My favorite season!

Fall is here! Friday is the "official" start of fall technically. It is my favorite season! The temperature is perfect(I LOVE hoodie weather!), the trees are turning beautiful colors, the crops are starting to fire, and the garden and fruits are ready for harvesting. Not to mention the horses are REALLY frisky when it starts to cool down. These are the days when you just need a little gallop along the field, or a few jumps bareback without hanging on and your eyes closed and its just one more way you can feel God's awesome power through these amazing animals.

**A quick update on Savy and I**
Our bridleless work is improving SO much. Savannah is responding well to a string around her neck and leg pressure. I am still riding her in a halter and lead rope though just incase she decides not to listen(and since she's a mare, that happens to be quite often). I jumped her bridleless the other night although I did have to use my lead rope to stop her since her momentum from the jump is still goin. But she still did really well.
And then, last weekend, I ran her through some dressage stuff and at the end decided to jump the rolltop fence. I was afraid she would spook over it, but she did AMAZING. She overjumped it by a foot, but she still was so great over it. I'm so proud of her.

^^Trying to get some of her energy out by trotting!

^^Which ends up into crazy pony canter!

Savannah is such an amazing horse. When I'm having problems at school, I can always go to the barn and just being with Savannah makes me forget everything, even if it is just for a little while. But that's ok. Every little bit helps.

^^Jumping “bridleless”. I’m only holding onto the string. But I had to hold onto the lead rope too but only to keep it from slipping down too low.

Roll top fence! :D

 

Until next time,

++Bec N Savy++

Fall is just around the corner!!

Wow! I can’t believe that the summer is pretty much over already! The first day of fall is just around the corner and goodness am I excited! Not only is fall the perfect season for riding, but it’s also the time when my garden is ready for harvesting, its time for canning, and the colors of the trees turn an amazingly gorgeous color!! :)

Savannah and I have been working on our bridleless so much more lately! The other day, I got her to stop by sitting deep, pulling back on her mane, and saying “woah”. It worked!!!! Savannah stopped just like I’d  asked her too!

Tonight, Savannah has moved onto being halted by me just saying “woah”. Not even pulling on her mane or anything. I was so proud of her! We are improving by leaps and bounds and I wouldn’t trade my horse for the world. She’s my baby girl <3

Savannah was lame tonight so we stuck to walking only. But she’s still doing SO well.

Well, that’s all for now.

 

++Bec and Savy++
Joshua 1:9

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

In a field of dreams…

I was challenged by one of my best friends, and her family to think about what I would buy if I won the lottery and didn’t have to worry about money anymore. My family does not play the lottery, but it was fun to think about what I would buy if I won it. Challenge yourself to do the same and blog about it! :)

Check out my best friends blog here: Lea's Blog

Her mom’s here: Spend The Thyme Farm

And her sister’s here: Tatting Farm Chick

I would….

Buy a small farm about 10 acres or so in a hilly area with beautiful scenery

A big in-ground pool

A big indoor arena with room for lots of jumps!

Another horse. Preferably a bay gelding who jumps and does dressage.

And finally, an ATV(not quite in this color) to get around my farm on!

 

This was so fun and I encourage everyone to do it just for fun!

++Bec and Savy++

Updates!

Wow, I have been SO busy this summer!! Riding, working at the barn, swimming, hanging with friends, and vacations!

Savannah and I also participate in a show a few weeks ago! It was SO fun. We participated in the Sr. Halter class, which we took 2nd in, Sr. Showmanship, and Walk/Trot(which had 23 people in it) Even though we only got one ribbon, I wasn’t all that disappointed. I enjoyed being with my horse and just having a great time.

Savannah’s canter is AMAZING! She’s doing so well! My trainer is helping me to try and straighten it out and Savy is finally getting it! And we’re back to jumping again! It is so fun! Here are some pics of us jumping and of me riding!

After Savannah came to a halt, tellin her she’s a good girl :)

Canter poles

More canter poles!

