Hi Jennifer -

Great to hear that you are coming to Can-Am! You can purchase your membership at the show - just drop by the booth and you do it all right there.

Hi Jennifer - thanks for joining the OEF group!! Please feel free to ask any questions you may have regarding our programs, benefits or services

Just read your blog,

No worries .... sometimes it seems like two steps forward three steps back... don't let it discourage you.

Personally if I were a horse in this groggy, wet, mucky weather we've been having I wouldn't be so perky either. I feel like I haven't seen a nice blue sky in ages. Definitely could use a shot of serotonin!

I am sure things will improve, Lessons work wonders! :)

So I googled my name and my whole address and comments and everything is displayed to the world ..... not to happy about that! Might have to reset my profile. Hope to see you this weekend. C ya!

Hi Jennifer, you might like to join our Horses and Leadership group.
One of the reasons it takes so LOOOOONG to train a horse is this switching between different areas of the brain (I have absolutely no scientific proof that the horse switches between areas of the brain, but its what they act like!), and the need sometimes to train and retrain (or remind) each part of the brain. Each part of the brain needs to learn that frightening things are not dangerous, each part has to get used to the weather (especially wind), different surroundings (barns, show rings, trails, activities etc.) At first, before the horse has had a lot of experiences, you can find yourself starting all over at the beginning, and re-teaching the horse all the stuff you thought he already knew.
This is why it takes about two years to fully train the horse, and even after that there may be times when you have to--sigh--start all over again. With my first horse, EVERY spring I had to remind him that he was not a race horse! (He was half TB, half Arab, never raced, and lived into his 30's.)
Nowadays I just have the attitude that every time I handle and ride a horse, that I am training the horse, but I no longer have any horses of my own and have to ride other people's horses.
With your own horse, in two or three years, you will look back at this period and realized that THIS IS WHEN YOU TRULY BECAME A HORSEMAN. Keep on learning, listen to your horse, and never give up.
It is best to keep the treats as a reward for work. Otherwise you can end up with a bratty, nippy, and fat horse. I would also recommend giving the treats in a feed bucket.
Have fun!

Hi, Jen:

The views are amazing - it's hard to beat BC for that!

It took us some time to find our first farm in the Lower Mainland (near Vancouver) and even longer to find this one. Part of it's affordability, and the rest is finding the right location. Where we are now is wonderful, we have terrific views, can't see any neighbours although they're quite near, have four fabulous seasons per year, and we're close to town but our property looks and feels like we're miles out in the country. The best of all worlds! I am also very fortunate in that my equine vet clinic is just around the corner from me in one direction and my farrier is just around the corner in the other. We are all close friends, and that certainly simplifies things. We all work for each other as well, in our respective professions.

I have friends in Uxbridge, and one of the Level 4 Natural Horsemanship instructors built my arena and barn for me - it really is a small world!

Well, you just never know how you'll meet people!

I don't know about amazing, but it is easy to work in and horses like it! i'm very lucky to have my own indoor, and I only board one friend's horses (in the winter my parents' horses come, and my vet's horse comes), and all of those I train as well, so it's very comfortable. I usually have between 4 and 6 horses, which is quite enough with my coaching and competition schedule. That and the dogs keep me busy and content!

It's hard to get back into riding, and remember everything. My friend, whose 3 horses I board, was out of it for more than 10 years, and she'd been on the Austrian Olympic Team, so getting going again was a real experience for her! I was lucky enough to have been able to keep my horses through college and various jobs, although I can't say that was always easy!

However, what's life without a challenge?