My Little Left Brain Extrovert

Today was a lot of fun! In the morning I played with Diesel and we went through the 7 games. He did super and he's catching on very quick.
Then I talked to Keri in the afternoon. I love you Keri!!! =-D
After I talked to Keri, then I played with Eddie. We worked on 45 foot line cantering and he was so silly! I remember I used to get frustrated, but I was just laughing and taking his 'ideas' and making them into something fun. Like on the circle he kept having the druthers back to the barn. So I would purposefully send him back to the barn and have him stand on the pedestal next to the gate. I also stood on a particular spot and sent him 45 feet away to the pedestal and he really got the hang of that. We did some long reins, which he chewed a lot, hehe! Jumped a few things and did the weave. He did some SUPER half passes at the trot! Here are some pictures:

I got on and we rode after that. He was pretty frisky, but I just took it and did some figure eight, HQ yeilds, point to point and just a few other tasks to get him more connected. He is SO light though. Even though I haven't ridden that much, he responds to everything! We went sideways over the barrels and we was so light! In fact, I also got off (I was laying on him with my feet along his back) but my stick was still on his side and he kept going sideways! Oh yes, the reason I almost got off is because I thought he would plow through them and go forward and jump them, but he didn't and he knew exactly what I was asking him. Yay! I'm so proud of him!
It's cool, I would have been scared if he was that LBE. But I was so calm and just, "Yep! Ok! Let's go do that!" And he knew it. He behaved because I was confident. Oh! I was doing the 9 step back up and he was sort of tossing his head, so I just wiggled my feet a little bit and he backed right up. I was only on a phase one. Maybe a phase half! lol! He got so collected. It was pretty! It's like he was telling me, "You don't need to do a phase 2! Don't go there! I'll back up on a 1!" I'm so proud of him. Yay Eddie!


~Lea & Eddie~

Psalm 95:6-7

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.

Liiiiiiiberty!

Helllloooooooo!
Well I am feeling much better! We went to Edward's Apple Orchard and got apple cider and apple cider donuts and fudge. So I think that perked me up! lol! Being the LBI, I'm very food motivated. hehe!
Eddie and I played a little bit online, playing with change of directions, preparing for liberty. So after a few c.o.d. I took the 22 off and we did some figure eight, stick to me, straddle, sideways towards and all of the other games! Lead by the tail, friendly game from zone 5 and circling game. But yeah, his change of directions were really good. I walked back, wiggled the stick in zone 1 for him to turn and he did it right away. It was just at a walk, but considering he would spin the other direction only a month ago. He's doing VERY well!

So yeah! That's my day! Oh wait! I took him for a walk around the track too. It felt good to get some exercise after being so groggy.

TTYL!

~Lea & Eddie~

More rain...

Yesterday it rained again and it was so slippery out. I took Eddie for a walk around the track at liberty and then he decided that he didn't want to go all the way around and galloped back to the barn. How interesting! So I just groomed his after that and he was so itchy! So as I itched his neck I slid onto his back and he decided it wasn't so bad if I was up there and itching him. hehe! What a silly dude!
Today it's cloudy and cold, so I don't know what we'll do. I'm trying to get over a cold & sore throat, so we might just do some grooming.
But I have to tell you, we were watching some old videos, they were taken back in fall/winter 2007. They were videos of my sister and I trying to ride Eddie. Oh my goodness. We couldn't even get on him without him biting us, or him rearing. The only attitude I could see that he had was, 'mad at the world.' And he so was. I just made me realize how far we've come. Now I can hop on him bareback and bridleless and do some small things.
Savvy on!

~Lea & Eddie~

Hehe, yet another blog!

http://trebleschapters.blogspot.com/
check it out!!

Sillyness, Demos and Rain.

