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