Catching Up to the Midterm

Ok so I'm behind in updates.

Well this past week we have been just practicing for the midterm and working together great!

Annnd today we finally did our midterm!

I think we rocked it! Not perfect, but pretty well!

Our time was 3 min 33 seconds!

grade to come.

and then after we rocked the midterm we got to 

THIS!!!!

Ok big step for Mr. Cowboy and I!

Granted I was only on for a few minutes but this is a grand step in our relationship!

we'll see what next week brings!

Goals:

1. Don't get bucked off

2. Gain confidence in each other

(this time from his back!)

Almost Perfect!

Day 6

Ok I admit it, I'm in LOVE!

It's crazy what can change and how much we can accomplish when we

begin to understand and trust each other.

Again, it was playtime before we worked that he really needed.

worked wonders!

Today we did a practice run through of the midterm and we did almost

perfect!

time: 3:13

We hit some snags on the last obstacle, but hey, that's why we practice!

The real thing is next week, wish us luck!!

today = success

Goals:

1. More practice

2. Come up with new games to play

Hurray for improvements!

Day 5

= WAY better!!

And I think it had something to do with the fact I let him loose before class in an open arena ... that helped his jitters.

Sufficeth to say, we will be doing this before we work as much as we can!

Today he behaved very well and I stayed calm (yay me!), we kept him entertained and we did great on the obstacle course!

(he totally knows his stuff, just refuses to do it because i'm sure it bores him)

I need to learn that course more than he does!

We're going to keep doing what we're doing and, if my brain can come up with stuff, we will build on it each day.

Goals:

1. more trust

2. more obstacles

Work

Day 4

Today we made more progress.

I now know it's not so much I have to come up with challenging things for him to do as much as constantly changing what we are doing.

That takes energy ... lots of it.

I will definitely get a little more in shape from this little adventure.

After all was said and done we did well and I think we're getting better.

We'll see if I feel the same when it comes to riding ....

GOALS:

1. trust

2. obstacle course

And We Begin!

Day 3

Ok so today was interesting.

Good, but interesting.

Mr. Cowboy is a little child and needs to entertained as such.

This does not go over too well when there are lots of other horses around him, half of which are going 

bazirk.

Needless to say we started off ground games with a rodeo.

We worked on keeping focus and keeping busy and I think we made leaps and bounds in the trust/understanding each other department.

and as far as our "work on" list from last week,

I think we did well.

I think working outside of class is going to be our best bet from here on out ... in an empty arena.

REMINDERS:

1. Keep him engaged and challenged

Meet Him!

This. Is. Cowboy!!

Isn't he handsome??

And a little pill too!

He is my new partner for my Animal Science 347 class - Advanced Animal Handling.

He is a leggy little 3 year-old sorrel gelding with lots of energy!

Over the next few months we will be working on getting to know each other better through communication, understanding, confidence building, practice and more communication.

This was the first week of classes, ergo Cowboy and I just met a few days ago.

Our interactions have gone as follows ...

Day 1 - 01/05/2012

I caught and brushed the little guy and realized real quick he's scared of just about everything (something to work on for sure), can't/won't sit still, loves to nibble anything he can get to, and has no sense of space around him. He just wants to do nothing but PLAY!

He is a youngin' after all.

Day 2 - 01/06/2012

There was too much going on in the arena for him to pay attention to anything — especially scary little me. Needless to say our time spent together today was short and not the most positive experience. I admit I spent the whole time trying not to get squashed or freak him out. 

Better luck next time.

THINGS TO WORK ON:

1. trust

2. attention span

3. confidence

We'll see how this goes :)