Abby's first show 6 30 2007

Abby's first show 6 30 2007

Well we survived :) As usual I screwed up on the arrival/ show start time, soooooooooooo we were in a panic. Not the leisurely walk around for Abby, nor ME. I only found out where the ring was because the announcers building was right there. I threw on the show clothes and sort of tucked things in, grabbed my hat n' shoes, and apron. Glenn was there holding ( or trying to) Abby, who was high blowing, prancing in circles, and holding her little stubby drafter tail up Straight in the air. OH BOY, I could hardly wait to get in the ring w/ this explosion on four legs !! Sooooooooooooooo, we were in class 3&4- nothing wrong w/ arriving, and going RIGHT in the show ring, ehhhhhhhhh >?? We almost had to. I had one pony class to let Abby look around some, which she did a LOT of. She was fascinated by all the horses and those lovely carts, but she zeroed in on a dark bay Clyde ...

" CARLENE IS HERE ??????"

" noooooooooooooooo, that is a horse who LOOKS like her..."

" Oh".

We trotted some, I tried to find her sloooooooooooow trot- it had come along with her, as well as a nice working trot. I KNEW there was no way I'd get much of a strong trot as she was SO busy looking around. I let her- saw this as one HUGE " shopping " trip for my little black mare. And boy, howdy, did she ever get in some Serious window '' shopping''. She checked out the big draft crosses by the barns, those minis were amazing, the folks sitting in chairs in front of their harness supply vendor area might have carrots, yanno.... All in all, Abby had a BRAIN, and was settling down nicely OUTSIDE of the ring.

Our class was called and in the ring we walked- harness that needs more adjustment ( she is NOT as broad as Lynn or Carlene, and the traces only have ONE slot - will have THAT fixed soon) a 15 yr old cart that had been used around the farm for training babies, and working older horses, and me, with my shirt tail out in back. Thank goodness for LONG jackets !! I had one shoe on and one kind of on, too, but my hat was good to go. teeeheeheeeeeee. I was SO nervous about how this one was going to behave ( or MISbehave) that I couldn't have spit if someone offered me $500.00 to do it, my mouth was THAT dry.

The walk went well. Trot went well, then she heard someone behind her in the sand " Mom !! WHAT IS THAT !?!?!??!!" Head shot up, ears flapping back towards the sound, and as the nice quiet horse trottted past us, Abby's head swung around to LOOK. " Oh" and Abby-dabby trotted on a lot more quietly. Then a slow trot- we nailed that. HA- THEN the words " TROT ON !" came and Abby had no clue, she has Only just begun understanding that at home, so I didn't press the issue. She zeroed in on the golf cart beside the announcers booth- she Likes golf carts ! That was good, but there was a white bucket or something that needed a closer look, and we all but crowded the fence some looking at it. all at a good crisp working trot... Then a reverse, and Abby was getting a teeny bit tired now. She did Wonderfully the other direction, and what fun she was having then. She understood that the funky squeechy sounds behind her were other horses in the 'herd', and when they passed, she was fine w/ that. Luckily no one got TOO close- or things could have gotten scary for her - AND me. We placed 5th- beat Two whole horses in that class. I didn't expect to place at ALL, but we have a pink ribbon (:) Abby looks good in pink, I think (:)

Next class was more serious- Novice Working Horse. HA- I had no Working horse, I had a chubby TIRED black mare . But we stayed in, and did alright there too. She was MUCH more relaxed..heck TOOOOO relaxed ! Abby just didn't understand about horse shows, and how you MUST keep going even when there's a cute little mini outside the ring to watch. She walked when we were supposed to be trotting, bounced when a walk had been called and STOPPED in front of Dottie Billington ( the ever patient judge) as we were doing a diagonal reverse !( Lol !) The whole thing cracked me up- Abby coulda Sworn Dottie had CARROTS in her hand ( nooooooooooooooo way). By then I knew there was no way we were going to get anything, after all, this was all for Abby ; I'd not gone to place in the ribbons. We got thru that second class and Abby was more than happy to stand in the line up, looking around. She liked being next to her Clyde pal a lot ; kept looking over at her. The folks next to us said how good she'd done, and I explained it was Abby's FIRST driving show in her whole life, and I was happy we'd not gone airborne over it all. They laughed and said " no, she had looked fine". Dottie came over and said I'd placed last - which I already knew- but thought was SO kind of her to take that time. She said nice things about Abby, and I thanked her for that. :D

