Work is finally slowing down

My busy season at work is slowly but surely approaching its end. While this can be a double edged sword cause slow equals less money, but it always means more time with my horses! I always look forward to winter because it is a break from the heat and the craziness from work. I have so many things I can't wait to work on more with Navi and Pixie. Plus I look forward to working with Jess and Willow to see if I can create a better bond with them also!

Time for updates on all of them :)

Jess is doing well! He just got new shoes with front pads put on a few days ago. Shoes will be a permanent thing for him. While I had hoped to pull shoes and retire him, he just wasn't ready for retirement and he needs shoes because of his thin soles. He also got his teeth floated on Thursday. He had a few sharp points and has worn a few of his back teeth to his gums. Old age is a bummer at times! Otherwise his teeth were in good shape. Good news for going into winter! I have been riding him at least once a week and he is still going strong. In fact he likes to go when out on the trail! He has also been giving lessons to the small children at the barn (indoor riding only). I love the fact that he is the "go to" horse for my trainer. I can't say it enough...he is worth his weight in gold! And currently that is a lot of gold, lol.

Pixie is doing amazing! We are working on our liberty work at higher speeds now. She is getting the idea that just because I am asking for faster doesn't mean she is in trouble. Its pushing her to trust me and for me to see where she might lack trust in me. We still argue and have "I" moments while riding, but if she didn't express her opinion I might worry about her. She has her ideas and I have mine and we are working together to make them our ideas. I practiced driving her at liberty in her pen last night and she did fantastic!  Its amazing the connection I have with her at times. I can't wait to see where we are in three more years :)

Willow is doing wonderful!! I love this horse. I have been trying to ride/work with her more to create a better bond. She is so light and offers so much! Willow is my go to horse for putting friends on when they want to ride. She has always takes care of them and will offer what they are ready for.

And last but not least Navi. Navi is finally back in training. Her knees are closing up slowly and we are getting back to work :) She is packing the saddle once a week. Still no problems there! She couldn't care less about it! We are also working on all of our yields. She does struggle with this. She is a very confident horse still and really isn't concerned about what you ask of her. Some days are better then others, but we are still working hard to have her not be sticky. Her forward is good, but her backing is super braced and slow. We will get it to all come together at some point:)

My baby is growing up!

Navi after her bath

Jess after his bath

Hay!

The 5 tons of hay that I ordered arrived yesterday! It sure is nice looking hay. It will be the first time I have fed a grass/alfalfa mix. Usually I buy both straight grass and straight alfalfa so I can control the amount of alfalfa, but this stuff is higher grass mix and I think my guys will do well on it :) We made it through half the stack yesterday (re-stacking inside my hay stalls) We will continue to pick at the stack through the week until it is all inside. After that is complete I am hoping to have time to update on everything else going on.

Lesson after the clinic

Yesterday Pixie and I had our first follow up lesson after our clinic. It was a great lesson and a much needed review. I have to remember to not nag at Pixie and move quick and light. She responds so much better to quickness than me just sitting on her at a phase 1 or 2. I have to remember if I know that she understands what I am asking then I need move up through my phases and reset right away. We have a ton of ground work homework now that I am excited to start on today :) Rest assured we have plenty of riding homework also. I am to focus on trying to connect with Pixie by being a passenger and waiting to see when she starts asking me questions. We tried for a bit yesterday, and we ended on a good note, but we never made a connection so we will practice more.

Next lesson is on Wednesday with Navi. She is ready to be put back to work and it is apparent she has lost some of her skills. And I am having a hard time getting them back. She is so very different than Pixie. Pixie is super light by nature, Navi is not!  Not that Navi has been bad, she has actually been really good. Yesterday we had a good ground working session and then a fun walk down to the river and the island.

Navi on the island

Having fun in the river

Willow after her bath

Willow all clean :)

My little barn helpers. Laurel and Devan