CONE_PORTANT

Cones...those orange things that lay around the perimeter of most any arena. We think of them as arena cone-litter. People with horses have invented a lot of things to do with cones. We do cone-weaving, cone-circles, cone-sidepassing. Some horses even have perfected cone-squishing and don't forget cone-eating! In the versatility challenges, cones assume many a different role. Cones become cone-portant because they mark transition spots or patterns. In the last Pine Dell Natural Versatility Challenge, we had cones to mark the transition from walk to trot/center and another cone to…

SADDLE YOUR HORSE RULES!

Sue the "How Do You Do" Horse. It took Sue nearly three years to not flinch when I saddled her. I'm not talking about a slight shudder, either. I'm talking about a 1" rolling oceanic tsumni flinch along her back. That's one inch of rolling fear. She was triple T terrified of the saddle. Sue must have been saddled by a grizzly bear.  Pat Parelli has taught us the safe way to saddle, bridle and mount horse. He does things to ensure our safety and end up so we can live our…