Cameras are soo revealing...

My brother came with me to the stables today with camera in tow, instructed to make lots of short clips/photos pleasee (i wanted to try my hand at one of the video montages).

Anyway, the mares moved out of the field next to the school, so although Olivia can see horses from where we were, they weren't right there. This always had unsettled her, but I thought we had worked through it. One thing I definately need to work on is adapting myself in the instant she changes. I need to fill out a horsenality profile for her, because I keep seeing a whole mix of horseanalitys in her, and OH BOY is that a challenge.

So anyway, I couldn't spend anywhere as near as much time with her as I wanted to, because my brother kept saying 'how much longer are you gonna be' 'what else are you going to do?' etc etc. So we finished on a good(ish) note. And then in the car on the way home I watched some of the videos he'd made, and if I though Olivia was moving a lot, well, I was moving a lot LOT more. For me it was a BIG blow to see how I looked when we 'played'. I was micromanaging everything - on a figure of 8 I was correcting her before she'd even made the mistake. I was just rushing and it looked soooo bad and I completely understood where Olivia was coming from with her behaviour!

The thing thats so great about parelli, is that I know that its ME who needs to change, not the horse. I know that tomorrow, if I go out there with a totally different attitude (and I keep that attitude the whole time) then I'll have a different horse. Its easier to blame myself, because I can change myself but I think I'd have a lot of trouble trying to change Olivia. Thank goodness I know that!

2 steps forward, 1 step back then 2 steps forward again :)

As I said in my earlier post, this last week has been full of breakthroughs for me :D !! Then yesteday my mum wasn't busy so she camae down and we were going to record level 1/2 online, and lets put it this way: I doubt I would have passed level 1 because it went soo badly!

For the first time EVER, a LBI turned up ??? WHAAATTT !!?? She just didn't want to move, which was really good for friendly, leg massage and touch it, but not so great when I asked for the figure of 8 in trot. She just stood. And plodded. And then stood! So there I was, completly forgot the term 'emotional fitness', with my mother filming away not noticing things just WERE NOT GOING WELL!!!! I finished with some more touch it (so we ended on a good note) and just put her back into her field and SULKED for about a million hours.

Today, Olivia made me walk all around the field with the catching game before she finally came in to me, so she clearly wasn't impressed with yesterdays 'leader'. Anyway, once she did come to me we spent a bit of time doing the friendly game, and then we did the weave pattern with my loverrllyy barrels at the trot, and after doing a full pattern she just stopped and stood, so I just held the rope tight until she released the pressure and came to me. We did it a few more times and the same thing happened each time, so I ended the pattern at the other end instead.

Anyway, our big breakthrough today came when I got on her and we were doing some freestyle. There were other people in the school so I didn't really want to do carrot stick riding because, although I can turn I don't have the brakes totally under control. So we practised drop to trot lead changes on a figure of 8, and then I though well, since she offers flying lead changes all the time I'll see if I can ask for one and.....IT WORKED!!! WOOOOOOPP!!!!!! I did it twice, and I resisted the urge to keep going, and we went to the centre and off I got! Finally a smile on both our faces :D!!

So now Olivia gets her holiday, as I go back to school and exciting EXCITING exams :( !!
Jo x

What a week :)

I can't believe half term has been just 1 week, it seems like longer because of how much I've accomplished with Olivia. Not only did my barrels come at the beginning of the week, but so did the level 3 pack I'd ordered from Paradise Hills. I began reading the books, and watching the VHS (not got far becasue we've only got one TV that has vhs on it, and its NEVER free!!).

The combination of the two is great, because the barrels give me soo much inspiration as there is so much to do with them, and the level 3 stages give me a goal to aim for. So I've dabbled in the online stuff, with speeding up our back up and sideways, and the back up is going alright. I'm taking it slowly and steady :) Freestyle in stage 1 is brilliant! We are working on our carrot stick riding with the patterns, and already we are cantering the cloverleaf pattern without reins - and my normally impulsive horse calmly comes to a stop in the middle with hardly any effort from me!

We also jumped the barrels with the sticks, and my normally good seat when I jump was awful, which shows how much I must hang on the reins before, which I honestly never felt. My good horse put up with me though, as we poped over them a few more times, and then rested! Simple lead changes with the carrot sticks are also going well, but in the direction of the gate Olivia gets really impulsive and its hard to slow her down, so she just does a flying lead change anyway !! Awesome?? I certainly think so!!!

