Unstoppable!

Well, that's how I feel right now! Solo, Cavallo, and I have been making sooo much progress! It's really amazing and I am SO proud of both of them! I'll start with Cavallo!
Ever since I made the decision to just push riding out of the equation, he has improved tenfold! I've been working a lot on zone 3 driving, to simulate riding! The past couple of times, I was able to drop the carrot stick and do it! He is brilliant! Yesterday was the first time he really looked confident. He was blinking, licking and chewing, and looking at me like he really realized how much I care. I see so much hope for him and it really is heartwarming! His patterns are getting much better! We can now do a trotting figure 8 and weave with slack in the rope and lots of exuberance! (= YAY! At the end of our last session, I lined him up to the mounting block. He was very skeptical about it at first, so I remained passively persistent until he had a flash of confidence, and I released the pressure! Boy, what a difference! He came a little closer, and I gladly scratched his itchy spot, which is conveniantly on his back! Wahoo! I am falling in love with this guy! <3

Now for Solo, my ol' man (=
Well, he's doing great; we're doing great! When we're together, it feels like we're one and it's the best feeling ever! Impulsion isn't a problem anymore, he asks a billion questions, and is just the most amazing partner I could ever ask for! Our liberty is also better than I could ever imagine! As far as riding goes, I'm speechless. Ever since my clinic with Nita Jo, we've been having the rides I've always dreamed of! Right now we're working on the suspension rein, getting transitions snappier, and haunches in! He's doing really amazing, and I can't believe I've been honored with these two spectacular horses! (=
Savvy On!

I did it!

Well, the title says it all! I finally taped my Level 3 Liberty Audition and it turned out exactly how I wanted it to! I hope it passes because Solo and I's relationship really shines through! He was a complete goof ball and so animated it was a blast!! (=
Hopefully I'll have it up soon! I'm not too savvy with video editing and all that jazz! (=
Savvy On!

Progress, Progress, oh and MORE Progress! (=

Well, it's been a fantastic spring so far!!! Solo and I have made soooo much progress and are learning so much! It's almost overwhelming how proud I am of him!
For a while, our liberty was going downhill. I think because we hadn't played too much this winter, and then this spring I thought we could just hop right back into our usual liberty play, but that wasn't the case. So I decided I would just stop playing at liberty for a while and fix up our online and freestyle. Well, we were also struggling a tad during freestyle! Jeepers! I recently got some help from two things. 1.) The amazingly talented Nita Jo Rush.
2.) The Parelli Patterns.
Ever since starting the patterns, Solo has been so much more tuned in and enthusiastic about everything!!! He maintains gait at any gait, and asks a TON of questions! Oh man, horses really do teach humans! (=
Well, on Monday, I thought, what the heck, might as well try our liberty again! I went at it with a positive, fun attitude and guess what?! Our liberty was AMAZING!! Solo was so tuned in and we were dancing. It was the best feeling I've ever had! He was doing small circles at the trot and doing flying changes! Eeeek! He's so amazing I just love him soooo much! I'm thinking about taping my Level 3 Liberty, because we are so ready! (=
Savvy On!

My First Clinic!

On Saturday, I went to my first clinic! Well, actually, it was a workshop! It was with 4* Parelli Professional Nita Jo Rush! It was an amazing, fun-filled, positive learning experience! I learned a ton!
First off, Nita Jo told me that my stirrups were too short! YAY! That means that I'm developing a great seat! By the end of the day, I had lowered my stirrups 3 holes! WOW! It feels so good! Now, I'm leaning more towards a finesse seat when I ride, which is really exciting! So at the workshop, I worked on getting Solo's upward transitions really snappy! First, we did walk to trot, and instead of a jog, I wanted a TROT! I ended up getting a trot so big I could barely post to it! :D Next, we had to work on our whoa! Nita Jo told me that the reason Solo is downhill is because his downward transitions aren't fast enough, so he tumbles onto his forhand. We used a suspension rein to fix that, and by the end of the workshop, our downward transitions had definately improved! Lastly, we worked on haunches in. Solo really caught onto it! I was also informed that I am ready to begin finesse! All in all, it was a very positive and progressive day and I learned a lot of new and useful information! I'd like to thank Ms. Nita Jo Rush for all of the lovely advise and information! She is a wonderful, talented, sweet woman who I would love to keep working with!
Savvy On!

Spring Madness!

WOW it's been a loooong time since I've last posted! I apologize for that!
Well, a lot has happened! I'll start with Cavallo!
Cavallo:
Well, since my last post, I've realized that he really isn't safe to ride yet. I had only been doing things in zone 1, so how DARE I ride him?! Silly me!! So, I've quit getting on. I've been working on LOTS of friendly game with the big green ball, tarps, cones, barrels, just about any toy you could think of! I've also been doing a lot of zone 3 driving to simulate riding. Well what do you know? His confidence has grown so much, along with our relationship! I am truly in absolutely no rush to get on this guy. It'll happen when it happens. Until then, we'll keep enjoying online (and occasionally) some liberty! (=

Solo:
My main squeeze! (= Over the winter, he lost a lot of weight. Mainly because he is now 25, and because we have a bigger herd since last winter and he is at the bottom of the totem pole. He is gaining weight, though. In fact, quite well! We just recently got the Parelli Patterns, so we've been working a lot on those! WOW! What a difference! Our play sessions now have a purpose and riding has become so much more fun! I'm so excited! This saturday we have a Independent Seat & Fluidity Workshop with 4* Parelli Professional Nita Jo Rush! EEEEEKKKK! I'm so excited!!

