Sunday Morning Play

I managed to squeeze in 2 hours of play this morning.
Circling game over 4 cavalettis, maintaining gate, direction and gate. I used the 45´rope and Milva was a real trooper. Most of the time there was a slack in the rope and she actually could choose to go over the cavalettis or around but she chose to go over them each time.
Only one time she got her feet mixed up when walking over the cavalettis which put her out of balance and made her real angry. She put on her dragonface and jumped the rest of the cavalettis and reared up afterwards and came flying towards me. Too funny! She totally cracks me up when she does that.
More sideways over a cavaletti and one lay down and backing up from z 5, which we had some difficultis with lately. Milva got a bit confused - or well, I confused her so she thought I mean spin. Finally my brain kicked in and I switched the carrot stick to the other hand and voila - she backed up again.

Saturday Play

Lots of grazing and a little bit of play with obstacles and circling game with obstacles.

*Love*

Milva´s first name is deffinitely Love!
I went to the stable early this morning so I would have a bit more time to play. After letting Milva eat for 1 hour - as usual, we moseyed to the sandplace, just to find out that it was totally under water and not usable.
We moseyed back ut to the ridinghouse which was occupied by another rider who had turned up the music really high - like disco volume high and on top of that it was music of a radio station I totally dislike. She also took lots of space in the ridinghouse and constantly clicked with her tongue combined with using her riding crop. With one word - annoying.
I only click with my tongue when I want Milva to go forwards - one click for walk and two for trot and that´s it. I also need to do it once for her to understand. Subtle aids, ey. As little as possible to keep her sensitive...
Anyway, I was already on the way to turn around and call it a day when Milva started to walk with confident steps into the ridinghouse. Here we come ;).
I don´t know why or how it happend but she was totally tuned in with me and reacted on the sligthest sign. Very nice circles in trot on the 45´ rope with a slack in the rope.
We finished our play session with lay down while the other girl cantered like a maniac around. Milva didn´t even hesitate. You want me to lay down? Ok, where? Here? 10- 4, here it is :).
Best pony ever!!

Rain Rain Go Away

grazing Milva in the summer rain

Playing 1 hour in the ridinghouse together with Cornelia. What an impressing young lady! She can ride her horse freestyle doing level 4 things like flying lead changes and piaff and canter pirouettes without a bridle on, only with a string around the neck. Totally awesome! Since we have talked the last time she searched all kind of information about Parelli and came up with some really good questions today *me like*.
We went through the 7 games and the figure-8 and weave patterns.
I asked Milva a few times to lay down and Cornelia showed me how she thought her mare the Spanish walk and the compliment.
Circus here we come!

Babies Are Getting Big

picture taken by Malin
I´m not getting much done here I have to admit.
Tomorrow is another day though. Milva and I are having a photosession date with our neighbour and in the afternoon we are having a playdate with Cornelia and her two horses. I´m going to show her the 7 games with Milva and some of the patterns and I will tell her more about Horsenalities :).

Funny How Some People Seem To Cross My Way Over And Over Again

this stallion moved in to our stable last week. Malin sent me a link to the stallions owner, whom surprisingly I knew. The Equestrian world sure is little...

Just So You Know by Sarah Addison Allen

You fall in love with every book you touch. You never break the spine or tear the pages. That would be cruel. You have secret favorites but, when asked, you say that you could never choose. But did you know that books fall in love with you, too?

They watch you from the shelf while you sleep. Are you dreaming of them, they wonder, in that wistful mood books are prone to at night when they’re bored and there’s nothing else to do but tease the cat.

Remember that pale yellow book you read when you were sixteen? It changed your world, that book. It changed your dreams. You carried it around until it was old and thin and sparkles no longer rose from the pages and filled the air when you opened it, like it did when it was new. You should know that it still thinks of you. It would like to get together sometime, maybe over coffee next month, so you can see how much you’ve both changed.

And the book about the donkey your father read to you every night when you were three, it’s still around – older, a little worse for wear. But it still remembers the way your laughter made its pages tremble with joy.

Then there was that book, just last week, in the bookstore. It caught your eye. You looked away quickly, but it was too late. You felt the rush. You picked it up and stroked your hand over its glassy cover. It knew you were The One. But, for whatever reason, you put it back and walked away. Maybe you were trying to be practical. Maybe you thought there wasn’t room enough, time enough, energy enough.

