SNOW DAY

It is snowing as this post is being typed.
This allows us to do some review and reflection on the work done so far and share this thought...

THOUGHT of the DAY: The “Yeah, But” Disease

Heard a respected instructor say something recently about allowing oneself to be a student that resonated deeply with me. He said “Listen to LEARN. Don’t Listen to REPLY.” I thought about that for a while. So many times in this fast paced, self-focused world, we are always waiting to “respond” to something. We don’t seem to take the time to truly LISTEN and digest what is being said and contemplate the meaning of the message and, to my heart and mind, this is a sad thing.

We miss the meaning, the truth, the learning opportunity because we are rushing to “reply” and show what we know…whether it is applicable or not.

The symptom that the manifests when we “Listen to Reply” is the “Yeah, But Disease.” This disease generates excuses or the desire to “reply” in opposition to the message the individual thought they received or a combination of both. It is a bit of a mind-bender, so here is a “real life” example:

Teacher: The goal is to get the horse moving in the selected direction. Use this (blank) technique to do being clear in your body language, energy and intent.
Student: Yeah, but…I wanted to move the horse with a different technique.
Teacher: Student, that is not the lesson at the moment. By performing (blank) technique you set your horse and you up for success so you can move on to the other (blank) technique.
Student: Yeah, but….

It all goes downhill quickly from there.

So the best way to AVOID (or if you already have it, CURE) the Yeah, But Disease is to LISTEN with your whole self (ie: mind, heart, spirit) and take time to digest the message. Self-assess your current situation and see if the message can be applied now. If not then ask questions based on the message to seek clarity. While this may take a few extra moments the return on investment of those moments is a stronger understanding of the message and an improved ability to apply the information provided within the message right now.

Happy Monday everyone!

A Review: Horsemanship Workshop

FEBRUARY’S HORSEMANSHIP WORKSHOP

The day started well before 6:00am. Lots of manual labor to prepare the riding area for the workshop, signs to be posted, horses fed, lesson plans reviewed, lunch prep (lunch was some darn tasty Ranch House Chili, cornbread muffins and some wonder side dish contributions) and registration set up. By the time the participants rolled in we already had a great workout!

Everyone gathered up and we went over the CONCEPT FOCUSES of the day:

• ·         “Be a Student!”
• ·         “Listen to LEARN, not just listen to REPLY.”
• ·         “Quiet Conversation.”
• ·         “Clarity, Patience and Release.”
• ·         “What you TOLERATE, you ENCOURAGE.”
• ·         “The Three C’s of Horsemanship = Communication, Control & Confidence.”
• ·         “Returning to Softness.”

Then, we all got to work.

The BIG FOCUS is always what the horses and the participants need the most. This “need” usually comes to light pretty quickly. In short order it became very clear that the humans needed real assistance with COMMUNICATION and being clear in what the “message” was to the horse. This is an area of horsemanship that seems to be overlooked by SO MANY horse-people. Even those “who understand” the concept seem to gloss over it or simply not clear in their communication and then “tolerate” the poor response from the horse. Yes, the struggle is real. We spent quite a bit of time on getting the COMMUNICATION clear while practicing C.P.R in the round pen before we moved on.

·         Everyone did the following in the Round Pen:

• ·         Practiced Body Language (Active and Passive).
• ·         Practiced Body Position to promote movement, stops and direction/gait changes.
• ·         Got a consistent gait and direction.
• ·         Got some semblance of “two eyes.”
• ·         Worked on lateral flexion and “changing sides.”

Then we moved on to lead line work which included:

• 
  
• ·         Respectful Lunging
• ·         Backing to Rhythmic and Steady Pressure
• ·         Hindquarter Yields with Rhythmic and Steady Pressure
• ·         Ground School Circles
• ·         Leadership Walk with Obstacles.
• ·         Worked on lateral flexion and “changing sides” again too.

Then…it was TIME TO EAT! Ranch House Chili, Cornbread Muffins, Salad and Apple – Cranberry Cobbler for dessert! We had coffee, two types of lemonade and water available too. Conversation and lots of laughter helped make the meal even better.

After lunch we saddled up! We covered the following exercises:

• ·         Lateral flexion.
• ·         Hindquarter Yields.
• ·         Backing with Softness
• ·         Introduction to the One Rein Stop
• ·         “Quiet Control”
• ·         Riding the 8.

