Having FUN

I was chatting with my friend Tina the other night on Facebook and we were talking about having FUN with our horses.  It's in all caps for a reason because we think, say and even type it with enthusiasm.  I am coming to realize that most of the really cool stuff going on with Cricket is because I'm having FUN.

My only real goal with Parelli was to pass L3.  I started PNH in 2002 when the home study ended at L3 and anything beyond was available only through direct study at the centers.  Even when the program changed to put L4 in home study format, I never changed my original goal.  With Cricket being innately introverted, I imagined L4 to be another adventure in frustration for both of us.

So when I returned from camp with my green string, I became lost.  I didn't know what to do so I just started goofing off.  Trying things just for fun and laughing when things didn't go so well.  And that's when it all started changing.  Cricket started becoming more engaged.  She began offering more energy.  She started having FUN.

Now I have this tiny inkling that maybe L4 is possible.  But if I'm going to get there, I'm going to play my way there.  I'm going to have FUN.

Last night I had FUN.  Since the stalls weren't ready when I arrived at the barn, I took Cricket and Etruska into the arena while they were being cleaned.  I put them both on featherlines -one white and one black so I knew which was which - and I played tandem games with my LBI/E and my best friend's RBE/I.  I had them circling, Cricket stretched and blowing at the canter and Etruska stretched and blowing at the trot (because she's a big ol' warmblood and can trot to Cricket's QH canter).  We did some COD and that was a little comical but we worked it out.  I finished with some FLC with Cricket alone and we had a fabulous canter draw to finish it off.

Yeah, maybe we can get to L4 if we keep having FUN.

Unscripted

Sometimes the best sessions are the ones we don't plan.  Where we just play and we just BE.

With Cricket, those sessions are rare.  She is so full of her own ideas that without a plan, I usually don't stand a chance.  Monday was one of those precious moments.

Cricket came in from the field wet.  I had an idea to play with emergency dismount but sitting on a soggy pony wasn't my idea of fun.  I turned her into the arena while Bonnie cleaned stalls.  I thought maybe we could work a little on laying down.  Wet Pony + Sand = Roll.

Cricket had other ideas.

One of the best ways to get her feet moving without breaking the connection is Squeeze Game.  That mare will canter a squeeze and easily disengage when any other send will elicit a bolt.  I sent her over the small jump and she just sailed right over and looked at me as if to say, "what next?"  So I upped the ante by asking her to jump the cross-rail and then a single down barrel.  Piece of cake.

After a few repetitions, I decided to move on with some stick-to-me and maybe build a circle game.  As we left the jumps, the big 40" ball was right in her way.  She jumped it.

I stopped dead in my tracks.  She knows it moves.  But she jumped it without disturbing the ball at all.  Did I mention she's an introvert?  A left-brain introvert?

Since she was still cool with jumping, we played with a three jump combo - cross-rail, barrel and ball.  She never got all three in a row but she did get two out of the three most of the time.  Including several more jumps over the ball.

We finally moved on to F8 and I blew it.  She was cantering around the left cone and I wanted a FLC in the middle. She tried and tried and eventually bolted.  Damn it!

I got her back and we played very slowly with the F8.  I used a few bits and pieces from The Project and eventually we finished with a soft, connected F8.  Not a bad recovery.

With her energy down, I asked her to try to think about laying down.  We never accomplished the lay down but her connection and curiosity were worth every minute - including the ones where I went down and rolled in the sand!

I think we are making huge strides in our liberty connection.  I know I threw in a little circling and she never left me.

Camp Day 2: Fun Fun Fun

Just when I thought it couldn't get better . . .

We had another mind-blowing private session about the circle game.  It's amazing how such a simple concept has so many layers and facets.  Our ground session was a bit of a review of the previous day and then expanding on the liberty we started on day one.  Carol is asking us to stretch our idea of how the horse takes responsibility and it's pretty intense.

Under saddle, we started with a review of day one and then did some CS riding using a F8.  Carol had half the riders at one end, half at the other and the goal was to do a F8 using CS and neck string.  As always, it was up to us how to approach it for safety and confidence.  When it was my turn, I was pretty nervous about it.  But it's a pattern Cricket knows and likes so I felt that we could work through it.  I started at a walk to get Cricket on the pattern and then we moved to a trot and then a canter.

I cantered my horse with just a carrot stick.

It wasn't perfect, it wasn't all that pretty (at least in my mind) but dammit, I did it.