So, we were done. Abby wasn't as pooped out as she acted in the ring, as she had ALL three trot speeds outside ! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. She Totally surprised me in being such a slow poke. I had her figured the other way around, but nope, Again, she has surprised me 100%. I'm glad it was That kind of surprise though. We unharnessed, loaded her in the trailer w/ some hay, got something to drink, and left. Glenn had some important things to get done this afternoon, and I was expecting a load of sawdust, so we wanted to get on home. Abby traveled like a dream, and was happy to be back in her stall. She was constantly looking for her carrots, which are now going to slowly become a thing of the past as she's been doing so great.

Soon she'll have to work for 'praise' instead of working for FOOD. :)

There ya have it- we came home safe n' sound with a happy mare and two bright pink ribbons. The MAIN thing is that she never ONCE even threatened to go up in the air, even with all the excitement Before the two classes- not Once. She was oh so brave in her very first driving classes- where the horses PASS you-

and I am Very very proud of this mare, once again.

Evie & the dreaded tarp And Bob news 3 27 07

Evie & the dreaded tarp And Bob news 3 27 07

Hi all,

Evei met the Tarp last week...... its a bright blue one that we had bought cheap for covering the stall front with our $$$ harness, etc in the tack stall while at the Worlds. Its , ohhhhhhhh, around 10 x 8. I had Eve out in the aisle way practicing ground tying and grooming her. After picking up all four feet, I looked for something to get into so far as letting her see yet MORE scary things. There was The Tarp. Just laying there, all folded up on top of the shavings bales. Looking ever so innocent , it only interested Evie for a few seconds . Then I unfolded it. Well THAT was more interesting and maybe a little scary, mom ?? I laughed at her and her reactions like I always do- one because she's a hoot and two, to not let her see that I am scared of it in any way. Therefore, she hasn't a reason to be.... This has worked for nigh on 38 yrs and still works w/ these high flight babies.

I held it UP and down, watching her the whole time. Eyes got BIG, and she lifted her head WAY high,but not leaving- when it went UP but was instantly boring when it was below her line of sight. So we went UPPPP some more, and I shook it this time- THAT got some attention, but only til it stopped and she realised it was only making noise, and not attacking her. By the end of this short session, I had it laying on her back, as she was looking for hay treats on the aisle floor.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....what ELSE ?? I took it off her and put it on the ground " walk on Evie" and over she went- NO hesitation what so ever. We walked over , around and back over again... nada. This was fast becoming boring for ME, let alone Herself. She wanted to put her nose down to check it out and the end result was pawing it , bunching it way under her tummy, and then having to turn all around again in order to paw it some more - What grand fun this was !!

I pulled it away and she was mystified... HOW?? So I flapped it down again, and the fun was on. Pawing, stomping, trying to pick it up w/ one's teeth ended up w/ a hole in the middle ( poor little tarp !).

Then Glenn showed up and HE flapped it about some, we played " Peek a BOO !" with it and Glenn 'hiding' behind it > THAT was wonderful fun- and Evie thought one of the rules of the game was to flap her front leg at this thing that kept having Glenn appear , saying ''Peek A BOO !! Eve !'' He'd flip it up over his head again really fast and voila ! Glenn was GONE. Took a few times for her to realise he Was there after all- and all one had to do was walk up to him, and stick one's head over top of the tarp to find him ! This whole thing had me laughing so hard - Glenn too; he could barely get his '' Peek a Boo's'' out right. Evie thought all of this was great fun and wanted to carry the tarp off with her in her teeth. Nooooooooooooooooo- the tarp didn't wanna go live in Evies' stall over night, and she had to leave it behind. Now, when we go past it, she wants to go pick it up and take it with her to the pasture . <> And I thought the tarp was going to do her in mentally.... Nope, she just thought it was FUN. <>

Try as I may, its getting harder n' harder to find scary things for her. Moving vehicles still startle her some but thats because she's not been around them much. This year of showing will get her past those. Oddly enough, when we showed at KILE..... the trucks/ trailers n' cars did not phase her. Here ? HA- they are coming to get HER, and her alone ! She'll get past this too..... eventually.

