snow everywhere, the sun shining.

and narnia in my front yard!

the lion, the witch and the wardrobe….

and a little angus.

the "lamp post"

i went out and was certain i would find a faun

walking home through the snow.  and he would offer

to take me to his home for tea…

instead of a faun i found an angus.

he invited me in for cookies

when you stop chasing the wrong things,

you give the right things a chance to catch you.

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!

my mantra when playing with billy blaze.

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.

]]> http://mindyschroder.com/2012/02/03/taking-a-break/feed/ 1 ladybugfamily SONY DSC http://mindyschroder.com/2012/01/29/fun-with-family/ http://mindyschroder.com/2012/01/29/fun-with-family/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:48:33 +0000 ladybugfamily http://mindyschroder.com/?p=2530 Continue reading →]]> oh yes.  my family knows how to have fun!  and did we ever!!

it was my lovely cousin’s birthday and as part of her present

i wanted to do a photo shoot…

my wonderful auntie joined in!

and they took some of me

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.

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

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…

it was a wonderful lesson and brought up lots of interesting things for me to “lick and chew” over…

and sent me home to do some research of my own.

i found several very interesting articles that linda parelli has written over the years.

two things that really jumped out at me after our lesson today were:

* don’t get frustrated- respect myself as a student.

everything is a learning experience.

* every “problem” usually leads to an amazing breakthrough.

be fascinated by the process rather than defeated by it.

(LOVE that last one!!)

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