2010

2009

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2010

What Do YOU Think???

Owing Heartwood, where we have a lot of fun with our horses, lay a solid foundation and find them great new homes, is an amazing opportunity. Not only do we get to do what we love and meet great, like-minded horsepeople, but we get to experience many different horses. And what a gift that is for developing our horsemanship!

Because we are not currently blessed with an indoor arena or good weather, we are spending a lot of time this winter researching different horsemanship methods. Yes, that means that we get to read horsemanship books and watch horsemanship DVDs while on the clock. What could be better?!

Our goal is not just to further our own horsemanship, but also to outline a horse development strategy. In the spring, we plan to hire a student to come in and work with us. So far, since Anna and my philosophies are pretty parallel, we haven't laid out our exact program - that is, what we do, step by step, with our horses. But since we are bringing a student into the mix, in order to reduce the number of gaps and ensure that our horses have that real foundation, an written game plan seems like a good idea.

Anna and I have both always been very open-minded and explored many different avenues of horsemanship. We like to sort through information, take what we feel is relevant and in line with our philosophy and leave the rest. We love seeing the different methods out there and incorporating different techniques into our training as we find them.

Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to just stick with one program, but most of the time I'm pretty happy to take note of the similarities and differences in the approaches out there and use what makes sense to me.

So what do I want your input on? I want to know the one thing you have found most beneficial to you and your horse. Is there an exercise that you find indispensable? A technique? A game? Why?

As a 'collector' of horsemanship information, I'm hoping for some really neat ideas to try out!

POSTED BY CELENA AT 8:17 PM      2 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: ANNA, APPLYING NH, ASPIRING HORSEMAN, DEVELOPING HORSES, LAYING THE FOUNDATION, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP EXERCISES, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP PHILOSOPHIES, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP TECHNIQUES

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2009

Dashing Through the Snow

Is there anything better than riding in the snow?

Well, yes actually. But tacking up on a crisp day and going out for a jaunt through the snow is definitely the best part of winter. Anna and I went out riding the other day on two of our young horses, Chica and Rosie. Chica, as always, marched through the snow with great enthusiasm. Rosie, an Andalusian-Arab cross who is our newest acquisition, was also eager to be out and about, despite not being in as good shape as Chica.

There was a definite chill in the air, but aboard the beautiful Rosie, I really didn’t care. We walked and trotted on the logging roads in the mountains behind the farm – and with that dusting of snow, the scenery was truly breathtaking and made all the better by being on horseback. We stopped and looked at animal tracks in the snow – Anna and I agreed that we need to get better at identifying tracks – and picked out a Christmas tree to chop down later.

Then we got to the meadow where we often canter the horses. Anna and I looked at each other and grinned, each knowing the other was up for a canter. Rosie is green and we hadn’t cantered her yet, but she was feeling fantastic – her gaits were smooth and easy, and her attitude was willing. I was sure she was ready for it, and I was eager to feel the canter that I had seen her do from the ground.

It was amazing. She stepped right up into the canter and followed Chica, winding through the meadow on the snow-covered logging road. She didn’t try to pass or lag behind – she maintained the exact same distance behind Chica the whole time. And she didn’t disappoint me – her canter was wonderfully balanced and rocking. It was, without a doubt, the best first canter I’ve ridden.

No matter how many horses I start, seeing them progress never ceases to amaze me. Riding out in the snow, having such a wonderfully positive ride and first canter, really made my day.

POSTED BY CELENA AT 9:27 AM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: ANNA, CHICA, LAYING THE FOUNDATION, ROSIE, WINTER RIDING

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2009

Ben Meets Owl

I was out at the barn with my fifteen-month-old son, Ben, a few days ago on a day off. We were going around, playing in the dirt and with the animals. Luckily for me, Ben absolutely loves animals and the outdoors. On my days off, when I still want to go up and visit the ponies, he is always happy to accompany me and get just as dirty as he possibly can. I don’t mind – I’m just happy that he’s happy out there!

My business partner, Anna, was riding one of our horses in for training while Ben and I tottered around. We would go over and watch the horse’s progress for a little while, then go find some animals to play with. I was trying to encourage Ben to play close to the arena so I could see how the horse was going, so I pointed out a plastic owl that lives on a post beside the arena. He seemed interested, so I picked him up to have a better look at it.

Well, I’m not sure if it was the staring yellow eyes or the black beak, but my animal-loving little boy started shaking and crying, scared half to death of this fake bird. I had never seen him have that kind of reaction to anything, and I quickly moved away from the owl and reassured my son.

Once Ben had calmed down, we went back over, this time to the back of the bird where there was no scary face. I scratched the owl’s plastic body, and Ben was intrigued by the noise. I would scratch it, then suggest he scratch it.

Using this technique, we slowly moved around to the front of the owl, making the funny sound on its plastic feathers. If Ben got worried, we’d move away from the face; a few minutes later we would once again make our way towards the fierce face. Within a few minutes, Ben realized that the big staring owl wasn’t a bogeyman.

In the meantime, Anna had ridden over to the fence and was letting the horse ‘soak’ while she watched me and Ben with the owl. She started laughing, and said, “Celena, do you realized that you just desensitized Ben to that owl the way you would desensitize a horse?”

As soon as I became immersed in natural horsemanship, like many others, I recognized that the philosophy was applicable in many areas of my life. But I can’t say that I ever expected to use advance and retreat with my child!

POSTED BY CELENA AT 6:52 PM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: ANNA, APPLYING NH, HORSEPEOPLE - A BREED OF OUR OWN, MY FAMILY