Posts by Susan

Cisco gets bestest treatment after our riding session. He followed my feel when trotting outside around a small round pen. I was bouncing at the hard trot and managed to get my heel on him so he could know I wanted him to follow the rail instead of spurt to the other end of the arena. This is such a difficult concept for Cisco and tough physically for me. We are no where near show-off stage. We are more like horrorific stage. In between successes, we walked around the arena…

Before I saddled up Cisco, an amazing event occurred. A butterfly happened along, or was meant to be a sign. My thought is that the butterfly is meant to show how light I must be with Cisco. Lightness with Cisco is the key to a successful journey. Cisco and I did our ground work, online and at liberty.  I'm pretty certain that we made little to no progress.  These things happen in the horse world with us learned amateurs! I then rode Cisco and we practiced side passing, leg yields,…

The goal is 1% improvement every time. Here is the outstanding improvement for today. I was riding Cisco at this time. Me-hands on the short rope that is fastened around Cisco's neck. ( we call it a string"); Round Pen inside the arena; Task - travel around the outside; Cisco- follow my focus and feel, do not run to the other end of the arena. We succeeded! You cannot imagine my thrill when Cisco cantered around the outside of the round pen. I was darn happy that he traveled around…

Three day Horsemanship clinic with Tony and Jennifer Vaught was amazing. I have some advice and training instructions upon which to reflect. I'll be keeping this in my inner self. Cisco and I are back being "together" when I ride. Our relationship is stronger. My ability to communicate with Cisco has improved. This is both on the ground and in the saddle. The magic started this weekend. I rode a lot without using the reins. I didn't ride without the bridle. The bridle was a safety net during some of…

A round pen is a wonderful place. You can use the inside and you can use the outside. Cisco's liberty progress is so advanced, I wonder if I really am the "trainer". Is anyone playing with Cisco at night just to make me think it is me who is bringing him along? Surely I can't be this good. Or maybe Cisco is just a miracle awesome horse. I believe choice number 2 is the answer. Cisco is a miracle horse. I am standing behind Cisco. I lift my arms and…