Once everyone felt good about those exercises we took to the trail and obstacle course for some fun. We wrapped up with more one-on-one coaching to help with any challenges or questions that the participants had.

Folks had a FULL DAY filled with wins, discovered interesting things about their horsemanship, laughed, made friends and enjoyed good food and better fellowship. March 25^th is our next Horsemanship Workshop, We will be building on the skills learned in THIS workshop and will take things to a new level! Should, as always, be FUN!

CEARRA’S DAY – Miss C worked with a new person who was interested in possibly being her new Human. She got groomed by this person and tacked up when it was time. She hung out by the person’s trailer pretty calmly (she did investigate the trailer a little bit). The Human had some different ways of communicating (from what we do and demonstrated throughout the day) that took Cearra a few moments in the round pen to figure out (the Human also kept speaking over the instructor of the workshop several times which was not well received by the participants). Once Cearra got it things went well from our perspective. She performed all the exercises noted above. On the ground she did well, even when her Human was a bit unclear or a bit “loud”. This says –at least to us – that she has a willing spirit. Under saddle it appeared that things went well from our observations. There were two moments in our minds that stuck out as a “negative” though. Once was that the Human continued to insist that Cearra cross the large puddle while under saddle which we repeatedly said we had not yet done with her. She did cross it and stand in it when her person was on the ground but the unfamiliar (to her) Human insisting she cross the water made her unsure. To us, this is normal young horse behavior. So Ronan showed her it was all good and together they crossed the water twice. To us that is a win and you move on. The Human went back to the water again. Sigh. It got better but never got completed. Then Cearaa got a little grumpy with another mare who got REALLY close to her. She postured a threat to kick. This made the Human “nervous” and they decided to get off. Now, for us we would have simply moved Cearra out of the area and did some work to redirect the mind and energy. Seems this was not the Human’s solution. The person got off and rode another horse that they brought. Hmmn. This insistence to do something after a win instead of resting or doing something else and the “quitting in a less than good behavior” in the manner that was done, frankly, turned us off. We think Cearra did really well ALL DAY LONG with this new person but that this person is not the best fit. We are not expecting a call back. If it happens we will be surprised.

We were VERY PROUD of Cearra.

(Since this is Cearra’s journal we only have pictures of her in this post.)

PRACTICE REVIEW!

WE NEED THE RAIN…BUT DANG!

California has been in need of serious rain and snowfall for a long time. This winter we are getting it. If you have been following the news you know our infrastructure is freaking out a little bit…or more than a little. Here in the Sierra Foothills most of the equine community is struggling. Horses are in muddy paddocks and pastures. Turnouts for stall boarded horses are wet and the footing is less than ideal. The number of available covered arenas that most folks can use is VERY limited. Folks are working with their horses in the short breaks between weather fronts and the horses are not only muddy but rusty and a tad crazy.

We are all in the same boat. Last week we got in two sessions before the weather came back. So Cearra makes two steps forward and one step back in her training because there is no safe way to be consistent right now. A little groundwork to keep the mind supple but even that sees the horses (all three of them) slipping around and not being happy. It has been another wet week up here.

PRACTICE REVIEW: The weather, the road conditions and a plague that hit several member’s vehicles the dead batteries, flat tires and other ailments impact the session. Those that did make it had to deal with a fairly busy arena. As scheduled, we loaded up and headed to Ione, CA. for the Nor-Cal Chapter of the Golden State Horsemanship Club’s February Focused Practice. The “theme” of the practice is the Three C’s of Horsemanship (Communication, Confidence and Control).

The “interesting” thing about going to public arenas is that you get to see full spectrum of horses, humans and horsemanship. We witnesses some good horsemanship and not-so-good horsemanship. We say horses that behaved well because of and in spite of their humans. We saws some horses that just lost their minds too! Thankfully none of the “not-so-good ones” were in our practice group. After some general warm up work we got to doing groundwork on the line. We covered SIX (6) exercises that helped with communication, feel, timing and body language/position. We saw some really great work from the horses and humans. Release and the timing of said release was focused on throughout all six exercises. We got the poll, neck, shoulders, rib cage and hind end moving with soft cues. Bending, transitions and suppling was also focused on.

Everyone grabbed a quick snack and got to riding!

