Contemplation's

I have been having wonderful times with the horses of late. So much so that I have not updated my blog since the Mel Flemming Clinic! I would have to say that this clinic was the most profound, eye opening clinic I have ever been to. Mel has an incredible way about her - one which I have not seen often. She seemed to me to be completely devoid of ego and totally open to the experience of further expanding her way with horses. She has a true gift and it was beautiful to watch her interaction with people and horses at the clinic. It is hard to adequately describe the experiences I had over the 3 days and perhaps doing so would take away from that somewhat. My experiences were unique and eye opening and I would highly recommend anyone seeking a deeper experience with your horse to attend.

Sienna did so well despite my initial fears. The biggest message I got from wherever these messages come from is that at this stage she is not to be ridden. I rode her bareback at the clinic however Mel made me aware of how the saddle (when correctly fitted) is better for the horse when perhaps the rider is not in perfect balance which I am not yet. It was my intention to start Sienna to saddle on the final morning of the clinic but I got a clear message that this was not my way forward with this horse. Sienna affirmed that for me in a deep and beautiful way. I could never have imagined our connection getting even deeper than it already was however it has in a profound way.

On returning home I started instead riding Kiowa to learn the new skills that Mel had taught me. I always like to give my horses a choice before riding and will saddle them without a halter in an open paddock. That way I feel they are totally free to express their desire to be ridden or not. I have taken Kiowa out 3 times now and each time she has come up to me to be saddled. She seems to thoroughly enjoy our outings and each time I feel I am getting to know her better. I feel a slight barrier in her that we have not been able to pass as yet. It comes on an energetic level not on a perceptable one. She seems to be holding herself back from connecting fully for fear of loss. She is an absolute angel to do anything with and for a horse that has had limited ridden experience she is a true delight. She has such a different way about her and although over the past 6 months she has hidden the childlike spark she showed so openly in the past, she is still her calm, gentle self in all dealings with me. I think that the guard she has built may have been caused by me having to move so often in the past 18 months. During that time she was moved 4 times into and out of different herds due to restrictions I had in finding a paddock for my horses to stay together. Seeing the impact this has had on her makes me even more determined to find some way to one day own my own property so my horses never have to experience that uncertainty again.

So back to Sienna, I had a moment after the clinic where I doubted the message I thought I had received. Sienna was quiet and willing for the most part in all our lessons together and she seemed to enjoy my company as much as I do hers. So I asked her to come into the round yard with me at liberty which she did. I showed her the saddle and she looked at it and looked at me. I put it on her and she stood nicely at liberty whilst I did the girth up loosely. I asked her to move with the saddle on. She showed a little unsureness at the new feeling however she still moved out as I asked. Then an interesting thing happened. The other 3 horses came running over to the yard, Scout and Kiowa looking very upset. They were putting their heads through the rails then tapping on the gate trying to get in. It was at that same moment I felt a strong feeling that this was just so wrong. I was almost in tears as I asked Sienna to me and removed the saddle and stood with her quietly for sometime. I have had her in my life for over 3 years now and always when people see what we are doing together and ask why she isn't started to saddle, I explain that she has not suggested that she is ready for that. This may change in the future but for now it seems she still isn't and may never be and that is more than fine with me. I do not have any of these horses in my life for the sole purpose of riding or what they can do for me. They are simply my family and my world. I take great joy in each minute I spend with them. I don't ride regularly as it has become secondary to the incredible pleasure provided just by closely living side by side with these animals. This is not to say that I am against riding, I am not at all and am enjoying the newfound experiences I am having whilst riding Kiowa. It is more to say that there is so much more to enjoy than just riding.

I was laughing with delight the other day as I walked out into the paddock after a storm and asked the mares to come walking with me. We went up the mountain, Sienna by my side at liberty while the other mares followed close behind. When we got to the top paddock I started running through the trees and up the next hill. The girls all bucked and snorted and played around me. When I stopped, they stopped and had a nibble of the new grass coming through. When I walked they followed. For me there is no better experience that I could imagine than having these mares choose to welcome me into their herd.

It has been a wonderful year filled with learning and welcoming Scout and Lacey into our little herd. Yesterday I walked with the mares around the front paddock. I started pulling weeds as I slowly walked around the track I have put in for them. I was doing this for about an hour and noticed the whole time Sienna watched me, ears pricked, mesmerised. Everytime I looked up at her she was watching me. It seems perhaps she is as intrigued by me as I am by her. Eventually she came very close and put her head to my back breathing deeply. How truly blessed I am to share these times with them.

I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time this year to follow my journey with my horses. I am very grateful for your comments and support. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with love and laughter.

