Piero's first trail ride!

I've only ridden twice since my fall in April. Both were very short rides on Astro. So, I'm feeling better and decided Piero needed work and this was as good a time as any. Then, to add to that I figured, what the heck, I might as well go for it. I'm feelig pretty good and I eventually need to see what he is like wiht a real rider not in a ring setting.

I mounted him outside of my ring and preceeded to the front yard. I was nervous and he knew it. I was taking very deep breaths and sitting very deeply. I could sense that he was excited, and feeling my nervousness. Several times I sensed him thinking about bucking. Now I actually mean thinking about it. He did not kick out. He did not stop moving forward. I just felt him, well, think about it. I wonder if it's my intuition at play, or if it's some sense I've gained as a rider within my seat. Perhaps it is both. I guess it doesn't matter what IT is, as long as I pay attention to IT, and IT is correct! LOL

I pretended as if I had a ring there and rode around for several minutes like this. A horse and neighbor, Susan & Mo, rode by and invited us to come along for a short walk down the road.

Piero was EXCEPTIONAL. He just looked ahead and walked forward. Please note, this pony has never been on this road before. Never walked down this path, never into these trails. None, nada, nilch. Didn't even turn his head looking out of each eye, side to side. Susan could see his eyes moving, but his head was dead pointing straight ahead.

We took a short loop, in and out. We led and Piero kept a very forward, steady pace. Even walking faster than his new friend, and Irish Sport Horse. Oh, Piero is only 12.2 hands, all a registered Dartmoor can be.

We came home safe and sound which was the plan. And very happy I might add. Now I know I have a great little show pony who is also a great little trail pony, not to mention he is as CUTE as can be.


Loretta

the natural horseman
clear communication/visible results

Piero's first trail ride!

I've only ridden twice since my fall in April. Both were very short rides on Astro. So, I'm feeling better and decided Piero needed work and this was as good a time as any. Then, to add to that I figured, what the heck, I might as well go for it. I'm feelig pretty good and I eventually need to see what he is like wiht a real rider not in a ring setting.

I mounted him outside of my ring and preceeded to the front yard. I was nervous and he knew it. I was taking very deep breaths and sitting very deeply. I could sense that he was excited, and feeling my nervousness. Several times I sensed him thinking about bucking. Now I actually mean thinking about it. He did not kick out. He did not stop moving forward. I just felt him, well, think about it. I wonder if it's my intuition at play, or if it's some sense I've gained as a rider within my seat. Perhaps it is both. I guess it doesn't matter what IT is, as long as I pay attention to IT, and IT is correct! LOL

I pretended as if I had a ring there and rode around for several minutes like this. A horse and neighbor, Susan & Mo, rode by and invited us to come along for a short walk down the road.

Piero was EXCEPTIONAL. He just looked ahead and walked forward. Please note, this pony has never been on this road before. Never walked down this path, never into these trails. None, nada, nilch. Didn't even turn his head looking out of each eye, side to side. Susan could see his eyes moving, but his head was dead pointing straight ahead.

We took a short loop, in and out. We led and Piero kept a very forward, steady pace. Even walking faster than his new friend, and Irish Sport Horse. Oh, Piero is only 12.2 hands, all a registered Dartmoor can be.

We came home safe and sound which was the plan. And very happy I might add. Now I know I have a great little show pony who is also a great little trail pony, not to mention he is as CUTE as can be.


Loretta

the natural horseman
clear communication/visible results

Paddock Renovation

DAY 1 Paddock Renovation

The morning started out nicely, with Carlin doing some prep work while waiting for the bobcat to be delivered. Throughout the day, which was beautiful, Carlin worked on removing the manure pile, removing misc. mud and muck, and grading areas that had eroded.

The paddock already looks brand new! With the removal of two tree stumps and the manure pile gone it looks so big! And, we even found original bluestone under all the sh*t. LOL

I will post pics as soon as I can.

Thomas and I spent a couple of hours painting the fence, so it's looking good too.