Under saddle we worked on confidence and control. Riding on a loose rein is harder than folks realize! We wanted to focus on starting and returning to “softness” and being “quiet” in our cues. We works of fore and hind quarter control, bend, transitions, side passing, counter bending, lateral/vertical flexion and more. Lots of wins! Many of the horses had their winter shape (being round) on so sweat happened. The humans began to really grasp the concepts of clarity, patience and release. Getting folks off the face and on the seat was harder than they thought. Lots of old and “not-so-good” habits were illuminated and refined. Hopefully the “homework” will help everyone out this season!

Wins! Happy horses. Happy humans. No unauthorized dismounts. Learning happened. That is a successful practice!

Next month will be the Potluck Picnic and Play Day! That should be a GREAT TIME for everyone!

CEARRA’S DAY: Cearra has been to this facility once before. Still she gets itchy feet at new places which can, especially when it is raining, wear on your patience. The arena is covered. There are also “distractions” in her mind…which shows her age. Lots of horses…most of them loping around doing barrel race stuff, which puts out a certain type of energy, makes it a challenge to keep any horse –much less a young and inexperienced one – focused. For the first part of the day Cearra got to hang out in a pen that is attached to the arena. When it was her turn we did LOTS of groundwork to get her mind and body warmed up and focused. She did all the exercises pretty well. She was, at times, distracted, under saddle so we did a few “direction changes/ pseudo-roll backs along the fence Overall her performance is what we expected. We did begin to raise the “acceptable performance” bar and will continue to do so this season. She did LOTS of backing and hind-end building exercises too. It is the one place that is taking longer to fill out. She will never be “chunky” but we do want to see her butt get larger is possible. This season the struggle comes down to one word and that is EXPOSURE! She needs more “new places” in her world view. Something we and her future family will need to work on.

MAKING IMPROVEMENTS!

IMPROVEMENTS: Better Than Yesterday? Better Than At The Start?

Those are the questions we ask at the end of every session! The answers tells us if we have done our jobs right!

Improvements. Regression. Progression. Next level. This is what it is to work with a project horse (or any horse for that matter). Most days are pretty awesome once the process begins and the acceptance of the “new reality” settles in. On those “bad days” you wonder why in the hell you chose to take on a “project” in the first place. Yesterday was a bad day. Today was a GOOD DAY.

To be honest the ante was upped a bit after yesterday. No fooling around, no slack or latitude. The “yes sir” and “right now” standards were firmly in place. The pace was a bit more intense as well. Ask, Tell, Corrections happened on the 2 count (one-and-two) instead of the usual four count. Reward and relaxation happened faster still and lasted longer between “asking” for something else. In short the goal was to make it VERY clear that a “yes sir, right now” response was the BEST way to get the release/reward Cearra wanted.

She got the point. She got the point pretty quickly. We had a “zero tolerance” attitude for sass and silliness. Sass came out once (because Cearra is a young mare and it was sunny/warm outside). We let her commit to the sass and then shut it down firmly. Never showed up again. Things that make you go “hmmmmn.”

An energetic round pen and ground work session followed by some work on the trail course and obstacles and wrapping up with some NICE schooling circles produced a long session, wet saddle pad and concentrated training. Everything revolved around asking as “soft” and “light” as possible, finding the response point and doing it all over again. We have one more day of “not rain” in the forecast so we’ll do this again tomorrow. This mare needs consistent work at this juncture in her development. Sitting for a month (or more) without “real work” did not help. No one’s fault but the Season. Yesterday was the “old Cearra” and today it was all “new and improved Cearra.” We like working with her better.

Sometimes you have to go backwards to move forwards. What you tolerate, you encourage. Welcome to working with horses.

Make The Right Thing Easy....

QOTD: "Making the Right Thing Easy, the Wrong Thing Difficult!
QOTD 2: Cearra is Gaelic for "raging jackass."

If you have been “doing the horsey thing” at any time during the last decade you have heard, in some form, “make the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult.” In short this means that if the horse gives an honest try and acts like a “lady or gentleman” then life is easy with little pressure. However if the horse acts like a “jackass” then life includes more work!

Today we had to meet our farrier at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds to replace a show that Ronan lost over the weekend. So we decided to purchase a ride pass and work the horses in the covered arena as is was (surprise) open for riding! Normally it is booked by groups so this was a great opportunity.

