Mav is really progressing

If you have followed my blog, you know that Mav grazed me with his hoof last February in the park when he got spooked as we were headed back to the barn.

Did you know, head wounds bleed...a lot

The top of my head is still numb from that "graze". The scar on my forehead looks a lot better though. Fast forward to October...

Over the last two days I have played with Mav, we are back in the park, but now both on the ground and in the saddle, trotting AND cantering. Mav has become so brave in fact, that even with the wind blowing and a large flock of birds squawking all around us, Mav stayed calm and relaxed. At one point, we rode in the direction of a large flock of birds that in unison flew off in noisy protest to our approach. Mav did not even break stride as we cantered towards and through them. His ears were at attention, but out of curiosity, not fear.

Having done so well two days earlier, I thought it was time to start riding Mav with carrot sticks in the park. This is a huge step, as there are no fences to contain him if he chose to run off or be naughty. Of course, I would have to evaluate his state of mind before trying to ride freestyle with carrot sticks.

After he rode through the birds, I thought we would be OK with the carrot sticks. What is great about this kind of riding is it really gives you excellent feedback about what your horse truly understands without the ability to micromanage him with the reins. And sure enough, Mav was still reacting to my leg as though it meant go faster, at least at first.

So, I pretended to be on Valium, really slowing down my leg cues for the turns, being very particular to turn with my eyes and belly button first, only then with the leg, and finally the carrot stick as needed. He broke into a trot several times. I repeated my instructions slowly and carefully. It took about 5-7 minutes for him to do two soft, walking circles with the carrot sticks, and we quit.

So, we trotted and cantered all over the park first, then walked in calm circles to finish. He was very happy to have grazing time surrounded by the same birds that had flown off just a few minutes earlier. He then very willingly walked back to the barn with me. The sun was beginning to set, very much like the time he got scared, spooked, kicked me and ran off just those few months ago. Now, he is becoming a real partner.

Yes, the photographer is in the saddle :)

Maverick Gets Even Braver

Had a short but very nice session with Mav last night as the sun was going down. There were lots of things going on around the park last night. As the sun set, it was casting rapidly, ever-changing shadows. The birds on the lake were more active and talkative. Since it was rush hour, there was a lot more traffic along the rode that separates the barn from the park. For a horse, there were so many distractions, so many things that could look threatening.  Nonetheless, I know we need to progress with our horsemanship if I want him to be a superlative trail horse, so I decided we would go to the park. 

The left brained extrovert showed up, as he got pretty excited playing on the circle game. It is interesting that he seems to have more energy in the evening than during the day. In fact, at one point he started to buck, bounce and run off, and I had to let go of the rope. I had a momentary panic thought of "We are in the park with no fences anywhere and a road about 100 yards away with lots of traffic, what's he going to do?" I then had another fleeting thought, a much more important one: "He's learning to be a partner, he won't go far, he's a left brained horse, he knows I am where safety is, he's going to stop and re-access. I think my calm transferred to him. He moved about 60 feet away then just stopped and looked at me. I am not sure what he was thinking, except maybe, "Well, that took a lot of energy, was it worth it?" And, maybe he was thinking, "What am I doing? Isabelle is over there."

I slowly and nonchalantly walked in his direction, picked up his rope with my carrot stick and stood in front of him, stroking his face. He took a really deep breath and let it out with a big sigh. But he wasn't blinking. Every now and then, Mav can go a bit catatonic, and this was one of those times. So I massaged his lips to encourage him to lick and chew. It took several moments for him to emerge back into the moment. Finally, he blinked and looked at me, licked and chewed and told me he was OK. 

Three reasons I think he had a crazy moment: one, he really wanted to eat grass instead of play with me, two, he still is not entirely used to the saddle being on his back and three, the park was a bit scary. Thank you again, PNH, for teaching me to access my horse before getting on, as I sure wouldn't have wanted to ride that! But he quickly settled down, doing some lovely figure eights with lots of energy, some very nice sideways without a fence, left and right. and I knew we were ready to ride.

I went over to one of the larger trees to mount as the ground around it is uneven, making it easier for me to get onto my 16+ hand horse. While we were standing under this beautiful live oak tree, several acorns fell from it landing with a thunk onto the ground. One more thing for Mav to possibly be concerned about, but he didn't even flinch. Mav is getting even braver!


Once we started riding, Mav was still a bit distracted by the sights and sounds of the park coming onto night. Even so, he did some really nice figure eights, only reacting to my leg by going faster once. This was a huge improvement over last time when he reacted almost every time to my leg by going faster. Such a smart horse!

Then we did just circles with transitions, and when he gave me one circle, really relaxed and energetic, we quit. I let him eat plenty of that lovely grass, then I took him back to the barn for a well deserved hose down, which he really seemed to enjoy. I am having so much fun with my horses right now. It is so nice to have this level of knowledge and expertise, knowing when to be, where to be and what to do when I get there. 

I have been blessed and am so thankful again to Parelli Natural Horsemanship and my teachers, Kerri April and Grady Carter, both PNH three star instructors, Nancy Cloud, whose encyclopedic knowledge of and experience with horses has been invaluable to me over the years and now Karen Rohlf, who's monthly online video lessons are expanding my knowledge of horses even more. 


Fun, Fun, Fun!

Would you trade...?

After the most amazing play sessions with Walker this weekend, I had brushes with what perseverance can produce. Following literally years of time and effort, often seemingly to little or no affect, I had moments of  pure joy with Walker. Both online and bareback and bridle less, there was such a connection between us that at moments it seemed as though he was in my head reading my thoughts and I was in his head reading his thoughts. 

Our connectedness went beyond the feather lines we played with online, the savvy string hanging around his neck when I was riding or the cookies and scratches I gave Walker by way of saying, "You're right, good job!". There is now a trust he has in me, a trust I have with him, a mental connection I know is not easy for Walker to offer given his tendency to be naughty, contrary and mischievous. I thought "a little faster", he went faster, "a little slower", he went slower. Everything was so soft and light. When Pat talks about how Tom Dorrance wasn't interested in doing anything with his horses with anything more than a string, I really understood that this weekend, because there is such a joy when you are connected in such a fundamental way that you might not even need a string to move together.

Walker followed me around after our play sessions in ways he never has before. Once, when we were done, I opened the arena gate so Walker could mosey over to the water as I gathered some of my tools, and he did walk out of the arena. But instead of going over to the water, he stopped, turned around, and walked back into the arena, nuzzling right up next to me. He then proceeded to grab the feather lines off the hanging hooks and handing them to me. 