Savy and I at the show waiting for the results of the walk/trot class

More recently…trotting :) [The band around her back end is to remind her to engage her hindquarters]

Jumping! :D Savy is square over it! She looks great!

 

Have a great rest of the summer!

++Bec N Savy++

A Few Short Notes

Just a few quickies. I went out and rode today and Thursday. During those times, Savy and I worked more on the canter poles, and I can tell you, they have made a HUGE difference in the way Savy canters. It’s incredible. I encourage everyone to try them at least once. Even if you only use one pole it works. I’ve only been using one pole with Savy and I have her trot up to it and as she’s crossing over it, I sit deep in the saddle and ask her to canter, the few beautiful canter steps I get after the pole make it all worth it. Today Savy cantered half the arena perfectly. SO proud of her.

We also have a tiny new side project. I’d love to be able to ride her bridleless someday. Savy and I have already started to perfect steering by only the pressure of my fingers on her neck. Next, we’ll move to using the string around her neck to guide her, and hopefully someday, I’ll be able to remove her bridle or halter! I cant wait to continue trying this new concept!

Until next time,

♦Bec N Savy♦

Summer is here!

Wow. I’m so bad at blogging. I REALLY have to work on keeping it updated. Sorry everyone!

Well, let’s start with an update-

Savannah and I are slowly but surely improving in every area, little by little. I’m really excited about a new direction we’re about to take!(more to come on that later). Lately, we’ve been jumping and working on the flat QUITE a bit. At first, I was starting to focus way too much on jumping. But I’ve realized it’s now time to take a step back in it and put that on hold for a while.(more to come on that too). I really have to work on my dedication to my goals though. It’s really easy to say one thing, but way harder to do it. I love the thrill of jumping SO much. But, I need to take a look at some other areas Savy and I need to progress in first.

Now, my future goals, I’m excited to start working on Savannah’s canter! We’ve been working on canter poles now. Which is why I’m going to take a step back from jumping. Yes, I’ll still be doing little jumps, but I won’t press Savannah to go higher than we already are for a while. But the other night, I worked on trotting up to one single pole then, as we were going over it, I'd squeeze with my legs, and lean forward a bit and Savannah would break into a BEAUTIFUL canter for a few strides. Now, you might say, your not doing the canter poles correctly! I agree, I’m not, but I’m taking my own approach to them to see what works for Savannah and I. And this works. So we’re going to continue with it, after a while, I’m going to place 2 poles far away from each other and after we canter a bit after the first one, I’ll ask Savannah to trot, and we’ll trot to the next pole and then I’ll repeat the same process that I did over the first one. I’m so excited to start by trying things the way that works for Savannah and I rather than having people always telling us what to do. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate critique, I just want some time to do things my way with my horse.(I hope that doesn’t sound selfish). I’m going to be riding bareback a lot more also because I feel SO connected with Savy. Here’s a few pictures on what we’ve been doing lately! Maybe a video to come later.

Bareback cantering :)

Haha, super muscles over this jump :) Sorry about the flare on my camera.

Biggest jump we’ve done in a while.

 

-Bec N Savy-

Progress in every area, I believe!

Wednesday I went to the barn and for the first time this year, I got to ride outside! :) It was SO nice! Savy started out quite frisky. We went through all our conditioning steps to start with. Lots of walk and trot. The outdoor arena is quite large, and Savy and I did three laps around it at a trot. You may say, “Oh that’s easy.” But by the time we were on the “home stretch”, my legs were burning and Savy was barely trotting. Then we practiced some cantering and had a blast :) After that, I cooled her off bareback(but first I cantered bareback) and took Savy to the indoor arena since no one was in there to play with her at liberty. Our play time was quite rusty but after taking out the treats, we were trotting side by side to a cone, stop at the cone, then turn and run to another one. It was super fun! :) Although at the end, I was having a little bit of a space issue with her and she was being a little too mouthy. So using my own little method of keeping my space, we worked out that little problem and ended on that good note. It was overall a very productive day and I had a blast :)