Needless to say Cearra was greatly in need of some real skill development work under saddle and on the ground SAFELY at all three gaits (something we have not been able to do in months because of the weather). Since the footing was nicely groomed we knew we could safe to work on the 25’ long line as well as our usual ground work and then progress to under saddle work.

She was NOT amused. She made sure we knew she was not amused too.

Sometimes a horse has to regress (which is NOT FUN) in order to move forward. Sometime you have to go through the ugly to get to the good. We had some ugly today. We had some good today. Even though we did a fair amount of groundwork (obviously not enough or not intense enough) she was still a sassy girl under saddle at anything faster than a walk. Granted had been a pretty long time since we were at this particular arena and there were other “new to her” horses there as well.

The majority of the ride just sucked. It felt like Day 1 under saddle. She did stand still at the mounting block. She flexed laterally. She back up and she walked out when asked nice and calm. Lulled into a false sense of security I asked for a trot.  She went into her “drunken monkey style kung-fu” which was not fun. Sigh. Corrections were made. She protested again and again. At one point I got the “all four hooves off the ground vertical jump… land…then rear up maneuver.” Stuck the saddle and then REALLY got after her.  Which we could have got video! She did LOTS of circles at the trot…tiny circles (no brace in this mare at all), direction change/roll backs, schooling circles (see this journal for a description of this exercise), transitions, backing (lots of backing) and more. It was a workout for everyone.

Needing to end on a win we did some schooling circles at the trot and then the walk. Those went well. Then we cooled off with a cruise on a loose rein. That went well. Then it was a stop/back up/ move forward at the walk drill a few times before we called it quits. She was TIRED! Still she really tried to so what I asked at the end without any sass of fight. That is when we quite. I admit I called her Alpo several times and was less than happy with her.

Note to self. This much time off at this stage in her training cycle is not a good idea. Not much we can do about the weather but we have got to figure out to get her in new places and under saddle more this season. Tuesday morning the truck goes in for work so no hauling. Will work at home. The rest of the week is RAIN!!! Sunday we head to Ione for a horsemanship practice. At a covered arena in Ione.  Let’s hope we do not get a replay of today’s performance. She did seem pretty contrite at the end of the session.

Some days horses make you feel like a million bucks.

Some days horse make you feel like $1.95.

Want fries with that?

Tomorrow is a new day!

Interlude: Working With "Rocky"

INTERLUDE: Rocky - Compare & Contrast

Today we helped “evaluate” a horse for a friend and Golden State Horse Club member. In a nutshell the horse, who has been owned by the same family since it was a 6 month old had developed some bad habits because of some – frankly – ineffective and dishonest “trainers” - who either allowed certain behaviors to go unchecked or simply didn’t spend quality time with said horse. Add to this formula the fact that he is about 17hh tall athletic and nine (9) years old. One of the family members was kicked by the horse during trailer loading in a rather less than optimal situation that was not handled well at the time. Things sort of spiraled downward after these events. Some of the bad habits that were related were things like not leading well, head-shy, not taking the halter or bridle, threatening to kick, aggressive postures/mannerisms, racing away when the halter is removed…and so on. The family member kicked now has fear/confidence issues (understandable) and the other family members are in a quandary about what to do. So now the family feels the need to either sell the horse, give the horse away or put it down.

Enter Laurie and I.

We got called in to evaluate the horse’s ability to be worked with on the ground and trained back up to a point where it can be marketed. Hopefully it can be sold to a more experienced horse-person who can take on a project like this. In dialogues with the family it seems that certain “foundation building” activities were not done, done properly or simply glossed over. We see this –sadly- more often than not. Folks get in over their heads and then get taken advantage of by “trainers” with their own agendas. It sounds like this horse is in a bad way.

STATS:

• ·         Age: 9 (born in 2007)
• ·         Breed: Grade Paint/ QH mix (no papers)
• ·         Height: Between 16.0-16.3 hh
• ·         Color: Paint with one partial blue eye.
• ·         Location: El Dorado, CA.

Our plan today is to get working with this big boy in the Round Pen and make the hard assessments of his attitude, aptitudes and his ability to give up the “People Trainer Union Card” when presents with effective leadership.

This should be a learning experience for everyone…

We arrive at the facility to find that the Round Pen is under repair and not available for use. Okay, The lack of a Round Pen presents certain “issues” that “inspire creativity” in our horsemanship approach. The horse…all 17 hh of him…is in the covered arena, racing about and spun up. Eyes big, tail swishing and obviously looking for a way out.