Okey-doke! Well I haven't posted in a few days... Ok, three...
So on Monday I took all these random videos of Eddie and I, and let me tell you, they are hilarious!!! I was home alone, so I was really giggly, and I was talking to myself and to Eddie and the camera. No, I will not post them on Youtube! haha! The comments on it would be crazy! A few times it sounded like I was just talking gibberish! =-D ANYWAY! Eddie was really good and even though it was warm out, he was super.
Now we're on to Tuesday! We had a few friends come out to see the horses and watch some Parelli. It was fun. Eddie and I did some online, then liberty and I hopped on for a few minutes. I rode Scout bridleless too and he did great! Eddie did really good change of directions and stick to me. Yay Eddie!!
It rained a lot today, so the horses were in and out of their stalls. I groomed them all up (Diesel rolled after I got him clean, the little bugger) and they all looked pretty, for a while anyway.
Tomorrow it's supposed to be nice, so hopefully we'll be able to play and ride tomorrow.
Well gtg!

Have a savvy week!!!!!!!!

~Lea & Eddie~

New video!

Yup! A new video!! Check it out!!!

Such a Fun & SUPER Day!

Today was awesome!
Well first I played with Eddie online out in the pasture. We played over the cavaletties, jumps and did some awesome weave. When he would come in, and I was pushing him to go back out (at the trot) he would do this amazing sidepass. It was beautiful! He jumped towards me, and then we straddled a bunch of things. Barrels and poles. He did the pole lengthwise too and it was in record time! I walked over to it, put his front feet on either side, then his back feet on either side and he was done! He knew exactly what I wanted!

This afternoon I went out to Eagle's and played with Jigs! He did super!!! He and Crissie have come a long way. I'm so proud of them! Here's a list of what Jigs and I did:

• falling leaf
• circling with changes of direction and transitions
• sideways
• zone 3 driving against the rail with transitions
• traveling circles over the jump & cavaletties
• squeeze game

It was a lot of fun, because I was giving Crissie a mini-almost lesson! I just have to refine some things, like tell her what I'm doing with Jigs and give clearer directions. But what a better person to learn with, Crissie is like an aunt to me! Here are pictures from Eagle's:


Ok, well there's still more!
I decided to dress up (for fun) with half chaps and my new sweater that looks like Linda Parelli's. So I went out and had a great ride with Scout! We did a bunch of Patterns, follow the rail, transitions (he liked those the best), clover leaf, figure eight, touch it and sideways box. He did super! At first he was pretty snotty, but by the end he was sighing and all I had to do was use my legs and he would follow my focus. We went for a trail ride in the track after we did Patterns and he was so relaxed and calm although it was windy and cold and the other horses were inside. To top things off with Scout we went in the pasture and did a TON of trotting to keep him from grazing. It was fun to trot for about 5-10 minutes straight! Well we stopped at objects for point to point, but still, it was fun!

Still more!
I turned on some tunes, brought Eddie into the round pen and we did some liberty! We had to go back online a few times because he didn't want to come in, but by the end he was doing beautiful change of directions and lots of stick to me. I was so impressed because he had a lot of energy, but he used it with me instead of against me like he used to. So we straddled the barrel, sidewaysed towards, circling game transitions and change of directions, stick to me at walk and trot and over the barrels, squeeze game over the barrels, friendly game in zone 5, lead by the tail and I believe that's it! Super-dy Duper!
I hopped on for a little bit after that. We did some circles, sideways over the barrels and then I got off because he was using his energy against me. But hey, one savvy at a time! Online and Liberty are superb! Freestyle is next!

Well that about sums up my day. Now I am typing this and I am really tired.

Talk to you later!


~Lea & Eddie~

Wow!

Well today it was raining a lot today, and we went shopping this morning (got 10 shirts and 10 jeans for under $150!) and when we got home it started raining. So I haven't played with Eddie yet, but maybe later!
I added something up today...
If I have had Eddie for exactly 2 years and 4 months, and we've played for 10 hours each week, then...
We have spent 1,120 hours doing Parelli. WOW!!!!!
I'm so proud of him and he's doing so well. I'm loving the journey and I believe he is too!