A BOB NOTE !
Tomorrow the ring will Hopefully be dry enough to do stuff in it w/out getting my shoes sucked off, so IF we get to it, Bob's getting ground driven for the first time since he arrived. Its been a long mucky winter and I hope that FINALLY we'll get some drying out time. Its real nice n' warm today so I think it may be more safe tomorrow. I just don't want him to do something to jerk me badly and me not be able to move fast w/ out slipping or getting stuck. Am still VERY leary of hurting my back again !!

That and get the solar charger working again ( bought a new battery for it) and have to do tape fence repairs before turning it on. THEN I can put Alli n' Evie in that pasture so she can see the cars go by on the road.

Evie n' the Soda Machine at KILE draft show 10 9 2007

When we were at the horse show on Thursday, Evie didn't want to be left by herself, so we ( she n' I ) did a Lot of wandering about the show grounds. We walked outside,watched the big draft horses of all breeds being hand walked in the morning . We checked out some suspicious garbage cans- the lids were especially scary- and then discovered we could walk thru some people doors after all ! She loved exploring all over the place and began taking the initiative to "shop" herself.

She liked the golf carts- but from a distance as those moving things all but did her in. She liked to watch the horses come off their trailers, and she spoke to each one as they did. Only one big Belgian gelding answered her and she thought that was just SO thrilling ! She touched her muzzle to my arm in excitement. So we wandered back inside to see the sights and find Glenn. I wanted her to see all she could so the next time, it wouldn't be so traumatic for her. We walked up n' down aisles with Huge 18 hand and taller horses gazing over the tops of their stalls at her. We checked out covers on the big hitch wagons and show carts- Evie has this thing about items being TALLER than she is, so she was learning that this was now an okay thing. She was not the tallest horse there, not taller than some wagons ( Some rose over 8' in the air !) and she certainly was not taller than the ceiling ! She'd look up every now n' again, to see it. Pretty interesting stuff up there, it seemed.....

Glenn's knee was aching w/ the nasty weather change ( from bad to GOOD )- so Evie n' I were on our own sometimes. All three of us went thru the tunnel to the show ring, where she n' I watched some Percherons being shown in halter at the in-gate. She lifted her head high when they had to trot w/ their owners, watching intently. She wanted to go in to see those flowers that were put out as decorations, but we weren't allowed, so we gazed at them from afar. Ok- that was boring now. Each time a person or group of people would walk by, she'd put her ears up towards them in interest... Maybe THEY wanted to pet her ???? No, they all just smiled and walked on. Eventually she learned she wasn't the center of attention as she was at home. Bored again..... Well, perhaps another walk, Evie ? Off we went- back down the tunnel lined w/ gorgeous Shire horses, some foals and mamas, waiting for their turn to impress their judge, some big tall black Percheron horses waiting patiently and "ho hum" boring sights, now

