Fandango will be our ride

I can feel it.  I know we're going to have two wonderful days of riding this weekend.  Everything is falling into place, and I can just tell.  We started our seven day round of Performance Equine yesterday.  Princess Jasper did not approve of the flavor in his grain, and so heartily refused to eat any of it.  I was SO frustrated, but put the dose in a syringe, added water, and squirted it in his mouth.  He was going to get it whether he liked it or not!

Wayne and I volunteered at the Diabetes Ride yesterday, which was a fun and very hot experience.  He rode big girl Callie, and she handled it like a champ (albeit a very sweaty champ).  I think it was a good experience, as there was all the excitement and hub-bub going on back in camp and we still just walked out.  He had a few moments, but they were short.  It was a nice, easy walking ride of 6 miles, although we did manage to squeeze in a few quick trotting bouts up some of the steeper hills.  I am fairly convinced at this point that about 85% of his problems are because he's so sensitive to my moods, and I am nervous at the start of rides (and it doesn't matter how many times I tell myself I'm not nervous!).  Even yesterday as soon as I would tense up, I could feel him reciprocating beneath me.  I need to work on my zen balance and breathing--I'm going to spend this week polishing up on my meditation skills so I can click into that calm breathing state of mind while I'm riding.

Wayne's new horse, Obsidian (or "Sid" for short), was delivered last night.  His owner got very teary when he led her into her new pasture, which made me get misty, too.  I can't imagine having to sell a horse when I didn't want to--she is very pregnant with twins and with two other horses (and a toddler!!), the newest addition had to go.  He was beaming, and spent the better part of the evening out there with her talking and petting and fussing around with her.  She really seems to like him, and I think he's going to discover why I was so pushy about getting rid of Cricket.  There really is nothing like forming a special bond with a horse and becoming a team together.  I'm so happy for the two of them!

My friend Marva and I are rezoning pasture sections this morning and then loading up our ponies to head down to Kuna for a lesson with Jeannie Simpson, a well-known natural horsemanship trainer in this area.  She tends to follow the Parelli teachings, which is why I've stayed away from her with such fervence for the past couple of years.  However, she's worked wonders with a number of my friends' horses, so I'm going to suck it up and give her a try.  My concerns were that she was going to start us on the seven games and make me follow all the steps, but I'm going to be very clear that I'm looking for some things to work on and not a 12-step program.  Luckily, she's not a certified Parelli anything, and will stray a bit from his rule book.  We'll see!  The woman who bought Cricket took him down there for an evaluation, and Wayne said it was incredible how quickly she got a read on Cricket and had him doing amazing things within an hour.  I'm a big believer that everyone can learn something, so I'm excited to see what she's got to say about my boy!