I am learning to like my helmet! :-)

The whole purpose of this picture is to show you how I am dealing with the helmet and the pony tail! I am using my hair glove that I use when I ride the motorcycle, and it works fantastic! Yay! I guess I can do braids too, but the hair glove is quicker to put in. Once I get to moving around I forget the helmet is on - that is a good thing! The main thing I am having to get over right now is having the visor right over my eyes....not used to anything being there. I think I get to concentrating with Tripp so much I forget it is there.




First I want to say that the difference in Tripp the past couple of days is amazing! We are both more comfortable when he is moving around, and it is taking very little to get him to move and turn. It is also easier to get a trot out of him and he keeps it going longer than before. I am loving it!!!

We only did one session today due to the horrible heat and humidity. I worked with him this morning and we worked on going in and out of the gate without issues. :-) Sometimes he forgets the 'no issues' part and we have to chat about it, then we eventually get to where I was headed. This is Tripp going out of the gate to the pen, towards the big gate to the yard, and we turned around and went back in.

There will be 2 videos on here. The first video is of Tripp deciding he would rather back up than go back in the pen. It starts with me popping him in the butt with the strings on the saddle, and him saying "YIKES!" I don't want to have to use my legs too much on him, which is also a learning experience for me, so I went to the next best thing. I needed to get his attention back and stop him from backing up. It is still good - we will figure it out.



The second video is of us getting out of the pen and venturing out a little farther away. You get to see his stubborn streak and the two of us working it out.



Brian did a longer video that we will post later (he is putting music with it) - My 2nd time out of the pen I was going to do another short circle, but then decided to just go for it! We went around what was once a round pen - now it is crazy shaped and waiting for me to do something with it - then we went by the big ugly hay bales and down the hillside. First let me say that all in all, it was alright. I was not nervous about him doing anything too crazy. The only times I questioned it was when he slipped on some wet hay on the hill a couple of times, and also when I thought we would go around the big dirt pile and ride up the small hill. My thinking was it would be work for him to haul me up the hill. His thinking was he would spin around and hop with the front end a little bit, nothing bad. I did rethink my decision because I didn't know if he would get off balance and we would fall over. We did work our way back around the dirt pile, and made it back up to the pen. Brian said that little deal lasted 5 minutes, and he only got nervous for me a couple of times. All I know is it felt great to get out of the pen, even if he did show some tude. Besides, he is showing me that he is an individual with his own thoughts and not a 'yes man.' :-)

Tonite my original plan was to ride for a while, but the air is so heavy, no breeze, and the sweat was dripping off all of us, even Tripp. I decided I would trim his front feet instead. My original plan was to just file them down, but his hoof wall was so hard I decided to get the nippers out. He did soooooooo good! He has bruising at the toe but I think they looked good other than that. His hooves have looked like they had a weird angle to them, and he trips alot, so I am hoping the balanced trim will help with that. Okay, I think it is a balanced trim. I am going to really work hard on the back ones so I can get them trimmed, then call my trimmer to come out and inspect them for me. This weekend I did get to officially clean out the rear hooves with little problems - he is very touchy with them and likes to swing them back and forth. Little by little that is improving.

Of course after doing the feet, we had to play in the hose. He still doesn't like his butt squirted or his back legs squirted. But get this, I can spray fly spray all over him without any problems.

We also got the trailer parked out by the pen and I will get to start with loading lessons. I sure hope it goes well - we have places to go! :-)

I don't know who all is reading this, but I want to give credit where credit is due. There are so many great trainers out there, and thanks to RFD-TV, the trainers materials, and their weekend clinics I have learned so much the past few years! Not to mention the Internet!
So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
I have had horses all my life, but they were already to the point of 'get on and go.' I did that for years not really knowing anything.
I wish I would have been better informed at a younger age - not that 43 is old...hmm hmmm. I compare it to being a sponge. An older sponge doesn't hold as much 'stuff' as it did when it was young and new. So it takes me a lot more repetition to soak stuff up and keep it! :-) Ha ha!!!

Anybody who thinks they can't do this - think again! You will be surprised!

Okay, the first video was almost uploaded, then I got an error so I have to start again....

Tomorrow is supposed to be another hot one...will wait to see if the air is moving to decide if I will be riding or not. I might be doing some ground stuff instead.


Until later.....Karen and Tripp