Sigh. Most folks may have walked away or said “he is too much” at that point. That was not us today.

Instead, armed with just my gloves I entered the area. No stick-n-string, no halter/lead rope. Just me. The horse ignores me for a few moments until I caught his eye. Once that happened I got behind the girth line and asked him to move out. He did. REALLY fast. Now I was a good 15 feet away at the time so I was not in danger. The racing about, farting, kicking up, rapid direction changes that were expected happened. No big deal. He wasn’t being aggressive and neither was I. I simple kept my body placed in a manner that inspired forward motion and allowed me to “ask quietly”. After a few minutes of the horses acting silly and thinking HE was showing ME who is boss, he realized that I was still there and I was actually making HIM move his feet with very little pressure or effort, just like the alpha horse in the herd does. THAT was Moment #1. 

When he started to run out of gas a little bit he stopped on the rail, with his butt toward me, looking out over the rail at the other horses. Well that is not how we roll! So I caught his eye (I swear he looks at me like “you are still here?” My answer was yes sir I am.) and moved his feet! When he trotted first I got him to lope. When he sped up I got direction changes. When he failed to look at me, he got pressure. When he looks at me he got to rest. THAT was Moment #2.

Then I walked up to him and we did the “Horseman’s Handshake.” That went well because I took my time and we did it at his pace. He would sniff, I would step away, breath and then walk back to let him sniff me again. Once he got curious about me I rubbed him on the shoulder. It went so well in fact that he began to follow me around. Hmmn. Not the aggressive horse we were told about. So then I got the stick-n-string. We moved feet, changed gaits, got “two eyes” and even got the horse to lock on and follow me about. Yes, we had some “posturing” which was corrected and then I went back to quietly asking him to move his feet. Calmness began to creep into the horse’s mind and body. After getting “two eyes” a few times and some nice calm departures and transitions (like simply walking off when I asked for it and then transitioning into a trot or lope and then back down) we took a break and he got loved on. THAT was Moment #3.

Then I went and got the rope halter and lead. He was watching what I was doing and even followed me towards the rail to get the halter! I did some advance and retreat with the halter. I rubbed on him with the halter. I asked him to move his feet and give me direction changed with the halter in my hand. I asked for “two eyes” and did the Horseman’s Handshake with the halter in hand. When I walked away, he followed calmly and with a relaxed posture. Hmmn. That seems like a WIN to me and when he followed me almost the full length of the arena I had an “emotional moment” and my eyeballs leaked a little. Don’t judge me. The halter went on without any fuss at all. THAT was Moment #4. 

We then played with hindquarter yields, backing up to steady and rhythmic pressure and lateral flexion. Some resistance happened but is was very low on the spectrum of resistance. We did some lead line work and found some foundation skill holes but encountered no “aggression” even when the pressure was applied to “go faster” or “change directions.” We ended on some wins and he got some love.

This horse is NOT in a “bad way.” This horse needs leadership, training and a Human who is willing to take the time to establish good communication and respect while developing a partnership. This horse needs a job, wet saddle pad, concentrated training. For the right person, this horse could be pretty darn cool.

In short, “people” did this horse a disservice and failed to give him the leadership and the confidence he needs to be happy. Our recommendation, after a fairly lengthy conversation about what we felt the horse needs to be a happy and productive equine citizen and what the “life situation” is like for our friends currently, was to prepare to sell the horse. Getting his ground manners and ground skills really sharp and getting him rising out smoothly and calmly will allow him to obtain his full potential. 

Having shown a proclivity for jumping (he seems to enjoy it) and hearing about the successes in playing with “Hunter-Jumper” skills it seems this big fellow is a solid Hunter Jumper/ Eventing prospect. With a horse-person who can give this horse the time, training and consistent leadership we think he will be a really nice partner for someone! The CONTRAST was that COMPARED to what we heard about this big boy differed a bit from what we saw. Here is a horse that needs his human to be a leader and do right by him. In return he will be a good horse with lots of potential!

Here are some pictures of "Rocky"...please ignore the dirt. He just arrived in El Dorado, CA. from Clovis, CA. yesterday. We will be posting a link to a video shot today as soon as we get it downloaded.

STEPPING BACK and TAKING STOCK....

REFLECTION & REVIEW

Time to “Reflect and Review” a bit on the journey that Toimpulsivetonotice (Cearra) has been on since she came to us back on August 13, 2016. The journey has been one of discovery, leaning and patience.

