Hey Jan, I think I lost my previous note...just in case you come across a note bit somewhere. Any how, I have much horsey to report and no time to do so. Thank you so much for your lesson. I've tried to print it, to no avail. When I have the time I will hand copy it and tuck it among my most cherished equine books and articles.
Remind again me when you and your students will be coming to the US . Did you say Virginia? I'll plan a trip. It would be exciting to meet you and see the fruits of your labor.
The other quick bit of info; the woman who owns the barn I board at has a very nice American WB for sale for $7,500.00. Black, 16'2, 5 years old, super movement, father got a 10 for his trot in his inspections, great temperament, beautiful head, beautiful horse. I thought about buying him but just didn't want anything that big. He does walk, trot, canter quietly. Tina can send more info for a good home. Happy Riding, Laura

How exciting it is to hear about you daughter! I love to hear stories of young people,(particularly women) who are bright, purposeful,and well motivated. Engineering school will be challenging but provide her with the guarantee of a well paid career. My father was an engineer, although he learned his skill by being brilliant and working his way up the ladder at IBM. I'm not sure there were too many graduate engineers in those days. Toward the end of his career he actually worked with a think tank on artificial intelligence. Although he assured me the only real artificial intelligence were the PhD.'s. He called them "piled high and deeps" and said he'd never met a bunch of people whose scope of information was so narrow yet so deep. Probably not to my credit he predicted that I would get a PhD. I thought about it, but decided that at my age it was a poor investment.
I have a horse question for you. I have Dee going so that he is relaxed, goes in a frame, and is relatively steady on the circle. He listens to my seat and legs quite nicely but doesn't like to pay attention to my hands( I'm riding him in a Springer KK snaffle) . His brakes are slow(many steps) and after teaching him on the ground, he's just gotten the rein back. Obviously this means he can not do a half halt yet which is kind of limiting. The question is how do I teach him to be more responsive to my hands. I am not a heavy handed rider, nor do I want to be.
I have to add that so far everything I have been able to make clear to this horse he has done willingly. So I'm certain that somehow,somewhere I have failed in the training process to make this clear to him. By the way, with young horses I do reinforce everything verbally, with the seat and hands.

Well, yesterday was pretty typical. I planned the day so that I would have plenty of time--scheduled my appointments in the morning out of my Beacon office. On the ride home I was feeling pretty good about the way my schedule was moving along when I got an emergency call from a client who was having a severe panic reaction. I had to pull the car over and talk her through her anxiety . By the time I helped her settle down the time I had allotted to ride was gone and I had to eat and move on to the next appointment. In short my work is highly unpredictable, and I have to be there for these folks. The worst thing that could ever happen to me is for one of my clients to suicide, in this field that is an ever present possibility. I give clients who are vulnerable the option of contacting me at any time in an emergency. It's not necessarily the norm for practitioners in my field but I understand just how impulsive an act suicide is and believe that safety is sometimes just a phone call away.
In truth I loose more riding time to the weather then anything else. Currently I am in the midst of negotiations over a 1ton truck to pull the horse trailer. Once that is in place and I can take Dee to an indoor, weather be damned.
Your life sounds almost frenetic. Does that suit you? Do you find the time to relax?
Speaking of frenetic I'm off to see clients.
A pleasure hearing from you as always! Laura

Hi Jan,
The weather has been perfect, hovering around 70 degrees, exquisite for riding. All the little barn rats have come scurrying out of their winter nests to curry mounds of winter coat off of their horses. Saturday when done with my ride I sat in a chair basking in the sun, sipping an iced coffee,and watching Dee. His after work treat is to wander loose inside the farm enclosure where the grazing is exceptional in-season. At this time of year he delights in teasing the (good) horses who are in their paddocks trying to mind their business and then return to frisk me once again for any remaining carrot bits. As I'm sitting there I think, this is the perfect moment and I feel indescribably happy. I really feel it's a privilege to be able to share time with horses. Laura

I've had my best indicator so far that Dee is either growing up or the training is sinking in. I was riding him yesterday when the horses in the paddock next to the ring began to play. He jigged a bit and was sorely tempted to take off with me and join in but after a little redirecting he was fine! There is nothing quite so rewarding as progress! Milo the cat says Hi. Laura

AHA! so all season long when I was giving him his showers and turning him out in the sun to dry I was bleaching him out. Not only that, I was giving him showers with that very expensive blackening shampoo. Talk about a waste of money. Thanks for the advise I'll follow it.
Our husbands sound as if they have a few things in common. That early attachment stuff is very powerful, it can be what makes or breaks us.
After twenty-five years you must be doing something right. I've never stayed with one man for that long. I believe Bill is my current record. Certainly my record for being happily involved at 9 years, and I feel like he's a keeper.