And then I cried.  Happy tears.  I've waited so long for that moment.

The second time around was better.

My private session was the first of the afternoon and I decided, just for fun, to ride bridle-less.  Crazy, right?

Crazy fun!  Cricket was so freakin' amazing.  We did all gaits, simple changes through the walk, sideways, yields . . . Oh my gosh it was a blast.

At the end, all I could do was thank Carol for all she's done over the course of my journey with Cricket.

So I wonder what day three holds?

The Final Countdown

I've said it before but this time I mean it.

I'm not ready.

And not in that "I haven't done enough with my horse this past year" kind of way.  Rather in the "holy crap, I leave tomorrow and I've only done a handful of the million things I need to do."

I had already decided on a minimalist approach to preparing for camp.  Even with that, there are certain things that need to be done:  feet, feed, tack and clothes.

My world got tossed around last week when, through a serious of strange and unforeseen events, my sweet kitty was killed.  I never considered myself a cat person and imagined that life would somehow be easier without him.  I miss him more than I could ever have imagined.

So to say I'm behind is the understatement of the century.

All that being said, beyond the stress and anxiety I am super excited about camp this year.  I feel like Cricket and I are the best we've ever been.  The last several days she's met me at the gate, going so far as to mosey over when she saw my truck approaching the barn.  I'm determined to just take her wherever she is and just have fun.

I'm going to take notes and maybe try to blog a little during camp. We'll see how that goes.

Playing in the Dirt

Cricket and I got to play in the dirt yesterday.  It was so much fun!

The owners of my barn are having some major earth work done around the boarding barn.  The result of Sunday's work was two big piles of dirt where one of the terraces used to be.

When the bulldozer guy took a break, I asked if I could play on the dirt with my horse.  He grinned and said, "Have at it."  I'm not sure he really understood what I wanted but was happy to oblige.  I ran off to get my boots, giddy as a school-girl.

I brought Cricket out, hooked her to my 45' and off we went.  The dirt was in two piles, a smaller one down away from the barn and a pretty large one in the paddock.

She was pretty easy going and we started with some friendly game of just moving around near the dirt.  Cricket was pretty nonplussed about the whole thing.  I asked her to head up the big hill and up she went.  She got to the top and looked around as if to say, "well, this is different."

The front of the hill, where she went up, was pretty well packed from the bulldozer.  The steeper back side was all loose dirt.  I asked her to crest the hill and come down the steep side.  Over she went and down she scootched as if she it were an every day occurrence.

From the ground, we played with both dirt hills.  I asked her to go up and over or go up and wait before turning around and going down the way she came.  I stood on the smaller hill and had her circle around me.  She was a little confused but eventually figured it out, even jumping part of the dirt pile as she traveled around.  I played with yo-yo, standing at the top of the hill and asking her to back at the bottom and then run up to me.  That was fun.  I even asked her to back down the hill from Z5 while I stood at the bottom.

Everything was going so well, I saddled up and decided to ride on the hills.  Going down hills on horseback scares the begeezus out of me.  Cricket and I nearly somersaulted down a hill during our one ACTHA ride.  But I figured this was a good opportunity to practice.

My Crickie-Monster was an absolute champ!  She took me around, up and down.  The little hill was okay - the top had a good platform to turn around and walk back down the packed side.  The big hill was a little narrower at the top.  Our first attempt was a little nerve-wracking.  Cricket tried to go down the loose dirt but I was able to clarify my request and face her down the "ramp."  Where she stopped dead in her tracks.  I encouraged her forward and she walked calmly, straight down the hill.  Where she got lots of cookies at the bottom.  We finished our dirt play by riding up the small hill and then backing all the way down.  I took her out into one of the open fields and we did a little trot and canter before ending our ride.

My view from the top of the smaller dirt pile.

Summertime and the Livin' is . . . SWEATY

Summer time in the South is not for the faint of heart.  Walking out the front door is like hitting a wall of humidity so thick you need a machete to get from your porch to your car door.  I know the rest of the nation is suffering a stifling heat wave but triple digit heat indices are a way of life down here.

I don't like the heat.  I like the cold.  I can put on more clothes but there is a socially acceptable limit to what I can remove.

Even if I had the energy to ride, the look on Cricket's face clearly says, "Don't even think of putting your butt on my back."  And frankly, the idea of sitting on her hot body isn't so appealing either.

But camp is coming up.  Less than three months until my L3/4 camp with Carol Coppinger.  I need to get moving.

