I have been riding Rocky bareback in the arena about three times per week these past two weeks. Not long rides. Five minutes at first, working up to 10 minutes and then 15. His backbone is so prominent that I can almost hear my tailbone grate on it, so I suspect I was not entirely [...]
Filed under: Love | Leave a Comment »
I haven’t played with Rocky very much lately. Or have I? I have hung out in the pasture with him. He is in the front turnout now, which is a bigger space with a bigger herd and a creek down the middle, so I walked around with him at liberty to show him all the [...]
Filed under: Feel, Love | Tagged: parelli natural horsemanship | Leave a Comment »
Filed under: Gratuitous Pictures, Love | Tagged: parelli natural horsemanship | Leave a Comment »
My sketch app, Doodle Buddy, works like fingerpaints and is free. I don’t expect to make it into any juried shows anytime soon, but I had fun with five-minute blurts. It is harder than it looks to draw with a blunt fingertip and a skinny brush tip.
Filed under: Love | 1 Comment »
Parelli recently posted a link on Facebook to an article about saving money on vet bills by preventing injury and illness. The article lists 21 things you can do during day-to-day horsekeeping to keep everyone safe and sane, and as I read it, I compared it to how things are done here. I’m happy to report [...]
Filed under: Health, Love, Ranch Hand, Reflections | Tagged: horsekeeping, parelli natural horsemanship, penn valley | Leave a Comment »
When I was 19, I had the great fortune of becoming the horse buddy of the mom of my younger sister’s friend. Diane bred Peruvian Pasos and shared her enthusiasm for the breed. “They’re so gentle, you can even ride the stallions like in other breeds you ride geldings,” she said. I was allowed to [...]
Filed under: Love | Leave a Comment »
Every time I start lecturing myself with “you’ve been on an all-Parelli ranch for 3 years and you haven’t taken lessons consistently, what’s wrong with you, aren’t horses important?” I remind myself that I have been progressing this entire time the way I was meant to. In 3 years, I have developed confidence, enthusiasm about [...]
Filed under: Love | Tagged: Feel, parelli natural horsemanship | 2 Comments »
This morning I helped with haltering a skittish horse — let’s call him Bayou — who is here on the ranch for re-start and development. It’s sunny and brisk out, and despite recent advances in his trust in humans and his acceptance that maybe, just maybe, the halter isn’t a snake, he was having a [...]
Filed under: Love | 1 Comment »
Months ago, I said to a friend, “I wish I had more time with my horses!” We both laughed and said we’d better be careful about what thoughts we put into the Universe. “I’m amending that,” I said aloud. “I don’t want to get that time by losing my job, so, how about if I [...]
Filed under: Love | Tagged: parelli natural horsemanship | Leave a Comment »
After Rocky and I finished his evening workout of walking with purpose, over poles and on gradual hills, we relaxed in the arena with only a few lights on. I had fought off a migraine in the afternoon through resting in a cool, dark room, and I wanted to read quietly before bed without triggering [...]
Filed under: Love | 2 Comments »
Yeah, that’s me, up on my Atwood Ranch filly, all casual and relaxed. Of course inside I’m going SQUEEEEEEEEEE! I did the whole progression, with direction from Erin: stand and “pet” her with my legs, jump up and down in all zones, heave myself (with a boost, LOL) over her withers, lie flat on her [...]
Filed under: Freestyle, Lessons, Love | Tagged: horseback riding, parelli natural horsemanship | 1 Comment »
It’s cool to see how someone can sum up horsemanship in a little more than a minute and make such a beautiful video — and use the mainstream media and advertising platform as a way to sneak some horses onto the information highway. As for combining mobile usage with horse time, what a perfect topic [...]
Filed under: Love | Tagged: natural horsemanship | Leave a Comment »
So we let her out. Yee haw!
Filed under: Gratuitous Videos, Love, River | Tagged: horses grass valley, parelli natural horsemanship | 2 Comments »
The day before Salsa became River’s travel and quarantine buddy, we took the Flip outside and filmed the seventh session of level 1/2 Figure 8. As you can see we did several games and patterns at various levels. Music provided by my friend Reggie Hall. All appropriate permissions obtained.
Filed under: Love, Salsa Caliente | Tagged: horses grass valley, parelli natural horsemanship | 2 Comments »
I learned in session five why our infinity pattern broke, after we did so well in the first three sessions. Session four was pretty bad, and session five looked to be getting worse. But then I realized that when I switched the lead rope from hand to hand and pointed between the cones, I was [...]
Filed under: Love | Tagged: horses grass valley, parelli natural horsemanship | Leave a Comment »
All links go to Amazon product pages.
Dick Francis Novels
I re-read the entire collection of Dick Francis novels at least once a year.
