This is how we humans should live with our fellow Brothers and Sisters of Mother Earth.  This woman is truly Walking The Red Road and living in the light of White Medicine.

AHO

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AHO

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Here Theory was getting ready to have the second segment of her first tying lesson. She is wearing two halters and the mark on her face in the corral is from having worn the halters earlier. I put the halters on snuggly so she cannot rub herself out of them. It is not a sore, it is just ruffed up hair. Theory never fought being tied, she stood like she had been tying her whole life, a very smart little girl. This video shows some of Theory’s nervous nature. She has come along way from crashing through fences to flee.

Paisano is such a good boy, you can see him re-assuring her that it will be okay. The look on his face is priceless.

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Krissy came out to stay for the weekend and we took several video clips of Pro and Theory.  Even Paisano snuck into a couple.  Krissy rode Pai bareback up and down the drive for about 30 minutes.  He was a saint  and she was able to go have some fun  without me watching every move the horse was making.  Paisano was Mr. Steady Eddie.  The perfect family horse.

Theory had her first tying session today and surprised us all by standing quietly for two separate sessions that were each around 1 1/2 hours long.  Tomorrow she will stand tied for at least two hours. This is in preparation for her to be hauled using one of the two horse straight loads we have parked in our yard. Next weekend she goes to her new home.  She is such a smart little girl and other than trying to untie herself handled being tied with little fuss.

I’ll post Theory’s video later on.

Below are some photos (taken during our video session yesterday) of Celt’s Prophecy at 15 months of age sporting his baggy pants (halter) look.  I’ve decided I won’t buy a new halter until I can buy his permanent halter.  So he swims in his grandmothers (La Senorita de Madrid) halter for now

Here Pro was rearing on command, the shot was a bit early, but I like the picture anyway.

Pro got his first bath (with soap), and then we set out to get some video of him.  I have an injured knee and it gave out on me during the videoing, so I was not able to do as much or move as agile as I needed to in order to give Pro real opportunity to shine.  He still came through showing some of his potential and his gait.

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I woke up this morning to routine computer surfing when I came across a post on the Spanish Mustang Registry Official Message Board    http://spanishmustang.org/cgi-bin/yabb2_3/YaBB.pl   showing a video of a girl riding a very pretty blue roan pony over jumps. I’ll let the video do the talking for me.

Okay so this little bit of humor sent me on a wonderful journey down memory lane to a moment in time I cherish from the depths of my bones. Here is my daughter, Heather on Black Beauty her first pony.

Black Beauty was just like the little blue roan pony in the video. She would buck, kick up and thrust her head down and at last resort lay down, seemingly never to stand again. Black Beauty had been abused before we got her and these were her defense mechanisms. Even so she was a loving pony with a great sense of humor, it’s just that she had found great fun in finding ways to rid herself of work.

As it ended up I added a piece of baling twine to her bridle that went back to the saddle and if you look real close you’ll see it there holding her head up as it disappears into her mane. She did not find this amusing, but it did allow Heather to improve her skills.

Black Beauty was the horse/pony who brought us all the way some eight years later to the Spanish Mustang and to Ka-Maw-I through his daughter (a Black Beauty look a like) La Senorita de Madrid (who oddly enough came with a similar history, lack of work ethic and funny bone).

However, we are extremely proud of her and thankful that she graced us with her own brand of abundant Black Beauty.  She never failed Heather.
The rest is History.

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Can I have one mommy, please…   please!!

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Today Kristy, my very dear friend who was staying with me for the holiday took several pictures of Paisano while we took him on a walk.  She sat on him too.  We didn’t get any pictures of her on him because he was too uncertain of her yet for me to let go of the lead rope.  But he was working on it.  He just is not sure how he feels about bareback riding.  No, I’m certain he knows exactly how he feels about it.  He doesn’t like the idea.  But he’ll have to get over that because we will be riding bareback very soon.