Cricket is shaking things up . . . again.  God forbid that mare give me more than a few days of thinking I've got everything working.  All our progress with cantering, freestyle and CS riding has hit a wall.  Literally.  Cricket has taken to running, at a good canter, straight into the wall.  But only when I have 2 sticks.  Hmm, how interesting.  Of course she's not so stupid to actually hit the wall and she's not so right-brain that she's doing this out of fear or lack of confidence.  Her sole purpose is to scare the sh*t out of me.  It's not working and I think that's pissing her off even more.

This has nothing to do with cantering or carrot sticks and everything to do with the balance of leadership between my horse and me.  I'm not sure how to convince her to fully turn loose to me.  If nothing else, I'm sure Carol can help us when we get to camp.

Despite the heat and humidity, I need to start a plan to get some things tuned up before camp.  I'm so excited to be able to show Carol how far we've come since she last saw us together.

A Three Ring Circus

Yesterday I executed a circle game with Cricket, Bleu and Lilly.  And I lived to tell the tale.

It was sort of an impromptu thing.  I haven't done much with Bleu and I need to spend time with Lilly and I have a hard time ignoring Cricket.  So I hooked each horse to a 22' line and led them across the gravel drive to graze in the neighbor's field.

I got this wild thought in my head . . . it was almost one of those "hey, y'all, hold me beer and watch this" moments.  I figured if all hell broke loose not one of those mares would go too far before stopping to graze.  The advantage of bring a horse from a dry lot to a lush field.

I sent Cricket in front and allowed Lilly and Bleu to follow.  Cricket, though somewhat under-motivated, picked up a nice trotting circle and established the pattern for the other two.  Bleu wasn't to be left behind and Lilly wasn't wholly sure what the hell was going on.

The first go-round, we established a nice trotting circle game, though Lilly broke to canter a few times.

The second time, Bleu moved into a very nice canter and Lilly followed suit.  A little energy to Cricket and I had all three loping together.  Pretty cool!

Called it a win and allowed them to graze.

Bleu really surprised me with her canter.  Especially considering the histrionics we've had in the past.  I was proud of Cricket for "doing her job" and leaving the alpha mare attitude at the door.  Not once - NOT ONCE - did she play a dominance game with the other two.  Lilly is still learning that energy doesn't necessarily mean she has to do something.  She needs to pay attention to the direction of my energy, not just the energy itself.

A Glimpse of Things to Come

This weekend I caught a glimpse of things to come.

Our weather was gorgeous.  Saturday was sunny with a lovely breeze and our temperatures topped out in the low 60s.  It was a beautiful breath of the Spring that is waiting on the other side of Winter.

I started my play with Bleu and Cricket on-line, together.  After a little confusion, I managed a very cool circle game with Cricket cantering in front and Bleu trotting behind.  I finished our tandem play with sideways from Zone 1, asking Cricket to push Bleu and help her understand.  Both horses did very well and I'm excited to see the prospect of playing with them together.

I saddled Cricket and decided to ride with one rein and a stick.  It went well but I just wasn't feeling like I wanted to push my envelope.  I've cantered Cricket with a stick and the reins but I felt like I survived it more than enjoyed it.  I've allowed her to canter while I was "hands-off" the reins and holding a stick but that was her idea.  It's always good when it's her idea.  I just get a little queasy when I think about cantering with just the sticks.

I decided I just wanted to have fun so I exchanged my stick and lead for clip reins and off we went.

Cricket is becoming a bit of a canter-aholic.  It seems to be her favorite gait, almost as if she's making up for all the times I wouldn't let her canter.  I have to admit, I'm becoming a bit of a canter junkie myself.  As if I'm making up for all the times I wanted but just couldn't trust my horse.

We just sort of monkeyed around and then I got a wild idea: I decided to try out my spurs.  Just to play a little with my yield isolations.  I dont' fully trust the stability of my lower leg to do much else.  I strapped them on, hollered out, "hey, y'all hold my beer and watch this" and got on.

Holy Crap!  That little mare can MOVE!  Cricket did really well.  I knew she would.  She's ready for this and, to some degree, so am I.  We did some HQ yields, some sideways and some forehand yields.  We rode around a little but I was nervous about how much the spurs were touching her and that, more than anything else, was making her cranky.  I stopped and asked for a quality HQ yield to both sides and then took off the spurs.