Then she stopped dead. Ears alert, head above mine, and frozen. There was a Soda Machine that she had missed on her way thru before. OMG- she didn't quite know WHAT to think of it. It was brightly colored plastic on the front with big hand sized buttons to push to choose which soda/ pop one wanted, and it was "purring". It was actually busily cooling the sodas - but to Evie of very small brain and experience w/ these things - it sounded like a purr. Wow- she wasn't sure if she could even walk Past it, let alone get any closer. Eyes Bugged out as Evie has been known to do, ears all but touching together in alertness, and all muscles prepared to RUN, should she need to. I asked her to come closer which she tried to do but her knees wouldn't bend much w/ taunt muscles. I rubbed her neck, explaining all about sodas and how the machine worked, as she took it all in. Moving her head up n' down and then relaxing a second only to be on alert again- just in case it would attack. The gals at the little food booth right next door were cracking up as was Glenn too. I tried really hard to not laugh as SHE was petrified ! At long last ( abt a couple of minutes) I asked Evie to come touch her monster machine. Again, she tried, but no go, so I did. OH MY !!!!! No way was she coming near that thing now. She jumped back and scared the weanling Shire that was standing calmly against the wall. Now four horses were on alert- Just in Case. I rubbed her neck and laughed at her being so silly- all for a soda machine. She relaxed and took a step towards it... Everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr so slowly, she touched it w/ her nose. The buttons moved and she jumped back in surprise, bug-eyed. Again, she tried to touch the plastic.... nothing, so she shoved it some. Noise, and another jump in place. She got so she thought it fun to shove the buttons and hear the funny sounds after about three touches.Each time w/ eyes popping and ears flapping forwards in surprise. I could hear laughter coming from the food booth each time she'd shove a button, with a look of glee on her face. The food booth ladies were enjoying Evies' adventure too.

This filly learns so fast and is getting to be so trusting ! We were busily laying a great foundation for a yearling to be shown next year and be trusting in the things I ask her to do. Evie has impressed me again it seems. She turned 6 months old that day, and there have been SO many 'firsts' this past month. She's come thru them all with class and interest. After I'd blown my foot, we went home- I hurt SO much. This little filly loaded herself, I scurried up the ramp behind her- and was trying really hard to back her little black butt into " Evies" stall before I could get turned around. I think our filly was more than ready to GO HOME. She traveled like a trooper, guzzled her hay all the way back to the farm and the only thing that startled her then was a big silver semi making a LOT of noise as it passed us. Open windows= Lots of noise and stink from trucks ! Ughhhhhhhhhhh. She learned so much on one short trip, and was conked out in her stall soon after finishing her evening meal of baby feed n' oil. Evie was poohed out from a day at a horse show .

Evie / Bob updates 3 16 07

Bob got his mane shortened, a bridle path scissored in and he let me clip his long jaw whiskers with the elec. Clippers !!! He also let me scissor off some of that dreadful long lower leg hair on his front legs. I don't want to send how goofy he looks now, but its a BAD haircut !! Lol. He was So scared of those clippers at first but Amber n' I were patient. She was holding his lead, quietly telling him how Gooood he was being and I was yacking my head off while moving the clippers allll over the place yet not touching him yet. This tends to keep their attention on what's going on, and gives me a chance to 'speak' with the particular horse. I might be talking outloud to them constantly, but am reading their feelings,etc at the same time. Also, its soothing to them... maybe they get bored ? Hahahaaa- I dunno. Anyways Bob was a very good horse and we were ever so happy with the way he handled all of this. He's been a good boy in all respects but remembering to lower his head for halter...now I know how to ask for this, have since I was 12, but he forgets what we've taught him. <> I guess he figures he's big, so everyone else has to adapt ? Nooooo, BOB has to bring his head dowwwwwwwwn. He just stands there, waiting to get his halter on and whom ever is trying to halter him is jumping up n' down to do this. <>

This morning it began snowing and it looks like we're getting a good dump of the white stuff one more time before Spring moves in. At least I HOPE so ! This means more mud, more slop to get thru once all of this is melting... yuck. We turned the horses out so they could move around ( Eve moved alright - bucking/ farting about with a big wad of hay in her mouth) , get some fresh air and roll in the snow. Bob DID... in fact he rolled on one side then the other,only Uphill. That never does work well. He's such a big ol thang when he's down and rolling. Looks funny- so he gets chuckled at. I've attached two shots of him in the snow- one of him wanting to come in , and one of him WAY out in the pasture as I was going to the barn. He likes the snow I believe, but whew he was happy to come inside where its warm n cozy and dry too.

