Today was a great day in training Voelie. It was very stormy and windy outside so normally not the best weather to try new and scary things but...
inspired by the quote Krissy posted (do not wait until conditions are perfect to begin.. beginning makes conditions perfect, Alan Cohen) I decided to ignore the storm and see it as an opportunity to teach Voelie something instead.
The owner of the Shetland pony (the leader of the herd) was going for a walk with him on the road so I decided to ask if I could tag along with Voelie. I had been on the road before but only for a couple of meters, so now was the first REAL walk outside on the road. Normally this is a quiet road, you don't allways meet a car or anything on the road but of course it is possible. We just started and a big car with a rattling trailer passed us! This first adventure went great, Voelie did tense a bit but continued walking next to her Shetland friend. Then we met some riders with other horses! Voelie whinnied a bit but stayed with me and walked nicely. Then we walked through the park, it was really lovely and Voelie was so great. On the way back along the road a HUGE tractor pulling a large wagon passed us. Voelie did do a circle around me and wanted to run (the Shetland was also scared) but it was easy to control her and she easily calmed down again. Remembering the 1-10 rule that I read about on this blog, I was really proud of myselff as well for bringing 1 (or maybey 0) exitement or energy and thus allowing Voelie to stay calm too! I was just chatting with the girl who owns the Shetland, that always works for me to keep myself nice and calm and relaxed.
Then another car with a trailer full of metal parts making lots of noize past us and Voelie was fine, she tensed a little but kept on walking.
I did not know it was possible to meet so many challenges on such a short (and usually quiet) road but I am glad we did because it was a great lesson and good experience for Voelie and she did great! I am so proud of my girl, we had quite a storm so losts of noize and plastic flapping, wet met quite a few things that would scare many well trained horses, it was her first trip outside and she handled it so well, she was AWSOME! Definitely a milestone in our training and hopefully the beginning of many nice walks to come!
Jessica! I guess I am not the only one who is REALLY gaining tips, inspiration, and knowledge from this blog! Sounds like both of you had a great experience. I think it was a great idea to take Voelie out with the Shetland.
ReplyDeleteWow Jessica...this is amazing!! Funny how so many obstacles presented themselves on your walk...which sounds so unusual for the norm. YOU did awesome in keeping Voelie calm! What a great day for both of you. (I love that 0-10 rule too!) A great thing to remember with horses. Thanks for sharing your day with us. And really neat that Krissy inspired you to get out that day. =] Way to go RACers!
ReplyDeleteGood for you Jessica!! I used to take advantage of those situations too. It's such great exposure for a youngster. You will soon come to see that you know people with adult horses who cannot handle what you and Voelie did. Kudos to you!!
ReplyDeleteThanks everybody!
ReplyDeleteSusan and Denise, I am really getting so many tips and lots of inspiration from reading everybody's blogs!
It seems to add even more enjoyment to working with a horse, lovely to be able to share these small victory's and read about other people's progress!
Oh Jessica, what a great great job! I am sure it was your confidence that made it all easy. Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteINCREDIBLE job by you and Voelie ..Jessica!!!! I LOVE that quote and am so glad you do too!!! I think one of the best sensations in the WHOLE World is when you and your horse bff "click" in a communication/task. Keep up the great work!!
ReplyDelete