When she came to us she had VERY limited “life experience. Our first “meeting” was filled with attitude and sass for a variety of reasons. Her ground skills and ground manners were sorely lacking in what we would call “foundation skills” and her performance user saddle was “iffy” because of her physical condition. Her previous human (God bless here), actually sold the horse and then when she found out the poor care the horse was getting bought her back. Major level of AWESOME HUMAN right there! Something about the horse sparked our interest and after much discussion we made arrangement to bring her home.

And we tossed her right into the deep end of the pool.

The day we picked her up, we hauled her, Argent and Ronan (they all had not met yet), to a Golden State Horsemanship Club practice! New place, new horses, new people….and we used her as a “demo horse” for a Round Pen Workshop. Since her skills in this area were anemic at best she was perfect for the workshop! She also learned about personal space and backing up by responding to rhythmic pressure. It was a mind blowing, reality altering journey since then. 

Even with the winter snow and rain creating long breaks in training and with the much needed vacation we took, Cearra has really progressed well and is ready to –maybe – find a new family. Maybe. We really like this mare.

In the months she has been part of our family she has:

• ·         Greatly improved her ground skills and manners through learning well over 20 different exercises!
• ·         Greatly improved her trailer loading.
• ·         Traveled to new places and had new experiences.
• ·         Experienced (and enjoyed) obstacles and trails.
• ·         Greatly improved under saddle becoming soft in the bridle and listening to seat and leg cues nicely.
• ·         Improved her mental, physical and emotional fitness.
• ·         Worked as a Teacher’s Aid in several Horsemanship Workshops. She worked with a variety of people with different skill levels on the ground and under saddle.
• ·         Developed a solid work ethic and willingness, even when she is scared.
• ·         Developed a better “vocabulary” of communication and learned to respond to the “quiet conversation” concept.

Considering where her starting point was on “Day 1”, she has made LOTS of progress!

·         In the months ahead we will be working on the following:

• ·         Going to more new places and having new experiences.
• ·         Taking her mental, physical and emotional fitness –along with her personal confidence – to new levels.
• ·         More MILES under her hooves!
• ·         Refining learned skills and introducing new one to greatly improve her skill set.

Basically, we are going to first ensure that the foundation is strong and then we are going to get into the “cool” and “fun” stuff. We know Cearra was going to be more of a long term project horse because of her young age and limited life experience. We are glad we brought her home and share these months together. More than other “project horses” we have worked with, this mare had really grabbed a hold of our hearts. It will be interesting to see what the future bring to all of us!

Thanks for reading!

 Our first meeting.

Day 3

Feb. 1, 2017

 Feb. 1 2017

Feb 1, 2017

Feb 1, 2017

Feb 1, 2017

Feb 1, 2017

Paying Homage: A Journey Ends

INTERLUDE: A Journey Ends

A Journey Ends

Those of you who have been following our “Adventures in Horsemanship” may remember a cute mare we had the blessing to work with named Flames Remedy (Annie). She came to us as a “project” horse and quickly stole a big piece of our hearts with her personality. We did what we could to establish a positive foundation for her and eventually found her a great family and they were all off for some grand adventures.

Some journeys are just too short.

We were notified this morning that Annie had a bad accident in her stall. Seems she got her legs trapped in the wiring/fencing in her stall in the early hours of the morning. She damaged her legs pretty badly. After medical intervention it was determined that the damage was too extensive for her to recover and that she was in quite a bit of pain. Her family had to make the call to put her down. Words cannot describe the heartbreak we all now share. Annie was a personality, a flame if you will. Smart, opinionated and athletic. 

When you partner with a noble animal like the horse there is a bond of trust that happens that is hard to describe and is very unique to any other animal/human partnership. If you have never experienced it, you really do not have a true sense of it.

Today we honor the blessing that Annie was in our lives. Today we rededicate ourselves to being the best possible horse-people we can and to be the best possible HUMANS we can.

For those of you with horses in your lives, please give them extra hugs and treats today and say a prayer for Annie and her family. For everyone else…be good to your furry family members and those who bless your life.

Goodbye Annie. Thank you for the lessons you taught us. Thank you for the trust. We hope we did right by you in our part of your journey.

Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to the family who hoped she would be theirs for a very long time.

Thanks for reading.