The Little Things

I finally got a chance to ride tonight! I wanted to play with the GoC because it seems like I never have the opportunity to be consistent. I started it right before my 3/4 clinic at the end of June and never played with it again until a few times through out July and August. I took a huge break from it and recently picked it back up a few nights ago. So I am going to work really hard to be consistent, but I guess I need more arrows in my quiver.

Tonight started out well; he was good online and super forward and responsive riding freestyle. When I picked up the reins he knew to keep moving and stretch. Trot is the issue. He tends to curl his neck and avoid the contact, rather than take the contact and stretch. It's hard for me to tell as I am riding, but I had a friend video tonight and it seems like he is still avoiding the contact to some extent? After watching the video I tried again and took more contact to encourage him to take more, but then he reverted back to old habits and stopped. So then I started with stage 1, reins mean go and worked our way back up to trot with the same results. Ugh. If you always do what you have always done...

Here are two pictures from the last 15 seconds of the video my friend took. Most of the video he just curled his next, but for a few strides he looked like he actually engaged behind and pushed into the contact. I knew it felt good because that's where I stopped. Sorry the photos are so bad; they are screen shots from the video on my phone.

I wish I had more arrows in my quiver, but I guess the only way I can add to the ones I have is through experience. I am going to go back through the DVDs and make sure I am covering every point and try to go from there. I just feel so bad that Sonny has to be my 'sacrificial lamb' :(. But, I know he is very forgiving and as long as I keep my attitude positive and always reward the slightest try, I guess he isn't going to be too offended. Then again, look at all the mistakes he has put up with from me in the past three years that we have been doing Parelli ;).

As I was feeding him dinner and getting him ready for bed, I was kind of down in the dumps about our ride. As he was finishing his dinner I cleaned my saddle, put my tack away, cleaned up my tack room, locked everything up, got things ready for the A.M., and then went to kiss him goodnight. (Just to update those who are new: Sonny has his own barn. His 'stall' is a 15x16 area in one corner. His gate is at an angle on the corner closest to the inside of the barn. His gate had a bungee on it so if I leave it open it just shuts behind me and he can't get out). Well as I went to kiss him goodnight I saw his gate was wide open. It's not really a big deal if it is; the farm property is completely fenced in and everyone knows that if Sonny were to get out, he would never make it past the first blade of grass. But, he was just standing there waiting for me to come back. It really reminded me how lucky I am to have such a fabulous horse. I can only imagine where some people's horses would have been (some might have even been half way across the country as slow as I was being in the cold tonight).

It really made me smile and appreciate all the little things we have. When I was done riding tonight, we had excellent liberty walk and even trot circles! He stood still for me in front of other horses while I went to get water for grain, and he stood still after walking through the human door and porch as I went back to shut the door behind us. Along with that, he pooped (twice!) and peed ONLY in his pea grave tonight :). Just because we are having a difficult time learning something new doesn't mean that we are failures or that I am screwing him up or whatever it is that I am afraid of. We are just learning, haven't put that much time into it, and it's a total 180 from what we both have learned our whole lives. Of course we can't change that over night! So I am going to take the time it takes and be positive and progressive :). In the end, at the core of it all we still have the relationship, which is what really matters!

I Never Thought....

That you would be the one to hold my heart♥

Blogoversary Giveaway!

Today marks the one year anniversary of my first blog post! Hurray!

In honor of everyone's support (no matter how big or small), I am going to be holding a raffle! There will be two winners: the first place winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Parelli shop!

The runner up will receive a pink savvy string in honor of breast cancer awareness month!

Photo courtesy of Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Inc. 

Here is how you enter:

• You can enter the raffle by doing one or both of the following:
• Commenting on one of my blog posts (either upcoming or old, it doesn't matter!) will get your name 'in the hat' 1 time per comment. 
• Sharing a link to my blog (and sending me a screenshot or telling me where you posted it) will get your name 'in the hat' 2 times per share. 
• You can get 'your name in the hat' up to 5 times; any submissions after your 5th will not count
• To clarify, you may use either or both of the options to get as many opportunities to win as possible! 
• The deadline (you must have your comments posted and your 'share' entires submitted) by November 4th, 2012 at 11:59 P.M. 

If you comment on a post, be sure to include your name or some way for me to identify you (anonymous posts will not be recorded). 