~Lea & Eddie~

Riding!

Hooray for freestyle!!!!!!!
Well yesterday Eddie and I had a great ride! At first he was super, "No! I don't want to! I want to go back to the barn!" But after a few Patterns and some mind work he was so enaged! We did alot of point to point, sideways and we trotted a lot. At first it was hard to sit it, but then I got into the 'groove' and it felt great! Especially bareback too, I remember when I wouldn't even try trotting bareback and now I can sit it with ease! Yay! We went for a lap in the pasture, then a lap and a half in the track. It was a lot of fun and he did great!!!

Well now fall is in the air, storms, chill and you can just feel it.
I'll post either tonight or later today about what we're going to do today.

Talk to you later!!!!
Savvy on!

~Lea & Eddie~


~No horse is complete without an opinion. ~Lea Henze

Busy Week!

Oops! Well I haven't posted on here for quite a while!
Let's see, Sunday... I have no idea what we did that day! Oh wait, we went to see Crissie at Eagle's Wings (she moved him there) and I played with Eddie and Diesel. Here are pictures from there:


Jigs is doing so well!

Then on Monday... I just hang out with Allison and we played the computer and I think we played with the boys a bit. Oh! I remember, I rode Eddie bareback, with shorts, without a helmet and we trotted around in the pasture, grazed in the round pen, went sideways over barrels and had a really fun time! I was so proud of him! And I felt confident enough without a helmet! Yay!
Tuesday, that was yesterday! I went out to Rebecca's barn and we played with Savannah and Luna. Luna is so sweet, young horses are so... fresh! If that makes any sense! I rode her while Rebecca 'lunged' her and she did so well. I did the pushing passenger lesson on her and she did so well. If only every one did Parelli! Especially with young horses (she was 3). Here are pictures from yesterday:
Me riding Savannah Rebecca galloping Savannah through the cross country trails. Yes, she did do it on purpose! lol! It was funny to watch!
Cantering in the 'jungle.' hehe!
I also got to play with Eddie when I got home (YAY!) he had SO much energy. We did some more flying changes on the circle (one he did while he was still on the circle and he went from a counter canter to a regular lead!) It was so cool! We played with the cavaletties, jumps, and then he was finally thinking. By that time it was time to eat dinner, so I had to run inside. He did so good though! Oh! And we even did some flying changes on the falling leaf pattern! Talk about energy!!!!

Today! Well today my sister and I are going to ride our ponies (hopefully) and have a savvy sister play day again! I'll have pics from today later.


~Lea & Eddie~

Freeeeestyle!

Yesterday Eddie and I had a great ride! In the morning I sat on him while he ate his hay and we did some turns bridleless (without any string or stick). Even though I haven't ridden lately, he was SO light! I was very happy!!!! =-D
In the afternoon we played at liberty while I listened to my ipod. That was fun! I pretended we were doing a spotlight, we did the figure eight, circling (which he was excellent with!) sideways towards, sideways away, straddle a barrel, jumping and squeeze game over a log. He did great!! Then my mom came out and I hopped on. We walked around, sideways-ed over the barrels and just hung out grazing. We went out in the pasture after that. It was quite a sight, I was in my sport shorts and I was barefoot without a helmet. hehe! Then we stood on the pedestal in the pasture and trotted around a little bit. It felt so good to ride him again. I love him so much! =-) So we ended it there and I let him graze until we locked them up for the night.
Hooray for play days!
I played with Scout this morning and he did super! We were doing all the Patterns bridleless and we trotted and did lots of transitions. HOORAY! It was a lot of fun and Scout is doing awesome. I love my ponies. They are my best friends!
We're going to go help Crissie with Jigs now (she's moving him) so that should be fun today!
Talk to you later!