I rode Dee today. The ring was a mess but I just had to get on. He was good, very forward, lots of cantering, but willing to come back. He had not forgotten everything that I had taught him, and was far more relaxed than he was last spring. I didn't do much because the footing was so awful but it felt wonderful to sit on him again!

Part II
As for the opposite sex... I believe that men try to resolve, with us the issues that they were unable to finish with their mothers. For instance, I know that Bill's mother was inattentive, and did not connect well with him. This lack of connection in children can cause insecurity, anxiety, etc. We call this a problem cycle. In an attempt to find wellness Bill unconsciously tries to recreate the the relationship he didn't have with his mother me. Problem is I don't want to be a mother to grown man. I want him to be independent and self assured and I choose to be the same.
The fact that both of our spouses can tolerate our horsing around is a good sign. There are those who are so controlling that it becomes pathological, even dangerous. (I work part-time in a domestic violence program. )
Besides, If you gave up horses you'd sell your tractor and I'm willing to bet your partner loves that tractor!
Laura

Jan,
Boy you work hard. At this point I've done it both ways, I've owned a barn and done the work, and boarded. Frankly at this point I like boarding a lot. If I couldn't find a boarding barn I can trust I might feel differently.
I've started Dee on his exposure therapy to scary trail stuff. We left the barn property following a more experienced horse. He was pretty good to start. About 20ft down the road we started to encounter piles of wood left over from the storm. That got him going. He started to get tense, snorting, you know the routine. I told the woman with me that I thought we had gone far enough, that I was anxious to leave off on a positive note rather than wait for him to explode. So back to the barn we went. We'll repeat the routine again, perhaps today, maybe adding a little(pill form) ace.
Contrary to his photo, Dee is a black horse. I would like to try to keep him from bleaching out this year which will mean keeping a sheet on him. Because Dee is a Connemara and can practically live on air he shares a paddock with the fat horses, which unfortunately are also the mean horses. They shredded his new 600 D blanket this past winter so I am now in the position of having to purchase him a new blanket and a sheet, both must be bullet proof. In the heat of the summer I will probably break down and keep him in the barn. Not his favorite place to hang out, but he'll adapt. All this is a long way of asking for your recommendation on a Shedrow turnout sheet, and blanket.

Hi Jan, Why are men so insecure? I'm not sure about Canada, but here in the U.S. every thing you spend on your business including those horses and custom saddles are tax deductible. As an amateur such is not the case for me. Unfortunately, I have that illness that leaves me chronically dissatisfied unless my horse is decked out in the very best of everything. ( remind me to discuss shedrow blankets with you). There is little I find more satisfying then grooming him until he gleams like a penny and then decking him out in his sheepskin pad and soft leather tack. Of course then I ride him and on most days the fantasy ends:).

My husband is at the retirement end of an accomplished career; as a classical musician. You would think his ego would be on high. But no, me "spending time" with my horse (instead of him) makes him fret? I love him, he's great, my life has never been better then since I met him. However, disconnecting the flesh that joins us at the hip is a painful venture.

The financial piece is a whole nother story. Currently Bill earns the bulk of the income,(my private practice is still only about 2 years old), although I pay my own bills he can get snitty when I spend money. So like you say, they never see what gets shipped to the barn.

Laura

PS I have to apologize for my lapse in writing. I'm sure you thought I went out on a trail ride never to be heard from again. I was having difficulty figuring how to open the appropriate messages...OK so I'm not so computer savvy.

