in the zone

Posted on March 14, 2012 by ladybugfamily under Billy Curly Horse, Myself

me hopping up there… (photo by Kelly Robinson)

today was really wonderful with billy blaze i took out the orange ball and the green ball and gave him some “free” time to play. i sat myself down behind a panel, on a pedestal to read my book. billy played for a few minutes then came and stood by me, head down, and just rested it was so nice that he would rather be by me than play with his ball!

then a young cowboy showed up to work a young horse in the round pen, so i hopped the panel and put my arm around billy’s face so he wouldn’t bug them as they came into the arena… billy was fascinated with the filly in the round pen so i let him explore her while i set up the playground.

when i was ready for him i played the catching game until he wanted to be with me instead of the filly. it didn’t take long! we played with the bridge, walking on it forward and then backing onto it, then standing on it. we played with the half barrel jump. he would walk up to it and very carefully prepare himself, then jump it and turn and face. it was pretty neat since it’s only one barrel and i had it pulled away from the wall. he could have gone around it….

then we played with the pedestal. i asked him to put his front feet on it, then move his hind end around, away from me, both directions.

we played with the cones, weaving at the walk and the trot. the figure of eight, softly and with lots of trust on my part. i barely moved, just pointed

we did some sideways over a couple of trotting poles lined up. we played sideways in front of the poles, then over the poles, both directions.

this is preparation for sitting up there! did this yesterday (photo by Kelly Robinson)

then we went back to the pedestal and i jumped up on him! he was a little naughty on the left side, wanting to bite my leg, very dominant. so i let him “run” into my foot. his whole attitude changed! i hopped off and he turned on his own and sidled right up to the pedestal so i could hop on. i would hop up on my belly, then wiggle around and swing my legs up. he would stand so nicely! i played some pushing passenger and let him walk around a little bit.

the barn owner and one of the older cowboys showed up to watch the younger cowboy with the filly in the round pen. they were very excited that i was up on billy! the barn owner couldn’t believe how quiet and accepting billy was of me up there. and how he handled me wiggling all around to GET up there i’m not sneaking around!!

i LOVE the look on my face in this one… this is the FIRST time i sat on billy blaze! (photo by Kelly Robinson)

after i sat up there and rubbed and rubbed and scratched and scratched, he yawned, licked and chewed, lowered his head when i asked, licked and chewed some more… it was lovely. i hopped off, took him over to some nice dirt, knelt down and he quietly laid down beside me and just hung out with me for over 5 minutes!!! that blew the barn owners mind! LOL

it was just the best day! talk about being in the zone….

Posted on February 25, 2012 by ladybugfamily under Billy Curly Horse

May I always give my horse time to think,

to process what I ask of her (him).

Help me to be patient and positive,

giving her (him) words of encouragement

and always, always rewarding the smallest “try”.

~Charlotte Angin

undemanding time

Posted on February 12, 2012 by ladybugfamily under Billy Curly Horse

the other day with billy blaze was really neat. i had plans to go into the outdoor arena to practice excellence while doing the circling game, followed by some horse trailer play.

so i went and met billy at his gate, haltered him up, put the 22 foot line on him and off we went! they had brought some new things into the outdoor arena so he had to check those out quick, then he dropped down to roll (of course…). when he got up i asked him to back up until he was at the end of his 22 foot line, then sent him off on the circle. we made it two laps before he wanted to roll again. i asked him to keep going for one more circle then decided it wouldn’t hurt to let him roll (might be good for our rapport!), so disengaged his hind end then knelt down. he stood for a minute, then i asked him to lower his head and he went down to roll. while rolling he rolled onto his back and just balanced there for a second or two digging his back into the sand. when he was done rolling he just stayed down. so i sat in the sand about 12 feet from him. i sat and sat and sat. then i started to get cold and decided to sit closer to him so i crawled over to him and leaned my back up against his shoulder. he seemed content to just lay there! once in a while he would reach around to nip at me and i would offer him his lead rope or i would play with his lips. we sat like that for 15 minutes! it was wonderful. as we sat there i was thinking “when is he going to get UP so we can play with our circling game?!” then started to think about how some of the things billy and i can do have become so common place that i take them for granted. it made me laugh that i WANTED him to get up! how many people get the chance to sit with their horses while they lay down and both are content? how many? i do take for granted the things that billy and i can do, wanting to do more or bigger and better things when the things we can do are pretty big and great! i want to continue working on our relationship so we can grow more and become even more amazing!

