First things first I have to share about the clinic this week with Josh Nichol. What a horseman! I feel so empowered and humbled by all that I have learned. Izzy was a superstar and I am so proud of her. She's growing up and becoming such a reliable partner. I am so pleased with my decision to give her this season off of competition and let her grow up and also go back and revisit some basic work that I had not done well enough the first time. My focus this summer has been on the relationship I have with her and not so much on the technique and the "job". It's been a very enjoyable summer and the time off for her during the move was certainly of no consequence.
Josh drove home the main points of riding with feel and not making the horse always wrong by picking at her with no, no, no through my reins. Rather let the horse be a bit wrong and then just guide her into a better correctness. The pieces to the progression are falling into place. This was my third clinic with Josh and I can see his methodology much clearer now and this clinic confirmed for me that his system and teaching style resonates within me to my core. He keeps the horse first; at no expense will he not be the better deal the horse is looking for in leadership. I have more homework for the winter until Josh makes his next trip back to Ontario in 2013. I can tell it's going to be a really fun and enlightening winter.
After my lesson on Saturday I could feel how Izzy was improving and I could see from her sweat patterns after a rather demanding lesson that she worked in a balanced, calm, uphill posture. She was completely dry under her saddle and she was wet in the flanks, stifles stomach and a bit at the base of her neck. It's up to me to not get greedy with my hands and to keep true to the clarity of my request by asking with my body and energy, while making sure I can soften and engage Izzy without creating tension or asking before I took the time needed to melt the tension before the request.
Here is a pic of Izzy and I with Josh. My all time favourite cowboy! :-)
Here is a pic of our clinic group. Great group and so nice to spend time with like minded people all trying to better themselves in the same way.
Corona Update…
Corona is doing better. She is now on 8 different medications but she at least appears to be in better spirits and somewhat perkier than she has been in at least a week. She is still not eating tho which is a huge concern. We did get some appetite stimulant drugs and they work beautifully…well at least they worked for one meal. We do not want to give her the drugs every meal so we struggled with finding something she would eat the next meal. I even slow cooked a roast beef over night one night this week to try and entice her with that. She will eat some of it but becomes easily disinterested after a few bites. A friend runs a raw food business for dogs and she recommend tripe as she has a very old Golden as well that often will not eat. She gave me a few cans to try and Sat night she gobbled that right down. Jana did warn me that the stuff stinks…holy hell; it reeks! BUT if the dog will eat it I will suffer through the stench. So far 1 can is gone…hoping that this won't be like all the other food were she eats it on the first day then is totally turned off of that food a day later.
Lets just face facts here…she 13.5 years old. We know she is closing in on the end of her years with us. Reality of this situation is that DH and I are just not ready to let her go yet. Our home will be so quiet without the click of toe nails on the hard wood and the snoring beside the bed.
Shelter Update…
We have the roof on and the kick boards installed! It looks great and I am really happy with the size. Just have to add the manger for hay at the back wall and also some metal edging to prevent chewing and it will be considered complete! <Insert me doing a Happy Dance here!>
Emma and Izzy thought it was pretty nice too. I turned them out in pasture #2 for the first time late this afternoon. Izzy tore around like a crazy horse for at least 10 minutes. Emma kinda rotated on the spot to keep her in view but didn't get too worked up. She thought eating the long grass in there was a better plan!
Clean up of the "shop" has started. I cleaned the 6 stalls that are in the building that will be converted to DH's shop. So I think I am now able to let go of the angst I have towards the old owners for the stall filth. 40+ wheelbarrow loads out of 6 stalls. They were terrible and the mold was incredible. It's over now tho and I am moving on. I even took the divider walls down between 3 of the stalls and we recycled the wood into the kick boards of the shelter. Look at what I found behind the wall!!
DH and I also got the sand spread back out into the indoor. We have decided that the addition process will be slow and a little bit at a time. I don't want to have to take more out again so I would rather error on the conservative side as we add sand back in. We may have enough sand coming out of the indoor to do a good portion of the sand layer needed in the outdoor. If not it won't be much to top it up in spring.
Since we have had a bunch of rain lately and the days are getting shorter I have been trying to get a few things organized inside the house. I started my studio unpacking!! I have missed the creativity that the time in there provides. I know that once the snow flies I will again be spending more time in there.
AND since it rained you know what happens around HP Haven after rain...more weeding!
Here is the entrance to the outdoor and the back of the arena.
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
Also this week the HVAC guys were here to fix all the errors in the duct work. The house only has half of one cold air return duct from the 2nd floor. So the furnace is starved for air and over heats then shuts off. Good idea to get that fixed before winter hits! They have mapped out everything that needs to be fixed and they will be returning this week to do the fix.
Lots of drop ins this week and weekend as well. Thank you friends and family for stopping in and checking up on us. It's been wonderful seeing everyone and showing everyone around. Thank you Dad for bringing us 2 huge boxes of wood for the winter! We won't have time to gather and dry much wood for this season so it will be nice to have this wood for the fireplace when it's -20C!
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