How it works:

Every time you comment on a post, or inform me where you shared my link, I will give you a number. For one comment, you get one number. For one share, you get two numbers. Those numbers will be recorded then entered into a random number generator, for which I will 'draw' two numbers. The first number will get the gift certificate and the second number will get the pink savvy string!

Just a note: there might be an extra something for the person with the best 'share' ;). Blogger lets you keep track of where your views come from, so if someone posts my link somewhere that draws a lot of attention, I will make it worth your while! 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Best of luck to everyone! 

The link the share my blog: 

http://savvywithsonny.blogspot.com/http://savvywithsonny.blogspot.com/

Warm & Fuzzy

Yesterday was so cold, but Sonny knows how to make me feel all warm and fuzzy!

Yesterday morning I led him outside at liberty. Usually he struggles to get 'free' to go eat grass. Yesterday I focused on my destination and was confident (but ready to correct) that he would continue to walk with me and not stop to eat. Not only did he stay with me, whenever I stopped, rather than diving down to eat he turned his head towards me, asking what was next. Goosebumps!

I got him out to play late last night, so we had to work in the indoor. I played a little online and was very pleased with the results! The first time I yo-yoed him back, he kept two eyes and two ears locked on my. He never does that! I was ecstatic!

After a good online warm up (he was being incredibly responsive), I got his bridle out for the first time. He took the bit right away and didn't chomp. I am so happy!

I rode around freestyle for a while and he was fabulous! So I dropped put the reins on the bridle and played a little Game of Contact. He immediately remembered reins mean go and to stretch into the contact.

At the trot he wanted to stop, so I took more contact until he went forward and then tried again from the walk. Within no time he was powering forward into the contact!

After that I got off and hung out for him for a while; something we haven't done in a while. He yawned and chewed and yawned and chewed and rested his head on my shoulder. Oh how I love him :).

Pretty boy :). 

Another Year With My Dear

As of today, Sonny and I have been together for 3 years! As we continue to get our good, better and our better, best, I would say that this past year has been the best, yet!

I look forward to many, many more... 

Forever&always. ♥

The day Sonny became mine - 10.25.09

Wordless Wednesday

Some photos from our ride Monday night!

 50 Shades of Hay??? No...Grey! 

Instagram: Are You Out There?

Does anyone out there have instagram? If so you should follow me or comment with your user name and I will follow you! You can find me at: savvywithsonny

I am absolutely obsessed with instagram and always enjoying finding new parelli people to follow! Or any horse people to follow, actually.

If you already follow me (or visa versa), let me know so I can say hi!

Instragram photos are my favorite :)

Deer Creek Trail Ride

Yesterday Stephen was nice enough to take me trail riding! With our new three horse trailer, we packed my friend's in, too! Melissa came with her mare Rydel and Sarah brought her horse Ozzy. It couldn't have gone any better!

Melissa & Rydel, Sonny & Me, Ozzy & Sarah

It rained all morning, but by the time Stephen picked us up it had stopped. It turned sunny and beautiful; the trails weren't muddy, but not dusty either. The weather was great, the horses were all fabulous, the scenery was beautiful, the trailer was awesome, there was good company...it was perfect! 

Lovin' the new ride! 

The trails were awesome, winding in and out of the woods, up and down hills, through the water (or what should have been)... the only thing missing was jumps ;). Sonny was the best he has ever been. For one, he walked right on the trailer. He loved it. He was brave the whole trail ride, was confident through all the scary things, and most importantly: he was such a good listener! At the last hunter pace he got a little excited and wanted to go, go, go. Today he was all about whatever I wanted. Impressive for an LBI, eh? You want canter, okay! You want walk, okay! He was perfect. We basically spent the whole ride on a loose rein, something I normally wouldn't think of while trotting and cantering on a trail. He is usually in GO mode and wants to blast around. I actually just used a California roll in my reins and played with steady rein if I needed him to slow down a bit. He listened and settled in to some really comfortable trot and canter! Very balanced and relaxed. I was thrilled! 

~10 miles and 150 photos later... ;)

Ozzy and Rydel were just as great, which made for such a fabulous time. I was so glad to spend the day with my best friends and have such a great time! Wish I could do that more often!

Enjoy! 

Friday Favorite #7

This week's Friday Favorite is:

No Thrush!
http://www.nothrushshop.com/index.html

With fall upon us, muddy weather is just around the corner. You know what that means: thrush!

