressing, I hope to be riding him soon, as he is showing me he is willing, but I have a feeling our first ride will be "interesting". :) I recently acquired a Big Green Ball, and we are having a blast with it! He has figured out how to lay down on it, how to do a big high stepping trot to keep it rolling in front of him, how to herd it, and how to push it with his muzzle. He will also walk into his trailer even when it rocks up and down (I figure it is good training for the Parelli Center teeter-totter), and hang out inside while I play the Etreme Friendly game in zone 5 with a carrot stick and his lead rope. He is so smart, and I cannot wait to see where he will be in a year! I am hoping to become a Parelli Professional, and am keeping my fingers crossed to be able to attend the November 2010 Fastrack course in Ocala FL. Even though my horse is a challenge, he is so athletic and fun, I believe he will be the perfect horse to take me to the top!