We got a big load of sawdust today- YAAAAY- and I had laid out a big blue tarp to keep the snow off that area before it arrived. I figured w/ Bob being Not so Brave, that he'd startle at it. Nope... just took a look and kept on going to his hay. Tis odd, somethings are scary, and then some just aren't- showing me that it IS the human element that has really hurt him in the past. But walk in his stall w/a rake or fork and he cowers in the corners. We were working on that the other evening when it was nice n' warm ..... petting him all over w/ a plastic rake,( Bob learned to get 'raked') and cooing to him about how good he was being- and oh so brave as well. I got so I could hop up n' down with it in hand and have him turn to look at me like I was a mad woman ( JUST what I wanted - tis good to be humored by a Belgian ). Eventually after a lot of ear and the eye wrinkles left, I tossed it up n' caught it. I told him at first, sending images to his mind, but still it was frightening. So repeat n' repeat again, til he saw that again- the mad woman had reappeared. Soon he was watching me doing this insane stuff with interest- GOOD BOB !!!

Evie loves snow. She will walk around just like her mom- head down w/ her nose in it- making nose trails in it. Katie does the same thing ,and I don't know how Eve learned it, but it never snowed when they were together. We kept the horses in yesterday due to rotten weather, so they were all pretty eager to go OUT today in this snow. They all behaved pretty well but for Guess WHO. Right- my prancy-dancy filly. Oh she just couldn't contain herself as well as the older horses- so she bounced down the aisle to outside, but OMG- she saw the blue tarp over some hay and the dreaded shavings bags in the hay stall !
THOSE warrented a good close look for certain. Eyes bugged out, feet askew, she froze, looking at them and blowing. She was Sure they were monsters and that they certainly were going to eat her as a snack. Soon they were no longer interesting ( like 30 seconds) and it was off to Other Things. She then began the bounce till we got to Glenn who was returning from turning Aunt Alli out- HE was scary TOO. Of course, he had snow on his shoulders and didn't say anything to her. Ha- once he said "G'mornin' Evie !" she knew who thaaaaaaaaat was. Once she was loose, she grabbed some hay from Alli's pile and took off up the hill - effortlessly galloping. A big turn around Dixie's grave and back down , sliding to a stop in front of another pile of hay, grabbed some more,a snort or two, and took off down the hill this time.Bucking/ farting herself down and allllllllllll the way back again. I think thats' about it for a Percheron so far as exercise goes. She played some more, made some nose trails, and settled down to eating breakfast hay.

SO far, Evie is 15.3 and 7/8ths hands tall. Not Quite 16 hands yet, but come April, she will be...so I'm hoping for at least 18 hands once she's all done growing. She's a hoot to be around, listens pretty well and is developing her own definate personality. I am careful to not squelch this personality as some trainers will in order to have the youngsters listen to them. She MUST behave though. Still she hasn't discovered that she doesn't HAVE to follow Aunt Alli all over the place. Especially when Alli is walking/ trotting the fence in hopes of coming in First. There's Alli, andddddddddddddddd Eve following along, and from her face, wondering "and Alli's doing this, WHY ?? " One of these days Eve will get confident enough to NOT follow along, but that's up to her. I've already seen her making the choice to hang w/ the greys when Alli is doing this stuff..... so its coming.

All the other beasties are fine- Carlene is SOUND and happy as a clam... I do believe we've won the WAR with this grand mare !! The greys are fine, Bo's heel is healing up real well, Suzi is still a little sore but only a teeny bit on her hind leg. That is looking good , too.

Hope you enjoyed this shortened version of March updates. Plans for hitching are AGAIN put on hold- thanks to this stupid snow. When its COLD out, my reaction times are slow and so are the body parts to react, ( not to mention knees that ache in this weather) so I have learned to not bother w/ trying to work green horses nor ground drive them at all. HA- plus walking thru all that @#(*&@(* snow. GRRRRRRRRRRR... I sure did NOT want all of this white stuff, things had dried out SO nicely. <> But- it won't last for everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !!