Last summer I switched to a natural trimmer, who informed me that Sonny had really bad thrush. I felt so embarrassed that I didn't realize it before! I also felt angry that I have gone through more than 5 farriers with Sonny and only one of them had casually brought it up to me. Rodger, the barefoot trimmer who I still use, made me away that it was a huge problem and I probably shouldn't have even been riding. I felt so bad!

He had me soak Sonny's feet in the beginning, then had me use two different treatments. When the weather was dry out, he had me mix 50/50 athlete's foot and triple-antibiotic cream together in a syringe and squirt it in the thrush cracks of Sonny's frogs. When it was wet out, which is was a LOT last year with the mild winter, he had me use No Thrush.

No Thrush is "the first ever dry treatment" for thrush that happens to be natural and safe. The stuff is awesome. To treat thrush, everyone I know uses bleach or a liquid. Bleach may kill the thrush, but it will also kill the healthy tissue. So even if you are killing the thrush you aren't setting youself up for success. The problem with a liquid is that it adds to the issue: thrush thrives in wet areas so why would you continue to make the feet wet? That's why No Thrush is so amazing!

This summer  Sonny was completely thrush free! It felt so good! His heels were so contracted and he had huge cracks, but now (as of the last month or so), he feet look awesome! Better than ever. He is getting rid of the false sole that protected his sore feet and his hooves look great. I am absolutely thrilled!

If your horse gets thrushy or stands in a wet/stall paddock in the winter, this is a must have. Address the problem before it gets as bad as Sonny's! It's so easy to use, it isn't messy, and it works great. The website has some great photos and information on how to use it, but feel free to ask if you have any questions!

You can buy it here for as cheap as I can find it: Jeffer's Equine

Let It Be

Sonny and I had a fabulous liberty session today! I didn't have a whole lot of time (what's new?) so I just wanted it to be short, sweet, and successful. I haven't played at liberty very much this summer, if even at all. Well, besides walking him to his paddock and back, but that's about the extent of it!

We went in the big outdoor, which probably wasn't the best place to go, but it was so nice out today I definitely didn't want to be inside. For once I didn't have any plans in my head about what I wanted to do, I just kind of flew by the seat of my pants. I practiced some sideways over me, realizing that the one way is broken. Did some driving game to fix it and it turned out great! Then I played with the difference in going sideways towards me and backwards towards me at a distance. He caught on really quickly!

Everything was going great so I tried circling game. This game has always been hard for us at liberty so I usually avoid it. I get frustrated and he knows it and ends up trotting around the arena and pretending I don't exist. That frustrates me even more and I end up giving up. So today I set myself up for success by standing about 10 feet away from the long side of the fence, so a portion of my circle would be along the rail. I sent him off at the walk and it was perfect! He was doing these perfect circles, maintaing gait, direction, and flexing towards me! Then, when I took a single step back, he came in to me! I was blown away! I played with some changes of direction, a bit of trot, and he was awesome! I was so impressed!

Walking a small circle :). 

So my lesson of the day: Let it be! Of course I should always aim to get my good better and my better, best, but there is no rush. You have to have all of the pieces of the puzzle to see the big picture. There is no point in trying to force things, but rather to figure out what is broken and go from there. It reminds me of back when I started Parelli and was flying through things because Sonny was so smart. Before I knew it we could do level 3 tasks, but did we have a level 3 relationship? Of course not! I was forcing him to do things, there wasn't any communication, I was just demanding things of him like the rest of the un-natural horse world does. I didn't find a level 3 relationship wasn't until I slowed down focused on what was important: the relationship not the tasks. So today was a friendly reminder to just take it slow, go with the flow, and focus on what really matters! :)

Trotting on a circle with a great expression! 

Wordless Wednesday

Here comes Sonny Boo Boo! 

What the Cat Dragged In...

So the cat would be my boyfriend, and maybe he didn't drag it, but as I studied at home this is what he brought back to me:

Now I have an excuse to buy 2 more horses!!

YAY!!!!!!!! No longer does Sonny have to be a sardine in my old trailer. Hello beautiful, big, slant load trailer. Life is good!!!

