Phoenix - Master of Disguise

No one will ever know it's me...

Bunny Sunday

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti DOOOOOOOOOOO! (insert squeaky little bunny voice here)

That's what I thought Diggy was saying here, what does it look like to you???

Bunny Saturday?

I know I'm a day early for Bunny Sunday, but I just had to share this adorable Etsy Treasury that Linda of Artwolf created (click here to go to the full page view):

Bunnies and more bunnies!  Thanks to Linda for including my Copper Bunny Earrings in this collection. 

I created these earrings with sweet little copper bunny charms paired with copper hearts, pearls and swarovski crystals dangling from copper rings.  I'm putting these on sale through tomorrow, BUNNY SUNDAY, for 10% off the regular price AND I'll also donate 10% of the sale to Heartland Rabbit Rescue.  Just send me an e-mail and I'll adjust the price accordingly.  Thanks!

Piper's Training - Day 3

I wasn't able to go and observe Piper's training yesterday (darn JOB got in the way), but Colt told me this morning she did well although she would not break into a lope for anything.  So, he trotted her around and figured he would try again today. 

Here he is saddling her up toward the end of the training session.  He spends a good amount of time flexing and bending, working on yielding the hindquarters, backing, etc., before he rides her.  He told me of all the horses he has trained, she has been the most quiet while moving around her, saddling, etc.  She does not spook and is very laid back (maybe a little "too" laid back considering she doesn't want to break into a lope!)

But, it's only day 3, so I'm sure he will work her through that soon enough.

Colt trotting Pipey around the round pen:

I took a few little video clips, but I can't seem to get them to upload.  I'll work on that for the next post.

I'll be back there tomorrow watching and learning.  He is going to take her into the arena to ride her, hoping that being out of the round pen she will pick up the lope.  We'll see!

So far, so good!

Piper Goes to School

I never thought I would send Piper to someone for training.  Actually, I never thought I would find someone that I would TRUST enough to send her to.  But yesterday, that is exactly what I did.  I felt like I was leaving my first born at the bus stop on the first day of kindergarten. 

The perfect situation presented itself last week.  We found a trainer through someone we have known for several years and it turns out he lives only 4 miles from us.  We went and met him, talked about his training philosophy and style and checked out his facilities.  Before we went to talk to him, the thought of leaving Piper somewhere for training made me very anxious.  But after meeting him, I felt much better.  I gave him her background and explained the training we had already done with her.  Oh, and his name is Colt --- perfect name for a horse trainer, right? 

Yesterday morning when I brought her to him, he immediately set out to evaluate where she is at.  I sat outside the round pen and watched.  By the end of the session, he had me in there with him trying out some of the things he was working on with her.  AND THEN -- he saddled her up and was loping her around in a halter.  He told me that normally he does not ride a horse her age the first day because there are things he needs to work on with the horse before he can get to that point.  But he said that we had done a really good job getting her this far and she is super gentle and not afraid of anything and she was ready for it.  Yay Piper!
That is the big news around here.  We are going to have him put 30 days on her to fill in some of the holes in my training (Piper is the first horse I've ever tried to train, so I'm not ashamed to say I didn't do everything perfectly) and then we should be able to safely hit the trail.  I'm SOOOOO excited. 

I'll take some pics at tomorrow's training session and get them posted (wouldn't you know, my camera battery was dead when I got there on Monday morning). 

My little Piper is growing up...

Bunny Sunday

Nutmeg:  "MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"I don't care how cute she is, she is NOT a bunny."

The One Rein Stop

Piper's training is progressing nicely.  I'm currently reading through a Clinton Anderson book on starting young horses.  A lot of it I have already done with Piper, but it is good to go back through and pick up on points I might have missed and to do some refresher work.  I use training videos as well, but I really like having a book I can stop and re-read something and earmark the page and go back to it later.

One of the things I've been working on lately is The One Rein Stop.  Basically, an "emergency brake".  It simply involves pulling the horse's head around to the side using one rein, with the idea being that if their head is turned to the side they cannot continue forward motion.  Piper flexes nicely to both sides, so this has been relatively easy for her to learn.  GOOD THING.  

Sunday as I was riding her in the round pen we had our first little "rodeo" moment.  We were riding around nicely when all of a sudden she decided that really wasn't what she wanted to be doing anymore.  She gave me 2-3 good bucks until I was able to get my hand down the left rein and pull her head around.  It worked!  She stopped her silliness and stood perfectly still.  We had a little "chat" for a minute, then continued on with no problems.  We were able to end the lesson on a good note. 

And, I didn't have to eat any dirt.  Bonus!

I still see her as this little baby I brought home almost 2 years ago:

Uh, yeah... not so little anymore! 

Not so little, and too big for her britches!  We'll continue working on that...