Now, he knew we were done, he could have left, I allowed him to do so, but he chose to come back to me and help me out with my tools. He may have realized I would give him cookies as a reward, but there was clearly more in it for him than just that. He wanted me close, I could feel he felt better being close to me. He wanted me to know he did not want our time together to be over just yet. 

And for the first time, he licked my hands, not small licks, but big, wet slobbering licks. He was doing everything he could to show me how much he was enjoying my company. We spent quite a long time just standing together, content. 

As we did finally mosey our way to the water trough, I realized that I would do it all again. For those few moments of that connection and joy, I would trade all the hours, days, weeks and months of struggle to gain those few precious moments. Never again will I doubt the process I have gone through to find those moments I have achieved with Walker. I don't doubt that at some point down the road, Maverick and I will have similar experiences, only faster.  I look forward to many more days like this like weekend.

Walker and I becoming real Partners

Walker and I had the most wonderful online and freestyle play sessions this weekend. Online, Walker is almost jumping barrels with confidence thanks to Karen Rohlf's squares and circles pattern. The pattern consists of going around a rectangle, stopping in each corner, changing gaits and adding circles along either of the lengths of the rectangle. The pattern is designed to get your horse to listen attentively to your body language, keeping your horse from crowding you and to be ready for the next suggestion. I tweaked what she showed us this month in her online video classroom by putting a two barrel jump in the middle of one of the long sides of the rectangle.

What this did for Walker was amazing. It made him focus on the next task that would come right after the jump, to stop at the upcoming corner of the rectangle. It helped Walker not to crowd me after going over the jump, and it helped him maintain an even gait before and after the jump, something we have been struggling with for awhile. Within just three turns around the rectangle, Walker looked 70% smoother going over the barrels and he was much more calm and responsive to my suggestions. Thank you Karen!

The following day, to my chagrin, the barrels had disappeared from the arena, and I looked around, no luck, could not find them. I needed a new plan. So I thought to myself that since Walker had made such big strides with the barrels, maybe it was time to start playing with trotting over a jump and stopping before the back feet followed the front.

I set up a six foot jump first, and Walker was able to trot and stop over it after a few tries. I raised the jump to 12 inches. Now, the RBE came out. He was worried. I stayed calm, smiled and soothed him each time he tried with my voice and my body language. When he did finally stop over the jump, he looked at me, and I smiled even bigger, fed him cookies and stroked his nose.

Time to raise the jump to about 18 inches, a much bigger challenge for Walker. I decided not to push the issue if he lacked confidence, but I wanted to see how he would respond. He stayed left brained, but clearly did not like the idea of hopping over the jump and stopping without clearing it altogether. But since he was calm, I persisted, and after five tries, he got it! He hopped over the jump and stopped. Now I was really grinning and quickly running out of cookies... :-o I asked Walker to go sideways over the jump, which he did well, and that was that! Time for freestyle...

I am not going to describe what we did, I will just download a couple of videos so you can see for yourself. I would, however, like to thank a few people and animals for helping me get to this wonderful place with Walker: bareback, bridle-less and completely relaxed, the both of us. Here I go:

Nancy Cloud, who I think saw something really tenacious in me, even though I was really, really green. Thanks, Nancy, for firmly setting my feet in the right direction. Look at us now, Nancy!

Wendy Carpenter, who convinced me to buy Maverick with her, the horse who in turn convinced me I had to get into shape and lose weight. Wendy also helped me realize where the teacher in me should be focusing. Look at us now, Wendy!

Kerri April who has provided a safe place for me to learn, grow and experiment without judgements. When she sounded surprised that I was totally unconfident about riding Walker bareback and bridle-less, I knew I had a big new goal in front of me. Look at us now, Kerri!

Lei Clay, who provides our horses with a natural place to live. We don't have to get our horses in the right frame of mind when we get to the barn, they are there all the time. Look at us now, Lei!

And to Randy Farmer, my husband, who has lovingly tolerated all the hours away from home so that I could follow my dream and my passion. Randy has quietly watched and supported me all along, when others thought I was just plainly nuts. Look at us now, hon!

Roll the tape...

Online and Freestyle in the Heat

Mav and I had an excellent online session yesterday. We played with Karen Rohlf's circles and squares pattern, and I thought again putting a jump in the middle of it would help Mav with the jump, but in a completely different way then from Walker. For Mav it's about getting the momentum to get over the jump without just hopping it, which will come in handy later, but for now, I want him to work up the energy for it. 

He balked at first, so I split the two barrels to allow for a small space through which he could pass through them. He learned to keep his energy up until we got the the corner of the rectangle, and by the second pass, I knew he was ready to try jumping them again. And I was right! He had plenty of energy to clear the barrels and make it look easy. Good for you Mav! 

Then we played with the our transitions on the circle, especially the canter, to see if Mav would flow into it better without putting his head down and wanting to buck his way through it. He got both left and right canters really nicely, so we stopped there. I decided he looked calm enough to take him out the the park so we could ride in the shade, so that is where we headed next. 

I have realized that it takes a lot of savvy and discernment to figure out when a horse is ready to move on the a bigger challenge. Riding out in the park with out any other horses, away from the barn and everything that feels safe for Maverick is a very big step. But realistically, the only way you can be progressive is to take those "chances" with your horse when it feels right. 

And how do I know when it feels right? It's hard to explain, but it is usually when Mav or Walker demonstrate something to me calmly, thinking their way through and not reacting or blowing through a task. And if they do this more than once, I know they are ready. 

Then, of course, I have to be willing to go beyond my comfort zone. That can involve some pretty serious increases in heart rate and blood pressure, but as long as I can still think myself through something, than I know I am ready also. I am no good to myself or my horse if I get emotional or bracy in the middle of an exercise. 

Of course, getting myself into shape has also given me the physical ability to do things I was really afraid to do, even a year ago, like riding bareback and bridle-less on Walker at the canter. Today we did that while videoing it at the same time (see my next blog for that!)

Once out in the park, I let Mav graze for a bit, then I hopped on and we started our freestyle play session. We started with walking and trotting a figure eight around the trees, and Mav did this very nicely. Then we started doing transitions on an oval around two of the bigger trees. 

