♥ Saturday's Ride ♥

I did get to ride Navajo this evening (i rode bareback for a change and it was very nice). We walked down the strip and then turned the corner trotted a little ways turned around and trotted back to the corner. Once we turned the corner I told him to canter. He went very smoothly into the canter. When we had trotted earlier he had a very pleasant trot. We mostly trotted and walked but cantered a couple of times also:) He was very responsive. He wasn't going to let me turn him around to go back down the strip but after a few circles and starting and stops he decided it was easier just to listen to me. He is figureing out that I am in charge and that it is easier to listen to me because if he doesn't it ends up being more work LOL. We rode back to where we had started and Navajo got a good grooming. It was nice and cool and we had a breeze moving so it was very pleasant to ride:) Well everyone have a great weekend.

Friday Evening

I didn't go to bible school tonight because on the way there my dad called and said that we have company. So my mom called my grandparents (which go to the same church as we do) and asked them if they were on the way yet. They said yes and so my 2 younger sisters went along with them.I wanted to see the company and also lunge Navajo . So this evening I got to lunge Navajo and he did very well besides the fact he didn't want to do more than a trot. He also acted as though he didn't know what the voice commands were so we are going to work on that and lungeing and some groundwork next week. I am going to break it up a little between those things and riding so he don't get bored:) But he did get a break which is ok.

I didn't get to take new pics like I was planning due to the fact that it was too dark. So new pics will hopefully be up sometime next week. Navajo got a bath yesterday and after he was dry he got a good grooming. I gave him a good grooming because he is again shedding. I didn't know they shed in the summer also. We learn new things every day:) Well that is all for now. Have a great weekend.

Riding Navajo

Today I got to ride Navajo after it rained:) First I got him all tacked up and got ready to ride. I hopped on and off we went. I rode down the strip one time and then rode back up. I decided to see if he would obey me the second time down the strip and HE DID:) Then Rose Mary, my sister, wanted to ride so I let her. Then Rachel wanted to ride to so she did too. I took them both down the strip which made it a total of 4 times. After both girls were done riding I rode one more time down the strip and that came to a grand total of 5 times. WoW. We usually only went down one time but today Navajo finally figured it out that I don't tollerate anything but obediance. If he didn't go forward we waited till he changed his mind and he obeyed. He did so awesome:) Hope you enjoy reading all my updates on my Life.

Some Pics/Riding Update

Navajo Looking For the source of the Noise which, btw, was a gun going off:)

I got Navajo out to ride and so we rode for a while and he did well again. We did a lot of walking and a bit of trotting:) But he was quite light with moving away from pressure:) After we were done riding he was quite calm so I took off his bridle and let him walk around without a leadrope. I knew he wasn't going to run away and so I decided to see if I could get some good pics of him. I love the top one because of how he is standing and the lighting:)

Here are some more pics:

Looking at the sound of the gun

Looking at Rose Mary again:)

Picture from February/March that I really like!

Looking At my sister Rose Mary showing off

Sunday's Ride

Last night I rode! For the first time in a week! Anyway we mainly walked but we did trot a little. He was very willing and submissive. He had his head down and walked very well. We did transitions of walk and stop stop and walk and on like that. He did so well. Toward the end he didn't want to listen but he did well at listening to me when I said walk whoa and trot:) I did the pics at the top of the page on picnik.com. If you want some great and cool things to do with pics try it out:)

Chocolate and other things

Chocolate

Angel Annie died on 6/8/09 and so my mom called my aunt to see if they still had some kittens from the other litter. They said they had 2 females. My mom said we would take both:) So now I have Chocolate and Speckles. I will have to get a pic of speckles which I don't right now. My sister first claimed speckles but then asked if I wanted her. I said of course.

I am feeling better! We might go away this weekend because one of our friends mom is in the hospital because she fell. She is an older lady and wasn't doing to good to begin with but now she is going down hill faster:( We met her twin boys and then got to know her and her husband who died last year about this time:( Well must go.

My Animals

Make a Smilebox slideshow

First Ride on Navajo in a Week

Ok now for an update that should have been done last night. Anyway, I lunged Navajo before supper to see how he would act when I was ready to ride. He did quite well. So after supper I went out and got him ready to ride. I used the hackmore (don't know what kind if somebody can give me a list of the different kinds of hackmores and also a description that would be nice) and he did well with it. He listened to all my leg and rein cues and listened quite well to my voice commands. I am going to have to work with him on the walk command because he doesn't listen to that one:( So we rode for a while and he did great the whole time:) I didn't get any chance to work with him on groundwork yet this week and I am not feeling so well for some reason so once I feel better I will work with him again. For now all I am going to do is take care of his basic needs and work with him later. Hope I feel better tomorrow:)

Saturday's Groundwork

This afternoon I lunged Navajo and didn't do any other groundwork. I first did a circle clockwise which seems to be his best side. We first warmed him up then I sent him into a trot. We trotted for a couple of rounds then I told him to walk. He needs work on the walk command because he doesn't obey immediately like he does on trot and canter. When I walked him for a little I sent him into a canter.

After a couple of rounds cantering I sent him into a walk. Then I told him to stop and told him to go counter clockwise. He wanted to turn around and go the other way but I said no. We trotted cantered and walked on that side also. He does so well and I am so proud of him. I say that everytime but he is doing quite well.