But you’re thinking about it now, aren’t you?
You fall in love so easily.
But just so you know, they do, too.



This essay first appeared as a Valentine’s Day 2010 “More in Store” feature for Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

Breakfast On The Beach In Råå

Yesterday Shawn and I managed to squeeze in breakfast at the beach.
August is another crazy month at work. I hoped it would slow down with the new people starting to work, but oh boy, how wrong I was. Things should slow down by the middle/end of August for sure though.
I manage to play for a little bit with Milva before going to work. We are not playing with new things though.
I met a real nice girl and her mum at the stable a few weeks ago and got a call from them today if we could met at the stable. The girl is playing with her two horses after Monty Roberts methods (not really my cup of tea). When I met her the last time I told her about Parelli and their program and showed her some stuff Milva could do. So today she wanted to show me the new things she thought her horses since we last met - things I showed her the last time. So cute!!
We are going to meet next Wednesday to play with our horses and I borrowed her the Parelli Celebration Dvd. Fun, fun, fun.
Back to work now again...

Work Work Work

Family weekend - check
Bella rode Orkan and played with Milva. I was very impressed with her skills - otherwise I wouldn´t have let her play with Milva. Milva even laid down for her.
I have to work another 9 days in a row now but that´s now really the last time, or so I hope anyway.

Family Visit From Austria

I´m working my 9th day now, one more shift left tomorrow and then I´m finally off for two days. I sure can feel how tired I´m now from working all those extra shifts. One more week left next week and then the new nurses are going to start and I´m going back to my regular schedule.
On Monday I´m going to start my "new" work. It´s still in the same Hospice, the only change is that I´m going to have my own section with 8 patients and top of that the responsibility for the rest of the house speak another 32 patients.
I´m also going to have a new schedule - work 2 days, 2 days off, work 5 days and 5 days off. Those 5 days off are very appreciated and needed. Even if I try to deny it but it sure effects you somehow if you work with patients who are dying and that´s what they do. That´s why they come here.
Speaking about something else. My mum, my nephew Patrick and his gf are coming to visit from Austria this weekend. Isabelle the lovely girl in the picture is Patrick´s gf and lucky for me she is an equestrian as well. Good excuse to spend the weekend in the stable ;). I don´t know if Isabelle knows anything about Parelli but after this weekend she sure will ;).
Anita is so kind to lend us Orkan on Saturday so Isabelle can ride.
Milva is fine btw. Enjoying her 2 hours of grazing time with me every day. I´ll try to start playing with her this weekend though and hopefully can continue with it next week as well.

Thursday

2 hours play before work
1 x lay down exactly next to me, immediatly when I asked her on a spot I chose :).
Circling on the 45´rope, nice circles in trot, walk, stop, trot transitions and change of direction.

BUSY

I found that little fellow underneath the bathtub, too darn cute!
Milva laid down in front of another person she didn´t know for the first time - the person who was watching was holding her own horse which is also a first for Milva - laying down in front of another horse and a horse she doesn´t know. Also she is mostly laying down right next to me now instead of walking around first.
Playing lots on the 45 foot line with level 3 - 4 tasks.
Have to work 10 days in a row now and don´t know yet how much time I have to update.

Sunday

Rain, rain and more rain.
Busy at work and therefor not much time to play. Don´t think Milva minds though.

It´s Not Raining It´s Pouring

When I came to the stable on thursday Milva stood outside in the pouring rain and shivered. I have never seen her like that before and got real worried. Her whole body was shaking, her head was up and her eyes looked worried and scared. I rubbed her try with towels and put a fleece blanket on her and let her eat outside. It was the first time she had a blanked on for a longer time and of course she bucked it off in the beginning. I didn´t close it cause Milva gets easily claustrophobic when wearing a blanket.
Shawn checked her in the afternoon and she seemed to be ok again, and Pat and Anita checked her in the evening and she was still fine. Same today.