Mav struggled with the canter at first, I am not sure he really wanted to canter yesterday, it was so hot, but I assured him I really wanted him to! So after a couple of hissy fits, he did canter very nicely. I was so proud of him for working through his reluctance. We were finished in about 40 minutes, so I hopped off and let him graze again, this time at liberty, which he seemed to enjoy immensely.

Lots of folks at the barn

Between a long week of work, my Mom spending a couple of nights in the hospital and the ridiculous heat we have had to deal with, I have not spent much time at the barn since last weekend. However, I did get a chance to go last night. Lei had a photography party, complete with chocolate martinis for the adults, and birthday cake and chocolate covered strawberries for all the kids. Several people at the barn had birthdays in July and August, and we were celebrating all of them. 

Walker hams it up for cookies

Wendy and I brought our boys out for the fun. I decided to ride Mav and Walker around bareback. Mav went first, and wow, did he have a mind of his own about where he wanted to go. Mostly, he wanted to mug all the humans for cookies. He was pretty successful at doing that.


Next came Walker. He is such a ham. He also mugged everyone for cookies, but he has additional tricks under his forelock, raising a front foot as though to shake hands, bending his neck around and gently nuzzling people with his nose. He did manage to wheedle cookies out of several people. 


Lauren D. was our photographer, and when I get those, I will definitely post them. The two photos here were taken by Lei, who got my iPhone to take them. Yes, that is a martini glass in my hand. Thank you, Lei! The chocolate martini was delicious!

Walker poses for the camera, or does he want some of my martini?

Ashley, Abby and Cat all took me up on the offer to ride Walker bridle-less. It was fun watching the girls ride, all fearless. It was wonderful to see Walker, left-brained and being really good with the girls. 

Finally, we tucked the boys in for the night and fed them all. We were rewarded for this with nickers all around.

Thank you, Lei, for a wonderful evening.

Walker and Mav on a Different Timeline

I realized today that Mav and Walker are on two very different timelines, but that playing with Maverick is helping me to accelerate my learning in helping my partnership with Walker. Walker has become so much more left brained of late that the same strategies I am using in playing with Mav are helping me to play with Walker as he becomes a more centered horse. 

And the help is reciprocal. Because I learned so much in playing with Walker, it has really helped me be more progressive with Mav. Like yesterday in the park. I wasn't sure how Mav would do, just the two of us pretty far away from the barn, but he was very calm. It probably did not hurt that is was about 95 degrees out with hardly a breeze to stir Mav's mane. First, I threw the rope over his back then backed away a couple of steps. I waited about five minutes, and continued to be calm. Then I stepped back about 5 steps, still calm, never stopped grazing. Then we moved to another spot where it would be easier for me to sit, and I stepped about 10 paces away. He remained calm and grazing. 

So, we followed an amazing day online and freestyle riding with this grazing Liberty session, things that took me years to accomplish with Walker. As much as my horses are becoming transformed, I am becoming transformed right along with them.

Walker grazes at Liberty and ...

Walker is becoming a much more centered horse. When he gets more extroverted, he is much more the LBE than the RBE. When his left brained side kicks in and his energy comes up, that can be quite a challenge, but also quite a lot of fun. What an amazing partner he is becoming. To think, before I found him, he was headed for someone's dinner plate.

Too hot to do much...

I did not have the energy to do much today, between work and the heat. So a little time out front, some hose downs, that was what we did today. Bringing Maverick, Bingo and Walker out together is always fun, sometimes surprising, sometimes challenging. Today was no exception!

A Stroll in the Park

I decided that today would be a good day to get Mav out on the trail. Granted, the trail would amount to a stroll across the street into the park, but you have to start somewhere.

So my plan was this: play in the indoor arena with the touch it game and the circle game to warm him up and get connected with me. Which is exactly what I did. Mav wants to mow down every obstacle that gets in his way; today I asked him just to put his nose on things. It was hard for him to do it; he just wanted to crash into everything. Eventually he slowed down before each obstacle, cone, barrel, whatever and just stood there. I thought that was good enough for today.

Then we did some circle game with changes of direction, and he offered the last change of direction just by my turning slightly to back up. Green light!; time to head out the front gate.

Vicki and Jet were out there too, which was probably a good thing for Mav to start out. However, as soon as we got to where they were standing, Mav went right past them with his ears at attention, taking everything in. He was keenly curious and attentively alert. He did not feel nervous, but his energy was up.

I tried to turn him to go back to Vicki and Jet, but he wasn’t having it. He was having too much fun walking around and checking everything out. There were birds scattered over the lake and in the trees. People were fishing along the banks of the lake on either side of us. Some locals were walking their dogs. He saw it all with great interest, so I let him wander around and satisfy his curiosity. 

Vicki decided if Mav was moving in that direction anyway, she would ask Jet to go down the hill towards the water to graze where the grass is really lush. With Mav there, Jet had the courage of the herd with him. Mav went down the hill quite skillfully and settled next to the water to graze.

We spent about 15 minutes there, chatting while the horses grazed. Mav kept moving ever so subtly towards the water. I had the feeling that given the chance, he might venture in there, so I moved him gently away from the waterline. I also had some unpleasant thoughts about snakes…

I don’t think Mav has ever gone up a steep slope, because as we went back, he did not want to go straight up, he wanted to go sideways instead. Eventually, it was down to the lake or back up the hill, so he pointed his nose up the hill and cantered slowly up the bank. That was fun, but he will have to learn to collect himself and walk up hill, something for us to play with.

At that point, we did some figure eights around the trees, which Mav did very well. We grazed a little longer before Vicki needed to leave, and I thought Mav would likely want to go with them. When they turned to go back to the barn, I turned Mav to go with them, but he got very sticky feet. He did NOT want to go back. What a fantastic feeling. He wanted to hang with me and graze in the park. It just does not get better than that.

Maverick Maturing as a Horse-Man

Mav at the hose down area

Mav and I had a fabulous play session online and freestyle. First, online, I have been using one feather line to see if our communication is getting better, and it is. We played with a six cone weave, which we did very slowly at first, then at the trot, and he did it really well. We will start playing with doing it at longer distances soon. 

We also played with the circle game transitions, and when I am good at getting his attention, he does extremely well, even the canter, both left and right. Just lovely. I have been playing with lightly drawing Mav back into the circle when he veers off a bit. I really want to be as light as possible so he never gets dull. It would be so easy to make an LBI dull. 

