Happy hump day! The middle of the week always seems like it takes forever to get here, but when it does the rest of the week just flies by. Today it's rainy and chilly out, giving me the fall fever. I love this time of the year, the leaves changing, the cooler air, and the fall holidays! Love, LOVE, LOOOOVE Halloween, and I'm excited for it to come this year.
I got back on Dakota to ride on Monday, and it went well. She's was seemingly unsure of herself, but after watching the videos back, I believe it was because the ground is so muddy. She did much better yesterday. I hope she comes out of this insecurity completely, I would like to go more than 10 steps without stopping. LOL! But, with teaching her comes much patience, and I know that just like 2 years ago, when she was a wild child that I thought I would never be able to ride, she'll come into her own. She has grown into the most gentle, respectful, attentive horse I could have asked for. She listens very well and is always eager to work. I am hoping that once she realizes that when I'm riding her she's going to get to go out and see everything, she'll be excited for that too.
Cheyenne has grown so much in the past few months, I have a lot of ground work to do with her, and she's trying my patience at every turn of the hand. Today she came running at me with her ears pinned back when I came to her field with her grain. My exact words were, "OH NO YOU DON'T!" LOL, she thought she was gonna get away with it and got a rude awakening. I'm not an abusive person, but when she did this, she got a firm smack on the neck. I then got a grasp on her halter and walked her around until the ears came up and she was more pleasant. I know they have bad days just like we do, but that is absolutely unacceptable behavior! She is also pushing into my "personal space" often now, so I have a lot of work to do there. I am a firm believer in groundwork and manners on horses, I mean who wants to be pushed around by a 1000 lb animal? NOT ME! I earned every ounce of respect that Dakota gives me, and I have a funny feeling that I'm going to have to work twice as hard to get the same level of respect out of Cheyenne. I call her my red-headed step child, LOL, she's so ornery and has the temper of a redhead. I'm definately working on it, and will continue to do so for eternity. Dakota will occasionally try me too, so it's an ongoing lesson for them both. I am currently reading a book by Clinton Anderson, someone who I have just recently learned about. His Downunder Horsemanship seems to have very good training techniques, so I'm going to work on his program with Cheyenne and see how she reacts. I sure wish I could afford those DVDs of his, but that is waaaaay out of my price range!
I have a few ideas for holiday gifts this year, I just wish I could find the time and inspiration to get started. I actually have had the ideas for a few years and just never accomplished them. I'm going to really try and sit down tonight and work out a few plans on how to do them and maybe get started. I need to hold myself accountable to this. DO IT, dang it!
Okay, so I need to get to bed, I have a mountain of laundry to move today and horses who need work too. Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday.
1 year ago
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