I’m really proud of what happened here. We learned something together and you can see it happen. I am trying to get Remington into a frame without forcing it. Context on what a frame is for my non horsie people: When we as humans workout, it’s very important we keep good form — it’s the same for horses. When a horse is “working out” we want to make sure he is holding his form correctly and using the correct muscles so he can achieve supple strength while baring the weight of a rider. In order to achieve that, a horse has to be pushing off the ground using the strength in his bum and hind legs and lifting his core muscles up. When a horse is lifted through his core and pushing from his hind end, magic happens. He can access his full strength and mobility and it feels like you’re floating. Rem’s head is too low at the beginning, but he’s clearly trying to do the right thing. I stayed focused on what I could do to help him find it—I stayed patient and didn’t fuss with his process—and he found the answer for himself. 🤌🏼 Let me tell ya, it’s really cool to grow along side a horse. Highly recommend it.
September 6th 2019 — a damn fine day. It’s been 4 years with the big dawg by my side. This horse changed my life and I couldn’t be more grateful for his heart and enduring spirit. 👊🏼✨
September 6th 2019 — a damn fine day. It’s been 4 years with the big dawg by my side. This horse changed my life and I couldn’t be more grateful for his heart and enduring spirit. 👊🏼✨
September 6th 2019 — a damn fine day. It’s been 4 years with the big dawg by my side. This horse changed my life and I couldn’t be more grateful for his heart and enduring spirit. 👊🏼✨
birthday glow brought to you by @dawnblissbeauty 🦁
birthday glow brought to you by @dawnblissbeauty 🦁
Rem can be pretty sensitive for his first rides in a new environment – this was our first ride in the big arena and he was having a hard time relaxing and staying with me. Given where he was mentally we kept things very simple and worked on my mentality, my body control, and my breath when dealing with his stress levels being high. Here you can catch a moment when it all came together through the guidance of @elisabethhowerofficial. 🤌🏼
Rem and I are returning to baby basics for as long as it takes to get us on the same page and engaging properly. Yesterday was all about trying to get him to supple through his rib cage, move off of my right leg and carry himself. This has all definitely been an adjustment for us but I know the reward will be great, it already has been and we’re just gettin’ started. Haircut for Rem coming soon. 🫣
Sequoia 🤎 My journey with her has looked completely different than my journey with Rem. I have been quiet about her because for so long we had been at a complete standstill and I honestly had no idea what to do or how to help her. Finding her path has been very challenging and there has been one set back after another. I was told to put her back and pick a new one, I was told she’s dumb, I was made to feel as if she was more work than what she would ever be worth. I’ve never cared about her financial value, I’ve always cared about HER value. She isn’t dumb, she’s actually incredibly smart. She is just highly sensitive and has a lot of trauma and mistrust. Because of this, her emotions can escalate very quickly. She is not a horse you can muscle around and control with pressure. That used to scare me because I didn’t know how to handle it and didn’t want to make anything worse. What she needs is something entirely different than what I’m used to and we’re finding our stride now with the help of @winplacehome and @elisabethhowerofficial . Elisabeth told me just this week that Sequoia definitely needs a leader, but what she needs most is a friend. I could have never imagined the string of events that would be set into motion as a direct result of bringing her into my life. I believe when a horse comes into your life she takes you on a journey… sometimes it’s a journey you didn’t imagine, but it’s always the journey your soul needs most. Horses are our sacred teachers and reveal to us what we need to learn and heal within ourselves. I am very grateful to be watching her evolution and to be her guardian and friend through it all. You go Sequoia, we’re rootin’ for ya. 🥹 . . . . #ottbmare #ottbsofinstagram #baymare #younghorsedevelopment #younghorsetraining #horseadventures #greenhorse
Big Remington fan 💛
first week of 30 in the books 💞 thank you to all the wonderful beings in my life that made this week special — and to all of you for the birthday love. 🥹
first week of 30 in the books 💞 thank you to all the wonderful beings in my life that made this week special — and to all of you for the birthday love. 🥹
first week of 30 in the books 💞 thank you to all the wonderful beings in my life that made this week special — and to all of you for the birthday love. 🥹
first week of 30 in the books 💞 thank you to all the wonderful beings in my life that made this week special — and to all of you for the birthday love. 🥹
first week of 30 in the books 💞 thank you to all the wonderful beings in my life that made this week special — and to all of you for the birthday love. 🥹
first week of 30 in the books 💞 thank you to all the wonderful beings in my life that made this week special — and to all of you for the birthday love. 🥹
first week of 30 in the books 💞 thank you to all the wonderful beings in my life that made this week special — and to all of you for the birthday love. 🥹
first week of 30 in the books 💞 thank you to all the wonderful beings in my life that made this week special — and to all of you for the birthday love. 🥹
first week of 30 in the books 💞 thank you to all the wonderful beings in my life that made this week special — and to all of you for the birthday love. 🥹
first week of 30 in the books 💞 thank you to all the wonderful beings in my life that made this week special — and to all of you for the birthday love. 🥹
“don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good” Our overall focus is getting Rem more connected to his hind end to achieve more supple movement. I know in order for him to get connected to his hind end I have to get connected to mine — for my non horsie people that means communicating with him through my seat and leg vs my hands — I’m doing my best here to ask him to relax and soften without going to my hand to make it happen. We are far from perfect and have so much to learn but isn’t that always the case? 😉
A peek into what my sessions with Sequoia and @elisabethhowerofficial look like. We’ve introduced R training temporarily to help Sequoia begin to enjoy working with humans. She’s an incredibly kind horse and seems to inherently enjoy being with people, but whenever work is introduced her stress levels rise very quickly and her mind entirely leaves the conversation. The idea is that R will help reestablish her working relationship with humans and open the door to forming more positive experiences. Right now her negative experiences outweigh her positive ones and we want our work together to be consensual vs solely compliant. — this is something Elisabeth says to me all the time. We’re listening to her every step of the way and doing our dammdest to help her find confidence in herself and trust in us. What a beautiful lesson for me to bear witness to and be a part of. 🥹
If you’ve been following for a while then you know I’ve pretty much always struggled to get Rem in front of my leg. He’s usually quite dull to my aids unless he’s having a spicy day. That boils down to unclear communication between us and we can fix that 🙃 it’s just going to require patience and time. Lately we’ve been doin’ a whole lot of trotting (🥵) and I’ve been riding in much longer stirrups than I used to which has been incredibly helpful — it’ll be fun to see where we are in another couple of months. . . . . #ottbofinstagram #ottblove #equestrianlife #equestrianlifestyle #greyhorsesofinstagram #greyhorse #grayhorse #geldingsofinstagram #ottbsofinstagram #equinelife #horsegirls #horsegirlenergy