An Incredible Gift

Sienna is a true soul mate to me. When I rescued her from the doggers back in March 2006, she was a deeply traumised, very wild brumby mare. I have taken her training extremely slowly over the years. I always wanted to work at a pace that suited her and did not take away from the incredible relationship we have built together. I have a deep respect and honour for her and have always wanted to allow her to hold on to the 'wildness' that makes her such a joy to behold.

Yesterday was a milestone. I have done some small rides on her however no more than about 5 minutes at a time. She still isn't trained to saddle as she has not indicated that she is ready for this yet. Today I went out with a friend - she rode her green horse and I walked beside Sienna as I usually do. I decided to hop on her and we had our longest ride ever. We did lots of long trots and cantered twice which she has so far never done with a rider. She was an angel the whole time and really looked after me. I feel so blessed to have her with me. I know it may not seem like much but to me it was the best experience I have ever had with a horse. After spending so much time building trust I feel so grateful to her for allowing me to ride her.

I am going on a 3 day Mel Flemming clinic http://www.melfleming.com.au/ this weekend with Sienna and cannot wait. I hope to improve my skills to a level that will be more tolerable for Sienna. She is an incredibly sensitive mare and I often feel very sloppy in my body language and body position when I am working with her. She is incredibly tolerant of my misgivings!

Here is some footage I took this morning of the liberty play we do together. She excuses my mistakes and sloppiness as a rider and teaches me each day how to be a better person.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slNvBKhpodw

Venturing Out

I have again altered the way I behave around Scout. She is a strong, independent mare who is happy to please if asked in a no nonsense, polite way. She is not to keen on touch and I finally realised that I am constantly invading this boundary by wanting to pat her. I thought alot about this the other afternoon when my lovely border collie, Storm was pushing my hand and being very insistent in asking me to pat her. I have had Storm in my life for over 10 years now and I adore her however she often invades my personal space begging for constant attention. It does get quite irritating to me as I have a strong need for respect of my personal space. It finally occurred to me that this is how Scout feels and this is why she tends to walk up to me, sniff my hand and quickly walk away before I play out my unconsious response to want to touch her. So I have been tuning in to her much more and feeling her energetic boundary when I enter the paddock. I will sit down at the point that I feel her boundary extends to and she will happily stay near me and have a nap. I had an arabian mare who was much the same in this way. I quickly learnt not to touch her unless invited and she was undoubtedly one of the greatest horses I ever owned. She would look out for me when I was riding her and when I was working other horses. She would always appear to supervise a training session I was doing with Sienna and on one occassion when Sienna took fright and I jumped off her, my arab mare quietly blocked her exit and sent her back to me. I feel that Scout will be one of these types of horses.

Scout and I took our first short stroll off the property the other day. She was alert and very soft and responsive the whole time. I only took her a short way up the road and stood with her so she could eat grass and get more relaxed about it all. The other horses were going absolutely crazy with her not being in the paddock. Scout called to them a few times but willingly walked beside me on a slack lead. A couple of cars passed and she did not flinch. After returning to the paddock, I let her go and after letting Lacey have a drink she left the other mares and followed me up to the house. I took that as a good sign.

I haltered her again the next day and took her out. I let her eat grass in the gateway whilst I took Lacey for a short look around outside. Despite only being haltered and led twice, she is very soft and easy to lead. She comes off the pressure instantly and walks with the rope slack. She didn't know which way she wanted to go first. She was alert and very excited, although somewhat nervous about the new surroundings. After she had been out for 10 minutes, I put her back in the paddock and she banged on the gate and pawed the ground asking to come back out. I didn't want to have to manage the 2 of them walking so I left Lacey there with the other mares and took Scout further away up the road out of sight of the property. The other mares galloped around calling Scout. Scout raised her head a few times however she did not call back as she had the day before. I let her eat some more and then we walked a little further. She was really enjoying the change in scenery.

Watching her over the past few months has taught me a lot about her personality. She is by no means a doting mother and has given up all baby sitting responsibilities to Kiowa my stockhorse mare who very willingly accepted the job. Kiowa seems to adore Lacey and is gentle and calm with her. Scout tends to go off alone a lot or stay with Sienna. She will find Lacey when her udder is getting full and prompt her to drink. Lacey will also seek her out to feed and then go back to Kiowa or take off on her own. They are both incredibly independent and I wonder if this is common with the Spanish Mustangs...

I also have started setting up a paddock paradise in the front paddock. It seems to be working fairly well so far and the girls have certainly been moving more than usual. I spread their morning and afternoon hay right around the track. I intend to setup all the paddocks to adjoin this track once this oppressive heat subsides a little and I can get out and do some more work.