Then we took off again.  By this time, Ed was in the arena, cantering Slingshot so I decided just to follow him.  Whatever he did, wherever he went - we followed.  It was so much fun and it gave enough purpose to make it a little more meaningful for Cricket.

At one point, we were on a left lead, doing circles at the back of the arena.  Cricket finally relaxed and just arced into the bend.  It was awesome.  I told her, "good girl" and she slammed on the brakes and damn near pitched me over her ears. I had to laugh, however, because I've apparently taught her that "good girl" means "get a cookie" so it's my own fault!

Next we did some weaves and I tried, oh how I tried, to do the weave at the trot but Cricket just kept breaking into the canter.  I think she would have done flying changes if I'd had the coordination to ask for them!  I'll admit I probably didn't try hard enough to enforce the trot.  Mostly because I was laughing so much at my little LBI Energizer Bunny.

I did, finally, manage some trotting on her but the minute I thought about the canter, BAM! we were off again.

The coolest thing was that I could see how far we can go together if I can just pull some things together on my end.  I rode Cricket for about 2 hours with some LONG stretches of canter and she was so ready to go.  By the end of the ride, she was pretty sweaty and was breathing heavy but even in her cool out she was ready to canter at the drop of a hat.

I have a list of things to work on:

• First and foremost, either disassociate "good girl" with treats or find a different phrase to praise and encourage her while riding.  I don't like my "saddle turned ejector seat."
• Get control over my body while I ride.  When we canter, I still feel a little like a marionette in the hands of an epileptic.  I seem to have lost all I gained from my Pilates training.  Maybe my break is over and I need to get my butt back in the studio.
• As much fun as our canter is, I need to take control over the gas pedal.  Having her canter when she wants is no different than having her not go when I want.  It's all about who's foot is on the pedal and right now, it's not mine.  I'm fortunate that I can stop her with little more than a breath out but we need also to be able to transition from one gait to the next, up AND down.

All in all, though, I enjoyed just having some fun.  Just doing something with her and not "working" on anything.  I think we have good things in our future together and I'm excited to see more of what's down the road.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

When I went to the barn to feed on Monday, my intention was to pull Bleu out, groom her and then feed and leave.  My house has returned to it's "federal disaster area" state and I need to get things in order.

Ed came out and said that Jeanne and John were coming so I decided to stay - at least to visit.  Despite the fact that I live on Jeanne and John's farm, I rarely get to chat with them.

So I stayed.  And I ended up having a lovely session with Cricket.

I played with her at liberty.  She's still reluctant to maintain a canter.  As with most everything else, I'm 99.9% sure it's got more to do with me than it does with her.

I put a bareback pad on her and got on bridle-less.  Because there were other horses, I just rode her to the rail and put her halter on from there.  She was pretty reluctant to hold her head to the left - partially her opposition and partly I really think she needs to have her teeth done.

She was wonderful.  Only a few snarky faces to the other horses.  I've been diligent about leadership and confidence under saddle and it finally seems to be paying off.  We walked and trotted around with relaxation and flexion.  She carries herself so beautifully, so naturally.  One of these days I hope to have the skill and knowledge to take her to the next level.

We even cantered.  Yep, you read that right.  We cantered.  Just twice.

I put her on the pattern we used before and just opened the door to see if she was in the mood to go through it.  She was and we did.  The second time I just took her on the pattern and when I felt her connected to me, I asked and she obliged.

Again, this is only 2-5 strides.  But it's earth-shattering to think that I can even consider asking Cricket to canter bareback.

The end of our session I played with posting bareback.  Not something I've ever done before.  I think Cricket liked it and she even got to the point where she was gathering herself to offer the canter.  I brought her back down, thanked her and got off.

Fun.  It was just FUN!

Light as a Feather

Despite all I have to do to get ready for camp, I squeezed in a little time to ride last night.

I'm introducing new feeders to Bleu and Cricket and it's taking some time to rework the routine and figure out how much to feed and how to incorporate their supplements.  Last night I decided to feed Bleu and, while she was eating, monkey about with Cricket.

In her stall, at liberty (while Bleu and Dillon were eating), I put my bareback pad on and then slipped the halter on.  I grabbed a CS as we entered the arena.  Our warm-up consisted of 2 HQ yields, 2 FQ yields, 2 back-ups and handful of circles in each direction, a little at the walk and a little at the trot.

I tied the 12' into reins and got on.  And I had one of the best rides.