Level 1 With Excellence

I have often heard people say level 4 is just level 1 with excellence. So every time I play with Sonny I try to run a checklist through my head of the seven games and what type of quality they are. Less is more with Sonny, so I have been trying to focus on one idea per play session to really improve our overall horsemanship. Rather than focusing on everything at once, picking a piece to focus on makes a really great picture when you put it all back together. Isolate, separate, and recombine!

I could tell he was very, very sleepy so I wanted to make it short, sweet, and successful. I took his halter off and used my bareback pad for the first time in a while (I forgot how much I adore it!). I had two poles on the ground laying in a straight line with a gap between them. I made the gap my 'question box' and we did figure 8's around them. Here is how it went:

Emily Rodgers with Sonny, (Freestyle, 45 mins) Rode Sonny bridlelessand bareback today for the first time in a long while. He was so sleepy, but absolutely wonderful! I focused on "phases within phases", influencing him to respond to the "heat" of my leg, rather than actual pressure from my leg. My aim was to get him to focus on my focus, so to have him respond to phase one for direction. He did awesome! Before I knew it we were trotting figure 8s without having to use almost any leg at all. Definitely made me happy. The best part: he was flexed perfectly! For some reason flexion has been a difficult thing for us, but today he was flexed perfectly on the figure 8! Best he has ever done. He is such a superstar!

Fri 12 Oct 2012 at 08:52PM

I was absolutely thrilled with our ride last night. Just last month I posted about our freestyle figure 8s needing work because he just waits for me to use my leg. It blew my mind that last night he was so great about it! But more than anything, I definitely couldn't have been happier with his flexing. Bending around my leg is something he has never offered to do. I am not sure what clicked last night, but it was definitely something because he was flexed perfectly! I would have died to have that with my dressage horses with a bridle, let alone without. How interested! I can't wait to try it again!

Lick & Chew

Yesterday a friend from the barn rode Sonny. It was a really neat to see someone else ride him and I think it was a great experience for us all!

I explained phases to her and how to not 'kick 'em to go and pull 'em to stop'. It was definitely a new concept to her, but from her dressage background she understood how it worked. She played with walk transitions and follow the rail while I explained some theory to her. She mentioned that Sonny didn't want to walk in a straight line so I talked about reverse psychology and "here let me help you!" So she turned and twisted and turned and twisted him and didn't let him walk in a straight line. After doing that for a little while he walked perfectly straight so I told her to stop him as a reward. I started to explain how pressure motivates, but the release teaches and I think that gave her something to lick and chew on! Both of us came from dressage backgrounds and are both LBE around horses, so I completely understood when she said if you get a few good steps of half pass, you ask for a few more and a few more and without realizing it you never reward the horse. I went on to explain the important of giving them time to think, which comes as a lick and chew. As I kept talking, Sonny was, in a very extroverted manner, licking and chewing. It went on forever! We talked and talked and he licked and chewed and chewed and chewed. It was so funny!

It was very....exciting/rewarding/motivational to see the concepts of natural horsemanship made an expereinced rider lick and chew. Most of the time people who have ridden all their life blow off Sonny and I, calling what we do "tricks" and never giving us a second look. It really meant a lot to me that she even gave me the time of day, was interested, asked questions, and tried so hard with Sonny. Definitely brought a huge smile to my face!!

Hunt the Jump

On Saturday Sonny and I participated in our second ever hunter pace! Just like the first one, it was a blast!

It was the annual halloween pace so we dressed up! Sonny and I were bumble bees and my friend Katie was Dr. Who with her horse being the Tardis. I think our costumes looked great!

I loved how the ribbons in his mane turned out!

The pace was LONG. We did the moderate and the slow pace; the ideal time was 53 minutes for 6 miles! We got pretty close to that and ended up placing second :).

A dirty and VERY tired Sonny! 

Sonny was very good! He was a lot more forward this pace and not as well behaved as the last one, but he was so much better jumping! He jumped everything I pointed him at (except the very last one...go figure!). He even jumped some pretty big logs! What a good boy :). I am so impressed that for one he was jumping as much as he did and for two he jumped so many big things! It is hard to imagine that just a few years ago he had no idea how to jump and just two months ago he was spooking at longs and he is now soaring over big tree trunks! He is such a superstar.

He wasn't going to jump this, then did. Caught me off guard,
hence the position. Whoops! ;) At least he looks great! 

For those of you who might be interested, here is a helmet cam video from the pace! It is not me, but you can still see the jumps and all!