++Bec N Savy++

Conditioning finally!(Sunday, March 13)

Well, its that time of year! Daylight Savings Time! And that means conditioning starts for Savy and I! Let me tell you, after you’ve ridden lightly for 3 months, and then you start conditioning, you get extremely sore! But Sunday was also an amazing revelation for me. I was SO connected with Savannah, and I finally saw things from a natural horsewomen’s point of view! I was so excited! I’m starting to actually learn from Savy! Something I never knew could happen when I first started riding! But I’m getting ahead of myself…

I started off Sunday by doing lots of walking and trotting. Just to let Savy get a big warm up. I did laps around the arena at the walk and trot in the two-point and I finally got my balance down! I only fell back once. After that, I did a posting trot with no stirrups. That was the painful part. I haven’t done that in like 3 years. My legs hurt SO bad! But they’re getting stronger and that’s what I keep reminding myself. Then we cantered to the right around the arena twice and I worked on my cantering position because I’ve been sitting way too far back with way too long reins. After getting that down, I let Savy walk for a while and then we practiced picking up the left lead canter. She finally got it but dropped it after a few steps but was able to pick it back up at the corner and hold it all the way down the arena because I’ve realized that my horse just naturally has an extremely fast canter and if I let her stretch out, she can hold the left lead canter for a little while! After cantering we did some trot poles and one jump :) It was so fun!

When I was done cooling her off, I hopped on bareback, and I was able to guide her through a cone pattern, around the end of the arena and to another cone, just by basically thinking and using my body weight to guide her through them! We were SO connected and I was so proud of her! We made HUGE headway! When I got off, I went in the stall and sat on the floor with her for a while. It was so peaceful ♥

Can’t wait to see how conditioning will pay off and how our relationship will progress even more!

++Bec N Savy++

(I realize I use this verse alot but its just so great!)

Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Play day!

Sunday I went to Lea’s house and had a wonderful time! First we went out to the pasture and played with some circling together and cavalletti’s. We had to be careful in the pasture and watch out for ice and slippery spots. I can’t wait till warmer, drier weather! The ponies were very sleepy but Scout was so willing! He tries his little heart out and I love him so much! Then, Lea and I got on and rode around for a little while, but it was really cold and Eddie was concerned about things in the woods so we got off and went inside to warm up. After a while, we went back outside and took all three ponies for a walk around the track. It was super fun and Eddie was quite feisty on the way back to the barn! I enjoyed my day very much and I can’t wait for spring break and warmer weather! We’ll have lots more play time and a lot less heavy clothes to wear!

 

++Bec, Lea, Eddie, Scout, and Diesel++

Transitions! (Saturday, February 26)

On Saturday, I went out to ride Savy and despite my plans for conditioning, I’ve decided to hold off until I can start going out during the week to ride so I can keep her conditioning process continual. So on Saturday, Savannah and I worked on transitions and a little cantering. I have a horrible habit of keeping my legs way too long whenever we canter, so that was something I worked on, along with trying to get her to slow her canter down, because for those of you who know Savannah, she doesn’t really know the word “slow”. I was able to get into the correct cantering position for about two seconds before I stopped her haha. But I think it was definitely a step towards the right direction! :)

After a few rounds of cantering, Savannah and I did some MAJOR transition work. Whenever I’m usually trotting, it takes about 14-16 steps to get from a trot to a complete halt. So I needed to change that. First I worked on walk to halt, and halt to walk. Which went really well. Then I worked on trot to halt, and at the beginning, we were around 14 steps from trot to halt. I worked on trotting only short distances and by the time we were done, we were down to 4! yay! I would definitely call that a huge accomplishment! After working on trot to halt, I tried halt to trot and halt to canter. She did about 5 steps of walking in between each transition. But she’s definitely getting there! I was so proud of her! We also worked on trot poles some more and she’s starting to do them perfectly. I’m so happy! :)

After I was done riding, I took my saddle off and rode Savy backwards around the arena. This normally isn’t a stunt you should try unless your REALLY comfortable with your horse. Plus, my friend and I were the only people in the arena. After riding backwards(which definitely helps improve balance and trust) I worked on kneeling on her and she did really well. Never even moved a hoof :) Definitely a day full of accomplishments!

