Training Begins

This previous last month was a very long month. I am ready to get back to riding and training. Actually I should have started riding 3 weeks ago, but with moving store inventory, painting my barn office and the lounge, getting the lounge ready to be a storage room, and emptying the trucks and horse trailer of the store inventory, before I knew it, 2 weeks went by!



And during this time, since I renovated our living room a month earlier, I was finishing some painting and trimming in the house. I do not like trimming! One week for painting. One week for emptying the horse trailer and moving some office items from the house to the barn, and one week for organizing my messy home. Throw Easter weekend in there, and parents coming for a visit, and before I know it, 4 weeks have past! Geez, where does all my free time go? I figured once I wasn’t going to the store every day, I would have LOTS of time to ride my horses, right? Right! Not happening!

But this past week, I did get a ride in. Then, with my energy back, and my desire back, I was down with the flu for 2 days. Can you believe it? Sore stomach, achy legs, upset stomach. Yuck! Luckily, the 3rd time, I just felt a little queasy, and the first training horse came in.

Now, with the house “almost” organized, (will it ever get done?), I can spend at least ½ the day in the barn. I plan on giving an hour each day to planting flowers and a garden.



And I’ll need to spend at least an hour each day in my barn office. And I should also spend some time on re-evaluating my horse business: building up clientele, working on clinic schedules, answering emails. But I regress. Back to horses…

Spending time in the barn! I just want to go to the barn and stay there! I want to clean my tack. I want to get dirty, do chores, come in and shower, have no schedule and have no where to go. That is what I am going to do the first day my parents leave. But I need to spend time with my parents for the next few days, as they are aging and mum isn’t doing well.

I need to free lunge about 4 horses that first day, without rushing them to bond with me. I love free lunging. I want them to see me as the herd mare, Boss Mare. That’s me. I want their respect. I want them to freely give that to me. I will wait for each horse to do that. Then I know we can be buddies. But they need to be a buddy with manners. Free Lunging and bonding starts that manner business.

Then I free lunge with the saddle. No play time. We don’t get to buck and kick out. We learn to respect the saddle. And we bond with the saddle on. That makes me happy too!

Day 3, maybe sooner, depending on the horse, ride time starts for the riding horses. For the non-riding horses, we start to ground drive. And desensitize to ropes. And learn to turn. And learn to stop. And maybe learn to back. No wonder those young horses go ballistic sometimes. But I’m here to stop those young horses before they go ballistic. Let’s keep everyone safe. Especially the horse’s mind.

And the riding horses. Let’s get into their minds too, and keep them safe.

Come along on the ride with me.