Although what I write may not seem like much, what we've accomplished this week (in things we do and in our relationship) is huge!! When I used to go to her field, I had to get real close to her before she would come to me, but now I take a step and look at zone 5 and she comes.

I'm so happy that I'll post a picture I took today (and also just realised how bad her topline is looking :S ). Guess I'll have to do something about that...

8 barrels and a million possibilities!

My barrels came today - all 8 of them :D !!

I could only be bothered to wheelbarrow 2 down to the school for me and Olivia's play session, but even with those we had a lot of fun!!!

They are a looot bigger than I thought, I never though much of jumping upright barrels but looking at these I was like wooaaahh. I'm on half term this week, which is great because technically I can spend loads of time with Olivia, but not so good because I have mocks when I get back and I really should get revising.

Anyway, so far so good. I've been working on perfecting a few bits and bobs for filming my level 1/2 online audition (and hopefully level 2 freestyle). I think we shouldn't have to many problems though, and then because of the new format I will officially be LEVEL 3!! WOW!!!!

Yesterday I went on hack on the roads with a few friends from the stables, and I got a LOT of funny looks from other horsey people with my parelli rope reins, but maybe the fact I was riding on a 'scarry' road with a loose rein! There was only 1 moment where I got a bit worried, when a whole flock of cyclists came past on the other side of the road! Olivia stopped and went veerrry RBI, but came out of it quickly becasue the other horses were fine (thank god).

Back to the barrels (yayyyy!!) Olivia LOVED them! She realised she can paw them, push them, lick them, head but them! I can't wait to get her a nice big ball!!

And finishing on a sad, sad note: as it stands, the UK celebration is only two days, which means NO SAVVY SPOTLIGHT :( :( The UK team are working on it though, so hopefully they can fix this! I really want to go !!!!

Jo x

Tarptastic!!

Ok, ok that is the worst word EVER but it sums my session today! We've both been getting a little bit bored with the 'equipment' we've got at the school (poles and cones), so yesterday I went with Mum to buy some tarp, and today we tried it out!!

First of all, we played loads of friendly, with approach and retreat, and then she just walked right over it - NO PROBLEM !!! So we repeated that a few times, and then went off to do a few things we know, and then I put her on a travelling circle, and we slowly made our way back to the tarp. For the first few times, she cut across the circle to avoid it, but then out of no where, she just OFFERED to JUMP it!! Pretty impresive jump - that tarp was really wide!! Anyway, she jumped it a few times, so I slowed her down to a walk, and WOOHOOO she walked over it! She walked over it sooo calmly the first time that I bought her in and gave her time out! We also did yoyo over it, and she backed over it without any problems!

I have such a brave/clever/curious horse!! YAY!

Jo x

SNOW DAY !!!

YIPEEE!
haha, sunday night it began to snow, and then monday morning we woke up to a beautiful thick covering of snow! AND we got a call saying school was cancelled!! Mum stayed at home to work, because almost all transport was grinded to a halt. So, in the afternoon she took me down to the stables to get some lovely pictures of Olivia in the snow :)

I didn't do much with her, we just ran around and enjoyed ourselves!!
Pictures of home/our street:

From Snow Day

From Snow Day

From Snow Day

OLIVIA & STABLES:

From Snow Day

From Snow Day

From Snow Day

From Snow Day

From Snow Day

From Snow Day

Jo x

Snow!!!

Whayy, we FINALLY got some snow today!! It wouldn't settle, but was still very pretty! And it came while I was playing with Olivia, and she looked so pretty with white on her fluffy coat :D!!

When I went to the field today, Olivia was watching me the whoollee way in. Then rather than walk away and make me play the catching game for a while, she came to me!! HOW HAPPY!!

So I tried to make our play session as good as possible, so that next time she'll want to come to me as well. We took everything reeeeaaaaall slooooooooooow, which she seemed to appreciate, although towards the end she started to try and barge , so I just got her standing still and then we went back home.

I wish I could spend more time with her, I already know EXACTLY what my barn is going to look like :) (think smallville style...!!)
Jo x