 

++Bec N Savy++

Conditioning Step 1

Well, spring is almost and here and while I THOUGHT I was conditioning Savannah all winter, I came to find out I was wrong last week. So…its back to where we started again. But I’m gonna do it right this time! :) Here’s my idea for conditioning:

I’m planning first and foremost to start riding twice a week instead of just once. I’m plannin on doin every Wednesday and Saturday.

Wednesday:

Walk, Trot, Break some bad habits and Natural Horsemanship.

Saturday:

Walk, Trot, Trot Poles and One lap around the arena of Canter.

I can’t wait to get back into this! I really wanna take lessons at some point. I’m eager to get back to jumping at some point in time. I will definitely keep everyone updated on our progress!! :)

 

I recently bought Whole Heart, Whole Horse by Mark Rashid. Let me tell you, if anyone is interested in learning about more about how their horse really feels, that is THE book to get! It’s extremely interesting and I’m learning SO much! I’ve realized that although I don’t always need personal space from my horse cause I personally love to cuddle, she needs personal space from me. She’s definitely not a very affectionate horse, unless you have treats. Then she’ll do anything(including run you down) to get them. Last week she came close to ripping the cross ties out of the wall. I realized that the amount of treats she’s getting now(which aren’t really very many in the first place) are way too many anyway. So I’m not totally cutting back. Just a little bit. But I’ve learned all of this from Mark Rashid so far and I can’t wait to read more and learn even more! I definitely encourage everyone to read it! It was recommended to me by my best friend, Lea(her blog is here.)

If anyone else has good books by great horsemen(or women) please leave me a comment with the title and author. I’m always eager to learn more and I can’t wait to continue this journey Savy and I have been on :)

 

Here are some pictures of Savannah and I and what we’ve been up to!

Cantering :)

Panoramic View of us Jumping :)

 

I’ve been doing lots of NH with Savy too but unfortunately I haven’t gotten any pictures. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some soon!

 

++Bec N Savy++

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

Psalms 1:3

Inspiration and Determination

I have a really bad habit of not blogging very often, but when I do, I talk a LOT. lol! Today, I have two different things to talk about. One is about a person who inspires me, which I know I’ve done before, but this time, I’d like to go more in depth on what I admire about that person, and two is talking about progress and some re-thinking I’ve had to do with Savy.

Inspiration:

Today, I was looking through my best friend’s pictures. She has a horse, and their relationship should really be an inspiration to everyone. Lea(click on her name to go to her blog) and her horse Eddie have a relationship that I’ve never seen between a horse and a human before. They not only have a completely unbreakable bond, but there’s more to it. There’s like a spark between them. There’s always something exciting and positive. It’s so amazing to watch them. You can see the connection they have.

When Lea and I were younger, we used to dream about what it would be like to have our own horses someday. But I don’t think either of us imagined where we’d actually be today. Lea and Eddie inspire me to not only connect more with my horse, but to also remember that the relationship comes first.

 

Determination:

Savannah is doing great! She’s settled into her new barn quite well. But I still really miss our old barn :( I am torn between wanting to stay at this new place or moving back. Anyway, Savannah and I have been working on just getting her back into work again. She was off for a while but I’m really determined to get her strong and to keep her strong. I’ve been having some behavioral problems with her though lately. So we’ve had to cut out the treats :( oh well, at least she won’t get fat now!! ;) I’ve learned now though that Savy needs regular work or else she becomes way too hyper and slightly bad behaved. But it’s just gonna take some patience.

Savannah and I continue to grow in our relationship everyday and I can’t wait to see what 2011 has in store for us!

 

++Bec N Savy++