Milvaroni

Tuesday Play

4 hours of play in the sunshine

Come Ride With Me by Dave Stamey

Monday Play

2 hours in the morning
3 hours in the evening
In the morning we got rained on and because I didn´t wear the right clothes and had my phone on me I had to quit playing. We still played while it drizzled but then the sky opened and it poured down on us. Milva thought it was a brilliant idea to just stand there and turn her back against the rain. I didn´t agree with her though and I literally had to push her sideways all the way up to the stable. Porcupine extreme I would call it. As soon as I stopped pushing her she would turn her back against the rain again and just stand there. I tried to lead her as well but that didn´t work either. We must have looked pretty funny.
We had really lovely weather this evening though so I took a second trip to the stable and played some more.
I asked her to lay down once this morning which was the best one so far cause she did it right next to me and I only had to bend over slightly and she laid down and waited.
I asked her two times more this evening. The first time it took a bit longer and she started to wander off again and laid down with her back to me, the second time was ok though. But hi, I shouldn´t be to particular yet I guess. We are only doing it for a month now and perfection does take some time.
I also asked her to spin at liberty with the rope on her back. We didn´t do that for a while and I could see in her face how she was thinking in the beginning. Too darn cute!
Backing up from z 5 - standing 3 m behind her also took a bit longer in the beginning but then she started to put some real effort in it again.
Squeeze game over a little jump in trot. I would love to have a little jump in the audition but Milva really is not a jumping horse. Well, she never refuses to go over it but she doesn´t put much effort in it either. It sure looks like she is dressaging over it. Elegantly raising her little hooves and giving me a look afterwards. But we have this super fun - well, I think it looks like fun, blue and yellow gate jump which isn´t so high and has no poles on the side, just a gate so to speak which would be perfect for the audition cause the rope cannot get tangled in it. Oh Milva...
More circling game, which was really good. 15 circled to the left and to the right in trot. Played with the circling game a few times with grazing breaks in between. Asked her to canter once which ended with her being airborne again. I didn´t ask her a second time cause I just had the 22´rope with me and it´s easier for to canter on the 45´rope - so tomorrow maybe.

Saturday Morning Play

3 hours of play with different obstacles and a very short circling game

Early Morning Play

pictures are taken by Anita
Early morning at the stable today. We played with different variations of the circling game. Coming to think about it, Milva is really totally awesome! She always tries to please me and does everything I ask her for without hesitating. Like yesterday I asked her to go sideways over a L-shape formed obstacle and she just does it and is really thinking about how to solve the puzzle. Super smart pony!

Thursday Play

Milva The Dragon

pictures from Anita´s photosession

And Canter :))

Pictures are taken yesterday by lovely Auntie Anita. Milva offered canter a few times and one time she made a dragon face to her auntie Anita. It looked to funny!
Cantering is coming along. I decided not to ask her for it but wait until she offers it, which she does after a while. Milva still doesn´t have enough balance though to keep the canter up a whole circle and when she gets out of balance she gets angry and makes all kind of faces or little bucks. We will get there though. Circling in trot is going really well though, nice slack in the line and she keeps up her pace and rythm.

Love!

Anita took this lovely picture today. I asked Milva to lay down at the sandplace first and she did it but then later on there was too much going on and too many horses around so she was getting a bit unconfident. I asked her to lay down in the ridingarena instead and she did it promptly. Totally love my little pony!

Evening In The Stable

Playing with level 3 tasks
sideways over a pole from z5 :)

Trimming & Walk

4 hours in the stable
Helene came to trim Milva´s hooves. Unfortunately it was the last time for a while cause H. is pregnant. H. recommended another farrier though which I will give a call soon. Not much else to report today.

Another Foal Was Born

I have to admit that I´m a bit late though, cause the little foal is not so little anymore. "Lillan" is a couple of weeks old now and enjoying life. She is a real cutie!
Milva and I are doing fine, didn´t get much done though this week cause it was once more crazy at work again. I did get promoted though at work this week which kind of amused me but that´s another story.
This morning I delivered some Icelandic pony sperms to Denmark which was another thing that really amused me all day yesterday and today. Barbara asked me for help cause a client of her ordered sperms from Sweden to inseminate two of her Icelandic mares but the shipping from Sweden to Denmark alone was 2000 dk. Craziness! So I offerd to pick up the sperms at the closest stallion station which is just 7km from our home and delivered them to the owner of the mare in Denmark. I sure made someone happy today. She said that she is totally speechless that someone who doesn´t know her would do that for her and she gave me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers :). Fingers crossed that the two ladies get pregnant now!

Happy Canada Day Everyone!

English, Pagan and in Canada!: Happy Canada Day!

English, Pagan and in Canada!: Happy Canada Day!