Poor Lacey has really been feeling this heat. She has been a bit grumpy the past couple of days and I suspect it is due to her suffering with that thick coat of hers and the high, humid temperatures we are experiencing at the moment. As you can see she is starting to shed out however not as quick as I suspect she would appreciate. She is a slightly more golden colour than Scout. She has kept the white shading around her muzzle and flanks also. This afternoon I decided to start pulling the hair from her legs (she does actually like this) and I was pleased to find some lovely dun striping on her front legs. She does not have it on her hind and they seem to be shedding out a very light colour. The barring on her front legs is a slate grey. She really is going to be a stunning little filly in her summer coat. Her nose has healed up nicely and the only indication of the accident is she has grown slightly lighter hair in the impact area. The people in the USA were not wrong when they commented on the extraordinary healing ability this breed has!

.... and here's one I prepared earlier!

I just uploaded a video I took awhile ago of Scout and Lacey. Enjoy !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRUOgbHAdHA

Playtime

Scout was very attentive yesterday so I decided to have a bit of a play with her. She is not at all interested in doing to much ground work. She gets it right then looks at me like 'Next'! I got on her the first time about a month ago. She did not even flinch.

I had a little ride on her again yesterday. I cannot believe she has not been started yet. She is so incredibly quiet about the whole thing. Not the least bit phased. She seems to be saying to me, lets just get on with it. She is all business and no nonense.

As you can see in the video, I probably should be doing more ground work with her so she understands my cues when I am on her back. I am hoping to start taking her walking on the trails soon. I think she will enjoy the change of scenery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPYX6EqadbQ


Lacey also had her first halter session yesterday. After watching the video back, I think I could have been alot softer and more sensitive in some parts. She was so good though and was following me around after we had finished. She is going to be just like her mum when it comes to boldness and no-nonsense attitude.

http://www.youtube.com/user/spanishmustangoz#p/a/u/0/FQc1tXh9fyE

The videos were recorded by my housemates 10 year old daughter so they are a little bumpy but you get the idea :)

The rain finally came!!!

The rain finally decided to visit us. We got 4 inches here a couple of days ago. Lacey was a little unimpressed by it all. We had a wonderful storm that lasted a couple of hours. I absolutely love storms and was happily celebrating by dancing in the rain. It was beautiful to see the lightening striking the surrounding mountains and the rain coming down in sheets. You really learn to appreciate rain when you don't have it often! I managed to fill every bucket and container I could find with the water coming off the gutters of the shed. So today, finally we have grass starting to grow again.

My beautiful arabian boys are now sold to a delightful lady locally. I could not have asked for a better home for them. They are going to be very happy running on 23 acres with 2 other horses.

Now I am back to 4 horses I can get down to some more learning. I have a clinic with Mel Flemming coming up in December and Sienna and I will be attending. It will be huge for her as she has never been away from the property without any of the other horses. I have decided to camp for the 3 days so I can be with her the whole time. It is going to be a fascinating time for both of us. She is such a unique animal with such a depth and grace about her. She often puts me in my place when she feels my behaviour is not sensitive enough. She has taught me so much and I delight in our walks together where she will walk beside me happily. I want to be able to communicate with her on a deeper level and I am hoping through this clinic I will learn to do so. I will also be talking to Mel about starting Scout early next year when Lacey is weaned.

All the horses are doing very well. They spend their days up the mountain which is all bush and the ground is very rocky so their hooves are looking fantastic. I am pleased I have the option to raise Lacey on this sort of ground. I am certain she will be a tough little number when she is older. She already comes down the mountain at a flat out gallop with her mother following close behind her. They are both extremely sure footed and agile. I hope to show Lacey what a halter is all about this afternoon. It should be very interesting!!! Stay tuned ;)

Beautiful Pure Arab Gelding for Sale

This post is all about Reid River R-Goss. He stands at 15hh as a 2 year old and has beautiful, floating movement. He is by The Accolade out of Reid River Phoenesse. His registration number is G24685.

I was told by his previous owner that he got reserve champion at his first show out. He has been professionally trained to stand for halter classes. I however have no experience in this field so could not verify that myself.

His most outstanding quality is his incredible temperament. This horse is as soft as any I have ever owned. He is a truly sweet and gentle soul who will only be sold to the very best of homes. He is wonderful with all animals and people. He lets my 8 week old foal share his feed.

He is very easy to catch (he walks straight up to anyone he sees enter the paddock), floats like a dream and loads with ease, easy to rug and is a lovely sensitive horse to work with in general.

This is a very relucatant sale of a quality gelding with a unique, super sweet temperament. He is not highly reactive as you could expect with an arab. He is a pleasure to watch move around the paddock. He has great hooves and is easy to trim.

He is for sale to the very best of homes for $2000. Please phone 0458 040 878 for further details.

For Video please click the link below