The do'nt breed intervention was very helpful. Thanks

Jan, I need you to talk me out of this. I'm starting to get the baby itch. I have a friend who has a beautiful TB mare who throws great babies. She is open this season and Tina (my friend) has offered her to me if I'm interested.
This would not be my first foray into foaling and all the work that goes into raising a baby. ( I bred a beautiful Riverman colt ( who was a stamp of his father), only to loose him in a divorce as a yearling. It's like a sickness...I don't need another horse, any extra money I have can be well spent training Mr Smarty Pants--purchasing a truck--etc. Additionally, my friend Tina always seems to have a baby or two around to play with. So why do I keep putting money aside in my stud fee fund and looking at stallions?
Congratulations on your new truck! I love trucks. Isn't it wonderful that our children are able to intermediate between between us and the world of high technology ( and here we are riding horses). I recently bought an Ipod, and needed lessons from my son on how to operate the thing.
My truck will not be nearly as fancy. I have in mind something I can keep parked at the barn that both Tina and I can use to pull the trailer. Our trailer is heavy ( a Trailet with a dressing room and water-tanks) what ever it is, it has to have the heavy duty package. There is an auction nearby that has very good deals on vehicles. My ex-husband (who thinks he's my client) can do a pre-purchase exam. I haven't told Bill, ( my partner) that I'm planning another vehicle yet. He's still recovering from the custom saddle. How does your husband deal with all the horse stuff, is he supportive?
Get your daughter to help you with those videos before she goes off to college!
Laura

Its funny you say that you had a premonition about the fires you were talking about. I had the ame thing happen about two weeks before the big fires here last year. It happened about two weeks before the fires happened and it really freaked me out. I'm sure my friends thought I was nuts when I started panicking on the day just before it happened.

You say your law firm had to pack up and move everything. Are you a lawyer?

Thanks for your advice. It has really helped. I would love to hear more about how you are going with your horses.

Cheers for now,

Lorel

I am a little confused after your comments about working on the right rein. If you are circling to the right, his hollow side, do you still try to keep him pushing out to the right rein as I'd always assumed that on a right circle he should be pushing out into the left rein. I've watched some interesting training videos where they would keep a horse that is hollow to the right flexed outward on a right circle in order to correct the problem. Is this what you were talking about?

We have a way to go yet but we have gained so much ground in the last couple of weeks, its great. Thanks for your help.

I've been a bit slack with the core strength exercises as I've been glued to the tv wherever possible watching olympics but I've been good with the stretching and it is paying dividends I couldnt believe within just a few weeks. They've been showing some fantastic promos for Canada and Vancouver on tv here and it just looks so beautiful. My partner and I have decided that when we take our next holiday it will be to Canada and the Rocky Mountaneer is high up on the list. My best friend lived in Whistler and worked on the ski fields years ago and she raves about it. I hear that a lot of Aussies work over there and that we share a similar sense of values and sense of humor. As I'm writing this, one of our travel shows has just put on a feature on Montreal.

Our summer, which initially looked like it was going to be a stinker this year ended up being far milder and we've had a lot of rain from some pretty decent thunder storms. I have paddocks at home that were cut for hay that have been green for the whole of summer which is unheard of here. Normally the grass throughout summer is old, dead, burnt off yellow.

Hi Jan,
Sorry its taken so long to get back to you, reason being I've been dilligently working away at the advice that you gave me and can now report back with some really pleasing results. I've learnt some really interesting things in the last couple of weeks with regard to just how much an effect your seat and position has on your horse and also how much my horse tricks me into sitting and riding him the way he wants me to! Its hard to find where to start describing what I've learnt. Firstly, I've been religiously working through all the stretching exercises from Heather. I knew I had tightness issues with my hips and always noticed from the mark I left on the seat of my saddle that my right hip was always in advance of my left and I couldn't seem to correct it and also that I couldn't lift my legs out sideways away from my saddle without it killing me. I have really struggled with trying to beat my chair seat and also struggled to push my outside leg back from the hip right down to the heel so I would tend to just use the lower part of my leg and my heel would then come up. Now I'm finding that my hips are loosening, I can press my whole leg back from the hip, my heels feel like they are becoming lower and the mark on my saddle from my seat is now even every ride. HALLELUJAH! That brings me to the second part, which relates to your advice. Now that I can stretch my right hip backward, I'm finding it so much easier to get my horse off my left leg and push him out into the right rein on a left circle. Because I can push the right hip back, I can get the weight into it as you recommended and I've also noticed, since you pointed it out, how much he trys to get me to sit on the left side. I'm now getting some really nice serpentines without him "falling over" on the left shoulder when I change rein and can get him off the left rein when he starts to lean. (Need to start a new page)