Then we moved on to to freestyle. It has been so hot, I did not feel like putting a saddle on him, so we rode bareback. He had some good energy, so I was hopeful that would translate into our riding. We rode the rail doing transitions, walk, trot, walk, stop, back up and after one turn around the arena, he offered the canter going left, bareback and bridle less. I had one carrot stick and he was wearing a halter with the fluidity reins attached, but I never touched them. Fantastic! 

Then we did the same to the right, and he offered the canter again, picking up the right lead immediately. This is a big deal for Mav, as he has not felt good going that way at the canter, and this time, it was relaxed and rhythmic. It tells me his feet are feeling good. We stopped, I rubbed him and fed him cookies; he knew he had really earned them. 

Then we played with the weave, and when he softened all the way through the weave, we stopped and I fed him cookies again. Then we worked on our spin, doing it slowly now, but getting even right and left. He just gets softer and softer doing it, so we will be able to play with our speed pretty soon. What a fantastic session. 

I was sure he would want to roll in the arena dirt after I took the pad off, but he just hung out with me. I think he knew we had a little magic today, and he wanted to savor it with me. Then I took him to get a nice long hose down, and tucked him in for the night. He gave me his ears at attention until I turned the corner to leave the barn. As I got into my truck, I thought how amazing it is that a 52 year old woman could be playing with a four year old hunk of a horse like Maverick. I am blessed.

Walker is picking up my hat!

About 9 months ago, Walker started pulling his supplement containers out of the bucket hanging in front of his stall with his teeth when I would be grooming him. It occured to me that I could take advantage of this by rewarding him for doing so with cookies. Before long, he started to pull out whatever I put in there for a cookie reward. 

It wasn't long before he was picking up my hat with his teeth from the top of my tack box. Then from the ground in front of the box, and now from the arena floor. 

This weekend, without any hints from me, he started plucking tools from the hanging rack in the arena. First, the feather lines, then his halter, even the carrot sticks. All this from my right brained extrovert. What an amazing horse!

 

Thanks, Wendy, for capturing Walker being so cute!

Happiness is the Foundation

It has occured to me over time that unlike what was modeled for me, happiness is a choice. This subject was actually brought up by Karen Rohlf recently. She talked about how she used to see her horsemanship this way: Dressage as the most basic component, the foundation of everything she did with her horses, with happiness being the ultimate goal. Now she has flipped that over, with happiness as her foundation and Dressage the ultimate goal.

Isn't it fascinating that different people from different backgrounds can come to the same conclusion. It became obvious to me years ago. It was what Parelli refers to as a BFO, a "Blinding Flash of the Obvious". I used to think that excellence in dentistry was my foundation at work, with everyone being happy as the ultimate result.

It did not take long to find out that patients really did not care about the excellence of my dentistry until they knew I was having a good day. Patients made me realize through their questions of me that they were more interested in how I was feeling that day than how good a dentist I was.

I also realized that my office team felt better when I was happy. The atmosphere of the office gradually changed: more relaxed, more productive and relationships became the centerpiece of the practice.

I now think, even without knowing it at the time, that this is what attracted me to Parelli Natural Horsemanship. It's central premise is that everything humans do with horses stems from the relationship we have with them; that horses go farther from heart and desire than coercion and intimidation.

These thoughts passed through my head as I was feeding cookies to Bingo, Maverick and Walker in the turnout yesterday. They literally swarmed me, just the three of them. None of the other horses in the turnout paid me the least attention. I don't have a relationship with them, but I do have a relationship with BMW.

So the foundation is the desire to be happy and have a relationship. Everything good we accomplish is derived from that desire and effort to be happy.

The cookies help solidify my relationship with my horses. But the relationship has to be there before the cookies really mean something. Nothing feels better than to know that they WANT to spend time with me; that they nicker at my approach; that I ask them through the gate and they come without a rope or a halter; that I get up on the mounting block and from 50 feet away, my horses come on over to start our riding play session. They come with me because they choose.

There is just no better feeling than knowing that they choose to spend time with me as much as I want to spend time with them. They are not the source of my happiness, but they do help restore me, and  they make it easier for me to be happy.

Has There Been a Cuter LBI?

Of course, everyone feels this way about their LBI, right? I walked to the turnout knowing Maverick was who I was going to play with, and when I called his name, he lifted his head with ears at attention, turned and ambled my way. 

He nuzzled up to me, asking politely for a cookie, which, of course, I delivered promptly. Although I brought a halter with me, I knew I wouldn't need it, so I started walking to the barn slowly, and Maverick followed calmly behind me. 

I knew this was going to be a really good day when Maverick stood calmly for me to groom him and put some fly spray on him. Usually, he gets antsy when I groom him, but today he really seemed to enjoy it. 

We are still waiting for our new Natural Performer saddle, and I no longer feel comfortable riding him in the Jeffries saddle, as it is too small for him now. In fact, when I called about the saddle Friday, they told me it would be another month, which will make our total wait time almost four months. They must be inspecting every stitch under a high powered microscope. 

So today was bareback day. Last time I tried bareback, Maverick was pretty unbalanced, but I was hopeful today would be better. 

We started on the ground, playing stick to me from zone 3. I thought that if we did the weave from zone 3, it would help when I needed Maverick to maintain direction, either on the rail or on the circle. And it really worked today. He did the weave really nicely at the walk and trot, so we quit there. My hamstrings felt much better today, which I think made our weave better too. It felt like a small breakthrough. If I need to curse someone I don't like much, wishing them a hamstring injury would make a good choice. ;-)

We played with the backup. I was looking for Mav to really put some effort into it. When he made a slightly bigger effort, we quit. Tomorrow will be even better... Next, I asked for him to get up on the pedestal from 22 ft. with four feet. Again, he can do two, but not four. I got a bit closer, maybe 12 feet, then he could do it. Tomorrow will be even better...


I wanted to see how he felt about cantering to the right. So, I asked for the left canter first on the circle game, and he did that very well, just a little head shake to start, no dolphin swim move, no bucking. Nice. Went to a change of direction at the trot, then I asked for the right canter. All I got was a fast trot. OK, slow down, regroup, ask again. 

This time we got the canter, but Maverick was cross-firing. Transitioned down again, asked up again, cross-fired again. Transitioned down, and I blew a big breath out, thinking rhythmic and relaxed. Asked for the right lead again, and yes! He got it. Not only that, he did a half circle of really relaxed and rhythmic strides. I transitioned him down, brought him in and fed him cookies. HE blew out a big breath. Perfect, moving on...