In the meantime Kristy took several pictures that turned out quite nice. The following photos are by Kristy Hillenbrand:

…and a self portrait taken by Kristy when she was out playing with Pai on her own.  She likes to sneak off and play with the horses and Paisano is proving to be the perfect horse for friends and family to hang out with safely.  I think he is going to be the best Family Man ever!

 I also took some pictures of Kristy with Paisano.  Here they are:

And now for the real fun…

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I have been trapped for some time in the spinning web of decision making where my horses future jobs are concerned.

Take Paisano for instance.  Do I go back to formal training and get him prepared for Portuguese Equitation?  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5895K-Xjupk) Cant’ you just see him running the working course all dolled up Portuguese style?  That along with Garrocha?  He’d blow peoples minds!  He’d be an exhibition horse as there are no competitions that he could participate in here in the U.S. as of this time.  Also I’d have to travel with him long distances to enter some very pricey classes.

How about Ultimate Trail course? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq7g-IN9nss)  I’d love to ride it and I know I can win it with a horse I train.  He’d look good all decked out in his 1800′s crica equipment and me the same.  We’d make quite the impression stepping out of the past into todays competitions.  Again I’d have to travel great distances, and would have to build some pretty ellaborate practice courses in order to compete.

Also I love the idea of joining the American Trail Horse Asscoiation  (http://www.trailhorse.com/)   becoming a judge/inspector/trainer and using my horses as demonstrators at training clinics.

Then there is trick training. I have always enjoyed trick training and trained several horses over the years beginning with my first horse when I was age nine to do things like bow, rear, lay down, count etc. Then Asad taught me several tricks that folks thought I taught him.  Those were our happiest moments together.  Challenging each others intelligence and seeing in the end who taught who what? I can see myself spending countless hours working wth all of my horses together and individually on various tricks and stunts for exhibition.

Then of course there is the gaiting arena. (http://www.fosh.info/)    That I will do but when and how is still yet to be seen.  I love to gait and when these horses develop into their gaits we will be doing alot of it.

Let’s look at Prophecy,  he has war horse talents and the ability for upper level maneuvers.  Again a perfect competitor for Portuguese Working Equitation or Garrocha. He is also gaited and he is very interested in challenging anything you put in front of him.  So far he has become Theory’s teacher and she now does just about eveything he does and is not even halter broke yet.  I do believe I will be teaching these two many things at liberty in their corral inlcuding tricks. I will be starting with the  various pedestals, then the bean bag for sitting, obeisance for flexibility and the climbing board as I follow Allan Pogues ( http://www.imagineahorse.com/ImagineCover/default.htm ) trick training ideals to stimulate both Pro’s and Theory’s thought process.  I really like how his horses think. Paisano will get to try his hand at these things too.

Theory is a spitfire and so involved in everything that is going on that she learns just by being there. She has a resistful nature though and I hope that by letting her learn along side Pro and by teaching her interesting tricks that develop her confidence while working freely that she will channel her firey and wary personality into a bold all knowing confident adult who will stand beside me when the going gets tough.  I see a real partner emerging here. Her talents will put her at the top of again the Portuguese Working Equitation and Garrocha competitions. “If I go there”.  She is very gaited so look out gaiters, and she has War Horse characteristics that will need to be channeled into constructive tasks. (Caviat… AR Ayita  will be staying with me as my horse from now on.  Things happen in peoples lives for a reason, and the swirling life journey has put her back into my ownership so she will remain with me from now on and her name is back to AR Theory).

So probably to develop my relationships with Paisano, Pro and Theory we will be visiting some Allan Poque tricks, as well as a merriad of trail obstacles. Paisano and I will also be doing some bareback communing in the corral while I introduce him to bitless riding in the manner that I teach it.  I want to prove that lightness and collection can be achieved in a Jaquima if its approached properly. Paisano has a wonderful start on him thanks to Simrat, and I feel priviledged and responsible to continue his career in a manner that will showcase his superb talent and character.

As I work out my conflict of what kind of performances we will be participating in, a plan emerges to bring us closer to the answer.

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