Ellie update 8 3 2007

Ellie update 8 3 2007

Howdy all,

Just had to catch you up to date on the great "ellie bellie''saga. I wanted to get some photos but forgot my camera. She is up to full weight now, only her ribs show ever so slightly which is perfect for her breed. She's gotten so much more fit being on these hills, her whole pasture is a long hill.....and she canters/ trots and sometimes hits a full gallop up and down it. She's happily barefoot, and her hooves have really come around to better than before too. Amazing what good groceries will do for a gal, huh ?

Anywho, we've been using her for Amber's lesson once a week now. This will be her fourth one so far. Ellie has decided that its good here. She is trotting happily under saddle, even offered to hop into a canter this morning. Yeah, in all this heat too. Amber is learning to post how She wants Ellie to go, and therefore, Ellie is complying. We have been doing "no rein'' turns at a walk and trot. ( sometimes this turns into a HUGE trot down a line as Ellie didn't hear what was being asked.) She is softly beginning to give her head and soften her top line- and her neck too. Soft, soft ,soft is how I train horses, and Amber is doing the same now. Ellie still has troubles w/ that Whoa, though...typical 'speedy Gonzalez's mare . This AM, she softened, and stopped easily. I'm SO happy w/ this little brown horse ! She trots with a soft squeeze now from Ambers' calf, and turns easily, very little fussing about her face now, and NO more threats at all to rear or be bad. None... she doesn't understand why she has go only trot though. <> I was really pleased with her performance today- even in the heat. She , like most hot bloods, doesn't seem to mind it much - but WE DID. So it was a nice two step 'baaaaaaaaaaaack' and we headed in. Wanted to end on a perfect note which we did. I'm always surprised when those 'walls' shutting us out concerning horses are lowered. Its similar to me, as a flood gate opening. Water just Rushes thru at great speeds and power. With a horse who's been troubled, its similar. IF they aren't to emotionally damaged, wow, all that affection, love and kindness comes roaring at me. Its as though they keep sayin' " Thankyou, thankyou. via nuzzles, soft whickers, and touches from them. That's how Ellie is now.... as sweet as can be. She was so thrilled that Amber was getting her some carrots as she'd been a very good girl, that it was all she could do to wait. She'd tap the floor w/ her front hoof in excitement- it was cute to see.

Back in the barn, Amber untacked and I helped some - to have somethin' to do.I usually let the student do this sort of thing. Ellie was great- no more fussing in temper about this or that, Very little pawing my poor barn aisle, and she Looked so happy to be alive again. She would have smiled if she could have..... this is one pleasant mare who's really beginning to blossom again. She LOVES being sponged off w/ liniment and warm water too. Her coat is extra shiny, eyes bright and alert ears, where before nothing was quite right in Ellie's world. Her eyes are wide and soft, showing her breeding, and temperament that she REALLY has. I'm likin' this mare more and more.

She was a teeny bit off when Amber led her to the mounting block to get on, and I asked her if she'd picked out Ellie's hooves. Well, um, nooooooooooo, she hadn't. I got a hoof pick and sure enough, there was a little rock in her hoof. Popped it out n' she was no longer tender. GEE...... Amber has tendencies to be lazy about that sort of thing, so I keep an eye on her- caught her that time. );0 Anyhow, all's well that ends well. Ellie IS becoming the mare I saw behind all that anger - she's sweet, affectionate, and so gentle. She tries now- as opposed to just shutting off .

Amber said on our way in that she's never ridden a horse like Ellie.... That all of the "OTHER" ( not going to say who) riding instructors horses were hard to stop, scared and rough to ride. I looked at her and asked " see what intelligence and knowledge give you ? " She mentioned it another time - about how light and sensitive Ellie has become- so it must have REALLY impressed her. I'm glad she's seeing the difference between jerking and pain brings and what kindness , patience, and time bring to a horse. She even said ALL the horses here are like Ellie ( Ha- let her ride Lynn !) - soft and kind. I was happy to see her comparing where she used to ride ( summer horse camps at a ''well known'' H/J barn) and here. I know she's learning a LOT about being kind, and being compassionate. Then she quietly asked me - after we'd about gotten done talking about all that- HOW did you Learn to do this !?!?!" WOW, a whole question ! Seems Amber loves this method of teaching horses , and people and I'm glad she does. :D