Now it was time to ride. It is great to have lost the 23 lbs., but never more helpful than when hopping up on a sixteen hand horse bareback, even with a small mounting block. Maverick was rock solid while I put my leg over. I thought about the first time we saddled him, and he wandered off with a foot in the stirrup. Not anymore! He volunteered to bend for cookies, first on the right, then left. Cute, very cute. 


We moved off to the question box to do circles. My plan was to help him bend better to the left, his harder side, so I started with right circles. We did four circles around the question box, each one better than the last. So we moved on to the left circles. Again, each circle, though not as good as the right circles, was better than the last. At one point, Mav almost cantered, but I am not quite ready for that bareback with him, so I slowed my body down to keep him at the trot. We stopped in the question box, backed up a couple of steps, then I fed him cookies. 


Then we did alternating circles through the question box, two on each side, and we quit in the questions box after backing up a couple of steps. 


Mav surprised me today with all the energy he brought to our play session. His willingness did not surprise me at all. He always wants to please, energy or no energy. So trusting. Our hopeful horse. 


As a special reward, I took Mav across the street to the park to graze on grass for about a half hour. The last time we did that resulted in my forehead being split open and lots of bleeding, with Mav making a mad dash back for the barn. But I knew today would be a totally different day...

The Journey is Hope for Tomorrow and a Reminder of Yesterday

Walker and I had a lovely play session yesterday. I am slowly playing with the list of Level 4 tasks, and this last week, we have been playing with Walker's zone three issues. At level 4, the ante is raised, having to go sideways over a barrel and jumping a single barrel. 

When Walker goes sideways to the right, he feels very unconfident, but he can go over that barrel as long as I stay close to remind him not to walk forward. When his legs touch the barrel, I am pretty sure he thinks he is going to die or get injured. 

It is much easier for him to go over the barrel to the left, so something from the right eye really bothers him. We will just keep plugging away, and like all the other issues with Walker, some day, it won't bother him any more. I have to say, I am pretty sure this whole zone 3 issue has taken more than two days for him to "get over". I remember when he could not go sideways over a pole! Now, he goes over a barrel, and going right, coming towards me! There will be amazing days to come.

Yesterday, I brought a more play for tomorrow attitude, so I took any small improvement and moved on. Walker did a lovely long line weave game, so we quit that pretty quickly. Then we jumped a small jump on the long lines and played with backing up to the jump. Walker was unconfident at first, but after the third try, he became much more relaxed, so we quit that as well. It's a task we need to do, but more than that, it will help him to stop backing up when I ask. I am looking forward to playing with that again to see how he improves. 

Then we played with freestyle and fluid rein. I have found that wearing gloves when it is this hot and humid helps the reins slip through my fingers so that I can actually do the fluid rein exercise. Walker responded very well, at one point trotting more than half the arena with his head low and stretching out. Fantastic!

Then we did trotting and cantering circles around the question box with my arms folded across my chest. The arena had just been graded, so it was easy to see that we went over the same hoof prints for all of the circles within one to two feet across. It was definitely the best 20 meter circles we had ever done freestyle. In fact, it was so good, we quit right there. So now, it will be time to do more simple changes and more yo-yo cantering along the rail, playing with Walker getting more comfortable picking up his left lead. 

As always, Walker earned lots of cookies today. Even though the weather here is a preview to hell right now, Walker almost always brings plenty of energy to the table if I approach him correctly. Lately, he has been more left brained to start, so it has been helpful to have Maverick to play with who is teaching me how to play with an LBI. Slow, slow, slow, move the hindquarters in all kinds of ways, lots of stops, lots of praise and cookies. It never fails to amaze me how well these strategies work!

I always remind myself that when I play with Walker, we have come so far from where we started. It helps put so much in perspective. I remind myself how much he has taught me. I remind myself how much he has forgiven. I remind myself how many barriers have been brought down between us and how much he trusts me. The good news about all of that is that our relationship is precious, not fragile.

 

Riding for Tomorrow

It's late, but I wanted to get down a quick note about my time with Walker and Mav. Walker picked up my hat from the arena floor for the first time today, and luckily, Wendy got it on tape! It is so much fun to have my RBE picking things up with his teeth. Of course, that is his LBE coming out!

Then I played with Maverick. Freestyle! We started out slowly, but with our turns tonight while doing bow-ties, I used what Kerri taught Wendy, to use the carrot sticks just in front of the drive line, and that worked really well for Mav. His turns were really nice tonight. In fact, he felt so good, I asked for a canter, and he was a bit reluctant at first, I think because the fluidity saddle feels strange to him, but within about 5 minutes, he was offering me a left canter and we did three canter trot transitions. I have to say, his canter is so big (and he did give me a bit of a buck at first) that my ribs where they attach to my mid back are sore tonight! I was so happy with what he offered though. Then we did some circles to start help him bend his ribs to set up the right lead canter for another day.

But I will remember tonight with Mav because he offered so much. And when we finished cantering the last time, he really got into a flow for about half the arena. I transitioned him down just before he was going to slow down himself, and it felt like real harmony for the first time. Sweet! 

Playing and Riding for tomorrow...

Riding in the Rain

Before I talk about today, just a quick note about my experience at Kerri's place last weekend. 

Walker and I had a great experience. Kerri really stretched me mentally and physically. Walker got to show off how far he has matured with his respect and impulsion. After feeling a little unsure about the ball early in our online session, we returned to it in between other tasks, and as you can see in the pic, he was pretty OK with it by the end of the morning, bouncing it off his back from both sides. I realized, again, that many of my horses limitations are really my limitations. 
He struggles with zone 3 still, but that's OK. We're going to keep plugging away and one day he'll be OK with it. I need to be better at accepting my horses timeline on that one. 
He was really great when I asked him to circle at the canter, freestyle, with my arms crossed across my chest. What a feeling of partnership!
I have to accept the great with the not so great and make all of it better over time. Frustration is counterproductive. 


