Quotes and what they mean to me...

I find that quotes sometimes bring a lot of meaning into my life which relate to myself. To some people they may be meaningless or irrelevant, but to me they help me to keep on track sometimes.

I like so many quotes- but there are some in particular that have more of a personal relation to me and help me cheer up and put a smile back on my face!!!

''To get the rainbow, you gotta go through all the rain'' - I believe this is said by Dolly Parton- it's amazing that these eleven words on a computer screen or a piece of paper, can have such a profound influence on my journey with Shadow- our journey and it reminds me of how lucky I am to have him as a friend and a teacher.

''When life knocks you down, you have the choice of getting back up.'' This quote is something which sticks in my mind. I've been knocked down so many times and most of the time it's my fault, but instead of whining about the problems I have, I am going to learn to get back up and solve them- try again, what do I have to lose? Complaining doesn't seem to resolve my problems, but trying my hardest to solve them does- I've learnt that crying and whinging about how hard my life is, isn't always going to be the best solution. I've learnt from my mistakes and they are no longer problems, but are just incidents that occurred on my journey- showed me what not to do and how not to do it, and it's helped shape my path.

''As one door of happiness closes, another one opens''
Shayden was and still is a very special pony to me- I messed up and spent too long pretending that Shadow was Shayden, I thought he replaced him and I thought he was going to be Shayden- he's not Shayden and he's not like Shayden was, but then Shadow has been, ultimately a wonderful experience, if not better, whilst I don't get the riding training like I could of, I've got this little 14.2 piebald pony who is wonderful in all aspects- he is a friend and a teacher and has picked me up when I've fallen and I owe it to him that no matter what happens, what ditches we fall on, what wrong paths we take- we will get back up and we will remember that I will be with him, every step of the way.

I love Shadow lots :)

Clicker Training progress

My Alex Kurland book arrived a week ago, have been reading it and slowly absorbing the information from it. I read the Rules of the Game and the rest of section one and now half way through section two and thoroughly enjoying it. It's such a concise read!

When I first began clicker training I wasn't really ready and it was unfair on Shadow's behalf- having some raving idiot who doesn't know what they're doing around a 4 year old cob who is very honest- but I'm glad he was honest, and I realized that I had made a lot of mistakes and we're back on track now!

So last Wednesday I went to the yard with a positive attitude that we were going to do it we were going to succeed, I bought the book with me and practically have the rules of shaping carved into my mind- I decided to start with a brush ( my resources are limited!) and began shaping with him touching it. I first of all held the brush out in front of him- he touched it and got a click/treat, I repeated this and then he was really getting the hang of it- so I felt it was time for the next step and I added in the verbal cue 'Touch it', this went well- he touched it when I asked and didn't touch any other time- it was really exciting and I was having as much fun as he was- it was a great sense of achievement of both of our behalves!

Step 3 was lowering the brush more and more each time- I remember reading in the book about lowering it a few inches and so I did this - et voila! He responded to it, I put it on the floor as we were by now pretty close and I asked him to touch it- he did seem to not understand, I bought the brush back up and asked again and he did it. He touched the brush and I was so happy with him.

 He was very enthusiastic, I had tied him up ( in previous sessions he was all over me) but then I realized he was struggling to reach it despite being at the end of the rope, so I moved it a little closer- being untied was the next step- well it was going to be and then I ran out of treats!!!! I wanted to cry so much!!

Yesterday we experimented with the cones I bought - I only could afford two because I'm a real cheap skate- 9 inch cones were a pound each and I stupidly thought £2 would be enough to buy like a whole pack- but there we go! I think I may have rushed him actually, and although the sessions wasn't overall bad, I think when I get back from my holiday I will get cracking- I'm going to forget the cones for moment and I'm going to solely focus on standing still at the moment, I think that's his biggest problem at the moment he's got ants in his pants and has broken the wooden tying rack several times ( okay the wood needs replacing as it's rotten), also I'd like to be able to do the fun activities with him when he's out of my space- I'd like him to back up, stand still, come forward and move over when asked- so this is what I'm going to focus on for now!!!

Thanks for reading :)

Love Amy and Shadow xxxxx

moving on and being who you are,,,

So sometimes we get that friend who thinks it's all you who is wrong, they can do no wrong and are perfect, blah blah, well nobody is perfect and we have to get on with that- much to our saddness.
I think over the past few months, I've learnt a lot of life lessons as such- how I behave, how I think, how I respond and also how I feel. I've learnt that I should trust nobody because you don't know whose behind you with a knife but also that we must stay true to ourselves and not follow the crowd. I don't want to be one of those girls who bum lick each and every showjumper, competitor or whatever on youtube and I've learnt that that isn't what counts- it isn't the list of subscribers that counts, but it's our journeys as people. I love horses so my journey is with my horse, but we're all on journeys, each and everyone of us.