Cricket was amazing.  She was soft in her trot and so responsive to my focus and leg.  I used the rein - light contact through the weight of the rein/snap - to shape her a little.  We had beautiful turns, relaxed forward and just general lightness.

She got a little forward and Ed helped me use some lateral work to soften and slow her.  It took me out of my comfort zone - allowing her to be forward and shaping it rather than shutting her down.  On the curves, I pushed her ribs so she floated out on the curve, taking her inside hind and stepping deeper.  I could really feel her power up from the back but at the same time, she took that energy over her back and softened through her neck.

Almost all of our "work" was at the trot.  I don't usually trot turns bareback.  But last night, I just let go.  And it was fun.  I was relaxed; Cricket was relaxed.

Standing still, I did some isolation yields, mainly the HQ, and with no input from me (i.e. totally slack rein) she responded with no forward motion.

I am so pleased with Cricket and with myself.  It's time I stopped being so critical - of myself, of Cricket of everything.

Fun Stuff, New Stuff

At the end of my lesson on Wednesday, my instructor mentioned that she was going to see a vaulting demonstration this weekend.  As it turns out, a few of the vaulting teams going to the WEG are training in Tennessee, just outside Nashville.  This Saturday, they are putting on a free demonstration before heading to Lexington for the competition.

I am so there.

What an opportunity to see such an amazing sport.

In searching for information about the demonstration, I browsed through the Central Tennessee Dressage Association website.  There I found out about a Mary Wanless clinic that will be held in December.  I've been intrigued by what I've read about her approach of riding with your mind and it would be fun to see her in person.  I'm waiting to hear back from the clinic organizer to get more details on auditing.

I'm also starting to make serious inquiries about learning to drive.  I want to train Cricket to drive and I want to learn how to drive.

It's about having fun.  And if it's not fun, what's the point?  It doesn't mean every moment will be fun but if I'm not enjoying what I'm doing and learning, why on earth am I spending the time and money to keep my horses?

A Night with Cricket

It's been a rough week at work and it looks like it's not going to get better any time soon.  On the bright side, it's  a great opportunity for me to gain more experience and help out my boss - never a bad thing as evaluation time rolls around.

Unfortunately it means not much time or energy for the horses.  A total bummer as I have camp with Carol right around the corner.  Oh well, it is what it is and I'll have fun regardless.

Thursday I wanted to play with Bleu and work on some saddle shimming.  She was reluctant to approach and then Dilbert, with a horsefly firmly attached to his butt, began chasing her up and down the run.  I think he wanted her to help him but charging at her like a bull in a china shop was not convincing my sweet Bleu that he was anything other than a raving lunatic.

So if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with - I haltered Cricket and took her out to graze in the paddock.  I did eventually catch Bleu and opted for a grazing session to "reward" her.  But back to Cricket . . .

I pulled up a chair and proceed to cut cookies - using my very expensive shoe pullers to nip cookies into small niblets for clicker training.  At the sound of the first cookie hitting the bottom of the bucket, a big dun mare lifted her head and made a beeline for me.

I had to laugh.  The cookie pieces are smaller than a penny.  And Cricket was standing on a lush carpet of relatively ungrazed, recently mowed grass.  Throughout the evening she'd practically crawl in my lap and then wander off but make a wide sweep and land right back at my feet.  I loved it.  I don't care if it was the cookies, it's been so long since I've seen that look on her face and I'll take it however I can get.

I packed everything up and tried to send Cricket back out to the paddock while I prepped feed.  Nothing doing.  She tried to get into the tack room, to Ed's cookies.  Then, while I was in the farthest stall retrieving feed buckets, she slipped into the barn to the picnic table where my cookies where.  So I sent her to her room until dinner time!

She makes me laugh and I love that I am able to find joy in her antics and that she is finding pleasure in my company.

Having A Little Fun

So I haven't been doing much with the horses other than routine care.  Chaos reigns in my little universe and I seem to be struggling against the tide of disorder.  But I have found a little time to just have fun with Cricket.

One day last week, I pulled her out to groom her and have a look at her feet.  I incorporated the clicker for picking up and holding her foot.  I would have been more successful without the added task of picking and spraying her feet.  As such, I didn't reward her honest efforts even when they failed to meet my needs for the husbandry tasks I was trying to perform.

Of course Cricket knows to pick up her feet, so why add the clicker.  Because I can.  Because it seems to cause her to become a willing participant in whatever I'm doing.  And it's not as much for the treats as some (even I) might think.  It's because she knows she's right.  And if there is one trait she gets from her two-legged mother, it's a deep love of being right.

