A VERY FULL WEEKEND!
Friday was a crazy day of Laurie and I as we tried to
get everything packed up and ready for the Play Day and Picnic we were running
for the Nor-Cal Downuder Brumbies. So, we stayed close to home and test drove
the newly made Cowboy Carwash and the Pom-Poms of Doom (pom-poms on a stick).
Both held up well and took our desensitizing/confidence building to a new
level. Ground work and a nice cruise around the pasture was how we ended the
session.
Saturday was the Brumbies event. It went something like this:
WHAT A FANTASTIC DAY!
The weather was beautiful with temperatures in the 60?s, blue skies and a nice breeze. We had a great turnout of Nor-Cal Downunder Brumbies members and even met some nice “natural horsemanship enthusiasts” as well! We got on site about 8:45am and began setting up our picnic area and our challenge course. About 10:00am we had a listen-up to go over the schedule and the site features.
Then we opened the large arena for warm ups and open groundwork/saddle work. The FIRST workshop of the day soon followed and the folks who attended seemed to improve and enjoy the session. A short water break followed as we prepared for the SECOND workshop (thank you Denise) of the day and finishes setting up the challenges course. The beauty of a day like this was that no one felt rushed. You could enjoy a variety of activities at your own pace! As some of our members made fire in the BBQ pits others had a chance to get some coaching on ground work skills and skills under saddle, enjoy the large arena and play n some of the obstacles. All of this happened BEFORE lunch!
Speaking of lunch! Besides horses another thing the Nor-Cal Brumbies enjoy is good food! We had grilled marinated tri-tip, friend chicken, hot dogs, Italian soda, a variety of amazing salads, wonderful desserts and even some much loved adult beverages! A tradition of amazing pot-luck selections has just become a Brumbies tradition!
Once everyone had a chance to enjoy lunch we got back out there to enjoy the day.The obstacle course had a Cowboy Car-wash, the Polar Bear O? Doom (and later of Cuddles), the Cloverleaf, the Serpentine, the Raised Caveletti, PVC logs, the Torches (horse eating pom-poms on a stick), the Long Rope of Scariness, the Relay Batons and in preparation for our Brumbies in Camelot camping trip, Excalibur in a Bucket. As the afternoon went on the Brumbies became more and more creative with the obstacles and really pushed their horses!
The level of positive energy, support, coaching, encouragement and inspiration was quite wonderful. Everyone improved some aspect of their horsemanship, felt that they were part of a positive experience and encouraged one another to celebrate the small victories while the set their horsemanship goals higher than they thought possible. It was a great day and one that is now a traditional Brumbies event!
Pictures can be seen at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7715197&type=1
Sunday: The day found us at the local fairgrounds arena. Not a good day for Brody. He was very reactive and a bit surly. We had a couple of discussions and stick/hand therapy a time or two but we ended the session on some great wins. We were both tired and sweaty...but we survived! He is feeling MUCH better and is testing the relationship. It was expected and thanks to the Method we have the tools to deal with it!
Saturday was the Brumbies event. It went something like this:
WHAT A FANTASTIC DAY!
The weather was beautiful with temperatures in the 60?s, blue skies and a nice breeze. We had a great turnout of Nor-Cal Downunder Brumbies members and even met some nice “natural horsemanship enthusiasts” as well! We got on site about 8:45am and began setting up our picnic area and our challenge course. About 10:00am we had a listen-up to go over the schedule and the site features.
Then we opened the large arena for warm ups and open groundwork/saddle work. The FIRST workshop of the day soon followed and the folks who attended seemed to improve and enjoy the session. A short water break followed as we prepared for the SECOND workshop (thank you Denise) of the day and finishes setting up the challenges course. The beauty of a day like this was that no one felt rushed. You could enjoy a variety of activities at your own pace! As some of our members made fire in the BBQ pits others had a chance to get some coaching on ground work skills and skills under saddle, enjoy the large arena and play n some of the obstacles. All of this happened BEFORE lunch!
Speaking of lunch! Besides horses another thing the Nor-Cal Brumbies enjoy is good food! We had grilled marinated tri-tip, friend chicken, hot dogs, Italian soda, a variety of amazing salads, wonderful desserts and even some much loved adult beverages! A tradition of amazing pot-luck selections has just become a Brumbies tradition!
Once everyone had a chance to enjoy lunch we got back out there to enjoy the day.The obstacle course had a Cowboy Car-wash, the Polar Bear O? Doom (and later of Cuddles), the Cloverleaf, the Serpentine, the Raised Caveletti, PVC logs, the Torches (horse eating pom-poms on a stick), the Long Rope of Scariness, the Relay Batons and in preparation for our Brumbies in Camelot camping trip, Excalibur in a Bucket. As the afternoon went on the Brumbies became more and more creative with the obstacles and really pushed their horses!
The level of positive energy, support, coaching, encouragement and inspiration was quite wonderful. Everyone improved some aspect of their horsemanship, felt that they were part of a positive experience and encouraged one another to celebrate the small victories while the set their horsemanship goals higher than they thought possible. It was a great day and one that is now a traditional Brumbies event!
Pictures can be seen at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7715197&type=1
Sunday: The day found us at the local fairgrounds arena. Not a good day for Brody. He was very reactive and a bit surly. We had a couple of discussions and stick/hand therapy a time or two but we ended the session on some great wins. We were both tired and sweaty...but we survived! He is feeling MUCH better and is testing the relationship. It was expected and thanks to the Method we have the tools to deal with it!
Tuesday: Twisted
my bad ankle on Sunday and it was pretty darn sore (wore a brace and tried to
stay off of it on Monday). It was still sore when I tried to do the faster
groundwork exercises like Circle Driving and Side Passing on the Fence. Laurie
had to step in and help. The arena was VERY busy! No less that six rigs and
about eight horses were in the parking area. It appeared that the “crazy barrel
ladies” were back on the wrong day again and there was a fellow giving lessons.
This made for a fairly chaotic feeling around the place. We stuck with our
program as we watch folks do no prep work with their horses…just jump on and
race around, being very heavy handed and complaining about how their mounts won’t
listen. Our two were a little keyed up but respectful. As we were getting ready
to mount up the barrel ladies were winding don some. The lesson folks were a
bit impervious to others in the arena so Brody and I did LOTS of work on leg
cues and direction changes at the walk and trot. Once it seemd like the crazies
were headed out and the lesson people were doing their thing Brody and I worked
on transitions, mostly from the trot to the lope. It was interesting to note
that if I gave him the cue to lope along the long side of the fence he lurched
into the gait, was quite bouncy and finally leveled out. It made a sore ankle
even more sore! Yet, when I asked for the lope with a fence just a few yards
away or in the corner of the arens things went smoother. That became a note to
self moment. It seems it helped him to slow down and check himself a little
bit. We had some really nice lopes in ever shrinking circles. He is smoother
when going to the right and more explosive when going to the left which in
understandable given his history. We did a variety of different exercises and
when we stopped we realized that over three hours had passed (about 2,5 of
those was doing actual work). We both were tired but had some real successes. I
am relearning to sit the faster gaits better. I know I need some coaching on
this as I feel stiff in places that I know should not be. Once Brody gets back
to his full weight I want to find a trainer who can help me with my equitation,
especially on Brody. This was a long session but a good one for both of us.
Tomorrow…we’ll both need the day off. I see a spa day for the horses happening.
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