So I've been wrong about many things, recently and in the past and I perhaps approach a situation in the wrong way at times- but I hate looking around and seeing all these ignorant people- or is it that I'm the ignorant person as I've got such a shallow view on so many people? I'm not sure! But I'm fed up of people treating their horses like they're machines, like they're just they're just there for the sake of, there to dominate and make submit- I've learnt that it isn't about that, I've learnt that it is actually a friendship. Do we try to dominate our friends? Should we smack our friend on the shoulder and tell them no when they stand on your foot? When they don't mean to- yes it hurts, but we've all stood on someones foot before, we've all gotten fed up and frustrated at someone because they don't understand us and we're all guilty to making mistakes- now, we must relate this to our horses, friends, family- sometimes we get mad, sometimes we get angry and upset but we have to give them respect and remember that they are not perfect! I strive and think that I have a friendship with Shadow- it may not be the perfect friendship to someone else, I don't ride him yet and we're both learning things each and every moment together, but what we've got is perfect to me!

Now, we can all say well it's my horse and I do what I like, or we're happy and it's nobody elses business- that is quite right, but everyone of us has an opinion, everyone of us has lied to ourselves ( I've done this on several occasions!) and most of us have moaned about other people. I think that having an opinion is a wonderful thing- it shapes who we are and it makes us that little bit more unique- I don't know all the answers but I equally do know some answers. We have to remember that whilst we have to take what people say on our chin and 'forget' it, it can actually be something very valid to us and help us discover new paths- after all nobody is a perfect rider- if someone thinks that they've reached their destination in a few months, then they are quite wrong- in my opinion- I believe our destination never ends because we're always striving for more. We're greedy and we always want that little bit more or want to do that little bit something- we may have done it with one horse, but doesn't mean that we've done it with each and every horse that crosses our path in our life!

But whilst baring that thought in mind, we also musn't forget who we are. We can't spend our whole lives trying to amend broken friendships when there is only one person trying, but we shouldn't hold grudges, we should just drop it and forget it - move on, it's all part of the journey and it will help us move forward. Everything that happens, happens- we can't change it and there will always be that little dent where it has been, we just have to leave it be and it will help our flowers to blossom...

Photos :)

Teehee, I love photography.

Happy Birthday me!!!

Good day! I got myself over £200 in total today! £125 of it has gone into the bank, I spent £20 on some clothes in Primark today- got a brand new outfit to wear to London on Saturday ( I never buy myself clothes so this is a rarity and when I do- I spend it in the cheapest shop available!!). 

The book I've been longing for Alexandra Kurlands Clicker training for your Horse should be here by the end of the week or beginning of next week- I couldn't wait any longer and as Amazon don't directly sell it, I had to order it via a private seller- got it for a good price of £12.96, well £15 inc P&P. On my list is also Emma Lethbridges 'Know your Horse', Linda- Tellington Jones ' Ultimate Horse Behaviour and Training Book', Klaus Ferdinand Hempflings 'The Horse seeks I' and Anja Beran and Egon von Neindorff books. So hoping that they arrive soonish- can't wait to read them all!!! 

I got a new camera- a Fujifilm Finepix SI730, the nice black chunky old fashioned looking ones- but boy is it amazing, I'll attach some photos I got with it this morning!!! 

 

interesting day at the yard.....

Fox got into the chicken shed last night, got one of the chickens and attacked another and broke the poor hens neck, she was alive this morning, none of the men were down it was me, Barb, Lyns and Fi and none of us wanted to ring her neck but then at the end of the day she was in so much pain the poor little thing- Fi got ready to do it and I had to walk away as I couldn't watch. She wrung it's neck and it's head came off- next thing it started running around headless- I don't think I've ever been so bloody freaked out, whilst trying to hold back tears!!

I had to laugh when Fiona asked me if I wanted to take out Percy- a little 12hh pony, you can imagine my reaction! Anyways eventually got on him- his saddle was flat and resembled a racing saddle and I can't remember the last time I was so close to the ground and on a horse with a much smaller girth! Had one of the most enjoyable rides though- the first half hour was torture- I struggled to sit on him and balance myself and found myself balancing on the reins- suddenly he shot off and after that it was fine, he was v. v. fast and we cantered through the woods and corn fields- he was going at rocket speed and didn't stop- he was a very speedy little pony and he was great fun to ride- which is why I love ponies so much- they're so fun and cheeky but I felt safe and relaxed and really enjoyed my ride!

Didn't get a chance to work with Shadow today- as he is in a new field and so we spent the morning re-wiring the fences and checking for any screws/loose wires and getting ragwort up. I wish I had more time today, but it may sound selfish but sometimes I do like to just go out for a ride and relax for a bit. I had a really fun ride!!

Amy :) . x