~Lea & Eddie & Scout~

He Did It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES!!!! HE DID!!!!
Well, we were cantering along (online) on the circle, then I ran backwards and he did a BEAUTIFUL flying change of direction!!!!!!!!!!!Yippee!!!!!!! His lead change was so pretty! He's done it before (maybe twice) but this one you could actually see it. He was so super! He got a long rest period and lots of grain - which was in my pocket... hehe! Yippee Eddie!!!!!
We did pretty much everything in the Level 4 self assessment, we straddled things, sideways towards, circling, flying change of direction <-- :-D and sideways from a long distance. I was so proud of him! Then to finish things up we did some zone 5 driving point to point and he was so great! Light and happy as a clam! hehe!
Yay! I'm so happy!! Now we shall see what tomorrow brings!! :-)


~Lea & Eddie~

Thoughts

These aren't necessarily thoughts from today, but just thoughts in general.

Okey doke, well lately things have been going so great with Eddie. I couldn't be more thrilled with him. He is so responsive, he's... just... I can't even explain it. It's like he reads my mind every time I think of doing something he's just so willing to do it for me. It really makes me appreciate how far he has come. The first year that I had him he would rear, go RB and I had absolutly no idea how to control it. So much so, that we contacted the people we had bought him from and asked if they would take him back. We (being our family) knew right then and there that God had a plan for this special animal, and who knew that it would be for me. He has come so far words can't even describe it. In May right after we got him (in April) I remember it had just been my birthday (maybe a day or so after) and I had totally neglected the responsibilties of a horse owner. It's like I didn't care about him for a day. Well my mom said to go out in the pasture and sit there for an hour and see just how lonely it was out there. He had no herd. I remember crying and saying to him, "Until death do us part. I love you so much, Eddie." From then on I was completely devoted to him. He was the part of me that was missing. I was a little RBI girl that was so quiet. Eddie brought that out of me. He taught me how to be confident for his sake and how to be quiet but still assertive. My mom said that has always been my gift, to listen. I've listened to Eddie, I've made so many great friends by listening, then giving advice or just talking to them. I was an extreme listener when I was young, but now I'd say I'm about 65% listening, 35% talking. And that is just fine with me. In the Bible, God says that He opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. God has shown me unfathamable grace. Eddie has taught me more about God and being a Christian, and God has taught me more about Eddie and how to be a better student. Real quick, I wanted to say that God really does love what we love. We are His children, so of course He wants us to be happy.
This Spring Eddie and I had a fall through with our riding. I was very scared to get on because I had taken some big falls and he was Mr. LBE! That was when the auditions came out and I became string crazy. God put me right in my place! He was like, "Nuh, uh! You are not getting a blue string!" Hehe, some people may curse God for that, but I thanked Him! He taught me to wait and He also gave such a HUGE savvy arrow! I was able to, for once, help other people over come their fear. Crissie (I hope she doesn't mind I use her as an example. I love you Crissie!) I was at a play day and she was getting ready to ride. She had a few butterflies and I told her exactly what did to overcome that fear. I thought about our entire play session and remembered if he spooked at all or not. If there was no spooking and everything had gone smoothly and there were no thresholds to be addressed, then I was free to get on! Crissie ended up getting on and she sat on him for a minute or two. I was so proud of her. What I had been battling with just a month or so before, I was able to teach to her because God had put me through that.

Wow! I just typed an essay there!




Take the Trail Less Traveled,
Lea & Eddie

Heat & Humidity

The past couple of days have been really hot, so Eddie and I haven't done too much. I hosed him off yesterday and today we went for a walk! It was really fun! We went in the side yards, by the silo and we almost made it to the roads! Eddie did super, he was calm (most of the time) and he didn't mind being away from the barn. Thank goodness we have the power of the herd! =-D
So yep, we've just been hanging out as storms roll through and the humidity decreases (somewhat).





Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”


Lea & Eddie

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday mom!!!! =-D
Today it was raining allllll day and the horses were inside for more then half the day. My mom and I took Eddie and Diesel for a walk in the orchard and it was a lot of fun! But other than that, they were inside eating hay. So that's basically all that we did today! lol!

Isaiah 33:22
For the LORD is our Judge,
The LORD is our Lawgiver,
The LORD is our King;
He will save us;



Lea & Eddie

SUPER PLAY TIME!!!!!!

WITH MY SISTER!!!! It was so much fun!!!!!!
Watch the video to see all that we did!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avy9inn_-Kw
And here's another one. I love it. It's probably my favorite of Eddie and I.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPlWZUFKeaE

Track Time!

Today my sister and I went for a walk on the track. Eddie did great, considering I woke him up from a nap! hehe, oops! Then we went in the pasture and played with stuff. His sideways was super light and he had a great attitude! We even trotted for a few steps before he thought it was too much work. I have to start asking him to stop before he does, so it's my idea. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. =-) But yeah, it was a great play time! It's supposed to be hot all this week, so we might just be doing some long reins stuff or something. His leg is getting better btw. He cut it on who knows what. =-( Poor pony! I also gave my sister some liberty tips and I took Diesel for a walk. Check out their blogs at: http://allisonsavvyspot.blogspot.com/ and http://trustinmenaturally.blogspot.com/
=-) Here are pictures from today!
Getting on. Licking the mini hinny! haha!
A bit of an exaggerated sideways. But it was still good!!
Sniff my boot!
backing up. Pretty pony!



~Lea & Eddie~

Socks ;-)

Haha! You might wonder why I titled it that...
Lately Eddie has been... I can't even explain it. He is so willing, and so connected to me. It's like he really, truly would rather be with me and he would do anything for me. I guess we've made a good foundation because he blows my socks off every day. Yesterday we played with some long reins and he did superb with them. I couldn't have asked for a better online session. Today we played in the round pen and we were just taking it easy. (he cut his leg - again!) So we just did some stick to me at liberty and even though he was grass hungry, he still did everything I asked and more! He did the figure eight and we're working on spins. For only having this amazing horse (wasn't so amazing in the beginning) for 2 years and 4 months, he has come SO far. I cannot imagine what we will be doing in two more years if we are already working on Level 3/4 things. He continued to blow my socks off today too. After we played at liberty I got on and we trotted a little, did the figure eight and pretty much did everything for my Level 2 Freestyle Audition. It was really good practice.
So yes, hence my title, Socks.
I love you so much Eddie and I'm so glad that God put you into my life. I'd be lost without you here beside me.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.



Lea & Eddie

Change of Plans ~ But a really good play session!

Alrighty, so this morning I was going to film my Level 2 freestyle audition. I got everything ready, made a few butterflies hit the road and I was just about to do a pre-flight check when a couple guys pulled up in the neighbor's driveway. I watched. They got out and preceded to get things out of their truck to pave the neighbor's driveway. I sighed. Eddie neighed. We ended up playing in the pasture for a little bit and I'm glad that I didn't ride. He had a lot of energy. =-)
So we didn't film it, but we played at liberty in the outdoor and he did AMAZING!!!!
We did circling game close to me and his expression was so focused on me! Then we did fast transitions stick to me, like, walk to canter, trot to stop, stop to trot, back up to walk and so on. It was so much fun! We straddled a barrel, jumped the barrels, did the figure eight and everything with ease! YAY!!! Then we even did sideways towards and sideways away. Oh! He also trotted towards me and his draw was amazing! I'm so happy! YIPPEEE!!!
So, I didn't get to film our audition, but our relationship was put first and we had an awesome session. =-D I'm so happy! Who knows, maybe God was protecting me from falling off or something. Patience, patience. =-) OH! DUH!
I forgot to add that I did ride!!! How could I forget that?! I hopped on him bareback and bridleless and we did point to point to different things in the outdoor. So it ended up even better than I expected! YIPPEE!!!

James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

~Lea & Eddie~