The large gravel comes tomorrow! We are SO excited!




Loretta

20/20 Horsemanship

Paddock Renovation

DAY 1 Paddock Renovation

The morning started out nicely, with Carlin doing some prep work while waiting for the bobcat to be delivered. Throughout the day, which was beautiful, Carlin worked on removing the manure pile, removing misc. mud and muck, and grading areas that had eroded.

The paddock already looks brand new! With the removal of two tree stumps and the manure pile gone it looks so big! And, we even found original bluestone under all the sh*t. LOL

I will post pics as soon as I can.

Thomas and I spent a couple of hours painting the fence, so it's looking good too.

The large gravel comes tomorrow! We are SO excited!




Loretta

20/20 Horsemanship

Exciting things in store......

The onslaught of rain has forced me into finally getting prices for some renovations to my paddocks. I've hired Great Falls native, Carlin Brundage to do the work. He's going to do a bit of grading, add a lot of gravel with a lot of crushed stone on top of that. He's going to do some erosion control in another area, and most exciting, we are talking about additional fencing and a real ring!

I don't have the ring stuff down pat, and not sure I can do it right now, but if I can at least get the fencing up where I want it - that'll give us a grassy area to ride on.

If anyone has any ring and footing suggestions, please bring them on!




Loretta

the natural horseman
clear communication/visible results

Exciting things in store......

The onslaught of rain has forced me into finally getting prices for some renovations to my paddocks. I've hired Great Falls native, Carlin Brundage to do the work. He's going to do a bit of grading, add a lot of gravel with a lot of crushed stone on top of that. He's going to do some erosion control in another area, and most exciting, we are talking about additional fencing and a real ring!

I don't have the ring stuff down pat, and not sure I can do it right now, but if I can at least get the fencing up where I want it - that'll give us a grassy area to ride on.

If anyone has any ring and footing suggestions, please bring them on!




Loretta

the natural horseman
clear communication/visible results

Pony Rides!

We did our first birthday party pony ride event on Sunday.

What fun! Piero was awesome, calm, cool & collected. He loved all of the attention and was a complete gentleman.

The kids loved him! Several had never been on a pony before-what a special moment it was! We are honored to have been a part of the special day.

A big happy birthday to Alexa Wilson! Piero hopes you had as much fun as he did!


Loretta


because it's not just about the riding

Pony Rides!

We did our first birthday party pony ride event on Sunday.

What fun! Piero was awesome, calm, cool & collected. He loved all of the attention and was a complete gentleman.

The kids loved him! Several had never been on a pony before-what a special moment it was! We are honored to have been a part of the special day.

A big happy birthday to Alexa Wilson! Piero hopes you had as much fun as he did!


Loretta


because it's not just about the riding

Enhancing your relationship starts on the ground

Does this describe you? You love your horse, and spending time with him. You enjoy riding, but feel something is missing. And you're not quite sure what it is? Maybe it's a feeling that something else could be going on. An awareness there is more, but you're just not sure how to go about it?

Try starting here:

• Go BE with your horse. By this I mean, be in the moment. NOW. Horses don't process future events the way we do. Stop thinking about future things, and just BE with your horse. Smell him, touch him, speak quietly to him.
  
• Get him, groom him, and take her into an enclosed paddock, or ring. Something smaller than a pasture. Tell him what your intentions are. Then let him go, and just sit there, or lean against the fence. (Maybe bring a chair and a book.) Notice if he gives any subtle notices to your being there. After about 10 minutes, stand up, walk toward him (with your shoulder in front), and stop about 20 feet away. Notice how he reacts. Does he look directly at you or does he completely ignore the fact you are there. If he looks up directly at you, (more than just a fleeting glance), or turns to face you, tell him he’s a good boy, and go away. Sit back down for another 10 minutes.
  
