The Lightning In Camelot and Looking to the Future!

The Lightning in Camelot!

It was our first camping trip of the year. The weather was beautiful! Even though Camelot Equestrian Park is a “work in progress” the site and the land were really inspirational! Our set up team of four arrived on site about 1:30pm Friday afternoon and began setting up our “medieval themed” camp site. We had a large communal tent (called The Gallery) which overlooked the horse pens, a kitchen set up boasting a barbecue grill and four burner camp stove plus a food prep area. The “Condo” tent, which had a dining room (we had dinner Friday night in there), a foyer and the sleeping quarters! Folks started to roll in about 4:30pm and the party got started! We took a walk around the site to get familiar with the layout and some of our brave and energetic Brumbies saddled up and hit the trail to see the sunset! Friday we had a mellow dinner together where much laughter occurred and the wine did flow!

Saturday morning came early. 14 hors/human teams plus guests came together to create an great experience! Some of the horses were a bit noisy as they settled in and the sound of the ranch hands running to a fro on the quad-runners let us know it was time to get up and get the day started.  After morning chores we had breakfast and made use of the hot showers! Feeling refreshed the Brumbies took pat in the first workshop of the weekend. Much was shared and learned! A lunch break happened and we then hit the arenas and once the pre-ride checks were done we took the adventure out to the trail. One group found the “swimming pond” and enjoyed getting cooled off as their horses played. Another group hit the obstacles and water course. Eventually everyone got together and we rode as a group, enjoying all the training opportunities and new experiences. Tired and smiling we headed back to camp to get ready for dinner. Horses were tucked into their enclosures and the humans laid out a great meal. As the camp fire cast a warm glow on the faces of the Brumbies we shared stories and laughter well into the evening.

Sunday morning we did it all again! The Brumbies arose and tended horses, enjoyed breakfast and got ready for the day. We had TWO more workshops and some one-on-one lesson time as folks took time to work on their skills and confidence. Lunch soon followed and before long folks were saddled up and off to hot the trails, the loping track and the water course (again-it was a favorite). We really pushed our riding dynamics together, offering support and instruction as we enjoyed the amazing vistas laid out before us. One of the horses got a small injury on Sunday and  the Brumbies stepped in and helped to patch the gelding up (who enjoyed being the center of attention). As we headed home there was a quite sadness that the weekend was just about over. Discussions of coming to visit Camelot again were bantered about and it seems we will be back. We began to tear down and pack up as we said our goodbyes to friends both old and new. The set up team headed off site about 7:30pm. It was a full weekend and a success on many levels. Experiences like this enrich our horsemanship and our hearts. We are all looking forward eagerly to the events this season and the opportunities they will provide. This is what the Brumbies is all about!

Pictures of our adventures can be seen at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.450771128334028.1073741828.123626137715197&type=1

What is next for the Lightning?

We survived the first camping trip together.

Brody was a rock star (heck, most of the 14 horses were rock stars thanks to the Method). After a LONG day on Saturday it was suggested that Brody would look good in English tack. Sigh. So a Brumbie tacked him up and rode around camp. As his human I was goaded into getting in the saddle (I already had a few adult beverages and expressed that an English saddle was a slick spot on a horse that humans fall off of). Brody took a total of FIVE (5) rides for a jaunt before he got put back. Poor guy was tired but what a champ! On Sunday he was jumping over a stone/wood wall at Camelot and got distracted by a very pretty mare. He misjudged the leap and caught his left front knee on the log top of the wall. He must have caught a sharp edge or something because he put a 3" gash on his knee. So we headed back to camp to clean him up. Today (Thursday) thanks to quick clean up, help from some Brumbie and using Vertricyn (sp?) every day he is healing really well and seems to have no issues with movement or swelling at all. Tomorrow we will attempt some ground work and (hopefully) some work under saddle. This Sunday we are going to attend a living history group's equestrian practice. There we will expose Brody and Argent to some medieval style gymkhana games and some new scary objects. Should be fun! The rest of the month will be training as usual and then in May we go to Trail Ready Ranch for a Brumbies gathering with a focus on round pen work, scary objects, arena work and a beautiful trail ride. Brody's old family may actually attend! Should be a great time!