He does better each time I ask him to do stuff for me. The L shape thing I got him to back through the other day (refer to previous blogs) has helped him gain confidence in backing and turning corners while backing. He moves nicely away from pressure and he listens almost immediately to my command to walk on when I am leading him. So I can see my groundwork has paid off:) Which is always a nice thing.

Friday's Groundwork

Tonight again was awesome:) It wasn't raining when I went out to set up the boundries using poles. I did this so i would be able to make a nice circle:) About six or so months ago, I would not have guessed that today I would be able to lunge Navajo without the help of anyone. I told Rachel to stand back and if I needed here I would ask. Well needless to say, I didn't need any help. He figured out what I wanted him to do right away:) We went left first for a while at a trot because that is what he did right away and wouldn't listen when I told him to walk (I think it was because he was inside all day) so I let him burn some of his energy. Once some of his energy was burnt he decided listening to me was the best option:) LOL.

So once he settled down and started listening to me I did a trot again and he needs to learn not to pull on the line. I am not sure why he does that but if anyone has a clue let me know so I can fix it:) Anyway I got him to go right at a walk. I figured out that this is probably the best way to teach him to do voice commands also. I told him "Navajo walk" and he walked then I said "Navajo trot" and he trotted. So that tells me that the voice commands I worked on are paying off. It gives me quite a feeling of success when he does what I ask and when he does it willingly. It also shows that once I put my mind to something and work at it, I will most likely succeed. Thanks again to all my friends who have encouraged me and help me succeed:)

On Sunday I am thinking of setting up some courses to show my family what all I have done with Navajo this past week. Not final but will see if it works out.

OUR FIRST ORDER

Tonight we got our first order off of our website: http://raysihparts.110mb.com/ and it made me so happy and excited. It tells me that people are hearing about our website:) I am looking forward to getting more orders. Just thought I would share that with you all:)

Thursday's Groundwork

Tonight was an awesome night. First of all I set up a star shape to improve his co-ordination. At first he was scared of the poles but then when he saw I wasn't afraid of them, he decided he wasn't either. We walked both ways across it. I got the idea out of the book Groundwork Training for your horse by Lesley Baily (featured on my horse book blog).

After I did the star I extended the L shape to make him back through two corners. He did well on the first corner the first time but it took him three times to get the second corner but I was so proud of him. He seems to pick this stuff up after a couple of tries and lots of patience from me! So far the evening was going well.

My next thing I got the idea from Marion from Sussex ,NJ who is off of horsechannel (sorry don't know her last name). She gave me the idea to put poles on the ground 2 feet apart and walk him through that. I put about 7 in a row and walked him through it. I did that like 5 times and then I spaced them 3 feet apart and trotted him through. He didn't like that to much at first but then he did it for me willingly:) We did that 2 times because he was still wasn't exactly comfortable to trot through them.

The last thing we did was the hardest I would say for us to both pick up. I have been trying to teach him and me how to lunge. Tonight I read about it in the book I talked previously about (Groundwork training for your horse) and it talked about lungeing. So I read on it and decided to see if I could try it. At first he had no clue what I wanted him to do so I got my little sister Rachel to walk along the outside of him holdin on the rope to urge him on. We walked in about 10 circles till I told her to let go of the rope and just walk beside him. He had finally picked it up and so he did great. Then I told Rachel not to walk beside him at all and HE STILL WALKED ON:) To say the least, I was so proud of him. I then let him rest to see if he would do it again after the break. AND HE DID:) I then switched directions and he needs to work on that. I will work on that tomorrow but so far I have gotten nothing but good results from him. And I am so proud. Then to end the session I got him to move away from my pressure with him facing the fence. But all together he did well and I hope tomorrow's session goes just as well.

Just a special thanks to all my friends that have given me advice and like to hear our updates. I enjoy writing them as much as I hope you enjoy reading them.

Groudwork

This evening I worked on groundwork with Navajo. I first used the ideas that Susan Burris from Texas gave to me.

The first thing I did was took him along a fence and told him to move his front quarters away from me and his hind quarters away from me. At first he wasn't quite sure what I wanted but after a couple of trys he figured it out. I was quite proud of him and am going to use that again.

The next thing I did was set up an L shape with some tires and a bucket and used the fence for the other part. He did well in the backing up but didn't get the part about backing around the corner. A couple of times he moved forward and then we started right where we began. He did that about 5 times and then about the 6th time around he figured out that he has to go around the corner. I praised him and left him stand there for a little to let it sink in. He did very good and I am proud of him. Thanks Susan:)

We then worked a little on what Kathi Hayes of Kentucky told me to do:) Anyway, I worked on verbal commands to start out because I figured that we had worked on that before so we would do that first. He did very well at starting when I said walk and stopping when I said whoa. Then I walked a little ways to see if he would follow me without me having to do much and he did that also. I am just so proud of him of how far he has come in the past 10 months that I have had him. Thanks, Kathi!

Also I want to again thank all my friends from Horsechannel.com and everyone else for all they have done and all the advice they have given because without your help I wouldn't be where I am with Navajo:) Also want to thank Amber Wolbeck for answering all my endless questions that required some long answers when I first was on horsechannel. I want to thank my cousins for being just that awesome cousins. Thanks everyone, you guys are so awesome:) I also want to thank my non-horsey friends for understanding my love for horses even though you don't understand:)