• Go toward him again. This time, you want him to give you more. Remember, you didn’t ask him to the first time. If he does nothing, say his name. If you still get nothing, slap your thigh. If you still get nothing say his name while making an arc toward her haunches. If you still get nothing, then ask him to move forward. You are now acting like the lead mare. Circle your arm, whatever it takes, until he STOPS moving AND TURNS to face you. Immediately stop the pressure, and praise him. Then leave again. Do this for as long as time allows.

The goal: For him to TURN and face you just because you are there. When you walk into the middle of the ring, no matter where he is, when he truly sees you as his leader, he will stop what he is doing and turn and face you. You will then be able to bend your body toward his haunches, walk in an arc, and have him keep turning to face you. He’ll almost be doing a turn on the forehand. This is advanced, don’t expect him to do this now, just wanted you to keep in mind the end result.

Eventually you will be able to walk into the pasture when he is grazing, and he'll turn and face you. Probably even walk up to you. When we stand there doing nothing, not expecting anything, it puzzles the horse. Not to mention it is very UNpredator-like. It causes the horse to be curious, to begin thinking about you in a different way.

• This is an exercise, for lack of a better word, that can and should be done regularly. It is not something you are ever finished with. It's not that once you achieve that goal you can stop and never do it again. It is continuous, it develops your relationship with your horse, as two individual beings. Note I did not say as horse and rider. Truly, the relationship has nothing to do with riding. Riding is simply a (fun) by product of the end result.
  

Loretta

20/20 Horsemanship

Enhancing your relationship starts on the ground

Does this describe you? You love your horse, and spending time with him. You enjoy riding, but feel something is missing. And you're not quite sure what it is? Maybe it's a feeling that something else could be going on. An awareness there is more, but you're just not sure how to go about it?

Try starting here:

• Go BE with your horse. By this I mean, be in the moment. NOW. Horses don't process future events the way we do. Stop thinking about future things, and just BE with your horse. Smell him, touch him, speak quietly to him.
  
• Get him, groom him, and take her into an enclosed paddock, or ring. Something smaller than a pasture. Tell him what your intentions are. Then let him go, and just sit there, or lean against the fence. (Maybe bring a chair and a book.) Notice if he gives any subtle notices to your being there. After about 10 minutes, stand up, walk toward him (with your shoulder in front), and stop about 20 feet away. Notice how he reacts. Does he look directly at you or does he completely ignore the fact you are there. If he looks up directly at you, (more than just a fleeting glance), or turns to face you, tell him he’s a good boy, and go away. Sit back down for another 10 minutes.
  
• Go toward him again. This time, you want him to give you more. Remember, you didn’t ask him to the first time. If he does nothing, say his name. If you still get nothing, slap your thigh. If you still get nothing say his name while making an arc toward her haunches. If you still get nothing, then ask him to move forward. You are now acting like the lead mare. Circle your arm, whatever it takes, until he STOPS moving AND TURNS to face you. Immediately stop the pressure, and praise him. Then leave again. Do this for as long as time allows.

The goal: For him to TURN and face you just because you are there. When you walk into the middle of the ring, no matter where he is, when he truly sees you as his leader, he will stop what he is doing and turn and face you. You will then be able to bend your body toward his haunches, walk in an arc, and have him keep turning to face you. He’ll almost be doing a turn on the forehand. This is advanced, don’t expect him to do this now, just wanted you to keep in mind the end result.

Eventually you will be able to walk into the pasture when he is grazing, and he'll turn and face you. Probably even walk up to you. When we stand there doing nothing, not expecting anything, it puzzles the horse. Not to mention it is very UNpredator-like. It causes the horse to be curious, to begin thinking about you in a different way.

• This is an exercise, for lack of a better word, that can and should be done regularly. It is not something you are ever finished with. It's not that once you achieve that goal you can stop and never do it again. It is continuous, it develops your relationship with your horse, as two individual beings. Note I did not say as horse and rider. Truly, the relationship has nothing to do with riding. Riding is simply a (fun) by product of the end result.
  

Loretta

20/20 Horsemanship