Temper tantrums of the Young & Foolish 2 6 2007

Oh wow, She and I had a ''go 'round'' this AM. We are keeping some horses in mornings, and putting others out mornings. Then we switch those horses and put the other's out for the afternoon untill this Horrid cold snap LEAVES. Evie is an 'afternoon' horse- when its a little less freezing and the winds are not so awful. Along w/ her Auntie Alli.

Ha- she just about has a filly heartattack over all this !!! Screaming bloody murder, RUNNING around her stall / bucking , knocking what's left of her water from her bucket so it splashes all over with her butt/ shoulders, and kicking at her feed tub. The 'straw to break the camel's back " here this AM was her Rearing at the door ! So, Miss Evie got her nose smacked each time it showed up on the other side of her stall w/ "Mr.Whippy" ( Aka- my old dressage whip) . I had stood there ever so quietly, waiting for her to think she had the Upper hand. Well, she Didn't like THAT one bit, so she got reeaaaaaal mad. When a baby Percheron has a temper tantrum, its TOOOOOOOOOOOOOO funny ! She stomped her feet,pinned her ears back, looking her MOST horrid - but yanno ? She didn't crash into her stall door any longer. She's smart, but Holy-moly- WHAT a temper she's got.

Then I had the Gall to give her her breakfast hay..... HA! She tore into that, shaking it ALL over her now very poopy stall (all that running about, see ?). As much as I wanted to let her have it verbally, I just walked away, letting HER see that she's not " ALL THAT" in the barn. Only GOOD horses get nice attention,not bad screechy spoiled ones.

A BAD morning for 'Miss Independence' ! <>

3rd Longe Lesson.... Eve 7 20 2006

Hi all,

It seems my precious little filly is growing up and has formed yet More opinions on her own. She's decided that now she understands " walk on" on the longe line that she knows it all. So when pressed for a little "Trot"- she has a hissy fit and rears up. HIGH. At first I thought she might be confused and reacted as such. But when I asked her to merely walk on ( Which she knows by now)- she went up. Temper temper temper ! Baddddddddddddddddddddddddd Filly . I yelled at her and she went along well for a bit, but got bored, and angry at me for insisting she pay attention to ME, not Suzi or Carli. SO she squealed and went up again. Another good yelling at and a couple of jerks on the line. That's when I realised it WAS temper and not misunderstanding. She walked along with her beautiful ears way back but not pinned... just mad at her 'mom' for making her listen to HER. Then I asked for a lttle teeny Trot, which she picked up pretty well, back to a walk after about 10 strides at a trot ( lordy, she can Move !!). She stopped and pawed. No, Walk on.... Up she went AGAIN. This time I tilted her head a little and she ended up sitting down on the ground . Surprise ! No more rearing after that. I didn't want to push the issue and get her pissy again. She did what was asked and stopped perfectly- and we stopped there. We practiced some backing- perfect- and setting up - not so perfect- but she tried. Ellie had the nerve to trot up her fence line as we were leaving the ring, and Eve whirled to see her.' No, WALK ON, Eve.'.... <> 'OK !' So it seems she has developed a temper and I sure don't care for it one bit. She MUST learn to pay attention to her person and Not the other horses.... this too shall pass. I Hope. <> She's my baby, and I Hate yelling at her and giving her a much needed discipline but I have to remember how big she is going to be and that I won't stand for temper tantrums of the young n' foolish.

Below are a couple of shots of her from today. (glenn photos) 16.2 hh and GORGEOUS. I tried to make them small... I hope I DID.

A very dark bay- not black any more.( damned sunshine) Oddly enough, she's getting grey hairs all thru her body... might she go grey ? I certainly don't mind in the least - I Love the greys. Just don't wanna have to change those papers any time soon, so I'll wait a few years to be Sure. (;)