Trail Clinic

I will need to do a better job of keeping up with Gizmo's wall! This weekend, he and I attended a local trail clinic. It wasn't a Parelli clinic, but I knew the instructor and he is very kind to his horses. We had a blast and I think the instructor did too! One of the things we worked on that was challenging for me was to lope out in a big field alone away from the others. Gizmo likes to race and it is funny how he has much less go when he is alone. I felt the others pulling us back in, but I kept him out there. Another challenge was to go swimming in a lake. The other horses had to actually swim, but Gizmo was so tall that we just walked around. I loved that challenge and have been wanting to do that for a long time. He had no problem at all with going in the water. The puddle at the beginning of the day was much more challenging. The instructor had the same thing to say about Gizmo and I as my Parelli instructor - Gizmo does not see me as leader in the saddle and argues with me a lot (and that I am not assertive enough). I do see us improving, but it is a snails pace. I'm taking it all in and working on getting my good, better, best! This weekend I will be attending a trail challenge similar to ACTHA. We will be putting our skills to the test, but just for fun. If I think of it as a competition, I will get really nervous and choke up. I will be enjoying myself riding with friends and improving my horsemanship at the same time.

Equi-Trek Competition

Gizmo and I have been a very busy team. I competed in an Equi-Trek competition with Gizmo this weekend and we placed 9th out of 20 riders. Not bad! I hate competition, but my friends convinced me to take a go at it so I did. It was very rewarding and I'm glad we did it. We rode 7 miles on Friday and 7 miles on Saturday. We went through ravines, bogs, over logs, and through creeks. We were airborne for all of the ravines, so I know I need to get that fixed. All of the other obstacles I just need to practice. The last obstacle was backing around a tree, and accomplishing that one made my whole day. We also need to work on his impulsion on the trail. He has way too much go and not enough whoa. Very different in the arena! He wants to race every horse and also be up their butts. If a horse in front of him gets out of sight, he goes nuts. I have a lot of work ahead of me. By the way, I just recieved my scorecard from the judges and they gave me a plus score for my backing around the tree. What a surprise. I am very proud to have accomplished that obstacle. I remembered a video of Pat helping a girl on Parelli Puzzles and it all came back to me. I needed to look to the outside instead of the inside like most people do. You need to look where you need the hips to go! I used the outside leg and viola, he did it. I had to overcompensate twice because he turned a little too much, but I did it and that is all that matters. I loved the trail competition. I've always wanted to do it but would have never done it if it weren't for Lucy. Thank You Lucy. I hope to be as good as her one day!

One Fast Horse

Rode Gizmo all day yesterday. I had a couple of friends over and we rode in the arena before lunch and in the woods after lunch. As I was thinking how great Gizmo was on the trail, he quickly made me realize that he needs a lot of work. What makes him a good trail horse is the fact that he is left brained most of the time and very curious. He feels comfortable in the lead, in the middle, or in the back of the line. He is very friendly and has never shown aggression to any other horse that I have experienced, even when they are very aggressive to him. The two problems I encountered yesterday was the adrenaline rush he picked up from the others and his need to gallop instead of canter. On the way back to the barn all of the horses started picking up a little speed. Some more than others. Well, so did Gizmo! I would bring him to a walk again using the partial disengagement and it worked 100% of the time. However, after slowing to the walk, he would pick up the trot again almost immediately. I kept at it because I felt it was right. One of my friends lost her cell phone on the trail so me and another friend decided we would ride and look for it. We decided to go at a slow canter to cover more ground so off we went. There was no canter for Gizmo. It was a race to the finish. He would hardly slow when I tried to use one rein. He was completely ignoring me. He never bucked or did anything to unseat me, he was just super fast. In the arena, he is an introvert and once in a canter, he is so ready for me to que him to slow. He does it 95% of the time with just me breathing out, but in the real world I'm dealing with a different animal. I will have to practice more in the arena before asking him to do it in the pasture, and then bringing him on the trail. Wow, it was a wake up call!

Brushy Creek again!

Went horse camping again with a group of ladies and had the very best time. We rode, ate, laughed, and sat by the campfire all weekend long. The temps were pretty cold in the mornings, but warmed up to tolerable during the day. One of my friends had major breakthroughs with her confidence. Gizmo did great and had no hesitation going into the creeks this time. I think he might be part bloodhound because he feels the need to smell everything we pass on the trail. Its kind of funny, but how much poop can you smell in one day. He also likes to check out all of the surroundings. He looks around constantly as if he may miss something. It doesn't seem to be a problem for him, but it makes him go all over the place. Probably a rider issue! I am focused but could be doing something else wrong.

Brushy Creek

Gizmo and I went horse camping this weekend in Mississippi. I was very proud of him and convinced that trail riding is his fortay. He was brave, calm, and athletic. He took to the creek after a little convincing. My only issue is that he is too tall. If you have to get off on the trail you had better find a log or something to help you get back on. I also pulled something in my hip which didn't help matters. Gizmo bonded with my friends horse enough to get a little worried when he couldn't see them saddling up on the other side of the trailer. That bothered me a little, but we did some thinking exercises and it helped. He obviously didn't see me as the leader at that point. My friend Sandy had a great time! It was her as well as her horse's first trail ride. She was very brave and tackled some steep slopes. We had lots of laughs. Looking forward to another trip!

Trail Ride

 Went on a 3 hr. trail ride today on Giz. He was wonderful. We walked, trotted, loped, and galloped. He was well behaved and slowed down and stopped with the energy in my body. The galloping wasn't by choice though. If I asked for the lope and he was behind the other horses it went into a gallop until he was caught up. Will have to work on that! Once he got to the front he would slow way down and kind of go a little sideways to make sure everyone was still coming. It was kind of interesting how obvious it was that he wanted to be in the herd and not to far in front or behind them. He went after the dog on some occasions like he'd be after a cow. When we were loping, I wasn't in favor of this. I kept telling the dog to get out of the way and trying to steer Gizmo in opposite direction. It was all a a great experience for him. I just don't think he has ever been in this situation before. The weather was very warm and after about 2-1/2 hrs I think Gizmo was done. He got more introverted which, to be honest, bothered me a little. All in all I was pleased with him. Our big test comes this weekend at Brushy Creek. Me and a couple of lady friends will be going horse camping. I'll keep you posted!