Saturday I decided to just play with her.  No plan, no idea - just a loose horse, an arena with stuff in it and a bag of treats with a clicker.  I had my carrot stick to help guide her but tried, as best as I could, to just offer enough pressure to indicate what I might want.

She played with the barrels, the cones and the big bridge.  She offered close range circles at the walk, trot and canter.  She jumped the small cross rail and a single down barrel.  We just played and had fun.  No stress, no worries.  Just having fun together.

And isn't that what this is supposed to be about?

Oh, I did jump on her bareback and bridleless.  We meandered around for awhile and I introduced some C/T for lateral flexion.  That was interesting.  But it was fun.

My Precious Ponies

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my horses?

Almost from the moment I laid eyes on her, Cricket has held my heart and soul.  Bleu is softly stealing her way in and claiming her own space.

Friday was one of those days in which I was simply in awe of the spirit and heart of both my girls.

Whenever my brother and his family come to town, there is always a pilgrimage to the barn to see Cricket.  It's a highlight of the visit and one of the few things that is always on the agenda when they are in town.  Which is once or twice a year.

I was a little nervous about this visit.  Cricket has been just a little off, mentally rather than physically, and Bleu is as yet untested, at least in my experience.  I decided to let my sister-in-law cruise around the arena on Bleu while I led the kids around on Cricket.  With a little coaching, I felt Candace would be safe with Bleu and Cricket is generally well behaved when I have the lead line.

Both my girls just blew me away!  Bleu and Candace walked all over the arena, relaxed and calm.  Cricket took her job of carrying Jacob and Sarah with absolute care.  Bleu was confident and at ease; Cricket was motivated and interested.  Wow!

The kids even took turns leading Cricket around, putting her through her paces of crossing the tarp, pushing the ball and standing on the pedestal.  Cricket acted like she's been doing this her whole life.  She was simply amazing.

My sister joined us.  Jenn wants to ride but she's quite anxious about being on a horse.  She carefully climbed on Bleu and I led her around, giving her soft instructions to relax her knees and shoulders.  Bleu walked with calm, cadenced steps, giving Jenn the chance to relax and become comfortable.

I was so unbelievably pleased with Bleu's attitude of calm and Cricket's attitude of tolerance.  I spent the day just grinning every time I thought about it.

What's In A Name?

What's in a name?  A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.

But it's time for a change.  A name change, that is.

With the addition of Bleu to my little family, the blog title Violating Principle #7 no longer fits.  I have a lot to offer Bleu and she, in turn, has a lot to offer me.  And all of that will give me more to offer Cricket.

So it's time for a change.  Obviously I want to keep "Principle 7" in the title but I need a new adjective.

Any ideas?  Surely there are some good wordsmiths out there.

Back to Square One

So just a little background on how I ended up with Cricket. When I lost Moose I had every intention of choosing "the right horse." I had struggled with a great deal of emotional baggage with Moose. He was an older OTTB who had severe claustrophobia issues. I knew this before I committed to buying him. The problem was that I had already fallen in love with him when his demons came to light. When I started thinking about my next horse, I thought long and hard and developed the following criteria and rationale:

• Gelding - I had been told mares were more difficult so I wanted the easier sex.
• 7-10 yrs old - old enough to have some training but young enough to be my partner for years to come
• 15.2 - 16 hh - I am fairly tall and I want to learn some jumping so I wanted a horse that could balance my height
• Color and breed were relatively unimportant. I didn't want another chestnut and I wanted a trotting horse because that would be easier for learning the levels.

All my carefully thought out requirements went right out the window the instant I laid eyes on Cricket. I was still fifty yards from her when I simply said, "Mine." So two weeks after I lost my thoroughbred I bought a 14.2 2 yr old QH filly. Brilliant! Not the shining recipe for success I had laid out in my careful plans for "second horse."

But God looks after fools and little children (just a hint, I haven't been in the little children category for a loooong time). Here we are six years later still together. Cricket has been the most phenomenal teacher. I cannot even begin to list all the things I've learned because of her. Sure, my journey through the levels has been slower. But in so many ways it's been richer. One of my Parelli instructors said that your easiest horse will get you through the levels faster but a challenging horse can teach you so much more.

So Cricket and continue to violate Parelli principle #7. There are days I welcome and revel in the challenge and there are days I cry with the frustration of it all. At the end of the day I know I wouldn't trade her for an easier horse.