Horses will push every emotional and physical button you
have. Trust me on this. Today was the Golden State Horsemanship Club’s Nor-Cal
Chapter Practice and Cearra’s second public debut.
Practice Review: First
off a HUGE THANK YOU to Wendy and Les Belt for hosting us at Belt’s Ranch in
Placerville, CA. Not only is it a great place with a BEAUTIFUL barn (which has
been converted into a great guesthouse) with some awesome trails and obstacles
but they served lunch! Yes, we enjoyed a day of horsemanship and a super tasty
BBQ lunch of pulled pork sandwiches, fruit, chips and a berry cobbler with ice cream!
It is okay to be a little sad if you missed the session.
The day started about 9:30am. After some minor trailer
adventures we got set up and started the day!
We had twelve (12) horse/human teams out today. As we always
do we started with groundwork exercises. These exercises were focused on
helping the participants prepare their horses to experience the MANY obstacles
on the trail course and in the arena. It was interesting to note that the
humans often confuse the horse with unclear cues, energy, focus, body language
and position all of which send messages to the horse. We did our best to (as
Susan Wirgler says) give the horse C.P.R being Clarity, Patience (Faith) and
Release (Reward) on a consistent basis. Everyone worked pretty hard and the
unique mix of human skills and horse skills made the first session challenging.
Next we headed over to the obstacle course. Everyone worked with their horses
on the course, introducing the wide variety of obstacles to their horses and
helped them build confidence. C.P.R. is tough to maintain at times but everyone
got some solid wins.
Some of the obstacles we played with today were: The
Barrel Full Of Monkeys (a barrel with a lid and a pulley system. You
pull the rope, the lid rises up and there is a monkey or other surprise in the barrel
that rises up with the lid.). The Aqua Hoop (a LARGE archway that
mists water out on three sides.), logs and low jumps, The Camp (a teepee set
up, a sheep skin on a saddle rack, an L Box, a Cowboy Curtain, a Teeter-Totter, Pedestals, a Water
Box, Ring Joust, Flag Carry and more! There were
ample challenges for everyone of every level. Plus we got to cruise around the property
on some nice trails too! Most everyone did some arena work (as you do) as well.
After lunch we saddled up and “rode the ranch” on the trails,
arena and obstacle course. Again the focus was clear communication and C.P.R.
with the horses. All the feel, timing, cue management and other skills we
practiced on the ground translated to performance under saddle. It was
interesting to see how people changed in their riding throughout the day. The
fellowship and support as well as the coaching was awesome all day!
Of course no one got any pictures. We need to assign a
photographer to these days. Sigh.
We wrapped up about 4:00pm. Everyone (horse and human) had “their
hard drives filled” and had some respectable
wins. Super proud of everyone who works so hard and brough so much positive
energy to the day! THANK YOU everyone who made the day so special! It is really
what the Golden State Horsemanship Club is all about.
Now for the UGLY part of the day....
Cearra’s Second Public Outing: Today Cearra attending the
practice noted above. Her round epn work was good. Most of her ground work
before the obstacle course work was okay. The rest….well…it just sucked.
Seriously.
Sucked.
Not from fear but for a really crappy attitude. She earned
the neickname “Alpo” several time over. Every unfamiliar obstacle became a
fight before she gave in and actually attempted the new thing.
And that was on the ground.
She did finally do the teeter-totter. We got two feet in the
water box, we walked through the recycle box once. And after she scared herself
in the trailer (one of the obstacles) it took lots of “moving of the feet” and
a few rid tabs to get her to stop crowding the human and simply walk on the
trailer. Things she was familiar with were fine. Unfamiliar meant fight. Not
try fail, get scared and then maybe fight the process…just fight. Sigh.
Under saddle it was all about the trot, blowing off leg and
seat cues and just being a bitch. She crow hopped a couple of times and there
was a Gypsie Vanner that she just hated. Tried to kick him several times. It
was not a fun day.
We finally got some nice circles around two barrels, some “not
so bitchy” attitude outside the arena and some relaxation around other horses
who were moving.
I think we are both going to be sore tomorrow.
It is the three-week “curse” that seems to happen with every
darn project horse. Day 2 they get fussy because they are being asked to work
and reality is shifting. Cearra was a handful on Day 2. Week 3 and the reality
that life has changed big time seems to hit home. Inevitably at the least desirable
moment the horse has its meltdown. The brain fall out of the ears and it is
just ugly. She hit every negative emotional button she and I had. Never a good
thing. The whole ride was me looking for a decent win so I could quit the
session. Seriously. When we finally got it I was out of the saddle.
Some days you’re the windshield, some days you’re the bug.
I feel like the bug.
I love horses (and I’ll keep saying it until I believe it
again).
Tomorrow is another day.
Sigh.
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