Training with the Lightning: A Three Month Review

The Three Month Evaluation

It has been three months since we brought Brody home. We have found where is strengths and challenges are to be sure. We have pushed him hard and exposed him to a whole new existence. Reviewing this journey tells us a great deal about how much Brody has adapted and changed in just 90 days. We have had many good days and a few memorable bad days along the way. Having a program and an approach has been awesome. Yet, some days the frustration hits us and that messes with our training flow. As Clinton likes to say “Be black and white with no shades of gray. In other words don’t be a nagging mother.” When those rare days of frustration or confusion pop up they are jarring. Laurie and I keep saying that “it’s a journey, not a race” and step back, breath in, breath out and move on.  So, last night we sat down and looked at where we started and where we are now. We asked the hard questions about his fit with our family and his future. We thought long and hard if we were the best fit for him. We’ve done this with every horse we have worked with in the last four years. It is a process that allows us to remain objective while giving the best love, care and training we can.

STRENGTHS: Brody is a very willing horse. He really does try his best for you every time even when he is tired. Brody learns pretty quickly too. He picks up concepts after just few tries. Brody thrives on praise and looks for it from his human. He likes the cuddles as well as the activity. Brody is also very forgiving, especially if the human he is paired with praises him/gives him breaks when the human makes a mistake. He has packed around real novices and helped them understand the importance of the groundwork first, then we ride concept. Brody is social and mellow in his approach to human. He likes to look, smell, take a measure of the human and then ask for pets. Even though he had not been loaded in a trailer for years he was willing to try it out. He now loads with just a pointing of the finger and he does travel well.

CHALLENGES: Brody is not the most courageous of horses. He has to be introduced to new situations and scary objects slowly to build up his confidence. However once he is confident he is great. Brody does not like to be wrong. It upsets him if he makes a mistake. Hence, the need for a mental break and the need for a success to rub away the mistake in his mind. This also applies to his human. If the biped makes an error and does not rub it away before trying again (letting their frustration show) he keys into that and begins to get reactive. When he gets to that full on reactive state it takes focus to bring him back down to a thinking state. This has improved over the last 90 days but it is going to be a long term fix. Brody was pretty reactive to being girthed up too. He would over react and did not do well tied up when the saddle was cinched up. We were told thins upon purchasing him. Our solution seems to be working. We do some groundwork and do some desensitizing with the lead rope around the girth line (wrap, squeeze, release and rub) then we saddle him up. We have progressed quite a bit in this area but more work needs to be done to get him super comfortable with the process. The funny thing is once the saddle in on and the first couple of cinches are done he is fine. It is just in the intial girthing. Go figure.

THOUGHTS/PLANS: As long as our lives stay on course and as long as Brody continues to improve and his personality remains consistent we feel he is a good fit for us over the long term. The winter was a tough time for him and getting his weight up has taken some time. He is packing on muscle and is really showing some great tone. His stamina is getting better and he needs fewer breaks when under saddle. His feet are looking much better than they did at Day 1. He seems more comfortable at the faster gaits packing my 220 pound frame around. We have been working three to four days a week pretty regularly and will continue to do this. We have some great opportunities coming up this season to expose both Brody and Argent to new things and new situations. We’ll be hauling them all over the region too. Booster shots and dental maintenance will be happening soon too. At 13 he has had some history but it also feels like he missed out on some fundamental training. So we are having to fill the gaps in his program. We’re pushing his development to the next level and introducing exercises that are outside his experience which is good. Taking into account how he learns and what he needs from his humans we figure that the spring summer will be all about development and the fall will be all about review and refinement. The neat thing about having a horse like Brody is that is pushes Argent and Laurie to aim higher as well. This 90 period has seen some great growth in skills and confidence in both of them and it is amazing to watch. It should be a great learning experience for all of us. Our next goal is having an amazing camping trip at Camelot Equestrian Center in Butte Valley, California in mid April. Between now and then we’ll stick to our program, work the Method and stay focused.