So, that's what's been going on in my horsey life lately!
Savvy On!

A Proud Moment!

Yesterday was a big day for Cavallo and I. I got on him for the third time! This time, I was barely nervous, and he was SO calm! I didn't really plan on doing much when i was on him. My thought is, it took so long to get his confidence up with just standing at the mounting block and lining up, why rush it when I get on? So that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm just going to take what he gives me and go with it! Of course, still learning lateral flexion! We need a whoa before we can go! =)
So back to last night! I am so proud of him! He would turn and sniff my boots and then take a deep breath, almost as if he knew how much I cared about him. Then, my mom walked away with her horse, and Cavallo followed, and I could tell he was waiting for me to pull back like he was so used to, but I didn't! He took a deep breath a walked again! I think it was a big relief to him that he could move and not be held back! I am so happy and proud and I am still on cloud 9! (=
Savvy On!

I Love My Horses!

I had a great weekend filled with horsey wonderfullness! (= First of all, I am so impressed with how much Cavallo is learning! He can now do stick to me at the canter with slack in the rope! How awesome is that?! He barely ever had his little OH MY GOODNESS spooks anymore. Also, his skin used to twitch every time I would go to pet him (I think his previous owners would "pat" him any time they touched him) and now his skin stays still! All of this in about 6 months! He is SO brilliant!!

I also had an awesome day with Solo! When we started, I knew that we had to work on our send during the circle game because right now, it's not very snappy, which is also affecting his impulsion. Plus, when he has poor impulsion, he can't do flying lead changes. So first we worked on the send, which he fixed right up so that was awesome! Next we worked on our flying lead changes, which we have been struggling with for a while, mainly because we haven't been able to work on it much due to the immense amount of snow on the ground! Well after a few times of running into the savvy string, he sure got those flying lead changes down! After that, I let him have a break to graze. Then we worked on some long-lining which was pretty fun! I'm hoping tomorrow after school I will be able to get outside, since now its light til 7!! YIPPEE!! (=
Savvy On!

March Means Spring!

I'm so happy it's March! And what better way to start it out than a beautiful day!! I just wish I could play with my ponies today! Well, speaking of my horses, they are doing great! Solo is such an awesome partner and friend. We did some zone 5 driving with long lines yesterday and everyday we do it I can tell his confidence rises another notch! It was a good confidence booster yesterday too! My mom and I traded horses, and right away Solo lost his confidence, but he was trying so hard! I taught my mom's horse, Boomer, how to jump half-way over the barrels, because that's something they've been struggling with and it was cool when she finally got it because she started licking and chewing before her front hooves even touched the ground!!
After we played for a while, we took them over to eat some grass for a while, and I was sick of standing, so I jumped on Solo bareback. He then decided he wanted to follow our barn kitty around the driveway, so we went for a nice little ride with just our halter and 45 foot line coiled up! =)
Cavallo was pretty awesome this weekend! I can't believe how fast he catches onto everything!! He really is brilliant! My biggest challenge with him is keeping our sessions interesting and playful enough for him. He has definately brought out the extroverted side of me I didn't even know I had! He already understands stick to me at the canter and we've only worked on it about 4 times! The best part is how sensitive he is! I love that boy!
Savvy On!

I love my life!

Hello everyone!
I haven't update for a while.
So here's Solo's update:
Solo has been doing fantastic. His exuberance and expression and really great and positive. He's using his topline more and more and he's really look great for his age! Our liberty is better than ever. He'll circle around me and pretty much do anything for me...it's really an amazing feeling! We started working on bowing today, and i think he's catching on..although I think I need to set him up differently. I think that the side im not on needs to be against a wall or a fence so he understands that I don't want his hind end to move. He did well today though! A little encouragement of Winnies Cookies was needed, but I did manage to have him go down a little bit! It's progress and I'll take it!

Cavallo: Well, what to say about this guy!! He proves himself over and over to be brilliant! He learns so fast, I can't help but think I skipped something, but I'm positive I didn't! I can tell he is going to make a FANTASTIC horse! He has such natural athleticism and has such a kind, youthful spirit to him! He's so fun to play with, and with him, I've gained a lot of Savvy Arrows to put in my Quiver! I've started to ride him, and he needs a lot of confidence under saddle! I'm so glad he's in my hands, because he would never survive mentally and emotionally with a normal! Well that's it for now!
Savvy On!

An Extroverted Introvert? What?!

Solo was so fun today! We played in the back yard and played around with canter departures. We also did some spirals at the circling game. He's really starting to use him whole topline nicely! He was pleasantly exuberant so after about a half hour of hard play we went over to some grass and ate for a while. I really wanted to ride while he still had some energy in him, so we went and saddled up and put the bridle on. He takes the bridle so well! After I got on, we did some point to point with cones in a triangle formation. First we walked, then did some trotting, but I really wanted to work on my seat at the canter. I tend to want to drive with my seat, which makes for a very very unhappy pony! This winter, I've been trying really hard to sit up and use my core so I don't do that. His canter was beautiful today, as was my seat and he looked HAPPY!!!!! =D We ended with some finesse down the driveway. He was so awesome today! I love him!!
Savvy On!