after we laid around the arena i decided our rapport was so great that we could go right to the horse trailer. we had the MOST relaxed and wonderful time!! it was awesome! he walked right in, ate the oats, stood there, played with the bucket that bothered him a little, but he kept offering to play with it then i backed him out slowly, stopping him with his fronts in the trailer, briefly. then asked him back into the trailer where he ate the oats again, cocked his foot and hung out until i asked him to back out again. then i asked him back in for a 3rd time, he was calm and happy the whole time! i was really happy with how he backed out and loaded him. how quiet he was as he stood in there. even if i moved around outside the trailer he was quiet! we spent an hour with the trailer and it didn’t even feel like it! awesome.

today i took big B and little L with me to the barn. when we got there we were informed that billy was loudly snoring in his stall, laying flat out how funny! i walked down to his stall and he just laid there. i went in and brushed him all over his one side while he laid flat. then the boys came up to see him and he sat up a bit. Logan climbed the fence and took these pictures…

what a silly billy!

mantra

Posted on February 5, 2012 by ladybugfamily under Billy Curly Horse

the less the resistance, the softer the give, the deeper the impression will be.

my mantra when playing with billy blaze.

taking a break

Posted on February 3, 2012 by ladybugfamily under Billy Curly Horse, Myself

i’ve been having quite a struggle internally. it centers around billy blaze and our journey.

we have hit some bumps in the road and i haven’t been weathering them well.

but it’s funny how just when we need it support comes along in all different ways.

here is an email i received yesterday…

Dear Mindy,
You know how the right person sometimes comes into your life to tell you exactly what you need to hear. Today, I’m hear to tell you, “I know it has been a struggle lately, but you are on the right track. Keep moving forward and you will see the light soon!”

then today an internet friend shared this blog with me…

gaining clarity.

handsome hubby has been very supportive as has a horsey friend that is on this same journey with me.

i am blessed. sometimes i just forget.

change

Posted on January 27, 2012 by ladybugfamily under Billy Curly Horse

again with comparisons.

i couldn’t help it.

i got a great picture of billy today that really shows his body.

and when i went back looked i was once again amazed at the changes he has made!

a lot can change in 9 months…

top may 2011, next june 2011, next september 2011, bottom january 2012

look at how much his rear end has changed! his tail set is getting lower.

his croup is getting more round and less pointy.

Parelli is amazing.

and so is billy blaze.

randomness

Posted on January 24, 2012 by ladybugfamily under Billy Curly Horse, Pictures

randomness. randomness.

is that even a word!?

you know how when you repeat and repeat a word and it starts to sound weird?

well randomness sounded weird the first time i said it!

some randomness from the last few days…

the other day i took some wheat grass out to billy blaze as a special treat.

i figured it’s green grass right!? and it’s winter so green grass would taste really great.

as you can see…. it did. he gobbled that right up! i’ve put it in my kitchen window

to see if i can grow it again.

one of my horsey friends and i went out on saturday, during all that great sunshine and blue sky

to take some pictures…

billy blaze with my friend and her horse in the background.

this is her arab gelding, azad….

they are doing hill therapy to strengthen his back. it’s going very well! not only is it working on his back…

it’s also strengthening their relationship.

and she took some of billy blaze and i.

i love these! and just for the record i have on two pairs of pants and 6 shirts, plus my vest.

and here is a picture of an umbrella after two LBE (left brain extroverts) are done with it.

we used it for the pictures, then billy got a hold of it and it was all over!

time for a new umbrella

play

Posted on January 19, 2012 by ladybugfamily under Billy Curly Horse, Myself

my word of the year is “play”.

i have figured out that i’m not a playful person. i don’t like to play games. i don’t like to look stupid or feel like anyone is making fun of me. i really HATE pictionary…

but, to be truly successful with billy blaze i need to learn to be more playful. and not take life (or training) so seriously. i have had a lot to think about since sunday’s lesson.

this journey is about more than just horsemanship. it’s about ME. and how to be a better me. making my good better and my better best! never ending self improvement, it’s a never ending cycle.

but i am struggling a tiny bit right now

it’s funny how people really don’t like it if i have a bad day or two. it seems to really disturb them! but guess what!? we all have bad days…. even ME!

well, at least billy blaze knows how to play…