With that in mind, today I thought it would be great if I brought Mav with Walker and me into the arena. It was raining very lightly, so we were all slightly wet throughout our play session. While Walker and I played with zone 3, jumping a single barrel and going sideways over a single barrel, Mav chose to climb up on the pedestal to look down at the other horses in the turnout. He definitely knows how to amuse himself. 
Walker really struggled with zone 3 today, even though two days ago, he offered to jump the single barrel. I never know from one day to the next how he will feel about the zone 3 tasks, so it takes all of my equanamity to not get frustrated when he loses his confidence. 
As I was playing with getting canter transitions online with Walker, something that we were able to improve pretty quickly today, Mav rolled in the arena dirt. As he was wet from the rain, he made himself a nice mud coat. He even had splotches of mud all over his face. Then he just hung out and followed us with his ears and eyes. 
Then, it was time to ride Walker. Because of the rain, I decided to ride with my bareback pad. We did mostly right circles to help Walker bend his ribs to the right. Then we did bow ties and Walker offered the left lead. Fantastic!
Now it was time to see if I could get Mav to come along with us. At first, he did not really want to move, but when I gently insisted, he trotted up and down the arena with us at Liberty, at one point even offering a lovely canter. Fun!

Then it was clear that he was done moving, so Walker and I did freestyle cross-armed right circles, at least four. So lovely, so calm. Even bareback, I felt glued to Walker's back. Pilates for Dressage, Gilad and 22 lbs of weight loss have all helped make me a much more confident rider. Just a short 15 months ago, I had never ridden Walker freestyle and bareback. I am so competitive with myself, it's a good exercise to remind myself how far and fast we have progressed. 
Even though we did not do any left circles, I knew it was time to quit. I have to remember, I am playing for tomorrow. And tomorrow is soon enough to do left circles.

In fact, the day before, Wendy and I hung out at the barn and discussed that very thought. We laughed, because she reminds me that I have to focus more on playing for tomorrow, and I remind her to be more in the moment when she is playing with her horses. Both of us are learning to be a five with our intention.  
I finished my day with a lovely dinner with family to celebrate my Mom's 87th birthday. We had fun together. I can only hope to look as good as my Mom does at her age. I fully expect to still be spending time playing with and riding horses at that age!

A Great Cap to a Horsin' Around Weekend

Maverick smells something in the air

What a fabulous weekend I had with all of my horses! The heat in Houston has been a preview of hell this year, but I think I am getting better acclimated finally. I had one thought with Mav, take what he gives me and shape it, no matter how little or how much energy he offers me. Friday he had very little energy, but I had a plan, and I stuck to it. Get the circle game more consistent online so it would get better at liberty, play on the rail with no reins and two sticks, weave around poles with light contact, play around the question box. No pushing, urging or nagging. It's so nice when a plan comes together.

So, today, we went into the indoor arena and it was time to test the liberty circle game. As a warm up, we did driving game forehand around the hindquarters and hindquarters around the forehand. Mav did both with a 360 degree turn, just beautifully. Then it was time to yo-yo and get sent out on the circle. I think Mav knew what I wanted, but he wasn't ready to give it to me right away, so he veered off the circle, and I used a phase four to cause him to move faster. Off he went at a canter, with more energy than I had seen in three days put together. Game ON! 

He did half a circle, then turned to me, asked a question, I said come on handsome, and he came to me at a canter, ears like semaphores all the way. Did a beautiful controlled stop right in front of me. I sent him again, and he repeated the same thing another two times. Time to change tactics. I yo-yoed him back and just as he thought I was going to send him out again, I asked him back in. I swear I saw surprise register in his eyes, good surprise. I did this three times, then sent him on the circle again. And just like that, he gave me the prettiest, energetic, perfectly shaped circle. I transitioned him down with my carrot stick, then asked him in. He came up to me and blew out a big sigh. He licked my hand and I fed him cookies. Then we left the arena as fast as he would go. 

Wow! When we got out to the front area of the barn, I led him over to get a good hose down, also at liberty, then I sat on the mounting block where he hung out with me for about a half hour. At one point, he rested his nose on my knee and just stayed there for about a minute. I think he fell asleep there every so briefly. Happy, content horse and human.

Liberty Trim Day

I had a wonderful day today, again, with my horses. First, Sarah and I rode across the street in the park, and Walker picked up his left lead really well today. Sarah and I talked about how we could improve his canter going to the left. Then we had to laugh at ourselves, because here was Walker finally getting his left leads again, and already we both wanted him to do more. Of course, I didn't, because we are both learning how to resist those urges. 

When Walker and I were done riding with Tessa and Sarah, I helped with a riding lesson, staying on Walker in the small indoor arena. This is good for Walker, because he has a hard time standing still, so doing so while someone else rides builds his emotional and mental durability.

Once we were done, I took the saddle off of Walker and let him roll. Walker doesn't seem to be bothered by getting hosed down, I think because it just feels good to cool off. Today was no exception. I dropped the savvy string I had tied to his halter and he just stood completely still while I walked over to get the hose and turn on the water. Then he just stood and took deep breaths while I passed the hose back and forth neck to dock, left side and right side.

Because Lei was at the barn hanging out with her horses, I was able to turn Walker out in the front area with her horses, and then I thought Bingo might be missing him in the back pasture. So, when I went to get Maverick, and brought Bingo along. Walker came with me, and when Bingo saw us, he let out a big whinny. So cute! Walker and Bingo are really bonded.

 

Bingo and Walker choose to be together, no matter where they are.

Then it was time to play with Maverick. The temperature was already in the low 90's, so I knew we would not do too much. I completely understand now that when my horse has low energy, I have to go with it. There are some things I can do to help bring his energy up, but if I ask too much, he'll just get unresponsive, then surly, then pissed. Fortunately, I can see the unresponsiveness and change my tack.
So, today, I had a plan to do exactly what we did yesterday, and it worked really well. So well in fact, that at one point, Mav offered a couple steps of canter! I went with it then transistioned him down to a stop, rubbed him, told him what a good horse he is and fed him cookies. Then we continued on with my plan. 

When we were done, I brought him into the small indoor arena to remove the saddle and let him roll. I went to sit on the mounting block to wait for him to roll, except he didn't roll. He just stood there looking at me from across the arena. I waited, relaxed. He stood with his ears at attention, watching me.  He finally moseyed over. He just wanted to hang out with me. I waited for about ten minutes, but he still didn't roll. First time that's ever happened. We just hung out. He licked my hand and nuzzled my visor. 
Now it was time for hoof trimming, and in true Parelli style, Walker, Mav and Bingo needed no one to hold them while Eddie Drabek trimmed their feet. Everyone of them stood still while he went about his work. 

Not only that, once Walker and Maverick were done and I brought Bingo into the loafing shed, neither Walker or Maverick wanted to leave. They just hung out with me while waiting for Eddie to finish. What a great day!

