High Prices & Putting in the Time

Tweed says, “Howdy.”

Day 6, and we’re checking out the new sand in the horsey sandbox. It was $460 + tax for 12 yards. (Up from $350 + tax in 2023.)  Kind of scary jump, and we need another load.

I comfort myself by saying, “Hey, at least we didn’t build an indoor arena.” We got our bids back for that last November and they were 450k and 480k. No, thank you. We will brave the elements. 

With the arena open for the sand, I decided to work with Tweed at liberty in the round pen. He was sliding in a couple of spots and started kicking out every time he passed those spots, as if there was a gremlin there who had tripped him up. We worked through that, got some good connection, and then did some work going through deep mud and water.

I came across this snapshot I took last year from the Carson James page. 

I looked through my photos (and posts) and saw that I didn’t start Tweed back up last year until late March. My first lesson with Regina was April 3rd. 

I’ve had various philosophies through the years that vary from leave them alone in winter and they’ll pick right back up from where they left off, to work with them everyday, as much as you can, 365 days per year. In the end, it comes down to results. Am I getting the results I want with this philosophy? My answer last year was no, thus, why I am getting an earlier start this year. Plus, the weather has been mild and conducive to it. If it was cold with ice, it would be different. 

I think the “365 days a year” philosophy is more for me than Tweed. It’s “me” training. 

Aurora is going to be on Chapter 4 of Sacred Spaces next, and it was my favorite chapter. It’s about how the neural pathways in our brain change with what we think. If we obsess about something, and think about it all the time (like I did with Cowboy) it changes the way we behave. We wire ourselves to what (and how) we think. I want to wire myself to Tumbleweed.

I have to get control of my story and direct it the way I want it to go, and there are several ways to do it. I’ll be doing all of them, but one of them is this:

“You can strengthen the neural connections for the skill you want by watching someone who is an expert and does the task correctly. When you watch another person, your brain will fire the same neurons as if you were doing it.”

For me, that is where Katie comes in. I can watch her ride Tweed (once a week) the way I want to ride Tweed. I’m reshaping the narrative, the visual, the “make believe” story, and the connections in my brain. And, just like with my musical instruments, it takes daily practice. 

The benefit for Tweed is that it gets him more often into my human (rather than the herd) world, and it gets him using his body and getting in better shape. I imagine his brain is being rewired, too. 

Katie said he was 80-90% back already, and it reminded me of a few posts I did last summer on getting that last 10%, the hardest part to reach, yet essential. 

It is that part that I’m after this year.

Under the Microscope

Aurora recently said she is an over-thinker, but I might have her beat. At any rate, this is the first meeting for Over-Thinkers Anonymous. 

I have been over-thinking good days and bad days, energy, expectations, visualizations, weather, and just plain showing up and doing the work. 

Today is day 5 “back to work,” and we woke up to snow. 

The weather is different, Katie isn’t coming, and I went out later in the day (yesterday was right after the horse’s had breakfast). New variables, different horse?

I started out in the barn room looking at old photos of Tumbleweed.

Here are some golden oldies. He is going to be eight this May.

The first thing that hit me was how his baby play with Foxy and Rosalee was comprised of the exact same moves he busted out on Day 1-3 in the sandbox. It was him feeling his oats.

But those are largely gone now.

Different day, same pose at the mounting block.

Still enjoying a good roll.

He was a little less connected, not in my pocket, but super chill and he performed all of his walk to trot to lope, to walk transitions without any excess emotions.

We also did some backing up, lowering the head, then backing nicely, and some all over body rubs, each side. A little pole work. 

That’s it, because my purpose was to recreate yesterday’s warmup as closely as I could and try to dissect what kind of energy and expectations I am bringing to the sessions under different circumstances. What do they call that? Catching lightning in a bottle?

For example, if I had gone out there with the desire to ride him, would I have brought nervous energy with me? 

That’s what I’m going to find out by adding one new thing to this routine everyday.

We’ve got some decent temperatures in the forecast this week, so I should be able to ride quite a bit.

And even on the darkest days, there can be a bit of sun.

Katie Day

Today was the day Katie came by, and I had told her not to expect much except groundwork, considering the energy Tumbleweed had the last few sessions. But that wasn’t the case today. 

When I went to get him he was just so mellow and fully connected, a totally different horse. We had twenty minutes to do some basic stuff before Katie arrived, and he was gentle as a kitten.  At liberty, he wouldn’t leave my side. On the lead, he was fully tuned in and respectful. 

Wild Dan came out to see us and entertained Tweed for a bit. 

Then Grady came out, too. 

We did light work over poles and coming to the mounting block. 

Then Katie arrived and I updated her. Yeah, you’re going to be riding today. He’s all there for you. 

She got to it. 

She was very happy with him and says we’re about 80-90% where he left off. 

When she was done with him, I got Epona. 

Epona hadn’t been worked with, so she had some stuff. She was about Tweed on Day 2, a little looky, running, bucking, and wanting to roll. Not bad, but she didn’t get a ride in. It was all groundwork, which made me happy I’d already done it with Tweed.

He watched Epona the entire time she was gone. 

I love this plan. We’re going to meet once a week for now, and it will really help me get him started right. If there are any holes or I reach a mental road block, Katie will help us past it. 

We are going to be so ready for spring!

Winter Horse Crazies

 

Third day working with Tumbleweed, and he still has a lot of pent up energy, so no rides. He has a case of the bucks, kicks, rolls, and spooks. 

All I’m really asking for right now is connection, and he gives that to me well when he’s near me. His emotions get bigger when I push him away and ask him to work on the long line. He picks up the trot on his own, and I try to get him back to the walk, then I have him face up and rest when he listens. 

Since it’s winter, he hasn’t had much turnout, and he has energy he needs to release.

To help him get that energy out safely, I’m going to start putting him in the arena with some buddy horses everyday. The sand is just too tempting for a horse who wants (and needs) to get the crazies out. 

I’m still waiting to get with Katie, but I’d like to have him quieter before she comes. We’re expecting a temperature climb next week, and that will probably be the best time to really work him. Right now, it’s in the teens at night and just above freezing during the day, so I hesitate to get him all sweaty where he needs a really long cool down period, and that’s what it’s going to take.

Update: Katie is coming tomorrow.

How about you all? Hunkering down, or trying to work your horses in winter?