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He's definitely a training level horse, but does some work way above his level and some way below. He has moments of self carriage that are breath-taking--If only I could sustain them. But then he cant keep himself straight down the long side of the arena unless he's charging away at full tilt. Which of course causes problems with relaxation. At the end of last season I began doing some shoulder-in with him to teach him that I can direct his wandering body parts and help make life a lot easier for him to boot.
I now understand that his body is tense, he just comes to work that way. For me to get a soft supple ride I have to spend a considerable amount of time stretching him both on the ground and at the walk. But what a difference in his mind and body. I've been going to the gym and staying fit so that when the time comes hopefully I'll be in better shape then he is. Also I want him out there trail riding, I think it's good for his head to get out of the ring. I used to have a big Trakhener., he was hot but love trail riding. He would even bush-wack, leaving the trails and breaking through the woods and brush. Not an easy task for a 16'2 hand horse. What a great horse he was.
Dee has a big year ahead of him. While I've been riding him for awhile this is the first full season that I've owned him. So I'm keeping my case load small for the riding season and plan to develop this guy into the partner I know he can be.

Hi Jan, We seem to have gotten your cold weather. It has been snowing like mad, unfortunately around here the snow is wet and almost instantly turns to ice. So there has been no trail ride for Dee and I. Out of frustration I've been trying to find an indoor that I can afford just to get him going before spring but so far no luck. Before next winter I need to purchase something to pull the horse trailer with so I can drive him to an indoor to ride.
My therapeutic mentor has convinced me to write a case study / article. It gives me something new to arduously avoid, stress over and feel guilty about not working on. All this avoidance has had the effect of making me far more productive at things I don't really need to do.
Did I read that you have a teenager! Me too. Well actually mine,( a son) is now 20, not that it makes a great deal of difference. I just found the greatest quote about parenting teens,"raising teenagers is like trying to nail Jello to a tree". I've worked with some really troubled kids so I try to keep things in perspective. I hate to sound judgmental, but I really wish he'd get a job, or go to school, or find some kind of direction other then hanging with his friends and smoking pot. They say that kids start to develop their pre-frontal cortex around 21. I'm waiting.
Do you have any videos of you and your beautiful mare? I want to see the two of you in action.
Laura

Hi Jan, I admire your efforts to diffuse the uglyness on the blog that shall not be mentioned!! sometimes we can't help some people despite the best intentions. I've had about enough of it too. It's just so unnessesary. Cheers Geoffrey

Hi Jan,

Great to hear from you. Our weather bureau got it wrong for my area so we only fot a few showers yesterday and no storms as forecast. We are also suffering from the el nino and have been in drought now for the last ten years. The bush has got so dry now it is just explosive which is why the fires last year got so bad. We don't have forced evacuations here, we have the right to stay and defend although if you leave and the roads are blocked they won't let you come back.

How did you go when you had to move all your horses for three weeks? Sounds like a nightmare.

You mentioned competing stallions. Were they yours or did you compete them for other people? Also how many horses would you have in your barn at the moment?

As an instructor, I was just wondering if you could help with any advice for a problem I have with my horse. He is hollow to the right so that when I bend him to the left, he's very difficult to get off the left rein, he sets his jaw and stubbornly hangs on. We do lots of lateral work and use lots of flexions. His suplleness has improved greatly but its a very old ingrained habit. Some weeks I feel like I'm winning, then other weeks I feel like we're getting no-where. Would you have any good exercises I could try?

Hope your horses are all going well.

Lorel

Part 2, I ran out sof space.

I've been working through a series of Heather's exercises and am quite impressed with how much flexibility you can gain in such a short time. I've been a bit slow off the starting blocks as it takes some motivation when you're tired but the payoff is starting to happen. Its very funny trying to do barn chores ambidextrously, I'm so disgustingly unco-ordinated on my left side although its starting to improve. How have you been going?

Sidetracking now but I just noticed that you have a group called the crazy chestnut lovers!!!!!!!!! Go the chestnut, every horse of mine that I have used as a riding horse in the last 12 years has been a redhead! I hated them to start with but they kinda just get under your skin. My boy that I ride at the moment is a very sweet but overly sensitive redhead who can get his knickers twisted over the silliest little things. My other is a 3yo trakehner/tb cross who has the worlds most adorable, almost unflappable temperament and just looooves people. I'm breaking him in now and wouldn't swap him for the world.

All the best, Lorel