A Day in the Park

Wendy and Bingo were able to join Walker and me riding across the street from the barn in Independence Park. I think I am getting a bit more used to the heat now, it does not seem to bother me as much. There was a soft breeze coming from the coast which always helps. 
The sky today was much cleaner, a left over of two days of rain we desperately needed. The footing in the park was wonderful. Soft, but not too soft, and the grass had already grown substantially, so we hardly needed treats, the grass itself was a wonderful treat. 
Wendy and I meandered on the other side of a stand of trees that separate the field south of the barn into two sections. Ordinarily, Walker would not feel really confidant in this area, but with Bingo there, it was not an issue. 
We both did a very simple exercise, just asking for the inside hind leg to come up underneath them as they moved at the trot and walk. Walker was so left brained, he gave me a tiny little sugar footed trot, which I sat and flowed with. It was easier for him to do this clockwise than counterclockwise, which somehow must be connected to his hesitancy about the left lead, and I think it has something to do with him falling onto his inside shoulder, something we will need to play with more. 
He gave me a very nice clockwise circle, walk trot and canter, with Wendy and Bingo in the middle acting like a barrel, a guide for our circle. Then is was Wendy's turn with Bingo. I helped her feel when to ask for the inside leg to move under Bingo, and he gave her the loveliest trot followed by an equally nice canter. He did not speed up like he normally does, probably for two reasons: 
One, he had something to really think about, which is always good for a left brained horse. Two, it's hard to run off when one hind leg has to move inside the other. It made him really use his hind legs, so that when Wendy asked for him to stop with just her seat, it was easier for him to do so not falling onto his forehand (front feet).
That put a big grin on Wendy's face! And Bingo blew and blew and blew, lots of relaxation. 
Then it was Walker's turn again, this time to do the dreaded left lead. It took four or five tries to get it the first time,  but once he got it, I allowed him to canter for about a circle and a half until he relaxed a bit, then we quit again. 
Now Wendy's turn with Bingo's tougher side, the right lead. After two or three circles playing with the inside hind moving under him again, she asked for the right lead and got it right away, twice in a row. And the canter was very relaxed, smooth and calm, no crazy Bingo today!
Now it was Walker's turn again to pick up the left lead, which he did on the first try this time! Walker and Bingo cantered together, with Wendy and Bingo behind us and two wonderful things happened. Walker was not the least bit bothered that first, he was in the left lead, and second, Bingo was behind him with the energy he brings. And Bingo matched Walker's speed, which is always slower than Bingo's, which meant he had to put his energy up instead of out, giving Wendy a big collected canter, again no craziness. Wendy and I both knew, this was the perfect time to quit, so we stopped and allowed both of them to eat the fresh grass. Then we chatted about how much fun it was to have our horses respond to our requests so willingly today.
All this inside 40 minutes. 
Sarah came up with Tessa about this time and Wendy and I were both sorry we could not have stayed out longer, but we were both expected back at home. I had the steaks for dinner in the barn office refridgerator. I let Sarah know how much I was enjoying playing with Walker on the circle, as she was the one who had shown me the exercise with the inside hind leg and how much better horses can track on a circle if they can do this. 
Then we moseyed back to the barn, retrieved Mav from the turnout and put the three horses to bed in their stalls where they were all happily munching on hay when I left for home. 
It was a really good feeling to know how happy our horses were to play with us today, how relaxed they were and how successfully they were able to what we asked. I am pretty sure I had a grin on my face the entire drive back to the house.

Riding down the mountain trail

Follow this link to watch me on Ebony doing a lovely paso corto down a very steep mountain trail on a completely loose rein. I just fell in love with this horse! Click below

Trail Riding with the Lovely Ebony

My Last Day With Ebony

When I woke up Thursday morning, the air outside was crisp and cold. I knew it would be a perfect day for horsing around and trail riding. 

When I got to the barn, I already had an idea of how I wanted to approach Ebony. Like the day before, I got her lead rope and halter and walked slowly across the street to the round corral. I waited until I had the horses attention, and it did not take long for Sage to greet me at the gate. I had put cut carrots in my pockets, so I was ready to reward. 


But today, I wasn't going to catch Sage in order to catch Ebony. I trusted that Ebony would be comfortable enough with me to let me catch her without Sage's help. I took it very slowly, and at one point she came up to me cautiously, touched my hand with her nose, but then walked off. 

I was disappointed, but not daunted. I mirrored her movements, no more no less. Then she stopped next to Sage and waited. I approached her slowly, rubbed her on the butt, then on her hip to her withers, and finally to her neck. 


I rubbed her neck with the halter and lead rope, gently placed the halter under her neck, then slipped it over her nose. She accepted me and the halter calmly. I rubbed her all over, told her what a brave girl she was, then lead her out of the round corral. I knew if I took her across the street away from the horse buddies, she might get uncomfortable. So I played with her right next to the round corral. 

We repeated what we had done with the friendly game and the hide your hinny game, which she accepted with far less reaction, more relaxation. In fact, she gave me several licks and chews, many more than the day before. Then we played a bit with the yo-yo game, which confused her a great deal at first. She did not understand what I was asking for. First she went left, then right, then left again. I calmly blocked her path until she finally took one step backwards, then quickly released all pressure. 

Sueanne, Tia, Ebony and I take a breather on the trail

My trail mates, Robin/Magic left, Sueanne/Tia right and Jamie/Leilani in the back

She looked right at me, gave me semaphore ears and licked and chewed again. I saw more of her tongue in that ten minutes than the other two days combined. 

It was time for tacking up. She stayed very calm while waiting for me to get everything ready. In fact, Jamie noticed that when I disappeared from view, Ebony followed me with her eyes until I reappeared from the tack area. Cute!
Once we were tacked up, I took her into the small adjacent paddock area and repeated the yo-yo game. She was confused about it again, but turned right only once before backing up. We repeated the yo-yo game twice more and she backed up right away. Smart girl! I fed her carrots and I adjusted her girth. For all her concerns, she is not girth shy. 


Then we played with a bit of the circle game for just a circles left and right, which she did pretty calmly. I adjusted her girth one more time and we were ready to join everyone on the trail. 

We first crossed a large field that leads to the mountain trails, and Ebony was very scattered, so we played tit for tat; if she moved to the right, I asked her to go left the same amount of steps. If she went left, I asked her to go right for the same number of steps, and so on. I did not worry about her speed or her gait, I was just trying to get her to remember I was up there on her back.

I also tried to keep her close to the other horses, even though she wandered from them quite a bit and then got worried when she realized they had moved away. Throughout all of this, I stayed calm and relaxed in the saddle and spoke softly to her that she would be OK.


Once we got on the trail, she noticeably relaxed. I asked Sueanne if we could take the lead, and she said sure, so off we went at a nice paso corto up the mountain. Sueanne let us know where it was safe to canter, and we did that as well. This day, Ebony's canter was much smoother. And she slowed with very little cue from me when I asked. 

Lots of neck rubs for Ebony

I became so confident in her that we rode most of the day on a completely loose rein. What a difference from day one! She got lots of neck rubs from me every chance I got to reward her for taking care of me on the trail, taking corners with amazing grace and balance, checking out the terrain when it appeared to change and slowing as we approached a crossroads. 

Two horsewomen celebrating an amazing day on the mountain

At one point during our ride, we were traveling down a trail towards a grove of Aspens. It was very steep, but Ebony was very sure footed, loved being in the lead, and I had her on a completely loose rein. Sueanne told me no one had been able to ride her freestyle. It made me feel really good about our communication. I just knew I could trust her. She stayed in the paso corto the entire way down the mountain, and it felt so good, I was able to video a piece of it. 

The trail was very steep, Ebony and I were riding on a loose rein, the breeze was cool, the air was clean, and the light brought everything into sharp focus. I could feel Ebony light and easy beneath me, enjoying her job, and expecting me to trust her to do her job well. It was one of the most connected few moments I have ever had with any horse, and there are very few experiences that have ever felt better.

When we got to the bottom of the mountain, we spent a few minutes listening to the Aspens, eating cherries Sueanne had brought for snacks, telling jokes and giving the horses a well deserved rest.

It was inevitably disappointing to have to turn back for the barn. We were far up the mountain, so fortunately, it took quite awhile to get there. I used our trip back to reflect and just feel good. Until we got to the big field again, Ebony remained relaxed. When we got to the field, I had a BFO (blinding flash of the obvious), that she would probably be more focused if I used the fence as a follow the rail trail, and she was!

When we got to the barn, I hopped off and stroked her neck. I removed her tack and gave a her a long brush down. Then Sueanne said she could spend some time grazing in the beautiful grass adjacent to the tack area. She looked just beautiful in the setting sunlight. 

When it was time to go, I gave everyone a big hug, and with tears in my eyes, said my goodbyes. I prayed that Ebony and I would be together again next year, and we could pick up our relationship where we left off. And I prayed that with Sueanne's help, she would continue to be more trusting of us humans. 

Starting to gain Ebony's trust on the ground

I knew the best place to start was on the ground. Before leaving Tuesday afternoon, I asked Jamie if she would like to learn a bit about how to gain Ebony's trust on the ground. She agreed enthusiastically, which made me happy. I know Jamie wants to do right by this horse. I asked her what happened when they tried to catch her, and she said it usually ended in chasing her into a corner. I was determined not to let that happen over the next two days. 

Jamie and Cheyenne and Ebony and me mountainside

When I first arrived at the barn, I observed Ebony for a few minutes and noticed that she had a pasture buddy, Sage. So my first thought was we could transfer Sage's trust in the human to Ebony. Jamie and I approached the round corral slowly and waited for the horses to get interested in us. The only one who ignored us was Ebony. However, Sage came right up to the gate which looked like a clear invitation to me. I told Jamie to catch Sage first, which she did easily.

Then I asked Jamie to lead Sage over to Ebony in a very relaxed roundabout way. Within about 5 minutes, Ebony was close enough to Jamie for her to put the rope around her neck and than place the halter on her. When I asked Jamie how different that was from the usual, she had a big grin on her face and said that was way easier, "no drama". Success!

We brought both Sage and Ebony over to the barn area where there is a small paddock within which we could play. We started with making sure Ebony was OK with the carrot stick. She was skeptical at first, but soon we were able to rub her all over with it. In fact, over the next two days, it was easier for her to accept the carrot stick than the human hand. So however she was abused, it was at least in some part with direct human contact. 

Than we were able to throw the savvy string over her back six times on each side. Finally, she did not understand how to play the "hide your hinny" game, so I taught her how to do that. She had no understanding at all of what she was being asked to do, so I needed to use a soft phase four, but within three asks, all she needed was a soft phase two. Smart girl! If only I could be in Utah and Texas at the same time...


So now it was time to get her saddled. Everything I did, I pretended I was on Valium, soft, slow, but not sneaky. I used lots of friendly game interspersed throughout the saddling. I wanted her to get more used to my hands. She stayed on her guard, but her head dropped lower and lower as I saddled her slowly, one layer of gear at a time. 

Sueanne on Tia and Sue on Raven

Today, Sueanne would be riding Tia, Jamie would be on Cheyenne and Sue was joining us again on her other horse, Raven. It turned out to be a good group. Cheyenne has huge energy which made Ebony nervous, so I soon made sure we were either two horses ahead of Cheyenne or behind Cheyenne. 


My ride thought was, stay out of her way, and hold her back as little as possible. In order to do that, I had her stay either 2nd or 3rd, so I could stay out of her mouth as much as possible, so she could just follow the pace of the horse in front of her. 


And when we stopped for breaks, she found it very hard to stay still. So instead of trying to hold her still, I let her roam, just making sure we were safe by avoiding the stray cactus that sprinkles the mountainside or rocks so she would not bruise her feet unnecessarily. Eventually, she would decide it was better to eat grass than wander. 

By the time we were an hour into the ride, she was noticeably more relaxed, blowing often. I rubbed her for every positive thing she did, like slowing herself down to look over an obstacle, hopping over branches and logs calmly, and especially when she choose to eat grass when we took breaks. 

The only time she was not smooth to ride was when I asked for the canter; it felt choppy, not nearly as smooth as Tia's canter the day before. I instinctively knew this was mental and emotional, not physical. She was just too scattered to have a relaxed canter.  So each time I asked for the canter, I really tried to be relaxed myself, and her canter did get a bit better with each try.

Compared to the day before, we had already made great progress. She was not nearly as impulsive. In fact, we all felt relaxed enough to gallop up a hill about 2/3's of the way through the ride. What a thrill! These horses are so sure footed. 


All in all, a really good first full day for me with Ebony.